RECIPE: Gluten-Free Banana Bread

I'm going to call this recipe "Going Bananas Bread (Gluten-free)". I am quite sure I'm not the first person to cleverly think of this title, but since it fits, I'm going with it.

The need for this recipe was triggered when I had five VERY ripe bananas on my table and a potluck karaoke party on my calendar. I found a plethora of recipes for banana bread and even a few gluten-free options. But there wasn't a single recipe that had all the elements I wanted (or didn't want). So a combination was born!

The main or base recipe I used was this "Banana Banana Bread Recipe" from AllRecipes.com:
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Banana-Banana-Bread/Detail.aspx.

GOING BANANAS BREAD (Gluten-Free)

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose gluten-free flour (I used Arrowhead Mills GF Pancake & Baking Mix*)

• 1 tsp baking soda

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 3 tsp egg replacer (dry part of 2 “eggs”)

• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

• 1/2 cup butter

• 3/4 cup brown sugar

• 4 Tbsp warm water (wet part of 2 “eggs”)

• 4 to 5 overripe bananas, mashed about 2 cups-ish

• 1 tsp GF vanilla or GF vanilla extract
  

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.

2. In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, salt, egg replacer, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
   

3. In a separate bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar.

4. Stir in water, mashed bananas, and vanilla until well blended.
   

5. Blend banana mixture into flour mixture; stir just to moisten. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.

6. Bake in preheated oven for 55 to 60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean. (For me, it took about 56 minutes.)
   

7. Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack.

* The ingredients for the baking mix are (copied from the bag):
Organic white rice flour, organic potato flour, tapioca starch, baking powder (monocalcium phosphate, sodium bicarbonate, corn starch), organic whole grain yellow corn flour, natural flavor (?huh?), sea salt, organic cinnamon.


A wonderful side effect of this bread - it smelled absolutely wonderful and filled the entire first floor of our house with yummy-smelling goodness. :-)

Day 16: Celery

I figured I probably have enough items to finish 30 days of things I can eat now. So I'm jumping back into that as well.

Today's food is celery. Celery is nice to chew because it feels like I'm accomplishing the act of eating without too many allergies or calories. Right now I am munching short celery sticks that I cut up last night. Great snack!

I've heard that celery is a "negative calorie food." E.g., the act of eating celery burns more calories than you take in from the celery. I wonder if I can find a place to corroborate that.

[PAUSE]

WOW! It's true! According to a number of resources I trust, especially www.snopes.com, celery is a negative calorie food. Check it out! The act of chewing isn't what burns the caolries, though; it's the energy required for digestion. Nifty!

I use celery to bulk up salads when I'm stuck at a buffet where I can't trust most food. I cannot have too many leafy greens, because my body cannot digest them very well. So here is the "recipe" I use for buffets when I have to make a meal out of little or nothing.

ULTIMATE BUFFET SALAD
- Red cabbage, shredded
- Carrots, slivered
- Celery chunks
- Cucumber slices
- Mung beans (they are mostly water, but add some variety)
- Broccoli or cauliflower, if I'm feeling adventurous
- Sunflower seeds (or sesame seeds, if they have them)
- Red kidney beans (ok, so I don't add them right now since I'm avoiding hardcore legumes, but they were very yummy when I could add them)
- Plain chicken, if it's actually plain, which it rarely is, on top.

Grab a piece of fruit for dessert and you've survived eating out with your coworkers!

Day 15: Broccoli

I brought my broccoli to work with the best of intentions. The little florets are not overly nummy, but I liked the idea that I could get some crunchiness from a snack. But like a recalcitrant child, I could not motivate myself to eat the poor veggie and it went bad.

Round 1 - Broccoli 1, celiacsings 0

And then inspiration struck! What if I melted cheddar cheese on the broccoli, like a loaded baked potato without the potato part? So the next time I brought the broccoli AND shredded cheese to work. Lunchtime approached and I realized that the broccoli on potatoes is usually steamed or cooked in some way. Could I risk just sticking it all in the microwave without cooking the broccoli? Indecision battled with hunger and the certainty of the rest of my food won out.

Round 2 - Broccoli 2, celiacsings 0

But today is the day. The broccoli is still crisp; the cheese is still sans mold. Half our staff is off-site so if the disaster smells terribly, I have fewer apologies to make.

I looked up how to steam broccoli in the microwave. It's as straight-forward as one could probably get:

1. Wash broccoli.
2. Chop off stalks so you get cute little tree-like pieces.
3. Place florets and 1-2 Tbsp. of water in microwave safe dish, ideally with lid. I have no lid here at work so I'm going to use our microwave safe plastic wrap.
4. Microwave for 3-10 minutes depending on microwave.
5. Broccoli is done when still slightly crisp, very aromatic, and bright green.

Alright, reading audience. Wish my office luck, that this doesn't have dire olfactory consequences!!

[pause]

And SUCCESS! (for the most part...) The broccoli with light cheese is actually quite good. I should probably get some plastic wrap that is more microwavable, though. Thankfully, because I only had one small stalk I only needed to microwave the plastic wrap for a little less than 2 minutes. The wrap had only started to melt to the bowl. Sigh.

Round 3: Broccoli 2, celiacsings 1, plastic wrap -1

Broccoli with Cheddar Cheese Snack (serves 1)

• 2 stalks of broccoli
• 1-2 Tbsp water
• 1/4 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
• salt to taste

1. Wash broccoli and chop florets of stalks.
2. Place broccoli & water in microwave safe dish. Sprinkle with salt as desired. Cover with lid or microwavable plastic wrap.
3. Microwave on high for 2-4 minutes, depending on microwave strength and amount of florets. Broccoli is done when still slightly crisp, very aromatic, and bright green.
4. Uncover. Sprinkle with cheddar cheese.
5. Microwave on 80% for 25 seconds or high for 15 seconds. Again it may be more or less depending on your microwave and how melted you want the cheese.

And there you go. It took a few rounds, but eventually there was veggie success!

RECIPE: Gluten-free Biscuits

In the current economic climate, it probably surprises no one that money is tight. Added atop of the general cost of living is the additional medical bills and cost of food. It's not a pretty sight!

Consequently, when I decided I wanted biscuits this evening, I needed to:
a. make them from ingredients I already had and
b. keep it simple so I use as little energy as possible

I mixed together 3+ different recipes and came up with a decent option. Here it is!

Gluten-free Biscuits

• 1 cup brown rice flour
• 1/3 cup potato starch flour
• 1/4 cup tapioca flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp egg replacer (no water)
• 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
• 1/8 tsp dextrose-free salt
• 1/2 stick (aka 4 Tbsp) of unsalted butter, chopped into little pieces
• 3/4 cup whole milk
• Corn oil
  

1. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Mix together dry ingredients (flours, baking powder, replacer, xanthan gum, & salt). I used a plastic whisk.

3. Drop in chopped butter. Use fingers to work butter into dry mixture, until it's a coarse meal.
4. Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour in milk, 1/4 of a cup at a time. After each 1/4 cup, mix in the milk with a fork.

5. Lightly grease a cookie sheet. I used corn oil poured on a paper towel. A number of the recipes indicated the sheet should be ungreased, but I found no difference from one to the other (so I err on the side of greasing).

6. You can now roll out the dough and use a cutter or a glass to make biscuits. I personally dropped about two Tbsps worth of dough per biscuit on to the sheet and molded them into acceptable biscuit shapes.

7. Place in the oven for 10-13 minutes, depending on your thickness. Mine were about a 1/4" thick and they only needed 10 minutes. Note: the biscuits don't really rise any.

8. This makes about 12 2"-wide, 1/4" thick biscuits. Enjoy with butter or honey!

Variation: Add 2 Tbsp of granulated sugar to the dry ingredients for a sweeter biscuit. Top with cinnamon sugar & melted butter for GF dessert.

Day 14: Fage Yogurt

Yogurt is good, in general, for those dealing with candida and is often gluten-free (beware fruit concoctions with modified food starch, though). Yogurt encourages the growth of positive bacteria. Of course, if you have dairy issues, you've probably avoided yogurt for years like me.

However, last summer my nutritionist recommended Fage yogurt, because the lactose-level is low. It settled well when I didn't eat it with blueberries (I'm allergic, it turns out, to blueberries).

Fage's site lists a bunch of recipes: http://www.fageusa.com/recipes.aspx. This one struck me as very yummy. I think I will try to make it this weekend!

Lamb Cutlets with a Herb Crust and Yogurt Dressing

(http://www.fageusa.com/recipe_detail.aspx?PageId=172)

This recipe is very simple, but looks spectacular, and so is ideal for entertaining. Serve with Mediterranean-style rice, cooked with a little onion, tomato and herbs, and a generous helping of thick, creamy FAGE Total Yogurt.

Preparation: 5 minutes Cooking: 10 minutes Serves: 4

Ingredients

Small bunch of thyme, stalks removed
1 tbsp each mixed peppercorns, cumin seeds and coriander seeds
Large bunch of parsley, roughly chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
Lamb cutlets 2 – 3 per person, depending on size
7 oz FAGE Total Yogurt
1 1/2 lemon

Preparation

1. Place the thyme, spices and parsley in a pestle with the oil and grind for 2 – 3 minutes.
2. Press this seasoning into both surfaces of each cutlet.
3. Grill or cook the cutlets in a griddle pan for about 8 minutes until thoroughly cooked, turning once.
4. Mix the FAGE Total Yogurt with the lemon juice and spoon over the cutlets, just before serving.
5. Serve with rice or mashed potato.

Chef's tip

If you don’t have a pestle and mortar, crush the spices with a rolling pin and chop the herbs, then add the oil. To make a great, creamy mashed potato, add FAGE Total Yogurt in place of milk and butter.

RECIPE: Sticky Rice with Mango & Sesame Seeds

A favorite gluten-free dessert of mine is mango with sticky rice. It has been a favorite at Thai restaurants for years, but tonight was the first time we tried to make it at home. It was remarkably successful. YAY!

Here is the recipe I found a few places online, that we used this evening:

STICKY RICE WITH MANGO & SESAME SEEDS
SAUCE

• 2 cups unsweetened coconut milk
• 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt

RICE

• 2 1/2 cups Thai sticky rice (1 pound)
• 1 cup unsweetened coconut milk
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 2 mangoes (chopped up)
• 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds

Make the sauce: In a medium saucepan, combine the coconut milk with the sugar and salt. Bring to a simmer and cook over moderate heat until thickened slightly, about 10 minutes. Transfer the mixture to a sauceboat and let cool to room temperature, about 1 hour.

Meanwhile, prepare the rice: In a large, microwave-safe bowl, cover the sticky rice with water; let soak for 1 hour.

Drain the rice and return it to the bowl. Add 2 1/4 cups of water and cover the bowl with plastic wrap**. Microwave the rice on high power for 5 minutes. Pull back the plastic wrap and stir the rice. Replace the plastic wrap and microwave the rice for another 5 minutes. Pull back the plastic wrap to stir the rice a second time. Replace the plastic wrap and microwave until the rice is just tender, about 3 minutes longer. Let stand, covered, for 5 minutes.

In a small saucepan, combine the coconut milk with the sugar and salt and bring to a simmer. Pour the hot coconut milk over the rice, folding until just combined. Spoon the rice into bowls. Top with the mango and sesame seeds and serve, passing the sauce at the table.

**Instead of plastic wrap, we used a microwaveable, ceramic casserole dish with a glass lid. This worked well for us.

It took us about 90 minutes total, with all of the soaking and cooling. But it was well worth it. YUM!

RECIPE: Rice Crust Pizza

So I tried the rice crust pizza from the AICR's website tonight. Since the combination of veggies would make me a very unhappy kt, I went for a basic cheese pizza version. Now, cheese is technically not on the approved list in any quantity and tomato sauce is very limited. So this is a kt-friendly dish, but not necessarily a kt-approved one...

Adapted from recipe originally posted on AICR by Dana Jacobi

Rice-Crust Cheese Pizza

• 1 cup Arborio rice (this risotto rice)
• 2 1/2 cups water
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/4 cup plus 1/2 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese, divided
• Equivalent of 1 egg of egg replacer
• 1/2 cup tomato sauce
• 1/2 tsp. dried basil
• 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
• 1 cup shredded part-skim milk mozzarella cheese

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
2. Coat 12-inch round pizza pan, or baking sheet, with oil. The original recipe called for cooking spray, but I don't use cooking spray because there's often soy or other odd things in the propellant that I can't eat.
3. In medium saucepan, combine rice, water and salt. Bring to boil over medium-high heat, reduce heat, cover, and cook until rice is soft, about 18 minutes.
4. In large mixing bowl, combine hot rice with 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese and egg replacer and use fork to mix until well combined.
5. Mound rice mixture in center of prepared pan. With back of fork, spread rice out to cover pan, then make edge neat. The rice is really sticky at this point. I had to use fast, quick motions with the fork to get it to spread out and not pull up off the pan.
6. Bake crust until surface feels dry and firm, 18 to 20 minutes. (It took me only 18--I cooked it on the middle rack of the oven.)
7. Remove crust from oven. Spoon tomato sauce over crust.
8. Sprinkle on basil, oregano, and remaining Parmesan cheese. Cover with mozzarella.
9. Bake pizza in oven until cheese is melted and starts to brown. Without the veggies, this only took me about 6 minutes.
10. Remove from oven and let stand 5 minutes. Cut pizza into wedges and serve immediately.

It was very good, and now I have a few meals for the work week!

Unfortunately, rice doesn't really freeze very well so this doesn't fill my need for a pizza crust recipe I could make multiple of and then freeze. But it's a very nice diversion.

It took about 80 minutes to make.

SITESEEING: Rice Crust Pizza on AICR

The American Institute for Cancer Research has an intriguing recipe for pizza up on its site today: http://www.aicr.org/site/News2?abbr=pr_hf_&page=NewsArticle&id=16681&news_iv_ctrl=1088. (The AICR is, in its own words, "the cancer charity that fosters research on the relationship of nutrition, physical activity and weight management to cancer risk, interprets the scientific literature and educates the public about the results.")

I find it intriguing because the recipe doesn't use rice flour, but actual rice. Strike everything I'm allergic to and there's a chance I may have found a decent pizza crust recipe. If nothing else, this gives me hope for something to look into!

The whole article is definitely worth reading.

Day 9: Brown Rice

I'm already grasping at straws (or grains, as the case may be). But brown rice is an approved food, in moderation, so it's a valid entry.

There's not much to say on brown rice. Or rather not a ton that's interesting.

"brown rice" gets 2,470,000 hits on Google. Lots of recipes and lots of debate brown vs. white rice. (brown is healthier, but can be more fatty...) If you switch to images, the pictures are just as prolific.

My nothing can really come close to the reach and dissemination of brown rice and rice, in general, through my diet these past few years. Rice is my wheat. Brown rice is a side dish, a main dish, and a flour. It is a cereal, a bread, and Rice milk replaces dairy and soy for me. Rice pasta is the cheapest gluten-free pasta option I've found and if you use the right brand, it only falls apart a little.

Six years ago, I'm not sure I had ever made brown rice. If I had, it was because I picked up instant brown instead of instant white in the store. With the Celiac diagnosis in 2004, everything shifted and now I use brown rice and brown rice-based ingredients in everything!

I made this recipe below before lentils were scratched from my list, but it's so wonderful I wanted to share.

I adapted it from Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone; it's a recipe for mujadarrah.

Lentils & Rice with Fried Onions
6 Tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, halved, sliced moderately thin
1 and 1/4 cups of lentils (brown or green - I used brown)
3/4 cup long-grain brown rice
Salt & pepper

• Heat the oil & add the cut up onion.
• The recipe says to cook the onion until rich, dark brown. We tried that; it didn't work so well for us. It made the onions very harsh in the mouth. Instead the second time, we just brown them slightly, about 5 minutes. MUCH better!
• While you are futzing with the onion, stick the lentils in a pot with 1 quart water and salt to taste (~1/2 tsp.). Bring to boil, simmer for 15 minutes.
• Add rice , pepper, and any additional water needed to cover the lentil & rice combo.
• Add lid and cook over low heat until rice is done. The recipe says about 15 minutes. It took us about 25 with brown rice.
• Turn off heat and stir in the carmelized, not blackened onions. Cover and let stand for 5 minutes.
  

ENJOY!!!!

P.S. This makes a fabulous potluck dish since:

• legume allergies are not very common,
• it's vegetarian and filling unlike a plate of lettuce,
• can be a main course or a side dish, and
  
• it takes so few ingredients that you can often whip it up in under an hour from stuff you already have around (if you have a basket of onions like we do)

Day 7: Corn

Internet sites and even the candida books I have differ on whether corn is approved or not on the anti-candida diet. But, to the best of my knowledge, I am not allergic to it and since it shows up as approved on some lists, I'm going to go for it!

Ah, corn. It shows up in so many forms: corn on the cob, frozen nibblets, cornmeal, corn flour, corn oil, and the forbidden corn syrup.

It's not nearly as good for you, but I much prefer the taste of corn oil when cooking. Vegetable oil is often soybean oil and with my legume issues, soy is "right out". But even though olive oil is the healthier choice, corn oil is always the first one I reach for.

I freely admit that I had to look up how to cook corn on the cob recently. It's straight-forward enough that I could have (should have?) faked it, but there's always a part of me that wants to know what everyone else "normally" does before I go off on my crazy cookin' own.

Corn on the Cob - Boiled

• Boil water. Add salt if desired.
• Husk and wash corn. I break them in half for more manageable pieces.
• Carefully drop in boiling water.
• Boil for 7-10 minutes (the only real key piece of info!).
• Remove with tongs. Eat ASAP!

I've cooked some pieces tonight that I hope to bring to work for lunch over the course of this week. We shall see how well that goes. I'm not sure what reheating will do to the taste or consistency. I'll let you know!

One thing I did find very useful when scouring the 'net was a recipe for corn on the cob in the microwave. I've made it twice now. It helps if you can monitor it from the same room, or at least some where close by. Running down the length of your office when you hear something popping is not high on the professional scale.

I followed this site for the microwave directions: http://www.microwavecornonthecob.com/

The quick summary of the site is:
Soak corn for 30 or more minutes.
Squeeze away excess water.
Microwave for 7 minutes.
Shuck under cold water.
Enjoy!

Day 4: Almonds

Day 4: Almonds

I was a late-comer to many foods, mostly out of necessity. As the items I used to eat fell off the "Approved" list, one by one, other items had to take their places.

Before legumes were kicked off the list I had discovered the joy of green beans and slivered almonds. If you like bacon and want the beans to be very tasty, but not nearly as good for you, toss in some bacon bits. For extra, bacon-ness, dump the whole concoction into the skillet you just cooked the bacon in and stir beans & almonds until coated.

Once beans were lost to me, I would use a handful almonds (~12) with a fruit, usually an apple, as a healthy, between-meals munchie. It helped sustain me and kept me body processing food by "grazing" throughout the course of the day.

But with the candidiasis, I'm supposed to be avoiding fruit sugars as well. No more apple & almond snacks.

So now I've started adding almond to my rice pasta. It makes the side dish more substantial and I eat less of it, consequently.

Pine Nut & Almond Pasta

1 box of gluten-free pasta (about ~8 oz)
1/8 cup of pine nuts
1/4 cup of slivered almonds
2 Tbsp of olive oil
Salt, dextrose-free

• Cook pasta as instructed. I add a little salt to the water when cooking the pasta.
• In medium to large skillet, heat up oil & salt on medium heat.
• Lower heat to simmer level. Add pine nuts and almonds.
• Stir them frequently as they toast. The best indicator for when the nuts are done is the pine nuts. Once the pine nuts start to brown, remove skillet from heat.
• The pasta will most likely be done about the same time. Drain the pasta.
• Put the drained pasta in the skillet and stir. If your skillet is too small for all of the pasta, do a few scoops at a time in batches. Not only will this help mix in the nuts, but it will coat the pasta with the oil.
• Put the mixture back in the pot and pour any remaining nuts & oil mixture on top.
  
• Toss once more for optimal mixage. Enjoy!

Day 3: Chicken

Day 3: Plain, plain, plain chicken

I used to season everything with garlic. It was wonderful on chicken. About 13 months ago though, I found out I was allergic to garlic too. Sigh! First gluten, now garlic (and yeast!)--what was I going to eat?

I've created a simple baked chicken recipe that works for me. I eat it with brown rice or brown rice pasta. It would be great with the millet & corn recipe from yesterday too.

1.5 lbs of boneless, skinless chicken tenders
2 Tbsp corn oil
1/2 cup of fresh shredded basil
Dextrose-free salt & pepper to taste
Squirt of lemon juice, if you're feeling brave

• Preheat the oven to 375.
• Put oil in 11 x 14 pan. Season with salt & pepper (yes, there's no chicken in there yet!)
• Add lemon juice, if you are feeling up for it..
• Wash chicken tenders. Roll in oil, salt & pepper (+ lemon) to coat. Lay flat in single layer in pan.
• Cook for 20 minutes.
• Carefully flip over tenders with fork and sprinkle basil on.
• Cook for 10-15 more minutes until done.

YUM!

Day 2: Millet

I'll admit I was looking for another grain when I ran across the millet this morning. I don't know that I've ever cooked or cooked with millet before today, but I decide this would be a good one for Day 2.

Here's a simple recipe I tried this morning.

Millet & Pan-cooked Corn

• 2 3/4 + 1/4 cups water
• 1 + 1 tablespoons corn oil
• 1 cup uncooked millet
• 1 1/2 cups frozen corn Kosher sea salt with no dextrose added - to taste
• Pepper - to taste

Put 2 3/4 cups water, 1 Tbsp corn oil, & a little salt in a pot. Bring to a boil.

Add millet & cover. Simmer for 25 minutes. Turn off heat and let sit for 10 minutes.

5 minutes after the millet is done, put other Tbsp of corn oil, 1/4 cup water & a little salt into a skillet. Heat up and added frozen corn.

Cook for about 4 minutes, stirring frequently.

Add millet to corn in skillet, stirring together. Millet will soak up the water/oil/corn "juice" mixture.

Once thoroughly mixed, scoop onto plate and serve!

If you cook this recipe, just comment and let me know! I know I've scoured the web for simple recipes with only a few ingredients and it's been hard to find.