Why Xanthan Gum is Important: Zucchini Bread Failure and Recovery

Zucchini "Bread" drizzled with Cream Cheese frosting.

This week we made a huge pot of spaghetti sauce for dinners, Ceci LOVES pasta and sauce, it's one of the few things she will eat without convincing.  Lately we have taken to adding zucchini and carrots to the sauce to increase her veggie intake.  I know any Italian Americans reading this are horrified, but it's one of the only ways she won't reject vegetables, and I'll take anything I can get.  In the process of making the sauce I realized there was a lot of zucchini, so I set some aside and planned to make Zucchini Bread, one of my favorite quick breads.

I was in such a hurry the day I made the Zucchini Bread that I neglected to add Xanthan Gum to the batter.  It could have been that I was trying to entertain, feed, potty train, and educate a busy 2 year old while making bread.  Ceci was in fact helping me mix flours, but I was struggling to make sure she didn't spill the containers of flour.  I should also mention that her creativity continues to this moment, she is literally sitting on top of me over one arm while I try to type on the laptop, but the intermittent snuggles are worth it.

"Ta-da!"  "I helping Mommy!"

We got the batter all mixed and into the pans, put it into the oven and set the timer, without a problem.  After about 15 minutes I checked the oven and noticed that the bread was not rising at all, and didn't look like it was dry and fluffy.  I looked like a pan of brown bubbly goo, and there was nothing I could do at that point.  This has happened one other time and I caught it before I put the item in the pan and was able to add Xanthan Gum before I baked it.  Sadly that did not happen here so I let it bake through and sadly pulled it out of the oven when it was done.  I did taste it when it was cool enough and it was very moist and delicious!  I decided to save it and figure out what to do with it later, besides eat it.

We were invited to dinner and I decided to recover the second loaf of Zucchini bread, for dessert.  I flipped it out of the pan and prepped some cream cheese frosting, which I thinned out with some orange juice so that it could be drizzled over the "cake".  Tim and I have discussed at length what we should call the resulting concoction with no good result, options include a cake, bar, mess, but mostly delicious.  Above all it is really yummy, lots of spice from the cinnamon and moist from the zucchini and oil, with a crispy crust from the sugar.  Everyone enjoyed the dessert and said it was no problem I had forgotten an ingredient.  I was really relieved that it was accepted, and I got a chance to use up the bread and didn't have to throw it out (I don't like to throw out food.)

As you can see, Xanthan gum is a binder, and often used as a replacement for Gluten.  It has no taste, but it's coagulation/solidifying properties are far more important than taste.  To better understand you can visit the Wikipedia article on Xanthan Gum, where it is explained far more scientifically, and clearly than I could ever try to.  I have also learned that some people cannot tolerate xanthan gum due to it's source of origin, and xanthan gum can be derived from wheat.  Please check your sources, if you can digest xanthan gum, be sure to buy it from a reliable Gluten Free distributor. Such as Bob's Red Mill Xanthan Gum.

Here I've given you the proper recipe for the proper Zucchini bread, but if you are feeling a little crazy, by all means go ahead and leave out the Xanthan gum and see how you like it.

Zucchini Bread

3   Eggs, beaten
1   Cup Vegetable or Canola Oil
2   Cups Sugar
2   Cups Grated Zucchini

1/4  Cup Soy Flour
1/4  Cup Brown Rice Flour
3/4  Cup Sweet Rice Flour
3/4  Cup Tapioca Starch
1     tsp Xanthan Gum
1     tsp Salt
1     Tbs Cinnamon
1     tsp Baking Soda
1     tsp Baking Powder
2     Cups chopped Walnuts

Combine eggs, oil and sugar in bowl, and mix well.  Add Zucchini and blend well.  Mix dry ingredients in a separate bowl, and combine together.  Add dry ingredients to wet mix and blend slowly, just until combined.  Gently fold in walnuts.  Pour into 2 greased loaf pans and Bake at 325 degrees F for 60 minutes.  Remove from pans and cool completely.

Cream Cheese Frosting, is delicious on top of this to elevate it to a true dessert.  I added a couple Tablespoons of Orange Juice to 1 cup of the frosting to thin it down some.  It added a little hint of citrus kick and allowed the frosting to drizzle instead of having to spread it.

"Apple Picting"

Oct 2010

Seven Ponds Orchard Sept 2009, Me, MomE, and Ceci

This weekend we finally made it out East for Apple Picking, something I really enjoy and we started as a family tradition last year.  A few years ago I went on my first apple picking trip upstate with some friends and loved it!  It took me three years in between to get back out in the orchards.  Last year Ceci was 13 months old and my mom was visiting us and we decided it would be a great experience to share, going apple picking.  Tim and I did a lot of research to find an orchard that wasn't to far from our home and didn't require us to pay another $100 in gas in tolls to get to.  We found Seven Ponds Orchard, in Water Mill NY.  They offered a long list of different apple varieties, and seemed very family friendly.

It's more fun to pull the wagons, when you are little.

We drove out last year and were hooked, it was an easy drive, and simple to find, with the help of GPS (we would get lost in our driveway without it).  They offer radio fliers to haul kids and apples through the orchard, which didn't seem important at first, but I truly appreciated the wagon by the end of the trip.  The trees are all dwarf trees, making it easy for the kids to participate in the apple picking, I mean how many places can say that a 13 month old was able to reach and pick apples off the tree by herself?  We had such a great time and the wagon made the picking so easy that I ended up with nearly 60 pounds of apples last year!  That's right 60 pounds!  And I used all of it!  We picked Mutsu (one of my favorites), Honey crisp (my new favorite), and a few Red Delicious (not for me, don't prefer them at all.)

Enjoying an apple she picked herself (Sept 2009)

This year, my mom came to visit around the same time of year and we made a plan to go out to Seven Ponds again, sadly it poured down rain the day we planned to go.  It took us almost three more weeks to get out to the orchard for a lot of different reasons, but it was worth the wait because we were able to go with our family friends and had a fantastic day!  I came down with Laryngitis, but refused to give up our trip, I was also terribly afraid that there wouldn't be any apples left in 2 weeks.

At it again!  (Oct 2010)

We arrived at the orchard mid morning and after a pit stop for the two potty training kiddos got right to work.  The kids were super cute trying to haul the wagons through the orchard themselves.  It was a great time, even though I couldn't talk above a whisper.  I was happy to find all my favorite apples again and of course we have to taste test in the orchard, which is not allowed, oops!  Maybe next year we will have them weigh Ceci on the way in and on the way out and pay for the mass amount of apples she seems inspired to eat while we are there.  I also found a new delicious apple, Cameo, crispy, sweet, with a hint of tart, very nice for eating.  Tim tells me that at one point he turned around and the kids were holding hands walking down the aisle of the orchard together, does life get any sweeter?

I think we came out with about 25 pounds of apples this year, I managed some self control some how.  Now you ask what do I do with 25, or 60 pounds of apples?  Last year Tim bought me a peeler, corer slicer thing that suctions down to my stone counter and I ripped through the whole batch.  I put about 6-8  apples each in a gallon zip top freezer bag, labeled them and toss them in the freezer.  This year went really well, and I even got help from my favorite sous chef.  I do like to put one slice through the stack of apple so that the rings will separate from one another when I try to cook them.

My sweet little helper!

Sadly when you defrost them they release a lot of their juice making them inappropriate for some cooking applications.  I have used them with all the juice for pies, you just need to add in some cornstarch to thicken the juice into a nice syrup while baking, same goes for my Apple Brown Betty.  We made a lot of apple sauce last year as well, one of Ceci's favorite first foods, as well as a key ingredient in my favorite, Gluten Free Applesauce cake.

Be sure to keep an eye out as these recipes will be working their way into this blog over the next few months, as I make them and can snap some pictures of my offerings.  And if anyone has a Gluten Free recipe for Apple Strudel, please send it to me.  I'm inspired, but nervous to try it.

Sad day... lost recipe

Last spring we were invited to Sheri's house for dinner and she told me the dinner theme would be "bar food" so I offered to make Beer Ice Cream.  I had been inspired and waiting for an opportunity to make this, I had researched so many different recipes and finally found one that used whole eggs, which is my preference, partly to cut fat, and partly to limit waste of ingredients.  It was on a blog somewhere on the internet, from who knows where.  It originally used regular beer reduced down to a thick syrup, so it was a no brainer to swap out the beer for a gluten free one.

It came out better than I could have figured, deliciously creamy, but with a hint of the bitterness from the beer in the background.  I had puzzled about possible toppings for a while, wondering what goes with beer, then it dawned on me!  What doesn't go with beer!!  We put everything on it, I'm not kidding, I was inspired by "bar snacks" and went from there.  Crushed pretzels, stale popcorn, honey roasted peanuts, chocolate sauce, and carmel sauce, and finally a side of chocolate chip cookies.  You can see this was a healthy low fat dessert.

I went back to the computer the other day to dig out the bookmarked website where I had originally pulled the Beer Ice Cream recipe, only to find it missing.  The blog/website was shut down and the recipe completely missing.  My wonderful husband tried and tried and even went through the entire computer's internet history trying to find the recipe for me.  So sad!  But I do have the delicious memories, and some yummy pictures.  If anyone finds a recipe using whole eggs please let me know.

Gluten Free Halloween Candy List

Celiac.com has composed, and published a very extensive Gluten Free Candy List .  It is noted that many of the items listed are not certified gluten free, but they do not have gluten included in the ingredients.  I'm pretty excited and am considering using this list as my dining menu for the next few months.  Have I mentioned I love sugar!  In all it's fabulous forms?  I do, I would live on all things sweet if my body would let me.  Sadly I do have to eat vegetables and things from time to time to keep from weighing a billion pounds.  Hopefully this list is helpful to all you fellow sugar lovers, I hope your favorite candy made the list, and have a Happy Halloween!

Gluten Free Brownies

Who doesn't love brownies?  I don't think I've ever met someone who can sincerely say they hate brownies.  I suppose everyone likes them a bit differently, some people prefer the crispier edge pieces, while some like the entirely chewy center pieces (that's me!)  And there is no end to the toppings that can only improve upon the flavor, and or sugar content of the brownies.    Today there was a handful of Andes mints bits calling my name from the pantry.  As far as I'm concerned there are few things more yummy than chocolate and mint, and delicious chewy brownies with warm melty mint pieces are a very happy thing, add in a glass of milk and pretty much the only thing to tear me away would be, well, nothing!


Gluten Free Brownies

1/2   Cup Butter, softened
1      Cup Sugar
1      tsp Vanilla
2      Eggs

1/2  Cup Sweet Rice Flour
1/2   tsp Xanthum Gum
1/3  Cup Hershey's Cocoa Powder
1/4   tsp Salt
1/2   Cup chopped nuts or some other delicious item in your pantry


Blend soft butter, sugar, and vanilla in a mixing bowl.  Add eggs and beat well with the spoon until all wet ingredients are combined well.  Combine four, xanthum gum, cocoa, baking powder, and salt;  gradually add to wet mixture, stirring until well blended.  Stir in nuts (or candy bits) (You can sprinkle the nuts/candy on top of the brownies instead of mixing in if you prefer, that is a whole other matter of preference.)  Spread batter into a greased 9 in square pan and bake at 350 degrees (F) for 20-25 min.  I baked mine for about 18-19 minutes, because again I love mine chewy and under cooked.

The original recipe said it makes 16 brownies, I would love to know who cuts them that small, or who would eat just one, might as well cut the pan in quarters and be honest here, maybe that would hold me for a few hours until I need to eat another quarter of the pan.  MMMmmmmm.....

Gluten Free Corn Bread

I love when the weather starts to get chilly here, it means I can finally start making soups, stews, chilli's, and abusing my poor crock pot.  All the things no one wants to think of eating in the summer with the warmer weather, particularly with the excess humidity we have here in NY.  One of our favorites here is a big pot of Chili, which I make different every time based on what we have in the house, or what I find on sale at the supermarket.  One huge suggestion I can offer for the chili, is to dump in a bottle of gluten free beer, you will be shocked at the depth of flavor this can add to the dish, I hardly go without it now.

Obviously when you have a great pot of Chili the one side dish you need without question is Cornbread!  Sometimes I make chili just so I have an excuse to make cornbread, I'm not sure why I couldn't just make a batch of cornbread and get my fix.  I suppose I should start making it when I make my BBQ pork shoulder in the slow cooker too, see, one more reason I need to make cornbread.

My husband and I agree this is our favorite cornbread recipe, moist, and perfectly airy, just right for soaking up honey, or cleaning the chili bowl to get those last bits of spicy goodness.

Gluten Free Corn Bread

1    Cup Yellow Corn Meal
1/4 Cup Soy Flour
1/4 Cup Tapioca Starch
1/2 Cup Sweet Rice Flour
1/2  tsp Xanthan Gum
1/4 Cup Sugar
3    tsp Baking Powder
1    tsp Salt

1/4 Cup Butter, melted
1    Cup Milk
1    Egg, beaten

Combine dry ingredients in a bowl, stir in melted butter.  Mix egg and milk together and add to dry ingredients with only a few strokes (over mixing the batter will result in a tougher, flatter corn bread).  Bake in a greased 9x9x2 inch pan for 20-25 minutes at 425 degrees (F).

I usually stage it so the cornbread is coming out of the oven no more than 10 minutes before we sit down to eat so it's piping hot.  Tim eats his with butter and dips it into his chili, I personally like to soak mine with honey, oh and I always cut my piece just a little bit bigger than his, not enough so that he notices, but just a little, I'm pretty greedy about the corn bread around here.

Disappointed Dining

This is not my most timely article, but I feel the need to express my frustrations and in the mean time educate others about the potential pitfalls of dining at this particular establishment.  This summer a dedicated Gluten Free Bakery/Restaurant opened up here on Long Island.  The word went out early about the coming establishment and I can't tell you how I researched and essentially stalked this place.  It doesn't hurt that it is near my friend Sheri's home and the park that we frequently go to, making it much easier to drive by.

It's the Bare Naked Bakery and I believe it's the only dedicated Gluten Free restaurant any where near us.  I was so excited I took Ceci to the grand opening after our Stroller Strides class for lunch.  That day I ordered several items to eat in and take home because I have no self control and I love to be able to order lots of different things (a joy not often found for a life long Celiac.)  That day we found one of our new favorite dishes, the Sicilian Pizza, soft, pillow-ey crust, with a delicious sauce and yummy mozzarella.  On the other hand the bagels had a yeasty taste to them which was impossible to over come, and the cupcakes especially the chocolate ones had a course texture that made them slightly unappealing.  The saddest crime was the extremely crunchy chocolate chip cookie.  I held out hope that these were just artifacts of the opening day jitters, that maybe they pushed really hard to get the store open and would be able to balance out their recipes in a short time.

Ceci and I went back a few more times, and each time we drove up to the bakery, she would shout from the back seat "I want deep-dop! (pizza)"  Obviously the Sicilian slice made a big impression on her.  The last time we visited the Bakery there had been many changes and I have to admit most were not for the better in my opinion.  The first issue I had was that the operating hours had changed to offer breakfast, which would have been fine, but lunch service did not start until noon.  Explaining to a hungry toddler why she can't have the pizza she is expecting for another 45 minutes is not my idea of a fun time.    In the mean time we ordered a bagel, which still had the horrible yeast taste to it, nothing changed there, so Ceci wasn't very interested in eating it.  She got very restless and the Chef had come out to the counter and noticed her being squirmy, he asked if she needed a high chair.  I said "No she's ok, but she really wants some pizza, that would actually help her behave."  He let me know he had actually just pulled a pie out of the oven and could bring us a slice now.  Thank god!  My last big issue was finding out that they no longer offer the Sicilian pie by the slice, we would have to order a whole pizza, and to the tune of $28, I was not prepared for that.  We finished our regular slice, which had the same horrible yeast taste as the bagels, and sadly headed home.

I have not been back since, I have come to a point in my gluten free life where I will not put up with bad food.  When gluten free products were rare and hard to find, I would eat substandard food just because I was happy to have something available to me.  Now with the huge boon of Gluten Free products on the market, I see no point in eating something that tastes bad!  No one should suffer through bad food because they think they have to, you don't!  There is a lot of good Gluten free food out there, and right now it's not at Bare Naked Bakery.  I was really looking forward to the joy of walking into a bakery and being able to safely order anything on the menu, instead I will continue to shop the frozen aisles at the grocery store, or make my own, for better flavor and texture of items.

I should mention that I have visited their website and the menu currently states that they offer Sicilian pizza by the slice.  If this is the case I could be convinced to go back at some point but I do not hold out much hope for the rest of the food served there.