Gluten Free Vegan Blondies

It's one of those mornings. I am procrastinating the chores that I have to do outside. It's -8 out, and for us, up in the hills, that is soooo cold! I will have to put on my carhart overalls, a brand name I'd never heard of till I met my husband, and brave the cold to feed the chickens and haul in some fire wood.  I'm by our warm fire, my two younger children, who don't have school, are bothering me to entertain them. The sun is lazily making it's rising appearance (it's 9:30) and I am content to just sit and type.

This year I am making all the presents that we are going to give for Xmas. It's a first. I have completed 2 of the 7 blankets that I am gifting to only close family. I have made various cowls, mittens, and hats for the few outskirts of friends that I feel to give to. In the past I have gotten carried away with trying to buy the perfect gift.....for everyone. I no longer feel that fits me. It's strange to look back and see how much one can change. In the past name brand gifts made me squeal...now, not so much. I'm content to watch my kids open a few gifts, while I sip some warm tea by the fire, with my husband.

This year we are also blessed enough to get to spend the Xmas and New Year holiday season with my bother in law and sister in law, and their mob! My mother in law and father in law will fly down with us and the kids and we will all be together. That is the extent of our Xmas spending. We are all super excited to leave the dark cold and spend it with people we really like, who happen to also be family. There will be 12 children, and I can't help but wonder where our two little girls are. I am praying a lot, as I wait on two countries to answer my paperwork. And it also makes me wonder what next year will be like. Sigh.

On to some recipes

Ever since I first discovered blondies, I became a huge fan! You can bake them in a glass dish, spread the dough, layer with jelly, chocolate chips and then add a little bit of the batter on top....but,  I prefer them in bite size mini muffin tins. It's much easier to ration your portion, or tell yourself..."it's just a little bite".... Oh, but what a bite! (be careful those bites do add up and before you know it....someone ate them all!!)


The batter will harden the more time that it is exposed, so you want to try to add the jelly as quickly as you can. Finding some really good organic jam/jelly and mini chocolate chips is important to this treat. I was using the cascadian farm raspberry jam, but learned that they spent money supporting the fight for Americans to not have Gmo's labelled (proposition 37 in California), so I am promptly moving on to another source. I'll let you know what I find.

Blondies!

Preheat oven to 340 and prepare your pan of mini muffin tray with liners
first your dry ingredients....

1/2c of garbanzo/fava bean mixture (I grind my own and mix 3/4 c fava/1c garb) you can use bob's
1/3c buckwheat flour
1/3c quinoa flour (If you wanted to make this grainless, you could simply mix 1/2c of buckwheat and quinoa, instead of the 1/3c ratios)...ahh! I just saw how expensive this is!! it costs about what I pay for a 25lb bag of quinoa! read below!
1/3c millet flour (again, I buy all these grains, and grind in my vita mix, saves LOTS of money!)
2/3c of coconut palm sugar
1/2t salt
2t of baking powder
1/2t baking soda
1/4c of ground flax or chia (chia is much kinder to the digestive tract)
 --mix all--

add your wet ingredients...
1/3c of applesauce
2T of vanilla extract
1/3c oil (coconut, or whatever you prefer)

 Once you have your batter, you will scoop to the 2/3 of the tins with batter and using a butter knife I put dabs of jam on top followed by a few chocolate chips (4?) and then I add another touch of the batter to top it off and sprinkle a few more chocolate chips

If you're using a baking glass dish, the same would apply...spread the batter on the bottom of the dish, saving some of the batter to plop on top....layer with jam, and chocolate chips...followed by remaining batter and more chocolate chips...bake in the over about 15 minutes..... depending on your oven....when they come out, they will be mushy, so let them cool down before attempting your bite, or cutting into the dish......mmmm!


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Thankfulness and Raw Pumpkin Cheesecake!!!

Happy Day of Thankfulness!!!!

I hosted Thanksgiving for the very first time this year! I completely enjoyed myself and the whole process. We set up the living room all opened up, and realized how wonderful it was to have all this space! Our kitchen/living room area is all open, and I love it. It is now still left open.

We had my mother and father in law over, whom I absolutely adore. We also had my mother in laws brother and their two children whom are married, with their families. It was perfect. The children played nicely and we were able to connect and have rich conversation. We talked about God, and what ever else was going on in our lives. They are all people that can relax and make you laugh. So we laughed, and we ate.

I prepared the turkey (this is a turkey that was loved and I took care of in every step of the way). I also made some amazing stuffing (yep, I was even surprised how well it came out!). I made some gluten free cornbread (sooo good!) and spelt rolls. I also made a couple of raw cheesecakes.

I really like making the raw cheesecakes. They are extremely easy, you can substitute sweeteners. I love how simple raw treats usually are. So I am posting this recipe because it was requested by a few of my dear family members.

Pumpkin/Vanilla Cheesecake

soak 2c of cashews for at least 2 hours.
I make two layers of flavors. In a spring foam pan sprinkle the bottom with unsweetened coconut flakes. I crush (you can use a food processor) walnuts and add a pinch of salt and some raisins and spread them as the crust. 

split the cashews 1 1/2 cups of the cashews and set aside the other 1/2 c ... in a high powered blender add to make your vanilla layer

1 1/2c soaked cashews
pinch of salt
half a fresh lemon juice squeezed
1/2 c agave
1T vanilla extract..........Blend........
slowly add 1/2c of melted extra virgin coconut oil

mix for a minute, until a smooth puree....
pour into the prepared spring foam pan.

with the rest of the cashews, pour in the blender
*I love to buy an organic pumpkin, or grow one, in early fall at the farmers market, and prepare it for this...very simple, just cut in half, poke holes with fork, set on cookie sheet, bake on 350 for a half hour, check to see if it's done*

1/2c of cashews
2c of pumpkin pulp or puree
1T of ground cinnamon
1t of ground nutmeg
1/2 c of agave

pour on top and let set in the freezer........

This year, I am doing something different. Instead of buying gifts, I will be making all the gifts that I give. I am kinda finding it freeing to not have to try soooo hard to find some "perfect gift", instead, out of love, I will make something that I hope the recipient likes. I have a few more things to make, then I will be done.

May we all discover how much richer it is to give than to receive. How much joy there is in finding gratitude, no matter where we are, or what we have. How great this short life can be. Pin It Now!

Grain-less, Gluten Free, Vegan, Uh-maze-ing Scones

this cracks me up! Big shout out to my friend Kristine who I got this from....

Oh Happy Halloween everybody! I must be candid....this is my least liked of all the holidays. I know, I know.... I have a whole lot of people that enjoy dressing up, and getting candy. But I remember being terrified as a child. It seemed frightening to me that grown ups dress up and try to scare kids. As a child, I hated that it was dark out, and going to stranger's houses, but I did like the candy! Halloween is not celebrated in Romania we celebrated the day of the dead, I have some hazy memories of the day. Massive amounts of people would migrate to cemeteries and put flowers and candles around the graves of loved ones. Though the roots of the holiday are just as creepy, as a child, seeing all those hundreds of candles in the dark, and remembering our elders, hearing stories of who they were.....well, it was way less scary.

My displeasure with the massive amounts of candy given to my children on this day, has increased every year. So this year, instead of trick-or-treating, we did a family party. What's a family party? Well, we sort of made it up. I got the kids each a small toy (legos for the boys and some fairy figurine for Bella) along with a chocolate bar (I love enjoy life's)and an organic lollipop. The all had to perform for Grandma Mary, Toby, and I. We set up a stage, complete with a microphone and speaker. We had a blast, and still got too much sugar! I made some donuts (yes, I'll post the recipe sometime) and we ended it with us all dancing. Much better than trick or treating. It will be a tradition. I decided to wear the very same costume, this year, that I wore 11 years ago, the first day that Toby referred to me as "his girlfriend". It still fits :)

Mommy the school girl (there's a sentimental story to that), Bella the purple princes, Zaya the little ninja, Isaac Darth Vader, and Daddy the big ninja!

I make scones once in a while. They have vegetable shortening, so it is more of a treat than something that I consider healthy. Nonetheless, it's super easy to have handy on those morning when we are running late. And my oldest, and the most difficult to feed, Isaac likes the chocolate chip version, so I make em from time to time.

What I love about these scones is that I can make them with anything. It is the great thing about scones! add fruit to the batter or chocolate chips....or lemon shaving and poppy seeds. The different flavors are a very long list. I also use a scone tray it's cast iron with a coat of non stick (yes, I know). I find it helpful in gluten free baking to have a mold, because often times the batter is runny.

This recipe has no xanthan gum, which i prefer. I made this one with thinly sliced apples that I poured some lemon juice and mixed some coconut crystals with cinnamon powder and then just topped it off on the scone before putting it in the oven, I also sprinkle more coconut palm sugar on top (same thing as the coconut crystals)....because I believe in using less sugar in the batter, and just sprinkling on top. You taste it better.

Gluten Free Vegan Chocolate Chip Scones!

Preheat oven to 400
prepare scone dish (or baking pan)

dry ingredients
1/2 c of garbonzo/fava bean flour (you can use bob's, but I like to mill and mix my own with my vita mix 1c garbonzo to 3/4 c fava)
1/2 c of quinoa flour (grinding your own, saves lots of money)
1/2 c of buckwheat flour (read above)
1/4 c of ground chia seeds (I grind mine in our coffee grinder)
2t of baking powder
1t of baking soda
a dash of salt
1/2c of coconut crystals
1T of vanilla extract (I like to make my own)

mix thoroughly and set aside 1c of coconut milk mixed with 1T of apple cider vinegar (this will curdle)

add 1/2c of vegetable shortening mix with a mixer until there are little crumbles
add the 1c of curdled  and add 3/4 c of chocolate chips.... Put in pan and sprinkle with coconut sugar on top...

this happens to be thinly sliced apples with sprinkled coconut crystals on top

bake for 20-25 minutes (I need 22 minutes in my oven)

Once done, they will be soft, so let them sit for 5 minutes before removing....place on wire rack and let them cool all the way down...they will harden....Enjoy!!!

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Gluten Free Vegan Cupcake I Stumbled Upon

Today was a lovely day....I woke up and had enough of my juicer this morning. We've had a cheap model (I think it's the hamilton model) for almost a year, and before that we had another cheap centrifuge model purchased at a store I rarely go to, because  I loath it (walmart). But hey, they served their purposes. These past few weeks, the juice has been getting chunks and I have to was out the clogged screen, only to be further annoyed, when it clogs back up again, after I attempt to juice anything.

We've had another family live with us, for the past month. It has been an extremely easy, and pleasant experience. I kinda held my breath for the first part of the transition, but I didn't need to, it went smooth. Toby and I are drawn to communal living type environments. An environment where people work together to accomplish good for the great. A group that is more about working together, than accomplishing for self. I know it's ideological, but I can't shift from the longing, regardless of getting a tad bit burned in the process.

So one of the cool things about this other family, is that they eat vegan and mostly raw. It was refreshing to have them sample food and have them eat my recipes, while sharing theirs. I guess it was just super nice to have someone else in the kitchen, even though there were so many of us. I love having someone to hang out with, while I prepare food....it soothes.... I got to learn a few tricks from Tiffany, which I will carry with me for a while. I learned to add water in empty muffin tins, so that it bakes evenly. I learned that when making enchiladas, taking the tortillas and dunking them in enchilada sauce is the key to having your enchiladas have the perfect moisture! (also, my enchilada sauce recipe is pretty spicy) along the way I purchased a spiralizer (making noodles out of zucchini is amazing!) and that is what leads me to my juicer purchase....I bought the omega 8004, after much consideration.....I'll have to let you guys know how it goes

I kinda stumbled on this recipe....I was trying to create a whole grain muffin that is lighter than my current recipe...also I wanted to use up some of the amazing zucchini that I got from my grandmother.....but in the process, I realized that it is very much a cupcake batter...so I will use it for cupcakes in a couple of days for my birthday treat.

The Accidental Vanilla Cupcake
preheat oven to 350
line muffin tins (I'm guessing about 24 cupcakes, but i could be wrong)

first get a cup of coconut milk and add 1 Tablespoon of Apple Cider Vinegar (the milk will curdle, voila, buttermilk)

mix these dry ingredients:
1/3c quinoa flour (yep, I just buy quinoa in bulk and grind in my vita mix, if I have time, I prefer to       sprout my quinoa and dehydrate it, then grind it)
1/3c buckwheat flour (same as above)
1/3c millet flour (same as above :)
1/2c of garbanzo flour/fava bean flour mix (I grind my own beans, and mix a 3/4c fave to 1c garb.        bean combo), you can get bob's red mill brand
1/4c of ground chia (I use a coffee grinder)
1c of coconut crystals
3t baking powder
1/2t of baking soda
pinch of salt (1/2t-1/4t)

in a blender combine about 3/4 of a typical small zucchini. I used half a big garden one :) and 1/3c of the coconut milk....mix thoroughly.....

add wet ingredients

2T of vanilla extract
1/2c of melted coconut oil
the rest 2/3c of "buttermilk" coconut milk...

bake for 20-22 minutes...let cool for 15 minutes then frost!
I happened to just top off with a few chocolate chips...

Everyone loved these....Hope you do too...
 







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It's been a muffin long time!

I have been enjoying spring in Alaska.....immensely!!! This winter has been brutal. The elements have not been kind. So I feel that somehow spring early is an attempt to make up for it (thanks Fairbanks). We don't usually see dry ground as fast or as soon as we have this year...so yaye. The official "it won't snow or freeze anymore" date is June (I know!!), so I have to wait until then to plant my garden. This year I was able to start my garden from seeds, I ordered my seeds from here. I love heirloom, organic seeds.  The whole process of seeds planted and food growing is extremely fascinating to me. I am in awe of it. So here I am waiting for June, babying my plants that are wanting away from the lights and out in the garden.  I love the hope that fills the heart during spring, it is glorious!


So I make these muffins a whole lot!!! I bake em for the kids to eat in the mornings on the weekends, when Toby and I are hoping to sleep in. I also bake em for lunches, or a quick, on the go, snack. Isaac and Bella love em. I came up with this recipe after a girls luncheon. My goal is to have a good muffin that is not loaded with sugar. This is one good muffin. I sometimes bake them in the really large muffin tins, and sometimes the regular...you pick... What I like about this recipe is that it doesn't use xanthan gum. Now I do use it from time to time, but I am skeptical about it. It's one of those ingredients that pops up in weird spots, and that is always a warning light for me. I also love the little amount of sugar, because sugar is bad, period. (meaningful redundancy)





One good Muffin
preheat oven for 350


wet ingredients
1/3 c of creamy peanut butter
1/3 c of applesauce
1 lg banana or 2 sm banana's, pureed in blender

mix the wet ingredients till a nice thick paste forms...in a bowl, mix dry ingredients
1c quinoa flour (for the added benefits, i sprout, dehydrate and grind my flour, but you certainly don't have to ;)
1c of buckwheat flour (read above)
2t of baking powder
1/4t of baking soda
pinch of salt
1/4c of sucanant or coconut crystals or palm sugar


mix 1/2c plus 2T of coconut milk with 1T of apple cider vinegar and let sit for a moment....it curdles, just like buttermilk!



mix the wet with the dry and add curdled milk (I also add a handful of enjoy life, mini chocolate chips)....


pour batter to the top on muffin lined or oiled trays.... (I usually get 10 regular muffins :) bake 20-30 minutes, depending on your oven...

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Kneading Some Gluten free Bread

My beautiful kids..Isaac, Bella, and Zaya

Some life events that have occurred since my last post....We've decided to work on preparing our luxurious home to sell...it is our dream home, but the idea of finding some land, building a much more modest home (our current home is really big :0) and having it be completely self sustaining appeals to us...I am a reformed city girl (I loved my fashion, parties, and make-up), so this is a pretty big redirection of my life, than what I imagined...to say the least. We want several acres to mostly farm...and feed a lot of people. Be more involved with WOOFing (google it). To be able to travel is a big desire I have. To live completely debt free. A better plan, than the current path we're on.

Our beloved Great Dane died, early January. I was completely devastated by the whole awful experience. I learned how much our 4 legged companions can teach us about unconditional love. He was completely kind and faithful, even though i was not. We got a new puppy, Lexi. And she is reaping from the lessons I learned from Wasgo, and am not going to repeat, with her. Btw, she is an incredible dog that I have become very attached to....I can't imagine our family without her.

We are pursuing adoption....I have yet to know for certain when, or how we will be finding out beloved little girl, but it will happen. We are going through the foster care system locally...and we are looking into international adoption....we'll see, I will keep you posted!

Confession: out of all the kitchen creations that I make, my passion is bread. Now I went a month of basically eating raw, and it was nice to know that I am capable of preparing food in that state, but I get excited when the perfect loaf of bread comes out of an oven. Maybe it's because I remember my mother baking bread when I was very little, I'm not sure exactly why, but i get a thrill, baking bread. Since I now eat Gluten free, the challenge of finding a good bread recipe still persists, and the hope it will come out good (oh soooo many have not) still leaves me in suspense. The quest I've been on is to find a bread recipe without any starch. Gluten free bread mixes and recipes do an awful lot of starch flours. Starch is broken by the body as sugar...sugar elevates our blood levels and taxes our body's system, if in the constant elevated state (as in, eating sugar often, and lots, which is quite typical in America) your body stops burning fat....and starts storing it, among many, many, many other issues that sugar brings to our health....sooo, all that to say, I don't want starch flours in my bread.

I am not sure I will ever have a gluten free recipe that I like more than this recipe I am gonna share. It may be possible, things change all the time (I'm learning this can be exciting, not scary), but I doubt it.

I can't take credit for this recipe. It is the lovely Ali's creation. I plan on making cinnamon rolls with this recipe because you actually need to kneed it. (Pretty cool, eh?) This bread rises wonderfully, and tastes very much like whole wheat bread......YUMM-0

Kneading GF bread
preheat oven with bread pan inside the oven at 350

mix
2 /2 c of pretty warm water with:
2 1/4 t of yeast (or a packet)
2 t of maple syrup (or whatever sweetener
SET ASIDE ABOUT 10-15 MINUTES...you'll see bubble form on top, it means the yeast is activated...mix dry ingredients while you wait....once you see the bubbles are formed add:
1/3 c of ground chia seeds (I use my coffee grinder)
1/3 c of whole psyllium husk
let stand 2-3 minutes...no longer....then mix with dry ingredients (I use my kitchen aid) with your hands works just fine, also.

Dry ingredients:
1 c teff flour (Ethiopian grass seed, I grind it in my vita mix, it is super small already)
1 c sorghum flour (make sure it's organic, this is a gmo product otherwise)
1/2 c of brown rice flour (I used sweet brown rice)
1/2 c of cornmeal (this is a must organic product, I buy organic popcorn and grind it...you guessed it, in my vita mix, because corn is sooo heavily genetically modified, organic is the only way to go)
1t salt (mix together)

Once the ingredients are mixed well (you may need to add a little more water) bring out the loaf pan and gently place dough in pan, smoothing out corners till it lays evenly flat....cover with kitchen towel and let rise 20-30 minutes....it should be nice and doubled....place in oven for 50-60 minutes....the center should be 180 degrees....I have forgotten to pull my bread out, and not burned it....So it is very forgiving bread.

Once you get your bread out of the oven wrap with another kitchen towel and let cool for an hour or so.....cut and serve or cut and stick in freezer.....toast later. It will be a delish experience...

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