It's Just Not Dinner Without Cat Hair

Follow me....

2008-05-10T18:34:00.003-05:00

To the new home of It's Just Not Dinner Without Cat Hair!

www.justnotdinner.com

Update those links, peeps!

Calling my name

2008-05-05T21:26:00.002-05:00

Temptation can be a terrible thing.

Yesterday, I baked cream cheese and gluten-filled chocolate cupcakes for one of the people I cook for. The smell that filled this house was amazing; I couldn't even get away from it outside. When whipping up the batter, I got a hint of the olfactory pleasure to come and managed to catch myself a nanosecond before it was too late... I had gotten some of the batter on my finger and without thinking, I had gotten that finger about half a centimeter from my mouth before the rest of my head suddenly flew out of my backside and shrieked HEY!!!It wasn't that I wanted a taste of the gluten-filled cupcake batter. It was all about losing control due to scent. Ever have that happen? The wonderful smell of chocolate (this stuff really should be an illegal drug - it's my crack) controlled my hand and forced it toward my face. Really. It did - I have witnesses.

After I made my delivery, I sat in the living room and chewed on pizza while mindlessly flipping channels, trying to figure out how I was going to make me some cupcakes, too. Because it was after 9 PM, there was no way I was going to start baking again. I had to be able to function at work. I shelved the thought, grabbed the furbabies, and went to bed.

I have an annoying habit (oh, hush - I know there's more than one). I wake up, all by my lonesome, without at alarm clock, by 5 AM every day - and I am immediately wide awake. If I sleep until 5:30, I consider myself to have slept in.

This morning, I woke up with an idea and a drooly pillow.

I ripped through The Vault and figured out which recipes to use when, coming up with temptation. I suffered through my work day, did some running after I closed the office for the day, and then finalized it all in my mind while preparing some din-din.

I seriously had to put these away, on a different floor (the basement fridge) or I was going to EAT. THEM. ALL.

On a side note, watch for big changes ahead (thanks to Natalie at Gluten Free Mommy for her input). I have been working on those big changes for the last two weeks, which is why I haven't been around here. Stay tuned, people. I promise it will be swell.

Note that I bit into it to show the innards- no way was I dinking around with a knife.

Temptation Cupcakes
(or Devils' Food Cupcakes filled with marshmallow and topped with whipped ganache)'
Adapted from The Vault

For the cupcakes:

3/4 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
3/4 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup tapioca flour
1/2 cup potato starch
1/4 cup sweet rice flour
2 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 cup skim milk (there's got to be SOMETHING healthy in here)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a standard muffin tin (12) with liners.

In a mixer bowl, beat the butter and sugar until smooth. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

In another bowl, sift together the brown rice flour, tapioca flour, potato starch, sweet rice flour, xanthan gum, cocoa, and baking powder. Stir in the salt.

Add half of the flour mixture to the butter mixture and stir until the flour is mostly incorporated. Pour the milk into the butter mixture and stir just until blended. Add the remaining flour mixture and stir until incorporated.

Spoon the batter into the prepared pan, filling the cups nearly full. Bake for 25 to 28 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Allow the cupcakes to cool for 5 minutes before removing them from the pan to a cooling rack. Continue to cool for another 30 minutes before filling.

For the ganache:

8 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp corn syrup
4 tbsp butter, cut into pieces

In a 2-quart saucepan, whisk together the cream, sugar and corn syrup over medium-low heat until boiling. Remove from the heat and add the chocolate. Whisk briskly until the chocolate melts and the mixture is fairly smooth. Add the butter and continue to whisk until the mixture is smooth.

Pour the ganache into a bowl and cool, stirring occasionally, until very thick. I actually throw it in the fridge and just peek in every 5 minutes to give it a stir because hey, I wasn't waitin' for no chocolate.

When ready to frost what you're going to frost, use the whisk attachment on your mixer to whip some air into that stuff until it gets nice and fluffy.

For the filling (Just so you know, this makes twice as much as you need. I am thinking ice cream topping, maybe. Or more cupcakes.):

2 tbsp hot water
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1-7 oz jar marshmallow fluff
1/2 cup shortening
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla

Combine the salt and hot water in a small bowl; set aside.

In a medium bowl, beat together the fluff, shortening, powdered sugar, and vanilla. Add the salt water and continue to beat until combined.

*************************
OK. Now the fun begins.

Remove the liners from the cupcakes and to make life easy, set them on their tops. Using a thin-bladed knife, carefully cut a plug of cake out of the bottom. I try to keep it cone-shaped. KEEP THE PLUG.

Fill a plastic zipper bag with the filling, clip a small section of a bottom corner off the bag, and start squeezing a dollop of filling into each cupcake hole. Break off the tips of the plugs, shovel the tips in your mouth, and then place the shortened plug back into the hole, on top of the filling. Press gently to seat and then flip the cupcake over so it is right side up.

When all of the cupcakes are filled, bring out the whipped ganache. Scoop it into a pastry bag (or plastic zipper bag) fitted with a star tip. Pipe the desired amount of frosting onto the top of each cupcake.

Makes 16 reasons to for me to go to the basement.

A childhood friend revisited

2008-04-20T19:50:00.001-05:00

When I was more wee than I am now, I loved Strawberry Shortcake. You know, the dolls. I had quite a few of them. I even preferred them over my Barbies. I adored how the dolls smelled like their names (strawberry for Ms. Shortcake, blueberry for Blueberry Muffin, etc., etc., etc.).

In my organic delivery this past Wednesday, I received two clamshells of strawberries. I ate over half of them out of hand but wanted to do something simple but special with the remaining fruit. After rifling through The Vault for about an hour, I found an old recipe for brown sugar biscuits. Strawberry shortcake coming right up!

As always, I cut the recipe in half so that if I had a big 'FAIL' I didn't waste a bunch of flour. Lord, I hate it when that happens. Happily, this conversion was a success and I made myself sick while gorging.

I gave one to The Man but he didn't like the texture. I simply looked at him and said, "this isn't angelfood cake, dumbass. It's a biscuit. REAL strawberry shortcake." His response? "Oh." I got the same reaction from another gluten-eating friend. They said it was very good, but they're used to strawberry shortcake with angelfood cake or those little dessert cup jobs you can buy in the grocery store. Naturally, that's what they prefer.

Me? I prefer this.

Brown Sugar Biscuits
Adapted from a Vault recipe

2/3 cup brown rice flour
1/3 cup tapioca flour
1/4 cup coconut flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp kosher salt
4 tbsp butter, cut into pieces and chilled
1/2 cup + 1 tbsp heavy whipping cream + additional for brushing biscuits
1 tbsp turbinado sugar

Whisk together the flours, xanthan gum, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add the butter and use your fingers to rub the butter in until it becomes a coarse meal. Gradually add the cream, tossing with your fingers until moist clumps form. Form the dough into a ball, wrap in waxed paper, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a jelly roll pan with parchment paper.

Remove the dough from the fridge and gently pat it into a round disk about 3/4" thick. Using a 1-1/2" to 2" biscuit cutter, cut 4 rounds (gathering scraps and forming the disk again as needed). Place the biscuits on the prepared pan and brush the tops with cream. Sprinkle with turbinado sugar and bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely before serving.

Like I said, I stuffed two of them with mashed strawberries and whipped cream last night, but I ate one with jam this afternoon and damn, was that good.

Tagged

2008-04-14T07:24:00.004-05:00

Since I am sitting here, at 7:23 in the morning, in a pair of ratty sweats instead of work clothes, because our f'ing sewer backed up AGAIN and I am waiting for someone to come and rod the line, I should respond to Lynn's tag.

The only good thing about hanging out right now is that I am cranking out a loaf of bread. I stink after cooking all day yesterday, I can't brush my teeth...ugh.

So. Six descriptive words for me.

OCD. Not one word, technically, but it's true to an extent. For example, I will check The Gidge's lead 3 times (every time) before I open the door to let her out.
Reliable.
Trustworthy.
Batshit.
Musical.
Creative.
And one more, just for giggles - temporarily stinky.

Now I can tag people, too: Shannon, Dianne, Natalie & Ellen.

Back to bran

2008-04-13T11:48:00.003-05:00

Rice bran, that is.

I used to eat a lot of wheat bran, back in the old days. I loved me a bran muffin for breakfast and ate one nearly every day. And then we had the whole gluten issue.

I have had this recipe for years and years. I actually had forgotten about it because while it's a Vault recipe, it wasn't stored with the rest of them. I was flipping through my Joy of Cooking the other day and came across it, folded up and marking a page I can't recall at the moment.

I was totally excited because like I said, I had forgotten about it. I had picked up a box of rice bran the last time I was at the natural foods store, so I had everything on hand. I gave them a whirl yesterday morning and they turned out pretty well.

Just don't be greedy and eat more than one at a time. I learned that the hard way. Obviously I don't eat enough fiber.

Apple Cranberry Bran Muffins
Adapted from a Vault recipe

1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup tapioca flour
1/4 cup buckwheat flour
1/4 cup arrowroot starch
1 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
3/4 cup rice bran
1 egg
1/3 cup skim milk
1/3 cup spiced apple butter (I used my own homemade stuff)
1/4 cup agave syrup
1/4 cup canola oil
3 tbsp molasses
1 cup finely diced peeled apple
1/4 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a standard muffin pan with muffin liners.

Place the cranberries in a small bowl and cover with hot water. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, xanthan gum, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Stir in the rice bran.

In another bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, apple butter, agave syrup, oil and molasses until blended.

Drain the cranberries.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry, but do not combine yet. Add the chopped apple, cranberries, and walnuts to the pile and then stir all together, just until combined. Scoop the batter into the prepared pan - fill those cups FULL.

Bake until a tester comes out clean, about 22 to 25 minutes. Allow to cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then move the muffins to a cooling rack.

Creating my own busywork

2008-04-13T11:47:00.000-05:00

I keep a binder for all of my gluten-free recipes, as well as ones I want to try. It was a little disorganized, to say the least. I had been shoving the printed versions into the front binder pocket for months, so there were papers sticking out everywhere - and finally, yesterday morning, I dropped it. Imagine that.

I really needed something to organize all those pieces of paper. So I broke down and bought MasterCook 9.0 and started copying and pasting from Just Not Dinner, copying and pasting, copying and pasting. All day long. The really scary part of all this is that I now know what the nutritional content is for all of these recipes, and oh boy.

How did I stay at 108 pounds for 2 years?

Since I collapsed my dress orthotics with the extra 20 pounds I have put on since October or so, I guess I better pay attention to what I am putting in my mouth for a while and see how I do. I downloaded a nutrition program for my PDA and have been entering everything I shove in my mouth in there every day. Ladies and gentlemen, I have been eating far too much crap and not enough of the good stuff, like I used to.

I figure that a good part of not cooking healthy for myself is that whole cooking-for-other-people thing. On Sundays, I cook for a minimum of 7 hours. One other day of the week, it's about 4 hours. Both people I cook for are...particular...about the foods they eat. So while I love-love-love to cook, it's sometimes hard to have fun when it's the same stuff over and over again. But that's okay. I love that I am helping two people important in my life eat healthy and well.

I am trying to find the old me in the kitchen again. I need to stop taking the easy route of a pizza or sandwich for dinner instead of a wholesome meal. And I need to stay away from the damn Jelly Bellys and Doritos.

That being said, I am now closing the container of Jelly Bellys I was noshing on while typing the last few paragraphs. Someone take these away from me, please.

I made a truly delicious meal on Friday night, reminiscent of the dinners I used to make when I was in control of my snackiness. Saturday saw another Vault muffin recipe converted to gluten free (I will give the recipe in another post).

When I got home from work on Friday, I had no clue what to make for dinner. The Man wasn't home (a shocker, I know) so I knew I could putz and play and cook what I would like to eat, not what he would be willing to eat. Out came the savory Vault binder. I opened up the section for chicken and rapidly flipped through the page protectors in hopes that something simple would jump out at me.

I don't know if this qualifies as simple, but it has two bonuses - once I adapted it to what I wanted, I didn't have to go to the store to get additional ingredients (everything was in the pantry and fridge) and it was damn tasty.

Chicken with Sugar Snap Peas & Asparagus
Adapted from a recipe by Eating Well, found in The Vault

1 cup chicken broth
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1 healthy pinch of salt
Freshly ground pepper to taste
2 tsp + 2 tbsp white rice flour
3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 tbsp olive oil
1 cup fresh sugar snap peas
1 cup fresh asparagus spears cut into 2" pieces
3 tbsp minced fresh chives
2 tsp champagne vinegar

In a small bowl, whisk together the broth, mustard, salt, pepper and 2 tsp flour until smooth. Set aside.

Using a mallet or rolling pin, pound the chicken breasts until they are between 1/4" and 1/2" thick. Sprinkle both sides of each chicken piece with the remaining white rice flour.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet (I actually used a large chef's pan for this, which worked well) over medium heat. Cook the chicken until golden, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer the cooked chicken breasts to a plate and cover with foil to keep them warm.

Using the same skillet; stir the broth mixture and add it to the skillet along with the peas and asparagus. Simmer for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and continue to cook until the peas and asparagus are just starting to get tender (5 minutes or so).

Return the chicken to the pan, squeezing it between the vegetables to get them into the sauce so that it can return to temperature. Continue to simmer for 3 to 5 minutes (until completely heated through).

Remove the chicken and place it on a serving plate. Add the chives and champagne vinegar to the skillet and stir. Serve the sauced vegetables with the chicken. I made sour cream, chive and cheddar mashed potatoes to go along with the meail.

Happenings

2008-04-02T19:46:00.001-05:00

I firmly believe that things happen when they happen for a reason.

For example, something very exciting for me happened a couple of weeks ago. After years of searching (apparently in the wrong damn places), I found someone that was instrumental to my childhood years. I lost track of this person after my freshman year of college (18 years ago - oh. my. god.) until two weeks ago or so when on a fluke, I found this person's father's name on the web.

Honestly, if this person and family hadn't been in my life, I would swear more like a sailor than a truck driver. Amazing, considering that we were only together (although joined at the hip whenever possible) for two years, one of which we didn't like each other the whole time because of....A BOY (gasp!). Now I need to ask if she remembers the boy's name.

Once we get to know each other again, I will see how this person feels about my talking about our relationship here.

However, I do have to share this. She moved many miles away one summer and we didn't get to see each other again for YEARS. But we did keep in touch, writing letters, making the occasional phone call. I can't remember which school year it was (I know it was at least 8th grade but may have been 9th), a local family was going to visit her family and invited me along for the ride. I remember her brother driving us batshit the whole time...and I remember her mother buying us matching magenta sweaters, black leggings (hot back then, I tell ya), belts, and hair accessories so we could hang out as twins for Halloween.

Have mercy on me. I kept that sweater until 1995, and EVEN WORE IT ON OCCASION, until a rather large hole finally worked its way through the left armpit. Even then, I cringed as I disposed of it.

(giggling uncontrollably over here)

I wonder if she still has a picture of that. If so and I can get a copy, I promise I will share, if she agrees.

Anyway. Back to things happening for a reason.

Something made me give The Gidge a puppy cut on Sunday evening, because I felt that 8 hours on my feet JUST. WASN'T. ENOUGH. For those of you that don't know what a puppy cut is and have a long-haired dog, ask your groomer for a puppy cut the next time you go and watch the eyebrows rapidly fly toward the ceiling before the groomer tries to talk you out of it.

You've seen The Gidge - she's usually pretty fluffy due to her mixed breeds of shih tzu and papillon. This is an already-starting-to-grow-out puppy cut.

She was mad at me for a good 24 hours, seriously. And cold. Very cold.

(giggling like a loon again)

Bad momma. Bad momma.

Anyway (again), when I got to her hind legs, I found nasty mats that the comb had missed, primarily because The Gidge hates to be brushed or combed. She barely tolerates a regular plastic comb like my dad used to use and refuses to be touched by a slicker brush or any other type of brush that would be used on a normal dog. Normal being the operative word, of course.

Something told me I needed to make my dog nearly bald and when the haircut was nearly over, I found bad mats that would have most likely needed to be cut out, anyway. So there you go.

And finally. I had intended to attempt the recipe below last night, but when I got home later than normal thanks to having to pick these up:

(Am I officially old now? These replace my dress orthotics, which gave out on me)

I just didn't feel like cooking anything and ate leftover pizza for dinner instead. Naturally, I didn't decide that I didn't feel like cooking until I had taken two chicken breasts out and defrosted them.

I forgot about the chicken breasts hanging out in the sink. Until this morning.

So, without further ado, here's a tasty and light lunch or dinner for ya. It makes a lot, so cut the recipe in half or you better like leftovers. A lot.

It's similar to primavera, so that's what I am running with for the name.

Pasta Primavera with Cannellini Beans

1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup carrot coins
1/2 cup zucchini coins
1/4 cup sliced onion
1/2 cup fresh or frozen green beans
1/2 cup grape tomatoes, sliced in half
1-15 oz can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
2 cups uncooked rice pasta
1/2 cup chicken stock or broth
1/4 cup white wine
1 tbsp tomato paste
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
2 tbsp fresh basil, torn into small pieces
Salt and pepper to taste

In a saucepan, boil the carrot coins until just tender. Drain and set aside.

Melt the butter and olive oil over low heat in a large, deep skillet. Add the garlic and onion and cook until garlic just starts to brown, about 3 minutes. Add the green beans and zucchini; increase the heat to medium and cover the pan. Saute for 5 minutes or until the beans are just starting to get tender. Remove the cover and add the cooked carrots and drained beans.

Now is a good time to start cooking the rice pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside.

Pour in the chicken stock and wine and stir in the tomato paste; bring to a boil and then continue to cook over medium-high to high heat until the liquid is reduced by half. Turn off the heat; add the tomatoes, cooked pasta, and cheese and toss to coat. Sprinkle with basil, salt and pepper, and serve.

Disappointing successes or successful disappointments

2008-03-31T18:05:00.000-05:00

It all depends on how you look at it.

For Easter, I converted two Vault recipes to gluten free. The banana cupcakes turned out okay, but the frosting I used was *gag*.

The carrot cake was based on a recipe by Alton Brown. The cake was so moist that it was TOO MOIST, like I had loaded the batter up with pudding. But it sure looked pretty. If I try this again, I will cut back on the carrots - there were a lot of them and I think that's why the cake had the texture it did.

What DID work? Well, let me tell you!

Back before Bob's Red Mill began selling gluten-free oats, I attempted to adapt my absolute favorite blueberry "power" muffin recipe by using rice bran to replace most of the oats. Big mistake. These muffins are supposed to be heavy as they are meant to be used prior to or after a workout, but the rice bran turned these into bricks. Not good.

Now that I have oats, I attempted them again. The second try was a delicious success. Next time, to make them more "powerful," I think I am going to try splitting the amount of sweet rice flour with flax seed meal to see what happens.

Now remember, if you try these, that they are meant to be a bit heavy.

Blueberry Power Muffins
Adapted from a Cooking Light recipe

1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/4 cup tapioca flour
1/4 cup teff flour
1/4 cup sweet rice flour
1 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup organic cane sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp kosher salt
1 cup nonfat vanilla yogurt
1/4 cup skim milk
1 1/2 tbsp canola oil
1 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp egg substitute
3/4 cup fresh blueberries (I used wild blueberries, so these are chock-full - if you use wild berries, cut back to 1/2 cup)
1/4 cup slivered almonds, roughly chopped

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a muffin pan with muffin papers.

Combine the flours, xanthan gum, oats, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.; stir together with a whisk. Make a well in the center of the mixture.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the yogurt, milk, oil, vanilla and egg. Add the yogurt mixture to the flour mixture; stir together until all of the flour is just moistened. Fold in the blueberries and almonds.

Spoon 2 rounded tablespoons of batter into each muffin paper.

Bake for 18 minutes or until a tester inserted into a muffin comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove and serve.

Addiction

2008-03-19T21:02:00.001-05:00

Everyone has addictions, whether they want to admit it or not.

Right?

Mine are actually quite simple. Though some of them have been known to keep me away from this site - by the time I realize I had intended to post, the addiction has locked me in its tight-fisted grip on my hair, preventing me from reaching my wireless keyboard (I can't type for shit on a laptop keyboard, you know).

Addiction Number One.

This is a biggie that controls many of my non-working hours. I do this in the morning. I do it at night. On certain days, I do it all day long. HIDDEN OBJECT COMPUTER GAMES.

Oh, God. The secret is out. I bow my head in shame.

Addiction Number Two.

Reading - I love to read. I was one of those kids that started reading early and never looked back. I read the entire C.S. Lewis Lion, Witch & The Wardrobe series in third grade - over and over and over. I still have those somewhere. I should look for them.

I remember being yelled at by a parental figure more than once because I was curled up with a book on a beautiful day instead of being outside - which says a lot because I grew up with a pool 20 feet out my back door.

The true addiction here? Romance novels. While I love to read anything...history, geography, fiction, true crime...give me a romance any day of the week. But it's got to be a modern romance; historicals bore me with all the Lords and Viscounts and all that court crap.

Addiction Number Three.

Food magazines, no matter how cheesy (such as the Kraft Food and Family that arrives in the mail), sit in piles in our third bedroom until I make the time and then gather the motivation to flip through each one a second time (or ninetieth time) to rip out what I want to keep for The Vault. I figure there's about 6 months worth stacked up in there now.

Addiction Number Four.

Smoking. All right, I admit it. I fell off the wagon in October due to Haunted Barn stress during the week of opening. I was on and off until the middle of November when I finally gave up. I tried several times since then to quit again but can't stick. I have the nicotine inhaler and have used it a few times; I have managed to get down to 5 or 6 cigarettes a day now. I am hoping that cutting back slowly instead of just quitting like I did the last time will help me kick the habit forever.

Addiction Number Five.

Cherries have been my favorite fruit since childhood. My mother used to make cherry pie filling from fresh cherries and freeze it; when looking for a snack, I would often open the freezer door and search frantically for one of those clear bags with the nummies in it.

Addiction Number Six.

Can one call herself a "foodie" (I am not really sure if I even like that term or if I consider myself one!) if she is never without a bag of Cool Ranch Doritos? Thank god they're gluten free because that's one of the few carryovers from my gluten days.

Addiction Number Seven.

I rarely eat them out of hand, but I sure do love to bake with almonds. Or stir them into my cream of rice. Or eat them in granola.

Addiction Number Eight.

Oh my. I am rarely without a Glad container full of Jelly Belly jelly beans, regardless of the time of year. I am packing them in right now, between sentences.

Addiction Number Nine.

The smell of baking bread often drives me to make some, even though I really don't need another loaf hanging around. I try to not eat much of it because - well - carbs. I eat too many of those as it is, thanks to Addictions Six and Eight.

Addiction Number Ten.

Sweets with cherries and almonds together. The Vault has a lot of cherry recipes just hanging out, waiting to be tried for the first time here at Just Not Dinner. Many of them were ripped out of a pile of magazines that had accumulated around the house. Some came from family and friends. Not sure how to categorize the rest of them.

I have been eyeballing this Vault recipe for a while now. I finally decided to make it last night because I had decided it was time to feed Addiction Number Ten. Naturally, I couldn't wait to hack into it very long; I drizzled the glaze on before the pan's contents had completely cooled and started in with a knife.

I was a little worried because when I ate the first piece, it was almost too-almond-y for me. But I had a piece with my lunch today and it settled in quite nicely.

I cut the original recipe in half and used a smaller pan than the halved recipe would have required because I wanted the bars to be thick.

Cherry Bars
Adapted from The Vault

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 + 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 + 1/4 tsp almond extract
2/3 cup brown rice flour
1/3 cup tapioca flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup coconut flour
1 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 tsp salt
1 21-oz can cherry pie filling or make your own
1/4 cup slivered almonds
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 to 1 1/2 tbsp milk

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9"x9" square baking pan and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add in 1/2 tsp vanilla extract and 1/8 tsp almond extract.

Combine the brown rice flour, tapioca flour, cornstarch, coconut flour, xanthan gum, and salt in a separate bowl. Add to the creamed mixture and mix until combined.

Spread 2/3 of the batter in the bottom of the prepared pan. Very sticky, just to warn you! Spread the pie filling over the top of the batter. Sprinkle the almonds. Drop the remaining 1/3 of the batter by teaspoonfuls over the pie filling and almonds.

Bake for 30 to 40 minutes (depending on how thick your bottom layer is) or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack while preparing the glaze.

To make the glaze, combine the powdered sugar, remaining vanilla and almond extracts, and milk; whisk until smooth. Drizzle over the cooled bars.

So now that I have aired my dirty laundry, what are your addictions?

Little girl grown up

2008-03-10T18:36:00.001-05:00

Funny how time flies, isn't it?

I pissed away several hours tonight putting this together. Too bad I was still so wiped out on March 1st that I didn't do this on her actual birthday...

Happy birthday to The Gidge.

Chicken all boozed up

2008-03-10T07:30:00.004-05:00

I combined several recipes I had in The Vault to come up with this one. Really hit the spot on a Sunday night.

Chicken Marsala
From The Vault

1 3/4 cups chicken broth
2 tbsp finely chopped shallot
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 tbsp unsalted butter
3 tbsp olive oil
10 oz crimini mushrooms
1 1/2 tsp finely chopped fresh sage
1/4 tsp salt + a pinch
1/8 tsp black pepper + a pinch
1 cup brown rice flour
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup Marsala + 2 tbsp
2/3 cup half and half
1 tsp fresh lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees.

Bring the chicken broth to a boil over high heat, then continue to boil, uncovered, until the liquid is reduced to about 3/4 cup. This will take about 20 minutes or so.

Over medium heat, saute the shallot and garlic in 1 1/2 tbsp butter and 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil until shallot and garlic start to lightly brown. Add the mushrooms, 1 tsp sage, salt and pepper; cook until the mushrooms release their liquid, it evaporates, and the mushrooms are soft - 8 to 10 minutes max. Turn off the heat.

In a wide bowl, combine the brown rice flour, pinch of salt, and pinch of pepper. Pound the chicken breasts down to 1/4" thick.

Heat yet another skillet with 1 1/2 tbsp butter and 1 1/2 tsp olive oil. Dredge each piece of chicken in the flour, then place them in the skillet. Only turn each piece once - cook until just cooked through (4 to 5 minutes). Transfer the cooked chicken to an ovenproof baking dish (in a single layer) and place in the oven to keep warm.

Add 1/2 cup of wine to the chicken skillet and boil over high heat; scrape up all those yummy bits on the bottom of the pan. After a minute, add the reduced chicken broth, half and half and mushroom mixture and then simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is slightly thickened (8 to 10 minutes). Add the lemon juice and remaining 2 tbsp wine and the last of the sage.

Place the chicken in the sauce; spoon sauce over the top. Serve with your favorite pasta and French bread.

A girl's best friend

2008-03-10T07:24:00.006-05:00

Who needs diamonds when there's CHOCOLATE? Not me, that's for sure. I will admit to having a few of them, but when it comes to jewelry, I am a colored-stone girl.

But back to the chocolate. I made a double batch of these, chopped them up, wrapped them, and stuck them in the freezer. Seeing as The Man hates brownies (oh, the horror...) that means that they are ALL. FOR. ME.

I better find the Leslie Sansone walking DVDs...soon.

Milk Chocolate Brownies
Adapted from a recipe found on Epicurious

1/2 cup unsalted butter
8 oz milk chocolate, chopped
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1/4 cup brown rice flour
1/4 cup sweet rice flour
1/4 tapioca flour
3/4 tsp xanthan gum
1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder plus more for dusting
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9" square baking pan and dust with unsweetened cocoa powder.

Combine the butter and half of the milk chocolate in a heavy saucepan over low heat, stirring, until the butter and chocolate are melted together and the mixture is smooth. Remove from the heat and cool to lukewarm. Add the brown sugar and vanilla. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition, until the mixture is glossy and smooth.

Combine the remaining ingredients and then stir into the chocolate mixture. Stir in the remaining chocolate. Spread the batter in the prepared pan and bake until a tester come out clean, about 25 to 30 minutes.

Two of my favorite things

2008-03-10T07:12:00.005-05:00

Blueberries and cornbread. Yum. Put them together and you get a tasty treat. Keep in mind that these are not sweet at all. If you would like them sweeter, add another 1/4 cup sugar.

Blueberry Corn Muffins
From The Vault

1 cup skim milk (original calls for buttermilk, so if you'd like, use that)
2 eggs
1/4 cup canola oil
1 cup cornmeal
1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/4 cup tapioca flour
1/4 cup amaranth flour
1 tsp xanthan gum
1 tbsp flaxseed meal
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 half-pints fresh blueberries

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with liners.

Whisk together the milk, eggs and canola oil. Set aside. Combine the cornmeal, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, brown rice flour, tapioca flour, amaranth flour, xanthan gum, and flaxseed meal. Add the blueberries and toss to coat. Add the buttermilk mixture and stir just until combined and all ingredients are moist.

Spoon the batter into the prepared pan. Bake until a tester inserted in the center of the muffins comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Let stand for 15 minutes before serving.

2008-03-10T06:08:00.004-05:00

Over the past few weeks, I have compiled a slew of recipes and pictures that need to be posted. I have been spending the bulk of my spare time lying around like a slug, just trying to get my groove back. I think I am finally caught up at work, so maybe now I will have the motivation to start updating this site again.

I hope.

The real problem is finding the pile! Stay tuned until this evening...

Kinda sorta but yet, not really

2008-02-18T07:25:00.001-06:00

Hello again. Sorry for the lack of posts over the last month. It's not like I didn't have great recipes to post or stories to tell. With all that has been going on at work, I have been physically and mentally exhausted every day.

My company's annual banquet was February 2nd - it went off without a hitch again this year and I had my second successful GF meal at the Pheasant Run Resort. The Man and I had a great time but I could barely move on Sunday (too much dancing). Then I had a...visitor...from hell, which caused me to miss a day of work and be in monstrous pain for 3 days.

Oh, and the sewer backed up into the basement.

We have another full-company meeting this coming Friday. I am hoping that once I get through that, life will go back to normal, as will my posting schedule.

So, now my excuse-making is over.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine's Day. The Man sent me a dozen multi-colored roses at work (for the first time, I might add!) and I made a delicious shrimp scampi with pasta for our dinner that evening. But the dessert was stupendous and I can't believe it went together as well as it did. I didn't get home until 5:30, so the fact that we ate this at 7:30 says it all.

The title of this post? I was craving black forest cake. I didn't have any kircsh in the house so I did the best with what I had.

The Man and I split one since this is kinda rich. Sorry for the crappy picture. Tried to take it too late in the day and my arms were shaking after whipping the hell out of the ganache.

Cherry-Stuffed Chocolate Cake with Milk Chocolate Ganache
From The Vault and my head

For the cake:
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate
3 tbsp water
5 eggs, separated
1/2 cup sugar
A pinch of salt

For the cherry "stuffing:"
1 bag frozen sweet dark cherries
2 tbsp cornstarch
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 cup water

For the ganache:
12 ounces milk chocolate
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/2 stick unsalted butter

To make the cake:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a half-jelly pan and line it with parchment paper. Then butter the paper and set aside.

Chop the chocolate for the cake and combine it with the water in a double boiler over low heat. Stir occasionally until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth. Allow to cool.

In a mixer bowl, beat the egg whites with the salt until they hold soft peaks. Add 1/4 cup sugar and continue to beat for 3 minutes.

In a separate bowl, beat the egg yolks with the remaining 1/4 cup sugar until the mixture is very light.

Combine the chocolate with the yolks, then gently fold in the egg whites. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake for 15 minutes or until the cake is firm to the touch.

To make the cherry stuffing:

Combine the cherries and water in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook until the cherries are soft; lightly mash the fruit with the back of a spoon. Add the sugar and cornstarch and stir until dissolved; turn the heat to low and continue to stir until the mixture becomes thick. Remove from the heat.

To make the ganache:

Bring the cream and butter to a boil in a saucepan; remove from the heat and then add the chocolate (chop first). Whisk until smooth and then refrigerate until thickened. Note that this recipe will make a lot more ganache than you need; I recommend a nice brownie to use the rest up (hopefully coming sooner than later).

To put the whole thing together:

How you do this is up to you. You can slice the cake into 3 pieces or you can do what I did, which was to use a biscuit cutter to cut 6 circles and save the leftovers for snacking. If you do the circles, you will have 2 small cakes.

Place the first layer on a plate (either 1/3 of the cake if you sliced or 2 separate circles). Spread some cherry stuffing on top of the first layer, then spread some ganache (I layered pretty thick with both, but that's up to you). Place the next cake layer on top. Again spread cherry filling and ganache. Place the third layer on top and spread with cherry filling and ganache. Chill for an hour before serving. Serve with whipped cream.

More breakfast

2008-01-14T21:31:00.001-06:00

I can't believe I didn't post this!

I love granola. My teeth don't.

I used to make my own because the granola I liked to buy had clusters. My teeth are falling apart. Clusters weren't a good thing.

As I mentioned in my last post, I got my hands on some gluten-free oats. I had a few servings left in my last bag of Bakery on Main granola, so I decided to make some.

Happy, happy day.

I can't do the clusters - I am afraid I'll break another tooth. If you like clusters, add 6 tbsp of honey to the mix.

Nutty Fruity Granola

3 cups rolled oats

3/4 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
3 tbsp sesame seeds
1 tbsp flaxseeds
1/2 cup hulled sunflower seeds
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup dried cherries
1 cup dried apples, crushed into small pieces
1/4 cup butter
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment and set aside.

Combine the oats and seeds in a large bowl. In a saucepan, melt the butter and brown sugar together, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from the heat and add the cinnamon and vanilla.

Pour the butter mixture over the oats and seeds; toss to coat. Spread on the prepared baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.

Add the raisins, cherries and apples and stir to combine. Store in an airtight container.

I'm alive...really, I am!

2008-01-13T21:24:00.000-06:00

I have been slacking here of late, for which I apologize. But I have really good excuses.

Excuse #1: With the wet and heavy snow we received a couple of weeks ago, The Gidge managed to get herself full of mats. I have been working on getting those out after work and on weekends. I have 2 more (right behind her ears, the poor thing) to get out and then we're finally done.

Excuse #2: My company's annual banquet is on February 2nd and I am in charge of planning it, as usual. Because of it, I am behind at work, so I am putting in time both in the morning and after work every day, just to keep my head above water.

Excuse #3: I have been falling back on my tried and true recipes for meals because quite frankly, I am brain-dead and exhausted because of Excuse #2.

Excuse #4: I am trying to learn Microsoft's Expression Web because I have another work project that involves this program.

Excuse #5: See Excuse #3. Replace #2 with #4.

Excuse #6: Migraines, ears plugged (ergo dizziness on and off) for weeks now.

I am such a whiner.

I haven't forgotten about any of you and think daily of posting something - anything - just so the world is aware that I haven't died.

I managed to pull 2 recipes out of the Vault this weekend and convert them - both breakfast-related.

When my parents were here visiting, I found the Bob's Red Mill gluten-free oats. I was afraid
to open the package because I knew that once I did, I would be oatmealing the hell out of everything. I really want to make my favorite meatloaf recipe (which calls for oats) but I wanted sweet breakfasty goodness before I did that.

So I bet there will be meatloaf this week, since I got the goodness out of the way.

This first recipe doesn't call for oatmeal. But oh, my. I ate half the cake by 2 PM today and it didn't come out of the oven until 9:30!

Sorry for the crappy picture.

The second recipe is going to have to wait for another day because.......zzzzzzzzzzzz.....

Cranberry Almond Coffee Cake
Adapted from The Vault

Filling:

2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
1/2 cup water
2/3 cup sugar
2 1/2 tbsp cornstarch

Cake:

3/4 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup tapioca starch
1/4 cup potato starch
1 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup butter
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup milk
1/2 tsp vanilla

Topping:

1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown rice flour
2 tbsp butter
1/4 cup sliced almonds (or other nut of your choice)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8" round cake pan and set aside.

In a saucepan, combine the cranberries and water. Simmer, covered, for 5 minutes or until the berries are softened. Add the 2/3 cup sugar and cornstarch. stir well to dissolve. Continue to heat over low heat, stirring frequently, until the mixture has thickened to a pie filling consistency.

In a mixing bowl, sift together 3/4 cup brown rice flour, the tapioca starch, potato starch, xanthan gum, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Cut in the 1/2 cup butter until the mixture resembles fine crumbs.

In another bowl, combine the milk, egg, and vanilla. Add to the flour mixture and mix until blended.

Spread half of the cake batter in the prepared cake pan. Spread the cranberry filling over the dough (I sprinkled a thin layer of almonds here, too) and then spread the remaining batter over the cranberries.

In yet another bowl (and I don't have a dishwasher yet!), combine the remaining sugar and brown rice flour. Add the remaining 2 tbsp of butter and cut in until the mixture is crumb-y. Stir in the almonds and then sprinkle the topping over the top of the batter.

Bake 45 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool for 20 minutes or so because that filling is HOT ON THE TONGUE. And the tender inner flesh of the mouth.

You get the idea.

Tradition

2008-01-01T16:43:00.000-06:00

Every time I think about the word "tradition," I hear the cast of Fiddler on the Roof singing in the background.

My first New Year's Day in Illinois was spent with The Man and two loaves of pizza bread, with which we used to make, well, pizza bread. He'd watch football and I would either read or crochet.

We did the same for the next three years. We kind of got away from it for some unknown reason but I decided at 5:00 this morning that it was time to bring this tradition back. The Man is playing in a euchre tournament this afternoon, but I am following through on the pizza bread, reading and crocheting (no football, thank you very much) until he gets home, when he will have his pizza bread.

This is one of the recipes from The Vault that I have no idea where it came from. All I can tell you is that it was damn good back when and it's nearly as good in this gluten-free form.

Pizza Bread
Adapted from The Vault

1 1/2 cups warm milk
2 tbsp olive oil
3/4 cup sorghum flour
3/4 cup tapioca starch
1/2 cup potato starch
1/2 cup cornstarch
2 1/2 tsps xanthan gum
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
3/4 tsp kosher salt
1 1/2 tsp yeast

Combine the yesat, milk and sugar is the bottom of a mixer bowl. Allow to sit for 5 minutes so the yeast activates.

Add the flours, xanthan gum, and spices. Mix with a paddle attachment until well blended. Add the olive oil. Cover and place in a warm area to rise for 1 hour.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Pour the dough into a greased loaf pan and bake for 60 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack. Slice into 1/2" thick slices and top with your favorite pizza toppings, bake for 10 minutes at 425 degrees for serving.

As promised

2007-12-30T05:06:00.000-06:00

Any other time that my parents have come to visit (it's a 4 hour drive so it doesn't happen more often than once a year), we'd eaten at home a few times, but mostly went out to eat. Well, that's certainly over and done with.

Since they arrived Thursday night, I have cooked a lot. What's weird is that I honestly don't recall making these types of meals for them EVER. I made the pear coffeecake, which turned out well, my favorite pork roast-bread and potato dumplings-sauerkraut meal (also mom and dad's favorite - we have to force ourselves to stop eating or we will stuff face until we're sick), shrimp and parmesan pasta with GF no-knead bread....

We've eaten well. I've probably gained 5 pounds because I haven't eaten this well in quite a while. And I have beautiful leftovers in the fridge. I am really looking forward to frying up the last of the dumplings in butter - oh so good.

As I had mentioned yesterday, I made the dessert I had presented at Christmas Eve, with one change - I made it in a round cake pan and sliced it into wedges instead of cutting out circles with a biscuit cutter. The Man and I were so full from dinner that only mom and dad ate any, but I will get my turn today.

So. Here's the recipe for that dessert.

Chocolate-Panna Cotta Cake with Cherries
Adapted from The New Best Recipe and Rebecca Reilly's Gluten-Free Baking

For the cake (Rebecca's recipe, a few technique tweaks by me):

2 tbsp potato starch
6 tbsp sifted unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tbsp cornstarch
3 eggs, room temperature
6 tbsp sugar
1/8 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla
4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and clarified

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Lightly butter an 8" round cake pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.

Mix together (I sifted them together) the potato starch, cocoa powder and cornstarch.

Ribbon together the eggs, sugar and salt (she has an explanation of this in her book, but it's pretty long so I am not going to retype it - sorry). Add the vanilla and reribbon. Add the cocoa mixture in thirds, folding in after each addition. Fold in the clarified butter.

Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan.

For the Panna Cotta:

1/2 cup whole milk
1 2/3 tsp gelatin
1 1/2 cup heavy cream
6 tbsp sugar
A 2" section of vanilla bean
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup frozen cherries, chopped

Pour the milk into a medium saucepan. Evenly sprinkle the gelatin over the milk and allow to sit for 10 minutes.

While the gelatin is softening, split and scrape the vanilla bean and place the seeds and pod into the heavy cream.

Prepare an ice bath by placing 4 cups water and 2 cups of ice in a large bowl.

After the 10 minutes are up, heat the milk and gelatin over low heat until the mixture reaches 135 degrees, whisking briskly. Remove from the heat and whisk in the sugar and salt until dissolved. Add the heavy cream to the saucepan.

Pour the panna cotta through a strainer into a bowl small enough to fit into the ice bath bowl without getting any water into the bowl. Add the cherries. Whisk briskly until the mixture has cooled to 45 degrees.

*********

Pour the panna cotta over the top of the prepared cake. Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours. Slice into wedges and grate dark chocolate over the top for serving.

Mysterious

2007-12-29T14:42:00.001-06:00

How is it possible that I am thinking of things to post about every day while Just Not Dinner was not in existence, which drove me nuts, and then since the day it came back, I haven't posted squat!

Very mysterious.

It's not that I didn't have anything to say, or recipes to post. The hectic pace of getting ready for the holidays just got in the way.

But now we are really back.

I made a scrumptious gluten-free dessert for Christmas Eve dinner with The Man's family, but I neglected to take a picture. Even brought the camera with me.

Luckily, I have a parental invasion occuring as I type, and after telling my father about the dessert, he said that it sounded really good. So I have the first half cooling and will begin the second half shortly.

So that will be coming posthaste.

But I also have a delicious coffee cake to share. This is one of those Vault recipes that I dug out recently because I have an abundance of pears taking up space in the fridge. Gotta use them somehow, right?

Pear Coffeecake

Adapted from a recipe in The Vault

2 cups thinly sliced pears

3 tbsp packed brown sugar

1 tbsp + 1 1/2 tsp lemon juice

1/4 tsp cardamom

1/8 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp ginger

1/2 cup brown rice flour

1/4 cup tapioca starch

2 tbsp cornstarch

2 tbsp almond meal

1 tsp xanthan gum

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/8 tsp kosher salt

1/3 cup granulated sugar

2 tbsp butter, softened

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup sliced almonds

Grease an 8" baking pan (I used a rectangular pan because it was handy, and it affected the thickness because the batter was more spread out. Keep that in mind). Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a small saucepan combing the brown sugar, 1 tbsp lemon juice, cardamom, nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger and pears. Cook over medium heat until syrupy (5 minutes or so), stirring frequently. Set aside to cool.

Sift together the brown rice flour, tapioca starch, cornstarch and xanthan gum. Add the almond meal and set aside.

Combine the milk and 1 1/2 tsp lemon juice; set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and granulated sugar. Add the egg and vanilla, beating well. Add the flour mixture to the sugar mixture alternating with the milk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Beat well after each addition.

Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and spread out until it reaches the sides (dough is kind of sticky so be prepared). Spread the pear mixture over the top of the batter and then top with the almonds.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until cake begins to pull away from the sides of the pan.

We're BAAAAAACK!

2007-12-17T16:23:00.001-06:00

I gots all the Christmas presents I need.

Another day to go back to bed & pull the covers over my head

2007-12-17T16:21:00.000-06:00

Today started out as any other. The Gidge got me up about 5 AM because of the whole dependent-on-me-for-potty-access thing. I took my allergy pill, brewed up a cup of chai, and sat down to catch up on what’s happening on the web.

I decided about 8 AM to make myself a kick-ass frittata for breakfast. Smoked salmon, spinach, fontina…can’t go wrong there! I whipped everything up, got it into the oven and sat down to read.

Things went downhill quickly from here.

At about 8:45, I pulled the stainless steel pan containing the frittata out of the oven and placed it on top of the stove while I got a knife, fork and plate.

I grabbed the handle of the pan. Without a hot pad or towel.

Yes, people, I did. Did any of you catch the last post before the original Just Not Dinner went “poof?” I talked about needing to be wrapped up in bubble wrap. Tri-ply bubble wrap.

Well, in this case, it would have melted to the handle and to my skin (and I am not sure which would have been worse).

I can’t close my hand right now – I have first degree (thank god that’s all) burns running across my fingers between the top and middle knuckles and again between the middle and bottom knuckles. I also have a nice red stripe across the bottom of my palm.

If this doesn’t prove that I am accident-prone, I don’t know what does.

But I had a damn good breakfast, anyway. I just whimpered in pain between bites.

Smoked Salmon Frittata with Spinach and Fontina

1 tbsp butter
½ cup onion, diced
6 eggs
½ cup milk
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp horseradish
1 cup fresh spinach, chopped
4 oz smoked salmon, chopped
½ cup grated fontina cheese
¼ tsp kosher salt
1/8 tsp pepper

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In an ovenproof skillet, melt the butter over low heat. Add the onion and allow to sweat until the onion is soft but not browned. Remove from the heat and add the chopped spinach and salmon.

In a bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, mustard, horseradish, salt and pepper. Pour over the mixture in the skillet. Sprinkle the cheese over the top and then gently stir to combine all ingredients.

Gently place the skillet into the oven and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the top is browned and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and slice into wedges for serving.

Beware the hot handle, people. Beware.

For the GF cookie tray: surprise package cookies

2007-12-17T16:19:00.000-06:00

While I used to enjoy these cookies each Christmas season, they were more important to The Man and The Stepson. I skipped making them last year because of the whole unfamiliar-with-gluten-free-flours thing, but I decided that since I have had other cookie successes, I could slam-dunk this one. And I did. Gluten-eating taste-testers gave these two thumbs up.

Surprise Package Cookies
Adapted from The Vault

½ cup butter
½ cup sugar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
½ tsp vanilla
1 tsp GF baking powder
1/3 tsp kosher salt
2/3 cup white rice flour
1/3 cup tapioca starch
¼ cup cornstarch
2 tbsp sweet rice flour
1 ¼ tsp xanthan gum
1 pkg Andes Candies

In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugars together. Add the egg and beat well. Add the vanilla.

In another bowl, sift together the flours, baking powder, salt, and xanthan gum. Slowly add the flour mixture to the butter mixture until completely incorporated. Refrigerate the dough for at least 3 hours.

When you’re ready to bake, preheat the oven to 375 degrees. With rice-floured hands, shape a tablespoonful of dough around 22 candies, forming rectangular cookies. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until the cookies just begin to turn golden brown. Cool on wire racks.

When the cookies have cooled, melt the remaining Andes Candies and drizzle over the cookies.

Point taken

2007-12-16T16:18:00.000-06:00

So, after I published the last post, I ended the evening of December 13th with the most priceless kluty move of them all – I accidentally deleted my blog!

I stared at my laptop monitor in horrified fascination, mouth agape, thirty milliseconds after I pressed the “Delete My Blog” button.

I thought I was deleting the test page I had created last March when I was playing around with templates. I had no clue I had selected the wrong blog for deletion.

My heart in my throat, I finally found the “contact Blogger email thing” and started to pray really hard. I had no idea how much I loved Just Not Dinner until it was no more.

I have read around the Net that Blogger is amazingly slow in responding to requests such as mine. I had hoped that my plea was pathetic enough to warrant a quick response as my immediate family kind of uses Just Not Dinner as a way to keep up with me. I covered another base by posting to Blogger’s Help Group thingy.

It’s been a few days now and I haven’t even gotten an email from a Bot yet. So I have decided that for now, I must carry on with the show, even though I don’t have my archives, comments, etc.

When I get my original blog back (please, please, please be soon), I will transfer the upcoming posts to that and everything will be as it should be.

I hope.

Oh, the agony

2007-12-13T19:16:00.000-06:00

Someone needs to encase my ass in bubble wrap before allowing me to even get out of bed.

But before I get to that, the damn Christmas tree is done. I made applesauce-cinnamon ornaments, screwed hooks into walnuts, and strung popcorn and cranberries.

Never again with the popcorn thing. Never again.

Besides, The Gidge has been pretty good about leaving the tree alone after I sprayed everywhere she could reach with Bitter Lime.

And now, without further ado...

How many people do you know that allow their cat to get its mouth on the fishing line you are using to make a popcorn and cranberry garland? And allow said cat to TAKE OFF WHEN THE DOG COMES TROTTING UP, while your fingers are wrapped up in said fishing line?

That left a mark. It's still healing after nearly a week.

Yesterday, while making the bed and simultaneously playing with the dog, I ran full-tilt-boogie into this. The post hits me (yes, this has happened more than once - you'd think I would learn already) right at the spot where the thigh meets the hip.

That left a mark, too. A nice purple, green and black one.

I went to the post office at lunch today to pick up some mail and get a shipping box. While pulling the mail out of my post office box, which is well above my head, the box bit my finger, which would not stop bleeding.

Get the idea?

Bubble wrap, people. I need some.

My innards have not been up to par, either. I have been existing on yogurt, bananas and cream of rice, trying to get back to normal after god-knows-what threw my digestive system off. It's possible that while cooking for the boss on Saturday that I didn't wash my hands well enough after touching her bread and glutened my klutzy butt. Or I have a touch of some stomach bug. Leaning toward the bread and klutzy butt, though.

Anyway.

Tonight I decided that I needed REAL FOOD. To hell with what my stomach might feel like afterward. I rooted through the freezer and came out with some salmon, then poked through the potato bin and the crisper drawers. And ended up with dinner.

Clementined Salmon with Roasted Root Vegetables & Broccoli

For the salmon:
2 large salmon filets
1/4 cup clementine juice (about 2 clementines)
2 tbsp honey
1 tbsp GF soy sauce
Salt and pepper

For the roasted veggies:
1 large potato, cut into 3/4" pieces
1 large parsnip, cut into 3/4" pieces
1 head broccoli, cut into small florets
2 tbsp olive oil
Sea salt and pepper
Asiago cheese (optional)

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

In a medium bowl, toss the potato and parsnip pieces with the olive oil. Pour them into a baking dish. Place into the oven and roast for about 20 minutes, or until the potatoes have lost their "raw sheen" and are just barely becoming fork tender.

Place the salmon filets into a baking dish and sprinkle with salt and pepper. In a small bowl, combine the clementine juice, honey and soy sauce. Pour the mixture over the salmon and set aside. Place into the oven after the vegetables have been in the oven about 15 minutes. Spoon some of the clementine mixture over the top of the salmon every 5 to 8 minutes.

Steam the broccoli until just barely fork-tender. You can do what I did - use the microwave. Those new steam bags can be a handsaver when you don't have a dishwasher, like me.

When the potatoes and parsnips have begun to brown, add the broccoli to the mix. Continue to bake until the broccoli just barely browns and the salmon is cooked through, about 10 minutes (more if your salmon filets are pretty thick).

When serving, sprinkle the vegetables with asiago cheese, sea salt and pepper to taste.

Oh. Did I mention that I also broke a nail the other day? Better get a triple roll of that bubble wrap.

The only time you will see me eat gravy

2007-12-06T18:37:00.000-06:00

At some point during my childhood, I had a bad gravy experience. I remember doing my normal drowning of the mashed potato mound on my plate, taking a huge bite, and spitting the mouthful back out.

Was it overly salted? Generally nasty? I dunno. I was maybe 10 when this happened, so I have been essentially gravy-free for 26 years. Except for the gravy in beef stew.

I haven't had the inclination to make stew in several years. The furnace at my office has been uncooperative for a week, so we froze until yesterday, when my co-worker and I decided that we were being stupid and went home to work for the rest of the day. Today, I am feeling a bit under the weather, so I am snuggled up with The Gidge, tea and my laptop, plugging away at the work pile that only seems to get taller every day.

The thought struck me about 9 AM - something to nosh that isn't a lot of work but sticks to the ribs.

Have I mentioned that it's very, very cold outside?

On a side note, The Gidge was introduced to real, measurable snow on Tuesday night. The Man and I had a good belly laugh because she ran around like an idiot. Her little black face was white with snow because she kept shoving it into the cold stuff. We take her out with her little white coat and pink booties - particularly this morning, when it was only about 10 degrees. As long as she's got the boots and the coat happening, she romps through the snow like a pro. Take those off and she pussyfoots her way to the area we shoveled off for her use and then, with a long-suffering look at me, trudges her way back to the door.

Yes, we shoveled the grass. The snowfall we received Tuesday night comes up to her armpits....legpits....ah hell, her tummy.

Back to food. I had things lurking in the fridge from last week's organic delivery that needed to be used: parsnips, potatoes, carrots, onions. I had green beans from the garden that I had frozen during the summer. Ah, the makings of stew!

I also had a little bit of merlot in a bottle on the counter. I was all set. So I whipped up a batch of no-knead bread and set it to rise (no way was I waiting 18 hours - I set the bread proof cycle on my oven and popped it in there for 4 hours before baking).

Gotta have crusty bread to sop up the stew gravy.

Sorry for the crappy picture - forgot to take one until I was preparing to put the leftovers in the fridge.

Beef Stew - My Way

For the CrockPot

1 pound beef stew meat

3/4 cup diced onion

1 cup diced carrots

2 tbsp butter

2 tbsp olive oil

1/4 tsp salt plus a pinch or so

1 cup diced parsnips

1 cup diced red potatoes

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup green beans, cut into 1" pieces

1/2 cup cornstarch

2 cups beef stock

1 cup red wine

1/2 tsp ground thyme

2 bay leaves

In a large skillet, melt the butter and olive oil together over medium heat. Add the stew meat, a pinch of salt, and onion; cook until meat is browned and onion is tender (about 10 minutes). Add the garlic and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the cornstarch; toss to coat. Add the mixture to the CrockPot.

Pour the beef stock and wine over the meat mixture. Add the the remaining ingredients and then stir together. Cover and set the CrockPot to cook for 6 hours on high heat.

Don't forget to fish out the bay leaves before serving.

For the GF cookie tray: santa's whiskers

2007-12-01T20:03:00.000-06:00

Yesterday, I came up with a solution for the Christmas tree/The Gidge problem. I swung by the local dollar store on the way home, loaded up with cheap cinnamon and applesauce, and went home to make ornaments.

It's actually pretty easy. You combine two 2.12 bottles of cinnamon with 1 cup of applesauce, mix into a dough, roll it out, and cut into shapes (poke holes in the tops using a straw in order to hang them later). Then you have to either let them dry for days, flipping several times a day, until they are dry all the way through, or you can do what I did, which was heat the oven to 250 degrees, throw them in there, and let them dry with some help. I tried the hang-out-and-dry method, but because of my allergies and Vester's asthma, I keep humidifiers running at all times throughout the house. So when you have 50% humidity going on, that's not exactly the best environment to dry out dough.

One of the ladies at the beauty parlor I go to (believe me, it's a beauty parlor, not a "salon") has a bow-making thing so she made me a huge bow to go on top of the tree.

The ornaments are dry now and I have to run back to the dollar store to get a ton more ribbon (I bought some that says "I believe in Santa" that's red, white and silver - the normal colors of my tree) so I can get the ornaments strung in preparation for hanging. Oh, and we need to put screws in the tree base so I can put down my tree skirt.

Did I mention that before? Mysteriously, when the tree was taken back downstairs last year, the screws that tighten the stand disappeared. So our tree is waving in the breeze right now. I caught Baby climbing the inside the other night because the whole thing was moving.

Anyway, once the tree is done, maybe I will feel like hauling out the rest of the indoor decorations.

The weather has been uncooperative this weekend as far as outdoor decorating goes. When I went to my GF support group meeting this morning, it was cold. When I left the meeting at about noon, it had been snowing a bit but was changing over to sleet. It took me 45 minutes to get home because I couldn't drive any faster than 30 mph the whole way or the SUV started to slide.

It's now 7:46 PM. I took The Gidge out to go potty a few minutes ago and it's raining. On top of snow and sleet. The deck and brick patio are sheets of ice. I have a very bad feeling about this - remember, I have advanced osteoporosis and am the biggest klutz in the world. I am tempted to see if The Man can find a sled downstairs or in the shed so I can PUSH myself across the deck.

After drying out the last of the ornaments this morning, I made my first attempt at de-glutening my Santa's Whiskers recipe. I will say that it took a lot longer to chill than the gluten version so I ended up chucking it in the freezer for an hour (after refrigerating for 6) to get the dough firm enough to slice without mushing the log.

Success once again! The only thing I would do different is add more vanilla extract, so I increased the amount in the recipe below.

Santa's Whiskers

From The Vault

The amounts may seem weird here - this is a third of the original recipe because I am the only one that eats these cookies, so I sure as heck don't make the whole batch.

1/4 cup butter, softened

1/4 cup shortening

1/2 cup sugar

1/16 tsp baking soda (a good pinch)

1/16 tsp kosher salt (a good pinch)

1 egg

1 tbsp milk

3/4 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup white rice flour

1/3 cup tapioca starch

1/3 cup cornstarch

1/3 cup sweet rice flour

1 1/4 tsp xanthan gum

3/4 cup maraschino cherries, drained well and finely chopped

1/2 cup coconut

In a mixing bowl, cream together the butter, shortening and sugar on medium speed for two minutes. Add the baking soda and salt. Beat until combined and then add the egg, milk and vanilla.

Sift together the white rice flour, tapioca starch, cornstarch, sweet rice flour, and xanthan gum. Slowly add the flour mixture into the butter mixture, beating well. Add the chopped cherries and mix well. The dough will turn pink, so don't freak.

Now comes the fun part. This used to be pretty simple. And then there are gluten-free flours.

Place a large piece of waxed paper on the counter. Scoop large spoonfuls of the dough into a log-type shape. Sprinkle all available surfaces with coconut and press it into the dough, gently. Once you get the top and sides done, use a rubber scraper or spatula to carefully lift the dough in order to get coconut on the bottom. Once the entire roll has been coated in coconut, use the waxed paper to roll it into a 1-1/2" by 8" to 9" log. Twist the ends to seal and place in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours, but overnight is probably better. Or you can put it in the freezer until the dough is firm to the touch but not frozen solid.

When you're ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Prepare a baking sheet by lining it with parchment.

Remove the dough from the fridge and slice it, using a sharp knife, into 1/4" slices. Lay the slices on the baking sheet about an inch apart. Bake for 10 minutes or until the coconut has begun to toast, the edges are barely browned, and the middle of the cookies seem firm to the touch.

Makes about 36 cookies.

One says "Brrr..." and one says "Bring it"

2007-11-29T20:48:00.000-06:00

I haven't been creating any new stuff lately. Most evenings this week have found me snuggled up on the couch under my favorite pink blankie, with a cat and a dog, alternately reading a book (currently John Grisham's Playing for Pizza) and staring at the Christmas tree that hasn't gotten any further than being hauled upstairs. Oh, and packing face from the big bowl of Jelly Bellys I have sitting right next to me. Addicting, those little things are.

We brought the tree up and plugged it in last weekend, but I decided to wait to decorate it until I knew what The Gidge was going to do. I already had to spray the bottom branches with Bitter Lime to keep her from chewing on them and thus electrocuting herself. We don't need any more "Christmas Vacation" scenes around here than what occurs normally.

After 6 days, she pretty much leaves it alone. But I am wondering if I am going to need a gate or something to keep her away once the ornaments go on.

The Gidge has a better wardrobe than I do. She has been wearing little dog hoodies and sweaters for several weeks now, but this morning I pulled out the big guns. And after viewing what ensued, I added a bunch of extra velcro tonight - I couldn't believe that a small was so HUGE. Mom doesn't know it yet, but when she and my father come down in December (with my dishwasher!), she is going to fix this the rest of the way.

With the area I live in, I figured I should go with the flow with the caption language.

GO PACKERS!

For the GF cookie tray: butter cookies

2007-11-24T14:42:00.000-06:00

I have been using the gluten version of this recipe for years to make spritz cookies, which are probably my favorite Christmas cookie, next to Santa's Whiskers. Last year, I bypassed this one because I didn't really know how to play with the various gluten-free flours yet.

That was last year. This is now.

In October, Ferrara Pan's Red Hots were gluten free. So I picked some up back then with the plan to make these cookies. They may still be - I don't know. I wasn't taking any chances.

Also, you can certainly purchase colored sugar - but it's a heck of a lot cheaper (and safer - what the heck is the "wax" that's on the labeling of every package? Why does sugar need WAX?) to make your own. An added bonus is you can make only as much as you need. Just put a scoop of white sugar in a bowl, add food coloring, and stir (add more coloring to get your desired depth of color). Spread out on a plate to dry and you've got colored sugar to decorate your cookies with.

These cookies are very tender and buttery with a hint of sweetness and a kick (the red hot) at the end. If you have patience (I don't), you can press the dough through a cookie press. I started out that way but the press mysteriously grew wings and flew when the dough wouldn't stick to the cookie sheet.

Christmasy Butter Cookies

GF'd from the Vault

1 cup white rice flour

1/3 cup tapioca starch

1/3 cup cornstarch

1/3 cup sweet rice flour

2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp xanthan gum

1 cup powdered sugar

2 sticks unsalted butter (at room temperature)

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp almond extract

Green decorating sugar

Red hot candies

In a medium bowl, sift together the white rice flour, tapioca starch, cornstarch, sweet rice flour, baking powder and xanthan gum. Set aside.

In a mixer, combine the butter and powdered sugar until light and fluffy. Slowly add the vanilla and almond extracts. Add the egg. Mix well. With the mixer on low (unless you like the ambience of flour on your walls and cabinets), add the flour mixture by spoonfuls until well combined. Refrigerate for at least an hour.

When you are ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Remove the dough from the fridge. Have a couple of nonstick cookie trays handy (ah...the reason for the dough not sticking with the press. Duh.). If you are using a press, now's the time and heaven help you.

For the rest of us, scoop small amounts of dough and roll into 3/4" balls. Place the balls about 1 1/2 inches apart on the cookie tray. When you have filled the tray, use the pads of your fingers to gently press down the top of each ball so it's flat and the cookie is about 1/2" thick.

Sprinkle each cookie with green decorating sugar and place a red hot smack-dab in the middle. Bake for 8 minutes or until the cookies are just barely beginning to brown.

Makes 52 cookies.

Another turkey to remember

2007-11-22T17:36:00.000-06:00

Happy Thanksgiving! May you enjoy good food, good friends, and wonderful family.

Some of you may remember last year's turkey debacle. If not, here's the link to that particular post.

This year....THIS YEAR....I am thankful that we again were just the three of us and not a houseful of family. Because we had another turkey issue - the opposite end of the spectrum. I bought our 10-pound turkey this past Friday and put it into the freezer.

At 5 AM on Monday, I removed it from the freezer and gently placed it in the refrigerator.

At 5 PM on Wednesday, I poked a finger into its side and it "mooshed," which told me it was defrosting nicely.

At 11 AM today, I went downstairs and got the turkey from the fridge. I carried it reverently up the stairs. I patted it as I prepared to remove the packaging.

The )(*@&#& was frozen solid. See if I am nice and gentle next year. Next year, I am giving that bastard a solid kick with a steel-toed boot before cooking it.

So, that's how the turkey saga started. There's more.

The Man and The Stepson went for a free breakfast and planned to be home by noon. The Man had a grill to fire up.

At 10:30, when I began to prepare the dressing, I pulled the celery out of the fridge. It drooped like a bassett hound's jowls. What the hell. So I called The Man, who had to stop and get libations anyway, to pick up some more celery. I called every 10 minutes for the next hour and a half.

At noon, he called and said they were on their way home (the place that they were at is a half hour away) and that he would get the damn celery, damn it.

At 12:45, the two walked in the door. I immediately went to work chopping and slicing onion and the damn celery. I put together the dressing and scalloped corn and finished prepping the %*#@&^ turkey (which I defrosed in the microwave, by the way) with butter under the skin, oranges, garlic, and onion in its butt (it deserved it, don't you think?), and olive oil, salt and pepper on the outside of the skin. I handed it off to The Man to place on the grill.

An hour later, The Man came in the house and said, "honey." Oh, hell, now what?

The grill had dropped down to 175 degrees. Yes, people - instead of baking in an hour, I had an essentially raw turkey after an hour over the coals. I had already preheated the oven in anticipation of baking the side dishes, so I hauled out the roasting pan, trudged outside, and grabbed the $%&#@ bird. And put it into the oven. At which time I noticed that nothing else was going to fit with the huge roasting pan I just bought (premonition, perhaps?).

Good God. Is this day over yet?

Thank goodness I sprung for the convection oven/microwave two years ago. I heated that gift from heaven up to 425 and put the dressing in it. Then I fired up the toaster oven to 425 and popped in the scalloped corn.

And prayed.

It all worked out in the end. The Man, The Stepson and I are all rotting on the couches, watching "Christmas with the Kranks." We are recovering from pigging out and I am already contemplating the pie to come.

Sure as heck hope that your Thanksgiving dinner went a little better than mine.

One recipe leads to another

2007-11-17T18:16:00.000-06:00

I had a taste in my mouth. Have you ever had that happen? You start thinking about something you want to cook or bake and you just...taste it.

Most of this was due to Alton Brown's Good Eats show on pomegranates. I love pomegranates. On the show, he makes pomegranate molasses. Since my local grocery stores don't run to that wonderfully thick, sweet syrup, I decided to follow his recipe and make myself some.

And then smear it, with a few additions, on a pork tenderloin. Oh, my goodness, was it good. The only fly in the ointment was a overly-large piece of black pepper that lodged itself in my throat about halfway through dinner. I coughed and wheezed and sweat and cried. And my throat and tongue swelled - not enough to warrant a trip to the emergency room, but enough to cause painful swallowing and tongue movement for a few hours. Thankfully, I had the presence of mind to pop an allergy pill and snort some antihistamine as soon as I got that piece of pepper gone.

And then I took a warm tea bath to soothe myself.

And sipped warm apple cider while reading a rot-my-brain romance novel while relaxing to the sound of the ocean (thanks to my alarm clock).

I have a tenderloin left. I am almost afraid to eat the leftovers LOL.

Pork Tenderloin with Black Pepper and Pomegranate Molasses

2 pork tenderloins

1/2 cup pomegranate molasses

1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper

1 tbsp dijon mustard

1 tsp horseradish

Kosher salt

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Either oil a baking dish or place a layer of foil in the bottom (I missed this all-too-important step and had a hell of a time getting my Le Creuset baking dish clean - don't forget to do this!) before laying the tenderloins (slightly spaced apart) in the dish. Sprinkle lightly with kosher salt.

In a small bowl, whisk together the molasses, pepper, dijon mustard, and horseradish. Brush a generous layer on the tenderloins and then place the baking dish in the oven. Every 15 to 20 minutes, brush some more of the molasses mixture over the tenderloins. Bake until cooked all the way through (185 degrees) - time will depend on the thickness of your tenderloins. Mine took an hour and 15 minutes.

I hate carbs

2007-11-12T06:24:00.000-06:00

As you may have noticed, I have been eating a lot of them lately. With the holidays just around the corner, I better cut way back - now. Because I weighed myself today and I have gained five pounds.

Oh, the horror.

And I have such wonderful goodies planned, too. So if I manage to control myself, I will ease back on the sweet stuff for a few weeks and see if that's going to fix the weight issue.

We worked on barn teardown yesterday morning. I had to leave at 10:30 because of the whole cooking-for-the-boss thing, but I got in a solid two and a half hours. The guys got the rest of the walls torn down and all we have left now is to pick up garbage.

Thank heaven. I am ready for it to be over.

While doing prepwork for the boss' menu yesterday, I prepped this for myself. I had seen something similar somewhere on the web and thought it sounded good, but naturally I had to do my own thing.

I have to admit to a deep sigh when I looked at the potato-less plate. But there are other wonderful nummies out there for me to eat, too.

Spinach & Cheese Stuffed Chicken for One
adapted from the web - somewhere

1 good-sized boneless, skinless chicken breast
5 large spinach leaves, rinsed and dried well
1 ounce Fontina cheese, thinly sliced
1 roasted garlic clove
Kosher salt
Fresh ground black pepper
Olive oil

Place the chicken breast between two pieces of plastic wrap and take out your aggressions on that bad boy - pound it flat, to about 1/2" thick. Remove the top piece of wrap and lightly sprinkle the exposed side of the chicken with salt.

Squeeze the roasted garlic on top of the salt and spread across the chicken. Then layer the spinach leaves and Fontina on top of that. Using the piece of wrap that's under the chicken, tightly roll the chicken, twist the open ends of the wrap, and refrigerate for at least an hour.

When ready to eat, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Drizzle 1 tbsp of olive oil in the bottom of a small baking dish. Remove the chicken from the fridge, take off the plastic wrap, and place in the baking dish, rolling all sides of the chicken in the oil. Bake for 15 minutes.

Serve with wilted napa cabbage...or a baked potato...or a rice dish like risotto...or another tasty carb...

Sigh.

A pain in the rear becomes something good

2007-11-10T09:03:00.000-06:00

The Gidge had to go. At 4:30 this morning. I took her out and because we don't allow her outside alone when it's dark, I stood outside and froze while she debated if she was going to step paws on the frosted grass to actually GO. The answer on the first round was "hell no." So we came inside, put on a little pink and brown coat and her pink booties and tried again. And again, "hell no."

So we came in to take off the booties, hooked up the retractable leash, and went for a walk. Still nothing.

It had been 45 minutes of mostly being outside by this point. I was starting to get seriously ticked with The Gidge. My ears were frozen, my nose was running, and my toes were cold. When we got back from the walk, I hooked her back up to the lead and prayed.

Still nothing. Good God.

Out of desperation, I fed her an hour early, which I am probably going to regret later. But by golly, SHE POOPED.

While all of this was going on, I came up with an adaptation of a Vault recipe and once I had feeling back in my fingers, started making a delicious breakfast.

Baked Banana Doughnuts with Chocolate Glaze
from The Vault

2 1/2 tsp yeast
1/8 cup lukewarm water
3/4 cup slightly warm milk
1/6 cup shortening
1 egg
1 cup mashed banana (about 2 large)
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp cinnamon
3/4 cup brown rice flour
3/4 tapioca starch
1/2 cup teff flour
1/2 cup sweet rice flour
2 1/2 tsp xanthan gum

Pour the water into a mixer bowl and add the yeast. Allow to bloom for 2 minutes. Add the milk and shortening; mix for 2 minutes.

In a medium bowl, combine the sugar, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon, brown rice flour, tapioca starch, teff flour, sweet rice flour, and xanthan gum. Set aside.

In a small bowl, combine the mashed banana and egg. Pour into the yeast mixture and mix for 2 minutes. Slowly add the flour mixture and mix, scraping down the sides of the bowl, until all of the flour is incorporated. The dough will be somewhat loose and sticky.

Line your working area with plastic wrap; spray it with cooking spray. Place the dough on the prepared plastic wrap and then cover with another large piece of plastic wrap sprayed with cooking spray (spray side down). Use your hands to pat the dough down to 1/2" thick.

Spray your doughnut cutter/2 different size biscuit cutters/drinking glass and shot glass with cooking spray. Cut the doughnuts, removing the centers. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet and allow to rise in a warm place for 1 hour.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees and bake the doughnuts for 20 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown. Glaze with chocolate glaze.

Chocolate Glaze

3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
3 tbsp butter
1 tbsp light corn syrup
1/4 tsp vanilla

Put the chocolate chips, butter and corn syrup in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high for 30 seconds at a time, stirring after each 30 seconds, until all is melted together. Add the vanilla and stir. Dip the doughnut tops into the glaze while it (and they) are still warm.

I got 16 doughnuts out of this batch. You may get more or less depending on how large you make them.

Ah, hell

2007-11-07T19:46:00.000-06:00

I am a bad, bad daughter. Not only did I forget (without forgetting - does that make sense? Got busy and forgot to call, but I didn't FORGET) my mother's birthday just over a week ago, but I forgot to mention this:

Happy anniversary, Mom and Dad!

Yes, I was born on my my parent's first wedding anniversary.

A timely song to sing

2007-11-07T19:44:00.000-06:00

Happy Birthday to me,

Just ate a lot of really good pork roast,

Happy Birthday to me.

I am now 36 years old. My body feels at times like it's 90. Right now, with this nasty cold that won't go away (I am back in the head-cold-phase of this entertainment), I fully expect body parts to curl up and fall off a la Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin in"Beetlejuice."

And anger is building. Can't wait to see how it's going to explode (grin). The Man parked his ass on the couch and allowed me to do the dishes from my birthday dinner. He yelled at The Gidge too...for barking. She's a dog. A little dog. That never sees The Man because he's never home. Hm. Think she's trying to get his attention or something?

End of snarkiness.

Back to dinner. Seriously, this is an excellent glaze - and the roast turned out incredibly tender and juicy.

Pork Roast with Brown Sugar & Persimmon Glaze

From my head

A 2-pound pork roast

A pinch of kosher salt

A few grinds of black pepper

1/4 cup persimmon pulp

1/2 tsp cinnamon

A slight pinch of ground cloves

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup water

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place the roast in a baking dish and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place into the heated oven.

In a small saucepan, combine the persimmon pulp, cinnamon, cloves, brown sugar and water; whisk over low heat until the sugar is dissolved.

Remove the roast from the oven and pour the glaze over the top. Cover the pan with foil and return to the oven. Bake until cooked through (185 degrees), about an hour and a half.

These things actually happen in this house

2007-11-07T18:58:00.000-06:00

From one minute to the next, I do not know what is going to come out of The Man's mouth. This morning, I was standing at the stove preparing my breakfast when he came up and said, "What are you doing?" Because I just love stating the obvious, I replied, "Cooking." His next question? I sit here shaking my head while remembering this one - "Cream of Wheat?"

Cream of Wheat.

CREAM OF WHEAT?

I swear - he really does know about the gluten thing. He brushes his teeth and rinses before he kisses me. But oh my God, sometimes the brain and the mouth just DON'T connect.

It was Cream of Rice with turbinado sugar and currants, by the way.

I could have named this post a number of things

2007-11-04T20:52:00.000-06:00

Sheri and Shauna

The first post title could be "If you don't know how to drive safely in a construction zone, stay the hell off of the highway."

The second post title could be "Overdosing on damn good chocolate-banana bread causes coma."
The third post title could be "Successful first gluten-free dining experience in a restaurant."

The fourth post title could be "I laid around and did mostly nothing on this vacation but I did think about this."

Now, the explanations for all of these.

The first actually kind of goes with the second and third. I was on my way to Chicago to meet up for dinner at Vinci with Shauna James Ahern and two other wonderful women, Cari and Tina. What should have taken just under an hour to drive took over two hours because of a nasty accident 17 miles from my home. Yes, it took me an hour and a half to go 17 miles. Thank goodness that Shauna, Cari and Tina were willing to wait to have dinner until I finally got there. I always feel horrible when I see an accident like that but more than likely, the people involved in the accident were driving well above the speed limit and weaving in and out of traffic. There's a reason for the reduced speeds in construction zones - the lanes are usually narrower and rough, people. End of rant.

I sincerely hope that the people involved in the accident are okay.

I ate well, even though I was stressed to the max. Their panna cotta was amazing (I ate one bite and fell in love with a dessert that I had never been terribly impressed with - I made a batch for my dessert tonight LOL) and the hen cooked under a brick was succulent and delicious.

Tina and Cari

Since Shauna was in the area, I decided to make her chocolate-banana bread (in her book) on Friday. Big mistake. I ate half the pan in the first sitting and another big wedge yesterday afternoon after pigging out on gluten-free goodies at the monthly Gluten Free Wikiduke meeting. I forced myself to put the rest in the freezer and have had to repeatedly tell myself to STAY OUT OF THE FREEZER.

So that basically covers possible post titles 1 through 3.

I had mentioned at some point last week that I had recipes brewing, which was true. I just didn't have the motivation to make anything other than that banana bread. For the last two weeks, I have had a cold that started in my head and dropped with the weight of an elephant into my chest. I spent most of Thursday sleeping - slept most of Friday afternoon, too. Yesterday I spent chasing around doing stuff and today I had to do my cooking thing for the boss.

I did manage to clean my kitchen and bathroom. I also started the closet changeover from spring and summer clothing to fall and winter.

I decided that enough was enough and that I was going to make myself something good to eat. There's nothing like a good steak, roasted brussels sprouts, and potato pancakes to make your cold sit on the back burner for a little while.

Potato Pancakes with Green Onion and Gruyere

From my head

4 large potatoes, peeled and grated (about 4 cups total grated)

2 eggs

2 tbsp potato starch

1/4 cup green onion, chopped

1/2 cup gruyere cheese

1/4 tsp kosher salt

1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper

1 tbsp butter

2 tbsp olive oil

Grate the potatoes and chop the onions. Place into a colander and press to push out as much moisture as possible. Set aside, allowing to drain.

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, potato starch, cheese, salt, and pepper together. When the potatoes and onions are drained well, place them into egg mixture and fold to combine.

Melt the olive oil and butter together in a large skillet over medium heat. When the mixture is hot but not smoking, drop the pancake mixture by 1/2 cupfuls into the skillet, pressing with a metal spatula or the back of the measuring cup to flatten them out. Cook on the first side until golden brown (about 5 minutes), then flip and do the same on the other side.

Makes 6 to 8 pancakes. If you are making more than one batch, keep them warm by placing them in a 200 degree oven until ready to eat.

Halloween at Our House

2007-11-02T17:46:00.000-05:00

October 31st is a very fun day around here. We get to scare kids for one more day.

I put The Gidge in her witch's costume, but 30 seconds after my hands left her body, she tore it. Go figure.
The Man and I dressed up as well. Instead of a mask, he chose to have me paint his face, which turned out very ghoulish. I did my standard witchy thing and since I have worn this twice now, I really need to get a new costume.

Food and recipes in the works, people. I have been laying low, cleaning house, and trying to get over this nasty chest cold.

Now that the Haunted Barn is over for the season...Part Deux

2007-10-29T06:13:00.000-05:00

OK. So here is the walk-through broken down.

I sat at the cash table and manned the door, thankfully with the help of Genie (the garage door opener attached to the entrance door).

First Room - The Wolfman
Second Room - The Mummy
Third Room - Dracula
Fourth Room - The Invisible Man (unmanned; Dracula pushed a button to inflate the body in the bed)
Fifth Room - Freddy Kreuger
Sixth Room - Psycho
Seventh Room- unmanned; long hallway with creepy footsteps

That ends the first floor. There was an emergency exit (used fairly frequently) in the Psycho room that allowed freaked out children to get out before it was too late. Once they went up the stairs, they were stuck until the end.

Eighth Room - Michael Myers (long hallway with werewolf pictures and an air cannon strategically placed that everyone stepped on the trigger pad and got a shot of air about knee-high)
Ninth Room - Creature from the Black Lagoon
Tenth Room - unmanned; I dressed the room in layers of bubble wrap, with black lights and strobes. Very difficult to find the door heading to...
Eleventh Room - Jason
Twelvth Room - Frankenstein
Thirteenth Room - Christine

The final effect is actually called Claustrophobia. It's two 8-foot-long bags inflated with high-intensity fans that press against you as you walk through. It was the longest 8 feet of the entire Haunted Barn according to most of our victims. Another 10-foot walk (where Mikey sticks his head out again right at the door) got you back outside.

So there you have it.

We already have decided on next year's theme and I spent some time searching the web last night to get ideas.

We're tired. Very, very tired. We still have to pack all the decor up and tear down the walls before we're really done for the season. We plan to try to get that done this coming weekend, but we've said that before LOL

The Man and I need to get our yard set up for trick-or-treating yet, too. Thank goodness he's on vacation this whole week and I myself have taken Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Look for new recipes, provided that I have the energy to cook.

Now that the Haunted Barn is over for the season...

2007-10-29T05:58:00.001-05:00

Our theme this year was "Classic Horror."

I made this video the first weekend we were open. It's kind of crappy because at first I had forgotten I had the camera zoomed all the way in and I had to talk to our actor a bit because I can't seem to keep my mouth shut.

I had intended to redo it yesterday, but I naturally forgot the camera in my haste to get out the door to pick up snacks and soda for the actors as a thank-you for all their great work.

Celebrating

2007-10-27T08:09:00.001-05:00

Today is the first anniversary of It's Just Not Dinner Without Cat Hair.

So far, I have celebrated by cleaning my fridge and coming down with a cold.

Thanks to everyone who has listened to me bitch and whine for the last year :-)

Chilly temps mean soup around here

2007-10-24T20:50:00.000-05:00

At 5:00 this morning, I was shivering in the cold while quietly urging The Gidge to complete her morning business.

At 11:00 this morning, I was shivering in the cold while loudly urging The Gidge to complete her lunchtime business.

At 12:00 this afternoon, I was shivering in the cold while vehemently cursing the construction crews working outside the post office because I had to run an obstacle course in order to buy stamps.

At 5:30 this evening, I was shivering in the cold while hauling ass from the grocery store to the car.

If you haven't figured it out yet, fall temperatures have finally hit this area. The high today was a whopping 50 degrees.

I don't do well in cooler weather. Once my hands and feet get cold, there's no warming me up without a bubbly tubby and some warm apple cider (2 perks of the season, in my opinion, along with the bonfires I get to look forward to after this weekend and walking through the leaves that have changed color), regardless of the number of layers I pile on my poor, abused self.

I just came in from taking The Gidge outside again. My glasses steamed up when I came back inside.

Gidget is clad in a pink thermal hoodie (I know, I know. Wait till you see the white coat with blue fuzzy trim). I am huddled on the couch typing this post, while swaddled in a pink fuzzy blanket. I have warmed up somewhat after my comforting dinner, but I still need to run that bubble bath, heat up some cider, light some candles, and warm myself all over. If I could get my butt off the couch. We are playing fetch with a stuffed squirrel (you didn't expect something normal like a tennis ball, did you? Shame....), I am watching some mindless crap on TV and surfing the web while waiting for words and ideas to come.

Just makes me want to get off the couch. Or not. I need comfort after chilly days like today.

I have started getting weekly organic deliveries (for those of you in the know, it's the More Fruit & Veggie Box) and in last week's box, there was a head of purple cauliflower. I love the look of this veggie, with its deep purple florets standing out against the green outer leaves. This week's box contained a head of white cauliflower. I had to do something with them before the purple one went bad, so I came up with this soup.

A belly full of this is the real reason I can't seem to get off the couch.

Cauliflower Soup with Carrot-Tarragon Puree and Parmesan Straws
From my head

For the soup:

2 heads of cauliflower (I imagine this soup would be much prettier if I had used all white cauliflower)
2 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped (I wanted to use a leek, but the ones at the store were NAS-TEE)
3 cloves of garlic, minced
4 cups vegetable stock or broth
1/2 tsp kosher salt
6 grinds of fresh black pepper

For the carrot puree:

2 large carrots, peeled and chopped into uniform pieces about 1" long
1 tbsp butter
A pinch of kosher salt
1/4 tsp dried tarragon

For the parmesan straws:

1/2 cup finely grated parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil, spray with cooking spray, and set aside. Make the straw molds by rolling aluminum foil into 1/2" thick solid tubes.

Cut the florets off of the cauliflower heads and coarsely chop them; set aside. In a 6-quart stock pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat; add the onion and garlic. Cook until softening (5 minutes or so). Add the broth/stock and cauliflower and then bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and cover, allowing to simmer until the cauliflower is falling apart (about 20 to 25 minutes).

While the soup is simmering, get the carrots into a small saucepan with 1 cup of water. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to medium. Cook until the carrots are fork-tender (10 minutes or so). Drain and then add the butter to the pan; toss to coat the carrots with melted butter.

Now is a good time to grate the cheese.

When the cauliflower and carrots are ready, bring out the blender. Puree the carrots first and then pour them into a small bowl. Sprinkle the puree with a pinch of salt and the tarragon; stir to combine. Rinse out the blender container.

Using a slotted spoon, remove the cauliflower and onions from the broth/stock and place into the blender container. Pulse, adding broth/stock to the container as needed until the cauliflower is as smooth as possible. Pour the soup back into the remaining broth/stock and stir well. Heat over the lowest flame you've got to keep it warm while you make the parmesan straws.

Divide the grated parmesan into 4 equal mounds on the prepared pan. Place into the oven and bake for 8 to 10 minutes until the cheese is melted and just starting to brown. YOU NEED TO MOVE FAST NOW! Remove the pan from the oven; take 1 of the cheese puddles onto an offset spatula and gingerly (but FAST) wrap it around a straw mold. Do the same with the other three. If you don't move dang quick, you will have parmesan crackers, so if you're not sure you can do this quickly, only bake 1 or 2 at a time. Allow the parmesan straws to cool; when cool, gently remove the mold from the center.

To serve, ladle the desired amount of cauliflower soup into a bowl. Spoon 3 tbsp of the carrot puree on top of the soup, then stick a parmesan straw into the carrot puree.

Or if you forget to put the parmesan straw into your soup before you take a picture, go back and grab one and use it to scoop up soup.

This moment brought to you by the miracle of technology

2007-10-22T19:53:00.000-05:00

Or by the people who make XD-picture cards that fail after 6 months so you have to buy a new one.

Whichever. I am currently leaning toward the second one.

Anyway, I stopped by Staples to pick up a new one since my camera stopped reading the old one, which naturally had the pictures of the fresh-out-of-the-oven pizza from last night. So these pictures are of day-old pizza, which tastes just as great but isn't so hot in the visual department anymore.

I'd like to mention that I believe that places like PetCo and PetSmart must pipe some drug through their ventilation systems. I went in for a rawhide bone and a can of Kong Stuffn. I came out with $100 worth of dog clothes, dog toys, and cat stuff too.

It's gotta be in the air.

Chicago-style pizza - oh, my goodness...

2007-10-22T06:02:00.000-05:00

It's been...well, a dang long time since I have eaten my absolute favorite style of pizza - Chicago-style. I have no idea what brought it to the front of my mind the other day, but once it was there, the thought of this thick pizza would not go away.

You know how it is - once you start craving something, nothing else could possibly take it's place and it's all you think about until you get it.

So this was the case here. I looked at blogs, picked through cookbooks, flipped through the recipes in The Vault...and found no crust recipe that appealed. In the process, though, I found that my copy of The Joy of Cooking has a small gluten-free breads section! I should look at my current cookbooks a little more closely, hm?

Finally, I went back the crust recipe that I used to make all the time and made an attempt at converting it. While the results aren't bad, it certainly isn't the worst gluten-free pizza crust I have ever eaten, and there have been a few.

I used a springform pan for this recipe. Instead of cutting my finger while trying to cut through the side crust, I figured it would be easier to be able to pop off the sides, cut my slices, and then put the sides back on for storage. And I was right.

My camera's on the blink, so I will hopefully post pictures soon.

Chicago-Style Pizza
Adapted from The Vault

For the crust:

1 cup sorghum flour
1 cup brown rice flour
3/4 cup potato starch
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 tbsp xanthan gum
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp yeast
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 tbsp cornmeal
1 cup warm water (112 degrees or so)
2 tsp olive oil + extra for the bowl and pan
2 tbsp cider vinegar
A sprinkle of dried basil
A sprinkle of garlic powder

For the sauce:

1-28 oz can crushed tomatoes
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp onion powder
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp kosher salt

For the filling:

1 medium-sized ball mozzarella, sliced into 1/2" slices
Favorite pizza toppings of choice (I used Italian sausage, mushrooms, green pepper, and red onion)

Additional stuff:

1 tbsp grated parmesan

Dissolve the yeast in the warm water and allow to sit for 5 minutes so the yeast can bloom. Add thesalt olive oil, sorghum flour, brown rice flour, potato starch, cornstarch, xanthan gum and cider vinegar. Mix with a mixer until well blended. Place into a clean, oiled bowl, cover, and allow to rise for an hour in a warm place.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Lighly oil the bottom and sides of a springform pan or any round pan with at least 2" sides. Sprinkle the bottom and sides with the cornmeal. Break off pieces of the dough and pat them into the pan until they are mushed together and the crust is about 1/4" to 1/2" thick. Make sure you pat the dough up the sides of the pan - when doing thing, think about the volume of topping you are planning on using (the more toppings, the taller the sides need to be).

Once the inside of the pan has been covered by pizza dough, place into the oven and bake for 1o to 15 minutes (the thicker the crust, the longer you will need to bake it) without toppings to ensure the crust gets cooked most of the way through.

To make the sauce, pour the olive oil into a saucepan and saute the garlic for 2 minutes over medium heat. Add the crushed tomatoes, garlic, basil, oregano, onion powder, and salt. Stir well and simmer until cooked through.

To prepare the pizza, layer in the following manner (from the bottom):

Mozzarella cheese
Italian sausage (or other meat you may be using)
Any veggies you're using
Lotsa sauce (cover the veggies completely)
Parmesan

Place into the oven on a jelly roll pan to catch any juices. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, depending on the overall thickness of the pizza. At the end of the baking time, allow to sit for at least 5 minutes.

To serve, remove the sides of the springform pan and cut into wedges.

My favorite cornbread, now gluten free

2007-10-12T19:50:00.001-05:00

When I made chili last fall and winter, I made Bob's Red Mill cornbread mix to go with it. I hadn't learned enough about the various flours to even attempt to make my favorite cornbread recipe, one I tore out of a Martha Stewart Living magazine years ago.

But that was then - this is now.

I started eating chili in my dreams a few days ago. Here in Illinois, temperatures this week have been below normal - averaging about 50 degrees for a high. Brrr.... Besides, it's fall. And Haunted Barn season. I always made a lot of chili and cornbread during this season.

And now I can get right back to that familiar ritual. Because I have converted my cornbread to gluten free.

Try it. It's a slightly sweet, crunchy cornbread that goes great with the smokiness of chili. If you don't like your cornbread with a bite of crunch, you can use fine-ground cornmeal.

Brown Sugar Cornbread
Adapted from a Martha Stewart recipe

1/2 cup unsalted butter, plus more for the pan
1 1/3 cup medium-grind cornmeal
1/3 cup brown rice flour
1/3 cup sorghum flour
1/3 cup cornstarch
1 tsp xanthan gum
1 1/4 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 cup milk
2 eggs, beaten

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9x4 1/2" loaf pan and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, brown rice flour, sorghum flour, cornstarch, xanthan gum, baking powder and salt.

In a saucepan, melt the butter. Add the brown sugar and whisk briskly until combined. Remove from the heat and then add the milk; stir. Add the beaten eggs, whisk quickly, and then pour over the dry ingredients. Stir until just combined. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 35 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool for 1o to 15 minutes, remove from the pan, and slice.

A day in the life

2007-10-10T20:26:00.000-05:00

It was a long one. Got up at 5 AM, courtesy of The Man's cell phone alarm clock (I chose to sleep on the couch because I was glutened last night - the smell of beer on The Man's breath will send me rushing to the bathroom when I am in this condition. Because I didn't sleep in our bed, neither did he - he slept on the love seat across the living room from me).

Ran around like crazy making myself breakfast, feeding the zoo, doing laundry, packing up the rest of the boss' food that I had made yesterday.

Went to the bank and then hot-footed it to work, where pile upon pile of paperwork needed my attention.

Came home. Sighed in relief.

Sighed again when I remembered the bushel and a half of apples sitting in the garage. I had been putting this off for two weeks.

Started peeling, coring, and chopping apples. Threw the pieces in the big-ass stock pot used only for the making of applesauce. Filled it three-quarters full - and still have the other half of the apples to do tomorrow. Any guesses on how many pint jars of applesauce that big-ass stock pot actually filled?

While the apples cooked down, made dinner.

The big-ass stock pot is at the front left on the stove. Dinner is in the two pans (one behind the other) on the right side.

Shoveled food in my face while doing dishes, stirring applesauce, checking emails, and tripping repeatedly over the dog.

Took the dog outside every 5 minutes because she kept ringing that damn bell on the door because you weren't paying attention to her. You had to take her out because you didn't want to undo the training.

Repeat on Thursday.

On the wall behind my stove are three handmade little plaques I picked up - from left to right they say "dream," "celebrate," and "inspire." The two outside ones, no matter how much I fussed with them, refuse to hang straight. So I am leaving them as they are, slightly tipped, one to the right, one to the left. Besides, I am not perfect, my kitchen is not perfect, my cooking is not perfect...so who cares.

I am going to try to find something fitting to match the curve created by those two plaques.

Those 3 words mean something to me. "Dream" - that's what I can finally do now that I don't feel horrible all the time. I do most of my dreaming about food. Imagine that. "Celebrate" - every day that I have my health back, thanks to the food I eat. "Inspire" - I hope that's what I do with the recipes I post here.

Now that the last of the jars are out of the canner, I am going to make the bed with clean sheets, do some more laundry, soak in the tub, curl into a ball in my sweet-smelling bed, and crash.

Anyone local that might be willing to assist in the denuding of apples in exchange for a few pints of the finished product? I am so pitiful.

Nighty-night, all.

Bananas for breakfast & a great way to pass the evening

2007-10-09T19:24:00.000-05:00

I de-glutened another recipe from the vault a couple of days ago, but because of the barn, I was unable to get it posted before now. Such is life, I guess, at least for another 3 weeks.

But first, because it's fun, I am going to rip on a couple of people:

--The adult female that came out of the barn crying shortly after a 7-year-old that was visibly upset yet not crying.

--The high-end (read: at least 17) teenager that got the dry heaves after going through the barn.

Ripping done.

This evening, I received a box from Amazon, which contained a much-anticipated book written by Shauna James Ahern of Gluten-Free Girl fame. As soon as my boss left with 4 days worth of food tonight, I put on my most comfortable jammies and curled up on the couch under a snuggly blanket, sipping a blackberry Izze (I love this stuff!), and read contentedly while the zoo competed for lap space.

Shauna unknowingly paid a huge part in my decision to get tested through Enterolab. Back in 2006, I was reading Bakerina's website while she was taking part in Blogathon. I had just been diagnosed with a multitude of environmental allergies, two of which were wheat and rye. I was researching if environmental allergies could affect digestion and reading Bakerina's hourly posts at the same time. I sent her an email asking if she had ever tried converting her bread recipes to wheat-free and she replied promptly with a link to Shauna's site. I clicked on the link and went out to our back porch to have a cigarette.

Food Network was playing on the TV. I lit my cigarette and had a drag. I don't remember which show was playing - all I remember about that moment was what happened next... The show cut to commercial. Normal time-wasters played and then when I started paying closer attention, a woman was in a green kitchen was talking about eating gluten free. My mouth fell open, the cigarette falling to the floor to burn a hole in the carpet, when she said she had a website called Gluten-Free Girl.

Holy shit.

I take omens and the like seriously. I took this as a sign that I had to do some more research immediately. I went back in the house (after picking up my cigarette and making sure the carpet wasn't going to start on fire) and read every post that night. Every symptom she described, I had.

Holy shit.

I made the decision to go gluten free that night. It took some stops and starts, but now that I have been gluten free for a year, I can honestly say that I feel better now that I ever have in my life. For someone who had a cold or bronchitis every couple of months, pneumonia every year, and a host of other issues that were "all in my head" according to the rest of the world, I can report that I have not had even so much as a sniffle - unless I have been glutened. Enough said, there.

So, thank you, Shauna, for helping bring Celiac and gluten intolerance to the forefront. Oh, and for writing this great book.

I better get this recipe posted so I can get back to reading it!

Banana-Chocolate Chip-Walnut Coffee Cake
Adapted from a recipe from The Vault

1 cup chocolate chips
2/3 cup light brown sugar
1/3 cup chopped walnuts
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
3/4 cup white rice flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup tapioca starch
1/4 cup coconut flour
1 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
3/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup baking soda
1/4 tsp kosher salt
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter (room temp)
1 egg
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas
3 tbsp milk

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8x8 baking dish and set aside.

In a small bowl, combine the chocolate chips, brown sugar, walnuts, and cinnamon. Set the streusel aside.

Sift together into another bowl the rice flour, tapioca starch, cornstarch, coconut flour, xanthan gum, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a mixer bowl, combine the egg, butter and sugar, mixing until light and fluffy. Add the milk and bananas. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and mix well.

Spread half of the batter in the bottom of the prepared pan (I have found that the very edge of a rubber scraper works well for this - just move the batter a little at a time). Sprinkle half of the streusel over the batter, then spread the remaining batter on top of that. Sprinkle the remaining half of the streusel on top.

Bake for 50 to 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan; serve warm.

A favorite cookie

2007-10-01T20:48:00.000-05:00

My favorite cookie is the gingersnap. It's also my dad's favorite cookie. My parents hope to come down for a visit around Christmas, so I wanted to be able to have our favorite cookie hanging around.

I actually did this last week, but haven't had time to take a picture or blog about it until tonight. It's another family recipe.

But before I get to the nummies, I gotta share a few highlights from our opening weekend.

We made an adult woman poop her pants.

Two adult women went through the haunted barn together; the one in back kept pulling on the front person's pants all the way through. When they got out, the front person had to go to the port-a-potty to pull her underwear out of her ass.

We had a Down's Syndrome girl go through the barn with her mother. Our helper took them through with a flashlight, just in case. He came out in tears because each of the high school students working inside the barn gave her an itty-bitty scare, removed their masks, and gave the girl a hug. Without being prompted.

Every time a parent comes to me to see if I think their child can handle our haunted barn, I am honest. It depends on the kid. If that kid is staring at me in terror just looking at the front door and hearing the sounds from within, I tell the parent to leave him/her with me and to go through themselves if they want. This occurs about half the time. The other half, I reserve the right to laugh hysterically at the shrieking child and the parent who will be up all night that night. And I get to laugh, and laugh, and laugh....a lot. Idiots.

The Farm has a great gift shop and I managed to start my Christmas shopping!

Now, back to our regularly scheduled program.

Gingersnaps

A GF'd version of the family recipe

3/4 cup shortening

1 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1/4 cup molasses

1 1/4 cups brown rice flour

1/2 cup cornstarch

1/4 cup tapioca starch

1/4 cup sweet rice flour

2 1/4 tsp xanthan gum

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1/4 tsp kosher salt

1/4 to 1/2 cup granulated sugar

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Cream shortening, brown sugar, egg and molasses. Sift together the remaining dry ingredients except the granulated sugar; slowly add to the creamed mixture and mix well. Cover and chill for one hour. Roll into 1 inch balls, then roll in the granulated sugar. Place on a cookie sheet 2 inches apart and bake for 10 to 12 minutes.

The Haunted Barn opens today!

2007-09-29T08:45:00.000-05:00

It's been a very long, stressful week getting the Haunted Barn ready to open today, but we are all set.

All of the Dollinger Family Farm attractions open today, as well. For anyone in this area that's interested, here is what is happening each weekend in October. There is no cover charge to get in.

The Haunted Barn runs from 12 to 6 and costs $5 for 13+ and $3 for 6 to 12. Under 5 is free (if you want to be up with your kid all night!)
Hayrides run from 12 to 5 and cost $5 for adults and $3 for children.
The train runs from 12 to 5:30 and costs $3 for adults and $2 for children.
The Corn Maze runs from 10 to 6 and costs $3 for adults and $2 for children.

There is also face painting available; costs vary.

If you come out to the farm, please stop by the Haunted Barn to say hello!

Road trip

2007-09-24T18:00:00.000-05:00

This past Friday afternoon at about 12:30, The Gidge and I embarked on a nearly 4 hour journey to visit the place of my birth.

Boy, that sounds pretentious.

Let me rephrase that. We went to visit my family.

I haven't been home since Dad had his bypass surgery nearly 2 years ago. I am a very very bad daughter. It was a last minute decision to go because The Man was on call and couldn't leave.

To prepare, I baked a loaf of bread on Thursday night so I could take some along. I also brought some GF pretzels and apple chips. I relied on the local stores for everything else.

All in all, it was a good trip. I didn't get sick, I got to see my parents, some relatives on Mom's side, my sister, brother-in-law, niece, nephew, and the dogs. And The Gidge got to meet her canine cousins, Oliver and Sampson. I was proud of her; she behaved very well all weekend and didn't piddle in the house once. Or chew shoes. Although I must admit that she got into a garbage can to shred paper on Sunday morning. The turd.

I am on vacation this week. The Haunted Barn opens this coming Saturday at noon, so I need to complete the final details inside the barn, as well as clean the house - my last opportunity until November. So after this coming Friday, posts may be slim until after the last weekend of October.

Since I was visiting, I thought about another family recipe I haven't had in a while. Mom used to make this all the time and it's popular at family gatherings. Most people know this as sloppy joes, but in my family, it's...

Hamburger Goo

1 pound ground chuck (I used turkey tonight because it's what I had in the freezer)

1-6 oz can tomato paste

1/2 cup diced onion

1/2 cup diced celery

1/2 to 1 tsp ground mustard (to taste)

1 cup ketchup

1 tbsp brown sugar

2 tbsp distilled vinegar

2 tbsp cornstarch

Preheat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the ground chuck, onion, and celery. Cook until the meat is cooked through (10 to 15 minutes). Add the tomato paste, ground mustard, ketchup, brown sugar, vinegar, and cornstarch. Stir well, reduce the heat to low, and cover. Stir occasionally; simmer for 20 minutes. Serve with hamburger buns.

This is one of those foods that my family would eat "weird."

Try a few potato chips inside the sandwich. Really.

The Vault

2007-09-16T20:25:00.000-05:00

I have scads of recipes laying around here. It's an addiction - I cut them out of magazines, pull them off the web. I have a stack of old 3x5 cards that contain recipes from my Junior Chefs class in the seventh grade (everyone had to bring recipes to share with the whole class). Maybe it's not an addiction. It's probably a sickness.

My whole reason for reading magazines OF ANY TYPE is to see if they talk about food. Scientific American sitting on a doctor's waiting room table? Hm. Maybe they'll mention something Alton-Brownish. I will flip through briskly in hopes of a score. If I find something in a magazine, regardless of whether or not I will actually make the dish, I will surrepticiously tear the recipe out and stash it in my purse.

Yes, it's me doing that everywhere. It's a sickness, remember?

I have started calling this recipe collection "The Vault." Any future recipes I pull out of this monstrous pile will be marked as "From the Vault".

Without further ado, here's another one I have converted from The Vault. It's a different way to enjoy your PB&J - a recipe from my 7th grade Junior Chefs class.

Peanut Butter & Jelly Bars

From The Vault

1/2 cup unsalted butter, brought to room temperature

3/4 cup brown rice flour

1/2 cup tapoica starch

1/4 cornstarch

2 tbsp sweet rice flour

1 1/2 tsp xanthan gum

3/4 cup sugar

1 egg

1 cup creamy peanut butter

3/4 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp vanilla

3/4 cup jam of your choice (I used my homemade cherry almond)

Preheat the oven ato 350 degrees, Spray a 9x9 baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.

Combine the butter and sugar in a mixer bowl until fluffy, about 2 minutes on medium speed. Add the egg and peanut butter; continue to beat at medium speed until well combined.

Sift together the salt, baking powder, xanthan gum, brown rice flour, tapioca starch, cornstarch and sweet rice flour. Slowly add the flour mixture to the peanut butter mixture, beating on low until all of the flour is incorporated. Add the vanilla, beat to combine, and turn off the mixer.

Evenly press 2/3 of the batter into the bottom of the prepared baking dish, making sure the batter is level. Pour the jam on top of the batter and spread evenly. Using the remaining 1/3 of the batter, use your fingers to pinch and drop little pieces of batter on top of the jam.

Bake 40 minutes or until the top is golden brown. Allow to cool before cutting into squares.

Step away from the Dr. Pepper

2007-09-16T00:21:00.000-05:00

It is nearly 12:30 AM. I can't remember the last time I was up this late.

I guess I should lay off the Dr. Pepper.

My normal daily caffeine intake involves 8 oz of chai tea. That's it.

I wonder how late I will be up after drinking 4 more- yes, FOUR - caffeinated beverages.

To kill time, I created an Amazon wish list and an Amazon store. Even The Gidge has gotten bored with me and slipped off to sleep on the couch next to me.

I tell you what - if I had Donald Trump's credit card, I would do some serious damage at Amazon.

Just too cute to resist

2007-09-15T20:19:00.000-05:00

Delicious days of almost-fall

2007-09-15T18:52:00.000-05:00

I love fall. Well, mostly. The weird temperature changes I can do without. But the changing leaves, fall fruits and vegetables? Those I adore.

The Man was supposed to take me out (for the first time in a year) for dinner tonight at a place in Naperville that can supposedly prepare a GF meal. Last night, he reneged. Bastard. The meal was to celebrate our 8th wedding anniversary, which is the 18th.

So in place of the not-made-by-me dinner I was supposed to have, I went a little nuts in my own kitchen. Lots of goodies below, my friends.

But first, a little puppy porn. The Gidge is now 6 1/2 months old. Here she is, stylish in a new pink sweater, showing off the hack-job Momma did on her face. I guess she better learn quick to not move when Momma has the clippers in her hands.

It is such a beautiful day - The Gidge spent a good part of the afternoon outside (because I was in the kitchen working), thinking dog thoughts, barking at everything that moved, and wrapping her dopey ass around the support posts under the deck. The deck that only has 2 ways underneath, and those two ways underneath are barely big enough to let HER in. Momma had a scary moment this afternoon LOL I didn't think I'd get her out!

I look around the house and think of all the stuff I should be doing - putting away clean clothes, cleaning the fish tank, doing a few loads of laundry, vacuuming...but I chose to nap and cook instead. Oh, well. Tomorrow's another day - a day that will be spent out at the barn.

The second level's walls are basically built. I can probably start decoring up there tomorrow while the guys get the walls up on the first level. For anyone local, Dollinger's Pumpkin Farm opens for business two weeks from today. They are open during the week, but the Haunted Barn (my pride and joy) is only open on the weekends from 12 noon to 6 PM.

Back to food. It always comes back to food, doesn't it?

Tonight's special dinner consists of oven-fried chicken, potato-zucchini-tomato galette (just potato for Mr. The "Picky" Man), and butternut squash and red pepper casserole (plain ol' boring corn with butter for Mr. The "Picky" Man).

I found the recipe for the squash and pepper casserole here.

++++++++

Oven-Fried Chicken

1 pound chicken parts of your choice; I used boneless-skinless thighs and breasts
1 quart buttermilk
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp dried parsley
1/2 tsp paprika
1 egg
1 tbsp water
2 cups GF cornflakes, crushed
1 tbsp olive oil

Place the chicken parts in a large bowl. Pour the buttermilk over the top, cover, and refrigerate for at least 8 hours, but preferably overnight.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Prepare a baking sheet by laying down a layer of aluminum foil, then spraying it with cooking spray.

Set up a workstation by doing the following:

Bowl with chicken/buttermilk------>Bowl with egg whisked together with water and olive oil ----->Bowl with cornflakes, garlic powder, salt, onion powder, parsley, paprika---->Prepared pan for baking.

Work with each piece of chicken by removing it from the buttermilk, dipping in the egg mixture, dredging in the cornflake mixture, and placing on the baking sheet. When all pieces have been coated, sprinkle any remaining cornflake mixture over the top of the chicken pieces.

Place into the oven and bake until brown and crispy, about 30-40 minutes.

++++++

Potato, Zucchini & Tomato Galettes
Based on a recipe from Martha Stewart.com

Makes 2 small galettes

2 baby yukon gold potatoes
2 baby red potatoes
1/2 a small zucchini
2 slices of a pretty tomato
Grey salt
Ground thyme

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Spray two small shallow baking dishes with cooking spray (I used creme brulee dishes!).

Slice the potatoes into 1/8" thick pieces. Do the same with the zucchini.

Starting with the reds, place an overlapping layer of potatoes on the bottom of a baking dish, covering the entire bottom. Then do the same with the gold potatoes. Then place a ring of zucchini slices around the outside of the baking dish. Place a tomato slice in the middle, sprinkle with sea salt and thyme, and set the dish aside. Repeat with the other baking dish.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the potatoes are cooked through and the edges begin to brown.

+++++

And the piece de resistance...

Apple Dumplings

Makes 3 dumplings

3/4 cup + 5 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp + a pinch of cinnamon
1/8 tsp + a pinch of nutmeg
1 cup water
3 tbsp butter
3/4 cup white rice flour
1/4 cup tapioca starch
2 tbsp sweet rice flour
1 tsp xanthan gum
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/3 cup shortening
1/2 cup milk
3 small apples - peeled, cored, and roughly chopped

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Spray a 9x9 baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.

To make the syrup: combine 3/4 cup sugar, 1/4 tsp cinnamon, 1/8 tsp nutmeg and the water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat. Simmer for 5 minutes, then remove from the heat and stir in 2 tbsp of the butter. Set aside.

To make the dumplings: combine the white rice flour, sweet rice flour, xanthan gum, tapioca starch, baking powder, salt, and 2 tbsp sugar in a large bowl. Add the shortening and mix until the flour resembles coarse crumbs. Add milk all at once and stir until the dry ingredients are just moistened. Pat into a ball, split into 3 parts, and wrap each part in plastic wrap (form each into a ball and then flatten into a disk). Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

On a white-rice-floured-surface, roll out each dough disk into a 6" circle. Place a third of the chopped apples into the center of each dough circle. Top the apples with 1/3 of the remaining 1 tbsp butter, 1 tbsp sugar, a pinch of cinnamon, and a pinch of nutmeg.

Using a spatula (the easiest way I found to keep the dough from tearing during this part), gently fold up all sides of the dough over the top of the apples. When all sides are folded up, use your hands to gently press the dough closed and sealed. Place the completed dumplings in the prepared baking pan.

Pour the syrup over the top of the dumplings. Place the pan into the oven and bake for 45 minutes. When removed from the oven, spoon some of the syrup over the top of the dumplings and then serve.

Feeling sorry for myself

2007-09-12T21:07:00.000-05:00

I hate being sick.

We have been enjoying the cooler weather by sleeping with the windows open, so when I woke up with a slightly sore throat today, I figured it was related to the open windows and fans running and went on my merry way.

After eating my breakfast scone, I noticed that my throat was hurting twice as bad as it was when I woke. An hour or two later, after eating my sandwich at lunch, I noticed that my left ear was really starting to ache. Well, hell.

So I have an ear infection and strep.

I hate being sick. Oh, wait. I said that already.

Two things have made me feel marginally better. The first was coming home to my Timber Creek Farms and Natural Farms orders. Aren't all those organic veggies pretty? I love TCF. I got 3 different kinds of beets, red onions, tomatoes, kale, leeks, zucchini, lettuce, apples, some plum-like fruits, red peppers, broccoli, squash, radishes, 3 packages each of Grandma Ferdon's hamburger and hot dog buns, a box of Pamela's shortbread cookies, and a case of Pamela's Baking & Pancake Mix.

The second was having everything on hand to make pea soup. I know, I know. It was nearly 70 degrees today and NOT soup weather. But illness justifies having soup, doesn't it? Besides, I froze my damn ass off at work because I forgot to turn off the A/C before I left yesterday. Once my feet or hands get cold - that's it. My only options are to warm up from the inside out or soak in a steaming bubble bath.

Pea Soup

Adapted from somewhere, but I can't remember where

1/2 pound split peas, rinsed

1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil

3/4 cup diced yellow onion

1/2 cup diced celery

1/2 cup diced carrot

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup diced red potatoes

3/4 cup diced ham

1 bay leaf

1 tsp dried thyme

1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper

1/4 tsp kosher salt

4 cups vegetable broth

Rinse the peas well, then place in a pot. Add enough cold water to cover, then bring to a boil. Remove from the heat, cover, and let stand for an hour.

In a large stock pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions, carrots, celery, garlic, potatoes and spices. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened (about 15 minutes).

Drain the peas again and then add them to the vegetables in the stock pot. Add the stock to the pot, cover, and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium and allow to simmer until the peas are completely soft (45 minutes or so). Remove the pot from the heat and allow to sit for 10 minutes.

Now the fun part. Be very careful when you do this! Transfer half of the soup to a blender and pulse until mostly smooth. Remember that the soup is DAMN HOT and IT WILL BURN YOU. Do NOT ask me how I know this.

Pour the blended soup back into the stock pot and turn the heat to low. Add the ham and stir well. Continue to heat on low until the ham is warmed through (about 10 minutes).

Serve with crusty bread. I used a Pamela's Amazing Bread Mix to make a baguette because, well, making soup and rice pudding in one day when you feel like crap is already pushing it. One day, Mike, I will make your baguettes!

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The bubble bath might still happen tonight. The Man is out of town for work, so it's just the girls: me, The Gidge, and the cats (they're so girly they count as girls in this case IMHO).

And there will be tropical rice pudding. Because, you know, I'm sick.

Tropical Rice Pudding

1 1/2 cups cold cooked rice

2 cups skim milk

1 1/2 cup lite coconut milk

1/3 cup sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp banana extract

8 oz crushed pineapple, drained

Sprinkle of nutmeg

Combine the rice, milk, coconut milk, sugar and salt in a 3 quart saucepan over medium heat. Stir often, until thickened (40 minutes or so). Remove from the heat; add the extracts, pineapple, and nutmeg. Serve warm, sprinkled with brown or turbinado sugar.

Eat leftovers for breakfast.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

I am still smoke free - 17 days now. I was getting a buzz from the patch I was using (step 2 of 3), so after the first 2 weeks, I dropped down to the last one instead of waiting 6 weeks to do so. No more buzz when I put on a new patch. And I have twice gone all day without a patch.

Yes, We Have No Bananas

2007-09-08T19:07:00.000-05:00

And here's why!

I have been burning through the bananas lately. I should really switch to a different fruit before I get sick of them. This week, I have eaten 2 batches of banana coconut muffins, had a double-banana poundcake recipe TOTALLY FAIL (grrr...), eaten a banana a day with lunch...and now this.

I have been on a childhood-food-memory kick. I am remembering foods that I hadn't thought about, much less eaten, in twenty years! Today's memory is something that I always looked forward to in my lunch bag during school when I knew Mom and Dad had gotten their hands on some....banana flips.

I skipped the banana flavoring (I assume extract) in the cream in favor of....yes, you guessed it...sliced banana. I also noticed that my sponge cake isn't as sweet as I'd like it to be, so if I make this again I will definitely up the sugar.

Banana Flips

From my head

For the "flip:"

4 eggs, separated

10 tbsp sugar (add more if you like your sponge cake sweet)

1/2 cup cornstarch

4 tbsp potato starch

1/4 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp xanthan gum

For the filling:

1 cup heavy cream

A bunch o' bananas (or 1/4 tsp banana extract added to the heavy cream before mixing)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Prepare a jelly roll sheet by spraying with cooking spray, then laying down a piece of parchment paper large enough to cover the entire pan, and the spray the parchment paper (this will ensure the paper stays in place when you put the batter on and spread it out). Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat the egg yolks, half of the sugar, and vanilla together until well blended. In another large bowl (preferably the one on your stand mixer), whip those egg whites with the remaining sugar until they reach the hard peak stage. Take a small scoop of the whites and gently fold it into the yolks (fold, not stir!) to lighten the yolk mixture until all the whites are blended in. Then add the remaining whites in thirds.

Sift the dry ingredients into the egg mixture and gently fold it in.

Scoop 1/4 to 1/2 cup of the batter onto the prepared pan. Using an offset spatula, spread the batter out to a 6" circle. Repeat, leaving at least an inch of space between each batter circle. Bake until the center of the circles spring back when touched and the edges are just starting to brown, about 5 minutes.

Allow the sponge circles to cool for a minute or two on the pan and then quickly, while they are still warm!, drape them over a rolling pin so they bend in the middle. Allow them to cool in that position.

Shortly before serving, whip the whipped cream (and banana extract, if desired) until it holds soft peaks. If you are like me and prefer the real thing, slice a banana; lay the slices on the inside of the flip and then fill with the whipped cream.

Because I got a new nutmeg mill today, I felt the need to sprinkle a little on my banana flip. Anyone else like that? Do you feel a burning need to use a new appliance, toy, whatever as soon as you get it out of the box?

Heaven. I think I know why I was always a little heavier when I was a kid. Knee caps and banana flips.

A skeptic says "bondo"

2007-09-02T18:37:00.000-05:00

Whatever the heck bondo means.

I made The Man try a knee cap. And we recorded it.

Body parts never tasted so good

2007-09-02T17:43:00.000-05:00

After the meeting yesterday, I got a craving. I sat in front of the boob tube and mindlessly entertained myself until I determined what the craving was for. When I figured it out, I called my mother and she emailed me the original recipe.

Where does the body part reference come in? Why, the sweet I wanted is named a knee cap.

After taking a good look at the recipe this morning, I had a basic plan on what I was going to do. I then called L, a woman I met yesterday, to see if she wanted to come over and learn how to bake GF. And did we - not only did we make the knee caps, but we had pizza made with my favorite Arrowhead Mills pizza crust and taquitos! I think we both ate enough samples to make ourselves sick. You see, L has only known about her CD for about a month. I hope she takes the fun we had today to heart and understands that being gluten free can completely ROCK!

Any gluten-eating person who doesn't enjoy these - you're cracked. Loony. Crazy. Someone call the paddy wagon and take that person off to the funny farm.

I chose to use regular sugar instead of the powdered sugar in the original recipe to coat them.

Knee Caps

2 tsp yeast
1/8 cup warm water
1/4 cup shortening
1/4 cup sugar + 3/4 cup
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg, room temperature
1 cup milk, room temperature
2 cups rice flour
3/4 cup tapioca starch
1/3 cup sweet rice flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 tbsp + 1/4 tsp xanthan gum
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla
Fruit jam of your choice (I used my homemade cherry-almond)
Whipped cream
Canola oil for frying

Combine the yeast and water in a bowl; let stand for 5 to 10 minutes to allow yeast to bloom.

In a bowl, combine the rice flour, sweet rice flour, tapioca starch, cornstarch, xanthan gum, and baking powder. Set aside.

In another bowl, cream together the shortening, 1/4 cup sugar, and salt. Add the egg and vanilla, mixing well. Stir the milk and yeast mixture into the sugar mixture. Slowly incorporate the flour mix, bit by bit, until all of the flour is added.

Lightly butter a large bowl; place the dough into the bowl, cover, and allow to rise in a warm place for an hour to an hour and a half, until the dough has doubled to nearly half.

When the dough has risen, roll it out to 1.2" thickness and cut with a 1-1/2" round biscuit/cookie cutter. Cover the rounds with a towel and allow to rise again for another half hour.

With a round spoon (we used a measuring teaspoon), gently push an indentation in the center of each knee cap.

Pour the remaining sugar into a bowl and place near where you will be frying the knee caps.

In a deep pot, bring 2 inches of oil to 375 degrees. Drop the knee caps indentation-side-down into the hot oil and flip when golden brown. Remove from the oil when both sides are golden and allow to drain for a short time on a couple layers of paper toweling. Then drop them in the sugar and coat them thoroughly.

When all knee caps are cooked and cooled, place 1 tsp of fruit jam in the indentation, then top the jam with a dollop of whipped cream.

Bet you can't eat only one.

Hello out there!

2007-09-01T15:22:00.001-05:00

Hi, hello and how are ya to all the great people I met at the Gluten Free Wikiduke meeting this morning! I look forward to getting to know all of you better.

Tropical (un)Wholesome Goodness

2007-08-31T20:31:00.000-05:00

I am in a mood.

Imagine that.

I have been a good girl all week with the non-smoking thing. I have not had a drag. Not that I haven't thought about it. But I know that if I take one drag, it's all over.

And it's Labor Day weekend! Three days of busting butt at the barn (nice alliteration, huh?). We are one month from opening weekend and I am starting to get nervous.

Now, if the pictures I post below aren't there, I will fix it. Someone (-cough-TheMan-cough, cough-) neglected to pay the phone bill so I can't get at my Flickr account. Should be rectified shortly, and I will replace the pictures when I can get at them.

Let's see. What else is new, since my mind is on what's cooling on the counter right now. Oh yes. A new puppy shot for you...

And here's what's on my countertop, calling my name...

Banana Coconut Muffins

Adapted from a recipe on Epicurious

2/3 cup brown rice flour

1/3 cup tapioca starch

1/4 cup coconut flour

1 1/2 tsp xanthan gum

1/4 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp baking powder

2 ripe bananas, mashed (about 3/4 cup)

1/2 cup butter, melted (I seem to be on a roll for high-fat recipes lately)

2/3 cup sugar

1 large egg

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease a regular muffin tin or mini-muffin tin and set aside.

Sift together the flours, xanthan gum, salt, and baking powder. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the butter, egg, bananas, sugar, vanilla, and coconut. Fold in the flour mixture until the flour is just moistened.

Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tin. Bake until lightly browned, about 17 minutes for mini-muffins and 25 minutes for regular-sized muffins.

I've been tagged...

2007-08-27T07:26:00.000-05:00

Jean from Gluten Free Organics tagged me for a meme that's been floating around. Here goes:

The rules for this meme are:

1. Let others know who tagged you.

2. Players start with 8 random facts about themselves.

3. Those who are tagged should post these rules and their 8 random facts.

4. Players should tag 8 other people and notify them they have been tagged.

So. Eight random facts about me. Geez.

Un. I was painfully shy until I started tending bar at the age of 24. Yes, shy, believe it or not.

Deux. I am a book-a-holic. Between what I have stored upstairs on bookshelves and also in the basement, I bet I have well over 5,000 around here. And they've all been read more than once.

Trois. I took 4 years of French in high school and another year in college, which taught me that I didn't learn shit in French class during high school. I still remember bits and pieces and if you give me a little time, I can still translate on paper. I gave up a chance to go to France in order to buy my first professional-model flute.

Quatre. If I don't get a nap on my days off of work, I get very surly.

Cinq. The animals run my life. Oh wait. You already knew that.

Six. I will search out the bargain every time, except when it comes to food. Then, I splurge.

Sept. Most days, I just don't wanna get out of bed. It's nice and snuggly warm there with the zoo.

Huit. I feel goofy trying to come up with 8 things you don't know.

And now, I tag...

Well, hell. Everyone I had listed here has already been tagged. So if you're a gluten-free blogger that hasn't done this meme yet, consider yourself tagged.

I see a weight gain coming on

2007-08-26T15:32:00.000-05:00

I quit smoking yesterday at noon. Since then, I have been wearing a nioctine replacement patch and trying to keep busy. One of the things I do when stressed is cook. I hope I don't eat everything in sight while gaining control over my nicotine cravings. Just in case, I bought some baby carrots to chomp on.

But still, I baked this morning. Here's another family recipe converted to gluten free.

Cherry Almond Coffeecake

For the cake:

3/4 cup brown rice flour

1/4 cup tapioca starch

1/4 cup sweet rice flour

1 1/4 tsp xanthan gum

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp kosher salt

8 tbsp butter, melted

1/2 cup milk

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 tsp vanilla

For the filling:

1 can cherry pie filling

1/4 tsp almond extract

For the topping:

1/2 cup brown rice flour

1/4 cup sugar

2 tbsp butter, softened

1/4 cup sliced almonds

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray a 9x9 baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.

In a bowl, combine these cake ingredients: brown rice flour, tapioca starch, sweet rice flour, salt, xanthan gum, sugar, baking powder, and baking soda. Add the vanilla, egg and milk; mix well with a spoon. Add the melted butter and beat well. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, spread evenly, and set aside.

Combine all of the topping ingredients in a small bowl (I use my fingers for this). Sprinkle half of the topping over the cake batter and set the rest aside. Sprinkle the almonds on top of the topping.

In yet another bowl, combine the cherry pie filling and almond extract. Spread the mixture evenly over the top of the topping. Finally, sprinkle the remaining topping over the top of the cherries.

Bake for about 60 minutes - the top will be golden brown. Let cool for 15 minutes befure cutting.

Baking for Bette

2007-08-25T18:35:00.000-05:00

Sea at Book of Yum is hosting a GF blog event in honor of Bette Hagman, a pioneer in the world of gluten-free cooking and baking. I have two submissions for this event.

When I first started toying with the idea of being gluten free last summer, I did what I always do - research on the web and get some books to read. I started my quest with Amazon and, in entering the words "gluten free" in the search engine and selecting cookbooks, all of Bette's books popped up. Because there were so many of them, I figured that she knew what she was doing and ordered two, "The Gluten Free Gourmet" and "The Gluten Free Gourmet Cooks Fast and Healthy." When they got here, I did what I always do with a new cookbook - read it through from cover to cover, marking what I thought I might like to try. There were lots of multi-colored post-its sticking out from the margins. She is the one that told me that yes, I could be gluten free and not miss a thing.

As I gained confidence in my GF baking skills, Bette's books stayed on the shelf more and more often because I got away from the whole flour mix thing. However, there are 2 recipes in "The Gluten Free Gourmet Cooks Fast and Healthy" that I go back to time and time again. These two recipes are pictured below...

Brownie Pie - chocolate decadence for a chocoholic like me

Cheese Crackers - because who doesn't love a cheesy cracker?

If you have this book and haven't tried these two recipes yet, do. They're simple and oh so tasty.

And Bette (see Sheri waving to the finally-blue skies above), thank you for all your hard work from those of us that benefit most. You will be missed.

I needs me one of these

2007-08-21T11:54:00.000-05:00

In my inbox this morning was a link to this...

Somebody out there loves me.

I gots to get me one of these. I just need to figure out how to connect it to my kitchen sink cold water line and drain instead of a toilet. I have moved the litter box on my boys once before and will NEVER NEVER NEVER do it again. I learned my lesson.

At long last...meatloaf

2007-08-19T17:58:00.000-05:00

Cravings can be a horrible thing. They badger and wheedle and whine at you until you give in...or figure out how to give in.

The family meatloaf recipe uses oatmeal. Oatmeal. Well, hell. I haven't gotten to the point yet where I am willing to spend big dough on GF oatmeal, especially since I used it so rarely in my gluten days. So, do I use bread crumbs to replace the oatmeal? Rice crackers? Oh, the dilemma.

Mom and Dad put ketchup on the top of their meatloaf. The Man and I prefer cream of mushroom soup, but the GF kind I appear to have bought stock in (I have 2 cases in the basement, people) is looser than the old Campbell's kind. So, did I want to use that? Hm.

Here is what I ended up with. This is the family recipe with my original tweaks, along with the switch-out. Feel free to actually use GF oatmeal if you have any.

I used the cream of mushroom soup. Served tonight with smashed baby red potatoes with sour cream and chives and scalloped corn.

Sheri's GF Meatloaf

1 pound ground meat (I used ground sirloin, but you can also use ground chuck, turkey, chicken...)
3/4 cup cooked white rice (or oatmeal)
1/2 cup chopped red onion
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 cup tomato juice**
1 beaten egg
Your preferred topping (ketchup, cream of mushroom soup, whatever)0

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients gently as to not overwork the meat (it will become tough); I use my hands. Push the mix into a ball and remove from the bowl, placing it on a jelly roll pan or other baking dish with sides. Shape into a loaf and then place into the oven.

The meatloaf needs to bake for an hour and fifteen minutes for beef (internal temp of 160 degrees). Thirty minutes into baking, pour your topping on and return to the oven.

When done, remove from the oven and allow to sit for 5 minutes before slicing and serving.

Recipe test: Alton's GF Chewy

2007-08-19T12:11:00.000-05:00

In my former life (read: before the severe food poisoning in March 1997 that most likely was my gluten-problem trigger; I was sick every time I ate from that moment until going GF last October), I had something of a sweet tooth. If it was sweet and didn't run away, I ate it. If it tried to run away, I gave chase and beat it down until it cried, "Fine! Eat me! You'll pay for it later!"

For 10 years, I rarely ate a cookie or enjoyed a piece of cake. I thought for quite a while that my problem might have been sugar-related, so I tried to stay away.

NOT ANYMORE.

Several weeks ago, Food Network's Alton Brown had a food allergy based show that featured his gluten-free chewy chocolate chip cookie. I DVR all his shows (love him, love him, love him) so I can watch them when The Gidge isn't being a demon dog.

Imagine my surprise when Alton started talking about replacements for wheat flour! Holy old cow!

Now, a side story based on my adoration for my favorite TV chef. As you may or may not know, in addition to "Good Eats," Alton also does a show called "Feasting on Asphalt." The second season of this series takes him up and down the Mississippi River.

One of those Mississippi River stops was on a tow boat owned by The Man's company, which is based in New Orleans.

And The Man didn't do a damn thing to get me an autograph. He didn't call any of his coworkers, nothing. He's lucky I didn't call up a lynch mob on his ass.

Back to the Chewy. After watching the show...twice...(god bless DVR) I printed the recipe and read it through. My first thought? HOLY HELL, THAT'S A LOT OF BUTTER!

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, 8 ounces - or two sticks - of butter. I suppose, if you are gonna be bad, you should be bad.

And GEEZ! TWELVE OUNCES OF CHOCOLATE CHIPS? That's a whole damn bag! I guess we're going to be REALLY BAD.

Well, I couldn't stomach all those chocolate chips, so I cut it in half. And I added a 1/4 cup of macadamia nuts I had sitting around (chopped up, not whole). But otherwise, I followed the recipe to the letter. The dough is chilling right now, so I will be back in an hour or so.

Two hours later...

So, here's a GF Chewy.

Here's a GF Chewy, broken in half (still warm).

How does it taste?

I now have a love-hate relationship with Alton. I still love him, but I hate him for ruining my dinner.

Comfort food can be ugly

2007-08-11T17:58:00.000-05:00

I was in sore need of comfort food this evening. You see, I noticed something horrifying this afternoon.

The Gidge is in heat.

Oh. My. God.

My little girl is growing up.

So after loading my face with dinner, and now typing this, I will head off to PetCo to get...dog diapers.

Sweet Salmon with Cheesy Garden Vegetables

I only made one piece of salmon, so that's what these measurements are for.

For the salmon:

1 salmon fillet

1 tbsp dark brown sugar

1/2 tsp dijon mustard

A pinch of ground ginger

1 tbsp butter, melted

For the vegetables:

1/2 a large zucchini, sliced into coins and then chopped into quarters (about 1 cup)

8 plum tomatoes, quartered

1 large potato (courtesy of the neighbor who grows them in big buckets), cubed

2 tbsp olive oil

Sea salt to taste

Fresh ground pepper to taste

1/4 cup grated cheddar cheese

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Place a drop of olive oil in the bottom of a baking dish and smear it around with a paper towel. Place the salmon fillet in the dish.

Combine the remaining salmon ingredients in a small bowl. Liberally spread the glaze over the salmon; place the salmon in the oven and bake until it flakes easily with a fork (10-25 minutes depending on the thickness).

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the potato and cover; stir occasionally. When the potatoes are nearly done (just starting to get fork-tender), add the zucchini and cover again. Stir occasionally. When both the potatoes and zucchini are cooked through, add the tomatoes and remove the skillet from the heat. Cover and allow to sit for 5 minutes so the existing heat in the pan warms the tomatoes. Add the cheese to the top, allow a minute for the cheese to melt, and serve.

Makes 2 Sheri-sized servings (1 for a person with a big appetite).

A yummy recipe and other tales

2007-08-04T18:12:00.000-05:00

Tonight I made another recipe from Carol's new book, but I will get to that momentarily.

The Stepson drove his car up here for the first time yesterday. He fixed it up with help from his grandfather and stepdad. I am quite proud of him - we were afraid we were going to see a rust-bucket when he finally got it up here.

Somebody has new clothes.

Ever think about buying a dog car seat? They're ridiculously expensive. The Gidge doesn't like to ride in the car unless she can see out the windows, so when we go somewhere, she's riding in my lap, putting her paws on the steering wheel, and just generally getting in the way of safe driving. So I started looking into a car seat for her.

I can't remember what the website was that put it into my head that I could make one. But it's simple - buy a tote big enough around for the dog to lay down comfortably, cut holes in it for the seatbelt to feed through, fill it with foam, and put a cover on it. That's exactly what I did, and this is what I ended up with.

I attached a thin leash to the headrest of the seat and have now gotten a harness for her to wear and to hook it to (when we tested it out last night, I was afraid she was going to hang herself if she tried to jump off the seat). On the test drive, she whimpered for the first couple of blocks because she couldn't get at me, but once she realized she could see out the windows.... Ladies and gentlemen, we have a success!

I have begun wearing aprons when I cook. More often than not, I am wearing a white shirt. I make a mess when I cook.

I have a lot of stained white shirts.

I had one apron with my name on it that I got years ago, but I wanted a couple more. Here's the latest:

This is the last recipe I will post from "Gluten-Free Quick & Easy." Honestly, this book has a lot of good stuff in it and I bet I will find more that I enjoyed as much as I did this one. The salsa has just a tinge of sweetness from honey so it went with the salmon wonderfully.

I changed things a bit to suit what I had in the house, so I have added those changes in italics.

Teriyaki Salmon with Tomato-Cucumber Salsa
From "Gluten-Free Quick & Easy" by Carol Fenster, PhD

Salmon:

4 (4 ounce) salmon fillets
1/2 cup teriyaki sauce (I used this)

Tomato-cucumber salsa:

1/4 cup diced cherry tomatoes
1/4 cup diced red onion
1/4 diced English cucumber (I used a normal cucumber from the garden)
1 tbsp rice vinegar (I used regular distilled white vinegar)
1 tbsp honey or agave nectar
1 tsp canola oil or sesame oil (I used canola)
1/4 tsp table salt (I used sea salt)
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
3 tbsp chopped fresh mint (I skipped because I didn't have any)

Place the salmon in a heavy-duty food storage bag. Add the teriyaki sauce, seal the bag, and refrigerate, making sure that the salmon is coated with the marinade.

Combine all the salsa ingredients in a small bowl, tossing well. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate if you are making it several hours ahead. Bring to room temperature before serving.

Heat a grill to medium (I used a plain ol' frying pan). Remoe the salmon from the marinade and discard the marinade. Grill the salmon, skin side down, until it reaches the desired degree of doneness. Remove the salmon from the heat and serve immediately with the salsa.

Go get the book. Really.

Where the BLEEP have I been?

2007-08-01T20:07:00.000-05:00

Ever noticed that life seems to enjoy conspiring against your wishes? By being totally cool?

Harry Potter. The last book rocks. But before I would allow myself to read it, I had to go back and read the other six books. Because I am totally weird that way. Before I see the current movie, I am compelled to watch all the previous ones first. Which I haven't done yet, because we recently got a satellite dish and I have been DVRing and watching all the Good Eats episodes on Food Network.

Courtesy of the publisher, I recently received a copy of Carol Fenster's new cookbook, "Gluten-Free Quick & Easy." Before I start picking out recipes to try, I have to read the whole thing through, cover to cover. I tried the first one tonight, which I will get to in a bit.

Sensing a pattern here? Just Not Dinner, aka Anal Are Us.

Amy's sent me some samples this week - thankfully, they're all products I have never had, namely because I have not seen them in any of my local stores. Maybe they'll read this and fix that little problem. I have eaten one and not been totally impressed. But again, I will get to that later.

We have begun working in earnest on this year's Haunted Barn. I spent several hours on Sunday covered in cobwebs and other unappetizing things while cleaning out what was left behind by the critters that inhabit the place in the off-season. Ew.

Last week Friday, someone I admire a great deal asked me to cook all of her meals for her. She is following the LA Weight Loss diet plan - quite successfully, I might add. However, she loathes cooking. Eating healthy and well and no cooking do not go hand-in-hand very well. So I have begun a new venture - private/personal chefdom. On Sundays, I make 3 meals per day for Monday through Wednesday, and on Wednesdays, I make 3 meals per day for Thursday and Friday (and sometimes the weekends, too).

God, PLEASE let my parents bring me my dishwasher.

While the foods I am cooking for her fit quite nicely into the gluten-free lifestyle, for the most part, it's all pretty bland for my tastes. The diet plan only allows so many condiments, fat, and dairy per day. When I come up with something truly magnificent (and there will be), rest assured that it will show up here.

But now.

I tried the Amy's GF mac and cheese. Eh. The pasta was too mushy for me and the sauce seemed gritty. It might have seemed weird to me because I didn't put my normal ketchup on it (I know - shut up!); I wanted to taste it by itself. It's not a bad product, but it's not something I would buy. But then, I rarely (even in my gluten days) eat packaged mac and cheese without some major doctoring.

More Amy's down the road as I eat my way through the samples.

Carol Fenster's new book. I like it. If you're looking for gluten-free dinners that can be put together in a hurry, this is the book for you. The only thing I have found that I don't like is that the side dishes chapter is pretty thin compared to the other chapters.

I made the Balsamic Marinated Sirloin Steaks tonight. I put the meat into the marinade at 6 this morning so it had plenty of time to soak in. My mistake, most likely, was that I used a piece of meat that probably needed 24 hours in the marinade to do it justice - a buffalo steak. The game-y taste (which I like, by the way) overpowered the marinade, even though I made the full recipe for only 1 steak. So, when I make this again, I will try a beef sirloin and I expect better results.

No picture - I had to cook the steak so long to get it done that the outside was a bit charred (nearly 2" thick - I won't do that again).

Balsamic Marinated Sirloin Steaks
From Gluten-Free Quick & Easy by Carol Fenster

1/2 cup dry red wine
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 tsp table salt, divided
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
6 sirloin steaks (6 ounces each) or similar cut

Combine the wine, oil, vinegar, garlic, 1/2 teaspoon of the salt, and the black pepper in a heavy-duty food storage bag. Add the steaks, seal the bag, and shake to blend the ingredients. Refrigerate 8 hours or overnight.

Remove the beef from the refrigerator and bring to room temperature. Discard the marinade.

Heat a barbecue grill to medium heat. Sprinkle the steaks with the remaining 1 tsp salt and grill them to the desired degree of doneness. Remove the steaks from the grill and let stand, covered, 15 minutes. Serve hot.

Necessity is the mother of invention

2007-07-22T18:41:00.000-05:00

I finished making the last of the cherry jam this morning and also did 2 batches of blueberry. You can imagine the color of the skin around my fingernails after all that - a nice purple. So I painted my nails lavender to set it off. I can't remember the last time I painted my fingernails - I know it was well before we brought The Gidge home. There was a time where I had them done every 2 weeks without fail, but I found that there are more important things to spend my money on than that. Namely, good food for me and the zoo. And The Man, I guess LOL

Blog Title Reason #1:

No matter what I tried, I could not keep The Gidge out of the cat boxes. Yesterday morning, I finally went and bought 2 baby gates to block off the bedroom with the secondary litter box and also the second bedroom, which is where she likes to "go" when she's being a BAD DOG.

I also bought 3 window screens, some screws, and L brackets. The Man thought I was nuts, but the guy at Ace Hardware thinks I should patent this idea. When I got home with my loot, I screwed the screens together, put the brackets on to resemble feet, stretched the side screens as far as they'd go, and set it in place.

I then trained Baby and Vester that it's okay to jump over the baby gates and the screens by throwing treats and favorite toys inside until they got in and out easily.

I rule - The Man drools.

Blog Title Reason #2:

Once again, I found a recipe to tweak on Epicurious, but I didn't have an ingredient. So I substituted. I searched all over the fridge and cabinets to come up with something to use, but this was all I could find. You'll figure it out when you get that far, believe me.

Sometimes I scare me. Actually, most of the time I scare me.

Orange Roughy with Dijon-Butter Sauce

Based on a recipe on Epicurious.com

1 pound orange roughy fillets

2 tbsp butter

1 tbsp dijon mustard

1 tsp worcestershire sauce

1 1/2 tsp lemonade

1 tbsp fresh chopped parsley

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Lightly butter the bottom of a 9x13 baking pan and place the fillets inside. Bake in the oven until fish flakes easily with a fork, about 10-15 minutes (depending on the size and thickness of the fillets).

Place the butter, mustard, worcestershire, and lemonade in small saucepan; heat over low heat until butter is melted and the ingredients have been whisked together to make a sauce. Remove from the heat and add the parsley.

Plate the fish and pour the desired amount of sauce over.

Yes, I like a little potato with my sour cream :-)~

Lemonade isn't just for drinking with vodka anymore...

Note to self

2007-07-21T18:57:00.001-05:00

Buy a cherry pitter before attempting another batch of cherry jam.

My poor fingers.

Worth waiting for

2007-07-20T20:46:00.000-05:00

A hellish week for cooking. Storms every evening, downpours. Hot as Hades. I just didn't have the motivation to cook anything, even in the microwave! Even with my new cookware! The most I made to break it in was a patty melt last night. For the most part, I have been existing on sandwiches made with my new favorite bread (see previous post).

Until this evening.

I found the original recipe online this morning at http://www.epicurious.com/. I spend a lot of time on this site and Food Network's, but rarely make any recipes as written. However, on a side note, if you like sweet barbecue sauce, you gotta try this one (I put it on country pork ribs last Sunday and Oh. My. God.).

Now, back to my original thoughts. I stewed and salivated over my imagined dinner all through work. I got sidetracked by a trip to PetCo (20 minutes one way), so including some grocery shopping, I didn't get home until nearly 7 PM. Kind of late to start dinner, especially when you have a puppy and two annoyed cats all looking for attention from their momma.

But I decided I would just attempt to stay up later than normal (I hate going to bed with a full tummy because I sleep miserably) and stick with the plan. And my heavens, was it worth not cooking all week to be able to eat this tonight.

Poached Eggs on Salmon Hash

Based on a recipe from Bon Appetit on Epicurious

4 ounces smoked salmon, roughly chopped

1/2 cup red onion, diced

1/2 cup green pepper, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

2 tbsp sour cream

1 tbsp prepared horseradish

1 1/2 tsp dijon mustard

2 tbsp butter

2 tbsp olive oil

3 cups frozen hash browns

2 eggs

Salt

Pepper

Melt the butter and the oil together in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the hash browns, onion, green pepper, and garlic; sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper (a pinch will do unless you're a salt fiend, which I am not). Cook the potato mixture until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to low.

Poach the 2 eggs. If you want a fool-proof method, use this. It has never failed me.

In a small bowl, combine the sour cream, horseradish, and dijon mustard. Add this mixture and the salmon to the skillet. Toss with the potatoes and cook until just heated through, about 2 minutes.

Split the potato mixture between 2 plates. Top each mound with a poached egg and a grind or two of fresh cracked pepper.

More bread

2007-07-08T08:22:00.000-05:00

Yesterday afternoon, I started to make a double batch of the no-knead bread recipe (it makes a larger, taller loaf that way) and decided to veer off a bit (well, more than a bit). I only had one slice with some homemade blueberry jam at about 9 last night, so I plan to have one or two with breakfast so I can see if I really like it. The little taste I had indicated that I will.

Update 7/8/07 2:20 PM - I had two slices as toast for breakfast and 2 slices untoasted in a sandwich for lunch. Score! It has a good texture although denser than gluten bread. It tastes great with ham :-) I will see what it's like tomorrow after another day on the counter.

I have no idea what to call it, so this is it:

Pretty Good Sandwich Bread

1 1/2 cups sorghum flour

1/2 cup buckwheat flour

1/2 cup potato starch

3/4 cup tapioca starch

1/4 cup flaxseed meal

1/2 cup cornstarch

2 tsp salt

2 1/2 tbsp sugar

2 1/2 tsp xanthan gum

1 tbsp olive oil

1 1/2 tsp yeast

2 cups lukewarm water

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Spray a loaf pan with cooking spray and set aside.

Combine the sorghum flour, buckwheat flour, potato starch, tapioca starch, flaxseed meal, cornstarch, salt, sugar, xanthan gum, and yeast in the bowl of your mixer. Whirr a few times to blend. With the mixer on low, slowly add the olive oil and then the water. Once all added, increase the mixer's speed to high for 3 minutes. The dough will be fairly thick and sticky.

Pour the dough into the prepared loaf pan, cover with foil, and place in the oven; allow to rise for an hour and a half. Remove the foil and increase the heat to 375 degrees. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes. If the top starts to get too brown while baking, cover with foil.

The Gidge gets a point across

2007-07-06T19:04:00.000-05:00

No recipe tonight, I'm afraid. I pulled chicken out of the freezer to thaw, but am uninspired to do anything with it. So I am making myself a quick steak sandwich and fries for dinner.

I thought of something funny that happened last week that I thought I would share instead.

A week ago this past Thursday at lunchtime, I was at home letting Gidget out for her potty break. So I was standing in the backyard.

I should probably mention that since going gluten free at the end of October 2006, I have dropped some weight. Enough weight that all of my pants are at least two sizes too big. I should also mention that we live on a corner lot on a fairly busy street.

So, as I was saying, I was standing in the backyard, praising my girl for doing her business. Usually, I have a treat to give her, but I forgot to grab one. She came running to get the treat I didn't have, and was unhappy with me when I didn't deliver. The Gidge grabbed the cuff of my capri pants in her teeth.

And bared my ass to the neighborhood.

So. I hitched up my pants and called The Man to let him know that I would be hitting the mall for new clothing after work. Point taken, Gidge.

Using what I have

2007-07-05T18:12:00.000-05:00

I hope everyone had an uneventful holiday - all body parts intact, all car parts intact, no visits to the local jail, no visits to the local hospital, no glutening, etc.

This was my first GF holiday where I had to go somewhere else to eat (well, that I can think of right now, anyway). Every year we go to this same house and everyone brings a dish to pass, while the hosts take care of the hamburgers, hot dogs and brats. I planned ahead by bringing my toasted Grandma Ferdon's hamburger bun wrapped in foil and a caprese salad, so I knew I could have something other than a burger.

The guy at the grill just happens to be a good friend of The Man, so he already knows (if not understands) what I have to do to eat. He graciously gave me the first burger off the grill, before he started scooping the rest onto the hamburger buns that waited a table away.

So I had a hamburger and a big scoop of caprese salad (which disappeared quickly, by the way). I spied the fresh fruit trays sitting a short distance away from Mrs. M's baked beans. I snaked some grapes, raspberries and melon while eyeballing those beans.

I love homemade baked beans. Really, really love them. Mrs, M's beans run neck-and-neck with the ones my parents make. And GACK to the canned ones, IMHO.

I must have been standing there staring for a while because Mrs. M. walked over to see if I needed anything. I explained my issue and asked if she would be willing to tell me exactly what she put in them. Not only did she list the ingredients, she told me brand names of what she used. Holy crap - I could eat them! Even the bacon she used was gluten free.

Someone up there is looking out for me. Hi, Nana J!

So, I ate really well. Things were going swimmingly until I realized that the back of my head was being fried by the mid-afternoon sun. This was not a good thing, and not because of sunburn (I am white as a ghost on purpose - I know too many people that have had skin cancer removed, so I load up on the sunblock if I am going outside after 10 AM). Sure enough, a half hour after moving into the shade, I was slammed with a migraine. So I hopped in the car and drive the 3 blocks home (no snide comments LOL we had a big cooler and food to bring).

Naturally, I had no Relpax in the house, so I ate 1000 mg of ibuprofen, ate a carton of yogurt to make sure it didn't rip my insides apart, and crawled into bed with The Gidge. Naturally, she didn't cooperate. Barked up a storm. So I strapped an ice pack to my head and took her outside to play fetch until she crashed. FOUR HOURS LATER.

This morning, I ran an errand for my mother (sorry mom, no dice on the dress) and got back just in time to say good-bye to The Man, who was heading to the Dells area in Wisconsin with a couple of friends. Their mission? I quote: "We're going to check on the pontoon boat." Whatever. We all know that they're going to be ON the pontoon boat in the lake with a cooler of beer. LOL

It's just me, The Gidge, and my boys. We napped all afternoon and then I started planning my dinner, since I ate a large omelet for a late breakfast (I was starving when we woke up around 3). I went down to our chest freezer to see what I have meatwise and ended up cleaning the thing out while I thought about what I wanted to eat. I decided to check out the garden and hooked up The Gidge to her lead. Out we went to see what we could see (and pee 4 times, in Gidget's case). I came in with a head of broccoli that should have been eaten 2 days ago, 10 green beans, 10 cherry tomatoes, and a fistful of parsley. What the heck could I do with that?

I set my bounty in a colander in the sink under running water and started rummaging through my cabinets. I found a 3-oz package of tuna, half a package of Tinkyada penne, half a head of garlic, and some red pepper flakes. And viola - we have dinner!

My ingredient measures are literally what I had in the house, so feel free to adjust as you like.

Garden Bounty Pasta

6 ounces GF penne pasta (or whatever you have)
3 oz package tuna packed in water
10 green beans, cleaned and cut in half
10 cherry tomatoes, cleaned and cut in half
1 small head broccoli, cleaned and cut into florets
4 tbsp olive oil
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
2 cloves garlic, minced
3-4 tbsp fresh minced parsley
1/4 cup grated pecorino romano cheese
Salt

Bring 6 cups water to a boil in a stock pot. Add a good pinch of salt. Make an ice water bath in another bowl and set near the stove (6 cups water, lots of ice). Place the broccoli and green beans in the boiling water and let them blanch for 2 minutes, then remove them from the pot and plunge them directly into the ice bath. Once cool, drain the broccoli and beans on a paper towel and set aside.

Bring the same pot of water back to a boil (I don't know about you, but I know a lot of nutrients end up in the boiling water, so I like to reuse it for my pasta. If you don't want to do this, start a fresh pot) and prepare the pasta according to package directions.

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. When hot, add the red pepper flakes and garlic. Turn off the heat - you want to infuse the oil but not burn the pepper and garlic. When the pasta is cooked and draining (SAVE 4 TBSP OF THE PASTA WATER), fire up the heat under the skillet again and add the broccoli, green beans, tomatoes, and tuna. Add the reserved pasta water. Add the drained pasta and toss all together. Remove from the heat and add the parsley and cheese. Toss again and serve with crusty bread and butter.

Well, the bread should be crusty. If the butter is crusty, you might want to throw it out.

(snort)

I'm now going to try to find the K-Too chocolate sandwich cookies I have stashed around here somewhere. Doesn't an "Oreo" Blizzard-like item sound dang good right now?

Happy 4th of July!

2007-07-04T07:33:00.000-05:00

Spoiled rotten

2007-07-03T20:30:00.002-05:00

My favorite fetch toy.

Believe it or not, I can carry this thing!

I has a new house.

I has a pink hat that says my name (Daddy calls me Princess Piddles).

It's all Ina's fault

2007-07-03T20:30:00.000-05:00

I watch a lot of Food Network. I mean, A LOT. We're talking that's what is on the tube whenever I am in front of it. Except when I am trying to go to sleep, in which case I find something on the History Channel, because I will pay attention to the Food Network and therefore not sleep.

Several times lately, Ina Garten's show, Barefoot Contessa, has featured her Pooch Party, in which she makes chicken sausages with green peppers and onions and potato salad. Now that The Gidge is on the mend, I can actually spend some time with my stomach's wants and needs. Right now, it needs sausage and potato salad.

I don't know of a reputable butcher in this area that might have good-quality chicken sausage, so I went with what I knew to be gluten free - Johnsonville Italian Sausage.

I am pretty picky when it comes to potato salad. I only like my mother's version. I have tried everyone else's and just keep coming back to mom's. However, that doesn't stop me from tweaking it a little, right?

Seeing as I didn't start this venture until after 4 PM, I am just sitting down to eat as I type this. After boiling my spuds and eggs and getting them on ice to cool, I ran to Petco and made a few purchases. Then I got down to business.

Potato Salad a la Ina Garten

A variation of my mother's recipe with a few tweaks from Ina's recipe

5 medium to large red potatoes, boiled whole and unpeeled

2 large eggs, hard-boiled and chopped

1/2 cup diced celery

1/2 cup diced carrot

1/2 cup diced red onion

1 cup good mayo

1/4 cup Miracle Whip

1 tbsp vinegar

1 tbsp sugar

2 tbsp dijon mustard

1 tsp whole grain mustard

1 heaping tbsp fresh minced dill

Salt and pepper

Hard-boil the eggs in your preferred manner. Drain and fill the pan or bowl with ice, enough to completely cover the eggs so they cool quickly.

Place the potatoes in a large stock pot and cover with water. Sprinkle with a little salt and heat on high until boiling; cook until just fork tender (30 minutes or so, depending on the size of your potatoes. If they're smaller, poke them at 20 minutes to check). Drain into a colander and place on top of the pot you used to save counter space; cover the potatoes with ice and set aside.

When the potatoes and eggs are cool, you can begin (trust me, you don't ever want to place a mayo-based dressing on potatoes that are too warm. I have found this out the hard way and paid for it), Chop the potatoes into chunks the size of your thumb and place them into a large bowl. Chop the eggs into smaller pieces and place in the bowl with the potatoes. Add the carrots, celery and onions and set aside.

In a smaller bowl, combine the mayo, Miracle Whip, mustards, vinegar, sugar, and dill. Stir well. Pour over the potatoes and vegetables and toss gently to coat. Refrigerate for at least an hour. Before serving, add salt and pepper to taste.

Man, did this hit the spot! Naturally, I started shoveling it in before I remembered to take a picture. Hence, the fork in the shots.

Nectarines and plums and other miscellany

2007-07-02T19:44:00.000-05:00

I am behaving and cute as hell.

We had a rough weekend with The Gidge - she got into something (don't know what), which upset her tummy a little. Well, a lot. She just had her first normal meal since Thursday and I am crossing my fingers that her little butt behaves. So far, so good.

However, she personally is an uncooperative as ever. And I wouldn't have it any other way.

I am not behaving and am channeling Demon Dog.

I have the woman thing going on. Every month, it gets worse. So at my next obgyn appointment, the doc and I are going to have a serious discussion about solutions without drugs. I am just not comfortable putting that stuff in my body any more.

I haven't cooked much - well, other than rice and boiled hamburger for The Gidge over the past few days. So I made up for some of that today with a loaf of bread from a Breads By Anna mix and a nectarine and plum upside-down cake. I had a yummy sandwich and a wedge of honeydew melon for lunch and a slice of cake for dinner.

I haven't cleaned either. Don't come over. It's embarrassing. I am normally Ms. Anal when it comes to keeping the house clean, but for some reason, I just don't wanna. Going to have to do something about that tomorrow. Maybe.

I am on vacation again this week. The Man is off with me on Thursday and Friday, so maybe we can get some couple-time-without-the-dog-and-the-cats at some point.

Man, am I whiny. I will get over it, I promise. I don't handle pain well. I am such a wuss.

So. About the Breads By Anna mix. I picked it up a few weeks ago but hadn't had the motivation to make it until today. Oh my goodness. Gluten free bread that rises to the height of a gluten loaf! Tastes great, too! I may have to stock up. This could very well be my stand-by bread for when I don't feel like making it totally from scratch.

And now, the nectarine and plum upside-down cake. I found a recipe on Epicurious that I converted to gluten free with mixed results. Don't get me wrong - it tastes great, but the recipe I post below will include the modifications I believe are necessary to make my tastebuds totally happy - with the original amounts in parenthesis. Other than converting the recipe to GF and changing up the fruit, I followed the recipe. Too dang sweet for me, hence the adjustments.

Nectarine & Plum Upside-Down Cake
Adapted from a recipe from Epicurious

12 tbsp unsalted butter at room temperature
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar (original calls for 1 cup)
1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar (not in original recipe-I didn't have enough light in the house)
1 tbsp orange blossom honey (just honey specified in recipe)
3 plums, cut into 8ths (original calls for 6 large plums in 6ths)
2 nectarines, cut into 8ths (not in original recipe)
1/2 cup almond meal
1/2 cup coconut flour
1/2 cup tapioca starch
1 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla (original calls for 1/2 tsp vanilla and 1/4 tsp almond extract)
1/2 cup milk

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Combine 6 tbsp butter, the brown sugars, and the honey in a saucepan over low heat until the ingredients are completely combined to form a nice thick sauce. Pour into the bottom of a 9" round cake pan with 2" high sides. Arrange the plum and nectarine pieces in circles, alternating fruits, until the entire bottom of the pan is covered. If you want it to be pretty, place them in concentric circles.

In a bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients except the cup of sugar and set aside. In another bowl, cream together the remaining 6 tbsp butter and cup of sugar. When smooth, add the eggs and vanilla; beat well. Add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture, alternating with the milk. Mx until just blended and pour evenly over the top of the fruit in the cake pan.

Bake until the cake is golden brown and a toothpick stuck in the center comes out clean - about an hour. Cool in the pan for 30 minutes, then run a knife around the outside to insure the cake comes out clean. Place your serving plate upside down on top of the cake, then invert so the cake side meets the plate . Remove the pan. Allow to sit for 10 minutes and then serve.

Goodie night

2007-06-24T20:30:00.000-05:00

Oh, my.

I had a plan. The Gidge had crashed, allowing me to do what I wanted within reason (as she will wake up and follow me wherever I go). So I pulled out the Kinnikinnick pizza crusts and made my favorite pizza (olive oil, tomato, fresh basil, green onion, fresh mozzarella). While they were baking, I prepared part of my most important meal of the day - dessert.

On my counter sat some bananas. In my freezer was good vanilla ice cream. In my cupboard resided 6 ounces of milk chocolate and 6 ounces of good dark chocolate.

Wheels turned. Smoke rolled. And I decided to make a carmelized banana sundae with hot fudge sauce and macadamia nuts. Oh, and toasted coconut. So it was kind of a tropical thing I had going on. With yummy chocolate.

Oh my.

The Man will never buy hot fudge sauce in a jar again, thanks to the recipe I found here. I used half dark chocolate and half milk chocolate because it's what I had.

And since I was raised in the city that claims to be the birthplace of the ice cream sundae, it felt a little like home.

Sorry about the really bad picture - I had several spoonfuls in my face before I realized that I wanted to take a picture. And since I had a cold mouthful of ice cream, I could only use one hand to hold the camera (Ever do that? Shovel something cold in your mouth and hold your hand to your closed lips like it's going to HELP WARM IT UP?)

I may not eat again for days.

A new cookbook

2007-06-20T18:41:00.000-05:00

Several weeks ago, a publishing company sent me a cookbook to try - Eat Well, Feel Well by Kendall Conrad.

Normally, I pour through a cookbook and stick post-it notes all over the place to mark things I want to try. Some of these recipes look absolutely wonderful. However, 'round these here parts, cashews cost a pretty penny, if you want to get decent ones. And I rarely settle for substandard food unless I absolutely have to. A lot of these recipes call for cashews.

So I have a few things marked that are not cashew-based that I plan to try. The plan that these recipes are based on makes a ton of sense. Anyone who has a digestive condition that won't subside could benefit from the information in this book.

Ahh...I spy the coconut cake recipe. Because my men hate coconut, this would be ALL FOR ME. Stay tuned for this one. Or maybe the tarte tatin. We have an eenyty-meeny-miney-moe situtation here, folks.

Two keepers

2007-06-19T07:38:00.000-05:00

I made the aborted Father's Day dinner last night for The Man, his friend, and his friend's son. Both recipes, found on the Food Network's website, received a huge thumbs-up from each of them.

The burgers I made are Tyler Florence's Stuffed Bacon Cheeseburgers. I exchanged the monterey jack with co-jack cheese (my great grandma lived right across the street from the cheese factory in Colby, WI so naturally, I love the stuff) and added 1/2 tsp of onion powder to the meat.

GLUTEN FREE ONION RINGS! Yes, you must try these. Oh my goodness. I swapped the regular beer out with Redbridge and added 1/4 tsp salt into the batter. All three gluten-eaters gobbled them up.

Blooms and lightning bugs

2007-06-17T21:42:00.000-05:00

I was out watering my flower and vegetable gardens this morning and took time to smell the flowers. I thought I'd share some of them with you.

Tonight Gidget met lightning bugs for the first time. She didn't know if she wanted to watch them or chase the frisbee. The bugs won.

She was supposed to get groomed last night, but the groomer got hung up with another dog that was extremely matted. So she came today and I had her go as short as was safe for The Gidge. She's nekkid now. The groomer put bows on her ears (which The Gidge promptly dispatched) so she looked like a girl dog instead of a boy dog.

We've had a few laughs over that.

I had big plans for The Man's Father's Day dinner, but he chose to be elsewhere. Which worked out okay since I am getting over a migraine that hit this afternoon, most likely due to the heat, which I don't handle well. So hopefully, I will have belated Father's Day yum pictures for you tomorrow.

Show & Tell

2007-06-14T20:40:00.000-05:00

I love my stove (basically a 2-year-old version of this). I got it to replace my first Kitchenaid stove, which died on me less than 2 weeks before The Stepson's junior high graduation party. Oh, the horror. Add the limping-along fridge into that mix and you get 2 new appliances.

One of the best parts of my stove is one that rarely gets used.

Looks like a normal stove grate, right?

Shazaam! It's a wok ring. Handy, huh?

I whipped together a quick and simple stir fry for dinner tonight, since The Gidge didn't give me any other option. The Man has batting practice and TWO softball games, so I was on my own for dinner. He wouldn't eat this, anyway.

Slightly untraditional in my veggie choices, but it's what I had.

Quick Chicken Stir Fry

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces

1 zucchini, sliced

1 8 oz package button mushrooms

6 green onions, sliced

1 small package snow peas

2 tbsp cornstarch

2 tbsp + 1/4 cup water

1/8 cup GF tamari sauce

1 tbsp olive oil

Preheat your wok (or large skillet) over high heat. Add the olive oil; when the oil is hot, add the chicken. Cook over high heat, stirring often, until chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes. Take the chicken out of the pan and set aside.

Place the veggies into the wok and cook until softened (doesn't take long!). Add 1/4 cup water to help steam the veggies. When the veggies are softened to your liking, add the chicken back into the wok. Turn off the heat.

Combine the cornstarch, tamari and remaining 2 tbsp water in a small bowl. Pour over the food in the wok; toss to coat. Serve over white or brown rice.

And now....

I am so proud . About 2 weeks ago, I hung bells on the doorknob to the back door, which leads to the enclosed porch, and by the back-back door, which leads to the backyard.

Tonight, The Gidge rang the bells on the back door to go out.

Now, if I could just get her to stop dining in the a la carte line. That's her to the left, right after I yelled at her for snacking.

Long summery days

2007-06-10T19:56:00.000-05:00

This weekend, we got some stuff done around here. The Man mowed the grass twice (we hate bagging), cleaned the back porch, and laid more sand down on the brick patio. He also caught up the laundry.

The Stepson got gas money in exchange for washing my SUV, inside and out, and cleaning off my clotheslines.

I weeded, watered, thinned out onions, and cleaned the house. And basked in my little empire by taking a 4 hour nap with the Gidge this afternoon. So now my butt is dragging on the floor and she's totally fired up.

I had taken out a beef roast to make for dinner tonight, but naturally The Man screwed up those plans by making OTHER plans to go to a friend's house to watch the Sopranos. Because, you know, you need to hang out for 2 hours before the show starts. So I put the roast into the fridge for tomorrow and rooted through the cabinets and fridge to see what I could find to eat. After grabbing bags and boxes, I got to work. And if it tasted like crap, well, there was always cheesecake!

I will have to upload the picture later; Flickr is being a PITA.

Fusilli with Two Beans

8 oz fusilli pasta (I use Tinkyada)
1 15 oz can garbanzo beans, drained
1 15 oz can pinto beans, drained
1 15 oz can diced tomatoes (retain juice)
1 small onion, roughly chopped
1/2 a green pepper, roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp olive oil
Sea Salt
1/4 cup pecorino romano, finely grated
1 tbsp fresh basil, roughly chopped

Prepare the pasta according to package directions. Set aside.

Preheat a skillet over medium heat; add the olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the onion, garlic and green pepper; saute until just beginning to soften, about 8 minutes. Add the tomatoes and a good pinch of salt; stir.

Drain the beans. Add them to the skillet; reduce the heat to low and cook for 5 minutes, just to heat the beans through. Pour the pasta into the skillet, along with the basil and pecorino romano. Toss gently to coat and serve.

And no, I didn't need to eat cheesecake for dinner. Why is it that very often, the most spontaneous, come-out-of-your-butt recipes taste better than something you've slaved over for hours?

Give, damn it

2007-06-09T20:05:00.000-05:00

Gidget loves to play fetch.

We're working on the "give" portion of that entertainment.

I was mean and faked throwing the ball down the hallway, our preferred Fetch location, but instead pitched it into her crate. Photo op, you know? So she gave me a great shot of her butt. My sister used to do stuff like that.

In this last picture, you'll notice Baby in the background, under the table. Keeping an eye on things so that he can haul ass if the game gets too close.

Would you like to spend a few minutes in the JND kitchen?

2007-06-09T17:05:00.000-05:00

Well, if you're reading this, I guess you do.

First of all, I'd like to say that this is my 200th post. Holy old cow. Who knew I'd have 200 things to say to the internet?

Back to our regularly scheduled program.

While making what I was making this morning, it occurred to me that a lot of people I know are usually interested in finding out what it's like to cook or bake with the 2 cats and a dog that are the real rulers in this house. So, while I was writing down what I was doing, I made little notes about what was happening outside the recipe.

So if anyone really wants to know what it's like to cook in a house with spoiled-rotten animals, here you go.

Key Lime Cheesecake Squares with Gingersnap Crust

8 oz gingersnap cookies (I used Mi-Del)

4 tbsp butter, melted

30 oz cream cheese (room temperature)

2 pounds key limes (equal to 1/2 cup key lime juice)

1 1/4 cup sugar

2 tsp vanilla

3 eggs (room temperature)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray down a 9x9x2 pan with cooking spray. Wipe cooking spray off the wall because the dog quietly came up behind you and barked as loud as she could, scaring the crap out of you.

Place the gingersnaps into a food processor and pulse until finely ground. Return the cat to the floor after he jumps up to see what you are doing. Turn around and place the butter in a bowl. Yell "no" at the dog when she bites your toe HARD. Curse profusely and limp to the microwave; place the bowl with the butter in the microwave and nuke until melted. Neglect to use your mental rearview mirror when removing the bowl from the microwave; turn around and step on a cat's tail. Pour the butter into the cookie crumbs; pulse the food processor until well combined. Give the cat a treat to apologize for possibly maiming him for life.

Pour the cookie crust mixture into the prepared pan and pat down evenly using a spatula. Step over the dog when turning around to place it in the oven to bake for 20 minutes. Breathe a sigh of relief that it made it into the oven safely. You don't have another package of cookies if you have to start over.

When the crust has baked for 20 minutes, remove and place on a rack to cool. As soon as you have done that, head to the fridge to take out the cream cheese and eggs so they can come to room temperature. Step over 3 animals on your trip across the 4 feet from the oven to the fridge.

Important note - place the baked crust on your back porch so the cats can't eat it on you. It is also beneficial to do this so that it cools quicker. The crust must be completely cooled before you can pour in the filling.

Once the crust has cooled completely and the cream cheese and eggs have come to room temperature, you can begin making the filling. Pull the stand mixer out from the corner of the counter. Watch the cat jump up and sneak into the space where the mixer was. Sigh and grab him, placing him on the floor after a quick cuddle. Watch him jump up again, immediately. Shrug and get on with it.

Place the cream cheese into the mixer bowl and mix on low, scraping down the sides of the bowl occasionally, until the cheese is smooth. This should take about 3-5 minutes. Add in one egg at a time, beating each time until the egg is completely incorporated (ooh, big word). Turn off the mixer. Warn the cat about what will happen if he eats the cheesecake filling.

Good lord, I have to juice about 50 key limes. This is going to suck.

Slice all the limes in half. Chase the cat, who took off with one. Get back to the counter in time to separate the other cat and the dog, who are having a hiss-bark match. Juice the limes, taking short pauses to yell at the dog to leave the damn cats alone. When done, you should have 1/2 cup of key lime juice and a sore throat.

Add the sugar to the cheese and mix on low. Slowly add the vanilla and key lime juice. Once all ingredients are mixed in, turn off the mixer. Since the cat is now eyeing the bowl and licking his chops, remind him of his mortal danger if he sticks his face in the filling.

Pour the cheesecake filling onto the prepared crust. Place the pan into a roasting pan and carefully pour boiling water into the roasting pan until it reaches about halfway up the cheesecake pan. Do not get the cheesecake wet! Lock the animals in another room because if you drop this taking it to the oven, it ain't gonna be pretty.

Bake at 350 for about an hour, or until the middle jiggles slightly when the pan is shaken. Get the dog out of the way (she's napping sweetly right in front of the stove) and carefully take the pan out of the oven. Remove the cheesecake from the water bath and set on a rack to cool for an hour. Hang out in the kitchen during this period to make sure the cats don't add cheesecake to their food regimen. Then move it to the fridge to chill for at least 8 hours before cutting into squares.

A long, but not long enough, week

2007-06-02T19:00:00.000-05:00

Why don't I feel like I am finishing up a week of vacation from work? I think I need a another week to recover from this one.

First of all, I did a bunch of yard work last weekend. Except for trimming the 2 big bushes on the corners of our house, because The Man said he'd take care of it on Memorial Day after the parade.

Whatever.

On Tuesday, I helped plant flowers at the cemetary. It was damn hot out there.

Wednesday, I was a lazy slug.

Thursday will remain in my mind for a while. After trimming those bushes that The Man promised to take care of, my right arm and hand decided to cease function for a while. So I took The Gidge for a walkie. And then we went to the vet for our week-late round of shots. The little tank now weighs 6 pounds, 4 ounces. The Lyme Disease shot was given in her left rear leg and the vet warned me she's be sore. What he didn't tell me was that she wasn't going to be able to walk and whenever she tried that, or even just tried to MOVE, she would cry and whimper. Which brought tears to my eyes. I am such a wuss. She slept all day and even Baby curled up as close as he was willing to get, just to keep an eye on her. By midnight, she was getting a little more fired up and her leg started to work again. Every hour after that, she was up. So I didn't sleep from midnight on. Good thing I didn't have to go to work in the morning.

Friday was cherry-almond-vanilla muffin day. Once upon a time, I made really awesome blueberry power muffins from a recipe I got from Cooking Light. Friday morning, on no sleep, I decided to convert the recipe to gluten free. Obviously, because there isn't a picture and I haven't posted a recipe, I should have just tried to take a nap. The taste was wonderful, but they were heavy as bricks. Back to the drawing board on that one.

Today, The Man woke up sick. Great. Why is it that most men whine like babies when they're not feeling well? "Honey, will you make me a poached egg and toast?" "Honey, will you do this?" "Honey, will you do that?" Gack.

I made an awesome dinner, though. And it's all for me since he's on the popsicle and ice water diet today. I grabbed what was in the fridge, added a few things from the garden, and rocked my world.

Honey-Dijon Sauced Roasted Vegetables with Orange Roughy

For the vegetables:

2 zucchini, cut into 2-3" strips

1 leek, cut into thirds and rinsed well

10 grape tomatoes, cut into halves

10 baby red potatoes, cut into halves

1 green pepper (or 2 little ones from my garden!), cut into halves and then strips

2-3 tbsp olive oil

3/4 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper

For the fish:

1 pound orange roughy fillets

1/4 tsp paprika

For the sauce:

1 tbsp fresh parsley, minced

1 tbsp dijon mustard

1 tbsp tupelo honey

1 tbsp olive oil

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Prepare all the vegetables and place all except the tomatoes into a 9x13 baking dish. Add olive oil, salt and pepper, and then toss to coat. Place into the oven and bake for about an hour, until vegetables begin to brown and potatoes are fork-tender.

While the veggies are roasting, make the sauce by combining all sauce ingredients in a bowl and whisking well.

When the veggies are done, remove from the oven. Add the tomatoes and sauce; toss gently to coat. Place the orange roughy fillets on top of the veggies and then sprinkle them with the paprika. Cover with foil and bake for another 10-15 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish, or until it flakes easily with a fork

The metamorphosis from ChronicBabe to GlutenFreeBabe

2007-05-31T08:33:00.000-05:00

Jenni over at ChronicBabe is going gluten free during the month of June. She will be blogging about her trials and tribulations during the GF period, so everyone needs to swing by her new site and cheer her on!

Shh... Did you hear that?

2007-05-30T20:59:00.000-05:00

That nasty crackling, painful sound? It might be a very faint sound on your end.... It's the hardening of my arteries after tonight's dinner LOL

I have a love-hate relationship with vacations from work. I love not having to rush around in the morning, being able to spend much time with the zoo, cooking whatever I want, regardless of prep or cook time. I hate not knowing what's going on and dread the piles of paperwork upon my return to the office.

Oh, did I forget to mention that I love getting to take a nap every day? I am such a slacker.

The Man was also off today as he was on call for Memorial Day. His company is kind enough to give a "floating holiday" if they work on a major holiday. The poor guy had a hellish Memorial Day because his phone seemed to ring and ring and ring.... He slept in this morning and then took a 4-hour nap this afternoon, waking up just in time to grab his softball shirt and head out the door for batting practice.

Needless to say, he missed dinner. One that he would have loved, with his affection for anything and everything unhealthy. I personally don't allow myself to eat like this very often because I am trying to fix what's broke, but tonight it was a craving that wouldn't be satisfied by anything else.

So, if you hear any crackling, don't panic. No one is crawling through your bushes. It's me, over here in Illinois.

Patty Melts

3 hamburger patties

6 slices bread (I used Enjoy Life's Rye-less Rye)

4 tbsp butter plus more for spreading

1 onion, peeled and sliced

1 bottle GF beer (I used Redbridge)

1 tbsp olive oil

3 slices swiss cheese

Sea salt

Fresh ground black pepper

Place the hamburger patties on a plate and sprinkle the top sides with salt and pepper. Set aside. Toast the GF bread slices and set aside.

Preheat a large skillet over medium heat; add 2 tbsp butter and the olive oil. Once the butter is melted, pour in 1/2 cup beer. Add the patties seasoned-side down and then sprinkle salt and pepper on the tops. Fry in the beer, butter and olive oil until cooked to your liking (don't use my 6 minutes total as a guide because I like my beef RAW).

In a small skillet, melt the other 2 tablespoons of butter. Once it's melted, add 1/4 cup beer and the onions. Saute until onions are soft. Set aside.

To make the patty melts, spread each slice of toasted bread with butter. On 3 slices (turn them upside-down so you put everything on the un-buttered side), place a burger patty, then a good scoop of onions, then a slice of cheese. Top with a slice of bread (butter side facing up). Repeat with the other sandwiches.

Heat a third skillet (sorry, this is one of those recipes where I pray for my parents to pull into my driveway with my dishwasher - no, that hasn't happened yet) over low to medium heat. Place the sandwiches (butter side down, remember?) into the skillet and cook until well browned, about 3 minutes. Flip and cook until the other side is equally browned.

Take a bite. Debate calling your former-paramedic neighbor to come and hang out, just in case.

You always remember the first time...

2007-05-29T19:47:00.000-05:00

...you eat something that rocks. I made a roast chicken, some smashed red potatoes, and wanted a veggie for dinner. I had a seedless cucumber and some grape tomatoes, so I decided to wander the store this afternoon to see what I could throw in with them to make a salad. I came out with a jicama.

So here was my sidedish with dinner.

Tomato, Cucumber & Jicama Salad

12 grape tomatoes, cut in halves

1/2 a seedless cucumber, peeled and cut into 1/2" coins

1/2 a jicama, cut into matchsticks

1 lemon, juiced

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp minced fresh basil

Sea salt

Fresh ground black pepper

Combine the vegetables in a bowl and set aside. In another bowl, combine the juice of 1 lemon, the olive oil, the basil, a pinch of salt, and a pinch of pepper. Whisk with a fork and then pour over the vegetables. Lightly mix and serve.

Hoarding

2007-05-29T18:32:00.000-05:00

I am a bad, bad blogger. I have been cranking out some pretty good stuff since Friday at 5 PM. How horrible of me to not blog about it! I guess I have some fairly good reasons:

--Demon Dog demands attention constantly.

--I got A LOT of yard work done, enough that we can finally get mulch laid down in the flower beds.

--Demon Dog demands attention constantly.

--I installed 2 fountains in the landscaping.

--We attended a Memorial Day breakfast at our neighbors while the parade went past our home for the first, and probably only, time.

--I assisted my sister-in-law in weeding, cleaning up, and planting flowers at the family gravesites.

--Demon Dog demands attention constantly.

But now, without further ado, I am posting Friday night's dinner. It was really, really good, but too spicy (not hot spicy, but spice spicy) for my stomach, so I unfortunately paid for eating like a pig. It's a Rachael Ray (gasp! But hey, when you're in a hurry to put something in your gullet, you have to acknowledge that she can crank out grub dang quick) recipe that I adapted slightly.

Chicken Burgers on Teff No-Knead Bread

Adapted from a Rachael Ray recipe

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 tbsp sweet Hungarian paprika

1 tbsp grill seasoning blend

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley (from my garden - how exciting!)

1/2 a medium onion, chopped fine

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper

2 tbsp olive oil

8 slices teff no-knead bread

Butter

2 cups fresh baby spinach

4 slices provolone cheese

Using a food processor or meat grinder, grind the chicken breasts into...well, ground chicken. Add the paprika, grill seasoning, parsley, onion, garlic, salt and pepper; get your hands into the bowl (wash them first!) and mix well. Drizzle the olive oil over the top, then cut into 4 equal pieces. Take each piece and form it into a burger patty of your preferred size.

Preheat a large skillet over medium heat. Once hot, drizzle a little more olive oil (another tablespoon, maybe) into the pan and then add the patties. Cook over medium heat for 5-7 minutes per side, depending on thickness, (or until cooked all the way through.

Toast the slices of bread and then butter them lightly. Split the spinach between 4 of the slices and place the patties on the other 4. Top each patty with a slice of cheese, then marry the tops (with the spinach) with the bottoms to create sandwiches.

Serve with potato wedges.

11 hours and counting

2007-05-25T06:11:00.001-05:00

Until my first week-long vacation starts.

Please God, let 5 PM come quickly.

A way to stretch your boxed mac & cheese

2007-05-21T20:30:00.000-05:00

Back in high school, I used to babysit - A LOT - for one specific family. With the parents working and going to school, I think I saw those kids more than their mom and dad did. One of the meals they used to have me fix for dinner was "goulash" to them - they didn't have a lot of money, so this was something I could give the kids for dinner and the parents could eat off of themselves for lunch for a few days.

I kind of lost my taste for it because I ate it so often. For some reason, though, today I wanted it. Or I should say my version of it. So here it is - kinda cheeseburger mac-y, kinda not. Sorry - didn't time anything tonight.

Mac & Cheese Stretched Thin

1 pound ground sirloin (or ground chicken or ground pork or ground turkey - you get the idea)

1 box macaroni and cheese (I use Annie's GF)

2 4-ounce cans mushrooms

1/2 a red onion, diced

1 cup grated cheddar cheese

1/4 cup ketchup

1 tsp yellow mustard

sea salt

fresh ground pepper

2 tbsp butter (only if your mac and cheese mix doesn't call for it)

In a skillet, brown the ground meat with a pinch of sea salt and pepper; when it's halfway cooked through, add the diced onion. While the meat and onion are cooking (it's done when the meat is cooked through and the onion is soft and translucent), cook the mac and cheese according to package directions. Drain the mushrooms and set aside.

When the meat and onion are done and the mac and cheese is ready, melt the butter (if not part of the mac and cheese instructions) in a pot large enough to hold the pasta and meat together. Add the meat, onions, pasta, mushrooms, ketchup, mustard and cheese to the butter and stir well. Continue to heat on low until mushrooms are cooked through and the additional cheese is melted.

Ice cream - it's what's for dinner

2007-05-20T05:54:00.000-05:00

I actually made this a week ago, but due to my glutening, I wasn't up to trying it until yesterday. For dinner. Sometimes it's nice to be an adult, isn't it?

I wish I had eaten some right after I made it. Don't get me wrong - it's not bad. But I bet it would have been creamier a week ago.

Easy Banana Ice Cream with Chocolate Chunks

Based on a recipe by Alton Brown

6 ripe bananas

3/4 cup white corn syrup

1 vanilla bean, scraped

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

1-2 ounces chocolate (I used Scharffen Berger 70%), chopped

Peel the bananas and place in bowl of food processor. Process for 10 to 15 seconds. Add corn syrup and vanilla bean seeds and turn processor on. Slowly pour in the heavy cream. Process until smooth. Chill mixture in refrigerator for 2 hours. Transfer mixture to an ice cream maker and process according to manufacturer's instructions. When it's nearly the consistency of soft serve, add the chocolate and continue to mix for another 2 minutes. Place mixture in an airtight container and freeze for 3 to 6 hours before serving.

Things growing

2007-05-18T07:35:00.000-05:00

When I got home from work yesterday, I noticed this...

Itty bitty green pepper

And this....

Onions sprouting

And this....
Tomato flower

I can't wait to eat something from my garden that's not an herb.

And this innocent face....

Ate cat candy for breakfast before I realized what she was doing.

Berry salad

2007-05-17T18:59:00.000-05:00

We had a big dinner last Saturday - honey barbecue ribs, baked potatoes, corn on the cob, and rolls for the men of the house. On the weekends, I enjoy having dessert but certainly didn't want anything heavy after all that food. Packages of berries were on sale at the grocery store, so I picked up a variety and made do with other stuff I already had in the house in order to throw this together.

Berry Salad

1 pint strawberries - cleaned, hulled and halved

1 pint raspberries - cleaned

1 pint blackberries - cleaned

1/2 pint blueberries - cleaned

1/4 cup honey

1/2 cup fresh orange juice (1 orange, juiced)

The zest of one orange

Combine the berries in a bowl and set aside. Zest and then juice an orange. Add the honey and zest to the juice and mix well. Pour over the berries and gently combine so the raspberries and blackberries don't fall apart.

I bet this would be awesome over ice cream or GF angel food cake.

Potato Fans

2007-05-17T05:45:00.000-05:00

I love potato fans. They're a neat way to eat a potato and you rarely see this done anymore. I made one to go with my honey-lime salmon the other night.

Potato Fan

1 medium-sized potato
2 tsp butter, softened
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp dried or fresh parsley
A pinch of salt

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Combine the butter, garlic powder, salt and parsley. Set aside.

Starting at one end of the potato, cut 3/4 of the way through at 1/4 inch intervals. Do NOT cut all the way through the bottom! Once you have sliced the potato all the way across, use a very small knife to spread the butter mixture between the slices.

Depending on what you're having with your potato fan, you might want to get a head start on cooking it by microwaving it for 2 minutes. If you microwave it, remove from the microwave and place into a baking dish. Bake, uncovered, for another 15-18 minutes (depending on the size of the potato) or until cooked through.

Getting busy with life

2007-05-15T19:12:00.000-05:00

It's been a busy week for me. The girl thing happened (which laid me low for a few days), Gidget got a haircut, I planted a vegetable garden, planted flowers and a tree, cleaned the house, gave 2 flute lessons, got glutened...and had 4 migraines in the midst of all that.

While all of that was going on, I managed to crank out some pretty good stuff in the kitchen as well. Unfortunately, I didn't always remember to take pictures, but the thought was there. Over the next day and a few posts, I will post what I can remember. Here's what came out of the kitchen (that I can recall, anyway):

Berry salad
Honey lime salmon
Potato fans
Banana ice cream with chocolate chunks
Cucumber salad
Spaghetti with creamy tomato & sausage sauce

But let's go back to the vegetable garden. I am SO excited about this - we always had a big garden growing up and I have wanted one for years. I had been waiting and waiting for The Man to get off his duff and till me some soil, but alas - no such luck. Happily, his cousin stopped by a couple of weeks ago and happened to mention that he was tilling his garden. Well! After I marked my spot, he dragged the tiller across the street and chewed up my lawn.

There ain't nothin' like forcing the issue, is there?

So The Man got some 2x6s, chicken wire, and dowel rods and we built a half-assed 6 foot by 9 food garden. We only did a quick job because next year, we will tear out the wood and replace it with pavers to match the rest of the gardens around the house.

So over the last week, I dumped organic compost and organic soil into my new garden bed and then loaded it up with 2 cherry tomato plants, 2 heirloom tomato plants, 2 beef tomato plants, 12 green bean plants, a row of onions, a row of broccoli, a row of cauliflower, 3 basil, 2 oregano, 1 thyme, 2 parsley, and 1 rosemary. Whew!

I tell you what - there's nothing like making pasta for dinner and grabbing some basil right out of your back yard. Because I have done just that - twice. Well, once for pasta and once for pizza.

And of course, we planted a cherry tree for The Man's mother.

I got all the rest of my flowers planted in the very few (read - I am a lazy flower gardener) places in our flowerbeds that don't have perennials already planted. The yard is starting to shape up! All we need is to decide what we are going to do about the 2 current fountains we have (pull 'em or keep 'em) and we can buy the 20 bags of mulch it's going to take to get everything covered. Which, if everything goes as it usually does, will happen some time next year if left up to The Man.

Poor Gidget. The indignities never stop. We had our second vet appointment last Thursday evening - she had to stay in her doggie purse for an hour because the vet was running way behind. Then the shots didn't go as easily as the first set (I wanted to cry when she squealed). Then I make her get a haircut.

She gave ME a heart attack yesterday. We have her lovely play pen, of course, which is where she parks when we are at work or need to do something around the house that she needs to not be there for. I had (note the past tense here) a big pillow in the pen for her because when she sleeps, she likes to crawl under it.

When I get home at lunch, my habit has been to close the door and start softly calling, "Where's Momma's baby girl?" (Oh, shut up LOL) Then I call her name as I walk toward the living room. Usually, by the time I get to the play pen, she is doing her "prisoner spread 'em" pose inside the pen. So imagine my surprise when I walk into the living room - and no Gidget visible in the pen. I figure she hadn't heard me, so when I got up to the pen, I lifted the big pillow (noting that it is sitting weird). NO DOG. What the %$%^&? So I immediately go into panic mode, running down the hall yelling for the damn dog.

And here she comes, trotting out of our bedroom.

The pillow is now on the couch. Remember that I said that it was sitting weird in the pen? She used it as a ramp and jumped out of the play pen. Lesson learned well, Momma.

She suffered through an hour of grooming last night. And a bandanna and a pink bow. Damn you, Momma!

And NOW - the audacity to EXPECT HER TO GO OUTSIDE TO PEE WHEN IT IS RAINING! Geez.

A good question

2007-05-14T18:14:00.000-05:00

Allergic Girl asked a good question in the comments on my "I've Been Glutened" post from a couple of days ago. She wanted to know how gluten got into a baked potato.

Eating out can be a gluten sensitive person's worst nightmare because of two words: cross contamination.

In my case, I forgot to ask the person preparing my food to put on a new pair of gloves before handling my potato. Lord knows how many hamburger buns she touched before she squashed open the potato and placed it into a container for my lunch.

Friday wasn't the first time something like that has happened to me and it certainly won't be the last.

Anyone have any horror stories to tell about being glutened by something you figured was safe?

It's Just Not Dinner Without Cat Hair

Follow me....

Calling my name

A childhood friend revisited

Tagged

Back to bran

Creating my own busywork

Happenings

Disappointing successes or successful disappointments

Addiction

Little girl grown up

Chicken all boozed up

A girl's best friend

Two of my favorite things

Kinda sorta but yet, not really

More breakfast

I'm alive...really, I am!

Tradition

As promised

Mysterious

We're BAAAAAACK!

Another day to go back to bed & pull the covers over my head

For the GF cookie tray: surprise package cookies

Point taken

Oh, the agony

The only time you will see me eat gravy

For the GF cookie tray: santa's whiskers

One says "Brrr..." and one says "Bring it"

For the GF cookie tray: butter cookies

Another turkey to remember

One recipe leads to another

I hate carbs

A pain in the rear becomes something good

Ah, hell

A timely song to sing

These things actually happen in this house

I could have named this post a number of things

Halloween at Our House

Now that the Haunted Barn is over for the season...Part Deux

Now that the Haunted Barn is over for the season...

Celebrating

Chilly temps mean soup around here

This moment brought to you by the miracle of technology

Chicago-style pizza - oh, my goodness...

My favorite cornbread, now gluten free

A day in the life

Bananas for breakfast & a great way to pass the evening

A favorite cookie

The Haunted Barn opens today!

Road trip

The Vault

Step away from the Dr. Pepper

Just too cute to resist

Delicious days of almost-fall

Feeling sorry for myself

Yes, We Have No Bananas

A skeptic says "bondo"

Body parts never tasted so good

Hello out there!

Tropical (un)Wholesome Goodness

I've been tagged...

I see a weight gain coming on

Baking for Bette

I needs me one of these

At long last...meatloaf

Recipe test: Alton's GF Chewy

Comfort food can be ugly

A yummy recipe and other tales

Where the *BLEEP* have I been?

Necessity is the mother of invention

Note to self

Worth waiting for

More bread

The Gidge gets a point across

Using what I have

Happy 4th of July!

Spoiled rotten

It's all Ina's fault

Nectarines and plums and other miscellany

Goodie night

Where the BLEEP have I been?