Fresh Lime, Please

Here's a tip, lovely readers.

Lime juice has natural deodorant properties. So, when you're out for a lunch meeting, or a date, or having a few friends over, add a wedge of lime or the equivalent amount of juice to your water glass and take your subtle time swallowing. Swish it around, if no one's watching. It kills the stank. Not that you have a stank, sweet reader, this is just a general tip for life. "It kills the stank" is just fact. I've had it happen in my own mouth countless times, when I wasn't even trying.
Add the lime juice to your breath-freshening regimen: you can thank me later when you don't have morning, smoke, garlic, onion or coffee breath as you go in, or better yet, someone comes in, for a kiss. Keep it fresh out there people.

Lemon juice, sadly, does not offer the same perks in breath-freshening, but is better than water alone, and will calm a raging heartburn attack right down. No antacids needed. Besides, when you're on a date, or trying to look professional over contracts and salads, you don't want to go digging around for mints or pills or show signs of any trouble. Ordering a glass of water with lime from the nice waiter or waitress dying to help you is both nonchalant and responsible (i.e.: you’re not chugging gin) and ultimately gives you fresh breath (what a bonus!) that does not appear to be your initial goal. Besides, if you have to be talking, you'll need water just to keep your mouth moving anyway. Everyone drinks water now, all of the time. Apparently, we’re all crossing a desert together. Someone let me know when we get to the other side. I’m tired of carrying these bottles around.

Lastly, in keeping with the established current theme of the blog, it's yummy. Water with lime juice, especially when that lime juice is freshly squeezed, is yummy.

Yeah, I said it. Someone had to.

If you want to up the yum-factor, dear readers, add a slice of cucumber to your glass as well. Quite refreshing. Cucumber slices alone are also very yummy. I like to make a pitcher of water with cucumber and lime slices to keep in the fridge next to the iced-tea. It’s a nice pamper-yourself-anytime treat. If it’s good enough for spa lounges, it’s good enough.

Happy hydrating, readers. Thanks for the support!

Free The Brownies!

So, I made the brownies. Betty Crocker Gluten Free Brownies, for those just joining us.

Again, everything started out well. The batter looked as it should.

They have mini-chocolate chips already in the mix, but I threw in more anyway, because, well, it's chocolate; there can't really be too much of it. I didn't really measure, but I took this shot of the chips added, so you can get the idea.

Out of the oven and cooled for at least 15 minutes, they are tasty and thick, chocolatey and moist. They look like brownies, they taste like brownies.
The timing directions are right on, so follow them and just watch your own batch.

At first, they are fine, but they don't keep well, so if you're going to make these, be sure it's for immediate consumption (or soon thereafter).

Overall, I'll give them 7 stars. Regular brownies stay fresh far longer than these and taste better, so that's a con or two. They are tastier than the cookies though, so that's a pro for the BC GF line. I suppose I expected more from a company that has been around so long creating baking mixes as they have. It seems like they rushed them to the shelf when they discovered the market (late, I might add, and with only four options?). I really had hoped for more.

There's still the cake to try yet. Here's hoping!

Free To Be Mainstream

Looky, looky!
I found a mainstream label making gluten free desserts. In a mainstream grocery store, no less!

Betty Crocker, purveyor of many a boxed dessert kit, offers three selections for our gluten free sugar intake: chocolate chip cookies, chocolate cake and chocolate brownies. Clearly, the lesson here is that if you take away wheat, you'd better add (or at least leave in) the chocolate. That does seem rather obvious though, if given much thought.  {Note: Apparently, there are four. A yellow cake is also available. On the label it is shown with chocolate frosting, maintaining my point.}

So far I've only tried the cookie mix. So far I'm not impressed.

It started out well. The dough looked like it should.

It formed nicely into balls for baking.

But then...something went wrong. I'm not sure what, I'm not sure when, but I'm fairly certain where: the oven.

They did look fairly normal, as compared to other cookies, but in spite of my extra effort, (I beat the egg to fluff it up, like you would cake batter), they came out FLAT (like the world before Columbus set sail) and way too crispy for my personal taste. I enjoy a thick, chewy cookie experience. 'Thin" is reserved mostly for pizza crust in this house. (And fantasies of my ass. My fantastic ass is always thin.) That said, they are not distasteful. By that I mean, while I would not call them 'yummy', I can see where someone else might. The flavor was familiar, yet lacking, like a chocolate chip cookie's anorexic cousin. I cannot, in good conscience, blame this on the gluten freeness or overall quality of the product, however, as my neighbor has warned me that cookie baking at a mile above sea level does not yield favorable results. I'm here to say to you that my neighbor is correct.

While it is sad that the cookies did not turn out spectacularly for me, I do not want to discourage people at lower altitudes from trying them. Quite the contrary, I'd love to hear from those of you who do get them to resemble actual cookies in taste, texture and/or appearance. So far I've only got points for appearance.

So, though these cookies only get three stars from me, I'm still giving props to Betty C for giving it a try where others have not bothered at all and looking forward to the brownies I plan on baking this week. Brownie is my true medium anyway. Don't know why I didn't just start with them.

Details to follow, naturally.

For Your Desserting Pleasure

This post may be very like one I have already written, but I don't feel the need to apologize due to the yumminess of the outcome. You can thank me later.


Since I had such good luck with their muffin mix, I decided to give Authentic Foods Chocolate Cake Mix a go. I love a good cake, but I also love my waistline, so cupcakes are more practical (I'm nothing if not practical), because I tell myself there are less calories in a cupcake than in a slice of cake. This may be true, but it's not really important. What's important is that I believe it to be true. And cupcakes are WAY easier to bake than a honking two-tier chocolate cake. Who has that kind of time?! I have a blog to write, for crissakes.


I chose to use the same timing method I employed with the earlier muffins, so I paid attention to them; I watched the time. I watched the tops. I got a clean knife at testing and pulled them out of the oven at somewhere between 19 and 20 minutes. (The directions recommended 30. I would not.)
I despise overdone cakelike treats. Burn does not taste delicious on dessert. Trust me on this. I was the kid who did not light her s'mores marshmallows on fire at camp. I lit other stuff on fire, but never, ever dessert.

The texture of the finished product is fabulous. Light, fluffy, cakey. Just like chocolate cake should be, which, as I have indicated in the past, is not what's up with every product out there. Even different products within the same line can dissapoint. One item will be great, another not so much. Those of us who choose or have thrust upon us a gluten-free diet have long lamented the loss of great cake. I enjoy baking my own and dressing them up myself, so a good packaged mix is wonderful to find. This line has so far proven to be good stuff. The consistency is perfect. I didn't even bother to frost/ice/slather them with buttery sugar. I did add mini dark chocolate Toblerone candy bars. Not enough though. Should have used more.

I plan to add chocolate chips or "chunks" next time. Good ole' next time.

These cupcakes taste like chocolate cake (not brownies, torte, or flourless cake) and are muy fabuloso. And yummy. I'm thinking they will be perfect in the ice cream sundae I plan to make of one or two of them tomorrow. Must get to the store for chocolate syrup.

Once again, I do not have any affiliation with the company. If they want to send me more products to test in my mile-high kitchen, I'm happy to help. We all do what we can in these trying times.

Overall, I'd give it 8 out of 10 stars (a new rating system I'm trying out).

Without the added chocolate, it is a bit dry, so icing, frosting or slathering on sugary butter may help with that. Ice cream will certainly take care of it. Or Cool-Whip.

Of course, I prefer the chocolate injection/addition/enhancement. But then, don't we all?

Futility

Ever have one of those days when you really want to blog, but nothing comes to you?
One of those days when you just can't do it (insert your 'it' here)?

There's no shame in it. Carry on the next day. Maybe you just needed a break.

Fantastic, short and oh, so sweet.

For anyone with gluten sensitivity, these chocolate chip muffins are muy delicioso! Haven’t tried egg substitute in them, but butter was yummy in place of oil. Enjoy!

NOTE: 18-20 minutes baking time is perfect. Package says 20-25 min, but I would not advise that, based on my experience.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I’m more surprised than anyone that my first few posts are about food. I’m not trying to write a food blog. Trust me on this.

It just so happens that family is visiting and when WRITS (Women Raised In The South) get together, no matter where they may currently reside, and, especially if they are kin, cooking and/or baking is bound to follow. Butter will be used, recipes will be swapped. That’s just the way it is. Don’t get in the way.

Today we wanted chocolate in cake form. I whipped up these muffins I had in the back of the pantry and was surprised by how good they were. I have come to expect mediocrity from gluten-free baked goods. These are yummy. They have made it onto The List.*

*I make notes of foods I discover that are worth having again. I sometimes share my findings with others. I'm nice like that.

Thanks for reading, Others!

Stop by again and try the muffins.

Fleeting: Testing the Mobile Uplink

Testing the mobile blog link.
This is only a test.

And, it worked. Nice.
Now I can blog from anywhere, anytime.
You have been warned.

First Filing!

This is it.

After much prodding from those who think I can and should, I have finally conceded and created a blog space for myself. You're welcome, World. Sorry to have kept you waiting.

As for what shall be contained within this space, I have been told I have much to offer in the way of helpful organizational hints and pet-rearing tips. This is true, but if I try to limit myself to only these topics, I'll get bored, so there will be more. How many more? Let's not get into that now. We'll count later.

I'll lead off with a popular snacking process, or trick, I use frequently.
The first time I did this was for a party at which I did not wish for my guests to get sick. I'm nice like that. Since then, I use it all the time and am profoundly happy with the results. I'm not bragging here, I'm just being honest.

Most everyone is familiar with the snack, Chips and Dip. You can eat whatever you want, but I'm partial to Ruffles Low-Fat Potato Chips. They are crispy without being brittle, allowing them to glide smoothly through the dip without breaking. I find this quality invaluable in a chip. The fact that they are low-fat helps with the overall calorie count, since I refuse to use low-or-no-fat sour cream in my dip. That's how I roll. A girl has to have her standards.

My creme of choice is Daisy Regular Sour Cream. Daisy does make a low-fat version that is not horrible. I use it in my stroganoff and it yields fabulous results, but it's not good enough for my dip. I'm not judging, I'm just stating facts here.
Normally I make my own creative blend, but when I need dip quick I use Hidden Valley Ranch Mix. It has a nice flavor and satisfies the craving, but it MUST BE KEPT COLD (this is where the trick comes in). I'm not certain of the exact warming rate of the average sour cream, but whatever it is, it's too fast for me. I can't deal with warm, runny dip of any flavor. Yuck. Ick. Nasty.
So, my tricky process is as follows: after the yummy dip has been prepared in a single-size serving bowl (I don't share my chips & dip. I don't have to; you can't make me), I line the bottom of a slightly larger bowl with ice and insert the dip-filled bowl into it, nestled safely on top of the ice. This keeps the dip cold no matter how long I may linger over my snack. I can blog, I can watch a movie, I can do whatever I want for as long as I choose and my dip stays cold. Yeah for me. CAUTION: Do not use too much ice. If your dip bowl is too shallow, as the ice melts water will enter the bowl and that's just WRONG. Be careful out there, people.

Sure, this tip is simple and anyone could have thought of it. That's what makes it super.
Feel free to use this trick whenever you have Chips and Dip. You don't have to think of me or tell anyone where you got the idea. I won't mind. I'm nice like that.