Gluten Free Zucchini Mini Loafs

If you planted them in your garden this year, are they exploding yet? I didn't even plant them, but between my share from the CSA, my neighbors, and a visit from a friend this weekend, I have a giant bowl of zucchini and yellow squash to use.

Zucchini, purple bell peppers, grape tomatoes, yellow squash,
Anaheim peppers, and some fresh sweet corn.

It's a very traditional use of it, but also one of my favorites. I felt like I could safely try a zucchini bread recipe this year (and not burn it beyond all recognition), and give it away to some friends in need of a cheerful gift. And that's precisely what I did. Three batches of mini loaves later, I had a successful zucchini bread that is tender, keeps well, and is full of flavor. Perfect for sharing with my friends!

One year ago: Dobos Torte with Apricot Buttercream and Caramel
Two years ago: Intro to GlutenFreeinSLC!

Zucchini Mini Loafs

[Printer Friendly Version]
adapted from Zucchini Bread by the Gluten Free Goddess


1 rounded cup of fresh, grated zucchini, not peeled

1 cup sorghum flour or millet flour
1/2 cup tapioca starch
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup oil
1 teaspoon fresh lemon or lime juice
1 egg, slightly beaten
1/4 cup coconut milk

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare two mini loaf pans with cooking spray and a small piece of parchment paper to line the bottom of the pan. This makes for easy removal from the pan.

After grating the zucchini, wrap it in a towel and squeeze out the water. Removing the excess water is important so that the finished bread isn't too gummy. No one wants gummy zucchini bread, and this is a step that can help you prevent that gumminess. After the water has been removed, fluff the zucchini with a fork (thanks to Karina and Heidi for this tip!)

Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl, including the brown sugar. Whisk all these ingredients together, until they have formed a consistent mix. Add in the wet ingredients, beating after each one, until you have a pretty stiff batter. It should be about the stiffness of a thick frosting, thicker than most muffin and pancake batters.

Divide up the batter into the two prepared mini loaf pans, and place in the oven for 35-40 minutes, or until the tops are golden and a little crispy around the edges. Remove from the oven and rest the loaf pan on its side, on top of a wire rack. Let cool for 5 minutes, and then remove the mini loaves from the pans. Leave them sitting on their sides until they have cooled nearly completely.

Wrap and share with a friend, or serve immediately.

Other zucchini recipes:
Zucchini Muffins here at GlutenFreeinSLC
Squash-Zucchini Cranberry Muffins at GlutenFreeinSLC
Grilled Zucchini Pizza Slices at Kalyn's Kitchen
Pesto Zucchini Tomato Gratin at Gluten Free Goddess
Zucchini Crust Pizza Flatbread at Book of Yum
Zucchini Chocolate Chip Mini-Muffins at Elana's Pantry
Cheesy Chicken Zucchini Bake at Gluten Free Easily
Raw Zucchini Salad at Gluten Free by Nature
Frosted Lemon Zucchini Bread at Heal Balance Live
Summer Risotto with Corn and Zucchini and Herbavoracious
Zucchini Cake with Fresh Fruit and Cream Cheese Frosting by No Gluten, No Problem

Other exciting gluten free recipes this week at Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays :)

What have you been doing with all of your zucchini this year?

Gluten and Dairy Free Mint Chocolate Cupcakes Recipe

The weather has been cool here. There's some crispness in the air, and the temperature is in the 50s overnight. It's kind of nice. Less use of the air conditioner. More open door evenings while we eat dinner.

Last night during dinner time, there was one of those middle-aged men bands playing in the neighborhood. You know the ones I'm talking about - there are 4 or 5 guys, all wearing Hawaiian shirts and cargo shorts, (and possibly socks with sandals, right?). They play songs like Wild Cherry's 1976 hit Play That Funky Music White Boy, further confirming that yes, they have the same music taste as most other middle-aged men. [Yes, you do need to watch that video. Pure awesome.] Throw in a little Brown-Eyed Girl and some straw hats and you've got yourself a roaring party.

On the note of parties, you can feel autumn in the air. Back to school. There's something electric about it. More people start jogging. More people walking down the sidewalks to neighborhood barbecues, foil-wrapped potluck dishes in hand. More funky music for white boys.

In honor of something crisp and sweet, I decided some cupcakes are in order. Minty, chocolatey, and perfect for ushering in something new. A shout out to my buddy Caren, who moved in a few houses down, who started school this week. The boy started a new semester of college today. I think he was both nervous and excited. He was a little overwhelmed last night during my cupcake baking. We sat down and made a to-do list together. That calmed everyone's nerves. 

 

Then we ate cupcakes, which further chilled out the evening. Moist chocolate cupcakes with a delicate crumb. They weren't too dry, they stayed together well, but each bite was soft and a little minty. The frosting is dairy free, which is no small feat in the frosting world, and even though it's white, it's got a big blast of green just waiting to hit your tongue.


Mint Chocolate Cupcakes
adapted from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes
Makes 12-18 cupcakes

1/2 cup millet flour
1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup tapioca starch
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
3/4 cup hemp milk
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon pure peppermint extract
3/4 cup water

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine the flours, cocoa, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, xanthan gum, and salt. Whisk them together until there are no lumps. Add in room temperature eggs, hemp milk (or other non-dairy alternative), oil, peppermint extract, and water, and stir together until the batter is completely combined. Do not overbeat, but there isn't as much worry with a gluten free batter of it becoming stiff and dry, because stirring won't develop gluten in this recipe as it does in a normal recipe.

Line a cupcake tin with papers, and fill each paper about 2/3 full with batter. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until the tops are slightly domed, and the edges have a slight crispness to them. Remove from the oven and let rest for about 5 minutes. Then, remove each cupcake from the pan and let them cool completely on a wire rack. When the cupcakes are cool, frost with dairy free no-cook mint frosting.

Dairy Free No-Cook Mint Frosting

1/3 cup shortening
2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 to 1/2 cup coconut milk, as needed
1/2 teaspoon pure peppermint extract
green food coloring (optional)

In a smaller bowl, combine shortening, 1 cup of powdered sugar, and peppermint extract. Whisk them together until the shorterning and powdered sugar are combining. When the powdered sugar has been absorbed into the recipe, add a dash of coconut milk and the remaining powdered sugar. Continue stirring until the consistency is right. Spread on cooled cupcakes.

Pickling the Harvest: Beets, and Bread and Butter Pickle Chips

Harvest time is here! There are cucumbers, zucchini, summer squash, onions, potatoes, garlic, eggplant and more that are everywhere!

We bought some beautiful farm-fresh blackberries at a fruit stand the other day, but they gotten eaten before we even got home, so no pictures. They were so individual - some were so perfectly sweet, some were just a hint of sweet. Some were so big and juicy that you could pick the little pods (called drupelets) apart with your tongue before biting into them. My purple stained fingers were licked clean after that.

We've also gotten a lot of string beans from my CSA farm share this year, and I'm anticipating more beans for at least a few weeks before we get into apple and plum season. Not wanting all this bounty to go to waste, I tried my hand at canning for the first time.

The easiest of all the types of canning is pickling. Then, you are able to can fruits and jellies with hot bath canning. If you canning includes any meat, vegetables or beans, you should be using a pressure canner so that all the bacteria can be removed when the batch reaches 240 degrees. You simply need a large stockpot (one large enough that you can cover your jars with 1-2 inches of water), a rack to hold the jars inside the pot, some tongs to help remove the jars, and some clean jars, lids, and rings.

I got some basic, introductory canning information from Pickyourown.org, where you can even find a listing of local pick-your-own farms. I might just have to do that so we can have a Saturday full of blueberry bliss in our next few week. According to the site, the blackberries are out right now. Information about canning safely is available at the National Center for Home Food Preservation website.

I don't have all the equipment either. So the question was pretty simple. Pickling? Yes please!

I had a fresh local bag of beets that needed to be used, and they were so beautiful and fresh. Pickled beets was first on the docket then. Pickled beets are a little sweet, mingled with some white onions and cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. They easily canned into some half-pint jars, so we don't have to eat them in extremely large quantities.

Next was bread and butter pickle chips. I have a pickle cutter that I picked up from Pampered Chef (via the thrift store), so now my pickle chips have that perfect wavy texture on the outside. It helps them to pick up that spicy sweet brine, and gives them some visual interest. After some rolling boil in the stockpot, and some simmering of the pickling liquid, I ended up with several quarts of fresh bread and butter pickle chips, made with local cucumbers.

 

My grandparents are canning extraordinaires, even now into their 80s. They like to preserve apricot nectar, apricots in syrup, cherries in syrup, pears in syrup, apple sauce, pear sauce, and other items - all from their own trees. It's just incredible to visit their "fruit room" (a cool, cellar room in the basement with shelves and shelves of carefully canned produce). Maybe someday I'll have the skills to can like they do. Until then, I'm going to keep on pickling!

Gluten Free Cajun Beans and Rice Recipe

This household has a confession to make. I laugh about it sometimes, because it is pretty entertaining. It can even be motivating.

I'm ready to spill the beans: the boy is obsessed with the zombie apocalypse. The PAW. That's post-apocalyptic world, if you're not quite as obsessed as he is. See, when one is obsessed with the zombie apocalypse, they end up preparing for survival circumstances. Canning and food preservation. Gardening. Have a bike that's in good working order. Putting a machete in the car kit. Those sorts of things.

He's been reading a book that's been published online called Mom's Journal of the Zombie Years, and it's long. I think he's read the equivalent of about 1000 pages right now, and is only about a third of the way through it. It's the kind of book that the author is still adding to on a regular basis.

The short of it is - a family in Florida and their experiences after the zombie apocalypse. They have to take care of each other, and secure their surroundings. They eat citrus fruits from the surrounding trees. They grow beets. They have a smokehouse. They purify their own water from rivers and streams. They survive.

Apparently, some time during all this reading, the family in the story had rice and beans for dinner. The boy wanted me to give it a go, and so we created a recipe of Cajun Rice and Beans, which is almost perfect for the impending zombie attack. It's perfect as long as we have kielbasa in the freezer, fresh bell peppers to chop, and plenty of fuel for the cooking stove. We're still working on those parts of the equation, but in the mean time, the cajun rice and beans is totally worth it. It's flavorful, filling, and the recipe is enough for about 6 huge servings. Most recipes for cajun beans and rice are likely to be gluten free, as long as the meat and spices are.

The smoke from the kielbasa comes through, especially when you cook the rice in the pan where the kielbasa simmered. The beans make it a little creamier, and the fresh garlic, onion, and bell pepper add some fresh veggie taste to the mix. It's perfect for a dinner, or for any sort of apocalypse you might experience.

Cajun Beans and Rice
adapted from this recipe

2 cans pinto or black beans
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 cup green onions, chopped
1/2 cup green peppers, chopped
1 teaspoon finely minced garlic
1 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon hot red pepper sauce
2 cups homemade chicken stock or your favorite gluten free broth
2 gluten free sausages or kielbasa, sliced into rounds (I used Cloverdale Meats Smoked Kielbasa, which is gluten free)
3 cups freshly cooked long grain rice

In a smaller pan, cook sausage slices until they are crispy on the edges for about 10 minutes, and drain. At the same time, drizzle olive oil into a large pot and add onion, 1/2 cup green onions, green pepper and garlic. Stir frequently, cook about 5 minutes until soft. Add chicken broth, beans, salt, pepper, bay leaves, basil, hot pepper sauce. Add the sausage when the pieces are browned. Simmer 30 to 45 minutes, stirring frequently. At the end of the cooking period, mash some of the softest beans against the sides of the pan to form a thick sauce for the mixture.

Using the same pan where the sausage was prepared, cook long grain white rice. It will pick up color and flavor from the leftover sausage bits in the pan.
To serve, place cooked rice in individual serving bowls, top with bean mixture and garnish with chopped green onions.

I originally planned to post this for this week's Summer Fest, which you can read about at Gluten Free Girl and the Chef for this week. Time gets away from you when the zombies are involved.

Did I tell you about the time we got to meet Max Brooks?

Frosted Apricot Cookies Recipe

Did I tell you about how I shouldn't eat dairy products? It's been since March, and let me tell you, giving up dairy is hard. In my opinion, harder than giving up gluten. [Technically, I've given up both, which is much different than just giving up dairy, so yeah.]

Well, I've been going through the months occasionally eating various baked goods that have a dairy product baked in them. Not usually butter, but muffins with sour cream in them. And you know what? I didn't feel that bad afterward. My test results reported that I should give up dairy, because my body is producing an immune reaction when I eat the protein casein.

This weekend, I made these Frosted Apricot Cookies. The base of the dough is made from butter whipped with cream cheese, or in my case Neufchatel (reduced fat cream cheese). Lots of dairy. I was excited about this adapted recipe, because I love apricots (or apricot preserves). It's different than your basic oatmeal cookies, or a chocolate crinkle cookie, or a really simple peanut butter cookie. Nope, this is fruity and sweet.

So I created a great version of gluten free Frosted Apricot Cookies. Not dairy free. And then I helped myself to a good number of them.

Last night I was miserable. Baking does not make casein go away!! (Yes, I did already know that, but sadly I wasn't taking care of myself in the no-casein department).

I think I've learned my lesson again, but that didn't stop me from sharing these delicious dairy-laden cookies with you. The butter and cream cheese makes the dough rich, and a little crispy on the outside, while smooth and chewy inside. I'm not sure they would really be so supreme without the dairy.  But I don't think I'll be eating any more of them.


These are "tea and crumpets" kind of cookies. The kind that should be eaten with one pinky raised in the air. It's because they're sweet, buttery, and full of that apricot flavor. The frosting is thick and sticky-sweet, but it's also the perfect accompaniment to the small, delicate cookie.

Frosted Apricot Cookies 
adapted from the recipe in Southern Living All-Time Favorite Cookie Recipes for America's Tastiest Treats

1/2 cup butter, softened
3 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup millet flour
1/2 cup tapioca starch
1/4 cup sorghum flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon xanthan gum

1/2 cup apricot preserves
1/2 cup chopped pecans
(I didn't forget the salt - there is none needed here!)

Beat the butter and cream cheese together, either in a stand mixer or by hand, until the mixture is creamy and totally incorporated. In a separate bowl, combine the flours, sugar, xanthan gum, baking powder and salt, and whisk until the ingredients are combined. Stir the flour mixture into the creamed mixture. Add the apricot preserves and pecans, mixing well.

Drop tablespoons of dough onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the cookies are soft but firm, with just a bit of golden brown on the edges. Cool on wire racks, and spread with frosting while still warm.

Apricot Frosting
1 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup apricot preserves

Combine the apricot preserves and powdered sugar, and stir until combined.

Fresh Corn and Black Bean Salsa Recipe

I just finished reading Gretchen Rubin's The Happiness Project. Maybe I'm a little late (the online reviews of the book said that year-long experiments were so 2009.) Still, her 12 months of working towards being a happier person was inspiring. During the month of June, she chose to remember birthdays. I thought about that. Huh. I've not been very good the last few years of my life on the birthday front. So I sat down with a box of cards and took to it, including in my stack of things headed to the mailbox a pile of unpaid medical bills (sigh) and a few various cards to people who have been sick, or people I was thinking about.

And you know what? Totally worth it. Two of the "totally random" people-I-was-thinking-about cards have already brightened their lives, and they both called to tell me. It's not that I expect them too, or that I wouldn't feel happy if they didn't call me. It's more that feeling I get inside when I drop it into the mail slot, knowing they'll open their mailbox and get to read how much I love them. One of my greatest sources of happiness is taking care of other people, and spreading some sunshine into their lives.

Totally worth it.

Today was also CSA pickup, for the 6th week this summer. We missed last week, because we were at Camp. This week included ears of fresh corn, picked this morning, some huge red onions, cucumbers, summer squash, and some bumpy new potatoes. Very exciting! I am going to need to hit the grocery store tonight for fruit though, because I have yet to go shopping since we returned. Heck, I was doing well to get a few loads of laundry done from the trip! I set about this afternoon making some black bean and corn salsa, using both the fresh ears of corn and some of the beautiful red onions.

The salsa is much more complex if it sits in the fridge for a few days, so the flavors can blend and deepen. I didn't allow some of it that luxury, and dug right in with some gluten free Mary's Gone Crackers. It was spicy, tart, and so fresh-tasting. I wish there was a little more corn in there, but that's all I got out of my delicious ears.

The balsamic vinegar develops the flavor into a rich but fresh one, and it's a perfect accompaniment to a barbecue, a party, or an evening on the front porch. Time to settle back into life.

 

Fresh Corn and Black Bean Salsa Recipe
based on this recipe

1 1/4 cup cooked black beans
1 1/4 cup cooked fresh corn kernels, steamed and sliced off the cob
3/4 cup finely diced red onion, finely diced
3/4 cup bell pepper, any color, finely diced
1 jalapeno, minced
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup virgin olive oil
juice of 1 lime
Salt and pepper
1/4 cup chopped flat leaf parsley

Steam the corn. When it comes to cooking, corn is very versatile. After husking, cook corn by placing ears upright in a stockpot with 1 to 1-1/2 inches of water and a tablespoon or two of sugar. Cover the pot and let it steam for about 7 minutes after boiling begins.

Chop chop chopperoo. Rinse and drain the beans, and put them in a large bowl. Then chop each of the other ingredients on a cutting board, with a very fine dice, and put them in the bowl. Holding an ear of corn vertically, run your knife down the side to remove the kernels, then add the corn off the cob to the bowl. Stir the ingredients, add vinegar, oil, salt, pepper, and drizzle with lime juice. Refrigerate for up to 3 days, so the flavors can meld. Top with chopped parsley and serve with chips or crackers.

 

A quick sidenote you may be interested in: Summer Fest 2010 is going on right now, and this week's food is corn. You can read more about what that means here (Gluten Free Girl's Sweet Corn Risotto!), and feel free to join in with your own favorite corn recipe, or visit the various blogs that are cornin' it up today!