Banana "Ice-cream" with Toasted Coconut and Almonds

 A breakfast creation of mine that my father has asked for a couple times now :). Very healthy and yummy. The nutritional quail eggs add a delightfully rich flavor to the creamy, frozen bananas combined with the flavor of toasted coconut and the crunch of almonds.


Banana "Ice-cream" with Toasted Coconut and Almonds


Hanunyah Creation
gluten-free, dairy-free, grain-free, sugar-free, starch-free, corn-free, soy-free

Simply blend up 4 quail eggs and 2 bananas in a high-speed blender (Vita-Mix). Place a few tablespoons of flaked coconut and a small handful of raw almonds on a plate and microwave for about 30 seconds*. Top the banana mixture with the almonds and toasted coconut.

Notes:
*You may toast the coconut in the oven instead, if desired. 

~ Hanunyah

Food on Friday @ Carole's Chatter

Bagels

Gluten-free, homemade bagels. And they smell, taste and look like bagels. Not crumbly, the dough is nice and easy to work with (and gum-free!).

I've been experimenting with yeast breads the last few days, and just in time Carrie @ Ginger Lemon Girl reposted her Bagel recipe.

Bagels (Gluten-free, Dairy-free, Corn-free)
Adapted from Ginger Lemon Girl

2/3 cup warm milk, or milk substitute (120F.)
2 tablespoons yeast
2 teaspoons sugar
2 eggs
2 tablespoons sugar (or agave nectar)
½ tsp. apple cider vinegar (ONLY if using xanthan gum)

2 ½ cups gluten-free flour (I use rice)
½ tsp. baking soda
1 tablespoon baking powder1 teaspoon salt

2 tsp. xanthan gum
-OR-
1 tablespoon chia seed meal (I only used the flax)
2 tablespoons flax seed meal

1 egg white mixed with 1 tablespoon warm water
Toppings (such as - poppy seeds, sesame seeds, garlic granules, dried onion, parsley, etc)

1. Prepare baking sheets with parchment paper or non-stick cooking spray.

2. In a small mixing bowl whisk together warmed milk, 2 tbsp. yeast, and 2 tsp. sugar. Set this mixture aside to proof.

3. In a medium bowl add the binder you prefer (either xanthan gum or chia seed meal and flax seed meal). Add baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add the flour, and whisk mixture together thoroughly. Set aside.

5. Whisk in eggs, one at a time, to proofed yeast. Add sugar, and if you are using xanthan gum as your binder, add apple cider vinegar as a dough enhancer. (If you are using chia seed meal and flax seed meal as your binder LEAVE OUT the apple cider vinegar, as it can lesson the gelling and binding properties of both these seeds!!)

6. In your kitchen mixer bowl, add the egg and yeast mixture. Start mixing with your paddle attachment on medium speed. Continuing with the paddle on medium speed, add the flour mixture 1/3 cup at a time to the wet mixture, until you have added all the flour. Continue to mix on medium speed until well combined and a thick dough is formed. If you used xanthan gum as your binder, this dough will be extremely sticky! I used flax seed meal, and it was really easy to work with.

7. Put water on to boil and add several tsp. of salt.

8. Dust your hands with rice flour and place the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Continuing to use your hands, gently shape the dough into a large ball. Gently pull off a small handful of dough and shape it into a disk. Then using your finger, push a hole up through the middle of the disk. Continue to shape the disk until it looks like a bagel. Place the shaped bagel back on the floured surface.

9. At this point, you can preheat your oven to 200 degrees. Once it has preheated, turn the oven OFF immediately. We will let the bagels rise in the warmed oven after we have boiled them.

10. Make sure your water is still at a rolling boil. Working with ONE bagel at a time, using a slotted spoon (a spatula to works), gently place the bagel into the boiling water bath.

11. Boil the bagel for 20 seconds, gently holding it under the water. Be careful, as they easily fall apart if you boil them too long.

12. Pull out the boiled bagel and place it on your prepared baking pan. When you pull the bagel out of the water, be extra gentle! The bagel is very fragile now that it has been boiled and almost looks like wrinkled hands after a long warm bath!

13. Brush the boiled bagels with an egg wash (a mixture of one egg white with 1 tablespoon of water). Add the toppings you desire. Place the bagels in the oven to rise for 40 minutes. Take bagels out of the oven after 40 minutes of rising. Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Place bagels back in oven and bake for 15-18 minutes. They should appear golden and crisp when finished baking.

~ The flavors I made ~

(Oh, and sorry there are no goats as a background in these pictures, it was not very good picture-taking conditions outside :) )

Flax seeds, poppyseeds and onion powder - like an "Everything" bagel

Since this was the first batch I made, the bagels were harder and smaller. The next batches I made them bigger and taller so they are softer.

Plain

Carrot, Coconut and Cinnamon

And, surely not the least (these disappeared pretty quickly) - Chocolate Chip

~ Hanunyah

Fruit & Carrot Spice Cake

This is why I named this blog what I did. This cake is a creation . . . . fruit, carrots and spices, topped with a cream cheese frosting, flax and poppyseeds seeds. After I baked it, I realized that I forgot to put sugar in it! It really doesn't need it anyway, with 3 cups of fruit.

    Since there are only a few things that aren't GAPS-legal in it I might make it again using almond flour.

Not everybody tasted this yet, but those who did liked it.

Fruit and Carrot Spice Cake (Gluten-free, Dairy-free, Corn-free, Sugar-free)

Hanunyah Creation

2 1/2 cups carrots, boiled and pureed*

3 cups fruit, pureed**

1/2 cup flaked coconut

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1 teaspoon lemon extract

1/2 cup lard

4 eggs

3 cups rice flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Mix together the carrots, fruit, coconut, spices, extracts, lard and eggs. Add the flour and baking soda. Pour the vinegar over the baking soda. Beat well.

2. Pour into two greased 11 inch round baking pans, and bake at 350F for 20 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Notes:
*For the carrots - I used about 5 carrots. Cut both ends off of the carrots, and cut into thirds. Put in a pot and cover with water. Cover and bring to a boil on high heat. Boil until you can stick a fork all the way through. Strain and puree the carrots in the food processor. You may need to add some water to get it going.
**For the 3 cups fruit - I used 1 large apple, 1 large peach, 1 banana and 2 plums. I peeled the fruit, but I'm sure you could leave the skin on. Cut into chunks and puree in the food processor.

This was easy to make, and these were the only dishes I used (below).

~ Hanunyah

Featured on - Gluten-Free Wednesdays (by The Gluten-Free Homemaker)

Almond Flour Muffins (GAPS)

These are introduced on Stage 4 of the GAPS diet.

GAPS Almond Flour Muffins

1 1/2 cups almond flour/meal

3 tablespoons coconut oil

2 eggs

Mix all together, spoon into muffin pans until about 1/2 full, and bake at 300F for about 15 to 20 minutes, or until done. This makes about 7 regular sized muffins.

~ Hanunyah

Tropical Carrot Apple Cake

I made this tonight, and it was really good!

      I was in a little hurry, because I was making it for dessert and I started at 4:30pm. But it was actually pretty easy, and didn't take that long. My sister had made cream cheese (from goat milk), so since we didn't have any powdered sugar (and I didn't feel like grinding any), I slathered plain ol' cream cheese on the cake just before serving - much easier than grinding powdered sugar, mixing up frosting, and, therefore, dirtying more dishes.
  
     It was a hit, and my sister gave it a 5 star rating :). It has a good combination of flavors and it's pretty moist. I also didn't notice any grainy texture.

Tropical Carrot Apple Cake (Gluten-free, Dairy-free, Corn-free)

Adapted from Gluten-free Goddess

3 large eggs

1/2 cup oil

1 cup light brown sugar, packed

1/3 cup pineapple juice (I may use water or milk next time, if we don't have it on hand)

2 teaspoons safe vanilla extract

1 tablespoon honey (for added moisture)

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ginger

2 cups rice flour

1 teaspoon cream of tartar

2 teaspoons baking soda

3/4 cup flaked sweetened coconut (I used less, because that was all we had on hand)

1 1/2 cups finely grated carrots

1 cup shredded apple

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 11-inch round cake pan (I used a silicone pan).

In a mixing bowl beat the eggs; add the oil and beat; add the brown sugar and beat till smooth. Beat in the juice, vanilla, honey, and spices. Add in the flour, baking soda, and cream of tartar, and beat till combined. Add in the coconut, carrots, and apples; stir to combine.

Spread the batter evenly in the cake pan; and place the pan in the center of a preheated oven. Bake until the cake is firm, and a wooden pick inserted into the center emerges clean, about 40 to 45 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

Frost with your cream cheese or cream cheese frosting.

~ Hanunyah

Chocolate Almond Layer Cake

This was a hit! The only thing I would do different next time is use less frosting, as it was too sweet.

     Also . . . this is a "Hanunyah Creation" (I didn't follow a recipe, as always :) ). That's where my blog title came from, because I'm known to never follow a recipe exactly. Anyways, how this cake came about . . . We had no vanilla, so I used almond extract in a yellow cake recipe, and added cocoa powder to the other layer. And the coconut? Well, that was just to make it a bit fancier looking, and to cover up my mistakes :). This was the first layer cake I have done (I have made more layer cakes since I made this one, I'll have to post later).

Sorry for the not very exact measurements . . . sometimes I make things and it's just "dump and mix until it looks right".

Chocolate Almond Layer Cake (Gluten-free, Dairy-free, Corn-free)


Cake:

1/2 cup lard, shortening or oil
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 eggs
2 1/4 cups gluten-free flour (I use rice)
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda + 

2 teaspoons cream of tartar

1 1/4 cups milk (I use goat)
1 teaspoon almond extract (somewhere around 1 teaspoon, I don't know exactly how much I used)

Frosting:

Powdered sugar

a few tablespoons cocoa

almond extract (1/2 teaspoon would be good)

water

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prepare one 9x13 pan or two 9-inch round pans (I used two 11-inch round pans) by greasing them thoroughly.

2. Mix the ingredients together in the order they're listed - creaming the softened butter and sugar first, then adding the eggs, flour, salt, baking powder, and finally the liquids. Mix well. 

Immediately pour into the prepared pans and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the tops spring back slightly when pressed.

Let cool on wire racks for at least 15 minutes, then flip the cakes out of the pans and cool completely.

3. In a bowl, combine all ingredients for the frosting. Put one of the layers on a plate, and frost the top of it. Place the second layer on that, and finish frosting. Garnish if desired with almonds, coconut, chocolate, etc.

~ Hanunyah

Chocolate Macaroon Cake

I made this the other day, and it was a hit. The cake was moist, and the glaze perfect. The whole combo was really good.

This is this cake when I made it for my Grandma's B-day party

Chocolate Macaroon Cake  (Gluten-free)

Coconut-Macaroon Filling
Reserved egg white (from one of the 4 eggs that will go into the cake)
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup shredded coconut
1 Tablespoon gluten-free flour
1 teaspoon vanilla

Chocolate Cake
2 cups gluten-free flour
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum (if you have it - I forgot to put it in, and it turned out fine)
1 3/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons vanilla
3/4 cup cold water
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup sour cream (or milk, that's what I used)
4 eggs (reserve 1 white for filling)


Chocolate Glaze
1 cup powdered sugar
2 (1 ounce) squares unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled (I used 6 Tablespoons cocoa and 2 Tablespoons oil)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1-2 Tablespoons warm water



1. Generously grease the bundt pan and preheat your oven to 350 degrees. 


For Coconut-Macaroon Filling: In small mixer bowl, beat egg white at high speed until soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. By hand, stir in coconut, flour and vanilla; blend well and set aside.

2. For Cake: In large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients for cake. Blend at low speed until moistened, then beat 3 minutes at medium speed scraping the bowl often.

Pour chocolate batter into prepared bundt pan. Drop teaspoonfuls of coconut-macaroon filling over chocolate batter until you have an even ring around the cake.

3. Bake cake at 350 degrees for 55-60 minutes until top springs back when touched lightly in the center of the cake. Be careful not to overbake, as this will result in a dry cake.

Cool 20 minutes, then place plate on top and invert cake to remove from pan. Let cool completely before glazing so glaze doesn't melt.

4. For Glaze: In small mixing bowl combine glaze ingredients. I used a whisk to mix everything well. Use enough warm water so that it reaches a glaze consistency and can be poured over the cake and run down the sides.

Golden Granola

I can't believe it's already November 15th!! Since last month, tho, maybe that's my excuse to sit back and relax for some time :). But, with Thanksgiving coming up, and since we harvested our pumpkins, I'll probably be posting more recipes. And, just to let you know, even though I posted 31 recipes last month, I didn't run out of recipes. I still have MANY recipes!

This granola is so easy, quick, simple, yummy and different, my family really likes it. If you have a microwave it only takes about 15 minutes from start to finish. You could even whip it up in the morning if you're looking for a quick and crunchy treat. For us, it's best if I make a few batches, because it goes so fast.
       Also, it's pretty healthy. It's basically sugar-free.

Golden Granola (Gluten-free)

3 cups Quaker Oats (Quick or Old Fashioned, uncooked)

1 cup shredded or flaked coconut

1 cup coarsely chopped nuts

1/4 cup honey (I've made it with corn syrup. You could probably use other syrups too.)

1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted (I use oil)

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup raisins (If we don't have any on hand I make it without)

Combine all ingredients except raisins in ungreased 13x9-inch baking pan; mix well. Bake in preheated moderate oven (350 F.) 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown, stirring occasionally; stir in raisins. Cool thoroughly; store in tightly covered container in cool dry place or in refrigerator. Serve as cereal with milk or as a snack.

Makes about 6 cups granola.

MICROWAVE OVEN DIRECTIONS: Combine all ingredients except raisins; mix well. Cook in ungreased 11x7-inch baking dish in microwave oven at HIGH 8 to 10 minutes or until light golden brown, stirring after every 2 minutes of cooking; stir in raisins.

Layer Bars (a GF version of Seven Layer Bars)

Seven Layer Bars seem to be somewhat popular, but you might think since going GF you can not make those anymore. Well, that is not the case. This gluten-free version is made with no graham cracker crust. Beware, though, what brand of butterscotch chips you use, because some contain gluten. Just read labels.


Allrecipes.com, has a little section of gluten-free recipes, if you write in the search "gluten-free", you should get lots of results. I found this recipe by doing that, and looking through the recipes.


These are easy, and were yummy. I didn't get a picture.


I used a substitute for the sweetened condensed milk though. This recipe is from http://www.cooks.com/. Here is the recipe for the sweetened condensed milk substitute I used (below).


Sweetened Condensed Milk Substitute

2 eggs
1 c. brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 tbsp. GF flour (I used 2 Tbsp corn flour, and 1 Tbsp corn starch)
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt

Mix all ingredients and use as a substitute for sweetened condensed milk in recipes for pies, bars and desserts.

Ok, now to the bar recipe. You may use a mixture of different kinds of chips and nuts.

Gluten-Free Layer Bars

Ingredients

• 7 ounces flaked coconut (I think I used about 1 1/3 cups)
• 1 cup butterscotch chips
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup peanuts
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds (I didn't use these)
• 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk (or substitute listed above)
• 
  

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F ( 175 degrees C ). Generously grease one 13x9 inch baking pan.
2. Spread 2/3 of the flaked coconut evenly on the bottom of the baking pan. Sprinkle the butterscotch morsel, chocolate chips, and peanuts evenly over the coconut layer. Pour condensed milk evenly over the whole pan. Top with sliced almonds and remaining coconut . Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven. Cool completely before cutting into squares.

 ~ Hanunyah

31 for 21 Blog Challenge!

Coconut Candy Bars

These were yummy - chewy and chocolate coating topping it off. The recipe called for almonds to put on top before baking, but I didn't use them. I didn't use the vanilla either. I put some of the batter in greased small muffin pans, instead of shaping into bars on a cookie sheet. These are easy to make also.

The only expensive part is the chocolate - they would still be good without chocolate, but it does make them better. I halved the recipe once (because we only had 1 egg . . . and guess where I went to get it? The chicken coop :-) ) anyway, they still turned out great. People said they tasted like Mounds.

Coconut Candy Bars

2 (large) egg whites

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 tsp kosher salt

2 cups sweetened flaked coconut

2 cups chocolate chips or chopped chocolate

1. Preheat oven to 350 F, and grease a rimmed baking sheet. 

2. Combine the egg whites, sugar, vanilla, and salt in a bowl and mix with a fork. Don't beat the egg whites, but just make sure the mixture is well blended. Fold in the coconut. The batter will be stiff, like oatmeal.

3. Spoon about 2 tablespoons of the batter onto the cookie sheet and shape into a log. Repeat with remaining batter. You should have about 1 dozen bars.

4. Bake for 13 to 17 minutes (check after 13), or until the bars are just brown at the edges. Let cool 1 minute, transfer to a wire rack and let cool about 30 minutes or until completely cool.

5. Cover the baking sheet with foil, wax or parchment paper and have it ready.

6. In a microwave-safe bowl, heat the chocolate on high for 1 minute, and stir well to distribute the heat. Heat for 1 minute more, and stir again. Heat for and additional 30 to 60 seconds, stirring thoroughly with a fork.

7. Using 2 forks, drop a bar into the chocolate and coat lightly on all sides, then transfer to the cookie sheet. Dip the remaining bars. If the chocolate layer gets too thick or your chocolate starts to get stiff, heat the chocolate for 1 minute more, stirring well to distribute the heat.

8. Leave the finished candies at room temperature for about 4 hours, or until completely cool. Store in an airtight container at room temperature, up to 2 weeks.

bars that are not dipped in the chocolate yet

And, to the  little leftover chocolate I added some mini marshmallows

Linked to Shindig Saturday by Kims Kandy Kreations