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

What is this? Snowflakes in July? Yes, I know. But when you are getting ready for a picnic/firework excursion and at the last minute realize that plates would be really, really handy, you may find that the only paper plates you in fact own have snowflakes. We are not exactly holiday themed or even particularly well organized here at the House of Yum. Shhh. Don’t tell anyone.

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