Quick Blueberry Pie

Posted by Michele at 1:50 PM 0 comments

Okay, so this one is only semi-homemade, since I bought the crust, but I have yet to make a tastes-like-the-real-thing pie crust that is gluten free, so until I do, Whole Foods can have my money!

1 (Whole Foods) deep dish, gluten free pie shell (these are frozen)


For the filling:
2 lbs frozen blue berries
1 cup water
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch


For the crumb topping:
1/3 cup almond flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/3 box gluten free graham crackers (about 8 crackers)
5tbsp butter


1. Heat the oven to 350.  Set the pie shell out at room temp while you assemble the pie.

2. Over high heat, bring the berries, water, and sugar to a boil, stirring often.  As the berries though and cook, they will get mushy. About 10 minutes into the boiling, use a potato masher and mash twice (you still want some whole berries).

3.  Add the corn starch and whisk to combine, then return to using a spoon as you move the filling from the heat.

4.  Pour the filling into the pie shell.

5.  In a food processor, pulse all the crumb ingredients on low until a crumbly texture is reached.  Spoon the crumbs all over the top of the pie.

6.  Bake at 350 for 50 minutes.  Sit at room temperature until serving.  Refridgerate after 8 hours (or the first serving) whichever comes first, with whipped cream if you like!  Or, heat the pie up and top with a dollop of ice cream.

Dairy Free, Gluten Free No-Bake Pumpkin Pie

Posted by Michele at 2:43 PM 0 comments

For the crust:
With your fingers, mix together: 1 box (8oz) of GF/DF graham crackers, crushed; 1 cup ground hazelnuts (or hazelnut flour), and 4 tbsp dairy free butter/margarine.  One tablespoon at a time, add 2 tbsp hazelnut milk, working it into the dough.  Press into a pie pan and bake for 8 minutes at 350 degrees.  Remove from heat and let sit on counter while you prepare the filling


For the filling:
Over medium heat, whisk together 1 can (13.5oz) coconut milk, 2 eggs, 1 tbsp maple syrup, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice, and 2 tbsp bourbon (alternatively, you could use 2 tbsp vanilla), whisking well and cooking for 10 minutes.  Add 2 tbsp arrowroot, continuing to whisk for one minute and cook.  Add an additional 2 tbsp arrowroot and whisk another minute.  Whisk in 1 can (15oz) pureed pumpkin and an additional 2 tbsp arrowroot.  Remove from heat and spoon into your crust, which has been sitting for at least 15 minutes (up to 30 minutes).

Place the completed pie in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours, or until thoroughly chilled (preferably overnight).

Serve with dairy free whipped cream or dairy free ice cream for a fall smash! :)

Peppermint Mocha

Posted by Michele at 8:05 AM 0 comments

While I was lamenting a $5 coffee habit, my husband suggested making my own peppermint mocha, which I did, and it's dairy free!  The only thing it is missing is the froth and froam, which is a casualty of the non-dairy milk, but the taste- it's spot on!

Peppermint Mocha
(makes 4 servings @ 85cal each)

Make 6 cups of coffee in your pot.  Once it has finished, break up 1 peppermint candy stick and toss it in to melt.

While the coffee is making, heat 2 cups non-dairy milk (I used vanilla flaxseed milk and it is AWESOME).  Whisk it as it is heating to keep it from scorching.  Pour in the coffee (once the peppermint has melted) and continue to whisk. 

Whisk is 2 tbsp hot cocoa powder (I used Ghirardelli Double Chocolate) and 4 sugar cubes (or 4tsp if you dont have cubes).

Pour the mixture back into your coffee pot to keep it warm as you nurse a mug on warm mornings.  You can also chill it and then heat it back up for up to a day (otherwise, it gets that day-old-coffee taste).

This might just be my new go-to on these cold mornings ahead!

My first of several cups...

Vegan, Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies (banana free)

Posted by Michele at 2:45 PM 0 comments

Cream together: 1/2 cup vegan butter, 1/2 cup coconut oil, and 1/2 cup applesauce, 1 tsp vanilla  with 3/4 cup brown sugar and 3/4 cup sugar, and mix until smooth.

In another bowl, mix together 1/3 cup almond flour, 1/3 cup hazelnut flour, 1/3 cup coconut flour, and 1 1/3 cup white rice flour, and 1/3 cup arrowroot flour with 1 tsp baking soda and 1/2 tsp salt.

Add flour mixture to your wet ingredients and mix until well combined.

Add a 12oz bag of vegan chocolate chips and continue to mix until well combined.

Drop by tbsp on a cookie sheet and bake at 375 for 9 minutes.

Remove from oven and flatten with a fork; cool for 2 minutes, then remove to a cooling rack or wax paper to cool for 5-10 minutes.

These are a big thicker than the original recipe, but are still moist (and delicious!)

Vegan, Gluten Free Goldfish Crackers

Posted by Michele at 2:33 PM 0 comments

A huge shout out of thanks to Chef Chloe, who originally crafted the vegan version of this recipe.  I make my own version of gluten free all purpose flour, but you could use one of the ready made versions.  Bob's Red Mill makes one that I've heard is good; I've also heard that the King Arthur's version works well.  Or, you can make your own!  (I have a lot of GF flours to work with, so mine is quite a 'whole grain' version, LOL)

The texture is not like a Pepperidge Farm Goldfish Cracker; it has more of a crumbly texture.  That being said, and even though the taste isn't perfect, Peter and I couldnt stop eating them.  (The kids?  They havent fallen in love with them like we have, but it's just one batch, so I'll keep working on it!).  From a shape standpoint, mine look more like spades, thanks to my little cookie cutters.

Vegan, Gluten Free "Goldfish" Crackers

In a food processor, mix together:
1 cup gluten free flour, tbsp nutritional yeast flakes (I use KAL), 4 shakes of minced onion (I'm guessing 1tbsp???), 1/4tsp garlic powder, 1/8tsp tumeric, 1tsp salt, 1/2tsp black pepper.

Pulse in, until crumbly:
5tbsp vegan butter (I use soy-free Earth Balance)

Add in:
3tbsp cold water

Pulse until dough forms.  Put the dough in the center of wax paper and use your hand to flatten it to an eighth of an inch or so. Cut out the shakes and place on a greased baking sheet.  Bake at 375 for 9 minutes.  You dont want the crackers to brown; they will be a light orange and have a sweet, buttery, cheesy, nutty flavor.

Butternut Squash Risotto

Posted by Michele at 7:45 PM 0 comments

Roast 1 small butternut squash (peel and cube, and toss it with 1tbsp olive oil) with 4 green cardamom pods at 425 degrees for 15 minutes.  Stir and toss, then roast another 15 minutes or until the butternut squash is soft.  In a large mixing bowl, add the squash (throw away the cardamom pods) and blend with 3/4 cup sunflower milk until it is a smooth puree.  Set aside.

Heat 4 cups veggie broth.  Remove 1 cup and toss in a pinch of saffron. Let this sit while you continue.

Over medium heat, heat 1.5tbsp olive oil. When hot, add 1/2 cup diced shallots.  Cook for 3 minutes, stirring constantly.  Add 1 cup sushi or arborrio rice, coating well and cooking for 3 minutes.  Pour in 1/2 cup white wine (vignoles works really well) and stir as it dissolves. Add in the removed cup of broth with saffron, stirring well.  Cook until the rice absorbs the liquid and add in a cup of broth, cooking until it absorbs and repeating.  Prior to adding the last cup of broth, stir in the squash puree and lower the heat to low. 

The Mini DG stirring and checking if it's time to add more broth

Once the liquid has absorbed, add your last bit of broth, stirring well and cooking over low heat until the liquid has been completely absorbed by the rice.  The rice should be soft and plump; if not, add in 1/4 cup of water or broth and cook until absorbed (checking for doneness).

The butternut squash gives you the richness of butter and cheese, as well as a slightly sweet, nutty flavor.  All in all it was a pretty delicious fall dish!

Gluten Free Dairy Free Chocolate Chip Pancakes

Posted by Michele at 8:40 AM 0 comments

I haven't veganized these yet and, to be fair, I followed the directions from the King Arthur Flour mix, so to say these are only okay is to say that I haven't messed with them enough!  Our local Whole Foods seemed to be having a crazy sell on GF products so I picked up quite a few to try and tweak... We shall see...

Mix together on low:
1 egg, 2tbsp omega 3 oil (canola/sunflower/soybean blend), and 1 cup unsweetened almond milk.

Add in:
1 1/3 cup KA GF flour.

Mix until no lumps remain, then, on 'stir', add in:
1/3 cup vegan dark chocolate mini chunks.

Let the batter sit while you heat the griddle to 350 (medium).  (The box says 10 minutes; 5 minutes was more than sufficient).  Spray with cooking spray, if need be, and laddle on the pancakes, cooking on the first side for approximately 3 minutes before flipping.

Top these with real maple syrup and enjoy.

---

These pancakes look fluffy, so you think they are light, but in reality, they are dense.  My 3 year old son, who usually eats more than my husband when it comes to pancakes, only had three and a half mini ones. (For comparison, I usually make this much for my regular CCPs and the entire batch is eaten; we're lucky if I have one or two to send to work with Peter for a snack.  This batch has about 7 pancakes, 2" or so diameter, left over.)