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Thursday, February 18, 2010

Valentine's Day Festivities!



I am aware that Valentine's Day is over by nearly a week but I've been slacking in the blogging department.  I've been feeling under the weather this week and I'm a little down because of all the snow we've been having.  It has literally snowed every day for two months straight.


At our house Valentine's Day isn't just about romance, it's also my daughter's birthday!  So of course I had to go all out. I started by making candy roses with pink candy melts.  I realized after I got home that I didn't buy any green for the leaves so I improvised with some green sugar.  I know those candy melts are full of hydrogenated oils but it's not like I use them more than a few times a year, plus they are damn pretty!
I also got the big idea to make homemade fortune cookies.  Brianna loves fortune cookies and I cannot eat them since they are not gluten free.  So I made them myself.  Ummm...much harder than it sounds.  I got the idea and recipe here.  I used Gluten Free Pantry's all purpose flour for this recipe.  Then since I had melted candy left over from the roses I dipped the cookies in candy and sprinkled them!  I should mention that these cookies did not get hard as they cooled like the recipe suggested.  I was going to throw them away but then decided to put them in a 300 degree oven for awhile and see if they'd harden.  Thank goodness they did! :)
Since those went okay I decided to make a big fortune cookie!  Not so pretty but man it was tasty.  I first brushed it with dark chocolate, let it harden, then brushed it with the pink melts and sprinkles.
For a cake Brianna requested the flourless chocolate cake.  I use this recipe.  I tried to get in the spirit with colored sugar and sprinkles.
For dinner Brianna requested shrimp caprese.  Pardon my fancy, environmentally unfriendly paper plate.  We dined at my parents and I didn't want to leave a mess.  Naturally this was gluten free pasta.  I've been using Ancient Harvest and honestly can't tell the difference!
Here is Brianna with some of her goodies!
I can't believe my baby is 15!  Wow I'm feeling elderly! lol!

Sunday, February 7, 2010

Nothing new under the sun....or in the snow.

Business as usual in my world.  Snow and ice storms.  Bad roads.  Freezing cold.  Going to work, eating, and sleeping! That about covers what I've done the past month!  Except for turning 32 last week.  Birthdays cease to be exciting after age 24! The only thing I look forward to is food.  Specifically my mom's wonderful lasagna.

 I forgot to take pictures the day of, but here's my after b-day leftover lunch.  Note my sexy new Starbucks coffee mug.  I have an addiction to buying coffee mugs at Starbucks.  Seriously.
For my cake I made key lime cupcakes.The recipe is found here: http://www.bonappetit.com/magazine/2008/09/key_lime_cupcakes. Naturally I subbed Pamela's gluten free baking mix for the flour.  They were good, but the cake kind of had an unusual spongy texture.  Also I never add food coloring to a recipe.  Just not necessary in my opinion.
Here is my new favorite breakfast!  I go through breakfast "phases" where I eat the same thing for a month or so every weekday morning.  This month it's Lundberg Brown rice cakes with peanut butter, with a side of plain yogurt mixed with frozen raspberries (slightly thawed).  It's so good!  I swear I crave peanut butter and rice cakes all the time! I decided buying a big thing of plain yogurt and mixing it with the berries is #1 cheaper and #2 way healthier than artificial flavored yogurts.  I don't even add sweetner at all!  One bag of fruit and one tub of yogurt lasts a whole week! :)
Today culinary adventure involved using the remaining chicken from the bird I roasted for dinner a few nights back.  I decided on gluten free chicken noodle soup.  I first heated olive oil in my pan, added garlic, mushrooms, and carrots and sauteed for a few minutes.  Then I added a box of Kitchen Basics chicken broth and some cooked Ancient Harvest gluten free pasta shells. I simmered until the carrots were soft, added shredded chicken and continued simmering a few minutes.  It was really good! I also added some Bragg's seasoning blend.  It's kind of similar to Mrs. Dash.

Well now I'm off to eat some dinner and get ready for another week!