It's more than every 4 years...

It sucks that I'm reading stories of how voters are experiencing difficulties today in New York with polling places in certain locations opening HOURS late, thus impacting voters attempting to cast their votes before work; Polling places having fewer actual machines than anticipated and then having those machines not work? Being told they're not on the rolls, showing proof from the state's website that they are indeed registered only to be given a PAPER ballot, some for the WRONG party.

It sucks that it sounds like there are lots of people who would like to participate in on of the primaries today, but have recently discovered that they can't because NY has closed primaries and they didn't change their party affiliation by October of 2015.

It sucks that in a country infamous for starting wars with the main intent being the spreading of Democracy and installation of representative governments, that our own election process has devolved to such a state.

All I will say is this... if ANY of this matters to you or bothers you in ANY way... make the decision going forward to pay attention, be aware, educate yourself. We live in a time where information could not be more accessible! So instead of just using your phone to take pictures of your pancakes... how about using it to access information that could actually change your every day life.

It does little good to whine about how things turned out if after all of the "excitement of the moment" dissipates... you, again, check out.

#knowledgeispower

New Life...

I'm making an attempt to breathe some new life into this blog. I've started a number of them, all with varying topics... but I think trying to focus on just one might be a good start! And since everything I take pics of and write is all about stuff I either create or am desperately attempting to create, I think it'll all fit nicely into this particular blog anyway.

Back when I first started this particular blog, I was under the impression that I had a gluten intolerance... hence the G-free recipes from the earlier years. I've since discovered that gluten was never my problem. My problem, is that I have Crohn's Disease! Not great, since it's incurable... but at least I can eat wheat again! :^) At this point in my life, I'll take the victories I can get, no matter how small.

There is no "Crohn's Diet", no tried and true list of Foods to Eat or Foods to Avoid. There are certain things that seem to cause problems consistently if I have too much of them. I can have the occasional cup of regular coffee, but most days I stick to decaf tea. If I'm craving coffee, which I often do, I'll generally make a pot of decaf hazelnut in the stove top percolator Danny bought me. I'm considering looking into Cold Brew coffee since I've heard it's even less acidic. But too much sugar, red meat or dairy and it's Trouble Town - Population: Me! When things are hairy, I've got to avoid all raw fruits and veg. Everything has to be cooked til it's super soft. No grains, nuts, seeds... anything that takes extra work from the old digestive system to break down is a No Go. It's a challenge... but it could be so much worse.

I'm about to start Humira, which is both daunting and exciting. Daunting because it involves giving myself shots for the rest of my life... Exciting because it holds the possibility of remission, and that's what I really want.

So... I'm gonna do my very best to stay up on this damn thing this time. It's probably gonna be a dumping ground for all types of expression... cooking, crafting, living with Crohn's, tryin' to make a baby... Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if some politics finds it's way on here. It is that time of year...

#FeelTheBern2016

Veggies are your friend!!

A delicious first attempt... (recipe below)

I was supposed to be attending a birthday party tonight, but Old Man Winter finally decided to show up and put the kibosh on that.

Since Danny and I are the "special diet" couple, I'll often make something to bring along to parties. Our friends do a wonderful job of asking and buying things that are safe for us, they even made a gluten free German Chocolate cake for my birthday... FROM SCRATCH! It was the best cake I've eaten in a very long time!

Another friend of ours has recently discovered that he experiences an adverse reaction to wheat. His troubles aren't digestive though... he breaks out in itchy hives! Poor guy! That being said, I decided to bring a bit more food than I normally would. I was gonna make a chocolate caramel cake recipe I found on Betty Crocker's site, these sweet & sour turkey meatballs I had been imagining in my head, and some carrot zucchini fritters & corn fritters I found on Taste of Home... all with the obvious gluten free modifications.

Unfortunately, I did all of my shopping before getting word of the impending storm. We also weren't sure exactly how the storm was gonna play out. Was it gonna be bad enough to cancel or was it gonna be like the "snow" we got on Halloween that melted before the afternoon was out? After a phone conversation, we all agreed it would be best to decide in the morning once we've had a chance to see what the weather was actually doing.

I peeked out the bathroom window this morning and saw snow covering the ground below. As Danny and I took Cinder out for her morning pee, we realized it was actually doing some pretty heavy sleeting. Not a good sign. A few hours later the phone rang. No joy. They were concerned for everyone's ability to get home safely afterwards. The roads might be fine to travel in early evening, but once night falls, so too do the temps. Any semi-melted slush on the roads can quickly turn to ice and make for treacherous travel.

Figuring the cancelled party was no reason to let my newly purchased zucchini go to waste, I pulled out my food processor while Danny called an old friend overseas. The whole recipe came together really quickly. I, obviously, substituted my g-free flour blend for the AP flour and was a bit more generous with the salt and pepper. I added freshly chopped flat leaf parsley and scallions to the sauce itself and topped it with coarse ground black pepper and the last bits of parsley left on my board.

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Carrot Zucchini Fritters w/ Horseradish Sauce
FRITTERS:

• 2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 2 medium zucchini, shredded and squeezed dry (about 1-1/2 cups)
• 1 large carrot, shredded
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 tablespoon cornmeal
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• Oil for frying

HORSERADISH SAUCE:

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup horseradish sauce

• 
  
• INSTRUCTIONS

1. In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise, horseradish sauce and sour cream. Cover and refrigerate.
2. Melt butter in a small pan over low heat. Add chopped onion and cook until tender. Combine the egg, zucchini, carrot and onion in a larger bowl. In a small bowl, combine the flour, cheese, cornmeal, salt and pepper; stir into vegetable mixture just until combined.
3. In an electric skillet, heat 2 in. of oil to 375°. Drop batter by rounded tablespoonfuls, a few at a time, into hot oil. Fry until golden brown, about 1-1/2 minutes on each side. Drain on cooling rack or paper towels if you absolutely must.  - Yield: 1-1/2 dozen fritters and 1-1/2 cups horseradish sauce

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I don't actually have an electric skillet anymore, so I wound up frying mine in my favorite cast iron skillet on the stove. I checked my oil temp with my candy thermometer to make sure I was in the right area, and since the fritters are so small, there's not much in the way of temperature drop off so I didn't have to monkey with the dial at all.

Now that I've made them, a few notes... Keep the fritters small. The flour and egg will make them wanna puff a bit, so if you make them too big you run the risk of the outside cooking faster than the inside. Gooey fritters are NOT good eats. I discovered this 2 fritters in.

I also think giving each fritter a firm press with the back of a spoon about 30-45 seconds into cooking is a good idea. The 30 seconds or so will give the bottom a chance to form a crust so that when you press with the spoon, the fritter won't stick to the bottom of the pan. A thinner fritter also means a shorter fry time. Less time in the pan means less time to absorb excess oil, less excess oil means a crisp NON GREASY fritter.

Danny has already asked that I make these at least once a week! He's normally full of suggestions when I've tried a new recipe, saying things like "Next time you should try..." or "they'd be really good if you..." This time he actually said "You know how I usually have ideas on how to make stuff better? Yeah, I've got nothin' on these. These are great just the way they are!" Now that's a compliment in this house!!

I'm already thinking of the other types of vegetables I can use... sweet potatoes, parsnips, yellow squash. We're definitely moving toward a more plant based diet and I can see recipes like this making that transition much easier!

If air tasted like brownies...

you would have what I made!

We love chocolate and I love cake, so if I could make a safe chocolate cake for us to eat... well, why wouldn't I? I've seen the lava cake thing and I dunno... Something about that just puts me off. The fact that it looks like you're eating a half baked cake is revolting to me. That being said, I was hesitant to try a flourless cake (recipe below). I wasn't sure what the texture would be like and if it would be a waste of good chocolate.

In the spirit of "Nothing ventured, Nothing gained" I decided to give it a try. I've made this 3 times now and each time it's been a bit different due to slight variations. I wanted to go small at first and remembered years ago my father had given me a set of small springform pans for Christmas. Having never made a flourless cake before, I was unsure what the stability of the finished cake would be. Springform seemed the best way to go to avoid having to invert the cakes, thus making the stability less of a concern.

The first two attempts were done completely by hand, while I used my Kitchenaid for the last attempt; which happens to be the one my husband thinks turned out the best. I served each little cake while still slightly warm topped with non dairy whipped topping, a faint drizzle of caramel ice cream topping and a dusting of cocoa powder.

I knew it was good when I had to push my plate away with a good third of the decadent little tasty remaining untouched. The flavor of the chocolate was intense like a good fudge brownie, while the texture was like a chiffon cake. Light and airy, not at all dense or soupy like I'd feared. The center never truly "set" like a proper cake, but I never felt like I was eating raw cake batter and that's what mattered most to me.

My husband asked me to make another one a few days later, so for the second attempt the only changes I made were using a 7" springform pan instead of the individual pans and chocolate chips instead of a premium chocolate bar. This one required a longer baking time, retained the same intense fudgy flavor, seemed a bit more "brownie-like" in texture and was gone in about 3 days time. Lovely with a fresh coffee.

Two days ago, I decided to give it another try with a few more modifications. This time I used a regular 8" cake pan, I melted my chocolate chips & butter in the microwave instead of using a double boiler and I used my stand mixer instead of mixing by hand. This last change is what I believe made the biggest difference.

Letting my stand mixer combine everything with the paddle attachment created a batter that was significantly lighter in color which meant it contained more air. Because there's no flour in the recipe, the batter can be a bit heavy and the eggs can take a real dose of elbow grease to fully incorporate by hand. This was the main reason I wanted to try the mixer, to make sure all of my ingredients were well combined.

What I ended up with, aside from a house filled with the lovely aroma of warm chocolate baking in the oven, was a sinful dessert combining the flavors of a super fudgy brownie with the texture of a souffle! Thin like a torte, but nowhere near as heavy. Because the flavors are so intense, a small slice with a bit of whipped cream is our service of choice. I would love to show you how it turned out, but my husband got the knife into it before I had a chance to pull out the camera.

If you love chocolate... I do hope you'll try it. Whether you go for the slightly heavier hand mixed method or the float away mixer method... it's chocolate at it's gluten free best!
~
Flourless Chocolate Cake
Ingredients:
4 oz. bitter or semisweet chocolate
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
3/4 cup granulated sugar (I used vanilla sugar*)
3 large eggs
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
*To make vanilla sugar, simply shove what's left of your "used" vanilla beans into a jar of sugar and shake every so often. The granules will scrub tiny bits of vanillin from the pods which will flavor your sugar, thus imparting a further hint of vanilla to your recipes.

Directions:
-Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
-In a heat proof bowl, combine chocolate and butter. Melt the chocolate and butter using either a double boiler (heat proof bowl over a simmering pot of water) or in the microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring between each interval.
-Once fully melted, whisk in sugar.
-Once combined, whisk in eggs, one at a time until fully combined and add vanilla.
-Sift cocoa powder into the chocolate mixture and whisk to combine.
-Pour into greased 8" cake or tart pan
-Bake 25-35 minutes. Let rest on a wire rack for 5 minutes before attempting to remove from pan.
-Serve in small warm slices with a dollop of whipped cream, drizzle of caramel or chocolate sauce, fresh fruit, ice cream, chocolate shavings, a dusting of cocoa, sprinkles, toasted nuts... the list goes on and on!
~
My husband has already put in a request for his office White Elephant. He wants a double layered with a cream cheese and toasted pecan filling. Since it'll be my first time baking for his colleagues, I'll definitely be doing a trial run and certainly be posting pics!!

Keep on Creatin'...

Lemony lightness!!

My mother sent me a link to a recipe for Gluten Free Lemon Pancakes that sounded wonderful!! I decided I'd try it out this morning, only to discover that I didn't have enough cornmeal in the pantry and no regular milk in the fridge. Oh the humanity!!! Well, I said to myself, I had the taste for pancakes in my mouth and I was bound and determined to have them!

While most kids were playing or watching TV, I was in the kitchen with my mom. I have so many memories of me standing in a chair so that I'd be tall enough to see what she was doing on the table or kitchen counter. And she was wonderful about it. That's the reason I can say that I baked my first cake at the age of 5! She would line up all the ingredients on the table, stand back and direct me. She wouldn't do it for me, she'd tell me what to do and let my little brain figure it out for itself. I wonder if she knew how brilliant she was being? I'll have to ask her.

One of the many things she taught me was how to "make do". Simply put, if there's something you want to eat and you're missing some of the stuff... chances are you've got some other stuff that can help get you where you wanna go. It looked like I was gonna have to dust off my old skills...

I already had half a box of g-free Bisquick and that makes fairly decent pancakes on it's own. I also had some buttermilk left over, so I decided to "make do", making modifications and additions along the way. As I started to mix the batter, I noticed it was considerably thicker than it usually is when following the box instructions. I think this was likely due to the use of buttermilk instead of regular milk. I added a few Tbsp of water to thin it a touch, but wound up leaving it fairly thick.

When the time came for me to sit down and actually dive in... I thought I had died and gone to heaven! These pancakes had a lightness and fluffiness I've never obtained before! The texture of the actual cakes was so delicate and airy that the lemon flavor was the perfect compliment! I can't wait to make these for my husband some morning!

Naturally... I had to share!!

1 Cup gluten free Bisquick

1 Tbsp Sugar

Zest of one lemon

1 Cup Buttermilk

1 egg

2 Tbsp vegetable oil

Juice from 1/2 lemon

1 tsp vanilla extract

2-3 Tbsp water*

In a bowl, combine Bisquick, sugar and lemon zest. 

Whisk to mix thoroughly.

Add buttermilk, egg, oil, lemon juice & vanilla extract to dry ingredients. 

Stir to combine.

*Add water in SMALL increments, if necessary, to obtain a good THICK batter consistency.

Pour batter by 1/3 cupfuls onto lightly greased hot griddle or pan.

Cook until edges turn brown and top of pancake has less sheen to it.

Flip pancake and continue to cook until second side is golden. 

If desired, top each pancake with a pat of butter while still hot.

Just before serving, dust with confectioner's sugar, garnish with thin lemon slices.

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This recipe is going into the recipe box as a Go To! I've got tons of ideas swirling in my head already. Serving them with a light glaze or homemade lemon blueberry syrup... Orange pancakes served with mimosas for a Sunday morning brunch...

Happy Sweet Eats...

A Flurry of Gluten Free Goodies!!!

I haven't posted here in a while because... well, I had a few baking disasters and got a bit discouraged. Gluten free baking is truly like science. The smallest error can have disastrous results... like my loaf of bread that came out of the oven beautifully but quickly transformed into something that resembled an old hat that had been left out in the rain. I suspect my yeast was the culprit.

I've since found some recipes that inspired me to stick my toe in the proverbial waters again. I've had some great successes, so I just HAD to share!

Last night was the 3rd preseason game for the Eagles, so I felt football food was in order. I didn't have any wings in the house, so I decided to make popcorn chicken & onion rings. Oh how I've missed onion rings! Everything turned out fantastic!! The only catch about the onion rings is, you've gotta eat 'em fresh. After they've sat for too long, they turn pretty soggy.

This inspired me to try for something sweet. Having to live gluten free means that most sweet goodies are totally off limits. Occasionally, you'll find a sweet treat here or there... but they're often pretty expensive not to mention, there's nothing like freshly baked warm goodies! 

Today's treat was Pumpkin Spice Doughnut Holes... and once again... SUCCESS!!! 

I'm even more thrilled because I had to make a few substitutions. Technically, these contain no pumpkin! This is apparently the wrong time of year for canned pumpkin, so I grabbed a can of yams instead. I also didn't have the 2 cups of rice flour the recipe called for, so I substituted 1 cup of sweet sorghum flour for one of the cups of rice flour. I can't tell you how good my house smells right now! 

So... hope you enjoyed today's Food Porn. With successes like this, I'm sure there will be more to come!

Sweet Treats!

I have a sweet tooth the size of Texas! Desserts are one of the things that make life worth living... Sadly, the vast majority of desserts out there are "poison" for me and the Mr. I refuse to live a life devoid of sweet sweetness... so a good portion of my time is devoted to the gluten free dessert.

The recipe I'm posting today is one that I made for a girlfriends get together last summer. We had a nice little BBQ at the house and I knew everyone would love this because the main ingredient is... CHOCOLATE!!

It's got 4 ingredients, is easy to make... but looks fancy and delicate!

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Classic Chocolate Roulade

7 oz. good quality chocolate, chopped

1 cup sugar, plus some confectioner's for dusting

7 eggs, separated

2 tubs whipped topping*

* I usually add a tsp of vanilla extract to each tub of topping.

It gives the topping more of a "homemade" whipped cream taste*

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease and line jelly roll pan with baking parchment.

Melt chocolate in bowl over pan of barely simmering water.

Allow chocolate to cool for about 5 minutes.

In large bowl, whisk sugar & egg yolks until light & fluffy.

Stir melted chocolate into egg yolk mixture.

Whisk egg whites until stiff, but not dry, then fold into chocolate mixture.

Pour chocolate mixture into prepared pan, spreading it level.

Bake for about 25 minutes, or until firm.

Leave cake in pan & cover with cooling rack, making sure it doesn't touch cake.

Cover rack with damp dishtowel and wrap in plastic wrap.

Leave in cool place for at least 8 hrs, preferably overnight.

Dust a sheet of waxed paper with confectioner's sugar.

Turn roulade out onto it and peel off the lining paper.

Spread about 1 1/2 tubs of whipped topping over the roulade.

Starting from one of the short ends, carefully roll it up using the paper to help.

Place the roulade, seam side down, on a serving platter.

Dust with remaining confectioner's sugar.

Serve with a dollop of whipped topping, chocolate curls & sprig of mint.

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While this may sound like a lengthy process, I really hope you'll try it. The majority of the time is spent waiting. The cake is so delicately sweet and wonderfully light, you won't feel guilty for eating it!