My husband is not a poet. Nor is he a romantic. He isn’t a musician or a writer. Words allude him when he is feeling deeply. I’ve seen him cry six times in the 12 years I’ve known him. 

My husband is an engineer, and he evaluates everything in life based on how well it functions (he declares most modern machinery a “piece of shit” and proceeds to re-engineer it and I have to say, to his credit, he almost always improves upon it).

Ironically, he is a true artist. He’s never come across a broken thing he can’t fix… including me. Sometimes I stare at him, and I wonder how we ever communicate. I thrive in an abstract world where beauty and experience trump form and function any day of the week. We exist on different planets.

The other day, when I updated my Twitter with the thought, Stay. What a naked word when uttered by the ones we love.  He stared at me, his face intense, and finally said, “What does that MEAN?” I laughed. Partly because he was making a true attempt to think in the abstract, and it was obviously causing him duress. And partly because the thought was wholly about him. He had just the day before, touched my hand while we were outside and said, “Stay with me.” He wanted me sit with him for a minute and watch the clouds. The vulnerability, the nakedness, of his gesture had struck me.

This morning, I wandered downstairs for breakfast. He makes breakfast every Saturday morning for us. And this morning he had picked blueberries from our bushes and was making swedish pancakes (otherwise known as crepes, but we don’t call them that in his presence.)

He learned to make Swedish pancakes from a family he knew as a kid. His friend Anders was Swedish and Anders’ mother passed the recipe to Doug’s mother. Doug has enjoyed this recipe and the memory of his friend for some 30 years. When we married, it was one of the first things he made for me.

So this morning, I rolled up my swedish pancake filled with sweet jam and butter, drizzled it with maple syrup and dusted it with powdered sugar, scattered blueberries on the plate. Oh so good… sweet and smooth. A Saturday morning tradition. As I made my coffee, I glanced at our old blue recipe book, a journal we keep of family recipes. The page had been marked up in several places and at the top he had scrawled, Gluten Free Swedish Pancakes.

I knew they were gluten free, of course. But not until this morning did I hear the sweet poetry of my husband’s way of loving. He had, over these last few months, taken a recipe that was his (and he doesn’t have to be gluten free) and modified it bit by bit, until it was as mouthwatering as the original. To me, this was more than making GF biscuits. This was something that was special to him, a memory that belonged to him long before there was me… and he had adjusted it so that we could continue sharing it. Without saying much of anything about it.

I smiled to myself. What does that MEAN? His language so different than mine. I write him songs he never understands. He looks for the things he can DO to make me happy that I hardly notice. This is the way he loves me… the way he always loves me. His way… with purpose… in actions… in simplicity.

I told him I was going to share his GF Swedish Pancakes on my blog. And he playfully said, “NO… that’s my secret recipe.” I laughed at him. Love is something we share, baby. So here it is…

Gluten Free Swedish Pancakes

4 eggs
2 cups milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup sweet White Rice Flour
1/4 cup Sorghum Flour
2 tbl Tapioca Starch
1/2 tsp xanthum gum
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbl oil

1. Preheat crepe pan or 10″ non-stick frying pan over medium heat.

2. Beat eggs and vanilla together.

3. In a separate bowl, cobine all dry ingredients.

4. Make  a well in the dry ingredients and add egg mixture plus 1 cup milk. Whisk together. Add remaining 1 cup of milk and oil. Whisk until just blended.

5. Pour batter into heated pan until it just covers the bottom. Let cook until the bottom has browned slightly (without moving) and then flip.

6. Place swedish pancake on a plate. Butter. On one end add jam and then roll up. Top with syrup, fruit and powdered sugar.

My husband tends to keep two pans going so that we’re not waiting too long in between!

For those of you who don’t have to be gluten free. Here’s the original recipe:

4 eggs
1 tbl sugar
dash of salt
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
3 cups milk

Assemble and cook as noted above.

Enjoy the love!

INGREDIENTS

1/8 cup lemon juice

1 tbs olive oil

½ tsp salt

½ tsp fresh ground pepper

1 tsp oregano

1 clove minced garlic

2 large chicken breasts cut into bite sized cubes

Mix all the ingredients in the bottom of a small casserole dish.

Add the chicken and coat well.

Cover and refrigerate over night

COOKING

Soak 4 long bamboo skewers

Grill until golden brown on all sides

Serve over rice with Tsatsiki Sauce.

Gluten Free Tsatsiki Sauce

INGREDIENTS

½ medium cucumber

1 cup yogurt

1 tbs vinegar

1 tbs olive oil

1 clove minced garlic

2 tbs fresh mint chopped fine

salt to taste

DIRECTIONS

Cut cucumber lengthwise and remove seeds and skin.

Chop fine and wrap pulp in a paper towel.

In you chopper, add all of the other ingredients and chop until smooth.  Add cucumber and mix well.

Chill at least one hour prior to serving

Hip hip hooray!!!  Another gluten-free product from Betty Crocker!!  This was the last mix in their new line that I hadn’t had a chance to review.  I have had it for a while, but time just gets away from me sometimes.  I hate that!

This cake was super easy to make.  I took the butter out & set it on the counter this morning and then made the cake at lunch time.  It took less than 5 minutes to mix up & put into the oven.  I baked for 37 minutes at 350.  I used an 8 x 8 pan.  The cake came out great!!

Once the cake cooled, I frosted it with “Perfectly Chocolate” Chocolate Frosting.  By the way, this frosting makes enough for 2 cakes this size.  When I made the Devil’s Food Cake a few weeks back, I froze the extra frosting and then defrosted it today by placing the container in cold water (thanks Mom!).  The frosting tasted just as good as it did a few weeks back!

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine
2/3 cup HERSHEY’S Cocoa
3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Melt butter. Stir in cocoa. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating to spreading consistency. Add small amount additional milk, if needed. Stir in vanilla. About 2 cups frosting.  **From the back of the Hershey’s Cocoa Can.

I want to start my review part of this post by saying that yellow cake is probably my least favorite of all cakes, however, nothing a little chocolate can’t fix, right?  This cake mix really impressed me.  On top of being really easy to make, it was really moist!  I normally add sour cream or Greek yogurt to my cakes to make them extra moist.  I did not do that today, because I wanted to follow the exact box directions for the review.  Now I can play around the next time I make it.  The taste was great, texture just like a “normal” cake.  Miss Picky Sassy Pants (aka Hannah) asked for a bite of mine before asking for a piece.  She ooooohhhed & aaaaaahhhhed over how good it was!  Now, that is saying something!  Jon also loved it.  Another hit from Betty Crocker!!  All thumbs up here from our household! 

Note for Ohio peeps or those who have Giant Eagle….these mixes were on sale yesterday for $3.99.  Not sure how long that sale is lasting.  Normal price at Giant Eagle is $4.29. 

INGREDIENTS

1 lb. stew meat

1 tbs olive oil

1 tbs minced garlic

1 cup minced onion

1 tsp salt

1 tsp fresh ground black pepper

3 tbs hot Hungarian paprika

¾ cup GF beef broth

1 cup sour cream

gluten free egg noodles (approx. 1 ½ cups per person)

DIRECTIONS

Heat oil in a large skillet and brown the beef. Remove from skillet.

Saute garlic and onion. Add salt, pepper and paprika and mix well.

Add broth and beef.

Cover and simmer for 10 minutes.

Stir in sour cream and heat just until hot.

Serve over egg noodles.

INGREDIENTS

2 cups mashed potatoes

1 tsp salt

2 tbs. melted butter

1 egg

1 tsp. Baking powder

1 cup bean flour, plus a little more

DIRECTIONS

  Stir together the potato, salt and butter, then beat in the egg.

Stir in the flour and the baking powder; mix well.

Add a little more flour if needed to make a soft but workable dough.

Divide the dough into scone sized parts (about the size of babies’ fist)

Roll out each section of the dough to about 1/4″ thickness on a floured board.

Bake them on a lightly greased griddle or skillet at the same temperature that you would cook pancakes, for about 5 minutes each side.

They should  have some light brown blisters.

Keep them warm in a covered cassarole dish in the oven as they are cooked.

Serve hot.

Leftovers can be reheated in the microwave. (If you have any)

NOTE: They can be kept raw in the fridge between sheets of waxed paper in a plastic bag over night.

I love squash.  I love all kinds of squash.  Butternut is one of my recent favorites.  I had been roasting it in some EVOO, salt & pepper, until I saw on various food blogs…..butternut squash fries!!  Holy YUM!!  Why didn’t I think of that?  I make sweet potato fries all the time, why not butternut squash fries?

Making fries out of butternut squash is simple.  I don’t even peel the squash!  I wash it and cut the bottom off.  Then, I cut into fry-like shapes (or as close as I can get to fry-like).  Toss in extra-virgin olive oil or spray with Pam and season as you like.  I just use sea salt & fresh ground pepper, but cayenne, chili powder & cumin would be tasty, too.

Toss into your preheated oven (375 or 400).  Bake for 20-40 minutes, flipping once & keeping a close eye on.  I showed pics of how they look going into the oven.  I didn’t get an “after” shot.  They went into my belly way too fast!   

Super healthy & delicious with burgers, chicken or fish.  I also like leftovers over a salad with other roasted veggies. 

I have said many times on this blog that I swear by Pamela’s gluten-free bread.  I can order it on Amazon, through the subscribe & save program; I can mindlessly put all the ingredients together in my Zojirushi bread maker & walk away.  It doesn’t get much easier than that.  A couple months back I emailed Pamela’s to see if I could add a TBSP or 2 of flaxseed meal to the mix to boost the nutrition & fiber a bit.  I received this message back:

“Good morning Kim!

Well, first let me thank you for your interest in our products! I’m delighted to hear that you enjoy our delicious Gluten-free Bread Mix! You can certainly add 1-2 TBSP of flax seed meal. I would watch for the “stickiness” of the mix; if the mix is too sticky, it will not rise and bake properly so you may want to add an additional 2-3 TBSP of water to counteract the “dry” flax seed meal.

Again, thank you Kim, and I hope you have a great day!

Warmest regards,

Megan Warlick

Pamela’s Products-Customer Service”

Well, I had forgotten about it (imagine that…me, forget something?) until I went to make bread this morning and I pulled out the email & made it with the flaxseed meal.  Here is what I did, it was really hard.  I added:

2 TBSP Bob’s Red Mill Flaxseed Meal

3 TBSP water (in addition to the water the recipe already calls for)

I was kidding when I said it was hard.  That was it!  The bread doesn’t look any different really, except for a few more specks of brown throughout (which Jon asked about and I blew it off!  hehe!).  Still tastes amazing and has a little extra added nutrition.  I’ll take that where I can get it! 

Last week I reviewed the Gluten-Free Every Day Cookbook by Robert Landolphi.  I listed some recipes that I was super excited to try out and I have found a keeper, folks.  Raspberry Coconut Bars.  I made these bars on Sunday afternoon. 

The directions are well written and the method is very easy.  The kitchen smelled absolutely heavenly.  The one downfall?  You must let these cool before cutting!  Talk about torture! 

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups sweetened coconut

1/2 cup brown rice flour

1/4 cup tapioca flour

1/4 cup potato starch

1/4 cup walnuts, chopped

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 tsp xanthan gum

1/4 tsp salt

6 TBSPS cold butter, cut into small pieces

3/4 cup raspberry preserves

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375.  Butter (I used Pam) and 8 x 11 inch baking pan.  Spread the coconut evenly on a baking sheet & toast in the oven for 8 to 10 minutes, turning once, until golden brown.  Remove from the oven & let cool completely.

In a food processor, combine the flours, walnuts, sugars, xanthan gum & salt.  Whirl to blend.  Add the butter and process until a fine meal forms.  Transfer the flour mixture to a bowl & stir in the toasted coconut.  Remove 3/4 cup of the mixture & reserve for the topping. 

Press the remaining flour mixture firmly and evenly onto the bottom and sides of the prepared pan to form a crust.  Spread the raspberry preserves evenly on top of the dough and sprinkle with the reserved flour mixture.  Bake for 20 – 25 minutes, or until topping is lightly browned.  Remove from the oven & let cool completely on a wire rack before cutting into 24 bars. 

**Note: I used Pamela’s Baking & Pancake Mix in place of the flours because I ran out of brown rice flour & didn’t realize it until after I started.  I also omitted the xanthan gum because Pamela’s has guar gum in it. 

The result is simply amazing!  My Dad, who isn’t a fan of coconut loved these!  I had to give more than half away because I knew that I would make quick work of the whole pan myself otherwise.  I did freeze a few and they are awesome cold as well!   

I am currently waging an ongoing war with a hairy, creepy sort of creature.  I am trying to defend my broccoli crop from being ravaged by a particular species of caterpillar.  At the moment I have the upperhand with my molasses pressure pump spray, but as soon as I stop the regular bombardment, they’re back with a vengeance.  If you have ever had the opportunity to taste freshly picked broccolini, you would understand why I want to desperately protect my crop.  It is very hard to go back to buying the withered stalks on offer when you can pick your own. 

Thankfully I have collected six pickings so far, with more to come if I remain on the attack.   I used my latest pickings in this steamed greens recipe.  Red pak choy, broccolini and tatsoi were picked from the garden and I added bought beans.  Any Asian vegetables would go nicely, particularly choy sum.  This was served with the Coconut Sugar and Five Spice Tofu accompanied by rice.

Steamed Greens with Sesame Dressing

collection of Asian  and green vegetables (I used broccolini, tatsoi, red pak choy and green beans)

about 1/2 tspn of toasted black and white sesame seeds (I keep a bottle already pre-toasted in the fridge)

1/4 tspn sesame oil

1/2 tspn mirin

1/2 tspn rice vinegar

1/2 tspn tamari/soy sauce

Combine sesame oil, mirin, rice vinegar and tamari together.  Set aside.

Steam harder greens (broccolini, beans) until tender, but firm.  Add soft greens (tatsoi, pak choy) for the last 30 seconds or so.  Drain (I reserve the liquid and freeze for vegetable stock) and toss through dressing. 

Serve with a sprinkling of the sesame seed mix.

Shared goodness from Donna

Print recipe

Easy to make quick dinner. Hamburger hash over mashed potatoes and a side of veggies.

We called it “DD” when I was a kid.

This was one of my favourite dinners growing up.  We called it “DD” for reasons I won’t go into.

INGREDIENTS

1 lb. extra lean ground beef

1 medium onion diced

½ tsp fresh ground black pepper

1 ½ tbs Glutino GF brown gravy mix

1 ½ cups water

DIRECTIONS

Brown ground beef and onion in a large skillet. Drain.

Add pepper.

Blend gravy mix and water and stir into hamburger mixture.

Simmer on med/high heat until gravy thickens slightly.

Serve over mashed potatoes.

Before I went to bed last night, Jon asked if I could make pancakes for breakfast.  I told him that I would think about it.  I decided when I woke up to go ahead & make them, as it had been a while since we had them.  I used Pamela’s Baking & Pancake Mix, which I buy in bulk on Amazon.  It is much cheaper to buy in bulk and if you sign up for Amazon’s Subscribe & Save program, you always get free shipping and an additional 15% off.  You choose the frequency in which the products are sent and can change that at any point in time.  There is no cost to join the program.  Okay, enough about Amazon, onto the pancakes! 

Today I decided to make “special” pancakes.  I followed the directions on Pamela’s Baking & Pancake Mix, but doubled the recipe so that I could freeze some & Jon can reheat them in the microwave or toaster during the week.  I used:

2 cups of Pamela’s Baking & Pancake Mix

2 large eggs

1.5 cups of water

2 TBSP oil

2 TBSP P.B. Loco Premium Peanut Butter with Jungle Banana

Nestle’s Semi-sweet Chocolate Chips (I sprinkled these on each pancake after I poured the batter in the pan)

Yield:  12 good size pancakes

Here is the Peanut Butter that I used:

Jon’s plate, topped with his favorite syrup, Aunt Jemima:

He declared these pancakes the best EVER!!  This was after he asked me if I used the “banana PB“.  He had some the other day on toast & said he didn’t like it, so I told him that I hadn’t used the banana PB this AM.  Ooops!  Little white lie.  After he kept raving about them, I went ahead & told him.  He couldn’t believe it.  At first he was mad, but I told him that he would not have had an open mind if he had known I used the P.B. Loco PB, he would have made up his mind that he didn’t like them.  I used the P.B. Loco PB because it is much creamy than the Skippy Natural that I have on hand; it mixed very well with the pancake batter.  He said they were still the best ever!  He is looking forward to the leftover breakfast pancakes this week. 

We like “energy” or snack bars around here… and they are NOT cheap, so we are making them now.  The recipes are posted at Eat.Drink.Better.

The kids particulary love the oat bar and the NotLaraBars are a fun, healthy, RAW food treat.

We add all kinds of fun things to the oat bars in order to provide some variety, nuts, chocolate chips (Enjoy Life brand), dried fruit, flax seeds, sunflower seeds…

The kids devour the whole pan in one day (granted, there are only 9 bars in a single batch). But then they ask me to make more!

I like to change up my food so I don’t get bored.  My kids don’t appreciate that so much, neither does Aaron.  What I have been doing lately is when I make them a “traditional” dish, I will often make small changes to my meal to create some variety.  I have also been eating a lot less meat lately.  No, I am not becoming a “vegetarian”, I like my chicken & steak (filet) too much.  However, on a day-to-day basis, my stomach & body tend to feel much better the less meat I eat.  My non-meat sources of  protein come from nut butters, eggs (mostly egg whites with an occasional yolk thrown in), tuna, salmon, beans (black, garbanzo, kidney, northern, black-eyed peas), nuts & cheese.  I do some soy, but not a lot.  I mainly do edamame if I do any soy.  I drink almond milk, not cow’s milk (due to lactose intolerance, but cheese is okay with Lactaid).  Anyway, I digress.  Tonight I made Mexican pizzas with refried beans, ground turkey taco meat & cheese for the family and did mine up a little different.

My Mexican pizza consisted of the following:

• black beans (drained & rinsed) mixed with a touch of sriracha
• crumbled goat cheese
• avocado
• chopped tomatoes
• plain Greek Fage
• Frank’s Red Hot

They were amazing!!  YUM!!  Also, instead of using store made tostada shells, I took 2 soft corn tortillas & placed them on an oven sheet @ 350 for about 10 minutes on one side & 3-4 minutes on the other side.  The I topped with the bean mixture & goat cheese and popped back in the oven to get all melty.  YUM!  Oh, another exciting find?  Trader Joe’s frozen avocado halves!  Genius!  I am the only one in my house that will eat avocado and they turn brown after I cut them open no matter what I do!  Very frustrating & expensive!!  These halves are perfect!  I used a half and split it between my pizzas.  Perfect!!  No waste! 

Aaron had an appetizer contest yesterday at work.  He asked me to make my Buffalo Chicken Dip.  This dip is always a hit, so I agreed.    I put the dip together and made some minor changes (used BW3 mild sauce instead of the Red Hot, light cream cheese,  and 2% shredded cheddar).  He brought chips, celery, sour cream, salsa & sriracha sauce to accompany the dip.    Well, he just received an email that the dip won for “Best Dip”!!  How exciting is that?

The recipe was originally shared with my by my sister, Kelly. 

As a Christmas present, Ben and I were given a beautiful Taiwanese cookbook from Ben’s sister, Sarah and her husband, Phil.   The book is a collection of recipes by Jade & Muriel Chen, a mother and daughter team from Blue Eye Dragon, a Taiwanese restaurant in Pyrmont, Sydney.  Sarah and Phil took us there when we were visiting, as the daughter is a friend of Sarah’s.  Before that time, I can’t recall experiencing Taiwanese dishes, and this dinner was one of those memorable food moments.  Who would believe something as simple and bland as choy sum could taste so good? Very fresh, simple flavours and delicious.  As you can imagine, I was very thrilled to receive their cookbook when it was published last year. 

It is a beautifully presented book with clearly set-out recipes that are easy to follow.  Ingredients that may be unfamiliar are explained fully in the glossary with reasons for their use.  I have tried about 6 of their recipes and my favourite would have to be the salt and pepper mixture with five spice.  The original recipe the following dish was inspired from was ‘Crispy Chicken with Basil and Five Spice.’  I discovered the coconut sugar on my last health food shop and was keen to experiment with it.  A very successful purchase and it will be making regular appearances in future posts.  Of course, you can replace it with cane sugar if you prefer.

Five Spice Tofu with Coconut Sugar and Baby Basil

Sweet potato flour, also known as tapioca flour gives a crispier texture to fried foods.  (A very useful tip from the book).  It is available from large supermarkets, Indian/Asian specialty stores.  Coconut sugar is produced from coconut palm blossoms by kettle boiling to crystallise the sugar content.  It is organic, unfiltered, unbleached and preservative free.  It has a crisp, fine texture, caramel in colour and toffee-like in taste and is available from health food stores.

about 3 tspn salt and pepper, five spice mixture (See recipe below)

1 x 300g block tofu, cut into cubes

2 tab sweet potato flour (tapioca flour)

peanut oil

coconut sugar (white sugar was in original recipe)

handful of baby basil leaves

For the Salt and Pepper Mixture, combine 4 tab salt, 2 tab coconut sugar and 1 tab ground white pepper in a spice grinder and blend well. (Leftover can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 months)  These were the original quantities from the book, however I only ever make half the mixture.  White sugar was used in their recipe. 

Combine 3 tspns of the salt and pepper mixture to 1/2 tspn five spice powder.  Add a good pinch of potato flour.  Toss the tofu in this mixture and let stand for a few minutes.

Heat the oil in a wok.  While heating, toss the tofu pieces in potato flour and let rest for a minute before frying.  Fry tofu pieces in batches until brown and crisp.  Drain on paper towelling.

Toss in bowl with coconut sugar, baby basil leaves and extra salt and pepper mixture to taste.  Serve with soy sauce or tamari (gluten free) as a side or rice and steamed greens with a sesame dressing.

Shared goodness from Donna

Print recipe

INGREDIENTS

1 ¼  cups warm water

1 tbs. yeast

1 tsp honey

2 cups GF all-purpose flour

½ cup garbanzo bean flour

½ cup flax meal

¼ cup dry milk powder

1 ½ tsp xanthan gum

1 tsp. sea salt

1 ½ tbs. caraway seeds

1 tsp. dill

2 tsp. onion (finely minced)

2 eggs

4 tbs. olive oil

2 tbs. molasses

1 tsp. vinegar

DIRECTIONS

Mix together warm water, yeast and honey and set aside. (It should be foamy when you are ready to use it)

In a large mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients and onion.

Mix well. Then, with mixer on low, slowly pour in yeast mixture. Add eggs, oil molasses and vinegar and increase mixer speed to high. (for about 2 minutes)

Turn batter into a loaf pan and cut three X’s across the top with a sharp knife.

Cover with a clean tea towel and allow to rise for about 2 hours.

Bake at 400°F for 30 minutes. Cover with foil and bake another 30 minutes.

INGREDIENTS

2 lb. Stewing beef

1 tsp salt 

1 tsp black pepper

2 tbs. olive oil

1 medium onion (minced)

1 ½ tbs. Glutino Brown Gravy Mix

1 cup cold water

3 tbs. room temperature sour cream

DIRECTIONS

Cut beef into small bite sized pieces.

Pour olive oil into a skillet on medium-high heat.

Add beef, salt and pepper and brown.

Mix gravy mix and cold water and pour slowly into the skillet.

Add onion and simmer on low for about 20 minutes.

Add sour cream and serve over egg noodles or rice.

For adventurous cooks (who have no other allergies) you can add ¼ cup of chopped mushrooms just before you simmer. Or you can use ¼ cup red wine and ¾ cup water instead of water.

INGREDIENTS

1 ½ cups all-purpose GF flour mix (see below)

¼ tsp salt

¼ tsp GF baking powder   

4 egg yolks

DIRECTIONS

Mix dry ingredients well.

Add egg yolks and mix until everything is moistened.

Press into a ball and cut into quarters.

Roll on a floured board (use a small amount of the GF flour mix).  You should roll it very thin.

Using a sharp knife, slice the dough into thin strips.

Lay out on a clean tea towel until dry.

To cook them, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add noodles and cook for about 5 minutes or until el dente.

Serve under beef stroganoff or meatballs. 

OR

If you want to add noodles to soup, just drop them in about 5 or ten minutes before serving.

Gluten Free All-Purpose Flour Mix

1 cup rice flour

1 cup tapioca flour

1 cup cornstarch

3 tsp potato flour (Not potato starch)

The first place I read about kale chips was on the Kath Eats Real Food blog.  I thought it was a little odd, but I soon saw that others in blog world were trying them out as well. 

I bought some kale last week and thought, what the heck, I’ll try these.  I prepped the kale by washing & drying & removing the stems.   I tore into more manageable size pieces and then spread out on a cookie sheet that I had sprayed with Pam.  I then sprayed the kale with Pam and seasoned with parmesan cheese, a little freshly ground pepper & sea salt.  I baked at 350 for approximately 10 minutes and then let cool slightly.

I cleared my mind and made sure that as I was going to take my first bite that I wasn’t expecting the kale chips to taste like anything I had previously tasted.  I knew if I had a preconceived idea of what they would taste like, I would most likely not care for them.  I took my first bite.  I was pleasantly surprised.  Tasty!  These went perfectly with my ham, Swiss & sriracha sandwich and salad.  I went on to make several more batches for lunch throughout the week.  Super simple to make and healthy, too!

Thanks, Kath, for yet another great, healthy idea!  

If you have a second, check out my new article on Gluten-free Pizza in Columbus. 

I just added new recipes for GF hamburger buns, pie crust and caesar dressing.

Check it out  http://glutenfreewithauntjayne.wordpress.com

Tonight, for dinner, I am making spicey BBQ chicken legs, perogies and veggies.  I am getting really hungry just thinking about it

In a small bowl, mix together 1 ½ tbsp. yeast, ½ cup warm water, and 1 ½ tsp. honey.

Set aside and allow to get foamy.

DRY INGREDIENTS

2/3 cup sorghum flour

1/3 cup quinoa flour

1/3 cup brown rice flour

2/3 cup tapioca flour

2 tsp. xanthan gum

1 tsp. gelatin

3 tbs. almond meal

½ tsp salt

WET INGREDIENTS

2 eggs

¼ cup hot water

2 tbs. butter

DIRECTIONS

Add all ingredients into a large bowl and mix well.

Put butter into hot water and stir until the butter melts.

Add eggs, hot water/butter, and yeast mixture to dry ingredients and stir until the dough comes together. It will be quite sticky.

Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

Oil your hands and pick up a piece of dough about the size of a ladies’ fist.  Form into a bun shape and place on the baking sheet. Repeat until all dough is used.

Bake at 400° until slightly browned and cooked in the center. (use a toothpick or skewer to test as you would for a cake)

Time varies from oven to oven. Mine takes about 12 minutes.

These freeze very well if you wrap them individually in cling wrap and zip into a freezer bag. (I find it easiest to slice them prior to freezing.)