gluten free chewy chocolate chip heaven

the other day, brian told me that he wanted some chocolate chip cookies.  but i cant just make him some when i cant eat any of them.  so of course i had to make some for me.  now that would be easy if i didnt have to worry about, you know, the main ingredient.  thanks, celiac, for allowing wheat to destroy my intestine.

anyways, i have tried alot of variations of chocolate chip cookies-different recipes, different flours, and had all sorts of funny results.  but go figure, the best recipe so far has been my mother-in-laws.  brian loves it because they come out chewy and gooey, and i love it because, besides being chewy, they come out normal. which is just AWESOME.

so recipe down, now what about the flour?  the best mix i have come across so far has been from this cook book, Cooking for Isaiah.  i make it in bulk but ill break it down for the recipe if you dont want to make a huge amount of it.  mmmmm dont those look good?!  sorry for my bad pic, but as you can tell, these cookies dont last too long...

bulk flour:

6 cups rice flour, white or brown
3 cups tapioca flour
1 1/2 cups potato starch
1 tbs salt
2 tbs xanthum gum

brenda's chocolate chip cookies:

1 c. sugar
1 c. brown sugar
1 c. butter, super soft but not melted
2 eggs
3 cups gluten free flour mix (substitute regular flour if you arent gluten free-still fabulous)
(1 3/4 cups rice flour, 3/4 cups tapioca flour, 1/2 c potato starch, 1 tsp xanthum gum)
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. vanilla
Chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350º. Mix sugars, butter and eggs. Then add flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, vanilla, and as many chocolate chips as you like. Bake for eight minutes, and let cool. cookies will look very under done, but take out when the edges start to turn light brown.

this recipe makes about 4 dozen cookies, and is easily doubled (since this version is actually HALF of my mother-in-laws proportions...)

enjoy!

i hate taxes but...

today i voted.  which is somewhat depressing.  im glad that i have the ability to vote without fearing for my life, but its not like my vote really counts here in utah.  im pretty liberal, and compared to the "tea party" libertarians, im near communist.  so my vote doesnt really mean much in a state that is unwaveringly red.

this will be relevant later.

on a related note, today i realized i have become a california snob.

last night, our landlord came down and gave us the mail key since they are going out of town, and we had the world series on [sounds of celebration].  he didnt know we were giants fans, or even that we were both from califonria, though different parts.  his parting comment? "you guys are good people for being from california."

what the H does that even mean?

apparently people from california are generally awful?  maybe we are generally liberal? generally homeless?  generally high?  no idea.

and then someone i know who recently moved to california for grad school posted something on facebook about:
a) how if a resolution about medical marijuana passed, she was leaving CA,
b) that california didnt need any more hippies,
c) that she as a californian had a vested interest in this, and
d) that californian registered voters were "hipsters."

you are going to think im nuts, but this genuinely annoyed me.  i dunno if it had something to do with the fact that we have always had differences stemming from the fact that i was a liberal west coaster and she wasnt, but now she was calling herself a californian, or the fact that, regardless of your political beliefs, you at least shouldnt be surprised that california has lots of hippies and resolutions about marijuana, or that most californians would be at least mildly offended at being called hipsters.

insert first paragraph relevance here.

id give anything to live in a state when im not surrounded by people who cant see the issues beyond their weird conspiracy theories or where people dont think that life as we know it is ending because there is a black man in office or where people have the ability to understand that taxes are necessary to decrease the deficit.

if you dont like the hippies, maaaaaaaaybe you shouldnt be in california.

and if you dont like marijuana, dont vote for it.

there. my conscience is clear now.  im a california snob.  and i blame it all on the fact that utah is a ridiculous place that is slowing eroding my sanity and ever darkening my blue status.

now im going to go watch the voting results, relieved that christine o'donnell lost, but still trying not to throw the remote at the other obnoxious tea party idiots.

my 24th october

october is the best month ever.  i love summer but i love winter too, and october is the changing of the seasons and leaves and weather.  i love it.

it helps that my birthday is in october.

and i got some SWEET presents this year!  i seriously loved them all, but im going to highlight a few of them, simply because they are sheer awesomeness.  

i have a nickname.  most of your who know me have prolly heard my dad say it a fair number of times, since he rarely calls me by name.  so what does he call me? punkin.  yup.  so there are lots of pumpkins all around mine and my parents house.  so what did my mom buy me? a pumpkin beanie. i might never wear it, but its the thought that counts right?

brian bought me the gift of gender neutrality.  we go camping alot. and i get jealous that i cant stand next to a tree and pee.  so brian made it possible.  he bought me a go girl!  its basically a silicone funnel...so i can pee standing up!  the best gift any girl could get from her husband, right?  oh, come on chicas, we ALL have tried peeing standing up before. if you deny it, you are lying :)

the best present of all came from lisa.  i needed a little personality at my law school carrel, so she bought me a little something. something wiiiIIITTTHHH!!!  a HERRING!  i have my very own kinght of ni now!  he is HUGE and sits at my carrel, keeping me company.  some people have even known who he was without ever asking.  im so proud of my fellow montys! i gave them permission to give him pounds whenever they want.

i got alot of other great things from everyone else-YUMMY sweatpants, a huge bag of skittles [gone], an awesome gf cookbook [see here for my post on it], a HOT guess brand trench coat, a sweet custom T from mar tar, a beautiful and unique pot from south africa, hair rollers [to give me a reason to keep my long hair] and a recycling bin [thanks honey].  

i felt the love, guys. thank you so much. 

happy 24 to me!

just a little friendly competition

at this point in time, i think most of my fellow law students have accepted that we are all aggressive, competitive, type A personalities.

so what better to do that have a friendly competition between us?  ya know, no teeth or claws bared, just a laid back, low stress competition. 

right?

for you non-law nerds, in law school we have several competitive groups. one, trial advocacy, is basically a mini trial setting-you call witnesses, introduce evidence, make opening and closing arguments, etc. the other, moot court, is a hybrid-you write a brief on an assigned issue and then argue it, simulating an appellate court. both of these are done in front of judges who are actual practitioners, and afterwards they give you feedback and scores and you could potentially move on to the next round. 

i happen to be on both teams.

this last week was the trial ad competition.  the case was a criminal case involving bank robbery, and the first elimination included two rounds and went from 45ish people down to 16.  

our first round was AWFUL. the judges were whack, our witnesses were a little freaked out, and we forgot a few pieces of evidence.  

the second round was MUCH better.  at first we were assigned to compete against my arch nemesis, but at the last second we were reassigned to compete against some friends of mine who were both on the traveling team so i knew they were good.  we did really well, and it helped that we were being compared to an awesome team.

so the next morning the results were out.  and i was the first alternate.  im pretty sure i read the results twice before i even noticed my name on the sheet.  figuring that noone was gonna drop out, i didnt worry about it.  

until about 4 pm.

thats when i found out that i was in fact competing because my friend had dropped out.  sooo i had to switch sides and compete again.

long story short, my team ended up being alternates for the semi finals.  i was really happy that we did really well, and i hope that it helps me get on the traveling team next year.  but i was even happier that i was able to have a weekend, and keep my sanity.

i swear. i need post traumatic stress counseling.  or a really really long weekend.

daddy-o, quit your day job

my dad is rad, did you know?

not only was he a captain in the army, a two time cancer survivor, or king of the grill, but he is a master craftsman.

his 6th love (behind his wife, children, politics, mother, and doggies) is wood.  maple, cherry, oak, pine, walnut.  he is more crazy for wood than most normal people are for regular hobbies.

evidence: ever seen this "old yankee workshop"? if not, ive seen enough for everyone. notice the glee on my fathers face while getting the siggy of the show's host-Norm Abrams. he drove two hours just to get him to sign his book.

this works out great for me because that means he makes me fabulous pieces of furniture.

like this gorgeous tv stand.   

the dark wood is walnut and the light is cherry.  the black little door handles are hand carved ebony pieces.

the individual pieces are modular because it is the bottom section of a tansu chest that will [hopefully] be finished later when we have lots more room and less need for a tv stand...

my dad is super gifted and super awesome.  this thing is beautiful and i LOVE it.  im excited to have something that we can hopefully have the rest of our lives and that has way more meaning than an ikea sales piece.  im pretty sure this is the most beautiful free tv stand in the world.

the joy of cooking

my birthday is on monday. yay!  because brians birthday is only 13 days ahead of mine, my parents split the difference and celebrate our birthday together the weekend between the actual days. this means i got most of my presents already!


and i got what i wanted. a new gluten free cookbook!


its called cooking for isaiah, and i discovered it through an article on the aol homepage.  why was i so excited about this? i have several gf cookbooks that im not in love with, so what made this one any different?


the fact that the woman is italian american.


call me crazy, but my great grandmother was pure italian, and i just knew that this book would be more like the kind of cooking i grew up with.  and i have not been disappointed.


well, i say that, but ive only made one thing out of it so far.  but ALL of the recipes look great!  my husband insists im a picky eater-i dont think so!  i just like the style of cooking and food that my mother and grandmother make, and which is how i now cook.  lots of herbs, meat, veggies and starches, and no canned soups or casseroles.  my husband, who grew up on casseroles (with 6 kids and 5 of them hungry, bottom less males, who blames his mother??).  but recipes that use alot of boxed or canned things just dont appeal to me.


im super excited about the idea that i could make some really awesome things that i already know i will like.  and my gluten free bread?  well, the second time around it came out amazing.  lesson-wax paper and parchment paper are def NOT the same...

identity crisis

i survived an emotional crisis yesterday.

actually, ive been fighting this situation for the past two years. and ive succeeded so far.

what is this crisis you ask? it is the crisis of the hair.

i know right? what am i stressin over? uh well, the fact that i officially have the LONGEST hair in either of my families, to be exact.  doesnt that sound like an oxymoron? alex does not equal long hair.  so how did this happen?!

yeah i dont know either.

but both my sisters in law have hacked off their hair and i am J.E.A.L.O.U.S.
i would totally do it in a heartbeat if i knew that i could hack it off and still look professional and get a job.  yesyesyes i know there are professional styles out there but im always going to want to do it funky and having a short hair cut that i cant do what i want with isnt exactly what i want either.

brian asked me a good question and it made me think: do you hate your long hair?

honestly? no. i dont hate it. actually i like it most days, i just dont love it like i loved my short hair. but i dont know that ill even like a cut that i pick just because it professional and not at all what i really want.

so im going to compromise.
dye it dark and get some funky bangs.

like these maybe.