Also known as lazy snickerdoodles, because the cinnamon is right in the dough instead of you having to roll them in cinnamon and sugar. I just kind of made this up after googling recipes and looking at common trends in them, and this actually makes a very good general cookie dough if you take out the cinnamon and sub in chocolate chips or oatmeal or whatever else you might want in a cookie.
Ingredients:
1 tbsp ground flax seed + 3 tbsp water (mix in small bowl and set aside - this is sometimes referred to as a "flax egg" and is taking the place of both egg and xanthan or guar gum here)
1/4 cup grapeseed oil
70 grams brown sugar (about 1/3 cup)
105 grams brown rice flour (about 3/4 cup)
35 grams cornstarch (about 1/4 cup)
1 tsp baking powder
Directions:
Mix together oil and sugar, then mix in flax mixture. Mix in dry ingredients. Form dough into a ball (it's actually the right texture to do that!) and chill for 1 hour. Chilling is very important so that your cookies don't spread too much. Shape into balls and bake at 350 F for 10-12 minutes. Makes 10 regular or 20 small cookies.
Monday, August 22, 2011
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Greek Pasta Salad
Okay, I have some great posts coming up, including one about my favorite gluten free Facebook group and some book and blog and bread recommendations, but I have been too busy to spend a decent amount of time on them. They'll be done soon, though! In the meantime, please enjoy some Greek pasta salad.
Ingredients:
Chopped cucumbers
Chopped tomatoes (or halved cherry or grape tomatoes)
Chopped bell peppers (any color, or a mixture of colors)
Diced onion (any color, but I like yellow)
Green and/or Kalamata olives, sliced or whole
Crumbled Feta cheese (leave this out if you're doing dairy free)
Cooked, rinsed, and cooled gluten free pasta (small shapes like shells work best, and you can leave this out if you want just a regular Greek salad or you're cooking for someone else and you don't want to buy special ingredients)
White wine vinegar
Extra virgin olive oil
Mix everything together in a large salad bowl and toss with oil and vinegar. I use about 3 parts vinegar to one part oil, but many people prefer 2 parts oil to one part vinegar. You can mix the oil and vinegar together beforehand and see what ratio tastes best to you. This will keep in the fridge for several days without since there are no greens in it to get soggy.
Ingredients:
Chopped cucumbers
Chopped tomatoes (or halved cherry or grape tomatoes)
Chopped bell peppers (any color, or a mixture of colors)
Diced onion (any color, but I like yellow)
Green and/or Kalamata olives, sliced or whole
Crumbled Feta cheese (leave this out if you're doing dairy free)
Cooked, rinsed, and cooled gluten free pasta (small shapes like shells work best, and you can leave this out if you want just a regular Greek salad or you're cooking for someone else and you don't want to buy special ingredients)
White wine vinegar
Extra virgin olive oil
Mix everything together in a large salad bowl and toss with oil and vinegar. I use about 3 parts vinegar to one part oil, but many people prefer 2 parts oil to one part vinegar. You can mix the oil and vinegar together beforehand and see what ratio tastes best to you. This will keep in the fridge for several days without since there are no greens in it to get soggy.
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Buying gluten free pasta
It turns out that one of the easiest gluten free products to find is pasta. Later in the summer, I'm going to work on some homemade gluten free pasta, but for now I'm going tell you about the store bought brands I like. I'm also going to tell you the things I love about buying gluten free pasta:
1. The price difference between gluten free and regular pasta is not as enormous as it is for some other products, like bread. Pasta generally comes in 12-16 oz packages, and I've found the prices to vary from $1.66 to $4.99 a package. The more expensive ones are usually brands with quinoa in them, since quinoa is more expensive (but delicious and very healthy) grain.
2. I have not tried a brand of gluten free pasta that I don't like. It's apparently much easier to make a good GF pasta than it is to make a good GF commercial bread.
3. Whole grain GF pasta tastes better than whole wheat pasta. This is a matter of opinion, of course, but I really like the fact that I actually enjoy brown rice pasta better than the alternative that I can no longer have.
Now, here are the brands I've tried. Many of these products are available on amazon if you live in the US or the UK or another country where amazon has online groceries (unfortunately, they don't in Canada).
1. Tinkyada http://www.tinkyada.com/
Tinkyada is probably what you should try first if you are new to gluten free cooking, because it is very hard to cook it wrong. Some gluten free pastas are very sensitive to overcooking, but Tinkyada is not. Tinkyayda has both brown and white rice pastas, and it come in a large variety of shapes, including lasagne, giant shells, little shells, fusilli, spirals, vegetable spirals, spaghetti, spinach spaghetti, penne, linguine, elbows, and little dreams, which are fun little shapes for kids (of all ages).
2. Gogo Quinoa http://www.gogoquinoa.com/products-quinoa-range.htm#5
These are rice and quinoa pastas. The are on the more expensive end, but they are very nutritious and I think they are one of the best tasting GF pastas out there. They seem to be hard to find in stores and they come in a few different shapes, but they're worth trying if you spot them somewhere.
3. President's Choice Organic Brown Rice Pasta http://tinyurl.com/6jhbvlx
This is a store brand found in Superstore and Loblaws here in Canada. It seems to only come in fusilli and spaghetti, but it's as good as the name brand stuff and also a bit less expensive. And organic.
4. Rizopia http://www.rizopia.com/
This is probably what I use most often. It seems to be sold everywhere, and I've seen it for as low as $1.66/package. It has almost as many different varieties as Tinkyada. It is a bit more sensitive to overcooking, so make sure you stir often test for doneness.
5. Mrs. Leeper's http://mrsleepers.com/products.html
Mrs. Leeper's makes both rice and corn pastas. I like the rice pasta better, but the corn is great for people who can't have or don't like rice pastas. The corn pasta is also very bright and colorful.
6. Orgran http://www.orgran.com/products
Orgran has a good range of pastas, including multigrain pastas made with different combinations of rice, corn, buckwheat, quinoa, millet, and amaranth. They also have some good vegetable pastas and fun animal shaped pastas for kids.
7. Schar http://www.schaer.com/en/gluten-free-products/pasta/
Schar is an Italian brand with pasta made from a combination of corn flour, rice flour, and pea protein. It has a good variety of shapes, including anellini (tiny rings).
8. Asian noodles
If you live near an Asian grocery store, you may find a wide variety of inexpensive gluten free noodles there. Asian noodles tend to be more delicate, so they may not hold up well in all of your pasta recipes, but they are great in soups, pasta salads, spring rolls, and on their own as a side dish. I've found all sorts of rice, buckwheat, millet, and bean based noodles at Asian grocery stores.
9. Spaghetti squash
If you're interested in a nutritious and entirely grain free pasta substitute, try spaghetti squash. You simply bake it or boil it until soft, then scoop out the flesh, which look like long stringy spaghetti noodles. Then it can be used in any of your favorite pasta dishes.
One final note about cooking gluten free pasta: It often needs to be rinsed for applications where you might not normally rinse wheat pasta. The cooking water will be very starchy by the end, and if you go to drain it and you find yourself with a clump of stuck-together pasta covered in white foam, rinse it under warm water while swirling it around with your hand to break it up a bit.
1. The price difference between gluten free and regular pasta is not as enormous as it is for some other products, like bread. Pasta generally comes in 12-16 oz packages, and I've found the prices to vary from $1.66 to $4.99 a package. The more expensive ones are usually brands with quinoa in them, since quinoa is more expensive (but delicious and very healthy) grain.
2. I have not tried a brand of gluten free pasta that I don't like. It's apparently much easier to make a good GF pasta than it is to make a good GF commercial bread.
3. Whole grain GF pasta tastes better than whole wheat pasta. This is a matter of opinion, of course, but I really like the fact that I actually enjoy brown rice pasta better than the alternative that I can no longer have.
Now, here are the brands I've tried. Many of these products are available on amazon if you live in the US or the UK or another country where amazon has online groceries (unfortunately, they don't in Canada).
1. Tinkyada http://www.tinkyada.com/
Tinkyada is probably what you should try first if you are new to gluten free cooking, because it is very hard to cook it wrong. Some gluten free pastas are very sensitive to overcooking, but Tinkyada is not. Tinkyayda has both brown and white rice pastas, and it come in a large variety of shapes, including lasagne, giant shells, little shells, fusilli, spirals, vegetable spirals, spaghetti, spinach spaghetti, penne, linguine, elbows, and little dreams, which are fun little shapes for kids (of all ages).
2. Gogo Quinoa http://www.gogoquinoa.com/products-quinoa-range.htm#5
These are rice and quinoa pastas. The are on the more expensive end, but they are very nutritious and I think they are one of the best tasting GF pastas out there. They seem to be hard to find in stores and they come in a few different shapes, but they're worth trying if you spot them somewhere.
3. President's Choice Organic Brown Rice Pasta http://tinyurl.com/6jhbvlx
This is a store brand found in Superstore and Loblaws here in Canada. It seems to only come in fusilli and spaghetti, but it's as good as the name brand stuff and also a bit less expensive. And organic.
4. Rizopia http://www.rizopia.com/
This is probably what I use most often. It seems to be sold everywhere, and I've seen it for as low as $1.66/package. It has almost as many different varieties as Tinkyada. It is a bit more sensitive to overcooking, so make sure you stir often test for doneness.
5. Mrs. Leeper's http://mrsleepers.com/products.html
Mrs. Leeper's makes both rice and corn pastas. I like the rice pasta better, but the corn is great for people who can't have or don't like rice pastas. The corn pasta is also very bright and colorful.
6. Orgran http://www.orgran.com/products
Orgran has a good range of pastas, including multigrain pastas made with different combinations of rice, corn, buckwheat, quinoa, millet, and amaranth. They also have some good vegetable pastas and fun animal shaped pastas for kids.
7. Schar http://www.schaer.com/en/gluten-free-products/pasta/
Schar is an Italian brand with pasta made from a combination of corn flour, rice flour, and pea protein. It has a good variety of shapes, including anellini (tiny rings).
8. Asian noodles
If you live near an Asian grocery store, you may find a wide variety of inexpensive gluten free noodles there. Asian noodles tend to be more delicate, so they may not hold up well in all of your pasta recipes, but they are great in soups, pasta salads, spring rolls, and on their own as a side dish. I've found all sorts of rice, buckwheat, millet, and bean based noodles at Asian grocery stores.
9. Spaghetti squash
If you're interested in a nutritious and entirely grain free pasta substitute, try spaghetti squash. You simply bake it or boil it until soft, then scoop out the flesh, which look like long stringy spaghetti noodles. Then it can be used in any of your favorite pasta dishes.
One final note about cooking gluten free pasta: It often needs to be rinsed for applications where you might not normally rinse wheat pasta. The cooking water will be very starchy by the end, and if you go to drain it and you find yourself with a clump of stuck-together pasta covered in white foam, rinse it under warm water while swirling it around with your hand to break it up a bit.
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