My Go-To Gluten Free Carbs; Fab Pancakes and Muffin Gems

My friend Anne asked for a recipe for gf carbs for her little boy. These two recipes are my faves for when I want something yummy to spread butter on. This type of recipe works great gluten free. I have found that for pancakes, muffins or quick breads, which use baking powder and soda for leavening, I can follow a general formula and do substitutions based on what I have or what I feel like eating.  I keep dry ingredients constant and substitute in different fruit purees, yogurt or coconut milk for a total volume of wet ingredients.

Fab Pancakes (GF)
2 c  gluten free flour mix
2t   baking powder
1t   baking soda
1t   salt

2 eggs
2c wet ingredients (medium thick consistency. GF flours need help with thickening)
1t vanilla
1/2 c melted butter, coconut oil, or canola oil

Blend dry ingredients first. (There is really no one flour that can replace wheat in a one-to-one substitution. I have a couple flour combos that I love, here.) Combine wet ingredients in a separate bowl. I use plain yogurt, bananas with milk, pumpkin with yogurt, thick thai coconut milk. Whatever. Just keep the total volume to 2 cups or a little more. You want a nice thick batter.
Add eggs, oil, vanilla.
Combine all ingredients, blend.
Usually, the directions for pancakes would say not to overmix, but I find GF flours need to be well blended and the batter needs to be stirred periodically while cooking; rice four in particular tends to settle in the bowl.

Cook on a griddle with a little canola oil on it.
Enjoy!

GF Muffin Gems (based on Graham Gems recipe)
This is my adaptation of a whole wheat muffin recipe my mom used to make a lot. So hearty, with a moist, dense crumb.
This recipe makes 2 dozen. Trust me, you will want that many!

4c       GF flour mix (recipe here)
2t       baking soda
1/2 t   salt
1t       xanthan gum (I don't normally use this ingredient, but it makes a difference in this recipe)
1/2 c  brown sugar
optional cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice, to taste

2        beaten eggs
2c      liquid: yogurt, thai coconut milk, pumpkin or banana with some almond milk, whatever. Needs to be thick like yogurt.
6t       melted butter or coconut oil
up to 1 cup raisins if desired
up to 1 cup chopped nuts if desired

Preheat oven to 350
Grease muffin cups with coconut oil, or your preferred oil.

Combine dry ingredients. Mix wet ingredients separately. Combine. I find GF flours need to be well blended; rice four in particular tends to settle in the bowl. Fold in raisins and nuts. Or chocolate chips! This will be a very thick batter.

Fill muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake about 25 minutes.
Enjoy with butter! Best fresh and hot, or microwaved for ten seconds. These freeze well.

Another Brain Dump; 7 QT

--- 1 ---

This has come up recently a few times. The Little Story (Catholic Heritage Curriculum) we read yesterday used the metaphor of seeds, and weeds vs desirable plants.
Saint Paul said "Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things." Phillipians 4:8

--- 2 ---

Speaking of Trinity School (The above Scripture is very familiar to anyone who is familiar with Trinity): I attended Moms' Prayer at Trinity Greenlawn yesterday. It's a new thing, started last year by a mom and alumna. Moms of students attend morning prayer with the students, then meet together afterwards and intercede for the concerns and needs of the Trinity School community. It was very upbuilding to be part of. And, if there are any alumni or others in the Trinity School community reading this: I prayed for you!

--- 3 ---

Someone is One tomorrow!! We can't wait to give him presents!

Having an ice cube popsicle, because he is teething like mad, working on his last of four front teeth.

--- 4 ---

Made pancakes this morning for the first time in ages; maybe since school started! Made my GF, egg free ricotta pancake recipe; added banana and pecans. Yum!! (Similar to this recipe that I blogged about.)

Flavor and texture awesome. 

--- 5 ---

Excited about trying citric acid as a water softener in the dishwasher, maybe in laundry. Need to research that. Lemishine is so expensive. Here is the page on Wellness Mama that gave me the idea.

--- 6 ---

Recently discovered Rumpole, of the delightful mystery/legal novels by John Mortimer! Yay! Love them.  And very happy to find myself having the mental ability to focus on a real book for the first time in a while. bust be related to #3

--- 7 ---

We have been having good time going to the farm at Prairie Winds every Wednesday with a group of homeschoolers. Charlotte Wolfe has let many acres return to native Indiana prairie plants. She has woods and a pond, and barns with a few of many types of animals, as well as large vegetable gardens. Delightful. I must take some pics.

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

Random Thoughts Upload; Pictures to Come Soon

I need to upload some thoughts.

• Maybe some photo stuff will get done later. I don't love fooling around with the computer, so I have been sooo slow in getting a system for editing and watermarking photos for use on this blog. Need to get my Tech Support (a.k.a. Hermione) to help me with that!
• It's Bilbo and Frodo's birthday! (not my Bilbo, but it's the birthdate of our beloved Hobbits). We need to have some seedcakes, a second breakfast, and some good, hearty, earthy food for dinner. Haldir says Shepherd's Pie. What else whould be appropriate? Ale? Tobacco? (kidding)
  
   Photos added! We ended up having 'seedcakes', aka lemon poppyseed muffins.
  
  
   We had 'second breakfast', which was basically a tea party.We did indeed have shepherd's pie for supper, made with lamb. Yum! 
• I keep catching a whiff of something awful this morning; a rotting stench like dirty diapers, or a litter-box overdue for scooping.... Realized at last that it's coming from my crock of homemade sauerkraut!! The crazy thing is, when I took of the lid and sniffed, I said "Hmmm" involuntarily. It smells like great kraut. Weird.
  
• I have gotten some great things recently when I go off for an hour of what I have admittedly been calling Thrifting Therapy. I will have to take pics to share...
• I am in that spot once again where I am feeling pretty good, and enjoying my family, thinking about being open to another baby while at the same time hoping to never experience the suffering I had in my last pregnancy again. I am praying for healing, so if God wants to give us another child I can be strong and healthy to serve my family without so much suffering. Also feeling sad about the idea that maybe we won't have another baby. Also thinking, ok, if it's God's preference that little Bilbo is my last baby (sob! he's almost one! my last nurseling?!) then maybe I can get a dog soon! Crazy-making. Got to keep all these thoughts and emotions submitted to my Lord in prayer. 
• Sharing the above thoughts and feelings with my best friend, my dear husband; but not nearly as often as I think and feel them! I don't want to make him crazy ;) 
• Celebrated yesterday the anniversary of our Haldir's baptism. I remember that day, in 2003, so well. We belonged to St. Augustine's Catholic Church at the time, a traditionally black parish with an awesome gospel flavor. We all sang Sign Me Up (for the Christian Jubilee! Write my name on the roll...). What a great song for a baptism! 
  

So, a totally sub par blog post as far as other people enjoying it, but a good 'brain dump' for me. 

Time to get to work this Monday morning!

A new Era; first child off to Trinity School at Greenlawn!

It just seems like I need to write a blog post this week. This is a big turning point; our oldest child has entered school! I homeschooled her from kindergarten though sixth grade, and now she has entered Trinity school for 7-12th grades! This is the same Trinity school that my husband has worked for, on and off the 'clock', for the last 14 years. Teacher, college guidance director, and now director of development and net-worker extraordinaire! Our family has been supporting Trinity, and sacrificing financially while our head works for this wonderful non-profit, for many years. And now! Now we get to benefit from this wonderful education opportunity! I am so happy and peaceful.
Getting ready for school to start, I was having a bit of insomnia. I was not really worrying, but all the preparation and anticipation were taking their toll. We school-supply shopped. We prepared the uniform and went to the parents' orientation. I crashed, literally, in bed nursing the baby, after that informational overload.

Student orientation went well. Only problem being that my firstborn's shoes were 'dumb looking'. They are perfect school shoes; sure to be allowed, quality, comfortable leather loafers. I admit they were thrifted, but only because I happened to see them last spring, when Hermione was shopping with me, and they fit perfectly! So, we went all summer, blissfully free of shoe-worries. Then. The brown loafers were dumb, compared to the black flats-with-no-socks that lots of the other seventh graders were wearing. (I did not see what the upperclassmen were wearing. That would have been good information.) I am very practical in the shoe department. I do love a fabulous pair of shoes! But, if they hurt your feet, it's not worth it. And a 12 year old girl who is lucky enough to go to a school that still gives all the students, 7-12 grades, recess, ought to wear shoes that she can run around in, and go up and down stairs in, without getting blisters! So. I told the daughter, sorry, but we can't do anything about the shoes immediately.
Then I kept thinking about it, and how maybe I was wrong, and maybe they really are outdated, dumb-looking pilgrim shoes, and my sweet daughter should wear what people wear, otherwise its not a 'uniform' is it? Thrift guilt. Is that a thing? I searched online. Found some really cool, cute black shoes that are shaped like sweet flats, but have leather and mesh, and a flexible rubber sole (think sketchers). Hermione and I went to Kohls and found them in her size right away. I had a coupon. Thank you, Lord. It was meant to be.
Daughter had to wait for the shoes to be approved by the Dean of Girls. She had to wear her Pilgrim Shoes one more day, this time with invisible footies. They really don't look that dumb. I may have over-reacted. But I am delighted to help her feel happy about how she looks, while still insisting that she wears shoes that won't give her blisters. Win-win, don't you think?

So many other things coming up. In September, Notre Dame Children's Choir starts. Also Catechesis of the Good Shepherd at our parish, and I am a catechist for the first time! I was extremely anxious about this, but I decided it could be the Enemy, and it's not a good idea to change direction when you are experiencing desolation. Plus, with all that is going on in the world now, what do I desire to give my time and energy to more than proclaiming the gospel? My binder, or 'album' is ready. We have a meeting coming up! I have been planning for a year to serve as a catechist once trained, and I am going to do it!
Also, an opportunity has arisen to take my homeschooled kids to a wonderful local farm every wednesday. Awesome. My children and I need this. I long to be in the country, but know that it makes more sense for us to live in town as near Trinity as we can. So a farm day once a week is a gift. More on that to come.