Honor’s birthday cake!

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Our daughter, Honor, turned 3 on December 30th! She’s changed so much in her lifetime and notably in the past 6 months she gone from a toddler to a little girl. It’s been amazing to see her grow and change.

This year we made her birthday cake together! This is my go-to birthday cake recipe, it makes a 9” round cake. You can also make delicious cupcakes!

Honor’s birthday cake 🎂

Dry Ingredients:

1 ½ cups Garbanzo Gluten free flour

½ tsp sea salt

1 tsp baking powder

¼ cup cacao powder

 

Wet Ingredients:

¾ cup sugar (organic turbinado or demerara)

2 T. ground flax + 3 T. water (stir together and set aside)

1 tsp vanilla

4 T. unsweet applesauce

¼ cup coconut oil

1 cup water

1 T. apple cider vinegar

 

Method:

  1. Preheat oven to 350.
  2. Combine dry ingredients.
  3. Mix together wet ingredients and pour into dry ingredients bowl and stir to combine.
  4. Pour into round 9” baking pan greased with coconut oil spray.
  5. Bake 30 minutes.

Homemade frosting:

1 cup full fat coconut milk

¼ cup maple syrup

1 tsp vanilla

Whisk together frosting ingredients, frost cooled cake then place cake in fridge to set frosting.

Baking with Honor!

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Baking with my Honor! She asked for cookies 🍪 so I thought we could bake together! I pulled a chair up to the counter and she climbed up then I handed her a wooden spoon to stir.

I added the ingredients and she would stir and taste which was funny because at first she tasted plain flour! I explained the batter will taste better with all the ingredients 😊

It was actually a lot of fun to bake with her and she’s already asking to make more batter! She enjoyed eating better straight from the bowl 😂.

Gluten free chocolate chip cookies 🍪

Ingredients:

1+½ cups Vitacost gluten free flour

½ tsp pink salt

1 tsp baking powder

¼ cup coconut oil

½ cup + 2 T. maple syrup

2 T. Egg replacer plus 1/4 cup water 

1 tsp vanilla

½ cup mini chocolate chips

Method:

  1. Preheat oven to 350.
  2. Line baking pan with silicon pad or grease with coconut oil.
  3. Mix together dry ingredients and set aside.
  4. Mix together remaining ingredients except for chocolate chips.
  5. Combine dry and wet ingredients.
  6. Stir in chocolate chips.
  7. Scoop 3 T. batter for each cookie and place on baking sheet.
  8. Bake for 15-18 minutes until done.
  9. Move to a wire rack to cool.
  10. Enjoy!
  11. Store cookies in fridge or wrap and freeze.

Yield: 12 cookies 

Original recipe created for Vitacost.com

https://www.vitacost.com/blog/cooking-recipe/desserts-2/gluten-free-blueberry-chocolate-chip-cookies.html

 

 

 

Gingerbread Cake Bites with Orange-Molasses Glaze

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Gluten-Free Gingerbread Bundt Cake with Maple-Orange Glaze

Gingerbread cake bites

Holidays call for fancy looking and fancy tasting desserts! Gingerbread is perfect for the holiday season and the orange glaze adds a nice pop to this yummy cake.

Gingerbread cake bites

Dry Ingredients:

2 cups gluten free baking flour

½ tsp pink salt

1 tsp. Baking powder

1 ½ tsp. ground ginger

¾ tsp. ground cinnamon

¼ tsp. allspice

¼ tsp. ground nutmeg

Wet Ingredients:

2 T.  neat egg powder or 1 whole egg

2 T. ground flaxseed meal

½ cup water

½ cup coconut oil

½ cup plus 1 T. maple syrup

¼ cup molasses (not blackstrap)

 

Method:

  1. Preheat oven to 375. Grease cake bites pan with coconut oil spray. I used a fall decorative pan or a muffin pan would work great too.
  2. Stir together dry ingredients in a medium mixing bowl.
  3. Mix together wet ingredients and pour into dry ingredients bowl and stir to combine.
  4. Scoop 1/4 cup batter into baking pan per mini cake.
  5. Bake 20-25 minutes until toothpick comes out clean and mini cakes are golden brown.
  6. Set aside to cool at least 30 minutes then carefully flip mini cakes onto a decorative platter.

Yield: 16 cake bites

To make orange-molasses glaze:

½ cup full fat coconut milk (put can in fridge overnight to separate liquid from the fat.) or culinary coconut milk

3 T. maple syrup

1 T. molasses

1 tsp orange zest

1-2 T. juice from an orange

Method:

  1. Whisk together glaze ingredients. Sweeten to taste.
  2. Add more orange juice for a thinner consistency.
  3. glaze each mini cake before serving.

Yield: 1 cup glaze

 

This recipe is adapted from my original recipe available on Vitacost.com

https://www.vitacost.com/blog/cooking-recipe/desserts-2/gluten-free-gingerbread-bundt-cake-with-maple-orange-glaze.html

Crockpot Chicken and Veggie Soup

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When I have a sore throat all I want is chicken soup and muffins, blueberry muffins! I didn’t have any muffins stashed in my freezer or have the desire to make them but I DID have all the ingredients to make this very soup! What is your go-to food when you are under the weather?

All you have to do here is chop a few veggies and throw them in the crockpot, it doesn’t take long at all. Ready in 2 hours on High or 4 hours on Low.

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Ingredients:

1# organic chicken breasts (or thigh if you prefer)

2 medium carrots, sliced

3 celery stalks and leaves, sliced

1 shallot, chopped

2 small zucchini, sliced

1/2 tsp pink salt

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1 bay leaf (remove before serving)

1/4 tsp ground turmeric

6 cups filtered water

Method:

1. Cut veggies and add to crockpot then add whole chicken breasts to crockpot (you will shred these once cooked!).

2. Pour in water and stir in spices.

3. Cover and set to cook on High for 2 hours or Low for 4 hours.

4. remove chicken from crockpot and shred, then add back to soup and stir.

5. Ladle soup into bowls.

Yield: 8 cups

I think she liked the soup?! Honor preferred to put it in the pocket of her bib and pick it from there and eat it Smile

Plenty made it to the floor for our dog to happily lick it all up, hah!

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Please enjoy my short, sweet and embarrassing video talking about our dinner 🙂

DIY Drinking Vinegar: 2 ways

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Drinking Vinegar: Two recipes {cherry and cranberry}

Fruity drink with a tang from the vinegar, tastes like a healthy soda when combined with sparkling water! Soak fruit overnight in fridge then strain and it keeps 1-2 weeks only in your fridge. Trust me, you will know when it’s gone bad!

Cherry drinking vinegar

Ingredients:

1 cup raw apple cider vinegar

1 cup frozen cherries, pitted

¼ cup organic maple syrup

Fresh lemon juice

Sparking water

Method:

1. Pour into a glass jar, vinegar and cherries only, cover and let sit overnight on the counter.

2. Next day, pour in maple syrup and stir to combine.

3. Strain cherries out of vinegar.

4. Cover and store in fridge 1-2 weeks.

5. To serve: combine 1 oz drinking vinegar with 3 oz sparkling water, squeeze fresh lemon wedge over drink and enjoy.

Yield: 14 oz

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Cranberry drinking vinegar

Ingredients:

1 cup raw apple cider vinegar

1 cup cranberries (fresh or frozen)

¾ cup organic sugar

Fresh lime juice

Sparkling water

Method:

1. Pour into a glass jar, vinegar and cranberries only, cover and let sit overnight on the counter.

2. Next day, add organic sugar and stir to dissolve sugar.

3. Strain cranberries out of vinegar.

4. Cover and store in fridge 1-2 weeks.

5. To serve: combine 1 oz drinking vinegar with 3 oz sparkling water, squeeze fresh lime wedge over drink and enjoy.

Yield: 12 oz