Monday, September 24, 2012

Gluten Free chocolate cake

For my birthday earlier this month I made an awesome cake.  The yummy recipe followes.
 
Chocolate Mud Cake

1 cup rice flour (all purpose if not gluten free)

2 teaspoons baking powder

6 tablespoons butter

2 ounces semisweet chocolate (or 1/3 cup chocolate chips)

1 cup sugar (2/3 cup & 1/3 cup, added separately)

3 tablespoons plus 1/3 cup Dutch-processed cocoa ( I used dark)

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup milk

1 egg yolk

1/3 cup brown sugar

11/2 cups hot water

Whipped cream or ice cream

How to make it

1 Coat the inside of a 2 1/2- to 5-quart slow cooker with cooking spray. (Note: the cake's cooking time and final appearance will vary depending on your crock's size.)

2 Whisk together the flour and baking powder in a medium bowl and set aside. In a large bowl, melt the butter and chocolate in the microwave or over a pan of simmering water and mix well.

3 Whisk in the 2/3 cup of sugar, 3 tablespoons of cocoa, vanilla extract, salt, milk, and egg yolk. Add the flour mixture and stir until thoroughly mixed.

4 Pour the batter into the slow cooker and spread it evenly. In a medium bowl, whisk together the remaining sugar, cocoa, and hot water until the sugar is dissolved.

5 Pour the mixture over the batter in the slow cooker. Cover and cook on high for 1 to 2 hours, depending on the size of the crock pot.

6 Even when done, the cake will be very moist and floating on a layer of molten chocolate, but you'll know it's ready when nearly all of the cake is set and the edges begin to pull away from the sides of the pot. (As you check, try not to let the condensed steam from the lid drip onto the cake.)

7 When it's done, turn off the power and remove the lid. Let it cool for 25 minutes, then serve it in bowls topped with whipped cream or ice cream. Makes 6 to 8 servings

Baptism

Jackson, our 7 yr. old, will be baptised at the end of October.  This past summer as we were driving to VBS one morning (June 15th) and the boys and I were singing along to a kid's Bible CD.  The song was about being, happy, loved and saved.  As we sang S-A-V-E-D Jeffrey asked what does that spell.  I said saved and Jackson said o yeah I am.  I said, really?  Jackson said yeah I prayed last night in bed and ask Jesus to live in my heart.  I began to ask him questions and then realized I was going the wrong way.  I then decide to wait to talk with Jackson till we got to church.  At church Jackson and I talked about what it means to be a Christian and to be saved.  I made sure Jackson understood that Jesus was God's Son who came to earth, had no sin (bad things) and died on the cross to pay for our bad things. And that by asking Jesus to live in his heart he was telling Jesus that he would follow God's Word, the Bible.  None of this was new to Jackson, because we talk about it all the time at home.  He said, why do we have to talk that's why I didn't want to tell you.  Oops, I was talking way to much for a 6 yr. old and a male, ha ha:)  We prayed together and then he went on to his class.  I told several other adults at church that day.  They each said something to Jackson that day during VBS.  When we got home he was not happy I told everyone.  He did tell Josh that evening, but he didn't want me to say anything to anyone else.  So, I haven't till now.  A couple of weeks ago Jackson and I were driving in the van once again, he likes to talk in the van, and he said he wanted to be baptised.  So we talked about what baptism is and why we do it.  God commands us to be baptised as a way to show others what we believe, but baptism doesn't save us.  Our faith and belief in Jesus does.  He is now ready to let everyone know what he believes and I also think he is maturing and getting more comfortable with attention and talking to adults. 
 
What do you believe?  Do you have faith in God?  Not sure, why don't you read God's Word.  Start in the book of John, the 4th book of the new testament.  You will learn a lot about Jesus and how he wants to have a relationship with you. 

Tortilla Soup

About a month ago I made tortilla soup and it frozen beautifully.  So I will be having it for lunch today as I am home sick from preschool.  Here is the recipe:
 Homemade Tortilla Soup
4 cups homemade chicken broth
8 cherry tomatoes, halved or can of diced tomatoes or whatever you have on hand
1 zucchini, sliced
1 medium carrot, peeled and sliced
1/2 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 large garlic clove, peeled and chopped
1 1/2 cups chicken breast meat, cooked and shredded
1/2 cup whole kernel corn
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped or 2 T. dried
Throw everything in a large pot.  Bring to a boil then reduced heat to a simmer.  Simmer for at least 30mins. or hours. 
Serve with tortilla chips, sour cream, cheese, avocado, etc.
Before I made this soup I looked at many recipes online and then picked and choose what I liked.  I didn't even follow the recipe I came up with to a " T."  For example I didn't have green bell pepper, but I had red.  So use what you have and I am sure it will turn out great.