The Flour Required for Gluten-free Easter Bread

Easter Flowers by Diana Wind for Trinity Episcopal Church, Moorestown, NJ 

Happy Easter!

This Easter morning as we celebrate Easter at home without any company, I was going to experiment and try making my favorite Easter Bread in a gluten-free version. However, the King Arthur Gluten-Free Measure for Measure Flour 1-1 is for baking YEAST FREE recipes and not recommended for bread. Oh well... so if you want to try making Gluten-free Easter Bread, you would need to order their King Arthur Gluten-Free BREAD Flour. Watch for GardenCuizine's recipe next year. 

Easter Bread Gluten-free Recipe to come in 2027

Ingredients

King Arthur Gluten-free BREAD flour

Putting it all together 

Recipe and photos Copyright (C)Wind. All rights reserved. 

Diana's 3-cheese, Gluten Free, Sicilian Lasagna

Gluten Free Lasagna

As you may have seen in previous posts, we always make lasagna for Christmas dinner! Mom started this family tradition ever since I can remember. We continue it to this day. RIP mom! The past few years we started making a gluten free (GF) version, which is good enough for company. In my opinion, you can't taste any difference. If you have a friend or family member who needs GF options, this recipe is a winner!

This year we used Barilla, no cook, oven ready, gluten free noodles that are made with corn and brown rice flour. The taste was great. The main recipe differences between my regular lasagna and GF lasagna are that no pre-cooking, oven-ready, GF noodles is necessary, oven-ready GF noodles need sauce on both sides of the noodles, and all exposed noodles need to be covered with sauce.

This recipe is different than what is on the Barilla box and very similar to my regular Sicilian Christmas lasagna recipe. We baked the lasagna at 350 deg. F vs 425 deg. F. as suggested on the Barilla package label. Below is my GardenCuizine recipe:

Preheat oven to 350 deg. F.
Set aside a 13 x 9 x 2-inch Pyrex baking dish 

Ingredients

• 1 box Barilla, no cook, oven ready, gluten-free lasagne 

Meat blend

• 1 lb lean ground beef  (Mom used to blend with Italian sausage. For vegetarian, use boca crumbles)
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• black pepper 
• drizzle olive oil

Ricotta blend 

1, 32 oz whole milk Ricotta

1 1/2 cups shredded low fat mozzarella 

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese 

2 large eggs, whisked 

1 Tblsp. chopped fresh parsley 

1/8 tsp. fresh grated or ground nutmeg 

1/8 tsp. salt 

Sauce 

• 1 large jar pasta sauce or your own homemade sauce
• 3-4 bay leaves (not edible! remove before serving)
• 1/2 tsp oregano

Topping

• 1 cup or so shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/8 cup Parmesan cheese
• Chopped fresh parsley (believe it or not we still had some growing in a pot on our front porch!)

Putting it all together

• Warm up the sauce in a pot. Stir in bay leaves and oregano. Keep covered on low heat.
• In a large skillet, add a drizzle of olive oil and saute the onion add garlic; stir; cook until golden; remove from the skillet to a plate or bowl.
• In the same skillet, cook the ground meat, season with black pepper. Remove from heat. Drain any grease. 
• Stir in the cooked aromatics (onion and garlic). 
• In a large bowl, combine the ricotta, mozzarella, Parmesan, whisked eggs, nutmeg, salt, set aside.

1. Prepare your baking dish with a bottom layer of red sauce.
2. Place a layer of noodles on top of the sauce.
3. Add a little more sauce on top of the noodles (both sides must have sauce to soften and cook properly). 
4. Scoop small balls of Ricotta, about 3 scoops per noodle. (We use a 2 oz scoop)
5. Top with a layer of cooked ground meat.  

• Repeat - sauce - noodles - sauce - ricotta - meat 
• sauce - noodles - sauce 
•  Top with mozzarella and Parmesan cheese and a sprinkle of chopped parsley.

Note: if you have leftover ricotta, which we always do, make another small serving to freeze uncooked and cook at a later date. 

Cover with aluminum foil, try not to touch the top of the sauce with the foil. Bake at 350 deg F. about 40 minutes. Remove foil and cook uncovered another 15 min or until top is golden brown. Remove from oven. Let sit 5-10 minutes before serving.

Buon Appetito!

GardenCuizine Blog Post and photos Copyright (C)Wind. All rights reserved. 

Diana's Gluten-free Pumpkin Pie Crust

Diana's Gluten-free Pumpkin Pie Crust

Ingredients

• 1 cup Corn Flour
  
• 1 cup Buckwheat Flour
• 2 tblsp Tapioca Flour
  
• 1 tblsp sugar
  
• 1/4 tsp baking powder  
• 1/4 tsp salt
  
• 6 tblsp Butter, unsalted
• 1 tblsp Smart Balance
  
• 1/2 cup cold water
  

Putting it all together

We used Bob's Red Mill gluten-free flours. Sift together all of the dry ingredients. Cut the butter into small cubes and add to mixer. Slowly mix with paddle until it is blended (cut) into the flour but visible chunks remain. Gradually add in cold water, mixing until the dough comes together. Stop mixing, form into a ball with hands, flatten into a 1-inch thick disc and wrap in clear wrap. Save and refrigerate until ready to use. You will notice that the dough is darker in color due to the buckwheat flour.

When ready to use, roll out like you would with regular pie dough. I roll the dough out between layers of plastic wrap. Then flip it onto a lightly sprayed (non-stick spray, we use Pam) pie plate; crimp the edges as desired. Fill with your strained pumpkin pie custard; bake as directed in Diana's pumpkin pie recipe. Allow to cool before serving. Enjoy!

Best Wishes for a Happy and Healthy Thanksgiving!

Blog-post, photos and recipe Copyright (C)Wind. All rights reserved.

Camembert Cranberry Puffed Pastry Appetizer #GardenCuizine #recipe

Camembert Cranberry Appetizer

This fun-to-prepare appetizer came from a Camembert Snowflake video recipe making the rounds on Facebook. Great timing for us, since I was looking for something special to make as an appetizer for company. Camembert cheese is an artisan cow's milk cheese made in Normandy France. The texture is soft and creamy, similar to Brie cheese. Camembert's mild flavor can be enjoyed fresh or baked. I made a few modifications to the online recipe.

The video recipe pinched two dough twists together to make a snowflake. That would make a large serving size. I thought the twists were perfect individual servings, so I decided not to pinch them together. 

The video recipe left the white rind on the top of the cheese. My Aunt Jane - a gourmet cook - suggested that we trim it off. I'm glad we did. 

Uncle Al, me, Mom, Aunt Jane

The video recipe also called for bacon. I made it with the bacon, but next time will omit the bacon or substitute chopped roasted walnuts. The bacon flavor overpowered the delicate cheese and tarragon.

For the whole cranberry jelly, I made it the same way as at Thanksgiving - from whole cranberries and a hint of orange. We happened to have some frozen cranberries that worked well. A thin layer is all you will need. The extra cranberry jelly can be served during your main course.

In our oven, the puffed pastry cooked to a nice golden brown at 20 minutes, but the bottom layer needed just a little more time: 25 minutes would be perfect. Keep an eye on it in your oven and use your judgement. The cheese gets gooey and melted; the rind will act like a wall and keep it from oozing out.

Allow to cool slightly before serving for best flavor. Serve with a small butter knife to spread the cheese. Our family gave it a thumbs up! We would make it again for company.

Ingredients
Camembert cheese round
2 sheets Puff Pastry dough
whole cranberry jelly
1-2 slices cooked bacon
dried tarragon leaves
olive oil
egg wash

Putting it all together

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Prepare a baking sheet with aluminum foil lightly sprayed with oil.

• Make a batch of whole berry cranberry jelly. Allow to gel.
• Allow frozen puff pastry dough to unthaw

• Use a rolling pin and pin out the first layer of pastry dough to make it a little thinner. Place a glass pie dish upside down on the dough and using a small knife, cut out a circle. 
• Use a round ring or biscuit cutter that is close to the size of your cheese and cut a smaller circle out of the dough center. Move to a prepared baking sheet. Repeat with second layer of puff pastry.

• Before placing the second layer of dough on the baking sheet, spread cranberry jelly on the first pastry dough. Place the second piece of dough over the jelly.
• Cut even strips around the dough ring. Give each one one twist. pinch together the bottom and press with a fork on the end of each piece. 

• Brush the pastry (not the cheese) with egg wash. Drizzle a small amount of olive oil atop the cheese.
• Sprinkle everything with dried tarragon leaves.
• Bake 20-25 minutes.

Enjoy!
Related Links
Camembert Snowflake video recipe  
What's the difference between Camembert and Brie cheese?
Photos and blog post Copyright (C) Wind. All rights reserved. Thanks Aunt Jo and Aunt Jane!

Pumpkin Pie made with Butternut Squash #GardenCuizine

Pumpkin Pie 

made with Butternut Squash
Low in saturated fat, a good source of calcium, 

and a very good source of Vitamin A

Have you ever noticed that Christmas carols sing of pumpkin pie being served during the holidays? "...when they pass around the coffee and the pumpkin pie..."

Baking your own pie guarantees quality ingredients for you, your family and friends. Enjoy pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving and at Christmas too. 

This year we had locally grown butternut squash available so I made pumpkin pie using fresh roasted butternut squash instead of canned pumpkin. It was one of the best pumpkin pies ever! Try butternut squash for a delicious substitute to canned pumpkin.

Click here for my pumpkin pie recipe published online.

Simply substitute pureed butternut squash for canned pumpkin.

Looking for the perfect pumpkin pie crust? 
Click here for my GardenCuizine pumpkin pie dough recipe.

Happy Holidays!
Blog post and photo Copyright © Wind. All rights reserved.

Better Butternut Squash Soup #wintersquash #GardenCuizine #JerseyFresh

Better Butternut Squash Soup

I've been recently testing and tasting recipes for our first outpatient dietitian hospital cooking class at Inspira Health Network. The class - "Soup's On" - featured nutritious butternut squash soup. My recipe uses soy milk so that anyone who is lactose intolerant can enjoy it too. Heavy, calorie-laden cream is not needed to make delicious cream soups.

A quick Google search will reveal a variety of ways to make butternut squash soup. I posted a recipe years ago using cinnamon and vanilla soy milk. Back then, I may have used "vanilla" soy milk because that was all we had in the house at the time. This version tasted even better with added curry, fresh ginger root and plain, versus vanilla, soy milk.

And, for those who tell me that they can't afford to eat healthy: the soup cost only about 58 cents per cup - more evidence that you can Cook Healthy on a Budget!

Yields 3 quarts - note: freezes well

Ingredients
one 2 to 3 pound butternut squash OR 2 bags (16 oz. chopped frozen butternut squash)
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped carrots
1/8 teaspoon (tsp.) minced dried hot peppers from your garden (or hot pepper flakes)
1 tablespoon no salt butter (or vegetable oil)
1 tsp. fresh grated ginger root (or one cube of frozen ginger*)
1/2 tsp. dried thyme leaves
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp. salt
pinch fresh grated black pepper
2 cups low fat chicken broth (or water)
1 quart plain soy milk (or 2% milk)

 

Putting it all together
Step 1
Decide how you want to cook the squash. 
Wash hands. 
If roasting squash: Preheat oven to 350 deg. F.
Wash vegetables
Prep onions, celery and carrots: peel and chop - set aside.

Step 2

• Prep squash: cut ends off both sides. 
• If sauteing directly in the soup pot: cut in half across the middle and peel skin; cut each piece lengthwise and scoop out seeds. Cut into cubes. OR for convenience use precut, frozen butternut squash.
• If baking: Cut in half across the middle; cut again so there are 4 pieces. Rub olive oil on cut sides of squash. Place squash cut side down on foil-lined baking sheet. Bake at 350 deg. F. until soft (about 30 minutes); remove from oven - scoop out seeds. Return to oven and continue baking until squash is full cooked and the edges show caramelizing and a little browning.

Step 3

• In stockpot saute chopped veggies in 1 T butter or oil for 10 minutes
• Stir in hot pepper flakes
• Stir in remaining seasonings
• Add 2 cups broth OR water and bay leaf. Cover, simmer and cook until veggies are soft

Step 4

• Remove bay leaf
• Stir in milk
• Puree in blender or with hand-held immersion blender
• Taste and adjust seasonings as needed

Enjoy with a few homemade whole grain herb pita chips

Buon Appetito! 

GardenCuizine Nutrition Data Butternut Squash Soup: 1 cup soup
Excellent Source: Vitamin A, Vitamin C
Good Source: Vitamin D, Vitamin E, Riboflavin, Folate, B12, Calcium, Magnesium, Potassium

Calories: 111; total fat: 3g; Sodium 246mg (10%DV); total Carbohydrate: 20g; dietary Fiber: 1g (4%DV); Sugars 6g; Protein 4g; Vitamin A 17250IU (345%DV wow!); Vitamin C 22.6mg (38%DV); Vitamin D: ~39.7IU (~10%DV); Vitamin E ~2mg (~10%DV); Riboflavin 0.2mg (13%DV); Folate 32mcg (11%DV); B12 1mcg (17%DV); Calcium 170mg (17%DV); Magnesium 57mg (14%DV); Potassium 593mg (17%DV)
 *thanks D.A. for introducing me to frozen ginger cubes! Ask for frozen ginger at your local supermarket.
Photos and blog post Copyright (C)Wind. All rights reserved.

Hoppin' John w/ greens. Good Luck recipe for all Year #GardenCuizine #vegetarian

Vegetarian Hoppin' John makes a nutritious New Year's side dish that you can enjoy throughout the year. Hoppin' John is traditionally made with ground meat or a meaty ham bone or ham hocks. My version adds greens making it an ideal side dish versus a main course. 

• For a vegetarian main course with complete protein, serve Hoppin' John with greens over organic quinoa grain, brown rice, or other whole grain.

What if I overcook the beans?
If you overcook the beans, just puree them and make a hummus-type bean dip or make them into bean burgers or croquettes. Never toss out overcooked beans. Beans can add dietary fiber and nutrients to many recipes.

Hoppin' John (Frijol de Carita) with Greens  
GardenCuizine freestyle recipe (...meaning use your own measurements of ingredients. Beans, soups or stews never have to be "exact". However, ingredient measurements are noted below for those who prefer to follow a recipe)

Ingredients
2 cups dry Black-eye or heirloom Yellow-eye peas (Cowpeas) - reserve cooking liquid (We use dried beans and cook without pre-soaking. You can also use frozen or canned cowpeas.
1 strip Kombu seaweed* (optional; I use about a 6 inch by 1 inch piece)

2 tablespoons olive oil 
1 cup yellow Onion - chopped
1 cup Celery - chopped
1 cup Carrots - chopped
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp grated ginger
1/8 tsp dried thyme
pinch dried, minced hot pepper 
1 bunch fresh or 1 package frozen chopped spinach, turnip, collard or mustard greens

1/2 teaspoon salt 
ground black pepper
hot sauce - optional
fresh or dried parsley or other favorite herbs - optional

Putting it all together

• Rinse dried beans; place in stockpot. Cover with water - about 6 cups and add a small strip of wakame seaweed if desired. Bring to boil, simmer and slowly cook beans until tender but still a little firm. Drain and save any cooking liquid - set aside.
  
• Reusing the same stockpot, add olive oil over medium heat and saute chopped onions, celery and carrots. Stir in cumin seeds, garlic, ginger, thyme, and hot peppers. Add greens. Cover with a little bean cooking liquid or water and simmer until greens are heated through.
• Stir in cowpeas and simmer until the flavors all blend
• Season to taste with salt, pepper and optional hot sauce
• Stir in or garnish with chopped fresh parsley if you have it
• Serve as a side dish or over cooked brown rice or quinoa. Some chefs like Latin-Cuban-Puertorican cook Nydia Pichardo like to serve Frijol de Carita with coconut rice garnished with crisp plantain chips.

Good Luck and best wishes for a 

Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year!

Photo and recipe copyright (C)2014 Wind. All rights reserved. Rev 1/6/17.

No Shortening @SmartBalance @FAGEUSA Diana's PIE DOUGH #Healthy #HolidayBaking #GardenCuizine

No Shortening Pie Dough

Home baked pies are enjoyed by all during the Holidays. Many people I speak to may bake off a pie using a store bought crust. I encourage you to make the crust too! Store bought pie crust is convenient but lacks terribly in nutrients and is mostly empty calories. After several attempts at modifying pie dough to use less fat and no shortening, here is one that got two thumbs up from my family for our Thanksgiving pie last night.

Ingredients
Yields: 2 crusts

• 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 7 tablespoons cold unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup Fage Greek yogurt* plain
• 2 tablespoons Smart Balance* oil blend
• 1/4 cup ice water

Putting it all together

Sift or whisk together the dry ingredients. Cut the cold butter into ¼ inch cubes and mix into the dry flour. If you are using a mixer, the paddle attachment works well. Drizzle in the oil. Mix in the cold water. Add yogurt one tablespoon at a time while mixing. When the dough starts to come together, turn the mixer off and finish pressing together by hand. Divide the dough into 2 balls and flatten into 1 inch discs, wrap in clear wrap and refrigerate or freeze until ready to use.

This all-purpose pie dough is soft and easy to work with. The taste is more like a butter cookie and will not be flaky as a crust made with shortening or lard. It works well for Pumpkin and fruit pies.

Happy Baking!

*Adding 2 tablespoons Smart Balance oil (a blend of mono and polyunsaturated fats: olive, canola and soy) adds vitamin E and 2,000 mg Omega 3's. You can use canola oil OR trans fat free shortening if you don't have Smart Balance. Also, I use Fage lowfat (2%) Greek yogurt, which adds calcium and protein to the recipe. 

Related Links
Diana's Pumpkin Pie recipe  
Blog post and photos copyright (C) 2013 Wind. All rights reserved. Revised 2015.
Greens in the photo collage: Cold hardy Arugula and Parsley harvested Thanksgiving Day!

Ho Ho Ho Grinch Kabobs #GardenCuizine #Christmas #eatmorefruit

Grinch Kabobs

Made Grinch Kabobs tonight for our calendar party at Trinity Church. Our month was December and the theme was Christmas Afternoon Tea with berry scones, lemon curd, tea sandwiches and of course dessert. These were served on the dessert tray. Got the idea from Pinterest and gave them a try. The fruit was a tight squeeze on the toothpicks, so excess was trimmed off the large grapes and strawberries. Also, the mini marshmallows were cut in half. The sliced banana was tossed in a drizzle of fresh squeezed lemon juice to keep the fruit from browning. 

Because of the banana slices, they won't hold up long; make them as close to your party as possible. I made these about an hour before the event and kept them in an airtight container until serving time. Also, buy extra strawberries because some might not be cone shaped and won't work well as a Santa hat. These were a big hit! Serve them at a Christmas party or for a healthy holiday snack.

Have fun party planning this holiday season! 
Photo and blog post Copyright (C)2013 Wind. All rights reserved.

Fun Summer Appetizer for Parties: Ladybug Tomatoes #GardenCuizine #recipe

Ladybug Tomatoes 

Summer Appetizer

      
Non-hybrid heirloom tomatoes are quite hardy and easy-to-grow from seeds. Saving seeds from tomatoes takes a little more effort than some seeds, but it's always worth it. I think every single seed I planted this year germinated, which means more for us and more plants to share with friends. We are still planting out our cherry tomatoes. I usually plant them in both pots and directly in the garden.

On our recent adventure to Sicily, we were often served cherry tomatoes at meals. I had never really seen a bowl of sliced cherry tomatoes served in a restaurant before that. Bite-sized cherry or grape tomatoes are an easy way to increase your vegetable intake too. 

Just 1 cup of cherry tomatoes provides an excellent source of Vitamins A and C, plus they're a good source of Potassium, making them a nutritious snack or an ideal choice for use in recipes.

This ladybug tomato appetizer recipe is fun to put together and makes a tasty conversation piece at summer BBQ picnics and parties. Try some this Memorial Day weekend!

This is another one of my freestyle recipes, meaning that you can use as little or as much of the ingredients to create the number of servings desired. No exact measurements are necessary.
 
Ingredients

• Cherry or grape tomatoes (for the ladybug body)
• Neufchâtel cream cheese (has 1/3 less fat than regular cream cheese) 
• Garden herbs (I snipped some chives, parsley and oregano for our Memorial Day batch) 
• Onion powder
• Ground black pepper 
• Black olives (for heads and spots)
• Black artificial color to dye a little portion of cream cheese - optional (can pipe on dots or use as a glue for attaching the olive spots)
• Rosemary (for antennae; or use your imagination, chives...)  
• Crackers or sliced garlic bread toasts
• Any garden greens (lettuce, mizuna, arugula etc)

Putting it all together

1. Set aside crackers or make garlic and olive oil toasted bread slices
2. Cut the cherry tomatoes in half and slice again but not all the way through and set aside.
3. Cut the olives in half and set aside. Also, cut tiny olive bits for spots. Dye a little of the cream cheese mixture black or dark gray to use as a paste to attach the olive spots on.
4.  In a mixing bowl, whip the cream cheese. Stir in the garlic powder, black pepper and chopped herbs.
5. Now you are ready to put them together and have some fun! Spread a little round of cream cheese on the tops of your crackers or toasts.
6. Spread the partially split tomato half over top to make the wings. Add the head (a small amount of cream cheese helps hold it in place). Add antennae. Decorate with spots dipped in dyed cream cheese to hold them on.
7. Serve your ladybug appetizers atop a mixed bed of garden greens on a red, white or black serving dish. Enjoy!

GardenCuizine Nutrition Data for Cherry Tomatoes: 1 cup (149g): 27 calories; total fat 0g; cholesterol 0g; dietary fiber 2g (7%DV); total carbohydrate 6g (2% DV); Vitamin A 1241 IU (25% DV); Vitamin C 18.9 mg (32% DV); Potassium 353 mg (10% DV); Folate 22 mcg (6% DV); Phytosterols 10.4 mg

Happy Memorial Day! 

Check out my Dave's Garden 'Ladybug Love' article, featuring photos of ladybug cupcakes - another summer party favorite!

Related Links: Ladybug Appetizers Recipe
Choosemyplate.gov Vegetable Group
Memorial Day History
Blog post and photos copyright ©2012 Wind. All rights reserved.