is there anything yummier than hot apple pie?

have i mentioned that i'm loving FALL? w/ windows open throughout the apartment, i spent a good chunk of the day on saturday working on a gluten free version of  my grandma's award winning apple pie. all in preparation for #20 on my 31 before 31 list - enter a pie in the martinsville agricultural fair pie contest. to be honest, my list has been a big fat failure thus far! i think i need to substitute a few more "big kahuna" events for "once a month" and "daily tasks". yeesh! i'm killing myself! okay we digress ...

why yes there is something yummier than hot apple pie, blair. hot apple pie w/ a scoop of vanilla ice cream! and our apartment couldn't smell sweeter. baked apples & cinnamon. yum!

hello munday

a few instagram shots from our weekend:

{clockwise from upper left}

1 // many of you messaged about "the super cell" that was heading directly for nashville on friday. thankfully the storm wasn't quite what they had expected. w + i took shelter w/ friends chris & faith and enjoyed a little candlelit game playing until the electricity came back on. check out that HAIL!?! (photo courtesy: chandra)

2 // you didn't realize that nashville is the athens of the south, did you? saturday am our running team met at the parthenon for our mid-training run! 6.5 miles. yeowch. did i mention we're running for a great cause? read about it here. :) i need to get on my fundraising. we're asking $1 a mile. that's $13.10 for me and $26.20 for wade (yes - he's running the FULL!).

3 // i bought supplies for a fun little sewing project. but unfortunately didn't even start it over the weekend! would you believe that we have 4 friends having baby boys this month!?! crazy! time to make some welcome home presents.

4 // wow - i've been baking a lot lately. thankfully w + i are running must of it off. :) these yummy lemon bars are based on this recipe from the baking beauties. and they are the perfect equation of light fluffy crust and lemon tart! i modified the "all-purpose flour mix" by using sweet rice flour instead of brown rice flour since it's what i had on hand. while brown rice flour would have been a bit healthier, at least the lemon will fight off scurvy. ;)

i hope you had a super fun weekend.

gfree baking: cinnamon cake donuts

on friday i mentioned that i was determined to make donuts over the weekend. since going gluten free, i really don't miss bread. most days, i'm fine w/o pasta ... but i long for donuts! and so i was left w/ one last decisions. the great debate - cake donuts or yeast donuts?

what's the difference, you ask?
- cake donuts: use baking powder to rise. heavier/denser - like a cake.
- yeast donuts: use yeast (surprise, surprise!). softer/fluffier - like a bread.

i decided to start out w/ a baked cake doughnut. 1 // i already had a mini bundt pan on hand. (they sell donut specific pans - but i was much too impatient to wait for an amazon order to come in. and the bundt pans added pretty little detail to my donuts.) 2// the hot oil from a deep fryer necessary for yeast donuts intimidates me big time. don't worry there will be a round 2  w/ yeast donuts!

w/out further ado ...

gluten-free cake donuts

preheat over to 350º F.

ingredients:
1 c oat flour
1/2 c sweet rice flour
1/2 c tapioca starch
2 Tbsp sorghum flour
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1/3 c brown sugar (packed)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 c shortening
1/2 c plain yogurt
1/4 c milk
2 egg whites
1 tsp vanilla extract

in large mixing bowl, sift together your flours + xanthan gum. add the remaining dry ingredients. add the shortening and mix to distribute evenly. add the remaining wet ingredients (yogurt, milk, eggs + vanilla). the dough will be pretty sticky! using xtra sweet rice flour, powder your hands and roll dough into golf ball sized sections. i suggest rolling all of the balls now - so that you can clean your hands afterwards. roll each ball w/ your fingers into 5" logs. place 1 log in each donut cavity of your pan. slightly overlap the ends and gently smooth the overlap. bake for 15m until firm to the touch. remove the pan from the over and transfer to a wire rack or parchment paper as soon as cool enough to handle.



i dipped each warm donuts in a simple milk + honey glaze:

milk + honey icing: 
1 c powdered sugar 
2 Tbsp milk
2 tsp honey

oh yum! too yum not to take an immediate bite out of one ...

a few little notes:

 

- these donuts are cinnamon-y. they tasted a lot like a really yummy cinnamon roll. remember those cinnamon raisin biscuits from hardee's? yah they taste a LOT like them. (i might just use the dough in the future to make some of those as well!) 

 

- i'm still craving a shipley's-esque doughnut. conclusion - i miss yeast donuts not just donuts. time to invest in a deep fryer ...

my valentine: part 1

hello lovelies. i read somewhere that the average person spent $140 on their valentine yesterday. w+i pride ourselves on being well below average. ;) if you remember last year we started a munday family tradition of making each other gifts (click here). this year, we continued the tradition.

it has been said "the way to a woman's heart is through her stomach". so true!

wade treated me to a scrumptious dinner ... chicken tikka masala! it was unbelievable. being the best husband ever, he googled "gluten free chicken tikka masala" and found this fantastic recipe via no gluten, no problem. we might have argued a bit over who got to take the leftover to work today.

and i made dessert. must work on my chocolate dipping skills. they didn't end up quite as pretty as i had hoped. BUT they were yummy as well. it has to be that amazing gfree sugar cookie recipe i mentioned last week (here).

so as promised, here's my gfree sugar cookie recipe:

preheat oven: 350º f

ingredients:
3/4 cup sweet rice flour                           1 cup sugar
1/2 cup oat flour                                        1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup potato starch                               1/2 tsp vanilla or almond extract
1/4 cup tapioca flour                                1/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp xanthan gum                                2 egg whites

directions:
cream sugar + butter. add egg + vanilla or almond extract. sift together dry ingredients (sweet rice flour, oat flour, potato starch, tapioca flour, xanthan gum and salt). add to wet ingredients little by little. refrigerate 1hr. separate into 2 halves. roll out to 1/4" thick and cut w/ cookie cutters. bake on non-stick for 10-12m. ENJOY!

last but not least ... one of my new year's resolutions was to take more pictures of wade and i and to be included in more pics (the problem w/ being the person behind the camera). my sweet husband agreed even if that meant he had to be a bit patient w/ my photography skills - a major work in progress.

happy valentine's day:



and of course, a hilarious blooper while i set up the camera. i asked him to put his hand out so that i could focus on it. "brick wall!" (remember that saying?) love him!

okay - tomorrow i share a little bit more about our valentine's festivities. until then ...

my week: 3 random things

i dropped by the office just now and there's paint on the walls! :) hooray. i am pretty excited to see it finished. they've promised me that i'll be back in the office monday morning. until then - i leave you with another 3 random things for this week:

1 // the super bowl was almost a full week ago and i never shared my cookies! i found then modified the yummiest gfree sugar cookie recipe. i'll make valentine's cookies and share the recipe next week, promise! {i don't mean to be a tease, i just don't have the recipe on me at this time.} in my own opinion, the cookies turned out as adorable as they were yummy ...

{our failed attempt to put a helmet on chris}

2 // speaking of failed photography attempts ... how's everyone doing on the "31 days to a better photo" challenge? we're 10 days in (get it - it's february 10th) but you're not too late to catch up. link up your test shoots @ the bottom of this post! i've concluded 2 things: 1// i really want this 50mm lens. 2 // i need to find a model as my pics have been pretty lame thus far. of course, not too lame to share:

{larger aperture - f/3.5}

{smaller aperture - f/22}

3 // last but not least, remember that box my boots came in?

well ... it's no longer a box. a little chop chop here and there, a few jumbo paper clips and it's my fancy schmancy new fabric organizer:

though the rest of the closet needs a lot of prayer, one shelf down! here's the before and after:

before:

 after:

share your "31 days" progress! 

link to your aperture experiment post specifically (not your entire blog!).

on the 6th day of g-free christmas ...

we've made it to the halfway point! hoorah! wade reminded me last night that the actual 12 days of christmas doesn't begin until AFTER christmas. while  i am determined to finish what i've started ... 30lb weight gain and all (okay slight exaggeration), i might have to take advantage of an extended deadline to januray 5th. we'll see.

so what have we enjoyed thus far? here's the recap:

today day 6 - a recipe for the coffee lover in your life: red + green biscotti

ingredients:

1/2 cup dried cranberries
1 3/4 cup brown rice flour
3/4 cup potato starch
1/4 cup tapioca flour
1 tsp xanthan gum
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
4 Tbsp unsalted butter @ room temp
1 cup sugar + a little more for sprinkling
4 large eggs
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup unsalted chopped pistachios

1 // to prepare ... preheat oven to 375º and line a baking sheet w/ parchment paper. place your cranberries in a small bowl of boiling water and let sit until ready to use. sift together your flours and xanthum gum along w/ baking powder and salt and set aside.



2 // w/ electric mixer, cream sugar and butter on medium until fluffy. add 3 of the eggs - mixing between each addition. add the vanilla. then, lower the speed and add the flour mix. drain your cranberries & add them to the mix along w/ the pistachios.

3 // on a lightly floured surface, divide the dough in half. roll each half into a long thing log (approximately the length of your baking sheet and 2 inches wide). transfer to your prepared baking sheet and flatten a bit with the palm of your hand.



4 // in a small bowl, lightly beat the extra egg. brush beaten egg over the surface of each of your dough logs and sprinkle w/ sugar.

5 // bake for 25 minutes rotating the cookie sheet halfway through. remove the logs from the oven and reduce the oven temperature to 300º.



6 // once the logs have cooled, transfer to a cutting board and cut the logs into 1/2" thick slices. arrange them on a cookie sheet and bake for an additional 15 minutes. remove them from the oven, flip each piece and return to the oven for 15 more minutes. remove pan from oven and let cool.

enjoy!

on the 5th day of g-free christmas ...

okay before i get to today's treat, a little story w/ 1 more reason i love my husband.

tuesday night was our bible study christmas party. i already mentioned my airhead moment yesterday ... but there were lots and lots of laughs that night. wade and i missed last week so monday night we were informed that we needed to grab a couple of "dirty santa" gifts for tuesday night. the email gave a price limit of $10 so i assumed it was just a $10 gift exchange not gag gifts. and i assumed correctly. however - not everyone was so lucky? enter poor new(er) gal. after the first gift was opened ... you could see the horror on her face. "you mean we aren't doing gag gifts?" she then proclaimed "no one pick the container store bag". when it came wade's time to choose, you guessed it - he went straight for her bag. so we brought home one windup squeaking dolphin and ...

the cutest measuring cups EVER:



win!

and who woulda thought these little lovelies would come in perfectly handy w/in the week. enter today's recipe + a "pinch" of salt.

day 5: {surprise} chocolate snowballs:

ingredients:
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
1/2 cup unsalted butter @ room temperature
2 1/3 cups brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup milk
1 1/4 cup sorghum flour
3/4 cup tapioca flour
3/4 cup brown rice flour
1 tsp xanthan gum
2 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp cinnamon
2/3 cup chopped pecans (optional but delicious)
powdered sugar
1 bag of hershey's kisses (unwrapped)

day 1:

1 // to prepare - sift together the sorghum flour, tapioca flour, brown rice flour, xanthan gum, cocoa, baking powder, cinnamon and a "pinch" of salt (yay mini measuring cups) and set aside. melt the chocolate chips carefully over low heat and set aside.

2 // w/ your electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar @ medium speed until light and fluffy (approx 2 minutes). add the eggs mixing in between. add the vanilla, the melted chocolate and the milk. lower the mixer speed and add in the flour mixture. hand mix in the chopped pecans. cover and chill overnight.



day 2:

1 // to prepare  - preheat oven to 355º. lightly grease 2 baking sheets w/ extra butter and set aside. place a little powdered sugar on a plate or a shallow bowl.

2 // shape dough into heaped teaspoon balls (approx 3/4"). flatten each ball and place a hersheys kiss on top. wrap the dough around the kiss and roll into a ball again. then roll the ball lightly in the powdered sugar.




3 // place powdered sugared balls on the cookie sheets 2" apart. bake approx 12 minutes until lightly browned. leave to cool.

... then enjoy! these have been my favorites so far!!! yum. and sorghum flour and dark chocolate are both high in antioxidants so i like to think i'm being "healthy". ha.

on the 4th day of g-free christmas ...

tomorrow a non-food related post ... hooray! every year i attempt to conquer 1 big christmas project for christmases to come. last year, i made our stockings (from our wedding runners). remember. this year, i've been working on our tree skirt and i'm pretty excited to share. time away from the kitchen! oh the anticipation.

in the meantime, another childhood favorite: cornflake wreaths. 



(by far, wade and my favorite gfree treat this holiday season! thankfully i took all but 4 to work - and my co-workers agreed. must limit the sweets in our apartment ... gah!)

ingredients:
1/3 c butter
1 package regular marshmallows or 4 c mini mallows
1 tsp green food coloring
6 cups gfree cornflakes (i used nature's path organic fruit juice sweetened corn flakes)

1 // in saucepan, melt the butter over low heat.
2 // add the marshmallows and stir until melted. (hello, melted butter & marshmallows!!!)



3 // remove from heat and stir in the food coloring.
3 // add the corn flakes and stir until well coated. (an incredibly sticky task!)
4 // quickly spoon out approx 1/4 cup of cereal mix onto wax paper. w/ buttered fingers, shape each spoonful into a small wreath.

oh yum! enjoy.

on the 2nd day of g-free christmas ...

when i decided to do 12 days of g-free christmas ... i didn't consider that there were only 20 days left until christmas! now only 17 days out w/ the tree still half decorated and only 1/4 of our presents purchased ... basically i'm a baking machine! luckily a few of my christmas favorites require minimal time in the kitchen. today's cookie included ...

but first, let me introduce you to my flour "collection":

what's the deal w/ all the different types of flours, eh? so far i haven't had luck w/ pre-made mixes. 1 // they're rather expensive. 2 // i like the flavor, dislike the texture or vice versa. so the fun begins - finding which flours you do prefer depending on what type of food your making. unfortunately, there isn't a 1:1 flour substitution for wheat flour. and unfortunately there isn't a mix that works for all recipes!

i store my flours in marked freezer bags in the refrigerator to increase their shelf life. when using flour that has been refrigerated or frozen, be sure to bring it back to room temperature before measuring. cold flour can result in a heavier, denser baked item.

a gfree baker must - xanthan gum. xanthan gum is the gfree substitute for gluten. it holds everything together. it's pricey! but you use a teeny bit at a time and luckily it has a rather long shelf life.

here are a few sites that i reference ALL THE TIME:

gluten free mommy's gluten free grains 101
karen robertson's gluten free flour alternatives via celiac.com
dummies' guide to gluten free flours (yes - they have a book for that too!)
living health mom's gluten free flours

oatmeal shortbread

ingredients:

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons old-fashioned rolled oats (not quick cooking)

1/4 cup sweet rice flour
1/4 cup tapioca flour
1/4 cup sorghum flour
1/4 tsp xanthan gum
1/3 cup confectioners sugar
1/2 tsp salt 8 tablespoons (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
not g-free? then substitute 3/4 cup of all-purpose flour for 1/4 cup sweet rice flour, 1/4 cup tapioca flour, 1/4 cup sorghum flour and 1/4 tsp xanthan gum.

oh - and 1 important note: sweet rice flour is not the same as white rice flour. whole foods didn't carry it - but our international market in town did and for super cheap (they also carry tapioca flour cheaper than whole foods.) it is made from glutinous rice ... but do not worry - it does not contain the gluten fraction that is prohibited to the gluten intolerant. it's a great thickening agent for your favorite stew recipe. and combined w/ other gfree flours, smooths the grit. (i am a picky texture person!)

1 // preheat the oven to 325º. spread the oats on a rimmed baking sheet and toast 4-6 minutes until lightly brown. cool completely.



2 // in chopper, grind 1/2 cup of cooled oats until finely ground.

3 // in mixer bowl, combine sweet rice flour, tapioca flour, sorghum flour and xanthan gum. add 1/2 cup of ground oats, confectioners sugar, and salt. add butter and pulse until mixture is the consistency of a course meal. 

4 // transfer to an 8" square baking pan and press firmly into the bottom. sprinkle w/ the remaining 2 tablespoons of oats on top and press lightly to secure.

5 // bake until firm and lightly brown about 30-35 min. using a pairing knife, score the shortbread into 16 squares. cool completely before removing. (these yummy shortbread treats are very fragile - careful careful!)

enjoy!