Author: youcanteatbread

youcanteatbreadGluten-free baker and amateur LA gardner. Following in the hereditary footprints of my mother and aunts, I was diagnosed with celiac disease in March 2006. Determined not to lead a life without baked goods (who could!?) I began baking gluten-free goodies immediately. After 5 years of baking and a lot of positive feedback, I want to share my experiences with others.
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Our Food Is Not Just Entertainment, Paula Deen

Excellent piece in the HuffPo by my friend Cathy Erway [of (among other things) Not Eating Out in New York fame], on Paula Deen’s recent announcement of her three-year-old diabetes diagnosis.  I know it is asking Deen to live up to a higher moral standard than most, but when you are a public figure that makes a living demonstrating to millions your favored methods of cooking, and those methods are known to be of great detriment to your health as well as the health of the masses…you look like a fool to hide behind your network (and now pharmaceutical) sponsors instead of admitting that it’s time to make serious lifestyle changes.

“I see a great missed opportunity for healthy food initiatives, organizations, and the general public in Deen’s failure to publicly recognize the errs of her gluttonous ways and perhaps partner with them instead. But that doesn’t mean it has to be everyone’s. It means we need more standing up in — okay, a reactionary — unison, and demanding good food in television and best-selling cookbooks as well as on the shelves.” – Cathy Erway

Our Food Is Not Just Entertainment, Paula Deen

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For the gleaners: the more food that is in front of you, the more you will eat. Understand appropriate portion size, (e.g. 1.5 oz of cheese is the size of a 9V battery) and try to keep healthier foods around you so when you do reach for a snack it won’t be as detrimental to your waistline.

columnfive:

(via Massive Health – Swelling Servings: The Growth of American Food Portions [infographic])

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americastestkitchen:

How to Make Eggnog

Now’s the time for creamy, nutmeggy, bourbon-spiked sips.

Make it yourself! Get the recipe.

A wonderful step-by-step recipe for a lighter raw-egg-free homemade version of the normally overly sweet holiday treat. 

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This time of year dinner party dessert tables are laden with pies; apple, bourbon pecan, mincemeat (can anyone tell me EXACTLY what that is??), the list goes on and on.  Additionally, to the gluten-free party-goers, a decent gluten-free pie crust is difficult to come by.  To spice things up a bit, when invited to a holiday gathering, I rely on my trusty crowd-pleasing sidekick: 

bundt. cake.

Really, it’s difficult to mess up a bundt. This past Saturday for an annual friend Thanksgiving party, I looked at what was leftover in my fridge and settled on, Pumpkin Cranberry Spice Cake with Candied Orange Peel.  It was moist, decorative, and best of all gluten-free!

Ingredients:

1/2 lbs unsalted butter, melted

4 large eggs

3/4 cup sugar

2 cups packed pumpkin

2 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract (Orange and Almond Extracts also work)

2 2/3 cups Gluten-Free Flour blend (I use Pamela’s for most cake recipes)

2 tsp Ginger (fresh grated if you can)

2 tsp Cinnamon, ground

1/2 tsp Cloves, ground

Cranberry Filling

1 cup fresh whole cranberries

1 cup water

1/2 cup orange juice

1/3 cup sugar

1 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract

2 Tbs orange peel

Candied Orange Peel

Peel of 1 whole orange, julienned

1/4 cup sugar

1/3 cup water

1 tsp fresh ginger grated

Directions

Pre-heat oven to 350, butter & flour a standard-size bundt pan.

Mix butter, eggs, and sugar in a stand-mixer or with a hand-held blender until just combined.  Add pumpkin and vanilla, mix to combine.  Add remaining ingredients, stir to combine.  

Add all ingredients for cranberry filling into a medium-size sauce pan, and put over medium-high heat.  Stir until sugar dissolves. When it begins to boil, reduce heat to medium-low and cook until sauce thickens, stirring occasionally.  Strain the majority of the liquid from the cranberries, reserving the liquid for cranberry glaze.

Pour half of the pumpkin batter into the prepared bundt pan, then ladle cranberry filling evenly into the pan.  Add remaining batter and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until golden brown and it begins to pull away from the side of the pan. Allow to cool completely before inverting on to a cake plate.  

While cake is cooling, combine all ingredients for the candied orange peel into a small sauce pan.  Stir until sugar dissolves and all orange pieces are coated. Keep over medium-low heat until orange peel becomes translucent at edges, continue to stir so it does not stick to the pan, or burn. Additional water can be added if it appears to evaporate too quickly.  I recommend taste testing the peel to ensure that the sugar has been absorbed and it is no longer bitter.

For cranberry glaze (optional), combine 2 cups of confectioner’s sugar with 1/2 cup of the reserved cranberry liquid.  Whisk until smooth, add additional liquid if it is too thick, but be careful not to add too much as the glaze will quickly become too watery.

Invert cake onto dish, spread glaze onto top of cake and sprinkle with candied orange peel.  Serve with a smile!