Sep 29, 2010

thai glass noodles

Asian Night

Tonight we had Thai Glass Noodles from Buddha's Table, a vegan Thai cookbook. This was very easy and quick - just what I need on a weeknight. It was a one pot meal, also a bonus. I stir-fried the tofu and set it aside, then I stir-fried the veggies - onions, garlic, ginger, mushrooms and carrots - and added back the tofu, added the drained glass noodles (which are bean threads), peas and baby corn. It called for a sauce of vegetable stir-fry sauce, vegetable broth and arrowroot to thicken. 

It was very tasty and refreshing. Thai is very versatile and the family enjoys it - although not everyone enjoys the same vegetables! It seems they sort of swap vegetables at the table - my peas for your carrots, etc. Of course, without my knowledge. As far as they know.

Cost Breakdown:
tofu: $2
noodles: $2
onion, carrot, mushrooms, peas: $2
 garlic, ginger: $.50
tamari, stir-fry sauce, arrowroot: $.50
rice: $.50
Total to feed a family of 5:
$7.50



Sep 28, 2010

mexican snickerdoodles - gluten free

Not only did I bake cookies that were gluten, nut, dairy and egg free, but I also made them without bean flour! I would love to take the credit, but Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar by Moskowitz and Romero beat me to it. They use a combo of coconut flour, white rice flour, millet flour, cornstarch and flax meal to sub for the gluten.

I love it! No bean flour.

I made the Mexican Snickerdoodles out of the book and while they say to sub the GF flour on a one to one ratio, I found that the batter needed a little more. Next time I will try refrigerating the batter for a bit since coconut flour absorbs liquid very well and giving it some time might help.

The cayenne pepper in the batter was a little too much for the kids, though, so if you are planning on making them with kids in mind, skip the cayenne. I had made two batches for my group, in case the pepper was too spicy.

The kids loved them and I had no complaints. I'm loving this book :)

Cost Breakdown:
coconut, rice flour, millet flour: $2
cornstarch: $.50
maple syrup, cocoa powder: $1.50
sugar, oil, baking soda: $1.50
Total to make 24 cookies:
$5.50