Have you ever made a pandowdy? | Vegan bacon cheeseburger video

Have you ever made a pandowdy? I guess I may have made similar desserts but this was my first "official" pandowdy.

Crisps, Betties, crumbles, cobblers, and pandowdies are all various baked combinations of fruit, crusts and crumb toppings. A pandowdy is a deep dish baked pie-like dessert with a top crust that is broken up and pushed under the filling in places.



This one happened to be a cardamom-pear pandowdy that I tested for Laurie Sadowski's upcoming pie book.

So I guess you're wondering if it was good? Oh yeah!

You can find reviews of Laurie's bread book here and here, and more pie photos, here. All her recipes are vegan, gluten-free, and allergy-free.


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The Sweetest Vegan makes bacon cheeseburgers



The Sweetest Vegan, a vegan video blogger on Youtube, asked me to share her latest video with you. You can watch her make a vegan Bacon Double Cheeseburger. She says, "It's actually healthier than it sounds. I want as many vegans and non-vegans as possible to see this video so that people can see the hearty potential of a couple of plants."

If you find yourself craving an unhealthy sandwich, try the Sweetest Vegan's delicious-looking version instead. (If you click on "show more" below the video on youtube, you'll find the recipes for her bacon, burgers and cheese sauce.) So far the SV has 391 videos so you're sure to find one you like. I think she's pretty great. What do you think?

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Don't forget to vote! Your voice is more important than ever.

California voters are voting to require labeling for genetically altered foods. For your information, here's a chart showing on which side familiar side natural foods companies are putting their support. Read more here.

Creamy lime pie in a flaky crust

Gather the limes.

Zest and juice the limes.

Bake a flaky crust and pile in the creamy lime filling. Refrigerate.

Enjoy. The gluten-free and vegan recipe for amazing, creamy lime pie is a tester recipe for Laurie Sadowski's upcoming pie book. Laurie is the author of The Allergy-Free Cook Bakes Bread which I reviewed here and here.

Fear of Baking (Chocolate chip-banana bread) | Botanical Gardens

How many successful cakes will it take to convince me that I can make a gluten-free cake and it will be good? I wish I knew the answer to that question so I could just calm down and bake a cake once in a while. Like the *chocolate chip-banana bread from The Allergy-Free Cook Bakes Bread, for example. It's supposed to be baked in a loaf pan but I, who used to be such an optimist, didn't believe it would really work, and I'd end up with a rectangular slab.

I baked it in a 10" springform pan because I was also sure it would stick and I'd never get it out of the pan. Well, duh. It didn't stick and it turned out just fine. Probably would have worked in the loaf pan, too.

But, here's the crazy thing — I'm still afraid to try again. Why, why, why can't I get past my fear of gluten-free baking?

*You can download the recipe for Chocolate Chip-Banana bread as well as other baked goods, at Laurie Sadowski's blog, Whisking and Writing. (The link is at the bottom of the page.) But really, I think you should buy her book.

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Exploring local gardens

We've been exploring some of the public gardens in and around Seattle because I'm very interested in doing some landscaping around our small property and I'm trying to learn more about plant environments in the Pacific Northwest. And also because they are beautiful places to walk!

First we visited the Seattle Japanese Garden in the Washington Park Arboretum. It was beautiful in every direction we looked.

All the critters were out for treats from the tourists — ducks, koi and turtles made a beeline for the bridge whenever humans approached the water. I tried to photograph an over-zealous duck but it kept getting too close to my camera lens and I couldn't focus!

The koi were overjoyed to see us but soon lost interest and dispersed when they realized all I had was the camera.

The second garden we visited was the much larger  Belleview Botanical Garden, and it was my favorite of the two — it's also free as opposed to $6 each for the Japanese Garden.



According to their Web page: "The Bellevue Botanical Garden is an urban refuge, encompassing 53-acres of cultivated gardens, restored woodlands, and natural wetlands. The living collections showcase plants that thrive in the Pacific Northwest. Our demonstration of good garden design and horticulture techniques inspires visitors to create their own beautiful, healthy gardens."

I'd love to recreate some of the beauty we saw at the gardens. We'll definitely be heading back to Bellevue — there is at least one area we missed on our walk through, and I want to learn more about the plant species growing there. Next time I'll take a notebook.

Chocolate chip scones, GF and delicious | The Allergy-Free Cook Bakes Bread part two

After perusing all the tempting recipes in The Allergy-Free Cook Bakes Bread, and having a tough time deciding what to make, I finally decided that since I had tried a yeasted pizza dough that served as the base for a savory taco pizza, I should also try something in the sweet treat category. The English muffins I was eying would have to wait until I made chocolate chip scones. I remembered fondly my pre-GF scones, and wondered how these would stack up.

I was pretty excited since I was still stoked by the success of my first recipe from the cookbook, but I'm still at an early stage of GF baking, and never sure how something I'm making will turn out. Will they taste like scones? Will the batter be hard to handle? Will it be gritty, sandy, gluey?

The scones exceeded my highest expectations and tasted exactly like ... scones. The crumb was delicate and, dare I say, almost flaky. They were lightly sweetened, exactly the way I like. My husband felt that something was lacking in the flavor, but I disagreed. It's possible that the little mistake I made while preparing the scones had a subtle effect on the taste, however, I think when I make them again, I'll add vanilla extract for a little added depth. We cut the scones in half because they were a little big for us, but if you want eight pieces instead of four, I suggest waiting until the scones are baked before making the extra cut. They will be a lot easier to handle.

Scones cooling on the rack.

Because there are more ingredients involved with GF baking, and because I can be a bit scatterbrained, I've devised a method to make sure I add all the ingredients to a recipe. I place every ingredient in the recipe on the counter, and as I measure and add each one to the bowl, I place it back into the baking cupboard, which happens to be right next to my work surface. Thus I was busily employed at the point where the dry and wet ingredients combine were about to combine, when my husband rushed into the kitchen all excited about something. I got distracted, and tried to answer his questions until finally, I placed my attention back on the bowls. I combined. I patted out the dough into a round shape. I admired my work. But something wasn't right, and I had an aaarrrgggh moment as I realized  the chocolate chips still sat on the counter. A couple more aarrghs while I considered what to do, then I spread the chips over the top of the dough and gently but firmly pressed them in as best I could. I tried to keep the dough from flattening more but I'm sure my scones were patted down a bit more than required. Still, they came out great. I wonder though, if my husband would have liked the flavor better if the chocolate chips had been better integrated.

(Click on the recipe to see it larger. Recipe reprinted with permission.)

Notes: 1) Instead of using a pastry cutter or knives, I pulsed the fat into the grains with my food processor. 2) To make the buttermilk called for in the recipe, place two teaspoons of cider vinegar into a measuring cup and add five tablespoons of cold nut, seed or soy milk. Allow to stand for about 10 minutes. Use as little as you need to create a cohesive dough. I had to use it all. 3) You may want to add a teaspoon of vanilla extract to the wet ingredients. 4) The scones taste best after about five minutes of cooling. They aren't as good after they sit around for a while.

Thanks to Book Publishing Company for allowing me to publish the recipe.  
Full disclosure: The cookbook was provided free to me by Book Publishing Company. I was under no obligation to write a favorable review, or any review. I received no money nor promise of monetary gain. I am not an affiliate of this company. All opinions are my own.

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Bettah buttah

The recipe I printed above calls for vegan buttery spread, and I want to alert you to Bryanna Clark Grogan's new recipe for homemade buttah. It is both palm oil-and-coconut oil-free. She provides extensive information about not only how to make the butter substitute, but why she chose the specific ingredients she used, and why palm oil is having such a negative impact on orangutans. Buttah looks like a great alternative to the popular butter substitutes currently in use.

BTW, The photo is for illustration only. It is NOT buttah. I haven't made any yet but am intrigued.