Absolutely, Positively, Delicious Lemon Squares April 26, 2009

Well, the other day I looking outside, and spring was just beginnning to start. The trees have that fuzzy green look, and the tulips are starting to sprout. But the first thing I thought of when spring came to mind was lemon squares. That sweet, lemony, cool treat that everyone just loves, including me. So I ran to my kitchen, pulled out the tried and true GF lemon square recipe, and baked away. What came out were delicious, mouthwatering lemon squares that taste and look just like the real thing. On this post you get to see some of my incredibly amazing photography (not really, just a pic of the treat on my kitchen counter…) But they really are THAT GOOD. And, of course the recipe comes from my favorite cookbook, “Gluten Free Baking Classics” which you can buy at www.amazon.com. Here’s the recipe-enjoy!

Crust

1 cup brown rice flour mix (recipe at bottom) 1 teaspoon xanthan gum 5 tablespoons butter ¼ cup granulated sugar Baking spray

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray bottom of 8–inch square baking pan.
2. Put flour, xanthan gum, butter, and sugar in bowl of electric mixer. Mix on low speed until crumbly. Press into bottom of baking pan.
3. Bake in center of oven for 15 minutes.

Lemon Filling

3 large eggs ¾ cup granulated sugar 2 tablespoons brown rice flour mix (recipe at bottom) ½ teaspoon baking powder 1/8 teaspoon salt 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice 2 teaspoons lemon rind ½ teaspoon pure lemon extract

1. Beat eggs in large bowl of electric mixer at high speed until foamy. Add sugar, flour, baking powder, salt, lemon juice, lemon rind, and lemon extract. Beat until well blended. Pour onto partially baked crust.
2. Bake in center of oven for 20 minutes or until set. Cool on wire rack. Cut into 16 squares or triangles; remove from baking pan onto serving plate. Sift powdered sugar over the tops.

 

Brown Rice Flour Mix:

2 cups brown rice flour

2/3 cup potato starch (not potato flour)

1/3 cup tapioca flour

 

Recipe Courtesy of “Gluten Free Baking Classics”–© 2002 by Claudia Pillow and Annalise Roberts

Celiac Teens Takes over Twitter! (well, not really…) April 20, 2009

No, I don’t live under a rock. I have heard of twitter, and I know basically what it is about-microblogging. So yesterday I decided to jump on the bandwagon and going the twittering, tweeting community. The more I tinkered around on the site, the more  I liked it. The account I created was just for celiacteens only, so it will be a great way to give updates on what I am seeing, hearing, and tasting gluten-free on the go. So, if you are a twitter member, go to the sidebar and click “follow me on twitter” or if you aren’t the twittering type, I have a widget where you can still see my updates without being a member. I’m going to be adding a lot more media, tech, and sweet features to the site, so stay tuned in!

XOXO,

Juliet

Welcome to the family, Corn Chex! April 19, 2009

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As happy as I was when Rice Chex went gluten free, the novelty has worn off a bit. After euphorically eating them every morning, it got a little tedious. Bowl of Rice Chex. Every morning. Again. And again. And again. So I jumped and clapped for joy on my last visit to the supermarket a couple weeks ago. General Mills has had great success with the gluten free Rice Chex, and so Corn Chex is now added to the GF family. There is also a rumor of Cinnamon Chex (yumyumyum) going around, but I can’t confirm that yet. Corn Chex are a great cereal, and now that both are gluten free, making the signature Chex Mix is a breeze! Check out this dee-licious Chili-Garlic Snack mix! Happy Eating!

**Note**-Since the Gluten Free Chex mix is relatively new (as of 4/18/09), your town/city may not have gotten the new GF shipments yet. BE SURE to check the box if it does not say “Now Gluten Free”

xoxo Juliet

 

Chili-Garlic Snack Mix

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ingredients:

8	cups Rice Chex or Corn Chex (gluten free)/ or try 4 cups Rice Chex mixed with 4 cups Corn Chex
1	bag (3 oz) fat-free butter-flavor microwave popcorn, popped
1/4	cup dry-roasted peanuts
3	tablespoons canola or vegetable oil
1/3	cup grated Parmesan cheese
2	teaspoons chili powder
2	teaspoons garlic powder

Directions:

	Heat oven to 300°F. In very large bowl, mix cereal, popcorn and peanuts. Drizzle with oil; toss until evenly coated.
2.	In small bowl, mix remaining ingredients; sprinkle over cereal mixture. Toss until evenly coated. Spread cereal mixture in ungreased large roasting pan.
3.	Bake uncovered 15 minutes, stirring once. Spread on waxed paper to cool, about 10 minutes. Store in airtight container.

 

Recipe from: www.chex.com/glutenfree

The Best (baking) Cookbook Ever! March 22, 2009

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I got this cookbook for my mom for Christmas, even though she hates to bake. Why, do you ask? Well, even though she hates to bake, she loves to eat baked goods. Since we are both Celiac, we have to go the exxtra mile when it comes to baked goods, and I am the main baker in the house. Before this cookbook, I usually searched online for some gluten free cookie/bar recipie, and it was always a tossup whether it would work or not. This book got great reviews, and after using it heavily, I must say that it is THE best gluten free baking cookbook. None of the recipies taste gritty, grainy, powdery, hard, or anything. They taste just like you remember. I just remember sitting down at my kitchen table and biting into my first brownie from this book, and it was like I was eating gluten again, I even felt a little guilty Anyways, the recipies in this book range from eclairs, french bread, crepes, cookies, brownies, lemon bars, anything delicious you can think of, all gluten free. My favorite recipies so far in this book would have to be the brownies, chocolate chip cookies, coconut cake, and flourless chocolate cake. All of them are exceptionally delicous. This book is great for a gift, or just to treat yourself You can get it at this link, and I would highly recommend it. Now get baking!

XOXO,

Juliet

CookiesCookiesCookies!!! November 2, 2008

New favorite food alert. I found these at my local TJs, and it was love. I ran home, baked half the batch in about 20 minutes, and tried them. They were perfect. Not too peanut butter-y, not too sweet, just right. My heart rejoiced as I packed them for my lunch tomorrow. But as I ate them at school, I had another great idea. After I came home, I made the rest of the box and melted chocolate to put on top. Even better. My new favorite snack. These are perf for after school or in lunches, or just as a grab-and-go cookie. Trader Joe’s has a ton of gluten free snacks (yay!), so if you live near one, check it out. If you aren’t sure, check out their locations. Happy Eating!

XO,

Juliet

 

P.S. These are found in the FROZEN foods section

Happy Halloween! November 2, 2008

I hope everyone had a safe and happy halloween this year! Halloween is one of my favorite holidays, and with halloween comes pumpkins, costumes, and of course, CANDY! And candy, sadly poses a bit of a problem to us Celiacs. And, annoyingly all those little fun-size (I never understood that, I would have more fun eating a full size candy bar!) don’t explain the ingredients on the wrappers. After digging through my Halloween loot this year, I didn’t have to pull out much. Many standard Halloween candies are gluten free, but you can never be sure, so I looked up “gluten free candy list” online, and found this wonderful PDF with 32 (yes, 32!) pages of gluten free candies. And the best thing about this list is it doesn’t only list Halloween candy, but Easter, Christmas, and everyday candy. So follow this link, click on ”2007 Gluten Free Candy List” and happy candy eating!

XO,

Juliet

Rice Chex! July 10, 2008

Thank YOU General Mills! For all of you (celiacs) out there that have been waiting for a brand name, gluten free cereal (other than Cocoa Pebbles-eating those for 3 months has gotten old) say hello to the new and very improved Rice Chex cereal. Perusing the shelves and shelves of the grocery store my (also celiac) mother spotted the box, with the words GLUTEN FREE printed proudly on the box. Pre-gluten freeness, Rice Chex had contained the all hated *MALT FLAVORING*, the downfall of many of our favorite cereals. But, recently, Rice Chex has gone gluten free. They are great drizzled with honey, sprinkled with sugar, topped with fruit, anything. Enjoy this easy-to-find, yummy cereal. And, while you’re at it, try this delish recipe for a great “party” or bake sale mix.

“Puppy Chow”

1/2 cup Peanut Butter
1/4 cup Butter
1 cup Chocolate Chips
1/2 tsp. Vanilla
9 cups Rice Chex cereal
1-1/2 cups Powdered Sugar

1. Combine peanut butter, butter and chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl.

2. Microwave for one minute then stir to blend all ingredients thoroughly. Add 1/2 tsp. vanilla. Stir well.

3. Pour over cereal. Coat with powdered sugar.

Scotch-a-roos July 8, 2008

While I was at my 2 week summer camp, I had the best dessert of my entire life. Actually, I have been having this dessert forall 4 years I have gone to this camp, and this year, I asked for the recipe. The camp cook was happy to give it to me, and I am happy to say that this may be the best thing you ever eat. Enjoy!!

Scotch-a-roos

2 cups corn syrup
2 cups sugar
2 cups peanut butter
1 to 1 1/2 boxes crispy rice

In a pot combine corn syrup and water. Heat on stove top until the mixture boils and becomes clear. Take the mixture of the heat and add the 2 cups of peanut butter. Stir it constantly until the peanut butter melts. Add the crispy rice.

What I do is grease my pan and pour in the crispy rice ahead of time. Then when the liquid part is ready to go I pour it over the rice and mix it in the pan it is going to be sit in. This way it isn’t as messy and it is less dishes!

Frosting
Equal parts chocolate chips and butterscotch chips. Melt them together and frost scotch-a-roos

And thats it! Super Yummy! As a note, most crispy rice cereals contain gluten, such as Rice Krispies. I recommend Nature’s Path Crispy Rice. Picture here.

SO BUSY!!! July 8, 2008

Wow. It has been an entire MONTH since I did my last post. And boy, do I feel bad! I have been to 3 camps, and I have been the busiest I have ever been in my life. But, as of today I will try to make as many posts as possible, because I’ve missed doing it. Can’t wait to catch up!

XO,

Juliet

Super Easy Cookies June 3, 2008

Just like salt and pepper, ketchup and mustard, and popstars and disaster go together, so does peanut butter and chocolate. This yummy “buckeye” recipe combines the best of both worlds. These are like little peanut butter and chocolate balls. You basically mix it all up together. It is a perfect recipe to do at a sleepover or for parties. It is pretty simple and it really doesn’t take too long. It takes about as long as chocolate chip cookies do, maybe a little longer, but if you love chocolate and peanut butter, you’ll love this. Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS

• 1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 2 tablespoons shortening
• 4 cups confectioners’ sugar

DIRECTIONS

1. You’ll need wax paper, a double boiler, a cookie pan, and a medium bowl. In the medium size bowl, mix peanut butter, butter, vanilla, and confectioners’ sugar (mixture will be stiff).
2. Shape into balls and place on a pan covered with wax paper. Place into the refrigerator.
3. In double boiler, melt chocolate and shortening. Pour into bowl and dip balls with chocolate. Refrigerate for thirty minutes until chocolate is firm.