Paradise: Gorgeous Telluride and Delicious Grain Free Bars

Photo courtesy of Telluride Tourism Board

And when you crush an apple with your teeth, say to it in your heart,

"Your seeds shall live in my body,

And the buds of your tomorrow shall blossom in my heart,

And your fragrance shall be my breath,
And together we shall rejoice through all the seasons." - Khalil Gibran

An interesting and beautiful quote about how we should think of food as we eat it from one of my favorite poets and philosophers, Khalil Gibran. His poems on every aspect of life are thought provoking and right on in most cases. He is an author that is well worth owning and you will find yourself picking up every so often to rediscover his immense wisdom on life.

Photo courtesy of Dolce

Speaking of life, mine has been busy but exciting recently. Last week we had some abnormally warm and sunny weather and I had a few days off to soak up some rays, not to mention enhance the color of my freckles. I went up to Telluride last Thursday for a meeting with the owner of Dolce, the gallery that I was put in touch with for a full-time position that is opening in May. The interview itself went well and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it all works out. Dolce is a gallery on the main street of the picturesque and posh mountain town of Telluride. Beau, the owner of Dolce, has been in the same location for several years and has developed quite the following. During our meeting, he mentioned that he has to keep his inventory extremely unique, because his clients are individuals who have the ability to travel all over the world and purchase anything they desire. I have to say, he has done an exceptional job of creating a space that is inviting and interesting. His selection of designers comes together flawlessly and their pieces of jewelry and sculpture are incredible. 


Before and after my interview, I was able to meet up with some friends of mine who has moved to Telluride in the past year for jobs. All three of my friends had very positive things to say about this thriving little mountain destination. I ate at a wonderful place called The Butcher and the Baker, had their organic chicken salad with huge chunks of perfectly moist chicken and grapes bursting with flavor. After my interview, I was a bit hungry again and was happy that I packed one of my trusty snacking companion grain free bars for the trip.

I seem to have gotten nearly everyone (and even every cat and dog) who tries my grain free bars somewhat addicted. The recipe is fairly simple and extremely healthy. I had my brother try a square from one of my first batches last spring and it took me actually making them with him to convince him that I made them. He kept asking me where the wrapper was and what brand they were. Then I got my mom, aunts, and rest of the family (especially those who are gluten free) trading in their other bought grain free bars for these freshly made variety. Finally, I made them at the cafe in Silverton this fall and now I have some locals and tourists alike hooked on them. I hope you enjoy these tasty little squares as much as I do!

I stumbled across the recipe for these flavor and nutrient packed grain free bars last spring when every week I was buying Lara Bars at the store for $1.50 per tiny bar and realized how simple the ingredient list was. It was primarily dates and nuts, so really how hard could that be to replicate? I loved Lara Bars because they are a quick, healthy snack I could take with me anywhere. They are sweet, moist, and flavorful. To top it off, they are gluten free. So I went to my primary recipe source, tastespotting.com, and searched for something similar to Lara Bars. Here is the recipe I found, but for some odd reason can not find now as I search for it on tastespotting.com. I guess its just our little secret recipe now! Happy baking and snacking!

Grain Free Bars



Ingredients:

2 2/3 cup coarsely chopped nuts (I used almonds, pecans, pepitas, cashews, sunflower seeds)


1 1/3 cup natural peanut butter (or almond butter), unsweetened, unsalted


6 oz dates, chopped roughly


1 1/4 cup water


1 cup chopped fruit (tart dried cherries, blueberries, and cranberries)


4oz unsweetened coconut flakes
 (shredded)

2 tbsp cocoa nibs

parchment paper

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Coarsely chop the nuts in a food processor (chop the almonds separately from the rest of the nuts, as they are much harder than the others). Evenly cover a large baking tray with the nuts and toast for 10 minutes, or until lightly browned. Use the food processor to chop the fruit into small pieces and place in a mixing bowl. Then use the food processor to shred your coconut if you bought coconut flakes that weren't shredded previously and place this in the same mixing bowl as the fruit. Finally, grind up the cocoa nibs in the food processor until they are fairly fine, that way they will add a nice even flavor that won't overwhelm a bite. Place the cocoa nibs in the bowl with the chopped fruit and coconut and set aside. Combine the peanut butter, chopped dates and water into a sauce pan and heat the mixture on a low burner, stirring occasionally. As the peanut butter warms, it may seize up a bit, so add as much water as necessary to create a sticky, almost glue-like paste. As you are stirring in the water, you want to keep the mixture warm, but not hot.

After the nuts have been toasted for 10 minutes and have cooled slightly, combine them in the mixing bowl with the fruit and coconut. Pour the peanut butter mixture on top of the nuts and combine using a spatula or large wooden spoon. Make sure the peanut butter mixture evenly coats the fruit, nuts, and coconut. Line the sheet pan with parchment, then dump the sticky mixture onto the parchment. Use the back of your spatula or spoon to press the gooey mixture onto the pan evenly. Use your hands to finish pressing the mixture into an even layer if necessary. Place the bars into the oven, and bake for 15 minutes or until lightly golden brown around the edges to set the bars. Remove them from the oven and place on a cooling rack. Let them set for several hours and then cut them into small squares. Store them in the fridge, separating the layers with waxed paper.

Ode to Spring

One can love completely without complete understanding. - A River Runs Through It 

For some reason, starting each blog with a quote that has had an effect on my life seems like a nice way to kick things off. This particular quote is one of my favorites from an incredible novel by Norman Maclean. For all of you that love a novel that will wrap you up in the story from the first chapter, then you should definitely pick up a copy of this book. Maclean's writing style is easy to read and each word seems to flow methodically into a deep story about family, nature, and love. I read it for the first time while taking a "Flyfishing and Journaling" class in high school (yes only Durango High School would allow such a course) and fell in love with the story. Surprisingly enough, there is actually a very well done film adaptation by Robert Redford that even has a young Brad Pitt as one of the main characters. 


I am absolutely, completely head over heels in love with Spring. There you have it! This time of year, I get butterflies in my stomach each morning thinking about the days getting longer and warmer. I love waking up at 5:30 to light in the sky, although that now happens at 6:30 unfortunately. Daylight savings took away from my morning light, but at least will allow me to enjoy light in the evenings now. I love seeing the first hint of green in peoples front lawns and seeing buds from all the bulbs pushing their way up to show their bright petals in no time! I love how the birds just sing a different, more joyful and hopeful song all day long. I love flip flops and tank tops more than any other articles of clothing. I love grilling and salads, fresh fruits and veggies. There is something charismatic and exciting about spring, it warms my heart and makes me smile!


After baking all morning at work yesterday, you'd think I'd be sick of cooking for the day. At the Avalanche, I made a delicious Flourless Chocolate Cake and some spicy sweet Chai Tea Bread, which I promise to do posts on both very soon. Surprisingly, I got the urge to bake yesterday afternoon when I got home and had my heart set on making some flourless peanut butter cookies. You may be thinking, gross or how weird! Let me assure you, these little babies taste exactly the same, if not better, than their floured twins. They are hands down the simplest cookie I have ever baked and are packed with energy. I attempted to snap a few pictures a long the way of the baking process, but my nice camera is at the Canon factory for a little rehab unfortunately. So here is the recipe and happy baking! 

Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies


2 cups natural peanut butter (I use the kind in the bulk section of health food stores that is just peanuts that you grind into a container, so there is no added salt, sugar, or oil) 
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar (I used beet sugar from the health food store, works great)
2 large eggs (I used 3 small farm fresh eggs - lightly beaten)
2 tsp baking soda (I use aluminum-free by Bob's Red Mill)


Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Combine room temperature peanut butter with the sugar and mix until smooth. Add in baking soda and mix. Then add eggs and mix until the dough is uniform and mostly smooth. Mine often appears slightly crumbly until you roll it into balls between your palms, then it becomes smooth. Place onto a cookie sheet and press down making a cross with a fork. Bake between 6 and 8 minutes, until the cookies are slightly brown around the bottom edges. Yields about 4 dozen. Recipe adapted from userealbutter.com. Enjoy! 


Peanut Butter and Sugar

After being combined:

Size reference for my small eggs:

Add in baking soda then eggs:

Result: A much smoother, yellowy dough

Roll dough into balls and place onto a cookie sheet:

Press a cross into them with a fork for traditional peanut butter cookie look:

Bake at 350 degrees for 6-8 minutes until golden brown and enjoy! :)

New Possibilities

My absolute favorite quote and life mantra to start this post off:


"Wheresoever you go, go with all your heart" - Confucius 

You know how everyone always says, "everything happens for a reason"? Well I am finally beginning to let life take my reality by the reins and show me where I am meant to go. Deep down, my dream was to work/own a high end jewelry store in a mountain town. Unfortunately, I tried for months and months to alter the path of my life in so many directions, all of which coincided more with what I felt I should do after college based on societal norms and not nearly enough with what I actually wanted to do. After waiting out months of no job offers and trying to convince myself that I could actually enjoy being an administrative assistant or working HR for a huge corporation in a foreign city, finally my life corrected it self and landed me right where I needed to be, in the mountains exploring my passions in life.


I am lucky enough to have several well-paying, extremely flexible part-time jobs right now. I am learning a lot from every single one of them and it keeps life interesting to not do the same routine job every day. I have gotten to explore my creative talents in baking and cooking while working at the Avalanche Cafe, hence the food aspect of this blog. I also got to go to a barista training course and learn how to create the best tasting espresso drinks starting from the most important part, pulling the perfect shot of espresso.  I have also gained so many good financial and organizational skills from doing bookkeeping. I also love the cleaning and organizing business, because I can actually see instantly the improvements I'm making in peoples lives, especially since I border on OCD at times. Needless to say, the past six months have been really good to me!


Recently, I've been missing the jewelry industry quite a bit though. Maybe it's because my last big jewelry purchase was an entire year ago, only kidding. I just miss the excitement I feel when I see an incredible stone that is set in such a perfect way that it creates a masterpiece that will live on for decades, if not centuries. I love old jewelry and new, I love diamonds and semi-precious gemstones. I love it all! Since I can remember, I have always been scoping out other peoples jewelry and then later I'd ask my mom "did you see that women's ring?!" and she would respond "what ring?".  My eye has always been drawn to jewelry, a blessing and a curse really.


So this is the part about how life really does work out for the best, because in the past month I have been put in contact with two galleries who actually want me to work for them. I jumping for joy on the inside about the opportunity to work in the jewelry industry again! The best part is that my entire dream is actually coming together though, because one of the offers is in Telluride, Colorado and the other is in Durango, Colorado. Both of which are absolutely amazing mountain towns! 


Aside from that exciting news, it is also my mom's birthday today. She is the most generous, loving, beautiful women I know and I am grateful to call her my best friend and mother! I bought her some stock and lilies, which are her favorite flowers. I arranged them in a fairly gorgeous bouquet, if I don't say so myself (see picture at the beginning of post). I also bought her some gardening magazines to help her get ideas for gardening season, since it is just around the corner now. Also, we have both been trying to eat gluten free for the past few months, but have been missing certain things, like banana bread. Today I made her some gluten-free coconut banana bread, which turned out to be pretty delicious. It looks pretty good too, except like a lot of gluten-free breads I've made, it didn't rise nearly as well as I would have liked. All in all, the flavor is great and I will keep experimenting to hopefully get it to rise better. 
Here is the recipe:

Coconut Banana Bread

4 eggs
2 bananas (mashed)
1/4 cup coconut oil (melted)
3 tbsp coconut sugar (or honey)
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup coconut flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract

Mix the eggs, bananas and coconut oil. Make sure the coconut oil is fully melted, but not too hot or else it will cook the eggs. Add the vanilla extract. Combine the dry ingredients in a separate bowl and then mix them into the wet ingredients. Pour them into a greased pan and bake for 45 min at 350 degrees or until golden brown and completely cooked in the center.

**FYI: When I mixed the wet ingredients into the dry, it made my coconut oil harden again and I had to place the entire mixing bowl over a pot of boiling water to warm it back up. I was using raw coconut oil instead of the processes kind, so I think that was the real issue. 


Also, the bread definitely turned out a much less moist than I had imagined it would, so maybe  using honey like the original recipe called for instead of my adaptation of coconut sugar would help make it more moist. Another option would be agave nectar probably. 

Recipe was adapted from: 

http://www.mothering.com/community/forum/thread/1142313/yummy-coconut-flour-banana-bread-not-too-eggy

   

First Celebrity Sighting, EVER!

Seeing a celebrity has never been something that really crossed my mind in my day-to-day life. I assume that when I was younger and much more influenced by what the media was spotlighting, I probably dreamt once or twice (most likely much much more) about meeting the actor/singer who was most popular at the time. Those fantasies that involved celebrities have been off my radar since I was in high school though. 


As I mentioned in a previous post, I work at the Avalanche Cafe in Silverton, Colorado on weekends. It is a great escape to the most picturesque undiscovered mountain town and I absolutely love my time there. The population of Silverton is around 500 people in the winter and maybe 3,000 in the summer, so needless to say, it is quite a small town. We have everything you need to survive available to us, a grocery store, hardware store, and a handful of bars and restaurants. There is also the highest ski resort in all of North America at over 13,000 feet located in Silverton, which has recently become a destination for any avid advanced skiers/snowboarders in the country. Silverton is an absolute gem!


I work at a small cafe that is actually a converted home from the mining days in the late 1800s in Eureka, a present day ghost town, located slightly north of Silverton. The building was brought down into Silverton as Eureka became less and less populated when mining became a less prominent industry in the area. The cafe currently only seats about 20 people and is a typical coffee house for the most part. We are one of the only places open in Silverton during the winter and we are definitely the best breakfast in town. The locals, and even many tourists, would go so far to say we have the best lunch in town as well. We consider ourselves lucky that we can make tasty food that brighten peoples day, leave them feeling satisfied, and hopefully encourage them to return and tell others about the quality of our food.


This past weekend, there was a group of guys that came into the cafe for breakfast and lunches to-go on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. They were from Dragon, a goggle company, here on a ski trip. They obviously enjoyed our food and beverages, because they apparently told a high profile couple who was in town to get their to-go lunch from us Sunday before the headed up for a day of skiing at Silverton Mountain. So around 8am on Sunday morning, we saw a girl come in who looked like Jessica Biel, the hollywood actress who has been in the limelight for over 15 years. Then the guy who followed her in resembled Justin Timberlake, but we didn't think that there was any way that a celebrity of that scale would ever be in our cafe, much less in our tiny town. 


They ordered their sandwiches and while my co-worker Annie and I were in the back making them, we kept analyzing about whether or not we were making these turkey sandwiches for two of the biggest names in Hollywood. Finally when I asked Annie if it was possible that it was really them, she replied "I was once a twelve year old girl, I know Justin Timberlake when I see him!" I couldn't help but die laughing. She was right, this celebrity couple was the real deal! It was shocking to me how normal they seemed and how polite and friendly they were. It makes you realize that celebrities are still humans who live extravagant lives at times, but in reality they are still just people who enjoy an weekend escape to the mountains.


We got word that they would be going to Montanya Distillery, a totally unique and awesome rum distillery just a few blocks away from the Avalanche in Silverton, later that evening. We had already been tossing the idea of going there earlier in the day, but once we realized we could spend another hour or so rubbing shoulders with celebrities of this level, we were couldn't pass it up. We sat only one table away from the couple as they enjoyed cocktails and conversation with the owner of Silverton Mountain. It was such a cool experience! Everyone knew who they were, but was respectfully treating them just the same as everyone else at the bar. Here is the one pic that I was able to capture without being too obvious, that is Justin in the background in a black coat and glasses!

Needless to say, I was not expecting something this unusual and exciting to happen to me this weekend in Silverton! 

Food for Thought

Here is one of my new favorite quotes to start things off:


Without knowing what I am and why I am here, life is impossible. - Leo Tolstoy 




I can feel it, spring is finally on its way! It was well over 50 degrees here today, which for the first day of March in Colorado is pretty nice. I am starting to get antsy in hopes of seeing some green grass and tulips in the next month for sure! Not to mention the sun being up later so that I have more motivation at night to do the things I love. Today I decided that some serious baking was in order for my evening, so I went to the store to pick up the ingredients necessary for creating gluten free snickerdoodles and flourless pumpkin bread. 


I wanted to see if it was possible to simply substitute regular All purpose flour in snickerdoodles with some Bob's Red Mill All Purpose Gluten Free Flour Mix that I bought at the local natural food coop. I used a basic snickerdoodle recipe that I found on one of my favorite food blogs, userealbutter.com. My first sheet of snickerdoodles came out of the over looking as flat as pancakes, but tasting great. Earlier that day while I was at the store, I came across xanthan gum that is often used in gluten free baking. I almost bought it, but wasn't sure it was worth the $13 for a half a pound. Fortunately, my boyfriend bought some for the cafe he owns and was able to come to my rescue with his xanthan gum for me to add into the dough before I put another sheet in the oven.  I added 3 tsp of xanthan gum and I also added another 1/8 cup of Bob's GF AP Flour and another tsp of baking soda. The next batch looked a little fluffier and definitely had a better texture overall, but I wanted those pillowy snickerdoodles that I had made in my past before gluten free baking. So the next batch I added another 1/8 cup of flour, this time Bob's Brown Rice Flour instead of the blended GF AP Flour, and 1/2 tsp of baking powder. These came much closer to what I was looking for in terms of an almost cake like texture, but I was still not 100% satisfied. My final decision was to put the remaining mixture in the fridge for the night and see if that helps them rise better when I bake them tomorrow. Hopefully that will be the final alteration to the recipe that will make them a success in my book! I will keep you updated!


Fortunately, I have made my Flourless Pumpkin Bread several times before and it worked without fail. It is such a delicious and fairly healthy baked good that I love having around for when you get those cravings for some sort of yummy treat. I found the recipe at www.sproutandpea.com/2010/10/flourless-pumpkin-bread/ and it is definitely worth trying. I love how rich and moist the bread is personally. My only additions to the recipe have been to add some cinnamon and freshly ground nutmeg, although I have substituted some pumpkin pie spice in when I was out of cinnamon and was very satisfied with that as well. 

Gluten Free Snickerdoodles

Ingredients:

3 1/8 Gluten Free Flour

1/8 cup brown rice flour

2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

3 tsp xanthan gum

1/4 tsp salt

2 sticks of butter

1 1/2 cup sugar

2 large eggs

2 tbsp sugar

2 tbsp cinnamon 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Combine butter and sugar in another bowl. Add eggs and mix well. Add in xanthan gum and mix well, but do not over mix. Refrigerate the mixture overnight. Combine the 2 tbsp sugar and 2 tbsp cinnamon in a bowl. Make dough into balls and roll in the sugar and cinnamon mixture. Place on a cookie sheet and bake for approximately 6 minutes. 

*This is a good starting point in terms of flavor, but as I mentioned before I personally prefer the pillowy almost cake like snickerdoodle texture. This recipe gets you moderately close to that texture, but I am still thinking about playing around with different gluten free flour mixtures, maybe 1 and 1/2 cup brown rice flour and the rest the Bob's All Purpose mix.

Flourless Pumpkin Bread

Ingredients:

3 cups almond flour
 (or buy raw almonds and finely grind them in a food processor)

½ tsp salt


1 tsp baking soda


1 tsp ground cinnamon

½ tsp freshly ground nutmeg

¼ cup agave nectar


¼ cup grapeseed oil


3 eggs, whisked


1 tbsp vanilla extract


1 cup mashed fresh roasted pumpkin (I have used canned and it works just fine)

In two separate bowls, mix together dry ingredients and wet ingredients. Pour wet ingredients into dry and mix well. Place the batter into a loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. 

Let cool and serve.