Calling my name

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

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.

Addiction

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?

A girl's best friend

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.

Kinda sorta but yet, not really

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.

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

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.

As promised

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.

For the GF cookie tray: surprise package cookies

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.

For the GF cookie tray: santa's whiskers

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.

For the GF cookie tray: butter cookies

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.

A pain in the rear becomes something good

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.

Bananas for breakfast & a great way to pass the evening

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

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 Vault

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.

Delicious days of almost-fall

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

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

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.

Body parts never tasted so good

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.

I see a weight gain coming on

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.

Recipe test: Alton's GF Chewy

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.