Food on Friday: Brownie recipe

Vegan, Sugar Free, Egg & Dairy Free, can be Gluten Free, too!

Get the recipe HERE!

The recipe can be found at Christina's blog:"Dessert For Two". (Besides an interesting blog, she has cookbooks, too.)

This was an easy recipe to make completely Organic! 
(Vegan, Sugar Free, Egg & Dairy Free, can be Gluten Free, too!)

Notes:
~ We doubled the recipe (making 2 - 9x5 pans), and froze some.
~ Used half and half Almond Butter & Fresh made Pecan Butter
(Mara Hubbard's Organic Pecans).
~ Butter in place of Coconut Oil.
~ I could not bring my self to use SO much Maple Syrup, so I used half Honey.
~ The Fair Trade Organic Dark Chocolate  chips came from Azure Standard- HERE. 

~ They don't make a "Gatherer" of the GenoType Diet world cheat much at all!

Next time:
~ I'd cut the sweetener, and add an egg.
~ Maybe add some pecan chunks.

Get the recipe HERE!

Food on Friday: Simple Comfort Food~ Lunch

Do you ever have one of those days that you feel you must have some comfort food?  I do, in fact, I made this lovely lunch for Mom and I last week.

Cook:
1 Onion
Bacon Grease  (or Butter)
Salt
Red Pepper Flakes
Granulated Garlic 

Add:
Pre-cooked Rice  (We use Basmati cooked in Broth)
Pre-cooked Green Peas (cook them on the side, so they will be hot)
Butter (to make it saucy)

Okay, so you do not need 3 sticks of butter, but are not they pretty?  =)

Cut your onions on the small side....

Cook the Onions & spices in Bacon Grease (or Butter) until well done--having the lid on for a bit helps them to soften and sweat, and not burn.  Keep your eye on them!

By now you will have noticed that the smell is ~heavenly~  add the Peas, Rice & Butter.  Serve immediately. Mmm, mmm, good!

Happy Eating!

~Adrienne

Playing in the Kitchen/Almond Meal Scones

 Almond Meal Scones or Almond Buns

Pre-heat oven to 350* and lightly grease a baking sheet.

Mix:
10oz (2 & 1/2 cups) Blanched Almond Meal (we buy the bulk from Azure)
1/2 tea. Salt
1/2 tea. Baking Soda

In a separate container mix: (I like to use the hand mixer)
1/2 cup Eggs (about 2-3 eggs)
1/3 cup Oil  (I use olive or rice bran oil)
1/8 cup (or less) Agave or other liquid sweetener (I use a blend) 

Stir everything together,
drop by large cookie dropper or 1/4 cups, flatten a little,
and bake 12-17 minutes (15-16 in our oven).  Test with a toothpick, promptly remove from the pan (they will stick if you don't), and allow to cool on a wire rack.

They can live on the counter a few days but they do really well in the fridge, and they freeze well too.  =)   Enjoy slathered with butter, and maybe some jam!

FYI:
 You can add 1/8 C. more sweetener, 1tea Vanilla & 1 C. Mini Chocolate chips, and make some pretty good cookies (best pretty much right out of the oven or frozen)!

P.S.
 Our doubled recipe looks like this:

20oz almond
1 tea each salt & soda

(in a 2 cup glass measure) Just under 1 cup eggs, then add oil- up to the 1 & 1/3c line. (so eggs and oil are 1 & 1/3c total)
then add 1/4c sweetener.  =)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


A Hearty Soup for Adrienne & Friends

1/2 pint Rooster Broth (homemade & home canned) 
2 pints Turkey Broth (homemade)
1 pint Water
1 pint Salsa  (homemade)
16 oz Sweet Potatoes (cooked and smashed before adding them...)
1 LB Hamburger (homegrown)
1 big Onion (chopped small)
a few Greenbeans broken into smaller pieces
a lot of Green Peas
1 cup cooked Quinoa
1 & 1/2 pints Great Northern Beans (home canned)
 Granulated Garlic, Pink Salt, Red Pepper Flakes, (and a small amount of black pepper, but I should have left it out).
A little Rice Bran Oil

Cook it up yum.

Serving suggestions: serve with a dollop of Butter, and maybe a bit more salt.

~Happy Eating! 

Adrienne

Almond Flour Brownies

Mom found this recipe here, (keep reading for our variation) my family really likes it~ and because they are made with Almond flour, it is a very friendly recipe to GAPS folks, Gluten Free folks and the GenoType Diet folks as well! 

Almond Flour Brownies

2/3 cup honey  (we used 1/3 honey or Agave & 1/3 veg glycerin)
1/2 cup melted butter or coconut oil  (we used butter)...(or olive or rice bran oil)
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract   (we used 2 t.)
3 eggs

1 cup almond flour
1/2 cup cocoa (I used Organic Cocoa from Frontier)
1/4 tsp. baking soda (this can be omitted)
1/2 tsp. sea salt


(12/11/15 note: we added 1/2c each Mini Chocolate Chips & Pecans)

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix honey, butter, vanilla and eggs until smooth. (If omitting baking soda, beat eggs until foamy before adding in other wet ingredients.) Add almond flour, cocoa, baking soda and optional salt. Stir to blend. Pour into greased 8x8x2 inch pan. Bake for approximately 20-25 minutes, (we like 20) until center no longer jiggles and top feels cakey.

Cool on a wire rack before cutting (a plastic knife cuts best).  


Good Fresh or Frozen! =)

~Happy Eating! 

Adrienne

Note: If you realize after the pan is in the oven that you forgot to add the butter (mine likes to hide on the stove), don't worry, bake them anyway, and butter them as you eat them!  =)

Yum!

Happiness is a whole box of Nana's No Wheat Oatmeal Raisin Cookies!

 I bought my first Nana's cooky from the little health food store in Fredericksburg Texas!
They have 2 draw backs: 
1.  I wish that you would not use Canola oil! It is SO bad!
2.  one cooky is actually 2 servings...hmmm...oh well, I can make it last, and in case you missed it, I LOVE these cookies, and the ingredient list is pretty good- they don't make a Gatherer cheat to much! =)


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"The old fashioned homemade flavor of cinnamon, oats and raisins. So good, so moist and so delicious you will not miss the wheat."

 "Fruit juice sweetened. All natural ingredients. After years of searching for a delicious cookie that was nutritious, I began baking my own from natural and organic ingredients. In 1992 with the rave reviews of family and friends, Nana's Cookie Company was born. Now you can have what you deserve, a cookie that is irresistible and good for you. Enjoy!"

Nana's no's: No refined sugars; no dairy; no hydrogenated oils; no cholesterol; no eggs; no added salt; no GMO's. No cane or beet products. Oatmeal Raisin: The old-fashioned homemade flavor of cinnamon, oats and raisins. So good, so moist and so delicious you will not miss the wheat.  Made in USA.


Ingredients (Vegan): Oats, Barley Flour, Fruit Juice (Pear, Apple, & Grape), Rice Dextrin (a natural and unmodified starch), Non-GMO Expeller Pressed Canola Oil, Raisins, Walnuts, Non-Aluminum Baking Powder (leavening), Natural Flavoring, Sea Salt.

You can buy them from:
     AZURE co-op (here) 12 for $19.00 or 1 for $2.50 
or  Amazon (here) 12 for $24 

http://www.nanascookiecompany.com/index.html
The story:
It all began in 1992 when Miriam “Nana” Diamond was inspired to create a moist and chewy cookie that not only tasted delicious, but was baked with ingredients she enjoyed giving to her friends and family; a cookie sweetened with natural fruit juice, rather than refined sugars, that was packed with flavor.

After receiving rave reviews from friends and family she started her own cookie company, and after months of mixing, baking and tasting, she perfected four cookie flavors worthy of the Nana’s Cookie Company name. Miriam took her 20 years of natural foods experience, loaded up her car and began selling and delivering the delicious cookie to local stores. Almost two decades later, Nana’s Cookie Company’s delicious cookies, cookie bites and cookie bars can be found in hundreds of stores across the country. In addition to classic original flavors such as Chocolate Chip, Oatmeal Raisin and Peanut Butter, Nana’s bakes a line of Gluten Free cookies, which come in delectable flavors including Lemon, Fudge, Ginger and many more. Our Gluten Free cookies are free of ingredients that cause many food allergies, including corn, soy, dairy, eggs, casein and wheat.

Each fresh-baked cookie that gets wrapped up and distributed throughout the country still holds true to Miriam “Nana” Diamond’s original goal, when she was in her home baking cookies for her friends and family – that cookies can, and should, taste delicious through quality ingredients.

Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Cream Cheese "frosting"

 ~Carrot Cake (12 cupcakes)~
 Pre-heat your oven to 350

 Mix the following in a good sized bowl:
1 cup Flour   (or Spelt or 1/2 c. Oat & 1/2 c. Barley and 1/2 T. unflavored gelatine)
1 t. Baking Powder
3/4 t. Baking Soda
3/4 t. Salt
1 1/2 t. Cinnamon

Then add:
1/3 cup plus 1 T. Oil (Rice Bran or a light Olive)
1/3 cup plus 1 T. Honey  (or half & half Vegetable Glycerin* and Honey)
2 Eggs
1/2 cup drained Crushed Pineapple

Quickly beat it up with an electric mixer, and add:
1 cup grated Carrots
and if you like (or remember!), add 1/4 cup chopped nuts, too....and you can add some raisins...

I like to lightly spray my 12 cupcake liners with a no-stick baking spray, but you don't have to.

Bake at 350, for 17-20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean or just a little crumby.

(This recipe came from Whole Foods for the Whole Family (found here). )

The cute cupcake wrappers were a gift from a dear friend, Sally!

~Cream Cheese "Frosting"~

1- 8oz package of cream cheese (really soft)

1 cup powdered sugar** (sifted)

2 dribbles of vanilla  Beat (with an electric mixer) the really soft cream cheese,
and add the powdered sugar & vanilla- keep beating till well mixed and gooey/goopy! =)

(This was a nice amount of frosting- 15 cupcakes had a generous amount- if I used less, it would have gone farther)
If it is too stiff, add a tiny amount of milk or cream.


Notes from the kitchen:
* Vegetable Glycerin is a "super food" sweetener for all of the GenoType Diets. You can order it by the gallon from Frontier Co-op. 
** You can use as little as 1/4 c. powdered sugar, and if you do, only use 1 dribble of vanilla.

~Happy eating!

Adrienne

(click here to view the party photos)

Cold Fish Soup...

....really it is quite good...

 ....I'll make you some!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Flake/chunk 1 can of small fish (like Herring), out with a fork into a bowl.

add:
Salsa of your choice! (more is better than less)


This is good as is, or with a little olive oil, on top of a green salad! =)

Marvelous Muffins (Wheat-Free)

Marvelous Muffins (or Pancakes) 
(almost cheat free, for the "Gatherer" of the GenoType Diet world)

2 Eggs*  (beat them well)
1/2 cup Oil
6T. Milk

1/2 cup Oat flour
1/2 cup Barley Flour
1/2 Tbs. Gelatin
1/4 cup Xylitol
1/2 Tbs. Baking Powder
1/2 tsp. Salt
1 tsp. Cinnamon

(optional: 1/4 cup Raisins or Craisins & 1/4 cup chopped nuts)

Pre-heat your oven to 400.
Mix up, and pour into 8 sprayed muffin papers...(or make pancakes..all they need is butter!)
Bake 15-20 minutes.

(These guys freeze well...but that does not help me much, because I love frozen muffins...so they are all gone before I know it!)

* 6 muffins only need 1 Egg, but if you want pancakes or 8 Marvelous Muffins, you need 2 Eggs.

~Happy eating!

Adrienne

Biscuits....

...that don't make a "Gatherer" of the GenoType Diet world cheat too much.  =)

The Gatherer's Biscuits

Pre-heat your oven to 450.

Mix together:
1/2 c. Barley flour
1/2 c. Oat flour
1/2 T. Gelatin
1/2 T. Baking Powder
1/2 t. Salt

Then add:
1/4 c. Milk
1/4 c. Ricebran Oil

Spray/grease a pan, dump & shape in a rectangle and cut into 6 or 8 biscuits.
 (like you would scones)  Bake for 10 minutes.

Eat warm with lots of Butter....maybe a bit of Honey too.... =)

~Happy eating!

Adrienne

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My friend Sara, shared the following recipe with me: 

 http://nourishedkitchen.com/buttermilk-oat-flour-biscuits/    

I have not tried it yet, but it sounds good! =)

Eggs~

~for Dinner!

(I forgot to say: ....cook while stirring until you think it's done!)

I'm kind of enjoying playing around with the "collage" thing in our photo program! =)

I made some Fudge...

...it's kind of like Mom's found HERE (it's very good)....

...but mine is for Gatherers:

Remarkable Fudge

(measurements are approx, but very close)

In a medium sauce pan, melt/cook (med-low heat) stir as much as possible.
(I just used a silicone spatula)

5 oz Almond Butter
5 oz Carob Molasses*
1 T. Butter (but I guess you could use ghee)
1/2 C. organic Cocoa Powder (sifted)

 It will get nice and thick & rubbery!

Then stir in:
1/4-3/8 toasted sliced Almonds (or whatever Nuts or Fruit you are allowed)


 Remove from heat, spread out on something that you can put in the freezer to harden/cool.
I spread it on a Plastic Wrap lined cutting mat.
Pat it into a nice easy-to-cut-into-equal-sized-portions, rectangle.

When you cut it, use a big knife, and cut into 24 bites. (Because 1t. cocoa is what is allowed per day.  You could cut it into 48, and eat 2 a day, instead of just 1.)

Store in a single layer in the freezer.

~Happy eating!

Adrienne

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

*we got our jar of Carob Molasses a long time ago, at a little ethnic market "Andre Food" (that sold THE BEST Fresh Baklava, the next best would have to be ANDY's in the Greenville Mall), in Dallas.  We are wondering if it's still there on Coit and Spring Valley, or was it Campbell?  You can buy it on Amazon, in a 3 pack- would you like to buy a jar from us?
(click the pic. to read the label)

embedded:
Bare Necessities Sing Along (song):

Crackers~

~ for "Gatherer" (kind of), of the GenoType Diet world.

1. At 10-11pm on a Saturday night I mixed up some cracker dough.

2 cups Whey
1 cup Kefir
1 Tablespoon Salt (not enough)
2 teaspoons Baker's Yeast
5 & 1/3 cups of flour:  Oat/Barley/Spelt and maybe 1 cup of Rice flour, because I ran out of everything else.
2 cups Rolled Oats
a glug of Oil (I don't know how much- see the picture above)

 After mixing it up, I left it (covered) on the counter over night.

 2. About 10am Sunday morning, I added another 1 & 1/3 cup Rolled Oats and left it again until:

3. 7pm Sunday night, when I rolled them out (like a pie crust- between 2 sheets of waxed paper), cut them, and brushed them liberally with butter (I added a bit of salt to the butter, but you don't have to), and baked them at 350.  

(I baked 3 pans and called it a night- I stored the rest of the dough in the fridge....and baked the rest on 2 different days later on in the next 7-10 days.) 

~Eat'em up, eat'em up, yum, yum!~

(Mom said they were a bit sour, I did not notice...)

Funny Brownies

~Funny Brownies~
 ...for "Gatherer" of the GenoType Diet world...

a little less than 2/3 C. Xylotal
1/8 t. stevia, too-
1/2 C. Barley Flour
1/2 C. (first time I used Spelt Flour, and this time I used Oat Flour)
1/2 t. Salt
1/3 C. (plus a bit) Cocoa Powder (for me, it has to be organic)
4 eggs
1/2 C. Olive or Rice Bran Oil
1/2 t. Vanilla

Pre-heat your oven to 350 and spray/grease an 8x8 inch pan.

Combine and beat all the ingredients 'till smooth and yummy looking- (beating the eggs properly is what makes these brownies nice)

Bake for 20 minutes or so...test with a toothpick.
(the first time I did 25, and they were very over done....) 

~Happy Eating!

Adrienne

P.S.  I prefer to eat these Brownies frozen...very nice indeed....sort of like a Cocoa Pebbles chocolate bar!

(these aren't my brownies (and I've never tried this recipe), but they look kind of like them..I got the pic. HERE.)

Molasses Ginger Cookies

It's about time for another recipe, don't you think?

How about Molasses Ginger Cookies, for the "Gatherer" of the GenoType Diet world?
(That means that these are (so far anyway) most definitely a diet food, that no one else would would want to eat.)

Mix together in a small bowl:
3 cups of Oat Flour (I wonder if Barley flour would work better?)
2 tea. Baking Soda
3 tea. Ginger
2 tea. Cinnamon
1/2 tea. Salt

Then "Cream" the "wet" ingredients:
3/4 cup Rice Bran Oil
1/2 cup Xylitol
1/2 cup Molasses
1 egg (I know I really should have used 2 whites)


Gradually add the dry to the wet.  Chill for a while...a long while....
GREASE/SPRAY your baking sheets. Because of the spreading problem, I could only bake 6 cookies per pan...I would suggest baking a test cooky to see for yourself.

Bake for about 8 mins @ 350. Remove from pan immediately.

Chilling the Cooky dough for a long time is a must. But they are so light and fragile- They are really good frozen~ more like a gingersnap! 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To speed things up a bit, and try for some Cake, I put some of the dough in a pan...it rose nicely, but fell tragically. =(   And it was even more light & crumbly than the cookies are...it needs a bowl of milk & a spoon!  (mmm, mmm, good!)

(Why is there a funny blue/green stripe across the bottom of my picture???)

~Happy eating!

Adrienne