Simple is Better

Lately, I've been feeling a bit inadequate.  Especially in the blogging world.  I've never been much of a blogger.  I'm not a photographer.  I just wanted to do this because I had people asking me for recipes all of the time, and it was an easy way to share them.  Lately, in my search for new and wonderful gluten free things I have been finding impressive blogs! Blogs that have beautiful pictures and delicious looking food.  Food that they have perfected after trying again and again; after adjusting this or that.  Expensive ingredients that would make me feel so decadent!

So I decided to share with you, again, my philosophy.  Simple is better.  I eat gluten free because if I don't I end up very sick and I cannot function.  I am on a limited grocery budget, and always have been.  I look for meals that are easy and cheap to prepare.  But I hope they are also fun to prepare.  But what I do put on this blog, I have tried myself, and I'm pretty picky.  And, what I really want is for someone that might not know where to start, to be able to have a place to start.

That said, I really do wish that I had the money and time to prepare those really amazing dishes that I see on other blogs and in some recipe books.  The ones that call for... watermelon radishes and vanilla pods.  :)  And maybe someday I can try it out. But for now, I'm happy where I am.

Since I feel like such a newbie myself still, I hope that in my searches through these really awesome blogs, I'll be able to grow too!

On that note, Peanut Butter-Chocolate Chip Cookies.
***originally from The Wheat Free Cook by Jacqueline Mallorca (One of my very first GF cookbooks. It has several treasured recipes in it)

Makes about 40

Ingredients:
4 Tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1 large egg
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup brown rice flour
pinch of salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. Using a stand mixer, paddle attachment, cream the butter until smooth.  Beat in the peanut butter, then the egg.  Add the brown sugar, rice flour, salt, and baking powder, and stir to blend.

3. Stir in the chocolate chips and chopped nuts.  The dough will be soft and sticky.  (I stuck  half of mine into the freezer for later.) Drop by rounded tablespoon on the baking sheets, 2 inches apart. (I used a cookie dough scoop) Bake until golden and just set, 12 to 15 minutes (mine took 12).  Let stand on the baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

I just have to say that this recipe is a WINNER!!!!!  I love these muffins.  They never last more than a few days because everyone eats them up so quickly.  They are perfect for anytime of year, but especially the fall. Because I absolutely love stuffing myself with pumpkin in the fall.  By Christmas my husband is begging me not to put any more pumpkin dishes on the table (I just can't help it).  But, he can't resist these.  I have to hide them from him, just so that I can have some too.

Recently we moved down to Alabama to be with my family.  My dad (who is skeptical of anything gluten free) said "wow, these are good, you can eat these?"  See...this recipe is a winner.

Ingredients:

4 eggs

2 cups sugar

16 ounces pumpkin

1 1/2 cups oil (or 3/4 cup oil and 3/4 cup applesauce)

2 1/4 cups rice flour

1/2 cup cornstarch

1 tsp. xanthan gum

2 tsps. baking soda

2 tsps. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cinnamon (I always add more)

1 1/2 to 2 cups chocolate chips

***maybe try adding nuts, chocolate covered raisins, Craisins, etc.

Instructions: 

(super simple)

1. Mix wet ingredients.

2. Mix dry ingredients. Stir into wet ingredients until incorporated.

3. Fold in chocolate chips.

4. Bake in greased muffin cups at 400 degrees F for 15-20 minutes.

Can you tell it's a pumpkin???

5. Eat them up, but don't give yourself a tummy ache. 

Boston Cream Pie

Drumroll please...I know this is the one that you have been waiting for, and it is finally here! Boston Cream Pie. Oh so scrumptious and delicious, and beautiful as well. I went above and beyond with this recipe and used agave nectar as well. But you don't have to, if you don't want to. So I will write the original recipe down and then note the changes for using agave nectar.

Ingredients:

"Butter Cake"

1/2 cup brown rice flour

1/2 cup sorghum flour

1/2 potato starch

1/2 cup tapioca starch

2 tablespoons chickpea flour

2 tsp. gluten free egg replacer (I used flax seed meal or you can use 2tsp. mashed banana)

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. xanthan/guar gum

1/4 tsp. salt

2 sticks butter, softened

1 cup sugar (3/4 cup agave nectar)

4 eggs, room temp--very important that it's room temp (or 3 eggs if you use agave nectar)

1 tsp. vanilla

4 tsp. milk of choice

Vanilla Pudding:

2 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch

1 1/3 cup light cream or milk of choice, divided (I used whole milk)

1 egg yolk, beaten

1/2 cup sugar (or 3/8 cup agave)

pinch of salt

1 tsp. vanilla

Chocolate Ganache:

1 cup heavy cream or coconut milk (not lite) (I used coconut milk, yummy)

8 ounces dark/bittersweet chocolate chopped

What to do:

"Butter" Cake

Step 1: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 8-9" round cake pans. Dust w/ flour (I used 2 tablespoons of my first 5 ingredients to dust.) Set aside.

Step 2: In a separate bowl, cream butter until it's white. Add sugar (or agave) and continue creaming until fluffy (about 5 minutes.) Add eggs to butter, one at a time, beating until smooth.

Step 3: Stir dry ingredients into butter mixture. (If the eggs are cold or not well incorporated, the batter may appear curdled. To rectify this add an additional tablespoon of the flour blend.) Add vanilla and milk.

Step 4: Pour batter into pans. Bake on middle rack 15-20 minutes (toothpick coming out clean indicates that it's done). Let sit 5 minutes in pans before removing. Allow to cool completely on rack. To assemble, spread vanilla pudding on one cake layer (all the way to the edges...I didn't quite get this right). Gently place 2nd layer on top. Brush off any crumbs and top with chocolate ganache.

Step 5: Enjoy!

Vanilla Pudding:

Step 1: Dissolve cornstarch in 1/3 cup cream. Whisk in egg yolk. Set aside.

Step 2: In saucepan, mix together sugar (or agave), salt, and remaining 1 cup cream. Bring to a boil.

Step 3: Slowly whisk 1/4 cup hot mixture into yolk mixture. Then slowly whisk back into pan. Over medium heat, stir until thickened. Remove from heat, add vanilla.

Step 4: Strain pudding into a clean bowl (I didn't strain, because I'm lazy...but you can!) and cool slightly. Cover pudding. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Chocolate Ganache:

Step 1: Bring cream to a boil.

Step 2: Pour hot cream over chopped chocolate and whisk until smooth.

Step 3: Set mixture aside until it begins to thicken. (let it cool a little while, mine was too runny when I put it on my cake, but later it thickened nicely)

Rainy Days...

Usually, I love rainy days. The days where you turn up the girly music and open up the blinds and enjoy the drizzle on the window panes. But sometimes, rainy days make me feel a little blue. Chocolate strawberries are the perfect answer for those days. My daughter helped me by drying the strawberries. I think more made their way into her mouth than into the chocolate.

1 cup chocolate chips

1 Tablespoon shortening

Heat for 1 minute in the microwave at 100%. Stir and dip.

I hope that your blue days pass by quickly. We have so much to be thankful for and look forward to.

Flourless Chocolate Cake

Ingrid Michaelson has been one of my favorite musicians for quite some time.  My husband was looking through the paper and found this recipe along with an article about her.  I guess this is one of her favorite recipes to make for parties.  This chocolate cake is so much different than any other chocolate cake.  The exterior ends up being kind of crunchy and the interior is like a very fudgy brownie.  This is always a hit when I make it too.  It doesn't end up looking very pretty, which is why I put strawberries on top.

You Will Need:

7 ounces really good semisweet chocolate (45-50% cocoa)
3/4 cup butter
1 cup sugar, divided
4 eggs, separated
Fresh fruit for topping, optional
powdered sugar, optional

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.  Melt chocolate and butter in a double boiler.  (I always put mine in the microwave on half power at 30 second intervals...works great!)

2. In a separate bowl, stir together half the sugar and four egg yolks.  Add this to melted chocolate concoction.

3.  Using an electric mixer, beat the egg whites; slowly add remaining 1/2 cup of sugar until stiff peaks form.  (Usually this works great for me, but my electric mixer was broken and they never formed stiff peaks...but hey it still turned out just fine!)
4. Fold mixture into chocolate. Pour into greased 9 inch cake pan (which you can remove later) or pie pan if you just want to serve it from the dish.

5. Bake 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out with just a few wet crumbs on it.  Cool 30 minutes before removing from the pan or topping.  Dust with powdered sugar or top with fresh fruit.

Cherry Chocolate Cake

This is an old family favorite. At my family's house we make this every few months. I think I had this as my birthday cake for half of my birthdays. Luckily, it is pretty easily made gluten free. I will include the original recipe for all of you gluten eaters out there :p.

Original Recipe

Cake:
1 pkg. fudge cake mix
21 oz. can cherry pie filling
1 teaspoon almond extract
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 of the cherry can of water

Frosting:
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup milk
5 tablespoons butter
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Simple huh!

Gluten Free Version

Cake:
1/2 cup cocoa powder
3/4 cup rice flour
6 tablespoons tapioca flour/starch
6 tablespoons cornstarch or potato starch(not flour)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cup sugar
21 oz. can cherry pie filling (make sure it doesn't have modified food starch--modified cornstarch is okay)
1 teaspoon almond extract
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 of the cherry can of water

Frosting:
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup milk
5 tablespoons butter
1 cup chocolate chips

Step One: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13 inch pan.

Step Two: Combine dry ingredients for the cake. Then add wet ingredients. Mix by hand, you want the cherries to stay whole. But if they don't stay whole, don't stress, it will still be delicious. Once everything is mixed (make sure you don't have any pockets of dry ingredients) it will be very fudgy and thick. Not like a typical cake batter.Step Three: Pour into a greased 9x13 inch pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes. You will know that it is done when the edges of the cake have pulled slightly away from the pan. I prefer the middle a little moist. When you stick a knife in the middle you don't want it coated, but a few moist crumbs remaining are perfect!

Meanwhile...

Step Four: In a saucepan, combine sugar, milk, and butter. Stir constantly and bring to a boil. Boil for one minute. Remove from heat. Stir in chocolate chips until smooth.Step Five: Pour chocolate frosting over cake when it is lukewarm.----My roommates used to call this frosting "tantalize your tongue frosting". I think the title fits perfectly. It almost like a soft fudge that hardens on one side and stays soft on the other. Of course that's tongue tantalizing.

Step Six: Enjoy every bite! I love sharing this cake with my neighbors.