Weekend Observations

Wow, it's a very windy start to the week, here in Vancouver. Yikes. Did you all have a good weekend? Hope so!

Here's a bit of what I got up to (includes a little work)....

What did you get up to this weekend? Have a lovely Monday!

Back soon,

Janis

Hello Weekend

It's been a crazy but good week, with heaps of traffic on rainy streets. Keeps you on your toes. ;)
I hope you all have a great weekend!

Back soon.
Janis

Baked

I hope your week is going well! Mine has been full of torturing my husband over my photography website redesign and, whew, it's taking a lot out of him me.

I baked some muffins over the weekend, that are pretty tasty. I should bring a few of these for the next long day shoot I have instead of eating them all myself.

Cherry Walnut Oatmeal Muffins - makes 12

3/4 cup rolled oats, toasted
1 cup gluten free all purpose flour* (I used Bob's Red Mill)
1/2 cup almond meal
1/3 cup ground flax seed
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon guar gum
pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups plain yogurt
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 eggs
zest of one large orange
3/4 cup dried cherries
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
* feel free to swap the g-free flour, almond meal and guar gum, for 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour (white or whole wheat). I've made these both ways, I'm just trying to stick to g-free where I can!

Preheat oven to 350f/180c. Line a muffin tin with paper liners.
Spread oats out on a baking sheet, and toast for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Transfer to bowl and set aside to cool. Add the flour, almond meal, flax seed, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, guar gum and salt to the cooled toasted oats. Stir to combine.

In another bowl, mix together yogurt, melted butter, eggs, and orange zest. Make a well in the centre of dry mix and pour in yogurt mixture. Stir ingredients together until just blended. Fold in cherries and walnuts.

Spoon batter into muffin cups. Bake for about 25 minutes or until a skewer inserted in centre, comes out clean. Transfer to wire rack to cool.

Just add butter, and enjoy!

Back soon,
Janis

Weekend Observations

How was your weekend? Mine, apparently, was a bit of a purple haze....

Have a good Monday! 

Back soon,

Janis

Happy Friday!

What are you up to this weekend? Hope it's a fun one...

Back soon!
janis

A Vintage Blend

Hope you've had a great "leap" day!

I recently shot Lily Ellis' home for HGTV.ca and it was posted just yesterday. Lily is one half of the super inspiring blog, Birch and Bird. If you haven't seen the story, you can check out the whole story here.

Lily, and her partner Rachel, produce the best vintage markets too. If you happen to be in the Abbotsford area (about 1 hour out of Vancouver) on May 26th, you have check out their next one - Scout Market. If it's anything like their last 2, it would be a shame to miss it! Click here, for more info.

That's it for today! Back soon.
Janis

Baked

It's so nice to see sunshine this morning. Hello Monday! I hope you all had a great weekend. 

These coconut biscuits are the perfect weekend morning treat, and not too bad for you either. It's especially perfect when you happen to have all the ingredients in the cupboard. ;) I love the light coconut flavour, but the orange butter pushes them over the top. So. Good. 

Coconut Biscuits with Orange Butter - makes 9-12 biscuits

3/4 cup brown rice flour

1/4 cup coconut flour 

1/2 cup tapioca starch

2 tablespoons arrowroot starch or corn starch (I used arrowroot)

2 teaspoons sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons guar gum

1 tablespoon baking powder

pinch of salt

1 vanilla bean (seeds only), slit down the length, seeds scraped out.

1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted

1 cup coconut milk

2 eggs, beaten

Preheat oven to 375f /190c. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. 

In a medium bowl, whisk together flours, tapioca starch, arrowroot, sugar, guar gum, baking powder and salt. Whisk until well combined. Make a well in centre of dry ingredients and add vanilla, eggs, butter and coconut milk. The dough should be fairly wet and sticky. 

Drop spoonfuls of dough on baking sheet, about 1 inch apart. I made mine a little larger this time, so I got 9 from this batch. 

Bake for about 15-20 minutes, depending on size, until golden brown on bottom and lightly coloured on top. Allow to cool a little, on a wire rack. Serve warm with orange butter. Mmmm. 

Orange Butter

about 1/4 to 1/3 cup of unsalted butter, softened

zest of one large orange (best to use organic when using zest)

about 1 tablespoon honey

Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl. That's it! Easy. 

That's it for now! Have a lovely day. 

Back soon,

Janis