Peppermint Patties

Ok, when the idea of Peppermint Patties first crossed my mind I was not enticed.  "Chocolate and mint?" I said, "That sounds like toothpaste, not food."

Well, a few weeks later, the idea lingered, gnawingly and I decided I just had to make those Peppermint Patties.  So I did.  And they are good.  Even to someone who does not care for the idea of chocolate and mint.   Someone who is Jewish and does not celebrate St. Patrick's Day.  Likes them.  And ate too many.

Gluten Free & Vegan Peppermint Pattiesprint friendly recipe
½ cup coconut oil
¼ cup agave nectar
½ teaspoon peppermint oil (I used organic)
½ to 1 cup dark chocolate 73%, melted

1. In a small bowl, combine coconut oil, agave and peppermint oil, mixing with a spoon
2. Smash clumps of coconut oil against side of bowl until mixture is smooth
3. Freeze mixture for a few minutes until it starts to harden, then remove from freezer
4. Use a 1.5 teaspoon ice cream scoop to measure out little balls onto a parchment lined plate
5. Place plate in freezer to firm up mint balls; when firm, remove from freezer
6. Squish balls down into flat little patties on parchment paper
7. Dip patties into melted chocolate (use spoon to drop patty into melted chocolate, dip and remove)
8. Place patties on parchment paper to harden (takes 10 minutes though on a summer day you may need to refreeze)

Makes about 12 patties

My husband doesn't like mint and chocolate either.  And he ate plenty of my little Peppermint Patties, scarfing them down after work the other day.  What we like about these gluten free candies is that they melt in your mouth.  The children liked them too, eating their share.

I'm excited to announce that The Saturday Evening Post recently selected my Gluten Free Brownie recipe as the winner of their New Year’s Recipe Challenge. Thanks!

Happy Saint Patty's Day to all in every way!

Double Chocolate Orange Torte

This gluten free Double Chocolate Orange Torte will make a nice treat for Passover, which is rapidly approaching!  My family, however, needed no holiday or excuse to devour the entire cake on a Sunday afternoon.  This treat is easy to make and even easier to eat.  Go ahead, try some and see for yourself.

Double Chocolate Orange Torteprint friendly recipe
½ cup dark chocolate 73%
½ cup blanched almond flour
¼ cup cocoa powder
½ teaspoon celtic sea salt
3 eggs
½ cup agave nectar
½ cup grapeseed oil
1 tablespoon orange zest
½ cup dark chocolate 73%

1. Place ½ cup chocolate chips in a food processor and pulse until coarsely ground to the texture of gravel
2. Pulse in almond flour, cacao powder and salt and process until well combined, about 10 seconds
3. Add eggs to food processor and pulse again, then add in agave, grapeseed oil and orange zest
4. Pulse all ingredients together until smooth
5. Remove "bowl" from food processor and stir in second ½ cup of chocolate chips using a spoon or spatula
6. Transfer batter into a well oiled 10 inch springform pan
7. Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean

Serves 6

I adapted this torte recipe from a site called Mandelininc.com which has yummy ideas for almond flour goodies.  The recipe I based mine on is called Chocolate Citrus Almond Torte.

Finally, I just wanted to share some disturbing information that I garnered from an article in this Sunday's New York Times.  Nicholas D. Kristof wrote a very informative piece on the use of antibiotics in factory farming.  According to his article we, "need to curb the way modern agribusiness madly overuses antibiotics, leaving them ineffective for sick humans."

Did you know that 70% of the antibiotics used in this country are administered to healthy farm animals.  Why is this done?  It helps the animals grow faster and bulk up, making them, of course, more valuable.  Meat is sold by the pound --think quantity, not quality.

The danger of this practice?  With antibiotics so prevalent, new "super bugs" are developing that are resistant to all existing anti-biotics.  According to Kristof, more than 18,000 people are dying each year from these new strains of disease that are now untreatable with even the most powerful antibiotics.  Pretty scary to think that after close to a century of antibiotic use we could slip back into a world where bacterial diseases (such as tuberculosis) are untreatable and ravage our population on a large scale as they once did.

What can we do?  First, if you can avoid all animal products from CAFO farms (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations).  These types of farms crowd animals into unsanitary conditions, creating infection and of course increasing the need for the administration of prophylactic antibiotics.  If you can, purchase organic meats/eggs/dairy from a farmer/rancher in your area (grass fed meat is actually best, however, that's another story altogether).

And for all you vegans out there --kudos for not supporting the animal product industry in any way, however, these antibiotic resistant infections are contagious to everyone.  They originate in a farm and can mutate to our bodies in many ways, not just by eating meat.

I am hardly an expert on this issue, nor do I claim to be.  So please, those of you that have more information, leave a comment and let's figure out what else we can do to change this frightening trend.

Beet Hummus

This beet hummus recipe comes from Elise over at simplyrecipes.com.  She is one of my favorite bloggers and I was lucky enough to hear her speak at the last Blogher Food conference.  I myself, would not have ever thought of combining beets into a hummus type dip, so, leave it to Elise.  She is the inspiration for me on many fronts.

When it comes to beets though, I find that there is a bit of a love-hate relationship with them --as in, people either love them, or hate them.  I am a beet lover.  I think they are beautiful, I worship their color and truly enjoy their sweet, earthy taste.  My husband on the other hand, holds great disdain for this little root vegetable.  I think this comment from Jerry on my previous beet post, pretty well sums up my husband's perspective:

"From a man's point of view - beets taste like dirt and there's no disguising this fact!"

Thank you Jerry, my husband could not have said it better himself :-)

So, all you beet haters, turn away from this beet recipe and head on over to my delicious gluten free beet cake --I think you'll be pleasantly surprised with it.  My husband certainly was.

The amazing Jen Cafferty of gfreelife.com is once again throwing The Gluten Free Cooking Expo in Chicago (at The Wyndham Hotel).  I spoke with her the other day and she told me that registration is filling up fast.  If you are interested in attending this conference on April 17th & 18th, head on over to gfreelife.com to sign up.

How To Roast Beets

I love beets.  They're delicious, healthy and a "grounding" root vegetable.  I usually steam them, which is simple --other than the times that I run out of water for steaming and burn the pan.  Usually I save them in the nick of time though.

Alternatively, roasting beets, is just as easy and delicious.  Roasting adds a rich flavor to foods and also "warms" them, according to Asian medicine, making roasted veggies an idea dish for winter. Yesterday in the late afternoon, I roasted beets.  My family and I enjoyed them as part of our dinner and they were gone in no time.  Here's how you can make your own:

I'm eating a salad of roasted beets (the ones in the photo above) over a bed of greens with balsamic and olive oil (and a sprinkle of sea salt as I write this). 

And finally, Colorado's own magazine, 5280, recently featured Elana's Pantry and The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook in their March issue.  You can view the feature called "In My Kitchen" here. Happy day!

Purim Roundup

Purim is here!  One of my favorite festivals (it's not a holy day) Purim is a wonderful time to gather together with family and friends.

For those that aren't familiar, Purim, (like so many other Jewish holidays and festivals) involves the story of the attempted destruction of the Jewish people, the subsequent redemption to "freedom" and much feasting.  Hooray for freedom and feasting!  Hooray for Jewish celebrations!

Yesterday afternoon, we had a Purim Party at our house during which we made Shaloch Manot and told the story of Purim which goes something like this:

Around 1,400 years ago, The Jews were living in exile under Babylonian rule (this all takes place in ancient Persia, or modern day Iran).  A really 'bad" guy named Haman who was an adviser to the Babylonian king decided that all the Jews should die. The king's wife (who I will briefly here describe as a "closet Jew" came out).  She declared herself Jewish, charmed the king with her intelligence, beauty, and Jewishness and convinced him to spare the Jews.  Her brother Mordechai helped too.  The Queen's name was Esther.

So there you have it.  And I hope I have not offended any of my tribe with this very abbreviated and flip description.  For more information go to the Book of Esther.

Of course, telling the story of Purim is an essential part of this celebration and much fun.  Whenever the name of the "bad" guy is said, all the children make noise to drown out his name.  This gets very loud.  Thankfully we also made Hamantaschen, Peanut Butter Cups and Mounds Candy Bars, none of this quite so noisy.  Much fun was had by all and after the children left I swept and then scrubbed chocolate off the floor on my hands and knees with a damp rag --trust me this is a good workout and very satisfying.

Here are some fun ideas for treats that you can make for your friends in celebration of Purim.  Even is you're not Jewish, go ahead, have some of our fun.

I had a great time talking with the fabulous Zoe Alexander on Blog Talk Radio yesterday. If you missed The Zoe Alexander Connection radio program the audio from our conversation is available on her Blog Talk Radio page.

Happy Purim everyone!