A chocolate lover's cookie!

Warning these cookies are only for true chocolate lovers. They are wonderful. Andy thought they look like Moon Rocks so that is what I have named them. For anyone not GFCF, you could certainly use regular flour instead of the GF Flour and then you wouldn't need the xanthan gum.

GFCF Chocolate Moon Rock Cookies

Ingredients:
2 cups semi sweet chocolate chunks (or chips), divided
1 ½ cups GF Flour (I used Bob’s Red Mill GF Mix)
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon xanthan gum
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup raw sugar
6 tablespoons GFCF Margarine (I used Earth Balance Buttery Sticks)
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla
2 eggs
½ cup powdered sugar

1. Melt 1 cup of the chocolate chunks (I prefer to use a small double boiler and not the microwave, but if you use a microwave – start at 1 min and then 10 second intervals – chocolate burns easily). Stir until smooth and let cool to room temperature.
2. Combine flour, baking powder, xanthan gum, and salt in small bowl and set aside.
3. Beat sugar, margarine and vanilla in large mixer bowl until crumbly.
4. Beat in melted chocolate.
5. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
6. Beat in flour mixture.
7. Stir in remaining chocolate chunks.
8. Chill until firm.
9. Shape dough into small balls between one and two inches in diameter and roll balls in powdered sugar.
10. Place on ungreased baking sheets and bake at 350 degrees F for about 12 to 13 minutes or until sides are set but centers are still slightly soft.

Makes 3 to 4 dozen depending on the size of the balls you make.

GFCF Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup CF margarine (I used Earth Balance Buttery Spread)
2 cups turbinado sugar
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 16 oz. jar all natural peanut butter (the kind that the oil separates out)
2 cups GF flour blend
2 cups old-fashioned oats
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt

PREPARATION:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Cream margarine and sugar
Add eggs, vanilla and peanut butter.
Add dry ingredients.
Shape by tablespoonful into balls. Flatten slightly.
Bake for 12 minutes or until golden brown on ungreased baking sheets.

Makes 5 dozen

Spring is time for fresh salads!

Here are some recipes to make your own salad dressings to enjoy the fresh lettuce that is starting to show up in the stores. Remember that while making dressing from scratch is a great way to avoid high fructose corn syrup and artificial colors and flavors as well as gluten and casein, they also will not have any preservatives and won't last as long.

Here are my three favorite recipes -

Thousand Island Salad Dressing
1 cup mayonnaise (I use Spectrum Canola Mayo)
1/3 cup ketchup (I use organic)
2 tablespoons vinegar (I use Bragg’s apple cider vinegar)
4 teaspoons organic raw sugar (optional)
¼ cup sweet pickle relish (I use my own home canned)
1 tablespoon chopped onion
1 hard cooked egg, chopped into very small pieces
Salt and pepper to taste (optional)
Mix all ingredients together. Chill well.
Makes 2 cups

Poppy Seed Salad Dressing
¾ cup organic raw sugar
¾ cup salad oil (I use olive oil)
¾ cup vinegar (I use Bragg’s Apple Cider Vinegar)
1 to 2 teaspoons poppy seeds
Combine all ingredients together in a glass jar. Shake well. Refrigerate. Makes 1 ½ to 2 cups dressing.

GFCF Ranch Salad Dressing or Dip
1 cup firm silken tofu
¼ cup mayonnaise (I use Spectrum Canola Mayo)
2 tablespoons oil (I use olive oil)
4 teaspoons lemon juice
¼ teaspoon dried or 1 teaspoon fresh dill weed
¼ teaspoon saltpinch of garlic powder
Blend in a blender until smooth and creamy. Chill.
Made as directed it is thick enough for a dip – if you prefer thinner for a salad dressing, thin with non dairy milk.

We joined a co-op today

Our income tax refund is being put to good use. First we bought a new washer and dryer (my old washer doesn't even have a dial on it any more - it was you turn what used to be a knob and pray you get a wash cycle and not a rinse one.....), then we joined a CSA and now the last of it went for a membership at our local food co-op. Joining a co-op has such great benefits for those of us on special diets and trying to eat healthier.

If you are local and curious, we joined the Mississippi Market. The reason - it's the co-op that is closest to us. I do shop sometimes at a couple of other co-ops, but I shop at Mississippi Market the most and it is the closest to our home.

The costs and benefits vary by co-op. Our cost was $90.00 and that is a one time payment - not a yearly payment. They even offer that you can make payments - 4 payments of $25.00 if you can't afford the whole amount up front - and you can take up to 18 months to pay! For the $90.00, we get 10% off a single grocery purchase up to $100.00 ($10.00 off max) every other month ($60.00 a year - so your membership cost is already down to $30.00 for the first year), 10% off special orders (I can order a case of say Ian's allergen free fish sticks and get 10% off the cost), member only specials every month and a share of the profits in profitable years. On top of all of that, we got a coupon book in our new member packet with 14 coupons in it for free products - most of them products that we already use.

Natural food co-ops tend to carry more of our GFCF products - so if you are already shopping at one and not a member, you really should look into joining. If you aren't shopping at a co-op and wonder if there is one near you - here is a website to check out - http://www.mwnaturalfoods.coop/index.php

Now is the time to join a CSA for 2008

Joining a CSA is a great way to eat organically and keep costs down. CSA stands for community supported agriculture. What you do is buy a share of the harvest - and then you get a weekly box of veggies from the farm. Here are some links to find out more information and to find a CSA in your area - http://www.localharvest.org/csa/; http://www.nal.usda.gov/afsic/pubs/csa/csa.shtml; and if you live locally here in the Twin Cities, here is a link to a list of the CSA's in our area - http://www.landstewardshipproject.org/csa.html.

There are many different options to consider when joining a CSA. Last year we joined late and were limited by who still had openings - many CSA's sell out early. We had an alright experience last year but we are switching CSA's this year. This is the one we are going with this year - http://www.harmonyvalleyfarm.com/. The reasons that Harmony Farm appeals to us are it has a longer season - 30 weeks instead of 17, (since we eat 52 weeks out of the year, I'd like to find a CSA to provide fresh organic veggies as many of those 52 weeks as possible) the list of the veggies that they grow are mostly ones that my family enjoys eating (while it was fun trying some new veggies last year - it would have been nice to have more old favorites) and they offer a monthly payment plan - where the money can be taken right out of your checking account every month.

A new name for a familar product

Wellshire Farms and Wellshire Kids products are now Garrett County at all stores except Whole Foods. Whole Foods is continuing to use the Wellshire name.


Here are what the chicken bites look like now in the new packaging. The product is the same, the name is all that has changed.

Struggling to help my child learn to make smart food choices

Life was so much easier when Andy was smaller. I just sent all of his food to daycare and he was watched like a hawk and never touched food that wasn't sent from home.

I still send all of his food from home, but trading parts of lunches is a big part of the social structure of second grade. I love that he has friends to trade foods with. I just want him to make the best food choices he can. After all, I want him to grow into an adult that can do just that.

Yesterday there was a false alarm at school. He had a tummy ache in the afternoon so after he used the bathroom he went to the school nurse and told her he thought it might be something he ate. He has yet to understand that sometimes we just get tummy aches and they have nothing to do with "special diets" - but when you have celiac, it is a good place to start.

So the nurse called me and we discussed everything he had eaten that had not come from home. Grace gave him her fruit cocktail and Sylvester shared a few potato chips. The potato chips were suspect - Andy had gotten some Pringles (not gfcf) from the same boy a month ago. So we questioned him and he had made sure they were not the "red can" kind and they were plain so he made some good choices in deciding whether they were safe - since most plain chips (except Pringles) are okay. A quick call to Sylvester's grandma confirmed that they were indeed okay (they were Lay's).

So, I think we are doing okay in this. I don't want to tell him not to trade foods - I want him to be able to enjoy lunch. Luckily we are not dealing with a severe food allergy that can kill him immediately. I know the gluten can still cause a lot of harm and I would rather he never make a bad food choice and get glutenized (is that a word?) but truthfully a tummy ache or two may make him learn to manage his food choices wisely.

Now, I just need to convince him that while we still want to investigate all tummy aches - that if we don't find a clear cause, it is okay to just let it go - it may have been nothing.