Powdered Sugar Muffins from How to Cook Gluten-Free by Elizabeth Barbone

Posted by Mommy on Mar 17, 2012 in Recipes | 0 comments

I didn’t intend for this to be a continuing series, but then I thought, “Damn, I could go for a donut.” Yes, Hubs is out of town and Homeschool Friday has been that kind of day and I’m stress eating. Don’t judge me.

When Elizabeth Barbone asked for bloggers to try recipes from her book, I jumped at the chance AND BECAME A BLOGGER. I know, right? You see, if you didn’t know better, you would totally think Elizabeth is an imaginary friend who lives in my kitchen. Hubs will ask, “Wow, this is good, where did you get this recipe?” Elizabeth Barbone. “If you want pancakes, use the recipe from Elizabeth.” When someone asks how I get the banana bread so sweet, “it’s a secret family recipe,” is code for “Elizabeth.” Her name comes up quite a bit in my kitchen. P.S. I am totally NOT a stalker.

Out of curiosity, how many gluten-free cookbooks do you have? There’s this guy, Bill, in Tax. He has this rule about 3 “cool songs” have to be on a cd before he’ll buy it. (Bill in Tax. Are you wondering about what he thinks a cool song is?) While Bill is never disappointed in his cd purchases, I wish I could say the same about my cookbook purchases. I love the photography (they probably don’t use their phone, like I do) and I love trying new recipes. I probably have a dozen gluten-free cookbooks that I’ve accumulated in the last 8 years. In the beginning, there were recipes that never made it to the table, they went straight into the bin. Having learned a bit about gluten-free baking over the years, my advice to newly diagnosed as Celiac or gluten intolerant would be, “Just buy Elizabeth’s cookbook. It is the only gluten-free baking book you need because every single recipe is amazing.”

I think I read on Elizabeth’s blog that every recipe is tested repeatedly. This is probably why every recipe in the book works: she tries it repeatedly and then has random strangers with undetermined baking skills test them. That’s where our paths initially crossed.

Back to the point of this post, this recipe was included in the packet of recipes to the bloggers. I purposely submitted another “official review” of Goulash (yum, when is dinner?), because I have made this one before. (Repeat: not a stalker, but if Elizabeth writes it down, I think she is secretly sending me a message.) In fact, it is the very, very first recipe of Elizabeth’s that I ever tried. (Point of reference, Elizabeth, in case you’re reading this, I only discovered the pancake recipe after I bought Easy Gluten-Free Baking) The really funny thing (and by funny I mean, you could probably escape my fury by tossing gluten-free sweets while you ran in the other direction) is the Powdered Sugar Muffins were something that didn’t make it to the table.

Huh?

Oh, you heard me right. I made the Powdered Sugar Muffins and they didn’t make it to the table BECAUSE I ATE EVERY SINGLE MUFFIN. I’m sure it wasn’t a pretty sight and I’m not proud, but they were THAT good. As I was hiding in the corner, shoveling mini mufffins in my pie-hole, I came to the realization that gluten-free food could be as good as the toxic counter parts. When The Kid’s allergy test came back showing IgG and IgE allergies to 40 different foods, I would weep at the thought of grocery shopping or meal planning.  Elizabeth’s recipes raised the bar.  If I couldn’t find what I wanted at the store, I would bake them myself.

To keep everything fair and on the up-and-up, I made them again. You know, twist my arm. I managed to control myself and even saved enough for other people. “Wow, these are good, the texture is just like powdered sugar donuts.” Yeah, I know. I didn’t cook them as long as the recipe states, because I didn’t want them too crisp on the outside. If you don’t have either of Elizabeth’s cookbooks, you should add them to your wish list.

How To Cook Gluten-Free By Elizabeth Barbone

Without further ado, introducing Elizabeth Barbone and POWDERED SUGAR MUFFINS

“This recipe is my mom’s fault. Okay, maybe not “fault” because who would want to blame someone for inspiring something this good? She was watching The Best Thing I Ever Ate: Snack Attack on the Food Network and someone mentioned “doughnut muffins.” That’s right. Muffins that taste like doughnuts. My mouth was already watering when she said, “You should make a gluten-free version.”

Since I try to be a good daughter, I listened to my mom. The gluten-filled doughnut muffins from The Downtown Bakery in Healdsburg, CA, are rolled in melted butter and then in cinnamon sugar. While that sounds divine, I love plain powdered sugar doughnuts and wanted to try making a muffin version. (If you’d like cinnamon-sugar muffins, just add ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon to the powdered sugar.) Taking a cue from Mexican wedding cookies, I rolled the muffins in powdered sugar right after they came out of the oven. It worked! The sugar stuck to the warm muffins. The muffins have a bit of crust that gives way to a tender interior. The next time I make them, I think I’ll fill them with a little jam after baking. Jelly Doughnut muffins, anyone?”

Gluten-free nonstick cooking spray

Dry Ingredients

• 3/4 cup white rice flour
• 1/2 cup cornstarch
• 1/4 cup sweet rice flour
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking power
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Wet Ingredients

• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 large egg
• 1 package (1 pound) powdered sugar

1. Adjust oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 350ºF. Lightly grease the cavities of a mini muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. Add the wet ingredients and whisk to combine. The batter will be thin.

3. Fill the muffin cavities about half full. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the muffins are golden brown.

4. While the muffins are baking, fill an 8-inch square baking dish with the powdered sugar.

5. Remove the muffins from the oven and working in batches, place them directly into the powdered sugar. Gently roll the muffins in the sugar to cover them. The steam from the hot muffins will make the sugar stick to the muffins. Remove the muffins from the sugar and tap off any excess. Transfer the muffins to a wire rack to cool. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 1 month.

Makes 24 mini

Upstate Goulash from How to Cook Gluten-Free by Elizabeth Barbone

Posted by Mommy on Mar 14, 2012 in Recipes | 0 comments

When I was preparing for this post, I tried to remember how many cookbooks I had, I’ve accumulated quite a few over the years.  The first was the Better Homes & Gardens Cookbook about the same time I moved out of the dorms and into my first apartment, which was 20 years ago.  Sure, some were gifts, some were impulse purchases from the bargain bin, and some I ordered as soon as they became available.  Elizabeth Barbone’s books fall into last category.  Full disclosure: I think Elizabeth is an evil genius who uses her powers for gluten-free.  I have been a fan since I found her pancake recipe

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The Kid and I have been gluten-free for a long time, almost five years now and the gluten-free marketplace had really changed in that short amount of time.  When we first started, it was difficult to find products that were really good.  The bar was set at “that’s not bad for gluten-free,” instead of really, really good.  In the beginning The Kid also couldn’t tolerate corn products, which is how and why I started baking everything myself.  Even then, there were a lot of attempts that went straight to the bin. 

This led me to an important theory: gluten-free cooking is 50% recipe and 50% technique.  I have made a lot of Elizabeth’s recipes and what sets her book apart is that not only is it part journal (i.e., “This banana bread recipe is named after my mother’s gluten-free recipe.”), but also techniques (“Mix the sugar and the mashed bananas for 15 minutes.”).  The Kid couldn’t have gluten, dairy, corn or coconut and I remember thinking, “if there was only a way I could make her pancakes for breakfast, these allergies won’t be so bad.  Elizabeth’s recipes have made me take a different view of cooking and baking.  If you have ever seen my Mother-In-Law shovel in my banana bread, you would believe that it falls into the, “wow, this is good” category versus, “not bad for gluten-free.”

Even though my blog is still a work in process, I jumped at the chance to try a new recipe from Elizabeth.  It didn’t matter what it was, either.  I’ve made dozens of Elizabeth’s recipes and they’ve all been delicious.  A confession: Hubs loves Hamburger Helper.  I know, right?  Another confession: there are times when momma needs a break and actually makes it for him.  Hubs isn’t a fan of gluten-free noodles, but I was excited to see how he’d like this version.  The first thing he said was, “why did you make gluten-free Pasta Bake?”  Pasta Bake is something I used to make before we went gluten-free, essentially, lasagna with layers of penne noodles instead of lasagna noodles

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Weeknights can be a bit hectic around here by the time I leave work, after school pickup, and the usual laundry, homework, cleaning, I don’t have much time before the bedtime routine starts.  As a time saver, I actually cooked the beef, onion and garlic on Sunday, I just put it in the fridge and added it to the cooked pasta noodles when I was ready to make it for dinner on Monday.

This recipe was delicious, plus, it made enough for dinner on Tuesday.  It was easy and having the beef already cooked, all I had to do was cook the noodles and assemble the casserole.  I substituted mozzarella cheese, instead of cheddar.  Of course I was going to like it, but the fact that Hubs liked something gluten-free was just an added bonus!

“Wow, this tastes like the Goulash my mom used to make.” -Hubs        AND THEY WEREN’T GLUTEN-                                                                                                                                                       FREE!

Upstate “Goulash”

Recipe courtesy Elizabeth Barbone

Salt

1 pound gluten-free elbow macaroni

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium onion, finely diced

1 clove garlic, minced or put through a garlic press

1 pound ground sirloin (90 to 92% lean)

1 can (28 ounces) tomato sauce

6 ounces cheddar cheese, grated (about 11/2 cups)

1. Adjust oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 375ºF. Lightly spray a 13 by 9-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.

2. Fill a large (51/2-quart) pot three-quarters full with water. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Set a colander in the sink for draining the pasta. When the water reaches a boil, add 1 tablespoon salt and the pasta. (Set a timer for 10 minutes.) Stir with a wooden spoon for about 30 seconds, then stir occasionally while the pasta cooks. (For a how-to on cooking pasta, see page 105.)

3. In a large (12-inch) nonstick frying pan, heat the oil over high heat until hot and shimmering but not smoking. Add the onion. Cook,stirring frequently with a wooden spoon, until the onion is soft, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cook,stirring frequently, until soft and aromatic, about 45 seconds.

4. Add the ground beef and cook, breaking up the clumps with a wooden spoon or heatproof spatula, until thoroughly cooked and browned, about 4 to 5 minutes. If desired, remove and discard any excess fat.

5. Stir three-quarters of the tomato sauce into the beef. Lower the heat to low.

6. After about 10 minutes of boiling, check the pasta for doneness. Drain the pasta in the colander and return it to its pot over very low heat.

7. Add the meat sauce to the pasta and stir with a wooden spoon to combine. Pour into the prepared baking dish. Top with the remaining tomato sauce and sprinkle evenly with the cheese.

8. Bake, uncovered, until the cheese is golden brown and the sauce is bubbling, about 25 minutes.

 Serves 4

You can find this recipe and many more in her new book:  How to Cook Gluten-Free by Elizabeth Barbone

Gluten-Free at Disney

Posted by Mommy on Mar 14, 2012 in Uncategorized | 0 comments

There are quite a few blogs dedicated to Disney World.  I am not a Disney expert by any stretch of the imagination, which obvious to my friend, Beth, who was peppered with text messages at work during my last family visit.  Beth and her husband are big Disney fans, but I was a newbie and found planning a trip to be a bit overwhelming.  Despite my neurotic planning, there were a couple things I had not anticipated.  Because our friends know our family struggles with multiple food allergies, I’ve had a couple requests for dining tips.

I found that Disney Chef’s DO know their business, not only with respect to ingredients, but also cross contamination.  When you make a sit-down dining reservation, you can specify what food allergies your party has.  Once you are seated, the Chef will come to your table to chat and you can ask questions directly to the Chef, not having to go through a server.  In our case, they toured the buffet me and telling me what is safe, ingredients, etc.  Some Chefs will ask, others just offered desserts for breakfast.  While we don’t normally have dessert with breakfast, while at Disney, we had Enjoy Life Cookies, OMG It’s Gluten-Free Brownies, and at Chef Mickey’s they make gluten-free/dairy-free cupcakes to order that are simply amazing.  I found that the Chefs could answer any ingredient and prep question, although I found it simpler and more reassuring to just ask, “so which brand of hamburger buns do you use?”  (At Animal Kingdom Lodge, where we ate most of the quick service meals, they use Udi’s.)

I should probably back up a step and explain we had the standard service dining plan.  I read everything I could on-line, a lot of bloggers will tell you it doesn’t save much or comes out about even.  When the waiter brings your check, it has a total amount, but once they swipe your room key and deduct it from the meal plan balance, it shows a zero.  So, even though I saved all of those receipts, it doesn’t give me a total to add up and compare, perhaps that is by design.  Hubs says, “Disney wouldn’t do it if they’re losing money.”   I’m glad we had a meal plan, simply not having dollar signs flash before your eyes while on vacation was really nice, an all inclusive feeling, if you will.  The meal plans can be a good value for some people, but they are ONLY available when you purchase a Magic Your Way vacation package that includes accommodations at a Disney-owned-and-operated hotel plus theme park tickets. You must purchase the plan for your entire stay and for each person staying in your hotel room.

For full details and an FAQ on the Disney Dining Plan, click the link below:

2012 Standard Dining Plan Brochure

 The standard meal plan It gave us plenty of food for the week without having to reach for our wallet (except for tips, which you can actually charge those to your room and take care of it at the end).  The meal plan entitled us to (1) counter service meal, (1) sit-down meal, and (1) snack per day per person.  Because we managed the counter service meals in a family dining kind of way, it is difficult to remember how many sides and what we used as desserts.  It was more than enough food, and because we gave it some thought before hand, we actually had a couple snacks left over at the end of our trip.  Before checking out, we grabbed snack packs of grapes and apples for the road.  The typically desserts are frozen treats, such as popsicles (Edy’s, the kind without HFCS), but there were occasions we asked if we could substitute a lower priced item, such as apple slices or grapes.  My daughter would get a hamburger and fries, I would order a chef’s salad and a side of fruit and we’d split/share the meal, which balanced out the meal with veggies, protein and starch, it was more than enough food.  More often than not, we’d have a side of carrots and dip, milk, or grapes leftover, which I would just save for later or for breakfast in our room.  (Tip: if you have room in your bag, carry a handful of sandwich bags with you for leftovers) Because we don’t normally eat out, we really weren’t interested in any of the hard-to-get reservations like Le Cellier Steakhouse in Epcot. Our sit-down meals were used for Character Dining.  In Atlanta you can get a great steak dinner anytime, but you can’t get Mickey, Goofy and gang to stop at your table and do the Hot Dog Dance with you, so we the most of that option.  We ate at Chef Mickey’s, Tusker House, Cape May, and Hollywood and Vine. 

The Hot Dog Dance at Cape May

 I made an extra reservation outside of the meal plan for the Wishes Dessert Buffet.  This will give you a terrace seat for the fireworks at Magic Kingdom at the end of the day.  Not only does this give you an uncrowded view of the fireworks, but Tinkerbell comes directly towards you, and you have a chair to sit down – which should not be underestimated.  Having a reserved seat at the end of a busy day, away from throngs of people, was all kinds of awesome.  The Chef had separate plates prepared for us that were covered with plastic wrap.  He also cautioned that the same person prepares most of the desserts on the buffet  and if I was concerned about cross contamination I should limit myself to the prepared plate.  I get so sick that I carry Gluten-Ease, Pepto Bismal, Advil, and Tums in my purse at all times – and I don’t eat out!    <–Yes, I have this in my purse all the time, because you never know.  You can’t always call in sick.

Having said that, though, I couldn’t help myself.  Huge chocolate covered strawberries and soft serve ice cream were too good to pass up and while a buffet is always risky for cross contamination, I thought the ice cream & strawberries were a safe bet.  If I remember correctly, each plate had fresh berries, (2) 4 ounce brownies, and (3) pieces of cake, which was more than I could eat, let alone an 8 year old.  The Chef was kind enough to let us box it up, because we couldn’t eat it all and GF cake makes for a great breakfast or late night snack.

 A Disney vacation will take a bit of planning. You won’t be able to see and do everything, but you’ll feel like you did if you make a plan. I made a chart by day of the various park hours, extra magic hours, etc and scheduled meals from there.  For example, on Saturday Disney Hollywood Studios opened at 8AM for EMHs, so we arrived at 7:45 AM.  We were able to hit one of the popular attractions (Toy Story, 3D Muppet movie) before the park opened.  When the park started to get busy at 9:30-10am, we dodged the crowds and had a breakfast reservation at Hollywood and Vine with June, Oso, Jake, and Handy Manny.  I didn’t schedule every single minute of our trip, but I did note what parks we should hit in the am, and then what park we wanted to visit in the pm for a parade or fireworks.  I also did this to minimize travel time between parks, because the ride from MK to AKL can take a while.  

All of our breakfasts had GF Mickey Waffles, but H&V serves Vann’s waffles.  With the meal plan you have a sit down meal for every night of your hotel stay.  This gave us a final breakfast at Cape May before we hit the road.  Also, I have to say, the waffles were my favorite here.   If I had to pick one character dining meal, I would have a hard time choosing between Tusker House at Animal Kingdom or Cape May.  Both have great breakfast buffets with Mickey, Minnie, Donald, and Goofy.  I’m sure the characters rotate, etc., but it fills the cockles of my heart to see blurry photos from Cape May.  Every character did the Hot Dog Dance with the Kid.  Also, our Sunday morning breakfast at Cape May was not crowded, which is something to consider if your group is sensitive to crowds. 

We had most of our counter meals at the hotel, AKL.  Once we ate at Cosmic Rays Diner, but the fare was fairly standard value meal type stuff.  I was pleasantly surprised to find dedicated fryers and Allergy Free Chicken Tenders, in addition to Udi’s hamburger buns.  

Because breakfast wasn’t always the first thing on our agenda, to supplement all of my sandwich bag leftovers, I brought juice boxes, Surf Sweets sour bears, and fruit cups.  For those of you not driving, my friends use GardenGrocer.com and just had it delivered to their room. 

I hope that helps.  Have a magical trip!

You’re Invited to a PARTY!

Posted by Mommy on Mar 8, 2012 in Gift Ideas | 0 comments

I have a confession. I loath kid parties. As a mom of a special needs kiddo, I want for her to be included with her peers and have typical kid experiences. I’ve learned to embrace my own social awkwardness, but parties represent a unique challenge. As a family, we have food allergies and sensory issues with crowds and new places. I don’t expect the party mom to make any special food accommodations, but panic at the thought of running food interference in case there’s Peanut M&Ms or the like. (Another tip: I always have gluten-free cupcakes in the freezer and can pull one out the morning of any affair, frost it and simply bring it along with a lunch sack of party snacks.)

But then there’s the gift. I don’t have the first clue what an 11-year-old boy would think is cool. Am I making too much out of this? In the back of my mind, I know how kids can be. I don’t want The Kid, who’s already different than everyone else, to be burdened with a mom who bought a “lame gift” to the party. I also can’t spend a small fortune on a gift for every classmate, especially one I don’t know. This party had a music theme, so I sort of guessed the boy liked music. I was able to find one of those compilation cds of music hits from the year he was born. 2001 Music Hits wasn’t a big seller and was discounted, so the actual purchase price was more thoughtful than expensive. It was actually so inexpensive, I bought a 2nd cd from the year his parents were born (I emailed the mom in advance).

The Kid and I stayed for an hour and a half at the party. It was loud, but all in all, it must have been a success. Party Boy comes over and talks to The Kid first thing in the am and at pick up.

Chai Latte

Posted by Mommy on Mar 1, 2012 in Recipes | 0 comments

Homemade Chai Latte

Okay, so starting a blog during tax season wasn’t the best idea. When I’m not Super Mom, I highlight as a CPA. In my defense, however, I took advice to heart when someone said you should have at least 10 posts before you start spreading the word about your blog so visitors get a feel for who you are.

Super Mom clocks in at 5:30AM. I feed the 2 cats, take the dog outside, feed said dog, and start coffee. I pack lunch for The Kid, Hubs and myself, as well as a morning snack for The Kid. Full Disclosure: packing my lunch is putting a Larabar in my purse. Time check. If it is before 6:30AM, I have time to check email and/or text messages. That leaves me 30 minutes to go from pajamas to work appropriate. At 7 AM, I wake The Kid she has 60 minutes to dress, eat, and brush her teeth so we can leave by 8AM. If traffic cooperates, we have a few minutes before 8:50 drop off to cross an item off the TO DO LIST, such as swing by the ATM or pick up toothpaste that is on sale. Who knew drug stores opened so early? Most days I remember to kiss the kid, tell her to text me if she needs me, and make it to a client’s site by 9:30AM. Needless to say, I’ve earned Gold status on my Starbucks card. Some days I feel like I should mainline coffee by the time I get to work. It baffles Hubs that I can drink coffee black, black with sugar or with a little cream. It just depends on what is available and how desperate I am. However, if I have a couple extra minutes and bucks to splurge, a Chai Latte always hits the spot.

The Kid (DD8) didn’t have much of an appetite yesterday, which didn’t alarm me, until I realized she was giving herself a courtesy flush whenever she went to the bathroom. I put 2 + 2 together when I heard her puking at 10pm. Needless to say, it was 1am when I put the sheets and Mickey Mouse in the dryer and started the next load of linens, which was Daisy Duck and the quilt.

After a long day of trying (unsuccessfully) to get some work done from the office, I needed a pick-me-up. I scrounged together ingredients from the pantry and not only have the pick-me-up I needed, but also have enough leftover for the morning.

This couldn’t be easier, and as you can tell, I adapted this to be dairy-free.

Mix:
7 cups (56 oz.) fresh water
1 can evaporated milk (not condensed) or Coconut Milk
1/2 cup sugar
10 Chai tea bags

Bring ingredients to a rolling boil on the stove top. Let boil 2 to 4 minutes. Remove tea bags and enjoy. I store the leftovers in a pitcher in the refrigerator and simply reheat as needed.

I’ve also made some of the seasonal lattes with
using the same method. For example, I’ve
made Gingerbread Lattes with Gingerbread
Tea.

Hubs’s Birthday

Posted by Mommy on Nov 8, 2011 in Gift Ideas, Hubs | 0 comments

My husband is difficult to surprise – and get it right.  He’s traveling a lot for work recently and he has also mentioned needing a new briefcase.  I saw this one mentioned in Inc. Magazine and think he’ll like it.  I couldn’t imagine anyone picking out a handbag, or pocketbook – as they say here – for me.  That has more to do with aesthetics, although for the last 7 years, my purse has a “mom bag” and carries everything from kid snacks and spare juice boxes to little kid underpants.

It’s an airport security friendly briefcase that unzips into two halves, so you can send it through  x-ray without taking it out of the bag.  Sure, there might be a chance to have to take it out, but even so, there are enough dividers and pockets to make things easy.