Macarons!

I love, love, love macarons!  I loved them before I went gluten free, it’s just one of those dreamy treats I didn’t have to give up.  I tried a recipe from Pinterest for my first try, tasty, but there were some improvements to be made.  This recipe turned out perfect, and of course, I had to change it a little.

This had to be one of the most thoughtful gifts I ever received.  I was at a Christmas party for our church and I eyed a plate, the ONLY plate, of Macarons and by the time I sought out the person who brought them to ask if they were gluten free, they were gone.  I asked her how hard they were to make, and she said she’d tried several and loves them too.  The next week she brought over this recipe book because I had asked her about them.  And it wasn’t only thoughtful, but this book is AWESOME!  They have printable pdf files of templates too on a CD included in the back of the book.  SO cute!  You can buy it HERE.

Measure by weight, not volume!

Basic Recipe (my changes in BLUE)

200g powdered sugar

110g almond flour

100g egg whites aged at room temperature

Pinch of cream of tartar

35g superfine sugar

4-6 drops lime doTerra essential oil

Dab of green food coloring paste

Measure all of the ingredients with a digital scale. 

Preheat oven to 320’ for at least 30 minutes.

Sift the powdered sugar and almond flour into a bowl together.  Combine well using a wire whisk and set aside.

In a mixer bowl, beat egg whites until opaque and creamy.  Add pinch of cream of tartar and continue to beat until soft peaks form.  Slowly add superfine sugar and beat until stiff peaks form.  Add food coloring his point if you choose to use it.

Fold and stir the powdered sugar/almond flour mixture into the egg whites, adding 1/3 of the mixture at a time.  The mixture will be the texture of thick cake batter, but fluffy and light.  Add the macaron mix to a piping bag with a tip #12 attached.  Pipe onto silicone mat or on parchment paper circles.  Tap the cookie sheet to release bubbles and help the mix spread out within the circles.  Allow to set 30-40 minutes(I found 20 minutes too short to leave an adequate skin).  They will get a skin and look dull.  This skin helps them rise up rather than spread out.  Turn oven down to 300’.  Bake one cookie sheet on the bottom rack at a time for 10-12 minutes, rotate the pan halfway through to allow steam to escape and evenly distribute heat.  Cookies should NOT brown.

Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly.  Peel the cookies off of the parchment or silicone mat to finish cooling. 

Divide the cooled cookies into pairs of like sizes.  Pipe the icing into the center with enough of it to go to the ends, but not spill out.  Refrigerate overnight for best results.

Icing: 

2 sticks softened/room temperature(not melted) butter (I prefer salted)

4 cups powdered sugar

1 ½ Tbl. Rum emulsion flavoring

2 tsp. almond emulsion flavoring

Beat all of the ingredients in a large mixer bowl on high for several minutes.  Scrape the bowl as needed.  Add more milk or powdered sugar to get a thick consistency.  Cover and let sit 15 minutes and beat again.  A cake decorator taught me if you did this then you don’t have to sift the sugar. 

Lime Curd:

½ cup sugar

Zest of 3 limes

½ Cup Fresh lime juice

4 egg yolks(now you get to use those egg yolks up.

Pinch of salt

¼ cup butter, room temperature

½ cup white chocolate chips

Whisk all of the ingredients except the butter and chocolate chips in a small saucepan.  Over very low heat, bring to a simmer whisking the entire time.  It will thicken up as it begins to bubble while still stirring.   After it’s thick, remove from heat and add white chocolate chips.  Stir until they are completely melted and incorporated.  Allow to cool until just warm enough to melt butter.  Add 1 Tbl. of butter at a time and incorporate all of the butter. I didn’t like the look of orange yolk color with the specks of green zest so I added some green food coloring.   Set aside until cool.

When the Lime Curd is cool, add 1/2-3/4 cup to Buttercream Icing and mix well.  Spoon icing mix into a piping bag with another #12 tip. 

Prepare your cooled cookies to fill with icing by pairing them up with like sizes and shapes.  Turn one of the pair over and pipe icing into the center. 

Refrigerate cookies in a tightly sealed or covered container overnight for best results. 

One of my experiments was too ugly to photograph, but yummy enough to gobble up, lavender macarons with lemon icing.  There are countless variations, but I'm partial to anything with citrus in it.  You can even add mashed berries to icing, or even mascarpone cheese/pudding mix(you need something help it stay together).

Enjoy!!!!

Gluten Free Honey Chipotle Enchiladas

Gluten Free Honey Chipotle Enchiladas

Shredded Pork

Large Corn Tortillas

Diced Onion

Coconut Oil

Crushed Garlic

Gluten Free Enchilada Sauce(red or green)

Honey

Chipotle Sauce(gravy) from a can of Adobo Chilies

Lime & Cilantro doTerra Essential Oils

Grated Pepper Jack Cheese

I wanted enchiladas but one of my kiddos is not a fan.  I promised this child she would at least like these, and she did actually eat one and said they weren't bad.  I came up with this kind of as I went along so there are no step by step pics either.  And they were gone before I knew it so no plated culinary food porn, sorry.  Let me know what you think if you try them.

Pan fry each tortilla on each size with coconut oil until soft and pliable.  Set on dish and cover with damp towel or plastic wrap loosely while frying the rest of them.  Empty 2 large cans of enchilada sauce into aa measuring bowl.  Add 1-3 Tbl. of Chipotle Sauce, around ¼ cup of honey, 3 drops lime essential oil, 1 drop cilantro essential oil.  Mix with whisk and set aside.  Sautee onions with a little bit of coconut oil and salt to taste until almost translucent.  Add crushed garlic and cook a few minutes.  Set aside.

Assembling the Enchiladas:  TIP:  Spray 9x13 pan with a little bit of non-stick spray.  Then drizzle honey across the bottom in spaced and thin ribbons.  This will act as the “glue” to hold the rolled enchiladas in place!  You do not need to coat the tortillas on each side with sauce, we’re skipping that step. 

Spread a little bit of shredded pork in a line down the center of one tortilla.  Next sprinkle a little bit of onion, next shredded pepper jack cheese, and a spoonful of enchilada sauce.  Roll up and lay seam side down in the baking dish.  I was able to get a dozen in one pan.  Pour about 2 cups of the enchilada sauce over the enchiladas, cover with foil and bake at 350 for 30 minutes.  Remove foil, add more pepper jack cheese over the enchiladas and bake another 15 minutes, until cheese is gold and bubbly.  Let cool about 15 minutes.  Additional garnishes if you like, olives, cilantro, sour cream, cotija cheese, onions, etc….

Sesame Ginger Dressing

2/3 cup rice wine vinegar
1/3 cup light flavored oil(I used a light flavored extra virgin olive oil)
1/3 cup raw agave syrup
1 tsp. toasted sesame oil
6 drops doTerra Ginger Essential Oil
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. fresh ground pepper
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes

Combine all ingredients in a shaker or blender and mix well.  Refrigerate any unused dressing.

Lime & Cilantro Blender Salsa

To a Blender Add:

1 medium onion rough chopped

2 jalapeno peppers rough chopped(leave seeds if you like heat)

2 cloves garlic pressed

Pulse until finely diced or minced.

Add:

2 14.5 cans petite diced tomatoes

1 14.5 can of tomatoes with green chilies(or rotel)

1 14.5 can of Italian stewed tomatoes

2 Tbl. Brown Sugar

1-2 tsp. kosher salt(to taste)

1 generous tsp. cumin

½ tsp. red chili flakes

4 drops doTerra Lime Essential Oil

4 drops doTerra Cilantro Essential Oil(depends on taste)

Pulse and blend until you like the consistency.  Taste test of course and add more doTerra oil or spices to your liking.  This makes just over 2 qts., which still does not last long in our house.  Store in the refrigerator.

I don't have a picture yet, I will later though :)

To order doTerra oils from me, go HERE.

PRINT HERE

Sunshine Breakfast Smoothie

1 Grapefruit, peeled, seeds removed
6 Cuties(mandarins), peeled
2 Bananas, peeled and cut
1 cup frozen Blackberries
1 cup frozen Raspberries
8-10 Mint Leaves
4-6 drops of doTerra Citrus Bliss

Pulse a few times and then puree.  Makes 2 large, creamy smoothies.

Home Canned Apple Pie Filling

18 cups(about 6 lbs.) peeled, cored, sliced apples
3 cups white granulated sugar
1-1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 cup corn starch
1 Tbl. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground all spice
1/2 tsp. ground cardamom
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 cup lemon juice
1 64 oz. bottle unsweetened apple juice or cider
2 cups water
2 tsp. pure vanilla extract(or 1 tsp. double strength)
1 drop doTerra Ginger Essential Oil
1 drop doTerra Wild Orange Essential Oil
7 Quart Sized Jars with disks and rings for canning

Peel apples.  Segment peeled apples using an apple corer/wedger* and place in a large bowl with water and lemon juice(1/4 cup per 4 cups cool water), set aside.  Bring a large pot of water to boil to blanch apple wedges for one minute, 6 cups at a time.  Set aside apples in another large bowl and keep warm(I just covered with a towel).  In a very large pot combine sugars, cornstarch, dry spices, and whisk.  Add apple juice or apple cider, lemon juice, and water and bring to a boil.  When it starts to thicken add apple wedges and cook another 5-10 minutes until thick and apples are heated through.  Turn off heat and stir in vanilla, and essential oils.  Ladle apples and syrup into sterilized hot jars, leaving 1" head space.  Run a chopstick or canning tool through to remove bubbles.  Wipe rims and add disks and rings.  Process 25 minutes, or as recommended based on your altitude.  Remove and let cool overnight.  If any have not sealed within one hour, refrigerate and use within 2 weeks.

Recipe yields 6-7 quart jars.  One quart for a 9" pie plate.

Do not use if seal breaks, if lid is bulging, or it smells.  A few of my jars oozed pie  filling a little while processing, but my canning expert friend assures me this is okay so long as they seal properly.  Just wipe down any residue being careful not to break any seals.  All but one sealed properly.  Oh darn, if we MUST make a pie.

Whisk sugar, corn starch, and dry spices before adding apple juice/cider, lemon, and water.

Apple Cranberry Sauce

I read a description online of a gourmet shop with these ingredients, well, almost all of them.  Hers called for Allspice, I used Ginger instead.  I of course had no measurements, but I tried to keep track so I could replicate this again in case we liked it.  We REALLY liked it!  And it's a gorgeous color too.

I used a 20 qt. large stock pot I believe.

Granny Smith Apples(approx. 20 medium size)
Fuji Apples (8 large size)
4 limes, juiced(microwave for 30 seconds first)
2-4 cups water(depends on how thick you like it)
1 bag fresh cranberries


sugar(optional, I thought 3 cups was perfect)

1 Tbl. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 tsp. kosher salt

2-3 drops doTerra Wild Orange Essential Oil

Add 2 cups water and lime juice to large stock pot.  Peel, core, slice, and quarter or half apples.  Add the apples to the pot stirring often so that all of the apples are coated with the lime juice.  They cook down as you keep adding so you can add more than you think you will be able to fit.  If you need more water, add as necessary.  Rinse and pick through the bag of cranberries for any questionable berries and toss the gross ones.  When the pot is filled about half way, add the prepared cranberries.  Add remaining apples.  Stir and stir until all of the apples are tender and the berries are done popping.  Remove from heat and using a long handled immersion blender blend until smooth, or your desired consistency.  Bring back to a low rolling boil/simmer.  Add cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt and taste.  Add sugar if you desire to your liking.  Simmer for 5 more minutes.  Add doTerra Wild Orange Essential Oil and mix very well.

If you are canning:  Remove sterilized jars and fill one at a time while mixture is still slightly bubbling after the low rolling boil for 5 minutes.  Top with sealing disc and tighten with ring just until tightened.  Process in boiling water with rack for 25 minutes(I'm at 2,600 ft, so you'll have to check your elevation requirements).  Remove jars and set on towel to remain undisturbed for 24 hours.  Check the sealing discs though after 1-2 hours to verify all jars have been sealed by gently pushing down in center.  This yielded 7 1qt. jars.

If you are not canning, this would be great in the freezer as well.  Use this sauce as a yogurt mixin or topping for ice cream.  Or just plain like in my old book.

Homemade Powdered Laundry Detergent

I found several homemade laundry detergent recipes online, and I've been washing my own laundry using just this basic recipe.  I have really dry & sensitive skin and prefer this over any "free" detergents on the market.  I haven't noticed any dulling or issues getting stains out.  I have never used anything but liquid detergents since I had babies in the house.  So, I was nervous switching to the powder.  But I prefer this over the liquid now.  I put one scoop(1 Tbl.) into the detergent compartment for my HE front loading machine.  My clothes smell really nice, it's not overpowering.  I LOVE doTerra Essential Oils, Lemon, Wild Orange, or Lavender, or a combination.  I buy mine from my sweet friend Crysty, HERE.

Basic Recipe:

1 cup Borax

1 cup Washing Soda

1 BAR of either Kirk's Castille Soap, Fels Naptha, or Zote

10-15 drops doTerra Lemon Essential Oil

The first time I made this I used Fels Naptha soap, it's a large yellow bar, found in the laundry aisle, and specifically designed for laundry.  It's really hard and took some muscle to grate it.  I ordered the Kirk's Castille Soap online from Amazon.com, I love that site.  It was easier to grate and a smaller bar.  It's designed for use on people with sensitive skin and rinses clean.  It also has a coconut oil base.  Neither bars suds very much, so this is safe for the HE washers.  I have read you can also use Ivory soap or Dr. Bonners.  I chose to try using this powder recipe because it just seems a little more concentrated than the diluted down liquid recipes for homemade detergent.  Just a preference, I have no idea if one is better than the other.  

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 Grate the bar of soap on a sheet of wax paper and pour into the base of your food processor.  Add 1 cup Borax, 1 cup Washing Soda, and 10-15 drops of your favorite Essential Oil.  Process until very fine.  Your house will smell unbelievably clean right now.  

Divide the contents between 2 16oz. canning jars.  Use 1-2 Tablespoons, depending on how dirty your laundry is.  I have never used more than 1 Tbl.   

The jar on the left is the Fels Naptha version(which is why it's a little yellow in color), and the right is the Kirk's Castille soap recipe version.  Takes up so much less space.  Store extra jars above in the cupboard.   Use fabric softener if you wish, or a dryer sheet.  

This is my laundry treatment area.  Baskets and bar from Ikea.