Cheesy Rolls

Cheesy Rolls
*Adapted from Gluten-Free Baking Classics by Analise Roberts: Hamburger Buns

Ingredients:

2 large eggs at room temperature
2 tablespoons applesauce
2 cups GF flour blend (I used 1 C Bob’s all Purpose, 1/3 Cup tapioca, 1/3 Cup Brown rice, 1.3 cup Sorghum)
1 ½ teaspoon xanthan
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin
2 tablespoons honey
1 packet active dry yeast
¾ c plus 2 tablespoons soy milk, warmed
¼ cup flax meal
2 teaspoons baking powder
Shredded cheese (I used smoked gouda but cheddar or another cheese would be yummy)

Mix all the ingredients in a stand mixer on medium for about 3 minutes. In the mean time grease a sheet pan and dust with cornmeal. Once the “batter” is mixed and beaten to death, scoop onto the prepared pan. A self-releasing ½ cup ice cream scoop works perfect for this job. I made 6 rolls. Stick the rolls in a warm place for 40 minutes to rise. Preheat the oven to 375. Once the rolls have doubles in size, sprinkle with cheese and bake for 20 minutes.

The applesauce, gelatin, honey, and flax meal really make the rolls tender and soft.

Once cooled, slice in half and store in the freezer.

These make wonderful sandwich rolls for lunch and are delicious toasted.

Banana Ice Cream

Ingredients:

I large banana

Slice the banana into small pieces. Place the slices in the freezer for about 2 hours.

Once the slices are frozen stick in the food processor and blend away until smooth and creamy.

One banana fits perfectly in a mini-food processor and makes the perfect single size portion. I sometimes sprinkle the top with cocoa powder but today I used chocolate syrup. YUM! A friend of mine blended cherries with hers. I have been tempted to also blend other fruits and almond butter. This recipe is easy and can be vamped up in more ways than one.

Olympic Distance...check! (Spinach-Walnut Pesto)

When I completed the Beaver Freezer Sprint Triathlon, I was so happy that the Blue Lake Tri would be held in June. The Beaver Freezer was cloudy and cold and the roads were wet. Apparently in Oregon, monsoons still happen in June.

The pre race dinner:

Spinach-Walnut Pesto Pasta, Curried Butternut Squash Soup, and BBQed Pork Chops.

Spinach-Walnut Pesto Pasta:

Ingredients:
4 Large handfuls of baby spinach
1 cup walnuts
1 cup skim ricotta cheese
4 cloves of garlic
salt to taste

Stick everything in a food processor and blend away into smooth. Toss with cooked pasta.


I made the Curried Butternut Squash Soup from below sans the honey. It was easy and delicious. I highly recommend it. DB grilled the pork. My mom just seasoned them with my favorite Kirkland Organic No-Salt seasoning and some salt (ha).


The Swim:(1.5K)
I would consider swimming my strongest portion of triathlons. I have the strongest background in it and I'm a pretty slow biker and running isn't my biggest favorite thing to do. The problem with today is that I have never really swam in a lake before. Many people say that before your first lake swim, it's important to practice in a lake beforehand. Many people say the reasoning behind this is that in a triathlon lake swim, there is a lot of splashing, kicking, and it's hard to see. Well this is a lot of what water polo is. I have a background in water polo. I have no problem will people trying to drown me in water and splashing or getting kicked in the face. (no, that was not an invite to kick me in the face). The one part of lake swimming I did not take into consideration was the temperature of the water. The water was under 65 degrees today. This is COLD! Not to mention that it was pouring down rain the entire time. After the first minute of the swim I couldn't stick my head under the water because I couldn't breathe. I typically do a 5 stroke breath pattern in the pool. I couldn't even breathe every stroke. I began to breast stroke with my head out of the water. I thought about head up freestyle, but seeing that I had a mile to go, that wasn't going to work. DB and I expected that I would be in about the middle of my swim heat. I was nearly dead last at this point with one girl right next to me. After what seemed forever and after I began to panic because I realized it would take me a damn hour to finish the swim a guy from the wave behind me passed me. I decided that that was it. I forced my head in the water and started to swim head down for 2 strokes then head up for 2 strokes. After I passed the turnaround buoy, I realized that I could do this! I began picking up my speed and continued to swim head down and lifting my head every 5 strokes to make sure I was going the right way. And guess what?! I starting passing other women in my wave. Finally I could see the get out point and picked up my speed again until I got there. I was soooooooooo happy to get out of that water.

The Bike: (40K)
The bike portion was really good. My legs felt good and I made sure to monitor my fluid intake. The only down side was that the entire ride was soaking! It was pouring down rain the entire time and the road was flooded half the time. I literally thought I'd have to dismount at one point because the water looked really deep. There were a lot of people with flats and even one guy just laying in a ditch. It looked like he fell but his feet were still stuck in his pedals so he was stuck laying down. Thankfully there were a lot of support vans and motorcycles to help those folks out. The first 12 miles flew by. My goal was to keep my pace up and I was reassured that I would do it since I felt better than I did at the 12 mi point of the Beaver Freezer. At the point that the bikes entered the park, the course narrowed from a 2 lane road into a 5 foot wide steep hill with a super muddy mat on top of it for "traction". I thought this was the dismount area so I clipped out of one of my pedals. Unfortunately it was not and I couldn't clip back in fast enough. My speed to too slow and I ended up having to half walk/pedal my way up the little hill. Well I nearly tipped over. I was on the far left of the mat for this reason. Some uber-hardcore-looking guy tried to sneak by me on the left (WTF!?) at the same time I nearly tipped to the left. So I ran into him. I felt really bad so I yelled that I was sorry but he just acted all pissed. Honestly buddy, you could see that I was about to fall and you could have gone to the other side. Hate the game, not the player. The actual dismount went well and I couldn't decide if I wanted to change my shorts or not (from bike to run) so my T2 time was extra long. I ended up sticking running shorts on since my bike shorts were soaked.

The Run (10K)
The run started slow. Unlike the Beaver Freezer I could feel my legs after getting off the bike. I had about 6- 50 y/o women and men pass me on the. I swear they take drugs. They are amazing! The first water station I drank to much water too fast and well... the water just decided to come right back up. ew. My goal for this race was to finish and try to run the entire run. I only ran at the aid stations so that I could drink water and those were only for 10 feet at a time. I am going to count that as running the entire time. Finally after what seemed like FOREVER I could see the finish. I started to tear up. I ran through the muddy muck and finished! As I waited for DB to meet up with me I thought I was going to burst into tears. I didn't becuase I had already embarrassed myself enough for the day.

I surprisingly felt amazing after I finished. Far better than I did after the Beaver Freezer which was less than half the distance. I didn't bother changing or toweling off becuase everything was drenched and muddy. I could hardly pickup my bag because it was so heavy with wet clothes and gear.

Before the bike and run portion of the tri I ate a pouch of glucose gel. One from Powerade and one from Hammer. They were both orange flavored. The Powerade went down a lot easier but they both have comparable tastes. I didn't notice a perk in my energy but I didn't was not fatigued during the legs and I didn't cramp anytime either. I felt strong. I also wasn't famished after I finished. I don't know how I placed because results haven't posted yet. I'd just like to finish not last in my division after that swim. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

It was around 5am. I look beautiful!

This is before the swim. I was already soaking from the rain.

Aw, the wonderful bulges wearing your bike shorts under a wetsuit can create.
Me: ready to panic.

Getting ready to start the bike leg.

After I successfully dismounted from the bike.
Notice the standing water. It was like that everywhere.
The start of a very muddy run.
Yay, I'm holding back tears. Again, notice all the water/mud.

First Day and a Guest Post from my Carribean Friend

Aw... first day was an adult. Not bad since it was all orientation. AK and I felt rather important in our lawyery suits and all. The day flew by and though we didn't do any actual "work", All this briefing made me more excited for the following weeks. In 6 days we will be likely doing our own trials. (!!!!). I have a good friend who is currently attending Vet School down in the Caribbean. What a smart choice! I chose the not so fabulous route of studying for law school in dreary, rainy Oregon. She is tan, in shape, and loving it! Since I have been super busy this past few days, I asled her to make a guest post about her Curried Butternut Squash Soup that she raved about. I will make it some day. (Hum...Perhaps I will have a cooking marathon this Saturday) Laura does not have a food blog and does not cook specifically with any allergens in mind, she has been able to use ingredients available on her tiny island of Saint Kitts to made mouthwatering meals, which I think sounds even more challenging at times then GF/SF cooking. She of course does this all while studying up a storm learning about animals and their parts.

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Curried Butternut Squash
Guest Post by Miss Laura K.

Ok, so the best part of this recipe, is that you can make what you want of it. I took a plain recipe I found online and added my own twist, but basically this is how it is done:

2 medium-ish butternut squash, peeled, de-seeded, and chopped into 1in chunks or so
2 large carrots, peeled, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 small-med potato, peeled, cubed (helps thicken the soup a bit, I used a red potato)

6 cups chicken or vegetable both
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tbs. curry powder (or less to taste, this is pretty strong)
1 tbs. honey (optional, if you have it around, it adds a nice sweetness to the spicy curry)
salt and pepper
olive oil

There are 2 ways to start this, but it all ends up the same, so it is just your preference.

1. Roast the veggies before boiling in the broth. I heard this helps bring out their flavor, not sure if it is true, but I did. Put all veggies on a baking tray, drizzle with olive oil, add salt and pepper. Bake at 350 for 20 min or so. Then continue to #2, skipping the saute part.

2. In a large pot, saute the onion in some olive oil. Add veggies, broth, spices (everything EXCEPT honey), bring to a boil. Simmer for 15-20 min or until veggies are all soft. Take off heat.

3. Stir in honey. Now, puree it all in a blender until you reach your desired texture. I like really smooth soup, I know some like it chunkier. Depending on your blender size/strength, you may need to blend it in batches.

and, you're done!

Really, it is quite simple. And delicious, and healthy! Have fun making it your own, there are a lot of things you could do to change it up a bit. Enjoy! :)

Pork Enchiladas

Sorry for the lack of posting. I am officially moved out of my cottage in Eugene and back home with Mommy. Pretty awesome huh? Nearly Law School Grad moving back home. People are asking me what I'm getting my degree in. They are shocked when they find out I'm a professional/grad student. swell.

I finally received my new cycling shoes via Steapandcheap.com. Along with them I had to get clip-less pedals. After spending an entire day unpacking junk and moving it from Mommy's garage to my bedroom in Mommy's house, I thought it would be great to take a ride on my trainer with said shoes and pedals. Well, I go to remove my old pedals, pedal wrench and all, and I got the left pedal off not problem. Right pedal, Problem. I stripped the nut completely. Pissed and frustrated (sorry DB) I threw my bike in my car in hopes of making it to REI the next morning. At REI the next morning, the tech spent an hour trying different tricks to remove the stubborn pedal. No luck he finally told me that I would have to replace the crank set and even if I could get the pedal off, the crank got so torqued that it would be stripped anyways. Not what I wanted to hear. Especailly since I was not the one who origionally installed said pedal. That was courtesy of Tom from Eugene REI, who btw, lacks motivation and perhaps inhaled one too many herbal products in his day. My bike is under warranty and figuring that it is a relatively new bike and technically came with this problem I told REI tech man that I didn't want to pay for a new crankset and I didn't have time to wait a week since I have a triathlon in a week. I'm not typically a very demanding person, but I'm not going to fork out more money for something that has nothing to do with my error. Being the kind and patient gentleman that he apparently was, REI tech man swapped out my crankset with pedal with another one from the same bike they had in the store. He then brought to by knowledge that the pedal I had on there wasn't even the right pedal for my bike. (Thanks, Tom!)

After much thanks and the problem solved, I proceeded to venture to the local aquatic center to register for a pass and swim. It was wonderful (mostly). The pool here does not use chlorine, they use some sort of salt system. It's much gentler on skin, hair and swimsuit. Unlike the UO Rec Center, the pool had a completely empty lane and I had to share with one other person once things heated up, but the lanes are nice and wide so I didn't end up smacking my arm, finger, toes into the lane line. On top of the pool, the aquatic center also has a nice rec room and a bunch of drop in fitness classes. I probably won't take too much adwantage of this now but once winter rolls around and triathlon season rolls out, I will be very glad to have these amenities available to me and a very reasonable price.

Once I showered from the pool I thought it would be a great idea to try out my new pedals since I hadn't rode my bike outside for about a week. I did a few spins on my trainer to figure out what I needed to do to release by feet from the pedals. Off I went. First stop sign, I kind of forgot about the whole pedal thing and slowly proceeded to tip completely over landing on my elbow and hip. RIGHT in front of 2 cars with drivers half concerned half chuckling. I've never fell off a bike in my life except one time in the back yard when I was 6. Yes, I clearly remember this as I have always been a child of caution. With my ego bruised... better yet... destroyed, I got right back up and pedaled the hell out of that intersection. I origionally planned on doing 20 miles but I have yet to bike around Hillsboro much and since a lot of the area around I live is rural/agriculture, the roads are narrow and do not have shoulders. They also frequent large farm vehicles. Not wanting to rick anymore stop sign acrobatics or becoming a farm truck pancake, I did a 16 mile loop and called it good. Can I just pause for a moment, and have a minor FREAK OUT about how unprepared I am for next Sunday?!

I feel that I have had a productive week and I hope that if the weather cooperates, I might take the bike on another route, more suburia-esk with bike lanes. However, this might mean more stops and more tippage.

On to the recipe. While dropping off some furniture at DB's home, I decided to make Pork Enchiladas. From scratch people.... no canned sauce.

Pork Enchiladas *adapted from the Joy of Cooking*

Ingredients
2 large onions, chopped
4 medium jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped
2 tbls finely chopped garlic
1/4 cup red pepper flakes
2 tsps ground cumin
Two 28-oz cans diced tomatoes, drained
Roughly 2 lbs of port terderloin
12 corn tortillas
1 cup shredded cheese ( I mixed cheddar and Monterrey jack)


In a preheated oven, bake pork for roughly 25 to 30 minutes. Set aside to cool.

In a large skillet cook onions and jalapenos until tender (~ 7 min). Add in garlic, pepper flakes, and cumin.
Continue stiring for another minute and add in tomatoes. Once the tomatoes are combined and heated through, remove skillet from heat and cool. Meanwhile, shred up pork in a large bowl. Puree cooled sauce in a food processor. Combine about a 1/2 cup of the sauce with the pork. Place about another 1/2 cup of the sauce in the bottom of a 9 x 13 baking dish. Fill each tortilla with the pork mixture, roll and stick seam side down in dish. Once done, cover with remaining sauce and sprinkle with cheese. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 10 -15 minutes until the cheese is bubbly.

Sorry folks, pictures are on DB's camera. You will have to wait. I suggest not using 1/4 of red pepper flakes because your mouth will feel like they are melting off. DB didn't think it was that spicy but I sure did. Maybe a tablespoon will suffice instead. I guess that is what happens then the Chinese girl from Oregon attempts Tex-Mex.

The dogs seem to be settling in just fine

(yup, that a dog in the upper left corner, not a pillow)

I'm a Free Bird

Finals are over and I am free. Strangely enough I have no idea what to do with myself. I will not be posting a recipe as I am in the process of moving and I have no food. However I have something food related to write about. *DISCLAIMER: this post may contain some TMI info.*

I have been eliminating refined sugar from my diet. it's been a roller coaster process but a relatively sucessful one... until.... finals. I ate a LOT of sugar filled products. Ice cream, cereal... etc etc. well guess what happened.... I got a a bodily infection, a bodily infection that can be triggered by stress and sugar intake. (I won't go into further detail) I was going to wait til I made an appointment this coming week but ended up going to Urgent Care first thing this morning because the symptoms got so unbearable. While at my appointment they saw an elevated level of white-blood cells which is typically caused by an infection in the body. However, the infection I had is not one to likely trigger this, unless it is very bad. I've had these wonderful expierences plenty of times before, yet never this bad. I'm pretty sure my body was in shock. I don't care if medically there is no evidence that sugar can cause this to happen but I know my body and I am convinced my increased sugar intake *plus stress* caused me to get this. Frankly, while i love sugar, it's not worth it. UC visits are not cheap *though my insurance took care of most if it.. I think, and the prescription isn't good for you as it kills off good bacteria and other naturally occuring processes in your GI tract. OTC treatments are even more expensive and don't always work. So there you go, another real life reason to limit your sugar intake.

Pumpkin Cookies

Finals are underway and that means: COOKIES. I swear everyone is eating, baking, giving out cookies.

I want in. :(


Pumpkin Cookies


Ingredients
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup agave nectar
1 can (15 oz) canned pumpkin
1/2 cup cooked millet (or any other cooked grain of your choice)
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons grated ginger
2 teaspoons allspice
1 cup millet flout
1 cup rice flour
1 cup tapioca starch
1/2 cup buckwheat flour
Almond meal for sprinkling

Combine all ingredients except flours. Once thoroughly combined, stir in flour until well blended.
Drop by the tablespoonful onto a greased cookie sheet. Sprinkle cookies with almond meal. Press each cookie with a fork to flatten. Bake at 375 for 14 minutes.


Results:
So... these came out more cake-like than anything else. I should have called these Pumpkin Cake-bites. They are also a little "gummy". Either way. They are delicious, sugar-free, diary-free, egg free, vegan (I'm 99% sure), and gluten free. YUM.