Why You Shouldn't Waste Your Money On Canned Beans

Want to know a secret?  Well, maybe the world's worst-kept secret, but I'll tell you anyway:

Beans are super easy to cook from their dried state.  I promise.  I'll never seldom buy canned beans again.

A typical can of organic beans at my grocery store is $1.09.  But, along with all that awesome fiber and plant-based protein comes a hefty amount of sodium.  One can has a whopping 490 grams!  I don't know about you, but I don't need all that sodium pulsing through my veins.  In fact, my husband was diagnosed with hypertension at the ripe old age of 34.

Still not convinced? Let's talk economics.  Last time I did this, I calculated that a single can-sized serving of organic garbanzo beans - made from scratch - equals about 49 cents!  That's less than half of the cost!  Who couldn't use some extra pocket change?!  Bonus tip: I know that Whole Foods has a reputation for being pricey, but here's the thing:  they have wickedly cheap dried beans and grains in the bulk section.  Even cheaper than walmart, but they are organic!  It's the only place I buy beans now.

When people see the food I cook, and hear that we're vegan, one of the first things they ask is, "how much do you spend on groceries!?"  The fact is, my family doesn't spend what your family does because our demographic is unique to us.  So, what I spent for 7 people won't be what you spend for, say, 4.  And my kids are entering the bottomless pit teen years and growing like weeds.

But, I will promise you this:  one of the first ways I saw a reduction in grocery bills was switching from natural, ideally organic, meats to beans as our primary source of protein.  They're totally versatile, filling, and much better for you and the environment.  If you, or someone in the family, doesn't like beans - keep trying new recipes.  You're bound to find something they do like.

No matter what the reason, you're here - so let's get started.

Quick Soak Beans From Scratch

Dried beans - any kind, any amount

Water

A Pot

Convinced yet?

Pour your beans into a pot.  Pull out any of the ones you see that are sketchy - you know, the ones that are too dark, too small, or just not quite right?  

I'm using a lobster pot here, because I'm cooking a huge volume.  Remember, these suckers are going to at least double in size, so leave lots of room for expansion.  I like the pasta/lobster pots because they have a handy-dandy insert that lets you remove the contents and leave the water behind.  You'll see that magic trick later.  If you don't have one, no sweat.  Just use the biggest pot you have and a colander. 

Fill with water until the beans are fully submerged and have room to grow.

Set them on the stove and turn the burner on high.  Cover if you want this part to go faster.  

Not even breaking a sweat, are you?

Bring them up to a simmer.  Oops.  I might have waited a little too long to check on them.  Looks like they were boiling.  That foam stinks when it hits your burner, so try to avoid that.  If not, no biggie.  That's what vents are for!

Turn OFF the heat now, but keep a lid on it.  Set your timer for 59:56.  It must be that exact number or you'll screw it up.  

Not really.  It's 60 minutes, I was just slow with the camera.  This is actual cooking, folks!

Now you can walk away for a whole hour.  Do laundry, check facebook, read a blog, do the dishes.

*pinterest not recommended due to the stealthy way it makes time pass too quickly

An hour is up!  Move them over to the sink and drain them.  See how handy those pasta inserts are now?  But, seriously - it's just a colander.  Drain 'em and rinse 'em.  Aren't they nice and golden?

Fill the pot up again with clean water until they're well-covered. 

Return them to the stove and cook until tender.  I have mine on for about another hour, which should be fine.  If they still feel too al dente to you, keep going until they're softer, but not mush.

When they're finished, drain again, rinse with cold water until cooled, and package them up.

You can even use a ziplock to store these!  When they're drained, just add a few spoonfuls to a bag with no liquid and freeze flat.  Then they stack neatly, too.

Now go try it!  Your life will be forever changed!

Worthy of A Comeback, Soft, Gooey Vegan, Gluten free Chocolate Chip Cookies

It's almost that time of year for me.  My school session is coming to an end and the baking bug has bitten. I don't have a lot of opportunity these days to develop recipes, sadly.  But, there are always things I have in mind to test for you all.  Today it was actually the pleading of five kids who are a huge help when Dad is on the road.  I thought they might have earned it.

Truth be told, since we've gone vegan, I have a bit of fear associated with every recipe.  Plus it's so darn expensive to have failures.  Luckily the kids don't mind eating them.  But, the perfectionist in me just has to keep going until I get it right.  So, when they asked with pleading eyes for chocolate chip cookies, my heart dropped.  What if I didn't get it right?  What if they were a crumbly mess that didn't hold together at all, or had greasy edges that over-cooked?  (I've had that happen - trust!)  But, they really wanted cookies
had confidence in me.


This recipe makes about four baking sheets worth of cookies.  If that's too much, you may want to cut it in half.  I'll leave the math to you.  Maybe that's your strong suit!

Enough chatter.  Let's get to what you really want....

Gluten-Free Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies 

2 1/2 cups of gluten free all purpose flour mix (as always I used Pamela's)

1/4 cup of Earth Balance (we use soy-free)

1/4 cup of non-hydrogenated shortening (Spectrum)

3/4 C brown sugar

3/4 cup sugar 

1 tsp baking soda

1 TBSP of ground golden flax + 3 TBSP water (set aside to thicken)

1/4 C almond milk (or whatever non-dairy milk floats your cookie crumbs)

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 bag of semi-sweet non-dairy/vegan chocolate chips 

Note: I use TJ's because I'm a student on a budget.  You can use Ghirardelli chips in the gold bag, which - last I checked - didn't have dairy either.  Besides those, there are several options at the health food stores that are 100% vegan - your choice! 

Lest you think it's important to mix the dry and add the wet and alternate blah blah blah.  Guess what?

It isn't.

Leaving the chocolate chips out, put the rest of it into a mixer and turn it on.  It's that easy.  I promise.  

(But I'm warning you now - if Jacques Torres or Gale Gand come knocking on my door, I'll deny it!)

Once smooth and combined, hand stir the chips in.  This is the only "fussy" part of this recipe but it's worth it to not have shredded chunks of chocolate.  I need that bite of melty goodness!

With a small (think melon-baller) portion scoop, place cookie dough on a silpat (or parchment) lined baking sheet.

Preheat the oven to 375°

Bake 8 minutes.

Now here's the thing... it will look raw-ish.  If you try to move them, they will break apart because they're very soft still.  Give them about five minutes to cool, they'll firm up, and you can easily remove them to a rack.  Plus, I'm not liable if you burn your tongue on hot chocolate chips!

And then... enjoy

"Three Bite" Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, Egg-Free Hot Cross Buns

I developed a gluten-free hot cross bun recipe some time ago.  But, as I mentioned in the last couple of posts, we've been going through some major dietary changes around here.  Dairy and egg are out!  Do not pass Go. Do not collect $200...

So, naturally, when the kids started asking for Hot Cross Buns, I knew I had my work cut out for me.  Developing the first required many, many, failures.  But, I hoped that I could figure it out.

Luckily, the first batch was a home run.

Moist.  Tender.  Not too dense.  Rich with spice.  Studded with fruit.  

Yep.  That'll do.

Caveat: what you think is a hot cross bun and what I have here may not be the same.  I apologize to the purists in advance.  However, if you just have to call this a spiced fruity sweet roll, that's okay with me.

 It's weird... but it's okay.  

I embrace weird.

I embody weird.

Hot Cross (spiced fruity) Buns

1 C non-dairy milk (I used almond, original)

1/2 C sugar

2 TBSP yeast

******

2 TBSP ground golden flax

1/4 cup water

(or two eggs, if you don't need this substitution)

*****

The zest of 2 oranges, plus the juice of one.

3 1/2 C Gluten Free APF (As usual, I used Pamela's) 

1/4 cup of applesauce or oil

2 TBSP cinnamon (preferred: Penzey's Vietnamese)

1tsp nutmeg (c'mon you can grind it!)

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1/4 tsp ground allspice

******

1 cup of craisins (or dried fruit of your liking) soaked in enough hot water to cover.

*****

Cream Cheese Icing*

(dairy free version below)

Microwave/warm the milk for about 45 seconds, or until it's no longer cold, but not too hot to touch.  

Think - baby bottle.

To the warm milk, add your yeast and sugar.  Set aside and let it do its frothy thing.

In a separate dish, mix together the flax and the water to create "flax eggs."  It's just a slurry, really.  But that will need to have a chance to set up, too.  Set that aside.

Out of counter space yet?  Hang in there.

Add the flour, zest, applesauce/oil, and spices to the bowl of a stand mixer.  

You'll want a paddle for this, not a dough hook.  Dough hooks are great for gluten-y bread, 

but not for this.  It will be like a thick muffin batter.

Pour the milk in, which should have a thick, foamy head by now.  Scoop your flax slurry into the bowl while you're at it.  

Turn it on.  Ease up to about medium speed and let it run until it's nice and airy.  

It takes about three minutes for this kind of dough.  

This is our "kneading" in the gluten free baking world.

Drain your dried fruit and toss that into the bowl when it's about finished.  

It can handle the beating, I promise.

Coat the inside of a bowl with baking spray or oil.  Scrap the dough out into the bowl, cover with a towel, and let rise in a warm place.  Mine took about an hour to fluff up.

It will be sticky, so you will need some tools of the trade.  As always, I use a sheet pan with a Silpat.  If you don't have a Silpat, a sheet of parchment will be fine.  If you don't have parchment, I think a stoneware pan would do.  If you don't have any of these... get creative!  I have faith in you.

Another helpful tool is a portion scoop.  You really can't roll gluten free dough by hand (if you can, it'll be tough and too dense in the end).  So, using something like this helps to keep it from getting everywhere.

Ready to roll? 

er... scoop?

On a silpat-lined baking sheet, scoop out mounds of dough.  I let mine touch each other on the edges because I love that little smooshy bit of dough where they fused together while baking.  

I'm not a fan of edges. 

My pan had 28 little dough balls.  Yours may have more or less, depending on the size of your scoop.

With wet hands, come back and smooth out the tops a little.  

You don't have to, but I wanted it to be pretty for you.

Brush the tops with your non-dairy milk of choice.

Now... here's another little trick I learned last year.  Take a 9x13 pan (like a brownie pan) and fill it halfway with water.  Place it on your bottom rack in the oven.

Then preheat the oven to 400°

Steamy.

It's kind of like a bain-marie, or a proofing box, for the dough.

Once the oven is pre-heated, slide the pan into the oven on the rack above the water.

Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown on top.

While cooling, prep (or open!? Gasp!) your frosting.

Since cream cheese frosting has always been my favorite, I had to find some way to replicate it.

We've been playing with soaked raw cashews, a favorite of the raw food world.  And now I know why.

You can find raw cashews all over the internet, at your local Trader Joe's, or Whole Foods. 

For the best results, soak them in the fridge overnight.  I don't always have time, though, and I've gotten good results out of them unsoaked (just don't tell the raw foodies!).

Also, if you don't have access to the new So Delicious Greek Style Yogurt, I'm sorry.  If you have a coconut allergy like one of my friends, just go ahead and substitute any other vanilla yogurt you like.  

I recently found an almond one that was very good, too.

Dairy Free Cream Cheese Frosting

1 Cup of Raw Cashews (soaked, if possible, then drained)

1 tub of So Delicious Coconut Milk Greek Yogurt - Vanilla flavored

The juice of one lemon (yep, juice a fresh one here.  You must.)

1 tsp gluten free vanilla

A bag of powdered sugar

In a high speed blender, puree the cashews with the yogurt, vanilla, and lemon juice until smooth.

From this point, you can switch to your stand mixer or do it by hand, with a whisk. 

Start adding powdered sugar until you get the right consistency for the job. 

 (I make it quite a bit thinner for a glaze, and much thicker to frost cupcakes.)

This time I needed about two cups.  If it looks too runny, add more.  Nothing scientific about this one.

If it gets too thick, a splash of almond milk will loosen it back up.

Easy.  I promise.

Have your hot cross buns all nice and cool now?

If you don't have a decorator gun, or a piping bag set, there's a quick solution.  Just grab a ziplock bag.  Any size will do.

Scoop about a cup of your frosting into the bag.  

Snip off the corner (start off very small - this will come out quickly - about the size of a drinking straw)

Pipe one line across the length of the whole pan, then one across the width.  Repeat until you have a cross pattern on each of them.  

Hope you enjoy!

Gluten-Free, Vegan Oatmeal Molasses Bread

The Cheesecake Factory's huge salads are a favorite in our family and the manager has always been happy to inform us of allergens.  However, it seems that the things we cannot have occasionally become the most enticing.  For my kids, this is the molasses oatmeal bread that arrives at the table.  I've made a few molasses quickbreads, but none were quite what they wanted.

This one, however, was great.  Nice crust.  Slightly sweet.  Rich with molasses, but not overpoweringly so.  

I have fantasies of making cashew cream cheese to smear on top, but that will have to wait.  A family favorite for the So Delicious Dairy-Free Recipe Contest! 

1 1/4 cups gluten free all purpose flour

1 C almond meal

1 TBSP ground golden flax

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 cup gluten free rolled oats + 1 TBSP for the top

1 cup so delicious almond milk

1 TBSP apple cider vinegar

2 TBSP blackstrap molasses

1 TBSP maple syrup

As is the case with most quickbreads, this is a measure + mix recipe.

Blend until smooth.  The end.

Divide the dough into thirds and place on a silpat-lined sheet pan.

It will be sticky, sticky, sticky.  That's okay.  It's just how gluten free bread rolls. 

Get it?  Bread...Rolls.

Wow I've been inhaling too much flax today, I think.

Wetting your hands before shaping helps it to not stick as much and you can smooth out the edges better.  If you want to get fancy, you can slit three times across the top, but I'm not going to judge.

Sprinkle the top with the reserved oats and bake at 400° for about 25 minutes.

(if you make a single loaf, it's going to take longer, naturally)

Happy eating!

Gluten Free, Dairy Free Eggnog Do(ugh)nuts.

Whether you spell them donut or doughnut, they're delicious!

After making the Apple Cider Donuts this Halloween, I had little people requesting something special for the holidays.  This time I set out to make an eggnog based donut, modifying the original cider recipe just a tad.  Here's what we came up with:

1/4 cup of soy-free earth balance (or butter-ish substance of your choosing)

1 cup of sugar

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups So Delicious Coconut Nog (or eggnog of choice)

4 cups Pamela's Gluten Free Bread Mix/Flour (plus enough for dusting)

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp fresh grated nutmeg (or 1 tsp of the pre-ground stuff)

Mix it all up.  

Dough will be incredibly sticky, just hang in there.

Scrape it out onto a well-floured surface.  I actually use a layer of flour on my silpat for extra protection.

Dust with yet another layer of flour and roll until about a half inch thick.

Cut out into desired shape (we use a circle cutter and a piping gun tip for the centers).

Lay out the donuts on a silpat-lined sheet pan and refrigerate for at least a half hour.

I use a large, heavy-bottomed saute pan by Cuisinart for my frying.   It takes about an inch of neutral oil.

Heat to around 350° - you can always toss a donut hole in there and when it floats right back up to the top, sizzling at the edge, the oil is ready.

They go QUICKLY so make sure you have a landing pad ready.  I use a cooling rack over a layer of paper towels on my sheet pan.

A spider like this is what I use for fishing mine back out.

They should only take a few minutes per side.  Don't be worried if they look flat, like a big washer, when they're raw.  They puff like mad in that oil!

Let cool a bit, then roll in powdered sugar or glaze them to your heart's desire.

My glaze consists of: 

2 cups powdered sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp fresh nutmeg

1 tsp light corn syrup

warm water to make a pourable fondant consistency

then thin with extra nog, if need be, for dipping consistency

Happy Holidays!

Gluten Free Gingerbread (for houses and men!)

A few weeks ago, my 11 year old mentioned that she'd never had a gingerbread man.  Around the same time, my 7 year old asked if we could make a gingerbread house - a task I'd never completed successfully.

Sure, we've bought the kits.  And failed at them.  Roofs collapsed.  Tears ensued (and the kids were bummed, too).  So, my nerves were fried as I set out to make (of all things) a gingerbread house that was gluten free!

I mean, come on.  Gluten free baking can be tricky.  Mistakes are expensive.  I couldn't even assemble graham cracker houses, what on earth made me think I was capable of gluten free, homemade, gingerbread!?  From scratch?!

My friends were pretty convinced I had lost my mind.  "Buy the kit, just let them decorate it."  "Make a gluten-free door and they can eat that part."  

cross contamination.  contact ingestion.  but... but... they can't EAT that!

So, I watched videos.  I read blogs.  I scoured pinterest. 

Then I mustered up the courage, took a deep breath, and tried it.

They came out of the oven fragile.  I slid the silpat onto a cooling rack without breathing, silently invoking all the holiest members of the holidays I could think of.  Dear Frosty... Please Rudolph... Oh, Santa... 

And guess what?

It worked!

They firmed up so beautifully.  We made royal icing.  It worked.  It all was going so smoothly.

Until I got cocky.  

I made one crucial mistake.  I didn't let the construction royal icing set up entirely.  Introducing the runnier color flow type royal icing into the equation caused a major structural issue.  Luckily one of the kids spotted our sliding roof top and we were able to salvage it.  

Note:  Typically, on my blog, I avoid all things with artificial food coloring.  Because of this, I went with Necco wafers for shingles.  Well, guess who changed their formula within the last month?  Yup.  So these ARE artificially colored - but who eats those nasty little flat antacid things anyway? :)

Without further ado...  the gingerbread!

1 1/2 cups of molasses

2 eggs

1/2 cup of Spectrum non-hydrogenated shortening

1 cup brown sugar

6 cups of Pamela's Gluten-Free bread flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

4 tsp cinnamon

4 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp salt

Cinnamon or flour for dusting your rolling pin and counter top

Cream together the molasses, eggs, shortening, and brown sugar until smooth.  It took a little bit for my paddle to break down the shortening, but it's important.  The good thing is, you can see when it's worked in evenly due to the dark molasses color.

Combine the dry ingredients and add a couple cups at a time, working slowly.  This will be a SERIOUSLY thick dough.  Mix until all the white is gone and the dough is sticky and uniform.

Remove the dough from the ball, pressing out as much of the air as you can. 

Pat into a slab, wrap in saran wrap, and refrigerate for at least an hour.

***

While that rests, print out your template.  You can use whatever you'd like.  

I found this one on Martha's website.   

Note: the roof should be 2 pieces of 6 1/2 x 7 1/2 pieces.  You have to measure those. 

She didn't include that in the template. 

Preheat the oven to 350°

Dust your surface and rolling pin with cinnamon (or flour).

Roll to about 1/4" thickness.

With a board scraper (which I used) or a knife, cut out the shape of your house.

Transfer the pieces (you should have six) to a silpat (or parchment) lined sheet pan.

Bake for 25 minutes.

VERY carefully remove them from the oven, leaving them to cool on the baking sheet if possible.

Cool several hours until hard to the touch.

With the remaining dough, roll out again and cut out gingerbread men or other shapes.  This recipe yielded one Martha-sized house, 7 large gingerbread men, and 42 tiny gingerbread hearts (two of which I cut out of the peaked sides of the Martha house as a little window).

***

To assemble:

Make a batch of royal icing according to label directions.  

I used the Wilton meringue powder and their icing recipe enclosed in the lid.

Fill a piping gun or pastry bag with the thick icing.

Lay down a 1/2" or so of the icing on your assembly surface as your foundation.

(I wrapped a piece of cardboard in freezer paper here, but you can use a cake board, available at Walmart and craft stores).

Working slowly, assemble the four walls of your house with a thick layer of royal icing.

LET.  IT.  DRY. 

Trust me.

The roof was a little trickier, because it has to lay across the top peaks.  With a thick layer of icing on all connecting surfaces, I laid one peak on at a time, placing additional icing to the backside of the roof where possible.  Let it dry.  Did I say that?  Do it.  Seriously.

Also, royal icing dries hard, so don't leave it sitting out.  Put a wet towel over it or keep it in a container.

Once the house's structure is built, let it dry.  Again.  I know.  But do it.

We let it sit overnight.

With a thinner recipe of royal icing, you can go back in and glue your decorations.  I recommend a wilton squeeze bottle for this. I think they were $2 at Michael's 

and they have a cap so your icing doesn't dry out between sections.

Try something you've never dared before this holiday season!  You may be pleasantly surprised with the results.  And don't forget to invoke Frosty!

Cranberry Apple Chutney

Do you remember last year's post about this burst of fall flavor?

Cranberry Apple Chutney has to be one of my all-time favorite condiments.  It is Exhibit A for gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan food being utterly delicious.  And while you can put it on just about anything, it really shines on turkey.  Okay, I realize that completely contradicts that whole vegan thing, but hey - you can put it on tofurkey, too, right?

The house smells like bright, sunshiny fall, heavy with spice.  So, I thought I'd take this opportunity to re-blog the recipe for you all and show you the adorable spoons my friend makes.  She's one of those uber-crafty types and, let me tell you, you want to grab these while you can.  After recent media attention, and celebrity party planners scooping them up, they're hot! hot! hot!

I'm a tad obsessed with them and have a few projects planned over the next few weeks.  I can't wait to share them with you all.  She can put darn near anything on a spoon, but her in stock designs are to-die-for cute.  Knowing I am enamored with all things Alice, she sent me a nice set:

3 cups of fresh cranberries
3 cups of peeled, diced apples (I used honeycrisps and granny smith that were too bruised for my kids to possibly eat)
1 cups of sugar
1 1/3 cups of apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp good cinnamon (I like Penzey's vietnamese)
1/2 tsp ground ginger (dried stuff is fine)
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp fresh grated nutmeg (please)

Dump it all in a heavy bottomed stainless steel pot.  (The BEST stock pot ever - not too big, not too small, steams veggies, drains pasta, all in all great pot.  I've had it for years and we use it 3-5 times a week.)

This isn't a baking recipe, order doesn't really matter.

Stir occasionally to make sure the sugar is getting mixed in and not burning on the bottom of your pan.  Also, I realized that cranberries are loaded with pectin, the stuff that makes jelly and jam stick together.  As they burst, they will sort of fall to the bottom and can get goopy down there.  Don't worry if that happens, it mixes right back in.  (not that I know from experience or anything)

This needs to simmer for about 25 minutes.  It will thicken, reduce, and all the cranberries will pop.  You can encourage them by smooshing them against the side of the pot.  Your house will smell like heavenly fall goodness at this point (and yes, the vinegar smells STRONG in the beginning, but trust me. It's right.  And it mellows out.)

When it's done, it will be thick, almost the consistency of applesauce.

See how thick it is here?

And, of course, it makes a ton and would be an awesome hostess gift.  Here's an itty bitty "ice cream spoon" from Sucre and Spice tied on a tiny jar for gifting:

Happy Eating!