Book of Yum

Happy Valentines Day from the Book of Yum!

I have a confession to make. I don’t really like brownies. I know that this is shocking, because I love (dark) chocolate and have something of a chocolate addiction that I’m trying to break. But the thing is, I like chocolate. Dark, rich, unadulterated chocolate. The bread-y cake-y chocolate thing is not really my favorite. In fact, unless it is a rich flourless chocolate cake or ganache…. I don’t even like chocolate cake. But the DH loves brownies. He loves cake-y, bread-y, sweet chocolate brownies. In all our years of being married (we will celebrate our 10th this June) I don’t think I have ever made him gluten-free brownies from scratch. I have deigned to mix up the odd batch of gluten-free brownie from a mix, but that’s it. He has never complained, but when he recently whipped up his own batch of gluten-free brownies from the Bette Crocker mix, I felt a little twinge. Why hadn’t I ever made him a good gluten-free brownie from scratch? I bake everything else from scratch, so why not that too, for a DH that has been so supportive of his gluten-free and vegetarian wife’s diet? So I resolved to remedy this error, and soon. Valentine’s Day was the perfect occasion to show my love with a little baking.

What is something your significant other likes to eat that you don’t particularly care for?

Last weekend I took Toddler Yum to Michael’s craft store to pick up supplies for making some homemade valentines for her daycare classmates. I picked up two heart cookie cutters, along with some fun stamps (including an alphabet set for stamping her name), heart ribbon, and more. I’d already bought little notepads with Valentine’s Day messages from Target, and had some scrapbook sheets at home that I planned to use as the base for the Valentines. On Sunday Toddler Yum and I got up early and spent the morning assembling valentines. We used the large heart cookie cutter as a stencil and I cut the thick scrapbook paper into large hearts. Then we taped notepads on the front of the heart and I set Toddler Yum loose with stamps, colored pencils, and crayons to decorate the back. We stamped her name on each one, and I finished the valentine with a little heart bow on the front. Toddler Yum takes her valentines to school tomorrow and can’t wait to give her favorite teachers and friends their cards!


This little craft project left me with these wonderful heart cookie cutters. I used them this morning to make Toddler Yum some gluten-free toast hearts topped with honey-almond butter spread. Then this afternoon after I made a batch of a gluten-free, dairy-free, and soy-free mexican chocolate brownies, I decided to use the small heart cookie cutter to cut out heart brownies. They were beautiful, and it was so much easier than rolling out cookie dough and cutting out the raw cookie shapes. Toddler Yum was so excited to see me make brownies that she opened her eyes wide and made an “oh my goodness” face with her mouth, clutching her little fists up in the air. “Two thumbs up” she said, pointing her index fingers at the sky. The DH gave these cake brownies a big thumbs up too, and so did my dairy-free mother and visiting father. “These are so much better than the mix brownies,” she said. As for me, I liked my last minute addition of cinnamon that was inspired by spicy mexican chocolate. I almost added chili powder too, but decided that the cinnamon was wild and crazy enough for our household. The DH also appreciated the zesty cinnamon in his brownie. He wasn’t quite ready to say they were better than a box mix, but he said they were “very yummy.” Being a Libra, he doesn’t like to pick favorites.

One extra cool thing about this recipe is that it is truly 100% soy-free, even to the point of being free of soy-lecithin. Unsweetened chocolate or baking chocolate is often quite pure, and doesn’t contain emulsifiers like soy lecithin. Woo hoo! I could even serve this to my profoundly soy-sensitive friend! (Oops, guess my secret plan is out since she reads my blog!)

I hope you enjoy my gluten-free brownie recipe. It was fun and easy to make, and I managed to make a rich and decadent dessert reasonably healthy, with no refined starches and limited amounts of processed sugar. Happy Valentines Day from all of us at the Book of Yum!

More Gluten-free Valentine’s Day Dessert Recipes:
Easy and Allergen-free Chocolate Mousse
Gluten-free Flourless Chocolate Cake and Cardamon Rose Pistachio Ice Cream
Gluten-free Dairy-free Chocolate Cherry Cake with Betty Crocker mix
Gluten-free Dairy-free Cheesecake Pops Recipe
Gluten-free Raw-foods Dairy-free Cheesecake Recipe with Honey Lavender
Gluten-free Triple Chocolate Chip Cookies
Elana’s Pantry Valentines Day Recipe Roundup
Gluten-free Brownie Valentine Cake Pop Recipe
Allergy-friendly Chocolate Fondue
Chocolate Covered Coconut Cookie Dough Recipe (raw vegan, nut-free, grain-free)
Healthy Valentine’s Day Treats for Toddlers:
Gluten-free, Sugar-free Banana Coconut Cookies

This recipe was entered in Slightly Indulgent Tuesday with Simply Sugar and Gluten-free.

Gluten-free Mexican Chocolate Cake Brownie Recipe Dessert  Alternative Grains  American

Ingredients 1/2 cup grapeseed oil 3 ounces unsweetened chocolate 1/2 cup organic white sugar 1/2 cup date sugar, coconut sugar, or more organic white sugar 2 eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla 1/3 cup sorghum or rice flour 1/3 cup almond flour (finely ground, like honeyville) 1/4 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon Directions Line 8*8 cake pan with parchment paper in the bottom and grease sides and bottom with a little palm shortening. Preheat oven to 350F. Put unsweetened chocolate and grapeseed oil in a microwavable bowl or double boiler. Melt in microwave on medium power for around two minutes, checking at the one minute mark and stirring if needed. Or, if you prefer, you can melt the chocolate and oil in a double boiler bowl over boiling or simmering water until you can stir it into a creamy liquid. Pour chocolate oil mixture into a medium bowl and add your sugar and vanilla. Let cool while you combine your dry ingredients (flours, baking soda and cinnamon) in another medium bowl. When chocolate-sugar mixture cools, you can add two eggs and whisk to combine. Stir dry ingredients and add your melted chocolate and egg mixture. Bake in parchment paper lined pan on 350 for 30 minutes. Let cool in pan. If you want to make heart brownies, take a heart cookie cutter and cut out heart shapes. The parchment paper lining makes this really easy. You can remove each heart with the cookie cutter and place them on a decorative plate. There will be leftover brownie scraps that I’m sure will go uneaten. NOT! Perfect for chef snacking or treating the kid or other family members with while you save the heart brownies for your valentine.

Rating:  8 Original Source:  The contents of my brain. Please do not replicate without permission. Recipe ID:  1588 Added:  February 13, 2012 Last Modified:  February 13, 2012

Welcome to Pumpkin Week! I’ve had a fondness for pumpkins since I was a little kid picking out my pumpkin for a Jack O’lantern. Then I moved to Colorado and made friends with a pumpkin patch with a delightful assortment of pumpkins and squash, hay rides and mazes for the kids (and those who were kids at heart). I discovered the joy of bringing baby pie pumpkins home and roasting them in the oven for homemade gluten-free pumpkin pie. When we finally bought a house in California last year where we could have a garden, I knew I wanted to plant pumpkins so I could realize a childhood dream and grow my own pumpkin for a jack O’lantern. Of course I thought pies with homemade pumpkin would be a nice perk, too. Our pumpkins vined their little hearts out in the garden and produced some darling beauties. I haven’t had the heart to cut them open and bake them yet, although I did roast one of the spaghetti squash that we grew. It was very yummy.

As autumn has set into California with its fickle, spring-like nature that alternates cool days with sunny days and the nights turn crisp, I find myself craving pumpkin. This week I will be sharing two (possibly three) pumpkin recipes with you and hosting a pumpkin recipe mr. linky on Friday, so stay tuned.

I’ll start the week with a healthy drink for a dairy-free Chocolate Pumpkin Cream Smoothie that sounds naughty but isn’t really. Toddler Yum heard the word “chocolate” and slurped it down like nobody’s business, which made me happy. I hope you will enjoy it as much as we did!

One note- the avocado is there for the additional healthy fats and creaminess. It does add a little flavor so the cocoa is absolutely necessary for smoothing the flavors together, in my opinion. Do be careful not to add too much banana as the flavor is quite strong. It is mostly there for the sweetness, so if you prefer another mild fruit, feel free to experiment.

As part of the Tastemaker program with Foodbuzz, I got the nifty Tervis Tumbler pictured. I thought it might be fun to participate, and we can always use another bpa free, dishwasher safe cup for Toddler Yum. Their 8 oz toddler-sized tumblers look interesting. I might have to get some cups made for Toddler Yum!

Here are some additional recipes for Pumpkin Smoothies:
Vegan
Pumpkin Smoothie with Ginger and Maple Syrup
Sugar-free Pumpkin Smoothie with Coconut Whip
Pumpkin Smoothie with Homemade Hemp Milk
Silken Tofu Pumpkin Smoothie
Pumpkin Smoothie with Flaxseed and Soy
Pumpkin Smoothie with Protein Boost
Pumpkin Smoothie with chia and almond milk
Vegetarian
Pumpkin Smoothie with Yogurt
Brown Sugar Sweetened Pumpkin Smoothie

Other Foodbuzz folks put some interesting things in their Tumblers:
Juiced tangerine limeade

Chocolate Pumpkin Smoothie Breakfast  Vegetables  American

Ingredients 1/2 cup cooked pumpkin (canned ok) 1/2 avocado (peeled and without the pit) 1 cup homemade cashew milk* (or favorite non-dairy milk of choice) 1 tbsp agave or your favorite liquid sweetener (such as homemade simple syrup. Do NOT use honey as it has too much personality) 1 tbsp cocoa powder (NOT optional, although carob powder might be a good substitute if you are sensitive to chocolate) 1 small frozen banana 1 nutmeg for grating Directions Combine ingredients in your blender (a cheap-o blender will be just fine) and process until smooth and creamy. Pour in a glass or cup and grate nutmeg on top for serving. Enjoy! I am curious about what it would taste like frozen into a popsicle- I think it might be pretty tasty. I also considered adding 1/2 tsp of vanilla. I might do that next time. You can also add a pumpkin spice type blend of spices. I like Penzey’s Cake or Baking Spice. Notes *CASHEW MILK RECIPE: I made one big batch of cashew milk that I used in recipes for several days. I soaked 1 cup of cashews overnight with enough water to cover and then drained them, discarding the liquid. I blended them together with water up to the top of my blender (measuring 5 cups including the cashews), to make a milk which I did not strain. I stored it in the refrigerator in a glass pitcher to use as needed. For drinking or to use in hot cereal, I add a drop of vanilla and a little agave to the milk.

Rating:  7 Original Source:  Contents of my brain, please do not replicate without my permission. Recipe ID:  1572 Added:  October 24, 2011 Last Modified:  October 24, 2011