GF Dream Oatmeal Cookies

I'm back!  Well, kinda.  I'm done with my National Board portfolio which I sent in last Thursday.  I have to say the whole process was a bit unnerving.  It is not like writing essays for graduate school.  There you know the professor, how they grade, what they want, etc.  Here they gave you rubrics but I have heard that the grading process is very arbitrary and people pass or fail randomly.  Then there is the whole packing the essays process which is much more an exercise on if you can follow directions than anything else.  There is even an envelope where you put the checklist that you filled out all of the checklists.  I was literally shaking packing it up because I was so worried that I'd make a mistake and then have to pay $300 to take the essay over just because I didn't paperclip the right way.  I heard that if you take the class (apparently I am "hardcore" because I didn't) they don't let you pack it up yourself.  You have to go in and 3 supervisors have to watch and sign off that you did it correctly.

So the National Board portfolio is done but now I have the test on the 4th which I supposedly should study for... however I know special education like the back of my hand so will take a quick look at the examples and go from there.  If this whole National Board process wasn't enough I have/had three full IEPs this week and it takes me 3 - 4 hours to finish each (depending on whether or not I am sitting in front of the TV while doing it).  Plus this weekend I have to input grades for 60 report cards which I haven't done in a month and have to do IEP report cards.  I don't know why I am writing more after doing all of this but I feel like my life has to get back to normal.  I have not cooked a real dish in three weeks, have gorged myself on bottles of Mountain Dew and bags of Carmel Bugles (oh man, sooooo good!  Found at Walgreens and now can't go into Walgreens because I don't have the self control to resist), and have eaten salads, eggs, and rice in different combinations for weeks.  I just want to be back to normal but I am super, super, super stressed and burnt out.

What is the best way to deal with such stress?  Eating gluten free cookies!  These are the absolutely best oatmeal cookies ever, that is why I call them my dream oatmeal cookies.  However, they aren't mine... they are actually my mom's.  She made these cookies for me (3 doz worth) during this crazy time.  I took some to work with me and everyone raved about them (4 people at my school are gluten free).   My mom even made me an "instant mix" bag with all of the ingredients mixed together so I can add the liquids and cook and be done with it.  Since then my dad has been sending loaves of GF challah bread which is insanely good so my parents are keeping me stocked in baked goods.  THANK YOU!

GF Dream Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients


2 cups of flour mix (2 parts brown rice flour, 2/3 part potato starch, 1/3 part tapioca flour)
2 cups GF rolled oats
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 xanthan gum
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground ginger
2 large eggs
1 Tbs vanilla extract
1 cup unsalted butter
1 cup raisins

Preheat oven 350 degrees.  Place foil on cookie sheet and lightly grease.  Mix together butter and sugars in a large bowl until light and creamy with a electric mixer.  Then add the eggs and vanilla and mix until smooth.  Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, xanthan gum, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger and beat until a smooth dough forms.  Then mix in oats and raisins.

Drop in large tsp of  dough onto cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes.   This recipe makes 60 cookies!  You can freeze unbaked dough.

Hoppin' John

So, why start a food blog during one of the most busy times of my life? I'm the head Special Olympics soccer coach for our school, it is 1 month into the school year, I'm heading a huge service learning project, and drowning in IEP paper work... I have to do something to get myself away from work.

I've been cooking for the past 3 years, but only in the last few months have I been making dishes and sharing them with anyone other than my husband (which is weird to write since we just got married after 10 years of being together and 13 years of knowing each other). People in my family were so impressed with my dishes that I have been sending them recipes for the past few weeks. This is one way to make it easier to get to them. I also love food blogs. The fact that I cant eat, or wont eat, most of the food on them is funny. I have a very specific diet, that is why the blog is called "What Can You Eat?" because there are so few things that I can eat. 4 years ago I developed Gastroparesis, a condition where my stomach does not contract any more, so that food just sits in it for hours. A year ago it we finally found a cause... allergies. However all the tests say that I'm not allergic to anything! However I have found, through elimination diets, that I have strong allergic reactions to gluten and cola nut. So between the allergies, not being able to digest heavy foods, and being a picky eater... you end up with a very interesting collection of food.

I wish I could say my first post is some amazing dish.... I made one the day before, but didn't take pictures...so this is the dish you get! I got this Hoppin' John recipe from Seriouseats.com. I have found in the past two weeks that eating vegetarian makes me feel alot better. Meat is very hard to digest. However, I have been a self-proclaimed carnivore since age 5 and eating just vegetables kinda freaks me out! I am trying though.

I found the dish to be a bit bland when I followed the recipe from seriouseats.com so I increased the spices in this recipe. Enjoy!

Hoppin' John

From Serious Eats

Ingredients:

• Olive oil
• 1 medium onion, roughly chopped
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 1 cup medium or long-grain rice
• 1 1/2 teaspoons smoked paprika
• 1 (20-ounce) bag frozen black-eyed peas
• 2 cups of vegetable stock
• 1/4 cup beer
• 3 chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, minced
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• Chopped scallions
• Halved grape tomatoes

Heat a bit of olive oil. Cook your onions and garlic for around 5 minutes until soft. Add your rice and stir it frequently for 1 minute to roast it. Then add the paprika and stir it for around 30 seconds until it is fragrant. Add your frozen peas, water, beer, chile and salt. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat to low, cover, and cook for 25 minutes without disturbing. After 25 minutes, check rice for doneness. Mixture should be moist, but not soupy. If mixture appears dry, add additional liquid, 1 tablespoon at a time, folding gently with a wooden spoon after each addition until desired consistency is reached, up to 1 additional cup liquid. Return lid and allow to cook for additional 5 minutes. Season to taste with soy sauce. Serve immediately, topping with scallions and tomatoes.