Un Pause Cafe

("Coffee Break" in French.)

For those of you who (like me) occasionally enjoy a splash of sweet creamer in your coffee, but who can't tolerate dairy, I have a discovery to share with you: Almond Breeze almond milk. The Vanilla flavour poured in the bottom of your mug before you add your steamy, French-pressed morning coffee is a delightful substitute to expensive lattes.

Bottom's up!

"Do you know the Muffin Man?"

Pumpkin Spice Muffins (pg 30): Gluten-free and dairy-free!

The batter was easy to assemble and looked like normal gluten muffin batter. The only strange ingredient was Xanthan Gum.

Here's the scoop on Xanthan Gum: It's used as a substitute for the gluten (the sticking agent) in wheat flour. Xanthan Gum smells bad and has the texture of a pure starch.

What I would do differently next time: add more canned pumpkin for the stronger yummy pumpkin flavour! The spice proportion was very good and the muffins were just as good as our family's traditional Pumpkin Muffin recipe.

Major bonus: the Pumpkin Spice muffins have retained their quality for over 4 days!

Tweaked Scone-y Goodness

Last night I threw together Babycakes' "Raspberry Scones" (pg. 42). Since I didn't have raspberries I used raisins in the batter and sprinkled cinnamon on the tops of the scones before they baked. The soft batter was easy to manage. I had to distract myself while the sweet and spicy slightly-crusted pillows-of-heaven baked then cooled. The first bite was warm, moist and flavourful...success! (Butter wasn't necessary!)

Next time, I want to try the recipe with raspberries. The next time, cinnamon chips. The next time...well, you get the idea!

Spelt flour was used again for this recipe, and it worked well. Sadly, spelt flour isn't gluten-free, but it is usually digested better than whole wheat. (Ask your nutritionist or doctor before you try spelt if you follow a gluten-free diet.) Someday, I'd like to make these scones with garbanzo-fava bean flour or another kind of gluten-free flour. I'll share the results!

Flourless Chocolate Cake

This recipe from Epicurious.com is phenomenal! My grandparents and I polished off half of the cake in one sitting.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Flourless-Chocolate-Cake-14478

My "tweaking:" add a teaspoon of espresso powder!!!!!

Biscuitry

First project from Babycakes cookbook: Spelt Biscuits!

Since I was hoping to create the KFC-paralleled spelt biscuit brilliance, as stated in Babycakes by the shop's customers (page 37), I was slightly disappointed by my first attempt. Picturing the flaky, all-purpose flour southern classic, the result was not flaky, it was heartier in texture with a coconut and almost wild aftertaste. They are good...just different.

What I would do differently next time: use a coconut oil that will bake better at a high heat to help the biscuits rise. The awesome Coconut Oil by 365 Organic that I used was for "Medium Heat--up to 280 degrees."

Conclusion: Slap a bit of butter and drizzle agave nectar or honey and they are simply delicious!