GF Pie Take Two

It's June 20th?  My last post was almost a month ago..where does the time go?  I guess I got a bit carried away with summer and all of its projects and activities.  And while we're on the subject of neglected hobbies, since the very sad realization of a gluten allergy my kitchen-aid mixer, cake pans and rubber spatuals have all been collecting dust. But like I said, it's June, and the bounty of the Farmers Market's strawberries and rhubarb gave me that little nudge I needed.  So here we go, GF pie take two. 

For my first flour-free pie attempt I used Bob's Red Mill 

all-purpose gluten free flour mix.  Some people like it, but 

I found its consistency a bit sandy.. this time I used a pie crust 

specific mix given to me by my mother-in-law, purchased 

from the SillyYak Bakery in Madison Wisconsin.

 The weird thing about the recipe printed on the bag
was the 1/2 cup of shortening it called for.
I'd never used the stuff before.

But I'm certainly open to trying new things these days, so I
threw it in the cuisinart along with two tablespoons of
butter and a 1/4 cup of milk. 

The dough seemed dry so I doubled the milk but it was still nothing 

I could have rolled out, so I just pressed it into the bottom of the pan.  Boo.

Though a bit discouraged, I spooned in the filling:

Strawberries, rhubarb, lemon juice and zest, sugar, 

cornstarch and a pinch of salt.

And opted for a sprinkling of oats, brown sugar and dollops of butter
as a topping. I guess it was sort of a hybrid pie/crisp.  

After about 30 minutes a familiar sweet fruity smell 

filled my kitchen.  I felt hopeful.

And in the end, the GF pie wasn't bad, it was almost good actually.  

But I still have a lot of learning and experimenting to do... 

A Farewell to Wheat

Out of the blue, I learned I have an allergy to gluten...sure, there are worse things a doctor could tell you, but man this news hit me hard.  Now I'm no meat and no wheat, no one will ever have me over for dinner again..

In an effort to pick up the pieces and move on I bought some gluten-free flour and apples and decided to bake a pie.  At first everything seemed like it would be ok..I made the crust, wrapped it in plastic wrap and refrigerated it, but when I tried rolling it out it kept crumbling on me.  

Finally, I somehow forced the bottom crust into my 9'' pan and filled the shell with the apples (coated with sugar, cinnamon, lemon and dallups of unsalted butter)

The top was even more of a challenge, but after some serious tinkering I thought it looked pretty presentable.  As I brushed on my egg wash I felt hopeful my first gluten-free pie experiment would be a success.

Till it came out of the oven.

Looks like there's been a drought doesn't it?

It was impossible to get a decent slice, as soon as my knife hit the crust the entire pie collapsed.  The good news is it tasted OK.  I've only begun my crusade as gluten-free baker..

Mushrooms!

Every year my mom makes a christmas log, or Bush de Noel I should say. She spends a majority of her afternoon baking and rolling and frosting the cake but buys the meringue mushrooms and bud mints. Each year I think 'I should try to make those adorable little mushrooms'..and this was the year I finally did. I was a bit nervous, this is a pretty serious family tradition, but my meringue mushroom experiment was a success! Turns out it's actually pretty easy.

You just:

Pipe out the caps and the stems, bake for an hour

Sprinkle with cocoa powder and dip the under side of the

caps in warm nutella (delish)

Stick the stems on and let dry upside down

And stick'em on the log.

Hope everyone had a very happy holiday!!

Pleasure doing business with you Bets!

Ahh the Holidays.

Confession: sometimes I wonder why I do things anymore..is it for the sheer fun of doing them? Or is it to blog about doing them..for example, this time last year if you told me I baked cookies and wrote all of my dinner party guest's names on them for place cards, I would have laughed and said noo way. But alas, I did and here I am blogging about it..

But seriously, it was a fun and festive night and I'm so grateful I could gather such a great group together!

And while we're on the subject of absurd holiday baking/blogging, this afternoon I'm attempting to make mushroom meringues..pictures will be posted, good or bad :)

Bear Claws

Until last week I'd never had a bear claw but this delicious almond pastry (that seems to have a kind of cult following) is fun and more importantly easy to bake! Especially with store bought puff pastry and almond paste.

This year is a big one for birthdays, most of my friends are turning 3-0. (gasp) One of my oldest and dearest just celebrated her thirtieth, she's the first of my friends to leave her twenties behind AND she's expecting a baby girl this winter. (yay!)

Growing up I was always gorging on things like gushers and blow pops while she opted for the more refined snacks like brie cheese and apples (?) This pregnancy has gloriously awakened her sweet tooth and I could not be more proud!

Bear claws have become her new obsession, and after spending some time searching the world wide web for recipes and general bear claw banter, it would seem she is not alone. People love bear claws. Have you ever had one?

OK, I know there's at least 10 of you out there...care to comment? (please?)

Proud to have been your friend for 30 years, happy birthday Babe eat up!