Author: Marni MacLeod

Vegan, Gluten Free Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Vegan, Gluten Free Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Vegan, gluten free banana chocolate chip muffins, mmmm. The original recipe came from The Real Food Dietitians recipe for Gluten-Free Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins but I made the vegan version, swapped in Bob’s Red Mill Baking Mix for the flour, coconut oil for the oil, 

Beef Empanada Pie with Gluten Free Dough

Beef Empanada Pie with Gluten Free Dough

I started out making this recipe with beef empanadas for a picnic in mind. However, gluten free dough is a little trickier to work with than I bargained for. I made three little ones, cursed (a lot), and then rolled the remaining dough into a 

Chickpea Fritter Puffs a la Fifteen Spatulas (with a bit of tinkering)

Chickpea Fritter Puffs a la Fifteen Spatulas (with a bit of tinkering)

So I had this lonely little bag of chickpea flour (about 1 C) and I really try very hard not to waste food so I went looking for something to make. What I found was Joanne and her Fifteen Spatulas and a great little recipe for Chickpea Fritter Puffs. Thank you Joanne!

Because I am my mother’s daughter, I frequently don’t pay much attention to amounts in recipes so mine is adapted a fair bit (basically I doubled the seasonings). The batter was probably a little thinner than it should have been, I confess I didn’t actually measure the chickpea flour, I just used what I had. BUT, these were really, really good. They’d be great served with cucumber raita to pair with the mild curry flavour and would make a good gluten free appetizer.

Ingredients

  • 1 C chickpea flour
  • 1/s tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp cumin
  • 2 tsps home made sazon (optional – I just happened to have some so I threw it in)
  • 1/2 tsp curry powder (I used Lalah’s)
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/2 tsp onion powder
  • 2 tsp lemon juice
  • 1/2 cup hot water
  • about 1/4 cup olive oil for frying

Method

  1. Whisk chickpea flour and all the seasonings together until well combined.
  2. Mix the lemon juice and water, and stir into the dry ingredients to combine. Let the mixture rest for 10 minutes.
  3. Heat up a frying pan on medium high and add enough olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan.
  4. Portion out small mounds of the chickpea mixture (about 1 Tbsp) into the hot oil, then coat a spatula with oil and lightly press the tops to make little patties.
  5. Cook for about 2 minutes on each side until they’re golden brown, and they puff up.
  6. Drain on paper towels and serve warm with sea salt or whatever sauce you like.
Vegan Lemon Curd – No Waaaaay, Way

Vegan Lemon Curd – No Waaaaay, Way

I had a bunch of organic lemons I needed to use and lemon curd is one of my favourite things so I thought I’d make some. Initially I thought I’d do up Ioanna’s fabulous microwave lemon curd thinking it didn’t have eggs in it. I 

Gluten-free, Egg-free, Easter Morning Glory Muffins

Gluten-free, Egg-free, Easter Morning Glory Muffins

This recipe is a slight adaptation of Nicole’s recipe from Gluten-free on a Shoe String’s awesome Gluten-free Morning Glory Muffin recipe. If you are looking for a great source of tasty gluten-free recipes…her site is one of the best I’ve seen. Thank you Nicole for 

Gluten-free, Dairy-free Flapjacks aka Vegan Pancakes

Gluten-free, Dairy-free Flapjacks aka Vegan Pancakes

I finally got around to trying out some gluten-free, dairy-free flapjacks.  At our house flapjacks are not something we normally have. Our “go to” has always been crepes (aka skinny pancakes aka lattua or Finnish crepes) so this is a bit of a departure. From what I’ve read, applesauce is the key to replacing the wonder of eggs in flapjacks.

I adapted the recipe (not much frankly) from the lovely Laura of MOMables.com (thank you Laura!). The original recipe is here and it’s much, much healthier than mine because I can’t resist brown sugar ;).

So, the verdict on taste…they were great. They are loaded with cinnamon and the texture is good albeit not quiet as light and fluffy as a “gluten” version BUT it was pretty good nonetheless.

Ingredients

  • 1 C gluten-free all-purpose flour (I used Bob’s Red Mill)
  • 1/4 tsp xanthan gum
  • 1 Tbsp ground flaxseed (flax meal – 2 1/2 tsp flax seed ground fine in the coffee grinder)
  • 2 tsps baking powder
  • 2 tsps  cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 2 Tbsps brown sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1/4 C unsweetened applesauce (I used raspberry applesauce because it’s what I had)
  • 1 1/4 C almond milk

Method

  1. If you are vegan than use coconut oil to grease a cast iron frying pan (or whatever you usually use to cook your flap jacks).
  2. In a large bowl whisk together, the flour, ground flax, baking powder, cinnamon, brown sugar and salt to get as many lumps out as you can.
  3. In a 2 C measuring whisk the apple sauce together with the almond milk, and vanilla.
  4. Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour in about half the wet ingredients, whisking as you go to minimize lumps.
  5. Slowly whisk in the remaining ingredients and add additional almond milk if you think that batter is too thick. Keep whisking until you get a smooth, pourable batter.
  6. Pour 1/4 C of batter into your well greased pan (make sure you grease between pancakes).
  7. Cook for 1-2 minutes or until bubbles start to form in your pancake and the edges look booked. Flip and cook for another 1-2 minutes.
  8. Place in a warm oven while you do the rest.
  9. Serve with maple syrup because…maple syrup!

Makes 8 good sized pan cakes.

 

Mom’s Apple Crisp with Gluten-free Option

Mom’s Apple Crisp with Gluten-free Option

The “Mom” in this Mom’s Apple Crisp is me. This is my Go To apple crisp recipe when I want something sweet without a big fuss. There is no special pan required, you can use whatever apples and oats you have on hand and you 

Gluten-free, Dairy-free Meatballs

Gluten-free, Dairy-free Meatballs

Continuing on down the gluten-free, dairy-free road I decided to have a go at remaking the meatballs that my kids love. As it turned out this was going to be a tall order because normally I just use Lipton’s onion soup mix, bread crumbs, milk 

Gluten-free Lasagna (Italissima test-drive)

Gluten-free Lasagna (Italissima test-drive)

I decided to try out Italissima Gluten-Free oven ready Lasagna noodles. You need to make the sauce a bit watery to soften the noodles. I ended up with two extra sheet noodles.

Ingredients

  • 2 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 large onion diced
  • 2 medium carrots grated
  • 6 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 large can stewed tomatoes (796 mL) with the liquid (you need it for the oven ready noodles)
  • 1 jar Classico Italian sausage, pepper and onions (650 mL) or 2 C of your favourite sauce
  • 2 large zucchini sliced 1/4″ thick lengthwise (think veggie noodles)
  • 1 lb ground beef (turkey or chicken if you prefer) or if you want to go vegetarian and replace the meat with roasted peppers.
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 C grated mozzerella, plus 1/4 C grated parmesan for the top of each lasagne

Lasagna Gluten-Free

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 350F.
  2. Heat the olive oil in a big frying pan.
  3. Saute onion for 2-3 minutes, add the carrot and saute another couple of minutes.
  4. Add the garlic and stir.
  5. Add the ground beef and saute until the beef is no longer pink.
  6. Add a healthy grind of salt and pepper (to your taste).
  7. Add the stewed tomatoes and the sauce.
  8. Bring to a light simmer, turn off the heat.
  9. Grease or oil two, 1 Qt baking dishes
  10. Ladle 1/2 C of sauce into the bottom of each baking dish, flow with: noodle, layer of zucchini, 1 C sauce, noodle, 1C sauce, zucchini, noodle, 1/2 C sauce. Top with the grated cheeses.
  11. Place on a baking sheet to catch any overflow and bake for at least 30 minute or until a knife inserted goes in and out easily (to make sure the noodles are cooked).
  12. Remove from oven and let stand at least 10 minutes or let cool completely and put in the fridge for the next day. I always think lasagna tastes better on day two.
Gluten-free, Dairy-free Rosemary, Apricot, Almond and Cranberry Crackers

Gluten-free, Dairy-free Rosemary, Apricot, Almond and Cranberry Crackers

These bad boys are a gluten-free, dairy free take on my Rosemary Pecan Raisin Crackers. They are the result of a request from my “brothers” Joshua and Joel Corea who happen to own a hip little wine and small plates bar called Archive 909 on