Over the past couple of weeks I have been making these savory muffins.  I could eat them for breakfast.  Or with dinner.  Heck even for dinner!  They are surprisingly simple to make, and I think are sure to impress.  I knew I would be excited about them the minute that Simone posted this recipe for this month’s Donna Hay Styling and Photography Challenge.

As always, the first obstacle is converting the recipe to gluten free – but being corn meal based, I knew this would not be difficult.  I have made gluten free cornbread quite successfully on several occasions, and did not see any reason why these would pose any other difficulty.  Since all of the recipes Simone has posted so far list the ingredients by weight, this makes the gluten free home cook’s life much easier to come up with a substitution – as I have been learning over the past year from participating in the gluten free ratio rally, often merely replacing the same weight of conventional flour with gluten free ingredients seems to work rather well.  In this case, for the flour component, I used 2/3 rice flour and 1/3 potato starch – I kept the substitutions simple here rather than using a lot of varying ingredients because I knew gluten wasn’t really important in this recipe – it often isn’t in muffins and cakes – and so I didn’t have to worry about replicating all the culinary effects of gluten.

Next came one of my favorite parts of this blog, creating the photo!

I studied the original photo to first see what type of light was used and where it was coming from.  To me light is always the most important feature so it’s what I try to figure out first, before anything else.  The more I take the time to analyze food photos, the better I am able to glean what type of behind the scenes setup might have been used to create it.  In this case, I look at where the shadows and bright spots are – I see a shadow around the lower left of each of the plates, and notice the sheen on the cakes also indicating that the light is coming from slightly back and right, around 2:00.  The pepper shaker also gives clues – sometimes it’s easier to look at the shiniest (i.e. most reflective) element in a photo, because it will often giveaway highlights and shadows more obviously.  To recreate the image though, I would need a background that was large and light colored – one that wouldn’t take away light and that wouldn’t distract from the food – I have no such background, so decided to manipulate the light slightly differently, by putting fabric over my windows and having the light coming from behind, in a way to replicate that background but still let a lot of light in.  By angling the table 45 degrees to the window, I was still able to get a nice sheen on the cakes.  A folded white foam core helped soften shadows on the left, and an aluminum tray that I held up reflected more light to the right side.

As for the styling/composition, I kept things fairly similar.  A stack of muffins front and center (well, lower center), a plate in the background, a wine glass, and something off to the back left.  Lacking pretty white plates like the original photo, I opted for metals ones that I had instead, and lined them with white napkins so that they would still be nice and light.  The wine in the original was rather orange and honeyed looking, but not wanting to open up our fancy dessert wines from Piemonte just for a photo (which with a baby on the way I wouldn’t be able to enjoy anyways), I opted for not worrying so much about the color – in fact I lightly brewed green tea and poured that in the wine glass! Since the feature is the muffins, and this is not an ad in any way, I felt I only needed to bring about the feeling of wine and the fact that it was really tea was not so important. And lacking a silver pepper shaker, went with this pewter piece which I could envision being used to maybe spread honey or something on the muffins, and also omitted the napkin behind it.  I did add food to the back plate – it just seemed empty without something there.

When it came to the treatment of the photo, I didn’t try to replicate the original at all, but went with what I felt I liked for the image I had created.  I always like a bit of color and contrast, and I think that shows in most of the images I create.  However what I have started playing with recently is white balance.

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One of my favorite things about writing here is getting the chance to explore.  Blogging and interacting with the community involved with food has led me into so many wonderful directions – I’ve learned a lot about cooking, tried new recipes, flavor combinations, experimented in the kitchen, and made some awesome friends.  And just about every culinary milestone I’ve shared with you, in hopes that my trials and failures as well as my successes can be helpful to others.

Usually, I am overly enthusiastic, anxiously waiting to push that publish button and share about my latest experiences.  But lately, I have found myself at a loss for words.  Why? Well for one, crazy awesomeness is happening in life that has kept me on my toes a bit the last few months, but also, I have been searching for my voice – what is it exactly that I want to say here?  Why am I writing this? Am I simply just sharing what I made for dinner and hoping you all enjoy it? Well, I do hope you all enjoy what I cook – but what is my purpose of writing in this space to you??

I found myself searching through my favorite sites to see what magic inspires me so – I love a variety of food blogs out there, and realized it’s not about the writing quality, snappy design, or the photos or even the recipes.  It’s that my favorites have something to say.

Something to say beyond “Hey, I made this, I liked it and ate it”.

Something to say beyond “Enter my giveaway now (and like me on facebook, twitter, etc. etc.) !!!”

Something to say beyond “I got this product for free so now I’m writing about it in hopes that you’ll buy it and the company looks favorably upon me”

While each of those things may indeed be very cool in their own right, if not surrounded by any substance then they aren’t really that exciting, now are they? Would you want to read some variation of those three phrases over and over post after post? I don’t.

I prefer something stimulating, that sparks conversation – that makes me think about food or myself or my life in some way I didn’t before.  Whether that be through words, photos, or recipes (I do not think the medium so important), it’s that voice that shines through – the personality, as if I can imagine them in the room communicating their story to me right then and there.

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It’s amazing how I can go visit my family for two weeks and come back to find that there has been an abrupt yet complete transformation into Winter.  No snow here yet, but that nip is in the air and the wind blows with a chill that makes anyone want to bundle themselves up in a hat and scarf, maybe thinking twice before venturing outside.

Most would consider this the official season for warm Wintery comfort foods – baked potatoes, fondue, stews, and the like.  However while it may not be so pleasant outside, inside our apartment is a sweltering sauna – we have yet to ever activate our heating, and most of the time often crack a window to help relieve us a bit – maybe our neighbors love the warmth too much and so their heat finds its way to our place? I don’t know – but when home, the last thing I want to eat is a thick hot meal.

So instead I have been stocking up our kitchen with my favorite fruits – mangoes, clementines, pomegranates, avocados, whatever looks refreshing when we go shopping.  Dinners have been salads – something light to enjoy the fun tropical flavors that come out in Winter, that aren’t going to heat up our apartment so much (well more than it already is).  On top of that, most salads that my husband and I make are naturally gluten free – that is, we don’t add in croutons or complicated dressings that require substitutions, we simply prepare fresh ingredients and dress with simple dressings for something easy that doesn’t require much thought.

This mango avocado salad is one such salad, and after making it more than a few times in the past month alone we have yet to tire of it:)

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Today I have the wonderful honor of guest posting on Prerna’s gorgeous food blog, Indian Simmer!  We’ve become lovely internet friends through sharing our passion for food, cooking, and photography, and I am so excited to be able to share on her site today.

One of my favorite things about the upcoming holidays is that essentially from now until the New Year for my family it is all about tradition.  Favorited treasured recipes that only get made once a year, as everyone eagerly awaits the familiar aromas wafting throughout the kitchen.  There’s always such a buzz of energy and excitement in the air, no matter what crazy weather/fallen trees/power outages Mother Nature decides to bring on my family’s New England home over the past Halloween, which they are have been heroically dealing with. Seriously well over a week later and my quaint little hometown is still a near disaster area, trees and wires lying in the road making several areas impassible, no cell service, many homes still without power and thus also without heat or running water, it’s absolutely nuts. But progress is slowly happening, and that is another story for another time – suffice to say while some of us are preparing Thanksgiving dinner this year, the rest of us may be outside chopping all the newfound firewood from the fallen trees…

This Thanksgiving seems like it will be full of all sorts of new experiences this year – so maybe it’s a good time to play with tradition as well. Why not try a holiday switch on some of our favorites? Every year that we’ve celebrated the holidays with my grandparents, Christmas dinner has involved baked chicken and noodles as the highlight of the meal.  It’s not so fancy, it’s not extravagant, but my grandparents have been making it for decades and it’s 100% pure happiness on the plate.  Seriously, comfort food doesn’t get any more satisfying than this.  But with every tradition comes the natural evolution of recipes, and while there may be a little pressure to keep a dish exactly how everyone remembers it, I cannot help but play.  This year, I’m taking our family Christmas dinner tradition and bringing it to our Thanksgiving table.

Changing the holiday isn’t the only switch I did with this tradition – I added in a little Thanksgiving essence by incorporating pumpkin, but I also made it completely gluten free so that this year, my husband will be able to enjoy it too.

Some traditions are meant to stay around forever unchanged, and some are meant to evolve – will this dish find a new home in the coming years on my family’s Thanksgiving table? Only time will tell. To find out my tips and recipe to convert this family favorite into a Thanksgiving inspired gluten free dish, you’ll have to go check out the rest of my post on Prerna’s blog, Indian Simmer. Happy cooking!

Also submitted to Gluten Free Wednesdays

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It’s time for another gluten free ratio rally!! This time, Lisa of Gluten Free Canteen hosted this month’s event, pie crust!! Such a perfect choice as Thanksgiving is coming right around the corner.  Pie crust, usually a combination of butter, flour, and ice cold water can be tricky even for glutenicious folks – what about making it gluten free?

Well, I’m one of those people that has never been able to make a “proper” pie crust, whether or not it’s gluten free. My dad makes picture perfect ones every time, and I think I just missed picking up that awesome skill during my youth. So instead, I use cream cheese.  It helps hold everything together, and when I first converted it to gluten free, it was a terrific success. I’ve used it in savory or sweet dishes, and never ever had a problem with it. I’ve successfully made quiche, hand pies, and large dessert pies with it. So for this month, I’m taking the attitude of, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” , and have simply converted my favorite pie crust recipe to weight measurements.

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Today I am empty.

I am completely empty of words for you today. So, instead of my usual ramblings I present to you images.   Little details, big details, things that have made me happy and filled with joy lately.

Like this soup.  This omg amazing flavorful rich bright colorful well you just have to make it and taste it for yourself soup.

Sometimes it’s the little experiences in life that bring so much pleasure.

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Sometimes we need to let go of the world around us, our daily cares, issues that cause stress, and get away for a few days – relax, recollect, and come back ready to face the world with new resolve and vigor.  This Summer my husband and I have been doing just that, in a series of short little trips.  Last weekend we went to the top of the world (well, it felt like it to us) to slip away for three beautifully brisk and sunny days in Zermatt. It was majestic, incredible, awe-inspiring, and magical.  It was pure escapism as we explored the fantasy-like region around Zermatt and the Matterhorn, and all of our day to day cares floated with the clouds that sailed on past the mountaintops.  No worries, no stresses, nothing but pure meditative existence, scenery, and a sense of childlike exploration.  What more can one want in a holiday?

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Why do we need a special occasion to eat tasty food?

My husband and I don’t eat fancy food very often.  We hardly ever go out to eat, and most dinners at home are vegetarian, consisting of pasta, rice or bean dishes or salad, rather uncomplicated and reasonably affordable.  But from time to time, my husband and I come up with random occasions to celebrate just because we want a nice dinner.  A sudden craving, we both turn to each other one day and say, “Hmm do you want to cook something nice tonight?” And we go to the market, pick out a nice cut of meat and proceed to plan for ourselves a “fancy” dinner – we’ll get out the good wine glasses, actually set the table, and sit down like we’re celebrating a fancy anniversary.

This time, we decided it was “because it was finally a beautiful warm sunny day in Switzerland.”  The last time I had cooked lamb was for my birthday last year, and I don’t really know what prompted us to want lamb that day, but being a beautiful almost Summer-like day seemed as good a reason as any

Maybe making up a reason for a dinner with a pricey cut of meat (well, pricey for us who still have not fully accustomed ourselves to Swiss meat prices) is just a way of being spontaneous, because an impromptu “date” at home makes us feel young again after many days coming home from work tired and not wanting to do anything other than eat dinner, relax a little and then sleep.  Maybe we’ve just been feeling in a bit of a spontaneous mood lately, like yesterday when we decided to walk the famous vineyard trail through the Lavaux region along the coast of Lake Geneva, conveniently ending in the town of Cully, the location of our favorite gluten free chocolaterie/dessert shop.

After all, with such amazing weather, how could one resist being outside to soak up all that rare sunshine?

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My husband Ryan is doing a guest post today! He made an awesome brunch a couple weeks ago and wanted to tell y’all about it, along with share a bit of his perspective as the member of this household who actually has to be gluten free.

Hi again!  Since I became gluten free, my restaurant experiences have been rather hit or miss.  Sometimes, I find myself in a conversation for 15 minutes with the waitress explaining that no, croutons are not OK because they are bread and bread is not ok.  In more than one instance, I’ve gotten rolled eyes from wait staff  at various restaurants who are “inconvenienced” by my limitations, or they have thought I’m just making it up because I don’t like something and then don’t take it seriously.  I find myself weighing if it’s worth being “glutened” because I am the hassle for wanting to eat out, or if I should just go hungry watching my friends around me eat, or stick up for myself to try to be accommodated.  And I only have one food issue. So many have multiple dietary restrictions.

Sometimes, following a gluten free diet can feel a little claustrophobic.  You feel like you are stuck in a cage and unable to break out and try new foods/places to eat.  A constant omnipresent fear is always in your head stopping you from trying that new restaurant or making your own bread or eating anything not made from scratch.  I had this fear for a long time (before I met Jenn, of course).  Rice, meat and potatoes were the staples in my diet and I dared not stray from this regime or I would react and feel awful for the next week or so (at least this is what I thought in my head).  This constant fear plagued me for a very long time, and as a result most of the time when I went out to eat with friends and family, I would only get a grilled steak with a plain baked potato.

Now I love a good steak, don’t get me wrong. But sometimes, it would be nice to feel comfortable eating something else.  And that is why I get so excited about enterprises that DO accommodate the gluten free crowd, and have options that are exciting.  Not just serving a hamburger without a bun, but a real entrée that I can enjoy to its full capacity.  Such places with their dedication to understanding what it is like with dietary restrictions have really helped change my perspective on eating gluten free, and have let me feel like a newly released convict from my food prison.

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Read the rest of The Gluten Free Husband puts his Spin on Steak & Eggs

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After a year of living en Suisse, I think we’ve finally adapted to the difference in prices of materials compared to the U.S.  Some items are a markedly better deal, such as the amazingly creamy and rich yogurt, which I would not think it odd if you had the sudden desire to pour it into a glass and take a drink.   I love that bio (organic) goods are often within the same price range as their conventional counterparts, or at least don’t cost twice as much.  And some things, like many meats, are definitely a bit pricier.  Last weekend though, I made an amazing discovery – duck and beef aren’t really that different in cost here, an absolutely great thing to know!  My husband really wanted me to get some steak to cook for him, and upon my awesome realization, I knew I had to get some duck for me – because if I ever have to choose, all other things being equal, well, duck is one of my favorite meats ever and it isn’t really a diffcult choice.

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Read the rest of A Duck BLT, Gluten Free

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