What The Food Gluten-Free

A Clean Kitchen Sponge?

2012-01-30T10:18:00.000-08:00

I'm certain you must have seen somewhere someone talking about keeping your kitchen sponges clean.
I am also certain I assumed it was common sense to keep your sponges clean, well maybe the term
would be disinfected.

If you Google "how to clean your sponge" the responses are many and varied. Mostly they
suggest the microwave or bleach. Some of the responses even tell you they've studied it and the
results are to do this or that. Others will tell you to use antibacterial soap and some to put in the dishwasher.
Some of these are valid and honestly each website says something different. Each website also says
that they studied this and that and this works better then that. OH WOW!

Something interesting to point out is the sponge makers on the dish sponge package instructs you
to DO NOT MICROWAVE the sponge!!!!! WHOA what, everywhere else suggests the microwave
so what to do? Oh there is a potential for a sponge to catch fire while in the microwave.

I grew up learning that boiling water was the best way to kill germs in the home kitchen
and you know what, I think I am right!

The instructions on some of the sponge packets tells you to boil the sponge and some tell you to rinse the
sponge thoroughly and allow to dry completely, both methods work just fine. The only downfall to allowing the sponge to dry completely is, well it's a sponge - sponges hold onto water and are in frequent use. The other suggestion is to replace the sponge often.

Here are some articles for you to consider:

This first article is a bit scientific and quite honestly I am not scientific at all! But if you are like me and your eyes glaze over then scan the article but read the second last paragraph which pretty much tells you to
boil the sponge for 5 minutes! Link

In this article, Scientific American Blog tells you dirt isn't so bad! No they are not suggesting you leave
your dish sponge dirty, I just want you to realize that spotless and sterile aren't where it's at! Clean yes,
clean is important as we don't want nasty germs infecting every aspect of our lives but being overly
clean isn't the best for us either.

Here is something else most of us learned while we were growing up; When in doubt, throw it out.

I will admit I didn't post a lot of links and the reason is there are as many different responses as there
are links and each one says something different. Many of the links suggested they are debunking myths
and that they are citing studies but most of them are just repeating information with no science to back them up. The only link I found that actually used science was the one I included and here it is again just in case you missed it the first time.
LINK

Promises, Promises

2011-12-20T21:59:00.000-08:00

I promise to get back to writing for this blog as soon as Christmas and New Years holiday is over.
Seriously I am so busy I barely spend anytime on the computer for now.

What can you look forward to?
Cookbook Reviews
Product Reviews
New Recipes

I promise.

Please come back after the New Year, I've much to share with you.

Thank you for reading What the Food ~ Gluten Free

Gluten-Free Donuts, Oh Yeah! A Review

2011-10-31T15:06:00.001-07:00

Do you miss donuts?

Better question may be have you had donuts since going gluten-free? I may have tried some but obviously they didn’t stand out because I can’t remember eating them, although I am certain I have. They must not have been something I’d eat twice. Ya know that’s my gold standard….

Would You Eat It Twice? That is THE question that always has to be answered when I try a new food.

To answer my own question I do miss donuts but no I haven’t really been eating them since I went gluten-free. Until now and yes I would eat them ~~twice~~ over and over and over again.

Let’s be clear I don’t think I am a patsy, if I don’t like something I will tell you or maybe I just won’t tell you about it at all. There have been times I have tried to create a new recipe and it’s been a total and utter FAIL. I have not told you about those times, I’ve thought about it but heck I like to think I create the perfect recipe every time. hahahaha AHEM alright back to donuts….

If I receive a product to review would you trust me to give you an honest review? You should. Truth in food is rather important to me, gluten-free is expensive enough and why waste our money on products we don’t enjoy. You all know I enjoy Luna gluten-free protein bars but if you check out the review you can see how I feel about some other bars and I don’t think I sugar-coat my reviews.

Back to donuts!!!
I haven’t been eating gluten-free donuts, really it’s been over 2 years since I even tried a gluten-free donut and I can’t remember what brand it was but I didn’t enjoy it. I think worse yet is that I haven’t tried any donuts since then because I didn’t want to waste my money. If I’m going to spend the money on a gluten-free dessert/snack type product I want to know I’m not wasting my money. I hate buying something with high expectations and then being disappointed and I’ve acquired the why bother attitude towards many of these foods. That really isn’t such a great attitude to have as there are many really good gluten-free foods out there.

I have found a donut I can remember and I will eat it again.

Kinnikinnick has a gluten-free pumpkin spice donut and it rocked my donut world. But it is only available for a limited time – really limited - November 30th!

Here we go; this donut transported me back to Michigan at the orchard eating fresh, warm cider donuts with a cup of hot apple cider. 15 seconds in the microwave and I could’ve swore I was eating a freshly made donut. I tried this donut out on gluten eaters and those that are gluten-free, everyone wanted to eat more of them. Fine I was handing out small bites to sample because I didn’t want to share. No really.

There is frosting on the donuts that I personally can live without but that’s because I am not as much of a sweet eater as I used to be, no one else seemed to think that way about the frosting though. An all around good donut, heck they are really good and I will be eating them again. I should say the donuts have just enough – just enough spice, just enough tenderness, just enough flavor, just enough of everything I want a pumpkin spice donut to have. I prefer them warmed slightly in the microwave, it softens them a bit and honestly it’s like eating a freshly made donut.

You should head on over to Kinnikinnick to try them out, after all they are in limited supply.

~Enjoy~

Coming Soon....

2011-10-25T21:55:00.000-07:00

Rather typical behavior for me is to spend every bit of summer outside in my garden and in the cooler weather months I spend much of my time in the kitchen. I have a garden photo blog where I post a photo a day and often more than one photo. Now that the weather is cooling off I spend a large amount of time in the kitchen and I've been busy reading new cookbooks, recipe testing and eating some new gluten free products.

Coming soon I have some exciting recipe reviews for you, I think you will love these new cookbooks. Okay I need to backtrack, I was given an early birthday gift - 2 gluten free cookbooks. I swear I am loving these books and so will you!!!

There are some new products I have had the privilege of trying, now please understand some of these products were given to me to try BUT in no way do I have to like these products. I would hope from reading my blog you would know I would tell you if I didn't like something. So far these gluten-free products that I have been trying I LOVE LOVE LOVE and I think you will too.

Autumn, my favorite cooking time of year, next to Christmas! I have a recipe I am converting to gluten free for Thanksgiving so I am looking forward to sharing that with you. A lot of eating and tasting and reading is going on, come back often to see whats going on.

Luna Gluten-Free Webcast

2011-09-19T11:08:00.000-07:00

I am so excited to be telling you about this.

Have you heard of Team Luna Chix? No! Then go, go now, well go after you read this and find out more.
They are amazing women athletes, not just athletes but everyday busy working women, business owners, Mom's and so much more that all want to be active. Not just active but kick-butt active (my definition of these women)!
On top of all of this we can add to the mix GLUTEN-FREE!!!!! Yeah I think it is a big deal, a gluten-free athlete. I run out of stamina all the time, this is a huge issue for me so I am more than excited to hear how an athlete of this magnitude maintains her stamina while being gluten-free.

The Team Luna Chix Program: The Team LUNA Chix Program brings together women interested in learning new sports, staying active and inspiring others to do the same. How exciting is this!

Instead of me trying to explain the details I am going to give you the information straight up from them!

ABOUT THE WEBCAST:

To celebrate the power of gluten free living and the brand’s recently launched gluten free Protein bars LUNA, the maker of the Whole Nutrition Bar for Women, invites you to join us for a 30 minute webcast onTuesday, September 20 at 8:30 a.m. PT/11:30 a.m. ET to hear directly from two of their Pro and local LUNA Chix stellar athletes about how they live, train and kick butt while being gluten free. As extra background, LUNA Chix is comprised of:

· LUNA Chix Pro Team - the most successful women’s team in endurance sports, featuring internationally recognized professional female triathletes, mountain bikers, runners, Xterra and cyclo-cross racers into a single team.

· Team LUNA Chix – a national program in which a diverse group of women – including stay-at-home moms, business owners, doctors, scientists, casual sports enthusiasts – voluntarily come together to learn new sports, stay active and inspire others to do the same.

LUNA Chix Pro Team member and professional triathlete Tyler Stewart, as well as her friend and Team LUNA Chix San Francisco Bay Area member, Kelly Oliver, will discuss their transitions to gluten free living and respond directly to your questions. Feel free to send your questions directly to me in advance, or you can tweet them through our Twitter hash tag #LUNAGlutenFree, or post them directly to LUNA’s Facebook page prior or during the webcast.

Gluten-Free Bar Review including Luna, Kind and Lara bars!!!

2011-08-02T11:41:00.000-07:00

Since going gluten-freeI've been looking for a snack. Snack may not be the correct term, I'd likesomething I can carry with me that doesn't take up much room but does providesome nutrition and keeps hunger at bay. Before going gluten-free there wereLuna Bars, both my daughter and I ate them and we are excited that there are nowa line of gluten-free Luna Bars, protein bars to boot. I've had hungerissues since going gluten-free and I do mean issues, pretty much when I'mhungry I feel like I'm starving and I need food NOW. My family can attest tothis, get out of my way while I get food! I’ve kept bars of some kind oranother in my purse for years, one always needs a snack. I look for the bars totake the edge off my hunger, killing the hunger would be even better and not besickly sweet, oh let’s not forget flavor – please please please taste good. Ohand anything healthy would be nice!!! Oh and a big DUH, they must begluten-free.

Something else to think about is nutrition and fiber! What are the ingredients, are they something you want in your diet? What about fiber, is there any? The gluten-free diet can use all the help it can get, we gluten-free women can have mal-absorption issues so it's important to consider what is in our food. Check out the bars you snack on and see what's in them.
I could do all the work for you but you have to know me better than that! I've always said do your research people, look at those labels.

On to the review:

Luna Protein Bars aredelicious, soft and chewy at the same time. I carry one in my purse at all times and pick up extras every time I amat the store. I was sick with a cold for most of the month of July which meansI had no sense of taste or smell, I tried the Luna Protein bars during thistime so my sense of taste was minimal – What I could taste was chocolate sothat’s not a bad thing. When you aresick you don’t really cook much and that is what happened at my house most oflast month, very little cooking. I was waking up in the morning with that starvingfeeling; Luna Protein Bars were sitting on the table so I ate one for breakfast….
Success! They take my mean hunger away and keep it at bay for at least an hourif not longer. For me this is a huge deal, taste good and has a decent amountof protein. Chocolate Peanut butter; 12 grams protein, 190 calories and 12sugars.

These next 2 bars are not protein bars but I have always carried them with meto stave off hunger which is why I am reviewing them together. Both of these next 2 are fruit and nut barsand I always assume fruit and nuts are healthy additions to my diet, that saidthey still don’t do much for my hunger. Read on-

Kind Bars while delicious don’t contain much in the way of protein butare high in sugar compared to the protein; Walnut & Date bar contain 3 gramsprotein and 16 grams sugar and 170 calories. While I love the taste I don'tappreciate what feels like a high sugar content (they are sweet) and they onlytake the edge off of my hunger. I will continue to eat them but they aremore of an enjoyable snack not a method to keep hunger down.

Lara Bars are the first bar I found after going gluten-free. WhileI find most flavors too sweet I do enjoy the peanut, cashew and the chocolatevarieties. I do appreciate the wide variety of flavors available but thebars always leave me hungrier (did I mention how sweet they are?). - Here is the rundown on the peanut bar; 220calories, 18 sugar grams and 7 protein grams. For me these are a snack, not ahunger killer.

With the low protein and high sugar content of thebars I like I don't even want to mention the ones I didn'tlike. Actually I can't mention them because once I tried and never ate again Inever remember what they were. My 19 year old daughter does remember andhere's what she had to say:

Gluten Free Luna Protien barsare my favorite of all the gluten free bars I've tried (Kind, thinkthin*,promax, etc). The texture isn't weird at all; it's a bit like raw cookie dough(not just the Cookie Dough bar, all of them!). The bars are filling, and arenot dry at all like some protein bars (Talking to you, Zone** bars). Theflavorings do not taste fake, they taste exactly the way they should! Evenbetter is that some of the bars have like... little rice crisps in them, thoughI'm not positive that's what they are. Hoping the grocery store I shop atstarts carrying more than just Peanut Butter and Cookie Dough!

*I do enjoy thinkThin Crunch bars quite a lot.** Zone bars are not gluten free but were eaten before going gluten-free

As you can I actually like the Luna Protein bars!
Now if only my stores would carry all the flavors!!!

Gluten-free Oatmeal Cookie Recipe Review

2011-07-26T10:35:00.000-07:00

For the past few weeks my daughter has been asking me to make gluten-free oatmeal cookies and I finally made them!

First and most importantly if you as a gluten intolerant person can tolerate oats you must make sure they are gluten-free oats.

More then a few companies sell certified gluten-free oats; Bob's Red Mill, Gluten Free Oats are the first 2 companies that come up when doing a Google search.
Many grocery stores that carry gluten-free items will have Bob's Red Mill gluten-free rolled oats although the quick oats can be more difficult to find in stores.

I was able to find the Bob's Red Mill gluten-free rolled oats at PCC Market in Edmonds, WA. after buying the oats all that was left was to find a recipe. I didn't really feel like doing much recipe researching at that moment so I opened my copy of 1000 Gluten-Free Recipes by Carol Fenster.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies were described as "large cookies, like Grandma used to make." From that description I ended up expecting a large flat chewy oatmeal cookie. What I ended up with was a round fat cookie that didn't spread and was more cakey~dry then chewy.

I'm not complaining, it just wasn't what I was expecting. The recipe has a small amount of butter,egg and sugar to the amount of flour which I think accounts for how the cookies turned out. It isn't a bad thing either - eating extra fat and sugar in my cookies isn't something I need to do all the time. But then again if I want cookies I want them my way which means more extra butter and sugar.

I would prefer the flat chewy cookie but these are alright with good flavor. My daughter on the other hand wasn't so happy with them because she was expecting a flat ~ chewy cookie. I maybe would eat them twice, she would not. Most likely I will not make this recipe again, too many cookies ended up uneaten as they were dry and stale rather quickly, granted they started out fairly dry in the first place.

Next time I will try the recipe from Smitten Kitchen but convert them to gluten- free.

You know how I LOVE to fiddle with recipes, I made this recipe as is, no fiddling and the recipe below is as it came out of the book. To be fair to recipe testing it's best to not fiddle.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
from 1,000 Gluten-Free Recipes by Carol Fenster
makes 18

1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 Tbsp molasses (not blackstrap)
1 egg
2 tsps pure vanilla (homemade is wonderful)
2 cups gluten-free flour blend
1 1/2 tsps xanthan gum
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt (too salty)
1 1/2 cup gluten-free rolled oats
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (I left these out)

1.Place a rack in the lower-middle position and another in the upper-middle position of the oven. Preheat the oven to 375°. Line two 15x10-inch nonstick (gray, not black) baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar with an electric mixer on low speed until smooth, about 1 minute. Beat in the egg, molasses, and vanilla just until blended. Gradually add the sorghum blend, xanthan gum, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, and salt and beat on low speed just until blended. Do not overbeat. Stir in the oatmeal, raisins, and walnuts. The dough will be fairly stiff.

3. Shape 18 balls of dough, each 1 1/2 inches in diameter, and place the balls at least 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet, 9 cookies per sheet. Roll the balls in hands for uniform shapes. Place one sheet on the lower-middle rack and another on the upper-middle rack of the oven.

4. Bake 15 to 18 minutes, or until the cookies start to brown around the edges, rotating the baking sheets between racks halfway through baking. Cool the cookies 2 to 3 minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely. Store tightly covered, for up to 2 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month.

Thank you for reading What The Food~Gluten Free

Happy 4th of July

2011-07-03T09:21:00.000-07:00

Enjoy your 4th of July in this wonderful United States of America!
Let freedom ring ~ and thank you to those that work to give us this freedom.

I haven't been writing much I know, I've been in a bit of a writers funk for some time now. I think about it all the time and maybe that's the problem. Maybe my funk is from my lack of baking, since I write about what I bake that makes sense! Oatmeal cookies, now that is the one thing I have baked lately that was new. Oh I do bake but often it's what I've made before and I don't want to bore you with what I've made before.

Anyways oatmeal cookies, I am reviewing the recipe ~

The oatmeal cookies were not what I expected. Would I make them again? Depends.

Enjoy your holiday and come back after the holiday, my review will be up soon.

Mango Icream ~ Naturally Gluten-Free

2011-06-02T10:04:00.000-07:00

Years ago and I do mean years ago, I was introduced to the ultimate dessert cookbook. I was attending a tech. school along with a young man that was also working at a local cafe known for their desserts. Oh the desserts, divine!
Little did I know the cafe made their desserts from a cookbook, a cookbook I too could own. What?! I could own the seceret to this cafe!

The Dessert Lovers Cookbook can now be found for under $10.00 but at the time I paid full price for this treasure. I've made many a recipe; Fresh Banana Cake with Banana Frosting (I've been paid to make this cake!), Hot Apple Cake with Caramel Pecan Sauce, Oreo Cheesecake, Lemonade Chiffon Cheesecake, Double-Crust Apple Pie with Custard, Fresh Peach Ice Cream and Marvelous Mango Ice Cream to name just a few. Every single thing I have made from this book are marvelous! The one recipe that I make more often then any other, well there are 2, the apple pie and the mango ice cream. The mango ice cream is seriously the one I make the most, the apple pie while I love it I don't make it as much because I don't like eating a whole pie! Kidding but it is that good!

If you know anything about me it's that I don't follow a recipe and this time is no different. The first time I made it I followed the recipe exactly but I was really young then! I've changed the recipe slightly over the years, I prefer a bit less sugar then the original calls for.

The recipe originally calls for very ripe mangos but I've since discovered a firm mango with pretty blush to the skin is just as fine and I prefer them this way as they aren't as musky. I also tend to use a bit less sugar, closer to 1 cup.

Marvelous Mango Ice Cream

2 mangos
1 1/2 cups half n half
1 1/2 cups milk
1 cup sugar * original recipe calls for 1 1/2 cups
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup orange juice * original recipe calls for 2/3 cup

Peel the mangos and cut into chunks, place in a bowl with the sugar, stirring occasionally. I let this sit and dissolve the sugar while I get everything else ready.
Once the sugar is dissolved puree the mango with the juices, swirl in the milk and half n half.
2 ways to make the mixture into a frozen treat; an ice cream maker or the freezer. No ice cream maker? No problem!

Pour the mixture into a wide shallow bowl or dish, leave in the freezer until slushy, stir well then place back in freezer as long as you can stand it!

Want to speed up the process? Freeze the mango/sugar mixture and keep the juices, milk and cream super chilled then puree.

We end up eating it soft serve because we just can't wait any longer.

IF you can't have dairy, try soy or coconut milk or increase the orange juice to 1 cup and skip the dairy then its more like sorbet!

Want to know how to peel and cut up a mango? There are plenty of videos and this one (youtube video) shows the simplest way to do it. You will notice in the video he is using an unripe mango which is excellent for fresh eating and salads, you may want a slightly riper mango for the ice cream. The center part where the seed is you just peel and slice the flesh off from around the large pit - most of the videos don't address this in a manner I approve!!! Many set this part aside or peel a huge amount of flesh off with the skin! Why would I throw away so much great fruit? When I am done getting all the mango off of the pit I nibble the rest off of the pit!

~Thanks for reading What the Food Gluten-Free~

2011-05-25T10:08:00.000-07:00

What the food ~ Gluten-free is on Facebook, check it out!

There are some things posted on Facebook that don't end up here and we can discuss food there! Stop on by!

Does gluten affect your ability to preform?

2011-05-17T14:14:00.000-07:00

If you ask Novak Djokovic the answer is yes, if you ask me the answer is yes. What exactly do I mean by perform? For Djokovic, a tennis player the answer would be sports performance. This article states: Clearly something has clicked for the Serb. But what?

My answer would be stamina, strength, brain clear of fog, ability to concentrate and all over feeling good. Could this be the difference for the famous tennis player? I'd say yes! It makes a difference for me!
How has it made a difference for you?

Gluten-free Meatloaf

2011-05-15T11:22:00.000-07:00

I'm fairly certain meatloaf is a food I can eat often, maybe even weekly.

Meatloaf was one of my Dad's favorite foods and it was one of the foods he enjoyed as he neared the end of his life. This is why I haven't been blogging too much recently.
I made meatloaf the other day in memory of my Dad and although my Dad didn't eat gluten-free I think this recipe is pretty close to the meatloaf our family ate when I was a kid. I'm fairly certain this would be considered a classic American meatloaf with the sweet ketchup topping.

This recipe makes a 9 x 13 pan full of meatloaf which was always enough to feed my bunch - me and and the 3 men in my life (my honey and 2 adult sons). Mostly now it's just my honey and myself but I make this size meatloaf anyways because A. we love it and B. we went leftovers.

Gluten-free Meatloaf

3 pounds ground meat; 2 lbs ground beef and 1 lb ground pork
4 eggs
1/4 cup gluten-free bread crumbs ***I prefer EnrG brand as it's local to the Seattle area
1/4 cup buttermilk
half yellow onion, chopped
2-4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 TBSP parsley, fresh or dried
1 tsp each rosemary and sage, fresh or dried
Topping
1/2 cup ketchup
2 TBSP brown sugar
1 tsp. mustard

Preheat oven to 350
Chop the garlic and herbs together with a 1/2 tsp salt.
In a small skillet heat 1 TBSP olive oil, sauté on low the onion, garlic and fresh herbs until the onion is translucent. Set aside to cool.

In a large bowl combine the eggs, bread crumbs and buttermilk (don't let this sit it will congeal), stir in the cooled onion mixture an additional 1/2 tsp salt and pepper to taste (about a 1/2 tsp). Spray a baking pan with non stick cooking spray, evenly press the meat mixture into the pan. Place in preheated 350 oven, bake for 45 minutes, remove from oven and remove any excess fat from the edges ~ this requires a bit of skill or luck ~ tilt the pan by placing one end on extra hot pad and use a spoon or a baster to remove the excess fat.
Mix topping ingredients together, spread the topping evenly over the meatloaf, return to the oven for 15 minutes.

ENJOY!!!!

~thank you for reading What The Food Gluten Free~

4 Ingredient Dinner

2011-04-24T11:23:00.000-07:00

4 ingredients, sounds simple right? Well it is!
I wouldn't call it a gourmet meal and I'm not sure it's good for me ~ although it does contain onions and cabbage so I like to think it has some redeeming qualities.
Before you tell me how horrible you think this might turn out let me just say if you like ground beef or cabbage oh and your not a food snob (haha) then you should like this, the sour cream doesn't taste like sour cream when you blend it in ~ it tastes more like a cream sauce.

4 ingredient dinner

1 lb. lean ground beef
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 cabbage, sliced thick
1/3 cup sour cream
salt and pepper to taste (they don't count as ingredients if your counting)

In a large skillet cook the ground beef until almost cooked through, drain off fat and add in the onions. Brown the ground beef a bit and let the onions cook until translucent, stir in the cabbage ~ season with salt and pepper. Cook over medium heat stirring every so often until the cabbage is mostly cooked through. Remove from heat and stir in the sour cream.

Thats all there is to it. Serve with rice, hash browns, mashed potatoes etc.

The search for Gluten-Free Bread via Saveur and Silvana Nardone

2011-04-11T09:24:00.000-07:00

Those of us that ever baked wheat based yeast bread and now eat gluten free never stop wishing to bake bread again. Not just any bread but really good, worth eating, worth baking, made by our own hands: Gluten-free sandwich bread.

The amount of testing to create such a bread is immense and I am very thankful that other people do this. Why don't I do this? Hmmmm let me count the ways - time and cost of ingredients and the dislike of failures and throwing away expensive gluten-free ingredients. Silvana Nardone did all this testing and feels she has come up with the answer.

Go read the article at Saveur, try the recipe and then report back here. I have yet to try the recipe but I am excited to be trying it in the next few days and then I will report back here!

Looking forward to hearing from you.

What is your go to food?

2011-04-05T21:40:00.000-07:00

What is your go to frequent food? I'm not really talking comfort food although I have those (rice pudding, chowder). What I'm really talking about is that food that you keep in the house that you go to when you need it, daily or weekly. A snack, or a cup of tea/coffee or both, maybe a yogurt or a piece of fruit?

For me in the afternoon I like a cup of hot tea - a caffeine tea usually or a cup of coffee along with chocolate chips and with those chocolate chips I need a nut or a dried fruit. It isn't that I eat a lot of this, just a little scoop will do for me.
Maybe not every day but pretty close to it! There has always been a spot in my kitchen for chocolate chips, dried fruits and raw nuts. It feels like its almost a healthy afternoon pick me up that I cant live without.

Is there a food that cannot be missing from your kitchen?

2011-02-27T21:55:00.001-08:00

The blog will be on a short break while I visit my childhood home and family.

Should you eat gluten free?

2010-12-29T13:25:00.001-08:00

According to Nadine Grzeskowiak, RN, CEN the answer is a resounding YES! I don’t think she really means everyone but what she does mean is quite simple, if you are sick then YES. The reason she suggest this is also quite simple; NO TEST IS 100% accurate.

Here is what she has to say regarding this: The main reason I would dare to make such a statement is because we have been so negligent in recognizing and treating people with celiac disease. Not a day goes by that I don’t hear about or speak to someone directly who has suffered needlessly for years. The other main point I want to make is that NONE of the currently available testing is 100%.

You can read the whole article here. A great resource is at Nadine’s website; Gluten Free Rn.

How did I find out I needed to eat gluten-free? I followed the elimination diet. For years I searched for answers as to why I was sick and today I don’t tolerate people that complain about their health but rely on pills for the fix without ever trying the elimination diet. Oh but my Dr said it can’t be a food allergy/intolerance. This is a personal pet peeve of mine, since when did when did a Dr become the smartest person on the planet? Not trying to bash Drs at all but I am trying to help people understand that many Drs are not knowledgeable about food intolerances, especially gluten intolerance. In no way am I suggesting I am the smartest person on the planet but I am the smartest person regarding my own health and in the end I am the ONE responsible for my health.

You may have noticed I use the terms gluten-intolerance, allergy and Celiac as though they are the same. They are not exactly the same but what is the same is they all lead to the same thing, AVOID the offending food. Honestly it doesn’t matter how you were diagnosed and it doesn’t matter what you call it as long as you are taking care of your health. Please if you don’t feel good and you can’t find the answers then do yourself a huge favor and try the elimination diet. A suggestion for mother’s that are breast feeding, if your baby is always fussy or colicky please look into the elimination diet – I wish someone had suggested it to me when I was the mother with the fussy/colicky baby.

For more information on the elimination diet check out these places: Wikipedia and my personal favorite; Natural News.

If you wonder what health symptoms may suggest a gluten intolerance there are many sites with this info. A few symptoms for you to think about; migraines, asthma, headaches, digestion woes, gas, bloating, constipation, diarrhea, weight gain, weight loss, fatigue, mouth sores, rashes, discolored teeth or loss of enamel (think cavities), tingling in feet or hands, menstrual problems (heavy and or missed), anemia, IBS, depression, infertility, brain fog, poor memory, appetite – ALWAYS HUNGRY, joint pain, muscle cramping, seizures, stomach PAIN, type 1 diabetes, auto immune disorders, Addison’s disease, rheumatoid arthritis, birth defects, miscarriage, malabsorption AND THE LIST GOES ON.

The National Foundation for Celiac Awareness – nfca is one of the best resources on the web. Go, do it, check it out. You may be surprised. Here is the link to their checklist.

You may ask why I write this? I hate to see people suffer, I am passionate that if you don’t feel good you need an answer. Maybe wheat/gluten free isn’t the answer for you but if you take anything from this I want it to be that you are your best advocate. Do your research and try the elimination diet, what have you got to lose? The pain and suffering you go through because your body is trying to tell you something.

Be good to yourself.

Technorati Tags: migraines,asthma,headaches,digestion woes,gas,bloating,constipation,diarrhea,weight gain,weight loss,fatigue,mouth sores,rashes,discolored teeth or loss of enamel (think cavities),tingling in feet or hands,menstrual problems (heavy and or missed),anemia,IBS,depression,infertility,brain fog,poor memory,appetite,ALWAYS HUNGRY,joint pain,muscle cramping,seizures,stomach PAIN,type 1 diabetes,auto immune disorders,Addison’s disease,rheumatoid arthritis,birth defects,miscarriage,malabsorption,gluten intolerance,celiac,wheat allergy

Triple Chocolate~Gluten-free Brownies that will rock your chocolate world!

2010-12-14T15:36:00.000-08:00

Gosh that’s a big intro but I really do think these gluten-free brownies are capable of rocking your chocolate world. The brownies are rich but not too rich plus you can always eat a small piece if you think they are too rich! How do you like that solution? Honestly would I steer you wrong in the world of chocolate?! Rich, dense, cakey, chewy and of course chocolaty oh and easy to make – there’s nothing more you could want from a brownie.

Rose’s Christmas Cookies by Rose Levy Beranbaum has been one of my favorite cookbooks for YEARS and my copy is full of bookmarks and scribbles and drops of age old batter here and there. Did I mention I LOVE this book. Sadly though when I went gluten free I put the book aside, I mourned many of my cookbooks. When would I use them again? Silly girl, anytime you want! Did you know that many regular recipes can be turned into gluten free recipes? It takes a bit of tweaking, gluten-free flour, xanthan gum and a quality recipe, if you start out with a respected cookbook author many a times you can make a gluten free version. That is the key, a really good recipe to start out with.

Rose’s Christmas Cookies has a brownie recipe in it, a cocoa brownie at that! Shush you gaspers. I know there is a belief that brownies must be made with all kinds of gourmet chocolates but this recipe breaks that belief. Think you have too many brownie recipes already? Of course most have a favorite recipe for brownies and I’ve got a recipe from a friend that I always make but I’ve been wanting to try this recipe and I’ve been wanting to convert recipes so here goes:

Gluten-Free Triple Chocolate Brownies
based on Cocoa Brownies by Rose Levy Beranbaum

14 Tbsps/7oz butter
1/2 cup plus 2 tsps.Saco Cocoa *** Saco Cocoa is gluten-free and yummy***
1 cup plus 3 Tbsps. sugar
3 large eggs *** at room temp OR warmed in a bowl of hot tap water***
2 tsps. gluten-free vanilla *** I’m using homemade but McCormick's is gluten free as are many brands***
1/2 cup gluten-free flour *recipe below
1/2 tsp. xanthan gum
pinch salt
3/4 cup dark chocolate chips *Guittard is gluten free
1/4 cup white chocolate chips
optional, crushed candy canes *Spangler is gluten free

Preheat the oven to 325°. Line an 8x8 pan with parchment paper and spray with nonstick cooking spray (gluten-free of course). The parchment paper doesn’t lay in the pan nicely but it won’t matter once you put the batter in. Wax paper will do also.
Whisk the flour with the xanthan gum and the salt, set aside. In a medium saucepan on low heat melt the butter OR in a medium bowl microwave on low heat. Remove from the heat and stir in the cocoa until its smooth, stir in the sugar, then the eggs then the vanilla. Stir in the flour mixture, the batter may get thick but don’t worry this is fine. Stir in the dark chocolate chips ONLY, the white is for drizzling over the top.
Scoop the batter into the prepared pan, yes the paper has popped out and yes the batter will put it back in place – you may have to even it out a bit though. Spread the batter to the edges and even the top out. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, watching closely towards the end. To test the brownies insert a toothpick in the center, moist crumbs will stick to it, the pick won’t come out dry – this is important otherwise the brownies will be over baked and dry. I use a glass pan which seems to be a bit smaller on the inside making the brownies taller but this increases my baking time slightly, it takes mine 38 minutes. Place on a wire rack to cool, let them cool as much as possible. I’m laughing to myself as I write this, of course they are supposed to cool in the pan completely but I can never wait that long. If you used parchment or wax paper you should be able to lift the whole thing out of the pan while they are still slightly warm.
Melt the white chocolate chips with 1 tsp coconut oil or shortening, the purpose of this is to keep the white chocolate smooth and of drizzling quality. I don’t own a double boiler but a metal bowl over a pan of hot water works just fine, don’t boil the water the chocolate won’t like it at all. Once melted and smooth drizzle the white chocolate over the brownies in any pattern you desire. Crushed candy canes can be sprinkled onto the white chocolate while it’s still soft. Cut into 2 inch squares or into small squares for brownie bites.
Gluten-free flour blend

1 1/2 cups brown rice flour or sorghum flour
1 1/2 cup cornstarch or potato starch or a combination of both (I've done this when I run low on one or the other)
1 cup tapioca flour
Blend well and store in a cool dry place.

~Enjoy and thank you for reading What The Food Gluten-free~

Technorati Tags: gluten-free,gluten-free brownies,gluten-free triple chocolate brownies,gf brownies,gf baking,eating gluten-free

Apple Pie POLL

2010-11-18T17:33:00.000-08:00

It is apple pie time of the year don't ya think? With Thanksgiving just around the corner it's for sure apple pie time. With that in mind, take the poll over there ->
My curious mind wants to know if you prefer your apple pie with a crumb topping or a double crust?

I prefer, heck I LOVE crumb topping.

The Best of Gluten-Free Awards and a giveaway of Triumph Dining cards!

2010-11-17T09:54:00.000-08:00

The BEST of gluten-free Awards!

Do you have a gluten free product you just love and wish you could tell everyone about it? Of course you do!!! Now is your chance to vote for your favorite gluten free product. BUT WAIT THERE’S MORE! Triumph Dining is giving away FREE 2000 five-pack of American Dining Cards.

There are ONLY 2000 giveaways and they are expecting quite a few people to enter so you better get on that voting.

Here’s the skinny; the Chef takes 1 minute to read the card alerting the Chef to what you cannot eat and includes information on cross contamination, the card fit in your wallet or purse easily as they are laminated and won’t get roughed up with use and they cover American restaurants in various languages.

How many times have you wanted to eat at a restaurant but weren’t able to communicate with the staff what your concerns are? I’ve had this happen more than once and it is quite frustrating but we have access to some great products here to help us with this.

The Best of Gluten-Free Awards is happening now, what are you waiting for get going, be one of the first 2000 to VOTE and you could WIN. GO GO GO NOW

P.S. watch for my review of the Triumph restaurant guide coming soon.

Thanks for reading ~What the Food Gluten-Free~

Gluten- Free Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

2010-10-22T12:08:00.000-07:00

Warm from the oven, mmmmmmmmm!

We are eating muffins today, gluten-free pumpkin chocolate chip muffins, muffins we LOVE!

I've made these many many times and I've written about these before. When I looked at the recipe I wondered if any of you didn't make them because of the flour recipe I included?! That flour recipe makes exactly the right amount of flour for the pumpkin recipes, it is a bit more healthy then many of the flours out there and most importantly they taste wonderful. There isn't a person that eats these that doesn't like them and no one ever says; OH these are gluten free for sure. Nope nada, no guesses to such a thing.

Try them with any flour or flour combination you want to try for example; 1 1/2 cups sorghum flour, 3/4 cup potato starch and 3/4 cup cornstarch

Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins

Makes about 24 muffins

1/2 cup olive oil
2 1/2 cups sugar
4 large eggs (warmed in a bowl of hot water)
2 cups (or one 15 oz. can)pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
I've been using Farmer's Market Foods Organic Pumpkin
1/2 cup water
3 1/3 cups flour blend *recipe follows*
1 1/2 teaspoons xanthan gum
3 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 cups chocolate chips Guittard or Ghiradelli are both gluten free

1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional, I have always left these out because I wanted the kids to like the muffins)
***I buy my vanilla, nutmeg and cinnamon from The Spice House

Preheat the oven to 350 while you are preparing the muffin batter.
In a large bowl, mix together your dry ingredients with a whisk, making sure to blend well. In a smaller bowl whisk together the wet ingredients. Make a well in the center of your dry ingredients and mix until well blended. Your goal here isn't to super blend, you just want to make sure the dry ingredients are completely blended with the wet ingredients. I like to use a scrapper for this, it folds everything together quite well and then smashes any dry ingredients that lumped together.
Stir in the nuts and chocolate chips if you are using them. We haven't ever made these without the chocolate chips because the chocolate is one of the reasons we eat these muffins. BUT If you are not a chocolate eater then toffee chips or cinnamon chips would be nice.

Line the muffin pan with muffin papers while the batter rests, then scoop out enough batter into each cup to fill them to the top.

Bake at 350 for 35 minutes.

I like to rotate my pans half way through the baking because the back of the oven browns faster then the front. Also these muffins have never taken less then 35 minutes to bake, if anything they sometimes have taken 40 minutes. BUT be careful, under baked gluten free is GROSS but they can go from just right to too dark in that extra 5 minutes. Best advice is know your oven and keep a watchful eye on the muffins if after 35 minutes they need a bit more time. Let cool on wire rack. I prefer to take the muffins out of the pan as soon as they come out of the oven and not cool in the pan at all.

The muffin recipe is loosely based on one I found on The Baking Circle, Emmy's Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins.

* Gluten free flour blend, I have only used this blend for this recipe but I will be using it for other quick breads*

1 1/4 cups sorghum flour
2/3 cup millet flour
1/2 cup bean flour
1/4 cup coconut flour
2 TBSP. flaxseed meal
1/4 cup potato starch
Blend very well together

This flour recipe was based on a recipe in a book by Donna Washburn & Heather Butt
The Complete Gluten-Free Cookbook

~When I write out recipes I am assuming that you the reader know that you need to use gluten free vanilla and gluten free baking powder and gluten free chocolate chips and so on~

What happens when you can't have wheat

2010-10-22T10:34:00.000-07:00

Have you wondered what happens to people when they can't have wheat/gluten and they eat some accidentally? Have you wondered why it's such a big deal when they get upset that there might be a bread crumb laying around? Have you ever thought a person with a food "allergy" is faking it?

I will admit I don't follow celebrity chefs much, heck I didn't really know who Michael Ruhlman was before I read this article and I hadn't heard of Carol Blymire either. I know, I know if I like to cook and I write about it shouldn't I know who's who in the cooking world? I know who Julia Child is and after that I quit paying attention because I've always been more interested in what people eat at home. I follow other blogs and I do watch Foodtv sometimes so yes I am aware of who Tyler Floernce is because I've tend to pay attention to the chefs that make food I'd actually like. Of course I know who Anthony Bourdain is but not because he is a chef but because he eats street food!

Back to my point, what happens when a person eats wheat when they can't? Do you really want to know?
I for one try to never really talk about it, I tend to tell people it's like the worst flu you can imagine. Details, oh no I don't think you need the details. But wait, maybe you do.

Carol Blymire "rants" about what it's really like, Michael Ruhlman hints that he may have been insensitive.
My apologies to those that don't know about gluten intolerance/Celiac but in my experience people can be insensitive

Take a look at Michael Ruhlmans conversation with Carol, she literally spills the beans on what it's like.

Carol spills them better than I ever could and when I say she spills the beans she tells you exactly what happens when she eats wheat. Oh did I mention it is the exact same thing that happens to me and almost everyone I know that can't have wheat but eats it accidentally.
We don't eat wheat intentionally, we hope that people respect that we get ILL when we do and keep it away from our food. If your bread crumb gets in my butter, I butter my gluten free bread and your bread crumb gets on my gluten-free bread then I eat it and this my friend is what I fear. I fear a bread crumb, literally a bread crumb can make me sick. A tiny piece of anything containing wheat touching my food can make me sick, a tiny piece you can't see can make me sick. It takes me days to recover, right now as I write this I am on day 3 of a headache that started with some wheat somewhere in my food. Usually if I accidentally get some wheat I can pinpoint where it came from, this time I can only guess at where it came from.
If my family or friends are reading this, yes this is why I tweak out when you eat bread in the kitchen!

Show this article to those that just don't get it and maybe, just maybe they will.

Gluten free recipe contest with Thai Kitchen and Celiac Central

2010-10-20T08:44:00.000-07:00

Do you cook, do you come up with your own recipes? Do you think your recipes are the best? Have you heard of Thai Kitchen or Celiac Central? How about you head on over to Celiac Central and take a look at the Gluten-Free recipe contest; the theme is Cool Weather Cooking with Thai Kitchen Recipe Contest.

Great prizes are available and you would have bragging rights if you win! What are you waiting for?
Get going on creating your gluten free recipe.

Bisquick Gluten-Free Review

2010-10-18T15:59:00.000-07:00

Most everyone has heard of Bisquick and there are countless recipes out there using it, this was great unless you eat gluten-free. That is until recently when a gluten-free Bisquick came to stores near you and me. Rejoicing is heard across the nation!!! Oh, well, maybe not but then again, maybe! Baking gluten free requires various flours and mixes and combinations of flours which can get spendy and time consuming.
While I do use a variety of these flours and yes I bake fairly well this way there are times when I want something easy and I want something to turn out like it’s supposed to. Biscuits are not always so wonderful gluten-free and I’ve made a few and while they were alright I like the ease and consistency that comes from using a mix.

Today’s post comes from MelK, if you’d ever like to review a product just give me a holler!

Biscuits and Gravy – Gluten Free!

I’d like to start out with stating that in my opinion good tasting gluten-free biscuits are the hardest to make and find. This is probably not completely true for most, but for me it has rung true over and over. If they turn out at first then after they cool off the biscuit crumbles to pieces before you can really enjoy them, but this is not true for Bisquick’s gluten-free mix for biscuits.

We were hesitant to buy it at first due to the price mainly, but after seeing the price drop a little decided to toss it in the shopping cart this past week. I’ll admit my main reason to want biscuits was so that we could use the home-made strawberry-rhubarb jam we purchased in Grand Coulee last weekend (so good). : )

Ok, back to the biscuits… coming from a person who has used non-GF Bisquick mix in the past the texture was more grainy (as is most rice flour), but the ingredients to make it were the same and very few which is nice (eggs, shortening, and milk). It mixed up well and while baking they fluffed up and browned nicely. But the real test was after they cooled off a bit and we were ready to eat --- and they passed with flying colors! No crumbling, remained fluffy and cut easily. Yay! Finally an easy to make, great tasting gluten-free biscuit! Spread on some butter, jam, and cover in gluten-free breakfast gravy for a tasty morning treat.

Side note: I also used the Bisquick mix to make the gravy instead of using rice flour. It was already out and worked really well; made for a sweet, buttery tasting gravy.

Also, it’s been 4 hours since breakfast and the left-over biscuits are still soft, not hard like a rock as some gluten-free bread items tend to be when they cool off.

I recommend Bisquick’s Gluten-Free Mix to anyone and you can find it at almost any grocery store (Safeway, Wal-Mart, Albertson’s).

Chocolate Cake ~ Gluten Free and One Bowl

2010-10-05T15:25:00.000-07:00

The other day an old friend of the family’s had a birthday and I know he loves his chocolate. He isn’t gluten free though but I am and I was the one baking the cake which meant I was baking a gluten free chocolate cake. Now that’s settled, what cake shall I make? I’m in the middle of canning pickles and jams and peppers and now I’m going to bake a cake! This better be a quick easy cake, well yes as a matter of fact it was and it was quick and easy.
A few pointers on this cake; it makes 1 9” cake but it is a BIG 9” cake, if you chose to split the cake in half to fill it then I suggest planning ahead because the cake can fall apart easily when you try to do this – solution is to freeze the cake for an hour to firm it up for slicing. While the cake is baking make your frosting as it needs time to chill.
If you double this recipe you will have 2 HUGE 9” cakes that will make one heckuva HUGE layer cake. When I say HUGE I do mean HUGE!

One bowl gf chocolate cake
1 1/2 cups gluten free flour
1/2 cup cocoa
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp xanthan gum
1/3 cup oil
1 tsp vanilla
2 egg
1 cup buttermilk

Grease a 9" pan, preheat oven to 350
Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl and whisk them well.
Mix the oil, vanilla, egg and buttermilk together then mix with the dry ingredients.
Pour into prepared cake pan and bake for 30-35 min.
Be careful to not over bake or the cake will be dry.

I like to freeze the cake for at least an hour so I can cut the cake in half easily, fill the cake with some of the French Silk Frosting, make a ridge of frosting around the top edge of the cake and then top with cherry pie filling (homemade is best).
Serve with whipped cream, plan on having no leftovers! (which is why there isn't a photo)

I used the French Silk Frosting from Mennonite Girls Can Cook, I only used a little bit of the frosting and keep the rest in the fridge for the next cake.

French Silk Frosting
1/2 cup butter (no substitutes)
3/4 cup granulated sugar (not icing sugar)
6 tablespoons Fry's cocoa ***I used Saco Cocoa
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs (pasteurized eggs are an option)
Cream butter and sugar until fluffy.
Add cocoa and vanilla; beat.
Add eggs one at a time, beating for about 5 minutes after each addition.
Chill before spreading.

Gluten free flour you can use 1/2 cup sorghum or brown rice flour, 1/2 cup cornstarch and 1/2 cup potato starch

Allergy Eats on Applebee’s

2010-09-30T15:47:00.000-07:00

If you have a food allergy and you aren’t familiar with Allergy Eats, now would be a good time to find out about them. This information was taken directly from their About page:

By the people, for the people…

AllergyEats is a comprehensive, user-friendly guide to allergy-friendly restaurants across the United States. It is a peer-reviewed directory of restaurants – rated by people with food allergies, for people with food allergies.

Our database has over 600,000 restaurant listings across the U.S. – from large chains to small mom and pops, from gourmet to greasy spoons. We’ve laid the groundwork by providing you with menus – including kids’, gluten-free, and allergy-specific – where available, as well as any other relevant information from restaurants.

The rest is up to you. Use AllergyEats to help yourself and others by identifying restaurants that can or cannot accommodate your needs. Then rate the restaurant by answering three quick questions. It takes less than a minute!

Our ratings are driven by you the user; restaurants do not participate in these ratings. However, AllergyEats does strive to work with restaurants, allergy networks and the public to increase the amount of information we can share with you.
We’re thrilled to see an increasing number of restaurants responding to the growing concern about food allergies and intolerances. Increasing numbers of restaurants are training their staff about food allergies and publishing allergy information on menus. With more than 12 million of us (one out of 25 Americans) living with food allergies, we’d like to see this become standard practice. In the meantime we hope AllergyEats can serve as a valuable guide to allergy-friendly dining on the go.

What about that title you may ask? Allergy Eats have been asking Applebee’s for their allergen information, alas Applebee’s has chosen to not provide this information to them or anyone else for that matter. When you have a food allergy and you go grocery shopping you count on labeling to protect you from harm. Labels aren’t just helpful for allergens, if you are watching your weight, eating sugar free or staying away from certain ingredients for health or personal reasons, you know you can count on the food labels in the grocery store. While this system may not be perfect and some labels can be confusing at least there is a system in place that does try. I have always stated that you are your own best advocate. When buying a food item, if the label isn’t clear then you contact the company.

I have done this often and will continue to do so.
My point in all of this is what? Restaurants prepare and serve us food; we are depending on them to keep us healthy and safe! This may seem an odd statement because most people go out to eat just to eat while they assume the food is safe. Safe, which way do you mean? Safe because the perishables were handled properly and excellent sanitation was used. Safe does not include allergen information at all restaurants. If you are allergic to seafood I think its safe (pun intended) to say you won’t be eating at Duke’s Chowder House but if you are gluten free you could plan a trip to Duke’s Chowder House because they will accommodate you.
Of course restaurants, bakeries, cafes and coffee houses want to keep their recipes to themselves and yes there are proprietary foods out there but we as a consumer have the right to be safe.

I don’t need your recipe I just need to know if your food has gluten, corn or high fat or too much sodium.
If Applebee’s as a company chooses not to give me any assurances then I can choose not to eat at an Applebee’s NEVER EVER and I can choose to pass this information on to as many people as I can.
Please head on over to Allergy Eats and read the latest on Applebee’s. While you are there browse the site and get acquainted with the restaurant guide, you won’t be disappointed (unless you were looking for Applebee’s to be on the friendly list).

Thanks for reading What the Food~Gluten Free

Gluten-Free Tasting Event at Nature's Market in Kent, WA

2010-09-30T10:54:00.000-07:00

If you have ever wondered if you will ever find a gluten-free bread worth eating ever then it sounds like you need to head on over to the Gluten-Free Tasting Fair at Nature's Market in Kent, WA.

This is the store's 8th annual tasting event being held on October 2nd from 10 am to 4 pm and on October 3rd from 10 am to 4 pm. The store carries over 500 gluten-free items along with a large selection of organic foods, sounds like great shopping!

Celiac Central aka National Foundation of Celiac Awareness

2010-09-21T16:00:00.000-07:00

I am totally psyched to tell you that my blog is on the list of Celiac Bloggers at the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness. There is a great group of bloggers listed there and I am honored that they are now including my blog.

When you head over there to check out the list of blogs make sure you check out their other pages; Celiac Symptoms, Diagnosis and Treatment, Related Diseases (if you didn't know there are quite a few diseases associated with Celiac Diseases), Facts & Figures (for example-Three million Americans across all races, ages and genders suffer from celiac) and personal stories.

In case you are wondering what the NFCA (National Foundation for Celiac Awareness) is about, they are a national organization raising awareness of celiac disease among us the people and the healthcare community. They help to facilitate research to better understand celiac disease.
"NFCA is affiliated with the leading researchers internationally and supports collaboration and partnership among scientists and institutions to optimize research potential with the goal of improving the quality of life for those who have celiac disease."

There is a plethora of information waiting for you so what are you waiting for, head on over to Celiaccentral.org!

Visiting Westport, WA and the amazing seafood we ate!

2010-09-13T11:01:00.000-07:00

We've had a very busy summer and needed a break, we chose to go to Westport, WA for a couple of days and boy oh boy our tastebuds and tummy's were happy with that decision.

This is the Seafood Connection, we were able to walk in and

purchase fresh seafood. Prices couldn't have been better along

with the fact that the seafood was amazing.

Float 8 is where you will find the Seafood Connection.

Our take!

When it comes to preparing seafood we feel that keeping it simple is the best way to go.
Other then a package of crab boil for the crab, we used garlic and butter on the Spot Prawns.

If you've never had Spot Prawns do yourself a favor and try them, they are

amazingly sweet and oh so filling. I will be dreaming of these often!

As you can see some of the prawns came with roe. We did try it

but there wasn't really any flavor to it while the prawns on the other hand are divine.

Don't eat the ones with open mouths!

Gluten Free Pound Cake Lemon~Coconut

2010-09-09T20:54:00.000-07:00

I’d wanted to make a cake that would hold up to fresh fruit, a pound cake seemed like a great idea as I didn’t want a typical yellow cake/layer cake. A pound cake would be the perfect cake, holding up well with a variety of fresh fruits and berries.

I turned to 1000 Gluten-Free Recipes by Carol Fenster and I almost always make a recipe my own, I like to consider the recipe an outline or a guide. The recipe for Bundt Pound Cake sounded like what I needed. Instead of using a flour blend I used 1 cup each of brown rice flour, cornstarch and potato starch, added coconut and lemon juice. This is a wonderful firm cake; it needs an icing or fruit with it.
****It was brought to my attention I left the coconut out of the recipe! OOPS sorry about that, 1 cup flaked coconut and I use sweetened because that's whats at my local store****

Bundt Pound Cake

½ cup butter at room temperature
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs, room temp (or soak in a bowl of hot water)
1 cup brown rice flour
1 cup cornstarch
1 cup potato starch
1 ½ tsps xanthan gum
¾ tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 ¼ cups buttermilk
¼ cup lemon juice
1 Tbsp lemon zest
2 tsp pure vanilla
1 cup flaked, sweetened coconut

Place rack in middle of oven. Preheat oven to 325°. Generously grease a 10-inch Bundt pan, set aside.
In a mixing bowl, beat the butter on medium speed until smooth. Add sugar and continue beating until well blended. Mix in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the brown rice flour, cornstarch, potato starch, xanthan gum, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
On low speed blend in the lemon zest and vanilla, alternately blend in the buttermilk and the blended dry ingredients, ending with the dry ingredients. Gently stir in the coconut. You are just mixing the ingredients together, not beating the batter. Make sure to scrape the bowl down a few times.
Spread the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing to even out.
Bake 55-60 minutes, edges will be golden brown while the top may be shimmery. A toothpick will come out dry but be careful to not overbake or your cake will be dry.
Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes then remove cake from pan cooling on wire rack.

Market Fruit Finds

2010-09-07T21:38:00.000-07:00

My daughter and I stopped by a new produce market in Everett, WA tonight. It is next to another
market but this one is cleaner and has the most amazing produce.

The sign said fresh dates. Mostly they were very hard while a few were extremely soft.
I am going to look up fresh dates as I know nothing about them, should I have bought some?

Take a look at these watermelons, quite inexpensive and wow what color!

I've no idea what these are, I can guess at a type of squash, melon or bean but honestly I don't know and there wasn't a sign.

Of course these are eggplant, they were beautiful.

Seattle Mariners offer gluten free night

2010-08-10T22:36:00.000-07:00

The Mariners are offering a gluten free night in a gluten free section on
Tuesday, August 31st .

Details: Angels vs Mariners gates open at 5:10 first pitch at 7:10

Gluten free hot dogs, gluten free hot dog buns, gluten free beer along with
gluten free fish and chips!!!!!

All in a special section just for gluten free!

Go visit the Mariners for tickets.

Blog Hopping

2010-08-08T13:24:00.000-07:00

I hope you notice the Blog Hopping page I've added.
Please sign up so we can visit your blog.
~Thank you~

Foodbuzz browsing

2010-08-08T12:23:00.000-07:00

This morning I was perusing Foodbuzz, a site of food by food people!
"Your comprehensive source for food and dining information. Search restaurants worldwide. Find reviews, photos and videos. Get the latest food news, browse recipes, and more."

The first blog recipe I came across is from Cinnamon Spice & Everything Nice, Loaded Baked Potato Soup. While it may be the hottest month of summer we are having a rainy weekend and yes it is unusual for the Seattle area to have rain in August.. This is a gluten free recipe and one I will be adding to my recipe box.

What Smells So Good? is the next blog I came across, while many of the recipes are bread related and NOT gluten free I did find a cookie bar A Bittah Bettah Buttah that can be converted to gluten free. Sub the flour with gluten free flour, add 3/4 tsp xanthan gum and possibly increase the baking powder and baking soda a tad.

Them Apples is a blog in Saltaire, Yorkshire and I love love love LOVE the way it is written. While I'm not sure that I will ever make Carpaccio of beef with rosemary, it is a beautiful dish. Make sure you browse the other posts, I especially enjoyed reading the questioning of is it ok for for food bloggers to review restaurants.

Jeroxie (addictive and consuming) is from Singapore and has been living in Melbourne since 1998 and loves food. If you are going to write about food shouldn't you love it? and you can tell she does. I don't know where I've been to have not seen bacon jam before this but here's the truth is I don't actually spend as much time reading about foods as I'd like to. This bacon jam is something that I will be making and I will be thankful for this blog post forever!

Gluten-free Chocolate Tortes, doesn't the name of these just make you want to eat them now? While not every recipe is gluten free the Epic Baker looks like she hit the nail on the head with this post.

Lime Curd Tart with Raspberries, low carb and gluten free and sweetened with stevia sounds like a recipe I need to get familiar with. All day I dream about food has a mix of gluten filled and gluten free recipes., take a look.

Is there such a thing as too many cookie recipes? Hardly! Tasty Eats At Home has a wonderful Flourless Almond Butter Cookie recipe along with gluten free cupcakes, turkey burgers and peach macadamia scones.

My Sunday morning has been filled with food dreaming, your turn.

The perfect strawberry dessert!

2010-08-08T10:46:00.000-07:00

Last night my son and his girlfriend had us over for dinner, my son made dinner (chicken kebabs) which were delicious (he gets it from me)! Since I cannot eat wheat/gluten she made a special dessert for me.
Let me tell you, this is the perfect party food - finger food - dessert - summertime - wintertime - eat it anytime, wonderful strawberry treat. WHEW!
Honestly these are so simple but delicious and this is her recipe!

Krystal's Strawberries

Quite simple to make:
rinse and dry the berries, remove the stems and lay the berries stem side down
places slits in the berries as though you are cutting them in 1/4s but ONLY 3/4 of the way down as the bottom needs to be intact
this was a whole tray of berries and it only took a few tablespoons of softened cream cheese,
blend in a tiny bit of sugar and a bit of vanilla
fill the center of the berries with the cream cheese and top with
gluten free chopped nuts

These are delicious and such a wonderful idea.

Gluten-Free Vanilla Cupcakes

2010-06-25T15:59:00.001-07:00

My son was getting married and his bride to be asked me to make the cake. Cakes. Cupcakes.

Oh my, what recipe, what mix, what!!! We had a year to test recipes and we did try more then a few but they weren’t quite wedding cake quality. We tried a mix and the mix was just fine but I didn’t feel it was wedding cake quality.

If you are interested in a pretty good mix then you will want to try The Cravings Place.

A friend suggested I try the cupcakes at PCC Market. PCC Market just happens to have a vanilla buttermilk cake/cupcake recipe online!
I made the recipe and in NO WAY could this be the same cake they have in their stores.
While the flavor was fine, it wasn’t stop you in your tracks good AND the holes were huge.

Can you see how these spread and the holes?
While the holes on the outside are smallish, the holes on the inside are huge!

Holey cupcakes, NO! The texture is off also
I went and looked at the recipe and decided it needed some tweaking. Less buttermilk and the addition of cornstarch and potato starch.

Let me just tell you right now these gluten free vanilla cupcakes are the BEST!!!! Buttery, light and golden and gluten free! No one knows they are gluten free unless you tell them, they are that good!

Gluten-Free Golden Vanilla Butter Cake

8 ounces butter, room temp
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 eggs, warmed in a bowl of hot tap water
1 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup potato starch
1/2 cup cornstarch
1 1/2 tsps. xanthan gum
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups buttermilk, room temp
3 tsps. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350°
All ingredients should be at room temperature.
In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar well, adding eggs one at a time add vanilla with the last egg. ***don’t skimp on time here, cream that butter and sugar well and blend well after each egg***
Super creamed mixture
Mix together dry ingredients, whisking well. Alternately blend in the dry with the buttermilk into creamed mixture, scraping bowl often.
For cupcakes fill half-full and no more then half-full. 2 reasons for this; 1 is you are leaving room for frosting and 2 is the tops sink back in and it looks uncooked.
Filling 1/2 full this make 2 1/2 to 3 dozen.
I suggest using muffin papers and a touch of nonstick cooking spray. An easy way to fill the cups is by using a piping bag and a large tip. Bake cupcake 21 min.

Plenty of room for buttercream!

We covered these with buttercream, piped on with a large star tip.
I made a buttercream that was kind of a pain so instead of posting it I’m going to give you a few links to choose your own and both are very yummy. I added extra vanilla to the buttercream recipe as I want it to really stand out.

Savory Sweet Life This is an easy to make and delish type of frosting.

Smitten Kitchen This is a Swiss Meringue Buttercream and I really like it!

PCC Market is first gluten-free endorsed retailer in the nation

2010-05-20T09:51:00.000-07:00

If you live in an area with a PCC Natural Market you are in for a treat, as they now are a gluten-free endorsed retailer. You can read the press release here or here.

PCC Natural Markets is first gluten-free endorsed retailer in the nation

BUSINESS PRACTICES OF SEATTLE-BASED RETAILER EARN UNPRECEDENTED RECOGNITION FROM THE GLUTEN INTOLERANCE GROUP

(Seattle, Wash., April 28, 2010) The commitment of PCC Natural Markets (PCC), the nation’s largest natural foods retail cooperative, to responding to the needs of consumers unable to tolerate gluten in their diets has been recognized by The Gluten Intolerance Group of North America (GIG). PCC is the first retailer in the country to be “gluten-free endorsed” by GIG, setting a new standard for retailers concerned with the special dietary needs of their customers.

GIG is a national non-profit that provides support to persons with intolerances to gluten, a protein commonly found in wheat, rye and barley. A true gluten allergy, called celiac disease, can cause serious and even life-threatening immune responses when grains containing gluten are consumed. Reactions can include damage to the small intestine and malnutrition, due to the body’s inability to absorb vital nutrients.

Gluten allergies can be controlled only by avoiding all foods containing gluten. Identifying gluten-free products can be challenging; currently there’s no requirement that food manufacturers test their products prior to claiming them as “gluten-free.”

PCC identifies products as gluten-free based on information provided by vendors but recommends that customers review product ingredient lists themselves as an additional safeguard. Under consideration by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is a national standard of 20 parts per million, although GIG has called for an even tighter standard.

PCC worked with GIG closely for 18 months to ensure compliance with GIG criteria for gluten-free product identification and handling, and has developed and implemented comprehensive staff training and consumer education programs about gluten intolerance. PCC offers about 2,000 gluten-free food and body care products, as well as gluten-free store tours, and gluten-free cooking classes through its PCC Cooks program. Gluten-free information also is offered in PCC stores and online. Gluten-free products are marked with orange shelf tags in PCC’s nine stores and easily found through a searchable gluten-free database on PCC’s Web site.

“We’re honored to be recognized by The Gluten Intolerance Group as the first gluten-free endorsed retailer in the country,” said Russ Ruby, PCC’s director of merchandising. “Helping our shoppers to make safe product choices has been well worth the resources we’ve devoted company-wide to this effort.”

Throughout the month of May, PCC will celebrate its gluten-free retailer endorsement through a multi-media promotion campaign focused on making consumers aware of gluten intolerance and informing gluten-free shoppers of all the foods available to them for good health.

About PCC Natural Markets (PCC): Headquartered in Seattle, Wash., PCC Natural Markets is a certified organic retail cooperative with annual sales of $138 million and an active membership of more than 44,000 households. PCC operates nine stores in the Seward Park, View Ridge, Greenlake, West Seattle, Fremont, Kirkland, Redmond, Edmonds and Issaquah neighborhoods.

About The Gluten Intolerance Group (GIG): Headquartered in Auburn, Wash., the GIG provides support to persons with gluten intolerances, including celiac disease, dermatitis herpetiformis, and other gluten sensitivities, in order to live healthy lives. GIG is the leader in patient and professional support nationally though outreach programs and services and is a trusted sourced of scientific, evidence-based information regarding gluten-related illnesses.

~Thanks for reading What The Food Gluten-Free~

The Best Gluten Free Bread

2010-04-28T06:51:00.000-07:00

Yes you read correctly - the best gluten free bread. No, it isn't a recipe but a review.
Honestly I put off trying this bread because I didn't want to be disappointed. There are all kinds of gluten free
foods on the market that people say are good but really are sub par. I suppose when you eat gluten free you come to expect less from gluten free foods. No more! I have to thank my friends for introducing me to the best gluten free bread, I wouldn't have tried it otherwise.

Udi's Gluten Free Foods from Colorado quite frankly have raised the bar for all gluten free foods. I've only tried one of the items they offer and quite frankly am stunned at how good it was. Imagine a bread with no gluten, no wheat, no dairy no soy and no nuts. Okay so you've imagined this bread but how does it taste; it tastes like artisan bread should along with being chewy and having a crust worth eating. It's important to understand this is an artisan bread not a Wonder bread type with no off flavors or textures.

If you have been putting off trying this bread because like me you didn't want to be disappointed, STOP.
Do yourself a favor and try it now. Udi's gluten free foods, worth eating.

Gluten Free Cinnamon Rolls

2010-04-21T06:29:00.000-07:00

I wanted to show you how I roll the dough up.
Use that plastic wrap to do the work for you.
This isn't like a wheat flour based where you need it rolled up tightly,
this can be slightly looser as it bakes up just fine.

If you doubted a gluten free cinnamon roll could turn out as well as a wheat based one.
DON'T
Look at these rolls, they are awesome!

Gluten Free Cinnamon-Raisin Bread and Cinnamon Rolls

2010-04-20T14:59:00.000-07:00

Since I stopped eating bread my mainstay is chips! Before you get too worked up over my bad eating habits, it's corn tortilla chips-the lesser of the chip evils. I eat tuna salad sandwich filling with chips, same with egg salad sandwich. Honestly I don't miss regular ole sandwich bread much. I've said it before though; I miss toast.
Not just any toast but raisin toast or plain toast with cinnamon and sugar on top.
Ha its the crispy and the cinnamon sugar that I miss, the bread was just the avenue for it.
There is no way chips can replace the cinnamon sugar laden toasty goodness. Once in awhile I do miss this type of food and I turn to the recipes in The Gluten-Free Kitchen by Roben Ryberg. Now if you've read before you know I'm not a huge fan of gluten free breads although some are better than others. Cinnamon makes all kinds of breads taste wonderful and gluten free is no exception. Of course I changed the recipes a bit because that's what I do!

First up is Gluten Free Cinnamon Bread which is now Gluten Free Cinnamon-Raisin Bread that actually has currants instead of raisins in it! Let me explain, this is a relativity small loaf, currants are smaller then raisins and I just expected them to make better end product.
Second up is Gluten Free Cinnamon Rolls; once I made a cinnamon bread, cinnamon rolls seemed natural to make next. I'm glad I did as these are delicious.

Gluten-Free Cinnamon Raisin Bread
1 pkg yeast
1 1/4 cups milk, warmed to 110°
1 1/4 tsps vinegar
3/4 cup potato starch
1 1/4 cup cornstarch
2 Tbsp flax meal
2 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
2 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 tsp sat
1/4 cup oil

Filling2 tsp cinnamon
2 Tbsp sugar
1/4 cup currants

Preheat oven to 350°, grease a 9x4 loaf pan.
Combine milk and vinegar together. Stir the filling ingredients together, set aside.
In a medium bowl combine all the dry ingredients including the yeast, whisk well to get that xanthan gum well blended. Slowly stir in the milk/vinegar and oil.
The dough goes from being wet to a thicker mass that holds together, fold into this the filling ingredients. ***Don't blend them in, you want there to be distinct cinnamon-sugar-currants swirled through out.
Scoop the batter into the pan and gently smooth with a damp hand, if you don't smooth it the finished loaf can look bumpy. ***I like to save just a tsp of the cinnamon sugar to sprinkle on top of the loaf.***
Bake in the preheated oven for 28-30 minutes. It will be slightly browned, test for doneness with a toothpick, (I've made this and not baked it enough and it is gooey yuck).
Cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes then remove from pan, finish cooling loaf on wire rack.
Excellent toasted!

***I edited the recipe and cut down the sugar and butter in the filling section, when I made these last I realized that the original amounts I listed was just a bit too much***
Gluten-Free Cinnamon Rolls
2 Tbsp shortening
1/4 cup sugar
2/3 cup milk, warmed to 110°
1 packet yeast
1 egg, warmed in hot tap water
1/4 cup oil
1/2 cup potato starch
1 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup sorghum flour
2 1/2 tsps xanthan gum
1/4 tsp baking soda
2 tsps baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
Filling
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
3/4 stick butter

Glaze
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp milk
1/2 tsp vanilla
Extra sugar and sorghum for rolling out the dough.
Preheat oven to 375°, grease a 13x9 baking pan. Prepare where you are going to pat out the dough before you make it. Lay 2 sheets of plastic wrap on the counter, side by side and slightly overlapping the longer edges together. Sprinkle with 1 Tbsp sugar and 1 Tbsp sorghum flour.
Melt butter and set aside.

Combine all dry ingredients in a smaller bowl, whisk well. In a mixing bowl combine the shortening with the sugar, blending well. Stir in the milk, oil, egg and vanilla, stir in the dry ingredients. Stirring until there are no lumps. Scoop batter onto plastic wrap you prepared, with damp hands pat out into a rectangle aprox 13" long and 9 " wide.
Combine the cinnamon and sugar, sprinkle over top of the batter evenly.
***Here's where it can get tricky, you are going to roll this up in the traditional cinnamon roll fashion but because the batter is so sticky you are going to use the plastic wrap to help you.***
Start at one of long ends, rolling the dough onto itself, use the plastic wrap to lift and roll the dough together. Slice into about 12 slices, aprox 1 1/2" wide. Place rolls in greased pan, spaced evenly apart. Pour melted butter into pan but be sure to drizzle each roll with butter as there is none in the filling recipe. ***Alternatively you could place a pat of butter on top of each roll before baking, you will still need some melted butter in the pan.

Bake for 20 minutes, until tops are lightly browned. Place pan on rack to cool.
Combine ingredients for glaze, drizzle onto cooled rolls.
ENJOY!

~Thank you for reading What The Food~

Gluten Free OATS are safe for the Celiac

2010-04-20T07:14:00.000-07:00

When most people first learn they need to eat gluten free Oats is often on the don't eat list. Personally I find this information annoying. Why would I be annoyed by information intended to keep ones' tummy safe?
The information is incomplete and slightly incorrect!

Oats are naturally gluten free and do not cause a gluten type reaction in the gut, the issue is adding too much fiber into the diet too quickly. This is akin to the advice with flax, start small! What you really need to know is that you should buy your Oats certified gluten free, when you first reintroduce them to your diet do so in small amounts so your tummy gets used to them

Everything in Moderation!

It has been suggested that some people just cannot tolerate oats just as some people cannot tolerate onions-this has nothing to do with gluten!

There are many sources with the correct information and there are certified gluten free Oats for you to purchase.

Sources:
Celiac.com

Gluten Free Oat Matzos

Glutenfreeoats.com

Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free

Gluten.net

Health Canada

Gluten free oats at Amazon:
Glutenfreeda Instant Oatmeal
Legacy Valley Certified Gluten Free
Gluten free Oats, Old Fashioned
Bob's Red Mill

~Thanks for reading What The Food~

Gluten free pizza-dining out!

2010-04-11T12:24:00.000-07:00

I thought it was time to revisit gluten free pizza at Romio's in Greenwood.

It is well worth stopping in at Romio's if you are looking to eat gluten free pizza, appetizers, soups, salads, pastas, dessert or beer. Did you catch all those choices?
Honestly it is the best gluten free pizza for my money, there are more toppings than you can shake a stick at!

This was originally posted: MONDAY, JUNE 1, 2009

What to eat if you are in Greenwood, WA is anything off of the extensive menu at Romios. There is nothing I can say that will do justice to this gluten free menu. It is rather large for a gluten free menu, there is Pasta, Pizza, Subs, Breads, Salads, Soups, Beer and Desserts.

I will be honest and tell you that the only thing I eat on this menu is pizza. I am just so happy to have pizza, although I want to try other things on the menu, the pizza just comes first.

The pizza is excellent. Nothing more to say.

If you are in the ares do yourself a favor and eat gluten free at Romios in Greenwood.

Gluten Free opinions needed on Gluten Free whole grains

2010-04-01T10:21:00.000-07:00

Before I was on the gluten free diet I loved to eat whole wheat, little did I know it was making me sick. It seemed so nutritious and filling!

>Insert sad face here<

Here's the rub, whole grains and complex carbs are supposed to be filling along with nutritious of course.
I eat meat, I eat cheeses, I eat eggs, I eat vegetables, I eat nuts, I eat yogurt, I eat fruits and I eat rice(s) but what I don't eat is grains. Oh the rub I was talking about is I am not full often enough.
Over doing it in any one meal is something I try to avoid and eating often enough is something I try to do but staying full feeling long enough is something I have a difficult time with.
Gluten free grains should help with the full filling, again the rub; I'm not sure I like them.
I tried cooking whole grain teff as hot cereal (couldn't get past the smell), I've eaten gluten free oatmeal (didn't make me feel full for more then a few minutes and no I don't have something wrong with me) and I've got a tub of quinoa (afraid to try it) in the freezer.

What I want from you is to tell me what gluten free whole grain you like and why.
While you are at it, why don't you tell me what makes you feel full?

Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies

2010-03-23T09:49:00.001-07:00

Such a simple idea, flourless! This isn’t my recipe, I’ve no idea who first came up with it but I’m happy they did. Bon Appetit published this recipe in 1999 although it doesn’t credit anyone for the recipe.
Epicurious is an excellent source of recipes and the great thing about it; the recipes are reviewed by every day people.

A quick search for flourless cookies find peanut butter cookies at the top of the list. No special flours need and no xanthan gum needed.
Normally I tweak recipe and of course I did this one, I use creamy peanut butter-they used chunky.
Enjoy!

Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
***the original recipe calls for 1 cup but I find this to be too much, I also find these cookies are just as good without the chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°

Mix the first 5 ingredients in a medium bowl until blended. Stir in the chocolate chips if using. Form by hand into little balls about 1 Tablespoon of dough, arrange evenly on a parchment lined cookie sheet.
Bake until golden and puffed, about 12 minutes. Don’t go over 12 minutes as these will burn. Cool on cookie sheets until they firm up, about 5 minutes. Transfer to racks to cool completely.

***I find these cookies to be a bit soft where as I think of PB Cookies as crisp or chewy. An overnight stay in the freezer and chewy oh yeah baby!
***If you don’t want to bake all of these at once, freeze the balls of dough and then bake. The cookies are just as good this way, if not better.

~Thanks for reading What The Food~

Gluten Free Flour Recipe Update

2010-03-05T10:06:00.001-08:00

There are many gluten free flour blends on the market and quite frankly I’ve only tried a few. When I first went gluten free is when I tried them; Mona’s was given to me by a friend (this company has gone out of business since).
Bob’s Red Mill has quite a selection of gluten free flours also and I did try a few of his blends. It seemed to me it may be less costly to blend my own flours. If you’ve read the blog I’ve listed a rice flour blend before but quite frankly it isn’t my number one. Sorghum flour is my number one. When I mix up a cake batter and it tastes just like a wheat flour batter then I’m pretty convinced the finished cake is going to be good. I use this sorghum flour blend almost exclusively now.
The sorghum flour blend is perfect for most gluten free baking and turns out a far superior product to the rice flours.
The recipe comes from 1000 Gluten-Free Recipes by Carol Fenster. I double the recipe always and I use a combo of the potato and cornstarch (if one is good, both is better!).

1 1/2 cups sorghum flour - 3 cups
1 1/2 cups potato starch or cornstarch - 1 1/2 cups each potato starch and cornstarch
1 cup tapioca flour - 2 cups
Whisk together and store, tightly covered, in a dark, dry place.

~Thanks for reading What The Food~

Is Soy Sauce Gluten Free?

2010-02-26T07:47:00.000-08:00

Well, no and yes. Most brands of soy sauce are made out of wheat. WHAT! Why would it be called soy sauce, shouldn't it be wheat sauce?! According to Wikipedia soy sauce is made from fermented soy beans but some brands are made from roasted grain. I can only make guesses as to why soy sauce is made with wheat but it doesn't really matter does it!

What's a gluten free person to use for soy sauce? San-J tamari soy sauce is gluten-free and organic, it comes in regular and low sodium. The San-J brand also has some great Asian cooking sauces. If you can't find the items in your local store you can order from their website or ask your local store to start carrying them.

An important note about San-J gluten-free sauces, they are certified gluten-free. When a company goes to the extent to get their products certified gluten-free then I am going to buy their products with confidence.

An American style soy sauce is La Choy, the parent company is ConAgra. I have 2 things to say about La Choy; I grew up using it and thinking it was what soy sauce was all about and secondly ConAgra says if it's in the product then it's on the label. There are those gluten-free that do not find this to be a good enough answer. I've never gotten sick using La Choy soy sauce and I don't have any issues with ConAgra products other than they are a processed foods company. - I am only going to say that I believe you are what you eat and the more processed foods you eat then you are going to be less healthy at some point in time. Do I use processed foods in my cooking? But of course I do. I try to keep in mind to keep things reasonable and yes what is reasonable for one isn't for another.

Banana Chocolate Cake

2010-02-24T10:13:00.000-08:00

Gluten Free Banana Cake with 3 variations; Plain, Chocolate or Coconut

2010-02-23T20:27:00.000-08:00

We’ve been eating quite a bit of bananas lately, seems a healthy thing to have a banana with/for breakfast every day. Of course there are always going to be some bananas that end up getting over-ripe. Three bananas have been sitting on the counter staring at me this week, getting riper every day.

Banana Cake sounded really good to me so I played around until I came up with this version. You can make this cake 1 of 3 ways. First is plain, second is with cocoa and third is with coconut. May I suggest that unless you have a dislike or an allergy to coconut that you use the coconut no matter what.
The reason I suggest this is because the coconut adds bulk and as I’ve said before gluten free doesn’t measure up in cakes. The coconut adds texture and bulk to the cake but because it’s desiccated instead of the sweetened versions it doesn’t add a ton of flavor. If you like the flavor of coconut then by all means use sweetened. I didn’t include walnuts in the recipe because I assume that if you like them you don’t need me to put them in!
Something to note is you don't have to do anything different to this recipe if you use the cocoa, the recipe works with or without it.

When I made this I did use all 3 options and 1/2 cup chopped walnuts! Glazed with 1 cup powder sugar mixed with 1 tsp vanilla and about a Tablespoon of milk. Don’t over do the milk or the icing ends up too thin.

Gluten Free Banana Cake 3 Ways

3 very ripe bananas, mashed
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup oil
1/3 cup plain yogurt or buttermilk
3 eggs, room temp
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp xanthan gum
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup sorghum flour
2/3 cup tapioca starch
2/3 cup cornstarch

Options:
1. 1/3 cup cocoa
2. 1/2 cup desiccated coconut

Preheat oven to 350°. Grease and flour a bundt pan.

In a medium sized bowl combine the banana, eggs, sugar, oil, vanilla and yogurt or buttermilk.
In a mixing bowl combine the sorghum flour, tapioca starch, cornstarch, xanthan gum, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Mix on low until blended. Pour the banana mixture into the mixing bowl and blend on low. Scraping bowl down a couple of times, mix until just blended.
This will be a typical fairly thick banana cake batter.
Pour evenly into bundt pan. Bake at 350° for 45 minutes, test with a toothpick or a cake tester. If still gooey bake another 5 minutes.

~Thanks for reading What The Food~

Gluten Free Focaccia OR Freedom from Wheat

2010-02-19T07:54:00.000-08:00

Even though the sun has been out, the days haven’t been particularly warm. It felt like a good time for soup and bread. Bread, nah.
Bread in bread form isn’t something I enjoy much, biscuits and focaccia though, YES! Before I went gluten free I made the best Focaccia, the recipe had been given to me by a friend. Turned out the recipe was by Jeff Smith; the Frugal Gourmet. Honestly this was the best recipe for Focaccia I’d ever made, honestly please don’t comment regarding Jeff Smith!

I wondered if I would ever eat good gluten free Focaccia, would it be possible. One comes to realize that with time spent gluten free, the memory of wheat based breads fades. Do you remember what the dough was like to work with, how the dough rose into something and that it baked and it smelled wonderful. I remember this and I remember eating breads but I no longer remember how they tasted or the textures of them. I can see them but no longer can I feel them. This is a great thing! We should be happy for this because we no longer compare gluten free to what it should taste like. Gluten free should taste good, no worries about does it taste like a wheat bread I once ate. Gluten free stands on its own and when you get to that point you mentally are free of wheat. It feels good to be free of wheat (mentally anyways, as cross contamination and duh moments still occur*^{see below for the latest duh moment}).

The gluten free Focaccia recipe came from Gluten Free Goddess.

Of course I didn’t follow the recipe exactly! Were you expecting anything different?

Here is her recipe in black with my changes in red:

Whisk together these dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl:
1 cup sorghum flour
1 cup potato starch
1/2 cup millet flour
2 teaspoons xanthan gum * I added 1 tsp. baking powder, I’ve been reading that yeast is mainly for flavor and if you really want poof then add baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon dried minced onion
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons dried thyme
2 teaspoons dried basil
* I left out the dried onion and garlic, neither flavor dried is something I enjoy BUT I used 2 tsps of an Italian blend of herbs from The Spice House

Proof the yeast in a large glass measuring cup:
Add 1 tablespoon instant dry yeast- or rapid yeast to:
1 1/4 to 1 1/3 cup warm water (at 110 degrees F)
A pinch of raw sugar

When the yeast is poofy, pour the mixture into the dry ingredients and add:
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon honey or raw agave nectar (this helps bind and keep texture moist) *I used 1 tsp sugar
1/2 teaspoon mild rice vinegar or lemon juice *I missed this oops
Ener-G Egg Replacer for 1 egg whisked with warm water *I skipped this

Stir to combine. The dough should be sticky- it doesn't really feel like typical wheat bread dough- more like a thick muffin batter. *It really is gloppy and scoops and flattens very well.
Scoop the dough into a 9-inch cake pan dusted with cornmeal. Using wet hands pat and shape the dough into a rounded loaf. Top with sliced tomatoes and fresh garlic; sprinkle with extra herbs and a little sea salt.
* I have cherry tomatoes that were oven roasted in my freezer and used these to top the focaccia. Heat ¼ cup olive oil on low heat with 4 cloves of peeled garlic-heat until fragrant and garlic starts to color up. Smash the garlic cloves with the back of a spoon and let cool. Top the focaccia with the tomatoes, smashed garlic and at least 2 TBSP of the oil, sprinkle with sea salt.
Place the pan into the warm oven and allow it to rest and rise for 20 minutes. Turn on the oven to 375 degrees F. Once the oven is 375 degrees, put the timer on for 25 minutes. Bake until golden and firm. If you thump it it should sound hollow. *Remove the focaccia from the pan and return to the oven to brown the bottom and create more of an artisan type bread (baking stone would be nice for this).
Remove from the pan as soon you can and cool it on a wire rack. Slice with a sharp bread knife. Makes 8 wedges.
If you bake at a lower altitude, or you use eggs, the loaf might be done sooner- closer to 22 to 25 minutes. Keep an eye on it. *This wasn't an issue for me, getting it done enough was more my concern.

DUH MOMENT: I’ve been making raspberry-chipotle sauce since last summer, pull a bag of berries out of the freezer and off we go. This last time I was making sauce I neglected to check the can of chipotle peppers for wheat. Just as I was ready to add the can of peppers to the sauce I went whoa and checked the label. WHEAT DUH DUH DUH!!! Always check your labels.

Gluten Free Focaccia

2010-02-19T07:50:00.000-08:00

Gluten-free Wine, Tea and Lundberg Rice

2010-01-29T09:30:00.001-08:00

One of the things that makes it difficult eating gluten free is knowing which companies you can trust. It is always helpful when a company places Gluten Free on the label.
I have some favorite companies and not all of them put Gluten Free on the label but by contacting companies you can find out rather easily if they offer gluten free items.
I have always suggested that you contact companies to find out their policies regarding their products. I’m not sure why companies don’t label their products gluten free but instead are happy to tell you that if it is in the product it is on the label.
There are some companies I really like and I thought I would tell you about them:

Lundberg Family Farms sells rice and rice products and all of them are gluten free. The products I use mostly are the brown rice pastas which so far has been the best gluten free pastas I have tried. It can be difficult to adapt to some gluten free products; bread and pasta are the 2 difficult ones for me. The Lundberg pastas have been the easiest for me to eat; they aren’t soggy, they don’t taste weird and don’t have some funky texture.
There are quite a few rice varieties to try; brown, wild, black japonica and a myriad of others. They even have rice couscous and heat and eat rice bowls.
Bigelow teas has the gluten free label on many of their teas. There is as an extensive list of teas that are gluten free and they kindly tell you on the box! Why would tea even have gluten in it? While teas are naturally gluten free, apparently some gluten containing grains are used in some tea blends. I can only assume this is for flavor or possibly color although I haven’t seen any information regarding this. I was not feeling so well this past week and it was tea drinking time. Bigelow’s Mint Medley hit the spot, when I was reading the ingredient label I was surprised to find Gluten-Free there. I had known in the past that some herbal teas blends bothered my stomach but had no idea why. Now I know and as a cartoon made famous; knowing is half the battle.
A surprising gluten free favorite of mine is Barefoot Wines. I found it quite surprising that wine could be contaminated with gluten. Where the heck does wine get gluten from? Grapes are naturally gluten free, most yeast wines are now gluten free. Again, where the heck does wine get gluten from? I had read in various places that a flour paste could be used on the insides of the barrels. I’ve never had that confirmed for me but I have contacted various wine makers to ensure my gluten free health. What would make me do such a thing? A horrible gluten reaction to a bottle of wine, the day after this reaction I contacted that wine maker. They made it clear that their wines are not safe for someone gluten intolerant. Hmmm
I contacted Barefoot wines and was pleased to find them gluten free. Certainly there are a number of wines that are gluten free, another that comes to mind is Snoqualmie Naked Wines, a PNW favorite. There are hundreds of wines on the market and while I could assume that many of them are gluten free, I’ve learned NEVER ASSUME. The last time I was shopping for a new wine I called the 1-800 number on the back of the bottle. They kindly informed me that they could not say their wines were safe for me. Alas they didn’t say why.
I will not list the wine makers that have said they are not gluten free. Why you may ask? It’s simple really; you might be drinking their wines and never have had a reaction. I don’t want to taint your decision or reaction. I want you to do your own research and if that includes trial and error then so be it. This may sound harsh but honestly if you are old enough to be drinking wine you are old enough to ask your own questions.
Come back soon, as I hope to have more info from Barefoot Wines.
There are many companies out there that label their products gluten free and just as many that don’t. Some will tell you that if it’s in the product it is on the label. While this isn’t my favorite response from a company I still feel safe using their products. Hillshire Farms is one of those companies. They simply state if it is an ingredient then it will be listed in the ingredients. Nothing hidden. Hidden!? How can there be hidden ingredients? There are some companies that list natural flavoring in the ingredients; nowhere on the label does it suggest there might be wheat or gluten. A call to this company and you soon learn there is a potential for gluten there. These companies are following the letter of the law without taking into consideration the heart of the matter; people.
Of course I could never eat pre-packaged foods again and yes this is a healthy way of eating. This isn’t practical for myself and my family. There is the occasional candy bar that I like to eat but I prefer to know that candy bar is gluten free.
My whole point here is get to know your food. Get to know the manufacture; are they labeling their foods fully? Your health is up to you, I only hope to help you a bit on your journey.

Gluten Free Stuffing-Gluten Free Buttermilk Waffles

2010-01-04T15:46:00.001-08:00

The first time I tried it, lets just say it wasn’t something I wanted to eat twice. Most recipes for Gluten Free Stuffing are pretty much the same as regular wheat bread stuffing except for the use of gluten free bread. It seems to me you have to like gluten free bread to be able to enjoy the stuffing made from it. In case you haven’t been paying attention; I don’t like gluten free bread! The stuffing made with gluten free bread was a tad soggy and the bread pieces were, were, were!!! How do I describe this to you? The gluten free breads have a tendency to feel as though they are dissolving into glop in your mouth. NOT APPEALING is it? Honestly there are gluten free breads I am starting to enjoy but not enough that I want to make them into stuffing. The gluten free breads are still heavier then I like and I still don’t want to use them in stuffing. I receive emails from Glutenfreeda and one of them before Thanksgiving was about stuffing. At first I really wasn’t going to pay much attention to this email as I said; pretty much all stuffing recipes are the same. Ah but this recipe had one difference, they didn’t like gluten free bread stuffing and instead chose to use Van’s gluten free waffles. WHAT! Waffles in stuffing, why didn’t I think of this! This recipe is for traditional stuffing, one you pretty much don’t need a recipe for-We all have our favorite stuffing recipe and mine is traditional mostly. As I mentioned this recipe uses Van’s gluten free waffles that are toasted then cooled and cubed. Straightforward enough wouldn’t you say? For me the only hitch is I love homemade waffles and if you consider Van’s gluten free waffles are over $3.00 a box and this recipe requires 2 boxes, it’s an added expense. It’s fine if you choose to use them but as I said I prefer to make my own.
FYI Van’s had a voluntary recall of their 12.4 oz frozen Wheat Free Homestyle Pancakes due to undeclared wheat, gluten, milk and egg in the product. This goes to show how important it is to always check with a manufacture about their product.
Over the past month I have been experimenting with waffle recipes and while I found one I liked, there’s always room for improvement. Here is the recipe I came up with:

Whatthefood’s Gluten Free Buttermilk Waffles 2 eggs, separated
1/4 cup oil
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup potato starch
1/2 cup sorghum flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1 /2 cups buttermilk

Whip egg whites till stiff peaks form, set aside.
In a medium bowl, combine the sugar, cornstarch, potato starch, sorghum flour, baking powder, baking soda, xanthan gum and salt. Combine well *** remember with gluten free baking you need to combine the dry ingredients well to ensure the xanthan is thoroughly mixed into the blend***
Mix together the egg yolks, oil, vanilla and buttermilk, slowly add to the dry ingredients, thoroughly combining-no lumps. If the batter is extremely thick add 1/4 cup more buttermilk but don’t add too much as you don’t want this to be a runny batter, it will still be somewhat thick.
Gently fold the egg whites into the batter, you don’t want globs of egg white in the batter so if they won’t blend in you can flatten the globs with the back of the spoon.
As for preheating the waffle iron, you know how long it takes to heat up so do so accordingly. I tend to plug mine in halfway through the assembly process.
To prevent sticking I use a pastry brush loaded with Crisco to coat the waffle iron (my waffles stick without this step).
Use about 2/3 cup waffle batter per waffle.
You should get about 6 waffles. Enjoy

~Thanks for reading Whatthefood~

Gluten-Free Waffles

Gluten-Free Cookbook and recipe reviews

2009-12-30T11:07:00.000-08:00

Gluten free baking can seem daunting, expensive, time consuming and sometimes downright disappointing. What is one to do if you want great tasting gluten free baked goodness? There are at least 7 gluten free books/cookbooks in my home and out of these how many do I actually use? 3, I use 3 of them! They all have good advice and fairly sound recipes but as is common knowledge gluten free can be expensive, boring and tasteless and this doesn’t sound so good does it? By far the most expansive one I own is 1000 Gluten-Free Recipes; by Carol Fenster. While this has many great recipes in it I cannot say that I have any favorites and this tells me I really need to try something new. Browsing through this book actually makes me hungry, with recipes such as; Portuguese Sweet Bread, Cranberry-Clementine Scones with Clementine Glaze, Drunken Southwestern Beans, Fish and Chips and 4 types of Meatloaf, of course I’m hungry.
The flour blend recipe works well; it is based on sorghum and quite frankly turns out some wonderful baked goods that mimic wheat baking quite closely. There are the recipes that use some ingredients I won’t buy though, the ones calling for Expandex are tops at the list. While this product may turn the gluten free baking world upside down I feel it’s a bit spendy to run out and buy. If I had extra dough (no pun intended) I might give it a try but in the current economic times I will pass. Honestly I have been known to bypass any cookbook author that requires unusual, hard to find, expensive and not commonly used ingredients-It’s too bad when authors forget what the real world is like for many. Although it isn’t necessarily a bad thing to have tried and true recipes for something new.

A book given to me for my birthday is Artisanal Gluten-Free Cooking by Kelli and Peter Bronski. This book surprised me; it isn’t huge like 1000 Gluten-Free Recipes but it more than makes up for that with the quality of recipes. They have their own take on the sorghum gluten free flour blend and it also works quite well. While I prefer the sorghum based flour blends they have added some brown rice flour to the blend, they also include the xanthan gum in the mix-this is great because it eliminates the guessing as to how much one needs for different types of baking (I will admit I don’t add in the xanthan gum as I prefer to guess). So far my favorite recipe is the gluten free Waffles. YUM is there anything better then fresh made waffles on a weekend morning! This books has a great variety of delicious sounding recipes which I am anxious to try, from General Chang’s Chicken (think General Tso’s Chicken) to Meat Lover’s Lasagna to Meatloaf and in the dessert department comes Molasses Cookies, Angel Food Cake and Dessert Crepes. In the bread section there are the basic bread and pizza dough recipes along with Garlic Naan and my beloved Waffle recipe. Some recipes that don’t seem as common are in this book such as Pigs in a Blanket, Tostones and Sauerkraut. While this may not be the largest book on the market it is well worth owning for your gluten free cooking.

Recently I acquired a gluten free cookbook, The Gluten Free Kitchen by Roben Ryberg. Surprisingly simple to make recipes abound in this cookbook. A few weeks ago my daughter wanted to make Snickerdoodles; gluten free of course but I couldn’t find a recipe in any of the books I currently owned.
I remembered seeing a recipe on Celiac.com so off we went to make Snickerdoodles. The recipe by Roben Ryberg (I didn’t own the cookbook yet as I had never seen it anywhere) seemed quite easy.
How were the cookies though, that is the important question right? These cookies were tender, light and quite tasty; they were eaten as fast as they cooled. I tried the recipe for Rolls and while the recipe is nothing like the yeasted whole wheat dinner rolls of past the finished gluten free rolls were surprisingly good. The reason I say surprisingly is that many gluten free breads have a taste, a flavor that I cannot identify and quite honestly it isn’t one I enjoy. That taste is missing from everything I have made from this book and the only thing I can think is it is something missing from the flour blend. Oh wait that’s what I neglected to tell you about this gluten free cookbook, there is NO FLOUR BLEND!!!!! You read it correctly; the recipes use potato starch and cornstarch along with the required xanthan gum. I will admit that there cannot be a huge amount of nutrients in cornstarch and potato starch which is why I won’t totally give up the sorghum flour blends and which is why I will add flax meal to the recipes. I will experiment and add coconut flour to the next recipe I try or maybe even a bit of sorghum flour. The one thing about gluten free baking that scared me at first was everyone said DON’T experiment with recipes. If you are not comfortable experimenting with recipes, if you need to follow a recipe to the T, then don’t experiment. I on the other hand would be very bored and unhappy if I didn’t experiment, many of the recipes you will find in my blog were created through experimentation and so far I have been satisfied if not happy with my experiments!
Sorry to get off track, as for the Gluten-Free Kitchen I am satisfied with how simple everything has been to make and how well everything turns out. A star recipe is the coffee cake; we ate it so fast there weren’t any crumbs! I am looking forward to trying the Cinnamon Rolls, Hush Puppies, Focaccia, Onion Rings and Pork Scallopini.

Not to leave out blog recipes I tried Gluten Free Sandwich Bread from Gluten Free Girl and Chef. Something she points out in this post is that bread isn’t something she craves much and quite honestly neither do I. What I do crave is toast, peanut butter and jam toast, butter and cinnamon sugar toast, plain buttered toast. I crave Toast, the smell, the crispness, the toastiness! Bread on the other hand I can live without, regardless of it being gluten free, I straight up do not like gluten free bread. Don’t get me wrong I have every intention of playing around with bread recipes and creating the perfect gluten free raisin bread or eating the best Focaccia or coming up with an artisan style bread but day in and day out I don’t crave regular sandwich bread. Obviously I wanted toast and the recipe from Gluten Free Girl fits the bill, it isn’t a simple carb white style bread either. There’s sorghum and a fair amount of millet in the recipe to let you know you are going to be eating something healthy, more importantly this bread toasts up just like any toast lover would want. I heartily recommend you try this recipe and make it part of your repertoire. It is that good.

Here are a few of the recipes I mentioned, 2 are for the flour blends so you can play around with them and I’ve included the waffle recipe along with the link to the Snickerdoodles and the Sandwich bread.
Enjoy!

Carol’s Sorghum Blend, makes 4 cups
1 ½ cups sorghum flour
1 ½ cups potato starch or cornstarch
1 cup tapioca flour
Whisk well

Artisan Gluten-Free Flour Blend, makes about 3 cups
1 ¼ cups brown rice flour
¾ cup sorghum flour
2/3 cup cornstarch
¼ cup potato starch1 TBSP + 1 tsp potato flour
1 tsp xanthan gum
Whisk well

Artisan Belgian Waffles, makes about 5 waffles
1 ¾ cup Artisan flour blend
1 TBSP baking powder
¼ tsp salt
2 eggs, separated
1 ¾ cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 stick butter, melted
***I use ¼ cup oil, I’ve always thought butter was wasted in the waffles and prefer it on them instead

Mix together flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Add the egg yolks, milk and vanilla, just mix, stir in the melted butter. Whip the egg whites in a separate bowl until they stiff, tenderly fold into the batter. Prepare waffles according to your waffle maker.

Roben Ryberg’s Snickerdoodles recipe can be found here.
Gluten Free Girl and Chef gluten free Sandwich bread can be found here.

~Thank you for reading What The Food~

A few things I have learned!

2009-12-25T17:23:00.000-08:00

Looking back over the last year I’ve learned a few things:

Always line the pan you are pouring caramels into! UGH sucks when your caramels won’t come out of the pan because you forgot to line it and you have to reheat them, wash the pan and then line it!

I don’t like oven roasted parsnips, celeriac and turnips. Raw turnips yes, roasted boring! Parsnips might be fine on their own but they ended up tasting like the celeriac and that wasn’t good, which means I don't like the celeriac either!

I can bake gluten free just fine and so can you! Do yourself a favor and buy any cookbook by Roben Ryberg, everything I have baked from her recipes turns out wonderful. Along with that try the sorghum flour recipe and use it in any other gluten free recipe you have, the sorghum flour blend turns out as wheat like baked goods as possible.

Gluten free is wonderful after all.

~Thank you for reading What The Food~

Gluten Free store in Everett, WA

2009-11-30T12:21:00.000-08:00

A new store has opened up in Everett, a friend sent me this link telling me all about it.

Janell's Gluten Free Market is open for business at 7024 Evergreen Way, Everett, WA.

Let's support our local businesses!

I want to mention I did visit the store and met Janell, she is very friendly and helpful. The store is well stocked with a great variety of foods and there are samples of all kinds of things to try!

Make sure you check it out, you won't be disappointed.

~Thank you for reading What The Food~

Gluten Free baked yumminess in Spokane, WA.

2009-11-23T16:27:00.000-08:00

White Box Pies Bakery & Cafe in Spokane has gotten rave reviews from my son and his finance. Check them out when you are there or order from them as I see they do ship.

~Thank you for reading What The Food~

Dinner rolls

2009-11-23T15:50:00.000-08:00

It’s Monday, the Monday before Thanksgiving, and I am contemplating the dinner to come. What strikes me as a deep desire is to bake bread. Not just any bread but dinner rolls and not just any dinner rolls but a recipe from Ellen, Ellen’s Buns. (If you read down to Favorite Variations from King Arthur Baking Circle Friends; I am Barb.)
This is a recipe I made often, my family and I really enjoyed these buns in a multitude of variations but as regular dinner buns they were the favorite. Of course over the years I did make other recipes and the only other that stands out in my mind is Lenora’s Yeast Rolls from Bernard Clayton. Jr., this also was a family favorite.
Ellen’s Buns though was the recipe I turned to for Thanksgiving dinner. If I am honest with myself I know that I am incredibly healthier for not eating wheat and by being honest with myself there are days when my brain screams and my heart weeps at this thought. I love to bake and can turn out some damn fine gluten free foods; you won’t know you are eating gluten free! Gluten free dinner rolls though, meh!
I don’t like them, although my family will eat them and pretty much like them. I still don’t like them. Wheat-flour dinner rolls have a light texture even if they are substantial, and the flavor, so divine. Gluten free dinner rolls to me are heavy textured and the flavor turns me off. I grimace at the thought as my mouth waters and no, it isn’t the good kind of watering, literally it makes me ill. When I bake gluten free I am conscious of the fact that without wheat flour there is a flavor missing and even an unwanted flavor added in. My brain does not identify what that flavor is; it could be the xanthan gum, it could be the tapioca flour, it could be the cornstarch. No one has been able to identify what this flavor is for me. Although I don’t notice it as distinctly in purchased gluten free breads, it is still there.
I am in a bit of a quandary this year as half my brain wants to make gluten free dinner rolls and the other half wants to make Ellen’s Buns instead. The part of my brain that wants to make gluten free dinner rolls is the thinking part; the other part is pure desire. At this point in time I cannot tell you which side of my brain will win, give me a second or two.
As I cannot eat these rolls you may wonder why I would even consider making them. Ah but it is simple; only one other member of our family doesn’t eat wheat and said person won’t be at our table this year. He is starting a new life with his own traditions to make. I, on the other hand, am cooking for people that use to eat Ellen’s Buns and will recall them fondly and can still eat them. Is Thanksgiving not about being thankful for your family and the food on the table? Why of course it is but also it is about feeding not only your family’s stomachs but their hearts as well. What is on the Thanksgiving table as you grow up is in your memory forever and the food does feed the hearts and souls of our loved ones.
I ask again will I make Ellen’s Buns for Thanksgiving dinner this year. Why yes I believe I will.

Oh and just in case you can bake with wheat and you like the look of Ellen's other recipes, YES they are all good.

~Thank you for reading What The Food~

Garlic Jims Gluten Free in pictures

2009-10-28T12:27:00.001-07:00

Garlic Jims Gluten Free Pizza Review

2009-10-28T12:01:00.000-07:00

I had known for some time that Garlic Jims was offering gluten free pizza. We even tried it when it first came out, but didn’t try it again because we didn’t care for the crust. Before they originally had offered it at our local Garlic Jims I had emailed them asking if they were going to carry it, but never received a response. Six months later an email came from them stating that there were new owners and yes they were carrying gluten free (GF) pizza, yet I still didn’t try it. They are about 5 minutes from my house and the only other place with excellent GF pizza is about a half hour away and a bit expensive. I had wanted to try their pizza again when low and behold they started sending coupons for the GF pizza to my inbox. You too can sign up for coupons, check out the website.
It was time!

We ordered and instead of getting delivery (which btw we did have the first time, it took about an hour and the pizza was cold) we picked it up because we wanted this pizza hot out of the box. We tried it in the car and we ate half the pizza before we even made it home!

For those of you who have never tried GF pizza, there can be many issues with it. Have you tried to eat GF pizza and been disappointed? I know we have! Over the last couple of years we have tried a few different GF pizzas. Romio’s in Greenwood, Washington, has an excellent GF menu; is quite large for gluten free. They offer pizzas, pastas, appetizers, soups, salads, panninis, subs, grinders & gyros, desserts and beer! For those of you that don’t have food allergies this menu may not seem all that important, but to those of us gluten free this menu is HUGE!
For me the ONLY issue I have with Romio’s in Greenwood is that it isn’t close to home. Eating there is for a “going out” night and we don’t do this every day or even every week (or even every month). This is a full night out for us since it’s in a pretty cool area to hang out, Greenwood-Ballard - need I say more!
It’s not to say that we don’t go out, it’s the major nights out that we don’t do often.
There have been various other GF pizzas we have tried and not been interested in eating them twice. We’ve even made GF pizza at home, the results have been so-so. Honestly homemade GF pizza is fine but time consuming and when there is a group of people wanting to try it, it doesn’t go far.

Garlic Jims is less than 10 minutes from my house, they can deliver or we can pick it up on the way home. Can you say convenience and affordable? We really wanted this pizza to be good, the way you really crave something and there is nothing that stands between you and your craving. When I say we wanted it, we really wanted it!

Garlic Jims’ GF pizza did not disappoint. I was worried when I picked up the pizza though; the people working at this location were covered in flour. ACK! My brain froze on that thought, flour. I am totally flour and bread crumb phobic after being diagnosed with Celiac. It doesn’t control me, but it is something that floods my brain and can induce momentary panic. How could a gluten free pizza be served to me (albeit in a box) by someone wearing an apron covered in flour?! My thoughts quickly changed to how the pizza smelled and it smelled good. The box didn’t have any floury finger prints on it, so that was a bonus, and to be honest the person at the register wasn’t covered in flour. Once my momentary panic subsided I was able to eat 3 pieces (yes 3) in a matter of minutes! Yes I was hungry, but more importantly that was one helluva pizza! The crust is thin but chewy with a good flavor, the toppings were plentiful and it was darn good. One thought crossed my mind though, was this pizza really good or was it just me in a pizza starved state? I had a gluten eater try my pizza and he liked it too; one down! My oldest son also only eats gluten free so I had to save him a slice; he liked it so much he has bought many a pizza since then. It is also important to mention that neither of us got sick from the pizza, which is rather important.***Make sure you read the note below regarding the flour on the aprons.

All in all we loved the pizza from Garlic Jims and we will eat it again and again and again (you get the idea)! It seems worth mentioning the pizza is very reasonably priced also; what makes it reasonable is the size! The pizza is the same size as its wheat containing cousin, this is seems to be unusual as most Gluten Free pizzas are smaller, this is a great thing!
Enjoy!

***I need to add this as it is important. I received an email from Garlic Jims, the "flour" all over the aprons is Gluten Free!!!
When we decided to start selling GF pizzas, we switched our slapping flour from wheat-based to one that is a corn/rice mix. Our regular pizzas still have gluten in them, but they come already made as dough balls and just need to be slapped out and that can easily be done with our GF slapping flour.
Our processes have been completely certified by the Gluten Intolerance Group of North America as being safe of cross-contamination.

~Thank you for reading What The Food~

Apple Cake yet again

2009-10-16T12:50:00.000-07:00

The weather is rainy and cool; just thinking about that makes me laugh! We live in the Pacific Northwest. Need I say more!

We had a beautiful summer which hung on well into October, it is my first long summer since moving here. It was well enjoyed. Autumn is truly upon us though, we have been to the orchard for our apples and pears. As we are well into a rainy week baking with apples comes to mind; I went on the hunt for an apple cake recipe.

HA I found my answer in a post from last winter! The recipe was quickly printed out and is on the menu for tonight. Enjoy!

~Thank you for reading What The Food~

Betty Crocker Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookie Review

2009-10-01T12:30:00.000-07:00

I was late to the knowledge that Betty Crocker came out with gluten free cake, cookie and brownie mixes. It seemed like everyone else knew about it before me so my review comes after many others. Of course I am gonna put my opinion in the mix anyways (no pun intended! HA!).

One thing I noticed about reviews is the texture, which is an issue with many gluten free cookies. When you bake with rice flour the texture seems to be a bit grainy and grainy is a texture I don’t want in my cookies. What I have always done with mixes was doctor them up and this time would be no different.
I wanted easy cookies but I sure as heck wanted them to taste good. I’ve tried a few ready to eat gluten free cookies and honestly they were not so great (honestly they were awful). I didn’t want these to be awful. Regular price at my local Safeway is over $4.00, on sale slightly under $4.00, at that price they better be good. To ensure their goody-goodness I added a few things and changed the recipe a bit!

Take your Betty Crocker Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookie mix; add a handful of Ghirardelli 60% cocoa chocolate chips, a handful of dried cranberries, a handful of sweetened coconut and some walnuts.
The box directions calls for butter and I used the amount given but it only calls for one egg.

The box said the cookie dough would be crumbly and considering all the extras I was putting in, I knew it would be even more so. Obvious solution, add another egg. The dough was soft and mixed together just fine. I ended up with 2 full cookie sheets of good sized cookies. I followed the baking directions, but added a minute to the time, with the extra stuff in there it seemed a good bet they would need to bake longer.

All in all the cookies were a hit with gluten and non gluten eaters. I would make these again, my way!

Cookies in pictures

2009-10-01T12:15:00.000-07:00

Some intersting articles for you

2009-09-11T09:49:00.000-07:00

This first article is from USA Today regarding the labeling of gluten free beers and how labeling will be easier now for producers.

This second article is a great one from The New York Times highlighting the costs of eating gluten free. Before reading this I had no idea that some countries actually treat Celiac as an illness and treatment costs are covered! Wouldn't that be nice.

Last but definitely not least is my favorite bit of information. ICanEat OnTheGo is an app for your iPhone/itouch and let me tell you I am quite excited about this app. The app cost $4.99 but is well worth the money. Just realize at this point in time there are a limited number of restaurants listed and only a few have gluten free menus. I am assuming that over time more restaurants will be added. ENJOY!

Here is a sample of information describing what the app can do!

Pinpoint meal choices that are gluten and/or allergen-free
Check your personal allergen summary provided for each menu item
See what US chains have not addressed your allergens
Review the cautions and source information from each chain
Work offline with no connectivity require

American Yogurt-Greek Style

2009-09-10T16:22:00.001-07:00

My favorite food this summer is Greek Yogurt with fresh fruit and a pinch of sugar (although I think tomato salad might be a close second). Greek Yogurt according to most websites is a thick yogurt made from sheep’s milk whereas most Greek Yogurt available in the USA is made from Cow’s milk. The little 5 oz containers of Greek Yogurt at my local Safeway go for over $2.00!
This price seems a bit spendy to me, I used to make my own yogurt so I got to wondering why couldn’t I make my own Greek Yogurt now. There isn’t any goat’s milk available to me at a reasonable price which means I’m going to stick with cow’s milk. I guess this means I am making Americanized Greek Yogurt!

Problem with making yogurt is it can be a little thin; there are many recipes out there using gelatin or powdered milk to aid in thickening. While these recipes may turn out a fine end product I didn’t really want to mess around with them. Keeping it simple works for me most of the time.

An easy way to keep homemade yogurt thick without adding any of the thickening aids is to use whole milk or cream. I use equal amounts of half n half and milk in my recipe, the yogurt turns out thick and delicious every time! Enjoy!

American Yogurt-Greek style
2 cups milk, I use 2% because that’s what we buy
2 cups half n half
¼ cup store bought Greek Yogurt or ¼ cup any PLAIN yogurt

-You will need a large glass bowl that is super clean; wash with hot soapy water, rinse well and then rinse with boiling water-set aside to cool.
-Heat the milk and half n half to almost boiling. The point of doing this is to kill any bacteria that could change your yogurt into something you don’t want (think pink and poisonous). Let the milk cool to about 110° to 115°.
-While the milk is cooling, preheat your oven to its lowest setting or about 145°. The idea here is to keep the yogurt warm and undisturbed while its “yogurting” but you don’t need a hot oven, just a warm one.
-When the milk has cooled down mix about ½ cup of the milk with the ¼ cup of yogurt, pour this into the large glass bowl along with the remaining milk. Stir this up because you want the yogurt (starter) mixed in. Cover with plastic wrap and a clean towel. Place in your preheated oven and turn the oven OFF, shut the door and do not disturb for at least 4 hours. Leave the oven light on to help maintain some warmth and to remind you that there is something in there! Wouldn’t want to forget it’s in there and turn the oven on for something else!
-After 4 hours the yogurt should be nice and thick. Remove the towel and plastic wrap DO NOT STIR. Leave the yogurt alone and place in the fridge. I don’t recommend covering it until it cools as the condensation would just drip back into the yogurt.

My pets and I enjoy this yogurt almost every day for breakfast. A fresh peach cut up with a tiny bit of sugar and I am full and happy. Yes I did say my pets eat this yogurt also, it’s good for them! We have Chinese Cresteds and these 2 guys tend to have some skin issues, it just seems to be a good idea to me to feed them yogurt! It has long been recommended that yogurt be eaten to help keep the body in balance with bacterial infections and I assume it helps the dogs also!
For some information about the health benefits of yogurt check out WHFoods, they have lots of great information. Also I know some people eat a bit healthier then I do and if you are one of those people, feel free to use organic milk and yogurt (starter) or even raw milk for your yogurt

Gluten free Mini berry cakes

2009-08-12T12:13:00.001-07:00

A friend posted a recipe the other day and I was jealous; the recipe wasn’t gluten free but it looked wonderful. Almost immediately I decided it had to become gluten free. It was a fairly simple; straightforward recipe. I could do this and do it I did. Let me tell you it is well worth making and eating and making and eating and making and eating, oh you get the idea by now.

They are mini cakes; chewy, crispy, fruity yummy buttery goodness although the original recipe was for mini berry cobblers. You make them and let me know how fruity yummy buttery you think they are.

1 ½ cups gluten free flour blend

1 cup sugar

1 tsp. baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

¾ tsp xanthan gum

1 cup milk, slightly warmed

6 Tbsp butter, melted

1 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

blackberries, raspberries or blueberries

sugar for sprinkling

Let me point out that yes that may seem like a lot of salt and vanilla but keep in mind that gluten free needs all the flavor help it can get so I always increase the salt and vanilla when converting a recipe.

Prepare a 12 cup muffin pan by either greasing well or using paper liners. I use the paper liners and spray them with Pam to ensure no sticking as the berries tend to stick.

Preheat oven to 350°

Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and xanthan gum. I prefer to use a whisk to blend the dry ingredients as you want to make sure the xanthan gum is fully blended. Stir in the milk then the melted butter and vanilla. Do not beat, just barely stir this together.

Fill muffin cups ¾ full, top with berries (about 5 berries per muffin cup) and sprinkle with sugar. I have contemplated a sprinkle of nutmeg but haven’t done so yet.

Bake at 350° for 30 minutes. Cool on a rack, enjoy warm.

1 1/2 cups of sorghum flour

1 1/2 cups of potato starch (NOT potato flour, there is a difference)

1 1/2 cups of tapioca flour

To combine, place all flours in a large bowl and whisk until thoroughly combined. Transfer to a large storage container or large plastic food bag.

Hot Summer Salad

2009-08-03T07:19:00.000-07:00

Since the hot summer days are upon us it seemed the perfect time for a hot summer salad.

You can read the whole posting at This Is Diversity.

I also want to say, thank you for supporting me by reading my blog!

My American Heritage

2009-06-15T17:18:00.001-07:00

People write all the time about their Italian Grandmother’s cooking or their Hungarian Grandfather baking, I am jealous. It always seemed to me that so many have a food heritage that I don’t have.

For years I have bemoaned the fact that we don’t have a recipe for Italian sauce handed down through the years or no German Grandmothers spatzle recipe. Oddly enough my Grandma’s father was from Italy and my Grandpa’s parents were from Germany! Honestly I have always felt shortchanged in this matter. One day I realized I do have a food heritage, it is American. To those who are proud of their food heritage you may look at this as not all that much and that is quite alright. My heritage is what it is and for that I am thankful. I have a rich line of cooks in my family, the kind of cooks that fed their families well during the Great Depression, the kind of cooks that took nothing and made it into a nourishing meal for their families. For this I am proud.

I feel privileged to be a part of them. No they were not all in paying jobs but they all were cooks and bakers and I do feel pride to be a part of that. Our Grandma Olive was an excellent cook and baker, she taught me to believe in what I am doing, she made her pie crust from memory and feel. She always had us in the kitchen, touching food, preparing food, not being afraid. I don’t remember rules from her, just cooking together even when I was too young to do any actually cooking. I would have been about 4 years old I remember her preparing dinner; she would set aside the trimmings, hand me a knife (I never cut myself either) and cutting board and let me play. It wasn’t really play though was it? Today they would call it a form of learning but so many of us today wouldn’t hand a four year old a knife and a cutting board for fear they would cut themselves, with our fear showing through it passes on to our child and the learning process ends because we never get that far. Was I any different? No, I didn’t hand any of my children a knife when they were 4! Do they cook and create in the kitchen today without fear; happily yes they can and do. I am not sure how or why but all the styles work, as long as there is love and hands on learning.

Another wonderful woman played a great role in my learning. It wasn’t until recently that I realized how much love she had bestowed upon me. I was a young newlywed living in her home, married to one of her sons. Although I was too young, she never treated me differently for it. I was too young and needed her and she was there for me. I do not have many cooking memories with her; we were not in her home for a long enough time. What stayed with me was her love and her allowing me into her kitchen just as my beloved Grandmother did, without boundaries. If there were any I didn’t realize them, that’s a good thing for a learning cook; to fly like the bumble bee – they don’t know any better; no one ever told them they couldn’t and yet they fly. Young people need to cook knowing a few basic safety guidelines but mainly they just need the freedom to do so. Even though our food time together was short I have 2 very different and distinct cooking memories with her. The first was that I died her spoon red from Kool-Aid! I realized then that people like to have their kitchen respected. The second is what I like to call Geri’s potatoes. Is there another name they go by? I’m quite sure there is but I hadn’t encountered it until recently.

Geri’s potatoes are deceptively easy; their deliciousness goes with breakfast, lunch or dinner and are easily made by the novice. Creamy soft on the inside much like freshly made hash browns, which I hope you have had. Homemade hash browns are creamy soft on the inside and crisp fried on the outside, usually made and served in a patty shape. Geri’s potatoes are cubed but other than that they are quite similar to the typical hash brown. Or is it typical only to me?
Wikipedia describes hash browns as such: Hash browns or hashed browns are a simple potato preparation in which potato pieces are pan-fried after being shredded, julienned, diced, or riced.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hash_browns

Geri’s potatoes fit the Wiki description which makes them a style of hash browned potatoes.

Here’s the way to make Geri’s potatoes (hash browns!):

Wash and peel enough potatoes per person, I usually figure 2 per person and one for the pot, dice the potatoes, not too big and not too small

***This sounds simple and truly it is, don’t over think it, once you know the size its second nature, take a look at the picture. I would say the cubes need to be the size of a large pea or your pinkie nail. Yes that gives you some leeway, not too picky here just realize it gives you maximum crisp and creaminess at the same time***

Put your diced potatoes into a bowl and sprinkle with salt, pepper and a pinch of (this is my big secret to hash browns and fried spuds) paprika. It seems the potatoes brown up just right to me when you add just a pinch of paprika. The paprika isn’t there to add a lot of flavor, just a little something.

Before you go any further make sure you have a lid that fits your skillet. This is important; you must have a lid for the potatoes to turn out correctly. Heat a skillet on low while you are preparing your potatoes. I prefer a seasoned cast iron skillet (although it isn't what I used for the pictures).
Before you’re ready to start cooking, turn the heat up to medium and add a full coating of oil. Not butter, not olive oil, nothing extra just any old cooking oil that you have on hand. You are not adding any flavor, this is about the potatoes. IF I remember correctly Geri used either Crisco shortening or oil. You want your oil hot but not smoking. How much oil? Enough to coat the bottom of the pan but a bit more. This isn’t deep frying but you want enough oil to crisp those potatoes up real well. As soon as your pan is hot pour your potatoes in.

WARNING the pan is hot, the oil is hot and oil does splatter.As you are pouring them in you start on one side of the pan and move to the other side, this is one quick motion but it serves to put the potatoes in an even layer. It is ok if the potatoes are not in one layer, they will all eventually touch the surface of the pan which is what you want for maximum crispness. Put the lid on the pan, turn the heat down to medium low and walk away. This is the type of cooking that gives you time to do something else, prepare your eggs or drink a cuppa joe or sit and read. Whatever you do doesn’t matter, learn the old adage a watched pot doesn’t boil.

From Bartleby; A watched pot never boils - : Something we wait for with impatient attention seems to take forever.
WATCHED POT NEVER BOILS - ".A pot will, in fact, boil even if you watch, but it will SEEM to take forever, and that is really the point of this amusing proverb. So if you must wait for something to happen, take your mind off the waiting by doing something else. It's amazing how much faster 'the pot' seems to reach a boil. As for the saying itself, the English novelist Elizabeth Gaskell first rendered it in 'Mary Barton' (1848), giving the exact wording of the current version." From "Wise Words and Wives' Tales: The Origins, Meanings and Time-Honored Wisdom of Proverbs and Folk Sayings Olde and New" by Stuart Flexner and Doris Flexner (Avon Books, New York, 1993).

Give it about 15 minutes, take the lid off and start flipping the potatoes, don’t worry about how brown they are or are not as they all will get browned by the time you are done. The lid doesn’t need to go back on after this point. The lid caused the heat and steam to build up cooking your potatoes through the oil and hot pan give them the crispness. All you’re doing now is flipping the potatoes every 5 minutes or so, do this until most if not all the potatoes are crispy coated.

Your potatoes will turn out to be a lovely crispy and creamy texture by the time you’re done. I hope you make these potatoes and add to your own family heritage.

Potatoes

2009-06-15T17:05:00.001-07:00

What to eat!

2009-06-01T22:46:00.001-07:00

I will be honest and tell you that the only thing I eat on this menu is pizza. I am just so happy to have pizza, although I want to try other things on the menu, the pizza just comes first.

The pizza is excellent. Nothing more to say.

If you are in the are do yourself a favor and eat gluten free at Romios in Greenwood.

More Soup! Why yes indeed

2009-05-20T21:08:00.000-07:00

The other day I was shopping at my local Fred Meyer and as usual they have excellent quality produce. Which brings me to mushrooms, not something I liked to eat when I was a kid but my all grown up tastes love mushrooms. Wait a second, let me clarify, my all grown up tastes only like cooked mushrooms. Yes, I do realize people eat and love raw mushrooms! My oldest son will steal them from the cutting board when I am prepping them for cooking! To me raw mushrooms taste like dirt, funny thing cooked beets taste like dirt but I like them.

As usual I ramble around the topic. Something I haven't eaten in a long time is cream of mushroom soup but as usual traditional isn't something I do well which means I made cream of mushroom soup my way. I love the traditional chowder method taught to me by my Grandma. This mushroom soup is thick and chunky, full of potatoes, chicken and mushrooms.

As usual there isn't a clear recipe and quite frankly I can't give you one. Ya know when you buy bulk mushrooms they have little paper bags to put the mushrooms in? Take one of those bags and fill it 3/4 full of either button or crimini mushrooms, that's how many mushrooms you need.

Tell ya what I will just give you the basic formula of the soup and then you can change it up however you like.

I am using a soup pan or stockpot, which is usually a 6 quart stockpot. Heat the pan on low, while it is heating chop an onion, add enough oil (olive or whatever vegetable oil you like) to lightly coat the bottom of the pan. Turn the heat up for a few minutes, word of advise, don't walk away from the pan! My stove top has numbers on the knob and I set it at 6, that's the medium heat setting. As soon as the oil is hot dump in the onions. Turn the heat down to 3/medium low, while the onions cook, cut up the mushrooms. I like to wash my mushrooms, put them on paper towels to dry off a bit and then slice most of them, some get chopped into itty bitty pieces. Dump the mushrooms into the pan with the onions, stir them around and let cook on low. What happens when you cook mushrooms on low? They release a lot of liquid and get all soft. As soon as they are soft I turn the heat up and brown them up a bit!

Now if you want chicken in your soup this is when you would saute the cubed chicken until lightly browned. While the chicken is sauteing wash, peel and cube potatoes. How many? Excellent question. I don't have the answer for you. It depends on how much soup you want to make and how much you like potatoes! I use about 5 lbs of russet potatoes for the soup. Seems like a lot but honestly its what happens. A mix of potatoes is nice also, the lovely yellow potato makes a wonderful addition to the soup. After your potatoes are cubed add them to the pan and stir everything up, add enough broth to cover everything. For me this is 2 cartons of Progresso chicken broth which is gluten free. I don't recommend salting your soup just yet, taste it after the potatoes are soft and then decide if it needs salt, but for sure add fresh ground pepper (truth be told I don't always use fresh ground). Bring the soup to a simmer on medium heat, stir, put the lid on and turn the heat down so the soup barely simmers.

When your potatoes are soft you can either smash most of them with a vegetable masher or puree in the blender. While on low, pour in 1/2 cup of half n half or heavy cream, your choice. Taste your soup and add salt and pepper to taste.

The great thing about this soup, you can change it up as you wish. Cook bacon to crisp, drain on paper toweling but keep the fat in the pan as you are going to saute the onions in it. That was the key to chowder according to my Grandma, cook your onions in the hot bacon fat is what she told me. Your choices are many, here are some ideas:

oil, bacon grease, butter, olive oil

potatoes

leeks, onions, shallots

chicken and any combo from above

You chose what style soup; spicy chicken corn chowder (corn, green chilies, chili powder, cheese),

chicken and mushroom (see the above recipe)

OR; ground beef and cheddar cheese

or no meat and just a vegetable soup, with or without cheddar

Butternut Squash Soup

2009-05-20T19:09:00.000-07:00

There has been many a soup made this winter, need there be reasons? Let’s see, comfort, warmth, yumminess (is that a word?) and frugality all come to my mind. Many of the soups I make are potato based and I will get into those more another time, the soup I want to focus on today is butternut soup. I was introduced to Butternut Soup by a coworker. I was enchanted by the color, warmth and delightfulness of this soup. I had to make it!

Butternut soup is an amazing soup. This soup defies expectations, all of us expected the overwhelming taste of butternut squash but that isn't the case at all. This soup has a gentle flavor and you owe it to yourself to try it. Oddly enough and apparently I am alone in this thought but the soup to me has this essence I can't put my finger on. My first guess was some type of seafood, a touch, just a touch of seafood. Alas there is no seafood of any kind in this soup, just my imagination apparently!
All you need is butternut squash, gluten free chicken broth, bulb fennel and a shallot.

If you can find the butternut squash already peeled and cubed, save yourself the trouble of doing it yourself and buy it! (I MEAN IT, peeling and cubing is a pain, butternut is a very HARD squash) At some grocery stores there are little bags of ready to use cubed butternut squash, I won’t buy it though. Ha! I know I just told you that it is a pain to peel and cube a butternut squash but for some reason doing as much as possible as cheaply as possible is ingrained in me. It appears I will continue to use a whole squash but you feel free to buy it ready to go. There is another alternative and that is baking the squash, scraping out the flesh and using it in the soup. I would think it would still need to be pureed though but it seems this baking might give the squash even more flavor. Hmmm, sounds like I need to test butternut squash one more time.
May I suggest you start small until you know if you like it or not as a huge pot of soup you don't like is a major bummer. All I was able to find in stores were fairly small squash so that is what I used, although what I am accustomed to isn’t small squash. It seems a city vs. country thing, when I lived in the country large squash was all the rage (honestly you know what I mean!).

1 butternut squash either pre-baked or peeled, seeded and cubed (yes I saved the seeds)
2 shallots, diced
1/2 bulb fennel, diced, set aside a couple of TBSP for later use in the recipe
butter
gluten free chicken broth
water

Start by sautéing the shallots and fennel in butter. You’re not looking for the shallot to brown much, just to soften a bit. Stir in cubed butternut squash and sauté for a few minutes; pour in about 2 cups broth and 1 cup water. The idea isn’t to have a lot of liquid but just enough to cover the squash, if 3 cups total isn’t enough then put more in but don’t go heavy on the liquid or you will end up needing to thicken the soup. Put the lid on your soup pan and simmer on low for 30 to 40 minutes or until the squash is fork tender.

If you are using roasted squash then you get to skip the 30 to 40 minutes of cooking, instead cooking for about 15 minutes to allow the flavors to blend together. When the squash is tender, remove the pan from the heat, take the lid off and let it cool a bit. Blending hot soup can blow the lid off of your blender, its best to err on the side of caution when it comes to this. I have blended hot soup before and had the lid come flying off, and yes this was in my younger days. If you are comfortable with blending the boiling hot soup by holding the lid on with a towel then go right ahead.Puree your soup until smooth, pour it back into the pan and heat on low. Adjust the seasoning to your liking, personally for me fresh cracked pepper is where it’s at. While your soup is heating it’s time to do something with that little bit of diced fennel you set aside; fry it in some butter until browned and a bit crispy, stir into the soup before serving. Enjoy!

Mango Salsa

2009-05-02T09:17:00.000-07:00

Writers block is over! The thanks belongs to a new/old friend who mentioned he made mango salsa. YUMMMMM
In no way do I think my mango salsa is unique, there are hundreds of recipes for tropical salsas all over the internet BUT that won't stop me from sharing mine with you today!

Not sure why but I never make mango salsa in the winter! Today is warming and sunny so mango salsa sounds like a wonderful thing to eat with our bbq today.

As usual I can't really give you a recipe, just guidelines of what I put in my salsa and about how much I put in. Sorry but thats just how I roll! There are amounts listed but lets face it, if the pepper isn't spicy enough then put more in. If the lime isn't tangy enough add a splash of vinegar. You get the general idea!

I think the key to mango salsa is to make it an hour before you want to eat it, this gives the juices time to blend.

2 to 4 mangos, peeled and cubed - this depends on how sweet and fruity you want the salsa

2 or more jalapenos, chopped fine - again how spicy do you want this

1 to 2 red peppers, no not bell peppers but the ones in the spicy pepper section (sorry the name slips through the brain right now), no not the super spicy burn your mouth red pepper but the one that looks more like a jalapeno!

1 sweet onion diced (I have used red but only use half as a whole is too powerful)

4 to 8 garlic cloves, smashed (diced & then smashed with the flat edge of the knife), if you sprinkle 1/4 tsp salt on the garlic while chopping/smashing it, this brings out the juices even more

1 to 2 limes, juiced

1 tsp salt, to taste

a sprinkle of black pepper

a splash of rice wine vinegar

If you like and usually I do, chop a red and a green bell pepper and maybe a yellow too and put some of that in. I don't want the taste of this to overpower the salsa so I might start by putting half of the peppers in and going from there

Pictures soon to follow!

Time

2009-04-18T13:36:00.000-07:00

I must apologize for not writing. Time has slipped through my fingers (again).
School is something that I have started recently, between that and work I have had writers block. On top of that I haven't done anything interesting in the baking/cooking world lately.
Promise to write something yummy soon.

Fast Food French Fries-Gluten Free?

2009-01-17T18:38:00.000-08:00

lAre fast food french fries gluten free? NO, no they are not, although there might be one that is! This may seem like a silly topic, unless you need to eat gluten free and you really want french fries. It isn't easy to find allergy information for each fast food restaurant so I included what I could find.

Here is an important lesson to learn, I was told that fast food french fries are alright to eat on a gluten free diet. What I won't do is tell you where I heard that from as I don't see the point in doing so but I thought it would have been reputable enough. Alas I didn't check the McDonald's or Wendy's websites on my own. Lesson learned, always find out for yourself. Don't just take my word for it, go on....
Please check each companies web site often because even if they make something gluten free today, it may change the next day.

May I suggest to you, if you are reading this then you are looking for information. Please keep looking for information, don't stop here. Always check for yourself to make sure the information you are reading is correct and not just opinion, I have included the restaurants information so you can know this isn't my opinion.

May I also suggest you don't play with your health. If there is a potential for cross contamination why would you take that risk??? From all the comments people have left I can see that some people don't want to give up their fast food french fries. WHY do you do this to yourself?!!!! Here is the point people: just because you can't feel any intestinal pain or distress DOES NOT mean the damage isn't occurring. Why would you want to risk future disease by eating french fries from a giant company that tells you their fries are not safe for you????
You can make excuses for anything you want!

Here is some information for you to wrap your heads around, this was taken from here
Celiac disease is thought to involve delayed immunoreaction and patients would not generally be expected to have an immediate and violent reaction to eating wheat whereas allergic reactions of the immediate hypersensitivity type might be both immediate and violent. It is also possible that both immediate hypersensitivity and delayed reactions might be present in the same person. There is a considerable potential then for confusion between allergy and celiac disease. It may be difficult to distinguish immediate hypersensitivity reactions or allergies from celiac disease as traditionally defined, but more research on this problem is needed.
Disclaimer: this post was originally written in 2009, please keep checking companies websites for updated information.

Here is what McDonald's has to say:
French Fries: Potatoes, vegetable oil (canola oil, hydrogenated soybean oil, natural beef flavor [wheat and milk derivatives]*), citric acid (preservative), dextrose, sodium acid pyrophosphate (maintain color), salt. Prepared in vegetable oil ((may contain one of the following: Canola oil, corn oil, soybean oil, hydrogenated soybean oil with TBHQ and citric acid added to preserve freshness), dimethylpolysiloxane added as an antifoaming agent). * CONTAINS: WHEAT AND MILK (Natural beef flavor contains hydrolyzed wheat and hydrolyzed milk as starting ingredients).

Wendy's: (take note french fries isn't on this list) (they produce a gluten free list btw and french fries is NOT on that list)
Side Items:
Chili
Hot Chili Seasoning Packet
Shredded Cheddar Cheese
Mandarin Oranges
Strawberry Yogurt Squeezerz

Arby's didn't have their information in a format I could copy so I am including the link but the gist of the matter is you cannot eat their french fries if you need to eat gluten free.

Jack In The Box: Natural Cut Fries Potatoes, Partially Hydrogenated Vegetable Shortening (Soybean Oil and/or Canola Oil), Salt, Disodium Dihydrogen Pyrophosphate (to promote color retention), Dextrose. Cooked in Frying Shortening. OR Potatoes, Partially Hydrogenated Vegetable Shortening (Soybean Oil and/or Cottonseed Oil), and/or Vegetable Oil (Canola, Soybean, and/or Sunflower Oils), Salt, Dextrose, Disodium Dihydrogen Pyrophosphate (to Maintain Natural Color). Cooked in Frying Shortening

Seasoned Curly Fries Potatoes, Partially Hydrogenated Vegetable Shortening (Soybean Oil And/Or Canola Oil), Enriched Bleached Flour (Wheat Flour, Niacin, Iron, Thiamin Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Salt, Modified Food Starch, Dextrin, Corn Meal, Cornstarch, Corn Flour, Garlic Powder, Leavening (Disodium Dihydrogen Pyrophosphate, Sodium Bicarbonate), Spices, Onion Powder, Spice and Coloring, Yeast Extract, Natural Flavor, Dextrose, Sugar, Artificial Color. Cooked in Frying Shortening. Contains Wheat

Burger King, didn't list french fries on their allergy menu that I could see but they did mention this: French Fries are fried on in a fryer designated for French Fries only. This is important info because one of the issues with fries is when they are cooked in a shared fryer.

Gluten Free Flour Blend

2009-01-14T19:20:00.001-08:00

Nope, this isn't about soup! Soup is in the works though (a butternut and a potato leek), for now I wanted to very quickly post the flour blend I use.

The recipe I started with was a traditional white rice flour blend but quite honestly it didn't turn out baked goods that I really enjoyed. It turned out a sandy/gritty cookie and the yeast breads had this taste that I couldn't identify and definitely didn't like. Thankfully there are many pioneers in the gluten free baking world that taught us about some new flours, namely sorghum and brown rice, along with teff, amaranth and millet. I will gladly use any of these flours and while I am not going to get into the nutritional qualities (links I will provide) I will just give you the recipes.

Living Without is the basis of my flour recipes and first off is the basic rice flour blend:

1/2 cup rice flour

1/4 cup tapioca starch

1/4 cup cornstarch or potato starch

Here is their High-Fiber Blend:

1 cup brown rice flour or sorghum flour

1/2 cup teff flour (preferably light)

1/2 cup millet flour or Montina flour

2/3 cup tapioca starch

1/3 cup cornstarch or potato starch

Here is my version of their High-Fiber Blend:

1 cup brown rice flour

1 cup sorghum flour

1 1/3 cup tapioca starch

1/3 cup potato starch

1/3 cup cornstarch

I like to use the brown rice and the sorghum together along with using all of the starches to hopefully get the best of all of them! I could be wrong and I may change it all eventually but for now this works for me.

Try any of them and let me know how they work for you.

Soup is on the back burner, I have been testing some recipes and thought maybe you all might need a flour blend recipe! Enjoy!

Basic info and Nutrition Info

Winter's Soup

2009-01-05T22:17:00.000-08:00

Winter's Soup

It is cold out and we have had more than our fair share of snow and cold lately. Did I happen to mention that we live in the Seattle area and snow is slightly unusual for us? Oh well, yes of course I have lived other places where snow is the norm.Places where LOTS OF SNOW is the norm (Alaska and Michigan). Although there are areas around us that always get snow, say in the Mountains, we don't get that much on a consistent basis here.
Yes I can deal with the snow - large pause - there is a reason we live here instead of
those other places.
Regardless of whether or not you or I want to deal with the snow or cold, it is cold out!

As I write this, the temp here is 43°. And just for grins, .... here are the current temps from some little towns around the USA:

Lexington - MI 19°

Ester - AK -47°

Tampa - FL 61°

Wichita Falls - TX 33°

El Cajon - CA 48°!

Do you see what I mean? It is cold out there.

Seems a good time for some winter soup, there are a few standbys for us and beef stew is probably tops at that list. Alas there are other forgotten soups, earthy and filling with the simple potato in a starring role.

Leek and Potato Soup
Cheeseburger Chowder
Corn Chowder
Clam Chowder
Butternut Soup

Of course there are many other soups to consider although I am stuck on these for now.

I will be making these soups over the next few weeks, posting some pictures and a recipe or two. There are a few ingredients that are consistent in many of these recipes, baking potatoes, bacon and broth. Lately I have been using Progresso Brand broths are they are gluten free, both the chicken and beef broth make excellent soups. Another brand worth checking out for their gluten free goodness is Pacific Natural Foods. Pacific soups are wonderful and if you need a great tomato soup, you can't go wrong with theirs. It is important to support those companies that actually label their products (one can assume that much goes into being able to put gluten free on the label). Thanks to M. for buying some IGA broth, it says right on the front Gluten Free!

In the next few days I will be making one of the yummy and warming soups. Winter keeps my hands cold; the best place to change that is in the kitchen with some steaming hot soup!
Stay tuned for recipes and pictures.

Perfect Bundt Cake a la Gluten Free-Apple Bundt Cake that is!

2008-12-10T17:00:00.000-08:00

For years I have searched for the perfect to me Bundt Cake. What is perfection to one isn't to another. Pound cake might be your perfect Bundt Cake, or a butter cake, alas to me this isn't a perfect Bundt Cake. I searched for the oil is the fat in my perfect Bundt Cake! After much searching and asking around a few recipes peaked my interest. To get the right combination for me I combined a couple of the recipes I liked giving me the best qualities from both recipes. For now this is an Apple Spice Bundt Cake but it would seem the possibilities are endless.
There is a combination of flours in this recipe which seems to add depth of flavor along with helping in the height factor that many gluten free cakes are missing. This cake uses apple cider for maximum flavor boost. Simply Apple from the makers of Simply Orange Juice is a year round wonderfully authentic apple cider. It's what I recommend for this cake.

Since I wrote out this recipe I thought maybe I should try and explain what makes it my kind of cake. I don't view a Bundt cake as a special cake which is why the butter is the fat in the cake is out. A Bundt Cake is an every day kind of cake, sweet, flavorful, sometimes spicy, soft with just enough structure to hold together. When you cut this cake and see the texture my description will make sense (hopefully!).

Gluten Free Apple Spice Bundt Cake

Apple Filling:
2 cups peeled and chopped apples ***don't make them to small or they disappear into the cake and try and use tart apples***
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
***Optional 1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts
Combine in a small bowl and set aside

Cake Batter:
2 1/4 cups gluten free flour blend
1/4 cup almond flour
1/4 cup coconut flour
1/4 cup buckwheat flour
1 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp ginger and cloves
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups sugar
1 cup safflower oil
1/4 cup apple cider
2 tsp. vanilla
4 eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour (your gf flour blend) a 10 inch Bundt pan and set aside.
Sift together flour, almond flour, coconut flour, buckwheat, baking powder, salt, xanthan gum, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves.

In a large bowl, combine the sugar, oil, apple cider, vanilla, and eggs. Beat at medium speed until smooth. Stir in flour mixture, mixing until well blended. Don't forget to scrape down the bowl, sounds simple of course but honestly I forget to do it often enough.

Spoon a layer into the pan, sprinkle with apples and walnut mixture. Top with remaining batter

Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for 50 to 55 minutes, or until cake is firm, well browned, and begins to pull away from pan edges Goes from done to burnt quickly. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely before glazing.

Apple Cider Glaze:
1 Tbsp apple cider aprox amount start with less just in case
1 tsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp butter softened
1 cup powdered sugar

Pumpkin

2008-11-08T08:30:00.000-08:00

This isn't about a recipe, yet. This is about pumpkins. I love them. Pretty much that's what this is about.

There is for me great pleasure in pumpkins. Its hard for me to say exactly what it is about pumpkins that appeals to me so greatly, regardless I have a love for pumpkins. Is it because they can transform into some of the most delicious foods? I doubt that is the reason, at most it's a partial reason. Its the odd beauty of the pumpkin that appeals to me. Pumpkins signal that the heat of summer is gone and the beauty of Autumn is upon us. Autumn is such a formal word for such a lowly vegetable, Fall is for pumpkins. Is this the appeal of pumpkins to me? I'm not sure, there is a beauty in the sizes, colors and vast variety of pumpkins. I will admit I do not have the same love for squash in general although they also come in many sizes, colors and they also become some delicious food. Squash is a good thing but for me it's pumpkins all the way.

There are quite a few recipes out there for pumpkin although the most famous especially at this time of year is pumpkin pie. Do I think I make the best pumpkin pie? No, not really. The most common and quite possibly the most famous pumpkin pie recipe is the Libby Pumpkin Pie. Even though this recipe is made often I don't think it is the absolute best recipe, that said I do enjoy it, sort of. Pumpkin pie is not my favorite pie and I have taste issues with the Libby recipe, I crave deeper flavors in my pumpkin pie. This means that there will be pumpkin pie testing this fall. Maybe!! I say maybe because even though I love to bake, sometimes time gets away from me and what I plan to bake doesn't happen. Although if I were to tell my family I wanted to do pumpkin pie testing they would encourage me heavily. My daughter is not one of the people that eats pumpkin pie though, she eats pumpkin muffins. I too love the pumpkin muffins and I will bake those year round. Pumpkin pie on the other hand isn't something I bake year round, I don't love it!!!! I like pumpkin pie but I don't love it. Hence pumpkin pie testing. As I read that last sentence it needs to be explained. Why bake something I don't love? Personally this is funny to me! I love pumpkins, enjoy eating pumpkin muffins and pumpkin bread and love pumpkin ice cream and lets not forget pumpkin cheesecake is delish. Shouldn't I also love pumpkin pie? Honestly that is what this is about. Pumpkin has a rich wonderful taste and aroma and pie is so popular that my assumption is there has to be a better pie recipe.

The recipes I will be testing are the Libby Pumpkin Pie recipe along with the pumpkin pie recipe from Fine Cooking and from Cooks Illustrated. There are also recipes that have been given to me by some friends and over time I will be trying them also. The Libby pie recipe of course is all over the place and is even on the cans label. I will admit I did not go out and spend the money on the issue of either magazine to have just those recipes. Why? Ya know how when you work and your busy and you can find a recipe online? YUP that's pretty much the reason, time. Which is also why my blog writing has slowed down, time. I started a new job (which I LOVE) the first of October and by the time I get home, make dinner and do the chores writing is getting pushed to the back burner. Dearest readers I will try and do better at this and write more often. As I settle into the routine of working it will get easier I assume!

Here is a website with a wide variety of pumpkin seeds but they have the pictures of almost all of the pumpkins they offer. Wonderful pumpkins and wonderful pictures (I wasn't kidding when I said I love pumpkins!!!).

Good For What Ails You Soup

2008-09-24T09:17:00.000-07:00

Let me start off by saying there are no pictures. Yes I know we see it, we want it, we cook it, we eat it! I get it! Thing is fall started and it makes me think of winter and winter makes me cold but it also reminds me that people start feeling down, whether physically or mentally. What happens when people get down? I make Good For What Ails You Soup. Is there an exact recipe? Why no, of course not. This is one of those ideas I had, it was inspired by an article years ago in an Eating Well magazine, and I do mean YEARS ago. It was something about soups and Asian inspired and how the ingredients in it were espeically good for you when you are not feeling well.

No idea what recipe it was and I don't remember what was in it, just the fact that it inspired this soup.

One thing you need to know about this soup is you make it fairly quickly and easily, thats why I used chicken breasts. This is something you can make even when you don't feel great!

Good For What Ails You Soup

~Much of the recipe depends on how many people you are making it for, so adjust accordingly~

*If you have acess to fresh herbs, use them*
Parsley, thyme, sage and rosemary in combination or whatever you have, about 1 TBSP minced
Basically a small bunch of herbs is what you need, it will fit in the palm of your hand, not neatly bundled but loosely

4 chicken breasts, cubed or cut into tiny pieces (I prefer the tiny pieces)
I like to lightly salt the chicken before I cook it, not much though

1 large yellow onion, chopped

4 to 8 cloves garlic, minced, how much depends on what you want....

1 minced jalapeno pepper, or whatever heat level you want...

4 carrots, peeled and diced fine

2 stalks celery, diced

fresh ginger, grated, how much again depends on you
BUT I use a little knob of ginger

1 tp 2 cups precooked rice*, depends on how thick or thin you like your soup

chicken broth
how much again depends on how much soup you are making but 1 container or enough to cover your ingredients in the pan by at least a few inches
Homemade is fairly easy and I will include directions for it on another post, otherwise use your favorite trusted brand, by trusted I mean gluten free for those of us that need gluten free, otherwise Swansons is fine. Right now if I don't make homemade I am using Pacific there is much good to say about Pacific foods but not right now, I am saving that for another day.

While you are preparing your chicken and veggies, heat the soup pot on low heat. Just as you are ready to start cooking turn the heat up to med-high and add olive oil, immediately add the chicken. Don't stir right away, let the chicken stick, it will brown up and that is when you want to stir it, flipping pieces over so that they brown up all over. When you add the chicken you might need to turn the heat up to keep the pan hot enough to brown the chicken, you want browning not steaming. When your satisfied with how brown the chicken is, remove it to a bowl and set aside.
What your going to do is put the pan back on the heat and start cooking the veggies in it. BUT does it need more fat to cook them in? I just use the leftover fat from cooking the chicken but if you don't like that you can wipe the pan out BUT I don't reccomend doing so. The whole idea here is to build layers of flavor and wiping the pan out removes the bits of flavor left from browning the chicken. Don't wipe out the pan, instead make sure there is enough fat for the veggies to not stick to the pan, add more if you need to.
In your soup pot, saute the onion and celery in a bit of butter or olive oil until the onion starts to color up. Add in the carrots and let them....how do I explain this, you are not browning the carrots, they are just adding to the juices from the onion and celery, kind of a building up layers of flavor. I like to sprinkle the veggies with a tiny bit of salt now, not much just enough to slightly enhance, again building layers of flavor. Stir in the garlic, jalapeno, ginger and herbs, do not brown them, just let them start to warm and soften and release their flavors and aromas.
Put the chicken back into the pan with the veggies, stirring well to blend everything togethor. Top off with broth. Hmmm how to tell you how much? You are going to be adding rice to the pan so you know that it will take up the extra space and soak up some of the broth. Usually the broth covers everything by an inch or two, better to add not enough then too much becasue you can always add more later if you need to. Bring the soup up to a simmer, turn the heat on low, put the lid on and walk away. The soup barely takes 30 minutes to cook.
I do like to add a couple of bay leaves while the soup simmers.
Check your soup now for flavor; salt and pepper it to your taste but you don't normally need more salt, just pepper. Add the cooked rice, put the lid back on and let it all marry togethor for about 10 minutes. Remove the bay leaves and enjoy your good for what ails you soup.

*If you don't have leftover rice you have 2 choices; cook some rice while your soup is cooking OR put 1 cup raw rice in your soup with the chicken. My personal preference is to use precooked rice, but you may do it either way.*

Flourless chocolate cake

2008-09-19T08:04:00.000-07:00

Sometimes one gets a craving for chocolate dessert and since going gluten free I have found it harder to satisfy this craving. There is no walking into a store and buying any old chocolate to satisfy my chocolate craving. No longer can I throw together a cake or brownie without some planning. This cake though is so easy to make and turns out perfect every time. If this cake lasts more then a day I am always surprised.

Flourless chocolate cake recipes abound online , making this one popular dessert. I compared recipes from many many sources; Scharffen Berger, Epicurious, Cacao Web, Allrecipes, and King Arthur Flour to just name a few. All of the recipes have some basic things in common, heavy on the chocolate, sugar, butter and eggs.

Some of these recipes called for small amounts of flour which can be replaced with a gluten free substitute. The choices for the gluten free flour are varied, flour blends (no xanthan gum needed), single flours (millet, sorghum, rice), coconut flour and almond flour. All of the flour choices make a fine substitute and you end up with a wonderful dessert.

It was difficult to decide which recipe to use for this cake but I finally turned to my cookbooks to see what they had to offer

One of my new favorites is written by Dorie Greenspan, Baking: From my home to yours. There are many lovely recipes in this book and more then a few can be converted to gluten free but this chocolate cake is my all time favorite. How can one go wrong with this? Again let us review, chocolate, sugar, eggs and butter Oh yeah what can be wrong with that? Nothing!

Here is my version of the recipe:

Flourless chocolate cake

5 large eggs, warmed in a bowl of hot water
8 oz bittersweet chocolate, I use Ghirardelli 60% cocoa chips-works great
1 cup sugar
5 TBSP. butter, cut into chunks
2 TBSP. coffee, water or liqueur
1/3 cup either almond flour or coconut flour (either works, neither adds must flavor but they do add a bit of texture)

Heat oven to 350°
Butter a 9-inch cake pan or springfrom pan, line with parchment paper, butter the paper. Place the pan on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or foil. This step can be skipped, it is just a preventive measure in case the springfrom pan leaks. I don't use the springform pan so I skip this step.

Separate eggs, putting the egg whites into a mixer bowl. Set aside.

Set a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, add the chocolate, sugar, butter and coffee. Stir occasionally until the chocolate and butter are melted. Transfer the bowl to a counter (I use a dry towel for this, saves hot drips from getting on my feet-in other words I am a barefoot baker!!!). Let set while you whip the egg whites. Whip egg whites with a pinch of salt until they hold firm, glossy peaks.

Using a spatula fold into the melted chocolate the egg yolks and the almond or coconut flour. Fold in about one quarter of the whipped whites, then gently fold in the rest of the whites. Granted you want to be gentle so you don't deflate the whites but I also like to make sure there are not streaks for whites left so I am pretty diligent about making sure all the whites are blended in.

Scrape the batter into your prepared pan. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, the cake will rise evenly and will the top will firm. The top may start to crack and this is alright, the center will no longer be jiggly when the cake is done. EVEN if you under bake slightly its ok.

When done, remove from the oven and let cool on a rack for 5 to 10 minutes and yes sinking is normal. Run a butter knife around the edges to loosen the cake. Invert the cake onto a plate and then invert it onto a serving platter. Dust with powdered sugar and serve. We love to have this warm with Breyer's vanilla ice cream.

Breyer's vanilla is my go to ice cream. There are no funny ingredients, the flavor is pure and delish. PLUS it is gluten free. If it is in the product it is on the label.

Flourless chocolate cake in Picture form

2008-09-19T05:38:00.000-07:00

Pumpkin muffins oh me oh my

2008-09-09T21:58:00.000-07:00

When my daughter was still a toddler I realized she was going to choose a different eating style then most. Many would call her picky but that never really mattered to me (she is mostly a vegetarian). As a Mom what matters most when it comes to feeding your children? Their health. As a cook and baker I knew there would be ways to feed her healthy foods that would keep both of us happy, it was just a matter of finding out what foods. Never will I say that I have conquered my worry over her eating habits because now she is a teen. Teenagers barely eat right in the first place but when a girl highly limits what she eats we are right to worry. There is a way to get around some of this worry and that is find something you can bake that this kid will eat. Plain and simple. No use trying to force a kid to eat, they won't do it. I tried it with my middle child and it was pure backfire, but of course now he eats almost anything. Nothing I did when he was younger forced him to like or eat some foods, eventually I learned to feed him lots of what he liked. The oldest son ate just about everything from day one, heck the kid liked spinach and beets!

Regardless of whether or not your kid is a picky eater they probably will like these muffins. No, really they will. I will tell you a secret, don't tell them what goes into the muffins! Just leave them freshly baked on the counter and the teenager will eventually come out of their room to see what smells so good. Might I suggest you not be around, let them snoop those muffins out on their own. Oh and don't leave the recipe or any evidence about what is in them laying around. Why on earth am I telling you this? Oh maybe cause it works. She wasn't quite a teen then, she was actually just a little kid but she wasn't about to eat anything that she deemed weird. Those muffins though, they smell so good and the color is so pretty and they have chocolate in them; what kid can resist? I will admit here and now I did not tell her what was in them, I said they were a muffin recipe from a friend and they were chocolate chip, nutmeg muffins! Eventually she realized what was in the muffins; Pumpkin! By the time she realized what was in them she didn't care, it was too late.

When my daughter isn't feeling well, or when I know she has been eating worse then usual I bake. Pumpkin muffins, apple crisp, chocolate zucchini cake, biscuits and so on. It gives me a sense that all is well when she eats something I know is better for her then say french fries!

Here is my recipe:

Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins
Makes about 24 muffins

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup olive oil

2 1/2 cups sugar

4 large eggs (warmed in a bowl of hot water)

2 cups (or one 15 oz. can) pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)

1/2 cup water

3 1/3 cups flour blend *recipe follows*

1 1/2 teaspoons xanthan gum

3 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional, I have always left these out because I wanted the kids to like the muffins)

1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 while you are preparing the muffin batter.

In a large bowl, mix together your dry ingredients with a whisk, making sure to blend well. In a smaller bowl whisk together the wet ingredients. Make a well in the center of your dry ingredients and mix until well blended. Your goal here isn't to super blend, you just want to make sure the dry ingredients are completely blended with the wet ingredients. I like to use a scrapper for this, it folds everything together quite well and then smashes any dry ingredients that lumped together.

Stir in the nuts and chocolate chips if you are using them. We haven't ever made these without the chocolate chips because the chocolate is one of the reasons we eat these muffins. BUT If you are not a chocolate eater then toffee chips or cinnamon chips would be nice.
Line the muffin pan with muffin papers while the batter rests, then scoop out enough batter into each cup to fill them to the top.
Bake at 350 for 35 minutes.
I like to rotate my pans half way through the baking because the back of the oven browns faster then the front. Also these muffins have never taken less then 35 minutes to bake, if anything they sometimes have taken 40 minutes. BUT be careful, under baked gluten free is GROSS but they can go from just right to too dark in that extra 5 minutes. Best advice is know your oven and keep a watchful eye on the muffins if after 35 minutes they need a bit more time. Let cool on wire rack. I prefer to take the muffins out of the pan as soon as they come out of the oven and not cool in the pan at all.

The muffin recipe is loosely based on one I found on The Baking Circle, Emmy's Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins.

* Gluten free flour blend, I have only used this blend for this recipe but I will be using it for other quick breads*

1 1/4 cups sorghum flour
2/3 cup millet flour
1/2 cup whole bean flour
1/4 cup coconut flour
2 TBSP. flaxseed meal
1/4 cup potato starch
Blend very well together

This recipe was based on a recipe in a book by Donna Washburn & Heather Butt
The Complete Gluten-Free Cookbook

~When I write out recipes I am assuming that you the reader know that you need to use gluten free vanilla and gluten free baking powder and gluten free chocolate chips and so on~

Shrimp on the bbq

2008-09-01T07:49:00.000-07:00

When I want to make something new one of the first things I do is check online for ideas and recipes. Just because I never follow a recipe to a T, doesn't mean a thing! When I went searching for shrimp on the bbq, I found this lovely site. I would like to tell you I followed the recipe exactly but we have already established that I don't do that! I also would like to tell you there are some wonderful pictures of this shrimp on the bbq but we ate them before I could even find the camera. Seriously the second those shrimp came off the bbq they were in our mouths. Picture people hovering around the bbq stuffing shrimp into their mouths and you have it exactly right! The shrimp was that good. Quite frankly though when you read the 2 recipes, don't ask me which one I used because I kind of combined them! Uh yeah well they both sounded good so our shrimp was sweet and spicy!

One the same night we

~~made~~ ate the shrimp we also made chicken skewers. Boneless chicken breast was on sale and since we already had the skewers out I figured why not! On the website someone suggests orange juice as an add in to marinade, it sounded good so why not? The chicken marinade consisted of; San-J - Tamari Organic Soy Sauce, orange juice concentrate and some spice to heat it up. This was some of the best tasting chicken we have had in a long time. Again there are no pictures because as it came off of the grill we stood around and ate it. Yes we are pigs! There I said it!
If you noticed we ate our protien but did we have any veggies with our meal? Why yes we did, thank you for asking. Mushrooms on the grill have become a staple at our house. YUMMMM would be the reason why. Place your mushrooms in a bowl and if they are dirty rinse them off. Yikes, I can hear the opposition now ! Yes I said rinse your mushrooms off, yes I have heard the old wives tale about not washing mushrooms and yes I called it an old wives tale. My oh my you people are hard headed. If you have been paying attention you know I wash my mushrooms, read about it here.

Rambling

2008-08-08T07:16:00.000-07:00

Here's the deal, this thing called Rambling is where I just talk about this or that!

Our annual BBQ is coming up in a week or 2 and this year we have decided to have a pig pickin! Said pig will be cooked in our La Caja China. Along with said pig there will be some chickens stuffed into the La Caja China. Hopefully enough people show up to eat said pig and said chickens. Ok ok I have used the word said enough!

When you first hit the La Caja China site the picture of a pig roasted to perfection is what you will see. Our pig isn't going to look like that. The head takes up too much room, it would sit where we want to stuff in the chickens, that being said (ha ha) the head is coming off, as are half the legs! I suppose we are not truly having a pig pickin if we are removing rather large parts of the pig ahead of time (no pun intended) but quite frankly I didn't want to look at the pigs head either! Granted it is fact we eat animals that some people have for pets and I am no Peta pita (don't yell at me for saying anything about Peta, I'm just saying...) that doesn't eat meat. Naw I am just squeamish about the head being there. It has eyes for Pete's sake. Eyes that are not alive are still there and I don't need said pigs eyes looking at me. No I am not really that squeamish! There is some part of my past life where I went fishing, baited my own hook along with killing my own fish along with beheading and gutting said fish! Now I am rambling and officially have used the word said way to many times. Oh yeah, the head and half the legs are really coming off of the pig because we are not going to be eating those parts. Can you just see us sitting around chewing on the pigs ears? Or its hooves? I believe in waste not as much as the next person but I think the butcher can find something to do with those parts!

The La Caja China is quite frankly something I love. The meat that comes out of that Cuban/Chinese roasting box is quite fantastic and I mean fantastic. GO, look at the home page and peer deeply at the skin on that pig, it looks done to perfection. Thankfully there is more to that website; pictures, there resides there (redundant) complete recipes and instructions along with videos. We will be following the directions this year, in past times we just dumped on some coals. Uhm yeah no. Maintaining an even heat is important to roasting evenly instead of burnt crispy meat! Which by the way isn't as yummy as it sounds!

Don't forget to come back soon for pictures of said (ha ha) BBQ/pig pickin! OH I almost forgot to mention this: at our annual bbq we like to have some friendly competition!!!
This year not only can you win a big fatty cheesecake for winning at horseshoes, you can win a big fatty cheesecake by making the best BBQ sauce. YUP you read that right. If you think your BBQ sauce can beat, oh say MY BBQ sauce, then bring it on! It's not as though I like to win my own cheesecake so to be quite honest if my BBQ sauce were to win I will forfeit to the next person because quite frankly I am going to be cheesecaked out! Hmm I want to win though because I do have this food ego but at the same time I really don't want to win my own cheesecake. Maybe I shouldn't enter, but then I want to win and stomp the competition to the ground. See my dilemma?

Something else I want to ramble on about is being gluten free but I think you have probably had enough of my ramblings for now so I will save that for gluten free ramblings!