Rhubars & my Chip-Free Diet

it was probably my first weekend off in a while, so Bill and I decided to head to his side of town and visit his family. It was sweet- and I wished it didn't end. His family is so genuine, it's a nice getaway from my crazy family. Before we went, I made some rhubars that I will put the recipe on in just a minute.

But lately, I've come to a revelation. Ever since I found out about the Celiac Disease, I've been eating so many potato chips in an unhealthy, binging way. I've gained the weight to compensate, and starting tomorrow (Monday) I'm going to begin a healthier, chip-free diet! HA! I'm actually serious too. I am thinking about planning my meals for the week and sticking to that meal plan. Hopefully, this will be able to save me some money, and extra snacking , and if all goes well I'll probably post a sample week menu on my blog

Alright, enough of this- here's what I like to call the "rhubar" recipe, breaking it down into 3 parts

1. Rhubarb Compote

5 cups Rhubarb, chopped (like above)

1 cup sugar

zest of 1 lemon

• Place everything in a medium sized saucepan and cook over medium heat- until the sugar dissolves and bubbles
• Once sugar bubbles, reduce heat to a simmer for 10-12 minutes
• Once the Rhubarb is very mushy , either finish it off in a blender or use an immersion blender to get a smoother texture. 

2. Almond Crust

2/3 cup almonds

1 cup GF AP Flour (Any works)

2T sugar 

1/2t salt

4+T canola oil

4+ T unsweetened almond milk

• Spray a 9x13" pan with cooking spray and Preheat oven 350 F
• Put almonds, flour, sugar and salt into a food processor and process until it's a flour-like texture
• alternate between canola oil and almond milk, tablespoon by tablespoon. After 4 tablespoons, check to see if the dough is fully mixed. If not, add another round of each per tablespoon.
• If the dough in the processor begins to form a ball, then it is ready. Place your dough in the baking pan and press it down throughout with your fingers. It doesn't need to go above the sides- only line the bottom
• Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes, then refrigerate. 

3. Rhubars

2 cups rhubarb compote

3/4c applesauce

1/4c lemon juice

1/2c sugar

3T corn starch

1 Almond Crust Recipe

• Reduce oven temperature to 325 F
• Whisk all your ingredients together until incorporated
• Take out your crust from the refridge and pour your filling over top
• Bake for 22-25 minutes

For best results, let it cool down before you cut. Also, I like to keep mine refrigerated for best taste. 

Lemon Poppyseed Muffins + Homemade Flour Mix!

My weekend was extremely epic! My family are huge Flyers fans, so although it was an awesome weekend since they're up 3-0 vs. the Penguins, it was stressful at best! And on top of that, my mom came to penn state to celebrate game 3! It was so nice to see my mom, and Iggy sure enjoyed seeing his grandma :]

The stresses of living continue. When I thought all was well after I was released from my roommate troubles earlier in the semester, I've found myself in a tough situation. I love the girls I'm supposed to live with, but my mom is not too excited about me signed a year lease to live in for four months, and she kinda wants me to consider renting and living on my own again. I think it's a more logical idea- especially since the reason why I was going to move in with these girls is because of my best friend, who just decided she isn't living there anymore "/. And also, these other girls don't know the difficulties of avoiding contamination, so my mom is really trying to encourage me to possibly rent for four months. It'll also be a lot cheaper on me which is always nice.

BUT ANYWAYS, to celebrate the flyers, I made some amazinggg Lemon Poppyseed Muffins. No relation, just really good and wanted to make something for my mom :] I adapted the recipe from a book by Richard J. Coppedge called "Gluten-Free Baking with The Culinary Institute of America". Indeed, it's a book by a professor at the CIA. However, the book is not vegan, so I made some accommodations to the recipe in the book. I also made a batch of six- one for each person  plus one for a tester :]

Lemon Poppyseed Muffins

makes 6

3/4cup Gluten Free AP flour or flour blend below!

1/2 teaspoon Baking powder

6 tablespoons Coconut oil (melted)

1/4c + 2tablespoons sugar

a pinch of salt

2 Flax Eggs

1 1/2tablespoons Lemon juice

Zest of a whole lemon

2 tablespoons Poppy seeds

1. Preheat oven to 375 F

2. Line a muffin tin with muffin cups or cooking spray

3. Whisk flour and baking powder together in a medium bowl

4. beat oil, sugar and salt together until the sugar doesn't seem as grainy

5. In another bowl, combine flax eggs and lemon juice and mix. Add to the wet mixture (oil, sugar, salt)

6. Add to the flour and mix until JUST combined (it can be lumpy- you don't want to overmix it!)

7. Add zest and popy seeds and mix until just incorporated, I would say maybe 4-5 folds 

8. Scoop into muffin tin and baking for 20-25 minutes. You'll know when it is ready when the tops are golden brown and they bounce back when you touch the top.

Homemade Flour Blend

adapted from the book I mentioned above

Yield: 4 3/4 cups

1 3/4 cups White rice flour

1 1/4 cups Brown rice flour

3/4 cup Potato starch

1 cup Tapioca starch