super simple gluten free cornbread

So, I seriously have a case of a writer's block. Or creativity block. I don't know what to write about. I don't know what to cook or bake. It's terrible.

"Tell me, O Muse, of something to write. Inspire me.

I'm waiting, O Muse.

I think my Muse is attending some other people at the moment."

Name the book that quote is from!

Okay, it's from Absolutely Normal Chaos. That was my favorite book back in elementary school. Okay, it still is one of my favorite books. I just love it. I won it in something. I don't remember what it was. All I remember was that it was like the last day of school or something before summer break when I found out that I won the book, and I was so excited because I never win anything. Then, after reading the book, I wanted to write my own summer journal. I don't think I got too far though; I wasn't very good at writing in it on a daily basis.

Anyway. Cornbread. I love cornbread. It's so easy to make and it's so delicious. The perfect answer for my creativity-block-stricken self! Well, at least the answer to my baking woes. You can eat cornbread with like anything. And, cornbread is so versatile! It can be sweet, it can be savory. You can use it in stuffing. You can eat it as dessert. Or breakfast. And this cornbread is especially easy because you only need six ingredients. Yup, that's right. Six. That's because I used gluten-free Bisquick -- makes things so much easier! I will say that I do prefer cornbread made completely from scratch -- however, this Bisquick cornbread is still pretty darn good. And so easy. Two pluses in my book!

I want some cornbread now.

super simple gluten free cornbread
gluten free, soy free

// ingredients
2 cups gluten free Bisquick*
6 tablespoons cornmeal
1/4 cup Truvia baking blend (you can also use 1/2 cup of regular sugar)
2 eggs
1 cup milk of choice
1/2 soy free Earth Balance spread, melted (or regular butter, if tolerated)

*Note: for those who are extremely allergic to soy, gluten-free Bisquick may contain soy.

// directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk the Bisquick, cornmeal and stevia blend (or sugar) together in a large bowl. Slightly whisk the eggs together in a separate bowl. Add the eggs, milk and melted spread to the dry ingredients and stir. Pour the batter into a prepared 8x8 baking dish (I like to grease my pans with Spectrum Organic All Natural Vegetable Shortening). Bake for about 35 minutes, or until the cornbread is golden and delicious.

// variations

for something sweet

Maple Cornbread: Replace the sugar with 1/2 cup of maple syrup. Melt 1/4 cup of Earth Balance spread (or butter) and mix it with 1/4 cup of maple syrup. Once the cornbread is done, brush with the maple butter mixture.

Fruit and Honey: Serve with strawberry compote and honey. Or blueberry compote. Or any kind of fruit compote! You could even mix in some blueberries or strawberries into the batter -- just make sure if they're frozen that they've been thawed and patted dry. Otherwise you'll end up with a soggy purple or red batter!

for something savory

Cheesy Jalapeno Cornbread: Omit the sugar. Add 1/4 cup of finely diced jalapeno peppers, a dash of cayenne pepper, and a cup of shredded cheddar cheese (Daiya makes an excellent dairy free, gluten free, soy free shredded cheddar cheese).

Olive Oil and Thyme: Sugar is optional (you may want to reduce the amount). Replace the butter with with olive oil. Add two tablespoons of fresh thyme, chopped. You could also use rosemary instead of thyme, or go crazy and use both!

happy mlk jr day! + pecan pie muffins [gluten free, soy free]

I have always held Martin Luther King, Jr. as one of my heroes. One of my earliest memories of learning about Martin Luther King, Jr. was in middle school when we had to memorize his "I Have a Dream" speech. I'm sure that the civil rights movement was covered in elementary school, but by now, elementary school is just a haze of American Girl, Pokemon, Tamagotchi, and Hanson. I specifically recall analyzing King's speeches and watching documentaries on civil activists and heroes, like Rosa Parks and Malcolm X in middle school. Anne Frank and Martin Luther King, Jr. -- those were the two people I would have named as my heroes back then. I still do to this day. Sure, there are many more people who have been added to the list since then, but there's just something about Martin Luther King, Jr. I remember having a tough time watching those documentaries on the civil rights movement -- the hatred and cruelty of people boggled my 12 year old mind, and it still kind of boggles my mind. Anyhow, today is all about celebrating the life of a great man, a hero -- Martin Luther King, Jr. In memory and celebration, here's a link to a video of his "I Have A Dream" speech. Here is a list of 10 things you may not have known about MLK. Also, a list of quotes by MLK here and here. A couple of my favorites are: 

"Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase."

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that."

"Hate is too great a burden to bear." 

And today, I decided to celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. by creating a riff on one of his favorite foods -- pecan pie.

I didn't exactly want to make a pie since we already had a lot of pie over the holidays. I wanted to make something small and snackable. Muffins. Now, I know that these muffins aren't much to look at. I was a bit skeptical at how they were going to turn out. I feared that they might be a bit too dense and chewy. However, they taste exactly like a pecan pie morphed with a muffin. Yum. Delectable for both breakfast and dessert! And snacks in between. Don't you just love it when a food can do double-duty? Or triple-duty? 

pecan pie muffins

gluten free, soy free

makes about 10 standard sized muffins 

adapted from Black Hawk Wife

// ingredients

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup gluten-free all purpose flour (I like Bob's Red Mill)

1/8 teaspoon xanthan gum

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup chopped pecans

2/3 cup softened Earth Balance soy-free spread

2 eggs

// directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a muffin pan with some vegetable shortening or soy-free cooking spray. In a bowl, mix together the brown sugar, flour, xanthan gum, baking powder and pecans until it's all well incorporated. Using a hand-held mixer or stand mixer, beat the soy-free spread until it is creamy. Break the eggs in a separate bowl and beat them with a fork. Add the beaten eggs to the creamy soy-free spread and beat together. Then, stir the dry ingredients into the egg-spread mixture until just combined. Spoon the batter into the muffin pan, filling the cups about 2/3 of the way. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. (The muffins will not rise a ton -- don't worry!) When muffins are done, take them out and let them cool on a wire rack. Then, devour!

eggnog chocolate chip bread [gluten free, soy free]

How is it that we're already like pretty much half way through January? How? I feel like I was just watching the Naked Gun series with friends and family, waiting for midnight to strike so we could watch the ball drop and then promptly go to bed. (Seriously, staying up until midnight is becoming more and more of a challenge. I'm usually in bed by like 10. Or 10:30, if I decide to walk a little on the wild side.) It's like I'm reverting back to childhood. Or becoming an old lady. Either one. Maybe both. Is that possible? Quick story: when I was little, my best friend and I were determined to stay up until midnight on New Year's Eve. Our parents didn't think that we could do it. So, in order to prove that we stayed up until midnight, we recorded what Emily's hamster was doing in half-hour intervals (or fifteen minutes. Or hourly. I can't remember exactly how precise we were.) Anyhow, we logged Hammy's activities -- the majority of them being "sleeping" or "eating food pellets." I'm positive we made it to midnight, but I'm not sure if the log convinced our parents. I don't know why not -- it was very scientific and all. 

Anyway. It's just bizarre that it's like mid-January already. And I suppose it's bizarre that I'm sharing this eggnog bread recipe with you, well after the holidays. I actually bought some rice nog for Christmas. I have to admit, I do like eggnog, but I don't like drinking a lot of it since it's so rich. So, instead of buying real egg nog, I bought some rice nog. For some reason, that sounded rational to me. But, I never opened up the rice nog over the holidays. Nope. It sat in the cabinet. Good think that unopened rice milk is shelf-stable. So, the holidays came and went and there my rice nog sat, languishing in the cabinet. It was finally opened when my brother wanted to make an eggnog milkshake, and all we had in the fridge was an old carton of eggnog that was way past its prime (my mom did buy some real eggnog. We usually have it during the holidays. I don't know why no one really drank it this year -- we all like eggnog perfectly fine. We're not particularly eggnog haters. What was up with this past holiday season?) 

Anyhow. So now I had an opened carton of rice nog that I was pretty sure I wouldn't finish off before it had to be thrown out. Last year I made some eggnog cookies, which turned out pretty well. But I wanted to make something different this year. And I really wanted to make something with chocolate. Chocolate makes the world go 'round. And, voila -- eggnog chocolate chip bread! Well, technically I guess it would be rice nog chocolate chip bread. Details, details. 

Eggnog (Rice Nog) Chocolate Chip Bread

gluten free, soy free 

inspired by and adapted from How Sweet It Is

Ingredients:

2 cups gluten free all purpose flour

1 teaspoon xanthan gum

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

dash of salt

1/2 cup Earth Balance soy free spread, melted

3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
3/4 cup rice nog (or regular eggnog)
2/3 cup of Enjoy Life chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9x5 inch loaf pan with parchment paper. Whisk together flour, xanthan gum, baking soda, powder, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt in a small bowl. In another bowl, whisk together the melted soy free spread and sugar until smooth. Add in the vanilla extract and then add in one egg at a time, whisking until fully combined. Add the rice nog to the mixture, and then slowly incorporate the flour mixture. Stir together until just combined. Toss the chocolate chips in some flour and fold them into the batter. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 50 to 55 minutes, until the bread is golden. Let cool, and then dig in! Eat it for breakfast, eat it for dessert. Heck, eat it for lunch and dinner too! Okay, well maybe not lunch and dinner. But it's totally acceptable for breakfast and dessert.

dutch baby with lemon curd

Well, it's another overcast, dreary day. What is up with the weather here?? Yesterday, it was nearly 60 degrees! Ugh. It's mid December. I want to see my breath. I want snow, gosh darn it! Last year, I was living in Savannah (I was home for Christmas break -- and we didn't get snow!), so needless to say, I did not see snow at all last year. NONE. I am missing out. I want WINTER. Even though I hate being cold. I still want winter. It's just so unnatural for it to be so warm here this time of the year -- didn't I move back from Savannah?? I suppose it isn't so unnatural for it to be so cloudy and overcast. But still. Some sunshine would be nice.

So, in place of sunshine, how about a dutch baby and some cheery lemon curd? So. Good. A dutch baby is sort of a cross between a pancake and a popover. It's also known as a German pancake (there's your fact of the day!) It's light and fluffy and delicious. Good for breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert! (Okay, maybe not dinner, but I've definitely eaten it for breakfast and lunch, and it would make a tasty dessert as well, especially with some chocolate hazelnut cream. Ooh, and maybe topped with some whipped cream! Okay, I'll stop now.)

So, without any further ado, here's the recipe! Enjoy!

dutch baby with lemon curd
gluten free, soy free
dutch baby adapted from Gourmet 
lemon curd from Bon Appetit

// ingredients

for the dutch baby 
3 large eggs, room temperature
2/3 cup milk, room temperature
2/3 cup rice flour
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup of soy free Earth Balance spread 

for the lemon curd
1 1/3 cups sugar
3/4 cup of soy free Earth Balance spread
2/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1/8 teaspoon salt
5 large eggs, beaten

// directions  
for the dutch baby: Place a 10-inch cast iron skillet on middle rack of oven and preheat oven to 450°F. Beat eggs with an electric mixer at high speed until nice and pale and frothy, then beat in milk, flour, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt and continue to beat until the batter is smooth, about a minute. The batter will be pretty thin. Take the skillet out of the oven and add the butter, swirling to coat the skillet. Pour the batter into the skillet and return to the oven. Bake until puffed, golden-brown, and delicious looking -- about 18 to 25 minutes. Serve straight from the oven -- sprinkle some powdered sugar on top and serve with lemon curd!

Note: If you make the batter ahead of time and leave it in the refrigerator overnight, it is extra delicious.

for the lemon curd: Combine first five ingredients in heavy medium saucepan. Stir over medium heat until butter melts and sugar dissolves. Remove from heat. Gradually whisk in eggs. Whisk constantly over medium-low heat until curd thickens, about two minutes. Strain curd through sieve into bowl. Press plastic wrap directly onto surface of curd; chill overnight.

Note: You can also totally buy store-bought lemon curd. Just make sure to read the ingredients to make sure that it is gluten free! Some lemon curds contain flour.

Hope this brightens up your day!