Gluten Free Honey Cake

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Gluten Free Honey Cake

Adapted from Levana Cooks by My Little Blue Heron

Levana’s recipe offered a “gluten free option” using a simple cup substitution. I opted for a comparable flour weight substitution because GF flour (unless you’re using cup for cup) baking can be very heavy. So, if you don’t have one (sigh), please get a kitchen scale. They’re so inexpensive. Here’s one. (If you use cup for cup, omit the xanthan gum and measure 3 cups. But I can’t vouch for the outcome.) I used a GF flour blend from a boutique mill called Anson Mills. I adore and regularly use King Arthur GF Flour. You should use the blend you like the most. 

I tweaked the spice profile with one closer to my old recipe, and changed the procedure to one that for me, works more efficiently. My food processor is accumulating dust, and her recipe uses one. I prefer using my Vitamix and a manual whisk.

Please make sure you prepare pans with enough release/oil. I did some battle releasing my mini bundts, Loaves release with ease. They are beautiful, fill the apartment with gorgeous spice aroma, and this recipe will feed at least 12-16 people. Or, freeze and take some out when you want a slice with your tea or coffee or glass of oat milk. 

Here’s to a lovely change of season, a snap in the air, and to cool justice.

Peace and Love,

Jane

Gluten Free Honey Cake

Ingredients:

• 360 g. GF flour blend of choice (see above for some recommendations)
• 1 tsp. (3 g.) xanthan gum
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. each cinnamon
• 3/4 tsp. ground cloves
• 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
• 3/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg 

• 1 c. flavorless oil
• 2/3 c. brown sugar 1 cup honey
• 1 cup orange marmalade (Bon Maman at room temp. is perfect)
• 4 eggs, size large, room temp.
• 3/4 cup strong coffee, room temp.
• 3 tablespoons rum or brandy

Equipment:

Original recipe calls for 11x14 pan (!), loaf pans (2 large or various small), mini bundt, muffin pans (lined and release sprayed)

Procedure:

• Preheat oven to 350˚ F and prepare pans with release spray (even if they’re non-stick).
• Weighing your flour and xanthan gum, in a large mixing bowl, add the remaining dry ingredients to the bowl. Whisk together and set aside.  
• Place the next six ingredients (the oil through brandy) in the container of a power blender (a Vitamix is what I use.) If you don’t have one, you can use a food processor. Process, pulsing, until well combined.
• Making a small well, pour the wet ingredients into the center of the dry ingredients, and whisk the dry mixture into the wet as you turn the bowl slowly, fully incorporated the wet and dry to achieve a smooth batter. 
• Pour the batter into prepared pans. Smaller loaves and muffins will bake faster - within 30-40 minutes. Larger loaves, longer. When the product has a beautiful and darkened color and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, your honey cake is ready to be removed from the oven. Let sit for about 5 minutes and then release carefully. The warm crumb is tender. Cool on rack. 
• Serve warm, room temperature, or wrap well and keep in fridge. 

Black Eyed Peas (Lobia Masala) for 2022 - Indian "Jain" Style, Vegan

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Lobia Masala, (Black Eyed Peas)

No Onion, No Garlic in your pressure cooker

Gluten and dairy free, Vegan

Adapted from Archana's Kitchen by My Little Blue Heron

Some folks like to celebrate the new year with traditional foods (and drink.) Black eyed peas are eaten in some homes at New Year's. I discovered this recipe and it rocks. 

Whether you prepare it for New Year's or Old Year's or any time, it's so delicious. Prepared, these black eyed peas are creamy, comforting and if you're feeling the impact of the current economy, this is a very inexpensive meal to prepare. Black-eyed peas are high in protein and fiber, along with micronutrients such as folate, copper, and thiamine.

Have digestive gripes with legumes and beans?  If you soak the lobia for a full 24 hours, changing the water once, you'll notice a big difference. Some people just can't digest the sugar chains, and I usually have problems with legumes, but I have great success with the long soak, eliminated alliums (garlic and onions), and I also supplement risky meals with these digestive enzymes.

You'll need some ingredients that you can get at an Indian grocer. When all fails, try Amazon! Like: if you can't get fresh curry leaves, try these (from Amazon!) I use them, and they're awesome. I like Kashmir chilli powder, and 'besan' flour is chickpea flour (easy to find.) Tamarind paste? I like Tamicon. And, if you can't find jaggery (I cop to the powdered), use raw sugar or coconut sugar. If you miss the flavor of garlic, try adding some asafetida or "hing", what those folks who don't eat onion or garlic use as a substitute. I have "Best Hing Ever". Beware: it packs a ping.

You might throw in tomatoes, but I stick with the tang of tamarind and opt out of nightshades for this lovely curry.

Here's to your good health, inside and out. Happy 2022 and happy every day, too!

peace and love,

jane

Black Eyed Pea Masala 
"Lobia Masala"

Equipment: Pressure cooker or Instant Pot

Ingredients:

1 cup black eyed peas (lobia), soaked for at least 2 hours, but preferably for 24 hours, with one rinse and change of water

1-2 tbsp. olive or avocado oil

1 inch of fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped (more if you're a ginger nut)

2 green chillies whole or, seeded and chopped - you're the boss

2 sprigs of curry leaves (or about 12-15 dried curry leaves)

1 tsp. cumin seeds (jeera)

1/2 tsp. turmeric powder (haldi)

1 tsp. red chilli powder (I like Kashmir)

1 tsp. coriander powder (dhania)

1 Tbsp. gram flour (besan) ... chickpea flour

1 Tbsp. tamarind paste

1 tsp. jaggery (or other sugar)

salt, to taste (approx. 1 1/4 - 1 1/2 tsp.)

1/2 c. cold water +  2 c. cold water (more or less)

opt., tiny pinch of hing (asafetida)

coriander (cilantro) for garnish/serving

Procedure:

1. Wash black eyed peas, picking out any stones or foreign matter. Cover with fresh, cold water (by at least an inch or two.) Set aside, ideally for 12 hours. Rinse, repeat and let soak for another 6-12 hours. Drain and rinse.

2.  Have all ingredients measured and ready to go (mise en place.)

3.  Using an Instant Pot, on 'sauté' mode, heat oil. Add cumin seeds, chopped ginger, green chillies, and sauté for a few seconds.

4.  Add the besan (chickpea flour) and the 1/2 c. cold water, stirring constantly to make a smooth paste.

5.  Now, add the turmeric, coriander, red chilli powders, jaggery (sugar), salt, hing (if using), and tamarind paste, followed by the drained and rinsed black eyed peas with about 2 c. water.

6. Stir well, change mode of pressure cooker to "chili/beans" and cook for approx. 15 min. (depending on how long you soaked the beans.) On a conventional Indian pressure cooker: 4-5 whistles on medium heat.

Let pressure release on its own. Adjust consistency and if needed, cook longer. (You will get the knack of this dish after one or two times.)

7.  Check seasonings and adjust.

8.  Serve with: rice, and if you eat gluten, with roti, your favorite chutney, sprinkled with some chopped coriander (cilantro.)

Serves 4

Carob Chia Pudding

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Carob Chia Pudding

My Little Blue Heron

Carob isn't chocolate, but it's often used as a stand-in. If you’re a devoted chocoholic, you’ll snort at this statement. I’ve never been a chocoholic and I admit, I’m a vanilla. But excellent chocolate is delicious. I am not turning my back on chocolate. This is just not about chocolate. It’s about carob. 

When you’ve had enough, say “cacao.” 

Some interesting facts about carob: 

Carob is from an evergreen tree that’s indigenous to the Mediterranean and the Middle East. The pods that grow on the tree are ground into carob powder.

Wikipedia refers to carob powder as an “ersatz cocoa powder”, popular during the 1970’s natural food ‘movement’. (Will someone please edit that article.)

Carob is naturally sweet and chocolate is naturally bitter.

Chocolate is associated with triggering migraine headaches. Carob is not.

Are YOU a chocoholic? Seems like every other person I meet is. There’s truth to it. Wikipedia says, “Enkephalin triggers opioid receptors similar to those triggered by heroin and morphine use. This chemical leads the brain to desire more after chocolate is initially consumed, which can lead to addiction.” There’s lots more to read about this, and I don’t think it’s exclusive to chocolate. It probably has much to do with sugar and fat. But it makes sense. There’s a great deal of both in delicious chocolate.

Let’s return to carob. Here's a link to the NIH article on the nutritional profile of carob. It's pretty cool.

Making chia pudding is a snap. I prefer the texture when I make it in my blender, but you don't need a blender.

It’s dairy free, gluten free, vegan, low in sugar, high in fiber and it has protein and nutrition. I like the addition of maple syrup, but if you don’t want it sweet, omit the maple syrup, or add some stevia! Well, wowza me yowza.

You can add stuff, like chocolate carob chips, toasted coconut, or when you serve it, add some fresh fruit. Try some dairy free whipped oat or coconut topping!

Join me while ersatz back to the 70’s? 

pudding peace and love out to you,

jane

Carob Chia Pudding

Ingredients:

1 cup almond milk (or any milk of your choice)

2 Tbsp. carob powder (I like Anthony’s Organic)

4 Tbsp. organic chia seeds

¾ tsp. pure vanilla powder (linked) or 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

optional: 1 Tbsp. pure maple syrup (or sweetener of choice)

Procedure:

Using a blender: (I use a Vitamix), place ingredients in listed order in your blender and pulse until mixed. You may have to stop and scrape down the sides. Pour into one large serving bowl or individual pudding cups. Refrigerate several hours or overnight.

Using a bowl: To the almond milk, whisk in the ingredients. Wait 5 minutes and whisk again to prevent chia seeds from clumping. Wait 10 minutes and whisk again. Pour into one large serving bowl (or use the same bowl) or individual pudding cups. Refrigerate several hours or overnight.

Serve “as is” or garnish.

Serves 2

Banana Bread

Banana Bread

Gluten and Dairy Free

My Little Blue Heron

This is the best banana bread to emerge from my oven since I began baking without gluten. I’m so excited to share this recipe with you.

I hope you’ve been freezing your overripe bananas. Please do this. When you defrost them, you can pour off the liquid. You’ll have the most wonderfully condensed, banana-y flavor. Don’t worry about recalculating weight. If you opt to keep the liquid, that’s fine. (If using fresh bananas, you won’t have any liquid to pour off.)

You will need a kitchen scale. Please buy an inexpensive one for consistent results. Here’s a link. This link is for the United States. It’s an inexpensive scale. Not perfect, but sufficient for this (and other) recipes!

I worked with a couple of different starches and binders, and the winners are: arrowroot and xanthan gum. I prefer maple syrup as a sweetener, and (refined) coconut oil over clarified butter. Clarified butter adds dairy (but not casein) to the recipe. So for those dairy-free humans, this is good news.

Every gluten free baker should have a pantry with: buckwheat flour, oat flour, sorghum flour and arrowroot starch. Xanthan gum is a binder, and fro gluten free baking it’s a staple ingredient for your kitchen. Maple syrup is less processed than other sweeteners (and it's delicious). Look for reasonably priced maple syrup at Costco or Trader Joe’s. When it comes to coconut oil and baking, I recommend refined, organic coconut oil. Nutiva makes a great product. The label, 'refined' carries such negative connotations, as though it has been stripped of its healthy qualities. It's fat. It's saturated fat. Enuf said. 

Please buy whole nutmegs and a nutmeg grater. Fresh nutmeg is gorgeous. Try some on steamed or sautéed spinach; and mix some into ricotta (or Kite Hill vegan ricotta). I learned this from my mom. You need just a pinch. Buy fresh nutmegs from an amazing resource like World Spice Merchants or Penzey’s.  Both are great companies. Penzey’s supports teachers. I like people who like teachers.

I always recommend Baldwin’s vanilla extract. I’ve been recommending it to you for over ten years. I still recommend it. It’s good as gold.

Additions of nuts are up to you. If you don’t choose to add them, you can substitute gluten free chocolate chips. The bread isn’t cloying, so the addition of chocolate shouldn’t sugar shock you. I like walnuts with bananas, but I think pecans or hazelnuts would be excellent choices.

Fast away the old year passes. Out with those old bananas. Enjoy your days, one at a time, one breath at a time, a banana at a time.

Here's to a peaceful and healthy 2020. Let's hope that we find our way back to the garden, that we return to a country that is sane, that's led with intellect and that we return to democracy. 

Happy New Year!

love always.

always love.

jane

🍌 🍌 🍌 🍌 🍌

Banana Bread

Equipment: Electric hand or stand mixer, kitchen scale, bowls, measuring spoons, potato masher (for the bananas), loaf pans (standard size, or several smaller, or muffin tins).

Ingredients:

75 g. sorghum flour

75 g. oat flour

50 g. buckwheat flour

50 g. arrowroot flour

½ tsp./1g. xanthan gum

1tsp./6g. baking soda

½ tsp./2g. salt (I like kosher salt)

½ tsp. freshly grated nutmeg

2 eggs, size large, room temperature

80 grams refined coconut oil, melted (cooled to room temp.)

½ c. maple syrup (dark is best for baking)

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

385 g. banana (approx. 3 large), mashed

66 grams chopped walnuts (or pecans or ‘other’ nuts)

       (Or, throw in equivalent GF chocolate chips)

Procedure:

Preheat oven to 350º F. and prepare loaf pan or pans with spray release or brush with melted coconut oil.

1. Set a large bowl on your kitchen scale and tare it to zero.

2. Measure dry ingredients (through the nutmeg on the ingredient list), taring after each addition. (Alternatively, if you feel you’ll have better control, you can measure each ingredient separately (use one smaller bowl, dumping the weighed ingredient into the large bowl each time.) Remember: tare, tare, tare.

3. When all dry ingredients have been measured, whisk together until completely combined.

4. In another large bowl (or in the bowl of an electric mixer), mix together: eggs, coconut oil (brought to a liquid state, but at room temperature) and maple syrup until well blended.

5. Add vanilla extract and blend.

6. Dump in the dry ingredients and mix, on low speed, until absorbed.

7. Add mashed bananas and mix until incorporated.

8. If adding nuts (or chocolate chips), dump them in and mix by hand. This will ensure that the batter is mixed throughout and ready for baking.

9. Fill prepared loaf pans (or muffin tins), filling them 2/3 of the way up.

10. Bake in the center of your oven, depending on size of product and your oven, anywhere from 15 minutes, up. The bread is done when you can put a toothpick in and it comes out clean. You’ll see the sides pulling away a little, too.

11. Remove from oven and as soon as you can, release from pans and cool on rack. When cool, serve or wrap well. These will keep for a day or two out of the fridge. After, refrigerate or freeze for up to a month.

Banappetite!

  

Macaroons For All

Macaroons for All!

Vegan, Gluten Free, Paleo

Adapted from beamingbaker.com by My Little Blue Heron Kitchen

These are the simplest and most delicious macaroons I’ve made. If you don’t have these ingredients, run and get them! Neither gummy nor cloying, these macaroons are so satisfyingly chewy and light, you’ll donate those awful cans of gooey lumps and make these your holiday and every day macaroons. Keep them between layers of wax paper or parchment, airtight, at room temperature for a week. Freeze them for months. 

You’ll need five ingredients (you can get away with four if you omit the vanilla extract.)

If you don’t have refined coconut oil, please buy this. For baking, refined coconut oil is preferred because the taste of coconut is undiscernible. I use it all the time, even in these coconut/almond cookies because I want to taste the ingredients, not the fat. Try Nutiva brand, 

Buy SHREDDED and unsweetened coconut. I like this brand. You can buy it in some stores or online at you know where. Bob's Red Mill is good, too. Whatever brand you buy, organic is always a great choice. Finely shredded isn't optional, it's a requirement. The same for blanched almond flour. Don’t use the ‘natural’ flour or meal with skins. Almond flour is different than almond meal. Almond meal is good for breading things. 

I just bought a large bag at Costco.  

 No need to use your best maple syrup for baking. I always use the darkest syrup I can find. Grade “b” is no longer a permissible “grade”, so look for “formerly grade b” or “dark amber” descriptions.

My vanilla extract is from Baldwin’s in West Stockbridge, Massachusetts. It’s a fortune. There’s also some sugar in it, so if you’re a strict paleo human, you won’t use this. If you’re strictly GF, add ¼ tsp. Authentic Foods, certified GF vanilla powder.  If you want vanilla flavor without sugar, if you’re feeling solvent, buy some vanilla beans. You can scrape the seeds from a vanilla bean into the batter (1/2 a bean will do). Throw the empty bean into some bourbon and vodka (keep throwing them in and hide them in the dark in a glass jar, sealed.) Eventually, you’ll have sugar-free vanilla extract!

With the Mueller report and all, I think I’ll ➖➖➖and then nickname these Redactaroons. I can market them in ➖➖ and in ➖and I'll send a batch over to ➖ ➖and see if they'd like me to do some food shows.

Spring is a season of renewal, rebirth and hope. Please try not to lose hope. Get out and breathe. Stay in and breathe. Check out the app Headspace (in the app store), or at headspace.com. You can explore this great resource on your own time and share it with your children, too. Find a local sangha. If you’re in NYC, head over to one of three MNDFL meditation studios, two in Manhattan and one in Brooklyn. Check it out! Vipassanistas: Head for NY Insight another great place with wonderful people, with sanghas all over the tri-state area. 

Enjoy these macaroons. Be happy, healthy, safe and may your life feel easy.

peace, love, hope and truth,

jane

Macaroons (with chocolate variation)

Equipment: Baking sheet, parchment paper, food processor, measuring cups and spoons, spatula, small 1” cookie scoop, cooling rack

Ingredients: 

1¼ c. unsweetened, shredded coconut, preferably organic

¼ c. finely ground blanched almond flour

3 Tbsp. refined coconut oil (SOLID, not melted!)

¼ c. maple syrup

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Procedure:

1.  Preheat oven to 350º F. and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.

2.  Measure ingredients and put all into your food processor.

3.  Pulse until batter comes together.

4.  Using a spatula, remove from food processor bowl into another bowl. There will be some liquid under the blade. Scrape the liquid into the new bowl and mix together.

5.  Using a cookie scoop, place mounds on parchment lined cookie sheet, leaving 1 1/2 inches between mounds (they will spread just slightly).

6.  Bake until golden, about 12-15 minutes. 

7.  Cool completely before removing/optionally decorating/storing.

Yield: approximately 16 cookies and more for chocolate (about 22)

Chocolate variation: reduce almond flour to 3 Tbsp. + ½  tsp., add ¼ cup cacao or dark cocoa and 1½ additional Tbsp. maple syrup. DON’T OVERBAKE! 

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