I heart Pamela’s Baking & Pancake Mix.  If you are new to the gluten-free world, Pamela’s is a must-purchase for you.  This is an easy go-to mix for making pancakes, waffles, chocolate chip cookies, and other yummy treats.  The folks at Pamela’s have a great recipe and you can add minimal ingredients to their base mix in order to make a delicious baked good.

David's Saturday morning specialty: Pamela's Pancakes

While I love experimenting with my own flour combinations when baking gluten-free, sometimes you just need something quick and easy.  Pamela’s is just that…oh, and it tastes yummy too.  Even my brother, who is the biggest gluten-eater I know, loves homemade chocolate chip cookies with Pamela’s.

Another thing I heart is baking with pumpkin.  Pumpkin muffins, pumpkin cookies, and pumpkin bread are all at the top of my list of favorite sweets, especially as we enter the cool weather months.  I find that baking with pumpkin adds moistness (for a lack of a better word) and sponginess to gluten-free treats.  Last week, I wanted to make a quick and easy pumpkin bread and I found this recipe on Pamela’s website.  Perfect!  I didn’t even make the Crumble Nut Topping and it was delicious.  I also like making this pumpkin bread with chocolate chips, if I really want to please my sweet tooth.  Since I was serving the pumpkin bread with soup, I went the more savory route and omitted the chocolate chips.

Pumpkin Bread with Crumble Nut Topping

4 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup of canned pumpkin
1-1/3 cups Pamela’s Baking & Pancake Mix
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon cloves

¾ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (optional)

Topping: (optional)
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup of nuts (sliced almonds, walnuts, pecans)

Beat together butter, sugar, egg, and pumpkin. Add remaining bread ingredients and mix together. Gently mix in chocolate chips.  Pour into a greased loaf pan (8 x 4). Mix nut topping ingredients and smooth evenly over batter to the edges. Bake in a preheated 350° oven for 50 to 60 minutes, or when toothpick inserted comes out almost clean.

Enjoy!

Fall reminds me of many things:  My Dutch oven, Roasted Veggies, Chili,  and all things Pumpkin…

But the cool weather also makes me think about granola.  Don’t ask me why I make the connection between a specific season and granola because I pretty much eat this yummy snack year round.  I heart granola, in a big way.  I’ve had my go-to granola recipe for awhile, but while David was away last week, I was itching to try out a new recipe.

I found a granola recipe in Sara Foster’s Fresh Every Day cookbook that implements a distinctly different cooking process than Mark Bittman’s, which I’ve followed in the past.  I was intrigued by the use of maple syrup, and cooking the ingredients on a baking sheet instead of the roasting pan.  (I didn’t feel like digging the roasting pan out of the back of the cabinet.)

This recipe might be my new favorite and I plan on making a big batch when David’s family comes to Atlanta for Thanksgiving.  Perfect for a simple breakfast on a day where there will be much eating in the later hours.

I made a few changes to the original recipe, but stuck to the basic methods.  It is delicious, crunchy, and the coating of oil, syrup and honey worked really well.  I’ve been putting my granola in my cereal, on my yogurt, and my new favorite: on Breyer’s Dulce de Leche ice cream.  Amazing!

Granola Version 2 (Inspired by Sara Foster’s Fresh Every Day Cookbook)

Makes about 7 cups

Ingredients:

• 3 cups gluten-free oats
• 1 cup shredded unsweetened coconut (sweetened is fine too)
• 1 cup chopped nuts (I used almonds, cashews, pecans and sunflower seeds)
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• ¼ cup canola oil
• ¾ cup maple syrup
• ¼ cup honey
• ½ cup dried cranberries
• ½ cup dried raisins

Preaheat oven to 275.

Spread the oats, coconut, and almonds on a large baking sheet with sides.  Sprinkle with salt and bake for 12-15 minutes, until lightly toasted, but not darkened.  Stir occasionally while cooking.  Remove from oven and transfer ingredients to a large bowl.

Preheat oven to 350.  Spray pan with PAM.  Stir maple syrup, honey and oil together in a small bowl and pour over oat mixture and toss to coat evenly.

Spread granola greased baking sheet and bake for 22-27 minutes, until the granola is crispy and golden brown.  Stir several time throughout cooking process.

Let granola cool completely on the baking sheet, breaking up large clumps before it cools.  Once it has cooled completely, add raisins and cranberries and toss.  Store in an air tight container or freeze.  Enjoy!

We’re moved into our new house and have an amazing opportunity to travel for a few weeks before David starts his new job.  I’m sad to leave our home but excited for the adventures that lie ahead in the next few weeks.  Life is rough, right?  We’re leaving today to head west, where we will spend a couple of weeks camping, exploring and seeing friends in Wyoming and Montana.

Our new porch!

I’ve decided not to take my computer with me, which will be weird but I’m happy about it.  I think it will be good (and freeing!) to get off the grid for awhile.  (Who am I kidding?  David will have his fancy new computer and I’ll still have my Iphone so ‘going off the grid’ might be a bit of an exaggeration.)  That’s all to say that I probably won’t be updating the blog very often for the next few weeks, but don’t worry, I’ll be taking lots of photos and eating yummy meals that I’ll be ready to report back on in late September.  In the meantime, here are some recipes from the last year if you’re looking for some cooking ideas:

Savory Bites:

Balsamic Glazed Salmon

Black Bean Chicken Chili

Roasted Pork Loin Wrapped in Pancetta

Golden Crusted Brussels Sprouts

Baked Butternut Squash

Lentil Soup

For Your Sweet Tooth:

Pumpkin White Chocolate Chip Cookies

Blondies

Cinnamon Ginger Chocolate Chip Cookies

Granola

See you soon!

It’s hot in Altanta.  Really hot.  I’m sure there are better ways to describe this weather, but the only word that comes to mind is brutal.  The heat hasn’t broken either.  Despite the mini-rainstorms, it hasn’t been enough to side track these crazy temps.  It continues to be hot…and brutal.

On Monday, after a sweaty afternoon of running errands  (Who knew it could be so sweltering just to run errands??), I came home to find a bag full of Georgia peaches outside my door.  My wonderfully generous friend, Maury, left me this beautiful treat.   What is a better answer to heat and high temperatures than making a peach crisp?

Is it a crisp?  Is it a cobbler?  I’m not really sure.  I tend to use those words interchangeably, but I’m sure there’s a proper distinction.  (I do know, however, that it’s not a pie.)  I created this recipe on the spot and I made sure to write down what I did so I could share it with you.  I love the combination of GF oats and chopped pecans.  It’s the perfect crunchy duo with the soft, tender peaches.  I’ve found in the past that it can be difficult to find the proper ratio between fruit, crisp topping, and butter.  Too much flour and oats, makes it too dry, too much butter makes for a soggy crisp/cobbler.  Sort of like Goldilocks, I want it to be just right.  (Our girl, Goldilocks was eating porridge…Crisp is much better!)

Peach & Blueberry Crisp

• 8 peaches, peeled and sliced
• 1 pint blueberries
• (Really, any combination of fruit works.  These are what I had on hand.)
• 1 T. lemon juice
• 1 ½ T. cornstarch
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup tapioca flour
• 1/4 cup almond flour
• 1/4 cup white rice flour
• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• ½ cup gluten-free oats
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• 6 T. cold butter, chopped into cubes

Preheat oven to 350.  Butter an 8 x 8 pyrex dish.

In a bowl, mix peaches, blueberries, cornstarch, lemon juice and sugar.  (I add the sugar last to eyeball just how much I need.)

In another bowl, mix flours and brown sugar.  Add oats and pecans and mix.  Then add butter and mix with dry ingredients.  (A food processor can be helpful for this step but I was feeling a little lazy.

Pour fruit mixture into Pyrex dish.  Spread evenly throughout dish.  Add flour mixture on top of fruit.  Spread evenly.  (It will look like you have too much but you want it to be thick.

Bake for 40 minutes, or until fruit starts to bubble.  You can make this ahead of time and then just reheat for 10 minutes before serving.  (I think it gets better over time.)

Serve warm.  Of course everything tastes better with vanilla ice cream.  Mmm…just right.

Growing up on the Eastern Shore of Virginia, my summers were full of adventures outdoors, on both land and water.  At the time I had no idea how unusual it was to have a dock in your back yard that provided hours of entertainment for my brother and me.  We repeatedly threw sticks for Sadie, our chocolate lab, into the creek, watching her belly flop after them.  We caught jelly fish in our crab net, and watched their tentacles dry out on the dock.  Weekends involved day trips on our boat, with the big decision being, “Do we go to the seaside or the bayside?”

We lived in the middle of nowhere.  It took 20 minutes to get to school, to the grocery store, and 90 minutes to reach the nearest mall.  Besides the post office and a boat ramp, the only places within 20 minutes of our house were farms.  One of the summer activities for my brother and me was going to the local blueberry farm just down the road, in Hacksneck.  You could pick your own berries and pay as you picked.  My brother hated blueberries (and most foods besides peanut butter) so the farmer would pay Rob to pick for him.  (There were probably some child labor laws violated in this exchange, but the farmer’s wages seemed like riches compared to the penny my mom paid us for every Japanese beetle we gently picked off of her rose bushes.)  We happily spent an afternoon on the blueberry farm, picking away, until our buckets were full and we grew tired from the summer sun.

This blueberry farm from our childhood still exists today, but has new ownership and a new name, Mason Beach Fruit Farm.  You can still pick and pay for only 75 cents a pint.  That’s quite the bargain.

After our trip to the farm, Mom and I would wash the blueberries and set to work on a batch of blueberry muffins.  It’s funny.  When I was little I loved picking blueberries, and making blueberry muffins, yet I always scoured the batch for the muffin that contained the fewest blueberries.  I preferred the cake aspect of the muffin as opposed to the fruit.  I even remember asking my mom if we could make one in the batch without any berries.  In my old age, my taste buds have thankfully flip flopped and I have grown to love these delicious bites of blueberry goodness.  Now I immediately pick out the muffin that contains the most blue and purple spots before David can select his.

When I saw the first of the season blueberries recently, I immediately thought back to my childhood on the Eastern Shore.  The activities that I associate with this piece of fruit flooded my mind as I planned what to make with the blueberries: Driving down the road to Hacksneck in our very dusty, grey, Chevrolet mini-van. Rob and I riding on the farm’s ATV after we bored of picking berries and grew tired of the heat.  Being in the kitchen with my mom, watching her drink her afternoon tea, while enjoying a blueberry muffin.

How does food make us so nostalgic?  I’m not sure, but I love it.  The memories and emotions that come to mind from seeing a pint of berries are amazing.  What are your favorite summer food memories?

Blueberry Muffins (adapted from Barefoot Contessa’s barefoot contessa at home)

Ingredients:

• ½ cup sorghum flour
• ½ cup tapioca flour
• ½ cup white rice flour
• ½ tablespoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon xanthan gum
• ½ tablespoon and 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2/3 cup whole milk
• 1 extra large egg, lightly beaten
• 1 stick, unsalted butter, melted
• 1 cup fresh blueberries (plus more if you like to go heavy on the berries)
• ¾ cup sugar (plus one tablespoon for topping)
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar for topping

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Line muffin tines with paper liners.  Spray with PAM.

Mix flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, xanthan gum, and cinnamon in a bowl.  Stir to make sure they combine well.

In another bowl, combine the milk, eggs and melted butter.  Make a hole in the middle of the dry mixture, pour the wet mixture into the well and stir until just combined.  Don’t worry if the mix is lumpy.  Add the blueberries and sugar.  Stir gently to combine.

Spoon the batter into muffin cups to fill liners  In a small bowl, mix brown sugar and remaining tablespoon of sugar.  Sprinkle on top of each of the muffins.  Bake for 20 to 22 minutes, until you can cleanly pierce with a toothpick.  Makes about a dozen.

Have you noticed that I haven’t been baking as much as I used to?  Still cooking, but not as much baking as I would like.  Life has been busy, which means less time in the kitchen for me.  Now that lacrosse season has finished up, and with the school year winding down, I’m hoping I’ll be breaking out the Kitchen Aid more often.

Usually when I bake in my kitchen, I’m going for a moist (yes, I hate that word but I’m still going to use it) and gooey final product.  I tend to undercook my blondies and brownies, in order to ensure optimal gooiness.

Sometimes though, I just want something a little different, like a crunch.  Chewy is yummy but last week felt a need for a little crunch in my sweetness.  I was inspired by Joy the Baker’s recipe for Oatmeal Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies and I decided to create a gluten-free version of this crunchy, chocolaty treat.  I cut her recipe in half and it still made about two dozen cookies. Plenty to take to our friends, Scott and Meredith, who cooked a great weeknight dinner for us, and more for the weekend.

Delicious and an amazing crunch.  The texture of the oats and pecans was right up my alley. The cinnamon and nutmeg give your palate an added bonus.  The chocolate chips provide enough sweetness so you don’t feel like you’re getting robbed of dessert either.  David loved them and he’s not always a huge ‘oatmeal cookie’ fan.

Here’s what I did:

Oatmeal Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies (Inspired by Joy the Baker)

Ingredients:

• 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
• ½ cup sugar
• ½ cup brown sugar, packed
• 1 large egg
• ¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 ¼ cups gluten-free oats
• ½ teaspoon xanthan gum
• ¼ cup white rice flour
• ¼ cup brown rice flour
• ¼ cup tapioca flour
• ¼ cup sorghum flour
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• pinch of nutmeg
• 1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
• ½ cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 and grease cookie sheet.  In a bowl, combine xanthan gum, baking powder, baking soda, oats, salt and spices.  Set aside.

In a separate mixing bowl, beat sugar and butter with a mixer until creamy.  Add egg and continue to mix.  Add vanilla and beta until blended into the batter.  Add dried mixture to the mixing bowl and mix slowly until blended.  Stir in pecans and chocolate chips.

Put dough in balls onto cookie sheet.  Bake for 10 minutes or until you’re satisfied with their doneness.  Cool briefly on cookie sheet then transfer to a wire rack.

Enjoy!  If you’re feeling really indulgent, try these cookies with a creamy, sweet treat.  Scott and Meredith introduced us to the most ridiculous ice cream, Greater’s. This Ohio-based brand puts huge chocolate chunks in its various flavors for an absolutely rich and indulgent treat.  David and I are hooked.  Right now we have the mocha chip and chocolate chocolate chip in our freezer.  It’s absolutely worth a trip to the store.

One of my favorite things about the weekend is the rare opportunity to sit and really enjoy breakfast food.  No need to rush through a bowl of cereal and grab a to-go cup of coffee.  You can sit by yourself, with friends, or loved ones, and simply enjoy the morning and those great breakfast foods that you don’t have time for during the week.  Ahh.  I’m so glad it’s Friday.  Last weekend was so busy, with lacrosse tournaments and a trip to Chapel Hill for our godchild’s baptism, but I’m looking forward to a weekend at home to relax and enjoy leisurely meals.

Looking for a great idea for brunch?  Quiche is a simple recipe that allows you to be creative with the ingredients that go into it.  You can be seasonal, meat heavy, or vegetarian.  A crowd pleaser, and relatively hands-off during the preparation process.  You can even make it ahead of time and simply reheat.

I decided to make my quiche recipe for Easter brunch and it was a big success.  It’s a great recipe for entertaining because you just mix the ingredients together (after some chopping), pour into the pie crust and bake.  No work once the guests arrived.  I use the Whole Foods Gluten-Free Bakehouse pie crust since I haven’t yet perfected the made-from-scratch GF crust.

I made two very different quiches, both of which used the same base ingredients:

• 4 quality eggs lightly beaten (Of course I used ‘Amazing Eggs’ from Love is Love Farm.)
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 cup 2% (or whole) milk
• Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 375.  Whisk the above ingredients together in a bowl.

Bacon & Onion Quiche

This quiche is a meat lover’s favorite!  Cook 5 pieces of bacon in a skillet on medium heat.  I love bacon, but hate cooking it (and consequently smelling like bacon for the rest of the day) so I get my favorite sous chef to cook the bacon.

Once cooked, remove from skillet and place on paper towels.  Cut bacon into small pieces.  In the same skillet, using bacon grease, sauté ½ cup of onions on medium until browned.  Add bacon and onions to egg/cheese/milk.  Mix and pour into pie crust.  Bake at 375 degrees for 30-35 minutes, until top of quiche starts to get golden brown.

Broccoli & Green Garlic Quiche

I used fresh, spring veggies for this one and it was perfect for a lovely Easter Sunday.  Chop green garlic into thin pieces.  (Don’t use green ends, just white and light green parts.)  Sautee in olive oil for about five minutes.  Chop broccoli into pieces and bring a pot of water to a boil.  Add broccoli to boiling water and heat for 3 minutes.  Quickly remove broccoli from hot water and put into a bowl of ice water.  (This process is called blanching.)  Cut broccoli into smaller pieces so they are bite size.  Add green garlic and broccoli to egg/cheese/milk mixture.  Mix and pour into pie crust.  Bake at 375 degrees for 30-35 minutes, until top of quiche begins to turn a golden brown.

I love a nice spring salad and fresh fruit as sides when serving quiche for a fancier brunch, such as our Easter luncheon.

Enjoy your weekend!  I hope you find it relaxing, with lots of time to enjoy yummy breakfasts.  What are some of your favorite quiche recipes or brunch favorites?

When I heard Anne Palmer, program director for Johns Hopkins’ Center for a Livable Future, speak at the Georgia Organics Conference a few weeks ago, she showed photos of all of the random places that sell food.  Think about it for a second…why does Petco sell soda?  Why does Office Depot offer an array of M&Ms and Starburst?  No one ventures out to Staples looking for a Diet Coke.  These items placed carefully at the front of the store are what we refer to in the Metcalf house as ‘impulse buys.’

I must say though, I enjoyed seeing Palmer’s photos of brightly packaged food in the oddest places.  I loved picturing her carrying her camera everywhere, waiting to photograph a random shelf of ‘food.’  I couldn’t help but think about my endless searches through stores for any gluten-free products.  In my own travls, or just around town, I scour any food store, airport, bakery, or restaurant for a possible GF treat.  Anyone who has traveled with me knows that I’m more interested in shopping at natural markets than clothing boutiques.

When my friend, Anne, sent me the photo above, I was also reminded of Palmer’s photo slide show.  Of course I’m much happier about the shelf of food displayed in the picture because it’s all gluten-free.  No, Anne didn’t find this plethora of GF items at Pet Smart or 7-Eleven, but she did find it at…Target!  The Atlantic Station Target now sells quite the selection of gluten-free products, including my favorite pretzels by Glutino, Bob’s Red Mill GF oats, and the Betty Crocker baking mixes.  I can’t wait to go stock up.

Does your Target sell gluten-free items yet?  Feel free to send me any of your discoveries of unlikely spots where you find GF items.  We all need a little guidance as we navigate the gluten-free world!

Target at Atlantic Station – 1375 18th Street – Atlanta, Georgia 30363

Check out this great Recipes IPhone Application that David recently discovered.  Created by Whole Foods, you can search for recipes and there are many filters and categories you can use while searching.  Of course I love it because you can search for only gluten-free recipes.  Other dietary related filter options include low fat and vegetarian.  You can search ‘quick & easy,’  ‘make ahead,’ and ‘budget.’  Best of all, it’s free!

If a friend invites you over for dinner and they want to cook a gluten-free meal for you, this app is a great starting point and helpful guide to offer them.  Some of the recipes listed even include gluten-free chocolate chocolate chip cookies and cranberry banana quinoa bread!  Let me know if there are any recipes you plan on making courtesy of the ‘Whole Foods Recipes.’

Have I mentioned before that I love peanut butter?  Well, I do.   The other day I was craving the combination of peanut butter and chocolate (again!) so I decided to make peanut butter brownies.  I used a recipe from Epicurious as my guide for this experiment, and I must say this dessert turned out very yummy.  These brownies had the perfect balance of peanut butter and chocolate goodness.  The peanut butter was not overpowering.  The brownies sank a little in the middle after I took them out of the oven, but I only used ¼ teaspoon of xanthan gum when I made them.  In the recipe below I’ve changed that amount to ½ teaspoon.  This extra xanthan gum should deal with some of the sinking problem.

I love using chopped semisweet chocolate in this recipe.  If you don’t have any nice semisweet chocolate, chocolate chips could also work.  These brownies look more like blondies, because of their tan color, and not brownies, but you can definitely taste the chocolate.

Peanut Butter & Chocolate Chunk Brownies (Adapted from Epicurious)

• 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup creamy JIF peanute butter
• 1 1/4 cups (packed) light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• ¼ cup almond flour
• ¼ rice flour white
• ¼ cup tapioca
• ½ teaspoon xanthan gum
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 ounces bittersweet (not unsweetened) or semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour (I used rice flour) an 8-inch square baking pan.  In a medium bowl, mix flours, xanthan gum, baking powder and salt.  Set aside.  In a large bowl, beat butter with a mixer until smooth. Add peanut butter to butter; beat until well blended.  Scrape down sides of the bowl occasionally. Beat in brown sugar. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each egg is added. Beat in vanilla. Add flour mixture to peanut butter mixture; beat until blended. Stir in chocolate.

Transfer batter to pan. Using spatula, smooth top. Bake until toothpick inserted 2 inches from edge of pan comes out with moist crumbs attached, about 33-35 minutes.

Transfer pan to rack and cool completely.  Cut brownies into squares and serve.

Of course they’re even better with ice cream.  Why is peanut butter so good?