This Moment

A single picture capturing a snippet in the week. No words, just this moment in time.

Peanut Butter Cookies, Gluten Free

I stumbled upon this cookie recipe and had to read it through a couple of times. What, not flour? I've made flourless cakes, but never cookies. Next I had to read through the comments, people love this recipe, hmmmm. So I hurried to the kitchen to try these out.

My son, "What are you making now?"

Me, "Peanut butter cookies!"

My son, "OHHH, are they to eat?"

I ignored him.

Here they are in all of their peanut buttery goodness. Peanut butter cookies are a thing of beauty. I know that Tony will approve of this post.

Here's the recipe.

Gluten Free Peanut Butter Cookies.
makes about 2 dozen.


1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg beaten
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla.

Directions


1. Preheat oven to 350. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or use silicone baking liners.

2. In a bowl mix dry ingredients together. Add the peanut butter and mix till combined. I used a stand mixer.

3. Add the egg and vanilla and combine until it sticks together and is a dough like consistency.

4. Pour a small amount of sugar into a bowl. Roll tablespoons of dough till they are balls and dip and roll in sugar, place on cookie sheet

5. Using a fork, lightly indent cookies with a crisscross pattern, but do not overly flatten cookies.

6. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Let cool on baking sheet for about 5 minutes before moving to a cooling rack.

Thank you Carol from Simply....Gluten Free for a great and simple recipe. She has some great recipes, check out her site.

Fried Rice At Home

Have you ever been to a Chinese restaurant and had a box of leftover rice? Or, perhaps you made a pot of rice for dinner and had some left in the pot. For me and my family, I make rice and then store the remains in the refrigerator. But to be honest, very rarely does it have a second go at the table.

The perfect solution for all of that rice is to make fried rice. I will go on rampages making fried rice for days. Everyone consumes it enthusiastically, like it is the best food ever. But as my crusade to save all unused rice marches on the enthusiasm  diminishes. Then I give it up and go back to my usual way of storing the little bits of leftovers and disposing of it at the end of the week.

For now I am in a fried rice kick and my family is in love with it once again. It is a perfect summer breakfast, lunch, or dinner. It comes together quickly and does not require the oven.

It is really flexible and so many veggies and proteins can be added to it. The only one requirement is that you have about four cups of leftover brown or white rice that is to the is cold.

For this batch I used sliced snow peas, diced bell pepper, green onion, and two eggs.

You will also need 1 tablespoon grated ginger and 1 clove of garlic minced, 2 tablespoons of oil, 1 teaspoon  sesame oil, and 1 tablespoon of soy sauce.

Start by measuring and prepping all of your ingredients.

To a large pan add one tablespoon of oil, when hot add the garlic and ginger and give them a quick stir. Cook for no more than 30 seconds and quickly add your veggies. Cook the veggies til they are just warmed through. I cook them for about one minute. Now it is time to add the rice, keep moving everything around till rice is once again hot.

Make a well in the center and add a bit more oil and then the eggs. Cook the eggs till they are scrambled and mix them into the rice mixture. Drizzle with soy sauce and sesame oil. Garnish with more green onion and serve. This version is much lighter than one you will find at a restaurant and more like what is served at home.

In The Garden, June

In the garden today. Doing the mundane, weeding, weeding, weeding. Not there isn't anything going on out there. Everyone looks so happy, growing and soaking up the sun.

The last of the peonies are getting ready to bloom. Have I told you how much I love these flowers with their beautiful color and intoxicating fragrance.

I still don't have any beans in the ground. I will have to remedy that this week.

I really do love this time of year.

Scottish Oat Cakes

Since going gluten free, I've struggled with breads and baking. At times baking gluten free has taken the sails out of my enthusiasm for being in the kitchen. What has helped me is focusing on what we can eat and there is so much that we can eat that doesn't have gluten. These little cakes are an example of that. They have never been made with any wheat and instead rely on oat flour. You can make your own oat flour by using a food processor until the oats are a fine grind.

We make these often. They are very versatile in that they are great with your morning coffee, as a light snack in the afternoon, or with evening tea. These little biscuits are somewhere between a cracker and a biscuit. The recipe says that they will last in an airtight container for two weeks, but they never last that long in our house to test.

Personally, I love them with a bit of jam or honey in the afternoon with a bit of tea. But they are just as good with a small bit of cheese and a slice of apple.

When scooping with a 4 ounce cookie scoop, bake 15-20 minutes. Two ounce scoops will need less bake time, 12-15 minutes.

Scottish Oat Cakes 
from Vegetarian Times

• 2 cups old-fashioned oats
• ¼ cup light brown sugar
• ¾ tsp. baking soda
• ½ tsp. salt
• 1 cup oat flour, plus more for dusting work surface
• ¼ cup nonhydrogenated shortening or vegan margarine, cut into small pieces 
• ¾ cup nonfat buttermilk

1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper, or coat with cooking spray.

2. Stir together oats, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt in large bowl.

3. Place oat flour in separate bowl. Rub shortening into oat flour with fingers until mixture is crumbly. Stir in oat mixture, then buttermilk

4. Use a cookie scoop and pack lightly, place on cookie sheet and press to make a biscuit, not to thin.

5. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, remove from oven and let cool on cooling rack.

Today I am Grateful

In daily life we must see that it is not happiness that makes us grateful, but gratefulness that makes us happy. Brother David Steindl-Rast  Austrian-American Author and Benedictine Monk  Tomorrow I promise to share a recipe for these beauties. They are delicious in every way.

A Good Evening

The other evening we were going to head to the gym and instead we decided to go for a walk. 

Sometimes it's just much nicer outside.

 We watched trout jump.

Spied the warm sun peeking through the trees.

Best of all we saw a bald eagle's nest. Luck was on our side because we just happened to have a pair or binoculars to watch the nest with. We watched in amazement as daddy came flying with dinner, and everyone made room for him in the nest. 

It was a good evening spent together.