Christmas Cookie Baking With Sissy

So it 'tis the season...for Christmas cookie baking that is : ) And that is exactly what Jenni and I did one snowy finals "study" night. I did some serious research (via Betty Crocker.com) and discovered a plethora of amazing Gluten Free recipes that, with some minor tweaks, were also made dairy free. So with this wealth of knowledge and deliciousness at my fingertips Jenni and I set out to make three batches of the most amazing food allergy friendly cookies that I have yet to taste. We decided to make Chocolate Crinkles (easily my favorites), Chocolate-Marshmallow Pillows, and Peanut Butter-Chocolate Chip Bars with Chocolate Frosting.* Three-ish hours and a very messy kitchen later we had three batches of yumminess that can only be described through their pictures below:

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

Chocolate-Marshmallow Pillows

  

Peanut Butter-Chocolate Chip Bars with Chocolate Frosting

I whole-heartedly encourage you to go to the recipes page and try these ones out!

*See Recipes Page for Three Cookie Recipes

Thanksgiving Feasting, Yes Feasting

As I am sure its probably the same case for everyone who lives in the United States, Thanksgiving=Food Day in my family. A day of bread-pudding, rolls, garlic-bread, pies, ice cream, and other various dairy and gluten filled deliciousness, it did not bode well for me. Luckily, with my ever helpful  EBT cash from the generous Washtenaw County and my amazing Cooking For Isaiah recipe book in hand, I was able to whip together several yummy Thanksgiving worthy dishes that left me equally as stuffed and satisfied (without the after-dinner-food-allergy-belly-bloat I might add) of yesteryears. That's right, "bread" and "dairy" cocktails included! Here's what the spread looked like:

Appetizers: Soy Cheddar and Soy Mozzarella Cheese slices with gluten free crackers and grapes

Dinner: Garlic Pesto on a Gluten Free Baguette (courtesy of my lovely sissy), Quinoa Mac and Veggie Cheese Mac&Cheese, Marshmallow-Topped Yam Bake, and Spinach Salad with Gluten Free Garlic Dressing
(mouth watering yet?)

Pumpkin Pie Martini

Dessert: Gluten Free Pumpkin Cake with Dairy Free "Cream Cheese" Frosting (again courtesy of my lovely sissy), and Dairy Free Pumpkin Ice "Cream"

Cocktails: Wine (naturally) and Pumpkin Pie Martini's (YUM!!)

Needless to say, I did not have to skimp due to diet restrictions (by diet I mean food allergies, not weight watching in the least). Over all, it was an amazing Thanksgiving that left me feeling soooo thankful to all the foodies out there that experimented to create awesome substitutions and my family who all thought of me when making the food : )

Jenni (aka the above mentioned lovely sissy) and Me Cleaning with Wilby handing the floors

Tofu Pad Thai Obsession

So not too long ago my sister convinced me to try something that changed my life forever...Tofu Pad Thai from Siam Spicy in Novi, MI. I was sooo down and bummed because it was a Friday night with mama and Jenni which meant take-out+wine and I couldn't find anything I wanted to/could eat from the places they were ordering from. Then Jenni told me that I should get the Tofu Pad Thai, since it's made with rice noodles, and just ask for no spice or sauce and add my own wheat-free soy sauce. It was amazing!! For $9 you get a massive, and I mean massive, amount of noodles, green onions, bean sprouts, and delicious tofu and all you need to do it add some sauce (which lessens the calories too!) and you are good to go...I die every time I take a bite lol. Now Siam Spicy (and only Siam Spicy) Tofu Pad Thai nights have become a once weekly tradition for me and my sissy and I count down the days till the next one...t-minus 4 days : )

Mouth Watering? Yes.

Siam Spicy Website with Menu, Contact Info, and Location

Accidental Oatmeal Cinnamon Raisin Cookie Crumble

One recipe that I have truly missed since going gluten free was my Mom's/Nana's Oatmeal Cinnamon Raisin Cookies. They were a constant when I was growing up and always made my days that much better, no matter how bad they had been. So when I started experimenting with flours and recipes, it was one of the ones I tried. As I mixed and stirred it all together, it looked and tasted (yes...i eat cookie dough...and revel in it!) almost just as good as my Mom's/Nana's and I was very excited. When I popped them in the oven and pulled them out I so so sad to discover that they didn't set right and essentially decided to give up right then and there. However, my mom, always the voice of calm reasoning, suggested that I just turn it into a crumble and sprinkle it on ice cream and yogurt...so a just crumbled the pieces up and let it be. When I was calm enough to take a bite, I was beyond thrilled to discover that it not only still tasted close to what I remembered, but its new texture was like a new lease on an old recipe. Best part, Noah loved it! I actually made him a bucket full to take up to his dorm room and he ate it all. That was my favorite part, that I was able to make someone else I love happy through the simple act of baking : )

*See Recipes Page

Seva-mazing!

One of my first days back on campus (and one of the first official sissy days of the 2010/11 school year) led me to one of my, now, staple restaurants: Seva. I had passed Seva on my many A2 walks, but had never gotten to try it. Knowing that it has a delicious and almost completely vegan (yay no dairy!) menu, along with a completely separate and long gluten free, I was just dying to try it! So, when my sissy asked where we should go for lunch I jumped on the chance to try it.

When we got there, I felt immediately submerged in a calm, organic oasis. Boasting "a completely vegetarian menu, as well as a full bar, a fresh juice bar, coffee bar, great service, and a casual, friendly atmosphere," I was in heaven! After receiving the gluten free menu, I was presented with the practically impossible task of picking out what to eat from plentiful menu. Luckily I knew it wouldn't be my last time there so I picked out oven-roasted redskin potatoes with garlic and rosemary and sauteed tofu with wheat-free tamari sauce and garlic. In a word, it was seva-mazing! I left feeling full, happy, and overall relaxed that I could not wait to go back again...and I did not even two weeks later when my mom and Jenni came for another visit. This time I got the veggie nirvana with hummus, which they describe as "rainbow plate of fresh, raw veggies (baby carrots, cucumbers, broccoli, red peppers, grape tomatoes, celery, cauliflower & radishes), with creamy, garlicky hummus!" I couldn't say it better myself and was happy to round out the delicious meal with a gluten-free, vegan chocolate mousse cake depicted as "decadent flourless chocolate cake topped with chocolate mousse, covered with chocolate ganache and drizzled with white chocolate." Again, couldn't have said it better myself and hard the hardest time trying to stop eating it and licking the spoon...I will be back soon!

 Seva Restaurant Website

Cooking for Isaiah: Gluten-Free & Dairy-Free Recipes for Easy Delicious Meals

Having moved into the new apartment, I had the urge to find some new fun recipes (aka a new fun cookbook!). So, naturally, I headed straight to Border's between classes and grabbed every allergy friendly cookbook I could find. This led me to the amazing new book, Cooking for Isaiah.  Written by Silvana Nardone, a Italian mom big on delicious fresh cooked/baked meals, I knew it had to be amazing. Coincidentally, she is also the mother of a gluten/dairy intolerant son named Isaiah. When Isaiah was diagnosed with gluten and dairy intolerances, Silvana was bound and determined to still feed him well and feed him what he wanted, while at the same time not having to make separate meals for her husband and daughter. After many trial and errors, Silvana came up with this book and a TON of delicious recipes, from breakfast to dessert, salad to cornbread (yes...bread), everything looks amazing and doesn't cost a fortune or take a store full of ingredients to make.

So far, I have been able to make a couple of her yummy recipes. For a Bestest night, I made the extremely scrumptious macaroni salad with sun-dried tomatoes and olives.  We both absolutely loved loved loved the salad, from the light sauce to the a-mazing sun-dried tomatoes to the crispy celery, I was in heaven. Another recipe I've tried out was the banana pancakes with warm cinnamon goo. One rainy cold Sunday, I went home for a visit with my family and decided to make them a yummy breakfast. Flipping through the book I came upon this recipe and knew with a name like that, it couldn't be bad. It took all of 20 minutes from start to finish and when the plates were cleared, there wasn't a crumb left. The warm cinnamon goo is definitely what made them sooo amazing and was the perfect balance between smooth/light and syrupy/gooey. I absolutely cannot wait to try more of her recipes!!

Cooking For Isaiah on Amazon.com

And We Have Internet!!

It's been a while and a lot has happened: I have moved out of the god awful julie lin apartment (hurray!!), moved back to Ann Arbor with my loves Katie and Kayleah (wooo hooo!!), fallen in love with a cookbook (yummy!!), and started school again (yay??). The move went pretty smoothly, until comcast got involved and we didn't have internet for 2+ weeks! Thankfully, it is all fixed now and we are back in business!