Monday, December 19, 2011

Monday Miscellany

I couldn't get it together yesterday for a Sunday Sundry post, so here I am with some miscellany, a day late and a dollar short, as the saying goes.  

There has been minimal sewing going on, because other things have taken priority.  Final Christmas shopping and other retail therapy, for one.  Work, for another.  I did buy a sewing aid, of sorts, while I was shopping—a new pair of bifocals.  My other pair seemed to be a little weak.  So I indulged what there is of my girly-girl-ness with some ruby red, swirly star embellished jobs.

The only sewing that has occurred lately has been of the mending or altering variety.  I know, boring but necessary.  I fixed a pair of pants for Pa, and then I let the hems down on three new pairs of "ultra tall" jeans/slacks.  Yep, I had to let it all out, even on those.  Gangly would be an understatement.
 Greta Von Riding Crop still wants to know
if you've been naughty or nice.
Also?  She knows from gangly.
Also too?  She would like 
something red for Christmas.

Hey, who likes fruitcake?  You know what, I do!  Or at least, I used to back when I could eat my mom's homemade fruitcake, which was the bomb, and I'm not talking about what it felt like in my stomach after I ate it.  No, not the sickly-sweet brick with neon green candied cherries not found in nature.  I'm talking about just a good, dense, fruit and nut inspired cake. The kind you eat a small slice of at a time with a steaming cup of coffee.

As you may know, I have been trying to stay on track with my diet (no gluten, no dairy, no refined sugar), but my craving gave way to caving this past week and I broke down and baked.  I can't call it a fruitcake, really, but I can call it good.  It is a minimally sweetened, dense, flavorful cake that seemed to hit all the right buttons.

I started with a gluten-free zucchini bread recipe and added a few other things.  Here is how it came together:

Mix together dry ingredients in a medium bowl:
1 c. teff flour
1/4 c. sorghum flour
1/4 c. brown rice flour
1/4 c. tapioca flour
1/4 c. sweet rice flour
2 t. xanthan gum
1 t. cinnamon
2 pieces of crystallized ginger, chopped fine
2 t. baking powder
1 t. egg replacer

In mixing bowl, mix together:
2 eggs
1/2 c. sugar
1/3 c. melted coconut oil
1/3 c. freshly squeezed orange juice 
Grated lemon zest (of about 1/2 lemon)
1 c. grated yellow summer squash
1/2 c. pumpkin puree

Add in the dry ingredients and mix until combined.  If necessary, add 1/4 c. water (or more orange juice ~ or even rum, maybe?) until mixture is the consistency of thick cake batter.  Stir in about 1/2 c. dark chocolate chips and 1/2 to 3/4 c. chopped walnuts.  Spoon batter into a greased and floured (with rice flour) Bundt pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 1 hour.  Cool for 10 minutes, then invert and remove from pan to continue cooling.  Slice when fully cool.   

And here is where I wish I had taken a photo of the result.  I suppose I could break out the hunk I froze for sharing later, but between you and me, I feel safer with it stashed away in the freezer while I try to recover my willpower.  It looked a lot like this though.  This is the basic zucchini bread that I've made in the past.  Just imagine it studded with chocolate chips and not quite so green with zucchini.



I've been listening to a German musical artist named Clueso lately, whom I discovered by happenstance while perusing YouTube.  I don't pretend to know what he's saying, except for the simplest words, but I like the music a lot, which transcends translation.  The gist of this song is that he doesn't want any more space, not a single centimeter, between he and his love, "ein Fleck ohne Kontur," or a spot without shape, to put it rather poetically.


10 comments:

Sarah Craig said...

I happen to be one of the apparently few people in the world who loves fruitcake, so I applaud your creation of one you can eat! I love the Frugal Gourmet's recipe for fruitcake that's made with applesauce - wonderful stuff! Have a merry Christmas, P.!

MomWaldsPlace said...

Snazzy Specs! BTW, where do you get off with that "gangly" bit when all the super models are your height? I bet even Greta Von Riding Crop is. I bet Hubby would like it if you got some of those red boots to go with your new specs. ;)

MomWaldsPlace said...

Hey, I thought I was a follower already! Glad I came back though, so I could tell ya how cool your blue dish is. WAY cool!

Elizabeth said...

Ha, ha! Greta is back! I love it!

Your glasses are very cute! I wondered how you see through the swirly stars until I realized they are on the "arms." I forget what you call that part even though I've been wearing glasses since 8th grade and was just at the optical shop today. Silly me.

Also, I admire you for making your food work for you. I should probably cut back on a lot of things, but my taste buds rebel at the thought.

xo -E

P.S. The German is nice looking. Not sure about his music, but he is pretty.

Vicki @ DottyJane said...

I love fruitcake, too! Even the sickly-sweet brick with neon green candied cherries not found in nature kind. Yours sounds good, too:)

Love the glasses!

Michelle said...

Red specs! I bet Greta is coveting those as well. :-)

I don't know that I've ever had fruitcake. But at least not knowing, I do not crave.

Can't listen to the song yet; others in the house are trying to sleep.

greelyrita said...

I'm a completely common height here, in Ontario, Canada but I went to Europe, Germany specifically, a few years ago now. I felt like a midget!! Holy Cow! Everyone, EVERYONE! is tall there!! Actually, judging by pant inseams that are ordered this year, kids are tall here too now. Maybe you're just ahead of your time. Maybe that's why you're drawn to German music...

Kay Lynne said...

My mom used to make great tasting fruit cake. It has been many years. Wishing you a Merry Christmas!

SixBalloons said...

ooh, very red and girly, nice! Merry Christmas to you, P!

Diane said...

Cute specs... I want that cape... and Merry Christmas!