by on
applesIt’s October! It’s time for apples and pumpkins! And 100 degree heat with Santa Ana winds! Bound and determined to have some autumn here in Los Angeles, I happened upon beautiful little early crop apples from Washington. Decided an apple galette was in order. Note: Galette is French for make-a-pie-without-the-pie-pan. Gluten-Free Autumn Apple Galette Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees and turn on tunes! Last night’s anthem was Van Morrison’s “Moon Dance”. Always reminds me of October in New England.. For the crust:
  • 2 1/2 cups Pamela’s Baking Mix
  • 3 tbls. unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
  • 3 tbls. light agave
  • 5 tbls. sunflower (canola or safflower work well too) oil
  • 3 tbls. ice water
Mix the flour, butter and agave together in a large mixing bowl with a fork until the butter is the size of little peas in the mixture. You can use your fingers to help out. Then add the sunflower oil and ice water, and mix again. The crust should have a slightly doughier consistency than a wheat pie crust–it needs a little more liquid to help it hold together, since it doesn’t have gluten. Roll the dough out onto parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Yes it’s hard to roll gluten-free dough. Don’t worry too much about it. You can re-shape with your hands. Don’t roll it too thin–remember, this will be the pie plate as well as the crust. Using your hands, shape the dough into a rectangle and mound the crust up on the sides to make walls for holding in the apples. Pop it in the fridge to firm while you make the filling.
Apples are in the crust, ready for spice mix and baking!
Apples are in the crust, ready for spice mix and baking!
For the filling:
  • 6 medium apples of your choice (I used Gala), rinsed, peeled, cored and sliced
  • Juice of 1/2 lemon
  • 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
  • 1/2 tsp. cinammon
  • tiny pinch of cloves
  • 1 tbls. organic brown sugar
  • agave to taste
Slice the apples, bring the crust back out and arrange the apples on top. Squeeze the lemon juice over the apples evenly. This helps bring out the flavor, and keeps them from turning brown/bruised looking. In a small bowl, mix the nutmeg, cinammon, cloves and brown sugar. Sprinkle the mixture evenly over the top of the apples. Then squeeze a good squeeze of light agave over the whole thing to add a little more sweet. (Squeeze a good squeeze–very technical measurement.) If you’d like, you can brush a little egg wash over the crust to help give it that polished look. Mix one egg with a little water or cream, and use a pastry brush to brush it over the crust.
After it cools, transfer the galette to a pretty board for serving..
After it cools, transfer the galette to a pretty board for serving..
Bake for 30-40 minutes or until the crust is nicely browned and the apples are bubbling. Serve plain or with whipped cream or ice cream…Sooooooooo goooooood…xox apple1  

by on

pieWhen my dad agrees to do something wonderful for me, like a photo shoot for instance, he generally insists on payment in the currency of lemon meringue pie. I am more than happy to oblige!

For today’s blog, I decided to go all techie and shoot iphone video while simultaneously baking. The result is BRILLIANT! Or, uh, something. Watch the video, then scroll down for the recipe! xox
Gluten-Free Lemon Meringue Pie Pre-heat oven to 375 and turn on tunes! My playlist this time was me, but that’s mostly due to copyright issues for video. For the crust:
  •  2 cups Pamela’s Baking Mix
  • 7 tbls. Sunflower oil
  • 2-3 tbls. light agave
  • 2 tbls. ice water
Mix the ingredients until well formed. Take the dough by the hand (dough si dough! I–I’m so ashamed) and press into a 9 inch pie plate. Prick all over with the tines of a fork, and bake until golden brown—about 10-12 minutes. Turn the oven down to 300 degrees. For the filling:
  •  3 eggs, separated
  • Generous 1/3 cup corn starch
  • ¾ cup light agave
  • 1 ½ cups water
  • ½ cup fresh lemon juice (about 4 lemons)
  • Grated zest of one lemon
  • 1 tbls. unsalted butter
Put the egg whites in a bowl and set aside. Lightly beat the egg yolks with a fork in a large mixing bowl. Mix the corn starch in a medium sauce pan with a little bit of the water, until it’s a smooth mixture. Add the agave and rest of the water. Stirring constantly over medium heat, bring the mixture to a boil and boil for about one minute. Take off the heat, slowly pour half the mixture into the egg yolks and mix to temper, then pour that back in the pan with the rest of the mixture and bring it back to a boil. Boil and stir for one minute. Take it off the heat, add in the lemon juice and zest and butter and mix it up. Pour it into your baked pie shell and let’s make meringue! For the meringue:
  • 3 egg whites
  • ¼ tsp. cream of tartar
  • 1/3 cup light agave
  • 1 tsp. pure vanilla
Mix the egg whites on high speed with cream of tartar until lightly stiff. Add in agave and vanilla and mix again until really stiff and glossy. Using a rubber spatula or a large spoon, scoop the meringue on top of the pie, making sure to bring the meringue all the way to the edges of the crust so it doesn’t shrink back while baking. Bake at 300 degrees for about 8-10 minutes, or until the peaks are lightly browned and pretty. Let ‘er cool for a bit, then serve and enjoy!! xoxox  

by on
ingredientsWhen you play a rockin’ fun show at a great club in LA on a Monday, chances are on Tuesday you’re going to be a little worn out. Yes, this post is autobiographical. Shocker! So last night I found myself crashed out on the floor with my pup, watching tv and too lazy to change the channel. With a sweet tooth. When that happens, there’s only one remedy–chocolate chip cookie cake in a cup! Is it a little gross? Maybe. Does it involve the microwave? Yep. But hey–if you need something sweet, this takes all of 2 minutes. TWO. TOTAL. Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookie/Cake In A Cup (Say that 10 times fast!)
  • 1 tbls. sunflower oil
  • 3 tbls. light agave
  • 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla
  • 1/4 cup Pamela’s baking mix
  • 1-2 tbls. chocolate chips or bittersweet chunks of chocolate
Mix all the ingredients in order in a coffee mug. Pop it in the microwave for about 40 seconds. Let it cool (a little) and eat! xox
It ain't pretty, but it eats good!
It ain’t pretty, but it eats good!