Gluten Free, Dairy Free "Clean" Granola Bars

This recipe is an amendment to my original Fat Free Granola bars. It is Gluten Free, Dairy Free and Egg Free. And I am just starting on my clean eating journey so I believe it can be considered clean with a few adjustments.

So here's the recipe, enjoy!

Gluten, Dairy and Egg Free Granola Bars

3 cups of rolled oats*
1/2 cup gluten free flour
1 cup ground flax seed
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup of honey (may need 1/4 cup more if it does not blend evenly)
3 to 6 tbsp of almond milk

Here you can add nuts, coconut, sesame or sunflower seeds and dark chocolate chips.

Spread onto a greased or parchment covered cookies sheet and pressed down into pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 mins until the edges start to get brown. Let cool completely and cut into long rectangles or squares.

*make sure they are certified gluten free

Gluten Free Graham Crackers

Can't make gluten free cheesecake or nanimo bars or smores without graham crackers. It's far more economical to make them than buy them at $6 a box, yikes!

1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
4 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp honey
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup of milk (low fat okay, non fat not okay)
1 1/2 cup all purpose Gluten free flour (I use Bob's Red Mill)
3/4 tsp xanthan gum
1/3 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder

Cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add honey, vanilla and milk, mixing after each addition. Add flour, Xanthan gum, salt, baking soda, baking powder until well combined.

Refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight. Roll out between two pieces of plastic wrap (may need to separate into two batches). Rechill in fridge for another 20 to 30 minutes. Cut into squares, and poke tops with a fork. Place on baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake for 10 minutes, until the crackers are crisp. They puff up a bit but don't spread out too much. All them to cool completely before handling.

First Loaf of Gluten-Free Bread

Last weekend was Thanksgiving and I was desperate to still have turkey with homemade stuffing. As convenient as buying bread off the shelf is right now, paying $6 a loaf for gluten free bread is not my idea of a good buy so I decided to finally take a crack at making my own gluten free loaf.



It worked! There was this amazing freshly baked smell, something I had been missing and it actually seemed a bit easier to make than regular bread, just with a few extra ingredients. The stuffing turned out wonderfully and we had our regular Thanksgiving dinner. I used cornstarch in the gravy instead of flour. The only thing missing was a apple dessert of some sort. We opted for ice cream because I just didn't have time that weekend for dessert making.

Not Quite the Same

Apple season lacks that bit of spark this year. In years past I would take over the kitchen with my bushel of freshly picked apples and endeavor to make apple crisps and unbaked pies for the freezer. One year I made 10 of each and that entire winter we were in baked apple heaven. I won't be doing that this year and it makes me very sad.

Remember this summer when I stopped eating wheat after a holistic friend recommended it to me? I worked wonders for my energy and weight. My husband was impressed and joined me. He soon found out, after years of elimination diets, food journals and excruciating pain that he has Celiac Disease. He has suffered (not so silently) for 16 years with major stomach pain, frequent bathroom visits and doctor visit after doctor visit. He was erroneously diagnosed with Irritable Bowel Sydrone a few years ago but never found relief from his symptoms until now. It's confirmed. Gluten is out.



Slowly but surely I am adapting. I am discovering new family favourites and converting old favourites if I can. It has been a big change for me who is used to baking bread and treats without much thought to anything but cost. Now these things, baking from scratch, are no longer cost effective and have, for the most part, not found a new place in our diet. A batch of rice flour cookies won't be on our menu any time soon because 1) it costs too much and 2) it's not the healthiest anyway.

That means those oddles of pies and crisps are out of my seasonal routine. As is bread baking, muffin making and most methods of stretching our budget with regard to home baking. I just don't do it anymore. I have however rev'd up my processing of fruits and veggies knowing that our diet consists mainly of this food group.



We went apple picking today but it just wasn't the same. We purchased half a bushel which will last a few weeks until we head out for another batch. I am getting used to this but it feels like all those years of getting into a homestead routine are for not, because I will have to rely on imported rice flour, potato flour and the like just to make a loaf of bread. I am hoping one day I won't notice the change, and that it will become second nature but for now I am finding it difficult.

Chocolate Spring Nests

These are yummy with or without the chocolate eggs on top. You can make them year round or as a special Easter/spring treat.



Chocolate Nests (aka haystacks)

3 cups of rolled oats
3/4 cups of shredded coconut
6 tbsp cocoa
1/2 tsp of vanilla extract

Mix in a large bowl and set aside.

In a sauce pan, over medium heat combine:

2 cups of sugar
1/2 cup of milk
2/3 cup of butter

Bring to a boil slowly. Once large bubbles form, pour over oats mixture and mix well. Let stand for a minute to cool.

Place wax paper over flat cookie sheet or pan.

Using a spoon, drop enough to form a small nest and place a chocolate egg inside (Hershey's Eggies or Cadbury Mini Eggs work great). Continue until all dough is gone. Place cookie sheets in fridge or freezer to let them set. After an hour or so, Enjoy!

Earth Hour Flop

I had every intention of participating this year. Instead I powered up in a big way and felt like crud while doing it. It all started with my son's birthday cake. I figured I could bake it before Earth Hour began and let it cool over night so I could ice it in the morning prior to having 22 people over for a party. Good plan.

That was until the cake decided to stick to the pan, fall out in bits and pieces before crumbling onto the serving tray. Looking at the mess, I wondered if any could be salvaged. We munched on it a bit and made the conclusion that I needed a "do over".

In an attempt to cover all my bases I made a 9 x 13 white cake AND 24 chocolate cupcakes. The cupcakes were my back up in case the cake Round 2 flopped too. So there I was when all other environmentally conscious and earth-minded people were playing cards and board games by candle light, I was power baking two rounds of sugary goodness... with the kitchen light on.

Cake Round 2 threatened to fall apart as well, and even split down the middle after I placed it on the tray. Nothing a bit of icing couldn't cover but I figure it was a way for the cake gods to remind me just who was in charge.

imPRESSive Chocolate Christmas Cookies

Do you have a cookie press? Up until a few years ago I had no idea such a thing even existed. I volunteered with the local resource centre to create and promote a fundraising Craft Show which ended up raising about $3,000 a year for the centre's programs. The show featured over 80 local craft vendors but the Centre also ran a table of our own creations. One of the recipes we used that first year was for Whipped Shortbread. Those cookies were divine. They practically melted in our mouths.

While volunteering I met a dear friend, who remains so today, and bless her she was the one with the Whipped Shortbread recipe. That Christmas she gifted me with a cookie press, the same kind we used for the craft show. Many Christmases have passed and each year I try to replicate her recipe but always fall short. I suppose I could just call her up and ask, but really, what's the fun in that?

In my search for the perfect pressed cookie recipe I created this one. They are not as divine as the whipped shortbread but they are pretty dang awesome if I do say so myself.



Pressed Chocolate Cookies

3/4 cup shortening
1 3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 tsp milk
2 cup flour
6 tbsp cocoa
1/2 tsp salt

Add one ingredient at a time and keep mixing. The just fill your cookie press and go to town. Bake at 350F for 8 to 10 minutes. They freeze well too. Enjoy!

Culinary Arts of Years Past

I had a wonderful opportunity this weekend to partake in a Historic Cake Baking class, at Fort York. The fort is the original military garrison that helped established what is modern day Toronto. The museum has focused its programs and activities around the period leading up to and during the War of 1812. While attending a homeschool group sleepover a few weekends ago, another homeschool mom and I noticed posting for a class in historic cake baking.



The day was wonderful. Using period recipes we mimicked the process of making baked goods and baking them as they would have been when the fort was active. We made Derby "Short" cakes, Portugal cakes, Lemon cake, Gingerbread cake and Rout cakes. We had cakes baking in the bake oven, over the hearth, and in a special pan with coals on the top and bottom which made a nice, efficient oven.



When we arrived there were two fires blazing, one in the hearth, the other in the bake oven at the side of the main fireplace. I had always thought the bake oven was heated from a fire underneath. When the bricks inside the bake oven turned white, we removed the fire and close the small door to keep the heat in.

One thing we learned is that baking in a historical manner is not an exact science. A cake one day could take an hour to bake, while the same cake another day could take four hours, depending on the temperature of the oven.

Another interesting thing about historic baking is that there was no baking soda or easy way to leaven a cake (leaven is the rising agent). Leavening had to be done with readily available ingredients like eggs. For each recipe the eggs had to be separated (yokes in one bowl, whites in another). Whites were always placed in a round bottom copper bowl. And then both bowls are whipped using a hand whisk. Each bowl needed 15 to 20 minutes of whisking to get the desired consistency. Our arms were exhausted!



The sugar as well would have been cone shaped, and hardened for transport to Upper Canada from far away locales. Cooks were required to use a mortar and pestle to smash the sugar into the form we have readily available today. This was another time consuming and physically taxing task. The nutmeg and ginger as well needed to be hand grated. Everything was measured by weight on a balance scale. And measuring cups were tea cups, a standard teacup being equal to 8 ounces (1 cup).





Historic recipes lack descriptions. It was assumed anyone worth their salt would know their way around a 1812 kitchen. Reading historical recipes can be difficult for a modern cook not knowledgeable in period cooking techniques. Even now historians are experimenting with different techniques and ingredients to piece together the foods that were once the staple of our young nation.




I find it all very fascinating. I know my way around a modern kitchen quite nicely. I rare rely on modern conveniences and electronic helpers but even I had a learning curve in this historic kitchen. It was a wonderful experience.

More Cakes

Anyone who knows me knows that I am a fairly creative person. I try my hand at everything. I often look at things in stores and say to myself "I can make that!" and away I go. Cakes are one of those things in which I decided long ago that I would not buy.

Both my kiddos are born in March and each year they give me a theme and I challenge myself to come up with something new.

My son wanted a pirate cake so I made this deserted island. The cake is actually a bunt cake pan with an small glass dish inverted in the centre and covered in icing. Simple yet intriguing.



My daughter was taking some friends to see Alice in Wonderland at the movie theater so she wanted an Alice cake. We made the traditional "Barbie" cake (for our family celebration) and added 6 jumbo cupcakes to hand out after the movie.



You can check out some of my other creations in a post I did previously.

Whole Wheat Raisin Bread

Oh so good and good for you too! Molasses gives it the rich brown colour and adds a taste of downhome cooking.


In a large 4 cup liquid measuring place:

2 1/2 cups of warm water
4 1/2 tsp of yeast

Mix together set aside.

In a large bowl, place:

6 1/2 cups of whole wheat flour
4 tbsp of margarine or butter
1/2 cup of sugar
3 tsp of salt
3 tbsp of molasses
3 tsp of cinnamon (or more if desired!)

Mix together and slowly add water/yeast mixture. Mix in mixer or with hands until dough pulls away from side and forms a round dough in centre of bowl.

Add 1 cup of raisins.



Knead by folding dough and pressing with your palm. Knead until dough is uniform.

Place tea towel over bowl and place in Off Oven with oven light on. Let rise 40 minutes. Knead once again, and rise 30 minutes. Form into loaves and place in greased loaf pan. Allow to rise again. Bake at 350F for 30 to 40 minutes until golden brown, and pulls away from the edge of the loaf pan.

Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes before slicing. Enjoy!

Daily Bread

It occurred to me that I have never posted by bread recipe. It's an odd thing considering I endeavor to make bread at least once a week. Bread is a true staple around here. I somehow manage to incorporate homemade dough into just about everything.



I learned to make bread from my grandmother, affectionately called Nanny. I suppose it's an old Newfoundland tradition brought over from Europe to call your grandmother Nanny. I can't tell you how many times someone has assumed when I said Nanny they thought I meant a care provider Nanny. I guess in these parts Nannies are reserved for well to do families, something we are certainly not. But I digress.

My Nanny is such a sweet woman. She has made it her life purpose to take care of people. The eldest of five children, she was a care provider at an early age. When she married she had one son, my father. Considering her maternal instinct is so strong, you would image she would have more children but like me (who also has a strong maternal instinct) that was not to be.

Much of my homemaking prowess is due to her tutelage. We bonded early on and she often remarks how I have surpassed her in some ways. The bread I make it very different from the bread she taught me to make but the principles remain the same. The way I knit is very different from the way she knits. The recipes I cook are often things she would never desire to learn. But that's not the point. She planted a seed in me and allowed it to flourish. She never scoffed at my efforts or discouraged my desire to learn more. She has supported my desire to stay home and seems to understand my need to make my home for a living.

Whenever I make bread, my hands wrist deep in flour and water, the sticky dough clinging to my fingers, I think of my Nanny and wish I could just drive across town to bring her a loaf. She lives two and a half hours a way now and we can no longer connect as readily as we used to. But the knowledge is still there and the connection will never fade.



White Bread

2 cups of warm water
3 tsp of dry active yeast

Place the above together in a bowl and set aside.

In a large bowl, mix:

6 cups of flour
4 tbsp of margarine or butter
2 Tbsp of sugar
2 tsp of salt

Mix with hands while adding in water/yeast mixture. Make sure you scrape the sides of the bowl with your fingers to release all flour. Turn and knead until dough pulls together in a nice round mound. Knead for five minutes then place in the oven with light on.

Let rise for 30 minutes.

Knead again. Let rise in oven with light on again for 30 minutes.

Form into loaves. I make long baguette like loaves for my bread but you can also use bread pans as well. If you are making baguette loaves make sure to cut diagonal slits along the formed dough before the final rise.

Let rise once more in formed loaves then bake at 350 degrees until golden brown, about 20 minutes for baguettes, 30 minutes for bread pans. Let cool for 10 minutes...Enjoy!

Apple Pie!

So here is the apple pie I made with our foraged apples... I came up a bit short since the apples were smaller than usual so I just pulled a few from the fridge. Apple pie is pretty easy.

The crust is 1 cup of shortening, 2 cups of flour, a dash of salt, and enough cold water to make it moist enough to roll out.

The filling is just apples, a bit of sugar, cinnamon, all spice and voila!

Now... for a bit more pizazz here's a few hints to make it memorable.

- add extras to the apple filling like coconut, walnuts, almonds. Adds some nice new flavours.

- use canape cutters to cut out small hearts, pumpkins, leaves etc from the top of the pie crust. The hole makes a great vent from steam and the cut out pieces make nice decorations on top.

- apple pies can be frozen before cooking. Just wrap in plastic wrap and tin foil and place in freezer. When ready to bake let it de-thaw for a few hours on the counter and then bake as normal. I always make a few apple pies and apple crisps at this time of year and freeze them. Nothing tastes better than fresh apple pie in January!

Enjoy apple season! One of my favourite times of year!