GF Baklava

Pecan Baklava

Your dehydrator can be a terrific tool for you to create GF masterpieces. Many home ovens now come with them. Raw food enthusiasts who don't heat their food over a certain number of degrees to maintain their nutrients, swear by the dehydrator. Here is a simple, tasty, impressive GF, DF recipe for you to try. A spin on the traditional baklava made of walnuts, this one is loaded with nuts, I used cashews and has a phyllo crust made of cashews. Of course, low glycemic sweeter. This recipe makes about a 5X5 square. Cafe Gratitude in San Francisco is a wonderful raw food restaurant that specializes in these type of raw desserts.

Phyllo Dough

3/4 soaked cashews - Soak Cashews in water overnight and drain when ready to use

1/8 tsp salt

1 tablespoon agave nectar

1/4 cup water
1/2 tbsp vanilla

1 tbsp lemon juice

Blend all ingredients till smooth and creamy - takes about 3-5 minutes on high speed.

Pour the paste on to a dehydrator sheet of teflex liner and spread to make a thin sheet. You should have enough to make 3 sheets. (For the photo, I stacked 2 sets on top each other). Not too thin that you can see through it. Dehydrate for 1 hour at 145 degrees then lower to 115 for 24 hours. You should be able to pick up the sheet and not have it crumble apart.

Filling

3/4 cup pecans chopped to small bits

2 Tbsp agave nectar

1/2 Tbsp vanilla
1/2 Tbsp Lemon juice

1/8 tsp cardamom

Mix all ingredients together by hand.

Cut the phyllo into equal squares and layer with filling equally. Start with one piece of dough then pecans then more dough. Top with 1 Tbsp agave or yacon syrup to create a glaze.

To store: Store in airtight container for up to a week.

A GF Find - Busy Bakehouse - Sydney, Australia

Meet Lilla Petrocitto, the shy, energetic, passionate proprietor of Buzy Baker is taking GF baking seriously. Walk around Queen street in the trendy suburb of Woollahra and you will see her tending to her customers with care. Lilla is celiac with multiple allergies. She has turned lemons to lemonade with the most extensive GF products yet. She constantly tests and solicits customer feedback on every dish she serves.

This place has the most amazing thin crust pizza. Our prosciutto and arugula pizza had snap and crunch, was slightly sweet and complemented the prosciutto, rocket topping. Buzy Baker had savory pies and gnocchi, a mile high lemon pie, apple and rhubarb pies, lemon polenta cake, Florentines, quinoa and chia bread all GF. Truly one of the most extensive GF bakeries I have ever encountered, this shy but passionate woman has transformed some Italian classics into GF masterpieces - some GF/CF, some GF. Although most have a sugar base, this serves as an inspiration of what creative baking can be.

Enjoy her creations..

New Product - Danielle Crispy Green Tea Rolls

WholeFoods now carries this delicious crispy rolled cookie that is melt in your mouth delicious. Though it does contain brown sugar it only has 7 grams for 3 rolls. With only 6 ngredients it is loaded with good stuff - coconut milk, tapioca flour, brown sugar, green tea, egg and salt. No preservatives, no colors and only $4.99 a box! You won't be disappointed, if you can find it that is..contact the manufacturer at DanielleSnacks.com. They have an interesting story, but these crispy rols are not listed on their website and really should be. Yum!

The Maligned Coconut

In past years the coconut has been shunned for contributing to high cholesterol and to be avoided. This is due possibly to the notion that coconut oil was once hydrogenized and therefore categorized as an unhealthy, dreaded transfat. Nothing could be further from the truth. The coconut in it's basic form, unprocessed, is antiviral, high fiber, low carbohydrate and low glycemic. Possibly the perfect food.

The fiber content of coconut ranks at 61% as compared to 27% for wheat bran, 16% for oat bran, 13% for wheat flour and 3% for unbleached white flour (another reason to avoid that nasty flour). One cup of shredded fresh coconut has 3 grams of carbohydrate 9 grams of fiber...yes, 9 grams! The remaining 68 grams is primarily water.

Coconut fiber has been shown to control blood sugar and insulin levels. It's high fiber content helps moderate the swings in blood sugar slowing down the absorption of sugar in the blood. In addition, coconut flour has been shown to increase your good cholesterol or HDL. Coconut meat has been shown to protect the heart by modifying blood lipid levels.

So now to the good stuff, when baking with coconut flour note that the liquid to dry ratio may at first seem high until you add the flour. It has an amazing ability to absorb a lot of the liquid very quickly. The batter may seem elastic and thick but it bakes up very nicely. Also, a little goes a long way with the flour. Try substituting a portion of your GF flour with coconut flour and replacing your non dairy milk with coconut milk. Both are easily obtainable online. Bob's Red Mill or Aloha Nu have organic coconut flour. Canned Coconut milk and fresh in the shell coconuts are readily available at any Asian market.

For a quick dessert, buy one of the fresh coconuts and chop of the top portion, save the liquid for a refreshing drink and place 2 scoops of non dairy ice cream inside. As you dig into the ice cream, scoop out the delicious coconut meat - YUMMY!

The only downside is that the flour tends to be a bit pricey. If more of us clamour for it, we could possibly start a movement to get the price down.

Legal Seafood - A GF Haven in Boston

Legal Seafood in Boston is one of the few restaurants in the country with a dedicated GF menu. Ask for it when you dine there. It is extensive and they take pains to prepare the seafood in a dedicated area, washing and preparing the plates separately to avoid cross contamination. Their fried calamari, rolled in chickpea flour, is fresh, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. They will serve GF bread in lieu of white rolls which are reminiscent in texture of buttermilk biscuits. They are made of rice and tapioca flours, seasoned with a hint of onion. Their salmon is cooked to perfection. The GF food is served by their managers as they take allergies very seriously. In addition, they pride themselves in the freshest fish off the boats and quality test their fish for mercury regularly. When dining there you don't have to second guess the health aspect of any of their products. I found myself dining there at 6 times in a quick 5 day stay!

Legal Seafood has to be applauded for such committment to their wheat intolerant patrons. Encouragement of restaurants like Legal Seafood brings an awareness to other restaurants of the spectrum of customers out there who want to dine out but are limited in a world of wheat. Though their desserts are mainly dairy, they are making a difference in the wheat world. When other restaurants would rather not both with the hassle of maintaining a separate area and taking meticulous care in the preparation of GF food, this restaurant shines above the rest.

Thank you, Legal Seafood!!

Chipas or Pao de Queijo - Cheese Bread - South America

I've served this savory bread several times to non GF friends and they all loved it. Also called pao de queijo in Brazil (cheese bread), pandebono in Colombia, chipas in Paraguary and Buenos Aires. It is served in roadside stands in much of South America for about a quarter. Best part is that it is naturally gluten free. Made of cassava or corn flour, filled with cheese, it is crispy on the outside and moist on the inside.

This recipe uses tapioca flour. I have substituted rice milk and rice cheese to make this recipe work. You can try different fillings. It is extremely easy and quick to make. Serve this out of the oven while warm, as it sits the consistency will change to be someone softer and lose it's crispiness.

Heat oven to 375.

Mix together 1/2 cup olive oil, 1/3 cup water and 1/3 cup rice milk in saucepan. Heat at high till liquid starts to boil. Remove from heat and add in 2 cups tapioca, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 clove finely chopped garlic. Let cool for 15 minutes. Dough will be slightly stringy and able to form a ball.

Mix in 2 beaten eggs and 1/2 cup rice or soy "cheese". Form into small 1.5 inch balls and place on an ungreased pan. Should make 12-15 depending on size. Bake for 25 minutes or until golden on the outside and moist on the inside.