Holiday treats

No bake Cocoa Macaroons

Ingredients
2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup milk ( I used 2%)
6 tbsp cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups shredded coconut
2 cups oats

In a sauce pan melt butter add milk sugar and cocoa and whisk . Bring to a gentle boil . Once boiled remove from heat. Add the shredded coconut and oats and stir . Line a cookie sheet with wax paper then drop mixture by spoon fulls or put mixture into muffin liners . Let cool and enjoy .  

Coconut Ice

Ingredients
1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk (approx)
2 cups icing sugar
1 3/4 cups shredded coconut
pink food colouring

Mix everything but food dye in a bowl . Dust a 8X8 pan with icing sugar and put half the mixture into pan . With remaining mixture add food colouring and knead . When colour is infused place on top of the mixture in the pan . Dust the top with icing sugar and refrigerate . Cut into squares and serve . 

Holiday peanut butter cups

I have made these before except this time I added half a large marshmellow and sprinkles . 

Sugar cookies

Cant find the recipe will post later . Sorry!

Happy holidays.

Strawberry short cake

I looooove the spongy texture of this recipe found at www.food.com .

Completely flourless they use cornstarch in its place . 

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup icing sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup cornstarch
• 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder

Check out the link for the complete recipe . 

Plus it froze well . I had some left over sponge that my mom used to make a lovely trifle !

Back off those are MINE- brownies!

Its really hard to share something this good with others 

This is by far the best recipe for brownies I've redone . You get a nice crunch on the top but the inside is super moist with more chocolate than I know what to do with . Even my hubby was sneaking them at bedtime.

For this amazing recipe you will need :

2 cup sugar

1 cup white rice flour

1/4 cup sorghum flour

4 eggs

3/4 cup cocoa

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup lactose free margarine

1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325F

Slowly melt your margarine in the microwave or on the stove . In a large mixing bowl stir together sugar and cocoa then add the melted margarine .

Add the eggs and vanilla and blend.

Then add the flour and chocolate chips stirring until batter is smooth . 

Pour into a greased pan and bake for 40-50 minutes . Insert a toothpick to check if done . Should come out clean . 

Let cool and enjoy .

Chocolate cake / conecakes

K enjoying her conecake

I couldn't bear to not make something fun for Halloween for my lil gal so I grabbed my daughters cookbook "Kids Cooking ; A slightly messy manual " By  Klutz.com 

They had a great recipe idea for frosted chocolate conecakes which I have made gluten free and lactose free.

Ingredients:

12 gf ice cream cones ( I used mini ones but alas they had wheat in them )

3/4 cup white rice flour

1/4 cup tapioca flour

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp baking powder

3 tbsp cocoa powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup lactose free margerine

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup soy milk

1 tsp vanilla 

Pre heat your oven to 350F .In a large bowl  combine flour , sugar , baking powder , and salt

 In a sauce pan mix together magerine,  water and cocoa on low/medium heat so you don't burn the cocoa . When the mixture is completely melted slowly add to the flour mixture and blend well . 

Add the eggs,  soy milk and vanilla and mix again .

Place your ice cream cones into muffin sheet and fill with batter until 3/4 full leaving room to rise . 

Bake for 25-30 minutes . 

I used my remaining batter to make myself a cake . I used a 8" spring form pan and baked for 15-20 minutes. cut in half and added some icing . Yum for mum!

Icing 

1/2 container Tofutti cream cheese

aprox. 1 cup icing sugar ( I didn't write it down sorry! Just keep slowly adding the icing sugar until you get a good consistency) 

1 tbsp vanilla

*optional food colouring but I just didn't want to tempt fate with my 3 year old helping

This isn't a very chocolaty cake but its still nice . Wait till you try the brownies .....

Autumn soup

I am a big soup person and with harvest season here its time to experiment . This week I have made roasted
butternut squash with cauliflower and onion . The cauliflower really helps add a creaminess that I would have gotten from milk . I could have added soy milk I guess but wheres the creativity in that .

you will need:
1 butternut squash - cut in half take out the seeds and add a large knob of gfcf butter in the hole
1 cauliflower - cut into florets toss in olive oil
1 large yellow onion - diced
1L water or stock .you may want more or less depending on how thick you want your soup
curry powder*
pepper*
salt*

hand blender or blender

Roast the squash for 1 hour at 350F and the cauliflower for 30mins . Saute the onion until translucent then add 2 cups of water and let simmer .

Once the cauliflower is done roasting add it to the onion then add enough water or stock to cover them . When the squash comes out let it cool down enough so you can handle it . Should be soft and easy to scoop . Add the squash to the pot of onion and cauliflower, add your spices , make sure you have enough water (it should cover the veggies) stir then let sit at a medium heat for about 20 mins stirring occasionally .

After 20 mins you can start blending .

This makes a large pot . I like to freeze half of mine into portioned bags for later and share with family . Making soup ins't expensive or hard and is the best meal for those rainy days !

Happy cooking

* to taste

Tricky treats

As Halloween approaches my mind wanders to the candy being given out . Drool . Unfortunately many of them could potentially contain wheat / gluten . I am super glad to have found  website posted by Alison St.Sure . She put in a lot of hard work putting together a 2010 gluten free candy list . I would hug her if I could! http://surefoodsliving.com/2010/10/halloween-candy-list-gluten-free-allergen-free-status-2010/

Alison also provides a list of candy without the top allergens in it .

I really enjoy her site . Now I can have a happy healthy(ish tee hee ) Halloween .

Give away alert

If you love handmade knitwear please check out http://monpetitshoo.blogspot.com/ or find her on facebook and Etsy http://www.etsy.com/shop/amandamcmom ! I have purchase quite a few and given many as gifts and they are wonderful . Very cute children s hats and stylish adult ones too! She is definitely worth a look .

Sneak peek

I've been busy working and planning Ks 3rd birthday . She turned 3 yesterday so amazing ! I did manage to make a goat cheese sauce for my gf pasta topping it off with double smoked bacon from the british butcher shop  http://www.thebritishbutchershoppe.com/ new site coming soon . Be patient its worth it . Next off is a blueberry plum strudel . White rice and tapioca flour based .Recipes to come soon I promise . I have more to show but alas the photos are on my moms computer ! 

Happy creating people!

Pancakes

My morning was not going well .I'll blame the lack of coffee in my system . The pan was oiled and set to low to medium heat. The first 3 pancakes stuck and ruined my pan for the next batch . Even after that I was not defeated . Honestly I don't know why more people haven't tried to bake pancakes . It's way easier and they are done at the same time . If you have a silicone baking mat give it a try next time . If you don't have one go get one now what are you waiting for . Seriously go now . My burned / stuck on food days are over . Ok well you can still burn things but you wont be stuck scrubbing the burnt stuff off your pan just wiping your mat clean .

Cherrybrook Kitchens Pancake/waffle mix baked.

This product is Nut , dairy , egg , gluten free and made in a dedicated facility by Patsy and Chip. Patsy has multiple allergies so she understands how important it is to have a dedicated area  . This is a rice flour base pancake . They are quite light in colour but like I said they are baked so they are very thin cakes . Slight crisp exterior with a soft center . Very yummy even plain . Way to go Cherrybrook Kitchens !

B.L.T . Uhh ya

I love Bacon Lettuce and Tomatoes don't you . 

I'm one of those people whole will eat a tomato like an apple . Chomp chomp tomato all over my grinning face . Well this lovely recipe madness had me drooling like a fool . Who needs bread when you have awesome ideas like this one . Feel free to try . Its a big mess but soo yummy . I was even evil enough to fry my tomato in the bacon fat .  

Happy creating

Taste testing Beer & Sweet potato fries

So this summer with a lil help from my friends I discovered 2 other beers that are safe to drink . I was honestly shocked about the first one . BUDWEISER! Lo and behold its a rice beer surprise! Welcome back to my life . And the other Yanjing beer from china was very good . Quite a light beer good for those summer days by the beach . It does have barley but I seem to have no problem with it .

Next up is Alexia and their Sweet potato fries

Restaurant quality right from your oven . Crunchy exterior soft center delicious . They use a blend of corn, tapioca and potato starches and rice flour to get that crunchy texture . I picked these up at whole foods on sale for $2.99 . They also have a chipotle flavor as well  . Two thumbs up !

Mini Strawberry apple sauce cakes

Another cake . My Daughter has a cake theme going . It may be because she turns 3 in 12 days :)

This recipe is very simple . I used greased small tart tins to get the shape . 

Ingredients :

1 cup Bobs Redmill All purpose flour

1/2 cup Sweet Sorghum flour

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp Baking powder

1/4 cup vegan margarine

1 small kid cup of strawberry apple sauce = to about 1/2 a cup   

2 free range medium brown eggs

I just threw all the ingredients in my mixer so there really is no order to this list as we were just throwing ingredients in as we found them . That is what happens when your assistant chef is VERY YOUNG , but she is quite capable . Shes cracking eggs already (and washing up after to get the yuck off ) makes momma proud .Sniff . Anyways ... bake for 8-10 minutes at 350 but keep on eye on them . When you are done baking remove them from the tins and let cool on a rack . Top with you favorite jam! I used my triple berry again. They are spongy and moist and a great little snack . I think lil miss.chef  (tee hee ) had 3 that day .

Hope this has inspired you . Happy cooking!

Strawberry banana cake

I love how enthusiastic my daughter is about baking .Half the time I don't even have anything planned out I just start pulling out my flours n sugar and start rummage through my fridge . Lucky for you I had fresh strawberries and 1 lonesome banana . 

Ingredients:

1/2 cup lard

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

1 cup white rice flour

1/3 cup sweet sorghum flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 cup sliced strawberries

1 banana -mashed

* 1/2 cup of walnuts would do nicely as well  

Heat oven to 350F . Cream lard ,sugar , vanilla and eggs together . Slowly add the flour and gently stir in the fruit . Pour batter into an 8" springform pan . Bake for 20-25 minutes . 

Deep fried clams and chocolate cake

Chocolate cake with triple berry preserve.

 

                 Deep fried clam meat two ways . 

My chocolate cake recipe has grown legs and is MIA . Here is the recipes for deep fried clam meat two ways . 

Crunchy

1 package clam meat

2 cups rice crackers crushed

1 tsp salt and pepper 

1 tsp chili powder

1  egg

1/2 cup white rice flour

Batter

1 package of clam meat

1/2 cup sorghum flour

1 egg

1 tsp salt

For crunchy style dredge clam meat in flour dip in beaten eggs then toss in crunchy mixture . fry at 100 F for 30 seconds . Do in small batches so they don't stick .

Batter combine everything but clam meat in a bowl . Add water if too gummy . Dip clam meat into batter and fry at 100F for 30 seconds . Also do in small batches because these tend to stick together .

I've been quite busy lately as summer usually is but I have been doing my test kitchen just not posting (bad me I know) . In the next few days I will catch up with my posts as I just made an awesome lemon cake and cocoa peanut butter cookies with jam . mmmmmm jam . There now you have something to look forward too.

Happy test kitchens everyone!

Deep fried buns

                              Oh yes I did . 

Deep fried hot dog buns . 

It was a rather hot day when I attempted to make corn dogs . I swapped out regular milk from my corn dog recipe from my earlier post and replaced it with the equivalent of almond milk . It turned out doughy not like batter at all . So I added water and no luck . I attempted to wrap it around the hot dog with not much luck . So instead of scrapping my dinner plans I got creative and threw in a oval shaped dough mass into the fryer . After 5 mins I took it out sliced the middle open ( but not all the way ) then threw it back in the fryer for another 3-4 minutes to finish cooking the soggy center . Placed it on a paper towel to drain the extra oil . It was amazing . I love the taste of corn dogs so this was like 2x the amount of corn wrapping goodness .   Might make some hamburger buns with the next attempt .  Hope this gets your creative mojo going . 

Well thats a pisser

So today I had a gluten attack . Took my Immodium and felt fine . 30 minutes later I didn't . I had tossed out my package and never thought to look at the ingredients again. Never thought there just might be lactose in it .  I recently found out my allergy pill had lactose too . What am I supposed to do . Suffer with a swollen throat and whole body itching ? Or hope that the lactose doesn't kill my guts as bad as a gluten attack . ARG ! Its crazy . Why must these companies put all these extras in there ? Does it really hold a benefit to the action of the pill ? There must be another way . Wheat binders and lactose added . We need simpler times for meds . Cut out the crap already.  Back to scanning the aisles for GFCF pills I guess . This hasn't defeated me just added another small bump in my unpaved road of life . guh .

Pistachio sesame cookies

I'm back in the kitchen . Whipped up some GFCF cookies today . All that research paid off I guess . I made alterations so this would be gluten free since it was already lactose free . I didn't call for much flour which was nice too . Only a tablespoon and I used my favorite sweet sorghum . 

Pistachio sesame cookies . 

I am back to being inspired!

My daughter playing outside at grammi s  while mom reads recipe books in the shade.

I was over at my moms today and grabbed up her old martha stewart holiday magazine . Holy cow evil lives in that magazine ! The pictures of cookies alone are enough to make me wanna tear up . Reading though it though definitely got my cooking mojo going . I'm in love with pistachios and found a recipe for pistachio lemon drops which I NEED to make . I used to love pistachio ice cream soo much I would drive 20 minutes just to get it . Now the lactose has taken that away too . Oh well . I was eying my moms ice cream maker up in the loft and just might have to create some almond milk ice cream too!

Another great thing about summer is the BERRIES . I've stocked on blueberries I have 2 1/2 boxes of them . Any ideas on what I should make ? Any summer faves you'd like to share?

Keep checking back I'm bound to make something soon .  

I'm looking for a challenge

This is me bored and out in the sun. Help a girl out.

As the heat cranks up my ability to create new dishes fades . I'm looking for someone to challenge me to make something gfcf  adapted from a regular recipe if you want . I will post photos and my recipe for all to see.

Guest bloggers

If you have some recipes to share or stories to tell please email me at leahavery@live.com and I'll post them for you .

Quick its time for dinner

So last night I wasn't to sure what dinner might be . Probably fish I thought . Do you think I could find a good recipe for deep fry fish batter . Ummmm no . Or I should say I couldn't find one without a tonne of stuff I didn't have in my pantry . So I decided to be daring and use my dear hubby and myself as guinea pigs . What I did make turned out amazing .

Ingredients :
1 1/2 cup White rice flour
1 egg
1 tbsp Greek seasoning
approx 1 cup of water .
2 large pieces of Basa fish or your favorite and then cut in half

Add enough water so its not too thick but not runny . Dry your fish so the batter will stick . Some people use flour or cornstarch I just patted mine dry and it worked fine for me . If you want a fluffier batter try adding 1 tbsp of baking powder . If you do let me know how it turns out.

Tortilla pie

Before my lactose freeness I made a lovely Tortilla pie . The recipe is simple but making the actual tortillas is quite hard unless you own a press . 

Ingredients:

2 cups masa harina ( fine ground corn flour)
¼ tsp. salt
1 ¼ cups warm water

Mix ingredients together cover and let stand for 30 minutes .  Pinch into a ball and press . Put the tortillas on a preheated hot pan oiled or non-stick. When the edges begin to curl, flip. After half a minute  flip again. When it begins to bubble it's done . Mine were really thick but I actually liked them and so did my hubby . He ate almost the whole batch and he's not GF.  It was almost like a lasagna when I made it .  The other ingredients are what you'd normally put in a taco or wrap . The sky s the limit . 

Not milk !

So I have been pretty quiet on here the last few days . Just been trying to wrap my head around becoming lactose free . As I already knew that many celiacs have this intolerance and I had been hoping this one passed my graces but alas as of last week it became obvious that it was catching up to me . As I am saddened to see this come about I just take it as another glimpse of learning the science of what makes me work . Everyone is different . Some things work for most people and some don't  .

I am also learning more about the ways food effects us which can be really fascinating or really disgusting . I can no longer watch the show unwrapped . It just ruins food for me . I've always been trying to put healthy benefits into my cooking with natural fresh food . Like when I need more antioxidants in my diet hello bell peppers everyone loves a stir fry right ! Or when your sick . Ummmm vegetable soup anyone ( gluten free of course ) I make my own .

So milk is gone . I have found a suitable replacement for my morning coffee already . No way I'm giving up my coffee EVER . Almond milk YUM . I don't like the soy or rice ones I've tried so far so almond it is . If anyone out there has a favorite of either of those please share so I don't waste my time or $$ . Now the recipes I make will be both gluten AND lactose free . Any suggestions for butter replacements ? Will post some recipes soon for all you followers out there . Just need more time in my days ...

Apple Empanada s & pizza to go

Who doesn't appreciate a piece of pie to go . I've been on a pretty big apple pie kick lately and thought that this might be fun to try . You can use this dough recipe for more than just pie . I used mine for pizza too!

I couldn't wait to try the pizza before I took the shot . I topped mine with a home made tomato sauce , gluten free Italian sausage from my local butcher , yellow onion cooked with the sausage , fresh raw yellow pepper slices and mozzarella . The toppings were thick but the crust held up well . It wasn't soggy at all .

Ingredients for the dough
2 cups Knickinink all purpose flour
2 cups White rice flour
3 egg YOLKS
2 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2/3 cup water * you may need more

Put egg yolks , sugar , salt , water and whisk . Add the flour and mix . If it isn't binding enough add a table spoon of water at a time until it becomes doughy . Let sit for 10-15 minutes . Dust your rolling area with cornstarch .

For empanadas :

Preheat oven to 325F . Grab a handful of dough roll it out into a circle shape . Put 2-3 table spoons of filling on one side fold over the empty side and press edges closed with fork . Brush top with left over egg whites . Add a sprinkle of sugar on top for sweet empanadas . Place on greased baking sheet . Bake for 20 minutes .*Keep an eye on them as some may need less time .

* Apple recipe is the same one I used in previous pies.

For pizza

Grab a large ball of dough for a big pizza or a handful for small ones . Roll out and place on cookie sheet or pizza pan . Add you favorite toppings and bake for 20 mins .

I might try and use this recipe to make bread or buns too . I will post when I test them out .

Hope you've enjoyed this test kitchen . Happy cooking

Let us eat cake!

* will post recipe later

Cupcakes - Tapioca Delight

I had a strange urge to make cupcakes at 9am this morning . Glad my daughter didn't see a problem with this. She is becoming a great helper always saying "lets get started " and fetching a bowl and some sugar since thats all she can reach . They are sweet and taste like tapioca pudding . Yum

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cup White Rice flour

1 cup Tapioca flour

1 1/2 cup sugar

3 1/2 tbsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 1/4 cups milk

1/2 cup butter

1 tsp vanilla

3 eggs

Heat oven to 350F . Beat all ingredients on low for 30 seconds then on high for 3 minutes . Pour into medium papered muffin cups . Fill just over half way full . Bake for 15 minutes . Check center with a tooth pick to make sure its fully baked . Pick should come out clean . Remove from pan . If your wondering why its brown on the bottom of my cupcake in the final  picture I snuck pieces of chocolate into mine before baking them . Just cuz .

Creamy vanilla frosting:

3 cups powdered sugar

1/3 cup butter

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

2 tbsp milk

Mix all ingredients until smooth . Ta da!

Cheese biscuit sliders

Originally called Baking powder biscuits in the ol Betty Crocker cookbook .

                      

Nothing like a burger on a nice summer (or sunny) day . I made some cheese biscuits this afternoon for my lunch (mmmm buttery goodness ) and had plenty left over at dinner time so I used them as slider buns because they are small . Plus I just couldn't bring myself to wrap another lettuce burger or eat it with a fork bleck. These biscuits are a bit dense like a cornbread so I might try this recipe using a 3 flour home made mix but I am glad I tried the premixed bag just so I have my options . Another quick note : they turned out a little more salty that I thought they would so make sure you don't use a very salty cheese if you decide to use it .

Ingredients 

2 cups all purpose flour ( from Kinnikinnick )

http://consumer.kinnikinnick.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/consumer.home.html

1/4 cup shortening

1 tbsp sugar

3 tbsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1/2 cup shredded cheese ( or more !)

3/4 cup milk * you may not need it all

Heat over to 375F . Combine all dry ingredients in a bowl . 

Cut shortening into dry ingredients until fine crumbs are formed . 

Slowly add milk . Only enough so that the dough leaves the sides of the bowl and can form a ball. 

Flour your surface that you are going to knead you dough on so it wont stick . 

You may need to re flour if it begins to stick . 

Knead dough 20-30 times . Pat or roll into a 1/2 inch thickness .

Cut with 2 1/2 inch biscuit/cookie cutter .

Place on ungreased cookie sheet . 

*Tip : Place inch apart for crusty sides or touching for soft sides

Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. 

Remove from cookie sheet and place on cooling rack .

Serve .

Mommy I want pancakes!

is what my daughter said Friday morning . Hmmmmm I thought . I don't have pancake mix in my house but I do have flour . Kara fetched the bowl and some sugar and before you know it we were doing a test kitchen .

They turned out pretty good for my first wheatless pancakes. 

Ingredients 

1cup rice flour 

1 1/2 cup sweet sorhgum flour

2 tbsp baking powder

2 tbsp sugar

3/4 tsp salt

1 1/2 cup milk

1 egg

2-3 tbsp oil 

Blend all ingredients together . Let rise then stir again . Drop into an oiled or buttered pan on medium heat . Wait for the bubbles then flip and press down lightly . Smaller pancakes will cook more quickly . Don't make them to large or the batter might not cook properly . 

Happy cooking!

Chocolate chip cookies

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup of granulated sugar

1 cup butter or margarine ( I used 1/2 cup margarine 1/2 cup lard b/c thats all I had)

1 medium brown egg

1 cup Rice flour

1 cup Sweet Sorhgum flour

1/4 cup Tapioca flour

2 tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp of salt

1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

Blend Sugar , margarine and egg together . Add the flours , baking powder ,  salt and blend. Should be a stiff dough if too runny add more flour slowly . Stir in the chocolate chips . I pressed mine out on a cookie sheet and baked at 325F for 13 minutes . If your making drop cookies bake for closer to 8-10 minutes . 

These cookies have a crisp edge and soft center . Absolutely wonderful cookies . 

*You may want to Ziploc them or put in Tupperware because they tend to dry out .

Another apple pie

Similar to the other pie I made except instead of all Rice flour I used 50% rice 50% sweet sorghum . Instead of a rolled top (which I tried to do but failed terribly at) I just broke the left over dough into small pieces on the top drizzled honey and dusted some sugar and baked for 35 minutes . This was a pie baked for my mom who is also gluten free (go figure) and hadn't eaten a pie in quite a while . She topped it with whipped cream and was in pie heaven! She woke up the next morning and half the pie was gone :) .  

Pie ... really it's pie

Ok so the first image doesn't look like pie ...more of a mess but it tastes like pie to me! The second image is what it looked like fresh out of the oven . I ran out of dough while I was putting the top on so I recommend adding a bit more flour and shortening or butter or you'll get a not so fitted pie top .

Ingredients for crust:
1 cup Rice flour
1 tbsp granulated sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/3 cup shortening  /or butter
3 tbsp COLD water
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Combine dry ingredients together then cut in shortening . Combine water and vanilla together and add until mixture is moist . Roll into 2 small balls . Press one ball into a 9" pie plate . Bake at 375f  for 5minutes . Fill with apples , berries or make it savory for pot pie! . I used 5 apples . Peeled cooked in a pot with 1 1/2 cups water , cinnamon , 1/2 cup sugar , 4 tbsp honey and cornstarch to thicken the water . Once pie base is baked add pie filling and roll out the remaining dough ball large enough to cover the pie . Press corners with a fork .I basted my pie lid with butter and dusted with sugar . Bake for recommended time . ( mine was in for 45 minutes ) . DO NOT be discouraged to try this because of the picture . This was my first wheat free pie ever and it was yummy . Add some Ice cream on top and no one will ever know .

Cheers

Sad news for celiac coffee drinkers

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/coffeecity/2011829401_new_frappuccino_recipe_deletes.html

Experimenting with flours

I turned 28 the other day and received various flours for my birthday (and wheat free beer (bards)http://www.bardsbeer.com/ they have retailers map! ) . I decided to make chocolate chip cookies . I used Bobs Red Mill All purpose flour . I should have read the flour list . I never make cookies with bean flour in it it comes out to gritty and these ones turned to crumbs the next day as well . The cookies where ok rated for taste but not for texture . Not on my re-bake list . Next time I'll use my own all purpose flour . My next attempt will be apple pie using a rice flour pie crust . I'm hoping for a better outcome . Also if you are using bean flour they are very high in fiber so don't eat too many ;)

Pasta Salad

                        Summer is not far and one of my favorite dishes is a nice cold pasta salad .

I used
2 cups tinkyada spiral rice noodles cooked 10 mins then drained and washed under cold water
1/3 green ,1/3 yellow , 1/3 red  pepper cut into small cubes
1 1/2 cups mixed veggies ( beans , peas , corn and carrots ) steamed
1ish cups mayo
1/2 cup basil pesto cream cheese
a few dashes of celery salt , pepper to taste and tada ( paprkia works well too )

heres to summer munching!

new version of peanut butter cookies

you'll need to set oven to 375

1 medium brown egg
1/2 cup sugar

mix these 2 together until some air is incorporated .

then add the following and mix until blended
1 cup peanut butter
2 tbs icing sugar
1 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt

chill in fridge for 30 mins

roll little balls and press with a fork or use an 8" spring form pan . bake cookies 8-10 minutes , 10-14 minutes for the 8"

Remove from sheet and let cool . If using a spring form pan wait 5 mins then remove otherwise it might fall apart . These cookies are kinda like peanut butter brownies . A bit fluffier , soft and chewy .

Right now Kara is sneaking the rest that I just made . So kids will love these too .

Enjoy this treat screw you wheat!

Mmmm cookies

Soo many wonderful meals and snacks . I am enjoying a vanilla creme cookie right now , and now , and now and awe they're gone :) . I'm a glutton for non gluten cookies . Nom nom nom . I picked up these bad boys at Pricemart for $5 . Check the aisles there are wheat free treats hiding everywhere .

My Mothers Day upset

Its amazing how just a tiny fleck of wheat can mess up your whole evening .

My mother very nicely went out of her way to make a turkey dinner with all the fixings including making stuffing for my husband that contained wheat . She had it separated into containers knowing that nothing could touch the stuffing or I couldn't eat it . (my mom is wheat free now too)Well my dear husband pour the stuffing onto his plate and it crossed over onto mine . I wiped it off and continued to plate my food . Note to self get a new plate . About 30 minutes later it started . Stomach cramping , shaking , nauseated , and then my least favorite the bathroom dashing .

Let this be a warning to those out there . If wheat touched your plate/food it is no good! Lesson learned .

Test kitchen boredom

My attempt at tuna casserole

2 cups Tinkyada rice pasta ( I used twisty kind )
1 can of tuna (drained)
1 tsp. oil
1 red pepper, finely chopped (optional but tasty )
1/2 cup (1/2 of 250-g tub) PHILADELPHIA Light Cream Cheese Spread
1/2 cup milk
2 Tbsp. KRAFT 100% Parmesan Grated Cheese
2 tsp. dried rosemary leaves
2 cups grated cheese ( i used marble but feel free to change it to cheddar or which ever)
cook past as desired .

In a separate pot combine everything else but the tuna until melted .

When the pasta is done drain and wash ( to remove any starch ) and mix together the sauce and tuna . Top with cheese and bake for 7 minutes until cheese has melted .Add pepper and serve . In my photo I put it on tortilla chips because I needed some crunch and its just plain fun to eat from a chip .

Damaging yourself

I found this image while cruising the internet to show those just how badly this food sensitivity affects us . The damage can be repaired over time with a strict gluten free diet but it can take years . Malnutrition and vitamin deficiency occur because of the damage done to the villi . They will not absorb the full nutrition from the food until they are better healed .

1 year 2 months gluten free . Its been a hard struggle but worth it . I cant wait till my insides match my outside happy and healthy !

Skulda's Claws tagged me for this award



Like every tag this one has a few simple rules:

1. Copy and paste the above award into your own blog.
2. Link the person who awarded you the award in the first sentence.
3. Pass this award on to blogs that you follow that have not been awarded as of yet
4. Send a thank you back to the person that sent you the award.
<--- thank you Skulda :)

I send an award to two great mamas with awesome blogs

Jess from http://mcadbabe.blogspot.com/

Amanda from http://monpetitshoo.blogspot.com/