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

Bread for the Gluten-Free Ratio Rally

Logo designed by Anile Prakash

Goodness! Has it really been so long since I've written here?? Yes, I'm afraid it has ... I've had to take a little hiatus from this site and I'm afraid this is only a short little "hello" before I'm off again for a few weeks. Since I last posted, we've had end of school activities, the flu, summer break beginning, dance recital, travel, seeing a specialist doctor halfway across the state for my health issues, travel again, braces for the oldest (an ongoing process that isn't finished with one visit!), launched a new business (yay for continuing to work doing something you love!), sorted out permits for new business etc. ... and we are traveling (for fun!) again. I'm taking a little break from packing to touch base with you real quick ...

On a food note, I took photos of a fabulous dessert made last night that I will edit and type the recipe up for you after the majority of my travels have come to an end. It was the first time I'd taken time to actually photograph food in a few weeks and it felt great.

On a new note, very good news in my health situation. The specialist I saw said that I don't have the rare, scary "chronic active" Epstein Barr that was feared. My EBV numbers remain off the charts high, but it doesn't indicate this active state of EBV. Thank God! Some other scary illnesses were ruled out with further testing and since we had already ruled out the very scary lymphoma with my surgery earlier in the year, the scary stuff seems to be (SO THANKFUL!!) not an issue for me. The bad news is he believes I have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, and it could be a few years before I see remission and even then it can come back.

The way I see it, though, is that CFS isn't a fatal disease and it doesn't cause organ failure like some of the other things we were concerned about. I have had to alter my very active lifestyle since all this hit in the fall, and I still get the swollen glands, sore throat, achy body and extreme fatigue (all of which can be caused by CFS) if I overdo it, but I'm learning how to manage it and the specialist felt like I already was doing many of the things I need to do in order to live with this the best I can.

So, after that little update on me, I am finally giving you links to the Gluten-Free Ratio Rally bread challenge which was hosted by Karen of Cooking Gluten-Free earlier this month (thank you, Karen!). I hated to miss out on this challenge - it was only the second one for me to miss - but once I caught the flu, there was no chance of experimenting with a ratio bread recipe with everything else going on. I'm afraid it looks like I'll be missing the July challenge as well, but I'll post the links for you when I'm able and hopefully will be back in the game for the next one.

(To see all the other previous rally challenges and what the rally is all about, check out my rally page here: http://mamameglutenfree.blogspot.com/p/gluten-free-ratio-rally.html)

In addition to Karen's amazing bread, check out the other delicious recipes the rally participants baked up for you!

Adina | Gluten Free Travelette  Seedy Sandwich Bread
Angela | Angela’s Kitchen  Our Family’s Basic Gluten Free Dairy Free Bread
~Aunt Mae (aka ~Mrs. R) | Honey From Flinty Rocks  Chia Millet BreadBrooke | B & the boy!  Buckwheat-Oat Bread
Charissa | Zest Bakery  Cherry Pecan Pot Bread, Gluten Free  
Claire | This Gluten-Free Life  German Vollkornbrot (Seeded Bread)
Erin | The Sensitive Epicure English Sandwich Bread (gluten-free & egg-free)   
Jenn | Jenn Cuisine  Gluten Free BouleJonathan | The Canary Files Gluten-Free, Vegan Mediterranean Soda BreadKaren | Cooking Gluten Free!  Gluten Free Sandwich Bread/Gluten Free Naan
Meaghan | The Wicked Good Vegan  Vegan Gluten-Free Bread
Meg | Gluten-Free Boulangerie  Ciabatta (gluten-free, egg-free/vegan)Monika | Chew on This!  amaranth skillet flatbreads, amaranth mini pita roundsMorri | Meals with Morri No Knead Sun-dried Tomato & Basil Flatbread (yeast free/grain free)Pete & Kelli | No Gluten, No Problem  Gluten-Free Challah
Rachel / The Crispy Cook  Gluten Free Chickpea Sandwich Bread
TR | No One Likes Crumbley Cookies  Gluten Free White Bread
Tara | A Baking Life  Gluten-Free Sandwich Bread & Boule

I hope you are all having a fabulous summer - see you back here soon!

Hot Cross Buns

Do you have a tradition of eating hot cross buns on Good Friday like we do in our family? Every Good Friday I can remember as a child included eating delicious hot cross buns my mother had made that day.

Smooth, round rolls of sweet bread dotted with raisins and crossed with a delicious glaze on top. They made the house smell good and I couldn't wait to eat them. We'd sing the "Hot Cross Buns" song and talk about what the cross represented on the buns that special day.

My mom is currently living in England, so she's getting the authentic treat right now and says the bakery windows are filled with these yummies.

I've made different recipes of gluten-free hot cross buns over the last couple of years and I think this year I finally came as close to recreating Mom's originals from the Joy of Cooking recipe as I will probably get. Last year I played around with different flours but didn't get anything with a decent texture. They were more like bread-type cookies.

This year I used the some of the same flours I use in my yeast bread recipe and had success. For these photos, I placed the dough in muffin tins to be sure they came out round. When I make these again on Friday, I'll attempt them on baking sheets in what will hopefully bake into nice round rolls (I'll try a tester first and use muffin tins again if they don't turn out). They don't look quite the same as my mom's, but the taste is definitely there. And it's definitely good!

Another thing I like about this recipe is I used just a saucepan and wooden spoon. No mixer required!

Projected time, start to finish including rise: About 2 1/2 hours
(Printable Recipe)

1 cup milk
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1/4 cup organic pure cane sugar
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
Pinch of ground nutmeg
1/4 cup raisins
1 Tbsp. fresh lemon zest or 1/2 tsp. dried lemon zest
2 1/2 tsp. active dry yeast
2 Tbsp. very warm water
1 large egg
2 cups Pamela's bread mix and flour blend (not the baking mix)
2/3 cup millet flour

Icing for cross:
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/8 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 tsp. milk

In a large saucepan, heat milk until hot but not boiling.

Add butter, sugar and salt, stirring until dissolved. Add cinnamon, nutmeg, raisins and lemon zest. Let cool to warm. (You want it just warm enough to not cook the egg.)

In a small bowl combine warm water and yeast, let sit for a few minutes. Stir into milk mixture.

Beat egg into milk mixture.

Sift flours together and pour a small amount into the milk mixture, stirring with a wooden spoon. Continue adding a little at a time, beating with the wooden spoon, until it's all mixed. Continue to beat with wooden spoon for about a minute or so, until everything is combined well and a nice dough has formed.

Place in a large greased bowl and cover with a damp towel. Set in a warm place to rise, about an hour, until doubled.

Doubled ...

If using muffin tins, grease them first and then place 18 equal portions into the tins. If you want to try shaping the buns yourself, grease baking sheets and round 18 balls to place on the sheets.

Cover again and let rise in warm place until nearly doubled again, about 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375. You'll want to use the top rack if you are using a gas oven. (I'm playing with it here. The original recipe called for 425 degrees and I started with 400. They were baking too fast so I lowered it to 375 and baked for less time. I'm giving you an estimate on the full time at 375 until I make them again.)

Bake approximately 15-20 minutes or until done.

Let cool completely and then make crosses on top with the icing.

To make the icing, in a small bowl combine the powdered sugar, vanilla and milk. Stir well to combine. If it's not thick enough to hold a line to form the cross, add a little more sugar at a time until it is.

Enjoy!

For my photo of beauty, I'm sharing another flower photo. We have wildflowers blooming for spring - not as many as I'd like with the drought going on but enough to enjoy their beauty. I love the vibrant red and orange in the Indian paintbrushes. I hope you have a beautiful weekend, and Happy Easter!

Why I'm sharing this: http://mamameglutenfree.blogspot.com/2012/02/beauty-in-eye-of-beholder.html

Triple Chocolate Brownies

Brownies from scratch. Those three words have always made my mouth water instantly, like Pavlov's dog. Brownies from a box aren't bad, but from scratch have always had that extra something that you can't quite put your finger on but you know it's good.

I love that brownies are versatile, full of flavor combinations, possibilities and textures and fairly simple to whip together and bake. They are perfect for any time of the year and nearly any occasion. So I was happy to see that Mary Fran from FrannyCakes, our host for this month's Gluten-Free Ratio Rally, had chosen brownies as our challenge. (Thank you, Mary Fran!)

Logo designed by Anile Prakash

Be sure to stop by Mary Fran's host post of Gluten-Free Hazelnut (Nutella) Brownies (be still, my heart! Nutella!) and drool over her offering as well as all the other amazing recipes my fellow participants baked up for you this month.

I chose to go with chocolate brownies because I felt chocolate was the perfect way to celebrate my one-year anniversary with the rally. I got started the second month into it last year, and I haven't regretted a minute of it. It's been so fun to have my eyes opened to possibilities I never imagined in the kitchen, as well as get to know my fellow rally bloggers a little bit better.

If you aren't familiar with the rally yet, you can learn more at the original introduction post by Shauna at Gluten-Free Girl as well as my other rally recipes that link up to the hosts each month on my Gluten-Free Ratio Rally page. By baking and cooking with weight and using a ratio, you can free yourself to create endless possibilities in your kitchen.

For these brownies, I came up with a ratio of 2 parts sugar: 1part fat: 1 part egg: 1 part flour. I based this from a recipe I created when I was pregnant with my oldest and was home alone for a week in desperate need of some serious chocolate. For this challenge, I played around with the flours and types of sugar and chocolate, and these ratio brownies ended up being less chocolate-y than the original gluten ones from years ago. My husband doesn't care for chocolate as much as I do, so I settled on cocoa powder for the final recipe I'm sharing today rather than the melted baking chocolate the originals call for.

I wish I could say the final product is perfect, but for me to call them perfect they would have a bit more chewiness to them. (Edit: Psssst ... I finally achieved it! See the edit in directions for the chewy perfection! This also gives them an awesome crunchy top.) That being said, however, I think that's all they are missing. If I baked them a little longer, they may or may not come out a little chewier and I might try that next time (tonight, maybe?). They aren't really cake-like brownies but are very fudge-y. I wish they had a little more chew, but I'm still quite happy with the texture and the entire pan was eaten quickly by everyone in the family. They definitely meet all the requirements in my mind for a really good from-scratch brownie taste.

Projected prep time: 10 minutes; Projected bake time: 25-30 minutes
(Printable Recipe)

4 ounces (1 stick, 1/2 cup or 8 Tbsp.) butter (I used salted)
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (forgot to weigh, will edit next time)
8 ounces pure cane sugar (I used refined sugar for this recipe)
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
4 ounces eggs (2 large eggs)
2 ounces (56 grams) brown rice flour
1 ounce (28 grams) teff flour
1 ounce (28 grams) potato starch (you can use tapioca here instead but I liked the potato texture a little better)
1 tsp. ground chia seed (I use Salba brand)
2 ounces (56 grams or about 1/3 cup) semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 ounces (56 grams or about 1/3 cup) white chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped pecans, optional (forgot to weigh, will edit next time)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease an 8x8 baking pan.

Sift flours together with ground chia.

Melt butter in medium saucepan over low heat and cool to lukewarm.

Mix in sugar and stir until smooth. Mix in salt, cocoa and vanilla and stir until well-incorporated.

Mix in eggs until smooth.

Mix in flour blend until smooth.

Mix in chocolate chips, white chocolate chips and pecans.

Spread into greased pan. (Edit: If you want to achieve the chewy factor, let the batter sit in the pan for a minimum of 30 minutes, preferably an hour, before baking. Then try to let them cool before cutting them - they will be great!)

Bake for approximately 25-30 (they'll be a little chewier at 30 minutes) minutes or until done. For best results, let cool before cutting. (But they are good hot and gooey!)

Enjoy!

Please don't forget to stop by Mary Fran's post to see her delicious brownies, as well as all the other amazing brownies baked up by the participants this month! Just look at this list - how can you not be hungry for brownies right now? Thank you, again, Mary Fran!

Adina from Gluten Free Travelette made Chocolate Brownie Pie with Orange Zest
Angela from Angela's Kitchen made Gluten & Dairy Free Cream Egg Brownies
Brooke from B & the boy! made Triple Chocolate Brownies
Caitlin from {Gluten Free} Nom Nom Nom made Peppermint Brownie Bars
Caleigh from Gluten Free[k] made White chocolate and marshmallow brownies
Caneel from Mama Me Gluten Free made Triple chocolate brownies
Charissa Luke from Zest Bakery made Slutty gluten-free brownies
Claire from My Gluten Free Home PB&J Brownie Whoopee Pies
Claire from This Gluten-Free Life made St. Patty's Day Marshmallow Swirl Brownies
Erin from The Sensitive Epicure made Mexican Cocoa Brownies with an Almond & Pepitas Crust
gretchen from kumquat made salted caramel brownies
Heather from Discovering the Extraordinary made Nutmeg Blondies
Irvin from Eat the Love made Blueberry Citrus Marble Brownies
Jean from Gluten-Free Doctor Recipes made Blue Ribbon Brownies
Jenn Cuisine made Grain free brownies with no-bake ricotta cheesecake cream
Jonathan from The Canary Files made Vegan Marbled Banana Walnut Brownies
Karen from Cooking Gluten Free! made GF Chewy Crackled Top Brownies with Raspberry Puree
Mary Fran from FrannyCakes made Gluten-Free Hazelnut (Nutella) Brownies
Morri from Meals with Morri made Oaxacan Brownies & Mesquite Cacao Blondies
~Mrs. R from Honey From Flinty Rocks made Black Bean S'More Brownies
Pete and Kelli from No Gluten, No Problem made Caramel Mexican Chocolate Mesquite Brownies
Rachel from The Crispy Cook made Co-Co Nut-Nut Blondies
Shauna from Gluten-Free Girl made Gluten-Free Brownies
Tara from A Baking Life made Mint Chocolate Flourless Brownies
TR | No One Likes Crumbley Cookies Gluten Free Berry Fudge Brownies 

(And for my photo of beauty today, I'm sharing another bluebonnet photo from my neighbor's gorgeous crop. Can you find the ladybug? I love all the blue surrounding me this time of year - I hope you are finding the beauty surrounding you!)

Why I'm sharing this: http://mamameglutenfree.blogspot.com/2012/02/beauty-in-eye-of-beholder.html

Easy Eggplant Cacciatore

It's a great feeling when you come up with an experimental recipe AND it doesn't take too long. Many times the experimental recipes I'm happy with are delicious, but they take longer than I anticipated or have several steps to get them "just right." This is one of those recipes that is fairly quick and you can't get much simpler as far as how to prepare it. It was a winner in our home, and will be made time and time again.

I was thinking the other day of how easy my chicken cacciatore recipe is and how much I love that it lasts for more than one meal. I wanted to do something different, though, and make it even healthier. I can do without meat for most of meals and wanted something that was very filling and would last for leftovers. I switched out the chicken for eggplant in this recipe and wasn't disappointed. It uses only three ingredients!

In the photo above, I just spread a little spinach to the side of the cacciatore. To eat it, I served over a bed of fresh spinach. The spinach wilted a little from the heat and they taste great together.

Projected time, start to finish: Under 1 hour (note if you use brown rice, this will take a little longer unless you cook it in advance)
(Printable Recipe)

2 medium eggplant
Kosher salt
3 cups cooked rice
23 ounces marinara sauce of your choice (I used a jar of Prego marinara)

Start rice to cook, unless you cooked it ahead of time. (When it's finished, let it sit.)

Wash eggplant and chop off ends. No need to peel. Slice eggplant into 1/2-inch (approximately - you don't want them too thin) rounds and then cube the rounds by slicing vertically and then horizontally. You want good-sized chunks of eggplant.

Place eggplant in large bowl and generously sprinkle with kosher salt, tossing to combine. Let sit for about 15 minutes to draw out some of the moisture.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Place eggplant in a colander and rinse off the salt, shake to remove excess water then pat eggplant with paper towels to remove more moisture.

Turn eggplant onto parchment paper in a single layer on baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes.

Pour marinara sauce into large pan or skillet, then add eggplant and stir to coat. Heat on medium heat until bubbling, then cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Fluff rice while eggplant simmers.

Add rice to eggplant, stir to combine and simmer for five more minutes.

Serve with salad or over a bed of fresh spinach (heat will wilt spinach a little bit).

Enjoy!

My photo of beauty today isn't the best quality, but it was the best I could get of this mockingbird. Because I wasn't trying to sleep, the chatter didn't bother me. It was running all around in the front yard making all sorts of racket and looking quite cute.

Why I'm sharing this: http://mamameglutenfree.blogspot.com/2012/02/beauty-in-eye-of-beholder.html

Lucky Leprechaun Surprise Chocolate Mint Mug Cake

You remember that mug cake I made the other day? Well, I can't seem to get them out of my mind. I've been making different flavors, and thought I'd better share this one with you before Saturday.

Mint-flavored chocolate cake with a hidden green creamy surprise inside - all in a lucky 7 minutes. (Had to add a couple of minutes in there to make the creamy goodness!) You'll want to try this any time of year, but it also serves as a nice green treat for St. Patrick's Day. (So does a salad and other veggie greens - be sure to get some of those in!)

If you are looking for other gluten-free St. Patrick's Day goodies, I do have an Irish "Spotted Dog" soda bread and these fantastic clover cookies from last year. I've had my eye on some of the other gluten-free soda breads in the food blog world, though, and they do look amazing. Some of them are even vegan, so I'll have to give them a try at some point!

I'm also thinking I may give Stephanie's dijon corned beef a try in the crockpot this year - she says it's not slimy and I believe her. You can't beat the ease of a crockpot meal!

Projected time, start to finish: 7 minutes
(Printable Recipe)

Cake:
1 large egg
4 Tbsp. Pamela's baking mix (not bread flour blend)
3 1/2 Tbsp. pure organic cane sugar
3 Tbsp. milk
2 1/2 Tbsp. extra virgin coconut oil (tip: warm to above room temp to make it liquid)
2 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. pure mint extract (I used mint in this case, not peppermint, but peppermint would probably work fine)

Cream filling:
2 Tbsp. cream cheese
3 tsp. powdered sugar
1 tsp. egg white (from egg in mug)
1 drop green food coloring

Grease inside of large microwaveable mug. Crack egg into mug first because you'll need 1 tsp. of the egg white for the cream filling.

In a separate small bowl, combine cream cheese, powdered sugar, egg white and green coloring until smooth. Set aside.

Add remaining cake ingredients to mug and mix with a fork until everything is incorporated very well.

Drop cream cheese mixture into middle of cake batter.

Microwave on high for 1 minute and 30 seconds.

Enjoy!

This morning the girls and I had some excitement about our birds - not one but TWO chipping sparrows were flitting about under the feeders and among the branches outside our dining room windows. We hadn't seen chipping sparrows (house sparrows are what usually visit us) since last year, and we don't see them very often when they are around. I guess spring brought them back for a while.

I hope you have found beauty in your day today.

Why I'm sharing this: http://mamameglutenfree.blogspot.com/2012/02/beauty-in-eye-of-beholder.html

Banana Mug Cake

Mug cake. The amazing desserts/snacks that you can mix in a mug, then "bake" in the same mug. All under 5 minutes, from start to ready. I'm in.

I recently saw Jessica's chocolate mug cake recipe on ATX Gluten-Free and had to try it (with a few very minor adjustments) after pinning it. It just kept calling my name. It was very, very good. Very. It was a quick fix for the girls as a special Friday after-school snack.

It wouldn't be wise to make mug cakes as often as I'm tempted to after trying that chocolate one, but I was intrigued and wondered what other flavors I could come up with? (I'll be playing around with them for a while.) My husband cares for chocolate the least of cake flavors, and he loves banana. I'm also on a bit of a warmed bananas kick these days. Why not? I played around with it and had success. Delicious, easy success. It was even fluffy.

While I felt one mug of cake was a little much for one person (I felt pretty full after eating one), my husband had no trouble eating his mug - and topped his with vanilla ice cream as well. He was a very happy man. I do suggest giving the mug several minutes to cool before diving in - the cake stays hot pretty much the whole time. Unless, of course, you top yours with ice cream.

Projected time, start to finish: 5 minutes
(Printable Recipe)

4 tbsp. Pamela's baking and pancake mix (not bread mix) (or other GF baking mix w/baking powder)
4 tbsp. (packed) pure dark brown cane sugar
1 large egg
3 Tbsp. milk of your choice
2 Tbsp. mashed banana
1 Tbsp. organic extra virgin coconut oil (warmed past room temp to get liquid state)
1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Grease inside of large microwaveable mug and mix all ingredients very well with a fork. Microwave 1 minute and 30 seconds. (It will look like it it is overflowing but if you use a large mug it shouldn't. It will shrink back once cooling.) Let cool several minutes.

Enjoy!

My daughter also made another beautiful Bendaroosproject that I had to add to the photos because the colors went together so well. She made a lovely flower - and had no idea when making it that the colors were actually similar to a real banana flower.

I hope you are finding beauty in your day.

Why I'm sharing this: http://mamameglutenfree.blogspot.com/2012/02/beauty-in-eye-of-beholder.html

Baked Quinoa Millet Breakfast Pudding

Some of you may remember how much I like baked oatmeal. And you may also remember how much I like the spiced quinoa millet hot cereal from a few weeks back. I got it in my head that the two styles must somehow be combined for one glorious breakfast and wasn't disappointed.

I call it "pudding" because it has a taste very similar to bread pudding. I may even add some vanilla to it next time. Serve it as a breakfast, snack or even dessert. It packs a punch full of protein, fiber and nutrients. If your family is anything like mine, they will gobble it up quickly with "ooh's" and "ahh's" and promptly ask for seconds - if there are any seconds to be had.

The thing that is so great about this is you can make the quinoa millet hot cereal for breakfast one day and you'll more than likely have enough left over (plain, no spice) for making this another day.

Projected prep time (already having the cereal cooked): 5 minutes; Projected bake time: 35-40 minutes
(Printable recipe)

3 cups cooked quinoa and millet cereal (see this recipe)
2 eggs
1/4 cup vegetable oil (will try 1/3 cup applesauce next time) (Edit: I don't like the applesauce version as much, but love it with organic extra virgin coconut oil)
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup packed pure dark brown sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. kosher salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine all ingredients until well-mixed and pour into 8x8 baking dish. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until done. Refrigerate leftovers.

Enjoy!

It's another windy day today and my throat is feeling a little scratchy from all the dust. I don't think I'll be venturing out again today, so I'll share a photo of beauty from a sunset the other night. It only was beautiful for about 10 minutes, but I enjoyed it while it lasted.

Find something beautiful in your day today.

Why I'm sharing this: http://mamameglutenfree.blogspot.com/2012/02/beauty-in-eye-of-beholder.html

Wicked Good Mac and Cheese

Happy Leap Day! Do I have any Mitford fans among my readers? (I know at least one is in my sweet friend Ginny.) I could get lost in Mitford any time, day or night. And have ... many times over. I'm a huge Jan Karon fan and have read every single "Father Tim" book available and some of her children's books, too.

So it comes as no surprise that I also have her Mitford Cookbook & Kitchen Reader and flip through the pages often - if for no other reason than to relish a bite of Mitford in my mind for a quick pick-me-up to my mood.

If you are familiar with Mitford, then you also know what a very good cook Puny is. This macaroni and cheese is adapted from Puny's recipe found in the above-mentioned cookbook. I've altered it to fit the needs and tastes of my family. I named it "wicked good" because it's quite wicked with its richness and unbelievably good in its taste. It's not healthy by an stretch of the imagination, but I like to think it's better for you than the old baked mac and cheese version I used to make with Velveeta and other cheeses. Maybe.

The girls had been asking for macaroni and cheese for a while recently - it had been quite a spell since I'd last made any form of it - so I decided to make it for our Valentine's Day entree. Obviously I didn't take the time to make great photos out of this dish - but I wanted you to see the new casserole dish my sister gave me for Christmas. Isn't it sweet?

Projected time, start to finish, a little over an hour
(Printable Recipe)

1/3 cup unsalted butter, plus a little extra
1/3 cup brown rice flour
3 cups milk
1/2 cup sour cream
4 ounces cream cheese, cut into pieces
2 tsp. kosher salt
Pinch ground nutmeg
1 1/2 tsp. dry mustard
Pinch cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp. black pepper
4 cups shredded Colby jack cheese
1 pound gluten-free elbow macaroni or shells, cooked al dente according to package (I used Tinkyada, and always use the energy-saving method. It works best)
2 slices fresh bread (I used Udi's multi-grain), broken into small pieces

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 3-quart baking dish and set aside.

Cook pasta according to package, drain and set aside when finished (you might want to lightly toss in a little olive oil). You'll want to keep the pasta a little al dente, so check it several minutes earlier than the package says to cook it for.

While pasta is cooking, combine 1/3 cup of butter and brown rice flour in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Whisk until smooth, then slowly add milk. Continue to stir with whisk until mixture is smooth and thickened.

Add sour cream and cream cheese, whisking in until combined and smooth again.

Add salt, nutmeg, mustard, cayenne and black pepper. Whisk lightly until mixed well. Stir in shredded cheese.  Season more to taste if necessary.

Add macaroni to cheese mixture and gently mix together. Pour into baking dish.

In a small bowl, melt a tablespoon or two of butter and toss with bread pieces. Sprinkle over top of macaroni.

Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until bubbling nicely.

Enjoy!

On another note, today's photo of beauty is actually from last night. Yesterday's post mentioned how terrible the dust and wind were yesterday. That is true, but sometimes dusty days bring beautiful evenings with the sun. It covers the sun just enough to give the sky an incredible hue.

Go find beauty today!

Why I'm sharing this: http://mamameglutenfree.blogspot.com/2012/02/beauty-in-eye-of-beholder.html

Super Strawberry Green Smoothie

I came up with this concoction for breakfast this morning and enjoyed it to the last drop. I hope you do, too.

Projected time, start to finish: Under 5 minutes
(Printable Recipe)

 6 oz. unsweetened pineapple juice
1 cup frozen unsweetened strawberries
1 peeled banana
2 large handfuls (about 2 cups) fresh spinach
1/8 cup alfalfa sprouts (optional)
1/2 to 1 tsp. spirulina powder
2 to 3 tbsp. hemp protein powder

Blend all ingredients until smooth.

Enjoy!

And for my photo today, I took a walk around the park this morning and mostly looked up. I saw several sparrows twittering around a hole in a branch, nearly at the top of the tree. I zoomed in on my lens to get  a better look, and realized that a mama sparrow was making her nest in the hole. In the photos below, the daddy sparrow is guarding the hole. I didn't get a shot quick enough of the mama flying back into the hole, but I did get a couple of her peeking out. I'm glad I was looking up this morning.

I hope you find beauty today.

Why I'm sharing this: http://mamameglutenfree.blogspot.com/2012/02/beauty-in-eye-of-beholder.html