Tula: Gluten Free Bakery and Cafe

I was so happy to find Tula on a recent trip to Portland, Oregon. This bakery and cafe is 100% gluten free and I am happy to report that the 5 items I was able to try were absolutely delicious. 

If you don't have the appetite to try out more than one or two items on this great menu - be sure to try these two out! Check out the pictures below.

{Sea Salt Chocolate Chip Cookie}

{Roasted tomato, pesto and arugula panini}

These two items are so memorable that I will be using them as my inspiration for next weeks baking project - please stay tuned! Also I will mail a batch of cookies to the next 3 people that comments on any of my posts! Thanks.

Hazelnut Macaroons

 Macaroons are the ultimate one bite treat! 

I've been such a glutton lately - Lucy and I frequently head to Miette Patisserie located in the Ferry Building to pick up a chocolate ladybug {for Lucy} and an assortment of macaroons for me. It's a fun way to end our outings but also puts a dent in the wallet at the end of the month - so it is time for me to make my own. I'll be testing out a few new flavors throughout the next few months so stay tuned!

{Hazelnut Macaroons w/ a ganache filling}

Macaroons are relatively easy to make and easy to mess up too! I've attempted to make macaroons a few other times and couldn't figure out why they 1) weren't baked through properly 2) didn't cleanly come off of the parchment paper. It ultimately came down to metal baking sheet vs non stick baking sheet. The answer is: Non-stick baking sheet! They baked perfectly in 9 minutes and came off the parchment paper without any fuss. 

Hazelnut Macaroons:1 1/4 cups of powdered sugar
1 cup of finely grounded hazelnuts
2 TBSP of cocoa powder
3 egg whites (at room temperature)
1/4 cup of sugar
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
pinch of salt

Ganache Filling:1/3 cup of bittersweet chocolate
1/2 cup of heavy cream
2 tablespoons of butter

Directions:
1. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Grind hazelnuts up.
3. In a medium bowl combine ground hazelnuts, cocoa powder, and powdered sugar; set aside.
4. Using a mixer - combine egg whites, vanilla, and salt - beat on medium until frothy.
5. Slowly (a spoonful at a time) add 1/4 cup of sugar until soft peaks are formed. {tips will curl}
6. Stir in hazelnut mixture.
7. Attach a 1/2 round tip into a large decorating bag or large zip lock bag. Spoon mixture into bag and pipe 1 - 1 1/2 inch circles 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheet.
8. Let sit for 30 minutes before baking. {this would be a great time to start on the filling}
9. Preheat oven to 325 degrees and bake for 9 minutes.
10. Let cookies cool for a few minutes before removing them off parchment paper and set on wired cooling racks.
11. Spread ganache filling onto bottoms of half of the cookies and top with the remaining, bottom sides down.

Ganache Filling:
1. In a small sauce pan, bring cream to a boil.
2. Add bittersweet chocolate, stir until smooth.
3. Add butter and stir until smooth and glossy.
4. Place in fridge for 30 minutes to set.
5. Spread on cooled macaroons.

Lasanga

{I have a handful of friends that happen to be amazing cooks. This week my dear friend Zack Martin made us some Gluten Free Lasagna! It was delicious especially since I was not a fan of lasagna before having tried his recipe. It was so good that I asked him to be a guest blogger this week. Story and recipe are below, enjoy!!}

Gluten-Free Lasagna 

I'm a picky eater and despise a common ingredient crappy chefs over-use to mask their piss-poor cooking: ONIONS.  Red-eyed and addicted to the food network I began improving traditional classic by removing/replacing the aforementioned tear jerking bulbs.  I learned that if you use good ingredients, put in some patience and care, no on ingredient is necessary.  Nancy, though she loves onions, has always been remarkably considerate to remove them when cooking for me.  My limitations are a spoiled preference; however, her dietary restrictions are medical.  I set out to cook her some gluten packed favorites in a gluten-free form.  This is cooking for my gluttonous glu-tard friends life.

History of Lasagna

According to wikipedia, the Italian's stole this dish from the Greeks. The name Lasagna is either derived from their f'd up word for pasta or pot (who cares).  They claim it was invented around ~1500, but I feel like it was stolen from the Chinese.  Since then many cultures get drunk, start throwing stuff in a dish, and pretend they made something new.  Later, in Mexico, Juan Picante got hammered on tequilla and dreamed up Sombrero Lasagna. He replaced pasta with tortillas, mozzarella with cheddar, used some left over rolled taco meat, and smothered it in a suicide mixture of hot sauce: Enchiladas were born.  Next, some redneck got messed up on American piss beer, wondered out of their local K-mart set out to make confederate flag lasagna.  They tossed in gross frozen green beans, some ground up mystery meet, used the favorite Campbells cream soup, and covered it up with crap-tastic funions (fake onions): Enter Casserole.  Last night I drank a coors light, sipped some tequilla, swirled some pinot, and set out to make the next version of this classic... the onion-less, gluten-free lasagna.       

Glu-Tard Lasagna: 

Pasta (Below)

Sauce (Again, Below)

Ricotta (Pesto Recipe is... guess? Below)

Basil 

Fresh Buffalo Mozzarella

Directions: You're stacking sauce, noodles, and cheese... this isn't rocket surgery. 

- Put a layer of sauce, cover 100% edge to edge with gluten free pasta

- Spread Ricotta over pasta and make it even and flat so the next payer of pasta will lay flat

- Do a big layer of sauce, sprinkle another big layer of parmesan on top

- Slice Mozzarella and spread evenly, then roll a couple basil leaves and cut... you should get cool ribbons... 

- Cook at ~350 degrees for 30mins, then broil for the last 10 to get a good browned top

- Let it rest for a minum of 10 minutes before serving so it can set back up.   

BONUS: Crispy Prosciutto topping... get the good stuff (Parma), lay flat in a toaster over and give it a fast toast...crumble it on top.    

{Pasta: Don't believe the label, this stuff kinda sucks... but we will make due.  Another alternative may be large slices of Eggplant. After my second attempt... here is what I've learned with this style of faux pasta}

- Bring a large pot of water to a boil

- Add enough sea salt so it tastes like the ocean.  Then put in olive oil so it doesn't stick together.  Reduce to light boil/simmer as it will fall apart

- Whatever the time says on the box, subtract 2-4min.  The goo i used said 8 min, I cooked it for 4min as this stuff will turn to mush easily... you just want it malleable

- Don't cool on a rack... made for a cool picture, but it was a stupid experiment (noodles slide off into sink).  Move quickly to strains water, then separate as fast as you can by laying large strips on paper towels, don't burn yourself.  Let them cool

- Sprinkle light olive oil on top. 

Meat Sauce: I make my own to avoid onions... you can easily brown meat and add your favorite Jar.  Take into consideration this is the bulk of your flavor.

Two Cans Tomato Sauce

2 Garlic Cloves

1 Teaspoon Fennel Seed

1 Teaspoon Chopped Hot Peppers (Neon Yellow in fermented jar)

Chili Flakes (a pinch will do - more if you like it spicy)

Fresh Basil (1/4 cup chopped, fresh)

1 Tablespoon Thyme 

Prepared Italian Sausage 

1/2 lb veal

Sea Salt & Pepper

Good Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Celery Salt

Directions: I don't have time to stew tomatoes (yet amazing) so i used organic canned tomato sauce  

- Brown Veal with salt, pepper, and a little bit of olive oil on high heat

- Remove meat and drain some of the fat, on low heat put an super thin layer of olive oil in the pan and brown (don't burn) the garlic and fennel seeds, try to scrape the brown'd meat from the bottom

- Chop the sausage as small as you can get it, add that back in the pan with veal... brown for no longer than 2 min as you don't want to burn the garlic

 - Add in Sauce, remaining spices, finely chopped fresh basil (maybe 1 or 2 leaves) and do a swirl of olive oil.  Cook on low to medium heat so it simmers but doesn't boil so flavors mix together for 5-10mins than let it rest/cool

Remember, its going to cook in the oven so don't over cook your meat here. 

Pesto Ricotta: Make your own pesto.  It takes 2 minutes and tastes 50x better.  If you don't have 2 minutes, get the jar crap.    

Small Tub Ricotta Cheese

2 eggs

Basil (2-3 handfuls)

Olive Oil

1 Tablespoon of fresh lemon juice

More Garlic (2-3 cloves)

Pine Nuts (optional)

Fresh Parmesan (1 cup grated)

Directions: 

- Pesto - In a food processor add 2-3 handfuls of basil (5 if you have mini carni hands you freak), olive oil, garlic cloves, cup of Parmesan, pine nuts and blend.  That is it.  Taste and adjust. 

- Mix pesto with ricotta, eggs, and another cup of Parmesan... it should have the consistency of puddy 

Potato Torte

This {Potato Torte} is a very special dish to me since I only eat it once a year, on Easter Sunday. This tradition started when I was going to college in Seattle and was always made by my dear friend Debbie. Now that I'm in SF, I've decided that it's time for me to find the recipe and start making it myself every year on Easter. 

This dish is quite delicious and VERY filling. I recommend this recipe for potlucks, dinner parties, or anything that requires feeding lots of people, and not just on Easter! Just note that it does take about 2 hours to cook, so plan accordingly. 

Once you've made this once, I'm willing to bet anything that your friends and family will BEG you to make it again!! 

{All ready to go in the oven for 2 hours}

{Looks yummy!!! Must wait till it cools down...}

{Ready for my first bite!}

** I wish I could take credit for this recipe, but it was scanned and sent to me. I also wish I could give credit to it's rightful owner but I don't know where my friend got it from either! But here is the exact recipe, enjoy!

Ingredients:

4 large baking potatoes

1 pound Gruyere cheese 

1 pound baked ham 

l large sweet red pepper 

l egg plus 2 egg yolks 

4 cups heavy cream

l teaspoon salt 

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 

1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach 

1 medium onion, minced 

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

Directions:

1. Peel potatoes; slice thin and set aside in a large bowl of cool

water, Grate the Gruyere and set aside. Slice ham and red pepper 

into thin strips. 

2. Combine the whole egg, yolks, cream, and salt and pepper in a

large bowl, Drain the potatoes and add to the cream mixture. 

3. Thaw and drain spinach well. ln a small bowl, combine spinach

with onion and mustard.

4. Preheat oven to 325°. 

5. Place a thin layer of potatoes and cheese over the bottom of a 

buttered 9 X 13-inch casserole. Drizzle a small amount of the 

cream mixture over the potatoes and cheese. Top with ham 

strips. 

6. Make a second layer of potatoes, cheese and cream. Top this with 

the spinach mixture. 

7. Spread remaining potatoes, cheese and cream over spinach 

mixture. Top with strips of red pepper. 

8. Bake the torte in a 325° oven for Z hours. Do not cover. The top 

should be well browned.

Chocolate Chip Cookies with Walnuts

This may seem surprising when I tell you that I've never made made chocolate chip cookies from scratch. It's true, I wouldn't even know where to begin. So when a friend asked me to make them with walnuts as it was his favorite cookie ever, I ended up spending an entire afternoon sifting through recipes before I able to put together something that may just work with gluten free flours.

I'll go out on a limb here when I say that I think the first batch was amazing! I ended up eating 3 cookies as they came out of the oven... whoops probably should have saved some for the person that requested it....

There may be a few things I may substitute or change later on but for now I think this is a solid chocolate chip walnut cookie recipe that everyone should try!

{First batch!}

{I didn't used parchment paper the first round, but did the second time around. NOTE: USE PARCHMENT PAPER. Results will be much better.}

{Chocolate Chip Cookies with Walnuts}

Ingredients:

- 1 stick of unsalted butter, soften

- 1/2 cup of sugar

- 1/2 cup of brown sugar

- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

- 1 1/2 cup of gluten free all purpose baking flour

- 1/2 teaspoon of xanthan gum

- 1 egg

- 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda (dissolved in a teaspoon of hot water)

- 1 cup of chocolate chips

- 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts

- pinch of salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Cream together the butter, white sugar, and brown sugar until smooth.

3. Beat in egg and vanilla.

4. Add dissolved baking soda. 

5. Stir in flour and xanthan gum

6. Mix in chocolate chips and walnuts.

7. Bake for 10 minutes. Enjoy!

Chocolate Pomegranate Petit Four

I've always been a big fan of "bite sized" desserts.

Well before specialty cupcake shops started popping up in every neighborhood displaying their "mini" cupcakes ... I can proudly say that I had been making them before their rise in popularity!

With that said I have decided to "retire" from baking mini cupcakes and master other bite sized treats. This weekend I decided to take on Petit Fours (French word for "small oven")! They are not as complex as their French name sounds, but come prepared with patience and a few hours to spend on these tasty little treats!

Trust me when I tell you that MANY recipes were considered before I found this particular recipe. I would like to thank A Spicy Perspective as this was their recipe! Well minus the cake part... I cheated again and used a gluten free chocolate cake mix. The cake mix was helpful for me as I needed a GF option and I was trying to save time. {I was baking for these for a baby shower and knew that I wouldn't have time to make a gluten free cake from scratch - plus this particular box mix is super tasty!}

First things first - bake the cake! Since I used a cake mix, it was easy to quickly mix the ingredients and throw it in the oven for 22 minutes {Disregard the time suggestion on the box - if you use a 13 by 9 rectangular baking pan, 22 minutes is more than enough} Also make sure to line the cake pan with parchment paper for easy removal :)

As the cake is baking, prepare the POMEGRANATE WHIPPED CREAM. Mix together GF flour and pomegranate juice in a medium saucepan on medium heat until a paste is formed. Once the paste is formed, place the saucepan in the fridge to cool. The paste should look similar to the picture below. 

{ Pomegranate Juice and Flour Paste}

After the paste has cooled in the fridge for about 10 minutes, scrape into mixing bowl with the creamed butter and sugar and beat until well mixed.

{Pomegranate Whipped Cream}

Remove cake batter from freezer and spread the Pomegranate Whipped Cream evenly over the cake, return back to freezer.

{Adding the Pomegranate Whip to the cake}

As the first two layers are setting up in the freezer, get the Chocolate Whipped Cream together. Mix milk, cocoa, and gf flour together in a saucepan on medium heat until the paste is formed. Place chocolate paste into fridge to cool for 10 minutes. Then scrape it into 2nd batch of butter cream mixture (please note that the measurements between the pomegranate butter cream is different than the chocolate butter cream). Beat until the chocolate paste is blended.

{Whipped Chocolate Cream}

 Spread over Pomegranate layer and place back into the freezer until all three layers are COMPLETELY frozen.

 {All three layers will take about 2 hours to completely freeze}

Once all three layers are frozen. Trim the outer edges and cut into 1 inch squares. Please back into freezer

{My perfect little squares.}

Prepare Pomegranate Fondant. If you have not made Poured Fondant before, please watch this VIDEO. "A Spicy Perspective" suggested it on their webpage and it was very helpful for me!

{Pomegranate Fondant}

Now it's time to "Dip and Decorate"!!

I used a small marshmallow like skewer to dip the Petit Four pieces in the Fondant. Then I placed it on a wired cooling rack to set. After all of the Petit Fours were "dipped and decorated" I transferred them onto paper cupcake holders and then to a serving platter. In my case I placed it back into the freezer until it was time to head out to the baby shower that I made them for. 

{All ready to take to the baby shower!}

{Yay, all my hard work and patience paid off, this looks great!}

CHOCOLATE POMEGRANATE PETIT FOUR

Ingredients:

- 1 Gluten Free Chocolate Cake Mix 

For the Pomegranate Whipped Cream:

- 2 sticks of unsalted butter, soften

- 1 cup of sugar

- 1 cup of pomegranate juice

- 1/4 cup of gf flour (I used GF All Purpose)

For the Chocolate Whipped Cream:

- 1 stick of unsalted butter, soften

-1/2 cup of sugar

-1/2 cup of milk

- 2 tablespoons of gf flour 

-1 tablespoon of cocoa powder

- teaspoon of vanilla extract

- 1/4 cup of dark chocolate, melted and at room temp.

For the Pomegranate Poured Fondant:

- 1 cup of plain shortening (I used vegetable)

- 6-8 cups of powdered sugar (I ended up using 8 cups total)

- 1 cup of pomegranate juice.

Directions: {Copied from original recipe - why change something that isn't broken?!}

1. For the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line the bottom of a 9X13 pan with parchment paper and thoroughly grease the sides. Sift (or whisk) all dry ingredients in a bowl.
2. Beat together the eggs, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla. Slowly mix in the dry ingredients, and whisk for two minutes. Once well combined pour in the hot water and mix well. Pour into the cake pan and tap the pan on the counter a few times to remove any large bubbles.
3. Bake for 20 minutes, or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.
4. Allow the cakes to cool for 15 minutes, then flip out on a plastic board. Remove the parchment paper. If the cake looks even, place in the freezer. If the top is rounded, Carefully flip the cake over (using another cookie sheet) and trim the top with a serrated knife, then freeze.
5. For the Whipped Pomegranate Cream: Add the Pom Juice and flour to a small sauce pan. Whisk until there are no lumps. Then heat over medium, whisking constantly until the mixture comes to a boil. Whisk and cook a few more minutes until it thickens into a paste. Remove from heat and place pan in the fridge to cool. Beat the butter and sugar in a clean mixing bowl, for 5-7 minutes, until fluffy and glossy.
6. Once cooled, add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and beat until light and fluffy 5 minutes.
7. Spread the pomegranate cream evenly over the cake and return to the freezer.
8. For the Whipped Chocolate Cream: Add the milk, flour, and cocoa powder to a small sauce pan. Whisk until there are no lumps. Then heat over medium, whisking constantly until the mixture comes to a boil. Whisk and cook a few more minutes until it thickens into a paste. Remove from heat and place pan in the fridge to cool. Beat the butter and sugar in a clean mixing bowl, for 5-7 minutes, until fluffy and glossy. Once cooled, add the flour mixture to the butter mixture. Pour in the vanilla and the cooled melted chocolate and beat until light and fluffy 5 minutes.
9. Spread evenly over the top of the pomegranate cream. Return to the freezer.
10. Once frozen, trim the edges of the cake until very smooth. The cake will be about 8X12 inches after trimming. Then carefully cut the cake into 1 inch squares, 96 total. You may want to use a clean ruler to mark the top of the chocolate cream to make the pieces even. Return the cake squares to the freezer.
11. For the Pomegranate Poured Fondant: Place the shortening and half the pomegranate juice in a large bowl. Microwave until the shortening has melted. Add 5 cups of powdered sugar to the mix and whisk until smooth. Add a little more juice and another cup of powdered sugar, whisk. The fondant should be smooth and glossy, thin enough to pour but thick enough to coat well, a little thicker than school glue. If you see shortening dots on the top, add more powdered sugar. It may take all the juice and as much as 8 cups of powdered sugar to even out–but not always. Rewarm and whisk before dipping the petit fours. The fondant needs to stay warm.
12. Before dipping, dust the bottoms of each petit four, so that crumbs don’t fall in the poured fondant.
13. Place a petit four on a fork over the fondant bowl. Using a large spoon, scoop fondant over the top covering completely on all sides, then use another fork to carefully transfer to a drying rack. Repeat with all, rewarm the fondant if needed.

Potato Salmon Hash Topped with Poached Eggs

This meal came about because we had so much leftovers from the last few days. I'll admit that this isn't my most creative idea ever, but it is one of best dishes I've created with leftovers by far! We had some roasted potatoes and salmon leftover from my "fan favorite" dinner and it had been untouched in the fridge for two days so I knew that something had to be done and I was STARVING as I skipped breakfast that morning. So I skimmed the fridge to see if I could find a few extra ingredients to tie a meal together ..... I saw eggs, bacon, and onions and immediately knew I had the makings of a really good brunch for one!

At first I thought about doing a scramble that included everything but that just didn't sound all that exciting. Then I realized that I wanted something that was "sauce-like" and knew the answer was to poach some eggs. The richness of the runny yolk is a great addition to the potato salmon hash!

What makes this dish so great is that the salmon was already marinated and cooked and the potatoes were roasted with great seasonings from the previous day. So both ingredients had great flavor to begin with. The bacon and egg yolk take it to a whole new level though! Try your own variation the next time you have some leftovers and have a hunger for a great meal!

Ready to eat.

Had to cut into the poached egg to show you what a perfectly poached egg should look like ;)

I topped it with a little bit of siracha sauce for a spicy kick. 

Potato Salmon Hash Topped with Poached Eggs

Ingredients:

- 4 ounces of cooked salmon, cut into smaller pieces

- 1/4 cup of onion, chopped

- 2 slices of cooked bacon, chopped

- 1 cup of diced up roasted potatoes

- 2 eggs

- siracha (if you like a little spice)

Directions:

1. Fry up two slices of bacon that have been cut up into smaller pieces. After they have reached a crispy  state, remove from pan with a slotted spoon to a paper towel liked plate. Set aside.

2. Bring a medium pot of water with a splash of lemon or vinegar to a boil.

3. Remove most of the bacon grease from pan and add the chopped onion and saute until browned. Should only take about 5 minutes on medium and then add the diced roasted potatoes and saute until warm. 

4. Crack both eggs carefully into a cup without breaking the yolk.

5. Return to boiling pot of water, turn down to medium after it reaches a boil. Use a whisk and create a whirl pool effect and add one egg at a time to pot of water and cook for 7 minutes. Use a slotted spoon and remove poached eggs once it is cooked. 

6. Add cut up pieces of salmon and bacon into pan with potatoes and onions. Continue to cook on medium until both eggs are ready. 

7. Remove hash from pan to a serving plate. Top with both of the poached eggs. Salt and pepper to taste and drizzle siracha sauce if you like a little spice! Enjoy!

If the directions are a little confusing, let me know and I will find a better way to explain it!! Thanks! 

Honey Herbed Pork Loin

Anyone out there looking for a fun new recipe for pork chops that doesn't traditionally include apples?!?! Well this is one that you will fall in love with after the first bite! It's perfectly juicy with a sweet buttery glaze that you will can't help but scrape every last bit off the plate because it's THAT good. 

It may look like there is a lot of butter on top of the pork loin but most of it will melt off and you'll be left with a slightly crispy sweet herby (is that even a word) crust on top of your pork loin. 

Herb butter topped evenly on the pork loin .... ready to go whenever the guests arrive. (only takes 15 minutes under the broiler)

Done. Let rest for a few minutes before eating. 

Honey Herbed Pork Loin 

Ingredients:

- 4 (1/2 inch to 1 inch in thickness) pork loin

- 1 teaspoon of salt

- 1/2 teaspoon of pepper

- 1/4 cup of soften butter

- 1/4 cup of chopped fresh parsley

- 2 tablespoons of honey mustard (I just use 1 tablespoon of dijon mustard and 1 tablespoon of honey)

Directions:
1. Mix together soften butter, parsley, and 2 tablespoons of honey mustard in a small bowl until blended. 
2. Line rack with foil. Place pork loin on rack and season with salt and pepper. Top each pork loin with about 1 tablespoon of butter herb mixture.
3. Place rack about 5 inches away from heat. Broil on high for about 12-15 minutes depending on the size of the pork loin. Insert a meat thermometer after 12 minutes in the thickest portion to see if it registers 155°. If not, please cook until the pork loin registers to 155-165. Set on serving platter to rest for about 5 minutes before serving. 

Everyday Lemon Bars

The gluttonous side of me came out this week as I made these lemon bars TWICE this week. In my defense we had friends over for dinner so I only had a piece from the first batch. One square just isn't enough, therefore I had to make another batch the next day, and well I had more of that batch myself.... 

You'll find that the crust is SUPER easy to make, just add all the dry crust ingredients into a food processor (we have a mini food processor and that worked just fine) pulse until blended, then add the butter and two tablespoons of water, pulse some more and viola you're done! It's THAT easy.

After the crust has chilled in the fridge and then baked for 40 minutes you can combine the filling and pour on top of the crust and bake for 12 minutes. Done.

This will soon be a favorite for gluten and non-gluten people everywhere!

*Make sure to use parchment paper as this will help with getting the lemon bars out nicely. 

** Use GF flour that you like, I tend to use tapioca flour and sorghum sweet because I have that on hand, but I will soon be testing out almond flour more. 

Everyday Lemon Bars

Ingredients:
(Crust)
- 1/2 cup of sorghum sweet flour (you can use white rice flour or almond flour or any flour really)
- 1/4 cup of tapioca flour
- 1/4 cup of corn starch
- 1/3 cup of powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon of xantham gum (not needed if you use GF all purpose flour)
- 1 stick of cold butter (cut up into smaller pieces)
(lemon goodness filling)
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon of lemon zest
- 2 large eggs (I like to have them at room temp)
- 2 tablespoons of gf flour (I used tapioca flour, but you can use all purpose or almond or rice)
- 1/4 cup of lemon juice (1lemon)
- powdered sugar for decorative dusting.

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Line a 9inch baking pan with parchment paper. You'll need two pieces that hang over about an inch or two. Place them criss cross in the pan for easy removal.
1. Mix all the flour, powered sugar, corn starch, and xantham gum in the food processor. After it is blended well, add cut up cold pieces of butter. Pulse until there are no longer any large pieces of butter.
2. Add two tablespoons of water and pulse for another minute until the dough starts to form.
3. Take dough out of the food processor and roll into a ball. Place in pan and use fingers to push the dough as evenly as possible to the sides.
4. Place in refrigerator for 15 minutes.
5. After the 15 minutes, place in oven and bake for 40 minutes.
6. While the crust is baking. Add the 3/4 granulated sugar with the 1 tablespoon of lemon zest and mix together in a bowl. Set aside.
7. After the crust is done baking, remove from oven, and set aside to cool as you combine the filling.
8. Whisk eggs, lemon juice, and the 2 tablespoons of flour into the bowl that contains the sugar and lemon zest.
9. Whisk until completely smooth. Pour over crust.
10. Bake for another 14 minutes, gently shake the pan to make sure the filling does not jiggle anymore.
11. Set aside to cool. Then chill for 2 hours.
12. Dust with powdered sugar and ENJOY!!!

• 
  

Shrimp Curry with Quinoa

Until last summer I have never cooked anything with "curry" before because I always thought it was the type of meal that you needed all day to cook and didn't think I had enough special spices to make such a dish. Boy was I wrong!! This is one of the easiest and satisfying curry dishes ever! I've been known to add all sorts of different veggies to this dish, it really just depends on what we have in the fridge that week. So this time it was just shrimp, carrots, and orange bell peppers (which you can't see). 

* Potatoes are a great addition to this meal. (but we didn't have any or it would have made its way in)

** You can use brown or white rice for this dish as well, I'm just on a qunioa kick so we have been eating that with most of our meals. 

*** Try this with chicken if you're not a fan of shell fish.

For those that are using this recipe as a base and adding or substitute their own favorite ingredients, let me know how it goes as I am always up for trying a new variation! 

Shrimp Curry with Quinoa


Ingredients:
- 1 teaspoon of canola oil
- 1/2 cup of chopped onion
- 1/2 cup of carrots
- 1/2 cup of chopped red or orange bell pepper
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons of cumin
- 1 tablespoon of curry powder
- 1 can of coconut milk (light if you have it, but any will do)
- 1 teaspoon of sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes (more or less depending on the level of spice you like)
- 1 lb of shrimp, peeled and deveined (we just defrosted some frozen ones from costco)
- 1-2 tablespoon of water
- salt and pepper to taste.
- cilantro to garnish (if you have any on hand, if not don't worry about it)


Directions:
1. Heat oil in a large saucepan. Add onion, red or orange pepper, carrots, and garlic. Saute until they soften for about 3 minutes.
2. Season with curry powder, cumin, red chili flakes. Cook for another minute.
3. Stir in can of coconut milk and 1 tablespoon of water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for a few minutes.
4. Add shrimp and increase heat to medium. Cook until shrimp is cooked through, about 5 minutes. 
5. Use a clean spoon and do a taste test, salt and pepper as needed! Top with cilantro and enjoy!!