Gluten-Free Flour

When I bake, the results are almost immediately transferred into travel containers and loaded in my car. From there, I make several trips back and forth from my trunk to my classroom. As I unload whatever baked creation I brought along that day, I have students, eagerly waiting to volunteer their services as taste-testers. It doesn't matter what I put in front of them, it is almost always gone in a matter of seconds. And then, of course, the begging battle begins, as the kids make their cases as to why their specific class deserves a treat that day.

But before I start passing out cupcakes to my first block class (because who doesn't need a sugar overload at 7 am?), I pile a variety of  my goodies onto a plate and head up to the front office. My biggest fan, best customer and personal advertising campaign is the secretary for one of our assistant principals. I bring Sandy a plate of treats and she immediately decides which one(s) she is keeping for herself and then slices whatever is left into bite-sized pieces for anyone who wanders past her desk.

From kids waiting to see the principal, teachers passing through during their prep period, the attendance office clerks to substitute teachers checking in, anyone who breezes by Sandy's desk is offered bites of goodness. At first, people almost always decline. But Sandy is persistent. She sings my praises, describes the flavors to a tee, and coaxes reluctant visitors into sampling something yummy.

This practices has been going on for close to two years, now. If teachers need something sweet, they know to check in with Sandy and see what she is peddling on my behalf. And Sandy has started discussing my recipes and different specialties with just about anyone who will listen. She entertains requests, comes up with her own ideas, and, as a fellow baker, shares suggestions and recipes with me. Despite the fact that she is the same age as my mom, she is one of my closest friends. She takes care of me. She coaches me. She supports me. She helps me.

One of the requests that one of Sandy's frequent customers made was for gluten-free items. We have a few faculty and staff members that are vegan, gluten-free.Vegan isn't a new venture for me, and I know that my coworkers appreciate the treats that I bring in. Gluten-free was another request that I had gotten for cupcake orders and other friends who are trying something new.

My first ventures into gluten-free were not successful. They were gunky. They were rocks. They were dense, and not in a good way. But some experimenting, some research and a lot of test batches has helped me find a flour mix that works. This flour mix can be used in a 1:1 ratio in almost all baking recipes.

Gluten-Free Flour

adapted from Sweet Vegan

Makes 3 cups

2 cups white rice flour
2/3 cup potato starch
1/3 cup tapioca starch
1.5 teaspoons xantham gum

1. Sift together ingredients.

2. Use in your favorite recipes.

3. Store any unused flour in an airtight container and refrigerarte.

Apple Pie Bars

Thanks to a sale at Costco, and my forgetful nature, I now have close to two dozen apples at my house. Now, I love apples... But I really can't eat more than one (maybe two) in a given day. So naturally, I saw this as a challenge.

How many apple-y things can I make before 1) I turn into an apple myself, 2) I develop an apple-intolerance or 3) the apples go bad?

Challenge accepted.

Results? Deliciousness.

Apple Pie Bars

adapted from Allrecipes.com

So much delicious happening right here.

Bars
1 cup sifted flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cardamom
1/4 cup melted butter
2 tablespoons buttermilk
1 teaspoon rum (or vanilla extract)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 cup chopped apple

Topping
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 teaspoon cardamom
1 teaspoon cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 350 and lightly grease a 9x9 baking dish.

2. In a large bowl, mix together melted butter, brown sugar, and 1/2 cup of white sugar with a wooden spoon until smooth. Stir in the egg, buttermilk and vanilla. 

3. In a smaller bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, salt and spices.

4.  Stir the flour mixture into the wet mixture.

5. Stir in chopped apple.

6. Spread into prepared pan.

7. In a small bowl, mix together remaining cinnamon, sugar and cardamom. Sprinkle over the top of the apple mixture.

8. Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes.

9. After they have cooled, cut them into squares.

Strawberry Salsa

You will never buy salsa again. I swear to you. This is, by far, the best salsa I have ever had... The flavors are surprising, but delicious. I could it eat plain. In fact... I may have a bowl of it sitting in front of me, with just a spoon in it...

I've seen recipes all over the web for mango salsa, and had other fruit salsas before, but I was always thrown off by the texture of whatever fruit was used. Something about strawberries, though... They hold up just perfectly. They stay firm, don't turn to mush... And that have that burst of fresh, summer flavor that is just perfect... On its own, or on a chip.

Strawberry Salsa

Photo by Jessica Y.

Yum. Just yum.

1 lb strawberries, chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
1/2 yellow bell pepper, diced
1/4 cup minced red onion
1 T chopped cilantro
1 jalapeno pepper, minced
2 T lime juice
1 T lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients in a bowl.

Eat.

Easy, no?

Low Maintenance Meal

Year 5, day 1 is on the books.

And I survived.

Sans one toe nail.

Yesterday was the America's Finest City Half Marathon. Wondering why you haven't heard much out of me lately? Aside from traveling all over the country for different journalism and leadership camps, I've also been running my tail off. And melting. Because it's been damn hot here.

Because of all of my traveling, and that whole pesky starting the school year business, I wasn't in nearly the shape I wanted to be in for this race. But it's ok. I finished. I didn't beat my Safari Park time, but I was in range. Even with the extreme heat, steep uphill mile 12 and lack of training, I felt ok about my finish. I know that if I had been able to train the way I really wanted to, I would have done better. But it is what it is. Better next time around!

But I have officially "made it" as a runner. They say it is a rite of passage. A badge of honor. A medal of merit.

I have lost a toe nail to a race. It's gross, and rather unpleasant to look at, but it has happened. And I limped my way through the first day of school in my super cute outfit, with my super cute shoes... and now I am home and I can't wait to melt into the couch.

Unfortunately, someone has to cook dinner. Looking around, I don't see anyone volunteering, and the cat doesn't have thumbs... So it looks like it's going to be this girl. Let's make this easy...
 

Mediterranean Chicken Pasta

There are no pictures of this because 1) I'm too tired and 2) it was too delicious.

 

1 lb. pasta
1 T olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 c chopped red onion
3-4 boneless chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
1 can artichoke hearts (drained, chopped)
1 large tomato, chopped
1/2 c feta cheese
3 T chopped parsley
2 T lemon juice

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook pasta in boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water.
2. Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic and onion, and saute for 2 minutes. Stir in the chicken. Cook, stirring occasionally, until chicken is no longer pink and the juices run clear, about 5 to 6 minutes.
3. Reduce heat to medium-low, and add the artichoke hearts, tomato, feta cheese, parsley, lemon juice, oregano and cooked pasta. Stir until heated through, about 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat, season to taste with salt and pepper.

Drunken Apple Cake with Salted Caramel Frosting

I'm not sure what your doctor would have to say about it, but downing --at least-- one of these apple-based bad boys a day sounds like a genius idea to me.

I have been trying to concoct a cupcake that perfectly marries the combination of salty and sweet that my taste buds seem to be constantly craving. I wanted a kettle korn cupcake, but I know that no matter what I do I won't be able to capture that perfect crunch. I'm not sure kettle korn is really meant to be any thing other than, well, kettle korn.

But with a bowl of apples slowly over ripening on my kitchen table and salted caramel mochas on the menu at Starbucks, and idea came to me....

Drunken Apple Cupcakes

with Salted Caramel Icing

 Photo by Jessica Y.

The perfect combination of salty and sweet: salted caramel frosting and rum-drunk apple cake. 

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup salted butter, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup applesauce, at room temperature
2 large eggs
3 tsp rum
1 cup finely grated Granny Smith Apples

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

2. In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt, set aside. 

3. In a large mixing bowl, using an electric hand mixer on medium speed, blend together butter, sugar and applesauce until well blended and fluffy, about 1 minute. 

4. Add in eggs one at a time mixing until combine after each addition. Blend in rum. 

5. With mixer on low speed, slowly add dry ingredients and mix just until combine. Fold in finely grated apples (as well as the juice of the grated apples). 

6. Divide batter among paper lined muffin cups filling each cup halfway. 

7. Bake cupcakes in preheated oven 17 - 19 minutes until golden brown and toothpick inserted into center of cupcake comes out clean. 

Icing 

1 cup salted butter, at room temperature
4 cups powdered sugar
3/4 cup Caramel Sauce (homemade or store bought... depending on how motivated you are)
1 tsp rum

1. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, whip butter on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 - 4 minutes. 

2. Add powdered sugar and blend on low speed until mixture comes together. 

3. Add caramel sauce and rum and whip on medium-high speed until light and fluffy about 3 - 4 minutes.

4. Frost your cooled cupcakes!

Cherry Cola Cupcakes

What makes the world go round? Diet coke! Or... at least that's what makes my world spin. I've been toying with the idea of doing some baking with soda for some time now, and my quest to yearbook camp a few weeks ago finally gave me the opportunity to do that.

Cherry Coke Cupcakes

adapted from A Muse in My Kitchen

(parenthetical notes show you how I made this vegan)

Ingredients

• 1½ cups all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons cocoa powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¾ cup granulated sugar
• ½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature (I used earth balance)
• 1 egg (I used Ener-G egg replacer)
• ½ cup buttermilk (I used vanilla soy milk and earth balance)
• ¾ cup Cherry Dr. Pepper 
• 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon maraschino cherry juice
• 1 (21-ounce) can cherry pie filling

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350° F and prepare a muffin pan with foil or paper liners.
2. In a medium bowl sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
3. In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together sugar and butter until light and fluffy.
4. Add the egg and mix until incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
5. In a bowl or large measuring cup, combine the buttermilk, Dr. Pepper, maraschino cherry juice, and vanilla extract; stir to combine. (At this point the mixture will looked curdled, it’s normal…keep moving on!)
6. Add 1/3 of the dry ingredients to the butter and mix on low speed.
7. Add half of the liquid and continue to mix.
8. Repeat until all of the dry and liquid ingredients are combined (the last addition should be the dry ingredients), scraping down the bowl as needed.
9. Divide batter among 12 cupcake liners.
10. Bake for 17-19 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.
11. Allow to cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely before frosting.
12. Frost with your favorite buttercream frosting! (I used a rum-buttercream and topped them with a sour cherry.)

Spicy Thai Coconut Soup with Shrimp

When I was in grade school, one of my closest friends was Thai. I don't remember the story about how her parents met, but I vaguely remember there being cheeseburgers involved. Her mom was from Thailand and her dad was American. My friend was exotic looking, but having grown up in Southern Oregon, she was just a typical small-town girl.

I remember going to her house after school when we were in the fourth or fifth grade. She lived close enough to our elementary school that we could walk--this always impressed me, as my house was a good ten miles outside of town and you couldn't walk anywhere. Walking home, we'd pass a little corner store. Sometimes, we'd pop in and wander through the isles, loose change burning a hole in our pockets. Rarely, though, would we buy anything. Because we knew what was waiting for us at her house.

We would usually sprint the last block to her house, and explode through the front door. Our backpacks (Jansports, with the straps as loose as they would go, of course) would get flung onto the dining room table and we'd scurry into the sunroom (another novel concept for me). We'd scramble onto the overstuffed floral print couch, and on the wicker coffee table, waiting for us, would be an assortment of cookies and two huge glasses of whole milk. I've never been a fan of milk, so my glass always went largely untouched... but you can bet I did a number on those cookies!

Everything in this house tasted exotic to me. Even the air had a different tang to it--like it had traveled with my friend's mom, all the way from Thailand, and was somehow spicier than our boring old Oregon air. Plain chocolate chip cookies somehow oozed with even more chocolately goodness. Lemon cookies forced my lips to purse together in a pucker so tight it almost hurt--but hurt in a delicious way. Oatmeal, which I usually detested, was creamy and smooth, the raisins and nuts a burst of flavor and an added texture that complimented the unfamiliar spice that the cookies had. It was as if everything had the underlying sweetness of coconut, and the surprising zing of an unknown pepper.

Even though my foodie forays into Thai cuisine never broke past cookies, the occasional bowl of sticky rice and spicy pork and veggies, all things Thai bring me right back to that sunroom and an overflowing plate of cookies. I've since lost touch with this friend, but I do wonder if my house was as intoxicating to her as hers was to me. I wonder if the dinners of Hamburger Helper or snacks of cottage cheese and crackers were as flavorful and complex as the meals we shared at her house.

When I tried this recipe, the flavors and smells it created took me right back to these memories. It was like an instant teleport, back in time, to that house with those people. The spices that lingered in the air in my sixth grade memory permeated my own house, as I mimicked many of the flavors I remembered, even if only by smell, from my childhood visits.

Spicy Thai Coconut Soup with Shrimp

adapted from allrecipes.com

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
• 1 stalk lemon grass, minced
• 2 teaspoons red curry paste
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 3 tablespoons fish sauce
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 3 (13.5 ounce) cans coconut milk
• 1/2 pound fresh shiitake mushrooms, sliced
• 1 pound medium shrimp - peeled and deveined
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• sea salt to taste
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro 

1. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Cook and stir the ginger, lemongrass, and curry paste in the heated oil for 1 minute. 
2. Slowly pour the chicken broth over the mixture, stirring continually. 
3. Stir in the fish sauce and brown sugar; simmer for 15 minutes. 
4. Stir in the coconut milk and mushrooms; cook and stir until the mushrooms are soft, about 5 minutes. 
5. Add the shrimp; cook until no longer translucent about 5 minutes. Stir in the lime juice; season with salt; garnish with cilantro.