The Spunky Coconut's Pumpkin Bread

I'm a huge fan of The Spunky Coconut's gluten free baked goods, so when the time came to plan my Thanksgiving menu, that was the first place I turned for ideas. This is my version of Kelly's gluten free pumpkin bread. You can find the recipe here. It turned out absolutely fantastic both times I made it, and I even did two different variations. The first time around I substituted cardamom for cloves because I was out. I reasoned that cardamom paired better with cinnamon than anything else in my spice cabinet - and I didn't feel like running to the store :) The cardamom gave the pumpkin bread a pleasant, "herby" flavor, and it got very good reviews (from an independent panel of judges, of course). I decided to go with cloves the second time around for a more traditional flavor. I love the texture of this bread after it's been refrigerated overnight. It's SO moist! In fact, I would recommend that you bake it in advance, refrigerate overnight, and serve it toasted with butter. Mmmmm! Nothing says "Holidays" like pumpkin and spices :D Oh, and a word from the wise - her recommended baking time is probably perfect, give or take two minutes. The texture is very moist, so don't expect the knife to come completely clean. You'll end up drying out the entire loaf waiting for that to happen. I almost did :-p

Sweet Potato Casserole

I love how this sweet potato casserole turned out. What a relief, too. I made it for the first time on Thanksgiving morning, after finding the recipe online at the last minute and making several changes. The texture was perfect, a crunchy layer of sugared nuts over a bed of fluffy, spiced sweet potato. It was all I could do not to eat it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner until it disappeared. Fortunately, my husband was able to help me not polish it off by myself. That's especially lucky for me because I made a double batch. Sweet potato casserole is my favorite!

Ingredients

3 cups mashed sweet potatoes
1/2 cup stevia in the raw (can be substituted equal parts for sugar. if using another brand of stevia decrease the amount of significantly)
1/2 cup agave nectar
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup almond milk (or other non dairy milk)
1/2 cup melted butter (I used earth balance soy free spread)
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg

Topping

1/2 cup coconut sugar
1/3 cup tapioca flour (or tapioca starch)
1/3 cup melted butter (again earth balance)
1 cup chopped pecans
1 tbsp cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine first 7 ingredients and beat until creamy smooth. Pour into a buttered 1 1/2 to 2 quart casserole dish.  Mix remaining ingredients together and spread over top. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes until the topping is golden brown. I think I actually doubled the sweet potato and tripled the topping when I made it. I like the topping nice and thick. If you do a single batch of sweet potato you could probably still double the topping. :-) Store in the refrigerator.

The Spunky Coconut's Incredibly Moist Coffee Cake

 I was looking for a good gluten free cake recipe to make for my husband on his birthday a couple of weeks ago, and luckily I came across this one. Not only does he love coffee cake, but this one is made with white beans in place of most of the flour, so it is higher in fiber and lower in carbs than a birthday cake has any right to be. The ingredients are very pure and minimally processed, and it's free of refined sugar. We ate this for breakfast several mornings in a row and I didn't feel one bit guilty about it. Hats off to Kelly of The Spunky Coconut blog for coming up with this one. It was my first experience baking with beans, and after getting such excellent results, it will definitely not be my last. The beans made the texture of the cake incredibly moist and buttery rich, and the flavor was superb. This is a very authentic coffee cake, both in flavor and appearance. Please don't let the strangeness of baking with beans deter you from trying out this recipe. It was well worth the effort, and actually quite simple to make. Whenever the food processor is involved, things tend to be simpler. God bless that appliance :)

I made a few substitutions because I was out of vanilla creme liquid stevia and I prefer to bake with raw agave nectar. Everything worked out great so I'm going to share my version of the recipe with you. For the original, visit The Spunky Coconut blog.

Cake Ingredients

2 cups cooked white beans (I used cannellini, but any white beans should work)
6 eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract (I use Frontier alcohol free vanilla flavor)
1/3 cup raw agave nectar

1/4 cup stevia in the raw (this brand is granulated, not a powder, and can be substituted equal parts for sugar)

1/4 cup unrefined coconut oil, liquified
1/3 cup coconut flour (I used Bob's Red Mill)

1/2 tsp sea salt
3/4 tsp baking soda (note: I didn't realize that my baking soda was stale and it affected the leavening somewhat. from what I read, 3 months is the age limit and it should be kept sealed for best results)
1.5 tsp baking powder

Crumble Topping Ingredients

3 cups of walnuts
2 tbsp unrefined coconut oil

1/2 cup coconut sugar (I found this at Whole Foods, but it can also be ordered online, The Spunky Coconut has a link)

1 tbsp cinnamon

 

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

If you're using a food processor, you may want to process the crumble topping first. I find that it's easier to brush the crumb topping into a bowl and then continue following the instructions for the cake batter. Once the crumble topping is pureed to the desired consistency and removed, puree the first 5 cake ingredients. In a small separate bowl, whisk together the baking powder and baking soda. Add the remaining ingredients, including the powder/soda mixture, to the batter and puree until smooth. Pour the cake batter into a 9" x 13" (or something close to that) pan, sprinkle crumble topping over top and swirl into the batter with a fork. I also sprinkled some extra cinnamon lightly over the top of the cake right before placing it in the oven.

Bake for approximately 25 minutes, but don't expect the knife to come completely clean. The beans make the cake very moist. Once the topping is slightly browned the inside of the cake should be done as well. 

Kelly recommends leaving the cake out for the first day and storing it in the refrigerator after that. I did the same. By the way, it is absolutely fantastic cold. Enjoy!

Thanksgiving Recipes

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. I love searching for new recipes and planning the menu. I love, love, love preparing seasonal food and feasting with unapologetic fervor. Then there are the leftovers... Doesn't everything just taste better after it's been sitting in the fridge for a day or two?  Actually I promised myself that I wasn't going to pig out on leftovers this year, and somehow I still ended up in front of the fridge with a spoon, eating sweet potato casserole straight out of the pan. (But it doesn't count unless you make a plate, right?) I've also enjoyed a few slices of pumpkin bread, toasted with a little butter. In a few minutes, I'll probably have pumpkin pie with some vanilla coconut milk ice cream and a dollop of TruWhip (magical dairy free cool whip). So much for that resolution...

This year I tried out several new recipes. Most of them turned out well, or so I'm told :) I'm going to share all of my favorite recipes from Thanksgiving 2010; they can still be useful if you're like me and tend to repeat your favorite Thanksgiving dishes at Christmas. Speaking of Christmas, I can't wait to start experimenting with gluten free Christmas cookies and other desserts. Bring on the Christmas carols, lights, evergreen, and eggnog. This is my favorite time of year!

Happy Holidays!

Eat My Ginger Pate

Have I mentioned that my husband and I are moving? Yep, that's right, next week we're relocating from FL to Las Vegas so that he can pursue some new job opportunities. Vegas, Baby!!! Wow. I don't know what I'm going to do without the humidity.... except possibly a happy dance every time I go outside. Don't think I won't.
So in the spirit of moving, I'm trying to come up with some ideas for travel food. I make a delicious pate with soaked cashews and ginger so I decided to make a test batch tonight. Turned out perfectly. It pairs amazingly well with celery and carrot sticks, and even better with Sami's Garlic Millet Chips. You will need a food processor or a blender to process the ingredients into a creamy consistency.

Ingredients

2 c cashews, soaked for at least 1 hr and drained
1 large red bell pepper
1/2 white onion
3 garlic cloves
1/2 tsp ginger powder
approximately one teaspoon of dried basil (honestly i just gave it a few shakes)
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
Trocomare seasoning salt to taste
1 pro-biotic capsule (optional, it gives the pate a cheesy consistency)


Directions

So easy. Just add all ingredients to blender or food processor and blend until creamy. Enjoy!

Guiltless Gooey Brownie

I'll be honest, it took me about two hours to name this brownie. And the name doesn't come close doing it justice. Guiltless, Gooey, Decadent, Natural, Egg, Grain, Gluten, Dairy, and Refined Sugar Free Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Protein Brownie would have been a more accurate title, but for obvious reasons I decided to go with the Guiltless Gooey Brownie instead. I've experimented with a few variations on this recipe, which is inspired by The Spunky Coconut's egg free, grain free, gluten free brownie. The one I'm sharing tonight has received the hands-down best reviews from an experienced team of unbiased taste testers (aka my husband and brother-in-law). Brownies conceived in a box can't compare. It's so mouthwatering and decadent that even I tend to forget how genuinely healthy it is. My goal was to create something that could double as a dessert and a protein power snack, and I think I accomplished that here. Let me know what you think, and enjoy the process. I love the smell of hot, fresh brownies!

PS. My candida friendly, stevia sweetened brownie recipe is still undergoing testing. Hopefully it's ready to post after one last experiment...

Ingredients

1/2 c no sugar added applesauce
1/4 c water
1/4 tsp guar gum
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp coconut flour
2 tbsp Nutiva hemp protein powder
1/4 c organic cocoa powder'
1 tbsp Stevia in the Raw
1 c organic creamy peanut butter
2 tbsp raw agave nectar
2 droppers vanilla stevia
1 tsp vanilla

1/4 c Enjoy Life dairy & gluten free chocolate chips

Directions

Whisk guar gum and water together in a small bowl and allow the mixture to thicken while blending the other ingredients. In a larger bowl, combine all other ingredients and beat together with hand mixer. Add water and guar gum, beat thoroughly. Stir in chocolate chips. Pour into a square pan and bake at 325 degrees for approximately 30 minutes.




 

Flourless Pancakes: Gluten-Free, Casein-Free, Refined Sugar-Free

Well, it looks like I lied about posting the Hempseed article before October. Seriously - what happened to September? I thought I had a few more days left! Not only haven't I posted my hempseed article, it's time to pick a new superfood of the month! Oh well. I am opting to extend the reign of the hempseed for another week. It will give me time to do more research... or keep procrastinating (lol). More to come on the Hempseed!
Anyway, on to the pancakes. As of yesterday, I may have transcended to a new level as a barista and cook. At the very least, I impressed my family with some awesome pancakes. My mom and brother talked about them the entire day! Or maybe it was me. I don't really remember who kept bringing it up, but the bottom line is they were a huge success. Possibly the best part was that they were so nutritious and satisfying that we didn't eat another thing until dinner and no one was hungry all day long. I should also add that my mom isn't really a buckwheat fan, and these totally won her over. And what's not to love? They are flourless, wheat and gluten-free, casein-free, refined sugar-free, and the taste and texture are incredible. Yesterday was my 3rd or 4th time making these pancakes. I added more ground millet, Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips, and chopped macadamia nuts. The results were phenomenal. If you enjoy a hearty, fluffy pancake, then you will love this recipe. It is adapted from one featured on the Cooking Candida Free and Living Well blog.

Ingredients:

1 ¾ cups buckwheat groats, soaked and sprouted, measured after sprouting

¼ cup freshly ground whole millet, measured before grinding

2 tbsp freshly ground golden flax seed, measured before grinding

2 eggs, organic & free range

splash of vanilla

3 tbsp unrefined coconut oil

splash of lemon juice

nut milk of choice (enough to blend the ingredients above into a batter consistency)

1tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp sea salt

Optional (but highly recommended!): 1 cup of nuts (macadamia nuts or walnuts are my favorite)

½ cup of Enjoy Life gluten-free chocolate chips

Toppings: agave nectar, maple syrup, berry compote, ghee, butter, hemp seeds

Directions:

Blend buckwheat, eggs, vanilla, flax, coconut oil, lemon juice, and nut milk in a blender. Add nut milk bit-by-bit to achieve a batter-like consistency. In a separate bowl, stir together baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Combine the dry ingredients with the batter and blend thoroughly. Stir in nuts and/or other optional ingredients.

These pancakes cook fairly quickly on a skillet at medium to low heat, with a little bit of oil. It's safe to flip once they begin to bubble, and the 2^nd side takes less time than the 1^st.

Note: I topped mine with Ghee, a sprinkling of Stevia, and hemp seeds for some extra protein. Wow.

PS. I brewed 50% Blueberry Cinnamon Crumble coffee and 50% Vanilla Nut Teechino in the french press. I got the coffee from a local mom & pop coffee shop called The Lazy Bean. Their flavored coffee has a nice robust smoothness of flavor.

CoffeeChino and Raw Cacao

Tonight, CoffeeChino is my inspiration :) I think I might have accidentally gotten the coffee/Teachino ratio closer to 50/50 than usual. Totally feel like superwoman right now. Wait. Now that I think about it, I also just had some homemade raw chocolate (from the Navitas Naturals Organic Superfood Chocolate Kit) with my CoffeeChino. Aha! That explains the energy...  Cacao and coffee can be a dangerous combination. I've read about the dangers of caffeine, but I also know that organic coffee and raw cacao are powerful sources of antioxidants. Is it worth the trade-off? I don't think that a splurge now and then can hurt. Even a moderate amount of caffeine on a daily basis, say one cup of coffee (full caffeine) or a couple green teas, shouldn't be enough to hurt a healthy person. An excess of caffeine, however, will overstimulate the adrenals, consequently lowering the immune system and creating a state of chronic adrenal fatigue. In the past I've been guilty of a profound excess (seriously), but these days I try to be nice to my immune system. If you love it, it will love you back. :) My rule of thumb is to avoid the really bad stuff like artificial ingredients, sweeteners, and preservatives, refined sugar and flour containing products, dairy, and to moderate indulgences like caffeine and natural sweeteners. Even with healthy indulgences, it's possible to get carried away. However - that being said, I say live a little. Live a little bit dangerously. If you enjoy your coffee, then savor it. If you love cake, eat it. If you crave steak... well I guess to each his own (lol). Moderation is the key, and there are really so many ways to create foods that taste amazing but are packed full of nutrition and contain none of the really bad stuff. The trick is learning how to re-create old recipes with new, healthier ingredients. I tried a brownie recipe this weekend that was refined sugar-free, grain-free, dairy and egg-free, and I'm telling you my husband said it was the best dessert I ever made. Brett always does an honest review of my experiments, and he really loves a good brownie. That was super encouraging. More to come on the brownie in a future post! 

So, I just want to encourage everyone to try substituting ingredients to create healthier versions of your favorite receipes. The outcome might surprise you! Try something new every once in a while. ~And Enjoy it~



 

Coming Soon... Superfood of the Month: Hempseed!

Each month I'm going to post some information on one of nature's ultimate superfoods. September's featured superfood is the delicious and versatile hempseed. Since there's a virtual flood of online information in the way of nutritional benefits, varied uses, and recipes, I'm taking my sweet time pulling it all together. I promise I'll get it done before October... jk :) Be on the lookout for something within the next day or two.

Oh, and Happy Monday, everybody. Way to hang in there :p

Sweet & Spicy Cultured Coleslaw

Hey, hope everyone is having a great Sunday morning so far :-)
I wanted to post a good raw creamer recipe ASAP (to go with the CoffeeChino). I've got a good cashew coconut creamer recipe but it's still a work in progress. I've come up with some great flavor variations, but I think I need to try straining it through a nut milk bag for optimum consistency. So I'll have to order one from Amazon and keep fine tuning.
So, since my cashew creamer is still in the works, here is a great recipe for cultured vegetables (aka sauerkraut). If you haven't added cultured foods to your diet, I encourage you to consider doing so. Cultured foods contain probiotics (good bacteria) that strengthen the immune system, are vital for good digestion, and protect the lining of the intestines from harmful bacteria and parasites. I highly recommend reading The Body Ecology Diet to learn about the many benefits of supplementing a healthy diet and lifestyle with probiotics and cultured foods. Keep in mind that probiotics aren't just for people with yeast issues, although they are invaluable for combating yeast/candida related problems. Anyone who has ever taken antibiotics and/or birth control, or eaten a standard American diet -high in sugar and processed food, will especially benefit from the good bacteria present in cultured foods such as Kefir, yogurt, live cultured veggies, tempeh, and apple cider vinegar. Since preparing cultured foods can be time consuming, and it can be costly to buy commercially prepared alternatives, I have been trying to come up with ways to do cultured vegetables and Kefir as efficiently as possible. As far as I'm concerned, saving time and money isn't a bonus, it's a vital necessity. 

This recipe is my absolute favorite. Think of it as a tangy, spicy twist on coleslaw. Coleslaw that loves you back :-)

Ingredients:

1 head green cabbage
1 head purple cabbage
5 large carrots, peeled
2 organic granny smith apples, cored, peeled, and diced
1 large red onion
2 - 3 large organic bell peppers (I think red works best)
4 or 5 cloves of garlic
1 - 2 jalapeno peppers (depending on how spicy you want it)
Oh, I almost forgot to add - a little tropical fruit, such as pineapple or mango, is incredible with this. Feel free to experiment.

Body Ecology Cultured Vegetable starter, or 1/2 cup of cultured veggies from previous batch

Seasonings to taste: (note - I use Frontier Herbs organic seasonings) Cajun seasoning blend, black pepper, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, *Trocomare, and a high quality sea salt

Food Processor
4 Quart Size Mason Jars



 Directions:

Make sure you are using sanitized utensils and clean surfaces for this process. It's important to ferment the right kind of bacteria, which is not hard to do as long as things are reasonably clean and the jars seal airtight. In a food processor, shred half the vegetables (depending on it's capacity, this will probably have to be done in several batches), and place the shreds in a large mixing bowl. Process the other half of the veggies into a brine (pulpy liquid consistency), then add the BE culture starter -per the instructions that come with the packet- or the 1/2 cup from a previous batch to the brine and mix well. Add the brine to the shredded vegetables and mix everything together. The coleslaw shouldn't be too dry. If it seems that there is not enough brine in proportion to the shredded vegetables, take a few cups out and process them to a liquid consistency and then add them back in. Season the mixture to taste - it's alright to season strongly, the vegetables will marinate in the seasonings and absorb much of the flavor.

Use a spoon or a wide mouth steel funnel to fill the Mason jars. Leave 2 inches between the veggies and the lid. The fermentation creates pressure and if the jars are too full the lids could explode off. I'm speaking from experience. :) Wipe around the mouths of the jars (inside and out) with a clean paper towel, cinch the lids tightly and place them in a room temperature environment where the fermentation process can happen undisturbed. It will take approximately 2-3 days. If the lids start to warp, or juice begins leaking out of the jars, that is a sure sign that the coleslaw is ready. Open each jar to taste test before refrigerating. Be careful when removing the lids, because the coleslaw is under pressure (if all has gone well) and could burst out of the jars. Whatever you do, try not to jostle or shake them. Think of what happens to a soda if it is dropped before being opened - same concept. Not good. So open slowly. If the veggies smell like sauerkraut, have a fizzy quality, and taste tart & tangy, then mission accomplished! Rinse the jars, refrigerate, and enjoy! They are supposed to have an 8 month shelf life, although nothing I make stands a chance of lasting that long (I eat everything in sight) so I can't attest to it from experience. Good luck, and please let me know how this works out for you. :-)

Welcome to lil barista's

Hi all & welcome to lil barista's. I had a huge craving for coffee when I named this blog. I know, shocker. Well anyway the good news is that coffee and tea are gluten-free (lol). I was on the Spunky Coconut website (http://www.thespunkycoconut.com/search/label/Muffins), drooling over a muffin recipe, when I saw a coffee cup with exactly that phrase on it in an add. Now the rhyme is stuck in my head so I had to share :-)

My favorite way to make coffee is in the french press. It comes out richer, smoother, more body. Absolutely smokes normal coffee. Actually, I make "CoffeeChino" in the french press, which is a blend of 1/4 coffee, 3/4 Teachino. Teachino, if you haven't heard of it, is an herbal coffee blend of chicory, dates, nuts, and figs that comes in some cool flavors (like vanilla nut, mocha, and almond amaretto) and tastes a lot like coffee, but has zero caffeine and is actually alkaline. So you get a rich tasting hot coffee with less caffeine and acidity. Personally I prefer the smoother taste of the lower acid coffees. The one I usually buy to mix with my Teachino is PurRoast low acid coffee in house blend. PurRoast uses a process that gives their coffee about 50% lower acidity than regular coffees, even the organic kinds. They have full-caf, half-caf, and decaf coffees in varying flavors and sizes, ground or whole bean. Occasionally I find it in Publix or Sunseed (local health food store), but you can also order from their website http://www.puroast.com/. I highly recommend.

Well I guess that's all for now. Have a great day all. Oh, and I meant to say that for all you hardcore coffee drinkers, you can do a 50/50 CoffeeChino blend and it tastes AMAZING. :-) More kick too. And if you don't want caffeine or the acidity but still need something hot and creamy, try the Teachino all by itself. I think it's great.