Pl(ant)ain and Simple

Plantains are plentiful at Farmers Markets in Costa Rica!

Plantains have not always been at the top of my list of preferred foods, but I have recently discovered that I have acquired the taste—yes, even a craving—for those big green (or yellow or even black) ugly banana-like fruits. They are one of the staple foods of Costa Ricans—and they are delicious!

While I’ve been in Tamarindo this month, I’ve eaten plantain chips, fried plantain patties, grilled plantains glazed with brown sugar, and even plantain pancakes. My friend Mary Plunkett sent me the recipe for plantain pancakes (which she found on The Paleo Mom website), and they’re so good that I wanted to share the recipe here. The recipe requires no flour of any kind, making it especially favorable (and inexpensive) for gluten-free cooks!

Perfect Paleo Pancakes are similar to IHOP's Harvest
Grain N' Nut Pancakes--but gluten-free!

Perfect Paleo Pancakes (www.ThePaleoMom.com)

Ingredients:

2 large green plantains (about 2 cups pureed)

4 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

3 Tbsp extra virgin coconut oil

1/8 tsp salt (a generous pinch)

½ tsp baking soda

Extra coconut oil for frying

1.     Peel plantains (I find it easier to quarter them before I peel them) and place pieces in your blender (preferred) or food processor (okay) with the eggs. Blend to form a smooth batter (if your blender has a smoothie function, that works well here).

2.     Add the rest of the ingredients to the blender or food processor and process on high for an additional minute (or 2-3 with a food processor to get a really good smooth batter).

3.     Heat 1 Tbsp of coconut oil in a frying pan or on a griddle over medium-high heat. Pour batter into the frying pan until your pancake is the desired size.

4.     Let cook 4-5 minutes on the first side until the top looks fairly dry with little bubbles in it (just like regular pancakes!)

5.     Flip! And cook on the second side for 1 ½ minutes.

6.     Repeat with remaining batter, adding a little more coconut oil to your pan as needed.         

I’ve made this recipe twice since I’ve been in Costa Rica, and the second time I added chopped pecans directly to the batter. My husband thinks they are “just as good as the Harvest Grain N' Nut Pancakes” that we used to eat at IHOP (in the years before my diagnosis of celiac disease).

Another easy way to cook plantains, which I learned by watching our Costa Rican housekeeper Ileana, is to slice a ripe plantain (just as you would slice a banana). Then mash each slice on a paper towel to remove moisture and fry them lightly in a small amount of oil, turning to make them crispy on each side. We ate them with refried beans. Oh, so good!

Taste-wise and nutritionally, plantains are quite different from bananas. Bananas are much sweeter than plantains, even at their ripest. For the same amount of each, the banana has 89 calories, while the plantain has 122. The banana is also lower in fat, sodium, and carbohydrates, and sugar, which for most of us tips the scale in their favor.  Plantains, on the other hand, are much higher in vitamin A, vitamin C, magnesium, and potassium.

No matter! I will never make pancakes again without my new friend, the plantain!

Paleo Bread: It's all good!

Gluten-free, grain-free goodness!

If you’re on a gluten-free, grain-free diet, and bread is what you’re craving, here’s the solution to your problem:  Bake a loaf of Paleo Bread from www.elanaspantry.com. (Check out Elana’s Pantry for lots of great gluten-free and grain-free recipes!)

While it took me three tries to finally make a perfect loaf—the temperature control on my oven is out of whack, so I had to figure out how to adjust—it was certainly worth the effort! Fortunately, even the failures—done on the outside, a bit gooey on the inside—were pretty darned tasty.

(The ingredients are much too expensive to waste, so I scooped the semi-viscous slices into a bowl and poured fresh honey-sweetened strawberries over them. They made a fine strawberry shortcake, I must say. I have since used this bread for strawberry shortcake on purpose!)

My magic line loaf pan.

Here’s Elana’s Paleo Bread recipe:

2 C. blanched almond flour

2 T. coconut flour

¼ C. golden flaxmeal

¼ t. celtic sea salt (I just used regular sea salt.)

½ t. baking soda

5 eggs

1 T. coconut oil

1 T. honey

1 T. apple cider vinegar

Place almond flour, coconut flour, flax*, salt and baking soda in a food processor.

Pulse ingredients together.

Pulse in eggs, oil, honey and vinegar.**

Pour batter into a greased 7.5 x 3.5 magic line loaf pan.***

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. ****

Cool and serve.

*Flax is not on the SCD legal list, but I had been using it successfully on my gluten-free diet, so I made an exception.  Sherry Lipp, who writes another fine blog called “Specific Carbohydrate Diet for Life” (www.scdforlife.com), has also added flax to her diet because of its health benefits.

**I add the vinegar separately as the very last ingredient to get the maximum chemical reaction with the baking soda before I pour it in the pan.

This recipe makes an outstanding panini!

* **“What is a magic line loaf pan?” you ask. Well, it’s a nice little pan that bakes evenly and releases breads easily, and it’s recommended for Elana’s breads. You can purchase it on Amazon for $16—but if you plan to stick to your guns on your diet, it is well worth the money. If its aluminum composition makes you uncomfortable, try the recipe in a different type of pan, but you may need to tinker with the time and temperature some.

****I bake mine at 375 degrees for 40 minutes. It becomes very dark on the outside, but it’s perfectly done inside.

Unlike many gluten-free breads, Elana’s Paleo Bread holds together nicely. It is easy to make, and it actually tastes good. (Really good--good enough to serve to your gluten-eating friends and relatives!)  It makes wonderful paninis (and, if you've read my previous blogs, you know how I love paninis), crispy toast, and great sandwiches. Come summertime grilling season, I will give it a go as a hamburger bun. It’s all good!

DO try this (20-Second Mayo) at home!

Chicken salad made with 20-Second Homemade Mayo.

In my Internet meanderings, I have stumbled upon an easy little recipe on a website called www.comfytummy.com that has totally rocked my world—so if you never read another of my blogs again (or have never actually read one in the first place), please pay attention to this one! It’s called 20-Second Homemade Mayo—and it is awesome!

The only requirement is a stick blender and a few ingredients that you probably already have on hand. If you don’t have a stick blender, drop everything and run out and get one right this minute—or you can try using a food processor, blender, mixer, or good old elbow grease (but I can’t guarantee the 20-second prep time.) If you use mayo frequently, this trick will more than pay for the cost of your new stick blender in no time. And it tastes sooo much better!

It's true! It only takes 20 seconds! And then you can add it
to your fresh chicken salad. 

Put these ingredients in the cup that comes with your stick blender:

1 egg

2 tsp. Dijon mustard

1 T. lemon juice

Pinch of salt

200 ml of oil (That’s about 7 oz., just under a cup.)

Put your stick blender to the bottom of the container and blend until thickened into mayo (approximately 20 seconds). Makes one cup. It will stay fresh in your fridge for a week or two (but it won’t last that long.)

Store your mayo for up to two weeks in the fridge.

I’ve always maintained that homemade mayo is better than store bought, but it’s a bit of a pain to make. I never use the word “never,” but since I have discovered this trick, I will NEVER buy the store bought stuff again!

If you’re following the gluten-free diet or the Specific Carbohydrate Diet, this mayo is perfect. I use light olive oil for my mayo, but canola or corn oil will work as well.

I have also recently discovered a recipe from www.allrecipes.com for a very nice salad dressing made using homemade yogurt. Again, it’s gluten-free and SCD legal.

Honey, Mustard & Yogurt Dressing

1 C. SCD or other plain yogurt

¼ C. honey

2 T Dijon mustard (Use Annie’s Naturals to avoid sugar)

¼ tsp. celery seed

Whisk together the yogurt, honey, mustard, and celery seed in a small bowl. Refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving.

Your’re welcome!

(P)raising the bar ...

Yes, please! These Primal Coconut Nut Bars
are sure to become one of my favorite treats!

I shared today’s recipe on the Celiyak Facebook page a few days ago. It appeared on my timeline as a post by the Gluten-Free Resource Directory, whose page I would definitely recommend for anyone with gluten issues. The GFRD puts up lots of great recipes and advice for those of us who shun gluten.

Anyway, I gathered my ingredients and followed this recipe to the letter for this wonderful refrigerator bar. I think it bears repeating, in case you missed it. I believe it works for the Paleo diet as well, if you are allowing yourself to eat raw honey.

Here is this clever recipe from creator Carly Shankman as she wrote it:

Primal Coconut Nut Bars

1 C. slivered almonds

1 C. pecans

½ C. nut flour (The author used Bob’s Red Mill hazelnut flour; I used almond flour.)

½ C. unsweetened dried coconut

½ C. almond butter

½ C. coconut oil

¼ C. honey

2 tsp. pure vanilla

½ tsp. salt

1 C. dried fruit, like cranberries

Preheat the primal cooking fire (oven) to 350 degrees and toast the nuts until golden brown, stirring occasionally. Watch them carefully; they’ll go from golden to black fast! Once they are toasted nicely, toss them in the stone grinder (the food processor or blender), and give them a few pulses until they are a coarse meal. Stir into the nut flour in a medium bowl and add the dried coconut and mix well.

On the stovetop, melt the coconut oil and almond butter; stir them together well. Remove from heat and add the honey, vanilla, and salt, and then mix until creamy. Fold the nut mix into the honey mix and add the dried fruit. Pat into an 8x8 baking dish (coated with coconut oil) and stick it in the ice cave (fridge) for 1 hour or more until nice and solid. I like to top mine with a little extra dried coconut before placing in the fridge. Cut into squares and try not to grunt when eating. Keep in the ice cave to store.

I love raw, nutty bars and butters. And speaking of raw, I recently discovered that HyVee carries Bob’s Gluten-Free Muesli. If you can tolerate gluten-free oats, I highly recommend it. I can’t comfortably eat gluten-free oatmeal every day, but I seem to do fine eating them once or twice a week. I learned to love muesli on my travels to Germany, where most German Youth Hostels serve muesli every morning. I like to soak the muesli in almond milk overnight and eat it uncooked. Yum!

It's the great pumpkin ... !

A harvest of pumpkins at a roadside market in Ithaca, NY.

Nothing proclaims “Fall is here!” more loudly than a big orange pumpkin! As soon as those wondrous squashes reappear in big bins in front of grocery stores, among famers’ markets offerings, and on neighborhood doorsteps, I can’t wait to get a taste of my first pumpkin treat of the season.

Unfortunately, celiac disease has robbed me of my favorite fall treat. I weep daily over the fact that I can no longer indulge in Andy’s Frozen Custard Pumpkin Pie Concretes. (“Wa-ah, wa-ah, wa-ah! Call the wa-ambulance!” as my coaching friend Jeff Edge used to say to his whining players.)

With a simple substitution, however, my second favorite fall pumpkin treat is still available to me.  I found a recipe called Pumpkin Pecan Perfection a few years ago in Midwest Living Magazine (at least, that’s where I think I found it, so they’re getting the credit), which immediately became a family favorite. Here’s my gluten-free version. (No, it’s not the least bit healthy, so turn back now, if you are trying to follow the high road to physical wellbeing.)

GF Pumpkin Pecan Perfection

1 large can (approx. 28 oz.) pumpkin

1 C. sugar

3 eggs

1 large can (approx. 14 oz.) evaporated milk

3 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. salt

Mix well and pour into a greased 9x13” pan. Sprinkle one box of yellow gluten-free cake mix over the pumpkin layer. (Betty Crocker has a dandy one that you can usually find right there with the “normal” cake mixes! Or you can use any gluten-free yellow or white cake mix. )

Sprinkle 1 ½ C. chopped pecans over the cake mix. Drizzle with 1 ½ to 2 sticks of melted butter or oleo over the top. Bake at 350 for one hour. Cool and top with Cool Whip or ice cream.

I’d be almost willing to wager that, if you like pumpkin at all, this stuff is better than any chocolate treat you’ve ever had!

Kroger brand pumpkin pie yogurt.

Many other pumpkin-flavored treats are also available to folks with gluten issues. Yoplait, for example, is rumored to have a gluten-free pumpkin-flavored yogurt, but I have yet to find it. One of my friends says she saw pumpkin yogurt at Aldi, but I couldn’t find it there, either. I did find the pumpkin flavor (Kroger brand) at my local Dillons store, though, and they also offer a GF Cinnamon Roll flavor. Yum! If you want something a bit healthier, here’s a recipe for making a treat with Chobani, Fage, or other plain Greek yogurts:

Pumpkin Greek Yogurt

1/3 C. 2% Greek yogurt

1/3 C pumpkin

1 tsp. ground flax

2 tsp. unsweetened coconut

1 tsp. chia seeds

Drizzle of honey

Mix all together and enjoy.  (Recipe from sweetsweat.wordpress.com)

Pumpkin ice cream is in season, too. Edy’s and Breyers pumpkin-flavored ice cream is gluten-free, and I’m sure that there are others out there as well.  As always, check the labels before you eat it. Some companies put bits of piecrust in the ice cream, which is definitely off-limits! There are many recipes for homemade pumpkin ice cream on the Internet, if you’re feeling industrious—I plan to try one in the near future (as soon as my feeling of industry returns).

If it’s pumpkin pie you’re craving, there are (allegedly) some decent frozen gluten-free pie shells on the market, including crusts from Kinnikinnick and Whole Foods, but you can’t find them just anywhere. I picked up a couple of the Kinnikinnick brand at Mama Jeans Natural Foods Store just today, so I’ll be testing those soon.

Your best bet for pie crusts is to make your own from scratch or by using crust mixes, such as those from Glutino, Better Batter, The Gluten-Free Pantry, or Bob’s Red Mill.  Prepare your own favorite filling and substitute the crust. I’ve never been very good at pies, so I honestly haven’t tried too hard. I made a (barely) decent strawberry pie once using a mix from Namaste, but it was nothing to blog (or even write home) about.

While I’m on the topic, check out this Pumpkin Fluff Dip that I lifted from Allrecipes. Serve it with any GF ginger snaps, such as Mi-Del, or with Gluten-Free S’moreables Graham Style Crackers from Kinnikikinnick. (Love, love, love those!)

A clever serving idea!

Pumpkin Fluff Dip

1 (16 oz.) container frozen whipped topping, thawed

1 (5 oz.) package instant vanilla pudding

1 (15 oz.) can solid pack pumpkin

1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

In a large bowl, mix together instant vanilla pudding mix, pumpkin, and pumpkin pie spice. Fold in the thawed frozen whipped topping. Chill in the refrigerator. Make a clever serving bowl by cutting off the top of a small pumpkin and scraping out the seeds.

Even if you must avert your eyes as you pass an Andy’s Frozen Custard stand (“Wa-ah, wa-ah, wa-ah!”), you can still enjoy the fun and flavor of fall!