gluten-free

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carob date squares

May 2, 2012 in gluten-free, in the kitchen, recipes | 3 comments

I have been addicted to the “Energy Nuggets” in the bulk section at the grocery store for quite awhile now, but they cost a pretty penny and I really want to eat a LOT of them.  So I did what I often do: snapped a photo of the ingredients and went home to figure out how to make them for myself.  Is this legal? I have a file of photos of ingredients from packaged products that I am trying to recreate my way through.  I’m not going to call them Energy Nuggets though… frankly, I don’t like to eat anything called a nugget. I guess they are kind of like gold though.

Carob Date Squares (original, I know)

1 cup almonds
1/2 cup cashews
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
5 ounces dates, pitted
1/4 cup carob powder, plus more for dusting
1/4 cup honey

Whirl up the nuts in a food processor until they are finely chopped. Remove the nuts and add the dates to the food processor. Pulse it until the dates are pasty.  Add the nuts back in, along with the carob powder and honey and process until everything is uniformly incorporated.  Press into a waxed paper-lined 8×8 pan and stick in the fridge for a bit until hard enough to cut into bite-size squares. Dust with carob powder (to prevent from sticking together once stored).

I’m not loving these pictures. But, they’re good. I promise.

 

in like a lion

March 2, 2011 in gluten-free, harbors, in the kitchen, recipes, sunsets | 18 comments

Goodness, am I happy that it’s March! Never mind it’s colder than it’s been all winter, we have lots of snow on the ground and the Taku Winds have been blowing up to 150 mph (I wish I was kidding but it’s true). It’s MARCH! And spring is just around the corner… kind of. So to keep thinking happy thoughts, I am going to share two things that have made me smile lately.

I.  chocolate cake (I didn’t say I was going to get philosophical or anything)

I found the best gluten-free chocolate cake recipe ever. I was thinking of ways that I could tweak a mud bar recipe that our family loves, and it turns out Gluten Free Girl and Pioneer Woman had done it for me already. Dang, those ladies are good. I didn’t have guar gum so I’m not sure what I missed out on by not including it. I have a very important recommendation that they don’t mention in this recipe though (and I think it is essential in perfecting the cake the way we like it): once you pour the frosting over the hot cake, cut into it right away. That way the icing seeps down into the cake and it gets all gooey and moist and perfect. I used King Arthur’s GF flour, which I have found is the best all-purpose alternative to the real deal.

II.  late winter sunsets

We’ve had the most absolutely amazing sunsets this past week. And the best part about it is that they are happening around normal sunset time!  Forget that 2:30 sunset. Soon, the sun will be setting once I’m already in bed for the night. I hear these clear skies have been allowing some impressive displays of the Northern Lights (check out KirstenLee’s flickr). If only I could keep my eyes open long enough to see them.

Here’s to dreams of March going out like a lamb. I’m ready to feel some sun on my bones without ten layers on my body.

saturday

November 15, 2010 in breakfast, gluten-free, in the kitchen | 4 comments

We had a very full weekend around here. Saturday is always a busy day with two soccer games and all the chores and random bits of things put off for the weekend.

I finally had my studded tires put on. I could speak of much grief I’ve had with the local tire shop… but much to my pleasure a new shop opened and they were able to work out the kinks with my tire issues and my car drives like new! Hurray! If you need a good tire shop in town, let me please recommend the new one on Old Dairy Road… even though I can’t remember the name. But on to more interesting things (even though this was pretty much the best news ever).

Also good, both boys had amazing soccer games this weekend. There was a time in my life where I would have felt like the biggest loser ever dishing on such things… but for real. Being a soccer mom is just about the funnest thing I can possibly imagine and I think that I will probably be more sad when our season is over then they will. Three more weekends of crowd-pleasing fun… too short, if you ask me. We celebrated with a walk downtown to “the hat” which has pretty decent Mexican food (for Alaska), and the toy store. I like to see what they gravitate toward at this time of year.

Can you believe this photo was taken at lunch time? Seems so dark to me.

And in food news, I made gluten-free pancakes on Saturday morning that were just about perfect. Except for the fact that I burn pancakes every.time.I.make.them. It’s just one of those things I make all the time, but have yet to perfect. Drives me batty. I used Bob’s Red Mill GF Pancake Mix, doubled the recipe and swapped out a half cup of the mix for almond meal. Topped with homemade applesauce and homemade smoked salt caramel sauce (more on this later)… to die for. Finding a good GF pancake recipe is pretty much paramount in this family. I’m not usually a “mix” kind of girl, but this worked so well that I think I’ll stick with it.

Sunday was equally as wonderful as Saturday, with a nice long walk exploring the old mining ruins on Douglas Island. I have way too many pictures to include here so I’ll try to post on that soon. Hope your weekend was amazing!

pumpkin lattes & hot chocolates

October 25, 2010 in gluten-free, in the kitchen, recipes | 18 comments

Our house is officially back to the gluten-free life now. We fell off the wagon for a bit but it’s time to get back in shape. Brian has not officially been diagnosed with celiac disease, but we do know he has a major intolerance for gluten and has pretty much been feeling awful since re-introducing the evil stuff. Though the kids and I can eat gluten, my general philosophy is that all meals eaten as a family will be free of wheat, barley and rye. I’m ok with the meals, but the desserts! I will really miss making a good old fashioned cake.

I’m officially on a quest for better gluten-free desserts this holiday season. There might be a few things from my repertoire I will have to make, just because I’m selfish like that and I can’t live without my holiday butter tarts (sorry, Brian)… but my aim is to make most of our goodies digestible for all members of the family. I’m hoping to share as much as I can here.

Luckily, there are so many really good gluten-free pumpkin recipes. This weekend, I made pumpkin bourbon cheesecake with salted caramel sauce to bring to a dinner party. Why didn’t I take a picture? Darn. All you have to do to adapt a cheesecake recipe is change up the crust–I substituted GF ginger snaps for the graham crackers. Easy. Though it seems like everything I make with pumpkin calls for just a cup… which leaves me with a small amount leftover in a 15 oz can. What to do with the leftovers? You can add it to chili, which makes it so creamy and delicious, or you can make yourself a pumpkin latte and pumpkin hot chocolate for the kids. Yes, please.

Pumpkin Latte/Hot Chocolate

2 cups milk
1 teaspoon vanilla (my original recipe calls for 2 T but I think it’s way too much)
2 tablespoons pumpkin
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons sugar (or to taste)

Heat all of the above in a small saucepan (you can also add a touch of cayenne if you like it spicy!). If you have a hand-held frother, froth that baby up. Or you can put it in the blender to make it foamy, if you’re careful not to burn yourself….this is not a good method for accident-prone me. Fill up your mug half full with the pumpkin milk and add a shot of espresso. To the remaining milk, stir in 2 T. cocoa powder and pour into kids’ mugs. Sprinkle them all with nutmeg.

Makes enough for one latte and two big cups of cocoa.

(Edited… when I first posted this, I forgot to add the sugar!)