Tested: Maple Walnut Blondie, Orange Chocolate Cookie, Molasses Cookie, Chocolate Chip Cookie, Cranberry Oatmeal, Double Chocolate Brownie.

Courser Farm Kitchen a little home based business located about 2 hours north of me in Warner, New Hampshire. I love supporting small local business and though they aren’t super local to me, they are local enough! I will definitely be placing orders in the future for these super awesome treats! They make cookies, brownies, bars, blondies and breads that are all gluten free and vegan! They also take special orders for cakes and cupcakes!

When I got the little box of heaven in the mail from Emma it may as well have been Christmas! I ripped it open and took a few nibbles of a few of the products but found the strength to wrap them back up (well, almost all of them…) and wait for my neighbor to be available to come taste test with me since he is gf. We had a blast eating them. The goodies we got to try were the Chocolate Chip Cookie, Cranberry Oatmeal Cookie, Orange Chocolate Cookie, Molasses Cookie, Double Chocolate Brownie and the Maple Walnut Blondie!

I am a sucker for Cranberry Oatmeal cookies so those were definitely my favorite, I just wish they had a little more cranberry in them. But then again, I always almost double the amount of cranberries in the recipe I use… The cookie was nice and chewy and perfectly spiced. The Chocolate Chip was pretty fantastic too, it reminded me of the Cookie Crisp cereal I used to eat when I was a kid. It would have been perfect dipped in an ice cold glass of almond milk. Molasses cookies rock my socks in general so it’s no surprise this one was another winner! Give me chewy cookies or give me death! The dark sweetness of the molasses with the gentle hint of ginger really made me wish I had a whole truckload of these bad boys.

Now, I am very against combining chocolate with fruit flavors like cherry, orange, raspberry, etc etc, but I was extremely surprised at how much I liked the Orange Chocolate Cookie. It is a chocolate cookie with chocolate chips with a touch of orange, which was the perfect amount for me. It actually has me rethinking my hatred (yeah, really) of fruit flavored chocolate. I wouldn’t say that I’m a convert, but I’m going to be more open minded about it. See what a good product can do?! Speaking of good products, Double Chocolate Brownies? Hell to the yes! Fudgy, chewy and wicked chocolatey? The brownie was so good it didn’t last long enough to be photographed!

New England is pretty awesome to begin with, but the fact that we have the best of the best maple syrups makes it that much better. And that is exactly what you get with the Maple Walnut Blondie. New Hampshire maple syrup in a cake like little bar sprinkled with walnut chunks. Are you salivating yet?

(Left: Maple Walnut Blondie. From Top to Bottom: Orange Chocolate Cookie, Molasses Cookie, Chocolate Chip Cookie, Cranberry Oatmeal. Not photographed: Double Chocolate Brownie. I inhaled it.)

Course Farm Kitchen sells there goods at a few local cafes and farmers markets, if you live in the New Hampshire area, or happen to be passing through, definitely stop by any of the places listed on their to grab some! If you don’t live in the area, get your butt over here and order some! What are you waiting for?!

Pros:

• Homemade.
• Local (sort of to me).
• Delicious!

Cons:

• None. Seriously.

Reviewed by Liz Whitaker

Ashley brings us zucchini bread just in time for those epic days filled with holiday baking!

Bean’s Pecan Pie Bars are not only delightful looking, but they’re soy-free, too. What’s not to love?

Hannah’s green garlic dip is sure to be a hit at holiday parties.

When life gives you lots of leftover mashed potatoes you can follow The Sunny Vegan’s lead and make mashed potato soup. Brilliant!

Cassie’s two bean meatless loaf looks like serious comfort food for a those cold winter evenings.

You guys, roasted onions stuffed with curried black quinoa!

While we’re talking about quinoa, Tina shows us how to make her quinoa cabbage rolls. So yum!

Anja’s seaweed sesame crackers look perfect for enjoying with nut cheezes, dips and a glass of wine (or two!).

And just because you can never have too many awesome cupcake recipes. :)

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My love affair started like any other. I found myself thinking about him non-stop, watching him from afar, trying to picture our beautiful life together.

Eventually I gave in to temptation. I knew it was meant to be. That was a day that forever changed my life. That was the day that I brought a Nutrimill home.

In case you wondering what a Nutrimill is, I’ll tell you. It’s a fabulous machine that takes whole grains and beans and turns them into silky flour. It is an incredible boon to the gluten-free kitchen, especially if you use a lot of rice, quinoa, corn, millet, buckwheat and sorghum flours.

It’s extremely easy to use, and is well designed so that the hopper is nestled right in the center of the machine. You simply turn it on, and begin milling. Beyond the fabulous rice and grain flours, the bean and lentil flours are amazing too. I find myself making savory red lentil pancakes for breakfast, with no effort at all. You can also make black bean and split pea flours, for quick cooking soups or white bean flour to use as a healthy, high protein thickener. How cool is that? I don’t know about you, but I haven’t seen red lentil flour in the grocery store. And I love knowing that I can easily grind myself a batch whenever the mood strikes me.

The machine is not small, so if lack of space is an issue (and really, don’t we all have that problem?), you may want to make some room in your linen closet as I have. Hopefully you have an understanding spouse, who adores you so much that they’re happy to overlook the kitchen spill-over into the rest of the house.

I can honestly tell you that I’ve used this machine over and over and truly love it. I love having the control over the freshness of my flours, as well as the savings. I buy all of my grains and beans in bulk, so the flours are very inexpensive to make.

Do you want to know what I love best about this baby? It’s the assurance of knowing that all of the flours I grind in this mill are gluten-free, especially if you start with certified gluten-free grains from a reputable company like Bob’s Red Mill. You have total control over your flours, and that’s something you can feel good about.

This post is brought to us by the only gal I know of who combines karaoke with awesome homemade vegan and gluten free eats! Give it up for Rachel from VGFK, everyone!

Over at Vegan Gluten Free Karaoke my mission is simple: make delicious vegan and gluten free food while lip synching to pop music in ridiculous outfits. Past triumphs have included Lady Gaga Spring Rolls and Since U Been Gone Lasagna. The Bieber Beans were also pretty irresistible, if I say so myself.

I’ve been stoked about this guest post all month and decided to do a little experimentation with ice cream for Halloween. Those of you from colder climes may not find ice cream seasonally appropriate, but here in New Orleans where we have enjoyed temperatures in the 70′s and 80′s for the past few weeks, I thought it would be perfectly appropriate to combine rich fall flavors with this chilly treat.

I decided to make a Candy Corn Napoleon: instead of chocolate/vanilla/strawberry I created the white/orange/yellow color scheme of candy corn with a tahini/pumpkin/ginger combo in three layers. These were all flavors that I made up on the fly without a recipe, so it was quite the experiment.

I have been obsessed with cashew cream in ice cream lately, which is so rich and creamy that it comes out more like frozen custard. The base for each flavor is cashew cream which is made by soaking cashews in hot water for 5 minutes, then blending them in the food processor with a little rice milk and agave. I split the cashew cream into three containers and then mixed each flavor separately before freezing each one for 20 minutes and layering into a clear container. I don’t tend to follow recipes when I’m making ice cream, so I don’t have measurements to share, just the list of ingredients that I added to the cashew cream.

White Layer: Tahini Vanilla
Ingredients: Vanilla extract, tahini, rice milk, agave nectar

Orange Layer: Pumpkin
Ingredients: Canned pumpkin puree, coconut milk (carton), cinnamon, agave nectar

Yellow Layer: Ginger
Ingredients: Powdered ginger, grated fresh ginger, turmeric, coconut milk (can)

Tahini Vanilla was definitely the best flavor. It was super creamy with a sophisticated, nutty flavor. Ginger was kind of strange – like eating frozen Thai food. I would experiment with adding something fruity to this one.

And with no further ado…please join me in rocking out to Katy Perry:

This is Halloween, this is Halloween. Halloween, Halloween!

Hi everybody, it’s Kristina again from spabettie, and I am here with a post themed on my favorite holiday. I have a few recipes to share, a cute pup, and some other fun shenanigans. A big thank you to the xgfx girls for having me here again!

Using the black quinoa is perfect for a jack o lantern.

First up, my carrot-ginger quinoa pepper jacks! These pepper jacks are always a big hit with everyone, and this year I am even more excited about the filling inside – a carrot ginger quinoa, and it’s SO good! 

This next one was all I needed last year for dessert on Thanksgiving. Couldn’t wait to make it again. Good thing the nog is back in shops already…

Pumpkin Ice Cream

From one pumpkin patch to another,

these treats are sweet!

Crispy Treat Pumpkin Patch (orange cardamom flavor).

Sometimes the spiders around here are big enough to scare the cats…

and that ice cream up there?

 Makes these:  Pumpkin Milkshakes!

My dachshund Basil loves Halloween, too. He is a turtle this year, and last year he was…

a submarine!

This time of year we just call him our Halloweenie. Now back to those pepper jacks. I let out a loud squeal when I found out that Pee-Wee Herman shared them!

I was pretty excited (I love Pee-Wee…) and have to admit I did his laugh a couple times when I saw this. ;) and the other fun thing that is happening with these pepper jacks right now…

These pepper jacks are a finalist in the Yummly Halloween recipe contest, and I would really love it if you helped a vegan and gluten free recipe win!! How cool would that be?

All you have to do is visit the site here and “like” the page. No signing up for anything, just “like”. I thank you in advance, and I hope you all have a Happy Halloween!

Are you a Pee-Wee fan? What about dogs in costume?

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Thanks for another great post, Kristina!