Heart of Cooking

I was craving cereal over the weekend (doesn’t help that my husband buys cereal I can’t eat!) so I finally tried out a recipe I had found for Raw Nut Granola.  It is a bit of a process but it was so worth it.  It turned out as raw granola bars that you can break up into granola for cereal.  So you really get two recipes in one!

This recipe does require a dehydrator so if you don’t have one, you may be able to bake the mixture at about 300 degrees F until it is crisp.  You may want to put it on parchment paper or just grease the pan very well.  You’ll also want to make the mixture quite thin on the pan.  This does kill the beneficial enzymes in the nuts and seeds but it is an option if you don’t have a dehydrator.

I did make some adjustments to the recipe, simply due to not having dates, lemon, pumpkin seeds or vanilla.  But here is the original recipe as well as my adjustments.  For me, it made two  full sheets of granola on the Excalibur dehydrating sheets which later fit almost into two quart sized jars (one is already gone…)

Raw Nut Granola (egg-free, dairy-free, grain-free, gluten-free, sugar-free, soy-free)

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It’s blueberry season here in Maryland and Elijah, my mom and I ended up going picking this past weekend.  We had a blast picking 8 lbs in less than an hour and Elijah got to eat all he wanted.  The farm we went to was called Frog Eye Farm and they had over 200 blueberry bushes!

I love blueberry muffins – but I don’t always like cleaning muffin tins – so I made a Blueberry Muffin Cake with the berries we picked.  It was yummy and very easy.

Blueberry Muffin Cake with coconut flour (grain-free, gluten-free, sugar-free, dairy-free)

1/3 cup coconut oil

1/4 – 1/3 cup honey

4 eggs

1/3 cup coconut flour

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking soda (not GAPS legal -delete for GAPS)

1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.

If the coconut oil isn’t melted, gently melt it in a pan on the stove on low.  Combine the eggs, honey and oil together until smooth (make sure the oil isn’t too hot though).  Add the flour, soda, and salt and beat until well blended and there are no lumps.  You can also put everything into a mixer or food processor.

2. Add the blueberries at the end and fold into the batter.  Grease an 8 x 8 pan with coconut oil or butter.  Pour batter into the pan and spread over the bottom of the pan.  Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until it is firm in the center.  Sorry – I don’t remember exactly how long it took.

Enjoy!

A while back I posted recipes for both gluten-free tortillas made with brown rice flour and grain-free tortillas made with almond flour.  I hadn’t taken pictures of any of my tortillas though so I didn’t have any to share.  I finally made a point of photographing my grain-free tortillas so that you can see what they look like.  I also took pictures during the different stages of prep and cooking again so that you can get the full picture!

Also, I am still working on trying to get these more flexible so that they can be used as wraps.  Right now I use them for tostadas (flat tacos).  If I try to fold them for a taco, they usually break and turn into sandwiches.  They are still very tasty, just different from regular tortillas.  I have also discovered that they are more flexible after you have stored them for a day or so in plastic or a container.

Here is the revised recipe:

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Time for dessert!  I was craving coconut macaroons this week so I ended up making some.  I adapted the recipe in Nourishing Traditions and ended up with a yummy starch-free version (the NT recipe calls for arrowroot).

I was also out of vanilla so I used some real vanilla bean that my sister had given to me from her time in Thailand.  I hadn’t used real vanilla bean before she gave me this batch and it is truly a treat!  I had no idea how to use it, but all you need to do is simply cut it in half lengthwise, and the scrape out the little vanilla “balls.”

It looks like dark black caviar but very small.   When I made ice cream with it, I cooked the vanilla bean with the scapings and ice creams ingredients and then discarded it.  For the cookies, I just used the insides of the bean.  You can see the little vanilla specks in the cookies:

These are really delicious!  They are moist, chewy, not too sweet, vanilla-e and hold their shape.  In my opinion, a perfect macaroon.  Here’s the recipe:

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Okay, so if you’re not a cabbage fan, please don’t run off too quickly.  I used to pass this beautiful vegetable by without a glance because I didn’t know how versatile and delicious it is.  Now that my choices are much more limited, I have been forced to eat more veggies and be more creative with them.

…The result – I feel better than I ever had in my life, but that’s another story!

I love the almond flour tortillas that I make for tacos, but they are quite a bit of work, especially if I need to grind my own almond flour.  So lately I have been primarily using cabbage leaves as taco and burrito wraps.  I have one thing to say – easy and delicious.  Plus they are virtually allergen free except for anyone allergic to cabbage.  (not very common)

Here’s the run down:

wheat-free, gluten-free, grain-free, corn-free, egg-free, nut-free, seed-free, sugar-free, yeast-free, dairy-free, casein-free, nightshade-free – you get the idea!

Kid friendly?  My son gobbles these tacos down like there’s no tomorrow.

One thing I want to start doing on my blog is to do more step by step tutorials on how to do certain things in the kitchen.  I am a very visual person as are a lot of people and I know photos help a lot in explaining how something works.  So the last time I made these cabbage tacos, I took pictures every step of the process so that you can see first hand how to make them.

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Here is another necessary summer recipe!  If you love to grill and if you can’t eat gluten, soy or sugar, you may be looking for a great barbecue sauce you can use on your grilled vegetables and meats.  I ended up making this recipe a few days ago when I wanted to make a Barbecue Meatloaf recipe.  I couldn’t find a barbecue sauce that was free of sugar, starch and gluten, so I made my own.

I am now in love with this sauce and found myself putting it on my zucchini noodles in place of pasta sauce last night.

I started with Ali’s Chipotle Barbecue sauce and just changed a few things.  I made it GAPS friendly by changing the maple syrup to honey and I just deleted the black-strap molasses.  I also used regular chili powder instead of chipotle because it is really too spicy for me and my son.  I also added a tsp. of paprika like Ali suggested.  In the end, I added 2 Tbsp mustard.

I too love the strained tomatoes that Ali talks about in her post, made by Bionaturae.  I buy the tomatoes along with their glass-jarred tomato paste to make most of my tomato dishes like spaghetti sauce.  This is because we are trying to avoid the BPA found in most cans of food.  Why the companies use this chemical to line their cans is beyond me!

I used my blending wand to blend it up, which I was surprised to see didn’t quite blend all the onions up.  But I actually like it a little chunky.  If you like your’s very smooth, use a regular blender for this recipe.  Here it is:

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Sugar Free Lemonade

My son has discovered something that he really loves – “lemon juice,” or otherwise known as lemonade.  It all started when he got sick a few weeks ago and started coughing.  The natural medicines I was using weren’t helping so in the middle of the night, I made him some hot lemon water with honey.  It not only helped him with his cough but he now asks for “lemon juice” everyday.  My husband also loves it so we’ve been drinking quite of a bit of this stuff.  (I am however a little wary that drinking this everyday is hard on his teeth…)

And even though it’s not “officially” summer yet, it has sure felt like it lately here in Maryland.  We started getting some cooler weather a couple days ago but before that, it felt like the middle of July.  So having lemonade has been a very refreshing and yummy drink to enjoy on these hot days.

So if you’re like us and can’t drink the regular sugar-sweetened lemonade available at the store, here is a simple and delicious recipe for lemonade made from fresh lemons.  I vary it a little bit each time and don’t usually measure.

Sugar-Free Lemonade

For 1 serving – multiply by the number of people you want to serve to make more

Ingredients:

1/2 lemon (preferably organic), squeezed

1 cup water (part boiling water to help dissolve honey)

1-1/2 Tbsp. raw honey, to taste

ice cubes, optional

Steps:

Depending upon the kind of honey you’re using, you may need to dissolve it in warm water first.  So I usually do this and then add ice cubes at the end.  Basically add just enough boiling water to the cold water to make it warm enough for the honey to dissolve (don’t put the raw honey in boiling water).  Add the lemon juice, stir, taste, and then add more honey or lemon, depending upon taste.

Add ice cubes, serve, and enjoy!

See?  Very easy!  Enjoy!

Hello everyone and Happy Happy Spring!

You may have noticed my life in the blog world has been anything but active because my life on the home front has been very very busy!

We finally closed on our house the end of April and moved the beginning of May.  We still have a ton of projects to get to but we’re getting settled into our new home.  The other great news is I finally got my camera working so I am able to share my photos with you again!

If you wanted to see the Fire Truck Birthday Cake that I made for Elijah’s 2nd birthday, I was able to upload a picture of it today.  Check it out here!

I haven’t actually been taking many pictures lately, especially of food, but I do have this wonderful photo that I shot of Elijah the beginning of April at the start of spring.  I really love this photo.  When I look at it, it just makes me so happy because he is bursting with joy.  I hope that it fills your day with joy, too!

I also have a wonderful and easy recipe for you ~ Banana Ice Cream.

I mentioned that I got an ice cream maker, so we have definitely been taking advantage of it lately.  However, you can make this without an ice cream maker and it will be a bit more like a milkshake but still very yummy.

Here’s the recipe:

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I am very excited about this recipe!  I have been testing various egg-free recipes over the past few months with limited success.  Some things have turned out well but I had yet to find a good muffin recipe until today!

My camera is still on the outs so you’ll have to use your imagination.  They actually look pretty similar to my blueberry muffins that have eggs in them.  And the recipe is actually almost the same except for the eggs and zucchini.

The recipe is inspired from a bread recipe on Pecanbread.com where you can find many other grain free and Specific Carbohydrate recipes.  I added some spices, zucchini and a bit of honey to make it a bit more interesting.  I also used applesauce in place of the pears to make it a bit easier.

They are very moist and yummy, just a bit more delicate than the ones made from eggs.  I highly recommend putting a bit of flour in the muffin pans or Pyrex pan to help them come out easier.

So here’s the recipe:

Zucchini Muffins – gluten, grain, egg and sugar free

2 1/2     cups almond flour

1/2        cup applesauce, or a little more if more moisture is needed

1/8        cup honey

1/4 to 1/3 cup coconut oil

1/4       teaspoon salt

1            teaspoon baking soda (delete for GAPS – they will be more dense)

2           tsp cinnamon

1           tsp ground ginger

1/2      tsp ground cloves

1         cup grated zucchini
Steps:
1.  Preheat oven to 350F.
2.  Blend all ingredients together in a medium mixing bowl.
3.  Spread some coconut oil all around the bottom of an 8″x 8″ baking dish or in 12 muffins tins. Sprinkle a little almond flour on the bottom of the pans to keep them from sticking.
4.  Spread mixture into pan and smooth it out or place spoonfuls into muffin tins until you have 12.
5.  Bake 30-35 minutes for the bread or 20-25 minutes for muffins.

Variations: Add some peanut butter and cinnamon, OR in place of the pearsauce, use pureed acorn squash and a little cinnamon OR pureed carrots and a little cinnamon. You can also add vanilla, honey and nuts.

…

On the home front, we have not yet moved or closed on our house, but we are hoping that our April 9th settlement date is going to stick.  I haven’t been blogging very much as you can see but I hope to get back into the swing of things soon!

Have a great day!

Last weekend we had a belated second birthday party for Elijah and his friends at the downtown Fire Station in Frederick.  His birthday lands three days before Christmas so we decided to wait to have the “kid” party when people weren’t so busy.

It was great!  The firemen and women showed us around the station, we got to sit in the fire engine (best part), see a fire man get dressed in all of his gear and see inside an ambulance. We also got to witness a 911 call and an ambulance driving out of the station.

The cake:

My mom found a fire truck cake mold at a local craft store so I made the cake in the shape of a fire truck.  One of Elijah’s favorite cakes that I made over the holidays for the Just Desserts for Limited Diets e-book was the Carrot Cake with Vanilla Icing.  So I used that recipe but ended up doubling it because the pan was pretty big and said it fit a two layer cake mix.

When we took it out of the mold, it ended up looking like a rectangle with a point at one end because the fire truck imprint didn’t show up on the cake.  I realized that I was going to have to decorate it so that people could see what it was!  I guess I just hadn’t thought about this before I made the cake.

Natural Red Food Coloring:

I had already planned on using the Vanilla Frosting recipe from GNOWFGLINS.com.  I then decided to make the wheels and ladder out of raisins (since the cake has raisins in it, I thought this was a good choice).  Then, I was trying to figure out how to make red frosting without red food coloring to outline the shape of the truck.

I decided beet juice was the was to go so I sent Dave to the store.  We have a juicer so we juiced the beets to make the juice.  It didn’t take very much to turn the icing bright red-fuchsia.  My mom had a cake decorating kit that I used to outline the truck in red icing and it turned out adorable.

Here are the recipes:

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