Salvaging a BIG mistake

Here I was being all supermom (da-da-da-da!!!) and making pancake muffins for my daughter to have as breakfast on her all day field trip. (6am-7:30pm) When making pancake muffins I usually  put sausage in them by fully cooking the sausage patties, cutting them into fourths, then putting 2 tiny sausage pieces into each muffin tin full of batter. I was thinking i am fabulous. Got the pancake muffins baking, w/ apple slices, and almond milk she will have a rock star breakfast. Go family!!!

Then I realized I put NO sugar, not one single drop, into the pancake batter. NOOOOOOOOOOO!

How can I salvage them? I can’s send her with syrup, they are eating on the bus. I don’t want to inject  them with syrup or some such. What is a forgetful mom to do? Treat them like doughnuts. Put about 1 cup of powdered sugar in a gallon sized ziplock ( or other plastic) baggie. Drop your finished pancake  muffins in the baggie. Shake vigorously ensuring each muffin is covered well. Ta-Da! You too have just Saved Breakfast.

Curious what pancake muffins are? Just what they sound like. Make up some pancake batter and bake it in a Muffin( Cupcake) Pan

 

Preheat your oven to 350

Grease and flour 2 muffin tins ( cupcake pans) doubles this pancake recipe makes 18-19 muffins

or place cupcake papers in your muffin tin and spray with non-stick cooking spray so the liners do not stick to the muffins. I personally prefer just greasing the pan.

 

This recipe calls for a doubled batch of my pancake batter. The recipe for a single batch can be found here

Doubled is as follows:

Ingredients

2 c gluten-free all-purpose flour

4 TBS sugar

1 tsp salt

2 TBS baking powder

2 TBS cinnamon ( optional)

2c non dairy milk

4 TBS oil

4 large eggs.

Whisk dry ingredients together in a medium mixing bowl.

In a separate bowl whisk together wet ingredients. Once well mixed, pour wet into dry ingredients and whisk together.

Place 3 tablespoons of batter in each well. Get Away from the measuring spoons. I mean tablespoons from your cutlery set.

At this point once all the muffin wells are full add sausage, fruit or anything you want to your muffins, I push the meat all the way down so you can’t see the sausage but like to leave blueberries near the top.

Bake for 20-25 minutes at 350.

Allow to cool in the pans for 5 min then place on a cooling rack to finnish cooling.

These freeze very well and can be microwaved

Mexican rice or Puerto Rican Rice or a really good rice dish my Bff taught me to make

I love making this recipe. It is a simple one dish wonder meal and it brings back lovely memories of my Best friend. She was half Peurto Rican and her Fiancee was Mexican. Hence, the ambiguous origin of theis reicpe. She died in July of 2010. Suddenly, with no warning leaving 2 little girls ages 10 and 11. Her youngest’s birthday had been the week before.

Before we get to the recipe let me talk about taking care of ourselves as moms and women. We rush around taking care of kids, job home, volunteering, cleaning, church,  afterschool events, field trips you name it. We make the world operate and Mommas we tend to let it slip when it comes to ourselves. I am the number one offender in this category. I bake, cook, sometimes grind my own flours to make sure my kids have great food that will not make them sick. Yet, I am often to busy or too rushed to prepare my own lunches and end up grabbing fast food. Gluten filled fast food. And I pay. My skin breaks out in blotches, I itch all over, there is bloating, lethargy, abdominal pain, and just feeling gross.

Candice Kingsboro, the best, biggest hearted woman I’ve ever known is dead because she didn’t take care of herself. She took care of everyone else. She had diabetes and got the flu.  For the unfamiliar; when a person with poor insulin regulation gets ill it becomes a huge problem because part of being ill means fluctuating blood sugars. She took some over the counter cold and flu medicine. Her blood sugar sky rocketed in her sleep and she never woke up. The lady who held me together when I found myself newly single. Whose mother I helped care for whose kids were like family. Who welcomed anyone who needed friendship but took no crap; is gone because she didn’t check her blood sugar. She was too tired.

Ladies we have to do better. No more motherless children because we failed to take care of ourselves.

Though I go on about her being gone, the memories of cooking with her hanging out and having fun are enduring. They lift my heart. Candy is and will always be with us. Now she will be with you too.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups white rice

1 15 oz can of golden corn

1lb package of chorizo or 1 lb smoked sausage, make sure it’s gluten free*

30-32 oz water

2 packages sodium free sazon

low sodium adobo to taste

It is important to use no sodium and no sodium seasonings in this recipe as chorizo can be very salty.

Stove top preparation

I use a dutch oven ( 5 qt pot) when making this and i some times double it.

Slice the meat in to small disks. Slice the whole pound up in this manner, set aside.

pour the dry rice into your pot.

add the corn and water

add the Sazon

lastly add the sausage stir well

Turn the meat to medium cook for 15 minutes. don’t stir.

Turn down to low or medium low check to see if more water is needed, continue cooking until rice is tender.

 

Rice cooker preparation

Lately I have been making this in the rice cooker because my rice cooker is always on. If there isn’t rice available in this house dinner take twice as long.

Prepare meat as above

Add rice, corn, and water to rice pot. You may need more water depending on your rice cookers instructions.

Add seasonings. let the rice cooker cook for 10 minutes then add the meat.**

**You may need to microwave the meat for a bit before adding it to the rice cooker**

Now just add a veggie and you’re done. Dinner in 30 min flat.

OMG I’m in love!!!

                            

 

I just made these english muffins courtesy of Karina at the gluten-free goddess and  may have felt the earth move.

I have been trying various gluten-free english muffin recipes but none were quite right. I didn’t make my own recipe because……. Well, okay here comes the confession. I never cooked with yeast before going gluten-free. I tried repeatedly and my wheaten flour never ended up soft and delicious. After many, many hockey pucks and even more wheat based paper weights; I gave up. ( Many years later the realization that the dough had consistently been overworked dawned. Hindsight, right?)

And that brings me back to the english muffins by Karina. They are fabulous. They are better than any wheat based english muffin i have ever tried. So there you have it I am in love.  Mine turned out a bit softer that i expect from an english muffin. A drop biscuit is the closest comparison. To make it chewier simply replace 1/4 c of the sorghum flour with gluten-free cornmeal.  So use the recipe,  go forth and enjoy.

Tonight we are trying Nicole Hunn’s ,from Gluten Free on a Shoestring, yeast free english muffin recipe. I have good luck with many of her recipe’s in the past and one or two are my standards.

ANd I wanted to share one or two more blogs that have great recipes for those living without _____.

http://angelaskitchen.com/

http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com

and lastly

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/

Ree’s recipes are not allergen free but most are very easy to adapt and adapt well. use a good gluten-free flour blend, a nice dairy free milk (but not one that is non-fat) and egg replacer work wonders.

ADDENDUM!!!

There are no english muffin rings owned by anyone on this family. So how you may wonder, how did I make them with such a wet dough? So began my search for english muffin rings. Everywhere, there were mention of just using tuna cans take off the top and bottom and there you go cheap-o rings. Just one problem. The invention of the stackable can.

With a rounded bottom like that the can will no fit any can opener in this house. That did it for Tuna can muffin rings but the I heard about foil rings but also heard a lot of bad reviews by blogger ladies that i really trust. So foil was scrapped too. Then I saw a photo of one of the bad foil rings and realized why it behaved so poorly, they were much to thin.

This is how I made the muffin rings currently being used. You will need:

foil sheets

Small paper clips

a basic 12 in ruler made from wood or plastic silicone won’t work very well for this

and a tuna can

Step one lay your foil sheet flat on your table with a landscape orientation. You know sideways. Then line your ruler up with the bottom edge of the foil with an inch of ruler hanging off the edge like so. Don’t worry the ruler isn’t long enough to go all the way across the foil. there will be 1-2 inches on the other side with no ruler on it.

Now you are going to fold/roll the ruler up in the foil.

and smooth the other end of the foil with no ruler after each turn/fold.

until the ruler is completely wrapped in foil.

next, you will grab the overhanging inch of ruler, and pull the ruler free from the foil sleeve then smooth the foil sleeve out.

Take the foil sleeve and wrap it around a tuna can. Make sure the seam from the last foil fold is on the outside

and remove the foil from the can while holding it in the shape and size of the tuna can.

there will be 2-3 inches of overlapping foil. paper clip the overlaps down using 2 small clips like so

 and like so

and TA-DA English muffin ring.

 

and what else does an english muffin rind lead to but delicious english muffins??

Macaroni and Cheese gluten dairy soy and egg free

Okay here it is the much awaited oven baked macaroni and cheese. This is a main course.This is delicious. This is soooooo good.

it involves a bit of prep if you don’t keep  coconut milk cheeses on hand.  You will wonder how you lived so long with out real mac and cheese. My family loves it. ( all but the boy who doesn’t like anything “cheesy”, go figure) Since we do have a voice of dissent macaroni and cheese is not made and prepared as often as i would like but when i pull this 9×11 baking dish or goodness out of the oven, they are oo’s and ah’s. Hopefully you will get the same reaction when you prepare it.

Ingredients

1 package Daiya cheddar shreds ( 8 oz)

1/2 recipe for coconut milk Cheddar ( cut into 1 inch or smaller cubes)

1/4 recipe for coconut milk mozzarella cheese, shredded

1 16 oz package Tinkyada brown rice elbow macaroni

2-4 TBS Earth Balance buttery spread  soy free

season to taste. I use a dash of adobo and freshly ground peppercorns.

garnish with thinly sliced chives (optional)

9×11 baking dish ( i use Pyrex)

Indgredients

1.  Prepare elbow noodles on stove top as directed on package instructions.

2. Drain noodles,  pour into a large mixing bowl.

3. Set aside 1/4c -1/2 c daiya

4. Add remaining  non dairy cheeses,  non dairy butter,  and seasonings to mixing bowl. Toss thoroughly make sure seasonings are evenly spread throughout.

5. Pour mixture into 9×11 baking dish. Sprinkle reserved Daiya on top.

6. Bake for 30 min at 350 or until daiya is melted.

7. Remove from oven allow to cool slightly garnish with thinly sliced chives and enjoy.

What Macaroni and Cheese is NOT

America I have news for you Kraft Mac ‘n Cheese is NOT macaroni and cheese. Deluxe Shells and cheese with “cheese sauce” is not macaroni and cheese. If it comes in a box with powdered cheese or a package with “cheese sauce” it is not macaroni and cheese.

Macaroni  and Cheese uses elbow macaroni, Velveeta, cheddar and a small amount of mozzarella and provolone. You add in onion powder and garlic powder as well and white pepper ( to keep the cheese pretty) and  a touch of paprika. Put it in a dish bake it in the oven on 350. You may or may not want to garnish with bread crumbs.

Short and sweet, if it isn’t oven baked, if it comes pre packaged or in a box, if it is microwave safe it ain’t macaroni and cheese.

Ok stepping down off of my soap box.

My next recipe coming the weekend has Daiya cheddar, the previously shared coconut milk “Velveeta” , and a home-made mozzarella.

How to make your vegan cheese smooth

Over the summer I shared this wonderful velveeta type vegan cheddar “cheese”. What i failed to mention was how to make sure your cheese is smooth and creamy when sliced and doesn’t have little gelatin or agar agar clumps throughout. This is purely a cosmetic fix. It does not change to taste nor the ingredients. Trust me, this “cheese” is so good i would never do anything to alter the flavor.

Overall it is an easy peasy fix.

step 1. Vigorously shake your cans of coconut milk. This eliminates the need to boil until no longer separated because the product you now pour out of the can is combined.

step 2. In an empty medium sauce pan put all dry ingredients ( nutritional yeast, salt, paprika, gelatin or agar-agar, and tapioca starch.

Step 3. Stir the together well. It should look like a pale orange or yellow powder when evenly mixed.

Step 4. Now add your wet ingredients beginning with the coconut milk stirring the whole time.

Step 5. Now you bring the mixture up to a boil. Boil for 3-5 minutes stirring constantly.

Step 6. lower heat to medium and cook for an additional 10-15 minutes. If you encounter any clumps break them up by mashing them into the side of the saucepan with your stirring spoon then stir vigorously to reincorporate into the “cheese” mix.

Step 7.  Remove from pan and put in greased, flat-bottomed glass dish or parchment paper lined loaf pan. ( step 3 from original recipe)

Step 8. Let cool two hours. You can also stick in fridge when cool and use the next day ( step 4 from original recipe)

**Yes I am aware the gelatin is not a vegan ingredient. However I am not ona vegan diet and use what ever is in my cupboard at the time.

 

Allergies to baked in eggs and Milk

Through my childhood journey with multiple food allergies ( milk,eggs,wheat,and fish), I knew i could eat baked in eggs and milk. By the time i was in highschool I was eating omelets, frenchtoast, scrambled eggs, cheddar cheese, cheese baked on pizza etc with no problem. Imagine my surprise when I found most people didn’t know that baked in eggs & milk  are okay for most people with an egg or milk allergy and that the repeated exposure to baked in egg  is thought to help the allergic child “outgrow” the allergy faster. The same is generally true of Milk.

The following is a very cogent link from about .com on baked in eggs and the NIH for Milk.  Sharing about .com’s article means everyone has access to it but if anyone is coping with multiple food allergies I recommend joining FAAN (Food Allergy & Anaphalylaxis Network). They have great article and help for adjusting to the new diet.

http://allergies.about.com/od/eggallergy/f/cookedeggaller.htm

 

http://www.niaid.nih.gov/topics/foodAllergy/research/Pages/bakedMilk.aspx

What Not to Name the Baby

Shaqweenna

Tanishinicka

 

Short sweet and to the point. If your name has this many duplicate letters or vowels and the name is supposed to be written and spelled using the english language is a fail. try again. go back to the drawing board. Pick a name that is actually Arabic or Swahili, or any  language.

Old fashioned hot cocoa dairy free

Hot chocolate.

This recipe comes  from my mom. She learned it from her older brothers Uncle Herman and Alvin. They learned it from Grandmommy. Uncle Alvin and my Grandmother have passed away and I live hundreds, well, over a thousand miles away from  Uncle Herman. This recipe is, however, a little way my mom remembers her childhood. A tiny piece that keeps our family close at heart.

She has taught my children and myself this simple but yummy way of making hot cocoa. Originally this recipe was done in parts.

1 part sugar to 3 parts milks to 3 parts water to ½ part cocoa and vanilla to taste. While a recipe in parts is uber easy to increase and decease, very few people cook in parts so sharing a recipe in only they format would be difficult for some to implement.

So here the recipe is in cups. I hope this brings as many happy memories to you as it has to our family.

Ingredients

1 c sugar

½ c baking cocoa

3 c non dairy milk. Something thick and full works like cartoned coconut milk

3 c water

1 tsp vanilla extract

In a medium saucepan add cocoa powder and sugar. Stir together until cocoa is evenly dispersed in the sugar.

Add water. Stir until well mixed.

Turn saucepan up to medium high heat and add the non dairy milk of your  choosing.

Continue stirring on medium high heat until just before boiling, when steam is rising from the surface.

Add vanilla extract and reduce heat to just keep the cocoa warm.

You can adjust the sugar to taste as well as the vanilla. Stove top hot cocoa has a full flavor and a depth of taste that “just add water hot chocolates” can’t match

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