2020 - Social Distancing Staying Home Wearing a Mask

 The past months have been sad, stressful, yet enlightening. 

I never thought about anything as simple as a virus or bacterium causing the entire world to close down businesses, schools, places of worship or even public transportation.

Terrorist attacks have happened that caused much stress to so many people, yet we moved on with living

Severe weather events have caused death and destruction; again we have picked up and survived with what was left.

This virus is not truly understood. So much misinformation was provided early on from heads of state that many people still do not believe they can get it or if they do, it will be just like the usual seasonal flu.  I don't want to get the seasonal flu, much less Covid 19.

Whether you believe it's a hoax or a death sentence.....PLEASE WEAR A MASK  to prevent enhaling the virus or passing it on to someone else, if you have Covid.  Reports are the there are asymptomatic cases.

Orange Scented Double Dark Chocolate Cookies - Egg, Dairy and Gluten-free

NFCA (National Foundation for Celiac Awareness) posted a Spring Gluten-Free Recipe Contest using products from  GlutenFreeChoices.com.   Since I already use so many of their products, decided to enter, with no inkling that I would win.  I love creating recipes as a challenge to keep me ‘entertained’. 

I am honored to have been chosen a winner! I was surprised at the size of the gift package, so it was donated, as I did not need any additional products.  I did learn about which products GlutenFreeChoices and Hain Celestial provide and will continue to buy their products.

I love dark chocolate and I love baking. This is a slightly crunchy dark chocolate cookie with a slightly soft center. The orange flavor complements the dark chocolate. Reduced calorie sweetener and less chips were used to allow those limiting calories to enjoy a delicious chocolate cookie. This cookie can be made with all sugar and topped with additional chocolate chips, of course, the nutrients will change.

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Orange Scented Double Dark Chocolate Cookies - Egg, Dairy & Gluten free   
 
Rather than repeating the recipe here - download the ebook; it’s free! -
Ingredient list  ---Download original recipe  The recipe is no longer on the website. I have added it below

After you have gathered all of your ingredients, below are the detailed procedures

Food processor - Dry Ingredients

6 tbsp Arrowhead Mills Organic Millet Flour
1/4 cup Arrowhead Mills Organic Buckwheat Flour
1/4 cup Arrowhead Mills Organic Oat Flour
2 oz natural almonds (about1/3 cup)
3 oz unsweetened baking chocolate (82%)
1/2 tsp vanilla powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp Hain Featherweight Baking Powder
3/4 cup granulated Stevia
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup coconut palm sugar

Wet Ingredients

--Fats and Flavoring --
3 tbsp butter, room temperature
1/4 tsp orange oil or 1 tsp orange extract
-- Flax Gel (2 eggs) --
2 Tbsp ground flaxseed meal
1/2 cup water
Garnish
72 chips Chocolate chips(3 per cookie) used Chocolate Dream Baking Chips 90g)

Procedure

 

Pulse all “Food processor - Dry Ingredients” until finely ground.  Set aside.

 

 

 

82% cacao baking chocolate, placed in freezer, will turn white because of the fat in it.  That does not affect the quality of the chocolate.

 

Prepare the “Flax Gel (2 eggs)” in a tall cup or deep micro-waveable bowl as it will bubble up.  Microwave for 2 minutes on high, scrape down the container and then microwave 1 minute.  Scrape the gel into a large mixing bowl, allow cooling, and then beat until fluffy. 

 Be careful with the microwave container as it may be hot.  The flax gel will be hot coming out of the microwave, so place protection under it if it is placed on a counter that is not heat safe.

 

 

 

 Add the butter and continue beating.  Beat in orange oil or extract.

 

 

beat in the brown sugar, if it was not added to the food processor

 

 

 

Beat in the ingredients from the food processor until thoroughly mixed.

 

 

 

Scrape down the beaters. Scrape the dough into a smaller bowl, refrigerate about 1/2 hour, as the dough is a little sticky. It does not have to be refrigerated, but it will be easier to shape, when chilled.

Divide the dough into 24 portions.

 

 

  Flatten and shape to about 2 inches wide on a parchment paper covered baking sheet. 

Push one large chocolate chip or 3 smaller ones into the top of each. 

 

This is a picture of larger chips, but put 3 anyway

 

Bake in pre-heated 350F oven for about 10 minutes. 

 

Remove from oven; carefully transfer using a lifter onto wire rack to cool.

After completely cooling, cookies can be stacked together.  Store in a cool area or refrigerate in a lidded container

 

 

 

 

Makes 24 cookies

 

Nutrition (as prepared): 88 calories, 5.3g total fat, 1.7g monounsaturated fat, <1g polyunsaturated fat, 0g trans fatty acids, <1g trans-monoenoic fatty acids, <1g trans-polyenoic fatty acids, <1g linoleic acid, <1g alpha linolenic acid, 2.5g saturated fat, 3.8mg cholesterol, 30.3mg sodium, 21.3mg calcium, 69.8mg potassium, 2.9mcg folate, 30.3mg phosphorus, <1mg phytosterols, <1mcg lycopene, <1mcg selenium, <1mg thiamin, 0mcg vitamin b12, <1mg vitamin b6, 0mg vitamin c, 0IU vitamin d, <1mg zinc, 10.4g carbohydrates, 1.6g fiber, 8.8g net carbohydrates, 6.1g sugar, <1g fructose, <1g galactose, <1g glucose, 0g lactose, <1g maltose, 3g sucrose, 0g sugar alcohols, 1.4mg stigmasterol, 1.6g protein, 2.8mg caffeine.

 

Tips

Substitutions  for each ingredient item that has been tested successfully

Oat flour:  teff flour

Coconut palm sugar:  Brown sugar

Granulated stevia:  Granulated sugar : sucralose

 

• You will know the cookies are ready to come out of the oven when they start to deflate. They will rise a bit and about 9 minutes will begin to deflate.
• If you do not have orange oil, I suggest using 1 tsp orange extract plus 1 tsp orange zest to get the noticeable orange taste.
• The flax gel gives the cookie a softer center.
• This recipe has not been made without the almonds or with  eggs.
• It is not recommended that all non-caloric sweetener be used, as additional liquid would need to be added or the cookie would be a bit dry.

 

 

 

 

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Of course, I couldn’t afford calorie wise to eat all of those cookies, so I will be sharing some.

  2013 Gluten-Free Choices Spring/Summer eCookbook

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© 2013 http://retiredwithnoregrets.blogspot.com/

Chocolate-Infused Cupcakes - Gluten Free 2017

I love chocolate cupcakes/muffins.  Mine always are muffins, because I like the heavier ones. Light and airy isn’t for me.

I am looking at the ingredients I use more now than before, because I need to limit carbs.  But I am not giving sweets up entirely, so I will make the best ones that I can. Although the coloring is different, but the chocolate taste is definitely noticed.

SCHARFFEN BERGER  70%  to 82% Cacao Baking bars for baking are my preference over  chips. It’s that intense chocolate taste that I love.

A time saver is to mix brown sugar with regular cane and coconut sugar in equal parts to keep either from clumping.  It actually eliminates the need to measure when making cookies or cupcakes.


Chocolate-Infused Cupcakes - Gluten Free 2017

Dry Ingredients
1/4 cup natural almond flour
1/4 cup blanched almond meal/flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup Quinoa  flour
1/4 cup powdered milk
1 tsp xanthan gum
3/4 tsp baking powder (aluminum free)
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp Authentic Foods Vanilla Powder
2 oz. shaved, chopped finely, Scharffen Berger chocolate


Wet Ingredients
5 tbsp butter with canola oil
2 tbsp Pyure stevia  (granulated)
1/4 cup sugar mix(equal parts brown, white and coconut)
2 large  eggs
1/4 cup water


Add In
1/4 cup mini chocolate chips, optional

Procedures

1. Whisk all of the Dry Ingredients together, set aside

2. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line  muffin cups with paper liners.

3. Beat  egg, butter and sweeteners in a medium-sized mixing bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until combined. Beat in Dry Ingredients until well combined.

4. Fold in chocolate chips. Divide the batter among the prepared cups (they will be full).

5. Bake the cupcakes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 22 to 25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.

 

Servings: 8

Nutrition (per serving): 261 calories, 16.1g total fat, 7.9g monounsaturated fat, 3.4g polyunsaturated fat, 4.3g saturated fat, 47.1mg cholesterol, 117.6mg sodium, 42.5mg potassium, <1mg iron, 49.1mg calcium, <1g glutamic acid, <1g lysine, 7.2mcg folate, 22.6g carbohydrates, 3.2g fiber, 19.4g net carbohydrates, 12.6g sugar, 5.9g protein, 3.3mg caffeine.

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  © www.retiredwithnoregrets.blogspot.com/

 

Vegan Gluten Free Avocado Brownie

Today I am attempting vegan gluten free..
Today was a bit stressful, so I need chocolate.  What's better than a brownie?
It's a DIY, mix as I go recipe

 

Vegan Gluten Free Avocado Brownie

 

 

 

Ingredients

Dry Ingredients

1/4 cup quinoa flour

1 tbsp banana flour

1/8 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 cup cocoa

Wet Ingredients

2 tsp oil (used hemp) not advised, slightly strong)

90 grams, ripe avocado, mashed completely (1/2 large)

3 tbsp Coconut Nectar (coconut syrup)

4 tbsp coconut sugar

 

Add-in / Topping

1/3 cup Ghirardelli Mini Chocolate Chips

Procedures

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Spray a 4-inch   baking pan with oil spray.

Whisk the Dry Ingredients together in a mixing bowl.

Mash the avocado, and mix in the other Wet Ingredients until smooth. 

Scrape the batter into the baking pan

Stir in the chips or top and press into the batter

 Bake for 20 minutes, until the batter has set in the middle. Allow to cool.  Cut into 6 pieces

 

Servings: 6

Nutrition (as prepared): 170 calories, 7.1g total fat, 0mg cholesterol, 88.6mg sodium, 89.9mg potassium, 1.7mg iron, 30.2mg calcium, 13.4mcg folate, 27.1g carbohydrates, 4g fiber, 23.1g net carbohydrates, 18.4g sugar, 2.2g protein, 5.3mg caffeine.

 



 

  © 2017 www.retiredwithnoregrets.blogspot.com/ 

Chocolate-Infused Cupcakes – Gluten Free

The original intent was to use a plain cupcake mix to make chocolate cupcakes, simply by adding shaved chocolate to the mix.

Well, the cookie mix was accidently opened, because both boxes look about the same.  Rather than pouring the mix back into the bag, I decided to just use it.  The mix feel was similar to cake mix, so……

I am basically a boxed mix do over type of person.  If I don’t have the usual ingredients, I will use whatever I have.  In this case…sugar cookie mix. It just a boxed mix hack

So when you have a baking mix designed for one product, it can be appropriated to another use. Enjoy baking!

 

Chocolate-Infused Cupcakes - Gluten Free

 

 

Ingredients

 

----Dry Ingredients-----

 

1 cup Pillsbury Funfetti Gluten Free Sugar Cookie Mix

1 tbsp JELLO chocolate fat free sugar free pudding and pie filling

1/4 tsp baking powder

1 tbsp cornstarch

 

-----Wet Ingredients-----

 

3 tbsp butter with olive oil

1 tbsp Chocolate Syrup

1 large egg

1/4 cup nonfat buttermilk

 

-----Add In-----

 

1 1/2 oz   Shaved, chopped roughly, Scharffen Berger chocolate

 

 

Procedure

 

·         Sift the candies out of the mix and save for other uses

·         Preheat oven to 350°F.

·         Line 6 muffin cups with paper liners.

 

·         Measure a cup of the sifted cookie mix, whisk it with the baking powder and pudding mix in a small bowl, set aside.

 

·         Beat egg and butter in a medium mixing bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until combined. Beat cookie mix until well combined. With the mixer on low, mix in the chocolate syrup and buttermilk, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed, until just combined.

·         Fold in chocolate until just combined.

 

·         Divide the batter among the prepared cups

 

·         Bake the cupcakes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 20 minutes

·         Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.

 

 

·         Optionally frost

 

 

 

 

 

Servings – 6

 

 

Nutrition (calculated without frosting)

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Calories: 200 , Total Fat: 8.7g , Cholesterol: 31.4mg , Sodium: 267.2mg , Potassium: 37.1mg , Iron: <1mg , Calcium: 29mg , Carbohydrates: 28.1g , Fiber: <1g , Net Carbohydrates: 27.9g , Sugar: 15.9g , Protein: 2.5g ,

 

 

 

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   © 2015 www.retiredwithnoregrets.blogspot.com/

Hummingbird Bundt Cake - Gluten Free

 Sometimes I think about the boxed cake mixes that I could grab and have cake in an hour….  Those were the days of quick food, junk food and not really caring about food labels.

 

Since having to go gluten free, every label has to be read, even if it says gluten free, because I now have other food intolerances, like soy and flax. 

 

Normally I love baking, but as I get older, it’s not as much fun anymore.  So, I look for interesting recipes to try from scratch.

 

I   always  really loved a pound cake or coffee cake type desert, so I look at those types for a makeover.  Those types cakes taste and bake more closely to the wheat version.

 

This recipe came about from seeing a recipe on Diamond Nuts – Hummingbird Bundt Cake.

 

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Hummingbird Bundt Cake - Gluten Free

 

 

ingredients

 

Dry Mix

 

1 1/4 cups gluten free flour blend (suitable for cakes)

1 tbsp cake enhancer (King Arthur Flour) or meringue powder

1 tbsp powdered milk

1/2 tsp xanthan gum

1/2 tsp ginger powder

1/2 tsp vanilla powder (Authentic Foods)

1 cup granulated sweetener (used 34 C Stevia, 1/4 C sugar)

 

Nuts

1/2 cup chopped pecans

 

Wet Ingredients and Fats

 

1/3 cup grapeseed oil

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

3/4 cup mashed bananas (about 1 1/2 medium)

4 ounces canned crushed pineapple, un-drained

1/2 tsp pineapple or orange extract

1/2 tsp vanilla if not using vanilla powder

 

 

Cream Cheese Glaze

1 oz cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup powdered sugar, sifted

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 Tbsp milk

 

 

Procedures

 

Heat oven to 350F.  Grease the pan with non-stick spray or shortening, dust with fine milled rice flour or starch, Tap pan to remove excess.

 Dice pineapple, if not using diced pineapple, a small food processor works well for this

 Whisk the Dry Mix, then whisk in the pecans in a large mixing bowl

 Mix in the Wet Ingredients And Fats until blended

 

 

Pour batter into prepared Bundt pan and bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until cake tester inserted in the center comes out not gummy

 Allow cooling on a wire rack for about 10 minutes.  Invert the cake onto a plate to cool to barely warm before glazing.

 

Enjoy

 

Servings: 12

 

Nutrition (part Stevia blend and sugar was used):

245 calories, 110 calories from fat, 12.5g total fat, 33.9mg cholesterol, 424.9mg sodium, 112.6mg potassium, <1mg iron, 69.7mg calcium, 2.4mg vitamin c, 245 calories, 30.7g carbohydrates, 1.8g fiber, 28.8g net carbohydrates, 8.2g sugar,  3g protein, 245 calories.

 

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   © 2015 www.retiredwithnoregrets.blogspot.com/

Coconut Flour – Chocolate Chip Coconut Cookies

I have more coconut flour than I really know what to use it for……. so I decided to try cookies.

Gluten free cookies that mimic the wheat flour ones don’t taste the same…. flour for flour, so additional flavorings and touch-ups are needed.

 

I often add shredded coconut to oatmeal or chocolate chip cookies to give them that little oomph.

 

Coconut flour alone is more like fine corn meal rather than flour, so it benefits from the addition of a starch like tapioca. I still haven’t perfected the perfect all-purpose blend, because cookies use a different ratio than cake or cupcakes would.  I really do like DIY mixes rather than premixes, although I buy those too.

 

So here goes the recipe….enjoy!

 

Chocolate Chip Coconut Cookies

 

 

Ingredients

 

Dry Ingredients

1/4 cup Coconut Flour, sifted

1/4 cup tapioca flour

1 pinch salt

1/4 tsp baking powder

 

Wet Ingredients

1/4 cup butter, melted

1/4 cup Stevia blend (Pyure)

1/4 cup Coconut sugar

2 large eggs

1/2 tsp vanilla

 

Add-Ins

3/4 cup shredded unsweetened coconut

1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

 

Procedures

 

Whisk the eggs, butter, sweeteners and extract until blended.

Whisk in the coconut, then the combined Dry Ingredients

Stir in the chocolate chips.

Drop batter in spoon-sized mounds 1 inch apart on parchment paper covered baking sheet.

Bake in preheated 350F oven for about 10 minutes or until bottoms are beginning to brown

Remove from cookie sheet using a lifter to a wire rack.

Optionally drizzle with melted chocolate

 

 

Makes about 24 small cookies.

 

 

Servings: 24

 

Nutrition (per cookie): 72 calories, 48 calories from fat, 5.2g total fat, 20.6mg cholesterol, 25mg sodium, 6.5mg potassium, <1mg iron, 7.6mg calcium, 72 calories, 6g carbohydrates, 1.1g fiber, 5g net carbohydrates, 1.4g sugar, 1g protein.

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© 2015 http://retiredwithnoregrets.blogspot.com/

Heirloom Bean and Ham Soup

 

This is Wintertime hearty soup!

It is so easy to mix up a pot of soup these days. No recipe needed…
Just buy a bean mix, add a few spices, herbs, ginger, onions, cubes of ham, broth and as a final touch, pureed fire roasted tomatoes.  I love thickened soups, so I always add a small amount of quinoa. Usually it is just one-fourth cup.

This cooked on high for two hours and low for about 4 hours.  This is an old Crock Pot so it does not heat as hot as the newer fancy slow cookers.

This is after all day simmering

I found this large bag at a warehouse

Picked and rinsed well

I did a pre-boil with ginger to remove some of the toot power and the package also stated the mix would foam a bit. After boiling, drain and add drained beans to Crock Pot with spices and broth. 

Add the quinoa during the last half hour of cooking.

Isn’t it nice you can scan the can and find where the tomatoes were grown?

And of course I also baked some sweet potatoes in the skin

 

Now eating left-overs

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© 2015 http://retiredwithnoregrets.blogspot.com/