Oct 29, 2014
One of my favorite things about fall baking/cooking is fresh pumpkin. I roast quite a few pumpkins each year and use some right away for baking and then freeze the rest to use throughout the winter. Yesterday, I roasted 3 sugar pumpkins and have yummy mason jars full of pumpkin puree just begging to be used. Our local Earthfare had sugar pumpkins on sale + I got three from one of our local apple orchards/pumpkin patches (tuttles). So tonight I set out to create a pumpkin scone (which quickly turned into drop scones because the batter was way to soft). One of the things I was attempting, was to create a grain free scone that wasn’t full of cups and cups of almond flour. Recipes I have used in the past have used 3-4 cups of almond flour and I have been trying to balance my families consumption of nuts. I also wanted to include more pumpkin then most recipes called for. While, I really liked the extra pumpkin, it definitely made the batter only scoopable.
The batter is combination of eggs, coconut flour, almond flour, tapioca starch, pumpkin and spices. I used a combination of cinnamon, nutmeg and fresh ground ginger for my pumpkin spice flavor. Ginger is actually a spice that I tend to overlook. but I happened to have a big, fresh container sitting out on my counter. I had just stocked up on some bulk spices & herbs at Earthfare, the night before when I made my first batch of herbal cough syrup for my husband (I will share my experiences with those recipes later). I am glad I added the ginger because it gave a nice kick to the spice combination.
For the glaze on the pumpkin drop scones … I don’t really have a recipe to share. I honestly just started adding ingredients to a bowl and kept adjusting along the way. I used approximately 2 Tbsp of almond butter, 2 Tbsp of almond milk, 1 Tbsp of brown sugar, a little cinnamon and a little vanilla all mixed and just spooned on top while the pumpkin scones were warm.
This will definitely be a recipe that I will add into our fall rotation!
Pumpkin Drop Scones (gluten free, dairy free, grain free)
Recipe Type: dessert, baked goods
Author: the sprouted life
- 3/4 cup of fresh pumpkin puree
- 3 eggs
- 1/3 c. coconut sugar
- 2 T. coconut oil
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 1 c. almond flour
- 1/2 c. coconut flour (sifted)
- 1/2 c. tapioca starch
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 2-3 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp. fresh ground nutmeg
- 1/4-1/2 tsp. ground ginger
- pinch of sea salt
- Preheat your oven to 350 and line your baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Add the pumpkin puree, eggs, coconut sugar, coconut oil and vanilla into a mixing bowl and cream together until well combined.
- In another bowl, combine the remaining dry ingredients and slowly mix into the wet ingredients.
- Using a 1/3 of a cup scoop, scoop out batter and flatten a little on the baking sheet.
- Bake at 350 for 15-18 minutes, until firm to the touch.
- Remove from oven and let cool a little before topping with your glaze of choice.
- Enjoy!
3.2.1284
Aug 18, 2012
random note: {i have been a terrible blogger…i am just going to blame it on moving and move on! i actually made this dessert a few weeks ago and it was amazing!..so i am finally sharing it}
in our csa share a few weeks ago, we got a huge bunch of basil and lots of blueberries. i love basil, but I have been running out of ideas and inspiration on how to use it. i have made enough tomato and basil recipes in the last few weeks! so i went hunting for ideas and absolutely loved the result. it is completely inspired & adapted from two different recipes, from two different indianapolis local bloggers, who i really repect.
The base for the nut truffle was inspired by the recipe from the {summer berry bars} by lindsey at enjoyinghealtlyfoods. i didn’t have any walnuts on hand, so i used pecans, added some vanilla and decided to turn them into individual truffles. the sauce for the topping was based off of {the old-fashioned blueberry-basil preserves} from katy at katyshecooks. her take on lacto-fermented blueberry-basil preserves was very intriguing to me, but I didn’t have any whey (plus, i am dairy-free again) and I didn’t figure fermenting with sea salt would work on this recipe. {maybe it would? maybe it would make it to salty? thinking about trying it…but really i was just impatient and wanted something that evening for dessert}.
the end result, turned out to be these cute little desserts that had an amazing combination of flavors. we will definitely be making these again. the nut truffle bases could handle a bunch of different sauces. I think chocolate and raspberry may be a good combination to try next.
| nut truffle with blueberry-basil sauce |
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Recipe Type: gluten free dessert
- 1 cup pecans (i soak, sprout & dehydrate mine)
- ½ cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- ½ cup almond flour
- 8 dates (pitted & soaked in water for 1 hour)
- ¼ cup coconut oil
- 1 tsp. vanilla (almond extract would work also)
- ……………………
- 2 cups blueberries
- 1/3 cup raw honey
- 1 tsp. sea salt
- ¼ cup. chopped basil
- 1 tsp. lemon juice
- ½tsp. gelatin (or another thickening agent)
- crush pecans in a food processor and then add coconut and almond flour and pulse until desired consistency.
- add in coconut oil, dates and vanilla and process until well incorporated.
- using a ¼ cup cookie baller (big melon baller), scope out nut mixture, pressing each one tightly in scoop.
- place truffles on parchment paper and refrigerate until ready to serve.
- in a small saucepan cook 1 ½ cup of blueberries, honey & sea salt. bring to a simmer and let reduce down (approx. 5-10 mins).
- allow to cool slightly
- in food-processor add cooked blueberry mixture, remaining blueberries, lemon juice & basil and puree until smooth.
- serve truffles topped with warm blueberry-basil sauce!
shared on: pennywise platter, food renegade, slightly indulgent tuesday, & simple lives thursday
May 31, 2012
strawberries, strawberries, strawberries! i feel like i have been staring at them all morning. last night we took the boys strawberry picking and today’s project is freezing them all. this is round two for us already this week, but we love having strawberries year round, so it is definitely worth a little extra time now. i will be making a strawberry rhubarb tart tonight, so i will share that recipe later.
May 22, 2012
i first attempted making my own yogurt about 2 years ago, when i was completely dairy free. though we have now reintroduced some dairy into our home, we have still held onto this recipe as one of our weekly favorites. at first, i was pretty intimidated at the thought of making yogurt, but honestly it is really easy and takes very few ingredients. we ferment ours typically about 18 hours, which yields a creamy, slightly sweet, slightly tart final product. if you are used to the sweet store bought yogurts, the tartness of homemade yogurt can be a slight adjustment, but it is so good!
the basic ingredients are coconut milk, honey, vanilla, a probiotic starter and some thickener (i typically use agar-agar).
thoughts on coconut milk:
we typically use native forest organic canned coconut milk. mainly because the cans are bpa free. the downside is that there is guar gum as a stabilizer and i am not a huge fan of it. this week, i am making my own coconut milk from dried organic coconut flakes and i am going to try that in our next batch of yogurt. i will let you know how that turns out!
thoughts on thickener:
we have found that agar-agar
is our favorite thickener for the yogurt. i have tried tapioca starch
, arrowroot
& guar gum
and all of them work fine also. i am planning on trying to use plain gelatin
sometime, but haven’t gotten around to trying it yet.
thoughts on yogurt makers:
i have a little yogurt maker by waring
, i got it for about $25 at tuesday morning (a random discount store) we have here. the one thing i did right away was toss all the plastic containers that came with it (i hate bpa) and instead it fits 7 half-pint mason jars perfectly. the nice thing about using a yogurt maker is that it keeps the temperature perfectly consistent at 105 degrees and i can just set the timer and forget about it. a lot of people use their crock-pot, or oven with light on, or excalibur dehydrator
, so really it is just preference. a yogurt maker is actually not necessary to culture yogurt.
other hints:
- make sure you sterilize jars and utensils before beginning. this is important! (i will show in another post, how to know if your yogurt is bad)
- a good yogurt starter probiotic is gi-prostart , it is dairy free and works well with nut and coconut milks
- a candy thermometer is perfect for making sure you are at the right temperatures (to high of heat will kill your probiotic culture)
| coconut milk yogurt |
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Recipe Type: breakfast
Author: the sprouted life
slightly tart, slightly sweet coconut milk yogurt
- 3 cans organic coconut milk (full fat)
- 3 Tbsp. raw honey
- 2 tsp. agar- agar
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 1/8 tsp of probiotic starter (I use GI-Prostart)
- in a saucepan heat coconut milk & honey (stirring constantly)
- bring up to 185 degrees and then whisk in agar-agar or thickener of choice
- remove from heat and add in vanilla
- at this point i pour my mixture into my vita-mix and blend on high to really whip in thickener (but this is not a necessary step)
- allow too cool down to 105 degrees (quicker is better, hint is to set pan in ice water bath)
- as soon as mixture reaches 105 degrees whisk in culture (probiotic starter)
- pour contents into sterilized mason jars (recipe yields 7 half-pint jars)
- place in yogurt maker and set for 12-18 hours (depending on desired tartness)
- when yogurt is done fermenting, it will still be fairly thin until it cools off in the refrigerator
- cap jars and refrigerate (keeps for 7-10 days)
- serve with fresh fruit or granola
2.2.6
shared on: monday mania, slightly indulgent tuesdays, fat tuesday, allergy-free wednesdays & pennywise platter
Apr 29, 2012
chia almond breakfast shortcakes {with strawberries & blackberries}
this is how the conversation with my 3 year old went at breakfast the other day:
brady: “mommy, there are bugs in my scone.”
me: “oh, those are just chia seeds.”
(with a look on his face, that showed he clearly didn’t believe me)
brady: it’s okay mommy, i like bugs.”
breakfast is one of the hardest meals for me to find inspiration for. ever since my youngest son had violent reactions to eggs, our home has been pretty much egg free. i miss eggs. i miss how easy they were for breakfast. so until they return to our house (which i am hopeful that they will) i keep trying new ideas to keep breakfast interesting. these yummy creations were inspired by a recipe from one of my paleo cookbooks {Paleo Comfort Foods: Homestyle Cooking for a Gluten-Free Kitchen
}. i love paleo recipes, but many of them are pretty “egg” heavy, so i try alterations to make them work. i first made these as a dessert and then altered them again by adding more fiber for a perfectly filling, slightly sweet breakfast treat.
| chia almond breakfast shortcakes {with strawberries & blackberries} |
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Recipe Type: breakfast, dessert
Author: inspired & adapted from “paleo comfort foods” by julia & charles mayfield
honey sweetened shortcakes. makes a perfect breakfast or a wonderful summer dessert.
- 2 c. strawberries
- 2 c. blackberries
- 2 tsps. raw honey
- 2 c. blanched almond flour
- 2 Tbsp. chia seeds
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- ½ tsp. baking soda
- ¼ tsp. baking powder
- pinch of celtic sea salt
- 3 Tbsp. coconut oil
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 2 flax seed eggs* (or 2 large free range eggs)
- 2 Tbsp. raw honey
- wash, hull & slice strawberries and mix in a bowl with the blackberries and 2 tsps. of honey
- set aside
- preheat oven to 350
- in a bowl, combine the blanched almond flour, chia seeds, cinnamon, sea salt, baking soda & baking powder
- in a saucepan make 2 flax seed eggs (heat 6 Tbsp. water & wisk in 2 Tsbp. ground flax seed until mixture becomes gel like)
- combine coconut oil, honey, vanilla & flax egg mixture and pour over dry ingredients
- mix gently until ingredients are well incorporated
- using a 1/3c. measuring cup, scoop out ½ circle dough balls and place on a parchment lined baking sheet
- this recipe makes six 1/3 c. shortcakes.
- bake for 18-20 minutes, until light golden brown
- serve warm, topped with honey sweetened strawberry-blackberry mixture
*if you are making these using eggs, you can omit the baking powder. I have found that using a small amount in egg-free baked items helps them rise.
**for baked goods I typically use blanched almond flour, it just cooks better. I have tried almond meal in this recipe and it works well also, the shortcake will just be a little denser.
2.2.6
this post was shared on: monday mania, slightly indulgent tuesdays, fat tuesday, real food wednesdays, allergy-free wednesdays, gluten-free wednesdays, whole food wednesdays & pennywise platter
Apr 10, 2012
marked clearly on my calendar with a big red circle, is the day. january 6, 2009. it was the day that i went gluten free. only for a trial period, right? or so i thought.
i was 4 weeks postpartum with my first son and suddenly all my tummy troubles were back. my sister had been diagnosed with early signs of celiac damage earlier that year and was already well into her gluten free journey. i made the decision, i was done. so what did i do? well naturally i bought a cookbook {1,000 Gluten-Free Recipes (1,000 Recipes)
} it had 1,000 gluten free recipes…this couldn’t be that hard, right?
as soon as my cookbook arrived, i chose a few recipes to try and headed off to whole foods. and there i stood. i think i was there for over 2 hours, just reading labels. never fear, i had my trusty list in hand with all the words that could mean “gluten”. a few hundred dollars later, i came home with all sorts of gluten free items. i had sorghum flour, potato starch, tapioca starch, xantham gum…and on and on, armed and ready to bake.
i have to admit that the first thing we ever baked gluten free was actually a huge success. though we now eat a very limited amount of gluten free starches and grains, i still thought this recipe should be shared. these little cookies, offered me the encouragement i needed as we dove into changing everything about the way we knew how to cook.
| gluten free snickerdoodles |
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Recipe Type: dessert
Author: adapated from: 1,000 gluten free recipes by carol fenster
simple, yet yummy gluten free snickerdoodles. (options included for making them egg-free & dairy-free)
- ¾ c. sorghum flour
- ¾ c. potato starch
- ½ c. tapioca starch
- ½ c. earth balance (for dairy free) or butter
- 1 tsp. xantham gum
- ½ tsp. baking powder
- ½ tsp. unrefined sea salt salt
- 1 Tbsp. packed brown sugar
- 1 c. evaporated cane sugar
- 1 flax seed egg* (for egg free) or 1 free-range egg
- 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- 1 tsp. almond extract
- (sugar and cinnamon for coating cookies)
- *flax seed egg (heat 3 Tbsp. water + 1 Tbsp. ground flax seed, until mixture gels)
- mix together dry ingredients (sorghum flour, potato starch, tapioca starch, xantham gum, salt & baking powder) & set aside
- with mixer on low blend butter until smooth & then beat in sugar, flax seed egg, brown sugar, vanilla & almond extract
- slowly fold in dry ingredients
- remove dough from bowl and knead dough with hands until smooth
- divide into two balls and pat into flat disks between plastic wrap or parchment paper
- chill in refrigerator for one hour
- cut each disk of dough into 12 equal pieces
- roll each piece into balls & coat with cinnamon and sugar
- place on parchment lines cookie sheet & press slightly to flatten
- bake at 375 for 12-15 minutes
if making with flax seed egg, cookies with become pretty dry after about 2 days. freezing the extras is our preferred way to store them
2.2.6
