A New Journey

Truhte, four months old - Photo by J.Stahl

Today, we are bringing home our very own Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. Her name is Truhte and she is four months old. She comes from a town just a stone's throw away (or "Katzensprung") from where we live, and her mama and daddy are equally as gorgeous as she is. They are absolutely wonderful and sweet. I am very happy to have met them.


A little about Cavalier King Charles Spaniels:

I'm sure you're wondering what this has to do with my diet-specific blog. Well, due to my dietary concerns and dermatitis herpetiformis, I require any pets we own to be gluten free. I've been doing a lot of research and trying to find the best toy breed for our family needs, to keep me company and also get me out the door daily to get my dose of sunshine. I found my baby!

Truhte will be joining us for some combination feeding - some cooked, some raw and some store-bought dog food that is gluten free.

Starting this month, I will be working with her on potty learning (the way we do it is more at Elimination Communication), basic commands and teaching her how to go on walks. (At this age, walking = mostly carrying and getting used to apartment life until she understands leashes and such.) She is still so very little that she is just now being old enough to learn some of these things. This may mean pulling back somewhat from my social media. However, it may bring some new great things to this blog.

Here are some photos from our "getting ready for baby"/"coming home day" preparations:

First things first - be absolutely sure that your preferred dog food is labeled properly.
Grain and gluten free! Check.

Pat yourself on the back for finding such great deals at
Kik Textilien, REWE and Fressnapf

Get an idea what you're working with and clean the kitchen before final set-up.

Remember: children will be tempted to feed between meals.
Find a place high up in the bathroom to put the food and extra bowl.

Receive a package with new gluten and grain free treats.
Place them high up as well.

Look at bed that came in the same package.
Place in kitchen, where you are 4 times a day.

Receive another package. Proceed to put the popup tent/carrier together.

Congratulate yourself for your taste in carriers and
that this fits perfectly in the room so your pet is included,
but allowed to retreat from involvement if she wants.

Take it all in. Enjoy the idea of this cool carrier.

Remember Kik Textilien has a sale on pet items.
You wanted a bag dispenser for potty trips. Go buy it!

All in all, I'm pretty pleased with what we have ordered and how pretty it all is. I hope that Truhte enjoys it all and that she feels at home with us.

One of my main questions and biggest apprehensions about our new baby is what kind of diet she had. I was so anxious. I know how careful we have to be adjusting to new foods and such as the environment changes for her. When I found out that her diet is almost exactly the same what it will be at our house!! I'm really excited. All we are changing is the kibble will be gluten free, and anything we cook will be as well. Otherwise, same diet, same foods.  This is a massive load off of my shoulders.

Part of my research has included finding out what gluten free dog food brands are out there, and also what kind of care items are out there now, as the last time I had a dog was almost a decade ago. I've found this to be a very positive and encouraging excursion to a couple of stores and also viewing online for those that are further away.  Another really cool option for a lot of owners is that many of your pet stores in Germany now have a freezer section with fresh meat so you can cook your own food for your pet if they have any dietary need for such.

Example Freezer Section at pet store - Photo by J. Stahl

In this freezer section, there is everything from Turkey and Chicken to Beef and there is even Ostrich, Fish and Kangaroo!  I was very impressed by the reasonable prices for the bulk and smaller packages of meat.

I have been researching how to safely transport our new puppy in the car, and for those who did not know, there are specific road rules here in Germany about that. Here is a helpful PDF that I found on the subject. I followed the links provided to check out various carriers for car use and camping from there, and then checked out a couple of pet stores online and in person, as well as cross-checking prices between them on Amazon.de

The most reliable and price effective websites I have found for our area are:

• Amazon.de
• Fressnapf 
• Schecker 
• Zooplus

I had been helping my sister who is training Charlie to be a service dog, and as such we've been collecting some cool recipes and training ideas. You can find some of this on my various dog-related Pinterest boards.

If you are in Germany and interested in a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, I would recommend you check out these two links.


I would like to welcome you to follow along on our journey, and this year will be a fun year of experimentation, trying out some treat recipes to keep our costs down, and come October, a birthday party for Truhte!

Hopefully we can do some Google Plus cooking hangouts on air. Maybe she'll be like my favorite cooking celebrity, Francis, from Cooking with Dog one day. One can hope, right?

Gluten Free King Cake

Store bought or home made? - Gluten Free King Cake
Photo by J. Stahl

In honor of Karneval, I decided King Cake was in order. Tuesday the children are celebrating at Kindergarten, so my husband and I put our heads together to get this made.  For whatever reason, baking with yeast never turns out well for me. However, my husband is able to make magic happen with yeasty goods.

So our plan was that he make the dough and bake everything while I worked on the decorating aspects. We modified the Gluten-Free King Cake recipe from Celiac Family.

Here are our modifications:

• 2 (.25 oz.) packages of active dry yeast
• 1/2 Cup warm water (100 – 110 degrees F) 
• 1/2 Cup + 2 tsp white sugar
• 1 Cup milk  (Alternatively, use Coconut, Rice or Soy Milk)
• 1/4 Cup butter (Alternatively, use dairy free butter)
• 2 eggs (can be substituted with flax-water mixture)
• 1-1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 2-1/2 Cups white rice flour (fine)
• 1 Cup potato starch
• 1/2 Cup tapioca flour
• 2 tsp guar gum (Alternatively Xanthan Gum, or Pixie Dust)

Nut Filling:

• 1 Cup packed brown sugar
• 1 TBSP cinnamon
• 1/2 Cup melted butter (or butter replacement)
• 1/2 Cup chopped walnuts

 Frosting:

• 2 Cups powdered sugar, run in the food processor and sifted again to remove lumps
  1/4 Cup fresh orange juice
  1 tsp butter, melted and cooled (or butter replacement)
  1 tsp almond extract
  2 tsp vanilla extract

 Additionally needed:

• three small sandwich-sized ziploc bags with 1/2 cup fine white sugar
• purple, yellow and green Wilton icing colors
• toothpicks and paper towels

Directions:

Mix all dry ingredients together, including yeast in your mixing bowl. Add eggs, one at a time. Add milk once the eggs are incorporated into the dough. Add the butter immediately after. You may or may not need the water depending on your weather and altitude.

Separate your dough into two balls. Roll out the dough on a large baking sheet with baking paper. Make your filling by combining all ingredients and place carefully in the middle of the dough in a long line.  Roll the dough together very carefully and pinch the sides together. Roll again very carefully while pinching the ends together so that they are on the bottom of the dough as you put the ring together.

It will look something like this:

Yeast has risen on this King Cake - Photo by A. Stahl

When both rings are done, rise carefully in the lowest temperature in your oven for an hour and a half. Remove from oven and heat the oven to 375°F/190°C.

When the oven has reached the appropriate temperature, fill an oven safe glass dish with water and place it on the bottom rack of your oven. Place one king cake inside and bake for 20 minutes. You may need to cover it halfway through with aluminum foil. (we did!)

When it comes out of the oven, it will look like this:

King Cake, finished baking - Photo by A.Stahl

 It has cracked a little, but this is fine. The icing and the sugar will cover this and no one will notice!
 Allow the cake to cool for about an hour. Allow the other cake to bake for 20 minutes while you begin making the icing and coloring the sugar in ziplock bags.

The icing is a very thin icing. For me, it is easier to decorate once I have removed it from the kitchenaid bowl and put it into a glass to more easily manipulate while pouring over the cake. I would highly recommend placing the cake back on the parchment paper as this will get very messy!

Carefully cover each cake around the ring with icing. Don't worry about being "cheap" at first. You can always fill in later with left over icing!

To make the colored sugar, simply use a toothpick to dip into the Wilton icing colors. At this juncture, you simply mix this in the plastic baggies by hand, making sure there are no lumps of dye in the sugar, and no clumps. It's easy work and you can quickly make it happen by asking your preschooler to help mix a bag or two. (wink!)

Put your colored sugar crystals into cups and distribute evenly on both cakes. There are many ways to decorate your King Cake with sprinkles or sugar crystals.  When you are finished, it will look something like this:

King Cake - photo by J. Stahl

You can transfer the cake onto a decorative plate or cake stand once the icing has quit dripping and the sugar has settled. I would recommend asking a friend or spouse to hold the pan while you use a spatula or cake knife and server to transfer it from the pan to the plate.

Since we had two cakes, one of them is for us to have today during lunch.  Here is how the filling looks when you cut a slice out.

King Cake filling - photo by J. Stahl

Enjoy!!

Slice of King Cake - photo by J. Stahl

Cupcakes and cakes inspired by Annalise Roberts

Alien Cupcakes - Photo by J.Stahl

One of my favorite cake recipes comes from Annalise Roberts' Gluten-Free Baking Classics.  I make her Yellow Layer Cake for every single birthday. We modify if we wish to have chocolate and only deviate if someone wants to have marble cake or pie instead.

Her cake recipe is one of the absolute fluffiest cakes I have had in ages! Everyone we've introduced it to has been quite pleasantly surprised that it has been gluten free.


The photo above of the Alien Cupcakes was made four years ago for my husband's birthday. We were stymied what to make and I figured aliens would be fascinating. The only thing I forgot to take into mind was that food coloring is usually off the table when it comes to Germans and cake. Oops. You live and learn, right?

The icing was made using Wilton's Buttercream Icing recipe, and I topped off all of the aliens with some gluten free fruit candy, gluten free pretzel sticks and chocolate candies. 

That same year, I made hamburger cupcakes using the same recipe.  I split the recipe and made half chocolate (remember to remove about 1/2 cup of the flour specified and add in the same amount in cocoa powder).  I colored the icing with red and yellow food coloring and left some white so that it would look like each cupcake had been given mayo, ketchup and mustard. Again, everyone was pleasantly surprised how delicate the cake was and how little sugar was used to make everything for this. The cupcakes were simple and held up well for my birthday party.

Hamburger Cupcakes - Photo by J. Stahl

If I could recommend any cookbook, and any one recipe out of a cookbook, this would be it!  If you can't afford a copy, please do be sure to request one in your local library.  It always helps for librarians to know that you are looking for specific books so that other people, like ourselves can find what they need when they go.  Just imagine if every library was equipped with a healthy selection of Gluten free books and cookbooks!

 Do you have a gluten free cookbook that you like? Any specific cake recipes that you would just love for the world to know and try out? Feel free to leave a comment below. I would love to hear about it!

Florintine Cookies

Everything you need to make Florintiner, J. Stahl

Today, Id like to share what you need to make Florintine cookies. I'd been purchasing these every time I go to Starbucks, and decided it was time to figure out how the heck to make my own because the ones we get are smaller than this and cost around 2,50€ a pop.  The only thing missing from this photo is the cream that is required to make this.

The first thing you will need, that is probably not normally found in the store is the paper wafers. If you are in Germany, you can find them at Glutenfrei-Supermarkt or Querfood. You may also be able to find them at a Reformhaus, Drogerie Markt or Tegut/Alnatura. These wafers are about 2 inches across and come 75 to a packet. Really, they are not that large.

Wafer paper, J.Stahl

What you will do is place these at the bottom of your cupcake mold/paper and then line them with a few chocolate drops if you want this to simulate the Starbucks Florintiner. If you do not, you will be placing the pastry right on top, and this will make it easier for it to lift out of the cupcake liner.

When they are done, this is what it will look like on the bottom:

Wafer paper and Florintine, J. Stahl

 

Today's recipe is coming to you by way of Marion's Kochbuch. I did not religiously follow the recipe, but my Florintines did come out absolutely awesome. I have only half a batch left, so I will make another batch using raisins instead of the candied fruit mix. This will have the recipe mimic Starbucks a bit better.

I chose the cupcake forms so that the cookies would not spread, and to also mimic Starbucks. I wanted something simple and not too messy for the children, to be perfectly honest.



 You will need the following for this recipe:

• 25 grams of melted butter
• 100 grams sugar
• 1 packet of vanilla sugar (or 1 tsp vanilla)
• 125 grams cream
• 100 grams candied fruit or raisins
• 100 grams almond slices
• 75 grams chocolate for the bottom of the form or melted chocolate to drizzle after baking
• 12 wafer papers

Measure everything out for ease of production. I found that using an ice-cream scoop made things easier for my hands when dipping these out into the cupcake forms. Pre-heat your oven to 200°C/400°F. You will be baking these in the oven for around 10-12 minutes.

To begin, take a small pot and melt your butter on low heat. Add in the vanilla and sugar. Keep stirring until the sugar is well incorporated and it begins to brown. Add in your cream and continue mixing until the liquid begins to resemble honey. Allow to boil on low heat while stirring. When it does resemble honey, remove this from heat and add in your nuts and candied fruit. Mix well and dip out into the form. Once you are happy with how these look in the form, place them on the middle rack in the  oven and bake for around 12 minutes, or until they have lightly browned on the top.

If you like, you can cover these with melted chocolate. Alternatively, you can make these without wafer paper (Starbucks does not use any for theirs) and bake these either on baking paper or in mini muffin forms. Just be sure to line with pastry paper cups (also called "mini cupcake liners") as this is extremely sticky and will NOT come out of your muffin tin otherwise.

As an interesting note, Florintines are actually not from Florence. You might find this blog post interesting:

It is much more likely that today’s Florentine biscuits come from France, the country whose patisserie shops are known for the best cream and butter-filled delights on the planet, from flaky croissants, chocolate éclairs to heart-shaped palmiers. Not only are the main ingredients typically French but the fact that the base for Florentine biscuits is essentially a roux, an oh-so-French cooking technique, should also signal the true origins of this delicate tea-time cookie.
The Truth about Florintines

Summer Reading - Magazines

Gluten Free Magazines

This summer has been full of surprises. I thought I would have a little more time on my hands to do some blogging while the children were out of kindergarten for four weeks. Well, I was mistaken.

However, I did receive two copies of Simply Gluten Free Magazine, and I had a little time to read the latest DZG (Deutsches Zöliakie Gesellschaft) Magazine.

I had only very recently subscribed to Simply Gluten Free, so imagine my surprise when just a few weeks later, I received the current (July-August) issue! I was very impressed with the lay out, the simplicity of the index and the fact that there were basically two indexes for items so that you could not miss anything at all in the magazine.  There's also a great deal of advertizing in the mag, but it's tons of products I had not been hearing about from other people I know in the US and Canada that are gluten free. 

There were some really great articles that I appreciated reading, including:

• Healthy children at home, at school and on the go
• Gluten Free Dating 101
• Understanding probiotics and prebiotics
•  Cross-reactive foods
• Explore: Amsterdam - Gluten-free friendly
• The best four years of their lives? For gluten-free students, college choice largely impacts quality of life
• Simple Substitutions cheat-sheet for popular food items

 One thing that I noticed in the cross-reactive food article was that Dr. Vikki Petersen mentions that to go on a successful elimination diet for dairy, you need to be fully off of dairy for thirty days for it to be effective. She also mentioned that if you are doing an elimination diet off of other cross-reactive foods, that you need to be off of that one reactive food for three months and then reintroduce it slowly. I thought that one month was enough as an idea, but I found out differently! 

 I loved the article about Amsterdam. I was trying to talk my husband into a trip to Denmark, but we were uncertain what the gluten free options available to us would be like. I did plan on visiting Amsterdam, but I am unsure if we would be able to afford to stay in the city or not, and planned to stay in a smaller, nearby town if possible. Knowing that we could go out to eat, not just keep bread with us and get fresh food to add to that - is quite encouraging!!  Though, staying gluten free in Europe does tend to be tons easier than it is in the US.

 I checked my mail last week, and I received the September-October issue of Simply Gluten Free! It was just as impressive as the earlier issue I had received, and filled with just as many, if not more, recipes than the previous issue. I do so love that they include paleo options for people who need to be grain free for whatever reason.

The articles that I really enjoyed in this edition were:

• Strengthen your immune system naturally
• Food allergies, intolerances and sensitivities - What's the difference?
• Educate, empower, empathize - helping your children cope with celiac disease.
• New Gluten Free Cookbooks
• Gluten free baking without gums with Dr Jean Layton

I really loved the article on food allergies, intolerance and sensitivities. It was very detailed, well done and while the medical terminology was quite prevalent, it was not presented in a manner that would be confusing or cause one to feel like they are being talked down to.

Some of the companies featured in the two magazines were:

• Hodgson Mill
• Sam Mills
• Real McCoy Snax
• Home Free
• DeLand Bakery
• Plainville Farms
• Dr. Praeger's Sensible Foods Kids
• Contes Pasta Company
• Food for Life

And many others I'd heard of in passing or had never heard of before I moved to Germany.
After I had read my English magazines, I went ahead and read my German Celiac Association magazine. (Issue 03/2013)  I wish I had this one last month, as it discussed Fructose Malabsorption in great detail.  I could have used that information when we were doing a Fructmal diet for my youngest son, to see if that was the source of his gut issues.  Other interesting articles included:

• Kleine Spuren an Gluten in diätischen Produckten unbedenklich? [Might gluten traces in wheat substitutes pose a risk in patients with celiac disease? A population-based probabilistic approach to risk estimation.]
• Die Zutatenliste under der Lupe [Ingredient list under the magnifying glass]
• Glutenfreie Getränke  [Gluten Free Alcoholic Beverages]

In the ads, I noticed that Schär has revamped some of their noodle offerings, and there are several new options. Schär is also coming out with some new pastries and breads. The pasta I mentioned in an earlier post from Schneekoppe was discussed. So far, positive reviews.  There's a new product line from a company called Cenovis, which I had never heard from. They're making boullion, soups and spices that are certified gluten free and organic. Glutano has two new breads out, one of which we have recently tried out - Bauernbrot (a white sourdough variety) and Suße Brötchen (Sweet bread - it's comparable to Schär's Bon Matin). Almondy has rolled out five new flavors of cake and it looks like they may have eliminated their Smarties cake. 3 Pauly has rolled out organic cornflakes. (This will be helpful with some of our cooking.)


I've been reading a lot of medical and dietician-related articles that should help people with Celiac Disease get on better.  I plan on sharing those all later, as I'm still sifting through them all. I have two more PDFs to read and print before I'm comfortable sharing what all I've been up to these last 4-5 weeks.

I do hope that you excuse my absence, as my children were more in need of my presence than my blog was.  I hope that you all had a wonderful summer with your families and if you're in the US, that you have a wonderful Labor Day.

Jennifer

P.S. I've not been paid in any way to mention any of these companies or magazines. I honestly love reading this stuff and sharing information I find. It's too interesting to keep to myself!

What would a typical Summer Break lunch look like?

I've had several people ask me what we typically eat over summer break since I don't tend to make Bento unless we're going out of the house or the kids are in Kindergarten.


Especially in this heat, I try to keep things really simple. For the kids, I'd made some macaroni and cheese from scratch (recipe coming soon!), boiled some corn on the cob and baked some sweet potatoes. Yep, they're still not 100% Paleo or GAPS.

Macaroni and cheese, corn, sweet potato

For myself, I'd taken some cabbage and steamed it in a pan with a little oil, salt and sugar - and then I threw some ground chicken into the pan and spiced it just a tad. That went on top of my cabbage, and I'd made a salad with tomatoes and mozzarella.

Salad, cabbage and ground chicken

Honestly, there isn't anything much more filling or quick to make in the kitchen in this sort of heat.
Gluten free does not have to be complicated. Gluten free food is totally what you make it.

Stay healthy out there!!

Gluten Free Product Review - Schär Millefoglie and Kraft Philly Milka

Schär Millefoglie (Phyllo Dough)

 For those of us out there in the greater European Union, our wishes for phyllo dough have been answered in Schär's Millefoglie! (Note: This is not GAPS or PALEO compliant)

I've been using this product now for the last couple of years. I decided this past weekend that I could not live without making some dessert. I'd seen a recipe floating around on various social media floating around for a dessert and I had to try it.  As warm as our weather has been, I did not want to make Gluten Free Gobsmacked's Croissant recipe. I LOVE her recipe, but it was too hot to be in the kitchen for any reason, especially anything that would be more involved than "pour, mix, shove in, take out".  (30° and a relative humidity of 80% - NO! Get out of the kitchen and go shower yet again.)

 There are several variations of this recipe going around, but the gist of it is that you take two cans of crescent rolls and roll one out in a 9x13 dish. Mix 2 packages of cream cheese, 1/4c softened butter and 1.5 tsp of vanilla and a cup of sugar together, spread it on the rolls and then top with the other can, butter that a bit and then sprinkle cinnamon and sugar up top prior to baking it for 20-30 minutes at 350°F. (175°C)

 If you know who created this recipe, please do let me know so I can give proper credit. This is to die for!!

I decided to use my 9x9 tin along with two packages of Millefoglie. I did not roll this out any further since I expected something thick enough to make rolls.

I'd long known about Kraft's Philadelphia Milka Chocolate Cream Cheese, and decided to whip it up a notch and also make some with that. I've used the chocolate cream cheese before for a few recipes (Cheesecake and a pastry similar to this)

My only complaint with the Millefoglie is that it breaks so easily. But, that's pastry for you.

Millefoglie in the pan with cream cheese mixture

Top layer of Millefoglie and butter added

cinnamon and sugar

All done!! Look how that has nicely separated from the edges!!

"plain" cream cheese

Milka cream cheese

This was delicious and was gone between dessert and our breakfast. I kid you not, we ate this for breakfast.


If you want a piece, you're more than welcome to let me know you are coming by. I'll be more than happy to share a slice!

German Black Forest Cherry Cake

Today, I'm going to show you how to make a German Black Forest Cherry Cake (Schwarzwälder kirschtorte). This is a rather involved recipe, so plan on taking several hours to make this your first time.  Please note that this is neither GAPS or PALEO. This is simply a delicious gluten free variation of a traditional German cake.

Ingredients:
For the cake:
140g Dark Chocolate
75g  Butter
6  Eggs
180g  Sugar
100g  Gluten Free Flour of your choice (I used Bette Hagman's Featherlight Mix)
1 teaspoon guar gum, xanthan gum or 10g pixie dust
50g  Corn or Tapioca Starch (really you can use either)
2 teaspoons Baking Powder


Directions:
Preheat the oven to 175°C/350°F.

 Melt the chocolate with the butter in a water bath. Set aside.  Separate your eggs, and whip the egg whites into a stiff marshmallow-like consistency and set it aside.  Mix the egg yolks with sugar until they are foamy. Carefully mix in the chocolate with the yolk mixture. Add in the flour, starch, gum/dust and baking powder in with the egg yolk mixture. Carefully mix the egg white mixture in until it is just coming together. Be careful or the whites will fall!

Take out your springform of choice and line it with baking paper. (Alternatively, you could butter and flour the pan, but you have to take extra care that every bit has been equally covered and floured or it will stick terribly!)

Carefully pour the cake mix into the springform and bake in the oven for 40-45 minutes. Cool the cake in the form on a cooling rack.  Once it is cooled, carefully run a knife along the edges before turning out on the rack. Slice in half carefully (you may use dental floss, a knife or another cake cutting method) and set each side on a rack until you are ready to use it.

Personally? This is where I would say "eh, no." and use my 10" cake tins. This will require very quick thinking to get this in a European oven this way.  As you can see in the photos below, I chose that option and halved these cake layers in half. Directions below will follow that.

Topping:
800g  Sour Cherries (Cherry pie filling - homemade or store bought) Reserve 500 ml of the juice.
4 level tablespoons of corn or tapioca starch (again, keep in mind your allergies!)
2 tablespoons of Sugar
100 ml  Kirschwasser (This is a specialty liqueur - if you want, you could use cherry juice instead)
800 ml Whipping Cream
3TBS Vanilla flavoring
Candied Cherries or Maraschino Cherries
Chocolate chips, flakes or sprinkles (really, this is your choice more than what everyone else does)

Separate the cherries from their juice. Set aside. Mix your starch, sugar and around 50ml of the reserved juice together.

Take the rest of the juice and bring it to a light boil. Add in the sugar/starch mixture. Allow to cook for a few minutes before removing from heat and re-adding the cherries. Add in half of the kirschwasser and mix well.

Take the cake halves and use a brush to paint the rest of the kirschwasser on them.

Place the bottom cake layer on a plate and put half of the cherry mixture on it evenly. Take another layer and do the same with the other half, this will be placed on another layer in a bit.

Take your whipping cream, sugar, vanilla and whip this like crazy until it is really thick. You can add in some tapioca or cornstarch to keep this staying "high" for several hours or overnight.

Place some of this whipped cream on top of the bottom layer prior to putting another cake layer over it. place whipped topping on this layer and place the already dressed layer on top of this. Add some more whipping cream. Place the top layer over it and add more whipping cream. Decorate as you wish at this point, and cover the sides as best as you can.

This is how the inside of the cake will look:

Tradition is to divide this up into 14 or 16 slices, adding a spritz of whipped cream on each and then decorating that with a cherry and chocolate on top.

As you can probably see, I divided mine into 10 since I used a set of smaller cake tins than my springform.

This will need to go into the fridge (very carefully!!) for several hours before you can serve it.

End product:

I do suppose that if you were in a rush and you did not really wish to follow the directions for the chocolate cake, you could use Betty Crocker's GF Devil's food cake or a similar GF boxed cake recipe in a hurry. I have done that before, though not with a boxed mix. I just used my handy-dandy chocolate cake recipe and went "Booyah! Lookit! I did it all on my own without having to cook anything or separate eggs! YAY!" - but, it's not really Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte ... it's close though!

You need to do what is best for your allergy issues, rather than what is best to = the traditional dish though. So if the kirschwasser is a no-go for you, use cherry juice. No worries!

This will last in the fridge overnight or so, but the whipped cream will start to go flat. So, really, plan on serving this in the evening for a party. And whatever you do, by all that is holy and sacred - do not skimp and use cool whip instead! That will just be plain nasty.

Let me know if you get a chance to make this. I would love to hear how you enjoyed it.  We've been able to pass this off to unsuspecting friends and family and they were certain it could not be gluten free. 

German pasta - Maultaschen

Maultaschen, ready to go into the broth to cook

Today I'd like to talk a little bit about a German pasta that we tend to eat a lot of.  Traditionally speaking, they're a Lenten food. But, we're Messianic and don't really "do" Lent. So, they're just a monthly feature in our kids' non-GAPS-y meals they need for Kindergarten.

In 2009, the European Union recognized Maultaschen as a regional Swabian delicacy, and the genuine article can only be made and exported from Baden-Würrtemberg.

A little known fact is that Maultaschen are sometimes also known as "Herrgottsbescheißerle". There's a literal translation for that, but I doubt it'd pass the censors. Basically it's a way to cheat on the lacto-ovo vegetarian Lenten fast that was proscribed, because (supposedly) G-d can't see the meat if it's concealed in pasta. Or so they say.

There are several different ways to make them, but I only know one at the moment due to time constraints and this being a pain in the rear (to me!) to make. So, this is one of those things I try to delegate to my husband to help out with, because I just do not do well with delicate pastry-type dough.  I thought that I was more patient than I am. I found out quite differently while trying to work this dough.

Our recipe is coming by way of Trudel Marquardt's blog. If you're in Germany, you may know her from her gluten free cookbooks.

The easiest part of the entire recipe is that you get to decide if you want to make a meat broth or a veggie broth and get that going. Once you've made your Maultaschen, just pop those in to boil for about a minute or so.

The second easiest part, is deciding whether you want to make these with cheeses, meat or vegetarian.

This week's is made with cheese.

Maultaschen in broth. Photo by J.Stahl

Dough:

• 300gram of light gluten free flour (Trudel uses Schär's bread dough - we use Bette Hagman's Featherlight flour mix)
• 3 Eggs
• 1 Tablespoon of salt
• 1 Tablespoon of psyllium husk
• 3-4 Tablespoons of water (about equal to the size of the eggs)
• 1 Tablespoon of sunflower oil

 What you will want to do is to mix everything until it forms into a ball, then wrap that with saran wrap and pop it into your refrigerator for around 30 minutes.

Decide on your filling before you get these rolled out. When we roll ours out, we always make them rectangular, but I don't see why you couldn't use a ravioli press.

Roll out your dough on a well floured surface (we use a Silpat) and then pinch the sides with a fork if you decide to do these all by hand.

Pop in your broth and boil these for just a couple minutes. Serve hot.

Happy cooking!

Canning Season - Banana Jam

Banana Jam, July 2013; Photo by J. Stahl

My husband had a wonderful idea this past week and asked if I would be willing to make banana jam since I was so busy in the kitchen. I decided why not, we have some soft bananas!

So, I went surfing the internet and was greatly inspired by this blog post, and began formulating a plan.

For those of you who do not know, our canning sugar is a bit different. It already has the pectin in it, and it's a 1:1 recipe. Basically, I had to modify an existing recipe and hope for the best.

From what I understand after reading many other blogs, it's suggested that banana jam doesn't hold for very long, so plan on using it within 3 months or so, even if you run it through a water bath. Thank goodness it made up into only a couple small jars, right?

Here's our process:

• 4 very ripe, large bananas (About 3 cups US)
• 3 US Cups of Sweet Family Nordzucker Gelierzucker 1:1 - der Klassiker 1kg
• 2 Tablespoons of lemon juice.

 Fill your large canning pot with water and get it set to boiling before you get started. This will go very quickly. Hunt up your canning funnel and get your glasses and lids sterilized. Once you've got that step done and the lids and mouths of the jars dry, go ahead and pop your funnel into one of the jars.

Blend your bananas, sugar and lemon juice together in a small pot. Stir until the sugar looks like it's dissolved, and allow the pot to boil for 5- 10 minutes. (Be sure to keep stirring, as this will stick!) 

Fill your jars very carefully, screw the lids shut and pop into the water bath with your jar lifter. Process these for 10-15 minutes (depending on your altitude) and then take them out and cool wherever you've got a safe spot for that. (As you can see, mine was right by the apple sauce that day!)

If you have any jars at all that have not sealed, they will need to be refrigerated.The jars that have sealed, should be shelf-stable for around three months or more.

Next time I make this, I plan on adding some cinnamon or other spices.


From what I've heard from friends, this is a rather popular item that is often sold in the local Christmas Markets.  I'd not been able to go in the last couple of years for health reasons, so I did not know that.

The day after I got it made, the kids were able to have some with their bento. There were absolutely no complaints, and my husband said it was very good. I've not yet tried it since I've been having some health battles due to our local wheat fields. 

Let me know if you give this a try. I would love to hear any tweaks you can come up with!!

Bento: Grapes, mini pickles, banana chips, boiled eggs
cherry jam toast and banana jam toast on buttered bread
Photo by J.Stahl

Canning Season - Cherry Pie Filling

Cherry Tree, J.Stahl 2013

As you may have seen from my previous posts, we have a cherry tree outside and I had a great desire to try my hand at canning this year.


So, I got myself a slew of cherries, found a recipe for allspice, another recipe for cherry pie filling and got myself some canning sugar and jars. OFF TO THE RACES!!!


The biggest step that is the hardest, is allowing yourself to let the cherries soak for 24 hours. It goes against everything I have ever heard about cherries before, but you do *not* want the bugs that are in those cherries ending up in your end product. As much as you love life, make sure that you soak your cherries in water and rinse them out very, very well before you pit them and get to work!!

This is how your cherries will look once they've soaked.

This is a really easy recipe, though it is a bit time consuming. The water bath portion of the recipe takes 30 minutes. If you have more than four jars, you're going to be doing this portion of the recipe for a while. No worries though, it pays off!!
 
Since our canning sugar has the equivalent to "Sure Gel", I went ahead and skipped that step. I'd made my own allspice with cloves that hadn't been ground, so I had an extra step of removing them prior to adding in the cherries. No biggie! This is an easy step, and at this point you remove the sauce from heat anyhow.

Move quickly and then get the jars put together, and place them in the water bath. Find a comfy spot in your kitchen and enjoy this rest time before you start removing everything from the pot and allow it to cool elsewhere.  Enjoy your quiet time. I sure did!

Cherry Pie Filling, J.Stahl 2013

I ended up with four jars and a little leftover in canning the cherry pie filling.

I ate the leftovers. No one was getting their grubby paws on my pie filling while it was still hot. No. MY filling!! YUM. All mine. It was really that good.

So, if you decided to make your own and didn't want to share because it was so delicious; drop a line below and let me know how it turned out!

Canning Season - Red Currants

Out of all the lovely bushes in the side yard, we have three red currant bushes. I was quite excited when we moved in almost three years ago and found these lovely plants were in the yard. I had high hopes that we could do some canning or make currant wine or something with them.

As the last two years passed, it was pretty obvious that I was fighting a lot of health issues as a result of my last major glutening, and the ideas of canning had to be shelved for a time.

This year though, I remembered the currants and decided since we had permission to check over the cherry tree, I'd go ahead and check over the currant bushes. I picked everything I was able to find that the birds had not made off with, and netted about 4 cups of currants.

We'll be making currant jelly with these babies today.

I decided to mesh two recipes together today. One I read suggested using Kirsch Likör, and the other is alcohol free.  I will use about two tablespoons of Lörch Kirschwasser on top of the recipe I found from About.com.

Unlike other bloggers, I would like to ask you to check out the first link. It has some beautiful photos from France (I presume it is from France), and show you in better details than I could, how beautiful these fruit were on the bush. Unfortunately, our bushes are quite tight with leaves, short and picked over by the local birds and wildlife.  They wouldn't make a pretty picture at the moment.

As far as canning goes, this is quite easy, but time consuming.  I'm funny about stems, so I went ahead and took the fruit off of the stems just in case there were any rotten fruit left behind after being rinsed.  I came up with four cups of berries, which isn't too bad considering.

It takes about 30 minutes to can these, but most of this time is spent in either cooking the fruit and the long wait for them to drain through cheesecloth rather than the water bath portion of this. This only needs to be in the water bath for about 5 minutes depending on your altitude.

That's not bad really, is it?

• 2 pounds ripe red currants
• 2 1/2 cups canning sugar (this has pectin already in it here in Germany)
• 1/2 cup water

Basically, you cook the currants in water until they begin to get soft. Once that has been done, you'll mash the fruit and strain them. Once you've sufficiently strained the currants, you'll have about half of what you begin with. This is what you will be cooking with the canning sugar and canning into jelly.  It's really up to you whether you wish to press and get fruit into the jelly or if you would rather a clear jelly.  I'm not one to tell people what to do when it really is all about aesthetics.  What is aesthetically pleasing to me, may not be to you.

Red Currant Jam, J. Stahl, 2013

We ended up with five jars full of jam. We gave one to our neighbors downstairs as a thank you for letting me get down in the yard to find all the currants I could.

This should last us through the year. Not enough for years of preserving, but hey, it's a start, right?

So, have you ever canned currants? Or maybe you've made wine out of them?  Have you ever considered canning currants? If so, drop a comment down below and let me know what you did, and I'll definitely consider that for next year!

Monday - Bento Meals from this week

Gluten Free Crescent Rolls, Egg, Deli meat, Kiri Cheese and Pickles

Rice Pudding, Chicken noodle soup

Babybel cheese, quark, carrots, strawberries and hotdog

Monte (chocolate, hazelnut and yogurt), salt potatoes,
broccoli, hotdogs, ketchup, mustard and mayo

Pickles, quark, eggs, banana chips and carrots

Watermelon, spaghetti carbonara, carrot salad

banana chips, cereal, eggs, toast with cherry and banana jam,
pickles and grapes

Maultaschen and chicken soup