Organic Brown Rice Flour only 83 cents a pound from Vitacost (new customers only)

Vitacost is having a sale on Arrowhead Mills products, including Organic Brown Rice Flour.  Vitacost is currently giving a $10 credit to new customers.

The Arrowhead Mills Organic Brown Rice Flour is on sale for $3.17 for 32 oz.

So, if you sign up as a new customer with Vitacost, you can apply your $10 credit to the purchase of three 32 oz. bags of brown rice flour and get a total of six pounds of brown rice flour for the cost of shipping, which is $4.99.

That works out to just $0.83 per pound!

Use this link to Vitacost to sign up and get the discount code, which will be e-mailed to you.

Product Reviews: Manischewitz Gluten Free

Manischewitz makes a variety of food products, and I'll admit, I've never really looked at them.  In my mind, they've always been associated with dietary restrictions that aren't a part of my life, not having been raised in a Jewish home.  Apparently, I've been missing out!

I was recently asked if I would be interested in trying some of the gluten-free products that have been added to Manischewitz's line of Health and Wellness Foods. 

Whaaat?!!!  Manischewitz makes gluten free foods?

Guiltless Gourmet Crunches roasted chashew crunch snacks are gluten free, vegan, and contain no GMO ingredients.  The information sheet I received with the product claims that they are "deliciously addictive".  I completely agree!  They are just sweet enough without being too sweet, they are loaded with roasted cashews, and they are sooooo good. 

Guiltless Gourmet Crunches are Kosher for Passover and year round.

The other product I tried was the Manischewitz Gluten Free Shells Yolk Free Noodle Style Pasta.  I cooked them according to package directions, but wish I had checked on them a little sooner.  The directions called for a cooking time of 9 to 11 minutes, and I set the timer for 10 minutes.  At that point they were beginning to fall apart, as is a common problem with gluten free pasta.  Their flavor was bland (as is also common with wheat-free pasta) and ready to pick up whatever sauce or other ingredients that would be added to them.  Next time I'll shorten the cooking time a bit.

The Manischewitz Gluten Free Shells are made in Isreal, come in 12 oz. bags, and are also for Passover and year round.

I neglected to take a photo of the bag of pasta before cooking.  I was thinking I could just grab a photo from their website, but none were available.  And I didn't start working on this post until we ate the pasta for dinner, so I only have a photo of the empty bag.  [sigh]

Manischewitz makes several other gluten-free products as well, which I plan to look for and try soon.

Cindy

A New Year: 2012

Now that the holidays are finished, it's time to take a breath and give some thought to this new year.  It's a time for resolutions, for goal setting, or at least for thinking about making some changes. 

I've read many blog posts these past few days about goals for 2012, some lofty and some small.  There are some bloggers who are choosing one word that represents their main focus for the new year (I like this idea).  One blogger has projects planned already for each month of the year.  I find all of this to be extraordinarily impressive!

I love goal setting and planning, but I know myself well enough to realize that making specific plans for my whole year now isn't going to work for me.  However, I know that there are some areas of my life that need some help.  Meal planning, for example, hasn't been happening regularly for some time. 

So this morning, I took a look at the contents of the freezer and began thinking about what we will be eating this week.  I found a ham bone saved from a meal in November, and it's now simmering in a pot of water on it's way to flavoring a pot of beans.

Before being mowed down by the holidays, I had developed the habit of checking weekly grocery sales, stocking up, and planning meals around what I had in the freezer and pantry.  It's time to get back to that practice.

So today, I'll be taking inventory of supplies on hand, making a menu plan, and posting it over my desk.  Next, I'll be organizing my family's favorite recipes and searching for some new recipes to try.

Any suggestions?

Chocolate Brownie Cookies (gluten free)

I made these gluten free cookies for Fred to take into work this week.  The original recipe from McCormick was not a gluten free recipe, and contained cinnamon and chile pepper.  I might try them some time with the spices, but I really just wanted some good, rich chocolate cookies, and these were delicious.  They're not for everybody, though.  They have a rich, dark chocolate flavor and aren't super sweet on their own, so anyone who doesn't like dark chocolate might not like them.

Adding the icing sweetened them up a bit, as did the pretty red sugar.

I didn't keep track of the amount of ingredients I added when making the icing (sorry).  I made it with shortening, powdered sugar, almond milk, and clear vanilla flavoring.  It probably has about 3/4 cup shortening to each pound of powdered sugar and just enough almond milk (or you could use the milk of your choice) to get the consistency you like.  Add vanilla to taste (about 1 - 2 teaspoons per pound of powdered sugar).

Chocolate Brownie Cookies

12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips

¾ cup gluten free flour blend (I used Jule’s)
½ teaspoon xanthan gum
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ cup (1/2 stick) butter, softened
½ cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 375 °F.

Melt chocolate according to package directions.

Combine flour, xanthan gum, baking powder, and salt.  Set aside.

Beat butter and sugars until light and fluffy.  Add eggs and vanilla, and mix well.  Add melted chocolate and beat until well blended.  Gradually beat in flour mixture until well blended.

Drop dough by rounded tablespoons 1 ½ inches apart onto parchment-lined baking sheets.

Bake for 10 minutes.  Cool on wire rack.  Makes 3 ½ dozen cookies.

Printable Version 

I hope everyone is having a lovely and delicious holiday season!

Cindy

Blog Hop

Jennifer at It's an Itchy Little World is hosting a blog hop.  Blog hops are a great way to find numerous resources in one convenient location. 

Please visit Jenifer's blog hop for more information.

Cindy

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving!

King Arthur Gluten Free Flour and Baking Mixes

The King Arthur Flour Company, founded in 1790, has a reputation for producing high quality baking supplies. So when I heard that they were making gluten free flours and mixes, I had high hopes that they would be good. I wasn’t disappointed.

Their Gluten Free Multi-purpose Flour is a good all purpose flour blend for gluten free baking. It does not contain xanthan gum or other gums, which is a benefit for those people who are sensitive to gums. I’ve used it successfully in cookies, cakes and quick breads with the addition of a little xanthan gum (the KA website recommends ½ tsp. gum/cup of flour). King Arthur flour also works well in making a roux for thickening gravy and sauces.

King Arthur also makes gluten free baking mix. I enjoyed a delicious chocolate cake for my birthday this year (thanks Mom and Laura!) made from King Arthur gluten free chocolate cake mix.

My daughter recently found a variety of  King Arthur gluten free mixes at a local grocery store and brought home the gluten free brownie mix for us to try. Oh my goodness! Those brownies were so good, a whole pan of chewy, gooey, rich chocolaty goodness. Our regular grocery store only sells the King Arthur gluten free flour, but their mixes are worth making a trip to another store.

Note: I have no relationship with King Arthur Flour. They have never heard of me and are not compensating me in any way for writing this review.

If anyone has tried their other mixes or their bread flour, I would love to hear what you thought of them.

Cindy