So many packaged or bulk granolas have glutenous ingredients, are packed full of nuts (I'm allergic to almost all of them), are waaaay too sweet for my tastes, or have more dried fruit than I like. And thus, I prefer making my own granola. Not only is it cheaper, but I can make it fit my tastes and dietary restrictions perfectly! Here's a recipe I'm making a lot lately. It boasts a variety of seeds (pumpkin, sunflower, sesame, and flax) as well as coconut, honey, spices, vanilla, and raisins. As for the fat, I love using coconut oil in granola; it lends a wonderfully sweet flavor and fragrance. With a splash of coconut milk or a dollop of Greek yogurt, it makes a great energy-packed breakfast or snack. 

Spiced Seed & Honey Granola (gluten-free, nut-free, low sugar)

yield: 7-8 cups

This granola is very lightly sweetened with honey. I love the subtle sweetness in combination with the roasty toasty oats and seeds. If you prefer a sweeter granola, feel free to up the quantity of sweetener to 1/2 or 2/3 cup, to fit your tastes. It will still work a-okay, but based on my experiences, it will need to bake just a little longer due to the extra moisture. 

Ingredients

• 4 cups gluten-free rolled oats
• 1 cup coconut chips
• 1 cup raw sunflower seeds
• 1 cup raw pumpkin seeds
• 1/4 cup sesame seeds
• 1/4 cup ground flax seeds
• 1 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons melted coconut oil
• optional: 1 teaspoon gluten-free vanilla extract
• 1 cup raisins

Directions

Pre-heat oven to 325º F and line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. 

In a large bowl, mix together oats, coconut chips, seeds, salt, and spices. Set aside. 

In a small saucepan on the stovetop, melt together honey and coconut oil over low heat, stirring often, until liquid. Stir in vanilla extract, if using. Pour liquid mixture over dry ingredients and stir until evenly coated.

Divide granola between baking sheets and spread evently in a thin layer over surface. Place in pre-heated oven and bake for 15 minutes. Remove pans from oven, stir granola, and place pans back in oven on opposite shelves. Bake another 15 minutes, until golden brown.

Remove pans from oven and let cool completely. Granola will crisp as it cools.

Once cool, store in sealed jars or containers. Will keep for 2 weeks.  

Substitution options:

• Substitute raisins with any other dried fruit.
• Substitute honey with other liquid sweetener (maple syrup, agave nectar, brown rice syrup). Keep in mind each one has a different intensity of sweetness, so it may be less - or more - sweet depending on your substitution. 
• Substitute coconut oil with another oil, such as sunflower oil
• Substitute sunflower and pumpkin seeds with any type of nut
• Substitute sesame seeds with hemp seeds
• Play with other spices, such as nutmeg or ground ginger 

So it's not *really* spring here yet. Technically it is, but the ongoing weather proves otherwise. It was snowing out this morning! For obvious reasons, "spring" food isn't really happening yet. I yearn for pea shoots, fresh lettuces, tiny radishes, and sweet crunchy kohlrabi. But given the chilly temperatures, I'm still eating root veggies, cooked greens, etc etc etc. Geez.

Since it feels like we are moving backward through the seasons instead of forward, diving headlong back into fall, I decided to make some pumpkin muffins. They are a little autumnal for this time of year, but based on the chilly temperatures, they fit right in. Aaaaand they are gluten-free, dairy-free, and cane sugar-free. I like this recipe because it makes a muffin that isn't very sweet. You can really taste the pumpkin! I mean really, if you are looking for sugarbomb baked goods, you are reading the wrong blog. They are moist and just a little sweet, with a good balance of pumpkin flavor and spice. Nice.

Pumpkin Muffins (gluten-free, dairy-free, cane sugar-free, low sugar)

yield: 10-12 regular-size muffins 

I like this recipe because it is free of xanthan gum or other binders, and is low in sugar. This yields 10 to 12 muffins, depending on how exact you are with filling the muffin tins and how large your muffin tins are. I have not tried this using a "flax" egg or another egg-substitute. If you do, please let me know how it works for you!

Ingredients

• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup melted coconut oil or sunflower oil (if you are a dairy-eater, this recipe is great with melted butter too)
• 1/3 cup water
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons agave nectar
• 120 grams (1 cup) sorghum flour
• 60 grams (1/2 cup) oat flour
• 30 grams (1/4 cup) tapioca starch aka tapioca flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a muffin tin very well or line with cute muffin papers (I like dinosaur muffin papers).

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, starch, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and pumpkin pie spice until mixture is light and well-mixed. Set aside.

In a large bowl with stand mixer or hand mixer, combine pumpkin, eggs, oil, water, vanilla, and Agave nectar. Mix until ingredients are smooth and well-combined. Then add dry ingredients gradually, scraping sides as you go, until mixture is just combined.

Spoon batter into the prepared muffin pan, filling about 3/4 of the way ( I like using a cookie scoop for this - easy peasy!) and place in the pre-heated oven. Bake in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool 10 minutes in pan, then remove from pan and allow to finish cooling on rack.

Store in a well-sealed container or wrapped tightly in foil or in a storage bag. These muffins freeze well and can be thawed at room temperature or on a defrost setting in the microwave.

This is what is going on outside my bedroom window right now...

That's right! An April blizzard. Whatever, Minnesota. I'm supposed to be on spring break, enjoying robins and tulips and bike rides and picnics. Alas, instead I am shivering away, enduring the sixth month of winter we Minnesotans have had this season. I hope the weather decides to warm up before I have to go back to school at the end of this month! I want to enjoy a few free days in the sun...

I just finished my second trimester of classes toward a Masters of Oriental Medicine. Two trimesters down, seven to go! Since September last year, my life has been a whirlwind of large books, flashcards, Chinese words, and remembering the ins and outs of pattern diagnoses like "turbid phlegm harassing the upper body" and "wind cold with pre-existing cold rheum". 

I feel blessed for having the opportunity to be in school. The program is challenging and exciting, and everyday is an affirmation that I am on the right path. It's exciting to make connections between my own health experiences over the last five years with what I'm learning in class. I love thinking about the type of practitioner that I want to be and working toward that goal. When school starts again in a couple weeks we start our first classes in Chinese herbs and needling techniques, and get deeper into diagnostic practices and treatment strategy. Exciting!

In addition to absolutely loving it, I am proud to say I am rocking a 4.0. And not only that, I recently received a scholarship based on my academic achievement, leadership experience as president of our campus LGBTQ organization, and my volunteer work experience with a local clinic that supports transgender and gender non-conforming individuals. 

I've found it challenging to find the balance of school, work, volunteering, self-care, relationship, and friendship. It's been harder than I thought it would be, honestly. I figured it would come naturally to me, that I would easily slide into this new lifestyle pattern and still find the time to cook and take care of myself and have a healthy social life. Wrong! It's been hard. One of those things they never tell you when you decide to go back to grad school.

Culinary endeavors have taken a particularly large hit. My income as a student is drastically reduced compared to the past (I worked for Target's advertising department for eight years). While much of my former income was spent on medical expenses, I know I was also wasteful with money and was not always aware of the privelege that income afforded me. It's been a really good reality check, honestly. Living off loans and part-time work means I no longer have room in my budget to regularly buy large amounts of food and expensive specialty items for baking and cooking experiments. I'm having to take a much different approach to preparing and sharing food, and I think it will ultimately benefit my readers and my future clients. I mean, who wants to take advice from someone who makes suggestions that you can't afford to follow? Food accessibility is a huge issue, and this is especially true for individuals who need to follow specialized diets based on health conditions. I look forward to developing and sharing new recipes that are both nourishing and more affordable than recipes from my past. For example, I was looking at a past recipe and I saw that I used over 1 cup of maple syrup. I gasped, thinking I would never consider using that much maple syrup right now, because there is no way I could afford it. Like I said, REALITY CHECK! 

I also have exciting news to follow about my job. I am a proud cheesemaker for Punk Rawk Labs, a Minneapolis-based company that makes organic vegan cheeses from cashews and macadamia nuts. These cheeses are fermented, live, raw wheels of whole food goodness that you will LOVE. It is creamy and buttery, ranging from a texture similar to fresh chevre or brie (cashew cheese) to something more like ricotta (macadamia cheese). It is great with crackers, and can also be used in many ways in recipes. Working for Punk Rawk Labs probably ranks in my top three job experiences in terms of overall satisfaction. We workers are treated so well by the owners, and I feel awesome about making a product that I believe in. The cashews we use are so amazing, purchased from Equal Exchange from an organic cashew farm in El Salvador called Aprainores (here's a great blog post about the farm). These are the best cashews I have ever eaten, hands down, and are even more delicious because they are sourced responsibly!

One of the perks of the job is constant snacking. We often have small, extra wheels that aren't large enough for sale or wheels that aren't quite as pretty as they should be, and these wheels are perfect for employee snackies. Here's a photo of a particularly impressive snack spread from a couple of weeks ago. 

I definitely recommend you look up the Punk Rawk Labs website and find a place in your neck of the woods that sells our product. You will love it! The cheese is pricy, but if you have the chance to splurge on a wheel I am sure you'll be satisfied. 

And, as a bit of eye candy...

Here's a photo of an amazing dessert I made for my dad's birthday back in February. Flourless chocolate torte with chili-pepper infused ganache, garnished with candied chili peppers. Yeah. 

I have been cooking and baking as often as I can, but simply haven't had the time or desire to sit down and blog about it. My brain has been so full of school stuff! But truly, I am hoping to get some of these things blogged soon, cuz they are too good not to share. Nut-free granola, fudgy chocolate browneis, tasty bean dishes, curries, and on and on. My sweetie and I have been making the best gluten-free pancakes for months now. And I've been juicing up a storm and have some delicious juicing recipes that I think you'll love. 

Soon.

Soon.

Healthwise, I've been doing okay. The chronic Lyme Disease I've been fighting for what feels like an eternity went into remission last summer, and I felt amazing when I started school last fall. But, as chronic Lyme Disease often does, the infection became active once again and I relapsed. In January and February, my body started being ravaged by strange symptoms I was trying to deny. Dizzness, visual disturbances, swelling hands, severe body pain, brain fog, night sweats, insomnia, waking in the middle of the night, extreme mood swings, digestive issues, sudden rashes, the list goes on. After getting blood work done, which confirmed the presence of an active Lyme infection, I finally conceded and started treating again. I am working with my naturopath and physician once again, and have started taking antibiotics (Omnicef and Zithromax) in combination with botanical medicines (teasel root tincture, Nutramedix Samento, Enula, and Banderol, and Byron White A-Bab, A-Bart, and A-L Complex). My body is capable of handling really large amount of "killer" medicines at once, so I'm hitting it hard in the hope of killing it off and getting back into a remission state once again. Fingers crossed! I already feel a lot better after the last month of treatment, and have a lot of hope. 

Eventually, I hope to write more about my Lyme protocol over the years. It is something I talk a lot about in person with people, but haven't focused on as much as I hoped on the blog. 

Until next time, much love.

xo

I bake a lot. When I'm stressed, I bake. When I'm sad, I bake. When it's chilly outside, I bake. When I'm bored, I bake. It's a little excessive sometimes, actually, but much to the benefit of my the people in my life. The other day, sure enough, the urge struck and I needed to satisfy it. I hadn't tried my hand at a nut butter cookie for a while so gave it a go. After some research and brainstorming, I whipped together this recipe and it was a total hit! Not only is the dough totally bomb, the finished cookies are both beautiful and delicious. Crisp on the outside, soft and a little chewy on the inside, and with a nice subtle cashew butter flavor. And best yet, they stayed a little chewy and moist for three days. None of that dry, crumbly cookie business here. Instead of sweetening it with a ton of cane sugar, I used a combination of coconut sugar and maple syrup. This combination creates a great flavor that isn't too sweet and carries far less sugar and calories than a traditional recipe.

I took some of the cookies to school the other day and shared them with my fellow acupuncture students. Everyone loved them! In fact, a couple of people declared that they wouldn't have ever guessed they were gluten-free. I hope you like them as much as I did. 

Cashew Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies 

yield: approximately two dozen cookies

This recipe calls for a blend of four flours, which may seem like a lot, but it makes a great mix. Sorghum and brown rice flours are both easy to find and affordable. Arrowroot flour and arrowroot starch are the same thing, but just go by two different names. Same with tapioca flour and tapioca starch. Arrowroot and tapioca are interchangeable in this recipe, so feel free to use whichever you have in your pantry. There is not a substitute for sweet rice flour, so try to get your hands on some. Look in the gluten-free flour section, or for the best deal, the Asian food section of your local grocery store or better yet, an Asian grocery store. Sweet rice flour is also known as glutinous rice flour, but don't be scared - it doesn't contain gluten! Sweet rice is often called glutinous rice because it is really sticky stuff. That's why the flour is so great - it helps hold things together and keep things moist and chewy. 

• 1 cup sorghum flour
• 3/4 cup brown rice flour
• 1/2 cup sweet rice flour
• 1/4 cup arrowroot starch/arrowroot flour or tapioca starch/tapioca flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup softened butter
• 1/2 cup smooth roasted cashew butter (feel free to substitute equal amount of another nut butter)
• 1/2 cup coconut sugar (feel free to substitute an equal amount of granulated palm sugar or another variety of granulated sugar)
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons gluten-free vanilla extract
• 1 10-ounce bag chocolate chips 

In a medium bowl, whisk together flours and starch, baking powder and baking soda, and salt until light and well-mixed. Set-aside

In a large bowl, cream together butter and cashew butter until smooth with a handmixer or in a standing mixer. Add coconut sugar and maple syrup and continue to mix until smooth. The coconut sugar will not dissolve the same way and get totally creamy like granulated white sugar, so don't be surprised if there are small gritty pieces of coconut sugar. That's okay! Then add eggs one at a time and vanilla. Mix until everything well-incorporated. 

Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients gradually, mixing on low and scraping sides as necessary, then turning up to a higher speed to fully incorporate all the ingredients. Then add chocolate chips and mix one final time.

I think the dough bakes up better after it has had the chance to rest for a few hours, or even better, a whole day or two or three, in the fridge. Something magical happens to cookie dough as it continues to sit, the flour absorbs the moisture and I think it results in a chewier cookie. So at this point, I suggest covering it with plastic wrap and putting the bowl in the fridge and letting it hang out for a bit. But if you want to bake it right away, that's fine too!

When ready to bake, pre-heat oven to 350º F. Line a baking sheet with parchment and scoop dough by the heaping tablespoonful onto the baking sheet. Bake for approximately 12 minutes, or until edges are just browned and the middles are still slightly soft. Let cool on a baking sheet for 5 minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack. Bake in batches until all the dough is gone!

Store in a tightly sealed container or plastic bag for up to 3 days. 

Hello friends! My life has been so full as of late, and I just haven't been maintaining this site, or been online much in general. I've been thriving through being present with the people and space physically around me, and am exploring how I want to balance my online life as a part of that. That said, the last few months have brought exciting changes that I want to share with you. 

Number 1: my state fair results. 

As you may recall from this post, I entered some gluten-free baked goods in the Minnesota State Fair! I decided to enter my Really Good Banana Bread in a few different contests, and my Wholegrain Crackerbread and an in-progress recipe for fudgy brownies in the gluten-free contest.

For a week I was a baking moster, making loaf after loaf and pan after pan to ensure everything was consistent and make any necessary tweaks. My main squeeze A enjoyed that week, and ate their weight in baked goods.

The night before judging day, I baked and bagged my treats as required for the Minnesota State Fair entry guidelines...

And the next morning I stood in line with my treats, patiently waiting to submit them for judging...

And drumroll...........

I am a blue ribbon baker!

I was pleased to discover that my Banana Bread scored a third place ribbon and my Wholegrain Crackerbread scored a first place ribbon, both in the gluten-free contest! Out of the 113 entrees, I was honored to score two ribbons. Judging is very competitive and am absolutely thrilled. In addition to the glory of being able to call myself a State Fair Blue Ribbon Baker, which is a really big deal here in Minnesota, I also got a whopping $9 prize money. 

my blue ribbon gluten-free wholegrain crackers are on the left my third place banana bread is on the top right

Number 2: I quit my fancy job 

I was always very private about what I did for work. Have you noticed I've never alluded to what I spent my days doing? Well, I'm gonna come clean right now....another drumroll...

Since September of 2004, I had worked in Target Corporation's Marketing Department at their commercial photo studio. That photo studio shoots product and model images for Target.com and a number of other Target marketing channels, from those famous Target Gift Cards to publicity pieces to coupons. Target is based right here in beautiful Minneapolis. I started there shortly after graduating from college, and over the years worked my way up through the photo studio ranks. The most recent job I had was working as a project producer, where I booked photographers, stylists, and models, scheduled photo shoots, developed relationships with internal and external clients, and did a whole bunch of other stuff that involves a Targetized version of corporate speak that I'm just not going to go into. 

Working in an internationally recognized marketing department in a high-productivity commercial photo studio environment was an incredible learning opportunity that helped me develop some pretty killer skills. Photography is fun and working in advertising can be a really sexy thing. But despite all the great learning opportunities and amazing coworkers (and the sweet paycheck, solid healthcare, great 401k and pension, and Target discount), the corporate environment just wasn't the right fit for my soul or my wardrobe. I had been trying to leave my job to become a full-time student of Oriental Medicine since early 2008, but struggles with my health kept me from being able to leave the stability of my full-time job. Finally, the forces of my life aligned made this possible, and I very quickly jumped headlong into the sea of change. Quick is the active word there - I sent in my completed school application on a Monday, I was accepted to the program on Tuesday morning and gave my one-day-short-of-two-weeks'-notice later that afternoon so I could start orientation exactly two weeks later.

My last day as a Target Headquarters "team member" was August 31, and I have done nothing but smile since - except for when I go through the checkout lane at Target and no longer have a snazzy discount card. 

Number 3: I am a student!

And thus, I am now a full-time student of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine at Northwestern Health Sciences University in Bloomington, MN. This three-year program will result in a Masters of Oriental Medicine, and after I pass a bunch of board exams sometime in 2015, I will be able to practice a wide range of healing modalities including acupuncture, Chinese herbal medicine, tui na, moxibustion, and Chinese dietary therapy, among other things. I am hoping to complete a Clinical Nutrition Certification soon after completing the Oriental Medicine program so I can have a wider scope of practice in regards to advising my future clients on nutrition as part of their personalized treatment protocols. I am unspeakably grateful and excited, and am loving being a student. I now spend my days in class and my evenings studying and piecing together part-time work. 

Number 4: I went blonde

Because why not.  I'll probably be rocking the blonde for awhile, it's fun!

Number 5: I've been fermenting, canning, cooking, baking, and arting

The statement above pretty much sums it up. I've been doing lots of those things, although you'd never know it by the way I've let this blog become untended over the last year. But it's true, I swear! Just ask my sweetie - I endlessly utilize them as my personal food critic for the things I make and the stuff we make together. We've landed on some pretty fierce pancakes together, as well as a number of other delicious sweet and savory dishes. I canned pints and pints and pints of dilly beans, pickled beets and other goodies. And that part-time work I mentioned above is centered mostly around cooking, which is really fun. 

I don't think I mentioned it anywhere on the blog, but I attended a Fermentation Intensive with Sandor Katz himself down in Woodbury, Tennessee during mid-April. It was incredible! For four days we basked in the glory of the rural countryside learning about lacto-fermentation through hands-on lessons and eating the most beautiful, nourishing meals together. Sandor is a glorious human being, and the trip was completely inspiring. I keep meaning to share some of the amazing things I learned  and the photos! Better late than never is how I figure it, so I'll pull this together. 

Sandor Katz and me at the Fermentation Intensive in Woodbury, TN back in April

On a related note, I've been combining my love for food with my love for visual and performance art, and have been contributing to edible art installation/performance projects here in Minneapolis. I love utilizing my passion for food and art at the same time!

Number 6: Healing!

I've made huge leaps and bounds after nearly three years of treatment for chronic Lyme Disease, Babesiosis, and Bartonella, and my doctor feels I am dancing with remission! After taking cocktails of antibiotics for a solid 2 1/2 years, I swtiched to an herbal protocol in August and it seems to be doing the trick. I take a combination of herbal tinctures along with capsules of Super Artemisinin (I like the one from Allergy Research Group the best) and Serra Peptase. The tincture combination I am on is very intense, but for me really does the trick. I currently take Samento and Enula from Nutramedix, A-Babs, A-Bart, and AL-Complex from Byron White Remedies, and teasel root tincture. Teasel is available through a variety of independent distributors, including Lady Barbara's Garden online. I get mine from my naturopath, who gets it from a farm in Wisconsin.  

Please keep in mind that the listing above is not a suggestion of what you, my dear reader, should take to treat your Lyme and co-infections. It is merely a listing of what my current protocol looks like. You should talk to a healthcare provider who is knowledgeable in Lyme before starting on any protocol.

I can't even describe what a difference I feel in my body from where I was at 4 1/2 years ago, 2 years ago, or even earlier this year. The telling of what has led to this place is too long to describe here, and I am working on a more in-depth series of posts that outlines what I have found helpful in my multi-year recovery process from Lyme. Many readers have requested more information about this, and I'm happy to share it as soon as I can gather together my thoughts and experiences appropriately. 

So that sums it up! I'll try to pop in with recipes as often as I can. The blogging bug has been biting me for awhile and I do want to share some of these tasty treats I've been making - especially those of the cookie and pie variety. But if you comment or email me and I don't respond quickly, please do not take it personally. Blogging is taking the backseat in my life right now, and maintaining this site has been a challenge for me with my schedule. So, please be patient. I hope that the waning of 2012 is bringing you many positive things. Be well!

(Oh, hello by the way. I'm still alive and kicking. I thought I was ready to return to blogging in the spring, but as it turned out, I wasn't. So I took more time away, and now, NOW, I'm really feeling the itch.) 

I have had a lifelong love affair with county and state fairs, a result of my 4-H Club upbringing. So when I moved to Minneapolis in 2004, I was thrilled to discover that the State Fair is a big effing deal in Minnesota. People are serious about entering the fair, attending the fair, photographing the fair, and eating at the fair, and the city of St. Paul pretty much gets taken over by fair traffic. It's really a season all of its own, in my opinion, a lovely punctuation mark between summer and autumn, a way to celebrate the bounty of the harvest season and the energy of summer before slipping in to the cooler days and slower pace of autumn. 

Rewind to last August, when my friend Amanda and I were walking through the Creative Activities building at the fair. We came upon a small glass case filled with a handful pale, saggy baked goods, looked at eachother with a sad gaze, were both kind of like, "WHAT are these sad looking things?!" Then read the labels more closely, and much to our dismay, discovered that they were the gluten-free contest entries. It was at that very moment I decided that I needed to enter the fair in 2012. Those gummy looking baked goods, white as the undriven snow, could not be the only gluten-free representation at the fair. I owed it to the gluten-free community to provide something more! Like, how is anyone EVER going to want to go gluten-free when those are the baked goods they think they will have to eat for eternity? Especially when there are cases and cases and cases of glutenous treats surrounding them. Psssh.

Okay, so fast forward to the first week of August, just a couple weeks ago. State Fair registration has begun, and of course, I'm registering on the very last day possible because I was a space cadet and didn't really realize that HEY it's August already and HEY it's time to make stuff for the fair. 

I decided to enter five baked goods and one cross-stitch pillow. See? Here's the proof, there's no turning back now.

Unfortunately, I was supposed to turn in my cross-stitch pillow this week for judging and I completely blanked. I guess my unicorn cross-stitch pillow will not have an opportunity to shine. C'est la vie! Maybe I'll just have to post it on the blog instead, and I will have to rely on my baking for my state fair fun this year. 

There are some rules and regulations to be adhered to, of course, but my recipes totally fit the bill and I've been baking away to confirm and refine a few things. I am making two kinds of banana bread, one to be used in both the gluten-free and regular quick bread contests, and another one to be used in the honey & bee culture honey quick bread contest. I will also be making sprouted buckwheat crackers and some kind of cookie from my collection, yet to be determined. Tomorrow night I'll be doing the final bake-off for Sunday morning, when I will be taking all my entries in to be judged! 

Preparing for this is taking me back to my childhood days of being a 4-H member, scrambling to get my entries ready for judging. I never had animals to show in the fair, since I was a city kid. Keep in mind, I use the term "city kid" loosely for my childhood self - I grew up in neighborhoods that danced between city and town lines, walking sidewalks that dropped off when they hit corn fields. Nonetheless, my family didn't have fair-appropriate animals, so I kept on the long familial tradition of 4-H with sewing, baking, cooking, and arts and crafts projects. My rhubarb pie was blue-ribbon winning on more than one occasion at the county fair, and more than once I had a sewing or art project make its way to the 4-H building at the Wisconsin State Fair. I was such a successful little 4-H member.

Anyway, I'm pretty darn excited, and I can't wait to stand in line with all the people who are as cuckoo about baking as I am, all of us carting around our lovingly prepared treats. After they are tasted and judged, all the baked goods get put in to big glass cases, where they sit on display for about two weeks while thousands and thousands of people walk past them and take photos. I can't wait to go look at my stale baked goods trapped in a glass case! I'll be sure to let you know how it all turns out.  

[Trigger warning: depression, thoughts of self-harm, and intimacy are brought up briefly in this post. You wouldn't expect it in a post about cookies, but there it is. Wanted to bring it up for individuals for whom these topics may be triggering.] 

During my time away from the blog, I made a lot of cookies. And by that I mean two batches or so every week for about two months. In retrospect, I believe I was possessed by a cookie demon, an apron-clad creature that breathes flour from its nose, has beaters instead of hands, and whose eyes are glazed sticky sweet with honey. My kitchen became host to mixing bowls in the sink, flour on the floor, and a tin of cookies on the counter at all times. I fed my housemates cookies. I bestowed cookies upon friends. I wooed with cookies. Yes, wooed. And of course, I consumed many of them myself. 

My baking bonanza was part of a larger pattern of self-indulgence that started last fall. I had been weaning off my drugs since last October after two years of heavy antibiotic treatment for Lyme Disease and related tickborne co-infections. My doctor had told me that I was in remission, and we should try running an experiment to see how my body behaved without treatment. I took my last pill in late November. In a somewhat reckless (yet well-deserved) move, I celebrated. Caution, moderation, and self-control are not my natural and preferred methods of approaching the world. I've had to develop them in the last few years out of health-related necessity, and I managed to drum up gumption that I didn't know I had. I was so tired of regulating myself. So I threw care to the wind. I let go. I cheered myself with wine and coffee and all number of things that I had forbade myself from partaking in the last 4 years, returning to a slightly amended version of my habits of old. Concurrently, I indulged my heart and body, spending obsessive amounts of time in a blissed out haze of crushy giddiness with a pleasure rebel of equal measure to me. I laughed more than I'd laughed in years, shaking up the dust and cobwebs from prior years of sick sorrow. I fed parts of my soul that had lay hungry for far too long. 

It was all so needed, a medicine all of its own. I knew all of that was a recipe for inevitable intense consequence, but I didn't care. I wanted to experience every moment the present so badly, so I did. 

Everything hit an unfortunately timed wall in the desolate grey of mid-February, a tsunami wave of intrinsically cyclical circumstances. Cookies, wine, and losing time in starry-eyed explorations were replaced by new antibiotic regimens, detox baths, and days lost in battling Herxes from Hell. I was in physical and emotional crisis. My behaviors had fed my soul, but had also fed all the sleeping bugs in my system and brought them back to life. I had symptoms I hadn't experienced in months and years. I felt nauseous from the drugs in my system and the lonely pit in my stomach.  My head throbbed and shooting pains transversed my flesh. Worse yet, my swinging manic depressive cycles joined forces with a wicked Bartonella brain freakout and an aching heart, forming an unholy trinity of psychological destruction. Thoughts of self-harm wracked my brain, unlike any I'd had in years. It was terrifying. I couldn't eat, I couldn't sleep, nights were silent and solitary. I struggled to unravel the pain, grappling to discern what to attribute to the flare in my illnesses, or to side effects from the pharmaceuticals, or to the deep depression, or to the unraveling of intimacy. I was plagued by frustration for taking everything "too far", indulging "too much", feeling "too deeply". I thrived at very little other than taking my pills, crying, watching Netflix, and writing depressing poetry.

What a clutsterf***.  

And yet, the old adage remains: time is the great healer of all things. Within a few weeks, a switch had flipped. My body began to acclimate, my depression started to lift, my lonliness slowly subsided. Some light poked through the clouds and I flocked to it. And now, I'm feeling pretty good, all things considered. Matters of the body, mind, and heart have all achieved a certain level of balance and redefinition and appreciation. Times like this are for learning, growing, and self-reflection. It takes patience and faith and hard work. Sometimes it sucks. But in my experience things usually end up better after a bout like this. And thankfully, they have. 

I'm not baking many cookies right now. My tendancy to overindulge doesn't bode well with the way antibiotics effect my body, so I'm putting on the brakes the best I can. But have a storehouse of recipes from my winter baking binge to revisit. I made these little love nuggets last weekend for a potluck, to great delight of all who ate. They are loaded with all kinds of stuff, a celebration of all the ways I like to overdo. But the gluttony is tempered by whole grains and healthy fat and sensible sweeteners. It's the sort of balance I am trying to achieve. 

Totally Loaded Oatmeal Raisin Cookies  (gluten-free, dairy-free, cane sugar-free)

yields 3 dozen 3-inch cookies

In addition to boasting whole grains, raisins, cashews, and coconut, these cookies are totally loaded with protein, fiber, and amino acids. Sweet.

A few tips on the fat. Make sure to use softened - not melted - coconut oil. If you are a butter eater, an equal weight of butter can be substituted. Also, chill the dough in the fridge for 3-4 hours before baking. Why? Chilling the dough hardens the coconut oil and shortening, so it doesn't melt as quickly while the cookies are baking. Instead of spreading out like weird pancakes and ending up lacy and thin, cookies baked from chilled dough spread gradually and end up slightly chewy in the middle and crisp on the outside. Totally worth the wait, trust me. And besides, it gives you lots of time to sneak into the fridge and eat spoonfulls of dough. Because duh, why else bake cookies?!

• 90 grams / 0.75 cup quinoa flour or amaranth flour*
• 60 grams / scant 0.5 cup arrowroot starch or arrowroot flour (equal weight of tapioca flour or tapioca starch can be substituted)
• 40 grams / 0.25 cup buckwheat flour 
• 5 grams / 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 5 grams / 0.75 teaspoon salt
• 9 grams / 1 tablespoon + 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 150 grams / 0.5 cup + 3.5 tablespoons softened virgin coconut oil 
• 75 grams / 0.25 cup + 2 tablespoons palm shortening
• 170 grams / 1 cup palm sugar (or equal weight of another granulated sugar, such as coconut sugar)
• 80 grams / 0.25 cup maple syrup
• 2 large eggs
• 8 grams / 2 teaspoons gluten-free vanilla extract
• 290 grams / 3 cups gluten-free rolled oats
• 225 grams / 1.5 cup lightly packed raisins
• 85 grams / 1 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
• 100 grams / 0.75 cup toasted chopped cashews

In a medium bowl, whisk together flours, baking soda, and salt until well combined and light. Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream coconut oil and shortening until smooth and fluffy. Then add sugar, maple syrup, and vanilla and beat until smooth (some sugar granules may remain, that's okay). Add eggs and mix just until they are evenly combined. Gradually add flour and mix until evenly incorporated.

Then fold in oats, raisins, coconut, and cashews with a large sturdy spoon or spatula. Cover dough with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 3-4 hours.

Heat oven to 350º F and line baking sheets with parchment. Scoop chilled dough onto a baking sheet, leaving 3 inches or so between each cookie. Bake for approximately 16 minutes per batch, rotating pans half way through if baking two sheets at a time. Cookies should still be soft in the middle but browned around the edges, then remove from oven.

Let cool for 5 minutes before carefully transferring cookies to a wire rack to finish cooling. Store cooled cookies in a well-sealed jar, container, or bag at room temperature for up to 4 days (although they won't last that long).

*Flour Power! If you can't find quinoa or amaranth flour for purchase, or if you want to save some ching, grind your own. Simply place whole quinoa or amaranth grains in a high powered blender like a Vitamix or a coffee grinder, and grind until you create very fine flour with an even texture. So easy and so fresh!

Greetings friends. It's been a while. A long while. I'm still here, really. I've been taking time for myself the last few months, doing much-needed self-maintenance and self-care that had little to do with blogging.

Sure, I've still been cooking and baking up a storm. But I've been doing it without recording everything so intensely and without stressing out over the minimal amount of natural light available during Minnesota winters. Instead of maniacally attacking my laptop as my cookies cooled to write up a post, I've been sitting down with crafts or a book or housemates or friends instead.  Instead of spending weekends holed up in my kitchen, I've been doing all kinds of other things. And I gotta tell ya, it's been great.

My time away has allowed me to form interesting perspective on my place as a food blogger. Since starting my blog in 2008, the landscape of the food blogosphere has changed. It's expanded and exploded and everyone is publishing cookbooks and presenting at conventions and writing for Martha Stewart and Real Simple and doing product reviews and partnerships and doing giveaways all the time and buying amazing cameras and setting up small photo bays at home in their kitchens or wherever the light is the best and sharing everything through every social media channel out there. Blogs are looking beautiful these days, and it is truly inspiring.  And to watch the way that some of my blogging friends have just soared into the stratosphere is really awesome. Hot damn,  they deserve it. 

While I applaud the bloggers that have the energy for that kind of thing, I'm realizing that I just, well, don't. I enjoy the inexactness of spontaneous cooking - something that doesn't bode well for recipe development and cookbook writing. I get overwhelmed by all the new types of social media. I don't want to "check-in" or "pin it", my Twitter accounts were dormant for months, and I'm currently on break from Facebook. Sometimes I only want to focus on what's in front of me, you know? All I wanted to do is make recipes, take a few photos, and share them on my blog, and really, that's all I still want to do, without feeling like I need to participate in all the other stuff. I don't need to have a huge reputation or an outstanding Google rank. I just want to do my own thing and create a space I'm proud of, without pressure. And if people keep noticing and reading, that's awesome! 

In addition to being a cook, a baker, a canner, a fermenter, and a blogger, I am a musician, a crafter and artist, a writer, a gardener, a community organizer, an activist, a whole foods educator, a proud chosen auntie, a committed friend, and a lady about town. This blog is just one of the many ways I express my creativity and define my identity, and I need room for all of these things in my life if I am to remain happy and fulfilled. It's not that I can't focus - I just like to focus on lots of things all at once. 

Honestly, I didn't miss blogging at all until a few weeks ago. It was a relief to allow myself time away from this self-created virtual space, remove myself from the expectations of "oh it's been awhile, I should really post something" or "it's Valentine's Day, I should do a recipe round-up" or "these are great muffins, I should post them". I realized it was okay if I turned the "should" into a "could" and said "no" and did something else instead.

But the desire to write about food and healing is back, and I'll return to my old ways soon, with fresh energy and a new spunk in my step. 

xo

I am a huge fan of black tattoos and greywork, so I'm not getting any color added. I love my design and delicate yet bold effect of the black ink. The skin is still peeling and the area is still a little red and inflamed, but overall it is healing beautifully and looking great. 

I acknowledge that may seem strange for someone that is dedicated to non-toxic living (namely, me) to get themselves voluntarily assaulted with a needle and ink. But despite my sensitivity to oh-so-many things in this world, tattoo ink and I seem to get along just fine. The tattoo process doesn't mess up my qi significantly and the skin heals well. So I say, bring on the ink and let's get to business.

I'm happy to now have the earth (my newly acquired root veggies) and the sky (a flock of birds on my ribcage) represented on my body. What tattoo will be next, I wonder?

Do you have any food tattoos?

I haven't eaten potatoes in almost 4 years. Although I undeniably enjoy the starchy goodness of a potato and the multiplicity of ways to enjoy them, consuming them just isn't worth the allergy-induced joint swelling and digestive discomfort that inevitably results. 

Instead of mourning over the loss of potatoes, I found solace in other starchy vegetables. Sweet potatoes have always reigned supreme over any other true potato in my book, and I enjoyed a reason to romance their sweet, orange flesh. I adopted my mother's love for parsnips and beets at a young age, and explored their versatility further, quickly becoming obsessed with their different yet equally sweet flavors and hearty textures. I explored the glory of the celeriac, the gnarly vegetable that is also known as celery root, and took a liking to its unique, strong flavor. I tried every squash I could get my hands on, and prepared it almost every way I could think of. I mashed cauliflower to use as a topping for shepherd's pie, made creamy pureed soups from turnips, and made french fries out of rutabagas and carrots. 

Truly, I haven't missed potatoes a bit. 

Fear not! Thankfully, there are many delicious ways to keep the spirit of Thanksgiving without sacrificing your diet.   Here are some of my favorite recipes that are perfect for holiday get-togethers and good enough for your very traditional grandma and your picky uncle to enjoy. 

Appetizers

• Sweet 'n Salty Roasted Butternut Seeds (GF, vegan, ACD)
• Chile-Toasted Pepitas (GF, vegan, ACD)
• Coconut Curry Pepita Brittle (GF, vegan, cane sugar free - contains maple syrup)
• Cashew Pumpkinseed Cheese with Apple Cranberry Sauce (GF, vegan, aCD)
• Maple Candied Bacon (GF)
• Garlicky Olive Tapenade (GF, vegan, ACD)
• Hummus with Toasted Cumin and Sesame (GF, vegan, ACD)
• White Bean Garlic Dip (GF, vegan, ACD)
• Roasted Red Pepper Hummus (GF, vegan, ACD)
• Beet Hummus (GF, vegan, ACD)
• Pepper Crusted Cashew Cheese with Herbs (GF, ACD, vegan, raw, contains cashew)
• Tuscan Chicken Liver Paté (GF, ACD)
• Wholegrain Crackerbread with Sesame (GF, vegan, ACD)
• Crispy Raw Flaxseed Crackers (GF, vegan, raw, ACD)

Salads

• Carrot Ribbon Salad (raw, ACD, vegan, gluten free)
• Cabbage & Celeriac Winter Slaw (GF, vegan, raw, ACD)
• Rutabaga Apple Salad (Gf, vegan)
• Cabbage Apple Slaw (GF, vegan, raw, ACD option)
• Layered Rainbow Salad (GF, vegan, raw, ACD)
• Grapefruit Fennel Salad (GF, vegan, raw, ACD)

Soups

• Pumpkin Coconut Soup (GF, vegan, ACD)
• Creamy Spinach & Celeriac Soup (GF, vegan, ACD)
• Cream of Turnip & Fennel Soup (GF, vegan, ACD)
• Rainy Day Lentil Squash Soup (GF, vegan, ACD)
• Celery Root and Jerusalem Artichoke Soup (GF, vegan, ACD)
• Super Sexy Borscht (GF, vegan, ACD)

Main Course 

Who says you need to cook a whole turkey? Try one of these other protein packed options instead.

• Wild Lentil Loaf with Parsnip Gravy (GF, vegan, ACD)
• Sunny Quinoa Burgers (GF, vegan, ACD)
• Lentil Rutabaga Burgers (GF, vegan, ACD)
• Crock Pot Beef Roast with Root Vegetables and Flourless Gravy (GF, ACD)
• Slow-Cooked Pork Shoulder with Sauerkraut, Sweet Potato, and Apples (gluten-free, ACD)
• Dad's Mesquite-Smoked Grilled Chicken Breasts (GF, ACD)
• Caper & Shallot Turkey Burgers with Basil Pesto (GF, ACD)
• Bacon-Spiked Turkey Burgers (GF)
• Low-Carb Shepherd's Pie (GF, ACD)
• Herbed Turkey Meatballs (GF, ACD)

Stuffing Substitutes

• Rice Cooker Wild Basmati Pilaf (GF, vegan, ACD)
• Wild Rice & Quinoa Pilaf Stuffing with Parsnip Gravy (GF, vegan, ACD)
• Wild Rice with Hijiki & Carrots (GF, vegan, ACD)
• Stuffing made with Yeast-Free Pumpkinseed Teff Sandwich Bread (GF, vegan, ACD)
• Paprika Rice (GF, vegan, ACD)

Gravy

• Parsnip Gravy (GF, vegan, ACD)
• Flourless Beef Gravy (GF, ACD)

Sides

• Apple Cranberry Sauce (GF, vegan, ACD)
• Rhubarb-Apple Compote (GF, vegan option, cane sugar-free)
• Rutabaga Sweet Potato Mash with Vanilla (GF, vegan, ACD)
• Coconut Carrot Mash (GF, vegan, ACD)
• Garlic-Seared Brussels Sprouts (GF, vegan, ACD)
• Pan-Fried Parsnips and Leeks (GF, vegan, ACD)
• Cumin-Kissed Kale (GF, vegan, ACD)
• Braised Greens with Black Olives (GF, vegan, ACD)
• Rutabaga Parsnip Hash with Bacon (GF, ACD, vegan option if made without bacon))
• Apple, Turnip & Cabbage Hash (GF, vegan, ACD)
• Tarragon Roasted Turnips (GF, vegan, ACD)
• Turnip Broccoli Au Gratin (GF, vegan, ACD)
• Garlic-Chive Parsnip Mash (GF, vegan, ACD)
• Quick Roasted Kabocha Squash (GF, vegan, grain-free, ACD)
• Herb-Roasted Carrots, Parsnips, Brussels Sprouts, and Fennel (GF, vegan, ACD)
• Roasted Fennel, Parsnips, & Celeriac (GF, vegan, ACD)
• Rutabaga Fries (GF, vegan, ACD)

Breads & Muffins

• Wholegrain Crackerbread with Sesame (GF, vegan, ACD) 
• Socca with Rosemary & Cumin (GF, vegan, ACD) ★★
• Cardamom Prune Teff Millet Muffins (GF, vegan, ACD)
• Spiced Sweet Potato Quick Bread (GF, vegan)
• Yeast-Free Pumpkinseed Teff Sandwich Bread (GF, vegan, ACD) 
• Basic Coconut Flour Bread (GF, ACD, grain-free, contains duck eggs) 
• Millet Quinoa Kefir Flatbread (GF, ACD, contains dairy)
• Really Good Banana Bread (GF, dairy-free, cane sugar-free, contains eggs)
• Not My Mama's Zucchini Bread (GF, grain-free, low sugar, contains duck eggs)
• Garlic Chive Drop Biscuits (GF, vegan)
• Whole Grain Buckwheat Yogurt Muffins (GF, vegan option, contains dairy) 
• Banana Cranberry Spice Muffins (GF, vegan, low sugar)

Pies & Bars

• Pumpkin Pie with Crunchy Crust and Cashew Cream (GF, vegan, ACD) 
• Sweet Potato Crumble Bars (GF, vegan, low sugar) 
• Sweet Potato Pie with Seedy Amaranth Crust (GF, vegan, low sugar)
• No-Bake Sweet Potato Pie (GF, vegan, grain-free, low-sugar)

Other Sweet Treats

• Apple Cupcakes with Raisin Cashew Frosting (GF, vegan, frosting contains cashew) 
• Rutabaga Honey Spice Cake (GF, vegan, low sugar) 
• Black Bean Fudge (GF, vegan, ACD) 
• Oatmeal Carrot Tea Biscuits (GF, vegan, ACD)  - cut into Fall shapes!
• Marble Layer Cake with Chocolate Fudge Frosting and Strawberry Jam (grain-free, gluten-free, dairy-free, contains eggs)
• Sugar-Free Pear Berry Crumble (GF, vegan, ACD, contains lemon, contains cashew-nut free options)
• Grain-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies with Sea Salt Flakes (GF, grain-free, cane-sugar free)

Yummy leftover turkey ideas

• Creamy Cashew Wild Rice Soup (GF, vegan, ACD) - add cooked turkey or chicken for a delicious leftover meal!
• Gypsy Soup, A Variation (GF, ACD) - make with leftover turkey instead
• Herbed Chicken & Greens Soup (GF, ACD) - make with leftover turkey instead
• Rainbow Curry Chicken Stew (GF, ACD) - make with leftover turkey
• Insalata di Pollo con Carciofi (Chicken Salad with Artichokes) (GF, ACD) - make with leftover turkey instead

The original recipe for this pie was published in my 2011 recipe calendar A Year to Eat Freely. It was a really fun recipe project that I had for sale through Etsy. While I won't be publishing another calendar for 2012, I really enjoyed the learning process and experience of creating the first calendar. 

I made a few tweaks to the original recipe and wanted to share it with you. It is different than a traditonal sweet potato pie that is baked, but has its own distinctive flavor and texture that is very good. It would be perfect for your holiday table. 

If you are looking for other Thanksgiving pie or bar ideas, check these out:

• Pumpkin Pie with Crunchy Crust (gluten-free, sugar-free, vegan)
• Sweet Potato Pie with Seedy Amaranth Crust (gluten-free, sugar-free, vegan)
• Sweet Potato Crumble Bars (gluten-free, vegan, low-sugar)

This recipe is linked to Simply Sugar & Gluten-Free's Slightly Indulgent Tuesday.

There are all kinds of fancy salts out there for you to blow your paycheck on. Confession: I own many of them. 

Thankfully, one of my favorite salts is one that I make at home. Vanilla salt couldn't be easier to prepare, and the end result is lovely. I have two methods for creating vanilla salt, yielding different yet equally delightful results. I am sharing both methods with you; try each one and see which fits you best. I use my vanilla salt in baked goods, with fruit, over roasted sweet potatoes or squash, sprinkled over chocolaty desserts, or with roasted or grilled meats (helloooooo pork and chicken). I think you'll like it too. If you decorate the jar with a cute label and a bit of ribbon, you have a wonderful homemade gift. 

Vanilla beans are über-expensive if you buy them one-by-one or in small quantities. The trick is to buy a big bag and split the cost with a friend. A fellow foodie and I split the cost of this 1/2 pound bag of vanilla beans. We each ended up with about 30 beans for only about $13 per person. Sweet deal, right? 

Simple slaws are ideal for every season of the year. They are crunchy and light, yet satisfying and filling, and endlessly adaptable to a variety of seasonal produce. Despite this, my favorite time of year for slaws is late summer and fall, when farmers markets are bursting with fresh, crisp cabbages. The sweet, glistening, unblemished leaves tempt me from every vendor table, and inevitably, I go home with a weighty cabbage in my market basket.

I was inspired to combine my beloved green cabbage with another locally grown favorite, the spectacular Honeycrisp apple. The Honeycrisp was developed by the University of Minnesota's Horicultural Research Center in the 1970s, and has won a devoted following of fans. There are a number of wonderful orchards in the Minnesota and Western Wisconsin that grow this apple, and every year I anticipate the arrival of locally grown Honeycrisps at my farmers market and co-op. The flavor is sweet like honey and slightly tart, and it has a marvelously crisp, juicy texture that is, in my opinion, the sign of a perfect apple. Equally good for eating raw or baking, Honeycrisp is one of my favorite apples, hands down. 

The combination of sweet, fresh cabbage, sweet and tart apple, plump golden raisins, toasted caraway, and a hint of nutmeg in this slaw is magic. It only takes minutes to prepare, and it holds up in the fridge for 2 days without becoming soggy. 

Oh me oh my, autumn tastes so good. 

Over the weekend, we had our seventh gathering of the MPLS Food Swappers. The MPLS Swappers is just one of the food swapping groups that has popped up around the world in the last year. I started the group after being inspired by the lovely Kate Payne and her swaps in Brooklyn, NY and Austin, TX. Since then, swaps have have popped up all over the place, and it's a huge trend in the local foods scene. So far we're the only one in the Twin Cities area (and I think all of Minnesota) and we've gotten a lot of local press. I guess you could say that we really love publicity.  

My inconsistent and transitional housing situation lately has not made it easy to keep up with canning, so I'm feeling a little possessive of my preserved food. I was left scrambling to come up with what I would bring to swap. Instead of bringing something from my larder, I whipped up a tasty batch of this Coconut Curry Pepita Brittle using ingredients I had on hand. I was inspired by a recipe in an old issue of Martha Stewart Living which featured a recipe for Coconut Curry Cashews. While it looked great, I wanted something a little different but with the same flavor profile and made without cane sugar. So, I set forth on a kitchen experiment!

It was a total victory, a delightful combination of sweet-salty-spicy-crunchy that always wins me over. And it was a total hit at the swap. In exchange for bags of my lovingly prepared pepitas, I received frozen crappie filets, delicata squash, homegrown horseradish, red pepper jam, pickled garlic, homebrew beer (a great gift for my dad!), roasted pepita-chickpea mix, lemon-herb butter, and a gorgeous bunch of homegrown kale.  I love my swappers.

To learn more about how our food swap works, check out the MPLS Swapper blog. And in the meantime, enjoy some brittle. Happy Thursday!

bags of Coconut Curry Pepita Brittle awaiting bids at the MPLS Swappers food swapwhat I got in exchange for my bags of Coconut Curry Pepita Brittle - score!!!

Coconut Curry Pepita Brittle

yield 6 cups

This makes a very large batch, big enough for a party or perfect for gift giving. Feel free to cut this recipe in half or thirds if you want to make a smaller batch. The spice from the curry powder is tempered by the sweetness of the maple syrup and coconut. And the saltiness combines the holy trinity of flavors to keep you going back for handful after handful. Keeps for two weeks at room temperature, but I promise you, it won't last that long. 

• 1 cup real maple syrup
• 6 tablespoons coconut oil
• 3 tablespoons curry powder (mild or hot, the choice is up to you)
• 1 tablespoon unrefined salt
• 6 cups raw unsalted pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
• 1 1/2 cups finely shredded coconut

Heat oven to 350º F and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.

Place curry powder in a small saucepan and heat over low flame until it is lightly toasted and fragrant. Be careful not to let it burn! Then add maple syrup, coconut oil, and salt, whisk to combine and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly, then remove from heat. 

Meaure pepitas into a large bowl, then pour maple mixture over them, stirring to mix. Divide pumpkin seeds evenly between two parchment-lined cookie sheets, spreading coated seeds evenly over the surface in a thin layer. Place in oven and bake for 15-20 minutes, stirring every 7 minutes and rotating between oven racks. Remove from oven, divide coconut evenly between the trays and stir into mixture, then bake for another 15-20 minutes, stirring every 7 minutes and rotating between oven racks, until seeds are golden. I know, I know, it's a lot of stirring and rotating, but you don't want burned seeds and coconut. Then remove from oven.

Place baking sheets on wire cooling racks and let cool completely. The seed mixture will harden as it cools. Areas of the brittle will be very crisp, while other areas will be a little chewy and caramel-like. That's okay! 

Break cool brittle into chunks. Serve immediately or store in an air-tight container and consume within 2 weeks. 

This recipe is linked to Slightly Indulgent Tuesday at Simply Sugar & Gluten-Free. Check it out for tons of great recipes!

Do you the blog The Spunky Coconut? If you haven't visited yet, I suggest you do. Kelly creates wonderful recipes that are flavorful, unique, and easy to prepare, and I am consistently inspired by her positive attitude and creative vision. It was she that inspired this beautiful cake!

A few weeks ago I was in search of a recipe for a gluten-free cake for my cousin's birthday. When I landed upon Kelly's recipe for Marble Cake, I did a happy dance inside. Not only was the cake gluten-free, it was totally grain-free. A cake made of beans?! I had to try it. I found a chocolate frosting recipe in another post. Hoping for something a little more extravagant than a sheet cake, I decided to make a chocolate frosted marble layer cake, with my homemade strawberry-chocolate mint jam sandwiched between each layer.

Working with this cake and frosting was an absolute pleasure. Her cake recipes were easy to follow and simple to prepare. The cake was firm and moist, and came out of the pan easily. The frosting was also very simple to prepare, and the result was thick, sweet, and easy to spread. I was amazed; it actually behaved better than some conventional frostings I made in years past! As I sampled bits of cake scraps smeared with frosting and my strawberry jam, I knew this cake would be a winner, and smiled. I haven't made many layer cakes in the last few years, and I was having a blast.

I've been on a gluten-free banana bread kick ever since I made this bread. And by "kick" I really mean it - I've made a loaf nearly every week for the last 2 1/2 months. I finally encouraged myself to depart from the loaf and venture back into the world of the muffin. Inspired by an overabundance of bananas in our fruit bowl, I came up with this tasty vegan banana muffin recipe that features one of my favorite seasonal ingredients: cranberries. No gums, only a wee bit of starch, and no refined sugars. Hooray!

Conveniently, cranberries are this month's featured ingredient for the Sweet or Savory Kitchen Challenge, hosted by Diet Dessert and Dogs blogger Ricki Heller and me. What better reason to share my muffin recipe on the blog, right? 

This recipe also features a great homemade flour blend, a mixture of sorghum, millet, white rice, and arrowroot starch (also known as arrowroot flour). Ever since Shauna posted her Gluten-Free Whole Grain Muffins and the whole grain flour mix on her blog last year, I've been making many of my baked goods with various blends of flours and absolutely loving the results. It seemed she cracked the code to making a well-balanced flour blend, and the versatility of her formula allows you to use whatever flours and starches you have on hand. Brilliant.

Studious readers will remember that I moved to a new apartment only two months ago. Unfortunately, it wasn't meant to be - the basement leaked and I believe the house is riddled with mold and other environmental contaminants. Within two weeks of moving in, I was dealing with a constant headache, congestion, a burning throat, swollen glands, foggy headedness and fatigue. My Lyme and Babesia symptoms were flaring up, and I was starting to suffer anxiety attacks. I could barely function at work and had no energy left when I returned home at the end of the day. I finally resorted to spending as much time away as possible, housesitting for two weeks, camping for 5 days, and staying with friends for 2 1/2 weeks. Inevitably, after being away from the house for a few days, I would experience a total clearing of the additional symptoms. When I would go back, the symptoms would return. I knew I had to get out of that place for good; I've worked too hard the last 3 1/2 years to get to this point in my health, and I can't let my living situation drag me down. After negotiating with my landlord (and calling over the city inspector), I broke my lease and moved out. Now all my stuff is in storage and I'm staying out in the 'burbs with my aunt and uncle.

This experience has opened my eyes to the importance of having a safe place to call home. I dreaded going back there each day, knowing that it would make me feel sick. Although staying other places made me feel physically better, it wore on me emotionally. I yearned for quiet, for privacy, for my normal pattern of cooking dinner and working in my garden and being able to rest whenever and where ever I wanted. After being on the move for the better part of two months, I am worn down and feeling drained. My lack of pattern made it hard for me to eat the way I need to and stick to my rigorous and ever-changing schedule of medications and tinctures and supplements. This wore me down even further, and made me realize that no matter what I need to put my health first and do whatever I need to do to stick to my patterns. 

I had always seen myself as someone with a strong gypsy streak, someone who is comfortable traveling and moving about, but I have realized that I need a space to call my own. Maybe that space could be a modern-day gypsy wagon, but I definitely need my own wagon and can't be solely reliant on the wagons of other people. 

This recipe is adapted from the Ball® Complete Book of Home Preservation. I love this book! I have been canning a lot lately - rather obsessively, actually - and it has been a pleasure to work my way through its pages. 

This time of year is always marked by a bevy of stone fruit, and this recipe is a great way to preserve some of it for for another season. I like this recipe a lot because it has all the yumminess of salsa without tomatoes. As a tomato-avoiding person, I was darn excited to see this. I have made the recipe twice, and each time it has turned out great.  The first time I prepared it as written in the book, and the second time I prepared it with a few tweaks of my own and doubled the recipe. I have a lot of peach salsa in my canning cupboard right now, it's kind of ridiculous.

I know it is delicious because one of my jars was a dud and it didn't seal properly, so I had to eat it up. And boy, is it good! Whether you avoid tomatoes or not, I think you'll love it. The salsa is also very good fresh, so feel free to reserve some to eat right away and can the rest. 

While reading through the Ball® Complete Book of Home Preservation recently, I came upon a variety of pectin-free jam recipes. Instead of pectin for thickening, these recipes used homemade applesauce made from whole, uncored, unpeeled apples and whole unpeeled lemons. The high amount of natural pectin in these two fruits thickens the jam naturally. Additionally, using the homemade applesauce as a base helps to extend your other fruit - be it plums, cherries, berries, peaches, or the like - much further, allowing you to make more jam with less of this other fruit. I was totally intrigued, and liked the idea of not needing pectin to thicken the jam. Sure, I love my Pamona's Pectin dearly, but wouldn't it be nice to take a break?

The recipes looked easy to adapt to include unrefined sweetener instead of cane sugar, and I had all the ingredients on hand. So, I whipped up a batch of jam with apples, plums and a bit of ginger, sweetened with agave nectar. It turned out marvelously. The jam is soft and spreadable, but still thick enough to mound on the end of a spoon. The color is fantastic, and the flavor is sweet and bright. I knew immediately I had to share it with you!

One evening last week I dropped by my friend B's house. I found my barefoot and pregnant friend the kitchen, whipping up a loaf of banana bread adapted from the Joy of Cooking. She was substituting gluten-free flours and honey for wheat flour and sugar, and success seemed inevitable - the Joy of Cooking is so reliable and B is a fantastic baker. I had high hopes for this loaf and marveled at my excellently timed visit. As it baked, the house filled with the intoxicating smell of honey and banana and my quick bread-loving heart swooned.  

Finally, the timer beeped and B removed the loaf from the oven. Oh my, was it gorgeous! We could hardly wait for it to cool and sunk a knife into its golden, crisp crust. The bread had light and lofty crumb, and our first taste revealed a marvelously sweet and nutty flavor. Even her banana-leery husband devoured it. We polished off half the loaf, and they finished it the next day.  

Since then, I have made the bread a few times and have landed on a reliable and inarguably delicious recipe. After it cools, the bread can be sliced very thin and it holds up well to being spread with butter or nut butter. And the best part? It stays moist for days, even when simply stored on the counter wrapped in parchment. While at a picnic this past weekend, my friend April's daughter ate three thick slices, using two of them to make a strawberry and butter sandwich. That's my kind of kid.

lovely jars of lemon confit at the July 2011 MPLS Swappers food swap

I've been busy lately with the MPLS Swappers.  What's that, you ask? The MPLS Swappers gathers once per month to trade food we made, foraged, and grew ourselves, share knowledge with like-minded foodies, and build a community and culture of home food production in an urban environment.

Inspired by the BK Swappers and ATX Swappers (founded in part by the fairy swapmother Kate Payne), I decided to start a food swap up here in Minneapolis. And thus, late last year, the MPLS Swappers were born. We had our first food swap in March and the new of swaps has been spreading like wildfire across the Twin Cities. I've since gathered two friends to help plan the swaps, Swell Vegan blogger A-K Thordin and grassroots organizer Mandy Ellerton. We now throw monthly food swaps for 40 participants, and are excited about the many ways we can grow as an organization and as a community of like-minded individuals. 

Local press in Minneapolis has been eating up news of the swap as fast as we're eating up our jams and cookies, and we're getting featured all over the place. Most recently, Minnesota Monthly featured us on the glossy pages of our magazine in a great article entitled “Ready, Set, Swap”. Writer Gregory Scott did a great job of describing his experiences at a swap, the motivations of participants and the larger cultural interest in food swapping, as well as profiling me and my interest in starting the organization. And it even features a great photo of me (see below)!

The August issue is now available online and at newstands around Minnesota. Click here to read the article online! 

To top it off, we are also featured in a short video by swapper and Minnesota Monthly intern Morgan Mercer. She attended the July food swap with her video camera, interviewing people between swapping her homemade cheese. It really captures the energy and spirit of the swaps, and features me narrating the whole thing, so you get to witness my overly enthusiastic personality. Thanks to the wonder of YouTube, I'm able to share it right here on the blog.  So, check it out!

Pretty awesome, right? I love our food swap and our swappers! 

Mandy, A-K, and I are giddy to see how all this publicity increases the awareness and interest in our swap. We're hoping to facilitate the creation of additional food swaps in the Twin Cities area and larger Minnesota. We'll see what happens! And next month we're going to appear in another prominent Twin Cities magazine, so stay tuned.

Just wanted to let you all know what else I've been up to lately, and why I've been a bit distant on the blog here. But don't worry! The MPLS Swappers will not keep me from sharing tasty recipes here at my Affairs of Living home. 

Keep up-to-date with the latest news from the MPLS Swappers...

• Facebook Fan Page
• Twitter: @MPLSswappers -> Use #MPLSswappers to tag your Food Swap Tweets, and have a tweet up!
• Sign up for our free newsletter through Mailchimp!
• Flickr group -> If you’re on Flickr, join the group and upload your swap photos to share!
• E-mail: MPLSswappers@gmail.com

It is so hot in Minneapolis. We have a heat index of 115º F and a dewpoint that is higher than the Amazon. I'm not kidding. Our dewpoint was 86 on Sunday. The only other place in the Western Hemisphere with a dewpoint over 80 at the time was the Amazon, and that was in the low 80s. Take that, Brazil, ha!

Why do I live in a place that tortures residents with windchills of -30º F in the winter and then does this in the summer? Am I insane?

To add insult to injury, the power went out on my street last night. I was out picking up an air conditioner from my friend, and returned home about 10:30 pm to find my block powerless. So, I left the air conditioner in my car, and I spent the evening sweating my brains out. The air was still, heavy, and hot, and had it not been 11:30 by the time I was ready to get to bed, I would have sought refuge at someone else's house! It was awful. I kept waking through the night, only to find myself drenched in sweat and feeling faint. At 5 am I gave up, took another shower, gathered my stuff, and went to work, which is where I sit now, basking in the air conditioning. The power on my street may not be fixed until 6 pm tonight, and I'm imagining that all the food in my fridge is going bad as I write this. Ugh. Being without electricity is fine when you are living in a situation that doesn't require it, like when you're camping or at a cabin. But when everything you need to live your daily life is dependent on electricity, it sure is a pain to not have it.

I love making low-sugar jams that with unrefined sweeteners like maple syrup, honey, evaporated palm sugar, or coconut sugar. These low-sugar jams aren't at all hard to make, thanks to the thickening power of pectin. There are a few brands of pectin available, and you can even make your own out of apple scraps, but I always go for Pamona's Pectin. Eventually I'll try making my own pectin, but right now the cheery blue box of Pamona's is a reliable and easy choice.

Pamona's Pectin can be a little tricky to find in stores. In the Twin Cities area, I know for sure that the Wedge Community Co-op and Whole Foods both carry it (the price is better at Whole Foods). I would recommend calling your local co-ops or natural foods stores to see if they have it before making the trip. If they don't stock it, they may be able to order it for you, so be sure to ask. And if you can't find at any of your local grocers, you can find it online very easily, either by the box or in bulk. I'd love to order a bulk bag of it, since it is much cheaper and pectin lasts forever. Every box of Pamona's has very detailed instructions and basic recipe frameworks, so if you've never canned before, they make it very easy to start.

I'm on a bit of a canning kick this summer and had a bevy of blueberries and rhubarb, so I thought it a good idea to combine them and make a delightful jam. I chose maple syrup for the sweetener, thinking that it would play very well with the blueberries, almost reminiscent of pancakes. For a little twist, I added freshly grated ginger, ground cinnamon and ground nutmeg.