Cranberry-Marmalade Muffins

The winter weather in January makes me feel like baking.  Filling my house with the aroma of baked goods is so comforting and satisfying.  I serve these muffins with butter and a cup of coffee or tea.  Enjoy!

Ingredients

1 cup gluten-free flour blend (like Namaste Perfect Flour Blend)

1/4 cup coconut flour, sifted

1/4 potato starch

1/2 cup coconut sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 egg

1/3 cup Ginger & Orange Marmalade (St. Dalfour's marmalade is free of refined sugar)

1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk or another dairy-free milk

1/3 cup melted butter or dairy-free margarine

1 cup frozen cranberries, thawed

1.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Line muffin tin for 6 large muffins.  

2.  In a mixing bowl combine flours, starch, salt, coconut sugar and baking powder.  

3.  In a smaller bowl , beat egg, marmalade, milk and melted butter.  Add liquids to dry ingredients.  Stir until combined.  Stir in cranberries.  

4.  Spoon into the prepared muffin tins.  Bake for approximately 25 minutes or until toothpick comes out cleanly.  

Date Nut Bread with Whipped Maple Butter

This Date Nut Bread is reminiscent of my grandmother's and great-grandmother's Date Bread.  This is a gluten-free version that is just as good and has a caramel-like flavour.  The sweet aroma of this bread baking in the oven will fill your whole house!

Ingredients

1 cup walnuts or pecans, chopped

1 1/4 cups dates, pitted and chopped

1 cup boiling water

2 tablespoons butter, softened

3/4 cup coconut sugar

1 egg, beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup gluten-free flour blend (such as Namaste Foods - Perfect Flour Blend)

1/2 cup potato starch

1/4 cup almond flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

pinch of sea salt

1.  Preheat the oven to 350 F.  Grease 3 small loaf pans.  

2.  In a small saucepan, cook nuts, dates and water together until well blended.  Cool.

3.  In a small bowl, combine dry ingredients together. 

4.  In a large bowl, cream the butter and coconut sugar.  Stir in the egg and vanilla.  Stir in about 1/3 of the dry ingredients into the butter mixture.  Add the cooled date and nut mixture to the butter mixture.  Blend well.  Add the rest of the dry ingredients and mix until well blended.  

5.  Pour batter into prepared pans.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes.  Serve warm with whipped maple butter.

6.  To make the whipped maple butter:

Whip 1/2 cup softened butter with 3 tablespoons maple syrup and a pinch of salt (with beaters or in a mixer) until it has a light and fluffy appearance.  Chill in a ramekin until ready to serve.  

Asian Turkey Soup

This asian-style turkey soup is a great recipe for using turkey leftovers.  There is some preparation time involved in making the homemade turkey broth for this recipe.  First, freeze the turkey carcass after the turkey has been carved.  Next, on a day when you have time, make homemade turkey broth using the turkey carcass.  Then, freeze large containers of turkey broth and ziplock bags with about 1 cup of chopped leftover turkey meat in each bag.  Once this preparation is done, this recipe is quick and easy to put together.

Ingredients

5-6 cups homemade turkey broth

1 cup chopped cooked turkey

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger (I freeze the ginger so I always have some to grate)

1 tablespoon lime or lemon juice or rice wine vinegar

1 tablespoon Bragg's liquid soy seasoning or coconut soy-free seasoning sauce

1 tablespoon fish sauce (A Taste of Thai is gluten-free)

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1/4 teaspoon hot pepper sauce and a dash of crushed red pepper flakes

500 gram package of frozen stir-fry vegetables

125 grams rice or buckwheat noodles (or zucchini noodles for a grain free soup)

1/2 cup chopped green onions

Directions

1.  Heat up the turkey broth in a large soup pot.  Add the chopped turkey and bring everything to a boil.  Reduce the heat and add the garlic, ginger, lime juice, Bragg's, fish sauce, sesame oil, hot sauce and red pepper flakes.  Simmer for about 15-20 minutes to develop the flavours.  

2.  Add the stir-fry vegetables and simmer for a few minutes.  Add the noodles and cook for as long as the package suggests.  During the last couple of minutes of cooking time, add the chopped green onions.  Ladle the soup into bowls.  Garnish each bowl with chopped cilantro and additional crushed red pepper flakes if desired.

Souped-Up Corn Chowder

Here is my version of the classic corn chowder with a few twists!

Ingredients

5 slices bacon, diced

1 tbsp butter and 1 tbsp olive oil (optional)

1 medium onion, chopped

2 stalks of celery, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons brown rice flour

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1 small sweet potato, peeled and diced

4-5 cups gluten-free chicken broth or vegetable broth

2 cups frozen corn

1 cup frozen vegetable and edamame blend - red pepper, corn and edamame (Costco)

2 tsp dried basil

juice of 1 lemon

2 cups unsweetened almond milk (homemade almond milk works really well) or canned coconut milk

Directions

1.  In a frying pan, saute bacon until crispy and browned.  Remove bacon and set aside. *You could also use the bacon grease to sauté the onion and celery in the next step.  I use butter and olive oil to keep the soup vegetarian so my daughter can eat it without the bacon bits.

2.  In a large soup pot, heat the butter and olive oil.  Saute the onion and celery until translucent, about 3-5 minutes.  Whisk in the garlic, flour, salt and pepper and cook for 1 minute until the flour is bubbling and slightly toasted.

3.  Add the sweet potato and the chicken broth.  Simmer for about 10 minutes.  Add the corn, vegetable blend, basil and lemon juice and simmer for another 10 minutes.

4.  Add the almond milk and simmer for 5 minutes more.  Add additional salt and pepper if desired.  Serve chowder by ladling into bowls and garnishing with bacon, chopped tomato, and crushed red pepper flakes if desired.

Salad Rolls and Peanut Sauce

Lately we have been crazy for salad rolls!  We have made salad rolls with pulled pork, barbecued chicken, shrimp and even fried tofu.  Recently, we have been making vegetarian salad rolls since my daughter is home for the holidays.  Here is the recipe for the peanut dipping sauce we like to have with the salad rolls.  I hope you enjoy this sauce as much as we do!  Wishing everyone a healthy and Happy New Year!

Ingredients

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/3 cup water

generous 1/2 cup natural peanut butter

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

1 tablespoon Bragg's Liquid Aminos

2 tablespoons honey

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Directions

Combine the ingredients in a high speed blender.  Blend until smooth.  Serve in a dipping bowl.