Two Cookies, Six Eggs

I have finally found two cookie recipes that my family loves. I've never been a great gluten free cookie maker, but now that I have two recipes under my belt, we are all happy. I love how these two recipes work together and I can make them back to back.

The first cookie is the Flourless Fudge Cookie from King Arthur Flour. I didn't come up with this recipe and I make it as the recipe states, except I double it because we loves these cookies so much. Here is the link to these sinfully good cookies: Flourless Fudge Cookies.

The next cookie is called Egg Yoke Cookies. The name says it all. I like these cookies because the Flourless Fudge Cookies when doubled uses 6 egg whites. Now what am I to do with 6 egg yokes? Make cookies! I had to alter this recipe to make it GF and healthier. Here is the link to the original recipe. To make this recipe healthier I use bean butter.

I love bean butter. It is the best thing I've discovered on Pinterest. You take beans, any color, but white works the best over all, and you cook and puree them and freeze them in per-measured amounts. You can used canned beans too. It's a 1:1 ratio for the bean puree to butter. I've used it in cakes, cookies, muffins, doughnuts, and crepes. It makes my baking fat free, low in calories and healthy with a boost of protein. Here is the link for how to make bean butter.

Gluten Free Egg Yoke Cookies
1 cup butter or Earth Balance or bean butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
6 egg yokes or 3 whole eggs
2 1/2 cups Pamela's baking mix
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp almond extract (You can use any extract you like. The original uses lemon and orange. I think I combination of almond and orange would be divine.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Beat together sugar and butter. Note: if using beat butter it doesn't really cream like normal butter or Earth Balance does. Add eggs and beat until smooth. Add in baking mix, baking powder, vanilla and extract of your choice; mix until well combined. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Using a small cookie scoop or a tablespoon to drop cookies onto baking sheet about 2 inches apart. Sprinkle a little bit of sugar over each cookie. Bake for 10 mins. Let cookies cool in pan before transferring them. Makes 3 dozen.

Easter Part 2: His Forgivness

From Stock.Xchng

A few days ago I talked about how stressful and crazy last Easter was for me and how those memories, in a way, hunting me. To read what I had said, click here. 

This week I have been working on my Break Free homework, remember I mentioned this back in February, if not you can find that here. This weeks homework was about the past and breaking free from it. As I mentioned before, parts of last years I wanted to break a way from, yet at the same time it was a beautiful time because it confirmed in me the direction the Lord has set before.

First things first, I had to let go of those weird feelings I had in association to Easter last year. I had to let that go so I could embrace what God has already done. Did you get that? Not what he is planning to do (although that still counts), but what he has already done!  I had to take time to let go of the bitterness that had grow up inside me that I was in denial that was there. I had to forgive the guy who taught be how to run the lights at my church then quit. It's a fact that it happened, but he didn't do it on purpose to hurt me or to give me a burden that I didn't feel ready to hold. I had to forgive those who where now placed under me, because I felt they had some resentment now having me as a leader instead of the other guy. I had to forgive myself. That was the hardest part. It's easy, for me anyway, to hold things to myself to let myself beat me up and not let myself forget the things I have done. I had to let go of those things and forgive myself. Once I did all that the weird feeling about last Easter faded away. It is creeping back up as I look back as I write then. But I just tell those thoughts creeping back into my brain that those are forgiven. I released those feelings, they no longer have a hold on me!

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him,  who have been called according to his purpose."        - Romans 8:28

  I've done a lot of odd jobs in my life. I have experienced more things in the first 30 years of my life then most people do by the time they are twice my age. Some things are bad, most for good even if they may still may be considered odd. I use to wonder "Am I ever going to use any these talents and skills that I've learned over the years?" Skills like, music, art, and a hidden love for technology. It wasn't until I got this position that I started to see all these little skills and life experiences come together in my light director duties. Things from knowing music: parts of music, time signatures, bpm, and understanding the band when they talk out their songs in musical terms. Knowing art: color, light, shadows, and movement of the eye. These are just to point out a few, but there are more like managing people skills, technology skills, drawing, 10-key, document design, and having a freaky good memory. I always wanted to be apart of a media team, way back in my high school days, but there was always a "boys club" mentality to it and it wasn't until this moment in time that the doors opened up and allowed me to be "one of the guys." Then all of these past skills fell into place and are no longer void back in the recesses of my mind and time. They were not left for not to be useless experiences. I still have more to give, but it is up to God's time for when they will be put to good use and for what purpose. I will do as he calls me to do, and I have to say I never thought I ever get a change to be on a media crew for a church and I never thought it would be on lights and I never thought I would love it and get this much enjoyment.

However, if it wasn't until the death of Jesus on that cross then the death of death when he conquered the grave that any of this would be possible; the forgiveness and the purpose of life and skills. By him doing this he opened the door for me to approach the throne of grace, the throne of the almighty God and ask for forgiveness and receive it.  If it wasn't for Jesus I would still have to slaughter a bull and do it every 5 minutes because I'm a messed up human. But Jesus paid for my sins once. All I have to do is ask, receive and remember that God forgets my sins.

"The LORD is compassionate and gracious,
   slow to anger, abounding in love.
He will not always accuse,
   nor will he harbor his anger forever;
he does not treat us as our sins deserve
   or repay us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
   so great is his love for those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west,
   so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
  As a father has compassion on his children,
   so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him;
 for he knows how we are formed,
   he remembers that we are dust.
The life of mortals is like grass,
   they flourish like a flower of the field;
 the wind blows over it and it is gone,
   and its place remembers it no more.
But from everlasting to everlasting
   the LORD’s love is with those who fear him,
   and his righteousness with their children’s children—
 with those who keep his covenant
   and remember to obey his precepts."                       - Psalm 103:8-18

Here is a little music video to leave you with. This is David Crowder Band and their song How He Loves. It is one of my favorite songs by them. I just love how this video makes it look like the lead, David Crowder, is on his laptop video chatting with someone about the love Jesus has for us as he walks through this house. I hope you enjoy and Happy Easter.






*Update*
Here is the video from my Pastor's sermon that goes right along with what I said in this post. I hope you find it helpful and encouraging as I did.

Easter Part 1: Ghost of Easter Past

From: Stock.xchng

Have you ever seen VeggieTales' "An Easter Carol" DVD? It's one of my daughter's favorites and we got it for her last year for Easter. It's about why the hope of Easter is so important through a Charles Dickens' sort of way. Last Easter marks a very pinnacle time in my life, and I feel like the memories of that time are in a way hunting my thoughts.

I've talked about my church duties some, but not is a lot of detail. I run the lights at my church. I've been doing this for almost two years now and I was promoted to Light Director last August. It's not a paid position, but I love it, I absolutely love what I do and making art with light.

Lights at my church, that is the soundboard in front

 Last year about a month before Easter things got a little crazy. The man who taught be how to run the lights, my mentor, got burned out and quit. It was kind of sudden. I was left with two people in training for the lights with upgrades in the works and Easter fast approaching. I was feeling a lot of pressure and stress. I remember staying at the church till 10 pm one night to re-program all three services to incorporate all of our new upgrades. I have to stop right here for a moment and give major thanks and kudos to our worship pastor and crew who stayed up all night for a week putting in all the changes; I really can't complain about my one night. I only mention that night because that is when my insomnia started. I was so nervous and anxious about what all these new changes for the media team meant. I remember getting an email asking me to work all three services, normally I worked Saturday nights. I thought I was being asked to work because everyone else requested the holiday weekend off. Turns out I was asked because at the time I was the most experienced light operator. I know this, because one of the guys in training was working camera that weekend, and the other came up to the media booth to say hello.

My roll changed that weekend. I went to being one of the light operators to the lead light operator to light director, all in 5 month period. Since that time, not only did my title change, but I have written 2 manuals for the board, one map, and worked 8 months non stop till we got a bigger team. I also got to go to the Seeds Conference with the crew and learn how to do my job better.

There is just something about that weekend that has just stuck with me and for some reason those memories keep rising to the surface. Parts of this memory I would like to put behind me and move on. The parts of the stress and feeling like the world was dumped on my shoulders is the part I like to let go of. When I look back at Easter last year, I get a strange feeling. I don't know how to describe it. Our pastor talked, just this last Sunday, about our past and how all the things in our past make up our future and how God can use us no matter what is there. Part 2 of this post will be, hopefully, some lessons on how God is doing just that in my life. God lead me to this position. I wanted a place I could volunteer at my church and God pointed me in this direction. I never knew that I could love my volunteer job as much as I do. Even on my worse days I love being behind that board and worshiping my God. At times it is stressful and crazy and a lot of hard work, but it's all for my God and that is what matters most. Paul the apostle went through all sort of crazy things to spread the work of God. Everything from being in prison, to escaping a city via a basket over a wall, and suffering all sort of hardships. You can find all of this in the books of Acts, Romans, I and II Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, I and II Thessalonians, I and II Timothy, Titus and Philemon. I figure if Paul can go through all of his hardships to make a difference for Christ then so can I.

 It just amazes me how different life was a year ago. I am so thankful to God that I am still doing that I am doing and getting the chances to improve my craft for him. This year could be another pinnacle year with my husband's job, God willing. But this year I'll just be acting as producer and making sure everything runs smooth for all of our Easter guests. 

Stay tuned for Part 2. 

Chocolate Zucchini Pancakes with Quinoa Salad with Grilled Vegetables and Avocado

Chocolate zucchini bread is a favorite of many, but I just don't feel like baking a whole loaf and it's getting hot so I don't want to heat up the house too much. So I thought why not pancakes, instead of a loaf? It would still be healthy and tasty and a great way to vegetables into my daughter. I also came up with a quinoa salad to serve with it because I felt like the meal needed some protein, but I didn't want to thaw some meat. If I can help it, I try to make a few vegetarian meals each week. I find it's a great way to stretch the food budget and make sure we get the right number of vegetables and fruits into our diet. Plus they are great to make for a picnic or a meal on the go, you don't have to worry about meat or dairy spoiling. Here is my blog on normal Zucchini Pancakes.

Chocolate Zucchini Pancakes
Doubled pancake recipe from Pamela's Baking Mix (any pancake mix will do, you need 2 cups of mix)
1 medium zucchini shredded and drained
3 Tbs coco powder

Mix together the pancake mix, but leave out the water or milk till the very end. Add the shredded zucchinis, coco powder, and mix together. Slowly add in the water as you mix the batter. Depending on the moisture from your zucchinis, may need to change the amount of water you use, even after letting your zucchinis drain. Once the batter reaches the consistency of a regular pancake mix, you can go ahead a make your pancakes on a griddle over medium heat. Makes 4-5 servings. 


Quinoa Salad with Grilled Vegetables and Avocado
2 cups quinoa cooked and cooled
1/2 large white onion sliced 1/4 inch thick  
1 pepper sliced 1/4 inch thick
1 avocado cubed 
3-4 Tbs olive oil
2-3 Tbs lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste


Grill onions and peppers, keep the onions together if you can. Grill on each side for a few minutes until a nice chard color appears. Remove from heat and rough chop the onions and peppers, and add to the quinoa. Add the avocado to the quinoa too and toss the salad together. Drizzle on the oil and lemon juice, taste for seasoning and adjust accordingly. Makes 6-8 servings.

Eggplant Vegetable Involtini and Cauliflower Mash

I love spring and summer vegetables. I just love the colors and the flavors and the really inexpensive pricing at my health store. This recipe came from one I saw on Pinterest, here is the original , but I made up my own version because the original has dairy in it and I couldn't think of a dairy free option. So I thought why not make up my own. I took the idea of a spring roll, with all the lovely vegetables inside and thought why not do that as my "stuffing". It turned out great! Everyone loved it. I made some mashed cauliflower to go on the side and my daughter could not get enough of that so I'll include that recipe too.

Eggplant Vegetable Involtini
 1 medium eggplant sliced into 1/4 inch long sections
1 zucchini thinly sliced
1/2 bunch of asparagus with the ends chopped off
1 pepper ( any color you like I did orange) thinly sliced
3 cups marinara sauce ( recipe I used here, I did have meat in mine, but I skipped the mushrooms)
Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Pre heat oven to 350 degrees. 
In a lasagna dish place eggplant in the dish and over with oil, be generous eggplant is thirsty. Chop other vegetables while the eggplant soaks. Turn the eggplant over and add more oil if you need too. Saute all the vegetables in a little bit of oil over medium heat. Saute the eggplant too, you can grill them if you like. Salt and pepper all the vegetables to taste.  Once soften remove all the vegetables from the heat. 


In your lasagna dish, use any left over oil to grease your pan. Take two cups of sauce and put it in the bottom of the dish. Take one eggplant and lay it on the sauce. Take two to three pieces of each different kind of vegetable and lay it on the bigger end of the eggplant and roll, and place it in the dish seem side down, repeat with the remainder of the eggplant and vegetables. Once all the eggplant is stuffed, take one cup of sauce and pour over all the eggplant rolls. Bake in the oven for 30 minuets or until bubbly. Makes 4 servings. 

Cauliflower Mash
1 head of cauliflower cut into florets
1/4 mayo
2 Tbs Earth Balance Vegan Spread
2 Tbs hemp milk
salt and pepper

Steam cauliflower until tender. Drain the water out of the pot and mash with a potato masher. Add salt, pepper, spread, and mayo. Mash until smooth, add hemp milk it it needs some more moisture. Put mixture into a blender and puree until smooth in texture. You can leave a few lumps if you like. Makes 4 servings.