Holiday time is here! After waiting patiently throughout the year, this week people will celebrate Christmas and continue to celebrate Hanukkah. (Have you got all your shopping done yet? Me, neither).
It may be a cliché to say it, but blogging has truly changed my life, and I am so thankful that you’ve chosen to spend a bit of your precious time with me here during the past year. Thank you!
Happy holidays to each and every one of you. I look forward to sharing more great food, health information, stories and comments from The Girls over the next year!
And while I’m sure everyone is insanely busy with their own holiday celebrations, I decided to go ahead with Wellness Weekend this week just in case you have the chance to share some of your festive meals with everyone here. I loved seeing all your entries from last week, with so many already in the holiday spirit!
Enjoy your time with friends and family, and have a great holiday season!
xo Ricki
Some highlights from last week, based on the theme of “holiday veggies”:
Readers’ Choice, Savory: Low Fat Hummus from Healthy Kitschy Vegan. Wonderfully spiced, with a secret ingredient and no oil!
Readers’ Choice, Sweet: Black Bean Chocolate Mint Cookies from Janet at The Taste Space. I just posted my own version of these, so I can attest that they’re yummy!
Thank you to every one of you who played along by submitting your recipes! I love seeing what you all make each week. I always look forward to seeing what you’ll come up with!
Please join us for Wellness Weekend this weekend! There are so many options for healthy foods. . . whether or not you’re vegan, remember that many salads, veggie side dishes, pasta dishes, desserts, smoothies, and more are naturally vegan and can all be included!
Here’s How to Participate (PLEASE READ THESE GUIDELINES CAREFULLY BEFORE LINKING UP!):
The event occurs once a week, starting Thursdays at 8:00 PM my time and running until Monday at midnight.
Simply link up a recipe you made (and posted about) within the past week that contains health-supporting ingredients (see list below). Use the Linky Tool at the bottom of the page. Please do not link more than once to the same web page!
Please link the post with your recipe, NOT your blog’s home page. The post must contain a recipe.
You may submit more than one recipe, but please follow the guidelines for each one individually. ONLY ONE THUMBNAIL PER POST, PLEASE.
Please be sure to mention this event and include a link back to this post so that others can find all the recipes posted!
Feel free to use the blog badge, above (or see the left sidebar of this page–if you need the html code, let me know and I’ll send it to you). Many thanks to Adrienne of Whole New Mom for setting up the badge code for me!
As always, I hate to remove links, but will do so if they don’t comply with the guidelines.
What your recipe CAN contain:
Any good-for-you, whole foods, especially those with antioxidant properties or “functional foods” (ie, offering naturally medicinal or health-promoting qualities–such as garlic, coconut oil, all vegetables, fruits, herbs, etc.)–but any fresh, real food is welcome!
Natural sweeteners (coconut sugar, agave, brown rice syrup, maple syrup, stevia, Sucanat, rapadura, coconut nectar, yacon syrup, etc.)
Vegan ingredients (even if you’re not vegan, OF COURSE you can still play along! You’ll be surprised at how many foods are naturally vegan; and if not, there are many subs you can use for eggs, milk or butter–include vegan options and we’re good to go!).
Note that this is NOT AN ACD-ONLY EVENT. Any real food ingredients that are sugar-free and vegan are more than welcome–so use that maple syrup, those mushrooms, that nutritional yeast, miso, etc! I’m just looking for healthy, whole foods recipes.
What your recipe cannot contain:
White flour, white sugar, or any highly refined, highly processed ingredients (note that regular brown sugar is actually refined!);
Anything almost entirely artificial (ie, most boxed mixes, fast food, faux “cheese,” faux “meat,” or margarine, unnaturally colored cereals or other foods, etc.);
Animal products (meat, chicken, fish or seafood, or their by-products, gelatin, eggs, dairy, butter or honey).
“Hey! Why was my entry removed?”
The most common reason entries are removed is because they don’t adhere to the guidelines:either they don’t contain a link back to this post, they contain ingredients that aren’t listed here, they are a re-post of a blog entry that is more than one week old, or they contain neither a recipe nor anything directly related to food preparation. If you render a recipe vegan-friendly by adding a vegan option to your ingredients, your post will be good to go! For older posts, you’re welcome to re-post them during the week of the event, or choose a newer recipe.
Another reason posts are removed is because the link leads to an advertisement or a business blog. Please do NOT link up posts that are merely referrals to a different post or the home page for another blog event.
Only one thumbnail per post, please. If your post contains two suitable recipes, link up once and people will still see all your fabulous recipes when they click on the linky.
I hate to have to remove links! PLEASE read the guidelines before posting!
NOTE: A few of you have mentioned problems linking up in the past couple of weeks because of the backlink requirement. If the linky won’t work for you, please let me know so I can tell the Linky Tools owner and the problem can be fixed!
Do you remember what it felt like when you were young, when it seemed everyone else had something you didn’t (but you wished you did)? As a gradeschooler, I watched from the sidelines as my friends zoomed around the neighborhood on their new banana-seat bicycles (my parents told me they couldn’t afford one). Then at age 14, I attended my first “social” (what boy-and-girl parties were called back then) and watched from the sidelines as my friends all spent the evening necking with boys (does anyone still say “necking” any more?!); I was perched on a folding chair shoving potato chips into my mouth and guzzling Diet Coke next to MS, the only other dateless girl in the group.
So, when I started the ACD back in 2009 and I had to watch from the sidelines at Christmas time as all my friends sipped wine and champagne, nibbled on pâtés and cheeses/cheezes, consumed obscene amounts of chocolate and sugar. . . well, it felt uncomfortably familiar, I’m afraid.
For you, dear readers, I wanted something better this holiday season. I’ve heard from several of you who’ve just recently embarked on the ACD yourselves, and I remember all too well how despondent one can feel when one wants goodies. . . but there just aren’t any appropriate goodies to be had (ie, without sugar, gluten, dairy, yeast, molds, alcohol. . . et cetera).
Well, here you are. I’ve brought some goodies for you.
And yes, the recipe is suitable, even if you’ve just started the diet and you’re barely into Stage One.*
These cookies are an adaptation of the Black Bean Chocolate Chili Cherry Cookies I saw (via Wellness Weekend last week) on The Taste Space, which were an adaptation of Sarah’s cookies on My New Roots. Now, those other cookies, it is true, contained cocoa powder. And cocoa powder in cookies translates to “CHOCOLATE! IN COOKIES!”–something I never turn down if given the opportunity. However, neither cocoa nor maple syrup are permitted in the first stage of the ACD; so I made some substitutions.
I’ve decided that my mission in 2012 will be to convince carob naysayers that the sepia pod is appealing and delicious in its own right, not merely a second-rate chocolate substitute. Sure, chocolate is my first love, my highschool sweetheart**, if you will; it’s like the guy that sets your heart fluttering whenever you see him, even years later, even after the romance fizzled and you’ve been divorced for decades, the intervening years traced like fine tributaries across your face. Carob, on the other hand, is a more solid, more placid lover; the one you meet in your 40s at the bridge club, the one you call “friend” before “lover,” the one that is consistent and reliable and steadfast. Fewer sparks, perhaps, but a connection that goes deeper, brings out the best in you, is more permanent. That’s the way I love my carob right about now.
I played a bit with the original recipe, adding almond butter to compensate for the lower fat content in the carob. These are not fudgy cookies, but still dense and soft; you’ll find them lovely, moist and almost cake-like. If you’re not a fan of coconut, you can add homemade dried cranberries for a contrast in color and added chewiness. If you happen to be following later stages of the diet, feel free to sub some/all of the liquid sweeteners with agave or coconut nectar, or use goji berries or other dried berries (sugarfree, of course) as your fruit of choice.
These little gems really do feel like a treat–something I think we all deserve about now!
Happy Holidays, Everyone!
Other ACD-friendly favorites:
Cinnamon-Spiced Coconut Bark (Stage 1 and beyond; but note that some diets don’t allow cashews; if so, use walnuts or almonds)
Crimson Mousse (Stage 1 and beyond; but note that some diets don’t allow cashews; if so, use macadmia nuts)
Raw Frosted Lemon Poppyseed Bars (Stage 1 and beyond; but some diets don’t allow cashews; if so, use other nuts, such as almonds or walnuts)
*Please note that there are many versions of the anti-candida diet in existence, and yours may advocate something different. This recipe is suitable for the first stage of the diet I followed; please be sure to check with your healthcare provider to ensure that the recipe is compatible with your diet!
**Considering how early on I was addicted to chocolate, it really should be more like, “my kindergarten sweetheart.” But I couldn’t say that because, well, it just sounds creepy.
Mexican Spiced Black Bean Carob-Cranberry (or Goji Berry) Cookies (adapted from The Taste Space)
Suitable for ACD, all stages (yay!)
A little bit cakey, a little bit chewy, these cookies are a satisfying sweet. Don’t expect to confuse them with chocolate–they have a caroby taste all their own, which works extremely well with the spice mixture and sweet berries.
1 can (19 oz or 540 ml) black beans, rinsed very well and well drained (see Note 1 below)
2 Tbsp (30 ml) extra virgin coconut oil, preferably organic
1/4 cup (60 ml) homemade dried cranberries or shredded unsweetened coconut (for later stages/non-ACD, use goji berries, raisins, regular dried cranberries, etc.)
Preheat oven to 375F (190C). Line two cookie sheets with parchment or spray with nonstick spray.
Place beans, coconut oil, almond butter an carob powder in the bowl of a food processor and process until very smooth. Add remaining ingredients except for chips and cranberries and process again, scraping down sides if necessary (it will have the consistency of a muffin batter, soft but able to hold a shape if scooped). Remove the processor blade and stir in the chips and berries by hand.
Using a small ice cream scoop or tablespoon, scoop the dough onto the cookie sheets, leaving about 2 inches (5 cm) between them. Use the back of a spoon or a silicone spatula to spread the cookies out and flatten them to about 1/2 inch (1.5 cm) thick (they will not really spread during baking).
Bake for 20-30 minutes, rotating the pans about halfway through, until cookies are dry on top and browned on the edges and bottoms. Allow to cool completely before eating. Store, covered, in the refrigerator. Makes 22-25 cookies. May be frozen.
Note 1: You can certainly use dried beans that you soak overnight and then cook yourself; use about 1-1/2 cups (360 ml) cooked beans. In this case, however, you must be sure to cook the beans extremely well–almost overcooked–or they won’t blend as easily as the canned ones do.
Note 2: If you like the taste of yacon syrup, you can use a full 1/3 cup (80 ml) of yacon instead of adding the glycerin. Alternately, if you are at a later stage of the ACD or not on it at all, feel free to use a full 1/3 cup (80 ml) of coconut nectar or agave nectar.
[A plate of detox-friendly cookies! In the background, the ailing azalea plant my cousin gave me. Any advice on how to keep it alive?]
Are you a fan of granola? For most of us, the mix of (usually) oats, nuts, seeds and raisins or dates is very alluring. I must admit, however, that I first ate granola in my 20s, and then only for a few weeks before eschewing it entirely until my 40s. Why, you may ask? Well, let me answer by telling you a story (because you know that I will, right?).
As a child, I couldn’t really tolerate the taste of nuts. Which was weird, since pretty much everyone else in my family seemed to love them; my Uncle S , for one, consumed dry roasted peanuts almost incessantly (though I must admit I never counted peanuts as “nuts”; not because I was a child prodigy who instinctively understood that “legumes aren’t nuts”; no, it was just that I never associated the sweet, tan unguent that I slathered on toast or saltines–so far removed in appearance, taste and texture from their original form–with the dry pods that my uncle popped in his mouth all day).
My mother, too, loved nuts of all kinds. Every Christmas, between the shortbread cookies, the pecan bars, the sugar cookies, the double chocolate brownies and the coffee cakes, she baked a huge batch of what she called “Frozen Nut Cookies.” What was considered “frozen” about them I have no idea, as the mixed dough was never placed anywhere near the freezer, nor were any of the ingredients previously chilled. The recipe called for a pound (454 grams) of ground walnuts, an entire jar of maraschino cherries (including the syrupy, sugary “juice”), and lots–lots–of butter. Every year, I scarfed a few of the cookies, hoping they’d convert me into a nut-lover, but really the only part I enjoyed was the chopped maraschinos. (In retrospect, I realize that what I really enjoyed was actually the sugar in the chopped maraschinos).
Then, during my late teens and early 20s while living in a university residence, I finally began to eat nuts in certain foods and actually enjoy them. That is, until what I now refer to as “The Granola Trauma,” an incident that’s gone down in the annals of Ricki lore. My room mate and I had acquired the habit of buying the large plastic bags of “No Name” granola to snack on (or eat as a meal) during the semester (when we weren’t inhaling birthday cake, that is). One evening as we sat cross-legged on opposite sides of the army-style cot, each totally totally engrossed in studying for our next final and entirely oblivious as our spoons repeatedly dipped into the bag with the cheery yellow stripe and then directly into our mouths, the GT occurred. Let me explain what happened by relating this common children’s riddle:
Q. What’s worse than finding a worm in your apple granola?
A: Finding half a worm.
‘Nuff said.
As you can guess, I wasn’t too keen on eating granola for a while. . . like, for a couple of decades. The nuts were just collateral damage.
It wasn’t until my 30s and the advent of the ACD that I really began to appreciate almonds, pecans, hazelnuts, walnuts and the like again (of course, meeting the HH during those days also helped, since he’s one nut that everyone’s just gotta love. But you saw that coming, of course.).
By the time I created my first cookbook, Sweet Freedom, I was consuming (homemade) granola again and even had a favorite recipe to share on the blog. I decided I wanted to include my own version of a granola cookie in the book, and came up with Seed Jumble Cookies. The Seed Jumbles were always a hit with my friends and their children (whether or not they could eat nuts–the cookie is nut-free). This recipe is a healthier, gluten-free version of those.
I actually created this recipe in anticipation of this week’s Sweet Victory detox program that begins on Saturday (and today is the last day to register at the early bird discount price!). The program is designed to help participants eschew sugar from their lives and get a grip on those gnawing sugar cravings (a feeling about which I know all too well). I’m also participating in the program, which was designed by holistic health coach Andrea Nakayama to provide crucial information about the nature of sugar addiction, brain chemistry, how to deal with cravings, and more. I wanted to be sure that everyone’s sweet tooth was satisfied with healthy, delicious desserts for the two weeks. Believe it or not, this is the kind of recipe you can eat while detoxing from sugar!
Although I’ve already removed refined sugars from my own diet, I’m going through the program to learn more about why my brain keeps asking for sugar anyway–and what to do about it. But it’s really for anyone at any stage who wants to beat the sugar demon ).
These cookies combine coconut sugar with fresh pear purée and a bit of stevia to achieve a perfect level of sweetness and cookie-like texture. The seeds and SunWarrior powder add enough protein and fiber to offset any rise in blood sugar and prevent a spike that will send you toward the sugar bowl. I was able to eat two cookies and stop there (though the HH enjoyed these so much he actually ate 3, and told me, “These taste like real cookies”!). In fact, they’re healthy enough that I would feel fine eating a couple for breakfast–just the way I might eat a bowl of granola (just please, not the no-name kind).
Baked Granola Haystack Cookies(ACD Stage 3 and beyond)
These are a great cookie as an afternoon snack or even as a quick breakfast-on-the-go. If feeding to people with nut allergies, you can replace the almond butter with sunflower seed butter or more tahini.
1/4 cup (60 ml) coconut sugar
1 large pear, cored and cut into 8 pieces (no need to peel)
1/4-1/2 tsp (1-2.5 ml) plain or vanilla stevia liquid, to your taste
1/4 cup (60 ml) unsweetened dairy free carob chips or cacao nibs (optional; may replace with raisins, if you’re allowed)
Preheat oven to 350F (180C). Line a cookie sheet with parchment, or spray with nonstick spray.
Place the coconut sugar and pear in a food process and process until smooth. Add the stevia, vanilla, tahini and almond butter and process again. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the oats, protein powder, cinnamon, salt and flax seeds to break up any lumps. Add the pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds and carob chips, if using.
Pour the wet mixture over the dry ingredients in the bowl and stir to coat everything well. It may seem as if it won’t hold together like a “real” cookie batter—this is as it should be.
Using a small ice cream scoop or tablespoon, place mounds of “dough” about one inch apart on cookie sheet. Flatten slightly and press together with your fingers if it looks as if they’re not holding together on the edges.
Bake in preheated oven 20-25 minutes, rotating the cookie sheet once about halfway through, until golden. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely before sampling. Makes 16-20 cookies. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 5 days. May be frozen.
["You know what they say about an apple a day, right, Mum?"]
Okay. . . now that you’ve all stopped laughing at the rudimentary blog badge I created above (thanks to all on Facebook who recommended Picnik. . . talk about a steep learning curve), it’s time to introduce the event!
With the SOS on hiatus until September, though, I realized that I’ll really miss having a recipe sharing event! So to tide us all over until then, I’m introducing a new weekly event on my blog: Summer Wellness Weekends! It’s my own little locale where I’ll invite you all to share recipes that you made during the previous week, ones that contain ingredients known to support good health (and of course you’re invited to participate even if it’s not summer where you are right now!).
As you probably know if you’ve read this blog for any length of time, I promote a sugar-free, gluten-free, whole foods, vegan diet. But as a Holistic Nutritionist, I know that what I eat isn’t always the healthiest option for everyone else.
So here’s what you need to know to participate (PLEASE READ THESE GUIDELINES CAREFULLY BEFORE LINKING UP):
The event will occur once a week, starting on Thursday evenings and running until Monday evenings throughout the summer.
Simply link up a recipe you made (and posted about) within the past week that contains health-supporting ingredients (see list below). Use the Linky Tool at the bottom of the page.
Please link the post with your recipe, NOT your blog’s home page.
You may submit more than one recipe, but please follow the guidelines for each one individually.
Please be sure to mention this event and include a link back to this post so that others can find all the recipes posted!
Feel free to use the blog badge, above (or see the left sidebar of this page–if you need the html code, let me know and I’ll send it to you). Many thanks to Adrienne of Whole New Mom for setting up the badge code for me!
As always, I hate to remove links, but will do so if they don’t comply with the guidelines.
What your recipe CAN contain:
Any good-for-you, whole foods, especially those with antioxidant properties or “functional foods” (ie, offering naturally medicinal or health-promoting qualities–such as garlic, coconut oil, all vegetables, fruits, herbs, etc.)–but any fresh, real food is welcome!
Natural sweeteners (coconut sugar, agave, brown rice syrup, maple syrup, stevia, Sucanat, rapadura, coconut nectar, yacon syrup, etc.)
Vegan ingredients (even if you’re not vegan, OF COURSE you can still play along! You’ll be surprised at how many foods are naturally vegan; and if not, there are many subs you can use for eggs, milk or butter–include vegan options and we’re good to go!).
Note that this is NOT AN ACD-ONLY EVENT! Any real food ingredients that are sugarfree and vegan are more than welcome–so use that maple syrup, mushrooms, nutritional yeast, miso, etc! I’m just looking for healthy, whole foods recipes.
What your recipe cannot contain:
White flour, white sugar, or any highly refined, highly processed ingredients
Anything almost entirely artificial (ie, most boxed mixes, fast food, unnaturally colored cereals or other foods, etc.)
Animal products (meat, chicken, fish or seafood, or their by-products, gelatin, eggs, dairy, butter or honey)
During the summer, it’s so easy to create healthy dishes with the abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables! And even if it’s not summer where you are, there are still loads of foods that could be considered good for your health and contain natural ingredients.
I can’t wait to see what y’all mix up!
“Sounds great, Mum! So, can I eat that apple now?”
THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED. THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO ENTERED!
Before I get to this week’s wonderful Giveaway Gone Wild, it’s time to announce the winner from last week’s giveaway of a beautiful handcrafted Strawesome glass straw!
Number 69, Laurel Alanna McBrine! Here’s Laurel’s comment:
And, I like you on Facebook – think I have done it all now, looking forward to sipping my smoothie Thanks, fun promotion.
Congratulations, Laurel! Looks like you’ll be sipping that smoothie from a glass straw after all. Please contact me at dietdessertdogsATgmailDOTcom this week to claim your prize. If I don’t hear from you within a week, I’ll choose another winner.
And now, on to this week’s giveaway–one you’ll all want to enter! (for full details, see the end of this post).
I know that many of you are already fans of Amy, the blogger behind the wildly popular Simply Sugar and Gluten Free (which recently got a facelift–check out the new look!). A few months ago, Amy published her first cookbook, Simply Sugar and Gluten Free, and her publisher kindly sent me a copy for review.
For someone like me (on an anti-candida diet), the combination of sugar-free and gluten-free was incrediby enticing. Unlike many other gluten-free cookbooks, this one already fit my “no-sugar” requirement! I couldn’t wait to see the book.
The cookbook is filled with recipes and lots of useful information written in Amy’s clean, approachable style. She begins with a personal story explaining why she eats sugar- and gluten-free. The book wraps up with a comprehensive chapter called “The Simply Sugar and Gluten-Free Kitchen Guide,” in which she offers tips on flour blends, kitchen essentials (all the products you’ll need to reproduce the recipes), and even a list of her favorite kitchen tools. The chapter is also peppered with tip boxes containing info on how to succeed at GF baking, conversions, kitchen organization, and more. The book is capped off with a list of resources, including books, blogs, and where to purchase products.
The book’s full title is Simply Sugar and Gluten Free; 180 Easy and Delicious Recipes You Can Make in 20 Minutes or Less, and given how time-strapped so many of us are these days, this is a very appealing promise. I decided to dig in.
Before I talk about what I cooked up, however, I should mention that the book is not a vegan cookbook–though it does contain some vegan recipes or options. Obviously, I didn’t try out any of the dishes with meat, chicken, fish, eggs, dairy, etc. Having said that, though, I was pleasantly surprised at how many of the recipes I could easily adapt. Occasionally, Amy offers vegan variations, and even when she didn’t, I had no trouble finding many recipes to try. And so, on to those I sampled!
First up, I made some very quick and simple Carob Nut Cups. Resembling peanut butter cups without the peanut butter filling (or the chocolate!), these snacks were dense, caroby treats that provided a great afternoon pick-me-up. Made with unsweetened carob chips, they were just sweet enough; I added a bit of stevia for a slightly sweeter version. I really enjoyed these (since I am, as you know, a fan of carob), as did the HH (who is not always a fan of carob).
Next, I turned to the Apple Carrot Breakfast Cake, which I baked up as muffins. For several years now, I’ve been sending the HH off to work in the morning with a homemade muffin (since, when I don’t, he opts for the far less healthy–and more hydrogenated–Tim Horton’s variety). These were quick and easy to put together, moist and sweet without any added oil or sweetener at all. And I had no problem substituting flax ”eggs” for the original recipe’s eggs. The original recipe called for a whipped topping, but I found these didn’t even need it. And the HH enjoyed many days of healthy breakfasts courtesy of Amy!
Another dessert I couldn’t resist were the Carob Chip Cookies. Believe it or not, the finished product was actually a bit too sweet for my current ACD-accustomed taste buds (they contain a cup of coconut sugar); this was also another recipe very easily adapted to a vegan version, and the HH raved about them. “These taste just like real cookies!” he enthused as he grabbed a second (and later, a third) cookie. (I chose not to ask what that compliment would imply about my cookies). As Amy tells us in the preamble to the recipe, “No one ever mentions that they don’t taste the chocolate, and the plate is always empty in no time” when she serves these to friends. I can believe it.
Finally, I couldn’t resist making the Black Bean Soup (a simple switch from chicken to vegetable stock rendered the recipe 100% vegan). The final product wasn’t exactly photogenic (it looked kind of like those kids’ watercolor paintings in which they mix all the colors together. . . swampy and mudlike), but boy-oh-boy, did it taste fantastic! The HH raved over this one, too. And the soup was incredibly simple to make (though I should point out that it’s one of the few recipes in the book that’s not actually ready “in 20 minutes or less”–you have to soak the beans overnight, then simmer for 1-1/2 hours; you could, however, cut the prep time by using canned beans). We cleaned up the entire pot in two days–it was that good.
If you’re looking for a general-purpose cookbook that covers a variety of courses from appetizer to dessert, all in easy-to-follow recipes that work as promised, this book would make a perfect addition to your kitchen. From the basics like Herbed White Bean Dip and Simple Sautéd Swiss Chard to more exotic combinations like Olive Oil-Zucchini Muffins, Blueberry Quinoa Crumble Bars or Chocolate Teff Cake, you’re sure to find something that suits your fancy.
Amy’s publisher has granted permission for me to reprint a recipe–I hope you’ll enjoy these quick and easy Carob Nut Cups!
1 cup unsweetened carob chips (I used vegan chips)
2 tsp non-hydrogenated vegetable shortening (I used coconut oil)
1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp roasted salted sunflower seeds
1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp unsweetened shredded coconut, plus extra for topping
Line 10 cups in a mini-muffin pan with mini-cupcake papers.
Place the carob chips and coconut oil in a heatproof bowl that will fit snugly on top of a saucepan. Bring 1 inch of water to a gentle simmer in the saucepan. Place the bowl on top of the pan and turn off the heat. Let the carob and coconut oil sit for a few minutes.
Meanwhile, place the sunflower seeds in the bowl of a mini food chopper fitted with the steel blade. Pulse until the seeds are chopped. Add the measured coconut and poulse several more times until combined.
Stir the carob and coconut oil until melted. Add the sunfloer and coconut mixutre to the carob and stir until combined. The mixture will be thick. Using two small spoons, evenly distribute the carob mixture among the cupcake papers, being careful to keep the tops of the papers clean. Tap the muffin tin several times on the countertop to level the melted carob. Sprinkle the tops with the extra coconut and press lightly into the carob. Let sit at room temperature until firm, or refrigerate to speed up the process. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for several weeks. Let the nut cups sit at room temperature for a few minutes before serving.
Makes 10 coconutty snacks.
NOTE: I added 10-15 drops vanilla stevia to the melted chips/coconut oil before stirring in the remaining ingredients.
TIME FOR THE GIVEAWAY!
THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED. THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO ENTERED!
I’m delighted to report that the kind folks at Ulysses Press have offered to provide a copy of the book for one of you!
To enter the giveaway, simply leave a comment on this post telling me why you’d like the book.
As always, you may acquire additional entries by doing any (or all) of the following:
Subscribe to Amy’s blog, “like” her on Facebook, or follow her on twitter (then come back and leave a separate comment for each one);
Subscribe to this blog, “like” the DDD page on Facebook, or follow me on twitter (then come back and leave a separate comment for each);
Go to the Ulysses Press cookbook page and browse through their other cookbooks (then come back and mention one you found interesting).
The contest will remain open for a week (until midnight on Sunday, June 26th), at which time I’ll randomly choose a winner. The giveaway is open to US and Canadian residents (with apologies to my international readers!).
Good luck, everyone!
THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED. THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO ENTERED!
[No Gluten, Get Happy: The easiest way to bake gluten-free is with no flour at all! How about Happy Hemp Two-Bite Brownies?]
Welcome to Day Nine of the blog event from Diane over at The Whole Gang, 30 Days to Easy Gluten-Free Living! The objective of this event is to show you all how easy it can be to eat gluten-free. And today, I’m going to talk about baking.
Baking, gluten-free.
Whew! I think my hair just got a new ‘do after the breeze that whooshed by as hoards of you ran for the exits! For those of you still here, grab a cup of tea, have a seat, and settle in as I explain why, after a lifetime of baking with wheat, I’ve come to love gluten-free baking even more.
In a nutshell, here are my five top tips to create amazing baked goods–all without stress, anxiety, or trauma (and of course, no gluten!).
[My first time using sweet rice flour (also called glutenous rice flour: Red Bean Pastry Cookies. You can, too! ]
1. Something New: Gluten Free
When I first learned that I’d have to adopt a gluten-free diet (as part of the anti-candida regime I’m following), I was more upset about having to give up baking than having to give up gluten per se. As someone who’d been baking since I was about six, I simply couldn’t imagine a life without delicious baked treats!
In Stage 2 of the diet, as soon as I was able to start incorporating flours back into my recipes, I pulled out one of my favorite recipes (I think it was a carrot loaf), and baked it up using brown rice flour in place of the all-purpose wheat. Hmmm. . . .can you say, “brick”? Or how about, “Crumbly, totally tasteless brick” at that!
It wasn’t until I realized that baking gluten-free is an entirely new endeavor that I finally began to learn about–and appreciate–gluten-free baking on its own merits. If I moved to Florida from here in Toronto (and believe me, deep in February, I’ve often thought about it), I wouldn’t expect to wear the same winter clothes over there, now, would I? Or if I started dating a new guy (no worries, HH, this is for illustration purposes only), I’d never expect him to have the same taste in wine, like the same music, or dance the same way as the previous beau, either. So why should gluten-free baking work exactly the same as glutenous baking? Once I “got” that reality, the rest was easy.
There’s no need to reinvent the wheel (or wheel of foccacia, either, for that matter). Whenever I begin a new enterprise, I first check out what the authorities in that field have done before me. I rely on their wisdom and experience to get me started. In the case of gluten-free baking, I began by using all-purpose mixes that would allow me to substitute one-for-one instead of wheat flour, and baked up several batches of my favorite sweets that way first. By using tried-and-true flour mixes, I knew that my baked goods would work and would give me a feel for what goes into an all-purpose gluten free flour mix.
What’s in an all-purpose mix? Well, to answer that question you’ll need to consider a bit more about glutenous versus gluten-free flour. Here are some key points:
i. Gluten-free flour has no gluten (duh).
Gluten is the protein in wheat that acts as “glue” to bind together the baked goods. It provides texture and holds things together. Without it, baked goods crumble and break apart like dried-out sandcastles on the beach. By combining different gluten-free flours in one mix, you help to alleviate that effect. (Another trick is to add a binder that replaces the gluten–see number 3, below).
ii. Wheat flour comes in only a few varieties, but varieties of gluten-free flour are almost endless.
In fact, this is one of the reasons I love baking gluten-free: most of us grow up used to the neutral, bland flavor of wheat in baked goods. Gluten free flours, on the other hand, are often derived from other grains that confer their own distinct taste. Amaranth and quinoa offer a sturdy, almost mineral flavor; buckwheat is earthy and nutty; teff resembles a combination of carob and cocoa; rice is mild and delicate; and so on. In addition, there are loads of non-grain gluten free flours; major categories are starches (cornstarch, tapioca, arrowroot, potato starch, etc.); bean and legume-based (chickpea, garfava, bean, soy, etc.); and nut based (coconut, almond meal, hazelnut, etc.). For a fairly comprehensive list of gluten-free grains, starches and flours, check this post.
iii. The best gluten-free baking uses a combination of flours. I know that some of you out there will disagree on this point, and certainly there are some gluten-free recipes that use only a single flour (often millet, sorghum, oat or almond, in my experience). But since gluten-free flours are so different from wheat and each is unique, I find that my best baking projects combine different flours depending on my mood, the recipe and the kind of result I seek.
For instance, muffins or quickbreads work better with more hearty flours such as quinoa, amaranth, or sorghum; light and delicate results follow when you use a greater percentage of starchy flours or mild-flavored grains like rice or millet; and sandy, chewy cookies seem to work best with a combination of all three main types of flours (grain, bean, starch). As you experiment in the kitchen and learn more about the types of flours, you’ll discover which flavors and textures you like best in your own baking.
But no one wants to waste ingredients while they’re learning, right? So for those who are just beginning, I’d recommend the following all-purpose mixes I’ve tried from some of my fellow gluten-free bloggers:
Maggie’s Bean Free Blend: I used this for a pie crust and it was fantastic–light, flaky, delicate.
As I mentioned above, gluten is the “glue” that helps to bind (and to a lesser extent, leaven) baked goods. As a result, the best gluten-free baking usually includes a binder meant to replace the gluten. The most common binder is eggs, but since I don’t use those, I add flax meal or other vegan egg replacers in my baking. Other binders include fruit purées, nut meals or flours, or nut butters (I tend to use nut butters more than meal; I also sometimes use seed butters, such as tahini or sunflower seed butter).
However, in recent years, most people also use xanthan gum, a powdery substance that you sift into your flours before you mix up your batter or dough, which creates results a lot like gluten in baked goods. You can also use guar gum. I’ve also seen recipes calling for agar agar (a vegan gelatin) as a binder as well, when xanthan gum isn’t used. As a general rule, most flour blends use about 1/2 tsp (2.5 ml) xanthan gum per cup of flour; for more sturdy baked goods such as muffins or scones, you may need to add a wee bit more (up to 1 tsp/5 ml per cup). I always use an egg replacer plus the xanthan gum; after all, glutenous recipes contain eggs and gluten, right?
[Yes, you can still have light-as-air, cakey Whoopie Pies, gluten-free!]
4. Lighten Up.
Gluten free flours tend to produce a slightly heavier product than wheat flour (another consequence of losing that gluten!). As a result, I always add a bit more leavener to my gluten-free creations than I used to with my wheat-based baked goods. If a wheat-based recipe calls for 1 tsp (5 ml) of baking powder per cup of all-purpose flour, with my gluten-free mix, I use 1-1/2 tsp (7.5 ml) instead (plus about 1/4 tsp (1 ml) extra baking soda for heavier flours). Again, you may need to experiment a bit as you go, but that’s a good rule to start.
Yes, pun intended: those of us who must eat gluten-free are already going with our guts, of course! But it’s also important to learn what works for you and your digestive system, then experiment until you find those ideal recipes. For me, too many starchy ingredients cause a recurrence of my candida symptoms, so as much as I love fluffy, feather-light cupcakes and cakes, I don’t bake too many of them these days. Luckily, I also love fudgy, dense chocolate brownies and cookies–and they have made several appearances on this blog since I went gluten-free.
[Hazelnut Melting Moments. . . a Divine Gluten-Free Cookie--and thank goodness that Chocolate is Gluten-Free! ]
5. Have Some Fun!
So that’s why I love gluten-free baking: it allows me to be inventive as I mix up something different each time. I can tailor the final flavor and texture to match the character of the particular baked good, whether light and airy or more substantial and dense. And I can benefit from the varied nutritional profiles of the different flours when I bake, instead of producing baked goods that all offer the same set of nutrients over and over in their flour.
Like any creative endeavor, cooking is never quite the same each time we do it; and the same is true of gluten-free baking. If you approach the task with a bit whimsy and a bit of adventureousness–like a playtime in the kitchen–you’ll find that gluten-free baking is fun, satisfying, and really easy, after all.
There will be a whole month of 30 Days to Easy Gluten-Free Living posts on Diane’s blog. Here’s a list of all the topics and contributors:
I hope everyone had (or is still having) a great Mother’s Day today! Behold what I found on the mantelpiece this morning:
Yep, for the first time ever, this year I received a card from The Girls. I guess that hintingcajolingbegginghaving temper tantrums being a loving partner all year really paid off!
But I’m not here to talk about breakfast (unless, of course, I slip in an extra mention that a copy of my breakfast ebook, Good Morning! Breakfasts, is being given away over at Tasty Eats at Home until May 14th–if you haven’t yet, go enter!). No, I’m here to talk about this month’s SOS ingredient, carob, and these amazing cookies I baked up!
Unlike many people, I’ve never really thought of carob as a replacement for chocolate (even though I did end up creating a “faux chocolate” recipe with it when I first started the ACD).
In general, I think it’s better to remain 100% of what one really is than be 75% of something or someone else. The last time I tried to imitate another person’s style was back in high school, when I donned embroidered Lee overalls, grew my hair long and painted a little flower on my cheek so I could be more like my then-idol, The Nurse. I ended up catching my hair in the overall’s buckles and losing a fairly large chunk of it. I was decidedly not a happy little hippie.
[A batch made with unsweetened carob chips added.]
Similarly, there are certain foods that are frequently considered inferior versions of something else. For years, margarine was the poor relation of butter (of course, after that it went through the very popular “cholesterol-free-even-though-hydrogenated-but-we-don’t-know-that-it’s-bad-for-you-yet-so-let’s-all-eat-margarine” phase, before it evolved to the “margarine-is-the-devil-real-butter-is-better-than-trans-fat-full-spreads” and finally “let’s-make-trans-fat-free-margarine-but-it’s-still-a-chemical-so-let’s-continue-to-eat-real-fats-once-again” phase). Or how about the debate over whether tofu can be used to impersonate meat in vegan dishes? And years ago, when I decided to enjoy Segura Viudas as a favorite Cava, I was informed rather undiplomatically by one acquaintance that “it’s not real champagne, you know.” (I did know. I loved it anyway.).
I’ve always felt kind of sorry for sweet little Carob, in fact, living life as a second-rate stand-in to cacao–sort of the way Jan was to Marsha, or Montreal is to Paris, or Lady Gaga is to Elton John (or is it Lady Gaga to Madonna? No matter–I suppose she was just born this way.).
[Simple and unadorned.]
This recipe was inspired by one I found in a very old cookbook of mine, called The Alternative Chocolate Cookbook (see, even culinary professionals view carob as a chocolate pretender). I’ve completely revamped the recipe so it’s gluten free, sugar free and vegan–in fact, the only thing I didn’t change was the spotlight on carob–to create a light, crisp cookie with just a hint of chewiness inside, very much like a sugar cookie. A whisper of cinnamon helps to emphasize carob’s natural sweetness, with just enough coconut sugar and stevia to make this sweet enough to qualify as “cookie.”
These light confections were perfect alongside a cup of Sencha tea, or sandwiched together with some sugar-free, allergen-free Chocolate Buttercream Frosting (the HH’s preferred way to nosh on them).
If you’ve been thinking of carob as a lesser form of chocolate, now’s the time to appreciate this lovely, slightly fruity, barely sweet legume for its own merits. Sort of the way moms appreciate their children.
Light and not too sweet, these cookies are perfect for an afternoon snack with tea or as the base for sandwich cookies. Made without the chips, they’d be great crumbled for a tart or pie crust.
1/4 cup (40 g) lightly packed coconut sugar
2 Tbsp (30 ml) water
20-25 drops plain or vanilla liquid stevia, to your taste
1 tsp (5 ml) pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup (60 ml) coconut oil, preferably organic, melted (I used refined so there would be no coconut flavor, but these would still be great with a hint of coconut)
1 Tbsp (15 ml) finely ground flax seeds
3 Tbsp (45 ml) carob powder
1/2 tsp (2.5 ml) cinnamon
1/2 tsp (2.5 ml) baking powder
1/4 tsp (1 ml) fine sea salt
1/2 tsp (2.5 ml) xanthan gum
1/3 cup (80 ml) unsweetened carob chips, optional
3.2 ounces (90 g) all-purpose GF flour mix (2/3-1 cup, depending on the mix–I used Amy’s Basic GF Flour Blend, which equaled 2/3 cup; other flours will yield different volumes for the same weight)
In a small bowl, whisk together the sugar, water, vanilla and stevia so that the sugar begins to dissolve. Add the coconut oil and whisk vigorously to combine, or beat with electric beaters (it’s okay if the mixture appears curdled). Mix in the flax seeds.
In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, carob powder, cinnamon, baking powder, salt and xanthan gum. Add the wet mixture to the dry and stir to create a slightly sticky dough. If using the carob chips, add them now. Create a roll about 8 inches (20.5 cm) long, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to overnight. (If you’re in a rush, you can freeze the log for about 15 minutes, until firm, then proceed).
When ready to bake the cookies, preheat oven to 375F (190C). Line a cookie sheet with parchment. Using a sharp knife, cut cookies about 1/4 inch (.5 cm) thick and place about an inch (2.5 cm) apart on the cookie sheet. If the dough cracks or if the cookies are squished when cutting, press with your fingers to re-shape into circles.
Bake for 10-12 minutes, rotating the sheet about halfway through, until cookies are slightly puffed and lightly browned on the bottom. Cool 5 minutes before removing from the cookie sheet. Store in an airtight container. Makes 12-16 cookies. May be frozen.
FIRST THINGS FIRST–A BIG “THANK YOU”: Before I get to all the “hemp in brownies” jokes (and you know that I will), I wanted to post a quick update about my absence this past week and express my thanks to all of you.
A huge, heartfelt THANK YOU to each and every one of you who commented, who emailed, who tweeted or who sent your good wishes for my dad (and me) on Facebook. I was incredibly touched by the outpouring of sympathy and all the positive energy and virtual hugs that were sent my way. I appreciate all of your support more than I can say.
And guess what? It worked! After a hellish (or should that be “Heller-ish?”) week in the hospital, my dad is now stable and was flown home to Montreal yesterday. We are waiting to hear from the doctors about whether he’ll be sent to rehab (aka convalescent home) or something else. Given that he had a heart attack followed by emergency surgery to unblock an artery (and a stent inserted in said artery), he is doing amazingly well. I will still likely be travelling back and forth between Toronto and Montreal most weekends, though, so I may not be posting quite as regularly.
But for now–we can celebrate with brownies! This is a recipe I developed before I left but never had a chance to post. Apart from the obvious associations of hemp in brownies, I’m calling these “Happy Brownies” because they represent the happy outcome after my dad’s ordeal.
And for anyone who suspects that hemp brownies are truly a throwback to the 60s, let me say, first of all, that the hemp seeds in these are the edible kind, so you are not ingesting any mind-altering chemicals whatsoever here (unless you count the flood of serotonins in the brain due to their heavenly taste); and second of all, hemp is not the same thing as hash, and of course the classic hippie confection was a hash brownie; and third of all, how the heck would I even know, because I never did manage to consume any of the latter, even in my undergrad days, because I am such a nerd that nobody ever offered me any, and hash brownies never appealed to me, anyway–I mean, why sully your chocolate with psychedelic drugs?
These ethereal little bites came about a few weeks ago when I decided to recreate a packaged product I found in the health food store. I know there are lots of blogs and websites out there attempting to reproduce other foods; for example, this site recreates restaurant meals; this one tries to recreate convenience foods; this one converts elaborate omni meals into vegan ones; and so on. While I do, occasionally, find inspiration in restaurant meals, I am not one of those people who makes a point of creating a copycat version of something I’ve eaten.
Having said that, though, I nevertheless sometimes feel the need to develop my own take on a food because (a) I just love it so much that I want it again at home; (b) I may not be able to access it in stores where I live; or (c) I am so ticked off at the price of the original item (and I know I could probably reproduce something almost the same at home) that I feel I should do so.
These hemp brownies fall into that last category. You see, there exists a grain-free, sugar-free, vegan hemp brownie already right here in Toronto, and it’s available in single serving packs at most health food stores. The other day, I was shopping at Ambrosia (I swear, they should just put out a cot in one of the aisles for me) and saw these little squares. The ingredients were almonds, hemp, agave nectar, cocoa, palm oil, soda–and that’s about it.
The brownie was really good–surprisingly fudgy, in fact–and it contained ingredients I could (at least occasionally) eat. I bought it despite the $1.99 price for a teensy, tinesy, terribly wee piece (about 2″ x 1.5″, or 5 cm x 3.8 cm). Then I went home and started playing in the kitchen.
Well, I daresay I like my version better than the original. Mine possess a dryer, slightly crispy exterior and a dense, fudgy, moist interior. The flavor intensifies and blossoms as they cool–I tried one warm (the way I used to like “regular” brownies) but it was too soft in the middle and the chocolate flavor didn’t speak loudly enough. But upon cooling, those characteristics changed entirely. The HH (the arbiter of all things healthy and GF) decided that they were as good as any brownie he’d ever tasted.
Given that I first created the recipe a few weeks ago, there remains not one of these little gems left in my refrigerator. But with the happy, healthy vibes buzzing throughout the house today, I may just have to whip up another batch in celebration of my dad’s return home. Given his age and current condition, though, I’d better not tell him they contain hemp.
Happy Hemp Two-Bite Brownies (ACD Stage 3 and beyond)
These brownies are a perfect little treat for after school, with tea, or when you want a little pick-me-up. The combination of almonds and hemp seeds provides a good hit of protein, making these a healthy indulgence.
1/4 cup (60 ml) coconut sugar
30-35 drops liquid vanilla stevia, to your taste
3 Tbsp (45 ml) water
2 tsp (10 ml) pure vanilla extract
1 Tbsp plus 1 tsp (20 ml) olive or nut oil (I used macadamia nut; walnut oil would be great in these, too)
1 cup (160 g) raw natural almonds, with skin
1/4 heaping cup (30 g) hemp seeds
2 heaping Tbsp (15 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 tsp (1 ml) baking soda
1/4 tsp (1 ml) baking powder
1/4 tsp (1 ml) fine sea salt
Preheat oven to 350F (180C). Ideally, line 9 mini muffin cups with mini paper liners. If you can’t find or don’t have the liners, spray nine compartments of a mini muffin tin with nonstick spray or grease with coconut oil, then dust with cocoa. Tap out any excess cocoa by inverting the pan and tapping on the bottom of each compartment; place upright and set aside.
In a small bowl or glass measuring cup, combine the coconut sugar, vanilla, water and oil and stir to begin dissolving the sugar. Set aside.
In the bowl of a food processor, whir together the remaining ingredients until you have what looks like a powder (there should be no pieces of almond or hemp seed visible–this may take a few minutes). Add the wet ingredients and blend for a second or two, just until combined. Scrape the sides of the processor bowl if necessary.
Using a small scoop or tablespoon, divide the batter (it will be thick and sticky) evenly among the the muffin cups; they should be very full. Bake in preheated oven 15-18 minutes, until a tester comes out just clean (it’s okay if it still has a few moist crumbs clinging to it). Allow to cool 10 minutes before removing from the pan. Cool completely before consuming (if you can stand it). Makes nine two-bite brownies. May be frozen.
This recipe is linked to Amy’s Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays event, where you can find lots of other healthier recipes, too.
When I was growing up, “Chinese Food” meant gelatinous, hot pink chicken and pineapple balls, chop suey (bean sprouts, frozen peas and carrots and some white rice in soy sauce), and egg rolls as greasy as Elvis’s pompadour. It wasn’t until my undergraduate years at the University of Windsor that I first tasted authentic Chinese food.
I know, Windsor, Ontario doesn’t exactly strike one as the hub of all things Oriental. In those days, though, Windsor was (and for all I know, may still be) the Canadian college with the largest percentage of Chinese students (at about 45%). Why? There were many theories (such as “ it’s a great way to get into the States, being so close”; or “it has the lowest standard for English-as-a-second-language requirements”), but my favorite was “it’s the southernmost city in Canada (further south than its American cousin, Detroit), so when potential students consulted a map, they likely decided it must also be the warmest city and chose it before all others.
(All I can say is, it’s been winter since the end of October. So, how do you like Windsor now?)
Perhaps surprisingly, my entrée into the world of authentic Chinese dining was facilitated not by a Chinese person, but a native (Caucasian) Windsorite.
RB, a fellow undergraduate English major, was much taller than I at 5 feet 7 inches (just over 170 cm) and had what we call “big-bones.” Yet she also somehow always struck me as fragile. With impeccable posture, she trailed a mane of undulating, naturally auburn hair; and her skin was so pale, smooth and translucent it reminded me of my mom’s antique teacups. While not classically “pretty,” RB was certainly uniquely attractive. Even her voice, quiet and steady like a breeze in autumn, seemed too soft for the heft of her body. When she spoke it was barely above a whisper.
But it wasn’t her physical attributes of which I was envious; it was her mind. You see, RB was another protégé of my mentor, Dr. Ditsky, and he frequently called on her in class to “save us” when no one volunteered to answer his question (when he called on me for the same purpose, my cheeks usually flushed red and I stammered something unintelligible). But RB always rose to the challenge, fairly offering a lecture of her own on occasion.
RB was, quite simply, brilliant. Like, Bill Gates brilliant. Mozart brilliant. Marilyn Vos Savant brilliant. A Beautiful Mindbrilliant (well, without the encrypted magazine articles and hallucinatory FBI agents, of course).
I will never forget her final essay for our Faulkner course: a 50-odd page treatise on “Deconstructing The Sound and the Fury: Parallels and Pedantry in Godel, Escher, Bach.” Well, I, too, had purchased Godel, Escher, Bach out of curiosity (like the rest of the academic population in the 1980s) and could barely get through the first 10 pages (even that took me a couple of hours). Yet here was RB, composing an entire essay (which, presumably, she actually understood!) that used it as a basis for comparison.
RB also had the ability to acquire information–particularly languages–as easily as I acquired cookbooks. She loved the fact that Windsor was an “international” city welcoming people from all over the world. One day, she decided that she loved Chinese culture the most. Within a couple of months, she was teaching herself Cantonese with the aid of tapes and a book. I’d notice her hunched over a table in the cafeteria, madly scribbling little curlicues and pictograms across her notebooks. She’d emit guttural sounds in the back of her throat as she walked by in the hallways. After another couple of months, her gorgeous auburn hair had been shorn in a tight pageboy and dyed jet black. If there had existed a counterpart to gender reassignment surgery called “Cultural Reassignment surgery,”her name would have been at the top of the list.
Eventually, RB married a man from Hong Kong whom she’d met at a dim sum restaurant. (She was writing a postcard–in Chinese–to a friend as he walked by; he glanced at the card, asked, “Do you actually understand that stuff?” and when she nodded, he sat down to join her. Less than a year later they were married.)
[It may not be a whole lotus bean inside, but it's still delicious.]
Given her affinity for all things Chinese, it’s no wonder that RB eventually took me to her favorite spot for Dim Sum. Right there on Wyandotte Street, just steps from the university dormitory, was a fantastic dim sum restaurant. It was so authentic, in fact, that none of the servers really spoke English, and orders were given by patrons who wrote their choices (in Chinese) on little slips of paper. Of course, RB was proficient in the language, so she served as translator and placed the order.
I won’t dwell on the meal itself, which involved various steamed buns, pan-fried dumplings, noodles and RB’s favorite–chicken feet. (The image of her sucking on their splayed, pointy tips will forever be branded in my memory). But it was the dessert that proved to be a revelation. That day was the first time I tried steamed lotus seed buns, and I ate them every time I could after that. The white, spongey and barely sweet buns encased a whole lotus bean, cooked until soft and squishy. Imagine, if you will, a medjool date that’s even softer and sweeter than normal, served slightly warm and caramelized–that’s what the lotus bean tasted like. I loved them instantly. When I moved to Toronto with its three Chinatowns, I anticipated more of the same, and was sadly disappointed to learn that the buns made here, while tasty, contained red bean paste instead of lotus seeds.
Well, today’s SOS offering is my take on that pastry. I had actually attempted a steamed bun first (based on this recipe–which, I later realized, is Japanese), but steaming instead of frying resulted in a mess of white and red goo, a little too reminiscent of the goo splattered all over Tommy Lee Jones when Will Smith shoots the alien at the end of Men in Black. Attempt number two involved actually frying the balls as directed–I was going to beg your forgiveness if they worked out–but those, alas, were also fairly gooey inside, very greasy on the outside, and clearly not orb-like.
So, I went back to what I do better: cookies! In keeping with the Asian theme, I used rice flour (two types) filled with red bean paste. The cookie itself is crisp and light, while the dense paste inside provides a pleasant surprise with its textural contrast. And while they’re not authentic, they were delicious. I bet even RB would approve.
Chinese-Style Bean Pastry Cookies (ACD Stage 3 and beyond)
These cookies provide a little pocket of smooth, sweet bean paste inside a crisp, light cookie casing. To make them this small may seem too fussy for everyday cookies; if you’d rather, place a layer of dough in a parchment-lined loaf pan, spread with paste, then more dough; bake and cut in squares for an easier treat.
For the bean filling:
1 cup (240 ml) cooked adzuki beans, well drained
1/4 cup (60 ml) agave nectar or vegetable glycerin
1/4 cup (60 ml) water
10-20 drops vanilla or plain stevia liquid, to your taste
1/4 cup (60 ml) unsweetened plain or vanilla soy, almond or rice milk
1/4 tsp (1 ml) pure stevia powder or 15-20 drops liquid, to your taste
2 tsp (10 ml) pure vanilla extract
1 Tbsp plus 1 tsp (20 ml) ground chia seeds or meal (if you grind your own, use 2 tsp/10 ml whole seeds)
1/2 tsp (2.5 ml) apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup (60 ml) coconut oil, preferably organic, soft (I prefer refined for this as it is tasteless; but unrefined is nice, too)
1/2 cup (70 g) brown rice flour
1/4 cup (30 g) sweet rice flour
1/2 tsp (2.5 ml) baking powder
1/4 tsp (1 ml) baking soda
1/2 tsp (2.5 ml) xanthan gum
1/4 tsp (1 ml) fine sea salt
Topping:
2 Tbsp (30 ml) sesame seeds, optional
Make the filling:
Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Turn the mixture into a small pot and heat over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until it begins to thicken, about 5 minutes. Add the coconut oil, stir well to combine evenly, and keep stirring until you have a thick paste that begins to look slightly glossy. Remove from heat and allow to cool. NOTE: This makes about twice as much filling as you’ll need. You can try halving the recipe, but when I did so, it didn’t cook up quite the same way. Instead, you can form the filling into a disk, freeze it, and use it for cookies later on. Or, form into balls, coat in melted unsweetened chocolate, and enjoy red bean truffles!
Make the dough:
Preheat oven to 350F (180C). Line two cookie sheets with parchment or spray with nonstick spray.
In a medium bowl, mix the coconut sugar, soymilk, stevia, vanilla, chia and vinegar. Stir for 30 seconds or so to allow the sugar to begin to dissolve. Add the coconut oil and cream well. Sift in the remaining ingredients and stir to form a fairly firm dough (you may need to knead it with your hands). It should be moist but fairly firm.
Assemble the cookies:
Roll out the dough until it is very thin, about 1/8 inch (3 mm). Cut into small circles about 1-1/2 inches (3.75 cm) big. You should have about 32 circles.
Place about 1/2 tsp (2.5 ml) of the paste in the center of one circle of dough; top with another circle. Pinch edges all around to seal in the bean paste (be sure there are no openings or your cookies will leak when they bake!). Gently form into a round disk. Dip one side of the disk in the seeds; place seed side up on cookie sheets. Bake in preheated oven for 20-22 minutes, until bottoms are deep golden brown and cookies are firm. Remove from oven and cool completely before transferring to a covered container. Makes 16 pastries. May be frozen.
*********************************************
I’ve submitted this recipe to Amy’s weekly Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays event. Check out all the healthier recipes there!
Thanks to everyone who submitted a stevia-based recipe for February’s SOS Kitchen Challenge! As always, we received a stellar collection of recipes.
Here’s the “Sweet”:
Kim and I were blown away by the creativity in the “sweet” section of the event this past month. While I have added every single recipe to my “to try” list, some that stood out as particularly enticing were
We also had a submission from reader Jess, who made my Raw Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles for her sweetie on Valentine’s Day. Check out the amazing presentation:
Aren’t they beautiful? I bet they’d win anyone’s heart!
And now, for the “Savory”. . . .
Um. . . well, er. . . what the–HUH??
It appears that there was only one savory recipe in the list apart from my own Crunchy Green Salad! I guess most people consider stevia a “sweet-only” ingredient, but if you think about all the savory recipes made with a dash of sugar or honey, you’ll begin to understand the wide range of recipes that can include stevia. I hope you’ll try out some savory variations in the future!
These hemp brownies fall into that last category. You see, there exists a grain-free, sugar-free, vegan hemp brownie already right here in Toronto, and it’s available in single serving packs at most health food stores. The other day, I was shopping at 
