laze

I have been a lazy blogger lately.

Yes, I have been eating. Somewhat cooking, but nothing remarkable enough to post.

I haven't been baking as much either. Stress usually fuels my baking binges, and to be quite honest I haven't been that stressed lately. I know you're thinking, "must be nice!" I have to say, it is. :o)

I also had to put my quest for the granola bar grail on hold because I haven't been able to find GF oats in my usual sources. Turns out, the distributor stopped distributing them in this area, so I have to wait until they find a new one. I'd buy them online but I can't justify paying the same for S&H as I pay for the product. Ridiculous.

In the meantime, here is a shot of my chili pepper sprouts. I had to bring them in during a particularly vigorous rain that brought some nice cool air through. I'm so proud that I actually grew something! I figured I'd try those, then work my way up to herbs and easy vegetables. I'm kinda liking this gardening thing. The seeds are so cheap and it's fun to watch things grow.

Like my festive paint job? I thought it'd be appropriate for chili peppers.

Pamela's Chocolate Cake Mix

You know you've got a great friend when your non-celiac friend requests a gluten free birthday cake just so you can have some. Talk about rockage. Gluten free enchiladas to boot? Makes me feel like it's my birthday! Like I said, that's a great friend right there. Happy 25th birthday to Missy!

The cake they chose: Pamela's Chocolate Cake Mix.

It was really good. Missy commented on how good it smelled as it was baking. We were all stuffed on enchiladas so we only had a few bites, but another non-celiac friend of ours ate his entire piece and agreed that it was really good. I took a peek at the directions, and they seemed pretty simple; you have to add only a few ingredients.

The cake is very moist, with a nice chocolate flavor and soft texture. It's got a good mouth feel. The cake is not very sweet by itself, and was very tasty with a dusting of powdered sugar. We didn't add frosting so I don't know how the sweetness of a frosting would complement the cake. I imagine it would be delicious without being overly sweet.

Will I finish the leftovers I got to take home? Oh yes. I know I'll have some with my coffee for breakfast- I won't be able to help myself.

Would I buy this and make it myself? Definitely.

Chex-ness

For breakfast this morning, I had Chocolate Chex. We've been keeping our eyes peeled for the new gluten free Chex, and they're slowly trickling their way into stores. Still waiting on the corn chex, though! That was always my favorite.

I love how the front of each box proudly proclaims "gluten free" and there's even a little blurb on the back. Some of the boxes also display the Celiac Disease Foundation logo.

I wonder what prompted this change? You think someone influential within the company was diagnosed, or maybe one of their family members? Or maybe it was just good business.

Either way, General Mills: you rock.

FYI: Cheese Sauce

Just a little FYI: When you're making cheese sauce and it starts to get way too thick, don't add water to it unless you want slimy cheese sauce.

I'm still learning!

Honey Roasted Peanuts

I wanted honey roasted peanuts to take in my lunch to school, but all we had were regular peanuts. So, I made my own! It was actually really easy.

Take some peanuts and drizzle honey over them in a pan. Heat it up on low and mix it around until they're all coated. Cover a cookie sheet with tin foil and grease it liberally. Pour the peanuts onto the sheet and bake them at 350 for about 10-15 minutes. The honey will start to bubble and carmelize.
Put the hot nuts into a bowl and sprinkle them with either brown or white sugar and a little salt. Stir them and keep adding sugar until they're cool and coated enough so they don't stick.

It's really hard to keep my hands off these... they may not make it to lunch!

Employee of the Week Brownies

I made these brownies to celebrate Missy's Emloyee of the Week award at the middle school where she teaches english. She certainly deserves it! We ate the whole pan...

The recipe is off of the Nestly cocoa container, but I modified the directions a bit.

You need:
1 2/3 c. sugar
3/4 c. melted butter
2 T. hot water
2 large eggs
2 t. vanilla
1 1/3 c. flour mix (that includes xanthan gum)
3/4 c. cocoa
1/2 t. baking powder
1/4 t. salt

Mix the butter with the cocoa and water, then add in the sugar. Mix in the eggs and vanilla. Mix the rest of the ingredients together in a separate bowl, then mix that into the sugar mixture.

Put it into a greased 9 x 13 pan and bake at 350 for 18-25 minutes.

If you halve the recipe, an 8 x 8 pan works well, but bake it for about the same time. They're ready when a toothpick comes out almost clean, or bake them until it comes out clean for less soft brownies.

While they're baking, make the frosting. The recipe is also on the cocoa container.

You need:

3 c. powdered sugar
2/3 c. cocoa
1/2 c. soft butter
5-6 T. milk
1 t. vanilla
1/4 t. salt

Mix 1 cup of the powdered sugar, the cocoa, butter, 2 T. of the milk, salt and vanilla with an electric mixer until it's creamy. Mix in the rest of the sugar and milk until it's frosting.

After the brownies have cooled in the pan, frost and add sprinkles. Yum. :o)