Blueberry Muffin MIX!

I made my first packaged easy-prep mix last weekend. :-) It turned out REALLY well and even my picky husband liked the finished product.

One bag of mix makes 1 dozen muffins, and all the baker has to add is 3/4 cup natural (sugar free/unsweetened) apple sauce, 1/4 cup canola oil, 1/4 cup rice milk, and about 1 cup of strained canned blueberries (I used a little less because I had already used a couple spoonfuls in my pancakes that morning). This mix is: wheat-free, egg-free, dairy-free, soy-free, corn-free, nut-free, etc. :-) It is a really great universal allergen-free muffin mix.


If any of my friends would like to try this (or other future mixes), just write me an email and I'll send one off. If I don't know you, leave me a comment and I'll try to keep checking the comments on my *mix* posts frequently.

Stir-fry alternative...

Today I needed to use up some fresh veggies and some chicken, so I gave in and used soy (in the form of soy sauce) for the first time in over a week. I try not to use it too much since Jack seems sensitive to it these days, but he doesn't have a bad reaction even when he drinks straight soy milk and and eats yogurt all day long. He just gets very phlegmy and a little rashy. We'll see how he does tomorrow after having a little bit of soy sauce in his stir-fry marinade/sauce.

I'd love some good ideas for soy sauce alternatives in stir-fry dishes! Take into account we can't use peanut or sesame ingredients either. The soy sauce we use is wheat-free.


Into the stir-fry went:
(marinade)
fresh finely chopped ginger root
wheat-free soy sauce
chile oil
light olive oil
water
garlic powder (fresh garlic and/or onions bother both me and Jack)
chicken breast fillets
chinese eggplant
carrots
crimini mushrooms
baby bok choy
thai basil
corn starch (or potato starch if you are corn-allergic) & water to thicken after stir-frying
Served mixed with Thai rice noodles (only ingredients are rice and water)... a nice alternative to plain old rice.

Let them eat cake!

So... I have discovered the joys of cooking with pumpkin and applesauce to help with the moisture level of wheat-free and vegan baking. I started out using pumpkin as a primary flavor ingredient (spice cakes, muffins, and cookies). Now I use it in recipes where you'd never even guess it is there by tasting them.



Super Chocolate (pumpkin) Cake:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups rice flour
2/3 cup tapioca flour
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 cup cocoa
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups sugar
3 *units* egg replacer (depends on the brand of egg replacer. 1 unit = the mount needed to equal one egg)

2/3 cup of a fairly acidic apple juice
11/2 cups canned pumpkin
1 cup canola oil
3 tsp vanilla extract OR
** 2 tsp vanilla extract and
2 tsp raspberry extract or 1 tsp mint extract

Mix dry ingredients together. Add wet ingredients and stir until evenly blended. Bake in 2 lightly greased cake pans or cup cake pans for approx. 25 mins (or until toothpick comes out clean).

Depending on your allergies, you can use a lot of store-bought frostings (many only have soy)... or just make a basic icing with powdered sugar, water, and flavoring... I used raspberry preserves with the raspberry chocolate cake pictured. :-)