Breadmaker=Lazy… I think not.

Today I made homemade Gluten Free bread in a bread machine. This is BIG news because there was a point in my Localvore/ homesteading career when I really believed that baking bread in a machine was cheating. I am not sure what contest I was in or who I thought was judging me, but I believed it nonetheless. Then I got the Gfree diagnosis. As it turns out Gfree bread dough is not the same. It’s sticky. It’s slimy and cannot be needed well by hand or dough hook. So when my hubs surprised me this Christmas with a breadmaker that has a Gluten Free setting I was excited but skeptical. I put the ingredients in looking over my shoulder for the French bread-bakers of Christmas past who might be rattling their whisks and rolling pins in anger. Surprisingly they did not show up, so I went on to hit the start button, do some laundry, talk to a friend, take a shower and pretty up for dinner at a friends’ house. Moments before we walked out the door the bread was done and on the cooling rack. Tomorrow, we will have fresh bread and clean laundry for breakfast which in the old ridiculous order would be impossible. The moral of this post? No-one is going to give you a medal for doing it by hand, so if you want fresh, delicious homemade bread, the bread-maker is the way to go, especially if you are gluten free!!

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Just Call Me Betty!!

So I approach the end of the day feeling all that surge of Holiday Cheer and Christmas Spirit that others talk about this time of year. Granted this feeling may be fueled by a large amount of coffee and delirium from lack of sleep, but nonetheless I am feeling pretty happy this holiday!! This weekend I got nearly all my presents wrapped ( except for those I have yet to purchase), got all the cookies baked, started getting the house prepped for the barrage of holiday entertaining, shipped the out of town gifts and mailed all the Christmas cards. Sure you could argue that waiting until the last minute to do all of these things is not really a great accomplishment in holiday planning, and you would be right. However, today I watched Rudolph with my daughter and snuggled by the fire. She helped me wrap presents and decorate cookies and consequently herself so I go into this week knowing that I will be burning the candle at both ends but these moments of holiday fun make it all worth while!!!

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Stevia: Myth or Magic

Ok so I bought stevia. I need an occasional sweetener that is not going to widen my hips. I am morally opposed to Aspartame and all of it’s cousins. So I found this at my local healthfood store and would love feedback from anyone who has tried it. I will always favor maple syrup and honey but tonight I tried some stevia in my apple cider vinegar drink ( a tale for a different day) and it was quite good and I don’t feel like I sucked on a test tube full of chemicals. Thoughts?

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Garden Tomato Sauce

Today was a good day for our homestead kitchen. Not only was it CSA day (in which we got almost $35 worth of organic produce including broccoli, beans, beets, squash, kale, chard, onions, garlic and cucumbers) but we got enough tomatoes to make a batch of sauce. This year I decided that I had no time to meticulously seed and skin my tomatoes. This has been a super busy and hot summer for us so I did what any good modern day homesteader would do, and Googled it. I found Kalyn’s Kitchen She recommends making the tomato purée in your food processor. What a novel and brilliant idea. So this evening I chopped my carrots, onions, and garlic and sweated them in the sauce pan while I pureed my tomatoes; skins, seeds and all. Add some mushrooms, chopped garden herbs, turkey burger or chopped portabellas, and some gluten free pasta and you have a magical and uber-fresh weeknight dinner. So purée on and enjoy the tastes of the season!!

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