Ahh the soufflé – it has all the stability of a hormonal teenage girl in love. The potential for highs as high as the farthest reaches of the galaxy and lows so low I shudder to contemplate the depths. Perfection and bliss can plummet into heartbreak and disaster in the blink of an eye (or the slam of a door).

This is why I decided to see if I could come up with a gluten free recipe for soufflé that was a lot more stable, less fraught with potential disaster, much more “user friendly”.

Typically a soufflé is made by combining a sauce that starts with a mixture of flour and butter, enriched with cream or milk and egg yolks then folding this into stiffly beaten egg whites. It is time consuming and the results are fragile. So many things can cause the soufflé not to rise and then even if does rise, a loud noise, a gush of air or even your breathe can cause it to fall. And of course getting something to the table this fragile is just plain stressful.

I recall reading a long time ago about a soufflé that was made in the blender and was stabilized with cream cheese instead of flour. Of course I don’t remember where I read that or how the whole process was supposed to work but never-the-less, I decided to do what I do best, get in the kitchen and play around.

I tried just blending the whole eggs in the blender first, not separating the whites from the yolks and I have to say this resulted in a very decent soufflé-like product. It was stable, kept well and could be prepared ahead of time. My only problem with it was it didn’t get as puffy as I would have liked; they rose but the tops were flat like a table top, not puffed. So I them decided to separate the egg whites from the yolks, do the blender thing with the yolks and whip the whites separately – much better! Light, airy soufflés that rose beautifully did not collapse and most importantly, stable!

If you have wanted to entertain with soufflés but were afraid of the hormonal, emotional roller coaster – this is the recipe for you. The egg yolks base can be prepared up to a couple hours ahead. While it is probably best to whip the egg whites and combine them with the yolk mixture just before putting the soufflés into the oven, I let mine sit for about 10 minutes first, just to see what would happen and they were perfectly great! And I didn’t have to rush these to the table. I know how to photograph items that are fragile; I have learned a few tricks along the way. But I wanted you to see what these soufflés looked like after sitting around for 10 minutes or so and as you can see in the photos, these guys held up quite well indeed.

And speaking of hormones and the crazy things they can do to not only teenage girls (and boys!) but all of us, do you really want to eat eggs that come from chickens that are injected full of hormones? I think not! Look for organic, cage free eggs that are free of hormones and antibiotics. I use Nature’s Yolk eggs, after all the egg is really the star of this show and who wants a hormonal diva as the star?

If the method of adding the whipped egg whites to the yolk mixture seems backwards to you, it is. I didn’t want to pour my egg yolk mixture into another bowl and have another thing to wash up; I am assuming you will appreciate this concept as much as I do.

I made these in individual 1 cup ramekins but you can also bake this in a large 8 cup soufflé dish – increase cooking time to 40 – 45 minutes. Also I used a combination of garlic and herb soft cheese, goat cheese and cream cheese because it just seemed like a great springtime combo to me but I think the possibilities are endless!

So here you go – a gluten free recipe for a stress-free “miracle” soufflé that won’t send you on an emotional roller coaster and is also great for a people on a low carb diet as well as a gluten free diet.

Gluten Free “Miracle” Cheese and Herb Soufflés

Ingredients

1 tablespoon softened butter or gluten-free non-stick cooking spray
6 large organic cage free eggs (Nature’s Yolk)
½ cup heavy cream
½ teaspoon kosher or fine sea salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
8 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
6.5 ounces garlic and herb soft cheese (such as Boursin or Alouette)
4 ounces cream cheese, cut into 1 inch pieces
¾ teaspoon cream of tartar

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Generously grease 8 – 1 cup oven safe ramekins or 1 – 8 cup soufflé dish with either butter or non-stick cooking spray.

Separate the egg whites from the yolks placing the whites in a mixing bowl and the yolks in a blender.

To the egg yolks add the cream, salt and pepper. Turn the blender on high and mix until combined. With the blender running, add in the crumbled goat cheese, a little at a time. Then spoon in the garlic and herb cheese and finally add in the pieces of cream cheese, letting the mixture blend for a second between each addition. Once all the cheeses have been added and the ingredients are fully incorporated, blend for 5 more seconds.

Add the cream of tartar to the egg whites and mix in a stand mixer or with a hand held mixer on low until the cream of tartar is fully incorporated into the whites. Gradually increase the speed of the mixer to high and mix until stiff peaks form. Pour about ¼ of the egg yolk mixture into the egg whites and fold in until fully mixed. Add the remaining egg whites and fold in, it is fine if there are a few larger pieces of egg whites in the mixture. Spoon the mixture into the prepared dish(es) and bake for 15 – 20 minutes for individual soufflés, 40 – 45 minutes for a large soufflé. The soufflés should be risen and golden brown.

A gluten free recipe that serves 8.

Ready for more dessert?

Simply…Gluten-Free Desserts is now available, with over 135 recipes not featured in my blog.

Available at bookstores including Barnes & Noble, Borders, Powells, Books-a-Million and Amazon. You can get it also HERE.

Resource :https://simplygluten-free.com/blog/2012/03/gluten-free-miracle-souffles-recipe.html

Ahh the soufflé – it has all the stability of a hormonal teenage girl in love. The potential for highs as high as the farthest reaches of the galaxy and lows so low I shudder to contemplate the depths. Perfection and bliss can plummet into heartbreak and disaster in the blink of an eye (or the slam of a door).

This is why I decided to see if I could come up with a gluten free recipe for soufflé that was a lot more stable, less fraught with potential disaster, much more “user friendly”.

Typically a soufflé is made by combining a sauce that starts with a mixture of flour and butter, enriched with cream or milk and egg yolks then folding this into stiffly beaten egg whites. It is time consuming and the results are fragile. So many things can cause the soufflé not to rise and then even if does rise, a loud noise, a gush of air or even your breathe can cause it to fall. And of course getting something to the table this fragile is just plain stressful.

I recall reading a long time ago about a soufflé that was made in the blender and was stabilized with cream cheese instead of flour. Of course I don’t remember where I read that or how the whole process was supposed to work but never-the-less, I decided to do what I do best, get in the kitchen and play around.

I tried just blending the whole eggs in the blender first, not separating the whites from the yolks and I have to say this resulted in a very decent soufflé-like product. It was stable, kept well and could be prepared ahead of time. My only problem with it was it didn’t get as puffy as I would have liked; they rose but the tops were flat like a table top, not puffed. So I them decided to separate the egg whites from the yolks, do the blender thing with the yolks and whip the whites separately – much better! Light, airy soufflés that rose beautifully did not collapse and most importantly, stable!

If you have wanted to entertain with soufflés but were afraid of the hormonal, emotional roller coaster – this is the recipe for you. The egg yolks base can be prepared up to a couple hours ahead. While it is probably best to whip the egg whites and combine them with the yolk mixture just before putting the soufflés into the oven, I let mine sit for about 10 minutes first, just to see what would happen and they were perfectly great! And I didn’t have to rush these to the table. I know how to photograph items that are fragile; I have learned a few tricks along the way. But I wanted you to see what these soufflés looked like after sitting around for 10 minutes or so and as you can see in the photos, these guys held up quite well indeed.

And speaking of hormones and the crazy things they can do to not only teenage girls (and boys!) but all of us, do you really want to eat eggs that come from chickens that are injected full of hormones? I think not! Look for organic, cage free eggs that are free of hormones and antibiotics. I use Nature’s Yolk eggs, after all the egg is really the star of this show and who wants a hormonal diva as the star?

If the method of adding the whipped egg whites to the yolk mixture seems backwards to you, it is. I didn’t want to pour my egg yolk mixture into another bowl and have another thing to wash up; I am assuming you will appreciate this concept as much as I do.

I made these in individual 1 cup ramekins but you can also bake this in a large 8 cup soufflé dish – increase cooking time to 40 – 45 minutes. Also I used a combination of garlic and herb soft cheese, goat cheese and cream cheese because it just seemed like a great springtime combo to me but I think the possibilities are endless!

So here you go – a gluten free recipe for a stress-free “miracle” soufflé that won’t send you on an emotional roller coaster and is also great for a people on a low carb diet as well as a gluten free diet.

 Print This Recipe

Gluten Free “Miracle” Cheese and Herb Soufflés

Ingredients

1 tablespoon softened butter or gluten-free non-stick cooking spray
6 large organic cage free eggs (Nature’s Yolk)
½ cup heavy cream
½ teaspoon kosher or fine sea salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
8 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
6.5 ounces garlic and herb soft cheese (such as Boursin or Alouette)
4 ounces cream cheese, cut into 1 inch pieces
¾ teaspoon cream of tartar

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Generously grease 8 – 1 cup oven safe ramekins or 1 – 8 cup soufflé dish with either butter or non-stick cooking spray.

Separate the egg whites from the yolks placing the whites in a mixing bowl and the yolks in a blender.

To the egg yolks add the cream, salt and pepper. Turn the blender on high and mix until combined. With the blender running, add in the crumbled goat cheese, a little at a time. Then spoon in the garlic and herb cheese and finally add in the pieces of cream cheese, letting the mixture blend for a second between each addition. Once all the cheeses have been added and the ingredients are fully incorporated, blend for 5 more seconds.

Add the cream of tartar to the egg whites and mix in a stand mixer or with a hand held mixer on low until the cream of tartar is fully incorporated into the whites. Gradually increase the speed of the mixer to high and mix until stiff peaks form. Pour about ¼ of the egg yolk mixture into the egg whites and fold in until fully mixed. Add the remaining egg whites and fold in, it is fine if there are a few larger pieces of egg whites in the mixture. Spoon the mixture into the prepared dish(es) and bake for 15 – 20 minutes for individual soufflés, 40 – 45 minutes for a large soufflé. The soufflés should be risen and golden brown.

A gluten free recipe that serves 8.

Ready for more dessert?

Simply…Gluten-Free Desserts is now available, with over 135 recipes not featured in my blog.

Available at bookstores including Barnes & Noble, Borders, Powells, Books-a-Million and Amazon. You can get it also HERE.

There are times when being gluten free can be downright frustrating. For instance, let’s say you all of a sudden have an unquenchable craving for apple pie and yet you live in a town that is sadly remiss in having a gluten free bakery.
Sure you could make gluten free pie crust dough, wait an hour or two for it to chill, roll the dough, cut the apples, flavor them up, assemble it all up and put your pie in the oven for yet another hour and then you can (finally) quell your craving.

While I literally wrote a book on making gluten free desserts, even I don’t want to do that at 6:30PM on a Tuesday night after a long day’s work.  So what’s a girl to do?

Make gluten free apple pie parfaits, that’s what!  Sweet, cinnamony apple chunks layered with maple sweetened non-fat Greek Yogurt (for dairy free you could substitute dairy free sour cream or even dairy free ice cream) and a crunchy, gluten free graham cracker almond crumble.

This simple yet spectacular dessert takes about 20 minutes to prepare, perfect when you want an easy and light dessert that feels and tastes anything but – the perfect thing for when the hankering for apple pie strikes but you haven’t the time or energy to make one.

What really makes this parfait special is the crumble. Seriously, if you want any left to actually layer in your parfait hide it from the kids (and your spouse) until you finish up – otherwise it will all be nibbled away! I took some S’moreables (gluten free graham style crackers from Kinnikinnick) crushed them up coarsely, tossed the crumbs with some sliced almonds, coated with a bit of honey and a touch of oil and baked it for about 15 minutes. I am already thinking of anything and everything I can to top with this awesome mix!!


Gluten Free Apple Pie Parfaits

Ingredients

12 S’moreables (gluten free graham style crackers from Kinnikinnick)
1 cup sliced almonds
3 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon grapeseed (or other neutral flavored) oil
4 large sweet apples (such as Fuji or Honeycrisp)
Gluten-free non-stick cooking spray
1/8 teaspoon kosher or fine sea salt
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Juice of 1 lemon
2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup Greek yogurt (non-fat, low fat or full fat)
4 teaspoon maple syrup

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Place your gluten free graham crackers in a plastic bag and crush them until you have some crumbs and larger (about ¼ inch) pieces. Combine in a mixing bowl with the almonds, honey and oil. Toss until the honey and oil coat the crumbs and almonds. Spread in an even layer on an un-greased baking sheet and bake for 10 – 15 minutes or until the mixture is crisp, fragrant and browned – it will crispy up a little more as it cools and should be a little clumpy. Let cool.

While the crumble is baking prepare the apples; core and cut into 1 inch chunks. Spray a large skillet with a lid with some gluten-free non-stick cooking spray and heat over medium heat. Add the apples, salt, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon juice and vanilla and toss well to coat. Cover the skillet and let cook until the apples are softened, about 8 minutes, stirring once or twice. Remove the lid, increase heat to high and cook until the liquid has thicken up to a syrup and coats the apples. Let cool.

Mix the yogurt with the maple syrup. For each parfait place a layer of apples into a goblet or dessert dish, top with some of the yogurt and then add a handful of the crumble. Repeat the layers. I think this is best served while the apples are still warm.

A gluten free recipe that makes 4 large or 6 smaller parfaits.

Ready for more dessert?

Simply…Gluten-Free Desserts is now available, with over 135 recipes not featured in my blog.

Available at bookstores including Barnes & Noble, Borders, Powells, Books-a-Million and Amazon. You can get it also HERE.

Resource:

https://simplygluten-free.com/blog/2012/02/gluten-free-apple-pie-parfait-recipe.html
 

I just can’t think about February without thinking about chocolate. Hmmm… I wonder why? Is it because Valentine’s Day is sitting right there in the middle of the month threatening to derail all of our good diet intentions with its bounty of fancy truffles, chocolate dipped strawberries and other fabulous, chocolate-laden gluten free (and many not so gluten free) treats?
It must be a plot of some sort. After all, we start the year with our resolutions – to lose weight, eat healthier, cut sugar out of our diets, eat less fat, exercise more…the list goes on.  So we eagerly get started with great resolve, it is new and we are determined. And most of us, while we face challenges, start to feel better by the end of the January. This keeps us going a little longer. And then right there, smack dab in the middle of February, is a day that basically revolves around chocolate and sugar with some hearts thrown in.

If we just ate a nice chocolate or treat on the day, that would be no problem, but we don’t. We eat half a box (at least) of chocolates because, well, it’s a gift after all and we don’t want to be rude do we? And then maybe we celebrate the day with a special, calorie and fat laden meal that ends with, yep!… more chocolate.  And if we don’t have someone special in our lives to give us chocolates and take us out to dinner, we may fill the void with pints of ice cream topped with fudge sauce or whatever the sugar-filled, fat laden food of our choice is.

If we just stepped off the path of healthier eating for the one day, it wouldn’t be that big of a deal – the problem is that once we meander off the path, sometimes it seems much more interesting to continue in that direction and it can be a very difficult time getting back on it.

Am I saying don’t have chocolate on Valentine’s Day.  NO!  After all that, would be paramount to heresy. What I am saying is eat one of those lovely truffles and hide the rest in your freezer. Have those chocolate dipped strawberries or ice cream with fudge sauce but do it in a more health-minded manner. In other words indulge guilt free.

This is a guilt free fudge sauce that feels and tastes indulgent but is actually refined sugar free and practically fat free! It takes under 10 minutes to prepare and lasts about 10 days in the fridge.

This sauce gets its rich flavor and luxurious texture thanks to a combo of unsweetened cocoa powder, coconut sugar, a touch of instant espresso powder (not essential but it really deepens the chocolate flavor), pure vanilla extract and dark, almost caramelly organic raw blue agave from Wholesome Sweeteners.

Dip strawberries (or any fruit really) into it, spoon it on top of ice cream (for a really guilt free dessert try making a sundae with my almost instant cherry frozen yogurt) or just lick it off a spoon. You will feel all the fudgy chocolate love without bouncing off the walls or derailing all your good dietary progress.


Gluten Free Guilt Free Fudge Sauce

Ingredients

1 cup water
½ cup coconut sugar
½ cup organic raw blue agave (dark agave)
¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tablespoon instant espresso powder (optional)
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

Combine the water, coconut sugar, agave, cocoa powder and espresso powder (if using) in a heavy sauce pan and bring to a boil over medium heat stirring until smooth. Boil for 5 minutes or until it starts to thicken. Whisk in the vanilla and let cool for about an hour – the sauce will thicken more as it cools.

Store in a covered container in the fridge for up to 10 days. Serve warm or cold. The sauce can be re-heated for a hot fudge sauce by microwaving for a minute or so on high power.

A gluten free, refined sugar free recipe that makes about 1½ cups of sauce.

Ready for more dessert?

Simply…Gluten-Free Desserts is now available, with over 135 recipes not featured in my blog.

Available at bookstores including Barnes & Noble, Borders, Powells, Books-a-Million and Amazon. You can get it also HERE.

Resource :
https://simplygluten-free.com/blog/2012/02/gluten-free-guilt-free-fudge-sauce-recipe.html

You may think it is strange for me to be posting a tomato recipe in the dead of winter but before you purists who only eat tomatoes at their peak of ripeness and perfection (late summer) get all up in arms, let me explain.
I guess I need to start with a confession, so here goes. “Hi, my name is Carol and I am a tomato addict. And that’s not all; I have passed my addiction along to everyone in my family.” Seriously, we could be out of milk, eggs and gluten free bread and I am still not hopping in the car to run to the store, but just let us run out of tomatoes and I am off to the market before you can blink. A good portion of my grocery budget goes to tomatoes every week! We have even tried to support our habit by growing our own tomatoes – no luck yet but we are still trying.

So as you can see, I am not going to let a little thing like “out of season” get in my way of eating tomatoes. While tomatoes may be available all year round, they do tend to be pretty flavorless when not in season. The solution? Roasting them!

Roasting is a great way to bring out the natural sweetness of any vegetable and it works great with tomatoes. But for this recipe I took it one step further – in essence I scalloped them. With a bit of balsamic vinegar, garlic and rosemary, the tomatoes become a fabulous winter side dish or vegan main course. In the summer, fresh basil would be a great substitution of the rosemary. All the lovely, flavorful, aromatic juices exuded by roasting the tomatoes are soaked up with Kinnikinnick’s Gluten Free Panko Style Bread Crumbs which also provides a nice crunchy topping.

If you have any leftover scalloped tomatoes, serving with them with a poached egg on top is pure bliss. In fact, next time I make this recipe I am not counting on leftovers – I am making it specifically for topping with an egg because, yep, it really is that good!



Do you have a food addiction?

 
Gluten Free Scalloped Tomatoes

Ingredients

2 pound plum tomatoes
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, minced
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
5 garlic cloves, minced or grated
2 teaspoons kosher or fine sea salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 ½ cups Kinnikinnick gluten free panko style bread crumbs – use divided

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cut the tomatoes into roughly 1 inch pieces. Place in a 8 inch by 8 inch (or similar sized) baking dish. Add the rosemary, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, minced garlic cloves, salt, pepper and 1 cup of the bread crumbs, toss well. Sprinkle the remaining bread crumbs on top and bake for 25 minutes. Top with the remaining ½ cup of bread crumbs and cook for 10 more minutes or until the top is nicely browned.

A gluten free recipe that serves 6 people.

Ready for dessert?

Simply…Gluten-Free Desserts is now available, with over 135 recipes not featured in my blog.

Available at bookstores including Barnes & Noble, Borders, Powells, Books-a-Million and Amazon. You can get it also HERE.

Resource :
https://simplygluten-free.com/blog/2012/01/gluten-free-scalloped-tomatoes-recipe.html