Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Grain free quinoa tortillas

So, it's been awhile, I know. Sorry about that. Someday I will have free time enough to blog again...or so they say ;) Right now, I'm soaking up every moment of mommyhood that I can (and trying to sleep when we're not running a hundred miles an hour). 

Life's pretty good. But I definitely miss my blogging buddies and having fun recipes to share. 

However, I have to take a minute to talk about my new favorite food. Hopefully my little guy will keep content long enough for me to do that.

My little helper in the kitchen.

 This recipe caught my eye a couple weeks ago. I added it to my growing list of to-try recipes. But then I had a friend who is on a medical elimination diet ask me about alternative flour tortillas. So I shared it with her. And the recipe made its way to the top of my list. I prefer to share recipes with people that I can say I've tried personally. 

The finished product. Tastier than they look, I promise!

Well, I made these tortillas. Wow! It's been quite awhile since I had flour tortillas, so I'm not going to be able to make a good comparison. And I eat corn occasionally, but I don't like it (and it doesn't like me...). These are definitely better than corn tortillas in my book. And they are leaps and bounds above other gluten free tortillas I've tried (the store-bought kind). The texture is wonderfully chewy, but tears easily like a real tortilla, and the flavor is mild, almost a non-flavor...

I have learned that there is an art to making tortillas. And I definitely don't know it yet. But give me a few more tries with this recipe and I'm sure I'll be better. 

Mmm. Real tacos...gluten free style.
Recipes by Brittany at Real Sustenance
 
I followed the recipe exactly (I used palm shortening, and no I didn't measure by weight), but I will add my two cents to the process, because I learned a bit as I made the tortillas.

- I used red quinoa, and just ground it up in my spice grinder. There were a few bigger pieces still, but nothing really detrimental to the tortillas. 
- I baked the quinoa flour for 2 hours and 45 minutes. I then kept the flour in the fridge for a few days until I was able to make the tortilla recipe.
 - This recipe made about a dozen tortillas, bigger than a corn tortilla but smaller than a medium flour tortilla. I am estimating on the amount, because I ate them as I made them...and I ate quite a few before I ran out of dough to cook ;)
- I used two sheets of waxed paper to roll the tortillas out, and no flour. The method that worked best for me was to roll the dough out, peel back the first paper, then flip the tortilla onto it and peel back the second paper (careful: the dough tears very easily!). I then flipped the tortilla onto my spatula, and turned it into the pan. It's not fail-proof, but it seemed the easiest way to keep the dough from tearing apart too much.
- I set my stove-top to about 7 1/2 out of 10 on the heat dial (the directions are a little vague on the temp). That seemed to work well.
- The longer these were in the pan, the crispier they got around the edges. Everything softened a bit as they cooled, but for softer shells, watch your clock especially closely. 
- These reheat wonderfully, and hold up so great for tacos!

Yum! 

Sunday, April 07, 2013

This is my life now...


Yep, my life has been officially taken over by this sweet little boy! I will (hopefully) be back soon!

Saturday, January 05, 2013

Amazing Cinnamon Bread - Paleo Style

I might be nesting, a little. Or just trying to alleviate my guilt at not having gotten much done over the past 3 weeks of "vacation" since I quit my job. One of the itches I've had as I've been sitting around the house, growing bigger, and becoming less productive, is baking. Partially to stock my freezer with food we can eat once our little coffee bean is here, and partially because I don't feel like I've done enough baking lately, and I really miss it.

This is my new favorite bread from The Paleo Parents. It's gluten free, and Paleo-friendly to boot! I haven't tried the bread pudding/French toast part of the recipe, but the cinnamon bread is awesome! I adapted the recipe by adding dates to the batter, instead of the raisins called for. The reason for this was that the Paleo Parents mention that this recipe is not overly sweet. The dates definitely helped with that!

This recipe is really great fresh from the oven, with some melted butter on top. 

Paleo Cinnamon Bread
Adapted from this recipe

2 c nut butter (almond butter is best, but it works great w/ Sunbutter* too!)
1 1/2 c blanched almond flour
4 large eggs
1/4 c maple syrup
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
2/3 c soaked and pitted dates

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Pulse all ingredients in a food processor until well combined. If batter is not smooth, add a bit of oil (this may happen, depending on the nut butter used).

Pour batter into a greased bread pan, and smooth the top.

Bake for about an hour. Bread should be golden brown, and a toothpick inserted will come out clean.

Cool on a rack in the pan for another hour. The bread will continue to cook a little bit more.

Slice, and serve, or use to make French Toast Casserole.

*Note: I tried this recipe with a combination of Sunbutter and almond butter, which worked just as well as the almond butter version. However, sunflower seed butter tends to turn green when combined with baking soda. So, eat same day, or don't freak out the next morning when you have greenish bread! It is harmless, and still tastes awesome!