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Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookies

Mexican hot chocolate cookies, the cookie that other than the heath bar cookie, Josh asks for or declares his love for on the most regular basis. What I love about these cookies are that they are really easy to make! They are basic in their ingredients but packed SO full of flavor. So, let's get started.

What do you need for Mexican hot chocolate cookies?

For the cookies you will need:

  1. 1⁄2 cup gluten free flour
  2. 3⁄4 cup cocoa powder
  3. ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  4. ¾ teaspoon cayenne (if you like them hot. Use ½ teaspoon if you don't want them too hot)
  5. ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  6. ¼ teaspoon salt
  7. ¾ cup sugar
  8. 1 egg
  9. 12 tablespoon butter (1 and a half sticks of butter- you want unsalted and i should be cold)
  10. ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Drizzle:

  1. 1 cup of white chocolate
  2. ½ teaspoon vanilla
  3. 1 teaspoon crisco

How do you make Mexican hot chocolate cookies?

To make the cookies:

  1. Whisk the flour, cocoa, cinnamon, cayenne, salt, and pepper together in a medium bowl and set aside.
  2. Put sugar, vanilla, and egg into a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer on high speed until thick and pale, about 3 minutes. Add butter and continue to beat on high speed until smooth, about 3 minutes more. Using your fingers, work flour mixture into butter mixture until dough is just combined.
  3. Divide dough in half and roll each half into a 9″ log. Wrap each log in parchment paper, twisting ends tightly to make a uniform cylinder. Freeze dough logs (min. 2-8 hours). I usually leave it overnight.
  4. Preheat oven to 350°. Unwrap dough and slice each log into rounds about 1⁄3″ thick. Place rounds 1⁄2″ apart on parchment paper-lined cookie sheets. Bake cookies until slightly puffed and tiny cracks appear on surface (10-12 minutes).
  5. Allow them to cook on the pan once removed from the oven for 10 minutes. Once they are cooler, transfer them to a wire rack and allow them to cool completely.

To make the drizzle:

  1. Combine the white chocolate, vanilla, and crisco in a bowl.
  2. Microwave in 30 second increments- stirring each time after.
  3. Once you achieve a smooth consistency, use a fork to drizzle over your cookies and allow them to harden.
  4. Serve! They will stay great on the counter for about a week and can go much longer in the freezer. They are a great and hardy cookie.

Why should you make these?

For one, these cookies are SO easy. Honestly, I think they are the easiest cookie recipe I have. They are incredibly addictive and a great gift (especially around the holidays when you want something sweet but will also warm you up!). It also is super fun to drizzle stuff onto cookies.

Let me know if you make them and what you think!
- L

Rhubarb Tart

Rhubarb tart. My first memory of rhubarb is having a strawberry rhubarb pie. I feel that this is the most common introduction for children to rhubarb. It is tart, children don't love that, how do we make it more appealing? We shove it into a pie with strawberries (delicious) with a lot of sugar (perfect), and a flakey and delicious crust (we have now hit the child jackpot).

Once my life in Richmond began and I started experimenting with baking, I remember my first rhubarb season and I thought "you know what, it is time to give rhubarb another go". I may have been inspired by Molly Yeh's love of rhubarb as she worked with it a significant amount, and has her own rhubarb patch.

Galettes were my first attempt. Strawberry rhubarb galettes with thyme became a regular summer recipe. I love it still and often if I make it will give it to my neighbors (as I do with most of my baked goods - so Josh and I don't consume everything. Which can be difficult!).

Why a Rhubarb Tart?

I have a couple of accounts on instagram that I have followed for many years for inspiration. When I really started to bake, one of the pages that stuck out to me (as she had gluten free variations on some of her recipes) was Wife Mama Foodie. She has a beautiful picture and recipe for a rhubarb tart and I was mesmerized by how she placed the rhubarb atop the tart. She is the inspiration for the tart. I just had to perfect a gluten free crust recipe before I could proceed. I am happy to report that I have!

What will you need for this rhubarb tart recipe?

I use this crust for all of my tart recipes. You can see my recipe for pear and frangipane tart here.

For the crust:

  1. 1 cup superfine brown rice flour
  2. ½ tablespoon psyllium husk
  3. 2 tablespoon tapioca starch
  4. ¼ teaspoon salt
  5. 2 tablespoon potato starch
  6. ½ cup unsalted butter ( 8 tbsp- cold and diced)
  7. 4-5 tablespoon water (ice cold or cold being best)

For the filling:

  1. ½ cup (1 stick or 8 tbsp) unsalted butter- room temperature
  2. 1 egg
  3. ½ cup almond flour (this is the same thing as almond meal- it works just as well)
  4. One large egg
  5. 1 teaspoon tapioca starch
  6. ½ cup sugar
  7. 1 teaspoon almond extract

Topping:

  1. 2-3 stalks of rhubarb

How do you make it?

What I love the most about this recipe is how easy it is to make. Honestly, for how yummy this dessert is, it really does not get much easier than this.

To make your crust:
You will need a food processor for this

  1. Add your rice flour, psyllium husk, salt, tapioca starch, potato starch, and pulse a few times.
  2. You are going to want to cut your butter up into cubes. I like to quarter mine as it make it easier to pulse.
  3. Add your butter to your food processor and pulse a few times. You want the butter to still be visible and be around the size of a pea.
  4. Now, one tablespoon at a time, while you are pulsing your dough, add your water. Once you have added 3 tablespoons, you should see it start to look really crumbly. After 4 tablespoons, it should start to form a ball of dough. If it does not do this with 4 tablespoons, add 1 more and that will do the trick.
  5. Remove your dough from the food processor and cover in plastic wrap (or an eco-friendly alternative) and flatten into a disc. You will want to then cover it completely and place in the fridge for 1 to 2 hours.
  6. Once the dough has properly chilled, you will need two pieces of parchment paper. Place the disc between them and begin to roll out your dough to the necessary size of your tart pan. Place the dough into the tart pan, and if you have excess dough hanging off the side of the tart pan, use your rolling pin to roll over the tart pan, It will force the dough to cut off where you want it to.
  7. Push the dough so that it properly fits into the cracks of you pan. If you have any place that is cracking or has torn, take a piece of the excess dough and just push it on in there.
  8. Place your tart back into the fridge for twenty minutes and in the mean time make your filling.

To make the filling:

  1. Take your butter and sugar and cream them together using your beater attachment in your standing mixer. Let this mix for 3-5 minutes and allow it to really come together. If you need to scrape down the sides, do so.
  2. Add the rest of your ingredients; egg, almond flour, almond extract, and tapioca starch and allow it to mix for 3-5 minutes.
  3. While this is mixing, turn your oven to 350°F.
  4. If you have not chopped up your rhubarb stalks, do so now.

Putting it all together:

  1. Remove your tart shell from the fridge.
  2. Add your frangipane (the almond mixture) to the tart shell. If you need to, use a spatula to smooth everything out. You want to make sure that you have an even amount of frangipane throughout the entire tart.
  3. Place your rhubarb on top in the design you want.
  4. Place your tart in the oven. You are going to bake your tart for 1 hour or until your crust and frangipane filling are a nice golden color.
  5. Once it is done baking, you will remove from the oven and transfer your tart to a wire rack. Allow it to cool completely.
  6. I think the best thing for this tart is to then put it in the fridge over night to allow everything to really sit and settle. If you cannot possibly wait, you can go ahead and eat it once it has cooled. If you attempt to cut into it while the tart is still hot, the crust will be more crumbly.

Why should you make this rhubarb tart recipe?

It is honestly so easy to make and it is delicious. The tart from the rhubarb and sweet from the frangipane. It is sure to please everyone in your family and give your kids a change to be introduced to rhubarb in a new way!

Easy Gluten Free Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

Recipe updated December 3 2021

This recipe for classic Gluten Free Chocolate Crinkle Cookies, quick, easy, and gluten free! Ready in a few quick steps, this video tutorial will show you just how easy they are to make. In addition, storing tips follow below!

Before we get to the gluten free chocolate crinkle cookies, let us go back in time. 10 years ago, exactly 10 years ago, I was a twenty year old who loved gluten. Gluten was my everything. Baguette, croissants, pasta, pastries, you name it. Montreal has it all. When the diagnosis came in that I could no longer eat gluten my heart shattered. "What will I do about bread, and pasta, and desserts? HOW WILL I MANAGE AT CHRISTMAS?" are just a few of the thoughts that swirled through my mind. Ten years later, I have finally figured out how to make gluten free cookies not only good, but awesome. This is one of those recipes. Behold Gluten Free Chocolate Crinkle Cookies.

A chocolate crinkle cookie is essentially a very fudgy chocolate cookie that has a cracked top on it. What illuminates the cracks is that the cookie dough is rolled in powdered sugar prior to being place in the oven. Most cookies typically have a crust on them that will remain soft and flexible as the cookie bakes, however, if the surface dries out before the cookie is finished spreading and or rising, it hardens, cracks, and pulls apart. It produces a beautifully cracked exterior and is highlighted in this recipe by the white contrast of the powdered sugar!

Storage Tips for Gluten Free Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

These cookies will keep on the counter for about a week and will still be fudgy and delicious. They are really the texture of a gooey brownie on the inside, which makes them all the better! They are also freezable! If you wish to make this in advance of the holiday season, simply store them in an airtight container and place layers of parchment paper between the cookies. They will keep for 3 months in the deep freeze. When you wish to eat them, place them in the fridge or on the counter overnight and allow them to come to the correct temperature.

Alterations for this recipe:

If you wish to make these a bit more festive, you definitely can! In addition to adding vanilla extract, you can add one teaspoon of peppermint extract and or one teaspoon of orange extract (or orange blossom water) to the batter. Peppermint and orange pair so beautifully with chocolate that it is a great addition to the recipe and it has no change to the batter.

In addition, if you are a lover of dark chocolate, you can substitute the milk chocolate chips with dark chocolate. You may also use semi-sweet if you want to mix it up.

What will you need for your gluten free chocolate crinkle cookies?

  1. 1 cup gluten free flour (find a 1:1 flour)
  2. ⅔ cup unsweetened natural cocoa powder
  3. 1 teaspoon baking soda
  4. ⅛ teaspoon salt
  5. 1 stick ( 8 tbsp) unsalted butter (softened to room temperature)
  6. ½ cup granulated sugar
  7. 1 large Egg
  8. ½ cup light brown sugar
  9. 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  10. 1 cup milk chocolate chip
  11. Granulated Sugar (for coating)
  12. Powdered Sugar (for coating)

How do you make them?

Ingredients
Whisk dry ingredients together
Cream together your butter and sugars after whisking your dry ingredients in a separate bowl
Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture
Scoop and roll your dough into balls
Roll in castor sugar and then roll in powdered sugar
Bake at 350°F for 11-12 minutes
Allow to rest for 10 minutes and then enjoy!
  1. You are going to want to whisk the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt together in a bowl and set it aside.
  2. In a bowl using a hand-mixer or using your stand-mixer with the paddle attachment. Cream together your butter and sugars on a medium high speed until it is fluffy and you are tempted to eat it. Then add your egg and add vanilla. Beat them on high speed. Make sure to scrape down the sides of your bowl as you go. Slowly (on a low speed) add the dry ingredients to your mixer. Mix until they are combined. Add your chocolate chips to the mix.
  3. Cover the dough for at least 2 hours and chill it in your fridge.
  4. Remove your cookie dough from the fridge and allow it to sit for 15 minutes.
  5. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line your baking sheets with parchment paper or baking mats, your choice! Scoop the cookie dough from the bowl with a cookie scoop. Scoop and roll the balls and roll each in granulated sugar and then in the confectioner's sugar. Place them a few inches apart of the baking sheet.
  6. Bake the cookies for 11-13 minutes. If they haven't started to spread by minute 9, then remove them from the oven and lightly bang the cookie sheet on the counter or floor 2-3x. It will help them start to spread. Put them back in the oven and bake for a few more minutes. Take the cookies out from the oven and allow them to cool on the sheet for 10 minutes. Transfer them to a wire rack then to cool completely.
https://garnishedwithjoy.com//www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsqMmpkwUnY

Why should you make these Gluten Free Chocolate Crinkle Cookies?

Oh my goodness, well, why shouldn't you make these? These are absolutely delicious. They are so gooey and chocolatey that you will want to eat all of them in one sitting. They are good all year, not just for the holidays (even though they do shine around Christmas time). One of the best things? These cookies will keep for around 10 days on the counter or in the fridge. You can also freeze them! Let them cool completely, place in a container with parchment paper between the layers. They can stay in your freezer for up to 3 months. Let me know if you make them. I hope you love them as much as I do!

Tiramisu Sandwich Cookies
Candy Cane Cookies Recipe
Linzer Cookies
Chocolate Tahini Cookies
Double Chocolate Chip Cookies
Peppermint Mocha Cookies
Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookies
Heath Bar Cookies

Pomegranate Pavlova

Pomegranate mini pavlovas. Fun to say, fun to make. They are sweet, sticky, delicious, perfect for any season, and easy! I love pavlovas, I have written about my love of pavlova before and their history (look up Anna Pavlova). Once you make these, trust me, you're going to want to keep making them.

What will you need?

For the meringue:

  1. 6 egg whites (at room temperature if preferred but not required)
  2. 1 ½ teaspoon corn flour
  3. ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
  4. 1 cup sugar ( you can use 1 ½ cups if you want it extra sweet)
  5. pinch of sea salt

For the toppings:

  1. Heavy whipping cream (if you are dairy free, you can use full coconut cream)
  2. 1 cup Pomegranate juice
  3. 1 cup sugar
  4. 2 tablespoon orange blossom water
  5. Pomegranate seeds

How do you make Pomegranate Mini Pavlovas?

  1. Separate your eggs and place your egg whites into the bowl of your mixer. Make sure that no yoke has gotten into the whites. If any fat is in the whites- it can make them not rise up.
  2. Turn your mixer onto medium until the eggwhites begin to become frothy and then turn to high. You will have them beating for approximately 10-15 minutes.
  3. Slowly add your corn flour, cream of tartar, and sugar. Rotate between the three.
  4. Once your eggs have beaten up and have a good shine to them, do the test. The test is to light your bowl upside down. If the meringue stays put, it means it is ready.
  5. Set your oven to 290°F
  6. On a baking mat or parchment paper, form your meringues. Use two spoons to shape them the way you wish. You may want to create a little divot on the top so that the whipped cream can go in later.
  7. Bake your meringues for 1 hour. After 1 hour, turn your oven off, open the oven door and leave them in the oven like this for 15 minutes.
  8. Remove from the oven and allow them to cool.

To make the whipped cream

  1. Place heavy cream in a mixer, along with a tablespoon of sugar and beat.

To make the syrup

  1. Add your juice and sugar and orange blossom water in a pot. Allow it to boil down until it reaches the consistency you want.

How to put them all together?

Meringues are crunchy on their exterior however they still remain soft. Note that the second you put anything on top of them, they will begin to get soggy. So, do not cover your pavlova with the toppings until you are ready to eat them.

Why should you make Pomegranate Mini Pavlovas?

This is the quickest and fanciest dessert that you can serve a guest. They are so fragile, sweet, and beautiful that you will want to have them all the time. I promise that once you try them, you won't be able to stop yourself for going in for more.

Geode Macarons

Macarons are a classic French dessert. They are elegant, beautiful, and can be made into almost any flavor. Another bonus, they are naturally gluten free. A base of almond flour and powdered sugar is what brings these beauties together. Macarons can be tricky, but, they are worth it. Geode macarons are the most beautiful form of macarons that I have seen, and I am going to take you through a step by step how to make em.

What will you need for Geode Macarons?

For the shells:

  1. 2 egg whites (you need to make sure that no yoke gets into the whites- it will not allow the egg whites to properly rise)
  2. 1 cup powdered sugar (also known as confectioners sugar)
  3. ½ cup + 3 tablespoon almond flour
  4. 5 tablespoon granulated sugar
  5. 1 teaspoon Cream of Tartar
  6. Food coloring (optional)

For the filling:

I would suggest for geode macarons using American buttercream as your filling. Almond filling is particularly delicious so that is the recipe I will use here:

  1. One stick butter (softened)
  2. 1 ½ Cup powdered sugar
  3. 1 teaspoon almond filling
  4. 1 tablespoon milk or cream

For the "geode":

  1. You will first need rock candy which I suggest buying from here
  2. Food coloring
  3. Vodka

Royal Icing so that the rock candy will stick:

  1. 2 cup powdered sugar
  2. 1.5 tablespoon meringue powder
  3. 3 or 4 tablespoon of water

How to make:

You are going to start by making the shells of your macarons.

  1. Place your egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add your cream of tartar. Start the machine on medium. Once the egg whites begin to look frothy, change it up to high speed. Once you see peaks started to form in the meringue, add your sugar one tablespoon at a time.
  2. To test if your meringue is ready, you do the "meringue test". Lift your bowl upside down, if the meringue does not move from its place, it means it is ready.
  3. While your egg whites are beating, mix together your almond flour and powdered sugar. If you want to make sure they are super fine, you can pulse them together in your food processor and use a sieve to sift them.
  4. Once your egg whites are ready add one third of your dry mixture to the whites. You are going to want to fold them in gently doing the shape of a "J". This means to cut down the middles of the bowl with your spatula, and curve up as you would a J. Continue to do this until all of the dry mixture is incorporated.
  5. You want your mixture to be smooth and to slide off of the spatula. Once it is like that transfer it to a piping bag.
  6. In order to get perfect circles, you may want to use a baking mat with circles printed on it (these are easily found on amazon). Pipe your filling onto the baking mat or parchment paper.
  7. You are now going to bang your pan against the counter. 5 x per side. This will allow the meringue to flatten and get rid of any potential air bubbles. Once you have done this, allow the macarons to sit on the counter until they have hardened. The time will depend on the humidity in your kitchen.
  8. Set your oven to 310°F, when ready, place macarons in the oven on the middle rack, and bake for 11-13 minutes. You will want to see little "feet" grow on them. This is the little extra bit that bubbles up when they bake under the top part of the shell.
  9. Once you haver removed your shells from the oven, allow them to cool completely.

To make your filling:

  1. Make sure your butter is at room temperature. Beat with a paddle attachment for a few minutes.
  2. Add your powdered sugar and the icing will begin to form.
  3. Once it has been beating for about 5 minutes, you can add your almond extract and milk.
  4. Put your icing in a piping bag and pipe onto the base of the shells. Place the tops on them and then place in the fridge or freezer until you are ready to decorate.

Make your royal icing:

  1. Mix your powdered sugar and meringue powder.
  2. add the water.

Putting them together

  1. Once your macarons have chilled and you have your royal icing ready to go, pipe an outline for your geode on your macaron.
  2. Take your rock candy (it should be crushed up a bit if the pieces are too big) and begin to place them on the icing. The icing will be the binder that holds them in place.
  3. Chill your macarons again for at least an hour.
  4. To make the colored effect of the geode you will need to mix your food coloring with vodka. The vodka will help dilute the color but not make it too watered down. Start with the bolder color in the middle and work your way outwards (in addition, use gold to paint the outline).
  5. That brings you to the end of putting together your macarons!

Why should you make Geode Macarons?

You guys know that I love a good meringue, and honestly, these are just the prettiest desserts. They are a bit of work but the payoff you will get when your guests are in awe of what you have made them will be worth it.

Butternut Squash Bisque

This recipe for Butternut Squash Bisque is quick, easy, and absolutely delicious. A dinner or side, this soup is naturally gluten free, is vegetarian, and has a vegan option! Make it today.

Recipe updated September 22, 2021

For those who are transitioning to a gluten free lifestyle, this is a quick and delicious meal! Few are better than butternut squash! This butternut squash bisque is packed full of flavor, and is beyond simple to make. Let's get to it!

Can you make this butternut squash bisque vegan?

Yes! You absolutely can! I have made this recipe with every kind of broth and the flavor is still beautiful. Just use vegetable broth and use coconut cream instead of heavy cream!

Why is this a butternut squash bisque with apple?

I often think that foods that are in harvest around the same time together pair well together. In this case, it is apples and butternut squash. Despite being readily available all year round, it is best in the Fall and the Winter. The apple adds a deliciously natural sweetness and just enhances the taste of the butternut. It is delicious!

Can you make this butternut squash bisque with coconut milk?

You can, however, if you want it to have more richness, I would definitely advise you use coconut cream instead. It will help provide a thicker and richer consistency.

Butternut Squash Bisque with shrimp? No.

If you are tempted to add a protein to this, I would highly suggest crab. The flavor of crab really enriches the soup, however, it is not needed.

What spices pair well with butternut squash bisque?

Cinnamon is always going to be the number one spice. I also love using nutmeg, and if you want to add a bit of a pinch of a unique spice profile, ras el hanout.

How do you roast butternut squash?

This recipe uses roasted butternut squash. I use a whole squash and set my oven to 400°F and roast it for 2 hours. However, if you have pre-cut butternut squash, then wrap in aluminum foil and roast it like this.

What will you need?

One of the things I love about this recipe is that it is few ingredients but so delicious!

  1. One butternut squash
  2. 3 cups of broth (I use beef or chicken- you can use vegetable)
  3. 1-1.5 cups pure apple cider
  4. 1 tablespoon cinnamon
  5. 1 teaspoon nutmeg
  6. ⅓ cup heavy cream (you can use coconut cream if you want to make it vegan)
  7. Cilantro (optional)
  8. Feta (optional)
  9. Pine nuts and pumpkin seeds to your taste (optional)

How do you make butternut squash bisque?

  1. Set your oven to 400 °F and place the whole butternut squash on a baking tray. Bake for 2 hours until the exterior is golden and brown. You want to be able to pierce it with a knife and for it to go through smoothly.
  2. Remove the squash from the oven and allow it to cool. Slice it open and allow it to cool.
  3. Once it is cool, remove the seeds and scoop out the squash into your pot.
  4. Add your stock and set to medium high. Add your spices now.
  5. Allow the soup to simmer for around 10 minutes. You will now either want to use a handheld mixer or remove from the pot and blend in a blender.
  6. Put your soup back into the pot if you removed it and add your cream.
  7. Allow the cream to thicken the soup for around 10 minutes and stir.
  8. Serve immediately. Top with the garnishes mentioned above (should you choose).
A green bowl filled with butternut squash bisque topped with cilantro, pine nuts, pumpkin seeds, and feta.

Why should you make this soup?

For one thing, butternut squash is typically thought of as a fall food, and while it is, it is something that can and should be enjoyed all year round. This soup comes together so easily that it would be an opportunity wasted if you didn't. Let me know in the comments if you give it a try!


Looking for other recipes?

Spinach Soup click here
Fish soup click here
Butternut Squash Salad click here
Lentils and Eggplant click here
Carrot Gravy click here

See all recipes here

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Peanut Butter Blondies

A confession: I had never heard of blondies until Molly Yeh shared a recipe for them a few years ago. I grew up with brownies. In my mind a blondie was just a weird brownie. After making Molly's blondies my mind was changed and my adventure with blondies began. That is how we end up with, ladies and gents, the peanut butter blondies.

What will you need for these
peanut butter blondies?

  1. 1 ½ sticks of unsalted butter (that translated to ¾ cup butter)
  2. 1 cup Peanut Butter (I used creamy)
  3. 1 cup Light Brown Sugar
  4. ½ cup Granulated Sugar
  5. 2 Eggs
  6. 1 tablespoon Vanilla Extract
  7. 2 cups Gluten Free 1:1 Flour
  8. 1 teaspoon Baking Power

Equipment:
9x13 baking dish (greased)

How to make them:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9x13 baking dish.
  2. In a microwave or a pot on the stove, mix together your butter and peanut butter. Melt them. If you do this in the microwave, do it in 30 second increments.
  3. Mix the peanut butter and butter with brown sugar, sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Add the flour and baking powder and stir!
  4. Transfer your mixture to the fridge for 5 - 10 minutes until it has had time to cool off. You want the dough to not be warm the touch.
  5. Spread the dough in your baking dish and bake for 25 minutes. Make sure it is set in the center. Insert a toothpick and make sure it comes out clean.
  6. Let the bars cool and then eat up!

Why should you make these?

For one thing, it will make you question if you ever want or need a brownie again. Blondies are absolutely delicious. This is a great 1:1 recipe, so, if you are gluten free or not, you can make them. You can also store these in an airtight container for about a week and they will still be great!

Ratatouille

Have you ever wanted to make Ratatouille just like Remy from Disney's Ratatouille? Were you unsure as to how to bring this recipe to life? Look no further. This quick, easy, gluten free and vegan ratatouille is simple and beyond delicious. Make it today!

With the introduction of the Disney+ platform, we now have access to all of our favorite Disney films. One of my personal favorites is Disney's Ratatouille. My friend Amanda (who runs an awesome site you can check out right here) and I were talking about the film and asked: "what is there not to love?" A rat who controls a boy and is able to cook amazing French food? I have a special love for Disney, and I pretty much love any movie that has food in it or where the main focus is food.

What about the soup? Disney's Ratatouille Soup Recipe

Was a potato leek soup. I don't have a recipe for that quite yet on my site but I do have some soup recipes! You can check out my recipes for fish soup, butternut squash bisque, and spinach soup if you are in the mood for soup!

What is the plot of Ratatouille?

It is a great film that was first released in 2007. It has an 8/10 IMDB rating and is ranked at 96% on Rotten Tomatoes. Remy, our main character voiced by Paton Oswald is a delightful rat who loves food and to cook. He finds his way into the greatest restaurant in Paris, and manages to become a great chef!

What is traditionally served with ratatouille?

The beautiful thing about this dish is that it can be a side or a main. When served as a side it pairs beautifully with a white fish, slices of good crusty bread, pasta, and for the folk who can eat gluten, couscous.

This is a French ratatouille dish: Why is it called ratatouille?

Ratatouille is a classical Provencal French dish. It is considered to be a vegetable stew. "The word ratatouille is derived from the Occitan term “ratatolha” and the French words “rata” meaning chunky stew and “touiller” which means to toss food or stir up." You can read more about it here if you wish!

In the movie

This dish is able to sway the most curmudgeon of food critics in all of Paris. He is an old, crotchety man who when he takes a bite of this spectacular dish is brought back to his childhood. His innocence reborn, his cynicism, gone! I had to know, what is Disney's Ratatouille recipe?

Ingredients for Disney's Ratatouille

For sauce:
1. 2 red peppers
2. 1 yellow pepper
3. 3 or 4 roma tomatoes
4. 2 garlic cloves
5. 2 tablespoon Olive oil
6. ¼ cup vegetable stock
7. Water (if you think your sauce is too thick)
8. Thyme 2 sprigs
9. Fresh parsley

Veggies:
1. 4 or 5 tomatoes
2. 1 Japanese eggplant
3. 1 green zucchini
4. 1 yellow zucchini (or yellow squash)

How do you make Disney's Ratatouille Recipe?


To make the sauce:

1. Broil the peppers until there is a black layer and they look charred. 2. Remove them from the oven and wrap them in foil and allow them to steam. Meanwhile, blanch your roma tomatoes and peel their skin.
3. In a blender or food processor, place the roma tomatoes, garlic cloves, peel the peppers once they have cooled and also place them inside.
4. Add olive oil, thyme, parsley, and begin to blend. While machine is running, add the veggie stock.

Make the ratatouille:
1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Take a backing pan or a cast iron pan (I used cast iron) and fill the bottom with the sauce. Slice all of your veggies very thin, using a mandolin will be your easiest solution.
3. Begin to lay them over the other and make the pattern you wish. Once you have filled the entirety of the pan, drizzle the veggies with olive oil, use a tiny bit of salt and pepper and fresh rosemary if you wish.
4. Cover it with parchment paper cut specifically to cover your veggies.
5. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Remove from oven, take a bit of your leftover sauce, mix it with some olive oil and plate your dish. Add some fresh parsley with it. Serve immediately. Enjoy!

Why should you make Disney's Ratatouille?

Well, if it was able to make Anton Ego, aka the Parisian food critic, into a jovial and happy then what could it do for you? This is one of the freshest dishes you can possibly make and if you and your family want to watch Ratatouille and then make this dish, what could be more fun than that?

Looking for some other Disney Recipes?

Kronk's Spinach Puffs click here
Sleeping Beauty's Cake click here
Les Poissons from the Little Mermaid click here

To see how to make my recipes, follow me on Youtube here

Heath Bar Cheesecake

This gluten free 1:1 heath bar cheesecake recipe is sweet with its toffee topping. A unique take on a delicious dessert. Make it today!

We will get to the heath bar cheesecake in a few moments but let us first reflect upon the number three. Three years. A lot can happen in three years. A lot has happened in three years. On April 29, 2017, I married Josh. When looking back on our wedding, it was such a stressful time. We had people coming to Virginia from Iraq, Canada, and different parts of the United States. Basically, no one was local and everyone came to us.

We accomplished putting together the wedding mostly ourselves. All of our table settings, cards, invites, all of that stuff was done by us. We had a nerdy wedding where each table represented a theme of the things we love. Our friends and family helped us putting on the finishing touches the day of (which was SO stressful).

The reason April was the month we chose to get married was because (for Virginia) the weather is typically beautiful. Highs in the mid 70s; not too hot and not too cold. Oh boy, well. On our day, 95°F was the high. Melting, dripping, wanting to jump in a pool, were all thoughts that continued to go through mine and Josh's mind.

I know the typical dessert for weddings is cake. Well, finding quality gluten free cake can be a challenge. I did not want to make the desserts for our wedding as we had put together everything else. We finally found a place that does gluten free desserts in the Richmond area, and decided "you know what? screw cake. we are going to do pies, mini cupcakes, cannelés and 1 cheesecake."

Why a Heath Bar Cheesecake ?

We think the list of anniversary gifts is fun, however, this year is a bit of a problem for us. Year 3 is leather and Josh is a pescetarian. Our other tradition, going to Shagbark Restaurant in Richmond is officially on hold until Corona calms down. At our own wedding, we spent so much time talking to people that we did not get to eat any of our food or desserts. So, when I asked Josh what he would like for our anniversary dinner at home this year he said "a heath bar cheesecake". I had never heard of such a thing, so, to the pantry I went!

What will you need for Heath Bar Cheesecake?

What is great about this cheesecake is that it is a no bake cheesecake. I took a tip from Sally's Baking Blog.

For the crust:

  1. 2 cups graham cracker crumbs
  2. ⅓ cup brown sugar
  3. 1 stick butter = 8 tablespoon (melted)

For your filling:

  1. 1 ¼ cup heavy cream
  2. Three 8 ounce blocks of cream cheese
  3. ½ cup granulated sugar
  4. 2 tablespoon confectioners sugar
  5. ¼ cup sour cream
  6. 2 teaspoon lemon juice
  7. 1 teaspoon vanilla

For your topping:

  1. Heath!
  2. Melted chocolate
  3. Melted caramel (optional)

How do you make it?

Begin with your crust:

  1. Mix all of your crust ingredients together and pour into a 9 or 10 inch springform pan.
  2. Pack it very tightly- use the bottom of a measuring cup to pack it. The tighter it is packed the better.
  3. Place in the freezer for 10-15 minutes.

For the filling:

  1. Use the whisk attachment on a handheld or stand mixer and whip the cold cream until it has stiff peaks (do this on a medium/high speed for 4-5 minutes)
  2. In a separate bowl, use the whisk or paddle attachment and whip the cream cheese and granulated sugar on medium speed. Scrape the sides of the bowl. Add your sour cream, lemon juice, confectioners sugar, and vanilla. Beat for 2-3 minutes on a medium high speed. If there are lumps, keep mixing until there are none.
  3. Using your mixture on a low speed or with a rubber spatula, fold in the whipped cream into the mixture. This is a slow process as you do not want to knock the air out of your cream.
  4. Remove crust from the freezer and fill the crust with your filling. Smooth the top with an offset spatula.
  5. Cover tightly with plastic wrap or aluminum foil. Chill for 6-8 hours at a minimum. 12 hours is ideal.
  6. Use a knife to loosen the cheesecake crust. Then remove the rim.
  7. Once removed- add the toppings.
  8. Melt chocolate and spread across the top of your cheesecake, and add your pieces of heath.
  9. Cut the cheesecake with a clean sharp knife. If you want clean slices, wipe knife after each cut.
  10. Serve, and enjoy!

Why should you make a Heath Bar Cheesecake?

Cheese (in general) is delicious. I love to add it to pretty much anything I can if I can get away with it. This cake though, it is unique, delicious, sweet and tangy at the same time. It is worthy of any anniversary and really, just any day of the week. So happy 3 years to my hubs, and cheers to this cake!

Was this cake worth the 3 year wait?

Heck. Yes.

Gluten Free Linzer Cookies

These linzer torte cookies aka gluten free linzer cookies are not only delicious, but quick and easy. In addition to being gluten free, the recipe is egg free as well with a vegan option. See the video tutorial below!

I did not grow up with linzer torte or linzer torte cookies in my home. My mom is to this day a thumbprint cookie lady with a solid jam filling- which is fine with me as they are absolutely delicious. However, when I was living on my own and I wanted to learn to make gluten free cookies, I kept seeing photos of beautiful linzer cookies. And thus, this recipe was born! Let's make these gluten free linzer cookies.

Why are they called "Linzer Cookies"?

The cookies are based off of the Linzer Torte which originated in the Austrian city of Linz. It is a jam filled torte (tart) with a dough lattice the covers the top. The cookies are a year long staple in most German bakeries, however, they are definitely from Austria!

What are traditional Linzer Cookies made from?

If you look at the history of the torte, it is a pastry that is filled with a fruit jam (often the original version would have had currants), and had almond flour in the pastry. Therefore, when adapted to the cookie, many recipes use almond flour in the recipe still. I have opted not to do that but instead infuse the cookies with almond flavor via almond extract.

Recipe Alterations: Can these gluten free linzer cookies be made vegan?

As the recipe already has no eggs, the only real issue you are facing is the butter. I myself have not made them vegan but I see no issue with supplementing a dairy free butter. I love the texture of miyokos vegan butter, as I feel it is the closest to a dairy based butter. So, if you opt to make them dairy free / vegan, that would be my suggestion.

Storage Tips:

These cookies will keep on the counter for about a week. You can freeze them for about 3 months in the deep freeze. I would suggest that between each layer of cookie that you lay a piece of parchment or wax paper to help prevent sticking / the removal of the powdered sugar. If you also wish to "prep" them in advance but not put them together, storage would be the same.

What will you need for your gluten free Linzer Cookies?

1. 2 sticks of unsalted butter (at room temperature)
2. ¼ cup white sugar
3. ¼ cup light brown sugar
4. 1 teaspoon lemon juice
5. 1 teaspoon almond extract
6. 2 & ½ cups gluten free flour mix (with a thickening agent such as xanthan gum in it). My favorite gluten free flour for cookies is King Arthur Gluten Free Flour
7. Icing sugar (to coat the cookies)
8. Jam for the interior - I suggest strawberry, however you can really use any jam you prefer. Strawberry and raspberry tend to be the most common, but I am partial to a marmalade.

How do you make these gluten free linzer cookies?

  1. Cream together your butter and sugars for about 3-5 minutes. It will become light and fluffy (you will be tempted to eat it, but don’t). Add your flour, lemon juice and almond extract. It should come together to form a dough. If it is still a bit too dry, you can add 1 teaspoon of water or milk at a time until it does.
  2. Take two pieces of parchment paper and place your dough between them. Roll out your dough until it is around ¼ inch thick. Place the cookies in the fridge for at least one hour.
  3. Set the oven to 350°F and bake your cookies for 12-14 minutes after they have properly chilled. Let the cookies sit on the cookie sheet for 10 minutes after the have finished cooking. Let them cool completely. Take the tops of your cookies and sprinkle them with icing sugar (powdered sugar).
  4. Take your bases and fill with a bit of jam- not too much as it will spread when you place the tops on.
Ingredients for gluten free linzer cookies
Mix the ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer until the dough forms. Place on a piece of parchment
Cover with another piece of parchment paper
roll out the dough
roll the dough out evenly
use a cookie cutter to shape the cookies. Place in the fridge for 1 hour and then proceed to bake
Take the tops and sprinkle powdered sugar on them
On the bottoms, place the jam
https://garnishedwithjoy.com//www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTMqmicuh4g
Sandwich the cookies together
and enjoy

Soft Amaretti Cookies
Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
Double Chocolate Chip Cookies
Peppermint Mocha Cookies
Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookies
Heath Bar Cookies
Tiramisu Sandwich Cookies
Candy Cane Cookies Recipe
Chocolate Tahini Cookies

Want to stay up to date with all my new recipe videos? Follow me on Youtube here

Savory Galette

Savory Galette, Costco. Do they have anything in common? Generally, no, but, do you know that they have an amazing book section and sometimes you can find the steal of the century in there? That is what happened to me when I came across the cookbook "Simple" by
Yotam Ottolenghi. My love affair with Yotam emanates from this book. He has a recipe for an anchovy and sage pizza that is a staple in our household, however, in our continued times of uncertainty (and apparent lack of yeast at all grocery stores) I have turned his recipe into a galette.

Savory galette covered in potatoes and green onions is sliced like a pizza sitting upon a wooden cutting board.

Why should you make a savory galette?

Well, typically, galette recipes are sweet ones. Do not get me wrong, I am all about a sweet galette however you can get into some cool depths of flavors when you enter the savory realm.

What will you need?

For the crust you will need the following:
1. 2 cups almond flour
2. 1 ¼ cup regular flour (you can do a regular or gluten free flour it is 1:1)
3. 8 tablespoon (1 stick) of butter (cold)
4. 2 tablespoon cream cheese
5. 2 tablespoon of cold milk mixed with 4 tablespoon of cold water
6. ¼ teaspoon salt
7. 1 egg


For the filling you will need the following:
1. One small container of mascarpone cheese
2. 1 russet potato (it should be a larger potato)
3. 8 sage leaves
4. Green onion
5. 5 filet of anchovy
6. 1 ½ cup parmesan cheese
7. 1 tablespoon lemon juice
8. Salt and pepper to taste
9. Olive oil

How do I make it?

First you are going to want to make your crust. Let us begin.

  1. Take your flours and salt and pulse them together in your food processor.
  2. Cut up your cold butter into small chunks and add it into the food processor. Add your cream cheese in now as well. Pulse a few times.
  3. Mix your milk and water together and add 1 tablespoon at a time as you pulse your mixture. Do so until the dough comes together to form a ball.
  4. Wrap in plastic wrap and place in the fridge for at least 1 hour.

Putting it together:

  1. While the dough is in the fridge, mix together your filling. Take the mascarpone, parmesan, anchovy, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and sage leaves (chopped up) and mix it into a paste.
  2. Remove your dough from the fridge and roll it out on parchment paper.
  3. cover the base of the galette with your mixture.
  4. Slice your potato very thinly and place atop the mixture.
  5. This dough (because it has so much almond flour in it) is not as strong as your typical dough. Use the parchment paper you rolled the dough out on to help you fold the sides over. If it cracks, no big deal, just pinch it back together.
  6. Place the galette back in the fridge for 15 minutes and in the meantime, set the oven to °400F.
  7. Remove galette from the fridge and do an egg wash on the crust.
  8. Drizzle a slight bit of olive oil on your potatoes and use some salt and pepper.
  9. Bake the galette at °400F for 10 minutes and then lower the temperature to °350F for 30 minutes.
  10. Once the galette has cooked, allow it to sit on the counter for 10 minutes or so. If you cut it while it is still too warm, the crust will be crumbly.
  11. Toss the green onions on top. Serve and Enjoy!

Why should I make this savory galette?

It is really different and the flavors that emerge are not ones that you would typically think would go together but they do. It is as if you are eating your new favorite pizza except is in on a flakey pie crust dough that satisfies your cravings for anything sweet and salty.

Mini Pavlovas

What is a pavlova?

Rumor has it that the famed Russian ballerina, Anna Pavlova, is the namesake for the dessert. While on tour in Wellington, New Zealand in the 1920s, the dessert was created in her honor. A pavlova is simply meringue (egg whites, sugar, and sometimes a few additions). Baked at a low temperature, it allows the exterior of the dessert to form a delicious crust while remaining spongey, sugary, and delicious inside. Mini pavlovas are just as good.

What do you need?

In order to make your mini pavlovas you will need:

  1. 6 egg whites (at room temperature if preferred but not required)
  2. 1 ½ teaspoon corn flour
  3. ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
  4. 1 cup sugar ( you can use 1 ½ cups if you want it extra sweet)
  5. pinch of sea salt

For your topping:

  1. Whipping cream
  2. Berries or Fruit
  3. Syrup (optional)

Equipment:
Mixmaster or hand-mixer (mixmaster will be easier)

How do you make mini pavlovas?

  1. Separate your eggs and place your egg whites into the bowl of your mixer. Make sure that no yoke has gotten into the whites. If any fat is in the whites- it can make them not rise up.
  2. Turn your mixer onto medium until the eggwhites begin to become frothy and then turn to high. You will have them beating for approximately 10-15 minutes.
  3. Slowly add your corn flour, cream of tartar, and sugar. Rotate between the three.
  4. Once your eggs have beaten up and have a good shine to them, do the test. The test is to light your bowl upside down. If the meringue stays put, it means it is ready.
  5. Set your oven to 290°F
  6. On a baking mat or parchment paper, form your meringues. Use two spoons to shape them the way you wish. You may want to create a little divot on the top so that the whipped cream can go in later.
  7. Bake your meringues for 1 hour. After 1 hour, turn your oven off, open the oven door and leave them in the oven like this for 15 minutes.
  8. Remove from the oven and allow them to cool.

To make the whipped cream

  1. Place heavy cream in a mixer, along with a tablespoon of sugar and beat.

Why should you make mini pavlovas?

Well, if you happen to have a bunch of eggs sitting around it is an incredibly easy dessert. It will satisfy your sweet tooth like never before. Also, the super fun part, you can top it with a bunch of different things. In this recipe, I made what I call "Canadian Mini Pavlovas". I topped mine with whipped cream, blueberries, and maple syrup. There are few things more Canadian than maple syrup.

Linguine With Clams

Linguine and clams with red pepper flakes sitting in a pink serving bowl.

Sometimes, when I daydream (which I will say as a pisces, is often) I dream of pasta. I think of Italy and the glorious few weeks that Josh and I spent there. One of my favorite dishes we had there was Linguine with clams or in Italian, Linguine con vongole. There is a restaurant in Pompeii, Osteria de Peppina, that is arguably the best food that Josh and I have ever had. This linguine with clams recipe is an attempt at their recipe.

What will you need?

Besides a big appetite you will need the following:

  1. 1 box of pasta- I use the gluten free barilla spaghetti or linguine (whichever is available at the time). You can use regular pasta if you choose!
  2. Little neck clams- it is really up to you how many clams you would like to use. Our grocery store sells fresh clams by the bag, so, we usually use a bag.
  3. 1.5-2 cups of white wine- I use Pinot Grigio
  4. 5 or 6 garlic gloves
  5. 1 tablespoon red pepper flakes
  6. Olive oil - to coat the bottom of your dutch oven
  7. ½ cup of your pasta water
  8. Flat leaf Italian parsley

Equipment

  1. Pot for your pasta
  2. Dutch Oven
  3. Sieve
Linguine and clams with red pepper flakes sitting in a pink serving bowl.
Linguine and clams with red pepper flakes sitting in a pink serving bowl.

How to make

To make this linguine and clams recipe you will need to do the following:

  1. You are going to want to scrub and clean all of your clams! If any are open or cracked- toss them. It means they are bad and you should not eat a bad clam!
  2. In your pot- get your water ready and placed on high heat. Salt your water- it should be pretty salty.
  3. On medium heat, coat the bottom of your dutch oven with olive oil. Let it heat up a bit. Heat your red pepper flakes up, and smash your garlic. Add it to the base of the oven.
  4. Add your wine and let the alcohol begin to burn off. Add your clams and close the lid to your dutch oven until the clams all open.
  5. Meanwhile your pasta should be in the pot boiling away - cook according to the package instructions. Reserve ½ cup of the pasta water.
  6. Once your pasta is cooked, and your clams open, remove the clams from the dutch oven and set aside. Place the pasta and your pasta water in the dutch oven and let it form a sauce that coats your noodles. It will almost appear as if you have butter on them.
  7. Slice up your parsley and once your noodles are ready, toss your clams and parsley back in the pot and serve

Why should you make this?

It is absolutely delicious and really, you just cannot go wrong. Something to keep in mind, Italians eat this without parmesan cheese traditionally. I, however, cannot say no to parmesan and add it to everything. So, if you like, you can top this with parmesan as well.

Pear and Frangipane Tart

Arguably, one of the best shows to have come out of the modern era is the Great British Baking Show. A recipe that seems to be known by all of the contestants, as well as being a technical challenge, are frangipane tarts. They are always accompanied by a fruit. Well, in this weeks "what is in my pantry" I found canned pears. Therefore, my pear and frangipane tart was born!

I love tarts

Tarts always remind me of my grandmother. Despite her being a wonderful pastry chef, every Easter we would pick up a fruit tart from our local bakery. The tart base would be pastry, with a layer of chocolate, then a custard, topped with fruit. It was so delicious. I have talked about tarts and pies here.

What you will need

For the Tart:
1.5 cups of Gluten free flour (Cup4Cup is my favorite for this)
8 tablespoons butter
A pinch of salt
5 tablespoon ice water

For the filling:
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
½ cup sugar
1 egg
1 cup almond flour (almond meal is the same- works just as fine)
1 tablespoon tapioca starch
1 teaspoon almond extract
Pears- it is up to you if you use fresh or canned. It will also be up to you to decide how many you wish to place upon your tart.

Equipment:
Food Processor
Mixer

How to put it all together

  1. To make the crust, place all of the dry ingredients into your food processor. Pulse a few times.
  2. Add your diced pieces of butter and begin to pulse. You do not want to completely dissolve the butter, just to make it into peasized pieces.
  3. Add your water as you continue to pulse. I ended up needing around 5 tablespoon of ice water. As you pulse, the dough will come together to form a ball and wrap in plastic wrap, place in the fridge.
  4. Refrigerate for 1-2 hours.
  5. Remove your dough from the fridge. Use brown rice flour to flour two pieces of parchment paper and roll it out between them. Take your rolled out dough and mold it to your tart pan. Place back in the fridge for 20 minutes.
  6. Set your oven to 350°F in the meantime.
  7. While the dough is in the fridge, make your filling.
  8. Cream together your butter and sugar. Add the rest of your ingredients and mix for a few minutes. It will appear to be like a loose paste.
  9. Remove your tart from the fridge and will it with the frangipane mixture. Top the mixture with your pears and then proceed to bake for 40 minutes. Allow it to sit on the counter until it is cool and then remove it from your tart pan.
  10. Serve and enjoy!

Why should you make this pear and frangipane tart?

It is absolutely delicious and in the continued weirdness that is this Covid-19 world, sometimes finding traditional ingredients can be a bit dicey. Why not give something new (like pear and frangipane tart) a try?

Looking for something similar?

Treacle Tart recipe click here
Tomato Tart click here
Rhubarb Tart click here


Fried Egg with Rice

A green bowl sitting upon a biege cloth filled with rice covered in sesame sauce, a fried egg, and furikake.

My friend Tara and I love food. We love to talk about it, look at menus, dream about restaurants we want to try and the like. We do not live in the same state but whenever we get together we tend to make breakfast for everyone (she for us if we are visiting, and me for them in the reverse). The last breakfast that she made for us was Toamago Kake Gohan, aka a Japanese inspired fried egg on rice.

What you will need for this recipe

Thankfully, not much! Which is in part why this Japanese inspired fried egg on rice dish is so great!

Ingredients:
White rice - any white rice will do
Sesame oil
Furikake
Eggs
Olive Oil
Cilantro
Sriracha
Salt

That is it! What is even better, you can decide how much to use of each!

How to make your Toamago Kake Gohan

  1. Make your rice and set to the side.
  2. Cover your rice in as much sesame oil as your heart desires.
  3. Fry your egg in olive oil so that it is sunnyside up. My suggestion is to fry it in a pan and then cover with a lid. It will cook and crisp up nicely.
  4. Place your egg on top of your rice and cover in as much furikake as you like.
  5. Cover with cilantro and sriracha (again, to your liking!)
  6. You can add a pinch of salt if you like. Otherwise, serve and enjoy!
A green bowl sitting upon a biege cloth filled with rice covered in sesame sauce, a fried egg, and furikake.
A green bowl sitting upon a biege cloth filled with rice covered in sesame sauce, a fried egg, and furikake.

Why I love Toamago Kake Gohan

I love recipes that include rice as rice can be done up in a million ways. This recipe is so quick and easy that it is hard not to love it. When Tara made it for us the first time, I took my first bite and knew it was love. Josh and I ate as much of it as we could! I know that you will love it, too.

Easter Cookie Recipe

Blue and rose colored egg shaped cookies with speckles sitting in an egg carton.

Easter Cookie Recipe: The Story

Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter. Those were the holidays that my grandmother always had us gather for. The meals often had the same foods: potatoes, Polish dumplings, ham, fish, pierogies, etc. The main events, for dessert lovers, would be cookies, cake, and creme caramel. Egg decorating is always a fun tradition but with eggs a bit harder to come by these days, I wanted to make an Easter cookie recipe without eggs.

Why are eggs even a part of Easter?

This was something I only learned about after reading my all time favorite book, American Gods, by Neil Gaiman. The religion major in me was intrigued and my research began. Neil speaks of an Ostara "who is she?" I thought (also thinking her name is beautiful). If you look at history, Christian holidays almost always fall near an ancient pagan holiday. Easter is no different. Enter, Ostara.

Ostara, bunnies, and eggs?

An Anglo-Saxon goddess, Ostara (sometimes spelled Eostra), is representative of the Dawn and Spring. Budding plants and fertility on the earth all fall under her domain. The symbols for Ostara are rabbits, eggs, seeds, and flowers. So while the holiday of Easter has now superseded Ostara, we still continue to celebrate her with bunnies, egg decorating, and witnessing spring come into bloom.

Eostra -> Easter = Egg Cookies

Her name is transformed into the current name Easter and for that I am making cookies. Eggless cookies to be exact. So, what will you need for this delicious Easter cookie recipe? Let's take a look:
For Cookies:
1. 2 sticks of unsalted butter (at room temperature)
2. ¼ cup white sugar
3. ¼ cup light brown sugar
4. 1 teaspoon lemon juice
5. 1 teaspoon almond extract
6. 2 & ½ cups gluten free flour mix (with a thickening agent such as xanthan gum in it)

For Glaze:
2 tablespoon lemon juice
1 ¼ cup powdered sugar

For Spots:
¼ teaspoon cocoa powder
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

  1. Cream together your butter and sugars for about 3-5 minutes. It will become light and fluffy (you will be tempted to eat it, but don't).
  2. Add your flour, lemon juice and almond extract. It should come together to form a dough. If it is still a bit too dry, you can add 1 teaspoon of water or milk at a time until it does.
  3. Take two pieces of parchment paper and place your dough between them. Roll out your dough until it is around ¼ inch thick.
  4. Use your cookie cutters to make the shape you want and place your cookies on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a baking mat.
  5. Place the cookies in the fridge for at least one hour.
  6. Set the oven to 350°F and bake your cookies for 12-14 minutes after they have properly chilled.
  7. Let the cookies sit on the cookie sheet for 10 minutes after the have finished cooking. Let them cool completely. In the meantime, make your glaze.
  8. Mix your lemon juice and powdered sugar. If you want separate them into two bowls and add food coloring.
  9. Dip the cookies into the glaze and let them sit for 30 minutes.
  10. Make your dots! Mix the cocoa powder and vanilla. Dip a paint brush into the mixture and flick it onto your cookies. Let it sit for a few minutes and serve up.
Blue and rose colored egg shaped cookies with speckles sitting in an egg carton.
Blue and rose colored egg shaped cookies with speckles sitting in an egg carton.

Why you should make these cookies?

They are sweet and tart all at the same time and so stinking cute. I hope you give them a try.
Happy Ostara to everyone!

Strawberry Galette

Sliced pieces of galette on three plates and a few on a tray.

Strawberry Gluten Free Galette

Let me preface this by saying I love pie. I love tarts. In my mind, a galette, specifically, this gluten free strawberry galette recipe, is basically a combination between those two things, and I love it.

Like many others right now, in this strange environment and climate, obtaining groceries has become a difficult task. When I try to purchase my normal gluten free flour mix, they are often sold out. It led to the search for alternative recipes in the hopes that those flours would be available. I was craving sweets, so, I needed to be crafty.

One of the things I am doing for myself this year (and has been great thus far) is that I am participating in Sam Adler's Mastermind class. I was talking to my classmates in regards to finding an alternative recipe, and my friend Belen, suggested Cannelle et Vanille.

The crust recipe is from Aran, the creator behind Canelle et Vanille. It is a delicious base of buckwheat and fine brown rice flour.

Ingredients

You will need a scale for this recipe
For the crust:
110 g Butter (unsalted and cold)
105 g Brown rice Flour (superfine, plus more for dusting)
40 g Potato starch
35 g Buckwheat Flour
63 g Sugar (plus more for sprinkling)
.38 teaspoon Salt
1 egg yolk
Ice Water (about 3-5 tablespoon as needed)

For the interior:
Strawberries sliced
Sugar
Mascarpone
Corn Starch or Tapioca Starch

How to make

Firstly, you are going to make your dough.
You are going to want to dice up your cold butter.
Next, mix together your flours, starches, sugar, and salt. Add the butter to the bowl and begin to mix by hand. You want to make the butter into pea sized pieces. Do not fully incorporate it. You want to be able to see little pieces of butter when you are done.

In a separate bowl, mix your egg yolk and your water. Add that mixture to your dough and begin to mix with a fork. It should begin to start to come together. If you feel it is not coming together enough, slowly add 1 tablespoon of water at a time. Knead the dough into a disc and then wrap it in plastic wrap. Place in the fridge for at least one hour.

While the dough is in the fridge, slice your strawberries, and place them in a bowl. Cover them in your starch and sugar and allow them to sit for at least ten minutes so the juices can release and the strawberries can become really sugary and sweet.

Galette being rolled out with strawberries.
Dough rolled out with mascarpone and strawberries
Hands folding a galette dough that is filled with strawberries.

Once it has been an hour (and not a minute less!) you can remove the dough from the fridge and begin to roll it out. It is best to roll it out on parchment paper with a baking tray underneath it (it will simplify the process of transferring). Let the making of your gluten free strawberry galette begin!

Dust your parchment paper with more brown rice flour, as well as your dough and begin to roll it out. Once it is at the appropriate thickness, take your mascarpone and spread it out. Cover it with the strawberries and begin to fold up your sides. Once it has been assembled, place back in the fridge for 15 minutes. While in the oven, preheat your oven to 425°F or 218°C. Once the 15 minutes have passed, remove your galette from the fridge and use your egg wash. Cover the sides of your galette in the egg wash and sugar.
Place in the oven for 28-30 minutes. Once your crust is starting to look pretty brown and delicious, remove from your oven.

This recipe is sure to please everyone. Even my husband, who isn't a fan of desserts (unless they are in the form of cheesecake, ice cream, and or candy) liked it. Feel free to serve with whipped cream, vanilla ice cream, or vanilla yogurt.
Enjoy!

Vegetarian Bourguignon

Vegetarian Bourguignon

Vegetarian Bourguignon does not roll off the tongue the same way that beef Bourguignon or in the proper French Boeuf Bourguignon does. I love
Julia Child. She is one of the people I would have to my fictitious dinner party should the opportunity ever arise.

We are living in strange times right now.

We are trying to continue to eat as best we can even though times have been rough. We are making meals that we know we can have leftovers from. I feel the norm right now is that there is no norm.

What you need for this recipe

You will need the following:
1. Butter - about 6tbsp - or use olive oil
2. I use about 3 packages of the mixed gourmet mushrooms from the store
3. 1 bag of frozen pearl onions (these are so much easier as you don't have to peel them)
4. 2 cups red wine- I use cabernet
5. 2 cups vegetable stock
6. 3 carrots
7. 1.5 tablespoon of tomato paste
8. 3 garlic cloves minced
9. 3 or 4 thyme sprigs
10. 1 bay leaf
11. Polenta (we'll get back to this later).
12. 3 tablespoon coconut aminos or soy sauce
13. 2 tablespoon flour (I use gluten free flour)

How to make the veggie bourg.

You are going to want to melt about half of your butter and or heat up your olive oil in a pan. Add your mushrooms and your pearl onions. Do not stir them frequently. You want them to brown on each side.
Do this for about 7-10 minutes. Once they are all browned, remove them from the pan.

Melt the rest of your butter and add your carrots. Sauté them for about 5 minutes until they are soft and golden. Place garlic in the pot for 1 minute, and then add your tomato paste and coconut aminos. Add your flour and make sure the carrots and garlic are covered.

Pour your wine and veggie stock into your pot. Put the mushrooms and onions back in. Add your thyme and bay leaf. Mostly cover your your pot with its lid and allow it to simmer on medium heat for about 28-30 minutes. It will thicken and become absolutely delicious.

Ingredients for veggie bourg
melt your butter and or heat your oil in a pot, add the veggies and brown them. Once browned, add the tomato paste, garlic, and coconut aminos.
Then add the flour and make sure to coat all of the vegetables
Proceed to add the veggie stock, wine, bay leaves, and thyme sprigs.

Serve over polenta, mashed potatoes, or corn bread
Serve immediately and enjoy!

Now, Polenta. I do love polenta.

How you cook your polenta is up to you. For 1.5 cups polenta I use 2.5 cups milk and 1.5 cup veggie stock. I also add pepper, parmesan cheese, and gruyere to my polenta mixture. You do not have to do any of these things especially if you want it to be vegan. Butter is added into mine in the end.

Once your polenta is ready (cook yours according to the package and add what you like) top your polenta with your vegetarian bourguignon.

Storing

This will last for several days in your fridge and reheats really nicely.

Looking for something similar?

Poached Eggs, Polenta, and Kale click here
Stuffed Pasta Shells with Ricotta and Spinach click here
Vegan Polenta click here
Linguine and Clams click here
Ratatouille click here
Lentils and Eggplant click here

Florida 2019

Visit Florida.
You just have to roll with it.

Dark times, Harry. Dark times. - Hagrid

Well, last week was my birthday! It was also the beginning of our journey to visit Florida for our Florida 2019 trip with our friends.

The Plan

  1. Arrive at the Richmond, Virginia airport and take a JetBlue flight into Orlando.
  2. Stay in a cute little area named Sanford (the historic district) for a few days.
  3. Head to Disneyworld where we would stay at the Animal Kingdom Lodge.
  4. Leave Disney, go to the Orlando Airport, and fly home.

The Day Before

I get an e-mail from JetBlue stating that the Orlando airport is under construction. This is all happening while every 2 minutes my phone is receiving alerts updating us about the continuing spread of the coronavirus. I look to Josh and ask "Is it smarter if we just drive? It is long, but, it is doable". We nod in agreement and the plan is established.

We would leave at 10:15 the following morning and we would stop in Savannah, GA to have dinner. From there we would continue our journey and arrive in Sanford at approximately 9:45 pm. We rested up and slept off the drive.

Kelly Park

We stayed at the house of our friends mother and stepfather who are nothing but gracious hosts and wonderful tour guides. They know all the best spots in the surrounding area and they suggested a natural spring with the clearest water, Kelly Park.

The water was a bit chilly when you jumped in, but oh man, what a beautiful spot. We ended up visiting here twice simply due to how beautiful the area was. I suggest going on a weekday, if you can, as there will be far fewer people.

It was not soon after that

We received news that Disneyland had closed, and therefore we knew that Disneyworld would soon be following suit. We reassessed and decided we would call Disney, get our money back (as we had done with JetBlue) and simply enjoy the rest of our vacation doing fun outdoor things.

St. John's River

An activity that we participated in (which was great) was renting a pontoon boat and taking a tour out on St. John's River. One of our hosts is a boat expert and offered to take us on a tour. It ended up being fantastic as we saw so much wildlife (you forget that you are in the US) including a bobcat!

We saw so many cool animals in their natural habitats and that only continued when we went to Black Bear Wilderness Hike. It is a 7 mile hike, we ended up doing around 4. Things that we saw that we loved:

  1. Really cool ecosystems

2. More neat animals. Examples: otters (a bevy) and we saw wild boars who did not want to be photographed. Along with some birds, turtles, and crocs.

We had a fabulous time in Florida, despite us not going to Disney. The town of Sanford is really interesting because it has some awesome food, breweries (for those that can consume gluten), and shops.

Some of our fave places for food and drink are:
Hollerbachs - A German restaurant with authentic and delicious food that has not only a gluten free but vegetarian menu.
5th Element Indian Food - Get the Dosa if you go.
Buster's Bistro - This is less so for food but I was told by everyone else that their beer is great (they also make a good sangria)

Take Aways

I think people often have a misconception of a visit to Florida (I know I did). It is often just advertised as Disney and Universal with a few other things to do (mostly the beach). However, we experienced wonderful biodiversity, delicious food, and glorious weather for the middle of March. If you are debating a trip once all of the social distancing calms down, I would highly recommend all of these places.

30!!!

Holy crap, guys. I turned 30 years old today. All that keeps popping into my mind is the episode of Friends where they all turn 30.

Image result for friends where they all turn 30

We see how each of the friends spends their birthday. Rachel refuses to process it, Monica gets plastered, Ross buys an expensive car, Joey has a meltdown at God (despite them making a deal), Chandler is seemingly fine (but Joey is not), and Phoebe has a list.

A list you say

Phoebe has a list of all the things she wished to have done by the time she turned 30. That seems to ring closest to home. I do not necessarily have a list but there were definite things that I wanted to have accomplished by the time I turned 30. Some I have, some I have not. I think that has been part of the journey. I can accept that there are things I am still chasing, and this is okay!

SO, I have instead chosen to look at turn thirty in this light. I have to decided to list 30 things that I have learned about myself. The past 1.5 years have been ones of serious self reflection. So, on that note. Here we go:

What I have learned

  1. Even though I am no longer a teacher, that I am a good teacher.

2. Despite my younger self thinking she was a Gryffindor, it is confirmed that I am a Ravenclaw.

3. I have learned that I am a more emotional person than I thought. Examples: crying when seeing the Coliseum for the first time and a statue in the Vatican.

4. I cannot say no to an animal in need. Especially cats. They seem to find me.

5. I am brave. I left my whole life in Canada and moved to a place where the only person I knew was Josh.

6. I have soundly decided that Neil Gaiman is my favorite author.

7. Despite being against marriage, I found someone that makes it fun. It has made me a better person.

8. I really like pink. It was not my favorite as a kid but is certainly one of my favorites now. So much so, that my wedding dress was blush.

9. I am a hard worker. I worked my ass off and in 7 years earned my Bachelor of Arts and my Master of Arts. My M.A. being from a top 25 school in the world. I also graduated my M.A. with a 4.0 GPA (Did I mention, Ravenclaw?).

10. I am good at photography and baking! It took me a long time to realize what my skills were, outside of academia. I am a creative, and I have found ways to use that aspect of myself.

11. I am strong as hell. I don't mean that in the physical "Hey, look how much I can lift" but I can overcome obstacles. Dealing with a traumatic brain injury going on 15 months has taught me that I can endure and I can survive.

12. I love to travel. As a kid, we weren't rolling in money so, I did not really start exploring until I was an adult. I was always drawn to Italy and it is confirmed that it is my favorite place in the world.

13. I love food. Pretty much all food (I even love food with gluten in it, I just don't eat it). My favorite thing is to discover new food.

14. It is okay to be vulnerable! It is okay to ask for help. It is actually a great thing.

15. That you can jump into something new at any age. Like switching careers when you are turning 30.

16. Grief is the worst. It can (and does still for me sometimes) consume you. I was lucky that I had never lost anyone that I was truly close to until I was 28 years old but the person I lost was one of the most valued in my life. I now know that I take her with me wherever I go. Everything she taught me and everything I love about the relationship my grandmother and I shared is part of me. To be clear- I miss her like crazy and wish she could see all the changes in my life!

17. Patience. Something that I am still (and will be working on) until the day I die. Knowing that it is okay to take a breath before you respond and compose yourself. The results can be incredible when you do.

18. Knowing not to rush. When comparing myself to much of the world, I would still likely I be considered young when I was married. I was 26, a few months shy of 27. However, I took the time to get to know my now husband. We met when I was 19 and did not start dating until I was 23. We took our time and that was a wonderful thing because I really feel that I knew the person I married. By the way, he is a babe (despite the fact that he is 100% without a doubt a Slytherin).

19. It is OKAY to say no. One of the first words that children learn is no and they use it like it is going out of style. We tend to lose that ability as we age and sometimes it is for a good reason, but, sometimes we sacrifice ourselves. However, I have come to a place where I can say "hey, I simply don't want to do that" and you know what? That is fine.

20. You need to be able to let things go. In this post concussive life I live, I have had many therapy sessions and it is apparent that I often lack the ability to live and let live. It is proven that if you are able to move past things, life is just naturally easier. Take the time to be a bit more zen. Whatever that looks like for you.

21. Nerds rule! Despite what every single television show and comedic film tried to tell me growing up, nerds are 100% where it is at. Let your nerd flag fly people.

My attempt at dressing as Trelawney for the final Harry Potter Film premiere.

22. Find your tribe. You can have a few different tribes if you feel you wear different hats but honestly, find your people. This is not to say that you won't ever have issues between yourself and these people but you are much more likely to work things out and still hug it out in the end. Find. Your. People.

23. To date, the best birthdays I have had have been my 16th, 18th, and 29th birthdays. On my 16th birthday we went to Disney World for the first time. My 18th we had Mexican food at my fave restaurant which you can read all about here. Lastly, on the 29th I was at Potter World. Which you can read here. I think 30 will make the list of bests though, as I head back to the Disney for the first time since my 16th birthday.

24. My favorite seasons are a straight up tie between Spring and Fall. As a kid, I always thought it was summer. Montreal summers are basically now my spring. Summer in Richmond is the absolute worst.

25. Despite my very best efforts, I still and will forever hate bananas. Josh will continue to use them, and I will always make this face when I smell them.

26. You need to find what makes you happy and then make time for that thing. If it is going for a walk, taking a bath, baking, watching a tv show, self love guys. Salem likes going for walks. Everyone needs self love and care.

27. Invest in yourself. This year I am taking part of a course (my first course since finishing my M.A.) and it is already helping me improve my craft. You are worth it.

28. Find a partner that knows your worth and values you as their equal. True partnerships have a level of friendship, respect, and love. Find a person that looks at you the same way as you do when your plate of food is arriving at a restaurant. With excitement, eagerness, and dig in. Your relationships are worth the time and effort with the people who know your worth.

29. Be brave!! I have talked about it on here before but being brave and pushing yourself out of your comfort zone feels so awkward at first but the results are often just magical.

30. Be open to change. Sometimes you will have no idea that it is coming for you and in what form it is going to arrive. We are often so resistant to change because we like the way things are. Try your best to accept the changes that show up in your life because it can be exactly what you need, even if you didn't know that in the beginning.

I cannot wait to see what this next decade brings, I've got high hopes, like the song, and great expectations, like the book. The past 30 have been a hell of a ride thus far and it is only going to continue. I kept referring to this birthday as "Dirty Thirty" but honestly, it is just going to be great.

Love to you all.

Chocolate Heath Bar Cookies

This recipe for gluten free chocolate heath bar cookies recipe is quick, easy, and absolutely delicious. They are the perfect cookie to satisfy any sweet tooth cravings you may have.

Recipe updated 12/13/2021

I love cookies. I think this is traced to my grandmother. She was the queen of cookies. Every Christmas she would present approximately twenty different types of cookies. When you are celiac, or gluten intolerant, you generally tend to focus on all the things you can no longer eat. One of my first thoughts was cookies. This is our journey to this chocolate heath bar cookies recipe.

What is the difference between Heath and Skor?

In Canada, I only ever grew up seeing Skor, never heath. According to my American husband, he has had and seen both in the US. Heath is (defined by the Hershey Company) as English toffee that is covered with milk chocolate. Skor on the other hand, is a butter toffee. So the major difference is English toffee vs butter toffee.

This might make you then question, "what exactly is English toffee?" English toffee is a popular variant of toffee (oddly enough, in America), that is available in both chewy and hard versions. It is a very buttery toffee that is often made with almonds!

Can these cookies be made vegan? Are there recipe alterations?

These are the best toffee (aka chocolate heath bar cookies). I have not experimented therefore with making the recipe vegan. It is possible that you could use an egg replacement and a dairy-free milk. In addition, substitute the milk chocolate chips for dark chocolate.

If you wish to make these cookies dairy free, that is easy enough! Use dark chocolate rather than milk chocolate and use either almond milk or oat milk as your substitute for the tablespoon of milk in the recipe. You can also use a dairy free butter. My personal favorite is miyokos butter.

What do you need for this chocolate heath bar cookies recipe?

  • ¼ cup white sugar
  • ¼ cup light brown sugar
  • 6 oz chocolate chips (I used milk chocolate)
  • 8 oz heath bar bits
  • 1 tablespoon milk
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 8 tablespoon butter (room temperature )
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1.5 cup gluten free flour (I used King Arthur Gluten Free Flour)
  • 1 large egg

How do you make them?

  1. Take your butter and put it into the bowl of your stand mixer. Beat the butter for 2-3 minutes until it becomes a bit fluffy. Then add both of your sugars and cream together for 5 minutes. Scrape the sides of your bowl to make sure nothing is sticking to the sides. Add your egg and allow it to incorporate fully. Beat for about 3 minutes.
  2. Once again, scrape the sides of your bowl, make sure everything is incorporated. Add your milk and vanilla. Beat for 30 seconds. Add your flour and baking soda. Beat until your dough comes together. Stop your mixer and add your chocolate chips and heath bits. Beat again for about 30 seconds to incorporate. Scoop the dough and roll into balls. Place the dough in the fridge for 2 hours.
  3. Preheat your oven to 350° and line your baking trays with parchment paper (or mats- your choice!). It is now your choice which route you wish to go. If you are not wanting to do that and just want to straight up back them:
    Place cookies in the oven when it hits the right temperature. Back them for 13 minutes. Check to see if they are done- if not, bake for 2-3 more minutes. Remove from oven, and allow them to cool for 10 minutes on the tray.

If you want your cookies to have the "ripple effect":

If you choose to do the "ripple effect" follow these steps: Place your trays into the oven when it hits the correct temperature. Bake for 8 minutes. Remove cookies from the oven and take the trays and drop them to the floor. Do this about 8 times per tray. Place back in the oven for 3 minutes, remove and do the same process again. Back in for 3 more minutes and then remove them and allow them to cool on the sheet for about 10 minutes.

https://garnishedwithjoy.com//www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDuqcbMecBg

How do they come together?

We love these cookies in our household! These are my husband's favorite cookie and the dessert he requests the most (other than this cheesecake). The other thing to note with this recipe, if you do not want to create the "ripple" effect (which, honestly, is more of a crinkly effect with gluten free flour), you are welcome to just bake these for the full time without pulling them out of the oven.

Looking for other gluten free cookies?

Soft Amaretti Cookies
Tiramisu Sandwich Cookies
Candy Cane Cookies Recipe
Linzer Cookies
Chocolate Tahini Cookies
Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
Double Chocolate Chip Cookies
Peppermint Mocha Cookies
Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookies

If you want to stay up to date with my video, then follow me on youtube here

Veggie Enchiladas

Mexicali Rosas. The place of my childhood dreams. Every family event, honor roll, Tuesday, any reason I could find, I would suggest that we go to Mexicali Rosas. As a kid, my order was always a cheesy quesadilla. As I became older, the chicken chimichanga always called my name. The day that restaurant closed was one of the saddest of my life. This is where veggie enchiladas come in.

Josh and I both love Mexican food. One of the issues we face with it, is that most places often have problems with cross-contamination and or are mostly meat based. I thought "how can I try to combine all the flavors we love, all the while, making it meatless and gluten free.

Mondays are rough. The ease, joy, and freedom of the weekend is over and most are back to the grind. You want a meal that will comfort you and you can use as leftovers for the week. This is the meal to do it. It is a bit of time, but honestly, so worth it, and you will have leftovers. Part of this recipe involves my Mexican rice (which you can find here).

2020

We have been keeping true to our mantra this year (and by we I mean me) to consume less meat and eat a more vegetarian / pescetarian diet. This recipe for veggie enchiladas does not make me feel like I miss meat, at all!

I hope you all have a great week, happy March! Next week, Josh and I will be on vacation, and I am super excited.
L

Gluten Free Mexican Rice


Mexican Rice! So easy, so delicious. Growing up, my mom liked to make plain rice. It was with this chicken dish that I never liked and canned corn. If I ever walked into the kitchen and saw that being made for dinner, I frequently lost my appetite.

Why Mexican Rice?

My favorite restaurant as a child, Mexicali Rosas, made the best chimichanga and it came with a delicious side of Mexican rice. This is an attempt to recreate their delicious dish.

I talk in my post on Veggie Enchiladas that I love Mexican food and my memories with a restaurant when I was growing up. The side to the chicken chimichanga that would frequent my plate was either Mexican rice (or if I wanted to be super North American) fries.

How does one make this?

Simply, it is basically all in one pot, which make the best recipes, right?

  1. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and onion, and cook, stirring frequently, until onions have become translucent, about 2-3 minutes. Stir in rice until toasted, about 2 minutes.
  2. Stir in tomato sauce and vegetable broth, and bring to a simmer, about 2 minutes. Stir in corn, carrots, peas, chili powder and cumin; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat and simmer until rice is cooked through, about 13-16 minutes. Stir in tomatoes.
  3. Add cilantro and serve immediately.


Poached Eggs, Polenta, & Kale

I often make poached eggs for dinner. One of the things I have learned from traveling is that having eggs for breakfast is pretty much a north American thing. This isn't to say that we shouldn't enjoy our eggs at breakfast, but, that we can enjoy them at different meals!

In middle eastern cooking having eggs for dinner is common. Shakshuka (which is one of our favorites- you can find my recipe for it here), is a staple.

Polenta

Polenta frequents our dinners pretty regularly. It is so quick, especially instant polenta (which is still delicious). We are incorporating more green into our diet, especially when we are having carbs as a main aspect of our meal. Every so often for dinner we have polenta, a crispy kale, and poached eggs topped with a goat cheese sauce. You feel all warm and fuzzy due to all of the amazing umami flavor that occurs with each and every bite.

The dinner on the day before Valentine's Day we had this. I woke up on Valentine's and knew that we had leftover polenta in the fridge. I wanted to step up our brunch game in order to celebrate the day! It is eye catching when colors pop on a plate. The color most associated with Valentine's is of course red (or some variant of it). I took a bottle of red wine, put it on the stove, mixed it with 4 cups of water, 1 bay leaf, and a few thyme sprigs. I decided to up my poaching game.

The color it gives the eggs is so cool! It adds a whole new tangy element to the dish, and sort of makes your eggs look like a real life heart. So, even if it is no longer Valentine's Day and you just want to spruce up your brunch game a bit, I've got you covered.

Nonna's Meatless Balls

This gluten free meatballs recipe is a take on a Sicilian classic. A perfect blending of textures and flavors, make them today.

My family has certain traditions, as most families do. We lived near my fathers family but not my mothers, therefore, the majority of our (aka all) family gatherings took place at my grandparents house. I loved my grandmother more than anything but the woman was a master of guilt if you were going to miss an event.

The family I was raised around is Eastern European. Potatoes are fundamental, and meat is a big deal. We do not have a big family. Family gatherings usually consisted of 12-16 people. My grandmother cooked for thirty. There would be potato dumplings from Poland, pierogies, ham, fish, two kinds of stuffing, herbed potatoes, mashed potatoes, carrot gravy, cabbage rolls, a green of some sort, and desserts. A cake, creme caramels, and cookies. When I say cookies, I mean around 25 different types of cookies.

I love the traditions that my grandmother passed down to me. I have a strong connection with food and baking. I think of her whenever I make particular foods and every time I turn on my mixmaster. It helps me feel rooted and connected to her even though she is gone.

When you begin to date someone, or live with them, and or get married, their traditions become your traditions. I never had the opportunity to meet Josh's grandmother, who he only has words of kindness for. I know that she came from a small town in Sicily, that she married the sweetest man Roland (who lived to be 101 and I had the pleasure of meeting), and that she made some of Josh's most memorable foods.

"My Nonna used to make these meatballs" Josh will say "they had raisins in them, and they were so good." It is the response often given to me when we play the "if you could have any food in the world right now what would it be?" game. The issue is that Josh no longer eats meat! I sat back and thought, "Hm. How can I try to recreate his Nonna's recipe in a way that is vegetarian and gluten free?" Well, I am happy to say that here, ladies and gentlemen, we have a modified recipe of Nonna's meatballs. Let me introduce you to: Nonna's Meatless Balls.
Enjoy,

What do you need for this gluten free meatballs recipe?

  • 1 Package Impossible Burger "Ground Beef"
  • 2 Cans 24 oz San Marzano Tomatoes
  • ½ Cup Gluten Free Breadcrumbs (If not gluten free, you can use regular breadcrumbs.)
  • 1 Egg
  • ¼ Cup Pine Nuts
  • ½ Golden Raisins
  • 1 Lemon (Zest)
  • ½ Cup Parmesan
  • 2 Cloves Garlic (Minced)
  • 1 Cup Milk (It is your choice what type of milk you use. I used 2%.)
  • ½ Cup Onion
  • ½ tablespoon Sugar
  • 1 teaspoon Salt
  • ¼ Cup Cream
  • 8 tablespoon Butter
  • ½ Whole Onion (For Sauce)

How do you make them?

  1. Place all of the ingredients together into a stand mixer and mix with paddle attachment slowly for 2-3 minutes until completely incorporated, or place into a large bowl and mix by hand.
  2. Preheat oven to 550 degrees or as hot as it can go, convection even better.
  3. Refrigerate meatball mixture for 30 minutes. This makes it easier to roll them. If you can, use an ice cream scoop for uniformity
  4. Scoop the meatballs, placing them on an oiled sheet pan. Gently roll the meatballs until round and place them next to each other on the sheet pan. Place sheet pan with meatballs in pre-heated oven for 10 minutes. Remove and allow to cool to room temperature, unless you’ve prepared the sauce first. Then just spoon the cooked meatballs directly into the sauce and simmer for 45 minutes.
  5. Directions for the Sauce:
  6. Place tomatoes, butter, cream, and salt to taste in a pot on medium high heat. Allow everything to mix together and melt. Once the meatballs have been put in the pot, lower the heat to low/medium and leave for 45 minutes. Once they are done, cover the meatballs in parmesan cheese and serve immediately.

Looking for something similar?

Linguine and Clams click here
Tomato Sauce click here
Pad Se Ew click here
Stuffed Pasta Shells click here

Rice Flour Muffins: An Easy Gluten Free Recipe!

This recipe for rice flour muffins is based on a recipe for Salvadorian breakfast cakes. This recipe is delicious, easy, and super simple to make. 

Rice Flour Muffins: An Easy Gluten Free Recipe!

I love muffins. Lately it has been a tie between my gluten-free blueberry muffins, gluten-free blackberry muffins, and my cranberry orange muffins! I love these rice flour muffins as they are a savory muffin which is not very usual. This is a great recipe. Let's make our rice flour muffins.

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⭐️ Tips, Tricks, and Alterations:

I use Greek yogurt in this recipe but you can sub in sour cream if you want it to be richer.

I use a mix of brown rice flour and white rice flour in this recipe, you can use just rice flour if you do not wish to pay the extra cost to buy both. 

This is not a thick batter. It is not a thin batter either, it is a nice in-between. These are fluffy muffins due to the yogurt being added. 

This is not an overly vegan friendly recipe. However, if you were to try to convert it (which I have not) you would have to use a vegan yoghurt, egg replacement (flax eggs), a vegan sugar (such as coconut sugar), a vegan parmesan. 

You cannot substitute baking powder for baking soda.

If you do not have a full sized oven, you can bake these in a toaster oven. 

I do not use muffin liners to line my pan. I simply make the muffin cups by greasing the pan and placing the batter directly into it. 

For best results, always follow the recipe card.

You can use white or black sesame seeds.

❤️ Why you will love these muffins: 

They take almost no time to make, which is amazing. You need very few pieces of equipment: a large mixing bowl for a mixmaster or a hand mixer, muffin tin (also known as a muffin pan), paddle attachment. 

You do not have to worry about a bunch of different gluten free flours (like oat flour or potato starch, tapioca starch, or even a gluten free all purpose flour). They stay spongey and delicious for several days and they are easy to store. Plus, rice flour is generally cheap so in terms of making gluten-free muffins, this is great!

These are the best part of the morning as they are a delicious and easy gluten free breakfast. 

📃 Ingredients for rice flour muffins:

ingredients for Rice Flour Muffins: An Easy Gluten Free Recipe!

Rice Flour: I use a combination of rice flour in this recipe meaning I use both brown rice flour and white rice flour.
Butter: I use unsalted butter in this recipe because we get enough saltiness from the cheese in this recipe
Parmesan Cheese: This is the savory aspect of our muffins and offers an umami flavor and saltiness to the muffins.
Greek Yogurt: This makes the batter light and fluffy
Sugar: To add a bit of sweetness to our rice muffins
Eggs: The eggs serve as our binding agent in this recipe
Baking Soda: This helps the muffins rise
Sesame Seeds: Sesame seeds top the muffins, They add a nice textural difference as well as some sweetness to the muffins

📖 How to make rice flour muffins:

Preheat oven to 350° degrees F
Cream your butter and sugar: Using softened butter (not melted butter) place the butter into the large bowl in a standing mixer. Scrap the sides of your bowl to make sure everything mixes well. Add eggs one at a time until each is fully incorporated and mixture is smooth.
Add your rice flour: cheese, yogurt, and baking soda. Mix until smooth. Scoop the batter into your muffin tin (make sure it is greased) and cover the batter in sesame seeds.
Place the muffins: into the preheated oven and bake for 20-23 minutes. Until they look a nice light gold color on the top. Remove from oven and place muffin tins on a wire rack, allow to cool a bit before removing. Serve immediately thereafter.

creamed butter and sugar, with eggs in a mixing bowl
Cream the butter and sugar. Then add the eggs
wet and dry ingredients in a mixing bowl
Once the wet ingredients are mixed, add the dry ingredients
rice muffin batter in a muffin tin
Grease the muffin tin and place the batter inside. Top with sesame seeds
Rice Flour Muffins: An Easy Gluten Free Recipe!
Bake and allow the muffins to cool.
https://garnishedwithjoy.com//www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXQA0ddhEWM

⍰ How to store these rice flour muffins?

You can store this in an airtight container at room temperature for a few days. Otherwise, you can freeze them by placing them in a freezer safe container or bag for up to 3 months. Be sure to mark the container with the date so you know when they are best until. 

⍰ What do I need to know about rice flours?

The main difference between sweet rice flour (also known as glutinous rice flour) and regular rice flour lies in the type of rice used and the properties of the flour produced. Here's an overview of different types of rice flours:

  1. Sweet Rice Flour (Glutinous Rice Flour):
    • Source: Made from short-grain glutinous rice, which contains a high amount of starch with a sticky and elastic texture.
    • Properties:
      • Has a higher starch content compared to regular rice flour.
      • Lacks gluten despite the name "glutinous"; it is gluten-free.
      • Adds a chewy and sticky consistency to dishes.
      • Often used in Asian cuisines for making rice cakes, dumplings, and other desserts.
  2. White Rice Flour:
    • Source: Made from long-grain or short-grain white rice.
    • Properties:
      • Gluten-free.
      • Light and fine texture.
      • Neutral flavor.
      • Used in various culinary applications, including baking, thickening sauces, and as a coating for fried foods.
  3. Brown Rice Flour:
    • Source: Made from whole brown rice grains.
    • Properties:
      • Gluten-free.
      • Nutty flavor and slightly coarser texture compared to white rice flour.
      • Contains more nutrients and dietary fiber due to being made from whole grains.
      • Suitable for gluten-free baking and cooking.
  4. Rice Starch:
    • Source: Extracted from rice, often short-grain rice.
    • Properties:
      • Pure starch with a very fine texture.
      • Used as a thickening agent in cooking and baking.
      • Gluten-free.
  5. Rice Bran Flour:
    • Source: Made from the bran layer of rice.
    • Properties:
      • Contains the outer bran layer, providing more fiber and nutrients.
      • Has a coarser texture compared to white rice flour.
      • Suitable for adding nutritional value to baked goods and recipes.
  6. Black Rice Flour:
    • Source: Made from black or purple rice.
    • Properties:
      • Unique color and a slightly nutty flavor.
      • Contains antioxidants due to the pigments present in black rice.
      • Used in specialty dishes and for a visually striking effect in certain recipes.

When substituting rice flours in recipes, it's essential to consider the specific properties of each type, as they can affect the texture and taste of the final product. Gluten-free rice flours are commonly used in gluten-free and allergen-friendly cooking and baking.

🌟 LEAVE A RATING AND REVIEW! 🌟
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Did you love this recipe? If you did, let me know! And let others know too by leaving a comment and star rating. Reviews are incredibly useful in helping other people find my site and make my recipes.
Thank you so much!
Laura 

🔎 Looking for other gluten free recipes?

Lovewell Vegan Shake

Hi Guys! Let me tell you, 2020 is underway and it is looking so much brighter than last year. One of the things I decided was to set intentions for this year. The number one goal being no concussions!

I wanted to expand my food choices and looking into things that would help my system out. Now, this brings me to Lovewell. Lovewell is a Vegan protein powder (that basically tastes like chocolate) that is made by two Australian mums, Chrissy Duigan and Teresa Palmer. They wanted to make a supplement where women were getting all the nutrients their bodies need. They know and understand that moms are putting their babes first and often don't have time to take care of themselves. I thought the idea was awesome, and decided to give it a try.

I am happy to say that it has been a success. I feel bright and refreshed after drinking it in the morning. Egg whites used to be my go to for breakfast, and now, I wake up looking forward to my shake! The recipe below is super easy, and delicious. If you are interested you can look into Lovewell here.

Shakshuka

This quick and easy shakshuka recipe is simple in its ingredients, packed full of flavor, and is ready in under 30 minutes. Make it today

This post was updated on March 22 2021

Today in many ways was surreal. I officially launched my website on instagram and shared it on Facebook. It was incredibly nerve-racking. No matter how comfortable you are in what you have made and put forth, there is always an underlying fear that it will be judged and criticized. Stepping into the unknown career wise is a terrifying thing, I have come to realize. I am excited for the ride, though.

What do you need to make this shakshuka recipe?

  • 5 Eggs
  • 2 teaspoon Harissa
  • 1 tablespoon Tomato Paste
  • 1 ½ teaspoon Cumin
  • 1 teaspoon Sweet Paprika
  • ½ Onion
  • Olive Oil (for frying onions)
  • 1 28 oz can Chopped Tomatoes
  • Parsley (optional) (For Garnish)
  • Feta (optional) (For topping)

How do you make this shakshuka recipe?

  1. Chop your onion while you heat your oil in a medium temperature.
  2. Toss your onions in the pan along with the tomato paste, harissa, paprika, and cumin. Sweet the onions until the begin to caramelize 5-10 minutes.
  3. Once your onions look nice and tender, add your tomatoes. They will cook down and release all of their juices. Stir a bit to make sure that the bottom isn't sticking and won't burn.
  4. Once the tomatoes and onions are more solid and less juicy, add your eggs and cover your pan. How long you leave it covered is up to you and will determine how hard your yokes are. I usually only do it for a few minutes as I like the yokes to be runny.
  5. Remove from the heat when your eggs are done and top with feta and parsley if you choose. I like to serve this with a side of hearty (gluten free) baguette. Enjoy!

Yesterday after I launched on instagram I had the coolest thing happen. A producer for the Food Network casting got in touch with me telling me that she liked what she saw and wanted to know if I would be interested in applying for a show! I looked at my phone in utter disbelief. "This can't be real" I thought. She asked if she could call, I gave her my number to see what was actually happening to me, and we spoke. It was one of the most exciting moments of my life. I wish my grandmother was around that I could have shared it with her, but, I know that she would be proud.

After having this conversation, freaking out, calling Josh, and my parents, I decided it was time to make dinner. I was super hyped up and wanted to make something quickly so I could go look online at the application. I looked around at what I had in the kitchen and knew that shakshuka was the answer. Shakshuka is perfect. It works for any meal. It is quick, bursting with flavor, and I have yet to meet someone that does not love it.

Why should you make this shakshuka recipe?

There are a million shakshuka recipes out there. I love this one because it really places emphasis on the spices and the tomatoes. It is perfect for breakfast, brunch. lunch, or dinner. It is as good as you would get in a restaurant, is great for groups, and is ready in less than 30 minutes.

Looking for something similar?

Quiche click here
Polenta and Eggs click here

The Journey Begins

Happy New Year, everyone! It is 2020! I still cannot wrap my mind around the fact that 1990 wasn't 10 years ago. This past year has been an absolute roller coaster- let me catch you up.

You are the storyteller of your own life and you can create your own legend or not. - Isabel Allende 

On January 1st, 2019, I sustained a pretty terrible concussion. We went to Urgent Care and I was falsely told that I was fine. I then began a downward spiral that would consume my life for the next year. I continued to do all the things I was not supposed to be doing. I was working as a teacher, reading constantly, working on the computer and staring at screens in general, etc. Every day I woke up with a pounding headache and vertigo that I just could not get under control. It took 25+ doctors and one MRI later to confirm that I had indeed been concussed and was now living with what is called Post Concussive Syndrome. I felt relieved that I finally had an explanation for why I had been feeling the symptoms I had been living with; however, I was told that I would need multiple therapies to get my life on track.

I Had To Go On Disability

... which was a complete shock. Other than moving to the USA, it was the first time since my teens in which I was unable to work. After several months of therapies, my progress remained slow. Over the course of the year, I hit my head approximately four more times. Once you have a concussion, you are more susceptible to having more of them. Unable to give my employer a concrete timeline as to when I would be able to return to my teaching duties, it was decided that it would be best for my contract to be terminated. I was left in a state of thinking "well, what am I going to do now?" The idea of starting my own business had been lingering in the back of my head for a while, however, it can be daunting to jump in and do your own thing.

SiftRVA Was Born

With the support and encouragement of my husband Josh, it seemed the right time to re-up my blog and start a baking business. Baking is my favorite thing. It makes me feel connected to my grandmother whomI lost in 2018 and is my creative space.

SiftRVA is two-fold: one part is this blog, a chronicling of my life, along with recipes. The second part is my business. There is a dedicated order section on this site. I am so excited to jump into this new journey for this new decade, and I thank you for being there along with me.
-L

Devon, England

Dartmoor was the most pleasant surprise of any place I have ever been. Josh had been wanting to visit Dartmoor for many years. He had seen it in pictures, and we had watched it on Rick Steve's travel shows. I did research, and we found a hotel in the middle of the park called Prince Hall Hotel. We stayed in the Houndtor room and the views were lovely. The hotel itself is not super wi-fi friendly, but that is what we wanted" to be off the beaten path, surrounded by nature, and engaged in conversation and time with each other. They have a game room where you can have drinks and or a cream tea, and play scrabble, a bar area, and, a beautiful dining room. The hotel itself is dog friendly, so I was on Cloud Nine for the entire time we were there.

We began our time there by having a relatively early morning and making our way to Wistman's Wood, a location that has been mentioned in literature for hundreds of years. It is thought to be a remnant of an ancient forest in Dartmoor dating back to 7000 BCE.

The morning was so foggy that we had a bit of trouble initially placing where we were. We heard a stream and began to follow it, knowing that we would eventually reach the Wood. The forest itself is ancient and magical. The moss, the trees, the webs, everything about the space has a fantastical element about it that lures you in. It felt as if it were in a druids playground.

We spent a while in the Wood before hiking back and returning to the hotel. We enjoyed a cream tea, talked with three lovely people, Mick, Simon, and Philada, and made our way to hike in the afternoon. Josh had researched prior to our arrival and decided he wanted to hike Down Tor. The hike itself was beautiful. The area is sprawling and it was just us. We ran into so many wild horses and the funniest baby sheep. It was amazing.

Beyond the Tor by about a mile, Josh had read that there was a an ancient stone circle. We decided to carry on. It was super windy, to the point where you nearly got knocked over, but so worth it.

Dartmoor was such a wonderful change of pace. We felt so recharged while we were here. We were sad that we weren't there longer. Learn from our mistake and do yourself a favor- plan an entire trip in the Park. It is absolutely worth it.

Croeso i Gymru

Welcome to Wales

Let me begin by saying that although Wales is technically part of England, the Welsh have their own language and culture that dates back thousands of years. When you cross the bridge from the mainland and enter Wales, you will be greeted with signs where Welsh is first and is the dominant language.

We spent only one day in Wales, and by the end of our trip, we were sad that we did not have more time there. We plan to go back and eventually have a trip entirely dedicated to Wales. Our day began at Tintern Abbey. It was founded by Walter de Clare, Lord of Chepstow (prior to the Marshal's) on May 9, 1131. It was the first Cistercian abbey founded in Wales and the second in England. It fell into ruin after the dissolution of the monasteries under the order of Henry VIII in the 16th century.

The roads to get to Tintern are small and windy but it is so worth it. As we entered the valley, it seemed magical. The air was filled with mist and it was a chillier morning which felt appropriate for the setting. We arrived at the abbey when they were about to open, which is when you should aim to go, as you will beat tour groups. We had the entirety of the site to ourselves for a few hours, and it was amazing.

As it became more crowded, we had lunch at the Anchor Inn next door. It worked out great as they had gluten free items marked on the menu and were able to accommodate me with no issues. After our nice lunch (all the while staring at the ruins) we made our way to the next stop, Chepstow Castle.

Chepstow Castle in Wales. Originally built by the Normans following the conquest in 1066, they set up camp in various locations around England and Wales. Later, this castle was given to William Marshall. He was an Anglo-Saxon soldier and statesman who served five kings. He is talso George RR Martin's inspiration for the character Barristan Selmy in Game of Thrones. His family built up the rest of the fortress. Prior to our trip to England we took our DNA tests and did thorough research on ancestry.com. We discovered that Josh is a direct descendant of William Marshall. It was really neat to be where his family had been.

One of the perks (and travesties) of Wales is that it seems that Wales is not a high tourist destination. The sites are amazing, the castles are in wonderful condition, and there is phenomenal history waiting to be discovered. I hope you find the time if you are ever in the UK to make your way there. It is well worth the visit!

Homemade Mint Lemonade

One of the things I learned when I moved to Virginia is that warm weather begins early in the year. In Montréal, you are lucky if you can walk outside in a t-shit in May. In Richmond, it already feels like summer by April.

While water is my drink of choice, on some days, it is so warm and you crave something cold and sweet. Enter this lemonade. This has all the deliciousness of regular lemonade but has a fresh minty kick to it. It is the perfect way to refresh and keep going about your day when the weather is blistering outside.

Puy Lentils and Eggplant

I grew up mostly around my fathers family. Both his parents were of Eastern European descent. My grandmother was Polish and my grandfather was Czech. As is common in most Eastern European cultures, meat played a significant role in our lives. Most weeks we went to the local Polish store, Warta, and the Austrian butcher near our house. Family gatherings included cold cuts, sausages, and random assortments of European foods. It was a shock to my system when I moved in with Josh, a pescetarian, a non-meat eater. "What are we both going to eat?" I would think. "I don't really like fish, or vegetables..". I had to begin to think outside the box about our meals. How was I going to make things I did not like taste good and gluten free. The search began.

There is a large Jewish community in Montreal and you are surrounded by food that comes from the Middle East. I knew that the flavors were something I could work with but I needed a starting point. That is when I discovered Yotam Ottolenghi. He is an Israeli-English chef who seems to have the greatest palette on the planet. I discovered his books and they opened up so many options for fish and vegetables to the point where I now had too many choices!

His book Simple has been one of our favorites. Simple meaning quite literally that the recipes are simple. They are not too time consuming or ingredient crazy. This one looked hearty and appealing to the both of us so we gave it a shot. It turned out to be a great choice. In one bit, you get this wonderful mix of flavors. The roasted tomatoes, the eggplant, the lentil, and the tangy flavor of the yogurt. It is an absolute winner.

Orange Bundt Cake

It is starting to smell like Spring in Richmond, which is crazy to me as it is still January. Whenever I encounter that smell, I think of Easter egg hunts, family lunches on Sundays, and that there is the smell of promise in the air.

My mom has always had a thing for oranges. She would always try to find a way to get Florida oranges in Montreal during the dreary winter. There was nothing that could brighten up a -25 day like fresh citrus. She and my dad has this ongoing love of all things orange. Orange clothing, fresh oranges, orange juice, etc. I always liked oranges but would always pass them up for an apple or strawberry.

It was not until I started baking that I really and truly started to value oranges as much as I do. The freshness they can bring to a dessert is amazing. It can make a basic dish seem so vibrant and tantalizing that you can't help but have another piece, or slice, and lick the bowl. Often, we see orange and chocolate paired together, which is a delicious combination. When I saw this recipe for an orange cake itself, I was intrigued. "Can I make it gluten free?", "Will it be too dense?". I am not going to lie, this is a dense cake, but, a delicious one, if you are into that sort of thing. The original recipe is from Genius Desserts, however, the standard recipe is not modified to be gluten free. All the notes can be found in the recipe below.

Brussels Sprouts

Families like routines and traditions, that is what I have come to learn. When I was a kid, we would always go to my Grandmothers for Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, you name it. If there was a holiday associated with a certain day, it meant she would be hosting. Now that I am married (and living in a different country), we manage two families with two different sets of traditions. The one that has been working for us the past few years is that Josh's parents will host Thanksgiving while we host Christmas. A staple for Josh and I at both of these events are these Brussels Sprouts.

This recipe is great to have as a side dish during a holiday meal, or simply when you want something green on the table. The sprouts themselves are crunchy yet soft, sweet and spicy, and the parmesan gives the best umami bomb. Parmesan is my favorite cheese in the world. Anytime I can put it on something, I am sold. This recipe depends a lot on how much you like of certain things, which makes it fun. You can make it mild or spice it up. Lemony or no lemon at all. The world is your oyster, or your sprout.

Flourless Chocolate Torte

I am always skeptical, even as someone who has to eat gluten free, whenever I see the term "flourless" before any type of dessert. In my mind a "flourless chocolate torte" is something that is going to have a weird texture. I always sat there thinking "How is this all really going to stick together? Is it going to yield the desired result?" Whenever we go out to dinner and restaurants claim to cater to a gluten free crowd, it is almost always a guarantee that there will be some sort of flourless torte mentioned on the dessert menu.

One of my favorite things to do is to go to bookstores and hang out in the cookbook section. I love learning about food of different cultures, and seeing all of the beautiful pictures. Last year, I came across the
Genius Desserts cookbook. As I was flipping through the book, I came across this recipe for a flourless chocolate torte by Rose Levy Beranbaum.

The recipe claimed that it would be a mousse like texture and the picture looked good enough to me, so, I figured I would give it a go. I am happy to report that I found it absolutely rich, fudgy, and delicious. There are not many ingredients in this recipe but it is particular in some of the instructions. If you follow through with making this, I don't think you will be disappointed.

Gluten Free Beer Steamed Mussels

This recipe for steamed mussels is gluten free, dairy free, nut free, and pescatarian. A delicious meal where you will be blown away by the flavor. Make it today!

In our household, we eat a primarily pescetarian diet. Josh has not eaten meat in many years, but continues to eat fish. We are the fun people that everyone dreads having over for dinner. I can't have gluten and he doesn't eat meat. "What can we give them?" people think, "Salad". It has inspired me for the past several years to prove that our diet can in fact be versatile and delicious!

Richmond is known as the River City because the James River is in the middle of it. We have amazing seafood in Richmond which is absolutely awesome for us. Fish, clams, mussels, oysters, it is all delicious. I used to feel really intimidated by working with fish (as I never really ate it as a kid) that recipes that called for steamed (insert any kind of fish here) pretty much meant that I just kept looking. I found this recipe in the Half Baked Harvest cookbook however, I have made it gluten free. It is quick, easy, and absolutely delicious.

What do you need for this recipe for steamed mussels?

  • 1 Bag Mussels
  • 1 Pint Greens Gluten Free Amber Beer
  • 1 Can Chickpeas (14 oz can)
  • 1 Small Container Grape Tomatoes
  • ½ Sweet Onion
  • 2 Garlic Gloves (Minced)
  • 2-4 tablespoon Harissa
  • 1 teaspoon Smoked Paprika
  • ½ Cup Light Coconut Milk
  • Fresh Basil to top it (I used Thai Basil)
  • 2 tablespoon Butter

How do you make this recipe for steamed mussels?

  1. In a large dutch, on medium heat, oven melt your butter and toss in your onion. If you feel that the butter is not enough, add a bit of olive oil (you can also use coconut oil if you wish).
  2. Cook for 5 minutes or so or until they begin to caramelize. Add your garlic and allow it to simmer for 30 seconds.
  3. Stir in the harissa, smoked paprika, and slowly pour in the beer and the coconut milk.
  4. Increase the heat to high and bring the mixture to a boil.
  5. Add the mussels to the dutch oven, along with the tomatoes and chickpeas. Place the lid on the dutch oven, shaking the pot occasionally for 5 minutes. Check to see that all of the mussels have opened. Discard any that have not opened after 10 minutes.
  6. Remove from the heat and garnish with the basil. I like to serve these with either parmesan fries or garlic bread. Enjoy!

Why should you make this?

It is a quick and delicious meal. It really has such nice flavor. It is a recipe that we continue to go back to and we never tire of. Plus, dairy free, gluten free, nut free, and pescetarian is pretty great.

Looking for something similar?

Linguine and Clams click here
Cajun Catfish click here
Chilean Sea Bass click here
Soft Shell Crab Sandwich click here

Roasted Butternut Squash Salad

Every year when Fall rolls around I always find myself eagerly awaiting all of the delicious foods the harvests will yield. Butternut squash is at the top of that list. For years, I had limited myself to only making it into a soup, and wow, what a foolish mistake that was. This year I realized how delicious it can be in a salad.

One of the things I love about this salad is that it is low maintenance. You will roast the squash for a few hours, and go about your day. Once it is removed from the oven, you put a bit of dressing on it, and let it cool. A few hours later, put it together. All in all, super easy, and delectable! Even though squash is considered a Fall food, we make this salad all year round. It is hearty and makes you feel warm and fuzzy when you eat it.

Pad See Ew

This gluten free Pad See Ew Recipe is a 1:1 recipe, ready in 30 minutes, and will no doubt please all who try it.

This weekend it was in the low 70s F (about 21 for my Celsius using friends). It is still incredibly strange for me to be able to occasionally sit outside in January, and not get frostbite. We enjoy the sunshine by going for walks, sitting on our front steps, and hanging with our kitties on our front lawn a bit. Yep, we are those people! I just felt good with it being warm, and sunny, and smelling of spring. It inspired me to give a try to a recipe that I have been wanting to perfect.

What is the difference between pad see ew and drunken noodles?

Typically, drunken noodles are a spicy noodle stir-fry whereas pad see ew is a more mild dish. Drunken noodles often include ground pork (as the protein) and vegetables such as baby corn, snow peas, and thai basil. Pad see ew can be made as a vegetarian recipe and or with chicken or shrimp (as the main protein). Some places will serve beef and or pork with pad see ew but it is far less likely than those previously mentioned.

Recipe Alterations: Vegan Pad See Ew Recipe

You can make this pad see ew recipe vegan if you choose to substitute the oyster sauce and fish sauce with vegan alternatives. This is a vegan and gluten free option.
Instead of honey, you can opt to use maple syrup and or agave. Lastly, instead of using shrimp as a protein or any of your traditional proteins, you can use tofu. Fry it in a pan for a few minutes to give it a bit of a crisp, and then allow it to be properly mixed into the sauce the same way you would the other proteins. Lastly, for a good egg substitute, look at Just Egg. It is gluten free as well but it does have soy.

Pad see ew noodles: what are the best kind?

Traditionally in Thai cooking there are several types of noodles. The noodles used in pad thai are a thin rice noodle (made principally from rice flour and water). Egg noodles (Ba Mee Hang) are distinguishable for their yellow color and may often be used in dishes where the noodles have a garlic sauce and no broth. A noodle that I have not tried myself but is quite common is Bean Thread Noodles (Phad Woon Sen). They are made of ground mung beans and are almost translucent in color. Now, for pad see ew recipes, and for other recipes in Thai cooking, you will want to use a wide rice noodle (Guay Tiew Naam). I absolutely love how wide these noodles are, they make what you are feeling seem more substantial and I just love the look of them.

I order my wide rice noodles (which are also gluten free due to the base being rice flour) from a company called Nona Lim. You can find them here.

What do you need for this pad see ew recipe?

  • ⅓ Cup Coconut Aminos
  • ¼ Cup Gluten Free Tamari (or reg soy sauce for those who are not gluten free)
  • 1 tablespoon Honey
  • 1 tablespoon Fish Sauce
  • 2 Cloves Garlic
  • 1 tablespoon Oyster Sauce (We used a gluten free one from Wegmans)
  • To your taste Chinese Broccoli (Use as much or little as you like)
  • To your taste Shrimp (We used pre-cooked / frozen shrimp. Thaw them before you plan to use. Use as much or little as you like)* this is optional, omit it for a vegetarian pad see ew recipe
  • A few Shakes Red Pepper Flakes
  • 1 Package Rice Noodles
  • 2 tablespoon Olive Oil
  • 2 Large Eggs- Beaten
  • Green Onion *Optional

How do you make it?

  1. Fill a pot with water and allow it to boil. Make the rice noodles according to the package.
  2. Meanwhile whisk together the coconut aminos, soy sauce, oyster sauce, fish sauce, and honey in a bowl.
  3. Heat your olive oil in a frying pan and toss the garlic in there. Allow it to simmer for approximately 30 seconds, and then add the broccoli along with some water. Put a lid on the pan and allow it to steam. Keep an eye on it and if it needs more water along the way, add it. It should be around medium heat.
  4. Once your noodles are done, remove from the water and set aside. Once your broccoli is done remove it from the pan. In the same pan, add the beaten eggs and whisk quickly!
  5. Add the sauce, veggies, shrimp, and noodles to the pan. Mix together and add the red pepper flakes. Allow it to sit between 5-10 minutes for the sauce to really absorb into the noodles.
  6. Meanwhile, chop your green onion so when your Pad See Ew is done you can toss them on top.

Why should you make this pad see ew recipe?

I went a longgggg time without being able to eat pad see ew or pad thai as they are often not made gluten free. I have served this to people who can eat gluten and they think it is delicious, too! It is ready with 2 pots and under 30 minutes! It is a great way to sneak some veg in there for yourself and some kiddos and leave all of your tastebuds singing.

Storage Tips

This recipe will keep in the fridge for a few days if sealed up correctly. I personally have not frozen this recipe, but, I assume it would be possible. When wanting to bring it back to room temperature, I would place it in the fridge over night and allow it to come to a more cooperative temperature. You could also try reheating in the microwave.

Looking for something similar?

Tomago Kake Gohan
Linguine and Clams
Stuffed Pasta Shells
Creamy Vegetarian Tortellini Soup
Fish Soup

Pompeii, Italy

Quamvis enim pulcherrimarum clade terrarum, ut populi ut urbes memorabili casu, quasi semper victurus occiderit, quamvis ipse plurima opera et mansura condiderit, multum tamen perpetuitati eius scriptorum tuorum aeternitas addet. -Pliny the Younger
For although he died in the destruction of the loveliest of lands, as whole populations and as cities (did) because of a memorable disaster, it will be as if he lives ever on; although he himself composed works both plentiful and destined to endure, nevertheless the immortality of your written words will add much to his perpetuity.

The last leg of our trip to Italy culminated with us headed south to the Archaeological museum of Naples, and making our way to Pompeii. As I mentioned in a previous post, I was writing my Masters thesis on the goddess Isis. The one temple dedicated to Isis that is in good condition and remains insitu is in Pompeii. The Archaeological Museum of Naples is one of the best in the world, and a lot of the treasures that were discovered at the ruins of Pompeii and Herculaneum are housed there. We decided we would visit there first so when we went to the site, we had a clearer picture of how everything would have looked.

A lot of the frescoes from the temple had been removed and were available to see at the museum. In addition, the museum has a number of beautiful mosaics, including the famous one of Alexander the Great charging into battle.

We took the train to Pompei, it is a small station and the town itself is not that big. I wanted to be as close to the ruins as possible. We stayed at a cute little place called B&B Elena. We stayed in the Mona Lisa room, which has a nice terrace. The host, Elena, was incredibly considerate. She knew I have celiac and had gluten free goodies waiting for me for breakfast. The B&B is a stones throw away from the ruins, which was amazing.

We were going to be there initially for 2 days and then do 1 day in Herculaneum. We decided to change our plans at the last minute. We would stay all 3 days in Pompeii; 2 days at B&B Elena, and the last day at the
B&B Villa Delle Rosa. Our host, Natalia, was very sweet. We arrived around midday and decided to rest up and then make our way into the ruins. When we entered the ruins on the first day, we realized that we were going to have to make a game plan as to how we would maximize our time in the site. The next day, we planned on hiking up Vesuvius in the morning, and then ruins again. Day 3 would be ruins all day!

The ruins are breathtaking and haunting. You walk through the empty streets, imagining what it would have been like on a regular Tuesday. Traders bringing their imports to the market, kids running and playing the street, dogs barking, priests chanting. The silence is deafening when you step back and attempt to think of the fear that these innocent people must have felt with the impending doom that erupted from Vesuvius. The next day, we took a tour bus up the mountain. It was a bit bumpy and nerve-racking. They would bring us up as far as they could where we would disembark and hike the rest of the way up. We were told we had a couple of hours and had to be back at the drop off site.

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The main thing when we got back to the ruins was for me to have adequate time to photograph the temple of Isis. We made our way to the temple, and I just melted. It was so amazing to be there in person and to be able to stand where people I was writing about worshipped two thousand years ago. I took about a million pictures and we then ventured on our way. We wanted to see the Forum, Baths, the Brothel, House of the Fawn, and the Villa of Mysteries.

We enjoyed everything about the site and our hike. It is possible that the thing we enjoyed the most, however, was the food we ate in Pompei. There is a restaurant, that looks like a house (because it is quite literally in this family's home) called Osteria Da Peppino that just gives you life. We only ate here and we often talk about our favorite meal of all time, this almost always wins. Everything can be made gluten free and it tastes so good that I kept asking them (in Italian) "You are sure this is gluten free, right?". They treat you as if you are family, and the atmosphere is just lovely.
To conclude:
1. If you are in Italy, go to Pompei
2. Go to the ruins and hike Vesuvius
3. Eat all your meals at Osteria da Peppino
4. Go to the Temple of Isis and say hey to my girl for me.

Benevento, Italia

IL DVCATO
DI
BENEVENTO
NEL SECOLO

The way I came to learn of Benevento was a bit strange. I had been watching Anthony Bourdain (RIP) and he had an episode that dealt with people learning the basics. This was at a point in my life where I was just starting to get into cooking, I had not even ventured into baking yet. He had some stellar people on this show: Thomas Keller told everyone how to properly roast a whole chicken, Jaques Pepin taught viewers how to make the perfect French omelette, and Scott Conant prepared a classic tomato sauce.

As he prepared the dish, my mouth began to water. Scott went on to say that his family was from this place called Benevento in Italy, and he went there to study how they made food. I thought, well, if (when) I get over to Italy, then, maybe it is worth a visit.

We were going to be in Rome for a week, and Josh thought it would be nice to stay somewhere off the beaten path following our time in the city. I agreed and Benevento came to mind. We took the train from Rome to Benevento, which took a couple of hours. It is in the Campania region, nestled in and among some beautiful hills. The city itself has existed since the Roman period, and its name translates to "good wind" or "fair wind". While we had just lived through 110 degree heat in Rome, it was cold in Benevento!

We stayed at the Hotel Villa Traino, named for the Arch of Trajan in the town. First and foremost- the hotel is beautiful. It appears small from the street however once you are inside you see that it is a few buildings and it extends backwards quite a ways.

After we had settled in, we decided to go on a tour of the town. A shock to us is that the city actually shuts down during the day. It is exceedingly European of them.

After walking around, we managed to find one coffee shop that was open. We grabbed a coffee, and headed back to our hotel. We decided to have a leisurely afternoon before venturing out in the evening in the hopes that something would be open for dinner.

We made our way out to dinner and ended up eating at 08Cento24 which had gluten free pasta, and Josh had a delicious pizza. We sat outside and had a view of the arch. It was a really nice setting. We stayed in Benevento for 2 days, and while it was nice to have a break from the bustling city and heat of Rome, we could have honestly done without visiting Benevento, There is not a ton to see or do (especially when everything is closed), but, it is a cool little place with ancient roots. If you are looking to go somewhere not entirely traditional, consider Benevento.

Cornwall, England

“Now, said Sir Ector to Arthur, I understand ye must be king of this land. Wherefore I, said Arthur, and for what cause? Sir, said Ector, for God will have it so; for there should never man have drawn out this sword, but he that shall be rightwise king of this land”
- Sir Thomas Mallory, King Arthur and his Knights

I grew up with a mom that taught me to love books. Stories of epic romances, fantasy, and historical fiction. The Arthurian Legend was always one of my favorites. When I was in the sixth grade, I chose to write my first "paper" about Arthur, Guinevere, and the Knights of the Round Table. When Josh and I decided to plan our honeymoon to England, I knew Cornwall had to be on the list.

We drove from Dartmoor to Cornwall, which ended up being a pretty decent drive. Road labelling became a bit dicier once we entered Cornwall, but, luckily, our car had a GPS. We stayed in a cute little beachside town called Bude, and at the hotel The Beach at Bude. We were in room 16 and had a beautiful view of the coast and water. We loved this hotel. The room was spacious, we felt as if we were in a flat rather than a room. We planned to then drive to Tintagel, which was about 30 minutes away. The town of Tintagel is sweet, and the King Arthurs Cafe had the most amazing gluten free pasties and cream tea.

Originally thought to be a Medieval fortress, archaeologists have recently discovered pottery at Tintagel Castle or Dintagel in the Cornish, dating from the 200 CE.
A castle was later built at the site by Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall, in the 13th century.

The castle has a longstanding history with King Arthur. This began in the 12th century when Geoffrey of Monmouth, a British cleric, named this as the place of Arthur's conception. While his account is completely unreliable, news of it spread during the period, producing several more stories and pieces in which they added details such as Arthur being born at Tintagel Castle.

The site itself spans over a few islands. It is absolutely breathtaking. Photos do not do it justice. I cannot say enough about this place other than if you get the opportunity to go, go!

For the remainder of our time in Cornwall, we stayed near and around Bude. We hiked a bit near our hotel, and we drove in the pouring rain to a tea room near us. All in all, Northern Cornwall was absolutely lovely. We had a wonderful time, and I would go back in a second. I hope one day you get to visit there, too.