Gluten-Free Cranberry Apple Tart with Homemade Cinnamon ice cream

photocredit: http://www.rawfoodrecipes.com/

I've been sick for two days with "the crud." It's like the common cold on steroids; sore throat, itchy eyes, sneezing, hacking. So for two days I've quarantined myself in my house and after about 12 hours of that, let's just say I got bored. Really bored.


I had apples, I had cranberries, I had time and I had enough almond flour to feed an army, and thus my new recipe was born. Sadly my camera is out of commission so I had to borrow a photo, but I kid you not, it looked almost exactly like this.


For that tart crust:

2 cups almond meal
5-6 medjool dates
1/2 cup walnuts or pecans (I like a mixture)
coconut oil 
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
2 teaspoons organic palm sugar

This is the easy part. Throw all the ingredients in adding the coconut oil as you need to until it starts to form a ball in your food processor. Roll it out this on wax paper and place in the freezer for about 10 minutes. Then add it to your pie dish. Bake for 10 minutes on 375 until the edges get golden brown.If you add too much oil, never fear, just add more almond flour.

For the filling:

7 sweet small red (gala or crisp) apples chopped
1 bag whole cranberries
2 tablespoons coconut oil
3 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

In a saute pan cook the apples and cranberries together with the coconut oil and honey on medium-high for about 20 minutes. The cranberries should start to pop and open. Make sure to stir continually so that the cranberries do not burn and so the apples get consistently soft. They will be done when the apples are the consistency of an apple pie filling and the cranberries have opened to color the apples and the sauce a fuchsia pink.

Once you've cooked your pie crust as instructed above, simply pour the hot filling in and drizzle honey on top. Let it cool for about 20 minutes before cutting to serve with your ice cream.

For the homemade ice cream:

2 cups 2% milk
3 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla flavoring
1 cup organic palm sugar
1 tablespoon saigon cinnamon

In a saucepan, add the milk, flavoring, 1/2 cup sugar, and cinnamon and set it on medium until the sugar starts to dissolve. Once that is done, pull off heat and set aside. Meanwhile mix the three eggs with the other 1/2 cup of sugar and once the milk mixture has cooled, add that and again bring it to medium temperature slowly (so you don't cook the eggs). Do this until all sugar is combined and the mixture coats the back of a wooden spoon.

Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker for 35 minutes or until firm, place in an airtight container in a freezer for at least one more hour before serving and voila!

Seriously, my whole family loved this. The almond crust pairs nicely with the apples, cranberries, and cinnamon ice cream. So good! If you're going dairy free, simply replace the cow's milk with coconut milk (full fat) to make your own version of the cinnamon ice cream. This recipe can also be vegan if you take out the honey and use either agave, coconut nectar, organic palm sugar or other sweetener to the filling.

Sometimes being sick has it's creative advantages!

Check out more healthy recipes here at Slightly Indulgent Tuesday here and here for the Newly Weds Recipe Link up!

Gluten-Free Cranberry Pumpkin Upside Down Cake

My best friend is an amazing cook. I mean amazing. The other day she made this Cranberry Pumpkin cake that was to die for and it became my mission to make a version that was gluten free and just as yummy. I took my cake base from Erin McKenna's Banana Bread and went from there. The result was a cake that even my mom and brother couldn't tell was gluten-free! Plus you can't go wrong with pumpkin, but I could be a bit biased. This cake is best served warm and on the day it's made.



Dry:
1 1/2 cups Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free Flour
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

Wet:
1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree (canned organic pumpkin works)
1/2 cup agave nectar (honey or coconut nectar work too)
1 cup almond milk (rice or coconut work too)
1/3 cup coconut oil (melted)

The Upside Down topping:
2 cups chopped walnuts
1 1/2 cups fresh cranberries
1/2 cup organic brown sugar
Coconut oil to grease the bottom of the pan

In a sautee pan on medium cook the walnuts and cranberries with one tablespoon of agave or honey. Wait for the popping sounds (the cranberries opening) to start before pulling it off the heat. The agave or honey will also start to caramelize. As soon as this happens remove from heat and set aside to cool.

Once mixture has cooled, use the coconut oil to coat the bottom of a 9x9 square pan. Then pour the walnut, cranberry mixture in the bottom, evenly distributing it. Sprinkle the brown sugar on top of this. Set pan aside until ready to pour in the batter.

In a mixing bowl combine first the dry ingredients and then the wet. Whisk together and pour batter over the walnut mixture. Cook the cake for 45 minutes on 350 degrees. Once a toothpick is inserted and comes out clean, it's ready to be taken out. Let the cake cool for 30 minutes before turning it upside down on a plate.

A word of caution. Measuring in this recipe is key. Too much xanthan gum or too little baking powder/soda will get you a very dense, rock like cake. Believe me, two batches later, measure wisely....

Go here for more healthy and fun recipes at Simply Sugar and Gluten Free's Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays and here at the Newlyweds blog for the recipe link up.

Curried Pumpkin Soup with Parmesan Witch Finger Dippers

I'm all for organic, homemade food but sometimes you just don't have time. Sometimes the dog pukes all over the carpet, your husband ends up forgetting half of what you asked him to get at the store, and you burn the first batch of savory cookies you were making.

Or maybe that's just me. I digress...

 I needed something quick, easy, and amazing for a costume party tonight and I didn't have alot of time to it.

I love pumpkin and I also love curry sauce. In my mind, the two are a match made in heaven and what's more yummy then some homemade parmesan crackers made in the shape of witch fingers to go with it?

For the soup all you'll need is:

1 24 oz can organic canned pumpkin
2 cups coconut milk
1 can coconut curry sauce (I like Archer's Farms, the target brand because in my research it's gluten free, and I can read all the ingredients)
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt

Mix together and cook on medium for about 45 minutes. The longer you simmer it, the spicier it will get. So don't let it sit too long if you're not into some curried spice. I let mine sit for an hour on medium and that ended up being a bit too spicy for me!

See? Easy! It has a bit of a kick to it too!

For the crackers you'll need:

2 tablespoons cornmeal
3/4 cup gluten free all purpose flour
5 tablespoons butter (you can also use coconut oil and it compliments these with a nutty flavor)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup Parmesan Reggiano (use the real deal, don't buy the fake parmesan, it won't turn out right)
1 egg

Mix the cornmeal, flour, and butter together (the butter must be soft) together until it resembles wet sand. Add the cheese and the egg, stirring it with a fork until the batter sticks together. Place it on wax paper and place another piece on top. Roll the dough out until a half inch thick and place in the freezer for about 15 minutes.

Cut the dough into one inch strips and place a sliced almond on the top of the strip. Use a fork to make the indentations on the middle of the strips to resemble knuckles. Place in the oven for 13 minutes on 350. Once golden brown around the edges they are ready!

These are perfection dipped in the easy pumpkin curried soup. Take it to a halloween party or just serve it for your family if you need an easy and fun dinner.

You can also use the above recipe to make homemade cheese-its. Just sub the parmesan for sharp cheddar and cut into squares before baking. Trust me, these are the perfect treat!

Go Here for more spooky Halloweeny recipes and ideas!

Mini Maple Banana Bundts

Today seemed longer than it should have been--Friday night could not come soon enough. Being fortunate enough to leave work early, I decided to stop by the grocery store in preparation for "operation find something to sell for the online bake sale." I wanted something that represented what this blog was about--gluten-free, mostly healthy, and natural delectable delights.

Oh---and chocolate, there's that too.

Adapting BabyCakes (Erin McKenna's famous NYC bakery) Banana Bread Recipe, for once in my life the first experiment for my mini maple banana bundts ended up exactly the way I had envisioned them; moist, chewy, chocolatey, with a bit of mapley sweetness. I'm not sure that mapley or chocolatey are words--but they represent these little bundts perfectly.

Vegan, gluten free, and made with only 100% maple syrup, these little pieces of heaven will fool everyone. I fed one to my nonna who moaned in satisfaction--and she's a gluten, butter, milk, and eggs lover. She couldn't even tell that these were missing some of her favorite staples. So without further ado, or rambling, here's my recipe for the most amazing bundts in the world!

Dry Ingredients:

• 2 Cups Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free All Purpose Flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon xanthan gum
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Wet Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup corn oil 
• 3/4 cup 100% pure dark maple syrup
• 1 cup rice milk  (cow's milk, almond, or soy milk will also work just as well)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups mashed bananas
• optional: 1 cup mini semi sweet organic chocolate morsels or carob chips (the mini is important, the big ones will be too big for these little bundts and carob chips will also work nicely)

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Mix the dry ingredients first, then add the wet, whisking heavily to avoid clumps. Finally add in the bananas and the chocolate chips. In a mini bundt pan like this one , spray the cups with a non-stick spray and pour the batter in, filling each cup 3/4 of the way full. Place in the over and bake for 25 minutes, or until golden brown. Place a toothpick in the center and when it comes out clean, they are ready to take out.

Use a blunt butter knife to pop them out of their molds, placing them on wax paper to cool. In a stainless steel pan, boil 1/2 cup maple syrup making sure to continually stir it. Watch the syrup as it caramelizes. You'll know the topping is done when it turns from transluscent to opaque. Once this occurs, immediately take off heat and drizzle over the bundts as you please. Serve and enjoy!

This one I did a more caramely drizzling

This is more of a candied maple topping...I like this the best, which means leaving the maple syrup boiling for a bit longer. 

A picture is worth a thousand words! Or just one--yum!