cookie link (& love)

Kim here again.  Guest posting, uninvited, on my sister's blog.  (Watch out, Kate! Although I just started out with the occasional comment and random 'like' on Patrick's Facebook, well, you can see where gradual beginnings got me . . . Just so you know, I never intended to take over.)

My husband, Patrick, doesn't really bake. He's great on the stove top, can roast a bird, and like many men before him, is a grilling master. You can imagine my surprise then, when he executed these gluten free, corn free, dairy free, and egg free chocolate chip cookies.

Here's the link to his recipe:

  Chocolate Chip Cookies 

Patrick's g.f. flour blend, based on ingredients available to us here locally, is 1/2 cup potato starch, 1/2 cup buckwheat flour, and 1&1/4 cups white rice flour.

 
This is our gluten free, corn free, dairy free, and egg free daughter Keturah awaiting her made-especially-by-daddy cookies.  Keturah has big issues with milk, but no reaction at all to butter, so at this point we have no need to find a butter replacement in our kitchen.  (Yay!)

 

Are these masterfully baked cookies not one beautiful representation of the love of a daddy for his daughter?

Patrick scored double on this labor of love, though, because his g.f. wife not only appreciates the lengths gone to for our second-born, but for me as well.

 

You'll have to head on over to my blog to read that version of cookie-love, though.

thankful muffins

When I post on Kate's blog, obviously it is with gluten-free-food in mind.  Today is no different.  But although I've got high accolades for a stellar muffin resource, I'm actually posting with my gluten-eating, recipe-following, blog-savvy son in mind.

Due to my middle daughter's food limitations, all of the cooking I do at home is not only gluten-free, but corn, egg, and dairy-free too. We do a lot of recipe searching, improvising, substituting, and making stuff up on the fly.  It's a lot of restrictions to work with, and we live in a country that doesn't major in ready-made, gluten-free anything, but well, we've still got to eat.  So we make-do with simple fare, generally skip restaurants, and don't bake much.

When my kids ask what's for dinner, they are never surprised if it's completely made up. I'm very blessed with children that are not only accepting of our food restrictions, but are also a little into it.  I cannot tell you how many times over the last year or so my firstborn, Moyer, says, "Wow, mom, you made this recipe up?  You should totally post it on Aunt Kate's blog."

I love it.  He's so sweet.

Honestly, though, not so many of our meals are worth re-cooking, let alone posting on-line for the gluten-free community. And how many times would I never in a million years be able to reproduce what we just ate?

Moyer: (excited and affirming) "Mom, this is like seven thumbs up.  You should totally write the recipe down and post it on Aunt Kate's blog."

Me: (sigh--I know what's coming) "I can't, sweetie."

Moyer: "Why not?"

Me: (a little exasperated with his insistence on all meals coming from a recipe) "Well, I didn't really keep track of the ingredients."

Moyer: (whining disbelief) "You mean you don't know how to make it again?"

I know, I could have it WAY worse.

And sometimes (I get a huge kick out of this particular scenario) I have to tell him, that didn't make it up and I didn't follow a recipe:

Me: "Honey, this isn't my idea."

Moyer: (in his best adult-I-all-about-how-the-internet-works-voice) "Oh, did you find a recipe on-line?"

Me: (trying to remember exactly how dinner did just happen to unfold on this particular evening) "Well, I got the idea for the recipe on-line."

Moyer: (he's disappointed already, because he's sensing the answer) "But you didn't follow the recipe?"

Me: "Nope."

Moyer: (he still doesn't understand exactly why one wouldn't precisely follow an available recipe; he's precise like that) "Why not?"

When I'm feeling patient I go on to tell him how I converted it to a Keturah-friendly recipe or a China-friendly recipe, or how I didn't have any such and such on hand, so . . .

He's very interested in this process.  And very interested in posting all about it on Aunt Kate's blog.  Though he does wish that I'd do more recipe-following.

So today's post is for Moyer.  In honor of re-posting recipes that I find on-line, and then don't follow at all, I'm here to direct you to the best gluten-free muffin recipe that you don't have to exactly follow ever.  Gluten-free girl and the chef even invite you to mess with it.  These muffins are intended to be tweaked and turn-out.

gluten-free whole grain muffins

My very first time making them, I followed all of the advice I could manage, and still make them corn, egg, and dairy-free as well.*  They were so easy and turned out so perfectly.

So I made them again, but followed the recipe even less carefully, thinking that I was probably pressing my luck.  They worked out again.

You know what?  I've made these muffins a bazillion times since then, tried all kinds of creative substitutions,** don't measure a single thing, and don't bother looking at the print-out that I previously had been referring to, and they always turn out.

The trick is to read the whole post.  It's not just a muffin recipe.  It's kind of like a gluten-free quick-breads baking manual.  (And even though I read it, and reaped much, I'm also here to tell you that I didn't use a scale.  I used the principles and recipe as a guide, and then went by feel.)

We made them the evening before Thanksgiving, and served them up as Thankful muffins for breakfast on Thursday.

Here are my muffin models (including our newest muffin model in-training) being very thankful for them after they were cool (and iced!) on Wednesday night.



Moyer is pumped that we're taking pictures to post on Aunt Kate's blog.  Keturah is grateful that they're gluten, corn, egg, and dairy-free.  Marilla is having trouble understanding why muffins need models.  She'd rather be a taste-tester.



Thankful for great eaters, a recipe-loving boy, and an adaptable muffin recipe.  

Enjoy!

*My go-to for egg replacer is flaxseed, and I sub anything from water to orange juice for the buttermilk.

**I've iced them, topped them like coffee-cake, flavored them like gingerbread, made them orange-themed, used date-syrup as a sugar sub, and varied the oil content a great deal.  I usually use mostly buckwheat flour as the base, but actually change up the other flours and starches a lot!

carrot curry

This boy just dried his tears.

He cried when our carrot curry leftovers lunch was all gone yesterday.

For that story, though, you'll have to head on over to my day-to-day blog. (The one about Kate's adorable nephew Moyer and stunning niece Keturah's everyday lives in Asia.)

But the lunch Moyer cried over, well, I'll post that recipe right here. (Did I mention that I may post on Think Outside the Breadbox now and again?)

First, a couple of disclaimers:

1. If you're looking for authentic curry, this is NOT your recipe.  It's curry-ish.  It's curry inspired.  I'm a Western cook however, and cannot claim any true curry prowess.

2. This is good. I wouldn't post the recipe without favorable reviews from the whole fam, but it's not gourmet. Considering that it's chief ingredient is a vegetable, though, it's remarkably tasty.

So, if you're still interested, this carrot curry is a great way to eat your veggies without actually tasting them.  Inspired partially by a recipe on yummly, and partially by the concept behind skinnytaste, I used part of our stockpile of carrots as the base for this meal.

And, by the way, since I'm working on collecting dinner ideas for our family that are corn-free, dairy-free, and egg-free in addition to gluten-free, you can use this recipe for a variety of food-sensitive eaters!

So without any further ado, the recipe Moyer cried over, folks:

~Carrot Curry~

2-3 carrots, peeled & chopped

1 small onion, chopped

1 inch ginger, sliced

several cloves garlic

2 T oil

1 lemon (both zest & juice)

1 cup coconut milk

1 cup chicken stock

1/2 lb cooked chicken breast, in pieces

salt & pepper

3 T sweet rice flour (or other thickener of choice)

We served this on rice, so if you're planning to do that, don't forget to put the rice on!

You can fry up the chicken in a pan with a little oil ahead of time, or simultaneously.  Just chop it up into bite-sized pieces and set it aside to add at the end.  Or leave it out.  (But just a heads-up, Moyer favored the bites with chicken in them.)

Heat the oil (or butter if you like!)  in the bottom of a large wok, or medium soup pot.  Saute the carrots, onion, ginger, and garlic together until the onions are nearly translucent. Add lemon zest and toss it all around.  Pour in both coconut milk and chicken stock, cover, and simmer for twenty to thirty minutes.  Add water if needed.  When carrots are cooked all the way through, add the juice from one lemon, and run through your blender.

Pour the pureed mixture back into your wok or pot, and add the cooked chicken pieces.  Cook uncovered, then thicken as desired to bring to a curry-like consistency. 

(I removed a ladleful of puree, mixed thoroughly with sweet rice flour, and then cooked it back into the "curry" until thick.)

Salt and pepper to taste.  Serve on rice. 

~

Due to the carrot content, this turns out very orange.

Do not be alarmed.

Not only was I expecting it to taste exactly like carrot puree with a hint of coconut and lemon when I served it up to the family, but I was a tad turned off by it's nearly-glowing appearance.  My first bite was taken with extreme caution, and lots of skepticism.

Needless to say, I didn't plan on making it again, didn't photograph it, and certainly didn't plan to post it.  (My goals at the time were more in the realm of getting everyone seated around the table to eat enough of it to count as the evening's sustenance, actually.)  This tangy curry-like meal was a surprise--one that everyone finished happily.

Thus, I have no pictures to offer, except the ones that I snapped after Moyer's tears were dried.

Including, of course, the boy himself . . .

Hope you like it as much as he did!

pumpkin bisque

Somebody enjoyed her soup.

That somebody is Keturah, Kate's niece. 

I'm her mom, and Kate's sister.  I've posted here on Think Outside before.  And seeing as I've pretty much joined the gluten free club, I just may post here again. (Convenient having a sister with an already up and running GF blog--besides, if I were to start my own, there's no way I could ever come up with a name quite as clever as Think Outside the Breadbox. I have loved this name for as long as she's had the blog, and am happy to be posting under it!)

We're in the experiment stage of living with dietary restrictions.  I, like Kate, am gluten free--currently in my fifth month of being gluten free, actually--while my daughter, Keturah, is gluten free plus.  For now, the 'plus' means corn, dairy, and eggs.  She's still showing signs of food sensitivities, though, so we have some testing to do, and possibly a few more limitations to try as well.

As we experiment with what Keturah can and cannot eat, we're also experimenting with meals that work for the whole family.  My husband and son don't seem to have any food issues,  but they do like their food to be good.

Which is why I was really thrilled that this Keturah-friendly soup was deemed "restaurant quality" by Patrick the other night!

~Pumpkin Bisque~

1 small (not quite bowling ball sized) pumpkin, cut into chunks

2 large potatoes, peeled and cubed

3 large carrots, peeled, and sliced

1 large onion, chopped

1 inch ginger, peeled and sliced

2 T butter

1 t ground coriander

2 T olive oil

2 t sea salt

1 t freshly ground black pepper

2 cups chicken stock

After you've prepared all of the produce, melt about two tablespoons of butter (or use olive oil) in the bottom of a soup pot.  Toss in at least a teaspoon of ground coriander, and let fry for a minute.  Toss in the chopped onion and ginger.  Saute until onions are tender.  

At this point, if the bottom of the pan has dried up, add about two tablespoons of olive oil.  Put in the sea salt, black pepper, and the rest of the produce.  Toss the produce around with a large wooden spoon until coated with seasonings and olive oil, then let cook for a few minutes (with the lid on), come back, and toss with the spoon again to rotate which veggies are on the bottom.  Repeat for about fifteen minutes, until the produce looks like it's beginning to cook, but not burn or dry out.

Once everything was hot and just slightly browned, I plopped in a tupperware-shaped cube of chicken stock that we had in the freezer.  (Boiled from the bones and meat of a roast chicken carcass from a few weeks ago.)  If you use a prepared broth that has sodium, DO remember to omit some of the salt used in this recipe!  Add water as needed, but keep the lid on, and stir now and again for as long as you have time to let it simmer.  Ours simmered stove top for almost two hours.

Then I turned off the heat, and waited until dinner time to run it all through the blender and reheat.

This turned out rich and creamy, and was a very filling main dish.  The kids both scraped their bowls clean--as did their daddy and me.

In fact, the only thing that was not satisfying about this meal was Patrick's assessment that not only was it restaurant quality, but it that it would taste fantastic in a bread bowl.

Really?

I think somebody needs to try a little harder to think outside the breadbox.

Gluten free family time with a bit of Hakuna Matata

Have I ever told you that my house is called Camp Chaos?

 It's because of this guy. Chaotic isn't he? It's what we dubbed ourselves shortly after bringing home our first puppy, Chaos Monster in Febuary, 2005. The name's stuck and it's followed us from  Maine to Colorado and back to Maine. It's a great ode to our beloved golden retriever, Chaos who's about to celebrate his 7th birthday. Chaos was the first dog I ever had the pleasure of living with. He's taught me a lot since I brought him home as a young puppy in early 2005.  His soft golden mane is often a source of comfort and reminds me of my favorite Disney movie, The Lion King. I was in high school when the Lion King first came out and it earned it's place as my favorite all time Disney flick. I think that's why I love my golden puppies so much as Chaos often resembles a regal Mufasa and crazy little Mayhem is a young Simba. When the movie came back out on DVD this year I quickly snatched up a copy and enjoyed the movie along my memories of being a favorite babysitter to my young cousins.


This week my sister, Kim came for a visit with her husband and two kiddos- Moyer's who's almost 5 and Keturah who's 3 going on 7. Kim and Keturah are in the midst of a gluten free trial and Kim did a guest post a few weeks back about their Mighty Fine dining experience in Austin, TX. So far with this trial  they've discovered that Keturah doesn't do well with corn as well as gluten. As most of us glutards know a lot of gluten free items contain corn in one form or another so we stuck to a lot of naturally gluten free, corn free foods during their visit to camp chaos. Like Annie's Gluten Free Mac N Cheese with some hamburger and peas added in for fun.

The kids and I watched The Lion King the first morning here at Camp Chaos and the rest of the visit featured small voices singing lines of Hakuna Matata.

Hakuna Matata! It means no worries for the rest of your days

We even tried to make some corn free powdered sugar for our Chex Muddy Buddies...

Played Legos (because every good aunt and uncle should have a house with legos...)
Walked the dogs which was even better with shoulder rides from Patrick

But he wouldn't give the dogs shoulder rides- they had to walk

as did Moyer but he liked to run, jump and hop more then walk. He is a good runner.

We took time to make the donuts...gluten and corn free.
And of course I whipped up some knitted projects for the kids. You can see those over at Asiaramblin 

I've been really impressed with my dining experiences at the Rack since we've moved back to Sugarloaf and even more so after our trip with my gluten free, corn free niece. Our waitress (who's also gluten free) double checked the gluten free options for us for traces of corn and Keturah enjoyed a great safe bowl of gf, corn free noodles and marinaira.

 Don't you wish every gluten free meal could have a bit of Hakuna Matata?