Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Gluten Free Peaches & Dumplings

When I was growing up one of my favorite desserts was peaches and dumplings. It seemed a pretty simple recipe a large can of peaches tossed in a pot with biscuit mix (probably Bisquick) dropped by spoonfuls and cooked until it's done. I know, a child's memory only sees the end result. But served steaming hot with ice cream it was just delicious.

You may know that our family has been gluten free for more than a decade. After lots of trial and error we have come up with a pretty reasonable lifestyle that does not include wheat flour or any of the other problematic grains. But even after all these years I had not been successful recreating a good biscuit or dumpling. Everything I tried would turn into a gooey, starchy blob that was not very appealing.

Until this spring. We found a gluten free mix. Since I am highly recommending it here is the information: Made by Kinnikinnick in Canada, it's called Kinni-Kwik Bread and Bun mix (in the Phx area I have found it in Sprouts). It comes as a Bisquick type mix with the flour, leavening agents, some sugar, etc. So it's super easy to use. Measure out the mix, add your liquid and stir. Presto!

Yesterday as I was poking through the freezer I came across a batches of peaches from last year. I wasn't quite sure what to do with them; when it's 115 out it's hard to be motivated to turn on the oven. But the crock pot was sitting out so I decided to give it a try. I put the frozen peaches in the bottom with a little cinnamon and let them stew several hours. (I don't think you'd have to do this but they were pretty liquidy and I thought would be better cooked down a bit.) Then I mixed up the Kinni-Kwik. I added just enough rice milk (you can use regular milk or other liquid) to make a smooth but fairly stiff mix (say it was somewhere between a cake mix and cookie batter.) I dropped the mix by the spoonfuls on top of the hot peaches, turned the temp to high, and put the lid back on. In about three hours they were perfectly done. The dumplings were amazing, moist and cooked all the way through. They absorbed some of the peach juice giving them a great texture and flavor.

We let them cool a little (this is your only challenge as the smell permeates the house and everyone keeps walking into the kitchen to see if they are ready), then scooped them out and topped with our favorite vanilla ice cream (we use a lactose free brand). Yum... the ice cream begins to melt on the warm dumplings and adds a creaminess and the cold against the warm...Oh, it's good.

You wouldn't believe it's gluten free. I'd invite you over for a taste today but unfortunately it's all gone. But let me know if you want to try some next time.

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