Friday, October 12, 2012

GIVEAWAY: From Our Family to Yours

It's been a tradition around here to give away an album that my husband is apart of when it releases.  In keeping with this tradition, I offer you a chance to win a copy of For the Sake of the World DVD/CD set.
It might be a strange giveaway for this kind of blog, but this project and our family are woven together through joy, hard work, sacrifice, and relationship.  Versions-in-progress of many of these songs were played over and over again during our nightly family devotions.  When an idea would come, everything paused as Jeremy worked out a new detail of the song.  The children and I listened to daddy work on this album almost daily for the last year.  Our homestead is even captured at the end of the "extras" feature on the DVD.  I won't give it all away, but Jeremy has a moment playing matador with Shamrock the ram and Jer may or may not refer to himself as "daddy" to our woolen monster.

This isn't just a nuclear family project, but our friends involved with it are family.  Brian and Jenn were the first to bring us a dinner (along with several adorable baby outfits) when Joseph was born.  We spent our favorite Fourth of July ever camping out with Leah (BJVs) and her family.  When Jeremy was recently away on a two-week trip, William, Graham (percussion), and Graham's sweet sister came over to keep us company and even help clean the house.


We are so thankful for our church family and I am very happy to offer the fruit of our labor to you.

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Thursday, October 11, 2012

Gluten-Free, Grain-Free Chocolate Red Velvet Cake with Buttermilk Frosting ~ A Recipe



The holidays are coming!  And that means lots of red food dye!  
Wait.
If you know me, you know I love to get all festive-like.  However, I must draw the line at artificial food coloring (stay tuned for a post on natural food dyes next week).  Guess what?  When it comes to coloring food red and keeping things real, you can have your gluten-free cake and eat it, too.  This is when I pull out my red food coloring of choice: the beet.  You beetcha!
Sorry.  
I just finished my cup of coffee for the day.
Coffee makes me extra cheerful (and cheesy, apparently).

Red velvet cake is the ultimate holiday dessert.  Serve it on a autumn-y platter and you've got a harvest party treat.  Doll it up with your favorite wintertime accents and add a drop or two of peppermint oil to the frosting and it's a candy cane cake.  Bake it in a heart-shaped mold and it's perfect for Valentine's day.  Decorate the top with blueberries and raspberries in a flag-like fashion and it's a healthy Fourth of July indulgence.  See?  This cake has got you covered for every holiday of the year.

Because we had to use more than one beet in the recipe to make the color pop, there is a slight earthy taste that the root imparts. The folks I've served this cake to said they actually enjoyed it.  No, they weren't just trying to be nice (these are truly honest friends) and no, they aren't of the health-nut persuasion.  So I trust their critique.

If you've never tried buttermilk frosting, you're in for a treat.  This fluffy frosting is lighter than buttercream and is the perfect, pillowy topping for this moist cake.




Grain-Free Red Velvet Cake with Buttermilk Frosting
Prep time: 20 min; Bake time: 35 min; Serves 9

For the cake:
  1. Preheat oven to 350ยบ.  Cut the beet(s) in quarters and place in blender.  Add remaining ingredients and blend until smooth.
  2. Pour batter in a greased 8x8-inch baking dish.  Bake for 35-40 minutes.  Allow to cool before frosting.
For the Frosting:
  • 1/3 cup soft butter (don't use ghee.  I tried it and it doesn't taste good in this recipe.)
  • 3 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2 tablespoons buttermilk
  1. Cream butter and sugar until smooth.  Add vanilla and buttermilk and beat until smooth and fluffy.  If the frosting is still too thick to your liking, add one more tablespoon buttermilk.

Sunday, October 7, 2012

Weekly Menu Plan #47

Pumpkin Days

Today is the day!  The last of fourteen sets of meals without Jeremy.  I'll just go ahead and say it's been a roller coaster and we'll keep it at that (hence the quietness of the blog this week).  I'm so thankful for the community that surrounded us during this time.  They made a night-and-day difference.  On another note, the weather here has dropped to a very comfortable temperature and I am oh so ready for some soups.  It's time to dust the soup pot off.  We are back in business.  Also we have potatoes coming out of our ears, so there will probably be more potato recipes than usual this week.

Monday:
To do: soak porridge
Breakfast:  GF German Pancakes
Lunch:  Hummus, Carrots, Apples, Raw Cheese, Almonds

Tuesday:
To do: Thaw 6 cups chicken stock  & pumpkin for Thursday
Breakfast: Porridge
Lunch:  Sourdough Turkey & Cheese Sandwiches, Pears, Walnuts
Dinner: Zuppa Toscana

Wednesday:
To do: soak pumpkin baked oatmeal, thaw tenderloin for Friday
Lunch:  Nut Butter & Berry Wraps, Apple & Raw Cheese Slices
Dinner: Baked Potatoes with cheese, creme fraiche, chives, Broccoli with Garlic Butter & Cashews

Thursday:
To do: make cookie bites
Lunch:  Leftover Baked Oatmeal Squares, Raw Cheese Slices, Cherry Tomatoes, Turkey

Friday:
To do: soak beans for chili
Breakfast:  GF Chocolate Chip Scones (double batch)
Lunch:  Sourdough Turkey & Cheese Sandwiches, Applesauce, Hummus, Carrot Sticks
Dinner:  Beef Stroganoff over Rice Noodles, Salad, Vanilla Coconut Cream Candy

Saturday:
To do:
Breakfast:  Cinnamon Rolls & Fried Eggs 
Lunch: Irish Nachos

Sunday:
To do:
Breakfast:  Leftover GF Chocolate Chip Scones from Friday
Lunch:  Leftovers
Dinner:  Leftovers
(Sunday is my day off)

I'm sharing this at Monday Mania, Meal Plan Link-Up, Simple Lives Thursday, Pennywise Platter.

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