Peanut Butter Cookies

If you are gluten free, then you are very familiar with the feeling of defending some of your favorite gluten free foods.  If you are down-to-earth and gluten free, you can also freely admit that you would not enjoy many of your favorite gluten free foods if you did not indeed have to.

These gluten free brownies are seriously the best brownies I've ever had!  I mean, considering that they are made out of tapioca starch and black bean paste and carob powder, and also because I literally cannot remember what a real brownie tastes like....They are awesome!!!

These peanut butter cookies on the other hand do not fall into this sad category.  Non-gluten free eaters devour them, not even realizing that they do not contain gluten.  They don't even contain dairy.  They are a gift from God. 

Peanut Butter Cookies
Ingredients you'll need:

-2 cups creamy peanut butter
-1 cup packed brown sugar
-1 cup white sugar
-2 large eggs
-2 teaspoons baking soda
-1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Add all of the ingredients together

And mix well to combine

 

 

 

Shape dough into balls (about 1 tablespoon each) and place on ungreased baking sheets that are a bit scary looking and old like mine

 

Using tines of a fork, flatten each ball of dough, creating a crisscross pattern

 

 

 

Bake, rotating the baking sheets halfway through, until puffed and golden, 10-12 minutes.  Let cool slightly on baking sheets, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.

Here is where things got really crazy.  I had already used half of the dough when I realized I had some dark chocolate chips in the pantry.  I added about a 1/2 cup to the remaining dough.  Then I continued the cookie making process, just skipping the crisscross part.

Oh my.  I didn't know these cookies could get any better, but I guess dark chocolate can do that to just about anything.  Here's to gluten free desserts and never suffering through a black bean brownie again.

Against the Grain: because there's more to life than what's on our plates

Watching  

Reruns of 30 Rock are on constant replay on my Netflix.  I can't get enough of ol' Liz Lemon's inner dilemma:  try to have it all or  just stay at home and work on her night cheese.  It all hits me way too close for comfort.  I get it, Liz.

 

 

 Listening

Ok, how am I just learning about The Head and The Heart?  Because I live under a rock in the middle of Atlanta.  Fortunately I made it to Nashville to hear them with my sister Caroline and 20,000 of our best friends at Live on the Green, and I'm very happy I made the trip.  They are delightful.

 

 

 

Wearing

Well, it's  September and time to start transitioning into fall wear.  Light scarves are definitely my favorite way to do this.  They're perfect for layering over summery pieces and don't add additional warmth on these still steamy afternoons.  This faded blue number from Honest Alchemy came from William's wonderful mom Kent for my birthday (via an Anthropologie gift card).  She knows me too well!

Pakoras with Cold Cucumber Salad

One of my favorite Indian dishes is the pakora.  Essentially any deep fried veggie or protein, it is meant to be eaten as an afternoon snack with tea.  I would choose to eat delicious pakoras over finger sandwiches with my afternoon tea any day, but tonight I decided to make pakoras my main meal. 

William and I have tried to make pakoras a few times before, but they've always turned out doughy.  We wanted them to be light and crisp, and we finally found the perfect recipe for them.  Honestly, they couldn't be easier!  Here's what you do...

Chop whatever vegetables you have in your refrigerator into small, bite-sized pieces.  Some great options are:

• cauliflower
• zucchini
• potatoes
• carrots
• onions
• whatever!

Mix these in a bowl with garam masala, chili powder, turmeric, and salt.  Then toss with chickpea flour and water, alternating until the veggies just stick together when pressed into a ball.  Then fry them in oil at 350 degrees until crispy and brown.  This video taught me how to make them perfectly, and the woman is adorable.

I also made chicken and kale pakoras, and the kale were definitely my favorite!

To lighten things up (since we were eating plates full of fried food for dinner), I made a spicy cucumber salad.  This was a perfect, refreshing side-dish, and it's so fast to make.

Chop 2 cucumbers, a little cilantro, 1 chili pepper, and 2 scallions, and combine in a mixing bowl.  Then in a small dish dissolve 1/3 cup sugar and a sprinkle of salt in 1/2 cup white vinegar and pour over the cucumber mixture.  Refrigerate until cold, and you're done!  This is the perfect summer dish--so cold and spicy!  Enjoy!

Time for an Update!

Well a lot has been going on in Atlanta, and since I haven't checked in for a while, let me fill you in to what I've been doing for the last year.  No one wants to read a year's worth of info, so here's my year in pictures...

I lived it up with gluten free hamburgers and onion rings at Yeah Burger,

...and I got bangs!

I got really into juicing

And did some sophisticated comparisons to pieces at the High.

We ate A LOT of crawfish!

We even checked out some of the schnazzy spots as well, like King and Duke.

I made Christmas cookies

and drove to work in the middle of the Snowpocalypse.  Yikes.

We made margaritas for Cinco!!!

I visited cousins in Nashville,

 went to Bonnaroo,

and even made it to a Braves game!  

I have to say, I was a much bigger fan of watching baseball than I ever thought I would be... I think the peanuts sealed the deal for me.

We did a ton of camping in some of the most beautiful spots and lucked out with gorgeous weather the whole time.  It has been a seriously wonderful year!

 So there you go--a quick, painless update of my year.  Now back to the food!



Meatloaf. The Good Kind.

Happy fall, friendos!  I personally couldn't be happier that the cool weather is finally settling in here in Atlanta, and to celebrate I made one of my new favorite cold weather dinners:  meatloaf.  I didn't grow up in a family that made a lot of meatloaf, and I'm happy about that, because so much of it out there really isn't great.  But this meatloaf was perfect, on its own and in heavenly sandwich form.

Meatloaf Recipe
This recipe is of course gluten and dairy free, but feel free to make substitutions.  It's also wonderful with strictly 1 1/2 lb. of ground chuck used--play around with it.

• 1/2 cup GF breadcrumbs
• 1/3 cup rice milk
• 1/2 lb. ground chuck
• 1/2 lb. ground lamb
• 1/2 lb. ground veal
• 1 large carrot, grated
• 1/2 yellow onion, grated
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup parsley, minced
• salt and pepper
• Sambal Ketchup*

Alright!  First, make those breadcrumbs.  I always save the ends of my Udi's loaves to make them.  Throw them in a food processor, and you're ready. 

Then place them in a large mixing bowl and add your milk of choice.  Dry breadcrumbs make for dry meatloaf, so let them soak up all of the milk before you add the other ingredients. 

Then grate the onion and carrot and mince the parsley.  Add the veggies to the bowl, along with the egg, meats, salt, and pepper.  Mix this gently with the tips of your fingers.  Don't smash it all together.  This will result in a much better texture.

All that's left to do is place it all in a small loaf pan, cover it with the sambal ketchup, and bake it at 325 for 40 to 45 minutes.  After it comes out of the oven, let it rest for 10 or 15 minutes and then enjoy!

I should add, I served mine with an AWESOME onion jam.  Cut several pieces of bacon (I used three) into lardons and crisp in a pan.  Remove the bacon, leaving the bacon grease in the pan.  Dice a large yellow onion and add it to the pan.  Caramelize the onions and then add some brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, salt, bourbon, and a little corn starch, as well as the crispy bacon.  This stuff is amazing.

*Sambal Ketchup 
This sauce is perfect because it's sweet and spicy.  You have a couple of options here.  You can just add some sambal to ketchup until it's as spicy as you'd like it to be, or if you're like me and don't have any ketchup, you can do what I did below.

• 3 Tbsp. sambal
• 1 Tbsp. tomato paste
• 2 tsp. dark brown sugar
• hot water

Combine the sambal, tomato paste, and brown sugar in a bowl.  Then just add a little hot water to thin it out a bit and dissolve the sugar.

Ridiculously Delicious Cookie Dough

I have to say, I am completely ashamed that I made the recipe I am about to tell you about.  I am even more ashamed, or maybe just in awe, of how much I actually loved this recipe.  I found it on FoodGawker last night and had seen so many others like it that I felt like I just had to try it.  It is gluten-free chocolate chip cookie dough...meant to be eaten strictly as cookie dough, not turned into actual cookies.  That doesn't sound too crazy, right?  Just wait.  It is the type of cookie dough that is made with...canned chick peas.

I know, it sounds like it would taste awful, but worse than that, it just sounds like one of those ridiculous "healthy" recipes that make you want to yell "JUST EAT THE COOKIE DOUGH ALREADY!  WHY ARE YOU ADDING BEANS TO THIS?!" Like when people try to "sneak" vegetables into mac and cheese.  Why are you doing that?  Why can't you just have a side of vegetables and leave the mac and cheese alone?  Oh right, back to the cookie dough...

Clearly with such strong opinions about these kinds of recipes, it is a miracle that I tried it at all, but since I had all of the ingredients and was jonesing for some cookie dough, I gave it a shot...and I have to say, I am so glad I did. This is currently living in a large tupperware container in my fridge, and I have been eating it with a spoon and a large glass of milk.  My recipe is adapted from this cookie dough recipe, but don't worry about following the measurements exactly--there are no eggs in here, so you can just make it, taste it, adjust it.

Cookie Dough Recipe

• 1 can chick peas, rinsed and drained
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 Tbsp peanut butter (or any nut butter)
• 1/2 cup of dark brown sugar (not too firmly packed)
• 3 Tbsp gluten free oats
• pinch of salt
• 1/3 cup chocolate chips
• 1/3 cup chopped, roasted almonds

Combine all of the ingredients except for the chocolate chips and almonds in a food processor, and process until smooth.  At this point look at your consistency--it looks like cookie dough, right?!--but if you would like it a little thinner add a splash of milk (dairy-full or dairy-free is fine) and if you would like it thicker add a bit more of the oats.  Now transfer your "dough" that you are probably terrified to actually taste into a bowl and stir in the chocolate chips and almonds.  Now, just trust me and try it...it is awesome!

Home Again, Home Again

         I've made it!  At long last, I am in Atlanta, and I have to say, I love this place already.  In my life, I have primarily lived in Hattiesburg, Mississippi; Clemson, South Carolina; and Boone, North Carolina.  While I have loved all of them, none of them are booming metropolises, and the thought alone of picking up and moving into a studio apartment in Atlanta without a job or friends in the area has at times felt  more than a little suffocating.
        
         But having been here for about a full week now, I'm really feeling settled.  I have found three grocery stores, one of which is a Whole Foods...I don't even know how to behave in there...there are so many gluten free options.  I have obtained a library card.  I have found a good Mexican restaurant.  I have been busily on the job hunt. 

 Pan seared halibut on top of shiitakes and shallots, served with spicy, garlicky kale.

          Today I found the Peachtree Road Farmers Market at St. Phillip's Cathedral and bought some beautiful silver oyster mushrooms as well as a Bear Claw (blackberry and honey) popsicle from the King of Pops stand there.  It was delicious! 

  King of Pops truck...I live in a food truck mecca...

William and I also found a great Vietnamese restaurant, where we had pancakes and pho.  It is hard to beat a meal of pancakes and pho, particularly when you can both eat, leave a generous tip, and pay only $15.  I cannot wait to try all of the awesome little Asian spots in this city.

Yum!  Vietnamese pancakes with shrimp and pork, served with lettuce, mint, and nuoc cham.

Ah, yes, I'm very glad to be settling in here...now back to that small matter of finding a job...