German Apple Cake

This is my new favorite dessert.

German Apple Cake

2 eggs
1 cup oil
2 cups sugar
2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. salt
1 Tbls. vanilla
4 cups apples, peeled, cored & diced (about 4 large)

Frosting:
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
3 Tbls. butter, softened
1 3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

Beat egg and oil for a couple minutes, add dry ingredients, mix well. Add apples and vanilla, mix until well blended. Pour into a greased 9x13. Bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes.
Frosting:
Beat cream cheese and butter until fluffy, add powdered sugar and vanilla. Spread over cooled cake.

Things I Have Learned

It has been just over a week since I went on the wheat free and soy free diet with Noah. Coming up with meals has sometimes been so hard that it made my head hurt. But I have learned a few things in this short time.

* Brown Rice pasta tastes pretty good, but isn't as pretty as semolina.
* Wheat free/Soy free bread is hard and dry. Not bad for french toast, but not a great sandwich.
* Trader Joe's is the place to get your brown rice pasta. They also carry a rice cracker that works for us.
* There are many choices for cereal: Cap'n Crunch, Fruity Pebbles, Trix, Honeycomb are just a few. There are not many "healthy" options. There were times when I have been tempted to just go to the all cereal diet. It would be much easier.
* Having a child with food allergies is not the cheapest way to go.
* Wheat free/Soy free does not mean low fat.
* You can get sick of mexican themed food, when all you can eat is corn tortillas.
* Tomato soup has flour in it. As do cream soups and onion soup mix.
* Many chilis have flour in them.
* Soy sauce has wheat in it.
* I lasted a week before really craving a cupcake, cookie or slice of pizza.

I bought a couple of cookbooks this weekend and will be experimenting with some of the recipes this week. We will be introducing soy into the diet starting Friday. Seems as though that list is shorter than wheat's. Feel free to suggest any recipes or foods that you love that are wheat and soy free!!!

Parmesan Ham Pasta

This picture really doesn't do this dish justice. I think that brown rice pasta isn't as pretty as semolina pasta. But thankfully the flavor is good. This recipe is a family favorite that I adapted to fit Noah's needs. When Anna was little, she loved this so much we named this Annaham'n'noodles. Once again the kids had multiple servings. And Noah has had salad two days in a row. Parmesan Ham & Noodles

1/4 cup butter
1 cup whipping cream
1 cup Parmesan cheese
garlic salt & pepper
ham
about 8 cups pasta ( I used brown rice fusili)

Bring water to a boil, add pasta.
Melt butter, add cream. Bring to a boil and boil 2 minutes. Add Parmesan cheese, garlic salt, pepper and ham. When pasta is done, add to sauce and toss.

This is super fast. It is done as soon as the pasta is.

Buckwheat Pancakes

Even though it says Buckwheat, these are wheat free and soy free. We tried them first without blueberries and preferred them with blueberries. Noah had 5 pancakes, Isaac had 3 and both Abby and Anna had 2. Kevin said he liked them better than plain pancakes. Buckwheat Blueberry Pancakes

1 cup buckwheat flour
1 1/2 cups Bob's All Purpose Flour (wheat free, soy free)
3 T sugar
1/2 t baking powder
2 1/2 t baking soda
1/4 t xanthan gum
1/4 t salt
1 T butter, melted
2 t vanilla
2 cups buttermilk
up to 1 cup milk
1 egg
Mix dry ingredients. Blend wet ingredients, reserving 1 cup milk. Combine wet ingredients to dry ingredients, adding reserved milk until desired consistency.

Wheat Free Dessert

This is what we had for dessert tonight. The brownies came from Trader Joe's--wheat free, gluten free and dairy free. They were extremely rich. I added chocolate chips, but the chocolate flavor was so good, they were just a pleasant addition. Served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, it was yummy!!! For dinner we had turkey burgers--animal style, as friends call them. Noah even ate his lettuce. I thought that without a bun, you could actually taste the meat much better.

The kids loved the mac & cheese so much that the 9x13 was gone by the end of lunch. I made another one today so Kevin could have some leftovers for next week and fixing something for Noah's lunch would be quick, easy and not take much thought. I used the brown rice pasta this time and of course we had to do the taste test. Nobody could say that they liked the brown rice or quinoa pasta more. We found brown rice noodles at Trader Joe's at much more reasonable rates. So we will probably eat more of the brown rice pasta. The one nice thing about the quinoa is that is is a complete protein in and of itself and has great nutritional qualities. So on a meatless dinner day, I will probably opt for quinoa.

Cooking Wheat Free and Soy Free

We have just begun our 2 week completely wheat and soy free diet. Because I feel that diets work better with support, I am joining Noah in going completely free for the next 2 weeks. Then slowly I can start introducing wheat into his diet. When we figure out how much he can handle on a daily basis, we will do the same thing with soy. It's definitely going to be a challenge. But I have already found a wheat flour substitute to use as a thickening agent. White Rice Flour. I made the Creamy Ham topping ( see January posting for recipe) for baked potatoes last night and we couldn't tell the difference. Tonight I made Macaroni & Cheese with Quinoa noodles and used rice flour in the cheese sauce. We haven't eaten baked yet, but the taste before it went into the oven were yummy. I have decided one good thing to come from this will be that it will sever my dependence on processed flour. Not to mention forcing us to quit our fast food addiction. It will be interesting to see how we feel at the end of 2 weeks and what I will be craving.

The kids loved this so much they had seconds and thirds. We couldn't tell a difference. These are the muffins. The texture was different from what we are used to. It is a much more dense bread, but the flavor was good.

And they were chock full of fresh blueberries. That helped.The all purpose flour that I used was from Bob's Red Mill and it gives me hope for pizza, cookies and other yummy things we were taking for granted.

Chocolate Eclair Torte

Quick and easy. Totally tasty!! Way better than ones with graham crackers.

Chocolate Eclair Torte

1 cup water
1/2 cup butter (no substitutions)
1/4 t. salt
1 cup flour
4 eggs
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
2 sm. packages instant vanilla pudding
3 cups cold milk
whipping cream or Cool Whip

Bring water, butter and salt to a boil. Add flour all at once and stir until smooth ball forms. Remove from heat, set aside 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each one. Spread into greaded 9x13, bake at 400 degrees 30-35 minutes. Cool completely. Mix cream cheese, pudding and milk until smooth. Spread over pastry, top with whipped cream. Drizzle with chocolate syrup, if desired. Store in fridge.

Recipes of the Week

I'm a little late in posting this, my mother was in town. I am hosting a dessert night at my house next week (for a select few of my friends here in Eugene). On that thought, I want dessert recipes!!!


Orange Sauce for Angel Food Cake (this is soooo good and low in WWpoints)

2 cups water
3/4 cup orange juice concentrate
1 sm. package instant vanilla pudding
1 cup whipping cream

1 angel food cake

Whip cream. Combine water, o.j. and pudding. Beat on low until and then high for 2 minutes. Fold in whipped cream. Spoon over cake. Yummmmm!!!!!!