Traci Anello

The Power in Food


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The power of food

The power of food is nothing short of amazing.

This morning did not start out as I had intended. I woke up early to get to the health store to have a fresh squeezed juice before a long day of meetings. I was so excited about this juice that I decided when I got there I would get two: one for breakfast and one for lunch. Thirty miles later, the store was closed. So I went to a second store I knew of and it was closed too. Now I had 10 minutes to get to my meeting. When I got there, just seeing a friend I knew upon arrival was enough for me to take a deep breath and know its going to get better. Not that big a deal. Then she hands me this beautiful loaf of homemade cinnamon bread. On it was my name and the person it was from. At that point, I knew the day just got better. The love that resonates from a baked good hand made and presented with a little note confirmed to me that food IS love.

I’m very thankful for this beautiful loaf of bread.

Remember the next time you make something for someone, you’re giving them more than just a homemade treat.

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Are these really gluten free?

Most certainly this tray of cookies is free of all gluten. Assorted biscotti and shortbread make a simple decorative tray. Starting with easy to make base recipes, you can create quite a selection. Shortbread cookie dough can be transformed into linzor cookies, dessert bars, holiday cookie shapes and even just a simple shortbread to serve with afternoon tea.

Biscotti is a wonderful cookie to serve with a nice cup of espresso. Popular flavors are lemon, almond, white chocolate cranberry and my favorite, chocolate chip raisin with a hint of orange zest. Spend an afternoon making biscotti dough and assorted flavors. Roll into logs and freeze until ready to bake. I make several kinds and by the holidays, I just reach in the freezer and bake an incredible assortment. Biscotti ships well so if you know someone who is gluten free, surprise them with a homemade gift of cookies. Grandma Cookie will be proud.

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New England is home

The Atlantic Ocean alongside the Maine boarder is breathtaking tonight. The beautiful pink sky and rocky coast are the perfect setting to sit and ponder about my next post. This is New England. This is home, for now anyway.
It’s moments like these I reflect and I’m thankful I have the gift of creating different foods and types of cuisine for everyone. If you thought you could never have it again, I’ll find a way. I come to this spot and just imagine the what and how. Food is for everyone. It should look great and taste even better. Food is healing. Food is love. This is why I come to this view.

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Good morning autumn apples!

Waking up to a crisp fresh apple leads a girl to wonder “What am I going to do with you?”.
Little apple, you just grew up and became a donut. Today’s surprise was apple donuts with a warm maple cinnamon glaze. Open your senses to one of these little beauties and you will wonder how did gluten free become this good. If you’re not gluten free, use traditional flour and wonder how did life become so better.
With the help of a donut pan, these gems are baked, not fried. See ?..,Still getting better. They take about 10 minutes from mixing bowl to that sweet autumn glaze.
The next time you’re apple picking or at the farmers market, pick up a bag and create some new traditions.

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With help from Grandma Cookie

Every morning I’m working at hospice, I ask Grandma Cookie to join me. My dad’s mom who arrived from Sicily and settled in the Bronx, gives me the strength from within to make cookies from her childhood. Every weekend I make a variety of biscotti. Biscotti means “twice baked”. Mine are known as a soft biscotti so that the patients can enjoy them. Traditionally they are quite hard so they can hold up to the dip in espresso.
This picture is a “brick” of orange chocolate chip with raisins. They are cut at a soft angle which gives biscotti it’s signature shape. The trick to keeping the shape is to freeze your rolled cookie dough for about 2 hours before you bake it.
Once baked, the cookies cool. The kitchen smells wonderful and a small gathering begins around the coffee.

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