Squash Rolls, Second Attempt

I think I managed to improve on the original recipe this time around. These are a little lighter and a bit more sweet. I like them better without the sorghum as it is a bit too dominant a flavor for this particular roll. I also swapped out the water for milk. I'm not really sure why I didn't use milk the first time around. I'm pretty happy with these. The dough is harder to work with, but the rolls are delicious. These taste a bit like Hawaiian bread I think. Good pairing for spinach dip!

1 1/2 c. Rice Flour

1 c. Corn Starch

1 c. Potato Starch

1 T. Xantham Gum

1 1/2 t. Salt

1 t. Baking Powder

1/2 c. Squash

3/4 c. Sugar

3 T. Oil

3 Eggs

1 C. Milk

2 1/4 t. Yeast

Heat water to 105-115° and add yeast and sugar to proof about five minutes. Combine flours, starches, xantham gum and salt in small bowl. Mix eggs, oil, squash and yeast mixture. Slowly add in flour mixture. Mix until well combined. Using ice cream scoop or other large spoon, spoon rolls into greased cake/pie pan. Brush with melted butter if desired. Let rise for about 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 375°. Bake rolls for 20 minutes or until lightly browned on top.

Squash Rolls, First Attempt

Well, I did a bit of looking around at some recipes and looking at the recipe I was starting with and did some figuring and made an attempt at some Squash Rolls. They turned out pretty good, but I think I'll make a couple adjustments with the next batch. Here's the recipe so far.

3/4 c. Water

2 1/4 t. Yeast

1/2 c. Sugar

1/2 c. Squash

3 T. Oil

3 Eggs

1 c. Sorghum Flour

1 c. Rice Flour

1/2 c. Corn Starch

3/4 c. Potato Starch

1 T. Xantham Gum

1 1/2 t. Salt

Heat water to 105-115° and add yeast and sugar to proof about five minutes. Combine flours, starches, xantham gum and salt in small bowl. Mix eggs, oil, squash and yeast mixture. Slowly add in flour mixture. Mix until well combined. Using ice cream scoop or other large spoon, spoon rolls onto greased cookie sheet. Brush with melted butter if desired. Let rise for about 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 375°. Bake rolls for 20 minutes or until lightly browned on top.

I would like to make these rolls without the sorghum flour as I think it interferes with the flavor too much. I also think I need to increase the amount of starch in order to make these a bit lighter. I may also add 1/4 cup of water next time to help with the denseness. I would love any insight from you more seasoned gluten free bakers out there on how to create a fluffier dinner roll. I'm also wondering if I can put these in a cake pan to make them more like pull-apart dinner rolls or will I lose all definition.

Gluten Free Graham Crackers

I've thought about trying graham crackers for some time now. I put something on my holiday baking list that requires a graham cracker crust, so this gave me the push I needed. I did a quick search for recipes and found this one. I didn't have all the ingredients required, so I did some subbing. This wasn't as involved as I expected it to be even though I don't have a food processor (yet). I've been doing some rollout baked goods lately and it's really not so bad.

Here's my version of the recipe:

1/2 cup plus 2 T sorghum flour

2/3 cup plus 3 T fine white rice flour

1/3 cup minus 1 T corn starch

1 t cinnamon

3/4 t xantham gum

1 t baking powder

1/2 t salt

7 T butter

2 T brown sugar

2 T honey

6 T cold water
Cinnamon and sugar for sprinkling

Mix together dry ingredients. Cut in butter using a pastry cutter (or food processor). Mix in sugar, honey and water. You may want to finish blending with your hands. Place dough in refrigerator for 15 mins. Preheat oven to 325°. Take dough out of refrigerator and roll out half (return other half to fridge for later) between two sheets of parchment. Remove top layer of parchment and cut into slices and pierce with fork. Dust with cinnamon and sugar if desired. Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown. Repeat for second half of dough. Enjoy!

These didn't turn out really crunchy/crispy like a store-bought graham. Maybe if I baked them longer they would crisp up a bit. They have a very whole-grain flavor and are quite delicious. My little one loves them.

On the docket later this week: Gluten Free Squash Rolls. This recipe will be entirely my own if I can figure it out. My husband's family has an old favorite family recipe for these that I would love to adapt. They are a sweet dinner roll with squash in them and they're wonderful. Here's hoping!

Sweet Little Bunny

Well, the new Spud & Chloe patterns are up and my little peanut graces the cover of one of them. The Bunny Hat & Blankie, designed by the talented Susan B. Anderson, is such a fun little crochet piece. Maybe I'll have to give that hat a go for the new little peanut on the way. There are some great new patterns in the lineup. Love the Valentine Cardi! One of these days I'll get back to my needles, but for now the sewing machine is calling my name.
I've got some curtains in the works for our church nursery. I've got two completed projects that I need to photograph. We run out of light quickly in the arctic tundra this time of year, but someday soon I'll share my new plaid maternity skirt and the Folksy Flannel jacket I just finished for the munchkin.
Now I think I might mix up some more dough for caramel rolls. Yum!

GF Cinnamon Rolls

Well, two words come to mind with these: wow and yum! This is such a fantastic recipe. I've been wanting cinnamon rolls so badly that I didn't modify anything to better ensure success. The only flours used in this are starches, but it works. We ate half the pan while they were warm and the other half was for breakfast. A little overindulgent I suppose, but they were that good.


I got a new book at the sewing expo a few weeks ago. I love it! I've got all kinds of projects picked out, but I managed to actually start and finish one last weekend. I made my mom the Full Contact Apron. I'll make sure to snap a few pictures next time I'm over there.

Snow, Cookies, Latte

I think it sounds like a good combination. We got a giant dump of snow this weekend and with it came the urge to bake some wintery goodness. I haven't attempted gluten free roll-out cookies before this. We're really pretty happy with this recipe, even without frosting or icing or sprinkles. I adapted this recipe and think I'll give it another whirl with some added fancy-ness. Oh, and these go great with a caramel latte!
I hope you're enjoying your fall (or winter as the case may be).

Gluten Free Sugar Cookies
Ingredients

• 2/3 cup butter
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 Tbsp milk
• 1 cup rice flour
• 1 cup corn starch
• 1 tsp unflavored gelatin
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp xanthan gum

Directions

1. In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar until creamy. Add egg, vanilla & milk. Mix until combined.
2. In a separate large mixing bowl, combine rice flour, corn starch, unflavored gelatin, baking powder, salt & xanthan gum. Whisk to combine.
3. Add dry ingredients to butter mixture. Stir until combined.
4. Wrap in plastic wrap & refrigerate for 2-3 hours.
5. Preheat oven to 375° F and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
6. Divide the dough in half and chill the unused portion of the dough until needed.
7. Roll half the dough at a time, between 2 sheets of waxed paper, to 1/4" to 1/2" thick. Cut into desired shapes and place on prepared cookie sheets. (If the dough becomes sticky, return to the fridge to chill again.)
8. Bake in preheated oven for 7-8 minutes (for 2 1/2 inch cookies; less for smaller ones, more for larger ones) or until the edges are first and bottoms are very lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack.

GF Cookie Bars

I was dying for a little taste of chocolate yesterday and was elated to find a brand new bag of chocolate chips in my baking stuff. I've been enjoying the recipes on The Gluten Free Homemaker and thought I would give the pudding bars a try (I usually keep pudding on hand, an easy GF treat). I used vanilla pudding and also added a handful of coconut (I have a strange new appreciation for coconut). Mods: Subbed rice flour for sorghum, subbed corn starch for tapioca and potato starches.
My husband came home from work last night and dug right in. Then he came running and asked if they were "ok". (I will occasionally bake things to give to other people, using wheat flour). I figure this is a pretty great recipe if he gets nervous! I'll be making some more today so that we actually have some to take with us on our respective out of town journeys this weekend.

Slipping Away

It sure seems like fall is slipping away fast and furiously. I've been in a crafting lull, but it seems to be picking up with the change in the weather. Something about chilly weather actually makes me want to sit at the sewing machine. (I'm sure it also helps that I'm out of the first trimester... we're due in April). I've got a flannel jacket underway for Eliza. It'll be a fun sweater stand-in for Sundays mostly. We tried on the winter gear today and I settled on just buying boots and mittens. I managed to squeak by with only $3 on the boots (found some Kamiks at the thrift store). Yay! If anyone knows where I can find decent mittens on the cheap...
We had a wild weekend of pitching in and passing around kids. Thursday was my dad's birthday, so I grabbed three extra girls to help make Penuche fudge and butterscotch blondies (and a Jello cake to take home). They made all kinds of cards for Grandpa and Mom too. The treats turned out great and we've got some budding designers in the family I think.





Friday was boys' movie night and Saturday we got the day off. I made a turkey (for the second time in my life) on Sunday and had all the family over for lunch. Four loads of dishes later, I'm beginning to recover. Phew! Well, back to my giant latte and maybe some organizing.

GF Jello Cake

Well, I had a craving (yes, I mean that kind of craving) for Jello cake yesterday and decided to give it a go with a new gluten free yellow cake recipe. For the flour mix I used 1 1/2 cups rice flour and 3/4 cup corn starch. I think it turned out pretty good, but I might do more Jello next time (or actually include the strawberries. I'm lame and skimped out this time). I like really moist non-cake-like cake. You know, like the kind with lots of filling.
This was the first time I've made Jello cake and it seems like a great pairing for a gluten free cake. There's even a Betty Crocker mix available at most grocery stores now, so this could turn into a super easy fall-back recipe for us. Just need to keep some Cool Whip stocked in the freezer.
Oh, and yes, I did eat this at 10:00 this morning. I think I have a good enough excuse.

No Proof

Well, I accomplished what I would consider a great culinary feat a couple weeks ago. However, I was apparently too delinquent in getting the pictures off the camera and they made a disappearing act (not really, my husband dumped them, he needs a clean card most of the time... shopping trip today). Anyway, you have to believe me, I made tiramisu. Gluten free tiramisu. The real feat was the gluten free ladyfingers. I beat egg yolks and then egg whites and mixed up the goodies and piped the cookies onto parchment and all. Now I need to head out and get some more ingredients so that I can make it again and retain the proof this time.
The tiramisu recipe wasn't quite sweet enough for my taste. I would sweeten the whipped cream a bit and add a little extra sugar to the cheese mixture. For the ladyfingers I subbed rice flour for sorghum and cornstarch for tapioca.
Well, I'll leave you with a picture from our little "field trip" last Friday. Eliza had her first ride on a "train" (wooden carts pulled by a lawn tractor) and loved it. She cried when it was over. Too cute.

GF Banana Nut Muffins

I finally got ambitious yesterday and did some baking. It's been too long. I adapted a regular muffin recipe to fit our dietary needs and this is what we ended up with:
• 3 ripe bananas, mashed
• 1/3 cup melted butter
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon xantham gum
• Pinch of salt (more if you don't put butter on your muffin)
• 1 cup rice flour
• 1/2 cup corn starch
• 1 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350°. Mix butter and bananas. Add sugar, egg and vanilla and mix well. Sprinkle in baking soda and xantham gum. Add flour and corn starch and blend well. Stir in walnuts. Pour into lined or greased muffin tin (makes 12). Optional: Sprinkle tops with brown sugar. Bake 25-30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Enjoy! We did!

I don't think you would know these are gluten free unless someone told you. We were all very happy with them. Even mama's little helper!

Monday Thursday

I sat down with a friend awhile back and got a quick embroidery lesson to get me started on some adorable towels. This languished so long that the transfer wore off and I was winging it a little. This is a fun and addictive craft and I've already started on Tuesday. I think it's fairly obvious that I started with the word Monday, and I considered ripping it out and starting over, but decided it wasn't worth it. It'll just be part of the journey. What new craft pursuits are you enjoying?

Fresh Picked

My cosmos have finally started to bloom and the columbine got a second wind. Hooray! It was all too lovely to just leave there, so I gathered up a few flowers from the garden and then filled in with some wildflowers and milkweed leaves I found in the yard. Not exactly traditional, but it makes me smile anyway. I'm waiting (not very patiently) for my hollyhocks to finally bloom. What are you growing?

Just like takeout

I'm on a new recipe kick. Does anyone else do that? I'll have a new recipe for every night of the week once in awhile. Some make the cut, some don't. This recipe will be added to the regular (maybe weekly) rotation. I wish I had been brave enough to try and photograph it. The only sub I made was rice flour for white flour. It made the chicken stick to the pan a bit, but I didn't mind too much. Totally worth the extra effort. Yum and yum! Are you enjoying any new recipes? I think I'll give this a go today.

Quest for crust

My husband discovered he had a wheat sensitivity a couple years ago and we've made the necessary adjustments. It was hard at first, but once you get in the swing it's not so bad. The thing I miss most, though, is pizza. Most gluten free mixes just aren't the same (and really aren't that good). I did a quick search for a new recipe to try and found this. We took it for a test drive last night and it was out of this world. I think pizza may make it back into the rotation (on a weekly basis)! The crust was actually chewy and not just a crumbly mess.
I just made a couple minor adjustments/substitutions: white rice flour for the brown, corn starch for the tapioca and white vinegar for cider. I also left out the herbs because we did a buffalo chicken pizza. I topped the crust with a little oil and about a 1/4 cup of hot sauce, then chicken, mozzarella, ranch dressing and parsley. Yum!

Plasticware dress up

The last couple of parties I've hosted I decided to create my own little silverware holders. I had seen these from Martha and figured I could do the same with glass jars. I already had some artwork from some invitations, so I adjusted the colors this go 'round to match my tablecloth. These are great for summer. They're patriotic colors and perfect for BBQs and picnics. Just trim them to the size you need for your particular jar then use a glue stick to attach it. I left the bottom of the second sheet blank in case you need labels or have another use for the patterned paper. Click here to download. Have fun!

Phew! What a weekend!

Well, we had a houseful for my in-laws 40th wedding anniversary this weekend. Five of the thirty-some were overnight guests. Eliza had a blast with her cousins who showered her with attention.


Eliza got to spend a little time with her great grandpa too.


I think her favorite part of the weekend was her new buddy, Po (or Doddy, as she refers to him).


My s-i-l was a lifesaver. She made all kinds of salads and lent me a bit of her calm and cool. So we had more food than we could possibly eat and a lovely cake made by a dear friend (I think we put a good dent in that).



I've got a few projects to share, but first things first. I've got a disaster in the fridge and then I think Netflix is calling my name. Hope your weekend was great!

The first of the produce

My parents have started gathering the firstfruits of the garden. (They always over-plant, so I'm not sure when we'll actually start feeling motivated to have our own garden). We've been blanching beans, freezing zucchini and making pickles. Yum! Can't wait for those tomatoes to start turning red.

Fat quarter baby dress

My mom handed me a generic white baby wrap top a few weeks ago. I knew just what to do with it. A friend just had her first girl, so it was destined to become a dress for her. This is the simplest of sewing projects.
Cut a fat quarter in half. I cut through the selvage, so I could use the finished edges (you can certainly finish the edges too). Sew the short, raw edges together. Press.


Press one long edge up about 3/8" and then turn over again to create a finished hem. Stitch.


Stitch two rows of gathering stitches along long, unfinished edge.


Open wrap top. Gather skirt and pin right sides of top and skirt together. Stitch.


You can attach buttons, ribbons, yo-yo's or a host of other fun doodads. Ta da! You just made a baby dress in less than an hour. There's still time to cook dinner!

Strawberry Muffins

I was inspired by this post to bake some of these the other day. The cornmeal intrigued me so I checked the cabinets. I had all but the blueberries, so I subbed strawberries. Yum! They didn't last long. Oh, and of course I subbed the flour with a GF mix and added a teaspoon of xantham gum. I'll be making some blueberry ones soon (my sis is picking up a giant box for me).
I've been working away at my craft/guest room and it's coming together quite happily. I am hoping to share a pillow sham pattern soon. Now I need to go figure out how to do buttonholes on the new sewing machine.

Faux Fair Isle

The new patterns are up at Blue Sky, which means I can share my latest design. This is the Faux Fair Isle Set (isn't the photo amazing?). The gals at Blue Sky asked me to create a new hat/mitten/scarf set out of Blue Sky Bulky last fall. I wanted it to be something simple that a beginner would have no trouble with and started experimenting with slip stitch patterns. This is what I came up with. It's a super easy (and totally gratifying) knit. I think the Azalea may be calling my name... what are you waiting for?

Overdue Post of Overdue Curtains

We were long overdue for some curtains in the living room. We've got big west-facing windows that catch all kinds of sun during summer afternoons and evenings. (They're not catching any sun today, hence the dark pictures. It's a stormy morning here). I've been wanting to cover them with something dark enough to keep it cool in here. So... I broke down and combed through the fabrics at Walmart and actually found a combination I really loved. I used a cocoa-colored cotton duck and a coordinating ticking stripe. I also found some cute matching buttons in my great grandmother's button stash. They're far from perfect, but I'm super happy with them anyway. The color is perfect, and the improvised design suits our style.


How I did it: Cut ticking at 12" intervals. Seam discreetly to get pieces wide enough to match 55" wide cotton duck. Finish vertical edges of ticking. Press 5/8" seam at long edges of ticking. Press top edge of cotton duck at 5" and press edge in 5/8" to get a finished sleeve for curtain rod. Match top edge of ticking to top edge of duck and stitch (I put right sides together, but make sure you don't get it upside down). Push ticking aside and stitch down sleeve for rod on cotton duck. Top stitch bottom edge of ticking. Hem bottom of curtains. Sew buttons on.

Bread, Glorious Bread

I've had a hankering for a Reuben sandwich lately and decided to do a bit of searching for a gluten free pumpernickel recipe. I stumbled upon a great one that I modified slightly (because I didn't have all the ingredients). I'm super happy with the results. I've already made this bread a couple times and plan to make it again soon. These directions are for a traditional mixer method. This should also work in a bread machine.

Gluten Free Pumpernickel Bread
1 1/2 C Milk
2 1/4 t Active Dry Yeast
3 T Molasses
3 T Sugar

1 C White Rice Flour
1 C GF Baking Mix
1 C Corn Starch
1 T Xantham Gum
1 T Caraway Seeds
1 1/2 t Salt
1 T Cocoa Powder

3 Eggs
3 T Vegetable Oil
3 T Vinegar
1 t Lemon Juice

Heat milk to 110°. Mix in yeast, sugar and molasses and let proof about 10 minutes (it should start to get foamy). Combine dry ingredients. Add remaining wet ingredients to yeast mixture. Combine wet and dry mixtures. Place mixture in greased 9 x 5-inch loaf pan. Let rise up to an hour. Bake at 375° for 30-60 minutes. Enjoy!

Another dress?

I'm on a clothes kick lately and have been looking for more ideas (not really what I need right now).

I saw this dress on Anthropologie

and this dress from Vogue.

Close enough? I think so. The real obstacle would be finding/choosing a fabric. Any suggestions (that won't break the bank)?