Gluten Free Breakfast: Oatmeal with Almond Milk

If you cook your oatmeal this way, you will never go back to cooking it any other way.  I guarantee  it.  My aunt created this recipe and showed me how to make it.  I have been eating it with fresh peaches since they are in season, but in the winter, thinly sliced pears added to it are delicious.

To make it you need the following ingredients:

1/2 Cup Old Fashioned Oats
3/4 - 1 Cup Sweetened Vanilla Almond Milk
Cinnamon
Fresh Fruit

Topping options:
Drizzle of Maple Syrup 
Spoonful of plain Greek yogurt

Put the oats in a pot and add the almond milk. Turn the stove on to medium high heat.  Add a sprinkle of cinnamon and stir.  Keep an eye on the oats - you might need to add a little more almond milk.  Cook the oats to your favorite consistency.  I like them a little crunchy.  If you would like to cook the fruit a little, you can add it to the oats while they are cooking.  If you prefer to add the fruit to the oats once they are in the bowl, go ahead!  Top with maple syrup or a spoonful of yogurt (or both!). 

Gluten Free PSA:

Oats are tricky, because they are often contaminated, which is why you should always buy certified GF oats if you are allergic to gluten.  This article explains more: Gluten Contamination of Commercial Oat Products in the United States

Product Review: Schär Gluten-Free Baguettes

I recently co-chaperoned an exchange to France and was surrounded by baguettes.  I sat across the aisle on a train from a man who devoured an entire one over the course of our journey.  I think sometimes it would be easier to be gluten free if you had never eaten bread before.  That way, you didn't know the joy of biting into a baguette that is crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside.  It is hard to replicate that consistency in a gluten free baguette.

However, Schär has created a product that is an excellent gluten free version of a French staple.  You bake their baguettes in the oven for 5 minutes on 400 degrees.  The texture is similar to a regular baguette, and they even pass GFF's hubby's discerning opinion of gluten free products.

If you are having a gluten free guest to lunch this summer, I recommend making a tomato, basil, and mozzarella salad (with olive oil, garlic, balsamic vinegar, and red onions if you like them) and serving it with a Schär baguette.  Everyone (even the gluten eaters) will love it!

Gluten Free Dessert: Marble Loaf Cake

Remember me?  I have never been a good journal writer or diary keeper, so I guess it isn't a surprise that I am not the greatest blogger.  It has been a year since my last post!  A friend asked me for a recipe on Facebook, so I decided that it was a good reason to try to start blogging again.  We shall see if it sticks!

My mom used to make this cake when I was little.  The recipe is adapted from an older edition of the Betty Crocker red binder cookbook.  I have a newer version of it, and the recipes are not the same, nor are the names of the recipes as good.  Happy baking!

Loaf O' Gold (See? Such a fantastic name for a cake!)

2 cups all-purpose flour (or 2 cups gluten free flour mix like Cup 4 Cup)

1 cup sugar

3 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt (omit if using salted butter)

3/4 cup milk

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 egg + 1 egg white

1 teaspoon vanilla

Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour loaf pan.  Measure all ingredients into large mixer bowl.  Blend 1/2 minute on low speed, scraping bowl constantly.  Beat 3 minutes high speed, scraping bowl occasionally.  Pour into pan.

Bake 65 Minutes*

Marble Variation

Pour 1/2 of the batter into a small bowl; stir in 1 ounce melted unsweetened chocolate (cool).  Pour remaining batter into pan; spoon batter over top and swirl.

*if you are using a gluten free flour blend, start checking it at 45 minutes.  Mine was finished around 53 minutes - gluten free flour blends can be tricky and cakes can easily turn into sandcastle texture.)