Bad Attitude

My bad attitude ruined today's baking adventure. 

The challenge: make one gluten free apple pie, one gluten/dairy/soy free cran-apple pie, and one normal pumpkin pie. 

What I didn't think about before embarking on said adventure: pie crust ingredients=flour, water, butter or shortening (shortening has soy in it). In other words, I need to magically make a pie crust out of funky tasting flours and make it stick together with something other than butter.

I broke a plastic bowl. I slammed it against the counter. I was smashing the pie crust back into a ball for the 4th time since I couldn't get it to stick together or roll out. Then I burned my hand grabbing the pie out of the oven (oh hey self- a glass pie pan coming out of a 375 degree oven will be HOT). And I was just generally quite frustrated. My impatience made the process aggravating instead of just challenging. 

Everything ended up turning out okay-the realization was that gluten free pie crust WON'T taste exactly like standard pie dough. But it WILL come together and be special. Even if it's a failure, the fact that I tried is what matters to my food intolerant mother. The apple and pumpkin pies are still in the oven, but the cran-apple one just came out. 

So. What did I learn from today? 

1. Make a pot of coffee before starting something of this magnitude. I had no coffee today. Bad news. 

2. Use less coconut flour/coconut oil in the gluten/dairy/soy free pie. The coconut oil gives things a funky aftertaste

3. Use a foil tent on gluten free crusts- they burn even more quickly than regular pie crusts. Watch carefully! 
4. Recognize the whole process as an act of love. Look at that person. Love them through baking with a good attitude instead of getting mad. I failed at this today (SORRY MOM!). 

TREATS: GFDFSF Banana Streusel Muffins

I made some ridiculously amazing pumpkin muffins last week and had a hankering to make another quickbread--but alas, 1/3 of the muffin consumption in our house (aka my mom) has allergies to all things gluten, dairy and soy. I decided to just use a recipe that I've loved previously and doctor it to be allergy conscious. 

Banana muffins that are allergy friendly and completely edible even if you DON'T have allergies!! Yum. Enjoy friends.  

2 cups gluten free flour mix

1 teaspoon xanthum gum

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ginger

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup vegetable oil (or butter if dairy is not a concern or applesauce for flair)

3/4 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

2 1/3 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 4-5 medium bananas)

Optional streusel topping:

4 tablespoons flour

4 tablespoons brown or white sugar

1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)

3 tablespoons vegetable oil or butter (depending on allergies)

If using vegetable oil in the topping to make this dairy free, you may want to also add 1 tablespoon of water so there's a little more binding in the streusel. Not a must, but it will make the topping stick to the muffins better.

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease either a 9x5 loaf pan or set out muffin tins with liners for about 18-20 muffins. 

Mix together all dry ingredients in a separate bowl. 

Using stand mixer or hand mixer, beat eggs, vanilla, sugar and oil until well blended. Add banana to liquid and blend. Slowly combine dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. **ONLY STIR UNTIL JUST COMBINED** Over mixing at this stage can make quick breads dry or chewy. 

Pour batter into loaf pan or muffin tins. The original recipe claims that this makes 12 muffins, I came out with 18.

If making the streusel, use a small bowl and combine all ingredients. Spoon mixture evenly over muffins or loaf then bake . 9x5 loaf should take an hour to an hour and 10 minutes, give or take a few minutes (depending on your oven) OR until a toothpick comes out clean from the center of the loaf. Muffins should be done in 20-30 minutes (toothpick test or gently test them with your finger to see if they spring back at all). 

I despise over-cooked breads, so watch carefully---no dry breads/muffins for us!

foodie allergies...what to do?

Time at home and moving has meant lots of high qual bonding time con mi MADRE. She has some not so fun dietary restrictions that have opened my eyes to the challenges that people with food allergies face every time they want to cook or eat out at a restaurant. I've been attempting to bake things that my mom can eat. My mom's food qualms: Gluten, Dairy and Soy.

One cookie success:

Power / Energy Cookies (adapted from another recipe that still had dairy in it):

1 cup applesauce (previous recipe had 1.5 cups of butter or margarine, I subbed 1C applesauce and 1/2C canola oil to be sure to stay gluten dairy AND soy free--if you don't have allergies, butter away in place of the applesauce and oil!)

1/2 cup canola oil 

1 cup brown sugar 

2/3 cups white sugar

2 eggs 

2 tsp vanilla

3 cups all-purpose wheat flour (I used gluten free flour mix)

2 tsp baking powder 

1/2 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp xanthum gum (only needed if you're using GF flour mix, this is what makes it stick together)

2 cups oats (if you're making these GF, make sure to get GF oats!)

1/2 cup coconut

3/4-1 cup chopped pecans

1 cup of dried fruit (I used craisins)

1 cup of chocolate chips (for gluten free/dairy free, be sure to get GFDF chocolate chips)

Start with applesauce and oil in a large mixing bowl.

Stir in sugars, add eggs and vanilla and mix thoroughly.

Add flour, then baking powder, xanthum gum and soda.

Blend until all flour is moistened.

Add oats, nuts, fruit and chocolate chips and stir.

Drop spoonfuls onto greased cookie sheets and bake at 350 F for approximately for 15 minutes.

Cool on cookie sheet for 5 minutes and cooling rack for 20 minutes more.

YUM. Very hearty. Non allergen people liked them too! Lots of room for alterations (take out coconut, more nuts, vary what fruit to add etc). 
Hey you blog readers-do you have any recipes you think would be good to try gluten free/dairy free? Let me know--I'm thinking of even trying to make that banana cake from a few posts ago into a GFDF masterpiece. Ha. THAT could be challenging!

Another success was by the FABULOUS Chef Kevin from the Hyatt - he made a farewell dinner for us when my mom was in town to help me move. It was AMAZING. My mom has mentioned at least 5 or 6 times and told a bunch of her friends how great the meal was (so Kevin-if you opened a restaurant in Ames, Iowa, my mother alone could fill the tables with her friends!). How wonderful it was not to have to worry about her allergies since he had them taken care of. What we had was a 5 course foodie fest that was gluten, dairy and soy free. It was super. Kevin is proof that yes, it CAN be done: Gluten Free Dairy Free food can taste good AND still have normal textures. A pork taco with mango salsa; potato cake with carmelized onions, spinach, mandarin oranges and smoked salmon; chili seared scallops with watermelon arugula salad; venison with fresh lentils and some awesome kind of cherries; lastly three fresh sorbets. HOLY CRAP. 

A few envy worthy pics from the night: