7.29.2009

Refreshment

I was at work the other day and was offered a most refreshing drink. This was tasty and even more importantly, it is easy to make! Who doesn't cool down after a nice glass of iced tea? So, here is the beverage of choice for my summer time glasses.

Citrus Tea

Make (or buy) a batch of unsweetened iced tea
Make (or buy) a batch of lemonade, limeade or orange juice

Mix the tea with the citrus-ade at a 3 cup tea to 1 cup juice ratio.
Add more juice if you want more of a citrus flavor.

Try it - I bet you will like it!!!

7.05.2009

Cookie time

A while back, I told you that I heard about Betty Crocker(TM) coming out with some box mixes to cater to us GF'ers. I have been looking and looking for them, but with no success. About a week ago, my sister told me she found the cake mix in our local Price Chopper grocery store. This is a store that I do not go to, but may just have to start to!

As grocery day approached, I decided to make my way there instead of to my regular, closer shopping marts. That place is alot different that I remember it! Way bigger - way nicer - way fancier. I may stop there from time to time... Anyways, after strolling through the baking isle and didn't find the bags of GF mixes. The next place to look is in the "health food" section. There's Red Mill stuff, Pamela's stuff, Gluten Free Pantry stuff, Arrowhead Mills stuff.... Now I'm getting a little ticked. How better can they hide it? So, in a last ditch effort, I went down the baking isle again. Really looking at every shelf, and finally saw the BOXES of GF mixes by Betty Crocker (TM). So I grabbed a box of chocolate chip cookie mix and a box of brownie mix. Finally, there will be some easy dessert joy!

Baking day arrives. I pull out the box. One mixing bowl, check! One BOX of cookie mix, check! One egg, check! Vanilla, check! One stick of softened butter - fail! I am off to the store again.

Next day - start over! Everything comes out. Mis-en-place. Let's bake cookies!



This mixture is really crumbly. It does not hold together like one would expect. It does hold together just enough when you press it on the spoon and push it off to form little mounds on the baking sheet. There are alot of chips in it, which is a good thing in my book! I always have to extend my baking time on GF stuff. There have been too many thing I have made which have been undercooked. Undercooked is NOT good. The directions said to bake until lightly browned...kinda like this:



The choice to make teaspoon sized or tablespoon sized cookies was a tough choice for me. I like a nice big cookie, but a little one to pop in the mouth is a sweet treat too. Starting out with the big one, it was obvious that the cookie flattens out to a thin size and it will break apart pretty easily. The teaspoon sized batch was made next, and those came out a little bit thicker.



All in all, the mix seems to be worth the effort. It is a sweet, chocolately treat that can be made up in minutes. I got 12 large sized cookies and 15 small ones. This was easily enough to fill up a plate and could be a fine dessert dish to bring along to any gathering or event.

Now we can break them into vanilla ice cream, or top them off with fudge frosting. Where's my glass of ice-cold milk? Who is missing out on dessert? Not me - especially when it's this easy!