So... after more than a year, here I am updating this blog.

A lot has happened in that year.  First of all, I learned that eggs will always make me sick regardless of the processing.  True story.  I ate eggs at my sister's house and she raises her own chickens -no antibiotics, bleach, hormones, or processing.  My stomach cramped up and I became absolutely miserable.  My skin broke out.  I now do not cook with eggs.

I was told by a couple men that they found my dietary restrictions odd.  One even had the courtesy to put it this way:  "I don't think that I'll ever have enough love you enough to endure what you go through.  You can't eat out, and you can't go to a water park."  Haha.  One, I can eat out with limited success.  Two, I never even suggested that I would expect someone else to live by the same restrictions that I do.  Pardon me if I don't eat stuff I'm allergic to in your presence.  You're certainly welcome to eat in front of me.  Seriously.  I don't care.  If I wanted it badly enough, then I'd live with the consequences.

In coming posts, I shall share what I have learned about egg substitutes.

Chewy Brownie Cookies

2/3 Cups Margarine

2/3 Cups Shortening

3 Cups Brown Sugar

2 TBS Water

2 Eggs

2 tsps. Vanilla

1 tsp. Salt

2/3 Cup Cocoa Powder

1/2 tsp. Baking Soda

1/2 tsp. Baking Powder

3 Cups Whole Wheat Flour

Cream margarine, shortening, and brown sugar.  Blend in cocoa powder, salt, baking powder, baking soda, water, and vanilla.  Add eggs.  Finally, add the whole wheat flour.  Use a spoon to drop onto a greased cookie sheet.  Bake at 375 degrees for 8-12 minutes.

No Bake Cookies

1/2 Cup Butter/Margarine
1/2 Cup Milk (soy or dairy)
2 Cups Brown Sugar
1 TBS Vanilla
3 TBS-1/4 Cup Cocoa Powder
1 Cup Peanut Butter
3 Cups Oats

Melt butter and add vanilla.  When boiling, add milk, brown sugar, and cocoa powder.  Add peanut butter and mix until smooth. Begin to stir in oats, remove from heat and continue to stir until all of the chocolate peanut butter mixture and oats are blended.  Drop onto foil or wax paper and allow to cool.  Refridgerate for faster cooling.

Creamy Caramel Sauce

8 oz of Neuchatel (Light Cream Cheese)

1/4 Sweet Cream Butter

Milk (I used Skim)

2 or more cups of Brown Sugar

This recipe was inspired by my friend and former roommate, Caitlin Cameron.  She made the best frosting from cream cheese, using brown sugar so that I could also enjoy. 

On that note, start by heating the cream cheese in a saucepan.  Add the butter and stir until thoroughy blended.  Add milk until it is a runny yet creamy mixture.  Finally, stir in brown sugar until it thickens into a caramel consistency that you would put on a sundae.  Ta-da!  Pour warm over anything!  It comliments cake, cinnamon rolls, and almost anything.  I refrigerated my leftovers in a jar and dipped tart green apples in the caramel.

Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 Cup *Evaporated Cane Juice Crystals

1 Cup Brown Sugar

2/3 Cup Margarine/ Butter

2/3 Cup Shortening

1 tsp Salt

1 tsp Baking Soda

2 tsp Vanilla

2 Eggs

3 Cups Soy Flour
Chocolate Chips (White Chocolate Chips in picture at right)

*Can use white sugar.
In a large bowl, cream the sugars, margarine, and shortening.  Add everything but the flour, stirring well.  Finally, add the flour and then the chocolate chips.  Be sure not to mix too well or the cookies become too cakey.  Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 6-10 minutes until golden brown around the edges.  May be a bit crumbly due to the lack of gluten in the flour.

Additional Information: 1/4 cup of soy flour has almost 15% of your daily need of iron.  Soy flour is a great source of protein and fiber without having very much fat.  I decided to try this recipe in honor of my friends and their children that may have gluten intolerances.  My roommates that don't care for whole wheat variety treats loved these cookies.  Enjoy!

Cheesy Whole Wheat Drop Biscuits

2 Cups Whole Wheat Flour

1 1/2 Tsp. Baking Powder

1 Tsp. Salt

1/2 Tsp. Garlic Powder

1 Cup Shredded Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese

 1/4 Cup Grated Parmesan Cheese

2/3 Cup *Milk mixed with 2Tsp. Lemon Juice

1/3 Cup Canola Oil

*Can use Buttermilk if desired.

Combine dry ingredients and shredded cheeses in one bowl.  In another bowl, combine the liquid ingredients.  Pour the liquids over the dry, stirring.  When completely moistened, drop onto a cookie sheet a couple of inches apart.  You may have to add milk if the mixture still seems dry after adding all of the dry ingredients.  bake at 425 degrees Fahrenheit until golden brown.

Pumpkin Challenge!

I started out making pumpkin bread.  It was one of those great evenings where I believed that the time was finally mine to bake something fun and relax.  I opened up the 30oz can of pumpkin, dumped it into the bowl.  "Hmm, maybe I should actually find a pumpkin bread recipe," I thought.  After a brief search, I just opened up one online.  Well, it only called for 15oz of pumpkin, so I began doubling.  As I was mixing, I decided that the bread recipe called for too much water.  I have a sense about these things nowadays.  Have you ever tried making something that would never seem to bake all of the way?  Yeah, my pumpkin bread was not going to do that.  The mass of ingredients grew to an enormous lump of goo.  What is this?  I glanced back at the recipe. The original made three loaves of pumpkin bread!  I had the beginnings of six loaves.  It was time to bail on the bread recipe as if from a sinking ship.  Quickly adding more sugar, a bit of this, and bit of that, I made pumpkin cookies!

This was about the time that I suddenly recognized I had a group meeting.  It started a half an hour ago.  Without a second look, I ran out the door with my laptop under my arm to the group meeting.  When I finished the meeting, I returned to the giant bowl full of pumpkin stuff. I baked I had baked pumpkin goods exploding from every surface in the kitchen.

The funny thing is, that as great as everything turned out, I have no idea what was in those cookies except that I started out with a 30oz can of pumpkin.  Our favorite was the pumpkin chocolate chip muffins from the cupcake maker.  This is the great challenge of cooking: be daring!  Try something new!  Be adventurous!