Category Archives: Recipes

Slimy and Sickly (but still yummy) Seattle Gluten-Free Halloween Treats!

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Most of you may know I have a day job…well several day jobs to be exact. One of which is I manage marketing for a company who produces a fun kids drink called Crayola™ Color Coolerz®. Available at WalMart. You can visit their website (my company, maoStudios designed their site as well) at www.crayolacolorcoolerz.com.

I took some time over the last few days to make some spooky Halloween drinks and treats out of their Coolerz and thought I’d share. Here are the results!

Note: I believe Twizzlers have gluten, these were used just for decoration. If anyone knows of a Seattle gluten free alternative, let me know!

Pesto, Pear, Chicken Pizza with Quinoa Flour Crust (GF)

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Seattle Gluten-Free Pear and Pesto Pizza

Quinoa Flour Crust (GF) Recipe

1 Cup of Quinoa Flour
1/2 Cup of Nearly Normal Gluten-Free Flour Mix
3 Tbs Milk Powder
1/4 tsp Oregano
1/4 tsp Garlic Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
2 1/2 tsp Yeast
2 eggs
2 Tbs Olive Oil
1/2 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar
1/2 cup of warm water

Mix together dry ingredients and then wet ingredients in a separate bowl. Then blend the two together with a wooden spoon.

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Grease pizza pan with olive oil. Spoon dough onto pan and sprinkle Quinoa flour on top. Keep sprinkling Quinoa flour until you can press the pizza dough around the pan without it sticking to your fingers and so it’s circular. Use a roller to flatten out the dough evenly. Let pizza dough rise for 20 minutes. Bake pizza crust for 15 minutes, then take the crust out and put on toppings.

Note: I altered Jule’s Gluten-Free Recipe from her Nearly Normal Cooking for Gluten-Free Eating Cookbook. I find her flour to be too starchy and gummy, so I use 2 parts Quinoa flour and 1 parts of hers. If you are a Seattle gluten free foodie, Jules Gluten Free all purpose flour is a great way to bake delicious gluten free goodies.

Cibo Naturals Basil Pesto Sauce

Pesto, Pear, Gorgonzola, Chicken Toppings Recipe

1/2 pint of Cibo Naturals Basil Pesto Sauce
1 cooked Chicken breast, shredded
1/2 cup of chopped walnuts
1 Pear
2 Tbs of Gorgonzola Cheese
1/2 cup of shredded Mozzarella Cheese

Put on crust in order above and cook another 10-15 minutes until cheese is bubbly and pear is soft.

This pizza is so good, your husband will devour the whole thing. :)

Chicken Kabobs and Caprese Salad with Avocado

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Chicken Kabobs & Caprese Salad with Avocado

In my journey to attain better health, I’ve realized getting creative is what gets me there. This Seattle gluten free dinner is perfect!

Each night my fiance and I go through the ‘I don’t knows’ of what we should eat for dinner. Nothing sounds good….ever. So for a while we went out to eat a lot, which is a terribly expensive, not to mention unhealthy habit.

He and I require food to not only look delicious, but taste delicious in order for us to eat it. On top of that our meals have to be easy and quick to make because we run businesses all day long.

Chicken Kabobs

Marinate 2 chicken breasts in teriyaki sauce overnight. (Or buy Whole Foods’ chicken skewers, pre-marinated)
Put on skewers and barbeque!

Caprese Salad with Avocado (serves 2)

1 cup Fresh Basil (Whole)
1/2 Avocado (Sliced)
1 Large Fresh Mozzarella Ball (Sliced)
Balsamic Vinegar
Olive Oil

Put half a cup of basil on each plate, then half of the sliced mozzarella ball on top, garnish with avocado, balsamic vinegar, and olive oil.

Extra Veggies

I like raw veggies and fruit, so if I don’t feel there is enough on my plate I add celery, green beans, or grapes.

Gluten Free Crab & Sole Tacos with Guac & Mango Salsa

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Yum! It may look complicated but truly it’s one of the easiest Seattle gluten free meals I make. This dish takes about 10 minutes, if you buy mango salsa and fresh guac from Whole Foods. You can also sub in any white fish. I make this same dish with cod or halibut. Makes 5-6 tacos.

Recipe:
4 Sole Fillets
1/4 lbs of crab
5-6 Soft Corn Tortillas (Gluten-Free)
1 tsp Coconut Oil
Mango Salsa (Whole Foods or fresh made)
Guacamole
Top with fresh cilantro
Pair with fresh veggies (snap peas are from our garden)

Technique:
Cook on 4 or medium low, heat up teaspoon of coconut oil. Sauté sole (it’s a very thin fish it cooks fast) for 5 minutes. Then add in crab. Sole will break apart natural, so I just gently break it all up so it’s nice chunky mix. If you use halibut or cod, have the butcher cut off the skin for you at the store, it will make your life so much easier.

Heat up soft tortillas on a dry frying pan on medium low, so the tortillas are warm and soft, not crispy. When ready and on a dish, add fish to tacos and top with mango salsa and guac.

If you are making mango salsa from scratch there are lots of options, but here’s a good recipe to follow.

Mango Salsa:
1 mango – peeled, seeded and finely chopped
1/4 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
1 green onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro
1 fresh jalapeno chile pepper, finely chopped
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon lemon juice

* Recipe from http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/mango-salsa/detail.aspx

Mastering the Gluten-Free Pancake.

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How many times have you messed around with different flours to get your perfect gluten-free pancake? For me it’s been numerous; almond flour, coconut flour, Bob’s Red Mill (potato & rice flours), Jule’s Gluten-Free Flour (potato, corn, & rice), to name a few and they are never quite what I want. Whether they are too mushy, too dense, or too much like a macaroon, mastering the Seattle gluten-free pancake presents a significant challenge.

Fret no more folks, I have found the perfect Seattle gluten-free pancake recipe that is guaranteed to produce the BEST gluten-free pancake you have ever had. They are so good, you won’t be able to tell the difference between real wheat pancakes and these ones!

What did I use? Mostly Quinoa flour and a little Jule’s Gluten-Free Flour. Recipe Below.

Quinoa Flour Pancakes

2 cups of quinoa flour
1/3 cup Jules GF flour
4 tsp baking powder
2 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbs of agave nectar
1 tbs of vanilla
2 cups + 1 tbs of water
Coconut oil for frying

I used a small teflon frying pan, which helped with making the pancake perfectly round.

Gluten-Free Baking: Disaster or Delicious?

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Okay so these cookies look delicious, no? Well…they were a BIG, FAT OKAY. If it wasn’t for the peanut butter chips, the cookies would have been some of the blandest I’ve tasted.

I’m sure you’d all like to know who’s recipe this was and what gluten-free flour? I’m sorry to say it’s Jules Gluten Free Flour and one of her two peanut butter recipes out of her Nearly Normal Cooking for Gluten-Free Eating.

I actually made two attempts at gluten-free peanut butter cookies. I made her first version and when those failed, I made these.

I want her recipes to be a hit, after all I took a class from her awhile back and she made countless tasty baked treats alongside a chef that were magnificent. The truth is I have had almost zero success with most of her recipes, with one exception – Challah Bread. That turned out well.

I’ve made two attempts at making pancakes, both were gummy and had to be thrown out. I made her Christmas cut-out cookies, also truly awful. Then last night my peanut butter cookie attempt was another disaster. I’m beginning to think only a pastry chef could use her flour and make it delicious.

If a flour and recipe are good you don’t have to try two or three times to get it right. For example, Elana Amsterdam’s recipes from her Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook are a hit 90% of the time, except her coconut frostings…truly dreadful. There have been several times where I have added one more egg than her recipes call for, which did the trick.

Bob’s Red Mill has been the best. I’ve never had a bad run with their all-purpose gluten-free flour. Their site has a very expansive directory of gluten-free recipes, all have turned out well.

I haven’t entirely given up on Jules, her breads seem to turn out well for me, but her merit has certainly gone down in the cookies and pancake department. I’m not a bad cook and I’m actually a fairly exceptional baker using alternative flours, so my gluten-free baking journey continues.

Coconut Flour Banana Bread Recipe

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So this baking adventure didn’t turn out as amazing as I’d hoped. That said, the final result was still fairly yummy.

I’m finding a lot of coconut flour recipes call for an unusually high amount of eggs. Like 8 eggs for banana bread! That is just ridiculous, but also necessary if you are wanting typically fluffy breads and baked goods with coconut flour.

The bread doesn’t rise like standard bread, but it did cook all the way through. The end result was not entirely crumbly, still had some fluff to it. I used coconut oil this time, but next time I might try actual butter, which seems to bind things better.

I am on a NO SUGAR journey, so this bread was mildly sweet and could have been made sweeter by adding another banana, honey, agave, or topping the bread with some fruit jam.

Coconut Flour Banana Bread

4 eggs
2 bananas (mashed)
1/4 cup coconut oil (melted)
1 TBS honey, or a packet of Stevia
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup coconut flour
1 tsp of cinnamon
1/3 cup Chopped walnuts
1/4 cup of raisins

Method
Blend eggs, bananas, and coconut oil (make sure coconut oil is not too hot or it will cook the eggs). Then mix in dry ingredients. Put into a greased bread pan, and bake on 350 for 40-45 minutes.

Stevia Sweetened Coconut Flour Biscuits: Recipe

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Tonight I finally had a moment to experiment with Bob’s Red Mill Coconut Flour. They turned out well!

The consistency was fluffy, very fluffy. The tops grew golden brown in a matter of minutes. These little biscuits were absolutely delicious with a little jam.

The best part? I used two packets of Stevia, so there was no sugar whatsoever.

Coconut Flour Biscuits Recipe:

1/3 cup Coconut Flour
¼ cup Virgin Coconut Oil or butter, melted
4 eggs
2 packets of Stevia
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon baking powder

Method

Blend together eggs, butter, stevia and salt. Combine coconut flour with baking powder and whisk into batter until there are no lumps. Drop batter by the spoonful onto a greased cookie sheet or drop in muffin pan (makes 6 muffins). Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. Makes 8 biscuits.

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