Strawberry Surprise Cupcakes

As if being diabetic wasn't bad enough, I had to go and decide to give gluten and dairy free eating a try. The good news? I feel 100% better. The bad news? I feel 100% better. At least, after two months without the gluten and dairy, I have the energy and imagination to feel like baking again. I discovered Erin McKenna's cookbooks, "Babycakes" and "Babycakes Covers The Classics". If you're living in a gluten-dairy-egg free world you MUST investigate these cookbooks. Life changing. At least you'll be able to make some pretty awesome snacks and goodies. This recipe is half of the Vanilla Cupcakes recipe in the first Babycakes cookbook. I've added a little strawberry jam goodness. These were a delightful Canada Day treat (strawberries = red + vanilla cupcakes for the white) but they'd be good any time and I guarantee they'll turn any day into a celebration. All the "strange" ingredients (agave nectar, coconut oil, xanthan gum) and the flours can be found at Nutters. In a pinch you can try Canola oil instead of coconut oil.

1 cup garbanzo-fava bean flour

1/2 cup potato starch

1/4 cup arrowroot

2 teaspoons + 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum

1 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup coconut oil (melted before measuring, and measured in dry ingredient measures not liquid)

2/3 cup agave nectar (again, use dry ingredient measuring cups to measure the liquid ingredients)

1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce

1 1/2 Tablespoons pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup hot water

1/2 cup (or so) Strawberry jam

Strawberry-vanilla frosting: (Mix together 2 cups icing sugar+2 Tablespoons Becel Vegan margarine + 2 Tablespoons strawberry jam+ boiling water to make spreadable.)

Preheat oven to 325*F. Line a standard 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners. (I got 14 cupcakes out of my batch)

In a medium bowl whisk together flour, potato starch, arrowroot, baking powder, baking soda, xanthan gum and salt. Add the oil, agave nectar, applesauce and vanilla to the dry ingredients and combine. Stir in the hot water and mix until the batter is smooth.

Spoon 2 Tablespoons of batter into each prepared cup. Drop a generous teaspoon of jam into the centre of each cup on top of the batter. Cover with another spoonful of batter.

Bake on the centre rack for 22 minutes, rotating the tins 180 degrees after 15 minutes. The finished cupcakes will be golden brown and will bounce back when pressure is applied gently to the centre.

Let the cupcakes stand in the the tins for 20 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack and cool completely. Frost with the strawberry-vanilla frosting. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Makes 12-14 cupcakes.

Easy Gluten & Dairy Free Mushroom-Chicken-Rice Casserole

This was very tasty and went together quickly. While it baked in the oven I cleaned up the kitchen, so the after supper tidy was minimal. I actually used some "Coconut Dream" that I'd thrown in the freezer, and it worked really well. I think that Almond milk would work nicely too, especially if you toasted some slivered almonds to sprinkle on the top before serving. If it's a little too saucy after 45 minutes in the oven, let it bake a little longer. We were three for supper; if you're serving four big eaters you might want to add an extra 1/4 cup of rice and 1/2 cup coconut milk. Other vegetables to add might be thinly sliced carrots and peas. I'd add carrots with the bulk of the vegetables and peas (fresh or frozen) with the pepper just before it goes in the oven.

Two large skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1 onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 sticks of celery, thinly sliced
10 large mushrooms, thinly sliced
1/3 of a green, red, yellow or orange pepper (if you like), finely chopped
1/2 cup of raw (uncooked) rice (not instant)
2 cups coconut milk
Bouillon cube/powder to flavour 2 cups liquid
Canola or olive oil

Cut chicken breasts into 1- 2 inch sized pieces. In a large, oven-safe skillet, fry chicken in oil (start with a couple of tablespoons and add a drizzle more as needed to keep the chicken and vegetables from sticking to the pan). Add onion, garlic, celery and mushrooms. Cook until chicken is no longer pink inside, and vegetables are cooked/clear/browned.

Add coconut milk, rice, pepper and bouillon. Stir to dissolve bouillon. Put the covered skillet in the oven at 350*F, and bake for 30- 45 minutes, until rice is cooked and soft.

Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serves 3-4

Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free Pancakes For One

I'm really liking Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Biscuit and Baking Mix. As I'm just cooking gluten free for myself, it seemed prudent to downsize the recipe on the package, and so I have. One serving size (37g of dry mix) is 1/6 of the package's pancake recipe. This gluten free pancake has become a breakfast, lunch and, in a pinch, a supper staple for me. When I'm going to be away from home for the day, I've made the two pancakes into a peanut butter and jam sandwich in case I need a snack or an option at lunch. The pancake sandwich travels well. I've also forgotten to add the oil to the batter on occasion, and the pancakes were no less delicious or light and fluffy.(you can subtract 120 calories and 14 g of fat if you leave out the oil) Enjoy.

1/4 cup Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Biscuit and Baking Mix
1 egg
1 Tablespoon vegetable/Canola oil
1/4 cup water

Whisk all ingredients together until just mixed. Cook on lightly greased hot griddle or frying pan until bubbles form and surface puffs up. Flip to cook other side until lightly golden brown.

Makes 1 large pancake, or two 4 1/2 inch pancakes.

Nutritional Analysis: (pancakes alone, without butter, syrup, or other toppings)

Calories: 320
Total fat: 20 g
Cholesterol: 190 mg
Sodium: 455 mg
Carbohydrates: 25 g
Fibre: 4 g
Sugars: 2 g
Protein: 10 g

Easy New York Style Cheesecake

I've been hungry for cheesecake for awhile. Cherry cheesecake, to be specific. Problem is, the cheesecake at your typical restaurant is worth nearly two whole meals, carb-wise. (Swiss Chalet and Boston Pizza's  nutritional information indicates their cheesecakes have about 75 g of carbohydrates per serving) Also, no one makes Cherry Cheesecake anymore; not that I have anything against strawberry topping, but my favourite has always been cherry. Yes. Since the '80's. SO. Not wanting to fuss with my most excellent graham wafer crust, and finding a New York Cheesecake recipe in the new Splenda cookbook I have become possessed of, I put 2 & 2 together and came up with this quick, smaller, delicious cheesecake. I popped open a can of E.D. Smith Light Cherry Pie Filling, and even The Husband approved. 

1 pre-made graham wafer crust

500 g (2 x 250 g/8 oz packages) light cream cheese

1/2 cup Splenda granular

1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

2 eggs

1/4 cup fat free sour cream

Preheat oven to 325*F. 

Mix all remaining ingredients together, blending until smooth and creamy. Spread in graham wafer crust,  (for added stability, I set the pie crust tin on a cookie sheet) then bake for 30-45 minutes, until filling is firm to the touch and just lightly browned. 

Serve with fresh fruit or pie filling.

Per Serving: (1/8th before topping) *Check the nutrient guide on the pie filling. Serving size=about 1/3 cup; half of that gives you a good 2.5 Tablespoons topping. Add calories and carbs to your totals accordingly. The E.D. Smith Light Cherry Pie Filling I used adds 30 calories & 10 g carbs per serving. 1/4 cup of fresh, chopped strawberries adds about 12 g carbohydrates. Add 5 g of carbs for each teaspoon of sugar you mix with them.

Calories: 300

Fat: 22 g

   Saturated Fat: 11g

Cholesterol: 94 mg

Sodium: 92 mg

Carbohydrates: 19g

   Sugars: 8.5 g

   Protein: 9 g

 

Mini-Donut Muffins

I recently acquired a couple of mini-donut pans. I bought mine from Avon, but I've seen them online as well, so I know they're out there. The fun thing is that the recipe that came with the pans, (for "Old Fashioned Buttermilk Donuts") makes really delicious little cinnamon donuts that remind me of The Forks in Winnipeg and The Exhibition, where we used to buy little mini cinnamon donuts. I reasoned that this recipe should work with regular mini muffin tins, so I tweaked it a bit- cutting down the recipe for a start (the original makes about 6 dozen of the things), and have come up with this manageable facsimile. They are very quick to mix up, and can be baked and ready to serve in about 30 minutes. I hope you try them. Not just for little children.

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup granulated sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon each ground nutmeg, ground cloves (optional) and ground cinnamon
1/3 cup buttermilk
1 egg
3 Tablespoons butter or hard margarine melted

Topping:
2 Tablespoons butter or hard margarine, melted
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 Tablespoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 325*F. Lightly grease 1 & 1/12 mini-muffin pans.

Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, cloves and first amount of cinnamon together.

Mix buttermilk, egg and first amount of melted margarine together in another bowl; stir into the dry ingredients.

Fill each greased muffin tin about 3/4 full. Bake for about 15 minutes, until muffins are lightly browned and spring back when lightly touched. Allow to cool 3-5 minutes, (until you can handle them) then remove from pan.

Topping:
Put butter (melted) in a small bowl. Mix sugar and cinnamon together in another bowl. Dip tops of slightly cooled muffins in the butter, and then in the cinnamon/sugar mixture to coat the tops.

Makes about 18 mini-muffins.

Banana Oatmeal Muffins

I needed to make some sugar free muffins this week and I had oatmeal on the brain. I also had a bunch of overripe bananas, but I couldn't find a recipe that had both oatmeal and bananas, so I ended up going to my new "Company's Coming Mostly Muffins" cookbook, which has the most amazing muffin recipes, and took inspiration from two recipes: Basic Banana Muffins and Basic Oatmeal Muffins. I really liked the texture and flavour I got. I also liked the numbers that came up when I crunched them. I think these would be really good with chopped walnuts or pecans, together with or instead of the mini chocolate chips- (which are great for muffins because they are tiny and give the illusion of chocolaty goodness without actually adding too much chocolate). It made a lovely big batch of pretty large muffins. I'm hoping they freeze well, as the extras were tossed into the freezer this morning for breakfast and snacks later on.

1 cup oatmeal (not instant)
1 cup buttermilk (or milk soured with a teaspoon of vinegar or lemon juice)

1 cup all-purpose white flour
1/2 cup all-purpose whole wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup Splenda, artificial sweetener (you could make it 1/3 cup if you like 'em sweet)
1/4 cup mini chocolate chips

2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup Canola/vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups mashed bananas

Combine oatmeal and buttermilk in a medium sized bowl. Let stand 10 minutes.

Combine next 7 ingredients in a large bowl. Make a well in the centre.

Add eggs, oil, vanilla and bananas to the oatmeal mixture. Mix well. Add to the well in the centre of the dry ingredients. Stir gently to combine, until just moistened.

Divide between 15 paper-lined or greased muffin cups. Bake at 375*F for 20-25 minutes, until lightly browned and a toothpick inserted into the centre of a muffin comes out clean.

Let stand in pan for 5 minutes, then remove to wire rack to cool. Serve warm or cooled with butter if desired.

Makes 15 large muffins.

Nutritional Analysis per 1 muffin:
Calories:  154
Total Fat: 6.4 g
Cholesterol: 27 mg
Sodium: 178 mg (lower this to 100 mg by omitting the salt)
Potassium: 112.55 mg
Carbohydrates: 20 g
Fibre: 2 g
Sugars: 6 g
Protein: 4 g

Healthier Butter Tart Squares

Butter Tart Squares are a family favourite around here, but I don't make them very often because I like them, and they're traditionally VERY full of sugar and flour. Although this version is still very high in carbs and calories, I switched up more than half of the white flour for whole wheat flour and wheat germ, so between kicking up the fibre and replacing half the brown sugar with sweetener, it's at least a little better for you. If you cut them smaller that will help a bit too. Just remember- one at a time. Savour the sweetness.


Bottom Layer

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup wheat germ
2 Tablespoons ground flax seed (optional)
2 Tablespoons Splenda  artificial sweetener
1/2 cup hard margarine, softened

Second Layer

2 eggs
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup Splenda  artificial sweetener
1 teaspoon all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup butter or hard margarine, melted
1 1/2 cups raisins

Crumble Bottom Layer ingredients together then press into an ungreased 9" square pan. Bake at 350*F for 15 minutes.

Mix eggs, brown sugar and Splenda together. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Spread over Bottom Layer and bake for about 20 minutes, until light brown. Cool. Cut into 36 squares.