Our House in the Middle of Our Street

Andie's cookbook, Eating in the Middle , open to the Banana Bread donuts with maple cinnamin cream cheese frosting I don't often do single-book reviews because I save them for a monthly series, but this cookbook, Andie Mitchell's Eating in the Middle, deserves a spotlight. I first heard about Andie via my friend Meg and her blog , and I promptly read Andie's memoir (the cover grabbed me) and then placed her cookbook on hold at the library. I'm so glad I did, and I'm already in line again because there were a number of recipes I just didn't have time for in the blip of two weeks that I had it in my kitchen. I made a number of her recipes, including the delicious donuts (seriously, read that description), a flavorful Asian chicken salad, some breakfast muffins that had pineapple, carrot, raisins, and coconut in them, and a batch of different brussel sprouts. The only 'dud' for our family was the Brussel sprouts, and only because of the ch...

these buns just need a plop of gooey cream-cheese frosting I don't know about you, but I tend to cook seasonally. I don't make many soups in the summer, and I don't eat nearly as much hummus, tomatoes, and cucumber dips in the winter. I think it has a lot to do with budget-buying seasonal  produce is often the cheapest option because there is an abundance of it, and the price goes down. I eat salad after salad in the summer but I find that I sometimes have to force a salad here and there through late Fall and winter...until the tail end of winter when I'm longing for some fresh greens! When there's about four weeks left of summer, I start to get a hankering for Fall soups. Sure, I want the heat to end, and my favorite temperature (about 65 degrees F) to come back, but mostly, I just want to start nearly every dinner with onion and garlic cooked in oil or butter. A few weeks back-still summer--I had a really good opportunity to make some friends chili and ...

the cookies as dough balls before baking  It's the last day of August as I type this and lately I've been feeling the push to get a few more of the 15 in 2015 things done before the next four (four!!) months slip by with school starting, traveling, and holiday seasons start in. This 'thing', was a simple one: bake the Vanilla Bean Confetti Cookies from Joy the Baker's Homemade Decadance cookbook before the year was out.  These cookies are just as beautiful as they look in the book, though mine were (ahem) slightly less uniform. Thankfully for YOU, Joy has those pretty cookies on her website for free. Her cookbook, well, bakebook, as she is a full-time baker, is fantastic. I've made now 5 items out of it since I bought it around March or April, and I've loved everything. There is a picture on every page which is a must for me when I buy a cookbook. This book includes not only baked goods like cookies, but cakes, cocktails, breakfast items, ice crea...

enjoying a peanut-butter chocolate bar from Wendel's in Ft. Langley My 29 Before 30 list still has another two months on it, but I've really slacked this year. One item I knew would make it was "take my girl out for a gluten-free cupcake date". Out here there are enough gluten-free bakeries and shops to find and explore, and it just so happened I found one that I'd first heard of at the Vancouver Gluten-Free Expo , right near where we had to drop Lukka off for a class. Perfect! They didn't have cupcakes, so we got the next best thing: a chocolate peanut butter bar. This gluten-free bakery shared space with a bookstore in a historic part of the lower mainland that had beautiful scenery and adorable little store fronts along the main street. We visited Wendel's around 1:45 and it was still packed with the lunch crowd. The cafe is very tight quarters but all the employees shuffling around us were apologetic and very nice. We found a great spot ou...

I barely remembered to snap a photo before I devoured it We don't eat out much, but when Stefan's in the mood (which is not often, he has more will-power than I do), for a burger, he usually wants to eat at Red Robin. We probably haven't eaten there but three or so times since moving out to Blaine, but I crave their Crispy Chicken Salad something fierce. If you want a salad that is a meal, and you love stuff in your salad, take my word for it and make this at some point this week. You will not be disappointed!  This serving size is enough for 1 person's salad, with chicken 'strips' leftover for 3 other people, at 2 a piece. You'll need: *3 skinless chicken breasts, thawed and cut into 3 strips a piece *6 cherry tomatoes * 1 medium carrot, chopped *2 cups of your favorite lettuce (I like curly leaf, and romaine) *2 eggs *1/4 cup of shredded cheddar cheese *homemade honey mustard (1/2 cup each of honey, yellow mustard and then 1TBSP...

Source One of the easiest gluten free treats I make for our family is a simple banana bread. I have found a recipe that is 'no-fail' for me, always moist and hearty, can easily be doubled, is delicious with or without chocolate chips, and turns out great no matter what I substitute for odds and ends I don't have. My kind of baking. My favorite version is adapted from Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld, and it normally includes 1/2 cup of cauliflower puree. I almost never have that on hand, and so I just skip it. The way I make any baked good gluten free, when it's not a gluten free recipe from the beginning, is substituting 1:1 any flour called for with my own mixture of Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Baking + Biscuit Mix , and Bob's Gluten Free All Purpose . I have my own canister of this mixture. I empty one bag of each into it, and mix until combined evenly. When I'm ready to bake anything, I just use that in a 1:1 ratio, and it has never f...

Source: designspongeonline.com via Eva on Pinterest Last year I discovered plutonium...in the form of a chocolate milkshake. I don't have a picture of this favorite treat, mostly because all of my cups are covered in mineral-y film from my dishwasher, and wouldn't capture the pure joy that is created in 4 simple ingredients. You can keep this vanilla or chocolate, but I prefer the chocolate rendition. I use an individual size cup that attaches to my magic bullet. If you have one of these, they make perfect little individual sizes, including a snack size option. It should be noted that this is only healthy in the fact that it has almond milk. The massive amount of ice cream and peanut butter should pretty much put this in the 'every once in awhile' category. I have about 2 a month, and I savor every.single.sip.! Plutonium Milkshake *3/4 cup of vanilla or chocolate ice cream *1/3 cup almond milk *2 TBSP peanut butter *1 tsp chocolate powder (optional, i...

Veggie pot pie. A staple for cold weather.

Annual Christmas baking day!

Source: Uploaded by user via Cami on Pinterest Yes, I know this isn't my picture, and ahem*, I'm working on it! Every stinkin' time I make this, I try to remember to take a picture of it for the blog, and every time there is almost none left...when I remember. Anyway. What you need to know : This is a mix between baked apples, baked oatmeal, and apple crisp...with fruit. Yeah. I'll try to remember to publish a photo when I make it again, you work on making this crowd pleaser. This dish is great because it: 1) makes your house smell good 2) is pretty darn healthy 3) it's easy peasy 4) Who doesn't love apples in the Fall? This recipe was adapted from The New Better Homes and Garden Cook Book. Ingredients: 4-6 cooking apples (I used Honeycrisp, Pink Lady, and Granny Smith...because I like them) 1/2 cup+ raisins 2 tblsp brown sugar (or sucanat, or honey) 1 tblsp cinnamin 1 tblsp nutmeg 1/2 cup apple juice 1/2 cup thick oats 1/3 cup slivered or chopped nuts (al...

Source: mybakingaddiction.com via Ashton on Pinterest One of my favorite things that I really miss from 'before' is cheap, greasy pizza. Pizza Hut was my favorite pizza place and I can still smell the overwhelming garlic on their breadsticks. Gluten, however, loves that place, too, and I can no longer eat there. I went without pizza for a long time because for a number of years after I was diagnosed with celiac, I could only find tiny, expensive (and disgusting) GF pizzas in the freezer section, and I was too nervous (lazy?) to make my own...especially knowing they wouldn't taste the same! Alas, this can now be made easily with the help of my good friend Bob and his Red Mill mixes. With their GF pizza mix a staple in our pantry, this pizza literally has only a few other ingredients. It's actually quite healthy, too. I first tasted a similar pizza at my friend M's house, who I believe got a similar recipe from The Dish. We're all friends here, so let's sh...