Piper - The wheat-free meat-free cookbook : 100 gluten-free vegetarian recipes

The author is not a medical professional. Neither the author nor the publisher makes any warranty as to the suitability of this book for any particular purpose nor as to the suitability of the recipes contained within for any particular individual. If you have any doubts whatsoever about whether you can safely eat a particular food, please speak with your medical professional.

Copyright 2014 Pickled Publishing, LLC
No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed without express permission of the publisher.
Front cover photo:
978-0-692-23379-5
www.WheatFreeMeatFree.com

Mom and Dad, who sparked a life-long interest in food. You showed me that cooking is essential, but creating a meal for others is truly a delight.

Lissa and Braden, forever relegated to washing mushrooms and stirring sauce with me. Your criticisms and encouragement have been invaluable during this process.

Mike, this book wouldn't exist without you. There arent enough words to say thanks.

As the author of this book, Im very interested to hear your thoughts. If you find the book helpful, please let me know! Alternatively, if you have any suggestions of ways to make the book better, Im eager to hear that, too.

Finally, if youre unsatisfied with your purchase for any reason, let me know, and Ill be happy to provide you with a refund of the current list price of the book (limited to one refund per household).

You can reach me at: .

Best Regards,
Kalinda

Before we get down to business, I want to share a little background on who I am and how my family eats. I have also included some general assumptions that I used when writing this cookbook, so that we can be on the same page when it comes to successfully executing the recipes.

I started writing wheatfreemeatfree.com, and have now written this cookbook, because my husband, Mike, requires a gluten-free diet and he happens to be vegetarian.

Mike is technically a lacto-ovo vegetarian, meaning he eats dairy and eggs. As a result, there are recipes that include one, or the other, or both. Ill also note that he does not worry about whether cheese is made with animal rennet. Most cheeses can be found in vegetarian-friendly varieties. Please seek those out if this is important to you.

Fortunately, Mike does not have other food allergies or intolerances that frequently go hand-in-hand with Celiac disease/gluten sensitivity. As a result, there are many recipes that include other common allergens like nuts or soy. One thing youll note is that any recipes that require milk list soymilk. This is simply because soymilk is what our family drinks (rather than dairy milk or other non-dairy alternatives). While I cannot guarantee that other milks will work in all the recipes, in many cases such substitutions should be fine.

Since this is a gluten-free cookbook, Im assuming youre using gluten-free ingredients. I have tried to specify gluten-free for ingredients that are more common in gluten-full versions and for ingredients where it might not be obvious that they can contain gluten, but please keep in mind that you need to check to make sure all of your ingredients are gluten-free.

I encourage everyone to follow one of the golden rules of cooking, which is to taste as you go and make adjustments if necessary. Most importantly, this refers to salt. Salt is a special ingredient in that it enhances the other flavors in a dish. The goal is not to a make a dish taste salty, but to bring forward the other flavors. I do not specify amounts of salt in many of my recipes. When I cook, Ill add a pinch of salt, then taste the dish. Ill do this multiple times throughout the cooking process, and I would encourage you to do the same.

While salt is the main spice to be concerned with, tasting as you go applies to all herbs and spices. I have tried darned hard to make tasty dishes, but that doesnt mean my palate necessarily matches yours. If you like a lot of heat, you may try a dish and decide it needs more cayenne. Or maybe youre a citrus nut and decide you want to add extra lemon zest to a dish. No recipe is set in stone. Taste throughout the cooking process and make adjustments. Youre the one who is going to eat this food, after all.

One of the other golden rules of cooking that Ill encourage you to follow is to read the recipe all the way through before you begin. Youll get an idea of how long a recipe will take. (Does something need to be prepped hours in advance?) Youll also know what ingredients and tools to have out and ready before you begin. Not having the right tool or ingredient ready when you need it can be a good way to mess up a dish.

With regards to baking, I measure flour by spooning it into the measuring cup, then leveling it off. This is done to help keep the measurements consistent. If you measure by scooping the flour out of a container with the measuring cup, you could end up with much more flour packed into the cup, which will throw the recipe off. I mostly use Bobs Red Mill flours, since they are widely available.

And now, its time for the recipes...

Doughnuts

2 tablespoons white sugar

cup warm unsweetened soymilk

2 teaspoons active dry yeast

cup tapioca starch

cup white rice flour

cup sorghum flour

cup millet flour

1 teaspoon xanthan gum

teaspoon salt

1 large egg, room temperature

2 tablespoons butter, melted

teaspoon vanilla extract peanut or vegetable oil for frying

Glaze

2 cups powdered sugar

cup unsweetened soymilk

teaspoon vanilla extract

1. In a small bowl, stir the sugar into the warm milk until dissolved. Add the yeast and let sit until bubbly.
2. Thoroughly whisk the starch, flours, xanthan gum, and salt in a medium bowl.
3. Put the egg in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat until fluffy. Add the butter, vanilla, and yeasted milk and mix until combined. Add the flours and mix on medium speed, making sure to scrape down the sides, until the dough comes together. Do not over mix.
4. Form the dough into a ball shape. Cover the bowl with a damp towel, and set in a warm space for 30 minutes. Dough should rise slightly.
5. Turn the dough out onto a well-floured surface; it will be wet and sticky. Sprinkle liberally with additional flour, and using a light touch, roll the dough out to just under -inch thickness. Cut using a 3-inch doughnut cutter. Carefully move cut doughnuts to a floured surface. Reform the remaining dough into a ball, roll out again, and cut another batch of doughnuts. Continue rolling and cutting until all the dough has been used. Remaining dough scraps can be rolled into small balls for doughnut holes.
6. Cover the doughnuts with a lightweight towel, and let sit for 60 minutes. They should become puffy.
7. For the glaze, whisk the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla in a small pot. Set over medium-low heat, whisk until the sugar dissolves, then reduce heat to low to keep warm and prevent the glaze from solidifying.
8. Add a few inches of oil to the bottom of a medium to large pot. Set over high heat. Once the oil reaches 375F, add a few doughnuts, taking care not to overcrowd the pot. Cook until starting to brown around the edges, 45-60 seconds. Flip the doughnuts and cook another 45-60 seconds. Remove and set on paper towels to absorb extra oil. Make sure the oil comes back to 375F before adding the next set of doughnuts. Continue until all of the doughnuts have been fried.