I had spent half of the day in a feverish whirlwind making 3 batches of brownies, 1 batch of sorghum flax onion rolls, seared crimini mushrooms and roasted eggplant slices with a tahini sauce. So, we dined on delightfully refreshing snowflake plates, and didn’t even notice because everything tasted so good, and we had such nice company. Friends, food, and fireworks, that’s all you need to celebrate the 4th of July. Being a food blogger, I had to take a photograph of the food, snowflake plates and all.

I hope you don’t mind. The combination of rubbing lemon olive oil onto the eggplant and drizzling it with a tahini sauce spiked with lemon zest brought unexpected new life to an old favorite method of preparing eggplant. Even the alleged eggplant-haters had to admit it was addictive and tasty. And for eggplant lovers… well, lets just say, eggplant proved itself once as a fitting ingredient for ye old Book of Yum. We went home without a single eggplant slice left- and I’d baked two whole ones up just for the occasion. Alas for no leftovers, but hurrah for a very delicious picnic, with just the right amount of food.

This makes me want to make this recipe all over again. The tahini sauce is terrific on salad, as a dip for red pepper and/or carrots… and even on sauteed mushrooms, as we found out. Enjoy!

Roasted Lemon Eggplant Slices Side Dish  Vegetables  Mediterranean

Ingredients 2 medium-sized American Eggplant (or one, if very large) Lemon olive oil Bouquet Garni (sold at Penzeys) or your favorite green herb mix salt pepper Directions Preheat oven to 425F. Get out a baking sheet. Wash, dry and slice eggplant into generous 1/4 inch slices. Pour about 1/8 cup lemon olive oil into a small bowl and add herbs, salt, and pepper to taste. Baste eggplant slices on both sides with oil-herb mixture and place on baking sheet. When sheet is full, place in oven and roast for 20-30 minutes or until one side is golden brown. Turn slices and brown the other side for at least 10 minutes until it is also browned and slices are soft and succulent. You may have to baby these a little- don’t let them burn! Remove any that cook faster than the others when they are done. Notes Some slices are less sturdy than others due to seed composition etc. If any fall apart- put them in a bowl and drizzle with tahini sauce for a chef’s snack or serve to family members to tempt their appetite.

Rating:  9 Original Source:  The contents of my brain, please do not replicate without my permission. Recipe ID:  1506 Added:  July 5, 2010 Last Modified:  July 5, 2010

Roasted Vegetable Tahini Sauce Sauces & Condiments  Vegetables  Middle Eastern

Ingredients Equal amounts pure tahini and water 1 tsp. agave nectar (or honey) lemon zest, to taste (I used a meyer lemon but anything will work) fresh squeezed lemon juice, to taste generous sprinkle of salt Directions Blend tahini and water in a mini food processor. Add agave, lemon juice and salt and blend again. Taste and adjust seasonings. Add your lemon zest, stir, and serve. Wonderful on roasted eggplant slices!

Rating:  9 Original Source:  The contents of my brain, please do not replicate without my permission. Recipe ID:  1507 Added:  July 5, 2010 Last Modified:  July 5, 2010

This 4th of July I had one goal. I hadn’t had a good brownie since I went dairy, soy and egg-free after Baby Yum was born, and I was determined to make a vegan brownie that would pass a glutenoid taste test and satisfy pesky chocolate cravings. It is easy enough to make a good brownie with butter and eggs and lots of melty, milky chocolate, but how about without those things? How could you compensate for their absence? As I researched, I found that the real sticking point was the absence of egg. Luckily, vegan bakers are extraordinarily creative, and have come up with all kinds of substitutes, including flax seed, applesauce, and even beet puree. Another sticking point was the chocolate of course. I wanted these brownies to be safe for me and my highly soy-sensitive friend (who avoids even soy lecithin), so I had to find safe chocolate for us. I found baking chocolate (melt in the microwave and add agave or other sweetener to taste), Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips, and cocoa powder (Penzey’s) to be my salvation. I knew a vegan brownie that would pass the glutenoid taste test would be a challenge. And when it comes to that, I’m not a huge brownie girl, either, so it would be tough to find one I liked myself. I like fudgey brownies, not cake-like or bread-like brownies. To find the perfect recipe, I decided to make three recipes, adapted from those above. I called the first recipe “F” for flax seed, the second “B” for beet puree, and the third “A” for agave. Note that except for the applesauce recipe, the recipes linked above are not gluten-free, but of course my versions were. Anyway. Then I lined up my testers. You all (may) know my friend JM, who has inspired many allergen-sensitive recipes here on the Book of Yum. She is free of gluten, potato, soy, avocado, and dairy. Her partner in crime, M, is an adventurous glutenoid who has patiently tried many gluten-free experiments over the years at gluten-free potlucks and the like. Then there was me, gluten, soy, corn, potato, etc. free. And finally, there was my glutenoid DH who loves chocolate and has also been the guinea pig for many recipe experiments over the years.

First: the flax seed recipe. I am a recent convert to this egg substitute, so I had high hopes for this recipe. However, I’m afraid I was disappointed. It had a heavy, vegan brownie feel and the DH condemned it as “Tasting gluten-free.” Darn it. Unexpectedly, our tester M chose it as his favorite, perhaps because he likes that type of texture in his brownie and felt it was closer to a traditional brownie. JM and I gave it a resolute thumbs down.

Second: the beet puree recipe. I had a sneaking fondness for this recipe because I liked the novel idea of adding beets to chocolate, AND it had coffee, which just makes me happy. JM said it had an “earthy” aftertaste and M said it was his least favorite. The DH shrugged and said “well, it’s chocolate” and ate it. I might make this recipe again, actually, perhaps with some modifications. The lack of sweet chips (its chocolate was provided by agave sweetened baker’s chocolate and cocoa powder) may have made this less popular than it would have been otherwise. -I liked its deep dark chocolate flavor and earthiness, personally, but it isn’t for milk-chocolate lovers.

Third: the agave sweetened brownie recipe. This was the only recipe that started out gluten-free, but I had to radically change the flours to accommodate our various intolerances. JM, I and the DH all chose this recipe as our favorite, making it a clear winner. It was the only recipe that wasn’t lowfat as it actually contained oil, which might have helped its cause. The texture was also nice, having an appealing fluffy lightness not often found in gluten-free, vegan recipes. It might not have screamed brownie, but that made me like it a little more, and it was sweet (without being too sweet) and nice and chocolate-rich thanks to the generous amount of chocolate chips it called for.

And so, our gluten-free vegan brownie taste off ended with success and an empty box of brownies. Even the brownies that we supposedly didn’t like vanished from our picnic basket. After all, they were all chocolate, and were all pretty tasty, judging aside. Here’s our favorite recipe to share with you, and a few more gluten-free recipes I found online that I would love to try when my diet includes things like nuts and eggs again. Have any favorite gluten-free brownie recipes? Share the link in the comments and I’ll add them to my list!

If you can have nuts and eggs, try Elana’s Almond Butter Brownies
No eggs, and prefer the raw foods approach? Try Elana’s Chocolate Espresso Power Bar Recipe
Eggs are Ok and you want dairy-free dark chocolate? Karina’s Rich Dark Chocolate Brownie Recipe may be the ticket!

Just for fun, here is a pictures of Baby Yum taken on her first 4th of July. We had a lovely family picnic with friends and were all set for her to see the fireworks- but literally minutes before the show began she decided to nurse and didn’t so much as peek at the show as she fell fast asleep mid-snack. Better luck next year. I can’t believe my baby is almost one!

Gluten Free Sorghum Vegan Brownie Recipes Dessert  Alternative Grains  American

Ingredients Spectrum Palm Oil Shortening or mini cupcake liners 1/2 cup your favorite oil (I bet coconut oil would be really yummy, but I used canola) 3/4 cup plus 4 tablespoons sorghum flour 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons arrowroot starch 2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder 1/4 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (I use Penzeys Dutch) 10 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons agave nectar 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce 2 tablespoons vanilla 1/2 cup brewed coffee or espresso (I use decaf) 2 cups dairy-free and soy-free chocolate chips (Enjoy Life) Directions Special equipment: 2 Mini muffin tins or mini donut molds, although they are a bit delicate for the latter. Preheat oven to 325. Either line mini muffin tins with mini cupcake liners or baste with shortening. Combine dry ingredients in a medium bowl, mix, and set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients. Gently fold in dry ingredients. Fold in chocolate chips. Fill each mini muffin cup (or mini donut mold etc) with 1 tbsp. batter. Put in oven and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 12 to 15 minutes. Place muffin tin on a cooling rack and let cool. Don’t put warm muffins on a plate or moisture may make the bottom soggy. Gently remove mini muffins or mini donuts (the latter is more challenging) and serve. Yummy! Notes A light and delicate chocolate feast, winner of our vegan brownie taste-off!

Rating:  8 Original Source:  Inspired by Babycakes Brownies but with entirely different flour combination. Please do not replicate without my permission. Recipe ID:  1505 Added:  July 5, 2010 Last Modified:  July 5, 2010

The latter recipe was inspired by an earlier recipe I’d never gotten around to blog, where I used very yummy gluten-free miso mayo with avocado and pine nuts for a fusion nigiri. This time I didn’t have any on hand but I did have some of the new gluten-free San-J peanut sauce in my pantry, so I used that. It was delicious and ended up being one of my favorite rolls, next to the sesame spinach onigiri. The rolls traveled beautifully and made a very tasty and hearty dinner during our class. They would be perfect for a picnic lunch or a Fourth of July celebration as well! If you haven’t tried making vegetarian onigiri, I highly recommend it as a portable and delicious, easily gluten-free meal.

Product Review of San-J Gluten-Free Peanut Sauce
Thin Japanese egg omelette recipe for an alternative to a nori wrap
Festive Coconut Sticky-Rice Onigiri Recipe

Fusion Avocado Basil Vegetarian Onigiri Recipe Main Course  Rice  Japanese

Ingredients 2 rice cooker scoops of White Sushi Rice Nori Seaweed sheets, either square cut in half or onigiri size 1/2 fresh avocado, chopped in large, thick chunks Miso Mayo or your favorite GF mayonnaise with a touch of salt or GF soy sauce added (if soy is ok for you) Handful of Pine Nuts, toasted or not to taste Julienned fresh basil OR fresh shiso leaf (I prefer basil) kosher salt flakes black sesame seeds Directions Rinse your (uncooked) sushi rice until the water runs clean with no cloudiness. Drain and cook your sushi rice in your rice cooker according to machine’s directions OR, if you don’t have a rice cooker, prepare on the stove according to rice directions. When cooked, fluff rice and let cool slightly. Prepare your ingredients and set up an onigiri station with a rice bowl, saran wrap and ingredients. Line rice bowl with saran wrap. Sprinkle saran wrap with kosher salt flakes. Place layer of sushi rice in the bowl on top of the saran wrap, press a few pine nuts into the center of the bowl and rice, top with a little fresh basil and then add your piece of avocado to the center on top of basil and pine nuts. top with a little miso mayo, a little more julienned fresh basil and then cover with a layer of rice. Sprinkle rice on top with kosher salt. Wrap saran around the whole rice ball and remove from bowl. Compress with hands until you have a nice, tight triangle. Gently remove from saran wrap and wrap in nori seaweed so nori is open towards the top of the triangle. Sprinkle with black sesame seeds if desired. Make more until you run out of rice. Enjoy this easy lunchbox treat. :) Notes *Will need to be refrigerated, especially if you use an egg based mayonnaise.

Rating:  9 Original Source:  Contents of my brain, do not replicate anywhere without my permission. Recipe ID:  1304 Added:  October 19, 2008 Last Modified:  July 2, 2009

Gluten Free Vegan Peanut Avocado Onigiri Recipe Main Course  Rice  Japanese

Ingredients San-J peanut sauce or homemade peanut sauce 1/2 cubed avocado 1/4 sliced, cubed peeled cucumber pine nuts Julienned fresh basil OR fresh shiso leaf (I prefer basil) black sesame seeds Directions Rinse your (uncooked) sushi rice until the water runs clean with no cloudiness. Drain and cook your sushi rice in your rice cooker according to machine’s directions OR, if you don’t have a rice cooker, prepare on the stove according to rice directions. When cooked, fluff rice and let cool slightly. Prepare your ingredients and set up an onigiri station with a small triangular onigiri mold, saran wrap and ingredients. Line onigiri mold with a small piece of saran wrap. Place layer of sushi rice in the mold on top of the saran wrap and drizzle a small amount of peanut sauce on the rice and add avocado, cucumber, and a few pine nuts in the center of the rice mold. Top with a little fresh basil or shiso. Then cover with a layer of rice and press into a nice triangular onigiri. Wrap saran around the whole rice ball and remove from mold. Compress with hands and gently remove from saran wrap and sprinkle with black sesame seeds. Notes San-J peanut sauce is very liquid, so it will seep into the top of the onigiri. Homemade peanut sauce can be thicker so will not necessarily leak.

Rating:  9 Original Source:  Contents of my brain, completely original recipe. Please do not replicate without my permission. Recipe ID:  1431 Added:  July 2, 2009 Last Modified:  July 2, 2009

Planning a menu for a holiday like the Forth of July can be a lot of fun- but it can also be stressful. For this fourth, we had an out of town family visitor staying with us and planned a picnic at the local park with a view of the fireworks.

Beverages: Jeri Ryan’s Peach Sangria (recipe was improved with a bottle of champagne)
Homemade Celestial Seasonings Peach Passion Tea, chilled, no sugar added
Spring Water

Entree:Grilled Sesame Vegetables with Yummy Peanut Sauce
Grilled Sesame Tofu (DH’s request)
DH’s Brined shrimp

Side Dishes: Elise’s Dad’s Potato Salad (sans celery, onion instead of scallions)
Deviled Eggs
Bette Hagman’s Rapid Rise French Bread
Basil Dipping Oil

Dessert:Pamela’s GF Brownie Mix with extra chocolate chips

After we enjoyed our feast, we watched the fireworks. In the past five years, I’ve spent more Independence Days in Japan than in the states, and it was really nice to enjoy the holiday somewhere where it was actually being celebrated. The potato salad was cool and creamy, the grilled tofu was succulent and flavorful, and the french bread was chewy and faintly sweet, perfectly complimented by the basil-balsamic dipping oil. Menu aside, it was celebrating together that made this a holiday to remember. Happy Independence Day, all! I hope you had a delicious celebration with family and friends!

Ginger Peanut Sauce Sauces & Condiments  Thai

Ingredients 3/4 cup coconut milk 2 tbsp peanut butter 1 tbsp minced fresh ginger 1 clove garlic, minced 1 tbsp light brown sugar 1 tbsp GF tamari 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice Directions Blend all ingredients and then simmer on low until sauce thickens slightly, for around 10 minutes. Notes Serve with roasted veggies OR As Food on the Road Serve on Thai kitchen rice noodles heated in a microwave with some fresh chopped veggies, grilled veggies, or grilled tofu

Rating:  9 Original Source:  Peanut Butter Planet Recipe ID:  1095 Added:  July 10, 2007 Last Modified:  July 10, 2007