gluten free blueberry muffins

the reality of summer business and the rest of spring is starting to hit me square in the face.

between gardens to plant and tend, farms to assist, dg training, art festivals and all my regular work, I just hope this warm season doesn't take my life for good.

But on to more positive things!

I've recently cut gluten out of my diet and the inner foodie in me has been going crazy! So many of my staples are full of this grainy goodness. My pastas, dumplings, pizzas, tacos, brownies! So far I have been attacking my regular cravings fairly well. I've made meatloaf, taco salad, and cookies successfully and am now pretty confident in my abilities to cut out the wheat flour.

however, breakfast has become a bit of a roadblock.

I'm already picky when it comes to breakfast foods. I usually go for an easy bagel, english muffin, maybe eggs and toast. I got sick of eating eggs and only eggs every day, quickly. I decided to mess around with what I had and figure out SOMETHING else. And success I found:

Blueberry Pecan Gluten Free Muffins

• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 C extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tsp of vanilla extract
• 1 C sour cream
• 1 1/4 C brown sugar
• 2/3 C potato flour
• 2/3 C brown rice flour
• 2/3 C arrowroot starch
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 C chopped pecans(or nuts of choice)
• 1 C blueberries

Preheat oven to 375.

In a large bowl beat together the eggs, oil, vanilla, sour cream, and brown sugar until they form a smooth mixture. You can use plain yogurt in place of the sour cream, if you desire.

Gradually sift and mix in your three flours and baking soda/powder. If you have an all purpose gluten free baking flour, you can use that in place of this mixture. You should only need about 2 cups of any standard baking flour.

Gently mixed in still frozen or fresh blueberries and the pecans, mix until just combined.

The batter should be thick and chunky once you get the fruit and nuts mixed in. Line a 12-muffin pan with baking cups and spoon the mixture into them. You can probably get more than 12 muffins out of this recipe, but they will be on the smaller side as they don't rise as much as standard muffins.

Bake for about 25 minutes in the center of the oven until they are golden and spring beck when pressed on top. Take about 5 minutes off of your baking time if you are using fresh vs frozen blueberries.

Make sure to remove muffins from the baking pan shortly after they are out of the oven! They may get too soggy if you leave them

good luck and happy baking!

saturday in williamsport

we didn't know at the time, or even when I originally wrote this, but we lost someone very dear on this day. A lot of hard feelings arose from it: feeling selfish we took times, guilt we didn't reach or visit when we could, deep regret we spent their last moments enjoying ourselves as best we could. but this person knew we loved them, and they loved that we loved each other. they wouldn't have wanted us to mourn with their living form any longer than we had, I'm sure. He was a vibrant individual, overflowing energy and pride. the last thing he would have wanted was for us to regret not being with his frail, failing state self when we were enjoying things in which he also found life. these memories are about finding small joys in life, even when it all feels like it's falling apart: and also for heber.

a lovely saturday from last week. we try our best to savor these moments-- of adventure, with each other. we're so young and already in our monotonous grind. it's a grind made to be unrefined and sometimes broken. 

we decided on a trip to williamsport, pa for the day. This small, quaint city sits about forty-five minutes northwest of us. It offers a little tease of city life for us backwood folk. It only houses 30,000, but that's sixty times the five hundred souls in my town.

a good of start as any, with coffee! weak for adorable mugs, overt positivity, and floral patterns, I'm more than certain this mug was made for me. The current favorite in my collection, and the words echo volumes on days like these. The weather was cloudy and quite down the short ride ride, a physical and emotional fog that lingered all day. only brightened with bursts of energetic sing-a-longs and reading of nat geo world cup coverage.

all the activities that make a small city trip great: soft paint jobs, harsh architecture, everything's a dollar rummage stores, tiny but seemingly endless book stores(seriously, my town doesn't even have one anymore!), and highly underrated east asian food

like any couple with sometimes varrying interests, I left pork in an antique store and I found alabaster coffee roaster & tea company on pine. And I'm so glad I did! This place had the best touches: fresh flowers in winter, a large chalkboard wall, exposed brick, and fantastic french press. I popped in right as they were closing, so more shots of their interior were missed-- But more reason to go again, eh? coffee selection was impressive, with engaging descriptions of each roast and its origins. I went with colombian los naranjos through a french press, which is a roast of their own! excitedly, I received my french press with timer and a mug. my nine minutes were up, and I thoroughly enjoyed the hearty, dark flavor with a soft and almost sweet follow. And of course after lingering in the cold most of the day, I felt the caffeine instantly. A wonderfully warm end to my day.

slow cooked roast stew

local veal roast, hungry cold bellies, and a crock pot that needs broken in means roast stew for ages. 

ingredients:

• 3-4lb lean, beef roast(chuck, bottom, round, etc)
• 4 med potatoes, chopped into bite-sized pieces and peeled if desired
• 2 celerey stalks, chopped
• 1 med-large onion, thinly sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 5oz Can Tomato Paste
• 2 C of fresh or frozen Peas, Carrots, and/or Green Beans
• 2 TBSP gluten free flour
• 1 tsp thyme
• 1 tsp cilantro
• 2-3 fresh basil leaves
• Salt, Pepper to taste

Throw that big ol' roast in the bottom of the pot and dump your vegetables, tomato paste, garlic, and spices(minus the flour!) on top. Cover and set to the low 300s, or a low crock setting, and let it sit for the next 10-12 hours. About 30 minutes before you serve, whisk together about two tablespoons of your flour of choice and a bit of water to make a paste-like substance. Throw that into your stew and mix it around to a get a fuller stew broth.

You can continue cooking long enough for the roast to fall apart naturally along the fat lines, or you can remove 1-2 hours from the end of your cook time, chop, and return to the crock to finish stewing.

The best part about slow cooking these stews and soups is the luxury of using frozen meats and veggies. Frozen goods can often go straight into the crock from the ice box. After half a day soaking in your veggie broth goodness, those frozen pieces will be thick, juicy and full of a flavor rarely achieved when fast cooking meats. And frozen vegetables are a great alternative to fresh produce in these barren, winter months. But don't you worry. Warm weather and a plethora of fresh, local produce is just around the corner.