Julie Hasson

Cookbook Review & Giveaway

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I am really excited to review this book, and especially to tag-team with Kittee, and do our reviews and giveaways on the same day. How fun is that?!

I first saw this book at my local Powell’s Bookstore. I was perusing the gluten-free cookbook aisle, and this book jumped out at me. Seriously, the book jumped right into my hand. I was super-excited to see that the recipes were vegan as well as gluten-free. This book was sounding better and better. I hadn’t heard any buzz about it yet, but decided to go on instinct. I had a hunch that this book was special, and I knew that it was going to have to come home with me. I also figured that if I didn’t buy it right then, I would be thinking about it all night, wishing that I had just gotten it earlier. I can’t even begin to tell you how often I have that conversation with myself; ) And usually when I go back, the book is no longer there.

Anyway, instead of just tucking it away on my over-crowded cookbook shelf  shelves, I set it on the kitchen counter to bake from it the next day. Lucky for me, Kittee came over, took one look at the book and said “ooh, let’s make some scones”. And since Kittee is a super-douper baker, we had delicious, hot scones in no time.

We both really liked the chocolate chip scones. I think we also thought that we might like to try them out the next time with super fine brown rice flour instead of the quinoa flour. I know, but that’s just me. I can’t help myself sometimes. Plus, as much as I love my quinoa, I find the flour can be a little grassy tasting to me. It was an easy swap, and they we super-delicious too. My husband tried both batches and really liked them both. He’s not gluten-free, and so is very picky about the g-free stuff he eats. He gave them both 2 thumbs up.

Completely inspired by the recipes in Laurie’s book, I tried a few more. And to be totally honest, since I have a casserole cookbook that I’m working on right now, there isn’t a whole lot of time to be baking for fun. But I seriously couldn’t help myself. Her recipes are really well tested and taste great.

I was able to squeeze in a few more recipes, because they just kept calling out to me. I made the Apple Chai Scones, the Maple Kissed Cornbread and the Blueberry Scones. They are all really good, low in fat, and made out of whole grain flours. Plus, at least with the scone recipe, it only makes 4 at a time, so you aren’t over-whelmed with a huge batch of treats. I’m sure you could easily double the recipe as well, if you wanted a larger batch. Oh, and the scones were delicious the next day too. Some gluten-free baked goods tend to be very dry or dry out quickly. This was not the case at all with Laurie’s recipes. The scones were nice and moist the second day.

I am definitely going to be cooking my way through this fab book. I love that all of her recipes are whole grain too. And, there’s a nutritional breakdown for all of the recipes. I can’t wait to try my hand at Laurie’s cracker recipes, her yeasted breads (Kittee swears by the hamburger buns), cinnamon rolls, bagels, breadsticks, breakfast buns, and the one I really can’t wait to bake, the Free-Form Apple Spice Cake With Vanilla Glaze. Oh, and did I mention the Sun-Dried Tomato Focaccia With Shallots And Herbs? Yeah, this book has some killer recipes. I was actually telling Kittee the other day, that I have a couple of books that have become my favorite go-to gluten-free books. The Allergy-Free Cook Bakes Bread is one of those books.

So there you go. I can’t wait to go read Kittee’s review. Oh, and Book Publishing Company (the publisher of The Allergy-Free Cook Bakes Bread), has not only given me permission to share a recipe, but also to do a giveaway as well. So don’t forget to leave a comment (along with a way for me to reach you should you win), and I will pick a winner next week (using the random number generator).

Oh, and here is the Apple-Chai Scone recipe, in case you feel like baking scones this weekend.

Apple-Chai Scones
Adapted from The Allergy-Free Baker Bakes Bread by Laurie Sadowski, with permission from Book Publishing Company. I dusted my cooled scones with some powdered sugar. I think they would also be delicious with a drizzle of a powdered sugar glaze.
Yield: 4 Scones

Scones:
1/2 cup sorghum flour
1/4 cup tapioca flour
1/4 cup teff flour
3 tablespoons unrefrined cane sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
3 tablespoons cold vegan buttery spread
1 small apple, diced (about 3/4 cup)
2 to 3 tablespoons cold, plain nondairy milk

Topping:
2 teaspoons plain nondairy milk
Ground cinnamon
Unrefined cane sugar

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

To make the scones, put the sorghum flour, tapioca flour, sugar, baking powder, xanthan gum, cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, salt, cloves, and pepper in a large bowl. Using a pastry cutter or two knives, cut in the vegan buttery spread until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in the apple.

Slowly pour the nondairy milk into the flour mixture to make a dough and stir until just moistened. Using floured hands, gather the dough into a cohesive ball and transfer to the lined baking sheet. Gently knead the dough two or three times until it holds together. Pat into a 1/2-inch thick circle. Using a floured knife, cut the dough into 4 wedges, pulling them apart only slightly.

For the topping, brush the unbaked scones with the nondairy milk. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar to taste.

Bake for 15 minutes, until lightly browned. Transfer to a cooling rack, and let cool for at least 5 minutes. Serve warm.

Please excuse the terrible photo, but this is a pic of the Apple-Chai Scones. I quickly snapped it before the scones were devoured. It was seriously hard to not eat them all!

Reader Interactions

Comments

  3. urbanvegan

    Just saw Kittee’s review. Book looks fab. And don’t apologize for that mouth-watering photo!

    Don’t enter me please, though (I’m buried in cookbooks; I have a problem!)…I’m just stopping by to salivate.

  5. Laurel

    Looks like maybe I should take this off my Wish List, it’s been there for month while I debated with myself. Totally off the subject, I guess you can’t read the email address you have to fill in to comment? I’m always confused when asked to leave a way to get hold of me. Then again, I’m always confused. 🙂
    laurel van blarcum at sbc global dot net THANKS! Now my only question is why is your Pie book not Vegan and Gluten free? Yes, I’m just a little devil. haha I bought it anyway.

    • Julie Hasson

      Geat question Laurel, and thanks for buying the pie book! I tried to make the pie book vegan, but the publisher refused (and even added some non-veg recipes). There are over 100 vegan recipes in it though. I’m working on some GF crust recipes, which will work great with all those fillings. I’ll be sure to announce when they’re perfect. Thanks!

      • Laurel

        Yes! More workable GF pie crust recipes. I’ll be watching… cue scary Halloween music. 🙂

  8. Cathy

    Looking forward to trying to recipe–I’d like to bake more GF things–I am not GF, but have many friends who are, and thanks for the giveaway contest. p.s. looking forward to the cookbook you’re working on.

  9. mamachandra

    Ooooh, yum! What a great find. Both my sister and my closest friend are gluten intolerant so it’s always a great thing when a GF cookbook with actual trusted positive reviews is always a fortunate find for gifting them!

  10. lenny zimkus

    thanks for letting us know about this. with a child in the house with allergies this looks like a great book.

  11. ameyfm

    it’s great to read your review and kittee’s review, side-by-side. I love that all the recipes are whole-grain, and that the nutritional information is provided! most excellent. It’s so awesome that there are finally some really reliable vegan & gluten free recipes/cookbooks available. And of course, I can’t wait to see what you do with all of this!

  14. Mary L.

    Been trying to cut down on wheat but I love bread too much! This book looks perfect. Thanks for the giveaway!

  17. Brandie

    OMG, I LOVE chai! I must try this recipe… I’m doing oil-free though (McDougall’ing!), do you thikn it would be ok if subbed with a pumpkin puree (or something) in place of the vegan butter?

  20. Rosie

    Is there a lot of teff or sorghum flour in the recipes as they’re hard to find in the UK, and if so do they suggest substitutions? If so this book will do me nicely!

  21. moonsword

    We used to have the most awesome vegan neighborhood bakery that made melt-in-mouth-perfect cinnamon blueberry scones but they up and moved across town and I miss them so! I’d love to try Laurie’s version to see if I can recapture blueberry scone bliss. 🙂

  23. Becca

    Thanks for the review! I am wheat intolerant and have fibromyalgia, I’ve recently read how cutting out gluten can help with fibro so have been on a serious quest to find gluten free vegan cookbooks so I can reteach myself to cook!

  26. Patty

    I just ordered this book yesterday and can’t wait to get my hands on it! I’m curious about which other cookbooks are your GF must haves — would you mind sharing the titles? I love Cybele Pascal’s book but would love a few more in my arsenal. Thank you!

    • Julie Hasson

      Sure Patty. Cybele’s book is definitely on my list, as well as well as Laurie Sadowski (The Allergy-Free Cook Bakes Bread), Allyson Kramer (Great Gluten Free Vegan Eats) and Enjoy Life’s Cookies For Everyone (by Leslie Hammond). I’ve only made a couple cookie recipes out of the last one, but they’ve been great. Laurie Sadowski (The Allergy Free Cook Bakes Bread), has two more cookbooks coming out, one on cakes and cookies and one on pies.

      • Patty

        Thank you so much Julie! I have Allyson Kramer’s book,and another one by Leslie Hammond called Gluten Free Desserts. Our family has been vegan for a long time but now that my children have been diagnosed with a gluten sensitivity I’m just trying to learn all I can and gather as many wonderful recipes as possible. Thanks again! Iam making your eggnog muffins tomorrow-they look delicious. 🙂

        • Julie Hasson

          Sure Patty! I hope you like the muffins.

          Also, we will be adding a lot more gluten-free (and of course vegan) recipes to our Everyday Dish website too (www.everydaydish.tv). There’s a great lentil meatless ball recipe that was just added (they’re really good).

  27. Jim

    Julie,
    Have you ever used a pressure cooker?

    RECIPE:
    Philly Cheese Seitan Sandwich

    The city of brotherly love extends its compassion to animals with this sandwich.

    INGREDIENTS
    13-oz package tempeh
    6 cups water
    3 cloves garlic, minced
    1 teaspoon fresh ginger, minced
    1 cup soy sauce
    1 tablespoons olive oil
    1 onion, sliced
    1/2 green bell pepper, sliced
    Salt and pepper, to taste
    4-6 French rolls
    vegan mozzarella, such as Daiya Mozzarella Style Shreds

    1. Cut the tempeh in half lengthwise, then cut the 2 slabs in half width wise (as if you were slicing a roll), creating 4 squares that are nearly identical in size. Next, cut the tempeh into smaller strips, about 1″ x 3″.
    2. Add the tempeh, water, garlic, ginger, and soy sauce to the pressure cooker. Lock the lid into place; bring to high pressure for 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and quick-release the pressure. Remove the tempeh.
    3. Add the oil to a pan and saute the onion and green bell peppers until they are caramelized. Add the tempeh, salt, and pepper.
    4. Preheat the oven to 450°F. Place the tempeh mixture inside the French rolls and place Daiya cheese on each. Place the tempeh sandwiches in the oven and bake for 3-5 minutes, or until the cheese has melted.

    SERVES 4
    I have tried the real thing and this vegan version. The vegan version taste as good as the real thing. I used the Daiya Mozzarella Style Shreds or Daiya Cheddar Style Shreds.