Rachel’s Recipe Box

My family has been loving the Impossible Quiche Pie variations, and while I was Googling for more ideas, I found an apple pie variation. My oldest and youngest daughters love almost any dessert, but my middle daughter loves apple pie and chocolate only. It was lovely to find an easy workaround for the hassle of making gluten-free apple pie! As a bonus, it tasted delicious!

This is a delicious gfcf, gluten free, family-friendly recipe! It is also (if you double check ingredients!) a wheat free, dairy free, soy free, tree nut free, peanut free, fish free, shellfish free, corn free, and vegetarian recipe.

Ingredients:

• 3 large apples, peeled and sliced

• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• several grates fresh, or 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 cup gf biscuit mix – we like Bob’s Red Mill Biscuit mix or Pamela’s Baking & Pancake Mix
  • 1/2 cup all purpose gf flour mix (or 1/4 cup rice or sorghum flour & 1/4 cup tapioca or corn starch)

  • 1/8 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp canola oil
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup milk or milk substitute (cow, coconut, or soy work the best, rice is a bit too thin)
• 1 tablespoon margarine or butter, melted, or oil (Fleishmann’s unsalted is dairy & gluten free, Earth Balance has a dairy, soy, & gluten-free tub)
• 2 eggs (these are necessary, don’t try to substitute)

Topping Ingredients

• 1/2 cup gf flour or baking mix

• 1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
• 3-4 TBS cold margarine, butter, or shortening (for shortening, we like Spectrum)
• 1/2 tsp allspice

Method:
Oil a 9″ pie pan with deep sides, and preheat oven to 350.

Peel and slice apples, and set in a medium-sized bowl. Add cinnamon and nutmeg, stir, and let sit.

In another medium-sized bowl, whisk together the biscuit mix, sugar, eggs, milk/milk substitute, and melted margarine/butter.

In a third bowl, combine the dry topping ingredients. Cut the fat into small pieces, and cut into the flour mixture into it using a pastry blender or two knives. Mix together until it becomes crumbly, as you would with a fruit crisp topping.

Pour the apples into the pie pan, and cover with the egg mixture. Sprinkle topping on top.

Slide into the oven, and bake for 30-45 minutes, until it becomes browned. Touch the top of the pie to make sure it’s firm and set.

Let cool and serve, with or without whipped topping or ice cream. Don’t expect there to be many leftovers!

The girls love French Toast, but it’s my mother who usually makes it. This past weekend my parents were gone for the day, so they sent me on a hunt for a good recipe. After much Googling, I ended up with this recipe which was inspired by Alton Brown’s recipe – because if Alton made it, you can’t go wrong! I tweaked it for our taste buds, allergies, and for my own cooking preferences.

This is a delicious gfcf, gluten free, family-friendly recipe! It is also (if you double check ingredients!) a wheat free, dairy free, soy free, tree nut free, peanut free, fish free, shellfish free, corn free, and vegetarian recipe.  Be sure to check the allergy notes at the bottom of the recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup milk or milk substitute (soy, rice, almond, hemp…)
• 3 large eggs (eggs are integral to this recipe, so I don’t recommend using an egg substitute)
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 9-12 slices gluten-free bread¹
• 4 TBS oil or margarine²

Method:

Preheat oven to 250. Set a lasagna pan or similar 9×13 pan near the stove.

In a deep pie dish, combine the milk substitute, eggs, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt. Whisk gently, so the milk/egg mixture doesn’t spill.

Heat your griddle or skillet to medium heat. Add about 1 TBS oil or margarine to pan and swirl around so it coats the pan.

Dip bread into mixture, allow to soak for about 1 minute on each side. Pick up a piece of bread and gently shake the excess egg mixture into the pie pan.

Lay 2-3 slices of bread in the griddle/skillet, depending on the size of the bread and your pan. Cook until golden brown, approximately 2 to 3 minutes for each side. When browned, remove from griddle and gently put in the lasagna pan, then slide the pan into the oven.

Continue with the next set of bread slices, until all of the french toast has been made.

Serve to many cheers and soon-to-be-empty plates! This tastes great with maple syrup, or perhaps a bit of confectioner’s sugar sprinkled on top.

Allergy Notes:
¹ Our favorite bread recipe is perfect for this, as is our sweet bread recipe, but any gluten-free bread will work. The Kinnikinnik loaf pictured was perfect, because it tasted a bit dry when eaten plain. Our favoite purchased bread is Ener-G Brown Rice Bread, which tastes especially wonderful when toasted.
² We usually use Earth Balance Organic margarine tubs, which are Kosher and dairy-free. However, that margarine includes soy protein. Fleishmann’s Unsalted is also Kosher and dairy-free, but only uses soy oil – no soy protein. Alternatively, to make the recipe safe for the corn or soy-free,  you can use canola or another cooking oil to coat the griddle.

Who doesn’t love a breakfast of waffles? We make a big batch, and then refrigerate or freeze the extras so they can be heated up in the toaster on busy mornings. While this recipe has 4 eggs, it can be substituted with a commercial or homemade egg replacer without sacrificing taste or quality.
This is a delicious gfcf, gluten free, family-friendly recipe! It is also (if you double check ingredients and use appropriate substitutes!) a wheat free, dairy free, soy free, egg free, tree nut free, peanut free, fish free, shellfish free, corn free, top 8 allergen free, and vegan/vegetarian recipe.

Ingredients

• 2 cups gf flour (I like sorghum, millet, or brown rice)

• 1 cup starch (tapioca, arrowroot, or corn is good here; or use 3 cups gluten free flour mix in place of the flour and starch)
• 2 TBS sugar
• 1 TBS xanthan gum
• 1 TBS + 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 2/3 cup milk substitute
• 4 eggs or equivalent egg substitute (while usually I wouldn’t suggest replacing eggs in a recipe with 3 or more eggs, egg replacers work quite well in this recipe)
• 1 cup water
• 1/4 cup cider vinegar or lemon juice
• 1/3 cup canola oil
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• optional: 1 1/2 cup frozen blueberries

Method:
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour through salt.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine milk substitute through vanilla extract.

Slowly mix the liquid into the flour, and stir until smooth.

This batter will act differently based on humidity, temperature, and phase of moon. So you may need to add 1/2 cup more flour or 1/2 cup more water, depending if it is very wet or very thick.

Add optional blueberries when the batter is well mixed, and stir until just incorporated.

Use a ladle to add waffle batter to the waffle iron, and cook according to device instructions. Keep waffles warm on a plate covered by a tea town in the oven set at 200 degrees. Serve with margarine, maple syrup, and Gooseberry Syrup.

If you miss the flavor of raspberries and blackberries but cannot eat them, consider trying gooseberries – they are their own food family (related only to currants) and are unlikely to cross-react with other foods.

The green gooseberries taste very similar to raspberries and blackberries when eaten raw. However, the red gooseberries are quite tart, and need another use. This syrup is great over pancakes, waffles, or ice cream, and has a wonderful sweet-tart flavor. Plus, it’s incredibly easy!

This is a delicious gfcf, gluten free, family-friendly recipe! It is also (if you double check ingredients!) a wheat free, dairy free, soy free, egg free, tree nut free, peanut free, fish free, shellfish free, corn free, top 8 allergen free, and vegan/vegetarian recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup cane sugar

• 1 cup water
• 1/3 cup gooseberries

Method:
Combine sugar and water in a small pan over medium heat. Whisk and cook until the sugar fully dissolves.

Meanwhile pull off the little brown or green bits at either end of the gooseberries. Cut gooseberries in half.

Add gooseberries to the sugar/water mixture.

Let cook over low heat for 1-2 hours, stirring occasionally.

Strain the seeds and fibers from the syrup, and pour into a refrigerator and microwave safe container.
Refrigerate syrup, then warm for a few seconds in the microwave before serving over waffles, or ice cream.

Lime & Tarragon Green Beans

This was adapted from a Cook’s Illustrated recipe. It’s a pretty fast cooking dish, and the flavors are amazing. Don’t cheat and use bottled lime juice – if you don’t have a fresh lime to zest and juice, wait until you do.

Serves 6.

Ingredients:

• 1 TBS extra virgin olive oil

• 2 cloves garlic, minced/pressed
• grated lime zest from 1 lime
• juice from 1 lime
• 1 TBS olive oil (this does not need to be extra virgin, and could be another cooking oil)
• 1 1/2 pound green beans
• 1/2 small red onion, minced
• kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/3 cup water
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh tarragon leaves

Method

Combine 1 TBS extra virgin olive oil, garlic, and lime zest in small bowl; set aside.

Juice the lime and chop the tarragon leaves, and set aside.

Snap off both ends of the green beans, and set aside. Set aside the minced onion with the green beans.

Heat 1 TBS regular olive oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat until just smoking. Add onion, green beans, 2 pinches kosher salt, and 3 grinds teaspoon pepper; cook, stirring occasionally, until spotty brown, 4 to 6 minutes.

Add water, cover, and cook until beans are bright green but are still crisp, about 2 minutes. Remove the cover, increase heat to high, and cook until water evaporates, about 60 seconds.

Add olive oil mixture to the pan and continue to cook, stirring frequently, until beans are crisp-tender, lightly browned, and beginning to wrinkle, 2-3 minutes.

Transfer green beans to serving bowl, toss with lime juice and tarragon. Serve immediately, or cover the bowl with a plate or other lid to keep warm when bringing the rest of the meal to the table.

This is great with some roasted potatoes and a fish that has been in a citrus marinade. There won’t be many leftovers with these!

Traditional miso contains barley, a gluten-containing grain. However, there are some companies, such as Great Eastern Sun which make miso from alternate ingredients such as soy, chickpeas, and rice (their misos are also certified organic and kosher). Additionally, as miso soup is usually made using a fish broth, using a vegetable broth in its place, makes the soup an option for vegetarian/vegan diners and those with fish allergies.

This is a delicious gfcf, gluten free, family-friendly recipe! It is also (if you double check ingredients!) a wheat free, dairy free, egg free, tree nut free, peanut free, fish free, shellfish free, and vegan/vegetarian recipe.

This is my adaptation of a couple easy miso soup recipes I’ve found.

Ingredients:

• 6 cups vegetable stock (you can make some quickly)

• 1/4 cup dried wakame (sea vegetable)
• 1/2 lb firm or extra-firm tofu, cut into half-inch cubes (1/2 lb = 8 oz = 1 package)
• 4 TBS red Miso
• optional: 2 scallions, sliced into rings (white and light green parts only)

Method:
Make a quick batch of vegetable stock. In a medium pot, bring 7 cups of water to a boil with 2 cloves garlic, 3 baby carrots, and 3 leafy pieces of celery.

Turn heat down to low and let simmer for 20+ minutes. Strain the vegetables out of the broth, then measure 6 cups of broth for the miso soup.

Reuse the medium pot and bring the vegetable stock to a simmer.

Add the diced tofu and wakame, and simmer for about 3 minutes. Remove from heat.

Remove 1/3 cup broth from the soup, and dissolve the miso in the stock. Once the miso is well mixed in with the broth, add to the soup.

Garnish with scallion rings and serve.

This is lovely served with a salad and sushi, but is also wonderful served with grilled tuna and Asian Rice Salad.

This is my daughters’ favorite ice cream, so I finally tried to make it. I used my basic Coconut Milk Ice Cream recipe, and then tweaked it for mint. I used multiple taste testers, including a couple who can eat dairy, and all loved it. (I couldn’t be used as a taste tester because I dislike the taste of mint)

This is a delicious gfcf, gluten free, family-friendly recipe! It is also (if you double check ingredients!) a wheat free, dairy free, soy free, egg free, tree nut free, peanut free, fish free, shellfish free, corn free, top 8 allergen free, and vegan/vegetarian recipe.

Ingredients:

• 2 14oz cans coconut milk

• 2 tsp peppermint extract
• 8 drops green food coloring (optional, but a good way to differentiate between mint chip and chocolate chip)
• 1/4 tsp xanthan or guar gum
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup chocolate chips

Method

In a blender, combine coconut milk, peppermint extract, food coloring, xanthan gum/guar gum, and sugar. Blend until well combined.

Chill for 1 hour in the blender jar.

Blend the chilled mixture for a moment, then add to ice cream maker. Follow ice cream maker directions for time in the ice cream maker.

Add chocolate chips at the end of ice cream maker cycle

Scoop into a container with a lid and put in the freezer until ready to serve. This makes great sundaes or “milk” shakes too!

Variation:
If you can’t use coconut milk, use 4 cups of your milk substitute in place of the 2 cans of coconut milk. The mouth-feel isn’t quite as creamy as coconut milk, but it still tastes great!

Gazpacho is chilled tomato-based soup with lots of veggies and a bit of a spicy kick is just right. For my kids, I explained it was “salsa soup”, which interested them. The adults loved it, and all the kids enjoyed it, too.

On a hot summer day, a cool bowl of gazpacho is just what my taste buds are wanting. My corner of the world (New England) hasn’t had many hot summer days this year, but on the last one I developed a serious craving. Of course, when I was able to make the gazpacho, the days had become cooler again, but it still tasted wonderful!

I misplaced my gazpacho recipe in the move, so this is loosely based on Alton Brown’s Gazpacho recipe, which is more time intensive and while yummy, doesn’t include two of my gazpacho staples – cilantro or avocado.

This is a delicious gfcf, gluten free, family-friendly recipe! It is also (if you double check ingredients!) a wheat free, dairy free, soy free, egg free, tree nut free, peanut free, fish free, shellfish free, corn free, top 8 allergen free, and vegan/vegetarian recipe.

Ingredients:

• 28 oz can peeled & seeded plum tomatoes

• 3 cups Tomato juice
• 1 large cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped
• 1 chopped red, orange, or yellow bell pepper
• 1/2 chopped medium red onion
• 1 small jalapeno, seeded and minced
• 2-3 medium garlic clove, minced or pressed
• 1 bunch scallions, white & light green only
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 limes, juiced (we love our OXO Citrus Squeezer)
• 1 TBS balsamic vinegar
• 2 tsp Tabasco or Frank’s Red Hot sauce
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper (or several grinds)
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro

Method
Open the can of peeled and seeded tomatoes. Strain juice through a sieve into a large mixing bowl. Remove seeds from the tomatoes, then dice and add to the bowl.

Add 3 cups bottled tomato juice to the bowl. Add olive oil, lime juice, balsamic vinegar, cumin, hot sauce, salt, and pepper and stir to combine

Dice and add avocado, cucumber, bell pepper, red onion, jalapeno, garlic cloves, and scallions.

Use your immersion blender (no one should live without a good Stick Blender, also known as the “juzsh juzsh thing”) to puree half the mixture. Or transfer half to a blender and puree for 15 to 20 seconds on high speed. Stir again to combine the pureed and chunky parts of the soup.

Add chopped cilantro to the soup, then cover and chill for 2 hours or more.

Serve with extra chopped cilantro. Yum!

One of my friends on Facebook posted her variation of the Chewy Chocolate Raspberry Cookies in Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook. This is my adaptation of her adaptation.

I’ve now made this with 3 types of preserves – Lingonberry, blueberry, and raspberry (a special sneaky batch while the berry-allergic child was out of the house). Of the three, I have to say that the Lingonberry preserve version was the best, hands down. We used the preserves from Ikea, but you can buy 2 brands of lingonberry preserves them through Amazon if you don’t find any in the international section of your grocery store. This is a wonderfully easy and adaptable recipe, so I’m sure I’ll be trying more flavors soon!

This is a delicious gfcf, gluten free, family-friendly recipe! It is also (if you double check ingredients!) a wheat free, dairy free, soy free, egg free, tree nut free, peanut free, fish free, shellfish free, top 8 allergen free, and vegan/vegetarian recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup preserves. Great flavors which work with chocolate include lingonberry, blueberry, pomegranate, cherry, or orange marmalade. (For those who can tolerate seeded berries, the original recipe called for raspberry preserves, and strawberry would likely taste good too)

• 1 cup sugar if using a sweet jam, 1 1/2 cups if using a tarter preserve such as Lingonberry
• 1/3 cup melted margarine, or canola oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1/4 cup GF flour (my current favorite is sorghum, but millet, bean, pea, or brown rice would also work well) Reserve the 1/4 cup, that might not be needed.
• 1/2 cup starch (I prefer tapioca or arrowroot starch, but corn starch is acceptable if you aren’t sensitive to corn)
• 1 tsp xanthan gum or guar gum
• (if you can eat gluten, use 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour, plus an extra 1/4 cup reserved, and omit the xanthan gum)
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips – (we usually use Trader Joe’s semi-sweet chocolate chips, but Enjoy Life Baking Chips, Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips are allergy-friendly and also soy free)

Method:
Note: each brand and variation of preserves/jam is different. Just as we need to add more sugar if using lingonberry preserves, sometimes more flour is needed when the preserves are quite liquidy, and sometimes a bit more sugar is needed if the preserves are tart. Be patient with this recipe, as the results are well worth it!

Preheat oven to 350, and line a cookie sheet with silpat, Reynolds non-stick foil or parchment paper. Or you could grease a cookie sheet, if you don’t have any of the above.

In a large bowl (or the bowl of your stand mixer), stir together preserves of choice, sugar, oil/melted margarine & vanilla in one bowl. Set aside.

In another bowl, combine dry ingredients and whisk together well. (this replaces sifting in this recipe)

Slowly add dry ingredients to wet ingredients, mixing well with a whisk or fork between additions (or using the paddle of your stand mixer). If the dough becomes quite stiff, doing the final integration of the flour with clean hands works very well. If the dough does not become stiff, add the reserved 1/4 cup flour and incorporate it into the dough.

Mix in the chocolate chips after the wet and dry ingredients are well combined.

Use an 18/8 cookie scoop (or roll walnut-sized balls of dough) flatten to make a cookie about 2″ diameter. Drop the balls of dough and gently push them down, leaving about 2″ apart on cookie sheet (they can spread out a bit as they bake). This makes 24 cookies

Bake for 10 minutes.

Remove from the oven and let cool on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to cooling rack to let them cool completely. Eat and enjoy!

I was making a chocolate bundt cake for my middle daughter’s 9th birthday when I ran out of cocoa powder. I wanted to make an icing-type frosting, and modified it to include chocolate chips rather than cocoa. It turned into this delicious fudgy frosting. All three girls (and the other tasters) agreed it was the best frosting ever!

This is a delicious gfcf, gluten free, family-friendly recipe! It is also (if you double check ingredients!) a wheat free, dairy free, soy free, egg free, tree nut free, peanut free, fish free, shellfish free, top 8 allergen free, and vegan/vegetarian recipe.

Ingredients:

• 2 TBS margarine or shortening (Fleishmann’s unsalted margarine is dairy/gluten free, Spectrum Naturals Organic Shortening is also soy-free)

• 2-3 TBS milk substitute or water
• 1/3 cup chocolate chips (Enjoy Life Baking Chips are allergy-friendly, and Trader Joe’s sells dairy/gluten free chocolate chips)
• 2 cups confectioner’s sugar

Method
In a small saucepan over medium/low heat, melt margarine/shortening and chocolate chips. Once it is melted, remove from heat and whisk until well combined.

Whisk in 1 TBS milk substitute, then 1 cup confectioner’s sugar.

Whisk in 1 TBS more milk substitute, and the final 1 cup of confectioner’s sugar.

If the frosting is very thick and not pourable, whisk in a 3rd TBS of liquid.

This frosting drips almost like an icing, but is thicker, and doesn’t set as firmly – it has a wonderfully fudgy texture to go along with the fudgy taste! Enjoy it on top of a chocolate bundt cake – mmmm….