quiet week

It has been a quiet week.  Between my being ill, my Beloved working many too many hours, and work just being busy, extra energy has been hard to find.  I find I work on the quiet things then.  Like nine squares.  I have a hundred done now.  I am making a baby quilt for a little boy due at the end of March.  The piecing of the squares is a good indication of where my energy was most of the week.

I am also making slow progress on my weaving.  It helps that the floor is not so cold.  But it is strange that the weather was in the mid twenties last week and today it was above seventy five.  It is just difficult to adjust too.  Weaving is also just the level of energy I have.  I sit until I need to move.  I will get to change colors again soon and that is always exciting.

white elephant present that was not

We had another cookie decorating party this weekend.  The attendance was a little low but I have to admit that I think everyone had as much if not more fun.  It was a good group.  Something should have told me though that I was not myself when I was in bed after it by 8 pm and slept over twelve hours.  My Beloved came home from work after a closing shift and I roused myself enough to ask how is day was.  That was about it!  This is not normal.

For some odd reason, my work had decided to have a Valentine's Day pizza lunch with a white elephant giveaway.  

On Sunday, I found the energy to make a shopping bag from leftover scraps of two dresses.  Everyone at work should have recognized the fabrics but I figured nobody would.  If it is not computer related, most times things get missed.

I had a feeling the types of gifts were really not going to be me so I was going to try to get this back.  I would have been that selfish.  But instead, I was asleep in bed at home.  Able to keep water in at that point.

But I got to open a lovely package when I went to the library when I was much more human!  It did turn out very nicely.  And I did not have to scheme (smile).

gluten free ultra thin chocolate chip cookies

To say I have been under the weather for the last two days would be an understatement.  I was really happy when I was able to drink sweet hot tea.

Before I got to feeling so bad, I was able to mix up some cookie dough and put it in the refrigerator for later baking.  My Beloved felt very special.  I modified a recipe from Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy Melt-in-your-Mouth Cookies, by Alice Medrich to make them gluten free and use what I had at home.

Ultra Thin Chocolate Chip Cookies

1/3 cup millet flour

1/3 cup amaranth flour

1/3 cup almond flour

1/3 cup arrowroot flour

½ teaspoon baking soda

10 tablespoons butter, melted

½ cup quick rolled oats (guaranteed gluten free if a concern)

½ cup sugar

¼ cup packed brown sugar

2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon light corn syrup

2 tablespoons whole milk, nonfat milk, or hempmilk

½ teaspoon salt

1/2 cup Enjoy Life chocolate chips

In a large pyrex with cover or a medium bowl you do not mind sitting in the refrigerator, put the melted butter, oats, sugars, milk, salt, and corn syrup.  Mix well.

Add the flours and baking soda.

Mix in the chocolate chips.  Enjoy Life chocolate chips are allergen free and mini.  I find the mini size works really well.  Cover and put in the refrigerator over night or longer.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.  Cover baking sheets with aluminum foil.  Drop the dough onto the baking sheets in small teaspoons.  Bake 20 to 25 minutes.  You want them a bit darker then golden so they will become crispy when they cool.  But do not let them burn.  The turn very quickly.

This is the best picture of the cookies I got because they disappeared so quickly.  I know they brown quickly because we had some of those as well.  They disappeared quickly as well.  

My Beloved said these are the best gluten free cookies he has ever had.  Whether gluten free or not, these are fabulous cookies!

forever shawl

My Beloved calls this The Forever shawl.  The reason is that it contains two skeins of Mountain Colors lace yarn.  That is about 1500 yards.  And it took me about two years.  I started it at home but I took everywhere.  It went to an earth plaster workshop with me.  It has traveled across country.  It went to work.  I worked on it on and off for two years.  It is actually the same pattern as the red shawl that I posted about a few months back.  But a much lighter weight.

The body is single crochet.  I started with three and add two more every row.   It just took a long time to grow.  When I had used over three quarters of the yarn, I started the edging.  It is a five shell double crochet.  

I started with five double crochets, moved over two rows and put in two single crochets and then repeated.  All the way around.

I like how it turned out.  The yarn is a silk wool mix so even though it is very light.  It is very warm.  But then I do have the tendency to wear shawls!

brownie torte with gluten free variation

I have been making a brownie torte recipe from the old Gourmet recipe for years.  I have always left the batter the same but topped it with other things then just plain chocolate chips.  I have now made it gluten free.

Brownie Torte with Gluten free variation

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips or 3/4 cup chocolate chips and 1/4 cup peanut butter chips

2 1/2 tablespoons butter

1 large egg

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

A pinch of salt

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour or  4 tablespoons almond flour

Preheat 350 degrees Fahrenheit

Butter and "flour" an 8 inch pan.

Melt 3/4 cup chocolate and butter in a saucepan until chocolate is melted.  Mix in the sugar, vanilla, egg, salt, and flour.

Pour into pan.  Sprinkle with 1/4 cup of chocolate or 1/4 cup peanut butter chips.

Bake for 17 to 20 minutes or until tester comes out clean.

 It is a very yummy brownie.  Especially warm with vanilla ice cream (evil grin).  The peanut butter chips are there own decadence instead of the chocolate chips.  The chocolate chips are really rich.

The gluten free version with the almond flour I think is even more decadent!