I'm a Survivor

When the going gets tough, the tough go out and play on the swing.

~Rodney Rathbone

So >sniffle< I tried to make cinnamon rolls.

EPIC FAIL

I did everything the recipe said to...........sorta. I added some sweet rice flour in because all it called for was potato starch and arrowroot powder (sub for cornstarch) which makes baked products way too starchy for me. I also had to substitute guar gum for the xanthan gum (derived from corn). 

Sadly, guar gum has a very distinctive flavor, and it's yucky. My rolls looked just like the pictures until I tried to cut them and put them in the pan. I was able to sorta manhandle them into the pan, but they looked like blobs instead of luscious cinnamon rolls. I baked them, hoping that they would be good anyway. The first bite confirmed that the guar gum was too powerful for the delicate bread (that turned out to be the consistency of a very soft biscuit). The parts that were really cinnamony and sugary were ok, but nothing to do a happy dance for. :(

So later on in the day I suddenly had a hankering for chocolate chip cookies. I just bought some chocolate chips I could eat and it has been months and months since I had a good cookie. :) That, and I hate leaving the field of battle in defeat. ;) >sigh< Unfortunately, this battle turned out to be a truce.

I based my recipe on this recipe with a few additions.

1 1/4 C almond flour

1/3 C oatmeal 

5 T oatmeal flour
1/4 C brown sugar

1/4 t salt

1/4 t baking soda

1/4 C grapeseed oil

1 egg

1/3 C mini chips

Stir dry ingredients together, stir wet ingredients together. Mix. Form into balls, place on a baking pan and bake in a 350 oven for 7-10 minutes.

They turned out fairly good, and I enjoyed them after going a long time without. I forgot that when you use oil instead of butter in cookies that you need a wetter dough so I added too much oatmeal flour. Next time I'd reduce it to 1-3 T. The cookies still turned out good, just more of a thick cake texture instead of a more moist gooey cookie.

 

Finally, at the end of the day things worked perfectly for me. :)

I bought a box of spring mix at Winco on Saturday, and it inspired me to try going a more sweet direction with my salad. I topped the mix with some grape halves and chopped pecans and finished it off with an orange vinagrette.

1/4 cup orange juice

2 T balsamic vinegar (make sure it's without caramel color if you can't have corn!)

1 T of dijon mustard (I used a horseradish one - Yum!)

honey to taste

dash of salt and pepper

Mix and drizzle over salad!

Victory!!!!

Gluten Free Fried Fish - morning, noon and night

Yep, you saw right. I've eaten this fish at all hours of the day and night.

It's that good.

The first bite I took I actually felt grateful that I had to be gluten free so that I was able to discover such a delicious recipe. :) Yeah, I'm a leetle psycho, that's what makes this so fun.

A friend and co worker shared this recipe with me. I took the basic recipe and added salt, pepper, cayenne pepper and a pinch of curry to jazz things up a little. Paired with some homestyle fries and coleslaw with a glass of sweet tea and you've got a dynamite meal.

I foresee many happy fish frys in my future. :)

Jalapeno Poppers of Freedom

Jalapeno poppers. >swoon< I loves them. And now, they loves me back because they're everything freeeeeeee!

My dear little sister, Pooka (aka Serenity), made these jalapeno poppers last year and they were finger lickin' good. I mean, summer is already hot, right? So adding a little incineration to your stomach, mouth, hands and nose (I scratched an itch with jalapeno fingers) really doesn't matter. Besides, it's a great excuse to drink copious amounts of sweet tea, which has become my fun drink of choice (never ever say something like, "they can pry coke from my cold dead fingers," the powers that be have an ironic sense of humor).

The original recipe called for cheese in the center of the jalapenos, wrapped in bacon and then topped with barbeque sauce. Since the American food industry seems so in love with stashing corn in every product known to man, and some that aren't known ( O_o) I went on a search for the most luscious barbeque sauce recipe available that began with fresh tomatoes. While I was in the store it occurred to me that mango usually appears in fresh sauce recipes. So I made sure to grab one. Oh happy day!

For the filling I boiled a potato and mashed it, mixing in some fresh herbs and garlic that I had diced and sauteed in a tiny bit of bacon grease (oh hush! I eat healthy.....mostly). You really want to wear gloves while de seeding your jalapenos. My thumbs are still burning from yesterday. :P

I filled the jalapenos with mashed potato, wrapped them in a (very expensive) organic, uncured, unadulterated bacon strip and topped it with the most luscious sauce ever. Baked in a 300/325ish oven until the bacon was crispy. Yuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuummmm. If you're quiet you can almost hear your stomach whisper, "thank you!"

Gluten Free Pancakes - My Saturday Morning in Heaven :)

Changing years of cooking habits over night can be a mite difficult, but I think I'm finally getting the hang of some of this stuff. I've tracked down the majority of the places that corn likes to hide, and am the happy owner of 13 different flours. :) Some flours, like coconut, can be very expensive. Guys take note: bringing a girl "flours" could be most romantic. Just ask Harold.

 Anyway, yes.....pancakes. DELICIOUS ones. :)

I have come to the painful (literally!) realization that I cannot cook with any type of milk product. Both the lactose and the casein affect me in separate and joyous ways. So that leaves me pausing over most recipes, imagination whirring, trying to devise multiple substitutions for common ingredients.

Cashews make cream, almonds make milk, and coconut oil substitutes for butter nicely in cookies.Almond milk, plus some apple cider vinegar to activate the baking soda, really make these pancakes light and they had a buttermilk flavor. Wahoo!

1/2 C rice flour
4 1/2 t tapioca flour
2 1/2 T potato starch
1 T flaxseed meal (yummy and nutritious!!)
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t cream of tartar
1/4 t salt
1/4 t guar gum
1 egg
1 T apple cider vinegar
1 C almond milk (blend 1/4 C almonds and 1 C water in blender until smooth)

Mix dry ingredients in bowl, whisk wet ingredients in measuring cup. Add wet ingredients to dry and stir just until combined. Grease pan or griddle with grapeseed oil and cook over medium heat until brown and bubbly. Flip. Serve with organic maple syrup and/or fresh fruit.

It was a great way to start the morning. :)

Quinoa and Flaxseed ~ Naturally gluten free delicacies

Gluten and corn free living has really opened up new avenues of cooking delight for me. One that I've been thoroughly enjoying is the tiny quinoa grain-like seed. Interestingly enough, the Incas called it the mother of all grains and considered it sacred.

I first purchased a bag of white quinoa at my local store after enjoying the flavor of quinoa in some gluten free crackers. A couple of days later, I discovered black quinoa in the bulk section of the Boise Co-op.Since food rarely comes in black, I thought it would add some color interest to my plate. Besides, it just looked so cool in the plastic bag. :) I thought using a mix of white and black quinoa in a pilaf would be tasty, and unique looking.

To start the quinoa pilaf off I sauteed crimini mushrooms, onion, garlic, grated carrot, fresh thyme and lemon zest in some olive oil until the vegetables were tender. I stirred in the quinoa until it was coated with the oil and then poured in boiling water.

I was intending on serving the quinoa with a simple sauteed pollock fillet, but I got so involved in making the quinoa that I left the pan on high and pulverized the poor little guy when I tried to turn him. Luckily, the fish flaked beautifully and gave me the idea to make fish cakes!


I had some slices left from the almond meal and flaxseed bread I made earlier in the week. I mixed crumbles of the bread, diced onion, fresh thyme and some cashew cream with the flaked pollock and formed them into little cakes. I cooked them in a heated pan with grapeseed oil, making sure to pay attention to the heat this time!

To finish off the dish I took freshly squeezed lemon juice and fresh basil and deglazed the pan I cooked the fish in, reducing the juice. I then drizzled it over the fish cakes, serving it with a side of peas.

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I recently discovered a food blog that I absolutely love. Most of the recipes are dairy and corn free, as well as being gluten and soy free. Everything I have cooked has come out perfect!

The first recipe I tried was Gluten Free Bread 2.0. Made out of almond meal and flaxseed, it is a delicious replacement for the gluten filled kind. I actually enjoy it more because it lacks the fluffy, smashy quality of wheat bread.

I was so excited to taste the bread that I was only able to wait about 3 minutes after taking it out of the oven before taking it out of the pan and attacking it with my bread knife. Some homemade mayonnaise, gluten free dijon mustard, lettuce, tomato, avocado and baked chicken topped off this delicious bread in a delicious open faced sandwich. Paired with grapes and a glass of iced tea, it was a perfect Sunday dinner.