Katie and I made this pie again just this weekend.  I was going to take it to a meeting I had with a bunch of friends from church.  The pie turned out beautiful, mostly due to Katie's handiwork with the crust.  It was fat, rounded, and artful.  It reminded me of a romantic picture of an old fashioned grandmother's pie.  Little granny just plucked it out of the oven, and she is going to set it on the windowsill to cool.  I proudly put the apple pie in its carried and went to put it in my car.  It slipped a little ways out of my hands as I was trying to adjust the pie's position.  The pie was no longer gorgeous, and I hadn't even tried to get a picture beforehand.  Thankfully, the top was still intact, despite the cracks and spilled juice.



I failed to mention to my friends that the pie was gluten-free and allergy-friendly.  I wanted to see if they would notice, which they did not.  Seeing as pies are a must at Thanksgiving, here is the recipe:

Apple Pie

double crust pie dough (our favorite mixes here)

1 1/2 c. sugar
1 1/2  t. cinnamon
1/4 t. nutmeg
3/8 t. salt
3 T. tapioca starch or flour
11 c. peeled and sliced apples (I cut half of thick, half thinner)
3 T. butter

Mix together sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and flour.   Add to sliced apples.  Put into deep dish pie pan (with half of the pie crust on the bottom, obviously).  Cut the butter and put on top of apples.  Add the second half of the pie dough to the top.  Crimp the edges of the upper and lower crust together.  Cut four small slits in the middle of the top pie crust.  Bake at 400 degrees for twenty minutes, then reduce head to 350 and bake for forty more minutes.

Enjoy, and Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving is coming - way too fast, in my opinion.  While I mope around that I haven't found a pumpkin pie recipe without eggs that I like enough to make for Thanksgiving, I would like to share the easy way to make an allergy-friendly pie crust.  Both mixes work well with dairy and egg substitutes.

When I saw this recipe on Manifest Vegan's blog, I simply had to try it.  I love acorn squash.  My youngest brother complained the whole time I was making it that I was ruining our dessert, but he even said it was really good.  You are supposed to be able to eat this either hot or cold, but I prefer it cold.  It takes on a cakey texture.



Chocolate Acorn Squash Custard

filling:


2 acorn squash, halved and seeded
1 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. cocoa powder
1/2 c. sorghum flour
2 t. pumpkin pie spice (or mix together 1 t. cinnamon, 1/2 t. ginger, 1/4 t. allspice, 1/4 t. nutmeg)
2 t. vanilla extract
1 t. salt.

topping:

2/3 c. chopped pecans
1 T. dairy-free margarine
1/4 c. sugar
2 T. sorghum
1/8 t. salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Places squashes, cut sides down, on a foiled cookie sheet (make sure it is the kind with sides).  Bake until tender, about 40 minutes.

Scoop roasted acorn squash from its skin and place into food processor.  Puree squash in food processor until smooth. Add brown sugar, cocoa powder, sorghum flour, pumpkin pie spice, vanilla extract and sea salt. Pulse, occasionally scraping the sides, until all ingredients are well combined.  Spoon mixture into four to five ramekins until the ramekins are about  3/4 of the way full.

 Place pecans, margarine, granulated sugar and sorghum flour into the food processor (make sure it is cleaned first!). Pulse until crumbly. Sprinkle topping onto filling and bake custards  at 350 degrees for about 45-50 minutes.  Enjoy hot or cold.

The buttercream icing my mum used growing up was and is my favorite icing.  I always hated having store bought cake somewhere else, grumbling in my mind about how much better it would taste if my mum had made it.

As I posted a cake mix for you all to enjoy, I might as well share the adapted buttercream icing.  Did any of you take the off your cake as a kid so that you could eat it last?  Oh, and if you don't have cake, just put the icing between graham crackers (gluten-free, of course).  And if you don't have any of those, you can do like Katie has been doing and eat it with a spoon.





Allergy-friendly Buttercream Icing

1/2 c. organic all-vegetable shortning
1/2 c. dairy-free butter
1 t. gluten-free vanilla
4 c. organic powdered sugar
2 T. original rice milk

In large bowl, cream shortening and butter with electric mixer. Add vanilla. Gradually add sugar, one cup at a time, beating well on medium speed. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl often. When all sugar has been mixed in, icing will appear dry. Add milk and beat at medium speed.


(Note: We found that putting some of this icing in the middle of the Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies was really good.)

I have been very busy lately between my two jobs.  The family I worked for moved the same week they were preparing for a huge birthday party for their three kids.  The party was sort of an old time carnival/fair theme.  They had everything from face paint to pony rides with crafts and a extra long train cake in between.  I was asked if I could make cupcakes that were at least gluten-free.  I was determined to make is as allergen-friendly as I could, seeing as you did not know who had what allergy (they invited over a hundred people).  Oh, and I also wanted to be able to eat the cupcakes. 

So what do you do with no time and no cake mix?  I don't know, because we found a brand called Cherrybrook Kitchen that makes allergen-friendly cake mixes.  At about seven the night before the party, I was making the mix praying the cupcakes were edible.  Guess what?  They came out more than edible.  They tasted like normal people's food!  (I had my mom try it, so I know.)

They went fast at the party.  They are so easy to make that I can't help dreaming about making and eating another batch.

Note:  I added 1/2 c. chocolate chips to the mix to help with the texture.

Ingredients:  Potato starch, evaporated cane juice, natural cocoa powder, white rice flour, tapioca starch, granulated brown sugar, baking soda, xanthan gum, sea salt
(You add vegetable oil, water, and gluten-free vanilla.)

I recently checked out the book Fish Without A Doubt (by Rick Moonen and Roy Finamore) from our library. I am supposed to have it about twice a week (doctor's orders), but that is not a problem for me. I absolutely adore fish!
My whole family loved this recipe, including my little brother (who happens to not like fish!). I think seafood is growing on him.  Hey, I remember when I used to gag on any kind of fish my Mom made. I can recall trying to make my mother promise not to make any more fish, but that never worked out.
This recipe can be made with tilapia, skinless salmon, char, trout, or catfish. We used tilapia, and it turned out wonderful. At the very end of the post is the recipe for the barbecue sauce that we use for the dish. The sauce needs to be made ahead of time so that it has time to cool. I did not get a picture of this delightful meal because I did not have a hamburger bun to eat it with, and it was not the prettiest of dishes. But let me tell you, looks are not everything!

Tilapia Sloppy Joes-
1/2 lb tilapia fillet, cut into 1/3 in dice
coarse salt
1/4 c vegetable oil
1 c diced onion
1 c diced green bell pepper
2 tsp paprika
barbecue sauce (recipe below)
8 gf hamburger buns
softened butter
potato chips

Season the fish with salt and let it sit on the counter. Heat a medium sized saucepan over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, add the oil, onion, and bell pepper. Saute, stirring often, until onion is soft. This should take about three minutes. Stir in the paprika and saute for one minute. Add the fish and saute for another minute. Then stir in the barbecue sauce, reduce the heat to low, and let it simmer for six to seven minutes. The mixture should be thick. Meanwhile, heat a griddle or cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Butter the buns and toast them on the griddle. Fill the buns with the fish mixture and crush some potato chips on the top for some crunch. Serve the Joes while they are hot.

Barbecue Sauce:
2 T vegetable oil
1 c minced onion
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
pinch of salt
1 T sugar
2 T water
1 T red wine vinegar
1/2 c clam juice
1 c organic (corn-free) ketchup
1 tsp hot sauce (if you do not have corn allergies, you can use Tabasco sauce)
1 tsp gf, corn-free Worcestershire sauce
white pepper

Heat a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, add the first five ingredients, stirring often until the onion is soft, but not brown (about five minutes). Meanwhile, combine the sugar and water in a small skillet over medium-high heat. Cook, swirling, the sugar in the skillet, until the sugar is dissolved and the caramel is dark amber. Add the vinegar and clam juice and boil until the caramel is dissolved. Add the caramel and clam juice mixture to the onion. Add the ketchup, hot sauce, Worcestershire, and white pepper to taste. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for twenty minutes. Let cool.
Makes about 1 3/4 cups. Will keep for days in the refrigerator.