Here are some things I’ve learned from my Mom: 1. Mom has taught me that eating gluten-free can be delicious. You really can adapt many recipes to be free of gluten, and… thanks to cookbooks like Elana Amsterdam’s Gluten Free Cupcakes, you can still make my very favorite kind of cupcake- Gluten Free- Red Velvet Cupcakes! Yay! 2. Mom has taught me that it’s never too late to do something. Mom got her college degree AFTER she retired. How cool is that? And I had a 12 year stint as an elementary teacher before taking on the food world. I never thought I could do what I’m doing now. 3. Mom has taught me that sometimes worry is really just good, old-fashioned concern and caring. Enough said on that one. 4. Mom has taught me that holiday traditions are special and memorable. I’m talking things like carving pumpkins, dyeing Easter eggs, and decorating Christmas cookies. I’m grateful to have grown up with those traditions, and I know that my son enjoys the fact that I’m exposing him to those traditions as well. 5. Mom has taught me that family is important. Don’t hold grudges, let the resentment go, DO NOT GOSSIP, and have regular family reunions to keep everyone in touch. I guess I’m guilty of gossip… she reminds me about this one often 😉 Love you Mom- more than words can say- and if I don’t tell you enough… I appreciate everything you have done and continue to do for me. (And oh, just so you know… you’ve taught me a lot more than 5 things!) On to business… and a GIVEAWAY! ———————————————————— Elana Amsterdam writes the blog Elana’s Pantry, and she has just published a new book: Gluten-Free Cupcakes: 50 Irresistible Recipes Made with Almond and Coconut Flour. There are a good variety of delicious cupcake recipes in Elana’s book. Besides baking GF, she also leans toward baking with healthy ingredients, so you’ll see ingredients called for like almond flour, coconut flour, coconut oil, flax meal, natural food coloring, agave nectar, Stevia, grapeseed oil and more. I need more cookbooks like this on my cookbook shelf!
I got my hands on a copy of her cookbook, and I was delighted to find that I actually had all of the ingredients for her GF Red Velvet Cupcakes already in my pantry! These are delicious- hard to believe, really, that they’re gluten-free. My son is always a good tester since he has the ability to sense if anything is “weird.” No weirdness at all… he said they tasted “normal and good.” I had never baked with coconut flour before, and wondered how much that coconut flavor would come through. The verdict: I could definitely taste the coconut. But I did enjoy the cupcakes- especially combined with the frosting. This giveaway is now over! Congrats to commenters #8 (Melinda) and #13 (Rebecca). You are the randomly selected winners of this cookbook. Enjoy!
