French Bread or Baguettes

Here's what I love about my go-to pizza dough. I can use it to make French bread or baguettes and so many other delicious breads. Yum-and-easy factor.

To make the pizza dough, check out my Endless Possibility of Pizza Dough. Then follow the directions below on how to make French bread or baguettes.

French Bread or Baguettes
makes 2 French bread or 3 baguettes

1 Pizza dough
1/4 cup (2 oz) warm water
1 tsp baking soda

1. Make the pizza dough as directed from The Endless Possibility of Pizza Dough recipe.
2. Divide the dough into equal amount: 2 equal amount for French bread or 3 equal amount for baguettes.
3. Roll each dough into a log, using the all-purpose flour to prevent the dough from sticking.
4. Place a dough on to the Non-Stick Perforated French Bread Pan or the Non-Stick Perforated Baguette Pan. (If you don't have these pans, put the dough on a baking sheet lined with the parchment paper.)
5. Cover the pan with a towel and let rise in a warm, draft-free place for 30 minutes.
6. When the dough is ready to bake, preheat the oven to 400°F.
7. Mix the warm water with the baking soda to make a wash.
8. With a light stroke, brush the baking soda water over the dough.
9. Score the dough with a knife if desire.
10. Place the pan on the middle rack and bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes.
11. Remove the pan from the oven.
12. Before slicing the bread, wait for 5 to 10 minutes. Enjoy.

Allergy Info: My French bread or baguette is free from or can be made without dairy, eggs, corn, legumes (soy), nuts, and fish.

Sauerkraut

According to WebMD, probiotics are bacteria that help maintain the natural balance of organisms (microflora) in the intestines. I only heard of probiotics when Brek caught something nasty that made him really sick. He couldn't eat or drink. His tummy was hurting. Then a mom from a local parenting support group suggested I give him probiotics. Nope, not from the yogurt. But the actual probiotics that come in a powder form. After he took it, he was feeling better within 24 hours.

When I found out that Camden had many issues with food sensitive, I knew he needed probiotics to heal his guts. But where could I find probiotics that had no dairy, soy, chicken egg, and corn? I was searching for years with no luck. Then a mom from a corn free support group told me that she made sauerkraut and gave her son sauerkraut juice every day. She was following a Paleo diet. She noticed that his speech and other issues had improved. At that time, Camden wasn't talking at all. I thought maybe he was just a slow talker. But why not give him the sauerkraut juice and see what would happen. Since I was still breastfeeding at the time, I needed probiotics for myself too.

I was really nervous about making sauerkraut at first. But now, I'm thinking, what was I scared of? It is super easy to make. And with only two ingredients. Hello!!! How easy can that be, right? And totally clean food. After Camden tried the sauerkraut juice for two weeks, he decided he wanted to eat sauerkraut. To this day, he has about half a tablespoon of sauerkraut every day with this meal.

Sauerkraut
make about 2 or 3 big jars

2 organic cabbages
2 Tablespoons sea salt

1. Cut the cabbages into chunks.
2. Thinly slice cabbages, using the food processor with shredding blade. (You can slice cabbages using a knife, but it is a longer process.)
3. Sprinkle one tablespoon of the sea salt on the shredded cabbages.
4. Turn the cabbages over and sprinkle another one tablespoon of the sea salt.
5. Knead the cabbages until the cabbage juice is visible.
6. Place cabbages into a glass jar, pressing down as filling it up.
7. Close the lids tight and place the jar in a pantry for four days.
8. After four days, check for molds. If any molds appear on top of sauerkraut, spoon off the top layer and throw out the molds. (I only find the molds when I make sauerkraut on a warm and humid week.)
9. Place the jar in the refrigerator. Sauerkraut is good indefinitely in the refrigerator.
10. Enjoy them with anything from scrambled eggs, sandwiches, soups, stir-fried, noodles or pasta dishes.

Allergy Info: This sauerkraut is free from dairy, eggs, corn, legumes (soy), wheat, nuts, and fish. Wow!!! Pretty much allergy free from everything.

Chocolate Swirl Pops

What was I doing in the kitchen making popsicles in winter? Living in Texas, there are days that feels like summer... hot and humid.

I can't really find ice cream without guar gum or some sort of additives, so I decided to start making my own ice cream. Since I needed to make a cold snack for my kids, I decided to make popsicles.

I just played around with leftover whipping cream and came up with the super simple recipe. It only requires three ingredients. Yup! Just three!

To my surprise, the chocolate swirl pops were perfectly sweet and very creamy. The chocolate gave the unexpected crunch. I luv the mini-sized pops but any pop molds would do. Be warn, they are very addictive.

Chocolate Swirl Pops

makes 12 mini pops

1 cup (8 oz) heavy whipping cream (Organic Valley)

1/4 cup (2 oz) chocolate chips (Enjoy Life)

2 Tablespoons granulated sugar 

1. In a small bowl, mix together 1/4 cup (2 oz) of the heavy whipping cream and chocolate chips.
2. Microwave the chocolate mixture for 30 seconds.
3. Stir to mix. If the chocolate chips have not melted, microwave for another 10 seconds. Then set aside to cool.
4. In a large bowl, whip 3/4 cup (6 oz) of the heavy whipping cream and sugar on a medium speed until soft peaks form. 
5. Swirl the melted chocolate into the whipped cream with a spatula.
6. With a small cookie scooper, scoop the mixture into the mini candy cups (or pop molds), about 3/4 full.
7. Insert popsicle sticks.
8. Freeze the pops overnight.
9. Peel off the candy cups before serving.

Allergy Info: These chocolate swirl pops are free from or can be made without eggs, corn, legumes (soy), wheat, nuts, and fish. Keep in mind that if you are super sensitive to corn, candy cups are coated with wax and/or lollipop sticks are made with glue which may contain corn. Silicon molds, wooden or bamboo popsicle sticks may be safer alternatives.