Gluten Free Carrot Cake

Istock Photo

I haven't posted a recipe for awhile but thought I'd let you know how my first experiment with gluten free baking turned out. A couple of my co-workers are gluten intolerant and I wanted to be sensitive to this when bringing a cake to celebrate my boss' birthday. Her favorite dessert is carrot cake so I checked out several gluten free carrot cake recipes and settled on this one. I purchased a bag of gluten free flour at my local store and thought all was good.

 

However, when I finally got around to starting the cake at 10 last night I realized the instructions on the bag recommended adding a teaspoon of xanthum gum. Huh? Apparently I could also use guar gum. Well, since I had neither and was already in my jammies I sent DH to the grocery store where he was able to find a bag of xanthum gum after only one phone call home. The cake came out of the oven just before midnight, I frosted it this morning and here is the finished result.

 

I have to admit that, after tasting the dough and finding it had a somewhat unpleasant after-taste I was afraid I'd have to toss the cake and buy something else. However after the cake was baked and frosted I really couldn't tell the difference and it went over well at work. So if you happen to be looking for a gluten free carrot cake recipe, I would recommend this recipe. Just be sure you also have xanthum or guar gum on hand!

The plants in my front porch urn succumbed to the summer heat and I have been patiently waiting to replant for fall. While shopping for the gluten free flour last night I came across some lovely small mums at Lowes (I kind of got distracted) and couldn't resist. Tonight I repotted the urn and added a new millet plant, a tropical plant from my deck and a sweet potato vine from the garden that has been limping along. In a couple of weeks I'll add a little fall color with a small faux pumpkin. 

Yay! We're ready to welcome fall!

Sewing Room Find

I was going to title this post "I used to be a hooker" but was afraid that would either get me shut down or attract the kind of notice I don't really want. Lately I have been cleaning out my sewing room and selling patterns on Ebay. As I was doing this I came across the last rug I hooked.

 

It was like finding an old friend. I would probably do the tongues differently if I was hooking this today, but I still like the colors and the design. It has been rolled up and tucked away for so long I'd forgotten about it. I don't mind doing the binding part so I'm not sure why I never got around to doing it. I think the local yarn store where we used to buy the yarn for finishing rugs has closed so I'll have to find another source for that. If you know of a good online source please let me know!  Hope you had some good surprises too this weekend!

Early Work Mercantile Update

We've turned another page on the calendar and that means it is time for new offerings on Early Work Mercantile!

Stacy Nash Design

Maggie Bononomi Design

Bird in the Hand Primitives Freebie Design!

These pieces have all been spoken for but please drop by EWM to see everything that is offered this month by the talented artists. You can tell by the offerings that many of us are really looking forward to fall! And btw, if you'd like to be included on my email list and get first peek at my offerings, please drop me an email and I'd be happy to add you.

Tomorrow I'll attend my first pre-trial conference as a CASA volunteer. I've known about the CASA program for quite awhile and finally this year decided I had to pursue this volunteering opportunity. Our group completed training in June and I was assigned to my first case two weeks ago. It involves a little boy who was born with serious medical issues and is living with his grandparents while Mom pulls it together. She missed a number of his doctor's appointments and the little boy was diagnosed with failure to thrive. We are still very early in the process--most cases last at least a year!--but Mom seems to want to do the right things and hopefully the family will eventually be reunited. I don't have a social work background so I feel like I'm learning a new language but my case supervisor has been very supportive and helpful.  It does take somewhat of a time commitment because you have to visit the children in placement at least once a month and file reports on the meetings and court sessions as well as the visits. But so far it has been very rewarding and the program overall seems to be very well run.

Furniture Shopping and Hints of Fall

I mentioned in a previous post the our youngest now has his own apartment. This is his first unfurnished apartment so we gave him some of our furniture and are now on the hunt for new kitchen chairs. It has been more stressful and time consuming than I thought it would be. Here's the style I had in mind:

 

 

However, DH had a different style in mind:

As you can imagine making a decision is not easy-LOL! We will eventually find something that we can agree on!

We are getting rain today but I had to water over the weekend and was happy to see this beautiful goldfinch enjoying the mint flowers. Bet he had good smelling birdbreath after that meal!

 

I'm trying not to count my mini pumpkins before they're harvested but I love seeing the Baby Boo's forming on the vine.

 

 

Finishes

Finished and framed! The last design from the first year of the Prim Sister's Club.

Design by Pineberry Lane

My friend Leslie stocks up on great old frames whenever she comes across them and I've started doing the same. I was happy to repurpose this rustic pine frame and loved its warm patina with the Prim Sisters piece.

Design by Brenda Gervais

The second piece is one I finished probably two years ago, I'm embarrassed to say. I just couldn't find a frame that would work with this piece so I had it framed at Michaels. Both will go in my laundry room which overlooks our fenced in vegetable garden.

I was bit by the cleaning and organizing bug.

I know it's time for a sweep when I dread walking into my craft room because it's so disorganized and messy. Now I love opening the door and actually being able to see the carpet!

 

Moving day for our son! Setting up a new apartment means hitting local thrift stores and rummage sales, as if I need an excuse. It also makes me feel old when I run across pieces that we owned 30 years ago that are now considered to be "antiques".

A Summer Weekend

Don't the weekends just fly by?  We hit the road early Saturday to be among the first to browse the booths at the Bingham Waggoner antique show in Independence, Missouri. Leslie and I have rented a booth at the show for many years, but decided to forego the booth this year and just concentrate on shopping.

 

 

 

A trip to Independence is not complete without a stop at Brown's Emporium. It may look a little nondescript on the outside, but inside is brimming with well stocked, artfully arranged booths.

 

 

 

 

For most, the 4th of July marks the middle of the summer, but to me, its the Bingham-Waggoner show. There are many hot, summer days ahead, but once this show is over my thoughts turn towards autumn. 

 Today I finished a little piece from Notforgotten Farm from the Primitive Sisters Club. Instead of framing this, I decided it needed to be a little pillow.

Hope you had a great weekend!

Lexington, MO

While rambling home from Arrow Rock I took the backroads and made a stop in Lexington, Missouri. Having missed lunch, my first stop was the River Reader where I enjoyed an excellent latte and homemade blueberry crumb cake. 

It was a sleepy afternoon on Main Street. 

Greeter at The Velvet Pumpkin

 

A shop with the unusual name of The Purple Turnip caught my eye.

As I looked at the display in the window I thought it looked like the work of Maggie Bononomi and wondered if she had a booth there, only to find that it is her new shop and studio space!

 

After a nice chat I left with an original Maggie carrot and the hope of returning to take one of her upcoming classes.

Here is my other find of the day. After recently whining lamenting I can no longer find vintage Army blankets, I actually found one in Lexington for $3!

The label identifies it as having been made in 1942!