I am... not so good with yeast and I made banana bread!

Yup, its true.  I'm terrible at baking with yeast.

I don't know entirely why.  I've baked with yeast before, I've managed to make some OK loaves of bread from time to time.  Mostly, when I had a bread machine though.  I no longer have a bread machine, sadly, and don't really have the fundage at the moment to get a new one. 

Not entirely the issue though.

I just don't do well with yeast.  Everything I try, and every tip I try, ends in disaster.  And disasters when you're gluten free can be costly.  Literally, they can cost way too much money!!  So, I've given up on making 'real' bread.  I mostly stick with quick breads (i.e., banana bread, pumpkin bread, etc), muffins, and I have even created yeast-free cinnamon rolls and pizza crust. 

It probably doesn't help that I'm 'fly by the seat of your pants' baker either.  I never write anything down, and just throw a bunch of ingredients into the mixer...  and hope they turn out decent.  Surprisingly enough, it usually works. 

Yesterday's banana bread for instance.  I typically follow my Better Homes & Gardens cookbook.  Its not a gluten free cookbook at all.  I adjust for certain things.  Add a little extra baking powder, try not to forget the all-important Xanthan Gum (seriously, that is REALLY important), get a good gluten free mix.  Make some healthier substitutions.

And make it yummy, of course.

Banana Bread (Gluten free, Dairy free)
Preheat oven to 350*, makes 2 loaves

3 cups gluten free all purpose flour (I use a blend with rice flour, sorghum flour, tapioca flour and potato starch)
1 tsp Xanthan Gum
4 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 - 1 teaspoon of Cinnamon (I like a LOT of cinnamon, but that's a personal preference)
1/4 teaspoon salt (I use sea salt)
2 eggs
3 mashed bananas
1 1/2 cups of sugar
1/3 cup cooking oil
1 cup applesauce
optional adds: nuts, raisins

Grease 2 bread pans and set aside.  In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients except the sugar and set aside.  In another bowl, combine the mashed banana, applesauce, eggs, oil and sugar.  Add the wet mixture to the dry, and stir till moistened.  Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 55 minutes to 1 hour. 


It was sooo yummy.  I should have taken pictures.  I would have, had my boys not eaten both loaves in about as much time as it took to watch their movie!  (OK, so there was a little left that the husband finished off an hour before bed, but still).  It was fluffy and moist, and cinnamony.  The sorghum flour gives it a bit of a multi grain taste, which really helps.  Some time this week, I'll be making animal crackers and graham crackers.  It's so nice to have sorghum flour in the house again!  (I've been out of flour for an embarrassing long time, since moving my options have decreased considerably)

So, for the time being, my recipes will exclude those that include yeast.  At least until I pluck up the courage to try it again.  Though, I have recently read about using the Crock Pot to help your bread rise...  I might just try that.  It would be nice not to have to buy $10 of bread a week!!

Angry Mom

I'm having one of those particularly bad days.  You know, the kind of bad day where you wake up ready to face the world, only to have to slap you in the face and laugh at you?  Yeah, one of those kind of days.  Then everything you do seems to be wrong.  And nothing seems to go your way.

Yup.

At any rate, its also one of those bad days where you start to feel sorry for yourself, or sad for no particular reason.  Maybe its because my kid is in the other room, repeating himself over and over and over and over again for no reason.  And incessantly humming.  And the other child has spent the entire day crying and whining over nothing in particular.  Maybe everyone is just having a bad day, I guess!

Then you realize you have to change your routine, and want to smack yourself in the forehead because trying to get a kid with Autism to change his routine can be...  not fun.  See, with Lovely Husband's new job, came a new schedule.  Which means that he is getting home later than we're used to.  Which is fine - when there's no homework to be done.  But, now there's homework, and the need to switch our nightly routine has come to a head.  Any time after 6 PM is simply too late to get homework done, because it will inevitably end in tears and a tantrum.

So, now its No TV until we've done homework.  But, he has to EAT before he'll do homework.  So, now its after school snack, homework, and then TV time - then dinner after husband gets home.

So, I've spent the last few days in what can only be described as a war zone, in relation to the change in this routine.  Yesterday went considerably better, and hopefully today will be even more so.  But its hard to remain positive when you're being screamed and yelled at. 

At any rate, this is more of a vent than anything else.

At some point, I'll start feeling better.  At some point, it won't be so hard to deal with this change.

Welcome to 2012!!

And guess what?

I quit my super stressful job. 

I miss it.  Sometimes.  When I'm feeling like I *might* be bored.  Mostly, I just miss the people I worked with.  The job?  It kind of sucked.  I am now a stay-at-home Mom.  It's hard to suck at that.  It's still stressful, but not nearly so much. 

But, that means I have more time to BLOG!  Yay!  I know I'll never be famous from my blog, and most of my recipes probably won't turn out for anyone but me.  Because that's my luck.  Heck, half the time when I try to recreate them they don't turn out. 

But my cakes?  My cakes are always awesome.  I'm seriously considering starting a gluten free cake business.  Not sure how much of a market there is in our new city though.  It's fairly small.  Oh, and beautiful.

Oh, I'm sorry.  Did I forget to mention that in addition to quiting my super stressful job I also moved?  Yup, packed up the house, the kids and the dog, and moved 6 hours away from the only state I've ever lived in.  Don't get me wrong, it was well worth the change!  Lovely husband got a fabulous new job working for a great company that's been around for ages.  Lots of growth potential, and gives me the oppurtunity to do what *I* want to do.  And once I figure out what I want to be when I grow up, I'll do just that...

So, the new city.  I won't post the name of it.  I don't need some creepy internet stalker tracking me down, demanding I bake him an amazing gluten free cake or cupcakes.  Nope, not this woman!

Yes.  It is on a lake.  A beautiful, huge, wonderful lake.  That I can see from my gigantic living room window.  I've never lived by a lake before, and therefore intend to be in awe of it for a very, very long time.  I am so enthralled by this view, that I sometimes catch myself looking at it for an inordinate amount of time.  I should probably stop doing that.

Oh, you might have noticed that I also mentioned that we got a dog!  We adopted this lovely lady from animal control in Illinois.  She was dumped on the side of the road.  She's a great dog, and we are very happy to have her!  But, just remember psycho internet cake seeking guy - she's very protective.

At any rate, now that I'm home more, this means I get to spend more time blogging!  Yay for my FOUR followers!  You know you're so excited.

I promise, I will get back to baking.  After all, the big one is in school full time now, and the little one loves to help (as previously noted).  Since I have time, there's a lot I can stop buying now!  Of course, in the last 2 years, gluten free snacks have progressed from tolerable to outright amazing.  Have you tried the ice cream cones??  I can't remember off hand who the maker is, but they are fantastic!  A little dairy free ice cream and, voila.  An ice cream cone that is better than the 'real' thing - because it. is. awesome.  And MY KID can eat it. 

And that is what matters.

You can have your cake...

So, I haven't posted in... well, forever.

But we had a surprise party for my Mom, and I of course made the cake.

And it was the bomb, lol ;).

She's a HUGE Bears fan, obviously. It was gluten, dairy, nut free, vanilla yellow cake, with 'buttercream' frosting, and marshmallow fondant. It really turned out well I think! Mom was quite happy with it at least!

The Bears cake was actually my 2nd successful fondant cake!

As you can see, my eldest requested a Perry the Platypus cake for his birthday a few months ago, and I really think it was, as he said "The best cake ever!"

Making GF Bread

Making gluten free bread can be a challenge - especially when your oldest son tried to help you by getting your beautiful KitchenAid mixer out of the cabinent and drops it on the floor (reminder, I did not ask him to do so, he did it on his own without permission). Said mixer is still out of commission, and will be until we have the money to fix it up...

So, I haven't made much bread aside from our microwavable recipe. I haven't really had the time, or the energy, or the right stuff to do it, lol. So, its a little rough on the old muscles, but I'm getting the hang of it. My goal is to set aside at least one day a week to bake - its not a stringent goal, but its there none the less ;).

Today, I searched the internet for recipes that contained ingredients that I had in the house. I really hope this bread turns out...

If it does, I'll post the recipe!!

I *need* to bake!

But its 'summer' now, and much to hot to deal with the oven, lol. I want to try bagels and soft pretzels again. And cinnamon rolls. How I want cinnamon rolls! Unfortuantly the baby still can't have cinnamon as of our last trial.
I've been getting a little down about being gluten free lately too. I normally am a pretty positive person, and I can handle just about anything that comes my way... but damnit, I want a real pretzel! I want to go to the grocery store and be able to buy anything that sounds good, and forget reading the stupid label! I'm tired of the money we have to spend so I can be safe, and not sick. I'm tired of having to politely turn down offers of food.
I'm tired of having to politely tell the waitress that I can't have gluten, my kid can't have dairy and gluten, and could you please try to not poison me? In not so many words of course... And then have to politely explain that no, I do not and cannot have that toast that you put on my plate, and now I need a new plate.
I'm tired of being polite.
I'm tired of not being believed. I'm tired of the question of "Well, can't you just forget your diet for today?"
I can't forget my diet today. I can't forget my diet anyday. The word diet implies that I'm eating like this to lose weight. I'm actually quite comfortable with my weight. I'm not terribly overweight, and I'm actually right about where I should be - medically speaking. I live like this because it makes me feel better. I like not being in pain. That's the point.
Gluten is not necessary to live, or to be nutritionally right. In fact, since I can't have a LOT of the processed junk, I eat much better than you. You can go to the store and buy whatever your little heart desires. I have to read labels for every single product I buy. My trip to the store probably takes twice as long as the average shopper. The gal who orders the gluten free food for my regular store is starting to recognize me, lol.
I'm not really angry - I'm more or less just disappointed. Life isn't supposed to be so hard, right? You're not supposed to anagonize over what goes into your or your children's bodies... You're sure as hell not supposed to feel guilty when the store runs out of cheese - except your kid can only eat one specific cheese, and the next nearest store that sells it is an hour away.
It's sure as hell not supposed to take all day to figure out what to make for dinner that everyone will eat, and will be safe for everybody.
So for now, I'm just going to breathe. And be polite... Just don't be surprised when I finally crack, LOL!

So Proud!

William has started spelling!

Everytime I turn around, he's asking me "How do you spell xxx?" It's so cute :). I plan on working really hard this summer, and get him reading. I wonder how many other kids in kindergarten will be reading next year? I was reading at that age, I have always loved reading.

He's also making up stories ;).

He's really been making leaps & bounds lately. I can't even begin to explain how great that feels.

Candy: Pass!

The boys loved the chocolate lollipops! And it was so easy, it was almost scary. This was William's first chocolate lollipop - and there's not a whole lot of chocolate that he can have. Soy is almost always in chocolate - especially the cheap chocolate.

They had a great sheen to them as well, which I've noticed with the Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips.

Making CANDY!

So, Mother's Day is coming upon us quickly, and I was at a total loss as to what the boys should make for their Grandmas this year (all 3 of them).

Then I remembered that the local HyVee has started to carry Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips.

*Lightbulb*

Off to Hobby Lobby, purchased some candy molds for chocolate lollipops, peanut butter cups, and while I was at it, some Awareness Ribbon molds so I can make some to sell at our rummage sale coming up to raise money for FAAN. Who doesn't want a basically allergy free chocolate lollipop?!

It's pretty simple. Boil about an inch of water in a pot, place glass bowl over water, place chocolate chips in bowl, stir til melted and pour carefully into the mold. I bought a squeeze bottle at the store because I thought I'd put the chocolate in there, but I didn't want to microwave it because I'm funny about microwaving plastic. The first two, my trial lollipops for the boys, are cooling in the fridge. Wish me luck!

Seasonal Allergies

I'm so disappointed.
I had thought the boys had escaped the wrath of my seasonal allergies.
Boy, was I wrong!
Poor Max is waking up with bloody noses, which the doc says is attributed to his allergies. William is a bear lately, and has been sneezing up a storm.
I, of course, am miserable as usual. I can't wait for this season to be over! Though, of course that means higher temps in the summer time.

On the plus side, my seedlings are growing fantastically, and at some point I'll get to get outside and plant them!

It's my birthday, and I'll have cake if I want it!

Ah, Devil's Food Cake...

This time, I made the cupcakes into a real cake, and instead of using shortening - I subbed Coconut Oil, because I was out of shortening. Have been for awhile! This cake was so moist, and so rich - I couldn't finish the piece the husband cut for me!

I made No Cook Fudge Frosting to top it off with, because adding some Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips just wasn't enough overkill on the chocolate front, lol.

You're going to have to email for the recipe, cause I don't want to get into any trouble! It's the first recipe I haven't had to alter from my cookbook, lol. I added strawberries in the center, and it melted the fudge frosting just right... perfect.

Egg "Mc"Waffles?

So the husband was craving egg mcmuffins... you can be sure I'm not letting that in my house, lol. So, I made the next thing, egg waffle sandwiches!

No, he's not eating 'real' cheese, its Rice Cheese slices and he loves them. They melt pretty well, it just takes forever. He really enjoyed the 'sandwiches', as it incorporated two things he loves, eggs and waffles, lol! GF of course ;).

Want some healthy tortilla chips?

I was so tired of paying a ridiculous amount for 'healthy' baked tortillas. And I always wind up eating the whole bag, lol! And, they aren't always safe for everyone... So I decided to make my own!
Buy or make some corn tortillas that are safe. For me, a bag of 12 corn tortillas runs about $1.38. The cheap chips we can all have (that include some yummy trans fat and are saltier than the sea...), are only a $1 at the Dollar Tree.
Using a sharp knife or pizza cutter, cut the tortillas into 8ths.
Place the cut tortillas onto a baking sheet or glass baking dish. Spray with some Olive Oil. Sprinkle some sea salt, some chili powder if you like, and bake in a 350* oven until slightly brown. I don't time it, though I should. I just check it because it doesn't take long at all! 5 minutes maybe?? Add some salsa, and yum! Fresh, safe, tortilla chips. They'll keep for about 4 days at room temp in an airtight bag.
12 tortillas x 8 sections = 96 chips for a $1.38. Not bad. You could probably do this even cheaper if you looked hard enough!

Needing a Vent about my day today...

I woke up nice and early for once, and the day seemed like it started ok... baby was slightly cranky, but otherwise fine.
Then I started breakfast. I reheated some waffles I made on Monday morning, because they seemed easier than cereal, lol.
They actually ate the waffles (better than Monday, lol!). Then the 2 year old started acting like he had to go potty (he's recently trained). Then the fun really began...
I had wanted to get to the gym by 9 am, so I could get a good hour and a half in. So, when he started acting like he had to go at 8:30, I thought Perfect timing!!
Not so much...
After waiting 15 minutes for something to happen, I tried to coax him off the toilet. No luck. A half hour goes by, and I thought, well that's not too bad, we'll still have plenty of time. 45 minutes later, I finally get him coaxed down, make it back downstairs only for him to decide he has to go - again. We finally made it to the gym by 9:50.
A half hour later, I get a call from the daycare that he's in need of a pants change. Joy.
Make it home, make some lunch, and get the boy off to school. Shouldn't take too long, except that both want to help make the microwave bread, lol! Now we're all covered in flours... oh well. Get cleaned up, make some peanut butter sandwiches, and get the boy off to school. Now is my relaxing time! I have 3 hours primarily to myself... assuming the 2 year old decides its OK to nap today, LOL!

After all that work...

I wound up not being able to send the boy to school because he still have a stomach bug! He seems fine, but I really don't feel right sending him to school if he throws up in the morning. Hopefully he'll be fine tomorrow, since my cousin is getting married and we're planning on going to it. At least I know we'll have enough cupcakes to take for the reception!

Be My Valentine Chocolate Cupcakes

I've never had much luck with recipes I find on the internet. I don't know why. I know I've mentioned before that I simply use my Better Homes and Garden's Cookbook, and sub whatever I need to sub.

But, the problem is finding the right mix for the flours. I typically use a combination of Tapicoca Flour, Corn Starch, and All Purpose Gluten Free Flour (I always use Bob's Red Mill, but really only because its all I've tried, and really all that our store carries).

So, I asked my son's pre-school teacher if I could make cupcakes to send for the students for Valentine's Day. I had assumed he was the only child with food allergies, but just to be safe, I asked anyway. Turned out, he's not alone. The allergies to avoid for his class were Wheat, Gluten, Fish, Peanuts, Soy, Dairy, and Eggs. Wow. I figured out, this was going to be more challenging than I'd originally thought!

So, these are my "Be My Valentine" Chocolate Cupcakes! Free of Gluten, Dairy, Peanuts & Treenuts, Soy, and Eggs.

1 1/4 cup of Gluten Free All Purpose Flour
1/2 cup of Tapioca Flour

1/2 cup of Corn Starch

1 1/2 tsp of baking soda

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tsp of baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup of shortening (I use Spectrum, no soy)

1 3/4 cup of sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup of applesauce (if eggs are OK, then eggs and leave out the baking powder)

1 1/3 cups cold water

1. Fill your muffin tins with the paper muffin cups. Lightly spray with cooking spray if desired.

2. In one medium sized bowl, mix the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda (and baking powder if subbing the eggs), and salt. Set this bowl aside.

3. In a large mixing bowl, beat the shortening with a mixer for about 30 seconds, on medium speed. Add sugar and vanilla and beat till well combined. If you're using eggs, add the eggs one at a time, beating well each time. If you're subbing the eggs with applesauce, add that now.

4. Slowly start adding the dry mixture to the wet mix. Alternate adding the water, beating on low til just combined each time.

5. Fill the paper cups about 1/2 to 3/4 full. Bake in a 350* oven for about 35-40 minutes. Cool on a wire rack for about 10 minutes (or toss them in the fridgs like I did, lol).

6. Frost as desired! Great frosting recipe coming up next ;)

Creamy Frosting (adapted from Better Homes & Garden's Cookbook, 1996)

1 cup shortening (Again, we use Spectrum)

1 1/2 tsp Vanilla

4 1/2 cups sifted powdered sugar

3 to 4 Tbs of milk or water (we usually use almond milk, but I just used water)

food coloring if desired (or tolerated)

Cream the shortening and vanilla with an electic mixer on medium speed for 30 seconds. Slowly add half the powdered sugar, beating well. Add 2 Tbs of milk or water. Beat again. Gradually keep adding the sugar and milk or water, beating well until you reach the right consistenency. This made more than enough to frost all 24 cupcakes I made, and would be enough to frost 2, 9 inch cakes.

Yummy Banana-Craisin Muffins!

I picked up a bag of Craisins this week just for this purpose! I made 2 dozen muffins with this.

Preheat the oven to 400*

2 cups GF AP Flour

1/4 cup Tapioca Flour

1 1/4 cups of Corn Starch (All together, should be 3 1/2 cups of flour/starch)

1/2 tsp Xanthan Gum

1 cup Sugar

4 tsp of baking powder

1/2 tsp of salt

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups of milk

1/2 cup of oil

1 tsp of vanilla

About 1/4 to 1/2 cup of Craisins (I didn't get to measure, lol)

1 large banana mashed up

In a large bowl, mix together all the dry ingredients. In a separate small bowl, whisk the two eggs and add the milk, oil and vanilla. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Fold the ingredients together, don't over mix. Fold the fuit in. Pour into muffin cups or tins. Bake for about 12 minutes (mine usually takes about 15, watch them til the tops are slightly brown).

I always try to make enough to freeze for later, so I have something easy for the husband to give the kid!

I'm really beginning to think that my 2 year old will someday be a great gluten free chef for his momma :). He helps with EVERYTHING!

Quick Gluten Free Sandwich Bread

This is so easy, its actually a little ridiculous. The original recipe was posted on the Celiac boards, but I tweaked it a bit because I don't keep Almond or Flax meal in the house. It's so easy to play with this, and this morning, I even tweaked it again and made myself an egg and cheese 'muffin' for breakfast. It is the perfect sandwich size, and its in individual servings, so its perfect for a quick meal!

You need:
A custard size microwavable dish, well greased.
1 egg
1 Tbs of Tapioca Starch
2 Tbs of Sorghum Flour
1 Tbs of GF All purpose Flour
1/8 tsp of Xanthan Gum (it always holds it all together!)
1/2 tsp of Baking Powder
a dash of salt
3/4 tsp of sugar

Grease the bowl, and mix one egg in it well. Add the dry ingredients. Microwave (depending on your microwave power, mine took a minute and 45 seconds) about 90 seconds.
The 2 year old actually liked it! And he's been super picky about the gluten free bread lately, lol. It's a nice, spongy 'breadlike' bun. I think it would work well for a hamburger bun, sandwich bread, etc. This morning's "muffin", I added 2 eggs and some cheese (I'm sure DF cheese would work as well). I really wanted some sausage in it, lol!

I made bagels!

Bagels were one of the 4 year old's favorite foods before we went gluten free. He'd eat nearly anything, so long as it was on a bagel! So, my new goal for the year is to make one new, gluten free treat every week. This week, it was bagels! He was so excited to see them, though they took forever to make. I only made 12, and quickly realized that I should have doubled the recipe, lol!

They weren't as 'puffy' as typical bagels, but I also didn't realize that I didn't make the hole in the center large enough!

But they were edible, and that's what counts!

My best gluten free cookbook for this? My regular old Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. I just sub regular GF flour, some Tapioca starch, and corn starch (I was out of corn starch, which may be why they didn't get so fluffy). And don't forget the Xanthan Gum!

Nearly Christmas...

And I'm praying I don't get glutened and get sick.

To top it all, I have a sinus infection. While not incredibly painful right now (it was last week tho!), it is bothersome and irritating.

Holidays are stressful, but even more when you have o know exactly what you're eating all the time.

Good luck to all this Holiday season, be safe and stay healthy!