Blueberry Lavender Scones

 
Sunday mornings have always been sacred in our home.  It is our time to unwind and reconnect to all that is important.  A weekly moment to reclaim all that is happy in our lives.  

We take it slow... very slow.  Our morning usually starts with the pitter patter of little feet making their way to the "big bed".  We all snuggle in for a bit and happily give up our usual get-up-and-go routine.  Once we do decide to move on from the comfort of the bed, french pressed coffee is brewed and we begin to make breakfast with the tunes of Damien Rice, Rachael Yamagata, and Madeleine Peyroux playing in the background.  

Sometimes the morning calls for pancakes. Other times it is eggs, bacon and fresh fruit.  Some days is a new recipe that I have been brewing up in my head for a while. No matter what we make, I always have a little helper by my side.  A chair pushed up to the counter.  Messy measurements of ingredients dumped into a bowl.  Little fingers sneaking samples. Watching her smell and taste each ingredient like she has been doing this for decades.  My little sous chef is a natural. 

This Sunday morning has been inspired by the fresh blueberries of the season and the smell of dried culinary lavender that has been beckoning me for weeks.  My Sunday morning creations always seem to fit my current mood.  Today's mood is happy, bright and summery, but also a bit calm and introspective all at the same time.

Yes, I think Blueberry Lavender Scones will be perfect this Sunday morning.

Blueberry Lavender Scones

2-1/2 cups blanched almond flour

1 tbsp coconut flour

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 - 1/2 tsp dried lavender

1 egg

1/4 cup honey

1tsp apple cider vinegar (or lemon juice)

1 tbsp vanilla

1-2 splashes of milk (I use coconut milk)

1-2 tbsp of melted coconut oil

1/2 cup fresh blueberries

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Muddle or roughly chop the lavender.  Your goal with this is to release the aroma and flavor and create a little bit of lavender dust that will incorporate itself into the dough.  Just focus on breaking it up a bit.  It is perfectly okay to a mix of broken up and whole lavender buds.  

 

In a medium bowl, combine all the dry ingredients, including the lavender. Mix all the wet ingredients together in a separate bowl.  Pour the wet mixture into the dry and mix with a spatula until well incorporated.

Once the wet ingredients are all mixed together, slowly fold in the blueberries.  You want to be gentle with this so that you don't accidentally smash all the blueberries.

The mixture will be very wet.  Flour a clean work surface well.  Spoon the scone mixture onto your floured work space.  Sprinkle flour on top of the scone mixture.  Then, with your fingers, start pressing on the dough to form a disc that is between 3/4 to 1 inch thick.  Cut the disc into 8 triangles and place on a lined or greased baking sheet.  This process does not have to be exact.  Remember, scones are meant to be  a bit rustic looking.  Sometimes when I am feeling a bit indulgent, I cheat and sprinkle some vanilla sugar on the top of each scone just before putting them in the oven.

 

Bake 15-18 minutes or until the bottom edges are starting to brown.  Once done, let them cool a bit on the baking sheet.  Serve warm or at room temperature... either way, they are delicious.

 

Hope you are enjoying a happy, lazy Sunday morning.

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From My Kitchen: Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate chip cookies are one of life's most simple pleasures.  Comfort food at its finest.  So when I discovered that regular flour was a no go with my stomach, I really struggled with chocolate chip cookie cravings.

Since going gluten free, I have attempted many, many variations of chocolate chip cookies recipes.  Some have been epic failures.  Others were okay, but the rest of my family would never want to eat them.  Over the last year and a half, my quest for greatness has persevered.

My husband, the resident sweet tooth critic, has categorized my attempts into the following categories:

• So horrible that they immediately go in the trash
• Okay, but not good enough to serve to regular gluten-eating folks
• Fantastic and worthy of public consumption by friends and family

I am happy to report, that with this recipe, we have found a winner and have finally broken into that third category!!! I am so proud of this fact that I kind of want to list my success on my resume.  Not that chocolate chip cookies are really relevant to the ecommerce, but you never know.

Without further ado, I give you Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies (grain free)!

Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies

1/2 cup butter softened

1/4 cup coconut oil

3/4 cup brown sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 eggs

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt 

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp allspice

1/2 tsp nutmeg

3 cups of almond flour*

1-1/2 cups of chocolate chips*

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  In a medium bowl, mix together the almond flour, salt, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg and baking soda.   

In a separate bowl or stand mixer, cream the butter with the sugar.  Add the eggs and vanilla. 

Once the wet ingredients are all mixed together, slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients.  I usually just add 1 cup at a time.  Mix well so that everything is incorporated.  Once everything is mixed, gently fold in the chocolate chips.

Form the dough into tablespoon balls and place on a lined baking sheet at least 1 inch apart. Bake for about 13 minutes until the bottom edges start to get golden brown.  Once done, let the cookies completely cool on the baking sheet.

While these cookies are best enjoyed on the day they are baked, I do recommend that once baked you store them in a ziploc bag in the fridge.  For anything that I am not planning to eat that day or the next, I will freeze the pre-baked dough balls and just pull them out whenever a chocolate chip craving hits.  You better believe we are stocking up on these in the freezer for when baby girl comes! 

* NOTE: For the almond flour, I like using Honeyville Blanched Almond Flour.  I buy it online through Amazon and keep it in fridge.  For the chocolate chips, I really like Guittard semi-sweet or Enjoy Life.  Both of those companies do not process with peanuts or gluten.  Love that!

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So it's been a while...

So it's been a while since my last post.  Sorry about that.  Can we be friends again and just forget this ever happened?

To get us back on track, let me fill you in on the last few months.  Here are the highlights:

:: Our tribe is about to get a bit bigger.  We have another little one on the way.  Did I mention that I am 7-1/2 months pregnant?!! What?!?! (that 5 month hiatus is starting to make a little more sense, huh?)    This pregnancy has been a bit stressful at times, but we are in the home stretch and could not be more excited to meet our second little girl. I just have to survive this Texas heat.

:: This one has grown and grown and grown.  Quite the sassy one, she is.  But we can't help but love her to pieces.

:: We just got back from an amazing road trip to the beach.  I LOVE the ocean so much. I could go every day for the rest of my life and never tire of it.

So as you can see, life is good... really good. Now it is your turn.  How's life?

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Everyday life

Here are the highlights from this past week...

Cooking with my new bowl.  The pop of color makes me so happy on these gloomy days.

She is getting better and better each day!  She will be speed racing the neighborhood by summer.

apple skin chips

My new spice storage solution.  I have had this old soda bottle crate for years now and can't believe that I just now thought of this idea.

One morning we were all woken up at 5:30 in the morning by a sleet thunderstorm.  Not very often that we get to see white on the ground in these parts.

Almond Flour donuts - YUM - recipe will be posted soon.

Sometimes I feel that this little girl toy is always watching me.

A little Valentine's Day bling for the front door.

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Cinnamon Almond Flour Brownies

This past Thursday night, I was able to sneak away to the kitchen for quiet time to myself.  Amongst the normal nightly routines of bath time, laundry folding, paying bills, answering work emails, etc, etc - this was quite the luxury for me.  There just never seem to be enough hours in the day.  And these little "me" times are few and far between.

So while I pitter-pattered in the kitchen, I let my mind wander.  And where did it wander?  Well, to chocolate of course!  I have been craving brownies for about a month now.  But with this grain free and dairy free diet, a good brownie just has always seemed unattainable.  But that Thursday night, for whatever reason, I was extra determined to make it happen.

And I did make it happen.

Grain free and dairy free and delicious... this is like a baking unicorn in my world of dietary constraints.  I can not express to you the happiness that these little brown squares have brought to my life.  I finally have a good brownie dessert that is good enough even for those that are not forced to eat grain-free.  These brownies will now become a go-to dessert for special occasions or just the random Thursday that needs a little extra something to liven it up.

Cinnamon Almond Flour Brownies

3/4 cup almond flour

1/4 heaping tsp kosher salt

2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp allspice

3/4 c sugar

3 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 c butter

1/2 cup chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Mix together the almond flour, salt, cocoa powder, cinnamon, allspice, and baking powder.   In a separate bowl, melt the chocolate chips with the butter.  You can do this in microwave or on the stove top.  It does not make a difference.

While the chocolate is melting, in a different bowl, beat together the eggs, sugar, and vanilla.  Once the chocolate is melted, slowly pour the chocolate into the egg/sugar mixture while whisking.  NOTE: Don't pour too fast or you risk cooking the eggs on contact.

Once the chocolate and wet ingredients are all mixed together, they are ready to be added to the dry ingredients.  Mix well so that everything is incorporated and there are no lumps in the batter.

Pour the batter into an 8x8 greased pan. Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick poked into the center comes out clean.  Let the brownies cool before cutting.

NOTE: The first night that the brownies came out of the oven, they had a cake-like consistency.  Good, but cake-like is not my favorite.  However, one night in the fridge and they transformed themselves into the fudge-like brownie that I truly crave. In fact, I may or may not have eaten 4 for breakfast that morning. Please don't judge me.

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Italian Sausage & Butternut Squash Soup

This holiday season was the first time that I had to navigate through all of the delicious, traditional holiday food on this grain free and dairy free diet.  It was intimidating as I knew the difficulty in trying to eat at other people's houses, craving sweet treats that my stomach can no longer handle, and working to find new dishes that my family and I could eat that would be yummy and invoke the holiday spirit. 

I'll admit, this first year was definitely challenging.  I could have pushed someone off a sleigh just to nibble on a leg of a gingerbread man.  But I was strong.  No sleigh riders or gingerbread men were harmed.

But now that I am coming up on the end of this challenge, I am also feeling very proud of myself.  I came up with some fantastic recipes that are sure to become new holiday traditions.  I hope to share a few of those recipes over the next few weeks.  And I hope you like them as much as I did.

This first one will for sure become a fall/winter staple.  Inspired by a CSA butternut squash sitting on my counter and the contents of my freezer, this dish is hearty and delicious and completely grain and dairy free.  It is perfect as a side or featured as the main dish.

Italian Sausage & Butternut Squash Soup

1 large butternut squash

2 tbsp olive oil

1/2 tsp salt

pepper

1 large onion (chopped)

1/2 lb Italian sausage (casings removed)

6-8 garlic cloves

1 tbsp fresh chopped sage

6 cups of broth (turkey or chicken)

1tsp apple cider vinegar

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Peel the butternut squash, remove the seeds, and chop into 1inch cubes.  Lightly toss the cubes with 1tbsp of olive oil and the garlic cloves.  Season with salt and pepper and toss on to baking sheet.  Bake until you are able to easily pierce the squash with a fork - approximately 45 minutes.  I usually go in and toss the squash about half way through to keep it from sticking.

Once the squash is close to being done, in a very large saucepan over medium-high heat, add the remaining olive oil.  Once the pan is hot, add the sausage.  Cook until the sausage is cooked all the way through and is golden brown.  Add the onions and cook until they are translucent and begin to carmelize.  Add in the sage and any other herbs that sounds good and stir for about 1 minute.  Add the cooked squash and garlic as well as the broth.  For the broth, I prefer to use my homemade turkey broth for a little bit of extra flavor, but chicken stock will work just as well.  Stir well and increase the heat to bring it all to a boil.

Let it boil for about 30 seconds to a minute and then reduce the heat to a simmer.  Ideally, you want it to simmer for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.  But I will admit that on Christmas Eve with a house of hungry people, I only let it simmer for about 10 minutes and it still tasted delicious.

Once it is done simmering, pull out your trusty immersion blender (best kitchen appliance ever) and put on your apron (you will thank me for that reminder), puree the soup.  Then add in the apple cider vinegar and stir to combine.

Taste and adjust any seasonings as desired.

Don't be afraid to make a big batch of this soup as it also freezes really well.  I like to freeze it in individual portions and then I take it to work for lunch.

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Cheers to your health!

I would love to say that the past few weeks have been amazingly pleasant filled with holiday loveliness, productivity, and gaiety.  But due to the virus from hell that has mysteriously taken over every inch of this household and all of its inhabitants, that is just not the case.  We have all spent a considerable amount of time in our pjs, snuggled up in bed, with tissues mounding up all around us threatening to cave in at the next coughing episode.

But alas, our poor little bodies are beginning to mend and I feel that we are on the upswing.  I can see the end in sight where we will emerge fully rejuvenated and restored.  Here's hoping!

Until then, here are a few snapshots from the last few weeks.

Until next time, I wish you happiness and health as we approach the end of 2012.  Cheers!

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