Two down and fall is here

Sometimes, when it starts to get cold, I crave chocolate. Warm chocolate.
That's why I am glad I chose to make the flourless chocolate torte second in my attempt to make at least three gluten free recipes each month. (And let's be honest, the cinnamon rolls are going to be harrrrrrrd. Harder than the first two recipes).

This is actually a simple recipe to put together, but the cooking of the three ingredients used is somewhat tricky.

Here's a little preview of how it's made:


First step, melt 2 sticks of butter and a pound of chocolate (I used dark) together. Lucky for me I got a double broiler as a wedding gift, they are amazing. Christmas is going to rock your socks off.



Whip together 8 eggs, which took me about ten minutes with a hand mixer to get to the consistency I wanted. Having a Kitchenaid stand up mixer would have been so much easier.

After the butter and chocolate is melted, stir these three ingredients together, like so.

This is where things get a little weird. First, you have to make sure you have a springform pan, like the kind you use to make cheesecake. Place parchment paper in the bottom of the pan. I didn't have any, but I had wax paper which worked just fine. I cut a piece big enough to where I could close the springform pan around it and then ripped off the edges that were sticking out on the outside of the pan. Next, you have to grease the sides of the pan considerably. This baby will stick like glue if you don't. Then, you take foil and wrap it around the edges of the pan. Lastly, you put boiling water in a baking pan and fill it up until the water reaches about half way to the springform pan. Then you bake for about 25 minutes. You are supposed to let this baby sit overnight in the fridge and get nice and thick, but really, when you smell that chocolate baking you can't even help but want to shove it in your mouth with a big glass of milk. Instead of milk though......

We ate it with ice cream instead. Very tasty. In fact, so far I think it is Chas' favorite gluten free baking item I have made. He does have a weak spot for chocolate though, so that could be a small bias.

I may attempt at trying the cinnamon rolls this weekend, though I know that it is going to take a trip to the grocery store to make sure I have everything I need, along with some patience. These babies have like a three step process starting with making the dough and letting it sit for an hour. It's a good thing I don't mind waking up a little early on Saturdays. Especially if it means home made goodness in my mouth.

One down, two to go

You didn't take me seriously, did you?

Totally just kidding, but really, I actually surprised myself yesterday at the thought that I would tackle my first gluten free recipe with dinner last night.

But I had a total craving for cornbread. And chili. It was just the right temperature for chili, and with the leaves turning color here I couldn't help but want a tasty fall meal. So, I made chili. And you have to have cornbread with chili.
I actually think I may have tried GF cornbread before, but it was long enough ago that it's a flighting thought in my head. Last night's attempt came out pretty good, though I will say if I decide to ever make it again I will probably try to find a more finer ground cornmeal. The one I used was good, but just a little bit too gritty for my taste, and teeth.

The consistency was really good though, the flavor was very comparible to non GF cornbread, and maybe even a little better because I decided to use vanilla yogurt in the mix instead of plain. I told you I have a sweet tooth.

Anyway, just so you believe me, here is a picture of the fruits of my labor (this recipe was very easy compared to some I have tried)


If you are a celiac, or, if you just want to try this recipe out because you are curious as to the difference between GF and non GF and believe with the rest of us that GF REALLY is more healthy for you, you can get the recipe here

Making goals, as a married woman

Some events in life just happen on their own.
Some things need a little push from you to make them happen.

Goals are one of those things that don't just happen, you have to create them, you have to shape them, and in the end it feels really good when you meet and finish them.

Chas and I have been married for a whopping 18 days, which means that realistically we haven't had a lot of time yet to set up goals for "us" as a married couple, for setting up our home, for making sure we include Christ in our daily lives, every day. But, we have gotten a few things accomplished, which feels really good. Like setting up the living room, putting furniture together, making sure the fridge is stocked with the must have essentials for the both of us, not just one.

I decided that as a wife, and someone who loves to be in the kitchen and cook, I wanted to have a few goals of my own, just for me. Goals I know both of us will appreciate though because, well, they involve food. And when food is made good, everyone is happy.

I have realized that as someone who loves to cook, cooking takes time, and planning. You can SOMETIMES just pull something together out of nowhere with the ingredients you just happen to have in your kitchen and it will come out tasking somewhat like a recipe that you intended to make.

But for all the other times, cooking requires that you go to the grocery store, purchase what you need, prepare those items, take the meat out of the freezer in enough time to let it thaw, cut, dice, and slice, and then make a meal the way it is intended to be made.

Truth be told, I have never been that great at following directions. Some of you may gasp at that, others may know that is the bold truth about me and you still love me for it anyway. I just have always liked finding my own unique way of doing things, figuring certain things out.
But as I have come to try making gluten free foods, and some of them coming out very badly, I have realized that it is so much more important to prepare and create a gluten free recipe the way it was instructed to be made. Sometimes, as much as I want to, I can't just add a little of this and a little of that. A little of that just might ruin what you were intending to make.

So, with all of that, here is my first goal as a married woman, the start of what will hopefully be a better way for me to express what I am aiming for, have some sort of accountability, and make my husband a happy man :0)

I have really been thinking about making more gluten free recipes. Like recipes that were created with the celiac in mind, prepared with gluten free ingredients (not a regular recipe that I try to substitute GF flours into and come out feeling disappointed), and are meant to be enjoyed and indulged in whole stomach-ly.
I want to try at least 3 gluten free recipes a month.
These can be anything, a salad, a treat, a main meal.
But at this point, the three I am starting with are more treats than meals, blame that one on my sweet tooth. Ha.

So, I will be starting with these three, thanks to Shauna, the creater of the blog Gluten Free Girl. I had gotten away from reading her posts for a while, but I am so glad that I went back. She really has some amazingly tasty recipes on there.

Gluten Free Cinnamon Rolls
Gluten Free Cornbread
Gluten Free Flourless Chocolate Cake

If you are at all intrigued as to what gluten free is all about or how to make these recipes yourself, you can check out her place here

Here's to a great start of a gluten free marriage.

In case you didn't know

Some of you know, some of you don't. Probably because I had to keep things somewhat on the down low because it was a suprise for Chas.
Back in August, the 12th to be exact, I had bridals done. This was a surprise because I ended up using some of the pictures for a gift to Chas the day of our wedding. I originally wasn't going to do them because my favorite photographer (that being Melissa Oholendt) was not going to be able to do them for me. After talking to Mel and giving it more thought over the summer, I decided that I really did want to bridals, and I am so glad that I did. And that I asked Jacque to do them for me.

Jacque Lynn did a great job, and she has commented to me on how much she loved doing the session at the mansion next to the church where Chas and I got married.

She posted a TON of pictures in her password protected site for me to be able to order and view. She also recently posted a blog of some of her favorites from the shoot.
So, instead of asking everyone who hasn't had a chance to see the bridals (which I really, really loved) to log on and trudge through the 177 pictures that she uploaded, if you feel inclined and decide you want to check a few of them out, you can do so by going here instead.

Back on land

We are back! And I am a Burks! Well, not officially, but probably by tomorrow I will be :)

After a couple of days of horrible vertigo, I finally feel like myself again. We had a wonderful time on our honeymoon, we were gifted a Celebrity cruise that sailed through the East Caribbean, making stops at Puerto Rico, St. Thomas and Jamaica. It was an amazing time and we are so blessed to have such great family.

We don't have a ton of pictures from the wedding yet, but here are just a few to start with. My step-brother Michael is working his way into the photography business, and got a couple of great shots post wedding. Great job Michael!

Taken by Michael with our handsome ring bearer, Caleb Allen, Chas' nephew
Great picture of Amy and me, my awesome Matron of Honor, again taken by Michael

A little surprise I put together for Chas at our wedding reception. I sang "Some kind of wonderful" to him just as dinner was finishing up. He was totally suprised, in a very good way :)
And a picture of us finishing up our last meal on the cruise at one of the specialty restaurants. I posted more on Facebook so if you want to check those out, you can get more details of the entire trip.

It is great to be back and we are now in the process of getting OUR house set up and gifts put away. If I haven't said it enough, it feels great to be a Burks.