Monthly Archives: February 2013

February 22, 2013 · 9:09 pm

THE BEST DARN CORNBREAD MUFFINS – GFree, Refined Sugar-Free, Fat-Free

I really like cornbread. There is just something about ending a cold day with a bowl of hot stew, chili, or soup and a side of cornbread.

When I was really young that meant opening a box of Jiffy corn muffin mix and as I got older my family transitioned to Marie Callender’s cornbread mix. Let’s just say that Marie set the bar pretty stinkin’ high…that stuff is gooood!!!

When we found out that my daughter needed to go gluten-free I began purchasing pre-packaged gluten-free cornbread mixes and I have to say that I have just been tolerating them. In my opinion I have yet to come across one that is good. The mixes I have purchased through the years tend to be bland and DRY.

I finally decided to tackle the gluten-free cornbread monster and came-up with a recipe that I am really happy with. The muffins taste like corn and honey and they are nice and moist. To top it off there is no refined sugar and these moist muffins have NO OIL!!!

Problem solved.

THE BEST DARN CORNBREAD MUFFINS

INGREDIENTS – Makes 12 muffins

DRY

1 cup finely ground cornmeal

3/4 cup gluten-free flour mix (I used King Arthur)

1/2 cup blanched almond flour

1 tsp xanthan gum

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

WET

1 cup applesauce

1 cup creamed corn (8.5 oz. can…make sure it is dairy-free)

8.75 oz. can whole kernel corn (no salt added), drained (chop finely if desired)

2-4 Tbs honey (I prefer 2 Tbs) (to make vegan, use maple syrup or agave)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (I used convection bake).

Combine the cornmeal, flours, xanthan gum, baking soda, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Whisk to combine.

In a separate bowl combine the applesauce, creamed corn and honey. Whisk together until fully incorporated.

Add the wet to the dry ingredients and mix well with a spoon until fully mixed.

Chop up the whole kernel corn until it is the size you prefer for your muffins. Fold the corn kernels into the batter.

Line your muffin tins (grease lightly with coconut oil spray) and fill each muffin 2/3 full with batter.

Bake for 14-18 minutes (rotating half-way through) until golden brown and toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool completely. *

These muffins taste great straight out of the refrigerator.

*Remember that homemade gluten-free baked goods taste best once they have cooled completely. Straight out of the oven they tend to be gummy.

For a printable recipe click HERE.

3 Comments

Filed under Breads / Crackers / Muffins, Cake, Dessert, Gluten Free, Grains, Kid Friendly, Recipes, Snacks, Vegan, Vegetarian

Tagged as best corn, best darn cornbread muffins, fat free cornbread muffin recipe, healthy corn bread muffin recipe, oil free cornbread muffin recipe, refined sugar free cornbread muffin recipe, vegan cornbread muffin recipe

February 14, 2013 · 4:40 pm

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY

I wish you all a very happy day filled with love and friendship. I thought I would revisit one of my family’s favorite recipes…the recipe I created for my honey last Valentines and the recipe that my children requested for tonight’s dessert!

Click HERE for my Chocolate Molten Lava Cake recipe (Vegan & Gluten-Free)

3 Comments

Filed under Cake, Dessert, Gluten Free, Holiday, Holidays, Recipes

Tagged as dairy-free molten lava cake, gluten-free molten lava cake, vegan molten lava cake

February 8, 2013 · 2:00 pm

ALL-PURPOSE CURRY SAUCE- Slow Cooker

I recently linked this recipe to the Running on Happy and The Fit Foodie Mama #MeatlessMonday recipe link-up.

Sur La Table recently had a big sale (still going on) on the Cuisinart Multi-Cooker and I couldn’t resist. With holiday gift cards in hand I marched right in and upgraded my slow cooker. Man, I am glad I did. It is SO nice to be able to brown onions in the slow cooker and then just pour in the rest of the ingredients. This slow cooker is going to get some major use in my household.

I saw some split red lentils at Trader Joe’s the other day and I was inspired to make a red lentil based slow cooker curry sauce. I love that this “sauce” is packed with protein and fiber.

This recipe makes A LOT of sauce, so get ready to freeze some for later. I have also enjoyed the sauce as a soup…simply add broth and thin it out. Good stuff!

INGREDIENTS – makes an ENTIRE crockpot full…more than enough to freeze for later

1 onion, diced

3 celery ribs, diced

2 carrots, diced (I do a rough chop since I like carrot chunks)

1 bag Trader Joe’s trimmed leeks

2 Tbs. curry seasoning (I used Spice Hunter)

two 6 inch stalks of lemon grass, cut into four 3 inch pieces and smashed

1-2 Tbs Gourmet Garden lemon grass paste (I used 2 Tbs…LOVE lemongrass!)

2 cloves of garlic, pressed or finely chopped (Dorat makes an incredible ready to use product)

1-2 Tbs. fresh ginger, minced

1/4-1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes (depending on how spicy you like your food)

2-3 cans (depending on how “saucy” you like it) light coconut milk (approx 14 ounces each)

1 bag Trader Joe’s split red lentils (about 2 1/2 cups)

32 ounce container vegetable broth

2 cups water

cilantro, chopped (as a garnish)

parsley, chopped (as a garnish)

Serve with Sriracha for those who like extra spice (ME!!!)

Water sauté the onions, celery, carrots, and leeks for 5-7 minutes. Add the curry seasoning, garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes. Stir together to combine the flavors and cook for 1-2 minutes while continuing to stir (If the mixture is getting too dry, add a tiny bit of water).

Add the light coconut milk and stir to combine. Add the split red lentils, broth and water.

Set your slow cooker on high for 6 hours or low for 8-10.

Serve on top of roasted squash, steamed veggies (cauliflower, broccoli, zucchini, summer squash) potatoes, brown rice, etc. Would be fantastic over brown basmati rice. Have each person salt their own food upon serving…that way the food will taste salted, but will not be LOADED with sodium.

*Remember to remove the lemongrass stalks before serving

For a printable version of this recipe click HERE.

1 Comment

Filed under Beans/Legumes, Crock Pot, Gluten Free, Main Dish, Recipes, Soup, Vegan, Vegetarian

Tagged as coconut curry sauce, crock pot crockpot curry sauce, Dorat curshed garlic, Gourmet Garden lemon grass paste, healthy curry sauce recipe, homemade curry sauce, lowfat curry sauce recipe, slow cooker curry sauce, split red lentil curry sauce recipe, Trader Joe's Split red lentils, Trader Joe's trimmed leeks, vegan curry sauce recipe

February 4, 2013 · 2:00 pm

HOMEMADE SILK PLANT CLEANER – CHEAP & SIMPLE

I have an admission to make…history proves that I have not paid much attention to my silk plants.

True confessions; It has been 10 years since I cleaned the silk plant in the pictures below. I am extremely Type-A in most areas of my life and like to keep a very clean home, but I never seem to know what to do with my silk plants.

Once upon a time I bought an aerosol silk plant cleaner, but I didn’t like it very much because it seemed like it was just an aerosol oil of sorts and it was really expensive.

I spent the last week redoing my son’s room and was forced to tackle his silk plant. I couldn’t have a dusty plant in his newly refurbed room!

So I went to work on Google and looked-up how to clean silk plants. I came across several ideas, but there was one that stood out to me as being really cheap and really simple.

It was time to test it out.

HOMEMADE SILK PLANT CLEANER

Spray bottle

Isopropyl alcohol (I bought a two pack at Costco)

Water

METHOD

Fill the spray bottle with equal parts isopropyl alcohol and water
Liberally spray the plant with the solution
Repeat as necessary

The dust should run right off of the plant and the alcohol makes the plant dry quickly.

So did it work? I tried this method with all of the silk plants in my home (I have about 6) and it worked beautifully with most of them. The plant in my son’s room still had a film on some of the leaves (see the bottom right image in the picture above) which I needed the rub off with a cloth, but the plants in my home which were not 10 years thick with dust did have a successful outcome with this method.

Since this fix is so cheap and easy, I will most definitely keep up with the cleaning on my silk plants and I know if I do this regularly, all I will have to do is a quick spray and they will stay nice.

How often do you clean your silk plants and which method/product do you use?

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Filed under Cleaning

Tagged as cleaning silk artificial plants, homemade silk plant cleaner, how to clean artificial plants, how to clean silk plants