JBR's Banana Pecan Muffins (Gluten-Free)

Dear Readers,

I love pecans. But, first of all if you are allergic to pecans, like my Catherine & Mary are, then substitute some other nuts or omit them entirely in this recipe. Nuts are not crucial in life. And, you don't want to miss out on these muffins according to my friend JBR. We ate these muffins for our morning snack all week at work. She loved them and raved about their taste. I strongly liked them. So, I'm naming them after her. I find the gluten-free flours to have an odmd texture I'm not used to and they seem a little crumbly to me. I don't imagine I'm the only person who's experimented with gluten-free to express these same two concerns. I used the Bob's Red Mill brand Gluten-Free All Purpose Baking Flour. I omitted the Xanthum gum that most gluten-free baking recipes call for because it's like $16 for a small bag and that's totally out of my budget these days! Maybe that's why they were slightly crumbly. Regardless, the flavors were great and I felt good about eating them because they were gluten-free. Enjoy!


In Health,
Miss Jolie Ann









JBR's Gluten-Free Banana Pecan Muffins
Makes 10-12 muffins

1/3 cup canola oil
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup honey
3 ripe bananas, mashed
1 3/4 cup Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free All Purpose Baking Flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup chopped pecans












1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a muffin pan.
2. In a small bowl combine the canola oil, eggs, vanilla and honey. Beat with whisk until well mixed and fluffy. Add the bananas and stir until combined.
3. In a large bowl sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Stir until well mixed.
4. Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture in your large bowl. Stir until combined. Do not over mix. Add the pecans and stir.
5. I like big muffins so I use about 1/3 cup batter to each muffin tin. (And, really, who doesn't like big muffins??) Fill the muffin pan with all the batter. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Let cool only a little before eating. Optional serve with butter or vegan spread. Extras keep well in the refrigerator for about 3 days.

Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free

Hello friends!

I hope you know about Bob's Red Mill because they have awesome products. They distribute nationwide, however, they are a local company just outside of Portland in Milwaukie Oregon. Check out this link to their entire gluten free line. You will also find recipes on their site. My new favorite product of theirs is Gluten Free Might Tasty Hot Cereal. It has great flavor & texture! And, it really beats plain ole cream of rice cereal. I'm excited to try out their gluten free baking mixes. They have quite a few. Let me know your feedback if you've tried any of them.

In Health,
Miss Jolie Ann

Gluten-Free Cornbread

Dear Friends,

I have been experimenting with gluten-free baking. I've successfully used Trader Joe's brand Gluten-Free Pancake & Waffle Mix in several incarnations including a lovely cornbread. But, this week I wanted to try some gluten-free cornbread from scratch. I had on hand brown rice flour from Bob's Red Mill. I'm still experimenting and yet to find a perfectly fluffy yumm-o recipe. Of the 2 recipes the one with the Trader Joe's pancake mix was lighter and less dense. Please let me know if you have any suggestions for a light & fluffy gluten free cornbread recipe. I'd be happy to test it out and report back the results.

Tonight I wanted cornbread as a base for my creole spiced black eyed peas with root veggies & mustard greens. Cornbread is the perfect match for this recipe as it soaks up all the juices and is a great compliment to the black eyed peas.

In Health,
Miss Jolie Ann

Experiment #1
Gluten Free Cornbread Muffins

1/2 package of Trader Joe's brand Gluten Free Pancake & Waffle Mix
1 cup cornmeal
2 eggs
1/4 oil
1/2 cup water

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and grease a muffin pan with oil or butter
2. In a large bowl combine the pancake & waffle mix and the cornmeal. Stir well until completely combined.
3. In a 2nd bowl beat the eggs. Add the oil and water and stir well until combined.
4. Add the wet mixture to the dry and stir until mixed together. Do not over mix.
5. Pour into muffin pan, about 1/4 cup batter to each muffin.
6. Bake in preheated oven at 375 degrees for about 20 minutes.
7. Eat warm smothered in honey or butter or just ole plain...

Experiment #2
Buttermilk Cornbread Gluten-Free

1 1/2 cup cornmeal
1 1/2 cup brown rice flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup honey
1 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1/4 unsweetened plain soymilk or water

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and grease a round or square 10" pan.
2. Sift the dry ingredients together and mix well in a large bowl.
3. In a 2nd bowl combine the wet ingredients and beat until well mixed.
4. Combine the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients and stir until just mixed.
5. Pour into pan and bake in preheated oven at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

Apple-Pear-Ginger Snap Cobbler (Gluten Free!)

Mmmm cobblers! Such a great way to use the bounty of berries and fruit while it's at it's freshest. Cobblers are delicious and really easy to make. Easier than messing with a pie crust! They are basically a layer of fruit baked until soft and juicy with a biscuity layer on top. I made one almost each week during the late Summer and into Fall. You can use blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, peaches, apricots, nectarines, apples, pears, plums, etc etc. One of my favorites was blackberry-peach. Once I started decreasing my gluten intake I found these great gluten-free ginger snap cookies at Trader Joe's. They have awesome ginger flavor-very snappy! They make the perfect topping for a gluten-free cobbler. When you bake this cobbler your house is going to smell so good you will be salivating long before it's out of the oven. Enjoy!

In Sweet Sweet Health,
Miss Jolie Ann

Apple-Pear-Ginger Snap Cobbler

3 tart apples, peeled, cored & chopped
3 ripe european pears, peeled, cored & chopped
1 stick butter, at room temperature, thinly sliced
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp dark brown sugar
1 tsp lemon zest
1/2 tsp cinammon
1 package Trader Joe's Gluten-Free Ginger Snap Cookies

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. Butter a 10x10x10 baking pan. Set aside.
3. In a large mixing bowl combine the apples, pears, 1/2 of the butter, honey, cinnamon and lemon zest. Stir until well mixed. Pour this mixture into the baking pan.
4. In the empty mixing bowl combine the ginger snaps and remaining butter. Use a pastry cutter or forks to crush the cookies into small chunks. The consistency should have mix of small sandy pieces and larger chunks. Add this mixture on top of the fruit mixture in the baking pan.
5. Bake uncovered at 375 degrees for approximately 45 minutes-1 hour. The fruit should be soft, the cobbler bubbling, and the top browned and crunchy. Serve warm with optional ice cream or soy dream or coconut bliss frozen desserts! I ate mine straight out of the pan.

Lemon Yogurt Muffins with Poppy Seeds

This morning I tried a new muffin recipe from The Moosewood Cookbook: Lemon Yogurt Muffins. I made several adjustments. First, the temperature of 375 was too high and 25 minutes cooking time was too long. The first batch of muffins were overcooked and really browned. I also added poppy seeds, because I love them in lemon baking. I was seeking a stronger lemon flavor so I increased the lemon juice and rind. And I switched the butter to canola oil and reduced the honey. The recipe was unspecific calling for "1 cup yogurt." I used Annie's brand organic nonfat vanilla yogurt. I use Annie's because it's local-produced at Springfield Dairy in Eugene Oregon. Also, this yogurt is sweetened with natural agave sweetener as opposed to most conventional and even natural yogurts that are loaded with refined sugars. With some adjusting I came up with a muffin that is fluffy lemony not too sweet and satisfying. Check it out...

Lemon Yogurt Muffins with Poppy Seeds

Yield 1 dozen muffins

4 tbsp pure honey

4 tbsp organic canola oil

1 cup organic nonfat plain or vanilla yogurt

1 organic brown egg

1/2 cup fresh squeezed organic lemon juice

1 tsp freshly grated organic lemon rind

1 cup organic unbleached white flour

1 cup organic whole wheat flour

a few dashes of organic nutmeg

1.5 tsp organic baking soda

1/4 tsp organic sea salt

1 tbsp organic poppy seeds

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2. In a small saucepan over medium-low heat melt the butter and honey together. Set aside.

3. Beat together the yogurt, egg, lemon juice, and lemon rind. Add melted butter and honey. Beat well until thoroughly mixed.

4. Sift together the dry ingredients (excluding the poppy seeds). Make a well in the center and add the wet ingredients. Stir briefly, using the least amount of strokes to just combine the batter. Add the poppy seeds and stir minimally.

5. Grease a muffin tin-I use Trader Joe's Canola Oil Baking Spray. Fill the cups 2/3 full with batter. (These muffins rise a lot!) Bake approximately 20 minutes.