{Gluten and Dairy Free} Vegan Cauliflower Pizza Crust

I have been wanting to try a cauliflower pizza crust. This right here might be just the ticket. I read that the secret is cooking the topping before you put them on the pizza. So if you are adding grilled veggies, grill them first. This is a great way to add nutrition and possibly reduce some calories. Not to mention, making pizza grain free!

This is a large serving for one person.

1/2 head of cauliflower,
1 egg worth of egg substitute (or an egg if you can)
Garlic to taste
Onion salt
Oregano
1/2 cup of soy mozzarella (I would use Daiya cheese)

Shred cauliflower into crumbles or use a food processor. Do not puree it. 
cook cauliflower in microwave for 8 minutes
Combine all ingredients and pat down on a cookie sheet. Use light oil to create it from sticking to the pan.
Cook crust only (no toppings) for 15 minutes at 450 degrees
When done add sauce and toppings
Broil for around 5 minutes to cook toppings and melt cheese

Paleo Grain Free and Gluten-free Tortillas!

Whole New Mom has it going on with this unconventional recipe! I love that she thought out of the box and came up with something that looks so delicious!

photo from wholenewmom.com

Baked Paleo Tortilla Recipe – Grain-free, Nut-free, Vegan

Ingredients

2 cups coarsely chopped yucca (peeled and cleaned)
1 ripe plantain
1/2 cup avocado oil plus 2 more teaspoons
1 heaping teaspoon freshly ground garlic sea salt (RealSalt is a great brand)

Method

1.  Preheat oven to 350.

2.  Boil the yucca for about 25 minutes on stovetop.

3.  Remove boiled yucca from heat and drain water.

4.  Combine cooked yucca, plantain, oil, and salt in a blender or food processor.

5.  Blend until pureed (mixture will be thick, like dough).

6.  Cut a piece of parchment paper and line a large baking sheet.

7.  Take a handful of the dough mixture and between two pieces of parchment paper (placing the one you just laid out on the bottom) flatten into a round tortilla by hand.

8.  Repeat process, making another tortilla, and again until your parchment paper is covered with tortillas.

9.  Bake for 15-25 minutes or until cooked through (baking time will depend on how thick your tortillas are).

10. Once cooked, they will be slightly crisped on the edges, yet nice and pliable.

11. Allow to cool slightly, then fill them with any of your favorite fillings.

Grain and Nut Free Pizza Crackers.

photo from dailybites.com

One of my favorite bloggers here has come up with some dynamite grain free  and nut free pizza crackers. I know some people are sensitive to sesame seeds, but you can always leave those out.  This blogger boggles my mind!

Pizza Crackers

Yield: Yield will vary depending on size of crackers

These grain-free crackers pack all of the flavor of pizza into a convenient and portable snack!

Ingredients

1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes (not oil packed)

1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds

1/2 cup raw pumpkin seeds

1 teaspoon fennel seeds

1 teaspoon salt-free Italian seasoning

1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1 tablespoon raw sesame seeds

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350ºF.

Place the sun-dried tomatoes in a bowl and cover them with hot water. Set aside to soak for 10-15 minutes.

In a food processor fitted with the steel blade, combine the sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, fennel, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, chili powder, and salt. Process for 30 seconds.

Drain the sun-dried tomatoes, reserving the liquid. Chop the tomatoes and add them to the food processor along with the sesame seeds. Pulse until sun-dried tomatoes are reduced to small flecks and incorporated into the seed mixture. With the machine running, slowly add 2 tablespoons of the reserved tomato liquid. Process until a rough dough forms.

Transfer the dough to a large sheet of parchment paper. Use your hands to pat it into a thick rectangular mass. Place another piece of parchment on top of the dough. Roll out the dough to about 1/8-inch thickness. The thinner you roll it, the crispier your crackers will be. Remove the top sheet of parchment paper. Trim any jagged edges with a pizza cutter.

Transfer the dough, parchment paper and all, to a baking sheet. Use the pizza cutter to cut the dough into cracker shapes. Bake for 15-20 minutes, rotating the pan once halfway through, until golden brown and firm to the touch. Cool completely on the baking sheet, then break along the pre-cut lines into crackers. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

- See more at: http://www.dailybitesblog.com/#sthash.mMkC4Y1f.dpuf

Gluten Free Dutch Baby

Kudos to the creator of this great recipe here at herbanmomma.com.I made some variations to make this totally dairy free. Note: this recipe contains eggs. 

photo as noted from herbanmomma.com

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 30 mins

Total time: 40 mins

Serves: 3-4

Ingredients

• 2 Apples, diced (I use Granny Smiths)
• 5 tbsp earth's balance butter or grapeseed oil
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 8 eggs
• 1 cup milk (I use unsweetened rice milk or half it with coconut milk)
• 1/3 cup arrowroot powder
• 1/4 cup coconut flour
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp salt

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Melt 1 tbsp butter in a cast iron skillet over medium heat.
3. Add the diced apples and cinnamon and saute until just starting to get a little soft.
4. While apples cook, place eggs in blender and mix for 30 seconds.
5. Add milk, arrowroot, coconut flour, vanilla and salt to the blender and mix for another 30 seconds.
6. When apples are cooked, add remaining 4 tbsp of butter to the cast iron pan and melt.
7. Once butter melted, pour batter over the apples.
8. Very carefully move the skillet to the preheated oven and bake for 25-28 minutes.
9. Toothpick inserted in middle should come out clean when cooked through.
10. Cut into 6 slices and serve with drizzle of maple syrup.

Technically I think this recipe should “fall” after you remove it from the oven, just as a popover/soufflé do, but mine don’t always do that and personally that doesn’t really matter to me, because it really does taste the same either way – so don’t worry if your Dutch Baby falls.

Whenever I whip this up, I usually throw some bacon in the over at the same time, but just be careful not to burn the bacon as it’s cooking a slightly higher temp than I’d normally use to cook bacon. I happened to have apples available this particular day so that’s what I used as my filling, but you can use the batter and get really creative with the fillings – Summer berries and/or bananas is also really tasty.

- See more at: http://www.herbanmomma.com/2013/06/cinnamon-apple-dutch-baby-gluten-free/#sthash.fGSZBvLK.NDpBD2jI.dpuf

Grain Free Spanish Rice

I love this genius idea here from The Tasty Alternative to make a spanish "rice" with cauliflower instead. What a wholesome dish!

photo from The Tasty Alternative

Ingredients 

-2 medium/small heads of cauliflower, cut cored, and washed 

-1 small yellow onion, diced 

-3 roma tomatoes 

-1 green pepper (optional)

-2 teaspoons Mexican seasoning* (use less for children) 

-2 teaspoons garlic granules 

-1/2 teaspoons salt

-1/2 teaspoon cumin (or to taste) 

-Few turns of the pepper grinder

-1/4 cup oil

How To

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

1.  Mix above ingredients in your favorite roasting dish.

2.  Roast for 25-30 minutes 

3.  Allow to cool a while (make sure it's not steaming 

for step 4). 

4.  Put half the mixture in a food processor and pulse a few times.  Careful to not over mix, you are simply creating a rice look to the mixture, not a puree.  You could probably do this by hand too, so try it out if you don't want to lug out the food processor. 

5.  Pulse the remaining half of the mixture until rice-like.

6.  Garnish with cilantro and a squirt of lime.  

Serve

Notes:

*You can find Mexican or Fiesta seasoning at any grocery store.  Or make your own from spices in you bulk foods section.  

Allergy-friendly Grain Free Snicker Doodles

photo by Alisa Fleming

I love a good snicker doodle and it has been far too long since I've devoured one. I love this gluten free, grain free and dairy free version here. The recipe author is the author of one of my all time favorite cookbooks "Go Dairy Free". The site I found it on is the author of one of my favorite cookbooks "Cooking for Isaiah". If you are looking for some great ideas, both are great resources! Here's what she says,
Grain-Free SnickerdoodlesI am pretty new to grain-free cooking, so I opted to play it safe with my first coconut flour cookies by baking this tested recipe from Jamie Oliver with just a few alterations. I made the recipe dairy-free, and added depth to the flavor by using a little coconut / palm sugar.  If you prefer a refined sugar-free cookie, I think you could use coconut sugar or evaporated cane juice (Sucanat) for all of the sweetener. On the contrary, if you want to go simple and more traditionally “Snickerdoodle,” just use all white granulated sugar and skip the brown. This is a slightly cakey cookie that is just sweet enough — a nice step back from the sugar-rich holiday season.

Cookies:
½ cup white sugar (see note above for unrefined)¼ cup coconut sugar, evaporated cane juice, or brown sugar4 eggs, brought to room temperature½ teaspoon vanilla extract (make sure it′s gluten-free, I used Blue Mountain Organics)½ cup coconut oil, melted¾ cup coconut flour¼ teaspoon salt

Topping:2 tablespoons white sugar2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

Preheat your oven to 375 ºF.

In a mixing bowl, beat the ½ cup of white sugar, coconut or brown sugar, eggs, vanilla, and coconut oil together (make sure those eggs aren′t cold, otherwise the coconut oil may solidify and leave little chunks).

In a small bowl, stir the coconut flour and salt together, and then stir them into your wet mixture.

Let it sit for 5 minutes. If the dough appears too soft or wet to handle, place it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. It will set up quite a bit as the coconut oil chills and solidifies.

Combine the two topping ingredients in a small bowl.

Scoop the dough and roll it into balls. Jamie suggests using a small melon ball scooper, but I did them by hand and they were just a little smaller than a golf ball.

Roll the balls in the cinnamon-sugar mixture, place the cookies on a baking sheet (preferably lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat — I use a baking mat), and flatten them a bit. They don′t spread much.

Bake the cookies for 15 minutes. They will darken slightly. Let the cookies sit on the baking sheet for a few minutes, before removing them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Makes 2 to 3 dozen cookies