Tuesday To Do List — what to buy, spy, and try! (or sometimes cry about)

Tuesday To Do List is my newest attempt at bringing you tidbits from the gluten-free world each week. This will continue until my mind-that-doesn’t-rest comes up with another way to entertain you guys. Cross your fingers I am back here next Tuesday with another list…

Three cheers for three weeks in a row! Big summertime commitment.

Speaking of commitments — last week we celebrated our FIVE year anniversary of Gluten Free Get Together events in and around Milwaukee. Each month I organize a dinner, event, or field trip and am joined by other gluten-free friends in the area. This group has become like family, I love them so.

And so do the generous companies who helped me fill GF swag bags for our event. The love they sent this year has left me speechless. (and we know that’s rare.)

Today’s to-do list is a shout out to ALL the companies who made our party such a huge success.

Please go spy, try, or buy ANY of these companies’ products! (some may even make you cry — tears of JOY that is)

 

Red Apple Lipstick — I’ve been singing their praises since I first tried their lip glosses. Now most of my make up bag comes from them. I have converted many friends and family members to their Lash Project Mascara. (read all about it HERE) The ladies were thrilled with the lipsticks and ralleye balms in their bags!

(Isn’t Katiekins just gorgeous!? She’s a Red Apple girl for sure!)
The Gluten Free Bar (the GFB) — Marshall and I have been in touch since he first started his company. Stories like this make me smile. He started with just a couple of bar flavors and has now expanded the business and is making his way across the country into stores. Kudos to him and his team!

Sentry in Delafield — Kerry and her team at the store are all about making our community happy. Their GF aisle and freezer section is impressive and their willingness to order new goods is appreciated. It’s my go-to store in the area!

GF Harvest — Another story that makes me smile every time. Forrest started this company in high school, yes high school, as a school project. I have been ordering their certified gluten-free oats for years and am always on the lookout for their new product lines. (like yummy granola!))

 

 

 

G.H. Cretors popcorn — they sent bags of their “Chicago Mix” and boy am I glad they did. AH.mazing.

Lovely Candy Co. — I’ve had a couple of their licorice products and was just as impressed with their caramels. Melt in your mouth!

Fahlstrom Farms — three cheers for this “Minnesota Nice” company that sent FULL sized bags of cheddar biscuit mix! If I’m going to buy a brownie mix, it will be theirs.

Ciderboys — Thanks to their bottle openers, we’ll be sipping cider all summer!

Cup4Cup — As you know, I’m a long time fan of Cup4Cup. For me, it’s worth the cost to have my family recipes convert over and turn out every single time.

Pamela’s — Game changers in the gluten-free s’mores world! The new mini graham-like crackers are too good. (meaning I could eat the whole box in one sitting!) The crowd gobbled these up for dessert. (my mamasita thinks these  will make excellent dippers for pumpkin dip!)

Jovial — the perfect pasta in gluten-free land! When I can use a pasta in a cold salad, I get excited. And when the husband asks for it, you know it’s good. Someday I hope to take my celiac sista on their GF trip to Italy!

Sweet Ali’s Bakery — we are BIG fans of Sweet Ali’s around here. We even take field trips down to the bakery (it’s not too far) in Illinois to get our fix. The dessert tray was gone in no time!

The Better Chip — my mama found these chips years ago and we have been eating them ever since. Their unique flavors: beets, jalapeno, spinach & kale, corn, and chipotles keep us on our toes. My nephews call the kale ones, “the green chips” and ask for them often. (they’re 3 and already on the kale train!)

Canyon Bakehouse — I just mentioned their deli rye style bread in last week’s post and am still raving about it. LOVE their breads. Period. (and everyone gets to try them now with the coupons they sent!)

Jones Dairy Farm — we love Wisconsin companies! The coupons they sent will be used on our breakfast menu soon.

Freedom Foods — they make a version of GF fruit loop-ish cereal that I eat by the handful. Their coupons will be put to good use!

 

And a special shout out to Marty’s in Delafield!!! (not to be confused with their Brookfield location — this safe, amazing service comes from Delafield only) We had to move the location of the event at the last minute and Duane, Maynard, and our fantastic servers made us feel right at home. (they even went out and got Lakefront New Grist for one of our GF peeps!) The pizzas were perfect, the salads were spot on, and the wings were baked rather than fried, just for us! THAT is the kind of safe service the gluten-free community deserves.

Head over to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and all their websites — give them some Milwaukee gluten-free love and let them know how you liked their products. (also sign up for email lists to be up to date on their latests news and deals!)

Here’s to another five years of fun — thanks for being part of it all!

 

Gluten-Free Coffee Cake Muffins (for the mamas!)

I created this recipe for the March Muffin Madness event with Shirley over at Gluten Free Easily — do yourself a favor and pin the final post with ALL of the muffin recipes from the month.

And now I’m sharing it with you here.

Go make them for your mama this Mother’s Day weekend — if she is anything like my Mamasita, I bet you count your blessings daily.

Or if you have a supermama sister like me who has been blessed with a bundle of boys (all of which I somehow gave food related nicknames!), she would love these. Maybe your BFF is the most patient, kind, loving mama to her two bees and she should have them. Have a soul sister who is “Auntie Diva” to more lucky kiddos than you can count and takes care of her own mama every single day without complaint, even though watching her battle a cruel disease can often break her down physically and mentally? I bet she would love them too. What about another bestie who faces the challenges of motherhood with baby boy #2 with determination and the strongest of wills, and knows that sometimes it’s okay to just be human and know that what you’re doing is enough? Take them over to her with coffee and a listening ear. (or let her sneak in a shower!)

And for all those women we know who would give anything to be a mama — the ones who dread Sunday with their whole being but somehow find the strength to get out of bed, face the world, put one brave foot in front of the other and celebrate the mamas in their lives that they look up to, are inspired by, and hope to be just like one day … these muffins, a coffee date with head tilting laughter, and just a little “I’m here. I love you.” message could mean the world.

Happy Mother’s Day — let’s celebrate all of the women in our lives who deserve a little sweetness!

 

Coffee Cake Muffins

INGREDIENTS

for the muffin batter

• 2 cups gluten-free flour mix (see notes)
• ¾ cup Greek yogurt (see notes for dairy-free options)
• ⅓ cup oil of choice
• 1 large egg
• ½ cup maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon guar gum or xanthan gum (optional)

for the streusel topping

• ¼ cup pecans
• ¼ cup gluten-free flour mix (see notes)
• ⅛ cup (2 tbsp) coconut sugar (or cane sugar or brown sugar)
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons butter (see notes for dairy-free options)

for the glaze (optional)

• ¼ – ½ cup powdered sugar
• several tablespoons water or milk
• a few drops of vanilla extract
• sprinkle of cinnamon

Let’s make muffins!

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin pan with liners and set aside.
2. For the streusel topping, add all ingredients to food processor and pulse until combined, but small pieces remain. (Don’t turn it into a paste.)
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: flour mix, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder and guar gum. Add Greek yogurt, oil, egg, maple syrup, and vanilla and stir until well combined.
4. Fill liners ⅔ with batter, then top each muffin with a spoonful of topping. There will be enough topping to generously cover the tops of the muffins. Press down lightly on the topping to ensure even coating when they rise while baking.
5. Bake at 350 for 18-21 minutes. Allow to cool a few minutes before removing from pan, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.
6. While the muffins are cooling, prepare the glaze if you choose to use it. (You should!) In a small bowl, combine powdered sugar and cinnamon, and add a few drops of vanilla. Slowly add a small amount of water/milk at a time to get the consistency of a good glaze. Drizzle glaze over muffin tops.  Makes 12-15 muffins.

 

Sarah’s Notes

• These muffins are perfect warm out of the oven, but give them a little time to cool before adding the glaze. For the next morning you can just warm them slightly to enjoy them coffeehouse style.
• Be sure to check the flour mix you are using – some GF flour mixes have baking soda, baking powder, or xanthan/guar gum included already. If your mix already has those ingredients, you do not need to add them again for the recipe.
• The guar gum is not required if you cannot tolerate gums. I have made these muffins with and without gums and have been happy with both results.
• Baking time may vary depending on the size of muffin liners you use and how full you fill them. I like to use these larger flower liners, which make 12 larger muffins and take a bit longer to bake.
• For those who are dairy free, you can use a dairy-free butter substitute for the streusel topping or coconut oil will work as well. For the Greek yogurt, you could substitute dairy free yogurt, either plain or vanilla.
• For the gluten-free flour mix, I’ve used Pamela’s, Mama’s Almond Flour Blend, and Cup4Cup, as well as a mixture of my own all with success.

EnJOY!

xoxo

Gluten-Free Bread in Bread Machine

You saw in my post last week that my shiny new breadmaker arrived — one of the many generous prizes from the GF cookie contest. (you’ll also notice an increase in workout photos over on Instagram — this is a direct correlation to getting a breadmaker!) 😉

I’m still learning the ins and outs of the machine, so there will be plenty more to come about making pizza crusts, rolls, even jam perhaps.

But for now, I thought a warm loaf of bread would be a way to end this week with a bang, and begin a weekend of family fun, food, and celebration.

Breadmaker Bread

adapted from Gluten Free Girl’s Crusty Boule recipe

3 ¼cups gluten-free flour mix*

1 tablespoon active dry yeast

1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt

1 tablespoon guar gum**

1 ⅓ cups warm water

2 large eggs, room temp — place them in a bowl of warm water to speed up the process

2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons oil of choice (I used olive oil)

1 tablespoon honey

* I have used a variety of options successfully: brown rice, sorghum & tapioca starch, also a homemade all-purpose mix that included the last bits of pretty much every flour I had in the cupboard with some Cup4Cup, and today’s multigrain loaf was King Arthur Flour’s whole grain flour mix with extra tapioca flour. If you use a mix that already includes gums, do not add additional to the dough, it can become, well, gummy as a final product. (UPDATE: the King Arthur Flour mix contained quinoa flour which I feel gives the bread a bitter taste, I want to like quinoa flour, I really do, but can’t seem to get past the taste.)

**instead of using xanthan or guar gum, you can also substitute 1 tablespoon of ground flax meal, combined with 2 tablespoons of boiling water, add this to the wet ingredients.

Directions

1. In a large bowl combine all of the dry ingredients, except the yeast — whisk together the flours, salt, and guar gum (or flax) and set the yeast to the side.

2. In a medium bowl, throughly whisk together the water, eggs, oil, and honey. (if you used the flax method, add that to the wet ingredients now.)

3. Pour the wet ingredients into the breadmaker. Don’t forget to put the little stirring blade in first, I learned this the hard way. 😉

4. Carefully add the dry ingredients on top of the wet ingredients in the machine — you can easily do this by using a ¼ cup measuring scoop and gently scooping the dry ingredients in, creating a layer on top of the wet ingredients. Then, top the layer with the yeast.

5. Set your bread machine to the gluten-free setting (2lb loaf) and get yourself a rubber scraper. While the machine begins the mixing cycle, scrape down the sides of the pan, making sure all of the loose flour is incorporated into the dough. (skipping this step will often leave flour on top or the sides of the loaf, a common complaint of breadmaker newbies)

6. Let the magic happen. Your home will smell like fresh baked bread in no time. It will seem very gourmet. You may never want to purchase overpriced GF bread at the store again. All of this is good. Very good. 🙂

7. When the baking cycle is complete, REMOVE THE BREAD! Although there is a warming period at the end to keep things nice and toasty, I feel that this steams the bread too much, so I remove it right away and get it onto a cooling rack.

8. If you are like me and want a nice crusty top to the bread, you’ll need to follow this additional step, the breadmaker won’t give you a browned top like baking it in the oven would. But it’s EASY to do — just rub a little butter on top, (it will be simple to melt since the bread is still hot) wrap the sides (but leave the top open) with foil, and put under the broiler for a few minutes. CLICK HERE to see my demo of this step.

9. Let the bread cool completely (if you can!) before cutting and serving. Enjoy every bite.

Notes from Sarah:

• Some people are not fans of leaving the mixing blade in while the loaf bakes, feel free to remove it after the stirring cycle has completed. (be careful, the machine gets hot) I just leave the blade in and remove it after it has cooled — gluten-free breads can be sensitive and I don’t like to mess with them. Plus, there will still be a small hole in the bottom of the loaf where the blade attaches in the pan, so I don’t feel it’s worth the work. Totally up to you. 
• You don’t have to bake the loaf in the breadmaker! You can remove it just before the bake cycle and shape it into your loaf pan of choice. My husband has his eye on a sriracha loaf, so we’ll be experimenting with that soon.
• My goal this week was to just get a feel for the breadmaker, the basics, and then we’ll go from there and who knows where we might end up! Please comment below if you have other tips to share with us. And if you make the bread, come back and tell me how it went!
• Remember that not all gluten-free flours behave the same. You want a wet dough, but not runny. If your dough batter is too runny, just add some more flour in, even after the cycle has started to mix. For the multigrain loaf, I knew it didn’t look right, so I ended up adding a bit more flour to the mix.
• If your breadmaker doesn’t have a gluten-free setting — that’s okay! There are a few options: you can check your owner’s manual – some machines will allow you to override the settings and reset them yourself to include a mix, rise, bake cycle. (no second rise is necessary) You can also use a “rapid” setting that some machines have. The bread is done when it has reached 190 degrees internally. If you take it out and it isn’t quite done, you can always put it into a 350 degree oven, no pan needed, to finish it off.
• There are endless possibilities for add-ins to this bread — garlic or chives, olives or cheese, play with the recipe and make it your own.

If you’re a jam girl like me, slather it on.

It’s perfect for sammies. (open or closed)

Or just eat it plain. Still a little warm. Fresh or toasted, you’re in for a treat!

I’ll be back with a “week in review” photos post later this weekend — I wouldn’t want you to miss out on the Easter photos — word has it, my mother-in-law is making lemon bars (yes!!!!!) gluten-free style, a new recipe using almond flour.

Have a JOYful weekend!

xoxo