My last post may have hit a few gag reflexes so allow me to offer a small and tasty apology

Gluten free lunch box brownies!

1 c canola oil
1 1/2 c white sugar
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 c white rice flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon baking powder

You’ll need (2) 12 cup muffin tins and paper liners.

Preheat your oven to 350. Drop liners into tins and lightly spray with Pam or other spray oil. In a mixing bowl blend oil, sugar, eggs and vanilla. Blend in cocoa powder and then sprinkle salt and baking powder over the mixture and lightly mix. Add white rice flour, stirring until just blended. Divide mixture into the 24 cups (I overfilled a few of mine so I was only able to squeeze 21 out of my batch). I used a large soup / tablespoon sized spoon to divide mine up. One heaping spoon to each cup, remember these aren’t muffins so you don’t want to add too much! Bake 13-15 minutes. Allow to cool completely and then tuck these away in lunch boxes for happy children and husbands (and don’t forget to tuck a few into your mouth too). If you like a fudgier brownie, only use 2 eggs and bake more on the 13 minute side.

Around these parts we have a grocery store that is known for it’s killer BOGOs (buy one get one free). I love to take advantage of these sales for hoarding purposes, especially to hoard non perishables and household items. Last week they had a BOGO on peanut butter AND a BOGO on jam- what a heavenly match. Of course without gluten free bread, I can’t make much use of these two things…. or can I? *insert image of me with the Dr Evil pinky finger next to my lip (and remember I have bangs now)*

I present my perfectly delicious, fabulously evil BOGO cookies

mm they look so good I think I need another angle of tastiness

I cheated in my TED diet with these puppies (wasn’t the best idea as the jam made Bo screamy but let me tell you, it was entirely worth it)

The base recipe was one I used “back in the day” and completely forgot about. Gluten Free Girl reminded me of their existence and they’ve been a regular in the rotation ever since.

The original recipe reads like this

1 c creamy peanut butter
1 c white sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 egg

but due to the numerous holes in my brain (I’m fairly certain that each of my babies have found a way to suck my brain out through the umbilical cord), this is what I did

1 c creamy peanut butter
1 c white sugar
1/2 teaspoon Tablespoon baking powder
1 egg

A serendipitous error as the texture was perfect for my plans.

Preheat your oven to 350. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. In a medium bowl mix all ingredients by hand (trust me, this is not kitchen aid mixer time. If you do that, you’ll be trying to pick the batter off your mixer for the next 2 years). Scoop up approximately 1 heaping teaspoon of batter and roll it into a ball. Place on cookie sheet. repeat until sheet is full. I was able to cook 4 rows of 3 on mine. pop into the oven for about 10 -12 minutes depending on your desired crunchiness level. When time is up, pull em out and allow to cool on the cookie sheet for a minute or so. Then using your thumb, make a divet (divit? my spellchecker wants to make it divest..) in the center of each cookie. Let the cookies set on the sheet another 3-5 minutes. Then grab up that BOGO jam. I blopped a big ole scoop out into a bowl and mixed it till it was less jar shaped and more puddle of mush. I chose to use blackberry jam but you could do anything from apple to raspberry to booger. I filled each cookie crater with jam and let them finish cooling. Just repeat the process until you get friggin tired of dealing with the oven. Once bored and distracted, roll tablespoon size balls of dough and bake them a little longer. You can give these the jam treatment too or just leave them as it. Next you politely offer cookies to your family and or friends and while they are eating the few crumbs you offered to them, you hoard the rest of the cookies for your later enjoyment. I doubled the recipe so there was much hoarding and secret snacking. MUAHAHHAHAHHAHAHHA

This gluten free cake recipe with a box of raspberry jello tossed in and vanilla cream cheese frosting.

and for you gluten free cookie covetters

and you can find this delicious recipe HERE.

Oh man that looks good, huh? PSSST! It’s gluten free! I adapted a cupcake recipe from the Whimsical Bakehouse; then I slathered it with buttercream frosting and candy hearts. I’m delivering 24 of them to Tessie’s class today and hoping that the teachers can’t notice the difference- they are all rather freaked out by the idea of eating gluten free.

I road tested the recipe on The Hubster who declared them a successes, a delicious sweet with a taste reminiscent of a sugar cookie success. I, of course, could not take his word for it and had to try one (or three) myself- YUM!!

Want to make your own?

2 C gluten free flour mix (I used 1 C white rice flour per 1/3 tapioca flour and 1/3 potato starch)
3/4 tsp salt
1 C white sugar
1/2 C + 2 1/2 tsp milk, warmed to 110 degrees
2 large eggs
1 stick (4oz) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 tsp gluten free vanilla extract
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp xanthan gum

Preheat oven to 350, my oven is a little wonky so I preheated mine to 345. Grease the top of a 12 slot muffin tin and line cups with paper.

Sift gluten free flour mix into mixing bowl (I used my Kitchenaid mixer with the paddle attachment for this recipe). Add salt and sugar; mix lightly until just combined. Add warmed milk to mixture at a low speed. Continue on a low speed while you add eggs, butter and vanilla and then allow to continue mixing for a minute (be careful not to over mix as GF goodies can get chewy if over mixed). Add baking powder and xanthan gum while beating mixture on medium low speed and continue mixing for 30 seconds.

Fill each liner 3/4 full and bake for approximately 18 minutes. A toothpick should come out clean and the tops will lightly spring back if pressed. Cool in pan for 2 minutes then remove to a wire rack. Once completely cooled, frost. I used a basic buttercream but anything will do! I hope you have a fantastic Valentines day.

This gluten free thing isn’t so bad. I can make my own delicious version of pretty much anything I want but there are days, like today, where I just feel like crying about it. Do you know why? Because I’m pregnant and don’t want to make my own pizza, I want to call some place and say “please bring me a pizza damn it and make it snappy”

I would comfort myself with gluten free banana cake with peanut butter frosting,

but The Hubster decided to eat the last slice… and he drank my last rootbeer.. I think someone is begging to get punched in the kidney.

Tonight we have a huge holiday dinner with The Hubster’s side of the family. I feel bad for the restaurant that is playing host to this scheduled mayhem. We can be a demanding and piggish bunch. This has been a lean Christmas for us but rather then scrooging the relatives I made them gluten free candy. Don’t you wish you were related?

Tessa “watered” my spider plant this weekend. In case you are wondering why “watered” is in quotations, let’s just say that this “watering” involved no water but did involve a 4 year old girl stripping down and hovering over said plant. What a wonderful way to wake up.

I’ve made it to nine weeks. I’m crampy and suspicious. I don’t have much nausea unless I have to drive somewhere, especially if I have to drive somewhere after eating. I should probably send a letter of apology to Albertsons. A few days ago I had to run over there to get some Vick’s baby vapor rub immediately after consuming a meal. It was my first from the toes hurl session since finding out about this pregnancy. Maybe they should send ME a Thank You card though. I did manage to stumble into the parking lot before letting that go.

Speaking of vapor rub, my kids all have this horrific cough that sounds like someone dropped marbles into a garbage disposal. It’s made for a lovely holiday break.

Levi has started letting go when he stands up. The King demands that we clap wildly while he performs such feats. He also further upped the ante by cruising along the sides of his crib.

The Hubster naively thought that we could “sleep train” Levi during his 5 day vacation. BWHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAAHAAHAHAHAAHAHA Yeah, did not happen. There is a bright light on the horizon though. All the flooring is now laid in Levi’s room. We only need to put up the molding, window sills, and curtains… pass inspections.. and then cut a new door in the bathroom wall before we can transition Levi into his own room. I’m hoping that his night wakings will decrease once he’s in his own space. Of course, he may be in college by then.

The Hubster is scowling at me. Before we do the flooring in our master suite we need to repaint. As much as I adore the color that it is now, it’s too “wakeful” for me. When I mentioned having to choose and paint a new color, I’m pretty sure he started crying. Oh sure he said there was something in his eye but well we all know what that means. Have I ever mentioned how much The Hubster HATES painting walls? I think he decided to punish me by not working further on the floor and instead taking a 2 hour nap.

Some bright news? I found a suitable Gluten Free pizza crust recipe. The craving which nearly drove me to ordering Papa Johns, which would be akin to voluntarily shooting myself in the stomach, has abated after consuming this recipe. It’s not perfect by any means but it’ll do until I can come up with something better.

I cobbled this together from a couple different failed recipes.

2 cups White Rice Flour
1 1/4 cups Corn Starch
3/4 cup Millet Flour
1/4 Cup sweet white Sorghum Flour
1 1/2 Tablespoons Xanthan Gum
2 tsp Sea Salt
1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon Garlic Powder
1/4 - 1/2 teaspoons Ground Oregano
1 package Rapid Rise Yeast
2 Tablespoons White Sugar

1 3/4 Cups Warm Water (110-115 degrees)
1/3 Cup Olive Oil
1 Tablespoon Honey
2 eggs (I’ll bet the egg replacers would work just magically for those with egg allergies)

Preheat oven to 375. Mix all dry ingredients, including rapid rise yeast, in a large bowl. In a small microwavable container heat oil and water to 110-115 degrees. Once properly heated blend in honey and eggs. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients. Using a rubber spatula, mix wet into dry and use spatula to kneed the dough mixture. Cover and set in a warm place for 10 minutes to “rest.” While dough is resting, oil (2) pizza pans or cookie sheets. Also lightly oil the spatula. Once the dough has rested, separate dough into two equal sized balls. Use the oiled spatula to spread the dough into 12 inch circles. You may need to oil your hands so you can further work the dough. Remember to make a fat lip around the edge to hold all the goodies you are going to pile into this sucker. Prebake the crusts for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and top with sauce, veggies, meats and cheeses. I like to put my veggies under the cheese so they stay right where I want them. Pop pizza’s back in the oven for another 10-15 minutes (keep an eye on the pizza as they can cook up quickly at this point. You don’t want to end up with a burned pie. If it is crisping up before your toppings appear done, lower the oven temp by 10 -20 degrees).

The recipe is by no means perfect but it’s the closest I’ve come to replicating pizza as I once knew it and still crave it. I’ll post in the future if I further hone the recipe.

Happy Thanksgiving to all the Americans out there in blogland. We’re keeping the gathering small and yet I can’t help but cook cook cook!

The Pioneer Woman is helping me with my turkey this year as I give brining my first go.

Gluten Free Girl is helping me with my pumpkin and apple pies.

My stuffing/dressing is homemade gluten free buttermilk cornbread with lots of sauted goodies baked to stuffingy perfection. The mashed potatoes, I’m sure, are outlawed in 10 states for being overly decadent then there are all the veggies. Oh the veggies! We have a huge organic bounty to enjoy this Thanksgiving thanks to some close friends who work at the organic veggie co-op. I’m feeling a bit like a pip and thinking that 2 pies and a cake simply might not be enough, I may need to make some more toffee. MMMMMMMMM toffee!

We have so much to be thankful for this year. We added a vibrant and healthy son, our girls are flourishing, and we are expecting another miracle. Our sense of support and community has expanded 10 fold in the last year; it’s such a blessing to have people in your life who are eager to help when the road gets tough and who know that you are just as eager to help them.

I can only hope that each and every one of you have such blessings and many more in the year to come.

Knitting isn’t going so well. I haven’t figured out how to cast properly. I’m so frustrated I feel like stabbing something with my knitting needles. Instead of further antagonizing myself, I’m going to test out a few gluten free pie crust recipes and try to make a batch of toffee.

The Hubster is attempting to stay off my knitting needle stab worthy list by working on the flooring. So far it’s working.

Since going gluten free, I have conquered cakes, brownies, pancakes, among many other necessary goodies. There are still some biggies which I have not yet found a suitable replacement for. Pizza dough still eludes me. I’ve tried dozens of recipes and all have left me cold. Pie crust is a bit befuddling, but I hope to work through that this holiday season. I still have unsatisfied wet dreams about salty buttery biscuits, though I’m confident that one day I shall climb that mountain too. This week I got to cross one thing off my list - banana bread.

A good banana bread is like a hug for your stomach. It’s at home on a breakfast plate, tucked into a lunch, or even as dessert. It’s passed over fences to neighbors as a gesture of goodwill, happy on a bake sale table, and perfect to pull out when unexpected company arrives.

I’ve missed banana bread. Sure I’ve made some in the last year, but it’s all been sub par. The different texture was distracting, mealy even. It’s been like getting one of those fake air kisses when you were out for full on tongue action. So sad. Wipe that tear away though. I bring you gluten free banana bread salvation and please don’t try to lighten up, de-fattify, or otherwise stripe away the flavors I have so carefully crafted to mimic that warm hug minus the stabbing stomach pain that normally would come along with a tasty piece of banana bread.

1/4 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3/4 cup butter
1 & 1/2 cups white sugar
1/2 light brown sugar
3 eggs
6 very ripe bananas, mashed
1 (16 ounce) container sour cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons baking soda
1 & 1/2 tsp Xathan gum
2 cups Brown rice flour
1 & 1/3 cup potato starch
2/3 cup tapioca starch
1/2 cup Almond meal/four

optional:
1 cup of nuts

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. In a small bowl mix together 1 teaspoon cinnamon with 1/4 c white sugar. Grease the insides of (4) 7×3 loaf pans (side note, I only had 3 larger loaf pans and they worked just fine. I just had to increase the cooking time). Dust insides of greased pans with sugar cinnamon mixture (believe me, trust me- this step is utterly important and should not be skipped).

I used my lover KitchenAid Mixer for the wet stuff. I started by creaming together butter, 1 & 1/2 cups of white sugar and 1/2 cup light brown sugar. Then I chucked in my three eggs (minus the shells of course), and my 6 peeled really grossly ripe bananas (the blacker and mushier the better). Next I dumped in the sour cream (full fat version, none of that fat free crapolah), vanilla and 2 teaspoons of cinnamon.

In a separate and HUGE bowl I added my flours and starches. Then I blended the baking soda, xanthan gum, and salt. I added wet to dry and mixed by hand until everything was well incorporated but not over mixed (please don’t over mix gluten free flours. You don’t want to end up with a gummy brick, right?) You can fold in the nuts here if you so desire. (If I was going to nut up my bread I would toss pecans with some extra brown sugar and layer them on the top of my bread once I had already divided the batter into pans. The Hubster thinks that the only nuts that belong in this house are his and Levi’s so my bread remains nutless). If you are nutless, simply divide batter evenly into the pans and bake for about 1 hour. If you use larger pans and / or your oven disperses heat unevenly like a certain oven I know, your cooking time may vary. In larger pans, my loaves took about 75 minutes.

Now realize, this recipe is deadly good. It’s not one of those “it’s good for gluten free…” no it’s just GOOD. I fed it to several gluten-loving friends who moaned with delight.

You can monkey with this recipe any way you would like (hey try tossing in mini chocolate chips if you want to rot all your teeth out) but 1) I may cry and 2) that smallish bit (comparatively) of almond meal really seems to tie the texture and flavor together. I know you may have to mortgage your house to buy a bag of almond meal, but suck it up- it’s TOTALLY worth it.