Tag: almond meal

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Gluten-Free Pie Crust

Whether you are one of the estimated 3 million Americans living with Celiac Disease, have a known allergy or sensitivity, or are just curious to see how you might feel, making the switch to a gluten-free diet isn’t easy. Gluten hides in sneaky places like salad dressings, soups and even cosmetics. Beyond deciphering which food and beauty products are truly gluten-free, we all still want and need to enjoy life, and a big part of that big picture happiness is eating. That’s why one of my main nutrition counseling aims is to help those that want or need to be gluten-free learn how to shop and cook without sacrificing on flavor and enjoyment.

Let’s face it, life without bread, pancakes, pasta and most desserts would be pretty devastating for me and most people. Luckily, there is so much culinary creativity out there these days that you can have your gluten-free cake and eat it too. While I’m not tackling an actual cake in this post, I am bringing you the foundation of endless sweet treats: Gluten Free Pie Crust. This crust is light and flaky and can be made vegan by swapping coconut oil for butter. Fill it with your favorite seasonal fruit, a hint of healthy sugar (coconut palm sugar, agave, real maple syrup), a squeeze of lemon and some fresh herbs for a surprising and yummy twist and you’ll forget you’re eating something considered “alternative.”

Gluten Free Pie Crust

Gluten Free Pie Crust

What You’ll Need:
  • 1 cup spelt flour (or your preferred gluten-free flour)
  • 1/2 cup almond meal
  • 1/2 cup organic butter or coconut oil
  • 1-2 tsp coconut palm sugar or cane sugar
  • 1/2 tsp sea salt
How to Make It:
  1. Soften butter or coconut oil in microwave until just melted.
  2. Mix all dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Add your liquid and mix again.
  3. Form into a ball and refrigerate for at least a half hour (you can also freeze this for up to 3 months).
  4. When ready to bake, remove from refrigerator and place between two pieces of parchment paper. Roll it to desired thickness with a rolling pin. Drape the flattened dough over your preferred pie dish or tart pan. Don’t worry if the dough falls apart a bit, just press it into all corners and all the way up to the rim and make sure it’s distributed evenly so it cooks through.
  5. Bake at 400 F for 10 min on its own then reduce to 350 for another 35-40 min with your desired filling inside.
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Easy Multigrain Bread

Adapted from the New York Times infamous No-Knead Bread recipe, I started making my own version of this beautiful, easy homemade bread on the regular two years ago. This rustic bread is truly reminiscent of a French-style boule, which in my mind is as good as it gets. I love it’s crunchy crust and fluffy, air-pocked interior. It’s great for toast and even better for breakfast sandwiches!

Amy’s Easy Multigrain Bread:

What you’ll need:

  • 2 ¼ cups unbleached bread flour
  • 1/2 cup whole wheat all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup almond meal
  • ¼ cup ground flaxseed
  • 1 3/4 cups water
  • 1/2 tsp instant/rapid-rise yeast
  • 2 tsp salt
  • Rolled oats for a finishing touch

Note: You’ll also need a 6-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic). I use my trusty 5 1/2 quart Cuisinart dutch-oven and it does the trick!

How to make it:

  1. In a large bowl combine flours, almond meal, ground flaxseed, yeast and salt. Add 1 3/4 cups warm water and mix–using your hands–until it just comes together. The dough will be shaggy and sticky.
  2. Seal the bowl with plastic wrap and let dough rest for 12-18 hours.
  3. Sprinkle flour on a work surface and place your dough on it. Dust your dough with a touch more flour then fold it in on itself gently three to four times.  Cover it loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 min.
  4. Using a little flour to keep your dough from sticking too much, gently and swiftly shape your dough into a ball. Generously coat a cotton dish towel with rolled oats, put the dough seam side down on the towel and dust the top with more oats. Cover with another cotton towel and let it rise for 2 hours. When it is ready, your dough will be more than twice it’s original size.
  5. A half-hour to 45-min before your dough is ready, pre-heat your oven to 500°F. Place a 6-quart heavy covered pot in your oven as it heats up (lid on).
  6. When your dough is ready (i.e. 2 hours have passed since you coated it in oats), carefully remove the pot from your oven. Slide your hand under the towel and turn your dough over into the heated pot, seam side up. Give the pan a good shake once or twice if you had a bad flip and your dough is unevenly distributed. No worries, it’ll sort itself out while cooking.
  7. Cover your pot with its lid and bake for 30 min, then remove the lid and bake for another 15 min until the loaf is golden brown. Let your boule cool on a rack for at least 20 min before diving in. Then, bon apetit!
Over-easy egg sandwich with arugula, lemon aioli, bacon and Frank’s Red Hot.

For a video tutorial on how to make the original recipe (i.e. just white bread flour) check out this video on YouTube.

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Don’t ya like Bran Muffins?

I love muffins. We all do. On the contrary, not many of us love bran muffins, but we should. Here’s why: bran–the outer layer of grains like oats, wheat and rice–is made of insoluble dietary fiber. Bran is good for your GI tract, is a pro-biotic food (meaning it has natural antibacterial fighting properties), and helps in combating heart disease. I feel fairly confident that I’ve found a way to make bran muffins mo’ than nutritious, and dare I say delicious. Not only that, but I’ve made them low-fat by substituting a ripe banana for oil, nutrient-rich by using whole wheat flour and almond meal in lieu of refined white flour, and dairy-free by trading out buttermilk/yogurt for almond milk. Eating is believing, so enjoy!

AMY’S BANANA BRAN MUFFINS:

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups wheat bran
  • 1 1/2 cups currants
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 cup unsweetened chocolate or vanilla almond milk
  • 1 tbs orange zest
  • 1/2 cup Demerara sugar (or pure cane sugar)
  • 1 (very ripe) banana
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
  • 1/4 cup almond meal
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup shredded (unsweetened) coconut – optional

Instructions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners or grease lightly with oil (I use the spray kind).
  2. Spread the wheat bran on a baking sheet and toast in the oven for 6-8 minutes, being careful not to let it burn!
  3. Let the bran do it’s thing while simultaneously heating the currants with 3/4 cup of the water for 10 minutes, or until the water is mostly absorbed. Puree the raisins with the remaining 1/4 cup of water in a food processor or blender until semi-smooth (I like to keep some whole or semi-whole currants in there for texture).
  4. Mix together the toasted bran and almond milk. Add in the currant puree, orange zest and Demerara sugar. Stir in the mushy banana and two eggs.
  5. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, almond meal, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Fold into the wet ingredients and stir until everything comes together. Mix in the coconut (you could also add walnuts, pecans, or even chocolate chips here!)
  6. Spoon the batter into the muffin pan, mounding the batter in each one.
  7. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the muffins feel firm in the center.
  8. Let cool for 10-15 minutes then remove from the pan.

Enjoy immediately or freeze for up to 3 months. They are grrrreat for breakfast with a cup of coffee or tea and some fresh fruit. Bon appetit!

P.S. Just in case you didn’t quite catch the reference insinuated by the title: http://muffinfilms.com/psst.html. Psst!