My week in photos: the view from here.

As you know, I find joy in the little things in life — like my Christmas Cactus that is taking bloom this week. Everyone in our family got part of the plant from my grandparents’ home, after they had passed away, and I look forward to the blooms every year. (which come just before my grandma’s birthday in March, not at Christmas) 🙂

 Have you had the soft pretzels from Molly’s GF Bakery? We heated them in the oven with some Penzeys Pizza Seasoning and dipped them in Mid’s pizza sauce, our new go-to pizza sauce.

We made a big blue pot of chicken noodle soup this week with Jovial Egg Noodles — by far THE best pasta we have tried for soup. Made the soup on Saturday and ate it all this week for lunch. The flavor was enhanced each day and the noodles were firm until the last bowl.

If you are looking for the perfect pasta for soup, try Jovial. (you can read my review of their other noodles here, along with an easy Tuna Noodle recipe) They were kind enough to send pasta samples for everyone at our Gluten-Free Get Together 3rd Anniversary party last month — thanks, Jovial!

Tis the season of citrus! I can’t seem to get enough oranges, grapefruits, and clementines lately. We had a surplus and decided sangria sounded like a solution. 😉

The whole Food section of the Journal Sentinel was a gluten-free feature — and I made the front page! You can see the JSOnline version here. 

The husband was pretty excited. (me too, what an honor!)

I’m trying to incorporate more tea and a little less coffee into my mornings — this was a honey-lemon-ginseng blend, but I’d love to hear what you tea experts are drinking, looking for suggestions.

After using up all the oranges in the sangria, I was out of luck for my New Grist having an orange slice. The husband suggested a lemon, noting that most of the beers I drank pre-GF went with a lemon slice. He was right! (yes, I’m admitting it)

The “giving thanks” jars got a seasonal makeover — any other jelly bean fans out there? It’s my spring weakness. Be sure you get the gluten-free ones. Here is a mini list, waiting on some of the more extensive ones to hit the web this week.

Speaking of giving thanks… we got dumped on with snow last week and I can’t help but feel sorry for the custodians that are out there shoveling, one of the women in our building uses a cane some days, yet was out there breaking her back, so I wanted to do something. I show my gratitude best with food. 

These Powdered Sugar Doughnut Muffins from Elizabeth Barbone were a hit with the custodians, they were thanking me all week. And now we can all give thanks to Elizabeth, who was willing to share the recipe with you!

When you do make them (and you really should, for Easter maybe, or this week?) take my advice and do a re-sugaring before serving. I also sprinkle cinnamon into the powdered sugar for a twist. 

PS: dry erase markers work well for the ever changing labels on your storage jars.   

Powdered Sugar Doughnut Muffins

       From, “How to Cook Gluten-Free” by Elizabeth Barbone (Lake Isle Press, 2012)

Dry Ingredients
3/4 cup white rice flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup sweet rice flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking power
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Wet Ingredients
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 large egg

1 package (1 pound) powdered sugar

Procedures

1. Adjust oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to
350ºF. Lightly grease the cavities of a mini muffin pan with nonstick
cooking spray.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. Add the wet
ingredients and whisk to combine. The batter will be thin.

3. Fill the muffin cavities about half full. Bake for 20 to 25
minutes, until the muffins are golden brown.

4. While the muffins are baking, fill an 8-inch square baking dish
with the powdered sugar.

5. Remove the muffins from the oven and working in batches, place them
directly into the powdered sugar. Gently roll the muffins in the sugar
to cover them. The steam from the hot muffins will make the sugar
stick to the muffins. Remove the muffins from the sugar and tap off
any excess. Transfer the muffins to a wire rack to cool. Store in an
airtight container for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 1 month.

Makes about 24 muffins. Yield varies depending on pan size. (All mini
muffin pans vary slightly.)

+Sarah’s Notes: I have never used a whole bag of powdered sugar, instead I just put some scoops into the bowl/platter and then keep adding as I need more, but to avoid waste. My mini muffin pans make almost double what the recipe says, but as she points out, muffin tin sizes varies. (and who would complain about more muffins!?!) Try sprinkling cinnamon in the powdered sugar if you love it as much as I do. EnJOY them with a cup of coffee or tea. 

Don’t they have the cutest stickers for your coffee at Stone Creek Coffee? Before Mamasita headed back home, we had a day of errands, including a “coffee break” in the car wash. 🙂

Keep calm and enJOY your week!