Gluten Free "Bread" Experiment

I was asked to make sure I have a bread substitute for this Shabbat for someone eating here who has recently gone gluten free and is not so happy about it.

Gluten Free breads tend to be very pricey in my neck of the woods, so I figured I should save a bunch of money making my own! But I didn't want to spend a lot of time patchey-ing, and I didn't want to use starch and xanthum gum to figure something out...

So I thought back to that Techina Bread that made the rounds one Pesach in the not-so-distant past, and that I had made using cashew butter for Pesach (as we are not kitniyot eaters). I remembered it being slightly more cake-like than bread-like, so I decided to tweak it a bit. No, this is not a real bread that you can make "hamotzi" on, but I think anyone who really cannot eat gluten doesn't need to make hamotzi, so it's ok (that's my understanding, but I'm not giving you a halachic psak - check with your halachic authority).

The Techina bread recipe calls for eggs, techina, honey, and baking soda. That's it! Hoping to make it a bit more like a hearty, whole grain bread, I changed things up a bit.

Here's my version:

4 eggs
1/2 cup techina
2 tablespoons silan
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp flaxseed
1 tsp chia seeds
1 tsp sesame seeds (+ more for topping, if you want)
pinch of salt

Mix together eggs, techina, silan, salt, and baking soda - mix well with a whisk until thoroughly combined and batter thickens slightly. Fold in seeds.
Fill greased baking pan(s) - I used 3 mini loaf pans, but it can certainly be made in 1 loaf pan for one loaf
 - and sprinkle extra sesame seeds on top (optional).

Bake 25-35 min at 180 C (about 360 degrees F) It turned a rich golden-brown color, and resembles a whole grain bread (at least that!)!

Hoping it goes over well! I nibbled one and it's definitely less cake-like than my last experiment! I liked it! Hoping my picky "customer" enjoys it too!

Let me know if you give it a try!

GF Noodle Kugel (pareve)

Lately, we've been doing a lot of Shabbat hosting - every week we find ourselves with a houseful of guests! It's really amazing to do this, and reminds us that we have a direct line to the tradition of hosting, passed down from Avraham and Sarah...

I won't lie and say it is simple, though. It's a lot of work to host all the time, so I decided to try to streamline my cooking -- I found I was getting overwhelmed -- even more than before. And I think I've done it! Shabbat prep isn't quite as overwhelming as it used to be (granted, some of this is related to the fact that it's Summer, and Shabbat starts late, but I'm trying to convince myself that it's more than that!)!

One of the things that I have begun to do is make several kugels in multiples (and I do this on Thursday) - so all of our side dishes Friday night and Shabbat morning are actually identical.

Most weeks I make 4-6 kugels, but it's not that much work.

Here's one of my new go-to recipes, because it's so easy, and works for almost everyone's food issues (but not vegans, sorry) and is not expensive at all to make. I also take shortcuts and don't make lots of dirty dishes in the process.

noodle kugel, not yet baked

GF Noodle Kugel (makes 1 large pan or 2 small pans)

1 package of thin rice noodles
5 eggs
1/2 cup oil
1 Tablespoon salt
pepper to taste 
(1/2 - 3/4 cup sugar, optional)
(1/4 cup raisins, optional)

Boil a pot of water and cook rice noodles. I tend to undercook them and then turn off the fire to let them finish absorbing the water in the pot.
Allow noodles to cool somewhat (do something else while waiting - it's enough time for me to chop some veggies or check Facebook...).

Then I do the rest of the prep RIGHT IN THE POT so I minimize the dirty dishes I've got piling up in the sink!

Add the rest of the ingredients to the rice noodles, stir with a wooden spoon. When fully mixed, transfer to baking pan(s).
Bake at 200 C for about 1 hr.

That's it! It's so easy, and everyone seems to enjoy it!

Price breakdown: 
Rice noodles - 5-8nis. (Depending where I buy them. Obviously I prefer to get them for 5, but that's not always an option.)
Eggs - just under 5nis
oil - 1nis perhaps
seasonings - minimal, let's round up to 1nis
if you use raisins, add a few shekels to the cost.
(Baking time in the oven -- costs a bit too)
Total: less than 20nis (12 - 15 for basic ingredients)!!

The other kugels I make are usually Potato Kugel, and Vegetable Kugel. All are big hits among kugel eaters. The thing about kugels are they are totally comfort food for many of us...

Then I add random other things to the menu: Usually roasted whole chickens or cut up chickens (spicy or with date honey, depending on my mood) for Friday night, and Cholent and Spicy Chicken Breast for Lunch. And salads, using the abundance of cheap veggies available! If I get enough requests, I'll make soup for Friday night, too, but right now, its so hot I think it's fine to skip it!

For dessert, I have been keeping watermelon on hand, and if there's enough time, I'll bake a couple of cakes.

What are your favorite, EASY crowd-pleasers for Shabbat?

Vegan "Ice Cream"! (free of gluten, dairy, eggs, soy, nuts, and added oils!)

I miss ice cream. It's probably the hardest thing to give up when you give up dairy, at least for me. Especially when it's been such a LONG, HOT summer and everyone around me seems to always be finding their way to a scoop (or two) of ice cream!

So this week, someone suggested that we bring vanilla ice cream to a local get-together, as it would go well with all the apple-themed desserts that we're having there. And I did NOT want to be left out again, so I volunteered to create some vegan, nut free "ice cream" to share. And then I wondered if I was crazy to commit to this endeavor!

Yeah.
Well. What happened was this:

Non-Dairy Vanilla Bean Frozen Dessert
1 cup chick pea cooking liquid (reduced)*-see note below
1/8 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 cup sugar
2-3 vanilla beans

First, I put the chick pea liquid and cream of tartar in my mixing bowl, and set it to whip for a good 10-15 minutes.

In the meantime I put the sugar and vanilla beans into my coffee grinder and ground them up well.

Once the chick pea liquid had magically transformed, I added the sugar-vanilla bean mixture and whipped it some more. When it was all incorporated and seemed like it was as stiff as it was going to get, I scooped it out into a container, covered it, and dug out a spot for it in the freezer!


*Note: If you are using the cooking liquid from home-cooked chick peas, you will need to remove all the chick peas from the pot, bring the liquid back to a boil, and then simmer for about 1/2 an hour. You will see it "reduce" in volume by about 1/3. It should be about the right consistency at that point. Apparently, the liquid from canned chick peas is often already the right consistency. Done!

Now I just need it to freeze!

And it turns out it is not only dairy free and nut free, it's also gluten free, soy free and free of any added oils!

(I did taste it before putting it in the freezer, it was light and fluffy and very promising as a non-dairy frozen dessert!)

Have you ever tried out this new "aquafaba" technique? I'd love to hear about your creations with this amazing liquid we all just used to spill down the sink! (Making this creation "super frugal", as well!)