Scottish Shortbread - SCD cookbook

I don't know what makes it Scottish.

~ 2 cups almond flour
~ 6 Tbs butter, melted
~ 2 1/2 Tbs honey

preheat oven to 350, grab a 9 or 12 inch circular pan.

Mix ingredients in a bowl, it will be a geasy looking, crumbly lump. Press dough into the pan. Bake for 15 to 20 miutes. Let it cool in the pan, and then cut into wedges. It should be crumbly!

Pinapple Upside-Down Cake

Mom used to make the original a lot. I have wonderful memories of the smell of hot pineapple steeped in butter and sugar and flour and...wow my mouth is watering.

Well, good news! This recipe is almost as good. : )

Its almond flour, honey, eggs, a little butter and some other stuff too...and it makes either a great dessert, or a kind breakfasty bread. Again, this comes from the SCD cookbook!

~ 2 cups almond flour, or more as needed (I've never needed more)
~ 3 eggs
~ 4 Tbs butter, melted
~ 1/2 cup honey
~ 3/4 tsp vanilla extract
~ 1/4 tsp cinnamon powder

~ 1/2 lb fresh pineapple, thinly sliced

Preheat oven to 350, grease an 8 or 9 inch circular baking dish.
Put all the first section of ingredients in a food processor and blend!
Layer the pineapple slices on the bottom of the baking dish, then pour the batter on top and spead evenly.
Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Then flip the dish over to let out the cake and enjoy!

Confessions of a not-so-secret dessert lover

Dear Blogees,

I’m so sorry that I have been MIA. Apparently the teething, crawling, consolidating naps stage takes some extra mommying. On the other hand, we have the cutest little fussy, drooling, inchworm working her way around the living room all day.

I’m not gonna lie peeps, we haven’t been that good lately. I told Matt about a week ago, after we had gone to a Farmers Market where some inconsiderate bakery had to parade its decadent little personal pies for all to see, that I was feeling tempted. Later I told him to be prepared, that I felt a falling off the wagon coming on strong. In fact, I was feeling like jumping off the wagon!

So, after a Costco pizza…and the inevitable stomach and headache that come with it…we are back on track! Costco pizza is so dang good.

NEWS: a new health food store opened up in our area! We were very excited about this. It’s still expensive, (though that comes with the territory) but it’s bigger, and has a better selection than the other health food places around here. And they have quite an extensive gluten free section full of goodies that we are going to have to try.

For instance, I have been working with RICE pasta…I didn’t even know you could try CORN pasta and QUINOA pasta! I’m all over it. And as soon as we have the $$ to try it, you will all be the first to know what it’s like.

Another fantastic find – Coconut Milk Ice Cream bars dipped in a dark chocolate glaze, all sweetened with agave! They are made by SoDelicious, a brand that usually does soy…but they decided to branch out I guess. Notice: coconut milk is by no means fat free, even if it is a healthier fat, its still loaded. So, enjoy them for what they are: dairy free, agave sweetened loveliness.

I find myself lately with the biggest sweet tooth. I am supposing that this is because we have been very light with sugar lately, and I’m sure you have read stuff about how all Americans are addicted to sugar and salt….yada yada yada. Well, aside from the fact that it makes sense in theory, I am now experiencing it in reality.

And SO today’s added recipes will all be for that wonderful, necessary meal that we all love so much and that is so important to happiness: dessert.

Just to brighten your day

Yes, I can see how holding a foot while sucking my thumb would be comfortable...

Eating Alternatively

Joey: It's like how Monica feels about low-fat Mayonnaise...

Monica (stuffing food in her mouth): It's NOT Mayonnaise!

Season 6, The one that could have been

Eating a gluten free, dairy minimal, alternative sugar diet requires some seemlingly drastic substitutions and brain re-wiring. And while the goal is a healthy body, its hard not to feel like you are missing out in the interim. One thing Matt and I both have tried to do is NOT lie to ourselves. Let me explain... When I pour myself a bowl of gluten free frosted flakes and then dowse it with almond milk, I dont sit down and repeat over and over in my head: Its Kelloggs with real milk...its Kelloggs with real milk. And then try to enjoy it. Rather, I let myself enjoy it for what it is: Organic gluten free frosted flakes with nothing artificial, with 5 Calories from fat per serving (neither trans nor saturated), served with Organic Almond milk.

Suddenly, I'm not missing out on Tony's Cavity Flakes and fatty lactose...I'm reveling in just how good heathly eating can taste!

Yes, rice pasta is heavy, almond flour doesn't rise and puff, almond mik has pulp (ew), I miss pizza, and Mary's Gone Crackers brand of...well...crackers...are a little like chewing tree bark (savory tree bark, but still). And yet, it is lovely to finish a meal - after having guilt free seconds - and feel fueled up to be productive and alert rather than need to slug around on the couch all evening. I don't need food to get me to do that, it comes natural...its organic.

Here are some of our gluten free finds that have been surprisingly good:
~ EnviroKidz Cereal! YA! Good-gluten-free-morning! Matt's favorite are the Leapin' Lemurs peanut butter and chocolate balls. Mine are the Amazon Frosted Flakes. There is also Gorilla Munch, Koala Crisp, and Peanut Butter Panda Puffs. This company also has crispy bars and animal crackers that we have not yet tried.
~ Mary's Gone Crackers. Brown Rice, Quinoa, Flax seeds, Sesame seeds, water, Tamari, and sea salt somehow smashed together and presented in thin little cracker form. Remember when you were a kid and your mom would buy those whole wheat crackers with little seeds all over them rather than buying Ritz? These are like those...with a vengeance.
~ Pacific Natural Foods Almond milk. We like this brand better than Almond Breeze, and we have been using it rather than Almond Breeze for so long that I have forgotten why. I think its less pulpy. You can use it in place of milk in, well, all the recipes I've tried...
~ Annie's Gluten Free Bunny Grahms. Awww, they are cute little bunnies! Now I am going to eat them.

Thats all for now. Go find some on your own and tell me about them!

Focaccia Bread

I was dubious. I was wrong. And while nothing can truly compare to a gluten-FULL, delicious, warm, fresh focaccia from that little hole in the wall bakery in Grand Central Terminal right by the exit to 42nd street, this recipe has taken gluten free living to a new place for us. And for the time being, I'll try to remember to take one of the other exits out of Grand Central, so that I can't even smell the original.

This recipe is taken from Recipes for the Specific Carbohydrate Diet

Bread

2 cups almond flour

7 oz dry curd cottage cheese (sometimes called California style - isnt everything...)

1 teasp. baking soda

1/4 teasp. salt

1/2 teasp. coarse black pepper

1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese

3 eggs

3 Tablespoons butter, melted

2 scallion sprigs, finely sliced

Topping

1/2 teasp. coarse sea salt

1 Tablespoon finely grated cheddar cheese

1 teasp. rosemary

(This last time I made it, I also topped it with sliced tomatoes and fresh basil leaves - as you can see)

Preheat the oven to 375F. Grease a 9 x 13 baking dish.
To make the bread, mix all the ingredients in a food processor or blender until well blended. Remove from the blender and spead out in the baking dish.
Mix all the topping ingredients together and sprinkle on the top of the "dough".

Bake until the edges are brown, 30 to 40 minutes.

Now, are they scallions? chives? green onions? spring onions? Apparently each part of the little plant has a different name. No matter, I just chop up the whole thing and throw it in there (please refer to the title of my blog...). And, in my experience, wait until the whole top is a little brown, not just the edges.

Also, have fun seaching for "dry curd" cottage cheese! I used Friendship's brand, California Style. It looks the same as cottage cheese, just with huge curds. And since it is made with cottage cheese, it is a little spongy...but you can still dip it in Balsamic and Olive Oil...and that is what really counts! : )

Grocery Shopping

Is there anyone out there who actually likes grocery shopping? If you exist, will you please go shopping for me? Cause I'm usually on the verge of a nervous breakdown by the time I get to the canned fruit aisle.

First, I have to navigate my car through these psycho New York drivers to get there...and that is no simple feat. Then, if I have managed to even remember my list, I must march up and down aisles, comparing prices and quality, resisting impulse buys, and making sure I get everything from that aisle I need, otherwise I have to wheel my squeaky cart (I always get the squeaky cart) all the way back across the store. If Rebecca isn't in tears by this time, I am. As we approach the checkout counters there is always the mad dash to the shortest looking line, which always ends up moving the slowest. Then we have to stand in line where I have some options of what to do to pass the time. I can either stare at the candy to my right, or Jake Pavelka's goofy smug smile smeared across US magazines to my left, or sneak peeks at what the person in front of me is buying for dinner. Next I fork out cash to the kid who never looks anyone in the eye, and is often texting, then get back in the car and fight my way home.

So, in an attempt to counter the effects of this sanity straining weekly tradition, I have come up with some ways to try to streamline the process.

First step: spend as little time as possible in Stop&Shop or ShopRite. The above description bears no resemblance to the happy, fairy land experience of Trader Joes. They are always playing oldies in there, and more than once, the entire store has broken out singing along. It's like a musical in there. Unfortunately, our Trader Joes is almost 30 minutes away, and about the size of my pinky toe. It should be called TJ junior. So, I do have to do some shopping elsewhere.

Step Two: plan out meals about 10 days in advance and then shop for exactly what you need. This has helped me cut down on the "Oh man I forgot the ________" moments.

Step Three: create a master list of what I usually buy. Place it inside a sheet protector and hang it on the fridge. Have a dry-erase marker nearby, and mark what you need as you need it. This cuts down on my "inventory" time.

Step Four: try to have Matt go shopping for you as much as possible.