Pumpkin Spice Bundt Cake

It's Gluten Free Ratio Rally time and this month I'm hosting! If you're new to the rally, check out this post from Shauna of Gluten Free Girl & the Chef to read about the very start of the rally. Based off of Michael Ruhlman's Ratio, this great group of gluten free bakers gets together each month to work on ratios for a specific baked good.

Since I joined the group earlier this year, I have to say - I've learned so much more about the science behind baking. I never thought I would be making bagels or angel food cake from scratch at home. In fact, I never thought I would make cake at home ever again, as all my early trials of gluten free cake baking ended up with shriveled and rubbery looking ones.

This month we're working on bundt cake; which we figured would be similar to the ratio for pound cake. Ruhlman's ratio for that is 1 part butter: 1 part sugar: 1 part egg: 1 part flour. Since I wanted to make a pumpkin bundt - I adjusted the ratio accordingly to include the puree. I assume if you wanted to used some other kind of fruit puree you could use a relatively similar ratio to the one I ended up with. My ratio turned our to be 2 parts butter: 2 parts sugar: 3 parts pumpkin puree: 3 parts egg: 4 parts flour.

Check out the other delicious (and quite seasonal) flavor combinations the rest of the ratio rally dreamed up;

Apple Almond Cake | Heather | Discovering the Extraordinary

Blueberry Molasses Bundt Cake | Jenn | Jenn Cuisine

Date Pecan Bundt Cake with Orange Glaze | Caneel | Mama Me Gluten Free

Gluten Free Mini Vanilla Chai Bundt Cakes | Mary Fran | Frannycakes

Pear & Cardamom Spiced Bundt Cake | Rebecca | Salts Kitchen

Spiced Sweet Potato Bundt Cake | Brooke | B & The Boy

Spiked Egg Nog Bundt Cake with Vanilla Bourbon Glaze | Charissa | Zest Bakery

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Meals From The Garden: Fried Green Tomatoes with Whipped Goat Cheese Basil Spread

Did you catch that huge pile of tomatoes we harvested from our garden? We had oodles of green tomatoes and so I figured it was high time I learned to make fried green tomatoes. Turns out its a great way to use all those tomatoes

Full disclosure: I've never seen the movie of the same name. And yes, I know I should probably remedy this. 

I tried a couple of varieties of breading the tomatoes, including a battered version, but this three step dipping methoed seemd to result in the crispiest outsides and softest insides.

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On Traveling & Being Free From More Than Just Gluten

This photo was taken in the Navarra Region of Spain.

Alright, it's time for some real world talk. 

I don't often talk about my own personal challenges of traveling gluten free because I like to be that person that brings hope and solutions - not feelings of hopelessness or struggle. So while I may travel many places and encounter many absolutely delightful experiences eating out safely - it's not always so easy.

In my overall experience, when dining out (at most establishments - but not all!) and you start to give your server you're list of what you can't have - their eyes tend to glaze over after about the second item. Even with customized restaurant cards I've created for myself - it still seems to be quite the challenge to get past that second thing you can't have. Add a different language to the mix and things get even more complicated.

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Gluten Free On Vashon Island, Washington

 

For our 2nd wedding and 3rd engagement anniversary's we took a day trip to Vashon Island - we didn't think much about where we would eat at the time, but I did recall that I had previously taken note of a few places. Having still been in the process of recovering from a rather indulgent foodie trip to Portland, I was looking for something super healthy. So we decided on Pure Cafe which serves organic vegan and gluten free cuisine.

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Gluten Free In Washington, District of Columbia: Favorite Finds

I started out this trip to Washington, DC feeling totally uninspired with my research into my eating options. I had a list I'd developed last year and plenty of places I felt comfortable with eating - but it's just that nothing really sparked my interest. 

That was until I actually got to DC and did a little more digging to find some new eats. I ended up with four new gluten free friendly spots - three of which I will most definitely be returning to.

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