Marshmellows! GF/CF/SF and Corn Free!

Phew.  It has been awhile.  I'm not even going to try to explain.  (OK, I am going to try to explain, but not right this second.)  For now I am just going to post this recipe because I NEVER thought it was going to work and it did.   And I think this is something I need to share with the world. 

It started with a camping trip.  We were invited to join some friends to camp and I knew I had to come up with something for roasting over the fire.  We've done hot dogs before, but we all know that marshmellows (marshmallows?)  are THE thing to have when you are camping.  And S'mores.  So I started looking for something that would work for my crew.  I was looking for GF/CF plus no soy and no corn - and I was kind of hoping to avoid refined sugar.  Go ahead, start laughing now. 

I found this  recipe at the begining of my search and it ended up being my starting point with some tweaks along the way.  Here's a picture of the finished product to start you off, recipe after the photo.

Here's what you need to start with:

2 packets unflavored gelatine

1/2 cup cool water

2 cups Sucanat (a less refined sugar)

3/4 cup water

2 tbsp honey

1/2 tsp real vanilla extract

1/4 tsp kosher salt

1/4 cup tapioca starch

1/4 cup organic powdered sugar

(I used Trader Joe's brand as it does not have corn starch)

In a small bowl, stir together tapioca starch and powdered sugar.  Prepare a pan - Oil a large casserole or rimmed cookie sheet and spoon in some powdered sugar mixture to coat pan evenly.

In a mixing bowl (if you have a stand mixer, perfect), combine 1/2 cup cool water and gelatine.  Set aside.

In a heavy saucepan, combine water, sucanat, honey and salt.  Bring to a rolling boil and cook, stirring occasionally, until candy thermometer registers 238-240, firm ball stage.  (I will admit that I didn't have a thermometer and I just let it hit boiling and waited 15 minutes, but shhhh, don't tell.)

Turn on mixer (where you have the gelatine waiting) at low speed.  Slowly pour hot syrup into the bowl with the gelatine - carefully, it is HOT!  Mix until thoroughly combined, and then turn the mixer to high.  Beat until very thick, fluffy and lukewarm, about 12-15 minutes with a stand mixer.  Add vanilla extract near the end of mixing.  Here's how it looked:

Spread evenly into prepared pan and let cool at least 3-4 hours before slicing.  (I used one of my square stoneware bakers from Pampered Chef, and  let them  sit overnight) - as noted in the original recipe, the tops are VERY sticky so if you have pets or dust or anything floating around, you might want to cover them up.

To slice, remove the entire sheet of marshmellows onto a cutting board.  It will be tacky to the touch but not melted & sticky.  Mine did not pop out of the pan, I had to kind of pull the entire square out - it stretched but didn't break and the kids loved seeing it happen.   Grease a very sharp knife and cut into desired size.

I made ours fairly big because I knew we would be roasting them on the fire.  And yes, they are kind of a tan color because of the sucanat - if that really bothers you and you don't care about refined sugar, you can use regular white sugar instead.

Toss with remaining powdered sugar mixture until all sides are evenly coated and no longer sticky.  These will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for about 2-3 weeks.

They came out very much like "real" marshmellows, but with a slightly maple kind of flavor.  If you tell everyone they are special gourmet marshmellows, they will never know the difference.  I tested these out on a lot of people and I was surprised that everyone liked them.  I got comments about the color, but not one "this tastes kinda weird" or "...interesting ..."  and as you can see, my kids liked them too.  They even worked in S'mores. 

 Oh, and p.s.  I hurt my back last spring and it has taken me this long to catch up and feel normal again.  So hopefully that means more blogging.  Maybe I'll post about that whole mess another day.

Tacos!

I think most parents can understand having a picky eater.  We've all heard the stories (and told the stories) of the kid who only would eat chicken nuggets or cheez-its or pizza.  Or whatever.  Most kids go through phases like this and we get past them and move on.  A little advice from friends, a chat with the pediatrician, introducing new things, trying new recipes, sooner or later most kids outgrow these issues.

Kids with autism are a little different.  Usually when a kid with autism will only eat 5 things, it literally means 5 things.  Before we started the gluten free (casein free, soy free and yellow corn free), Mr. O literally would only eat pizza (from a pizza place), chicken nuggets (only 2 brands were acceptable), plain chicken and rice and meatballs with plain pasta.  Oh, and occasionally shrimp and crab legs.  That was it for lunch/dinner options.  Breakfast had to be waffles or pancakes.  Not as bad as the girl in his class who would only eat yogurt, but still pretty limited.  Packing lunch for school was a treat - we used to buy a pizza from the place down the street and freeze the slices for him to take to school each day, and they would have to heat it for him.  Super convenient, huh?

I never thought we could do "THE DIET."  My doctor did not encourage it.  I was overwhelmed at the idea of feeding this kid without pasta and pizza.  But we started it and I have been amazed at the changes in him.  For one thing, he has expanded his food options.  Still limited, but he is opening up all the time.  He now eats chicken and rice, shrimp, crabs, meatballs (with rice pasta) - and has added in chili (with beans!), kosher turkey hot dogs on gluten free rolls, rice and beans and most recently tacos!   I'm blogging about this because the tacos made me feel so normal.   I just saw them at Whole Foods one day last week and thought I would try them - I made them, served them and he just sat down and ate them like it was no big deal.  No slow introduction of a new food.  No screams, no tears, no begging.  He just sat down like a normal 10 year old - I said "TACOS" and he said, "Ooooh ... tacos."  And he ate four of them.  FOUR.

Feeling normal is not something that comes easily around here.  I'm kind of basking in the taco afterglow.  If you happen to see these Garden of Eatin taco shells at Whole Foods (and if your allergy kid can tolerate blue corn) - give them a try.  My other kids liked them too. 

Check out Monika's Contest!

I have been gone for too long. I know. My time has been filled with doctors appointments, dance lessons, gymnastics, tennis team and soccer. Not for me of course, for those pesky kids of mine. OK, well some of the doctors appointments have been mine lately but lets not talk about that. Oh, and we got a DOG. Do you believe it?? A DOG.

Popping on to post that my wonderful photographer friend, Monika, is having a giveaway on her blog today - be sure to check it out and enter for a chance to win a fun Coca-Cola shirt. I need one because we have that skirt to match, see, right here:

You know how I am with the matching, I think that Coca-Cola shirt would be way cuter, don't you? So click HERE to check it out and enter to win one!

I have really big plans to come back on here tomorrow and talk about tacos. And cupcakes - or should I say, children dressed as cupcakes? Yes, that is what I should say. In the meantime, here are a few pictures from the past few non-bloggy months.

 

Snowstorm + cookies = bliss

We've had quite a storm here on the east coast this week.  I have seen people calling it "Snowmaggedon" but I think that is a bit much.  We got about a foot of snow, and it was pretty windy and cold, but nothing like an Apocalypse.   Sheesh.

The big boys went out with some friends and made some money shoveling out the neighborhood.  The two little ones stayed home with me most of the day and we took a sledding break after we got our driveway shoveled out. 

No one wanted to come in, so I bribed them with cookies.  "Come on, we'll go home and make cookies."  It worked. 

I had it in my mind to make oatmeal cookies but Mr. O had other ideas.  He was talking about brown cookies, star cookies and circle cookies - I still don't know what exactly he meant, but when I found a recipe that looked easy, I showed him a picture of the finished product and he agreed.  I started with this recipe for Gluten Free Vanilla Wafers and as usual, tweaked it a bit to make it work for us.  I'll post the recipe below.

Here's how our cookies came out - they tasted pretty good too!

I used Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips in some of the cookies - they are allergy friendly and so yummy!  And put in some Polaner All Fruit Jelly in others.  Of course, Mr. Picky only likes the plain ones so I had to make a lot of those. 

Here's the recipe the way I made it:

Ingredients:

•4 large eggs

•1 1/3 cup sucanat

•1 tablespoon vanilla extract

•2 teaspoon grated fresh orange peel

•Pinch salt

•2-3 cups gluten-free all purpose flour mix (with xantham or guar gum in the mix) See note!  I started with 2 cups of a rice flour baking mix with guar gum, and the rest Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Flour and about 1/4 tsp. xantham gum.

•1 cup melted, cool unsalted butter OR your favorite dairy-free butter substitute - I used 1/2 cup Earth Balance soy free buttery spread and 1/2 cup canola oil and it seemed to work out fine.

•All fruit Jelly, chocolate chips or anything else you'd like to put on top.  (Optional)

 

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 375F / 190C

Lightly grease your baking pan

 

Combine eggs and sugar in a large mixing bowl and beat on high until creamy, about 3 minutes. Add vanilla, orange peel and salt and beat to combine. Gradually add 2 cups of gluten-free flour and beat just until combined. Slowly drizzle melted butter into the mixture and beat until combined.   If dough is not thick enough, keep adding flour - I used roughly 3 cups to get the right texture, and even then it looked a little looser than most cookie dough, definitely not thick enough to press like typical sugar cookies.

 

Drop dough by heaping rounded teaspoons on prepared baking sheets, leaving about 1 inch space between cookies - it will spread slightly when baking.  If you want to add jelly or chocolate chips, use a small spoon to make a well in the center of the cookie and add the jelly or chips.

Bake in preheated oven for about 12-15 minutes or until the cookies are golden brown. Cool.

Makes about 36 cookies.

NOTE:  If your gluten-free flour mix DOES NOT contain xantham gum or guar gum add 1/4 teaspoon of your favorite gum to this recipe.

Cyber Monday - Again?

I have been shopping online all day.  My way of avoiding laundry!  I was so good about skipping Black Friday, and then I think I ordered one thing on Cyber Monday.  Today I got notice that it was Cyber Monday (take 2) and I had to look around. 

I am not going to tell everything I ordered because some of it will be saved for gifts and I don't want to ruin any surprises. But this one deal I had to share, from Diapers.com. They have the most adorable ride on car for more than 70% off - and if you are looking for one in pink, they have that one on sale too!   There are lots of other toys on sale for under $5 - and if you add something from their partner site Soap.com, you get free shipping when you spend $25.

This car is priced at $23.39 right now, normally $99!  Throw in something small from Soap.com and your order will ship for free.  And if you click through my link  and use the code below, get another 15% off!   Who wouldn't love one of these ride ons?  I know I wish they made one in my size!

use code:WERI1111

Not valid for existing Diapers.com, Soap.com or BeautyBar.com customers. Some restrictions apply.

 

 

 

Magic Donuts

Since we started Mr. O. on his  dietary changes almost a year ago, I have been dreaming of donuts.  But coming up with something gluten free, casein free, soy free, dairy free and without dyes and refined sugar ... ummm .. I was not feeling confident.  Even before we gave up the gluten, soy, corn and dairy, I had a hard time getting donuts right.   But there is something about fall that makes a person want a donut..  Apple cider donuts, pumpkin donuts, spice donuts ... a hot cup of coffee, bliss. 

Yesterday we reached the point where the craving overcame the fear.  Mr. O. started asking for donuts - specifically "Punchin Donuts" and then it changed to "Magic Donuts."  I am guessing "Punchin Donuts" is how he hears "Dunkin Donuts."  I still don't know where "Magic Donuts" came from, but I figured I would give it a try.  My boy wanted magic donuts, I was going to make him some!

So - here are the magic donuts, with links to the ingredients as found on Amazon - you can also buy most of these items at Whole Foods if you don't want to buy in bulk.

I started with this recipe that I found online and made some changes, doubled it and tweaked a few things because of our food issues.  Here's my adjusted list of ingredients for baked pumpkin donuts - these are gluten free, casein free, soy free, corn free and free of dyes and refined sugar:

1 1/2 cups Rice Flour

12 TBS Tapioca Flour

4 TBS Tapioca Starch

1 tsp Xantham Gum

1 tsp Baking Soda

1 tsp Cream of Tartar

1 tsp Salt

1/2 tsp Nutmeg

1/2 tsp Allspice

2 tsp Cinnamon

4 eggs

2 cups of organic Sucanat (sugar)

1 cup Canned Pumpkin Puree

1 tsp.  Vanilla Extract

1/2 cup Applesauce

1/2 cup Canola Oil

Preheat the oven to 350 - grease a non-stick mini donut pan.  I could not find a donut pan on short notice, so we used this fluted cake pan and it was fine.  You can also use muffin pans, but then you won't have that fun hole in the middle.  Isn't that what donuts are all about? 

In a medium bowl, combine rice flour, tapioca flour, tapioca starch, xantham gum, baking soda, cream of tartar, salt and spices.  In a large bowl, mix together the eggs, sugar, pumpkin, vanilla, applesauce and oil until combined.  I used my mixer.  Then add dry ingredients and stir until blended.

Fill each donut cup about 3/4 full - don't over fill.  I saw on another blog that they recommended piping the mix into the baking cups so I tried it - not sure if it was necessary, but it didn't hurt.  I just put the batter into a big zipper bag, cut a hole and started making the donuts.

Bake about 10-12 minutes, until tester comes out clean.  Let cool a few minutes before removing.  (I didn't, but you can, maybe you are more patient than I am.)

For the glaze, I used coconut milk (I found it at Shop Rite, they also have it at Trader Joe's) and some finely ground Sucanat (I just put it into the coffee grinder until the consistency was similar to powdered sugar) - Mixed them together until it was sweet enough for me and then added a little bit of rice flour to thicken it up.  I dipped each donut in the glaze and then I dipped some of them into Sucanat and Cinnamon mixed in a bowl.

They looked and smelled fabulous!

And got a big thumbs up from my taste tester.  The "regular" kids liked them too, which is always a miracle.  They are, indeed, magic donuts!



Living With Mini Hoarders

Lately it has become even more challenging to find things in this house.  At first I thought it was me.  I thought, Maybe I just have too many things going on (duh) and my organizational skills are finally cracking.

I mean, I could not find our house phone for a full day - even though I could hear it ringing.  Admittedly, since I started selling for some friends on eBay, my dining room has gotten to be filled with rubbermaid containers full of clothes, shipping supplies and computer equipment.  So there is a bit of a mess going on.  But to be unable to find the PHONE?  Even when it was ringing??  That's bad.

Right when I was starting to feel the need to call Hoarders   I found this little pile of junk.  In a wagon.  Being pulled by my daughter.

Yes, you are seeing correctly.  Pieces of chocolate, some bread, a hairbrush, a calculator and who knows what else.  Being dragged through the house.   Ewwww. 

I think I have a mini hoarder on my hands.

Oh, and I finally found the phone.  It was in a box, inside ANOTHER box, and that box was full of toys, games, blocks and dolls.  I hate to think what this girl's room is going to look like when she is a teenager.