Gluten-free Easter Brunch

Here is a menu that is easy to make ahead so you can enjoy the Easter festivities!  Make the Frittata in advance by blending all the ingredients and placing them in the springform pan in the refrigerator prior to baking.  Pop in the oven about an hour before you are serving brunch.   The gluten-free Raspberry Scones can be made the day before as can the Citrus Brunch Cake.  The Quinoa Mango Avocado Salad is a breezy recipe that can be make in under 20 minutes.  Happy Easter and Happy Gluten-free Entertaining!

Baked Asparagus Red Pepper Frittata

Gluten-free

Serves 8

2 tablespoons olive oil

¾ cup red bell peppers, finely chopped, or ¾ cup tomatoes, finely chopped — juice drained off

¾ cup onion, finely chopped

5 spears asparagus, washed, trimmed and sliced into ½ in. pieces

1 garlic clove, minced

5 large eggs or 5 egg whites and 2 whole eggs, beaten

1 cup ricotta cheese or low-fat cottage cheese

1/3 cup Elizabeth’s Flour Blend (recipe here) or 1/3 cup The Pure Pantry Gluten-free All-Purpose Baking Mix

1 tablespoon fresh basil

1 10 oz pkg. frozen chopped spinach, thawed, squeezed dry

1 cup feta cheese, crumbled

½ t. sea salt

½ t. pepper

Spray 9 inch spring form pan with cooking spray.  Preheat oven to 350˚ F.  Place olive oil to large skillet and heat over medium heat.  Add red bell pepper, onion, asparagus and garlic. Sauté until tender for about 2 minutes.  Remove from heat, drain any excess liquid and cool.  In a mixing bowl combine beaten eggs, ricotta and baking mix until well blended.  Add basil, chopped spinach, salt and pepper, cooked vegetables and crumbled feta cheese.

Pour mixture into prepared spring form pan, place pan on baking sheet.  Baking for 45-50 minutes.  Let cool 5 minutes before cutting.

Quinoa Mango Avocado Salad

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups chicken stock (or vegetable stock for vegan option)

¾ cup quinoa

1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic

½ teaspoon sea salt

¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1 ½ teaspoon curry powder

1 mango – peeled, seeded and half of it diced, the other half sliced for garnish

3 green onions, chopped

½ cup slivered almonds, lightly toasted

1 avocado, sliced for garnish

Instructions:

Place chicken stock, quinoa, garlic, salt and pepper and bring to boil over high heat.  Reduce heat to a simmer, cover and cook until all water is absorbed, about 10-15 minutes.

Let quinoa cool.  Place cooked quinoa in a medium serving bowl and stir in curry powder, mango and green onions.  Sprinkle with toasted almonds, garnish with mango slices and avocado slices and serve.

Gluten-free Raspberry Scones

Gluten-free/Dairy-free

Recipe from “Fresh from Elizabeth’s Kitchen: Gluten-free & Allergy-free Recipes”

Makes 8-10 scones

Ingredients:

2 cups Elizabeth’s Gluten-free Flour Blend  (cookbook recipe) plus 2 tsp. baking powder

OR 2 cups All Purpose Gluten-free Baking Mix from The Pure Pantry

½ cup millet flour or almond flour

½ cup butter, chilled, or coconut oil, chilled

2 eggs or egg replacer

2 tablespoons agave nectar, preferably Nature’s Agave Amber variety

¾ cup fresh raspberries

½ cup So-delicious Coconut Milk Creamer (dairy-free) or regular cream

Raw sugar for topping (optional)

Instructions:

Preheat over to 375˚F.  Grease cookie sheet and lightly dust with baking mix or rice flour.

In a large bowl add the baking mix (add baking powder if using Elizabeth’s Flour Blend) and almond or millet flour.

Cut butter or coconut oil into small pieces with knife.  Add to flour mixture.  Blend butter with a fork or your fingers until it resembles course meal.  Add eggs (or egg replacer) and agave nectar, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened.  Wash and drain fresh raspberries.  Fold in raspberries. Dough will be sticky.

Lightly dust a work surface and hands with rice flour or baking mix. Turn dough out onto work surface.  Knead lightly and pat dough into an 8 inch circle shape and place on parchment paper on a baking sheet.  Score top of circle with knife, creating 10 wedges but not cutting all the way through dough.  Or, using a large spoon drop approximately ¼ cup dough onto greased cookie sheet, 3 inches apart.

Place coconut milk creamer or regular cream in small bowl.  Using a pastry brush, generously brush cream on top of scones.  Sprinkle with raw sugar.  Bake for 25 minutes or until scones are golden brown.  Cool completely.  If you created the 8 inch circle, cut into 10 scones and serve.

 

Easter Citrus Brunch Cake with Lemon Strawberry Glaze

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

½ cup coconut oil at room temperature (or non-hydrogenated shortening)

1 cup organic sugar

2 eggs (or equivalent egg replacer)

2 tablespoons honey (or agave nectar)

1 t. vanilla

1 T. lemon zest

1 T. orange zest

2 cups Elizabeth’s Gluten-free Flour Blend (cookbook recipe)  or organic All Purpose Baking mix from The Pure Pantry

1 t. baking powder

3/4 cup water

Preheat oven to 350˚F.

In a large mixing bowl, cream coconut oil  and sugar in electric mixer.  Add eggs (or egg replacer), one at a time, mixing until well blended.  Add honey or agave nectar and vanilla.

With fine grater, grate the yellow skin of a lemon until you have 1 tablespoon.  Add lemon zest to mixing bowl.   Grate the skin or an orange until you have 1 tablespoon.  Add orange zest and blend in both citrus zests.

With mixer on low setting, add baking mix and baking powder Blend until combined. Add water and blend until smooth but do not over mix.   Pour into  greased 4 cup (small) bundt pan or 10 inch cake pan for 35 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.   Cool.  Turn out onto plate.  Pour Lemon Strawberry Glaze on top and garnish with fresh strawberries.

Lemon Strawberry Glaze

½ cup lemon juice

½ cup agave nectar

1 tablespoon strawberry jam

1 T. lemon zest

1 cup powdered sugar

Instructions:

Stir together lemon juice and agave in medium mixing bowl.    Add lemon zest and strawberry jam and whisk to combine.  Sift in powdered sugar and blend together.   Pour glaze over cake.

What is Easter without beautiful flowers?   Here are a couple flower arrangement ideas.  The first one  is from my friend Jennifer Cole of Jennifer Cole Florals. She has an amazing knack for designing creative and gorgeous arrangements for weddings, showers, events and home entertaining.   I love the bright poppies and the use of star jasmine which will bring a spring time fragrance to the whole room.  Check out her blog at: http://jennifercoleflorals.com/blog/.

Photo courtesy of Jennifer Cole Florals

 

This is also a great Easter table idea from Jenny Steffens Hobick’s blog: http://jennysteffens.blogspot.com/.  I love the use of live potted daffodils and easter eggs.  Jenny has fabulous entertaining ideas, although she is not a gluten-free cook, I get a lot of inspiration from her.   Photo from Jenny Steffen’s blog.

 

 

Product Review from Food Review 101

A while back, we reviewed The Pure Pantry company and their line of gluten-free baking mixes that you actually couldn’t even tell were gluten-free in the first place, which is why we decided to take a look at the other products in their line of gluten-free goodies. “Elizabeth Kaplan, founder and CEO of The Pure Pantry, is a trained teacher and chef. Her appreciation and passion for fine organic foods began at a young age…when Elizabeth was diagnosed with Celiac Disease in 2002, she was disappointed in the lack of healthy, good tasting, gluten-free products on the market”, which is why she decided to create her own line of gluten-free products that would not only satisfy her, but the masses as well. For this review, we’ll be looking at The Pure Pantry’s line of gluten-free baking mixes–Buckwheat Flax Pancake and Baking Mix, Old Fashioned Pancake and Baking Mix, Whole Grain Dark Chocolate Cake Mix, and their Organic All-Purpose Baking Mix–that we weren’t able to touch on in our first review of The Pure Pantry. For more information on The Pure Pantry, be sure to head to their very informative and aesthetically pleasing web-site. Also, don’t forget to check out the Food Review 101 Facebook page.

If you’ve read our previous reviews of The Pure Pantry, then you know that they have some pretty high standards to live up to, which is why we were really excited to write up our second review on their line of gluten-free baking mixes. The first mix we tried out was the Buckwheat Flax Pancake and Baking Mix, and we actually used the recipe on the back of the package to help guide us to making some really great pancakes. After we combined our mix, egg, milk, and some cooking oil, we headed for the hot stove to make up some gluten-free pancakes. Our pancakes actually turned out quite fluffy and very tasty, and if anyone would be hard-pressed to actually pick these gluten-free pancakes out of a pancake line-up. The best thing about these mixes though, is that you can actually use it for other recipes as well. The package offers up other recipes for waffles, crepes, and muffins, but if those aren’t enough for you, then head to the Pure Pantry web-site for additional ideas. Next, we tried using the Whole Grain Dark Chocolate Cake Mix, but instead of making a daunting chocolate cake, we used the cupcake recipe instead. After we combined our cake mix, eggs, milk, vegetable oil, and hot water, we stuck it in the oven for 350F for 18 minutes. What came out of the oven was a very chocolaty and moist cupcake that would surely please anyone looking to get their chocolate fix. The texture was really great, oddly enough, but the cool thing about these cupcakes is that they’re made from a bunch of really cool flours– quinoa, brown rice, sorghum, and potato starch–that are a lot more beneficial than the standard flour found in other baking mixes. After we tried the first two mixes out, we headed for their Organic All Purpose Baking Mix, and followed their directions for making a gluten-free banana bread. After mixing and baking our bread, we were pleasantly surprised with the flavor and texture of this gluten-free bread. The flavor of this bread was nothing but pure banana, while the texture was soft and chewy like the banana bread we used to eat growing up. Lastly, we tried out the Organic Old Fashioned Pancake & Baking Mix, and this mix differed just a bit from the buckwheat and flax mix that we talked about first. This mix gave us a much more traditional pancake that a lot of people are more accustomed to, simply because it looked and tasted like a regular pancake that’s packed with gluten. For anyone searching to lower the amount of gluten in their diet, or anyone looking for a healthier pancake mix that will save them time in the morning, we highly recommend you give The Pure Pantry a try. Overall (4 out of 5).   Read More …

My favorite PICKS from Expo West

I just returned from four days at the Natural Products Expo. It is the largest natural foods show in the world. We had a beautiful booth and received fabulous feedback on our products. Exhibiting at one of these shows requires super-hero strength and stamina! From setting up the booth, to running it, to meeting with potential buyers, doing book signings and party hopping in the evenings, I almost had to crawl to my car to drive home! Luckily there were tons of healthy, gluten-free and dairy-free foods all around us to fuel our bodies for the marathon event. I had a little bit of time to talk to some of the vendors and find out what is hot and what is not!

So Delicious Almond Milk and Coconut Milk – So Delicious brings joy to being dairy free. I am so thankful for all of the products this company makes because I find being dairy free is even harder than being gluten-free. I love their new Almond Milk Plus, it is really tasty and packed with extra protein! The new Almond Milk Frozen Desserts (ice cream, chocolate covered almond ice cream bars) were all fabulous. www.turtlemountain.com

Alter Eco – love their products and their mission. Came home and made a Quinoa Tabouli salad with their Pearl Quinoa. The pearl quinoa is quite amazing: very light and fluffy. I also LOVE their Dark Chocolate Quinoa Bar – like a Nestles crunch bar but WAY better. www.altereco-usa.com

Barlean’s Omega Swirls – I love the Omega Swirls, especially the Pina Colada. You would never know you are eating fish oil! These products are fantastic for kids – my children actually beg me to give them some! www.barleans.com

Mamma Chia – OMG! Love all of Mamma Chia’s drinks. They are so amazing and really kept our team fueled during Expo. I had at least two a day. My ultimate favorite is the Mango-Coconut. www.mammachia.com

Giddy Up N Go Granola – gluten-free, vegan and organic! A new company founded by two mom’s from my old stomping grounds, Lafayette, California. Awesome gluten-free and organic granola sweetened with agave nectar. YUM! www.thoughtfulfood.net
Le Grand Pestos – is it okay to eat pesto with a spoon? Well I have been and wow, I am trying to find the words to describe how delicious the Nuts and Cheese Pesto sauce is….try it, you’ll also be speechless! This is a Canadian product and I hope to see it soon in my nearest store! www.maisonlegrand.com

Bragg’s new Organic Greek Olive Oil — this olive oil has an amazing flavor. I love it! Used it in my Quinoa Tabouli recipe with lemon juice. Great for salads with just a little vinegar, sea salt and there you go!

 

Twelve Days of Christmas | Day 11 | Almond Wreaths

Makes 24 cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup butter or butter substitute

2 eggs

3 tablespoon rice milk or regular milk

1 teaspoon almond extract

1 package organic, gluten-free Sugar Cookie Mix from The Pure Pantry

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Cream butter or butter substitute in mixing bowl with electric mixer.  Add eggs, milk and almond extract and blend on low speed.  Slowly add sugar cookie mix.   Continue mixing until dough in blended together. 

If using a cookie press, place portion of dough in cookie press and form wreath shaped cookies, one inch apart, on cookie sheet covered with parchment paper. 

If forming wreaths by hand, chill dough for 10 minutes.   Remove from refrigerator.  Using about 1 tablespoon dough, roll into 3 inch long rope.  Bring ends together to form a wreath.  Repeat to make remainder of cookies.

Bake cookies  for 10 minutes.  Remove from oven and dust with confectioner’s sugar.  Let cool completely before removing from cookie sheet.

 

Twelve Days of Christmas | Day 10 | Peppermint Ice Cream Sandwiches

Ingredients:

 ½ cup unsalted butter or Earth Balance butter substitute, room temperature

2 large organic eggs, or equivalent egg replacer

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 teaspoon of peppermint extract

1 package Sugar Cookie Mix from The Pure Pantry

¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 pint vanilla ice cream or Coconut Bliss Vanilla Ice Cream (dairy-free)

½ cup crushed gluten-free candy canes or crushed gluten-free peppermint candy

Instructions:

In a large bowl, cream the softened butter, using an electric mixer.  Add the eggs, vanilla and peppermint extracts.  Slowly incorporate the Sugar Cookie mix  and cocoa powder into the batter.  Scape the dough  from sides unti lwell incorporated.  Gather dough into 2 flattened discs, wrap the discs in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Roll out the chilled dough on a work surface, covered with rice flour or corn starch, to a 1/8” thickness.  Cut out circles, using a 3” round  scalloped cookie cutter.  Place the cookies on a parchment paper lined baking sheet, spaced several inches apart.  Bake for 10-12 minutes.  Transfer the cookies to a baking rack to cool completely.

Crush the peppermint candy in a plastic bag using a mallet or rolling pin. 

Remove vanilla ice cream from freezer.  Place ice cream in large mixing bowl.  Using a large fork, press half the peppermint candy into the ice cream.  Place bake in freezer until cookies are cooled.

Remove ice cream from freezer and let sit for about 5 mintes, until soft enough to spread but not too melted.  Spread about two tablespoons peppermint ice cream on one cookie and place other cookie on top to create a sandwhich.  Roll edges in crushed peppermint.  Place fnished sandwiches on a small cookie sheet in freezer for 15 minutes or until ready to serve.