Granola Girl

There are exactly 19 days until my husband walks across that stage, diploma in hand, and our future is yet undetermined. Will we return to our beloved Southern California, will we stay in St. Louis, or will we end up somewhere entirely different? These questions are plaguing our minds while my husband, Dan, is saturating his brain with information to write papers and take finals. My gut tells me we belong in our native land where the avocado trees grow and the waves crash on the sand. I miss visiting the Redwood forests in Santa Cruz, sitting on the beach feeling the off shore breeze, gazing at the ever present mountain ranges. But St. Louis has been our home for the last 3 years and we have made deep friendships that will be difficult to leave. We are all homesick, and sick to leave home.

I mentioned in my last post that when I am stressed I bake. Well, it is a stressful time and my body keeps telling me, "I think you should treat yourself to some granola". I think my body is right! Being a California girl granola is part of my being. I recently posted on my facebook page that stress eating on a gluten-free/sugar-free diet is not very satisfying, but I think this granola recipe begs to differ.

Why sugar free? Well, it has come to my attention over the past year and a half of being "sugar"-free that my body reacts to cane sugar as if I have an allergy. After all, it is technically a grass, and I have terrible hay fever. My eyes immediately get itchy, my nose gets runny, I get sleepy. In a day or two it developes into a cold. In my opinion it is not worth having a cookie that will do that much damage. I also have an aversion to eating anything synthetic or chemically altered, so that disqualifies most of the sugar subtitues that are in products labelled "sugar-free". Stevia in limited doses is fine, but long term it starts to alter my hormone levels and do crazy things! Add on top of that a corn allergy, and even though I would not be eager to ingest corn syrup in any form, my body clearly rejects that possibility as well. But through all these challenges I actually feel like one of the lucky ones...forced into healthy, or slightly more healthy eating.

All I can say is AMEN for Agave and Coconut Palm Sugar. I still have to keep my intake of sweets (even fruits) at bay, but it means that I don't have to give up culinary goodness altogether. I just have to keep my special products on hand, put in a little elbow grease and my cravings are satisfied. Almost everything must be made from scratch in my kitchen, but that does not mean it has to be difficult or time consuming. In fact, I just started munching on my treat that was placed in the oven only 30 minutes ago. It's warm, crispy and slightly sweet. I hope you will enjoy it as much as my family and me!

This recipe was adapted from one of my favorite chefs...Alton Brown...Goog Eats!

Ingredients

3 cups gluten-free rolled oats (I use Trader Joe's, but Bob's Red Mill works also)

1 cup chopped almonds

1 cup gluten free Brown Rice Crisp cereal (I use Erewhon)

3/4 cup shredded sweet coconut, optional (this has cane sugar in it)

1/4 cup coconut palm sugar (Sweet Tree brand)...or you could use brown sugar if you don't need to be sugar free

1/4 cup Agave syrup...or you could use real maple syrup...not the fake stuff!

1/4 cup coconut oil...you could use Canola if you choose

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup raisins or other dried fruit, optional...they are very high in fruit sugar

Directions
Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.

In a large bowl, combine the oats, nuts, cereal, coconut and palm sugar.

In a separate bowl, combine agave syrup, oil, and salt. Combine both mixtures and pour onto a sheet pan covered with parchment paper. Cook for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes to achieve an even color.

Remove from oven and transfer into a large bowl. Add raisins or dried fruit if desired and mix until evenly distributed.

And Now the End is Near

Well, it has been a busy final year of seminary with only a few weeks remaining. Life is currently full of chaos as all graduates and their families are finalizing papers, studying for finals, looking for jobs, packing, looking for new places to live, planning graduation parties and adjusting to the fact that some of the deepest friendships will soon be scattered across the globe. It is a bittersweet time, and not exactly the time in which I would have anticipated posting a new blog. But, it is my outlet, an emotional release to transform all these thoughts and feelings into words. What else do I do when I am stressed? I bake! Not exactly agreeable to the waistline, but definately satisfying to the belly and to the suppressed creative wayfarer living inside my head.

Us Gluten-free'ers don't normally get an opportunity to really "enjoy" a warm, tender, tantillizing piece of bread. It is almost an oxymoron to describe gluten-free bread as either soft or delicious, but my friends, we have hit the jackpot...the Motherload of all bread recipes! It is simple, quick and versatile. You can use it as a side dish for dipping in olive oil, making savory sandwiches, or turn it into a delicious Italian style dinner roll. Welcome to the world of Gluten-free Rosemary Focaccia!

A few tips before you start...

Always be sure to use super-fine grind brown rice flour, like Bob's Red Mill Brown Rice Flour. It doesn't say super-fine on the label, but you will know it on your tastebuds if you use something else. Can you say "sandpaper"?

Always have your eggs at room temperature.

Always measure the temperature of your liquid with a thermometer.

Tightly wrap leftovers in plastic wrap, then seal in a ziplock bag. You can store them for up to 2 weeks in the freezer, but it will dry out and get crumbly very quickly. It is best just to eat it all right away, and trust me, that should not be a problem!

Let the magic happen!


Rosemary Foccacia

1 TBs cornmeal (optional)

1 cup super-fine brown rice flour
1/4 cup potato starch
1/4 cup tapioca flour
2 tablespoon sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons xanthan gum
1 1/2 teaspoons gluten-free instant dry yeast
1/2 teaspoon gluten-free onion powder (McCormick)
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 sprigs fresh rosemary, chopped

3 large eggs, room temperature
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1 large clove garlic, minced
3/4 cup warm water (110 degrees)

Topping (optional, but DELICIOUS!)
1/4 tsp salt
1 sprig fresh Rosemary, chopped
Red onion, thinly sliced
Cooked, crumbled bacon (extra delicious)

1. Grease a 9 inch square cake pan. Sprinkle with cornmeal if desired.


2. Combine flours, sugar, xanthan gum, yeast, onion powder, salt, and rosemary in a small mixer bowl.


3. In a seperate bowl whisk eggs, olive oil, vinegar and garlic together.


4. Add to warmed water, and with mixer in medium immediatly add to dry ingredients.


5. Once combined, scape down bowl and beaters.


6. Beat dough with mixer for 2 minutes, using a spatula to keep stirring down the dough on the mixer beaters. The dough will be soft and sticky.


7. Transfer dough to baking pan. It is helpful to smooth it down with slightly wet hands.


8. Add toppings if desired.


9. Cover with aluminum foil and let rise in warm place for 30 minutes.


10. Preheat oven to 400 degrees while dough is rising.


11. Bake for 15 - 17 minutes. Top will be golden brown.


12. Allow to cool for 20 minutes before gobbling it up!

*If making dinner rolls, use a muffin pan, and adjust baking time.

Never Say Never Chocolate Chip Cookies

Well, it has been a long summer consisting of a cross-country road trip with 3 small children, 2 months living somewhat uprooted, a promising internship, another cross-country road trip back home, only to be welcomed by a severely moldy and inhabitable house. My first 4 days home were slated for baking and decorating a gluten-free wedding cake for 300, complicated by the fact I now had no kitchen to work in. Graciously we were invited to our pastor's house for over a week and I was given free reign of the entire kitchen and double oven.

Meanwhile my husband and a friend removed all the carpet from our basement, threw away our couch, ottoman and 3 bags of clothes in addition to bleaching the floors, wiring up a replacement dryer (ours broke the night before our road trip out west), completing all the work for his summer term classes and preparing for his final Fall semester. Oh, but I am not finished, friends. We both had back to back wedding receptions to play at (we are musicians) the Saturday after we returned, which was 5 days after we landed back home, and I had to prepare homeschool curriculum for my three daughters, which we were trying to start in conjunction with the local school in one week! I don't know about you but all this chaos makes me think of making a cocktail, or baking up a fresh, hot, gooey batch of old-fashioned comforting chocolate chip cookies. But, alas! How is it even possible to make something so delicious, the flavor and texture that sticks in our minds from childhood, and do it gluten-free?

I have to say, the first time I made this recipe it literally brought tears to my eyes. Since my diagnosis of Celiac Disease I was certain that things like chocolate chip cookies, cake, bread, and so on, were just a fond memory I would file away in my mind and only be able to revisit in my fondest dreams. I tried store bought gluten-free cookies that tasted more like an imitation of Chips Ahoy made with sawdust. I had given up all hope of any normalcy in my life. Then I came across Glutenfree Goddess's recipe for Buckwheat Chocolate Chip Cookies. It didn't sound like the recipe I was hoping for at first, but that very first taste of cookie dough erased all my previous notions of living an altered existence of tasteless food. Not only did it turn out to be a remarkable substitute, but it is quite frankly the best chocolate chip cookie recipe I have ever tasted. It is so good, in fact, that my gluten-eating counterparts ask for the recipe. I love glutenfreegoddess.com and I know you will, too. She has inspired me to NEVER GIVE UP that hope of loving the food you eat, especially when it has to be gluten-free.

I have altered her recipe slightly to accomodate the things I normally keep in my kitchen. If you are vegan or have milk/dairy allergies please use her recipe on her website just as it appears (http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com/2008/03/buckwheat-chocolate-chip-cookies.html) But, if you don't have to substitute eggs, milk or butter, this altered recipe will be more accessable.

Dry ingredients:
1 cup buckwheat flour
1 cup sorghum flour
1/2 cup tapioca starch
1 1/2 teaspoons xanthan gum
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon sea salt

Wet ingredients
1 cup butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups organic light brown sugar, packed
1 tablespoon bourbon vanilla
2 eggs, room temperature
4 tablespoons milk

1 12-oz semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate chips

In a large mixing bowl whisk together the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, beat the butter, brown sugar and vanilla until they are smooth. Add in the eggs, one at a time. Add the dry ingredients a little at a time alternating with the milk, until a dough forms. Add the chocolate chips and mix together by hand. Cover and chill for at least an hour. (I like to transfer my dough into a tupperware and store in the freezer, and make a few at a time.)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Use either an aluminum cookie sheet or parchment paper for best results. Scoop tablespoons of dough and form them into balls about 2 inches apart. Press them down just a little. Bake in the center of a pre-heated oven for 12 to 17 minutes, or until the cookies are firm. let the cookies cool for 2 minutes on the cookie sheet before moving them to a cooling rack. They will get crispier as they cool. This recipe makes 20 large cookies.

Source: glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com

A Pancake For All Seasons

Since I started this blog roughly 2 weeks ago a lot of things have happened, most notably, an EF4 tornado that came within a mile and a half of our house. Luckily it "hopped" over us after destroying a few adjacent neighborhoods and the airport. So, now that the winds have settled, at least for the moment, I have been inspired to post my first "Must Have" gluten-free/sugar-free/milk-free recipe. If you are someone who is bound to a gluten-free existence, I hope this recipe makes you feel like one of the gang again.

I got this recipe from Living Without's Holiday Guide 2010. Of course I messed around with it to "kick it up a notch" (Emeril would be so proud) but even the original recipe tastes just like those fluffy, warm, white flour pancakes slathered with creamy butter and hot maple syrup from your childhood. Please remember to make sure your baking powder and vanilla extract are labelled gluten-free.

2 cups Gluten-Free Flour Blend
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 tablespoons ground flax seeds
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (because I have a love affair with cinnamon)
2 small scoops Pure Stevia Extract (use the tiny scoop that comes with the bottle)
1 1/2 to 1 3/4 cups milk of choice (I use plain rice milk)
3 large eggs
4 tablespoons canola oil (or coconut oil if your pocketbook can handle it)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Gluten-Free Flour Blend, makes 4 cups
2 cups white or brown rice flour
(If you like a healthier pancake try 1 1/2 cups brown rice flour and 1/2 cup buckwheat flour - yes it is GF)
3/4 cup tapioca starch
3/4 cup sweet rice flour
1/2 cup arrowroot starch
2 teaspoons xanthan gum


1. In a large bowl whisk together the dry ingredients.
2. in a separate bowl, whisk milk, eggs, and oil until blended. Add wet mixture to dry mixture and stir until just combined. Add additional milk if you choose to have a thinner batter.
3. Heat a cooking vessel over medium-high heat and lightly coat with oil. I cheat and use cooking spray. Pour 1/4 cup of batter into the pan or griddle and smooth out to desired thickness. Cook for 3-4 minutes or until you see little bubbles popping open on the surface, then flip.
4. Savor the deliciousness.

Starting Up

So I decided to start a blog. I don't know if anyone will read it, but I have a lot of things on my mind (namely recipes) that I just have to get out. I hope cyberspace will enjoy what I have to say. And if not, I hope it is a gracious audience, allowing me to wax poetically on all subjects gluten-free.

I've been steeping this idea of sharing my successes (and failures) in cooking and baking with my Gluten-challenged friends in order to help ease the stress and confusion of the radical alteration in lifestyle and diet brought about by Celiac Disease and various other offenders. It was a difficult road when I first needed to eat gluten-free, full of botched biscuit attempts and unpalatable pizza mixes. I was determined to enjoy the fullness of life and food again, and I set out on an expedition to seek out new and better recipes and resources. I eventually found myself helping a local gluten-free bakery research and develop new recipes. A passion began to grow in me, always thinking of how this recipe could taste better, or how that recipe could be altered into a new, exciting creation. People began asking me for recipes. ME, a girl who couldn't scramble an egg growing up. I am now determined to save others the trouble, time and money of frustrating experimentations that lead to a flavorless existence.

I hope to point you all in the direction of the "wicket gate" of the gluten-free life. Stay tuned.

Eat well and prosper!