Happy Holidays

Sparkly Vanilla Butter Cookies

Chocolate spritz cookies (GF) with white chocolate drizzle and festive sprinkles

I am missing you dear readers, but I am quite busy with life! I am still baking and eating out but I have put posting on my food blog on a pause for now. I will be back when my schedule lightens up.

Happy holidays!

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LEMONADE GF BAKERY ON CAMBIE

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CLINGING DESPERATELY TO THE LAST REMNANTS OF SUMMER

Local Blueberry Tarts with Coconut-Vanilla Bean Pastry Cream

Local Blueberries fully ripe and ready for picking!

The buckets they provide hold about 5 lbs of berries.  They provide buckets for picking, but you should bring your own shallow containers for bringing the berries home.  Transfer the berries from their buckets after weighing and paying.  Minimum was 5 lbs per person (i.e one bucket per adult).  We picked 2 buckets and paid $1.75/lb.  It took us a leisurely 1 hour to pick two buckets full.  

U-Pick Blueberry Field @ GS Farms, Richmond.  Check out this link for other local UPick farms

Some of the bushes were so full of berries, they sagged from the weight of the berries

Coconut milk pastry cream...a good thing

For the Coconut Vanilla Bean Pastry Cream, I used my ol' trusty recipe from a previous post.   The toughest part...waiting for the pastry cream to cool before eating!  

No need to make tart pastry from scratch...though I know you can do it...the time is ripe to eat these blueberries now!  There's 10 lbs of these blueberries! Life's too short!  No time to lose!   Buy frozen tart shells from the grocery store and bake per instructions before filling with pastry cream and berries.

Press the cooked pastry cream through a sieve to ensure smoothness.

Refrigerate the pastry cream until cold.  To prevent a skin from forming, you should press plastic wrap on the surface.

FYI:  That's not dirt in my pastry cream.  Those are quality Tahitian Vanilla Bean seeds freshly scraped from the juicy pods.

Top the fresh berries on the pastry cream.  No need to glaze.  Savour the last remnants of summer.

Wishing all my readers a relaxing Labour Day weekend and a fantastic start to the new school year! 

;* cb 

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SHE'S BACK! WITH BANANA CAKE AND COCONUT GELATO (GF)

BANANA CAKE WITH SUGAR FREE COCONUT GELATO

Where have I been all this time, you might have been wondering?

or maybe you haven't noticed my absence? o.O

Here's what I've been doing in a nutshell:

• @ the end of the school year, I got really sick/asthmatic (getting better now); doc says blood work indicates severe allergy to something; on waiting list (over 3 months) to see an allergist and a respirologist
• applied for and got a NEW JOB (part time; still teaching English too) as a Learning Technologies Mentor for my district (yay!) \o/
• completed my Graduate Diploma in Teacher Leadership (Certificate of Innovative Educational Leadership) 
• joined Fitocracy to track my workouts (5-6 times/week)...and bought 2 kettle bells too
• road trip:  visited Great Wolf Lodge with kiddies; wore a bikini for 1st time in years thx to my workouts
• road trip:  Portland, Oregon to continue our vacation and was impressed by food carts & shopping... and I think it's a fabulous place that I would def want to visit again!

COCONUT GELATO (SUGAR FREE)
from Amato Gelato, Vancouver, B.C.

In Portland, Oregon we stayed at the Embassy Suites Hotel Downtown.   I cannot recommend this hotel enough.  FREE happy hour drinks and snacks, Art Deco, totally renovated boutique hotel within walking distance of everything and especially VOODOO DOUGHNUTS!

I decided to get glutened.  I planned it very carefully.  I went the whole trip GF, but decided I would eat those damned doughnuts at the end of the trip.  I did my research online ahead of time and listed the doughnuts that looked promising.  I bought 5 doughnuts in total (see HERE for a pic of them)...had Stomach trek on over at 5 in the morning (it wasn't busy at that time but usually there's a huge lineup out the door... but they're open 24hrs/day) on the last day of the trip.   Before the drive home, I had my first yeasted doughnut.  (Be forewarned Voodoo Doughnuts are not politically correct doughnuts.)  It was called the GAY BAR.  OMG.  A yeasted long john covered in white icing, filled with custardy cream and blinged up with a row of rainbow Froot Loops.  Hit the link to see a pic I took of it.  It was my fave.  I was in gluten heaven.  I knew I would regret it but eventually I pushed it too far and on the drive home had another doughnut.  

It was the Voodoo Doll Doughnut that did me in.  As we drove home from Portland, we got stuck in traffic.  All the lanes of the I5 were closed down for some reason.  People came out of their cars and started walking towards the edge of the highway overlooking the airport.  They were taking pics of the airport.  How odd these Americans are, I thought.  Stomach asked someone and found out that Obama had just landed and gotten out of his plane that was right in front of us as we looked from our cars on the highway.  Some of the people even got pics of him getting into his car I think.  Geez!  And his escorted car was making its way from the airport and so the whole highway was shut down.   I was starting to wonder why these drivers didn't seem to be too upset about the stoppage of traffic.  

So during this huge delay on our way back, I decided to go for another gluten goody.  That Voodoo Doll Doughnut was eyeing me.  Literally...with its beady m&m eyes.  I pulled the pretzel stake from the vdoll's heart and gave it to Bebe to eat.  I bit off his head and crunched on his eyes.  The tender chocolate icing covered long john was delish.  Then I bit into his torso and lo and behold my mouth filled with jewel-red jelly! Awesome!  what a nice surprise!  

A little later on, I succumbed to the horrible bloating and crampy feeling in my tummy from eating too much gluten and I knew I had maxed out my gluten tolerance for the day.   Was it worth the pain and suffering?  Hell ya.  The next day, I had to fast practically the whole day to get rid of that awful feeling.

But I'm back on the GF wagon again and though I haven't baked in ages I figured I'd warm up again with an oldie but goodie.  Today I present you with my fave gluten free Banana Cake recipe.  I served this with sugar free Coconut Ice Cream from Amato Gelato.  Perfect pairing.    

USE THE RIPEST SPOTTED BANANAS FOR THIS RECIPE

In Portland I went to Sur la Table (bought 2 sets of cutlery, one fork is pictured above).

 You wouldn't know it's Gluten Free. Tender crumb.   

delicious!

BANANA BUNDT CAKE (GF)

adapted from Dorie Greenspan's "Classic Banana Bundt Cake" from Baking:  From My Home to Yours

For my favourite Gluten Free Flour blend recipe, check out my post here.

• 3 cups GF flour blend (or all purpose flour, as in Greenspan's original recipe)
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 cups organic cane sugar
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 2 large organic free range eggs, room temperature
• approximately 4 very ripe bananas, pureed (1 1/2 - 1 3/4 cups)
• 1 cup sour cream

1. Center a rack in the oven and preheat to Preheat the oven to 350 F. Generously butter a 9- to 10-inch (12-cup) Bundt pan. [I sprayed my Nordicware bundt pan with Pam.]
2. Whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together.
3. Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter until creamy. Add the sugar and beat at medium speed until pale and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla, then add the eggs, one at a time, beating for about 1 minute after each egg goes in. Reduce the mixer speed to low and mix in the bananas. Finally, mix in half the dry ingredients (the mixture will look curdled — just keep mixing), all the sour cream, and then the rest of the flour mixture.  Mix until well blended.  Scrape the batter into the pan, rap the pan on the counter to de-bubble the batter, and smooth the top.
4. Bake for 65 to 75 minutes, or until a thin knife inserted deep into the center of the cake comes out clean. [mine took 75 minutes] Check the cake after about 30 minutes, if it is browning too quickly, cover it loosely with a foil tent. Transfer the cake to a rack and cool for 10 minutes before unmolding on the rack to cool to room temp.
5. If you have the time, wrap the cooled cake in plastic and allow it to sit on the counter overnight before serving — it’s better the second day.
6. Because my adaptation of the cake is gluten free, it should be refrigerated.  It will keep well in a tightly sealed container in the fridge for several days.  You can warm up slices in the microwave for a few seconds or allow the slices come to room temperature before serving.  This bundt would freeze well too.

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LONGEVITY HERBAL TEA

Pu Erh Tea in the "Tuocha shape"

We were in Chinatown for lunch at Phnom Penh (I recommend the Garlic Chicken Wings!) and I walked into a lovely tea shop near Ming Wo. The shop, Jane's Longevity Tea and Arts (41 East Pender Street) had traditional Chinese tea supplies...specialty tea cups and pots, formal tea sets and specialty teas from China. They also served free samples of tea in a ceremony very similar to though very different from a Japanese tea ceremony. I was looking for something to relieve my recent strange asthmatic symptoms. I have a persistent dry cough and my voice is strained from the constant hacking. I even popped a ligment behind my ribcage from coughing so hard a couple of days ago.

I spoke with a man who said he was just "watching the store" because the shop owner had stepped out.  He told me his father was a famous TCM doctor in China and he seemed to know a thing or two about teas and TCM. I told him of my symptoms related to asthma and he said he also had asthma as a child but does not have symptoms now. I learned that my lifelong consumption and preference for green tea might be contributing to some of my symptoms.

Apparently, green tea is higher in caffeine than Pu-Erh tea and is also very cooling.  See health benefits of Pu Erh tea HERE.  It's cholesterol lowering, detoxifying and can help with fat loss.  Because I have recently developed asthmatic symptoms (I didn't have asthma as a child)...mainly a persistent dry cough, I am not helping my symptoms by drinking so much green tea. I usually drink from 1 to 4 cups of green tea in a day.

Pu Erh Tea from Yunnan province, China.

He advised me to try Pu-Erh (or Bo Lai...Cantonese pronunciation) which is a sort of fermented tea from Yunnan province in China. The tea leaves are dark and produce a red or dark tea. The one I purchased was not expensive though like fine wine, if you want to, you can pay hundreds of dollars for a Pu Erh brick that is priced by its age and region.  Some bricks can be decades old. 

I paid $15Cdn for my pressed tea ball, which is sort of cute. It is the size of a baseball cut in half. There is a depression that I imagine is part of the pressing and molding process. The tea guy told me you take a small knife and use it to pry the tea ball and break off small pieces to use.

Apparently, though Pu Erh is a dark tea, people mistake it for black tea but it isn't. He told me that it is a very special tea that wealthy people drink because it can be very expensive; it's good for your health too. The density of a brick can indicate how well it can age. The tighter the packing, the slower it will age. The more surface area, the faster the tea will age.

The shape of my teaball is called Tuocha bowl, or nest.

When I took a small paring knife to it, I was surprised by the hardness of the teaball. It was extremely hard and difficult to break into. I broke off a tiny chunk less than a teaspoon to make my cup of tea. You steep the leaves in hot water for a few minutes and drink. It's kind of hot outside and I wanted to drink it right away so I poured my freshly brewed tea over ice in my double-walled Bodum cup.

                      

The tea was smooth and delicious.   It was nothing like the Bo Lei/Pu Erh tea you get at dim sum with your meal.  It was not bitter or astringent (like some I've tasted at restaurants) but almost sweet and I hear that the quality of the tea, like fine wine can fetch hundreds of thousands of dollars as quality aged tea is rare.  The Pu Erh bricks have the region, year and production information on its paper wrapping.  Also, like fine wine, you have to watch how you store it and many variable affect its taste.  If you want to read some history about Pu Erh tea, I found this link helpful.  About an hour after my first cup of the Pu Erh tea I could not believe it. The constant tightness in my throat was eased. I will be drinking this tea from now on as it seems to suit my constitution. I used to think green tea was the be-all and end-all but I guess the tea guy was right. Sometimes you need to match the foods you eat with your body type. He also advised me to limit my consumption of seafood and bitter melon (which is not a problem as I dislike bitter melon).

I am so pleased to have some free TCM advice from this man. I told him my kids were plagued with nosebleeds; up to 3 or 4 a week. He recommended once a week to boil this detoxing tea for 5 minutes and have them drink it. Because of its medicinal flavour from the goji, I asked if I could add sweetener and he said maple syrup or honey would be okay.

I'll let you know how the detox tea works.

Detox Tea

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CAKE WALK: CHOCOLATE QUINOA CUPCAKES WITH LAVENDER BUTTERCREAM (GF)

Chocolate Quinoa Cupcakes with Lavender Buttercream

These beauties are for my daughter's school Fun Fair.  They run something called a Cake Walk.  Parents donate baked cakes and the people buy tickets to play this game somewhat like musical chairs. The people who play the game walk in a circle to music and when the music stops and they land on a certain number on the playground floor they win the cake.

Bebe won a cake last year.  Her little 4 year old arms could barely carry the huge chocolate cake she won.  She insisted on carrying it home herself.

This year, I'm baking these cupcakes for the Cake Walk.  In order to transport them I devised a cheapie, effective system whereby the cupcakes do not topple all over the place.  It'll soon be obvious how I did this in the pictures below.

First, I decided to decorate the cupcakes naturally so I went into my backyard looking for flowers.  See my bay tree?  It's huge!  There were thyme flowers, chive flowers...nah. nah.

I wanted something prettier.  Those little plants to the right are edamame we're trying to grow.

My 3 year old fig cutting to the left.  Pretty healthy!  The lavender looked lovely this morning so I chose some as cupcake decorations.

I used my trusty chocolate quinoa cupcake recipe and a simple buttercream.  I rarely use cookbooks anymore...I use my iPad and just search my blog's archives.  It's so convenient!

I like using disposable piping bags.  I have a 1M Wilton tip here.  The buttercream was tinted with a violet food colouring to get a lovely light lavender colour

4 cupcakes fit into this paper plate cupcake holder I built to transport my cupcakes to school. I stapled two plates together at the rims, cut 4 X's with a serrated knife, lined each hole with tissue paper and wedged a cupcake into each pocket.  

A candied violet and lavender sprinkles adorn some cupcakes

This looks like a little cupcake bouquet...you could add more flowers to get that effect.  But for me, it'll do.  In all, from a batch of 12 cupcakes, I have 3 of these cupcake bouquets. 

For the Chocolate Quinoa Cupcakes recipe...click HERE

For the Simple Buttercream  (want to eat now can't wait) recipe...click HERE

For an over-the-top Swiss Meringue Buttercream (I have a stand mixer and patience) recipe...click HERE

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PALEO BBQ (GF)

Hey peeps, I've been MIA since going Paleo this last month. I have a few pictures of the sort of thing I've been making and eating:

Grilled Vietnamese Pork Patties with Avocado on Organic Baby Kale Salad mix

Grilled Prawns, Vietnamese Pork Patties, Avocado on Organic Baby Kale Salad mix

Roasted Eggplant and Zucchini.

Since going GF, I thought I had it hard.  Then a few weeks ago when my GP said that I should avoid those simple carbs and suggested upping the cardio to 4 times a week because of my whacky hormone levels (due to Hashi's, cycling hyper and hypothyroidism)...to regulate my insulin levels, he cautioned me that my baking may have to be put on the back-burner for a while.  He told me to give it a go for a month.

Well, I've stuck to it.  I'm running (outside even!) and doing strength-training and I feel good.  Still GF primarily but the other day when the kids had roasted corn and were all telling me how sweet it was, I resisted!  It's certainly GF, but it isn't Paleo as it's a grain.  

The bbq is my friend...and so is olive oil and coconuts!  The Vietnamese Grilled Pork I made is an adaptation of my favourite meal:  Grilled meat and veggies on rice vermicelli (called "bun")...minus the vermicelli of course.  I just grabbed a bag of organic greens, chunked up an avocado and topped it with the grilled meats and seafood.  For the nuoc cham, I used freshly squeezed lime juice and fish sauce (diluted with water) and a touch of honey.  The veggies were grilled simply with olive oil.  The meal was very yummy and it'll be one I'll repeat again and again.  So this meal was delicious, GF and Paleo friendly! 

Working up my nerve to make a Paleo dessert with dried fruit, coconut and whatnot.  Still debating on what that would be like.  Thinking I need chocolate so maybe a brownie of some sort?  Will keep you posted!

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MAKING THAT BBQ COMPLETE: STRAWBERRY MEYER'S LEMONADE, YOGURT CUCUMBER SALAD AND ROASTED PEPPERS (GF)

Strawberry Meyers Lemonade

Depending on your lemons, you should get about 1 cup from 5 juicy Meyer's Lemons.  The ones I had were huge and full of juice.   The lemons were also way sweeter than regular lemons, so I didn't need to add much sweetener.  The fresh strawberries also helped with sweetness and added a nice pink tinge to the lemonade.

Made with fresh squeezed Meyer's Lemons, Fresh sliced strawberries and Agave nectar

This lemonade is perfect for a picnic or summer barbecue.  If you don't have agave nectar, you could add simple syrup to taste.

By the way readers, I apologize for the long absence between posts!  I have been MIA because my doc has prescribed for me a lifestyle change.  My Hashi's has been causing me to fluctuate from hypo to hyperthyroid these past few months.  I have been feeling kind of weird lately (irritable and emotional) and had been breaking out and getting cystic acne.  He told me that I could alleviate my symptoms by regulating my insulin levels which should help in turn regulate my hormone levels better (thus reducing my acne flareups).

So that means not only am I GF, but he distinctly said No Sugars.  Avoid simple carbs.  Yikes!

Sugar was all I had left!  I think I adapted well to the Gluten Free deal.  Then I held back on the dairy because it contributed to my hormonal acne.  Now he says that I must also ensure I do cardio 3 to 4 times a week.  I admit I fell off the running wagon this year since starting the Grad studies because I had no time.  I have to run at night because that's the only time I have after marking essays, making the kiddies' lunches and snacks and writing my own reflection papers (Grad studies is all over reflecting on your learning it seems).  Sometimes I'm too pooped to stay up late to run on the treadmill.

Well, despite my tiredness, the hardest step towards running is the anticipation of having to do so.  When I'm actually on the treadmill, time flies since I watch Netflix on my computer.  If I'm dead tired, the least I'll do is a brisk walk for the duration of a movie (that's 70 to 90 minutes) and if I'm energetic and/or it's early in the evening, I might alternate between a light jog and walking on the treadmill.  Right now, I have no inclination to run outside because it's too dark.  Maybe in the summer it'll be better.

So I am happy to say that after 2 weeks of doing the prescribed cardio 4 times a week, my cystic acne that was primarily located on my chin, has cleared.  I will need to keep this up for a month to see if it truly is working.  I'll admit I've succumbed to sugar on more than a few occasions.  I haven't baked at all as you can see...but I have these awesome dark chocolate covered dried coconut chunks by True Bliss that I have been addicted to.  First one little square...then another.  Then the rationalization that dark chocolate is good for me...you get the drift.  I've usually downed a handful of little dark chocolate coconut chunks before I'm done.  For sure on those days I do my cardio.  Being dairy-free is tough.  I'm trying to find how much I can get away with ingesting because that can contribute to the acne since there's hormones in milk and it also has a lot of simple sugars. Since the chocolate almond milk I was drinking tasted so good (i.e. had tons of sugar in it), I had to stop drinking it.  I have now switched to unsweetened almond milk (30 calories per cup) and that has been good.  It tastes way better than soy milk, which I shouldn't be drinking anyways because people with autoimmune issues like Hashimoto's should stay away from soy and goitrogenic foods.

So why this recipe for a sugar-laden (albeit agave) strawberry (which is goitrogenic) beverage?  Well, my kiddies and my guests don't have to eat my way.  I think I could make it sugar-free but then I'd have to use Splenda.  I didn't want to do that and agave is easy to use, dissolves readily and you can adjust the sweetness easily.

I am eyeing the Paleo diet and have been thinking about giving it a try to see if it helps all these wacky symptoms of Hashi's.  I think this is something I'll be working on slowly to ensure success as it's really a lifelong lifestyle change.  Paleo is no grains, no legumes and beans, no dairy, no sugar, no processed foods and possibly no fun!  Don't tell me medjool dates used as sweetener is going to help you make a delicious-looking chiffon cake.  I know it won't.  I have a feeling that I'll be making a lot of dense cakes and brownies.  I think the no grains deal is the toughest because before I could still substitute rice, corn, sorghum, tapioca and other flours for wheat and gluten-filled flours.  Now, I'm perplexed.  If I make almond-flour based cakes, my kids can't eat them because they're allergic to nuts.  So if I bake, I'll have to eat it all myself which doesn't really help my health at all.  If I have a treat occasionally, it'll have to be small batch baking for me.  I'll be working on small batch Paleo baking I think.

I've been eyeing a recipe for some Paleo brownies lately and I do have medjool dates (eww!) because my Meyer's Parrot loves those and I always keep them on hand.  I also have coconut flour, which I think will be my buddy from here on.  I'll still be baking tons of regular stuff for my family but I'll try to ease the kiddies from eating normal baked goods to some of the Paleo ones.  I know for sure that I can make everything GF and not have it taste GF.  In fact sometimes it tastes better than the wheat-based baking!  GF is truly not difficult for me anymore.  My Quinoa Chocolate Cupcakes are my go-to recipe.  The challenge now is doing the Paleo diet.   You know I'm gonna cheat on the Paleo like crazy sometimes.  Especially on the weekends when I go out for restaurant food, which has tons of sugar.  And it's so constricting; especially for a baker.  This will certainly be a huge challenge for me balancing the joys of life with quality of life.

Stay tuned for my escapades with dates, coconut and honey!

ahh. refreshing!

Here's the lemonade recipe for your next barbecue:

STRAWBERRY MEYER'S LEMONADE
1 cup freshly squeezed Meyer's Lemons
6 cups cold water
1 small basket hulled, sliced strawberries
1/4 cup agave nectar (or to taste)

1.  Pour the lemon juice into a large (2 litre) pitcher.
2.  Add water and stir well.  Stir in the agave nectar and mix thoroughly.  Taste and adjust if necessary (this depends on the sourness of the lemons you have)
3.  Add the sliced strawberries to the lemonade.  Stir.  Cover and refrigerate at least 3 hours to allow the strawberries to macerate and flavour the lemonade.
4.  Serve cold.

Cucumber Salad

CUCUMBER SALAD

2 long English cucumbers 

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup prepared tzatziki or homemade tzatziki 

salt

1.  Chop the cucumbers into large chunks.  Place in a colander or sieve and lightly salt

2.  Allow the cucumbers to drain for about 2 hours in the refrigerator (placed over a bowl)

3.  With paper towels, squeeze gently or blot the cucumbers of any remaining liquid; discard the cucumber liquid at the bottom of the bowl.

4.  Mix sour cream and tzatziki with the cucumbers.

5.  Season with pepper.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.

ROASTED PEPPERS

Red and yellow peppers

Olive oil

Salt

1.  Place the whole peppers on the barbecue.  Grill until blackened/charred.

2.  Place the peppers in a large pyrex bowl.  Cover with plastic wrap and allow to cool.

3.  Scrape the charred skin from the peppers.  Slice in large chunks; discarding the seeds, membrane and stem.

4.  Drizzle with olive oil.  Season with salt to taste.  Serve at room temperature

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