gluten free, egg free, casein free cookies

How these are as good as they are without any of the recognizable ingredients that make a cookie, I don't know but they are YUMMY!!!

This is the link I found them on and this is the way I make them.
http://vimeo.com/11953229

Honey Cinnamon Cookies
Ingredients
1/3 c honey
4 tbs ghee or coconut oil (butter if not worried about casein)
1 tsp cinnamon -I usually put in a bit more
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
2 cups blanched almond flour - i love the one from honeyville not sure what would happen if you used another kind, try it.

mix it up!
I put them on a sprayed cookie sheet and cook at 275* for 20 min. I then smash them flat with a spatula or fork (kind of like a peanut butter cookie) then continue baking at 175* for 10 more min. 30min baking time in all.

Let these cool for at least 10 min before puling them off the pan because they are soft. If you want a crispier cookie cook them longer.

We are going to try and put a little piece of chocolate in the middle and some maple frosting on top for a "park treat" while we watch the fire works.

Vegitarian meatballs

I think these need some improvement but they are gluten free and stayed together pretty well so it is a start.

Ingredients
a splash of oil for the pan
2 leeks white part only chopped
1 red onion chopped
4 cloves or more crushed garlic
1 package mushrooms diced
1 cup rice cooked in 2 cups of veggie stock
2 potatoes boiled and mashed
1 cup chopped pecans
2 spoons of tomato paste

spices this is where the recipe can go good or bad for me
fresh Italian parsley and Italian seasoning along with salt and pepper made a good meat ball to put together with spaghetti

tamari (wheat free soy sauce) salt and pepper
red pepper and some ginger would make great sweet and sour meat balls

chili powder, coriander and cumin would make a good Mexican meatball -if there is such a thing-

Instructions
In a large skillet heat oil and saute leeks and onion. Add garlic and mushrooms a couple of minuets later. Turn off heat and add together the rest of the ingredients.

press into balls and cook in a baking dish at 350* for 30 min turning once half way through. let cool about 10 min. so they can firm up a little.

The key to this is try the batter...it is vegetarian so you can eat it raw to find the flavor you want.

Taco Night

Tortillas

We LOVE tacos but with the kids not tolerating yellow corn very well we get creative. I have not found white corn tortillas but I have found white corn Minsa (a white corn meal used to make tortillas). It can be bought at an international market, Mexican market and on line. Now the fun begins this link is the best way to show how to make them.

http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/how_to_make_corn_tortillas/

I put the dough in the kitchen aid with the paddle instead of doing it by hand. When it pulls away from the side of the bowl and it can make a ball like play dough I know it is done. The kids usually help me press them. I do use a freezer zip lock bag to line the press. Just cut 3 of the sides so it can fold open and closed.

Roast

Now the meat. This time we had shredded pork. I usually prefer vegetarian (so does Trever of course) but it was time for a change. I used the crock pot and my 3lb roast took 7hrs on low a bigger one may take up to 10hrs. It is done when it falls apart.

Pork roast

• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon crumbled dried oregano
• 1/2 tablespoon ground coriander
• 1/2 tablespoon chili powder
  
• a couple of shakes ground cinnamon
• boneless pork shoulder roast
• 2 cups chicken broth
• one onion sliced
  

Put the roast in the crock pot cover with spices and onion then pour the broth around it careful not to rinse off the spice. Half way through cooking turn it over.

When the roast is done scrape off the fat and shred. There was a lot of liquid left in the pot and tons of yummy flavor so separate out about 2 cups draining off the fat. Put it in the blender with some brown sugar, the cooked onions and corn starch, blended a bit. Then cook until thick in a sauce pan adding a can of rinsed black beans. Just mix everything together in a big bowl and serve on fresh warm tortillas. Even Trever loved them....SHOCKER!

I know I need pictures I am working on it.

Kids Favorite

Today was Gavins first day of summer school -what a nightmare- I am hoping it gets better as the summer wears on. So back to packing lunches after a whole week off.

Fruit leather is the invention of the day!

I love my dehydrator bought on craigs list for $20 it is not fancy or state of the art but it is great for us. Also a must is a good blender I love my blendtec this is fancy and state for the art and we use it all the time. well worth the investment for us.

juice from 1 red grapefruit
2 large golden delicious apples
1 green pear (not sure the technical name) it was just laying around
cinnamon and a little pumpkin pie spice with 2 drops stivia

This goes into the dehydrator fruit leather tray. It is best to rub a little oil on the tray so it will come off when it is dry. I have used bananas in this and it tastes good but is no longer leather, the kids call them chips and that is the best description. I need to add some pictures so I will do that in the future with all my spare time :)

Here we go

I have been toying with resurrecting this blog and making it something new. Now that the kids are out of school and I have a ton of extra time on my hands...yea right..there is no better time than now to start.
We have been on a gluten free casein free journey for a while but I am now feeling confident enough to start sharing some of our experiments. Some are good and many need improvement but it is fun to learn together. Enjoy!

today's invention
baked corn tortilla chips

Preheat oven to 350*
I cut the corn tortillas up into little pizza like wedges and covered one side with ghee (casein free butter) and sprinkled with salt. I cooked them for 6 min. then flipped them for another 6-8 min. These will get crispier as they cool. Soooo yummy with salsa. We had some left over so we covered the last batch with cinnamon and sugar for a sweet treat.
I think next time I will cook at 400* and it would be easier with a good spray oil instead of painting it on. Good start overall for a 1st try.