Sweet Zucchini Bread (Gluten-Free Option)

This is the recipe I use for the zucchini bread I've been making for the dances ever since our vegetable CSA started delivering massive amounts of squash. This is adapted from the Joy of Cooking, which is absolutely my favorite cookbook ever. If you don't have one, you should go buy one right now, like even before you finish reading this article. I have modified it to be gluten-free, and I also like to use Craisins, which were not in the original recipe.

Sweet Zucchini Bread

Prepare the zucchini:

• Layer 3 sheets of paper towels on a plate. 
• Using a food processor grating disk or a hand-grater, shred a zucchini. 
• Put the shredded zucchini on the paper towels, and flatten the shreds. Then place 3 more layered paper towels on top of the zucchini. Set a dinner plate or something flat and moderately heavy on top of the zucchini to help drain the excess moisture. Go away and do something fun for about an hour or so while it's drying out. This is a good time exercise, go take a shower, do your hair, or listen to some really awesome music. Don't get on social media. The election coverage will just depress you.

Make the bread:

• Preheat the oven to 350*F. Grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan.
• Whisk together:
• 1 1/2 C gluten-free baking flour (I usually use Bob's Red Mill all-purpose GF flour.)
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon

• Blend well in a large bowl:
• 3/4 C sugar (or brown sugar)
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 1/2 C light olive oil
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 tsp salt
• Stir in the dry ingredients. Blend with a few swift strokes:
• 2 C grated zucchini (I have never once actually measured the following)
• 3/4 C walnuts
• 3/4 C Craisins 
• Scrape the batter into the greased pan. Bake until the bread pulls away from the sides of the pan, about 45 minutes. Cool in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes before unmolding completely on the rack. 

Sweet Potato Fries

A lot of excellent Lindy-friendly songs talk about food. Maybe this is why I like jazz so much—because I love food as much as I love to dance. The songs get stuck in my head, and then I have to go home and make the food. This week’s food song is “Sweet Potato Fries,” By Gordon Webster, off of their Live in Rochester CD.

Sweet Potato Fries
with Montreal Steak seasoning
and ketchup

We saw Gordon Webster perform at the International Lindy HopChampionships last year, and bought three of his CDs. I love almost every song on these CDs. There is so much excellent instrumentation, and they all just seem to beg for improv while dancing.

I have included the “Sweet Potato Fries” lyrics below, and you can give the band a listen here. After listening to this song, you may want to make your own sweet potato fries, which is an excellent idea, because they are very healthy if you make them yourself. Not so much if you buy them in a restaurant, deep fried and smothered in fat, and not as tasty if you buy the big frozen bag at the store.

Tips for making sweet potato fries:

Use one sweet potato per person. Scrub and peel the outside of the potato. Cut the potato in fry-sized strips. (Sweet potatoes are very hard, so use a large, heavy, sharp knife) Place the cut potatoes in a mixing bowl and drizzle olive oil or melted coconut oil over them. Add one of the following seasoning combinations (or improvise your own):

• Salt and pepper
• McCormick’s Montreal steak seasoning
• Crushed rosemary, salt & pepper
• Crushed mint and salt
• Cinnamon and pepper

Stir to combine. Pour the seasoned spuds in a shallow baking pan (like a jelly roll pan) and arrange so they are in  one flat layer. Bake in a 400-degree oven for about 25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the taters are brown and crispy.

Serve hot, with ketchup.

Sweet Potato Fries

By Gordon Webster

Live in Rochester

When men come and dine, they get to feelin’ full just fine

The dining’s in the timing with my sweet potato fries

When men try my spuds, they claim the other gals are duds

Does wonders for the hunger, o my sweet potato fries

When they come and meet, looking for a treat, they get taters

You can take a seat, then you’re bound to eat

A dish that’s just delish if it’s for now or for later

Take your appetite, down to the table, grab a bite

You’ll never have no better than my sweet potato fries

Well, I ain’t got much to show, but I can peel ‘em fast or slow

My sweetie loves to eatie all my sweet potato fries

Don’t got time, don’t got money, but I got a dish to try

Cause I’m a yammy mammy with my sweet potato fries

I can hardly wait, looking for a date with my honey

He knows where to look, when he needs a cook

I’ll fix him up a dish and never charge him no money

Dinner is served tonight, come get your fill and feel just right

You’ll never have no better than my sweet potato fries

Get the salt, pepper too

That’s all the flavor that I’ll add for you

You’ll never have no better than my sweet potato fries

Luscious GF Quiche

Spinach, red pepper, onion and feta quiche

This is a luscious, crumbly-crust, whole-egg, cheesy and satisfying quiche that works great with a wide variety of fillings, is very forgiving of mistreatment, and can be cooked ahead of time. It's a nice dish to take for a lunch, brunch, breakfast or tea. It holds up relatively well, but the exposed parts of the crust will shatter easily, so pack it protectively in a pie box if you are taking it somewhere.

I strongly recommend using the food processor for this crust, but you can also use a pastry blender to cut in the fat.

For the crust
You can use Bob's Red Mill gluten-free pie crust mix OR, you can make your own pie crust with the following recipe (makes two pie crusts. If you are only making one quiche, halve the recipe).

2 1/2 cups white rice flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
15 tablespoons cold butter (that's two sticks minus one tablespoon). Cut each stick of butter into about 16 cubes

6 tablespoons ice water

In the bowl of a food processor with the cutting blade at the bottom, combine the rice flour, salt and butter cubes. Pulse about 10-15 times until the mixture takes on the texture of small pebbles or coarse sand.

Pour 6 tablespoons of ice water into the food processor bowl, one tablespoon at a time.

Pulse the mixture until it comes together in a ball.

Turn out the ball of dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap or wax paper. Wrap the dough tightly and refrigerate for half an hour.

Divide the dough into two equal parts. Shape each into a disk about five inches in diameter. Working with one disk at a time, place the dough between two sheets of plastic wrap and roll it out until it's about 10 inches in diameter, or large enough to cover your pie plate.

Peel off one sheet of plastic wrap, and place the dough exposed-side down in a pie plate. Remove the other sheet of plastic wrap and fit the crust into the pan. Flute the edges with your fingers. Prick the bottom of the crust about 15 times with a fork, and precook the crust in a 425F oven for about 15 minutes. (Note: I would ordinarily line the pie shells with tin foil and fill with pie weights or beans when I pre bake, but the foil tends to stick to a GF crust. If you do line the crust with foil, be sure to grease it first)

For the quiche
You can fill a quiche with just about anything, but below are a few suggestions. If you are using fresh vegetables, be sure to cook them first or they will shed their water into the egg mixture, preventing it from setting properly.

Lay the filling in the bottom of the crust, then pour the egg mixture on top.

• Spinach, red pepper, onion and feta cheese: Sautee one small diced onion and a small diced red pepper until the onions turn translucent. Add about 1 cup fresh chopped spinach and cook until the spinach wilts. Pour the vegetables into the bottom of the crust. Add about 1/8-1/4 cup feta cheese.



Ham & Cheese Quiche

• Ham and cheddar: dice about 1/3 cup ham and place in the bottom of the crust. Sprinkle on about 1/8-1/4 cup cheddar.

For the egg filling:

In a large bowl, whisk together 4 eggs, 2 cups of milk (or half and half, or cream) and 1/4 tsp black pepper. Pour the egg mixture over the filling in the pie crust.

Bake

Pop the quiche into a 350F oven and bake for 30-40 minutes, until the top is golden brown.

Gluten-Free Cornbread Dressing

My mom’s stuffing is one of my favorite memories of childhood holidays. She always used bakery Italian bread, which she would pull apart into cubes. I have yet to find a suitable GF yeast bread replacement, so I have adapted her famous recipe to use cornbread.

When I was a child, we always used to add a small can of water chestnuts to this dressing. I think that at some point far back in my family tree, someone had seen a dressing recipe that called for chestnuts and, lacking those, they found a can of water chestnuts in the back of a cabinet, figured it was close enough, and went with it. We all loved it. However, many “outsiders” just can’t get used to the idea, so I didn’t list it here. If you aren’t opposed to the crunchy little chestnuts, I highly recommend them. Just add them to the mixing bowl along with the seasonings.

Other additions to this dressing include diced pepper (red and/or green), green chilies, chili powder, frozen corn, or dried cranberries. It is pretty adaptable to whatever stuffing additions you normally enjoy!

Just in case you were wondering: this is technically a dressing, not a stuffing, because it isn’t “stuffed” into the bird. It is cooked in a separate dish. If you intend to stuff your bird, omit the eggs.

Grease one casserole pan and set aside.

Prepare

1 recipe gluten-free cornbread

Break up the cornbread into cubes. Place in a large roasting pan and toast in a 400°F oven until golden brown. About 5-10 minutes.

Meanwhile, brown in a nonstick skillet over medium heat:

1 lb bulk mild sausage, breaking into small pieces with a mixing spoon.

1 large onion

2 ribs celery

When the sausage is cooked and the onions and celery are translucent, move them to a large mixing bowl.

Add the toasted bread cubes to the mixing bowl.

Chop

½ cup parsley leaves

1 small handful sage (optional)

1 tsp fresh or dried rosemary

Add the herbs to the stuffing mix

Season with

1/2 tsp salt (or to taste, depending on the saltiness of the broth you use)

½ tsp ground black pepper

Stir to mix.

Add

½ to 1 cup chicken or turkey stock or broth – just enough so that the stuffing sticks together, but not so much that it’s saturated and compressed.

For a firm stuffing, add

2 beaten eggs

Stir to mix

Transfer the mixture into the prepared casserole pan.

Bake at 350°F for about 35-40 minutes, or until the top is golden brown.

Gluten-free coconut banana bread with nuts or chocolate chips

A few weeks ago, I made a banana bread that did not manage to bake all the way before the kids were scheduled to leave for an overnight trip. The next morning, at 7am, all three of them were plowing through the front door to get to the banana-ey goodness. My husband and I had eaten some while they were away, but they ate the remainder of the loaf in about four minutes.

Left: Chocolate chip/coconut
Right: Walnut/coconut

Due to everyone’s conflicting food aversions and preferences in my house, I like to make a double-batch of banana bread (two loaves), and make one banana-nut and the other banana-chocolate chip. (The kids will not eat nuts. My husband claims he doesn’t like chocolate)

I made this recipe with gluten-free flour, and I added a little unsweetened dehydrated shredded coconut. (Not the sugar-coated shredded coconut you usually see atop coconut cream pies.) It gives the bread a slightly tropical flavor without being overly sweet. If you don’t like coconut, skip that step. It still works.

I have made this with both butter and coconut oil. Both are delicious. If you use coconut oil, it should be in its solid form (not liquid). The oil liquefies at warmer temperatures. To get liquid oil to harden up again, measure the desired quantity and put it in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes.

At the last step of this recipe, you decide whether to add nuts or chocolate chips, or both. 

This recipe makes one loaf. To make two, double all ingredients.

Preheat the oven to 350F

Grease the bottom of one loaf pan

>These are the dry ingredients

In a medium bowl, mix together

1 ½ cups Bob’s Red Mill All Purpose Gluten-Free baking flour

1 ½ tsp baking powder

¼ tsp salt

¼ cup unsweetened shredded coconut

¼ tsp xanthan gum (optional)

>These are the wet ingredients

In another medium bowl, combine

2 mashed bananas

2 beaten eggs

1 tsp gluten free vanilla

Using a mixer (or your really strong arms), beat together until creamy

2/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup butter (3/4 stick) or solid coconut oil

Take turns adding wet and dry ingredients to the sugar/butter mixture, using about 1/3 of each at a time until everything is well blended.

Add

½ cup chopped nuts (I like walnuts or pecans in this)

or

½ cup dark chocolate chips

or both

Stir just long enough to combine.

Pour batter into prepared pan.

Finished GF banana breads. Left: chocolate chip. Right: walnut.
I did not split the batter quite evenly on these,
so the one on the left took longer to cook.

Bake at 350F for about an hour, or until the top is golden brown and a knife inserted in the middle of the loaf comes out clean.

Allow the finished bread to cool for about 10 minutes (Very important. Hot bread tends to give you trouble coming out of the pan. And it’s hard to manage a 350-degree pan).

Run a metal spatula between the sides of the loaf and the interior of the pan.

Turn the pan out onto a cooling rack and allow to cool as long as the other people in your house will let you before they climb over you to get to the bread. (The cooler it is, the more cleanly it will slice).

Gluten-Free Cornbread

We use this cornbread as an accompaniment for chili and any type of barbecue. It's also a key part of our cornbread dressing for Thanksgiving (the recipe for which is coming soon).

Cornbread with butter & honey

Gluten-Free Cornbread
1 1/4 cups Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free All-Purpose Baking Flour
3/4 cup gluten-free corn meal
1/4 tsp Xanthan gum (optional: The dough will be thinner without it, but it still works)
1/4 cup sugar (or honey or agave nectar)*
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

1/3 cup plain Greek yogurt (or regular plain yogurt)**
2/3 cup milk**
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted (or melted butter)
2 whole eggs, lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 400F.
Grease an 8- or 9-inch pan. (I use a 9-inch round stoneware pan for this).
In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients.
In another medium bowl, combine the liquid ingredients.
Pour the dry ingredients into the wet, stir well, and pour the batter into the greased stoneware pan.
Allow the batter to sit for 3-4 minutes before baking.
Bake at 400F for 25 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Serve warm, with butter and honey or all-fruit preserves.

Use the leftovers for cornbread stuffing.

Notes:


I specify Bob's gluten-free flour because each company uses a different mix. I find that some of the brands soak up too much liquid, requiring changes to the recipe.



*For the sweetener, you can use either regular sugar, honey or agave nectar. The liquid sweeteners make the batter thinner and the final product a little crunchier, but it works. You can vary the amount of sweetener based on your personal preference. If you like a sweeter cornbread, use 1/3 cup. If you are accustomed to "Southern" cornbread, try using 1/2 cup sugar.

About the liquid:
**In this recipe, I use a combination of Greek yogurt and milk. Alternatively, you could omit the yogurt + milk and use 1 cup of buttermilk. Buttermilk works great, but I do not always have it on hand.
For the lactose-intolerant, omit the yogurt + milk and instead use 1 cup of almond or soy milk + 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar. Mix and let sit 5 minutes before using. The texture will change with this variation.

Spaghetti sans pasta

Every time I go to the grocery store, I see more and more gluten-free pasta products. I am glad there is an increasing variety of gluten-free food, but it's also expensive and high-carbohydrate.

Spicy tomato sauce oer a baked sweet potato

One of the great health benefits of going wheat-free is that you have the opportunity to fill the void left in your diet with more vegetables.

I used to love making spaghetti. I went through a few months after I quit wheat, where I did not make it at all, because I didn't want to spring for the gluten-free spaghetti noodles. Eventually, I got creative and started putting delicious tomato sauce on top of any vegetable that would stand still for a few minutes. Here are some of my new favorite bases for spaghetti sauce:

• Slice zucchini and sautee in olive oil, butter or coconut oil until tender. Season with salt and pepper. Top with sauce.
• Prick a sweet potato all over with a fork, wrap in foil, bake at 400F for one hour (or microwave). Cut open and fill with sauce. (This is particularly good with a spicy tomato sauce--or chili)
• Bake a white potato. Fill with sauce.
• Make mashed potatoes, top with sauce.
• Cut an acorn or butternut squash in half and scrape out seeds. Place cut-side down in a baking dish. Add just enough water to fill the bottom of the pan. Bake at 350F for 1 hour. Top with sauce.
• Using the same cooking method, bake a spaghetti squash. When cooked, scrape out the stringy pulp and place in a colander to drain for about 5 minutes, pressing down on the pulp with a rubber scraper from time to time, before plating and topping with sauce.

Homemade Gluten-Free Waffles

Waffles are a weekend tradition in my house. When I was growing up, we used to make pancakes every Sunday. I learned that recipe when I was seven years old. Many years later, my kids developed a preference for waffles, which are basically the same thing, but with syrup pockets. I have made waffles almost every weekend for probably 15 years.

After going gluten free, the thought of a waffle-less existence depressed me almost as much as a future without pizza. I experimented with many waffle and pancake recipes, but this one, a combination of techniques from two different versions of Joy of Cooking and The Wooden Spook Bread Book, is our hands-down favorite. It makes more than enough waffles for five hungry people.

Preheat a waffle iron. Whisk together in a large bowl:

1 ¾ cups Bob’s Red Mill All-Purpose Gluten Free Flour

¾ tablespoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

1 tablespoon sugar

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon Bob’s Red Mill xanthan gum

¼ teaspoon cinnamon

Separate 4 eggs.

Using the wire blade of an electric mixer, beat the four egg whites until soft peaks form.

Thoroughly blend in another large bowl

4 egg yolks

¼ cup butter (1/2 stick)

½ cup Greek yogurt

1 cup milk

1 teaspoon gluten free vanilla

Add the flour mixture to the milk mixture and blend, then gently fold in the egg whites. The batter should be thick but still pourable. If it is too thick and doughy, gently blend in milk to thin it to pouring consistency.

Follow your manufacturer’s instructions for the amount of batter to pour into the machine and baking time. For our one-at-a-time Cuisinart waffle iron, I pour about ½ cup of batter in a soup ladle, then spread the batter around with the back of the ladle before closing the lid.

We top our waffles with nut butter and pure maple syrup, but sliced bananas and pecans are yummy, too. The topping possibilities are endless!