gluten free zen
Taking The Stress Out Of Gluten-Free Grain-Free & Dairy-Free Living
Pumpkin Spice Hot Chocolate
Pumpkin Spice Hot Chocolate
8 oz. of Milk of your choice
1-2 Squares of 72% Organic Dark Chocolate
1 Heaping Tablespoon Canned Plain Pumpkin
3/4 Tablespoon Sugar
1/2 teaspoon Pumpkin Pie Spice (Cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves)
1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
Place the milk, chocolate, pumpkin, sugar, and pie spice in a medium sauce pan on medium heat. Whisking until it just comes to a boil. Remove from heat and add the vanilla.
Figgy Lemon Tart
Figgy Lemon Tart
• For The Tart:
1 Cup Mama’s All Purpose Almond Flour
1/4 Cup Rice Flour
1/3 Cup Granulated Sugar
1/2 teaspoon Xanthan Gum
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
2 1/2 teaspoons Pure Almond Extract
1/2 Cup Dairy Free Butter, cold
In a small bowl add both flours, xanthan gum, and salt. Whisk to combine and set aside. In a mixer, add the butter and sugar, beat for 30 seconds and scrape down the bowl. Add the almond extract and beat until thoroughly combined and mixture is fluffy. Add the flour mixture and beat on medium for 30 seconds, scrape down bowl. Then beat for about 1 minute or until the mixture begins to almost pull all the way away from the sides of the bowl.
Scoop mixture out into a tart pan with removable bottom.
Press tart crust dough into the tart pan quickly, you don’t want the butter melting too much because it makes the dough too soft. Trim edges on an angle with a very sharp knife. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for two hours.
Remove the refrigerated crust after two hours and poke holes around the pan with a fork. Preheat oven to 325°
Line the tart crust with parchment paper and baking beans (or rice, couldn’t find my baking beans) and bake in a pre-heated oven for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes remove bean/rice and parchment paper and allow to cool while you get the remaining ingredients ready.
•For The Filling:
7 ounces Almond Milk (I like to cook with Almond Breeze because it’s thick)
2 teaspoons Dairy Free Butter
3 Eggs plus 2 Egg Whites
1/2 Cup plus 2 Tablespoons Powdered Sugar
Zest of 6 Lemons (You can use 4 if they are large lemons)
Juice of 4 Lemons
8 Fresh Figs
Heat the almond milk and dairy free butter on low in a small saucepan. Once it was hot I kept mine on warm until I finished the remaining ingredients. Next, in a medium bowl, add the eggs and powdered sugar. Whisk until there are no lumps remaining.
Add the lemon rind and lemon juice and whisk until thoroughly incorporated. Set aside.
Remove the stems from the figs and quarter.
Slowly, drizzle the warm milk and butter mixture into the egg mixture whisking quickly the entire time.
Pour 1/2 of the liquid into the tart shell and add the figs in a nice design.
Pour the remaining liquid into a measuring cup and place the tart pan in a preheated oven. Do not pull out the shelf, because when you pour the remaining liquid into the tart and then have to push the shelf back in, it will slosh all over the place and your beautiful tart will be in the bottom of your oven.
Pour the remaining liquid slowly into the tart pan, it will re-arrange the figs a bit. No worries.
Bake for 20-25 minutes. You want it to have a soft jiggle when you remove it from the oven, similar to jello, but not too much movement. You’ll know if you’ve overcooked it because it will crack and start to pull away from the sides of the tart shell.
I had a little bit of filling and figs leftover. Didn’t want to overfill the crust or have it too figgy.
Allow to cool on the counter and then dust with powdered sugar if you want to eat it room temperature, or allow it to cool on the counter and then refrigerate it for a couple of hours if you want to eat it cold. If you’re serving it cold, wait until you remove it from the fridge to dust it with powdered sugar.
The wind was blowing on the deck so getting the powdered sugar to actually land ON the tart was a challenge.
Baked Apple Breakfast
Baked Apple Breakfast
Preheat Oven to 350° (This recipe makes 1 baked apple)
1 Honey Crisp Apple
1/4 Cup GF Old Fashioned Oatmeal
1/8 Cup Walnuts, broken up
1 1/2 Tablespoons Dairy Free Butter
1/2 teaspoon Pumpkin Pie Spice
1 1/2 teaspoons Mama’s All Purpose Almond Flour
1 Tablespoon Brown Sugar
A Pinch of Shredded Coconut
Wash and dry the apple and remove the core with a knife and spoon. You can also use an actual apple corer, but I don’t think it removes enough of the inside allowing for a lot of filling. Set aside.
In a small bowl, add the oatmeal, walnuts, butter, pumpkin pie spice, flour, brown sugar, and coconut.
Crumble it between your fingers until it starts to come together.
Place the apple in a medium-sized ramekin or small baking dish that has been lightly coated with non-stick spray. Pack the oatmeal filling into the apple and pour the remaining filling around the base of the apple.
Bake for 40 minutes. I like mine with a little crispness (a little crisper than baked apples in an apple pie), if you want your apple to be very soft, bake it for about 60 minutes. Allow to cool slightly before eating.
Banana Plum Tart
Banana Plum Tart
Preheat oven to 350°
8-10 Very Ripe Italian Plums
1 Frozen Very Ripe Banana
2 1/2 Cups Mama’s Almond Flour
1/2 Cup Sugar
3/4 Cup Dairy Free Butter
1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/8 teaspoon Sea Salt
1 teaspoon Xanthan Gum
1 Egg
3/4 Cup Almond Milk, with 1 Tablespoon Fresh Lemon Juice
About 1/4 Cup Dark Brown Sugar
Spray a round tart pan with non-stick spray and pour about 1/8 cup sugar in the pan.
Wiggle the pan around to disperse the sugar, coating as evenly as possible. Set aside.
Wash and dry the plums. Cut in half, remove the pit, then cut into quarters.
Set the banana on a plate to partially thaw. (This shows two bananas, you will only need one.)
In a large mixing bowl, stir together flour, sugar, and xanthan gum. Add the dairy free butter.
“Cut it in” with your fingers until it resembles course crumbs, I prefer this over a pastry blender. What fun is cooking and baking if you can’t touch it? Do it quickly though, you don’t want the butter melting in your fingers.
Set aside about 1/2 cup of the mixture.
Into the remaining flour mixture, add the baking soda, baking powder, sea salt, and cinnamon. Stir or whisk until combined and set aside.
Measure out 3/4 cup Almond milk and add the lemon. Allow to sit for 10 minutes. This makes buttermilk. Or at least the scientific equivalent.
When it has set for 10 minutes, add the egg and beat with a fork until thoroughly combined.
Mash the partially frozen banana with a fork. The reason you want it partially frozen is because if you allow it to thaw completely it gets very runny and mushy.
Add the egg mixture and banana to the dry mixture.
Stir just until combined, do not over mix. Baking ingredients don’t like to be fiddled with and over-mixed, it makes them tough and cranky.
Spread two-thirds of the batter over the bottom and sides of the tart pan with a spoon.
Add the Italian plums in a pretty pattern.
Use the remaining one-third batter to dollop over the plums.
Sprinkle with the reserved dry topping and brown sugar. Why more sugar? Because frankly, dark brown sugar just makes everything taste better and it makes a perfect friendship with plums and bananas.
Bake for 40 minutes or until a knife inserted into a couple different places comes out clean.
Allow to cool completely (or for at least 30 minutes) before removing it from the pan.
Gooey Caramel Corn
Dairy Free Caramel Corn
1 Medium Bowl of Plain Popcorn, seeds/kernels removed from bottom of bowl
About 1/2 Cup Dairy Free Butter
About 3/4 Cup Dark Corn Syrup, or Pure Maple Syrup
About 2 Large Handfuls of Dark Brown Sugar, or Coconut Sugar
Pure Vanilla Extract
Sea Salt
Pop the corn and remove all seeds and hard kernels from the bottom of the bowl. I use two bowls. Pop into one and shake it until all of the un-popped kernels go to the bottom. Then carefully scoop out the fluffy corn into another bowl leaving the hard pieces behind.
Place the butter, corn syrup, and dark brown sugar in a large skillet.
Stirring constantly, heat on medium until boiling. Stop stirring and continue to boil for 5 minutes.
Remove from heat and add about 2 teaspoons of vanilla, stir.
Pour half of the caramel mixture over the bowl of popped corn. Sprinkle with sea salt and toss carefully with a wooden spoon. Poor the remaining caramel over the popped corn and sprinkle with another layer of sea salt.
The stirring cools the caramel corn so at this point, it’s safe to eat.
Coconut Ice Cream with Warm Brown Sugar & Cinnamon Peaches
Serves Two
2 Ripe Peaches
About 1 1/2 teaspoons of Dark Brown Sugar
About 1/8 – 1/4 teaspoon Cinnamon
About 1/8 – 1/4 teaspoon Pumpkin Pie Spice
Coconut Milk Dairy Free Vanilla Ice Cream
Peel and thinly slice peaches into a small sauce pan. Add the brown sugar, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice. Simmer on medium-low for about 10-15 minutes until the flavors are fully incorporated and peaches become juicy.
Remove from burner and cool for about 5 minutes. Drizzle sauce and peaches over ice cream.
Spinach Pasta With Grilled Veggies, Chicken Thighs, and Walnut Pesto
Spinach Pasta With Grilled Veggies, Chicken Thighs, and Walnut Pesto
Tinkyada Spinach Brown Rice Pasta
3 Chicken Thighs
1/2 Red Bell Pepper
1/2 Orange Bell Pepper
1/2 Summer Squash
1/2 Tablespoon Vegan Walnut Pesto
About 3 Tablespoons Gluten Free Barbecue Sauce
About 1 teaspoon Chopped Garlic
About 1 Tablespoon Rice Vinegar
Olive Oil
Garlic Powder
Dried Oregano
Sea Salt
Combine the BBQ sauce, chopped garlic, and vinegar in a small bowl. Add the chicken thighs (rinsed and dried) and toss. Set aside. Cook the pasta (reserve about 1/4 cup pasta water), rinse, and set aside. (Some people are completely against rinsing their pasta, however, with gluten-free pasta, I have found that if it’s rinsed right after draining it doesn’t stick). In a medium bowl, add the peppers, sliced in half, and the summer squash, sliced but not too thin. Drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with a generous amount of garlic powder, oregano, and sea salt. Toss and set aside.
Heat the grill to medium to medium high and grill the chicken until it has about 7 minutes to go. Add the vegetables and grill everything until done.
Next, slice the chicken and vegetables. Place the pasta in a large bowl and add the pesto, vegetables, and chicken. Heat the reserved pasta water in the microwave, add about 1/2 to the mixture and toss. You may have to add more pasta water as you toss depending on the consistency of the pesto and how it disperses throughout the pasta, veggies, and chicken.
Brownie Sundae
Gluten Free & Dairy Free Sundae
1 Gluten Free Brownie
1 Scoop of Coconut Milk Dairy Free Vanilla Ice Cream
Several Roasted Salted Almonds, Roughly Chopped
Chocolate Syrup
Potato Soup
Potato Soup
8 Medium Yukon Gold Potatoes, cubed
5 Medium Stalks of Celery, cut down the middle and sliced
1 Medium to Large Walla Walla Sweet Onion, diced
1 Whole Package of All Natural Bacon, diced (easier done when partially frozen)
3 Cloves of Garlic, diced
1 1/2 Tablespoons of Dairy Free Butter
A Pinch of Dried Parsley
2 32oz Containers of GF Chicken Broth
2 Cups Almond Milk or Homemade Cashew Milk
Sea Salt & Pepper To Taste
Slice the celery and dice the onion, garlic, and bacon. Cube the potatoes.
In a medium-large Dutch oven, saute the bacon until it is golden and somewhat crisp. Be patient, it’s a lot of bacon and it will take a while. You want it to ever so lightly caramelize the bottom of the pan for a lot of flavor later. If you cook it to quickly, it will burn.
Remove the cooked bacon with a slotted spoon onto a paper towel and set aside.
Remove all of the little bits from the pan leaving about a tablespoon and a half of bacon grease.
Next, saute the onions and celery until the onion is translucent. Then add the garlic and saute for a few more minutes.
Add the butter and drained bacon and stir.
Add the potatoes and stir.
Cover the potatoes with both boxes of chicken broth. Bring to a boil and then turn down to a low boil until potatoes are tender.
Once the potatoes are tender enough to eat, add the two cups of almond milk and the pinch of dried parsley. Bring to a boil again and season with sea salt and pepper.
Serve and enjoy!
Nectarine Peach Crisp for Two
Nectarine Peach Crisp for Two
2 Peaches
2 Nectarines
1/2 Lemon, juiced
1 1/2 Tablespoons Sugar
1 teaspoon Mama’s Almond Flour
Peel and slice the peaches and nectarines into semi-thin wedges. Add the lemon juice, sugar, and flour. Stir to combine and set aside.
While the peaches are resting, make the topping.
1 Cup Gluten-Free Old Fashioned Oats
1/4 Cup Brown Sugar, packed
1 teaspoon Granulated Sugar
1/4 Cup Mama’s Almond Flour
1/4 teaspoon Sea Salt
1/4 teaspoon Cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon Xanthan Gum
4 Tablespoons Dairy Free Butter
Add all ingredients except butter to a medium bowl. Stir to combine. Add butter and crumble with fingers until mixture begins to come together. Set aside.
Fill your new cool ramekins evenly with the peaches and nectarines.
Top with the oatmeal topping.
Bake in a preheated oven for 30 minutes until top is lightly golden and crisp and peaches are bubbly.
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