Cranberry Almond Christmas Cake

Sometimes things don't turn out the way you expected; they turn out better! I started out making a raw vegan Christmas cookie, but when I tossed all of the following ingredients in my food processor, well... the dates hit the blade. I thought my processor was going to flail, lunge and plunge itself from the countertop to the floor before I could punch the pulse button to off. Rather than scrap the whole idea of a holiday treat, I scrapped the idea of it being raw and vegan and folded them into a chocolate batter and baked a fabulous Christmas Cake instead!

The almond extract give the taste sensation that those chunks of dates have the flavor and texture of hydrated dried cherries.

Ingredients: 

2 cup Almonds, in chunks
1 cup Cranberries
1 cup Coconut, shredded
2 tablespoons Vanilla Extract
1 tablespoon Almond Extract
3 cups Dates, pitted and coarsely chopped

1 box of gluten-free chocolate Devil's Food Cake Mix (I used Simply Organic brand)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350-degrees or according to directions on cake mix
2. Grease 9"x 13" glass baking dish
3. Coarsely chop the pitted dates
4. Put the remaining ingredients in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped
5. Combine the chopped mixture and chopped dates in a large bowl
6. Mix the chocolate cake batter according to the directions on box (or make it from scratch)
7. Fold the cake batter into the cranberry mixture until blended
8. Pour the thick chocolate cake batter into the glass baking dish
9. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until tooth pick comes out clean.
10. Cool and cut into serving size squares.
11. Serve without topping, or serve with whipped cream... or vanilla ice cream and/or... drizzle a berry chocolate sauce over all... or a dollop of cranberry sauce.... or....

Happy Holidays!

Christmas Eve Mediterranean Feast

Preparation for our Christmas Eve Mediterranean feast began several days in advance with culling though our cookbooks, selecting recipes, making a shopping list and checking it twice, deciding where to shop for best values for which items, doing the shopping, putting away the groceries, and cooking up what we could the day before. All in all, it was an enjoyable process with my husband just as enthusiastic and willing to do whatever it took to help me shop and cook.

Although dinner was intended to feed four adults and a child - the two of us, our daughter and son-in-law, our two year old granddaughter, with the addition of our week-old grandson - ...

Baby Leif fast asleep in Nana's arms.

...we made so much food, we had leftovers for all of us for three more meals, including Christmas day!

~ Our Mediterranean Menu ~

• Vegetarian Lentil Soup - Arabia - TLOB*, pg. 19
  
• "Start the Party" Hummus & Pita Bread - Arabia - TLOB*, pg 125
  
• Orange, Red Onion, Black Olive Salad (Munkaczina) - Arabia -
  
• Subsistence Tabbouleh - Arabia - TLOB*, pg. 143, also see quinoa tabouleh, gluten-free
  
• Dolmathes - Greece - GCIAAK*, pg. 122, also see stuffed grape leaves - vegetarian dolmades
  
• Garlic Green Beans with Mizithra Cheese - Greece - PA*, pg. 89 (with asparagus)
  
• Special Rice with Cinnamon - Arabia - TLOB*, pg. 29
  
• Mo Kadeem's Roasted Fish in Tahini Sauce - Arabia, TLOB*, pg.315
  
• Mrs. Manarelli's Civilized Panna Cotta - Italy, TLOB*, pg. 86
  

Cookbooks:

1. *TLOB - The Language of Baklava by Diana Abu-Jaber (a culinary memoir)
   
2. *GCIAAK - Greek Cooking in an American Kitchen (1983) by St. Demetrios Church Cookbook Committee
   
3. *PA - Papas' Art of Traditional Greek Cooking by George and Chrisoula Papas
   

cinnamon rice, quinoa tabouleh and munkaczina with feta cheese

vegetarian dolmades in tomato sauce, roasted red snapper in tahini sauce with roasted pinenuts, garlic green beans with mizithra cheese

vegetarian lentil soup with cumin, green beans with
olive oil, roasted garlic and mizithra cheese, pita bread,
roasted fish and dolmades

panna cotta with chocolate sauce

Ingredients:

2 cups heavy cream, less 2 tablespoons to dissolve in gelatin
1/4 cup sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons gelatin (1/2 packet)
4 to 8 tablespoons of chocolate sauce, fruit puree or sweetened fruit

Directions:

1. Heat two cups (less two tablespoons) of the heavy cream and sugar in a sauce pan.
2. Simmer for 15 minutes.
3. In a very small bowl, sprinkle the gelatin over the remaining two tablespoons of cream.
4. Remove the simmered cream from the stove and add the gelatin-cream mixture.
5. Stir to dissolve.
6. Pour 1/2 cup of the hot cream liquid into 4 lightly-oiled metal molds or ramekins*.
7. Refrigerator for 4 to 6 hours until set.
8. Serve chilled or at room temperature.
   
9. Dip the molds in hot water and run the edge of a knife around the molds to loosen.
10. Invert molds onto serving plates and drizzle your choice of sauce over top.
11. *Option: Serve panna cotta in ramekins without removing and serve with sauce.
    

Serves 4

Gluten-Free Noweigian Krumkake

Krumkake (pronounced “KROOM kah kah”) is the traditional Norwegian waffle cookie, typically rolled into a cone and stuffed with sweetness! No reason for your gluten sensitivity or mine to keep us from enjoying such a wonderful holiday treat! My family is of Norwegian descent, so it's fun for us to keep our culinary heritage alive through the generations, especially during the holidays.

This week my youngest daughter Effie, my granddaughter Sephira and I spent an wonderful afternoon together making gluten-free krumkake in her kitchen.

One of the reasons the batter is so smooth and light is that the flour is finely sifted.


For the sorghum flour blend, I incorporated Bob's Red Mill Sorghum Flour.

Ingredients:

2 eggs
1/2 cup butter
1-1/2 cup sorghum flour blend - 1/2 of a recipe for two batches:

• 2 cups sorghum flour
• 2/3 cup potato starch flour
• 1/3 cup tapioca flour

1 cup rice milk
1 pinch of salt
1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum



For variety, you can add one (1) teaspoon cardamom and/or substitute butter with 1/2 cup coconut oil.

Directions:

1. Beat the eggs well, then add in the softened butter, sugar and cardamom (optional).
2. Alternately add the sorghum flour blend and rice milk into the egg mixture, beating until smooth. We used our Kitchen Aid mixer for this step.
   
3. Avoid over-mixing, as that will only make your batter coarse.

4. Pre-heat the electric griddle to desired heat-setting (read recommendation). We used about a tablespoon and a half of the batter to make a 5-inch waffle cookie. Pour the batter off the spoon behind the center-line of the griddle. As the lid closes, the batter is pushed toward the front of the griddle. Wait 5-10 seconds, then lock the lid for a thinner, crispier waffle cookie. If you try and lock too soon, the batter tends to run down the outside of the griddle.


5. If you don't have a waffle griddle with a decorative pattern, you can spread the batter in a crepe pan (check for doneness after a minute)... they'll still taste just as delicious! When you waffle is a light golden brown, use a synthetic or wooden utensil to lift the waffle away from the griddle or pan.

6. While the waffle cookie is still warm, roll it with the krumkake form to shape a cone. Press the form with the handle only, krumkake-edge down, firmly on a smooth clean cloth to seal the edge of the cookie cone. If you don't have a form, use a kitchen utensil with a thick, long handle or a dowel. You can also roll them perfectly straight, which allows you to easily store them or give a bundle of krumkake as a gift.

7. Let cool a few moments before removing the waffle cookie from the cone and let complete cool on a cookie sheet.

8. A simple way to serve krumkake is to dust them with powder sugar.
9. A delicious way to serve them to your family and guests is to invite them to fill their krumkake with fresh whipping cream and choose from a selection of compotes, jams or fresh fruits.



"An afternoon of baking delicious, Gluten Free, KrumKake at home! Sephira was our official mixer and taste tester - a job she was very proud to have. Nana and Mama alternated making the KrumKake in between mixing whipped cream for the filling and other dinner preparations. A lovely day in the kitchen together - awaiting the arrival of Leif!" Effie S.

And of course, a big hit is krumkake with Nutella and whipping cream.

Raw, Vegan Gluten-Free Macaroons

My youngest daughter, Effie, is always considering what she can make for me that is gluten-free. One evening when we were invited over for dinner, she made raw, sugar-free vegan macaroons for dessert. It took her only a few minutes to make. The recipe comes from Jolinda Hackett.

As you can see, macaroons go great with ice cream drizzled with dark chocolate! The second image is a close-up so you can lick your screen. Better yet, get in the kitchen and make yourself a batch.

Ingredients:

8 medium sized dates
1 banana
1-1/2 cups shredded coconut

Directions:

Remove the pits from dates. Place ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth. Depending on the size of the dates and the ripeness of the bananas, you may need to add more or less coconut to get the right consistency. Mixture should be moist, but not too gooey.

Bake at 325 degrees for 10-15 minutes, until done. Cookies will be soft, but should cook enough to have a golden brown bottom and hold together well.

Note: Dates do contain a fair amount of natural sugar, but this recipe contains no refined or white sugar. Also, to be truly sugar-free, make sure the coconut flakes you are using do not have any added sugar. You may need to shop for sugar-free coconut flakes at a natural foods store.

Search for the Best Local Gluten-Free Baked Goods

Although I rarely bake or eat pastries or desserts, I keep my eye open for the best gluten-free baked goods sold commercially, especially a firm, but moist slice of gluten-free bread I can toast.

A couple of months ago, my husband purchased a freshly baked loaf of Tarte Desserts & Bakery's Gluten-Free Multigrain Bread for me at Market of Choice. Visit Tarte's website for other locations. So far, Tarte's Multigrain is my favorite gluten-free "toasting" bread of all I have purchased to date. It freezes well. Rainbird also specializes in gluten-free buttermilk, white pumpernickel, ciabatta rolls and amaretto biscotti, has developed a line of gluten-free pastries and plans to open a gluten-free cafe. Tarte opened in October 2009. Rainbird advertises her business solely by word of mouth. S0, tell your friends!

Photo Credit: Trask Bedortha, Eugene Weekly

Read the full article about Tarte in Eugene Weekly featuring Tarte's owner Phoenix Rainbird in their Winter 2010 CHOW! publication. Tarte is located at 1037 Maxwell Road, Eugene, Oregon.

Do you live in Portland, Oregon? I highly recommend New Cascadia Traditionals - The Gluten-Free Artisans. Whenever I visit Portland, I look for them at the Portland State University Saturday Farmers Market to satisfy my carving for their rich, dark chocolate gluten-free brownie. Chris and Teresa's artisan breads, baked goods and gourmet desserts are incredible!! This past year they moved into a new location at 1700 SE 6th Avenue.

Where are you shopping for your gluten-free baked goods in your area? What are your favorite products? Any disappointments?