Gluten-Free Blueberry Pancakes
Photo (c) Robyn Mackenzie
Hidden Gluten
You’ll often know when a food will have gluten in it, i.e., wheat, barley, rye, semolina and oats. But some foods can be deceptive, so you have to read labels carefully.
- Beer: lagers, stouts and ales
- Cheese: most cheese is naturally gluten-free, but it can become contaminated during manufacturing. It’s best to buy cheese that is packaged and labeled gluten-free.
- Chili powder
- Flavored coffees
- Dried fruits: Some companies dust dried fruit with flour. Read labels carefully.
- Foods sold in bins: Most of these foods contain gluten. The gluten could come from a food that was previously in the bin.
- French fries: Avoid most frozen fries and fries cooked in restaurants due to cross-contamination.
- Imitation seafood: The fillers might contain wheat starch.
- Lemonade: Commercial lemonade often contains malt and/or barley
- Nuts: Read the small print on packages. Often they are processed in a plant that processes wheat and there might be cross-contamination.
- Seasoning mixes
- White pepper
- Yogurt (many reduced-fat and flavored varieties)
No Gluten? No Problem!
September 2012
If you think that people on a “gluten-free” diet are severely limited to the enjoyable meals they can have, well think again. While giving up gluten — a protein found in wheat, rye, barley and oats, something many people can’t physically tolerate — is difficult at first, there are fabulous substitutes to replace it. Here are a few tasty summer recipes that you can whip up and try.
BLUEBERRY PANCAKES
Ingredients
4 cups garbanzo flour (gluten free)
1 teaspoon baking soda
4 tablespoons baking powder
4 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon cinnamon
8 eggs
2 tablespoons vanilla flavoring (not extract)
8 tablespoons canola oil
4 cups soy milk
2 cups blueberries
1 navel orange (sliced) for garnish
- Heat a griddle or skillet to 375 degrees F
- Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, sugar, salt and cinnamon in a bowl.
- In a separate bowl combine eggs, vanilla flavoring, oil and milk. Add to dry ingredients and mix until dry ingredients are moistened. Carefully fold in blueberries.
- Pour the batter, ½ cup at a time, onto the hot griddle. Cook until bubbles appear across the surface of each pancake and the bottoms are browned, then flip over and cook one or two minutes or until pancakes are firm to the touch. Garnish with orange slices and serve.
ZUCCHINI BOATS WITH KING CRAB
Ingredients
4 medium-size zucchinis
3 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 pounds king crab legs and claws (broken into pieces and cracked; don’t remove from shell)
1 bunch medium-size green onions (topped, sliced fine) plus handful for garnish
3 garlic cloves, chopped fine
½ cup sherry
- Halve each zucchini and scoop out meat to create a boat. Set meat aside.
- Bring a medium-sized sauté pan to medium-high heat and add butter and olive oil. Add king crab and sauté for 2 minutes. Remove to a bowl to cool.
- Add onions and garlic to pan. As soon as onions are opaque, add zucchini meat. Sauté for 2 minutes and reserve to a small bowl.
- Remove crabmeat from shells and add to reserved zucchini mixture.
- Keep the heat up on sauté pan and cook the zucchini boats’ bottoms in butter/oil remaining in pan.
- Drain zucchini on paper towels and mound crab mixture in boats.
- Add sherry to sauté pan and burn off alcohol. Pour liquid over stuffed boats and sprinkle a handful of chopped green onions to garnish.
POMEGRANATE CHICKEN
Ingredients
12 ounces clear rice noodles
6 tablespoons canola oil
Salt and pepper to taste
4 8-ounce boneless, skinless chicken breasts
8 green onions (cut into ¼” diagonal slices)
4 garlic cloves (finely chopped)
1 naval orange (skin julienned and reserved, juice reserved)
2 cups pomegranate seeds (¼ cup for garnish)
- Soak rice noodles in warm water for 5 minutes or until soft. Drain well.
- Heat a medium sauté pan to medium-high heat and add canola oil, wait 30 seconds, then add noodles to pan and flatten with spatula into a pancake. Sauté until light brown on both sides. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate to drain oil.
- Sprinkle salt and pepper on chicken breast, add to already heated sauté pan. Sear for 1 minute per side.
- Turn heat down to medium low and add green onions, garlic, ¼ cup julienned orange skin, orange juice and ¼ cup of pomegranate seeds. Cover. Cook for 7 minutes or to desired doneness.
- Place noodle pancake on serving plate. Pour contents of pan on top, sprinkle with remaining pomegranate seeds. Repeat until all pancakes are made.
From The Gluten-Free Edge, Copyright © by Adams Media, an F+W Media, Inc. Co. All rights reserved
Photos by Bryan Ramsay