More fun with zuccini...there's just something about that veggie!

Moist, fudgy, amazing goodness!

I confess I sometimes wonder if anyone reads this blog...just because few people comment...but then I check the stats, and discover that it IS read! Yay! ^_^

Yesterday I wanted to use up the last of my baseball bat sized zuccini. It was so huge...but I successfully used it up! And in a most delicious way too. First, I made another batch of zuccini muffins. This time I made only muffins with cranberries, and then  muffins with nuts. (TBG loves the nuts best, but the cranberries are our second favorite) I took some to a friend's house for a pre-dinner snack, froze some, and took the rest over to another friend's house. Gotta share the love a bit!

There was another thing I took to both my friend's houses. What I used the last of the zuccini on. Zuccini brownies. Don't make a face! They were the best! So fudgy, rich, thick, soo not unhealthy tasting! So delicious by themselves. Amazing when heated up slightly, and with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top of it! (mind you, for us dairy-free peoples, our ice cream is Vanilla Rice Dream, tastes just like a vanilla ice cream and sooo good!) That Bearded Guy and I were melting into our chairs. Best dessert ever. We were shocked with how amazing they were. And the best part? They are less carbs and calories than the peanut butter brownies, so I can eat more of them! ^_^ Just what I needed for pre-holidays!

And it was really rather lovely, before, when I'd grate zuccini or anything, I'd use my hand grater. But this time, I used my mandolin slicer that I got with my work supplies. And this doesn't scare me like my old mandolin slicer-this has a much better food gripper thingy! It made quick work of the zuccini, and my fingertips weren't tingling with fear like they used to. (I kinda sliced my finger really deep another time on my old mandolin slicer. I've been scared of the things every since) Yay for a new kitchen toy tool!

I found the recipe online, and it wasn't a gluten-free friendly recipe. Nor was it lactose-free friendly. Or diabetic friendly, for that matter! But I changed that baby around and made it perfect for our consumption. *woot*

And now you can enjoy some lovely, semi-healthy, gluten-free, dairy-free brownies for your households consumption!



1 cup coconut sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup sorghum flour
1/2 cup tapioca starch
1/3 cup brown rice flour
1/3 cup white rice flour
1/3 cup sweet rice flour
(if you want, you can use just 1 cup of any rice flour, the blend is best, but if you don't have time or all the flours listed, it is a completely viable option)
1/4 cup cocoa
2 cups shredded zucchini
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 cup carob chips
1/4 cup maple chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 and spray your 8x11 brownie pan of choice.
2. In a mixer, blend the sugar, oil and flour until it resembles wet sand. (and it will!) After it resembles sand, keeping the mixer on low, add cocoa, zuccini, vanilla, salt and baking soda. Once it's fully incorporated, add in the carob chips.
3. Pour brownie batter into pan and bake for 25-30, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean and brownies appear set.
4. Let cool fully before cutting. If you have the patience. It'll look a bit messy if you're impatient. Just FYI... >_>

Serves about 35. 80 calories and 13.5 carbs each. YAY!

 Oh, and as a note, the maple chips give little bursts of sweetness-and they are the lighter colored flecks in the brownie pictures. We've yet to actually find a strand of zuccini. It just melts into the brownie!



With the ice cream of immense yummy-ness!

Pumpkin Carob Chip Mini Cakes

I have discovered my birthday cake. And it is amazing. I can hereby celebrate and be happy!

This recipe I found from one of the blogs I like to follow, and then I altered it a bit to suit the no-sugar and flavor preferences. So if you want the recipe unaltered, here's the link to that recipe, and the awesome blog I love to follow:
http://iamglutenfree.blogspot.com/2009/10/pumpkin-chocolate-chip-mini-bundt-cakes.html

There's another awesome blog, you may have heard of it before, Gluten Free Girl and the Chef. They just came out with a cookbook-I'll be getting it soon from a friend for a birthday present. *YAYAYAYAYAY!* I follow those two blogs and check them each day-they have wonderful recipes for baked goods, meals, occasions, everything. And it's really encouraging to read about other families that have similar challenges with their diets, and how they overcome. If you, or anyone you know are celiacs, and you haven't checked these sites, you gotta check them ASAP!

Last night we celebrated the September birthdays on my hubbies side-his Dad, our brother-in-law, and myself. The cupcakes had dried a bit (which I figured they would, considering the box mix was using ONLY rice flour and tapioca flour) but that's why I made something else sweet to bring. And it was so delicious! Pumpkin carob chip mini cakes. They were so moist and delicious. I love them. Dearly. I used to always want chocolate chocolate chip bundt cake for my birthday-and that's kinda difficult when I can't use that recipe or have real chocolate. But instead, I mixed the next best things into an amazing dessert, and I will be making it again. And again. And again. And again. And maybe sometime I'll reduce the sweet, and make them into muffins for breakfast. Ooh...that IS a good idea! Maybe I'll run to the kitchen to play later.. >_>

 It's a long list of ingredients, but SUPER easy to make! You can make them into actual bundt cakes, mini bundt cakes, cupcakes, whatever!

Pumpkin Carob Chip Mini Cakes

2 oz millet flour
2 oz teff flour
2 oz buckwheat flour
2 oz tapioca flour/starch
2 TBSP carob powder (or unsweetened cocoa)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp cloves
dash of allspice
dash of mace
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt

2 eggs
1 can pureed pumpkin
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce (mine was actually raspberry applesauce, but you couldn't tell)
1 cup maple syrup (the original recipe called for 3/4 cup brown sugar)

2 oz carob chips (or chocolate chips)
1/2 oz maple chunks (optional)

1.  Sift all the dry ingredients together, making sure there's no lumps and it's mixed fully together.
2. Stir all wet ingredients together and blend fully.
3. Add wet to dry, and incorporate til smooth. Add in carob chips and stir gently. I added maple chunks to what I made, just for the fun of it.
4. Pour into pan(s) that are pre-greased. Toss into preheated oven of 350 for about 25 minutes, or until inserted toothpick comes out clean. I think mine took about 30 minutes to fully bake, but mine also had added moisture from the maple syrup.
5. Cool fully. You can add a chocolate glaze if so desired. I used the same glaze recipe that I made for the scones awhile back.



Sifted flours-not yet stirred up though



Stirring up them flours





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Wet ingredients!



Wet ingredients are prepped and ready to be added!

Measure those well!



Poured and ready for some baking-can't wait to see how they'll be!



You gotta admit, those look rather impressive!

With some carob glaze of yumminess!

Moist, pumpkin, carob goodness! Each little cake you see in the pictures is roughly 145 calories and 25 carbs. (I had 15 servings, so that's what it measured out too, feel free to do the math if you make more or less) 

ENJOY!