Brazilian Cheese Bread – Gluten Free

As I have mentioned before, we are cooking gluten free for my daughter Sarah. It has been a real challenge! However, I have been so blessed to find recipes she loves. I typically make a recipe for her and freeze the leftovers so she can pull them out whenever she needs something quick or whenever I am not making a meal that is strictly gluten free for the rest of us. Honestly, gluten free products and flours cost so much, we can’t afford to all eat this way.

My husband (who does the grocery shopping) had brought home some packs of bagels and English muffins for the rest of us and I needed to find a bread that Sarah would enjoy that would have a comparable “chewiness.”

For a first attempt, this recipe was incredibly easy and super delicious! In fact, I split a couple of rolls between the rest of our family for the “taste test,” and the bread was a hit with everyone. Even my husband suggested I regularly make them for everyone to eat.

This recipe is a traditional recipe made in Brazil and is naturally gluten free. The Tapioca Flour used was difficult for me to find. We live in a small town, however even in the health food stores we visit a couple of hours away didn’t carry it. However, I finally found an inexpensive source – an Asian market in Knoxville. Tapioca Flour will be a staple in our house from now on! I am anxious to experiment with this recipe, possibly making similar breads out of it. I am thinking gluten free Italian Bread, and possibly trying to shape the rolls into a bagel shape with wet hands. I’ll let you know if it works. Also, I believe that you could substitute the cheese with your favorite and even leave out the garlic. So here’s the recipe:

Brazilian Cheese Bread

1/2 cup olive oil or butter
1/3 cup water
1/3 cup milk or soy milk
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups tapioca flour
1/4 tsp. granulated garlic
2/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 beaten eggs

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Pour olive oil, water, milk, and salt into a large saucepan, and place over high heat. When the mixture comes to a boil, remove from heat immediately, and stir in tapioca flour and garlic until smooth. Set aside to rest for 10 to 15 minutes. Stir the cheese and egg into the tapioca mixture until well combined, the mixture will be chunky like cottage cheese. Let rest for 15 to 30 minutes. Drop rounded, 1/4 cup-sized spoonfuls of the mixture onto an ungreased baking sheet. Bake in preheated oven until the tops are lightly browned, 15 to 20 minutes.

This recipe yielded 8 (4 inch flattened) rolls for me.

You can see in the photo above how similar in appearance the inside is to an English muffin, and the bread is chewy like a bagel. Yum!

Note: I flattened my “scoops” out somewhat on the baking sheet (before baking) to resemble English Muffins when sliced open. I had a bunch of English muffins in the pantry and was in the mood to make some vegetarian Eggs Benedict.

Here is a photo of this incredible bread with a poached egg and hollandaise sauce:

(This photo would have looked nicer if I had planned for it and picked a different colored plate! But it tasted delicious!)

Homeschool Freebies – Penguins

We started our Penguin Unit today. On January 11, 2012 we were blessed to have the opportunity to visit Ripley’s Aquarium in Gatlinburg, TN while at the KYTN Conference minister’s meetings. One of our favorite exhibits was the Penguins. So, I am working on a Penguin Unit for Hannah and Laura, who are crazy about anything God has created! Below you can watch one of our experiences with the penguins at Ripley’s. They were sooo cute! In this video, my girls Hannah, Laura, and Emily had some fun with one particular penguin.

Here are some Penguin Freebies that Homeschoolers can enjoy:

1. Mr. Popper’s Penguins from the Homeschool Share Blog.
2. Arctic Animal Lapbook from Homeschool Share
3. Penguin, Penguin Early Reader from Starfall.com
4. Penguin Lapbook from Lapbook Lessons
5. Printable Book of Penguins and Penguin Craft Idea from Relentlessly Fun, Deceptively Educational

For more ideas, check out my Pintrest Penguin Page!

Happy New Year!

Wow, can you believe it is 2012? Where does the time go? Today, January 2, is the first day we have had what feels like winter weather. Snow flurries are floating through the air, with the promise of snow this afternoon. This has been a weird winter. We usually have snow weekly starting in late November. Last year was sooo cold and there was so much snow! It has felt like fall. Christmas day we were wearing short sleeves outside!

We had a big group for the holidays – one week with 30 people in the house! Our family has grown so big and just keeps growing! Oh, and we had 6 dogs in the house and a crew of 3 workers who replaced all of the windows in our house (we have 53 windows) and replaced our old shutters with new ones, and wrapped all of our windows with vinyl siding and replaced the old siding on the sun room with new vinyl siding (we have a brick house).  I’ll have to share photos later… [read more]

 

Colonial Times from A – Z Lapbook

Here is a great free download – Colonial Times from A – Z -  for homeschoolers from Hearts in Training. Justin time and perfect for Thanksgiving!

Pumpkin. Cinnamon Roll. Cake.

I think the title says everything we need to know.

You can find the recipe for this yummy recipe at the Picky Palate.

In other news… last night was movie night at our house. We watched Hachi: A Dog’s Tale. This is a must see movie. Have you seen it?

Honestly, I bawled my eyes out. For ten minutes. After the movie. I was sobbing so hard I was shaking. I love my dogs.

New Baby Chicks

Oh, and today was the first day we found two eggs in the chicken coop laid by… I don’t know, by I suspect that the two Golden Comets, Pixie and Peep, were the first to lay beautiful brown eggs! Even my husband was excited about it. He loves eggs. Especially beautiful brown free range chicken eggs.

If you remember, when we originally got the chickens, I had a total of fourteen. Unfortunately about two months into that, something forced its way into the coop and slaughtered ten of them in one night. The one “hen” who survived (three of the chickens were on a road trip to campmeeting with me) has now turned out to be a rooster. His name is Lucky. We then got five more chicks, one of which got sick and died of a respiratory illness, so were ended up with a total of eight chickens who are all getting ready to start laying any time.

You can see my girls here roosting on my back porch. Not necessarily a good thing. But they are just so cute!

Of the eight pictured above we have…
2 Buff Orpingtons (one is a rooster) – Buttercup, Lucky
2 Golden Comets – Pixie, Peep
3 Rhode Island Reds – Penny, Violet, K.C. (short for Kentucky Chicken)
1 Amberlink – Speckles

Now, for our new baby chicks hatched October 5, 2011…

3 Americanas (the brown striped chicks) – pink, blue, and green eggs
5 Marans (the black chicks) – dark chocolate eggs
1 Golden Comet (the yellow chick with red stripes on back) – brown eggs
2 Buff Orpingtons (the yellow chicks) – brown eggs
3 California Spotted Whites (the yellow chicks with black polka dots) – white eggs

Not sure what we’ll name these adorable little ones. I like to wait until they get their feathers and I learn more about each individual hen. Although, amazingly enough, they look different enough we can tell them apart. Hannah and Laura are already trying to come up with names for the ones they claimed as their own. It’s just so much fun!

Speaking of Mason Jars…

…it’s that time of year again. My husband went to the Farmer’s Market in Asheville, NC on Friday with plans for going back this coming Thursday for more produce. I love it, but that also means, the pressure is on! I have canned <a href=”http://melissaringstaff.blogspot.com/2011/01/preserving-new-year.html”>a lot of produce since January</a>.

Some of the produce I have to get put up came from our garden … [read more]

Mason Jars

Have you missed me? This summer flew by, oh wait, summer been over for… weeks! Yes, fall is quickly passing me by as well it seems. I have had next to no time for my blog or website, much to my great disappointment. But I have learned over the years – 10 years blogging – that life needs to come first, family needs to come first. So I live by that rule when it comes to computer time. Anyway… here is a nifty little tip.

I love Mason Jars. I mean, really, what’s not to love? I use them for drinking, food storage, canning, flower vases, organizing, and more.

I have purchased quite a few boxes of Ball plastic lids for my Mason Jars. I love them. I can’t seem to get enough of them. But then I discovered that your typical mayonnaise jar and some peanut butter jar plastic lids fit a regular mouth Mason Jar. Talk about frugal and recycling at the same time!

Bottle Cap Magnets

For decades years I have been saving bottle caps. I don’t know why. When I was a little girl I would make “pies” for my dollhouse with salt dough and a bottle cap as the pie tin. Hmmm. I like this idea from Better Homes and Gardens.

Summer Fun – To Do List

Are you excited about summer? Do you hope to have a lot fun making great memories with your family and friends? The last few years we have been on the road for much of the summer. This year I am looking forward to a quiet summer at home. But that doesn’t mean I don’t have plans for some local fun! A few things on my “Must Do this Summer List:”

1. build a teepee
2. catch fireflies
3. explore Bad Branch Falls
4. go swimming at the lake
5. grow a watermelon from seed

Have you made a list? If not, feel free to download my Summer Fun To Do List (in multiple colors) and get busy!

• Summer Fun – Pink and Blue
• Summer Fun – Blue
• Summer Fun – Black

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