celebrating one year... !

before october ends, i just wanted to take a moment to note that my one year gluten-free blogging anniversary just passed...

it has been an incredible year, with many ups and downs, adjustments, and more importantly-- lots of good food :) i started this blog pretty suddenly - most likely as a way to cope with my health and the changes i was making (for the better), and it has become a great way for me to not only keep track of my own recipes, but to be connected to others in a way i never thought would be possible.

so a BIG thank you to the blogging community for being an incredible support in what was has definitely been the biggest adjustment of my life. i know i have gained incredible amounts of information from other people that i would not have been able to, had it not been for these wonderful individuals. each person takes time out of their own busy lives to share their own experiences from daily life, recipes, and more. of course most of the blogs i follow are listed under my links and i recommend them all, especially if facing issues with food or looking for a healthier way of living. i know many people read this blog from all around the world (thank you Google Analytics) so please continue to leave your comments, questions, etc... and to all of my non-gf friends, thank you as well for all of your support! it really means the world to me.

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experiments in the kitchen

so during my extended blog vacation, i tried a number of great recipes from the many food blogs that i read. i now have approximately 50 food blogs that i follow in my google reader, most gluten free. if you want to connect on reader, drop me a note and i'll add you. i keep a mostly low personal profile on my blog due to the nature of my work, but don't mind messaging! :)

anyways, here are a few of my favorite recent recipe experiments (i only have a few pics):


GFCF Zucchini Muffins from GFCF and Not Starving
(I used a mix of millet flour, brown rice flour, and some tapioca flour)

Achiote Beans Recado from Fat Free Vegan
these were definitely a favorite! the flavor was incredibly rich and full. we ate it over tostadas that i made along with various toppings.

GF Chicken Potstickers from Gluten Free Gobsmacked
i really missed eating potstickers so much... we made these twice and they got better the second time once we learned the tricks to making them and added a few of our favorite spices and additions.




Mark Engleberg's Gluten Free Vegan Bread from Aprovechar
a great bread, simple to make.

Crusty Millet Flatbread from Ginger Lemon Girl
this flat bread was also simple to make and tasted great alongside an indian dahl i made. i subbed xantham gum for the chia seeds, and almond meal for the whey powder.

Chocolate-Rose Parfait from The Gluten Free Hippie
it's hard to get a creamy texture like milk for a chocolate mousse, but this recipe does it! believe it or not, this chocolate mousse would actually be considered healthy! :) it was a big hit and super simple to make. i love the touch of rosewater. we chopped up frozen bananas and frozen strawberries to go along with it.

Baked Mac and Cheese- Gluten and Dairy Free from Karina's Kitchen
one of my first gluten free blogs and by far my favorite, i loved this recipe and especially loved The Best Uncheesy Sauce that didn't make me feel like i was eating fake cheese! i made bread crumbs to go along with this, and all in all, wonderful baked pasta goodness.

Vegan Strawberry Banana Muffins from Karina's Kitchen
one more from karina. i loved the colors and flavor of these.




that's it for now... and these are only a few of the ones i tried! Pin It Now!

new adventures

i've been doing some new experiments over the past few days and have had success with 2 out of 3 recipes, so not too bad! :)

my first was with Whole Food's 365 Gluten Free Pizza Crust Mix.
I thought it would be nice for someone else to put all the various flours together for once, but i soon discovered that i still had to do a lot of work for it. Either way, I was impressed with the end results and would definitely recommend it. fairly easy to make in my lovely kitchen-aid and it makes two large pizzas (i froze the second half).

i used Ener-G's egg replacer since i was out of eggs, and it turned out quite well. i also used my favorite soy cheese, soya kaas mozzarella, some mushrooms and peppers, and made a tomato pesto sauce as well. i've since learned that soya kaas has casein in it, but they have another called vegi kaas which is supposed to be good as well. so for the mix i give it a 4/5 stars.


experiment #2-- the failure. i tried a recipe for apple quinoa muffins that i had found online since we still have so many apples from west virginia. they were okay, but left a weird aftertaste, so i said goodbye to them. lesson learned as well: quinoa flakes does not equal quinoa flour!

experiment #3- my favorite. i made karina's breakfast brownies, and i'll let the picture speak for itself... they were a hit :)
i actually stuck to the recipe and was really happy with the results. i used the quinoa, rice, and oat flour combo + tapioca starch as well as the egg replacer. next time agave ;) Highly recommend these!



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late-night muffins.

tonight i tried out a new recipe from karina's recipes for banana spice muffins (instead of going to the gym of course). i'm copying the recipe below, but with the changes that I made to it... i kept most things the same, but i would like to try it again with only agave nectar and cut out the sucanet, but that will be next time :) i bought gluten free dairy free semi-sweet chocolate chips today (enjoy life foods) from MOM (my organic market) and added those in some of them as well. i've never been crazy about frosting, but i'm trying to come up with one that doesn't use powdered sugar like at babycakes, but that is going to take a while. anyways, here's the modified recipe, and hopefully i'll post this again at some point with more changes:

Banana Spice Cupcakes

1 cup almonds
3/4 cup brown rice flour
1/4 cup white rice flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 heaping teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/8 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
2 large organic free-range eggs
1/3 cup extra light olive oil
2 tablespoons agave syrup
1 1/3 cups organic sucanat
4 medium very ripe bananas, cut up and mashed into puree
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
optional: mini chocolate chips to your taste (about 1/2 cup or 1/4 cup should work)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare a cupcake/muffin pan however you desire :)

Process the almonds in a food processor by pulsing on and off until a fine almond meal is formed. Watch out that it does not become almond butter! Pour the almond meal into a dry mixing bowl. Add in the rice flour, baking soda, baking powder, sea salt and spices and whisk to combine.

In a clean mixing bowl beat the eggs; add the oil, syrup, brown sugar, banana puree and vanilla. Beat well. Add the dry ingredients into the wet, and beat for two minutes.

Spoon the batter into the prepared cupcake pan and bake in a preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes until done. Check the center for doneness with a wooden pick. The cupcake should appear slightly golden brown at the edge, yet still be moist inside.

Cool cupcakes completely on a wire rack.

I was able to make 18 muffins with this recipe


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