First Gluten Free Paying Customer

This weekend I had my first paying client for gluten free goodies. I was asked to make gluten free cupcakes for a baby shower for a co-worker who is gluten free and I was excited to help her celebrate in this way, even if I was not going to the shower. I have made goodies for co-workers before and I have taken them to potlucks and such, but I have never been paid for the work. The idea of being paid for my work came with new challenges. Every time I make something I put my whole heart into it and as a perfectionist I always scrutinize my work and want everything to be perfect. But this time was different as everything needed to be perfect. I did not want to have someone pay me for a product that was not perfect. 

Friday night I did a trial run to make sure the recipe was good and I had my baking time down so it would all go smoothly in the morning. I knew they would taste good as I have made the recipe as a cake before, just not cupcakes. I had a vision for the decorations and I really hoped it would work out as I wanted it to.

                                              

The only thing I worried about was how much to charge. I have tried to price homemade craft items before and failed. It can be tricky as you never really get the value of your time in a dollar amount, especially if it takes you a really long time to make something. You end up charging more than anyone would ever pay for something. I then decided it is just better to give crafty items as gifts, not sell them. But with baked goods there are so many on the market that I had a pretty good idea where to start at. I could not start myself at the top as this was my first experience, but I needed to cover my costs and make a little for my time. 

Everything worked out perfectly in the baking and decorating. I was very excited to find really cute cupcake boxes to transport my creations as I have transported cupcakes before with disastrous results and I needed them to arrive safely. I was very pleased with how the experience turned out and I really hope our Mommy-to-be enjoyed the cupcakes. 

                                               

                                               

Gluten Free Lemon Tarts

Today we had another bake sale at work and I yesterday morning I was home and bored so I thought I would bake something to bring to today's bake sale. I had some leftover lemon curd in the fridge and thought if I made a batch of pastry I could make mini lemon tarts. 

                                                

I used my Perfect Gluten Free Pastry recipe and rolled it into 1/2 inch balls and then rolled those out to 1/4" thick circles. I used my 1/2 cup stainless steel measuring cup to cut out circles that fit perfectly into my mini muffin pan. I fluted the edges of the circle as I worked the dough into the muffin cups to give the tarts a little personality. I chilled the tart shells in the freezer for a 5-10 minutes and when frozen I gave the tarts a twist in the pan to ensure they would not stick. I baked them for 15-20 minutes at 350, until they were golden brown. I then filled them with the leftover lemon curd that I had reheated in the microwave for a few minutes to make it fluid again. They were so nice and tart, just the perfect little treat. 

                                                 

     

Tonight's Dinner: Homemade Pasta

I have had the best day today.

Today I played in my kitchen and made fresh homemade gluten free pasta. I have wanted to try and make gluten free pasta myself for a long time. Yesterday at the grocery store all I could think about for dinner was lasagna. I used to make a killer lasagna with the fresh pasta sheets you can get at the grocery store, before going gluten free. Since then I have always made my lasagna with the brown rice noodles. They tend to soak up the sauce and usually end up overcooked in the lasagna and don't reheat very well. What I really wanted for dinner tonight was a lasagna I used to make, one that was very saucy. To do this I thought I would try and make my own gluten free pasta.

My Dining Room Table

It was so much easier than I thought it would be. I found a recipe online that had several reviews that seemed easy. The recipe called for differing amounts of gluten free flours, but since most of the amounts are close to what is in my all purpose mix, I changed the different flours and just used the total of my all purpose mix. I used my stand mixer because I do not own a food processor. I put the dry ingredients in the bowl of the stand mixer and mixed the eggs and oil in a measuring cup and slowly incorporated the wet into the dry while the mixer was on low speed. I had to add more water (6 Tbsp) than the recipe called for to get a smooth consistency on the dough. It took me a little bit of time to knead the dough to make it smooth, but in the end it was all worth it.

Actually rolling out the dough was a little trickier. I did have the pasta attachments for my KitchenAid stand mixer, I had received them as a bonus when I bought it and thought they would never get used (boy was I wrong). The only thing I found was if the dough got even a little bit dry, it crumbled when going through the pasta roller. Cut the dough into 8 balls instead of 4 and keep the extra ones covered with a very damp towel. This will keep them moist for rolling. Flatten the balls with a rolling pin before starting on the widest setting. Roll out until setting 4 or 5 on the attachment worked best for lasagna sheets. I did not boil the noodles, just let them dry for 30 minutes and then layered them into my lasagna.

I will definitely be trying this again. I am not sure I can go back to brown rice noodles again for lasagna.

Gluten Free Fresh Pasta Recipe
Adapted from Posting By Carol Kicinski

Ingredients
2 cups plus 3 Tbsp of all purpose gluten free flour mix
1 tablespoon xanthan gum
1 teaspoon kosher or fine sea salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 large eggs
2-4 tablespoons water

Directions
Place all the dry ingredients in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade or stand mixer with paddle attachment. Pulse several times to combine. Whisk the olive oil and eggs together in a spouted mixing cup or pitcher. With the machine running, slowly add the liquid ingredients to the dry. Add water, 1 tablespoon at a time, just until it starts to form into a dough. It should be pliable and just a tiny bit sticky, not sticky enough to stick to your hands. In a stand mixer it will look crumbly, but when you press it together it forms a ball.

Scrape the dough onto a work surface and knead a few times to smooth it out. Divide into 8 equal portions and roll into balls.

Flatten one ball at a time slightly with a rolling pin to help it through the pasta rollers. Run the dough, 1 ball at a time, through a pasta roller until desired thickness is achieved or roll between two sheets of plastic wrap until very thin. The thinner the pasta is rolled, the more tender it will be. Keep the other balls covered with a damp towel to prevent drying out. If rolling by hand, flip the plastic wrap and dough over several times while rolling. Occasionally, lift the top layer of plastic wrap and replace it to help keep the dough from sticking.

Pull off the top layer of plastic wrap and cut into the desired width. Repeat with the remaining dough balls.

The pasta can be cooked immediately, laid out to dry a little (for up to an hour) or frozen. To freeze, place the pasta in an airtight container or plastic storage bag. Thaw for about 30 minutes before cooking.

To cook the pasta, bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil. Add the pasta, stir a time or two to keep from sticking and cook for 2 – 5 minutes, depending on the width and thickness. Do not over cook. Serve immediately.

This gluten free recipe makes 4 servings or enough for one large 4 layer lasagna.

The Very Best Banana Bread

Growing up there were always bananas in the house for breakfast and snacks. I learned early that I was not a huge fan of bananas. It took longer to figure out why I did not like bananas growing up. I discovered there is a very small window as to the ripeness of a banana that I will eat. It needs to be just shy of hard and green, with some green on the skin. I know this is weird, but if it gets even a bit too ripe I will not eat them. For the longest time I would not buy bananas as I knew that they would be too ripe before I could eat them all. So now if I buy bananas there is a good chance there will be extra bananas that are too ripe for me that end up in the freezer.

Today when I was checking the freezer trying to find something for dinner there were several frozen bananas that I needed to move to find the meat and so I decided to make banana bread. I have been experimenting for the longest time to find a really great gluten free banana bread recipe. I think I have finally found it. Originally the recipe came from Everyday Gluten Free Cookbook, by Robert M Landophi. I have played with the quantities and flours to make it a bit healthier and reduced the sugar. This recipe makes a very light and tender banana bread. It is not a heavy, dense bread like some gluten free recipes that I have tried. Very nice on it's own, without having to be toasted.

The Best Banana Bread

1/2 cup white rice flour
1/2 cup brown rice flour

1/4 cup sorghum flour

1/4 cup quinoa flour

1 tsp xanthan gum

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup butter, at room temp

3/4 cup white sugar

2 lg eggs

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup mashed bananas (about 2 med bananas)

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 9x5" loaf pan with parchment or waxed paper.

In a bowl combine flours, xanthan gum, baking soda, and baking powder. Whisk to combine.

Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla, beating until thoroughly incorporated and then mix in the mashed banana. Gradually mix in the dry ingredients until a smooth batter forms.

Pour batter into prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool for 15 minutes on a wire rack. Unmold and cool completely.

This recipe can also be made into 12 muffins, filling muffin cups 2/3 full with the batter and baking for 25-30 minutes.

The Perfect Gluten Free Pastry

A friend once gave me a recipe for a really good gluten free pie crust that I have used over and over again. Over time the recipe has been tweaked in different ways to play with the texture and make a nice soft flaky pastry. I have also made changes to the method and I think I have perfected the recipe for a perfect pie crust.

Ingredients for a double crust pie

2 1/4 cups rice flour (I use a combination of brown and white)
3 tsp honey
1/2 tsp of salt
1 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1 cup softened butter (room temp)
ice cold water

1. Stir together dry ingredients.
2. Cut butter and honey into dry ingredients with a fork so you have small pieces or "flakes" of butter through the dry ingredients. Place butter and flour mix into the freezer until butter is frozen.

3. Once butter is frozen add water 1Tbsp at a time until the mixture comes together into a smooth dough. It is better to have a slightly wet dough than a dry one. A dry dough will crumble and not come together smoothly and crack when you try and roll it out.

4. Wrap the dough as 2 separate disks in plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 30 - 60 minutes to allow the flour to absorb the water.

5. Using parchment paper roll out one disk at a time leaving the remaining in the fridge until needed. Roll a 1"4 inch thick circle. To make a very flaky crust fold the circle onto itself in thirds like a pamphlet (ie fold the top third down to the middle and the bottom edge up over the top). Then fold the dough in half like a book.

Roll dough out.

Fold top third down.

Fold bottom third up.

Fold in half like a book.

6. Roll the dough out again into a circle 1/4"-1/2" thick, slightly larger than the pan you will be cooking your pie in. Carefully transfer the crust to the pie pan and press into place. Trim edges of crust to fit into pan. If you have any tears or thin spots use any scraps of dough and press pieces into crust and smooth into place. 

  

7. To avoid crust from shrinking once baked place unbaked crust in freezer for 10 - 15 minutes. Dock the crust to avoid bubbles from forming.  

 8. Bake crust according to recipe. For some pies like lemon meringue or banana cream you will want to blind bake the crust first. To do this you will line the pie shell with parchment and fill the parchment with either pie weights or dry beans, this prevents bubbles from forming in the crust while you are baking without a filling in it. For other pies like fruit pies you can skip the blind bake and bake with the filling inside.

I have tried this recipe with all different temperatures of butter and found that since you do not develop the gluten's, because there aren't any, it is easier to work the butter in warm and then freeze the butter. Using a fork pressed through the butter to create "flakes" makes a tender crust and the folding method adds the flaky layers.

How to Cook Quinoa

For those of you wondering what my method for cooking quinoa is I found it on the Internet. I found that I had to cut back on the ratio of quinoa to water as 1 cup of uncooked quinoa yields 3 cups cooked and as a single person I do not need that much cooked quinoa. So I cut the amounts in half and used 1/2 cup quinoa and 1 cup of chicken stock. Always use chicken stock instead of water for savory quinoa dishes as it results in much tastier dishes. I also add a bay leaf as I find this adds a nice savory flavor and I love bay. If you don't you could substitute with any fresh or dried herbs.

How To Cook Quinoa
Found on The Kitchn Website

Ingredients
1/2 cup Quinoa (any variety — white or golden, red, or black)
Olive oil
1 cup Chicken Stock (I use 1 cup of boiling water with an OXO chicken bouillon package)
1 Bay Leaf

Instructions
1. Measure out 1/2 cup quinoa and 1 cup chicken stock.
2. Place the quinoa in a fine-mesh strainer and rinse thoroughly with cool water. Rub and swish the quinoa with your hand while rinsing, and rinse for at least 2 minutes under the running water. Drain. If your strainer is a little to big and the dry quinoa tends to fall through, soak the quinoa for a few minutes to plump it up and then it should be fine to rinse in the strainer. Or if you do not have a fine mesh strainer you can use a cheesecloth lined colander.
3. Heat a drizzle of olive oil in the saucepan over medium-high heat and add the drained quinoa. Cook, stirring, for about 1 minute, letting the water evaporate.
4. Add in the chicken stock and bay leaf and bring to a rolling boil.
5. Lower heat  to the lowest setting and cook covered for 15 minutes.
6. After 15 minutes turn off the heat and remove the pot from the burner. Let stand for 5 minutes covered.
7. After 5 minutes remove the lid, remove the bay leaf, fluff the quinoa gently with a fork, and serve. (You should see tiny spirals (the germ) separating from and curling around the quinoa seeds.)

Tonight's Dinner: Part Two - Quinoa Cakes

What to do with the leftover overcooked quinoa?

I came home from work and needed dinner fast. All I had in the fridge was the overcooked quinoa from the dinner earlier. You know, the one that looked like mashed potatoes. I decided to try something that my mother used to do when we were kids and turn the quinoa into cakes. My mom used to make potato cakes with leftover mashed potatoes that I looked forward to as a kid as they were an excuse for ketchup. Since the overcooked quinoa was like mashed potatoes I wondered if it would work the same as cakes.

These were so wonderful that since then I have actually made fresh quinoa to make these for dinner several times. If you use fresh quinoa instead of leftovers cool the quinoa before you mix in the eggs and cheese so you don't end up with cooked eggs and melted cheese before you get these crispy.

1 1/2 cups cooked quinoa

(I cook my quinoa in chicken stock instead of water for extra flavor in the quinoa)

1 lg egg

1/4 - 1/3 cup gluten free cornflake crumbs

Grated extra old cheddar cheese (to taste) or other favor cheese

2 Tbsp chopped chives (or green onions if you want more onion taste)

Freshly ground pepper

Breading mix:

1/3 - 1/2 cup gluten free cornflake crumbs

2 heaping TBSP of parmesan cheese

Pinch of italian herbs

Freshly ground pepper

Mix all ingredients for the cakes together adding more crumbs if the mix is too sticky and not firm enough to hold its shape. If mix is too dry and crumbly mash the quinoa and pat more firmly into cake shape. Divide the mix into 4 quarters and shape each quarter into a cake. Mix breading mixture together and place cake in crumbs coating all sides, including edges, and pressing into cake shape. Heat frying pan on med high with 1/4 inch of vegetable oil in bottom of pan until oil is hot. Depending on the size of your frying pan cook in batches of 2, frying until golden brown on both sides approximately 3-4 minutes per side. These can stick to the pan so do not try and flip them until they have developed their crust and your flipper can slide under them easily. Serve immediately.

Ketchup is a nice condiment, but if you like spicy try cocktail sauce (you know the one that shrimp is dipped in). It gives a nice spicy taste to the cakes.

I made them again today to go with my meat and I used goat cheese instead of the cheddar. I used a 2" slice off the fresh goat cheese log and crumbled it with my fingers into the quinoa mixture. It added a nice tangy cheese taste and melts into soft cheese bites in the cake. I used the cocktail sauce as my condiment and it went wonderfully with the goat cheese.

For my Paleo friends quinoa is not a grain but is actually a seed and is most closely related to beets and spinach so is totally safe for both gluten free and Paleo diets. You could substitute ground almonds for the crumbs inside the cakes and use finely chopped pecans for the outside crust.