Gluten Free Sugar Free Gingerbread Cookies

These little lovelies are proof that you dont have to give up amazing flavor to eat gluten free and sugar free.  I took them to two different parties this weekend and everyone loved them.  Total sugar and wheat addicts were passing over sinful store bought chocolate covered treats in favor of these simple little cookies.  Now that is saying something when sugar eaters go for your cookies instead of Peeps.  I was even able to provide a vegan party goer with a tasty treat since these cookies happen to be egg less as well.

I first made these for Christmas, using half the dough.  The rest of the dough I discovered recently and it was just as great as it was when it was first made.  So yes the recipe makes a huge number of cookies but its worth it to save half of them for latter.  I love leaving surprising myself by hiding random things in the freezer that will make me happy when I find it later.  Its one of the small pleasures of life.

The frosting issue is still a problem however.  Ive tried twice now to make sugar free frosting without some unwelcome ingredient like cream cheese or boxed pudding mix and neither worked out well at all.  I tried this recipe on Saturday and ended up with a pot of sticky brown goo, Im still not sure what I did wrong but it didnt work out for me.  So I will keep trying.  If you have a good sugar free frosting recipe please do send it my way.

Really these cookies are so good they dont need frosting though.  They are just spicy enough from the cinnamon and amaranth flour that the agave and molasses even it out for a perfect gingerbread flavor.  They are totally addictive so beware.

Gluten Free Sugar Free Gingerbread Cookies

2 1/3 cups brown rice flour
1 1/2 cups amaranth flour
1 1/2 cups arrowroot powder
2 tablespoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon sea salt

1 cup agave nectar
1/4 cup molasses
1/4 unsweetened applesauce
1/3 canola oil
2 tablespoons vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350.  Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, stir together the rice flour, amaranth flour, arrowroot powder, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and salt. 

In a separate bowl, combine the agave nectar, molasses, applesauce, canola oil, vanilla.  Mix well and pour over the dry ingredients.  Stir until the 2 mixtures are thoroughly combined.  Cover and chill the dough 2 hours or more.

Sprinkle your work surface with arrowroot powder.  Divide the chilled dough into 4 equal parts.  Return 3 parts to the refrigerator to keep chilled.  Roll out the dough 1/4 inch thick.  Cut out gingerbread with cookie cutters and place them on the prepared baking sheets.  Bake for 6 to 7 minutes.

The cookies will be slightly soft when they are removed from the oven.  Allow to cool for 5 to 10 minutes then move to cooling racks to cool completely.  These freeze very well in plastic freezer bags.  Makes approximately 5 dozen cookies.

From Baking with Agave Nectar  by Ania Catalano.

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A Whole Lot of Sauvignon Blanc and Puy Lentil Salad

Im really blessed to know a lot of great people who love wine almost as much as I do. I few of them even love wine more than I could ever hope to and put me to shame with their knowledge. Once a month for a little over a year now weve been getting together to taste wine and get Wasted. Well we do tend to get tipsy but thats also the name of the group. Its all Lindsays fault she started it.

This month the fella and I hosted a Sauvignon Blanc tasting, the perfect wine to ring in summer in our backyard. Unfortunately the weather didnt cooperate and we ended up packed into our tiny living room enjoying ourselves immensely until the rain ended. We tried some good and no so good stuff. Ill leave it up to Lindsay to do the hard core reviewing and Ill stick to taking ridiculous pictures of the wine and posting a recipe for the lentil salad that had everyone making yummy noises.

The 2008 Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc from the Marlborough region of New Zealand was the winner of the tasting as far as I was concerned. It was light with just the right amount of citrus and sweetness. At about $22 it is well worth investing in especially if you dont think you like Sauv Blancs this one will prove the varietal has redeeming qualities.

There is this weird thing with Sauv Blancs where in the $15 or under range buying them is a bit of a crap shoot. There are a few good ones like the Riesling-esque $9 a bottle Quarry Hills Sauv Blanc that just came in to the wine store and we cant keep on the shelves for all the people buying it by the case. Aside from getting lucky and finding the rare keeper a lot of them make you wonder if youve accidentally poured yourself a glass of lawn clippings or cat urine (sorry for that image.) And four of our wines that day definitely fit in the overly green and grassy category.

I chose the 2008 Vicars Choice Sauvignon Blanc once again from the Marlborough region of New Zealand and the 2008 Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc from the same region. Both grass monsters. The Vicars Choice Reserve Sauv Blanc is actually complex and has a slightly sweet grapefruit kick, I should have spent the extra couple of bucks and got that. The Kim Crawford was just disappointing, its been so good in past years and tasted like the lawn this time around.

The 2008 Starborough Sauv Blanc from the Marlborough region was the best of the grassy wines since it wasnt over poweringly green but still not something I would buy. The 2008 Beau Joubert Oak Lake Chenin Blanc/Sauvignon Blanc blend from Stellenbosch South Africa was interesting but also packed too much green-ness to really fall in love with. I was just glad to have a South African wine that had none of the artificial banana flavor that so many of the whites in that area seem to be ruined by.

In the midst of the young Sauv Blancs that were making us all feel like we were chewing on field of clovers there were a couple really nice bottles that shook things up and surprised us all. The 2008 Boogle Vineyards Sauv Blanc from Clarksburg California was a delight. It was a bit sweet and light, something I would find and buy. The 2007 Luna Vineyards Freakout White Blend from Napa Valley was just a good departure from all the New Zealand wines and gave us a chance to rest our palates on something super easy to drink.

And then sadly there were the two wines that just didnt quite work out in the scheme of things. Im almost positive the bottle of 2006 Ceago Sauv Blanc from Clear Lake California was a bad bottle. Supposedly it doesnt happen much in screw tops but Ive heard really good things from customers and my wine genius boss about this wine. I refuse to believe all these people are drinking vinegar and enjoying it so I will give this one another try and get back to you.

The 2007 Domaine Sauvete Sauvignon de Touraine Oneiros from the Loire Valley might just have been too different from everything else to be enjoyable. We probably should have drank it first with clear palates because it was very French and very typical of the traditional Sauv Blanc with a heavy cat pee nose. It wasnt my favorite but I can see someone who enjoys French whites really getting into it.

Blah, blah, blah. Wine, wine, wine. I know you all just came for the lentil salad so here it goes.

Nigella is amazing and I want to cook everything from her book Forever Summer and am very happy I started out with this lentil and goat cheese divinity. Its simple and oh so delicious. Just make sure to use the Puy lentils as they have the structure to hold up to this salad. My other advise is to use the oil from sun dried tomatoes for the olive oil in the recipe, it added an extra layer of yummy go the recipe and it made sure that oil didnt go to waste which I always feel guilty about. Now I will always know what to do with it.

The hard part is resisting the urge to eat all the marinated goat cheese before you serve this. Not that it would be too much of an issue considering this recipe makes enough to serve a hungry houseful of winos and have enough left over for three people to eat for lunch. It is the gift that keeps giving.

As you can see the fella was a big fan. Or maybe it was just the wine. Who knows.

Puy Lentil and Goat Cheese Salad

1 10-ounce log goats cheese
1 lemon, zested and juiced
4 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon dried mint (I omitted this)

3 cups Puy lentils
1 onion, quartered
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon chili oil

4 tablespoons olive oil
12 ounces jarred sweet peppers in oil
bunch fresh mint, chopped (also omitted this)

Crumble the goats cheese and marinate in half the juice and zest of the lemon, 4 tablespoons olive oil (I used excess oil from a jar of sun dried tomato) and dried mint. Seal in a container and reserve until just before serving.

Put lentils in a large saucepan of water and add onion, garlic cloves and chili oil. Cook for about 25 minutes or until tender then drain. Keep an eye on the lentils so they dont get too soft and dont think of substituting the Puys for another lentil with less character and structural integrity.

Pour 4 tablespoons of olive oil over the warm lentils in a large serving bowl. Season with salt and pepper, then add the remaining half of the lemon juice and zest. Drain the sweet peppers, chop them coarsely and mix them into the lentils. Mix with your hands or very carefully with a wooden spoon making sure not the crush and mangle the lentils.

When the lentils have reached room temperature add the marinated goats cheese and sprinkle over them with the fresh chopped mint and serve immediately.

Original recipe from Nigella Lawsons Forever Summer cookbook.

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Red Lentil Soup

This is one of those recipes that is so fundamentally simple it seems like it couldnt possibly be that great. The fact that when its finished cooking it looks like a pot full of orange mush doesnt do it any favors either. But once you top it with a few crumbles of feta and almonds this soup shows what its all about.

I certainly didnt think I was going to like this soup as much as I did. It seemed like something this mushy was going to be a chore to eat and wouldnt be very yummy but it showed me how wrong I was. It is warm and filling and perfect for fall low maintenance low fat cooking. It was great the first day and just kept getting better as left overs. Those lentils suck up moisture though so keep some extra stock around to thin out the left overs the next couple days.

Think while I curl up under a blanket this afternoon Im going to start another pot of this.

Red Lentil Soup

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 shallots, chopped
1/2 teaspoon red-pepper flakes

6 cups good-tasting vegetable stock (or water)
1/2 cup brown rice, picked over and rinsed
1 1/3 cup red lentils, picked over and rinsed

slivered almonds, toasted
black oil cured olives, chopped
feta, crumbled

In a big soup pot, over medium heat, combine the olive oil, onion, shallots, and red pepper flakes. Let them brown, and caramelize a bit, stirring occasionally.

Stir in the broth, bring to a boil, then stir in the rice. Simmer for about 30 minutes or until the rice is about half cooked then add lentils four about another 10 minutes or until both rice and lentils are very tender, and not at all toothsome. By this time, the lentils will have collapsed into a thick slop of sorts. If you need to add more water/broth at any point do so a splash at a time, until the soup thins out to the point you prefer.

Unless you used a salty broth, you will likely need to salt generously, until the the soup no longer tastes flat. Serve each bowl topped with almonds, olives, feta, and a slight drizzle of olive oil if you like.

Original recipe from 101 Cookbooks blog.

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Chocolate Lava Cake

 

The only thing sexier than this beautiful little molten pile of chocolate is the woman who wrote the recipe.  

Suzanne Pirret is what would happen if Nigella Lawson and a sultry sex writer got together and decided to write a book.  Shes my food writing hero.  She is hot and funny and totally engaging.  Not usually words one uses when describing a cookbook but this one is all those things and more.  Then again I suppose hotness its to be expected from someone wearing a form fitting white dress and 6 inch Louis Vuittons on the cover of a book called The Pleasure is All Mine.  Get your head out of the gutter, its a book full of fancy but easy recipes for one because eating alone is no reason not to treat yourself well.

Seeing as Ive been obsessed with this book as of late Ive already shared her recipes for TomYum Kung Soup and Lemongrass Steamed Fish.  But I wouldnt be able to live with myself if I didnt write about the best recipe in the entire book.  It of course involves chocolate and is insanely decadent.  That didnt stop me from making this luscious melty mouth filling treat over a dozen times last week in order to experiment with getting the sugar free version of the recipe perfect.  It was tough but I made it through.  This is the type of rigorous testing I suffer through just for my loyal blog readers.     

In the end I came up with a gluten and sugar free recipe that is so good I couldnt tell the difference between the one that had sugar and the one that didnt.  I have to warn you though Suzanne Pirret says this is a single serving treat, unless youre immune to high doses of sexy chocolate induced caffeination you might want to find someone to share it with.  Or not who am I kidding its too good to resist eating the whole damn thing.  

If you want to make the sugary version or need help figuring out how making this cake works check out this video for the recipe and watch Suzanne Pirret work her magic.  Someday Ill be the type of person coordinated enough to wear a designer dress and high heels while working with chocolate.  Or at least I can dream.

Chocolate Lave Cake

3 ounces unsweetened dark chocolate

1 tablespoon butter (soy butter also works nicely)

3 teaspoons fructose

1 egg

 1 tablespoon almond flour

1 dash sea salt

unsweetened cocoa powder

drizzle of agave nectar

Preheat the oven to 360 degrees.

In a small sauce pan over low heat very slowly melt the chocolate.  When chocolate starts to melt, briefly remove pot from heat and stir, then place back on heat to further melt.  Repeat the process until chocolate is completely melted and set aside to cool a bit.

Melt the butter in a small mixing bowl then whisk in fructose and egg until well combined.  Slowly begin to drizzle in the melted chocolate, whisking as you pour.  You want to add the warm chocolate a little at a time so it doesnt cook the raw egg.  The mixture should be very stiff and thick at this point, too dense to stir easily and that is the perfect texture.

Add in the flour and salt and stir once again briefly. 

Grease a small ramekin then sprinkle the inside with cocoa powder.   Tap the sides of the ramekin to remove any excess powder then pour the batter into it.  Bake for 9 minutes.  Dont over cook!  

When the cake is done cooking it should be firm on the outside but liquid on the inside.  If you tip the cake over a plate and it slides out its done.  Drizzle with agave nectar or top with ice cream to take an edge off the bitterness of the chocolate.

Modified to be sugar and gluten free from a Suzanne Pirret recipe in The Pleasure Is All Mine.

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Diet Information What is the diet

Below are some notes about the highlights of this diet.

I do recommend purchasing the book because it provides concise and informative explanations for the various parts of the diet as well as information about how metabolism is supposed to work. It also has recipes you can eat on the diet =)

$15.48 online
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-fast-metabolism-diet-haylie-pomroy/1113745604?ean=9780307986276

There is also an app for you iPhone users.

$1.99 app store
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/fast-metabolism-diet-app-customized/id626362411?mt=8

However the reviewers say it is only partially useful and still needs many updates.

3 PHASES

You go through these phases every week for 4 weeks (28 days)

Phase 1 - Unwind
Stress and Calm the Adrenals
Days 1 and 2


Phase 2 - Unlock
Stored Fat and Build Muscle
Days 3 and 4

Phase 3 - Unleash
The Burn - hormones, heart, and heat
Days 5 and 7

What is happening?

Step 1: Take your food and turn it into energy

Step 2: Release stored fat

Step 3: Turn newly released stored fat into energy

Phase 1 Food

This is the high-glycemic, moderate-protein, low-fat phase.

- three carb-rich, moderate-protein, low-fat meals

- two fruit snacks

Phase 2 Food

This is the very high-protein, high vegetable, low-carbohydrate, and low-fat phase.

- three high-protein, low-carb, low-fat meals

- two protein snacks

Phase 3 Food

This is the high healthy-fat, moderate-carbohydrate, moderate-protein, low glycemic fruit phase.

- three meals

- two healthy-fat snacks

THE RULES

The Dos

1. Eat 5 times a day: 3 meals 2 snacks

2. Eat every 3 to 4 hours unless you are sleeping.

3. Eat within 30 min. of waking. Every day.

4. You must follow the meal plan for 28 days.

5. Stick to the foods allowed for each phase. Religiously.

6. Follow the phases in order.

7. Drink half your body weight in fluid oz. of water every day.

8. Eat organic wherever possible.

9. Meat choices must be nitrate-free.

10. You must exercise 3 times a week, according to the phase.

The Donts

1. No wheat. 

(what?!)

2. No corn. 

(aw... that buttery salty goodness)

3. No dairy. 

(no!!! my ice cream and yogurt!)

4. No soy. 

(sauce? but I cook with it all the time!)

5. No refined sugar.

(i saw that coming)

6. No caffeine. 

(NOOO! here comes the coffee withdrawal)

7. No alcohol. 

(this... will be a test... I love my cider)

8. No dried fruit or fruit juices. 

(I will miss my morning OJ)

9. No artificial sweeteners. 

(We can use Stevia still... even if it does taste funny)

10. No fat-free "diet foods" 

28 days later...

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Sun Dried Tomato and Lentil Soup

After cooking this three times, I finally stopped myself from devouring it and took a picture.  Isnt it beautiful?

 

This soup was so good it never crossed my mind to take a picture of it.  I was way too busy eating it.  Its that freaking good.  And I thought it up all by myself.

See in my odd little world Monday is my day off to have the house to myself and do whatever I please unmolested.  This usually involves laying in bed until 10 or 11.  Reading in bed with the dog.  Having breakfast while watching an episode of some mindless TV show online.  Then I spend the rest of the day grocery shopping and cooking.  Usually while singing along to Goldfrappe/Lily Allen radio on Pandora.  There are are also periodic bouts of dog love throughout the day. 

And that for me is the perfect day off.  Thats partly because Im a huge food nerd who loves to cook and also because if I dont cook on Monday I wont get a chance to the next two days while working double jobs.  I learned early on that I can put up with most anything at work as long as I know I have something good to eat on my break, it keeps me from ripping out my hair and wanting to strangle co-workers.  So on Monday I make something delicious that will re-heat well to keep me sane at work the two following days. 

The fella also benefits from this situation as he doesnt have to spend his evenings alone trying to decifer whatever gibberish Ive written on the weekly menu that he should be cooking that night, that almost never ended well.  I love him like crazy but one of his talents is not reading Emily-ese.    And yeah thats right I plan a menu every week so that everything that gets bought gets cooked.  I hear about people who go to the store throw things in the cart and hope for the best when they get home, I cant imagine it.  Its insanity.

So being the super planny sort it probably wont surprise you that my next weird admission is that Im a terminal follower of recipes. Im lost without them.  Or was until recently.  Something clicked in my brain this week and I noticed I dont need recipes much anymore, theyre more of a way to come up with a concept and then I cook it the way I would like it better.  Its worked out so far. 

Then magically on Monday I closed my eyes thought “lentil sundried tomato soup” and made it happen with no recipe guidance whatsoever.  It was a big moment for me and I was rewarded with literally the best soup Ive ever made.  Its big and thick and tasty.  Exactly what I want to eat when its cold and the lack of sun is making me a bit punchy.

Something tells me this newly concocted recipe will be in heavy rotation on the menu for the rest of the winter.  And it should be on yours too because it couldnt be easier.

 

Sun Dried Tomato and Lentil Soup

2 tablespoons oil from jar of sundried tomatoes
2 small onions, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 large stalks celery, chopped

1 bay leaf
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1 cup lentils
5 cups vegetable stock

8 sundried tomatoes packed in oil, rinsed and chopped
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste

In a soup pot over medium high heat warm the sun dried tomato oil, when oil is warm add onions, garlic and celery.  Saute the vegetables until soft but not browned, agitating them often while cooking.

Add the bay leaf, thyme, lentils and vegetable stock.  Allow to come to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer.  Let cook about 15 or 20 minutes, or until lentils are tender.  Depending on how thick you like your soups you may need to add more vegetable broth at this point.

Add the rinsed sundried tomatoes and red pepper flakes to the soup.  Stir well and cook soup just until tomatoes are heated through.  Add salt and pepper to taste if necessary.  Remove thyme sprigs and bay leaf and enjoy.

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