gluten and dairy free cupcakes

I have tried SO many cupcakes that are gluten free and I have only found 2 that I liked and could enjoy eating. And my how I do love cupcakes... It was tough to go gluten free and especially tough as I have said before to have no tasty desert options...
This recipe is an adaptation of the Barefoot Contessa birthday sheet cake recipe. It is not fat free, but I guess once in a while a tasty treat is just what you need. This recipe is moist and rich and you might only need to eat just one!


For the cupcakes:

18 tablespoons (2 1/4 sticks) earth balance buttery sticks, at room temperature

3 cups sugar

6 extra-large eggs, at room temperature

8 ounces (about 1 cup) almond milk 

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

zest of 1 lemon

3 cups of gluten free flour, my favorite recipe is found here... http://5loavesofbread.blogspot.com/2011/09/almond-butter-chocolate-chip-cookies.html in this recipe. You can make a big batch like I do and have it ready. Or use King Arthur gluten free flour which is also good. 

1/3 cup of cornstarch 

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon baking soda 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cream the butter and sugar on medium-high speed in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. On medium speed, add the eggs, 2 at a time, then the almond milk, vanilla, and the lemon zest, scraping down the bowl as needed. Mix well. Sift together the flour, cornstarch, salt, and baking soda. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and stir just until smooth. Finish mixing by hand to be sure the batter is well mixed. Pour evenly into lined cupcake pans, bake 24 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Yields 24 cupcakes.

For the icing, I use the Dr. Oetker Organics brand icing in chocolate for these cupcakes, though they do sell a vanilla icing if you prefer. Follow directions on the box, using earth balance butter and a dash of sea salt. This icing is the best! I've tried a lot of recipes, but this one is the perfect texture and taste.

Enjoy! 

gluten and dairy free scabble

This recipe is ancient and some people call it chex mix, in the south my grandmother makes it as Christmas presents every year for numerous people and she calls it scrabble. Not sure how that name came to be, but it has always been a favorite treat. It is by FAR my two boys favorite snack, and we make it a bit more often than Christmas. Halloween sounded like as good a time as any right??!! And plus it isn't the sugar filled candy they will be eating on Monday so we made it for a treat at our pumpkin carving get together, yummy!!!

It's super easy. Here's the ingredients:
5 cups of rice chex
5 cups of corn chex
4 cups of gluten free pretzels
your choice of nuts and your choice of how many to add. My kids don't really eat them, except they like pumpkin seeds (about 1 cup) so we added those and almonds (1-2 cups) since I love those...
1/2 cup of earth balance butter, or your choice of butter
2 tab Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 tab garlic powder
2 tsp sea salt

In a small sauce pan melt the butter, add the garlic powder, sea salt, and Worcestershire sauce and mix well while butter melts. Once the butter is melted, pour over the rice and corn chex, pretzels, and nuts and stir well. Use a large roasting pan if you have one, something wide and deep so that all the ingredients can spread out. Make sure to coat all the ingredients well. Put in a preheated oven at 200 degrees. Bake for 30 minutes uncovered, and then stir well so that you are turning the bottom of your pan and coating the ingredients well. Repeat 3 more times so that you have baked this a total of 2 hours and stirred it 4 times. And you will have the best smelling house ever! Mmmm reminds me of my grandmother's house every time.

Enjoy! Your whole family will LOVE this. And your friends and neighbors will too:)

the little things

Today I am posting 3 random things, though they aren't the most important by any stretch of the imagination, they are three things I am enjoying today... And I guess that means they are bringing me a little extra JOY.

Poppy King lipstick by Jcrew

I love how I can have on no other make up and put this sheer red lip color on and it gives me an instant lift, the color is the perfect red for everyone! It is available when in stock, in the Jcrew stores. It has been sold out every time I would pop in to the store. When my friend Gretchen and I were in this Sunday it was there! I didn't even want to try it on since I had seen it on every model in their catalogue, I was already sold. My friend got one too, and she has gotten numerous compliments already... Yay for the little things..

Afternoon iced coffee, with your left over morning pot you never finished

Super simple to make and a delightful pick me up. A cup of ice, then half your cup filled with your left over pot from the morning, top it with almond milk, or whatever milk you choose, and a tablespoon or more of agave syrup. Stir. It's amazing and such a great use of your wasted coffee that never got used. There is 25% of your daily calcium and vitamin D in almond milk plus it is low fat. Not a bad little treat!

Pumpkin farms

They are such a great fun little outing for the kids and adults in the fall. There are more than I can count out here in the Pacific Northwest, and seem to be plenty in every area. Helps keep the kids entertained while waiting for Halloween.

Reagan's cute friends from the trip we took with his preschool.

Love the brother love!

My favorite picture of the day, Ethan with a band aide on his forehead just because he likes it. But he was so proud of his score for the day!

Choose to love like a Dragon Mom in a Tiger Mom world...

Today's post isn't about my own child exactly or at all about food. It's about love though. And I wanted to share something I read off of a blog I read from a mother who lost her precious first born son Ben to Neuroblastoma, a form of pediatric cancer, in December 2008. Her blog is amazing, her stories touch the heart and I encourage any person to read it. Her family started Ben Towne Foundation http://bentownefoundation.org/home/, a charity which just in the last year raised 1 million dollars for childhood cancer research. As it stands our government gives less than 5 percent of it's cancer research money to pediatric cancer research, but childhood cancer seems to have some of the most challenging survival rates and it is just heart wrenching, as all cancer is. So this determined family decided to create a new cancer research foundation that would (hopefully) change the way pediatric cancer is treated. And, they have already done that.  Read their website to see the amazing advancements their research is pioneering.

This article she posted today from the NY Times found here, http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/16/opinion/sunday/notes-from-a-dragon-mom.html?_r=1&smid=fb-nytimes&WT.mc_id=OP-SM-E-FB-SM-LIN-NFA-101611-NYT-NA&WT.mc_ev=click, was written by mother Emily Rapp who is raising a terminally ill son.

My favorite part in the article, which was so thoughtfully written by a beautiful mother's heart, was this... "Parenting, I've come to understand, is about loving your child today. Now. In fact, for any parent, anywhere, that's all there is."

We all only have today, and our love today. No one is promised tomorrow, that is for sure. Such a true and valuable lesson. Not just in parenting, but in life. But as a mother, I know that is the truth in my heart. I hope you read it, and I hope it inspires you as it has me to choose to love like a Dragon Mom in a Tiger Mom world.

Coconut curry chicken and rice

Oh. My. Goodness. I have found a new love, and it isn't totally home made, I found the sauce already made a Costco this week and tried it on one of those nights where I only had about 30 minutes to make a meal. It was delish! And super easy! Tasted better than many I've had out at restaurants and didn't take me hours in the kitchen, score!

Here is a pic of the sauce I purchased at Costco called Maya Kaimal Coconut Curry Indian Simmer Sauce (gluten and dairy free and all natural)...

Ingredients
6-8 boneless skinless chicken thighs
1/2 container of sauce
sea salt
red pepper flakes
white or brown rice (6-8 servings), I used white basmati for this dish
chopped cilantro

Bake the chicken and 2 cups of the sauce on 400 covered for 20-30 minutes or until tender and cooked through. Take out of the oven and add the remainder of the half of container of sauce, probably about 1 1/2 cups and let it warm in the chicken dish. Add about 1 teaspoon seas salt and for medium heat I would use 1 tsp red pepper flakes, or allow each person to add to their dish as desired. Prepare the rice, I use the Trader Joe's microwavable basmati white rice when I am in a hurry and it is great (takes 3 minutes in microwave)! Put some rice on the plate, spoon chicken thighs and sauce mixture over and sprinkle with red pepper flakes if needed and chopped cilantro. Yummy!!!

Turkey meatloaf with roasted root vegetables

I have a deep love for Ina Gartner's food. She cooks with such a simple yet flavorful appreciation of the ingredients, which are never processed and really allows the taste of the ingredients to shine. So "turkey meatloaf " may not sound so special as ground turkey meat on it's own would not be the best meat ever, but cooked with the right additional flavors this meat is so perfect for meatloaf, you'll see... Ina uses a recipe that is similar, but not gluten free and she uses chicken stock which honestly is not necessary so I use water. I've made it both ways, you wouldn't notice a difference. And I use ketchup instead of tomato paste, I don't think tomato paste tastes real great so I tried using ketchup instead and it is really yummy, plus then you need 2 less ingredients.

It is one of those foods that could have remained out of my gluten free taste buds, except for my absolute favorite bread... Udi's either the white or wheat will be great. Found at most grocery stores in the frozen section, which is what keeps it so fresh. If you are gluten free you MUST buy this bread, lots of people also enjoy another bread called Rudi's. confusing and such similar names, I still prefer Udi's.. Soon I will update my favorite foods to buy.
Now for the recipe.

1 package of ground turkey meat, the 85/15 fat content is best but I make it with the super lean as well. I just add a few tablespoons more of olive oil and a few extra tablespoons more water as well.
1 med onion chopped
1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce
ketchup
1 tablespoons of Italian seasoning
2 teaspoons sea salt
2 teaspoons ground pepper
1/3 cup water
2-3 pieces of Udi's bread toasted till light brown and chopped fine
1 egg
olive oil

In a saute pan with a few tablespoons of olive oil saute the onion until translucent not all the way cooked and add the Worcestershire sauce, water, 3 tablespoons ketchup, 1 teaspoon salt, Italian seasoning, and ground pepper. Simmer on med low for a few minutes until this mixture is thickened.

In a large mixing bowl mix the ground turkey, ground pepper, sea salt, egg, toasted bread crumbs, and the above onion mixture with a potato masher until well combined. On a baking sheet lay foil over the top and spray with non stick spray. Pour the meat mixture onto baking sheet and form a large egg shaped mound. Squeeze ketchup in a zigzag motion back and forth until most of the top is covered in ketchup. Sprinkle a small amount of Italian seasoning on top as well as fresh ground pepper. Cook 40 min in 350 degree preheated oven or until meat is cooked through.

Serve with your favorite oven roasted root vegetable. Parsnips and carrots with finely chopped onion is a nice option. Chop the vegetables to desired bite size, drizzle olive oil on top, season with sea salt, ground pepper and Italian seasoning or fresh herbs if you have a favorite or some in your garden, rosemary and thyme make great combinations. With clean hands massage them all and make sure they are all equally coated with the oil and seasonings. Bake on 425 for 20 or more minutes until they are tender.

Banana Muffins (with or without chocolate chips)

I LOVE banana bread! A few years ago I found the best recipe yet, the world famous flours bakery recipe. And it was the only one I would use! Steve Jobs comes to mind in today's posting for his saying that his success came from seeing a great idea and making it better, so I found the best recipe and I am now making it gluten and dairy free... Try it! You will not be disappointed.. The texture is moist and the flavor is amazing!

Ingredients
1 2/3 cups gluten free flour (the recipe I use is here in the posting, http://5loavesofbread.blogspot.com/2011/09/almond-butter-chocolate-chip-cookies.html I use brown rice flour for this mixture and Fred Meyer sells it in the bulk section for $1.99 per lb)
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp ground Cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup plus 2 tab sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup oil, (I use safflower oil)
4 large bananas or 5 small med bananas mashed (very ripe work best and I put the over ripe ones in the freezer for later use and they work well for this bread, though they seem watery, they turn out great)
3 tab almond milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
optional toasted walnuts and or chocolate chips, my family is a no nuts plus chocolate chips, of course:-)

Set oven to 350 degrees and start with beating the eggs and sugar with a mixer on high for 5 to 10 minutes or until light and fluffy. In a separate bowl combine all the dry ingredients and stir with a fork. When the eggs and sugar are light and airy add in the oil, then the mashed bananas, almond milk and vanilla extract. Mix those together, and then fold in the dry ingredients until just mixed. Pour into a loaf pan or muffin pan lined with papers. If you plan to use a loaf pan, it is best to line that with parchment paper, and bake for 45 min to 1 hour or until toothpick comes out clean. I top my bread or muffin with dairy free chocolate chips before baking. I prefer using this recipe to make muffins. Bake at 350 degrees for 21 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. You decide!!

Enjoy!!!

Roasted vegetable chicken and rice

This dish was inspired by my husband Ryan. He misses some of the old favorite dishes I used to make before making the gluten change in our house. My old version honestly was just OK. I used a can of cream of chicken soup, and frozen vegetables mostly. This version is fantastic. It is savory, tastes like a home cooked healthy meal that satisfies in every way. The savory cream sauce made using almond milk has such an amazing flavor, which makes the dish so moist and flavor packed. The roasted vegetables are amazing, I make these in different forms and varieties based on what's in my fridge at the time and they always make a fantastic side dish. You can change out the types of vegetables you choose to roast as well based on your family likes. I love roasted asparagus as well as any root vegetable. So be creative and I'd love to hear how yours turns out! My husband wanted mine to be a recreation of an old fav so I stuck with the tried and true this time, but I plan to change up the vegetables next time for something new. It is also perfect for these fall days we are having where a hot home cooked meal hits the spot. This one did for sure! I think it is a great dish to double and either give one to a friend in need or freeze one for a night during those hard weeks.

Roasted vegetables
4 large carrots
1 med onion
Olive oil
Sea salt and pepper
Italian seasoning
Roast 400 20-25 min until carrots are tender season again with sea salt

Savory cream sauce
4 tab earth balance soy free
3 tab gluten free flour
2 1/2 cups almond milk
1/2 tsp of each of the following:
Onion powder
Garlic powder
Poultry seasoning
Ground white pepper or black
1 tsp sea salt
1/4 teas cayenne pepper or spicy seasoning like a Cajun seasoning

Set burner to med high and in a sauce pan melt the butter and stir in the flour until the lumps are gone and it is bubbly, add in the seasonings and stir until no lumps remain. Add the milk and whisk while cooking every few minutes until thickened and the turn heat off.

6 servings rice, I prefer brown for healthiness and white for taste, you decide:) Cook the rice in chicken broth, look for one with no MSG and gluten like Kitchen Basics or Pacific add in a few tablespoons of butter and a teaspoon of salt for more flavor
2 cups cooked chicken breasts, or any kind of cooked chicken I am a fan of rotisserie chicken or use any kind of chicken you have (an easy cooking method for chicken you want to be tasty and quick, rub with olive oil, season with salt and pepper and Italian seasoning and bake in dish covered with foil on 425 for 20 min or until cooked through)

Combine cooked rice, sauce, chicken, roasted vegetables and 1 1/2 cup sweet green peas in casserole dish, cover and bake in 425 for 35 min or until your peas are tender and the sauce is bubbly.
Serves 6

My son's big question and a great photographer

Most every night my son Reagan asks me 20 or so questions as I try to say goodnight and leave his room... It's his way of stopping the inevitable from happening, him going to bed. He's come up with all sorts of questions, about everything from dinosaurs to how germs work. Boy does he have a lot of them, so it is funny as his mother to know his inquisitive personality and his deep dislike for bedtime that this nightly ritual goes on...

                                             

After answering my usual random 10 questions minimum the other night, I was walking out the door with my hand on the door handle when he promptly asked a bomb of a question. "Mom, why did God make us all"? Wow! Talk about a stomach dropping moment! He's only 4 and I am already answering such deep questions? No one told me about this, I wasn't prepared. I had about an instant of credibility before I needed to answer. I walked over to him searching my brain fast and praise God that He spoke faster for me in my spirit then my mouth could stumble over an answer. So I gave him what I felt stirring in my heart...

"God made us because He loves us". Pause. Such a simple answer I thought... He looked at me waiting for more... So I added... "Before you were born, I wanted you so much but God  loved you and made you just the way you are because He loves YOU that way.  He made each of us so different. We are special and unique and so loved by God". I was speaking not from the head, more from the heart as if it was something I just knew...  I was remembering wanting Reagan so badly, as he was conceived and was being formed in the womb. I was thinking about how God created us, and as I felt such a longing for him, God must have delighted, and even longed for Reagan more than I had.

What a gift... Gods gift of our children and us being God's children. We were desired.  It makes me feel so loved. And after that question, there were no more that night, thank goodness...
I'm sure there are tons of more accurate theological answers but thank you God for the one you gave me tonight. We needed a simple answer to a deep question for a 4 year old! You delivered and I was so blessed by it!

                                            

I hope and pray with all my heart that both of my boys can grow to know and take in God's love. That would be my biggest prayer. I hope you all reading this can either relate or will know of this love as well, it's there for all of us.

The photographer who took these amazing images is Alicia Erickson, she does amazing work! In my opinion her fees are ridiculously low for her talent level! Her contact e-mail is aliciamaephotography@gmail.com.

Pumpkin Spiced Muffins

I love the fall, it is my favorite season and always has been. Growing up in the south we always looked forward to the relief from the brutally hot humid weather turning crisp and cool, football and all the fall festivities. And even now living in the Pacific Northwest, I can't stop my love affair... It is so beautiful to watch the leaves turn colors, my children get so excited about their Halloween costumes and baking anything with pumpkin! So today I am posting my first round of pumpkin...

These muffins were gone before the end of the day. My kids literally gobbled them down, which my husband wasn't too happy about since he hadn't had his share. Poor guy, there will be more!

Ingredients

2 1/4 cups of gluten free flour or regular flour (my recipe for the flour I use is here in this post http://5loavesofbread.blogspot.com/2011/09/almond-butter-chocolate-chip-cookies.html)
2 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground ginger
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 can of pumpkin
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup almond milk, soy milk, or regular milk
1/3 cup of safflower oil, or whatever vegetable oil you have in your pantry
1/4 cup of molasses
2 eggs
A few tablespoons of sugar in the raw for sprinkling over the top of the muffins

These are such easy muffins to make... Here's how

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Combine the flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, ginger and salt in a medium or large mixing bowl. Stir these ingredients together. Make a well at the center of mixture.

In another bowl, combine brown sugar, canned pumpkin, milk, oil, molasses, vanilla extract and eggs stirring well with a whisk.

Add the wet mixture into the dry mixture slowly whisking until just combined and moist.

Spoon batter into 18 muffin cup lined with paper liners. Sprinkle with the sugar in the raw. Bake for 15 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. They are super moist and are great warm with a little earth balance butter spread, or real butter in the center. So good!

Chicken Tortilla Soup

This soup is my favorite soup for many reasons. The flavor is amazing. This soup is filling. And it has so many of my favorite ingredients... You can't go wrong with any crowd making this soup... MMMM, You'll see!

Ingredients
Olive oil to coat the bottom of the soup pot
1 red bell pepper or any color will do
1 large yellow onion
1 pound of chicken breast or tenders cut into small bite sized pieces
2 tablespoons of poultry seasoning (this seasoning is so useful, I use it in lots of other dishes so if you don't have this seasoning you should grab some)
3 tablespoons cumin
salt and pepper, I uses about 2 tablespoons throughout the cooking process of salt
4 cloves of crushed garlic
1-2 chipotle in adobo peppers (1 is medium and 2 is hot, remove the seeds and chop very fine) These are found in the Spanish section of grocery store and I freeze the remainder of can for future use.
1 28 oz can of dices stewed tomatoes
1 8 oz can of tomato sauce
1 32 oz container of chicken stock, look for gluten free and msg free, I use kitchen basics brand
1 small bag 14 oz of frozen sweet white corn

Topping ingredients
Corn tortilla chips, your favorite ones will be great
1/3 cup of cilantro chopped
1 avocado
1/2 lemon juiced
1/2 large red onion

In large stock pot heat oil, chicken and onion with some salt and pepper on med-med high cooking until the chicken is almost done. Add in the red pepper and crushed garlic and cook a few more minutes. Add the poultry seasoning, salt, cumin, chipotle peppers, the stock, tomatoes and tomato sauce. Stir and bring to simmer and let cook at a simmer for 45 minutes. Add in the frozen corn and cook an additional 20 min., taste and add more salt if needed. You may want to add water as needed for thinning this soup, especially on the second day.

For the topping chop the ingredients fine and top with lemon, stir and your all set to create a masterpiece!

Fill bowl with soup, the crush tortilla chips on top and final topping is your cilantro, avocado, and red onion mixture, So good. Add sour cream and jack cheese if you aren't dairy free.