Spartan Sparkles

Wow..Wow...Wow. I just saw this on Oprah and wanted to share this. These wonderful high school teenage girls wanted to continue giving back to children with special needs after volunteering at the special olympics so they created the Spartan Sparkles. Mothers of the girls say that their children have just been given such a great gift and they have seen improvements in their confidence. I hope to see more things like this in the near future. They were also recently featured on ABC News as persons of the week. See for yourself by copying and pasting the links below:

http://www.oprah.com/media/20091118-tows-cheerleaders

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhTDWr6Sk94

http://www.spartansparkles.com/

Celiac Light Bread & Pumpkin Corn Muffins

It was a busy and productive few days last weekend. Austin just started going to school a few more hours a day and that meant he needed things to eat for lunch. So far, I have not really experimented with bread because I haven't heard to many great things about bread but lunch times mean sandwiches. I started searching and found several blogs and websites raving about Tom's Celiac Light Bread. It was even listed on one website in the top 5 best GF bread recipes. The recipe below is exactly as I found it on all websites. I tried it the regular way and the bread machine way and both came out great. Also, I received a recipe for pumpkin corn muffins from my Jules Gluten Free Newsletter. They turned out fantastic. In both recipes I did substitute Ener-G Egg Replacer for the eggs in both recipes.

CELIAC LIGHT BREAD
by Tom Van DemanAugust 20, 2003
1 1/8 cup Chickpea flour, also called Garbanzo Bean flour (I grind my own)
1 cup cornstarch (I use Cream corn starch)
1 cup + 1 Tbs. tapioca flour3 1/2 tsp. xanthum gum
1 1/2 tsp. salt
3 Tbs. brown sugar(Make sure that there are no lumps)
1/4 tsp. creme of tartar
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/8 cup warm water (uncomfortable to touch but not boiling)
3 Tbs. vegetable oil (I use peanut oil or canola oil)
2 1/4 tsp. active dry yeast

Bread Machine Method
WARNING: Adding more liquids or flours or reducing same could cause the bread to not cook thoroughly on the inside or to be too heavy. Also, I am at almost 6000 feet altitude in Denver area which might cause your bread to be slightly different than mine. First try it as is and then experiment if necessary.Combine all of the dry ingredients in a medium size bowl except for the yeast. Mix dry ingredients thoroughly with wire whisk. Mix together the lightly beaten eggs, warm water, and oil in a separate bowl and thoroughly mix with wire whisk. Pour the liquid ingredients into your bread machine bowl (I use my Zoj). Immediately spoon in your dry mixed ingredients on top of the wet ingredients to make a mound in the center but covering all of the wet ingredients. With a spoon or spatula, make a small depression on top of your dry ingredients (must be dry for the yeast) and immediately spoon in your yeast. Place your bread machine pan in the machine correctly and turn the machine to regular wheat bread cycle and turn on machine. (This dough will need two kneadings in order to get its content to proper consistency.) Do not add any more liquids or flour. The dough will form a sticky ball. With a spatula, scrape down the sides of machine bowl to make sure all of the dry ingredients get into the dough ball. On the rise cycle, use your spatula that is wet to smooth the top of the loaf, if desired. Bake the bread using the medium crust setting. When finished, turn the loaf out onto your wire rack and allow bread to cool or you can slice it while hot (Do not squeeze the loaf too tightly while holding it to slice while hot.) Slice the bread thin with a serrated bread knife or electric knife and enjoy.

Oven MethodTurn your oven to 375 degrees. Combine all of the dry ingredients in a medium size bowl or your mixer bowl including the yeast. Mix thoroughly on medium or low setting. Mix together the lightly beaten eggs, warm water, and oil in a separate bowl and whip with wire whisk until all ingredients are mixed. Pour wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix with your mixer on medium speed (Use paddle or dough hook). When sticky ball forms, scrape sides to get all of the flours and ingredients mixed together and continue to mix for about 1 minute more. Scrape into a 9 x 5-inch lightly greased loaf pan. Cover with plastic wrap, set in non drafty warm place and let rise until at least double size (approximately 45 to 60 minutes). Remove plastic wrap and place pan in preheated oven. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until the loaf sounds hollow when tapped with a spoon. Turn the loaf out onto your wire rack and allow loaf to cool or you can slice it while hot (Do not squeeze the loaf too tightly while holding it to slice when hot.)

Pumpkin Corn Muffins



Ingredients:

1 egg (or egg substitute)
1 cup milk of choice (dairy or non-dairy vanilla soy, hemp, almond, coconut...)
1⁄2 tsp. apple cider vinegar
2⁄3 cup pumpkin purée
1 cup Jules Gluten Free™ All Purpose Flour
1⁄2 tsp. salt
1⁄2 tsp. baking soda
1 Tbs. gluten-free baking powder
3⁄4 cup cornmeal
1⁄2 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
2 Tbs. flaxseed meal (optional)
Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 F static or 325 F convection.

Mix the liquid ingredients and pumpkin until combined. Whisk in the dry ingredients until the lumps are removed. Expect the batter to be a bit thin, but not watery.

Pour the batter into an oiled 8 x 8 baking pan or into oiled or lined muffin pans. Bake for 30 minutes for the cornbread, 20 minutes for regular corn muffins, or 12-15 minutes for mini-muffins. Insert a cake tester into the center of the bread to test for doneness; they should be lightly browned around the edges and firm to the touch in the centers.