Gluten-Free Lemon Blueberry Bread

Girl Cooks World

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April 11, 2019

Bright, lemony bread bursting with plump, juicy blueberries and topped with a sweet and tart lemony glaze? Yes, yes and yes. This quick bread is like a slice of summer sunshine on a cold and rainy day. (Yes, we have those even in Honolulu).

I don’t know about you, but I’ve found that quick breads like these are often the easiest and most successful of gluten-free baked goods. This bread is absolutely indistinguishable from its gluten containing counterpart. And the best part? It barely takes any more effort. You just need to have an extra ingredient or two (special flours and xanthan gum) on hand.

Nope- that’s not a picture of a major case of blueberry mold. Giving those blueberries a quick dusting of gluten-free flour helps keep them from sinking to the bottom of the batter. That little trick works for just about any baked good item- I usually try to do the same thing for chocolate chip brownies.

Gluten-Free Lemon Blueberry Bread

Yield: 1 loaf

Ingredients:

* 3/4 cup plus 2 Tablespoons rice flour, divided
* 3/4 cup sorghum flour
* 1/2 cup potato starch
* 3/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
* 2 teaspoons baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 cup canola oil
* 1 cup sugar
* 3 large eggs
* grated zest of 1 lemon
* 3 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
* 1/2 cup plus 1 Tablespoon milk
* 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

Glaze:
* 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
* 1/4 cup granulated sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter or grease a standard-sized loaf pan.

Combine 3/4 cup of the rice flour, the sorghum flour, potato starch, xanthan gum, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl and stir to combine.

In a large bowl, mix the canola oil, sugar and eggs. Stir in the lemon zest and juice. Add the flour mixture alternately with the milk and stir thoroughly to combine. Mix the blueberries in a small bowl with the 2 Tablespoons of rice flour and stir lightly to coat the blueberries. Gently fold the blueberries into the batter. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake for approximately 50 minutes, or until the top turns a light golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes and then turn out onto a wire rack covered with wax paper.

Make the glaze by combining the lemon juice and granulated sugar and stir to combine. Pour or brush the glaze over the top and sides of the loaf. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Spinach and Goat Cheese Rolled Omelet

Girl Cooks World

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April 11, 2019

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After several weeks of nothing except smoothies and herbal tea for breakfast, you’d better believe that I’m craving some typical breakfast foods hardcore. Unfortunately bacon and sausage are out for just a couple more days, as are gluten-free waffles, pancakes, and the like. But organic eggs, spinach and goat cheese do make the cut. Only stipulation was it had to be after 5 p.m. No worries, I’m a huge fan of breakfast for dinner.

To keep this nice and light, I used Heidi’s Skinny Omelet recipe for inspiration. Eggs are cooked almost crepe-like and rolled up with some greens and cheese, which allows the spinach to keep its integrity while the goat cheese gets nice and warm and gooey. As much as I hate to admit it, this was a nice change from my usual epic (read: heavy) breakfasts, which usually send me into a food coma. And the icing on the cake is that this is fast. Like on the table in under five minutes fast.

And just a word of thanks for sticking with me during cleanse month. I’m already researching the next couple countries I’ll be cooking from and I’m pretty psyched to get back in the swing of cooking from some new locations.

Spinach and Goat Cheese Rolled Omelet

Yield: 1 serving

Ingredients:

2 eggs, well beaten
handful spinach
several Tablespoons crumbled goat cheese
salt and pepper
pat of butter for cooking

Directions:

Heat the pat of butter in a large skillet or frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the eggs and immediately swirl the pan to evenly distribute the eggs around the pan. Sprinkle the top with spinach, goat cheese and season lightly with salt and pepper. When finished cooking, roll the eggs up like a crepe and remove to a plate. Slice diagonally into two pieces, if desired.

Raw Zucchini Noodles with Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto

Vegetarian

Girl Cooks World

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April 11, 2019

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Raw Zucchini Noodles with Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto

It seems as though most people take issue with raw and/or vegan foods when they’re named after a non-raw or non-vegan equivalent. Case in point: nut or rice cheese. It’s unfortunate, because a lot of these foods are pretty darn good.

I say, let’s not get hung up on the name and enjoy the food for what it is. So I’m not going to call this pasta or spaghetti, but it is a pretty great substitute for your favorite noodle dish. And it’s a whole lot healthier and quicker to put together. Add a little raw goat cheese, and a sprinkle of crushed red pepper and I’m in pasta, I mean zucchini noodle, heaven.

Raw Zucchini Noodles with Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto

Yield: 2 servings

Ingredients:

* 2-3 zucchini
* 16 sun-dried tomatoes, soaked in water until softened
* 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
* 3 Tablespoons olive oil
* salt and pepper
* crushed red pepper
* raw goat cheese, shredded (optional)

Directions:

Drag a vegetable peeler along the zucchini to create long, spaghetti-like noodles. Rotate around the zucchini, and continue to peel into noodles until you hit the seeds. Repeat with the remaining zucchini. Place noodles in a large bowl and set aside.

Drain the sun-dried tomatoes and combine in a blender with the basil and olive oil. Process until smooth. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed. Pour the pesto over the zucchini noodles and toss to coat. Pour into individual bowls and sprinkle with crushed red pepper and raw goat cheese, if desired.

Natalia’s Green Lemonade

Drinks

Girl Cooks World

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April 11, 2019

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I’ve had my Vita-mix for several years now and I’ve been drinking green smoothies on and off since then. But they’ve never become a daily staple. I suppose I never found the right recipe… until now.

This green lemonade is the creation of New York nutritionist Natalia Rose. It’s easy to make, used ingredients I almost always have on hand, and gives me a boost of energy with every sip. And it tastes amazing.. like a lemony spiced cider.

I’ve been drinking one of these every morning before work and then another before my afternoon workout. Natalia actually suggests juicing, but I don’t have a juicer and have no plans of buying one in the near future. Don’t worry- the blender works just fine. New to green smoothies and want to take baby steps? Just start with the spinach and work your way up to adding the kale.

Natalia’s Green Lemonade

Yield: 1-2 servings

Ingredients:

* large handful baby spinach (about 3 cups, unpacked)
* 1 stalk kale (any type)
* 1 apple, cut into chunks
* 3 Tablespoons lemon juice
* 1/2-inch piece ginger, grated or chopped
* 1-1/2 cups ice
* up to 3 cups water, divided
* stevia, as needed

Directions:

Combine the spinach, kale, apple, ginger, ice and 1 cup water in the container of your high speed blender. Turn it on and slowly increase the speed to high. Let process until smooth. Reduce speed to low and add just enough water to achieve your desired consistency level. Sweeten to taste with stevia, if needed.

Healthy Mint Chocolate Ice Cream

Dessert

Girl Cooks World

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April 11, 2019

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I wasn’t kidding around when I said that I intended to eat well on this cleanse. I mean, mint chocolate ice cream. Really? I suppose the most important part about doing a cleanse is finding one that works for you. I got my start with cleanses when my naturopath and my allergist both recommended I do an elimination diet to see whether I was allergic or sensitive to anything besides gluten. I ended up doing a hybrid of the elimination diet from the good folks over at Whole Life Nutrition and Dr. Junger’s Clean program, which gets high marks from Gwenyth as well as a bunch of folks on Amazon.

This time I’m loosely following Natalia Rose’s Detox for Women (Kimberly Synder’s The Beauty Detox Solution is similar). Natalia stresses lots of vegetables but gives the green light on limited amounts of raw goat cheese (yum!) and dark chocolate (double yum!). That’s a cleanse I can get behind.

You’ve may have seen one-ingredient banana ice cream in the blogosphere before. OK, but a little on the boring side in my opinion. In one of Natalia’s earlier books, she has a recipe for “banana mint,” which is like a soft serve mint ice cream. I lightened it up with a bit of ice and processed some chocolate in there with it. It’s pretty amazing what you can get when you combine a bunch of mint leaves, a small amount of chocolate chips, and some frozen bananas. I have a feeling that I’ll be whipping up variations of this long after this cleanse is done.

Healthy Mint Chocolate Ice Cream

Yield: 2-3 servings

Ingredients:

3 very ripe bananas, peeled, cut into chunks and frozen
about 15 fresh mint leaves
1 1/2 cups ice (optional)
1/4 cup bittersweet or dark chocolate chips

Directions:

If using a high speed blender such as a Vita-mix or Blendtec: Place the bananas, mint leaves and ice, if using, into the blender container. Turn on the machine and quickly increase speed to high. Use the tamper to press the ingredients into the blades while processing. Once everything is slightly combined, stop the machine and add the chocolate chips. Turn the machine back on and again increase the speed to high. In about 10-30 seconds, the sound of the motor will change and mounds should appear in the mixture. Stop machine immediately or melting can occur.

If using a food processor: In a food processor combine the bananas and mint leaves. Process until almost smooth. Add the chocolate chips and process until well combined.

Serve immediately.

Note: You can also freeze the mixture to get a harder ice cream, but you’ll have to let it sit out and thaw for a couple minutes before you’ll be able to scoop it.

Date with Fate Smoothie

Girl Cooks World

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April 11, 2019

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The inspiration for this one comes from the Garden Isle. I’m not sure how the topic of smoothies came up, but a friend from the north shore of Kauai mentioned that Moloa’a Sunrise Fruit Stand made a mean date smoothie. The very next day I threw some dates into a simple banana nut smoothie and swooned. Now, I’m all about throwing dates into milk-based (dairy or non-dairy) smoothies for sweetness. And now that I’m off sugar for a couple weeks, I’m all for a little sweetness in my life.

As it turns out, this smoothie is nothing like Moloa’a’s (which I later found out has papaya, mango, banana, coconut, dates, macadamia nuts and rice milk- yum), but it’s great in its own right- it makes for one killer breakfast or dessert smoothie.

Date with Fate Smoothie

Yield: 1 serving

Ingredients:

1 banana, broken into several pieces
1 cup almond milk
6-8 dates, depending on your desired level of sweetness (reduce to 3-4 if you have the larger Medjool variety)
1 cup ice

Directions:

Combine ingredients in a blender and process until smooth.

Moroccan Spiced Lentil, Chickpea and Fava Bean Soup

Recipes

Girl Cooks World

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April 11, 2019

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Moroccan Spiced Lentil, Chickpea and Fava Bean Soup

Why am I posting this hearty, filling, and chunky soup right when many of you are finally beginning to experience summer weather and probably longing for something light and refreshing? Well, I’m trying to not forget all of my friends in the Southern Hemisphere who are just starting their long haul through winter. This one is for you guys. Plus, isn’t anytime the right time for a healthy, vegan bean soup?

This soup combines lentils, chickpeas and fava beans in a tomato broth spiced with ginger, turmeric and cinnamon- some of the best warming spices out there. This soup has been passed down and refined from the original gruel that the Berbers used to warm themselves during the cold winters in Morocco’s Atlas mountain range. If you’re short on time, feel free to used canned chickpeas or frozen fava beans.

Spiced Lentil, Chickpea and Fava Bean Soup

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients:

3 Tablespoons olive oil
2 onions, sliced
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon cinnamon
4 cups canned diced tomatoes, in their juice
1/2 teaspoon sugar
3/4 cup lentils, rinsed and drained
6 cups vegetable or chicken broth or stock
1 cup dried chickpeas, soaked overnight, boiled until tender, and drained (or substitute a 15 oz can of chickpeas)
1 cup dried fava beans, soaked overnight, boiled until tender, and drained
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Heat the oil in a stockpot or very large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and cook until the onion has softened. Add the ginger, turmeric, cinnamon and stir to mix. Stir in the diced tomatoes, sugar and lentil and pour in the broth or stock. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, covered, until the lentils have softened, about 25 minutes.

Add the chickpeas and fava beans and simmer another 10 minutes. Allow the flavors to meld and the soup to heat through.

Add the cilantro and add salt and pepper to taste.

Vegetarian Dubu Jeon- Pan Fried Tofu with Mushrooms

Girl Cooks World

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April 11, 2019

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Vegetarian Dubu Jeon- Pan Fried Tofu with Mushrooms

When I was in high school, my parents shipped me away to one of those awful college prep summer programs. I’m sort of a dork so I didn’t really mind the classes but the cafeteria food was another thing altogether. Plain tofu was one of the only edible things besides jello and granola. I began to wonder whether I’d been shipped to a weight loss camp in disguise.

So after a month or so of daily, unseasoned tofu I was pretty much ready to write it off for life. While I’m a huge fan of many vegan foods, I’m much more likely to use beans as the protein source. I sure didn’t expect to be posting any tofu recipes around here.

But then I found a store that carried packages of these cute-as-a-button enoki mushrooms for only 79 cents. And then I feel in love with this soy sesame dipping sauce. And finally, I saw a quick vegan recipe that combined the two. I figured the only things I had to lose were a 99 cent package of tofu and about five minutes of my time.

Well, I think it’s safe to say that I’ve moved past my self-imposed tofu moratorium. Quick pan fried pieces of tofu are smothered, and I mean that in the best possible way, with enoki and shiitake mushrooms and then drenched with that killer soy sesame sauce. This recipe might be just the thing to covert your tofu hating friends.

Pan Fried Tofu with Mushrooms

Adapted from The Korean Table: From Barbecue to Bibimbap 100 Easy-To-Prepare Recipes

* 1 pound firm tofu
* 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
* 3 fresh shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced
* 1 bunch enoki mushrooms, approximately 4 oz., rinsed and ends trimmed
* Soy sesame dipping sauce

Place the tofu in a microwave safe bowl and microwave for one minute. Drain the liquid. Cut the tofu in half so that the two pieces of tofu are half as thick as the initial block. Cut in half again, this time lengthwise.

Heat 1 Tablespoon oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Fry the tofu for about 2-3 minutes on each side, until lightly browned. Remove to two plates.

Heat the remaining oil and add the mushrooms. Stir fry for approximately 2 minutes until the mushrooms have softened. Spoon mushroom mixture over the tofu and drizzle the soy sesame dipping sauce over each piece.

Serves two.

Haemul Pa Jeon – Seafood and Green Onion Pancake

Recipes

Girl Cooks World

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April 11, 2019

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Haemul Pa Jeon – Seafood and Green Onion Pancake

I’m really digging the fact that so many Korean dishes come together so quickly. Traditional Korean pancakes use wheat and rice flours, but this version with rice flour and cornstarch (bound together with the help of an egg) worked just fine and was both crispy around the edges with a bit of chew.

I really wanted the focus here on the seafood rather than the pancake itself, so this recipe almost straddles the line between pancake and fritter.This can also be an extremely inexpensive appetizer or meal. Since the seafood gets chopped up, feel free to purchase broken scallops and smaller, and cheaper, shrimp. I’m also happy to report that, according to a friend, this easily won the taste test between my gluten-free version and the local Korean market’s.

Seafood and Green Onion Pancake

Yield: 4 servings as an appetizer

Ingredients:

* 1 cup rice flour
* 1/4 cup cornstarch
* 1 egg
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 cup water
* 3/4 pound any combination of squid, shrimp or scallops, cut into small chunks
* 5 green onions, cut into 1-2-inch pieces
* vegetable oil, for frying
* Korean red pepper threads, for garnish (optional)

Directions:

In a large mixing bowl, combine the rice flour, cornstarch and salt. Add the water and mix until smooth. The batter should be relatively thick. Stir in the seafood and green onions.

In a medium or large skillet, heat one tablespoon of oil over medium high heat. Spoon some batter onto the skillet, making pancakes of your desired size. Fry on each side for about 3-4 minutes, until crispy and the pancakes begins to turn golden.

Repeat with remaining batter, adding more oil when necessary.

Garnish with red pepper threads, if desired, and serve with Soy Sesame Dipping Sauce.

Note: for those of you who eat gluten, here’s the general flour ratio from several cookbooks (they all suggest using some rice flour). Use 1 cup wheat flour, 1/3 cup rice flour and one cup water for the dough. This will likely make a much thinner pancake than the gluten-free version I made (again, I was almost going for a seafood fritter), or you can adjust the water amount down for a thicker pancake.