Chocolate Chip Cookies

I have been thinking about cookies recently. Warm, with gooey chocolate chips, dark chocolate. The smell of them baking. Savouring them with a warm, bitter, creamy cup of coffee. The cookies are the sugar.

Gluten-free living has turned me into a baker. I have had to start from scratch. Find and try new recipes because my old ones will no longer work with the new flours. Yes, you can substitute GF flour mixes cup-for-cup for wheat flour in recipes. It is possible but the results are not always the same or good. Gluten flour reacts differently to moisture than all my various gluten-free flours.

Secretly, I admire gluten. He does something special to food. He was versatile, forgiving, and allowed for great creativity. I am left in a void, a vacuum without him in my life. I have to relearn everything it seems- it's fun but also frustrating. This is sounding a little like a break-up spiel. I think of gluten fondly, with a little longing. I am happy he is gone from my life. I feel well again without him, but he did do some wonderful things for food.

I actually do not eat cookies often, homemade or store-bought. They are not something that I make frequently or that I am tempted into buying at coffee shops. I have had my favourite recipe since I was 15- two of them actually. An oatmeal raisin and a soft chocolate chip recipe. I very rarely try new cookie recipes. My old standards are amazing and completely satisfying. Every time.

Since making this lifestyle swap I have tried a few GF chocolate cookie recipes and I have come to this conclusion. I am sticking with my old standby recipe. Amazingly, it does work for the cup-for-cup swap. I keep my flour mixes heavy on the starches and I add a 1/4 tsp cream of tartar. And, interestingly, to achieve that rounded cookie I crave, it works best when I cover the dough and allow it to sit over night in the fridge.

I have followed this advice of numerous blogs in this though: I bake them for precisely 12 minutes for thawed and 14 minutes for frozen; and then I allow them to sit on the warm pan for two to three minutes before removing to a wire rack. Yes, they will look under done but resist the urge to leave them in the oven for longer. If you try to put them on the rack right away, they may try to fall apart on you. Let them sit briefly. I don't know why this method works, but it does.

I personally am a huge fan of the warm chocolate chip cookie. When I decide to make a batch of cookies I will mix them up, bake a few to eat right away, and then the rest are rolled into slightly flat balls and frozen. This way I can bake up two or three cookies anytime I crave a dessert or a late night treat- or if I need a dessert for company. They will keep well in an air-tight container in the freezer for months. And this way, being single and the only one to empty the cookie jar, I am not forced to consume thousands of calories worth of cookies within a few days. It's win-win.

If you do choose to bake them all, they are just as good the next day. I have tested this out, just so I can report it to you. Cookies for breakfast- not healthy, but they did taste great. As long as you don't over bake them, they do not turn into those brittle, grainy disks that I am sure most gluten-free people know about.

You want my recipe? Someone is going to have to post a request for it...

Reasons Why I am an Idiot & Meatloaf

Reason number one, and the biggest one: I ate a cheddar bagel yesterday morning.

I was running late because of my dental appointment and I had yet to eat anything for breakfast. Tim Horton's was calling my name. I really miss sinking my teeth into a warm, buttery sesame seed bagel sometimes. (I haven't tried making my own bagels yet but I probably should soon.) I couldn't resist and didn't want to.

I have been toying with the idea of testing my reaction for several weeks now. It's been weeks of talking myself out of KFC, ordering pizza, or stopping for a toasted sub. I know that it's stupid to do but being gluten-sensitive or intolerant and not a celiac means that gluten interacts with my system differently. I don't get an autoimmune reaction.

Gluten just doesn't agree with me- it acts like an allergen. I really want to believe that someday, I can get enough of the allergen out of my system that I can introduce it again with limited and infrequent meals. That I could eat at other people's homes again without being a kill-joy. I can also have food combination reactions that are not standard to every gluten-sensitive person out there which helps fuel my desperate belief. I can usually tolerate gluten better when it is eaten with protein. Sugary, gluten-filled food give me an instant headache reaction. Too much coffee in a day can mess with me too.

My food intolerances change based on where I am in my cycle too. Dairy is a great example of this. I am lactose intolerant- milk gives me stomach aches and bloating. BUT in the week before my period even the lactose-free stuff has the power to give me migraines, nausea, and the runs. There is also a short period when I can consume regular milk products with little reaction.

Back to my bagel. Yesterday I felt great. It's easy to convince yourself that gluten is fine when you suffer with delayed reactions. By evening, I did notice that I was warmer than usual and my jeans were too tight. Not just the waist either. The thighs and hips were also tight. Everything about me was swollen and bloated. Still fine, nothing to get alarmed about. I have difficulty drinking enough water in a day it could be water retention.

Today, I am back on the gluten free bandwagon 100%! I have a huge headache and brain fog. My back hurt when I woke up this morning. My face is burning and red. I am bloated to the point of pain. I am hungry and nauseated at the same time. Eyes are burning and I am running a slight fever. I alternate between the chills and being overly warm. Mostly, though, it's the brain fog that bothers me. I can't focus and the world looks funny or off. Like through a tunnel or as if you are out of body.

So, yes. Gluten is still my enemy.

Marinara Meatloaf
1 lb ground beef
1 lb ground turkey
1/4 cup GF bread crumbs
2 eggs
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

• Preheat your oven to 350F.
• Mix all the ingredients together. Place in a greased loaf pan.

1/2 cup pasta sauce
3 slices Swiss cheese

• Top your loaf with pasta sauce. Bake for 45 minutes.
• Remove and top with sliced Swiss cheese. Bake for another 15 minutes or until the cheese is melted and lightly browned.
• Let sit on your stove or counter to rest for about 10 minutes before slicing. Remove from pan, or drain fat and slice in pan.

Sorry, this was soooooo good that it didn't last long enough for pictures.
This, plus mashed potatoes, salad, and good company, was dinner last night.
And both my cheeses were lactose free types. Always are.
I am the lazy cook, who double toasted a piece of bread and crushed it to get bread crumbs. If I had had some Glutino sheet crackers- that would have been my crumb of choice. I doubled the seasoning because I like the meatball flavour- if you find it's too much reduce next time. I am going to increase the pasta sauce next time I make this one.

Breakfast Quinoa

I know that my photos leave something to be desired, but I would rather post with a poor photo than none at all. I have skipped over recipes on other blogs and sites because of this. I want an idea of what I would be getting. A great photo can make anything appetizing, trust me I have tried some million dollar photo recipes and been disgusted. You sometimes have to look past the photo to consider the concept, the flavours, the texture of a recipe. It's kind of like shopping, the photo should make you want to "buy" the recipe. So sorry, in advance.

I went to a Couchsurfing potluck gathering with my Quinoa Kale Salad a few days ago. Surprisingly, it was a hit. I was a bit afraid I would be the crazy vegan-esque person in the crowd, but I chose the salad because it is a complete meal and I usually count on not being able to eat anything at social function. Gluten-free is limiting after all. I got into a conversation with a lovely girl about quinoa and she suggested this recipe.

I was skeptical. I have soft-food texture issues. I mean, even the thought of oatmeal makes me want to start gagging. But I have a personal rule, try everything at least once. So I did, and I loved the results. Crunchy, nutty, slightly sweet. I have had to amend her suggested recipe since I can no longer eat almonds, but I think its just as good as hers would have been.

Breakfast Quinoa
1/4 cup quinoa
1/2 cup water
3-4 Tbsp coconut cream
2 tsp brown sugar
dash of salt
1-2 Tbsp dried cranberries
Toasted coconut or almonds, optional

Soak your quinoa for several minutes. Drain well. Bring 1/2 cup water to a boil and add the quinoa. Simmer for 15 minutes, covered, or until the water is absorbed. (Soaking for less than 5 minutes will increase the cooking time.)

Toast coconut or almonds in a pan while the quinoa cooks, if you are adding.

To the cooked quinoa, add the rest of the ingredients. Stir well and enjoy warm. This amount is for one person, but you can easily double or triple it. Reheats well.

I suppose you could add things like cinnamon, fresh fruits, or use almond or regular milk. My can of coconut milk was severely separated so what I scooped out was solid coconut cream. It just made for a thicker, richer porridge.

I use red quinoa. It's the only kind I have tried to date so I can't tell you the differences, just that I like it.

You could omit the brown sugar if you wanted or if you choose to use almond or sweetened  milk. I found that it bought out the flavour and made it more breakfast-y.