Reminds me of those trips to Frankenmuth

I have been away for a while...finishing up 3 final portfolios and an installation project takes time away from blogging. I've been shooting and editing and ordering books and prints and writing papers and pondering major life changes(again).
I have also been a bit sick this week, which is frustrating since I was feeling so much better after having cut gluten out of my diet that to be hit with some energy sucking snuffly nose, migraine inducing bug was rather  annoying. Hopefully I am on the mend, since this weekend and the week to follow are going to be nothing short of busy! My mum is coming to town for thanksgiving and we will be having our first gf turkey day! gf pie, gf stuffing gf everything!!! I will be sure to photograph and blog about that adventure...Promise...

I haven't been cooking much as of late, mostly just making basics or canned soups. Can I just say Amy's Soups brand is AMAZING. I have soft spot for lentil soup and theirs is delicious. As is the southwest veggie. Om nom...that about sums it up. I can't wait to try more, and most of their soups are gf...
I have adventured to the land of gf pancakes, however the box mix I got was meh at best so I will have to keep trying on that one. I am also missing me some fresh fruit right now, for some reason the stores around here do not have good looking fruits; which greatly dampers my ability to have snack foods because most actual snack foods are gluten filled or if they aren't they are expensive! So fruit is a wonderful substitute, when you can find it that is.

But enough ramble I did get the bug to play in the kitchen a few nights ago and whipped up these tasty little candied almonds. I have ALWAYS loved them, and every time my mom and I ventured up to Frankenmuth MI I absolutely had to get some, well that and fudge but we all know that Mackinac Island has the best fudge really...
Click here to view where I got the original recipe

What you need:
1 egg white
1 tea spoon or so of vanilla
1 table spoon water
1 lb almonds hint: I buy the pre-salted ones when I can so I don't have to add salt later ;)
3/4 cup sugar
ground cinnamon
a pinch of sea salt if you aren't using salted almonds.

preheat oven to 250F
in a bowl mix egg white, vanilla and water until it gets "frothy"
add almonds and coat throughly. Combine the sugar, cinnamon and salt (if needed) and add
to mixture, mix until almonds are coated all the way. Spread them evenly on a cookie sheet, you can either cover the cookie sheet with parchment paper or if you're like me and fresh out just coat the sheet with some butter.
Bake for 1 hour being sure to stir them every once and a while.

And then let the nomming immense
Sorry I don't have a good picture, I will get back on the picture taking of my food soon, I promise!

xoxoxox

Don't add the mayonnaise

Last night I made this casserole that I have made before. Its really tasty, when you remember to omit the mayo that the original recipe calls for. Lord only knows why they call for mayo in it, because it does not help the flavor at all! It's way better without. Of course I was not thinking last night when following the recipe and I added the mayo(or the vegan version of mayo) So here is this tasty quick casserole minus the mayo part...

Chicken Veggie & Rice Casserole

1 cooked chicken cut up. (I usually cook up about 2 chicken breasts)
3 cups cooked rice
2 stalks of celery( if you want) cut into 1/4in pieces
2 carrots cut or shredded(up to you)
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup broccoli florets (if you want)
2 16oz cans french style green beans
4oz mushrooms (if you want) Can you tell you can pretty much add or subtract any veggie you want?
1 10.5oz can of cream of celery soup
(For the gluten free version  I just mixed up some(like 1/2ish) organic chicken broth and a little corn starch
to thicken things a bit)
1cup(give or take) parmesan cheese(non dairy or otherwise)
1/2 a stick of butter (or vegan butter)

Preheat the oven to 375F
Cut your cooked chicken up into cubes & set aside.
Saute the onion and veggies in the butter until tender.
Once veggies are done mix them, chicken, rice, soup(or soup substitute) together
fold in green beans and add any spices you feel it needs.

place in a 13x9" pan or whatever size it will fit into and bake 30-40 min until bubbly.

I warn you this makes ALOT of food...so you might wanna cut things back if you aren't going to feed an army, or all of your friends like I usually do.

And there you go....yummy veggie filled casserole...just remember...
Don't add the mayo!

xoxox

 

I swear I had to make them for a photo assignment

I had this assignment to shoot metal, glass and liquid all in the same image and I have been feeling the urge to bake. It's that season and all. But since I can't use my normal stuff I started looking for alternate recipes. Then it hit me! Carrot cake cupcakes! I could photograph those with metal and liquid and glass in the shot...I have this awesome all purpose gluten free flour mix by Pamela's Products. So I found a recipe using it and tweaked here and there to make oh my God yummy gluten free carrot cake cupcakes...with...maple spice cream cheese frosting! I had to do it for my photo assignment really...

Here is one of the images I am submitting for my project.

Now for that recipe...

Whatcha need:

A little more than 1/2 Cup of veggie oil (the original called for  more oil than I wanted to add so I cut it back by like a 1/4 cup or so)

2 eggs
3/4 Cup of sugar
1 1/2 Cups grated carrots
1 tsp Vanilla
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp salt
2 Cups of Pamela's Baking & Pancake mix
1/2 (I used way less) walnuts (optional)

Beat oil, eggs and sugar together, then mix everything else together. The batter will get thick.
Get your cup cake papers in your pans and spoon batter into them.
Heat your oven to about 350F and bake for about 20-25 min depending on how your oven handles. Just keep an eye on them!

Now for that frosting...I will admid that I used real cream cheese and butter because, I live about an hour away from a Whole Foods where I can buy vegan cream cheese and I really didn't feel like using my vegan cream cheese up...I have a recipe using non dairy and I will try it another time and let you know how it tastes...

Maple Spice Cream Cheese Frosting

8oz of cream cheese at room temp
1 stick of unsalted butter at room temp
1 Cup sugar
1/2 tsp Vanilla
1 TBS (or more) Maple Syrup
Allspice

Mix the cream cheese and butter together first until smooth
then add everything else. From here it's sort of by taste. Make sure you use real maple syrup!
Add the allspice according to how you like it and then you're all set!
Frost your cupcakes once they are cool!

YUM!