A "Hulking" Xmas to you!
It’s the start of the holiday season and since the media,
businesses and the like have splashed their commercialized, materialistic and
religious versions of the holidays all over the place like Xmas vomit (I know –
sounds horrible doesn’t it?), I won’t do that in my blog. Well, at least I hope I won’t but if I start
to resemble them please feel free to stop me by throwing a snowball at me. Wait! We have no snow at the moment so I
guess there goes that idea! Yep, there
is no snow in this area of Northern Ontario (Manitoulin area) just yet. And because there is no snow yet, I hear
plenty of people complaining that they want the snow as it wouldn’t be Xmas
without it; but that’s BS. Yep, it is!
Xmas without snow happens in many places but it is still
Xmas all the same. Personally, I think
we have stereotyped Xmas to death with idea of snow (and other things) that
people have become fanatics for the white stuff. What gets me is that after the holidays are
over then people are “sooooo” done with the snow and can’t wait until spring;
absurd it is! I tell ya; never a happy
medium around here! But despite all the
craziness that is put upon us during the holiday season, I am not a Grinch just
yet. It may sound like I am and I may
even resemble the Grinch when I am in a line-up at the store/mall/wherever
during the holidays but I am not.
Although I have been known to turn a wee bit green at the idiocy of it
all so perhaps I am the Hulk during this time? Maybe? Come to think of it, it’s
good to be the Hulk during Xmas because the Hulk has muscles that I need to
carry the unusual amount of gifts and groceries to and from the house to the
car that I get conned into getting all in the name of Xmas. There, it is settled; no Grinch here!
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Hey, if I can’t beat them (those
commercialized, materialistic people of the world) I might as well join them as
it allows me to give you a gift under the guise of the Xmas spirit (I would
have given the gift regardless because hey, that is me!) While I cannot buy you
anything fancy or promise you a future filled with many things, I can leave you
with perhaps a chuckle and something to bake that will make you feel all warm
and cozy inside. If it doesn’t, well, I
don’t have an exchange policy so the gift is yours to keep! Ha! Did I say Merry
Xmas and Happy New Year yet? Lol
Ok…so here goes my first recipe. Just before I give you the
recipe I do need to let you in on a secret if you haven’t been following me until
now (whispering starts right now) all my recipes are gluten free and have a
hint of vegan to them. (Whispering ends here just in case you didn’t stop
whispering.) Yes, it is true. Did you
see my disclaimer that you can’t exchange the gifts? You are welcome! Enjoy!
Happy Hanukah, Winter Solstice, Xmas and New Year, Chinese New Year, etc, etc,
etc…..hahahaha
Crunchy Shortbread Cookies
What you need
1 cup of vegan margarine or I like to use coconut oil (not melted)
1 ¼ cups coconut sugar or brown sugar (firmly packed)
1 teaspoon maple syrup or vanilla extract
2 ½ cups of gluten free flour (I use Bob’s Red Mill or my own blend
of ½ cup of arrowroot flour, 1 cup of brown rice flour, ½ cup of potato flour
& ½ cup of teff or buckwheat flour)
1 teaspoon of xanthum gum
Icing Sugar Frosting
2 cups gluten free icing sugar
2 tablespoons vegan margarine or coconut oil
2 tablespoons water
Food coloring
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The low down on how to put it all together
In a large bowl, mix margarine/coconut oil and coconut sugar/brown
sugar until creamy. Add in maple syrup and blend. In a separate bowl, mix the xanthum gum and
the flour mixture. Once this is done,
mix in the dry ingredients with the soft ingredients (sugar mixture) and blend
thoroughly. Form the mixture into a
ball and then wrap in plastic and put in the refrigerator for an hour to chill.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Celsius and grease cookie
sheets. On a lightly floured board, roll
out the dough to ¼ inch thickness. Once
rolled, cut the dough with cookie cutters into the shapes you want the cookies
to be. I like making these cookies
around Xmas and make Santas, stars, nutcrackers and Xmas booties. Place to cookies onto the cookie sheets and
then bake for 35 minutes or until firm and lightly brown. When done, transfer the cookies to racks to
cool and decorate with icing sugar frosting.
When you are done mixing the icing sugar, separate it into 4
bowls and add in the food coloring that you want to make in each bowl. You can paint the cookies using a cheap, new
paintbrush that you dip into the icing color of choice. The kids and even the adults love it! I sometimes decorate it further as the icing
is setting with little cake sparkles that you can get in the baking isle in
your local grocery store.
Raw Brownie (totally to die
for!)
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What you need
Willpower; you need it with this one!
2 cups of whole walnuts (I used
chopped ones)
2 ½ cup of Medjool dates, pitted (If
you can’t find Medjool, then find a date that looks good to you)
1 cup of raw cocoa
1 cup of raw, unsalted almonds that
are roughly chopped
Icing (optional)
1 ripe avocado
5 tablespoons cocoa powder
5 tablespoons raw honey or maple
syrup
A few tablespoons of flaked coconut
or nuts
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The low down on how to put it all together
Place the walnuts in a food processor
and blend on high until the nuts are finely grounded. Then add the cocoa and continue to
blend. Next add the dates one at a
time through the top of the food processor while it is running until you end
up with a mixture that sticks well together.
In a bowl combine the walnut mixture
and almonds. Once mixed, place the
mixture into a cake pan (8x8) and add the icing before placing in the freezer
until ready to serve. Cut into pieces
while frozen and share with you best buddy or not! I think the brownie tastes good with and
without icing, but you can be the judge of that.
This recipe was adapted from Sarah
Britton (My New Roots). And while my sister Sandy didn’t “love” this brownie,
she didn’t hate it either! I
personally loved it as there is no flour in it or lots of sugar; just love!
hahaha
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