Happy Valentine's Day!

Andy wanted some mini Valentine's cakes to decorate. He must have seen some on TV cause otherwise I have no idea where he got the idea. So, being the good mother that I am, I made him some.

I kept it simple.

I mixed up two Betty Crocker gluten free yellow cake mixes and baked them in a sheet pan.

I lined the bottom of the cake pan with wax paper so it would be easy to remove from the pan.

After the cake was cool I cut out mini cakes using a heart shaped cookie cutter.

I sliced the cakes in half and filled the centers with strawberry jam.

Then I pour icing over them (I had them on a wire rack with wax paper underneath to catch the drips).

And then I let Andy decorate them.

Next time I think I will make them smaller - and cut them into squares so there is no wasted cake.

I put the cut away cake in the freezer. I think I will make it into cake balls.

Finally a really good gluten free bread!

This egg salad sandwich is made with a prepackaged gluten free bread. It is soft and untoasted. It was wonderful. I never thought I would ever eat a sandwich with untoasted bread ever again. Now, it has been six years since I had regular bread, but this is most definitely what I remember it being like.

So, what is this wonderful bread? It is Udi's.

I have been hearing talk for some time now about this wonderful bakery in Denver that makes gluten free bread that tastes just like the real thing but it wasn't available here in my area. My local food co-op just started carrying it so I picked up two loaves yesterday. They sell it frozen, but once thawed you store it at room temperature and it is so much like real bread it is nothing short of amazing. They were out of the white sandwich bread so I got the whole grain. I need to go back and get some more because one loaf is almost gone already.

I may never bake bread again. My loaf pans are going to be used a whole lot less for bread now and more for meat loaf and maybe pumpkin bread. And my life is going to be much easier.

My son Andy couldn't wait to try a sandwich - he was so young when we pulled gluten from his diet that he doesn't remember soft bread. He ate the entire sandwich and didn't leave any crusts like he does when he eats toasted bread.

My husband doesn't believe it is gluten free. He is afraid that we will hear that, like the recent scam in North Carolina, that it was all false and the bread really has gluten in it. I don't believe that is the case at all. This bread is baked in a dedicated gluten free bakery that people can actually visit - not like the one in North Carolina where no one actually had an address for the bakery (he delivered only).

If you haven't tried Udi's yet - you really should. Ask your stores to carry it if they don't. You can also order directly off their website. I can't wait to try some of their other products. I have heard that the pizza crust and muffins are equally as good.