So I scrapped the recipe posted earlier, I'll try it eventually however for today I am dealing with a crappy 12 year old coming off of her 5 day cycle of steroids, so I had to make something that sounded good to her ears (this week, any other time she'd be game).
I headed to the kitchen and hauled out my GF flours. Took a peek at the tapioca flour and potato starch carb counts and WOW, jaw dropping. As I have packages I'd rather not waste I'll use this on occasion and minimally until gone. Same goes for the brown rice flour. I am also looking at non yeast recipes for now as I am struggling with issues when I eat it ever since I was on antibiotics in Feb. I haven't been quite right since despite using probiotics.
So for today I pulled out the chickpea flour, sorghum flour and almond flour and picked apart our fave gluten free pizza crust recipe. If I recall correctly I added 1/2c sorghum flour, 1/8 c brown rice flour, 1/2 c almond flour, 1 tsp xanthan gum, 1 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp apple cider vinegar, 1/3 c egg whites, 1 tsp sea salt and enough almond milk to make a good looking dough.
I spread it on parchment paper while the pizza stone heated up. I spread it using baggie over the hand method to prevent stickage and waste. Popped it in a 350* oven for 10 min to bake and then pulled it out, added the topping and popped it back in for another 10 min. My daughter ate HALF the 12 inch pizza. Holy cow. The crust was divine, I am still trying to place where the crust would also well in baking. It was sweetish though no sweeteners were added, so I see a dessert in our future using this.
27 March 2012
Quest for Pizza, part 4? 5?
My never ending love of pizza strikes again. BG-F ("before gluten-free") I limited my pizza consumption because of the carbs, when I did make it I used whole wheat flour and tried to keep it healthier. Now that I am GF I am looking at pizza again in a low carb light. I have two new recipes to try, tonight it's Socca Pizza Crust from Nourishing Flourishing, which uses chickpea flour. I also have an almond flour based crust recipe from Ginger Lemon Girl to try next. The flax meal recipe made last week was enjoyed my my girlie but not by me, leftovers were not enjoyable at all. When I did baking for a farmer's market back in the day I made a gluten free bread using chickpea flour and it was good, so I have hope for our pizza tonight. Buffalo chicken for my girlie.
Will be back with a review..
Will be back with a review..
23 March 2012
Hello low carb, we meet again....for pizza.
So the newness of gluten free eating is being kicked over with the importance of eating low carb. hmmpmh!!
Having PCOS and needing to eat at a lower glycemic level is paramount for my health. I found a month into GF eating that while I was feeling better my butt was not getting any smaller, I was sticking to the same weight despite eating healthy. I've been having troubles eating enough. I am currently at two meals a day and a snack. What frustrates me is that my caloric intake is low enough that anyone else would be losing weight (and that caloric intake is not intentional, just how its happening) but not here in PCOSland. So I am looking at taking the carb level down more. It's not that I eat a lot of carbs. Right now it's two pieces of Rudi's multigrain bread at breakfast (I am fixated on egg, cheese and chicken sausage sandwiches for breakfast) and that's usually it. Any other carb comes from a veggie source. So frustrating.
I am also keeping a food diary and I think part of the subconscious reasoning behind the lack of eating is my rosacea flareups. They have been ugly and my face is spotted with angry red welts which later turn to dried spots of skin. It's horrid. I know this is a huge sign that my immune system is mad as hell and something is setting off these reactions so I stick with the familiar and try to figure out what is setting it off (so far tomatoes and certain types of coffee).
So in my never ending quest for a perfect for me pizza I am looking at low carb, gluten free pizza crust recipes. Tonight I have this Low-Carb, Gluten Free Flax Crust currently cooking in the oven. It whips up so fast, no rising needed. It's on its first baking to cook the crust and then we'll top it with some buffalo chicken sausage and mozzarella and bake it some more.
I've missed pizza since I read how the common GF flours out there eff up one's glucose/insulin levels so I stopped my baking and pouted a bit. Now I am back and ready to find new options. With this flax meal that is a much needed addition to my diet. Back tomorrow with a follow up
ETA: Finally remembered where I read about certain GF flours not being healthy for me. It's over at Wheat Belly
Having PCOS and needing to eat at a lower glycemic level is paramount for my health. I found a month into GF eating that while I was feeling better my butt was not getting any smaller, I was sticking to the same weight despite eating healthy. I've been having troubles eating enough. I am currently at two meals a day and a snack. What frustrates me is that my caloric intake is low enough that anyone else would be losing weight (and that caloric intake is not intentional, just how its happening) but not here in PCOSland. So I am looking at taking the carb level down more. It's not that I eat a lot of carbs. Right now it's two pieces of Rudi's multigrain bread at breakfast (I am fixated on egg, cheese and chicken sausage sandwiches for breakfast) and that's usually it. Any other carb comes from a veggie source. So frustrating.
I am also keeping a food diary and I think part of the subconscious reasoning behind the lack of eating is my rosacea flareups. They have been ugly and my face is spotted with angry red welts which later turn to dried spots of skin. It's horrid. I know this is a huge sign that my immune system is mad as hell and something is setting off these reactions so I stick with the familiar and try to figure out what is setting it off (so far tomatoes and certain types of coffee).
So in my never ending quest for a perfect for me pizza I am looking at low carb, gluten free pizza crust recipes. Tonight I have this Low-Carb, Gluten Free Flax Crust currently cooking in the oven. It whips up so fast, no rising needed. It's on its first baking to cook the crust and then we'll top it with some buffalo chicken sausage and mozzarella and bake it some more.
I've missed pizza since I read how the common GF flours out there eff up one's glucose/insulin levels so I stopped my baking and pouted a bit. Now I am back and ready to find new options. With this flax meal that is a much needed addition to my diet. Back tomorrow with a follow up
ETA: Finally remembered where I read about certain GF flours not being healthy for me. It's over at Wheat Belly
13 March 2012
Trial: Gluten-free Waffles
My daughter and I love waffles, I was gifted with a belgian waffle maker last year and when I went gluten free I sadly thought waffles would be a thing of my past. Happily I realized that with all that is available there has to be something for our bi-monthly waffle breakfasts.
I have a couple of recipes I want to try, yesterday I started with Gluten Free Belgian Waffles. While I prefer buying my eggs local (my neighbor!) the waste of yolks when I bake just wasn't cost effective for me. So I found egg whites at the store and have been using these whenever I bake. These waffles get their fluffiness from beaten egg whites, The only trouble I found was that with gluten free baking once you add liquid to the powder ingredients it all glops up FAST. So folding the egg whites into a firm dough was challenging. I kept at it and it did mix in enough to look more batter-like. In the past waffles were made with about 1/3c batter, probably more. I added my usual amount and within seconds it puffed way up and opened the waffle iron. the waffle was an inch and a half thick!! so I put a small amount in, maybe 1/4c, probably less, and it came out perfect. My niece was here visiting and both she and my daughter loved the end result. We'll be heading to Maine for a few days in a couple of weeks and I plan to make up a batch ahead of time and pop them in the toaster as needed. Needing such little batter per waffle made this batch made 8 waffles, over twice what my usual recipes made.
Next up I'd like to try Fluffy Gluten Free Waffles. Ultimately I'd like to get away from the starchy flours and find a blend that is more friendly to my lower carb focus. Even if we only have this once or twice a month I'd like to keep relatively closer to on track.
I have a couple of recipes I want to try, yesterday I started with Gluten Free Belgian Waffles. While I prefer buying my eggs local (my neighbor!) the waste of yolks when I bake just wasn't cost effective for me. So I found egg whites at the store and have been using these whenever I bake. These waffles get their fluffiness from beaten egg whites, The only trouble I found was that with gluten free baking once you add liquid to the powder ingredients it all glops up FAST. So folding the egg whites into a firm dough was challenging. I kept at it and it did mix in enough to look more batter-like. In the past waffles were made with about 1/3c batter, probably more. I added my usual amount and within seconds it puffed way up and opened the waffle iron. the waffle was an inch and a half thick!! so I put a small amount in, maybe 1/4c, probably less, and it came out perfect. My niece was here visiting and both she and my daughter loved the end result. We'll be heading to Maine for a few days in a couple of weeks and I plan to make up a batch ahead of time and pop them in the toaster as needed. Needing such little batter per waffle made this batch made 8 waffles, over twice what my usual recipes made.
Next up I'd like to try Fluffy Gluten Free Waffles. Ultimately I'd like to get away from the starchy flours and find a blend that is more friendly to my lower carb focus. Even if we only have this once or twice a month I'd like to keep relatively closer to on track.
04 March 2012
Lentils, Onion and Goat Cheese Salad
Looking for affordable ways to eat well and not feel deprived I have been looking over lentil recipes (when prepared right I love them), I am a nut for goat cheese so when I found a recipe for Lentil, Onion and Goat's Cheese Salad I tucked it in the back of my mind until last night when I was so incredibly hungry that I just HAD to have it.
The result was pretty darn good, my daughter, sister and niece all liked it as well and we sat pondering how to improve upon it. It was lacking a little something to balance the flavor. I added garlic powder to give it some more flavor (we also ate it warm as it was a damp, cold night and no one wanted to wait for it to cool). I'm going to make this again soon, add fresh minced garlic and probably try some indian curry (I have a no salt blend that is divine).
This was yummy and filling not to mention gluten free and happy carb'd.
The result was pretty darn good, my daughter, sister and niece all liked it as well and we sat pondering how to improve upon it. It was lacking a little something to balance the flavor. I added garlic powder to give it some more flavor (we also ate it warm as it was a damp, cold night and no one wanted to wait for it to cool). I'm going to make this again soon, add fresh minced garlic and probably try some indian curry (I have a no salt blend that is divine).
This was yummy and filling not to mention gluten free and happy carb'd.
28 February 2012
Girl Scout cookie season
Lastly I hit the mother lode of recipes over here. Now to slowly work through and see which ones work best. :D
22 February 2012
Gluten Free Ras el Hanout Lamb Meatballs Stuffed with Chèvre
Not knowing what else to call these bites of nirvana and present without photo (they were just so good!).
On our way home from my daughter's monthly oncology appointment we stopped at a local place up near the hospital for some lamb, her favorite meat. We had watched Worst Cook in America earlier this week and one of the challenges was meatballs. Someone made a lamb meatball stuffed with goat cheese which perked our ears and fired our tastebuds. So today as a treat to my brave girl I got goat cheese and ground lamb and came home pondering how to prepare them. I searched online for a bit and really was not impressed with the recipes I found. It seems there is one Moroccan lamb meatball recipe that is copied heavily and I think is passed off as several writer's own recipe. Disappointing when people cannot give credit where credit is due. :(
So, I wandered the kitchen waiting for a burst of inspiration. My daughter and I love well-spiced foods and I have been craving North African and Middle Eastern fare for ages now. I poked through my files of spice blend recipes and settled on Ras el hanout, a luxuriously spiced blend from Morocco. I used to keep a rady-made jar of this but haven't gotten around to making a new batch, so the measurements below are only for this one recipe. Not having watched the above-mentioned show that closely I had no idea how the meatballs were assembled. I took bits of the ground meat mixture, flattened them and in the centre of the circle added about a teaspoon or so of goat cheese before sealing it into the meatball. The outcome was absolutely divine, however I think next time I'll allow the meat mixture to sit in the refrigerator for an hour to let the flavors really develop. We also needed a sauce of some sort but lacked the patience and ingredients for a yogurt-based mint and cucumber concoction we agreed would go well with these bites of heaven.
1lb ground lamb
1 small onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 egg
2 TB brown rice flour
1/2tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 sea salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground white pepper
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 ts ground cayenne
1/4 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground allspice
1/8tsp ground anise
1/8 tsp ground cloves
Mix all above ingredients in a large bowl until well blended.
about 8oz goat cheese
1-2 TB olive oil
Scoop about 1 tablespoon of meat mixture, flatten into a circle and add 1-2 tsp of goat cheese to center, seal up and roll into a ball.
In a large fry pan over medium high heat heat olive oil and place meatballs in (don't crowd) and cook until golden brown, turning several times gently, about 5 min each side or until done.
On our way home from my daughter's monthly oncology appointment we stopped at a local place up near the hospital for some lamb, her favorite meat. We had watched Worst Cook in America earlier this week and one of the challenges was meatballs. Someone made a lamb meatball stuffed with goat cheese which perked our ears and fired our tastebuds. So today as a treat to my brave girl I got goat cheese and ground lamb and came home pondering how to prepare them. I searched online for a bit and really was not impressed with the recipes I found. It seems there is one Moroccan lamb meatball recipe that is copied heavily and I think is passed off as several writer's own recipe. Disappointing when people cannot give credit where credit is due. :(
So, I wandered the kitchen waiting for a burst of inspiration. My daughter and I love well-spiced foods and I have been craving North African and Middle Eastern fare for ages now. I poked through my files of spice blend recipes and settled on Ras el hanout, a luxuriously spiced blend from Morocco. I used to keep a rady-made jar of this but haven't gotten around to making a new batch, so the measurements below are only for this one recipe. Not having watched the above-mentioned show that closely I had no idea how the meatballs were assembled. I took bits of the ground meat mixture, flattened them and in the centre of the circle added about a teaspoon or so of goat cheese before sealing it into the meatball. The outcome was absolutely divine, however I think next time I'll allow the meat mixture to sit in the refrigerator for an hour to let the flavors really develop. We also needed a sauce of some sort but lacked the patience and ingredients for a yogurt-based mint and cucumber concoction we agreed would go well with these bites of heaven.
1lb ground lamb
1 small onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 egg
2 TB brown rice flour
1/2tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 sea salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground white pepper
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 ts ground cayenne
1/4 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground allspice
1/8tsp ground anise
1/8 tsp ground cloves
Mix all above ingredients in a large bowl until well blended.
about 8oz goat cheese
1-2 TB olive oil
Scoop about 1 tablespoon of meat mixture, flatten into a circle and add 1-2 tsp of goat cheese to center, seal up and roll into a ball.
In a large fry pan over medium high heat heat olive oil and place meatballs in (don't crowd) and cook until golden brown, turning several times gently, about 5 min each side or until done.
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