The Gluten Free Wife

New Website! Now posting over at GlutenFreeWifeBakery.com!!!

2013-04-23T18:59:00.002-07:00

Hello Friends!
I have created an official website called The Gluten Free Wife Bakery. I will no longer be posting here on blogger.
So go check it out! And feel free to follow me via Email subscription on my new wesbite, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram (@thegfwife).
I look forward to seeing you over there!!

Lemon Blueberry Poundcake

2013-03-13T16:07:00.004-07:00

I can't recall eating poundcake during my pre- gluten free days. Although I do remember my mom telling a story of when my brother baked a poundcake... and that it was a heck of a lot heavier than one pound!

But have no fear. This recipe yields the most amazing and foolproof poundcake ever. {And it weighs the appropriate weight!}

Regardless of whether I've eaten the gluten-filled version, I am so happy that I have discovered poundcake now. This recipe is knock-your-socks-off amazing. Light. Fluffy. Bursting with bright lemon and moist blueberry. Especially perfect for spring.

It is perfect for brunch, dessert, {lunch... dinner... midnight snack...}, friends and family. It's also perfect for those crazy dairy free people in your life.

So what are you waiting for? Get baking! It's an incredibly easy recipe to whip up!

Lemon Blueberry Poundcake adapted from Gluten Free Easily

ingredients

2 1/2 cups gf flour (I use this flour ratio)

1 ½ tsp xanthan gum

   1 ¼ tsp sea salt
   1 tsp baking powder
   ¾ cup olive oil
   1 c - 1 1/2 cups sugar (depending on how sweet you like your cakes)

2 Tbs orange juice or lemon juice
2 Tbs lemon emulsion

   lemon zest (I zested one whole lemon)
   3 eggs
   2/3 cup full-fat coconut milk

2 cups frozen or fresh blueberries

method

1. preheat oven to 350F

2. mix dry ingredients in medium bowl

3. in large bowl mix sugar, olive oil, lemon emulsion, orange or lemon juice, and zest

4. add eggs one by one into wet mixture then add milk and mix for 2 minutes. add dry ingredients and mix well.

5. fold in blueberries.

6. scrape batter into greased bundt pan, 2 bread loaf pans, or angel food cake pan (that's what I used).

7. bake for 50 - 60 minutes then cool fully and Enjoy!

Linking up at these Fabulous Parties:

A Little Valentine's Day Cake

2013-03-04T19:34:00.000-08:00

I made a cute little cake for Valentine's Day. Well, actually a giant cupcake of a cake. Rich chocolate cake with vanilla almond buttercream.

This treat was so scrumptious the hubs and I ate every last morsel in twenty four hours :)

Linking up at these Fabulous Parties: Made It By Monday @ Baked in the South, Made from Scratch Monday @ Living with Food Allergies and Celiac Disease , Mangia Mondays @ Delightfully Dowling, Tuesday Talent Show @ Chef in Training, Crazy Sweet Tuesday @ Crazy for Crust, Gluten Free Wednesdays @ The Gluten-Free Homemaker, Allergy Free Wednesdays, Sweet Treats & Swanky Stuff @ Something Swanky, Anything Goes Linky @ Bacon Time with the Hungry Hypo, Sweets for A Saturday @ Sweet As Sugar Cookies

My Week on Instagram

2013-02-19T22:27:00.003-08:00

Thought I'd start a little Sunday (oops, just realized it is Tuesday night...) tradition here on my little nook online. If you aren't already, feel free to follow me on Instagram @ thegfwife :)

Some Red Velvet Brownie action... get the full recipe here!!!

Walked in on the super cute cuddle sesh the other night :)

Valentine's Day cake for two :)

Created some subway to decorate my craft room

The Hubs and I had a fancy dinner out at Forbes Island Restaurant in San Francisco

The owner is previous Coast Guard, how cool is that?

Valentine's Cake Pops

2013-02-13T23:34:00.001-08:00

Need a last minute Valentine's treat idea? Try these Heart Valentine's cake pops!

So simple... just make your cake pops like you normally would... dab a bit of melted chocolate on the back of your large heart sprinkle... and attach!

I made these for my Coast Guard spouse game night. They were double chocolate cake pops. I can 100% guarantee your Valentine will love you even more if you make these ;)

Linking up at these Fabulous Parties: Made It By Monday @ Baked in the South, Made from Scratch Monday @ Living with Food Allergies and Celiac Disease , Mangia Mondays @ Delightfully Dowling, Tuesday Talent Show @ Chef in Training, Crazy Sweet Tuesday @ Crazy for Crust, Gluten Free Wednesdays @ The Gluten-Free Homemaker, Allergy Free Wednesdays, Sweet Treats & Swanky Stuff @ Something Swanky, Anything Goes Linky @ Bacon Time with the Hungry Hypo, Sweets for A Saturday @ Sweet As Sugar Cookies

Red Velvet Brownies

2013-02-11T16:55:00.000-08:00

I'm going to be completely honest here and say that I'm not usually a huge fan of brownies. But these are so good! Like melt in your mouth, perfect to dunk in almond milk good.

They are simple and quick to make, too! I recommend using LorAnn's Red Velvet Bakery Emulsion to get that red velvet flavor (and color!) It helps create that nice light, sweet, red velvet flavor without you having to worry about mixing vinegar with buttermilk and all that jazz. (And another thing I love about LorAnn's emulsions - they're all gluten free!)

These brownies are the perfect dessert to make for your loved one. The hubs loves brownies and said these are one of the best he's ever had. So I urge you to share the love. This recipe is too good to keep to myself - or yourself!

Happy early Valentine's Day!

Red Velvet Brownies adapted from Gluten Free Goddess

ingredients

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup coconut oil

1/4 almond flour

1/4 cup rice flour mix

1/4 cup sorghum

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp seat salt

2 eggs

1 Tbsp red velvet emulsion

1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

method

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease 8x8 baking dish or cover with foil.

2. Melt chocolate chips and coconut oil over low heat.

3. In large bowl, mix dry ingredients together.

4. Add wet ingredients and mix well for 2 minutes with hand mixer.

5. Stir in chopped nuts.

6. Bake for approximately 30 minutes, let cool, and Enjoy!

Linking up at these Fabulous Parties: Mangia Mondays @ Delightfully Dowling, Tuesday Talent Show @ Chef In Training, Gluten Free Wednesdays @ The Gluten-Free Homemaker, Tasty Thursdays @ Mandatory Mooch

New Domain and Blog!

2013-02-07T18:49:00.002-08:00

Just wanted to share the exciting news that I bought my own web domain! Alongside with my awesomesauce friend Emma at Emma Tang Designs, I will recreate my blog and switch hosting! In the meantime, keep following me here and on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest!!

Yosemite in August

Copycat Pottery Barn Pillows

2013-02-04T11:00:00.001-08:00

When I saw this tutorial for Pottery Barn Poinsettia Pillows by Crafting in the Rain (on Pinterest, of course!) I knew I had to make them. I made five pillows for a Holiday craft exchange party and everyone loved them. I used a light grey sparkly fabric for my pillow, white felt for the petals, and silver jingle bells for the center. I added an extra detail - I outlined my petals and sewed a line down the middle. It was the perfect finishing touch.

This is a very forgiving craft project so go for it! It makes a beautiful decorative pillow.

Happy National Cake Pop Day!!

2013-02-01T08:51:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Bakerella and other cake pop "pioneers" we can now enjoy National Cake Pop Day!

"Oh. My. Yum. Vegan Meatballs"

2013-01-23T09:40:00.000-08:00

There is a new adjective in Michelle's Thesaurus of a brain ... yup, that's right... the wheels were totally a-turnin' on this one: "Oh. My. Yum."
Seriously though, who literally says that out loud when they eat something so savory, so delicious, so so good?

I don't see any hands. Well, I guess I'm crazy {Did I hear you say you already thought that?!}. Because I couldn't stop saying that phrase when I ate these (vegan) meatballs and soon enough you'll find yourself saying the same phrase. They are that good.
By now my household is about 90% vegan. No cheese. No dairy. No meat. We only eat seafood once in a blue moon and organic eggs. Honestly I feel great. And am learning that it is SO true that your physique is 80% diet. But that should be a post for another day.
Instead let's focus on how completely satisfying and mouth-wateringly scrumptious these meatballs are. And healthy. Pair these with spaghetti squash and spinach tomato sauce and you will be in heaven.
Dear "Real" Italian comfort food... move on over because you have some major competition here.

"Oh. My. Yum. Vegan Meatballs" adapted from the veggie nook
Ingredients 1 1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds 3/4 cup nutritional yeast 3/4 cup sundried tomatoes 2 cloves garlic 1 tsp oregano (I didn't measure, just shook a whole bunch in) 1 tsp fennel seeds (same, didn't measure) red pepper flakes dash sea salt 1-2 Tbsp water Method 1. Blend sunflower seeds in Blendtec or food processor until it resembles coarse flour 2. Add all ingredients except for water. Blend together. 3. Add water to help ingredients stick together if needed. 4. Roll into little balls and eat. Or refrigerate for later snacking!

Linking up at these Fabulous Parties: Made It By Monday @ Baked in the South, Made from Scratch Monday @ Living with Food Allergies and Celiac Disease , Mangia Mondays @ Delightfully Dowling, Tuesday Talent Show @ Chef in Training, Crazy Sweet Tuesday @ Crazy for Crust, Gluten Free Wednesdays @ The Gluten-Free Homemaker, Allergy Free Wednesdays, Sweet Treats & Swanky Stuff @ Something Swanky, Anything Goes Linky @ Bacon Time with the Hungry Hypo, Sweets for A Saturday @ Sweet As Sugar Cookies

Cutesy Cupcake Cookies {GF, Dairy Free, Nut Free}

2013-01-16T21:36:00.000-08:00

It's pretty obvious I have already failed at my first New Years Resolution... *ahem* I should have posted last week... But that's ok. Because... I have been oh so busy doing stuff. {insert sarcasm}

And because I've been swamped with busy-ness (like a gazillion loads of laundry with my new fancy washing machine!) I've decided to share these gluten free, dairy free, nut free sugar cookies with you.

I made these cookies for my awesomesauce neighbor to bring in to her students. And since 99% of kids have allergies these days, she asked that they be free of those three allergens.

The verdict? Totally kid approved. Easy to roll out and shape with a cookie cutter. And cute. Super cute. Want to try the recipe? I followed Adventures of a Gluten Free Mom's Sugar Cookie Recipe and simply made royal icing to decorate! Easy Peesy. And yummy wummy.

New Year's Resolutions

2013-01-02T22:46:00.000-08:00

My 2013:
1. Post here on The Gluten Free Wife at least once a week :) 2. Do 25 consecutive push ups (not the girly ones) 3. Run a 50K race? (bordering on crazy) 4. Do a split (yes, definitely insane) 5. Read 2 books per month.
What are your resolutions?

NWM

2012-10-12T08:10:00.001-07:00

Today my best friend Meagan and her husband drive in from Oregon... my first guests at our new house! I am so so excited to see her. I cannot believe it has been over a year and a half since we last saw each other.
And guess what we're doing this weekend?

It's really here. Finally. Four months of training. Wish me luck!

Cashew Corn Chowder with Cilantro Cream

2012-10-04T19:29:00.000-07:00

So as you know (or may not know) I love love love Pinterest. Just like almost every other girl. And just like almost every other girl, I pin mouth watering recipes... Like this recipe for Cashew Corn Chowder with Cilantro Cream.

Since my sweet hubby gave me a Blendtec a month ago (eeee I'm up to 50 uses on it already!!!), I have been itching to try this recipe. I mean come on, creamy chowder made with cashews instead of cream? A cream made with cashews instead of dairy? I've been reading every where in blog land how soaked and blended cashews mimic dairy, but I had yet to try it.
Until... I discovered that Alta over at Tasty Eats at Home was hosting Adopt A Gluten Free Blogger - a super fun party where GF bloggers "adopt" another GF blogger and recreate at least one of their recipes.
I chose Sarah from My New Roots who, of course, created the Cashew Corn Chowder. Sarah's blog is wonderful. It features fresh nutrient rich ingredients and drool worthy photographs. She is also a holistic nutritionist so her recipes are chock-full of super foods that fuel your body and leave your taste buds begging for more.
This corn chowder was ridiculously easy to make and can easily be adapted to your taste preferences. (Like... basil can easily substitute the cilantro, canned corn for fresh, etc). It also freezes beautifully and reheats wonderfully.
So what are you waiting for?? Check out Sarah's recipe for Cashew Corn Chowder and get cooking and blending! :)
Linking up at these Fabulous Parties: Made It By Monday @ Baked in the South, Made from Scratch Monday @ Living with Food Allergies and Celiac Disease , Mangia Mondays @ Delightfully Dowling, Tuesday Talent Show @ Chef in Training, Crazy Sweet Tuesday @ Crazy for Crust, Gluten Free Wednesdays @ The Gluten-Free Homemaker, Allergy Free Wednesdays, Sweet Treats & Swanky Stuff @ Something Swanky, Anything Goes Linky @ Bacon Time with the Hungry Hypo, Sweets for A Saturday @ Sweet As Sugar Cookies

Healthy Mint Chocolate Mousse

2012-09-24T20:41:00.000-07:00

I'm back I'm back I'm back! Did you miss me? I think I missed you... just a wee bit ;)

So here's what I've been up to/ MIA here on The GF Wife:
*Marathon training: just ran 20.5 miles this past Saturday. I. Am. Beast. (slow beast) *Work. *I volunteered to be the Ombudsman for USCG Air Station SF and there's lots of work needed to improve that program. And soon I have to do formal training for it. (Oh, and the Command took me out to lunch a couple weeks ago!) *Beau is away for training. So it's just myself, the pups, and crazy kitty for a month and a half. *Beau also gave me a honey-to-do list. *I finished watching seasons 7 & 8 of Grey's Anatomy. Obviously more important than the honey-to-do list. *AND Beau bought me a Blendtec!!!!!!!!!!!

Which leads me to one of my new favorite desserts that can be whipped up in no time. Healthy Mint Chocolate Mousse Pie with a chocolate cookie crust!
I shared this dessert with my friends the other week... and they loved it! The crust didn't break when I cut it and it complemented the mousse oh so perfectly.
And I bet you have no idea that its secret ingredient is... drum roll... tofu! ;)

The Mint Chocolate Mousse recipe is lightly adapted from my favorite vegan dessert blogger Chocolate Covered Katie. She's a genius. Seriously.
Ingredients for cookie crust (adapted from Gluten Free Baking Classics):
1/4 cup brown rice flour 2 Tbs oat flour 1/4 cup cornstarch 3 Tbs tapioca flour 1/4 cup sugar 1/4 cup cocoa powder 1/2 tsp xanthan gum dash sea salt 5 Tbs cold butter/ vegan butter 1 tsp vanilla extract
Ingredients for mint chocolate mousse:
1 package (12-14 oz) firm organic tofu 1/4 cup + 2 Tbs cocoa powder 4 Tbs coconut oil 1/4 cup agave 1 tsp vanilla 1/4 tsp peppermint dash sea salt
Method:
1. Place all ingredients for cookie crust (except for vanilla extract) into Blendtec or food processor and pulse until it looks like coarse cornmeal. 2. Add extract and pulse until it starts to form a dough. 3. Lightly oil a pie dish and press the dough into an even layer in pan. 4. Bake at 350 F for 18 minutes. 5. Let cool completely. 6. When crust is completely cool, combine all ingredients for mousse to Blendtec and pulse until completely mixed together and smooth. 7. Fill pie crust with mousse and place in fridge until firm! (Or just eat it right then. Or out of the Blendtec container. Not like I do that or anything...) 8. Enjoy your healthy guilt-free treat!!!!
Linking up at these Fabulous Parties: Made It By Monday @ Baked in the South, Made from Scratch Monday @ Living with Food Allergies and Celiac Disease , Mangia Mondays @ Delightfully Dowling, Tuesday Talent Show @ Chef in Training, Crazy Sweet Tuesday @ Crazy for Crust, Gluten Free Wednesdays @ The Gluten-Free Homemaker, Allergy Free Wednesdays, Sweet Treats & Swanky Stuff @ Something Swanky, Anything Goes Linky @ Bacon Time with the Hungry Hypo, Sweets for A Saturday @ Sweet As Sugar Cookies

Lemon Meringue Cupcakes

2012-08-15T18:08:00.003-07:00

Today, August 15th, is National Lemon Meringue Day.

And today was my first day of work!
Oh, yes... I am officially a workin' woman now! You're looking at the new Manager for a local children's store named Generations {the website is a little out dated... that's one of my tasks I will work on up the road... but check it out!}

But enough about "work" already... let's celebrate my ability to help pay the bills with some Lemon Meringue Cupcakes - with a little surprise in the inside - strawberry preserves!

This is my favorite lemon cake recipe to date. I tweaked a few things here and there from Annalise Roberts' Lemon Layer Cake recipe. I think it's to die for. Light. Fluffy. Delish.

Ingredients
1 & 1/3 cups sugar 4 Tbsp ground flax mixed with 12 Tbsp warm water (mix & let congeal in fridge for 30 min or more) (OR use 4 large eggs) 2 & 1/2 cups flour mix (2 parts rice flour, 2/3 part potato starch, 1/3 part tapioca flour) 1/2 tsp salt 1 Tbsp baking powder 1 tsp xanthan gum 1 cup canola oil 1 cup milk 1 tsp vanilla extract 1 Tbsp lemon extract 1 Tbsp grated lemon rind strawberry preserves, lemon curd, other jam - optional

Method
1. Preheat oven to 350 F. 2. Beat sugar and flax "egg" (or real eggs) in large bowl until fluffy. 3. Add in rest of ingredients and mix for about 1 minute on medium speed. 4. Fill cupcake pans halfway, then spoon a little strawberry preserves (or lemon curd, other jelly, etc) into the middle of the batter, then cover with remaining batter. 5. Bake in oven. (to bake 12 jumbo cupcakes: bake for 25 minutes, 24 regular cupcakes: bake 18-20 minutes, 2 8inch rounds: bake 35 minutes) 6. Cool cupcakes or cakes for 5 minutes and then take out of pan and cool completely on cooling racks.

For the lemony meringue frosting, I used the recipe from Carla's Confections but added a pinch of cream of tartar and substituted lemon extract for the juice. I also halved the recipe.
I piped the "frosting" with my Wilton 1M tip, placed in a preheated oven to 350 F, baked it for about 10 minutes until it turned light gold, then added some edible gold shimmer!
Linking up at these Fabulous Parties: Made It By Monday @ Baked in the South, Made from Scratch Monday @ Living with Food Allergies and Celiac Disease , Mangia Mondays @ Delightfully Dowling, Tuesday Time Out @ Reasons to Skip the Housework Tuesday Talent Show @ Chef in Training, Crazy Sweet Tuesday @ Crazy for Crust, Gluten Free Wednesdays @ The Gluten-Free Homemaker, Allergy Free Wednesdays, Tasty Thursday @ The Mandatory Mooch, Sweet Treats & Swanky Stuff @ Something Swanky, Anything Goes Linky @ Bacon Time with the Hungry Hypo

Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp

2012-08-13T18:20:00.001-07:00

This past weekend Beau and I took a trip "down south" to Gilroy where we attended the Annual Garlic Festival! We watched a cooking competition, ate garlic sweet potato fries, and tasted garlic ice cream... which was actually really good! After a few hours it got really crowded there so we decided to drive the long way home on scenic highway 1. On our way home we stopped at a local strawberry farm and picked strawberries! There were so red and juicy and sweet mmm. We also found a local farm stand and came home with this bounty of freshness:

But one thing's for sure- when you pick fresh strawberries they don't last too long. So I needed to come up with a quick and easy way to enjoy them. Crisps and cobblers are one of my absolute favorite desserts so I decided why not make a fresh strawberry rhubarb crisp!

Fruit crisps are one of the easiest and quickest ways to prepare a dessert. They're perfect for serving guests as well as settling your sweet tooth without all the guilt. I make my crisps with next to nothing sugar. Most recipes out there call for 1 cup plus of sugar just to coat the fruit. Fruit is already loaded with sugar so why add more? It tastes so much better without the added sugar. Trust me.

Ingredients (for fruit mixture)

2 pounds strawberries, washed, leaves removed, sliced

2-4 stalks green rhubarb sliced to 1 inch thickeness (I only had 2 but I wish I had more for some tartness!)

raspberries (optional)

2 Tbsp sugar

1 Tbsp cornstarch

Ingredients (for crisp topping) (I actually halved this recipe because I didn't have enough ingredients on hand! Feel free to make as little or as much as you'd like!)

2 cups gf flour mix (1 cup rice flour, 2/3 potato starch, 1/3 tapioca flour)
1/2 cup brown sugar (or less!)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp xanthan gum
2/3 cup cold dairy free butter substitute such as Earth Balance (or regular butter) cut into chunks

Method:
1. Place sliced fruit in large bowl and mix in sugar and cornstarch until fruit seems coated. Place into 9x 13 in glass baking dish.
2. Measure out your flours, spices, and xanthan gum and mix in bowl.
3. Add your butter of choice and using a pasty tool or fork, mix butter and flour until it resembles coarse corn meal.
4. Sprinkle topping onto fruit.
5. Bake for about 45 minutes. Serve warm or cool, top with homemade ice cream, and Enjoy!

Or serve for friends over for dinner! Our neighbors loved it! :)

Linking up at these Fabulous Parties: Made It By Monday @ Baked in the South, Made from Scratch Monday @ Living with Food Allergies and Celiac Disease , Mangia Mondays @ Delightfully Dowling, Tuesday Time Out @ Reasons to Skip the Housework Tuesday Talent Show @ Chef in Training, Crazy Sweet Tuesday @ Crazy for Crust, Gluten Free Wednesdays @ The Gluten-Free Homemaker, Allergy Free Wednesdays, Sweet Treats & Swanky Stuff @ Something Swanky, Anything Goes Linky @ Bacon Time with the Hungry Hypo

California Dreaming {Reality}

2012-08-12T21:45:00.002-07:00

So I think I've bragged a lot to my family about how I live in the most amazing place ever.
So here's the proof in the pudding :)
These gorgeous pictures were taken while running in our "backyard"and "front yard"... all of which are within walking and running distance from our little home.
And while we're talking about running, I'd like to announce that I am officially half way through my training. Today I ran up Montara Mountain {again} which is about 2,000 feet high. I ran 13 miles in 2 and 1/2 hours, which isn't too shabby considering I ran up a mountain! Now I have two more months of training. And this week I'm kicking it off with 35 miles.

view from trail going to top of Montara Mountain

view of the Bay and Sweeney Ridge Trail, another one of my favorite places to run

the fog rolling in

Linda Mar Beach

Linking up at these Fabulous Parties: Made It By Monday @ Baked in the South, Made from Scratch Monday @ Living with Food Allergies and Celiac Disease , Mangia Mondays @ Delightfully Dowling, Tuesday Talent Show @ Chef in Training, Crazy Sweet Tuesday @ Crazy for Crust, Gluten Free Wednesdays @ The Gluten-Free Homemaker, Allergy Free Wednesdays, Sweet Treats & Swanky Stuff @ Something Swanky, Anything Goes Linky @ Bacon Time with the Hungry Hypo

Homemade Tortilla Chips

2012-08-09T16:41:00.001-07:00

I love me some salt. And with all this running, I have to make extra efforts to put more salt in my food so I stay hydrated and you won't find me face down on some trail. Hmm, bad visual there... sorry Mom and Dad... anyways...

Enter one of my favorite snacks: Tortilla Chips! A few weeks ago the hubby came back from grocery shopping at Costco and he bought a HUGE pack of white corn tortillas. I rolled my eyes and said something along the lines of why did you buy that many tortillas? You know 99% of corn is GMO. What the heck am I going to make with all of those? {FYI I always get grumpy when he grocery shops. That's my job haha}

And so they went into the freezer. Until I got over my GMO issue and realized our salsa has been lonely in the fridge. And we've been out of store bought tortilla chips for a week and a half. What a disgrace!

pre-cooked and ready to go into the oven!

So I decided to make chips with some of those soft tortillas. The verdict? Pretty darn tasty! And ridiculously easy. Go make some. I know you have 100+ tortillas hiding in your freezer.

crispy, crunchy, and ready to be eaten!

Ingredients: corn tortillas (white, yellow, large, small) olive oil sea salt (paprika, cumin cracked pepper, lime juice - optional) Method: 1. Preheat oven to 350 F 2. Brush both sides of tortillas with olive oil (or use a misto). Make sure tortilla doesn't get too soggy. 3. Sprinkle with sea salt and any other flavorings you'd like. Get creative! 4. Cut in 6 or 8 pieces and place on parchment lined baking sheets. 5. Bake for 8 minutes, rotate baking sheets, and bake for another 8 minutes. 6. Let cool and enjoy! Linking up at these Fabulous Parties: Made It By Monday @ Baked in the South, Made from Scratch Monday @ Living with Food Allergies and Celiac Disease , Mangia Mondays @ Delightfully Dowling, Tuesday Time Out @ Reasons to Skip the Housework Tuesday Talent Show @ Chef in Training, Crazy Sweet Tuesday @ Crazy for Crust, Gluten Free Wednesdays @ The Gluten-Free Homemaker, Allergy Free Wednesdays, Sweet Treats & Swanky Stuff @ Something Swanky, Anything Goes Linky @ Bacon Time with the Hungry Hypo

Pink Strawberry Cake Pops

2012-08-06T17:29:00.000-07:00

I had the pleasure of creating these adorable strawberry shaped cake pops for a little girl's 1st birthday party!

The pops are made of red velvet cake mixed with cream cheese frosting and dipped in vanilla candy coating.

Wanna know how to make them? It's simple! Just takes time.

I simply shaped the cake mixture into pyramid shapes, let them chill, then dipped them in the candy coating and attached the sugar pearls while the coating was still wet {you have to work super fast... food safe tweezers come in handy!}

Lastly, color your gum paste to the desired green color and roll out about 1/16 inch thickness. Cut out the leaves with a small sized fondant cutter (or cookie cutter), roll out a little ball for the stem and attach with a drop of water. Let gum paste harden slightly then attach to the pops with a dab of melted candy melt. Brush with sparkly edible glitter!

I am always so pleased and so happy when my customers love their pops. It takes a lot of precious time and love to make these!

here is a picture my customer sent to me... love the labels she made for her daughter's birthday party!

Linking up at these Fabulous Parties: Made It By Monday @ Baked in the South, Made from Scratch Monday @ Living with Food Allergies and Celiac Disease , Mangia Mondays @ Delightfully Dowling, Tuesdays Time Out @ Reasons to Skip the Housework Tuesday Talent Show @ Chef in Training, Crazy Sweet Tuesday @ Crazy for Crust, Gluten Free Wednesdays @ The Gluten-Free Homemaker, Allergy Free Wednesdays, Sweet Treats & Swanky Stuff @ Something Swanky, Anything Goes Linky @ Bacon Time with the Hungry Hypo

Road Trip Day 9: California!

2012-08-05T13:57:00.003-07:00

Oh thank goodness... we finally reached California! We traveled through the Death Valley National Park {and on side note, maybe don't drive your 26 foot Penske truck through it?! the mountains are very tall and very steep...}

We had a blast and enjoyed it thoroughly!

We jumped out for a second to look at the old Borax mining stuff...

Then we saw this little blonde furball running through the super hot dessert whhhaaat?! We were literally gone for 3 minutes and she busted out of the window and came looking for us.

OMG

I almost had a heart attack when I saw her running out there.

But she does look rather pleased with her naughty self, doesn't she?

Badwater Basin... the lowest elevation in the US! The camera didn't capture it well, but the salt had a variety of colors.

Some random sand dunes in the park! They looked like mini pyramids.

And yes, we came down those mountains with the truck. Even my car tires were smoking a little bit never-mind the truck's... hence, the side note: drive only normal cars in this park....!

And last but not least... we drove through the Mojave Desert and skirted around the Sierra Nevadas which had this crazy scary snow storm that we thankfully missed!

And we continued on until the ungodly hour of 4 am when we reached the Bay Area, our new and most favorite home!

Road Trip Day 8 - Nevada

2012-08-04T14:45:00.000-07:00

I decided to do some much needed housekeeping on the good old blog and decided I have to publish the rest of our road trip pics!

Enjoy these photos of Nevada... one of my favorite places to drive through... because it looks like another planet! And the mountains are HUGE!

We spent the night in Beatty, Nevada which is only a few miles away from the California border and the entrance into the Death Valley National Park. What an interesting quirky little itty bitty town!

And right down the road is one of the most famous mining Ghost Towns: Rhyolite.

Of course we went at dusk and I started to creep myself out! But I am a sucker for these types of things. Love me some history!

...and some artist placed these creepy ghosts on the outskirts of the "town"... *shudder*

If you missed the last Road Trip post, you can check it out here!!!

Roasted Rosemary Potato Bites

2012-07-25T13:27:00.003-07:00

Looking for an easy dinner side dish? Or for breakfast? Brunch?

Look no further!

These Roasted Rosemary Potato Bites are sooo yummy and easy to make. Take five minutes to prepare them, then pop them in the oven for 45 minutes! They're perfect alone or dipped in ketchup {mmmm ketchup how I love thee}

Ingredients
5-10 organic red potatoes chopped into bite size chunks (I chop enough to fill a 13x9 baking dish)
extra virgin olive oil
rosemary (fresh or dried)
thyme (fresh or dried)
sea salt
pepper
hot pepper flakes (optional)

Method
1. Preheat oven to 425 F
2. Place potato bites in 13x9 glass baking dish. (Potatoes seem to stick less to glass dishes)
3. Drizzle generously with EVOO and season generously with rosemary and thyme. Sea salt and pepper to taste!
4. Give a good stir to make sure potatoes are covered in yummy goodness and place in oven.
5. Bake for about 40 minutes, stirring every 10 min so that potatoes don't stick too much to dish.
6. Once they seem done, broil for a few minutes to get them nice and crispy! Enjoy!

I'm partying at these blog parties!

Tuesdays with Michelle: There's Nasty Stuff in WHERE?!!

2012-07-24T15:07:00.000-07:00

Mmm hmm, that's right. The washing machine. The very thing that is supposed to make our stuff clean.

Gross gross gross... and there were more nasty brown stains hidden up in the rim...

I never thought about cleaning the washing machine until I started seeing posts about it on pinterest. And then I looked at my machine. And then realized that two boys had previously used {I mean, I hope they used it...} the washer and dryer. And then I began to think about what kind of nasty stuff might have gone in the washer... um, yeah. That thought alone was enough to make me give it a nice cleanse!

It is super easy to clean and here is the down and dirty on how to clean your top-loading machine!

Step 1: Fill washing machine with hot water. Add 2 cups white vinegar halfway through.
Step 2: Turn off cycle and let water/ bleach mixture sit for an hour.
Step 3: Run washing machine on longest cycle.
Step 4: When water has drained, scrub sides and twisty thing in the middle (what is that even called?!) Concentrate on the areas around the rim. You want your machine to be white! Not any other shade.
Step 5: Repeat steps 1-3 except substitute 2 cups liquid bleach.

And you're done! And your washer should look like this now... sparklin' white! :)

Have any of you ever cleaned your washing machine? Are you gonna do it now? Let me know!

Vietnamese Braised Eggplant

2012-07-20T12:21:00.000-07:00

So I think our little purple friend always gets the raw end of the deal. Most people cringe when they hear the word eggplant. Hey, I used to.

Somehow my taste buds have changed over the years {hallelujah!} and now I buy this purple vegetable almost every single week. And let me tell you, when it's cooked correctly, it is out. of. this. world.

Let me introduce you to a new recipe that is inspired by Vietnamese flavors, but has some major twists on it created by yours truly. This dish is entirely gluten free and vegan but packs some major flavor punch! Feel free to adjust the spiciness to your liking. This recipe is just hot enough that you get a slight tingle on your lips. Oh... and the eggplant... I guarantee this will be the most smooth, silky, soft, and flavourful eggplant you will ever taste. {Yep... and leftovers are great too! Just ate some for lunch while drooling over this recipe again...}

Vietnamese Braised Eggplant adapted from Girl Cooks World

Ingredients
1 large eggplant, peeled & cut into large chunks
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion quartered & separated
1/2 tsp caraway seeds, crushed to release flavor
5 garlic cloves minced
1/2 tsp - 1 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
1 can chickpeas, rinsed
3/4 cup light coconut milk (or full fat)
1/4 cup Liquid Aminos (or gluten free soy sauce)
basil & red pepper flakes to garnish

Method
1. Place eggplant chunks in colander and sprinkle with salt. Let sit for 20 minutes.
2. Rinse eggplant, pat dry, then sprinkle with sugar and place in bowl.
3. In a large skillet, heat olive oil at medium heat. Then add eggplant and occasionally stir for about 5 minutes.
4. Add onion, caraway, and garlic and cook for 5 minutes. Stirring occasionally to make sure eggplant and garlic don't stick to pan.
5. Add pepper, chickpeas, cayenne pepper, black pepper... give a good stir... then add coconut milk and liquid aminos (or soy sauce) and let simmer for about 15 minutes.
6. Serve eggplant mixture over quinoa or rice. Garnish with fresh or dried basil and hot pepper flakes and enjoy!

parting at these scrumptious blog hops!

Living with Food Allergies and Celiac Disease "Made from Scratch Mondays"