This post is brought to us by the only gal I know of who combines karaoke with awesome homemade vegan and gluten free eats! Give it up for Rachel from VGFK, everyone!

Over at Vegan Gluten Free Karaoke my mission is simple: make delicious vegan and gluten free food while lip synching to pop music in ridiculous outfits. Past triumphs have included Lady Gaga Spring Rolls and Since U Been Gone Lasagna. The Bieber Beans were also pretty irresistible, if I say so myself.

I’ve been stoked about this guest post all month and decided to do a little experimentation with ice cream for Halloween. Those of you from colder climes may not find ice cream seasonally appropriate, but here in New Orleans where we have enjoyed temperatures in the 70′s and 80′s for the past few weeks, I thought it would be perfectly appropriate to combine rich fall flavors with this chilly treat.

I decided to make a Candy Corn Napoleon: instead of chocolate/vanilla/strawberry I created the white/orange/yellow color scheme of candy corn with a tahini/pumpkin/ginger combo in three layers. These were all flavors that I made up on the fly without a recipe, so it was quite the experiment.

I have been obsessed with cashew cream in ice cream lately, which is so rich and creamy that it comes out more like frozen custard. The base for each flavor is cashew cream which is made by soaking cashews in hot water for 5 minutes, then blending them in the food processor with a little rice milk and agave. I split the cashew cream into three containers and then mixed each flavor separately before freezing each one for 20 minutes and layering into a clear container. I don’t tend to follow recipes when I’m making ice cream, so I don’t have measurements to share, just the list of ingredients that I added to the cashew cream.

White Layer: Tahini Vanilla
Ingredients: Vanilla extract, tahini, rice milk, agave nectar

Orange Layer: Pumpkin
Ingredients: Canned pumpkin puree, coconut milk (carton), cinnamon, agave nectar

Yellow Layer: Ginger
Ingredients: Powdered ginger, grated fresh ginger, turmeric, coconut milk (can)

Tahini Vanilla was definitely the best flavor. It was super creamy with a sophisticated, nutty flavor. Ginger was kind of strange – like eating frozen Thai food. I would experiment with adding something fruity to this one.

And with no further ado…please join me in rocking out to Katy Perry:

This is Halloween, this is Halloween. Halloween, Halloween!

Hi everybody, it’s Kristina again from spabettie, and I am here with a post themed on my favorite holiday. I have a few recipes to share, a cute pup, and some other fun shenanigans. A big thank you to the xgfx girls for having me here again!

Using the black quinoa is perfect for a jack o lantern.

First up, my carrot-ginger quinoa pepper jacks! These pepper jacks are always a big hit with everyone, and this year I am even more excited about the filling inside – a carrot ginger quinoa, and it’s SO good! 

This next one was all I needed last year for dessert on Thanksgiving. Couldn’t wait to make it again. Good thing the nog is back in shops already…

Pumpkin Ice Cream

From one pumpkin patch to another,

these treats are sweet!

Crispy Treat Pumpkin Patch (orange cardamom flavor).

Sometimes the spiders around here are big enough to scare the cats…

and that ice cream up there?

 Makes these:  Pumpkin Milkshakes!

My dachshund Basil loves Halloween, too. He is a turtle this year, and last year he was…

a submarine!

This time of year we just call him our Halloweenie. Now back to those pepper jacks. I let out a loud squeal when I found out that Pee-Wee Herman shared them!

I was pretty excited (I love Pee-Wee…) and have to admit I did his laugh a couple times when I saw this. ;) and the other fun thing that is happening with these pepper jacks right now…

These pepper jacks are a finalist in the Yummly Halloween recipe contest, and I would really love it if you helped a vegan and gluten free recipe win!! How cool would that be?

All you have to do is visit the site here and “like” the page. No signing up for anything, just “like”. I thank you in advance, and I hope you all have a Happy Halloween!

Are you a Pee-Wee fan? What about dogs in costume?

*****

Thanks for another great post, Kristina!

*****************************************************************************

Obviously, there are enough fabulous vegan websites and cookbooks to keep any cook inspired forever. Vegan MoFo proves that! However, almost any dish can be made vegan and made better. Just take a look at the Veganize It! Feature in VegNews if you have any doubts. This means that inspiration can come from anywhere; a menu at a restaurant, a dish a good friend has made or a non-vegan writer.

That happened to me when I was looking for an elegant treat to bring to a women’s party. The theme was a Red Tent Party, and our gracious hostess invited women from all parts of her life to come together to eat, drink, share experiences and just all-around celebrate the strong community that she has formed around her.

I wanted to bring something special, and something that fit with the theme. I found just what I was looking for on the smitten kitchen site. I needed to remake it, though, to make it Welcoming Kitchen-appropriate. On our blog and in our cookbook, all the recipes are not only vegan and gluten-free, but free of all the top 8 allergens.

Using pumpkin as the egg substitute, not only eliminated the cholesterol, but increased the fiber. Bonus! (Especially, since pumpkin is very autumnal, perfect for a red wine/spiced cake!) Using soy-free Earth Balance instead of butter provided scrumptious flavor without the cruelty. Another win! Then, I loved the spice idea and upped it just a little bit. The end result was a beautiful, sophisticated chocolate cake that was appropriate for everyone at the party to enjoy.

Chocolate Red Wine Cake Inspired by Smitten Kitchen

Ingredients:

• ½ cup pumpkin puree (canned pumpkin is good, but not pumpkin pie filling)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder, divided
• 6 tablespoons soy-free Earth Balance
• ¾ cup packed brown sugar
• ¼ cup vegan white sugar
• ¾ cup vegan red wine
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup all-purpose gluten-free flour (I used King Arthur brand.)
• ½ teaspoon xanthan gum
• ½ cup cocoa powder
• 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon all-spice

• extra Earth Balance and cocoa to prepare the pan
• powdered sugar and cinnamon to dust on top

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 325.
2. Prepare pan by greasing with Earth Balance and dusting with cocoa. Shake out extra cocoa powder. Set aside.
3. In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine pumpkin and ½ teaspoon baking powder.
4. Add Earth Balance and sugars, and cream together.
5. Add remaining ingredients, mix until thoroughly combined.
6. Pour batter into prepared pan.
7. Bake for approximately 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The top might still look pretty moist.
8. Cool in pan on cooling rack for 10 minutes, then out of pan until thoroughly cool.
9. Dust cake with powdered sugar and cinnamon.

Happy Cooking!
Kim from Welcoming Kitchen

Not only are they a great way to utilize different flours, but they have only a handful of ingredients, come together in less time than it takes to preheat the oven, and they are Picky Eating Child Approved. Also, Skeptical Not Quite a Vegan Significant Other Approved. Two very important demographics, n’est-ce pas?

Maple Flax Thumbprint Cookies

Adapted from Jae Steele’s Get It Ripe

Makes approx. 25 cookies, thumbprints optional

• 1 cup teff flour*
• 1 cup sweet rice flour*
• ¼ cup flax seeds
• ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ½ cup sunflower or olive oil
• ½ maple syrup
• ½ – 1 teaspoon xanthan gum**
• ¼ cup water

*Any combination of flours will work, as long as they equal two cups. I try to use at least two flours. P.S., this is a GREAT way to use up that unfortunate bag of Arrowhead Mills brown rice flour that you bought, despite all warnings to the contrary.

**I’m sure that using another sort of binding ingredient would work here (mashed banana, flax goop), but I like the way it turns out with the xanthan gum, so I’ve never tried anything else. Keep in mind that the gum helps not only with binding and texture, but also with moisture retention.

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or Silpat.
2. Combine dry ingredients together EXCLUDING the xanthan gum.
3. Add the oil and maple syrup, and mix until fully incorporated. Your cookie dough will have the consistency of barely-wet sand.
4. Squeeze a small handful of cookie dough in your hand; how crumbly it is will determine how much (if any) xanthan gum you need to add.  If your dough will not stick together, sprinkle the xanthan gum into the bowl and then mix into the dough. (Trust me, there is not enough moisture present to suck up the xanthan gum, as long as you sprinkle it over the full surface area.)
5. Add the water and mix thoroughly, and behold the amazing power of xanthan gum! Not only does it instantly give your dough the texture of its gluten-riddled doppelganger, it also significantly changes the mouth feel, no matter how grainy your flour was.
6. Roll the dough into walnut-sized balls and press gently into a disk. If you are so inclined, you may make a thumbprint in the middle. HINT: this is a great task to give to a Child Helper.
7. Bake for 12 minutes. Allow to cool completely before eating.

I have no idea how long these keep – we always polish them off inside of 48 hours! But a week in an airtight container sounds about right. Right?

My four-year old, Nina, attempting to hoard cookies when she thinks I’m not looking.

The three cookies I managed to save from Nina’s clutches. And the lovely Jae Steele, of course.

]]> http://xgfx.org/2011/10/teff-cookie-hoarding/feed/ 10 http://xgfx.org/2011/08/tuesdays-linkage/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=tuesdays-linkage http://xgfx.org/2011/08/tuesdays-linkage/#comments Tue, 02 Aug 2011 08:17:17 +0000 jessy http://xgfx.org/?p=4681

thai, tabasco, fish and habanero peppers

This week we’re here to spread some summery links. Stay cool, everyone – and enjoy!

Kris whips up a Gluten-Free Short­cake with Coconut Cream to make summer that much more awesome!

Harini of Tongue Ticklers makes the loveliest looking Thin Crust Cherry Tart.

Leanna brings us more berry goodness with these Berry Pastry Jam Rolls of deliciousness!

Just use gluten-free oats to make PeaSoupEat’s PB, Banana & Chocolate Baked Oatmeal to make your morning shine!

There’s no such thing as too much berry goodness…and if it’s blueberries you love check out Jenna’s Blueberry Almond Tart. Things couldn’t get simplier or more scrumptious!

Potatoes and peas go together just as well as carrots and peas do, and Free From The Three confirms it with this summery Potato, Pea, and Rosemary Soup.

We wanted to take a moment to thank all of the amazing folks who have contributed to recipes.xgfx and invite anyone out there who may not know about this part of our site to check it out!

recipes.xgfx is a community driven resource featuring recipes that are 100% gluten-free and vegan. There’s a ton of great stuff on there thanks to the generous folks who have shared with us!

there you’ll find these tasty treats (and many more!):

Scrumptious' Summer Bounty Gratin

River's Mint Chip Ice Cream

Erin's Onion Rings with Thai Dipping Sauce

Izzy's Creamy Fettuccine Alfredo with Carrot and Zucchini Pasta

Kat's Tofu Chocolate Pudding

Sarah's Amazing Homemade Vegan Bacon

Yum.

Thanks so much to everyone who has helped to make this growing resource what it is!!

If you enjoy creating your own xgfx recipes and would like to contribute, we’d be thrilled to have you share. It’s easy… just sign up here!

Happy Thursday!

Photo by The Cinnamon Quill

To celebrate all the vegan and gluten free creativity that is continuously going on in the blogosphere, we’ve decided to occasionally feature some of our faves here on xgfx.

Photo by The Cinnamon Quill

So, I’d like to start things off with a enthusiastic shout out to The Cinnamon Quill and her amazing ability to transform the already perfect lemon bar into something even better: a lemon bar that features candied meyer lemons, and is vegan and gluten free.

Can I getta ‘hell yes!‘ ?

To me, lemon bars are one of those nostalgic foods that bring back happy childhood memories–full of sunny days and superfun get togethers with friends and family. There was always plenty of good food at these gatherings, but all I ever cared about were the lemon bars. Someone always brought lemon bars. If I were lucky, more than one person would bring them! They were, without a doubt, my favorite treat as a kid. Who can argue with a sweet, tart and fresh lemony yellow filling atop a shortbread cookie crust? Not I… no way. I was the kid who could easily polish off a whole tray of lemon bars by my lonesome if given the opportunity (fun and related fact: I still can, and I’d do it in a heartbeat with a tray of these babies in front of me. Who wants to send me some so I can prove it?).

Photo by The Cinnamon Quill

And now The Cinnamon Quill has gone and made a version that’s not only classier, but safe for vegans who don’t eat gluten! This girl is my hero! I mean, seriously… these may be the world’s most perfect food. And just look at those photos! Beautiful!

Check out this recipe… it’s truly a keeper.

The double batch of brownies I just pulled from the oven are the third go I’ve had with this recipe in the last two weeks, I like ‘em that much. The first were developed as an experiment for a friend’s birthday and had great results, so the second were baked for our local World Wide Vegan Bake-sale (y’know to make sure there’d be enough xgfx stuff for the masses), and this last batch I made just for us–since my folks are visiting from far away. However, since it’s become apparent that my Dad is still stuck somewhere in the Stone Age, I had to make half special for him without the rocks, since he’s anti-keen on the marshies.

I’m inspired to share the recipe with you, since we were just discussing brownies over on Facebook. This was modified from The New Farm Vegetarian Cookbook, which has remained one of my favorite cookbooks since I first went vegan over 20 years ago. I thought the method of the recipe was super unique, since I’d never heard of cooking flour and water together to make a thick brownie base before, but it seems other folks like The Cinamon Quill are having success with this method as well. Personally, I find my version works best if you use extra fine brown rice flour and allow the brownies a chance to set up in the fridge overnight or for a few hours, because otherwise I find they’re super gooey straight outta the oven, especially with the melted Dandies oozing all over the place.

Rocky Road Brownies

Makes an 8X8 brownie pan full.

What You Need:

• 1/3 cup teff flour
• 1 cup water
• ½ cup vegan margarine (you can sub a few tablespoons of coconut oil for a few of the margarine)
• 2/3 cup Fair Trade cocoa powder
• 1 cup unbleached granulated sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar, unpacked
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons finely ground flax meal
• 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/3 cups superfine brown rice flour
• ¼ cup tapioca flour
• ½ cup potato starch
• ½ bag Dandies marshmallows, each marshmallow cut in half
• ½ cup chopped walnuts

What You Do:

1. In a medium saucepan, whisk together the teff flour and water, then over medium heat, stir constantly until it turns into a thick, thick goo. Spoon into the bowl of your stand mixer and allow to sit while you work on step two (if you have guns, you can also do these by hand in a big bowl with a wooden spoon, but the stuff gets really thick).
2. Wash out the saucepan, place it over medium-high heat and melt the vegan margarine. Quickly whisk in the cocoa powder to combine, then dump this mixture on top of the teff mixture, and allow it all to cool.
3. Once the stuff has cooled, preheat your oven to 350F, and then beat the stuff until smooth.
4. Next beat in the baking powder, sugars, salt, vanilla and flax-seed. Then beat in the brown rice flour and starches until smooth, thick and batter-like. Last, toss in the marshmallows and nuts, and stir by hand to incorporate.
5. Scrape into a well greased square brownie pan (or line with parchment to get them out easier) and bake 35-40 minutes. When done the top will become crunchy and the brownies will have risen and become set, but still slightly soft in the center, without being jiggly.
6. Allow to cool to room temperature, then refrigerate for several hours or overnight. Cut into squares and declare yourself a master of xgfx brownies.