Mug cake

I had written before about the fact that my daughter showed up as positive to being allergic to eggs. We went egg free for awhile, but didn't see any changes positively or negatively. We consulted with our doctor, who recommended we try eggs again and see what happens. So far everything has been fine, so I am really thankful for that! I really feel for those of you who have egg allergies. It makes baking so much harder!

I have been trying to perfect a mug cake that my daughter will eat. I make a chocolate one for my hubby, and he loves it. My daughter isn't a huge chocolate fan. I made this the other day, and my daughter said it tasted like a cross between cake and a muffin. It was a hit! Yay! It is very easy, and quick to make. If you have trouble with the nut flour/butter, you can try substituting with another gluten free flour and omitting the nut butter (add an extra tablespoon of gluten free flour). You may need to add a bit of milk if you substitute the flour.

1 Tablespoon ghee
1 Tablespoon nut butter (I used almond butter)
2 Tablespoons almond flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 egg
Stevia or honey to taste (I taste the batter before I put it in the microwave to cook)
1/2 tsp. (or more) vanilla extract

Melt the ghee and nut butter in a coffee mug in the microwave. Add the remaining ingredients and stir very well (this is important because otherwise you will have chunks of cooked egg in your cake). Taste to see if it is sweet enough. Place the mug in the microwave and cook for 1 minute 15 seconds (or longer if your microwave is not very powerful). The cake will rise way out of the mug, so don't be alarmed! Allow to cool, and enjoy :)!

Sandwich buns

Bread recipes are always hard for me, as I don't like to use yeast. I have been experimenting, trying to come up with new recipes for breads. My new favorite is a sandwich recipe for one. You can double or triple the recipe if you want. I like to make them custom for each family member. I have a similar recipe in my cookbook, but this one is a tad different. If you can't have almonds, you could replace with another gluten free flour. I am including some variations to the recipe as well.

The base for the recipe are these ingredients:
4 Tablespoons almond flour
1 egg
1 tsp. baking powder

For an herb bread:
Add 1/8 tsp. salt, 1/8 tsp. garlic powder and 1-2 tsp. of dried minced onions.
If cheese is permitted, add 1 Tablespoon of parmesan cheese. If not, just leave it out. It is still yummy. My hubby gets to eat it this way, the lucky guy.

For sweet bread (my daughter's favorite way to eat it):
Add a pinch of salt, 1/4-1/2 tsp. cinnamon, and whatever sweetener you prefer. I usually add a squirt of liquid stevia (probably 1/4 tsp. worth), or 2 packets of stevia powder.

Bake in a greased ramekin dish at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. I use my toaster oven for this, and it works great.

September Flexi of the Month

Flitter into Fall with the fascinating dragonfly alive with refreshing shades of vibrant greens and gold and finding rest on the lavish arrangement of shimmering glass and crystal. She alights this brilliant gold September FOTM for just a short time while supplies last.

To view the sizes and prices, please visit my website at http://www.lillarose.biz/livinglifescentsibly/ 

Exciting things happening!

Another adventure I am starting on is that I recently became a Lilla Rose hair clip consultant. I have used the Flexi-8 clips for years, and Lilla Rose is just an extension of that. The clips are super beautiful...

They also come in several sizes and gorgeous styles. Besides the fact that they are super beautiful, I love that they don't harm the hair. Normally, I have to wrap string around the base of my store bought barrettes because the clip part is sharp enough to slice through the hair. The Flexi's are notched with 3 notches in the stick to make the clip tighter or looser as you put it in. They are called "flexi" because the actually barrette part will bend to go around a style comfortably. Plus, I have to say that these gorgeous hair bling items are much prettier than a scrunchie :). To visit my page, please click on the Lilla Rose link in the page list at the top of my blog!

Happy 4th of July!

We are having family over, and we are grilling steaks as the main course. I also made one of my favorite recipes...Tabouleh. For those of you who have no idea what Tabouleh is, it is a cold salad usually made with bulgar wheat, vegetables and spices. Since bulgar is a grain that contains gluten, I substitute quinoa for the bulgar. Most Tabouleh recipes call for mint and parsley. I make mine a little different, and love how it tastes. I forgot to add the black olives when I made the batch this time. So they are not in the picture. Here is my recipe:

2 cups dry quinoa
2 cucumbers, peeled, seeded and chopped
2 large tomatoes, or 4 Roma tomatoes, seeded and chopped
3 Tablespoons dried minced onion
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1 small can sliced black olives
3/4 cup olive oil
juice of 2 large lemons, or 3 small lemons
2 1/2 tsp. salt, or to taste

If possible, soak the quinoa in warm water with 2 tsp. of lemon juice overnight. This helps make the quinoa easier to digest. This step is not necessary, just helpful for those with digestive problems. If you soak the quinoa overnight, drain and rinse before cooking. If you do not soak the quinoa, make sure to rinse it well before you cook it. Place the quinoa in a large pan, and add 4 cups of water. Bring quinoa to a boil, then turn the heat down to simmer. Cover with a lid, and cook for 20 minutes, or until quinoa is cooked through and the water is gone. Remove from heat and allow quinoa to cool.

Once quinoa is cooled, add the cucumbers, tomatoes, dried onions, cilantro and black olives in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, mix the olive oil, lemon juice and salt. Add to the quinoa mixture and mix well. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour to allow flavors to marinate.

**This recipe makes a very large amount. Recipe can be cut in half.

Besides the quinoa Tabouleh, I made a festive 4th of July fruit bars that are gluten and dairy free. The recipe for it is here: http://glutenfreefix.com/festive-fruit-bars/2506/ . I thought the bars turned out really pretty :). I can't wait to see how they taste! I hope you all have a wonderful 4th of July!

Grain Free Carrot Cake

1/3 c. coconut oil
1/4 c. honey
3/4 c. applesauce
3/4 tsp. liquid stevia (I used the NOW stevia glycerite)
2 eggs
2/3 c. almond flour
1/3 c. coconut flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 c. finely chopped or grated carrots

In a bowl, cream coconut oil, honey, applesauce, stevia and eggs together. Mix dry ingredients in a separate bowl, then add to the creamed mixture. Fold in carrots. Press into an 8 x 8 greased baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, or until tests done.

The frosting recipe I used is here. I didn't add the lemon in the recipe, but you could leave it in if you wanted.

Gluten-Free Casein-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

My daughter had a party with our church group yesterday, and they were having cookies and popcorn. I always want to make sure she has tasty food to bring, so she won't feel left out. The popcorn part was easy, but cookies are always a bit more challenging, especially when we try to do low sugar. I adapted this recipe from a Toll House recipe. They were a hit!

1 c. shortening (I used Spectrum Naturals, which is non-hydrogenated palm oil)
1/2 cup xylitol
1/2 cup packed coconut sugar
1/8 tsp. stevia (you probably don't need it, but I used very low sugar chocolate)
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
1 1/2 cup gluten free flour blend (3/4 c. rice flour, 1/2 c. potato starch, 1/4 c. tapioca starch)
3/4 cup almond flour (you can replace it with the gluten free flour blend if you have a nut allergy)
1 1/2 tsp. xanthan gum
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2-1 cup chocolate chips (I used a dark chocolate very low sugar bar and broke it into pieces)

Cream the shortening, xylitol, coconut sugar, stevia, and vanilla. Add eggs and blend well. Mix the dry ingredients together in a bowl, and slowly add to the creamed ingredients. Fold in chocolate chips/pieces.

Drop dough onto ungreased cookie sheets by spoonfuls, flattening the dough a bit with the back of the spoon. Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove immediately from the cookie sheet to cool on wire racks.

Note: Because of the almond flour in this recipe, I store the cookies in the fridge. This recipe made 2 dozen cookies when I made them.