SORGHUM ZUCCHINI/APPLE/COCONUT SCONE

by Bea Garth

In the process of researching how to make some gluten free yeasted bread for my husband, I came across a new trick for creating a binder for gluten free flours–namely by using a little psyllium husk powder in the recipe. So I did that in the following yummy scone recipe. Rather than just rely on the psyllium however, I am also using an egg with a small amount of flax and chia. The trick is to not add too much binder or the bread dough will never dry out no matter how long its baked (I found out the hard way)! Without the proper binders however, gluten free quick breads will usually be too dry and won’t hold together properly.

And no, I don’t use xanthum gum or guar gum. I am sensitive to both. I just found out that xanthum gum is made from the same black bacillus that one often sees on old broccoli. Commercially its often grown on either wheat, corn or soy–all no no’s for me. Guar gum I learned too is related to latex, another one of my allergens…

I think you will like this zucchini apple scone recipe! Its low histamine, no gluten or lactose, easy to make in one bowl, and great tasting! This makes enough dough for 2 pie or biscuit pans or one deep square pan.

Ingredients:
1/3 coconut oil or butter (slow melt in small pan on stove)
1 scant tbsp. flax seed (grind)
1/2 scant tbsp. chia seed (grind)
4 cups water
1 egg
2 1/2 cups sorghum flour
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. baking soda
2 level tsp. powdered psyllium husks
1 1/2 cup more sorghum flour
2 small zucchini’s, shredded (1 cup packed)
1 largish apple, peeled and chopped
1 cup shredded coconut (unsweetened and sorbitol free)

Instructions:
Turn on oven to 350 degrees.
Melt coconut oil (or butter) on low in small pan on the stove. Then, while it is melting, grind the flax and chia seeds. Don’t heap the seeds unless you want the recipe to be more like a pudding! Put the ground seeds into a largish bowl and add the water and one raw egg. Mix using a wire whisk.
Then whisk in two cups of sorghum flour plus the salt, baking powder and baking soda.
Then quickly sprinkle and whisk in the 2 level tsp. powdered psyllium (or if you don’t have the powder, you can use the whole husks–again, just don’t heap the psyllium! or the batter will become a pudding-like) and quickly whisk in til the batter is smooth.
Then quickly whisk in the remaining sorghum flour, pour the hot melted oil onto the batter and whisk again.
Now shred the zucchini’s and add to the batter with a large spoon or wooden spatula. Again peel a largish apple, and chop it and add to the batter.
To complete this recipe, add in the shredded unsweetened coconut, using the large spoon or spatula.

If you are allergic to coconut, you could just add in 1/2 to 3/4 cup more sorghum flour or some other flour (like amaranth or rice flour perhaps?) instead of using the coconut (the flours will absorb more water than the shredded coconut).

Then oil (I use coconut oil) either two pie or biscuit pans, or one deep square pan, and then put the batter in the pan(s). Pat the dough down so its even, and put into the pre-heated oven at 350 degrees for 40 to 50 minutes.

Let sit for a few minutes to cool before releasing the edge with a rounded knife (if needed) and turning it out of the pan onto a wire rack to cool more. When it seems ready, cut and serve. I like the round pans for this since it looks more like a true Scottish Scone quick bread.

I often use blueberries and a bit of stevia or maple syrup to taste to make the scones even more delicious.

NOTE: I usually freeze the scones (or any other of my quick breads) by cutting them up into serving slices after they have cooled, wrapping the slices first with wax paper. I then put them in a plastic bag, put an identifying piece of paper showing the title of what I made plus the date, and use a twisty to tie the top of the bag to protect the slices from freezer burn. Then when I want something nice like some scone, I just put one or two pieces in the microwave (or oven) to heat so it becomes a quick food I can enjoy any time.

FURTHER NOTE: If you are allergic to (or don’t have) sorghum flour, you can use rice or millet flour instead (or some combination thereof). I have made this using amaranth as part of my flour. It is much denser however than the sorghum, so I wouldn’t choose it as the main flour.

ALSO NOTE: If you can’t tolerate the egg, consider using another scant 1/2 tablespoon of flax seed instead — just remember to grind it and don’t heap it to avoid making a bread pudding of your scones!

 

APPLE BLUEBERRY CHIA COCONUT SWEET POTATO BREAD
by Bea Garth, copyright 2015

This is a vegan low histamine bread I make on occasion. The fruit and the sweet potato give it the sweetness. If you want to increase that quality you can by adding in some stevia or maple syrup etc. Though for me I like it as is, though I often serve it with some thawed frozen blueberries. If you eat yogurt, its great with that! Alternatively, coconut milk or cream would be nice too.

I cut the bread up after it has cooled a while and freeze most of it. That way I can have it on hand when I get the munchies or need to eat something quick.

In this recipe I am using sorghum flour, however rice flour would work equally well, as would a variety of other flours. I like sorghum since I find it causes me less inflammation than other gluten free flours. If berries don’t agree with you, leave them out and just put in some other kind of fruit, or maybe put in more apple–or not??

The thing that makes this bread so wonderful to work with is the combination of flax seeds and chia seeds, both of which I grind up and let soak while I put together the rest of the ingredients. Given their springy adhesive qualities, who needs egg or gluten??

INGREDIENTS AND INSTRUCTIONS:
Begin by slowly melting 1 cup coconut oil on top of the stove in a small covered pot on low.

Place following ingredients in a mixing bowl and mix together with a wire whisk:
3 tblsp. chia seed–fresh grind in nut and seed grinder
2 tblsp. flax seeds–fresh grind in nut and seed grinder (note: its best to grind these two types of seeds separately. Otherwise the grinder has to work too hard.)
1 1/2 cups shredded unsweetened coconut (I use dry coconut but one could use fresh–maybe chopped and blended with some of the water from below?)
4 cups water

Then add in:
1 cup melted coconut oil–mix in well with wire whisk with above ingredients.

Then stir in:
2 1/2 cups frozen (or really fresh–not moldy!) blueberries or some other berries or other fruit you tolerate.

Shred: peeled medium large sweet potato (makes 2 1/2 cups packed shredded)–if not enough shred some zucchini to make up the difference.
Then add the shredded potato/zuke to above wet mixture, stirring in.

Chop two to three apples and add to above wet mixture, stirring well.

Dry mix in another bowl:
5 cups sorghum (or rice etc.) flour
2 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. baking soda
1 tbsp. ground ginger (or finely chop roughly 3 tbsp. of fresh ginger–if so mix in to above wet ingredients instead)

Mix wet bowl with dry ingredients, or vice versa. Stir well. If necessary, you can knead the dough with your hands. Make sure everything is wet and distributed well.

Oil a large rectangular cake pan (roughly 9″ by 14″) liberally with coconut oil. Pour or place dough into the pan and smooth it into place. Put pan into preheated oven to bake 40 to 45 minutes at 350 degrees. I usually take the hot pan of bread out (with hot pads to protect my hands!) and put aluminum foil on top after its baked 30 to 35 minutes to keep the top from getting too browned–to avoid added amines. And then put the covered pan back in the oven with the foil on for the last 10 to 15 minutes.

After the bread cools roughly 15 minutes its ready to eat. I usually cut it up into squares and then wrap each piece — that I haven’t eaten already! I then place the saran wrapped pieces in a covered container in the freezer — waiting for those moments I have a yen for something nice.

APPLE COCONUT GINGER COOKIES

These are delicious! Without much sweetener, and made entirely gluten free with no eggs or dairy (unless you choose to use butter for the oil). The main thing for me to remember is not to eat too many of them at once!!

Preheat oven to 350′ F.

Note: This recipe can be whipped together mostly in one bowl.

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp. Flax seed, grind in seed grinder
2 Tbsp. chia seeds, also grind
2 Tbsp. sunflower seeds, also grind
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup coconut oil or butter (melted)
2/3 Cup maple syrup
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp powdered ginger root
1 1/4 cup dried unsweetened shredded coconut
1 1/2 cup sorghum flour
1/2 cup amaranth flour
one peeled chopped apple

Instructions:
Grind the seeds — each separately if you have a small seed and nut grinder. Then put the seeds in a bowl, and add in 3/4 water. Mix with a wire whisk.
Meanwhile, melt coconut oil or butter in small pan on the stove.
Then add in to the bowl with the seed mixture:
2/3 cup maple syrup and the baking soda and salt plus the powdered ginger root.
Whisk again.

Then add in the melted oil and mix well so the oil does not separate from the cookie batter.

Then add in the dried shredded coconut and mix again followed by the sorghum and amaranth flours. Use a large spoon at this stage. The batter should be adhering to itself very smoothly in a kind of springy way that chia and flax bring to any kind of dough.

Finally add in the peeled chopped apple and mix well with the large spoon. Now if the oven is preheated, you can oil your cookie sheet and place large rounded tablespoons of the batter on it. Its wise to leave some space between cookies, however the batter mostly puffs up rather than spreads. Hence the word “Hermits” since they are round backed! Though you can flatten the batter so it makes thinner cookies, I find the humped form more aesthetically interesting.

Bake roughly 15 minutes and then remove from pan and place on a wire rack to cool.

If you have histamine/amine sensitivity, you might want to wrap each cookie with saranwrap after the cookies have cooled, and place in a closed containe in the freezer. However, it might not be crucial since there are no eggs. And if you used the coconut oil, no animal fats either.

If you want the cookies to be sweeter, you could add in a little stevia, or indeed, you could halve the maple syrup and use stevia for the other half of the sweetness. I didn’t, since my bf is allergic to even the smell of stevia! But likely you won’t have that problem. I find its nice to lessen the amountof sugar even in one’s sweets if you can. I use maple syrup since I have less problem with it than cane or other sugars–even honey or other types of sugars like agave etc.

Light and Delicious! I am loving what magic chia and flax seeds bring to a recipe!

 

APPLE BLUEBERRY MEDLEY

by Bea Garth

copyright 2015

Another gluten free, low-histamine dish by Bea Garth

I often make this dish. It is simple, nutritious and tasty! Its great as an after lunch snack when I need a pick me up after work or after dinner.

One fresh apple sliced and then cut up in chunks
*1/2 cup frozen blueberries
Let sit
while then grinding the following in your seed and nut grinder:

2 tablespoons sunflower seeds
2 tablespoons coconut flakes (sugar free, no sorbitol etc.)
and, if tolerated and desired, 2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds or (previously soaked overnight) almonds or even fresh ground flax seeds

Then sprinkle ground seeds etc. onto the apple blueberries in a bowl, and toss.

It should be ready to eat. Its as easy as that!

*Note: If the frozen blueberries are too cold for you, you can let them sit out a bit longer before you cut your apple. Or just wash them off (i.e., before adding to the apple) in cold water.

For some reason, I tolerate blueberries more than other berries. I discovered they were just fine for me to eat when I visited Wisconsin in August a couple of years ago during the blueberry season. Afterwards however I found that I needed to just eat the frozen blueberries, since the fresh ones often get too moldy when they are transported across borders and are no longer that fresh–which definitely increases their histamine levels.