Best friends come in all shapes and sizes!

Ok, so.  I was sitting next to Scott on the couch today and it hit me like a brick in the face.  It was one of those moments.. you might know it:  The "I have to have chocolate NOW" feeling.  I tried to convince myself otherwise, but quickly realized there was no use.  I popped up from the couch and said something like this; "I wish there was a recipe for just ONE cupcake!" 
And that's when Google my life changed in no insignificant way.  [not really]  

Ten minutes later I was sharing a warm, chocolatey masterpiece with my beloved. 

The recipe is as follows:

The Chocolate Mug Cake

1 large coffee mug
4 T flour
4 T sugar
2 T Dutch cocoa
1 egg
3 T milk
3 T oil
2 T chocolate chips (optional)
a splash of vanilla extract 

Place dry ingredients in a small bowl and mix well.  Add the egg and mix again thoroughly. Pour in the milk and oil and continue to mix until smooth. Add the vanilla extract and chocolate chips, if using any. Mix thoroughly.   Pour into a GREASED mug and place in microwave. 

*My microwave is industrial strength at 1500 watts, so I only needed to cook the mixture on high for 2 minutes.  If you have a typical microwave, consider cooking mixture for 3 minutes.  The finished product is best slightly undercooked as it stays hot in the mug and continues to cook slightly.  The cake will rise and appear fluffy. 

**Add a choice of icing, chocolate syrup, or simply confectioner's sugar.  

In less than 10 minutes, you'll have a mini-chocolate cake and a smile on your face!  Know that the texture is slightly spongy, but the delicate chocolatey taste is well-worth the texture compromise. 

Let me know YOUR experience with this awesomely simple recipe. 
I'm filing this one away! 

*WW points value = 13

"It looks like something washed up on shore.."

Last night Scott and I attended my first ever gluten-free cooking class!  It was pretty fun, and I learned quite a bit.  The class took place in a local health food store called Earth Fare.  A local gluten-free baker named The Thoughtful Baker led the class on how to prepare gluten-free pizzas.  Unfortunately she wouldn't divulge her secret recipe for GF pie crusts, but I certainly learned some unique ways to decorate a pizza!  One of the more unique ones was a fig, bleu cheese, and caramelized onion pizza.  Scott and I both agreed it was rather bizarre, but we were thrilled to have tasters of each pie created. 
We also tried our first vegan pizza!  Check out the pictures below. 

*The pizza on the left was a salad pizza topped with toasted prosciutto.

The pizza on the right was the vegan pizza made with fire-roasted pepper sauce, non-dairy cheese, and caramelized onions.

And today I tried a brand new recipe!  Two years ago I wasn't even as remotely creative in the kitchen, but now I'm all about trying new things.  Ever since beginning this new gluten-free diet, I've become extremely interested in expanding my palate. 
A little bit of deprivation breeds awesome creativity! 

Today's recipe?  Chicken Sausage with Kale. 
If you're anything like me, kale may as well be from another planet.  Upon reading the recipe I even said something silly like, "Isn't that from the ocean?".  The good news is that kale and kelp are two very different birds.  Kale is something of a cross between a wild cabbage and collard greens.  [Collard greens... Man, I MUST be in the south]  It's a thick, leafy vegetable that's super-packed with nutrients and antioxidants, and is considered an anti-inflammatory. 
I figured I'd give the recipe a go.  

The basic ingredients were organic chicken sausage, kale, white beans, onions, garlic, chicken broth, and grated Parmesan cheese.  Although the recipe was rather time-consuming to prepare, it was relatively basic, only being seasoned with salt & pepper and some crushed red pepper for heat.  Scott and I were both satisfied with the outcome of the dish.  I smiled my entire way through the meal because I knew how good it was for us.  Protein, fiber, protein, and more fiber. 

Let me know if you'd like the official recipe.  Certainly a healthy dish for consideration.

Thanks for reading.  =)

Vermont will follow me forever.

It's high time for a new post!  I'm ashamed of myself for letting it go so long..  Would you like to know the true reason why I haven't been posting faithfully?  Simply this:  I now have a new e-mail account, and this blog is under my old one.  So every time I want to blog, I would need to sign out of my existing account and access my old one.  It would take all of three seconds, but yes; I'm that unindustrious at times. 

But I couldn't let it go any longer!  Two weeks ago I created an amazing batch of gluten-free cupcakes and today, my first batch of homemade granola.  I couldn't stand not to share this with the world.  So here we go.

A week or two ago, Scott and I had good friends over for dinner.  Although the four of us have spent some time together, we'd never had them over formally for a meal.  So I knew I had to create something wonderful for dessert!  Being an avid fan of King Arthur Flour [a bakery extraordinaire out of Vermont], I looked to them for help.  I squealed with delight when I stumbled across a recipe online for "Salted Vanilla Caramel Frosting".  I whipped up a decadent batch of their gluten-free chocolate cupcakes, and slathered them with this heaven-sent frosting.  The cupcakes were a HIT!  If you like the idea of "something salty, something sweet", then this recipe is for you!  Think chocolate-covered pretzels.  The frosting recipe was slightly more time-consuming than just confectioner's sugar + butter, but it's 10x better than any Betty Crocker frosting in a can.  [And trust me.. I like Betty Crocker]

A little sea salt and chocolate sprinkles on top made these a huge success: 

And also, today I made my first [ever] batch of homemade granola.  I guess I got Scott hooked on it, since I've been tearing into GF granola like it'll save my life.  So today's batch wasn't with gluten-free oats, but they can easily be substituted.  It was a simple coconut-almond recipe for granola that I found online, but I took some creative licensing.. I usually do.  I added some molasses, some Turbinado sugar [sugar in the raw], and a bit of extra salt.  Salt is my key secret ingredient.  Even in baked goods.  Some recipes call for unsalted butter, but I laugh in the face of danger. 

As a gift, I was given a small bottle of King Arthur's Vanilla Butternut extract.  I add it to things like French Toast to give it a sweet, buttery "something extra".  Today's granola was no exception.  Let's just say that the granola, as it was baking in the oven at 325, filled the air like potpourri.  I think Scott will be thrilled.  If you're interested in the recipe I used, let me know.  Otherwise, here are some photos.

It would be grand to make a life out of baking and creating. 
It truly would.

Juan, donde esta la biblioteca ?

I am a t-o-t-a-l soup fan.  Year round, I'll pound back soup like there's no tomorrow.  Unfortunately I've lost a lot of soups to my new GF diet [cream of broccoli, beef barley, French onion].  If I get really creative, I'm able to use my own ingredients to make substitutes, 

but I can no longer revel in the "soup du jour" when out and about.  

With all that said, I've discovered a new favorite!  I'm not generally a fan of Mexican cuisine. [When I say "not a fan" I actually mean "I hate it"]  ..Works just fine for me that I can no longer have burritos or flour tortillas.  I'm not a huge fan of beans or cumin, truthfully..  But this recipe that I'm about to share is an American-ized version of a Mexican dish.  I guess it's a spin-off of Chili's "South of the Border" soup.  I tried it for the first time just 2 days ago at work, and I lost no time in whipping up a batch last night.  

The awesome part of this soup is it's naturally gluten-free: the tomato base is thickened with dissolved soft corn tortilla rounds, and there are no noodles involved.  The basic ingredients are chicken, green beans, kidney or black beans, tomato, and soft tortillas.  Props to my new employer for having this bubbling on her stove when I arrived. 
Hearing it was naturally gluten-free, I was all over it.  

Don't be turned off though, if beans and tomato aren't generally your thing.. They aren't mine, either.  I actually don't even like tomato soup.  But there's some sort of balance in the flavors that makes this soup a home run.  Take my word for it. 
The recipe is as follows:

South of the Border soup

Ingredients:

6 cups chicken broth

1 lb. diced chicken breast

1 (14 1/2 ounce) can diced tomatoes, with juice

1/2 cup water

2 cups dark red kidney beans or 2 cups black beans, with liquid

1/2 cup frozen cut green beans

1 (4 ounce) can diced green chilies

1/2 cup diced Spanish onion

1/2 cup tomato sauce

8 soft corn tortillas

1.5 tsps. chili powder [or more, depending on how spicy you like it!]

1 tsp. garlic powder

Garnish

1 cup grated cheddar cheese or 1 cup monterey jack cheese, blend [optional]

1 cup crumbled corn tortilla chips [optional]

Directions:

Prep Time: 15 mins.

Total Time: 45 mins.

1.  Combine all the soup ingredients in a large saucepan or soup pot over high heat. Be sure to mince the corn tortillas into small pieces with a sharp knife before adding them to the soup.
2. Bring soup to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 30 to 45 minutes, or until the soup has thickened and tortilla pieces have mostly dissolved.
3. To serve soup, ladle 1 1/2 cups into a bowl. Sprinkle a heaping tablespoon of the grated cheese over the top of the soup and then a heaping tablespoon of crumbled tortilla chips over the cheese.
4. Enjoy!

I was anticipating a bland soup when I first saw it, but it's nothing of the sort.  The flavors really come together and pack a punch! Let me know if you make this, and what you think.  =)

This pursuit of mine.

Banana bread has always been a favorite of mine.  The past year or two I've even started to add chocolate chips to the recipe.. which only perpetuated my problem.

I have, hands down, THE best banana bread recipe of all time.  I don't generally say things like that when it comes to the kitchen [since I'm far from well-seasoned in it.. (no pun intended)], but it's true.  A whole bunch of ingredients get dumped into one bowl [just one bowl!], mixed, and tossed into the oven.  I made a loaf for my next door neighbor for Christmas, and she said it's the best banana bread she's ever had.. 

and I think she's in her 70's.  

The only problem with this [amazing] banana bread is the fact that two loaves calls for 3 cups of sugar, 4 eggs, and a cup of oil.  Totally horrifying.  If you're someone like me who's watching your cholesterol, this recipe should have caution tape all over it. 
But MAN, is it good. 

Anyway.  Yesterday I went on a mission to find a healthy banana bread recipe.  Didn't think it'd happen, but Google can do some amazing things.  I substituted my GF flour, left out the nuts, and an hour later I had healthy banana bread.  Truly healthy, as in yogurt and egg whites.  Truthfully, it wasn't nearly as sweet as I was accustomed to, so when I do it again I'll add a little more sugar.  Maybe even double.. but that's still half the sugar of my other recipe.  I'm including the recipe here on my site, to give credit to the woman who created it.  And below is a picture of the finished product.  If you're looking for a healthy banana bread recipe that isn't sweet like cake,
this one's for you. 

http://www.whatwouldcathyeat.com/2010/03/banana-bread/

The vanilla yogurt allowed it to be moist, regardless of the fact that it calls for so little oil.  Certainly the way to go.  


**PS - I did the math.  And for my fellow Weight Watchers out there, the entire loaf is 56 points.  I divided the loaf into 10 slices, making each slice approximately 5.5 PP points.  VERY reasonable for a breakfast on the go. 
[and I don't cut wimpy slices!!]

Dairy nut.

When I went through the whole dietary process to figure out what my food issues were, I had to give up dairy for almost a month.  [A month!]  In short, it was horrible.  I relied heavily upon almond and rice milk.. and hated both.  The trouble was, I had to have the plain ones, since "no sugar added" was a prerequisite to a successful elimination diet.  All the recommendations of the vanilla and chocolate-flavored "faux milks" were useless to me.  

I remember telling myself that as long as I didn't have issues with gluten or dairy, I could handle whatever results came my way.  Guess THAT didn't work out the way I wanted. 
God let me keep my dairy, but my gluten.. well, that was another story.

Anyway.  So in the past two weeks I've really jumped aboard the organic bandwagon.  With the news that my body can't process gluten properly, I've literally been forced to watch what I'm eating closely.  I was always a nutritional facts nut, but now I'm all over the ingredients portion of boxes and bags.  And I should be.  I don't think two-thirds of Americans have ANY idea what they're eating. 
I can honestly say that I'm now a much more responsible eater.

Dairy is a BIG part of my diet.  Cereal is [was] my staple.  Unfortunately ALL of my favorite cereals are now out: Wheaties, Frosted Mini Wheats, Special K, Cornflakes, Rice Krispies.. etc.  [All have gluten in them]  But I still have milk all the time; it's in my chai, it's in my prepared dishes.. I eat yogurt almost daily.  I guess I didn't realize what was in my milk, though.. until a week or two ago. 
Watch Food Inc., do a little Googling, and we'll be on the same page.

Where am I going with this post?  Well, I'm actually really excited [probably too excited] to announce that Scott just walked in the door with organic milk.  From Target!!  I can't wait to try it.  I don't expect it to taste any better, but now I know my milk isn't ridden with antibiotics and GMO's.  My milk is no longer a by-product of sick cows up to their knees in toxic waste. 
Yay!  

I'm not sure Scott and I can afford this organic endeavor, but I pray it will come together for us. 
For our sake. 

I'm about to make a smoothie, and I no longer have to cringe.
Woot, woot.

GF Christmas!

I'm truly thankful this Christmas because I received a number of gluten-free gifts from loved ones.  

From my in-laws I was sent GF pasta, GF baking mixes, and GF desserts.  From my sister-in-law, I got GF pizza dough, GF all-purpose flour [yess!!], a GF cookbook, GF pretzels, and GF chocolates!  THEN, a dear friend of mine mailed me a package yesterday with GF brownie, cookie, and pizza dough mixes. 
I'm thrilled!!

I want to thank everyone SO much for their consideration.  GF shopping adds up very quickly, so these are truly blessings.  I took a picture of my gluten-free tower.. but not everything made it into the shot. 
Half of the items were gone and eaten before the others arrived on scene for a photo-op.  Haha.

Thank you so much to everyone.  I am incredibly grateful.