Adopt a GF Blogger: Hope for Healing

Can I just say that I am so incredibly thankful to have found this online community of fellow food-sensitive types? Being different can be interesting, but it can also be a bit lonely at times. And as I was riding the bus home this afternoon from my mini post-finals Memorial Day weekend getaway, I got hit with a wave of sheer gratitude for this lovely blogger-hood of gluten- and dairy-free foodies. So, to everyone whose blogs I've been gobbling up and to whoever might end up reading my own posts, thank you!

Anyway, seeing as how this blog is supposed to be motivating me to rediscover my love of baking—and to not fear or begrudge the lack of wheat flour so much—I decided to jump in on another blog carnival: Adopt a Gluten-Free Blogger. Plus, this month’s host is Iris at The Daily Dietribe, so how could I pass it up?

      After making up my mind to participate, I very quickly decided to adopt Stephanie over at Hope for Healing, as it seemed like every time I visited her page, I found another recipe that tempted my taste buds and made my mouth water. Of course, now I have a virtual catalog of other people’s recipes that I want to try! But I'm glad I chose to start here, and you'll see why in just a second.

     I’m on somewhat of a mission to stay simple with my ingredient count, so I passed on her Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting and Protein Monster Cookies, both of which look amazing. Frankly, I’m just starting to build my gluten-free flour collection, and I would’ve had to spend an entire week’s paycheck just to bake these. Sigh.

     Thankfully, I stumbled upon this tantalizing little recipe on her blog: Rainy Day Chocolate Chip Cookies. The main appeal here? They’re grain-free! So not only do I get to refrain from spending any extra cash on new flours—I don’t have to use a single one. Nice and simple—just my style.

Chocolate chip cookies are one of my absolute favorites—one I’ve sorely missed making since going gluten-free. And I’ve actually been wanting to experiment with this grain-free baking thing, of which I had never even heard until I started this blog. So Stephanie’s cashew butter, sucanat-sweetened chocolate chip cookies seemed like the perfect place to start. All in all, these five-ingredient cookies took about 5 minutes to prepare, and then another 10 minutes to bake in the oven.  (The only teeny tiny modification I made was a splash of gluten-free vanilla and a pinch of salt in the batter, just to give the cookies that familiar flavor I adore.)

          The result? Moist, sweet, chewy, chocolate chip deliciousness! 

          Seriously, I was shocked at how good these tasted, as were the non-gluten-free folks who happened to be in the kitchen with me when they came out of the oven, which is saying a lot. My little sister normally stays as far away from gluten-free goodies as possible, as does her boyfriend, and they both agreed—these pass the "real cookie" test with flying colors. Even I never would have guessed they were 100 percent flour-free if I hadn't mixed the batter myself. And the best part? Absolutely no headaches or upset tummy! 

          Thanks, Stephanie! And thanks, Iris, for hosting this splendid gluten-free carnival! (And a special thanks to my Uncle Randy for the farm-fresh eggs I used to make these cookies, courtesy of his free-roaming chickens!)

For the full recipe, stop by Stephanie’s blog:
Rainy Day Chocolate Chip Cookies 

Peanut Butter Shortbread Cookies

          All I wanted was to make a batch of cookies. Nice and simple, right? Well, maybe under normal circumstances, but I learned an important lesson this evening: Do not attempt to bake after a two-hour, incredibly disheartening chemistry exam.
          I came home exhausted from said exam, feeling riddled with the shame and frustration that comes from not having studied nearly as hard as I should and could have. But I had my heart set on baking tonight.
          As I've already said, this blog is, in part, my inspiration for getting my butt back in the kitchen. And this whole blog carnival thing, Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays, seemed like a great way to get into the swing of it. Even if, on this particular Tuesday, it meant breaking down when the first tray came out of the oven—scorched on the bottom and crumbling to dust on top—bursting into tears, and crying out, "I can't do anything right!" (I wish it wasn't true, but alas...)

The platter of charred, crumbly, burnt-tasting cookies that made me cry.

          You see, before going gluten-free, baking was like therapy for me. And since changing my diet to suit my sensitivities, I've struggled to embrace this former favorite pastime of mine. It just seemed so much simpler when I only had to use one inexpensive, glutinous flour (wheat) to make just about anything I wanted. Now, with the wheat a known culprit in my dietary difficulties, I've had to expand my grain-based horizons, and my baking budget. While I am slowly growing to appreciate the plethora of grains and flours to which my new gluten- and wheat-free ways are introducing me, I'm still not too keen on the expense of purchasing five different flours just to make one cookie.
          So how delighted do you think I was when I was perusing the gluten-free baking aisle the other day and saw a mere six-ingredient, single-flour recipe on the back of a bag of Bob's Red Mill Whole Grain Teff Flour? Yep, that's right—just teff flour, maple syrup, vanilla extract, vegetable oil, peanut butter, and a pinch of salt. Oh yeah, I was super excited. So, with the relatively small package of Teff in hand, I happily made my way to the checkout, along with a jar of creamy organic peanut butter. I smiled as I pictured myself stirring this one, single flour into a bowl with a mere five other, very simple items. Call me lazy, but that's my kind of baking.
          Of course, I can't take full credit, or even half credit; this recipe is directly adapted from the Bob's one. I just decided to use agave nectar in place of maple syrup, and I added a sprinkling of organic cane sugar over the top of each cookie. Plus, I changed the name to more accurately reflect the taste of the product, in my opinion.
          So, here you go: super simple, slightly indulgent...

Peanut Butter Shortbread Cookies

You will need:

1 1/2 cups Teff flour

1/2 cup agave nectar

1 cup creamy peanut butter (preferably organic, no sugar added)

1/2 cup canola (or other vegetable) oil

1 tsp. vanilla extract

pinch of sea salt

*Preheat oven to 350º 

*Blend the peanut butter, agave nectar, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract in a mixing bowl until smooth and creamy. 

*Stir in the Teff flour and pinch of salt. 

*Place teaspoon-sized balls of dough on an ungreased baking sheet. Use a fork to make the traditional peanut butter cookie markers.

*Sprinkle with organic cane sugar on top.

*Bake 8-10 minutes.

     Please be warned: In honor of the Slightly Indulgent theme, these treats are not very sweet. They are, however, delicious. I suggest enjoying with a hot cup of tea. 
    
     This post is linked to Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays. 

Perfectly Delicious Pumpkin Spice Cake

As I enter into my nearly third week of self-expression via this silly blog, I find myself feeling a bit overwhelmed. You see, I am entirely new to the blogosphere. Not only have I never kept one before, but I’ve never really read anyone else’s, either. So of course, now that I’m getting my feet wet in this fantastical world of food bloggers, I’m realizing how “not like the others” I am.  I don’t mean that in some sort of “I’m super original” way, because in fact, I am feeling quite the opposite. It’s more of an outsider sentiment—like “Wow, look at what all these other people are doing; I am way out of my league here!”

            But I know this sharp pang all too well; it’s the one that always dissuades me from pursuing paths that inspire or intrigue me. It’s the hell-bent perfectionist in me; I don’t want to do anything unless I know I can be absolutely perfect at it. I can’t tell you how many dreams have withered into the recesses of my mind because of this relentless inner dilemma. And I think I’ve reached my breaking point; enough, I say!

            So I don’t wake up in the morning and mix fresh juice smoothies for breakfast or bake crumbly cobblers and casseroles from scratch in the evening, but I do dream of doing these things. And thanks to this lovely virtual land of fellow food enthusiasts, I can learn from the best of the best out there—on my own time, in my own way.
            In my brief brush with blog browsing this afternoon, I landed on a few that whet my appetite for gluten-free baking (which I will be sharing in future posts, I’m sure). I’m in a bind at the moment when it comes to both free-time and finances and therefore, the means to stock up on all the fancy rice and tapioca flour blends and commit to the hours of experimenting that it takes to produce these delightful creations. But in the meantime, I can marvel at what other people are doing. And I can imagine myself joining them one day, in my lovely little studio-size kitchen somewhere. 

            And there’s something else I can do whilst I await that magical day when I manage to muster the means and motivation to whip up tasty home-baked treats of my own concocting; I can buy baking mixes.

            Just like my mother, and her mother before her, I love the simplicity of baking from a box. Perhaps from-scratch baking just hasn’t fully made its way into my bloodstream—yet.

Anyway, here’s the mix I used to bake a pumpkin spice cake for my mother on her official day of honor (yesterday): Simply Organic Carrot Cake Mix.

It’s basically a spice cake mix, and along with the 2 eggs and 1/2 cup of water, you can add pumpkin, carrots, or apples—or whatever you like—to produce just the right combination of tastes for your sweet-loving purposes.

I chose to add 1/2 a can of Farmer’s Market Organic Pumpkin, and to top the finished product with vegan cream cheese frosting and crushed walnuts.

What can I say? It took all of five minutes to blend the batter, and I forgot to change the oven setting from broil to bake, so the top got a little burnt; but in spite of these minor imperfections, the cake was a hit. Moist, flavorful, and perfectly delicious.
            (I wish I had some photos for you to see its loveliness for yourself, but the cake was apparently so good that it was gone before it occurred to me to capture it on camera.)

 Tasty Tidbit: If you want to try making this cake on your own, it just so happens that Simply Organic is on a promotional kick and is currently offering this splendid little coupon on their website. Enjoy!

We all Scream for... Rice Cream?

     I love my sweets. I always have, and I always will. I long ago embraced my semi-addiction to sugar as an inescapable part of my genetic fabric. Nature and nurture have had a hand in that—one of the key players being none other than my dear, sweet Grandma Joan. 

     From Mike & Ike’s to ice cream cones, Grandma Joan’s house was a treasure trove of carefully concealed goodies. When visitors came over, she would cleverly place a bowl or two of sugar-free hard candies on display in her living room, as a sort of deterrent, I believe, but I knew where she kept the good stuff.

     Not surprisingly, some of my most cherished childhood memories are of spending the night at Grandma Joan’s house. I had trouble falling asleep as a child, so I would lay in her guest room (my room while I was there) and wait until I heard her turn on the television and settle into the living room couch for her own ritualistic bout with insomnia. Then, like clockwork, I would make my way downstairs and slide in next to her, waiting to hear one single string of words from her mouth. Sure enough, within minutes of my arrival, she’d turn to me casually and say, “How about a cone?”

     Happily, I’d follow her into the kitchen to make ice cream cones. She always bought the cheapest brands, and I’d often be mildly disappointed to find only freezer-burned Neapolitan flavors or frozen yogurt in her freezer. But regardless, the sensation of that ice creamy goodness melting over my taste buds and trickling down my throat was pure bliss.

I felt such incredible kinship with my grandmother as we sat on that couch with our ice cream cones in hand, watching Audrey Hepburn and Barbara Streisand movies into the wee hours. And that comforting connection with ice cream most certainly followed me into adulthood.
     So I’m sure you can imagine my dismay when, in the summer of 2006, a routine blood test revealed that I had developed an allergy to milk. In fact, I was so resistant to this result that I didn’t officially stop eating dairy until the summer of 2009. I did stop drinking milk (for the most part) upon receipt of the lab results, but ice cream and cheese? No way.

     Alas, my mind may have been hooked on fresh mozzarella and frappuchinos, but my body revolted. I simply cannot digest dairy products. I won’t go into the details, but the reaction, which involves a lot of swelling and discomfort, has become unpleasant enough to keep me away from all things dairy—for good.

So now, imagine my sheer ecstasy when I came across Living Harvest Tempt—a rich and creamy frozen delight made from hemp milk. It is unbelievably, indescribably delicious. Since the anti-dairy diagnosis, I’ve tried coconut ice cream (I’m not a fan), and soy-based ice cream products, which make my belly blow up like a horribly unattractive balloon. But hemp-based ice cream? Divine. My favorite flavor thus far is Coffee Biscotti. I have yet to try Mint Chip and Chocolate Fudge, but that’s only because my current local grocery stores do not carry them.

Tonight, after another long waitressing shift, I decided to try a new brand: Good Karma Organic Rice Divine. Rice milk typically leaves a bad taste in my mouth, but the folks at Good Karma have managed to whip this non-dairy beverage into a light and refreshing frozen indulgence, sort of like the frozen yogurt of the non-dairy ice cream world.
     Following a brief perusal of the available flavors, I settled on Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge,  which melted quite satisfyingly in my mouth with its gobs of peanut butter and chewy bits of fudge-like goodness. My only complaint is a slight taste of the carton having been left in the Wegman's freezer for too long.
     Then again, this hint of freezer burn actually enhanced the nostalgia of my frozen treat eating experience. If only I'd had a cone! (They do make gluten-free ones, by the way.)

Two Yums Up

           So, not a second after I posted my earlier piece, the clouds parted and the sun came out full force. The air may have been a bit chilly still, but the sunny skies lasted for the remainder of the day. Another reason to love springtime in this area—you never know what you’re going to get from one minute to the next, literally.

            I took advantage of the surprisingly pleasant weather and my afternoon off from both work and class to explore the cute little shop I mentioned in yesterday’s post: Eco Bella Bakery.
           Was it worth the trip to Rochester's South Wedge neighborhood? Simply put, yes. In fact, I think I may have found my new favorite sweet stop. As a first time buyer, I selected a mini carrot cake moon pie and a cheesecake brownie, both vegan and gluten-free. The girl behind the counter recommended the brownie; I couldn’t resist the tiny portion of carrot cake. 
          Both were delectably delicious, although I've only had a bite of the brownie so far. The carrot cake lasted me all of maybe five minutes? I'll have to hold off for a week or so to avoid too many excess calories, but I am so going back for more. 

46.6° and Cloudy

Yesterday, it was warm and sunny. Today, it’s cold and cloudy. Sigh—such is springtime in western NY. But other than making the grass look strikingly greener and the tulips more stunningly vibrant in contrast, gray skies are good for inspiring some pretty satisfying sweets.
               Here’s a simple one I concocted on my own one day, driven by the desire to taste something similar to a mocha, but without the milk and coffee or the trip to Starbucks. Really, it's just homemade hot chocolate, but I like to think of it as something a bit more special than that:

1.     Fill a coffee mug about two-thirds full with Silk Original Soymilk, or some other form of non-dairy milk product.

2.     Fill about half of the remaining third of empty space in your coffee mug with Silk French Vanilla Creamer.

3.     Take a small-size cooking pot and pour the soymilk mixture from the mug into the pot.

4.     Grab a container of cocoa powder and scoop two tablespoons of it into the pot.

5.     Turn on the heat. Bring the mixture to a slow boil, stirring all the while to break up the bits of cocoa powder.

6.     Wait until the mixture begins frothing and rising to the top of the pot. Turn off the heat immediately.

7.     Use a strainer to pour the cocoa blend back into your coffee mug. (The strainer is key, as chunks of pure cocoa powder are bound to have formed during the boiling process, no matter how well you stirred—or at least, I’ve found this to be true in my experience.)

8.     Top off what’s in your mug with another dash of Silk French Vanilla Creamer, both to cool it down and add a touch more sweetness. (Obviously, if you’d prefer a less sugary drink, leave out this last part.)

           And there you have it—a coffee-free cocoa mocha, or something to that effect. You know what goes perfectly with this soul-soothing beverage? You guessed it—Pamela’s Dark Chocolate, Chocolate Chunk Cookies. Seriously, they should be paying me to write this. Enjoy!