Farm Fresh Milk

Is there anything better than a cold glass of milk and a warm chocolate chip cookie? How can anyone improve such a simple childhood treat that never goes out of style? Here's a thought farm fresh milk straight from the cow. I have been using raw milk for a little over a year now (I'm totally hooked). I love the taste, and the fresh mozzarella I make has never tasted better since using this milk. You may be asking what is raw milk. Raw milk is fresh milk straight from the cow in it's natural state. That mean the milk has not been pasteurized. Unfortunately it is illegal to buy or sell raw milk in many states so if you have any questions or concerns about the dangers of consuming raw milk check out this website for more details http://www.realmilk.com/

Cheesy GF Dinner Rolls

Here's a recipe for one of our favorite GF dinner rolls. I was given this recipe from a lady at our local Brazilian market. She referred to then as Pan De Yuka. She uses yuka flour but told me it's the same thing as tapioca flour which I can easily find in most of our markets. They're best served hot right out of the oven.

Cheesy GF Dinner Rolls
2 1/2 cups tapioca flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
4 cups shredded cheese, I use mozzarella cheese or a combo of 3 cups mozzarella, 1 cup cheddar or Colby.
1 stick butter, room temp
2 eggs

1. Preheat oven to 500 degrease.

2. In the bowl of a food processor add flour, baking powder, salt, and cheese. Pulse until cheese is cut into the flour mixture.

3. Add butter to the flour/cheese mixture and pulse until mixture forms a fine crumbly texture.

4. Add the eggs and pulse until the dough just comes together and starts to pull away from the edge of the bowl.

5. Form dough into small balls. Place on ungreased cookie sheet.

6. Bake at 500 for 6-7 minutes.

7. Set the oven to a high broil and bake another 2-3 minutes until the rolls have a slight golden color.

Serve warm and enjoy! Please note these rolls freeze really well . Just form the dough into balls and freeze. Let thaw slightly then bake following steps 6 & 7.

I've been experimenting with different flavor combinations so far one of our favorites is to use cheddar cheese and add 1-2 tablespoons dill weed (use the lesser amount of dill if using fresh).

Gluten Free Paula Deen

While sitting in my kitchen not so long ago I couldn't help but think about the recipes I needed to perfect & convert to GF. Where to start, so many choices and so many requests from my girls. Do I start with pizza, crackers, cookies, what will it be? Oooo, I know, what's the one cake that every proper southern girl should master? That's right, Red Velvet with cream cheese frosting. So I set out to make it. I Googled and Googled until I found what looked like a very moist and fluffy red velvet recipe. The taste was great but the texture was all wrong. As many of you probably know, the texture is always the issue with Gluten Free cooking. It's either too dry, too heavy, or way too gritty. So with much disappointment I set out to find another recipe. I have now tried about five different recipes and not a single one has lived up to my standards. So now I am left on my own to develop a truly delightful recipe. You might ask how does one do this, well for starters embrace failure. The fact is that some recipes will work and some won't. Now for the final piece of advice, channel your inner Paula Deen. I'm talk'n full fat, full butter, and full fun kind of goodness put into your food. With that kind of energy I know I'll develop the perfect Gluten Free Red Velvet cake, moist & fluffy and topped with the best cream cheese frosting. Can you say yummy. So now I'm off to transform myself into the Gluten Free Paula Deen. Y'all be good now!

Where's my Creativity?

OK, so why is it when you give yourself a deadline all creativity flies out the window? I have finally given myself a completion date for my cookbook (Spring 2010). That's a good thing, right? However, now all creativity seems to have flown out the window. What I have discovered is that I am a stubborn, hard headed, completely out of the box kind of person. I think it must be genetic as most of my family is the same way. I hate being told what to do, how to do it, and when to do it. That's one reason why my husband and I home school our kids. Honestly, I didn't want to be told what I had to do with my kids, let alone when we had to wake up in the morning:) It's those darn Scots-Irish roots I think. Genetics or not, what I have decided is that this is going to be a great test of perseverance for me. I will stick to my deadline and persevere through this confining, stifling structure, otherwise known as work to most.