Jan04
Posted in Posted in Food Allergy Recipes, Gluten Free Recipes, Holiday Traditions, Uncategorized by Lucy
Our friend, Kendall Egan, from Gluten Free Living recently shared her Apple Crisp recipe which this year included Lucy’s Ginger Snaps! It’s now a Thanksgiving family favorite at her house and we decided that this yummy comfort recipe just has to be published! We’ll post in again in November.
Kendall says it’s the gradual result of adapting recipes, and this one serves 25. Following a gluten free diet herself, she’d been foregoing dessert at Thanksgiving. Read more »
Oct30
Posted in Posted in Food Allergy Recipes, Gluten Free Recipes, Healthy Eating, Holiday Traditions, Vegan Recipes by Lucy
Once again cocoa is magic! All the ingredients in this vegan, gluten free cake are wonderful; and yet again, cocoa really makes it work. That’s true with other cakes I’ve made too. Cocoa is a star ingredient.
I highly recommend this easy, delicious recipe. For the crust, I use either Lucy’s Chocolate Cookies or Lucy’s Chocolate Merry Mint Cookies (one of our yummy new holiday flavors). Read more »
Nov18
Posted in Posted in Food Allergy Recipes, Gluten Free Recipes, Holiday Traditions, Vegan Recipes by Lucy
A FaceBook friend just asked for a GF holiday recipe suggestion. I plan to make this one next week for Thanksgiving. It’s one of my favorite gluten-free, vegan creations. As you know, it is hard to make a cake without wheat flour, dairy butter and eggs. In this case, carrots and marmalade come to the rescue! Enjoy! Read more »
Mar21
Posted in Posted in Food Allergies, Food Allergy Friendly Shopping, Food Allergy Recipes, Gluten Free, Gluten Free Recipes, Healthy Eating, Kosher Pareve, Vegan, allergy friendly shopping by Lucy
Well, you probably know our story already. Yet, if you’d like to hear it again and also see our amazing cookie factory, check this video out! I’ll tell you more about how we provide the highest quality in gluten free and allergy friendly cookies.
Check out our beautiful 320 quart mixer, “Mag”, that works like a dream. See our awesome staff busily making cookies for you. See our two roll-in rack ovens that together can bake 2000 delicious, crispy cookies in 15 minutes.
Remember, Lucy’s are certified vegan, kosher pareve and gluten free. They’re all natural, contain many organic ingredients and have 0g trans fat and 0mg cholesterol. Yummy.
Cookies are coming your way! Enjoy!
Jan13
Posted in Posted in Food Allergy Recipes, Gluten Free Recipes, Healthy Eating, Vegan Recipes by Lucy
Gluten free living serves as inspiration to do great things with potatoes, rice and other interesting options for a starchy side dish. This recipe is on my short list for entertaining; but, it’s definitely not just a Tuesday night special. Yes, it’s comfort food, and also decadent enough to share!
In fact, this is one of my favorite recipes. A dear friend of mine provided the basic idea and I made it without milk for our family. I love these potatoes any night of the week, and really get a kick out of serving them to guests or as a potluck party dish.
One of the great things about this recipe is that it is better if made ahead. This allows the flavors to bloom. And, for entertaining, the make-ahead feature is a true help with planning. I’m making them today for a Saturday night party.
Because these need to sit in the fridge at least a while before baking, make sure you use a baking dish that can tolerate the relatively quick temperature change from refrigerator to preheated oven. Ha! I cracked one of my favorites on the path to learning this lesson.
The leftovers are wonderful too! If you happen to have any! Just warm them up in the casserole dish, or make potato cakes for a change.
The recipe as written below is vegan. Dairy milk substitutions work well also!
- 9 potatoes, peeled and cubed (I like to use Yukon Gold potatoes when available.)
- 8 ounces of vegan cream cheese
- 8 ounces of vegan sour cream
- 3 tablespoons vegan margarine
- 1 ½ teaspoons onion powder (Try more if you are really bold!)
- 1 teaspoon sea salt for seasoning, plus 2 more for boiling the potatoes
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- For a garnish, fresh chopped scallions
(These quantities are essentially suggestions. Add more or less to your liking!)
Use a large pot for cooking the potatoes. Add lots of cold water and about 2 teaspoons of salt. Bring to a boil and then add potatoes. Cook for about 15 minutes until the potatoes are tender but not mushy. When cooking is complete, drain the potatoes thoroughly.
Now use a heavy duty mixer with a regular mixing paddle to combine potatoes with all other ingredients. Mix well, until smooth and fluffy. (If you don’t have a mixer, an old fashioned potato masher will work.)
Lightly grease a baking dish and arrange your potatoes for baking. I like to use a spatula so I can carve nice fluffs and peaks for a beautiful presentation on baking day. Remember to choose a dish that can tolerate the temperature change from refrigerator to oven. Now, cover and refrigerate for roughly a day, or at least a few hours. If you don’t have time to do this step, it’s ok just to move on with the recipe, but the results are better if you “make ahead”.
When you are ready to bake the potatoes, preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Chop the fresh scallions into very small bits and allow them to drain and air dry so they are not soggy when you add them as a topping. Bake the potatoes for about 10 to 15 minutes and then add the green garnish. Bake for 20 or more minutes longer. Remove from oven and allow to stand for 5 minutes before serving. The potatoes and their topping should have a beautiful lightly browned look.
Enjoy this yummy side dish, and all the compliments from your guests!
Jan06
Posted in Posted in Food Allergy Recipes, Gluten Free Recipes, Kosher Pareve, Vegan Recipes by Lucy
This is one of my two favorite gluten-free, vegan cakes. As you know, it is hard to make a cake without wheat flour, dairy butter and eggs. The trick to making this chocolate cake is carrots! A secret ingredient! Yes, carrots! Don’t tell the kids.
In gluten free, vegan baking my first real cake success was with carrot cake. I realized that the carrots actually add structure, they don’t just make it a carrot cake. So, I decided to develop a chocolate cake recipe including carrots. I also thank the cocoa for adding structure in this recipe. It really helps too. The results are pretty amazing.
I proudly serve this at any dinner party, and get rave reviews from everyone; even folks with no dietary restrictions. Follow this link to a cooking video where I am making this yummy cake with Dan Kohler, Alternative Appetites Chef for the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness. Enjoy!
Lucy’s Gluten Free, Vegan Chocolate Cake
- 2/3 cup soy milk (You may use other types of milk instead.)
- 3 Tablespoons Ener-G (brand) Egg Replacer (If you would rather use eggs, the soy milk and Ener-G egg replacer can be omitted and replaced with two to three whole eggs. For another vegan option, instead of using soy milk and Ener-G Egg Replacer, use ¼ cup ground flax meal and add directly with the oil and sugar. Mix on medium speed for about 30 seconds.)
- ½ cup cocoa
- 2/3 cup boiling water
- 2 cups of your favorite gluten free flour mix (A blend of garbanzo, potato starch and tapioca starch in roughly a 5:3:2 ratio works great. Or, use a blend that you already like. If you decide to use a flour/baking mix that is pre-prepared with baking soda, baking powder and salt, take care not to add these again into the recipe. )
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon xanthan gum
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cups grated the lightly pureed carrots (Lightly packed.)
- ½ cup orange marmalade (A smoother, less chunky brand works better.)
- 3/4 cup canola oil (You can use a little less if you like a drier cake.)
- 1 ½ cup sugar (I use organic evaporated cane juice.)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- ¼ cup orange juice
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Prepare two 8-inch round cake pans with shortening and a dusting of flour mix. I use organic palm oil shortening to grease the pans and then shake in sifted flour blend, dumping excess flour once the pans are covered lightly.
If you are using the Ener-G egg replacer and soy milk blend suggested above, prepare that now so it will have time to “bloom” into a sticky egg-like substance. For this, I heat 2/3 cup soymilk in the microwave for about 22 seconds, then stir in the egg replacer. Use a fork to whisk it so that no clumps are remaining. Set aside to bloom!
Combine the cocoa and boiling water and mix with a fork or whisk until smooth. Allow to cool.
Sift together the dry ingredients, including the xanthan gum and salt.
Grate and puree carrots using a food processor, then briefly pulse in the marmalade.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine canola oil, sugar, vanilla, orange juice, Egg Replacer and soy milk blend (or eggs, or flax meal if you so chose), cocoa mixture. Mix for about 30 seconds.
Now, at a low mixer speed, add dry ingredients gradually in thirds. Mix only until blended and smooth; then briefly blend in carrot and marmalade mixture.
Pour batter into prepared cake pans and bake for about 35 to 40 minutes. A toothpick or metal skewer inserted in the middle of the cakes should come out clean to indicate doneness.
When baking is complete, cool cakes for at least 10 minutes in pans on a cooling rack then remove from pans to finish cooling.
Now, use your favorite icing to finish. I make a vegan version of “cream cheese” icing. (Recipe below.) It’s delicious and looks great!
Lucy’s Gluten-Free Vegan “Cream Cheese” Icing
This easy to make icing spreads beautifully and tastes great. The most important tricks for success are careful sifting of the powdered sugar, and adequate blending of ingredients with a heavy duty mixer and whisk attachment.
- 2 cups Organic Palm Oil Shortening
- One 7 oz. container of Vegan Cream Cheese
- 2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
- 1½ teaspoon Orange Extract
- 3/16 teaspoon Salt
- About 7 cups Gluten Free Powdered Sugar (Sifted thoroughly!) (This is about one 2 lb bag!)
(You may want to add more or less powdered sugar, depending on the taste and texture you prefer for your frosting. You can also adjust the flavorings and salt to suit your tastes.)
Combine the shortening, vegan cream cheese, salt, vanilla and orange flavoring together the mixer and whisk on high speed for about one minute until smooth. Then gradually add the sifted powdered sugar on slow speed until blended, running mixer at about 20 to 30 second intervals. Lastly, whisk the finished mix on high speed for added fluff.
This makes a large amount of icing so you are sure to have a beautiful cake, no matter how thick you like the icing. You may decide to reduce the recipe in the future if too much is left over.
Add a thick layer of frosting to the top of your base cake layer, stack your second layer on top and finish. If you are new to icing cakes, I highly recommend that you invest in two baker’s icing spatulas. One should be about 11 inches long and about 1.5 inches wide. The other, 8 inches long and narrower. They are inexpensive and will make the job much easier and the result more appealing! You’ll know which one to use for which parts of the job once you’ve tried them a few times!
Best wishes for your special occasion!
Jan05
Posted in Posted in Food Allergy Recipes, Gluten Free Recipes, Uncategorized by Lucy
You may have noticed that I like recipes that are gluten free and food allergy friendly. I get a huge kick out of finding something good to make – that I can do just as the recipe calls for. There is something normal about it, and I like it! When I find recipes from mainstream sources, they are often fruit or vegetable based and they’re lean, clean and really good for you.
In late December I posted on Facebook a link for some wonderful, healthy, New Year’s eating ideas from Bon Appetit. Most are gluten free and food allergy friendly, or easily adapted. Check these out.
Lean and clean aside, I am on the lookout for some new ways to make the rich and fancy stuff. Since it can be challenging to work without certain ingredients, sometimes I feel like I’m in a recipe rut. So this year, I am forging ahead with new attempts and new ideas.
I will be posting my successes here throughout 2011. And, I invite you to share some of your own. Please do.
This month I’ll post a couple of options for using Lucy’s cookies in a dessert recipe, plus a few ideas for savory winter entertaining.
Coming tomorrow is my recipe for Gluten Free, Vegan Chocolate Cake complete with video commentary. Really, we’ll be posting a cooking video with National Foundation for Celiac Awareness. Alternative Appetites Chef, Dan Kohler, and I made the cake together. There’s a secret ingredient! Stay tuned.
