I was inspired to make these cobblers because for the first time, we are living in our own home with a proper yard that came with proper fruit trees. To be specific, we have productive avocado, apple, cherry, plum, and apricot trees, with a persimmon tree dipping in over the neighbor’s fence for good measure. Right now the apricot and plum trees are covered in fruit, and we are scrambling to find ways to eat them up before time re-claims them for the compost. I’d never had plum cobbler before, but when my Mother mentioned that she’d once had some, I was intrigued. The resulting recipe made my mouth very happy, especially paired with some vanilla ice cream. One note, though. No matter how much you want cobbler, you definitely want to wait until the fruit is fully ripe. I like a tart plum for snacking, especially in preference to a mushy, over-ripe one, but for cobbler, you really want to harness the natural sweetness of the fruit so you don’t have to dip too heavily into the sugar jar to compensate. My plums were a tad under-ripe. I’ve learned my lesson, and next time I’ll use only ripe, sweet, toothsome fruits.

Baby Yum and I recently celebrated our birthdays in a joint, gluten-free birthday party ladybug-themed feast with a ladybug pinata, butterfly and black and red polka dotted balloons and of course, more food than you would think could fit on one (ok, two) tables. It was lovely and I hope to share pictures soon. I got a new camera for said birthday (the Nikon D5000). Thanks, kisses and loves to all of you for your patience while I befriend my new camera. Who knew light could be so much fun (and so challenging!)

Gluten-Free Plum Cobbler with Pamela’s Baking Mix Dessert  Alternative Grains  American

Ingredients 3/4 cup white sugar* 4 cups fresh plums, pitted and sliced into wedges 1 tsp vanilla extract 2 Tbsp corn starch 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg, cloves, and allspice 1 1/2 C Pamela’s Baking and Pancake Mix 1/3 cup milk 1/4 C granulated sugar 1/4 C melted butter or margarine 1 tbsp. raw sugar Directions Take a deep pie pan or 2 Q. casserole dish and preheat oven to 350F. Combine your plums, sugar, vanilla, corn starch and spices in a large bowl. If you like you can then fill your pie pan or casserole dish and use it for your biscuit topping. Combine your Baking mix, sugar, and melted butter or margarine in a bowl and stir together. Fold your milk in gently. Use a large serving spoon to drop the dough on top of your plum mixture. Cover the surface but leave a little space around the edges. Sprinkle with your raw sugar for some pretty baking sparkle and bake at 350f for around 35 minutes or until lightly browned and firm on top. Serve with your favorite vanilla ice cream or enjoy plain. Yum! Notes *I actually used 1/2 cup sugar, but the DH said it was too tart. Our plums were a little under-ripe, so we needed the 3/4 cup. Your mileage may vary.

Rating:  8 Original Source:  The contents of my brain, please do not replicate without permission. Recipe ID:  1562 Added:  July 14, 2011 Last Modified:  July 14, 2011

Linked to Gluten-free Wednesdays, biscuit edition.

Pamela’s Gluten-Free Diner Drop Biscuit Recipe Bread  Alternative Grains  American

Ingredients 2 cups Pamela’s Baking & Pancake Mix 1/2 cup lowfat (or fat free) cottage cheese minus 1 or 2 tbsp. 1 or 2 tbsp organic trans-fat free shortening 2/3 cup milk (add an extra tablespoon or two if you prefer a wetter batter) OR buttermilk [Thank you Ginger!!!] You will get 8 extra large drop biscuits. Directions Heat oven to 375 degrees. Combine ingredients, mixing thoroughly but not mixing excessively. Drop extra-large spoonfuls of dough onto a light colored baking sheet and bake for 17-22 minutes, rotating pan halfway through. Bake until biscuits are slightly browned on top and bottom of biscuit is medium brown. Remove biscuits from pan with a sharp, metal spatula and enjoy!

Rating:  8 Original Source:  Modified from recipe from Pamela’s Product Web page Recipe ID:  1197 Added:  February 22, 2008 Last Modified:  February 29, 2008

Nutritional Yeast Gravy Vegan  Sauces & Condiments  Alternative Grains  American

Ingredients 1/4 cup brown rice flour 1/4 cup nutritional yeast flakes 1 1/2 cup water 2 tbsp Braggs GF liquid aminos 2 tsp olive oil 1/4 tsp onion granules 1/4 tsp garlic granules (if desired) 1/8 tsp black pepper Directions Heat brown rice flour and nutritional yeast flakes in a dry nonstick frypan on a medium temperature, and let them lightly brown and release their fragrance. Take the pan off the heat and slowly add water, braggs, olive oil and seasonings, whisking continuously until mixture is silky smooth. Return to heat and stir until gravy reaches desired consistency. Notes I serve this gravy every holiday with mashed potatoes and (on thanksgiving) my portabello stuffed acorn squash dish. It’s so easy you can make it anytime, and top brown rice, pasta, baked potatoes or tofu patties. DH enjoys it too, and it’s considerably easier than the typical American gravy made from scratch.

Rating:  10 Original Source:  adapted from vegan vittles Recipe ID:  1059 Added:  April 11, 2007 Last Modified:  November 20, 2011

All this experimentation with Pamela’s Mix has resulted in some exciting finds. The incredibly easy recipe for drop biscuits on Pamela’s web site (1 cup Mix, 1/4 cup organic trans-fat free shortening and 1/3 cup +1 tablespoon milk, combine, plop in oven and bake) was a big hit in our house, and I highly recommend it. Just a teaser- I’m working on a modified, healthier version that I’ll be posting one of these days, so stay posted. So why not spend some quality time with your favorite gluten-free baking mix and see if you can’t break out of the “pancake and waffle” rut? I’m sure glad I did…

Don’t forget to Enter my Contest for a free Bette Hagman or vegetarian cookbook!

Pamela’s Banana Muffins Bread  Alternative Grains  American

Ingredients 2 1/2 cups Pamela’s Mix 2 eggs 3/4 cup (or more) water 1/3 cup honey 1/3 cup (or more) mashed banana 1 tsp vanilla pumpkin pie seasoning dash of nutmeg 1/2 or 3/4 of one fresh banana, sliced Directions Preheat oven to 350 degree oven. Combine ingredients Except for sliced banana, stirring gently. Pour batter into greased muffin tin and place one banana slice on top of each muffin. Bake for 18-20 minutes. Notes Makes 12 healthy muffins. Liquid amounts are approximate- add more or less until you have a batter that is not too thick or too liquid.

Rating:  7 Original Source:  Modified from Pamela’s baking mix, inspired by BytheBay Recipe ID:  1182 Added:  January 23, 2008 Last Modified:  January 23, 2008

I had high hopes for Pamela’s Products new Wheat-Free (and Gluten-free) Bread Mix, but although it had many good qualities, I probably won’t buy it again because I didn’t care for the flavor. I made it in my bread maker. It rose nicely and held its shape reasonably well after I took it out of the machine. I let the bread cool before I cut it as all gluten free bread can fall if cut while hot, and the bread sliced very well. Each individual slice had a spongy, soft bread texture. Actually it was almost a little TOO soft for me, but those who like soft bread will enjoy it. I cut a slice and put margarine and honey on it, expecting to have a tasty bite of fresh bread- but something about the flavor bothered me, and I had difficulty enjoying it. I have had almost every kind of gluten-free bread on the market and have been gluten-free for a long time, but I don’t know how I feel about Sorghum. Although it yields decent nutritional value and good texture, similarly to bean flour, if there is too high of a ratio of sorghum to neutral flours (White rice, tapioca, etc.) I think that the flavor is negatively impacted. I prefer a more subtle mix, like Bette Hagman’s four flour blend, which has less sorghum and thus gets the good qualities of the flour without negatively impacting flavor. I think it’s also worth mentioning that after years of being gluten free, I am used to/prefer toasted bread, unless it’s fresh baked that day, and I didn’t much care for this bread toasted. I used the bread for sandwiches for a few days and my (non-GF) DH ate it without complaint, but it reminded me a little too much of play dough to merit purchase in the future. My entirely subjective opinion aside, if you are looking for an easy gluten-free bread mix for your machine, I would recommend that you try them all (including this one) because only trial and error will help you find a bread mix that suits your palate. I prefer bean flour blends, but you may find this mix fits the bill perfectly! Overall impression: 5/10 Texture: 8/10 Longevity: 8/10 (it took forever to dry out)

Because I did think this bread could appeal to different people, I asked some members of the Yahoo “SillyYaks” Group for their opinions:

I love Pamela’s Bread Mix — we use it as our everyday sandwich bread. I think it has a great texture, stays pliable for several days when left on the counter, and doesn’t need toasting. It is also available for a great price from Amazon. As with non-gluten free foods, different people have different tastes, so I hope that others don’t get discouraged from trying it. I think that some people really love this bread mix whereas others don’t (maybe it’s the sorghum?) I would encourage people to give it a try. -Rochelle

We too love it. I buy it from Amazon as well. Only problem for us…and this is with all mixes…. I have to make it!! hehehehe I just never seem to have
time and when I remember, it’s too late. Maybe since I’ve been reminded, I’ll make some this weekend! -kathi in houston

I have to agree with your hubby. Pamela’s bread is OK, but not fabulous. I prefer BRM “Wonderful GF Bread” or GFP Favorite Sandwich Bread. GFP French Bread (made in my French Bread pan liner) is also good even though it’s not “really” French Bread since it has eggs in it. The Pamela’s is just kind of OK.
Pamela’s brownies are AWESOME. Chocolate cake mix, pretty darn good. Pancake mix, good flavor but I don’t care for the almond flour texture (I loooooove Maple Grove Farms GF pancake mix). Bread… not so much. :) -Chandra

I’m with Chandra on this one… (Oops, how did my opinion get in there again??!)-Sea

The second new gluten-free bread mix that I tried recently was Bob’s Red Mill’sGluten-Free Whole Grain Bread Mix. I was really excited at the idea of a whole grain bread, and the ingredients sounded promising:

whole grain buckwheat, garbanzo bean flour, potato starch, cornstarch, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, whole grain sorghum flour, tapioca flour, cocoa powder, evaporated cane juice, fava bean flour, molasses powder, xanthan gum, caraway seeds, active dry yeast, sea salt, whole grain teff, potato flour, onion powder, guar gum and soy lecithin.

I like all of those flours, and sorghum was pretty far down on the list. I’ve had good luck making gluten-free rye bread with caraway seeds and molasses, and I make some killer gluten-free teff rolls. So- I mixed up the bread, popped it into my bread machine, and went off to do some homework. I took the bread out a while later, let it cool, sliced into it, admired the great texture of the pretty, dark bread and took a big bite with margarine on a slice. Oh, cruel cruel hopes. How quickly they can be dashed. Here’s the thing. If you LOVE sunflower seeds, you are so set with this bread. The thing is, I don’t. And I like fake-rye bread, but this fake-rye bread is just trying way too hard. Cocoa, molasses, caraway AND onion powder? What was I thinking… those things don’t sound yummy together at all! And— in my opinion, at least in this incarnation, combined with sunflower seeds, they don’t taste good either. I don’t want the gluten-free equivalent of wonder bread. In fact, I almost never make Bette Hagman’s featherlight based breads. All that white rice flour and cornstarch (mostly the latter) makes me feel just too darned guilty. I like brown rice flour, especially if it’s nice and fresh, teff is a delight, and bean flour (in moderation) in breads makes my mouth sing. But this bread is just too much. One very thoughtful reviewer on Amazon wrote a glowing review entitled “Finally, a gluten-free bread with bite!” Yes, this bread has bite. In fact, I think I can still feel its teeth marks. Nope, I just didn’t like this bread. I think it very telling that the (only) other review of the Bob’s Red Mill bread mix is titled, “Vile!” and she goes on to say that “This particular mix is like rye bread on steroids.” (Hope I didn’t just attract another swarm of spambots, yikes). I have to agree. This bread, to my picky, picky little taste buds, was indeed vile, and we will not be purchasing it again. As Bob’s Red Mill is my witness. It’s a shame, because I love the concept. But, too many conflicting flavor elements and too many of those pesky sunflower seeds made this bread no friend of mine. To be fair, I also don’t care for the Whole Foods Prairie Bread. I don’t hate it, and the main things keeping me from buying it are mostly price and the fact that I prefer the sun-dried tomato bread, BUT if you love their bread, you love you a good hearty dose of sunflower seeds, and cocoa in savory bread sounds peachy keen, I would advise you to try this mix. Actually, even if you’re not sure you do like those things, try this mix. Because even though I didn’t like it (ok, I hated it), the one thing that a lifetime of being gluten-free has taught me is that taste is subjective, and even my taste buds change their minds sometimes. One woman’s best gluten-free bread ever is another woman’s doorstop or raccoon chow. (Have you ever seen a raccoon spit? I hear some gluten-free products can cause this kind of reaction in our furry four pawed friends…) This goes for Pamela’s Bread mix too, actually. You might like it, and want it to be a staple in your kitchen forever. You’ll never know unless you try. Who would have thought us gluten-free folks would ever have SO MUCH VARIETY in our gluten free breads. My entirely subjective rating- Overall impression: 3/10 Texture: 5/10 (too nubby)Longevity: 5/10 (became covered in mold after a few days, yum yum.)

And if you do like either of these products, or hate them, or are ambivalent, why not post and tell us about it? We’d love to hear your opinion.

By the way, speaking of bread, did you know that Whole Foods GF Bakehouse is coming out with/ has come out with GF honey oat bread and GF granola, both using Gluten-free certified oats? I’m too chicken to try them (so far), but hey, I’m getting seriously tempted!

Want to read more of my gluten free product reviews?

Don’t want to buy a mix? Here are some of my Gluten Free Cookbook Recipe Reviews including reviews of some of my favorite bread recipes ever