Time Flies When You're Eating, Right?

Is it just me or is 2015 flying by? I mean, I have reasons for not paying attention to the days or weeks or hours, but the truth is last week I completely lost half my week. I spent all of Thursday morning thinking it was Tuesday and debating whether to get a babysitter so I could go out and see a movie or just have a "me" night on Wednesday or Thursday. Talk about a shocker when I saw a news article referring to "Wednesday" and then suddenly realized it was Thursday. 

This week, I'm equally shocked that it's already Wednesday. How does it happen? Is it having kids that makes time fly? Is it being on a pretty strict and standard daily schedule that makes time fly? 

I never thought I'd be one of those people with a schedule that, when strayed from, feels like the end of the world. For me. For Asher. For everyone involved. 

Anyhow, with all of the busy that's involved, I'm cooking, baking, and enjoying raw goods. Here's what I've been working on:

Oh She Glows Chia Seed Donuts -- Except I do them muffin style!

These Quinoa Pizza Bites are amazing, and next time I'm going to actually do them in a mini muffin pan because the large muffin pan didn't allow them to stay together well. 

I'm stocking Raw Macaroons, which are basically 1 cup shredded coconut, 2/3 cup almond flour, 2 Tbls coconut oil, 2 Tbls maple syrup, and 1 tsp vanilla blended in a food chopper with chocolate chips mixed in and then rolled into balls, rolled in more coconut, then refrigerated to keep 'em solid. Yum!

Another yummy raw dish I'm making is a Raw Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Balls, which are a mix of a 14.5/15-ounce can of chickpeas, 1/2 cup peanut butter, 2 tsp vanilla, and 2 Tbls honey. 

And, lastly, the piece de resistance ... Pigs in a Blanket, gluten-free style! It's a genius take on one of my favorites from when I was a kid. It's just vegan hot dogs + some cheese on a corn tortilla, wrapped up and baked at 375 Fahrenheit for about 20-25 minutes. Enjoy!

What are you baking, cooking, or mixing up right now? I'm up for new recipes! In fact, I've got some Arnold Palmer Ice Pops in the works, not to mention these Chocolate Chip Mint Greek Yogurt Pops. 

Inaugurating the Expanded Kitchen

I inaugurated my new kitchen this week (officially) by baking my first batch of gluten-filled challah for the husband, completely with a shehechiyanu, believe it or not.

Jonesing for a pot pie of some variety, I managed to find and execute probably one of the most savory and delicious things I've ever made that would make my simple, Midwestern kin pretty darn proud of me. I timed out the bits and pieces with making the challah, too, and I even came up with a clever way of making the challah in a single pot that relieves my poor KitchenAid from duty.

(Oh, and I also threw together some crockpot rice pudding, which I've been eating as a snack topped with milk, maple syrup, golden raisins, and pecans.)

I started with the most giant stewpot that you can find at Ikea, filled it full of 14 cups of flour and all the other ingredients, kneading the entire thing by hand (with gloves, of course ... I might need a face mask next time, too). Leaving it to rise, I tackled the first component of the pot pie: vegan mushroom gravy.

When the gravy was done, I punched down the dough and moved on to the second component of the pot pie: the gluten-free almond-based crust.

The crust was quick to throw together, so after I put it in the fridge to chill, I moved on to the veggie mixture for the pot pie.

I quickly threw together the gravy and veggies, nabbed the dough from the fridge and rolled it out, and put the pie together. Throwing it into the oven, I grabbed the challah and with my brand new huge kitchen counter space, began braiding the dough. For the first time in my life, the challah was braided quickly and ready to rise for the third time while the pot pie finished up.

The pot pie came out of the oven, the challah went in, and the husband and I devoured the goodness of a classic comfort food. Mr. T ate probably half the pie, which told me I was doing something right. I don't know how often I'll be making this pot pie, because it was a little time intensive (or maybe it felt that way because I was doing double-duty with the challah), but it was so worth it. The homemade gravy, especially, will come into play in the future whether over mashed potatoes or with my Vegan Veggie Loaf.

On Friday I threw together a complete hodge-podge of a Sundried Tomato, Feta, and Spinach Crustless Quiche (complete with creamed tofu mixed in with the eggs) and this Gluten-Free Black and White Cake, which we took out to dinner Friday night. (Alas, I didn't realize my SD Card wasn't in the camera while I was taking the photos, so ... not pictures of that sweet, delicious, gluten-free goodness.)

This week, I'm planning on trying these Buffalo Cauliflower Bites with Vegan Ranch Dressing, Slow Cooker Bean and Spinach Enchiladas, and this trio of delicious smoothies! I'm already thinking about next week's Shabbat menu, and I envision some stuffed peppers and perhaps some vegetarian chili for Friday night since it's been hella cold out here in Neve Daniel over the past week (which I'm loving).

What's on the menu for you this week? 

At last! Gluten-Free Cinnamon Rolls

Um, it smells really good in here.

I can't tell you how long I've been craving cinnamon rolls. When I was living back in the U.S. I did the best I could to consume the closest thing I could find to classic cinnamon rolls, but unfortunately Udi's take on the gooey classic just didn't compare to anything I knew.

Living in Israel, you can't go anywhere without the smell of freshly baked pastries wafting every which way, which makes it tough for a gluten-free foodie. The benefit of being me is that I'm not constantly noshing the crap people buy at bakeries (once in a while is fine, but some people feed their kids this stuff daily). The downside is that it means I have to seriously muss up the kitchen to make something delicious to satisfy that fleeting desire.

So cinnamon rolls. I found this recipe over at Sarah Bakes Gluten Free and got a few recommendations for her recipes being very stand up, and it turned out to be a pretty easy recipe to follow and put together. I had to do some modifications because I didn't have any dairy-free milk on hand, just lactose-free milk, and it's tough to find honest vegan butter in this country (if I could import Earth Balance, I would). I also used her lighter version of the flour blend as she suggested, which seemed to be the best option available.

I'll was really surprised at how easy these were to roll, because my past attempts at cinnamon rolls using recipes from You Won't Believe it's Gluten Free! ended up in a mushy mess that was more like a coffee cake than cinnamon rolls. I'm super pleased with this recipe and can't wait to make them again.

These rolls proved perfect, absolutely perfect! Crisp on the top, and with that gooey center, they hit the spot in a way that no factory-produced gluten-free cinnamon rolls ever will.

The question is: Will these last until Shabbat ...?

Gluten-Free Challah: Take One

UPDATE: I've been working hard at this, and I finally have the Best-Ever Gluten-Free Challah Recipe -- it's the only one you'll ever need. 

NOTE: I've started using a NEW recipe that I'm pretty fond of, although this one still holds a place close to my heart. Check out this other gluten-free challah recipe from MyJewishLearning.com. 

I've had a lot of requests for my recipe for gluten-free challah, so it's about time I got down to it. Now, I have to start this off by saying that if you are full-blown celiac, there's a chance that you can't handle oats -- even those of the gluten-free variety. I'm blessed in that gluten-free oats and I get along just dandy, so for Passover and on Shabbat and holidays, I partake of the gluten-free oat variety of bread products. If you can't, then my suggestion is to just buy something packaged in the store because gluten-free baking can be expensive. I like being able to make motzei, so for Shabbat I put together this Gluten-Free Honey-Oat Challah.

Wait, something else I need to mention: My challah isn't braided. Most gluten-free challah isn't braided. Why? Because the dough just isn't the right consistency for braiding, unfortunately.

That being said, does challah have to be braided to be challah?

I can't seem to find anything that says that the braiding is a necessity of challah. The reason we have two loaves of challah for Shabbat are clutch in commemorating the double portion of manna that HaShem provided the Israelites in the desert (Exodus 16:4-30). The various shapes and stylings of challot have a varied history.

Evidently, according to author Gil Marks, most Ashkenazim used their weekday round or rectangular loaves for Shabbat, but German Jews began to create ova, braided loaves modeled on a "popular Teutonic bread." (Whatever that means.) This shape became the norm, although many Middle Eastern and Sephardic Jews still use a round, flat bread or plain rectangular loaves for their Shabbat challot.

So we'll say that my delicious little Honey-Oat Loaves fall in line with the Sephardic custom, and yours can, too! Just pop over to Barefeet in the Kitchen for the recipe. I'd like to think I came up with it on my own, but credit goes where credit is due. The only thing I did different was bake the loaf in three small loaf pans, but I can tell you this loaf is good enough for even the most discerning gluten-loving foodie (Mr. T was quite fond of it!).

Wake Up! It's Sunshine Polenta Time

First of all, I have to apologize for the ch-ch-changes going on here on the blog. I wanted something new and fresh to go with my new and fresh existence in Neve Daniel with Mr. T and iBoy, but I'm working out some major kinks. You'll notice that at the bottom of this post from the homepage you won't see any comment link. Nope! You have to click on the title to get into the post and then comment. Argh! Sorry for the frustrating changes, but hopefully I'll get them worked out super stat. You will be happy to note that you can now easily email me through the little GMail envelope link over there on the right.

Now on to that delicious dish up there. The amazing bowl was a wedding gift set from the amazing Schleids, and I can't express how much I love them. We use them for everything -- prep, eating, serving, you name it. We now need to find more of them because of our intense love of said bowls.

I call this Sunshine Polenta because it'll smack you in the face with freshness and wake you up. There are a lot of ways to make it versatile, but it's gluten free, dairy free, and vegan. feel free to throw on some Greek yogurt or something else to make it your own, but this is how I do it.

On the stove, bring 2 cups of any combination of orange juice, almond/rice/coconut milk, and water to a boil. I used a 1 cup almond milk, 2/3 cup OJ, and 1/3 cup water ratio for mine. Once it's boiling, pour in 1/2 cup polenta and stir as the mixture comes back to a boil. Once it's boiling and bubbly in orange deliciousness, let it cook at medium heat for 3-5 minutes. Whisk it good, then take it off the heat, cover, and let it sit for at least 5 minutes.

Using an orange or a tangerine, zest the heck out of the polenta until you're heart's content. Slice up pieces of the orange or tangerine and top the polenta (it took about half a tangerine for me).

I topped mine with walnuts, flax meal, coriander, cinnamon, and a drizzle of Agave, but feel free to embellish yours with other fresh, healthy toppings.

And then? Devour! Devour it like you haven't eaten in days! Oh, and be sure to make yourself a cup of delicious Vanilla-Nut Coffee to go with it. If you don't have Vanilla Nut, any old cuppa Joe will do.

Betayavon! (That's Hebrew for Bon Appetit.)

Rainy Days and Sundays

Today it rained. It's actually still raining, a lot. And it's glorious. 

So days like today are meant for soup. Warm, spiced soup. 

Served in a coffee mug, of course. 

I woke up today not feeling very well. I'm guessing it's the abrupt change in weather, as it tends to do this to me. So I've got a sore throat and every last inch of my bod is aching and sore. 

My Shabbat in Neve Daniel was beyond outstanding, but it was incredibly cold and windy up there, which smacked me in the face because I was ill prepared. I looked at the weather, it said roughly 63 degrees F, so I assumed a scarf would do me. What I forgot is just how quickly the clouds move there and how windy it does get. I sleep best when it's cold, however, so you can only imagine how well I've slept the past few nights!

The beautiful thing about Neve Daniel is how tight-knit the community is. The shul was beautiful, and even the 99 (or was it 100) stair climb to get there wasn't as bad as I had anticipated. The friendship, the warmth, the children everywhere -- this is my Judaism. Perhaps someday, when I'm hitched, I'll end up in Neve Daniel with all of my amazing friends there. 

Until then, I'll warm myself up with homemade soup. 

I schlepped out in water-proof rain jacket and sneakers to pick up potatoes, apples, eggs, coconut milk, and other essentials for soup-making and weekday meal basics. I threw this together on the fly. Don't ask for specifics, because I can't provide them!

Cinnamon Apple Sweet Potato Spiced Soup

2 green apples, large dice

2 sweet potatoes, large dice

1 regular potato, large dice

1 yellow onion, small dice

1/2 can organic coconut milk

water (or vegetable broth)

coriander

curry

cinnamon

salt

olive oil

toasted walnuts

1. Sautee the onion until translucent. 
2. Add cinnamon. 
3. Pour in the apples, potatoes, and enough water to cover the vegetables. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and cook for about a half-hour or until everything is tender. 
4. Pour in the coconut milk, dabble with the spice mixture, and puree. 
5. Once you've gotten the flavor right -- to your liking, you'll figure it out -- top with toasted walnuts and enjoy.