White Bean Blondies

I was sitting around the other day, looking for some gluten free dessert recipes. During my search, I decided to look for white bean blondies. I couldn't find a recipe that I liked, so I decided the black bean brownie recipe I make could easily be adapted for blondies. I didn't measure anything, so as usual, my measurements are guesses. Next time, I would add more oatmeal.

1 can white beans (such as Great Northern) drained and rinsed
1 Pear
2 T honey
1 T light corn syrup
2 t vanilla extract
1/4 t almond extract
1/4 t salt
3/8 c oats

Puree all ingredients except the last 1/8 cup oats. Add the last 1/8 c oats and stir. Bake in a greased 8x8" pan at 350 for 35 minutes.

Gluten Free Egg Dish

I was looking online for a gluten free egg dish that wasn't full of gluten free bread. I found something, but it wasn't what I wanted. I changed it up and it turned out really well.

12 eggs
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and shredded
4 oz button mushrooms, sliced
1 c broccoli florets, cut into small pieces
1 small onion, diced
1 cup almond meal
1/2 t sweet paprika
1/4 t thyme
salt
pepper

Saute the onions until they are soft, then added the sweet potatoes and saute until those are soft. Add the broccoli and mushrooms and leave until they have started to cook.

In a bowl, mix together the eggs, a little water, salt, pepper, thyme, paprika, & almond meal.

Mix the eggs and vegetables. Pour into a 8x12" greased pan. Bake at 325 for about 35 minutes.

Chocolate Vegan Icecream

Chocolate Vegan Ice Cream
2 teaspoon Coffee Powder
1/4 Teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon

3/4 Cup Dutch-Processed Cocoa Powder
3 Cans (13.5 oz each) Regular Coconut Milk

2 Cans (17.5 oz each) Coconut Cream
1 cup Sugar
¾ bag Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips (because it’s what I had)
2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract

In a separate container, combine cocoa powder, coffee powder, salt, and cinnamon, with about a cup of coconut milk, whisk vigorously to form a thick paste, making sure to moisten all of the dry goods and get out any lumps. Once smooth, add into the remaining coconut milk, coconut cream (found in my local asian market) and sugar in a medium saucepan. Turn on the stove to medium heat, and whisk occasionally as it comes up to temperature. When bubbles begin forming around the edges of the liquid, add in the chocolate chips, and whisk slowly or use a large spoon or spatula to keep the chocolate chips moving so they don’t burn on the bottom of the pan, continue until the chocolate fully melts. Once the mixture comes up to a full boil, cook for just a minute or two longer, and as long as there are no more whole chocolate chips remaining, turn off the heat. Stir in vanilla extract, at this point I stuck my emersion blender in the pot and mixed. Place in an ice bath and let cool completely before moving it into the refrigerator to chill. Over night is best.

Churn in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. We did this in 2 batches. Transfer the ice cream into an air-tight container, and store in the freezer. Let solidify in the freezer for at least 3 hours before serving. So we were a little impatient and had some soft icecream.  Addendum: This is pretty solid after freezing overnight. I've been told that Arrowroot will keep the ice crystals from forming and keep the icecream softer. Next batch. It's still wonderfully good.  Next  try will be a vanilla version.

We also tried to make Vegan caramel with an organic sugar (white sugar is recommended because you can’t see the color change well with the organic sugar) coconut cream instead of half and half and coconut oil instead of butter. I’d forgotten to half the cream and oil so we boiled some more and ended up with a hard taffy like substance the kids loved playing with. If you have fillings in your teeth, we adults don’t recommend trying it on a holiday weekend. The caramel recipe will take some more tweaking.

Strawberry Rhubarb Banana Muffins

This is one of those recipes that I made and didn't really measure things, so recreating it probably won't work exactly. But they are good, so I thought I'd give it a try.
1 1/2 c whole wheat flour
1/2 t salt
1/4-1/2 c milled flax seed
2 t baking powder
2 eggs
1 T honey
1 t vanilla extract
2 or 3 mashed bananas
1/2 t almond extract
1/4 c apple sauce
1/4 c juice concentrate
1/2 c water



Filling
1 c Strawberries
2 c Rhubarb
1/4 c Sugar
1/4 c water

 Mix the flour, salt, flax seed & baking powder. In another bowl, mix the eggs, honey, extracts, apple sauce, juice and water. Dig a hole in the flour mixture and dump the wet ingredients in. Mix until combined. Do not over mix.

Cook the filling for a few minutes, until the fruit breaks down and it starts to thicken.

Line muffin pans with cupcake liners. Pour a little batter into each liner, then a dollop of the filling and cover it all with more batter. The muffin tins should be about 2/3 to 3/4 full. You will have extra filling, so you can make less if you'd prefer. I like it over pancakes and waffles, so don't mind having some extra around.