Gluten Free Cooking School » Lunch Recipes

No More Naked Burritoes: Gluten Free Flour Tortillas

Mary Frances — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 06:20:25 +0000

I’ve been sitting here for ages trying to figure out what to say about these tortillas. If you’ve been gluten free for long, you can understand why I’m speechless. The wonder of it all . . . to have tortillas that bend without breaking; that are big enough to actually wrap around something; that taste like flour tortillas.

And again, if you’ve been gluten free for long I’ve probably already said enough to convince you to try these. They are inspired by a recipe of Bette Hagman’s, but I’ve changed up the flour mix to add nutritional value (gotta love the iron and fiber in the bean flours) and made the recipe casein free.

If you’d like an idea for something to put into these incredible tortillas, try my recipe for “Last of the Sweet Potatoes Soft Tacos” and stop back by on Friday for a tutorial on rolling tortillas.

Gluten Free Flour Tortillas
(makes 8 tortillas that are gluten free and casein free)

2 c. Gluten Free All-Purpose Flour Mix
1 1/2 tsp. xanthan gum
2 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 c. warm water

1. Add the dry ingredients to a large mixing bowl and mix the ingredients thoroughly. (I do this with my hand)

2. Add the cup of warm water to the bowl and mix the dry goods into the water with your hand. Just squish it all up until all of the dry ingredients are no longer dry. And then keep mixing a minute longer because it’s fun and we should all be pretend we’re kids once in a blue moon. =)

3. Separate the dough into 8 pieces and roll each piece into a ball. Place all but one of the dough balls back into the bowl and cover with plastic wrap until you’re ready to work with them.

4. Sprinkle a clean, flat surface with a bit of rice flour and then roll you dough ball into a roughly circular shape. Get is as thin as possible. (If you need some practice on rolling out dough, check back here Friday for a tortilla rolling tutorial)

5. Throw the tortilla onto a hot griddle (I use a cast iron griddle on medium heat with just a smidge of shortening or oil) and let it cook approximately 1 minute – or until it has started puffing up and the bottom side is developing those lovely brown spots. Flip the tortilla and cook the other side until is toasty as well.

6. Slide the cooked tortilla onto a waiting plate and repeat from step 4 until you’ve cooked all 8 tortillas. I generally roll one tortilla out while another is cooking, so that there’s is always a tortilla on the gridle.

Cook’s Notes: If you’re allergic to soy, I have substituted Fava/Garbanzo flour for the soy flour with success. If you’re allergic to corn, try tapioca starch instead of the corn starch and almond meal instead of the masa harina.

Last of the Sweet Potatoes Soft Tacos

Mary Frances — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 00:26:06 +0000

“Last of the Sweet Potatoes” Soft Tacos
(made 4 large soft tacos – which we ate in one sitting)

2 medium sweet potatoes, diced and boiled
1/2 onion, diced
1 jalepeno, diced
1 can black beans, drained
1/2 Gala Apple, diced
1 packet Guacamole seasoning*
Romaine lettuce, chopped
4 gluten free flour tortillas

Instructions:
1. Peel and dice two sweet potatoes and boil till tender.

2. While the potatoes are boiling, saute the diced onions and jalepeno in a large skillet.

3. Add the black beans, diced apple, and seasoning packet. Mix well.

4. Once the potatoes are done, gently stir them in with the other ingredients being careful not to accidentaly mash them. Turn the heat to low and let everything sit while you make the tortillas.

5. Top the tortillas with chopped Romain lettuce and then spoon on the filling and enjoy =)

* Update: If you don’t have a packet of guacamole seasoning handy, try 1 tsp. cumin powder, 1/2 tsp. garlic powder, 1/2 tsp onion powder, and 1/8 – 1/4 tsp. ground red pepper. We tried it last night and loved it. ~ Mary Frances

Vegetable Gumbo Recipe

Mary Frances — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 23:00:00 +0000

Updated, but still lacking a photo =)

Here in Alabama it’s sleeting and there is the merest chance of snow. For me it’s the perfect night to enjoy a bowl of my Grandmother Somerville’s Vegetable Gumbo. Her recipe calls for two hours of simmering, but I have a stash in the freezer so that’s what we’ll be having tonight.

Vegetable Gumbo
1 large onion, diced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
2 Tbsp. oil
2 32. oz cartons of vegetable broth
1 16 oz. bag of frozen sliced okra
2 16 oz. bags of frozen mixed veggies (whatever works for your allergies)
3 cooked chicken breasts, shredded (optional)
1 28 oz. can of diced tomatoes
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 tsp. thyme
1/4 tsp. sage

In a large stockpot, saute the onion and garlic 2 Tbsp of oil. Once the onion is translucent, add the broth and the frozen okra, and bring the pot to a low simmer for approximately 1 hour. After an hour, use the back of a spoon to smash all of the okra pieces against the side of the pot. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer for another hour. Serve with gluten free crackers, and a salad or sandwich.

This recipe makes a lot of soup, so we usually freeze the leftovers for quick weeknight suppers.

Thanksgiving Leftovers: Toasted Turkey (Tofu) Sandwich with Cranberry & Arugula

Mary Frances — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 11:53:11 +0000

Leftover turkey is my favorite part of Thanksgiving Day. After stuffing (pun intended) myself for lunch, a late-night turkey sandwich is the perfect way end to the day. In fact, turkey sandwiches are so important to my family’s Thanksgiving celebration that we’ve even cooked a turkey at home before visiting relatives so that we’d have “leftover” turkey for the weekend.

Unfortunately, the standard turkey sandwich does get a little old by Saturday night. So come back then and make this tasty turkey or tofu sandwich with cranberry and arugula. Arugula? Yes, arugula. It’s a nice change from the standard green lettuce and has a slightly peppery bite that contrasts nicely with the cranberry sauce.

I do realize that arugula is an easy choice for me since I have it growing in my garden. If you don’t have arugula growing in your garden, check the more upscale groceries in your neighborhood or substitute frisee or watercress. Or heck, use whatever you have on hand. Don’t let my fancy lettuce choices keep you from trying this =)

Toasted Turkey (Tofu) Sandwich with Cranberry & Arugula

The bread in the picture is Gluten Free Sandwich Wrap at Gluten Free Gobsmacked. If you’d like to make homemade cranberry sauce, try out Carrie’s Quick Homemade Cranberry Sauce

2 slices of gluten free bread
butter
mayonnaise
several slices of turkey or pan-fried tofu**
4 leaves of arugula
cranberry sauce

1. Preheat a skillet over medium heat. Butter one side of each slice of bread. Place the butter side of the bread down on the skillet and toast until golden brown.

2. Slather the untoasted sides of the bread with mayonnaise. To one slice of bread add the turkey or tofu, arugula, and cranberry sauce. Top with the other slice and chow down =)

**Pan-Fried Tofu

Thanks to Sea at Book of Yum for cluing me in to using nutritional yeast in the flour mixture. It definitely rocks! She has some great tofu recipes that you should check out if you’re a tofu fan…or even if you’re not =)

1 block of extra-firm tofu
tamari
1/2 c. brown rice flour (or whatever your staple flour is)
1/8 c. nutritional yeast
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. black pepper
1/8 tsp. paprika

1. Open the package of tofu and pour out all of the water. Slice the tofu into 1/4″ cutlets. Lay the cutlets between two halves of a clean dish towel and gently press down on them to remove excess water. Let the tofu cutlets rest in the towel while you get the tamari and flour mixture ready.

2. Get out two dinner plates. In one pour in enough tamari to dip all of your cutlets. (Go easy on this. It’s a terrible thing to waste tamari =) Besides you can always add more if you need it.) In the second plate combine all the dry ingredients and mix them up with your fingers.

3. One by one, dip each side of a tofu cutlet into the tamara and then dredge in the flour mixture. Set that cutlet aside and repeat until all are done.

4. Pan-fry the tofu cutlets over medium heat (in a skillet with a little bit of oil ) until the crust is a deep brown on both sides.

Dad’s Brown White Rice

Gluten Free Curried Carrot Soup Recipe

Mary Frances — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 02:21:36 +0000

I love soup! So simple, so good, and so perfect for a quick lunch or supper. The daytime temperatures in Alabama are still in the high eighties, but the nights have a chill in the air, so I have declared soup season to be officially open.

John’s parents and sister visited us this weekend and to make things easier on myself, we had sandwiches for lunch each day. Afraid that a mere sandwich would not be satisfying and being in a creative cooking mood, I decided to make a pot of Curried Carrot Soup for those brave enough to try it!

I first created this soup a few weeks ago, and while David and I thought it was great, John declared that it did not have enough flavor. With the help of some more than willing taste-testers (John’s mom and sis) this weekend’s batch met with approval from all corners. Of course, I have no idea how this batch is different from the first, since I never wrote the first one down, but that doesn’t really matter at this point. I think the secret is the applesauce, but John’s mom and sis liked it better before I added it. (I’ve listed it as an optional ingredient in the Cook’s Notes, so feel free to experiment.) And everyone thought the soup tasted better after sitting over low heat for 15-20 minutes, so you might give that a try too.

Whichever way you try it, this soup is a much better way to eat carrots than the boiled carrots that my mom tried to force down me as a kid. No offense mom, but those were horrible! If your kids aren’t fond of carrots, maybe you can pass this off as a special Halloween soup =)

Curried Carrot Soup

(Yield: 4 servings)

2 c. carrots, thinly sliced
2 c. water
1 tsp. Better than Bouillon (veggie), or use 2 c. stock in place of the water
1/2 tsp. Madras curry powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. soy milk (unsweetened)

1. Add sliced carrots and water to a saucepan. Bring the water to a boil and then reduce to a simmer until carrots are fork tender. The amount of time this take will depend on how thinly you’ve sliced the carrots.

2. Remove the saucepan from the heat. Use an immersion blender to puree the carrots. If you do not possess one of these wonderful creations, feel free to use a blender, food processor, or potato masher.

3. Add the Better Than Bouillon, curry powder, and salt to the pureed carrots. Then slowly add the soy milk while you stir the soup. Return the saucepan to the stove and heat over very low heat until it is warm enough to eat.

Cook’s Notes:
In Step 1, keep your eye on the pot. It’s very easy to boil all the water away if you become distracted, by say, writing a blog entry!

In Step 2, be sure to take the soup off the heat so that it will cool enough to prevent the soy milk from curdling. If the milk does curdle, and you’ll know if it has because it will look like little white specks, you can still eat the soup. It will taste fine; it just won’t be as pretty =)

If you’d like the soup to be a bit sweeter, try adding 1/2 c. of unsweetened applesauce in Step 3. And I think that a dollop of sour cream would be a great addition once you’ve put the soup into the bowls.

Spinach Meatball Sandwiches

Mary Frances — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 02:51:47 +0000

Here’s the follow-up recipe for the spinach meatballs featured in "Spinach Meatballs over Spaghetti". I really liked this recipe – I enjoyed having a meatball sub for the first time in way too long and I enjoyed how quickly the meal came together.

We used Kate’s wrap recipe, but you could use any gluten free bread. I’d like to try it on my “Really Good Sandwich Bread” so that the bread can soak up more of the sauce.

Gluten Free Spinach Meatball Sandwiches

(Yield: 4 Sandwiches)

12 Spinach Meatballs
8 slices of gluten free bread
1 bottle of your favorite Italian tomato sauce
2 c. of shredded Mozzarella cheese

1. Slice the meatballs in half. Place 6 halves on each of four pieces of bread.
2. Pour as much tomato sauce as you like on top of the meatballs.
3. Sprinkle each sandwich half with mozzarella cheese.
4. Top with the remaining slices of bread, and heat the sandwich in the microwave – time will vary depending on the machine.

Toasted Pimento Cheese Sandwich

Toasted Pimento Cheese Sandwich

Mary Frances — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 01:00:40 +0000

Before the summer gets completely away from us and we want more than sandwiches for supper, here’s a classic Southern recipe for pimento cheese sandwiches. I had no idea until I read this NPR story that pimento cheese is just a Southern thing. I probably should have guessed though, since we often eat pimento cheese sandwiches with fried chicken and sweet tea.

If you’ve ever tried pimento cheese spread from a carton at the grocery store, please try as hard as possible to purge that memory from your mind. That stuff if horrible and should not be called pimento cheese. The recipe below is what you would get if you were at a bridal tea or church potluck on a Sunday afternoon in the Deep South. It’s a culmination of the recipes from the best pimento cheese makers from my hometown.

The sandwich pictured above is made on my Brown Rice & Buckwheat Sandwich Bread. Traditionally, pimento cheese sandwiches are made from white bread with the crusts cut off, and the sandwiches are cut into halves (rectangular) or fourths (triangular). I’ve also had pimento cheese as a topping on steaks and hamburgers. Whichever way you choose to serve it, pimento cheese one Southern special that you should try.

Toasted Pimento Cheese Sandwich

(approx. 6 sandwiches)

Filling
8 oz. medium cheddar cheese, grated
2 oz. cream cheese (optional, but suggested)
grated onion (optional, but suggested)
3/8 – 1/4 c. mayonnaise or Vegannaise
2 oz. jar of pimentos
dash of red pepper (optional)
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste

Sandwich
sandwich bread
butter
lettuce (optional)

Filling
1. Grate the cheddar cheese on the fine side of your grater. If you have time, set the cheese out on the counter for a few minutes before you grate it. The closer the cheese is to room temperature the better it will combine with the other ingredients.

2. Cut the cream cheese into small cubes and add it to the cheddar cheese. The cubing will make it easier to combine.

3. Cut a white or yellow onion in half and peel on half. Run the cut side of the peeled half over the coarse side of your grater 10 – 20 times. (Hold the grater over the mixing bowl because there will be some onion juice). If you don’t like onions, you can omit this step. If you like onions, be sure to include this step because it really boosts the flavor.

4. Now add the remaining ingredients: mayonnaise, pimentos (including the liquid), red pepper, salt and pepper. Stir ingredients until well combined and until there are no visible chunks of cream cheese.

Sandwich
1. Heat a skillet over medium heat. Spread a thin layer of butter on one side of your bread slices. Put the bread butter side down into the skillet and cook until the bread begins to brown.

2. Once the bread is browned, remove it from the skillet. Spread a thick layer of pimento cheese on the bread. Top with lettuce and another slice of bread. You’re done!

Enjoy!

Easy Summer Coleslaw Recipe

Mary Frances — Sun, 22 Jul 2007 02:59:20 +0000

As promised in my previous post, "Five Reasons to Shred Cabbage with a Knife, and How To Do It.", here is an easy recipe for all of the cabbage that you’re shredded by now. I usually use white cabbage (it’s green, really), but the red cabbage (purple, really) that I had on hand worked just as well. John and I could not discern any difference in the taste, and red cabbage added a lot of color to what would would have been a unicolor dinner.

Easy Summer Coleslaw

Yield: 4 side servings

4 c. red or white cabbage, shredded
1/4 c. mayo
1 Tbsp. cider vinegar
2 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes

1. Place 4 packed cups of shredded cabbage into a large serving bowl.

2. In a small mixing bowl, whisk the mayo, cider vinegar, sugar, salt, garlic powder, and red pepper flakes until well combined.

3. Pour the dressing that you’ve just made over the cabbage. Toss the dressing and cabbage until the dressing is uniformly distributed. Refrigerate until ready to serve. (I consider the refrigeration step to be optional; we usually start eating the coleslaw as soon as it has been tossed, and it usually does not even make it to the dinner table.)

Gluten Free Cooking School » Lunch Recipes

No More Naked Burritoes: Gluten Free Flour Tortillas

Related Posts:

Last of the Sweet Potatoes Soft Tacos

Related Posts:

Vegetable Gumbo Recipe

Related Posts:

Thanksgiving Leftovers: Toasted Turkey (Tofu) Sandwich with Cranberry & Arugula

Toasted Turkey (Tofu) Sandwich with Cranberry & Arugula

**Pan-Fried Tofu

Related Posts:

Gluten Free Curried Carrot Soup Recipe

Curried Carrot Soup

Related Posts:

Spinach Meatball Sandwiches

Gluten Free Spinach Meatball Sandwiches

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Toasted Pimento Cheese Sandwich

Toasted Pimento Cheese Sandwich

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Easy Summer Coleslaw Recipe

Easy Summer Coleslaw

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