Coconut Lime Cupcakes

The original recipe for these is from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romano.  I make a few changes to make them safe for our food allergy requirements.  I'll post the original method,  and then list my changes.  In general, I have found these recipes to be so forgiving and flexible, I've been able to change pretty much anything I need to to make them safe, and they still turn out delicious!  The vegan community has saved our lives in this regard, especially and particularly Isa Chandra Moskowitz.  Her cookbooks and recipes are amazing, and I wish we could eat more of her food--but being nut, soy and gluten-free, a lot of vegan food is off-limits for us.  Fortunately for us, cupcakes are quite safe!

Coconut Lime Cupcakes

1/3 c coconut oil
3/4 c granulated sugar
1 c coconut milk
1/4 c soy milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 T lightly packed finely grated lime zest
1 c ap flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 c unsweetened coconut

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a cupcake pan with liners.

Get all your ingredients/tools out and ready  to go ahead of time, as this makes it easier to work with the coconut oil at the right temperature.

Melt the coconut oil in a medium bowl.  Mix in the sugar, then add coconut milk, soy milk, vanilla, coconut extract, and lime zest.  Combine well.

Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.  Mix until smooth.  Add the coconut and mix to incorporate.

Bake for 23-25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.

Lime buttercream frosting

1/2 c shortening
1/2 c margarine
3 1/2 c confectioner's sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 c fresh lime juice
1 tsp finely grated lime zest

Beat the shortening and margarine together until combined well and fluffy.  Add the sugar and beat for about 3 more minutes.  Add the vanilla and lime juice, beat for another 5-7 minutes or so, until fluffy.  Add the zest and mix to distribute.

Ice the cupcakes generously, and roll in flaked coconut.  Place a decorative lime slice on top.

All right.  Those are the instructions as written.  Seriously, these are so flexible.  I didn't have any coconut extract, or enough shredded coconut, but I had coconut flour, so I subbed some in for the regular flour to increase the coconut flavor, and added it to the cup of shredded coconut to make up a full cup.  *shrug*  It worked!  Also, I have to use gluten-free flour, so our ap flour was Bob's Red Mill ap gluten-free flour.  I can't use soy milk, so I just used 1 1/4 c coconut milk (the full-fat, out of a can kind, not that crappy coconut milk "beverage").  Also, I didn't have any limes, so instead of lime zest, I just used a teaspoon of RealLime lime juice.  Again, it worked.  The cupcakes came out great!

I learned something about baking when I made these.  I had 8 of the cups filled when I noticed I hadn't gotten the bottom stirred in well enough, and there was still quite a bit of dry ingredients unmixed-in down there.  I just went ahead and stirred it in to the last bit, and put that batter in the last 4 cups.  Those cupcakes rose much better than the others.  Turns out you do need to have a minimally-thick batter to make the cupcakes rise appropriately.  I kind of thought this was the case, because if I follow regular recipes as written with my gluten-free flour, the batter is too thin, and the cupcakes come out concave.  I have been boosting the amount of flour in cupcake recipes for a long time, but this was the proof I needed to be certain that that was the difference!

So, the way I normally make these is basically the same, but all coconut milk and 1 1/3 c flour.  I do recommend replacing a small percentage (like 1/4 cup or so) of your flour with coconut flour--it actually makes for a lovely texture, as well as adding to the coconut flavor.  Also, I only use shortening (Spectrum brand) in the frosting, because there aren't any safe margarines for us.  It's just fine--in fact, I think I like it better than with a "butter" flavor.  Also, we usually halve the icing recipe--Isa apparently LOVES frosting.

Tuna Casserole

8oz pasta
1/2 an onion, diced
1 T garlic, diced
1 1/2 cup frozen peas
3 oz butter/sub
5 tbsp flour
1 cup beef broth
1/2 c water
1 cup milk/sub
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese/sub
2 cans tuna, drained and flaked
Panko bread crumbs, sautéed in butter until beginning to brown

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Cook spaghetti as directed on package.  Drain and rinse with cold water.  Set aside.  Melt butter in a large saucepan and add onions.  Sauté for a few minutes until beginning to soften.  Add garlic, and saute another minute or two.  Add peas.  Sauté for another minute or two.  Add in flour and cook for a further two minutes.  Slowly stir in the broth, then the milk.  Bring up to a boil until thickened, then remove from heat.  Stir in tuna and cheese. Season with salt and Mrs. Dash.

Add pasta to the pot and stir to coat.  Place in buttered casserole dish and sprinkle the breadcrumbs and a little additional cheese on top.  Bake for ten to fifteen minutes until top is golden.  Alternately, you can skip the bread crumbs on top and just top with additional cheddar cheese, which I like to do often.

Chocolate Tapioca Pudding

We can't use Minute brand tapioca, because they put soy lecithin in it, and we can't make regular pudding, because we can't do dairy.  Pudding has been a rare treat, and the only non-dairy milk that works besides soy is coconut.  We can't do soy, so coconut it is.  Normally, pudding is too much work for me to find it worth-while, but I was having a bit of a craving, so when I saw Let's Do Organic tapioca granules in the store, I thought "Sure, why not?" and made the recipe on the back for chocolate tapioca pudding.  It took just over 10 minutes--I didn't end up having to cook it quite as long as it said, I think, so it was quick, easy AND tasty.  Not bad for a whim purchase!

3 c coconut milk--full fat stuff out of a can, NOT the "beverage"
1/4 c granulated tapioca
1/8 tsp salt
1 T sugar
1/2 c chocolate chips

In a saucepan, simmer the coconut milk, granules and salt.  Cook 12-15 minutes, stirring often, until tapioca is completely transparent.  While this is cooking, melt the chocolate either in a double boiler or in the microwave.  Remove tapioca from heat, stir in sugar and chocolate until completely blended.  Refrigerate to room temperature.  Stir pudding well to break up the tapioca before serving.

I used more like 2 T of sugar...and it's just barely sweet enough for me.  This tasted like real pudding...just a hint of coconuttiness, which we're accustomed to, anyway, because we eat the So Delicious coconut milk ice cream.  The box suggests that you can serve it with shredded coconut, which wouldn't be bad, if you like the texture.  It also suggests sliced bananas, which *I* think would ruin it...lol!

Barbecue Sauce

Barbecue Sauce

This isn't an imitation--it's just a really, really tasty homemade barbecue sauce.  I told my mom I needed one, and she just whipped this thing out by pouring random stuff into a pot.  I could not believe my tongue.  I made her go right back in the kitchen and write down what she had done.  She laughed--I think she doesn't take her skills very seriously, but she did it.  I am SO glad she did.
As tasty as hers was, though, of course I can never leave well enough alone.  So I tinkered, and I do like my version better.  =)  This is what I'm calling the finished product, though I would be sad if nobody ever tinkered with it to make it their own.

3/4 c ketchup (we used my homemade recipe--see the new and improved version!)
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp paprika
2 drops lemon juice (I keep on hand Real Lemon brand bottled lemon juice for just this kind of situation)
1 shake onion powder
2 drops liquid smoke
1 tsp brown sugar
1 tsp not-so-soy sauce
pinch pepper
1/2 pinch cayenne (laugh with me, now, at my half-pinch)

Mix all together and it's ready to use!  It does improve with time--I made some for bbq beef the other day, and put the leftover sauce in the fridge to top the sandwiches with, and the stuff from the fridge was quite a bit better.  That makes sense, though!

Herbed Cucumber Radish Tea Sandwiches

I'm putting the link to the original here:
http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2012/04/sandwiched-herbed-cucumber-radish-tea-sandwiches.html   because I want you to know what my 8 year old son saw, and wanted.  And I want the world to know that I managed to pull this off allergen free.  Honestly, I was amazed at how these came out, because I didn't think they looked good at all.  This is totally not the kind of thing I would ever make, but my darling boy wanted them, and you don't say no to requests for vegetables!  =D  So, even though it was a bit of work, I made these.  Since I put the link, I'll only post the recipe as I made it.  The recipe as I post it is safe for all ds's and my allergies/intolerances, and is surprisingly delicious!

Ingredients

yield: makes 12 tea sandwiches, active time 30 minutes, total time 30 minutes

• 1 1/2 cups mayo
• 1 1/2 cups finely chopped dill
• 2/3 cup finely minced green onions
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 1/2 teaspoons soy sauce sub
• Salt and pepper
• 12 thin slices white sandwich bread
• butter flavored Spectrum brand shortening
• 6 small radishes, scrubbed and sliced 1/8-inch thick
• 1 medium English cucumber (see note above), sliced 1/8-inch thick
• 3/4 cup pea shoots

Procedures

1. In medium bowl, combine mayo, dill, chives, lemon juice, and soy sauce. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
2. Spread one side of each slice of bread with shortening. Spread about 1 tablespoon mayo mixture over butter. Top 6 slices with cucumber and radish slices, arranging them in alternating rows.
3. Top vegetables with about 2 tablespoons pea shoots, then cover with the remaining mayo-spread bread slices, pressing down gently. 
   
   GK's notes:  I used our safe bread: DeLand's brown rice and millet loaf.  I didn't trim the crust because gf bread is freaking expensive, and that's just wasteful, plus in gf bread, the crust isn't that different from the rest of the bread.  Also, I couldn't slice it tea-sandwich thin, because it's already sliced.  Didn't matter.
   
   I wasn't sure about the shortening/dressing thing.  Turned out to be a good thing.  You really do want to use the shortening (butter, margarine whatever you use), because it keeps the dressing from making the bread gross and soggy (plus, I really do think it's tasty).  I thought a whole Tablespoon of dressing per bread slice sounded like a lot, and started out with more like a half tablespoon.  It wasn't enough, and you really do need that whole tablespoon.  I was even able to put two leftover sandwiches in the fridge and ate them the next day.  Both the bread and the veggies were in top condition!  The shortening made it safe to keep!
   
   The mayo I use is Veganaise soy-free.  I was shocked to see it is also corn-free.  So few things are, and I'm really grateful, because it's really tasty.
   
   Also, it turns out if you just use the first 6 ingredients, it makes a perfectly delicious salad dressing.  It's not terribly far from ranch dressing, especially using mayo.  I'm going to try it with the So Delicious Coconut Greek style yogurt, which was the recommended sub if you don't have that greek yogurt-cheese stuff the original called for.  But in the meantime, it's great with mayo, too.
   
   I had never even HEARD of pea shoots before.  I LOVE them!  Dh didn't mind them and ds didn't like them.  He said "They spice my tongue!"  I'm not sure why, though.  They are NOT spicy--they taste like peas.  He might have been confusing the source of the spiciness--the radishes could be spicy, I guess, but I didn't think they were.  *shrug*  He's gonna have to get used to them, cause they were yummy!  (It is possible he's allergic, but he eats peas all the dang time with no problem, so I'm doubtful.) 
   

Simple syrup

For recipes that call for corn syrup, you can substitute this recipe.  It isn't exact, because regular corn syrup is vanilla flavored.  If you want that vanilla flavor, you can add some vanilla bean, or maybe stick a whole bean in while you're boiling this, and just remove when the syrup is cool before you bottle this to store or use it.  It's called simple syrup for a reason!

1 part water
1 part sugar

bring to a boil, stir. let cook for a few minutes, remove from heat. cool.

Ketchup

Ingredients:
    1 can tomato sauce - (8 ounce)
    1/2 c. simple syrup
    1/2 c. rice wine or white wine vinegar
    1 tsp salt
    1/2 tsp onion pwdr
    1/4 tsp garlic pwdr
    1/4 tsp paprika
   

Directions:

    Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
 Whisk till smooth. When mix comes to a boil,
reduce heat and simmer for 20 min, stirring often.
    Remove pan from heat and cover till cold. Refrigerate and store
 in a covered container.
    This recipe yields 1 1/2 c.

GK's notes:  This is not perfect.  The recipe I found originally claimed to be a Heinz copycat, but, um, no.  This is not a bad ketchup, but it doesn't taste much like Heinz.  Heinz has a lighter, crisper flavor.  This is dark, rich, complex tasting.  I consider it a work in progress, and would like it to be more Heinz-like.  The potato starch is an attempt to thicken it up, which works nicely, and it gives it a nice texture, but it will occasionally clump, and clog the squirt bottle.  As I said:  work in progress.

Update as of 6/15/12
I have refined the recipe and it is much improved.   I had put starch in it to thicken it up before, but I just removed the water and extra sugar, and simmer it long enough and it doesn't need to be thickened.  I was very proud of my most recent couple of batches.  Still not Heinz, but very good.  =)