Blueberry Crumb Cake

This cake is full of sugar, dairy, and is so unbelievable DELICIOUS! There is little that is healthy about this breakfast treat, but I turn a blind eye and happily devour piece after piece. My parents own a blueberry farm and after years of hard work my dad said no to picking this year, all he wanted was a piece of blueberry crumb cake. So, this ones for you dad...

Cake
2 3/4 cup Pamela's baking mix
1 1/2 tsp Baking powder
1 1/2 tsp Baking soda
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 pint sour cream
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups blueberries

Crumb topping
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped pecans
2 Tbsp Pamela's baking mix
2 Tbsp butter, cold

Cream butter and sugar with a mixer until well blended. Add in the eggs, one at a time. Add the baking mix, baking powder, and baking soda together in a bowl. Once mixed, alternate flour mix and sour cream/vanilla mix into the butter/sugar mixture. Fold in blueberries.
In a seperate bowl, combine crumb topping ingredients, being sure to cut in butter to create a crumbley mix. Then pour half of the cake mixture into a greased bundt cake pan. Top with half of the crumb toppings. Pour remaining cake batter into the pan and top with remaining crumb toppings. The crumble with create a delicious brown sugar crust.
Bake at 350 for 60-65 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes.

I fed this to my family of gluten lovers and no one noticed that it was gluten free.

Vegetable Biryani

1 pack Parampara Biryani mix (2.8oz)
1 jalapeno, diced (no seeds or stem)- optional if you desire heat
1 onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cup basmati rice
3 cups water or vegetable broth

Saute jalapeno, onion, and bell pepper in olive oil until soft. Add in garlic and mix for 1 minute. Pour in 3 cups of water and bring to a boil. Pour in rice and Briyani seasoning mix and stir for 1 minute. Turn heat down to simmer and cook 18-22 until rice is done. Fluff and serve with a side of stemed/sauteed veggies.

Vanilla Cake with Chocolate Icing and Raspberry Jam

Kelly, of the Spunky Coconut, caught my eye with this delicious and unusual cake. As unusual the ingredients, I've been on a coconut fix lately, so I figured I'd give it a try. Plus, I had everything I needed in my pantry, with a few modifications, so I had no excuse not to eat cake. My little sister was scared of the addition of beans and sniffed the cake from start to finish complaining of its "bean smell". However, when the cake was frosted and ready to go, she couldn't keep her hands off the cake platter. This cake was light and moist, with a mild coconut flavor.Vanilla Cake
1 can cannellini beans, drained

6 eggs

4 packets truvia

1/3 cup honey
2 tsp vanilla extract

Put all ingredients in a food processor and puree well.

Then mix the following ingredients into the wet mix and puree:

1/3 cup coconut flour, sifted

1.5 tsp baking soda

1.5 tsp baking powder

Pour into a 8.5" springform pan, lined with parchment paper on the bottom, and greased all around.

Bake at 325 degrees for about 30 minutes.
Allow cake to cool.
Optional (but highly recommended): Cut cake in half and spread the bottom layer with raspberry jam. Place 2nd layer on top and frost the cake.

Icing
3/4-1 cup dark chocolate chips
3/4 cup lite coconut milk
Melt chocolate and milk over a double boiler, or heat in the microwave, mixing until melted. Put in the fridge until frosting consistency and frost the cake.

Chocolate, Coconut Ice Cream Sandwich

After reading some rave reviews from Coco.nut Your Average Girl, I decided to check out Coconut Bliss. I stopped by Whole Foods to see if they carried the brand and not only did they have it, but they had it on sale ($2 off), so naturally I had no choice but to splurge. The gluten free, vegan ice cream is absolutely delicious with a rich dark chocolate taste and the hint of coconut. With only half the carton left in my freezer, I came across some coconut chocolate chip cookies (tastes like coconut macaroons, but flat and soft like a chocolate chip cookie) from Sami's Bakery (Tampa, FL), which I purchased at Grassroots Market (Jacksonville, FL). When I got home, drenched in sweat from the Florida Summer sun, I decided that I deserved a treat and the gluten free Chocolate, Coconut Ice Cream Sandwich was born...
BUY:
* Sami's Bakery Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies
* Coconut Bliss Dark Chocolate Ice Cream

DIRECTIONS:
* Cut cookie in half
* Scoop ice cream and spread on each half of cookie.
* Smoosh the cookie halves together
* ENJOY or freeze until you're ready to enjoy :)

Coconut Flour Recipes

I've been eyeing the goodies over at Elana's Pantry for months and finally purchased some coconut flour. The following is one of Elana's recipes will McKeeby modifications. I am a lover of coconut flour now. These are light, with a mild coconut flour, and DELICIOUS!














Blueberry Muffins with pecan crumbles
Makes about 5 muffins
¼ cup coconut flour
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ cup grapeseed oil
3 eggs
3 T brown sugar
½ cup blueberries (frozen or fresh will work, if frozen, do not thaw)
2 T crushed pecans

1. In a medium bowl, combine coconut flour and baking soda
2. In a large bowl, combine grapeseed oil, sugar, and eggs
3. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet and fold in the blueberries
4. Grease a muffin tin with oil
5. Sprinkle pecans over muffins (and additional brown sugar, if desired)
   
6. Bake at 350° for about 20 minutes

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

Recipe modified from Pamela's Baking Mix Bag- This tastes exactly like my old Banana Bread recipe (pre-GF). I am so happy with Pamela's products and so excited to have an old favorite back in the house and its super easy to make.

4 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 cup sugar (I use a little less than 1/2 cup and then add 1 T of honey)
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup banana, mashed ( I used 4 bananas)
1-3/4 cups Pamela's Baking & Pancake Mix
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup nuts
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

Beat together butter, sugar or honey, eggs and banana. Add remaining ingredients and mix together. Pour into a large greased loaf pan. Sprinkle loaf with additional nuts, if desired. Bake in a preheated 350° oven for 45 min-1 hour, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Gluten Free Product Reviews

Normally, I prefer to make things from scratch (a habit formed when I became GF) and am too cheap to spend $6 on gluten free goodies, when there is a 50% chance that they will be dry, gritty, crumbly, or just plain gross. However, I have discovered a discount grocery store and they have discovered the profit in selling GF products. Lately, they have been stocking up on GF goodies and for $1.29 a box I have been happy to sample everything they have.
I have rated and reviewed some products below to save you the time and money.

GLUTEN FREE PANTRY BROWNIES: 5 stars By far, the best GF brownies mix out there. These were rich and decadent and no weird texture or taste.








GLUTEN FREE PANTRY FRENCH BREAD: 3 stars This mix made a bread that perfectly resembled french bread, crunchy crust, soft center, but the taste was not quite right for me. However, I tried this bread several times, with several meals and each time I liked it in varying amounts. Sometimes I didn't want to finish the 1st piece and the 2nd time I couldn't stop myself from eating more. Probably not something I would buy again, but it was good.




PAMELA'S ESPRESSO CHOCOLATE CHIP CHUNK COOKIES: 4 stars These cookies came in a pack of 9 and left me buzzing with a caffeine rush. The cookies have a crisp texture, like you'd expect from most boxed cookies and were loaded with delicious chocolate/coffee flavors.

GLUTINO BREADSTICKS: 3 stars The picture on the box was very misleading. The box is NOT filled with several thick, soft breadsticks, rather it is full of small, hard cracker like sticks. I'm sure these are good with pasta sauce or some side, but I wasn't overly crazy about them. They were edible and good to munch on, but nothing I would ever crave or go out of my way to get.