Gluten-Free Barbecue Sauce!

Diet restriction. I don't like how that sounds. Why does it have to be a restriction, why can't we just focus on the word free when we say gluten-free? Probably because we don't have many options.

But that can mean freedom, folks. Freedom from the box, whether it's the cake mix box or the box of glutinous cookies you can no longer devour (time to make our own tasty versions!). For me, it's more about thinking outside of the bottle...

I've made a new kind of food pyramid for myself. I'm not ashamed. The very bottom, recognized as the largest section, is strictly reserved for comfort foods (but at this point in my expecting life, they are necessities). That's where you'll find an assortment of yummy foods, from homemade yellow cake with chocolate frosting to... barbecue! Barbecue is on my food pyramid, yep. Though it might not do anything for my heart, its presence on my plate certainly makes the smile on my face a little bigger! :)

Ah, but gone are my KC Masterpiece barbecue sauce days. No more reaching for the bottle and pouring that great maroon colored sauce on chicken or ribs. The only gluten-free barbecue sauce I know about is Annie's... and I'm not a fan :( (though she does make tasty mac and cheese).

I remember the first time I made barbecue sauce from scratch. It was tasty... but it was missing the special somethin' somethin' that makes barbecue over-the-top finger lickin' good. Ok, so I'm referring to the cheater's version of barbecue (aka heavenly smokiness in a bottle). But it's just too cold outside for a real barbecue (and, unfortunately, it isn't allowed at my place!).

So what to do? Make a sweet and smokey sauce for my slow-cooked ribs. Yum!

Meat falls off the bone, just the right amount of sauciness... borderline illegal, folks. This gluten-free bbq sauce has THAT mouthwatering zing; it'll make taste buds happy and bellies sing. Thankfully, I can use my favorite worcestershire sauce now because it's finally gluten-free (thank you Lea and Perrins :)! Woohoo! Just make sure the vinegar is also gluten-free and you're good to go!

Oh yeah... and make sure you've got plenty of napkins! ;)

Gluten Free Pumpkin Pie

OmgOmgOmg! It's... almost Thanksgiving! I have been dreaming of roasted turkeys and gravy like never before, but let's not forget about the good ol' stuffin' and... gluten-free pumpkin pie! (I'm even ready for Christmas...even streaming Christmas tunes as I type. It's about 38 degrees outside, so I'm allowed! :)

Yes, it's possible... for a plain yellow pumpkin to become a golden carriage OR a scrumptious a gluten-free pumpkin pie. Pumpkins aren't really yellow, are they? Not the one in the movie.

Who am I to question Cinderella's Fairy Godmother?!

Let's not go there.

Instead, let's go to the pantry, get out all of our flours and start baking! You know you wanna. Just check it out.

Oh gosh, you say to yourself. ANOTHER PUMPKIN PIE RECIPE! Yeah, I know... last year, you tried making a pumpkin pie from scratch (using another recipe) only to end up with a tasty but kinda mushy mess, why don't those darn pie fillings set right?! Oh wait, that was me. Hehe.

The recipe will remain nameless (don't worry, it wasn't from a food blog ;), but I will say that... after doing a little bit of research and studying recipes, I figured I'd use less eggs, a little corn starch, and even powdered sugar (since powdered sugar has corn starch in it).

The end result? A spicy punkin' pie that's so firm (not like rubbery-firm, though), you can dive right in 5 minutes after pulling it out of the oven. No kidding! Just don't burn yourself! Yes, you can enjoy your pumpkin pie a la mode, with some ice cream... Pie nice and warm and yummy ice cream? Yep, you read right. Your Thanksgiving is set this year! Anyone got a good eggnog or spumoni ice cream recipe?

Recipe for the gf pumpkin pie is in the recipe card below. These are the recipes that I "studied," (this one and this one) and used some of the spices from both. The white pepper is an extra touch (got the idea from Martha's gingerbread recipe), because I like my pumpkin pie with a kick! Those are my fav.

This is how you should cover the pie to ensure the crust doesn't burn:

Get yourself a nifty pie crust protector (not sure if that's the technical name)
Thanks, mom, for getting me one :)!


Here's what I call a pie-dome. It's aluminum foil;
there's plenty of "breathing room" between the pie and foil.

I'm lazy, that's why I've been gone.

Gone are the days, at least for now, when I can spend hours in the kitchen baking/cooking and washing dishes/cleaning up... and still have energy left over afterward to do something else. But I've never been happier. Exhaustion has set in; I'm a bum these days, a professional couch potato of sorts. I've even gotten way behind on my blog reading! Tsk tsk. Sure, I still get dressed and cook the occasional meal, which is usually something boring and easy, but things have been pretty mellow 'round here.

Speaking of round, as each day passes, I become a little more round than the day before... and it's not just because I've been eating Snickers and lots of salty refried bean burritos (two big recent cravings). I guess I shouldn't say I haven't been baking, because I'm a 24/7 baker these days.

Truth is, I'm baking the tastiest gluten-free bun! My scrumptious little bundle will not be ready until mid May, though... talk about needing a long time to proof! I'm 9 weeks today. He/she doesn't look like much yet, but he/she does have a heartbeat, eyes and limps now! Woohoo! And he/she can move, even though I can't feel him/her. I really don't care what flavor I get; boy or girl, they'd both be a delicious treat. Don't worry, I don't plan on eating 'em... but baby fat does remind me of bread dough, hence the analogy.

You want to know another reason why I haven't been posting? Because I EAT everything I bake before I actually get to photograph it :P! Terrible, I know I'm bad. I've made some pretty tasty gluten-free blueberry muffins, some delicious angel food cake cupcakes, and gluten-free flour tortillas. So you'll have to bear with me... here's a recipe from this summer. I made them for my dad-in-law's birthday (or Father's Day? Memory fails) & he liked 'em :)... so enjoy!