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Gluten-Free Expo in Toronto

Jeanine Friesen — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 11:42:59 +0000

This coming weekend, thanks to winning the Redpath Sugar “Creme de la Creme” contest, I will be in Toronto attending Canada’s Baking and Sweets Show. I will be attending the show on Friday and Saturday, and am really looking forward to seeing all things baking and some demos, as well as meeting up with some of my Canadian Cookie gals! It should be a great weekend!

What I didn’t know when I won the trip, however, is that on Sunday, September 30th, there is a huge Gluten-free Expo in Toronto! Seriously, I couldn’t have planned that better myself.

There will be over 100 vendors both sampling and selling their products, as well as a public stage with speakers talking about topics that pertain to gluten-free living. Did ya read that? SAMPLING! I’ve had the pleasure of going to one gluten-free event where you could sample foods, and let me tell you, there is little as satisfying as knowing you can actually safely sample all the food there. No guessing about whether or not something is safe to eat, just munching as you go. It is great!

If you are in the Toronto area this weekend, like I am, I urge you to stop by the Gluten-free Expo. Here’s the details:

Gluten Free Expo – TORONTO
September 30, 2012
10am – 5pm

655 Dixon Rd, Toronto, ON (DoubleTree by Hilton)

Tickets are $12 at the door or save money by purchasing online for $9 each.

Buy tickets here!

Gluten-free Expo also holds events in Vancouver (January 13, 2013) and Calgary (March 24, 2013), so if you live in those areas, mark your calendars now already!

Happy Canada Day!

Jeanine Friesen — Sun, 01 Jul 2012 16:51:30 +0000

Happy Canada Day! Today I have a very special guest blogger, my daughter Abby, who is 9 years old. She put together this article, including the pictures, all on her own. I told her I would share it with you guys here, I’m pretty proud of her and this is her first published article.

Canada

Our Home Country

By Abigail Friesen

This is a Canadian flag. The red stands for the blood of Lord Christ and the white stands for a pure, clean heart. It goes like this because Canada is a Christian country.

Canada Day is a big day—it’s Canada’s Birthday! This year Canada is turning 145 years old! We’re living in a great-grandparent! If you ever live to be that old, think about how Canada felt. Write about it if you want.

Canada is a large country with 10 provinces and 3 territories. Canada is the second largest country in the world! Take care of it and keep studying!

New Feature ~ Friday Finds: Second-hand Scores

Jeanine Friesen — Fri, 11 May 2012 11:30:04 +0000

Hey everyone, and welcome here! Yesterday on the Baking Beauties Facebook page we were talking about garage sales and finding great second hand items. I loved seeing that so many of you love the hunt for great used items as much as I do! And some of you had some seriously amazing finds too, wow! Remind me to never go second-hand shopping with any of you, I have a feeling I’d end up walking away empty handed.

I LOVE going to the thrift stores and garage sales. Unfortunately, because of our short summers, we only have garage sales for a few months, I’d love it if the weather was not an issue, and be able to garage sale year round. For us, the garage sale season will start in April already, when you might have the odd warm day, but more than likely, you will have to bundle up to go hit the sales. But, it never seems to stop the people from going out to find a bargain; put a bundle of balloons at the end of the driveway, and they will come.

I really began garage saleing 10 years ago, when I was pregnant with my daughter. We bought a lot of great things for her before she was born. You can find so many great things for small kids at garage sales; because they use it for such a short time, the kid’s items don’t even show any wear by the time they’ve outgrow it.

Since then, we’ve continued to find treasures at thrift stores and garage sales. One of our favorite things to do as a family on the weekends is to visit the thrift store, because you never know what you will find. Our theory is that no matter what you are looking for, you will eventually find it at the thrift store. You just have to keep going, and keep looking, and eventually, you’ll find it. We’ve found that to be true with many things.

I figured that since so many of you love a great second-hand deal as much as I do, I would share my thrift store and garage sale finds with you here. If you have any great finds that week, I’d love to hear about them in the comments. Feel free to post links to a Pinterest board that you’ve created with your finds, if you’d like. (I’ve started a Pinerest board to keep track of my finds, you can follow it HERE. If you’d like an invite to Pinterest, email me and I’ll hook you up.)

This week our city is having a fairly large community sale, so we were able to go to about 30 garage sales with nearly no driving, but a whole lot of walking. I had never seen a tow truck driving around by garage sales before, but he was circling today, waiting for people to park on the wrong side of the road so he could tow them. It was crazy!

I actually found these another day, but I think they will be my best find this garage sale season. They are two tart shell presses; with 3 size options. You put the metal tart cup in the press, put a scoop of pie crust dough into the cup, cover it with plastic wrap and close it. That’s it, tarts are made! I’ve seen these sell for $50, and that was only one size. These ones were $3 and $4. Between these two, I can use 3 different size tart shell tins. Very, very excited to find this after swearing off all tarts last Christmas while making gluten-free Butter Tarts. It took me one hour to make 24 normal size tarts. I have a hand press to make mini-tarts, but I had it in my mind to make normal size tarts. Well, with this machine, I can make 24 tarts in about 10 minutes, and they all look perfect! SCORE!

When I begin to look for second-hand treasures, I gravitate towards the kitchen stuff. I like to look through it all, look for old bowls, interesting pans, and things that I can use for props when I take pictures. I try to keep my props to a minimum because when you’re not taking a picture, you still have to store them somewhere. But, these were some finds I could not leave behind. I found this beautiful, older cutting board (with character) for $0.75, and these vintage napkins for $0.40 and $0.50, each a set of 4. Again, pretty happy to see these, now I just have to figure out what to bake so that I have a chance to use these in a photo.

In addition to these things, I also found (for my daughter) 2 shirts ($0.25 each), a pair of jeans ($1), 2 pairs of yoga capris ($0.50 each), and a swim suit ($0.25). I also got my boy a flannel sheet set for $2.00 and a snow shovel for $1. So, I would say a very successful day. I love going to the garage sales where kid’s clothes are $0.25 each, once you’ve been there, even $2 shirts seem expensive!

So, how about you? What was your “Second-hand Score”?

"Why Didn’t I Think of That?" Wednesday

Jeanine Friesen — Wed, 02 May 2012 12:20:29 +0000

I thought I’d start a fun little feature here on The Baking Beauties. I’m going to feature a few little fun finds from around the world wide web. Those types of things that make you go “Why Didn’t I Think of That?” as soon as you see them. It may be recipes that other bloggers have created, gardening tips, or kid’s craft how-to’s. Thanks to the addicting nature of Pinterest, I’ve had so many of these moments, I thought I’d share some of them with you.

Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Cheesecake – on a stick. Perfection!

Make oatmeal on-the-go! Put it in a jar, top up with hot water, and it’s ready to eat when you get to where you’re going. Too neat! (just be sure to use certified gluten-free oats)

Self-watering seed starter planters from pop bottles! Again, brilliant!

How to chose the best herbs to use in container gardening. I’m hoping to fill more containers this year, so this will come in handy.

What a fantastic idea! Instead of paying your child an allowance, you let them chose what chores they want to do, and pay them accordingly.

It’s Mardi Gras ~ Time for Gluten-Free King Cake

Jeanine Friesen — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 14:46:07 +0000

When you mention the words “Mardi Gras” most people instantly think of New Orleans. Although I have never traveled to New Orleans, it is a place that I think many people, myself included, have dreamed of visiting. Although the thought of the overcrowding on Bourbon Street, at night, during Mardi Gras is enough to put me in a cold sweat, being able to visit the culturally rich area is something I would still love to do one day.

There are many culturally rich foods associated with Mardi Gras, and one of those is the King Cake. Having lived in southern Manitoba my whole life, there have not been a lot of Mardi Gras celebrations, and I had never heard of a King Cake until a few years ago. From my reading and research, it appears to be a bread dough that is rolled around a filling and formed into a ring before baking. It seems that everyone has their own idea of what the filling for a King Cake should be. Raisins. Cream Cheese. Spices. Strawberries. Chocolate. It seems there is a wide variety of fillings for different regions or time of year. I am going to be showing you how to make a gluten-free King cake with a cream cheese, brown sugar, cinnamon & pecan filling, but you are free to use your favorite filling in place of it.

And whether or not you place a baby figurine in or under the cake (after baking) is totally up to you. I’ve also read of people using dried beans, an orange slice, or a few whole pecans in place of the baby figurine. Whatever you use, make sure it is not something that someone can choke on while eating this delicious cake.

Ingredients:

Dough:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose gluten-free flour (see note)
1/2 cup tapioca starch
1 Tbsp rapid rise yeast
3 Tbsp white sugar
1/2 tsp salt
3 tsp xanthan gum
1/4 cup instant vanilla pudding mix (dry); OR 1/4 cup dry milk powder
1 tsp baking powder
4 Tbsp margarine
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup milk
2 eggs, room temperature
1 tsp cider vinegar
2 Tbsp oil (I used Canola)
1 tsp vanilla

NOTE: 4 cups superfine brown rice flour, 1 1/3 cups potato starch (not flour), 2/3 cup tapioca starch. Combine all ingredients in a large zipper-top bag. Shake until well blended.

Filling:

8 ounces cream cheese, very soft
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
2/3 cup finely chopped pecans

Egg Wash (optional):

1 egg white
1 Tbsp water

Icing:

1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp melted butter
1/2 tsp vanilla
1-2 Tbsp milk, to reach desired consistency
purple, yellow and green food colouring, optional

Directions:

In the bowl of your stand mixer, mix all dry ingredients until combined. Set aside.
Put water and margarine in a glass measuring cup and microwave just until the margarine has melted. Remove from microwave and stir. Add milk, stir. Add other wet ingredients and whisk to combine.
With the stand mixer running (using the paddle attachment), pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Scrap down the bowl if you have to.
Allow to mix on medium speed for 3 minutes.
Take a piece of plastic wrap and lay it out on a slightly damp counter top, so it covers an area bigger than 8″ x 16″. Sprinkle about 2 Tbsp of granulated sugar on the wrap. Lay ball of dough on top of that. Gently lay another piece of plastic wrap over the top of the dough. Pat the dough down into a roughly squarish shape. Lift and reposition the top plastic wrap whenever you need to. Roll the dough out (with the plastic wrap on top) to a square approximately 10″ x 18″. If you find the dough too sticky, you can spray the top of it with a little bit of oil. I found that helped quite a bit. Remove the plastic wrap.
In a medium mixing bowl, combine the very soft cream cheese, the brown sugar and the cinnamon. Mix until well blended.
Using an offset spatula, or the back of a spoon, carefully spread the filling mixture evenly across dough’s surface. Leave 1 1/2″ along one long end without any filling, this is where your dough will be sealed. Sprinkle the pecans evenly over the cream cheese mixture.
Starting along the long end, use the bottom sheet of plastic wrap to lift the edge of the dough and roll it up, forming a long cylinder. Start with the edge that has filling on it, that will be the center of your cake.
Roll the plastic wrap UNDER, so that you end up with a thin strip of plastic wrap just under the dough. Prepare a large baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper, and place it right beside your rolled up dough. Carefully bring the ends of the plastic wrap up and lift the dough onto the baking sheet, placing the roll on its side, so the plastic wrap is now on the outside of the roll. Using the plastic wrap, form the rolled up dough into a circle, so that the ends meet. The dough will be very soft, and can not be moved much, so work carefully.
Beat together the egg white and water. Using a pastry brush, brush the top of the King Cake with the egg. Loosely cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm, draft-free place for 30-40 minutes, or until nearly doubled in size.
Bake in a preheated 350° oven for 30-35 minutes.
Remove from oven and let sit for 10 minutes.
Using two large spatulas (or turners), carefully lift the King Cake from the baking pan, and place it on a wire cooling rack set over a baking sheet.
Mix all icing ingredients together until smooth. Divide the icing between 3 bowls, and colour each bowl a different colour; one green, one yellow and one purple. You can leave the icing white, and sprinkle the roll with coloured sugar, but I decided to colour the icing so that you did not have a crunchy texture from the sugar.
Using a spoon, drizzle the icing onto the King Cake in stripes. Let the cake sit another 10 minutes, then using the large spatulas again, transfer the cake to a serving tray.
This cake is delicious served warm, but is also wonderful the next two days, especially if you reheat it in the microwave for 15 seconds. Be sure to store leftovers in an airtight container.

For more gluten-free Mardi Gras recipes, check the following links, and have your own Mardi Gras celebration:

New Orleans Style Jambalaya
Cheese Grits
Cajun Chicken Pasta (be sure to use gluten-free pasta)
Crockpot Jambalaya
Red Beans and Rice
Gluten-Free Bread Pudding with Apples and Bourbon Sauce
Bananas Foster
Gluten Free Beignet