I was skeptical of how the texture would be, but I was surprised how great it was!

I can remember over a year ago I came across a box of gluten free pasta! I was so excited that I quickly bought a set of 3 boxes and tomatoes to make sauce.

After spending half of the day making a huge batch of the sauce I was going to jar and eat with my pasta, my mouth was water just thinking about it. By the time dinner time came I was more than ready to enjoy a big bowl of warm and cheesy pasta. I had not had pasta in over a year! This gluten free pasta was to be my savior and my welcome back into the world of Italian cooking.

I boiled it, drained it and finally poured sauce over. The first bite was going to be amazing! And…MUSH! The texture was so horrible. And for those of you who have been reading, you already know how much texture is important to me. I threw it away disappointed and resigned to the fact that gluten free pasta was not ever going to be on par and so I would boycott it.

Fast forward to Thursday night of last week. I was in Whole Foods talking to a stock persona about gluten free foods and he said, I needed to try the pasta. Gluten Free PASTA?!? I had already sworn it off. But he promised me that if I did not like it, I should return it and return to speak with him directly.  So I gave it a shot.

It was so amazingly good! Comfort food at its best (but without the bleached flours! even better).

A friend of mine, Brad, came over to chat on Friday morning and I asked if he would be staying for lunch. When he replied “sure”, I pulled some chicken out of the refrigerator and glanced at the cupboard where I keep quinoa. That green box of gluten free pasta caught my eye and I saw the perfect opportunity to make Brett a guinea pig in my pasta experiment.

I made the chicken as I boiled the water for the pasta and opened a jar of “cheater” sauce. (Some of those pre made sauces are not too bad, I must admit!) I boiled if for almost exactly as long as the box indicated. Only touching one of the noodles with my finger to make sure it was cooked enough to eat.

I served Brad & NOTHING! It was great. He just kept eating as I grated Parmesan over his pasta. He’s not gluten free & couldn’t tell the difference! His lack of reaction made me think it was safe to eat.

As fast as I could I stabbed my fork into the colander to pick up a pasta and then dipped it into the sauce (still on the stove). This pasta is amazing! It tastes even better and has a better texture than the whole wheat pasta (from what I can remember). I happily served myself a hearty portion and enjoyed every last bite. The people at De Boles know how to make great gluten free pasta. If you ever have the opportunity to try it, I highly recommend this gluten free pasta.

Let me know what you think in the comments section. -Chelsea

These muffins are also very quick and easy to make so they are my new favorite addition to the breakfast rotation.

Used my favorite coconut flour for these muffins. No other flours necessary for this recipe.

The recipe calls for 6 eggs, but it is only about 1/2 an egg per muffin (if you are concerned with cholesterol) and the more protein the better.

The dough is dense and may look like it needs more liquid but trust me it works out great.

Makes 12 perfectly portioned muffins.

The Coconut muffins come out nice and golden brown.

You will notice that these muffins are really dense because the coconut flour is dense, but the texture is very nice.

Coconut Muffin Recipe:

ingredients:

dry ingredients:
- 1 cup coconut flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/8 teaspoon sea salt

wet ingredients:
- 2 ripe bananas pureed (1/2 cup pureed)
- 6 eggs
- 3 tablespoons honey or agave nectar
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil
- 2 tablespoons milk (I used hemp milk. almond milk, soy milk and the regular stuff work just fine too.)
- 2 tablespoons melted butter (can use another 2 tablespoons of coconut oil or applesauce to substitute)
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

directions:
1. heat oven to 350 F.
2. add all of the dry ingredients to a large mixing bowl and mix well so that each ingredient is evenly distributed.
3. in another bowl mix the wet ingredietns together (the last time I did it all in one bowl, as you can see in the photo. it was very difficult to stir, so do not skip this step unless you are prepared for a serious arm workout!)
4. slowly add the dry mixture to the wet mixture and whisk together. if you are using a stand up mixer set it to low and slowly add the flour. the batter will be thick (see photos).
5. add the dough to a lined cupcake pan. fill each cupcake well 80-90% to the brim. (coconut flour does not rise like flours that contain gluten).
6. bake for 20 minutes or until they are golden brown on the edges (see photos. gee! the photos are really helpful this time around!) the toothpick inserted in the middle trick does not work with these muffins so go by the color.

Hope you enjoy them. Let me know if you like them in the comments section. I try to reply to all of my comments. And let me know if you have thought of any other uses for them. I actually cut one in half and put some turkey and avocado in there for an afternoon snack, a little sweet but good flavor contrast and it was all I needed to get me to dinner.

-Chelsea