Author Archives: Dawn Allen

Happy Anniversary- Cuter Than Gluten

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Hey, it’s been a year of gluten-free blogging! Let me know you’re reading and what you would like to see on this blog going forward.

Here’s a little sneak peek at three recipes coming up… a lemon cake, a sundae, and chicken and waffles. I actually have about 13 recipes waiting to be posted, with more in mind to try out!

orangecake   bananasundae   chickenandwaffles

I have enjoyed this year of blogging and I am really looking forward to another year. When I started blogging it was with the purpose of promoting my cookbook. I wasn’t sure whether or not I would enjoy blogging, but it turns out I really do!

I had a ton of fun making food cute.  Sometimes I made bento lunches with the food and sometimes I created an art piece like the “Mango Lassie” below. Making art out of food is so fun for me, I often get really carried away when it comes time for a photo shoot.

Missed some good posts? Click on the photos below to take you to the post.

Rescue Bento   Pumpernickel Bagels   Cherry Ice Cream Pie

Mango Lassie   chili Taco Cone

So where do I go from here?

1) I will let inspiration and the excitement of any given project lead the way.

2) After the posts already waiting in the wings, my blog will most likely be grain-free (there are already many grain-free recipes here, but the transition will take some time, so by fall new posts should be grain-free). I have been eating grain-free since January and will continue with that. What I eat changes as my body and health change. I can’t say for sure what I will eat in the future, but whatever I am eating will be what is on the blog (because why blog about food I don’t eat?)

3) I will continue to blog about fun projects with my kids. Coming up: Strawberry Fest. We will blog about our cultural studies occasionally too.

4) I am considering sharing more personal stories of diet, fitness, parenting, and life. It would just be a sentence here and there, but I haven’t done much of that this past year. Interested?

Thank you for reading and have a wonderful day!

Love, Dawn

Grain-Free (Nut-Free) Brownies

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When I feel a little down I often choose to bake. Baking is exciting for me. The idea that you can pop a batter into the oven and it transforms into something new- like a cake- (or in this case ridiculously good brownies), is so gratifying. Then there’s the down side. A gooey failure, made from expensive ingredients that goes straight into the trash. (That happens when you are messing with baking chemistry sometimes.)

So, a few days before Mother’s day I was feeling a bit low and I decided to make brownies from the leftover baked Hannah Yam in my refrigerator. Without any consideration for baking science I put together this batter that should not work and yet it did! Over the next few days I made three more batches- tested a few theories- and perfected the recipe for Mother’s day.

Brownies
GFE is having a fun little blog post featuring grain-free, nut-free recipes that satisfy a craving for nuts. This recipe is so perfect for that, my mother-in-law even mistook the sweet potatoes for nuts!
These brownies break a blog promise. I claim to be dairy-free and this recipe calls for goat’s milk whey protein powder. But at the bottom of the recipe I offer an alternative, so if you want dairy-free, read that before you start mixing.

Grain-Free Brownie Recipe
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1 cup cooked Hannah Yam ** (baked is best, steamed is OK too), mashed but not completely smooth
1 banana (medium), mashed
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup honey (*not for dairy free version)
3 eggs
1 tablespoon oil/fat (anything is fine, I use coconut)
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar (to activate the baking soda)
1/2 cup cacao powder
1/4 cup goat’s whey protein powder, unsweetened (cow’s whey will work too- other protein powders? – egg white protein should be fine too) (*not for dairy free version)
1 teaspoon baking soda
pinch of salt

* For dairy-free, replace the honey with 1/4 cup coconut sugar plus 1 tablespoon honey. Omit the protein powder entirely. If you can tolerate the goat’s whey I highly recommend using it.
** Hannah yams are white and have a more mild flavor than orange sweet potatoes. If you can get them, they are preferable. Or the Japanese (white) sweet potatoes would be good too.

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Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Prepare a baking dish (8×8 or 9×9) with parchment paper and grease the sides.

In a large mixing bowl, combine all of the ingredients in the order they are listed. Mix together and pour into the prepared baking pan.

Bake for about 40-50 minutes. Less time for gooier brownies, more time for cakey brownies. The brownie will feel firm with a slight give in the center. (Toothpick testing does nothing here.)

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I am sharing this recipe on GFE, Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays, Allergy Free Wednesday,

Cultural Studies: India

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Continuing our weekly study of other cultures our family looked at India this week.

indiabento

When I was in college I spent a semester abroad in Sri Lanka. (Which of course is not the same as India but they eat very similar cuisine in Southern India.) One of the dishes that I always enjoyed was rice with raisins and cashews. My host family also ate okra at least once or twice a week. I never liked okra when I was there, but you know they say you need to try a food at least 7 times to acquire a taste for it. Well I can assure you I have tried it well over ten times and as of tonight I can say I still don’t care for it. The fun thing is that my 6-year-old discovered her love of okra tonight! So, for India night we had cauliflower rice with raisins and cashews and okra chickpea (dry) curry and coconut curried chicken. I will share the “rice” recipe with you below.

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(My little one has rosy cheeks from a cold. She refused to taste any of the food. Her refusal to eat dinner is not unusual. We deal with this by banning snacking- she rarely gets a snack- and by feeding her the same food the next day at lunch in a smaller quantity. We have been on this parenting plan for a while and she went from only eating white foods to eating many, many varieties of fruits and vegetables.)

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Cauliflower Rice with Raisins and Cashews- Recipe
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1 teaspoon coconut oil
1/2 onion (about 1 cup), chopped
1/2-1 head cauliflower grated (I use the food processor)
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/4-1/2 cup raisins (I like yellow raisins and I soak them so they are soft)
1/4-1/2 cup roasted salted cashews, chopped
salt to taste

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Heat the coconut oil in a wok (or well seasoned caste iron pan or non stick) on medium heat. Add the onion and once the onion begins to cook down, add the cauliflower and toss frequently until the cauliflower is cooked but not soft (easiest way to tell is by tasting). Add the remaining ingredients, toss, and serve hot.

Chocolate Coated PB Cookie Dough Ice Cream Sandwiches

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Creamy, soft, sweet and salty peanut butter cookie dough encapsulated in the crunch of rich chocolate sets the tone for this perfect dessert.

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Crunch through rich chocolate exteriors into creamy peanut butter cookie dough. Extra crunches sneak in with slightly bitter bursts of cacao nibs. The flavor is rounded out with salted peanuts that surround the sandwich… And I could go on and on. Oh my goodness these are so good! So, so, so good.

If you don’t eat peanuts try these with almond butter and toasted almonds. It will be so yummy!

Chocolate Coated PB Cookie Dough Ice Cream Sandwich Recipe
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COOKIE
1 1/2 cup almond meal/flour
2/3 cup creamy peanut butter (lightly salted, 100% peanuts)
1/2 cup raw agave nectar (honey would probably be fine)
2 tablespoons butter or buttery spread
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons Cacao Nibs

ICE CREAM
1 quart (approximate) Chocolate Ice Cream from my cookbook or purchased chocolate ice cream

TOPPINGS
2 (9.7 oz) 70% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate Baking Bars or about 19 ounce of any chocolate that you like
1/2 cup salted, roasted peanuts, chopped

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Prepare two sheet pans with parchment paper and make sure they will fit in your freezer.

In a large mixing bowl combine the almond meal, peanut butter, agave, butter, and vanilla extract. Stir to combine then mix in cacao nibs. Chill in the refrigerator until the dough is firm enough to handle.

Scoop one level tablespoon of cookie dough, roll into a ball then flatten onto the prepared sheet pan. Make about 24 cookies then place the sheet pans in the freezer.

Melt the chocolate bars in a double boiler.  There are two ways to coat the cookie dough in chocolate: dip them or paint them (one side at a time). If you plan on dipping the cookies, keep most of them in the freezer and dip only a few at a time (as they soften quickly). After coating both sides of all of the cookies with chocolate, set them in the freezer.

Make sandwiches with the ice cream and cookies. (The ice cream may need to soften a bit in order to form the sandwiches.) Roll the sides in chopped peanuts.

Freeze to set the ice cream, then serve.

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I am sharing this recipe on Allergy-Free Wednesdays, Wellness Weekend, Slightly Indulgent Tuesday,

Cultural Studies: Mexico

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First off, keep in mind that I am not too concerned with the authenticity of the food on these cultural nights. (Appeantly my daughter feels the same about her coloring, hence the purple donkey.) I say that because I believe the recipe I am sharing is really more Argentinian than it is Mexican.

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I love the show Chopped, I watch every episode. One of the judges, Aaron Sanchez, has mentioned Chimichurri sauce a few times. I kept thinking, “That sounds good!”

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For Mexican night I made Chimichurri sauce (see below) and tossed some chopped up raw chicken in half of the sauce, then seared the chicken until cooked through. I tossed some steamed asparagus and carrots in the rest of the Chimichurri sauce. We also had nachos, guacamole, and the kids had a bit of salsa.

And hey friends, I do plan on making more cute food for these cultural nights, so stay tuned!

Anyways, my recipe isn’t a revelation- just a version of what you can find anywhere online.

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Chimichurri Sauce Recipe
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1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
3 tablespoons fresh cilantro
2-3 cloves chopped garlic
pinch of fresh jalapeno (optional)
juice of 1/2 a lemon
salt and pepper to taste
~1/4 cup olive oil

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Combine everything in a food processor or high speed blender. Pulse until finely minced. (I like mine a tiny bit chunky.) Adjust the quantities to your tastes.

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I am sharing this recipe on

Cultural Studies: China Day

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We are starting a new family project. Each week we are choosing one culture (or country) and teaching our children about the food, language(s), religion(s), and government. These are very brief, simple lessons, as our children are four- and six-years-old. On Saturday nights we have a dinner that somewhat represents the food of that culture. Of course we adapt it to our diets, so we don’t worry too much about authenticity.

This week was China. I made two recipes from my cookbook, Culinary Creativity. Sesame Chicken (oh that one is so good!) and Fried Rice but I subbed cauliflower for the rice. If we create a new recipe on Culture night I will be sure to share it in the future.

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We also printed coloring pages for the kids- always a big hit.

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Next week we are doing Mexico and after that Iceland and Greenland are sharing a week. I am really curious about what kind of recipes I can sort out for Iceland and Greenland- trust me it won’t be one of their favorites- horse meat! Any suggestions? Anyone from Iceland or Greenland?