Gluten and Dairy Free Hot Cross Buns

Do you follow the tradition of eating hot cross buns at Easter? The spicy, fruit packed yeast rolls are a favourite of my dad's and were a staple in our kitchen from the beginning of March all the way through April, when they disappeared for another year. I liked the spicy flavours and the raisins, but never got onto the "candied fruit" bandwagon, so I just stopped bothering to buy and eat them as an adult!

Now, the original recipe is obviously rich, decadent, and made with wheat flour - since this past week saw be being tested for Celiac (and since I've had numerous issues even working with wheat flour), I decided I'd take our "recipe box" formula and try out a gluten free, dairy free variation and see how it went.

All things considered, I think these are pretty darn delicious - packed with raisins, currants, Craisins (and even the prerequisite candied fruit) that all marry with sweet, warming spice is kind of hard to go wrong with! My flour blend for these also included the sweet richness of chestnut flour and my current favourite sweetener jaggery, which added an "old style" flavour to the mixture. The traditional flour-water cross overtop got a touch of sugar and almond extract for extra oomph, and the whole shebang was glazed with chestnut honey right out of the oven. The honey also helped to keep everything moist for a while, since these gluten-free rolls generally don’t stay moist for too long (about 2 days, tops). That said, leftovers (and even fresh buns) are excellent split, toasted and topped with honey or vegan butter!

Now, forewarning: these buns took a long time to proof - and I'm still not sure they poofed all the way - but the two 2-hour waits were beyond worth it for me.  I can't even begin to explain how DELICIOUS these are! Candied fruit and all!

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Rosemary and Olive Grissini #SundaySupper

I have a confession.

I almost never watch movies. In particular, I never willingly watch romantic comedies, especially if they're in the theatres. For my $15 (not counting concessions), I'll take James Bond, Tim Burton or Star Wars way before settling in for 2+ hours of boy-meets-girl / boy-loses-girl / boy-gets-girl semi-storylines. Even then, I'm hard pressed to focus that long on anything (I can barely watch a half hour TV show) so most of the time I skip the theatres entirely and catch up on the Coles Notes version while waiting for it to come out on the free On Demand cable channels.

That said, I'm still excited for this week's #SundaySupper theme - My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 - because I love Greek food, and definitely love partying Greek style! Our group is combining Hellenic inspired dishes to create a feast of Olympic proportions - whether its to remember and join the re-union celebration of Toula and Ian or simply revel in the rich, healthy flavours of the Mediterranean.

My contribution to the dinner feast is this recipe for grissini - skinny, crunchy breadsticks that are perfect for an appetizer, snack or accompaniment to a simple Mediterranean meal. They are incredibly easy to put together, and are packed with the bright, vibrant flavour of fresh rosemary and the briny richness of both Kalamata and sun-dried olives, which mingle with the slight nuttiness of the whole wheat flour to make a satisfying, well-keeping snack that not only stands up on its own but pairs beautifully with dips like baba ghanoush or hummus. For cocktail or dinner parties where they're being used as pre-meal nibbles, a grating of fresh Parmesan on top before baking adds an extra "gourmet" twist - but even without that extra garnish I dare you to try stopping at one. If you're anything like my coworker - who claims he's not a "bread guy" in general - you'll find yourself missing more than a few before the end of the day due to "quality control" checks!

This #SundaySupper event is hosted by Nichole Crews from Casa de Crews. Thanks Nichole!

Greek Appetizers:

• Greek Salad (Horiatiki Salata) by Angels Home Sweet Homestead
• Greek-Style Sliders with Feta Aioli by Grumpy’s Honeybunch
• Kalamata Phyllo Cigars with Whipped Feta by Pook’s Pantry
• Rosemary and Olive Grissini by What Smells So Good?
• Socca Pizza with Spinach, Roasted Tomatoes, Kalamata Olives, and Feta by The Wimpy Vegetarian
• Spanakopita Bites by My Imperfect Kitchen
• Tiropitas (Greek Cheese Triangles ) by Moore or Less Cooking
• Tyropita Appetizer Bites by The Freshman Cook

Greek Soups:

• Avgolemono Chicken Zoodle Soup by Cupcakes & Kale Chips
• Quick and Easy Greek Avgolemono Soup by Confessions of a Cooking Diva
• Shrimp Avgolemono with Spinach by Monica’s Table
• Vegetarian Magiritsa (Greek Easter Soup) by Palatable Pastime

Greek Breakfast:

• Baklava French Toast with Cinnamon Honey Syrup by A Mind Full Mom

Greek Main Dishes:

• Brizola (Greek-style Pork Chops) by Cindy’s Recipes and Writings
• Chicken Greek Salad Flatbread by Family Foodie
• Greek Chirashi Sushi by NinjaBaker
• Greek Breakfast Wraps by Brunch-n-Bites
• Greek Meatball Salad by Magnolia Days
• Gyro Meatballs with Lemon Rice by Casa de Crews
• Kotopita (Greek Chicken Pie) by Curious Cuisiniere
• Mediterranean Meatball Gyro Sandwich by Life Tastes Good
• Slow-Cooked Lamb Shoulder with Roasted Vegetables by Food Lust People Love
• Souvlaki Chicken Wraps with Homemade Tzatziki by The Crumby Cupcake
• Youvetsi (Greek beef or lamb and orzo stew) by Caroline’s Cooking

Greek Side Dishes:

• Greek-style rice salad by Pine Needles In My Salad
• Greek Zucchini Fritters by Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
• Homemade Tzatziki Sauce by Cosmopolitan Cornbread
• Spanakorizo by Feeding Big and More

Greek Desserts:

• Chocolate Baklava by The Chef Next Door
• Greek Lemon Cake by That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• Greek Spice Cake by Our Good Life
• Greek Walnut Cake by Pies and Plots
• Greek Wedding Cookies – Kourabiethes/Kourabiedes by La Bella Vita Cucina
• Loukoumades – Greek Donuts by The TipToe Fairy
• Loukoumades (Greek honey fritters) by The Redhead Baker

Greek Beverages:

• Ouzito: The Greek Mojito by Hardly A Goddess

Plus Baked Shrimp with Feta plus More Greek Cuisine from Sunday Supper Movement

Join the #SundaySupper conversation on twitter on Sunday! We tweet throughout the day and share recipes from all over the world. Our weekly chat starts at 7:00 pm ET. Follow the #SundaySupper hashtag and remember to include it in your tweets to join in the chat. To get more great Sunday Supper Recipes, visit our website or check out our Pinterest board.

Would you like to join the Sunday Supper Movement? It’s easy. You can sign up by clicking here: Sunday Supper Movement.

Uber Ginger Cookies

Ginger cookies are one of those "love it or hate it" treats that seems to show up on cookie trays all year. I used to think they were a "Christmas only" special (thinking of gingerbread houses + men), but just because the shapes aren't popular in July doesn't mean the flavours aren't! Ginger has one of those properties of being able to heat you up or refresh you, depending on it's form and application, so it gets heavy play in my kitchen all year. Of course, I'm spoiled when it comes to willing gingerphile tastebuds around here too, so I'm always looking for ways to "up the ante" when it comes to my baking.

I think, though, that I've hit the apex of the ginger cookie curve with these beauties. Not only are these packed with ground ginger and TWO hits of the fresh rhizome, but I went ahead and rolled the sticky batter in instant ginger-honey granules, snickerdoodle-style, before baking them off. The resulting cookies, which got a tender chew from golden syrup, molasses and apple butter, offer pops of vibrant sweet-spicy flavour with every bite. They're rather "moreish" as well, their texture mimicking that of my favourite Lassy Mogs while their taste reminds me of the cookies we used to get right from the bakery by my grandparent's house. While I can't see myself having a glass of milk with them, a frosty ginger ale? You bet!

Strawberry Papaya Jam: Toast Topper #67 #thereciperedux

There's no getting around it - our family loves jam. Whether it's peach, lime, persimmon or bluebarb, the plethora of Toast Topper I've posted (and the even greater number of general condiments) should indicate that we can't leave a piece of bread (or waffle, or pancake...) undecorated - even filled ones like the Figgy Olive Oil and Sesame Challah - untouched. No, we need a spread to crown our carbs, but by and large we find the standard jars from the store well... standard. You just don't find flavours like the ones I mentioned at the local grocery store here, and the jams and jellies you do find are often packed with sugar or (in the case of the so-sugar-added ones) artificial sweeteners.

That said, jam doesn't have to be like that - nor does it need to be a super-complex, multi-pot, 47-jar canning bonanza (though I have nothing against that!). Last post, I mentioned how you needed sugar to activate the pectin in standard recipes, but luckily today there are varieties of pectin requiring less (or no) sugar at all to work, as well as a couple other options like agar, gelatin and, what I partially relied on here, chia seeds. Back last June, I made No-Cook Berry Chia Jam using the incredible gelling properties of the seeds to great effect. This time, I used them as an accessory thickener - a fail-safe, if you will - since the fresh papaya in the jam can sometimes wreak havoc with the jamming process (thanks enzymes!). With the extra help, and natural sweetness from the tropical fruit, it turns out that cooking up a healthy and delicious Toast Topper with fresh fruit and coconut water is not only easy, but fast - and you won't miss the refined sugar either - promise!

This Recipe Redux has out gang whipping up no-brainer dishes with "7 or fewer" ingredients in honour of tax season. As a lover of spice (and flour) medleys, it was tough, but yummy experimenting!

Black Currant and Wine Jelly Toast Topper #66

I'll admit that when it comes to making jam and jelly, I'm a slave to added pectin. I know there are times when I don't need it (Backyard Grape Jam, for instance) thanks to the natural pectin in the fruit, and if I'm making a full-sugar preserve as written (like this Blood Orange and Cranberry Marmalade) I will abstain.

The problem for me is that to activate the pectin, you need sugar. And a lot of it. Since the whole point of me making jam at home (well, one of the points) is to make a healthier Toast Topper for the pantry, adding a bucket of sugar to a recipe doesn't really compute. That said, I'm always learning! I've discovered agar and gelatin do a bang-up gelling job, and recently I discovered a technique in Miyoko Schinner's book The Homemade Vegan Pantry that relies on the power of both reduction and arrowroot starch to solidify the spread.

Now, this isn't a "jelly-like" condiment like what you'd normally find on the shelf, but a slightly thicker-than-apple butter spread. Regardless of what you call it though, the combination of currant juice and "Doppio Passo" wine reduces to a semi-sweet, mellow, elegantly flavoured syrup, which I added dried currants to for contrasting texture and more of a "jam like" feel.  A bit of sweet blood orange juice helped cut down the need for extra sugar and heightened the fruity notes in both wine and juice. The recipe is still somewhat high in sugar by my standards, but the tartness of the currants and the tannins in the wine need it - you want to enjoy your healthier spread, after all!

While I didn't can my jelly (it disappeared too fast!) the cookbook says you can waterbath can it. I'm not too sure what the standards are for starch-thickened recipes, so I suggest storing this in the fridge and making small batches as needed!

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