zach n kali

Things are getting a bit more interesting.  Today it was rainy and cold - a rarity here in southern California, so I decided to make soup for dinner.  I forget that leftovers are not a common occurrence in a house with growing boys, so I had to revamp my dinner plan.  Raiding the fridge and cupboards I found just what I needed.  That's right, dinner tonight was made out of chicken broth, an onion, dried thyme, mozzarella cheese, and a tortilla.  I call it "Pretend French Onion Soup".  Thank goodness for a Crock-Pot.  Since I don't eat beef and I can't eat french bread, tonight provided the perfect opportunity to try out a classic.  I used chicken broth instead of beef stock and baked a tortilla brushed with olive oil until it was nice and crispy.  I can't tell you what real French Onion Soup tastes like, but this seemed like a decent imitation.  For tomorrow I have some tomatillos that are begging to be made into salsa ver...

I love feeding people, especially those who are "fun to feed". The type who take a bite and close their eyes, who say, "Oh my gosh!", who go back for seconds and thirds. The type who keep eating even after they're full because it's just so good. I'm married to one of these, and M is becoming one too. After each bite of food he has recently been saying, "mmmm" and he claps his hands in between bites. Ok, so maybe I'm reading in to it, but it makes mealtime more fun. This is one reason that I have been trying to discover and create gluten-free recipes that are delicious - I want to continue to feed family and friends and have them love to eat, but without having to make two separate dishes. My first steps into the gluten-free world were not particularly pleasant. The diagnosis of Celiac Disease was a major bummer. But over time, I'm learning the tricks of the trade and I love it when people say in astonishment, "This is glut...

I love having people over for dinner. I love the conversation, the warm feeling of being with friends, the laughter, and of course, the food! But I of all people know that there are many of us out there with food issues, and it can be intimidating to cook for us. Fortunately, it's not as hard as it sounds! Last night Zach and I were invited for a lovely dinner with family friends. Everything was delicious and gluten free! I was very impressed and so appreciated the time and effort that Carolyn put in to making a gluten-free dinner for me. I thought I would share some of the things she did to help you feel a little more at ease inviting over those with food issues, specifically the gluten-free ones. She served two wonderful salads - one with green beans, chickpeas, and onions, the other with mixed greens, cranberries, nuts, and what I think was feta. On the table she had several different salad dressing to provide options as well as to make sure that one at least was glut...

Being gluten-free can sometimes get you into a dinner rut. Being gluten-free, meat-free, and fish-free can REALLY get you into a dinner rut (doesn't that make you want to invite me over for dinner!). In our house, the turkey burger wrapped in lettuce has become a staple. A very boring one. So I am constantly experimenting in order to bring some life to this rather dull dish. Tonight's attempt was a steamed turkey burger with colby jack cheese, mango chutney, and carmelized onions on a bed of spinach. In the past I have had a love-hate relationship with mangoes. I love the flavor, but have never successfully cut one. Even after Zach's aunt gave me an awesome demonstration, I had forgotten it by the time I needed to cut one. My favorite mango story is that when I bought one for the first time, I had never cut one. I've eaten them off of buffet trays and in fruit salads, but have never prepared one myself. So I asked my husband, who knows everything, if he kne...

Last weekend I had an absolute blast hosting a girls' night here in our home. Everyone contributed to our awesome tostada bar, and my contribution to the night was the mojitos. But as everyone who has ever made a mojito from scratch knows, it does not take a full bottle of club soda or rum, and I definitely overbought on the limes and the mint. So what's a girl to do? Cupcakes. Every single ingredient that goes into a mojito went into these cupcakes. I made a basic white cucpcake with gluten free flour, the usual array of baking powder, salt, etc., egg whites, rum, and club soda. The egg whites and club soda gave the cupcake an airiness that added perfectly to the drink's summer essence. I added some finely chopped mint and some grated lime zest as well. Once they were baked, I poured a butter rum glaze over them, then let them cool completely. The frosting was a basic butter cream, but instead of vanilla, I added lime juice. After frosting each cupcake, I gen...

I love summer! And with summer come some of my favorite beverages – strawberry daiquiris, mojitos, bahama mamas, and more. To me, a hot day calls for light fruity flavors. So I raided my pantry and found I had everything I needed to make a strawberry daiquiri cupcake! Using coconut flour, I created a basic vanilla cupcake. I added chopped fresh strawberries to the batter along with a few drops of red food coloring. After baking and cooling, I hollowed the centers and filled them with a strawberry-lime-rum puree. I topped them with a light fluffy meringue white frosting laced with lime juice and white rum. For a little flair I topped each cupcake with a few slices of fresh strawberries. These are definitely adult cupcakes, but the rum flavor is not overwhelming. Cupcakes are all the rage right now, so why should those of who can't eat gluten miss out?

On lazy afternoons one of my favorite things to do is bake. And in keeping with my latest trend, I took another one of my favorite desserts - chocolate chip cookies - and turned it into a cupcake. I have to admit that while I was baking, I was crafting this blog in my head. It was all about how some desserts are best left alone and should be enjoyed in their purest form. That you really shouldn't mess with the chocolate chip cookie unless you're under-baking it and adding vanilla ice cream. But I was pleasantly surprised! They were pretty awesome. For the cake I took the ingredients that make up a cookie - most importantly the brown sugar, vanilla, and chocolate chips - and made them into a light moist cake. For the frosting I made an eggless cookie dough, substituting powdered sugar for the granulated. The result was a rich, decadent chocolate chip cookie dough frosting that balanced the lightness of the cake itself. While I still think that some things are better le...

It's been an “extra-grace-required” sort of day. I'm tired. Baby M is tired. I don't feel well. M doesn't feel well. I'm cranky... you get the idea. It's on these days that I really have to stop and go back to basics. I have to get up and do something I love, which today means baking. I'm not the creative type, but I love taking other people's ideas and transforming them. Starbucks has a new amazing Cononut Mocha and I decided to try to make a cupcake out of it. With a little one crawling around, I won't type out the whole recipe, but I'll tell you what I did and if you would like the recipe, let me know and I would be more than happy to give it to you. I started by making a coconut flour chocolate cupcake. I then added instant coffee and shredded coconut. I then made a chocolate-coffee glaze. I cooled the cupcakes then dipped them top-down into the glaze, twirling them a little to keep the glaze from going everywhere. From there...

Cooking and baking are two of my favorite things. They take me back to my childhood and all the wonderful things my mom would make. When I was growing up, she made the most amazing Tiramisu. Tiramisu is an amazing blend of coffee, creamy custard, cocoa, and silky cake. Gluten free lady fingers are a little difficult to find, so I thought I would try to convert them into a cupcake. There is a definite Tiramisu essence in them along with a fun twist. This time I cheated a little and used a boxed cake mix. But they still received an "OMG" and an A+ from the tasting crew. Coffee Cupcakes: 1 box Betty Crocker Gluten Free Yellow Cake Mix ½ cup butter, softened 2/3 cup water 3 eggs 2 tsp. Vanilla 1 tbsp. Instant coffee Following the directions on the box, mix all ingredients. Bake at 325 for 18-23 minutes. Cool completely. Tiramisu Filling: 8 oz. Mascarpone 3 egg yolks ¼ cup sugar Beat egg yolks with sugar until foamy. Fold in mascarpone. Spoon mixture ...

Butter Pecan Ice Cream is one of my absolute favorite desserts! Continuing my trend of reinventing some of my favorite desserts as gluten-free cupcakes, I have now made the Gluten Free Butter Pecan Cupcake. Gluten Free Vanilla Pecan Cupcakes: 3 tbsp butter, melted 3 eggs 1/3 cup sugar 1/4 tsp. salt 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract 1/4 cup coconut flour 1/4 tsp. baking powder 1/2 cup chopped pecans Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix together butter, eggs, sugar, salt, and vanilla extract. Whisk coconut flour and baking powder into batter until there are no lumps. Fold in chopped pecans. Pour batter into greased muffin cups. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 min. Makes 6 cupcakes. Cool completely before frosting, about 2 hours. Vanilla Buttercream Frosting: (frosts 12 cupcakes) 3 cups powdered sugar 1/3 c. butter, softened 2 tsp. vanilla 3 tbsp. milk Beat powdered sugar and butter in a bowl on low until blended. Add in vanilla and chocolate. Slowly beat in enough milk to make th...

My sweet husband has developed a very frustrating habit of, upon seeing something new that I have done around the apartment, asking me where I read the idea. Now, while I am a self-proclaimed non-creative type, I do take slight offense at the idea that I do not have any unique thoughts of my own. So, it’s time to bring the cupcakes back. While my first attempt, the nutella creamcheese cupcake, was not my own idea, this week’s creation is: Gluten Free Almond Bark Cupcakes (the GF label really should be whispered, because as Z took a bite, he exclaimed, “these are gluten-free?!” They really are that good) Almond Cupcakes: (recipe has been modified from “Vanilla Cupcakes” from Cooking with Coconut Flour by Bruce Fife) 3 tbsp butter, melted 3 eggs 1/3 cup sugar ¼ tsp. salt ¼ tsp. almond extract ¼ cup coconut flour ¼ tsp. baking powder 1 cup dried cranberries Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix together butter, eggs, sugar, salt, and almond extract. Whisk coconut flour...

Further evidence as to why I loved Babycakes so much: However, I will note that these ugly ducklings are really good crumbled on top of vanilla ice cream with hot fudge sauce :)

Discovered a new gluten free treasure today! Babycakes NYC in downtown LA makes vegan gluten-free cookies (and other pastries) that are to die for! I have had the biggest cravings for things like flour tortillas and doughnuts lately, and this took care of them all! The cookies were chewy and chocolately and everything that a chocolate chip cookie should be! I highly recommend them!

I am having trouble falling asleep. My normal solution is to count sheep, which is in effect so boring that I fall asleep. But even this is failing me. My mind races with the stressors of the day or with depression at not being where I want to be. The other night my solution was to think about cupcakes. I recently watched an episode of Master Chef where the contestants were challenged to create the most amazing cupcakes. Sharone created a chocolate cupcake with cream-cheese nutella frosting – I was salivating. Nutella is amazing. Cream cheese frosting provides a reason to eat cake. Put them together and you have the food of heaven. I was inspired. So I began thinking of other cupcakes I could create. Almond Bark... peanut butter cup... tiramisu... cheesecake... Last weekend I decided to take on the first one. I confess that I am stealing this idea from Sharone – it is brilliant, and it combines several of my favorite things. It is important to remember that my goal is ...