Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from my family to yours. I hope you have a holiday surrounded with love, blessings and happiness.

Newtown, We Are Wrapping You In Virtual Arms of Love

I, like so many of you, have shed many tears over the last few days. There are no words to describe all the feelings I had as I learned of the horrors at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connnecticut on Friday. December 14, 2012 will always be remembered. The children. Teachers. Parents. Lost to a tragedy we will never be able to wrap our minds around.

Both of my girls are in elementary school. The youngest is the same age of many of those precious children who were lost to the world forever. All tragedies hit you hard, but as a parent, they hit you harder. This loss in Newtown affected me in a way I can't really describe. Minutes after learning what had happened, I wrote this to those in my close social media circle: "Tears flowing for the parents, children and teachers in Connecticut. I can't find any other words. Praying."

I wanted desperately to pick my girls up from school so I could just hold them. A couple of hours later, I wrote this: "I just can't stop crying. Nothing else matters but my family. Everything else is so trivial. Baking is the last thing I feel like doing and I desperately need a nap, but I'm making a snack through tears for my girls to have after school and I'm never letting them go. To hell with everything else."

This is how I still feel. I reluctantly dropped my girls off at school this morning and gave them an extra big, long squeeze. As they were getting ready for school and playing around and not doing what they were supposed to be doing, I began to get frustrated as usual but reminded myself, "I'd rather have this." I'm so thankful and blessed to have them waking up in their beds each morning. We don't know what each day holds and how long we have with those we love. We need to make the most of it.

To Newtown: I am praying for you. We are praying for you. When you can't find the strength, the heart, the will to pray, please know that we are saying prayers for you. We are wrapping you in virtual arms of love, wrapping you in our thoughts and prayers, holding space for you. You ARE NOT just another news item to us as we go about our day and you live in this tragedy, wondering how life can go on. We are there with you. We are weeping with you. We are praying that one day you will feel peace.

Pumpkin-Chocolate Chip Muffins and a Giveaway!

Are you enjoying your holiday season so far? Lots of preparations under way? I'll be honest that I haven't been able to do too much baking yet, but I plan to get some things baked this weekend.

I think I might make these muffins again. They are that good, and work perfectly for a fall or winter treat or gift for someone special. This muffin recipe comes straight out of "Fast and Simple Gluten-Free: 30 Minutes or Less to Fresh and Classic Favorites" - the recently-released cookbook written by Gretchen Brown of kumquat blog. I'm giving away a copy of this book at the bottom of this post, so don't forget to enter for your chance to win!

I have gotten to "know" Gretchen a little through the Gluten-Free Ratio Rally (look forward to the day when I can meet so many of these bloggers in person!) and I love her blog. Naturally I was thrilled when she asked  about interest in reviewing her cookbook.

Gretchen provided me with a copy of this book to review and give away and I can't be anything but honest with you when I tell you that this is my new favorite all-purpose and more gluten-free cookbook. In fact, I've used this book so much before the review that some of the pages got dirty, so I'm keeping this copy and providing a new copy for the giveaway.

This book is simply amazing, and not just for "gluten-free." Anyone would love this book. Unlike other "fast" cookbooks I have intended to give you recipes in 30 minutes or less and you end up spending more than hour on them, this book truly delivers recipes that take 30 minutes or less. The recipes range from beverages to entrees, sides to desserts and more. She has a few recipes in the back that take a little more time, and states so. They are worth it, though, and don't take too much time. These muffins are one of those recipes.

I have already made several of the recipes in this book (including entrees), and my family and I have loved every one of them. You won't be disappointed to receive this book as a holiday gift for yourself or to give to someone else. Gretchen fills the pages with tips and gorgeous photos. I've always loved her food photos. She is also a registered dietitian, so she doesn't steer you wrong with ingredients.

You'll want to enter yourself for a chance to win at the bottom.

Pumpkin-chocolate chip muffins
From pg. 160 Fast and Simple Gluten-Free: 30 Minutes or Less to Fresh and Classic Favorites

Ingredients:
1 1/2 (210 grams) Kumquat's Gluten-Free All Pupose Flour Blend (see link or page 15 of book) or gluten-free all-purpose flour (*Caneel's note: something like Pamela's baking mix would work here)
1 teaspoon baking powder (*Caneel's note: Cut back on all leavening agents if you are using a blend that already contains them)
1 teaspoon baking soda (*see note above)
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt (*see note above, some blends already contain salt)
1/2 cup (120 ml) canola oil (*Caneel's note: I used extra light olive oil)
1 cup (225 g) packed brown sugar (*Caneel's note: I used dark brown)
1 cup (245 g) canned pumpkin
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup (175 g) miniature chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees (200 degrees Celsius, or gas mark 6).

Line 12 muffin tins with cupcake wrappers.

Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl. Combine the oil, brown sugar, pumpkin, eggs, and vanilla in a medium bowl. Stir the oil mixture into the flour mixture until combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Spoon the mixture evenly into the muffin pan. Bake for 21 minutes and then cool on a rack.

Enjoy!

The giveaway has ended. Congratulations to Marci who is the winner!

Now, here's how to enter for a chance to win this fabulous cookbook:

This giveaway is for one copy of  "Fast and Simple Gluten-Free: 30 Minutes or Less to Fresh and Classic Favorites" and the entry period begins today, December 13, 2012 and will end on Thursday, December 20, 2012 at 9:00 a.m. CST. The winner will be picked through the Random Sequence Generator on Random.org. 

***My apologies, but this giveaway is only open to residents of the United States.***

You are eligible for up to seven entries in this giveaway. To enter:

1. Leave a comment on this post telling me what type of recipe you'd be most excited to make out of this cookbook (only one comment per person will be counted this way, and this counts as one entry).

Additional entries may be earned by leaving a comment EACH TIME you do one of the following (you get an entry for each one only if you leave a comment for each):

2. "Like" Mama Me Gluten Free on Facebook (if you already "like" the blog on Facebook, that also counts as an entry) and leave a comment here telling me you've done this.

3. Follow @MamaMeGF on Twitter (if you already follow, that counts as an entry), then leave a comment here telling me you've done this.

4. Share this giveaway on Facebook with a link to this post, and leave a comment here telling me you've done this.

5. Share this giveaway on Twitter: "I want to win "Fast & Simple gluten-free" cookbook @MamaMeGF! http://bit.ly/XXzGr3 " and then leave a comment here telling me you've done this.

6. Subscribe to Mama Me Gluten Free RSS feed, then leave a comment here telling me you've done this. (If you already subscribe, then that counts too - just leave a comment letting me know!)

7. "Like" Gretchen's kumquat blog on facebook and then leave a comment here telling me you've done this. 

You must leave a comment on this post for each of things if you want an entry for each one. Only one comment per item per person will be counted. In other words, if you comment more than one time saying you "like" Mama Me on facebook, only one of those comments will be counted, etc. On the other hand, if you only leave one comment saying you did all of these things, you will only get one entry rather than seven.
********Be sure to leave a contact email if you are posting anonymously or don't have a way to contact you listed in your profile!

Good luck! 

*In the interest of full disclosure, Gretchen Brown had a copy of this book provided to me for review. Mama Me Gluten Free is purchasing a copy for the giveaway. I was not compensated in any other way, and the opinions of this book are entirely my own.

Gluten-Free Ratio Rally Does Focaccia Bread

Logo designed by Anile Prakash

I missed out on the Gluten-Free Ratio Rally this month - the holidays had begun and it was already December and wait - I didn't do the focaccia challenge! I'm going to have to give it a try, though, because I really love focaccia bread - especially for sandwiches!

In the meantime, please head over to the host this month - Heather from Discovering the Extraordinary - and see her incredible focaccia with rosemary and garlic. Hello, yum! And don't forget to check out the other delicious breads baked up for you by the other participants this month.

If you are curious about the rally, you can check out my rally page here, where I link up to all of my previous rally posts and recipes, as well as the ones I have missed. You can also find Shauna's first post introducing the rally and what it's all about.

Here are the other delicious recipes this month:
Carol | Goodness Gluten Free made Gluten Free Garlic and Parmesan Focaccia
Morri | Meals with Morri made Sweet Cinnamon Raisin Focaccia Bread
mary fran | frannycakes made Gluten Free Sage Foccacia
~Aunt Mae (aka ~Mrs. R) made Focaccia Bread
Silvana | Silvana’s Kitchen made Sun-Dried Tomato and Olive Focaccia
TR | No One Likes Crumbley Cookies made Gluten Free Cheesy Herb Focaccia

I hope you're all having a great start to your holidays so far!

Two Year Anniversary and a Giveaway

**The giveaway is now over. Congratulations to April for winning the cookbook and cooling racks, and thank you to all who participated! Happy baking!

Yesterday was my two-year blogiversary, but I was swamped and wasn't able to post this until today. Happy Anniversary to Mama Me Gluten Free! It's been an exciting two years and I've loved getting to know so many of you, as well as fellow bloggers.

Tis the season for joy, sharing and giving, and I am so THRILLED to share this blogiversary by celebrating YOU, readers, by giving away an awesome cookbook recently published by one of those fellow bloggers I've enjoyed getting to know. Jeanne Sauvage of Art of Gluten-Free Baking blog has generously donated a signed copy of her new cookbook, Gluten-Free Baking for the Holidays: 60 Recipes for Traditional Festive Treats. I enjoyed sharing a lunch with Jeanne and a couple of other bloggers at P.F. Chang's in Austin last summer during the IACP convention, and had a great time laughing and sharing stories with all of them. Jeanne is funny, smart and friendly. I know you don't want to miss out on her book. It's gorgeous. And the recipes are amazing. Jeanne is an artist baker and some of these recipes are unbelievable! (Thank you for making this possible, Jeanne!)

In addition to Jeanne's fabulous book, I'm including this 3-tier Wilton cooling rack - because every person needs stacking cooling racks when baking! The combination of the book and cooling racks would make an amazing gift for your favorite gluten-free loved one (even if that loved one is yourself!) - so read the directions below on how to maximize your chance of winning and getting multiple entries.

Now, here's how to enter:

This giveaway is for one signed copy of  "Gluten-Free Baking for the Holidays: 60 Recipes for Traditional Festive Treats" and one set of 3-tier Wilton cooling racks, and the entry period begins today, November 29, 2012 and will end on Thursday, Dec. 6, 2012 at 12:00 p.m. (noon) CST. The winner will be picked through the Random Sequence Generator on Random.org.

You are eligible for up to seven entries in this giveaway. To enter:

1. Leave a comment on this post telling me your baked holiday treat (only one comment per person will be counted this way, and this counts as one entry).

Additional entries may be earned by leaving a comment EACH TIME you do one of the following (you get an entry for each one only if you leave a comment for each):

2. "Like" Mama Me Gluten Free on Facebook (if you already "like" the blog on Facebook, that also counts as an entry) and leave a comment here telling me you've done this.

3. Follow @MamaMeGF on Twitter (if you already follow, that counts as an entry), then leave a comment here telling me you've done this.

4. Share this giveaway on Facebook with a link to this post, and leave a comment here telling me you've done this.

5. Share this giveaway on Twitter: "I want to win "Gluten-Free Baking for the Holidays" & cooling racks @MamaMeGF! http://bit.ly/V6zVvw " and then leave a comment here telling me you've done this.

6. Subscribe to Mama Me Gluten Free RSS feed, then leave a comment here telling me you've done this. (If you already subscribe, then that counts too - just leave a comment letting me know!)

7. "Like" Jeanne's page on Facebook and then leave a comment here telling me you've done this. 

You must leave a comment on this post for each of things if you want an entry for each one. Only one comment per item per person will be counted. In other words, if you comment more than one time saying you "like" Mama Me on facebook, only one of those comments will be counted, etc. On the other hand, if you only leave one comment saying you did all of these things, you will only get one entry rather than seven.
********Be sure to leave a contact email if you are posting anonymously or don't have a way to contact you listed in your profile!

Good luck! 

*In the interest of full disclosure, Jeanne Sauvage provided a copy of this book for my giveaway. I was not compensated in any other way, and the opinions of this book are entirely my own. Mama Me Gluten Free is providing the cooling racks.

**The giveaway is now over. Congratulations to April for winning the cookbook and cooling racks, and thank you to all who participated! Happy baking!

Squash Casserole and Thanksgiving Menu

It's here again - exactly one week and one day away. Thanksgiving. Are you cooking yet? Are you baking yet? (We've been sick over here in my house, so I'm not. I hope to get to it SOON.)

We have much to be thankful for, even when things don't seem to be going our way, and I'm trying hard to continue counting my blessings each day. Among so many other blessings I'm counting, this year I am thankful that all the scary stuff with my health last year turned out not be cancer or an illness we feared with a poor prognosis. Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is no walk in the park, but I'm learning to live around it.

Some of our wall art for Thanksgiving last year - a painting by one of my daughters and leaves the girls made to scatter around the house.

My Thanksgiving menu this year is the same as last, with my goal once again to get as much of it prepared as I am able, and not fret if I don't get every recipe made. (Here is last year's post: http://mamameglutenfree.blogspot.com/2011/11/thanksgiving-menu.html)

Thanksgiving Menu:
-Turkey (roasted)
-Gravy (Just whisk together some of the turkey juice with some butter and sweet rice flour or brown rice flour over heat)
-Crockpot cornbread dressing (stuffing)
-Squash casserole (see below)
-Sweet potato casserole
-(Dirty rice, if I have time - another one I grew up with!)
-Broccoli with cheese
-Corn (from my brother-in-law's family farm, sauteed in butter)
-Marinated beets
-Yeast rolls
-Cranberry bread
-Cranberry sauce
-Cranberry jelly
-Fruit salad
-Pecan pie tarts
-Pumpkin pie
-Fresh whipped cream
-(And apple pie if I have time!)

This year I'm adding the recipe for squash casserole to the list (I didn't have the recipe for you last year), and I hope one day I'll have all the recipes on this menu available to you. Maybe one a year??

I'm proud to be able to share the squash casserole with you. It's a recipe from my grandmother and has been in my family for as long as I can remember. I've loved it as long as I can remember, and I love that I've passed my love for it on to my daughters. We always have it at Thanksgiving and Christmas, but it's equally good for other meals during other times, as well. The wonderful thing about this recipe is it's very simple and even the prep is mostly just cooking it on the stove with no stirring. It's also nice because you can freeze squash from your summer garden in advance for the casserole months later. You can also prepare the entire dish a few days in advance.

Squash Casserole
(Printable Recipe)
5-6 medium yellow squash (zucchini also works), sliced 1/4-inch thick
1/2 medium size white onion, chopped
1/4 cup plus extra seasoned bread crumbs (I just make my own and use Italian seasoning)
Light olive oil or grapeseed oil
Kosher salt, to taste
Cayenne pepper, to taste
Black pepper, to taste
Pinch of dried oregano

Place sliced squash in large saucepan with small amount of salted water, cover and steam until tender. Drain.

In small amount of light oil in a large pan, cook chopped onion until tender. Add seasonings and squash. Chop squash until broken. Cook until most of the water has evaporated.

*At this point you can freeze it if you want, for use later.

Heat oven to 400 degrees.

Add 1/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs and stir until combined.

Place in shallow greased baking dish (I use a glass pie pan).

*At this point you can put plastic wrap on top and refrigerate it for a few days - making this an easy dish to prepare in advance.

Sprinkle more seasoned bread crumbs on top.

Bake at 400 degrees until squash is heated through and breadcrumbs are browned - usually about 10-15 minutes.

Enjoy!

Have a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving, everyone!

Date Pecan Bundt Cake with Orange Glaze

This cake is good. Really good. It only lasted a day in our house - a few bites here, a few bites there for dessert and snack and then a few slices toasted for breakfast the next morning (served with some eggs, of course). It was gone, and as I'm typing this and listening to election coverage at the same time, I'm in desperate need of another slice ...

You'll notice that the title says this is a bundt cake, but the pictures don't tell that truth. Something happened to my bundt pan and when I finally had the last-minute chance to make this cake, I didn't have time to get another one. I don't recommend you using your angel food cake tube pan for this recipe, but that's what I did. It was a huge mistake as I lost a bit of batter from the bottom of the pan as the batter started getting hot and rising. Thankfully I was able to clean it up from the bottom before the cake had a chance of falling and put some aluminum foil down for the rest of the drippings - and salvaged everything without that dreaded smoke taste!

Many thanks to Adina from Gluten Free Travelette for hosting our Gluten-Free Ratio Rally this month and giving us the challenge of bundt cakes. Be sure to check out her delicious cake as well as the cakes the other participants have baked up for you. They all look amazing and you don't want to miss them! 

If you aren't familiar with the rally, you can check out my rally page here, where I list the other rally posts and find out why we are so excited about the freedom we've discovered in our kitchens when we bake by weight and ratio.

Logo designed by Anile Prakash

I chose the flavors in this cake because I was craving a dessert my grandmother makes (I really need to give you that recipe one day - it's incredible!) and with the holidays coming up, wanted to add a festive twist to the flavor with the orange glaze. I used Ruhlman's ratio for pound cake, which is 1 part butter: 1 part sugar: 1 part egg: 1 part flour, but reduced the amount of butter by a fourth and was pleased to see it still came out delicious. It really has a perfect texture that I was very pleased with.

Date Pecan Bundt Cake with Orange Glaze

(Printable Recipe)

6 ounces butter (1 1/2 sticks), at room temperature

8 ounces (228 grams) sugar

1 teaspoon salt

8 ounces egg (4 large eggs plus 1 large yolk), at room temperature and whisked lightly together

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

2.5 ounces (71 grams) tapioca starch

1 ounce (27 grams) almond flour

1 ounce (27 grams) sweet rice flour

1.5 ounces (42 grams) millet flour

2 ounces (54 grams) brown rice flour

1 1/2 teaspoons ground chia seed

1 cup chopped dates (chop them yourself for best results and don't use the already chopped stuff)

1/2 cup chopped pecans

Orange glaze:

1/4 cup refined sugar

3 tablespoons orange juice

Zest of an orange

1/4 cup powdered sugar

2 tablespoons orange juice

Preheat over to 325 degrees and butter a bundt pan.

Mix flours together with ground chia seed.

Beat butter with paddle attachment in stand mixer (or however you mix if you don't have a stand mixer) at medium speed for about a minute. 

Add the sugar and salt, then beat on medium-high until butter mixture becomes fluffy and lighter in color (about three minutes). Scrape bowl if necessary.

Have your eggs ready and lightly whisked together, then slowly add them to the butter mixture, continuing to beat until they are mixed in. Scrape bowl and mix a little more. Scrape again and mix in the vanilla.

Slowly add the flour with the mixer going at low speed. Scrape bowl and mix again just until everything is mixed together.

Pour batter into pan and bake at 325 for about 50 minutes to an hour. Cake is done when toothpick inserted into middle comes out clean. Let cake sit for 5-10 minutes, then turn onto plate and cool on wire rack to cool completely.

For glaze, heat refined sugar and zest with orange juice until bubbling and sugar is dissolved, then add powdered sugar and more orange juice. After cake has cooled, spoon over top and sides, letting sauce saturate the top of cake.

Enjoy!

Don't forget to stop by Adina's post and check out her cake as well as the other cakes this rally. Thank you again, Adina!

Apple Almond Cake | Heather | Discovering the Extraordinary

Blueberry Molasses Bundt Cake | Jenn | Jenn Cuisine

Gluten Free Mini Vanilla Chai Bundt Cakes | Mary Fran | Frannycakes

Pear & Cardamom Spiced Bundt Cake | Rebecca | Salts Kitchen

Spiced Sweet Potato Bundt Cake | Brooke | B & The Boy

Spiked Egg Nog Bundt Cake with Vanilla Bourbon Glaze | Charissa | Zest Bakery

Torta di Mele (Apple Cake) and A Family Farm in Tuscany (and giveaway!)

It's officially fall, and apples abound. Why don't you pull up a chair and join me with a cup of coffee or tea - or cider, perhaps? - and a slice of this authentic Italian torta di mele (apple cake), made gluten-free just for you (and me)?

We'll sink into contentment as we peruse the pages of an incredible, unique book. A cookbook that doesn't just give you recipes and a little story here and there but actually transports you to another place and another time at Fattoria Poggio Alloro - a family farm in Tuscany - season by season, month by month.

Sarah Fioroni, the chef, cooking instructor and sommelier who brings us this feast of a book for the eyes, mouth and mind, won't disappoint you with this treasure she shares. Stay tuned to the end of this post to find out how you can win a copy of "A Family Farm in Tuscany: Recipes and Stories from Fattoria Poggio Alloro"

Sarah Fioroni. Photo by Dario Fusar of Organic Gardening

I was delighted when my good friend and college roommate, Ginny from Cooking with Chopin, Living with Elmo, asked me if I'd like to participate in this world blogging book tour of "A Family Farm in Tuscany." Ginny's lovely and talented mother, Kathy Shearer of Shearer Publishing, is the publisher of this cookbook.

I knew it would be interesting from what Ginny had told me, but I must tell you I was honestly blown away by this book. I love cookbooks and own a great deal of them, but until now I haven't owned one quite like this. Not only are the pages filled with photos of the countryside ...

Photo by Oriano Stefan

... farm ...

Photo by Oriano Stefan

... restaurant, buildings, city ...

Photo by Oriano Stefan

... animals, food ...

Photo by Emiko Davies

... and more, but Sarah manages to bring the reader into her world. She fills the pages with her family's story beginning as sharecroppers on the farm to purchasing the farm and making it their life - an organic, self-sustaining farm, business, retreat and home. She shares a rich culture, history of the area and gives us a generous glimpse into life on the farm and in the restaurant every month of the year while at the same time sharing recipes she and her family prepare that month.

Sarah's father, Amico Fioroni. Photo by Maggie Shearer Smith

It's the ultimate cook-by-the-season book, using local foods. In fact, the main ingredients are nearly all produced on the farm - down to the honey and saffron. They even make their own pasta, olive oil and wine available for purchase.

Photo by Oriano Stefan

Speaking of honey, Sarah tells us a story of a children's class coming for a tour of the farm and a persistent little girl's questions about the bees. I'd love to type it all out here and let you enjoy the laugh I got, too (it reminds me of my own girls' questions), but as this post is already becoming quite long I'll have to let you enjoy the laugh with your own copy. (If you don't win it below, you can purchase it here.)

I'm not the only one in the family enjoying this book. My husband's great-grandparents came to the U.S. from Italy, so he has had several moments of relaxing through the pages with great interest himself. I've walked into the room on several occasions to find one or both of my daughters flipping through it, as well.

It's so much more than a cookbook. It's a journal. A memoir. Travel guide. Picture book. It's a lesson in history and culture of an area many of us dream of visiting one day.

And can we just talk about the food in this book for a minute? The. Food. *sigh*

Much of it is naturally gluten-free (hello, fennel salad ... be still, my heart!) but when it isn't as in this cake, or the pasta dishes, you can just switch out the flours or the type of pasta. This recipe is purely Sarah's with the exception of the gluten-free substitutes of flours and ground chia seed, which are entirely mine.

Torta di Mele (Apple Cake)
(Printable Recipe)

Makes one 8-inch cake, about 8 servings

3 eggs
1 cup (200 g) sugar
30 grams almond flour*
30 grams millet flour*
60 grams brown rice flour*
60 grams tapioca starch/flour*
1 1/4 teaspoons ground chia seed*
1/2 cup (120 ml) whole milk
2 1/2 tablespoons (40 ml) butter, melted
2 teaspoons (10 g) baking powder
1/2 teaspoon (3 ml) vanilla
3 medium apples, about 1 3/4 pounds (800 g), peeled, cored, and cut into wedges 1/8 inch (3 mm) thick
Powdered sugar as garnish
Vanilla ice cream (optional)
(*Sarah's original non-GF recipe calls for 1 1/2 cups or 180 g unbleached all-purpose flour rather than these flours and ground chia seed)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Butter and flour an 8-inch (20 cm) springform pan, tapping the pan to remove excess flour; set aside. (Caneel's note: My springform pan is larger than this, so I used a regular 8-inch round and generously buttered it and lined the bottom with parchment paper.)

Combine the eggs and sugar in bowl of electric mixer. (Caneel's note: I used paddle attachment.) Beat at medium-high speed for 5 minutes, or until pale lemon in color and thickened. Gradually add the flour, milk, and butter, stopping to scrape down the sides of bowl after each addition. Beat at low speed until each ingredient is blended, then increase speed to medium high and beat for 3 minutes. Add the baking powder and vanilla and beat an additional 2 minutes to blend well.

Turn batter out into the prepared pan. Arrange the apple slices vertically, with the core side down, in concentric circles in the batter, beginning with the outside edge of the pan and continuing to the center. The arrangement of the apples should resemble a rose in full bloom. (Caneel's note: I'm sure I didn't do this decoration justice, at all, in my blundering attempts of this.)

Bake in preheated oven for about 50 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted in center of cake comes out clean and apples are lightly browned.

Remove from oven and cool for 10- minutes. Remove the sides of the springfom pan. To serve, cut the warm cake into slices, then scatter powdered sugar over each serving. Add a scoop of vanilla ice cream to each serving, if desired.

(Caneel's note: This cake is amazing. My entire family loved it, and we thought it was equally good warm and cooled off.)

If you can't wait until you get the book to find out more about Fattoria Poggio Alloro, you can visit their website here. I also understand the farm will also have their pastas, wine and olive oil available for purchase in the United States through this website, which will be live later this week. If you want to follow more of Sarah, you can see her book tour schedule and ask her questions on her Facebook page here.

Be sure to stop by Ginny's blog here to see what other bloggers all over the world have to say about "A Family Farm in Tuscany," and what recipe they chose to prepare from the book.

***Now for instructions on how you can win this amazing cookbook:

This giveaway is for one copy of  "A Family Farm in Tuscany: Recipes and Stories from Fattoria Poggio Alloro" and the entry period begins today, October 29, 2012 and will end on Monday, Nov. 5, 2012 at 12:00 p.m. (noon) CST. The winner will be picked through the Random Sequence Generator on Random.org.

*******THE GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED. CONGRATULATIONS TO CINDY FOR WINNING THE BOOK! I WILL CONTACT YOU TO LET YOU KNOW. THANKS TO ALL WHO PARTICIPATED!*********

You are eligible for up to seven entries in this giveaway. To enter:

1. Leave a comment on this post telling me your favorite food season (only one comment per person will be counted this way, and this counts as one entry).

Additional entries may be earned by leaving a comment EACH TIME you do one of the following (you get an entry for each one only if you leave a comment for each):

2. "Like" Mama Me Gluten Free on Facebook (if you already "like" the blog on Facebook, that also counts as an entry) and leave a comment here telling me you've done this.

3. Follow @MamaMeGF on Twitter (if you already follow, that counts as an entry), then leave a comment here telling me you've done this.

4. Share this giveaway on Facebook with a link to this post, and leave a comment here telling me you've done this.

5. Share this giveaway on Twitter: "I want to win A Family Farm in Tuscany @MamaMeGF! http://bit.ly/UXlrRC " and then leave a comment here telling me you've done this.

6. Subscribe to Mama Me Gluten Free RSS feed, then leave a comment here telling me you've done this. (If you already subscribe, then that counts too - just leave a comment letting me know!)

7. "Like" Sarah's page on Facebook and then leave a comment here telling me you've done this. 

You must leave a comment on this post for each of things if you want an entry for each one. Only one comment per item per person will be counted. In other words, if you comment more than one time saying you "like" Mama Me on facebook, only one of those comments will be counted, etc. On the other hand, if you only leave one comment saying you did all of these things, you will only get one entry rather than seven.
********Be sure to leave a contact email if you are posting anonymously or don't have a way to contact you listed in your profile!

Good luck! 

*In the interest of full disclosure, Shearer Publishing provided a copy of this book for my review. I was not compensated in any other way, and the opinions of this book and recipe are entirely my own. In addition, the book for the giveaway is provided by Shearer Publishing.