Happy Easter!

It's an Easter flashback to times of white tights and white hats. The times we will forever ask: "Mom, why did you do this to me?" I seem to be having a good time despite the tights riding up my diaper. Cheers!


(Alex, Me, Rachel)
Oh those tights.


(Rachel)
Ready to go!


(Me)
I'll find that egg.


(sis and I)
Hats... really? And more tights.


(sis and I)
Where did the tights go? :) We wised up.

Never been one for brownies but...

My family didn't make brownies much. We had a hard time getting past the oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. But Betty Crocker, the woman who defines yellow cake with chocolate frosting inspired me to give it a go.

Why gluten free? A co-worker of Betty apparently, was diagnosed with Celiac disease. This opened her eyes to the challenges people face. No one wants to miss a birthday cake or homemade cookie after a game. So here it is! GF Betty Crocker products made in a GF processing facility. (via the box)



Add eggs (flax) and butter.



This is where it gets hazy. I have no idea how to bake brownies but this just doesn't look right.



Nor does this. :-/ It looks like Hexxus from Ferngully.



10 minutes later out of the oven, Now they look burnt, but they're still gooey. I want to let it sit in the oven with the door open after the timer goes off so it can 'set' and not just be a mess.



Not sure what the trick is. Obviously, one can still choke down some crunchy/gooey/chocolaty-ness.



We'll see how the next batch goes.

Curried Cauliflower Soup

I found this recipe on Williams and Sonoma website (my favorite store). It was great! I skipped some of the steps, like toasting the spices and adding the garnish. It was great all the same. The video on the website is quick and simple. I'm really going to be looking there for inspiration. Here's the ingredient list so you could get an idea of how great it is but, the website is really well done. Check it out!



Ingredients:
-2 heads cauliflower, cut into florets (about 10 cups)
-1 onion, diced (about 1 cup)
-½ leek, white and light green parts only, diced (about ¾ cup)
-2 large carrots, diced (about 1 cup)
-¼ cup plus 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
-½ teaspoon coriander seeds
-½ teaspoon cumin seeds
-½ bunch cilantro, chopped (about 2 cups)
-¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
-½ teaspoon mild curry powder
-4 garlic cloves, minced
-8 cups vegetable stock
-¾ cup plain yogurt
-2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
-3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
-Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

My favorite part:



Yum!

Happy Birthday Gramma!

Two weeks ago I told Gramma that I was coming out to the farm for her birthday and that we should have a party. That's exactly what happened. Everyone showed up, there were kids, grandkids, cousins, and close friends. This was my favorite photo from the party of my mom and her best friend Linda. Friends for 40+ years.



For this feast I made quinoa pasta salad!

Ingredients:
quinoa pasta, boiled and drained (it's tougher and will never be really 'al dente' but its better)
kalamata olives
sun-dried tomatoes, sliced
olive oil/juice from the sun-dried tomatoes
salt and pepper

I prefer to serve it when chilled. It's easy, pretty, and filling.



Salad anyone? I love parties.



Mmmmmmmm



Mom made pineapple rum, ricotta cheese pie. Which, is not allergy free but it is fantastic!



Matt made this amazing chocolate cake for Gramma, also not allergy free. Chocolate with chocolate frosting (secret ingredient is mayonnaise).



THEN I picked up cupcakes from the New Cascadia Traditional GF Bakery. These gluten-free, vegan cupcakes were awesome! Chocolate with vanilla frosting and carrot cake. I have been craving carrot cake for a year so it just hit the spot!



My cousin and I, allergy twins. Important support to have.



Alex and Trevor with Matt and I.



Those goofballs on the ends are the little brothers, Dan and Colton.



Gramma and Lorna, friends for 40+ years too :)



My second favorite picture, guess how many times this has happened before?

Saturday Night of Food and Fun

Mmmm! So good. A night of great food, a great show by Tacocat, and more great food. I made pork chops, broccoli and cheesy sauce to start.



Spiced the pork chops with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.



Covered them in brown rice flour and fried them in a covered fry pan on medium heat until no longer pink in the middle.



Then crank up the heat to really brown the outside. YUM!



Steam the broccoli just until the color changes.
Cheese sauce:
1 cup rice milk
1 cup Daiya Cheddar
1/2 tsp garlic powder
Salt and Pepper

Let simmer and the cheese will melt down. Add more milk/cheese as needed.



On the way to the show!



I just found these goons in the hallway, not sure what they're up to.



Yeah yeah :)



We got back from the show and had a steamed artichoke for dessert. We made more garlic cheese sauce to dip in. SO good.

Dinner at Gramma's

Here's our quick and easy dinner at Gramma's on Sunday. Scallops with bacon and wilted spinach. Cooked the bacon first and removed from pan. Then we used brown rice flour and home made cajun seasoning (paprika, oregano, salt and pepper) to coat the scallops (via the ziplock shake) and cooked them in the bacon grease. Chop the bacon, throw in a bag and a half of spinach (still not enough) and cook it down. Mom made some wild rice to go with it. What a fun, easy, and tasty meal! Highly recommend it.

Thursday night dinner!

Quick! Let's throw something together! Matt and Jackie came over for dinner and so I made this up. I'm glad it turned out great.



Especially with Simon and Garfunkel on vinyl :)



I started with some stir-fry steak that I had bought that just looked like a good idea. I was not sure what to do with it tonight because Jackie is not a fan of Asian food so actual stir-fry was out.



Pseudo stir-fry:
-3 heads of broccoli, put in fry pan with 3 TBS of olive oil and a 1/2 cup water (enough to cover bottom of pan), cover, and steam until brightest green and remove cover
-Add more oil if needed
-Add 1 sweet onion, diced and
-3 garlic cloves, minced
-Add 1 tsp Italian seasoning and salt and pepper to taste
-Once sauteed, add meat and allow warm veggies to cook it (not too much-medium-rare)
-Once meat is cooked reduce heat and add 1 cup of non-dairy milk and 1 cup of Daiya cheddar cheese.
-Let ingredients simmer. Sauce should thicken and cheese melt.



I loved help in the kitchen. Thanks Matt!



I was craving sweet potatoes. Yum!



Ingredients:
-one large sweet potato
-olive oil
-oregano
-salt and pepper
I wanted them quick so they weren't quite cooked right. They needed 30 minutes in oven at 350 degrees. I cooked them for 10 minutes and then broiled them to crisp them up quick. :)



Sweet potato 'fries'



Spinach salad with carrot, red onion, and Briana's Strawberry Vinaigrette (Gramma's idea)



This was kind of the first meal where company and I sat and ate at the table.



What a special night. Looking forward to more! Come on over.

GFEFDF Postickers! x2

My first potsticker post was in fall of 2010. Instead of repeating, I used a new recipe from Gluten Free Gobsmacked. I was really nervous about this endeavor. I've only made them once before and just never feel prepared. I had a hard time getting started and deciding what to do first. Kate @ Gluten Free Gobsmacked had a list of tips that were really helpful and I had some great help from Ari, Chantel, and Matt. Thanks guys! Success!



Gluten Free Potstickers – Chicken Filling *adjusted by me for allergies and supplies

Ingredients:
2 chicken thighs, deboned, skinned and trimmed
3 garlic cloves
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
2 Tablespoons GF Soy Sauce (I used Bragg's Liquid Aminos)
1 Tablespoon sesame oil (or toasted sesame oil)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1/4 teaspoon ginger
2 stalks of green onions, finely chopped
1/2 cup chopped cilantro

Directions:

1. If you can, it's easy to food process everything (Everything EXCEPT the green onion and cilantro) OR if you're me you have to chop and chop and chop. :)
   
2. Stir in by hand cilantro and green onions.
3. Set aside a make the potsticker wrappers.

Gluten Free Potsticker Wrappers
Ingredients:
1/2 cup cold water + 1/4 cup cold water (added tablespoon by tablespoon and more as needed)
*(1 egg hisked in to 1/2 cup cold water) I just used more water instead
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup brown rice flour
1/3 cup tapioca starch (and more for dusting)
1/3 cup corn starch
1/3 cup sweet rice flour (and more to avoid sticky dough-works really good)
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
1 teaspoon gelatin

Directions:

1. Blend all of the dry ingredients together in the bowl of your food processor.
2. Make a well in the flours and slowly add the water, mixing by hand.
   
3. Roll out about 1/3 of the dough (keep the remaining dough under a damp paper towel) between two sheets of parchment paper if you have it. Or if you use me, a cutting board and rolling pin and a lot of sweet rice flour.
   
4. Roll the dough to 1/8 of an inch. (No thinner than 1/16″ or the dough will rip while cooking.)
5. Cut into 3.5″ wide circles (we used a martini glass).
   
6. Cover prepared/cut wrappers with a damp paper towel.
7. Work quickly to roll out and cut remaining dough... if you can. :)
   

Assembly:

1. Into each circle place a teaspoon or a teaspoon and a half of filling (NOT TOO MUCH otherwise they are too difficult to seal)
   
2. Dip your finger in water and slide it along the half the potsticker wrapper as glue. Fold the dough in half, matching the edges.
3. Crimp the edges by folding and tucking the edges as you would for a pie crust. (Try to make sure they are fully sealed or they will not cook right-we had a hard time with this).
   
4. Once the potstickers are assembled, there is no reason to cover them with a damp towel.

Chantel and I rolled them out and assembled. Matt jumped in to help too.

Cooking Potstickers:

1. Heat 2-4 TBS of vegetable oil in a pan. Add 1/2 cup water.
   
2. Cover and steam the potsitckers for about 10 minutes. The water will boil off.
   
3. Add more oil as needed and pan fry the potstickers until they reach desired crispiness.
   

Note: this is too many potstickers in one pan but, we were hungry and I didn't want to deal with two batches.



We threw the leftover filling in a pan with more Bragg's sauce.



Ari cooked away!



These guys were a good help too! And just very cute!



Work complete!



What a plate of delicious hard work!