Wednesday, March 25, 2020

gluten- and dairy-free apple-walnut pancakes

(photo by my son Joel)

This comes by way of one of my favorite wedding gifts from one of my favorite professors--the More-with-Less Cookbook has been well loved and used in our household since 2001!

Since I received the book way back then, I've had to change my eating habits, so I've amended this recipe to be gluten- and dairy-free--I also spiced it up!

You'll need:
  • 1 cup rice flour
  • 1.5 cups almond flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon (or more) ground ginger
  • 2 cups unsweetened almond or soy milk
  • 2 eggs, well beaten
  • 2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
  • 1 cup diced apples
  • 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Do this:

Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl and combine the liquid ingredients well in a separate bowl, then pour into the dry ingredients and stir. Then add in the apples and walnuts and cook as per usual for pancakes. We had them for dinner one night, along with some sausages! 

Sunday, March 22, 2020

yuzu-ginger (or fig syrup, or mixed berry) almond-flour thumbprint jam cookies





I've used various recipes for thumbprint cookies over the years (from Elana's Pantry to Spunky Coconut), but this time I wanted something simple and totally quick. This recipe from Power Hungry fit the bill.

(And since I've made this, the price of almond flour has doubled in Japan, so last night I tried again with a mixture of almond flour, rice flour, and katakuriko, which is potato starch. I'll post that different recipe below this one.)

You'll need:
  • 1 cup almond flour 
  • 2 tablespoons Okinawan brown sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon ginger powder (optional)
  • 2 tablespoons water
  • jam of your choice
Do this:

Mix the dry ingredients together and then add in the water. Drops by spoonfuls on to a baking sheet and then wet a measuring spoon between making an indention in the top of each one. Drop a dollop of jam into each well and bake at 350 F/170 C for about 12 minutes.

(The above photo is some fig syrup given to me as a gift, which I used in some of these cookies. I also tried some strawberry jam, and some homemade yuzu (citron) jam from a friend, who has her own yuzu tree.)

Here's an optional recipe from Spunky Coconut, which I tweaked! The texture is a bit different, a bit thicker and heavier than the above all-almond-flour one.

You'll need: 
  • 1/3 + 1/4 cup almond flour
  • 1/3 cup rice flour
  • 1/3 cup katakuriko (potato starch)
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon ginger powder
  • 1/4 cup grapeseed oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  • 3 tablespoons agave syrup
  • 1 egg
Do this:

Mix the dry ingredients separately than the wet ones. Then mix them together and mold into the thumbprint cookie shape and add your jam. Bake at 350 F/170 C for about 12 minutes.