Green Beans Almandine

One of the vegetable dishes I remember enjoying as a kid is green beans almandine. This November I decided that I wanted to learn how to make it myself. Toasting almonds couldn't be that hard, right? The only other question was whether the girls could eat almonds without having an allergic reaction. They hadn't reacted to almond milk or almond flour, so they probably would be just fine eating toasted blanched almonds. But you never know. We took the plunge and had them try the almonds. As I had hoped, the girls were fine and didn't react at all. Hooray! Now if I can only get my act together and take them to the allergist for further testing, maybe we can try pecans this coming year.

If you make this dish for us, please get blanched almonds. I haven't tried giving the girls almonds with the skins still on and don't know if they would react to the almond skins or not.

Green Beans Almandine
serves 3 to 4 adults

Ingredients:

• 3/4 lb. green beans
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 2 Tbsp. blanched almonds
• 1/4 tsp. sea salt
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper

Instructions:

Steam the green beans until they are tender-crisp. While the green beans are steaming, heat the olive oil in a medium sauce pan over medium heat. Add the almonds and stir constantly, tossing the almonds, until they are fragrant and have browned. Remove the pan from the heat. Stir in the salt and pepper. When the green beans are done, toss them in the pan with the almonds and oil. Serve immediately.

Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting (Improved)

Last year was my first time attempting egg-free chocolate cupcakes. The cupcakes tasted good, but they crumbled more than I would have liked. This year Sabrina again wanted chocolate cupcakes for her birthday, so I decided to try out a new recipe. I started with a recipe for super easy, super moist chocolate cupcakes, which I tweaked to make wheat-free and corn-free. Voila! The result really was a moist and tasty cupcake that didn't crumble very much either. This is now my go-to cupcake recipe.

If you prefer, you also can use the recipe to make an 8"x8" cake, but you'll need to adjust the baking time. In addition, if you have coffee on hand, you can use 1 cup of hot coffee instead of the water and Starbucks Via. The instant coffee is just easier for us since we're not coffee drinkers.

Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting (Improved)
makes 12 cupcakes or 1 8x8 cake

Ingredients for the cupcakes:

• 1 cup hot water
• 1/4 cup flax seed meal. (I use Bob's Red Mill brand.)
  
• 1 1/2 cups Bob's Red Mill gluten-free flour
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa (I like the taste of Ghirardelli.)
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt
  
• 1 tsp. Starbucks Via decaf instant coffee
  
• 1 cup granulated white sugar
• 1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp. canola oil
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract. Use Trader Joe's alcohol-free vanilla extract or another vanilla extract that does not have corn syrup and is preferably alcohol-free, since the alcohol could be derived from corn. Recently I have been using Rodelle Vanilla Flavor alcohol free all natural extract, which I found at Stop and Shop.

Ingredients for the frosting:

• 1 cup dairy-free semi-sweet chocolate chips. I recommend Ghirardelli, Trader Joe's, or Enjoy Life brand.
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 2 Tbsp. agave syrup or honey
• 1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
  
• pinch of sea salt

Instructions for the cake:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Place cupcake liners in a muffin tin. Heat the water in the microwave until it is hot. Stir in the flax seed meal and set aside.

In a medium bowl sift together (pressing through a sieve or using a whisk) the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, sea salt, and instant coffee. In a separate small bowl, add the white sugar, apple cider vinegar, canola oil, vanilla extract, and water and flax seed mixture. Whisk until thoroughly combined. Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients. Stir until no trace of flour remains.

Pour a level 1/4 cup of batter into each cupcake liner. Place the muffin tin in the oven and bake for 15 minutes. Remove the tin from the oven and check to make sure the cupcakes are done using a toothpick: very few if any crumbs should cling to the toothpick when poked into the center of a cupcake. Let the cupcakes cool for a couple of minutes in the muffin tin before removing them to cool fully on a rack.

When the cupcakes have cooled off completely, spread the frosting over them. Add sprinkles, too, if you would like. At Whole Foods I found India Tree brand sprinkles that are made with cane-sugar crystals and are corn-free.

Instructions for the frosting:

Place a small saucepan over low heat. Add the chocolate chips and canola oil to the pan. Stir frequently, until the chocolate chips have just melted. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the agave syrup, vanilla extract, and sea salt.

Pour the liquid from the pan into the bowl of a standing mixer (or another mixing bowl if you use a hand-held mixer). Place the bowl in the refrigerator for 20 minutes so that the liquid cools and thickens slightly. Using the whisk attachment, beat the liquid on medium speed until it lightens in color and thickens to a spreadable consistency. If the liquid does not seem to be thickening, place it in the freezer for 1 to 2 minutes to cool it down further. Then try mixing it again. When the liquid has turned into a frosting consistency, spread the frosting over the cupcakes or cake.

Banana Berry Smoothie

I got on quite a smoothie kick in college, when I could order one at Collis Cafe and have it made for me on the spot. Since then, I haven't had many smoothies, mostly because I've been too lazy to make my own. I finally decided that, since so many people make smoothies at home, it really couldn't be all that hard or require all that much effort. And it doesn't! After a few tries, I came up with the following recipe that Sabrina and I both like. Naomi tried it but didn't prefer it because of her aversion to all foods that are too cold. Sabrina and I don't mind, though, because it means more smoothie for us!

Banana Berry Smoothie

Ingredients:

• 1 cup almond milk (or you could try So Delicious coconut milk)
• 1 to 2 Tbsp. honey
• 1 ripe banana
• 1 cup frozen unsweetened strawberries
• 1/2 cup frozen wild blueberries
• 2 tsp. lemon juice

Instructions:

Add the almond milk and honey to the blender. Blend for a few seconds. Chop the banana into chunks and add to the blender, along with the strawberries, blueberries, and lemon juice. Blend until it has turned into a smoothie consistency. Pour and serve.

Raspberry Chocolate Chip Baked Oatmeal

This is my latest baked oatmeal creation. It started when I tried a recipe for oatmeal with cocoa powder and raspberries. The girls and I liked the raspberry flavor but didn't like the taste of the cocoa powder mixed into the oatmeal. We wanted more of a rich chocolate taste to complement the tartness of the raspberries. So I opted for chocolate chips, which make almost any breakfast better. I started off with 1/2 cup of raspberries, but the girls and I decided that we like it better with one whole cup. Now every bite is a combination of melted chocolate and tart raspberry goodness. Breakfast is definitely my favorite meal of the day, even when it's still dark out when we're eating it.

Raspberry Chocolate Chip Baked Oatmeal
serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups Bob's Red Mill gluten-free oats
• 1 1/3 cups almond milk
• 2 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 2 Tbsp. unsweetened applesauce
• 2 Tbsp. canola oil
• 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract. Use Trader Joe's alcohol-free vanilla extract or another vanilla extract that does not have corn syrup and is preferably alcohol-free, since the alcohol could be derived from corn. Recently I have been using Rodelle Vanilla Flavor alcohol free all natural extract, which I found at Stop and Shop.
• 1/8 tsp. sea salt
• 1/3 cup dairy-free semi-sweet chocolate chips. The two kinds I use that do not contain milk fat are Trader Joe's semi-sweet chocolate chips and Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate chips.
• 1 cup frozen raspberries

Instructions:

The night before, measure the oats into a small bowl. Warm the almond milk in the microwave and pour over the oats. Stir and cover the bowl with a plate.

In the morning preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Add the brown sugar, applesauce, canola oil, baking soda, cream of tartar, vanilla, and salt to the bowl and stir until combined. Then stir in the chocolate chips and frozen raspberries. Pour the mixture into four 7-ounce ramekins. (It's a little more than 1/2 cup per ramekin.) Place the ramekins in the oven and bake for 25 minutes. Remove the ramekins from the oven and let the oatmeal cool for a couple of minutes before serving.

You could also try baking the oat mixture in an 8"x8" Pyrex pan if you don't want to use ramekins. You may need to decrease the oven temperature and increase the baking time, but I'm not sure since I haven't tried baking the oatmeal this way.

Mexican Lentils and Rice

This is another one of those foods that isn't much to look at, but tastes really good. I've been making this dish since the second year Michael and I were married, when I was looking for Mexican-inspired foods that didn't contain corn. Since I didn't know how to cook when I got married, the fact that I felt comfortable making this dish is a good indication that it's easy to make. What I also like about Mexican lentils and rice is that it's a nice vegetarian dish all by itself, or it goes well as a side dish with grilled cilantro lime chicken or other Mexican-themed meat dishes. You can make it with or without the shredded cheese on top.

The original recipe called for one packet of taco seasoning mix; however, this doesn't work for my family since all of the mixes I've found contain one or more of the following: corn, wheat, dairy, soy, or citric acid. I searched for homemade taco seasoning mixes and came up with the spice mixture included in my recipe below. If you would like to make the recipe with a taco seasoning packet instead of my spice mix, just omit all of the herbs, spices, and salt in the ingredient list.

Mexican Lentils and Rice
serves 4 to 8 adults (depending on whether it's a main dish or side dish)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of lentils
  
• 1 large onion
• 1 celery stalk
• 1 medium carrot
• 4 cups of water
• 1 rice-cooker cup (or 3/4 cup using a regular measuring cup) uncooked long-grain white rice
• 1 1/2 tsp. chili powder
• 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp. paprika
• 1/4 tsp. onion powder
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper
• 1/4 tsp. dried oregano
• 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 1/2 tsp. sea salt
• 1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper (or less if you don't prefer it as spicy)
• 1 6-oz can of tomato paste. Try to buy one that contains just tomatoes and no citric acid.
• optional: 1 small can Lindsay Naturals sliced olives. (Most other brands contain ferrous gluconate, which comes from corn.)
• optional: 1/2 to 1 cup grated extra-sharp Cheddar cheese. Buy a block of cheese and not pre-grated cheese, which contains corn products to prevent clumping.

Instructions:

Put the lentils in a bowl and fill the bowl with water to soak the lentils.

Throughly rinse the rice: Put the rice in a medium bowl and fill the bowl with water. Swish the rice around in the water with your hand. The water will turn whitish in color as the rice starch comes off the rice into the water. Then pour the starchy water out into the sink and fill the bowl with water again. Do this four or five times, until the water remains mostly clear even after having the rice stirred around in it. Then drain the water from the rice, transfer the rice to a rice cooker, add water, and let it cook.

Finely chop the onion, carrot, and celery. Pour four cups of water into a 4-quart pot. Add the chopped vegetables. Stir and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. When the water has come to a boil, drain the water from the lentils, rinse thoroughly in a colander or sieve, and add the lentils to the pot. Reduce the heat to medium-low or low, cover with a lid, and let simmer for 30 to 40 minutes, until the lentils and vegetables are fully cooked and tender.

Halfway through the cooking time for the lentils and vegetables, preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 2-quart Pyrex dish (the 8"x8" square one) or casserole dish with canola oil. Measure out all of the spices.

When the lentils and vegetables are done, remove the pot from the heat. Stir in the spices, tomato paste, cooked rice, and olives. Pour the mixture into the greased dish. Place in the oven for 30 minutes, until the liquid is bubbling and has been mostly absorbed. If you would like to add shredded cheese, sprinkle it on top halfway through the baking time. After removing the dish from the oven, let it rest for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

Quinoa

I've been making quinoa for a few years now, but I've struggled to make it consistently good. Sometimes it would turn out really well, but sometimes it would end up too sticky and wet. And sometimes the quinoa grains just would not unfurl, stubbornly staying hard and crunchy. This summer I finally decided to branch out from the instructions on the Trader Joe's box and search the internet for a reliable recipe. I tried several different methods, and here is the one I like the best. The other great this about this recipe is that soaking and then rinsing the quinoa before cooking somehow gets rid of the coating or residue that Michael sometimes reacts to. So please soak and rinse! :) If you want to add quinoa to a stew or soup, I recommend soaking and rinsing it before cooking it in the liquid of the stew or soup.

Quinoa
serves 4 adults

Ingredients:

• 1 cup quinoa
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt

Instructions:

Measure the quinoa and pour it into a medium-size bowl. Fill the bowl with water, stir, and let the quinoa soak for 5 minutes. Stir again and then pour the water and quinoa through a sieve to drain the water from the quinoa. Rinse the quinoa under water and transfer to a 2-quart pot.

Add 1 1/2 cups of water and 1/2 teaspoon sea salt to the pot and stir. Bring the water to a boil. Then reduce the heat to low, cover the pot, and let the water simmer for 15 minutes. Remove the quinoa from the heat and let it sit in the pot, still covered, for 5 minutes. Then fluff the quinoa and serve.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

I've been playing with this recipe since the summer, and I think I'm finally going to call it good. I started with the following recipe for gluten-free chocolate chip cookies, but I modified it to suit our taste and to make it corn-free. I'm really happy with how my recipe turned out -- these cookies are amazingly good for not having any butter or egg. What I'm still mulling over is the fact that the cookies are great when they're eaten warm, right out of the oven, but they're not nearly as good the next day. Don't get me wrong, the cookie are still good the second day, but they're not that warm cookie perfection. I need to keep in mind that this is only a flaw if you can't eat all of the cookies in one day. :)

My other quandary has been at what temperature and how long to bake the cookies. I've decided just to leave the decision up to you. If you like the cookies to be a little crunchy on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside, then bake them at 350 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes, until just golden brown. If you like your cookies a bit crunchier, then bake them at 375 degrees for 10 minutes. And if you prefer your chocolate chip cookies to be "soft baked," then use just 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar, instead of 1 teaspoon, and bake them at 350 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes.

Chocolate Chip Cookies
makes about 18 cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Bob's Red Mill gluten-free flour
• 1 Tbsp. flax seed meal. I used Bob's Red Mill brand.
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. cream of tartar
• 2 Tbsp. granulated white sugar
• 3 Tbsp. unsweetened applesauce
• 1/4 cup Spectrum organic shortening. I use this palm shortening because we still react a bit to regular shortening, which is made from soybean oil.
  
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract. Use Trader Joe's alcohol-free vanilla extract or another vanilla extract that does not have corn syrup and is preferably alcohol-free, since the alcohol could be derived from corn. Recently I have been using Rodelle Vanilla Flavor alcohol free all natural extract, which I found at Stop and Shop.
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp. sea salt
• 2/3 cup dairy-free semi-sweet chocolate chips. The two kinds I use that do not contain milk fat are Trader Joe's semi-sweet chocolate chips and Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate chips.

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (or 375 degrees if you want crunchier cookies). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Sift the flour into a medium bowl. Whisk in the flax seed meal, baking soda, and cream of tartar. Set aside. Into a small bowl add the white sugar, applesauce, shortening, vanilla extract, brown sugar, and sea salt. Whisk these ingredients together until they are thoroughly combined and the mixture has become light and fluffy. Pour the sugar and shortening mixture into the flour mixture and stir until no traces of flour remain. Then stir in the chocolate chips.

Using a cookie scoop (which holds about 1 1/2 Tbsp. of dough), scoop balls of cookie dough and place them on the baking sheet about 2 inches apart. These cookies spread quite a bit, so be sure not to place the balls of dough too close together. I usually bake just 9 cookies per baking sheet. Bake one sheet of cookies at a time for about 10 to 12 minutes, until the cookies are just turning golden brown around the edges. Let the cookies cool for about 3 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring them to a wire rack.

The cookies are best eaten while still warm. If you have any leftover, place them while still warm in an airtight container. This helps to prevent them from becoming stale.