Long Term Case of M.I.A.

I was informed yesterday that several people have been referred to, and have been checking this blog for corn and gluten free reading. I checked the stats and it's true. So, here's the story:

I haven't given up on my blog. I realize that I got cut short very soon after starting it. I should have had better etiquette and posted that it would be a while. Please forgive me!

My husband and I moved. We made a big move, too. My husband is now working in his company's main corporate office, which is in Utah. We we made a big move from Hawaii to Utah. We didn't think it would happen so quickly. We sold our home (by ourselves), and it sold two weeks after we listed it. We didn't see that coming. So we had to get into gear and pack, sell all kinds of things, get the dogs flight-ready, and coordinate a cross-ocean, cross-country move.

It entailed a lot of things that are boring to read about and even more grueling to do. But the moving transition took us from the Hawaiian Islands, to Oregon for a month or so, then on a drive from Oregon to Utah, where we started the house hunt all over again. We just moved into our new home about two weeks ago and are getting all settled in.

I still have to get situated with a better camera (even an iPhone would be better than what I am currently working with!), figure out a clean and inviting layout, and start conjuring up recipes that will be ideal for this blog. Let's consider the first round of entries a failed take-off. Now that my life isn't so whirlwind, I can plan for a full and successful takeoff and get this blog into gear!

In the meantime, thanks for your patience. Please add this blog to your Reader list, and stay tuned!

Brownies a la Meat

If you are like me, you have friends all over the place, who have different interests, goals, personalities and values. You love them equally. You'd love to combine social obligations to different friends, but you hestitate. How could such different people get along?

Maybe you do it anyway. The chemistry is immediate and strong, it surprises you. In which case you wonder why you hadn't tried introducing the two earlier.

That was how I felt tonight when I made brownies.

You see, when it comes to food, I have vices. Like, a lot of vices. I have to be extremely conscious of my health, not only because of my allergies to gluten and corn, but because there's a lot of hereditary stuff dancin' around all unpredictable in my genetic makeup. I usually am very good and health conscious. But like every good girl in the world, I have a bad girl within, dying to break free. For the sake of my sanity, I let her out once in a while. Usually in my kitchen. (What happens in the kitchen stays in the kitchen. Except for tonight).

Since learning I cannot safely eat gluten and corn, I occasionally find myself craving the convenience and flavor of something like brownie mix, which is wheat flour based. Other days I will desperately miss caramel, which for reasons unknown to me is usually prepared with corn syrup. Tonight I craved both. As if that wasn't enough, I also felt a deep desire for bacon.

That's right. I said it. Bacon. You can stop acting so shocked now. I never claimed to be writing a kosher food blog.

The universe heard my cry and lo! There was a brownie mix on the gluten free aisle of the local health food store. The packaging declared it free of both gluten and corn. I could not believe my luck!

I am usually a make-it-from scratch kinda lady. But when you have a hankerin', you have a hankerin', and there's really no use putting up resistance. I made those fancy health store brownies and topped with homemade caramel and crispy sizzly bacon. Sweet met Chocolatey, and they eyed Smooth and Salty from across the room. What happened next was legendary. Bacon on a brownie. I know it sounds weird, but trust me: it is so good.

Here's my recipe for caramel sauce:

7 Tbsp sweet cream butter

approx 1/2 cup brown sugar

3 Tbsp heavy whipping cream.

a pinch of salt

Melt the butter in a small sauce pan. Whisk the sugar in on medium heat, until the grainy texture of the sugar has become smooth. Once smooth, remove from heat. Allow to cool slightly. Add the cream and continue to whisk. (I let it cool a little otherwise the cream may get too hot too quickly and ruin the caramel with the flavor of sour milk).

To make the brownies:

Get your favorite GF brownie mix, bake accordingly, minus 10 minutes. [Tip: If you want to be even more decadent, use coconut oil instead of vegetable oil]. With ten minutes to go before the brownies are cooked through, drizzle a very small amount of caramel sauce over the brownies with a spoon. Take the 5 pieces of bacon you will have cooked before hand (just slightly less crispy than you prefer), chopped up and sprinkled on top. Put the brownies back in the oven until done. Remove, allow to cool on a cooling rack. Before serving, drizzle more caramel over top. You will not need nearly as much caramel as my recipe makes.

Now, go on with your bad self!

Caprese Salad

There is a common misconception about diets that must cater to food allergies: that meals must be ornate, complex, and unfamiliar. Fortunately for those of us who must cut common household foods from our kitchens, the opposite is often true. It is the simple, common meals and snacks that are the most gratifying. It is those smells, flavors and textures which are so easy to combine and so exciting to the senses.

My favorite of all these meals is Caprese salad (or, to the wonderful Italians who invented it, Insalata Caprese). It is a welcome reprieve from a pantry full of complicated flours made of dozens of vegetables, nuts, and grains. It does not require a stove, a pot, or a spoon. It is fresh, zesty, sweet, and just as easy to prepare as it is to eat.

The wonderful thing about preparing this is that the recipe can be adjusted for any size group, appetite, or preference. Big appetite? Add another (or use larger) tomato(es) and more mozzarella. Not a big fan of dairy? Use less mozzarella and add more basil. Truly, the dish is so wonderfully simple and flexible that one hardly needs a recipe to make it!

Living in Hawaii, within reach of local farms and a garden of my own, I am fortunate to have access to my favorite salad year-round. Right now we have two types of tomatoes growing, and a dozen basil plants. For those who live in more temperate climates, and who know that the best quality produce is purchased when in-season, I will be tagging posts according to mainland seasons. As this blog matures, I hope this simplifies searching for recipes and ideas in the future. But, for now...

Caprese Salad

2 ripe, medium tomatoes, sliced into rounds

5-6 thin, round slices of fresh, in-milk mozzarella (youwant the real stuff) halved.

1 handful of fresh, whole basil leaves

1 tsp (or more) of finely ground sea salt

1/2 tsp of fresh black pepper

Olive oil for drizzling

Balsamic vinegar for drizzling

Arrange the tomato and mozzarella slices alternately on a round plate, in a round pattern. Take washed basil leaves, stack them on top of each other, roll the leaves up and give them a rough chop. Sprinkle the chopped basil on top of the tomatoes and mozzarella. Sprinkle the salad with sea salt, pepper, then drizzle with the oil and vinegar.

Serves 1-2 adults as a light lunch or first course.

Now wasn't that easy?

Gearing up to launch!

Hi guys,

I will be launching this blog soon! I have several ducks to get all lined up first. Not literally, of course, although I suppose making a recipe around duck would be fab-u-lous.

Stay tuned, there will be lots of information available with corn-free and gluten-free recipes, resources, and ramblings.

I hope you're excited. I know I am!