No Bake Crispy Peanut Butter Balls

I want to sign up for the cookie exchange at work but it stresses me to make dozens and dozens of cookies. My mother-in-law recommended peanut butter crispy balls-- a 1:1 ratio of rice cereal, peanut butter and powdered sugar rolled into a ball. 

Now I mixed in some Nutella and ended up with 2 parts rice to 1 part peanut butter and 1 part sugar.

And I rolled them lightly in powdered sugar.

And dipped them in chocolate.

Easy. Vegan if you dip in dark chocolate. And gluten-free.

Crazy mexi steaks

I created this crazy Mexican inspired steak sandwich to use up some leftover steak sandwich meat from my mother in law. The meat came with some fried peppers and hot peppers.

There wasn't enough left for three full sandwiches so I fried some corn tortillas in butter and put some sliced smoked Gouda inside each pair.

I piled some various lettuce on top of that, then the reheated steak meat, then Parmesan and then salsa.

Good stuff.

Gluten Free Girl Scout Cookies

My daughter's troop didn't order any of the new gluten free chocolate chip shortbread cookies. As the co-cookie mom of her troop, I made a trade of some caramel delights to secure some if these for friends who requested them.

We had one lonely bag left and because they are chocolate chip, my daughter had to have them. She used her own money to buy them.

They are tasty little things with a good mouth feel and delightful flavor. They really go nicely with a cup of coffee.

Expensive at $5/box but no one ever bought Girl Scout cookies because they were cheap.

Vegan, gluten free corn muffins

Based on these:

http://angelfoodcooking.blogspot.com/2008/12/ideal-lunch-for-dreary-day.html?m=1

My father spent a good portion of my childhood as a diesel mechanic. A talented mechanic. When I needed a car to get to my college internship (a dream come true to intern in the PR department of Crayola), he bought me a totaled 1984 Ford Escort. In 1996.

Someone he knew had hit a deer with it. I think he paid $50 for it. For months, he pieced that car back together with junkyard parts.

It had a bad carburator. Every time it rained he had to come clear the carburator so my car would start.

And he never brought tools. Only a screwdriver. Often a hanger and some duct tape. No matter what the problem.

He prefers to fix versus replace. He's spent more than one afternoon trying to fix my 50-year-old garage door. The tracks are bent and the pulleys keep jamming.

I've begged him to take my money and go buy new parts. But no, he hammers and bangs the old ones. Once there may have been a torch involved. 

Why the resistance?

"Because any idiot can fix it with new parts," my dad says.

Well, I don't follow recipes. I rarely make the same dish twice. Any idiot can follow someone else's recipe or even their own recipe.

I prefer experimentation.

So, the coffers are low (fuel oil drop, new washing machine, extra car maintenance and I apparently ate my seven-month old implant crown), I'm using what I have.

- 1 1/2 cups corn meal

- 1/2 cup ground cashew

- 1/2 cup flax meal

- 1/4 cup sourgum flour

- 1/2 cup coconut flour

- pinch salt

- one big tablespoon baking powder (when did I run out of baking soda????)

- 1 cup soy milk

- about 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

- less than 1/4 cup canola oil

- about 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar 

- 1 can cream-style corn (the dole version is cream-style-- not creamed, no dairy)

Mix quickly, portion into muffin tins. Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes. 

Mine took forty.

I love these. They have a bit of a baking powder aftertaste, a tad of a grit to them (but much less than other coconut flour recipe I have tried). They are very moist on the inside. Very much a success.

Mini fruit and almond balls

In my house, this recipe may be colloquially known as "baby balls."

It's based on a recipe I found on a gluten-free paleo blog, which I mentioned in my first adaptation of this recipe: http://bit.ly/XCh5On

MINI FRUIT AND ALMOND SNACK BALLS

Ingredients:
- 1 cup (and a few more) raw almonds, soaked in water a few hours and then well drained
- 8 fresh medjool dates, pitted
- 1/4 cup dried blueberries
- 5 dried pineapple rings

Grind the nuts in a food processor.

Place them to the side.

Grind fruit.

Add nuts.

Process until combined.

Shape as desired.

Refrigerate until cold. Store in fridge.

Grain free holiday loaf

Edible Harmony's Cranberry Pumpkin loaf was such a hit in this house that I decided to try a variation of it inspired by the multiple pieces of Starbucks holiday gingerbread loaf that I ate at work last night.

I also decided to use my kitchen aid mixer for the first time. This beast intimidates me.

Into the bowl I placed:
- six eggs
- about 1/3 cup coconut oil which I should have melted
- 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1/4 cup blackstrap molasses
- about 2.5 tablespoons local raw honey
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup pumpkin purée
- 1/2 cup coconut flour
- 1/4 cup ground flax
- 1/4 cup sourgum flour
- ground cloves
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg
- ginger
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup finely diced candied ginger
- 3/4 cup dried cranberries

Place in greased loaf pan. Sprinkle heartily with pumpkin seeds. Bake at 375 for 50 minutes.

I had to bake it for more than an hour, but good stuff!!!

Grain Free Pumpkin Cranberry Bread

Ah, the beauty of food via Facebook... Just Eat Real Food posted this recipe from Edible Harmony. The original recipe is dairy-free, gluten-free, sugar-free.

http://www.edibleharmony.com/grain-free-pumpkin-cranberry-bread/

I thought to myself, "Gee, it's thanksgiving morning. This would be a fantastic seasonal breakfast and fun for child and I since it's simple."

And since the doctor removed her right ear tube Monday, I'm keeping her dairy free.

If you want the real recipe, go to Edible Harmony. If you want horrible misadventures in the kitchen, by all means read on.

Preface: I am finishing my last semester of college classes, after this I just need to finish my honors thesis. We're broke (like most of America). And I have a part-time job at Target which means I work full-time this week because of Black Friday. So right now this instant, I'm stressed.

And holidays tend to push my over the edge anyway.

I am an opening cashier tonight, which means I go in at 8:30 pm and cashier until 1:30 am. Then I go in tomorrow at 5 pm to close the café. To reset my body clock toward working late, I stayed up and watched a James Bond movie after punching out of work at 10:07.

My internal alarm clock woke me up at 7:15. Child was reading to herself out loud, so I got up and closed everyone's bedroom doors. Then, the cats started scratching at the door which went from annoying to amusing when one cat started attacking the cat who was scratching at the door.

So maybe baking wasn't the best course of action for a morning that started this way.

Child got the eggs. I called up the recipe on my phone. Six eggs. Left from out last trip to the farm. Exactly what we needed. And in my head I still have this reaction of "That's a LOT of eggs." I understand coconut flour requires gads of eggs but it's still a shock.

Especially when you've only had a 1/2 cup of coffee.

Child cracks all the eggs and puts them in a bowl. The recipe says to combine eggs, 12 pitted dates and 1/3 cup coconut oil in the food processor.

We dump in the eggs and the dates and child starts measuring 1/4 cup oil because I don't have a third. I let her jam the oil (coconut oil is a solid at room temp) into her cup and I fling some extra into the food processor.

When it's ready, I let her pulse forgetting that the edge of the food processor is broken and this stream of eggs and coconut oil spews onto the counter. Like the Incredible Hulk, I turn into stark raving mad lunatic mom.

What to do? I have to get those dates pulverized. Husband gets blender. With my sunny optimism, I remind him that this won't work and we're doomed.

It works for the dates. Child measures the coconut flour. I add 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce to replace the egg mixture now on my counter. We blend. Blender stops. Coconut flour jams blender.

We reassemble poor food processor. Transfer mix to food processor. Realize blade isn't all the way down. Fiddle and twist.

Add remaining ingredients. Pulse. Recipe a for 1-2 teaspoons cinnamon. I love cinnamon. And my coconut flour bake goods tend to be bland, especially since I have taste buds so attuned to refine sugar.

The only cinnamon we have is in a grinder. Child grinds for what feels like an eternity.

We pulse. I add some local raw honey. Taste buds. Need to wean off sweet. We stir in cranberries. Plop into loaf pan. Batter seems to disappear.

We sprinkle unsalted pumpkin seeds on top. We bake.



Verdict: I need to get toothpicks so I don't keep using random household objects to poke baked goods.

This is delightful!

Success!

Pumpkin coconut squares

Today marks my first attempt at baking with coconut flour. With my tendency to not follow directions, this could end badly.

I based my recipe on one from my coconut flour supplier, Tropical Traditions, who had a lovely buy one get one free sale on coconut flour and coconut oil with free shipping. So I got almost 4 pounds of coconut flour and two 32-ounce bottles of expeller pressed coconut oil for $44.


Preheat to 350.

Grease 8 x 12 pan with coconut oil.

Ingredients (my version, not the original):
- 1/2 cup organic coconut flour
- 1 teaspoon aluminum free baking powder
(Mix those two and set aside. Then mix remaining.)
- 3 farm fresh eggs
- 15 ounces pumpkin
- 1/4 cup raw milk
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil
- 1 tablespoon blackstrap molasses
- 2 tablespoons sliced almonds
- cinnamon, nutmeg and ground cloves

Spread in pan. Cook 45 minutes until toothpick comes out clean. Let cool before slicing.

I didn't stir the batter enough. I was warned this was an issue with coconut flour. They are a tad on the bland side, but not inedible so for a first attempt...

Gluten Free Fruit Bars

I almost broke my food processor this morning, jamming all the pieces together the wrong way and somehow still managing to get the thing to run.

This recipe is based on:
http://nourishedandnurtured.blogspot.com/2011/02/apple-raisin-snack-bars-gaps-legal.html?m=1

Basically, match 1 part nuts to 2 parts dried fruit.

I soaked raw almonds and chopped pecans overnight like the recipe suggested. I used chopped pecans because I bought my food processor when I got married 13 years ago and it's a cheap Black and Decker and I thought this recipe would kill it.

The nuts chopped fine. The fruit made it groan and convulse.

This recipe gets mixed in three parts. First nuts. Then fruit. Then fruit and nuts together.

- about 1/2 cup raw almonds
- about 1/2 cup pecans
- about 1 cup dates
- the remaining one cup for me was a helter skelter mix of raisins, dried cranberries, dried blueberries, dried strawberries and dried kiwi.
- instead of spices, I used about 2 tablespoons poppy seeds

Grind nuts. Transfer to bowl.

Grind fruit, using rubber spatula to pull sticky goop from under blades and the sides.

Add nuts back to goop and blend and mix and rubber spatula until combined.

I greased my hands and a cookie sheet with walnut oil. A plate would have been big enough. Or a brownie pan. And shaped them.

Refrigerate for a couple hours.

Vegan gluten-free falafel

I have a good friend who's gluten intolerant and in the past I had an employee who also had gluten issues. For some reason, this came to mind when I saw this vegan recipe on another friend's blog:

http://leangreensuburbanmachine.com/2011/04/04/30-days-of-vegan-day-4-baked-falafel-with-tahini-miso-sauce/

With my daughter's dairy-free stint, and with a bad history of making falafel (despite a love of it) I decided to try it, and make it gluten free.

Why?

Not sure.

I strayed from the recipe so this is what I think I mixed up:
- 30 ounces chick peas imported from Lebanon
- 2 teaspoons chopped garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground salt
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
- 1 teaspoon baking powder

- 1 tablespoon cornmeal
- probably 4 tablespoons chopped chives frozen from last year's garden
- 2 teaspoons fresh squeezed lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon parsley
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 tablespoon roared sesame seeds
- 2 teaspoons cold pressed extra virgin olive oil

Baked Pears

So, it wasn't an exciting food day here in this house.

We all had yogurt for breakfast. My husband had leftover pasta primavera for lunch, I had peanut butter crackers and my daughter had a grilled cheese sandwich, pickles and grapes (with her grandfather.)

We had nachos with cheddar cheese, sour cream, mango salsa and refried beans for dinner.

And I'm baking a poir tarte tatin for my critique group which meets tonight, which I will serve with a nice French wine (Vouvray).

BUT one of our members can't have wheat, so I took some of the pears and placed them in a dish, sprinkled about one teaspoon brown sugar, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, and 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg on them and baked them at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes. I hope they're yummy.

Modified Corn Lemongrass Sausage soup

I have started a new entry because I have desecrated the vegan nature of the soup with which I started.

I started with Imagine Foods vegan Corn Lemongrass soup...

In the crock pot:

• 1 container Imagine foods vegan corn lemongrass soup
• about 1.5 cups cauliflower
• about 3/4 cup peas
• 2 spinach asiago sausages, cut into chunks.

Well, if I can trust the package of the sausages, it's still a gluten free meal.

This turned out well. My husband really liked it.

Corn Lemongrass Soup

A while ago, probably last winter, I was in the mood for a "different" soup and I had in my head I was going to try something corn chowder-ish. I was looking for a soup I could use as a base and I selected Imagine Corn & Lemongrass soup. I brought it home and avoided it for the next six months.

I looked at the package today and it said, "Best if used by 11 Dec 09." Oops.

Guess we're eating it today. Honestly, I'm afraid of it. Hence, why I avoided it for so long. The package says it would go nicely with tofu or shrimp. I read one online review that said to serve it with chicken or add spinach, that it's a good soup but very light.

I'm tempted to warm it now, and taste it, and then decide what to do with it to make a nice hot lunch for my family...

Off to the kitchen... Guess I'm having corn lemongrass soup for breakfast.

Pumpkin lattes

A friend forwarded a link to a gluten-free, crock pot cooking blog:
http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/search/label/gluten%20free

Quoted from the blog:
Skip the coffee house today and make pumpkin spice lattes at home. This recipe really does taste like the real thing----even though it doesn't leave a fluorescent orange stain when you dribble it down your sweater.

updated 11/23: I just learned that the coffee house Pumpkin Spice Lattes are not gluten free. Yet another reason to make them at home!


The Ingredients.
adapted from Taste of Home's Halloween 2008 edition

--2 cups milk (I used 1%)
--2 T canned pumpkin
--2 T white sugar
--2 T vanilla (not a typo. it asks for tablespoons)
--1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
OR: 1/4 tsp cinnamon, 1/8 tsp cloves, 1/8 tsp nutmeg, and a teeny tiny pinch of ground ginger
--1/2 cup brewed espresso or 3/4 cup strong brewed coffee

--garnish with whipped cream (optional)

The Directions.

This will make enough for 2 people to have a big mug with a bit leftover. If you are having friends over, adjust the recipe accordingly. I used a 4-quart crockpot, but as small as a 1.5 quart will work with these amounts.

Add the coffee/espresso and milk to the crockpot. Whisk in the pumpkin, spices, sugar, and vanilla.

Cover and cook on high for 2 hours if everything is cold. Whisk again.

Ladle into mugs, and garnish with whipped cream and additional cinnamon. I added a cinnamon stick to be fancy.
(if I rinse it off, can I re-use it? It seems wasteful to toss.)

The Verdict.

Adam and I really enjoyed these. We had them for breakfast yesterday, and the kids were jealous.

It would be fun to put this out for the adults at a Halloween party, holiday gift-wrapping party, or to serve guests while you're waiting for the turkey to cook.

I'm thinking of making some pumpkin cookies with the leftover canned pumpkin.

What I did:
Angel's pumpkin butterscotch lattes

In the crockpot, on high, whisk:

• 1.75 cups unsweetened soymilk
• 2 cups decaf coffee
  
• 5 tablespoons solid pack pumpkin
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1.5 tablespoons butterscotch
• 4 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
• pinch cinnamon
• pinch ground cloves
• pinch nutmeg
• pinch ginger
  

Un-Chicken Parm

My husband once again saves the day. This whole week is a blur for me and eating has not entered my mind as a priority. I thawed out a loaf of homemade French bread. That was my contribution. My husband made tuna with soy mayonnaise and crackers (the funky gluten free multi-grain or ritz I wonder) for lunch. And carrot sticks. For dinner, he made "chicken" parm with Morningstar Chik'n Patties, cheese, Wegmans pizza sauce and the homemade bread. He cooked some mixed veggies in seasoning (probably garlic pepper and a touch of butter) and voilà.

Good news is that the budget post-home disaster (we had a minor flood a month ago) has recuperated and I might be able to go to the grocery store soon! And I expect this week to be nutty, and full of bad food, but next week (fingers crossed) we'll get back on track.

Staff meeting

Perhaps this is off topic. I host staff meetings several times a year and I am responsible for food. When I started, I was told we alternated between Subway and pizza with a budget of $30/meeting. We have about ten staff members. My staff range from college students to teachers to retirees so it's a challenge to find something palatable for everyone.

The meetings are at 6 p.m. so for some people, it's dinner. That includes me.

When I ordered pizza the first time, I discovered that the employee who'd be with the program the longest cannot eat wheat. So that also rules out Subway. Subway and pizza did not impress the adults either. Plus, getting accurate figures on who would attend made guessing how much food to get difficult. Too much food was going to waste. I asked for suggestions and got none.

So, I started focusing on ideas for food that my wheat-intolerant employee could eat. And on munchies that could stick to your ribs since some folks had dinner before had and some did not. And what I wanted for dinner.

Last time, I went to Giant (the grocery store of choice for our office) and got oranges, raisins, cheese and crackers. This time, I had a budget of 20 dollars. I got crudités (a small platter of celery, broccoli, cauliflower, cherry tomatoes and cucumber), organic baby carrots, mixed nuts, Spinach dip, hummus, cheddar cheese (I thought I got Muenster too but I bought two cheddars, oops), triscuits and gluten free spring onion rice crackers. The platter was demolished!!! Everything but some triscuits, a couple carrots and three cherry tomatoes disappeared. Even the executive director commented that it looked delicious.

Oh-- and the cost: $20.13