gluten-free agave sweetened blueberry muffins

this past weekend i picked a bunch of blueberries with my mom from the bushes in their front yard. w00t! some were made into blueberry buckle for the firefighters, many have been enjoyed alongside soy yogurt topped local strawberry jam, a bunch eaten as-is, and the rest we used for gluten-free blueberry muffins.

our recipe is adapted from the babycakes recipe and Shauna's. these gluten-free agave sweetened blueberry muffins were absolutely excellent & oh-so easy to whip up. dan's not a fan of blueberries and upon trying one mini muffin he immediately went back for another. we've been enjoying these little buggers for a few days now - they're oh-so yum. if you'd like to use canola oil instead of coconut oil and/or leave out the applesauce and just use oil feel free. we were trying to make them a little healthier because we knew they'd be gobbled up in just a few days, as i lack self control with baked yumminesses. ;)

this recipe makes for about 30 mini muffins, 24 mini muffins + 4 standard sized ones, or i'd imagine about 14 standard sized muffins. the standard muffins need to bake for about 18 minutes.

ingredients:
2/3 cup sweet rice flour
2/3 cup sorghum flour
2/3 cup tapioca starch
2/3 cup unsweetened plain almond milk
1 cup fresh blueberries
1/2 cup agave nectar (we used "raw" agave)
1/4 cup applesauce
1/4 cup coconut oil
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt

what you'll need:
- mini muffin/cupcake tin (or a standard sized tin_
- muffin liners (optional. or simply use a little oil cooking spray)
- large mixing bowl
- small mixing bowl

what'cha gotta do:
combine the flours, tapioca starch, baking soda, baking powder & sea salt in a small bowl. in a large bowl combine the agave nectar, applesauce, coconut oil, and almond milk. stir the dry ingredients into the large bowl with the wet guys & combine. fold in your blueberries (blackberries, raspberries, cherries, or anything other yummies you'd love the most). line the mini muffin/cupcake tin with cupcake liners if you like (or spray the tin with oil cooking spray) and fill to 3/4 full. bake for just 13-15 minutes (toothpick test 'em). remove from the oven, allow to cool for 3-5 minutes, then remove them gently from the muffin tin and allow to cool on a rack. enjoy!

gluten-free tunaNOT casserole and fun weekend times

it’s pretty warm in rva right now. actually, it’s pretty damn hot, and because i’m a bit of a nuttyboo yesterday it was decided that baking and also making a casserole would be a fun idea. ah ha ha! this weekend i visited my parents and got to picking a bunch of blueberries and black raspberries. you can see some of those black raspberries buddying up to Jes' gluten-free banana bourbon pecan waffles. oh yeah, and Jes' bourbony pecan & banana infused waffles are every bit as good as they look. here's another shot with with drizzled in pure maple syrup. sweet jeebus, these were soooooooo ridiculously awesome!

the black raspberries went into some failed gluten-free tarts (disappointedface, but i'm not giving up and am determined to have gluten-free success!), and the blueberries i made into a blueberry buckle for dan to take to the fire station for the him to share with the guys, and i made some gluten-free blueberry muffins (recipe to come super soon. we promise!).

whilst the oven was crank’n we thought that my mom’s tunaNOT casserole would make for a delicious meal.
it’s my absolute favorite dish from my childhood and about 2 years ago we veganized it. w00t! for some crazy reason we only make this dish about once a year, although we should make it once a week, and this year we deglutenized the recipe and tweaked it a bit more. here’s the gluten-free version, and this time the recipe makes a little less than the original. it made enough for 2 big servings for dinner and 2 medium sized ones for lunches today. so if you feel like turning on the oven when the heat is on, go ahead and give it a whirl – this casserole rocks the most socks!

tunaNOT casserole

ingredients:
3 cups uncooked brown rice pasta

½ cup tsp (textured soy protein – or tvp will work as well – just make sure it’s gluten-free if you are)
¼ sheet nori, minced
½ not-chicken bouillon cube (or use veggie broth instead of water)
½ cup water

½ small yellow onion, minced
½ green pepper, finely diced
1 stalk of celery, finely diced
¼ cup pimentos
¼ cup vegenaise
1 cup unsweetened plain almond milk (any unsweetened plain plant milk will do)
3 heaping tbsp chickpea flour
½ tsp black pepper
¼ tsp sea salt (more if you like)

what you'll need:
- large pot (for cook'n pasta)
- small saucepan/pot (for the gravy)
- small pot + lid (for the tvp)
- whisk

what'cha gotta do:
2 slices of your favorite gluten-free bread whizzed about in a food processor to make breadcrumbs.

begin by combining the ½ cup of water with the minced nori & bouillon cube (or veggie broth) and bringing it all to a boil. once boiling, remove from heat, stir in the tsp, cover with a lid & set aside.

get some more water boiling and cook the brown rice pasta for just 6 minutes. drain & rinse with cold water to stop the cooking process.

in a small saucepan sprayed with cooking oil, saute the onion until it begins to soften. add in the chickpea flour, sea salt, and black pepper. saute for another minute then stir in the almond milk. whisk until it thickens & gets to be a nice gravy; remove from heat.

toss the undercooked pasta, tsp, and gravy in the large pot you used to cook the pasta. add in the vegenaise, finely diced celery & green pepper, and pimentos. stir to combine, transfer to a small casserole dish and top with breadcrumbs.

bake on 350 degrees (no need to preheat) for 35 minutes or until the top is golden brown. allow the casserole to cool for 10 minutes then enjoy!

oh yeah - gluten-free fried green tomatoes were also enjoyed this weekend, after Bianca started a craving for them. mmmmmmm!

also, here's a picture of ms. julie-beans being a happy lady - she makes my heart squeeeee. :)

easy 'n yummy eatz for two busy bees.

lately we've been all about some meals that are oh-so delicious and super easy to make. we're still pretty darn busy as dan's started up some EMT courses (they're required as a firefighter) and i've been picking up some additional training to kick my ass so i can become more fit. :) throw in a little family time, cookouts, socializing with friends, gardening, and things around the home and we've got some full plates. it's all good though and we're thinking things will slow down a smidge in july. yay! i'm dreaming of our beach vacation in august already....

to start with, here's our csa score from last saturday: red & green cabbage, kale, spinach, peach-basil jam (it's my favorite!), zucchinis, cucumbers, potatoes (yay!), swiss chard, lettuce heads, golden beets and cauliflower. we've been making yummies from the loot ever since!

nothing says easy and awesome like french toast. i'm a huge fan of brunch, but dining out for brunch in rva (while there are a few vegan options) as a gluten-free vegan doesn't always leave ya with a plethora of options. it's a-okay with me, because brunch with the one you love the most + episodes of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia + time on the couch in your pajamas = megahappyface. :D we can't remember the exact measurements for the french toast, but i know we used almond milk, about a tbsp of chickpea flour, about a tbsp of ground flax seeds, 1-2 tsp of vanilla extract, a pinch of salt & sugar, 1/2 an over-ripe smashed banana, and a whole lotta cinnamon. dip the bread of your choosing (gluten-free for saso & i) into the batter, cook in a cast iron skillet then smother in real maple syrup, serve with hash browns 'n Jes' tube sausages and enjoy the helloutta some goodnesses. oh yeah!

more easy & awesome, chickpea "chipotle" bowls! cooked chickers sauteed with red onion, bell peppers, chili 'n chipotle powder, cumin, and garlic that are tossed over some cilantro-lime rice & topped with tomatoes, csa spinach, and tofutti sour cream. so easy, so delicious, and it makes many happyfaces & bellies.

while on the mexinesses..... NACHOS! another "we haven't had 'em in forever meal". i cooked up a decent sized batch o' kidney & white bean chili (using up the last of the dried beans we had on hand) this past sunday for nacho dinners and chili 'n cheeze potato lunches. i've gotta say that nachos are probably one of my favorite snickety snack dinners, fo 'sho.

moving on to italian style eatz. eggplant parmesan smothered in homemade marinara (that we had almost forgotten about tucked away in the freezer), earth balanced brown rice pasta, & roasted asparagus with toasted pine nuts. yums!

we won't be able to make it to our csa this saturday so i'm going to be stopping by a local farm stand instead. looking forward to lots of fresh 'n tasty produce to work with this coming week. all the fresh veggies have got me craving more high raw breakfasts (green smoothies, green juices, and buckwheat groat cereals topped with fruit) & lunches (zoodles with raw marinara, huge csa salads, and brown rice veggie burgers wrapped in swiss chard leaves with cucumbers & carrots) lately so i've been feeling extra peppy and oh-so gooooood!

csa: spinach, cucumbers (stuffing in wraps & green juices), cauliflower (for csa salads), zucchini (zoodles), lettuce (more csa salads), kale (green juices), and cabbage (coleslaw to top our bbq-sauced soy curls i made for dan & i for my company picnic).