A New Tradition

Most people will look at you funny if you talk about homemade donuts. It’s an oxymoron – "homemade" and "donuts" are contradictory terms. Don’t you know donuts come in a box from a store?!?

I remember homemade donuts from my childhood. My grandmother used to make them, my aunts made them, my mother made them occasionally; I even helped once or twice while growing up. I had never made them by myself, though. I hadn’t been much of a donut eater for years. Donuts were a logical thing to give up when I was watching my weight. And obviously, I haven’t touched one since going gluten free over a year ago. Hell, I’ve cut way back on sugar these days, so I hardly eat anything sweet anymore. But even I crave the taste every once in a while.

David loves donuts. He loves them so much that his coworkers know to feed anything leftover in the Dunkin’ box to him at the end of the day. So Christmas morning, one of my presents to him was homemade, gluten-free donuts. I was looking forward to a sugar binge, and my inner-matriarch wanted to prove that not only could I make donuts, but I could make good, gluten-free donuts.

David and I were both ecstatic with the outcome.

I used this recipe from Celiac.com. I followed it exactly, except I used my own flour mix, cornstarch in place of the soy flour, and cornstarch to dust the board and dough. This dough is sticky, sticky, sticky. It took a lot of extra cornstarch sprinkled on the cutting board and dough, as well as a piece of parchment paper over top of the dough to accomplish the rolling. That, and considerable patience. But it was worth it.

These were slightly denser than the cake donuts I remembered, and tasted just about perfect. If I was in a hurry, I think I would just drop the dough by spoonfuls into the oil, to make donut holes. We dipped some in cinnamon and sugar, some in powdered sugar, and some in a chocolate glaze, and gorged ourselves. The rest we froze plain, and have been nuking them to take the chill off, then devouring.

Special thanks to David for delaying gratification to take these photos for me!

Some of the tools used:

Sticky dough:

Work in progress:

Fry 'er up: Almost done:

Ready, Set, Eat!

Peace on Earth, Good Will to All

So this is Christmas
And what have you done
Another year over
And a new one just begun
And so this is Christmas
I hope you have fun
The near and the dear one
The old and the young

A very merry Christmas
And a happy New Year
Let's hope it's a good one
Without any fear

~John Lennon, Happy Christmas (War is Over)

Holiday Letters and Caramel Corn

I read an article in the paper today trashing people's penchants for writing holiday letters. It chastised those who write more than one side of one page, and those who dare to include too many details. Evidently humor isn't a good thing, either. According to this article, they should be kept short, to the point, and only the most important details (told dryly).

Well, Bah Freaking Humbug!

I have a confession to make. I love reading other people's holiday letters. I love each and every one. Every big announcement, every tiny detail, nothing is too mundane, corny, or self-indulgent. I love them! I love to hear about your summer trips, cousins I've never met, kids' accomplishments, the new puppy, how you hate (or love) your job, and what new ornament you bought for your tree. I find them more interesting than celebrity gossip (another guilty pleasure). I especially love the photos. Professionally done or printed on a home printer, clear or grainy, perfectly composed or unevenly cropped. It doesn't matter, I want to see them all.

I also must admit to another foible - I save the letters! I usually keep them at least a year, and sometimes two or three, until they finally go into the recycling bin. David will back me up on this. More than once he's been yelled at, in August, for trying to throw away a letter received in December. I was just rereading a stack from 2005 the other day. Actually, I was hunting through them for addresses, to make sure I was sending cards to the right places. But I stopped and reread every one, and marveled at how small the kids were, the different careers, pets, vehicles, hairstyles and locations.

Each one made me think of my dear friends and all we've been through, both together and apart.

And so this season, I say, bring on the letters!

But, you won't see one from me this year. I usually do write one. Last year I broke with tradition and skipped it. My life was topsy turvy, dealing with my diagnosis of celiac disease, and learning to be human again. So I sent generic cards (not even a photo!). This year, I thought about it, and decided, heck, y'all can read the blog.

Thank you to those of you who did take the time to record your important events of 2007. I have enjoyed each one, and am looking forward to rereading them next December!

Caramel Corn

Naturally gluten-free, incredibly easy, and totally decadent. Here's a holiday favorite that I just made again, for the first time in at least a decade. I couldn't remember why I hadn't made it in so long, until it was all done and I realized I had sugar strewn all over the kitchen. Luckily it's just sugar, it was fairly easy to clean. This stuff is so addictive, David and I have been wavering in and out of sugar comas since it came out of the oven. It's probably best to make before a gathering or party or such, because you'll want help eating it. It makes tons, and you won't be able to stop eating until it's all gone.

6 quarts popped corn
2 cups brown sugar
1 cup butter
1/2 cup light corn syrup
dash of salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla

You will need two buttered cookie sheets or 9" X 13" pans. Make sure they are ready to go, and the popcorn is popped, before you start the caramel.

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees.

Put the butter, brown sugar, corn syrup and salt into a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Stir gently until the sugar is melted. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and boil for five minutes. Remove the pan from the heat, add the vanilla and baking soda, and stir quickly to mix. Pour caramel mixture over the popcorn, and mix well. Divide between the pans and place in the oven. Bake for 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and stir again. Let cool thoroughly and store in an airtight container.

Munch on this while watching your favorite holiday movie!

Solstice Greetings

We wish everyone a Joyous Solstice, Happy Holidays, and a Wonderful New Year!

It's all downhill (and brighter) from here...

Thought For the Day

Two wrongs don't make a right.

But...

Three rights make a left.

Hmmm...

Happy Accident

Friday night dinner needs to be easy. We’re both emotionally tired from the work week, and I am physically exhausted from having been on my feet all day at the print shop.

This Friday, the plan was to have pizza. Yes, it takes a little time, but it’s a nice way to end the week. (And no, there is no 30-minute gluten-free pizza delivery in my area. Or anywhere I know of, for that matter. If you have such a thing, let me know. I may consider moving.)

So we both got to work on the meal. David was creating and browning the sausage (ground beef with basil, oregano, fennel, onion & garlic powder, and salt, to taste), as well as making a sauce. I started in on the crust. I have a great pizza crust recipe, but I wanted to do something a little different, because I’m avoiding all yeast right now. So I pulled out the recipe books, decided on a biscuit recipe, and pulled out my gluten-free flour mixture, only to find…

No flour mixture. Oops. Oh yeah, I see "rice flour" on the shopping list. Hmm, I guess I knew I was out, but inconveniently forgot. So now I needed to run to the store to get the rice flour, except…

I was dead tired. And really hungry. So screw that idea!

Okay, on to Plan B. Improvise, and hope for the best. The results were good. Really good. As in both of us taking a bite, looking at each other, rolling our eyes heavenward, sighing and digging in. Good enough to write it down, so I can deliberately make it another time.

And actually, I did have about half a cup of my flour mixture left, and some cornstarch, as well as other assorted baking-type ingredients, so this worked. Ellen, at I am Gluten Free, extols the virtues of a well stocked pantry. She’s absolutely right.

Quick Pizza Crust
(or Gotta have it now, Out of Flour, Can’t use Yeast, Let’s see what’s in the Pantry Pizza Crust)

½ cup gluten free oats
½ cup gluten free flour mix
½ cup corn meal
½ cup corn starch
2 teaspoons baking powder (1 teaspoon for a thinner crust)
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
1 teaspoon honey or sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 cup minus 1 tablespoon milk
¼ cup olive oil

Put the oats in a food processor and whirl until finely chopped. It won’t be as fine as flour, but it will be pretty close. Add the remaining dry ingredients. Dump the wet ingredients on top, and pulse the processor until everything is combined. Don’t over mix! Spread the mixture in a well oiled 9” X 13” baking pan, and bake for 10-15 minutes in a 400 degree oven, until the top starts to brown lightly. Remove from the oven, top with your favorite ingredients, and finish baking, about 10-15 minutes. Let sit for 5 minutes before serving, so the crust will firm up, or eat it right away and slightly crumbly, like we do.

Yes, in case you are wondering, this is my cornbread recipe, slightly adapted to circumstances. Works pretty well as a crust…

Sunday Afternoon at the Movies

We went to see the movie "Enchanted" today. It was, well, enchanting! I laughed, I sighed, I wanted to sing along, and I was very, very disappointed when it was over. I'm already looking forward to renting the DVD.

Like kid flicks? Chick flicks? Disney flicks? Animated flicks? Comedies? Parodies? Musicals? Any combination of the above? Get yourself to a cineplex and see "Enchanted".

Oh, and please eat some popcorn for me...