Easy as Pie Test Kitchen

Easy as Pie saves a birthday

2010-07-31T07:57:00-07:00

Here's some correspondence between me and a college friend I thought I'd share:

Amy,

I can't wait until your website is up and running! We found out this week that 1 of our twins is allergic to eggs (major hive incident), and at least 1 is allergic to dairy (I think the other might be, but I'm in the middle of trying to figure out if dairy or something else is causing the throwing up...). And since they frequently steal food from each others' trays...we basically have to cut these things out for both...

One thing that we do is pancakes on Saturday morning - a tradition that we really wanted to do with the kiddos. Is there any chance you have a recipe for pancakes without eggs or milk (tall order...I know). I did find a website that sells box mixes, but since they are already more expensive, and I have to pay shipping, it would be nice if I can find a recipe I can make at home.

Final question...their first birthday is coming up...any cake recipes that would work?

Thanks so much for your blog & this website!

Kim

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Hey there! Bummer to hear about your kids' food allergies. Geez, I can't believe they're almost 1...

I've used a few mixes, but I haven't actually tried any from scratch pancake recipes, believe it or not. I'm putting it on my to-do list for when I get home (I'm traveling for work right now). I also tend to do a lot of wheat-free stuff, since I can't eat it and a lot of people with food allergies also can't, so a little bit of a selfish bias, there. :) However, you are in luck with your kiddo's allergies. There is a wealth of good vegan recipes online, and since you can still use wheat flour, they should come out tasting pretty close to the real thing. This is one of the first ones that turned up in my search, and it sounds pretty good.
http://www.thegrocerygame.com/
You can also replace the eggs with bananas, applesauce, or pumpkin (about 1/4 cup). I've done it with cake mix, too, and it worked really well. I also use ground flax seed as an egg replacer a lot, but I'm not sure I'd recommend it for cakes. It doesn't go well with fluffy. You can replace the milk with soy or almond milk. I've never had any trouble doing that in baked goods (or pretty much any recipe, for that matter.)

I have heard a lot of the Duncan Hines cake mixes are dairy free because they are kosher, although I have not checked that out myself. You can also get dairy free cake mixes on Amazon, if you have trouble finding a health food store in your area. Or use the substitutions I mentioned above in a regular cake recipe (although it might wind up a little heavier than usual). I've also made frosting using just powdered sugar, crisco, and flavoring, following this recipe
http://www.chow.com/recipes/10856
It was pretty good, the only drawback is it gets a little runny if it sits awhile. That just means you have to eat the cake right away. Not that much of a disadvantage if you ask me. :)

Can I share your question on my blog?

Best of luck!

Amy

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Playing with gluten-free beer

2010-07-27T16:04:00-07:00

My hubby recently acquired some gluten-free beer for me. It has too many carbs and makes me REALLY sleepy when I drink it, so I decided to find some other uses for it. I'm not a big fryer and did the actual cooking part with a lot of trial and error, so if you are interested in trying this recipe but are not sure how to go about deep frying something, you should go here.

Beer-Battered Chicken & Zucchini
1 cup corn flour
1 cup gluten-free beer
2 tablespoons cornmeal
2 chicken breast halves, cut in small chunks
2 zucchini, also cut in small chunks

Mix the flour, beer, and cornmeal in a bowl and let it sit for about an hour. Pour some canola oil into a pot or pan so it is about an inch deep and heat over medium-high. (My favorite setting. If you have a thermometer, about.com says to heat the oil to 350 to 375.) Once the oil is hot, dip the chicken and zucchini in the batter and drop it in the oil. Don't put so much in the pan at once that they are crowded. 1" of oil should give you enough room to thoroughly cook the pieces but also they may touch the bottom of the pan, which will make them a little crispier. Cook until crispy on one side and turn the pieces over. Once they are golden on both sides, remove them with a slotted spoon and lay them on some paper towels to catch the grease.

Obviously, this batter can be used with a lot of different things. I plan to try it on halibut next.

A favorite summer snack at our house

2010-07-24T15:46:00-07:00

Grape+freezer=cold, refreshing, all-natural treat

Okay, I'm not sure if a freezer could be considered "natural" in the strictest sense of the word, but close enough! I know you're wondering, "But aren't they hard as a rock??" They are a little harder than your typical juice popsicle, but not much. They have a kind of satisfying crunch.

Sandwich for when you're in a curry... I mean hurry

2010-07-21T15:51:00-07:00

I have to admit, I'm not the world's biggest fan of chard. But my produce delivery service keeps sending it, and I keep forgetting to tell them not to. Plus, I'm not really someone who thinks gluten-free bread is worth the effort (to find or make), so while it's not super great on its own, chard can serve as a nice break from my rice cake or corn tortilla sandwiches. Here's an easy recipe for a wrap filling that is good with chard.

Curry Chicken and Cherry Wrap Filling
1 12.5 ounce can of chicken (white meat is best)
1/4 cup mayonnaise (I use vegan to avoid eggs. I honestly like it better than real mayo anyway)
2 teaspoons curry powder
1/4 cup dried cherries (cranberries are also good, but not very summer, IMHO)

Mix it together and put it in a wrap or sandwich-like vehicle, and voila--a new and interesting lunch. (Oh, and tasty.)

This is also a great recipe for leftover chicken.

Mousse melon

2010-07-18T15:45:49-07:00

It's over 100 here in Southern California, and I've been cooling off with some sugar-free treats made with real fruit.

The cantaloupe mousse (above) is moussier, while the watermelon is more like watermelon jello. Both can be served frozen or just chilled.

Cantaloupe Mousse
1/2 cup raspberry liqueur
1 1/2 envelopes unflavored gelatin
1/2 medium canteloupe, seeds removed and scooped out of the rind
2 teaspoons pure stevia extract
1/2 cup plain yogurt

Pour the liqueur into a small sauce pan. Sprinkle the gelatin over it, then bring to a boil, stirring in the gelatin. Boil for about a minute, then set aside to cool. In a blender, mush the melon (sorry, couldn't think of a better term. :) It just needs to be mushy, not melony. What can I say?) Add stevia, yogurt, and gelatin mixture and blend. Pour the mixture into serving-size containers and chill for a few hours. You can either chill it in the refrigerator for a pudding-like consistency, or in the freezer for something more like frozen mousse.

Watermelon Mousse
1/2 cup lime juice
1 sprig mint
1 1/2 envelopes unflavored gelatin
1/2 seedless watermelon, scooped out of the rind
2 teaspoons pure stevia extract
1/2 cup plain yogurt

Pour the lime juice into a small sauce pan. Sprinkle the gelatin over it, then bring to a boil, stirring in the gelatin. Boil for about a minute, then set aside to cool. In a blender, mush the melon. Add stevia, yogurt, and gelatin mixture and blend. Pour the mixture into serving-size containers and chill for a few hours. You can either chill it in the refrigerator for a gelatin-like consistency, or in the freezer for something more like frozen mousse.