©2012 Gluten Free Goodness. All Rights Reserved.

One of the funny things about hosting a blog event is that you actually have to make sure you get around to posting on time.  So here I am, squeaking in under the wire for my post for Sea’s Yum-e-baby shower.  If you haven’t yet, please do get your post up and send me a picture and link by June 8th!

Sea has been such a big inspiration and driving force behind the gluten free blogging community, and no doubt her newest edition will lead to new yummy baby foods along the next few years.  All the best to Sea, her sweetie, her family, and of course, her cats, who are no doubt looking forward to their new sibling.

Way before the days of gluten free-ness, I was a fan of Nigella Lawson’s decadent desserts.  One of my favorites was her chocolate orange pantry cake because it was so quick and easy.   When I first went gluten (and dairy and egg) free, I tried adapting the recipe.  It was very yummy, but always sank.   So I pretty much forgot all about the recipe for years, until it popped back into my head a month or so ago. Very few of the original ingredients remain, but the taste is along the same lines. Very chocolate, very dense, very fruity, very moist.

Well, I’ve been playing away to make it gluten/dairy/soy/sugar and grain free, and it’s finally (finally!) met the approval of my very discerning taste testers.  (Houdini, who is pictured behind the cakes was a supervisor, but NOT a taste tester) Also, as an added bonus, I’ve been making it the day before, covering with foil and frosting it the day of, and it works quite well. I will eventually try it without the egg, too, but I’m  sure  it’s  do-able.  If anyone tries it, drop me a line!

2 eggs, well beaten

1/3 cup agave
1/2 cup oil
1/2 tsp stevia
1 1/2 cup all fruit jam or marmalade (orange, strawberry and raspberry work beautifully)
1 tsp vanilla extract

In a separate bowl, briefly mix:
2/3 cup garbanzo bean flour (besan)
3 Tablespoons arrowroot or cornstarch
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsps baking powder

4 oz melted unsweetened baking chocolate

Frosting:
3.5 oz baker’s (unsweetened) chocolate, melted
1/4 cup coconut milk
1/4 tsp stevia
1/4 cup agave nectar
splash vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 325, line springform pans with little parchment circles and grease the sides.  You can use one 8 inch pan and 2-4 inch or 6-4 inch.

Beat eggs well, add in other wet ingredients, then add in dry. Melt chocolate (microwave works perfectly–1.5 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds) and add into the mix.

Pour batter into greased springform pans. I use 1-8 inch and 2-4 inch springforms for this recipe. Bake until cakes come away from the sides and the top looks dark, about 35 minutes for the mini cakes and 50 for the bigger one.

Allow to cool for 20 minutes, then frost tops.

For frosting, melt chocolate, add stevia and gradually add in agave and coconut milk until the consistency is perfect. Use right away and it hardens as it cools.

©2012 Gluten Free Goodness. All Rights Reserved.

When I’m not cooking, or eating, I’m talking to other people about food. I’m a Registered dietitian in Alexandria, VA. I’m hosting a healthy recipe contest, so if you’re interested in submitting a recipe and winning some fun prizes, hop on over! Due to the cost of shipping, winners must be in the US or Canada (sorry!)

Monday:
Thai Beef curry with broccoli (didn’t make it last week)

Tuesday:
Dal with papadams and roast cauliflower with cumin seeds

Weds:
Roast turkey with pureed fennel soup

Thursday:
odds and ends:
Asian style gingery soup
Maybe quinoa?

Friday:
Garam masala chicken
artichokes with a lemony flax dipping sauce

Baked goods of the week:
to be honest, my appetite has been tiny lately, hence the scarcity of recipe posts! I’m thinking of making a meringue from Susan O’Brien’s Gluten free sugar free cooking for friends. For me, maybe hazelnut mesquite cookies. We shall see.

©2012 Gluten Free Goodness. All Rights Reserved.

It has been one of those weeks.  One of those months?  You get the idea.  I’ve put together a gob of good holiday info, including a newsletter with holiday hints, cookie recipes from last year’s GF cookie exchange and a list of naturally GF desserts.

However, more has been happening on my computer than in my kitchen.  I did post a recipe for Spiced Forbidden Black Rice pudding, which totally rocks (IMHO), but aside from that, not much happening!

This upcoming week will likely be more of the same, but I am working on perfecting artisanal style GF/dairy free/grain free rolls.  I love the smell…and once they’re perfect, or as close as I can get ‘em, you’ll here more.

Manda, our lovely host for this week, has selected “bitter” as our weekly flavor.  She gets points for creativity! I’ve got that covered pretty easily.  I actually love eating baking chocolate.  Plain.  That’s about as bitter as it gets, and hopefully will throw in a chicken dish with rosemary and olives, too.

Monday:

Curried Turkey with roasted cauliflower

Tuesday:
Quinoa TBD

Wednesday:
Chicken mole in a crockpot…we’ll see how that goes.

Thursday:
Steak and peppers

Friday:
Lazy day Tilapia with steamed peppers

Baked good:
Rolls
Almond spice cookies

©2012 Gluten Free Goodness. All Rights Reserved.

1. I LOVE chocolate, but for me, it’s all about melted chocolate. Sure, I’ll eat a piece of good chocolate, but melted chocolate makes me swoon. It’s something about the mouth feel of melted chocolate that just makes it so much better! Oh, and the darker the better. I’ve been known to eat baking (unsweetened) chocolate.
2. Due to a variety of reasons, at 25, I found myself totally unable to stand or walk for 4 months. Talk about a life changing experience. Many years later, I’m still actively working on regaining my health and mobility and it’s taught me a lot about humility and appreciation for the many everyday gifts in my life.
3. My taste in music is all about the classics. My favorites are classic rock and classical music.
4. I love nut butter, and I’ll eat it by the spoon. It’s one of my guilty pleasures, and my husband teases me about it on a regular basis. But I figure if that’s my worst nutritional habit, I’m doing fine, thanks much.  Somehow people assume that because I’m a nutritionist, that I must eat a perfect diet.
5. I am very, very messy. I always have been. I’ve tried to break that habit and not met much success…but I’m working on it!
6. My garden is one of my favorite places to be. I love it, it’s such a healing, nurturing place. I’ve got a huge variety, from the normal stuff, like tomatoes and peppers, to a peach tree and artichokes. I’ve got ground cherries, carrots, garlic, blueberries, raspberries, and a wide variety of herbs, too. Most are grown from seed, though I hope to buy a few melons, too.



7. My husband and I co-habitate with two of the coolest cats around, Genghis and Houdini. Boy am I glad that Genghis adopted us, because I can’t imagine our lives without them.

Ok, that’s 7!  And now I get to tag 7 other bloggers, if they’re interested in playing, too.  I’ve tried to choose a few folks that aren’t necessarily part of the GF blogging “usual suspects” in the interest of all of us expanding our horizons.

1. Carrie at Ginger Lemon Girl
2. Kay from Gluten Free Kay
3. Elana at Elana’s Pantry
4. Tori from Tori’s GFCF blog
5. Rodger and Lyndsay at Gluten Free Food Freak
6. Bureka Boy at Is that my bureka?
7. Rachael, of The Crispy Cook

©2012 Gluten Free Goodness. All Rights Reserved.