Author: Tara Taft

So Good Chocolate Chip (Gluten Free) Cookies

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I just made the best cookies. No, really, they are so good. They happen to be gluten free, egg free, and if you’re picky about the chocolate chips, they’re dairy free, lactose free, and vegan as well. But don’t let that stop you from trying them.

The cookies are chewy and chocolaty (yes, chocolaty is a real word, also spelled chocolatey), and you can’t stop at just one. So, what’s the secret? The cookies are made with oat flour, which gives them texture and chewiness, and coconut oil, which gives them a hint of coconut (use canola oil if you don’t like coconut). If you’re not gluten free, just replace the gluten-free flour with wheat flour and omit the xanthan gum, though I can’t vouch for that change in the recipe.

Plate of cookies

Have you heard of BabyCakes NYC Bakery? The creator of this yummy recipe, Erin McKenna, is also the founder of that bakery. And next time you’re in New York City, you just may want to make a trip to 248 Broome Street and try out one of their cupcakes, like we did on our last trip. Or you can visit them in Hollywood or in Orlando, too.

Storefront sign

I found the chocolate chip cookie recipe on the back of Bob’s Red Mill’s Gluten Free All Purpose Flour. You can print it here or read it below. You can also find it in the cookbook “BabyCakes Covers the Classics.” Here it is:

BABYCAKES NYC CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

Ingredients

1-½ cups gluten-free oat flour
1 cup gluten-free all purpose baking flour (Bob’s Red Mill!)
1 cup organic sugar
¼ cup flaxseed meal
¼ cup arrowroot starch (good with cornstarch if you don’t have arrowroot starch)
1-1/2 teaspoons xanthan gum
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt (fine without it)
¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons melted, refined coconut oil or canola oil
6 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce
2 tablespoons gluten-free vanilla extract
1 cup gluten-free, dairy free chocolate chips (I added a few more)

Directions

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

Step 2: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, sugar, flaxseed meal, arrowroot starch, xanthan gum, baking soda, and salt. Add the coconut oil, applesauce, and vanilla and stir with a rubber spatula until a thick dough forms. Stir in the chocolate chips until evenly distributed.

Bowl with chocolate chip cookies batter

Step 3: Drop the dough by the tablespoonful onto the prepared baking sheets, about 1-1/2 inches apart.

Bake for 7 minutes, rotate the baking sheets, and bake for 7 minutes more, or until the cookies are golden brown and firm. Let stand on the baking sheets for 15 minutes before eating.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Carefree

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According to the dictionary, to be carefree means being free from anxiety or responsibility. Perhaps that’s why, when I think of my most carefree moments, I am on my own, exploring or trying something new: I’m kayaking in the ocean or scrambling up a mountain; I’m walking on the beach or meandering through a farmer’s market; I’m making chocolate chip cookies or staring at the ocean.

Carefree

When are you most carefree?

Where the Beach Sings

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Have you ever heard the beach sing? Not roar from a shell but really sing? There’s a beach north of Boston where the sand squeals or “sings” when bare feet walk along its shore. It’s name? Singing Beach.

Squeaky Sand

Singing Beach is a small idyllic beach located in the town of Manchester-by-the-Sea on the North Shore of Boston. Getting there is a challenge, but for many, its beauty overcomes the expense and the effort.

We visited Singing Beach most recently in July when the air was balmy, the moon was rising, and the sun was ready to set.

Singing Beach and the Moon

The beach is officially open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily. Lifeguards are on duty until 5 p.m. Amenities include a snack bar, restrooms, and changing areas.

Non-residents are not permitted to park in its small parking lot on the weekends. If you’re from out of town, the best way to get there is to take the commuter rail to the Manchester stop and walk the ½ mile from the center of town to the beach. Other options include looking for a 2-hour parking spot on the street or spending $25 to park in a lot in town and walking 20 minutes or so to the beach.

Finding it is easy. Just follow the stream of people carrying beach chairs up the hill. Just when you think you can’t go any farther, you’ve arrived, but know you will be charged a $5 walk-on fee.

If your schedule is flexible, try going during the week. The town opens up the beach parking lot to non-residents Monday through Thursday from June 17 through August 29. The fee to park is $25 per car. During the month of September, only residents are allowed to park there.

Whatever it costs, most beach goers believe it’s worth it.

Singing Beach and the Moon

Trip taken July 2013.

When Peaches and Blueberries Are in Season

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I love peaches, and I love blueberries. So when mid-summer happens, and the fruit is ripe, I’m in heaven. Last week, I bought peaches and blueberries from two local farm stands, a lemon and a few other ingredients from the supermarket, and set out to create a gluten-free, nut-free peach blueberry crisp.

I was bringing the only dessert to a party of 12 so I wanted to make a lot. With a pint of blueberries and about nine peaches, I was ready to begin.

Bowl of peaches Container of blueberries

I washed the peaches and cut them into chunks, leaving the skin on. In a large bowl, I added a pint of rinsed and stemmed blueberries to the peaches along with the grated lemon rind and lemon juice. I tasted the fruit. It was so sweet, I was afraid to add too much sugar; just a ¼ cup went into the bowl.

Bowl of cut up peaches and blueberries

For the crisp, I mashed a stick of butter with a cup of brown sugar before adding the flour, nutmeg, and oatmeal. Though I started out using a fork, I found it much easier to use my fingers to blend the topping. Since my 13 x 9-inch pan was already in use, I buttered two 9-inch cake pans and filled them evenly with the fruit before covering them with the crisp topping.

Uncooked fruit crisp in round pan

After baking at 350 degrees for 35 minutes, the crisps were brown and bubbly.

Baked crisp in round pan

At the party, the crisp was devoured, and the recipe was requested. Yum! Oh, and I never mentioned they were gluten free, and no one ever asked.

PEACH BLUEBERRY CRISP

The Fruit

9 cups cut up peaches (about 9 whole peaches), washed but with skin left on
2 cups blueberries
¼ cup to ½ cup granulated sugar (depending on the sweetness of your fruit)
grated rind from one lemon (about 2 teaspoons)
1 ½ tablespoons lemon juice

Add fruit, sugar, and lemon rind and juice and stir.

The Topping

1 cup brown sugar
1 cup gluten-free flour (I used Trader Joe’s blend)
1 cup gluten-free oatmeal
1/2 cup butter
1 teaspoon nutmeg

Blend the dry ingredients with the butter until the mixture is coarse and clumpy. Add the fruit to one large (13 by 9-inch) or two small (8 by 8-inch square or 9-inch round) pans. Cover with the topping and bake at 350 degrees for 30 – 40 minutes.

Eat and enjoy!

Picking Flowers at Small Farm

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Looking for a quick escape from Boston? Just 30 miles west, in the small semirural town of Stow, is an organic pick-your-own farm where rows of basil, sage, and mint fragrant the air, and sunflowers, snapdragons, and zinnias color the sky.

Small Farm Sign

At Small Farm, you can surround yourself with cherry tomatoes in a mini maze, pick your own flowers by the quart, or snip your own herbs by the bag and bask in the farm’s peacefulness and tranquility.

Picking flowers at Small Farm

Butterfly at Small Farm

Organic lettuce, cucumbers, onions, peppers, garlic, zucchini, tomatoes, eggplant, beets, and sometimes corn are available for purchase as well.

Organic produce at Small Farm

You might even find local honey or jam sold by the cash register.

Small Farm Just Picked Flowers

Enjoy your bounty, and when your tomatoes are eaten, your pesto devoured, and your bouquets have faded, Small Farm will be waiting for your return, at least until after the first frost.

Trip taken: often. Photos taken August 2012.

You Say Oysters and I Say . . .

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After lunch in Point Reyes Station, we drove north to Tomales Bay, intent on sampling a few local oysters.

Yellow kayaks brightened the foggy gray Tomales Bay as we drove along the rolling highway. Cars lined the narrow and curvy road as we passed a crowded Tomales Bay Oyster Company before reaching our destination, Hog Island Oyster Company.

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People sat outside, shucking and eating, laughing and chatting.

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We bought a couple dozen oysters and headed home, anticipating our dinner of oysters on the grill and goat cheese ravioli followed by homemade strawberry ice cream and fresh blackberry pie.

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 Trip taken August 2012.

 

Making History Come Alive For Teens | National Park Foundation

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Making History Come Alive For Teens | National Park Foundation.

Gettysburg National Park

Are you interested in the Civil War or looking for a teachable moment for your kids? Check out the National Park Foundation’s blog, Trail Talk, (see link above) for tips on visiting National Parks. This month, I’m the author of a post on visiting Gettysburg National Park with teenagers.

Gettysburg National Park is celebrating the 150th Anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg and President Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. The park offers Civil War events commemorating the anniversary throughout 2013. Be sure to visit the Gettysburg Convention and Visitor’s Bureau for information on upcoming events and help in planning your trip.

Eating and Shopping in Point Reyes Station

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If Point Reyes National Seashore is your destination, be sure to allow time to visit the small town of Point Reyes Station before or after your trip to one of the most striking locations on the west coast. Once you’ve visited the Bear Valley Visitor Center, made your way to the beach at Limantour or hiked to Abbott’s Lagoon, seen the Tule Elk and maybe driven out to the lighthouse, stop in at the small town of Point Reyes Station for a bite to eat and a little shopping.

Point Reyes Visitor CenterEvery time we make Point Reyes Station our destination, we visit a few of our favorites. We stop at Bovine Bakery for coffee and a sweet or savory snack and at Cowgirl Creamery’s Deli in Tomales Bay Foods for the best cheese around.

Tomales Bay FoodsYou can find picnic essentials at Palace Market and a book for the beach at Point Reyes Books. On our last visit, we walked through a tiny flea market, browsed the variety of items at Toby’s Feed Barn, ogled the fine art at Gallery Route One, and bought a wetsuit at Point Reyes Surf Shop.

Point Reyes Surf ShopIf you go, be sure to dress in layers. It’s usually cooler and windier on the coast. The town of Point Reyes Station is located on Highway 1, about an hour’s drive north of the Golden Gate Bridge.

Trip taken August 2012.

Sampling Local Food in Point Reyes Station

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Though not as big as the farmer’s markets of southern Marin County, the farmer’s market in Point Reyes Station is every bit as colorful and unique. On a trip to San Francisco last August, we headed up the coast, stopping in the small town of Point Reyes Station for lunch.

Cyclists abounded. We followed them and a few locals behind Toby’s Feed Barn and discovered a completely local and organic market.

Toby's Feed Store We meandered about the kale and figs, the booths of soap and candles, the squash and peaches, the jam, the hummus and pita bread, the chips and salsa.

Point Reyes Farmer's MarketWe listened to a local folk band, choosing freshly made quesadillas and tacos over oozing grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch. We sat at a picnic table next to the town’s community garden.

Point Reyes Community GardenIf you want to go, choose a Saturday morning. The market is open every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. After crossing the Golden Gate Bridge, follow Highway 1 north about 34 miles to Point Reyes. The farmer’s market is located behind Toby’s Feed Barn, right on Highway 1.

Trip taken August 2012.

Hurry and Slow Down

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Have you noticed? Everyone is always in a hurry and on the go; impatience rules and tempers are quick to rise. People honk at me if I drive the speed limit, in spite of the several cars in front of me. Where do they expect me to go?

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A truck swerves into the oncoming lane to pass not just me but the car in front in order to make a left turn. Pedestrians yell at me when I don’t stop while they attempt to jaywalk across a busy street.

In this time of Google – when information is at the tip of our fingers, when technology keeps getting better, satisfaction is lean. There’s always something better. We rarely have to wait anymore … for anything. So when we do, we tap our fingers at best, road rage at worst. Yet amidst all this anxious hurriedness appear random acts of kindness, the term now so trite, the acts seem no longer quite as random.

I discovered one random act at the local library last week. Someone sent a box of colorful bookmarks, handmade with ribbons, quotes, and pictures of flowers.

Basket of handmade bookmarks with note.

The librarians displayed the bookmarks in a basket on the front desk, encouraging patrons to take one or several. I did and shared the story as I handed a few to friends. The act made me smile and reminded me to slow down.

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Trip taken May 2013.