Gluten Free Apple Cake

Having a sweet tooth and a bag of apples normally meant lots of baking: apple crumble, apple pie, apple crumble pie, and so on.    Now this baking doesn't come so easily if I want to enjoy it.  I went on the search for a gluten free apple cake, thinking this would probably be easier than trying to make a gluten-free crust for a pie.  Most of the recipes I found called for xantham gum, which I didn't have in my kitchen (and probably won't ever have because of its cost and "synthetic" nature).

I found a recipe that I was able to tweak, and the end result was really quite good - and baked much faster than the recipe called for.  While I didn't try it, I believe this could easily be made dairy free as well if you substituted almond milk (or your go to milk) in place of the milk and your own butter substitute (or coconut oil).

The cake is really moist and tasted delicious warm.  It was a little crumbly - I'm not sure if that is because of the ingredients or the fact that we ate it warm. It doesn't rise very much, so next time I might consider baking it in a square pan and longer if necessary.  I may also add in some more apples to increase the flavour.  Overall though, it has a nice taste and definitely satisfied my cake craving.  I wouldn't guess it was gluten-free if I hadn't baked it myself.



Ingredients:
3/4 cup rice flour
1/2 cup potato starch
1/4 cup tapioca flour
1 tsp baking soda
1.5 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
3/4 tsp chia seeds (or flax seeds or half of each)
1.5 tsp boiling water
1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup white sugar
3 tbsp brown sugar
2 eggs
3 tbsp milk
2 tsp vanilla
1.5 cups apples, peeled, cored and shredded (I used 3 small empire apples)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F.  Grease a 9" round springform pan with butter or coconut oil and dust with rice flour.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the rice flour, potato starch, tapioca flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg; set aside.

3. In a small bowl combine chia seeds and boiling water to create a gel; set aside.

4. Cream the butter with your mixer until it is softened and pale yellow. (I used about 1 tbsp less butter and added that amount in coconut oil.)  Add both the white and brown sugar and beat until well combined.

5. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each one.  Blend in the milk (I used regular milk, but you could use almond or any substitute), vanilla and the chia seed gel, beating well after each one.

6. On low speed, add the dry ingredients in two batches, beating well after each addition until it is well absorbed.

7.  Gently fold in the shredded apples.

8. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and bake 30-35 minutes (the original recipe called for 40-45 mins but my cake was already browning in 30) or until the cake pulls away from the edge of the pan and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

9.  Serve warm or cooled.  If serving warm, cool in the pan at least 10 minutes before removing.

10.  Dust lightly with icing sugar if you like.

Pork Chops & Mashed Potatoes with Mushroom Gravy

This recipe can be made as follows, or turned into a gluten free recipe by substituting the flour for your regular flour substitute (or cornstarch to thicken the gravy).

Ingredients:

5 boneless pork chops (I used the centre cut that are quite thick)

salt and pepper 

2 tbsp all-purpose flour (or your gluten free substitute)

2 tbsp olive oil and coconut oil (I used half and half)

butter

2.5 portobello mushroom caps, chopped

1-2 onions, chopped (I used 1 large, 1 small)

2 (large) cloves garlic, thinly sliced

1/4 cup red wine

1-2 cups chicken broth

2 tbsp sour cream

Directions:

Sautéing the onions

1. Season pork chops with salt and pepper and coat all sides with flour.  Heat oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the chops (working in batches if you need to) and cook until golden, about 3-4  minutes per side.  Transfer to a plate and keep warm.

2. Add some butter and add the onions.  Sauté for a couple of minutes and add the garlic; sauté another minute. Season with salt and add some more butter and mushrooms, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes.  

Returning the pork chops to the
pan with the onions and mushrooms.

3.  Turn up the heat and add the red wine, scraping up the brown bits at the bottom.  Stir constantly until it starts to thicken.  Add 1 tbsp flour (or a gluten free substitute like cornstarch) and cook, stirring for another 3 minutes.  

4. Return the pork chops to the pan, placing them on top of the onion-mushroom mixture.  Pour enough chicken broth to just barely reach the top of the pork chops.  Bring to a simmer, then lower the heat and cover.  Cook for another 20-25 minutes.

5.  Remove pork and add 2 tbsp of flour (or substitute) and stir for a minute to thicken sauce.  Make sure the flour does not clump up.  Add the sour cream and stir to thicken the sauce.  Place the pork chops back in the pot, covering with the sauce and to heat through (if necessary).

6.  Serve with mashed potatoes, covering both in the mushroom gravy.

Quick shot of the chops and mashed
potatoes covered in gravy.

The final product - in all it's gravy!

Mashed Potatoes

Pair your favourite mashed potatoes with the dish for the perfect combo.

I boil my potatoes over medium heat for at least an hour until they are soft.  I drain off the water and return the potatoes to the pot.  I mash them with my masher, periodically adding butter and milk to smooth out the potatoes to the consistency I like (not clumpy, quite smooth).  I also season with a generous amount of salt and pepper.  If I have it on hand, I add 1 tbsp cream cheese and 1 tbsp sour cream towards the end and stir in for that extra creaminess.

Spinach & Artichoke Spaghetti Squash

We take turns at work bringing in munchies on Fridays.  This week was my turn and I wanted something that was meatless (as it would be a Friday in Lent) and gluten free, as well as easy to make as my Thursday night was turning out to be quite busy.

I found the perfect recipe that had all things I love in it, and it tasted so good that everyone was interested in the recipe - there were no leftovers!

Ingredients:

1 spaghetti squash, seeded (about 2 lbs)

3 tsp olive oil

1 onion, chopped

salt and pepper

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup (light) sour cream

1/2 pkg (250g) cream cheese

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided

3 cups packed baby spinach (about 3 large handfuls)

1 can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped

3/4 - 1 cup marble cheese, grated

Directions:

1. Place the spaghetti squash in a microwave safe dish, cut side up.  Fill up the dish halfway with water, cover with plastic wrap and microwave about 10 minutes, until soft.  Remove and cool slightly.  (Alternately, you can roast the squash in a 350F oven cut side down for about 40 minutes.  Brush the cut sides with olive oil or butter before roasting).

2. Meanwhile, heat olive oil over medium heat in a pan.  Add the onion and cook until tender, about 5-8 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper, then add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about another minute.  Add in sour cream, cream cheese and 1/2 cup Parmesan.  Stir until the cream cheese has melted and the mixture is smooth. Stir in the spinach and artichoke hearts and cook until the spinach has wilted.

3. Scrape up the strings of the squash with a fork and add it to the pan.  Stir together to combine.

4. Pour into a rectangular dish.  Top with the grated cheese and remaining Parmesan cheese.  

5. Place under the broiler for 2-3 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and bubbly.

I let it cool slightly and covered my dish, brought it to work the next day and people microwaved it as they needed.  It turned out so yummy!  And it was really quite filling.

The final product just before broiling the cheese.