Small Pearl Tapioca Pudding

Tapioca pudding is a wonderful and easy pudding-style treat that everyone enjoys around here.  I like to use a mixture of canned coconut milk, regular coconut milk and lactose-free whole milk, but I've made it with all sorts of varieties of milks.  It's great warm and chilled. Enjoy!

A serving of small pearl tapioca pudding - enjoyed in my house by ages 4 to 87! 

Small Pearl Tapioca Pudding - gluten free!

Set tapioca pearls to soak either overnight to make tapioca in the morning or in the morning to make your tapioca at night by doing the following:

In a 2 cup measuring cup, combine and soak 8-24 hours:
1/2 cup small pearl tapioca 
1 1/2 - 1 3/4 cup water - to make 2 cups

In a saucepan mix together:
2 1/2 cups milk (using a combination of canned coconut milk and other milk varieties works great)
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1/4 - 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon (optional - it will give it more of a rice pudding flavor if you use it)
soaked tapioca pearls, drained and rinsed thoroughly

Tapioca cooking over medium heat - make sure to mix regularly or you'll end up with tapioca sticking/burning on the bottom of your pan! 

Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring regularly.  Once tapioca comes to a boil, let thicken for a minute.  Remove from heat and add:
1 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste

Serve warm or put in a bowl with plastic wrap tight to the surface to cool.  Refrigerate once tapioca isn't piping hot.  Tapioca will thicken more as it cools.  Enjoy!

Gluten Free Small Pearl Tapioca Pudding Recipe by Successfully Gluten Free!

Citrus Shrimp Ceviche

This is a nice, light shrimp dish, packed with flavor.   For optimal flavor, I recommend using fresh lemons and limes for your citrus, as purchased lemon and lime juices tend to have a sharper flavor that can overpower the dish.  Enjoy!

Freshly made Citrus Shrimp Ceviche!

Citrus Shrimp Ceviche - gluten free!

Based on a recipe by Chef Gary from Harmon's Grocery

Mix together in a bowl:
1 lb shrimp, cooked, peeled, de-veined, tails removed, and diced into bite-sized pieces.  
1/2 purple onion, finely diced
1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, diced
2-4 Tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
1/4 - 1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Add fresh squeezed juice from:
2 lemons
2-4 limes

Combine everything and let rest in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.  Taste and adjust seasoning (chili powder, salt, pepper), before serving.

Wonderful on crackers or homemade french-style gluten-free bread.  Also great all on it's own as a light accompaniment to a meal.  Enjoy!

Gluten Free Citrus Shrimp Ceviche Recipe by Successfully Gluten Free!

Most of my life, I've precariously made hard boiled eggs by bringing the pot to a hard, rolling boil and then covering and turning off the heat, letting sit for 14-15 minutes, until cooked thoroughly.  I found it to be a terribly imprecise method (at least for me).  So, my wonderful friend Rebekah, from the Isle of Jersey wayyyyy across the Atlantic taught me this method. I love it! Works every time!

Some hard-boiled eggs after using some natural dyes with the kids.  :) 

Hard Boiled Eggs

TWO methods: 

Method 1:

In a pot, place eggs to cover the bottom of the pan.  You can use a small or large pot, depending on how many eggs you want to cook.

Fill the pot with cold water, until it reaches 1" above the eggs.  Add a dash of salt to the water.

Bring eggs to a rolling boil over medium-high to high heat.  Once the water has reached a rolling boil (i.e. bubbling a lot), lower heat to medium-high and continue boiling eggs for 10 minutes.

Drain carefully and rinse repeatedly to cool the eggs.   Once the eggs are no longer really hot, I like to fill the pot with cold water and add ice to help the eggs cool down.

Drain, then cool eggs completely in the refrigerator.   They are perfect for egg salad, deviled eggs, eating plain, etc.!

You can also use this method to make 3 or 5 minute eggs, with looser yolks for scooping out for breakfasts.

Method 2:

Let eggs rest at room temperature, until they come to room temperature. 

Bring water to a rolling boil.  Using a spoon, quickly lower each room temperature egg into the water. 

Let boil 10 minutes, lowering the heat to medium-high if it's boiling too much.  

Drain carefully and rinse repeatedly to cool the eggs.   Once the eggs are no longer really hot, I like to fill the pot with cold water and add ice to help the eggs cool down.

Drain, then cool eggs completely in the refrigerator.   They are perfect for egg salad, deviled eggs, eating plain, etc.!

You can also use this method to make 3 or 5 minute eggs, with looser yolks for scooping out for breakfasts.

Enjoy!

Gluten Free Hard Boiled Eggs Recipe by Successfully Gluten Free!

Homemade Caramel Popcorn!

Homemade caramel popcorn can be a wonderful, special treat.  You can also make this popcorn using a combination of brown sugar and maple syrup for a nice alternative.  Baking the popcorn for closer to 45 minutes will result in a more caramel-like flavor and slightly stickier caramel popcorn.  Baking closer to 60 minutes will end up with a slightly more crispy popcorn.  You can drizzle chocolate over the top once cooled for a fancy treat! Happy New Year! Enjoy!

Yummy Caramel Popcorn, fresh from the oven!  

Homemade Caramel Popcorn! (gluten-free)

Makes about 10 cups  (Yes, you can double this recipe for 2 trays of caramel corn!)

Bring to a boil over medium heat:
1 cup dark brown sugar OR 3/4 cup dark brown sugar + 1/4 cup maple syrup
3/4 cup whipping cream
1/4 cup corn syrup
pinch salt
2 Tbsp butter

Boil until caramel reaches about 220-225 F.  (I find it tends to take 20-30 minutes to get to temperature).  Remove from heat and stir in:
1 tsp vanilla extract OR vanilla bean paste

A double batch of caramel - luckily it didn't overflow!   Caramel does bubble up while cooking. 

Pop 1/2 cup popcorn kernels in an air popper.  Remove with hands and place in a new large bowl (this allows you to easily get rid of any unpopped kernels).

Pour caramel over the popcorn and stir gently, coating popcorn as best you can.  Spread popcorn on a parchment-paper lined cookie sheet.

Caramel popcorn prior to baking.  It will be sticky.

Bake at 250 F for about 45-60 minutes, stirring/folding over popcorn every 10-15 minutes to allow popcorn to dry evenly.

Caramel Popcorn - ready to cool and eat!

Let cool and eat!   Store leftovers in a tightly covered container for up to 3 days for the freshest popcorn (if it can last that long).

For a special treat: drizzle melted chocolate over the top of cooled caramel corn.  Let cool (you can put it in the refrigerator to speed up the chocolate hardening).  Store in a tightly covered container.

Enjoy!

Gluten Free Homemade Caramel Popcorn Recipe by Successfully Gluten Free!

Yorkshire Puddings!!!

These are a delicious puffy muffin-type savory "pudding" traditionally served alongside roast and gravy in England.  My friend Rebekah, who is literally from Yorkshire in England, can make the biggest, most beautiful Yorkshire puddings, so I was lucky enough to learn from the master while we lived in England.  I've tried to follow her lead ever since, while turning them into a gluten-free version!  They're easy to whip together and add a little something special to a meal.  Enjoy!

Fresh Gluten-Free Yorkshire Puddings! Perfect accompaniment to a roast dinner.

Yorkshire Puddings - gluten free

Based off a recipe from the Comfort Food cookbook by Bridget Jones
Makes 12

Whisk together or puree with a stick blender (you want it nice and smooth):
I like to mix this in a 4 cup measuring cup to easily/quickly pour it into tins later.
1 cup Kristin's Gluten-Free Flour Mix
2 eggs
2/3 cup water
2/3 cup milk
pinch salt

Refrigerate batter at least 1 hour, or up to 24 hours.

I like to prepare the batter in a 4 cup measuring cup, so I can blend it with a stick blender until smooth.  Cover and refrigerate until dividing between muffin tins.   Give the batter a quick stir before pouring into tins in case it's settled at all. 

Preheat oven to 450 F. 

In a metal muffin tin pan, place 1 tsp avocado oil  (or similar oil that's good at high heat) in each of the 12 muffin tins. (~1/4 cup oil total is needed)

Heat pan/oil in 450 F over for 5-10 minutes, until piping hot.

Oil, divided between muffin tins, then heated until piping hot.

Remove and quickly divide chilled batter between muffin tins.

Battered quickly divided between tins filled with hot oil.  Pop it back in the oven quickly! 

Bake Yorkshire puddings ~25 minutes at 450 F without opening the oven until Yorkshire puddings have puffed and are firm and golden brown.   I usually aim for between 23-27 minutes, so you just need to adjust a little depending on your oven.

Fresh from the oven - some puff up and some end up with a cup-like dip in the top. Both are perfectly great! 

Remove from oven and serve nice and hot!  If you're not serving right away, place them on a cooling rack to cool.  You can reheat these, but they are best fresh!

Yay! Happy, hollow, moist, delicious Yorkshire pudding! 

Happy eating!

Gluten Free Yorkshire Puddings Recipe by Successfully Gluten Free

This bread has been such a hit around here.  It's light and fluffy, with a crispy exterior.  It's absolutely delicious with butter as an accompaniment to all sorts of meals.   It mixes up quickly, then just needs some time to rise and bake.  Best of all, since you're making 5 loaves (although you can easily make a half batch - just make two loaves plus a mini loaf or two).   Friends who aren't even gluten-free have loved it, too!  Enjoy!

Light and fluffy French bread-style sandwich bread

Delicious French Bread-Style Sandwich Bread

Makes 4 or 5 loaves

Line 4 or 5 bread pans with parchment paper. Nothing fancy, just fold it a bit so it holds the shape in the pan.  You can reuse this parchment paper, too! (shake out any crumbs and stack the pans with the parchment paper in them). 

In a mixer, combine:
4 cups tapioca starch
3 cups brown rice flour
3/4 cup potato starch
1 1/2 Tbsp xanthan gum
2 Tbsp quick (rapid-rise) yeast
1 Tbsp salt
2 Tbsp sugar
1/2 cup steel cut oats (certified gluten-free if celiac or sensitive - if you leave out, just reduce water by 1/2 cup)

Add the following. Mix slowly, then beat for 4 minutes, stirring a couple times to get any flours left at the bottom:
3 cups lukewarm water
4 tsp apple cider vinegar
2 cups egg whites (they sell this in cartons in the grocery store OR you can use 2 cups eggs, for a more yellow bread with slightly richer flavor)
1/2 cup oil (I love using avocado oil in this bread recipe)

Scoop bread into bread pans lined with parchment paper.  (You can butter the pans, but I really love using parchment paper for this bread, in particular).

If you're making 5 loaves, then cover pans loosely with plastic wrap.  Let rise in a warm location for 40-60 minutes, or until dough has risen even with the top of the pan. *This won't rise much more during cooking, but will be nice and fluffy and full of lovely holes throughout.  I find most gluten-free breads to be this way.*  If you are making 4 loaves, the bread will rise higher, so you'll want to balance an inverted bread pan over the pans while they rise.  

Making 6 loaves instead of 5 here, but you can see how the bread rises even with the tops of the pans. 

Five loaves of bread, ready to bake.  I prefer to make 4 or 5 loaves vs 6, since I end up with slightly taller, larger slices of bread - better for sandwiches.   These loaves here are the ones shown below.  I have had luck with glass, metal and silicone pans for baking this bread.  

Bake loaves at 375 F for 1 hour.  Remove loaves from bread pans to a wire rack to cool.  I recommend letting them cool at least an hour before cutting.  Ideally, cool completely before slicing.

Notes on slicing this bread: Hot/warm bread fresh from the oven will be a bit sticky when slicing and I always end up making a mess of the end of the loaf (because we inevitably eat one loaf hot every single time I make this bread).  If you want to eat it hot, it can be nice to just pull off chunks of bread.  Once cooled, the bread slices nicely into slightly thicker than normal slices.  If you want nice, thin slices, place cooled loaves in ziploc bags overnight.  This will soften the outer crust of the bread.  You will then be able to slice thin, even pieces.  Sliced bread (thick or thin) freezes perfectly!  We use this for lunches all the time.  I just make the sandwiches on frozen bread. By the time the kids eat lunch, they're ready to eat!

Gluten Free French Bread Style Sandwich Bread Recipe by Successfully Gluten Free!

Coconut-Filled Chocolate Truffles!

These are some of my favorite winter chocolates to make. They're like a homemade mounds or bounty bar.  I love to temper my chocolate and make molded chocolates, but you can also roll and chill the filling to hand-dip it in chocolate, too!  These are a great given as gifts alone or combined with dark or milk chocolate truffles, chocolate covered homemade caramels, chocolate dipped orange or lemon peel (on of my all-time favorites!!!), gingerbread ganache truffles, raspberry dark chocolate ganache truffles, mint dark chocolate ganache truffles, or white chocolate ganache truffles.

Molds filled with coconut filling, with the bottoms being piped on.  Here there are milk chocolate (top and left) and semi-sweet chocolate (bottom right) being filled with coconut truffle filling! (I usually pipe chocolate around the edges and use a spoon to spread the chocolate evenly on the bottom of the truffles)

Delicious and beautiful molded truffles - coconut-filled are shown in hearts.

Coconut-Filled Chocolate Truffles - gluten free!

In a small blender or food processor, process until very fine:
1 1/3 cup sweetened flaked coconut

In a small frying pan, bring to a rolling boil over medium heat:
2 Tbsp heavy cream
2 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste

Remove from heat and add, stirring until chocolate is completely melted:
2 oz. white chocolate (chips or chopped finely)

Once chocolate has melted, stir in:
finely processed sweetened flaked coconut, from above

Let filling cool.
Fill molded chocolates, as you would with chocolate ganache or caramel filling.
OR
Make small balls or bars of filling and place on a parchment-paper lined pan.  Chill in the refrigerator or freezer until hard.  Hand-dip in chocolate, as desired.  

Tasty milk-chocolate molded truffles.

Gluten Free Coconut Filled Chocolate Truffles Recipe by Successfully Gluten Free!