Pavlova

This is a great recipe for dessert. It's fairly painless to make; it just takes a little preparation. It's a little rich, but I am a huge fan. The Australian members used to make this for us in Vegas.

• 4 egg whites
• 1 1/8 cups white sugar
• 1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• Whipped Cream
• Fresh fruit
  

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Beat egg whites and sugar in a large, clean bowl with electric mixer until stiff peaks form. In separate bowl, mix together vinegar, vanilla and cornstarch until smooth. Pour cornstarch mixture into egg white mixture and beat until thick and glossy, 4 minutes.
3. Cover a baking sheet in parchment paper. Spoon or pipe mixture inside a drawn 8" circle, to within a little less than an inch from the edge.
4. Place in preheated oven, REDUCE TEMPERATURE TO 200 DEGREES F , and bake 1 hour. Turn oven off and leave Pavlova to cool inside. Decorate cooled Pavlova with whipped cream and fruit to serve. (Trust me, if you do not decrease the oven temperature, you get a disaster.)
   

Tomato Soup

Ingredients
1 cup thinly sliced onions
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 (46 ounce) can tomato juice
2 teaspoons beef bouillon granules
2 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons dried parsley flakes
2 teaspoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon dried basil


In a large saucepan, saute onions and garlic in butter until tender. Add the tomato juice, bouillon, lemon juice, parsley, brown sugar, and basil. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

GF Corndogs

These were lots of fun. I found this recipe at celiac.com, which is a good resource. We fried 10 hotdogs and 5 mozzerella cheese sticks and still had leftover batter, so you might try doing a half batch. By the way, it took a TON more milk than it called for!

Mix:
1 cup gluten-free flour (gluten-free mix is fine-the recipe is on this blog)
1/2 cup corn meal
1/2 cup corn flour (finely ground corn meal)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp xanthan gum
1 egg beaten with 1/2 cup milk
pinch of sugar

Mix until well blended. You may need to add a bit more milk. You want a batter that will coat your hotdogs when they are dipped, the coating should be about 1/4" thick, any thicker and the batter will not cook all of the way before it burns on the outside, too thin and there will be bald spots where the batter splits away from the hotdog during frying.
Heat oil to 350 degrees. Use corn or safflower oil for even cooking.rinse hot dogs. pat dry, toss dogs with a little corn starch to coat them. Slide a wooden dowel down into the hotdog about 1/3 of the way. Dip the hotdog into the batter making sure the coating gets on the dowel stick a bit. This keeps the coating on the hotdog better during frying. Place the coated dog immediately into the hot oil. Cook until light golden brown, about 2 or 3 minutes. Drain on paper towels.
(if you want to cook a lot of corndogs, don't fry them quite so golden. Just let the coating firm up then remove and drain. Freeze corn dogs on a baking sheet until solid then transfer to a freezer bag. To heat, you can put them in a 400 degree oven or refry them. If you cannot eat corn, try sorghum flour as a substitute for all of the corn flour and arrow root powder or potato starch as a sub for the corn starch.

Nearly Normal GF Flour Mix

1 cup white rice flour
1 cup potato starch
1 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup corn flour
1/2 cup tapioca flour
4 tsp xanthan gum

Gluten-Free Mix

Rice Flour-3 cups
Potato Starch-1 cup
Tapioca Flour-1/2 cup

Mix together and store in airtight container. NOTE: This recipe does not call for xanthan gum, so do not use it in something like breads, etc. without adding some. I'm not sure, but maybe about a tsp of xanthan gum per cup of flour. Once I try it I'll let you know. However, it does work well for thickening gravies or soups.

Gluten Free Cream Soup Base

Note: I couldn't find powdered soup base, so I have the gooey kind you keep in the fridge. I mixed all the other ingredients except the soup base and store it in my pantry. Then when I use it, I put in 3-4 TBSP of mix and add 1/3 to 1/2 TBSP of soup base. VERY TASTY!

Cream Soup Base
1 cup dry milk powder
1 cup white rice flour
2 tablespoons dried minced onions
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons GF powdered soup base (chicken or vegetable)

Combine all ingredients and mix well. Store in an airtight container or your pantry shelf. This mix is the equivalent of 8-9 cans of soup.

Cream of Chicken Soup: In a small saucepan, blend 3-4 tablespoons of the base with 1/4 cup cold water. Add 1 cup hot or cold water (or chicken stock) and cook over medium heat, stirring until the soup thickens. Use 3 tablespoons for thin soup, 4 for thick soup.

Cream of Mushroom Soup: Follow the instructions for Cream of Chicken Soup, using the liquid from one 4-ounce can of mushroom bits and pieces as part of the water (reserving the mushrooms). After the soup thickens, add the mushrooms.

Cream of Tomato Soup: Follow the instructions for Cream of Chicken Soup, using one 5.5 ounce can of V-8 juice as part of the liquid.

Cheese soup or sauce: Follow the instructions for Cream of Chicken Soup, using 1/4 cup of the base. Add 1/4 cup extra water. Stir in 1/2-2/3 cup grated cheddar cheese before removing from stove.

To Use in a Casserole: If your casserole (scalloped potatoes, etc.) calls for canned soup and is to be baked over 1 hour, just tumble the Creamed Soup Base with the ingredients and pour on 1 1/4- 1 1/2 cups hot water.

GF Chocolate Chocolate-Chip Muffins

Cream together:
2 eggs
2/3 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup skim milk
1 Tbsp butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla

Sift together:
1 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup soy flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup tapioca flour
1/4 cup buckwheat flour
1/4 cup baking cocoa
3 Tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Fold in:
1/2 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Add dry ingredients to creamed mixture. Beat until combined. Fold in chocolate chips. Spoon into greased mini-muffin tins. Bake at 350 for 12-16 minutes.
Makes 24 mini muffins.

GF Gingersnaps

You'd never know these were GF! They taste great, and they are SOFT!

Cream together:
1 cup butter
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup molasses
2 eggs

Sift together:
1/2 cup tapioca flour
3/4 cup potato flour
2 cups rice flour
1 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
3 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
1 tsp cloves

Add dry ingredients to creamed mixture and beat until combined. Roll into 1/2 inch balls; roll in sugar. Place on greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 6-8 minutes. Do not overcook!

Gluten Free Bread

Okay, this is the first of I hope many GF (gluten free) recipes I'll be posting. I am always looking for more, so if you have any, please let me know. I haven't made this, but my friend made some for us when she gave me the recipe, and it was good (comparatively).

Mix together, then let sit for 10 minutes:
3 1/3 cups lukewarm water
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 cup powdered milk
2 tsp vinegar (or dough enhancer)
6 eggs
1 cup instant potatoes
6 Tbsp sugar
3 Tbsp dry yeast
2 cups rice flour

Sift together, then add to above:
2 cups rice flour
1 cup potato starch
1 cup tapioca flour
2 Tbsp xanthan gum
1 Tbsp salt

Knead until smooth, about 8 minutes. "Flour" surface with cornstarch or rice flour. Divide dough into three sections and form into loaves. Place in greased loaf pans, cover and let rise 1 hour. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes.

NOTE: For a better consistency, I substitute 2/3 cup soy flour for part of the rice flour in the second part of the recipe. It does change the flavor a little, but we still really like it, and the bread isn't crumbly. It holds together better, and it is very moist. Give it a try.

Makes 3 loaves.

Sweet Pork for Burritos

Okay, I know that this one didn't go over too well over the summer, but I think I made a couple worthwhile improvements that turned out great! (Anyway, the Elders and Sisters liked it. But since they like everything, my roommates and Nancy also liked it.) Goes great with the creamy tomatillo dip!

3 lb. Pork Roast

16 oz. salsa

12 oz. NON-diet cola

2 cups brown sugar

1 packet taco seasoning

6 oz. can green chilies

Okay, so here's the gist. Put the thawed pork roast in the crock pot and cover with water. Cook on high for 5 hours. (I like to salt the water a little. It cooks hotter and adds a little more flavor.) Drain the water after 5 hours. Cut pork into smaller pieces. (I find just chopping with a plastic spoon works great.) Puree salsa (I like to do a little more). Add cola and brown sugar. Mix and pour over roast. Cook on high another 3 hours. During the last hour, add green chiles and taco seasoning. (I want to experiment with also adding onions and bell peppers.) Shred with a fork and serve on burritos.