Gluten Free, Old School No Bake Nut Butter and Oat Cookies

Gluten Free, No Bake Nut Butter and Oat Cookies, originally uploaded by Kate Chan.

So I picked up a copy of an old cookbook that I have from “Up North” (You, Minnesotans know what I’m talking about…). I started to check out the index as I have just picked up these delicious blueberries that Zoe is crazy about. I thought I would see what things I might make with them and since there were always blueberry-somethings around when I was a kid – I thought this “Up North” book would do the trick.

Ay. Ay. Ay. Seriously. AY.

I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but it seems to me that cookbooks have certainly taken a turn for the better – as have the eating habits of most of the people I know. The cookbook I browsed has some great brunch recipes, but it is sadly lacking in any real fruit/vegetable entries. Those are mainly left to the canned, candied or pickled. The “Blueberry Salad” recipe that I spied in the index and thought “Mmmm.. that sounds good!” turned out to be a no-fruit jello + cream cheese + cool whip concoction that made me a tad…. well… ill. It rather grossed me out, to be honest. I thought at LEAST they could have thrown me a bone and whipped in some fresh blueberries in the end, right? RIGHT? Nope. None.

So, I gave up on the index. The recipe titles didn’t seem to help me as much as the actual ingredients list.

I found the cookie section to be a blast from the past too. OH! The sugar! Oh, for the love of all things SUGAR! Man, happy memories!

Since we were headed to a friends’ house for a BBQ and he is from the Midwest too, I thought I would make him a treat from his good old days too. So here is the “old school” recipe for this cookies. I made an updated, sugar-free, peanut-free cookie that roughly mimics these – only better – and I’ll post that recipe later this week.

For now… enjoy the Old School version. Just don’t tell your dentist where ya got the recipe, k? (And if I were making these all over again? I would cut the sugar back to 2/3 cup instead…. just a word of advice. LOL)

REMEMBER: To make this a gluten-free recipe, be sure to use all gluten free ingredients – including certified gluten-free oats.

This recipe is quick and easy to prepare.  It took me all of 15 minutes to have the cookies on the counter cooling.  Perfect for cooking with toddlers underfoot!

You can find a printable copy of this recipe here.

Gluten-Free, Old School, No Bake Nut Butter and Oat Cookies
Makes two dozen drop cookies
Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
3 1/2 tablespoons butter
4 Tablespoons milk
1 1/2 cups gluten free rolled oats
1/3 cup nut butter (I used peanut butter in these)
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/3 cup crushed walnuts
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Put oats, nut butter, cinnamon and walnuts in a heat resistant medium bowl. Set aside.
2. Put butter, milk and sugar into a small saucepan. Melt together over medium-high heat while stirring frequently to avoid burning the sugar. Once the ingredients are all melted, bring to a boil and allow to boil for one minute.
3. Pour the boiling liquids over the oat mixture.
4. Add the vanilla extract.
5. Stir very well. Make sure all of the oats, etc have been coated evenly.
6. Set aside for 5 minutes to allow to cool slightly.
7. Drop by the tablespoon on to parchment paper and allow to cool completely. The cookies will dry and set within 30 minutes or so, depending on your house temperature.
8. Store in an airtight container, or eat off the counter with reckless abandon for your dental health.

Happy Cookies!
-Kate

Setting up for success

  Setting up for success, originally uploaded by Kate Chan.

 

So, I’ve been trying to find my way back in to the kitchen. I really miss baking and exploring what I can make with different things. However, having an active toddler roam – or rather – speed around makes it difficult to have sustained dedicated cooking or baking time. I’m learning a few tricks that have been working for me.

I can usually get things set up or baking while she naps – WHEN she naps. If she wakes earlier than I had thought, I plunk her in to her high chair for a snack of fresh fruit and rice crackers. However, there are many an afternoon when the nap just doesn’t happen like mama wants/hopes… or maybe even Mama is napping with Baby Lightening too. On those occasions, I’m finding that my organization is what is being put to the test. Here’s what helps *me* keep on top a bit better now that I have two whole months of Mommy-dom under my belt:

• Use small containers to keep ready-to-go mixes for everyday things like the GF Lavash/Sandwich wrap that we make for everything from pizza, sandwiches, toast, pita dips, pretzels, etc.

• Have a plan. Okay, I tried my stab at Meal Planning. It works GREAT when I *have* to have a plan (like when 8 relatives were here for two weeks from Chicago with us!). However, since I’m not good at keeping up with meal planning on a weekly basis, I’ve decided that I’m a 2 or 3 day planner at max. I have on hand things that I can make in to a planned meal. That way, when I have some extra time, I can just prep something for dinner. (Our goal is to eat together as a family every night. So far, the Chicklet sometimes eats while we are prepping our dinner and then “sits” with us (read: sits on our laps) while we eat. I like it much better when we all eat together. I’m sure this will be easier when she is eating 100% of what we are eating, but so far, she eats about 65-70% of what we eat.)

• Use the kitchen conveniences that I have! And use them wisely and when I can. For example: the rice cooker. If we are going to eat rice with dinner, I can easily start it at the end of her nap and have it stay warm until dinner time. This is definitely a HUGE convenience and time saver.  (And now I’m making quinoa in it for lunch salads.  Any leftovers are just eaten at dinner or lunch the next day.  Piece of cake!)

• The crock pot: Well… it’s not getting the work out it should be. I definitely regretted not taking it out yesterday when our house reached 89F inside. I could have easily made our pasta dinner in it without heating up the house further. Let’s just say this: the crock pot is now out and ready to go.  And so are all of the fans (well barracaded so the imp doesn’t lose her fingers).  See here:

Other things that we are doing are not necessarily related to cooking in the moment. But more about how we are spending the money to be more frugal and economical. By taking three months without pay, our life is definitely on the tight-budget until my next “real” paycheck after I return to work in September. This means that when it comes to gluten free eating, we are sticking to what we know works (fresh foods, on sale, homemade, etc) and buying those things that are just too time consuming to make with a new baby in the house.

Instead of making our own pastas, we are shopping at G.F. Joe’s to meet our needs.   Being lucky enough to live near a gluten-free market, I can find somethings that are really time consuming to make – like pasta.  While the dough is a no-brainer, extruding spaghetti is a tad more time than I have at the moment.  However, I am still making my own rice balls and pasta for wide noodle soups.  That’s easy.  It’s just been too stinking hot for me to think about eating soup!  (And a side note:  OH… I *love* Joe’s!   He even had gluten-free ice cream sandwiches the other day. And they are SO GOOD! All organic too… even the gluten eater in the house liked them. While not the same kind of cakey-sandwich I adored as a child, these were a great treat for all in the hot weather.  I’ll post more once I ummm..taste-test again and make sure they are available on a wider market.)

Now, dear readers… here comes my appeal: WHAT am I missing? What MORE can I do to ensure my family eating healthy, wholesome, gluten free goodies together while on a budget and with little or no time to prep?

Got an idea? I could sure use the inspiration! Please share in the comments section. I promise, while I might not be able to answer everyone’s comments or emails lately – I am still reading them!

Thanks for the tips!
~Kate

I’m going to head to the park to find some more ideas.  It’s just much more fun that sitting around a hot house, that’s for sure!  I have a little voice here that agrees with me on that vote too.  :D

Gluten Free Quinoa Salad

 

Gluten Free Quinoa Salad, originally uploaded by Kate Chan.

 

Some days are pure magic.

MAGICAL MOMENT #1:   Nature and The Chicklet
Like when the sun shines and the breeze kicks up just enough to blow her little pixie hair bangs about her forward… just enough to make her throw her little hands in the air and chuckle with her smoky -I-need-a-nap giggle. Just magic. These are the moments that I thought we would never experience, to be honest. The little ones – even the ones when she is wearing so much more than she actually put IN to her mouth. These little moments are the ones we longed for all these years.. and maybe that is what we all long for endlessly: time to be and enjoy.

MAGICAL MOMENT #2: My Love… Always Magical to Me
Having Zoe here is certainly making me readjust my schedule. I love it. but to be honest, I miss baking and cooking more than I thought I would. Last night I practically BEGGED my husband NOT to cook and clean everything. (Can you believe this… I was truly BEGGING for him NOT to pitch in like this? Yes.. I married a dream boat!). Alas, the little imp was restless and I had play duty. Cooking was definitely all him but at least I got to request my favorite grilled chicken with corn on the cob. I even had him grill a little extra chicken so my lunch would be less “grab-whatever-is-there-NOW” and more healthy and planned.

Well, I shouldn’t say more healthy. I eat great. Being a gluten-free Mom certainly has it’s advantages and disadvantages. NOT being able to grab something to eat through a drive-through is BOTH. It’s much healthier for my body that I can’t but it *IS* hard when I forget to pack something for *me* to eat during the day. I’m great at packing things for the Chicklet… but me? Yea. I often don’t think that I will get very hungry. Three days ago, however, I found myself with a serious urge to start eating my own elbow. Oh, buggers, was I wickedly hungry!

MAGICAL MOMENT #3:   A Miracle… of sorts
Since that was hardly a possibility, I munched on a pack of sweetened Korean rice crackers that I miraculously stowed in my purse one day for the Chicklet but she didn’t want/need them. (Let’s hear it for not having time to clean out your purse!) While I munched, I plotted: how to get back cooking and baking again. And my first step: begging… failed. But the second? Having my Love grill a little extra so I had easy lunch fixings? A snap!

MAGICAL MOMENT #4:  Discovery
My other little learning curve happy-factor was figuring out that I could use my rice cooker to make quinoa! Hooray! Although my husband is Chinese, he has never seen the “need” for a rice cooker. No one is his family has one – they all just have a dedicated pot to cooking rice. And they are right. It’s not a *need*, but DANG, it is SO helpful when I can’t stand in the kitchen to watch a simmering pot because there is a little more action taking place in the living room with the kid. My Love has even declared our gift to ourselves this winter of a rice cooker as a good call now that the little girl is here. He, too, has no desire to stand around a pot when we can be playing with her!

A couple little tips for you rice-cooker owners, however, about cooking quinoa in your rice cooker are as follows:

• Use the measuring cups that come with your cooker if you want precision, otherwise just be sure to measure the quinoa and don’t eyeball it until you get a hang of it.
• Wash and rub your quinoa grains together *WELL* in a fine mesh sieve before draining and adding to your cooker. NOT washing quinoa makes for a very bitter bite.
• Add enough water to meet the “white rice” or “regular rice” settings on your cooker.
• Cook on the “White Rice” or “Regular Rice” setting.
• Don’t leave the quinoa to stay warm in the cooker for longer than 90 minutes or so. The smaller grained quinoa will continue to cook and can burn in your cooker if you do.

What veggies do you have in your fridge that need to be eaten? That’s what you could use in this salad. OH, it so hit the spot today. It was lovely to have a *lunch* and not to try to munch something – ANYTHING – over the kitchen sink while the little one meanders about foot.

MAGICAL MOMENT #5:  Left Overs can be Magical too!
Use up your leftover veggies and grilled meats. Or use some tofu instead to make it vegetarian. Try olive oil instead of butter to make it casein free. Whatever you do, munch on, people! It’s summer! There are magical moments that require our keen eyes, healthy bodies and joyous hearts!

Ohh yea…. Quinoa Salad Magic! I hope you try it too!

Gluten Free Quinoa Salad
Everything but the kitchen sink or the baby.
Serves 2.5 for lunch
You can find a printable copy of this “recipe” here.

Ingredients:
2 mini-cucumbers, cut into fourths then cut diagonally OR one half of an English cucumber (seedless) prepared the same
1 small tomato, roughly chopped
1 cooked/grilled chicken breast, chopped
3 Tablespoons roasted red peppers, roughly chopped
6 – 8 black or green olives, pitted and roughly chopped
2 large handfuls of baby spinach, sautéd in a little olive oil with garlic (1 teaspoon minced garlic)
1 teaspoon minced garlic (for the spinach)
1 cup quinoa -washed and prepared following your “white rice/regular” setting on your rice cooker or as you prefer
salt/pepper to taste
DRESSING:
3 1/2 Tablespoons butter, melted
zest from one small lemon
juice from said small lemon + 2-3 teaspoons lemon juice to taste
2 teaspoons agave nectar (or honey, if you prefer)

Directions:
1. Prepare your quinoa as you prefer or with your rice cooker as following: Wash one cup of quinoa thoroughly. Rub together the quinoa while cool water runs over it in a fine mesh sieve. Put into your rice cooker and add water for one cup as though it were white/regular rice. Set your rice cooker to cook as though it were white/regular rice as well. Remove the quinoa from the rice cooker within an hour of it being done. Unlike rice, the rice cooker will continue to cook the quinoa (the grains are smaller) and it will eventually burn if left too long. Pour prepared quinoa into a medium/large salad serving bowl. Set aside.
2. Once the quinoa is prepared (or your daughter is down for a nap and the quinoa is done already), quickly sauté your two handfuls of spinach in a drizzle of olive oil. Add 1 – 2 teaspoons minced garlic to the sauté. Remove from heat and put prepared spinach into the salad bowl.
3. Clean and roughly chop the following ingredients: mini cucumbers, small tomato, roasted red pepper, cooked/grilled chicken breast, and the olives. Place chopped ingredients into the salad bowl.
4. PREPARE the DRESSING: Melt the butter. Zest the small lemon into the melted butter. Squeeze lemon juice into butter. Taste. If you would prefer, add a bit more lemon juice (we add about 2 teaspoons more). Add agave nectar (or honey, if you prefer) and whisk together.
5. Pour dressing over the quinoa and chopped vegetables and toss. Add salt/pepper to taste.

Enjoy!
-Kate

Happy 1st Birthday/Tol, Baby!

Happy 1st Birthday/Tol, Baby!, originally uploaded by Kate Chan.

Don’t you love the look on her face?
She’s watching a bird fly overhead.
(She’s wearing the hanbok sent with her from her Korean foster mother.)

We spent this Saturday with family celebrating birthdays. Both Zoe and her cousin, J, were born on May 16 – 12 years apart. We celebrated her first birthday with a Tol Party. We had a few friends and family over for a mid-day barbeque. it was great fun. Even the birthday girl laughed her way through the three hour party until she finally sat still and decided maybe she did, indeed, want to take a nap. (Although it was only a 30 minute one much to my chagrin. *I* was tired and we had not only the clean up but then our nephews party that night too!)

We had a gluten-free affair (minus the cake which we got at the Korean bakery). We served jap chae (Korean sweet potato starch noodles) that I made (thus gluten-free), kal bi (Korean BBQ Short Ribs), Korean chicken wings, kim chi (2 varieties – one spicy radish and the other a cool kelp noodle salad), fresh fruit (strawberries, pears, oranges, mandarins, apples, etc) and plenty of rice cakes (about 12 different varieties).

For Zoe’s toljabee (a ceremony where the child is escorted about a table by their father to select two items that represent their future), she chose a plastic knife which means she will be a warrior (think modern day courageous person) and a good chef. She also chose the money (indicating wealth). My husband was a tad disappointed. He had stacked the odds in hopes that she would select something to indicate that she would be a scholar by placing not only a book (although, I later pointed out that he had used my Moleskin sketchbook which would mean that she would become an artist…LOL) but he also placed a ruler on the table (mathematics/science/architecture, etc) as well. While the ceremony was fun, we both know that we just want her to be happy, healthy and whole.

Some people think that I was sad to not have a bite of her birthday cake, but really, I didn’t want it nor do I need it. I’m happy to report that since starting my mindful eating and joining the gym, I’ve dropped two pant sizes. Not too shabby, but I’m not stopping here. My intent is to live a healthier, fuller, more active life. Weight loss, while fabulous and totally necessary for me, is the secondary objective. Having a long life with Zoe during which we can have a million adventures is my primary goal. Next year, I hope to be able to run a 5K. I don’t quite know how I shall train for it with a baby in tow, but I’ll figure something out. If I can’t run it, then she and I will definitely walk it together. We could probably walk that 5k this year… hmm… maybe I will have to figure out the running part. Any tips, people? All ideas welcome!

We hope you are all having a wonderful mid-May and finding ways to celebrate yourselves and each day as well. Seek out an adventure – cook something new! What are your taste buds craving?

Right now… I think I’ll make some three bean salad and chomp on some mini-cucumbers with homemade garlic hummus. Life is good. Don’t you think?

Happy Gluten-Free Life and Adventures, everyone!
-Kate