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JennGM
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| Posted: Nov 17 2012 at 8:24am | IP Logged
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I'm looking at our family's Thanksgiving recipes (dh's family recipes) and am thinking I could make them healthier. I want them to taste good, close to the original, so probably just a few tweaks. One example is the Cranberry Orange Relish. I love it, but it's so sweet. My MIL is a diabetic, so it would be nice for both of us to improve it. It calls for 2 cups of sugar!!! Now I usually make it with much less, maybe a cup, and I'll use organic sugar, but what if I don't want to use sugar. What else would work?
Agave Nectar
honey
Maple Syrup
Orange Juice
Any suggestions?
How about the Cranberry Relish Mold? This is harder, because it uses Jello. That would be the main thing to change. Is there a way to make the gelatin mold without all the sugar and red dye?
And while on the subject, any suggestions on making good bread cubes that are gluten free? Filling Balls is dh's stuffing. These are so good when they are crunchy -- but trying to stay from the wheat makes it such a temptation!
And the turkey gravy question -- how to make it without wheat flour and milk?
I'm wondering if I should attempt to make an apple pie safe for me and my son. That would mean no eggs, wheat or milk. All the alternative crusts I find have egg as the binder.  I wanted to try something with almond flour. I'd feel selfish just making something that is safe for me. I know dh does not want me to mess with the pie crust! Our pie is apple pie with crumb topping, lots of gluten yumminess.
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Jennifer G. Miller
Wife to  & ds1  '03 & ds2  '07
Family in Feast and Feria
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JennGM
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| Posted: Nov 17 2012 at 8:31am | IP Logged
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And darn if I didn't take notes from last year's baking. I made a great pie crust with lard and butter, and I can't remember where I got the recipe. I think it was Martha Stewart's New Pies and Tarts: 150 Recipes for Old-Fashioned and Modern Favorites, but I also remember searching around for recipes that incorporated leaf lard. I think I did more of a pate brisee.
Rats, just not smart!
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Jennifer G. Miller
Wife to & ds1 '03 & ds2 '07
Family in Feast and Feria
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: Nov 17 2012 at 10:21am | IP Logged
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what's in the cranberry orange relish?
The cranberry relish mold is actually easier.. you can get plain geltin to thicken your own liquids (fruitjuice?) for that.
A frend makes a nut based pie crust that is pressed into the pan. Can you make an apple pie that is more like an apple crisp? my topping has a bit of flour and oats.. the flour in it would be easy enough to sub since it's mostly to help it crumble.
Thickening.. a broth and cornstarch gravy is very nice.. and is our traditional turkey gravy.
Do you have a gluten free bread that you like and use? then just cut up cubes and dry in a slow oven for them to be hard for the recipe.
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Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
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CrunchyMom
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| Posted: Nov 17 2012 at 10:36am | IP Logged
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My mom always used an oil pastry for pie crust. I haven't made it in a while since I avoid vegetable oils, but it is very tasty, imo, and faster than a traditional crust. I imagine you could simply substitute a gluten free flour blend.
Quote:
- 2 c flour
- 1/2 c oil
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 5 T. cold water
Pour oil and water in cup. DO NOT STIR. Mix flour with salt in a mixing bowl. Add water and oil to flour mixture. Stir lightly with fork. Half doug and form into 2 balls. Roll out between 2 squares of wax paper. Place in pan. Makes 2 9 inch crust. |
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If I recall, my mom always used a simple pyrex pie plate. I think I had to increase it to have enough dough to comfortably fill my deeper, fancier plate with the ruffled edges.
My mom used to make extra to cook the trimmings on a cookie sheet for me I liked it so much.
I would think you could substitute honey for sugar. Honey is sweeter, so I wouldn't use a straight substitution.
I have good luck using gluten free bread for stuffing. I can't tell the difference. My mother always put the bread on a cookie sheet with a tea towel over it up high somewhere (out of kid reach) for a few days leading up to Thanksgiving to get them nice and hard without fear of burning.
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Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
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[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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Mackfam
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| Posted: Nov 17 2012 at 10:43am | IP Logged
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My dad has to really watch sugar (he has Type 2 diabetes), and we really avoid sugar in cooking as much as possible. I make my Cranberry relish with Splenda and it works really well. The sauce gels up nicely all on its own. I usually do a take-off of this Cranberry Orange sauce recipe. Sometimes I don't put any cornstarch in. You can substitute xantham gum for cornstarch if you want to ensure thickening and be gluten free. It's a lovely dish, and very tasty. No strange tastes from the Splenda.
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We make gluten free bread in the bread machine and then cube it, and toast it in the oven to make gluten free bread crumbs, Jenn. I can share my recipe if you're interested in it. Sarah usually pops the ingredients in the bread machine for me every day in the mornings so we have fresh bread by lunch. You'd have to play around with the recipe a little for a good rise, but even when it seems the bread doesn't rise in the bread machine, don't be troubled! This bread isn't dense and brick-like even when it appears that it didn't rise well! It's still VERY tasty and works great as a casserole base, sandwich bread, or cubed for stuffing!
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You can make a nice roux with gluten free flour and it tastes quite good. When I see gravy, I read roux, but it's really the same thing and would be excellent with good turkey drippings, too! It will be a lot blonder than a standard roux, almost a light caramel color (no copper penny color because gluten free flour won't brown), and take a little longer to cook than a traditional roux. You can add a browning agent so it will be more like a deep brown gravy color (though I've never done it - I think they're gluten free though. ?? Anyone know??).
Here's my gluten free roux recipe:
:: 1 cup gluten free flour (your choice)
:: Cover the bottom of a heavy, heavy pot with olive oil and a little butter. (Definitely include all the drippings from whatever you've been cooking)
:: Heat set to med, or med. high depending on your cooktop.
:: Use a wooden spoon to stir and constantly move the flour around.
:: Stir for 10 - 20 minutes. It will darken, but not brown really dark. You don't want it to smoke.
:: Once it's thick and nicely caramel color, you can add beef/chicken/turkey broth until it's your desired consistency.
:: Keep warm until serving.
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Jen Mackintosh
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Wildflowers and Marbles
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CrunchyMom
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| Posted: Nov 17 2012 at 11:18am | IP Logged
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Oh, in terms of the time saving of pre-made cubes, it was always a child's job to carefully cube the bread. My boys enjoy doing it now since it is a fairly safe way to start learning to use a kitchen knife.
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Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
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[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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JennGM
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| Posted: Nov 17 2012 at 11:45am | IP Logged
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Jen, I would be interested in your recipe. I just got my breadmaker back.
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Jennifer G. Miller
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Family in Feast and Feria
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Mackfam
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| Posted: Nov 17 2012 at 12:32pm | IP Logged
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This is all white - no added fiber at all. You certainly could add flax, other whole grains, etc. This bread works well for sandwiches, as a treat bread with jam or honey, as the base for a breakfast casserole, or toasted for bread crumbs. We have no other allergies (dairy or eggs), so this includes both and adds to the richness. I know you need something minus dairy and eggs and I have a bread recipe which accomplishes that and I'll include it below.
For both breads in the bread machine, you'll need to re-program it so that it will work with a gluten free recipe. I don't think this would work on a standard wheat/yeast bread machine setting. Also, gluten free bread batter looks like that...much more like a thick cake batter and not AT ALL like bread dough. This difference in consistency really confused me at first. So just know that you're looking for thick cake batter when your GF bread is kneading around.
Here are my Zojirushi settings for baking a gluten free loaf:
PREHEAT: 10 MIN
KNEAD: 20 MIN
RISE 1: OFF
RISE 2: OFF
RISE 3: 45 MIN
BAKE: 70 MIN
KEEP WARM: OFF
Sandwich bread
1 1/4 cup warm milk
1/4 cup of butter
2 eggs
1 teaspoon cider vinegar
3 cups Gluten Free flour (I prefer Gluten Free Mama Almond Flour)
1 1/2 teaspoon xantham gum
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons sugar OR 2 tablespoons honey
2 1/4 teaspoons yeast (or 1 packet of yeast)
Add liquids to bread pan first, then flour and non-liquids, turn bread machine on.
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Egg and Dairy Free Bread recipe....
This bread won't last nearly as long on your shelf because there is so little fat in it. Also, it doesn't rise very high AT ALL. Don't let that alarm you! 3 - 4" is about the best you can hope for - but the bread still tastes spectacular!
Egg and Dairy Free Sandwich Bread
1 1/2 cups warm water
2 teaspoons olive oil
3 cups gluten free bread flour (Again, I prefer Gluten Free Mama's Almond Flour)
3 tablespoons sugar OR 2 tablespoons honey
2 teaspoons xantham gum
1 teaspoon salt
2 1/4 teaspoons yeast (or 1 packet)
Add ingredients to bread pan and turn on gluten free setting.
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Jen Mackintosh
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Wildflowers and Marbles
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TryingMyBest
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| Posted: Nov 17 2012 at 1:19pm | IP Logged
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I don't use agave nectar. See this blog entry about it on the Food Renegade. A little disclaimer, the Food Renegade is a little bit extreme, IMHO.
I use raw honey, real maple syrup and Sucanat in my baking. This blog has some good advice about making recipes healthier with sugar substitutions and whole wheat flour. (forgive me if you're already familiar with this blog)
Although honestly (and I'll admit I've fallen off of the "real food" wagon a little bit in the past few months), I'll eat traditional foods at Thanksgiving and not worry about making the recipes healthier. Thanksgiving is only once a year so I'm not worried about whole grains and no sugar. But then we don't have any allergies so eating this way doesn't hurt us occasionally.
Jennifer
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lapazfarm
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| Posted: Nov 17 2012 at 4:42pm | IP Logged
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One of my favorite gluten-free food blogs is doing a gluten-free Thanksgiving series with videos and recipes.
Gluten-free Girl and the Chef
They also have a gluten-free Thanksgiving iPad app that looks really good (and only $5.99 I think).
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Theresa
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LaPaz Home Learning
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Topic: Revising Thanksgiving Recipes
