Happy December First!

This year on Thanksgiving break, the kids set to work making their own advent calendar. How cute is that! I downloaded the numbers from here, and they cut all the numbers and squares out on their own. They couldn't wait for me to sew down the numbers and squares to the felt backing. (all of the materials are felt) We put cute stickers inside of each number.......you could add little candy canes and chocolates if you like.......we decided to make the treats sans sugar.



They were so excited for December first to roll around.



I dug out this Christmas box full of decorations and ornaments..........seems just like yesterday that I was packing it up, like Alicia mentioned today, on her blog.



I've been busy sewing up a storm. Loving Amy Butler's latest LOVE line!



In the meantime, it's too gorgeous to be stuck indoors...........I'm still planning some fun Fall hikes and picnics. Can you believe it's almost the end of the year, already?

For those of you who are anxiously awaiting the rest of the winning gluten-free recipes, I will be posting them soon. Stay tuned.

Toodles for now,
Laurie~

Stuffed and happy

Oh my goodness........look who we saw walking down the road as we were driving to Mom and Dad's for turkey dinner...........aren't they hilarious! Mr. and Mrs. Turkalurk. This was taken while I rolled down my window and stayed a safe distance.....they are kind of scary looking....don't you think?! Well, to be fair to the turkeys.....their feathers are beautiful, but their faces....um, yeah.



Made sure we got our pre-dinner walk in.........

Beautiful leaves on gray tree branches with a gray sky in the background....





Yellow Ochre........leaves.......one of my favorite colours.



Bright red berries...telling me that Winter is just around the corner.



Hills starting to turn green.......hopefully they will turn greener after the rains, today.



Overlooking a gray city by the bay.



Biking down the path........
..... happy and full after a wonderful day.

I'm Thankful

We all have so much to be thankful for.



Just a few of the things I am thankful for:

* My faith in God
* Loving family
* Loving friends
* The roof over my head



Some of the things I am enjoying these days:

* Gorgeous palette of leaves to look at
* Golden eagles that have migrated to my neighborhood for the Winter
* Pretty new fabrics from here, here and here....
.....and so many more I can't begin to list them all!
* Baking, baking and more baking!
* Brisk Autumn walks, crunching over leaves



Looking forward to digging into this pie~





Happy Thanksgiving!

Chewy Molasses Spice Cookies

Thanks to all of you who voted here, last week!!

It's a triple tie! Cookies, something Chocolate, and breakfast!

Today I will be posting the cookie recipe: Chewy Molasses Spice Cookies



When I was first sworn off of wheat/gluten, the thing I really and truly missed was my Momma's homemade Molasses cookies! Well, any of her cookie recipes, for that matter.
So, here is my interpretation of gluten-free Molasses cookies. Have a go, and see for yourself how yummy they are! I'm not missing out! You're not missing out! There's something about Molasses and Autumn that go together like old friends.


Chewy Molasses Spice Cookies

1 - 1/8 cup butter, melted
2 eggs
1/2 cup molasses
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ginger (ground)
1 teaspoon cloves (ground)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 - 1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup Tapioca flour
3/4 cup Sweet rice flour
1 cup Brown rice flour
1/2 cup Teff flour
1 - 1/2 teaspoon Xanthan Gum

Mix all ingredients thoroughly. Roll dough into 1 inch balls, and flatten with the palm of your hand. Cris-cross the cookie tops with a fork and sprinkle with sugar.

Preheat oven to 345 F. Bake on un-greased baking sheet for ten minutes. Remove from oven and let sit on baking sheet until the cookies have partially. Remove cookies from baking sheet, and place on cooling rack. These cookies freeze well. (whats left of them)

Handmade Holidays Feature

Have you been over to Sew Mama Sew lately? They are featuring their third annual Handmade Holidays. There are lots of really good handmade gift ideas, tutorials, yummy recipes, and the like. It is a really good resource if you are wondering what to make your friends and loved ones for the Holidays.

I was more than delighted to have them ask if they could feature one of my yummy recipes. Thank you so much, Sew Mama Sew!!!

Head on over to Sew Mama Sew and check out the latest and greatest of their third annual Handmade Holidays.

To see my recipe featured, scroll down to the Mix It column..........it's titled: Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes.



Just for fun, I have set up a little voting fun for you, on the right sidebar of my blog. Feel free to vote for your favorite recipe. The voting is open until midnight on Monday, November 16th. It is my way of finding out what my readers and friends are looking for!

Gobble, gobble, it's that time of year!

Can it be November already? Is there really one more month, and the end of the year is upon us?
Oh my! Today I'm going to share with you my special cornbread stuffing recipe.



Do you like cornbread? If the answer is YES, then you'll love this cornbread stuffing recipe. No reason to miss out on eating the stuffing this year at Thanksgiving. Why not make it gluten-free!!?! Everyone will be happy! The happy thing about this recipe is, you can make the cornbread a day or two in advance, and sneak a piece or two of the cornbread, making sure to save at least half of the batch for the stuffing.

Cornbread

One and a half cups cornmeal

1/2 cup cornflour

1/2 cup tapioca flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup milk OR buttermilk

2 eggs

1/4 cup butter, melted

3 teaspoons baking powder

3 tablespoons honey

Mix all ingredients thoroughly, and pour into greased pan: 8”x 8”

Bake for 30 minutes at 350, or until knife comes out clean.

Cornbread Stuffing

Once the cornbread has cooled (you can make it the day before), cut into small bite-size squares.

3 apples, diced
1 small purple onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 head of celery, chopped
1 fist full of cilantro, chopped
a few leaves of fresh sage, chopped
a few sprigs of fresh rosemary, chopped
one teaspoon salt
one teaspoon cracked pepper, or red pepper

Mix all ingredients together, and stuff inside of your turkey!
Scoop out of the cooked turkey, once it's all done baking and simmering together. Serve as a side dish with your turkey dinner. It is delicious!

Try a loaf of Almond Bread

I would like to share this delicious loaf of Almond Bread I have made. I really think you should try and make one for yourself, too. It is toast worthy, tea worthy, sandwich worthy, snack worthy, and even company worthy. The thing I love about it most, is the amount of time it takes to whip this loaf up. It is a no yeast bread, so it rises as it bakes, and you don't have to wait for the bread to sit out and rise before you bake it. Feel free to double the recipe and make two, while you're at it. Why not? It's gone after one day, around our house. Little and big hands alike, reaching for more.



For someone like myself who is gluten intolerant, I am always on the lookout for a different kind of bread I can make. Sometimes I like to follow a recipe, and other times I like to play with the ingredients in my cupboard and see what I can come up with. For me, baking is an art form. I love to have fun while I'm in the kitchen. Cooking has never been a drudgery to me. In fact, I look forward to the change of the seasons when I can try new flavors and spices.

Almond Bread

1 cup white rice flour
1 cup tapioca flour
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
1 tablespoon sugar
½ teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
3 eggs
¼ cup almond meal
½ teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1 ½ tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon cornstarch
¾ cup milk
¾ tablespoon vinegar

Preheat oven to 340

Grease a loaf pan with butter and dust with rice flour.
In mixing bowl, whisk dry ingredients together. Add the remaining ingredients. Turn the electric mixer on low. Turn the switch off and on, until ingredients stick together. Once the batter sticks together, turn the mixer on high, until the batter is smooth and creamy. Spoon the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Bake for 40 minutes or until done. Leave in pan to cool (about ten minutes), then remove and place on cooling rack.

Optional:
For almond raisin bread, add ¼ cup raisins.