Katie’s GF Vegan Cocoa Cookies

This is Reading Week for my kids!

If you’ve ever crammed for finals.. or slaved over projects and essays
you’ll understand a well-earned and much-needed break for a treat,

and sometimes, only chocolate will do!

Katie found this recipe.. (somewhere and just sent a text message of the ingredients over her iPhone) and we just had to try them because they are loosely modeled after our lovely
Emeril’s Gluten-Free Vegan Brownies

If you loved those little chocolatey squares, you’ll love these little morsels that begin with similar ingredients:  mashed bananas and applesauce.

Add to the mix a little peanut butter, cocoa powder, vanilla..

and then pretty much anything else you love, like, say, protein powder, coconut, raisins or Vegan Chocolate Chunks like we did..

Enjoy Life makes Mega Chunks (we bought ours at Blush Lane Organic Market

free of milk, peanuts, tree nuts and soy
and the list goes on down the back of the package:

wheat, gluten, milk, peanuts, tree nuts, mustard, sulfites, egg, soy, fish, crustaceans, shellfish, sesame
(who knew that stuff could be in chocolate?)

Which then begs the question.. what exactly IS in these chocolate chunks?

Are you ready?

Ingredients: brown sugar, cocoa mass, cocoa butter

That’s it, three ingredients.. and three that I could actually read!

{ Btw.. I’ve not been asked to promote these, but I do love sharing a great find! }

Just leave them out if you are avoiding sugar.

We loved this recipe.. but discovered (sadly) that they go soggy if you put them in a plastic bag or container.. so make less or just leave them out on the counter. I may just have to make them again with a little brown rice flour to see if this makes the difference?

Katie’s GF Vegan Cocoa Cookies

Ingredients
3 ripe bananas
2 cups of oats
1/3 cup applesauce
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla

Optional: protein powder, chocolate chunks, nuts, coconut, raisins, etc

Directions
Heat oven to 350°F.
Mash the bananas in a large mixing bowl. Stir in the remaining ingredients, mixing well to blend.

*Let the batter stand for about 15 to 20 minutes.

Scoop onto baking sheets that are lined with parchment or with silpat liners.

These cookies don’t flatten, so if you want them a bit flatter, just press gently down before baking. Bake for about 12 minutes, or until the tops of the cookies are firm to touch.

Remove to a cooling rack and enjoy!

The Best { Gluten-Free Vegan } Granola Recipe | David Lebovitz

I shall be brief today..

As I draw up this post.. the ambrosial aroma of
baking red orbs pervades my kitchen..
salaciously assaults my senses

and entices my hunger…

Only..

it isn’t apple pie, it’s something much more salubrious..
quite simply.. it’s

“The Best Granola”

I’ve ever made..
While I’m quite fond of the many varieties of granola that have blossomed in Smidge’s kitchen (“Smidge’s Granola”, and 3 Flavors of Granola)
I must defer to this new mountainous mélange.

Yes, Smidge has been bested by the best of ’em!

Might I introduce to you..

David Lebovitz?

Yes, The reknowned Pastry Chef and Author, David Lebovitz, who, as we speak, er write, is living the sweet life..
in Paris, France.

{ He just… like.. took off and moved there, lock, stock and cookbook. }

If you haven’t read “The Sweet Life in Paris”, you simply must!

I plan to meet up with David, preferably at “La Garde Robe” where we’ll feast on a board of charcuterie and fromage, swished down with an exorbitant amount of French Bordeaux and conversation whereupon he will divulge all of his pastry secrets to me. Of course, I shall share a few of my Brushed Embroidery Cookies in return..

He just doesn’t know it yet.

{ A girl can dream, can’t she? }
Well.. at least I can stalk him  follow him on Pinterest!

♥

I’ve bastardized veganized his recipe for those out there who can’t stand cruelty to animals

or.. bees

{ think honey, which I happen to love.. }

♥

The Best { Gluten-Free Vegan } Granola Recipe
{ adapted from David Lebovitz }

Ingredients
5 cups oats (quick)
3 cups almonds
1 3/4 cups sunflower seeds
1/2 cup light brown sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp dried ground ginger
1 tsp sea salt

3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/3 cup maple syrup
¼ cup organic blue agave syrup (or.. honey)
2 tbsp vegetable oil

Directions
Preheat oven to 300°F.

Mix the first 7 ingredients together in the largest bowl you have. I like to use my hands to blend and crush any brown sugar lumps between your finger tips.

In a medium saucepan, stir together the next four ingredients and heat gently until warmed through.

Pour the liquid mixture over the draw and stir for quite a while until all of the ingredients are well blended. The granola should eventually begin to clump in the bowl. Inhale deeply, the fragrance of cinnamon and apple will warm your heart.

Scrape the unbaked granola into a greased or lightly sprayed roasting pan or onto two cookies sheets, similarly prepared.

Bake for 40 minutes in total, stopping every 10 minutes to stir (or the top will burn and the underneath won’t be browned). Your granola is finished when it is as toasted as you like. (I prefer my granola a little less crunchy so I take it out of the oven early.)

Makes 9-10 cups of granola.

Bon Appetit!

{ Printable Copy }

p.s. On a side note.. you’ll see my blog has changed yet again. It wasn’t done on a whim, but a necessary step should I wish to become self-hosted. (Although, I’m sure Viveka from “myguiltypleasures” would approve of the new color choices!)

p.p.s. I’ve got some exciting changes coming in about 3-4 weeks, a new header is going to be drawn for me by a lovely graphic artist I discovered while perusing the web.. and, of course, more recipes and DIY crafts as always!

p.p.p.s. I’m off to catch up on my blog reading, all this technical stuff has been daunting!  But this first step went without much of a hitch, thankfully! xx Smidge

♥

SweetAmbs Brush Embroidery Cookies.. for a Sweetie

It’s been such an exciting week..

of reconnecting with friends and making new ones!

{ Some friends never change.. and we’re so glad they don’t! }

I’m overjoyed to have reconnected with Lois, my Maid of Honor
and the doctor who helped deliver my Baby Girl
{ she was the one who nick-named her “Peanut”.. because she was so tiny! }

Lois is one of those friends whose positive outlook, physical prowess (running, biking, swimming.. think Triathlon and Iron Man!), professional achievements and incredible, compassionate loving spirit inspires all who know her!

♥

We met at Teri’s home.. Teri and I met through WordPress, but never in person.
I just knew her as Lois’ Artist friend who created dazzling mosaics and had an Art Gallery in Taos.
{ You simply must stop in and say hello for me! }

{ Lois’ dear friend Dee Dee was a delight to meet for the first time! }

♥

When I learned that Lois was hosting a baby shower this weekend,
I couldn’t wait to surprise her..

with a few Brush Embroidery Cookies

 inspired by SweetAmbs

{ If you haven’t met Amber Spiegel, you should.. she is one talented cookie maker. }

Best of all, she shares her techniques with the rest of us,
for a modest price of $1.99 each
you can have her recipes and video tutorials to explore and create your own cookies!

They were so much fun and easy to make!
These cookies were heavenly nibbles of orange, vanilla bean, and a surprise ingredient..
but you’ll have to visit Amber for the recipe.

Her beautiful tutorials { set to Bach’s Cello Suites } teach you how to Flood Icing,
and her brush embroidery technique can be found for free on You Tube!

Of course I couldn’t resist writing a few Baby Words…

{ since it’s been far too long.. }

I’ve made my own wee “Artistic” Video.. ( trust me..  hers is much easier to learn from! )

♥

Large Format:

HD Format:

My Queen of Hearts

My Gran captured my Heart

You might remember her from her “Remarkable Fudge” recipe.

I was truly blessed to have had so much time with her through my formative years.
Aside from my parents, my Gran was the person who listened
and gave the confidential and heart-felt advice I needed.

I realize now what a gift that was.

She was the ultimate combination of family and friend.

It was through her that I acquired this silvery china teapot, cream and sugar set.
Of course, I had tucked them away, in a very “special place”, so the pieces would be safe.
Until this week, when I remembered them and realized that they should be on display..

where I can see them and remember my Gran every single day.

As a young woman, I had a very casual conversation with my Gran,
she told me her best friend had given her a wonderful idea..
she’d gone through her house, writing little notes,
popping them inside her collection of china pieces.
Those notes, Gran said, would tell everyone which of these items
would be theirs when she passed on one day.

Being naïve.. I thought that would never, could never happen..
not to my Gran because.. well, I loved her too much.

Inside this little teapot is a note, in her slanted, angular handwriting,
telling me that this teapot, cream and sugar set were given
to her grandparents on the occasion of their 50th wedding anniversary.

That note.. and my heart…

are still tucked inside.

♥

This little craft was so much fun and easy to make..
I found it on Debbie’s “Me and My DIY” blog.

She designed it as a calendar, but I didn’t think I needed to know what day it was.
{ Ok, seriously, it was because I couldn’t figure out
how to print a larger version that included the
calendar at the bottom of my graphic. }

So hearts alone it was going to be.

They do look like little butterflies winging in heart formation, don’t they?

♥

Ombre Queen of Hearts

Materials
7-8 ombre colored pieces of scrap booking paper
(those with “grooved” lines in them work best)
(mine had little lines indented in them that made it easier to fold)
1 Martha Stewart Heart Shaped Press

1 bottle of Elmer’s Craft Bond Paper Craft Gel

1 piece of heavier card stock paper that can go through your printer

1 8×10 frame
1 Background: { PDF File }

Directions
First of all, open the pdf on your computer. If you think you need to make adjustments, then open your PDF file in Preview (I use a Mac, I believe Windows would have a similar PDF viewer). Then save this PDF file as a JPEG. Open up the JPEG in any photo editing software, I use Picmonkey. It is free and very user friendly.

Make any adjustments you need here in order to print the size you require for the size of your hearts. Hopefully you won’t need to do any of the above because my PDF works just fine for 8.5×11″ standard paper size and the heart press. Alternately, you could cut out one heart of the correct size as a template and trace your hearts. Essentially, you need to have the vertical length of your hearts match the length of the lines on the background.

When you go to print this PDF, you can change the orientation (as I did) to horizontal to get a wider heart. Otherwise, you can print just as it is vertically. I printed on regular paper first to see if everything would work.

Beginning with the top row, press out 6 hearts from the darkest colored paper. If you have scrap booking paper with lines indented, make sure they’re vertically oriented when you cut them out, this works better for folding. ( I was able to purchase single sheets for each color. ) Then for the next row press out 10 of the next darkest shade. Continue on to match the number of “slashes” in each row. I had to make the bottom two rows identical in color, because I couldn’t find 8 different shades of pink to red, only 7.

Using your finger nails to press in the center line, bend each heart down the middle, using the lines as guides if you have that type of paper. Then pinch the “wings” of the heart and squeeze a line of gel clue down the back of the heart.

Press firmly and easily along the line on the grid. *Note: make sure your top line and bottom line fit inside the frame you’ve purchased. You can make the bottom heart and top row lay a bit inside the frame for fit.

Hold the heart and count to 10. Then let go. After you’ve glued the hearts on, you can go back and pull the “wings” up a bit to keep the glue from pulling them too flat. Once you get going, you’ll find this a very quick project to make… and you’ll start thinking of other things you can make with these little hearts!

Take out the glass from your frame and put your hearts sheet inside. Close the back and enjoy!

{ Printable Copy }

Rose Petal Sugar Body Scrub

When I was a wee lass, my mother used to bring me a massive fluffy towel after my bath. She’d give me a vigorous scrubbing to “warm the cockles of my heart” before “jammy time”.  I did the same for my children.. and I still do the same for myself every day.

Some things just stay with you that way.

I like to have a good mental scrubbing daily as well. While I do peruse the newspaper headlines every morning, I usually like to read something enlightening and inspirational before drifting off to sleep. These positive thoughts seem to percolate while I slumber.
It’s a way to disengage from any negativity in my day.
To be honest, I’ve gotten away from this habit lately and intend to start up again in earnest.

♥

There are so many books just perfect for reading in the tub or under the weight of heavy blankets.
One of my favorite books is on loan from my mom and is entitled
“Letters to a Young Artist – Building a Life in Art” by Julia Cameron
and I’ve only just this minute discovered that this is the same author as another beloved book
“Prayers to the Great Creator – Prayers & Declarations for a Meaningful Life “

The first book is a series of letters written between an experienced artist and a young artist full of self-doubt. The second book, “Prayers” is a book that I often just open at random and read. I choose to believe that it has significance for the day and that it was the prayer I was meant to read. Here is today’s…
{ It may be easier to read if you click on it… you can also print a copy to post in your home }

I think my next book to read will be “The Artist’s Way”
even though it was published a decade ago, I think it would still resonate…

♥

Now, back to that tub..

This pretty scrub is heavenly, and awfully tempting to eat..
but it’s meant to just gently scrub and rinse off after your shower.
{ I think it may be too rich for your face.. but lovely for the rest of your skin. }

I sprayed regular “jammy” jar lids a softest petal pink and a vibrant rose pink.
{ inspired by Craftberry Cottage }

{ I’ll be sharing that craft in the background soon. }

I found this pretty stamp set of Birds & Nests and made little personalized cards with Martha Stewart tags.

The petals look so pretty nestled in sugar crystals.

I’m not certain how long these sorts of scrubs keep,
but I’m thinking mine will be used up long before I need to worry about that!

Rose Petal Sugar Body Scrub

Ingredients
1/2 cup virgin coconut oil*
1 cup sugar, granulated
20 drops essential rose oil*
1/2 cup organic rose petals**

Directions
Scoop out 1/2 cup coconut oil into a medium-sized mixing bowl. At room temperature, coconut oil will be in a solid, yet “scoop-friendly” state. Using a handheld mixer, blend the coconut oil until it is fluffier. Add the cup of sugar and blend again. Drop in the essential oil, adjust for less or more fragrance as you wish. Blend again. Add in 1/2 cup rose petal and stir to mix completely.

Spoon into jars. Use on your body after showering, then rinse off and pat dry. I would not recommend this for your face, it may be too harsh.

* Coconut oil and essential oils can be found at most health food grocers, in Calgary I found mine at Planet Organic or Blush Lane.

** These should not have pesticides. I found mine in an edible form at the Silk Road Spice Merchants.

{ Printable Copy }