Yellow Cake With Chocolate Frosting.. It's Gluten Free, Easy, and Delicious!

 

My family knows the importance of the words "yellow cake with chocolate frosting!"  Every celebration featured that exact treat as THE center of attention.  That is until I was diagnosed with Celiac disease.  Then the YCWCF love was stifled a touch.  But with "Christmas In May" (as my papa calls it because my mama, grandma, sister, and I all have birthdays in May... it's an expensive month for papa!) right around the corner I decided it was time to bust out this recipe and perfect it.

 

Lucky for me this recipe is already gluten free, and easily converted to dairy free too.  My parents had a local cake lady (shout out to Wanda Cakes!) make this exact cake for me for my 21st birthday party (that was soooo long ago!...I'm going on 27!...yikes!) and it was AMAZING.  Of course she has her special touch and noone could even tell it was gluten free.... even in an age that wasn't so gf friendly (before Kim K and a bunch of other celebs tried to jump on the bandwagon and before celiac disease pretty much started attempting to rule our population).  I'm telling you it was so good that I almost cried!  Of course that was the first time I had had cake in two years so it was a pretty emotional experience.  I had never attempted this recipe myself.. and I was pretty sure it wasn't going to live up to Wanda's... but you never know until you try.

Gluten Free Yellow Cake

 

1 1/2 cups white rice flour 3/4 cup tapioca flour 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon baking soda 3 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon xanthan gum

4 eggs 1 1/4 cups white sugar 2/3 cup mayonnaise 1 cup (almond or coconut) milk 2 teaspoons gluten-free vanilla extract

 

1.	Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and rice flour two 8 or 9 inch round cake pans.
2.	Sift the white rice flour, tapioca flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder and xanthan gum together and set aside.
3.	Mix the eggs, sugar, and mayonnaise until fluffy. Add the flour mixture, milk and vanilla and mix well. Spread batter into the prepared pans.
4.	Bake at 350 degrees F for 25 minutes. Cakes are done when they spring back when lightly touched or when a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Let cool completely then frost, if desired. As for the frosting.... there is really no recipe.... Grandma taught me!  You dump a bunch of powdered sugar in a bowl, add some butter (pretend butter in my case), vanilla, cocoa poweder, and (almond) milk.  You know just a dab of this and a pinch of that... Grandma style!  Keep tasting and mixing until you get it just right.  And then if it is just right you better keep tasting just to make sure! :)  Grandma used to make extra frosting and save some in a bowl for me to snack on... some of my favorite childhood memories!  Slather that Grandma frosting all over your cake (don't be chinsy... make it thick!), add some sprinkles, and you are ready to celebrate any occasion.  Enjoy!  I sure enjoyed mine!

Here is one of the May Birthday Girls! 

She is going to be 91 on the 6th!

She makes the BEST chocolate frosting!

I'm A Catholic & A Celiac... And I Want Communion Too!

Well, I guess I'm dead inside then!  I don't like to believe that I don't have life within me.... I don't think God wants me to believe that either. However the Catholic church is making it unnecessarily difficult for me to "have life within" me.... And sadly it is pulling me farther and farther away from the faith that I thought my whole life was based around.

I admit, I used to cheat my Celiac disease. I cheated every single time I walked up to the alter. I knew all along it wasn't good for me, but I couldn't stand the thought of not receiving Communion. I told myself that God gave me this disease and he wouldn't punish me for participating in my faith. But I started having more health issues and realized I was looking at it backwards. God did give me this disease, and he wasn't going to punish me for taking care of myself.

So I quit cold turkey. No communion for me.... and I absolutely hated it! Despite my best effort to feel and think otherwise I still struggled with the fact that I was feeling guilty and unholy. I couldn't participate at mass in the only way I knew... the way that had been drilled into my brain since I first stepped foot in Catholic school at age five. I felt left out and judged. I found myself dreading going to church because I didn't want to face those feeling. I found my mind wandering while I was in church because I didn't feel the need to focus on something that I couldn't partake in. For the first time in my entire life I found myself flat out losing my faith... And it was depressing me.

I shared my thoughts and feelings with my husband and family. They all made efforts to make me feel better. But talk all they want, I was not going to feel better about this situation until I could again participate at mass. My mama, who works at the church, talked to the priests about getting gluten free hosts and I started to get some hope back... But then...It. Was. Crushed.

The Vatican apparently has this ridiculous rule that the host must contain a certain percentage of gluten to be used in holy communion. I have many issues with this absurd doctrine.  I have done A LOT of research on this topic, but I will just touch on the big picture here.  I don't want to preach to you, just simply share my personal struggle and thoughts on this issue.

First of all we Catholics believe that priests have the power to consecrate the "bread" into the body of Christ.   That is huge deal... the entire basis of the Catholic religion.  In my opinion, if you are given that kind of power does it really matter what that "bread" is made of? I mean honestly, in retrospect the contents of the "bread" are minuscule when you look at the big picture here. They are taking a substance and turning it into the body of Christ! Does it really matter what that substance is made out of? I really don't think so. 

Can anyone prove with complete certainty that the actual bread Jesus used at the last supper contained wheat?  And even if it did does that really make a difference?  Celiac disease was not a problem at that time... sadly it is now.  The reality is that the church needs to change and evolve to fit the needs of it's current time and members.  I doubt if I showed up to the last supper and told Jesus that I couldn't eat that bread that he would say "well you are shit out of luck then"  Don't think so!

Some may argue that if we truly believe that it is no longer bread, but the body of Christ, does it matter if there is gluten.  You aren't eating gluten... you are eating the body of Christ.  Yes I believe that in my heart and soul, but my intestines are just functioning organs and they sadly can't believe and don't know the difference between the two.  So something had to change.

I pondered whether my faith was what had to change.  Do I need a fresh start, a new religion that will accept gluten free bread more readily?  Other churches have no problem getting gluten free hosts for those that need them.  As I sat crying in the pew while I watched everyone else go up to communion on Palm Sunday I decided that a new faith was most definitely NOT the answer.  That thought was more like the devil tempting me.... well guess what devil.... ain't gonna happen!

The answer is that I need to work for a change.  And what better time for a change than now!  The institution of a New Pope means new ideas, new growth, and new perspectives!  I started with going back to the priest at my parish.  I sent him off to chat with the bishop of our diocese armed with a photograph of some gluten free communion wafers. 

 

He came back and told me to go ahead and order them! I happily started shopping!  Sadly the online store that I found them for sale on warns right on the page that they are not acceptable for Catholic Communion.  So I don't know what to think or feel about this.  Him allowing me to order them and use them is a step in the right direction, but it doesn't fix the entire problem.  The Catholic church is still denying the needs of it's members.  I will chat with him in more detail on this and go back to the drawing board.  We will see what happens from here.  I'll keep you posted.

 

 

Do I have any Catholic Celiac followers out there??  How do you deal with Communion?  There are "low gluten" hosts available... have any of you tried them without problems?  Personally they scare me, and seem to me like they are just a poor excuse for a real solution to the problem (on the part of the Catholic church- I place no blame on the nuns making them). 

 

Don't get me wrong, I am so grateful for the effort that the nuns making them put into it... thank you ladies for being on Team Celiac Catholic!  Those wonderful women are doing everything that the Catholic church is allowing them to do to help us Celiacs, and I am so grateful for that!  Now if we can get some higher up Catholics to think like they do!  I'll say some prayers for a step in the right direction!  Join me will ya?!

 

 

 

 



But I Want A Chocolate Bunny Too!... Gluten Free & Dairy Free Chocolate

I made it happily through Valentine's Day this year... which is a success for multiple reasons... Yay me!  The main issue this year was that I am now completely dairy free.  Chocolates are what  Valentine's day is made of... so what's a girl to do??  Figure it out... that's what!

I found this recipe for Healthy Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge.  It's just five ingredients... that are all gluten and dairy free!  Yay!  I quickly mixed it all up with my hand mixer and poured it into some adorable heart molds.  After licking the bowl, I could hardly wait for them to be solid enouch to remove from the molds.  Once this happened they didn't last long! :)   I'm telling you... these are addicting.  So I didn't allow myself to make anymore! 

The bunny was about to come and as I was picking up stuff for Easter baskets I decided that Easter would not be the same without chocolate bunnies for me too.  I found a silicone bunny mold, and some egg ones too!  So I whipped up another batch of chocolates for Easter.  I shared them with my family and everyone loved them so I figured I should share the recipe with you all too... here it is!



I used this mold.... how cute!

Healthy Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge

Ingredients:

1/2 cup coconut oil (slightly melted, but not hot)

1/2 cup good quality cocoa powder

1/2 cup natural peanut butter

1/4 cup mild raw honey

1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract - I use my vanilla I picked up in Mexico...yum!

Preparation:



Put all ingredients in blender, hand mixer, or food processor.  Mix until everything is smooth and nicely combined. (It will be very liquid-y.) Don’t over-mix.  Pour the liquid fudge into whatever mold you choose, or even muffin tins.  Place in the refrigerator until the fudge has hardened.  That's it... now eat up! Store in the refrigerator. 

So easy and so good!  I'm telling you... the hardest part is waiting for it to harden!

I had the fabulous idea to add some GF Rice Krispies to some of mine and they taste just like a crunch bar.  I also chopped up some almonds in my food processor and made some almond ones too.  Yum!  I wonder what I will think of next....Oh the possibilities!

Hello Products... Seriously Celiac Friendly Oral Care



I was walking through my local Target last week and some new products caught my eye.  They were saying Hello to me too... so cute!! They were in colorful bottles and modern packaging and they advertised themselves as "seriously friendly oral care" and 99% natural.   I thought to myself... Ok, you might have some potential.  Let's see if we can be friends.  So after I quickly scanned the ingredients I emailed them.



Aren't they cute!?!



I recieved a quick friendly response that made me smile... All of the products are gluten free!  They really are friendly, and not just regular ol' friendly, but Celiac friendly!  I can get on board with that!  So I headed back to Target and picked out some new products to make my mouth happy.

They have interesting flavors to choose from and I didn't know where to begin (mojito mint anyone??).  I played it safe and got the mouthwash in sweet cinnamint.  Yum!  They are right you don't want to spit it out.   I want them to make gum so I can taste is all day long!  There is no alcohol so it doesn't burn at all, just leaves your mouth clean and fresh.  The price was also pretty decent too!  Which my husband and wallet love! :)

I'm a mojito girl!  Love them!  It's not officially summer until I have a mojito with fresh mint from my garden.  So I kept thinking about that mint mojito flavor.  I like the cinnamint so much that I just had to try the mojito mint!  I picked up the breath spray.  It's not a mojito, but it's yummy, and completely acceptable for me to indulge in on my lunchbreak from work. ;)

or...

I'll take both please and thank you!!

I told them that they should consider putting gluten free right on the label!  What do you guys think?  Either way know that they are gluten free, and that you will most likely find something you like!

This post made me think about sharing my famous secret mojito recipe with you all...

We will see how I feel about that when summer rolls around....

Penny Su's Birthday!... Corn Dog Casserole and Doggie Ice Cream!

Penny's birthday, or what we call her birthday, is March 12th.  Since we rescued her we don't know her real age or birthday, so we celebrate the day she came into our lives as her birthday.  This March 12th, we will have had her for three years.  The vets thought that she was about one year old when we rescued her so we are saying this is her fourth birthday.  She is growing up too fast!

Y'all know I love to find reasons to celebrate anything and everything and thus have a get together with good food, friends, and family.... so yes I have a birthday party for my dog!  Call me crazy if you want but it's super fun... you should try it!  It is even better being that it is so close to one of my favorite holidays... St. Patricks Day!  So we gather at the Red Roof Inn to celebrate the day that our lives changed for the better by saving another life.. and I absolutely love it!

Let's start with the Corn Dog Casserole... for the humans of course!  Very fitting huh?!

Corn Dog Casserole (from Taste of Home)

2 cups thinly sliced celery

2 tablespoons butter

1-1/2 cups sliced green onions

1-1/2 pounds hot dogs

2 eggs

1-1/2 cups extra creamy almond milk

2 teaspoons rubbed sage

1/4 teaspoon pepper

2 packages (8-1/2 ounces each) corn bread/muffin mix*
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded cheese, divided**

In a small skillet, saute celery in butter for 5 minutes. Add onions; saute for 5 minutes longer or until vegetables are tender. Place in a large bowl; set aside.   Cut hot dogs lengthwise into quarters, then cut into thirds. In the same skillet, saute hot dogs for 5 minutes or until lightly browned; add to vegetables. Set aside 1 cup.   In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, sage and pepper. Add the remaining hot dog mixture. Stir in corn bread mixes. Add 1-1/2 cups of cheese. Spread into a shallow 3-qt. baking dish. Top with reserved hot dog mixture and remaining cheese. Bake, uncovered, at 400° for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Yield: 12 servings.

*I have used Bob's Red Mill corn bread mix to make this, but it comes in larger packages than the standard 8.5 oz packs, and it is not my favorite.  This time I used my own cornbread mix that tastes just like Jiffy.  I'll share the recipe soon... I promise!

**I separated the casserole before I added the cheese.  This way I had one that was dairy free and one regular.  My husband tested them both and said they tasted pretty much the same... so I suppose the cheese isn't needed.

 Of course the birthday girl needs a special treat.... and she loves this Doggie Ice Cream!

Doggie Ice Cream

4 C plain yogurt

1 mashed ripe banana

2 T peanut butter

2 T honey

Mix all of the ingredients in a blender and freeze in ice cube trays... you can be fancy and choose shaped trays! When frozen, microwave for a few seconds, unmold, and place the treats in a plastic bag. Store in the freezer.

The humans definitely need dessert too....

Gluten Free Easy Grasshopper Bars (from Betty Crocker)

 Bars:

1 Box Betty Crocker GF Devil's Food Cake Mix

1/3 C Vegetable Oil

2 T Water

1 Egg

Frosting:

1 Container Betty Crocker Rich & Creamy Cream Cheese Frosting*

1/4 t Mint Extract

4 Drops Green Food Coloring

Glaze:

1 oz Unsweetened Baking Chocolate

1 T DF Butter

Heat oven to 350°F. Spray bottom only of 13x9-inch pan with cooking spray. In large bowl, stir bar ingredients until soft dough forms. Press dough in bottom of pan. Bake 15 minutes. Cool about 10 minutes.  In frosting container, stir in mint extract and food color. Spread over bars. In small microwavable bowl, microwave glaze ingredients uncovered on High 30 seconds; stir until smooth. Drizzle over frosting. Refrigerate 30 minutes or until set. For bars, cut into 6 rows by 6 rows.   Makes 36 bars

* I don't use that frosting... I make my own DF frosting with the mint extract and green color!  It tastes just the same with out all the dairy or icky plastic ingredient list...

Homemade GF Puppy Treats

I just did a post on the importance of gluten free/grain free dog food for all doggies, regardless of whether or not they have issues with gluten.  I explained the reason why this food is so much better for your pet and gave different options for you to choose from if you wanted to jump on the bandwagon.  You can find all that info here.

One other option to improve the diet of your pet is of course to feed your pet real foods.   This is certainly more time consuming and expensive, but definitely worth it if you have the resources.   If I had all the time in the world I would do this more often for Penny Su.  But reality is that I am lucky to have enough time get a nutritous dinner on the table for Mr. Kat and I so that doesn't happen as much as I would like.  But I try.  On Sunday mornings she gets scrambled eggs.  She LOVES carrots, so If I can't do anything else I will at least throw some shredded carrots on top of her food in her dish when she has her dinner. 

Having said that, I need to stress that I wouldn't recommend having your pet survive solely on real foods, because it can be very difficult to ensure that they are getting exactly what they need from their diet.  If you want to go this route completely you have got to know what you are doing.  I cannot stress this enough!  Educate yourself, talk to your vet, read books, just make sure you are not doing more harm than good.  It is easy for dogs to develop nutritional deficiencies because of an improper diet.  Also, there are many foods that dogs can't tolerate that humans can.  Despite your best intentions you could cause a lot of problems. So make sure you have a very, very good understanding of exactly what to do if you plan on going in all the way or just incorporate SOME real meals/foods into their diet and rely on any of the great brands of gluten free/grain free dog foods out there to do the rest.

I like to incorporate real foods into Penny Su's diet my making homemade treats for her.  Her favorites are peanut butter banana, carrot, apple, or pumpkin.  They all smell so good (Mr. Kat may or may not have sampled some of the homemade dog treats)!  She absolutely loves them, and I love the fact that I know exactly what is in them.  I get to reward her with something she loves and I know it is healthy for her.  I found these recipes from various sources (some which I can't remember now... sorry :/)  and changed them around to make them all gf.  I'll share a few of my favorite recipes for her with you. 

Penny's Favorite Carrot Treats

 1 Medium Ripe Banana
1 C Shredded Carrots- Chopped
1/4 C Unsweetened Applesauce
1/8 C Water- more as needed

1 1/2 C GF Oat Flour- plus some for kneading

1 C GF Rolled Oats

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a pan with cooking spray.  In a medium bowl mash bananas with the carrots.  Add water and applesauce and stir.  Add flour and oats.  Stir and knead until dough forms.  Roll to 1/2 in thickness and cut out shapes.  Bake for approximately 25 minutes.  Store in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks or in the freezer for 6 months.

Pumpkin for my Pumpkin

1 egg

1/4 C canned pumpkin

1 T dry milk
1/8 t sea salt
1 1/4 C brown rice flour

Preheat oven to 350.  In large bowl, whisk together eggs and pumpkin until smooth. Stir in dry milk and sea salt.  Add brown rice flour gradually to form a stiff, dry dough. Roll onto a lightly floured surface. Knead more if necessary.  Roll dough between 1/4 – 1/2″ thick and use a cookie cutter to cut out doggie bone shapes. Place bones on an ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake 20 minutes. Remove from oven and carefully turn biscuits over, then bake additional 20 minutes. Allow to cool completely on rack before feeding to your doggie.

Peanut Butter Banana Dog Treats

1 Banana

1 C GF Oat Flour

2/3 C GF Rolled Oats

3 T Peanut Butter

1 Egg- beaten

Preheat oven to 300.  Mash the banana in a large bowl.  Add remaining ingredients and mix well.  Set aside for 5 minutes.  Roll into small balls and flatten into coin shapes.  Place on a greased cookie sheet and bake for 45 minutes until the treats are golden brown and have a firm bottom.  Cool completely and store in the refrigerator.

I hope your furry friends enjoy these treats as much as my Penny Su! :)

Who can resist this face?!? :)

Of course I will give you a treat!

Gluten Free Pets... Why? & How?

I have a really special puppy named Gidget.  I grew up with her since I was in grade school, and we have made a lot of memories.  She never left my mama's side through her struggle and defeat of breast cancer.  She helped me through the depression I struggled with after the psycho came to my school.  How do puppies know how to do that?  They are always there at just the right time, quietly comforting you when you need it most.  We have definitely bonded!

But I never thought we would share such a strong bond or that she would share in one of my struggles in a very different way. You see, my Gidget has Celiac Disease.  Well at least that's what I call it.  The vets call it a gluten allergy, but gluten is gluten, and it destroys both of us just the same.... so I'd say that is a quite a bond to have between a human and a pet. 

Celiacs love to share stories about their diagnosis.  So you may be curious... How did you figure out your dog had Celiac?!  It started with her constantly biting at her feet.... my goodness... it was as if she wanted to chew them off!  She also had A LOT of ear infections, and would scratch at her ears all the time.  She was having digestive issues as well, and our puppy who was usually so good and pottying  where she was supposed to was having accidents.  We never really considered the possiblity, or the coincidence, that she would have celiac!  But when the vet said to try a gluten free diet and see if it helped, I just knew that it would..... and it did!

Now she is a healthy almost 17 year old puppy!  She can't hear well, and can't see out of one eye because her sister scratched it when they were playing, but other than that the vet says that she is extremely healthy for her old age!  Yay Gidget!!  We are all so proud of you!

Me and my girls on our wedding day!

I'm sure that she wouldn't be fairing so well had we not figured out that she had Celiac... like so many others that struggle with this disease that can be such a pain in the you know what to diagnose.  But as many of you know... once you recieve that diagnosis and get over the shock of a complete life overhaul, you feel one million times better!  And that was our Gidgey girl!  Once we switched her treats and food she was acting like she was a puppy again, and still does to this day... even at 17!  So it is something to think about if your pets are having symptoms that resemble your own, or symptoms that just seem to want to hang around.  I know it made a world of difference for our Gidget, and it really isn't that difficult to ensure that your pets are gluten free.  My parents ensure that both of their girls are all gluten free, and my Penny Su is also GF, just for the simple fact that it is better for her, and then I don't need to handle unneccessary gluten when caring for her.

It is more expensive to go this route when it comes to caring for you pet.  You do get what you pay for when it comes to dog food, but I feel that it is more than worth it, and here's why... Dogs are carnivors so grains aren't a part of their natural diet, and their simple digestive systems aren't designed to deal with the grains that make up typical dog foods.  This means that regardless of whether or not your pet has issues with gluten it is much better for their digestive system and overall health to be fed a grain free, or at least gluten free diet.  I could go into a whole big scientific explanation, but I'm sure you don't really want that so we will keep this short and sweet.  Bottom line is that today most pet foods on the market are made up mostly of grains or carbs.  When you take all those fillers out there is much more room for real proteins, fats, and just more vitamins and nutrients!  So when you go grain free you end up getting nutrient packed food that is actually easy for them to digest and absorb all the good stuff in it.  Otherwise you are feeding them a bunch of carbs that are hard to digest and all it is doing is making it really difficult for them to absorb the little bit of good stuff that does make it into the food.  Sounds like a no brainer to me!  I know my girls are all definitely worth the extra money!


 

Penny and I both sleep better knowing that she is GF!

You are probably wondering what choices you have and what we feed our girls.  There are a lot of options out there for gluten free pet foods, and also completely grain free foods. Same goes for treats. Here are a few of our favorites....

 

BLUE FREEDOM:  This is completely grain free!  They have wet and dry choices for both dogs and cats.  Penny is currently loving the formula for small breed adult dogs.

BLUE BUFFALO WILDERNESS:  Another completely grain free food from Blue for both dogs and cats.  They line also has some options for treats.

Taste Of The Wild:  They offer a lot of flavors of grain free foods, I'm sure you can find at least one your pet will love.

EVO:  They offer different flavors for different life stages that are all grain free.


There are A LOT more options out there depending on what your pet likes and what your wallet allows!  These are just some of the ones that we have tried and our girls have approved of!  Stay tuned to learn about what kind of treats our girls get!