Here we are, week nine into our CSA, and it occurred to me that I've only photographed the first week, that just won't do! There is far too much gorgeous farm fresh, organic produce rolling through my kitchen these days not to document it with a quick snap of the camera. So I will try and do that from this point on... you can be sure this is a flickr set I will be visiting often come February.
This week I took a break from ordering zucchini and cabbage (red and green), but will return to their abundance next week. I have a yummy coleslaw dressing to tell you about...
Now, onto the brownies. I still haven't officially broken into the world of gluten free scratch baking. To be honest, going gluten free during the summer hasn't been that difficult. Even for someone who is accustomed to baking everything from scratch. It's not exactly prime baking season after all. Emily however sure doesn't mind a little treat here and there, so I've been sampling just a few mixes. So far we've tried Bob's Red Mill Vanilla Cake Mix, Bob's Red Mill Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix, Namaste Muffin Mix, and Namaste Brownie Mix. The only one that was a definite "do not repeat" was the cookie mix. There was no pretending it resembled anything close to a chocolate chip cookie familiar to us. There was a very distinct, um, flavor. (I'm sure plenty of people like it very much, it just didn't work for our taste.) The other three mixes were pretty good though. I did add some sucanat to the muffin mix (plus blueberries with a lemon streusel topping) as there was zero sweetener in it and we prefer a slightly sweet muffin.
I've found doctoring to be the key to these mixes, adding a few custom ingredients to make it somewhat special. So for now, I'm playing around with that concept in mind. Come September, with the first bit of autumn in the air, I'll be anxious to do some authentic baking. I'm thinking almond flour seems like a successful way to go, but I really don't know for sure. Elana's recipes always look amazing and I love the simplicity involved. I'd really prefer not to use a lengthy list of flours, starches, fillers, binders, etc. The idea of that doesn't feel right to me. If anyone has experience with almond flour baking and would care to share, I'm an eager listener!
So, these brownies... my changes to the recipe on the package: coconut oil instead of veggie oil, and the addition of 1/2 cup chocolate chips, 1/2 cup shredded coconut, 1 smallish zucchini (shredded), 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla (gluten free). They turned out unbelievably moist and chewy. Total yum.
Thank you, sweet people, who've come from all corners of the globe offering support, wisdom, and kindness around our homeschooling journey. My girl is spinning with excitement since we made our decision official. I'll be responding to each and every one of you within the comments over the next few days. In little pockets of time here and there, I will connect with you and share my gratitude. I've got quite an abundance of that these days.
