That's My Girl!

Pretty kitty sittin' in the sunshine . . .

Signs of Spring

I so love seeing the brave little crocuses emerge!

Morning Light on Green & Red

Do you know the name of this plant? I've tried planting cuttings in a pot with dirt, and it just doesn't thrive. It seems to prefer being in this bowl with only stones and water - no soil - to being planted! My friend J. gave me the cuttings. He keeps his planted in soil, under a glass dome and it's very happy.

Mmm . . . Mmm . . . Oatmeal Cookies . .

I made up a recipe for gluten free oatmeal raisin cookies this evening. They turned out really well! I combined elements from two different recipes: one, my favorite gf chocolate chip cookie recipe from Gluten Free Girl and the other, the oatmeal raisin cookie recipe from The Best Recipe (which, unfortunately, isn't available online).

Gluten Free Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
(makes 24 cookies/ 108 calories each)

Preheat oven to 350F.

Mix dry ingredients in a medium bowl:
1/4 cup teff flour
1/4 cup sorghum flour
1/4 cup ground flax seed
2 Tbsp sweet rice flour (also known as "mochiko" (Japanese), "Bot Nep" (Thai) or "sticky rice flour." Available at Asian markets.)
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp freshly grated nutmeg (This, from The Best Recipe, replaces the more common cinnamon.)

In stand mixer, beat:
1 stick softened unsalted butter
1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp dark muscovado sugar (Also available at Whole Foods Market)
1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp white sugar

When sugars are fully incorporated into butter, add:
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Add the dry ingredients, and mix thoroughly.
Then add:
1 1/2 cups gluten free certified rolled oats
1 cup raisins

Scoop out about 2Tbsp of cookie dough and roll in a ball, pressing to make the dough into a solid ball. Place on buttered cookie sheet and flatten slightly. Repeat about 24 times (12 per cookie sheet), and bake for 10-12 minutes.

Allow cookies to cool slightly before removing them to a rack to finish cooling. Cookies are fragile when warm.

Never Dull?

Lately I've been checking in on an interior design blog that's new to me: Apartment Therapy. They run a program every year called "The Spring Cure," that's a series of assignments to clean up and organize your home. This year there's also a kitchen-only version called, "The Kitchen Cure." I haven't officially signed up, but I'm inspired! I cleaned out the fridge & freezer last week. Today - my big ol' junk drawer.

It's quite satisfying. I threw out some junk, saved a few things for the Shambhala Center tag sale in the fall, and I found a few things that I thought I'd lost! It may be dull to some, but to me it's a pleasure.

A Winter Hike with Friends

Friends from the Shambhala Center in Northampton gathered for a hike on Mt. Tom in Easthampton, Massachusetts.

I've never hiked in the snow before. It was a warm day, the snow was soft and a little slushy in places. Walking in the snow was challenging, and the mountain was beautiful.

The view from the Dry Knoll, looking toward of the Oxbow (part of the Connecticut River).

It was a more challenging and fast-paced hike than I'm used to, but it was a great day!

Gluten Free Baking from King Arthur Flour!

I don't usually post this sort of thing, but I thought the gluten free readers of this blog would like to know that King Arthur Flour - long a great source for traditional baking information and baker's ingredients and tools - has a whole new line of GF baking mixes, online recipes and information about gluten free baking. It looks like a wonderful resource! Click here to visit the King Arthur Flour gluten free website.