Our breakfast obsession {dutch babies}

Hearing your children cheer to eat 'babies' is a little creepy, especially early in the morning. But it happens almost every day at present. Because the girls discovered the dutch baby.

A dutch baby is essentially your eggs and toast, but in a custardy pie with a flaky top. Doesn't that sound worthy of a two year old's obsession?

With all the convenience breakfast foods available, it can be hard to muster the energy to make a hot breakfast. I get it. I don't like cleaning dishes any more than the next momma who'd rather move on to her yoga routine than pick up a soapy sponge. That might be why I'm so obliging with this meal. It is no messier than scrambled eggs and actually requires less of my attention while it cooks. I stand in a stupor watching espresso drip down while this sits in the oven. Not so when I scramble eggs. Either the eggs come out a little brown and firm while I make coffee, or I don't get coffee. You can guess how I usually serve eggs. {If you come over for breakfast, don't worry. I hand over the reins to Tim for large group scrambled eggs. His are always perfect thanks to the hawk-like vigilance he learned from his dad. I just worry over the coffee.}

Without further procrastination:

Dutch Babies {GF}

Ingredients
1 c milk
4 eggs
1 c flour {can use whole grain like buckwheat, oat, sorghum}
Pinch of salt
Dash of nutmeg
1/2 t lemon zest*

1-2 T butter for pan

Directions
Preheat oven to 475. Place an oven safe 9-10" skillet in the oven as it preheats.

While oven preheats, combine milk and eggs in blender. Blend until eggs are incorporated {about 30 seconds}. Add remaining ingredients and mix until smooth {about 1 minutes}. Allow to sit while oven preheats to soften whole grain flour.

When oven is preheated, remove skillet {Use a potholder!} and melt butter in pan, rotating to cover the bottom and sides of skillet. Pulse batter once more to mix in any settled flour, then pour in skillet. Place skillet in middle of oven. Bake for 14-16 minutes.

Makes enough for our family of 4.

Add some fresh fruit {we suggest blueberries}, and you've got a complete breakfast. Enjoy!

For the gluten free peeps: Dutch babies are our replacement for french toast. The flavor is very similar without using a loaf of gf bread on breakfast.

*DH found pure lemon oil, not an essential oil, at a cake decorating shop ~ perfect easy substitute for lemon zest. One of my favorite pantry staples.

Adapted from this recipe

Gluten Free Pizza Crust {or the Holy Grail}

I've wanted to share this recipe for a while - it came together right after Christmas. And the first bite was Heaven sent; tears actually came to my eyes {keep in mind that I was running high on pregnancy hormones and nauseated most of the time}.

But I kept it to myself. at least until the recipe proved itself. How dare I hold out gluten free hope, only to realize that my first attempts were a fluke.

Living with a major food allergy is one of those losses that normalizes. You forget that anything is different. Unless it is painfully pointed out. For people with gluten issues, yeast is that screaming reminder that you're missing out on something truly fabulous. Whether it be cinnamon rolls or french bread or, in my case, pizza.

What can I say, I'm a gourmet pizza junkie aficionado. And the gluten free crusts we tried tasted like crackers or biscuits. They lacked the essential 'spring' and 'foldability' of real pizza dough. I gave up for a while and used this recipe {which is excellent but completely different}.

Then I opened The Homemade Pantry {have I talked you into buying this book yet?? Seriously, you should.} and saw her recipe for homemade frozen pizza crust, real pizza crust. From the wife of a former pizza parlor guy. I either forgot how bad{!} my first attempts were or was overcome with desperation to taste something that resembled stretched, leavened dough.

Here's the result. The Ellis Family All-time Favorite Meal {we finally hear little shrieks of 'pizza!!!' at dinner time - an American family once more}.

Dough post-rising

All that was left...

GF Pizza Crust

Ingredients

1 1/4 c warm water

1 T active dry yeast

1 t sugar

1 c oat flour

1 c quinoa or sorghum flour

1 1/3 c sweet or white rice flour

1 t salt

2 t xanthan gum

2 T olive oil

2 eggs

Directions

Proof yeast - mix yeast, water and sugar in a glass measuring cup or bowl and allow to sit 5-10 minutes until foam forms across top. 

In a stand mixer, combine flours, salt and xanthan gum. On medium speed, mix in oil, until evenly incorporated. Mix in eggs, until evenly incorporated. Add yeast mixture as quickly as dough will absorb it. The mixture should resemble a thick cake batter. Add flour (1/4 c at a time) or water (1 t at a time) to adjust consistency. Beat dough on high speed for 4-5 minutes, until dough takes on whipped appearance.

Spray olive oil on 2 pizza stones or air bake pans. Split dough in half. Wet hands thoroughly and spread dough as thin as possible on stones. If the dough clings to your hands, wet your hands again. Smooth the surface from the inside of the ball to the outside.

Cover the stones with a wet dishcloth or oiled plastic wrap and allow to rise until double in size (1-2 hours).

Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F. When oven is hot, top your pizza (the crust will be soggy if you top it early). Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until sauce bubbles and cheese begins to brown. 

Note - This recipe freezes well. To freeze without toppings, bake for 5 minutes. Allow to cool completely on pan. Wrap in 2 layers of plastic wrap and freeze up to a month.

Another note - this is not{!} one of those recipes where you just change the gluten free flour for whole wheat flour and carry on. The prep for this dough is completely different as are some of the ingredients. If you want my old {still fantastic} recipe for pizza dough, check it here.

Chocolate weather {or another cookie recipe}

We are having chocolate weather. All I can think to serve for snack are chocolate chip cookies, hot chocolate, biscotti, mochas. Rain and snow and more rain {and maybe pregnancy} will do that to you. We have chronic wet feet. Big one stalls at the open van door while she musters the courage to face the rain again, leaving small one and I dripping - chocolate seems to be our only cure.

 The snow brought at least 30 minutes of outdoor fun. More than that for Abby - this was her first snow, small as it was. Her excitement was contagious when she realized she could eat the white powdery stuff all over the ground.

Almost contagious. Small one was unsure of the snow, and why she needed mittens, and a hat, and a coat. She thought momma was entirely overprotective with the winter clothing. Except the pink boots. Those could stay.

A morning of firsts, passed from daddy to daughter: snow angels, snow men, snow balls. All tiny due to the tiny snow. Perfect for tiny hands.

And when tiny hands turned red and became more cold than fun, momma was able to pass on fudgy warm cookies, like only-edge-piece brownies. They were so delightful {and devoured} that I must pass on the recipe.

Double Fudge Cookies

Ingredients
3 c or 375 g powdered sugar
3/4 c or 65 grams cocoa powder {best you can find}
1/4 t salt
2 1/2 c chocolate chips {I use the 70% cacao 'pound plus' bar from Trader Joe's and cut up what I need}
4 egg whites
1 T vanilla extract

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two large cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Mix powdered sugar, cocoa powder and salt in a medium bowl. Stir in chocolate chips. Mix egg whites and vanilla in a separate bowl. Add whites and vanilla to dry ingredients and mix with a fork(!) until batter is wet through.

Using a teaspoon {from your silverware drawer, not the measuring variety}, scoop small balls onto the parchment paper-lined cookie sheet, leaving plenty of space. These cookies double, even triple in the oven.

I know they look like little plops here, but magic happens in the oven.

Bake in center of oven for 13-15 minutes, until tops crack.

Remove cookie sheet from oven and allow cookies to cool on sheet for 3 minutes, then move parchment paper to a rack and cool completely before removing. I used a 'cookie spatula,' a small square silicone spatula - they picked up beautifully.

Makes two dozen cookies.

Did I mention they don't require flour, don't require beating egg whites until stiff, and would make the best ice cream sandwich on the planet??

Note for my glutenous friends: A friend made these for me and the girls as part of the funeral fare. Bookmark this recipe as an easy gluten free recipe if you don't have a gluten free kitchen - no need to buy special flour.

Well worth it Granola

The roar of the grinder, click of a heating oven, bustle of washing dishes and sweeping floors, mixing ingredients. First trimester ickiness is so last month.

And we're eating real food. Fresh veggies and homemade bread. I even made ricotta cheese yesterday (yummy). I haven't felt this "normal" in months.

I got some terrific cookbooks for Christmas, books I'd eyed for months. My book this week is Alana Chernil's Homemade Pantry. Here I was jonesing for cereal, and she reminded me that I can always make my own. Delicious, gluten free granola. We've tried the store bought variety. Dried fruit and nuts stuck to corn chips(!). Huge disappointment. And really once you've had fresh from the oven, cinnamon smoldering granola, you never reach for a box again. Plus it takes about 10 minutes of undivided attention. That's less time than I take reading ingredient lists at the grocery store.

Best of all, this recipe is flexible. If mine doesn't come out clumpy enough, add sugar and oil. The fruits, seeds and nuts are completely your preference. Even the baking time can be adjusted to suit. So make it yours.

Well worth it Granola

Ingredients
8 c rolled oats (gf if need be)
2 c seeds (sunflower, sesame, amaranth, flax, chia, pumpkin, buckwheat/kasha - use what you have)
2 c chopped nuts (use your favorite)
1/2 t salt
1-2 T cinnamon

1/3 c oil (I use coconut or sunflower seed)
3/4 c applesauce or canned pumpkin
1/2 c maple syrup or honey
1-2 T vanilla

Directions
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Grease two large casserole dishes.

Mix all dry ingredients in your largest mixing bowl until evenly incorporated. Mix wet ingredients in separate bowl until mixture is smooth. Poor wet ingredients over dry and stir until evenly coated.

Lay raw granola in prepped dishes and spread evenly. Cook for 30 minutes. Stir and rotate. Repeat twice. When granola is golden and crunchy throughout, turn off oven and allow granola to cool in the oven for a couple hours.

When cool, transfer to canisters. If you want dried fruit in your granola, you can add it now or when you serve it.

Enjoy in handfuls, in yogurt, over ice cream. Any time really.

Sandwich Bread

Today, I am offering what might feel to you normal 'glutenous' people like another gluten free bread recipe. To those of us gluten-freer's, I share golden, light, non-crumbly yeast bread. I've been working on this recipe for months, and only chose to publish it after proving it consistent. If you have any questions, ask me. I might have run into the same problem.

 Honestly, when was the last time you saw gf bread softly bend like this?

GF Sandwich Bread

Prep yeast:
2 T yeast
3/4 c warm water
Stir yeast in warm water and set aside for 10-15 minutes

Whisk flour mixture in separate bowl:
1 c milled flax seed
3 c whole grain flour mix {I use equal parts millet, yellow split pea and sweet rice}
2 t salt
2 t xantham gum

Using a stand mixer, mix:
2 eggs
prepped yeast and water
1/3 c honey
1/3 c kefir {1/2 c plain yogurt}

Add flour in 1 cup increments to the wet ingredients. This is the crucial step - Beat on medium high for 5 minutes until dough looks whipped {you are aligning the protein in the eggs just like you would kneading wheat bread}. Move dough to greased bread pan. Wet hands or spatula to smooth out the top. Allow bread to rise for 20-30 minutes {it over rises easily and will fall in the oven}, then turn oven to 350 degrees. When preheated, bake for 40 minutes, rotating the bread halfway through.

You guys are great. Thanks for reading this silly blog and for commenting and encouraging me. I really appreciate your time!

Gluten free Flour {what to use when}

This is a more technical post to be sure. But I'm asked about gluten free baking all the time. Not just friends, strangers stop me in the grocery store.

GF flour lists are overwhelming, and I feel, short on the most practical info. Namely, when do I use each of the twenty varieties of flour? What flours are most economical? etc...

This is a brief explanation of what I've learned so far.

Spinach Crust Pizza

Anyone else wonder why the hospital staff let you leave with your children? I just blamed the cat for failing to recycle his empty food can.

Which leads me to another confession: I open the can of food and drop it outside the back door for the world's greatest cat.

This mini catharsis has nothing to do with the body of my post. It's just the moment I'm living in. Hanging out in the back yard between events. Big one is feeding me pebble pancakes while small ones harasses, I mean cooks for the world's greatest cat.

A jam packed weekend... I miss picking up a pizza from Costco or even better, Papa Murphey's. I don't like griping about the gluten free thing. A modified diet is an easy solution to avoid weekly migraines. But convenience was nice.

We've battled through several gf pizza recipes, none with great success. But then I stumbled upon a recipe from Mollie Katzen in the Moosewood Cookbook. I had to make instant adjustments based on what my crisper contained, but we now have a terrific gluten free pizza crust.

Without yeast, you can pull the finished pizza out of the oven an hour after you start the recipe. And, for you Mommas who like to fortify everything with veggies {sounds much less deceptive than 'sneak'}, the crust is spinach. Join me as a dance a recipe jig!

source

Spinach-Crust Pizza

Ingredients:
1 bag fresh spinach, chopped
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 c whole wheat/grain flour {millet, sorghum, buckwheat, etc...}
1/2 c shredded mozzarella
1/2 c grated parmesan
2 T olive oil
salt, crushed red pepper, basil to taste

Directions:
Mix all ingredients together, then press into a greased pie plate {deep dish} or 9x13 casserole dish {thin crust}. Bake at 415 degrees for 30-35 minutes until the crust is crispy and edges turn golden brown.

Remove from oven and top with your favorites. Ours are:
Saute'd mushrooms
Fresh tomatoes
Onions
Pine nuts
Sun-dried tomatoes
Black olives
More cheese!

Bake for 10-15 minutes or until the cheese is to your liking. Slice and serve!

Caring for the Sick Ones

She's finally seeing the fruit of generosity, though she might not know it yet. From the first crossing of the threshold, big one has set the standard of giving. Bring Sissy's blankie. Find Sissy's passie. Carry Sissy's bottle to the sink. Share favorite toys with her new favorite person. She cultivated a relationship of caring. Now Sissy's responding in kind.

Bunch of sicko's yesterday. The BRAT diet and pedialyte trying to calm upset stomachs. Small one's been the longest sufferer. But when big one tripped and caught her fall with her face, small one raced to find Lambie for comfort. During afternoon pit stop, small one snatched both bottles from me and marched off to find her sister, ready to share the spoils. I still smile reflecting on how they care for each other.

Caring starts at the top. Tired from hopping out of bed to clean up sick, a migraine brewing from the lost sleep, self-pity and self-interest threatened to run the day. They learn caring and selflessness at home from mom and dad who learn from Christ. He was never too tired for the sick. I don't need to be either.

Food might not be for comfort. ButI think when sick, comforting food speed healing. My mom always made spaghetti and clam sauce. To this day, every time my nose runs, I start graving garlic and seafood. DH ate chicken noodle soup. Classic. Since he was the really sick, I set about making chicken noodle soup with no noodles and no chicken. An exercise in culinary creativity.

 

Breaking Bread

Monday is bread baking day. Weekends always see the loaf nibbled to the heel. Monday morning, no leftovers because I don't cook Sunday. DH takes peanut butter and jelly, nostalgic lunch deserving a paper bag. By Monday afternoon, we always need bread.

Humanity is built on bread. Hand-ground pea flour "horse bread" to Sister Shubert's yeast rolls. Baked carbs are for the top of the food chain.

A gluten free diet merely means different expectations for bread. I make dense loaves that only need one slice per sandwich and stick to ribs. No crumbly rice bread for us.

My recipe journal - allows recipes to evolve

Chocolate Macaroons

Baked Meringues - Chocolate and vanilla

I've noticed something about special dietary concerns and potlucks. Your special dietary need becomes your special dish. Before the gf diet, I was always asked to bring veggies. Theoretically, a mostly vegetarian should make awesome veggies, right? Now I'm always asked to bring a gf dessert. Its easy to substitute corn pasta or bake chicken instead of frying it, but once you venture into gf flour, people become uneasy. Dessert becomes the celiacs unofficial dish forever.

No complaints here. Dessert can be made ahead. Dessert is easy to transfer. Dessert leftovers never stir up complaints in my house. So I'll be the gf dessert queen.

Trail Mix Cookies

My little galley kitchen transformed into a Christmas treat factory this year. Specialty ice creams, meringues, toffee. So much sugary goodness.

Now that all the Christmas goodies are gone, I find myself still scurrying through cabinets for something sweet. Bad habits dying hard, I suppose.

Rather than the traditional January crash diet, I like to move myself slowly back to healthy bathing suit season food. Swap the rich, sugary fluff for a hearty oatmeal cookie instead. I'm on an apricot and cranberry kick right now, providing direction for Trail Mix Cookies. Hearty, protein-packed cookies shoved full of spices, fruit and nuts. Granola wishes it had grown up to be this cookie. I can hear its muffled regret from inside the cereal box. These are seriously delicious.