Wheatless in Vancouver

At work, our baker makes different muffins every day, and she always asks the rest of us what kind of muffins she should make. Last time, I suggested lemon coconut, even though I couldn’t eat them -- so I thought it was about time I make them at home!

Yield: approximately 18 small muffins

2 cups brown rice flour

1½ tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

2 eggs

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup margarine

1½ tsp vanilla

1/2 to 3/4 cup soy milk (unsweetened)

1/3 cup coconut (sweetened or unsweetened, your preference)

zest of one lemon

juice of half a lemon

- Mix together rice flour, baking powder and salt

- Cream together eggs, sugar, margarine and vanilla

- Mix soy milk into wet ingredients

- Add dry ingredients to wet and mix until just combined

- Mix in coconut, lemon zest and juice

- Adjust consistency with soy milk if needed

- Pour into greased or lined muffin tins

- Bake at 350 for approx 20 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.

I’d had a craving for muffins the past couple weeks, so Thursday evening I decided to get to it. I picked up some cranberries and prepared a batch of cranberry orange muffins -- gluten-free, of course.

When I bake, I try to do as much dairy-free as possible, and these muffins work just as well with soy milk and margarine as they do with regular milk and butter.

Cranberry Orange Muffins

Yield: approx 18 small muffins

Ingredients:

-2 cups white/brown rice flour mix

-1 tsp baking powder

-1 tsp salt

-2 eggs

-1 cup sugar

-1/2 Cup margarine

-1 tsp vanilla

-1/2-3/4 cup soy milk (unsweetened)

-1/3 cup dried cranberries

-zest of half a large orange

-juice of half a large orange

Preparation:

1. Mix together rice flour, baking powder and salt. 

2. Cream together eggs, sugar, margarine and vanilla.

3. Mix soy milk into wet ingredients.

4. Add dry ingredients to wet and mix until just combined.

5. Mix in cranberries, orange zest and juice.

Cornbread muffins aren’t usually part of holiday baking, but I just had a craving.

My mom used to make cornbread muffins a lot when I was younger and I loved them, but after I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease she tried to make them gluten free, and they never tasted the same.

I couldn’t find my mom’s recipe, so I looked at a few over the weekend, and put this one together yesterday. It was a bit of an experiment, but they turned out pretty nice.

Gluten Free Cornbread Muffins

Yield: approx. 12 muffins

Ingredients:

1 Cup cornmeal

1 Cup rice flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

2 eggs

½ Cup sugar

¾ Cup milk

¼ Cup canola oil

-Mix together cornmeal, rice flour, baking powder and salt

-In separate bowl cream together oil, eggs and sugar

-Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients

-Stir in milk

-Mix together until the batter is smooth

-Pour into lined or greased muffin tins

-Bake at 350 for approx 25 minutes, or until a toothpick pushed into the center of a muffin comes out clean

On Monday night I attended the 24^th annual Jack Webster awards, which celebrate excellence in journalism. I was a bit of a last-minute invite, as it happened that there was room at my fiancé’s table for an extra attendee. This last minute addition meant that I wasn’t able to communicate my need for a gluten-free meal to the kitchen, which had me a little worried.

I feared I would either go hungry or, worse, be unintentionally glutened, which would have ruined the evening.

Luckily, when Joel and I arrived at our table our server came by and let everyone know what was on the menu for the evening: green salad with pine nut basil vinaigrette, herb-encrusted chicken breast and crème brûlée. She asked if anyone had any problems/issues with the menu, and I was able to let her know about my need for a gluten-free meal.

At first the server seemed a little unsure; she thought I couldn’t have dairy as well, but I explained what I could and couldn’t eat and she took good care of me.