It's a Dirty Job.

I like to start my posts as if I am talking to my closest friends.
This is unfortunate for you the reader, because I don't have any close friends.
So . . you'll just have to suck it up.

Just kidding.

I'm pretty sure I am the only person - on the planet - who can sit down to a beautiful meal . . . while watching and especially disgusting episode of Dirty Jobs on the discovery channel.

I love this show! It is so interesting and gross at the same time. Where else could you see a cow being artificially inseminated with fancy sperm at a dairy farm? No where, I tell you.
My family finds this disgusting. They can't even walk through the room when I'm watching it. Who else loves this show?
There's no recipe today just my general observation on dining/television etiquette.

Come to think of it Gluten Free cooking is kind of a Dirty Job. Interesting thought.

Sweet and Salty

I thought I might share one of my most favorite recipes. Its great for either a dessert or a breakfast, loaded with quinoa flakes and freeze dried raspberries. I love the "Just Tomatoes" brand of freeze dried raspberries. They turn out crunchy like wafer cookies. Delicious. Plus, they have all of their vitamins and fiber with no added sugar. I buy my Quinoa flakes at Loma Linda Market. Quinoa is a great source of fiber, as well as being a power grain which is very high in protein.

Quinoa Raspberry Bars
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Whisk together these dry ingredients:
1 c. sorghum flour
1/2 c. buckwheat flour
1/2 c. tapioca starch flour
1 c. quinoa flakes
1 tsp xanthan gum
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp Corn-Free baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp allspice
1 2/3 c. brown sugar
or
3/4 c. Splenda
3/4 c. brown sugar
Mixed together first


In a large measuring cup blend:
2/3 c. olive oil
2 Tbs molasses
2 tsp vanilla extract

Combine the wet and dry ingredients with a sturdy spoon until you get a sticky batter.
Add in 2 eggs.
Mix until combined.

Add in: 1/2 c. chocolate chips, either Allergen Free or a Dark or Bittersweet will work
1/2 c. freeze dried Raspberries (broken up)
I like to use the Just Raspberries brand.

Line an 11x13 pan with parchment paper. Press batter evenly into pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Allow to cool.

These bars have a perfect balance of sweet and salty. Not to choclate-y, but just enough chocolate to satisfy most women. :)They kind of taste like peanut butter, but of course there are no nuts in this.

BTW My mom looooooooves these.
Later I'll take a picture to post.

Check this and other great recipes out at Gluten free Homemaker.

Oh yeah! And . . . it's gluten free!

Oh yeah! And . . . it's gluten free!

This is what I hope to hear any time I make something. This is what my mom says when something is truly good. There is also a little dance that goes along with it, something like the hokey-pokey but not quite. I love it. It makes me want to do a dance!
Tonight I made Shawna and the Chef's (over at Gluten Free Girl.) Salisbury Steak, Beef Gravy, and mashed cauliflower. My mom LOVED it. Its been about 2 years since shes had gravy so she was lapping it up.

I love making gravy. It's like magic. You take homemade stock, as thin as water, add some roux . . . BAD DA BOOM . . . you have thick, delicious gravy! Like I said. Magic.

My mom has always told me stories from her childhood. She comes from a family of Texans, who now live in Southern California. The stories have always fascinated me. Probably because they always were of something so incredibly different then what I knew. The other day my mom was telling me that her grandmother used to make her Date-Nut bread in a can.

"In a can??" I said.

"Yeah, she'd bake it in a cleaned out tin can."

So I decided to make her Date-Nut Bread. Just . . .no nuts.


Date Bread
1 cup dates, chopped
1 cup brown sugar, measure firmly packed
1 1/4 cups water
80 g Spectrum Organic Shortening
1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup walnuts or pecans, chopped (I omitted this)
1 cup Sorghum Flour
1 cup Tapioca Starch Flour
4 tsps baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum

Spray or butter 1 standard loaf pan.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine the date, shortening, sugar and water in a saucepan. Stir over low heat until the sugar and shortening have melted. Bring to boiling point and then remove
from the heat. Let cool.

Stir everything else into the date mixture.

Pour into pan and bake for 40-50 minutes.

Let cool before slicing.

As a variation you can use pecans or macadamia nuts instead of the pecans.

And hey if you want to bake it in a can, go ahead. It's the same baking time. just make sure the lid is tight