First, thanks and hugs to all who answered my call for recipe testers.
I was touched and overwhelmed by the flood of responses, well wishes, and good vibes that you sent my way! I’m sorry so that I could not respond to the 200+ emails I received, but I now have enough testers. Please consider yourselves alternates. Thank you, again.
Cinnamon-sugar pretzel (top) and pretzel sprinkled with nutritional yeast and herbsSpeaking of recipes, here are the Wheat-Free Soft Pretzels that will appear in the cookbook. Philadelphia is synonymous with soft pretzels, slathered with mustard. You can buy them at street carts throughout the city. But to be honest, I’m not crazy about these giant hunks of white, processed flour. So using spelt flour, I made a less allergic, slightly healthier, much tastier version. I eat them plain, coated with lots of Earth Balance, or topped with either cinnamon sugar or nutritional yeast. They make wonderful lunch bag treats, plus they’re fun to make.
Using a silpat mat makes working with the dough so easy: the dough doesn’t stick, and clean-up is a breeze. First, roll the dough into long strips, then tie a little twist at the top of each.
Flip the “antennae” so that they reach the U-shaped “smile” at the bottom of the pretzel and voilà!
Ready for baking…
After baking, brush with melted Earth Balance. You can enjoy them right now, or…
Dip them in cinnamon sugar while they’re still wet. Heaven!
Ever get a yen for something simple and fruity to cleanse your palette? How about sparkling ruby pomegranate seeds suspended in a celadon sea of honeydew melon? These colorful jigglers give you all the nutrients and fiber of fruit – and a little sugar rush, to boot. And I suspect that kids will love them, especially when you make them in molds. [Great lunch box fodder.]
You can make jigglers with agar-agar and just about any fruit or juice you have on hand. For information on working with agar, see my post on agar basics.
Vege Island