Baking Fever

So, yesterday, I just got the urge to bake a few things (that, and the fact that my husband was doing a lot of the urging :-).  My mom seems to have developed a gluten and wheat intolerance in the last few years, so I wanted to make something that she could enjoy as well.  I searched around for some gluten free, wheat free muffin recipes (I figured they would be the easiest thing to experiment with, before trying to make bread or other baked goods).  I found a great website, Elena's Pantry, that had a banana nut muffin recipe.  But, since I didn't have any walnuts and didn't want to use sugar, I decided to modify the recipe.  And, here's what I came up with:

Ingredients

2 ripe bananas, mashed
1 Gala apple, peeled, cored, and finely chopped
1 date, finely chopped
1/4 c grapeseed oil
1/4 c agave syrup
1 egg
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 to 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
a "pinch" of salt (about 1/4 tsp)
1/2 c all purpose gluten free flour
1/2 c brown rice flour

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a medium to large mixing bowl, mix together the bananas, apple, and date and mash some more with a potato masher.

Mix in the grapeseed oil, then the agave syrup, egg, and vanilla extract. 

Sprinkle the baking soda, xanthan gum, and salt over the mixture and mix together.

Add the flour, about 1/4 c at a time, gently mixing until all blended in.

Scoop about a Tbsp of mixture into each well of an oiled (with some more grapeseed oil) 24-miniature muffin tray.  Bake for about 15 minutes (until lightly browned; you can use the toothpick test too).


I have to say, they came out very tasty (even the husband approved, and he didn't know they were wheat and gluten free!).

I also pulled out the breadmaking machine that I bought years ago.  I hadn't realized that it had been so long since I had used it, but thankfully, I had cleaned and stored it properly because it was good to go.  When pouring in the ingredients to make an Herb Loaf, I realized I didn't have any dried milk and so I just added 2 Tbsps of liquid milk, but that seemed to do just fine.  Mmmm, mmmm, no suffering going on here during the Snowpocalyps II :-)

Today's Thought:  What is Xanthan Gum?  According to the packaging, it's made through fermentation of sucrose by the Xanthonomas campestris bacterium.  It's used in a lot of products (salad dressing, toothpaste, ice cream, even cosmetics) because it adds thickness and suspension to solid particles in liquids.  Xanthan gum is also used a lot in gluten-free baking as a substitute for the gluten found in wheat that must be omitted.  It gives dough or batter a "stickiness" that would otherwise be achieved with the gluten.  It can be a gastrointestinal irritant because it's so high in fiber, but if used in very small quantities (and a little does go a long way), it shouldn't be a problem.

Rippled Heart

Whew, so with a few days to spare, I posted my Rippled Heart pattern on Ravelry last night.

It's a fun V-day project, and I was thinking, if you make 2 of them and sew/slip stitch them together, what a cute change purse it would make!

Other than that, I'm getting ready to venture out and try to go to the grocery store to get some additional provisions before the next storm hits!  The TV news folks are still saying 10 to 20 more inches, starting around 3 PM today and going until 7 PM tomorrow.  Although I am starting to really enjoy this new lifestyle of mine (get up, do an exercise video, change into clean sweatpants, and start crocheting while watching the soaps or a Gilmore Girls rerun...  oh, and lots of sorta healthy snacking!), I feel like real life is going to intrude soon enough, and I'll be too soft to return to it. Oh well, I guess I'll just milk it as long as I can, then face the music when the time comes :-)

Today's Thought:  Food Rule # 4 -- Avoid food products containing high fructose corn syrup.  Mr. Pollan says that it's not because HFCS is any worse for you than sugar but because it is highly processed.  He also points out that we get a lot of it unknowingly because it is in a lot of foods that have not traditionally been sweetened, like breads, condiments, and snack foods.  Even if products say "no HFCS" or "real cane sugar", don't fall for it -- sugar is sugar, and we need to cut down on it.  So, how have I been implementing this rule?  I've cut out sodas almost exclusively from my diet.  It was tough at first, but by switching to real fruit juice with a splash of club soda or sparkling water or unsweetened iced tea, it hasn't been so bad.  I did break down and buy some of the Pepsi Throwback, which is made with real sugar.  Even though it's not any better than the soda with HFCS, at least it's not as processed and I think it tastes less sweet.

Snowtastrophy!

Or Snowmaggedon, or Snowpocalyps -- pick your preferred name, but any way you look at it, we've had A LOT of snow.  It definitely is different from the storm in December; this one is much denser, icier, just more, more, more.  Went walking around a bit, and it's getting colder too, which is definitely not going to help the icy parts.  But, it is all very beautiful...

It's been a good crochet day, Mom's Vest now has a back to it and one side.  I'm hoping to get the other side done tonight, then it's time for her to try it on again. 

I've also been doing a little bit of online shopping.  I have to chuckle when I think about how hesitant I was to shop at Amazon when they first got started, I mean, seriously, they were collecting information about me, how shocking.  Now, heck, I let them keep my credit card numbers on file so I can one-click order!  Besides a couple of new crochet books and some Pyrex glass containers (I'm really try to eliminate using plastic as much as possible), the really exciting purchase I made was a USB microphone that's supposed to be appropriate for podcasting -- I think I am going to take the plunge!

Today's Thought:  Food Rule # 26 - Drink the Spinach Water.  Mr. Pollan explains that the water in which fresh vegetables are cooked is rich in vitamins and other vegetable compounds, so you should keep that water to use in making soups and sauces.  So, I kept the water in which I cooked a bunch of beets and actually drank it straight!  I have to say, maybe it's psychological to an extent, but I always feel better after taking a swig or two of the beet water ;-)

Let It SNOW!

Argh, I'm feeling like I'm back in upstate New York but without the clean-up!  We've had so much snow here in DC, and it's beautiful and all, but really, people around here can't handle it, and I'm starting to get cabin fever.  Another big snow is predicted for this weekend, so most likely, another weekend of postponing errands.  Well, the upside definitely has been the chance to snuggle up and crochet!  Full steam ahead with Mom's Vest, that project remains numero uno priority.  I've also got another heart pattern that I've been doublechecking and hopefully will have out in time for Valentine's Day; otherwise, I'll make you all wait til next year ;-)

Nothing on the techie front to report either, though I'm still determined to get my actual website up and running.  It has slid in priority, though, since I've been discovering ways to make the blog more interactive and have really been concentrating on developing the crochet tips content.  I'm still toying with getting a podcast going as well, but believe me, you don't want to hear my voice right now with the lingering congestion!  So, we'll see...  baby steps!!

Today's Thought:  Food Rule # 58 -- Do all of your eating at a table.  And, no, a desk doesn't count.  Mr. Pollan rightly points out that, when we eat while we're working or driving or watching TV, we tend to eat mindlessly and without attention.  So, we end up eating much more than if we were at the dining room table without distractions.  So, last night, dinner was served at the dining room table, with no TV or radio on in the background.  As a result, we had a nice meal and good conversation (we talked about how in the world humans ever discovered how to make bread!)

Last Day for Joining Yarn Club!

If you want in on the Yarn Club, order before midnight EST tomorrow February 1st!  I'll need to shut down subscriptions then in order to know how many packages to prepare by mid-February, the first shipment.

Wow, hard to believe it's almost February!  Mom's vest is coming along nicely (one side done, now on the back panel) and I've got a couple of other projects in the works.  I actually broke out the sewing machine yesterday to come up with some linings for 2 crocheted handbags I just finished, but now, I think I need to hand sew them into place, so that still awaits.  Tonight, my plan is to add some tips to http://www.crochet.lifetips.com/, then work on Mom's Vest while watching the Pro Bowl :-)

Today's Thought:  Food Rule # 56:  limit your snacks to unprocessed plant foods.  Thanks to my husband, he came up with a delicious and satisfying snack yesterday -- slices of green peppers with a little bit of cottage cheese and blueberries.  He seasoned each one with a little bit of pepper as well.   Mmmm, mmmmm!

Valentine's Day Crafts eBook

Yippee, so my simple red and pink crocheted hearts are featured in a Valentine's Day Crafts eBook that you can download for free at http://www.favecraftsblog.com/special-feature-valentines-day-blogger-ebook/
The hearts work up really quickly, so you've still got plenty of time to make some by V-Day :-)

So, I am feeling a lot better thankfully, and I have to say, the sight of $$ hitting my PayPal account has definitely lifted my spirits!  My Scalloped Baby Hat Pattern and the hat itself sold within hours of my posting them.  I'm so happy when I can come up with a crochet pattern that people want to make (and buy, of course, but really, it's about more than that) or want me to make for them.  It's like, wow, I created something that others like and appreciate and hopefully got a happy moment from.  In many ways, that's what this is about for me -- spreading pretty and happy things into the world (hey, I give out a lot of free patterns too, so you know I'm keeping it real here).  I love looking on my Ravelry account and seeing the hearts that crocheters have given some of my projects.  Sorry if that sounds sappy, but come on, we need to hold on to all the pretty and happy things we can these days...  For you cynics out there, yes, I will freely admit that the ka-ching in my PayPal account is pretty and happy too ;-)

And, to that end, my wonderful blog readers, if you would like to purchase the Scalloped Baby Hat pattern too, I'm offering it at a 10% discount on the left panel of the blog.  After your purchase, I will email the pattern to you as a PDF document within 48 hours (probably even sooner!).  Thanks very much for reading and following MCG!

Today's Thought:  So, I have started to read Michael Pollan's Food Rules and really want to start following them as best as possible.  I think I will dedicate this part of the blog to that endeavor, sharing with you a food rule of the day and ways I'm trying to follow it.  Stay tuned!

A Silver Lining

Well, I'm starting to feel better, though I'm still sooooo congested!  Oh well, at least I think I've lost some of my holiday weight (the silver lining!).  I'm hoping taking it easy for another few days will do the trick... 

Otherwise, not much to report.  I've gotten a few more tips up on the Lifetips site, so I think I'm on track to hit 101 within my self-imposed deadline.  Stay tuned!

Today's Thought:  If you haven't seen Food Inc. yet, see it!  Michael Pollan was on Oprah yesterday, talking about the movie and his new book Food Rules -- it's all quite eye opening, but knowledge is power!