Summer could be here

This weekend was packed, and definitely in a good way. I pulled out my summer clothes storage box that I keep under the bed and welcomed back my long sundresses and Bermuda shorts. The weather has been unseasonably warm lately, so I finally gave in to a wardrobe shift.

Liz and her bridesmaids (We even got a picture with Nan, who has done makeup for most of our weddings!)




Liz's sister Noelle was married last weekend and I was just in love with her vintage-inspired dress and all of its details. The downtown St. Paul building was recently restored it was very cool. Janell and I helped with O for the day; the event was definitely a family affair and it was clear that this couple surrounds themselves with good people. The night before, we headed to Pizza Luce, which after my overwhelming excitement at the GF menu, Janell knew there were no other dining options. It was glorious--eating pizza that was ordered in a restaurant. I savored every bite. We stayed with Amy & Conor, who made us coffee and breakfast. I made sure to rub that one in with the hubs.


Sunday, CB and Dan came over for dinner during a visit home. I wish we would have had more than an evening, but we had a blast. The table was set with candles and some fresh lilacs from our bush, and we grilled shish kabobs and used the fresh berries with some cake for dessert. The sports talk was designated for one room and the kooky, I've-known-you-my-whole-life-so-we-talk-about-everything conversation took place in the kitchen. Hopefully a visit to the east coast isn't too far off!

Some sweet

Made some delicious sweet potato pancakes this morning, topped with real maple syrup and toasted walnuts. Bon appetit.

GF Baking Class

CB gave me the coolest birthday gift--admission to a GF baking class sponsored by this location. I wanted to bring my mom (who is much more of a baker than I) but it was full. They made very amenable alternatives to the following goodies (which I'll paste below for anyone who cares):

Flour Mixture:

50/50 tapioca & quinoa flours
• mix this prior & store in airtight container
Add: corn/potato starch (about ½ T)
Xanthan gum (1/4 T per 1 c flour mixture)



GF Cake - Yellow

2 ¼ C Flour mixture
1 ½ C sugar (white or cane)
½ C butter, softened (not melted, room temp)
1 ¼ C milk (soy/almond/other)
3 ½ tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
3 eggs (or 4 egg whites for white cake)
½ tsp xanthan gum
2 T potato starch


Wisk or sift flour to aerate. Beat all ingredients for 3 minutes, scraping sides occasionally. Start on low, gradually turn mixer up to med/high. (The mixture will be a little bit lumpy.) Pour into a greased pan. Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes.

1 9x13 pan: 35-40 min
2 9” rounds: 30-35 min
9” cupcakes (12): 25-30 min


Butter Cream Frosting – easy
3 C powdered sugar
1/3 C butter, softened
1 ½ tsp vanilla
1-2 T milk
Mix sugar and butter with electric mixer on low. Stir in vanilla; gradually add milk until spreadable. Mixture will be very thick!




GF Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 C Flour mixture
¾ C Sugar
¾ C brown sugar
1 C butter, softened (room temp)
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
1 c chopped walnuts (opt.)
2 T milk (for extra moisture)
½ tsp xanthan gum
1 bag (12 oz. chocolate chips)

Heat oven to 350. Cream the sugar, butter, vanilla, egg & milk. Slowly add the mixed dry ingredients and blend. Drop by tablespoonfuls on parchment paper. Bake 8-10 min.



GF Almond Macaroons

1 C almond butter (or peanut/cashew butter)
1 C water
1 C maple syrup (or honey/agave nectar)
½ tsp vanilla
1 C rice flour
8 C coconut shreds – unsweetened
1 C almonds (slivered/chopped)


Spray measuring cup before measuring out almond butter (very sticky). In a large bowl, cream together almond butter, water, vanilla and syrup (will be rather wet). Mix with a spatula/mixer until combined. When will incorporated, add coconut. Scoop cookies and flatten on parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake at 350 for 10 min. Remove from oven & cool. Store in an airtight container.



Banana Cream Pie
Crust:
3 ½ C walnuts (almonds/pecans/etc)
¼ - ½ C sugar (white/cane/brown rice syrup/agave nectar)
½ stick butter
Grind nuts. Add sugar. Melt butter. Combine all 3 ingredients and pat into a 9” pie pan. Bake at 350 for 10 min & cool.

Pudding:

1 C milk
¾ C heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla (x 2)
3 egg yolks (cold)
2 T cornstarch
½ C sugar
½ T butter
Fine strainer/cheesecloth

In a separate bowl, mix together sugar & cornstarch. In a pan, heat milk, cream & vanilla until simmering, scraping the bottom at all times. Wisk yolks, sugar/cornstarch & salt; stream into hot milk. Whisk continuously on medium heat until it begins to boil. Immediately pull off stove. Strain mixture onto ½ T butter & 1 T vanilla using strainer. Stir poured mixture until butter melts. Cover with plastic wrap right on top of pudding to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate for a few hours.
Once pudding is completely cooled, add over nut crust. Add sliced (overripened) bananas. Top with whipped cream.

Holiday food modifications

CR made a good point a few weeks ago; although Christmas and all of its celebration revolve around many traditions, Thanksgiving is really all about the food. And since I've been introduced to really quite declious GF food, I am convinced that I don't really have to lose any savor in my culinary life. I've been browsing and decided that if Mohammad won't go to the mountain, bring the mountain to Mohammad. Actually, everyone I've encountered has been very accomodating about meals, but now that my kitchen's functional, I've learned I really like to cook. I'm thinking of trying this one for stuffing, this one for gravy (which can be for any time of the year) and this one for pie crust. Oh and don't forget about the best looking cupcakes I may have ever seen. I know this doesn't affect 99% of you who read this, but it excites me. Who knew.