Jour 9 à Paris: A Parisian Birthday

Your birthday only comes around once a year, so you might as well enjoy it. Well this year I can whole heartedly say that I enjoyed every moment of my birthday. Waking up in Paris is a wonderful feeling. Waking up in Paris on your golden birthday is a whole other wonderful feeling. It was another bright and beautiful morning but being a Sunday it was quiet. Kids weren’t running around outside playing and people weren’t rushing off to work; it was slower, quieter and quaint. 

The cafés open later on Sunday so we ate a quick bite in our apartment before heading out to my birthday treat: a French baking class! La Cuisine Paris, a French baking school, offers cooking and baking classes in a multiple of different ‘themes’. We chose to do a morning baking class where you learn to bake some of the most iconic breakfast pastries: croissants, pain au chocolat, pinwheels with jam, cinnamon twists, and raisin bread. 

Emilie was our instructor and led the small group of us in making the perfect pastry dough to make fluffy French pastries. What I found out: it’s all in using rich high-fat content butter and fresh unprocessed flour. We sifted, rolled, folded and patted the dough until it was perfect. We set that dough aside and she brought out pre-made dough as it has to sit for hours before use. Then she started instructing us on the fun techniques to make all the different pastries.

In the end we had wonderful, warm, rich and gooey pastries that we got to enjoy with our tea and coffee plus we got to take the extras home!

 The class was lots of fun, Emilie was a wonderful instructor and I have to say I was highly impressed by our baking skills in the end. I wish that I could eat like that every morning and a) not get sick and b) not gain 50 pounds in a year! Wouldn’t that be a great birthday wish?!

After packing up our extra goodies we left the school and spent the afternoon in Paris! Sunday is definitely a quiet day and some of the shops are closed but I found it enjoyable and fun to just walk around the city (and buy myself a few birthday gifts too). 


Mom asked what else I wanted to do on my birthday and I honestly just loved the Jardin Tulleries so much, I just wanted to go back there and enjoy one more bottle of rosé before having to leave tomorrow. Sunday at any park in Paris is amazing because it is the epitome of rest and relaxation. There was live music, tons of families having time together, people reading, couples laughing and talking…it was just so different than what my typical Sunday looks like back in the States that it was so relaxing and wonderful- plus the rosé was amazing as usual!

Following our afternoon shopping and sitting in the park we returned to our apartment to get organized and pack up our belongings. After getting things together we packed our picnic bags, grabbed a few blankets from the couch, a wine opened and our coats and headed out towards the Eiffel Tower. I wanted to have a picnic under the Eiffel Tower and watch the lights come up and sparkle and that is exactly what we did. Kelly bought a bottle of champagne this week to toast my birthday and we enjoyed our picnic on the grass.

 As it got later and darker it was just a matter of time before the Eiffel Tower came to life and sparkled for the first time tonight and not too long after sunset, she came to life and sparkled. It was an amazing sight and it was the most perfect way to end the most perfect trip of the most perfect birthday a girl could ask for.

All I wanted for my birthday this year was to sit under the Eiffel Tower with a macaroon and a glass of champagne, and my wish came true tonight. This has been the most wonderful week ever. It makes me incredibly sad that tomorrow morning we will have to pack up and leave this wonderful apartment and this beautiful city but as Dr. Seuss once said, don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened. So I reflect on this trip with smiles and memories that will laugh me a lifetime, especially because I got to take them with family. I’ve loved every moment and will dream of Paris from now until the day we get to meet again.

Gluten Free Adventures: Baked Apple Crisp

The Nesting Season Continues

It wouldn't be fall without the warm smell of baked apples in the oven. This evening I made a yummy gluten free apple crisp in the oven; nothing tastes more like fall!

Gluten Free Apple Crisp

6-8 small apples (I used a mixture of pink lady & granny smith)
2 tbsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp cloves

1 tsp nutmeg 

Topping:
2/3 cup gluten-free all-purpose flour
1 cup brown sugar
2 cup GF Quaker Oats 
2/3 cup melted butter

Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 20-30 minutes, or until the mixture is bubbly and warm and the apples are soft. Cook longer if you like softer apples, a tad less for my crunch.

Serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of salted carmel sauce and viola- the perfect fall treat!

Nesting Season Part 1

I don’t know if it’s my Scandinavian roots coming out, or being a Midwestern girl but this time of the year evokes a season my family calls the “nesting season”. It’s that transitional time between summer and fall where the mornings are crisp and the nights are cool. The trees are clinging to their last bit of green, the crackle of a fire draws you to the flame like a moth to the light, and the bathing suits disappear into the back of the drawers in preparation for chunky scarves and knit socks.

One of the most tell tailing signs that I’ve reached that season is an unquenched thirst for apple cider and the need to be in the kitchen all weekend. So I guess you would say I am officially in nesting mode as I’ve bought my just gallon of fresh apple cider and have slowly found myself nestled into the kitchen with an apron around my hips more often than not. I love it, it’s my thing. Unfortunately in my pre-gluten free life I could bake all sorts of yummy treats to share with friends and family: pies, bars, cakes, dumplings, and everything else that has gluten in it. Now it’s a little trickier to make things gluten free but I’ve adapted (and I occasionally I break down and bake treats and just pawn them off on friends)

After a stop at the local farmers market to get a half peck of Cortland apples, a cup of hot apple cider in hand and a pumpkin soufflé candle burning, I was ready to break into the season of nesting with a homemade apple crisp.

5-7 cups apples:  peeled, cored, and sliced
1/4 cup white sugar
1 tbsp gluten free flour (I used mix of almond & coconut flour)
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 cup GF oats (I may have added 2 cups- I love oats!)
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup butter, melted

Directions:

Set oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 8x8 pan.  In a Ziploc bag, add the 1/4 cup white sugar, 1 tbsp GF flour, vanilla, lemon juice, & apples.  Shake until apples are well-coated and pour into bottom of pan.  In a mixing bowl, add the oats, 1/2 cup GF flour, brown sugar, 1/2 cup white sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and butter.  Stir.  Place mixture over the apples.  Bake in oven for 35-45 minutes.  Serve warm with ice cream and a drizzle of salted carmel.

Snow Day Adventures

That anticipation. Wondering if the call will come in. Fingers crossed. Finally 6am rolls around and the call comes, work is closed! What a glorious phone call!! I don't think I have been this excited for a snow day since high school. Snowpocolypse was here and the world appeared as it was coming to an end; good luck finding a loaf of bread within a 5 mile radius. 

So what does the Traveling Cupcake do on her snow day?
1) Snuggle with her puppy (after doing an intense flexibility Pilates workout: note the fun rebounder in the background) 

2) Be amazed by God's creation, covered white with snow

3) Bring the puppy out in her cute pink snow coat and watch her explore this new world

4) Help your brother shovel your car out of the garage 

5) My favorite thing: bake bake bake.

I haven't had a chance to create a stock pile of gluten-free, healthy snacks for weeks it seems so I took this opportunity to spend a good 6-hours in the kitchen food prepping for the weeks ahead. Here's just a few highlights from the day: 

Blueberry Bark

Protein Peanut Butter "Cookies"

Rice Krispy Treats...okay these aren't actually that healthy, but they are Gluten Free :) 

Seriously, spending time in the kitchen is one of my favorite things! I also made a GF chicken and asparagus stir-fry, meatloaf for a later date, peanut butter protein cups (healthier version of a Reese), homemade granola and I may or may not have broken down and made chocolate pudding...but I won't say.

Jack had a friend spend the night so I spent the rest of the night hunkered down watching every great movie out there: You've Got Mail, The Holiday, Notting Hill, Father of the Bride I & II, and of course Pride & Prejudice... while enjoying a glass or three of Pinot Grigio, hey it's gluten-free!

I hope you all enjoyed Snowpocalypse 2014 and had just as great of a day as we did!

GF Adventures: Homemade Applesauce

There's a nip in the air, the leaves are starting their slow cascade to the ground, and Starbucks has rolled out their Pumpkin Spice Latte; know what that means? Autumn must be upon us! I don't know about you, but my family has fall traditions that we always like to do: pick apples from an orchard, run through our local corn maize, eat our favorite carmel apples flew in from Minnesota, and pick pumpkins from the patch! 

Usually when we pick apples from the orchard we have an exorbitant amount of apples left over and there is only so many apples you can eat and so many apple pies you can make, so I decided to make my first attempt at homemade applesauce. 
After searching for the perfect recipe I decided to try our the Pioneer Woman's recipe, who also happens to be one of my personal favorites.  

Homemade Applesauce 

Ingredients

6 pounds Apples, Peeled, Cored, And Cut Into 8 Slices

1 cup Apple Juice Or Apple Cider

Juice Of 1 Lemon

1/2 cup Brown Sugar, Packed

1 teaspoon Cinnamon, More Or Less To Taste

Optional Ingredients: Nutmeg, Maple Syrup, Allspice, Butter

Preparation Instructions

Combine all ingredients in a large pot and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 25 minutes.

Carefully puree in a food processor or blender (don't fill too full; split into two portions if needed) until smooth.

Store in the fridge and serve by itself, over pork chops, over ice cream, over pancakes...or any place where applesauce is needed!

GF Adventures: Homemade Chewy Bars

The weekend is prep time for me: prepping for lunches, snacks and dinners throughout the week. By the time I get off work, head to Crossfit and bust my butt (almost literally), drive home and shower it's nearly 8 p.m. and who wants to be on the struggle bus trying to eat a healthy, gluten free meal? This means no calling to pick up a pizza on the way home, no cereal and toast night, or throwing pasta on the stove for a quick pasta meal. Gluten-free, organic living calls for a little planning ahead. One of the things I miss is having quick grab-on-the-go snacks like granola bars so when I saw one of my favorite people ever, Ree aka The Pioneer Woman, posted a yummy looking granola bar recipe I decided to tackle it today and convert it to GF! 

[Chocolate Chip] Granola Bars

• 6 cups Rolled GF Oats (not Quick Oats)
• 4 Tablespoons Butter, Melted, Plus More For Greasing
• 1/4 cup Vegetable Or Canola Oil
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 1 cup Brown Sugar
• 1/2 cup Honey
• 1/4 cup Apple Juice
• 1/4 cup Molasses
• 3 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
• 1-1/2 cup GF Rice Krispies
• 1/4 cup Roughly Chopped Almonds
• Semi Sweet Chocolate Or Dark Chocolate (optional)

Preparation Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a bowl, toss the oats with the canola oil, melted butter and salt. Spread the mixture out on 2 baking sheets and toast in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes, shaking the pan twice and making sure they don't burn. Remove from the oven and set aside.

Reduce the heat to 325 degrees F.

In a medium saucepan, combine the brown sugar, honey, apple juice and molasses. Heat the mixture slowly, stirring until all combined. Stir in the vanilla

Toss together the toasted GF oats, GF rice cereal, pecans and almonds. Pour in the sugar mixture, stirring as you pour. Toss to combine; it will be sticky!

Press into 1 baking sheet (thoroughly greased with butter, or line pan with foil and grease foil) and bake until golden, about 20-25 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool. Cut pieces with a sharp knife and remove from the pan.

They turned out nice and crunchy and the chocolate melted nicely. Now it's time to let them cool, wrap them up and store for the week!