No Bake Peanut Butter Balls

Growing up, my mom used to make something similar to these but I think the main ingredient was powdered sugar and we just do better on natural sweeteners.  These are a quick, easy, fun treat to make with the kids.  Sorry, no pictures.  I meant to take some, but they were gone before the camera came out...this often happens!  I know pictures are nice, but I've just got to face the fact that as a busy mom, sometimes it just doesn't happen.  =)

Peanut Butter Balls
(gluten, dairy, egg, soy, tree nut free, vegan)

1 c. almond flour
1/2. roasted peanut butter (we like maranatha or trader joe's brand--just peanuts and salt)
1/4 c. tapioca starch
1/4 c. agave nectar
2 tbsp. coconut or grapeseed oil
1 c. finely crushed GF chex cereal OR GF icecream cones (i had some broken cones to use up, yum!)
1/3 enjoy life mini chocolate chips

In a bowl, combine almond flour, peanut butter, tapioca starch, agave nectar, and oil.  Stir well.  Dough should be thick, not sticky.  You may need to add another tbsp or two of tapioca.  Add crushed cereal and chocolate chips.  Roll into balls and place on plate.  Refrigerate for an hour or two before serving, if you can keep your kiddos out!  We also like these frozen.

Variation:  Sub honey for agave and raisins for chocolate chips.

Vegan Raspberry Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

My husband bought me this for Christmas and now that the weather is turning, it's time to get it out and get crankin'!  (Er, plug it in)  I am so excited for this coming hot season (and believe me, it WILL come!).  I love ice cream.  Factor in that we don't eat dairy, and then add the cost of yummy vegan ice cream in stores and THEN add the fact that our little health food store only carries 3 varieties of one brand (vanilla, chocolate and mint chocolate chip) and you've got one sad girl...until now.  Home made ice cream is too easy!  Just mix ingredients in the blender and then pour into the ice cream maker for 20 minutes, tops.  My husband and I made this vegan raspberry recipe the other night for our date after the kiddos were in bed.  Ice cream and old tv shows like The Andy Griffith Show and The Dick Van Dyke Show--who could ask for more?

--Vegan Raspberry Chocolate Chip Ice Cream--

In your blender, mix:

1 can coconut milk, whole fat (I like Thai Kitchen)
1/3 c. agave nectar
3 cups frozen raspberries
1/2 tsp. vanilla bean powder (it's a new love of mine--I got mine at mountain rose herbs) or sub vanilla exract; just make sure it's gluten free like Simply Organics.

Pour into ice cream maker and follow your machine's directions.  Add 1/4 c. chocolate chips (we use Enjoy Life brand) when the icecream is setting but not quite frozen.  Serve with your favorite old-time sitcom.

{gluten, dairy, and egg free} blackberry hazelnut cake balls

Elana over at Elana's Pantry has been making various kinds of these tantalizing chocolate bites.  We had a huge extended family gathering where I knew there would be all sorts of yummy treats that my daughter can't eat, including cake balls.  The fam was serving everything from muffins to meatballs, various kinds of popcorn to jalepeno poppers (which I graciously offered to deseed and proceeded to POP a seed in my eye, OUCH!)  I made glazed meatballs, banana muffins, cookie bars, trail mix popcorn, and these cake balls.  No complaints and no deprivation.

blackberry hazelnut cake balls~~

I used Elana's chocolate cake recipe, subsituting Ener-G egg replacer for the eggs.

After the cake cooled, I crumbled it and added about 1/3 c. blackberry jam (I like Polaner's).

Next, I formed them into balls.  Elana used 1/2 c. jam so if yours are not staying together, add a bit more jam.

I then melted about 1/2 c. Enjoy Life chocolate chips and dipped them, rolling them in chopped hazelnuts while the chocolate was still soft. 

This made about 30 cake balls.  These turned out really well. They also keep well in the freezer.  Elana's always got something great going--check out her site in my sidebar!

Triple Berry Cobbler

We had this for breakfast this morning.  Every now and then you just gotta have a special breakfast; today was one of those mornings.  The rest of the day was crazy-chaotic, so it was nice to begin it in such a laid-back way.    I have pics of this (we took when we were finished), but my camera is awaiting a newer, longer lasting rechargeable battery, so it'll have to wait.

So, it's been months since my blog has had any pizazz at all.  Thanks to my wonderful husband, this blog actually looks, well, more like a blog!  He is my Tech Support, as well as The Keeper of the Photos.  I am so glad I have him to help me! 

[triple berry cobbler]

preheat oven to 400 degrees

in a 9x13" baking dish, mix:

1- bag of mixed berries (blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries)
2 tsp arrowroot powder
1/3 c. agave nectar

in a small bowl, make up a batch of these biscuits, adding another tbsp or two of agave if you like.

drop twelve small biscuits on top of berry mix in your dish.

bake for 25-30 minutes, or until biscuits are cooked through. 

[serves 6]

peanut butter chocolate ganache frosting

This goes well on brownies or cake.  For cupcakes, I dip the tops in the warm frosting.  Easy-peasy.  The recipe makes enough for one 9x13" pan of brownies, but I double for cake.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Ganache

1 tbsp. coconut oil
1/4 c. agave
1/4 c. peanut butter
3/4 c. chocolate chips (I use enjoy life brand)

In a small saucepan, over a low flame, gently melt ingredients together, adding chocolate chips last.  Remove from heat as soon as melted.  Spread over brownies, dip cupcakes, or frost cake. 

blueberry right-side-up cake

This was a totally unexpected surprise.  I was making Flying Apron's Berry Corn Muffins, but had to sub some things.  I wasn't sure how {if} it would turn out...turns out, it made a dessert instead.  My husband said it reminds him of pineapple upside down cake, only with blueberries.  The cake sort of seperates during baking, so there's these subtle layers going on...yellow, cream, and blue.  It was quite a hit.

blueberry right-side-up-cake

~preheat oven to 375
~mix dry ingredients in a large bowl:

1 c. WHITE rice flour
1/2 c. potato starch
1/3 c. corn grits
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. sea salt

~blend together:

1/2 c. grapeseed oil
1 1/4 c. water
1/3 c. honey
1/3 c. agave
2 tbsp. maple syrup
1 tbsp. flax seed
1 tsp. gf vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. lemon oil or 6 drops doterra essential oil

~pour blended ingredients into the bowl and mix with the dry ingredients. 
~pour into a greased 9x13" pan (the batter will be thin) and gently sprinkle blueberries on top--you want them to sort of float.
~bake for 25-30 minutes, til golden and the blueberries are well set.

Vegan Chocolate Pecan Ice Cream--Vita Mix Style

I am holding a sick baby, typing one-handed, so these posts will be short--and some of them, sweet. ;-)  I had a need for chocolate ice cream the other night and invented this.  It was amazingly creamy.  My husband approved, too.  You do need a high-powered blender for this, otherwise you'll have ice chunks.
chocolate pecan ice cream
1/4 c. boiling water
1/2 c. gf cocoa
1-14 oz. can coconut milk, full fat
1 tsp. gf vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. xanthan gum
1/2 c. agave nectar
4 c. ice
1/2 c. pecans

• in a freezer safe bowl, mix boiling water, cocoa, and vanilla--it won't be totally liquid
• add coconut milk and agave and stir well
• add xanthan gum; make sure it's mixed in well
• freeze for an hour, stirring once or twice
• add ice
• pour into blender
• mix on high, stirring with the blender's tamper
• pour back into your bowl and add pecans
• serve immediately; freeze leftovers

Peanut Butter Popcorn

 My cousin has a really yummy recipe for p.b.p. (peanut butter popcorn) but I never really make it because it's really not so good for you.  Now, I realize peanut butter isn't all that great, either, but I rarely make this, so it's truly a treat.  This less detrimental version is great for a family movie night or while gathered round the table listening to dad read The Great Brain; although, it's a raw deal for dad..."now, honey, don't talk with your mouth full..."

Peanut Butter Popcorn
1 c. popcorn, unpopped
3/4 c. peanut butter (we like Maranatha)
1 c. agave nectar

Pop popcorn and set aside.   In a small saucepan, melt peanut butter and agave nectar together on low, stirring continually.  Pour  over popcorn and mix in.  Eat.  Nom.

German Chocolate Cake--vegan, gf/cf, egg free, and sugar free [whew!]

Letting go of eggs really messed with my head--at least where gf baking is concerned.  I am not as adventurous as I once was because mistakes can be costly.  It's a whole 'nother ball game since eggs can have so many different functions in baking.  Let's see, were the eggs used as a binder?  emulsifier?  other?  Sometimes it takes quite a bit of trial and error to figure it out.  (Like the time I tried to make our favorite gf brownie mix with egg replacer instead of the real thing; it completely seperated while baking--liquid (mainly oil) on top and a brownie-hard-tack on bottom.)  But I digress...
We had a birthday party recently and I made this chocolate cake from Ali at The Whole Life Nutrition Kitchen with frostings from Elana's German Chocolate Cake.  Elana's cake looks really good too, but alas it has eggs (like 10 of them!) so no-can-do.  No matter, the cake was a hit with the entire clan, (most of which are not gluten free) regardless of the egg status.  When asked how I made a healthy cake taste so good, (were they infering that healthy can't taste good?) I replied, "It's the prunes."  No, really.  LOL.  {wink}  I don't think they believed me...

Gluten Free/ Dairy Free Pumpkin Pie

Pumpkin pie is fall at it's best.  I LOVE pumpkin!  And I LOVE all the great varieties that grow so easily in the garden.  This year, I grew a baby instead of getting in my pumpkins and winter squash, but my favorite varieties for the garden and for pies are Winter Luxury Pie, Musquee de Provence, and Queensland Blue.  Look them up.  In this amazing book.  Seriously, they are beautiful!!!  So pretty, it's tough to cut them up instead of leaving them on my table and around the house to stumble glow over.
This pie is NOT egg free; I'm still working on that...but it is gluten free/ dairy free.
The crust I used last year is in Jennifer Katzinger's Flying Apron's Gluten-Free & Vegan Baking Book.
I'm also wanting to try Elana's from Elana's pantry...note, if I used hers, I would bake the crust first as she directs.  ETA:  I tried Elana's crust with this recipe, and while it is an amazing crust, it can't take the long baking time of this pie.  I tried it, baking the crust first and it burned during baking the pie--not just the edges, but the entire crust.  So I did another, this time not baking before hand and it burned as well.  However, this crust would be amazing with a coconut cream pie!


Pumpkin Pie

Flying Apron's Standard Crust:
1 1/2 c. brown rice flour
1/4 tsp. sea salt
1/2 c. plus 3 tbsp. coconut oil
3 tbsp. agave syrup
1-2 tbsp. cold water

Combine brown rice flour and sea salt in a large bowl.  In the bowl of a standing mixer (I did this portion by hand.), mix the coconut oil until softened, about 1 minute.With mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture slowly until oncorporated.  Add the agave syrup and water and mix until a soft dough has formed, about 5 minutes.  If the dough is dry, add additional water 1 tbsp at a time until the dough is smooth.

Dust your work surface and hands liberally with brown rice flour.  (a 12- by 18-inch cutting board or piece of cardboard covered in parchment works well.)  Place dough on your surface and sprinkle the top with more brown rice flour.  Roll the dough into an 11-inch disc.

Place your pie plate on top of the rolled-out dough.  With one hand under the work surface and the other on the pie plate, flip them so that the cutting board is on top.  Set the pie plate on the counter, remove the cutting board, and gently press the pie dough into the pie plate.  Any tears that occur can be fixed by gently pressing and pinching the dough back together.

Decoratively flute the edges with a fork or by pinching the edges with your thumb and fore finger.

Filling:
2 eggs
2 c. cooked pumpkin (fresh is best)
1 c. whole fat coconut milk (I like Thai Kitchen)
1/2 c. honey or agave nectar
1/2 tsp sea salt
2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice*

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Place ingredients in the blender.  Blend just until filling is smooth.   Pour into uncooked crust.  Use foil around edges to protect from burning.  Bake for 15 minutes and then turn oven down to 350 degrees and continue baking for another 45 minutes to an hour; until mixture is set when jiggled.  Allow to cool before serving. 

Pumpkin Pie Spice

1/4 c. cinnamon
2 tbsp. ground cloves
2 tbsp all spice
1 1/2 tbsp. ginger

Apple Cake, Ice Cream and Apple Butter

Last week, I scored 150# of pink lady apples for 15 cents/lb!!!  YAY!  So we've been eating them like crazy...I've also been making apple crumble, apple butter, and apple sauce {really, just WHAT is the difference between the two?}.  I still plan on deyhrating some as well, but for now we're just eating them like crazy--oh, so GOOD! 
Last night was my niece and nephew's birthday party, so I made Elana's  Apple Cake from Elana's Pantry.  Yum!  I served it with coconut milk icecream and apple butter.  I didn't have almond butter on hand, so I just ground almonds in my vita mix...my brother came up to me afterwards and said, "Wow, I am amazed at your ability to make something so good out of nothing!"  Um, is that a compliment?  I'll take it! ;-)  Of course, "nothing" means gluten, dairy, and egg free.
Here are the adaptations I made:

{APPLE CAKE}


1 apple, cored and quartered
1 c. almonds
1 tsbp. coconut oil
1/3 c. agave nectar
1 tbsp. Ener-G egg replacer plus 1/3 cup almond milk, mixed well
1 tsp. gf vanilla extract
1 tbsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. sea salt
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grind almonds with the coconut oil into an almost-nut-butter-consistancy.  Scrape the almost-almond-butter into a bowl and set aside.  Place the quartered apple to blender and pulse.  Add the almost-almond-butter, agave nectar and egg replacer and blend until smooth.  Add the spices, vanilla, and sea salt.  Mix well.  Pour in a greased 8x8" pan.  Bake for 28-30 minutes. Serve warm, a la mode, with a spoonful of apple butter on top.  (I so wish I'd gotten a pick of this--it was purty!) 

This version will not rise as much as the original from lack of real eggs. 

Autumnal Recipes {Apple Crumble} and Thanksgiving

We have decided to stay home for Thanksgiving this year. I was a bit sad at first, but am getting more and more excited about it being just us. I envision a slow paced day and a conclusion to a month's long journey on gratitude along with time spent learning about the Pilgrims. Another perk? I won't have to have one moment's anxiety about cross contamination! Hooray!

So, here's the first recipe of Autumn for our family: We have a local orchard that we go to yearly for their yummy apples. There's just nothing like taking the family apple picking on The Mountain. And then coming home and making an apple crumble every night...or as often as possible, right?  This is sort of a hybrid--a cross between a crisp and a cobbler.

{APPLE CRUMBLE}

Filling:

5 large apples, sliced and cored (we like Rome and Fugi)
1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
1/4-1/3 c. agave nectar or honey, depending on how sweet you like it
1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Crumble:

3/4 c. brown rice flour
1/2 c. tapioca starch
1 c. almond flour*
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/3 c. agave nectar
1/3 c. unrefined coconut oil
1 tsp. cinnamon, or apple pie spices

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, mix the filling ingredients. Pour into a 9x13" glass baking dish. In a medium sized bowl, mix all the dry ingredients. Add the agave and oil and mix well. (You can use your hands!) Crumble or spread the topping across the apples. Cover with foil for the first 25 minutes or so.  Bake for 50-60 minutes. Let rest ten minutes before serving.

If you have a high-powered blender such as a vita mix, you can easily make your own almond flour.  I just toss in a cup of nuts and blend on high for a few seconds.  Caution!  Don't over blend or you'll make almond butter and have to make Elana's brownies instead (which wouldn't be the end of the world, eh?).

Faux Fried Ice Cream

So I'll be the first to admit that I am not great at gluten free cakes--at least not since omitting eggs from our baked goods. This ice cream cake-ish dessert works just great for us for birthdays.

Faux Fried Ice Cream

2 cups gf/cf cereal (corn flakes, rice puffs, or a mix)
1/4 c. shredded coconut (unsweetened)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 c. turbinado sugar
1/4 c. coconut oil
coarsely chopped almonds
*1-2 pints of Turtle Mountain Purely Decadent or Luna and Larry's Coconut Bliss icecream (I used 1 1/2)
gf/cf caramel syrup
gf/cf chocolate syrup

Crush cereal, turbinado sugar, coconut, cinnamon, and coconut oil in the bottom of a deep dish pie pan or 8"x8" baking pan, lightly greased. Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes. Spread ice cream over cooled crust. Drizzle syrups and nuts over ice cream. Freeze well. Remove from freezer a few minutes before serving and use a knife dipped in water to cut. Serves 6-8.
*You can experiment with different flavors--mint is fun.