Even when you've been gluten-free for years, every once and a while that craving for a wheat-y, gluten-y something comes along. I had mine this morning.
I wanted toast. I wanted toast NOW, and I wanted a big pat of Earth Balance non-dairy butter on it, too.
And yet, I didn't want go through the process of making bread [takes forever], and buying GF bread from the store entails a large sum of money, a large amount of packaging, and it often has sugar, oil, eggs, or dairy! Besides, even if I did want to get a GF vegan loaf of bread safely packaged in plastic [I don't trust the bakery; why would you put the GF and wheat bread side by side in the case?], the nearest health food store is 30 minutes away, and I can't drive.
So, I had to settle for something else, it might not perfectly fit the bill, but it was crunchy, I could have my earth balance, and also dress it up for a sorta-cinnamon-toast. This isn't a recipe, but instead my way of quickly dealing with the crunchy-chewy toast craving I get every once in a while. Here goes:
To start, take a brown rice or corn tortilla [I used brown rice- I'm going on a no-corn trial run, we think I may be allergic to that, too. Will the tirade of necessary deprivations ever stop?]. Anyway, broil the tortilla until crispy. Smear lots of Earth Balance non-dairy butter on top, which will melt [yum!], drizzle on some brown rice syrup, or other sweetener, and top it off with a large sprinkling of ground cinnamon. Add some raisins and/or nuts/seeds to your "toast", if desired. Eat hot and relish the crunch of the tortilla, the buttery goodness of the Earth Balance, the sweetness of the brown rice syrup, and the heat of the cinnamon.
May all your gluten-free endeavors end well,
VEGirl
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Cravings
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
The Wondrous Oat
[INCLUDES RECIPE UPDATE 1/30/10]
Ever since turning gluten-free, I haven't laid my lips on a single oat- due to the fact that most are contaminated with gluten during processing. It's was just one of those things, part of the spiel you gave the wheat-eating onlookers: "I can't eat wheat, oats, barley, or rye" [or spelt, triticale, etc]
Until now.
Oh, the wondrous oat- so delicious! I can't ever emember being a fan of them before going gluten-free. But of course, being deprived of something makes you want it even more, so when my mom showed me the Bob's Red Mill bag of certified gluten-free rolled oats, I started going on an oat frenzy. Here is what I'm done so far:
1. Eaten the oats plain
2. Oatmeal raisin cookies
3. Oatmeal
4. More oatmeal [man, that stuff is GOOD!]
5. Muesli
6. Granola- the recipe for today!
With my granola, there's no hassle of using the oven! Instead, you do everything on stove top and have your granola within 15 minutes. It's modeled so that you can use any nuts or seeds you please; I used a mixture of peanuts, cashews, walnuts, almonds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, and sesame seeds, and raisins for the dried fruit.
Unfortunately, there is no picture because the laptop I use to upload photos is on a three day trip- but I'll post it on Flickr and this post very soon. *UPDATE: It's here now*
3/4 c. your choice mixed nuts and seeds
1 c. certified gluten-free rolled oats [I use Bob's Red Mill]
1/4 c. your choice dried fruit, chopped as needed
1 teaspoon coconut oil
1 tablespoon brown rice syrup
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Heat a large skillet over low-medium heat. Dry [Without using any oil] toast the nuts and seeds, stirring frequently, until lightly browned and the seeds are popping out of their skins, as is the case with pumpkin seeds. Add the oats and continued toasting- stirring frequently- for another couple minutes.
Incorporate the dried fruit, then add the coconut oil to the pan- it doesn't matter if it's solidified or not, as it will melt anyway- and coat the granola. Allow the coconut oil to penetrate before coating the contents of the pan with the brown rice syrup, ground cinnamon and vanilla extract. Now stir the granola constantly, allowing it to get crispy. Once crispy, remove the granola from the pan to cool (or not- it's great warm).
Serve warm or cooled with non-dairy milk or as a satisfying snack. Store in an air-tight container.
Makes 2 cups of granola
Printable Recipe
Sunday, January 17, 2010
A Mystery
You walk into the kitchen, mouth crying out for something yummy. You spy some round balls on the counter, fresh from the freezer. Why, what are they? You tentatively take a bit, and experience a multitude of sensations...
I am hard put to categorize these, they are no-bake, but not necessarily raw, and they have an candy-like texture when chilled. With bits of pure, rich unsweetened chocolate, the mellowness of brown rice syrup, and the nice addition of sweet dried dates and raisins, it's also hard to categorize the taste of these no-bake balls. But don't let the mystery of these treats hinder you making them- give them a try!
Though the recipe calls for peanut butter, you can substitute your favorite nut butter depending on your taste preference or allergies. Also, I use oven dried leftover grits from straining homemade almond milk (like my Basic Almond Milk)- which is great for baking and replacing bread crumbs.
1/2 c. leftover grits from Basic Almond Milk, dried out in oven
8 pitted dates
1/4 c. raisins
3 tablespoons brown rice syrup
2 tablespoon peanut butter [or other nut butter]
1 tablespoon chopped 100% cacao unsweetened bakers chocolate
pinch salt
pinch ground cinnamon [optional]
Makes 12 balls
Printable Recipe
