Showing posts with label gluten free. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gluten free. Show all posts

Sunday, December 2, 2012

thanksgiving


I never did get Thanksgiving photos posted.  I'm already in Christmas mode over here, so I better finish them up.  It's really just some Thanksgiving randomness.


This is what Bee and Gramma and my youngest sister made for our place cards.  I think my youngest sister did a lot of felt cutting to get these guys ready.  We ended up bringing them home, so I'll have to work them into school next year's song about turkeys.


An aunt taught Bee and Lou a new game.  They made up funny little stories using these story cubes. 


I made the rolls this year using this recipe since it involved the refrigerator and lent itself for traveling with dough.  The recipe is also written at the end of this post.  Keep scrolling.


I also used better batter to make a sister some gluten free rolls.  Hers are the tiny ones in the bowl.   I heart gluten.  She ate the gluten free without complaint.   This was my first time cooking or baking with better batter products.  I will keep working with it, I have one of each of their product (due to a lucky face book win).  Hopefully I can get them even better.


Bee and Lou got this aunt and uncle to play boats.  These look like attach boats.  Their poor backs!


My sisters and I put on temporary tats and photographed it.  After tweaking the photo a little, we posted it on facebook. We were vague in the comments when people commented directly asking about them.   I got a few private messages and text from friends asking if they were real! I was worried that the preschool parents I am fb friends with would think I'd gotten crazy and gotten some ink, but I'll just have to watch to see if they peek at my wrist.


My sister and I helped my aunt set up a facebook business page for her business, A Floral Memory.   I've written about her jewelry once before.  I just love them.  


She uses flowers from a special occasion, a wedding, a funeral, whatever and works them into the beads she makes.  So you not only have a really pretty piece of jewelry, but a memento of that occasion.  I have one with flowers from my Grandpa's funeral and just really enjoy it.  I love when I get compliments on it, I can share how it's extra special because of the flowers in it.  So, she's on facebook now.  There are some really nice pictures there. 

 
Here's that roll recipe.  Bake it and eat it and enjoy the gluten.

Easy Refrigerator Rolls (Evelyn’s Rolls)

2 cups water
3/4 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 pkg. yeast
1 TB salt
6 cups flour

  Combine sugar, yeast, salt & 2 cups flour in a mixing bowl.  Heat water & butter until warm.   Add to dry ingredients & beat at medium speed for 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally.   Add 1 cup flour & 2 eggs.  Beat at high speed for 2 minutes.  Stir in remaining flour to make soft dough.  Place dough in refrigerator and use as needed.

  The dough needs to be in the refrigerator at least overnight.  It will be rather sticky, so use flour on  your hands to help in shaping.  Place in a greased pan with sides and let rise about 3 hours or until doubled.  If I need them to be ready sooner, I will preheat my oven on the lowest temp. for about a minute; turn it off and let them rise in the oven until nice and puffy.  Bake rolls at 350 for about 20 minutes.  You can brush with butter if you want.  They’re a little fragile right out of the oven, so I usually let them sit a few minutes before I get them out of the pan.  The entire recipe makes about 32 rolls.  You can easily halve the recipe.  

I will add that they are indeed fragile out of the oven.  Also, I think when she served them to us at the teachers meeting, she baked them in a 9x13 or something.  I baked mine on a flat stone.  Her's had a prettier tall shape and mine (since they were not as closely spaced and in a confined space), rose out as much as they rose up and were just not as tall.  Also, I think the overnight in the refrigerator is part of the wonderfulness of this recipe.  My old roll recipe is similar ingredient wise, but doesn't have that time.  I think that makes a difference.   Also, I didn't use a mixer like this recipe says.  I did it all by hand and no one suffered.

Monday, November 21, 2011

gluten free this and that

 Every family has a treat that whenever you get together, it's there.  Ours is cherry cookies.  They start with a cherry chip or strawberry cake mix.  With my sister recently eating gluten free, I knew there had to be an alternative.  An alternative for her.  I still plan to eat the gluten kind!   I picked up a plain white gluten free cake mix, there were no cherry ones available. 


I was a little worried about messing up a whole box if the cookies didn't work out so I split it and tried two recipes.  First I made pumpkin muffins that I know she liked back when gluten was cool.   They are all over Pinterest.  It's just a cake mix with a can of pumpkin.  Here's what I worked out for the muffins.

Pumpkin muffins
1 c gluten free cake mix (half the box)
3/4 c canned pumpkin
Mix ingredients.  Spoon into muffin cups.  This made 16 mini muffins.  I baked them at 350 degrees for 14 minutes.  I should have sprinkled brown sugar and cinnamon on top prior to baking, but didn't think to do that.  I am not a pumpkin fan so I didn't even taste them.   I made the regular version once and didn't care for those either.  Hubby ate one but said it wasn't really worth it to get up for a second one.   I'm taking them at Thanksgiving, so we'll see if anyone else enjoys them.    Here they are sitting next to the gluten free peanut butter cookies going to Thanksgiving as well.


That left me 1 cup of cake mix to try out what I really wanted to make. 

cherry cookies
1 cup gluten free cake mix
1 T + 1 t vegetable oil
1 T + 1 t cherry juice (from jar of cherries)
few drops cherry flavoring (super concentrated stuff from kitchen specialty store)
1 egg
few whole cherries (from jar)

Mix first 5 ingredients.  Plop onto cookie sheet.  Place a halved cherry on top.  This made 9 larger cookies.  I baked them on a stone at 350 degrees about 12 minutes.  Let cool on sheet for several minutes, then cool on wire rack.  These were good.  These were worth eating!  They weren't the same at the gluten loving ones we usually enjoy, but these will be a fine substitute.  For her.  Not me.  I love gluten.


Here's the regular recipe: 
Cherry Cookies
1 strawberry or cherry chip cake mix (I prefer strawberry)
2 eggs
1/4 C oil  (my aunt uses 1/2 c oil and no cherry juice- to each their own)
1/4 C cherry juice (from jar of cherries)
cherries (from jar)
mix all except cherries.  Plop onto sheet.  Add halved cherry on top.  
Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes. 

My sister isn't wanting us to make a big deal out her eating gluten free, but I'm finding it a fun foodie challenge.  I think it's interesting and I'm all about a special project.  Between gluten free and a vegetarian eater at Thanksgiving this year, I bet my grandma is having fun.  She's a foodie too.

Monday, November 14, 2011

peanute butter and sugar cookies

My sister is eating gluten free under suggestion from her new doctor and is feeling better than she has felt in years.  She's even been able to stop taking a maintenance type medicine that she has been taking for stomach pain for 5 years!  Awesome. 


A good friend of mine is also 100% gluten free and I've been asking lots of questions since she's already done all the research and hard work to find replacements and substitutions.   I've been trying to find some good easy recipes for my sister, especially with the holidays approaching.  These gluten free cookies are from Real Simple magazine this month and were really just a lucky find.  

Flourless Peanut butter Cookies

2 c creamy peanut butter
1 c packed light brown sugar
1 c sugar
2 large eggs
2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt

 Mix all the ingredients together.  It will make a slightly sticky batter.  The recipe says to use a parchment paper lined baking tray, but I used a baking stone with great luck.  They bake for 10-12 minutes at 350 degrees.  I think mine needed an extra two minutes at least.  They come out deliciously crunchy and chewy in the middle at the same time.  Do your regular cookie routine, rotate trays if your oven likes that.  Cool for a few minutes on the baking tray then transfer to a cooling rack.  


Yum.  Even if you like gluten.