From Gluten Free Gigi's dairy free, soy free, nut free recipe box:

My next big gluten free adventure away from home begins tomorrow!

I’ll be out of my kitchen and on the road spending several days attending a special conference to learn the latest on gluten free living from the top researchers, dietitians, and authors. It's the 37th Annual Gluten Intolerance Group Education Conference.

Of course, I’ll be seeking great-tasting, healthy gluten free meals along the way...

The prospect of traveling and finding places to eat gluten free may be daunting for you. It was for me after I first learned I needed to be gluten free.

Over time, though, I've found easy ways to do it. I'll be sharing those with you more and more on my website. Since starting my blog a year ago, I've already reviewed a few local restaurants and provided some pointers. (By the way, I can't believe I'm already almost upon my one-year blogaversary... we'll have to do something special for it!)

Now I'm starting to review other locations and destinations near and far... and how I go about doing it gluten free. In fact, I'm in the process of putting together a special report about a MAJOR destination for you. I'm doing my research while I'm on this trip...

With all the travel preparation for the conference and my special report, I’ve kept my meal planning even more simple than usual this week! 

...On to Our CC&C Gluten Free Grand Finale!
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Date Filled Bars 01/14/2011
 
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Oddly, this recipe for Date Filled Bars began with thoughts of figs. Fig Newtons, actually. You know those little rectangular cookies that claim to be "fruit and cake"? I miss them. A lot. It is not as if I kept them on hand in my pantry or cookie jar, but if I wanted a Newton, one could easily be had. And this is not something I had ever considered making - some things are just better left to the pros. But I recently made a fig-date conserve to serve alongside gluten-free biscuits we were having for "brinner", and I had just a small amount remaining in the jar in my fridge. And that is when I thought of how much I'd love to have a Fig Newton. A gluten-laden, forbidden Newton. Unfortunately, figs are out of season, and I had no dried figs on hand (those went into the conserve that started this chain reaction of thought). But I always have an ample supply of dates in my pantry - 2 whole dates are often my dessert after a meal - so I thought of a date filling - you know, cook them down with a bit of liquid until they are soft and thick, then pair that mixture with a delicious cookie-like crust on top and bottom. Sure, I know it's a far cry from a store-bought gluten-laden Newton, but by this point, the craving had passed, anyway. I was over it...but since I had dates and was snowed in, I figured it couldn't hurt to make a date filled treat, so here it is...Enjoy!

1 1/2 cups chopped dates
1 cup water
1/2 cup sweet sorghum flour
1/2 cup potato starch
1/2 white rice flour
1 cup cinnamon GF granola (you can substitute certified GF oats here if you do not have granola
1/2 cup light brown sugar (packed)  (I use Camino Cuisine's organic fair trade brown sugar, which has a superior taste - highly recommend it!)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup Earth Balance (R) buttery spread (I use soy-free)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grease an 8 x 8-inch square baking dish.

Prepare the date filling in advance, as you will need some time for this mixture to cool and thicken. Place dates and water in a saucepan and cook (do not boil) over medium heat, cooking and stirring occassionally until dates are soft and the mixture begins to thicken. This will take approximately 15 minutes. When the date mixture is thickened, remove from heat and set aside to cool to slightly warm. I transfer my date filling to a mixing bowl to get it out of the hot saucepan so that it will cool more quickly. Either way is fine.

While the date mixture cools, prepare the crust by combining the flours, starch, granola (or oats), sugar, cinnamon, soda, and salt in a medium mixing bowl. Stir this mixture with a whisk to blend. Add the Earth Balance to the mixture in small scoops (approximately 1 Tablespoon each), then cut it in with a fork until the mixture is crumbly. Press half of the mixture into your prepared pan, then top with the cooled date filling. Top with the other half of the crust mixture, gently pressing into the filling.

Bake the bars until the edges are golden - approximately 35 minutes. Cool completey in pan, then cut into bars to serve.
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This may be the easiest and most delicious cobbler you’ve ever made – ever. I promised you Part 2 of my product review for the cranberry-licious products from Bouncing Berry Farms in Oregon, and here it is! I did not want to use my Gourmet Cranberry & Organic Apple Fruit Delight for a pie – too ordinary. I wanted something a little more exciting. And quite honestly, this fruity blend is so amazingly good that I really didn’t have enough left for a whole pie – it’s good, people – really good. I have eaten it as a topping for my morning oatmeal, as a topping for those velvety Cranberry Scones, alongside my Sweet Potato Biscuits, and slightly warmed on its own as a simple fruit dessert. Oh…and as a condiment for a roast pork sandwich. While those are some mighty tasty applications, they are not blog-worthy, not to mention, as the temps drops to below freezing, I wanted the oven on and a warm, homey dessert. Cobbler. And this one really delivers. I made 4 individual portions – a 32-ounce jar of Fruit Delight would make approximately 8 individual cobblers or 1 large cobbler. In my case, I will need 2 jars on hand at all times – 1 for cobbler, 1 for my random pairings. Enjoy!

Individual Cranberry-Apple Delight Cobblers with Pumpkin Topping
Gluten-soy-nut-free & Vegan

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Prepare 4 individual ramekins (8 ounce size) by lightly spraying with cooking spray or lightly greasing them. You will also need a shallow baking pan (cookie sheet) to place ramekins on while baking (this provides a way to transport all the ramekins at once, as well as protects your oven from potential bubbling fruit topping overflow during baking). 

Filling:
2 c. Bouncing Berry Farms Gourmet Cranberry & Organic Apple Fruit Delight

Topping:
1/3 c. sorghum flour

1/3 c. white rice flour

2 T. corn starch

2 T. brown sugar

Pinch sea salt

Pinch mace

1 t. baking powder

2 T. oil

2 heaping T. pumpkin puree

1/3 c. rice milk

Place the ramekins on the baking pan and fill each one with one-half cup of the fruit filling; set aside while you make the topping.

Combine dry ingredients in a small bowl and whisk until blended. Drizzle oil over this mixture and add the pumpkin and the milk. Stir until blended and divide evenly among individual ramekins, spreading to edges to cover the fruit topping.

Bake cobblers for approximately 30 minutes, or until the topping rises and is done in the center. Remove the pan from the oven and allow cobblers to cool for a bit before serving. These are amazing on their own but can be served with ice cream – either the “real deal” or that made with plant milk to keep it dairy-free and vegan. Pumpkin, butter pecan, vanilla, and cinnamon are some favorite ice cream flavors that came to mind when eating these cobblers!
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     Mechelle over at Bouncing Berry Farms in Bandon-by-the-Sea, Oregon requested a product review of their cranberry products, and I was happy to oblige! I adore cranberries in any way, shape, or form, and I was excited to try Bouncing Berry Farms’ berries! I loved hearing from Mechelle about how she, her husband, and their children go out into their bog together to harvest these berries – so adorable! This is a true family operation, and you can taste the love and care in their products – check them out and see for yourself! In the meantime, try these scones. I think you’ll love them. This is a simple recipe that you can have in the oven in less than 15 minutes, so on the table in about half an hour start to finish. The texture is velvety and rich in spite of the small amount of fat relative to most scones. The cranberries add a nice sweetness, and if you are really lucky, you’ll have some Gourmet Cranberry & Organic Apple Fruit Delight from Bouncing Berry Farms to serve alongside your scones. This is another fabulous product that you’ll soon see featured in a new recipe post, but I had to swipe a bit from the generous 32-ounce jar that Mechelle sent to me to serve with these scones. Needless to say, this combo made for a perfect breakfast on a crisp mountain morning! 

Cranberry Scones
Gluten-soy-nut-free & Vegan

A note about the flours used here:
You may substitute 2 cups of my GF Flour Blend that you see in current (Fall 2011) How-To Videos, which is:

1 cup white rice flour
1 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup tapioca flour
1/2 cup potato starch
1 1/2 teaspoons guar gum (or xanthan gum)

Combine all of the above with a whisk to blend. You will have 3 cups of GF Flour Blend. Use 2 cups here in place of white rice, sorghum, and  corn flour (1st three ingredients below). Reserve the additional cup of flour blend for another use. Proceed with recipe as follows.

1 c. white rice flour
½ c. sweet sorghum flour
½ c. corn flour

2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
¼ t. salt
2 T. sugar
4 T. Earth Balance® buttery spread (If you are not dairy free, use butter, cream cheese, or Greek yogurt here)
Egg replacer to equal 1 egg (prepared) [OR 1 egg OR ¼ c. egg substitute if you can have eggs]
¾ - 1 c. rice milk (If not dairy free, use buttermilk)
½ to ¾ c. dried cranberries (or other dried fruit, or none at all)
1 – 2 t. extra sugar for topping

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking pan with parchment paper or grease lightly (cooking spray will work).

In a mixing bowl, combine flours, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Whisk until blended. With a fork, cut in Earth Balance (or butter, etc.) until a coarse crumb mixture is achieved (pea-sized crumb). 

Add egg and ¾ cup of the milk. Stir to combine. If mixture is too dry to come together, gradually add the remaining ¼ cup milk, a little at a time, until the dough comes together into a slightly sticky ball that pulls away from sides of bowl when stirred. Add dried cranberries, if using, and stir gently.

With lightly greased hands, scoop ball of dough and place on prepared baking pan. Flatten gently, forming into a circle that is approximately 8-inches across and 1 ½-inches thick. 

With a knife, gently score the top of dough, so that it is divided into 8 equal triangles (like cutting a pie, but do not cut more than half way through the dough).  

Bake for 17-20 minutes, or until firm in center and lightly golden around edges. 

Makes 8 scones.
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Have you heard of Earth Balance® buttery spreads? Although I was certain, when I recently eliminated dairy from my diet, that I was very likely the last person to discover this gluten-free vegan butter alternative, it seems I was not. As a matter of fact, I’ve had several people ask me “just what is Earth Balance®?”, so it seemed like a good time for a product review. To that end, I have been busy in the kitchen this week “researching” – not only with buttery spread, but with other Earth Balance® products as well. Tasty task! 

In the interest of full disclosure, I'll tell you that the kind folks at Earth Balance supplied me with lots of yummy product with which to conduct my review (thank you!). But I'll also tell you that I was already a huge fan of Earth Balance buttery spread (soy-free version). The taste-testing for any nut and/or soy containing products was carried out by those other than myself due to my soy and nut allergies, but not to worry - like many of you, I have a team of seasoned in-house taste-testers!

My goal was to use Earth Balance® products in simple, every day recipes to determine whether or not they perform as well as their traditional “mainstream” counterparts. I tried several different recipes using the buttery spread (soy-free version), as well as the nut butters and soy milks, and not once was I disappointed with my results. I tried a savory recipe (Crispy Veggie Fritters with Sweet Chipotle Tomato Sauce), and a couple of sweet treats (Champagne Pie and Honey Wafers) in order to see how Earth Balance® performs in a variety of cooking methods. I even made "buttercream" frosting (my 9 year-0ld deems it better than the "real deal")! I also tested the soy milk products and the no-stir nut butters in baked goods (Oatmeal Almond Drop Cookies and Simple Peanut Butter Cookies), as well as in smoothies (Choco-Banana Smoothie, Strawberry Dream Smoothie, and Honey Almond Smoothie), and for healthy afternoon snacks (try the almond butter on pear slices!). Great results time after time! 

If you haven’t tried this line of products, check them out, and keep checking back here to see all the recipes (listed above) that I tried using Earth Balance® products!
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I love taking somewhat unrelated ingredients and pairing them up for a taste adventure, especially when it comes to sauces and glazes for meat or veggies on the grill. Red plum jam is one of my favorites to use – lots of sweetness with a mild plum flavor that works well with chicken, lean pork, or seafood when paired with a few complementary (and spicier!) ingredients. This recipe makes an adequate amount of glaze for 4 to 6 chicken breasts or thighs, with a bit to serve on the side; however, if you find yourself in need of more, the recipes doubles (and triples) easily. Store extras tightly covered in a glass jar for up to 1 month. Enjoy!

1/3 c. red plum jam
3 t.  Williamson Bros. Hot Sauce, yes, it does make a difference!)
1 ½ t. good quality light olive oil
Juice of 1 sweet orange
2 T. cilantro, finely minced
2 cloves garlic, roasted and crushed to a paste consistency
½ t. red pepper flakes
¼ t. freshly ground black pepper
¼ t. coarse sea salt

In a glass microwave safe bowl, combine jam, hot sauce, and olive oil. Stir until jam begins to break down and mixture is somewhat smooth. Add orange juice and remaining ingredients, stirring to combine. Heat glaze on high power in the microwave for 2 minutes, stirring half-way through cooking time. 

Spoon half of mixture over meat prior to grilling and marinate meat for at least 2 hours for a more intense flavor. Use remaining glaze to brush over meat in the last few minutes on the grill. Remember to use safe handling practices to avoid cross-contamination – discard marinade; do not use utensils that have come in contact with raw meat on cooked meat or in sauce; if you plan to reserve some sauce for the table, take it out first and cover until ready to use so that it never comes in contact with uncooked meat or contaminated utensils.
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