Grilled Bananas, Peaches, and Almonds

I've been wanting to try grilling fruit for a long time.  The idea came from eating fried plantains at Americas Restaurant in Houston almost 20 years ago.  The flavor was that good that I can still remember it.  The plantains were crisp, almost like a potato chip.  My vision for this dessert was for the smoky flavor of the grill to become part of the warm, soft fruit.  What I accomplished with this recipe was something very similar to peach cobbler, without the pie crust.  The almonds add crunch and a little protein to balance with the sweet carbs in the fruit.  Start to finish, this dish takes about 15 minutes to prepare, and it leaves the grill ready to be devoured.  Serves 2.

1 medium banana, firm and not overripe
1 large peach
1/4 cup whole almonds
1 Tablespoon grape seed oil
1 tsp. coconut oil
1 Tablespoon honey
1 tsp. cinnamon

Preheat the grill on high.  Place a grill pan above the burner to heat while you prepare the fruit.

In a small bowl, mix the grape seed oil, coconut oil, honey, and cinnamon with a whisk to make a smooth sauce.  Set aside.

Slice the banana and the peach into bite size pieces.  Add the fruit and almonds to the sauce and stir to coat each piece well.

Pour the fruit and almonds into the grill pan, making sure each piece is laying flat.  Allow the pieces to brown for about 2 minutes, then flip them to the other side. Tongs will work better for turning, but you'll need a spatula to scoop the almonds out of the pan. Watch closely to make sure the fruit does not burn, as the honey will scorch easily.    Place the sizzling fruit into a serving bowl and enjoy.

Substitutions

The link below is to a fabulous blog post from Gluten Free Goddess on making substitutions for gluten-free cooking.  It is quite extensive.  I have tried many of these substitutions and can tell you that her tips are spot-on.  Go.  Read.  Enjoy.

http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com/2008/12/baking-cooking-substitutions-for-gluten.html

Breakfast Brownies

Breakfast Brownies

Life is short.  Eat dessert first!

In our family, we often get stuck eating the same thing for breakfast every day. Starting the day with something delicious and nutritious is a great way to put some excitement back into the most important meal of the day.  My kids love it when they get to have dessert for breakfast, and this is a recipe I can say "yes" to.

Have you ever wondered why fat-free cookies are so addictive?  They are loaded with extra sugar to make up for the fat that was removed to make them "healthier".  Putting flavor back into the recipe to replace what you take out is a trick I learned from The Low-Cholesterol Gourmet, Lynn Fischer, back in the early 1990s, and it has served me well in making my family's diet healthier.  This recipe is a great example of how good food can taste when you tweak the recipe a bit.

Cutting back on sugar is a priority for me and my family.  I have found one of the best ways to do that is to use sweetening agents that have flavor. Most brownie recipes call for a cup of sugar for a batch that makes 12-16 brownies.  By replacing sugar with honey and molasses, full-bodied flavor complements the chocolate in these brownies, and you can much less than if you were using regular sugar.  Sometimes I add chopped dates in place of part of the sugar.  Dates give a nutty, caramel taste that is perfect in combination with chocolate.

Greek yogurt is a terrific substitute for butter and oil in baking.  It provides the needed moisture without all the calories.  In this recipe it helps to create the fudgy mouth-feel that makes the brownies so decadent without sending the calories and fat through the roof.  You can use fat-free Greek yogurt or the regular kind, either works.

Oats are a fabulous substitution for wheat flour.  The trick is finding gluten-free oats.  I am resorting to ordering them online, because the stores around me don't carry them consistently.  They are much more expensive than regular oats, but they are worth it because of the nutrition they contain. Grind them up in the food processor to make a powder, and you can use them in just about anything that calls for flour.

When I don't have gluten-free oats, I use ViShape Shake Mix as a substitute for wheat flour in my baking.  It is a gluten-free, lactose-free, whey and soy-based protein powder that tastes like cake mix.  Originally developed as a meal-replacement shake for weight loss, ViShape has been used by thousands of people to improve their nutrition.  I am one of those people.  To learn more about ViShape, click on the word ViShape.

Enjoy!

Gather these delicious ingredients:
1/2 cup Greek yogurt
1/4 cup grape seed oil
1/4 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
1 large egg
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1/3 cup honey
1/3 cup molasses
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup ground gluten-free oats
1/2 cup peanut butter

Now do this with them:
1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease a 9-inch square baking pan.

2.  Mix the wet ingredients (except for the peanut butter) in a blender, food processor, or mixing bowl.  Add the oats (or ViShape shake mix, or a combination of the two) and remaining dry ingredients, and mix until well incorporated.  Pour into baking pan.

3.  Melt the peanut butter in the microwave for about 15-20 seconds.  Stir.  Heat a few seconds more if it is not thin and of a consistent texture.

4.  Swirl the peanut butter on top of the chocolate mixture and make a nice marbled design.

5.  Bake 25 minutes.  The toothpick test will NOT work with this recipe.  Shake the pan and see if the  batter jiggles in the middle.  If it does, bake for another 3 to 5 minutes.  If it seems firm and is starting to come away from the edges of the pan, remove it from the oven and let it sit on the counter for 10 minutes.  Refrigerate for 30 to 45 minutes before serving. 

Buckwheat Crackers

I LOVE crackers!  Some people say I AM crackers.  They are probably right.

This recipe is one I modified from the Rosemary Crackers recipe on Elena's Pantry.  Elena is fabulous ... check her out.

These are very nutty and fully of flavor.  Great with cheese or alone.

Buckwheat Crackers

3/4 cup buckwheat flour
1/4 cup coconut flour
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1/4 cup flax seeds
1/4 cup peanuts and pecans
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
2 Tablespoons fresh rosemary, chopped
1 Tablespoon fresh oregano, chopped
1 egg
1 Tablespoon olive oil
2 Tablespoons almond milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Mix the buckwheat flour and coconut flour in the bowl of an electric mixer.  In a food chopper, combine the salt, sesame seeds, flax seeds, peanuts, and pecans.  Chop until it resembles fine meal.   Add them to the flour and stir in the rosemary and oregano.

Whisk together the egg and olive oil.  Add to the dry ingredients.  Once everything is incorporated, begin adding the almond milk slowly.  You want the dough to be moist, but not overly wet. It will form a ball when you have just the right amount of moisture. 

Place the dough between two pieces of parchment paper and roll to about 1/8 inch thickness.  Take the top layer of paper off, and turn the dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet.  Cut the dough into squares prior to placing it in the oven.  I prefer 1-inch crackers, which will yield about 84 crackers.

Bake for 20 minutes.  Allow to cool for 30 minutes on baking sheet.

I have always loved to cook.  There have been many occasions when I didn't really want to cook, but throughout my life being in the kitchen has been a place of joy for me.  It's my parents' fault, really.  Mom had me baking cookies before I was in school.  Then Dad took over the cooking when I was 8 years-old.  I would walk home for lunch, he would make me a meatloaf sandwich on homemade whole wheat bread, and we would watch Graham Kerr doing crazy things in his kitchen.  I was inspired.

As an adult, I started collecting cookbooks.  Fortunately, I married a man who was willing to try new things.  My goal for the first 6 years of our life together was never to eat the same thing twice in a month. We were vegetarians for a few years, which really made us have to think and plan everything we ate. It was a terrific culinary adventure.

Then we started watching cooking shows together. The Frugal Gourmet really influenced  how we thought about food.  Then the Food Network came along ... We dropped HBO and sat in front of the t.v. with pen and paper, ready to take notes.  Some couples go to the movies, we made popcorn and watched Alton Brown.  The science behind food is fascinating to both of us.  My husband eventually took his adventure into the garage to brew beer, and I made anything I could out of the spent grain.  Those were great feasts!

Let me just say now that I adore Ina Garten. I found her show, The Barefoot Contessa, when we lived in New England, and I love everything she does.  Even the stuff that isn't gluten-free.  You'll see her influence in my recipes. I hope she doesn't mind that my blog is somewhat of a parody on her name.  It is done so with great admiration and love.

The last 13 years of family-hood has been a challenge for us in the food department.  We've battled food allergies and all sorts of conditions that require creativity beyond anything I ever imagined.  Gluten and lactose seem to be the two big dudes we have to avoid.  Thank goodness our options for living without them have multiplied exponentially in the last decade!

I truly believe that health begins in the kitchen and that being healthy requires us to eat food that is made from fresh ingredients.  Making those things that typically come in a package from the grocery store isn't really that difficult.  It takes time and planning and a willingness to experiment.

That is what this blog is about ... my culinary experiments. I hope you enjoy what I have to share and that you will comment freely when the mood strikes you.