Carrot Loaf for Kids

I tried this recipe as yet another attempt to find another breakfast or mid-morning snack my almost-two-year-old would enjoy. Today's Parent is always a good source for kid-friendly recipes. I liked this loaf a lot -- and my daughter ate a whole piece. That's no guarantee she will ever eat it again, but it's a start!

1/3 cup brown rice flour
1/3 cup amaranth flour
1/3 cup potato starch
1/4 cup flaxseed meal
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

1 packed cup grated carrots (2 medium or 1 large carrot)
1/2 cup very well-drained crushed pineapple
1/2 cup plain yogurt
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs

Preheat the oven to 350F and grease a loaf pan.

In a large bowl, whisk flours and starches with flaxseed meal, xanthan, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt.

In a medium bowl, whisk carrots, pineapple, yogurt, sugar, veg oil, and eggs until well-blended.

Fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Stir until just combined. Pour into the greased loaf pan and bake for 50 to 55 minutes, or until the loaf tests clean. Allow to cool for 10 minutes in the pan before turning out onto a rack to cool. Cool completely before slicing to serve. (Or, if serving warm, cut fat, not thin, slices, because the bread is delicate when hot.) This loaf is especially delicious spread with cream cheese.

Cornmeal Pancakes

These are light, thin pancakes of the kind I tend to prefer. I've never liked the thick, gluggy, stodgy kind of pancake from a mix. This recipe is adapted from the Fannie Farmer Cookbook. It strikes me these pancakes could be used as thick crepes. For instance, I think an oblong cornmeal pancake (with reduced sugar) could be wrapped warm around a gluten-free breakfast sausage and topped with onions, relish, or sauerkraut in place of a bun.

1/2 cup cornmeal
1/2 cup boiling water
1/4 cup amaranth flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 tbsp flaxseed meal
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp xanthan gum
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1/4 cup melted butter
1 large well-beaten egg
1/2 cup milk

In a large bowl, pour the boiling water over the cornmeal. Stir well. Pour in the dry ingredients followed by the wet ingredients and beat well, until the batter is thoroughly mixed.

Heat pan to medium-high heat (less hot than for some other pancakes) on a lightly greased pan. Use about 2 tbsp of batter per pancake. As for other pancakes, cook the first side until bubbles on the top break but do not fill back in, then flip and cook until lightly browned on the other side. Drizzle with molasses or maple syrup or fruit sauce to serve. These freeze and re-toast well in a toaster oven.

Orange-Glazed Zucchini Loaf

It's almost fresh zucchini season, so it's definitely time to use up that last two cups of the frozen grated zucchini from last year's avalanche of zukes. While the zucchini seems to thaw to a puddle of green-flecked water, it bakes up fine and adds much-needed moisture to gluten-free concoctions. I recommend the cardamom in this recipe.

1 cup brown rice flour
3/4 cup amaranth flour
1/2 cup potato starch
1/4 cup tapioca starch
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1 tsp gelatin
2/3 cup brown sugar
2 tsp (rounded) baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground cardamom or cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups grated zucchini
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup milk
3 eggs
2 tsp grated orange rind
1 cup chopped walnuts

Glaze:
1/4 cup gluten-free icing sugar
2 tsp orange juice

Line loaf pan with parchment paper or grease. Set aside.

Whisk together flours, sugar, baking powder and soda, cardamom, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together zucchini, butter, milk, eggs, and orange rind. Pour wet ingredients over flour mixture. Sprinkle with walnuts and stir just to combine. Pour into prepared pan. Bake at 350F until tests clean, about 1 hour. Let cool in pan for 15 minutes. Turn out on a rack to cool completely.

Combine icing sugar and orange juice to make glaze. Brush over hot loaf. Let cool.