Posts Categorized: Tummy love

going bananas

going bananas

 

I don’t know about you but I love bananas. We had bunches of bananas left over from our pop-up marketplace (courtesy of Burnac Produce, which kindly provided fresh fruit for Gluten Free Garage vendors and volunteers). For the past few weeks I’ve been blending up the smoothies. Oh, but there’s so much more you can do with these potassium-packed fruits!

 

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These banana muffins are dee- to the pea-licious! They’re also vegan and gluten free.

 

I also baked a few batches of these Pea-licious Banana Muffins, which I first made—and fell in love with—in Marni Wasserman’s Gourmet and Gluten Free Cooking Class. Fresh out of the oven, they are little bites of melted bliss. I double dare you to eat just one.

 

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Pass the pudding! Magnolia Bakery’s famous banana pudding minus the Nilla wafers.

 

Next up I tried my hand at a gluten-free version of the heavenly banana pudding from famed Magnolia Bakery in NYC. Do not make this pudding if there is a remote possibility that you might have leftovers…trust me (but don’t leave me alone in a room with this pudding)! It is the best banana pudding you will ever taste in your whole life. Below is the recipe, adapted from The Complete Magnolia Bakery Cookbook. I left out the Nilla wafers (round, thin, light vanilla-flavoured wafer-style cookies made by Nabisco) to make this pudding gluten free, and then I discovered this ‘Nilla Wafer recipe from Gluten Free on a Shoestring. I’ll definitely be making this again!

Magnolia Bakery Banana Pudding
 
16 oz can sweetened condensed milk
1 1/2 cups cold water
small box (3.4 oz) Jello instant vanilla pudding mix
3 cups heavy whipping cream
4 bananas, sliced
***
1. Beat condensed milk and water in a bowl (with a mixer, or by hand if you’re tough) for about one minute.
2. Add pudding mix and continue beating for two more minutes.
3. Cover and refrigerate for at least four hours, up to overnight.
4. Whip the cream until stiff peaks have formed, then gently fold into chilled pudding mixture until fully combined.
5. In a large bowl or in little mason jars, layer bananas, pudding . . . bananas, pudding . . . bananas, pudding. Like a trifle!

  more…

get Smart

kathysmartfudge get Smart

This gluten-free fudge had its 15 minutes of fame.

 

You know when Oprah requests something it must be divine! Gluten Free Garage guest speaker Kathy Smart‘s vegan gluten-free fudge was recently summoned to Oprah’s green room. Well, if it’s good enough for O, it’s good enough for us! But we don’t need Oprah’s seal of approval to know that Kathy’s got the GF goods!

Kathy was kind enough to share her famous fudge recipe with us here!

Kathy Smart’s Famous Fudge
(serves 18)

1/2 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1/2 cup unsweetened almond butter or peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp sea salt blend
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut (optional)

Put all the ingredients in a food processor and pulse a couple of times just until blended. Do not over-pulse or it will become runny. Line a muffin tin with liners and add 1 tbsp of mixture. Put in the freezer for 10 minutes and…voila!

Click here to watch Kathy make her fudge!

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Chef, nutritionist and leading gluten-free expert Kathy Smart kicks off the Gluten Free Garage speaker series at 10:30 am with HOW TO FEEL LIKE A GLUTEN-FREE ROCK STAR: The Top 5 Foods that will give you energy all day long! We hope her fudge is one of them!

 

The Gluten Free Garage opens at 10 am. For the Guest Speaker Series (starting at 10:30 am), once you pay your admission and get a hand stamp, head over to the Community Gallery and form a line outside the doors. The doors will open 15 minutes prior to each presentation. Seating is limited and people will gain entry on a first-come, first-served basis.

If you miss Kathy’s guest speaker session, you can find her from noon on at the Gluten-Free Find table!

 

love your gluten-free guts

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We baked these banana chocolate chip muffins today with JK Gourmet’s almond flour muffin mix. They were amazingly moist and, I’m going to use a word here I don’t use too often, scrumptious! We were off to The Mike Chalut Show on 103.9′s Proud FM, gluten-free goods in hand.

 

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Lily, aka the GFG muse, in-studio for her radio debut with the handsome Mr. “Love Your Guts.”

 

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We felt kind of bad that we didn’t bring Mike his favourite— poutine—but he was thrilled with his muffin and GFG bag. Tune in to Foodie Friday on 103.9 Pride FM!

 

We’re happy to have JK Gourmet as a sponsor of the Gluten Free Garage! They sample like crazy at the event so don’t forget to hit up their table!

the gluten-free donut is the new cupcake

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We paid a visit to one of the new vendors who will be at the Gluten Free Garage: Tori’s Bakeshop, a sight for sore eyes on Queen East in the Beaches.

 

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From the confectionary storefront…

 

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…to the eye-catching mason jar lights, Tori’s is not only warm and inviting…

 

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They’ve also perfected the gluten-free version of this Canadian staple!

 

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Franny goes pink-a-licious with sprinkles on top.

 

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I have my eye on a chocolate glazed.

 

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On a more savoury note, this is the Best. Cornbread. Ever.

 

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Sisters and official GFG taste-testers give Tori’s fresh-baked goodies four thumbs up!

 

Tori’s is not a gluten-free bakery but they take enormous precaution to ensure that cross-contamination does not occur. They are well aware of the importance of this, they have an extensive list of practices and strategies about it for their staff, and they clearly list all ingredients on a tag next to each baked good. As such I consider their bakery to be celiac friendly. Lily has enjoyed their delicious baked goods on several occasions and has felt nothing but tummy love.