Saturday at the Carnegie

Saturday was a very big event for us. We were at the Carnegie Library in downtown Newnan, Ga. presenting our story and giving tips for gluten-free baking and cooking. The photos are courtesy of Katie Brady who was an incredible hostess for this event.

We certainly appreciate the Newnan Carnegie Library Foundation and Katie Brady who invited us to speak and present our gluten-free tips, and also serve some of our baked goodies to the attendees. We had about fifty who came out on a beautiful Saturday morning to hear us speak and I must say, the audience was so attentive and encouraging. We felt we were really helping those who are struggling to provide a gluten-free lifestyle in a world that is obsessed with wheat!

They provided encouragement and also some very good tips, too. I think it is amazing how much you can learn from a group of like-minded people.

We told everyone about our story and how we came to this point--blogging, authoring a book, and trying to keep things going with busy lives, careers and families.

We showed them the flours and ingredients we use and gave them tips that included, keep positive, how to turn your mistakes into something good--like croutons from a failed bread recipe, and making a trifle from a cake that fell. We also demonstrated how mixing wasn't such a bad thing and gave away one of the mixes we created.

 After we spoke, we invited everyone to try our our goodies and the brownies were the crowd favorite. The Lemon Blueberry Cake which was my favorite, and a very close second with the crowd.

Later, we had a book signing (here I am making change from my purse!).

I can only say how welcomed we felt and appreciate so much the Newnan Carnegie Foundation, Katie Brady, Carol Zoeller, Carolyn Sears, and Anita Headley. They helped us so much. We are definitely fans of the Newnan Carnegie. Thanks so much!

Saturday, Speaking at the Carnegie

We can't wait until Saturday! My daughter, Amelia and I will be there to speak at the Carnegie Library in Newnan, Ga., about our journey: why we wrote a gluten-free cookbook, what we've learned, and how we have grown from the experience.

We can't wait to answer questions and talk about how it is to go gluten-free in a wheat-obsessed world.

It begins at 10:30 am, and will be followed by a book signing. We hope to see you there!

Great Value Gluten-free

Have you seen the new Walmart brand gluten-free line?

I decided that I would get a box for a rainy day - my boys love mac-n-cheese. And that is an understatement. I didn't think it was the greatest, but my boys felt like they'd gotten a nice treat for dinner (the chicken and broccoli were left-overs and I was desperate for something quick to go with them anyway). So, it worked. And at 2 bucks and 12 cents, the price is right!

While at Walmart, I also saw that Immaculate Baking Company had put out these mixes. Have you tried them? I haven't had the opportunity to try any of their gluten-free products so far (mainly because no one here in the sticks sells them), but I got a couple of boxes, so I'll let you know.

Ardenne Farm Mix Giveaway

Gluten-free mixes just aren't as good, right? They are gritty and don't taste as well, right?

(Birthday cupcakes with football baking cups. My decorating isn't quite on par with my artist mother's).

Well, you just haven't tried the right brand of mix - and I have the right brand for you to try. Ardenne Farm. Honestly, these mixes are so good that you might want to try them even if you don't eat gluten-free. You won't be able to tell the difference - and they really are THAT yummy!

I know I have spoken about these mixes before - last time I told you about the chocolate chip cookies.  And, yes, they were fabulous. This time I made the cupcakes. Oh wow! There is no better cake mix out there - gluten-free or not.

I could tell as they were coming out of the oven that they'd be great. 

Does this look gritty to you? I was told by some nice ladies with Ardenne Farm that they mill their own flours so that they are ground finely. And it was obviously true from how light and fluffy these cupcakes turned out.

And now for the giveaway! How would you like to try this delicious-looking muffin mix?

In the comments below, tell me your favorite gluten-free summertime guilty pleasure, and we will enter you in a drawing for this Ardenne Farm Cinnmon Crunch Muffin Mix so you can see for yourself how great these products taste!

Enter by Thursday and we will announce the winner on Friday.

A Quick Lunch Time Pasta Salad Idea

Do you need to use some leftover gluten-free pasta (or not gluten-free pasta if you do that instead)? Are you kids crying about how hungry they are? Well look no farther. The ingredients that make a quick sandwich will also make a tasty pasta salad. Sounds like a cheap commercial, doesn't it? Well, it's not a commercial, it's a recipe.

This was this situation we were in at lunch time a couple of days ago, so I got out ham, lettuce, tomato, and spinach, chopped it all up, and added it to individual bowls of gluten-free pasta (unfortunately I was out of cheese - I suggest you add some if you have it). Then I added a little Ken's lite ranch dressing, which also happens to be gluten-free and served it to some happy kiddos.

For dessert, we served bits of watermelon. Sound like summer to you?

Simple Truth Gluten-free Toaster Waffles

You know that I'm a make-at-home kind of gal, but everyone once in a while it is nice to pull something out of the freezer for your hungry kid (and have them not complain about it). As a matter of fact, I try to keep some extra waffles, pancakes, or muffins in the freezer for the opportune moment. But we were at Grandma's for a quick overnight this weekend, and she had some Simple Truth frozen waffles on hand.

The great thing about these is that they are not as expensive as other gluten-free waffles.

They toasted just fine.

And Eli enjoyed them. It's blurry because he wouldn't give me a good smile, so I made a crazy face and made him laugh. I'm sneaky like that.

Gluten-free "Not Fried" Pies

While coming up with a gluten-free peach cobbler recipe, my mom decided to fold the dough over some peachy goodness and stick it in the oven to see how it worked. The dough turned out to be a little hard to maneuver than she liked, but the end result was delicious!

If you want to try it for yourself, here is the recipe and her "how-to." If you come up with a better way to form the pockets, please let us know!

Peachie Pie Fold-overs

Working with dough can be hard, but working with gluten-free dough takes a little more patience. We used plastic wrap to roll out the pieces and chilled the dough to help make the gluten-free dough more workable.

3/4 cup potato starch
1/4 cup glutinous rice flour
3/4 cup sorghum flour
1 teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon corn starch
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons sugar
(+ at least 1/4 cup extra potato starch or corn starch for rolling out dough)
4 tablespoons butter, softened
2/3 cups milk (Add 1/3 cup and then a tablespoon at a time until dough is workable. All of the milk may not be used.) (Buttermilk or almond milk may be substituted.)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a mixing bowl, add 3/4 cup potato starch, glutinous rice flour, sorghum flour, baking powder, 1 tablespoon corn starch, xanthan gum, salt, and sugar. Cut in the butter using a pastry blender. Add 1/3 cup of the milk and mix. Slowly add milk, 1 tablespoon at a time until dough is workable. Chill for 1/2 hour. While dough is chilling, cook the filling. Remove from the refrigerator and cut into 8 equal pieces. On a sheet of plastic wrap place on the counter, add a little of the potato starch (or corn starch). Take one of the 8 dough pieces and pat it until it is thin. Transfer onto cookie sheet. Put a heaping tablespoon of the cooked peach filling into the center of the pressed-out dough. Fold it over and use a fork dipped into the potato or corn starch and press edges down. Repeat with the remaining dough pieces. Bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes or until pies become browned. Remove from oven and cool for 15 minutes before removing from the baking sheet. Allow to cool. Makes 8 servings.

Filling

Potato starch or tapioca starch can be substituted for the corn starch. Fresh peaches sprinkled with ascorbic acid can be used instead of the frozen ones. The ascorbic acid is used so that the peaches don't turn brown. It is optional.

1 16-ounce package frozen peaches with ascorbic acid
1/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon corn starch

Pour frozen peaches into a saucepan and allow to partially thaw. Cut into bite-size chunks. Add sugar and corn starch and stir to mix. Cook on medium heat, stirring occasionally until mixture cooks and thickens. Filling is ready to put into the dough shells. Makes enough to fill 8 pies.

Taco Grilling Packets

I have been really "into" grilling packets lately. I love the ease of it, and you open the package to find meat and veggies all ready to put on your favorite taco shell. Add some guacamole, refried beans, lettuce, and tomato to a gluten-free tortilla for a delicious burrito.

And the recipe is easy!

1 lb chicken tenders
2-3 bell peppers (any color) cut into chunks
1 onion, chopped
1/2 packet gluten-free taco seasoning

In a large bowl or pan, mix the raw meat, peppers, onion, and seasonings. Put a single serving onto tin foil and fold together, then fold edges. Grill on medium heat for about 20 minutes. Serve with your favorite gluten-free taco shells or tortillas and fixings.

And the winner is ...

according to our random number generator--Lauren Brown!!!

We will your your prize to you, an i heart keenwah bag and three packages of i heart keenwah treats. They will be coming to you via snail mail. Enjoy!

A Food Allergy Article

Came across this article today about food allergies. It's a huge issue, and it is on the rise. Having a kid with six of the top eight allergies, I worry. I try not to live in fear, but I still worry that as actively as I control his diet, something will get through. Always glad to see people pushing awareness.

Gluten-free Pizza Bites

Looking for a great gluten-free meal that your kids will love AND you can take with you? We've got you covered. Make these snacks ahead, them pull them out to take along for a picnic at the park.

Gluten-free Pizza Bites

1/2 cup sorghum flour

1/2 cup sweet (glutinous) rice flour

1/2 cup potato starch

1/4 cup corn starch

2 teaspoon baking powder

1/3 teaspoon xanthan gum

1/2 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup milk or unsweetened almond milk

1/4 cup warm water

1/2 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon yeast

3.5 oz package pepperoni, cut into pieces

1/2 pound cooked and crumbled gluten-free sausage (optional)

1 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

pizza sauce for dipping

Combine flours, starches, baking powder, xanthan gum, and salt and mix with a wire whisk. Cut in butter by hand, with a pastry cutter, or using your food processor. In a small bowl or cup, stir yeast and sugar into the warm water. Allow to sit two or three minutes. Add the milk, pepperoni, sausage, and cheese, then stir in the yeast/sugar/water mixture. Stir together until ingredients are wet. Press into greased mini muffin pan and bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes until edges are lightly brown. Allow to cool before removing from pan or they will stick.

If you would like to add more "toppings" decrease the amount of other toppings you use or there won't be enough dough to make them hold together.

Ardenne Farms Gluten-free Mixes

A few weeks back at the GFAF Expo in Atlanta, I met some really nice ladies from the Ardenne Farm company and sampled their very yummy mixes. Their cookies were divine, their brownies delicious, and their cakes tasted homemade and weren't at all gritty (I was informed that they mill their own flours in a dedicated gluten-free facility to keep that from being a problem).

I've never been a big fan of mixes - my mom always made from scratch so I always did as well. But there are times when you need that convenience, so you grab a mix. When we started  cooking gluten-free, however, it got a lot harder. The mixes were expensive, and so many of them weren't all that good. You don't want to pay the money for a mix that you aren't really going to enjoy.

Well, you will enjoy these mixes. I sampled their goodies at the expo and decided if I was going to make a mix, it would be one of these. I made the chocolate chip cookies, and they didn't even last long enough for me to get a picture! My family scarfed them down like there was no tomorrow! Luckily, I grabbed a photo from their website below, and you can click it to check them out or to get some of these mixes for yourself:

I heart a giveaway!!

This week, thanks to i heart keenwah, we will be giving away three great quinoa snacks plus an adorable bag covered with even more adorable "keenwah" hearts. i heart keenwah has developed a healthy and nutritious snack that is gluten-free with all the health benefits of quinoa--an ancient grain that's more nutritious than most of the grains usually substituted for wheat.

This product is a great snack food that will hold you between meals without being filled with empty calories. It's delicious, crispy, chewy and has a simple ingredients list that you actually can pronounce! How refreshing! Our 8-year-old likes it, too. That is quite an endorsement.

We will be giving away a Cranberry Cashew, a Chocolate Sea Salt and a Ginger Peanut package of treats plus a handy bag.

Check out their website to learn more about their story and their delicious treats.

Then leave the comment, "I want to try i love keenwah!" We will announce the winner on Saturday.

Gluten-free Lemon Blueberry Cake

Nothing says summer like blueberries, so I decided to post the first recipe from our summer cookbook (coming out soon). As the title suggests, it is lemon blueberry cake. I decided to make a gluten-free version of this cake after seeing a picture of the wheat version on Pinterest. It turned out really well, and we found out something else. My father, who has never like lemon desserts, really liked this cake. We figure that what he doesn't like is imitation lemon flavor, but this is full of fresh lemony goodness (and cream cheese frosting - that always helps).

Gluten-Free Lemon Blueberry Cake

1 cup sweet (glutinous) rice flour
1 cup potato starch
1/2 cup sorghum flour
1/4 cup corn starch (or tapioca starch if you can't do corn)
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
2/3 cups vegetable oil
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
Zest of 2 lemons
Juice of 3 lemons
1 1/2 cup fresh blueberries (not frozen)

Combine the flours, sugar, baking powder, xanthan gum, and salt in a mixing bowl and mix with a wire whisk. In your mixer or with a hand mixer, blend the vegetable oil, eggs and vanilla. Add the lemons and zest. Slowly add the flour mixture. Stir in the blueberries with a spoon. Bake at 350 in two 9 inch cake pans 25-30 minutes until the edges are brown. Cool. Remove from pans and allow them to cool completely before icing.

Cream Cheese Frosting

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons vanilla flavoring
1 (one-pund ) box confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons heavy cream

In a mixing bowl, mix cream cheese and butter until creamy. Add vanilla flavoring and mix. Slowly add confectioners' sugar until blended. Add small amounts of cream until the frosting is creamy, but not too thin. Cover cake in thin layer to contain any crumbs, then spread on the rest.