So my 7 year old has to make a presentation to his second grade class about the Cheetah. Part of the presentation is to create a piece of art work of the Cheetah. So he molded clay, used a pipe cleaner for a tail and then painted it. He pretty much created did it on his own.
Day 276 of 366
I know that fall isn’t technically tulip season but our local grocer gets them from somewhere. I like them as does my wife. I also enjoy taking photos of them.
I liked the light I got from the kitchen light here. I was worried it would be too yellow but alas it’s a halogen so I didn’t have to mess with the white balance much.
Spent some time outside today… Enjoying the warm fall weather.
Hard to believe this is the last day of September. 3 more months left in this years photo a day project.
Lately, I’ve enjoyed learning how to bake without eggs and starchy flours. After years of removing gluten from our diet, we’ve had to remove many of the starches and eggs due to further sensitivities which has led to lots of experimentation and these delicious gluten free vegan pumpkin pecan scones.
There are a few options to replace eggs in baking: Flax seeds, Chia Seeds, Bananas, Apple Sauce, and EnerG Replacer. I have used EnerG Replacer in the past, which is a starchy powder that you whisk with water. It is made with tapioca starch and tapioca is currently on the sensitivity list. So I’ve chosen to work with chia seeds, when mixed with liquid they seem to have the same consistency of eggs and they don’t add any sweetness or taste to the recipes.
I’ve tried using chia seeds whole and ground and they work either way. If you use them whole you will find them in the final baked product. You will feel them pop on occasion. I have found that if ground up in a coffee grinder, you never notice them. I add enough in a coffee grinder so that when ground up I’ll have 1 level tablespoon of grounds. Place the grounds in a bowl and add 3 tablespoons of liquid. I have used soy milk, almond, milk, hemp milk and water, it doesn’t seem to matter. Allow this mixture to set for about 15 minutes and when whisked together it will have an egg like consistency.
Don’t be surprised if it takes a couple of batches before you figure it out and when you do you’ll be able to convert your recipes to egg free as well!
Who’s ready for pumpkin scones?
1 1/2 cup Almond flour
1/2 cup Coconut flour
1 tsp Baking powder
1tsp Xanthum gum
1/2 tsp Sea Salt
1/2 tsp Nutmeg
1/4 tsp All Spice
1tsp Cinnamon
3 TBS Coconut Sugar
2 TBS Light Brown Sugar
5 TBS Spectrum Organic Vegetable Shortening
4 TBS Organic Pumpkin
1 TBS ground chia seeds combined with 3TBS soy milk(or Almond, Hemp milk or water)
1/2 cup chopped Pecans, if desired
2 tsp Vanilla
Preheat oven to 350F. Grind up enough chia seeds in a coffee grinder/blender to make 1 TBS of chia seed grounds and combine with 3TBS of liquid and set aside.
Combine dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl and whisk together.
Add 5 TBS vegetable shortening and cut into the dry ingredients with a fork or a whisk.
Add pumpkin and vanilla and combine.
Take the bowl of chia seed grounds and liquid and whisk together, it will form an egg like consistency. Add to large bowl and mix it all together. I use a heavy duty whisk and spatula for this.
Mixture should be wet enough that it will stick together when you try and form a ball or scone, but not runny at all, if it seems runny add a sprinkle more coconut flour. Section dough into 8 equal balls and form to whatever shapes you wish on a silicone liner on a cookie sheet. I use a this Silpat version.
Place cookie sheet in the oven and set the timer for 15 minutes. If the tops are just starting to brown, the scones are done, if not set the timer for another 5 min. I usually go 20 minutes in my oven. A side note about ovens, I have found that it is necessary to get an oven thermometer when baking with gluten free and vegan treats and remember to check the temp on the thermometer frequently. My oven is thermometer is 30 degrees off. This made a huge difference in my baking experience when I finally figured out that I had to preheat my ovens temp to 380 for it to actually reach 350.
I enjoy these plain or with a dab of Vegan butter spread(Earth Balance whipped spread) or with a delicious vegan frosting dribbled over the top.
Day 273 of 366
Had brunch at a friends house today and I liked the light on these grapes.
I guess it’s part of my style but on occasion I enjoy centering the subject to the horizontal plane instead of the background. If you’ll notice the table it would appear that these grapes are about to val off the table. I have no idea if this is something that is appropriate or not, but I like it on occasion. It plays tricks on my bran and often makes more interesting images.
My wife picked up this neat autumn leaf dish… I liked the color and texture!
Photo a Day 272/366
Photo number 271 of 366
I was looking around for a photo this afternoon and decided to cut this kiwi in half to see if I could find an interesting image.
This is when I wish I had a macro lens… Post Processing done in OnOneSoftware Perfect Photo Suite 6
I usually get to my mom’s Peach roses way too late. So late that the sun has bleached out all the color, but not today.
I snapped this with my iPhone 4s. It looked really good on my phone’s screen and looks a bit softer on my computer screen… For some reason i think I like the softer on a little better.
I did spend stop to smell them a bit too! Hadn’t done that in a while….. This photo is available for purchase! Purchase the Peach Rose! It’s also available on Instacanv.as!
My daughter loves to finger paint. Displaying her inner Jackson Pollack!
I remember first seeing Pollack’s work in College. For some reason it always intrigued me.
I’m not exactly sure why splattered paint on a canvas did anything for me, but I think maybe it’s because I could drip paint on a canvas. Anyone could do it.
That pretty much sums up any art today… Everyone can do it, but who will show off the drips.
So I made gluten free vegan donuts last night… This is the preliminary recipe and will have to update this as I continue to tweak it. I just need to write it down and get it posted or else I’ll forget. Thank you to all that have shared my recipes in your social circles.
1 1/2 cups Almond Flour
1/2 cup Coconut Flour
1/2 cup Cocoa Powder-I used a generous 1/2 cup
1tsp xanthum gum
1tsp baking soda
2tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1 cup coconut sugar
3TBS Blackstrap Molasses
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup warm coffee
2TBS Ground Chia Seeds in 6TBS milk(almond, soy, hemp etc)
And I just realized that I didn’t add any vegetable shortening shortening or coconut oil! So i’ll have to go back and remake these to see if that changes anything.
Anyways, mix all ingredients in a large bowl, I add the dry ingredients together first and whisk together and then start adding the liquid and mix all together.
I use a Sunbeam Donut maker. Available at Amazon, and might be found at places like Target. I wasn’t able to pour this dough into the maker, I had to use olive oil on my hands and roll out long cigar pieces of dough and fill the spots in the donut maker. I let the machine back the donuts for about 15 minutes, and checked them at about 10min.
