GF Spice Donuts and update

Happy Saturday!  Good news for us.....Dave starts his new job on Monday!!!!  What a relief.  We are pretty lucky he was only out of work for less than 3 weeks.  Being that I'm not working we are very happy! 

 

I was on the lookout for a baked gf vegan donut recipe and found a very tasty one.

Yummy!

 

Look at the cake like texture.
The recipe is found on Epicurious and is a Plain Cake Donut from Babycakes cookbook by Erin McKenna.
Just click on the Plain Cake Donut link above and it will take you to the recipe.  I did make a couple of adjustments.  I don't like using garbanzo flour in my baking so I subbed it out for sorghum flour and added a dash of nutmeg and about 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon to bring more of a fall flavor to the donut.  These taste the best eaten the same day but will keep for at least 2 days in a plastic container or bag. 
Enjoy your weekend!
 



And the winners are?!!!!

It's finally feeling like Autumn!  Yes!

 

This has been a bit of a delayed post being that the giveaway for The Raw Food Diet e-book giveaway, written by Hilary Greenleaf,  ended a couple of weeks ago but there has been a bit of an upset in our lives.   My husband lost his job.  He wasn't the most happy where he was but it's always easier when your the one to say goodbye and have another job ready to go to.  Anyways, we are trying to keep a positive outlook on things.  The love and support we are getting and the people who are looking out for Dave has been wonderful!  He's already had a couple of interviews and we know he will be back to work in no time.  As we are dealing with this and seeing all of the people who have called and are concerned for us I realize something.  With so many people, friends included, that have lost their jobs and are struggling,  these things have brought all of us closer together. Friends and family are what help us pull through these hard times.  That along with the necessity of staying as positive as possible.  I'll keep you posted on the job!

 

Now let's get to the winners of the giveaway.  Congrats to these ladies!!!!

Mandee @ Cupcake Kitteh

LittleMonsttersx14 @ Simple. Easy. Vegetarian.

 

Next up....Vegan Eating in San Francisco!

Gluten Free Lemon Bars/GF Homemade Bread and a Raw Food Diet e-booklet GIVEAWAY!

I just realized how long it's been since my last blog.  Yikes! 

I missed signing up for Vegan MOFO which I really wanted to do to get my butt into blogging more consistently.  My dog Ace is having health issues and I wasn't focused last week because of it. That's when I noticed I just missed the cutoff to sign up. Regarding my Ace dog?  It seems he may have been bitten by a tick from who knows when that has now caused an auto-immune disorder.   His blood platelets were so low when I rushed him into the vet, his mouth and penis were bleeding along with a bunch of bruising that just happened so quickly. He even started bleeding a bit in his eyes. Talk about being FREAKED OUT!!!  He probably will have to be on prednisone for the rest of his life and no more vaccinations for this doggy.  He started having some issues last spring which we treated and then symptoms started coming back so we treated him again in the summer.  Then boom it came back full force this time.  I'll be taking him in for blood work check ups to make sure he continues to make new blood platelets and that the meds are working for him.  This leads me to a question.  Do you know or are you using any type of product to help build your dogs immune system?  I'm thinking if I can help build his immune system up the lower dosage of prednisone he would need.

Shall we move on to some good stuff!

Gluten Free Lemon Bars

I was inspired to make these bars because my son loves lemon bars and the ones he brought back
home from his visit with his grand parents weren't gluten free although they were vegan and amazing!  The lemon filling is taken from Veganomicon and the crust I made up and you can't even tell it was gluten free.  I have to make them one more time and write down the measurements before I can post.

Gluten Free Vegan Sandwich Bread

This is my fifth attempt at making a home made gluten free vegan bread.  The first two times I used a gf bread mix and the other 2 from other recipes online.  They were heavy, rock hard and/or raw inside. This one has turned out all 3 times so it's a keeper and it's really good!  My son was very proud of me for having a success with this.  The recipe is from The Whole Life Nutrition Kitchen. 

 

 

As you can see it's makes great toast too!  I left it in a little too long...ooops!

It freezes really well too if you want to make a couple of loaves and freeze one or half of one if you aren't going to eat some everyday. 

 

 

GIVEAWAY!!!

 

The weather is changing and it's starting to get cooler(finally)so you may be wanting to consume warmer foods but it's still good to keep eating those raw foods.  I was contacted by Hilary Greenleaf who is an author, educator and nutritionist to give away 2 Raw Food Diet e-booklets!  This a great introductory booklet to get you started into eating raw foods from kitchen tools, stocking your pantry to easy recipes.  It's easy to read and understand.  To win this fabulous e-book leave a comment below on your favorite raw food/meal by 10/10.

Happy winning!

How gluten/wheat affected my son and some of our favorite gf foods

Hello everyone!  Hope you all have been having a good summer so far.  The heat has been kicking in out here in California.  How is it in your area of the world?

I've been packing for our move in 2 weeks which isn't something I would like to be doing. The house we are in was put up for sale, which is a bummer because we're pretty comfortable here.  Luckily we found a new house rather quickly and it's actually closer in town.

On another note a while back my son Keaton was having ear problems for about 1 1/2 years, constant ear pain and ear pressure along with bouts of fluid in his ears.  His ear problems actually started around age 5 then as he got older they were becoming more frequent along with ear infections and then about 1 1/2 years ago it got really bad with the issues I mentioned above.  He had allergy tests which came up with nothing, although she didn't do a food allergy test.  His pediatrician and the E.N.T. Dr. said the only option left would be to put tubes in his ears.  Ear tubes at the age of 14, I don't think so.  I decided to try another doctor and I found a osteopathic doctor who said he didn't need tubes and a Naturopath which helped us start to build up his immune system and hat we should get him off gluten because he has had stomach issues for quite a few years as well.   Keaton and I had a suspicion  he was sensitive to wheat because of his stomach pain but he wasn't consistent with eliminating it all together.  As I was doing research on wheat/gluten intolerance I found that it does cause damage to the immune system and can cause ear pressure/infections.  I discussed this info. with Keaton and he agreed to do anything to stop the pain.  It's been almost 2 months now and how is he doing?  He is ear and stomach pain free!!!!  He just got a physical and the doctor said his ears look great! 

This is where I have to stock up on gluten free foods for the kid.  The first thing to buy would be a great tasting gf vegan bread that I can locally, yet there are only the heavy rice bread options.  Blah! The best tasting gf vegan bread I've found so far is Sami's Bakery(I've mentioned in an older post) located in Florida!  Seriously it's the best tasting bread and now they have burger buns and bagels.  Oh yah and also wraps!  The bummer about ordering from here is that if you want 2 day delivery it's very expensive so I get the standard delivery which from the time of order to arrival can take a good week so I order extra and freeze it.  Check out the bun below which has a Dr. Praeger's Veg. Patty in between. Keaton raves about these buns and says they are better than any non gf bun he's ever eaten. I have to agree with him these buns taste amazing!

Sami's Bakery Burger Buns

I did recently find another bakery which is actually located out here in California that is now making gf vegan breads and I am hoping they taste just as good.  My son will be trying it out for the first time while he is visiting his grandparents.  We'll let you know more about it when he gets back.

As far as finding other gf foods, there are so many more options out there nowadays, some are good some not so good.   Pastas: our favorite is Ancient Harvest Quinoa Pasta it holds it's shape and also does well reheated up. As far as a rice pasta we like Jovial Brown Rice Pasta which has a great texture but is a bit pricier but worth it.  Gf vegan burgers: Sunshine Burgers, Dr. Praeger's and there is a new one we tried from Health is Wealth Sprouted Grain Burgers that tastes really good although it might not look it would.  They do contain soy but there was only 2 boxes left on the shelf so I figured it had to taste good.  Oh and check out this find...

 

Helen's Kitchen Organic Veggie Ground

I noticed this new product next to the other veggie ground products so I picked it up and noticed it was gf and vegan so I snagged a package to try.   I decided to use it as a taco filling so upon opening it up that it was very moist but this did cook out the longer I cooked it.  It has a really nice flavor without adding any seasoning but I used it to make taco's so I added taco seasoning to it.  I was pleasantly surprised with this product and highly recommend it to anyone who has been wanting to use crumbles but can't do to being gluten free.

So this is just some of our favorite products that I buy the rest I make.



Speaking of things I make.   I recently made the best gf pie crust that turned out fabulous as well as the pizza crust from Great Gluten-Free Vegan Eats by Allyson Kramer which I won over at Happy Vegan Face...thanks Jessy I'm loving the new cookbook!  The pizza crust also has a great taste as well.

Gf Vegan Peach Scone from our local health food store

What are some of your favorite gf products/foods?

Next post will be a raw e-book giveaway!

Simple Marinated Farm Fresh Tomatoes & My Two Furry Love Bugs Birthdays.

Just when I have it in my mind to blog more it doesn't happen.  My son did something to our laptop and I just figured out where my pictures were downloading too.  Now I can share!

I hope your summer has been great so far.

It's that time of year again to celebrate the birthdays of our Merlin kitty(17) and Ace dog(3).

Now for some simple marinated tomatoes that might not even make it onto your pasta because it is so delicious.

Last year I made this recipe and the key is too use heirloom, home grown or farm fresh tomatoes which are sweeter than grocery store tomatoes.  If you only have access to grocery store tomatoes you can still make this it just won't be as flavorful as farm or homegrown.  I didn't have capers on hand and it still came really good but I do love the addition of capers.

Marinated Heirloom Tomatoes

Martha Stewart Living Magazine

adapted by  dreaminitvegan

Ingredients

• 5 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 pounds heirloom tomatoes or homegrown/farm fresh, sliced into 1/2-inch wedges
• 3/4 cup torn fresh basil
• 3 tablespoons salt-packed capers, preferably Sicilian, rinsed (optional)
• 2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest, plus more for sprinkling
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red-pepper flakes
• Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions

1. Heat garlic in oil in a saucepan over low heat until pale gold, about 10 minutes. Reserve oil and garlic. Let cool room temp.
2. Combine tomatoes, 1/4 cup basil, the capers, lemon zest, red-pepper flakes, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a large bowl. Pour garlic oil and chips over tomato mixture. Marinate, covered, tossing occasionally, for 30 minutes or more.(I let it marinate a couple of hours)
3. If using on pasta you would add warm pasta to bowl, and toss gently. Top with remaining 1/2 cup basil. Season with pepper. Sprinkle with lemon zest.

Note* you can make this ahead if you are having company that day.  You can also spoon this on a nice baguette as an appetizer.

Grilling plant foods and Farmers Market

It's the second day of Summer.  Happy Summer everyone!

Yesterday was so beautiful and the Farmers Market was over flowing with beautiful colors and smells.  Happily sampling fruits and pistachios as my friend and I walked amongst the tents of organic goods.  Before we left we hung out and watched my friend's band play.  Good times.

These are local beans from a couple of towns over.  The middle bag are yellow beans which are recommended for Chili.  Since these are local they are fresher which means the cooking time is less.  They turned out to have a nice mellow flavor.  I used them below...

Grilled Vegetable Nachos

Father's Day grilling.  The above is grilled seitan marinated in a chimichurri sauce. The seitan recipe I use for grilling is taken from Veganomicon.  This is one of my husband's favorite meals.  I haven't made it since last year so he was happily surprised with dinner.

 Local artichokes that were steamed then drizzled with olive oil, garlic, lemon and sea salt then put on the grill.  Local corn too.

Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms that I grill as well.  Our local health food store had these HUGE  organic Portobello Mushrooms. One of them fed the 3 of us.  We noticed that these Portobello's were really light and airy compared to all of the other ones we have eaten. 

After visiting the Farmers Market I always realize just how lucky we are too have all of this fresh food available to us.  I definitely am so thankful for this!

Getting back to grilling.  This is a great meal to serve to someone who is trying to switch to a plant based diet.  The texture of the seitan and the flavor of the Portobello satisfies everyone's tastes. 

On another note it is my husband's first day of juicing.  Yep he had his first green juice this morning.   He is going to try to follow the Crazy Sexy Diet plan with my help, well with my preparation. ha! 

I'll share my new juicer I bought a couple of months ago next time.

Be thankful for what you have and smile!

Raw Ranch Dressing

Hi everyone!!!  Summer vacation has started for everyone.  How are you enjoying yours?
  My son graduated from the 8th grade last week which was bittersweet.  He has matured and grown so much over the last 3 years of middle school.  Crazy how time flies.  Those of you with kids know and you with little ones enjoy every moment because the next thing you know that are grown.  Okay enough of that.
Let's get onto some yummy stuff.

I've noticed that some of you stumble upon great finds at Costco well the last time I was there I found a bag of

 Raw Hemp Hearts from Manitoba 1.8lbs for $14.99!   These taste really good too. Some of my other buys are organic rice milk, organic coffee, organic spinach, pesticide free blueberries, garlic and organic corn chips and gluten free chips. What are some things you buy at Costco?

We've been eating a lot more salads lately and it's nice to change the dressings up according to the type of salad.  I usually make us an easy vinegar/olive oil or lemon/olive oil with salt and pepper but a creamy dressing once in a while is nice.  There is a nice Raw Caesar Dressing I make but I was looking for a Raw Ranch and found one. The first time I made this recipe I followed the recipe exactly and it was a little too vinegary for my taste but some may like that.  The changes I made on my second try were to only use maybe 2 T. of cider vinegar and more lemon juice.  I also only used 1 T. raw agave.  You can play with this recipe by adding more herbs too. 

Ranch Dressing/Dip

Posted by Snowdrop on Raw Freedom Community

  Number of Servings: 24 (or 3 cups)
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups nuts (cashew or mac or combo) soak them for a creamier dressing (1-2 hrs is fine, then drain)
3/4 - 1 cup filtered water for blending
3 tablespoons lemon juice (translates into approx 1/2 lemon)
1/3 cup cider vinegar
 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons agave (or 3 soaked dates)
2 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon garlic pwd
3 teaspoons onion pwd
1 teaspoon dill
1 tablespoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon basil
And to add after it's done:
1/4 cup finely minced parsley
another 1/2 t dill, minced

Directions
 In blender or food processor blend all ingredients till creamy and smooth except the last 2, then once blended, stir in the last 2 ingredients.

Thickens in fridge.
Thin to desired consistency if using as a dressing- or toss into wet lettuce leaves as is

Carmella's Notes:
~ This yields quite a bit of dressing, so you might want to consider halving the recipe.
~ Last time I made this, I completely forgot to put the dates in and it was still outstanding.

The raw ranch dressing was used on a green salad with crumbled mushroom pecan burgers I made.

Hope you are enjoying your weekend! 

I'll be back on here sooner than later!