Cookbook Review: The Allergen-Free Baker's Handbook

When I heard that Cybele Pascal had a second cookbook coming out, I was very excited.  I have previously mentioned her first cookbook, The Whole Foods Allergy Cookbook, as it contains several recipes that we regularly prepare at our house.  The one downfall of the first book for me was that the baking recipes contain spelt, which we cannot have as it is a form of wheat.  So I awaited the new book's arrival with a bit of caution as to not raise my hopes too high.  When I opened the cover for the first time I was holding my breath in anticipation.... and... NO spelt to be seen!  And Oh, what lovely photographs of things I can bake!

The Allergen-Free Baker's Handbook starts with a very useful dry and perishable goods pantry list.  It outlines the various flours, sugars, shortening, chocolate, and other baking ingredients that are found in today's allergen-free kitchen.  Cybele gives information on companies that make some of these products, as well as useful tips on why these ingredients are used and how best to use them.  This is followed by a section on how to replace various allergens so you can learn what to substitute in your favourite baking recipes.

For the most part, the recipes in this book use a flour mixture consisting of brown rice flour, potato starch, and tapioca flour.  It is recommended that you mix up a big batch of this flour to store in your fridge or freezer so you have it on hand when needed in a recipe.  This makes it so much easier to bake -- you don't need a multitude of flours each time you want to make something.

In our family there is a one-month period where we celebrate three birthdays.  This book arrived just in time for the festivities!  My Mum borrowed the book and made Chocolate Layer Cake with Dark Chocolate Frosting for my birthday.  She loved the book and decided to also try making Vanilla Cupcakes with Vanilla Frosting.  Both were a success!

Next was Little Man's birthday -- and his first ever cake!  I made the Vanilla Cupcakes with Vanilla Frosting -- twice, as we celebrated on his birthday and then again a few days later.  I found this recipe very easy to make.  The icing recipe creates a lot of icing, so I needed to make it only once for the two sets of cupcakes.  It keeps well in the fridge.  The cupcakes stay good in the fridge for several days, but they also freeze very well.  This has become a staple baked good in our house. In just over a month, my Mum and I have made these FOUR times!  When you have gone such a long time without cake I think there is a grace period where you can eat as much as you like to catch up a bit. :)

For my Mum's birthday, I made Carrot Ginger Layer Cake with Orange Buttercream Frosting.  This is soooo good.  We couldn't taste the ginger, so we would add a bit more next time (and yes, there will definitely be a next time).  This cake was ok the day it was made, but it became outstanding the next day after it was refrigerated.  The icing is good enough to eat on its own!

I also tried the Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe.  The results on this one were somewhat mixed, but it was through no fault of the recipe.  In my area we are unable to purchase dairy-free, soy-free shortening.  So in my baking recipes I substitute 3/4 cup refrigerated coconut oil for 1 cup of shortening.  This worked fabulously on all three types on cakes and their icing.  But I didn't measure very well with the cookies (I added too much), and I didn't refrigerate the coconut oil as long as I usually would.  The flavour was divine -- but the cookies ended up flat and lacy.  Next time I will try this recipe with 2/3 cup coconut oil and I bet they will turn out perfect.

There is much more to the book than cake and cookies;  there are pies, cobblers, muffins, biscuits, and breads too.  Everything looks delicious.  There are lovely photos of baked goods that inspire you to try everything shown.  I am tempted to start at the beginning and cook my way through the book, but then I would have to wait a couple months before having a vanilla cupcake again -- and that is not going to happen!

This book is so much more than just a cookbook to me.  This book represents a way of experiencing "normal" foods in spite of all the allergies.  It's a guide to creating a birthday cake that doesn't have to have the label "allergy-free cake", because it is so yummy that the non-allergic crowd can enjoy it too.  It is a confidence booster in that you don't need to alter the recipes and hope they work out.  It is the first book I pick up when I want to bake.

I received a review copy of this book, but was in no way influenced to write a positive review.  I would have written everything the same if I had obtained my copy from the bookstore.  This is truly a breakthrough book for those of us living with allergies and I strongly encourage you to give it a try.  Cybele's web site gives the recipe for the flour mix, a red velvet cake with icing, and blueberry boy bait.  Give one of these a try and you will likely see yourself needing her book.  And remember, if you haven't eaten cake in awhile you have my permission to go a little crazy when you start baking from this book.

Happy Birthday Little Man!

The moment I waited a year for... Little Man got to eat birthday cake.  Last year we knew we were dealing with allergies before his birthday, but we didn't know what he was allergic to.  So no birthday cake for the birthday boy.  This year, we needed a special recipe for a two-year-old's first taste of cake.  I found what I was looking for in the Vanilla Cupcakes with Vanilla Frosting recipe from the Allergen-Free Baker's Handbook.  More on this book in a future post... but the cake was divine!  Little Man's opinion?  "Mmmmmm cake. Cake GOOD!"

What else do you serve a two-year old on his birthday?  All his favourites of course!  For Little Man, that meant baby corn, brown rice pasta, turkey meatloaf, and homemade crackers with guacamole.  A tasty and nutritious meal that he gobbled up.

Quinoa Salmon Burgers

I am a sucker for anything with quinoa in it, so when Ali at The Whole Life Nutrition Kitchen posted these quinoa salmon burgers today I knew I had to make them.  Not just someday -- today!  They are made in a food processor using cooked quinoa and fresh salmon along with some herbs and spices.  They are super simple and quick to make, especially if you ask the fish market to remove the bones and skin for you.  I chose wild coho for my salmon, and parsley and dill instead of the cilantro that Ali lists in the recipe. 

These patties are going to be one of our dinner favourites.  We both raved about them while gobbling them up.  The quinoa makes them so moist, and using fresh fish really enhances both the texture and flavour.  Yum!

Quinoa Crackers

I have been busy in the kitchen lately cooking up a storm.  So busy that I haven't found a moment to post (I also dig into dishes so fast I forget to take pictures!).  But when Ali over at The Whole Life Nutrition Kitchen posted a cracker recipe this morning, not only did I have to make it immediately but I knew I had to share it too.  The secret ingredient?  Cooked quinoa!  Well, I just happened to have some on hand so I decided to break out the food processor and rolling pin and give it a try.

I have been looking for a cracker recipe for months.  The only crackers I have found that the Little Man and I can eat are the Hol Grain rice crackers.  He loves them -- me, not so much.  When checking out the recipes, however, I freeze up when I read "roll out the dough".  Let's face it, crackers look like a lot of work.  But this recipe says to put everything in the food processor -- easy!  Easy and fast mixing combined with slow rolling might be doable.  In fact, Ali suggests rolling the dough between two sheets of parchment paper and simply transferring the whole sheet of parchment to the baking sheet.  So the tedious and slow task I was expecting surprised me by being rather fast after all.

Ali's crackers are topped with three types of seeds, none of which we can eat.  I made half of our crackers plain (for Little Man) and topped the other half with rosemary and kosher salt.

The verdict?  Hands down, the best crackers I've ever eaten (EVER!) gluten-free or not.  And if you listen carefully you might hear Little Man in the background voicing his approval... "more cracker, more cracker, more cracker!" 

The Chef

I hope everyone had a Christmas as fabulous as ours.  I am still decompressing from the constant stream of visitors we entertained this year.  So much fun!  I have new recipes to share, and two new cookbooks to review, but it will take me a few more days to get back into the blogging mood.  I just want to enjoy as much family time as possible right now.

As you can see, Little Man got his own kitchen for Christmas.  He loves it!  He cooks at it every day.  I think it is increasing his interest in trying out new foods.  That's my hope.

I recently started a meta-blog that links back here for recipes, but branches out into other areas of our life such as crafting and parenting.  If you are interested in following our family journey, please come visit us at Eagle Loft.

Planning: Allergen-Free Christmas Dinner for Ten

That's right, Christmas dinner is in full planning mode at Eagle Loft Kitchen!  It is not only possible to make a holiday dinner for ten people that is gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, nut-free, soy-free, etc. etc.... (not taste-free!), but in some ways it is even easier than the traditional way.  What makes it easy?  Planning.  And the freezer!  And a bit of a messy kitchen a few days before the event. :)

Here's what we will be serving for dinner this Christmas:

• Turkey (salted, then basted with olive oil and oven roasted)
• Gravy (chicken broth mixed with turkey drippings, poultry seasoning, tarragon, salt, pepper, and thickened with arrowroot flour)
• Mashed potatoes (boiled, mashed and mixed with rice milk and Becel RSF)
• Mashed sweet potatoes and yams (boiled, mashed together and mixed with Becel RSF, fresh orange juice and a touch of agave syrup)
• Bread stuffing (cubed homemade gluten-free bread mixed with sauted onions, celery, sausage meat and bacon, tossed with poultry seasoning -- stuff in turkey or add some chicken stock or white wine and bake covered in the oven)
• Sausage meat (made fresh by our local butcher, allergen-free -- hooray!)
• Carrots and peas

And for dessert:

• Pumpkin pie
  
• Molasses spice cookies
• Date coconut balls (I will post these sometime in January)
• Chocolate star cookies (similar to my chocolate Easter cake, but in star shapes)
• Chocolate cinnamon ice cream (same as my chocolate fudgesicle ice cream with a bit of cinnamon added in)

The beauty of this menu is how much can be done ahead.  All of the desserts are already made and frozen except the pie, which I am making Christmas Eve night.  The mashed veggies can be done the day ahead, and pretty much everything else is finished off late Christmas morning as the turkey goes in the oven.  I'm anticipating getting a lot of time this year to visit with my guests Christmas evening.

Wishing you a very merry Christmas, and a tasty allergen-free holiday feast.

Apple Fennel Salad

This refreshing salad is quick and easy to make.  It works with any crisp apple.  I used Gala apples, but it would also be good with Granny Smith.

• 2 crisp apples, cored, sliced thinly, then cubed
  
• 1 bulb fennel (while bulb only, not stalks), chopped
  
• 1/3 cup sweet onion, chopped
• 1/4 cup fresh mint, sliced
• 3 Tbsp light olive oil
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 Tbsp agave syrup
  
• pinch salt (or Herbamare)
• generous pinch pepper
• 4 iceberg lettuce leaves, whole
  

1. Mix apples, fennel, onion and mint in a medium bowl.
2. Whisk together oil, vinegar, agave, salt and pepper in a small bowl.
3. Pour dressing over salad and stir to coat.
4. Put one lettuce leaf on each bowl/plate and spoon salad into lettuce.

Serves 4.

Ham and Split Pea Soup

The days have turned cold, but we're still spending lots of time outside.  There's no better feeling than returning home to the comforting smell of hot soup throughout the house.  This soup makes use of leftover ham, but you can omit the ham for a vegetarian option.  I don't cook the ham in the soup these days as Little Man doesn't eat ham yet;  I simply stir ham into the bowls of those who are eating it.  Depending on if you are serving ham or not, you need to adjust the salt -- more salt if no ham.  The timing for this soup is very dependant on the temperature at which you cook it.  You can have it ready in an hour and a half if you keep it at a good boil, three hours if you use a high simmer, or 8 hours in a crockpot.

• 9 cups chicken or vegetable stock
  
• 2 1/2 cups yellow split peas, well rinsed
  
• 3 carrots, peeled and grated
• 3 stalks celery, backs peeled and diced
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 Tbsp tarragon
• 1 bay leaf
  
• salt and pepper to taste
• cubed ham (1/2 cup per bowl)

1. Bring stock to a boil.
2. Add all ingredients (unless you are serving some bowls without ham -- then leave out the ham until serving)
3. Turn down the soup a little but keep the soup boiling.  Stir every 20 minutes when cooking it at this heat (very important so it doesn't burn!).  Cook with the lid on, but remove the lid for the last 20 minutes.  The soup should be ready in 1 1/2 to 2 hours when cooked at high heat.
4. Adjust seasonings and serve.