GF Pound Cake

Rich, dense, buttery, moist and gluten free pound cake.  Real pound cake, made with real ingredients and homemade vanilla.  This cake is so delicious in it's purity of just being pound cake, but I have to say that this cake is so delicious, it's amazing.  I baked the leftover batte rinto a mason jar, and put it in the fridge after a day of being in the pantry.  The flavors had developed so well it was like a whole new cake.  YUM!  I will be experimenting with this recipe a lot.  Possibilities are endless.  Citrus zest, chocolate, caramel, coconut, blueberries and lemon, even savory herbs such as rosemary and fennel would lend well to this amazing and REAL pound cake.  Just because its gluten free (GF!), doesn't mean it's health food.  It's real pound cake with butter and sugar.  It's the quality of the ingredients that count.  I used my best friend's farm-fresh, free range Michigan eggs.  It make a difference in taste, and using real local ingredients just makes sense.

So, go get the best butter and eggs you can find, and a quart of fresh berries from the farmers market.  You can thank me for it later!  Enjoy!


Gluten Free (GF) Pound Cake

2 cups sugar

1 cup melted butter

4 eggs

4 teaspoons gluten-free vanilla

3 cups Gluten-Free Flour Blend:

            Gluten-Free Flour Blend: To make flour blend, combine 2 cups rice flour, 2/3 cup potato starch,                 1/3 cup tapioca flour and 1 teaspoon xanthan gum. Use appropriate amount for recipe; store                         remainder in container with tight-fitting lid. Stir before using.

2 teaspoons gluten-free baking powder

1 cup milk

 

Heat oven to 350°F. Grease 12-cup Bundt pan or 10-inch angel food cake (tube) pan; sprinkle with gluten-free flour blend. Set aside. (I used a multi mini-loaf pan, like a muffin tin but with 8 little loaf shapes, you could use a muffin tin with good results.)  Im sure this cake could be baked into any available oven proof container.  even a clean tin can!  And, when in doubt, use parchment paper!

Combine sugar and melted butter in large bowl. Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until creamy. Add 1 egg at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla; beat until well mixed.

Stir together gluten-free flour blend and baking powder in small bowl. Gradually add flour blend mixture alternately with milk to butter mixture, beating at low speed until well mixed.

Pour into prepared pans or paper lined muffin tins,  bake at 350 for :  10 minutes for mini muffin size, 10-15 minutes for muffin size, 10-15 for mini loaf size, 50-60 min for full bundt or cake pan size.  I also had success baking this into mason jars.  PERFECT for strawberry shortcake, just slice the pound cake into rounds!

Waffles (v)

I will choose a waffle over a pancake any day.  Eventually, I will write an entire cookbook on waffles alone.  I'm a freak about them.  This morning, I made some plain waffle batter.  I made one plain waffle.  Then I made one strawberry, one blueberry, and two coconut waffles.  I figured it was time to share the basic waffle recipe.  You can add whatever you want to this recipe.  It's super easy and delicious.  Waffles are always a dinner option for me.  I got my waffle iron for 5 bucks at a garage sale in Kalamazoo.  Best 5 bucks I've spent in a long time!

breakfast, lunch, dinner, whenever.

Waffles

In a large bowl, stir together:

1 1/4 cups flour

2 Tbs. sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

In another bowl, mix well:

2 Tbs. oil

1 1/4 cup water

OR

1/2 cup milk or soymilk or almond milk or whatever + 3/4 cup water (You can even use yogurt!)

Mix the wet ingredients into the drys and mix only until ingredients are blended.  You want a somewhat lumpy batter.  Stirring too much makes the batter tough.

Bake in a preheated and well oiled waffle iron.

I always add something to the batter.  This morning, I added 3 Tbs. cornmeal & 1/4 cup oatmeal.  I added a little extra water to make up for the added dry ingredients.

For coconut waffles, all I did was add about 1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut to the batter.  I wanted there to be a prominent coconut flavor, so I added about a Tbs. or two of coconut rum and stirred it in.  The waffles not only smelled amazing as they were baking, and they tasted like a slice of sweet southern coconut cake,  Next time I will add vanilla.  I'll post the official recipe when I perfect it!

That's the great thing about this recipe, you can add whatever you want.  Like pizza, nothing is truly off the list for waffle ingredients.  I have made savory vegetable and cheese waffles before, and I have thrown just about everything edible in a waffle before with good end results!  Have fun experimenting!

Waffles freeze very well and are magical when reheated in the toaster or the broiler.  Just be sure to wrap them well so they won't get freezer burn, if they last that long in the freezer!

*this recipe makes yum pancakes too.  Silver dollar size turn out the best!

Breakfast, Anytime.

I used to hate eggs.  Even things that had eggs in them I couldn't stand.  But I wasn't being fair to the egg, because it turns out, it's the yolk that I don't like (and I actually do like the yolk when cooked into soups, like Ramen noodles for example).  I actually really like egg whites!  Once I came to this realization, I made an old favorite that my grandma used to make, minus the egg yolk; Egg in a Basket.  My version has wo egg whites, a slice of sharp cheddar cheese, plenty of fresh ground black pepper, a thinck slice of a red ripe tomato and a huge pile of mushrooms sauteed in olive oil.  I learned from the British to have friend mushrooms with breakfast.   It really completes the meal!



Egg in a Basket Mimi Style

For each person:

1 slice of bread with the center cut out, save the center!

2 egg whites

1 thick slice tomato

olive oil for sauteeing

1 cup mushrooms, chopped

Sautee the mushrooms in olive oil until done.  Set aside.

Toast the bread and the bread cut-out, in the pan on one side until browned, turn over and add the egg whites to the center of the bread.  Top with cheese slice and tomat.  Cover and cook until egg is done.  Top with the bread cut-out and fresh black pepper.

Transfer to a plate and top with the sauteed mushrooms.

Another good way to make an egg:

A friend of mine found a recipe where you bake an egg in an avocado half.  We tried it, and it was really good.  Paired with a thick slice of sourdough toast, this is a very satisfying breakfast.  I think even a thin slice of ham under the cheese would be delicious too...

Here's how we did it:



Baked Egg in Avocados

For each person, one avocado half and one egg.  Cheese and seasoned salt.

Cut the avocado and remove the pit.  Set each avocado in a little foil nest in a cast iron pan.  This little nest holds the avocados upright so that the egg won't spill out!  Put the pan on the oven rack and the crack the egg into each half.  Depending on the size of your avocado, all of the egg may not fit.  You can scoop out the avocado a bit more before adding the egg if you need more room!

Top with shredded cheese and bake at 400 until egg is done.  Sprinkle with a little seasoned salt.  I made mine without the yolk and it was amazing.  The avocado had such a great flavor, and the egg and cheese combined with the warm and creamy avocado left me wanting another one!





tofu omelette (v)

When I was a vegan, I experimented a lot.  I never really liked eggs tio begin with, but I liked breakfast.  So I invented egg-free, egg replacement dishes.  This was one of my favorites.  I found this recipe in the same notebook where I had the foccacia recipe.  I made this so many times I forgot that I even had it written down anywhere!

Tofu Omelette
1 pkg. firm or extra firm style tofu, drained
to taste:
turmeric
garlic powder
onion powder
salt
pepper
finely chopped veggies of choice for filling:
green pepper
red onion
black olives
spionach

Grate the tofu gently on the large holes of a cheese grater.
Put the tofu in a large mixing bowl and gently stir in the seasonings.

Heat oil in a large skillet and arrange the tofu in a single layer.  Let cook, undisturbed, until the edges start to brown.  Place the chopped fillings on half of the big tofu round, and fold the other half over the fillings, just as an omelette.  Cover and cook until filling is hot.  Top with cheese if desired, and serve with hot sauce.