Lammas & summer adventures

Had a lovely time at our family reunion in the Cascade Mountains Aug 1 (my mom's side). Since my last uncle died last winter ~ 93, my generation has moved up into the 'senior' category - hard to believe! It's fun to watch my grandkids play with their various cousins, & to chat with folks I see once or twice a year. Good people. Love that a couple of family BDs fall in early August, so we celebrate Lammas each year :)

I made hummus using garbanzo bean flour (nice shortcut!) & found this lovely hummus dressing recipe - yum! I used 3 T coconut oil & 2 olive, plus some fresh basil from my CSA share :) Made a cucumber salad to share, & put out the hummus & pesto.
& here's another from Kalyn: slow roasted tomato hummus - mmm (I dried a bunch of tomatoes & still have some, so would prob do that variation) My friend Kylene used to make a puree of sun dried tomatoes & another of pesto that she'd serve at her gatherings - plus she (& her goats) had the greatest goat cheese!!

Next weekend I head to the mountains (Cresent lake this time) for several days with my 'Moms Group' friends. Since going gluten free a few weeks ago, I need to plan a bit more for shared adventures . . . I was already a 'label reader' & trying to avoid a bunch of junk - now avoiding gluten containing products as well - & trying to stick to coconut & olive oil (or butter :)

Donna is bringing 'regular' dough & pizza fixings, so I'll bring gluten free (flour plus the wet ing seprate, as it doesn't have to rise!) I volunteered for Sun AM breakie geaturing homemade granola, my fav. yogurt & fresh fruit from the farmers market. I'll prob pick up some rice cakes, & may try my hand at gluten free bread. I also plan to bring hummus & pesto, maybe some artichoke hearts, kalamata olives & sun dried tomatoes for my fav. kind of pizza :)

My dau. made up several bread mixes from one of her GF cookbooks, & I've been gathering ingredients for my own. I hate it when I find a bag of flour I bought in bulk & DIDN'T label!! What is it?? Working on remembering to do that, & to transfer it to jars & label those!!

Since going gluten free, we've noticed a big change in the 4 year old's behavior - she's much mellower! Her 9 yr old sis no longer has circles under her eyes! The blood work didn't show that the gene's been activated, but for various reasons, my dau decided to give 'gluten free' a try, & just see if folks felt better (we all have the genes that could make us gluten sensitive).

My blood type is A+, & for years I've known I did better with a minimum of wheat - so the shift feels good. As my dau says, 'if it were only bread!' there are so many places gluten containing products 'hide!' . . .

Brown Rice Flour mix:
2 C brown rice flour
2/3 C potato or corn starch
1/3 C tapioca flour

Pizza Crust:
1 C BR Flour mix
1/3 C quinoa ground with sesame seeds (~ 1/2 each)
1/4 C coconut flour
1 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 - 1 tsp sugar
1 tsp Italian Herb blend
1 Tbsp active dry yeast
2/3 C warm water or buttermilk
1 Tbsp coconut or olive oil
Mix dry ingredients, add moist ing. & beat for 3-5 minutes. (soft bread dough)
Sprinkle pizza pan with cornmeal & pat dough out/ roll ~ 12" circle & pinch outside rim.
Bake at 425* for 10 min. - I use a pizza stone & don't pre-heat oven.
Top with favorite toppings (pesto or red sauce, layered with sun dried tomatoe strips, artichoke hearts, olives, etc. sprinkle with grated cheese or feta) bake 7-15 min.
I added fresh tomatoe slices & basil after cooking.