Apple Maple Muffins

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups (210 g) high-quality all-purpose gluten-free flour
3/4 teaspoon xanthan gum (omit if your blend already contains it)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup (100 g) sugar, plus 2 tablespoons more

8 tablespoons (112 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup (240 g) dairy free sour cream (I use Follow Your Heart Vegan Sour Cream) 
1/8 cup ground chia seed
1 1/2 teaspoons powdered egg replacer
4 TBL warm water
1/8 cup maple syrup
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups (200 g) peeled, cored and diced firm apples (I used Honey Crisp) – about 2 medium-sized apples
Lemon Juice
1 tsp lemon zest
cinnamon
2 teaspoons cornstarch

Directions

• Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line a standard 12-cup muffin tin with greaseproof liners and set it aside.
• In a large bowl, place the flour, xanthan gum, baking powder, baking soda, ground cinnamon, and sugar, and whisk to combine well. In a separate bowl combine the chia seed, powdered egg replacer and warm water.  Let stir and let set until thick.  Add to the flour mix, the butter,  sour cream, egg replacer mix, maple syrup and vanilla, one at a time, mixing to combine after each addition. Set the bowl aside.
• In a separate medium-sized bowl, place the diced apples, and add a sprinkle of ground cinnamon, about 2 tablespoons sugar, lemon juice to just coat, lemon zest and the cornstarch, and mix gently to combine. Place 2/3 of the diced apples (about 1 cup apples with cinnamon, sugar and cornstarch) in the batter, and mix until evenly distributed throughout the batter. Fill the prepared muffin cups about 3/4 of the way full with batter and smooth the tops with wet fingers. Place 3 to 4 of the remaining diced apples on top of the batter in the cups, and press in gently to secure them.
• Place the muffin tin or baking sheets with muffin cups in the center of the preheated oven and bake until lightly golden brown on top and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean (30 minutes).
• Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely in the cups (or muffin tin) before serving.
  
  Inspired by: http://glutenfreeonashoestring.com/chunky-apple-muffins/

Peach Blueberry Pie

1 1/2 cups sugar
6 tablespoons quick-cooking tapioca (reserve one to sprinkle on pie crust bottom)
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
3 pounds peaches, peeled and sliced (6 cups, about 6 peaches)
12 ounces blueberries (2 cups)
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (from 1 lemon)
1 homemade or store-bought double-crust pie dough
1 large egg, separated, white lightly beaten or veganaise/creamer blend
2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, 5 TBL tapioca, and salt. Add peaches, blueberries, and lemon juice and toss to combine; let sit 15 minutes. Lightly flour a rolling pin and work surface and roll out half the dough to a 12-inch round. Place in a 9-inch pie plate and sprinkle with a tablespoon of tapioca. Pour in fruit filling and dot with butter.

Roll out remaining dough to a 12-inch round and place over fruit filling. Trim excess and crimp edges to seal. In a small bowl, lightly beat egg yolk with 1 tablespoon cold water or use a TBL of Veganaise with a tsp of creamer. Brush top of dough with mixture of choice. With a paring knife, cut several small slits on top to vent. Set on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until crust is deep golden brown and juices are bubbling, about 60 minutes. (Tent loosely with foil if crust browns too quickly.) Let pie cool completely on a wire rack, about 3 hours.

Based on a Martha Stewart Recipe. Altered slightly to accommodate my modified diet.

Quick Coleslaw

Ingredients:

16 oz. Packaged coleslaw mix (shredded cabbage and carrots)
1/2 cup Vegenaise (or lite mayo)
1 TBL cider vinegar
1 TBL sugar
1/2 tsp celery seed
1 tsp Penzy green goddess herb mix (green onion flakes, sugar, sweet basil, celery flakes, minced garlic and dill weed)
coarse salt and ground pepper to taste

Directions:

In a medium bowl, combine everything but the coleslaw mix. Add cabbage and toss to combine.

Maque Choux

A great side dish to accompany jerk chicken.


8 medium ears of fresh corn
1 medium onion, chopped (1/2 cup)
1 small green sweet pepper, chopped (1/2 cup)
2 tablespoons margarine or butter
1 medium tomato, cut up
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper

Remove the husks from corn; scrub with a stiff brush to remove silks. Rinse. Use a sharp knife to remove corn from cobs, cutting two-thirds of the way to the cob. Scrape cobs with a dull edge of a knife. (You should have about 4 cups.)

In a 3-quart saucepan cook onion and green pepper in margarine or butter about 5 minutes or until tender. Stir in corn, tomato, salt, black pepper, and red pepper. Cover and cook over low heat about 20 minutes or until corn is tender. Season to taste. Makes 6 side-dish servings. 


(Found this recipe from an on-line forum, no credit was given as to who created it. It's pretty delish though!)

Orange Creamsicles (DF, EF)

1 cup of non dairy yogurt, plain or vanilla (I used a coconut based yogurt)
1 cup of orange juice pulp free
1/8 cup of maple syrup
3 drops orange oil (extract)
1/4 tsp of vanilla extract

Blend all ingredients in a small food processor, pour into popsicle molds and freeze. Eat and enjoy!

*Makes four popsicles.

Apple Slab

Apple Slab.  Not the most romantic name for a dessert but you won't care what it's called once you get your first bite.  I made this for the the first time at Thanksgiving and it was a huge hit! It's sweet, a bit tangy and full of apple goodness. 

Ingredients

Pie Crust

Use your favorite pie crust recipe.  I made a double batch of Gluten Free Pie Crust and it worked out just perfect for the size of my pan. 

Filling

8 oz. gingersnap cookie crumbs (about 1 cup)

1 tablespoon quick cooking tapioca

3/4 cup sugar (1 cup if apples are really tart)
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
2 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice (about the juice of one lemon)
4 - 5 Tablespoons cornstarch (depending on how juicy the apples are)
8 Granny Smith or other good baking apple

Glaze

1 1/2 cups confectioners sugar (aka powdered sugar)

1/3 cup boiled cider (which you can buy or make yourself pretty inexpensively .  I added a cinnamon stick to the cider while it cooked.)

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Enough milk or cream to make the mixture "drizzable".

Directions

Take your pie dough and split it into two parts about 60% and 40%.  Shape each piece of crust into a rectangle; you’re going to be rolling them into rectangles, so might as well give yourself a head start.

Take the larger piece of pastry and put it on a floured work surface (if your using a gluten dough) if it's GF place between two pieces of plastic wrap or parchment paper to roll out.  Start to roll it into an 11” x 15” rectangle.  Lay the dough into the bottom of an ungreased 9"x13" pan. The dough should come up the sides of the pan.  Don't worry about ragged edges, they'll disappear under the top crust.

Messy, huh? That’s OK. Patch up the holes by pushing the pastry together with your fingers, or adding a pinch from the excess on the sides. Push the pastry up the sides of the pan a bit, to make a shallow pastry container for the apples.

In a separate bowl, add the tapioca to the gingersnap crumbs and mix well.  Dump the lot into your dish with the pie dough in it to make an even shallow layer. This will help to absorb the apples’ juice and keep the crust from becoming soggy. 

Put the crust in the fridge while you get the apples ready. And start preheating your oven to 350°F.

Combine in small bowl: sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and lemon zest. In another small bowl combine melted butter and vanilla. Mix first bowl with second now. In third bowl combine lemon juice and cornstarch until thick. Now mix with other ingredients. Set aside. Try not to eat too much of this.

Next, we’re going to peel, core, and slice about 5 large or 6 to 7 medium baking apples. An apple peeler/corer/slicer makes this task fast and EASY.  In a large bowl combine the apples with spice mixture. Mix so that all fruit is thoroughly coated.  Lay the apples over the cookie crumbs. 

Roll the remaining piece of pastry into a 9” x 13” rectangle. Flop the top crust over the apples. Yes, apples will poke through. Seal the edges of the two crusts as well as you can. There’ll be places where they don’t quite meet. That’s OK. Just before baking, slash it 6 or 8 times to allow steam to escape. You can apply an egg wash at this point or for a vegan option brush on a mix of veganaise & (soy or coconut) creamer to give the crust a beautiful golden brown color. Put the slab in the preheated 350°F oven, and bake it for an hour or until you see sugary apple gel bubble up through the venting slits. 

No beauty queen, but icing will help its looks.  Remove it from the oven; it’ll be golden brown. Cool the slab completely before glazing.

Here’s a wonderfully tasty glaze: Combine 1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar, 1/3 cup boiled cider, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, a small pinch of salt, and enough milk or cream to make the mixture “drizzlable.”

Don’t have boiled cider? Use plain milk or cream, maple syrup, honey, or thawed apple juice concentrate. Start with 1/4 cup of any of these; if you’ve made this kind of icing before, you know it’s easier to add more liquid, than to try to take it away. Add enough liquid to make the glaze pourable. Drizzle the glaze artfully atop the slab.

Cut. Serve. Enjoy!

Original recipe that I altered.

Alton Brown's Chicken Stock

Ingredients

• 4 pounds chicken carcasses, including necks and backs
• 1 large onion, quartered
• 4 carrots, peeled and cut in 1/2
• 4 ribs celery, cut in 1/2
• 1 leek, white part only, cut in 1/2 lengthwise
• 10 sprigs fresh thyme
• 10 sprigs fresh parsley with stems
• 2 bay leaves
• 8 to 10 peppercorns
• 2 whole cloves garlic, peeled
• 2 gallons cold water

Directions

Place chicken, vegetables, and herbs and spices in 12-quart stockpot. Set opened steamer basket directly on ingredients in pot and pour over water. Cook on high heat until you begin to see bubbles break through the surface of the liquid. Turn heat down to medium low so that stock maintains low, gentle simmer. Skim the scum from the stock with a spoon or fine mesh strainer every 10 to 15 minutes for the first hour of cooking and twice each hour for the next 2 hours. Add hot water as needed to keep bones and vegetables submerged. Simmer uncovered for 6 to 8 hours.

Strain stock through a fine mesh strainer into another large stockpot or heatproof container discarding the solids. Cool immediately in large cooler of ice or a sink full of ice water to below 40 degrees. Place in refrigerator overnight. Remove solidified fat from surface of liquid and store in container with lid in refrigerator for 2 to 3 days or in freezer for up to 3 months. Prior to use, bring to boil for 2 minutes. Use as a base for soups and sauces.

Source: Alton Brown