Go Dairy Free Givaway

I have just signed up for my first monthly newsletter from http://www.godairyfree.org/ and I'm excited! I discovered this site recently when Alisa at Go Dairy Free did a review of my site and my crepes. I have been a faithful reader ever since! She posts daily and opens doors to all kinds of allergen free blogs and events. She also has recipes and a great list of resources and books. If you sign up for the newsletter you are also entered in a monthly drawing. As the name implies this site is mostly about living dairy free, but this month the prizes for the drawing are gift packages from Gluten Free Essentials which are free from milk, eggs, nuts, gluten, and yeast! (crossing my fingers!) For more information please go to http://www.godairyfree.org/200805152535/News/Nutrition-Headlines/June-Giveaway-Mixes-Baking-Gluten-Free-and-Food-Allergy-Friendly-into-Three-Great-Prizes.html
Even if you don't win a prize I think you may find her site to be reward enough :)

The Survivors

Not too bad, huh? Time heals all wounds. The cupcakes actually came out very much like "the real thing". (If you are just joining us please see post below)

Help-Exploding Twinkies!

I have wanted this Twinkie kit for about a year now since I started trying to make gluten free hot dog buns for Emily and I thought the pan might be helpful. Well, yesterday was my birthday and I finally decided to treat myself. I was so excited I couldn't wait to get the kids out of the house this morning so I could start experimenting with gluten free vegan "Twinkies"!

Since the pan only bakes 8 at a time I decided to turn half the batter into chocolate cupcakes with cream filling and chocolate ganache on top (you know, Hostess style). I am therefore, at this point, pulling on 4 different recipes at once. My kitchen is an utter disaster, but I'm having fun and all seems to be going well.

Then I tried to fill them (Dun Dun Dun....)! I filled a couple before I broke one open and realized there was not nearly enough cream inside, so I decided to reinsert the nozzle and try squeezing harder...BOOM!!! Cream filling exploded all over the place! It was on all over the baked goods, it was dripping off the counter, it was on the floor, and it was all down the front of me! You really had to be there, these pictures don't tell the whole story. Looking back it is hysterical, at the time I wanted to scream!

It took 3 hours to clean the kitchen but I am done now and ready to write about this exciting experience! In the end I got cream filling into everything (had to pull out another pastry bag) and I decided to go with a simple chocolate frosting instead of ganache on the cupcakes. Emily and her friend came home from school and devoured the worst of the bunch. Now I am just waiting for Amanda to come home and take pretty pictures of the few that survived. Needless to say, I won't be posting the recipe just yet!

Orange Scones

Every once in a while I remember something I used to make for Emily and say "why don't I make that anymore?", then I pull out the recipe and see wheat flour and say "oh yeah, that's why!". That was the case with these lovely scones. I always loved the recipe because it was dairy free and one egg was easily replaceable. When we used to think Emily was only allergic to wheat (not gluten) we made this with spelt flour. Anyway, everything has changed now, and since I really missed this recipe I decided to rework it into a dairy free, egg free, gluten free, soy free, peanut free, corn free...sorry, I got a little carried away there...recipe. Yummy!

*My photographer (my 15 yr old daughter, and BTW thank you Amanda!) was feeling artsy this evening...I don't usually garnish my food with jewelry, but I do love the photograph!

¾ c Sorghum flour
¾ c Rice flour
¾ c Potato starch
¼ c Tapioca starch
1 t Xanthan gum
¼ c Brown sugar
1 t Baking soda
1 t Baking powder
½ t Salt
1 Eggs worth of EnerG egg replacer
1 c Orange juice
2 T Oil
1 T Grated orange rind
2 T Raw sugar (turbinado)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Grease an 8” round cake pan. (This dough is stiff enough that you could probably make the traditional hand shaped scones out of it and bake them on a cookie sheet but I haven't tried it that way yet...If you do please let me know how it turns out)

Put all of the dry ingredients in a bowl and whisk together until well blended and no lumps of brown sugar remain. In another bowl prepare the egg replacer and then add to it the rest of the wet ingredients and whisk together. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until well combined. You may need to give up your whisk for a wooden spoon at this point because the dough is pretty stiff.

Press dough into the cake pan. Sprinkle the raw sugar all over the top. You may want to press the sugar down slightly so that more of it stays on after baking.

Bake at 425 degrees for 20 minutes. Let cool on wire rack until just slightly warm. Turn out onto a cutting board and slice into wedges. These are a little dry (as scones are supposed to be) , so a nice cup of coffee or tea is a welcome accompaniment.

Tell Me About Whole Foods Market

Over the past year I have spent A LOT of time online researching allergen free foods. I have had many discussions with various people about our favorite foods and where to buy them. Many times Whole Foods Market was mentioned and every time I would sadly reply "we don't have a Whole Foods here". Well, guess what...now we do! Whole foods just bought out Wild Oats here in Bend (I'm still not sure if that's a good thing or not). The problem is that now I'm wracking my brain trying to remember all of the product recommendations I got in the past that were available at Whole Foods. Now admittedly I have not been in the store yet, and when I do go I am sure I will not have a problem finding plenty of things to buy, but I would still love some input from our wonderful allergen free community. I would love to hear from anyone and everyone! What are your regular purchases, your favorites, or your least favorites (so I know what not to waste my money on)? I thank you in advance for your time and your responses... and, on that note, (I'm feeling very emotional today) I also wanted to let all of my kindred spirits out there know how much I appreciate you! Big allergen free hugs to everyone! :)

Chicken Enchiladas

Yes, there is an enchilada under there, and it is free of gluten, dairy, eggs, soy, and garlic! It is hidden partly because we LOVE our toppings (on a good day it would have had guacamole and fake sour cream too) and partly because when I took it out of the pan it kind of fell apart. I am going to write the "standard" recipe below, but just for the record Emily's enchilada was made with plain tomato sauce, no chili peppers, and no garlic powder...she's not really into spicy food and she's allergic to garlic. Also, for my friends who are allergic to chicken, this is really yummy with beef or pork too. Just use a nice fatty/tender piece of meat like a chuck roast or the darker meat pork chops.

1 1/2 lbs Boneless chicken (or other tender meat)

4 c Water

2 t Bullion (that's one cube of Harvest Sun brand)

1/2 t Chili powder

1/4 t Garlic powder (better yet a fresh crushed clove of garlic)

1/2 t Onion powder (again, about 1/2 of a finely chopped fresh onion would be great)

1/4 t Black pepper

1/4 t Sea salt

1 4 oz can of diced green chilies

1 Can of enchilada sauce

4-6 Corn tortillas (depending on how full you like them stuffed)

1/2 c Grated Vegan Rella Cheddar flavored rice cheese (or other "safe cheese")

TOPPINGS: lettuce, tomatoes, red or green onions, black olives, avocado/guacamole, salsa, and Tofutti Sour Supreme are all good!

Before I start the recipe I would like to remind you to please read the labels on all of your ingredients. The bullion, chili powder, canned chilies, enchilada sauce, tortillas, and cheese substitute (and any others I may have missed) can all potentially contain the top 8 allergens.

Place the chicken in a large saucepan and cover it with the water. Bring to a simmer over med-low heat. If you boil it too hard your meat will be tough. Stir in the bullion, chili powder, onion (powder), garlic (powder), salt, and black pepper. Cover and simmer on low heat until meat is tender enough to shred with 2 forks making a scissor motion. Start checking for tenderness at 30 minutes, depending on your cut of meat it could take up to an hour or even an hour and a half. Most of the water should have evaporated too. For a longer cooking time you may need to add a little more water, or if it seems too wet just take the lid off while simmering for a few minutes. Add the canned chilies and continue to pull and shred the meat until it is in small pieces (about 1") and the chilies are mixed in.

Preheat oven to 350. Set up your assembly line... pour half of the enchilada sauce into a shallow dish, microwave your tortillas for about 30 seconds to make them pliable, grab the meat, and have ready a casserole dish to put them in. Dip a tortilla into the enchilada sauce and then lay it in the casserole dish. Put a large scoop of meat (maybe 1/4 cup?) down the center and roll it up. Continue with each tortilla, laying them side by side, until the filling is gone. Pour the remaining enchilada sauce evenly over the top of them all. Bake covered for 15 minutes, then remove from the oven and sprinkle the grated cheese substitute (this can also be omitted entirely if you don't care for fake cheese) over the top. Place back in the oven and continue to bake, uncovered ,for another 15 minutes.

While the enchiladas are baking get all of you toppings and condiments chopped and ready. Remove from the oven and load on the toppings! Or, if your family is finicky like mine, let them choose their own toppings and add them individually.