Raspberry bars

You have these times in your life, big or small, when you are searching for the right thing.  In my case, it is often the right recipe....

Last night I headed to Trader Joes after work and was looking for something interesting for dinner.  I'm perusing the frozen cases and come across organic raspberries for $2.99.  Who could resist?  Now, I was planning on throwing those into yogurt for breakfast, but baking with them kept popping into my head.

troublemaker

I wanted a bar that was a nice dense cake with pieces of raspberries dotting the cake.  Maybe a little sour cream (or yogurt) in the cake a moist crumb and something that was easily portable, since I was taking these to a BBQ.  So I hit the google to see if I could find such a recipe.  And there were recipes, bars with crumbles, strudel, with short bread crusts, pie crusts, etc...but no such recipe.  So I made another recipe Blondie-Brownies and they started cooling on the counter, but I still wanted the raspberry bar.  Then my brother called me to catch up.  I told him of my small obsession and he said, "why don't you just use mom's pound cake recipe".  And I wondered why I didn't think of that.  Budder, thanks.

So here goes:

Raspberry Bars
Mix together in a bowl and set aside 
(use 150g ~ 1cup of all purpose flour for non GF + the baking powder and salt):

Heading into the oven

• 20g almond meal
• 20g coconut flour
• 20g rice flour
• 30g potato starch
• 30g corn starch
• 30g tapioca starch
• 1/2 tsp of xanthan gum
• 1/2 tsp of baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt

Cream together:

• 1/2 butter
• 1 cup sugar

Add and beat well:

• 1 egg

 Fold in:

• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• flour mixture

Put into a prepared brownie pan (11x7) and sprinkle a heaping 1/2cup of frozen raspberries over the top and press in lightly.  Bake at 325 for 45 minutes (or so).

Out of the oven

They are currently cooling in the pan.  I'll let you know how they turned out.

Ready for the BBQ

 Post update: these were a definite hit at the BBQ!  They were gone in a flash and I could have definitely doubled the recipe.  Nice, dense, moist crumb. I will definitely be making them again.  Maybe next time with blueberries or peaches...

When life gives you runny sugar cookies...make lemon tarts!

So I have been on a bit of a lemon kick lately...

The "It's so good I dream about it" Lemon Pound Cake

With Glaze

Lemon meringue cake for Easter dinner (up in the upper right hand corner)

And lastly, lemon sugar cookie tarts, made in princess cupcake liners

With all that lemon going on some deliciousness has definitely been had, as well as some requests for recipes.

So, first off, for the "It's so good I dream about it" lemon pound cake.  I got the recipe from Art of Gluten Free Baking and then of course made it my own...

I have found that baking by weight has made my baking more consistent, so I used 130g brown rice flour, 130g rice flour, 80g tapioca flour, and 135g sweet rice flour, instead of the measurements listed.  What is nice about this is that all you gluten lovers out there should be able to make this cake with 475g of all purpose flour.  I followed the rest of the recipe as described (so I won't retype it here) and then added a lemon glaze.

Lemon glaze:
2 cups powdered sugar
1 tablespoon soft butter
Juice of one lemon
Milk
Distructions (as M likes to say): mix the butter into the powdered sugar and a crumbly paste will form, then add the lemon juice, followed by capfuls of milk until a nice pourable consistency is achieved.  Pour over cooled cake.  I keep my cake on the cooling rack when I pour on the glaze and set a cookie sheet below the rack to catch the excess glaze.

sidebar: the cake is a large recipe and while it all "fits" into my bundt pan (read, it hasn't made my oven a complete disaster because I put my bundt pan on a cookie sheet), next time I would make a mini loaf or two with some of the batter to prevent the spill over.  It also unmolds quite nicely when you follow the directions and butter and flour your pan.

For the Lemon Meringue Cake, I got that right out of Nigella Lawson's book Feast.  And, as most of her desserts are, it is a work of pure genius.  So get the book, your friends will thank you.

Now, for the Lemon tarts...
I followed the directions for Cooks Illustrated's "The Best Sugar Cookie" which they have printed in their The New Best Recipe cookbook as well as their Holiday Baking 2007 special edition.  It is a great sugar cookie recipe, but when I threw them in the oven this time they turned into one big sheet of cookies.  I have some suspicions why, but sometimes a little disaster turns into the necessity for delicious invention...

I took the remaining dough and made mini tarts...

Just in case you forgot what they looked like

I followed the directions for the cookies, even rolled the 1 1/2" ball in sugar and then pressed each ball into the bottom of a muffin tin, lined with princess liners (very important).  I baked these in the oven at 375F for 11 minutes and then topped them with lemon curd and popped them back in for 5 more minutes.  This really could be done with any jam you desire, but lemon curd is pretty fantastic and easy to make:

Lemon Curd (From Bon Appetit 2004)
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
3/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup unsalted butter
2 1/2 tablespoons grated lemon peel (in reality I just zest the lemons before I juice them and then use all the zest from the juiced lemons in the curd)
3 large eggs
Now for the easy part: put the sugar, lemon juice, zest and butter into the microwave.  Cook on high until the butter melts, whisking every minute or so.  Beat the eggs in a bowl, whisk in half of the lemon mixture into the eggs and then whisk the eggs and lemon mixture back into the rest of the lemon mixture.  (you do this so you don't cook the eggs too fast).  Put back in the microwave and cook on high, whisking every minute until the curd is slightly thickened, but not boiling.  It will continue to thicken as it cools.  Transfer it to a container, top with plastic wrap to avoid forming a skin on top and stick it into the fridge. 

It is quite nice on the Lemon Meringue Cake, mixed into yogurt and on top of sugar cookies!

Going Gluten-free

Hi!  Wow, it is almost March and I have not even posted yet in 2011.  I guess it is time to change that!  Life is good, work is crazy, but fun, and M is almost done with his architecture exams (big yay!!)

So, I recently have had two friends inquire on gluten-free cookbooks, tips, and tricks.  Below, is what I responded with, but I would love to know your opinions too.  Here is a couple questions to get you started:

1. What is the one thing that make your life easier to be GF?
2. What is your favorite source for information?  i.e. what is your go-to?
3. What is the one thing that sets you back the most?  (for me it is sauces and cream based soups)

Bette Hagman is the cookbook author when it comes to GF cooking.  I got "The Gluten-Free Gourmet Cooks Fast and Healthy" When I first went GF and it was/is awesome, lots of mixes and things so you could mix up a big batch of say, pancake mix, and then use it for the next couple months.  It is really helpful to have a number of go-to things ready.  I also have "The Gluten-free gourmet cooks comfort foods" it is a good one too.

A different option would be "Gluten-free Girl and Chef" by Shauna and Danny Ahern.  I have not gotten this one, but is is receiving some rave reviews from the NY Times and such.  I think as much as this is a cookbook, it also chronicles some of the struggles Shauna had with going gluten-free.  She also has a great blog.

Last, if you would like to get her a magazine subscription, Living Without is a great magazine.  It covers GF and food allergies really well, with new recipes in each issue.

A couple of tips to give your friend:
- figure out a flour mix she likes I mainly use the nearly normal GF mix. You can buy it premixed online, but I actually prefer to use the proportions and mix up my own.  that way I can add in more whole grains, etc.  But depending on how much of a baker she is, having something pre-mixed is nice.  There are tons of other mixes that she can buy, in fact bisquik now has a GF version.  I would avoid the Bob's Red mill GF flour, unless she really likes chickpeas.  They use a bean flour blend that can really turn you off to the possibilities. Bob's individual flours are great.

- Bisquik, Betty Crocker and some other big names now have GF offerings.

- learn to bake by weight 5oz = 1 cup of flour.  By doing that, you can usually substitute G-F flour for any of your standard flour containing recipes

- The best bread out there is Udi's and Kinnikinnick has good baked goods too.  Whole Foods has a good freezer section as well.

- Amy's has a good GF rice mac and cheese

- The web has been my true go-to for recipes etc.  If you want to give her a link to my infrequently updated blog (I need to work on that).  I have a whole list of good blogs to follow. (Look to your right)

So, what would you add?

Chocolate gingerbread

mmmmm...

Could there really be something quite as wonderful?  Yes, and take it to Nigella Lawson to create it. It is fabulous!  It made a wonderful birthday cake, rich moist, spicy and chocolate!  The transition to gluten-free was easy, I just switched out the flour.  Next time I think I'll add a little candied ginger...

 

Oh, and BTW, Nigella has a GF filter on the recipe search on her site.  Lucky day!!

Breakfast

Oatmeal with candied ginger and dried cranberries

Recent Exploits in the Kitchen

Giant toasted marshmallow brownies
(coconut pictured, also made walnut, milk and dark chocolate brownie)

German Chocolate Birthday Cake, for...you guessed it Julia.

Brown sugar banana muffins

mango "sticky rice" ice cream

I just realized that I never posted last year's Miss Mary's Ice Cream Crankin' submission. (Also vegan for the Veg)

Mango "Sticky Rice" Ice Cream**
**Sorry no pics, it was eaten way too fast

mix together and heat over medium low heat until small bubbles begin to form and batter begins to thicken:
2 cups coconut milk
2 cups rice milk
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 cup sugar
2 tbs arrowroot starch

add and let steep for 5 minutes:
1 tsp jasmine pearl tea

Strain tea out and cool batter in fridge overnight, or in freezer for 4 hours or so.

toast 1/2 cup coconut (about 5 minutes at 350F)

Chop one ripe mango into 1/4" dice and put in freezer.

Make the ice cream according to your ice cream makers directions. During the last few minutes of freezing add the mango and toasted coconut, to taste.

Wow your friends with the fact that this ice cream is vegan.

Salted Coconut Caramel ice cream

Since the Veg's last day of work was Friday, I made her the long-awaited coconut milk caramels as part of her going away present. For those, I dipped in dark chocolate* and sprinkled toasted coconut on the top. I had some of the caramel left, and Miss Mary's Ice Cream Crankin' was coming up, so Salted Coconut Caramel Ice Cream, seemed like just the ticket.

Salted Caramel Ice Cream (vegan)**
**pictures to follow when it comes out of the freezer

2 cans coconut milk (approx. 4 cups)
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon vanilla

Coconut caramels (recipe below)

heat 1 can of coconut milk over low heat with the sugars and salt until the sugar and salt melts. take off heat and add in the other can of coconut milk and the vanilla. Stir to combine and chill.

Once chilled (I stick my batter in the freezer for a few hours), churn according to your ice cream makers directions.

When frozen, alternate layers of the ice cream with the caramel sauce.

Coconut caramels (or coconut caramel sauce)
2 cans coconut milk (approx. 4 cups)
1/3 cup corn syrup
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

In a sauce pan combine the combine 1 1/3 cup coconut milk with the sugar and corn syrup. Over medium / medium high heat bring to up to a boil, without stirring, and then cook to 245 -250 deg F, stirring occasionally to prevent burning. The mixture will darken significantly during this time.

Add 1 1/3 cup coconut milk and again cook to 240 deg F, or so.

Add the last 1 1/3 cup coconut milk and cook to 220 deg F for caramel sauce or 235 deg F for soft caramels.

Off heat add the vanilla.

I found that this is different than using true cream, as there is a higher fat to water ratio with heavy cream. This mixture takes a while to get up to temp and stirring will lower the temperature of the mixture.

* Dipping the caramel's in chocolate is key for the summer weather in GA. Since coconut oil melts at a low temperature, the caramels will get very "soft" (read spread everywhere) and the outer chocolate shell keeps them in a manageable piece. To dip the caramels, cut into pieces and freeze, take a few of the pieces out at a time and dip into the chocolate.

Chocoholic heaven aka Vanilla Cream Brownies

I'm sure you're asking yourself, why would something I declare is chocoholic heaven begin with the word "vanilla". The reason is quite simple, a layer of vanilla cream tucked in between a dense dark brownie and a layer of semisweet ganache, give this brownie an edge over pure dark chocolate madness (which I have been known to create). It adds a bit of sweetness and allows the ganache and brownie to play off of one another rather than compete. But, be forewarned, the cream does not make this brownie kids play, it is still on the dark and rich side. Even I can only eat one, although a second is awful tempting...

So try it for yourself.

Vanilla Cream Brownies

Brownie base (modified from "the Fannie Farmer Baking Book" by Marion Cunningham)
preheat oven to 350
grease and flour or spray a 8x8 pan

Melt over low heat:
4oz unsweet chocolate - do yourself a favor and use the good stuff
1/2 cup unsalted butter

Take off heat and add and stir until combined:
1 and 1/2 cups sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

Add in (after making sure the mixture is not hot)
2 eggs

mix well and add in 1/2 cup GF flour with xanthan gum (or for you wheaties out there 1/2 flour) mix well one last time

Pour into prepped pan and bake for 35-45 mins, until the brownies are slightly underbaked as all good brownies should be.

While the brownies are baking prepare the ganache:

Bring to a boil:
1/2 cup of cream

take off heat and slowly mix in:
8oz of semisweet/dark chocolate (or a combo thereof )

once well mixed add in:
1 tablespoon of butter
mix well to combine

Pour into a bowl and lay a piece of plastic wrap directly on the ganache and allow to cool completely

Last make the vanilla cream:

To 1cup powdered sugar add:
1/4 cup very soft (or melted butter)
1tablespoon vanilla extract
mix well

add milk as needed to get to a thick, but spreadable consistency

Once the brownies are cool put it all together:
Top the brownies with the vanilla cream and 1 cup of the ganache
Put in the fridge to set the top for 15 to 20 mins and then cut into squares

Banana pancakes and summer peaches

Wow! It has been a while since I posted.

M and I have had a great couple of months, a nice Easter with our neighbors, and heading to the west coast for my cousin's wedding and to catch up in British Columbia with one of my best friends and her family. Work has started to pick up some more and summer in GA is in full swing. Warm evenings, hot days, and great produce...peaches!!

I have been heading over to ELF (East Lake Farmer's market) on Saturday mornings and lately, the peaches have been fabulous. fresh, juicy everything a peach should be. This morning I went a little crazy with my purchase and now have peaches cut up for freezing and simmering into sauce on the stove and I still have plenty to eat fresh.

Banana pancakes, peaches, and Tuscan blue basil flowers

But I'm getting ahead of myself, I started this morning by making Banana Pancakes. A mixed up concoction that worked out fantastically. I was out of milk and substituted coconut milk and just ran from there:

Gluten Free Banana Pancakes

Warm the following to melt the butter and allow to cool slightly:

• 1 cup coconut milk
• 3 tablespoons butter

Mix in:

• 1 banana - I keep ripe bananas in the freezer (peel and all) defrost in the microwave for a minute or so and the flesh slips right out of the peel
  
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
  

Separate 2 eggs, mix the yolks into the liquids and whip the whites to soft moist peaks

Blend together with a fork:

• 1 1/4 cup gluten free flour with xanthan gum
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 cup brown sugar (or to taste)
• 1 tsp kosher salt

Mix the liquid mixture into the dry ingredients, fold in the whipped whites add additional coconut milk to thin if necessary.

These were great to eat on their own, or with fruit as I like, or with syrup for my sugar-loving M.

Now, back to those peaches!

This is your Brain...

Just for you Bennwitz.

This is your brain

This is your brain on gluten-free bread

Any Questions??

Oh, and it's good, really good. Probably the best bread I've had since going gluten-free.

Artisan GF Bread

Artisan GF Bread
Originally uploaded by frannylue

Here is my first attempt at Artisan GF Bread. Looks pretty good, supposedly I have to wait until it is cooled entirely to crack it open...we'll see if that happens.

Recipe from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day

* I did change the recipe slightly as I ran short of brown rice flour and ended up adding about 3/4 c of white rice flour to make up the difference.

Hopefully it is taste, because I have 3 more loaves ready to bake sitting in the fridge.

Chocolate chip cookies with dried cherries (GF and DF)

Having a few friends whose kids have issues with dairy and heading over to one of their homes to watch curling this evening. I decided to give cooking with coconut oil another try. I found this chocolate chip cookie recipe from the Picky Palate and modified it to be gluten and nut free.


GF DF Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 Cup softened Virgin Coconut Oil
3/4 Cup brown sugar
3/4 Cup sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 3/4 Cup gf flour with xanthan gum
1/4 cup ground flax seed
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 bag (12 oz) chocolate chips
1 cup dried cherries, raisins or craisins (optional)

Preheat oven to 375
In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, flax seed, baking soda and salt
Using a mixer cream together the oil and sugars
Add the eggs and vanilla one at a time and beat until fluffy
Slowly add the flour mixture to the batter then add the chocolate chips and dried fruit
Using a cookie scoop, or a couple of teaspoons scoop dough onto a parchment lined sheet and back for 9 minutes (or so) until edges are golden and cookies are puffed.

Enjoy! And let me know what you think as I'm continuously modifying and (hopefully) improving my recipes.

Now I'm off to watch some Olympic curling! It is about as close as I can get to being on the ice in GA.

Mr. T says, "Happy Balentine's Day"

Yes, as children of the 80's Mr T. still holds great influence over M and me. So, in our house we celebrate Balentine's Day, and spend a good portion of the day saying "Happy Balentine's Day" in bad imitations of Mr T.

In honor of the holiday, I made M a dinner of amber jack, sweet potatoes, and broccoli with apple pie for dessert. Here is my recipe for dried apple pie. ( I was too lazy to run to the store for apples and had orange juice to use up)

Mmm...Apple Pie
(if you actually let it cool before slicing into it, it cuts quite nicely into pieces, if you can't wait that long, it is a little crumbly)

Dried Apple Pie
a recipe developed from a mishmash of cookbooks (Cookwise, 1001 Best Recipes, and Bette Hagman)

mix together and put on stove over low heat:
1 cup (170g) of dried apples
1 1/2 cups orange juice
1 1/2 cups water (next time I think I'll reduce that to 1 cup)
let simmer until apples are puffy and softened and the liquid has reduced and thickened

Puffy apples

take off heat and add:
1/2 cup brown sugar (may increase slightly next time)
1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 tsp cinnamon
3 tbs butter
1/2 tsp salt
mix and allow to cool

What, don't you put cheese in your pie?
I'm a 'sconi girl, everything is better with cheese

I added about 1 1/2 tbs of cornstarch mixed with a little water to the filling after it cooled

While the apples are cooking away, make your favorite pie crust. I used Bette Hagman's featherlight vinegar pie crust. It is by far the best GF pie crust that I have made to date.

Sweets for my sweets
It is also the only day of the year I would put hearts into a pie crust

Heat oven to 500F, with a cookie sheet placed on the bottom rack.

roll out pie crust, fill, top with top crust, put in generous vents (more generous than mine)

Place pie on cookie sheet and turn oven down to 425F. Bake for 25 minutes. Rotate half way and reduce temp to 375. bake until bubbling and golden, another 30-40 minutes.

In actuality, after that first 25 minutes, I'm no sure how long I baked the pie. I was skyping with my brother and forgot to hit start on the timer, suddenly my house was smelling pretty darn good and I realized that it was probably time to take out the pie. It was also at that point that I realized I had not vented the pie enough. Luckily, I'm not so into looks!

The pie, didn't like the hearts so it popped its top.

It still tasted great.

Gluten-free going mainstream

I saw the Betty Crocker mixes in the store this summer. Tried the brownies and they were pretty awesome.

While searching on line this morning, for a good sugar cookie recipe, I found that Land O' Lakes has a GF website too.

It's nice to see that there is more awareness about gluten issues in the mainstream. Oh, and now everyone can make me brownies...no more excuses!

Happy Baby Stella!! and Peanut butter chocolate pillows

So yesterday, we had a shower for Stella. Who is very cute and very pregnant right now. It was a great time, made even better by the friends who came into town.

Now, while the boys swear they had a better time at the Sweetwater Brewery tour, we had a pretty good time ourselves at Stella's shower.

For the shower, believe it or not, I was asked to make some desserts. I began looking online for some gluten free, nut free, vegan desserts, to try to accommodate all of our various diets and ran across these:

Peanut Butter Chocolate Pillows

Totally SWIPED from Post Punk Kitchen and de-veganized by yours truly, since the peanut butter kind of put an ixnay on the veganay, and the nut free for that matter.
besides, I can only have so much vegan in my life

Peanut Butter Chocolate Pillows
makes 2 dozen cookies

Chocolate dough:

1/2 cup butter

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup honey

3 tablespoons half and half

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups gluten-free flour with xanthan gum

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

Filling:

3/4 cup peanut butter

2/3 cup confectioner’s sugar

2 tablespoons half and half

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a large mixing bowl combine oil, sugar, maple syrup, non-dairy milk and vanilla extract and mix until smooth. Sift in flour, cocoa powder baking soda and salt. Mix to form a moist dough. Chill for an hour.

Make the filling. In another mixing bowl beat together peanut butter, confectioner’s sugar, half and half and vanilla to form a moist but firm dough. If peanut butter dough is too dry add a little more half and half. If dough is too wet knead in a little extra powdered sugar.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line bakings sheet with parchment paper.

Shape the cookies. Create the centers of the cookies by rolling the peanut butter dough into 24 balls, my small cookie scoop worked well for this. Scoop a generous tablespoon of chocolate dough, I used my bigger cookie scoop, flatten into a disc in the palm of your hand and place a peanut butter ball in the center. Fold the sides of the chocolate dough up and around the peanut butter center and roll the chocolate ball into an smooth ball between your palms. Place on a sheet of waxed paper and repeat with remaining doughs.

Place dough balls on lined baking sheets about 2 inches apart and bake for 10 minutes. Remove sheet from oven and let cookies for 5 minutes before moving to a wire rack to complete cooling. Store cookies in tightly covered container.

Very stellar, if I do say so myself. Now back to my mission for a gluten free, nut free, vegan dessert, preferably chocolate. I am currently experimenting with brownies and will post soon about my adventures.

Recipe contest!!!

So, we are having an open house in a few weeks and I'm looking for yummy gluten free goodies to make and serve to my guests. And since we are in the good ol' USA I decided to request your help in the form of a....

CONTEST!!!

(Oh and for you wheat eaters out there...send those recipes in too, I can convert them to what I have available in my kitchen.)

Both savory and sweet dishes will qualify for the fabulous prizes**

To give you some ideas, my random thoughts for the smorgasbord include:
feel free to build on these ideas or go a completely different route

• marshmallows (homemade, of course)
• ghetto petit fours (essentially any cake I can cut into small pieces and pour icing over)
• cookies (M specifically requested lime sugar cookies)
• hummus
• veggies
• fruit
• salsa
• guac(?)
• cheese dip (midwest style)
• tortilla chips
• Cheese chunks
• spinach dip
• beverages (of course, and we'll even have non-alcoholic for the kiddies)

Submitted recipes will be reviewed by my very prestigious advisory panel of Kitchen Goddesses*, who will help me select the final entries to be included on the smorgasbord.

If your recipes ends up on the smorgasbord you will win a fabulous prize**

So enter early and often, remember you can't win unless you enter!!!

Here are the contest rules:
Entries must be received by August 26th. Entries can be submitted by emailing them to zilla.ctw@gmail.com or by posting a link, or recipe, in the comment section of this post. If you post a recipe as part of you blog, please supply a link to the contest in your post. If you actually make the dish, please send me a picture, pixel size dose not matter, but please try to keep all pictures under 1MB. Posts that involve childhood memories or sappy stories my influence the expert panel*, we are human after all, however, the true quality of your dish is what really matters. Use of processed foods is permitted, after all "tater sluts" happen to contain all sorts of processed goodness and are a particular favorite of the expert panel*. If you are really nice to us, we may even share the recipe. All entries will be reviewed by the said expert panel*. If your entry is not selected, no pouting is allowed, although bribing of the judges may be allowed. Prizes** will be awarded to the winners. Honorable mentions may also be included in the round up post. Any questions can be submitted to zilla.ctw@gmail.com or posted in the comment section of this post. Contest void and prohibited in states and countries where this kind of thing is void and prohibited. This contest is not affiliated with anything, besides my housewarming. The Kitchen Goddesses* are not receiving any compensation from acting as the expert panel in this contest,unless you bribe them. They do, however, get to eat the fruits of their labor, as do all the guests.

In other words, just post it in the comments or send it to me in an email. zilla.ctw@gmail.com

*AKA MB and Ash

**My undying love and devotion, but if that is not enough, I'll also post a round up of the smorgasbord*** after I put the house back in order.

***if you don't know what a smorgasbord is you obviously are not Scandinavian, or did not grow up in the Midwest, a link is provided at the top of the post.

Sugar High Friday "Sweet without the Wheat" Round-up

Yes it is time for the "Sweet Without The Wheat" Round up. To be fair I am posting them in order of arrival in my inbox...

Nicisme, from Cherrapeno, began with Chocolate and banana ice cream served in chocolate cups. Yum!

This was followed by my college roomate, Jess P. and her chocolate flourless cake. I am going to have to make this one soon!


Then Sarah from, What Smells So Good? followed up with Awesomely Delicious GF Brownies. These brownies with peanuts and chocolate chips look decadent.

In the middle of the month, I took a break from traveling and house building and whipped up these "Special K" bars without the "Special K" I really need to find a new name for them, maybe chocolatey, crispy, peanutty goodness?? I made them as a send off for my co-op as he returned to Tennessee, there was much rejoicing at the mothership.


Muneeba from An Edible Symphony, brought us Beetroot Halwa an intriguing dessert that she claims is good for you. Now, if only I could get M to eat beets!

Cheri, of Snippets, then sent in her take on Tartlette's "The Transatlantic" this one I am going to have to try, salted carmel, chocolate mousse, ganache. What's not to like? Let's just say...ummm...yum.
Renato, of Sugar Nut, turned in Queijadinhas, que-j-what? luckily for us it came with a pronouciation key Queijadinha (Kay-jah-dee-ña). Now, that we have that figured out, this coconut goodness needs to be tried. Besides, these sweet creations contain cheese and as every good Wisconsinite knows, cheese is always good.


Next is Friedl, all the way from Europe, now as her blog Kitchen Fun is gluten free, she had an advantage over the rest. But, I think she still out did herself with these Chocolate Crinkles. I don't think anyone would even suspect they are made with rice flour!


Next up is Kitty from Fahrenheit 350. With her Simple Scratchmade Lemon Ice Cream. This looks like the perfect treat for those hot summer days in Georgia.


Following up with another deliciously lemon dish is Kris from The Back of the Cupboard with her Honey-Lemon Tea sorbet. It looks light and refreshing, not only gluten free it is also dairy and egg free!

Anna, from Life's too Short for Mediocre Chocolate, brings in a summery twist to her Vanilla Bean Risotto Rice Pudding by adding a fresh strawberry compote.


And last but definitely not least is my very own Mum. With her Oatmeal Fruit bars. Made with the very rhubarb I have been trying to find time to play with.

So, thanks for tuning into this month's Sugar High Friday! I want to thank Jennifer, from the Domestic Goddess for letting me host. Find out next month's theme from Mansi at the Fun & Food Cafe!

"special K" bars without the "Special K"

I'm halfway through my month of hosting SHF and have yet to post a recipe. So here goes:

"Special K" bars without the "Special K"

Now, if your from the upper Midwest like I am, you probably have run into these bars at some picnic or family gathering. Unfortunately for me, the cereal Special K contains wheat, but the combination of peanut butter, crunchy cereal, chcolate, and butterscotch chips is to good to be missed! My mom began making them with rice crispies a few years ago, so I could partake, and now I have found an even better substitute, Erewhon Rice Twice gluten free cereal. The cereal, while good by itself usually ends up in these bars at my house.

The recipe:

in a large pot, bring to a boil over medium heat:
1 cup sugar
1 cup corn syrup (last time, with moving and all, I only had about a half a cup of corn syrup, so I used a 1/4 cup of honey and agave nectar to make up the rest of the cup)

Once boiling, take off heat and add 1 and 1/2 cups peanut butter, mix well

then add 6 cups of cereal, be it special K or rice twice, again mix well.

Press the mixture into a 9"x13" pan creating an even layer on the bottom of the pan.

Sprinkle over the top 6 oz butterscotch chips and 6 oz chocolate chips.
Cover tightly with foil or the lid of the pan for 10 minutes.
Once the chips have melted, spread the mixture evenly over the top of the bars.
Let cool and cut.

If you are feeling generous, share with family and friends. Otherwise hid them well!



Once I get back from San Antonio, I'm going to tackle this:

Rhubarb!!!!

Fresh from mom and dad's garden...I'm thinking Rhubarb bars, Rhubarb crisp, Rhubarb chutney....

Cooking Club: Japanese

So The Veg and I along with a few others from work have this cooking club thing. We get together once a month or so and have a great meal. This last month was a Japanese meal, sushi, soup, and cookies and ice cream.

ummm, cookies and ice cream??

Yes, as you can see we stuck with the traditional meal and I got to make the traditional cookies and ice cream. Actually, they were definitely Asian inspired and gluten-free and vegan to boot. I'm sure you are all on the edge of you seats waiting for the fantastic recipes that follow!

Jasmine green tea Almond Breeze "Ice Cream"

3 cups Almond Breeze
4 TBS Jasmine Dragon Pearl loose leaf tea
2/3 cup sugar
2 TBS Arrowroot

I think that is the recipe, I am currently doing this from my faulty memory*

Bring 2 cups of the Almond Breeze to a boil add the tea and steep off heat for 15 minutes

meanwhile, stir together the remaining sugar and Almond Breeze, bring this to a boil making sure all of the sugar has dissolved add the arrowroot stir in and take off heat. last time I added the arrowroot straight to the hot liquid, I think it would incorporate better if you mixed it with a little of the Almond Breeze with it before adding it to the hot liquid.

Strain the tea out of the reserved Almond Breeze and mix it in with the hot liquid. Chill overnight and then use your ice cream maker of choice to turn it into frozen goodness.
* I think I may have added some vanilla too, I'll have to go back and check.... nope no vanilla added

* Please note the very Asian maple leaf cookie cutter I found at Dekalb.

Now, Black Sesame Cookies with Matcha Tea Icing
totally ripped from this site: justhungry.com made gluten-free and veganized by me and the Veg

The real ingredient list: (modifications in italics)

Black sesame cookies with matcha icing

For the cookies:

• 50g / 1.75 oz. raw black sesame seeds
• 120g / 4.25 oz. dark brown muscovado sugar
• 250g / 8.8 oz. whole wheat or white cake flour (‘soft’ flour) or regular white all-purpose flour (totally skipped this flour and added the "nearly normal" mix I always talk about)
  
• 100g / 3.5 oz. unsalted butter, at room temperature (we are going vegan here folks, so some strange margarine took the place along with vegan shortening when we ran out of the margarine. Mom, please stop shuddering at the word margarine, I promise I don't have any in my house!)
  
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 large egg (again vegan, I was going to use egg replacer, but the Veg didn't have any so we mixed a tablespoon or so of tapioca starch with about a quarter cup of water, it kind of worked)
  
• A few dashes of almond extract

For the icing:

• 8 Tbs. powdered (icing) sugar
• 2 Tbs. matcha tea powder
• 1 Tbs. egg white or egg white substitute

* I don't think I measured any of this and just did water instead of the egg white. Oh, and the only matcha tea I could find was double matcha green tea. Hence, the green flecks in the icing.

recipe directions can be found here: Leaf shaped black sesame cookies with matcha tea icing

Believe it or not both were very yummy and will be made again...