Book of Yum

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

This holiday season we have many things to celebrate. We’ve been lucky enough to have family visiting us almost constantly since the birth of Baby Yum. Most recently, we were able to take Baby Yum (now an experienced traveler) to the DH’s natal home and my adopted home, Boulder, Colorado to celebrate Christmas with his parents. The best news, though, is that my extreme elimination diet – combined with a hearty dose of infant probiotics- has improved the state of Baby Yum’s sensitive tummy to the point where i have been able to add enough foods to my diet to make some tasty holiday treats. Sometime around Thanksgiving I started craving pumpkin pie, but I didn’t know how it would be possible to make it gluten, dairy, and egg free. However, when I added coconut back into my diet, it occurred to me that coconut might very well make a lovely substitute for condensed milk. Searching online, I found out how other people made their own vegan and gluten-free pumpkin pie recipes.

Creative goddess Karina made a Hemp Milk, buckwheat Vegan Pumpkin Pie Recipe
The always scrumptious Susan of Fat Free Vegan made a Crust-free Soy and Egg-replacer based Pumpkin Pie recipe
Michelle and Lori whipped up a Vegan Pumpkin Pie recipe
and the Voracious Vegan gave us something slightly different with her Raw foods pumpkin pie ball recipe (Use Gluten-free oats)

Finally, I made my own unique allergen-free gluten-free pumpkin pie that incorporated some unconventional flours (amaranth and coconut, anyone?) and used arrowroot as the thickener. Not only does it NOT contain soy or any other alternative boxed milk, but it also does not rely on egg replacer (which contains both potato and corn derivatives). This is the perfect pie for anyone sensitive to rice, corn, potato, tapioca, or other commonly used gluten-free flours. It certainly turned out to be the perfect pumpkin pie for me- and even won accolades from my dairy-sensitive Mother, who proclaimed it “very good” and asked for the recipe!

Guten-free dairy-free egg-free vegan coconut pumpkin pie recipe Dessert  Alternative Grains  American

Ingredients Crust: 1/2 cup amaranth 1/2 cup arrowroot 1/4 cup coconut flour 1/3 cup shortening 5 tbsp cold water Filling: 2 c. solid-pack canned pumpkin 1 c. regular coconut milk 3/4 c. brown sugar 1/4 c. arrowroot starch 1 Tbsp. maple syrup 2 tsp. vanilla 1 tsp nutmeg 1/4 tsp. EACH ground ginger, cloves and salt Directions Preheat oven to 375F. Combine crust ingredients in a medium bowl, whisking flours together and then adding your shortening. Combine until dough starts forming pea-sized balls, and sprinkle in water one tablespoon at a time until you can form the dough into a ball. Once you have a ball of dough, carefully roll out on wax paper. If you have two pie tins, you can place one bottom-side up underneath the wax paper and place the second one over the dough. Invert and carefully peel off the wax paper to have a perfect pie crust. Bake for 8-10 minutes in the oven or until lightly browned. Whisk filling ingredients together in a large bowl and fill your crust with the filling. Bake for 50 minutes or until pie has firmed up somewhat. You CAN greedily eat a slice before it chills, but it will be somewhat soft until it is chilled in the refrigerator overnight. For the most impressive pie, cool overnight.

Rating:  9 Original Source:  Inspired by various recipes online, but my own creation. Please do not replicate without permission. Recipe ID:  1474 Added:  December 20, 2009 Last Modified:  December 24, 2009