From the monthly archives:

February 2013

A new journey …. gluten free

by Destini on February 23, 2013

No new recipe today, but a journey into trying to cook/bake gluten free. Recently my husband has realized that he has a gluten issue. For those of you that have followed my blog for awhile know that he also has a lactose issue (poor guy). Even with the removal of dairy he was still experiencing slight discomfort in his tummy. After a week of having NO gluten in his diet, he has come to realize that he does have a gluten issue. Just to be sure, he will be seeing a Nutrapath to have a blood test done to verify this.

When he first mentioned that he believed he had a gluten problem, my first thought was “what am I going to make him for lunch & dinner”. My husband enjoys his bread, and often will have wraps or sandwiches for lunch. With a trip to the grocery store, I soon realized that if we are going to start purchasing gluten free bread, this will be VERY expensive. When we were in Arizona, “gluten free” was something that was offered everywhere and you didn’t break the bank to eat clear of gluten. Back home, that is a different story.

This is why I LOVE Pintrest, I recently have created a Gluten Free board, and have been posting a lot of recipes that are “gluten free”. As you will notice,  there is a lot of bread recipes pinned currently. And today I just went to Bulk Barn and purchased everything I need to make a loaf of gluten free bread. The ingredients were quite costly. I think we spent $68. But we purchased other gluten free items that are more expensive or not available at our regular grocery store. I hope anyone near a Trader Joes or Whole Food knows how LUCKY they are. I bought enough flours and such that I should be able to make quite a few loafs. A gluten free loaf of the Udi’s bread here is $6.99 and its frozen.

I will keep you posted on how this venture goes, and you can be darn sure that I will be creating gluten free recipes on the blog. Also, a local Manitoba Food Blogger recently just had a gluten free book published and I just might be giving a copy away on the blog SOON!

If any of you gluten free foodies out there have any suggestions or recipes you would like to share, link them up in the comments! Any help would be wonderful!

Have a wonderful weekend 🙂

Tagged as: gluten free, jeanine friesen, pintrest

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Vegan Coconut Whipped Cream

by Destini on February 16, 2013

Belgium waffles, fresh cut fruit, pure maple syrup ….. oh and that lovely homemade plump of whipped cream…YUM. That right there is a breakfast I LIVE for. Of course only on the weekends and I try to only have it one day. But still, I dream about such decadence for my belly LOL. Now sadly for my poor lactose intolerant husband,  he has had to pretend like that whipped cream does not belong on his crispy belgium waffle, that it is something he has imagined. Till now! Cue in Coconut milk. I often will substitute cream in recipes with coconut milk, it has just the right thickness and often compliments the meal quite nicely. Now I have been seeing coconut whipped cream pop up all over the vegan blogs, this is just my version. Though I am sure it’s someone else’s as well. Now here are the instructions, and sadly this does need to be thought out the night before or at least several hours before you need it. BUT it is extremely simple.

Ingredients:

  • 1 can coconut milk (full fat and this is VERY important)
  • 1tbsp confectioners sugar (a lot of brands are Gluten Free, but just be careful & read the back)
  • 1tsp pure vanilla extract

Directions: The night before, place can of coconut milk in the fridge(VERY important), the next day, place bowl and whisk attachment for mixer in freezer for 5-10minutes, take out can of coconut milk, flip it UPSIDE down and open, you will have a bunch of liquid on top, take that liquid and pour it in a separate bowl(you may need this or can use it for smoothies etc), take the thick stuff at the bottom of the can and put it in your mixer bowl, turn on your mixer to HIGH speed and let the magic happen! Add confectioners sugar and vanilla extract, if you find that it is REALLY thick, add 1tsp of the reserved coconut liquid. If you still find it is thick, add a little more.

Now I have found that organic coconut milk will have separated the liquid from the fat, but the non organic will just be a VERY thick liquid.  If it hasn’t separated, no worries, just use the thick liquid. But if it isn’t a full fat coconut milk, it won’t work. Full fat should be roughly 120 calories for a can with 11g of fat.

YUMMY! I buy a couple cans at a time and leave them in the back of the fridge, you never know when a random belgium waffle impulse may occur.

When I was taking these photos, it happened to also turn into a kitty photo shoot. The camera just loves Tia!

I hope everyone had a sweet Valentines Day! We don’t really celebrate it ourselves. But I did get a Special Valentines day present that was sitting at my door when I got home!

Thank You Mott’s Garden Cocktails for these! The roses smelled amazing and those little cocktails are delicious!

I also may have gotten my little furry valentine a gift

Any of you that have a cat, get them this brand of catnip toys. Tia has never liked a toy soo much. I have gotten them for some friends kitties before, and they all go NUTS for them.

She flicks them up in the air and goes crazy.

Today we are off to “Mardi Gras” at our convention centre. Should be a great time, good food, awesome music!  Hope everyone has a great weekend 🙂

Question: What is your favorite breakfast food?  Mine clearly is belgium waffles 🙂

 

Tagged as: coconut milk, gluten free, motts, motts garden cocktails, Recipes, Valentines Day, Vegan, yeowww

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Stuffed Quinoa Peppers

February 12, 2013

Wow what a week! Arizona was just amazing, it was exactly what my husband and I needed. We want to move there now!! We ate at some amazing restaurants, hiked up a mountain, experienced the craziest hole in a PGA golf tournament, fed a giraffe and had a much needed vacation. I will share some photos tomorrow, but as this is Tuesday and that means Vegan Tuesday let’s share a recipe! This took a few tries to get it just right and according to the hubby… I did it! Ingredients: Yields 4-5 servings 2tbsp EVOO 1 box(225g) of Quinoa 2 cups of vegetable bouillon(low sodium) 1 medium onion, diced 3-4 […]

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Home Bound!

February 6, 2013

With much resistance we will be getting on a plane in an hour to start our journey home. We have had such a blast here in Phoenix. Honestly wish I could move here! Just wanted to give everyone a quick update. Writing this from my phone. I have many photos to share!! Talk to you all soon!!  

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