Logically Speaking, Of Course...

We went apple picking this past weekend at a wonderful orchard. It was great weather to pick... cool with a slight breeze, yet sunny enough to keep you warm and comfortable. We wandered through the rows of apples, deciding to be adventurous and try new kinds of apples... Crimson Crisps, Shizukas... along with some of the standard favorites like Golden Delicious, Jonathans and Macouns.

We love apple picking time... it's a celebration around here. We pick, we wash, we bake delicious desserts like apple crisp, apple pie, apple cake and apple pillow (a cross between apple crisp and pie). Per my hubby's request, we always leave a few beautiful apples whole, for snacking. 

Ever tasted an apple that was on the tree just hours before consumption? An experience everyone should have.

This year has been a little more challenging for me. Recipes like my apple cake don't necessarily fit under the "low fat" category, though I did successfully pull off an apple crisp the other day.

Pretty soon I'll tackle that cake recipe and get it just right... then I'll share it with you! But until then, I'll fill you in with what I made today.

Today I made.... low fat, gluten free gingerbread. What does that have to do with apple picking, pies and pillows? Absolutely nothing.

I just found it rather amusing that with all these gorgeous apples just waiting for me to create delicious concoctions with... I made gingerbread. Just a little insight to the logic that goes on in my head. 

Logic, of course, meaning pure randomness.

Low Fat Gluten Free Gingerbread

1 cup oat flour (if you don't have any, pulse 1 cup oats in a food processor until finely ground)

1/2 cup cornstarch (or tapioca, or arrowroot)

1/4 cup brown sugar (light or dark, whatever ya got)

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup milk (or buttermilk)

1/2 unsweetened applesauce

1/2 cup molasses

2 egg whites.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8x8 pan with non-stick spray.

Mix all the dry ingredients together in a medium bowl. Add the wet ingredients and stir to completely combine. Pour into prepared pan. Bake for 35-40 minutes until cake tester comes out clean, with just a few crumbs stuck on it.

Serve warm with whipped cream or ice cream.

Confession

I've been holding out on you, Reader. I have led you along, letting you in with little glimpses of my gluten free life... my dislikes, loves, trials, flops. But there is one thing I've failed to disclose and I feel it's time to make the leap. After all, if I can't trust my readers, who CAN I trust? So here goes. 

I'm a full blown carboholic. It's not a new thing, really. I've been a carboholic for as long as I can remember. My mom used to joke that I ate a "white diet"... aka white bread. Of course, I'm also a cheese lover... so some mozzarella would be included in there, too. White on white. With a little white on the side.

When I was diagnosed with this gluten intolerance, so many things ran through my mind. Crusty, warm Italian bread? Gone. Soft, buttery Challah bread? Outta here. Chewy bagels? A thing of the past.

And I got depressed. Very depressed. (It wasn't pretty.)

Since then I have realized that, although things won't be exactly the same, they are still quite good. I have found alternatives to most of my favorite things and have had so much fun coming up with the recipes for things that gluten free companies aren't doing yet.

Today's recipe is probably the surprise of the year. I can't take credit for it... I found it on www.food.com. It was so incredibly ridiculous that I had to give it a try. The name of the recipe? Carb Free Cloud Bread.

Um, pardon? Carb FREE bread?? My brain could barely compute those words.

But surprise, surprise! It's really cool! It reminds me mostly of Challah... and that ain't a bad thing. The hardest part of this recipe is waiting until the next day, since it is recommended that you put the bread in the fridge overnight before eating it. The first thing I did this very morning is get one out and put a little light butter on it... and YUM.

When you read the ingredients, don't be frightened. If you, too, miss soft rolls... or if you happen to L-O-V-E Challah bread like I do, give this a try.

You'll have a happy, carb free mouth!

Gluten Free, Carb Free Cloud Bread (from www.food.com) 

3 eggs, separated
3 Tbsp cottage cheese
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1 (1g) packet of artificial sweetener (I used Splenda)

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Spray two cookie sheets with non-stick spray or use silpats.

Separate the eggs carefully, there must be no yolk in the whites. In a small bowl, mix together the egg yolks, cottage cheese and sweetener. (Break up the curds of cottage cheese a little.)

In a medium bowl, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar together until stiff peaks form. Very carefully fold the egg yolk mixture into the egg whites to keep the egg whites from losing their fluffiness.

With an ice cream scoop or large spoon, scoop the mixture into 10-12 rounds on the cookie sheets (about the size of the top-half of a McDonald's hamburger bun); roughly 3/4 inch thick and 4-5 inches across). 

Bake on the middle rack for about 30 minutes, but keep an eye on them. Remove when they are lightly golden brown. Remove from the pans and cool on a cooling rack. Once completely cool, place in a baggie and refrigerate overnight.

Dinner in a Hurry

It was one of those days today.

After getting through various subjects during our homeschool day, we snarfed down some lunch, threw ourselves into the car and headed out for an afternoon of errands. I had planned my errand run so that they were (miraculously) all west of where we live. As we banged out errand after errand, I was pleased with how smoothly things were going... and how I was actually able to accomplish everything on my list.

It's such an adrenaline rush... crossing off everything on your list. (Or is that just one of my quirks? Huh.)

We would get home with more than enough time for me to plan and execute a nice dinner for all. No rushing, no panicking... just planning and executing.

Then, in a split second, I blew it all to pieces. I mentioned to my mom, who had come along for the ride (literally) that I needed to get to the library STAT because my 3rd grade avid reader was desperate for something new to read. She has read every age appropriate book in my house. Twice.

Now, I should mention that my mom is the epitome of fun. She loves spontaneity and adventure (the non-adventurous type of adventure... like trying a new restaurant, things like that). So when I mentioned the need for the library run, she immediately jumped on it, saying we could throw that into our afternoon of errands.

Some of her spontaneity must have sloughed off of her and landed on me, because I agreed to it. I should mention, as well, that I am NOT the epitome of fun, spontaneity or adventure (the non-adventurous type or the adventurous type!). Nevertheless, off we went.

Did I mention the library is 20 minutes east of our home? Not in the westward plan.

30+ books later, we were headed back home. My backseat was filled with contented children, reading their newly acquired library books.

Remember my plan? My plan to plan and execute a lovely dinner? Out the window.

I came home, brought all the books and various items from our errands into the house, set the kids up with their books on the couch... and ran into the kitchen.

I floated between the fridge and cupboards, frantically looking for something to feed my family.

It's times like these that I love food that can be thrown (sometimes literally) together. Within 30 minutes, I had dinner on the table. And... AND.... it was yummy! Whew.

So what you have below is more of a guideline. There is so much wiggle room in this recipe, it's ridiculous. I've done this before for you, Reader, and I'll probably do it again.

Enjoy experimenting! But may I suggest waiting until a day where you lose your mind and spontaneously throw more on your plate than originally planned? That day where you won't possibly be able to throw dinner together in time?

This might make you look like a culinary rock star.

Gluten Free Pineapple Fried Rice

• 4 cups cooked white rice (or brown rice, or Nishiki sticky rice)
• 1/4 cup diced onion (red or sweet... or scallions)
• 1 cup diced ham (deli or cubed ham steak)
• 1/2 cup green peas (or edamame, or snow peas, or sugar snap peas)
• 1 (8oz) can pineapple chunks, drained (or 1 cup fresh)
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 Tbsp white sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder (or more, if you want)
• 1/4 cup gluten free soy sauce (or gf tamari)

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add non-stick cooking spray to coat. Cook and stir the onion, ham, and peas in the hot pan until onions have softened, about 2 minutes. Stir the pineapple chunks into the pan; cook until pineapple begins to darken, about 2 minutes.

In a small non-stick pan, cook eggs to scrambled. Add to the onion mixture and stir to combine.

Mix the rice, sugar, salt, pepper, and garlic powder into the pan; stirring constantly. Cook until heated through, about 3 minutes. Add the soy sauce, and stir to combine.

Serves 4.

Finding Pinspiration

Have you discovered Pinterest yet?

"No, not yet. I just haven't gotten around to checking it out." STOP RIGHT THERE. Go. Now. Your life will never be the same again. Well, that's a bit of an exaggeration... but your closets will never be more organized, your preschooler will be wide-eyed at the fun ABC manipulatives his/her mommy has, you'll know how to get any stain out of any fabric and you'll finally learn the right exercises to get rid of those saddlebags. Do not proceed any further in this blog entry until you do! You'll thank me. (But - after you've spent hours and hours scouring Pinterest, please do come back and finish reading. I'll miss you.)

"Why yes, Katie, I have!" Don't you just LOVE it? It's like a world of inspiration right at your finger tips! How did we ever get on without it?? I'll follow you if you follow me! We could be Pinterest BFFs!!

I'm getting a wee bit out of control, aren't I. I apologize. It has that affect on me.

(But don't forget to find me on Pinterest.)

Now where was I? Ah, yes. September. As far as I'm concerned, September 1st is the beginning of Autumn. It marks the journey towards my favorite time of year.... cold weather. I'm happiest during the months of October to March, with times of giddiness in November, December and January. It's almost as though I get a new lease of life. The crisp air fills my lungs, the trees change colors and paint the landscape or better yet, the world is blanketed in snow... and I'm compelled to start baking.

Enter Pinterest.

I found today's recipe there... but in a glutenous, fattening version. I set to work last night, seeing how I could change it to gluten free and low fat. I put the pan in the oven and, about 1/2 hour later, decided it didn't matter if the recipe turned out right or not... because my house smelled AMAZING. Cinnamon, allspice, cloves, ginger... can you just imagine? I pictured pulling my sunken, mushy concoction out of the oven and just placing it on the stove for an hour or so... like an asthetically ugly version of potpourri.

When the hour of baking was up, I flicked on the oven light and was thrilled to see a loaf of bread! Risen in the middle, deep orange color... by jing, it worked!

And friends, it tastes good. Really, really good. Autumn-in-your-mouth good. We chose to top if off with a small swipe of low fat cream cheese... leaving the hubby to declare it as "blog worthy".

So, here you go. My gluten free, lower fat version of my Pinterest find, Pumpkin Gingerbread. If you are looking to transition your mind from summer to autumn, may I suggest baking this bread? You'll find yourself back on Pinterest, searching for new ideas in autumn decorating.

I'll probably being doing the same. See you there, Pinterest BFF!

PUMPKIN GINGERBREAD

3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup Stevia in the Raw, Splenda or whatever sugar substitute you use
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 egg
2 egg whites
1/3 cup milk
1/2 (15- oz.) can pumpkin puree
1 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 3/4 cups all-purpose gluten free flour (I used Pamela's Baking Mix)
*1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoons salt
*1/2 teaspoon baking powder

*If you use Pamela's Baking Mix, omit baking powder and use 1/2 tsp baking soda. If you use another gf flour that does not have baking soda or baking powder in it, add the amounts in the ingredients list.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9 x 5″ loaf pan.

In large bowl, combine sugars, applesauce and eggs; beat until smooth. Add milk and beat until well blended. Stir in pumpkin, ginger, allspice, cinnamon, and cloves.

In medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt, and baking powder. Add dry ingredients to pumpkin mixture and blend with a whisk until all ingredients are mixed. Pour into prepared pan. Bake in preheated oven at 350 degrees for 1 hour, or until toothpick inserted in center of loaf comes out clean. Let cool for about 5 minutes, then remove from pan and let cool.

How Low Can You Go?

Since my last post, I must confess I have spent much time wandering around the kitchen, scheming, with just one thought in my head. What else can I make low fat?

 Today I meandered in and glanced at the counter. There, in all of its glory, was a bunch of overly ripe bananas. By jing!

 Banana bread, in this house, lasts about five minutes. Alright, alright. Four minutes. Once that bad boy is cool enough to not burn the top three layers of skin from the inside of your mouth, it's fair game. My kids alone could eat an entire loaf. I suppose I should consider that a compliment... though I don't feel that warm and fuzzy feeling when I have dreams of banana bread for breakfast the next day, only to realize it is long gone.

But back to the kitchen counter and the overly ripe bananas.

How can I protect my latest recipe challenge from being inhaled by the residents of my abode? How can I keep them around long enough to examine the texture, moistness, taste? MUFFINS. Leave some out, freeze some. By jing times two!

I feverishly set to work, mumbling under my breath the ingenious substitutions I would cleverly use, all the while absolutely certain I had no idea what I was doing or whether it would even remotely resemble anything banana or muffin-like. (What? Did y'all think I just strutted into the kitchen, threw things together and instantly created a masterpiece? HA.)

These little muffins are sweet... and I mean that in the "dear little puffs of banana-ness" way... not the "my teeth hurt, use less sugar" way. I used half Stevia, half sugar. If you are not on the Stevia boat, feel free to use your own substitute or just use all sugar.

 Well, I'm off. I think I may have managed to hide one of the non-frozen muffins well enough to actually be able to sit down with a cup of tea and enjoy it. One can only hope!

Low Fat Gluten Free Banana Muffins

2 cups Pamela’s flour (if you use another gf flour mix, add another Tbsp of baking powder and a 1/4 tsp baking soda)
1 Tbsp baking powder
2 cups mashed banana
¼ cup sugar
¼ cup Stevia
4 egg whites, slightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla
½ cup unsweetened applesauce 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 18 muffin cups with non-stick spray.

Combine flour and baking powder in a medium bowl. Set aside.

Mix together banana, sugar, Stevia, whites, vanilla and applesauce in a small bowl. Add to dry ingredients. 

Fill cups 2/3 full. Bake for 18-20 minutes.

Pocket O' Chocklet!

Since my last post here, I have made up my mind to add one more condition to my recipes.... low fat. Seemed like an easy thing, just cut fat here and substitute there! Ha. Silly, silly me.

Because some of the gluten free ingredients used in cooking and especially baking are... finicky... gritty... stubborn... (you get the point)... that extra fat really is needed to moisten cake and give great texture to cookies.

I must admit, there have been some dismal failures in my new endeavor.

First up was a gluten free, peanut free brownie made with pureed pumpkin... which turned out tasting like a block of pumpkin with a little chocolate in it... the texture was horrible.

Next up... peach crisp. How can you mess up a low fat peach crisp, you ask? The answer would be... use Stevia instead of sugar. Wow. The crumble topping stayed dry and grainy, despite the fact that there was a little butter in it. And the aftertaste! I physically shuddered. Literally.

So... now we are up to my last attempt, courtesy of Pinterest (with a couple of Katie Tweaks). A low fat chocolate muffin using ground oats instead of flour, egg whites instead of whole eggs, lite sour cream instead of butter, applesauce instead of oil, and half sugar, half Stevia. (Lesson learned. Stevia and sugar want to share the spotlight.)

The results? A lovely little muffin that takes away the chocolate craving... and is truly low fat, gluten free and peanut free!

It is because of this little morsel that I shall continue my quest to create low fat yummies for you, dear readers! All is NOT in vain! We gluten free-ers CAN have yummy, low fat desserts! Can I get a "HOLLA!"??

I know, I know. Way too much enthusiasm for one little muffin. Gotcha.

Gluten Free Chocolate Chocolate Chip Muffins


1 3/4 cup gluten free oats (I use Bob's Red Mill)
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup Stevia (or other sugar substitute, like Splenda granular)
1/2 sugar
3 egg whites
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup light sour cream
1 cup hot water
1/2 cup semi-sweet mini chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 24 muffin cups with cupcake liners or spray muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray.

In a food processor, pulse oats until they are ground. Add the rest of the dry ingredients (except for chocolate chips) and pulse to combine. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk egg whites until foamy. Add the remaining wet ingredients and whisk to combine. Add the dry ingredients from the food processor and stir with a wooden spoon until well incorporated.

Fill muffin cups 3/4 full. Using half the chocolate chips, evenly sprinkle a few in each cup. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven, leaving the oven on. Sprinkle the remaining chips evenly over each muffin. Bake for another 5-7 minutes to finish baking.

Remove from oven, let cook for 3 minutes, then removed muffins to a cooling rack to finish cooling. (Leaving muffins and cupcakes in pans too long steams the bottoms and makes sogginess!)

Makes 18-24 muffins, depending on how high you fill them.

Everything But The Kitchen Sink....

You know that moment when you know you need to go grocery shopping but haven't yet gotten there and it's time to figure out something for dinner? It's usually around that time that I implement my method called "something that lets me throw whatever is left in the refrigerator together to make a meal fit for a king... or at least my 3-year-old". It's a highly complicated method that requires years of training and practice.

That, or a refrigerator full of compatible leftovers or scraps of odds and ends.

Enter the quiche.
Quiche is really just a pie with an egg base that allows you to throw anything you like into it. Literally. I've known people who threw leftover french fries into their quiche and loved it. Veggies, meat, cheese, fungus (aka mushrooms)... you name it, you can put it in there.

Have you heard the saying that baking is a science but cooking is an art? Well, here's the chance to stretch your culinary creativity. If you've never experimented with quiche, now's the time to start.

Most of all... have fun with your food. Remember... it's an art!

Gluten Free Mix-and-Match Quiche

8 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tsp of whatever seasoning you want.... yellow mustard, rosemary, thyme, garlic powder, etc...
6-8 oz of diced ham... or bacon, turkey, sausage, steak, etc......
1 cup steamed and chopped broccoli... cubed potato, mushrooms, artichokes, brussel spouts, etc........
1/4 cup finely chopped onion.... chives, scallions, shallots, etc.......
2 oz shredded muenster cheese.... monterey jack, colby, swiss, etc......
2 oz shredded sharp cheddar.... or any other sharp cheese you like!

Preheat oven to 374 degrees and spray a 9-inch pie pan with non-stick cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, salt, pepper and whatever seasoning you decide to add.

In the prepared pie pan, toss together the meat, veggie, onion and cheeses of your choice and spread evenly in the bottom of the pan.

Pour the egg mixture over everything and back for 40-50 minutes until golden brown on top and the center is set.

Serves 4-6 people.