Happy 19th Birthday to My Sweet Sister, Suriyah

Friday was my older sister, Suriyah's 19th birthday. It was a great day, ending with a party and cake :). Love you sis!

The cake: 2 layer vanilla cake with a filling of cake crumbs, cocoa powder and marshmallow fluff (homemade, recipe to come soon, Lord willing!), frosted with marshmallow fluff and dusted with cocoa powder.

~ Hanunyah

31 for 21: Pumpkin Sweets Recipe Round-Up

Hello, Fall! I know you got here on September 22, but I'm just getting up to date on things. I mean like, I just got a Facebook account. And I just started blogging on a regular basis again. I'm glad for 31 for 21, because it makes it so that I HAVE to blog everyday.

So to jump start the fall baking goodness, here are my favorite pumpkin recipes - and they're sweet ones, of course, 'cause that's how I roll. Hey, sugar is fun to play with! (and eat, unless you're like me and and don't eat it anyway . . . I make it for my family, including that sweet little boy I told you about a couple days ago. He has food allergies, so I make treats for him.)

Pumpkin Bread is a classic. This is a very good family recipe, moist and sweet. Let me tell you, tho, this recipe doesn't make pretty looking bread, but that doesn't matter really. I all goes the same way, right?
Pumpkin Buckle has some funky layer things going on here, but it bakes up to a hit with the family. It's a custard-like thing.
Pumpkin Butter would be good on pumpkin bread, or if you want just eat it with a spoon! Hey, guess what? It's a crockpot (slow cooker) recipe! Can't be much easier than that! Don't let any of that pumpkin go to waste.
Pumpkin Carrot Spice Muffins with Orange Glaze were some nice muffins. They turned out fluffy and stayed together even though they're made with mostly oat flour.
Pumpkin Impossible Pie is a crustless pie, that's what "impossible" means here. Whatcha do is add some flour to the pie batter, and bake to perfection! For that crunch, just add some nuts to the top.

Pumpkin Marshmallows are fluffy, sweet and spicy while being free of eggs, corn syrup and other allergens. Good for hot cocoa, toasting and fun!

Pumpkin Pudding for some spicy, thick and creamy goodness. Eat it warm or cold, in a bowl or a pie shell, for breakfast or dessert - your choice!
PumpkinSnap Cookies is what happened when I crossed gingersnaps and pumpkin. Crispy, crunchy, snappy bottom-of-a-glass spice cookies. These are not the typical soft pumpkin cookies.
Pumpkin Spice Fudge was nice and smooth. That's one you probably haven't hear of, huh? I probably should re-do that recipe, though, to see if I could eliminate the corn syrup.

Remember these recipes when the pumpkin goes on sale! All 9 of them - bread, buckle, butter, muffins, pie, marshmallows, pudding, cookies and fudge - have real pumpkin in them.

Alrighty, I hope you enjoyed reading this and I hope fall baking and creating is a success for you!

~ Hanunyah

31 for 21 is a blog challenge to raise Down Syndrome awareness 1 blog at a time. The challenge is to blog everyday the whole month of October (31 days) to raise awareness for Down Syndrome (aka Trisomy 21). This is the 6th Annual 31 for 31 Challenge.

Link Parties:
Gluten-Free Wednesdays @ The Gluten-Free Homemaker
Unwasted Homemaking @ Don't Waste Your Homemaking
Tempt My Tummy @ Blessed With Grace
Wheat-Free Wednesdays @ Anne-Marie Cain
Allergy-Free Wednesdays @ The Tasty Alternative & 6 other blogs
Gluten Free Fridays @ Vegetarian Mamma

Quiet

No recipe for you today, but I'm hoping to get my blog design finished soon. While my blog rests, I hope you enjoy the winter days and maybe make some chocolate fudge and marshmallows (hey, hot cocoa on a stick? ;) ).

~ Hanunyah

Thanksgiving Party

Just thought I'd post a few pictures of the thanksgiving party we had. It was a fun time with friends and family - singing, dancing, quizzes and of course, lots of food.

Something went wrong with this GAPS pumpkin pie that a friend made - it looked fine when it came out of the oven, but it became like this overnight. It still tasted great!! It was dense like a cheesecake.

~ Hanunyah

Chocolate Cherry Cream Cake

Today was my oldest sister's 23rd birthday (Happy B-day, Q!). See her work on her blogs - Got Down Syndrome, Hoppin' Herd of Hares and Country Girl Web Design)

Maybe not exactly pretty, but a nice mess.

With some cherries on hand and a instant pudding recipe I created yesterday (made in the Vita-Mix, with a surprise ingredient - yes, we are having fun with this "blender on steroids" ;) ), I made this cake today for her birthday. But after adding the second layer of moist oat flour chocolate cake - that crumbled, and I thought it was going to be a disaster. But, I poured some cherry sauce over the pudding mess and added the third layer of cake - it ended up holding together pretty well.

Moist chocolate cake oozing with puddin' and cherry sauce.

So, after all this turned out pretty good - very moist chocolate cake, vanilla pudding, cherries and toppings don't hurt ;). I decided against using frosting, and I think it was sweet enough without. You could go the frosting route, but I think it would be pretty rich - is that a bad thing? It just depends on what you're in the mood for ;). In other words, feel free to cover it in rich ganache, or just throw on some chocolate chips and cherries.

Chocolate Cherry Cream Cake (Gluten, Dairy, Corn-free)
Hanunyah Creation

3 11-inch round layers of oat flour chocolate cake (3 times the recipe)

Cream Filling:
1 3/4 cups cooked rice
1/4 cup sugar
1 to 2 tablespoons vanilla
3/4 to 1 cup water


Cherry Filling:
1 cup fresh or frozen cherries
1/4 cup water
3 tablespoons sugar

1. Combine all cream filling ingredients in the Vita-Mix. Blend on high for a couple minutes, adding enough water until smooth and desired consistency is reached. Cool.

2. In a small saucepan, combine all cherry filling ingredients over medium-high heat. Stir until it comes to a boil and is thick. Cool.

3. To assemble - place one cooled cake layer, bottom side up, on a large platter. Set aside. Pour the cream filling on top of the cake layer on the platter. Top with the second layer of cake. Spread the cherry filling over that. Place the remaining cake over that and top with frosting or whatever you want - chocolate chips, cherries, marshmallows, etc.

A sticky mess with some kind of weird gap in there . . . 

~ Hanunyah

Oat Flour Chocolate Cake

Oat flour chocolate cake with marshmallows and cranberries.

Oat flour has become our go-to flour (because there's not much rice flour left from the 50# bags). It's actually a pretty good flour (of course, be sure to use gluten-free oats if gluten-free). My sister, Suriyah, came across this chocolate cake recipe, using only oat flour, when searching for things to make with oat flour. If you have oats, you can make oat flour - just grind 'em up in a food processor, Vita-mix, blender, etc.

Oat flour chocolate cake with chocolate frosting.

This is an awesome recipe. The oat flour makes it very moist, it rises fairly well, and doesn't fall. So easy and versatile, too.

The recipe did use a teaspoon of cinnamon, but that is optional.  I typed up the basic recipe below.

Thanks, sis, for finding this great recipe!!

Oat Flour Chocolate Cake (Gluten, Dairy, Corn, Gum-free)
Adapted from Kitchen Therapy

3/4 cup oil
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup water or milk
6 tablespoons (1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon) cocoa powder
1 1/4 cups gluten-free oat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 eggs
1 teaspoon cinnamon, optional

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease two 8-inch round baking pans, one 9x13-inch pan or a Bundt pan.

2. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients and beat until smooth. A whisk works well. Pour batter into prepared pans or pan.

3. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool and remove from pans. Frost, if desired.

~ Hanunyah


P.S. I plan to do some kind of Thanksgiving post sometime soon . . . maybe a menu or something. We'll see how busy the next few days are (hopefully I'll be able to bake a little more than the last few crazy days).


P.P.S. We won a Vita-Mix!!! For FREE! Crazy, I know. So, you'll probably see some Vita-Mix recipes soon. Yay!


Linked to Just Something I Whipped Up by The Girl Creative, Motivate Me Monday by Keeping it Simple, Gluten-free Wednesdays by The Gluten-free Homemaker and Tuesdays at the Table by All the Small Stuff

Rocky Road Bars

Marshmallows, chocolate and nuts. Homemade marshmallows, chocolate chips and nuts are combined in my version here - I searched, combined some recipe ideas and came up with my own version.

And when was the last time you saw desserts in the middle of the road? (it was easy here, because our country road is not very active). But that's what I like - being unique. Whether it's celery 'n' PB cake or me weirdly taking pictures in the middle of the road - it's not a bad thing to stand out from the rest.

If you ever find yourself with extra marshmallows (not very likely in most cases), then make these bars. Or, if you don't have extra marshmallows, make some and then make these. Or, if you want, you may go with the store-bought variety, if your body doesn't take offense to it.

Rocky Road Bars (Gluten, Dairy, Corn, Gum-free)
Adapted from Cookie Madness and AllRecipes.com

2/3 cup sugar
3 tablespoons lard
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla (optional)
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup rice or other gluten-free flour
2 cups nuts, very finely chopped (I used walnuts and peanuts)
2 to 3 cups small marshmallows
1 1/2 cups safe chocolate chips, divided


1. Preheat oven to 350 degree F. Line an 9x13 inch pan with foil (optional, but would be easier) and spray it with cooking spray or grease with oil.


2. In medium bowl, beat together sugar and lard. Add egg and vanilla and beat until smooth. Add soda and salt until well mixed, then gently stir in flour and 1 cup of the nuts. The batter will not be like cookie dough.


3. Spread in prepared pan. Bake for 15-20 minutes. Meanwhile, melt 1 cup of the chocolate chips. When the crust is done, remove from oven and let cool a few minutes. Spread a thin layer of the melted chocolate on the crust. Sprinkle the marshmallows, remaining chocolate chips and then nuts over chocolate layer. (See note).


4. Chill until set, then cut into pieces.


Notes:
Be sure to sprinkle the nuts on last. I sprinkled them on first, and it made it so that the marshmallows didn't stick very well.

~ Hanunyah


Linked to Gluten-Free Wednesdays by The Gluten-Free Homemaker, Making the World Cuter Monday by Making the World Cuter and Just Something I Whipped Up by The Girl Creative

Basic, Simple Marshmallows

Homemade mini marshmallows ready to dress up rocky road bars ;) (come back in a day or so!!).

When we learned about our allergies, we realized how simple things can be. These marshmallows are an example. Made with 3 main ingredients, they are much simpler and easier without the corn syrup and preservatives found in most (if not all) marshmallows found in the store.

Plain marshmallows with cranberry marshmallows in the background.

Most people are amazed that marshmallows are very easy to make and only require 3 ingredients (besides the dusting mixture to make them not too sticky).

Why don't you guess what 3 ingredients? I told a friend the other day.
Since marshmallows are white and fluffy, someone said egg whites. Some recipes do call for egg whites, but they are not needed.
Milk? No. Keep guessing.
Sugar? Of course (I know you can make marshmallows without sugar, but that's something else).
Water? Yes.
And gelatin. That one was hard for them to guess. It makes sense, though . . . marshmallows are like fluffy, white jell-o, kind of. That can be toasted over a campfire . . . for a sticky, goo-ey, sweet mess.

Now that's the marshmallow I'm talking about here. But they're better than the store-bought variety (taste-wise). One of my taste-testers (one of my sisters) said that they taste more "real" than store-bought - not fake, but good, homemade candy. Made with real sugar. Not that liquid that some now call "corn sugar".

Basic, Simple Marshmallows (Gluten, Dairy, Corn, Egg, Gum-free)
Adapted from Pumpkin Marshmallows

3 (.25 ounce) unflavored gelatin
2 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup cold water, divided
1/4 cup arrowroot powder
1/4 cup corn-free powdered sugar

1. Uniformly grease a 9x13 inch pan. Pour the 1/2 cup cold water into the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle the gelatin on top; set aside for 8 to 10 minutes.


2. Meanwhile, combine the sugar and water in a saucepan. Stirring constantly, bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Continue to cook, without stirring, until mixture reaches 250 degrees F on a candy thermometer, or until a small amount of syrup dropped into cold water forms a rigid ball.

3. Attach the mixing bowl to the stand mixer with the wire whip attachment and start the mixer on low speed. Carefully and slowly pour the boiling sugar syrup in a steady stream over the gelatin mixture. Increase the mixer to medium-high speed and mix until very thick, shiny, and white in color, about 5 to 12 minutes. When done, the mixture should form a more-or-less continuous ribbon off the spatula into the bowl. Scrape down the sides of the bowl occasionally using a rubber spatula.

4. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan in an even depth. Let the mixture set at room temperature for at least 8 hours or overnight.

5. Sift the cornstarch and confectioners' sugar into a pie plate or shallow bowl. When the marshmallows have set, turn them onto a work surface and cut them into squares or shapes as desired. You may make several cups worth of mini marshmallows for recipes, or bigger marshmallows for toasting, s'mores, make shapes matching the occasion, etc. Roll each marshmallow in the sugar mixture to coat all sides. Marshmallows are best served fresh, but they can be stored in an airtight container (unrefrigerated) for about a week or in the freezer for a month. If you store the marshmallows, re-roll them in the cocoa mixture before serving.

~ Hanunyah


Linked to Motivate Me Monday by Keeping it Simple, Made By You Mondays by Skip To My Lou, Shindig Saturday by Kims Kandy Kreations and Weekend Wrap-up by Tatertots and Jello

Instant Oatmeal Packets

~ This is my 100th post on this blog! ~

This is a good substitute for the packets in the store. To be sure this is gluten-free, use gluten-free oats and read the labels of the variations you use.

Instant Oatmeal Packets (Gluten-free, and Dairy-free if not using some of the variations below)
From: The Dollar Stretcher Family


3 cups quick oats
salt (optional)
small sized zip bags



Put 1/2 cup oats in a blender and blend on high until powdery. Set aside in a small bowl, and repeat procedure with an additional 1/2 cup oats. If you're using a food processor, you can do the 1 cup of oats in one batch. Put the following ingredients into each zip bag: 1/4 cup quick oats, 2 Tbsp. powdered oats (or oat flour), and 1/8 tsp. salt. Store in an airtight container.


~ To serve: Empty packet into a bowl. Add 3/4 cup boiling water. Stir and let stand for 2 minutes. For thicker oatmeal, use less water - for thinner oatmeal, use more water. ~

Variations:

Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal: To each packet add 1 Tbsp. sugar, 1/4 tsp. cinnamon, and 2 Tbsp. chopped dried apples.
Sweetened Oatmeal: To each packet add 1 Tbsp. sugar or 1 packet 'Equal' artificial sweetener.
Brown Sugar/Cinnamon Oatmeal: To each packet add 1 Tbsp. brown sugar & 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
Oatmeal w/ Raisins & Brown Sugar: To each packet add 1 Tbsp. packed brown sugar and 1 Tbsp. raisins.
Fruit and Cream Oatmeal: To each packet add 1 Tbsp. non-dairy coffee creamer and 2 Tbsp. dried fruit
Fun Fruit Oatmeal: To each packet add 6 or 7 pieces of 'fruit snack' type dehydrated fruit.
Confetti Oatmeal: To each packet add 1 tsp. decorative cake/cookie sprinkles.
S'More Oatmeal: 

To each packet 

add 6 miniature marshmallows and 1 Tbsp. chocolate chips.

Exploding Oatmeal: 

To each packet 

add 1 tsp. sugar, and 1/2 tsp. 'Pop Rocks' candy to each packet. This one is fun for celebration days, such as birthdays.

Update - July 27, 2011: Here is what I have come up with the last 2 times I made this. I may add more if I make up more.

~ My Variations ~

These are flavors I've come up with. Since it is eaten up so fast, I mix it in a big bowl and put it back in the oatmeal container. My brothers and sisters like it in cold milk, so they just scoop out what they want out of the container.

Seeds and Spices Oatmeal: Add poppy seeds, flaxseeds, a little nutmeg, a little ginger, and cinnamon. I made up this flavor and my sister who has been eating my Instant Oatmeal for breakfast every morning said it was really good. She likes this one better than the Maple Nut/Brown Sugar Cinnamon flavor I made today (below).

Maple Nut/Brown Sugar Cinnamon: Add brown sugar, cinnamon, finely ground walnuts and maple extract. I can't taste this since I'm on the GAPS diet, but it smells really good!

~ Hanunyah

Link Parties:
Gluten-Free Wednesdays @ The Gluten-Free Homemaker
Food on Friday @ Carole's Chatter

Chocolate Marshmallow Bars

These were yummy and easy, and didn't take very long to make.

Chocolate Marshmallow Bars (Gluten-free, Corn-free, Dairy-free)

Crust:

3/4 cup lard

3/4 cup corn-free powdered sugar

1 1/2 cups gluten-free flour

Chocolate Filling:

1 cup corn-free powdered sugar

1/4 cup cocoa

1-3 tablespoons water

Marshmallow Topping:

3 egg whites

3/4 cup granulated sugar

shredded coconut (optional)

Preheat oven to 

350ºF.

In bowl, cream lard and 3/4 cup powdered sugar until light. Blend in flour. Press evenly over bottom of a greased 9 x 13 inch pan. Bake for 12 -16 minutes, until set. 

Meanwhile, 

beat egg whites until foamy. Continue to beat, adding granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time until egg whites form soft peaks and are glossy.

 Combine all ingredients for the filling, and spread over hot baked crust. Spread egg mixture over chocolate filling layer. Sprinkle with coconut, if desired. Bake at 350

ºF

 degrees (just watch them; the recipe didn't say how long, but if I make them again, I'll time it and update this, Lord willing). Cool and cut into bars.

~ Hanunyah

Fluffy Uncooked Marshmallows

These are basic, easy uncooked marshmallows. I got the recipe from my Wilton candy book. I only had to beat them 9 minutes at the highest speed of the stand mixer. The mixture was stiff and hard to spread in the pan, but I think I let the gelatin/water mixture sit a little too long. I didn't tumble them in the cornstarch/pwd. sugar mixture because I thought we didn't have cornstarch and they were getting eaten up anyway :-). I used a 8x8 pan and sprayed it with Criso.

Fluffy Uncooked Marshmallows

2 Tbsp unflavored gelatin
1/3 cup cold water
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup corn syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup confectioners' (powdered) sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch

Prepare an 8x8" pan.
1. Combine gelatin and cold water in the top pan of a double boiler. Let stand 5 minutes or until gelatin is firm. Bring water in lower pan to a simmer, set top pan in position and stir until clear and syrupy. Add sugar and stir until sugar crystals are dissolved.

2. Pour gelatin mixture into large mixer bowl. Add corn syrup and flavoring, then beat at highest speed of mixer. Test after twelve minutes. If mixture is very light and fluffy and ribbons dropped from beaters hold their shape on the surface of mixture, candy is finished. Remove from bowl with a rubber scraper and spread unto prepared pan. Swirl from center to edge of pan to level. Refrigerate overnight.

3. Next morning, blend cornstarch and confectioners' sugar and sift onto a cookie sheet with 1" sides. Loosen sides of marshmallow with a small spatula dipped in cold water. Invert onto cookie sheet. Heap cornstarch mixture over surface of marshmallow. Remove to cutting board and cut into long 1" wide strips with a serrated knife dipped in cold water. Tumble strips in cornstarch mixture, then cut each into 1" squares with scissors dipped in cold water. Tumble squares in cornstarch mixture and allow to dry on cookie sheet. After about an hour, tumble squares once more and dry. Brush with a clean dry pastry brush. Store in a tightly closed container for as long as three weeks at room temperature. Yield: 64