Gluten Free Mac and Cheese

Included on the list of things to do before I depart for France in 11 days, is of course a list of foods to eat.  Only somebody suffering from a serious obsession puts “eat macaroni and cheese” amongst other important things to do, such as acquiring a power adapter, booking a hostel, buying train tickets from France to the UK, and packing.  I am not ashamed.  Enjoying carbs coated in creamy cheesy goodness and studded with the occasional crunchy edge piece is obviously just as important as packing for five months abroad.  Duh.

Oh yeah, did I mention that a friend and I are leaving the country in 11 days to experience the marvels of France, Germany, and the UK?  Yeah, that’s happening.  Against my better judgment, I started packing a few days ago and now it feels all too real, especially because most of my clothing is no longer easily accessible.  And as the contents of my closet dwindle, so do the days I have left to get all that important stuff I mentioned done.  Being able to check “eat macaroni and cheese” of the list is a huge relief.  I was starting to get really worried I wouldn’t get to it.  But in all seriousness, I’ve still got people to email, places to book, dates to establish, and loads more to pack.  And on top of all that I still have find time to eat ribs.  I simply cannot leave North America without eating ribs.  I also have to consult my people to see if I can fit fried chicken into my busy agenda.  My goodness, my life is so demanding.

Word of advice, if you’ve got loads of things to do, add “eat mac and cheese” to the list.  It may make make your life more demanding, but also far more delicious.

Gluten Free (because it’s still january and I’m sticking to my agenda) Macaroni and Cheese

Ingredients

• 12 oz gluten free elbow macaroni
• 12 oz shredded cheese, of any variety you desire (I used 8 oz of cheddar and 4 oz of smoked cheddar)
• 2 1/2 cups milk (I only happened to have almond milk on hand so that’s what I used but whole milk would usually be the first I’d reach for)
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons gluten free all purpose flour
• salt and pepper
• pinch of paprika

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and lightly oil a 9×13 inch casserole pan.
2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.  Add the macaroni and cook according to the directions on the package.  Drain and run under cold water to stop the cooking.
3. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat.  Add the flour and cook a few minutes until the roux darkens, stirring constantly with a whisk.
4. Slowly add the milk, whisking to ensure a smooth sauce.  Then add the shredded cheese a couple of handfuls at a time, mixing for a smooth consistency.
5. Add in salt, pepper, and a pinch of paprika to taste.
6. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and bake for 40-45 minutes.  I cranked up the heat to broil for the last few minutes to get a golden brown top.
7. Let cool 10 minutes or risk injuring yourself on molten cheese.
8. Check “eat mac and cheese” off your list of things to do.  Doesn’t productivity feel great?

Gluten Free Coconut Banana Chocolate Chip Bread

And half a loaf later my appreciation for baked goods free of gluten was so great I could have gladly eaten the second half.  And baked a second loaf.  And eaten that one too.

Gluttony aside, this really was a spectacular loaf of gluten-free bread.  I know because it’s calling to me right now.  Loudly.  This bread is composed of coconut flour, bananas for sweetness, and chocolate chips added in because everything good in this world contains chocolate chips.  Well, except dumplings.  Dumplings should never contain chocolate chips.

But this bread does!  Which makes it one of the many good things in this world.  And hence the reason why it is really good to make and even more delicious to eat.

Coconut Flour Banana Chocolate Chip Bread adapted from here.

Ingredients:

• 3/4 C. coconut flour, sifted (sift!  sift away!)
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4+ tsp. baking soda (heap it a little)
• 4 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1.5 C. mashed, ripe banana (I ended up using two abnormally large bananas)
• 1/4 C. packed brown sugar
• 1/2 C. almond milk
• 1/4 C. butter melted (just warm, not hot)
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1/2 C. dark chocolate chips
• 3-4 T. unsweetened, shredded coconut

Preparation:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Lightly oil your loaf pan.
2. Whisk sifted coconut flour, salt and baking soda together in a medium mixing bowl.
3. In a separate, large mixing bowl, combine the beaten eggs, mashed bananas, brown sugar, coconut milk, butter, and vanilla with a wooden spoon.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet in two steps, stirring to combine the first half before adding the second.  The batter will be thick.  Fold in the chocolate and nuts.
5. Pour/scrape the batter into the greased loaf pan, smoothing out the surface with a rubber spatula.  Sprinkle the shredded coconut over the top.
6. Place in the preheated oven and bake for approximately 50 minutes, or until the top is browned and the coconut golden. Allow the loaf to cool completely.  Do this.  I didn’t and was left with delicious remnants stuck to the bottom and corners of the pan.
7. Once cool, run a knife or spatula around the edges of the loaf, loosening it from the pan.  Cover the loaf with your hand or a plate and invert to remove it from the pan.  If it doesn’t slide out easily, use the spatula to further loosen it.  Place on a plate, slice and serve.

These are the things I’d like to eat in the near future.

lobster roll

burger

mac and cheese

donuts

ribs, ribs, ribs

burrito

steamed buns

baked brie

dumplings

chocolate chip cookies

…

I could go on but it’s probably best not to continue entertaining these fantasies.

Milk, of the Chocolate Variety

I have, as of late, been afflicted with an irrepressible desire to consume large amounts of chocolate milk.  How this came about, I have not even an inkling of an idea.  I could possibly be overcompensating for a lack of chocolate milk in my childhood.  Maybe a lack of school-bought lunches severely deprived my subconsciousness and taste buds of chocolate syrup infused milk.  Or maybe chocolate syrup, which tastes somewhat rusty and very much unlike chocolate alone, when mixed with milk (organic almond milk in my case), is just magically, suspiciously delicious.

Honestly though.  Chocolate milk is suspiciously craveworthy.  At least it seems so to me.  I’ve been indulging myself in this insatiable craving for the past month with a generous glass of almond milk mixed with an equally generous amount of chocolate syrup.  Of course this influx in my sugar consumption is totally justified because the chocolate syrup I choose to use just so happens to be organic, gluten-free, and free of a bunch of other things.  Anyhow, now that I’ve explained this odd desire to those of you listening to me out there in that wide world web, I feel sufficiently justified and pleased with this cathartic blog post.

Time for some more chocolate milk.

Itchy

I’m so terribly itching to write.  Considering it is January, I could participate in the abundance of resolution making and the attempted enforcement of said resolutions.  However I prefer make my resolutions sporadically, especially on weekdays.  Wednesdays seem to be a popular day for resolution making in my life.

But today is Sunday and I’d like to make a resolution today to write more.  To succeed in upholding my resolution I had to asses what would stop me from doing so.  I assessed that I generally think only incredibly exciting things (like food) are worth writing about.  Also, I don’t deem many thing in my life as incredibly exciting, and thus not worthy of more than a paragraph, and thus a waste of time.  I should not think like this.  This is a very very bad way to think.  Bad Katya.  Bad.

I like to write.  Therefore I should do it more.  Even if only the most mundane topics present themselves to me, I vow to turn them into a literary work of genius.  Ha, just kidding.  But from now on I will do my best to write.  I will do my best to find things to write about, even if I think they might be not particularly interesting.

And so, a resolution was born.