Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Spending a little more time at home and having to cook EVERY. SINGLE. MEAL. has stretched my imagination and quite honestly, my behavior skills, too.

I've been making the same banana chocolate chip muffins for quite a few years, because the peeps love them. Since the middle age body gluten free revolt began, I haven't been able to enjoy them. I have a thing for breakfast. What I really want are recipes that everyone will eat. It's definitely too much work to duplicate everything gluten into a gluten free option as well (not to mention the cost).

I have tried quite a few recipes and they still come out grainy and gross. Until yesterday!

Last summer, my mom found PremiumGoldFlax products at a market in ND. You know how we love to share simple products that work! I have tried quiet a few of their products and have had great success. Free delivery when you order online and stock up, too!

One of my discoveries during my baking experiments has been that these gluten free flours are heavy. Many of them tend to be a little more gritty. And, they need some help to be all that they can be.

For this recipe, I replaced my regular (wheat) flour with the Baking & Pizza Flour. I also added a little Zanthan gum and sour cream. Why? Binding. Wheat flour tends to have a smoother consistency. Gluten is also a binder. It traps the beautiful gases that make our baked goods rise. It gives our goodies their togetherness, but with a soft, fluffy, chewy texture. Let me tell you how much I miss gluten!

I've also found that if your recipe calls for baking soda or baking powder, you need a little bit more. Not a LOT more (poof!), but just enough to get that heavier dough rising.

I've also found that adding sour cream or room temperature cream cheese can help to bind the ingredients together if your dough is grainy (you'll know - your baked goods will be grainy, too). It's all about the proteins friends, that bind us together.


GLUTEN FREE BANANA CHOCOLATE CHIP MUFFINS
3 ripe bananas
2 eggs
1/2 cup melted butter (1 stick)
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 Tablespoons regular cream cheese
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum (not needed if your flour mix already has this in it)
2 cups gluten free flour mix (Baking & Pizza Flour)
1/4 teaspoon salt
Dash of cinnamon
1/2 to 1 cup mini chocolate chips (regular also work) - add last

Mix the dry ingredients. Mix the wet ingredients. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix. Add the chocolate chips. Fill muffin tins almost to the top. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

(Depending on the flour you use, you may need to bake a little longer - watch for brown tops that are fluffed up with no soft spots).


BANANA CHOCOLATE CHIP MUFFINS (with gluten)
3 ripe bananas
2 eggs
1/2 cup melted butter (1 stick)
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
Dash of cinnamon
1/2 to 1 cup mini chocolate chips (regular also work) - add last

Mix the dry ingredients. Mix the wet ingredients. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix. Add the chocolate chips. Fill muffin tins almost to the top. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.


Make mouths happy and serve them warm.

Enjoy! XO

Soul Fires

We were starting to think this balmy tundra winter was going to stay warm...until this week. Welcome back frigid temps (moving in to -45F wind chills next week)!

While you're going to have to bundle up to keep the frost from settling on your toes this week, diffusing essential oils that are grounding and warming to the soul increases our winter happy! I pair these warm blends in the diffuser with a cup of our chai tea latte or hot chocolate in my mug, and snuggle inside for a few days.

We also love to bake when it's cold outside. A few weeks ago, I tried a gluten free cookie recipe and I cannot keep these things in the house long enough to get more than one or two myself. The better half may or may not have eaten four in a row. YES! Yum. This gal is a brilliant gluten free mama.

When you're mixing essential oils together scents are important, as are the positive properties of each oil. There are a few essential oils that are out there that aren't used that often, probably because we just don't know much about them, but they are oh so good! We use our favorite essential oils when diffusing, because, well, the purity of scent matters. You'll hang on to a scent memory far longer than others.

Ylang ylang is one of those essential oils that might leave you wondering what you can do with it.

Ylang ylang (ee-lang, ee-lang), supports emotional connection, joyfulness, and innocence (try this in a massage oil...zing!) It's a heart healer that pairs nicely with uplifting citrus scents and sultry flowery scents. Using it as the undertone grounds us in joy, something that I sure start to look for when day 15 of below zero temps are in the forecast!

Cinnamon is an interesting one. It encourages us to feel free and connected. Cinnamon is a hot oil, so definitely wash up right away if you get this oil on your skin (and never rub your eye if you do - youch!) Even the flavor is a connector in recipes. Cinnamon also supports our immune system and helps us kick the winter blues.

For many, lavender is calming to the mind, releases tension, and encourages expression. Around here, we use lavender before a big game or nerve wracking new experience. Not everyone is a fan of lavender. You might try juniper berry instead, which we love in our house for peaceful sleep. Either of these oils will bring a more flowery scent to this blend, juniper berry adding depth with its earthy tones.

If neither lavender or juniper berry are your thing, our other go to favorite is wild orange. You can blend wild orange with just about any essential oil and it smells wonderful! It's uplifting and connects with our playful side - if it's not yet frozen.

Some connect very deeply with the smell of clove. I like a little more clove than less, but you decide what works best for you. After learning more about it, I understand why the wild and free spirits in our house love this smell! Clove ignites our soul fire and stimulates the mind, which can much us feel empowered, independent, and safe.

We've use quite a few different cool mist diffusers, but this is our go-to diffuser. It's small enough that it can be moved around the house and has a auto shut-off feature.


For your diffuser: 
Soul Fire
-3 drops ylang ylang
-2 drops cinnamon
-2 drops lavender (or try juniper berry, citrus bliss, or wild orange)
-1 drop clove

A few more blends to try: 
Stay Warm
-2 drops cinnamon
-2 drops wild orange
-2 drops clove
*add one drop douglas or siberian fir if you want to add an up north kick to this blend

Bustin' the Blues
-2 drops bergamot
-2 drops eucalyptus
-2 drops wild orange


What I love most is that you can explore essential oils as often or as slowly as you like by diffusing. The blends are limitless. 

Stay warm!

Red Beans and Rice

If there is one thing that I am not and wish I was, it is a southern cook. The family has a hankerin' for hot stuff most of the time and I tend to stick to my good old German Russian/Scandinavian bland food. Every now and then I get a crazy idea and try something new.

Like that one time, I bought lots 'o small red beans.

One would think that dry beans are easy to cook with. Uh, no. Not for this northerner. We do tubers, but beans, well... Leading a gluten free life has to start somewhere!

I've played around with this recipe a little bit. If there's a spice missing that you adore in your red beans and rice, it's pretty safe to add it to this mix.

A few things I've learned, when playing around with this recipe:
-You can use ham or andouille sausage, both taste great
-You can add a few more spices or a little more heat, depending on what you can handle
-If you have food allergies, you can sub out Worchestershire Sauce for soy sauce, add 1/8 t brown sugar and 1/8 t ground mustard too
-I may or may not have tossed a little rosemary in to my pot for good measure
-White rice is so much better than brown rice in this dish
-Day 2 = yum also
-mash a few of the beans up a little when you add the meat if you want a mushier consistency

What you'll need: 

• 1 lb small red beans - I like to soak the beans for 4ish hours, but they will lose color if you soak them for too long (lots 'o small red beans)
• 1 lb Andouille sausage or cooked ham, chopped
• 8 cups chicken stock 
• 1 ham hock
• 2 T olive oil 
• 1 chopped green pepper (red if you'd rather that flavor instead) 
• 3-4 stalks of celery, chopped
• 1 large yellow or white onion, chopped
• 4 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 4 gloves of garlic, minced
• 1 t ground black pepper
• 1 t salt
• 1 t oregano (our most favorite spices)
• 1 t thyme
• 1/2 t smoked paprika (yep, it's a thing! substitute 1/2 t paprika with a pinch of cumin)
• 1/2 t cayenne pepper (this is optional, add a pinch or two more if you like the heat)
• 4 bay leaves
• 1 T tabasco sauce or other hot sauce (Yay! Tabasco has no gluten ingredients!) 
• 6 cups prepared white rice 

Making mouths happy: 

1. Cook the mirepoix and peppers, along with the salt and pepper, oregano and thyme, in a large pot in the olive oil until just tender (low medium, 5-7 minutes). Add the garlic and cook for another minute.
2. Add chicken stock, tabasco sauce, smoked paprika, cayenne, ham hocks, and beans. Heat on high, stir until boiling. Once boiling, decrease the heat to simmer. Cover and cook on a slow simmer for 2 1/2 hours, stirring every 15-20 minutes. 
3. Chop Andouille sausage or cooked ham in to bean sized pieces. If using sausage, brown the sausage near the end of the 2 1/2 hour simmer. (No need to brown if using cooked ham). 
4. Add the meat to the beans. Cook at a high simmer for 30 minutes. 
5. Remove ham hock and bay leaves before serving. 
6. Serve over white rice. 
7. Add extra yum with cheddar cheese or sour cream to your liking if you need to bring the heat down a notch!