Monster Cookies for Breakfast | a gluten-free, vegan, soy-free recipe

The first night that I arrived in Kamloops, I had an empty apartment and a NEED to bake. I needed to create something, to feel balanced and normal in the midst of a situation that was anything but. That night I make chocolate chip cookies; they were delicious and I ate them for a week, even when they got crumbly and stale.

Since that first night, I've been cooking, but I haven't really felt the urge to bake again until last night. I found myself leisurely perusing the pages of the few chosen cookbooks that aren't in storage but everything I felt even remotely inspired to make wasn't possible. I'm lacking much of my simple equipment from muffin pans to spatulas and my ingredient list is sparse to say the least.

Before the frustration kicked in however,  I remembered how simple and satisfying my monster cookies are to make and devour. A quick dig through the cupboards and I found all my little bags of goodies that I packed precisely for making these breakfast cookies.

This recipe comes together in a flash, requires only bowls, spoons and measuring cups and its completely customizable to your tastes and what you have on hand in your home.  

It's an adaptation from the ever fabulous Meghan Telpner's Breakfast Cookies that I have tweaked to suit my needs. I change up my add-ins depending on my mood but I always add the hemp hearts. They are a great boost of omega fats that will keep you (and your kids) full and I find when I eat a regular dose hemp hearts, my skin is happier and it plays a role in controlling my eczema. 

RESIST the temptation to add chocolate chips, I always want to, but never do, because I know they don't need them. Substitute what you have in your kitchen and what meets your dietary needs, these cookies will be fine if you use vegetable oil instead of coconut oil, if you don't have pure maple syrup, throw in some honey (that's what I did yesterday) and if you don't keep coconut sugar on hand, try a little bit of brown sugar. These cookies will be a little bit crumbly if you don't use the xantham gum, but I couldn't find mine yesterday and none of my coworkers complained when I brought them to our morning meeting. In fact, more than one of them asked for the recipe.

Be brave, go ahead and experiment a little, these cookies can handle it.

My kids dubbed these MONSTER COOKIES because they are so big and honestly, who doesn't want to eat a giant cookie for breakfast?

Monster Cookies

adapted from Meghan Telpner's Breakfast Cookies

gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, egg-free, vegan (can be nut free)

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup brown rice flour
• 1/2 tsp xantham gum
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1.5 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted and cooled
• 2 tbsp ground chia seeds
• 1/4 cup coconut milk
• 2 Tbsp maple syrup
• 1/2 cup coconut sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 3/4 cup of gluten free oats
• 1/4 cup quinoa flakes
• 1/4 cup hemp hearts
• 1/4 cup chopped raw almonds
• 1/4 cup raw pepitas
• 1/4 cup cocoa nibs
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 F.
2. In a large bowl mix together brown rice flour, xantham gum, baking soda, sea salt and cinnamon. Set aside.
3. In a seperate bowl mix together (or you can blend this to disperse the coconut oil more evenly) coconut oil, chia, coconut milk, maple syrup, coconut sugar and vanilla. Set aside.
4. In a third bowl place the oats, quinoa flakes, hemp hearts, almonds, pepitas, cocoa nubs and cranberries and set aside. You don't need to mix this.
5. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and use a wooden spoon to stir thoroughly. This will be thick, do NOT add more fluids.
6. Add the bowl of oats and add in goodies. Stir, stir, stir. The batter should be thick and a little sticky.
7. Scoop batter a 1/4 cup at a time and place onto a parchment lined cookie sheet. Press down lightly with the back of a spoon, or use moist hands to shape.
8. Bake your cookies for 12 minutes or until lightly browned.
9. Allow to cool completely (or they will fall apart).
10. Eat COOKIES for BREAKFAST!

YIELD: 8 monster cookies

Other add-in ideas: goji berries, raisins, chopped dried apricots, sunflower seeds, chopped dates, sesame seeds.

Quinoa Curry Soup | A gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, nut-free recipe

Although making the decision to accept a job in Kamloops, has thrown our entire life into a tailspin of the unknown, it also seems to have brought me some peace. I know this is true, because I've been cooking.

The day after I accepted the job, I baked cookies and yesterday as I chopped, stirred and simmered while listening to the words of Mackelmore I found a sense of serenity in the process that I haven't felt in ages. And this, despite the fact that I was creating food, to take with me, when I leave my family behind, albeit temporarily.

This soup is delightful. It's only slightly adapted from Janet and Greta Podleski's Multigutawnski soup and despite the presence of a slightly curry flavour, quinoa and apples my husband loves it, as does everyone whom I've ever fed it to. This soup is flavourful but not overwhelming, light but filling and the smell is delectable.

After over four years of cooking for children, I tend to chop my vegetables small so that its easy to eat, and in this particular case I don't find it has any negative effect on texture. The quinoa, chicken and apples add complexity; there's no need to worry about cutting all your veggies around the same size. I actually cut my celery as small as possible because the hubs dislikes it, but I know it adds a lot of flavour that I don't want to lose out on.

Quinoa Curry Soup

(Slightly Adapted from The Looneyspoons Collection by Janet and Greta Podleski)
gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, nut-free

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp oil
• 1 cup finely chopped celery
• 1 cup diced onions
• 1 cup diced carrots
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 1 lb of boneless, skinless chicken thighs (approx 6)
• 1.5 tsp grated ginger
• 2 tsp curry powder
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/8 tsp ground cloves
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 1- 540ml can diced tomatoes (I like Alymers accents, olive oil and garlic)
• 1/2 cup quinoa
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1 large apple peeled and chopped
• 1 - 400ml can coconut milk*

Directions:

1. Heat oil over medium-high heat, and sautee vegetables and garlic until tender and softened. About 6 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, thinly slice (approximately 5mm) the chicken thighs lengthwise. You should end up with strips of chicken thigh.
3. Add chicken to the softened vegetables and cook until the chicken is no longer pink.
4. Add ginger and spices and cook until fragrant and the chicken, vegetables are well coated. (2-3 minutes)
5. Add chicken broth, tomatoes, quinoa, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
6. Add chopped apple and simmer 5 more minutes, until the apple is tender but not mushy.
7. Add coconut milk and simmer 1 more minute.
8. ENJOY!

*The original recipe calls for 3/4 cup of light coconut milk, so feel free to reduce the amount or fat content to your liking, but I use a whole can of regular coconut milk.

Chocolate Zucchini Flax Muffins

I recently realized I hadn't posted a recipe in ages, and for that I apologize. I promise you I'm always gluten-free baking and these days, I have no shortage of helpers.

I found this recipe for zucchini flax muffins and using it as a base I was amazed at the soft fluffly muffins I created. In my mind, zucchini and chocolate go hand in hand so I adapted the recipe just a little bit more until I had a recipe that that's so good I've had more than one person tell me they never would have known it was gluten-free.

These muffins come together quickly, they are soft, springy and delightful in your mouth and I promise you even if you have an energy-filled two year old helping you out every step of the way, they will still be delicious!

Chocolate Zucchini Flax Muffins
(gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, soy-free)

adapted from Zucchini, Banana and Flaxseed Muffins by Martha Stewart

Ingredients:

• 1-1/4 cup gluten-free flour mix (I'm in LOVE with this one)
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup ground flaxseed
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp baking powder divided 
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1-1/2 cup grated zucchini (~1 large)
• 1/3 cup ripe banana
• 3/4 cup coconut milk
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp vanilla

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350F and line or grease muffin tins.
2. In a small bowl mash the banana, mix with 1 tsp of baking powder and set aside.
3. In a large bowl whisk together the gluten-free flour, cocoa powder, brown sugar, flaxseed, baking soda, the other tsp of baking powder and salt.
4. In a medium bowl whisk together the banana baking soda mixture, zucchini, coconut milk, egg and vanilla.
5. Gently stir the wet mixture into the dry being careful not to overmix.
6. Scoop muffin tins 3/4 full and bake for 20-25 minutes until top is firm and springs back from a light touch.
7. Cool completely on a wire rack and enjoy!

Yield: 15 muffins

Makes 30 mini-muffins, bake for 13-15 minutes.

Update: I accidently ommitted the flax from the recipe, but it has now been updated with the correct quantities. My apologies. a :) 08 April 2013

Loving 'Love Child Organics'

My kids love, squeezy, squirty fruit snacks and I love whole, natural, minimally processed foods; fortunately Love Child Organics satisfies everyone. I admit the very first time I saw soft pouches of applesauce I worried about sticky spills in diaper bags if the kids didn't finish eating them; that was in vain however since neither Bolt or Simba ever has leftovers.  When presented with Love Child Organics, my boys gobbled them up before I could even grab my camera.

I love that EVERY pouch contains one of my all time favourite super grains, Quinoa as well as acerola fruit which provides a natural source of vitamin c.  Add to that nutritional powerhouse a variety of organic fruits and veggies and local Whistler residents John and Leah Garrad-Cole have finally created a packaged food that I want to feed my children.

And perhaps more importantly, my kids can't get enough. The second I showed the boys' the squeezy pouches of goodness they were begging to eat them and surprisingly neither of them expressed a preference among the flavours. We tried out three of the six flavours; 'Mangoes and Apples', 'Blueberries, Apples and Bananas' and the 'Sweet Potatoes, Carrots, Apples and Blueberries' and I promise you, not one single drop was spilled.

For all of us living an allergy-friendly life, I love that Love Child Organics are produced in a nut-free facility and are naturally gluten-free, dairy-free and kosher. I remember travelling around Asia looking for gluten-free, dairy-free baby food for Bolt when he was eight months old, it was a total nightmare. You'd be amazed how many of the non-fruit baby foods include at least one of the two.

Just in case you're worried, the packaging is all BPA-free and although only the cap is recyclable, the packaging is still a sound environmental choice.

Our pouches use 80% less material than many alternative forms of packaging. An independent audit of the life cycle of our pouches has shown that the energy used, and the environmental impact made, when making, transporting and destroying them is significantly less than PET plastic bottles, Tetra packs and glass. When compared to the glass jars commonly used for baby food, our pouches can use as little as 8% of the energy requirements.

You can find Love Child Organics in Wal Mart Stores and you can also check them out on their Website, Like them on Facebook and Follow them on Twitter and Pinterest.

Have you checked Love Child Organics out? What did your kids think?

I received three packages of Love Child Organics products for the purposes of this review; all opinions are my own.

Wise Bites Cookies | Allergy-friendly deliciousness

All you baked-goods loving, allergy-suffering folks, there's a new cookie on the block and you're going to adore them. Wise Bites are free of the top eight allergens (peanuts, tree nuts, gluten, eggs, soy, dairy, fish and shellfish), which means nearly anyone with a food allergy can enjoy them and given the delicious flavour profile and great texture, enjoy them you will.

Wise Bites are unassuming looking cookies that are reminiscent of a power bar, they are a dense cookie with an almost fudgy texture that is neither gooey or crumbly. The flavour on the other hand is all cookie, despite the change in texture from traditional (wheat-based) cookies, the quinoa chocolate chip cookies tasted remarkably familiar.  If you love candied ginger, you MUST try the quinoa triple ginger cookie;  the ginger is evident in every bite but never overpowering nor overwhelming. The third and final wise bite cookie is the quinoa triple fudge and its every bit as tasty as it sounds.

Wise Bites also come in small bars in the same three flavours; with two small bars per package they were perfect snack to feed to my boys and given the healthy ingredients I didn't even feel guilty about letting them eat pre-packaged cookies.

If all that wasn't good enough, these amazing little morsels are are locally made in Richmond, BC (right next to my Dad's warehouse in fact) and their primary ingredient happens to be one of my all time favourite grains, quinoa. Don't be put off if quinoa isn't your thing, these cookies taste amazing and not a bit like quinoa.

Wise Bites also make hearty quinoa muffins (that I would absolutely buy if they were available at my local coffee shop) and sell bulk items such as quinoa flour, chocolate chips and organic crystallized ginger.

Wise Bites are available at a number of local stores, or they can be purchased online. I hope you try them and love them as much as I do.

Share the love folks, you can find Wise Bites online, on Facebook and on Twitter!

I recieved product in exchange for this review, however all opinions are my own.

Dinner's on the table with VHSauces | Sweet & Sour Meatball Recipe | gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, soy-free

Did you know that some VH sauces that are gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free and nut-free?

They are not certified or labelled as such, but if you read the ingredients carefully there are a number of allergen friendly sauces, which also happen to be delicious, convenient and affordable. A rare treat for families with food allergies.

I was super excited about the opportunity to work with VHSauces via Collective Bias (#Cbias) and I spent some time browsing the VH Website and their multitude of recipe ideas, but in the end opted to share a tried and true favourite, gluten-free sweet and sour meatballs.

Since time always seems to be tight, I often run to the grocery store on my lunch break to grab a few items for dinner and this week was no different. I grabbed my co-worker, a summer student that's been a blast to have around, and headed over to Save-On-Foods to check out the selection of VH Sauces and pick up a couple boxes of coconut milk and some Daiya vegan cheese.

Although all the VH #DeliciousSauces were located in one aisle, they were not all in the same location.  I found some of the VH Sauces with the Indian cuisine and others located with the Asian cuisine.

In only five minutes I found a number of sauces that met our allergy needs (I read the labels EVERY time and so should you) and I didn't even take the time to read the Indian sauces as my husband doesn't care for curry flavours. I ended up buying the Sweet and Sour cooking sauce, the Teriyaki cooking sauce and the new Garlic Hoisin stir-fry sauce, which I can't wait to try.

But I digress, back to my sweet and sour meatballs. With only a little bit of prep the night before to make the meatballs, we had a sweet and tasty dinner on the table in about 15 minutes yesterday. A small, but important feat as my boys begin screaming for dinner if they aren't eating within 20 minutes of arriving home.

Quick, easy and delicious, I love the convenience of VH Sauces; they feel like a huge treat because I can so rarely find mainstream products that meet our dietary needs.

Check out photos of my entire experience with VH Sauces on Google + and keep reading for my recipe for simple homemade, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, soy-free sweet and sour meatballs.

Check out VH on Twitter and Facebook.

Sweet & Sour Meatballs

(gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, soy-free)

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1/4 lb ground pork
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp gluten-free italian seasoing
• 1 tsp dried, minced onion
• 1/4 tsp salt
• VH Sweet and Sour Cooking Sauce

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375F and line a cookie sheet pan with parchment paper.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together everything except the sweet and sour sauce.
3. Use a tablespoon to create even sized meatballs.
4. Bake for approximately 15 minutes, until the temperature reaches 160F. Do not overcook.
5. You can proceed directly to the next step or allow the meatballs to cool then refrigerate until ready to use. 
6. Empty VH Sweet and Sour Cooking Sauce into a medium saucepan and heat over medium-high heat.
7. Add meatballs to the sauce and cook until warmed through.
8. Enjoy, we like to eat ours with freshly cooked rice!

This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias, 
however all opinions are my own. #CBias 

Summer Blueberry Cake | gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, soy-free recipe

I love blueberries and so do my boys. Fortunately, blueberries grow best in bog environments and Richmond, where we live, happens to be primarily bog so in the summertime, blueberries are bountiful. We eat blueberries in just about any form, but the fresh local berries are the absolute best. They're delicious, healthy and packed with antioxidants, I really don't see a downside.

When I saw this pin on Pinterest for buttermilk, blueberry breakfast cake, I knew I had to have it. I grabbed some blueberries out of the fridge, my janet & greta gluten-free flour mix and got to work creating a gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free version.

It turned out beautifully, spongy, soft and sweet with a hint of lemon to brighten the flavour of the blueberries. To me, it tastes like summer and as an added bonus, it travels well and would be great in parent and kid lunchboxes alike.

I prefer to use coconut oil in my recipes, but because of the summer heat it was already in its liquid form. Fortunately after I popped the coconut oil in the freezer for about 5 minutes it had partially harded and I was able to use my kitchen-aid mixer to create a smooth, creamy texture suitable for creaming with sugar.

Summer Blueberry Cake

(gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, soy-free)

Adapted from Alexandra Cooks

Ingredients:

• 2 cups blueberries
• 2 cups of gluten-free flour mix*
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp xantham gum**
• 1/2 cup coconut oil
• 1 cup of sugar
• zest of one lemon
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• 1 tbsp sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F, grease a 9" square cake pan.
2. In a small bowl, combine blueberries with 1/4 cup of gluten-free flour mix. Set aside.
3. In a medium bowl whisk together the remaining gluten-free flour mix, baking powder, salt and xantham gum. Set aside.
4. Blend coconut oil until creamy, blend in the sugar.
5. Add eggs to the sugar mixture, one at a time, until well blended. Stir in the vanilla.
6. Starting with the dry ingredients, alternately add the dry mix and the coconut milk to the wet ingredients, mixing well between each addition.
7. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the berries, then spread the mixture into the prepared pan. The batter will be thick.
8. Sprinkle the cake with 1 tbsp of sugar, bake for 35 minutes until the top begins to golden and a toothpick inserted in the cake comes out clean.
9. Cool, in the pan, at least 15 minutes.
10. Enjoy!

*I used the janet and greta gluten-free flour mix, recipe below.

**If your gluten-free flour mix does not contain xantham gum, add 1/2 tsp instead of 1/4.

Janet and Greta's
Gluten-Free Flour Mix

The Looneyspoons Collection by Janet and Greta Podleski

Ingredients:

• 2 cups sorghum flour
• 2 cups potato starch
• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• 1/2 cup brown rice flour
• 1 tbsp xantham gum

Directions:

1. Place all the ingredients in a large ziploc bag, bowl or container.
2. Blend well.

The Looneyspoons Collection | Cookbook Review & Giveaway

The Looneyspoons Collection (TLC) by Janet and Greta Podleski is hands down, my new favourite cookbook.  The first week I had it, I used it four days in a row, each time trying a new recipe.  After a few short months I have at least six new recipes in rotation to be cooked on a regular basis and tons more I can't wait to try.  If Janet and Greta look familiar, you may have seen them on their super fun TV show, Eat, Shrink and Be Merry.

Janet and Greta's recipes are flavourful, healthy and easy to make; many of them are naturally gluten-free and dairy-free or easily adapted with simple substitutions. More importantly, my kids seem to genuinely enjoy the recipes we've tried from TLC; if the kids are eating healthy food, I'm happy.

Although this book would surely knock any family out of a dinnertime rut, its equally suitable for a recent graduate learning to cook on their own.  In fact I used to run a community cooking program for youths on Friday nights using recipes from Janet and Greta's previous books Crazy Plates and Eat, Shrink and Be Merry, which they generously donated to the program.  Cooking tasty, healthy food brought those kids, and myself, such immense pride and I hope that many of them have carried the skills and confidence they learned in that kitchen, into the rest of their lives.

But I digress, TLC is truly a collection, it combines old favourites, like the 'Must Bake Carrot Cake: two-tiered spiced carrot cake', 'Burger, She Wrote: Teriyaki seasoned burgers for the barbeque', 'A Lotta Enchilada: Flavor-packed chicken, black bean and corn enchiladas', 'The Ladle in Red: Everyone's favourite classic beef chili' and more with a ton of new recipes that are just as tasty.

Some of my new favourites include 'Mulligatawnski: Southern Indian soup with curried chicken, apples and quinoa', 'Bananaberry Bombs: Moist banana-blueberry muffins with oats and flaxseed', 'The Sound of Muesli: A high-fibre breakfast blend of oats, yogurt and fresh fruit', 'Sticky Chicky: Baked chicken thighs in a sticky-sweet barbeque sauce" and of course the 'GRAINola Bars: chewy homemade granola bars with oats, flax pumpkins, cranberries, nuts and mini chocolate chips', the base recipe for my gluten-free, dairy-free chocolate cranberry granola bars.

My mouth is watering just thinking about all that delicious food. There are recipes in this book are for everyone and I would buy it for anyone.

Want to win your own copy of The Looneyspoons Collection, signed by Janet and Greta? Enter to win using the Rafflecopter after the jump.

And if you're looking for some instant gratification, Janet and Greta have some free recipes on their website and if you sign up for their newsletter you will get new recipes in your inbox.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Baking Soothes My Soul: Oat Fudge Bar Recipe | gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, soy-free

From the time I was in grade 5 right through my high school years you could almost always find me baking cookies on a Friday afternoon.  I rarely ate them, but I loved making them.  Baking is cathartic for me, I think the creativity clears me both emotionally and physically.  After my last few weeks taking care of a sick family, the urge to bake was strong.

In fact I even made oatmeal raisin cookies using whole wheat flour when I was visiting at my mom's house. Since I couldn't enjoy them, I still felt the need to bake something delicious.  And since I'm so tired, exhausted and craving chocolate, I opted to bake some ooey gooey gluten-free goodness.

These oat fudge bars are an adaptation from one of my favourite cookie and bars cookbooks and are in no way healthy, unless of course you count the fact that they contain oats.  They take a little bit of time to make because you have to make your own dairy-free sweetened condensed milk but its totally worth the effort; if your family tolerates dairy, feel free to substitute a can and speed things up.  This recipe make a huge 9x13 pan and I suspect that you could easily halve the recipe and bake it in an 8x8 pan.  Personally, I've just been eating a bit every time I walk by the pan and they don't seem to be getting stale any faster than I can eat them.

Be forewarned, these bars are delicious, addictive and not-so-good for you.  I hope you like them as much as I do.

Oat Fudge Bars

(gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, nut-free)
Adapted from 500 best Cookies, Bars & Squares by Esther Brody 

 BASE Ingredients:

• 3 cups gluten-free oats (quick cooking if you can find them)
• 2.5 cups gluten-free flour mix*
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp xantham gum
• 1 cup shortening + 2 tbsp water
• 2 cups packed brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla

TOPPING Ingredients:

• 3 cups rice milk
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 Tbsp cornstarch
• 2 cups chocolate chips
• 2 Tbsp shortening
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp vanilla 

Directions

1. Mix rice milk and sugar in a medium saucepan and boil, stirring frequently until the liquid is reduced by 1/3. (You should have about 2 cups after reduction).
2. Preheat oven to 350 F and grease a 9x13 pan.
3. While the milk is reducing, in a medium bowl, whisk together the oats, gluten-free flour mix, baking soda, salt and xantham gum.  Set aside. 
4. In a separate bowl beat the shortening, water and brown sugar until smooth and creamy.  
5. Add eggs, one at a time and beat until well incorporated.  
6. Stir in the vanilla.
7. Add dry ingredients to the wet and mix well.
8. Press 2/3 of the oat mix into the prepared pan.
9. Once your milk has reduced (it will be thin), scoop approximately 1/4 cup into a small bowl.  Add the cornstarch, blending well before mixing back into the hot milk. 
10. Try and allow the mixture to cool slightly before adding the chocolate chips, shortening and salt.  Stir until smooth then mix in the vanilla.  (You can warm the mixture over low heat if your milk isn't already hot.)
11. Pour chocolate over the prepared base.
12. Crumble reserved base over the chocolate layer.
13. Bake 35-45minutes until the edges are golden and the centre appears nearly set.
14. Cool pan completely on a wire rack before cutting into bars.
15. Enjoy.  

Gluten-Free Flour Mix
(adapted from Living Without's 'Mary's All Purpose Gluten-Free Flour Blend')

Ingredients:

• 2 cups brown rice flour
• 2 cups white rice flour
• 1-1/3 cups potato starch
• 1 cup sorghum flour
• 2/3 cup tapioca starch

Directions:

1. Combine all of the ingredients and mix well.
2. Store in a sealed container or mix right into a large Ziploc bag and use as needed for gluten-free baking.

yield: 7 cups

Nonuttin' Natural Foods | gluten-free, nut-free, dairy-free, egg-free

Nothing is more important than keeping your child safe and when your child has an anaphylactic allergy doing so becomes a little more complicated.  Nonuttin' Natural Foods was created by a  Vancouver Island mom who wanted her daughter (who is allergic to peanuts, almonds, kiwi and chickpeas) to be able to share natural, healthy snacks with her friends.  I met both Alana and her daughter Megan, who carries an epi-pen, at the Vancouver Gluten-Free Expo.

I applaud Alana, not only does Nonuttin' Foods cater to her daughter's allergies, their products cater to most common allergens; they are gluten-free, peanut-free, tree nut free, dairy free egg free,  kosher and in the process of becoming soy-free.  Their products are made in a dedicated facility, they use certified gluten-free oats and they only source non-gmo ingredients.

Go Momma, thanks for looking out for all of us.

Nonuttin' granola has sweet, crunchy, clusters and gluten-free oats that are vaguely reminiscent of honey bunches of oats cereal.  Regardless, paired with some vanilla coconut milk or lactose free yogurt and a cup of coffee, it makes a perfect breakfast, though I must confess it makes an equally good evening snack.  I had the chance to try out the Blueberry maple granola and enjoyed both the sweet blueberries and the subtle maple flavour.

Nonuttin' granola bars are soft, sweet and sticky not to mention almost undistinguishable from a traditional commercial granola bar.  Seriously they were so good, I stashed them in my purse and ate them when the boy wasn't looking simply because I didn't want to share.  I sampled most of the flavours, but my favourite flavour was the plain chocolate chip.

I've been munching away on Nonuttin' berry delight trail mix while writing this post; its made with sunflower seeds, dried cranberries, dried bluberries, semi-sweet chcolate chips, canola oil and sea salt.  So simple and so tasty, though I must admit, I'm not a huge fan of sunflower seeds, so a little trail mix was more than enough for me.  Nonuttin' trail mix comes in two other flavours; the third flavour is currently on sale for 50% off as they move to a soy-free facility.

Nonuttin' creates allergen-friendly, healthy, tasty snacks and they want you to try them out too, so we are giving away a $20 gift certificate to spend on the Nonuttin' website, to enter use the rafflecopter after the jump (I promise you its easy!).

Cranberry Orange Muffins | a gluten-free, dairy-free and soy-free recipe

I love good recipe swaps.  I recently swapped my quinoa minestrone recipe for a cranberry orange loaf that I used as the basis for this cranberry orange gluten-free, dairy-free and soy-free muffin recipe.  These are so tasty that the hubs just ate half of mine after stealing 'just a nibble'.  I’ve made these muffins twice this week; the first time batch I split with my sister Kat, but this time I’m keeping them all to myself.

This recipe uses more sugar than I usually do, but I think the tartness of the fresh cranberries kind of needs it so I’m hesitant to cut it back.  You could probably substitute honey or ¾ cup of agave with good results if you wanted to keep the recipe clean.

You need to chop up an entire bag of cranberries for this recipe, it’s kind of a pain to do, but it’s worth it if you want little cranberry pockets that ooze flavour in your muffin.  I guarantee you will think you have too many cranberries, but I promise you don’t.  Stir them in, all of them, you won’t be sorry.  I’ve also added a completely optional sprinkling of sugar on the top of the muffin.  I just love that little crunch of the sugar with the tart of the cranberry.

This recipe uses my gluten-free flour mix but I'm sure any good gluten-free mix would work.  Also, don't skip the ginger ale, that little bit of carbonation really lightens up the muffin.  If you don't have any ginger ale, I'm sure any clear carbonated beverage would work, even just soda water.

It’s hard to believe I could love these muffins so much, I don’t even like oranges or orange juice.

Cranberry Orange Muffin Recipe

gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free

Ingredients:

• 2 cups gluten-free flour mix
• 1 cup sugar + more for sprinkling*
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp xantham gum
• ¼ cup vegetable oil
• 1 egg
• ¾ cup orange juice
• zest of one orange
• ¼ cup ginger ale
• 1 bag (~3 cups) fresh or frozen cranberries, coarsely chopped

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F, prepare muffin pans.
2. In a large bowl whisk together the dry ingredients and set aside.
3. In a medium bowl whisk the oil, egg, orange juice and orange zest together.
4. Gently stir the ginger ale into the wet ingredients before pouring the wet ingredients into the dry.
5. Gently stir the batter, as soon as it starts to come together, fold in the cranberries until blended.
6. Nearly fill the muffin cups, then sprinkle lightly with sugar*.
7. Bake for 35 minutes, turning once during baking, until tops are evenly browned and lightly firm to the touch. 
8. Allow muffins to cool in pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a rack to finish cooling.

Yield: 15-18 Muffins
* optional

Quinoa Minestrone Soup | gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free recipe

As much as I try to feed my children healthy, nutritious food, I admit that sometime its hard.  Like when its the holiday season, you have one son with mono and another whose teething like crazy and you're up far more than you want to admit in the night.  Sadly one of the things that tends to slide in those tough motherhood moments is the food and as of late the boy has had more lunches consisting of hot dogs or grilled Daiya cheese and ham sandwiches than I'd care to admit.

That said when I got my act together and made him some homemade fish sticks, yam fries and kale chips for lunch the other day he eagerly gobbled it all up.  This simply reminded me that his tastes are tailored to healthy, delicious foods because that's what I feed him and so I realized its time to get back on track; poor food choices should never really be an option.

So I pulled out my Quinoa 365 book and made one of my favourites, Quinoa Minestrone.  It's fairly thick and I consider it a stoup (thanks Rachael Ray for coining the term), in fact I like to use a scant measurement for the quinoa just to keep it a little thinner.  This stoup is delicious fresh and although the flavours are still great the next day, the quinoa just keeps absorbing the liquid and it gets quite thick the next day, so this time around I opted to make a half batch, which was more than enough for the three of us with one bowlful leftover.  This soup takes about 45 minutes from start to finish, veggies chopping included, so its more than possible to decide to make it at 11am and have it on the table in time for lunch.

This is a great meal for the entire family, the baby happily enjoyed this stoup with us for lunch; he's moving to chunkier foods and I was surprised to find that he was happy to eat it without any pureeing.  You could try making it without cheese and pureeing for younger babies, but the cheese (Daiya in our case) really gives the soup a creamy texture and taste.  The original recipe calls for parmesean, so if your family eats dairy please feel free to re-substitute it back in for the Daiya).

Quinoa Minestrone Soup

Adapted from Quinoa 365 by Patricia Green and Carolyn Hemming
(Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free & Soy-Free)

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 cup diced onion
• 1 cup diced carrot
• 1 cup diced potatoes
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 can of diced tomatoes, including liquid
• 3 cups vegetable or chicken stock
• 1/2 cup quinoa
• 2 tsp minced garlic
• 1 cup diced zucchini
• 1/2 cup Daiya vegan cheese
• 1 cup thinly sliced spinach

Directions:

1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat and saute the onion, carrots, potatoes and salt until the onion is tender, about 7 minutes.
2. Add tomatoes and liquid, stock, quinoa and garlic, bring to a boil. 
3. Simmer partially covered, stirring occasionally, until quinoa and vegetables are tender, about 18 minutes.
4. Add the zucchini and half of the the Daiya cheese.  Allow to simmer for 5 minutes.
5. Stir in the spinach and cook for an additional minute.
6. Ladle into bowls, top with remaining Daiya cheese and enjoy!

Toddler Allergy Testing

Allergies are my reality, nearly everyone in my family is afflicted, including the hubs' side of the family. We have symptoms ranging from anaphylaxis to oral allergies and pretty much everything in between, so it kind of felt like a given that our children would have allergies, to something.  So far the baby seems to be showing no indication of sensitivity, but as you all know the boy is a completely different story.

We've been waiting since January, when the mere touch of a peanut butter sandwich sent the boy to the hospital, to see the allergist at Children's Hospital (the reason the boy had bloodwork a couple weeks ago).  Although I received a pamphlet in the mail, I wasn't sure entirely sure what the visit would entail and whether we would be doing any testing at the appointment.  Regardless, I came prepared with snacks, juice and 'Bear' just in case.

I needed them all.

I was fortunate enough to have Kat along to watch the baby and walk him around in the Ergo carrier, I'm not sure what I would have done without her.  Although I was excited about getting some insight into the boys allergies, I was less than thrilled with an appointment at 1:30pm; at our house naptime starts promptly at one.

After a consult with the resident doctor and a chat with the supervising allergist, it was time to whip off the boys shirt and doing some prick tests.  He was tested for 23 allergens and had at least minor reactions to most of them, however he only showed up allergic to a handful.

In fact the only food allergen identified was peanuts, which was expected.  The tests indicated that he is likely outgrowing his dairy allergy and that his reactions to soy and wheat are not significant.  Which means that we have to begin slowly re-introducing dairy, soy and wheat into the boys' diet.

The allergist also identified cats, dust mites and grass pollen as allergens for the boy, which means we need to get extremely diligent about cleaning his bedroom.

All in all, our trip to the allergist was a positive one and I'm excited for the boy to start trying new foods again.  I simply hope that the allergist is right and that he can tolerate these allergens particularly now that his eczema is (for the most part) under control.

The Roadhouse Bake Shoppe

As a gluten-free connoisseur I don't frequent bakeries much these days, but when I heard about a local family owned business, that chooses to sell gluten-free items (baked off-site in a dedicated space), in need of some patrons this holiday season, I decided to help spread the word.

The Roadhouse Bake Shoppe is located in the Surrey / White Rock area of the lower mainland and is located right next door to the family's restaurant McJacs Roadhouse Grille.  With the holiday season rapidly upon us, the opportunity to make homemade baked goods is slipping away, however with a quick stop at the Roadhouse Bake Shoppe, you won't have to show up at any of your holiday engagements empty handed.

The Roadhouse carries a number of items from the O'Delish Gluten Free Bakery including gluten-free Christmas cake, breads, cookies, muffins, chips, donuts, stuffing mix and lentil crackers.  For those of you that are also dairy-free, don't despair, O'Delish will make your items dairy-free upon request, just give the Roadhouse Bake Shoppe a call and pre-order.  I'm literally salivating at the thought of walking into a bakery and having so many gluten-free options.

Did you notice the logo also says 'Cheese Market'?  I may be off dairy for the time being, but I am a cheese addict through and through.  Once the baby stops breastfeeding, I'll be in serious need of a cheese market.

For those of you that love pictures and a bit of sentimentality, check out what Shasher has to say about the Roadhouse Bake Shoppe.

Although I've never been to the Roadhouse Bake Shoppe, next time I'm in the area I will absolutely be stopping in to sample the delicious gluten-free delights and pick up a little something gluten-full for the hubs.

The Roadhouse Bake Shoppe can be found online and on Facebook and Twitter and the O'Delish Gluten-Free Bakery can be found online and on Facebook and Twitter.

High Crow Gluten Free Christmas Giveaway

Although I love to bake, the ultimate treat is an allergen-friendly gluten-free goodie that I didn't have to make myself and for that, I always turn to High Crow Gluten Free Foods.   This giveaway is direct from High Crow to you, read on for more information from Julie regarding this amazing prize.

Tis the season to indulge in some GF holiday baking! And why not accompany it with a cup of tea in a one-of-a-kind High Crow MUG while wearing your new High Crow T-SHIRT?!

Enter for a chance to win a gift basket full of High Crow baking, plus a High Crow mug and High Crow T-shirt (size M). All entries will be collected and a winner announced the evening of Wednesday December 15th. Giveaway is open to Lower Mainland residents only.   

Enter using the Rafflecopter after the jump...

Pumpkin Mini-Muffin Recipe | gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free

I adore the smell of pumpkin cooking, so when fall comes around, I start itching for pumpkin loaf, pumpkin muffins or even pumpkin butter.  Up until recently I hadn't found a recipe that I was in love with so I decided to adapt my childhood favourite, my Mom's Weight Watchers Pumpkin mini-muffins.

The results are phenomenal, moist but light, flavourful and sweet, seriously mmm, mmm, good and kid-approved.  On top of all this tasty (and nutritional) goodness, these bad boys are super easy to make and would be totally do-able with a toddler in tow.

As you may know, I generally shy away from gluten-free flour mixes, but I recently tried one for a waffle recipe in my Living Without magazine and was left with about 5 cups for random baking.  Much to my surprise,  I was consistently impressed with the results; it still needed something, in my opinion, so I added a bit of sorghum flour to add a bit more texture, minimize the chewiness of the final products and boost the protein.  Before I knew it, I had a flour mix that I trusted.

Since this recipe uses a very small amount of gluten-free flour, and I have a lot less time for baking now that I'm a mom to two, I opted to use the flour mixture here, I'm fairly certain most gluten-free flour mixtures would work, or even all purpose flour for those of you that aren't gluten-free.  The gluten-free flour mix recipe is included after the mini-muffin recipe.

For those of you into 'clean eating' I'm also going to try substituting the sugar for some agave or honey, if you try this I would recommend adding another 1-2 Tbsp of the gluten-free flour mix to balance out the wetness of the sweetner.  Please let me know how it works out.

Pumpkin Mini Muffins
(gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free)

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp gluten-free flour mix
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp xantham gum
• 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
• 3 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp cloves
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/4 cup coconut milk
• 1 tsp maple or vanilla extract
• 4 Tbsp raisins
• 1/2 cup grated carrot

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F and lightly oil mini-muffin tins.
2. Whisk together gluten-free flour, sugar, baking soda, xantham gum, cream of tartar and spices in a medium bowl.
3. Blend together the eggs, pumpkin, coconut milk and extract.
4. Mix the raisins and carrot into the wet mixture.
5. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir well to combine; batter will be quite thin.
6. Spoon batter evenly into mini muffin tins and bake for 20-25minutes until the tops are lightly firm and bounce back when you touch them.
7. Leave muffins in the pan and cool on a rack before unmolding.
8. Enjoy.

yield: 24 mini muffins

Gluten-Free Flour Mix
(adapted from Living Without's 'Mary's All Purpose Gluten-Free Flour Blend')

Ingredients:

• 2 cups brown rice flour
• 2 cups white rice flour
• 1-1/3 cups potato starch
• 1 cup sorghum flour
• 2/3 cup tapioca starch

Directions:

1. Combine all of the ingredients and mix well.
2. Store in a sealed container or mix right into a large Ziploc bag and use as needed for gluten-free baking.

yield: 7 cups

The Cooking Light Gluten-Free Cookbook | Review & Giveaway

I have a hard time resisting a good cookbook particularly one that has luscious sounding dishes, mouthwatering photos and of course ingredients that are attainable and methods that are realistic.  I admit however, that I'm not exactly gentle on my cookbooks, if its a favourite then its likely covered in smears of food with pages that either fall open or stick together. 

I had the opportunity to try out The Cooking Light Gluten-Free Cookbook and was immediately excited by the plethora of recipes contained within its pages.  Nearly every recipe in the book features a full page, full colour photo which not only inspires, but also provides the home cook with a realistic image of what the end product should look like.  Each recipe also clearly identifies any products that have the potential to contain gluten and highlights those recipes that are also dairy free.

As gluten-free becomes more mainstream, more gluten-free cookbooks are becoming available and the question of how much general gluten-free information should be included becomes an important one.  The Cooking Light Gluten-Free Cookbook dedicates over 15 pages to the 'Gluten-Free Kitchen' including information about what gluten is and where it hides, a description and photo of 16 gluten-free grains, flours and starches and information about effectively reading food labels and kitchen safety tips for those of us who do not have a dedicated gluten-free kitchen.

All of this information alone, makes the Cooking Light Gluten-Free Cookbook a great buy for someone who is new to the gluten-free diet, but add in that many of the baking recipes utilize a combination of gluten-free pantry ingredients and store-bought mixes (such as cake or cookie mixes), this cookbook manages to make gluten-free baking not only less intimidating, but actually achievable for the 'non-baker'.  I don't generally cook with mixes, but people buy them for me, so I'm eager to try out the carrot cake recipe that will give me a chance to use up both a gluten-free cake mix and a gluten-free pudding mix that are already in my pantry.

We are giving away a copy of The Cooking Light Gluten-Free Cookbook to one Momma Stuff Blog reader, to enter check out the Rafflecopter after the jump.

'Low & Slow' Kale Chips | Recipe

Full of vitamin C, beta-carotene, calcium and antioxidants its no surprise that Kale is often touted as a superfood.  My mom always told me the darker the green, the healthier the vegetable and kale certainly lives up to her expectations.

Healthy however, does not always equal delicious, particularly when it comes to thick leafy greens like kale and although I'll admit that I didn't love my attempt at a kale smoothie, kale chips are amazing.  In fact both the boy and the hubs (who initially told me kale was only good for lining deli cases) gobble them up whenever I make them.

There are many recipes for kale chips available online and they are all very similar.  Unfortunately, virtually none of them worked for me.  Perhaps I don't have the precision required to cook these greens at high temperatures; every time I tried, no matter how many times I checked on them, they tasted burnt.  In fact, I was so disappointed in my attempts, I almost gave up, but instead I decided to try the 'low and slow' method and was ecstatic with the results.

Light, crispy, salty and delicious, kale chips are a total hit at our house.

You can play around with both the shape and saltiness of your chips, I've seen beautiful photos of long skinny 'chips', but I prefer small bite size pieces.  Not only are they easier to make, the boy has a tendency to crush at least a few pieces, which leaves kale shrapnel all over him, the high chair and the floor and quite simply, smaller pieces equal less mess.

'Low and Slow' Kale Chips

Ingredients:

• 1/2 bunch of kale
• Grapeseed or Olive oil
• Sea Salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 250F.
2. Place the kale upside down and separate the leafy greens from the central rib.
3. Tear the leafy greens into bite size pieces and place on a cookie sheet.
4. Sprinkle greens with oil and toss until all the pieces are lightly coated.
5. Sprinkle oiled greens with sea salt and toss the greens again then spread out evenly on the baking sheet.  For best results minimize overlap of kale.
6. Bake for 20 minutes or until greens are light and crispy, if the greens start to turn a light brown colour they are burning, remove them from the oven immediately.
7. Enjoy!

Beer Battered Fish & Chips | a gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free recipe

  There's a school of thought that living gluten-free means that some foods are unequivocally out of the question; I admit that I believed it once too a long time ago.  I now know that gluten-free food doesn't have to be tasteless, boring and bland.  Since going gluten-free in June 2007 I have slowly built a cache of gluten-free recipes, that I love, enjoy and share with friends and family, I have just a few of them here.

As a general rule I don't use gluten-free flour mixes, simply because each flour behaves differently so we can't expect similar results in every recipe. Over the past four years I have spent a lot of time trying out various combinations, so whenever I try a new recipe I'm hopeful that I'll get it 'right'.  Good gluten-free takes a combination of flours and starches, so its always a balancing act, but in my eyes, its worth the effort.

This weekend, with the help of my loving Father (whom the boys call Gong gong) I took my understanding of gluten-free to a whole new level: we tackled the deep fryer, something I am not familiar with at all. Luckily my dad makes amazing fish and chips and is great with the fryer, so armed with his insight, my familiarity with the gluten-free flours and a spring salmon we decided to tackle gluten-free, and of course dairy and soy-free, Beer Battered Fish and Chips.

The results were amazing to say the least, light and crispy this fish could easily be mistaken for gluten-full (so the hubs told me). As far as I'm concerned, a successful gluten-free recipe for a dish that is generally 'off-limits' MUST be shared ASAP, so despite the half-written posts in my dashboard, I give you gluten-free beer battered fish and chips.  Go forth, deep fry and enjoy!

Beer Battered Fish and Chips

(Gluten-free, Dairy-Free, Soy-Free)

Serves 2-3
can be doubled to serve 4-6

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup white rice flour
• 1/4 cup sweet (glutinous) rice flour
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1.5 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup gluten-free beer
• Fish

Directions:

• Cut and prep your fish.
• Heat vegetable oil to 375 degrees.
• In a medium bowl whisk together all of the dry ingredients.
• Whisk the beer into the dry mix, watching for consistency at the end.  Add cornstarch/beer by the tsp to thicken/thin if needed.
• Carefully add the fish to the hot oil and cook until golden, a few minutes per side.
• Enjoy and try not to eat too much!

Gong gong's Advice for crispy beer-battered Fish and Chips

• For a light crispy batter, you need a thin batter.  The batter should coat your finger and have long drips rather than small droplets.
• When placing fish in the oil, submerge the majority of the fish, but do not drop it completely until the oil has started to bubble around the fish.
• We found fish cut approximately 1/2" x 2" x 4" cooked perfectly.

Ponderosa Cake | Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, Soy-Free Chocolate Banana Cake

To those who attend the University of British Columbia (UBC), Ponderosa Cake is a well-known treat; I however only had the pleasure of tasting this moist, chocolate chip banana cake once in my pre-gluten-free life.  I was at a barbeque and I found myself amazed that this cake, which by ingredients simply sounded like a glorified banana bread, could taste like so much more.

Once I returned home I promptly Googled the recipe and when I first started experimenting with gluten-free recipe adaptations Ponderosa Cake was at the top of the list.  I'm still not exactly sure how this recipe got its name, and I tend to simply call it chocolate banana cake, but regardless, after many iterations, I am confident that I have this recipe ready for gluten-free, dairy-free and soy-free mass consumption.

The last time I made this recipe was at Colin Jack's Celebration of Life; his brother suffers from gluten and dairy in tolerances and I wanted to make sure that there was a treat he could safely enjoy during his time of grief.  I wish that I could share a photo that truly displays the texture and deliciousness of this desert, but instead I have only a snapshot of my Ponderosa Cake taken on this unforgettable day.  But please trust me when I say that this cake, complete with a chocolate chip and brown sugar centre, is absolutley delicious and must be made if you love the combination of banana and chocolate.

Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, Soy-Free Ponderosa Cake
(Chocolate Banana Cake)

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cups of mashed ripe bananas (approximately 2 large bananas)
• 1 tsp baking powder  

•  1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 cup brown sugar

•  1/2 cup sorghum flour
• 1/2 cup brown rice flour
• 1/2 cup tapioca flour
• 1/2 tsp xantham gum
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon

• 1/2 cup dairy/soy/gluten-free shortening*
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup plain coconut yogurt**

• 3/4 cup of allergen friendly chocolate chips

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350F, line (or lightly grease) your baking pan with parchment paper. 
• In a small bowl, mix together bananas and 1 tsp of baking powder.  Set aside. 
• In a small bowl mix together cinnamon and brown sugar.  Set aside.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients (sorghum through cinnamon). Set aside.
• Cream together the shortening and sugar until well combined.
• Mixing thoroughly between each addition, add the egg, vanilla and finally the banana & baking soda mixture to the wet ingredients.
• Alternate adding the dry mixture and the coconut yogurt to the wet ingredients, ending with the coconut yogurt.  The batter should be fairly thick.
• Pour half of the batter into the prepared pan, sprinkle half of the chocolate chips over the batter then sprinkle half of the cinnamon & brown sugar mixture on top.
• Repeat the batter, chocolate and cinnamon layers with the remaining ingredients.
• Bake for 40-45minutes until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.  Allow to cool before cutting and serving.
• Enjoy.

yield: One 8x8 cake - this recipe can be doubled for a 9x13 cake

* if you are not concerned with 'soy-free' I recommend Golden Crisco.  For those that can tolerate dairy, I find shortening gives a better texture to the final product than butter.
**Original recipe calls for sour cream, I imagine soy yogurt would also work.