thai chicken quinoa bowl

So, March is absolutely flying by. Like a peregrine falcon. Exactly like that. Spring starts this week! Like, this Wednesday! Holy macaroni. And we're supposed to get snow tomorrow. Of course. You know you live in New England when spring arrives and it snows. Real spring here probably won't start until, like, May. Sigh. I'm so ready for some nice spring-like weather! The cold and gray skies are driving me crrrazzyyy. I'm actually missing living in Savannah right now. I never thought I would miss Georgia -- I was constantly complaining about the heat. But now that I've had to deal with a New England winter after a year of not having to deal with a New England winter, I'm kind of preferring a Savannah winter right now. And a Savannah spring would be nice. But I like New England autumns. And it would be nice to have snow in December and January. But then the snow can stop and it can get warmer. Do we have a deal, Mother Nature? Because that would be awesome.

Until the weather actually turns springlike, I can pretend it's spring and eat springlike things. Like this thai chicken quinoa bowl. Oh my goodness, I could eat this everyday. With fresh taste of sugar snap peas and cilantro and the utterly delicious sweet chili thai sauce, it feels like it's practically spring. I am addicted to the thai sauce that goes into this. It's also perfect for sauteing and stir-frying. I sauteed brussels sprouts in this sauce and it was deeeeelicious. Multi purpose! This dish is so easy to throw together and it's super healthy too! Win-win! Don't eat meat? You could definitely swap the chicken for tofu or chickpeas, or even forgo the chicken completely. Oooh, some sprouts or shoots would also be really good in this! Or even some red pepper. The possibilities are endless!

thai chicken quinoa bowl 
gluten free, soy free, peanut free
adapted from How Sweet It Is
yields about 2-3 large servings, or 4 small servings

// ingredients
1 cup quinoa, rinsed
2 chicken breasts, cooked and cut into strips (or shredded)
2/3 cup chopped carrots
2/3 cup sweet snap peas
3/4 cup freshly chopped cilantro

for the sauce
4 tablespoons sweet chili sauce
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons coconut milk
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 teaspoons sunflower seed butter
2 garlic cloves, minced
juice of 1 lime
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

// directions
 Prepare quinoa according to directions. Use 2 cups of liquid for every cup of quinoa. I actually like to use water over vegetable or chicken stock so the other flavors can really shine through, but if you like your quinoa cooked with vegetable stock, go for it!

While the quinoa is cooking, whisk all the ingredients for the sauce together in a bowl. I like to use a micro planer to mince the garlic -- so much easier! You can just grate the garlic straight into the bowl; no knife skills required! Also, heating up the sunflower seed butter in the microwave for a little bit also makes it a little easier to whisk into the sauce.

Once the quinoa is done cooking, stir in sauce, chicken, snap peas and carrots (I had cooked the chicken in a large saute pan, so I just transferred the quinoa to the saute pan to stir everything together. You'll just need a bowl/pan that's large enough to mix everything together in). Taste to see if any additional seasoning is needed. If so, just add some salt and pepper. Toss in half of the cilantro, stir, then serve in a large bowl. Add some more cilantro on top and enjoy!

>> print recipe

gluten free vegan raspberry coconut oat macaroons

I started watching a few episodes of the new show Something Borrowed, Something New on TLC, and I have to say, I'm a little disappointed with the re-worked wedding dresses. I really like the idea behind the show and was super excited to see the old wedding dresses updated and revamped. Ever since reading Meg Cabot's Queen of Babble series a couple of years ago, I've been obsessed with the idea of reworking old wedding dresses. I think it would be so much fun and so cool to do! I just wish I knew how to sew. That would help.

Anyhow. I don't know if my expectations are just way too super high -- I mean, I really know nothing about restoring and working on wedding dresses -- but I haven't been all that taken with Kelly's re-worked and re-imagined wedding dresses. They're pretty, but they just sort fall a little short for me. I think one of the problems is that some of the dresses just don't have enough structure, and they end up looking a little nightgown-ish. I'll still watch it though -- I'm holding out hope that one of these reworked wedding dresses will be ah-mazing and blow the new one out of the water!

Okay. These macaroons. Well, I guess they're not really macaroons, technically, since there are no eggs in them. But they kind of are. They're sort of like oatmeal cookies, but soft. And spherical. With coconut and raspberries. And they're super delicious. I just love the combination of coconut and raspberry -- it's so tropical and spring-y, which is just what we need right now. Sigh.

Let me tell you, I went through a lot of trial and error and recipes before I got to these macaroons. After making these, I swore I would never make macaroons again. But, now I kind of want to make them again.

And I really kind of want to attempt traditional macaroons again. With Easter coming up, I'm feeling all macaroon-y.

Initially, I used frozen raspberries with making these macaroons. Did. Not. Work. I highly recommend using fresh raspberries if you can. The results are oh so much better. No matter how much I rinsed and dried off the thawed raspberries, they continually just turned to mush in the dough, creating a weird purple-y macaroon that didn't look at all appetizing. And that spread out all over the baking sheet. No good.

Use fresh raspberries.

I know they're expensive, but they'll make an amazing macaroon. Trust me.


raspberry coconut oat macaroons
gluten free, vegan
adapted from Healthy Food for Living

// ingredients
1 cup of coconut butter
1 cup of shredded unsweetened coconut
1 cup of gluten free old-fashioned rolled oats
3/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
6 ounces fresh raspberries

//directions
Preheat oven to 300 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Combine the coconut butter and all of the ingredients, minus the raspberries, in a bowl. Once the ingredients are well combined, gently fold in the raspberries. Mash the raspberries slightly while folding them into the "dough," but don't fully mush them in. Using a small spoon (I used a melon baller, which worked great!, scoop out the dough onto the parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for about 20 to 25 minutes or until the bottoms of the macaroons are slightly browned and toasted looking. The macaroons will be really soft, but don't worry! Take them out of the oven and let them sit for about 30 minutes -- they'll firm up. Placing the macaroons in the refrigerator will also help firm them up.

While you're enjoying your macaroons, close your eyes pretend that you're sitting in a lovely park and that it's sunny and 70 degrees. Ah, perfection.

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!

butternut squash + chickpea pasta [gluten free]

So, who watched the Super Bowl last night? I'm sure all we'll be hearing about is the power outage. The Outage. The Power Outage Super Bowl. And what about the commercials? I'm telling you, I feel like the commercials are becoming increasingly lamer every year. I remember when the Super Bowl commercials were funny. Like, the majority of them were funny. Not just a few. There were some good ones last night, and some really terrible ones. Before we get to today's dish, we've got to discuss some commercials. Here are my top three picks for the best and and the worst:

Best Commercials
1. The Oreo library commercial. Definitely the funniest commercial of the night, hands down. Fiiiirre!!!
2. The Tide commercial. I love it when things are taken to ridiculous extremes. And I loved the ending. Even though I was sort of rooting for the 49er's.
3. The Space Babies commercial. Very cute. Uvoplaywheelsonthebus!!!

Honorable mentions:
The Doritos goat commercial. It's a goat. Eating Doritos. Done.
Taco Bell's Viva Young commercial. That's what I'm going to be like when I'm old.

Worst Commercials
1. GoDaddy, the one with Bar Reafeli. This commercial made me want to empty the entire contents of my stomach. I'm not even including a link to this commercial. It was just gross. Disgusting.
2. The Bud Light superstition commercials. They were just weird.
3. Beck's Sapphire commercial. Again, just weird. Why is there a singing black fish? And why is it trying to be all suave and smooth? I just don't understand. The only acceptable place for singing fish is The Little Mermaid.

Mixed Bag
Budweiser's "Brotherhood" commercial. It was sweet, but it made it want to cry! I don't want to cry when I'm watching the Super Bowl. That's just not okay.

So that's my little wrap up of the Super Bowl commercials. Now, let's get onto the pasta! I was inspired to make this dish while flipping through this month's issue of Bon Appetit. The magazine included a recipe for fiorentini with butternut squash in their Seven Perfect Pastas article. The squash is shredded, so it almost acts like a cheese. Sort of. In my mind, anyway. So, I decided to use gluten-free corn macaroni for the pasta and to throw in some chickpeas for some added protein. Oh my goodness. Deliciousness. The shredded butternut squash really does mimic cheese, so it was sort of like a mac and cheese dish. Only with squash. And chickpeas. And I also threw in some greens at the end for some color.

butternut squash + chickpea pasta
gluten free, dairy free
recipe inspired by Bon Appetit

// ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
5 cups shredded butternut squash (about half of a medium squash, peeled)
1 can of chickpeas, rinsed and drained
about 2 tablespoons of dried sage (if you can, use fresh sage! I did not have any, so dried sage it was. If you can, use about 1/4 cup of fresh sage)
Kosher salt
Fresh ground pepper
about 12 oz of corn elbows (I used Mrs. Leeper's)
some greens (baby spinach, baby arugula, mixed greens -- whatever floats your boat!)

// directions
Cook the pasta to al dente. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large saute or sauce pan. I ended up using two pans since there was so much butternut squash! Add squash, chickpeas and sage and cook while stirring until the squash and chickpeas start to brown. Add a little salt and pepper.

Once the pasta is done cooking, add it to the butternut squash and chickpeas and mix it all around. Serve it with some greens on top. Enjoy!

happy australia day! part one

Note: Australia Day is really January 26th. Today is the observed Australia Day. So this is a few days late! 

Happy Australia Day, everyone! I really love Australia. It was the first country I ever traveled to. In fact, my trip to Australia was the first time I had ever been on a plane (well, not counting when I was like three months old or something, but I don't remember that) and it was the first time I had ever traveled anywhere without my family. It was the summer after fifth grade that I went on a People to People Student Ambassador trip to Australia. And it was one of the most amazing two weeks of my life. Australia has a very special place in my heart, and I'd love to go back. I just wish I could skip the 24 hour flight. That would be great.

In celebration of Australia Day, I've rounded up some Australian recipes. I wanted to try out making some of these over the weekend, but alas, did not have the time. They're all gluten-free, and there are no kangaroo or emu recipes. One thing I learned on my trip: emus are evil.

Pure evil.

One of the stops on our trip was at this emu/alligator farm. (I think this farm had emus and alligators. It's been a while, so the details are a little hazy!) Anyhow. This emu that you see right here tried pecking my face. I'm serious. Granted, I suppose I would be pretty cranky too if I were in a pen and people were taking pictures of me through the wire fence. So the emu and I didn't really get off to a good start.

That night for dinner, the options were either alligator chowder or emu sausage. Well, neither option sounded all that appealing to me. But, I decided to go with the emu sausage since the only experience I ever had with chowder was clam chowder, and as a 10-year-old, I hated clam chowder. I still dislike clam chowder. It's mainly the clams, I think. They're so chewy and gross. Anyway, the emu sausage seemed like the lesser of the two evils. Oh, how wrong I was. The emu exacted its revenge on me later that night.

Never eat emu.

Or kangaroo.

Or alligator.

Please.

At least I'll never eat emu again. I'm sorry, Mr. Emu.

So, you will not see any emu, alligator or kangaroo on my round-up. Or Vegemite. But, you will find other delicious Australian goodies! [gluten-free, of course!] So let's get to it!

1. Strawberry Kiwi Pavlovas. Okay, so kiwifruit is technically from New Zealand, but the pavlova is from Australia! It's said that the dish was created in 1935 at the Esplanade Hotel in Perth, Australia. Though, the roots of the pavlova do go back a bit further -- and potentially back to New Zealand. Home Cookery for New Zealand published in 1929 by an Australian author, Emily Futter, did have a recipe for Meringue with Fruit Filling -- similar to pavlova. Regardless, Australia has something to do with a pavlova. And this strawberry kiwi pavlova looks delicious! And how many times can I type pavlova?!

2. Fresh Kiwi Grape Juice. Get your vitamin C with this yummy drink! And, yes, I know its kiwifruit again. But New Zealand is so close. It's like right there. Australia by association, right? And kiwis are delicious. And nutritious.

3. Gluten Free Beer Damper. Those Australians. They love their beer. Damper is a traditional Australian soda bread, of sorts. Farmers, swagmen, and stockmen often baked their damper over a campfire. Stockmen, who traveled far and wide for months and months, created the bread since it only required the most basic ingredients. This particular recipe adds beer into bread. It isn't noted in the recipe, but be sure to use a gluten free beer, like Dogfish Head Tweason’Ale or Epic Glutenator.

4. Gluten Free, Paleo Lamingtons. Lamingtons are a traditional Australian dessert, dating back to 1902. Usually, a lamington cake is a sponge cake that is coated in chocolate icing and coconut. They can also have layers of cream or jam. This particular lamington is a vanilla sponge cake layered with chocolate icing and coconut. If you're not into the paleo thing, here's a regular ole gluten-free recipe for lamingtons with a chocolate ganache glaze. Yum, yum! Is there anything better than the combination of coconut and chocolate? Okay, well, a lot of things go with chocolate. But chocolate and coconut is pretty darn good!

5. Gluten Free Anzac Biscuits. Anzac biscuits are basically an oatmeal cookie. Wives would send anzac biscuits to their solider husbands since these biscuits kept for long periods of time. Original anzacs were a hard tack bread, a bit different from the anzac biscuits of today! These biscuits have been long associated with the Australia and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) -- hence, anzac biscuits! I'm pretty sure I wrote a paper on anzac biscuits in sixth grade. These would be delicious with some tea! I could go for that right now.

Hope you have a fantastic Monday, and a fabulous Australia Day!

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.

best gingerbread ever [vegan, gluten free]

I was surprised at how shockingly well this gingerbread came out. It is the best gingerbread cake I have ever eaten. Seriously. I think I'm going to have to make this every year for Christmas. I was a bit skeptical about making a gluten-free-vegan cake. But I didn't want to leave out my vegan-dieted cousin (vegan-dieted? Is that even a term?) And I really wanted to be able to eat it too. Thus, a gluten-free-vegan gingerbread cake was born. And, omigosh. It. Was. Good. It came out nothing like I was expecting. I was fully prepared for this experiment to go awry and end up with a dry, dense, crumbly, tasteless gingerbread. But, no. Oh no. This was the exact opposite. Instead, I ended up with a gloriously moist cake with a perfect texture and consistency. Not too light, not too dense. Perfectly in the middle. It smelled absolutely delicious baking in the oven -- the house smelled exactly like Christmas should with warm cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. I think one of the key elements to this gingerbread cake is the lemon zest -- when you dig into the deliciousness, there's just this hint of lemon that goes so perfectly with the ginger. Oh so good. Just writing about it is making me crave a piece. I think that I'm not going to be able to wait until next Christmas to make some more; I might just have to make another cake like right now.

By the way, did you know that it is thought that gingerbread was invented by the Greeks in 2800 BC? Those Greeks. They were so inventive. However, the original meaning of the word gingerbread was quite different than what we think of today. Okay, etymology lesson of the day: gingerbread comes from the Latin word zingiber (meaning ginger) and the Old French word gingebras. Both of these simply referred to preserved ginger. But you can see how it evolved into gingerbread and the delicious cake we all know and love! All right, lesson over. Onto the recipe!

Best Gingerbread Ever
vegan, gluten free, soy free
recipe from Vegetarian Times, adapted to make gluten free

Ingredients:
2½ cups all purpose gluten free flour (I like to use Bob's Red Mill)
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
1½ teaspoon baking soda
1¼ teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground allspice
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
½ cup nonhydrogenized vegetable shortening (Spectrum's Organic All Vegetable Shortening is fantastic -- and soy free!)
½ cup light or dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons grated lemon zest
1 cup molasses
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
1 cup of boiling water

First, preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 9-inch square baking pan with parchment paper. Sift the gluten-free  flour, xanthan gum, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, salt, and cloves in a large bowl. Then, beat the shortening with either a stand mixer or hand-held electric mixer until it's all nice and smooth. Slowly add in the brown sugar and lemon zest to the shortening and beat until the mixture is light and fluffy. Then, slowly add the mixture of dry ingredients and beat until smooth. In a glass bowl, mix the molasses and vinegar together. Then, stir in 1 cup of boiling water. Slowly add the molasses mixture into the batter. Once that's all set, pour the batter in the parchment-paper lined pan. Bake for about 30 to 35 minutes, or until it passes the toothpick test (toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean). Let the cake cool a bit, then dig in! This cake is even more delicious with some whipped topping. If you're vegan and not concerned about soy, use some soy whip! Or you're vegan and you are concerned about soy/can't have dairy products or soy, then try some rice whip. Or, if you're not concerned at all with what type of topping you put on this delicious gingerbread cake, go for the Cool Whip. Or Reddi Whip. Whatever floats your boat. A lemon sauce would also be delicious! Dig in and enjoy!

Yummy!

flourless chocolate cake with raspberry sauce

First post of the year! Woo! 2013 -- here we are! Has anyone made any good new year's resolutions? I can't even remember the last time I did. I do remember back in elementary school, we had to write down a list of resolutions. I can't remember any of them. And I probably never actually did any of them either. I'm just so not good at making and keeping resolutions. Maybe one year I resolved to floss my teeth on a regular basis. I still don't floss my teeth on a regular basis. I'll floss my teeth for like a week, and then I'll decide to skip a day, and then it's all downhill from there. Maybe that should be my new year's resolution. I know a couple of years I've also resolved to exercise more. Pffftt. Exercise. And now here I am, posting a decadent dessert after all sorts of holiday feasting. Yup. Exercise? What. Naahhh. What you need is chocolate. You just can't go without chocolate. Plus, cocoa powder is good for you! Really. Promise. PLUS the raspberry also adds an extra boost of nutrition -- right? Raspberries are full of vitamin C and high in polyphenol antioxidants. See? Healthy. We'll just ignore all the sugar that goes into it.

Actually, I did make this flourless chocolate cake and raspberry sauce for our Christmas dinner dessert (along with a gluten-free vegan gingerbread cake -- you'll be seeing that soon!) And since my uncle is diabetic, this dessert is sugar free! (Well, sort of.) I used a mixture of stevia and agave nectar in the raspberry sauce, and stevia replaced the granulated sugar in the cake. This is just getting healthier by the second!

Flourless Chocolate Cake with Raspberry Sauce
gluten free, soy free, sugar free

Ingredients
Cake:
4 oz of Enjoy Life semi sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup of Earth Balance Soy Free spread
3/4 cup stevia (you might want to use less, perhaps 1/2 cup)
3 eggs
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

Raspberry sauce:
16 oz raspberries, fresh or frozen
1/4 cup stevia
1/4 agave nectar (any kind)
1/4 cup water

For the cake: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Butter an 8 inch cake pan (I used a spring form pan, which I think may have been a 9 inch. This resulted in a very thin, almost torte-like cake. You can certainly do this, just take the cake out of the oven sooner. You can also certainly use a regular cake pan as well. That is all. Now back to the recipe.) In a double boiler, or, like I did, a glass bowl set on a saucepan with simmering water, melt the chocolate and the Earth Spread, stirring together. Once it's all melted and and smooth, remove from the stovetop and whisk in the stevia. (You can definitely use regular sugar if you want. I would actually use less stevia next time. I simply subbed in the stevia for the sugar 1:1. However, I felt that the taste of the stevia was a little overpowering, and I think I would probably use 1/2 cup or even 1/3 cup next time. Okay, back to the recipe again!) Whisk in the eggs. Sift the cocoa powder over the mixture and whisk that in as well. Pour the batter into the pan and place it in the middle of the oven for about 25 minutes, or until there is a thin crust on top of the cake. (If you're using a 9 inch pan or spring form pan, you may want to check the cake around 15 - 20 minutes into baking.)

For the raspberry sauce: Combine the raspberries, stevia, agave nectar, and water in a saucepan. Mix it all around and bring the saucepan to a simmer, continuing to stir. Simmer for about 15 minutes, until the sauce has reduced down a bit. Let cool, and then drizzle over flourless chocolate cake and dig in! This sauce would also be awesome on ice cream or lemon cake. Or pancakes! Or waffles! Mmmm!

chamomile apple tea

Can you believe Christmas is over? I can't. It's so bizarre -- for whatever reason, it really didn't feel like Christmas. I don't know if it was because the lack of snow (we got rain...fabulous), or the fact that I've been living at home for the past six months. Ever since going off to school, there was all this anticipation and build up towards going home for the holidays. Going home was the reward for all that hard work over the semester and surviving those few atrocious weeks in between Thanksgiving and winter break which were inevitably full of stress, final projects, exams, and surprise assignments (professors always seemed to love piling on even more work at the end of the semester -- why??) But then, when you made it through all of that, you got to go home and relax. Eat cookies. Drink hot chocolate.

So, perhaps that's why this year didn't really feel all that Christmas-y. I was already home. There was no anticipation or build up towards the holidays. I've been done with school since before Thanksgiving. Plus, I've been so preoccupied about finding a job that I don't think I really thought all that much about the holidays. Ugh, finding a job these days is impossible! Seriously. How do people do it? Anyway, that brings us to today's chamomile apple tea -- the perfect antidote to feeling stressed. It's nice and warm and cozy and soothing -- the perfect drink to curl up with a good book or by the fireplace. It would be absolute perfection if there were snowflakes lazily drifting down from the sky -- but, alas -- it is still raining here. Oh well -- I can always pretend!

Chamomile Apple Tea
makes about two cups

Ingredients
2 cups apple juice
2 tablespoons of chamomile flowers
A dash of cinnamon
Honey

In a small saucepan, bring the apple juice to a boil. Remove from heat and add the chamomile flowers, letting them steep for a few minutes. If you can't find chamomile flowers, chamomile tea bags will do just fine. Use one or two, depending on how strong you want your chamomile. Strain the mixture into a bowl then pour into cups. Add some honey and a dash of cinnamon for some pizzazz! Enjoy!

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!

hello world! + dark chocolate coconut fudge

Hello there world! Welcome to my little corner of the interwebs. It seems like I've been thinking about starting a gluten free blog to share my recipes and photography for FOREVER. And, ta-da, I'm finally doing it! I love cooking and baking and thought that it would be fun to share these recipes and photos, and also to show people that allergy-conscious food can still look and taste delicious! So, here goes!

Since we are full swing into the holiday season, why not start with fudge? Whenever I think of fudge, I instantly think about Christmas. Our family would always receive fudge from friends for the holidays; it's the perfect gift to give and receive! Fudge is so versatile -- you can really go crazy with different flavors and customize the fudge for friends and family. AND you can wrap it up in really cute little boxes with ribbon. Score.

For this recipe, I took a really basic, foolproof fudge recipe and subbed in dark chocolate for the standard milk chocolate. I then added in some shredded coconut for some extra deliciousness. The coconut pairs really nicely with the dark chocolate; it adds some sweetness to balance off the bitterness of the chocolate. And, between the antioxidants in the dark chocolate and the healthy fats in the coconut, you could almost argue that this fudge is good for you. Really. It's healthy. At least that's what I tell myself everytime I eat a piece. Or two. Okay, or maybe three.


Dark Chocolate Coconut Fudge
gluten free, soy free

Ingredients
1 14 oz can of sweetened condensed milk (Eagle Brand is good)
1 1o oz bag of Enjoy Life semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup of Enjoy Life or Theo Organic dark chocolate, chopped
1/4 cup Earth Balance soy free spread, plus more for greasing the pan
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut, plus more for sprinkling
1 tsp vanilla

Directions
Grease a 9 x 9 inch pan with Earth Balance soy free spread. Then, in a large saucepan add the combine the sweetened condensed milk, chocolate chips, chopped chocolate, and Earth Balance spread. Cook over a low heat and stir often so that the chocolate mixture doesn't burn. Cook until all ingredients are melted and well combined. Remove from heat and add vanilla and shredded coconut; stir until well combined. Pour the mixture into the buttered pan, smooth out, and sprinkle some additional coconut on top. Put the pan in the refrigerator and let the fudge set for at least two hours. When fudge is all set, let sit at room temperature for a bit, cut up into squares, and enjoy! Or, if you're impatient like me, run a knife under some hot water to make it easier to cut the fudge.

This recipe is MADE for riffing. You can definitely go traditional and use milk chocolate. Or switch it up and use some white chocolate! Add a layer of caramel and finish it off with a sprinkling of Maldon sea salt. Chop up some peppermint and stir it in. Add in some toffee! But probably not all at the same time. Go crazy, have fun, and enjoy!

[print recipe]