Wednesday, May 22, 2013

GF Vegan Carrot and Pear Fritters


Last week, I was making my carrot muffins and had some batter left over that didn't fit into the muffin pan.  I decided to do a little experiment and fry the batter like pancakes.  Kids went nuts over these pancakes and cleaned up the plate in minutes asking for more.  The fritters have a nice crispy outside and moist on the inside.  So now these fritters/pancakes have been indoctrinated into our regular breakfast rotation.  The recipe is flexible and pears can be easily substituted with zuchinni or Granny Smith apples.
Please note that if you don't have the multigrain flours you can just use regular all purpose flour.

Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose GF flour 
1 teaspoon xanthan gum (if GF flour doesn't include it)
3/4 cup of mix of multigrain flours (I used 1/4 sourghum, 1/4 millet and 1/4 quinoa flakes)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup vegetable or canola oil + a little more for frying pan
1/4 cup apple juice
2 tablespoons of honey
1/2 cup of apple sauce( this is to substitute eggs)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup shredded ripened pears or granny smith apples
1 cup shredded carrots

1.  Whisk flours, xanthan powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt
2. Whisk oil, juice, honey, apple sauce and vanilla 
3.  Stir in shredded pear and carrots into wet mixture
6.  Fold in flour with rubber spatula and mix until batter is just combined.  Don't over mix.
7.  Brush preheated non-stick pan with oil and lay out the pancakes.  The batter is a bit thicker then regular pancakes so use the back of you spoon to flatten them out.
8.  Cook on medium heat until bottom is golden and then flip over, press with spatula to flatten out even more and then fry until the other side is golden.  

 

Thursday, May 2, 2013

Yellow Rice Vermicelli with Turkey Sausage and Veggies

Couple of months ago I bought a small pack of rice vermicelli from a Chinese Supermarket.  I boiled it and gave it to my kids. Both of my kids refused to even look at it.  I put the packet of pasta away and forgot all about it.  The other day, I was cleaning out my cabinets and came across an almost untouched pack of vermicelli and decided to experiment with it to see if I can make this bland pasta a little more interesting.  First, I made the white pasta a bright yellow color with sprinkling turmeric into the water and then added flavor by sautéing some onion with turkey kielbasa.  To add some contrasting texture and more color I grated fresh carrots and zucchini.  The result exceeded all my expectations. It was so fresh and flavorful that I couldn't stop eating it myself.  The best part is that the pasta stays moist and doesn't stick together.  I had it the following day for lunch and it was as good as it was the previous night.


Ingredients:
1 small pack of rice vermicelli
1 medium onion diced
1 cup of cubed turkey kielbasa or turkey bacon
1 medium carrot coarsely grated
1/2 medium zucchini coarsely grated
1 teaspoon of turmeric
salt to taste

1.  Put the rice vermicelli into a pot or a bowl
2.  Cover the vermicelli with boiling water
3.  Add salt to taste and mix in turmeric 
4.  Cover the pot for at least 5 minutes.
5.  Sautée onion until translucent and then add cubed sausage and cook for 3-5 minutes.
6.  Drain pasta, cut it into smaller chunks with scissors, add sausage mix and fresh grated veggies.
7.  Serve immediately and enjoy.