Summer Days Blackberry Banana Cobbler

Summer Days Blackberry Banana Cobbler

Gluten-free, Vegan

Barbara Frohne

2 TBSP oil

1 – 1.5 cups sugar, Sucanant, or Florida Crystals, (If your berries are sweet you can use less)

2 cups gluten-free flour mix, or Sorghum flour*

2 tsp baking powder

1.5 cups non-dairy milk

2 - 3 medium, ripe mashed bananas

Around 3 - 4 cups of blackberries**

1 cup walnuts, chopped

Preheat oven to 350*

1. Spread the oil in the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish.

2. In a mixing bowl, combine the sugar, flour and baking powder. Mix well. Add mashed bananas, and non-dairy milk, then mix until smooth. Pour this batter over the oil in the baking dish, but do not stir.

3. Arrange the blackberries over the batter. They can be lined up side by side, but don't put on a double layer. Then sprinkle the top with the walnuts.

4. Bake in pre-heated oven, for 30 minutes.

* I don't like the texture of straight brown rice flour. You may substitute whole wheat pastry flour if you don't have gluten-free concerns.

**You may substitute other berries, blueberries or raspberries.

Thanksgiving Dinner 2012

Thanksgiving dinner was fabulous.  We enjoyed the vegan, gluten-free dinner with my parents, and two other families, all of which brought food to contribute.  I had enough plates by alternating two sets of china.  There were just enough pieces of stem ware for everyone to enjoy some sweet apple cider brought by one of the guests.  She also brought a yummy apple crisp, topped with pecans, and a bowl of peas.  I'll have to see if she can share the recipe for the crisp.

Another family brought mashed potatoes, gluten-free vegan gravy with mushrooms, and homemade cranberry sauce.  To make the cranberry sauce she simply boiled one cup of fresh cranberries with 1 cup of pineapple juice with 1/4 cup of brown sugar for 15 minutes until the cranberries popped and became soft and thick.

 

I made some home made gluten-free, vegan stuffing with a loaf of frozen millet bread.  I sautéed some onions, garlic and celery and mushrooms.  I added sliced olives and some chopped walnuts.  I made up some chicken like broth with LaChicky seasoning and dried Italian herbs, (but I think I might like Bill's Best brand better).  Pour the broth over the cubbed millet bread, and stir, taste to make sure you like the flavors.  Place mixture in a casserole dish and let it set for a while to soak it all in, and then bake at 350 degrees until there is a nice crust on top.

I made some bake tofu slices as my kids requested.  I got some very, very firm tofu and sliced it into triangles the night before.  House Foods, organic 2 pound bricks is a brand I really like for this.  Softer tofu can work, but it is more likely to crumble.  I made a marinade sauce out of Bragg's liquid aminos, and lemon juice.  I spread the tofu triangles out in a pan, and poured the marinade over it and let it set overnight in the refrigerator.  First thing in the morning I turned all the pieces over so they could sit a while on the other side.  Later I made a breading meal out mostly nutritional yeast, with some rice flour and tapioca flour, onion powder, garlic powder and salt.  Then I dipped each triangle into the breading meal and put them on a sprayed cookie sheet.  The oven was pre-heating to 425 degrees.  I baked them about 25 minutes on each side.  They turned out great, a nice little cutlet for a turkey free table, and not fried either.

The entree was the Chickpea, Veggie Walnut Loaf, I posted earlier in the week.  I think I would make it again, but I think I might tweak the seasonings a little bit.  I definitely think it needed more dried cranberries, or a good dollop of cranberry sauce on top, but then I love cranberries.

The pies were the greatest success in my mind.  I loved how the pumpkin pies turned out, especially the crust.  But I am feeling a little guilty, because the crust was not low fat, but rather full fat.  But at least they weren't bricks or crumbles this year.  Gluten free crusts are so hard to manage, unless you add a good measure of fat.  So I can decide if I should tell you what the crust recipe was or not.  I don't want to lead anyone astray, but is going to be the recipe I made next time.  I love pies.  They have been one of my favorite desserts since I was a little girl, but I haven't made them very often for the last 5 years or so, because of the crust and fat problem.  If any of you wise gluten-free, vegan eaters can help me out, I would be very grateful. 

We are now taking a break before the next festive meals are upon us.

My New Favorite Vegan Pumpkin Pie Filling

Pumpkin Pie and Raisin Pie, ready for Thanksgiving dinner.

Thanksgiving dinner turned out to be a great success.  The table was surrounded by gluten-free, vegans, my soy, flax, and lentil -free friend, my peanut and almond -free daughter.  It was a challenge to make food everyone could eat, but we were successful.  But with that combination of people I couldn't make my regular pumpkin pie recipe, because it contains soy and flax.  I searched and thought until I came up with what I thought to be the perfect recipe.  And it is now my new favorite.  I hope you enjoy it too.


My New Favorite Vegan Pumpkin Pie Filling
awildflowermorning.blogspot.com

• 2 1/4 cup canned pumpkin
• 1/2 cup natural cane sugar, such as Florida Crystals
• 1/4 cup full-fat coconut cream
• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
• 3 tbsp arrowroot powder (or cornstarch)
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• pinch of ground cloves

Mix together all the ingredients until smooth.  Pour into a pre-baked pie crust.  Bake 45 minutes at 350 degrees.

Note:  The dark colored pie in the photo is a raisin pie, made with a recipe from My Cozy Kitchen blog.  It was delicious, and we will make it again too.  I found it very easy to make, once you have a pie crust.  Gluten-free pie crust is another story, that I'll write about in another post sometime.

Easy Fruit Cobbler (Gluten-free, Vegan), With Raspberries

The raspberries are producing every day now with our sunny warm, but not too warm weather.   Twice I've made my favorite quick and easy fruit cobbler recipe with raspberries.  It is fruity like cobbler, but you can eat it in your hand like cake.  The recipe is gluten-free, dairy-free, low in sugar and fat.
 

Easy Fruit Cobbler (Gluten-free, Vegan)
www.wildflowermorningrecipes.blogspot.com

Oil to grease the 9 x 13 dish.

1/2 cup sugar of your choice, such as Florida Crystals or sucanat
2 cups Sorghum Flour*
2 Tablespoons Tapioca Starch
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 3/4 soy or rice milk, or milk of your choice
2 cups fruit, fresh or frozen, such as raspberries, blackberries, cherries, or peaches
1/2 cup walnuts or other nuts

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Grease your baking dish.

3.  In a mixing bowl, combine the sugar, flour, tapioca starch, and baking powder.  Mix well.  Add the milk of choice and mix until smooth. Pour this batter into the baking dish.

4.  Arrange the fruit over the batter and sprinkle with the nuts.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

*If you can eat gluten, you may make this recipe with 2 cups of whole wheat pastry flour to replace the sorghum flour and the Tapioca starch.

Chocolate Gluten-free, Dairy-free Cupcakes

My son knew just what he wanted to make for me for Mother's Day. He saw a photo of a lovely chocolate cake with pink frosting on another healthy food blog quite a while ago, and knew that he wanted to make that for me. The only problem was, he isn't a proficient baker yet. But Sunday morning he arrived in the kitchen and started pulling the ingredients out of the cupboard, sounding out the next item on the list as best as he could. Did you know how to pronounce Xanthum Gum when you were 10? He didn't either, but he found it in the cupboard anyway. In order to divert disaster, I took on a advisory role, and ended up having lots of Mother's Day fun with my enthusiastic son manufacturing cupcakes in the kitchen. And I'm happy to say the results were cute and a great success. We even learned some things to pass on to you, to improve you baking results if you try this great gluten free recipe.


You can go find the recipe at Whole Life Nutrition's excellent blog. And you will see a photo of the beautiful two layer cake that first caught my son's attention, inspiring his Mother's Day efforts.

We followed the directions for the cake exactly, except we put it into cupcake liners instead of cake pans. It made 17 cupcakes. We filled them pretty full. They rose just a little bit, but didn't fall either, which is notable for gluten-free, dairy-free baking. It took 25 minutes to bake, and came out just as we expected, perfectly delicious!

We learned a few things on the frosting. We made a half batch of the frosting, and there was still some frosting left over after we had frosted 17 cupcakes. First of all, make sure your mixer is ready before you put in the ingredients. And then, we think it might be important for your Spectrum Palm Shortening to be cooler then room temperature. We also think it is possible to over mix the frosting. The shortening seemed to melt just a little bit and made darker pink spots in the pink fluffy frosting that might be solved with cooler shortening, and not over mixing. (Hence the separated look in the photos. They still tasted very nice.) We also thought it might be good to place the frosting in the refrigerator as soon as you are done mixing it to keep it from separating. When we squeezed raw beets through our garlic press, it didn't make hardly any juice, but we figured out that you just add a little water, and you have as much juice as you needed. The color was splendid. We really thought it was much prettier then food coloring and will use beets to color all pink frosting in the future. We flavored it with vanilla, but next time I want to try making it mint flavor, making chocolate mint cupcakes.

I think that this is a splendid frosting recipe, and am excited that it doesn't use the traditional powdered sugar. Arrowroot gave it a great texture and the agave nectar gave it perfect sweetness. But it has been so long since I have eaten frosting, I found it much too fatty and sweet for my personal taste. But that means, it will be an excellent alternative for people who are used to the real thing. What I think I would really like on these muffins is some lightly sweetened, thickened raspberry jell spread on each one. I think it would be very pretty, but not too sweet or fatty. Actually we left some cupcakes unfrosted for my husband who is very careful to stay away from fat to protect his heart, and they were fantastic muffins, just by themselves.

Thanks to Whole Food Nutrition for another excellent gluten free recipe! You and your recipes are great! And thanks to my dear son for a lovely Mother's Day treat!

Impossible Pumpkin Pie - Review and Recommendation

Gluten-free, soy-free, egg-free, dairy-free

I didn't think I'd post another pumpkin pie recipe again this week, but when the kids had some friends over to play and requested pumpkin pie for dessert, I thought I'd look around on the web to see what I could come up with. You see, I don't like making pie crust. I wasn't very good even back in the days when using white flour and lots of shortening. And now when limiting fat intake and using gluten free flours the chances of rolling a crust and getting it to the pie plate without it breaking, cracking or crumbling is very slim. They usually taste ok, but have the look that only a child could overlook.

I found a pumpkin pie recipe at one of my favorite blogs that looked very promising, and makes it's own crust. We gave it a test run the day before the kids came and it looked promising, though I figured out a few ingredients that do not work. I change the flours and starch, the next day and all agreed the pie was a success.

Here are some things I have learned in the process. Arrowroot (replacing corn starch) and Sweet Rice Flour (replacing the rice flour) is not a good combination. It made a pudding like middle with a rubber like crust. Sorghum flour is an excellent replacement for the rice flour. And as for the starch, I went to the store and got some more corn starch, and it worked as suggested. Instead of soymilk, I used hazelnut milk from Pacific Foods for the milk and thought it made a good flavor addition to the pie. In the first pie I used all the sugar recommended, but thought it was a little on the sweet side, so in the second batch I used 1/2 cup, and it seemed sweet enough to me, and I thought I might even try using less next time. (But if you are serving it to sugar addicts, you may need the full amount) I didn't have any vanilla, and it was delicious without it.

You will find the original recipe at http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2006/10/and-answer-is.html.

Here is my adapted recipe.

>Impossible Vegan Pumpkin Pie

Adapted from http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2006/10/and-answer-is.html

1 1/2 cups soymilk or other non-dairy milk

1 tbsp. Ener-G egg replacer*

1 tbsp. cornstarch

2 cups pureed or mashed cooked pumpkin

1/2 cup rice flour (or flour of your choice--not whole wheat, which makes it gummy) I used sorghum flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp corriander

1/4 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray a 9-inch deep dish pie pan with cooking spray. (I used a Pyrex pan, and it came out with no sticking.) A deep dish is recommended because this pie will rise a lot during cooking but will fall back down as it cools.

Put the ingredients in the blender, and blend well for 2 minutes, stopping to scrape the sides a couple of times to make sure everything is thoroughly blended. Pour into a pie pan and bake for about 60 minutes. The top and edges should be brown, but the edges should not be over-done. (Since this is a custardy pie, using the standard toothpick or knife test does not work; it will remain somewhat moist in the center, but it shouldn't be uncooked.)

Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the counter. For best results, refrigerate until chilled before eating.

Simple Vegan Pumpkin Pie

Do you need a simple, classic pumpkin pie recipe without all the allergens? Well, this might be just what you need. It is easy to make and passed the taste test with everyone in the family, plus a few other people.

Simple Vegan Pumpkin Pie
(Can be soy free and/or nut free and gluten-free, egg and dairy-free)

Caution: Make this pie one day early so it can set up and cool in the refrigerator at least a few hours or overnight, or the texture will be too soft.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Have ready on 9 " unbaked pastry crust of your own choosing

Mix together the following ingredients (Blend if a smoother texture is desired, but it works fine without blending.)

2 c of solid pack canned pumpkin (1 - 15oz. can)
1 cup non-dairy milk of your choice (preferably a rich soy or nut milk, if you can eat them. I use hazelnut)
3/4 cup brown sugar or sucanat or turbinado sugar
3-4 T. corn starch (depending on how firm you like it)
1 T molasses
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. each ground ginger, nutmeg, cloves
1/2 tsp. salt

Pour the filling into the pastry and bake 60 minutes, covering the edges with foil if they brown too quickly. Cook on a rack, then refrigerate overnight before serving.

Just Like Cheesecake

We made this recipe for my husband's birthday a couple years ago. As you can see, it turned out beautifully.

I found the recipe in "The Complete Book of Raw Food: Healthy Delicious Vegetarian Cuisine Made with living Foods" Lori Baird, Editor.

Just Like Cheesecake
By Emily Lee Angell
Makes 24 slivers

I will type out the original recipe for you just as written, but will tell you that I decreased the amount of coconut oil in the cheese like filling to only 1/3 cup. Coconut oil is said to have some good health benefits. Even though it is called a saturated fat, it isn't the same thing as factory processed hydrogenated fats, but it is processed some, so my husband would rather not eat much. Even with the reduced coconut oil it was delicious, and a very satisfying treat. I didn't add the salt and didn't miss it one bit.

One cheese cake I made with lemon juice as suggested, and the second one I made with orange juice, and it was very delicious.

I made the raspberry sauce as suggested, but froze it with the rest of the cake, as the top layer. It turned out very lovely.

Ingredients:
For the crust:

2 cups raw macadamia nuts
1/2 cup dates, pitted
1/4 cup dried coconut

For the cheese:
3 cups chopped cashews, soaked for at least 1 hour
3/4 cup lemon juice
3/4 cup honey
3/4 cup coconut oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon sea salt (optional)

For raspberry sauce:
1 bag frozen raspberries
1/2 cup dates

Directions:
To make the crust, process the macadamia nuts and dates in the food processor.
Sprinkle dried coconut onto the bottom of an 8 or 9 inch springform pan. Press crust onto the coconut. this will prevent it from sticking.
To make the cheese, blend the cashews, lemon, honey, gently warmed coconut oil, vanilla, sea salt (if using), and 1/2 cup water. Blend until smooth and adjust to taste.
Pour the mixture onto the crust. Remove air bubbles by tapping the pan on a table.
Place in a freezer until firm. Remove the whole cake from the pan while frozen and place on a serving platter. Defrost in a refrigerator.
To make the raspberry sauce, process raspberries and dates in a food processor until well blended. (Do not use a blender for this or the raspberry seeds will become like sand.)

Impossibly Delicious Gluten Free/ Vegan Cupcakes

Impossibly Delicious Gluten Free- Vegan Cupcakes
Adapted from a recipe found in Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World

1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup almond flour (grind almonds in blender to flour consistency)
1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup sorghum flour
1 cup rice milk
1/3 cup grape seed oil
1/2 cup raw cane sugar or Sucanant
3 teaspoons lemon extract
1/4 cup tapioca flour
2 Tablespoons ground flax seed

In one bowl, mix together the salt, baking soda, baking powder, sorghum flour, rice flour and almond flour. In another bowl, mix together rice milk, oil, sugar, and lemon extract. Add the tapioca flour and ground flax seed to the bowl with the liquid ingredients and blend well until the mixture is fluffy and starts to come together, then add the rest of the dry ingredients.

Spoon the batter into tiny muffin liner lined muffin tins and fill them about 3/4 of the way full. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until the tops spring back when you press them.

Make a little gluten free-vegan icing to top the cupcakes, or eat them just as they are. They are delicious.

*Note about making icing. Powdered sugar can contain unlabeled gluten. Icing is traditionally made with a lot of processed fat, or highly processed cream cheese substitutes. I don't use either anymore so I don't have an icing recipe to give you. If you come up with one that isn't high in processed sugar, fat and other non-nutritious items, be sure to let me know.

Razzle Dazzle Lime Parfait

Razzle Dazzle Lime Parfait
RawSome Recipes By Robyn Boyd
(I have simplified the steps to make them more clear).

1. Place some chopped nuts in the bottom of 4 stemware glasses.

2. Make the Green layer
Mix until smooth and creamy in a blender or food processor:
2 ripe avocaods
juice from 2 limes
1 - 2 TBSP agave nectar

Carefully spoon into the stemware, on top of the nut layer.

3. Make the red layer:
Mix until smooth and creamy in a blender or food processor:
1 package of frozen raspberries
1/4 cup fresh young coconut meat, straight from a green coconut. (It isn't that hard to open a coconut yourself. There are directions on the web in many places.)
1/4 - 1/2 cup coconut water (less is better for thicker sauce.)
2 TBSP. agave nectar

Carefully spoon onto the glasses above the green layer.

4. Make the white topping:
remaining meat from two young coconuts
1/2 - 1 cup water (use as little as possible so this is nice and thick)
2 -4 pitted dates, or 2 TBSP agave nectar

Make a little dollop onto the top of the red layer, like whipped cream.

5. Garnish as desired with nuts, lime or kiwi slices, or mint sprigs.Razzle Dazzle Lime Parfait
RawSome Recipes By Robyn Boyd
(I have simplified the steps to make them more clear).

1. Place some chopped nuts in the bottom of 4 stemware glasses.

2. Make the Green layer
Mix until smooth and creamy in a blender or food processor:
2 ripe avocaods
juice from 2 limes
1 - 2 TBSP agave nectar

Carefully spoon into the stemware, on top of the nut layer.

3. Make the red layer:
Mix until smooth and creamy in a blender or food processor:
1 package of frozen raspberries
1/4 cup fresh young coconut meat, straight from a green coconut. (It isn't that hard to open a coconut yourself. There are directions on the web in many places.)
1/4 - 1/2 cup coconut water (less is better for thicker sauce.)
2 TBSP. agave nectar

Carefully spoon onto the glasses above the green layer.

4. Make the white topping:
remaining meat from two young coconuts
1/2 - 1 cup water (use as little as possible so this is nice and thick)
2 -4 pitted dates, or 2 TBSP agave nectar

Make a little dollop onto the top of the red layer, like whipped cream.

5. Garnish as desired with nuts, lime or kiwi slices, or mint sprigs.

Instead of Chocolate- Grapes!

Instead of Chocolate - Grapes!
Barbara Frohne
www.wildflowermorningrecipes.com

1 bunch of red seedless organic grapes
1 cup of finely chopped walnuts or pecans, place some in a tiny dish
1 recipe of Sweet and Sour Cashew Dip

1. Wash the grapes and drain.

2. Make some Sweet and Sour Cashew Dip
Place in the blender and blend until smooth
3/4 cup of raw cashews
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (fresh tastes so much better)
1 TBSP honey or agave nectar
More water if needed, but be careful to keep this as thick as possible, because you are going to need to have it thick enough to dip grapes in and have it stick.

3. Dip the plump end of a grape into the cashew dip, then dip onto the chopped nuts and roll it just a little bit to get the nuts to stick and cover the spread.

4. Arrange the grapes on a platter and serve.

Serves 4 - 12, depending on how many you eat.