Book of Yum

Last weekend on the 17th of July, Baby Yum and I celebrated our respective birthdays with a lovely birthday party full of friends, food, and celebration. It was her first birthday, and it was my… well, let’s just say it was NOT my first birthday. However, it was my first birthday with a darling baby daughter by my side. As usual, I cooked way too much, but since leftovers are lovely things, I didn’t worry too much about it.

Our gluten-free birthday menu included:
Pickled asparagus
Gluten free crackers and red peppers with baba ghanoush or hummus
Grilled asparagus and mushrooms
Roasted lemon eggplant slices with tahini sauce
gluten-free vegan onion rolls
non-veg barbecue
Indian Veg Rajma Chili
Rice
Vegan Meyer Lemon English Muffins with homemade Meyer Lemon Marmalade
And not 1 but 3 kinds of gluten-free cupcakes: chocolate, vanilla, and meyer lemon

Wish you could have joined us! The meyer lemon cupcakes were a success, and I thought I would share them here with you. Note that they are similar to my earlier vanilla cupcake recipe but do not contain millet flour.

Here’s some pictures of the festivities:

Gluten Free Vegan Sorghum Meyer Lemon Cupcake Recipe Dessert  Alternative Grains  American

Ingredients 1 cup hemp milk or other alternative milk 1 1/2 tsp. apple cider vinegar 1 cup sorghum flour 1/4 +1 tbsp cup arrowroot starch or tapioca starch 1 tsp. xanthan gum 2 Tbsp. arrowroot starch 3/4 tsp. baking powder 1/2 tsp. baking soda 1/2 tsp. salt 1/3 cup canola oil 3/4 cup sugar 2 tsp. vanilla extract 1 1/2 tsp lemon extract 1 tbsp. lemon zest (try meyer) Directions Preheat oven to 350 and line muffin pans with cupcake liners. Whisk in your apple cider vinegar into your hemp milk and let sit for a few minutes. It won�t curdle much, if at all, but that is ok. If you use another milk like soy it will curdle more and you can use less vinegar. Beat together your vinegar milk mixture with oil, sugar and extracts. Sift in your flours, xanthan gum, arrowroot starch, baking powder, baking soda and salt and gently stir them in together. Add your lemon zest as the batter begins to come together. Pour your batter into the cupcake liners and bake for 22 minutes. Cool on a cooling rack and frost right away! They will be more delicate the next day. Refrigerate or freeze if desired. Notes I frosted this with a combination of Earth Balance Soy-free margarine and sunflower-palm oil shortening whipped with vanilla and confectioner�s sugar. Alternate adding small amounts of meyer lemon juice (if available) with meyer lemon zest (if available) as you add the sugar. Keeps well frosted overnight in a cupcake keeper.

Rating:  9 Original Source:  inspired by my golden vanilla cupcakes, inspired in turn by Vegan Cupcakes take over the world Recipe ID:  1508 Added:  July 19, 2010 Last Modified:  July 19, 2010

This is a Valentine’s Day that I may never forget. After all, it is the first Valentine’s Day I get to celebrate with the new love of my life, Baby Yum, and the first and last love of my life, the DH. I thought that a day like this deserved a treat that was equally special. Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups are one of my favorite gluten-free candies, and I was recently inspired in a visit to Boulder, Colorado by a new company and their gluten-free (but not dairy-free) sunflower seed butter cups. So, this holiday I decided to make my own, completely free of soy, dairy, gluten, peanuts and of course eggs. (Luckily I’ve not yet seen peanut butter cups with eggs, but you never know what some maniac might decide to do..) I made the sunflower seed butter from scratch, combining about a cup of sunflower seeds (some raw, some roasted, all unsalted) with 3 tbsp. canola oil, a tablespoon of honey and a dash of salt in my mini food processor. It was a darned tasty treat already, but when I used it in my non-peanut butter cups, it was even better. Feel free to adjust sweetness and saltiness to taste- this recipe is all about pleasing your own palate while avoiding some not-so-pleasing allergens. I hope you enjoy and have a wonderful Valentine’s Day!

*This recipe is easily vegan if you substitute vegan sugar and use agave nectar instead of honey. Go for it!

Homemade Dairy, Soy and Nut Free Sunflower Butter Chocolate Cup Recipe Dessert  American

Ingredients 1 cup Enjoy Life DF SF chocolate chips 1 tablespoons palm oil shortening (Spectrum or Whole Foods) 1/3 cup Earth Balance No Soy margarine 1/2 cup and 2 tbsp. crunchy homemade sunflower seed butter 1/4 cup honey 1/4 cup organic sugar 1/4 tsp. salt Shaped paper cups (for confectionery or mini muffin tin liners) Directions Melt chocolate and shortening in microwave on half power for 1 minute, stirring and then heating in 30 second intervals, stirring after each cycle. It only takes me one or two 30 second cycles. Baste your paper cups with a layer of melted chocolate on the bottom and sides. Put in refrigerator to cool and harden. Reserve enough chocolate to cover the top of your cups. Meanwhile, combine margarine, sunflower seed butter, sweetener and salt in a pan and heat on medium-low, stirring frequently. When smooth and tasty, remove from burner and let cool. To assemble fill each cup with your cooled sunbutter filling and then drizzle chocolate on top, using a spoon to spread it and smooth around the edges. let cool and then enjoy as desired. Freezes well! Notes *I had 6 tini heart-tins and six about the size of a regular 12 count muffin liner, but had to be slightly skimpy with the chocolate. Recipe makes extra nut butter filling- try it in a “nut butter chocolate pie”

Rating:  7 Original Source:  Contents of my brain. Please do not replicate without my permission. Recipe ID:  1484 Added:  February 14, 2010 Last Modified:  February 14, 2010