Peaceful Sunday

Great day yesterday. Even though we did have to go through some uncomfortable moments visiting our son, we found some peace through the day. The weather was mild, almost springlike so the drive was very nice. We always shoot straight up there to get there on time, it's an hour and a half drive, then we meander home stopping along the way for a walk in the woods and some photos.

 

I didn't cook anything out of the ordinary this week. Put together the staples for the week. We made a large raw vegetable salad together, I made some Au gratin potatoes with cauliflower and rice milk. I made a pot of chili with pinto and black beans. I tried something different in the chili this time, I added cinnamon on a whim. It added another dimension to the flavor. 

I thought it a little weird to include my cake in my blog as I started with a mix. But I only begin with the mix and change it up to be my own. Also, there are many people who can't eat gluten or dairy products and don't know these wonderful products are out there for us to experiment with on our culinary journey to good health.

I made a gluten free, dairy free cake. I started with a gluten free cake mix from Bob's Red Mill. I used egg replacer and rice milk in place of the dairy items on the ingredient list. I frosted it with an Orange glaze which was pretty simple and very flavorful.

1/3 cup non-dairy milk (I used almond milk)

1/3 cup evaporated cane juice (I used turbinado)

1 whole orange

1/4 cup dissolved Agar powder

I blended the first three ingredients and then put them in a small sauce pan to heat up and melt the sugar. I got it just to a slight boil and then let it simmer about 2 minutes. In another small saucepan I heated a cup of water to boiling and added 1/2 TB  Agar powder. Agar is a natural gelatin made from seaweed. It is pretty effective so a little goes a long way. When the Agar mixutre is smooth, melted and getting a little thick remove it from the heat and combine with the orange mixture. Let it cool a bit and then spread on the cake. It will thicken as it cools. This was a very rich chocolate cake, made with garbanzo bean flour it also a fair source of fiber and protein.

 The garden is beginning to look like a garden. I lost a few pepper plants overnight. I think I may have over or under watered. We still have quite a few, but the Tennessee Cheese peppers may need replanting. I am having great success with many others. Just like everything else, this is a learning process. It is bringing me some peace and joy!

 

Don't think I have ever planted Oregano before from seed. I can't believe how tiny the seeds are. They were inside an envelope inside the seed packet.