A Flour By Any Other Name
tales from a gluten-free kitchen
Category Archives: grain-free
Almond Coconut Banana Bread
As much as I love eating leftover dessert cake for breakfast, I sometimes want something a little simpler. When I first stopped eating gluten, banana bread was one of the little things I missed, so I started looking for a reliable gluten-free alternative.
The first time I tried to make a gluten-free banana bread was also the first time I baked with coconut flour. I had no idea how different coconut flour is from other flours. The result was dense, leaden and dried-out mini loaves of banana bread that tasted good but fell far from my ideal.
Another Work in Progress…
Here’s what I’m working on at the moment—cookies made with cashew butter. They still need some work, but for a first attempt, they are pretty good.
Breakfast Cheesecake
I am currently developing a recipe for breakfast cheesecake. I know that you can eat any cheesecake for breakfast, but this one is a simple, no-fuss, no-crust cheesecake that’s baked in a bain-marie and scooped into a bowl like custard or pudding. A girl has to eat something for breakfast, right?
Scallops and Bacon and Garlic! Oh My!
My niece is brilliant. She came up with an incredibly delicious idea this week. As part of a meal, we had bacon-wrapped scallops. But they were scallops with double plus bacon, really. First, she fried a slice of bacon for each scallop. Then, she cooked the scallops gently in bacon fat. Next, I fried chopped garlic in bacon fat—I chopped five large cloves for 10 scallops. She assembled them, wrapping each scallop in bacon and carefully distributing the garlic over the scallops. This photo does not do them justice at all.* The result was pure bliss.
*(I guess that means we will be forced to make them again so I can get a better photo…)
Poutine: Yes, I Am Canadian!
Poutine is a staple of French-Canadian cuisine. It’s simple but extremely tasty.
A few years ago, I went with my sister and my niece to a concert put on by Ron Cahute and Jane Lapko, the creators of these educational French songs. They performed their Poutine song, which goes like this:
Poutine, let’s start with the french fries,
Poutine, add the cheese and the gravy!
Poutine is my favourite thing,
It’s fries with an attitude!
Broccoli Bacon Cheddar Salad
I have had broccoli salad on the brain lately. My mother had made one, which was delicious, but quite different from the one I’m posting here. Hers was made with feta, raisins and a yogurt dressing. After I ate some, I started thinking about THIS broccoli salad…
Kalakand
Kalakand is an Indian sweet. My mother, who was born in New Delhi, loves this treat. My brother and one of my sisters don’t think much of it, but my other sister and I adore it, just like our mother. We three kalakand lovers aren’t sad that it’s not to everyone’s taste, because that means there’s more for us.
Chewy Cheddar Cheese Breads
I fell in love with these breads long before I stopped eating gluten. I love how simple they are to make. And I love their chewy texture.
I have made versions of them for brunches and they are always a crowd pleaser. And they are so fast to make. The most time-consuming part of the recipe is putting the batter into the muffin tins. The batter can be made ahead and kept in the fridge for up to a week.
The original recipe is for Brazilian-style cheese breads and uses queso fresco. Since I’m not trying to replicate a traditional pão de queijo, I use a variety of other cheeses.
I have made these with feta, Parmesan, chèvre and cheddar. Each type is delicious, but the cheddar are my favourite. They are good eaten both warm and cold, but, let me warn you, they are so addictive that if you start eating them warm, you might find you don’t have any left to find out exactly how they taste at room temperature.
A Flour By Any Other Name 