Simply Sugar and Gluten-Free

Today marks Week Two of our gluten-free cookbook review blitz. (If you missed last week, check out our review of Laura B. Russell’s fabulous The Gluten-Free Asian Kitchen.) This week we focus on Amy Green’s Simply Sugar and Gluten-Free. 

Amy is the founder of a popular blog of the same name. She’s also the organizer of the upcoming Nourished conference, about food blogging and publishing, scheduled for April 2012 in Chicago (I’ll be a panelist at the event). Nourished immediately precedes the Gluten & Allergen Free Expo (where Kelli and I will be teaching a Breads class).

A hallmark of Amy’s recipes is that they are both gluten-free and refined-sugar-free. She uses some Stevia, but principally coconut palm sugar and agave nectar.

Simply Sugar and Gluten-Free is divided into major sections of recipes: starters and snacks; spreads and condiments; simple soups; salads; main dishes; side dishes; cookies and bars; cobblers, crisps and pies; cupcakes and cakes; fast frostings; mousses, puddings and custards; and frozen desserts. In other words, she offers up wide-ranging cuisine.

In general, her recipes have inspiring combinations of flavors. This is especially true of the naturally gluten-free entrees. Many recipes are also accompanied by handy “Quick Tips” that aid in the preparation of the dish.

One thing that became immediately apparent to us is that, by incorporating lots of fruits and vegetables (including into baked goods), and by using alternatives to refined sugar, Amy’s is a very healthful way of cooking.

Admittedly, we did have difficulty finding some specialty ingredients at our local stores. After trips to five stores—3 major supermarkets and 2 natural foods stores—we still didn’t find some things we needed, such as quinoa flakes that we wanted to use to make the book’s apple spice muffins. Also, recipes are written in paragraph form, rather than as numbered instructions. We sometimes had to take a moment to re-find our place in a recipe. Other than the cover, the book contains no photos.

But on to the food…

First up we made the chocolate black bean brownies. Amy’s book also contains a more conventional brownie recipe, but we were curious to try this unique alternative. The recipe contains no flour, and if you’re coming in with “traditional brownie” expectations, prepare to be surprised! The consistency, texture, and flavor were all different. We thought of it more as a tasty chocolate bar than as a brownie. Banana, used in the recipe, comes through, as does a very mild sourness from yogurt. You’d never know there were black beans in it, however. The next morning, the first thing our girls asked for was more of these brownies. With how healthy they are (with bananas, beans, and just a bit of agave and stevia), we didn’t hesitate to say “sure.”

Next up we made the tomato, pesto, and fresh mozzarella socca pizza. The socca crust is made with garbanzo bean flour, whipped up as a liquid batter in a blender, and then poured into an oven-heated skillet. (Her recipe called for a cast iron skillet, which we don’t have, so we used a heavy-duty Calphalon skillet of the same size.) Very unique. Amy describes it as a modified flatbread.

As a flatbread, it was very successful. As a pizza crust, for us it was less so. With the moisture from the fresh tomatoes and fresh mozzarella, the crust became very soggy, to the point of almost falling apart on us. Par-baking the crust for longer, and using toppings with less water moisture, might help that.

We did absolutely love the flavor combo. In some regards, it was reminiscent of a margherita pizza, with fresh mozzarella, fresh tomato, and basil. But instead of basil leaves, Amy makes brilliant use of basil pesto as a sauce for the pizza. Prosciutto, meanwhile, provides a pleasant light saltiness.

Then came blueberry yogurt crumb cake. The coconut palm sugar gave the crumb topping great flavor. (In fact, there’s none left on our remaining cake because the girls ate all of the topping right off the top…) The cake was moist, and a little dense but not overly so. The taste of bean flour—part of Amy’s Basic Flour Blend—came through strongly. As a matter of personal preference, we don’t use much bean flours in our baking, but Amy notes that you can substitute brown rice flour for bean flour in her blend to change the flavor profile.

Finally, we made the carob chip cookies. It was pretty close to a standard chocolate chip cookie recipe, though a little thick. An initial batch remained more as slightly mounded cookies. For a second batch, we pressed the dough balls flatter, resulting in more traditional cookie shape. The cookies had less overt bean flavor than did the crumb cake, and have a cake-y cookie texture, as opposed to a chewy cookie texture.

Conclusion

In the interest of trying to quantify our subjective experience (as we did for The Gluten-Free Asian Kitchen), we’re using a five star ratings scale, with points earned as follows:

Layout and design = up to 1 star
Is the book appealing to the eye? Intuitive to navigate? Sensibly organized?

Photos = up to 1 star
Are there photos? Are they in color? How many photos are there? Are they good photos?

Recipe quality = up to 2 stars
Most importantly, how good is the food? Are recipes easy to follow? Do they deliver as promised?

Overall impression = up to 1 star
How well does the book achieve its vision?

And so, how does Simply Sugar and Gluten-Free rate?

Layout and Design: 1 star
Photos: 0 stars
Recipe Quality: 1 star
Overall Impression: 1 star
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

If you’re looking for a cookbook that serves up recipes that are both gluten-free and refined-sugar-free, Amy delivers. She does so with many inspiring flavor combinations.

For this review, we specifically chose baking recipes from several sections of the book. We did have some challenges with the baking recipes—collecting required ingredients, executing steps, some unexpected flavors and textures. The addition of photos would be a great enhancement, and pump up the book’s quantitative star rating…potentially to 4 out of 5 stars.

Meanwhile, we’re very excited to try many of Amy’s naturally gluten-free savory dishes, which have us drooling in anticipation.

– Pete