The Eagle Has Landed...

It's about dang time. I can't wait to make rice krispie treats with these. They also really do Snap, Crackle, and Pop just like the original! I think I bought these at my WalMart Neighborhood Grocery store or Harmon's. Enjoy!

Margo's Gluten Free Meusli

Rarely do I make something in my kitchen and then immediately write about it. But today, I took one bite of this and knew I needed to share this simple breakfast dish with you. I am by no means the original architect of Meusli, which is a combination of oats, fruit and nuts, but rarely have I eaten it in the past. Apparently Meusli is a simple, super-healthy breakfast loaded with cancer fighting ingredients that has been around for a long time in Switzerland. I have usually associated Meusli with the packaged version that is in the cereal aisle, and those are almost all not gluten free. Today I was driving home from dropping my daughter off at preschool and it finally felt like spring in the mountains, I was craving some sort of a Swiss breakfast, and this is what happened.

My friend Aimee makes a version of this that is quite elaborate that she eats every day. She adds strawberries and cottage cheese and even soaks dates to make them plump before she adds them. All I knew today was that I wanted pecans and I didn't have a lot of gluten free oats left, so I was going to make something up as I went. This is also not such an exact recipe. You can add or subtract any ingredient to taste. I really liked this flavor combination today, which doesn't mean I won't like something else tomorrow, but try it if you're looking for a healthy, easy filling breakfast.

Gluten Free Meusli a la Margo

1/3 of gluten free oats (Auguson Farms)
lowfat milk
handful of raisins, dates, or other dried fruit
handful of chopped pecans, walnuts, almonds, or other nut of choice
1 T or so of brown sugar
1 pinch salt
fresh fruit, like apples, strawberries, peaches, raspberries (optional)

Place the oats in a microwave safe bowl. Add enough milk just until the oats are moist and a little bit runny. Microwave 45 seconds or until no longer runny. Add raisins, pecans, brown sugar, and salt. (Don't skip the salt! It brings out the flavors. Use sea salt if you are worried about sodium.) Mix well.

So easy. So not precise. I wish I was better at writing recipes that were free flowing and organic like the cooking process itself, but that skill may come later.

Happy eating!

I Still Have a Sore Throat...and I'm Still Not Cooking

Sick, sick, sick. Whatever type of plague decided to descend upon my house has apparently decided that this is a great environment to grow and prosper in. Subsequently, my appetite has gotten up and walked away with my good health. I'm realizing how essential a sense of taste is for creating a food blog, and sadly, I'm not too inspired in the kitchen right now because all I want is some Advil and a piece of toast.Recently I've been eating a lot of Udi's Whole Grain Gluten Free Bread and Udi's White Sandwich Bread with butter, cinnamon and sugar and a mug of Throat Coat tea to start my day. Obviously it's not a super-vitamin-packed meal, but it's all I can stomach for now. I'm just glad there's something I can eat that is gluten free that takes less than 10 minutes to make, eat, and clean up.

So, I thought it might be fun while I am semi-incapable of creating and photographing new recipes to hear from you about what your favorite recipes are. Do you have a simple, tasty, and most importantly, gluten free recipe you can share? You can leave a comment with a permalink to a post if you have your own blog or if it's simple enough, leave the recipe in the comments section. My family is dying for your ideas. They are getting tired of microwaveable dinners and Gatorade.

Here's to good health and the promise of a better day! Happy eating!

Gluten Free Cereal...What's Your Favorite?

Dear Glutino,

Please send me one case of your Gluten Free Frosted Corn Flakes. That is all.

Margo

P.S. I don't normally love the gluten free cereals that are out there. Some of them are alright, but this one is my favorite one that isn't a mainstream brand. What's your favorite gluten free cereal made by a gluten free only manufacturer? Leave a comment and let us know! Happy eating!

Oh, Yes I Did

Remember the gift of beautiful Lemon Curd I was going to gift someone from this post? I did end up gifting it...to myself. And yes, this is not for the faint of heart. Lemon lovers only, please. I spread it on my Gluten Free Bisquick Waffle and slathered it with Cool Whip. Talk about your pucker power. Although I really enjoyed it, I don't know if I'll ever eat it again. I'm not sure why...I'm a sucker for lemon but this was a bit of an overload. I guess the holidays bring out the culinary bravery in some people.
Happy eating!

Gluten Free Caramel Apple Crepes

Usually when my little family gets together for dinner and I make my famous crepes we have the standard fillings: Nutella, strawberries, whipped cream, powdered sugar. But Monday night I had a brain flash...complete with carameled apples for the season. The best part about this little personal triumph is that I did this whole recipe with no book, no internet, no call to the cook friend. I mixed and matched the flavors and even taste tested while I was cooking. I imagined in my head what I wanted it to taste like and I just went for it. I'm usually so caught up with perfection that I research myself to death. Yay me! Not that it's a hard recipe, but still.

It seems like some sort of breakfast restaurant is always advertising their pancake meals topped with fancy fruit toppings, and since there's nothing I can eat there they will remain unnamed. However, I thought about making a chunky applesauce for the filling and using some caramel ice cream syrup we had in the fridge for that little something extra. It turned out to be a delicious alternative to Nutella and strawberries. Here's the recipe for the filling:

Chunky Caramelized Applesauce

3 gala apples, peeled, cored, and diced

1/3 cup brown sugar

4 T butter

juice of 1/2 small lemon

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp cornstarch

In a small saucepan, add apples, sugar, butter, lemon juice, and cinnamon. Heat over medium heat until butter melts and sauce simmers. Cook until apples are soft, about 12-15 minutes. Add cornstarch and stir well until thickened. Spoon into a fresh gluten free crepe and drizzle with Smuckers Caramel Sundae syrup. Top with Cool Whip, roll and eat with a fork.Try this one next time you make crepes for dinner or brunch. You could also use pumpkin pie spice instead of cinnamon for an extra-autumn flavor.

Happy eating!

Gluten Free Granola Parfait in the Morning

I know its hard to believe that a stay at home mom could ever need a quick and hasty breakfast what with my relaxed summer schedule and all, however there have actually been several days when I've needed to grab something and go. Once I was watching Giada at Home and she made this yogurt parfait that was really close to this recipe, but she mixed something in with the yogurt so it wasn't just yogurt. Probably ricotta cheese. But anyway, I found this granola at Harmon's the other day from Bakery on Main, which is more like the traditional granola recipe as opposed to the Loaded Fruit and Nut recipe I wrote about here. Of course I used my favorite greek yogurt with this one. Here's the recipe:

Granola Breakfast Parfait

1 container of vanilla yogurt, your favorite style

1/4 cup Bakery on Main granola with Fiber Power

2 T raspberry jam

Layer in a glass (or paper cup, if you're headed in the car) and enjoy!

Happy eating!

Yogurt

Omelets: Gluten Free and (Not So) Easy

I will admit: I've been trying to make myself omelets for 20 years. And for the last 20 years I have giggled at myself every time I try to make one. Who in their right mind thinks that they can flip over a circle of egg 8 inches in diameter without it breaking apart? So I keep trying, and I know that professional chefs have got this skill mastered so that their omelets look perfect, but I still end up with ones that look like this: So don't take my advice on the flipping, but you can take my advice on the filling. The great thing about omelets is that you can pretty much put anything you can think of inside of them and they will taste great. I've used ham, bacon, cheese, tomatoes, mushrooms, avocado, spinach, green onion, zucchini, and salsa inside my omelets, and I have yet to be disappointed. And, as a further confession of guilty pleasures, this is the one and only time I ever eat American Cheese. You know the cheese I'm talking about, the one that says pasteurized cheese product on the side and comes in the natural shape of a square. One day I was out of all cheddar at my house and was stuck with only American in the bottom of the fridge drawer for kid's grilled cheese sandwiches, and I just put it in. Mmmm. Melty and delicious with omelets. It melts everything together and almost turns into a sauce when it's finished. So here's my recipe for omelets:

1. Beat three eggs with 2 T milk and one pinch of salt in a small bowl. Heat a frying pan (I use a 10 inch pan) to medium heat and spray with nonstick cooking spray.

2. Pour the eggs into the pan and let them set until you can pull the edges on all sides away and the middle is a little bit puffed up.

3. Flip over the eggs in one flip. Laugh at yourself when you fail. Act like Julia Child and just mash it together.

4. On the cooked side of the omelet, choose one half and layer some cheese (on the bottom so that it acts like glue for the other ingredients), veggies (my personal favorites are spinach and tomato) and pre-cooked meat if you want. Then add a little bit more cheese to keep it together.

5. By this time the other side of the eggs should be cooked and dry, so flip up that side over the filling and let it sit until the cheese melts. If you are really tricky you can flip it over onto the other side so that the cheese can melt faster on the top and the bottom doesn't get too brown.

There you have it: the unofficial guide to un-perfect omelets. Leave a comment and let me know, what are your favorite omelet fillings?

Happy eating!

Gluten Free Pancakes and Waffles: A Matter of Taste

This is one of those posts where I look back over my history of posting and wonder why I haven't written about this yet. Who do I think I am that I haven't talked about one of life's great indulgences? Pancakes and waffles were something I thought I would simply never eat again once I was diagnosed with celiac's disease, but I have actually been pleasantly surprised with the gluten free offerings by some of my favorite gluten free companies.
My all time favorite mix for pancakes is Gluten Free Pantry's Brown Rice Pancake and Waffle Mix. I grew up eating pancakes made from Bisquick and Krusteaz mixes, and so I like the flavor of these because they taste really similar, heavy on the baking powder and fairly light and fluffy. I usually only make pancakes with this mix and freeze the leftovers, reheating them in the microwave when I need a pancake fix, but the other night I made waffles with them and it was pretty great.

I also like the Grandpa's Kitchen Pancake Mix when I'm in the mood for old-fashioned style pancakes, like the ones your mom would make from scratch. They are more of a thick pancake and taste like homemade love in a skillet.

One of my other favorites for waffle batter is the Tree Street Grains 9-Grain Gluten Free Waffle and Pancake Mix. I love to eat these when I'm in the mood to feel healthy or I need something a little more chewy and substantial to get me through the morning. You can read all about how to order and my encounter with the owner here.

There are actually quite a few brands I have yet to try, among them Pamela's, Bob's Red Mill, and Gluten Free 1-2-3, and hopefully I'll get to them this summer and let you know what I think. What about you? What are your favorite gluten free pancake mixes? Leave a comment and let me know so I know which kinds to try. And the absence of pictures is SO not my fault. Believe me, I have delicious looking photos of all of these brands and I can't get Blogger to upload them. Anyone? Anyone?

Happy eating!

Farm Fresh Eggs: Gluten Free Breakfast Joy

My husband has a friend at work who has like 30 chickens living on his property. Last time the kids and I went down to visit daddy's work he gave us an 18-pack of fresh eggs from his "farm" and told me I could get more any time I want. Cool, I thought. I use a lot of eggs, so this will be good because I won't have to run to the store when I'm out. What I didn't realize (because I'm a city slicker and have been my whole life) is that fresh eggs taste so much better than store-bought eggs. I was amazed at the flavor and richness of the fresh eggs. I had a full 18 pack of eggs in my fridge and not one of them has been touched yet, because I've been eating these delicious fresh eggs every chance I get.
The great thing about eggs is that they're such saviors for gluten free eaters! When you're hungry and in a hurry, whip up some eggs or an omelet and you're set. So easy, so versatile, and so naturally gluten free. And while I was thinking so much about these eggs, I realized that everyone I know cooks their eggs a different way. It's like that part in Runaway Bride where Julia Roberts eats every kind of egg to find out her true personality, and settles on Eggs Benedict. I think I must have a boringly normal personality because this is how I love to eat my eggs:
*scrambled with Pam, stirring the whole time
*about 1/4 cup of shredded colby jack cheese cooked into them and
*a pinch of salt.

I mean, how suburban can you get? I must say, everyone including my children and my children's friends have said that they like my eggs, so it must not be too bad. What's your favorite way to eat eggs? Leave me a comment below and tell me how you take your eggs: over easy? boiled? omelet-style? McMuffin style?

Happy eating!

Gluten Free Breakfast Casserole

For those of you who don't live in Utah and missed the recipe I cooked on TV Wednesday, you are in luck. I'm going to share it here on the magical World Wide Web for all to enjoy. I have to say that this recipe is easier to make at home than it is on a TV set, simply because it's fast and easy and you don't have to wait for camera men or the weather segment to get over.

If you have company come over and you want to make something that is simple yet elegant, this recipe is for you. When I have people stay with me, which seems to be often nowadays, I want them to feel comfortable but not completely on their own, so sometimes I will make this for breakfast along with some Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins and it seems to hit the spot for just about everyone.

Plus, it's naturally gluten free, so you don't need any special ingredients to make it so that you can eat it.

Gluten Free Breakfast Casserole (Frittata)

2 T butter

2 T olive oil

1/2 onion, diced

pinch salt

1 clove minced garlic

1 cup frozen hash brown potatoes, southern style

6 eggs

1/4 cup milk

1/3 cup sour cream

5 slices crispy cooked bacon, roughly chopped

5 stalks asparagus, diced on the bias

1 diced tomato

1- 1 1/2 cup shredded colby jack cheese

1 tsp dry mustard powder

1 pinch salt

1 pinch pepper

2 tsp freshly grated parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large ovenproof skillet, melt the butter and add olive oil. Add onion and salt and cook until onion is soft. Add hashbrowns and saute until browned and crisp. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Remove from heat. In a medium -sized bowl crack eggs and whisk until yolks are broken and eggs are blended. Add milk, sour cream, bacon, asparagus, tomato, cheese, mustard, salt and pepper and whisk until combined. Pour directly over potatoes and onions, and place in preheated oven. Bake for 30 minutes or until center is firm and set. Remove from oven and grate parmesan cheese over the top. Let rest for 5 minutes before cutting into wedges to serve. Reheats well.

I think you will love this recipe! It's one of my new favorites. My 13 year old even likes it. Hooray. You can vary it with anything that you might love in an omelette or frittatta, like swiss cheese or zucchini or ham or spinach or peppers, whatever sounds good to you.

Happy eating!

Tree Street Grains Gluten Free Waffles

So I wrote a while back about my lovely encounter with Tree Street Grains, and since Wednesday night is always breakfast night at my house, I thought I'd share my waffles that I made from their mix so you can get excited about breakfast night at your house. I must be honest and say that I think I like these better as waffles than as pancakes. Could it be the homemade raspberry jam and Cool Whip that tipped the scales? Maybe.

I love the whole grain texture of these waffles and especially the flax. I don't know what it is about flax, it just makes me feel like I'm eating healthier. Maybe it's the texture--chewy and nutty. Mmm, mmm, good.

Happy eating!

Gluten Free Granola Fix

Most of you will remember my current obsession with Trader Joe's Loaded Fruit and Nut Granola that I have to beg my out of state friends to send to me, because I'm crazy like that. Well, the granola gods have taken pity upon me and sent me a tasty stand in for my favorite gluten free easy breakfast/snack/dinner/boredom buster. While trolling through Harmon's Natural Foods section the other day, I spied this granola from Bakery on Main. They actually have other gluten free flavors, too, which I can't wait to try. Of course I grabbed the bag hoping that it would be close to the real thing, and thanks to the Gluten Free Granola gods, is almost the exact same cereal. It couldn't have shown up at a better time, since I just ran out of my rationed stash of Trader Joe's. So if you're like me and aren't lucky enough to live by a Trader Joe's, check your local health food store and see if you can find it, or go to the Bakery on Main store locator. It's as good as the real thing!

Happy eating!

Tree Street Grains Gluten Free Pancake Mix

Some of you may be wondering where I have been the last few days. Not that I want to bore you with my life's details, but I have been with my daughter after she was hospitalized with complications from the RSV virus. Nothing life threatening or even life changing, just life. But I am glad she is home now and very glad to be back in my own bed with clean clothes and a hot shower. Not to mention the gluten free food available at every turn in my home, which was sadly unavailable at the hospital cafeteria. It made me remember how frustrating it can be to try to eat as a celiac person sometimes. I was very grateful my husband brought me some Zone Perfect Fudge Graham bars to tide me over when every entree was either crusted with flour or a slice of Papa John's pizza. Here she is, cute and healthy as can be, in front of the world's dirtiest refrigerator. However, just because last week was spent not writing about food doesn't mean I don't have anything great to report to you. By a lucky accident, I have stumbled across a new gluten free pancake mix that is not only safe for celiac's but healthy as well. Saturday as I was making my weekly shopping trip to my local Harmon's store, I saw a cute man handing out samples of his whole-grain pancakes. "Hmm," I thought to myself. "I remember what it was like to be able to just sample any food I saw being handed out in the store." Sadly, those days are long gone. But happily, out of the corner of my eye I noticed that there were bags of mix that said "Gluten Free" on them. I, being me, raced over and grabbed a bag. The cute man happened to be David Cobia, the owner and originator of Tree Street Grains, a local Utah company that creates both gluten free and regular pancake mixes.

David told me about all nine of the grains he uses in his gluten free mix, including corn, millet, rice, sorghum, teff, amaranth, buckwheat, quinoa, wild rice, and flax. He mills them a little coarsely so the pancakes turn out having a great whole grain texture and crunch. I made some of these yesterday and they were so delicious I wanted to tell y'all about them as soon as possible. David also showed me the aluminum bag he sells the mix in, which keeps the flax as fresh as possible for as long as possible. You can store it in the refrigerator for even longer shelf life. Here's the kicker: he told me he will even make up special batches for people who want certain ingredients removed, like salt or one of the grains if they are allergic to them. How's that for going the extra mile? For those of you who are lucky enough to live in Utah, Tree Street Grains Gluten Free Pancake Mix is available at all Harmon's stores. If you live outside of utah or just like to shop online, you can order some by emailing David directly at treestreetgrains@gmail.com. Support a local Utah business and buy some today! Even if you live in New Hampshire!

Happy eating!

Gluten Free Pasta Mama

There is a restaurant in West Hollywood, CA, called Hugo's that makes this fabulous dish for breakfast called the Pasta Mama. At least that's what I heard on an episode of "The Best Thing I Ever Ate" on the Food Network the other day. Although I've never eaten there, I love the Pasta Mama. It's this super easy breakfast of leftover spaghetti noodles, scrambled eggs, and parmesan cheese that anyone can make and is so filling and yummy that you will want to eat it every day, I promise. I decided to make this dish one night when my husband was out late with the fellas and for some reason I was completely starving at 9 p.m. so...out came the pots and pans and the gluten free Pasta Mama.

The difference between this dish and the regular version is that you cannot use leftover gluten free noodles, because they do not reheat well. I have never had success with warming up gluten free noodles, so I always cook small batches every time I want noodles. And I always ALWAYS use Tinkyada gluten free noodles. Trust me, they are the best.

So, here's how to make a Gluten Free Pasta Mama:

1. Cook a small portion of gluten free Tinkyada Spaghetti noodles according to package directions.

2. Whisk two eggs in a small bowl.

3. When noodles are done, drain and rinse under cold water.

4. Heat a medium frypan to medium heat and add two tablespoons of olive oil.

5. Add noodles and eggs to frypan when oil is hot. Stir to coat noodles with eggs and cook for 1-2 minutes until eggs are done.

6. Add 1/4 cup of freshly grated parmesan cheese and 1 T fresh parsley and stir into noodles. Immediately dish up the noodles into a bowl or large plate.

7. Eat and get full.

Happy eating!

Can You Tell What Time It Is?

A picture is worth a thousand words...

You know what time of year it is just by seeing my breakfast, don't you?

My inconsequential tip of the day: When I hard boil eggs I draw cute little smiley faces on them with marker to distinguish them from their raw counterparts. I figure if I'm forced to eat them then I may as well be happy when I peel them.

Happy dieting!

Holy Yum and Unholy Desires

So, a sweet, thoughtful friend of mine brought me two bags of Trader Joe's Gluten Free granola last week after her trip to Arizona. Holy yum. Have you tried this stuff? Sadly, I don't even have a picture of it (it comes in a yellow bag) because it's all gone and I threw the bag away thinking I had already taken a picture of it, but I hadn't. Darn. But did you hear that last part? IT'S ALL GONE. Maybe the worst three words any gluten free eater can hear when they find a product they really love. Gone. And the worst part of it all is I live in Utah. Do you think there's a Trader Joe's in Utah? Of course not. Something about not selling enough liquor to make a profit, I think. So I go online to try to order some, because now, I've gotta have my granola fix. Do you think Trader Joe's sells food online? Of course not. It's enough to make me batty. So now I'm going to have to call the store and ask them if I can buy some over the phone and have them mail it to me. Which, given the track record of this whole situation, do you think that will happen? Maybe. Maybe is good. I think I may be calling my friends who live in St. George to run down to Henderson, NV for me, or my friends in Phoenix to walk two blocks and buy some. Christmas is coming. It could happen. Maybe they sell it on Ebay! This is what I've resorted to, people, buying gluten free food off of the Ebay black market. If you like something that much, I don't think it's considered completely crazy. So if you are one of the lucky ones who is within driving radius of a Trader Joes, go on down and buy yourself some Loaded Fruit and Nut granola and enjoy a bowl, in honor of me. Or, send me an email and tell me when you are going to ship me some granola as my Christmas present this year, in thanks for all of my awesome gluten free tips!
If you have a Trader Joe's in your neighborhood, happy eating!

In Praise of Pumpkin, Part 4: Gluten Free Pumpkin Pancakes

Pumpkin week continues! Have you carved your pumpkins yet? A while ago one of my friends and I were doing this low-carb diet, and she found a recipe for protein pancakes that were gluten free. We shared it with another friend who loves to cook but really doesn't need to eat low-carb, and I think she has perfected it and made it a little more nutritional with the addition of canned pumpkin. She calls them the "Every Food Group Pancake" and boasts that you can feed these to your kids in the morning and never have to feed them again during the day, because they get all the nutrition they need in these pancakes. (Kidding, of course, she feeds her kids three times a day. I think.)

So this morning I got out the old blender and pureed myself up a batch of these pancakes with pumpkin. I've never tried this ingredient in these pancakes before, but I've gotta say, I'll be adding it from now on. These pancakes turn out a bit more like a crepe than a pancake. They are rather flat, and they take a lot longer to cook than a regular pancake because there's so much going on in there. So you have to be a little bit patient, but it is definitely worth the wait.

Gluten Free Pumpkin Pancakes

1 cup cottage cheese

1 cup GF oatmeal (I prefer Blue Chip Baker Brand)

1 cup milk

1 tsp baking powder or baking soda (I used powder today, but I usually use soda. I think the powder is better.)

1/2 cup applesauce

1/2 cup pumpkin

1 egg

Place all ingredients in a blender and puree/liquefy until it makes a thick batter. Set the blender bowl on the counter for at least five minutes to let the ingredients puff up and make a light batter.

Pour batter out onto a hot, greased griddle, about 325 degrees. Let cook on one side for 4-5 minutes before trying to flip them. The edges should be completely dry. Use a large spatula to help flip the heavy pancakes over. They will look very done on each side when they are finished. Enjoy the view of flowers from husband from yesterday's anniversary.

Flip pancakes and allow to cook for another 4-5 minutes. Feel the middle of the pancake to see if it's firm to know that it's done. Serve with your favorite jam, whipped cream, or powdered sugar.

Tune in tomorrow for another great gluten free pumpkin recipe!

Happy eating!

Gluten Free Blueberry Scones

When you saw the title to this post, I hope you were thinking to yourself that these were traditional English tea scones, not the puffy yeast bread scones that you dip into boiling oil and eat with honey. Those have never really appealed to me. But if you love those kind of scones and have made your own gluten free version, please feel free to add the link in the comments section. I'm sure someone out there is looking for a recipe for those.

The reason I wanted to make the English tea scone recipe was because I think gluten free flours lend themselves well to shortbread recipes. The breads don't have to rise and they don't need the structure of the gluten to make them tall and fluffy. And, they are yummy and quick to make. I based my recipe off of a basic scone recipe in the Bible, better known as the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. The original recipe calls for half and half, instead of whole milk. I think they turn out just fine with milk and you cut out a little fat also.

Gluten Free Blueberry Scones

2 cups Grandpa's Kitchen baking mix flour

3 T sugar

1 T baking powder

6 T chilled butter

1 beaten egg

3/4 cup whole milk

zest of 1 lemon

1 package blueberries

1 T whole milk

2 t sugar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine flour, baking powder, and sugar in a mixing bowl. Cut in butter until it resembles coarse meal. Mix egg and 3/4 cup milk together. Add to flour mixture. Add lemon zest. Fold in blueberries. Form dough into a ball and knead 13-15 times on a floured surface. Press into a circle shape about 1/2 inch thick and cut with a sharp bread knife into 8-10 wedges, depending on how many you want. Arrange triangles on an ungreased cookie sheet. Brush with 1 tablespoon milk and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 12-15 minutes until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack.

Happy eating!

Black and Blue Muffins...Gluten Free Heaven

I was saving this recipe for the monthly recipe poll on the sidebar over there, but I love it so much I am making an executive decision to post it now. First of all, let me reiterate that I have had so much failure in the kitchen when making up recipes it's enough to make me want to throw away all the pots and pans and just eat Carl's Jr. for the rest of my life. Someday I'll write a post about all the dishes that never made it into the blog and all the terrible incarnations of my favorite dishes that were too awful to eat more than three bites of. But for today, after much experimentation and trial and error, I bring you Black and Blue Muffins.

The reason this was so difficult for me is that I wanted to do my own mixture of different flours and not use a prepackaged baking mix. By the way, there's a reason they have those pre-made mixes at the store. Flour proportioning is tough to do!I was going for a whole-grain texture with these muffins, and I knew I wanted to use buckwheat so people would know that buckwheat is, in fact, gluten free. However, buckwheat and I are not best friends. I rarely use it and I have found out that it is very absorbent. But if you use it in the right proportion, you can have a great product. Too much buckwheat makes your muffins taste like sticks. I also wanted to use teff flour because teff is such a great grain. It has a lot more protein and bran per ounce than regular flour because the grains are so small they just use the entire grain to mill the flour and you get more of the good stuff. (I'm not so great with the technicalities of alternative grains, I just know it's a little healthier to use.) I must say, the finished product is so good, they should start making it at Starbucks to replace that gluten free one that they took off the market a little bit ago. Wait, I'm getting ahead of myself, here. Give this recipe a try and let me know what you think about it. I hope you like it.

Gluten Free Black and Blue Muffins

1/2 cup blended oats (I use Blue Chip Group GF oats)

1/2 cup buckwheat flour

1/2 cup teff flour

1/4 cup tapioca flour

1/3 cup sugar

3 t baking powder

1/2 t salt

3/4 cup milk

1 egg

1/2 cup sour cream

zest of 1 lemon

juice of 1/2 lemon

1/2 of a 6 ounce package of blueberries

1/2 of a 6 ounce package of blackberries, halved

1/2 cup Grandpa's Kitchen baking flour blend

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 1/2 T soft butter

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line 12 muffin tins with paper liners. In a large mixing bowl, blend flours, sugar, baking powder, and salt. In another bowl, mix milk, egg, sour cream, lemon zest and lemon juice until egg is beaten. Make a well in dry ingredients, add wet ingredients all at once. Fold in berries. In another bowl, mix Grandpa's Kitchen flour and brown sugar and butter with a pastry cutter until it resembles coarse meal. Fill muffin cups almost to the top and sprinkle sugar mixture over batter. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from muffin tin immediately after coming out of the oven and cool on wire racks to prevent sticking to paper liners. Freezes well.

Happy eating!