Gluten Free Christmas Sugar Cookies

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"These cookies are very yummy and gluten free"

Prep Time: 30 mins

Total Time: 43 mins

Yield: 36 cookies

                                                                                                             

About This Recipe

These cookies are very yummy and lots of fun to make and decorate. They are crisp on the outside and a little soft on the inside. I like making them with colored sugar or shaking a little powdered sugar on top.

They keep very well in a sealed container. Last year I made them to take up to my cottage on our week of holidays. Everyone loved them!                                

Ingredients

• 1 cup rice flour
• 1/2 cup tapioca flour
• 1 cup cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 1/2 teaspoons xanthan gum
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup Butter Flavor Crisco
• 1 eggs or 1/4 cup liquid egg substitute
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1/4 cup potato starch, for kneading

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Have on hand 2 ungreased cookie sheets.
2. In a small bowl, whish together the flour mix, baking powder, xanthan gum, and salt. Set aside.
3. In the bowl of your mixer, cream sugar and crisco. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients, mixing enough to combine. The dough will be a soft ball. With your hands, knead in enough of the potato starch to make the dough easy to handle and roll out.
4. Using about half at a time, place a piece of plastic wrap over the ball and roll out to about 1/8 inch thickness.
5. Cut into desired shapes and place on pan.
6. Decorate with coloured sugars before baking or use frosting to decorate after baking.
7. (With this dough, you can use all the scraps.) Just scrape them together and roll out again. They wont get tough.
8. Bake for about 13 minutes. Cool very slightly before removing from the pan.

By GlutenFreeGirl - http://www.food.com/recipe/gluten-free-dutch-sugar-cookies-183003

Yummy Gingerbread Cookie Recipe

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"This is my very favorite gingerbread cookie recipe"

Prep Time: 2 hrs 15 mins

Total Time: 2 hrs 23 mins

Yield: 24 - 5inch tall cookies

About This Recipe

These disappear in a flash at my house!

The dough is firm and nice to work with and is so wonderful smelling that it is almost like a stress reliever. If you would like a crisper cookie roll the dough out thinner.

I noticed a lot of people have been having some sticky dough issues. You need to make sure you let the dough rest at LEAST two hours this helps make the dough more workable.                               

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon ground ginger
• 1 3/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup dark brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup molasses
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest (optional)

Directions

1. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves until well blended.
2. In a large bowl (KitchenAid's great for this) beat butter, brown sugar, and egg on medium speed until well blended.
3. Add molasses, vanilla, and lemon zest and continue to mix until well blended.
4. Gradually stir in dry ingredients until blended and smooth.

Directions

5. Divide dough in half and wrap each half in plastic and let stand at room temperature for at least 2 hours or up to 8 hours.
6. Preheat oven to 375 deg. Prepare baking sheets by lining with parchment paper.
7. (Dough can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 4 days, but in this case it should be refrigerated. Return to room temp before using.) Preheat oven to 375°.
8. Grease or line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
9. Place 1 portion of the dough on a lightly floured surface.
10. Sprinkle flour over dough and rolling pin.
11. Roll dough to a scant 1/4-inch thick.
12. Use additional flour to avoid sticking.
13. Cut out cookies with desired cutter-- the ginger bread man is our favorite of course.
14. Space cookies 1 1/2-inches apart.
15. Bake 1 sheet at a time for 7-10 minutes (the lower time will give you softer cookies-- very good!).
16. Remove cookie sheet from oven and allow the cookies to stand until the cookies are firm enough to move to a wire rack.
17. After cookies are cool you may decorate them any way you like.
18. I usually brush them with a powdered sugar glaze when I am in a hurry, but they look wonderful decorated with Royal icing.

By gingerkitten D -  http://www.food.com/recipe/the-most-wonderful-gingerbread-cookies-80156

Strawberry Facts

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Chances are you know what a strawberry is. If you've never heard of such a thing then hopefully this months post will convince you to give this adorable little fruit a shot.

There is a lot more to them then just a pretty skin. Strawberries are also an excellent source of Vitamin C and those tiny little seeds contain fiber. Today, there are over 600 varieties of strawberries. The sweet, slightly tart berries rank among the top 10 fruits and vegetables for antioxidant content. 

The benefits of consuming fruits and vegetables of all kinds, including strawberries, are varied. As plant food consumption goes up, the risk of heart disease, diabetes, and cancer goes down.

Below we have some info on choosing and saving strawberries.

Choosing Strawberries: Select those  which are plump, bright and even-coloured. Flavour varies with variety and ripeness.

How to Keep Strawberries: Remove them from the punnet (The little green container they're sold in) . It's best to place them unwashed in a single layer on paper towel on a plate. Cover and refrigerate. Use within 3 days.

Incorporating more strawberries into your diet: Strawberries are available fresh, frozen, freeze-dried, and in jellies, syrups, and jams. Make sure to check the label of frozen and dried strawberries for added sugars. When looking for jellies or jams, go for all fruit spreads without added sweeteners and fillers.

Here are some tips to incorporate more of this super food into your diet:

• Dice strawberries and add them to your chicken salad.
• Make your own fruit cocktail with fresh fruit and include grapes, pineapple, sliced peaches, and strawberries. Drizzle a small amount of honey on top of the fruit mixture for an extra sweet treat.
• Slice strawberries and add them to plain Greek yogurt with a drizzle of agave nectar and sliced almonds.
• Top whole grain waffles, pancakes, or oatmeal with fresh strawberries, or fold them into muffins and sweet breads. You can also blend strawberries in a food processor with a little water and use as a fresh syrup to top desserts or breakfast foods.
• Mix them into a spinach salad with walnuts and goat cheese.
• Toast a whole grain bagel and top with Neufchatel cheese (light cream cheese) and strawberries.
• Throw some frozen strawberries (unsweetened) in a blender with a banana, milk, and ice for a quick and easy strawberry banana smoothie.

Artichoke Facts

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Artichokes can be intimidating. The prickly, thick, cactus like vegetable is enough to send any good cook running, so why bother? The thing is after prepping and cooking the beast you come out feeling a bit more accomplished. And even your kids are bound to look up from their electronics long enough to give a round of applause and chow down.

Artichoke is rich source of minerals like copper, calcium, potassium, iron, manganese and phosphorus. Potassium is an important component of cell and body fluids that helps controlling heart rate and blood pressure by countering effects of sodium. Manganese is used by the body as a co-factor for the antioxidant enzyme, superoxide dismutase. Copper is required in the production of red blood cells. Iron is required for red blood cell formation.

Best time to get artichokes: Artichokes are most plentiful and taste the best during spring months, such as March, April and May.

Finding the right artichoke: It's best to look for artichoke's with closed heads, the leaves should form a tight laver around the rest of the vegetable. The artichoke should be firm and a bit heavy for its size. Don't worry if the stem is a bit brown, it just means it was cut recently. But if the stem is slimy or overly dry the artichoke is no good.

How to store artichokes: Artichokes are the freshest when they are kept loosely wrapped in plastic wrap and put in the fridge. Fresh artichokes will last about a week in the fridge.

Fruit and Veggie of The Month

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Here at LYFVE we like to do a little segment on what's in season for the upcoming months, which we call the Fruit and Veggie of The Month. Pretty straight forward right? All throughout the month of April we will focus on these two ingredients how to prepare them, what they're good for and, some spectacular dishes. Without further ado I introduce you to the fruit and veggie of the month.

Artichokes 

&

Strawberries 

Welcome Back LYFVE'ers !

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Hello everyone, after a very very long extended hiatus LYVFE has decided to dust off the ol' fruit stand and kick this blog back into high gear. So to get everyone's spirits up were starting up our new season with a fresh spring recipe sure to put a smile on your face.

Mint Pea Soup!

Ingredients: 

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 cups chopped leeks, white and light green parts (2 leeks)
• 1 cup chopped yellow onion
• 4 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade
• 5 cups freshly shelled peas or 2 (10-ounce) packages frozen peas
• 2/3 cup chopped fresh mint leaves, loosely packed
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup creme fraiche
• 1/2 cup freshly chopped 

Directions

1. Heat the butter in a large saucepan, add the leeks and onion, and cook over medium-low heat for 5 to 10 minutes, until the onion is tender. 
2. Add the chicken stock, increase the heat to high, and bring to a boil. 
3. Add the peas and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, until the peas are tender. (Frozen peas will take only 3 minutes.) Off the heat, add the mint, salt, and pepper.
4. Puree the soup in batches: place 1 cup of soup in a blender, place the lid on top, and puree on low speed. With the blender still running, open the venthole in the lid and slowly add more soup until the blender is three-quarters full. 
5. Pour the soup into a large bowl and repeat until all the soup is pureed. Whisk in the creme fraiche and chives and taste for seasoning. Serve hot with garlic croutons.

Passion Fruit Souffle

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This light-as-a-feather soufflé is infused with vanilla beans and fresh, fragrant passion-fruit.

While making a soufflé can sometimes be a hit and miss affair, when you do succeed, the result is fantastic.

If you don't have any fresh passion fruit handy, just use the canned pulp. It works just as well
tip on making soufflés -- always have the measured ingredients ready before cooking. And, the most important tip is to use scrupulously clean utensils when whipping the egg whites.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of milk
• 1/2 vanilla bean
• 1/2 cup of sugar
• 4 Tbsp of butter
• 4 Tbsp of all-purpose flour
• 3 large eggs, separated
• 1-2 passion fruit or 1/4 cup of canned passion fruit pulp
• Icing sugar for dusting

Preparation:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 375F.
2. Slowly bring the milk, vanilla bean and sugar to a boil over a medium heat. Then take it off the heat and set aside.
3. Remove the vanilla bean and cut it down the middle. Scrape out the seeds with a sharp knife tip and place them back into the milk. Discard the pod.
4. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over a medium heat. Whisk in the flour, a little at a time. Keep whisking for about a minute. Remove from the heat and gradually stir in the milk.
5. Return the pan to a medium heat and bring the sauce to a boil, stirring the whole time.
6. Cook sauce for about 40 seconds then remove from heat. Cover the surface of the sauce with plastic wrap and set aside to cool slightly.
7. Grease several small soufflé ramekins with butter and dust with a sprinkling of sugar. Set aside.
8. Whisk the egg yolks into the slightly cooled sauce, one at a time, until smooth. Next, add the passion fruit pulp and stir well.
9. In a clean metal bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff with an electric beater.
10. Spoon half the egg whites into the sauce with a clean metal spoon. Fold egg whites through very gently then fold in the remaining egg whites.
11. Pour mixture to the top of the soufflé ramekins. Level the mixture with a knife so that it's even.
12. Bake until risen and slightly golden on top for about 15-20 minutes. Dust with icing sugar just before serving.