Gluten Free Crab Casserole

For Thanksgiving this year, may family asked me to bake a gluten free crab casserole. I have never worked with crab before so I was a little nervous. The end result was great. Best of all, it got all eaten up!

I used a recipe from Epicurious with a few adjustments. I reduced the amount of salt by half and I used brown rice flour.

Vegan Cupcakes

Ingredients
3 cups flour
2 cups sugar
2/3 tablespoon baking soda
1/3 tablespoon salt
1/2 cup cocoa - dark bittersweet Ghirardelli
3/4 cup canola oil
1/3 tablespoon vanilla
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 cups coffee

 
Directions
Place the cupcake holders into the baking pan. Mix all the ingredients and fill each cup until 2/3 full with batter. Cook at 300 degrees until the cake tester comes out clean (approximately 25 minutes). Use the batter as an icing or make a separate icing with almond milk and melted chocolate chips.

I added a pink whipped cream topping (colored with beets) for the non-vegans.

Spaghetti Squash

Spaghetti squash is a great substitute for angel hair pasta, and it is easy to prepare. Cut the squash in half, remove the seeds and place each side open face down on a baking tray. Then cook it for about 40 minutes. After it is done, remove the squash from the oven and scoop out the insides. 

You can then add any sauce you want. Today I went with butter, garlic, tomato sauce, parmesan cheese and fresh basil.

Lentil Soup

Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 yellow onion finely chopped
1 carrot peeled and thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons curry powder
1 cup canned diced plum tomatoes
5 cups water
1 1/2 cups brown lentils
yellow miso
1 lemon sliced
1 cup coarsely chopped spinach

In a large saucepan over medium high heat, warm the oil and add the onion, garlic and carrots and saute until the veggies are soft, approximately 5 minutes.  Stir in the curry powder until fragrant, about 1 minute.

Add tomatoes with juice, lentils, water and lemon slices. Bring to a boil over medium high heat and then down to a simmer and partially cover. Stir occasionally until the lentils are  soft, about 30 minutes. Discard the lemons.  Add a couple of spoonfuls of miso to a little bit of boiled water and pour it into the soup to taste. Boil the soup down until it is the texture you want.

Island Living - Rum Cake

Ingredients
CAKE:
chopped almonds
1 18.5 oz pkg yellow cake mix (moist/with pud mix)
4 eggs
.5 cups water
.5 cups oil (olive or canola)
.5 cups dark rum
SAUCE:
.25 lb butter (1 stick)
.25 cups water
.5 cups rum

Preheat oven to 325 F, grease 12 cups bundt pan, sprinkle nuts in bottom of pan, mix cake in, pour over nuts. Bake 50 minutes to 1 hour. Cool. Invert on serving plate. Prick top. Spoon glaze over, allow to absorb, repeat until all glaze is used.

Melt butter in saucepan. Stir in water and sugar. Boil 5 minutes while stirring. Remove from heat, add rum.  

Island Living - Sweet Fried Plantains

I am in St. Thomas for a few days visiting friends. Besides the beaches, warm nights, tropical plants and laid back lifestyle - I am relearning about many foods I love. On the menu for dinner tonight are sweet fried plantains. I have always wanted to find a good recipe and learn how to cook them right. Luckily the local farmers helped me pick out the ripest of the bunch. Here is a recipe from Gourmet magazine.

Ingredients
4 firm-ripe plantains
vegetable oil for deep-frying

With a small sharp knife cut ends from each plantain and halve crosswise. Cut a lengthwise slit through skin along inside curve. Beginning in center of slit pry skin from plantain and with rippled blade of a mandoline or decorating knife cut flesh crosswise into 1/8-inch-thick slices.

In a deep fryer or large deep skillet heat 1 1/2 inches oil to 375°F. on a deep-fat thermometer and fry 12 to 15 plantain slices at a time, turning them, 2 to 3 minutes, or until golden, transferring as fried with a skimmer or slotted spoon to paper towels to drain. Season plantain slices with salt. (Plantain slices should be slightly crisp on outside but soft on inside.) Plantain slices are best served immediately but may be made 1 day ahead, cooled completely, and kept in an air-tight container. Reheat plantain slices on a rack in a shallow baking pan in a preheated 350°F. oven 5 minutes, or until heated through.

Read More http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Fried-Plantains-10024#ixzz20doEWy7i

 

Pizza!

Ingredients

Water + honey + yeast + olive oil + salt + flour

Directions

1. Mix one cup of water (filtered is best at room temp) with 1 tablespoon of honey until the honey is dissolved in a small bowl.

2. Add 2 teaspoons of yeast. Mix and let sit for about 10-15 minutes

3. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil + 1 tablespoon of salt and mix thoroughly

4. While the water mix with honey and yeast is sitting for ten minutes put 3 cups of flour in a bowl

5. Move the water mix to a large bowl. Add 1/2 of flour* at a time and whisk with a knife until mostly dissolved. Use your hands when it's not too watery.

6. Add more water to the dough or flour if needed. Then move the dough to a flat surface and knead for 10-15 minutes. Don't cut this short.

7. Rest the dough for 15 minutes with a towel on top, then knead briefly.

8. Now you can refrigerate or freeze as one dough or divided into individual sizes in zip lock bags. Add oil to the bowl/dough so it won't stick.

Fridge okay for 2 days or freezer for 1 month. 

9. Take out form the fridge 1 to 1.5 hrs before using it. Rest it with a moist towel to prevent it form getting dry on top and flour underneath so it won't stick.  Add some flour on top and then roll it out to a pizza.
10. Bake at 450 degrees for 8 minutes; turn half way through.

*You can make this dish gluten free if you use brown rice flour instead of regular flour.