Baked Doughnuts for Everyone + GIVEAWAY

So, one day I give you green macaroni and cheese . . . and the next, doughnuts. I like to keep you on your toes. FACT: Did you know you can roast Brussels sprouts and bake doughnuts at the same time? 350 degrees F, baby. It's the sweet spot in the range of oven temperatures, I suppose. And I didn't realize until last night, but it's that sort of brilliant multi-tasking I strive to discover in all areas of my life.

Goodness me.

I had long been awaiting the release of Edible Perspective Ashley's amazing cookbook Baked Doughnuts for Everyone: From Sweet to Savory to Everything in Between, 101 Delicious Recipes, All Gluten-Free. And when Ashley generously offered a chance to review a copy, I signed on gladly. Ashley was my first blog friend ever. All her hard work has definitely paid off -- and I am so, so proud of her.

So, the night I received my book in the mail, I was elbows deep in Ada's surgery situation. Yet somehow despite everything going on, all the delicious photos (Ashley's photos are THE BEST!) sucked me into making a batch right then and there. No joke. It was just the stress release I needed at that moment.

I chose to bake the Vegan Gooey Chocolate Doughnuts with a tasty chocolate glaze. We've since discovered in our house that this recipe is a new favorite. It's healthy, light, sweet, and just as good with a simple dusting of powdered sugar, which is how I made them for this review.

I even give these doughnuts to Ada for breakfast.


VEGAN GOOEY CHOCOLATE DOUGHNUTS 
recipe printed w/ permission from pg. 111 of Baked Doughnuts for Everyone

What you'll need . . . 

• 1/2 cup oat flour
• 1/2 cup sweet rice flour
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup pure cane sugar
• 2 tablespoons coconut flour
• 1-1/2 tablespoons ground flax meal
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons brown rice syrup
• 1/4 cup pumpkin puree
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup vegan dark chocolate chips

Method . . .

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and grease your doughnut pan.
2. Combine the oat flour, sweet rice flour, cocoa powder, cane sugar, coconut flour, flax meal, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl, mixing well. In another bowl, whisk together the milk, brown rice syrup, pumpkin puree, oil, and vanilla extract until well combined.
3. Pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients and stir with a large wooden spoon until just combined, being careful not to overmix (stop when you no longer see dry flour). Gently fold in the chocolate chips. The mixture will be thick.
4. Spoon the batter into the doughnuts molds, filling just below the top of each mold, 1/8 - 1/4 inch from the top. Bake for 20 to 26 minutes until lightly golden brown around the edges. The cake is supposed to have a gooey center. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Slide a thin spatula around the edges of the doughnuts and help loosen then out. Then place on a cooling rack and allow to cool for 5 to 10 minutes.
5. Dust with powdered sugar.

This recipe makes 8 to 10 doughnuts in a standard doughnut pan. You may have noticed I used a mini bundt pan to make my batch. Whatever works!

I'm also happy to write as a non-gluten free person, I am able to adapt Ashley's recipes to whatever ingredients I have on hand. I've made some of the sweet + savory doughnuts exactly as written in the book and others with like ingredients (like white-whole wheat flour in place of substitutes or coconut sugar in place of cane, etc.) in the same ratio -- all with excellent results.

// GIVEAWAY

Thanks to Ashley's publisher, if you'd like a chance to win a copy of this book -- please leave a comment below! Make sure you leave some way of contacting you. Winner will be chosen via random number generator + announced next Friday morning (11/15).

Like what you just read? You can subscribe to the feed of these posts or follow us on Twitter or Facebook to be the first to know what the (never home)makers are up to. And we’ll love you forever!

Read more...

Recipes We're Lusting Over

Finally Friday! We hope all of you are having a great pre-weekend day. (And those of you at the Healthy Living Summit look like you're having a great time in Chicago -- we're super jealous!) Our weekend plans aren't big. Grocery shopping. Reading. Dying hair (well, I'm doing that). Running 20-milers on Sunday (yikes!). You know. The usual.

We hope you've enjoyed our Healthy Living Celebration this week. We still have more stories to share. For now, though, we have pulled together all the latest on one handy-dandy page. There are also instructions on how you can submit your own story to us.

Just click this image on the right sidebar:


We consider (never home)maker to be about 50 percent food blog. We take great care in creating some tasty recipes to share with you all. But we don't live in a bubble. In fact, we're always trolling the internet for foodie inspiration. Here are some of the recipes we're drooling over right now. And as soon as we get some more time in the kitchen, these will be the first foods we try to replicate.

(All images below belong to their respective blog owners -- we included them to entice you to visit their sites!)

101 Cookbooks

There's something completely irresistible about this Lasagna Tart. I simply can't pass on gorgeous Italian food. And I'm always looking for ways to use my tart pan.


Edible Perspective

Leave it to Ashley to come up with an amazing combination like Curry Honey Hummus. She's so creative -- and her photos of this dish are enough to make you drool on your keyboard.


Honey & Jam

I'm a sucker for an awesome chocolate cake recipe. This one isn't your typical take either -- it has a secret ingredient (in the cake AND frosting) for some extra punch.


Kiss My Spatula

How cool is this? Instructions on how to make your own mozzarella cheese. That's right -- make your own CHEESE. Complete with tasty photos.


Food Loves Writing

I've been a fan of Shannalee for a while now. Her combination of basil, peach, and cheese . . . grilled on sourdough. Heaven! Check out this new version of an old favorite (grilled cheese) as soon as you can. You still have time to pick up the ingredients tonight and make it for dinner!


Oh She Glows

Angela is always coming up with the best healthy desserts. She pushes the envelope . . . and I love seeing the new recipes she creates. These raw Cookie Dough Balls are no exception. Yum!


Kohler Created

By now, I think you know about our love of all things chocolate and peanut butter. So, when I saw these Reece's Pieces Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies, I just about screamed with joy. Yeah. maybe candy isn't the healthiest thing ever -- but who says health bloggers have to "behave" at all times?

What are YOU cooking up this weekend? Have any big plans? Going to be bums like us? Let us know! Just leave a comment or email us at neverhomemaker [at] gmail [dot] com.

Like what you just read? You can subscribe to the feed of these posts or follow us on Twitter or Facebook to be the first to know what the (never home)makers are up to. And we’ll love you forever!!

Read more...

Green Smoothies, Friends, and Fridays

I try to consume chocolate for breakfast in some way, shape, or form each and every Friday. I've been slacking on my greens lately, so -- I thought a smoothie packed with spinach might be just the thing to start my day today. What's in this baby is surely well concealed -- there's a heaping serving of peanut butter AND cocoa powder. Almond milk. Banana. Honestly, it all sounds awful when you think of it together. Like the waste you'd throw in a garbage disposal after finishing a full meal.

But it works. Just hear me out!

The spinach flavor is pretty much not there at all. Seriously. It just boosts the whole thing with nutrition. Even Stephen, who is always, ALWAYS skeptical of my green monster creations, enjoyed this quick and easy breakfast. I promise you will, too!


Just blend together the following ingredients until well combined . . .

• 1 frozen banana
• 2 to 3 heaping handfuls of spinach
• 2 tablespoons smooth peanut butter
• 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 1 to 1-1/2 cups almond (or soy or regular) milk

As easy as that! To keep with the greens trend, I crafted a crispy kale salad for lunch. Stephen looked a little puzzled when I threw in some blueberries -- but who says you can have fruit in salad? Tomatoes are fruit, too . . . so, I'm just doing a variation on the theme.


Make crispy kale (we taught you how in this post), then add half a sliced heirloom (or regular) tomato, a handful of blueberries, and a handful of raw almonds. Put in a covered container and shake to mix well.


Now, here's a sneak peek of Monday's feature recipe -- Savory Cornmeal Pancakes (with brie and raspberry jam, if you like) and Pan-Browned Brussels Sprouts.


So good, we each ate every last bite!


Last night wasn't only exciting because we created that amazing recipe. Nope, I finally got to have my video chat date with Ashley from Edible Perspective. You may remember Ashley because I won her fabulous giveaway a few months ago. She send the most amazing care package EVER (check it out!) -- filled with homemade goodies galore.


I can't say enough about how awesome it was to finally "meet" her -- I just wish we lived closer! I've been enjoying her blog, her photography, her recipes, and her inspiration for months now. She even put up with my gchat cluelessness. What a gal!

Alright, now some end-of-the-week stuff.

• Next week is our Healthy Living Celebration! We're super excited because we've received TONS of stories from readers about what inspired them to get up off the couch and live the healthy life. Check back for some major inspiration starting Monday.
• If you haven't yet, enter our SHUTTERBUG GIVEAWAY for your chance to win a pretty trivet.
• Yesterday we posted our vacation photos from last week's stint in NJ. We're still trying to get back to "real" life, but it's difficult after such a beautiful time!
• Foodie Book Club members have until the end of the day today to add their reviews to June and July's post. There are some great reviews on there already!
• And we're also looking for blog authors to host future months of the club -- we love the idea, but think it'd be cool to spread the love around. Email us if you're interested in hosting!

Like what you just read? You can subscribe to the feed of these posts or follow us on Twitter or Facebook to be the first to know what the (never home)makers are up to. And we’ll love you forever!!

Read more...

Kitchen Fails Times 1,000,000

I've had several pretty epic kitchen fails lately. First there was the great gluten-free pancake disaster. Then the awful tangerine-limeade incident. We can't forget the coconut butter debacle. And now the maple-almond butter gone wrong. The concept seems easy enough to grasp -- at least mentally: Turn nuts into butter. Just roast, process, and flavor.

However, between the almond and coconut butter issues, I'm starting to think my food processor might be to blame. (I mean, it can't be ME, right?!) We'll get to that later. I wanted to share this recipe with you anyway. Though what results isn't exactly like Ashley's cinnamon-maple-almond butter, it's still good enough to eat. Good enough to add into oatmeal. To spread atop toast. To enjoy simply from your spoon. It's got all the protein and flavor, it's just not the right texture.




HOMEMADE MAPLE-ALMOND BUTTER -- SORT OF

What you'll need . . .

• 1 cup raw almonds
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 to 2 tablespoons coconut oil

Method . . .

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Line a cookie sheet with tin foil or parchment and pour your almonds onto it. Spread out for even cooking.
2. Allow to roast for 10 minutes -- you should start to smell them . . . and they'll change color, darken.
3. Allow to cool for approx. 10 minutes. Then in your food processor (I would assume a smaller one works better), process until almonds form a fine meal-y texture.
4. Add in the maple syrup, cinnamon, and 1 tablespoons of the coconut oil. Continue processing for up to 10 minutes. The mixture should be well incorporated and close to almond butter texture by then. Again, mine never fully reached that point. Add more oil if you feel it's necessary.
5. Store in a glass jar or other kind of container.

So, it looks pretty dry, right? It isn't dry. It's just crumbly. I don't quite understand why it didn't totally work. It does taste just as good as the "real thing," however the texture is certainly something I need to work on. I even found Ashley's recipe for her famous cinnamon-maple-almond butter and followed it exactly. And I thought her method of roasting the almonds with the maple syrup on them would be the magical key to success. For me? No dice.

Like I said above, I'm starting to think my food processor is to blame. She's small, but powerful. The blades might not be sharp enough? Have any of you had this problem? I first started to suspect something was up with the little pink thing when Ashley said that all you need to make coconut butter is coconut flakes. Then you just process them (for a while) until the butter forms. I processed for twenty -- count 'em -- twenty minutes . . . nada.

Basically, I'd love some suggestions on good-quality food processors. Because I'm almost 100% certain we need to buy a new one. What works the best for you? What's the most economical? What size do you like best? Anything related to food processors is welcome. Just leave a comment or email us at neverhomemaker [at] gmail [dot] com. Also don't forget you have until Friday, June 18th at 9PM to enter our CSN $60 Gift Certificate Giveaway. I know what I'd do with that $$$ -- buy a new food processor!!!

Like what you just read? You can subscribe to the feed of these posts or follow us on Twitter or Facebook to be the first to know what the (never home)makers are up to. And we’ll love you forever!!

Read more...

Adventures with Nut Butter

I'm seriously starting to wonder if Ashley (from the ever-so wonderful Edible Perspective) and I were separated at birth. I drool over her tasty creations every single day. And I was even lucky enough to win her recent giveaway, which featured her own homemade goodies as the prize. So, imagine me sitting around one lazy Saturday afternoon. Nothing special going on, really. And then Stephen enters the room from outside toting a huge box and asks: "Uhhh, what did you order now?"

"Nothing," I say, somewhat believing it wasn't some kind of secret goodie purchase. Somewhat frantically trying to figure out when I last whipped out my credit card.

"It's from someone named Ashley . . . " he says.

OMG! Immediately I realized that my prize had arrived. I grabbed a knife to rip through the tape and was immediately astounded at the wealth of good eats inside. Homemade, vegan everything! Chocolate-coconut peanut butter. Maple-almond cinnamon butter. Graham crackers. CHOCOLATE-covered graham crackers. Granola. Granola bars of all flavors.

I mean, these items serve as a mere sample of my loot:


Yup -- I even threw some of the granola into a sweet potato-cinnamon breakfast mash this morning. It was delicious! If you haven't checked out Edible Perspective yet, you're missing out. Ashley is hilarious. She's endlessly creative in the kitchen. And she eats amazing foods all the time.

Now, nothing tops this girl's nut butter creations. I downed the entire spice jar full of the almond-cinnamon mix yesterday morning. And I'm trying desperately not to polish off the coconut-chocolate-peanut butter. I wish that could last forever! But these treats got me thinking about trying to make some of my own. Just to try it out. My first attempt was last night . . . with the only nuts I had around the kitchen: walnuts.

Result? It's a fine-tasting spread -- though nothing quite as impressive as Ashley's . . . however, it's a definite start in the right direction. Ashley's idea to store nut butters in old spice containers is a great one, too :)


What you'll need . . . (for a small, test-it-out batch)

• 1 cup raw walnuts
• 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
• 4 to 6 tablespoons coconut flakes
• 1 tablespoon raw sugar
• Pinch of salt
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Method . . .

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Spread out walnuts on a cookie sheet and place in the oven for about 10 minutes . . . until roasted. (You'll smell them.)
3. Then let cool for 10 minutes and transfer to a food processor and process until smooth. They turn into a butter almost immediately.
4. Add in all the remaining ingredients and continue processing until smooth (I left ours a little chunky with the coconut flakes still in tact).

And speaking of giveaways . . . don't forget to enter our giveaway! A $50 shopping spree at iHerb.com is up for grabs. Enter yourself now!


Like what you just read? You can subscribe to the feed of these posts or follow us on Twitter or Facebook to be the first to know what the (never home)makers are up to. And we’ll love you forever!

Read more...

Poached to Perfection

A while back, I poached a couple eggs. They turned out beautifully, and I loved them. So much! And then I tried again . . . and they were horrible (yolk broke in the pot). I tried again, and they were terrible (all the egg whites floated to the top in a huge mess). So, I hadn't tried making them again until Ashley (over at Edible Perspective) posted her own adventure.

It's widely known that poaching eggs is, well, difficult. Once you're able to master the process, though, you'll want to make them every single day. It means you can get all the benefits from eggs (check 'em out, people!) without added fat from butter or oil for frying or milk for scrambling.


I also consulted my Martha Stewart's Cooking School cookbook for this activity. Martha's top piece of advice? The water must, must, must be at the correct temperature. To achieve this temp, you must first pour about two to three inches of water into a large pot. Then bring that water to a boil. Then turn the heat down and bring to a simmer. But not just any simmer, folks. You need to create this creepy-still simmer, where the water doesn't seem to be simmering at all, really. Just super hot and maintaining that hot-ness.


Step two involves cracking an egg into a small heat-proof bowl. If this is your first time poaching, I recommend only trying to poach one egg at a time. Until you get the process down entirely, it's simply too difficult -- and you'll soon learn that when you put the egg in the water, it becomes so delicate that many things can go wrong.

Take a deep breath. You're going to put the egg in the water now. I didn't get any photos of this part . . . but Ashley notes that it's important to "create a vortex" around the egg by gently stirring. So, you may want to throw a splash of white vinegar in the pot. This helps the egg whites stay together. Either way, just stir the water to create your vortex. Then take your heat-proof bowl (with egg) and gently pour into the middle of that vortex.

Continue stirring -- very gently -- and you'll begin to see all kinds of egg parts float to the top. Don't worry about this. Just keep stirring (and keep an eye on the time).


For runny poached eggs, you'll want to wait about 2 to 3 minutes. For harder poached eggs (my favorite), wait about 4 minutes. When the time is up, use a slotted spoon to carefully lift the egg out of the water (like in the photo above -- and likely your egg won't look so hot, but it'll taste SO good, I promise). Place on paper towels to dry slightly.


Continue this process with the remaining eggs -- we made four in all. Don't be discouraged if not all your attempts are successful. Patience is certainly necessary . . . and practice. Practice, practice, practice, says Martha.



Then toast some English muffins (Ashley used some toasted Fitness Bread). Stephen put his in a wheat wrap with spinach. We both used cracked pepper liberally to season. And enjoy. The process is somewhat time consuming and advanced . . . but we imagine once we get it down a few times, we'll be poaching pros in no time!


Is there a cooking process that completely intimidates you? Or maybe one you'd like us to try out? Maybe you have tips on how to poach that we didn't mention, too. Just leave us a comment or email us at neverhomemaker@gmail.com.

Like what you just read? You can subscribe to the feed of these posts or follow us on Twitter or Facebook to be the first to know what the (never home)makers are up to. And we’ll love you forever!!

Read more...