Absolutely the BEST gluten free brownies out there!

Upon finding out this past Tuesday that our friends with two girls need some a few extra hands for some house projects Hannah and I decided to volunteer our time. Now you know girls we all love chocolate right? We definitely wanted to bring something chocolate to help the time be extra enjoyable, but there one daughter has quite a few allergies two of them are wheat and eggs. They also are foodies and know what good chocolate brownies are supposed to taste like so when we decided to make these brownies we were a little sceptical. We got to there house did some work and decided to take a break and have a brownie and some coffee, well we had coffee:) Then, with all of us taking our first bite into the brownie the room became dangerously quite.......and then WOW! We all could not believe how delicious they were! Most people think of gluten free as dry bland or gritty right? Well these brownies give gluten free a whole new meaning, even if you don't have a gluten allergy you will want to make these again. I think we will be making these just for our selves they were so good. If you like dark chocolate and a chewy fuggy brownie make these they absolutely fit into that category!

Esther

Chocolate Chip Brownies
Adapted from Elana's Pantry

1 (16) ounce jar salted almond butter, smooth roasted
2 eggs( we used egg re-placer)
1 ¼ cups agave nectar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
½ cup Hersey's dutch cocoa powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup dark chocolate( we used my home made kind and some organic 85%)

1. In a large bowl, blend almond butter until smooth with a hand blender
2. Blend in eggs, then blend in agave and vanilla
3. Blend in cocoa, salt and baking soda, then fold in chocolate chips
4. Grease a 9x13 baking dish
5. Pour batter into dish
6. Bake at 325° for 35-40 minutes

Makes about 24 brownies

Recipes for Yogurt and Cereal

Here are the recipes to make the Raw Cereal, we found this on one of our favorite sites Just Making Noise!

Soaked & Ready' Oats

• 4 cups rolled oats (NOT instant)
• 4 cups filtered water
• 8 Tbsp. whey, lemon/lime juice, kefir or yohgurt

Warm the 4 cups of water in a saucepan (you don't need a microwave) till warm to touch. Do not let it boil!

Pour the oats, warm water and acid medium (whey, etc..) into a large glass bowl and mix thoroughly. Cover the bowl with a towel or plate & let it sit overnight in your oven or on your counter (wherever you have space).

Important: Let it sit for 8 - 24 hours... 12 hours is okay, but I always soak mine for 24 hours to reduce the phytic acid as much as possible.

Spread the oats on parchment paper in your tray or cookie pan (for oven drying) and put in dehydrator set on the highest temp (if you have that option... I don't) until completely dry. It can take anywhere from 6 to 24 hours... depending on your dehydrator. You can dry the oats in your oven set on the lowest temperature.

When the oats are dried, you will be able to break them into chunks. Put the chunks in your food processor or blender and pulse until coarsely ground (kinda like oatmeal flakes). Don't grind it fine unless you want oat flour.

Pour the oats in a sealed container and store in your fridge or in a cool, dark place. Ta-daaa! There you go... you have 'Soaked & Ready' Oats for satisfying your urge to make cookies! Remember, you can make this however much you want. When I first made these, I used 8 cups of rolled oats. Just make sure you add everything up correctly.

Quick, Raw & Nourishing Homemade Cereal

• 'Soaked & Ready' Oats
• Dehydrated almonds (you can use regular)
• Coconut flakes
• Cinnamon
• Freshly ground flaxseed
• Raw honey
• Your choice of milk

Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl. Drizzle raw honey over the mixture and stir some more. Pour your choice of milk (warm or cold) over the cereal and ENJOY!

Be creative or make your favorite!

Yogurt Recipe from the Wissmanns

Add two gallons of milk to a large stockpot. You may use whole, 2% or skimmed milk. Heat the milk slowly over a medium heat (not so hot that it burns on the bottom). It may need stirred a couple times depending on the quality of the stockpot. Heat milk until the temperature is 180*F. It is not necessary to boil the milk.

Note: Use a sturdy, heavy stockpot to heat the milk. It will avoid scorching the milk. We are so thankful for the high-quality stainless steel cookware Daddy got for our kitchen many years ago! Thank you Daddy!

A double-boiler can also be used to heat the milk, if a stockpot is thin.

When the milk reaches 180*F, turn the heat off and let the milk cool to 110*F. Putting the stockpot into a sink of cold water will quicken this step. Otherwise, this is a good opportunity to move on to other projects for a bit!

When milk has cooled to 110*F, add 1 six ounce cup of Yoplaityogurt. Any flavor can be used, because it doesn't flavor the entire two gallons very much

With a wire whisk, beat the milk & yogurt starter for a minute. It is important for the starter to get completely dissolved into the milk. The milk mixed with yogurt starter is now called inoculated milk

Once thoroughly mixed, pour the inoculated milk into the desired jars. Fill to the neck of the jar. We use gallon jars - however, for the smaller family - half gallon or quart jars are much easier to manage and work just as well!

Put lids on tightly and place jars into a cooler. It is helpful if the jars fit snugly into the cooler - it all stays warmer and turns to yogurt faster. Warm water [110*f] can also be added to help stabilize the temperature.

Place the lid on cooler and set in a warm place for 3-4 hours. The yogurt is done when it has jelled. This can be easily checked by gently tipping the jar to see if it is milky or firm. If the milk has not become firm in 4 hours, the cooler may not be quite warm enough and it will just need a few more hours. When it is jelled, place in the fridge overnight to completely cool down and set.

Fresh Yogurt Raw Granola and Blueberries!

John 6:35

And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.

Isaiah 40:8

The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.

Kamut Sweet Biscuits

Last week in Texas we had a lot of rain! Soup was definitely on the menu, but you can't have soup with out biscuits or some type of bread. Being that I had not made any bread this past week I decided biscuits would be a quick fix. Lately we have been using other grains instead of wheat, you can by Kamut in the bulk section of your grocery store, usely.... if not just use Wheat or even Spelt flour.

Everyone in our family loves these. Be sure to drizzle a little more honey on top, it just isn't quite sweet enough without it ;-)

Kamut Sweet Biscuits

Yields: 9-12 small biscuits

2 1/2 cups Kumut flour

1 Tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum( optional)

1/4 cup coconut oil, or butter very cold

1/2 cup almond milk or cows milk

1/4 cup honey

Preheat oven to 375. In a large bowl mix the dry ingredients. With a pastry blender or your hands work in coconut oil. Mix in honey and milk to make a soft dough. Knead gently 6 times. Pat out into a 1/2-3/4 inch thickness. Cut dough with a 2 inch biscuit cutter. Place on a baking sheet that has been greased with coconut oil. Bake for 10-15 minutes till golden brown on bottom. Serve warm with extra butter and honey.

Uses for Tzatziki

Below is the uses for tzatziki, Hannah and I like to use it as a salad dressing as well as a dip for veggies. Also I love to use a little more garlic then they say because we both love it so much:) Hey it's good for you!

How to pronounce Tzatziki: [dzah-DZEE-kee]

" The uses for Tzatziki"

Tzatziki, is a Greek appetizer, also used as a sauce for souvlaki and gyros. Tzatziki is made of strained yogurt (usually sheep's-milk or goats's-milk in Greece and Turkey) mixed with cucumbers, a good amount of garlic , salt, usually olive oil, pepper, sometimes dill, sometimes lemon juice and parsely, and sometimes mint added. The cucumbers are either pureed and strained, or seeded and finely diced. Olive oil, olives, and herbs are often used as garnishes.

In Cyprus, the dish is known colloquially as ttalattouri (cf. tarter), and recipes often include less garlic and includes the herb mint, unlike the Greek counterpart. Tzatziki is always served cold.

In touristy restaurants, and outside Greece and Cyprus, tzatziki is often served with bread (loaf or pita) as part of the first course of a meal. Greeks, Cypriots and those from all over the Middle East use this dish as a side dish to a meal with meat. The acidity cuts the fat, thus tzatziki is also used as a sauce for soulvaki and gyros, in which case it may be called cucumber sauce (especially in the U.S.).

Tzatziki

Last week I got into the Greek food mood and decided to make a whole Greek meal! By the time I had made everything the sun had gone down, and the only picture I could snap was of the tzatziki:) Along with the tzatziki I served Kofta Kebabs and a Couscous dish that contained roasted veggies and a cilantro and parsley pesto. The kebabs are served with flat bread.

Tzatziki
Yields:1 1/4 cups

2 cups plain whole milk yogurt or 1 cup greek yogurt
1 medium cucumber, shredded
2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 cloves garlic
1 Tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon dried mint, crumbled( I did not have this so I just left it out)


If using whole milk yogurt, line a small sieve with a coffee filter. Put the yogurt in ti , set it over a bowl, and refrigerate 12 hours. Discard the expressed liquid and put yogurt in bowl. Grate cucumber on the large holes of a box grater into another bowl. Sprinkle with the 2 teaspoons of salt and rub into the cucumber with your hands. Set aside for 20 minutes, then squeeze the cucumber to express as much liquid as possible. Smash the garlic, sprinkle with a generous pinch of salt, and with the flat side of a large knife, mash and smear the mixture to a course paste. Stir the cucumber, garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, and mint into yogurt. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.

Excerpt from Emblems of Mind

So when you play music, you also embrace a style. A style suggests ways to sit, ways to sing, ways to feel rhythm. It also suggests ways to think. A style even defines a musical community---a group with shared notions about musical communication without misunderstanding, a common sense of what is being said and why.

- Emblems of Mind page 89

Coconut Chocolate Smoothie

Someone brought to our attention that this did not contain any almonds so it could not be an almond joy smoothie! Woops! A mistake on our part, though you could use almond milk which would make it one.....

Blend, coconut milk, bananas, coconut chunks ( real fresh coconut) and enough water to keep a good consistatncy. Top with a little bit of raw chocolate!

Raw Strawberry Cheesecake

Here is another thing we made with our friends while up north. This was so yummy, everyone was raving about it!

Raw Strawberry Cheesecake

1 1/2c. cashews

2T. honey

2T coconut oil

1/2c. walnuts

2T. dried cranberries or raisins

1/2 c. raw macadamia nuts

1/4c. lemon juice

1/2t. vanilla

1/4t. salt

Cover the cashew in water and soak for 3 hours or over night.

Grease the bottom and sides of an 8in. pan with coconut oil. Process walnuts, cranberries, and 1/2c. of cashews in a blender, until mixture begins to stick together. Press into the greased pan. Chill 30min. or over night. Puree the drained remaining cashews, macadamia nuts, lemon juice, 2T. coconut oil, 2T. honey, vanilla and salt, and 1 1/2T. water. Process for 5min. or till smooth and creamy. Spoon cashew mixture over crust, spread evenly. Freeze 1 hour before serving. Thaw 5min. before topping with fresh slices strawberries. Cut and serve!

Yields: 8 bars.

Spelt Blueberry Muffins

Blueberry Muffins

1 1/2 c. milk

1/2 c. butter, melted

1/2 c. applesauce

2/3c. honey

2 eggs

4 lemons peel grated

2t. vanilla

4c. spelt or whole wheat flour

2T. baking powder

2t. salt

1 1/2 c. fresh or frozen blueberries

Mix the wet ingredients in a large bowl. Add the dry ingredients, then fold in blueberries, reserve 1/2 cup for top. Put into greased muffin tins, sprinkle with remaining blueberries and bake at 375 for 17min.

Yield: 2 dozen muffins

Oatmeal Pudding Bake

Ah, we are back in thte warmer state! We miss our dear friends that we stayed half our time with ( Kathryn and Tara in the picture below the oatmeal) We have tons of fun eating, talking, eating, playing music together, eating, taking picture, eating, taking pictures..........well I guess you figured out that we did lots of eating and taking pictures while we were up there!

Here is the list of new foods we tried while we were up there

Since our friends are Chinese and Dutch, they had a cultural foods for us to try, we throughly enjoyed each one!

The Asian Foods we tried!

Mooshu ( Chinese beef and cabbage you put in a tortilla like wrapper served with plum sauce)
Crispy Duck
Beef Ho Fun (the wide noodles w/ beef)
Chicken w/ black bean sauce
Hot & Sour soup
Egg drop soup
Seafood soup

We also had never tried;

Beets

Jicama

Thieves oil :-)

The Dutch foods we tried

Droppjes (pronounced Dropees – the cat licorice)

Speculaas (spay-cu-lahs - spice cookies)
Hagelslag (ha-hal-slach – throat clearing sound at the end – chocolate sprinkles :-)

Here we are outside in the freezing cold! Smile every one!

Oatmeal Pudding Bake

2 cups rolled oats
2 cups cottage cheese
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup honey
1 teaspoon of cinnamon and nutmeg

Mix together all the ingredients, pour into a greased 9x9in. pan. Bake at 350 for 40min.

Its in!

Yes, the cook book is in! We have a few pics to re -take this week, then a bulk order, and then we'll be ready to ship them out to our customers!