{The Everyday - Kelp Noodles}

Welcome to November! I cannot believe how fast this past month has gone and how quickly my life has changed.  We enjoyed our lovely trip to the Hawaiian Islands at the beginning of the month and spent the rest of it getting back into real life.  We were able to go to the beautiful and lush island of Kauai for our honeymoon and  I cannot wait to share all about the food culture and variety there. For now, just know that anyone with a common allergy could not only survive, but actually thrive.  There are wonderful options all over this beautiful island.  Honestly, it was so amazing, a move was and still is tempting....

As for today, I am back home in my lovely seaside home of Carlsbad and I am excited to share with you one of the most nutritious and unique foods in my refrigerator.  Kelp Noodles! Have you tried them? They are, at first glance, very odd looking and truly not that appealing, but believe me they are surprisingly fun. 

Full of fabulous fiber and rich in iodine, Kelp Noodles assist with digestion and boost your thyroid. Oh and did I mention they are practically calorieless... They can be found in most health food stores like Mother's, Jimbo's or even Sprouts on occasion. Kelp Noodles can be used to spice up a salad, add texture to stir fries or even to replace spaghetti if you're craving a hot dish with tasty marinara sauce.

To get started, I suggest washing and rinsing your noodles.  Then, using kitchen scissors, cut little 1-2 inches long pieces into a salad and see how you like the extra crunch.  Kelp Noodles can soak up flavor well, especially if they are allowed to marinate in a dressing or sauce. If you'd prefer a softer noodle I suggest you take this approach.  Next, try using longer cuts of the noodles in a stir fry with Coconut Secret's Coconut Aminos Seasoning Sauce. Add veggies and nuts and spices to your heart's delight! You really can't go wrong.  In the end it may remind you of a warm Thai noodle dish soaked in soy sauce, minus the calories and estrogen-filled soy.

If you really start to enjoy the flavor of this sea vegetable you should try other textures and flavors! Check out my recipe for Seaweed Rice Salad to get you started. 
Add this fun exotic food for some variety in your daily diet and let me know how it goes!Enjoy!

{October Love with an Every Day Post}

Happy Fall to you all! 

It's here and I can't believe it.  Three days until we marry! The time has flown.  Didn't we just get engaged? It seems like yesterday!

Well here in the sweet town of Carlsbad we are going full speed ahead.  The biggest event of my life is quite a bit of work! I must admit I'm just eager for the party to start.  For a quick update, I baked and frosted my wedding cake today! We chose a simple set up, a rich vanilla cake with blackberry preserve as the filling between the layers and finished it with a creamy, toasted coconut frosting.  It's a tiny, darling little cake with two 6" layers.  My Love is so sweet.  I popped in his room and asked him to come see it.  His reaction was just wonderful.  He loves it and shared how excited he was that we get to have a cake we made oursleves. Isn't that just what every baker bride wants to hear from her fiance? I'd say we're a good match. 

In five days we will be flying off to Kauai for our two week honeymoon! We couldn't be more excited.  I did some research and created a little list of places I want to stop by while there.  Kauai has a few GF and V restaurants, coffee shops and local eateries that sound intriguing and tasty.  My Love has already stated that we will be visiting farmers markets, which of course made me quite excited.  That sounds just perfect! Again, it's as if he knows me.....

I am still going to pack some essentials, just in case the local markets aren't as supplied as the ones here.  The first essential that came to mind was my instant GF oatmeal by Glutenfreeda.  It is perfect for traveling and is my go to for a filling and healthy breakfast.  I also love that it has a little flax in it...just in case traveling is causing a little back up.  Yes, I did just mention that.  Unfortunately it's not sold every where yet.  I have to pick it up at a smaller local GF bakery in Encinitas called Healthy Creations.  I encourage you to try it if it is sold in your local health food store and take it as a morning treat on your travels too!

Wish me luck this wedding week! I will give you a little summary of our Kauai adventures when I return. Enjoy your last week of September!

{October Love}

{Brooke Aliceon Photography}

Today I want to share a new little piece of my life with you all.  As many of you know I am engaged to the most wonderful man Jesus ever created.  We are getting married the first of October this Fall and I couldn’t be more excited. It’s been quite a journey so far preparing for this special day; a journey that I realize all of you have taken or will eventually take.  I’ve found so far that my own experiences can be encouraging, helpful and inspiring to others who may be traveling down the same road or are about to begin a similar adventure.  It is from this realization that I came to a conclusion;  I would like to begin sharing my progression through the three months I have left of my engagement.  I plan to record my inspirations, visions, experiences, frustrations, thoughts, advice, victories and any little joys that arise from the general process.  I hope you find these posts enjoyable, if not at least entertaining.  I will continue my food posts as usual.  They will simply be sprinkled with life and love posts. 

I will begin right now by giving you the basics.  We are getting married in the beautiful coastal city of Carlsbad, California.  It will be a small and intimate garden wedding.  Colors include a rich forest green, a stormy blue, and an accent of eggplant purple with base colors of steel grey and warm ivory.  I have envisioned a very natural and airy setting.  The ceremony will finish right at sunset, allowing the reception to be lit with strings of soft glowing light. 

The pieces are truly beginning to come together and my vision, which was quite broad at first, is beginning to narrow, revealing the fun details.  I am sure this progression will continue as the months sweep by. 

So here finishes my first little story about the wonderful October event.  I hope you will continue to stop by and share in my adventures of wedding, food and life.  Keep a look out for more {October Love} posts to come.  

Enjoy!

Apple Muffins

October is a birthday month! Both of the men in my life celebrate their special days in the first week of this wonderful month. Don't worry, one of them is my Dad.  Haha and he is the one that inspired this recipe!  A lover of the apple and all things that incorporate this tasty fruit, I wanted to find a recipe that used it in a simply delicious way.  My family was having a birthday breakfast for him, so I thought muffins might be a light but filling treat.  Since it's the closest thing to a cupcake, it fit the birthday atmosphere quite well.

The muffins turned out fantastic! I am not just saying that...they really did! Even as I am writing this my Dad is asking me when I am going to make more.

Again, my little backyard apple tree is producing up a storm, so the Michel family has more apples than they know what to do with! Solution?  My Dad says... more apple muffins!

The original recipe is from a wonderful blog called MAID in Alaska. As is typical, I changed a few things here and there, but check out her original recipe here to create your own version.

{Apple Muffins}

6 TBSP boiling Water
2 TBSP Chia Seeds
3 Cups Gluten-free Oats
1 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Xanthan Gum
1/2 tsp Sea Salt
1 1/2 Cinnamon
2 TBSP Grapeseed Oil
2 tsp Vanilla
1/4 Cup Agave
1/4 Cup unsweetened Applesauce
1 Apple shredded/grated
1 Apple chopped with skin on

To begin heat oven to 350 degrees and heat the water.  Grind the Chia seeds in your blender until they become more like meal.  Once your water is boiling, pour it in with the Chai seeds and set aside. Use the blender again to grind the Oats.  Neither the Oats nor the Chai has to be completely ground, just enough to keep texture while still creating some finer meal/flour.  Combine the Oat flour with the rest of the dry ingredients.

Next shred your first Apple with a cheese grater.  Place the shredded Apple in a large bowl with all the wet ingredients. Gradually add your dry mixture to this wet mixture.  Finally chop your second Apple, leaving the skin on, and fold into your batter.  Pour into greased muffin tins and bake for 20-30 minutes, depending on your oven!

Once they are golden brown, pull them out, let them cool and enjoy! They are delicious right out of the oven. They don't even need butter or honey, although these are always delightful compliments.

Enjoy!

{Other Wonderful Recipe Collections}

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Blackberry Apple Cake

Now that Fall is truly upon us, my family's apple tree has been delivering gorgeous fruit! I love using produce from my own garden or from local farmers markets, so the fact that I can go and grab an apple directly from my yard brings me great satisfaction. My wonderful man and I also happened to go blackberry picking a few weeks ago and gathered enough to make multiple delicious treats.  I froze most of them so I can bring them out later when they're no longer in season.  Today I wanted to share a tasty cake that we made from my apples and blackberries.  I found a wonderful recipe on Karina's blog that caught my eye and I just had to give it a try.  The following recipe has a few alterations, but feel free to follow her original recipe that incorporates cranberries.  I may use that version when Thanksgiving rolls around.  I ate this yummy cake in the morning and would love to bring it to a brunch sometime! It also tasted delicious in the evening with my favorite coconut milk ice cream.  Give it a try and let me know when you prefer to enjoy it! I hope you are enjoying this year's Fall as much as I am!

{Blackberry Apple Cake}

Ingredients:
1 Cup Sorguhum Flour
1/2 Cup Buckwheat Flour
1/4 Cup Potato Starch
1 tsp Xanthan Gum
1 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Sea Salt
2 tsp Cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground Cloves
1 Cup Sucant

1 TBSP Egg-Replacer
1/4 Cup warm Water
1/2 Cup Grapeseed Oil
1/2 Cup unsweetened Applesauce
1/2 cup of unsweetened vanilla Almond Milk
1/4 teaspoon Rice Vinegar
2 TBSP raw organic Agave
1 tsp Bourbon Vanilla

2 Cups Chopped Apples
3/4 Cup frozen Blackberries

To begin preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9 inch round pan.  Then mix all the dry ingredients together in a medium bowl and all the wet in a larger bowl.  Stir well and then combine the two in the larger bowl.  Fold in the Apples and then pour batter into pan.  Tuck in the Blackberries throughout the batter.  Drizzle Honey or Agave over the batter in a criss-cross fashion.  Place in warmed oven and bake for 45-60 minutes. Test it by sticking a small knife in the center.  If it comes out clean, without lingering batter, then it is ready! Pull out and eat warm. This cake is a delicious breakfast treat or yummy dessert when served a la mode!

Gluten Free Wednesdays

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Cranberry Acorn Squash Goat Cheese Pizza

Welcome to the season of Fall! I would like to say it's my favorite season, but honestly it's always been a wash between Fall and Spring.  Yet, every time I notice that brisk chill in the air or the changing color of leaves, Fall quickly takes first place in my heart.  For now it has my loyalty and as I start pulling out those cozy scarves and warm jackets my excitement will grow even more.  

Obviously, I believe such a magnificent season must be brought in with style and celebration.  You may laugh, but Thursday was the official first day of Fall and I created a Fall-inspired meal.  I didn't plan to make it feel like Thanksgiving, but my central ingredient is typically on the Turkey day menu.  I had an Acorn Squash that was a little past due and needed to be used, so I decided to try a new twist on an old favorite: a colorful Fall pizza!  My pizza dough continues to rock my family's taste buds, so it works wells as a base for any fun creative dish.  

Here's the outcome of my Fall and Acorn Squash inspirations! I hope you can give this delightful recipe a try! 

{Cranberry Acorn Squash Goat Cheese Pizza}

~makes 12 squares

For the Dough:

1 package of dry, active Yeast

1 tbsp Sucant
1 cup warm Water

3 Tablespoons Olive Oil

1 teaspoon crushed dry Rosemary

1 teaspoon of Oregano

1/2 teaspoon Cardamon

1/2 teaspoon Curry Powder

1/2 Tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar

1 teaspoon Sea Salt

1 teaspoon Xanthan Gum

1/4 cup Sucant (Organic Evaporated Cane Sugar works as well)

2 1/2 cup Bob's Red Mill All-Purpose Flour

For the Topping:

1 ripe Acorn Squash

1 Tablespoon Olive Oil

2 Tablespoons Pure Maple Syrup

1/4 teaspoon of Sea Salt 

2 cups fresh or defrosted Cranberries

1 cup sautéed Onions

Goat Cheddar and Brie Cheese

To begin, combine 1 cup warm water (following temp. directions on your yeast package) with the Yeast and Sucant in a small bowl and whisk.  Let it sit for 5-10 minutes allowing the yeast to proof and foam.

While the yeast works, combine everything except the flour in a large bowl. Then add the proofed yeast and flour. Mix it all with a spatula and work the dough into a ball for 2-3 minutes. Cover your pizza stone or 10x13 baking sheet with olive oil and sprinkle cornmeal all over to keep it from sticking.

Finally, drop the dough with the aid of your spatula onto the stone.  Wet your hands to flatten and spread the dough evenly to the thickness you want your crust to be.  Lightly coat the dough with olive oil.  This will help it brown beautifully.

Place pizza in pre-heated oven at 425 degrees and bake for 10 minutes. 

To prepare the Acorn Squash, microwave it whole for 2 minutes to soften it.  Cut in half and scoop it clean.  Then continue to slice into little half moons about 1/2 inch or so thick.  Toss in a large bowl with the Olive Oil, Sea Salt and Maple Syrup until well covered.  Place on parchment lined sheet and pour remaining liquid over the squash. 

Pull your pizza out and turn the oven down to 375 degrees.  When ready place the Acorn Squash in the oven for about 20 minutes or until soft.

Meanwhile grate fresh Goat Cheddar and Brie all over the pizza until it's well covered.  Top it with the Cranberries and lightly sautéed Onions.  Once the Squash is ready pull the skins off and place them on top, either moonshaped or diced.  Once the cheese begins to bubble pull it out and let it cool.  

I hope this new twist on pizza brings the fall season home for you! Happy brisk and cozy days to you!

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