German Desserts Search

Recipe

For some reason, these past few days I have been craving certain desserts.

I used to work at a Shop that was in an old school built I think in the late 1800's.

The shop owner had everything and anything in that shop, handmade items that were beautiful.

She decided to have a local German lady who owned a bakery in the neighboring town bake her some goodies to sell at the shop.

That was a mistake.....well, dangerous for those of us who worked there.

Way too much temptation.

But she made desserts I never had before and I am searching high and low to find the recipes, but its hard to do when you don't know the proper names.

She made these tortes that would sell out, they were apple, cherry and blueberry.

Words can't describe them.

Then she made cakes, cakes that I've never heard of or had,

one had pears in the middle of the layer, another had a mousse of cappuccino of some sort, another was coconut with a lemon curd filling.

Her cakes, tortes and cookies I think were the best sellers in this shop.

I want to find these recipes and bake these cakes and tortes.

The above photo is similar to what she made,

that was the closest I could find, but the cherry torte is so hard to find.

And the cakes, well, nothing comes near them when I put in a description.

To have a slice right now.......does anyone have any  clue of what I talking about?

Things I "Love"

This time of year when I find myself cooking and baking more I realize how much I enjoy kitchen "toys".

My DH bought me an Emeril Stainless Steel pots and pan set which I've waited for many years

(sorry for the picture quality)

Then for one of our anniversary's he bought me this wonderful thing that I've always wanted

(Exact color too)

I use it all the time. I have friends and family that own one and they told me they hardly use it because it's too heavy to move around or it doesn't scrap up at the bottom of the bowl, but I got it anyways and I LOVE it.

I have the perfect place on the counter for it so I don't have to move it around to use it.

Today I plan to make Gluten Free Cherry Walnut Oatmeal cookies and I'm using this baby for it.

DH also bought me a Knife set that we purchased at Kohl's, it's the Food Network brand of stainless steel knives, I couldn't find a picture of it, but oh my, I didn't realize how dull my other knives were until I pulled these babies out.

On the first try I sliced a nail off!

Don't worry, no bleeding involved, thank goodness.

They slice like butter, it's amazing!

And last but NOT least my parents bought me this wonderful time saver

I use this Cuisinart all the time, I'd cry if it ever broke down.

So yes, I get excited about kitchen gadgets like I do about shoes and clothes, so I have to stay out of those stores.

What are your favorite Kitchen gadgets?

(I know I said in a previous post I won't be posting as much because of time, well, looks like I have some to spare)

Pumpkin MIA

(image by Mariquita Farm)

So my dearest friend Valerie asked me if  I've seen any

canned pumpkin at the grocery store lately?

I didn't notice, I told her. So the following week I went to the

market to get some canned pumpkin for a few

recipes and sure enough,

"item out of stock".

HMMMM, that's strange.

So we went to NYC this past weekend and I thought while I

was there I'd see if I could get some canned

pumpkin.

Went to Trader Joe's and they said it's not in season just

yet.

So we went to Stop 'N Shop in Queens, NY

the same thing

"item not in stock".

The very next morning it was on the News:

PUMPKIN SHORTAGE!

Oh no, you know what that means, when they come into the

stores, people will be stocking up on them,

and I will be one of those people!

So disappointing, I LOVE pumpkin, I love it in so many ways

and I can't have any of it right now!

Had I known that, I would of planted some in our

garden!



Gluten Free Blackberry Cake

Over the weekend, after the Hurricane scare was over,

which was after the earthquake scare was over as well around here.

(tornado a mile from our house in May, so scary, then the earthquake that made my sofa literally bounce, now the hurricane, we finally got our emergency back packs ready for the "just in case we have to run" situation!)

I was ready to make a new recipe, gluten free. I received an email

with this delicious looking cake and I had to try it.

It is absolutely delicious and moist and if you served it to your non-gluten free friends, they'd never know the difference.

The recipe is from

Bella Gluten Free

and it is so easy to make and so delicious, the only thing is that the recipe doesn't call for any salt so I added a 1/2 teaspoon and it came out delicious.

Great with coffee or tea.

Next time I will make it with blueberries, because I LOVE blueberries!

On another subject, I added a curtain to my kitchen window which I left bare because the views from there are just beautiful and I didn't want anything to cover that up, plus we only get the morning sun there so I wanted to keep from putting anything up that blocked any natural light.

Going through my moms linens a week ago and we came across these pretty lacy table top runners and I took one to turn into a valance

It lets all the light in and the color goes perfectly, it's a cream color. I didn't even bother making holes in our walls I just hung the rod over on top of our cabinets and added cafe rings.

Can you see the pretty lace detail? Mom had a bunch of these in different sizes so I think I may be picking out some more when I see them again in New York.

Hope your day is as beautiful as mine!



Gluten Free Yumminess and Redecorating

I made some wonderful, peanut butter filled chocolate cupcakes

by using Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Choc cake mix then found a

recipe from Taste of Home website

PB filled Chocolate Cupcakes

and they turned out so good, the only thing I would do differently

is add more PB in the cupcakes, the recipe says a "scant"

whatever that means, but I'll add more,

either way they turned out moist and yummy.

DH is a peanut butter freak, and I say that in a very loving way,

so when he came home I surprised him with these.

They need to be refrigerated, so before you eat one, let it sit

out for a half hour and they're perfect.

Very tempted to have one right now for breakfast, hmmm!

I also made salmon, one of our favorite meals,

salmon has been so expensive lately so when it

FINALLY went on sale, I bought some and made

Salmon Dill

You salt and pepper your salmon, then add chopped garlic

and chopped dill and sprinkle over it.

Next you slice lemons and place over the chopped herbs

and sprinkle with chopped green onions.

Cover it like a gift

Lay it on a sheet of aluminum foil before seasoning,

after seasoning then lay another sheet over it

and close in the edges tightly.

Bake it at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes, or till it flakes

easily

Then you have this wonderful, fresh goodness.

We had it with a BLT salad that I got from Allrecipes

website.

We were very happy!

I also decided to do a little furniture arranging.

Since I was a kid I was

ALWAYS

rearranging my bedroom, I get bored easily with the same

look,

so I rearranged our sitting area off the kitchen, one of my

favorite spots in the house.

So it went from this

To this

I feel by moving the folded table over closer to the fridge it

allowed more light to come in.

I like angling furniture, not sure what it is but I like the look

of it and I feel that sometimes, not always, it opens

up the room a bit.

So I'll live with this for a while, or if the house sells,

we have two more months from today before the contract is up

then we'll decide what to do.

Hope you enjoyed my recipe ideas and decorating ideas.



Gluten Free Chocolate Cookie Pie (Chocolate Town Pie)

This pie is one of the easiest,

simplest pies to make,

that is,

unless you make it

Gluten Free.

I've made this pie for years,

and just

LOVE IT!

But now with my Gluten and Wheat

intolerance's

I've had to stop making some

things.

But, now with great GF flours

out there,

I can make my favorite desserts

again.

The hardest part is the crust!

What a nightmare.

The directions tell you to place dough

between parchment paper

and roll.

Easier said than done.

I'm rolling it out like I did when I made

regular pie crust,

well big mistake, you can't do that.

You have to GENTLY

roll it out,

barely pushing down otherwise it

just separates.

It takes a lot of patience to make

GF pie crusts,

but it is worth it in the end.

Now after rolling it out,

flip it onto your

pie dish

Oh  my, now I'm frustrated,

they also don't tell

you that this is going to happen,

why bother rolling it out?

So after some fixing up, squeezing

together, piecing it like

a puzzle

Voila!

Looks pretty, heh?

Then they tell you to fold over edges

and crimp,

HA! Yea right, I wasn't messing

with it after what

happened, so I took a fork and press

along the edge of the crust.

Pretty enough!

So the filling I made GF as well, not

a problem there.

Filled the crust and baked it and

this wonderful

chocolaty

heavenly

sweetness

came out,

YUM!

I was a very happy girl,

that's for sure!

So, I will attach the crust recipe for you

Pie Crust

(this is a pumpkin pie recipe but it has the crust recipe as well)

(I'm having some for breakfast can't help it)

Chocolate Town Pie:

9 in. unbaked pastry shell

1/2 cup of butter, softened

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla (there are GF Vanilla extracts out there)

1 cup of sugar

1/2 flour or Gluten Free flour mix

1 cup of semi sweet chocolate chips

1 cup of walnuts or any nuts

Prepare pastry shell, set aside. Heat oven to 350. In small mixer bowl cream butter, then add eggs and vanilla. In separate bowl combine flour and sugar and add to the

butter mixture. Stir in chips and nuts. Pour into your pastry

shell. Bake for 45-50 minutes or til brown.

Cool for one hour and serve warm.

You can serve with ice cream or whipped cream.

ENJOY!

Another Handbag & Gluten Free Cooking

Do you love the beach?

I know I do!!!

So does the young girl

that I made

this bag for.

Her mom wanted to give her

a gift and she

asked

if I could make a bag with

the color of aqua

and a beach

theme.

So I searched, and searched

for fabric and

found this.

Then I added bamboo handles

which I just love.

This was fun to put together,

although,

I say that for all my bags.

I just love seeing

them come

together,

piece by piece.

My Gluten Free Cooking:

I made some Gluten Free Shrimp Scampi!

MMMM, was it ever yummy!

I used these noodles

which is like Fettuccine.

Sauteed the Shrimp

in garlic

and some spicy herbs

and made a

fresh

homegrown salad and

that was

dinner.

Then I made a Flour less

Chocolate Cake or

Tarte Au Chocolat

Served it with a Cherry Sauce

and had a cup of

Trader Joe's

Organic Coffee.

Now for some time I have been

looking for a

delicious Gluten Free

Oatmeal Cookie

recipe.

I'd say about 8 months ago

I found a recipe

that said it

won awards.

Now I SWORE I saved that

recipe,

but could not find it

ANYWHERE!

I searched online for it again

and it was

nowhere to be found. I was

quite

discouraged.

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE

oatmeal cookies,

but my tummy

doesn't agree.

Now my stomach is really

acting up,

and it seems I may have

H. Pylori

AGAIN!!!!

My symptoms seem to

be the same.

So after alot of research

and reading

I didn't realize

you can get it again!

So, my research

has led

me to

understand,

that I have to completely

AVOID:

Gluten

Wheat

Dairy, mainly cow, especially processed,

Soy, (which I avoid anyway)

so basically

NO LIFE!

Well, not really,

thank goodness for so many out

there who patiently

post GF recipes,

dairy free recipes,

and

they are so willing to share them.

I also love

the

Living Without

website and magazine.

So many

recipes and ideas of healthy

living for

sensitive people like me.

Why can't I just be

normal?

I was grocery shopping on Monday,

and it took me

twice as long to get the right

foods

because I have to read

EVERYTHING.

Food right now

makes me sick.

My breakfast consists of a fruit smoothie

made with

Almond Milk

and I add

Aloe Vera Gel that comes

in a bottle.

For lunch, something

light

and GF.

Dinner, is a veggie or salad,

with chicken or light

fish,

and rice.

I have to be so careful now.

I never would of

thought

I'd have to do this.

Organic food,

Gluten Free Food,

Dairy free,

although I do buy

Goat's Milk for

my

Organic, Decaf Coffee.

OK, enough complaining,

I'm sure

many of you out there

understand.

So here are my delicious

cookies

Last night I heard my DH

getting into

my Cookie container

then I hear

this,

"Mmmmm, these are good"

I wanted to jump

of my seat

and snatch it out of his

hand and

say

MINE!!!

But I didn't, mainly because

the recipe

made plenty,

and I would like him to

eat

healthier as well.

But its a good thing for him I had

plenty to share!

If you'd like

this

GF Oatmeal Cookie

recipe,

leave me a comment

with your

email if you'd like.

Have a great

Day!

It's VERY HOT HERE TODAY!

UGH!!!

My Sewing/Craft Room- Don't Look!!

I've been house bound now since Sunday,

no fun!

Haven't gotten too much done either which

 is frustrating as well.

Today I was going stir crazy and I decided

to go into my sewing room

and see what I could get into, I walked in

there, and well

there's alot I could get into.

I can't believe I will be

showing you

these pictures I am about to show you

but this is it,

my sewing room

my oasis

where I can be creative, where

I can make a mess

and walk away

from it:

Are you ready?

Now you know I will have to kill

you, right?

LOL

I have something to admit as well,

I've had this craft room

now for 3 years,

maybe 4!!

Can you believe it? I'm embarrassed!

Its not like I've been sitting

around doing

nothing.

I've been sewing things for other

people,

making things for many craft shows.

So I've been busy,

which means no time for me.

My DH asks me

"when are you going to finish your room?"

Things to do:

• 
  
  Sew window treatments
  
  
  
• 
  
  Touch up the paint
  
  
  
• 
  
  Paint door
  
  
  
• 
  
  Make a corkboard for my inspirations
  
  
  
• 
  
  Get a shelving unit to replace the antique dresser
  
  
  

I even purchased fabric a long time ago

to make curtains:

Isn't it cute?

And how appropiate too.

Handbags, my specialty.

It has all the colors in

my shop.

So this week, yes this week, I will

go out and buy the curtain rods

that I need.

I was going to make roman shades

but decided instead

to make roll up

shades.

So now that I've shown you my sewing

room disaster

and now that I've told you I'm going out

to buy the rest of the

things I need,

Now I know I

have

to do it, this is a good excuse to get my

butt into gear.

So hopefully by the end of next week,

I will have made my curtains.

After that I will touch

up the paint.

But in the meantime I'm also making

some altered journals

I already cut the paper down to size,

one of the journals

I will make with cute baking paper

for a recipe book.

And I made some Gluten Free Brownies

I purchased these at Trader Joe's and

they are so delicious.

Make these for your family or friends

and don't tell them

they're GF,

They will never know. They are gooey,

fudgey

and  most importantly, chocolately!!

I added cherry flavored chocolate chips,

hoping to get the

chocolate covered cherries taste to the brownies.

MMMMM!!

So until next time, I will be busy sewing,

I hope!!