Wheat/Egg/Cow's Dairy Free Chocolate Cookies

I've been craving chocolate and cookies since being on this restricted diet for almost 2 months. I finally decided to try to bake some wheat, egg and cow's dairy free cookies. I've been looking forward to trying some baking since I found the goat milk butter at Whole Foods the other week. I searched the web for some sorghum cookie recipes, but they weren't adequate for me because they seemed to include things like Crisco, eggs or rice flours in addition to the sorghum flour. I decided to just wing it. I used to bake butter cookies years ago so I kind of just went with that feel... I used the force and just threw in a block of goat milk butter (approximately the size of a normal "stick"... I'll refer to it as "1 part"). About the same amout of sorghum flour, 1 part. Then about 3/4 part potato flour, a 1/4 part corn meal, a 1/4 part unsweetened cocoa powder, 1/4 part white sugar, 1/4 part brown sugar, couple pinches cream of tartar, couple pinches of baking powder, couple dashes of salt, a few drops of vanilla extract and 1 shot of fresh pulled espresso (ok it wasn't really "pulled" since my machine is a full auto...). I mixed these all together with a wooden spoon while preheating the oven to 350F. After the ingredients were all combined, the consistency looked and felt perfect (like past cookie doughs). I spooned small amounts onto a thick baking tray because I prefer firm & small cookies. I popped it in the oven on the bottom rack for 9 minutes then checked it. It wasn't quite done yet unless you like soft cookies. I left it in for about another 5 minutes, but I did open the door a couple more times during that to check on them. If they were left in continously without opening, I estimate cooking time to be adequate at about 12-13 minutes in my oven with this pan. I immediately placed them on the cooling rack to get them crisp. They taste nice and cocoaey (is that a word?). I've already eaten a few of them. I want to keep them as a snack when I have cravings, but I don't know how long they will last. They don't taste like "normal" cookies, but they do fill that void in the snack category. I like them enough to continue making them this way.

Silly Silicone Cup Coasters from Target...

These silicone coasters come in a set with other colors. Kelli and all her friends always comment that they are "so cute". I'm certain they are very popular and Target must be selling tons of them. Why am I posting this photo?? As you can see, they aren't very functional. They may be cute, but the moisture either on the coaster of from the condensate of the cold drink on the coaster is not retained on the top surface of these coasters. The result is moisture dripping off the coaster and leeching under the silicone coaster. This results in moisture being retained between the coaster and the counter or table top surface. If you are using these on wood finishes, it will leave marks such as these where the coaster was. It's quite disturbing and makes the coaster non-functional. Of course if it was on a glass, Corian, granite, formica, stainless steel or some other solid surface material that is easy to wipe away water stains, just wipe it off. If it's used on a more delicate surface like this wood dining table, you can only hope it will wipe away and not leave a permanent mark. Luckily there are no permanent markings left... yet! Since these are soooo cute, perhaps they should remain on our table tops for decorative purposes only!

Ginger-Orange Chicken Breast

Here's a boneless skinless chicken breast with a ginger orange glaze. The chicken breast is seasoned with salt and pepper then I floured it with sorghum flour and grilled it in a pan with a little olive oil. After it was nicely browned and cooked pretty much through out, I began dipping it in a mixture of orange juice, ginger powder, sugar and cayenne pepper then putting it back in the pan. I did this a few times then poured the remaining orange juice mixture into the pan and removed from heat to allow it to reduce a little. It had a nice moist inside and a tangy taste with a slight spice from the cayenne.