Quinoa Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Granola Cookies - Gluten Free

Forgive me while I try to figure out how on earth to take pictures of food...

Since being diagnosed with celiac disease I have not dared try to make plain old chocolate chip cookies.  I've had the "real thing" for so many years I just know any alternative wouldn't taste good yet!  So, when I had a hankering for some cookies (um, I get that hankering every day) I jumped on Mel's site - as usual - and started looking through options.

I found these cookies that she posted a couple years ago: I remember seeing them then and thinking, "Huh.  Those sound odd.  I wonder if we'd like those."  I filed the recipe in my recipe binder for a couple years but never pulled them out.  Until last month!

My giant bowl of cookie dough.  You can't tell the dried cranberries apart from the chocolate chips, but they're in there.  And those toasted almonds were so good: much better than the untoasted sliced almonds I used last time.

I've tweaked this to be gluten free and give you all the details below.  To be fair, the first one I tried I couldn't decide what to think.  Then I ate five more and decided I really like them.  :)  TJ also loves them and because they're quinoa they're healthy enough to eat several at a time.  Ha!

Oh, and a funny story: I knew I wanted to restock these in the freezer, but I had no clue how much raw quinoa would equate to 1 1/2 cups cooked quinoa.  So I made 1 1/2 cups raw, and found out that quinoa quadruples.  Yes, quadruples.  Thankfully, I only doubled the batch at first and, after pulling out about 117 cookies after six hours, I was so glad I didn't quadruple the cookie recipe too!

One of two cooling racks filled with cookies.

Quinoa Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies - Gluten Free

Yield: makes a good amount of cookies, especially when doubled (depending on the size of your cookies, maybe 3-4 dozen per batch)

Adapted from Mel’s Kitchen Café

INGREDIENTS

• 3/4 cup solid coconut oil, melted
• 3/4 cup (9.5 ounces) honey
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup gluten free flour blend
• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• 1/2 cup almond flour
• 1/2 teaspoon xantham gum
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup old fashioned rolled oats
• 1 1/2 cups quick oats
• 1 1/2 cups cooked and cooled quinoa (cooked only in water, not broth)*
• 1/2 cup toasted slivered almonds**
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Quick tip: I feel like these cookies have more ingredients than a "typical" recipe.  I've found they're easiest to make when I pull out all my ingredients and have them ready to throw in.  For example, get the almonds toasted before you start making the dough.  

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and either line cookie sheets with parchment paper or silpat liners or lightly grease with cooking spray.
2. In a small bowl, mix together the oats.  Spoon half of the mix into a blender and blend until it's a flour, then put it back into the bowl with the oats.
3. In a large bowl, beat together the oil and honey with an electric mixer.  Quick note: I have to put the honey in the bowl first and then start beating almost as soon as I pour the coconut oil in otherwise it solidifies.  I also add the following ingredients quickly to keep it from getting hard.
4. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix until combined.
5. Stir in the gluten free flour blend, almond flour, coconut flour, salt, and baking soda until just combined and there are some streaks of dry flour remaining.
6. Add the oats, oat flour, quinoa, almonds, cranberries, and chocolate chips and mix by hand gently (so the dough stays as light as possible) until everything seems spread throughout the dough.
7. Place the dough (balls approximately 2-3 tablespoons large) onto the cookie sheet.  Bake for 8-10 minutes until you are seeing edges that are just browned but the middle is still soft.

NOTE: these freeze beautifully.  Just let them cool before bagging.  We love grabbing one (or six) out of the freezer during the day.

*Be gentle when you're measuring and mixing the quinoa: don't smash it.

**I've found that the Diamond brand of nuts (available on Amazon) does not process their products on the same equipment as wheat, so that's what I get.


Recipe adapted from Mel at Mel's Kitchen Cafe: I changed the flours to gluten free, decreased the amount of coconut oil, removed the flaxseed and chia seeds, increased the chocolate chips, and switched the oats to be half blended.

This Dad is Super Rad

Last year I saw a picture online of a baby wearing a shirt that said, "My dad is super rad."  In spite of searching online to purchase one for our baby, I could never find one.  I was delighted when one of our neighbors dropped us a pile of clothing they were done with and it included that shirt I had so wanted!

On Saturday morning, I woke just after 6:00 when my alarm went off: the zoo opened at 7:30 that day, and I thought it would be the perfect time for the three of us to get up there with few crowds and great weather.  As I went through Reed's clothes I realized I finally had an occasion for him to wear long sleeves.

The three of us hopped in the car and, when Reed started getting fussy, TJ jumped out of the passenger seat at a red light and ran around to sit in back next to him.  As I looked in the rear view mirror and watched him holding Reed's hand and listened to him talk with him, his voice soft and tender, my heart turned gushy and filled right up with love.  As I drove I thought about what a great dad TJ is: my mind ran through memory after memory and sweet feeling after feeling about these last four months.  This guy that I am so lucky to call my husband is an amazing dad.

TJ is the glue that holds our family together.  He is patient and loyal and kind and his heart seems to have endless reservoirs of love and compassion that he shares so freely.  He comes home from work each day and gives Reed (and me!) a big kiss.  He plays with Reed, laying next to him on the ground, helping him with his toys, reading him stories, watching the latest and greatest tricks Reed has learned.  When we go out for walks it seems Reed is always done in his stroller halfway through and TJ picks him up and carries him home, sometimes from quite a distance.  Reed's bed is on TJ's side of the bed and TJ soothes him in the night when he wakes crying: TJ is often the one to swaddle Reed when he gets tired and patiently hold his binky in while he falls asleep.

In every prayer, TJ thanks Heavenly Father for this beautiful little boy who is our son.  

And in every prayer I thank Heavenly Father for this wonderful man who stands by my side, actively engaged in our family.  

 

Weekly Family Photo #1

Haircut #2

For a few weeks now Reed's hair has been looking a little raggedy.  He's reached that age when he's balding where his head rubs but it's been getting long everywhere else, so this afternoon we did haircut #2. I didn't anticipate two haircuts in his first few months of life.  :)

A quick shot before:

I probably should've taken a picture of his balding spot on back, but alas, it wasn't my favorite anyway.  :)  You can see how long it is here.

And here's the action shot while Jodi is snipping away:

And here's his chubby picture afterwards.  What a handsome fellow!

Also, as a note for future Reed, you're bent over in this picture.  You're not usually quite that roly poly.  :)

Okay, and a few more because I think they're so darling I can't help myself.

And...a video.  Because I can never get enough of his kicking.

Cinnamon Coconut Vanilla Muffins

One of my major concerns after being diagnosed with celiac disease was no longer being able to bake.  Baking is such a big stress reliever for me, as well as a great source of personal satisfaction.  I can't count how many times I've stepped away from something pressing (like packing for a trip that I leave on the next day) to bake just to slow my mind down.

Thankfully, my sisters gave me some great tips for getting recipes to turn out without gluten, so after TJ bought me the ingredients (they were so expensive I just couldn't get myself to do it!), I got back into the kitchen.  One of the first recipes I tried to adapt was my favorite muffins from Mel of Mel's Kitchen Cafe fame.  I was thrilled when they turned out.  I've made a few additional tweaks to them as I've made them over and over (they're the only bread I've made and I eat them every day!) and they are to the point that I feel good calling them final.  So, if you happen to have all the really expensive gluten free flours in your cupboard, give them a go.

Picture credit to TJ, who kindly obliged when I said, "Could you take a great picture of these even though it's dark and I know nothing about food photography?"  Thanks, T!

Oh, and as a side note, it's always seemed odd to me to use just 1 cup of canned coconut milk.  The can comes with about 1.7 cups of coconut milk, so I've always doubled the recipe.  For my birthday this year my mom gave me a muffin tin, which means I no longer have to wash my single tin after the first batch.  Let me tell you, this is the best thing ever.  It's probably silly I didn't just buy it sooner.

Cinnamon Coconut Vanilla Muffins

Yield: makes 24 muffins

Cinnamon Coconut Vanilla Breakfast Muffins

Adapted from Mel’s Kitchen Café

INGREDIENTS

Dry:

• 2 cups cornstarch (or 1 cup potato starch, 1 cup cornstarch)
• 1 cup gluten free flour blend
• 3/4 cup coconut flour
• 3/4 cup almond flour
• 2 teaspoons xantham gum
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 1/4 cups sugar

Wet:

• 4 large eggs
• 2 cups canned coconut milk*
• 4 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 3/4 cup coconut oil, melted

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and either line two 12-cup muffin tins with muffin liners or spray them with non-stick spray.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together all your dry ingredients and make a big well in the center of the bowl.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, vanilla extract, and almond extract.  Once it’s blended, pour the coconut oil in a steady stream while whisking with the other hand.
4. Immediately combine the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients.  Stir together until just combined: I usually have a few streaks of flour remaining.  If you mix until it’s all the way smooth your muffins will end up rubbery.
5. Fill the muffin tins with the batter.
6. Bake for 16-20 minutes until the edges just start browning.  After removing from the oven, let them sit in the tin for 3-4 minutes and then remove them from the tin and put them on a cooling rack.

NOTE: these freeze beautifully.  Just let them cool before bagging.

*I pour the can into my two cup liquid measuring cup and top it off with almond milk (vanilla or regular) to get to two cups.

My Number One

Yesterday at church we had a lesson about marriage.  The teacher asked the class, "What are some of the things you're doing to keep your marriage strong?"  I love that he asked that question, I loved hearing class members' responses, and I've since been thinking about some of the things we do.

Jeffrey Holland, when he was president of BYU, gave a speech titled "However Long and Hard the Road."  (You can read the whole thing here: it's one of my very favorites).  In it, he says:

"No one would wish a bad marriage on anyone.  But where do we think 'good marriages' come from?  They don't spring full-blown from the head of Zeus any more than does a good education...or a good symphony.  Why would a marriage require fewer tears and less toil and shabbier commitment than your job or your clothes or your car?"

TJ and I both feel like we have a fantastic marriage.  We have had loads of fights, shed lots of tears, and quite a few sleepless nights working through things.  But we keep working through things.  If we were to summarize the motto we strive for in our marriage, and in our parenting for that matter, it's "Be deliberate."  I feel lucky every day that TJ and I are equally committed to a strong, loving, fulfilling marriage.

So, to answer that instructor's question, we do things like sit down weekly (most weeks) and discuss not only our schedule but also our goals and what we want and need to work on.  We pray together every day.  We talk.  We hug and kiss and text and make dinner together in the evening.  We verbalize our love and adoration and support over and over and over and over again.  We go on dates.  We go to classes.  We go to church.  We go on vacations.  We take evening walks together, holding hands.  We watch General Conference together.  We ask the other what we can do for them.  We show physical affection.  We go out of our way to notice and thank each other for the things we see them doing for us.

Since becoming parents the way we spend our time each day has shifted: there is a whole of time and effort and energy that goes into raising little Reed.  Frankly, that shift was one of my biggest worries in preparing for his arrival.  I feel an immense desire to make sure TJ always knows that he's my number one: my very top priority.  Reed will one day move out (can't think about that right now), and when the kids are gone I want my marriage with TJ to be more satisfying and beautiful than ever.

What sorts of things are you doing to keep your marriage strong?  Or, if you're not married, how do you strengthen other relationships in your life?

Mexican Red Pepper Salad

Shortly after TJ and I got married we went down to Lake Powell for the annual UEA trip in October.  For many years the Morris family went down and camped with their good friends, the Doms.  Nicole Dom brought a giant bowl of this red pepper salad and I probably ate the bulk of it during our time there.

Cowboy caviar is a popular and well-known Mexican "dip," but I prefer the red peppers that are in this because they stay crunchy (does anyone else have issues with their tomatoes going mushy after three days in their cowboy caviar?) and it seems to keep the whole thing fresh.  

Last time I made this I kept the avocados out and just added them as I ate it: it was a brilliant move, really.  They didn't go brown in the bowl and the whole thing seemed to stay fresher.

After you make this a few times you'll figure out how to customize it to your tastes: I don't really measure anything (besides the can of black beans), but just stir things around as I add them to get the ratios we like.

You could be healthy and eat this over quinoa or on a salad, but we most often go through a bag of chips while we munch: I'd highly recommend you do the same.

Mexican Red Pepper Salad

Adapted from Nicole Dom

1 diced avocado

2 lbs frozen corn (or fresh if you can find it!)

1 - 15 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed well

1 c. chopped green onions

1 1/4 c. diced red peppers

2 c. fresh chopped cilantro

Combine all ingredients in a bowl.

Dressing:

1/2 c. lime juice

2 Tbsp. olive oil

1 T. sugar

1 tsp. minced garlic (you can substitute garlic powder if you prefer)

1 tsp. oregano

Salt and pepper to taste

Whisk the dressing ingredients together and pour over the salad.  Mix well.  

To avoid the avocado turning brown, add it just as you serve it.

Arm Rolls

Long before Reed was born I started telling TJ, "Our babies are going to look like giants.  You know our nieces and nephews are miniature, right?"  Though I was saying it to him I was more telling myself, but I still can't believe how big Reed has gotten in these last few months!

This week we were with my sister and her family, who have particularly small children.  As an illustration, in the next week or so Reed will transition to size 3 diapers.  My sister's 26 month old is in the same size.  

So I laughed and laughed when one of my nieces was holding Reed, on seeing his little fat roll on his bicep, asked, "Whoa, what is this?  Does he have two elbows?"  

Flourless Chocolate Cake

Last month we celebrated TJ's brother's birthday.  I anticipated that there would be a gluten-filled cake for dessert (his brother loves the chocolate Nothing Bundt Cake - as do I!) so I thought I better find a gluten free option that I could take so I wouldn't drool at the table!  I did some searching online and found this one from King Arthur Flour.  It comes together really quickly and I really love it with ice cream.  NOTE: this is rich and dense, not a light, fluffy cake (I think to get one of those without flour you need to beat egg whites quite a bit).

Flourless Chocolate Cake
http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/flourless-chocolate-cake-recipe

Ingredients: 
6 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips
4 ounces unsalted butter
5.25 ounces sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 large eggs
1.5 ounces unsweetened cocoa powder (Dutch process preferred)

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly grease an 8" round cake pan; cut a piece of parchment paper to fit, grease it, and lay it in the bottom of the pan.
2. To make the cake: Put the chocolate and butter in a large microwave-safe bowl, and heat until the butter is melted and the chips are soft. Stir until the chips melt, reheating briefly if necessary. Transfer the melted chocolate/butter to a mixing bowl.
3. Stir in the sugar, salt, and vanilla.
4. Add the eggs, whisking briefly until smooth. Add the cocoa powder, and mix just to combine.
5. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan.
6. Bake the cake for 20 minutes; the top will have formed a thin crust.  The cake will stay gooey inside.
7. Remove it from the oven, and cool it in the pan for 5 minutes.
8. Loosen the edges of the pan with a table knife and turn it out onto a serving plate. The top will now be on the bottom; that's fine. Also, the edges will crumble a bit, which is also fine.  Enjoy warm with ice cream or cool completely before frosting.

It Won't Always Be Like This

A few weeks ago my sister shattered her elbow.

She was on an evening bike ride with her husband and six kids a few miles from home.  Her two year old daughter was strapped in the front her bike and, though she wasn't riding very fast, when she hit some gravel on the road her bike tipped.  Her two year old was secure and unharmed, but when my sister hit the pavement she heard a crack and knew it was bad.  Two hospital visits and many hours later the testing showed that her elbow broke in three places.  She had surgery two days later.

Now several weeks have passed.  She's started physical therapy and it's hard.  Each day she's fighting discouragement.  She misses lifting weights, running, driving, sleeping soundly, and even the simple - typically taken for granted - joy of having a functioning arm that doesn't hurt.

When I talk with her I often find myself thinking, and saying, "It won't always be like this."

She's not sure how much movement she'll regain or whether she'll ever lift weights the same way, but I'm confident it won't always be like this.  Her movement will improve.  The pain will subside.  And even if she's never back to 100% (how I hope that won't be the case!) she'll learn to adapt and how to do things more completely with her other arm.  She'll change how she handles her daily tasks and how she gets her workouts.  It won't always be exactly like this.

Robot arms for the one sister who has no other option.  :)

I realized that phrase has become a mantra for me over the past year.  During those first 20 weeks of pregnancy, as I fought nausea and fatigue, I would repeat to myself, "It won't always be like this.  I won't always feel like this."  It helped so much to realize that, miserable as I felt, it was temporary.

During those first few weeks with a newborn when everything was so darn new and unknown and I was recovering from an unexpected c-section I repeated to myself, "It won't always be like this."  It was so helpful, and hopeful, to remind myself that my incision would heal, we'd figure out feeding, and once we got to know Reed a bit better things would get easier.

A couple weeks after Reed was born I was diagnosed with celiacs disease.  That's a disease that will never go away: I can't have gluten for the rest of my life.  But I still find myself saying, "It won't always be like this."  We'll figure out new meals we love.  We'll know how to grocery shop and which restaurants are safe and going to parties with food won't always feel so ostracizing.  Even if the base issue is always the same - I'll always have celiacs - I'll learn to handle things better.

The saying works for the good things, too.  I've worked with the same boss for ten years now and we have a great working relationship.  Over the past couple years, as we both knew I'd soon step away to have kids, he started saying things like, "Savor this!  It'll never be quite the same again."  I'm so glad he gave me those nudges to take it all in as it was happening.

Tell us in the comments about experiences - either positive or negative - when reminding yourself that the situation was temporary proved helpful.

Reed: 3 Months Old

On Saturday this little guy had his three month birthday.

I'm not really sure how that happened so quickly.

He went from being this scrawny little newborn:

To this one month old:

To this much bigger 2 month old:

To this 3 month old who looks like an absolute giant:

We pulled down the 6-9 month clothes for him and I very matter of factly told TJ, "These are huge.  They're going to drown him."  They don't.  They fit rather nicely, which makes me think I should also be pulling down the 9-12 month clothes.  I'm not sure what this kid is eating, but he is somehow at 15 pounds already (when his cousins born within his same week, both weighing more than him, are both at 12 pounds).  I also had to buy size three diapers.  Heaven help us.

We celebrated the big day by taking a few hundred pictures.

Part of that is because I'm just making the switch to shooting in manual and since I am still figuring it out I take gobs of pictures hoping one will work.

But the bigger part is because no matter how great the picture is it seems I can never quite capture him.

The way his little knees wrinkle when he straightens his legs.

The way he sticks out his tongue when he's smiling and it's so quick that if you're not watching closely you'll miss it.

The way his chins stack up.

The way he uses his toes so frequently: spreading and curling and clenching and wiggling them in ways I can't even do.

His big blue eyes that are so often wide open, taking the world in.  We hear all the time, "He's so alert!"  He looks and looks and looks at the world around him.

And really, no camera can capture that.  

I'm trying to sear into my memory all these little details and a million other little things, like how he lifts his foot to reach for my arm while he's eating and how he folds his hands in such a darling way that we can't help but call him "Reverent Reed."  I love his chunky thighs and the way his hair is curly after a shower.

He has completely captured our hearts.  

Sure there have been some long days with a fussy, crying baby who just wants to be held and walked.  There have been some rough nights when we are telling him we would really, really like to get some sleep now.  But we'd take the hard moments a million times over for all the goodness and fun and joy we're experiencing.

On Saturday night after getting him to sleep we took a few minutes to write down things we love about him, just like he is right now.

My favorite thing lately is the way he kicks his legs: his eyes are wide, his mouth in an o, his arms flailing while those chunky little legs fly as fast as he can make them.  It takes so much effort and concentration and it's absolutely adorable.

Reed tells great stories.  And when he's tired he tells such sad, sad stories that we can't help but laugh.

He has a distinct cry to request a swaddle.  He loves to be swaddled, particularly when he's ready to sleep.  After he's asked and we wrap him up tight he stares at us calmly with those big blue eyes wide open and it's as clear as if he said it verbally that he's thanking us.

He loves to be held UP: over the shoulder or facing forward, but he really hates being cradled.

TJ is pretty in love with his happy sigh, which is a bit of a coo, but his big lower lip that he sticks out when he's sad is also very cute.  Who knows how he learned to frown so perfectly.

Sometimes when you're looking at him he gets this shy grin on his face and he'll look the other way, like he's being really funny or teasing you.

After a nap he has some pretty epic stretching sessions.  His arms go above his head, he spreads his legs out wide or tucks them up to his chest, squirming and wiggling to stretch everything just right.

We keep watching and trying so hard to memorize all these little moments and feelings and smiles and laughs.  They are passing far faster than we anticipated.  We give thanks to our Heavenly Father every single day for letting us having him in our lives!

What are some of your favorite memories from the babies in your life?