Super Yummy Nightshade Free BBQ Ribs

ok, so they don't look pretty, but they taste good! we served them with steamed broccoli and mashed roasted cauliflower. Yum!

Ribs are easy to prepare, but BBQ sauces have tomatoes and peppers in them, and rubs have paprika and cayenne (also peppers) in them. Since nightshades and I don't get along, that was a problem. We've been doing some research, and after some trial and error, we've come up with some ribs that are yummy and don't have the offending nightshades.

Super Yummy Nightshade Free BBQ Ribs (adapted from a recipe found here)

Baby back ribs
Fauxmato BBQ Sauce
Sweet Dry Rub

Remove membrane from back of ribs. Place ribs on a sheet of foil on a cookie sheet and sprinkle dry rub on one side, then rub it in. Turn over and do the same for the other side. Let sit for 15 or 20 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees while ribs are resting. Spread bbq sauce on both sides of the ribs. Place a sheet of foil on top of ribs and fold over all sides, sealing the ribs into a packet. Bake ribs in oven for at least 2 hours. We've baked them for 2 1/2 hours and they've just fallen apart before we even got them on the grill. Experiment and see what works best with your oven. After removing from oven, carefully open foil and spread more bbq sauce on the ribs. Throw (or gently place) ribs on the grill for about 10 minutes each side. Be careful not to have the grill too hot or to leave them on too long as the sugars will burn instead of caramelizing. Remove from grill and enjoy!

This recipe is gluten free, dairy free, egg free, corn free, peanut free, nut free, coconut free, soy free, as well as free of tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, sorghum, tapioca, and shellfish. Always check labels before using to make sure the ingredients and/or manufacturing conditions haven't been changed.

Nightshade Free Sweet Dry Rub

When I made ribs this week, I first had to make the BBQ sauce and the dry rub.

BBQ rubs usually have paprika in them, but paprika is made from peppers and I can't eat it, even in small amounts. Because of the lack of paprika and the presence of black pepper, this rub is a bit peppery instead of spicy.

Sweet Dry Rub (adapted from a recipe found here, other ideas are there as well)
6 Tbl brown sugar
3 Tbl Sea salt or Kosher salt (you want a coarse salt that won't soak into the meat right away)
3 Tbl ground black pepper
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp mustard powder

Mix ingredients together and store in a cool, dry place.

This recipe is gluten free, dairy free, egg free, corn free, peanut free, nut free, coconut free, soy free, as well as free of tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, sorghum, tapioca, and shellfish. Always check labels before using to make sure the ingredients and/or manufacturing conditions haven't been changed.

Fauxmato BBQ Sauce (Tomato Free)

I made ribs this week, which meant I finally sat down and tried to figure out our BBQ sauce recipe. This version tasted close to the one Mr M made awhile ago (but didn't document) that we've been trying to re-create since. This sauce gets a Korean BBQ sauce flavor from the sesame oil and ume plum vinegar, but it's not over-powering. In the past we've used a bottled Korean BBQ sauce that was really good that contained whole sesame seeds, so you could easily add a tablespoon or two of whole sesame seeds as well.

Fauxmato BBQ Sauce

4 c fauxmato sauce
2 tbl worcestershire sauce (recipe found here, mix together the ingredients below)
     1/2 c cider vinegar
     2 tbsp coconut aminos
     2 tsps water
     1/4 tsp mustard powder
     1/4 tsp onion powder
     1/4 tsp ground ginger
     1/4 tsp garlic powder
     1/8 tsp pepper
     1/8 tsp cinnamon
1 tbl sesame oil
1 tbl ume plum vinegar
1/3 c brown sugar
1 tbl coconut aminos (soy sauce substitute)
1 tsp fish sauce
1 tsp molasses
1/4 tsp tamarind paste
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1 bay leaf

Simmer for about half an hour. Remove bay leaf and use sauce. Freeze or refrigerate leftovers. Great on ribs and chicken.

This recipe is gluten free, dairy free, egg free, corn free, peanut free, nut free, coconut free, soy free, as well as free of tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, sorghum, tapioca, and shellfish. Always check labels before using to make sure the ingredients and/or manufacturing conditions haven't been changed.

Ranch Burgers {Gluten Free, Dairy Free}

I know, two recipes in a row? It won't happen again, I promise :)

Yesterday I posted the onion rings I made, and mentioned the ranch burgers I served them with. I'm sure the picture wasn't super helpful in explaining what our version of a ranch burger is, so I'll explain.

Mr M used to season our hamburgers with a mixture of spices and such, which usually included tamari sauce (gluten free soy sauce) and worcestershire sauce. Both contain soy, though, and are no longer on the approved foods list.

So what to add to our burgers?

We came up with the idea of adding powdered ranch mix to the meat. Ok, maybe we saw the idea somewhere, but I'm not sure where. In any case, it sounded like a good idea, but then we needed a dairy free ranch mix that would still taste similar to "real" (i.e., Hidden Valley) ranch.

Then I remembered seeing a recipe on a blog I follow for dairy free mock ranch dressing.

Since we use the recipe as she wrote it, I'll refer you back to her blog for the recipe. I like to mix up a double or triple batch so it's ready whenever I want to use it.

Ranch Burgers

1lb burger (beef, elk, etc)
1-2 tbl dairy free ranch mix

Sprinkle the dry mix over the burger (I just eyeball how much I think will be good- more will give a stronger, yummier flavor), then mix well to incorporate the mix into the meat. Form into patties and toss 'em on the grill.

When done, serve with grilled veggies and some gluten free onion rings.

LMS isn't fond of lettuce, so we don't usually wrap our burgers in lettuce, but that is always an option. We also don't add any other toppings (not that there are many that we could actually eat) because the ranch mix gives such a good flavor to the meat that we don't need additional condiments, though Mr M likes to melt some cheese on his. And we just use a fork to eat it- less messy that way :)

This recipe is gluten free, dairy free, egg free, corn free, peanut free, nut free, coconut free, soy free, and {of course} free of tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, sorghum, tapioca, and shellfish. Always check labels before using to make sure the ingredients and/or manufacturing conditions haven't been changed.

Gluten Free Onion Rings

It's been years since I've had onion rings, and lately I've been thinking I'd like to make some. After doing some searching, I found a recipe here that looked pretty straightforward and simple. I did have to change some of the spices, but I think the result tasted great. Though I did remember part of the reason why I haven't had onion rings in so long (aside from the whole gluten free thing). All the oil in fried foods doesn't agree with my stomach :(

This recipe makes onion rings that are coated in a nice, light tempura-like batter. Yum!

Gluten Free Onion Rings

adapted from anaseidel.com

1 cup rice flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp black pepper

1- 1 1/2 cups water

1 large vidalia (sweet) onion, peeled and cut in thick rings, then separated

Mix the dry ingredients, then add 1 cup of water. Mix and add more water if needed. (I used 1 1/4 cups of water) Batter should be on the thin side. 

Let the batter sit for 5 minutes.

Heat some oil in a pot over medium heat.

After the batter has rested for 5 minutes, place some onion rings in the batter and turn them over to coat them.

Let the excess batter drip off (I used a fork), then carefully place in hot oil.

Turn once to allow even browning, then remove from oil and drain on paper towels.

Repeat with remaining onion pieces and batter.

Enjoy!

I served the onion rings with ranch burgers (recipe tomorrow!) and grilled veggies. Yum!

Gluten Free Onion Rings

adapted from anaseidel.com

1 cup rice flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp black pepper

1- 1 1/2 cups water

1 large vidalia (sweet) onion, peeled and cut in thick rings, then separated

1. Mix the dry ingredients, then add 1 cup of water. Mix and add more water if needed. (I used 1 1/4 cups of water) Batter should be on the thin side. 

2. Let the batter sit for 5 minutes.

3. Heat some oil in a pot over medium heat.

4. After the batter has rested for 5 minutes, place some onion rings in the batter and turn them over to coat them.

5. Let the excess batter drip off (I used a fork), then carefully place in hot oil.

6. Turn once to allow even browning, then remove from oil and drain on paper towels.

7. Repeat with remaining onion pieces and batter.

8. Enjoy!

This recipe is gluten free, dairy free, egg free, corn free, peanut free, nut free, coconut free, soy free (depending on the type of oil you use to fry the onion rings- be sure to check the label), and {of course} free of tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, sorghum, tapioca, and shellfish. Always check labels before using to make sure the ingredients and/or manufacturing conditions haven't been changed.

Birthday Cupcakes

Chocolate wacky cake cupcake with raspberry frosting

LMS had a few friends over for a birthday party last Saturday. After playing and the obligatory pinata busting [which required help from Mr M- don't buy pinatas from Target- they're impossible to break. Mr M took a whack at it and the loop tore out of it- the sides didn't bust out.] we had cupcakes and strawbery sorbet.
I used the same recipe that I used for her birthday cake, but used the chocolate gluten free option this time. I used the same frosting recipe (substituting raspberries for strawberries again), also, but didn't overbeat it this time and it turned out a lot better. I also made the same strawberry sorbet that we made for her birthday.

It was all very yummy!

What we eat: Birthday dinner

 

Little Miss Sunshine turned 6 last week.

For dinner, she requested noodles (of course!), jello, fruit salad, and root beer.

Noodles: Tinkyada Little Dreams shaped rice noodles with faux mato sauce, pepperoni, sausage, and sauteed shredded veggies
Jello: blue jello
Fruit salad: fresh strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries
Root beer: Jones brand (doesn't contain corn syrup)

For cake and ice cream she requested a lemon cake with raspberry frosting and strawberry ice cream. And she wanted the cake to have "rings", by which she meant layers.

I used this recipe for the cake, using the gluten free and lemon options. It's called Wacky Cake, and dates from the Depression when eggs, milk and butter weren't plentiful. This is great for us, since that means it's naturally vegan! No substituting with flax eggs- yay! I used Authentic Foods GF Classical blend and it turned out pretty good. A little dense, but the texture and flavor were quite good. The blend does contain tapioca flour and potato starch, so we won't use this recipe too often- I could definitely tell I was eating things I shouldn't be.

I used this recipe for the frosting, using raspberries instead of strawberries. I think I used about 1/2 cup of lightly smashed raspberries instead of the 3 Tbl strawberry puree. It's been quite some time since I made frosting, and I ended up beating it a bit longer than I should have so it went grainy. It was also a bit grainy because of the powdered sugar I used- it clumped pretty bad, even after sifting it. The frosting didn't look super appetizing, but it tasted fine.

I'll post the recipe soon that I used for the strawberry ice cream, which is really a sorbet. Since we had to take coconut milk out of our diet we couldn't use the super easy ice cream recipe that we've used in the past.

All in all, it was a yummy dinner and there was only a minimal amount of things we shouldn't be eating :)

Gluten free frog eye salad recipe with egg free option

I've been meaning to post my gluten free frog eye salad for awhile, but with our added food restrictions I haven't seen the point in making it (we can't eat the marshmallows, cool whip, tapioca pearls, or eggs, and the oranges are on the iffy list) and I couldn't quite remember how I'd done it before- it's been a year and a half since I last made it. Mr M convinced me to fudge things a bit for Thanksgiving so I decided to go ahead and make some frog eye salad so I could finally post the recipe.

I've been able to eat small amounts of corn products without too many problems, so I was willing to fudge most of the ingredients, but I wasn't willing to eat eggs. I tried eating some last month and it was not pleasant. So I tried making the custard with a flax egg, and it actually turned out pretty good. While it's not as pretty as an egg custard, it tastes very similar to what I remember it tasting like, and Mr M agreed.

Gluten free, Egg free Frog Eye Salad

EF Custard

½ c sugar

1 tbl fine brown rice flour (I used Authentic Foods)

¼ tsp salt

1 cup pineapple juice drained from 20 oz can of pineapple that you use later

1 flax egg (1 tbl ground flax seed + 3 tbl boiling water, let sit for a few minutes to thicken) or use 1 egg if you're not egg free, beat the egg well

2 tsp lemon juice

Whisk together dry ingredients then whisk in pineapple juice and flax egg. Heat over medium heat , stirring occasionally. Bring to boil and continue to cook for a few more minutes till thickened. Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice. Allow to cool, it will “gel” as it cools, so stir occasionally.

The custard as it cools and gels. The brown flecks are bits of ground flax. 

GF “acini de pepe”

1.5 c large tapioca pearls

Bring water to boil in a large saucepan/pot. Whisk in tapioca pearls.

Stir occasionally and cook till most of the pearls are translucent (about 17 min).

Turn off heat and let sit for another 5 minutes or so till the pearls have only small bits of white left in the centers. Carefully dump tapioca into a fine mesh sieve and gently rinse the gel from around the pearls (I had to do it in three batches because my sieve isn’t big enough to hold it all).

rinsing the tapioca pearls

Allow pearls to cool in bowl.

Bring it all together

1 20 oz can crushed pineapple (juice drained and used in custard)

2 11 oz cans mandarin oranges, drained (juice can be used in custard if needed to make 1 cup)

1.5 c mini marshmallows

8 oz tub cool whip

Once the custard and tapioca are cool, gently fold together.

Carefully add pineapple, oranges, marshmallows, coconut, and cool whip and mix together. Refrigerate overnight.

Enjoy!
My previous posts on gluten free frog eye salad are here and here.

If you make it, let me know how it turns out for you!

Grilled elk tenderloin

While I was laid out on the couch last night (I think it's highly unfair that I have to endure painful monthly cramps when none of my other lady parts seem to be able to work properly) Mr M made a really yummy dinner.

He grabbed an elk tenderloin from the freezer, defrosted it and then rubbed some salt on it and let it sit for awhile.  While it was sitting, he put a butternut squash in the oven to bake.

Mr M briefly rinsed the salt off the meat, then brushed on the fauxmato bbq sauce that he had made a couple weeks ago (I still need to do a post on the fauxmato sauce). He then tossed it on the grill to cook.

When the squash was done he scraped the flesh and pureed it in the BlendTec, using some canned coconut milk to thin it.

When the meat was done, he sliced it and we sat down to a dinner of grilled elk tenderloin and coconut squash puree. The elk was a smidge salty (he'll rinse the salt off more next time) and the squash a tad runny (he'll use a little less milk next time), but it all tasted soooo good! The tenderloin was so tender and juicy no knife was needed, and the flavor was great. The flavor combination of the tenderloin and the squash really hit the spot.

I didn't get any pictures because we ate it all up so fast :)  I'll try to get some next time, since we will definitely be making this again.

I'm so glad I have a husband who likes to cook and who has taken on the challenge of cooking meals we can eat :)

Birthday ice cream

I had stopped baking by the time my birthday rolled around at the end of June, but I did make some ice cream- coconut ice cream topped with blueberries. I used the recipe I found here but I left out the chocolate. Even without the chocolate, it was pretty yummy.

However, LMS is still upset by the fact that I didn't have cake for my birthday. She has brought it up multiple times, and is quite concerned that I didn't have a birthday cake. Too cute!

Paleo Strawberry Shortcake

I've recently found that recipes that follow the paleo diet are fairly close to what we need to eat. I do have to make some changes and substitutions, but they're fairly easy to do. I like the emphasis on fresh, unprocessed food, and I'm enjoying the opportunity to try some baking, which I haven't done in several months.

I made strawberry shortcake following this recipe. Other than subbing flax eggs for the real eggs, I followed the recipe as written. It is quite dense and not much like your traditional shortcake, but it was still pretty good.

Mr M put strawberries and bananas on his.

 I put strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries on mine.

 LMS just had coconut cream on hers.

Gluten free pumpkin waffles

Gluten free, egg free, dairy free, corn free, oat free.

The weather has gotten cooler, the leaves are changing (must take lots of pictures very soon!), and fall is here. Fall makes me think of pumpkins- I love anything flavored with pumpkin- pie, cookies, muffins, ice cream (so yummy, but I won't be eating any this year unfortunately), and waffles.

I followed the recipe here, and I have to say her website is a goldmine of recipes I can actually use (ie, eat without getting sick).

I used the smaller amount of salt in the recipe, but should have used more- the waffles were a bit bland. Howevere, we put unsweetened applesauce on top, and they were yummy!

I had a brain fart and had the first batch cooking in my Belgian waffle maker before I realized this wasn't actually a Belgian waffle recipe. I've made waffles several times since then, using the regular waffle maker, and they've turned out better. They were just too thick and dense to make a good Belgian waffle.

The picture is from the first time I made these waffles, and we used store-bought applesauce. The last two times I made them we used the applesauce I made a couple weeks ago. Sooo yummy!

Gluten free Lemon Blueberry Granola

lemon blueberry granola

Since we're not eating gluten, eggs, dairy, or corn now (yeah, I know, quite the list. but I feel so much better that it's worth it), I'm having to re-think our daily menus. Breakfast is the biggest problem since we used to eat eggs or cinnamon chex (which have corn in them) with cottage cheese and milk (tastes better than it sounds).

I made some gluten free vegan zucchini muffins that turned out quite good. Looking for recipes that are gluten free and vegan is the easiest way I've found to avoid dairy and eggs. There's a lot of recipes that eliminate one or the other, but it's harder to find recipes that eliminate both. Since vegan recipes do not contain dairy products or egg, that's what I look for these days. We're not giving up meat though!

I've also made a couple batches of granola. The first was cinnamon raisin, the second was lemon blueberry. I thought both turned out pretty yummy. Add some coconut milk, and it's even more yummy.

The base is gluten free oatmeal and quinoa flakes and is easy to make. It's actually very similar to my mom's granola recipe that I used to make in my pre-gluten free days. I like that I can adapt the recipe by adding different extracts (vanilla, lemon, orange, etc) and different dried fruit (raisins, blueberries, cranberries, etc)

I've been playing with the recipe a bit- adding unsweetened applesauce for better "clumps" and trying different flavor combinations. My next efforts will be orange cranberry and mixed berry.

What are some other flavor combinations that might be good?

Gluten free Ritz crackers

My latest foray into gluten free baking was Ritz crackers. I found the recipe in Easy Gluten-Free Baking, of course, and once again this cookbook came through.

The crackers aren't quite as flaky as a store-bought Ritz cracker, but they definitely taste like Ritz crackers. Yum!

I still don't have any round cookie cutters, so I used a flower-ish shape instead.

Gluten free Animal Crackers

Continuing my quest to feel more comfortable with gluten free baking, I'm working my way through Elizabeth Barbone's 'Easy Gluten-Free Baking'. My most recent experiment was some animal crackers. It took me awhile to find little animal cookie cutters, but I finally found some little Noah's Ark cookie cutters at JoAnns.

I thought they turned out quite well. I was hoping for a Stauffer's Animal Cracker- the kind that comes in the big bags. Those were always my favorite.

In the end, though, they tasted more like the Barnum's Animal Crackers in the little box, Mr. M's favorite.

It does take a bit of time to roll out the dough, cut out the shapes, transfer them to the cookie sheet, etc, etc. But since LMS really enjoyed eating them (first the head, then the feet...), I'll be making them again.

Gluten free Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yesterday was my first attempt at de-glutening a recipe I used to use pre-gluten free days. LMS calls these "Daddy Cookies" because these are the cookies we made and sent him on several occasions.

This particular recipe makes 12-14 dozen cookies. That's not a typo: 12-14 dozen! I usually halve the recipe, bake a dozen, roll the rest of the dough into balls and freeze for later use. Since I didn't know how this experiment would work out, I looked over the ingredients and realized I could easily cut the recipe in quarters. Instead of 12 dozen cookies, I made 3 dozen.

When doing gluten free baking, you can't just substitute rice flour for the wheat flour, you need to substitute a mix of flours and starches, and usually you need to add xanthan gum. I've seen many different 'recipes' for flour mixes, but in this case I used one I bought: Jules Gluten Free All-Purpose Flour. Since it's a pre-made mix, I was able to do a one-to-one substitution.

The results were great! The taste and texture are almost exactly what I remember from the last time I made them (more than a year ago, but still...).

Not that I need to be eating cookies, but it's nice to know that I have more options available.

Gluten free Nilla wafers

So, I'm on a baking kick lately (working on that goal of becoming more comfortable with gluten free baking), and I have more results to share.

I think I may end up trying every single recipe in Easy Gluten-Free Baking- something I've never come even close to before. These recipes are sooo good.

Yesterday I tried the tastes-like-Nilla Wafers recipe. Yum!

they don't look like much, but these taste like Nilla Wafers!

The recipe did neglect to mention that you should only put nickel to quarter size dabs of dough on the cookie sheet, so my first two trays were quite a bit larger than regular Nilla Wafers. They tasted good, but the middles didn't get as crunchy as they should have- they were softer than a Nilla Wafer. The tray I made using smaller dabs turned out much better- much more 'authentic'.

These were very yummy, easy to make, and I'll be making them again!

Gluten free Morning glory muffins

Morning glory muffins are basically a spice muffin with lots of stuff added. In this case, there's crushed pinapple, coconut, raisins, apple, carrot, and pecans.

So Yummy!

And so moist!

I think these are the first truly moist baked good I've had since going gluten free (besides brownies, and they don't count).

They're sweet enough that you could even call them a cupcake- sort of a souped-up carrot cake cupcake. We frosted a couple with cream cheese frosting and took them to a birthday party today. I'm sure the sand castle cake tasted good (very cute idea), but our cupcakes were better :)

The recipe makes two dozen cupcakes/muffins, so I froze all but a couple. They defrost quickly and without any problems.

Like all my recent baking experiments, this recipe was also found in Easy Gluten-Free Baking by Elizabeth Barbone. I can't say enough how much I love this cookbook!

Gluten free cheese crackers

I got the recipe for these from my favorite gluten free baking book: Easy Gluten-Free Baking by Elizabeth Barbone.

These crackers are so good! They really do taste like Cheez-Its/Better Cheddars. The texture was a bit different- they flaked vertically instead of horizontally, but they definitely tasted very close to a store-bought cheese cracker.

You form the dough into a log, refrigerate, then slice off very thin slices.

I made a second batch and rolled out a portion of the dough. I rolled it to the size of a cookie sheet, but it was a pain trying to get an even thinness. However, after I baked them, they flaked horizontally instead of vertically. Just like a gluten-loaded, store-bought cracker! Yum!

They turned out a little brown, but I like them that way :)

These do taste best the day they're baked- they're not quite as crisp the next day.

It's so nice to have a nice crunchy cracker that actually tastes good! I have not been impressed by the gluten free crackers I've bought. Why waste money on something that doesn't taste good when I can make yummy snacks myself?

Gluten free Cheddar corn muffins

One of my goals is to do some gluten free baking and get more comfortable with it.

I've talked about Easy Gluten-Free Baking by Elizabeth Barbone here and here, and this is the cookbook I'm using for my experiments.

Last week I made some chedder corn muffins. They were supposed to have some jalepeno, but I didn't have any, and LMS wouldn't eat them if I'd included them.

The taste and texture were good. A tiny bit dry, but probably because I tend to err on the side of too much baking time rather than too little. I can't stand undercooked baked goods. Next time I'll take them out a few minutes sooner.

I froze the ones we didn't eat the first day, and we've been having them with an egg or two for breakfast- yummy!