Gluten-free, corn-free, almost dairy-free brownies

 
Here's the recipe... it's a triple batch 'cause making any less than that is just plain silly.
Organic ingredients are best, of course.

Best-ever Brownies
Preheat oven to 350^o

1 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup butter
1 bag of chocolate chips

Melt these together, in a heavy saucepan, over low heat (stir constantly) or in a double boiler, over - not touching - boiling water (you don't have to stir as much). Let cool slightly while you get the rest of the ingredients ready.

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1-1/2 cups flour
I use 1/2 cup fine ground almond meal (Bob's Red Mill) and 1 cup Chebe All-purpose Bread Mix
3/4 tsp sea salt (fine grind)

Sift (if you care to) these together - or just pour them all in your mixer bowl.

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3 cups sugar
6 eggs - slightly beaten
1-1/2 tsp vanilla

Add these to the melted chocolate & fats.Stir well, add to dry ingredients.

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Stir in a second bag of chocolate chips. Add 1-1/2 cups of chopped nuts if you like them.

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Now for the big decision - which do you want?

1. a few brownies with crunchy edges & chewy centers and lots of chewy-gooey brownies with no crunchy edges, OR
2. every brownie to have crunchy edges and a chewy center

If you are partial to scenario #1 - bake them in a 9" x 13" (or so) baking pan - oiled very lightly - until the edges are done, but the center is still somewhat soft. Let them cool thoroughly and cut into whatever size brownies you like.

NOTE: I recommend small squares. If you make them big you'll end up making yourself sick on them because they're rich and yummy and there's no way you're going to throw out a half-eaten one (or even stop and save it for later...).

If you like scenario #2, or if you want more portable brownies, bake them in muffin/cupcake papers in a muffin pan, until the edges are firm and the centers are still pretty soft. Makes around 36 brownies.

For some crazy reason these keep really well. My last batch made it a whole week (only because I forgot about them) and they were still deliciously soft and gooey in the centers.

Wheat Sensitivity

I have discovered that I have a wheat sensitivity. I never knew how much wheat we eat until this past month.

I went to the doctor in February for a checkup and to ask about a few things. Mainly I wanted to know if I have arthritis in my hip (Lymes disease a few years back), and if there was anything I could do for my digestive disturbances.

The doctor gave me some meds - which I took for a few weeks and then kept forgetting to take. I am terrible with medications. I never remember to take them. I think that had I noticed a marked difference that I would have remembered them better. But during those weeks I did not notice any improvement at all. In fact, the symptoms seemed worse if anything.

I did some research and the most often item that popped up in my reading was wheat allergies and wheat intolerances. Many of the sympoms for wheat intolerance were really close to what I had. so I thought I would try not eating wheat for a while and see if it helped.
Read more (includes a recipe)...

Today marks the third week with no wheat. I have to say I feel much better. When I forgot and ate wheat one day I could tell the difference the next day.

It is hard to find pre-made food though - of any kind. And eating out consists mostly of salads and veggies. All good, but I sure miss chocolate cake and designer sandwiches and giant burritos at Chipotles. Maybe I will end up losing some weight without those things in my meals.

I love breads, and that is the hardest. I bought some of the wheat-gluten free breads, but they tend to taste weird and most of them have a disturbing texture. So I have started making my own baked goods.

The best is a cookie/scone-like concoction that I made up a recipe for:

1 cup butter (sorry, not organic - yet)
1 1/2 cups of homemade vanilla sugar (two vanilla beans in a 1/2 gallon jar filled with organic raw sugar and let sit for a couple weeks - more sugar added to replace what I take out)
2 large eggs (local and organic)
1/2 tsp of aluminum-free baking soda (Bob's Red Mill, I think)
1 1/2 organic oat flour, oat bran flour, brown rice flour or a combination of any of them
2 cups organic rolled oats (not quick ones)
1 cup organic coconut
1 cup organic chopped dates (or more if you like really chewy baked goods)
1 cup organic pecans, almonds or walnuts - chopped
1 1/2 cups organic chocolate chips

Do the usual when making cookies - cream the butter, add sugar, mix well, add the eggs. Sift the dry stuff (including all the goodies) and then mix them into the butter-sugar-egg mixture. This doug will be pretty stiff, so butter up your hands and make balls - I make mine about the size of a tangerine - and flatten them slightly on a baking stone or cookie sheet.

They take a long time to back (at 350 or 375), so do not rush them. But you need to also be sure not to over bake them.

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