Gluten-Free Tastes Good- Localicious

This month I wanted to offer a few fun recipes that also happen to be gluten-free. Whether your family suffers from gluten sensitivities or not, give these recipes a whirl. You will find they are a delicious way to engage your kids in the kitchen.

Gluten is the main protein in wheat and is present in wheat varieties such as rye, barley, durum, spelt, farro and Kamut. Most things we bake call for wheat-based flour, which means gluten can end up in a lot of recipes. Fortunately for those who suffer symptoms from gluten, there are wonderful alternatives and creative recipes, so just about anything can be made gluten-free.

We have an awesome local resource available in My Oven’s Meals, a farm-to-table prepared meals business serving the greater Chico, CA area. Mary Chin, owner of M.O.M. for short, grabs up ingredients from all her favorite farms each week and turns them into meals, side dishes, snacks and treats. There are pick-up locations for Mary’s tasty, nourishing foods at several locations throughout Red Bluff, Chico and Oroville. However, while shelter-in-place guidelines are in effect, Mary is delivering orders straight to customers’ doors. You can order meals or sides for your week, parfaits for a party or frozen goods to stock your freezer for future meals. All are gluten-free, soy-free and refined sugar-free. You can also find Mary and her products in person at her food truck at the Chico Farmers Markets.

Mary’s favorite gluten-free recipe to make with her littles is Pigs in a Blanket. Other kid favorites you can order through My Ovens Meals are pizza rolls and paleo chicken nuggets.

Mini Pigs in a Blanket

This makes a lot. My suggestion is to bake them and then freeze them for easy after school snack options. We serve ours with our homemade ketchup!

For the Blanket
• 1 1/2 cups blanched almond flour
• 5 tablespoons psyllium husk powder (No substitutes. Must be a fine powder, not whole husks. I buy mine at S&S Produce and grind it up with a food processor.)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon sea salt or kosher
• 2 1/2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 3 egg whites
• 7/8 cup (a little less than a cup) boiling water

Little Piggies
• 3 packages grass-fed mini hotdogs

Preheat oven to 350F. Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper and grease the paper.

In a medium-sized bowl, combine the flour, psyllium powder, baking powder and salt. Stir until dry ingredients are well combined. Add the eggs and vinegar and mix until a thick dough. Slowly mix in boiling water until well combined and dough firms up. Using your hands with disposable gloves is best after this point. Mixing does take a while, so be patient and keep kneading until the dough is firm enough to manipulate.

Take a tablespoon of the dough and roll it out into a 2-inch-long string-like piece and wrap the dough around one mini hot dog. Repeat until all dogs are covered. The dough will expand, so the skinnier the piece, the better.

Place the wrapped hot dogs onto the prepared baking sheet. Bake until dough is baked through, 18-25 minutes.

No-Bake Fig Newtons

Cookie Crust
• 1 ¾ cup almond flour
• 1 ½ cup oat flour gluten-free
• 2 tablespoon coconut oil or butter melted
• 1/3 cup honey or maple syrup
• 1-2 tablespoon orange juice

In a large bowl, combine flours. Add oil, honey or syrup, and orange juice and mix until well incorporated. Place your cookie crust mixture on waxed paper. Roll the mixture out to fit a 9 x 14-inch pan. Refrigerate while preparing the fig filling.

Fig Filling
• 1 ½ cup dried figs soaked in warm water for 30 minutes. No need to soak if using fresh figs.
• 1 tablespoon orange juice
• 1 tablespoon honey or maple syrup
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• 3-4 tablespoons water

Drain figs and place all ingredients in a food processor or high-speed blender. Process until almost smooth, but still slightly chunky. Retrieve the cookie crust from the refrigerator and cut a line down the middle of the rectangle lengthwise. Place half of filling down the center of each new rectangle. Using the waxed paper, gently fold each rectangle on top of itself lengthwise. Refrigerate for at least two hours before cutting into 1-inch wide fig newtons.

Keep cookies refrigerated between servings for the best texture.

(adapted from Evolving Table)