Kelly’s Gluten-Free Gingerbread Cookies

This recipe started out with the intention of testing a recipe I had found on celiac.com and ended up a little different. My four-year-old was helping me with the measuring and before I knew it we had doubled the applesauce and oil measurements. I subsequently ended up doubling the flour to compensate and decided to just go with the flow. I'm glad that I did. We ended up with a cookie that was lower in sugar yet still packed a gingery punch because of the fresh grated ginger. This was one cookie mess up that I think I'll keep. It made for cute ginger bread men too. However, if you prefer the darker and more traditional looking ginger bread men, I'd suggest using molasses instead of the brown rice syrup. Enjoy.

Ingredients:

(Metric measurements are by volume)

2 ½ cups/600ml brown rice flour
1/8 tsp/1ml whole cloves - milled in coffee grinder with rice
1 cup/235ml potato starch
1/2 tsp/2.5ml baking soda
1 tsp/5ml cream of tartar
1 1/2 tsp/7.5ml guar gum
1 tsp/5ml cinnamon
1/8 tsp/1ml sea salt

2 tsps/10ml grated fresh ginger
½ cup/120ml unsweetened applesauce
½ cup/120ml oil
½ cup /120ml brown sugar
½ cup/120ml brown rice syrup

1 tbsp/15ml flax seed-milled
3 tbsp /45ml hot water


Combine the flax seed meal and hot water and set aside for 10 minutes.

Combine the brown rice flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, guar gum, dry spices, and salt; mix well using a hand mixer or whisk.

In a food processor, mix the oil, applesauce, sugar, ginger, flax mix, and syrup together. Add to the flour mixture and mix until combined. Cover with wax paper and refrigerate for at least one hour.

Roll dough out on lightly 'floured' surface using more potato starch. Roll dough until it is 1/4 inch in thickness and cut into desired shapes. Transfer to a cookie sheet (or a baking stone preheated with the oven) and bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes. Cool on a wire rack before decorating.

Store in an airtight container. These freeze well and are soft enough that they can be eaten right out of the freezer. Makes 5 dozen gingerbread men.

Inspired Okara Pancakes (Hotcakes)

Hot off the pan.

This recipe came by way of some inspiration from fellow blogger, Hiroyuki of Japan. He's been playing with some different ways to use okara (the leftover bean mash from tofu making) so I played with the pancake recipe he had recently posted for Okara Pancakes.

He used a pancake mix, but I just took my pancake recipe and played with the amounts a little bit. They turned out good, as I had sweetened them up for the kids. However, I think they would be really good without the added sugar and and topped with adzuki bean paste instead of my usual brown rice syrup.

Filled with chocolate chips for one boy.

Inspired Okara Pancakes (Hotcakes)
(all amounts are by volume)

1 cup/235ml fresh made okara
1 cup/235ml brown rice flour
1/2 cup/120ml applesauce
1 tbsp/15ml brown sugar
1/2 tsp/2.5ml salt
1 tsp/5ml cream of tartar
1/2 tsp/2.5ml baking soda
1 tsp/5ml guar gum
2 tbsp/30ml flax seed-milled in coffee grinder
6 tbsp/90ml hot water
2 cups/470ml plain hemp milk or milk of choice


Combine flax seed and hot water in a small bowl and set aside (or use 2 large eggs if you prefer).

Combine all dry ingredients and blend well, making sure to break up any lumps in the brown sugar. Add in the okara, flax seed mixture, applesauce, and the hemp milk. Blend well for 1-2 minutes.

Pour out on a hot and oiled pan or griddle (I use cast iron). This is a good place to add in chocolate chips or blueberries. Prepare as you would any other pancake and enjoy.

I'll let you know if I do make the adzuki bean version.

Kelly

Miso Mashed Potatoes

Miso Mashed Potatoes along with Ginger and Tamari Whitefish, Cremini Mushrooms in Dengaku Style Marinade, and edamame with a splash of GF Tamari.

Mashed potatoes are naturally gluten free, but when you are also dairy free it makes for an interesting challenge. Miso soup and potatoes go hand in hand in many traditional Japanese recipes so it wasn't that much of a leap to put a little miso in my mashed potatoes in place of butter and milk. This is a super simple side dish. It is also my oldest son's favorite way to eat potatoes (other than homemade fries). Enjoy.

Miso Mashed Potatoes

4 medium potatoes

2 tsp/10ml Japanese aka style miso (I use Cold Mountain Miso)

½ to 1 cup/100-200ml reserved cooking water

Boil the potatoes in enough water to cover until they are tender, about 10-15 minutes. Remove the potatoes, reserving the liquid, and place them in a serving dish. Mash them by hand with a potato masher or with a electric beater. Add in the reserved cooking water and the miso. Blend well, add more water if the potatoes are too dry. Serve warm.

Ginger and Tamari White Fish and an Update

I had hoped to post this earlier this week, but things have been a little crazy here. I mentioned in my last post that we had not heard from family in Japan as of late last night. I'm limited in my knowledge of the Japanese language, but I couldn't wait for my husband to get home and I made the late night call (it was after lunch time there) and was able to get through. They are all fine, no one was injured and that is truly a blessing. However, my husband's uncle is from the Fukushima area and has not been able to get in touch with family. For our family, the drama is far from over.

Please continue to pray for everyone affected by the tsunami. There will be news concerning the earthquake for a while to come. Thank you to all who have been worried for our sakes and please continue to pray and donate to those still affected by this tragedy.

And now, back to how to make Japanese inspired meals.

I've been in the mood for ginger recently and I had almost forgot that this recipe was hiding in one of my many recipe files until I went hunting through them in search of ideas. Any variety of white fish, i.e. cod, tilapia, or even tuna, would work in this recipe as the sauce enhances the natural flavor of the fish without dominating it. I prefer fresh ginger in this recipe. You can use the powdered ginger, but the flavor is just not the same. The trick I use with ginger is that I buy a big piece of root and store it in the freezer. This makes it easy to use and it thaws quickly, making it easy to peel and grate right out of the freezer.

As for the mashed potato recipe, because we are a dairy free household I flavor them with miso. More to come on that later.

Ginger and Tamari Marinated Whitefish:

3 fillets of white fish, cod or tilapia work well with this marinade

4 tbsps/60ml dashi stock or water

4 tbsps/60 ml wheat free tamari

4 tbsps/60 ml sake

1 tsp/5 ml finely grated fresh ginger or 1/4 tsp/1.25ml ginger powder

1 tbsp/15 ml golden brown sugar

2 tbsp sesame oil

Place the fish in a freezer/storage bag and add in dashi, tamari, ginger, and sake. Mix the liquid contents well around the fish and marinade for at least 15 minutes. Remove the fish from the marinade and save the liquid for later.

In a preheated pan, add in the oil. Add the fish fillets one the pan and oil are smoking hot. Cook the fish 5-6 minutes per side. Once the fish is cooked through and flakes easily, remove it from the pan. Pour in the reserved marinade and add in the sugar. Cook this down until it is half the volume of the original amount. Pour it over the fish and serve.

*Another way to cook this recipe is to place all the ingredients (after marinading) in a foil packet and cook it for 25 minutes in a 425 degree oven. Be careful when opening the packet as the steam is very hot.

Thoughts Fly Toward My Second Home

Kanagawa Prefecture One Year Ago

I am sure that all of you have heard of the devastating quake and tsunami that hit the Pacific coast of Japan Friday. It has been hard not to watch the images scroll across the TV and internet as the images are vibrant and shocking, pulling on the heartstrings even if you don't have friends or family in the area.

If you have been following my blog for any length of time, you know that my husband's family is still over there. They live in Yokohama, which thankfully is in a protected area near Tokyo and has not seen the massive waves that have affected much of the area to the north. Phone lines are still down and information of the area is sketchy since most of the news focus' on Tokyo and not the nearby areas. I've had the NHK World News running on my computer all evening, hoping for information. Needless to say, when your heartstrings are attached to something, it pulls all the more.

Hopefully we will hear soon from family and friends in the area as soon as phone lines are restored. The thing that the people of Japan need the most right now is prayers and aid. You can contribute to the later through the International Federation of Red Cross. I will be following this closely for obvious reasons and will let you know if there are any other ways to help as they become available.

Kelly

Deep Fried Tofu in GF Tamari Soup

So as I sit here reflecting on the night's meal, I am thankful for kid friendly tofu recipes. I've mentioned before that I have a picky eater due to texture issues, but kids are still kids and if you deep fry it, "they will come".

One of the biggest challenges when being both gluten and corn intolerant is finding a decent breading. Thankfully the Japanese are one step ahead of me on this and what isn't dusted with panko, is dusted with potato starch. I will elaborate more on this when I post my chicken fingers recipe, but for now let me say that potato starch becomes light and crispy when fried. It also sticks to most everything, as all starches tend to do, making it a snap when dusting freshly made tofu.

Now the soup is not much different than soy based ramen soup. I wouldn't suggest drinking it as it has a high sodium content, but the tofu and potato starch combo take in just enough that this is one dish that will be hard for you to watch your portion control. Due to the nature of the dish, I try not to make it more than once a month as deep frying is not the best thing for one's health. But, if you let the tofu drain properly after frying, it will not be greasy and any excess grease is left floating in the soup stock after the meal. However, when looking for an easy, kid friendly dish, I suggest giving this one a try. Not to mention, this is one way to get your kids to eat tofu and not wrinkle their noses at it. Enjoy.


Deep Fried Tofu:

1 block of Homemade Tofu (I recommend Denver Tofu if you don't make your own)
1/4 cup potato starch

Take the tofu out of the water (or drain it off if using commercial tofu) and wrap it in either 2-3 paper towels or a clean kitchen towel. Place a weight on top, such as a plate, and leave it to release any excess liquid for at least 30 minutes. You want almost dry tofu for this as any liquid in the tofu will cause the grease to splatter and spit.

Heat a large skillet or dutch oven up with enough oil for frying and place it on medium to medium high heat (about 375 degrees or hot enough that the tofu floats easily to the top while frying).

Cut the tofu into bite sized pieces. Place the potato starch into a small bowl and dredge the tofu through the potato starch, making sure to cover all surfaces. Deep fry until lightly golden brown, but not too dark as it will continue frying once it is removed from the oil. Drain on a paper towel or rack.

GF Tamari Soup:

2 cups of hot dashi stock or hot water
2 tablespoons/30ml wheat free tamari
2 tablespoons/30ml mirin*

Combine all ingredients and mix well. Pour into serving bowls. This makes two adult servings. You can also use it as a dipping sauce if you prefer.

Add the tofu and serve hot.

*This is one recipe where mirin is a must, as the alcohol of sake (if used as a substitution along with sugar) would remain.

Gluten Free Snickerdoodles

Ever since I became a vegan baker, meaning no eggs and no dairy, I have been longing to make a decent snickerdoodle. The classic version often calls for lots of butter and eggs that causes these cookies to puff up and spread out, which gives them their traditional cracks and cake like center. Until recently, I have not been brave enough to tackle this allergen ridden goodie and I had resigned myself to having children that would never know about this cinnamony treat. Until now.


After playing successfully with quinoa flour in my sugar cookie baking, I decided to play with my recipe to make a more cake like cookie vs. the shaped variety. (At least some good comes from pantry cleaning cookie batches, where all your grain bins are frightfully low and you need to use the remnants up in one way or another.) Quinoa always gives my pancakes a fluffier texture and I was hoping that my cookies would have the same feel to them. Thus the following cookie recipe was born. These cookies are quiet light and airy in the center and came out excellent even without the cinnamon sugar coating (made especially for those in my house who don't like cinnamon). So if you have been craving this childhood treat since going gluten free, at least take an afternoon to try these.

Kelly’s Snickerdoodles

Ingredients:

¾ cup/180ml* quinoa flour

¾ cup/180ml brown rice flour

1 cup/235ml arrowroot starch or potato starch

1 cup/235ml golden brown sugar

1 tsp/5ml gaur gum

1 tsp/5ml cream of tartar

½ tsp/2.5ml baking soda

1 tsp/5ml sea salt

1 tablespoon/15ml flax seed-milled

3 tablespoons/45ml hot water

½ cup/120ml applesauce

½ cup/120ml oil

2 tsp/10ml vanilla extract

Topping:

½ cup/120ml brown sugar

1 tsp/5ml arrowroot starch/potato starch

1 tablespoon/15ml cinnamon

In a food processor, blend together the topping ingredients. Remove from food processor and set aside.

Combine the milled flax seed and hot water in a small bowl, mix and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine all the dry ingredients including sugar and whisk or blend together using a hand mixer, making sure to break up any lumps in the brown sugar as you do so.

In the food processor, add in the applesauce, oil, and vanilla. Whip for a few minutes until it is white and well blended. Add this mixture to the dry ingredients. Add in flax seed and water and blend well for a couple of minutes or until well combined.

Place this in the refrigerator between 15 minutes to 4 hours. The longer it sets, the more the flours soak up the other flavors.

Preheat the oven to 375 Fahrenheit. If using a baking stone, preheat it with the oven. Take a teaspoon and scoop out a small amount of dough. Using damp, not dripping wet, hands, roll the dough into a ball. Place the ball into the topping mixture and cover completely with the cinnamon sugar. Place on the baking stone and pat down just a bit. Continue this process until the baking stone is full then place it in the oven and bake for 15 minutes. Recipe makes about 3 dozen. Enjoy.

*All measurements are in volume, not by weight.

Cremini Mushrooms in a Dengaku Style Marinade

Tofu no dengaku is a common dish in Japan where tofu is grilled on skewers and topped with various miso based sauces. While I was playing with some homemade tofu and the various miso sauce versions one night, I was thinking that grilled Portobello mushrooms would go really well with this sauce. At that point, I had yet to try grilling my own Portobello mushrooms and it had been a few years since I’ve had a grilled Portobello. I usually add mushrooms to my stir-fry or nabemono dishes or sautéed mushroom to use in a pasta dish, but I had yet to get the kids to try the larger mushrooms as the ‘meat’ of the meal.

My first attempt went well, however I didn’t get the marinade quite right and ended up burning the mushroom caps a little because of the higher sugar content of the sauce. For my second attempt, I used cremini mushrooms, which are just small Portobello mushrooms. It turned out much better and I got rave reviews from my husband who is the true test of a good Japanese meal (for which my mother-in-law’s wonderful cooking is to blame). He’s biased, but he also knows that if I ask, “how was it,” that I’m fishing for the truth as to whether I need to adjust the recipe a certain way or not.

One of the things about this recipe is it calls for umeboshi. Umeboshi is made from nanko plums and they are salt cured with shiso leaves, which gives them their unusual color. I can find umeboshi at the local health food store (a little pricy, but a little goes a long way), but we are also spoiled that my mother-in-law sends homemade umeboshi every year so that my husband can have a little taste of home in his lunches. I guess it is one of the perks of being married to an only child, but it also means that I need to use these salty plums whenever I have a chance because I know she’ll be sending more next year.

So, here is the perfected version based on the plum neri miso found in Gaku Homma’s ‘Japanese Country Cooking’. This marinade can be used on either Portobello, cremini, or even the ordinary white button mushroom. Enjoy.

Cremini Mushrooms in a Dengaku Style Marinade

2 tablespoons/30 ml Cold Mountain Red Miso-Japanese Style Aka Miso or comparable red miso

1 tablespoons/15 ml golden brown sugar

1 umeboshi plum, pit removed or 1 tsp/5 ml Eden Foods Umeboshi Paste

1 tablespoon/15 ml sake

2 tablespoons/30 ml kombudashi* or water

5-6 medium to large cremini mushrooms or 3 Portobello mushroom caps with stems removed

Wipe the mushrooms clean with a damp cloth. Cut the mushrooms in half, unless using Portobello, and place in a plastic freezer bag.

Blend the marinade ingredients in a food processor until well blended. Transfer the sauce to the plastic bag. Close and mix well, making sure that all surfaces are coated. Marinade at room temperature for 2-4 hours.

Once marinated, wipe the surface of the mushrooms clean and place in a preheated and oiled sauté pan. Add mushrooms and sauté for 2 minutes before adding 1/2 cup of water then sauté for an additional 2 minutes. Turn and cook for another 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat. Add the marinade to the pan and cook down ‘til thick and bubbly. Pour over the mushrooms and serve.

*Hint: I freeze my dashi in ice cube trays. Each ice cube is about 1 tablespoon in volume and this is a great way to be able to grab just the right amount of dashi when the recipe only calls for a small amount.

Portobello mushrooms in the first version of the marinade.