In the light

This morning God. 

There was going to be a sentence on the end of that but it just looked better on it's own. This morning God. That's pretty much it. I feel as if I'm standing in front of a tree in which lovers initials have been carved. Observing a place where someone's love left it's mark, making an ordinary tree into a sacred spot that says "we were here, and we felt deeply in this spot and moment." God carved my name and his into this morning, and it became a place to be remembered. He told me to seek out the light, to look at it differently when it hit things. To find it, and sit in it. To remember that his presence is as warm and real as light on my skin, on my journal pages, on my coffee. 

So I found the light. 

And I found God.

Can I sit for awhile, under Your smile, and not say a word? 

Cause the cry of my hear is to be set apart, and I know You've heard.

I will trust, and believe that You've washed me clean, and I'm pleasing You.

Could I sit at Your feet, feel Your gaze upon me, as I trust Your near? Tears fill my eyes as I realize that You're wanting me.

I don't want to be anywhere else than by Your side. 

I don't want to be anything less than pure in Your eyes. 

Happily Stuck

Saturday's are supposed to be quiet, still, and happy. But they are even better when you wake up and there's snow coating them. In Kentucky people think the world might end in the event of three inches, but I know they are secretly dazzled by it just as I am. Why is it so exciting to be stuck somewhere when it snows? Like there is a community around you just waiting to band together as soon as snow tragedy strikes. This might be in my imagination. No matter, my band of brothers just happened to be eggs, and almond flour, and ginger this morning, and we weathered the storm together, coming out on the other side with biscuits, and jam. Because I have loved ones in the midst of the "Makers Diet" I made these grainless, dairyless, and sugarless. Surprise. 

Grape and Ginger Jam (adapted from lovefoodeat)

5 cups of cleaned grapes

1/2 cup raw honey

2 inch piece of fresh ginger

Clean and wash your grapes well. Combine the grapes, crushed ginger and sugar in a saucepan and slowly bring it to a boil till the sugar completely dissolves. Reduce the flame and let it simmer for 8 to 10 minutes til the fruits start to disintegrate. Turn off the flame and let the mixture cool down a little.
Sieve the mixture to get rid of all the seeds and the skin. Press as much of the pulp of the fruits as possible with the back of your spoon to get all the juices of of the fruit.
Place the thick fruit juice/pulp back on the stove and let it simmer slowly. I simmered mine for more than 30 minutes to get to the desired consistency. You can stop when you think your jam is thick enough. Remember it’ll thicken further as it cools.
Store it in an airtight bottle.

Simple Biscuits (grain free)- Adapted from realsustinance

2 packed cups Blanched Almond Flour
1/2 Cup Arrowroot starch
1/2 Tsp. Salt
1/2-3/4 Tsp Baking Soda 
1/2 Cup Coconut Butter 
2 Large Eggs
3/4 Tsp Lemon Juice. 

 Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a bowl combine the Almond Flour, Starch, Salt and Baking Soda.. Cut the coconut butter into the flour until it is about the size of a pea. In a separate small bowl whisk together the eggs and lemon juice. Pour mixture in with the flour and mix just briefly and gently until the dough comes together. It will feel a little wet. 

Dust a sheet of parchment, or your counter with additional starch. Gently pat the dough into a round and cut into 6-8 biscuits using a biscuit cutter or the top of a round glass. Use as much starch as needed to prevent sticking. Bake for 18 minutes.

P.S. These are especially lovely with coffee and frosted windows.

*Embarrassing disclaimer: due to the fact that I was on the phone with a friend when these came out of the oven I did something I'm not sure I'm proud of. I couldn't balance the knife and biscuit properly while holding the phone, so after pondering it for a very short second, I dove my hand into the jam and proceeded to spread it on my biscuit with my fingers like a small bear. or any other animal you would now like to insert here.

Loosing Beauty

I have been inundated with well spoken words lately. Words on beauty, and tears, and old coming from the new. Words about listening, and words about letting love change things.
There is a purpose rising around me. I see it in the way people create and enjoy... as if they are just now discovering a meaning to their enjoyment. And there is one. Can you imagine how our hearts might relate to God's if people found God in finger painting? Or if they learned to worship through music that wasn't about God, but music that simply soared to Him anyway?
We have lost our sense of Eden, when all that was good and green was filled with God, and it didn't have to be branded by a church, or endorsed with the word "holy."

I think it might be coming back though. I think God wants to teach us how to shine, but how will we do that within a hard casing of "this is the only way" mentality, and promises to not look undignified? If God is THE Creator, then wouldn't he be present in our process of creating as well? And even more importantly, would a creative God set boundaries in how, and where we experience Him? I don't think He would, or does. I can see God loosing His beauty on our hearts so as to open and change them, and I see people responding!
Individuals leaning back on the Beloved in small, mundane ways.
Learning to enjoy Him, because solemn does not mean devoted.
Enjoying when they take a bite.
Enjoying when they get dirt under their fingernails.
Enjoying when they hum.
Returning to the place where they are made holy simply by delighting in Him.

And you had better believe that makes Him happy.

I made you cause I couldn't sleep...

I couldn't sleep... so I got up with the morning. Most times I end up in the kitchen because 1. morning light looks a lot more lovely on apples than any other. And 2. I'm hungry.

I made this.

Chocolate and Hazelnut Porridge with Sauteed 

Apples (Grain,Gluten,Dairy,Egg free.) 

1/4 cup chopped hazelnuts

1/4 cup pecan meal

2 Tbs coconut butter, melted

1 tsp lemon zest

Combine these three and press into the bottom of a small tart or pie pan. 

1/2 cup coconut flour

1/4 cup cocoa powder

2 Tbs unsweetened applesauce

1/2 cup almond milk 

1 Tbs honey

 Combine these and spread over nut mixture in pan. If it's a little too thick you can add more almond milk. 

Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes. 

Meanwhile....

2 Apples

1 Tbs cinnamon 

1 tsp arrowroot flour

juice from one half of a lemon

1 Tbs almond milk 

Saute in a small sauce pan until they thicken and pour over finished porridge. 

My camera has cocoa powder all over it...

Doughnuts for the outcasts

For those of us that can't have grain, gluten, or whatever else makes you an outsider... we know the importance of FINALLY getting to take a bite of something "forbidden." Thus, I have concocted a recipe for doughnuts... for us outcasts. And they are sooooooo good.

Chocolate Coconut Cake Doughnuts  (grain, dairy, and refined sugar free.)Adapted from Roost.

11/4 cup almond flour

1/4 cup coconut flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp sea salt

1/4 cup coconut oil, melted and cooled

3 eggs

2 Tbs honey

1/4 cup coconut milk

Combine the dry ingredients in one bowl, and wet in another. Pour dry ingredients into a blender, add wet, and then blend until smooth. Grease a doughnut pan with coconut oil and fill each about 3/4 of the way full. Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes. They should spring back when you touch them.



Chocolate Icing (sugar and dairy free!)

3/4 cup pitted Medjool dates
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/4 cup sustainable organic palm oil shortening or coconut butter
1/3 – 1/2 cup water 

Add all of the ingredients to a high-speed blender, start with just 1/3 cup of water, you can always add more. Let everything sit for a few minutes, especially if your dates are very firm. Blend everything together at a high speed. Continue blending long enough to get a smooth, velvety consistency, this may take 5 minutes or more.

Mexican Hot Chocolate Doughnuts

same batter recipe, only instead of icing, I fried them for a few minutes on each side in coconut oil and then dusted them with a mixture of coconut sugar, cinnamon, and ancho chili powder. 

Snow (warning: this has nothing to do with food, sorry)

We finally got ourselves some snow... a big fat lot of it... for Kentucky that is. My day was "supposed" to be not so great, but snow has a way of making everything better. My car is deciding to fall apart and I had to drive it out along the winding back roads to the shop, sliding and spinning the whole way. God turned things all white and sparkly so that my terrifying drive could be less so... He thinks of everything. Of course I brought my camera...

"Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem!

Praise your God, O Zion!...

He gives snow like wool."

"He scatters the frost like ashes.

He casts forth His ice as fragments,"

"Who can stand before His cold?

He sends forth His word and melts them

He causes His wind to blow and the waters to flow."

-Psalm 147:12-18-

Scones and Snow

I was watching Downton Abbey and of course that sent me into a tailspin of needing scones and tea. I formatted a recipe from Poires au Chocolat. I am enraptured with this blog, and you really should just read her whole post on scones. It's magical and you will also learn how to be british and awesome. 

Anyway... it was cold and snow was just beginning to cover the ground outside. I made a pot of earl grey and ate these with clotted cream and raspberry jam. 

This is why I bake. 

I also tried out some new lighting and staging techniques on these photographs. I am in the process of making my own light box, so pics to follow of that endeavour! 

Simple Gluten Free Scones

2 cups almond flour
1/4 cup brown rice flour

2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup double cream
2 Tbs creme fraiche or cream cheese
1/2 cup whole milk
an egg yolk, or a little extra milk, to glaze

Preheat the oven to 350. Lightly grease a small baking tray. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt into a medium mixing bowl. Place the double cream, milk, and creme fraiche into a small bowl and whisk together.

Pour the cream mixture into the flour bowl and fold in very gently with a metal spoon, being careful not to overwork. The dough will be sticky, so dust your hands with a little brown rice flour and shape them however you want. Mine made about 8 large scones. I also like the rustic look so I did some as drop biscuits. Brush each one with a little egg wash.

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden on the top.

These are not what I would call "healthy" per say (even though they are much better than the alternative allergy-wise) but they are scones... soooooooo.