Gluten-free Gourmand

Making pancakes dairy free is not too difficult and just calls for some tasty substitutions for the milk and butter normally found in pancake recipes.  I like the flavor of coconut milk, and it's easy to cook with.  That's what I've chosen to use for this recipe but it's certainly not the only substitute available.  Coconut milk has a nice sweet flavor and gives the pancakes a fluffy texture.  For butter I find that coconut oil is a very close cousin to butter in the texture it lends to the pancakes.  Steer clear of other vegetable oils like canola oil because they can make the pancakes rubbery. Dairy-free Pancake Recipe Makes about 12 5-inch pancakes. Heat your griddle to medium-low.  Mix in a large bowl: 2 1/4 cups (300g) Pancake Flour 6 Tbsp (72g) sugar 1 1/4 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp salt In a medium bowl, whisk together: 2 eggs 4 Tbsp coconut oil 1 tsp apple cider vinegar  Add the wet ingredients to t...

I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving.  For my day of thanks my sister dabbled in GF pastry crusts for the first time to bring our family some delicious Thanksgiving desserts.  They turned out amazing! Today for Black Friday I have a GIVEAWAY  going on!  I am giving away two bags of flour of your choice from my shop .  Find out how to win at my sister's blog  Green Baby Guide .  I wish you luck and a good Thanksgiving weekend!

I've been there.  Pretty much every time I've cooked a turkey.  I go to dress the turkey and... oh, yeah.  You have to put the stuffing in hot!  Also, it takes an hour to make.  Well, not this stuffing!  You can have this ready in half the time.  Also, a little secret:  The turkey takes less time to cook and comes out even better if you don't stuff it! Another time saver!  If you use this recipe for stuffing the turkey, add in the chicken stock hot and omit the eggs. Check Back on my blog Friday to learn about my GIVEAWAY! If you need some bread recipes, I have made excellent, fluffy stuffing from these loaves: Teff Sandwich Bread Gluten-free Gourmand Sandwich Bread Quickest Stuffing Recipe In a large bowl, mix: 1 lb GF Bread cubes (cut them extra small if your bread is really dense) 1/2 stick minced celery (optional) 2 Tbsp minced shallot or onion 1 Tbsp dried sage 1 Tbsp dried thyme 1 tsp dried or fresh, chopped rosem...

Here is a list of holiday classics that I have made wonderful for those who eat gluten-free - and for their families, too!  Remember that Thanksgiving is THIS WEEK so if you would like to order any flours or mixes from my shop you should do so by Monday at noon for shipping this week! Dinner Rolls Gingerbread Cookies Traditional Stuffing Quick Bread Stuffing Butternut Squash Pie Pie Crust Turkey Soup Coq au Vin

I've heard about using applesauce as a fat substitute and decided to try it out.  This recipe is very similar to my standard Sandwich Bread Recipe , but there were enough changes to warrant posting the entire recipe again.  To my surprise, this variation on the recipe provided lighter, fluffier bread. Gluten-free Sandwich Bread Recipe You will be placing your risen dough in a COLD OVEN.  Do not pre-heat! In a medium bowl combine: 450g GF Bread Flour Blend 2 Tbsp sugar or honey 1.25 tsp salt 1 packet quick-rise yeast In the bowl of your stand mixer, combine: 2 eggs 4 tsp apple cider vinegar 1 cup warm water (100-115 degrees F) Mix the ingredients with the paddle attachment on medium until the mixture begins to froth.  Stop the mixer and add: 30g whole psyllium husk (or 20g ground psyllium husk) Blend the psyllium husk into the wet ingredients until the mixture thickens quite a bit, 2-3 minutes.  Stop the mixer and ...

Rustic boules or round loaves have been made for thousands of years by people all over Europe.  It is one of the oldest forms of bread making there is.  Round loaves used to be cooked in simple clay ovens.  The fire would be built inside the hollow oven then swept out once the clay walls were very hot.  The bread would then be placed on the hot oven floor and the openings were stopped up to trap the heat  and steam inside, giving the bread a nice crunchy crust.  As the oven gradually cooled, the bread would gradually stop cooking, giving the inside a tender crumb.  This recipe uses a technique that simulates this ancient way of baking, but in reverse.  The bread goes in a cold oven to help it rise more than it would at room temperature.  Placing the bread in a heavy stock pot or dutch oven helps trap the moisture to get a nice crisp crust.  The bread finishes at a high temperature to brown the outside. This recipe makes a 1-lb loaf....

You, my readers, have asked for a dinner roll recipe, so you shall get one!  Dinner rolls are actually not too difficult or time-consuming. These dinner rolls are perfect for the holidays.  They are light and fluffy with big pockets of air that make them perfect for soaking up butter, olive oil, or gravy. Yeasted Olive Oil Dinner Rolls Whisk together with a fork in a medium bowl: 225 g GF Bread Flour 1/2 tsp salt 1 Tbsp + 2 tsp sugar or honey 1 packet yeast In a large bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer, whisk together with a fork: 1 egg at room temperature or warmer 2 tsp apple cider vinegar 3/4 cup warm water (100-115 degrees) Once that is whisked, add: 15g whole psyllium husk (or 10g ground psyllium husk) Mix the psyllium husk into the wet ingredients for about one minute, or until the mixture begins to thicken.  Add most of the flour mixture to the wet mixture and mix with the fork until it starts to come together.  Mix in: 2 Tbsp ...

While gathering ideas for new recipes, I like to poll my friends and Facebook followers.  After countless informal surveys, I've learned that the No. 1 thing that people want to replace after going gluten-free is bread - just plain bread.  After almost a year of recipe development, I am happy to say that I finally have several amazing recipes for just plain bread .  Today I'll bring you sandwich bread.  Over the next few days, and just in time for the holidays, I'll bring you recipes for rolls, french bread, round loaves or boules, and more - if I can think of more recipes to give you! Gluten-free Sandwich Bread Recipe You will be placing your risen dough in a COLD OVEN.  Do not pre-heat! In a medium bowl combine: 450g  Bread Flour 2 Tbsp sugar or honey 1 tsp salt 1 packet quick-rise yeast In the bowl of your stand mixer, combine: 2 eggs 4 tsp apple cider vinegar 1.5 cup warm water (100-115 degrees F) Mix the ingredients with the ...

Did you ever wish you could find a gluten-free flour that gave you nice, soft, fluffy bread just like you used to eat?  A gluten-free bread flour that rose well, that you could knead if you wanted to.  That gave you a nice, crisp crust and a soft, chewy inside.  One that gives you flexible bread slices perfect for sandwiches. Now you can have that bread flour. I am very proud to introduce to you Gluten-free Gourmand's No. 7 Artisan Bread Flour .  This hand-crafted blend of specially selected gluten-free flours gives you loaves with consistent texture and mild but traditional flavor.  Containing no rice flour, this proprietary flour blend rises well and maintains flexibility. Knead it.  Using Gluten-free Gourmand's proprietary blend of flours, you can achieve doughs that are kneadable and stand on their own for beautiful boules, batards, and french loaves. Slice it.  No. 7 Bread Flour makes the best gluten-free sandwiches.  It slices e...

I may have found a new favorite dish.  My cooking partner and I were looking at the photos from the Coq au Vin shoot and we both decided to make this dish again for dinner tonight.  We were going to do a roasted chicken, but somehow that didn't seem adequate after seeing these photos.  If you are looking for a creative new dish for a holiday meal that doesn't involve roasting a turkey but will still impress, this is the dish for you.  You can serve this Coq au Vin with any number of sides: rice, pasta, or bread, or as pictured with baked potato and braised greens.  Tonight I may make it with a bread stuffing . Coq au Vin is a delicious traditional French recipe that is easy to make gluten free.  It's basically a chicken stew with a wine-based gravy.  In this recipe I have thickened the gravy with quite a bit of gluten-free flour to make a nice, glossy sauce.  I use my No.1 All-Purpose Flour , which is excellent for making any kind of gravy, in p...

This teriyaki salmon recipe is one of my "quick and easy" dishes.  In the time it takes you to steam some rice to go along with it, you will have your teriyaki sauce made and your salmon broiled. Teriyaki Salmon Recipe In a small bowl, whisk together: 1 Tbsp +1 tsp gluten-free tamari 1 tsp rice vinegar 2 tsp sugar 1 Tbsp kirin (rice wine) When the sugar is mostly dissolved, take a taste of the sauce.  It should taste balanced out between the salty, sweet, and sour.  It will sort of "sing" on your tongue.  If it seems out of balance, try adjusting with the ingredient that's lacking.  When you have the sauce how you want it, add any or all of these optional items: 1 tsp sesame oil 1 tsp hot chili oil 1/2 clove minced garlic 1/2 tsp minced ginger or ginger powder Put the on a broiler-safe dish: 1 pound salmon fillet, cut into single portions I use my cast-iron grill .  Baste the salmon with some of the teriyaki sauce an...

One night my cooking partner was in charge of buying ingredients for dinner.  I was in the mood for salmon, and he got a very nice-looking piece.  Good salmon is plentiful here in the Pacific Northwest.  The thing is, we eat salmon a lot.  We have our standard ways of cooking it, like this Salmon Paprika  recipe that I do pretty often.  This time I wanted something really different.  After a quick search on one of my favorite food blogs, No Recipes , I found this recipe for Slow-Roasted Salmon .  I took the idea and modified it on a whim. Here's the concept: cook your salmon at a very low heat.  This way, you avoid over-cooking it and you get a really tender piece of fish. Simple, eh?  Why didn't I think of that?!  I have struggled with cooking salmon on a really hot flame and pulling it off at that moment of complete perfection.  With the slow cooking technique, there's no risk in ending up with a dry, chewy piece of fish....

Portland has been unusually dry this summer.  For weeks I've been dreading the day the beautiful weather would end.  It's been one of those eternal summers that makes me feel like warm, beautiful weather would be my privilege forever.  Now I see that tomorrow it's going to rain, and I'm surprisingly happy about it.  Endless summer takes its toll: the ground is dry and hard, there have been wild fires all over the state, and the air is thick with smoky haze.  It's time for this state and this city to get renewed.  The coming week of rain will be like a spa vacation for Oregon. Today was probably my last big harvest day at my garden.  I finally had to rip up the last of the sunflowers and the squash plant that kept on giving like it would never die.  I picked some carrots, and the ones left behind will be happy about the rain when it comes.  I still have lots of tomatoes on the vine, and I picked those that looked full-size.  I have...

This gluten-free beer makes the top of my list .  Green's Tripel Blonde Ale is a Belgian-style ale that has more complexity than any other three beers put together.  It's fruity, yet dry, with zero sugars.  It's light, but with a bitter undertone that balances out the fruity nose.  It has a beautiful profile, but none of the single ingredients comes forward more than the others.  Made from millet, buckwheat, rice, sorghum, and hops, this beer stands out from the small crowd of gluten-free beers available with its interesting complexity.  It goes well on its own or pairs brilliantly with any number of foods, from imported goat cheese to hot dogs. The Green's Tripel Blonde is hands down my favorite gluten-free beer.  I mean, look at that head!  I actually had to wait several minutes before I could pour the whole glass it was so foamy on top.  Beautiful.

It's that time of year again. It's tomato season. This is the eight pounds of tomatoes I picked yesterday. I'd love to give you some new tips on storing your tomatoes, but honestly I'm using the methods I told you about last year.  They are very good, and very easy.  Read about them in my post What to do with all those Tomatoes. And those jars in the background?  That's sourdough starter.  I'm excited - I haven't used it yet.  I'll let you know how that comes out. I'm thinking about making a marinara sauce today.  What are you doing with all your tomatoes?

Green's Endeavor Dubbel Dark Ale is one of my favorite gluten-free beers.  I rated it #2 among all gluten-free beers on my Beer Guide .   Despite its deep, rich dark color, this beer is not like a stout or a porter.  It takes its flavor profile from its Belgian roots, offering a fruity contrast to the roasted gluten-free malt flavor that is surprisingly light and refreshing.   The Green's US website  describes the beer as: In the classic dubbel fashion, a hint of dark-sugar and toffee flavor; and a traditional Belgian yeast bouquet. I have to agree with this description.  The beer is actually very dry - it has zero sugars - but it has a toffee flavor.  That fruity, floral, sweet nose makes it a very unusual and sophisticated beer, but this is a drink that does not always pair well with food, which is possibly why it doesn't make my #1 ranking.  Here are some suggestions for pairings with this beer: - A nice charcuterie plate - Salmon ...

Daura is one of my favorite gluten-free beers.  It's in my top three in my Beer Guide .  Why?  Because it tastes like beer. I didn't miss much when I went gluten-free.  I felt so good, I couldn't wait to rid gluten from my life forever.  There was one little thing, though, that I couldn't get from the gluten-free lifestyle, and that was beer.  Way back in 2005 when I swore off gluten for good, the GF beer selection at the grocery store didn't have much to offer.  Eventually there was Redbridge, which filled a function.  But something was missing. Before I went gluten-free, I loved a good stout.  Why stouts?  I think it was the roasted barley flavor that got me.  So rich and creamy, that barley malt just spoke to me in a way the hoppy ales never did.  I was just starting to get over this loss of barley malt flavor, just starting to forget what it even tasted like after five years, when Daura came onto the scene. I tr...

One of the only things that I missed after going gluten-free was beer.  Just a few years ago when I quit gluten for good, there wasn't much to choose from as far as gluten-free beer was concerned.  Well, we've come a long way, baby.  Here's a list of all the gluten-free beers, from best to worst according to my personal preference. I'll list only beers that are commercially available in the Portland area, and most of them will be available beyond.  (Note that Deschutes gluten-free beer is only available at their brewery locations and isn't included on this list.  I've done a number of posts on it, so search "Deschutes" on this site for more information about it.)  I'll link to posts that I've written for more in-depth reviews.  I'll also make this page a tab at the top of my blog for easy access. #1 Green's Quest Trippel Blonde Ale - A complex Belgian ale #2 Green's Endeavor Dubbel Dark Ale - A fruity dark Belgian ale #3 ...