Coconut Snowballs

In the workplace, there are potlucks. It is a fact of the American work ethic. When you have dietary restrictions, the potluck is a minefield, peppered with conversations like this:
Me: You made a gluten-free cake?
TTBHOM*: Yes. It's a flourless cake recipe.
Me: What's the crust made of?
TTBHOM: Oreos.
Me: o_o

*Trying To Be Helpful Office Mate

So mostly I say "No, no, don't worry about me" a lot, and bring all my own food.

However, I have this one coworker who is determined to bring in things I can eat. She cares, and she's kind, and she's figuring it out. She found this recipe, and it's delicious! She found it at The Kitchn.

They were so popular at home, that they didn't make it long enough for me to grab my camera.

1 3/4 cups unsweetened shredded coconut or coconut powder, divided
2 teaspoons melted coconut oil
3 tablespoons maple syrup
2 tablespoons unsweetened coconut milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon sea salt

Place 1 cup of shredded coconut in a food processor along with the coconut oil. Pulse, scraping down the sides periodically, until it begins to form a paste, or at least holds together.

Add the maple syrup, coconut milk, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt and process until well combined. Add 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons of shredded coconut and pulse until just combined.

Shape the mixture into 12 (1-inch) balls and coat with the remaining shredded coconut. Refrigerate for at least an hour** and up to 5 days. Bring to room temperature before eating. Makes 12. Not enough.

**Yeah, right. You'll just be popping these babies while you're still rolling. Yum.

My other favorite no-bake cookie is Elana's Pantry's Fudge Babies. So good!

Almond Flour Biscotti

I just made this recipe from Elana's Pantry and want to capture it here. After tasting the dough on the first batch I made a second variety on the spot.

In a food processor, pulse until combined:
1 1/4 C almond flour
1 T arrowroot powder
1/4 t baking powder
1/4 t sea salt (I used Kosher)

Add
1/4 C agave syrup or honey
1 T lemon zest

Pulse until a ball forms

Chop 1/4 C nuts (I used pumpkin seeds, Elena used almonds)

The dough is sticky. Lay done a square of cling wrap and spread the nuts in the center. Scrape out the dough, touching it little, and put it on the nuts. Fold over the cling wrap and gently fold the nuts and dough together, then roll the dough into a log about 1 1/4 - 1 1/2 in diameter. Slice into 2 logs and place on a baking sheet lined with oiled parchment paper. (I use brown paper bag with the dye side down. These first 2 batches stuck to the paper like crazy, so I'm going to try oiling the paper next time.)

Bake at 350F for 15 minutes. Let cool for 1 hour. Carefully slice on the diagonal with a sharp knife. Lay each piece cut side down on a baking tray and back at 325F for 15 minutes.

VARIATION
For the second batch I used 1 T mixed chopped fresh cranberries and orange zest for the fruit, and cashews for the nuts.

Brownies

I have yet to find a brownie recipe that I love. I tried 3 this weekend, and this one is the one worth keeping, for now. The search continues. I'm going to try these next.

2 C almond flour
1 C cocoa powder
1/2 t cinnamon*
1/4 t salt
1/2 C coconut oil or melted butter
1/2 C honey
1 t vanilla
2 eggs whisked
1/4 - 1/2 C coconut milk
2-4 squares baking chocolate, chopped into chip-sized pieces

Preheat oven to 325F. Grease a 9"x9" baking dish.

Mix together flour, cocoa, cinnamon, & salt. Melt the oil or butter, mix honey and vanilla into it. Pour this mixture into the dry ingredients and mix well. Mix together  1/4 C of coconut milk and 2 eggs, and stir it into the mix. If it appears too stiff, add up to 1/4 C more coconut milk. Fold in baking chocolate chips.

Bake 35 - 40 minutes.



*original recipe called for 1 teaspoon cinnamon, which I found overwhelming, distracting from the chocolate

Rarebit

I always made rarebit from the Moosewood recipe, but several of our Moosewood cookbooks were destroyed, and I had to find a new recipe for the old favorite dinner. Alton Brown to the rescue, of course. I've adapted it for gluten- and sugar-free dining.

The Rarebit:

2 T butter
2 T rice flour (or 1 rice and 1 chickpea)
1 t Dijon mustard
1 t soy sauce
1/2 t salt
1/2 t pepper
1/2 C gluten-free beer
3/4 C heavy cream or half and half (you may substitute more beer)
1 1/2 C shredded sharp cheddar (about 6 ounces)
2 drops hot sauce

The stuff you eat the Rarebit on:
steamed or baked potatoes
steamed or roasted asparagus
steamed broccoli
apple, sliced (dipped in water w/ a little lemon juice, to keep them from browning)

Prepare the stuff you eat the Rarebit on, and keep it warm while you make the sauce. Have all your ingredients ready before you start, including mixing mustard, soy sauce, salt, and pepper together. In a medium saucepan over low heat, melt the butter and whisk in the flour. When it's combined, whisk in mustard, soy sauce, salt, and pepper until smooth. Slowly pour in beer and whisk to combine. Pour in cream and whisk until well combined and smooth. Gradually add cheese, stirring constantly, until cheese melts and sauce is smooth; this will take 4 to 5 minutes. Add hot sauce. 

Fill your plate with delicious vegetables, potatoes, and fruit and pour cheese sauce all over them!

Lemon Bars

So, I love lemon bars. Bright and tart and not too sweet, with a tender, melt-in-your-mouth crust.

The tender, melt-in-your-mouth crust is just not going to happen on a gluten-free diet, but this recipe gets close. I based this on Simply Sugar and Gluten Free's Lemon Coconut Bars. It's an excellent recipe, but it wasn't lemony enough for me. So, I tweaked it a bit, as follows.


Crust:
1 1/2 C sorghum flour
1/2 C sunflower seeds*
1/2 C coconut oil (or butter)
1 T coconut palm sugar or cactus honey powder


Lemon Custard:
6 eggs
1/2 C honey
1 1/2 T arrowroot (or cornstarch)
2 t lemon zest
3/4 lemon juice (fresh-squeezed or don't bother - takes about 6 lemons)
1/4 C + 2 T milk (almond milk for dairy-free version)

3/4 C ground or shredded coconut (the finer the better) for on top

Preheat oven to 350F. Butter or cooking spray a 13" x 9" pan. In a food processor w/ steel blade, add the sorghum flour and sunflower seeds and process until the seeds are finely chopped. Add the coconut oil and sugar and pulse until the mixture is crumbly, like a pie crust. Do not over-process. Press into the prepared pan and bake until golden brown, 8-10 minutes.

In the same food processor, without washing it out, add the eggs and pulse until the yolks are broken. Add the honey, arrowroot, lemon zest, lemon juice, and milk. If you're using cornstarch, mix it thoroughly with the milk before adding it. Pulse in one second bursts until combined.

Pour lemon custard over the hot crust. Sprinkle shredded coconut over it. Bake for 18-22 minutes, until set in the center. Cool completely, cut into bars, and refrigerate.  This is Important: The crust will not be good until it's refrigerated. When warm or room temperature the texture is sandy and disappointing. Make yourself wait. When it's cold, it's the right texture and absolutely delicious!

* raw unsalted = best, but I've used roasted/salted with no ill effects

Egg Nests

I found this gem in an old Martha Stewart magazine from the 90s, as I cleaned out the last of the pages saved in notebooks. (Which was an improvement from the boxes of magazines I saved before that. We have the internet now; that's where we save things!) So here I save this delicious, simple egg recipe, of an egg yolk, lightly baked in a nest of its own savory meringue.

If you don't eat dairy, leave the cheese out and up the herbs for more flavor, and grease the ramekin with olive oil.

For 2 servings:

2 eggs
butter
grated cheese, 3-4 Tablespoons
1/4 t salt
1 T each chopped parsley and scallion (or whatever herbs you enjoy)

Preheat oven to 375F.
Butter/oil 2 4-ounce ramekins, and coat with grated cheese. Gently separate 2 eggs, setting the yolks aside, and whip the whites until foamy. Add 1/4 t salt and whip until firm but not dry - so a bit past soft peak, but not all the way to hard peak. (This is easiest to do with an electric mixer, but you can use a whisk. I once watched my brother make meringue with chop sticks, so anything's possible!) Toss in the chopped herbs before the meringue is finished, but if you miss that, fold them in gently.

Divide egg whites into the 2 ramekins and make an indentation for the yolk to sit in. Gently slide the yolk into the indentation, and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake until white puffs up and is golden brown on the peaks, 6-8 minutes depending on your oven. For ours I think it would be 7 if we hadn't been opening it every few minutes to check on it!

This is simple enough for a weekend morning, but fancy enough for formal brunch. Enjoy!

Above, I doubled the recipe. In these shallow ramekins 2 eggs still takes 7 minutes, longer if you want the yolk less runny.

Almond Torte with Orange & Chocolate

My office mate is wonderful, and she gave me this recipe from the "One Bite at a Time" cookbook by Rebecca Katz. I'll be playing with it considerably, but here's the first version.

Torte
1 1/2 C almond meal (you can grind your own if you like)
1/4 C coconut flour
3 eggs
1/4 C maple syrup
1 t vanilla extract
1/4 t sea salt
zest of 1 orange

Topping
3 oz baker's chocolate
2 T agave syrup

Preheat oven to 375F. Line an 8" spring form pan with parchment paper (or brown paper bag), spray with oil. Mix all torte ingredients until combined and pour into pan. Bake 15 - 20 minutes until center is firm and does not jiggle.

Combine syrup ingredients in a microwave-save bowl and zap until chocolate is melted. Stir to combine and taste for sweetness.

When the torte is out of the oven, froste with the chocolate mixture. (I had planned to drizzle it but it was too thick!) To gild that lily, we ate it with ice cream.

My Mother's Meatballs

My mother's ancient yellowed recipe card says Russian Meatballs (Dimitri's Bitke). Is this actually a Russian recipe? No idea. I added the alliums, like I do, and cranked up the flavor. Comfort food fit for company.

meatballs:
2-3 cups soft bread cubes*
1 egg
1 C onion, chopped fine
4 cloves garlic
3 lbs ground meat (meatball mix, or whatever you have - I toss in venison when I have it)
3T dried dill
splash of gluten-free soy sauce (or worcestershire sauce, if the sugar doesn't bother you)

sauce:
large sour cream (32 oz?)
milk

Combine first seven ingredients and mix thoroughly. Yes, this means washing your hands and getting real with the meat. Roll into balls, from 1" up to golf ball size, but keep it consistent. (I pay my children 5 cents a ball to roll them for me. It is totally worth it.) Lay them on 2 cookie sheets and bake them in a 425F oven for 20 minutes, switching the sheets half way through so they each get a turn on top.

 Move the meatballs into a casserole dish with a cover. Whisk a large container of sour cream with enough milk to make it pourable but not thin. Cover the meatballs with the sour cream mixture and bake at 400F for 25 minutes covered and 20 minutes uncovered, until the sour cream sauce has browned on top.

* I use crumbs from my g-f waffles or cornbread. If you're using a sturdier, drier g-f bread you'll probably want to moisten it with a tablespoon or so of milk, as well.