Hungarian Mushroom Soup, Gluten Free and Casein Free

The Moosewood Cookbook's Hungarian Mushroom Soup showed up at one this year's Lenten Soup Suppers. Now, I'm not a fan of cream soups, but one taste of this stuff and I knew: Spouse 1.0 would love this soup -- if I added meat.  I had to get the recipe and adapt it for him.

One thing that makes this soup so wonderful is that it's not as heavy as most cream soups. It's just creamy enough to gently hold the earthy flavor of mushrooms, the subtle flavor of dill, and the mild zip of paprika together.

When adapting, you have to make decisions. Your decisions make the difference between good flavor and better. They are the difference between horrible texture, OK texture, and decent texture. In baking your decisions are the difference between dry, moist, and gummy -- and the difference between rising and falling.

Fortunately, soup isn't baking. The decisions are easier.

First decision: Butter. Our casein restrictions permit organic butter, so yay! That was easy. Second best choice would have been goat butter, followed by Earth Balance. Soup is actually pretty forgiving, so you could use the equivalent amount of any oil, but flavor would be compromised.

Next decision: Milk. This is a savory, slightly tangy soup, so goat milk is perfect. It has protein and fat to help the soup hold together.  A good second choice would have been unsweetened, unflavored soy milk. Any of the other unsweetened and unflavored milk alternatives might work, but I think texture would be compromised. A sweetened or flavored milk would probably be pretty awful.

Third decision: Flour. Don't you love how one simple little 5-letter word for the glutivores opens up a world of complications and questions?  Any common gluten-free all-purpose blend will probably work.  I used the Trader Joe brand, which does not include xanthan gum. It worked perfectly.  I wouldn't use a blend with xanthan gum.  The texture might come out too slimy or thick. You could also use a single flour, such as brown rice, but texture and flavor would be compromised. 

Final decision: Sour cream.  The soup is delicious without it.  I wouldn't bother.  Alternatives: vegan sour cream substitute or your choice of plain yogurt substitute. 

So, here it is: My adaptation of Hungarian Mushroom Soup:

GFCF Hungarian Mushroom Soup

Ingredients:
24 ounces mushrooms, sliced
4 cups chopped onions
4 Tbsp fresh chopped dill, or 4 tsp dry (Divided use)
4 cups chicken stock, divided use. (Use homemade or a GF brand.)
2 Tbsp GF tamari soy sauce
2 Tbsp Hungarian paprika or smoked paprika (I used smoked.)
4 Tbsp butter or butter substitute
6 Tbsp gluten-free flour blend
2 cups goat milk (or unsweetened, unflavored soy milk or other milk substitute)
2 tsp salt
4 tsp lemon juice
Freshly ground pepper, to taste
1/4 to 1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped (or 1/3 that amount, dried)
Optional: 1 cup vegan sour cream substitute and/or extra dill

Directions:

1. Saute onions in a small amount of stock, salt lightly
2. When partly done, add mushrooms, half the dill, about 1 cup more stock, tamari, and paprika. Cover and simmer for about 15 minutes while you prepare the cream base.
3. Melt butter in a 6 quart soup pot.
4. Whisk in flour blend and cook on medium heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture is thick and the flour is a nice golden color.
5. Reduce heat to low, and slowly whisk in the milk until completely incorporated. Cook about 10 minutes, whisking frequently, until the mixture is thick.
6. Whisk in the mushroom mixture and the remaining stock.  Cover and simmer 10 to 15 minutes, stirring periodically.
7. Just before serving, add salt, pepper, and lemon juice.
8. Garnish each bowl with a little vegan sour cream substitute and/or extra dill.

Variation: To make this a protein-packed meal, add about 12 ounces of chopped poached chicken in step 6.

Serves 8.

Sorry: For now, no picture. 

The above adaptation is based on this recipe: http://www.food.com/recipe/hungarian-mushroom-soup-from-the-moosewood-cookbook-135215

Mixed Fruit Muffins

I love Elana Amsterdam's recipes.  This one started off as the Apricot Muffin recipe from her book Paleo Cooking from Elana's Pantry.  And, you might ask, if I love the recipe so much, why did I change it until it's hardly recognizable?  In short:

• I don't love measuring, so I convert to weight wherever possible.
• I love apricots, but not all the time.  Sometimes it's fun to just mix things up a bit.
• Sometimes my dried fruit gets to be a bit too dry and needs pre-moistening.
• I don't love dragging the food processor out to make a small batch of muffins, so I've found a different way that's easier for me.
• I like mini muffins.
• I like nuts on top.

Ingredients:

• 80 to 90 grams total dried prunes, dates, & apples (whatever proportion suits your fancy)
• Small amount of hot water
• 28 grams coconut flour (30 grams if Trader Joe)
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 112 grams melted coconut oil
• 4 large eggs
• 7 drops liquid vanilla stevia, optional
• About 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Directions:

1. Chop fruit in small pieces, place in small glass container, and cover with just barely enough hot water to cover. Let sit for about 20 minutes.
2. Drain excess water from fruit.
3. Line mini muffin tins with 24 liners.  Spray liners with coconut oil spray.
4. Place fruit in medium stainless mixing bowl. Add coconut oil. Using a stick blender, pulse until fruit is very finely chopped, almost pureed.
5. Pulse in eggs and stevia.
6. Pulse in coconut flour and salt. Let set 3 to 5 minutes so coconut flour can thicken.
7. Stir in baking soda.
8. Fill muffin liners about 3/4 full.  If you have extra batter, line a custard cup and pour the batter in the custard cup.
9. Top with nuts.
10. Bake at 350 for 10 to 15 minutes, until a toothpick comes out almost clean.
11. Cool thoroughly. Refrigerate leftovers.

Pizza Pain Perdu (GF)

It happens way more often than we want to admit. We go to some GF restaurant, pay an extra $4 for our pizza to be on a gluten free crust, and when served, we realize that we have just been served cardboard with a smattering of cheese and meat.

Not wanting to be wasteful, we bring that miserable excuse for pizza home, and try to feed it to our dog.  He snubs it.  We try to compost it, but even the worms won't touch it.

Never fear, you can stop using that leftover pizza for a doorstop and turn it into an easy, yummy breakfast. It's easy.  (Not fast, but definitely easy.)

Pizza Pain Perdu

Ingredients

For each serving, you will need:

2 small slices of leftover GF pizza
1 egg
Scant 1/2 cup goat milk or unsweetened milk alternative
dash of salt or smoked salt
dash of pepper
pinch or two of Italian herb blend (Penzey's Frozen Pizza seasoning is perfect)

Directions

 

1. Lightly oil or spray a 3-cup rectangular Pyrex dish.
2. Place pizza slices in dish, alternating directions.
3. Mix remaining ingredients in a small bowl. Pour over the pizza and let set for about 15 to 30 minutes.
4. Bake at 350 for about 25 to 30 minutes, until all is baked through.

Alternating pizzza slices in a Pyrex dish

Savory custard mixture: Egg, goat milk, seasonings

Pizza soaking in the custard mixture

 

The finished product

Close-up of the finished product: No more cardboard

Easy Low Sugar Cranberry Lemonade

I don't drink things with calories. Calories are for chewing, not sipping. I mean, seriously. For 150 calories, would you rather have one 12-ounce can of soda OR a small cookie, a small piece of chocolate, a small salad, plus a big glass of water with a lemon or lime slice?

And, don't even get me started on the $5 frou-frou drinks.

Spouse 1.0 does not share this philosophy. And, because I really don't want him to be dead, I'm always on the lookout for low-sugar alternatives.  Preferably ones not loaded with chemical sweeteners.

To that end, liquid vanilla stevia has become my best friend. Powdered stevia is nasty. Liquid stevia is less nasty. Liquid vanilla stevia is almost bearable. Liquid vanilla stevia mixed with a caloric sweetener such as agave, honey, or organic cane sugar is actually quite pleasant.

This lemonade is easy to make, just sweet enough, and has less than 40 calories per cup.  Depending on how you shop, it's probably under $1.00 per bottle -- less than 1/4 the cost of commercial drinks.

Easy Cranberry Lemonade

1.5 ounces bottled pure lemon juice
1.5 ounces bottled pure, unsweetened cranberry juice
1 ounce honey, agave syrup, or ginger syrup (Spouse 1.0 prefers the latter.)
About 35 drops liquid vanilla stevia (Whole Foods brand is best.)
Filtered water

Add all ingredients to a 32 ounce container.  Add a little warm filtered water and mix well.   Add cool filtered water until the container is almost full. Mix, taste, and adjust.  If you want things a little sweeter, add a couple of drops of the stevia and a drizzle of syrup.  If you want things a little more puckersome, add some more lemon and/or cranberry juice.  Chill and enjoy.

Maple Pecan Muffins

I'm learning that it doesn't take much to turn a pancake into a muffin.  And, for me, muffins are infinitely less tedious.  Who has time to stand there babysitting pancakes 3 at a time?

This recipe started out as the pancake recipe from the back of a bag of FunFresh Foods almond flour. 
The first thing I did was convert from measuring by cup to going by weight. (I really can't stand dealing with messy measuring cups!)
Here's a summary of the transformation from pancake to muffin:

Pancake	Muffins
180 g almond flour	90 g pecan meal 60 g almond flour 30 g cashew meal
82 g agave nectar	82 g maple syrup
1/2 tsp baking soda	3/4 tsp baking soda
n/a	1/4 tsp xanthan gum (optional)
n/a	28 g melted coconut oil
n/a	4 to 8 grams Teff grain, chia seed, rice flour, whatever
n/a	chopped pecans for topping

Here's what stayed the same:

2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt
116 g. water (4 ounces)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 (f).
2. Line 24 mini muffin cups with liners, then spray with coconut oil or other non-stick spray.
3. Use wire whisk or fingers to mix pecan meal, almond flour, cashew meal, baking soda, xanthan gum, and salt  in a small bowl until well-combined.
4. whisk maple syrup, coconut oil, and vanilla in a medium bowl together until well-combined.
5. Whisk in the eggs, then the water.
6. Whisk in dry ingredients. I do this in stages to ensure more even incorporation.
7. If the mixture looks too runny, stir in the Teff, chia, or whatever.  Teff has a nice nutty flavor, and adds a little bit of poppyseed-like crunch.  If you don't like that texture, then just add a little of whatever you like.  It will still be a bit runnier than normal muffin batter, but that's OK.
8. Fill muffin cups about 3/4 to 7/8 full.  If you have a little batter left, just bake it in a lined custard cup (or two).
9. Bake for 12-14 minutes.  Tops will spring back when lightly touched, and a toothpick will come out with a crumb or two.
10. Remove from muffin tins and cool thoroughly on wire rack.  The texture is best at room temperature.

German Chocolate Quinoa Cookies

I really call these "Oops Cookies".  I accidentally got the nut butter mixture too hot, and the chocolate chips mostly melted. 

Oops! 

Sometimes a thing that initially seems bad can turn out to be surprisingly good.  So maybe I should call them "Redemption Cookies".

But, rule one of putting your cookie recipes on your blog is, "Make the name make sense to others."  So, with flavors of coconut, pecan, and chocolate, maybe it's best to call them German Chocolate Cookies.

Ingredients:

138 grams total of maple syrup, honey, and agave syrup (1/2 cup)
68 grams organic cane sugar (1/2 cup)
1 4-ounce stick of Earth Balance margarine or organic butter
128 grams total of almond butter and cashew butter (1/2 cup)
1 tsp vanilla
140 grams brown rice flour (1 cup)
83 grams quinoa flakes  (3/4 cup)
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp sea salt
Scant 1/4 cup chopped pecans
Scant 1/4 cup shredded coconut, chopped
1/3 cup dairy-free miniature chocolate chips (e.g., Enjoy Life)

Directions:

1. Add first 4 ingredients into a medium steel mixing bowl, then place over a pan of simmering water to soften.
2. Mix brown rice flour, quinoa flakes, baking soda, salt, pecans, coconut, and chocolate chips in a small mixing bowl.
3. When nut butter mixture is very warm, add vanilla and stir until everything is smooth.
4. Remove nut butter mixture from heat and stir in the flour mixture.  Combine well.  The chocolate chips will mostly melt. 
5. Place in refrigerator until firm enough to handle (about 30-40 minutes).
6. Roll into small balls (about 12 grams each) and place on lightly greased cookie sheet about 2" apart. 
7. Bake at 350 until lightly browned but still soft in the middle (about 8 minutes)
8. Let rest on cookie sheet for 2 minutes, the place on wire racks to cool.

Makes about 60 cookies.

Savory Garbanzo Bread

Once upon a time, I had most of the ingredients for Chickpea and Chives Waffles, but no waffle iron.  No problem: Waffles and pancakes are sort of the same thing.  So, I decided to make pancakes.

Got part way into the process, and wondered: What would it take to make chickpea and chives bread?

Waffles get some oil from the waffle iron and some from whatever you put on the waffle. So, bread needs more oil.  And, bread probably needs more binder than waffles. So, maybe an extra egg.

I didn't have chives, but that's OK.  I had other things to provide flavor.

And, I really prefer to call them garbanzos.   So, that's how chickpea and chives waffles turned into...

Savory Garbanzo Bread

Ingredients

90 grams garbanzo flour
8 ounces warm water (about 120 degrees f.)
1.5 tsp Italian herb blend
1.5 tsp dehydrated minced onion
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground pepper (Really, I have no idea.  Just grind a bunch in.)
12 grams honey or agave syrup
45 grams oil
3/4 tsp xanthan gum
3 eggs
3/4 tsp xanthan gum
60 g. gluten-free flour blend (Trader Joe's blend is fine.)
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
Optional: Smoked paprika and/or pecorino romano cheese

Directions

1. In a medium mixing bowl, stir together water and garbanzo flour.  Let sit for about 20 minutes.
2. Grease a 9" square baking pan.  Preheat oven or toaster oven to 350.
3. Add herbs and spices, honey, and oil.
4. Add eggs and whisk until well-combined.
5. Whisk in xanthan gum.
6. Whisk in flour blend.
7. Add baking powder and soda, then whisk thoroughly.
8. Top with paprika and/or pecorino romano if desired.
9. Bake at 350 for 12-18 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Play with the seasoning.  The photos below are of the bread sans topping and seasoned with dill, onion, parsley, and garlic.