Back in the baking saddle again....

Since I found out I have Celiac's Disease, I've been trying to figure out this whole new gluten free lifestyle.

At first, I'd walk over to my baking cupboard. Open it up. Survey all the various types of flours for all of my cooking and baking. Get overwhelmed. And end up standing there, staring into the cupboard eating a handful of chocolate chips.

OK, two handfuls.

OK, OK, three handfuls.

Once that freaking back of chocolate chips was gone, I cleaned out the cupboard. 

Open items with gluten went to various friends and coworkers, as if I was finding good homes for my beloved baking supplies.

Unopened items (such as soups, beef stock, etc) went to the food bank. Have I mentioned before how annoying it is that wheat is in EVERYTHING!

But I digress. My friends and family have been so supportive through all of this! I've received new GF cookbooks! (Thanks Sara!) I've received emails, texts and facebook messages from friends with new GF blogs, websites, products, apps and recipes to try out.

So it was only a matter of time before I forced myself to snap out of my mope and get my GF butt back into my new cleaned and GF'd kitchen.

Megan (a friend named Megan, I haven't started referring to myself in third person, don't worry), sent me a link to the latest Martha Stewart cookie recipe for the month. It's                GF Oatmeal cookie with raisins and chocolate chips. And you know how I love Ms. Stewart! 

After trips to two different grocery stores (sigh...yes....two. On a Friday night nonetheless. Exciting, I know.) I was ready.

This one called for making your flour by pulverizing GF oats into a fine oat flour. 

Done and done. Thank you my lovely food processor.

I swapped out the raisins for dried cranberries. Used mini chocolate chips.

And.

And...

Freakin' delish! Just the right amount of crunch and gooey cookie ratio one needs.

Friends, readers be warned. There are more GF adventures in the kitchen to come.

I dreamt of doughnuts

I had a dream the other night. It was one of those really vivid dreams where you wake up, somewhat suddenly and wonder, did that actually happen? When did that happen? That couldn't of been a dream. 

Yet it was a dream.

In my dream I was eating doughnuts. Not just any doughnut, a chocolate doughnut with chocolate frosting and coconut shavings from Top Pot, a Seattle favorite that's quite big around here. Even the Prez (yes, that one) has been known to stop by when he's in town.

I should probably backup in case you're wondering why I'm having such vivid, mouthwatering dreams about doughnuts.

I've recently learned I have Celiac's Disease. And after some tests and many doctor's visits, I'm now on a strict gluten free lifestyle. (I've opted not to use the word diet since I don't believe in those. Plus diets end at some point where as Celiac's does not.).

I confess I haven't been feeling that great for a while now. I just kind of chalked it up to stress - having a toddler, full time stressful job, working mama life,
life in general, etc. - one can get away with things like that. But after awhile, one doctor said, you know let's try and test you for Celiac's. 

I laughed and said, no, it's not that. I think I'm lactose intolerant. (I've got quite the extensive M.D. background...thank you Internet.) She said, that could be, but what's one more test. 

Yes. What's one more test.

Well, thank God she's the M.D. and not me. (FYI...many people with CD are often misdiagnosed with Lactose Intolerance. And many CD peeps are often LI. Personally, I have to wait a few months before introducing dairy back into my diet to see if I really am. Or if it's just all that evil gluten, as I know refer to it.)

Now I'm venturing into this big new world of strict GF. I've cleaned out the cupboards of the usual suspects: various types of flour, oatmeal, pasta, cous cous and bread. But it's the sneakier ones that have me double checking labels and cross referencing with the Internet as there's lots of code words for Evil Gluten.

Various friends and the food bank have all received items that once were staples in my life.

Thankfully I live in a city that gets what it means to be on a strict GF lifestyle. There are restaurants, bakeries and farmers market stands that all cater to those of us just trying to avoid gluten and still have tasty treats.

I'll admit, I've gone a bit overboard with the GF vigilance perhaps, new blogs to read, books to check out, a whole new cookbook section to browse, but then again, this is my life and my health. And now I look at crumbs on the counter from one of Ruby's snacks in a whole new light. Just 1/8 of a teaspoon of gluten is enough to make a CD sufferer really suffer again.

Many people say learning about a diagnosis that makes you eliminate an huge food group that was a major part of your life causes one to go through a mourning and anger period. I didn't experience anger. More like relief. More like, oh thank God. I'm not dying, it's just that freakin' sandwich (and everything else I ate.)

But I do think I'm going through a mourning stage, hence the doughnut dream. And really, just a stage of trying to figure out what this all means. For example, why is gluten in salad dressing? I get why it's in chicken broth, but does it really need to be in my ketchup too? Apparently yes. 

For now, I just keep double checking ingredients, trying new products at the store and looking for the opportunity to try new recipes and get back to the baking that I love.

I purchased my first bag of Xanthan Gum (a staple in any GF kitchen I've learned) on my last shopping trip. I feel like that's my next step down this new path.

Cooking Inspiration: Where do you get yours?

I love to cook. I love to bake.

These are some of my favorite cookbooks to flip through when I need a little inspiration. I also find myself going to the Internet as well.

But some days, when I just need a quick and easy recipe that I know I have all of the ingredients for in my pantry, I rely on this old standby:

 

What is your cooking standby? What are some of your favorite recipes or go-to-cooking sites? I'm looking for some new cooking & baking inspiration and would love to hear what you can't live without in the kitchen!

Luscious Lemons

My in-laws recently came for a visit shortly have their trip to Southern Arizona (ah...the retired life). They brought us a big bag of fresh citrus from their families backyard! Knowing how much I love oranges, they thought it would be a fun treat for me! (Notice how there aren't any pics of said oranges? Yeah...that's because I scarfed those bad boys down so freakin' quickly. Seriously. Love. Oranges.)

But now, I've got these great big lemons that are beautiful to look at and smell even better.

So what should I do with them? 

Cutting them up and putting slices in my water seems like such a waste.

I feel these beauties are destined for something so much better.

Ideas? I'm ready.

Go.

Mini Muffins

Now that I have a wee person who's wanting real food to eat all by herself, I have to be a wee bit creative. She's hungry when we get home from work & daycare. I'm not. But I have to have something healthy for her dinner. And it needs to be relatively quick. I've become pretty good at making big batches of stuff & freezing it for her. Then lunches and dinners are ready & just need to be popped in the microwave and voila - a yummy dinner!

And the same I'm happy to report goes for one of her favorite treats: muffins! She gets one for a morning snack every day and she loves them! I love that these are made from scratch and I know exactly what goes into them. And I can pronounce all of the ingredients - also key for me.

I try to make a different batch of muffins each time she's running low. Plus, variety is the spice of life! 

Or something like that.

While I always try to vary the recipes, I always seem to have bananas going bad around here. I've got some chopped up and frozen for my smoothies, but there's still more going bad. So I did a little Internet sleuthing and came up with this gem of a recipe: Banana Oatmeal Muffins. There are several variations on the web and I'm going to try some others some day. But so far, this one is my go-to-always-generates-a-smile-recipe.

The best banana bread recipe. Ever.

Yeah, I'm making that bold statement for all the world to see.
This recipe has become one of my go to recipes lately. Despite the fact that we eat a lot of bananas, we always seem to have some going bad.

So I turned to Martha and she didn't disappoint. She says it's easy-to-bake and she's right. And it's so moist and tasty! The secret: sour cream.

The hubby loves bananas, but doesn't like banana bread. A fact he's told many pretty much every time over our seven years together when I've whipped up some. But not this one. He can't get enough of it.

Although I must confess, I haven't told him that the secret is the sour cream - something he detest even when used in baking (I know, I know what you're thinking, you can't taste the sour cream. I know. The man's crazy but I love him.)

Give it a try the next time you've got a few over ripe bananas. I promise you won't be disappointed.

Martha Stewart's Banana Bread (I omitted the nuts):

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, at room temperature, plus more for pan
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups unbleached flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup mashed very ripe bananas
1/2 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Directions

1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-by-5-by-3-inch loaf pan; set aside. In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, and beat to incorporate.

2.In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. Add to the butter mixture, and mix until just combined. Add bananas, sour cream, and vanilla; mix to combine. Stir in nuts, and pour into prepared pan.

3.Bake until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 1 hour 10 minutes. Let rest in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack to cool.