Gluten Free Perfect Flour Blend

This is the gluten free flour I use in my recipes and recently used in my Lemon Bundt Cake.



It is a mixture of sweet brown rice flour, tapioca flour, arrowroot flour, sorghum flour, and xanthum gum.  It is sugar free, and made in a dedicated factory free of gluten, wheat, soy, corn, potato, peanuts, tree nuts, dairy, and casein. 

I like this "flour" because you use it cup for cup in your regular recipes.  If you need 3 cups of flour for your cake, use 3 cups of this flour blend instead!  Easy!  I used this for a cake and no one would have known it was gluten free.

Lemon Bundt Cake

Yesterday was overcast, cool, and rainy.  Wednesday is also the day we go to my parent's house for supper every week. Sounded like the perfect day to bake a cake! I came across this recipe from Smitten Kitchen on Pinterest a few weeks ago and couldn't wait to try it out.

The cake was time consuming, but simple to make. There are a few things I would do differently next time (yes there will be a next time--this cake is amazing!) to make the process even easier on myself.

Lemon Cake
Adapted from ‘Barefoot Contessa Parties!’ and www.SmittenKitchen.com
Yield: 2 loaf cakes (or one bundt)

2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 1/2 cups sugar
4 extra-large eggs, at room temperature (I only had large)
1/3 cup grated lemon zest (6 to 8 large lemons) *Tip: Zest all lemons before you begin and use the remainder of zest for chicken, fish, smoothies, etc. later
3 cups all-purpose flour (I used a gluten free variety and it was perfect)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt (I used regular)
3/4 cup plus 3 1/2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice *Tip: Juice 6 lemons before you begin
3/4 cup buttermilk, at room temperature (I used buttermilk powder and water instead)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted (I didn't sift)

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour two 8 1/2-by-4 1/4-by-2 1/2-inch loaf pans or one bundt pan, and line the bottoms with parchment paper (don't need to line the bundt pan).

Cream butter and 2 cups sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment for about 5 minutes, or until light and fluffy. Mixing at medium speed, add eggs, one at a time, and lemon zest.

Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl.

In another bowl, combine 1/4 cup lemon juice, buttermilk and vanilla.

Add flour and buttermilk mixtures alternately to butter and sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour.

Divide batter evenly between pans, smooth tops, and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until a cake tester comes out clean.

Combine 1/2 cup sugar with 1/2 cup lemon juice in a small saucepan, and cook over low heat until sugar dissolves.

When cakes are done, let them cool 10 minutes. Brush some of the syrup on the "top" of the cake while it is still in the pan.

Invert the cake onto a large plate, poke holes into the cake with a skewer, and brush lemon syrup over cakes with a brush. Let cakes cool completely.

For glaze, combine confectioners’ sugar and remaining 3 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice in a bowl, mixing with a whisk until smooth. My icing was thick so I used more lemon juice but next time I would use milk instead because my icing was very lemon-y!

Pour over top of cakes, and allow glaze to drizzle down the sides.

This cake was so amazingly delicious, moist (that syrup step is important), tangy, and sweet. 

I ate two pieces last night and am enjoying my last as I write this post.  The rest of the cake went to work with my husband for his coworkers to enjoy.  Had the cake remained in my house I would have ate it all.  Seriously. 

Did I mention I skipped the gym yesterday to bake this cake?  So after 3 pieces of the most delicious lemon bundt cake I have ever eaten, I am going to spend a few hours at the gym today because the sun is shining and I am going to the beach tomorrow.  In a bikini.  It will be an ab workout day for sure.

P.S. Make this cake NOW! 

Morning Oatmeal

Today was a windy, cool, overcast day and I woke up looking for comfort. 

My husband was working, my dog isn't allowed on the bed....what was I to do?

I turned to food of course.  Oatmeal!

It has been awhile since I've eaten grains of any kind, but I decided I was going to try to add some back into my diet.  I found some wheat free oats at our local bulk foods store.

I topped my oatmeal with brown sugar and skim milk today, but next time might try blueberries and maple syrup. It was a perfect warm breakfast on a cool day!

Also available are Steel Cut Oats, Oatmeal Cookie mix, Rolled Flake Oats, and some Chocolate Oat mix (I didn't pay much attention because of the chocolate), all wheat free.

Coming up on the blog tomorrow...gluten free lemon bundt cake!  It is baking right now and smells soooooooooooooo good!





Scandalous

So I have a confession....

I downloaded the 50 Shades of Grey trilogy on my Kindle.

And I'm reading them.

I finished the first book 2 days ago and am half way through the second.  I was saving these books as my "summer read" because I thought they'd be perfect to read while at the beach but I am reading them everywhere I go....the gym, waiting for appointments, before bed, on the beach, laying on the couch...I am hooked now. 

At first I agreed with Ana and thought that it was "50 Shades of F$%ked Up", but the second book has drawn me in to the plot. Not that I don't love a romance novel/love scene, but some of the scenes in book one were a little extreme for me.  Wow. 

50 Shades Darker is less kinky and more lovey, which suits my tastes plus I like the mystery aspect and learning more about the characters in this book.  I can't put my Kindle down, which has put me in some awkward situations...

- Waiting at the doctor's office an older lady sitting beside me wanted to know about my "e-reader" (as she called it), and I was a little embarrassed to show her the screen because of what I was reading at the moment.  Then she proceeded to tell me how everything I do on my "e-reader" is tracked and "they" can tell what I read, how long it takes me to read a book, etc. which I don't really care about, but then she said, "Imagine if you were reading THAT 50 Shades of Grey book.  How embarrassing."  I didn't know what to say and thankfully my name was called for my appointment!  How awkward.

-While doing cardio at the gym and reading, a fellow teacher came over and wanted to know what I was reading.  I am not ashamed of reading this smutty book so I told her, but it was her response that was shocking to me. She had read it too and told me all about the parts she liked, didn't like, and wanted me to share my thoughts as well.  This lady is ready to retire and quite frankly, I don't want to know what she likes! TMI!

All I can say is, luckily I'm reading the books on my Kindle and not everyone knows what I am reading. I can only imagine what other weird conversations I would be engaged in if they did.  And on that note, I'm off to bed to read a few more chapters.

Photo source

Frozen Yogurt

It is hot!  37 degrees Celsius with the humidex, actually. I am staying with my brother's girlfriend right now while my husband works on house renovations and she doesn't have air conditioning, although I do get to sleep downstairs where it is nice and cool.  This hot weather also means beach days and I have been working hard at the gym to get my beach body and I don't want to jeopardize that by eating regular icy treats.  This is what I whipped up instead!  A cool, refreshing, "clean" treat...frozen yogurt!

I tried to make it in my blender the other night but it was too thick and didn't work how I imagined it would so today I bought a food processor and tried again.

Only 3 ingredients: Frozen berries, plain greek yogurt, maple syrup (or liquid honey)

Add all 3 to the food processor and turn it on! What comes out is thick, yummy, COLD frozen yogurt.

I stuck it in the original container and put it in the freezer for a bit (but no more than 20 minutes or it will change consistency, but will still taste delicious!).

I think this food processor will get a lot of use this summer.

My Favorite Summer Things

We have had some unbelievable weather so far in my first week of summer vacation.  The Weather Network is forcasting temperatures of 37 degrees Celsius later in the week-beach anyone?

I am sitting on my couch looking out my living room window and listening to the birds sing.  My husband is at work (poor man who has to get up at 5:00 while I get to stay in bed), my dog is laying by my feet, and the only sound in my house is a blowing fan. Mornings like this make me a little nostalgic and get me thinking about how great life really is. 

Fall is my favorite season by far, followed by winter, then summer, then spring.  I do love summer though, just not as much as fall and winter!

This is why I love summer:
1) 2 months of holidays
2) Cold, fresh foods like salads, watermelon, ice cream, nectarines
3) Hearing birds sing outside through open windows
4) Fresh breezes blowing through said open windows
5) Long days with plenty of sunlight (It doesn't get dark until after 11:00 p.m. and it is light around 4:30 a.m.-possibly earlier but I'm sleeping so how would I know?!)
6) Sitting around a campfire, roasting marshmallows, smelling like woodsmoke afterwards
7) Barbeques
8) Coke slurpees (all that sugar isn't good for me anyway, so I'll try to remember that when I get the urge to pick one up and feel sad that I can't)
9) Icy, sweet, yummy Frapuccinos (please enjoy one for me)
10) Beach days-the smell of suncreen, cool water, hot sand, laughing, relaxing
11) Sitting outside on the deck, reading
12) Having all the time in the world-time seems to slow down in the summer
13) Watching Big Brother 3 nights a week on tv
14) Beautiful gardens, bright flowers, green grass and trees
15) Wearing light lotions and scents with bronzers, tanned skin
16) Sundresses and cute tanks, turquoise and coral jewelery, flip flops and sandals
17) Air dried hair, beachy textured waves
18) Drive in movies
19) Bright colorful pedis
20) Celebrating my birthday on July 26

The Best Taco Salad

Nothing says summer to me like a BBQ, and no BBQ is complete without taco salad. I have made this salad twice already and it is only the beginning of July.  I can no longer eat it because of the peppers and tomato, but I make it because everyone else loves it. 

Here's how to make it:

-Start off browning the ground beef.  Once it is brown, add some taco seasoning to it.  I buy the pouch of seasoning and use it all. Let cool slightly before adding to the rest of the ingredients.

-Wash and cut up one whole bunch of romaine lettuce

-Chop tomatoes and peppers into small pieces

-Grate 1 or 2 cups of cheddar cheese

- Mix all of the ingredients together in a large bowl (extra large would be best because it makes a big salad!)

-Crush 3/4 of a large bag of Nacho Cheese Doritos (or any other flavor you like) and toss them into the salad right before serving otherwise they will soften up

-Pour approx. 1 cup of dressing onto the salad and toss together right before serving to prevent everything from getting soggy

 

Ingredients:

2 tomatoes, chopped
1 Green pepper, chopped
1 Red pepper , chopped
1 Yellow pepper (optional, but nice for color), chopped
1 large bunch of romaine lettuce, bite size
1 pound lean ground beef (could use ground chicken or turkey), browned
1 pkg. taco seasoning
1-2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
1 large bag of Nacho Cheese Doritos, crushed
Approx. 1 cup of salad dressing- I used Italian, but French or Catalina are good if you like it sweeter, and Golden Ceasar is good if you can find it

Our family BBQ food table

This salad is great leftover because all of the flavors have mingled and the nachos are soft. I might even prefer it most the next day for breakfast!