GLUTEN FREE SLEUTH

Sleuth got to be kidding me!

2012-01-15T15:44:00.001-07:00

Happy January, 2012! Does anyone else remember back in the last century wondering how the names of those Y2K years were even going to be pronounced, let alone lived in? I did, but it didn’t take long to settle into saying those 01-09’s. And now we are in the second decade! Clearly, I am finding this well into the new century thing to be hard to swallow, but then, I am a twentieth century baby (my sister, my dad, and me…in my kangaroo pajamas).

Speaking of hard to swallow…

Label frauds hurt our bods
(I can’t believe I just said that.)
I haven’t tried gluten free beer. I used to like beer years ago, but I have found too many gluten free products just don’t live up to the glutenish original, and I have a hard time thinking barley-free beer would be worth it; however, not everyone feels that way. I have heard of many who really enjoy having a gluten-free beer with their gluten-free pizza, for example, but beware, beware, and beware again. Is anyone else weary of label liars Health.com reports that NOT ALL GLUTEN FREE BEERS ARE GLUTEN FREE.

Living Without published an article that asks, Is There Gluten in Your Meds? I don’t think this is a matter of lying; however, it does point to the desperate need for accurate, detailed labels with laws to enforce their use.

Label friends
I contacted Wilton® Industries a while back to see if they have any gluten free products. This was their response…

Thank you for your interest in our products. To insure that we are providing accurate information for our products, please have a list of item numbers for the product you are seeking gluten free information for. You can reach us at 800-794-5866 Monday through Friday between the hours of 8 am until 4:30 pm cst. We will be happy to provide you with the information you are requesting. Look to hear from you soon.

This is better than a faulty label, but in a perfect world, there would be honest labels. (In a perfect world we wouldn’t need them, we would be able to eat gluten. It isn’t perfect though. It is fallen, and we are sinners. That is why Jesus had to die.)

Contests
Kinnikinnick® has a promotion going right now called Toss Your Toaster. They are giving away sample packs of four new products. They are doing 20 weekly draws! You can enter on facebook or Twitter, and you can find more information at the link below. The fun part about this contest is that I already won! Someone else who did and has already received her sample pack posted a photo of what she got. It looks like two loaves of bread, and packages of hotdog and hamburger buns. The reviews coming in on Twitter (possibly facebook too, but I haven’t noticed them) are very positive. I am pretty excited to get mine! I won through my facebook entry rather than on Twitter. I know because when entering there you give your email address. If you win through Twitter they just Tweet that you won. I got an email. :) You can enter once a day on Twitter, not sure on facebook. Go. Enter. Hopefully you will win too! I don’t know for sure when this ends, but they are still going at this point, so don’t procrastinate!

Their website: http://consumer.kinnikinnick.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/consumer.home.html
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KinnikinnickFoods.GlutenFree
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/GF_Insider

Simply Gluten Free is throwing a contest too! This one is for $60 worth of pickled products (gluten-free, of course!), so you should go enter that one as well. You can enter right there and on Facebook and Twitter as well.

Their website: http://simplygluten-free.com/giveaways/2012/01/12/tillen-farms-giveaway/
The links for Facebook and Twitter are on that page. Clicking on them is kind of like getting fast food. The work is already done for you.

Coupons
I don’t know how long these will be available, so again, don’t let moss grow under your fingers, get clicking!

One dollar off of any one Udi’s® product: http://udisglutenfree.com/special-offers

One dollar off of any one 4.25 oz bag Blue Diamond® Nut Chips http://www.bluediamond.com/index.cfm?navid=8

Recipe FAIL, starring Condensed Milk

I know what you are thinking, and you are right (if you are old as me, you may have to go back and re-read that, this time with Magnum’s voice in your head). That is not a picture of condensed milk; it is clearly four types of Jell-O, mixed, set, and painstakingly chopped into tiny cubes.

“Mr. Schell, doesn’t that look delicious?”

It certainly did. And then came the recipe (if you are as old as me, you might go back and re-read that, this time with the voice of either of the Baldwin sisters from the Waltons in your head).

Last year I found this beautiful recipe for Glass Block Holiday Jell-O at Our Best Bites and thought I would want to make it sometime using the dairy-free, sweetened, condensed milk that I used in my fudge so successfully last year.

Well. Don’t try this recipe at home. It failed miserably! It didn’t set up; it was waaay too sweet, and it looked terrible. See what I mean? We threw it out. You know it was bad if I was willing to waste all of the ingredients that went into that dish. It was a pitiful thing indeed.

Sleuth’s 20/20 Hindsight: Thanksgiving foods

2011-11-25T20:04:00.001-07:00

“Oh give thanks to the Lord for He is good, for His loving kindness is everlasting” (1 Chronicles 16:34).

First, I didn’t take a picture of our turkey. It looked just like your turkey. I used a fresh Honeysuckle White turnkey from Walmart. I bought two because the fresh turkeys were 98 cents a pound and the frozen were 1.49 a pound. I froze the second one for later. They don’t offer fresh turkeys all the time, and I am sure they had it cheaper to be able to sell the bazillion of them they had sitting in cold storage. My husband prepared it while I was working on other foods, and he noted as he was unwrapping it that it said “freeze or use by 11/22/11.” Way to go Walmart. I had been in the store on Monday and told the guy in the meat department that I thought I should wait until closer to Thursday to get it, and he told me that all the fresh turkeys they were getting were already at the store and that it wouldn’t be a problem anyway. No one got sick, so perhaps he knew what he was talking about, but the whole thing is a bit unsettling, even so.

All of these follow-up comments are on foods that I either gave recipes or links to the recipes in my post for 11/19/11.

Next, I made my first gluten free stuffing in six years (five years gluten free plus the gut-wrenching, life-draining pain when I didn’t know what was wrong with me, along with my more recent No Dairy, No Egg, No Kidding problems). In the past few months, I have found that I seem to be able to tolerate eggs. I haven’t had one straight up yet, but I did make French toast for my husband and I a couple of months ago and had no trouble with it. Anyway, I used Udi’s Whole Grain bread to make my stuffing, and the only changes I made to the linked recipe in the 11/19 post were to the onions and the seasonings. I did not pre-cook the onions, and I really seasoned it well poultry seasoning and thyme. I didn’t have the fresh herbs. I also did not use the butter, as she recommended. I cooked the turkey neck in chicken broth (Pacific, as usual), and used that liquid, as well as some from the turkey itself, and it really turned out yummy. Everyone enjoyed it, and I am the only gluten dodger.

Candied Yams. These were fantastic, not to mention entertaining for mom and I. Changes made: only one, I cut the yams up smaller than 1” cubes, probably 1/2” or less. I wanted to be sure they would be done in time. The entertaining part came with the marshmallows. My husband says it is because they were so fresh. I covered the yams with the marshmallows and stuck them back in the oven. I told mom, “We need to watch these carefully, we want them to toast, not melt.” Well, they were in for about 6 minutes (we had been keeping an eye on them) when I noted that their smell was sweetening the air, and I knew we were close. Right then, mom said, “The marshmallows are running over!” I’m like, what? It made no sense to me. The glass dish the were in had two or three inches of clearance above the mallows. Well, when I looked through the window on the oven door, it was suddenly clear. Those mallows had blown up like balloons! they were huge! It was fabulous and freaky at the same time. I thought, this is like some kind of well-kept gourmet secret. Then I grabbed a metal spatula and scooped the parts that were in danger of dropping to the oven floor back into the dish. Then I pulled it out of the oven, and like a cake startled by a bump, the mallows deflated to little more than creamy-white foam. In spite of their sparseness, the yams were sensational. The one thing I did that wasn’t mentioned in the recipe was to baste them about half-way through since the maple syrup and oil didn’t cover them. The were moist and delicious. No butter needed.

Cranberry jello. The chosen recipe came from Cooks.com. Sorry for the blurry photo. This recipe was not what I was hoping for. It was waaaaaayyyy sweet and waaaaaayyyy tart. My face really didn’t know what to do when I tasted it. I am sure I was almost as entertaining as the mallows to watch. I won’t use this recipe again, but when the recipe said to cook the cranberries in water until they popped, that was fun. I thought the skins would split like tomatoes when they are dropped into boiling water to make the skins come off easily—but no—they popped. It was like a cross between popcorn and biting into a cherry tomato, only the juice that squirts out is hot.

The salad. I made an Olive-Garden style salad, with the necessary tweaks for me. I used a combination of pre-packaged iceberg lettuce and romaine lettuce, black olives, pepperoncini, sliced red onions, and grated parmesan on the side for the rest of the peeps. The dressing was one I have been waiting to try, and it was an adventure in itself. I found the recipe at The Spunky Coconut, and it is amazing and delicious. It starts out very liquidy and gets quite thick when it is refrigerated but ends up a really nice dressing when it is tossed into the salad. The challenge was finding the raw cashews.*

I didn’t bother with croutons, and no one seemed to miss them. If my daughter had been home, they would have been a necessity.

Dessert. The texture of the pie dough was amazing. The finished product beautiful. The taste…awful. I am not sure what the deal is. The lady who came up with the recipe for the pie dough really knows her stuff, and she said her non-allergy-challenged guests loved it, but mine did not. Nor did I. It had a strong, terrible taste to it. My son said it tasted like there was too much baking soda in it. I am not giving up on the recipe though. I am thinking I will try brown rice flour and use the strawberry-flavored So Delicious Cultured Coconut Milk instead of the plain in the hope that the flavor will improve. Really, really love the texture.

There were also loaded, mashed potatoes (butter and cream cheese, I did not eat any), gravy made with the turkey broth, cornstarch, and seasonings (big hit), and a relish tray (dill and sweet pickles, marinated artichoke hearts, green and black olives, carrots, and broccoli) with Ranch Dressing for those who wanted it (those fresh veggies and the dressing were not even touched, the salad satisfied everyone), and vanilla ice cream for those who could eat it. There were many traditional dishes that were not on the table, but there wasn’t a hungry person in the house, and we have leftovers O’ plenty. I didn’t make the pumpkin trifle recipe because my mom made gluten-laden pumpkin pie, and I didn’t want to do a second pumpkin dessert. I still have the ingredients though, and I am hoping to make it before the weekend is through. All in all, I have to say it was a wonderful meal. It was such a sweet thing to eat foods I haven’t eaten for so long, stuff myself (somewhat), and walk away from it without pain. All this and spending time with my family to boot. I am thankful indeed!

Whoa! A friend posted this link to a recipe for four-ingredient fondant on Pinterest. A world of creative possibilities just opened up! I always use Kraft Marshmallows because Kraft is a trusted company, and they will say if there is any chance of gluten in their products. I also found this recipe for a quick pour chocolate fondant that also looks great. Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips, or another brand you trust should work fine. I do need to make sure about food colorings, but I know there are some out there that are safe.

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*I have considered ordering certified gluten free raw cashews online, but though the price per pound is something I could handle occasionally ($10), when you add in another $10 for shipping, I figure it is really more than I am willing to pay to be able to make creamy salad dressing or soft cheese. I looked at the health food stores in town and couldn’t find any, so I finally went to Winco to the bulk section, bought raw cashew pieces and then washed them off a few at a time in my hands to make sure any particles of flour that they might have picked up from nearby bins being loaded were washed off. So far, I have no signs of cross-contamination, so I think this will work. I might even talk to them about buying them right from the bag before they are taking to the bulk area.

Sleuth Thanks: Holiday Food Ideas

2011-11-19T14:31:00.002-07:00

I made these little guys for Christmas gifts a few years ago.

Wait, where am I? Oh yes. I blog.

The holidays are upon us, and I am hoping for a mellow and relaxing Thanksgiving Day celebration. Our son will be home for a few days, and my mother and uncle will be with us, but that is all. I would be happy if our daughter could come as well, but she graduated from college last May and was recently hired as a copy editor for a newspaper, and she can only get away for a few days at Christmas. Those luxurious month-long school vacations are no more. I have been collecting recipes for a while now, and I am including a bunch of links, as well as my dinner plans for Thanksgiving.

Dinners (this cook reserves the right to make changes at the slightest whim)

Thanksgiving: I am planning to make turkey, potatoes (probably mashed, but I won't eat them), roasted candied yams (my plans below), maybe a turnip/beet/rutabaga vegetable medley, a green salad, a veggie tray, and cranberry jello (still deciding on recipe). I am considering making stuffing. I found this recipe from Nancy Newcomer which looks quite promising.

Christmas: I am fixing an Italian meal full of gluten: lasagna, salad, garlic bread with cheese (Buddy's style), probably a veggie tray. I have my own plans for a gluten/dairy free version of the lasagna for me (maybe even the garlic bread). Not sure about dessert yet, but I already have a few options (see below). My family loves my lasagna and since discovering that the noodles don't have to be precooked, I have been much more comfortable making it. In fact, it is the only gluten-laden food I cook for them.

Recipes and links

Roasted Candied Yams

I haven't made this before (except in my mind), but I have had enough experience with roasting veggies that I am fairly confident this will turn out well. Quantities will vary depending on how much is needed. Using the Aunt Lorena Method for measuring.

- Peel and cut up yams into about 1" cubes

- Toss in olive oil and maple syrup

- Bake in a 375 degree F oven about 20 minutes or until fork tender

- Remove from oven and cover with tiny Kraft marshmallows (safely gluten free)

- Return to oven and toast marshmallows (watch carefully, you don't want to melt them)

Dessert
I have been collecting ideas for food, and one thing in particular I am going to try (read: tweak), is this recipe for Pumpkin Praline Trifle (follow the link). My plan is to go all homemade, using almond milk instead of dairy to make the puddings. I don't have a pastry bag anymore, but my favorite trick is to cut a small hole in the corner of a ziplock bag and use it. Cheap, easy, and really easy cleanup (file 13 it).

I found a recipe for dairy/nut free toffee bits at the bottom of this recipe for Toffee Pecan Apple Streusel: Gluten-Free, Egg-Free and I may or may not use it in the praline part. I haven't used the Fleischmann’s Unsalted Margarine before, and I know it has a titch of dairy in it, so I need to think about this part. My digestive system is a bit of a mess right now, and I don't want to use oats. I can get away with them sometimes, but now is not sometimes. I am confident I can come up with a yummy praline using pecans, but I am still working that out.

A gluten-free version of the Two-Minute Microwave Brownie recipe

Here is a pumpkin pie recipe, but it uses Earth Balance, and sadly I cannot stand that stuff. But perhaps you can. I am interested mostly in the possibilities with the cashew cream recipe at the bottom.

Other delights

Frozen Banana Bites: look delicious and easy to make. No tweaks necessary.

Pumpkin Hummus: different dippers needed, but the hummus recipe is fine.

Stove Top Peanut Butter Breakfast Food Candy (my name for it): This one only needs different cereal.

Home made Gum Drops: You need to be sure to use gluten-free food coloring.

Pumpkin Pie Smoothie: This one is going to be used before Thursday; I promise you.

Banana Ice Cream: with a twist

Marshmallow Snowflakes: Any shape will do.

Cookie Dough Dip: You won't believe the base of this.

Sleuth morning!

2011-07-25T22:49:00.003-06:00

It is funny that I am starting this post with a morning beverage discussion since my last post addressed coffee creamers. This one is long, so you might want to read each section like a chapter of a book and come back until you have finished it. :)

My ongoing pursuit of foods that are healthy, safe, and satisfying

I have always had a love/hate relationship with coffee and recently a friend told me she thought I should consider giving it up. It is hard for me to ignore her because she heeded my advice to stop consuming diet drinks with their nasty, unhealthy, artificial sweeteners (that was no easy thing for her to do). But I do like a cup of something thicker than water in the morning, so this is my solution: I drop a bag of Good Earth Super Green Tea into a mug, fill it a bit less than half full with boiling water, allow it to steep for three to five minutes, and then fill the rest of the cup with Silk’s PureAlmond Dark Chocolate Almond Milk. When I mentioned this combination to a couple of friends a while back, they were both terribly grossed out at the thought of anything creamy being combined with green tea, but this tea has orange in it, and the combination of orange and chocolate has always seemed magical to my taste buds. I believe this screen shot of a Google search on chocolate and orange should adequately make my point.

When I had to stop eating eggs and dairy (in addition to the gluten ban) I found it so hard to get enough nutrition to keep me going. Since then, my energy and health have been gradually and decidedly diminishing.

A few weeks ago a friend told me about Hemp Hearts. You can go to the link to learn all about them, but what I want you to know is that the first day I had them for breakfast was July 4th, and the results were, well, explosive.

That first day I had energy overload. Even though I had eaten them for breakfast, I was still hyper from those Hemp Hearts when the fireworks were bursting in the sky that evening. I spoke with a lady at the health food store about it, and she said that my body probably didn’t quite know what to do with this sudden onslaught of nutrition, but trust me, it has figured it out. By the second day, things were processing much more efficiently, and by now I am thrilled to announce that I feel normal. A better normal than I have experienced in years. I am not tired in the afternoon. I am living again. I can actually enjoy my work instead of dreading it. Color me vibrantly happy. Note: Hemp Hearts do not overrule the need for sleep.

Medical stuff
Dr. Vikki Petersen is our advocate. She cares about us and is always on the lookout for more information to help the world to better understand all things gluten free. At the Gluten Free Recipe Box, she has written an article on findings concerning MS and gluten intolerance. In the article I found this interesting, “Ten percent of the MS patients were found to have positive blood tests for celiac disease as compared to 2% of the healthy controls. Note: this study found 2% of the ‘general population’ to have celiac disease. This is significant for we have used the figure of 1% incidence for quite some time. It is my belief that it IS higher and this study certainly gives merit to that supposition.”

Restaurants
Our daughter graduated from college in May, and we spent several days in Salem, Oregon. I had googled the area to see if there were any new restaurants catering to the gluten free that we might try out. The results were surprising. I made a list of several, and we ate at a few of them.

Though we had new places to try, we still went back to Marco Polo after graduation. We love that place, and they never disappoint us.

Besides the yummy goodness inside, they have a lovely view to the outside,

They have become a tradition. I had this sweet and sour wonder,

and this amazo salad,

and these,

and yes, I did take a doggy bag for later. No way could I eat all of that food at one time!

On Sunday, we ate at a new to us, amazing place, Chipotle Mexican Grill!!! My daughter thinks I abuse the exclamation point, but sometimes I need the support of those little lines and dots to fully convey my message. This establishment has taken its place in my top five favorites (if there are five; I don’t know if there are. I need to think about that). The food is served up like at Subway. You get in line and when you get up to the counter you tell the first person what you want. He or she starts building your meal, passes you on to the next person, and then the next, until your order is filled, and you pay. When I said, “gluten free,” that first person peeled off her gloves, washed her hands, and put new gloves on. She told me the corn tortillas were safe and heated them between pieces of foil to avoid contamination. Those heated corn tortillas are soft and delicious, by the way. Before she passed my dish on to the next person, she let everyone in the line know that my food must be gluten free, and they all did the same thing with the gloves and hands that she did. This kind of treatment thrills me beyond words. It astounds and touches me when people are this careful.

I had the burrito bowl with pork carnitas, rice, black beans, salsa, and guacamole. I probably also had whatever fresh veggies were available, but I don’t remember for sure. I know I took a picture of my food, but I can’t find it in my files. I must have eaten it too! There was too much food to eat in one sitting here as well. It is so handy to have a hotel with a fridge and microwave. P.S. We ate there twice!

We also ate at the Olive Garden. I had the mixed grill with all chicken and boy did I enjoy their Garden Fresh Salad sans croutons and cheese. It had been a while since I had eaten one of those, and they are really just so fresh and delicious. No photos of this place. There was a certain, nice young man who joined us for dinner; I wasn’t thinking about my blog at that point.

We also checked out Lola Foods: Gluten Free in Lincoln City. Her baked goods are delicious. Biscotti, her macaroons (I definitely got some eggs and maybe dairy in her baked goods, but I survived) and some incredible molasses muffin thing with caramel sauce. To. die. for. Lola shares the facility with a regular baker. She wasn’t there that day, but the lady who was working said that the gluten free goods are baked on days the gluten-death goods are not, and everything is cleaned between. I was a bit uncomfortable being in a place where gluteny stuff was baked. Flour in the air and all that.

Because of the leftovers and the food I took along, those were the only places we had tummy capacity for. All in all, the trip was a success. Our daughter and her friends got all graduated and we saw and tasted some lovely bits of Oregon.

Home movies! Well, photos anyway

Mustard plants. These florescent beauties were visible for miles.

Lincoln City’s version of The Birds

It is surprising how beautiful this is for being so crabby.

Sleuth rambles on about products

2011-04-30T18:43:00.002-06:00

I know it has been a while. I just haven’t been particularly adventurous lately I guess. I haven’t been coming up with new recipes or even doing much by way of research on the web. However in spite of this, information still comes along if one just keeps her eyes and ears open and this is why I am here now. Nancy at Gluten Freeville made a gluten-factor inquiry to Wilton. I am so glad she did this; she gleaned great information!

From Wilton Customer Service:
"Thank you for your interest in our products. Our candy melts are gluten free and also free in the facility." I take that to mean the facility is gluten free. Does anyone else appreciate the level of normalcy this affords?

My mom can’t have soy, and she recently ran across some ranch salad dressing at Wal-Mart she thought looked like it would be okay for her. It is from Walden Farms, and I wrote to them to see if they were soy free along with all of the other things they are free of (gluten, dairy, fat, calorie, sugar free – scary free if you ask me), and they kindly gave a prompt response…
All of our products are safe for your mom to use with the exception of the following products:
Creamy Bacon Dressing
Bacon Ranch Dip
Creamy Bacon Single Serve Packets
Bacon Ranch Dressing

They are obviously trying very hard serve people with dietary restrictions by offering products that are safe, and I applaud their efforts. They put Splenda in everything, and I personally don’t use artificial sweeteners, but I wanted to let you know they are out there. Mom said the ranch dressing is quite tasty.

I finally have my coffee figured out. I don’t know if I have even mentioned it here, but I am now an official caffeine addict. I had been using So Delicious Creamers with Pacific’s Chocolate Almond Milk (which I can’t see on their website, but I can find on the grocery shelf, hmmm…), but I found the combination to be too sweet. Instead, I have started using Silk’s new PureAlmond Dark Chocolate Almond Milk (find it under the products tab. I can’t get a direct link for some reason). I use about half coffee and half milk, and it takes the bitterness of the coffee away, leaving me satisfied like Starbucks used to do, back when I could patronize that place.

“Mr. S, don’t those doughnuts…look delicious?”
Well okay, the first time I heard this line it didn’t contain the word doughnuts, it contained the word pies. It was energetically exclaimed by a sweet little boy (the son of dear friends) several years ago. His adorable voice reminded me of young Opie Taylor. We had walked into a restaurant that specializes in all kinds of fresh-baked pies. They have a very clever marketing strategy, they have an Opie eye-level glass case full of them, and they are sure to catch the eye of whoever walks in the front door. I doubt even Ron Howard could resist them. At any rate, that phrase always causes my mouth to water, as does the photo at the top of this website. Those doughnuts look real, don’t they?

It sometimes takes time to track the information down, but at Tom’s of Maine I was able to find the answer to the question…

Do any of your products contain gluten?
Yes, we have a Natural Moisturizing Body Wash contains wheat protein which in turn contains gluten.

Well, apparently I had more to say that I thought.

Oh, and P.S. You are all aware of this little gem of information right? Snap! Crackle! Pop! Hurrah!

Wake up, Sleuth!

2011-03-13T17:24:00.008-06:00

My sweet Katie
(She doesn't go by that anymore.)

Sorry, it only seems like I have been sleeping. I have really just been very busy and unable to blog. I finished the course on editing, but life has still been quite full. Today I should probably be napping, but I am here sleuthing about instead.

What's in Your Wallet?
I was looking for some other photos, but when I ran across these first two, I decided to post them in the "Me" section. Mommas have been known to miss their babies long after the babyness has worn off before this, and no doubt happen they will do so again.

This top one is my daughter on the day she came home from the hospital. Can you tell she wasn't a preemie? She was a quarter pound shy of being ten pounds. I made the outfit she is wearing to bring her home in. Isn't she adorable? She is all grown up now and will be graduating from college in May, but I couldn't resist showing you her baby picture.

Jeremagic
(He never did go by that name;
it was one a friend gave him.)

This next one is of my son. He was a wee one when he was born, less than five pounds (he was a preemie), and is nine years older than his sister. I like this picture of him so much. It was taken by a professional photographer, and I think it is beautiful. Of course, it helps that he was such a handsome little fellow. These days he is a teacher, but this day I am remembering my cuddly little boy. Thanks for strolling down Memory Lane with me.

On to business. Even though I haven't been posting them, I have been finding stuff, so here goes...

Food intolerance update
I have been slipping small amounts of dairy into my foods and getting away with it. I can eat ranch dressing in small amounts now, and I have been having tiny amounts of cheese (like a teaspoon or less of mozzarella and just a sprinkling of Parmesan - though not at the same time) and seem to do okay with them. I tried eggs again last week. Made me sick. Still. However, I didn't put one in a recipe, and it didn't bother me. I figure if I can eat them sometimes, it just means a little more nutrition. I will continue to use dairy alternatives for my daily use though.

Products

Nogii Bars - from Elizabeth Hasselbeck

Popcorn, Indiana - I haven't tried these yet. I looked at our Costco and our Walmart, but neither one in my town seems to have them. I will be checking Walgreens. I have heard some impressive reviews, especially on their limited edition popcorn flavors.

At a blog called, Gluten Free Appetite, I found this wonderful news: Kellogg's is coming out with gluten free Rice Crispies soon! This blog also has a nice list of restaurants that do gluten free.

And speaking of mainstream brands having gluten free cereals, I was at Walmart the other day and could not find any Chex cereals. I know it is sometimes hard to find a specific cereal on the cereal aisle (they can hide so well there), but I looked and looked and looked. I hope I was just not seeing them.

Gluten Freeville posted this great news about Safeway stores (I like that blog, can you tell?) Safeway used to be in my town, but haven't been for years, but I do travel to states where they are and this is good information for those away-from-home times.

I have started using Honeysuckle White's Turkey Breakfast Link Sausages. They are pretty tasty and they don't have a lot of fat, making them easy on my gallbladderless body. I cook the whole package at once, eat a couple and put the rest in the freezer to heat up when I want them.

If you haven't already heard, Enjoy Life has just launched a bunch of new stuff. Would you just look at those Mega Chunks? I love this company: No Gluten, No Dairy, No Eggs, No Soy, No Kidding! Now I have to find out who is selling them in my little corner of the world.

My Favorite Find

Have you seen them yet? I found these at Fred Meyer, and I love them.
Sometimes I eat a whole one, but I often just cut one in half.
They have teff in them, giving me another grain in my diet. They have a
different sort of after taste to them, but it is mild and reminds me a bit
of chocolate. Don't expect chocolate though. It just reminds me of it.

They are soft and pliable. I sometimes spread one with peanut butter and
and add whatever else I want, all-fruit jam, fresh fruit, raisins, nuts, etc.,
roll it up and eat it! No cooking necessary. I love these things. Haven't
figured out a savory combination that I like yet. It wants cream cheese.
I need to order some cashews and make some!

But if I want, I can heat them and they crisp up nicely. I popped this one
under the broiler for a few minutes and then added vegetables and topped
it with salsa. It is delicious. No Kidding.

Blogger Alert

Bitt of Raw. This site has recipes for delicious and nutritious foods: gluten and vegan, which makes them free of all I need them to be! Look around. I am sending you straight to the carrot cupcakes. :)

This is probably a good offering for the day. Sorry about the formatting issues.

Mexican Lasagna

2011-02-21T12:23:00.006-07:00

My friend, Kim (I am labeling her recipes Kim's Cooking Conquests, in case she wants to share anything else), is a wife and mother of five who has some tough challenges in her kitchen. She has a son who is diabetic and wheat intolerant (so she uses a lot of gluten/wheat-free foods), and a husband who can't have dairy. In a house of seven people, this means she is always looking for recipes that will satisfy everyone's taste buds and dietary needs. She does an amazing job of keeping their tummies happy.

She has been working on perfecting this recipe for a long time and announced today that she had finally done so the other night. Her family loved it. She said it is too good not to share, so I asked, and she gave me permission to do so here. She uses soy when she cooks, and when she does I will include suggestions on alternatives.

In case you are wonder, no, I have not tried it; I just got the recipe this morning, but if a father, a mother, four teenage boys, and one adorable four year old girl can be trusted...they consumed every last bite of it! Also, Kim cooks with the Aunt Lorena Method (she probably doesn't call it that, but if you need an explanation - I have included it in the labels at the bottom of this post). I have adapted the recipe to the blog format and added my own comments, so I will put Kim's original comments in purple. The recipe text is a blend of her words and mine.

Kim's Mexican Lasagna
No Gluten, No Dairy, No Eggs, No Kidding
20 corn tortillas
2lbs. ground beef
Diced onions
Taco seasoning (however you much you use to make tacos)
12 oz dairy free sour cream (soy or cashew*)
1 can creamed corn
1-1 1/2 cups salsa (make sure it is gluten free; I use Chachies)
2 cans refried beans (I have always done well with Rosarita)
Cheese, almond or soy (stop when it looks good to you), (I am tolerating small amounts of dairy these days, so I will try the almond cheese again, but if it doesn't work for me, I am just going to leave this out on the part I will eat.)

Garnish
Lettuce, shredded
Tomato, diced
Cilantro, chopped
Olives, sliced

Before you build...

Brown meat and diced onion in pan, drain, add taco seasoning and stir—set aside. Mix salsa, creamed corn and sour cream in a bowl.

In the bottom of a 9x13 pan...
First Floor
Thin layer of beans
Thin layer of sour cream mixture
TWO layers of tortillas to cover pan
Spread beans on the tortillas (I found it easiest to hold the tortillas and cover in beans)
Sour cream mixture
1/2 of the meat

Second Floor
THREE layers tortillas
Beans
Sour cream mixture
Last 1/2 of the meat,

Third Floor
TWO layers tortillas
Sour cream mixture
Cheese

Bake at 375 for 30-40 minutes. In the meantime chop the olives, cilantro, tomatoes, and lettuce. Top each piece with whatever you like. I have attempted Mexican Lasagna many times, but have never found the right mixture, this is it! So good! Easy to add or subtract what you like or dislike, too!

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*The Spunky Coconut has developed sour cream and cream cheese recipes from coconut!
*Nuts Online has certified gluten free nuts available!

Applesleuth - in which advancement of understanding is pursued

2011-01-17T12:35:00.000-07:00

Back to School!

I am going back to school! I have enrolled in a course on editing and am very excited to get at it. It is possible to download the first lesson as a demo, and I did. I discovered that I for the past 15-20 years I have been a copy editor and didn't know what to call myself. I have edited for family, friends, and even friends of friends through that time at no charge. I have figured out how to do edit and developed various methods to improve interaction between myself and those I edited for on my own, but I have recently crossed over into the charging-for-my-services world and feel I need some skill-polishing in order to be more efficient and effective. After seeking advice from trusted friends, I discovered an online course through a university in my state that seems to have been designed with me in mind! I begin the class Wednesday and must complete it in eight weeks, and I am very, very excited!!!

Laboratory Breakthroughs!

I am so appreciative of Dr. Vikki Petersen's understanding of the gluten dilemma. Her explanation of why some other foods bother us is very helpful.

Cyrex Labs is the innovative laboratory that Dr. Vikki Petersen is referencing. Keep in mind that this service is not available to the patient; you must go through your doctor.

Thanks to glutenfreeville.com for the heads up on this great news!

Sweeties

No Gluten, No Dairy, No Eggs, No Kidding! product to look into - The Gluten Free Bar. They come in two flavors - Peanut Butter, and Peanut Butter/Chocolate. These bars contain soy protein.

No Gluten, No Dairy, No Eggs, No Soy, No Kidding! Easy Peasy Peanut Butter Cookies Recipe! I have all of the ingredients (except I will use Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips) and plan to make these ASAP!

Sleuth Mentioning

2011-01-13T21:03:00.000-07:00

You know me - any excuse to use a picture of one of my
kids from when they were little. :)

Check out this blog article—100 Delectable Recipes for Your Gluten Free Kid—over at Nursing School Dot Net. They have collected one hundred recipes from around the web that are all No Gluten, and some are even No Dairy, No Egg and/or No Soy, No Kidding. When they asked me to link to their article I must admit that I put forth one condition...I want to use the recipes too!

Sleuth: Going to the Dogs

2011-01-12T12:15:00.003-07:00

For some reason I am having a hard time
with formatting around the pictures
lately. It is making me crazy,
but I have decided not to lose sleep over it.

I have never been a big dog fan. Our family had dogs when I was little, and I did love having them around, but they have bad breath and they poop in the yard.

The cute little dust mops in the photos belong to a dear friend, and they went camping with us over Labor Day, and I must admit - I enjoyed them. Probably because I wasn't responsible for them in any way. I could just enjoy their energy and fluffiness.

You may be wondering what dogs have to do with a blog about food intolerance. Plenty.* That is why I am writing this post silly!

Elias, an amazing dog belonging to celiac, Hollie Scott, is a dog I would love to own (or another dog with his amazing skills will do, thank you). Someone needs to give one of these away on their blogs. Now THAT would be a contest I would enter! Read about Elias and Hollie in this USA Today article.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
*Plenty is not the right word in this case, but it is usually the appropriate response to that sort of question.

Sleuthing the Breadbox

2011-01-11T10:50:00.003-07:00

Lately, I have been having this for breakfast. I didn't stage it for the photo; I just decided when I was eating it that I should mention it to you.

Waffle, frozen blueberries (I have to brush my teeth, my tongue and my lips to de-blue them after I eat this!), and banana. I usually slice the banana more, but this morning I just chopped 'em up with my spoon. A spoon is not a precision cutting tool.

The waffles are really tasty, but they are not soy free. The breakfast actually holds me until lunch time.

I haven't given up on quinoa. Just taking a little break.

No Gluten, No Dairy, No Eggs, No Kidding!

If you are thinking you would like to try a new gluten-free bread, now would be a good time. Rudi's is offering a $1 off coupon and for each download they are giving a dollar to The National Foundation for Celiac Awareness. This is not one I can eat as it has egg whites, like Udi's does, but it looks like it would be a pretty tasty bread. I like their website design. :)

Spicy Cocoa Nuts

2011-01-09T22:44:00.000-07:00

Spicy Cocoa Nuts

1 pound of nuts of your choosing
1/3 cup pure maple syrup
1 tablespoon cooking oil (I used safflower)
2-3 heaping teaspoons cocoa (Saco is gf)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon each nutmeg & cloves

Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.

In a large bowl, put the nuts, and all of the rest of the ingredients and mix very well. Pour onto the parchment-lined cookie sheet, spreading out evenly.

Bake at 325 degrees for 20 minutes* pulling it out and stirring it every five minutes. This is important. As you stir it, more of the chocolate spice sauce with cling to the nuts. You will end up with far less on the parchment paper and far more on your nuts when they finish baking. Also, I save those crumbs to sprinkle on other things.

Allow to cool before trying them (even though you won't want to).

These are a nice treat. They aren't overly sweet and have that all important ingredient a dairy free person craves...chocolate. If you want them to be sweeter, you could add some honey (not too much - you may have too bake them longer), or you might even sprinkle them with some of your preferred granulated sugar before you start baking them.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

* I used both almonds and pecans, but they can't be done at the same time. Pecans Publish Postrequire less cooking. Walnuts would be the same. The heavier nuts, such as almonds, hazelnuts, Brazil nuts, and cashews should be fine cooking 20 minutes, but I would cook the more lacy ones for only fifteen.

Desperately Seeking Lunch

2010-12-31T14:00:00.002-07:00

Sorry, no photo of the results.
The food is in my tummy,
and it wasn't until I was eating it that
I knew I wanted to tell you about it.
You can feast your eyes on these
frost-tipped, crispy leaves instead.

Okay. I have no time for this, but here I am. I just had lunch. Lunch is a tough meal for me. I have a hard time figuring out what to have. But today, I found a yummy twist on an old standby.

Today's Tortilla
1 rice tortilla (Food for Life is gluten free - available at Fred Meyer)
Refried beans

Chachie's Mango Peach Salsa (available at Freddy's and at WinCo)

Raw almonds
Avocado

All quantities of toppings are flexible.

Spread the refried beans on the tortilla, top with almonds and a little bit of the salsa. Turn the the broiler in your oven on high and broil for 3 or 4 minutes. Transfer to your plate and add avocado slices and more salsa. Yum.

Obviously you can vary this in many ways, but the resulting toast of those almonds and the added protein do wonders for this tortilla. Really, it is the best solution to my diet restrictions for a burrito-type food yet.

Repost: Con Agra allergen policy

2010-12-28T18:21:00.002-07:00

HOLD THE PHONE! This post was originally published in August of 2009, but I am reposting here due to new information.

I just did a search on the Con Agra website instead of checking here and I am glad I did. Their information isn't easy to find, and I actually ran across an FAQ page that specifically addresses gluten. I am not impressed. I won't be using their products unless they change their policy. The problem: they don't include all forms of gluten, only wheat. They label wheat on their labels, but not rye, barley, or contaminated oats. Man am I frustrated and disappointed!

Original post:

Con Agra doesn't have specific allergens listed on their site, but they have answered this question on their FAQ page: "Do your products contain ingredients that I'm allergic to?"

I hate it when I find out I have been shooting myself in the foot.

Fudge!!! Improved

2010-12-27T15:19:00.000-07:00

My Fudge!!! post has been very popular on here, and I hope that means that lots of people have been enjoying safe and yummy chocolate for Christmas, but I made an important discovery:

This time I only made up 1/2 batch of the condensed milk and 1/2 a batch of the fudge recipe. To this, I added about 3-4 tablespoons of creamy Adam's peanut butter (untouched by a knife that has been spreading some on gluteny bread of course), and the fudge is a lot creamier. The base recipe tends to be a bid dryish and flaky, but this stuff is really smooth and moist. I haven't tried the maple syrup in the condensed coconut milk yet, but I have to make some to take to my sister's for New Year's, so I will give it a try then.

Sleuths Abound

2010-12-27T15:07:00.000-07:00

Used by permission from Sarah

The Play-Doh Dilemma: Revisited

Sarah, of the label "Sarah bakes again", posted this photo of creations her children made with PlayFoam, by Educational Insights. She said it can be used like Play-Doh and has a consistency similar to rice crispy treats, without the stickiness. She also suggests that if it isn't mashed together, the colors will separate fairly easily. If they are mashed, they will blend together, which is the also case with Play-Doh.

PlayFoam is gluten free, suitable for children - ages 3 through 8,* and the package says it never dries out.

Another option is a product called, Bubber, from Timberdoodle. Like the PlayFoam, Bubber is also supposed to never dry out. The company has put out a promotional video of the product and the stuff used in the demonstration is purported to have been left out of its packaging for ten years and is still malleable. We have some at church, and it does tend to shed crumbs, but they are easy to clean up. It has an odd, dryish, almost sandy consistency, but the kids don't seem to mind.

Healthy Top
As thorough as Mimic Creme is on their website, there is one thing I had been able to discover, so I made a phone call to company. I was told that once Healthy Top is opened, it can be used for 14 days if it is stored in the refrigerator.

Attack of the Evil Gluten

I mentioned in my post "Sleuthbook" that I have had some pain in my digestive system and have been trying to track down the cause. One product I have been using is Mission Tortilla Chips. I went to their website <http://www.missionmenus.com/FAQs.aspx> and on their FAQ page it gives the following answer to the question, Are Mission products gluten free?

"Mission Foods Corn products are produced with 100% corn flour; wheat ingredients are not added to the formulation. These products include Corn Tortillas, Corn Tortilla Chips, Taco Shells, Tostadas, Corn Gorditas, and Sopes. These products are produced in plants that also process wheat tortillas."

I sent them an email asking for clarification, but have not yet heard back. This statement makes me very nervous. First, they only mention wheat ingredients, which makes me wonder if they even know what gluten is. Second, I am unsettled by the warning in the final sentence. I stopped using the tortilla chips and for the past few days have been able to eat food without pain. One of my preschool Sunday school students (age three) noted in church yesterday that I look tired. When I get this sick it shows (my husband can always tell when I am in pain). Hopefully I have found the source and will be able to rebuild my health and look better soon.

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*Apparently it is suitable for an even wider age range. Sarah hinted at enjoying playing with the PlayFoam as well.

Sleuthberries

2010-12-06T11:56:00.000-07:00

These are not blueberries and raspberries,
they are service berries.
But they are the right colors
and the photo is festive
and I like posts with pictures.

Stephanie Laidlaw over at Gluten Free Hope is amazing. I was directed to her blog yesterday and I have found many recipes that I want to try. There are some recipes with dairy, but many of them are fine as they are for my restrictions. The blog is beautiful and I want to eat those blueberries and raspberries.

Recipes I want to try:

Hazelnut Apple-Pear Crisp

I think I am going to learn a lot from this lady!

Sleuthbook

2010-12-04T13:54:00.000-07:00

My reputation

This was a recent status of a friend of mine on facebook.* She was referring directly to me. I not only eat No Gluten, No Dairy, No Eggs, No Soy, No Kidding, I also edit. :)

"Hey gluten free friends, Albertson's had a hand-out at the register yesterday. It is all the gluten free products/brands they sell. I told the cashier I would give it to a friend of mine and she would probably bring it back with red pen marks."

His reputation

It isn't that I was shocked that the guy was selling gluten free bread that wasn't actually gluten free. I understand the market is expanding and I understand greed. What surprised me was how seriously the law took it and 1.5 million dollar bail the judge set.

Their recipes

Dressing!

If you are a regular visitor of this blog, you probably know I have been in search of a gluten/dairy/egg/soy-free creamy dressing. Well. I haven't come up with some yet, but someone has! I haven't tried it yet (I need to get to the store to purchase the ingredients), but I am very excited about this recipe! Vegan Cultured Coconut Milk Dressing from Neven Jones over at diary of an exfoodie!

Fudge!

Just before Thanksgiving, I posted a link to a No Gluten, No Dairy, No Eggs (like fudge would ever have eggs...yuck), No Soy, No Kidding fudge recipe made from So Delicious Coconut Milk (obviously becoming an important part of the free diet) and I learned yesterday that their is another fudge recipe out there that will work for us! This one comes with several variations. It can be found at Go Dairy Free and the base recipe is called Five-Minute Fudge. Looks amazing!

Inoffensive Cookie Recipe

This article is very entertaining. There is a recipe for allergen friendly oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, but it is written by someone who is allergy free. Her humor is understandable, delightful, and it is nice to have a good laugh over how ridiculous our food predicament is. Serious, but ridiculous.

My recipe

Chicken Noodle Soup for Me and Youp

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, thawed

3 cartons Pacific Chicken Broth

1 package Tinkyada Brown Rice Fettucini

2 cups chopped carrots

1 cups frozen peas

1 large onion, chopped

4 celery stalks, sliced

1 clove of garlic, minced

Salt and pepper to taste

This makes a nice big batch; which was purposeful (you will see why). You can use other seasonings and vegetables if you want. Mine turned out quite thick last night and to the leftovers and for dinner this evening I plan to add some water to thin it out and make it more soupy, another package of noodles because the quantity of this needs more of them, some chopped cauliflower and some thawed zucchini that I put up from my garden.

I want to also make a salad (so I will need to get to the store to get the cultured coconut milk) and I am thinking I will try this recipe for Almond Quick Bread from Simply Vintage Girl. I will have to convert it to gluten free, which won't be difficult, and use some sort of egg replace for the eggs in it, but I am think it should convert well. I am making this for company. My uncle has just moved to town and is living in a hotel for another week. There has been a lot of restaurant eating and soup has been requested. You can see why I want to pack in the nutrition.

Her response

I mentioned in my post, Back on the breakfast table: Quinoa (keen' wa), that I was going to look into the larger package sold at Costco. I did. It is called truRoots Organic Quinoa and it is quite economical, ten dollars for four pounds, and I don't have to worry about shipping costs. I have recently been getting gluten somewhere and I wanted to check with the company to see if there are any chances of cross contamination. I did. There isn't. Here is the response that I received from the president of Enray Incorporated, the company that packages it here in the United States:

Our quinoa supply chain is entirely gluten free from farms to packing, so there is no cross contamination. Our facility is also allergen free. I am very sure that there is no cross contamination in our products. We check every batch internally with a gluten test kit to verify gluten levels.

I am so relieved! I love quinoa for breakfast and I have been purchasing packages ahead so if Costco isn't carrying it for part of the year, I won't run out. This company impressed me—from the initial phone call where I spoke to the customer service department to the email I received from the president, they were concerned, kind and went out of their way to help me, which I appreciate very much. Thanks Esha and Maggie!

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*I played with the graphic idea for awhile. It is, indeed, meant to cause the reader to think of facebook (though my sister says that it doesn't in purple, but the blue is too close). I started out with a color very close to facebook blue, but thought they would not appreciate me coming that close to their logo. The font is not theirs and the color is not theirs, so hopefully this won't bother them.

Sleuthing out those Gluten Residuals

2010-12-01T10:36:00.001-07:00

Most of the gluteny foods left my house a long time ago, but sometimes I run across an item that has been in hiding. I have been trying to send this home with people for a couple of months or so and last night I got desperate and put it out for my husband's men's Bible study. Someone took the bait! Note: Aaron is the husband of Sarah of Sarah bakes again. He didn't get to come last night because he is sick, but the bottle didn't know that at the time it was writing the note.

Out and about on the web

I was directed to an article on safely freezing foods. If you are like me, you often take your own foods to other people's homes. I sometimes like to make extra when I cook and freeze it for those occasions and this article has information I have not heard of before.

From the Gluten Free Recipe Box, Raw Almond Pistachio Ice Cream! No Gluten, No Dairy, No Eggs, No Soy, No Kidding!

It occurs to me that I haven't really been out and about much of late. Those are my only two bits of information to share. I did send off an email to a company inquiring about their products this morning, but I haven't heard back yet; when I do, you will.

I am definitely getting gluten from something in my home, but I haven't nailed it down yet. I have almost decided that I will attend our ladies' cookie exchange at church this year. I am wishy-washy, but the thought of being in a room full of glutenful cookies is a bit unnerving. It isn't reasonable to be that paranoid - which is why I have almost decided to attend. It was suggested that this is a good way to have some glutendeath cookies on hand for my glutenable family during Christmas break, which is true. I am certainly not going to bake any for them. So I have almost, absolutely, nearly decided to attend.

Rice Paper Experimentation

2010-11-27T17:32:00.019-07:00

Three Ladies Brand

This is my new secret weapon. I buy it at a local Asian food market. The son of the owners has celiac disease, so they have a good handle on what products they get in really are gluten free. This is one of them.

The first thing I made with these little rice paper wonders was a typical, meat and vegetable stuffed spring roll type of dish. It took a little bit of time to get a feel for how they work, but I have it now. Though I enjoyed the flavors of the vegetables and meat, I didn't care for the frying of those. I may not have had the oil hot enough, because the final rolls were very greasy.

Next I worked on a gluten and dairy-free enchilada.

Before I cooked them, they reminded me of how poor Frodo looked in the Peter Jackson film after Shelob had wrapped him up.

This would be where Sam Gamgee gives
Mr. Frodo up for dead and takes the ring.

My problem with enchiladas is that I find the sauce to be too strong without the mellowing effect of cheese and sour cream. I have a friend who uses tofu products when she makes them for her husband who can't have dairy, but as I have mentioned before, I prefer not to eat much soy.

So this time, I added a little bit of Healthy Top* (because it was what I had on hand) and some almond milk. It was too sweet. I need to try some of the unsweetened Mimic Creme instead.

A couple of the tricks to making the rice paper work for you is to work with one sheet at a time, soaking it in hot tap water for several seconds (probably 6-10 seconds). This makes them more pliable and less likely to tear.

This dish is the perfect size,
but the water cools to quickly.

You will want a perfectly flat
plate to work on; this was
emphasized by the lady
at the Asian market.

I like this shallow dish because it is flat and the perfect size, but the water tends to cool off quickly and for some reason it must be hot or it doesn't work.

When I assembled the enchiladas, I carefully placed the refried beans on the paper, to avoid tearing and then piled on the rest of the toppings.

The sauce really was too sweet, but I think if I can tone it down, I may be able to get this recipe to work. We will see though; I don't know if it is worth it. Sometimes I find it is better to just come up with new foods rather than try to develop No Gluten, No Dairy, No Eggs, No Kidding substitutes. I love enchiladas, but I am thinking the cheese is just too integral an ingredient for them to be satisfactory without it. If I could stand Daiya cheese, it might work, but I just don't like that stuff.

The next thing I made with the rice paper was dessert. I made two kinds. For the first I made a cherry pie filling with water-packed, canned cherries, Healthy Top & cornstarch. For the second I used fresh, thinly sliced apples, Healthy Top, vanilla, pure maple syrup and cinnamon. After the fillings were wrapped in the rice paper, I placed them in a glass baking dish that had been lightly sprayed with Olive Oil Pam (yes, I do know there is some soy in there) and then brushed the top with a little more maple syrup. I baked these at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes and sprinkled them with powdered sugar before serving them.

While they are baking, it is important to watch them closely to make sure they don't burn. I had a single, apple fruit roll in a separate casserole dish and the bottom burned. The cherry pie filling broke out of the rice paper and spread evenly across the bottom of the baking dish, and none of the fruit roll thingies** burned at all. This is a pleasant dish. The one thing you should be aware of is that where several layers of the rice paper are sealed together it tends to be tough. Sarah (of the SARAH BAKES AGAIN label) recommended using two sheets of rice paper and sealing the edges instead. This is a possibility, but they would need to be assembled in the baking dish, as it would be difficult to transfer them from the work surface to the baking dish.

I keep my opened carton of Healthy
Top tucked into a ziplock bag
in the refrigerator.

I made them for the day of our Thanksgiving Dinner at church, so I didn't get a picture of them fresh. The only one I did take a picture had been refrigerated a couple of days and that photo doesn't look too appetizing. It still tasted good though!

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*In both of the recipes I posted here I used the Healthy Top straight from the carton. I haven't even tried to whip it yet.

**I can't decide what to call them, Spring Fruit Rolls? Maybe.

FUDGE!!! (+ Dairy-Free, Sweetened, Condensed Milk!)

2010-11-24T13:57:00.001-07:00

This fudge is yummy enough that you won't need
to eat much to satisfy your sweet tooth. In fact,
I wouldn't recommend it. :)

Happy Thanksgiving! You are probably busy with preparations like I am, but I wanted to stop and post these yummy recipes.

If you go to the blog, The Dorm Mom, you will find a recipe for Dairy Free Fudge. My friend, Kim, tried it first yesterday and then I took the plunge in the afternoon. I made it gluten free by using Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips and this stuff is really, really nice. Rich, but nice. I am going to try a smaller batch, making the dairy free sweetened, condensed milk with maple syrup instead of sugar. We will see how it works.

I added orange extract (McCormick's says Gluten Free right on the box! Caution: it is really strong stuff, don't take a big whiff up close like I did.) to half of the recipe and topped the other half with pecans. I wrote out the directions on facebook for a fellow No Gluten, No Dairy, No Kidding friend of mine and I am including those here, including a suggestion on how to change the pecan addition so they actually are a part of the fudge instead of falling off. Between Kim and I, we were able to clarify questions that may arise from the simple directions The Dorm Mom posted.

Fudge

No Gluten, No Dairy, No Eggs, No Soy, No Kidding
2 cups of sweetened, condensed coconut milk (recipe below)

4 cups Enjoy Life Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips (two 10 ounce packages)

McCormick Pure Orange Extract
Chopped pecans (use the amount you want)

Melt your chocolate in a double broiler - it goes fast; I put mine in when the condensed milk was down to four cups. I brought the water to a boil, put the boiler on, added the chocolate chips and just let it sit there without covering it. It was ready for me when I was ready for it.

Just as your condensed milk is ready, mix the pecans evenly into the melted chocolate chips and then add the condensed milk (or add the chocolate to the condensed milk, which is what I did, as my milk pan was larger than my chocolate pan). Stir well and pour into an 8x8 pan that has been lined with a piece of waxed paper sprayed with cooking oil. Then chill for a few hours in the fridge or freeze. I put mine on my back porch. It is cold enough out there!

Sweetened, Condensed Coconut Milk

No Gluten, No Dairy, No Eggs, No Soy, No Kidding
Six cups of So Delicious Vanilla Coconut Milk

2 cups sugar

Pour the coconut milk and sugar into a good-sized sauce pan, stir to blend. Bring to a boil and turn down heat a little. I started mine at 5 1/2 of 10 and when it came to a good boil, turned it down to 4 to let it settle down a bit, then back up to 5. This worked until it condensed down to about three cups, then I had to back off the heat a little so it would boil over. A bigger pan might eliminate that.

Once you have it at a steady, decent boil, stir it every ten minutes. Kim set her timer each time, that worked well. She and I both stayed in the kitchen until it was stable, but after that, I was able to do other things and come back to it. We both had our big glass measuring cups at the ready so we could pour the milk in to keep an eye on how it was doing. This works really well and is delicious.

Sleuthing for the Freebies*

2010-11-19T12:36:00.002-07:00

As has become a tradition, I am posting things I am thankful to God for on my other blog for the month of November. This takes up a lot of blog time, so I usually don't do much over here. I wanted to post a few things for you before you start cooking for Thursday's feast though.

Last year I made a pumpkin torte thing that was rubbery and bland. This year, I am trying Elizabeth Gordon's recipe from My Allergy Free Life.

This lady really knows how to create safe and yummy desserts!

Elizabeth added a link to the Coconut Creamer she uses in the recipe and I want to give you some other Turtle Mountain links, as well as some others.

Here are two links, one to Turtle Mountain's complete list of products and the other to their allergen information, including a chart at the bottom of the page.

I am happy to announce that my Fred Meyer store (should I call it Fred MYer?) carries a nice selection of the So Delicious products!

Alisa over at Go Dairy Free has posted her annual Thanksgiving recipe roundup. Check it out, there are gluten free recipes available. That was no small feat!

Hormel's gluten free list includes Jennie-O turkey products that are safe for us, as does Purdue's. Make sure you pay attention to any other allergies you are dealing with as well.

I just did a search for a comprehensive, gluten-free turkey list and found one at Harris Whole Health, a new-to-me website I am going to have to explore!

I also found information on safely handling turkeys. I am buying fresh and needed to know how long it keeps before it must be cooked.

There you go. I have researched the turkey and dessert. You will have to fill in from there. Worry not, there are a ton of great recipes out there. Hopefully this weekend I am going to try a new dessert idea that I have been working on in my brain. If it works, I will get that up here as well.

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*And by "freebies," I mean allergen free foods, of course.

FYI

2010-11-06T15:11:00.000-06:00

I posted a new item under Snack Attack.

I think a little more cocoa than I used might be better
and perhaps a little bit of maple syrup...

I have been busy lately and haven't been as creative in my cooking. I have been using recipes I already have or going with simple foods. I should get back into a make-it-up-as-I-go-along mode soon. The holidays are coming right up!

In the meantime, I found this recipe for No Gluten, No Dairy, No Eggs, No Soy, No Kidding Pizza Crust (with toppings suggestions) at the Allergy Free Desserts blog and I can't wait to try it! Gotta find some of that fine rice flour I keep reading about, but in the meantime, I will probably try it with brown rice flour from Bob's Red Mill.

Snicker's? Reese's? Skittles? What's a sweet Sleuth's tooth to do???

2010-10-30T16:22:00.003-06:00

I am confident that the little punkin on the left is
crying because of this recent Reese's reveal.

Update: If you already looked at the list, go look again. At the bottom of the post at Gluten Free Recipe Box, she has added some replies to inquiries from specific candy companies.

This gluten-free candy list at Gluten Free Recipe Box has both safe and unsafe candies listed. The author has been doing some calling and three things caught my attention:

1) Snicker's candy bars are on the SAFE list (how that reconciles with the information I shared in my last post is beyond me).

2) Reese's Peanut Butter cups are on the UNSAFE list (ALL varieties!).

3) Original flavor Skittles are on the UNSAFE list.

BE CAREFUL. NOT ALL SIZES AND VARIETIES OF CANDIES ARE GLUTEN FREE!

I had item number two not long ago. Reacted. Didn't attribute it to the PB cup because I had always understood them to be gluten free! I just purchased item number three to give to my kiddos in preschool Sunday school. I chose those because I thought they were gf and I have two gluten free students.

I am not happy about those last two items, but I would rather know than eat them.

Sleuth Snickers

2010-10-25T21:49:00.001-06:00

This is my daughter many, many years ago.
I used to call her Punkin.

Check out this updated information concerning candy, candy, candy, its safety or lack thereof on a later post. Don't take my word for it; follow the link to Gluten Free Recipes there.

Not really. This isn't funny. Did anyone else realize that the Mars candy company doesn't include gluten in its allergens list? They don't. I was checking to see if the miniatures are gluten free and found out that they don't make that statement about any of their bars.

Yet Mars candy bars are on an awful lot of gluten free candy lists out there. How come? I am wondering if there has been some personal interaction with the company and they have a different policy than can be found on this Allergen Info link for Mars.

Sometimes I can get away with a piece of chocolate candy that has milk in it as long as I don't eat a bunch, but I guess Snickers is off of my list until I read/hear something different.

On the other hand, Nestle has a nice gluten free list online on a PDF file. Guess when I get a real hankerin' for chocolate, I will have a Baby Ruth.

In my searching, I ran across this website called Label Watch. They are not specifically for people with allergen issues, but they are specifically for people who eat. We do, so it should be quite helpful for us too.

I also ran across a blog called Home Cooking Rocks! the other day and though it isn't tailored to our needs, there are recipes on there that work! For example, her Rainy Day Cabbage, Pineapple and Strawberry Salad. This is timely. There is rain in the forecast!

That's all for now. Perhaps this should be called a Sleuth Reportlet.

Salty Sleuth

2010-10-24T21:09:00.000-06:00

Wingers' delicious and gluten free popcorn...
sadly, now off limits to me because of dairy.

I went to a health seminar recently and learned that craving salt is an indication of not being low on salt, but low on minerals. The remedy is to take a liquid mineral supplement. Because of something else that was going on with me, I found out that I needed to take minerals. I started taking something called Min Ra Sol, and I have had really great results from it. The link is to a page that seems to be under construction, but the bottle is the right stuff.

That's all. Just some information I wanted to share with you. Hopefully you will agree these is worthy of the Sleuth Report label.

If your momma opened a restaurant and she cooked all of your favorite dishes...

2010-10-23T01:17:00.002-06:00

...yeah. It's like that.

Tonight my husband took me to a MEXICAN RESTAURANT AND IT WAS SAFE FOR ME!!! We traveled to get there. We went all the way to a little town called Jerome, Idaho and made our way up Main Street until we arrived at the El Sombrero. Somebodies' momma didn't raise no dummy...Rosa's momma, to be precise. This lady and probably her husband and definitely her daughter have a great thing going in that little town. The food there is fantastic and I am confident that they have a large following of regular customers. While we were there, I heard many statements to the tune of, "Good food as always," or "What we've come to expect." As we were preparing to leave a couple walked in from the back entrance mentioning "we were here last night" as they made their way to the booth behind ours.

The portions are HUGE and the customers are happy...including me. Before making the trek, I made a phone call to the restaurant and asked to speak with Rosa, who I had been told is the owner. Rosa is a celiac, so she knows what is safe and what is not in her restaurant. She told me which seasonings not to order, but that when I got there the waitresses would be able to guide me. She was right. What they didn't know for sure, they would go back to the kitchen and ask.

Both my husband and I ordered the Pork Carnitas...delicioso!...under their "Sombrero Specialties" on the menu. When you follow the link, you will find that their prices are quite reasonable. When you see the photo (sorry for the low quality, the lighting is subdued and I only had my cell phone with me) you will wish you were eating there now.

No Gluten, No Dairy, No Eggs, No Soy, No Kidding!
They use canola oil in the kitchen. They do have eggs,
but you don't have to order them. ;)

As you can see, they have corn tortillas and salsa that they serve when you arrive, and the little bowl in the middle held their own refried beans with cheese. I refrained from eating them of course, but the ones on my plate had no cheese and I enjoyed them very much.

That pork on the left? Tender. Juicy. Amazing. Add the rice, lettuce, tomatoes and the soft, moist corn tortillas and I was very, very happy. If you are wondering — no, I didn't clean up my plate. I have leftovers and I plan to make the most of them. We also bought an order of two tamales to go; one as a surprise for my mom and the other tucked away in the fridge for this gluten free girl on another day.

If you decide to check them out, expect your eyes to be delighted with the bright colors of the place, your taste buds to be delighted with the succulent flavors and your tummy to be delighted with the safety factor.

El Sombrero

143 W. Main

Jerome, Idaho

Tell them the Gluten Free Sleuth sent you. Hopefully by then they will remember me...I know I won't be forgetting them any time soon; I need to try some of their fajitas...

The Sleuthist sleuths out recipes

2010-10-18T14:20:00.000-06:00

Gooey Recipes from around the web

Banana-cue - No Gluten, No Dairy, No Eggs, No Soy, No Kidding - The banana base of this recipe is fine, but I need to come up with different accompaniments. Ice cream and whipped cream won't do.

Seriously Addictive Gluten Free Yummyness - No Gluten, No Dairy, No Soy, No Kidding and making it No Eggs should be easy

Brownie Bites - No Gluten, No Dairy, No Eggs, No Soy, No Kidding

Yummly - This is a recipe data base. On the left there are a number of allergens listed and you click on the ones that apply. The link is to what recipes they have that have No Gluten, No Dairy, No Eggs, No Soy, No Kidding and there are several pages listed. I will be spending some time here, believe me!

Simply Sugar and Gluten Free is just what the name says, but resourceful free-ers can adapt lots of different kinds of recipes!

Coconut Whipped Cream - No Gluten, No Dairy, No Eggs, No Soy, No Kidding

White Olive Soup

2010-10-18T13:46:00.000-06:00

I came up with this recipe long before I couldn't have gluten. I wanted some yummy beans, but I didn't want to use ham. Years ago, I had a friend who made chili with olives in it and he included the liquid, so I decided to try it. I have always made this soup with navy beans, but I was out of them the other day, so I went with limas instead and they worked really well.

Navy beans

I enjoy the name of this recipe, because it always gets interesting responses from people when they hear it. This time around, my friend Judy said that when she heard the name she envisioned a creamy soup, but she didn't see how that could be since I can't have dairy. The White part is from the beans, the Olive part is from the olives. :)

Just looking at the picture makes me hungry!

White Olive Soup

No Gluten, No Dairy, No Eggs,

No Soy, No Kidding

2 cups of dry navy or lima beans,

soaked in water overnight &

drained

1 pound of stew meat, thawed &

cooked through

1 - 16 ounce can of black olives,

chopped, reserve liquid

1 medium to large yellow onion,

chopped

2-3 stalks of celery, sliced

Dried parsley, garlic powder, salt,

& paprika, all to taste

Place the pre-soaked, drained beans in a kettle. Add the pre-cooked stew meat, the olives, the liquid from the olives, the chopped onions and the celery slices. Add enough water to come above the ingredients about an inch and a half. Season to taste. Over a medium to medium-high heat (depending on the heat your kettle can handle) bring to a strong boil, cover pan, and reduce heat enough to keep it boiling, but not boiling over,

Concerning the seasonings, if you have read my blog for long, you know that I cook using the Aunt Lorena method. Start out with a few shakes or so, and then before you are ready to serve the dish, taste some to see if it has enough seasoning and if it doesn't, add more. Your confidence with this method will increase as you use it. Just remember to start out with smaller amounts so you don't have to add more beans, or whatever, to lessen the affect of overdoing it. And speaking of overdoing it. I ate two bowls the other night and it was too much food. Proceed with caution...

Sloth Report: Sleuth fesses up and other stuff

2010-09-25T13:00:00.000-06:00

JENNIFER! No Corn, No Kidding!!!

Check out this recipe for light "corn" syrup at Adventures of a Gluten Fee Mom!

Okay, now that that is taken care of, I need to ask you to forgive me. I having been thinking of all the times I have said, I will get back to you on that, and never have. This morning I decided to use my handy dandy Sleuth search engine to see how many times I have done that, and the results are in...

THE FESS UP

Promise 1. Chocolate Cinnamon Coconut Almond Freeze "Hmm..I am thinking of some new flavors even now. I will let you know."

Answer 1. Well. I haven't made this again. Instead, I have been playing with the frozen banana recipe that is abundantly discussed on the web and I made a chocolate shake that was delicious. I have thought since that I should take a similar recipe and freeze it for ice cream, but I haven't done so as of this post. I will make no promises, but if I do it again, I will certainly try to remember to take a photo, make a recipe and post it.

Promise 2. I told you I would let you know if the Black Bean Brownies would turn out okay with egg replacer instead of egg whites.

Answer 2. Again. I haven't made them that way. I should be brought up on failure-to-make-recipes-another-time charges. My problem is that I just don't remember to make them. I am off trying something new instead. How will I ever establish sound, No Gluten, No Dairy, No Eggs, No Soy, No Kidding traditions at this rate?

Promise 3. Under the heading In the works..., I mentioned that I was working on a ranch dressing that was free of everything of which it needs to be free.
Answer 3. FAIL. So far anyway. I still want to do more with it, but for now I will just show you photos. I really think the initial mustard, green onion, grape seed oil picture looks pretty sweet (read: appealing? funky? artsy? I don't know. I just like it). The egg replacer was tricky. This recipe requires patience.

THE OTHER STUFF
Stores that sell gluten free stuff
I got an email from the head of our celiac support group and she was letting people know about resources in our area. One thing is that Winco is selling Udi's bread products now, as well as this amazing frozen fish I want to tell you about (see in the products section below).

She was told that they don't have a separate gluten free section because it is easier to just put them on a shelf with similar foods. I am confident it is easy for them, but it is like a Where's Waldo search for the glutenly challenged.

Speaking on gluten-free product shelving practices, I really hate it when stores put gluten free on the baking aisle. At Smith's Food and Drug they not only have the products on the baking aisle, they are right next to the regular flours. This might seem logical to them, but I don't even like to walk down the baking aisle. Can you say cross-contamination? With the efforts companies, such as Bob's Red Mill, take to produce certified gluten free products, I am sure they would be thrilled to know that their products are snuggling up to gluten. And with the efforts we take to maintain a gluten-free lifestyle, the last thing we need is to inhale the stuff in a supermarket! Until they move their gluten free items to another place, I won't be buying any gluten-free products from that aisle.

There is a little store called Sta-well. This store has been in the area for many, many years, but has new owners who are stocking loads of gf stuff. They are very personable and are always willing to try to get in whatever their customers are wanting. They are a mom and pop establishment, so their prices are a bit more than other spots, but it is always good to support the little guys whenever possible.

Another place in our town is Local Dish Market and Cafe. They too are supposed to have lots of gluten free products and serve gluten free foods in the cafe. The owners will be at the celiac support meeting on Tuesday evening.

Products I have heard about or tried
FISH!!! No Gluten, No Dairy, No Eggs, No Soy, No Peanuts, No Kidding!

Starfish is producing some breaded fish for us! I didn't even realize how much I missed those frozen, boxed fillets and sticks I used to serve when life was crazy, but I do now. I bought the halibut the other night and it was wonderful. I had to go to a meeting right after we ate (Nice timing on this find! True? Of course, true.) and as I sat there, I would put my hair under my nose from time to time and smell that fishy goodness. Not a smell I normally want to sport, but this night, this night, I was in fish odor heaven. I went for the halibut because it is normally $9.99, but was on sale (Nice timing on this find! True? Of course, true.) for $6.99 and I decided I better go for the savings while I could. This fish is available at Winco and Smith's. It is actually safe at Smith's, because it is in the frozen fish case, not on the baking aisle.

I took photos of them, but blogger says, "Server Rejected" no matter what pictures I try to upload, so instead I will link to the Starfish company URL.

Around the web
Living Without posted this interesting article on the necessity (or lack thereof) of biopsies for proper diagnosis. Conclusion: still necessary, but it is good to see where the research is going.

If you were wondering about Farley's and Sathers candies, they say they deal with the "Big 8" allergens. Is gluten in that list? I think only wheat is. Either way, you have to call them for each product you are wondering about.

Have you been to P. F. Chang's? I haven't, but I have heard nice things about them and want go. They aren't in my town though.

Arbonne has a hefty list of gluten free products! Would you look at that list? I don't know the person whose site this is, I just ran across the link.

Gluten Free Baking has some great recipes. Just make sure you are watching for those that have other allergens in them, but I am thinking I can tweak their Cran-Apple White Chocolate Popcorn. I have my doubts that there is dairy free white chocolate, so I will probably go with Enjoy Life's chocolate chips instead.

One Frugal Foodie has a free eCookbook available for download. It is called Smart School Time Recipes. You should go check it out!

Store stuff, blog news

2010-09-20T14:18:00.001-06:00

Zazzle is running a sale now through September 23 @ 11:59pm that includes 10% off of net sale price on shirts. Enter the code: AUTUMNZAZZLE at checkout.

Also, Snack Attack is back!

Back on the breakfast table: Quinoa (keen' wa)!

2010-09-20T10:25:00.001-06:00

For some time now I have just been enjoying my easy and delicious, default breakfast: Arrowhead Mills Maple Buckwheat Flakes with raisins, nuts, a few Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips and almond milk. I love chocolate and eliminating milk from my diet has definitely changed things. Breakfast is a nice place to indulge in it. My problem is the cost of the cereal. I am trying to become more economically gluten free, which isn't easy. I also have hypoglycemia and don't do well with the gf Chex cereals due to their sugar content, so they are not an option for me (refined white sugar is not my friend - though I do eat it sometimes, I can't have it every day). My solution? Quinoa! Early on I used it a lot, but it is just so easy to pour cereal into a bowl...

Last week I decided it was time to go back to cooking breakfast and I am finding that it keeps my energy level even the whole morning. My plan is to have the Buckwheat Flakes on hand for those days when I just can't afford quinoa's fifteen minutes from cupboard to tummy. I usually use Ancient Harvest Quinoa, but I have seen a different brand in a big bag at Costco that I need to check on to be sure there are no cross-contamination issues. If there are none, I will buy it from there instead. I am confident it will be more economical. In the meantime, here is the nutritional lowdown on this delightful grain from Ancient Grains.

This is for a serving size of 1/4 cup dry quinoa, which makes a very nice breakfast bowl. Keep in mind that this information is for the quinoa only, not my recipe.

172 calories

2.8 grams of fat (no saturated or trans fats)

1 mg sodium

31 g carbs - 3 dietary fiber, 3 sugars

6 g protein

I posted the recipe I have used in the past back here, but I have changed it a bit (notice that I am still having chocolate for breakfast).

Dry quinoa is round and tiny. When it is cooked, it gets a little ring around it (like Saturn :)
and that is how you can tell it is ready to eat. You can see this in the picture.
The clearest are to the left of the bottom, center pecan.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Quinoa Breakfast Bowl

No Gluten, No Dairy, No Eggs, No Soy, No Kidding

1/4 cup dry quinoa

1 teaspoon Saco cocoa

Cinnamon, to taste

1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon peanut butter
Handful of raisins
A few pecans
Smattering of pure maple syrup
Almond milk

In a small saucepan, add the quinoa, cinnamon and cocoa and mix together. Add the water, raisins and peanut butter and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, put the lid on the saucepan and set the timer for 10 minutes. Watch it for a bit, adjusting the heat to make sure it keeps boiling but doesn't boil over. When the timer goes off, look to see if the quinoa has little rings around it. If it does, it is ready to eat. Doesn't it smell wonderful? Add the maple syrup (I think I probably use less than a teaspoon), pecans and desired amount of almond milk and enjoy this wholesome and yummy way to start your day!

Announcement: The Sleuth has a Store!

2010-09-14T13:15:00.000-06:00

Notice my new page? The Gluten Free Sleuth Store is open for business! I have been wanting to open an online store for some time now, but it has taken a while to pull everything together. I thought it would be a fast thing to set up, but I thought wrong. There were a lot of kinks to work out and so far I only have one design, but I plan to develop more. I do them on my own computer rather than working with the tools available at Zazzle and my desire is to incorporate more of my own artwork.

I really like the way my first design came out and I hope you will too. It is specifically to promote and clarify the gluten issue. This one is really best for girls. I do plan to create some more manly design in the future.

I can also do some custom images. I will be doing more with the No Kidding concept, including other allergens and I can make them fit your specific restrictions. This will probably be my next project. I will let you know when that happens and you can email me then with your requests.

Temporary Setback :(

2010-09-14T13:00:00.000-06:00

I was adding to my Snack Attack page and somehow, and I am completely clueless in this, I deleted the entire page. *big sigh*

I will get it back up when I can, but life is quite busy and I have used up all my bloggy minutes for now (I am definitely blogging on borrowed time). In the meantime, there is this option:

http://glutenfreesleuth.blogspot.com/b/post-preview?token=Nkp5EysBAAA.BHYV1kXNUgcolYKNnGwv1A.C-ibMUr_9HmnzvVl5HoM6g&postId=131829531017504724&type=PAGE

I don't know if it will work for you all or not. It may disappear the next time I clear out my browser for all I know, but hopefully it is still there. Just know that in the preview none of the links will work. It is just a two-dimensional façade, after all.

The Dairy Free Dilemma: Corn on the Cob

2010-09-13T12:55:00.000-06:00

Corn on the cob, slathered in butter and sprinkled with salt

Just typing those words spurs my saliva glands to action! What is a dairy-freer to do? Well, a few weeks ago I decided I needed a solution to this problem. My friend, Sarah, gave me some fresh ears from the field and I didn't want to eat them dry! As I was mulling over the possibilities, I remembered how much I used to enjoy hot bread dipped in garlic-flavored olive oil at a couple of the local Italian restaurants and I decided to try a variation on that theme. This is a simple and effective solution to the problem! The recipe* I am sharing is for grilled corn on the cob, but I have since used a seasoned oil on corn that I cooked on the stove top. I brushed it on the corn before eating.

Grilled Corn on the Cob,
Sans Butter

No Gluten, No Dairy, No Eggs,

No Kidding

Corn on the cob, in husks (as many as you need for your family/crowd)

Olive oil
Garlic powder**
Salt

To prepare corncobs, peel back the husks and remove corn silk.

Pour olive oil into a small bowl. When determining quantities on this, think about how much butter you would use per ear and judge from that. It doesn't take much olive oil at all. The amount in the little Pyrex bowl was way more than I needed for mine. I only did one ear with this olive oil blend for me; everyone else had butter.

Spread the olive oil mixture evenly over the corn. I just used my spoon for this.

Smooth husks back into their original position (the husks were wrinkly and wobbly at this point) and tie in place with string. We grilled ours for about 6 minutes, turning frequently, but I was looking at recipes on the web and saw recommendations from 15 minutes to until the husks are black. I also saw that it is often recommended that you pre-soak the corn in its husks in cold water for 15 minutes to saturate them, allowing for steaming and improved moisture content of the cooked corn. The corn will be hot, so be careful as you remove it from the grill.*** We served them with the husks still in place and each person unwrapped their own. It was quite lovely on the plate...though the ashes were a bit messy.

.....................................................

*This is sooooo simple that it doesn't really seem like a recipe, but what else can I call it?

**I want to try some other seasonings with this also. I haven't decided which ones yet, but I will be experimenting, corn on the cob availability permitting.
***No fingers were burned in the husk-removal of this corn.

South of the Border, in Layers

2010-09-04T09:27:00.001-06:00

I was going to come up with something non-Mexican style last night, but when I smelled the burger as it cooked, I decided to go with this homemade fast food instead. It was a hit. I forgot to garnish with whole olives before I took the picture, but I didn't forget to eat them! This recipe may seem too simple, but it is a surprisingly nice blend of flavors. Those who are not allergic can top with sour cream and/or cheese also. My husband used sour cream, but no cheese.

South of the Border, in Layers

No Gluten, No Dairy, No Eggs,
No Soy, No Kidding

Olive oil

Red cooking wine
1 lb burger
Garlic powder, salt
1 16 oz. can Rosarita refried beans (I used fat free)
2 tablespoons canned, sliced, chili peppers (make sure they are gluten free)
1 cup Garden of Eatin' Blue Chips, broken into pieces (this is a great way to use up those last bits in the bottom of the bag)
1 can whole baby corn, drained and cut into thirds
Guacamole (your favorite, my other recipe, or the variation I made last night can be found below)

Preheat oven to 350°F

In a skillet, precook hamburger. When it is nearly done, season with garlic powder and salt, to taste and stir in about a couple of tablespoons of the red wine. Allow to finish cooking and set aside until needed.

Assembling the Layer in the casserole dish
Coat the bottom of a casserole dish with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil. Evenly spread in layers in this order: refried beans, green chilies, tortilla chips, burger and baby corn. Bake at 350°F for 20 minutes. Serve with guacamole and whole black olives

Guacamole: Last Night's Version
1 whole avocado, ripened, peeled and pitted
2 green onions, sliced
1/2 cup Chachies Medium Salsa
Garlic powder, ground cumin, chili powder, to taste

Mash the avocado and mix in the rest of the ingredients. Start light on the seasonings and add until your taste buds do a little dance.

Barbecue Bowl with pasta salad

2010-08-31T00:23:00.004-06:00

Shockingly large, isn't it? I can't help it, the flavor is that big!

I am really liking this bowl thing. I am also really liking having to come up with new dishes on a regular basis. It is fun to try to pair up ingredients in my mind before I start making dinner. Tonight's dish came together quite nicely and the recipe practically wrote itself.

Barbecue Bowl

No Gluten, No Dairy, No Eggs, No Soy, No kidding

1/8 cup grapeseed oil

1/8 cup red cooking wine

4 boneless, skinless, chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized chunks

2 medium sized zucchini, sliced in disks

1 large yellow onion, chopped in very small pieces

1 cup Cinnamon Barbecue Sauce (recipe to follow)

1 cup Pacific chicken broth

Salt and garlic powder

Pour the oil and cooking wine into a large skillet over a medium heat. Add chicken and cook, turning pieces to sear all sides. Add the vegetables and then combine the barbecue sauce and chicken broth and pour over all. Season, cover and allow to simmer for 25 minutes.

Those tiny onion bits did just what I had hoped they would do in this dish. They are sweet and tender and really make it the wonder that it is. Don't forget the onions!

Cinnamon Barbecue Sauce

No Gluten, No Dairy, No Eggs, No Soy, No kidding

1 cup gf ketchup (See link to see what the gf policy is at Heinz, which is the brand I am currently using. I haven't noticed gluten issues with it, but I really want to make my own ketchup so I can get away from high fructose corn syrup.)

1/3 cup Brer Rabbit black strap molasses
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1/8 cup French's Classic Yellow Mustard
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
Salt to taste

Combine all ingredients together and mix well. The cinnamon is the hero here; it is a very nice spice for barbecue sauce; add more if you like. I use this sauce on chicken wings too.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Pliable Pasta Salad

No Gluten, No Dairy, No Eggs, No Soy, No kidding
1 package Tinkyada Spaghetti Style Brown Rice Pasta (or your favorite gluten free pasta)
Litehouse Red Wine Olive Oil Vinaigrette Dressing (or your favorite oil and vinegar dressing)
Your choice of add ins* - for this evening's salad I used
Whole black olives and yellow pear tomatoes w/chopped green peppers

This is easy to put together. Cook the pasta according to the directions on the package. Drain and rinse. Put into a large enough bowl to allow for tossing. Add vegetables and then pour dressing over all. Use enough dressing to make it moist, according to your preference. Toss and serve if everything else is ready. If you put this together earlier in the day, it will give the flavors time to mingle. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

A bit of humor with this dish. I was in a hurry to get this into my husband's tummy, because he had a meeting tonight. SOOOO, I pulled the pasta off of the burner about a minute early resulting in a just barely under-done noodle. It had the coolest texture! It was kind of bouncy, or something. It sort of gently pushed back on my teeth when I chewed; however, the liquid was so hot in the bowl that as I got further into the meal, the pasta had finished cooking! Bowls are a great adventure!
.....................................................
*Other possibilities - celery, green onions, red onions, scallions, canned artichoke hearts (marinated or not), cauliflower, broccoli, mushrooms (marinated or fresh), canned baby corncobs, heart of palm, any seeds or nuts that you would like,

Dear Blogger

2010-08-28T20:07:00.001-06:00

Thanks for the editing improvements. They are fabulous. I am especially happy with the preview feature that actually shows what the post will look like when it is published. It makes the whole getting-the-spacing-and-other-formatting-right thing much easier.

This is a simulpost. You can also see it live at my other blog, All We Like Sheep.

South of the Border Bowl - 2.0

2010-08-28T19:56:00.003-06:00

This is a variation on the South of the Border Bowl recipe from last weekend. This time the meat of choice is beef stew meat and those baby corns really make this dish special. Something delightful happens to their texture that makes the chewing of them quite satisfying. I can't quite explain it. You will have to try the recipe and see for yourself.

South of the Border Bowl - 2.0

No Gluten, No Dairy, No Eggs, No Soy, No kidding
1/4 cup grape-seed oil

3 tablespoons (approximately) cooking red wine

1-2 pounds stew meat

1 large onions, chopped

3 cups zucchini, chopped

2 15-ounce cans black beans, undrained

1 14.5-ounce can stewed tomatoes, undrained

1 can baby corn, drained and halved or quartered (I did this in the skillet with my spatula)

1 4-ounce can green chilies

1 to 2 cups Pacific Organic Chicken Broth

1 teaspoon each garlic powder, chili powder

1/2 teaspoon each ground cumin, oregano flakes (plus a little more of each of the four spices as directed below)

Salt and pepper to taste

I used the Aunt Lorena method for measuring, but these amounts are very close.

Put the grape-seed oil and red wine into the bottom of a large skillet and turn the stove on medium to heat. When the oil is heated, add the stew meat and sprinkle with some of each of the spices, along with some pepper. Stir and then brown the stew meat. Add the onions and allow them to cook with the meat for a few minutes and then add the tomatoes, black beans, baby corn, and spices, turn the heat down to medium low, cover the skillet and allow to simmer while you prepare the zucchini. Once your zucchini is ready, add it to the skillet along with the chicken broth. Bring back to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 1/2 hour.

Ladle some stew into your bowl Top the stew with broken up tortilla chips or for the glutened in your life, saltine crackers (which is what my sweetheart did). If you feel you need to add other garnishes, I can't stop you, but this dish really needs nothing else but you.

Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary...

2010-08-28T10:57:00.002-06:00

Our garden is coming along with mixed results (which I expounded upon on my other blog), but I am very pleased to have those vegetables that are growing well.

The kohlrabi, which I mentioned in my other blog this morning, is the star of a new Snack Attack post (which I will get to in a few minutes).

Zucchini is the featured vegetable of this post, however. Last Sunday I took gluten free zucchini bread to church for fellowship time and I am happy to say that the gluten eaters really liked it! I don't know that anyone even knew it was gluten free (unless they saw the glutenless taking some).

I used the recipe at Bob's Red Mill, but I used organic egg whites only (which I seem to be able to tolerate) and left out the walnuts, putting almonds on top instead. You can see that it might have baked a little bit longer, but it was not undercooked to the point of being raw and it was very moist.

I had one of those odd times when a long-forgotten memory comes flooding back. As I was loading up the loaf pans, I was reminded of the very first time I made zucchini bread. I was making some from our first garden years ago and the glutenous recipe I was using made five loaves. I was using this exact same mixing bowl and when I saw how full it was I was astounded. It was an overwhelmingly shocking quantity to me. As I recall, it made five nice loaves and I froze some. I was also reminded how looonnngggg it takes to make a bunch of loaves of zucchini bread, due to the need for so much zucchini. Next time I will use my food processor, but I was making this late Saturday night, because we had unexpected company for dinner and I put it off until our guest left. This meant that my husband was already in bed and I was unwilling to run that noisy machine.

South of the Border Bowl

2010-08-22T17:53:00.002-06:00

I started with the Crockpot Tortilla Soup Recipe over at A Year of Slow Cooking, but by the time it got to the table, it was an entirely different dish!

Once again, I had to rescue some of the food for a
photo shoot before it was gone. You will just have
to imagine how nice the corn bread looked
nestled just to the left of the bowl.

South of the Border Bowl

No Gluten, No Dairy, No Eggs, No Soy,

No Kidding*

3 chicken breasts, cooked and chopped to bite-sized pieces

1 - 32-ounce carton of Pacific chicken broth

3 cans of black beans, with liquid

1 onion, chopped

1 - 6-ounce can ripe olives, chopped (do not drain)

2 - 14.5 ounce cans diced tomatoes, with liquid

1 - 4 ounce can green chili peppers (I used mild, you decide how hot they should be)

1 cup corn

2 cups chopped zucchini (optional, but this is a great way to get that vegetable into finicky tummies; they will never know it is there)

3 cloves of garlic, chopped fine
1 tablespoon cumin
1 tablespoon oregano
½ tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoons garlic powder
Salt to taste

Garnishes

Tortilla chips, Mexican blend cheese, sour cream, chopped green onions

Combine all of the ingredients (except for the garnishes) into a large stew pot. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and cover. Cook for 1 ½ hours

To serve, put a handful of tortilla chips in the bottom of the serving bowl and cover with stew. Garnish as you wish. I didn’t put anything on mine. I just put the chips in the bottom of the bowl. This is delicious! My family and our company loved it. I served it with cornbread made with Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Cornbread. I used egg whites instead of whole eggs, as I seem to be able to get away with those now. Egg replacer would work fine.

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* Always be sure your ingredients are gluten free!

Quick Sleuth

2010-08-20T11:53:00.000-06:00

Products
Over at Go Dairy Free there is a post today about Living Harvest Hemp Milk Ice Cream along with a really yummy looking recipe for a Peanut Butter Shell. Both the ice cream and the shell are No Gluten, No Dairy, No Eggs, No Soy, No Kidding (see the FAQ's at Living Harvest - scroll a little over half-way down the page to I have allergies. How can I be sure your products are safe?). Gotta see if anybody in my town carries this ice cream!

The Gluten Free Cookie Jar has a nice selection from which to choose.

Other bloggers
The Non-Dairy Queen has a lot of recipes that are also gluten, egg and soy free; such as, her Savory Oatmeal Flax Waffles posted August 19, 2010 and that Brown Sugar Flax Oatmeal Ice Cream that she links to from the same post. Check that place out! Don't you love it that more and more people are becoming chemists for their secret other profession?

Time Sensitive Post

2010-08-19T21:16:00.001-06:00

When I was looking for a picture to illustrate
this post, I couldn't find the photo I wanted,
so I decided to use this little guy that
I drew for our Vacation Bible School this year.
His posture may seem odd,
but he was climbing a tree trunk.

A guy named James is working on a class project concerning the gluten free market and needs a survey filled out. His presentation is in two weeks which would be early September. The survey is only eight questions long. Why not help him out?

http://www.surveymonkey.com/glutenfreesurvey

Oats! ...and rice

2010-08-16T10:23:00.004-06:00

So the last time I tried oats, I still couldn't handle them, but I recently made some oatmeal cookies and I am tolerating them well. I will try to have oatmeal for breakfast next. Being able to add this grain to my diet is a very good thing! I use Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Rolled Oats.

Lundberg Ricechips...have you tried them? They are really good! I have tried the Sea Salt, Sesame and Seaweed (that just has to be healthy) and Santa Fe Barbecue, but my favorite is Pico de Gallo, which is made with rice and beans. They are spicy, wholesome and delicious!

A spicy morning for the Sleuth

2010-08-09T11:44:00.005-06:00

This is the third of three spicy posts, so don't miss numbers one and two.

Spice Islands is another company I called today and I was quite pleased with their response as well. I was told that they are very careful to avoid cross contamination. Their gravies are processed on dedicated lines. Their single spices obviously have no added gluten and the products they would want you to call about specifically are those with modified food starch. Though modified food starch is usually derived from corn, they want the individual products checked to be sure this is the case. The icing on the gluten-free cake was when she told me that their supervisor is a celiac and so he is very, very picky about the safety of their spices. This did wonders for my confidence level. I will use these spices as well. You must draw your own conclusions and make the decision that makes you comfortable.

Sleuthing the spice of life

2010-08-09T11:27:00.009-06:00

This is the second of three spicy posts, so don't miss one and three.

I am still on this spice thing this morning, and I was very pleased with our conversation. I spoke with a man at Oregon Spice Company and got some great information. First of all I will say that I used their products before the dreaded gluten became my enemy, but currently don't have any in my cupboard. I have always purchased them packaged bulk in plastic bags which I would cut open, use what I needed and clamp shut to store. Because of this, I was concerned that they could have contamination and gave them all away. Today I decided to pursue the company, as their products are really good quality.

I spoke with a gentleman who told me that they go to great lengths to make sure there are no cross-contamination problems. Though they do process on the same lines, they clean the lines well between runs. They wash and sanitize their lines and blenders and have visual inspections to be sure there is no build up.

The products with allergens in them are stored in a different part of the plant. The areas where gluten-containing products are processed are isolated with plastic curtains to make sure the dust does not get into the storage areas. They store their allergen containing products away from allergen free products to avoid accidents.

Once a year they swab equipment and send the swabs to a lab in Portland where they test to make sure there is no gluten residuals and those tests have always been clean. I asked him if they would consider becoming certified gluten free and he said that I was the first customer to make such a request. He said if the demand increased, they would probably consider it.

This conversation left me quite confident with Oregon Spice Company spices. I will be buying them again, but you must decide for yourself if you are comfortable doing this.

McCormick Spices, revisited and clarified

2010-08-09T09:54:00.008-06:00

This is the first of three spicy posts, so don't miss two and three.

In May of 2009, I did research into McCormick's gluten policy. I did this because I needed to know for myself and as usual, I posted my findings on this blog. Last month I set up Google Analytics so I could know what kind of traffic there is here. I wanted to know if I was just writing for myself, or if others (beyond my friends and public followers) were dropping by. I was surprised to see that there are many people reading the blog and of those who are led here through searches, a huge percentage are looking for information on McCormick spices. In April of this year, Anonymous dropped by and made this comment:

"I just talked to McCormick's on the phone and they said if they put gluten into their spices they will indicate so on the bottle HOWEVER they process their gluten-containing spices on the SAME line as their non-gluten spices...so if you are highly sensitive...use with caution..."

I have been meaning to contact them to get more specific information, but it wasn't until the numbers came in that I realized how important this is. So I called them this morning:

The woman I spoke with said that they "have never had any problems" with gluten cross-contamination. I told her that I had heard they process gluten and non-gluten spices on the same equipment and wondered about the cross-contamination problem. She said that they clean the lines between runs and have a state-of-the-art exhaust system. I asked her how they clean the lines and she said, depending on the situation, they sometimes use air and sometimes water. I asked her if they do testing and she said they do not, but they "never have any problems" with cross-contamination.

I wasn't entirely comfortable with the answers I got and she seemed uncomfortable with my questions. In saying this, I am not implying she was trying to hide anything, I don't believe that. She was open and honest with me.*

As I was typing this up, I decided to call the company back for further clarification. This time, another lady answered the call. I explained to her my reason for wanting more information. She was very friendly and willing to answer my questions. She said they are very careful to make sure the lines are cleaned well between runs, but the only products they can confidently say are gluten free are their extracts. She said the only products they actually add gluten to are their packaged mixes, such as their Seasoning Mixes. She didn't recall any of their spice blends that have added gluten in them. Bottom line: though they go to great lengths to make sure there is not cross-contamination, the gluten and non-gluten products are run on the same lines and they want that those who are highly sensitive to understand this.

I asked her about having their products tested and possibly certified gluten free and she said this has been discussed on several occasions because the problem is becoming more widespread. I put in a request, as a loyal customer, that they do this. Our conversation continued and I mentioned this again, at which point she said she had already noted it and was planning to do so.

So there you have it. At this point, we each have to make our own decision as to whether we use their spices or not. I am not sure what direction I will go. I told her, and I will tell you, that I don't know if I have ever gotten gluten from their spices. I know there have been times when I have been glutened without knowing the source and I use their spices pretty much daily. I just can't be sure. This is where I sigh...

I am going to pursue this spice issue further by contacting other spice companies and I will report as I get more information. You can always click the label Spices to see what information I have gleaned.

.........................................

*This is not the first time I have heard this tone from a person I called. A representative from Hershey was the same way. Based on my conversation with Hershey, I am confident of their integrity, but I think she felt I was attacking her in some way, because of the depth of my questioning. This may have been the same with the lady at McCormick.

Frozen Pudding

2010-08-05T08:33:00.004-06:00

I believe the thing I have missed since going No Dairy, No Eggs, No Kidding is ice cream. I am actually adjusting to not having cheese, butter and eggs pretty well. I think this is because they made me feel sick and the memory of that is still strong. I don't think I reacted that way to ice cream, but I would probably really notice it if I tried some now, after having no dairy for several months.

I recently was thinking about Jell-O pudding. I was thinking that the problem isn't in the mix itself (unhealthy as it no doubt is) but with the milk that is added to the mix, so I decided to try it with almond milk. I did that last night, with chocolate (of course) and discovered that it was not going to set up like milk does. I wanted to serve it for dessert, so I decided to try freezing it instead. It worked great! It was in the freezer about 2 1/2 hours and you can see that the center did not freeze hard. This was fine, because it added a nice creamy texture. What else it did was tell me that it just might set up in the fridge after all, if I am willing to give it more time than I had last night. I will post another picture and the directions on Snack Attack! Keep Coming Back!!!

Home Style Olive Garden Salad

2010-08-04T00:02:00.000-06:00

So this past week my husband and I celebrated our 28th wedding anniversary and though we usually go out, this time I wanted to cook something at home. I decided to make Chicken Marsala again, and I also made a homemade version of Olive Garden's yummy salad that is safe for me.

For the Chicken Marsala this time, I bought the big container of mushrooms from Costco and used half of them. They were delicious! I made enough of everything so we could have "go boxes" of leftovers for the next day, which is how it would have been had we eaten out.

Home Style Olive Garden Salad

No Gluten, No Dairy, No Eggs, No Soy, No Kidding

2 heads of Romaine lettuce, torn in pieces

1 can of whole olives, drained

1 medium red onion, sliced

Whole pepperoncinnis (as many as you want. We love them and use lots!)

Litehouse Red Wine Olive Oil Vinaigrette

Italian seasoning

Put the first four ingredients into your salad bowl. Pour the Vinaigrette over the salad, sprinkle on some Italian seasoning and toss to combine. If you are able to have dairy, you can garnish with Parmesan to taste, but it is not needed. You could also toss in your favorite gluten free croutons, but again, not needed.

We had our meal with some Manischewitz Concord Grape wine. My doctor actually really does recommend I have this from time to time with dinner...a couple of ounces watered down. It is plenty for me and with a meal I don't even get a buzz, which suits me fine.

This was really a wonderful meal and I didn't come away wondering if I would start hurting in a bit.

Summer Sleuth

2010-08-03T12:05:00.008-06:00

It is a beautiful day today. There is a lovely breeze coming through the front door and though we usually close up the house early to contain the cool we have captured through the night, I just can't bring myself to do so. The air is too refreshing to block out, so I will keep it open until I finish my blog business. It is supposed to hit 90 degrees today.

Products

Hormel has a comprehensive list of their gluten free products on PDF. So you expect it, when you get to their website and click on their Gluten Free Product List link, the PDF file downloads directly to your computer, rather than in your browser.

And speaking of processed foods, Sure Foods Living has a put up a lengthy list of gluten free hot dogs and sausages of all kinds.

Liz Lovely has both normal and gluten-free cookies.

Research and Information

The University of Chicago has a lot of information concerning celiac disease. Their mission: "to raise diagnosis rates for celiac disease and meet the critical needs of people with the condition, through education, research, and advocacy." You should go check it out. They have made this comprehensive resource available as well.

This article, Celiac Disease: On the Rise, from the Mayo Clinic, speculates as to what the cause of this rise might be, explores the disease, gives historical information, discusses research and more.

Another vaccine in our future? Perhaps...

Other Bloggers

Candace Gluten Free

Celiac Chicks

The Gluten Free Lab

Baking for John (The last dated post is November 2009, but this place is worth a look.)

The Spunky Coconut (Recipes are No Gluten, No Casein, No Sugar, No Kidding, but not all recipes are all of these, so pay attention.)

Gluten-Free WikaDuke

Elana's Pantry

Recipes!

Cashew Cheese! (I am planning on trying this, but first I have to find a reliable source for uncontaminated raw cashews...)

Fresh Strawberry Pie (from Living Without, complete with an allergy friendly crust! If you aren't on their mailing list, get there. They send out lovely recipes all the time.)

Bread (Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Soy Free, No Kidding - from Elana's Pantry)

Iced Coffee (This could easily be made with almond milk or whatever your favorite dairy alternative is!)

This one is just for fun, but it is free of everything!

Partly sleuthy with a chance of showers later on...

2010-07-30T11:47:00.012-06:00

Update: Sorry about the spacing on this post. The html looks fine, but it may have the sniffles.

I have tons to do over the next several days and think I will just post short reports here and there.

Products

My friend, Sherry, recently took her granddaughter, Grace, to Starbucks and was pleasantly surprised to discover gluten free cookies there! Grace said, "mmmmmm" while eating them! And I believe a baby's opinion is to be trusted!

Gluten Freeville did a review for reusable toaster bags today! Somebody is gonna make a lot of money.

Go Picnic has some handy dandy gluten free food packs, but according to Nancy from Gluten Freeville, they take forever to ship. She recommends we get them from Costco or in a store so we have them when we need them.

These Crunch Dried Snacks from Sensible Foods are getting rave reviews and are also available at Costco. I gotta get to Costco!

DeBoles has recently announced a recall on Kid's Only! Gluten Free Tubettini. It isn't good when products slip by like this, but I appreciate DeBoles' willingness to be honest with the public.

On another front with DeBoles. I have had little success with their rice, quinoa and amaranth spaghetti-style pasta. I have tried it twice and had the same results both times. The pasta breaks up into tiny pieces while cooking. I don't know if I am cooking it too long (I have followed their directions) or if it is just the nature of this stuff. It is impossible to strain it with a colander because the pieces are too small and I haven't picked up a new sieve to use gluten free yet. Besides, I think it would make a terrible mess in a sieve. If you have had better success, please let me know how. I really like those grains and would love to use this product!

Ope! P.S.

Chelsea Clinton is serving gluten free cake at her wedding tomorrow. Perhaps we should attend!

Dinner Bell

2010-07-25T20:29:00.018-06:00

Folks, I've been saving some recipes up for you and I can't wait any longer to get them posted! I don't have time for this tonight, but here I am. I have a whole lot of sleuths to share as well, but I probably won't get to those until at least later this week. It is Vacation Bible School at our church and I get to play with preschoolers for four days! I am pretty excited. They keep me young. Okay, here you go. I am still working on the mayo recipe. The first batch isn't quite what I am looking for and I am still using it up. When I get this thing right, I will post the whole story. :)

To the food...

Honey Maple Chicken Breasts

No Gluten, No Dairy, No Eggs, No Soy, No Kidding

Chicken breasts, raw

(or turkey legs if you prefer)

Yams, cubed

(that's cut into cubes, not taken to the third power)

Pecans

Olive oil

Honey

Pure maple syrup

Garlic powder, Salt

Place the chicken breasts into the the bottom of a casserole dish large enough to fit how ever many you are making. Scatter your yams and then pecans over the top. Use enough to feed your crowd. Drizzle olive oil, then honey, then maple syrup over all. The amount on these...I used maybe 1/3 cup olive oil, 1/4 cup honey and perhaps that much maple syrup. This is an Aunt Lorena method sort of dish (click label for more information). Season with garlic powder and salt to taste. Bake uncovered at 350°F for 1 hour. Serve with a fresh green salad. Yummy!

This next dish is super easy, light, and tastes wonderful. It has a lot of wiggle room. You could add all kinds of other ingredients, but we liked the simplicity of it. Hmmm...I don't know what to call it...how about

Cabbage Mushroom Chicken Bowl

No Gluten, No Dairy, No Eggs, No Soy, No Kidding

2 Chicken breasts, raw, cut into bite-sized pieces

1/2 head of cabbage, chopped (don't be stingy with the cabbage)

8-10 mushrooms, sliced

1 onion, sliced, or chopped, or whatever you like

Grapeseed oil

Red cooking wine

Pacific Organic Free Range Chicken Broth

Garlic Powder, Cumin, Salt & pepper

Heat about 1/8 cup grapeseed oil in a skillet on medium heat (I used a 12 inch skillet and the lid was floating on the cabbage because there was too much food for it to be able to close, so you might want a bigger one). Add chicken and stir fry it for just a few minutes. Add mushrooms, onions and cabbage. Once you get all that stuffed into the pan, drizzle with red cooking wine and pour in about a cup of the chicken broth (I was thinking that it would be nice to add more of the broth because this would make a lovely soup as well). Season with the garlic powder, cumin, salt and pepper, to taste. Cover and cook for about 30 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and the cabbage is weepy (like a celiac eating Udi's bread). Put it in a pretty bowl and eat it with crackers. I had mine with Mary's Gone Crackers. Delicious!

Possible other ingredients: sesame oil instead of grapeseed (or in addition to), sesame seeds, peanuts, any typical Asian food ingredients (bean sprouts, bamboo shoots, baby corn, & etc.), cauliflower, carrots, celery...

Remember I said I wanted to try that Watermelon Sorbet recipe? Well, I did. It doesn't look like Rachel Ray's, but that is because I skipped this step, "Transfer the pieces to a food processor in batches and pulse until smooth," and went straight to the eating part. Verdict: It was very refreshing, but I am not sure I would use the lime zest again. It was odd to me. However, my husband loved it as is.

The Weep Test, by the Sobbing Sleuth

2010-07-22T11:09:00.012-06:00

I have decided that the sure test as to whether a gluten free bread is good or not is the Weep Test. If you take that first bite and tears come to your eyes(or you out and out bawl) it is absolute proof you have found that rare, but real bread, so elusive in the gluten free world.

I am about 2/3 of the way through my first loaf ofUdi's Whole Grain bread. I really drug my feet on this product, because it contains egg whites and eggs are my enemy.

However, someone recently told me that when a person can't eat eggs it is often because of the yolks. So I decided to give this stuff a try.

When I opened the bread and the aroma wended its way to my nostrils, it sent a thrill down my spine. It smelled so good. I took out the heel. I have never been particularly fond of bread heels, but it was a small piece and thought it would be the safest place to start. When I took that first bite, it was as if my taste buds had a direct link to my tear ducts which automatically triggered a downpour. I could not even believe I was eating gluten free bread without toasting it, and it tasted real! The texture is soft and light and the taste is just how it should be. I ate that heel without anything on it and I like to eat this bread that way. I have my chicken salad on my plate with the bread strategically placed near by for convenience. Eating this stuff is a luxury.

Three and a half years without real bread is a long time. Thanks for bringing normal back into my life, Udi's.

Today on facebook, Udi's posted a survey. I was happy to answer their questions.

Link Omission Remedied

2010-07-18T14:11:00.003-06:00

FYI: I was looking for the link for the article on gluten free labeling and was surprised to find there was none. I have gone back to the Sleuth Report where it should have been and remedied that situation.

Also, I tried my first round of No Gluten, No Dairy, No Eggs, No Soy, No Kidding homemade mayonnaise. The taste is almost there, but the texture needs work. I got impatient for it to thicken and kept adding thickeners. I ended up with something with a consistency similar to a thick cake batter. I will be posting an actual recipe with actual measurements when I get it right. Aunt Lorena was a wonderful cook, but this recipe is too important for approximations. I take my mayonnaise very seriously. Check back on this. I will post a picture of the first batch as soon as I can. Busy day.

Sleuth: The Blog Post

2010-07-15T23:59:00.003-06:00

Recipe!!!

First, and I am drooling over this one, a friend recently mentioned he had made a watermelon sorbet and I asked him for the recipe fully expecting it to have something in it that would cause pain. But it doesn't! And it comes from Rachel Ray! I haven't looked at her website for a long time, but I think I better plan to spend some time there. My first plan, however, is to make this No Gluten, No Dairy, No Eggs, No Soy, No Kidding Watermelon Sorbet for Saturday when we are having some friends over for the day! Croquet and Sorbet...has a nice ring to it, doesn't it? To which I say, in honor of Ms. Ray, how awesome is that?

Products and pain

I have decided that I am not going to eat any products that have a processed on the same equipment as wheat or gluten warning on the label. I have had pain with several products that do, Lays, for example. I just read that they are using great care to avoid cross contamination and I believe a lot of people do just fine with them. I don't. There is also a puffy veggie/rice snack chip at Costco that I am confident I was being glutened by (I am going to have to write down the product name next time I am in there. When I do, I will post an update). They say gluten free on them, but they also have the processed on the same equipment as warning on their label. I recently called Terra Chips and though they have many products without gluten ingredients, they are also processed on the same equipment as gluten-containing products. At this point, the only snack chips I am eating are assorted flavors of Food Should Taste Good, an organic, gluten free, GMO free tortilla chip from Freddy's and Garden of Eatin' Blue Chips.

Products with possibilities

I discovered tonight that Newman's Own has tightened up their labeling policy since I last looked. On their website it used to say something like, to the best of the knowledge certain products didn't have gluten, based on some gluten free guidelines. I remember thinking it was not a very comforting statement. But when I was planning the menu for Saturday evening, I wanted to make a salad similar to the one from Olive Garden. My sister figured out how to make it at home years ago, but that was before gluten death entered my life. I knew I would need a good Italian dressing, so I decided to check out Newman's Own again and I am so happy with what I found. Look at their statement:

. If one or more of the major common allergens recognized by FDA are contained in a Newman's Own product they will be listed in the ingredient statement regardless of the level and whether or not directly added to the product or contained in another ingredient.

. The composition of each ingredient will be reviewed for the presence of the major common food allergens recognized by FDA.

Pretty nice...and even nicer is the number of dressings that are No Gluten, No Dairy, No Eggs, No Soy, No Kidding! The possibilities in my kitchen just expanded in a major way!!!

In the works...

I have a couple of items I am working on. One is a homemade dressing that is No Gluten, No Dairy, No Eggs, No Soy, No Kidding to serve as an alternative to mayo and hopefully Ranch Dressing when I throw in some additional ingredients. I want to try it for a chicken salad for Saturday, so I should have the results before long.

The second is a possible homemade alternative to whipped cream that is also No Gluten, No Dairy, No Eggs, No Soy, No Kidding. If this one works out, trust me, you will be hearing from me. :)

Skillet Fajitas

2010-07-09T12:00:00.000-06:00

One of the dishes I made at church camp this spring was A Year of Slow Cooking's Super Easy Fajitas. I made the gluten-free seasoning mix from scratch from a recipe I found somewhere online, but I can't seem to find it so I will include it below. I took my crock pot along to camp and plugged it in before going to bed (we played Mafia that night, so it was quite late) and it was way ready come lunch time the next day. Though I loved the flavors, the vegetables were just in there too long and the peppers ended up slimy. I decided to try again at home this week and this time I just cooked the meat in the crock pot and then put the dish together as follows.

Skillet Fajitas

No Gluten, No Dairy, No Eggs, No Soy, No Kidding

1 - 1 1/2 lbs Fajita meat

1/2 cup Pacific Organic Free Range Chicken Broth

2 tablespoons of Not My Fajita Seasoning Recipe (Or use more. You can always add more when you get to the skill.et)

Precook your seasoned Fajita meat and chicken broth in the crock pot on high for four hours.

Skilletizing the dish

1-2 green bell peppers

1 sweet red pepper

1 large onion

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 can gluten free black beans, undrained (pinto or red would work also)

1 cup rice of choice (I used that yummy Basmati)

3 cups Pacific Organic Free Range Chicken Broth

Chop all vegetables and sauté in a large skillet for just a few minutes to start to soften them. Remove the meat from the crockpot and chop it up into about 1 to 2" pieces. Add chopped meat, beans, rice and chicken broth to skillet and add more seasonings if you want. Bring liquid to a boil, cover, turn heat down to low and cook for 1/2 hour.

Serve with your favorite salsa (mine is Chachies medium), your favorite tortilla chips (I used Blue Chips from Garden of Eatin'), and avocado and tomato slices (and sour cream if you can eat that stuff, but it isn't needed and I am not calling it a part of this recipe).

Even the leftovers are delish!

.....................................................

Not My Fajita Seasoning Recipe

No Gluten, No Dairy, No Eggs, No Soy, No Kidding*

1 1/2 teaspoon Cumin ground

1/2 teaspoon Oregano dried, crushed

1/4 teaspoon Salt

1/4 teaspoon Red pepper ground or pinch of cayenne to taste

1/4 teaspoon Black pepper ground

1/8 teaspoon Garlic powder

1/8 teaspoon Onion powder

Use as needed in recipes calling for fajita seasoning.

*Make sure all of your seasonings are gluten free

Gobble. Gobble. Gobble.

2010-07-09T11:57:00.004-06:00

In May I posted a recipe for Honey-Mustard Turkey Legs and yesterday I made them again, but I cooked them all day in the crock pot instead of baking them in the oven. I used 6 turkey legs, 1 cup of Basmati rice, salt to taste and the rest was the same as before except I didn't use the seasonings. This is such a nice recipe folks. Easy and the turkey is falling-off-the-bone delicious. I am really amazed at how well the turkey and honey-mustard flavors combine. This time, I bothered to plate some and take a picture. I served it with a fresh green salad (excellent addition), but in the photo the turkey is only sporting a garnish.

Pete's Grilled Chicken & Pete's Amazo Pasta Salad

2010-07-04T12:43:00.006-06:00

I am posting a couple of wonder recipes that were served to us by old friends when we visited them while on vacation one year. It was before the dreaded gluten death came. The first recipe is still safe for me, but though the second one easily adapts to be gluten free, because of my dreaded dairy problems I can't have it anymore. :(

About the last ingredient in the second recipe...Pete had carefully washed the beautiful orange Nasturtiums that he used to garnish the salad, but apparently one little inhabitant survived the deluge and right as we were starting our meal, the little guy decided to go exploring. I was grateful that he did, as I wanted to try those edible flowers and would have probably eaten him. So you know, Nasturtiums have an interesting black pepper-like flavor.

Pete’s Chicken

No Gluten, No Dairy, No Eggs, No Soy, No Kidding

6 chicken breasts

2 - 3 cloves minced garlic

1 cup or so of chopped fresh basil

(2 tablespoons dried works, but fresh is way better. Use more if you want to.)

1/2 - 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp salt, maybe a bit less

1/4 tsp pepper (or crushed red pepper - or both - or neither)

Juice of one lemon

Combine all ingredients and marinate for 45 minutes to a few hours. If you want to add a little liquid, use a bit of white wine or water. Grill

They served it with an awesome pasta salad and a green salad. The pasta salad has cheese, so I can't eat it anymore, but for those of you who can, here is the gluten free version. This stuff will rock your taste buds!

Pete's Amazing [now De-glutened] Pasta Salad

No Gluten, No Eggs, No Soy, No Kidding

Gluten free pasta of choice

1 cup pesto

Chopped green onions

Sun dried tomatoes

Kalamata olives - or some other exotic kind; even regular black olives, but not the pimento stuffed cocktail kind

Feta cheese

Parmesan cheese

Pepper to tastes

Nasturtiums to garnish (optional)

Earwig (optional)

Pre-cook pasta according to package directions, put into large serving bowl. Add all of the other ingredients and toss to combine. You won't believe the flavor. It is flat out incredible.

Pete also noted that you can use these same ingredients in another way: he says, "You can also make a pizza with all these as toppings, but the flavor of the pesto kinda bakes out of it. It's still pretty good. Add artichoke hearts, chicken chunks, asparagus, fresh basil leaves, zucchini or whatever else you want. Bake 10 minutes, then put mozzarella cheese on top, then finish baking."

There that cheese is, rearing its delicious head again. I really miss cheese.

Sizzling Sleuth

2010-07-01T00:43:00.004-06:00

It is hot. I am not necessarily complaining; I am most certainly pleased that summer has finally arrived, but I will say that higher temperatures and hot flashes are not the most pleasant combination. Anyway, I decided it was time to sit at my computer and type up another Sleuth Report. I have been wandering the web and have found some nice things to share.

Recipe Alert

Chocolate Zucchini is a blog that is not gluten free, but there is a recipe on there for Raw Cashew Cheese that is and I really want to try it. The problem: I can't figure out where to get raw cashews that are gluten free and won't require robbing Fort Knox to afford. If you know of someplace, please let me know.

Products for the inside

MimicCreme - The key ingredient is cashews, which also star in the Alkemie Dairy-Free Ice Cream I long to try. The closest store for the MimicCreme is way too many hours away to be practical. I need to get a retailer in my town to carry it and I have just the store in mind. The ice cream is an unlikely candidate for my area at this point. They just haven't expanded that much.

Crunchfuls is a new (to me) breakfast cereal that sounds good. I need to make a wish list to take into my favorite health food store.

Joan's GF Great Bakes

Products for the outside

In an effort to avoid getting gluten, I am very careful what types of products I use on my hair and skin. I was told by people in the local support group that the only hair products available that are gluten free that are Dove and Suave. Neither of those does much for my wild and crazy, hypothyroid, naturally curly, frizzy and fuzzy hair, so I combed the shelves at the local markets, looking for something better. I found a line called Organix and contacted the company. I received the following response:

Dear Becky:

Thank you so much for contacting us! I have checked with our chemist at the manufacturing plant and she assures me that our entire Organix line is gluten-free. Have a great day!

Sincerely,

Customer Service Department

Vogue International

I have used their Coconut Milk line, Nourishing Coconut Milk Shampoo and Conditioner, Nourishing Coconut Milk Anti-Breakage Serum, and the Nourishing Coconut Milk Styling Cream and most recently I am using their Grapefruit Mango Butter Shampoo and Conditioner. I love how they smell. The shampoo and conditioner have done wonders for my hair, they leave it very soft and much healthier. The Anti-Breakage Serum is a must. I didn't use it yesterday and my hair was really fuzzy and flighty. The serum is oil based, but light and nice. Just be careful not to use too much or it will leave your hair looking greasy. I have done this more times than I can count and it is frustrating. It takes a couple of hours for my hair to dry (I can't blow dry these tresses), so if I overdo it on the first go-round I am stuck with the Dapper Dan look (I just washed my hair and I can't do a thing with it).

Another product that I have used is their styling cream. This is a tricky product to use as well, but hey! my life is tricky since the invasion of the gluten snatchers. The container suggests you put it on your palm and rub it until it warms up and becomes malleable, but that doesn't work well at all. I put a very small amount of the cream in the palm of my hand, run the tap in my bathroom until the water is hot, add a very small amount of it to the cream and use a finger to blend them together. The water melts the cream and becomes murky. Finally, I run the water through my hair where I want it to add a little extra body and style normally. It isn't perfection.

I still need a hairspray that works, but I have not found any gluten free hairspray that will hold up. I have used Dove Extra Hold Hairspray , but honestly, it should be ashamed of itself. It does not hold and hairspray shouldn't be a part of it's name. I have stopped using it much at all, as I am spraying chemicals on my head to little effect. It serves more as a security blanket than an actual help. In my mind I know that I need hairspray, and this is what is in my cupboard, so I put it on and pretend that things are okay now.

I use Burt's Bees Baby Bee Buttermilk Lotion on my skin and I really like that stuff. In my post, Other things we must watch out for, you will find the lowdown on Burt's Bees gluten frees and the response they gave me to my inquiry.

Other bloggers

The Gluten Free Lab has an article on a product for people who also can't have corn. My friend Jennifer will be happy about this, and honestly, I would love to take a bite of that doughnut!

Umbrella'd This place is more like an online magazine than a blog, but it reads like a blog and the Gluten Free Living tab, which is where the link will take you, is the place for us!

That is going to do it for today. Happy exploring!

Chixican Dinner

2010-07-01T00:40:00.005-06:00

I was too hot to sleep, so I decided to post what we had for dinner. In my quest for flavor, variety, and ease of preparation in my "free" world, I combined four ingredients I had on hand and came up with another tasty meal. I realize my photos aren't Living Without quality, but usually when it is ready, I am too. I am hungry and do well if I remember to take a picture, let alone get the food to pose for me. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this one, I know we did.

Chixican Dinner

No Gluten, No Dairy, No Eggs, No Soy, No Kidding

3 uncooked chicken breasts (these may be cut into bite-sized pieces)

1 16 oz. can Rosarita refried beans (I used fat free)

1/2 of a 24 oz. container Chachies Mango Peach Salsa (links: gluten free, info about salsa, respectively)

About 1 cup of crunched up gluten-free tortilla chips

Salt to taste

Spread refried beans in the bottom of a casserole dish (mine is about 9"x9"x2"). Place chicken breasts on top of beans (or spread pieces evenly across). Scatter the chips, and then spread the salsa, evenly across the chicken and beans. You can either salt the dish some now, or wait until you serve it and allow people to salt their own.

Cover and bake at 350°F for 1 hour. I served this with shredded coleslaw and avocado slices. Those that could added a dollop of sour cream, but those that couldn't (me) didn't miss it a bit.

Beef and Yams

2010-06-29T09:16:00.005-06:00

One of the keys to living with multiple food restrictions is variety. I am constantly thinking about what I can do to keep not only my taste buds happy, but those of my less restricted mother and my I'll-eat-pretty-much-anything-you-put-in-front-of-me husband (he draws the line at blue food - except for real stuff, like blueberries - and he holds to his food motto, "never eat anything bigger than your head"). Yesterday I was thinking about some boneless beef ribs and those yams I had picked up the other day and wondering if they would like to join forces in a single pot. I did a search online and found several recipes for beef and sweet potato stew (I always use yams in sweet potato recipes, I think I just like their rich color) and I took one of those and made it my own.

Beef and Yams

No Gluten, No Dairy, No Eggs, No Soy, No Kidding

1 to 1 1/2 pounds boneless beef ribs, or stew meat, or whatever cut you want to use (this would even work with a roast)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 tablespoon olive oil

3 cups peeled and cubed sweet potatoes

2 garlic cloves, minced fine

A dash of allspice

A couple of dashes of cinnamon

1 large onion, chopped

1 can (28 oz.) tomatoes, undrained

Fresh, bruised and battered cinnamon oregano from your backyard (okay, you can use regular oregano if you must)

Heat oil in big skillet over medium heat. Add beef and season with salt and pepper. Brown in the hot oil.

Add the onions, garlic, yams, and tomatoes. Season with cinnamon and allspice. Cover and cook on LOW for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until beef is tender. After about an hour, check occasionally to be sure it has enough liquid. If not, you can add a little water to see it through.

This was a huge hit. Those flavors blend together very well. This could cook in a slow cooker for 4 hours and the beef would be fallen off the bone tender (sans the bone part if you use boneless :) but that stuff I used last night was quite tender. It probably depends on what cut of beef you use.

Delicious and so good for you!

2010-06-28T09:58:00.003-06:00

No Gluten, No Dairy, No Eggs, No Soy, No Kidding

The end.

Maple Pecan Broccoli Cauliflower Salad

2010-06-23T14:33:00.005-06:00

It is summer and a perfect time for salads. This is a recipe that I have used often. It is light, satisfying, delicious, healthy and free of everything that it should be free of for the folks in my home. I have also pre-baked chicken breasts, chopped them up and tossed them into this salad and it is a tasty main dish.

Maple Pecan Broccoli Cauliflower Salad

No Gluten, No Dairy, No Eggs, No Soy, No Kidding

1 head of broccoli, cut in bite size pieces

1 head of cauliflower, cut in bite size pieces

1/2 cup Craisins

1/4 cup chopped red onion

1/2 cup of pecans

Dressing:

1/2 cup maple syrup

1/2 cup olive oil

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

Combine the vegetables, nuts, fruit and onions in a large salad bowl and set aside.

In a smaller bowl, combine maple syrup, olive oil and vinegar and stir to blend well. Pour over your pre-mixed veggies, etc. and toss to coat. Serve immediately. If you are making this ahead to serve later, I suggest you not add the pecans until then.

There is no substitute for cheese (at least I haven't found it yet)

2010-06-23T14:12:00.007-06:00

Daiya Cheese = not grate.

I bought the mozzarella-flavored Daiya cheese substitute. I said in my last post that a friend had tried it and said it tastes like bad movie popcorn. I told her and you that I expected I would get along with it okay. I do not. It is awful. Sure it melts and stretches, but it tastes like chemical-laden, cheap microwave popcorn. I really appreciate the efforts of the Daiya people, but I can't stand this stuff.

I was really looking forward to some pizza, but I am going to forge ahead making new recipes with new flavors and fall in love with them instead.

(I know, the picture is supposed to be making fun of bad TP, but I think it fits with this dilemma as well. Especially since the stuff I had today also reminded me of cardboard-flavored cheap frozen pizza.)

Sleuth

2010-06-22T17:32:00.006-06:00

UPDATE: I can't believe I failed to include the link to the article at Enjoy Life. Please say something if you notice an error like this. Everyone needs editing from time to time. It is linked now.

This one will be very short, but mostly I wanted to get the link up here for the article.

In the news:

First, Enjoy Life Foods has an informative article on their website concerning the issue of gluten-free labeling. Here is a quote to whet your appetite and get you over there:

"According to the University of Chicago Celiac Center’s Carol Shilson, 'research shows that every person with celiac disease has a different threshold to trigger the disease active – some with as little as 10mg of gluten, others can withstand up to 100mg – but we know that EVERY person with celiac disease triggers the disease active with 100mg of gluten in the course of a day. That is a tiny amount – like a grain of rice – so that is why it is so important to practice zero tolerance.'”

Products:

Joan's Gluten Free Great Bakes has some yummy looking products and she delivers.

I just bought some Daiya Cheese (the mozzerella flavored), which I mentioned under products in the last Report. I haven't tried it yet, but a friend on facebook mentioned that they sell it at Fred Meyers. She didn't give it a great review (she said it tastes like theater popcorn butter, but my taste buds are fairly jaded by now and will probably like it.

That's all for now folks! (I told you it would be short.)

Rhubarb/Strawberry Upside Down Cake

2010-06-21T10:03:00.009-06:00

Rhubarb/
Strawberry Upside Down Cake

No Gluten No Dairy No Eggs* No Soy* No Kidding

Fruity Part:

- 4 cups of sliced rhubarb

(At least: I used a lot of rhubarb. It was at least an inch deep in the baking dish)

- 1 pound of strawberries, sliced

(Use more if you want a stronger strawberry taste. This amount was good with the quantity of rhubarb.)

- 1/3-1/2 cup sugar

(All the recipes online were using less rhubarb and a cup of sugar. I started with a cup and just couldn't bring myself to use it all. It was way sweet with what I did use, which was probably about 1/2 cup.)

Cake Part:

1 Betty Crocker Gluten Free Yellow Cake Mix

(*The box says there is a possibility of soy, but my mother is very sensitive and she wasn't worried about it and had no reaction.)

Vegetable oil (I used safflower oil)

2 teaspoons gluten free vanilla (I used Kirkland brand)

3 eggs

(*I did use eggs in this recipe, because I think I can tolerate eggs in a baked item, but next time I am going to try the milled flax seed/water blend instead)

Preheat oven to 350°F

Most recipes like this say to grease the bottom of your baking dish, but I didn't and I am having no problems getting the cake to come out. Perhaps it is because of the large quantity of fruit in the bottom of this dish.

The fruit layer:

Evenly spread the rhubarb in the bottom of a 9"x13"x2" baking dish (I used glass) and then layer the strawberry slices evenly across the rhubarb. Finally, pour the sugar even across the fruit. Set aside.

The cake layer:

Prepare the cake according to package directions, only use the vegetable oil instead of the butter. It makes a pretty thick batter and because I wanted it a little more runny, I blended in a little bit of almond milk.

Once the batter is ready, spread it over the top of the fruit and bake for about 40 minutes. What I did was start at 30 minutes and keep checking it until the top started browning. I think it could have even cooked a bit longer, but it was definitely done by that time. My mother had suggested that the longer it cooks, the more caramelized the sugar will be. Mine didn't at all, and that may also be a reason it is coming out of the pan so cleanly. Plus, it is delicious the way it is!

Concerning that last recipe

2010-06-17T08:48:00.002-06:00

In case you have already taken it down, I realized in bed last night that I had failed to include the seasonings I used. You should take another look at the recipe. It is still easy, just a little more flavorful. :)

Honey Pecan Chicken

2010-06-16T19:59:00.005-06:00

Honey Pecan Chicken

No Gluten, No Dairy, No Eggs, No Soy, No Kidding

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (or 1 per person)

1/3 cup chopped pecans

honey

olive oil

garlic powder

parsley flakes

Place chicken breasts in a casserole dish. Drizzle with honey and olive oil. Sprinkle pecans across the chicken and season with garlic powder and parsley flakes. Bake at 350°F for 50 minutes or until internal temperature reaches at least 170°F and holds that temperature for at least 15 seconds. When serving, spoon some of the sauce from the bottom of the pan over the chicken.

I served this with a green salad with Litehouse Red Wine Olive Oil Vinaigrette dressing and a variation on My Lesstest Easiest Oven Potatoes. Instead of slicing them thin, like homemade potato chips, I chopped them into bite sized cubes and cooked them in a casserole dish. The rest of the recipe is the same and I did serve it with my Buttery-Yellow Mustard Sauce (recipe can be found in the same post as the potato recipe). This meal is easy and delicious!

Out and About - A Sleuth Report

2010-06-07T10:03:00.020-06:00

Update added below

Life is always too busy to post these. But here I am again. You can tell how long I go between Sleuth Reports by the size of the report! Rest assured, even though the reports are delayed, I am always collecting information for them. :)

I am a fan of Gluten Freeville on facebook. I love the facebook page (I frequent and contribute to it on a regular basis) and the website. I was reading an article today that was so good for me. So convicting. It addresses how and when to explain (or NOT explain) your gluten issues to others. Go there. Listen to what Nancy says. Heed it. You will be happier. Your friends will be happier.

Lord, help me to guard what I say.

Amen

Other Bloggers of Interest

No Gluten, No Kidding:

Mom Cooks Gluten Free

Celiac Family

Random Teaspoon

Gluten Free and Tasty!

Expert Foods

No Gluten, No Dairy, No Eggs, No Soy, No Kidding:

These sites cater to more than one allergy, but not all cater to all of these allergies. Adapt. Adapt. Adapt.

Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day (cookbook alert!)

Heart of Cooking

Woggle Bug (This site is specifically for treating Autism, but check out those recipes!)

Allergy Free Mom

My Allergy Free Life (cookbook alert!)

Sixty Recipes in Sixty Days (We have already seen Sally Ashbrook at Aprovechar - this is a new project, but it is taking more than sixty days. Life does that sometimes.)

Products

Bready

Udi's

Oil and Vinegar Misters

Alkemie Dairy-Free Ice Cream (Hope they expand across country soon!)

Daiya Vegan Cheese (No soy, casein, lactose, gluten, egg, wheat, barley, whey, rice, or nuts! Haven't found any in stores around my town yet.)

Update: I have tried it now. I don't like it. Perhaps it is an acquired taste. We will see.

Gluten Free Information

Health Canada

American Celiac Disease

Celiac Disease in the New York Times

Gluten Free Choice

Danger Will Robinson!

Barley Alert

Chicken Marsala!

2010-06-01T08:57:00.005-06:00

No Gluten, No Dairy, No Eggs, No Soy, No Kidding!

My husband and I were going to dinner at Johnny Carino's a couple of months ago so I went to their website and looked over their gluten free menu to decide what I would order. Because of the no dairy complication (as if gf isn't complicated enough), I wanted to go prepared. I was precooking my own Tinkyada brown rice noodles and was hoping for a nice chicken something to go with it. When I saw Chicken Marsala on the list, I knew that was my choice. We went, I ordered, they brought it to the table and looking down I inquired, "Isn't that butter on my plate?" It was indeed. That was when I mentally kicked myself and thought, what did you think they would use to make a sauce? I ate it anyway. I decided since I hadn't asked the waiter for dairy free assistance I wasn't going to expect the restaurant to "eat" my mistake.

Yesterday we were headed to a distant town to see our son for a belated celebration of his thirtieth birthday. He is teaching and auditing summer school and Memorial Day was the only day he could take off until early July. I wanted to make something delicious that would satisfy everyone, even those without food allergies. I decided to search the web for a Chicken Marsala recipe that would fill the bill. I found one. It is over at Be Free for Me dot com and it an absolutely delicious recipe. Instead of making cutlets as the recipe recommends, I cut the chicken into small pieces. It didn't take all of the flour blend to coat the chicken pieces, but I used a little bit of the leftovers and blended it in with some of the wine, then stirred that into the pan during the 10-12 minute simmer to help thicken it.

This is not an inexpensive recipe, I had close to $20 into it with the chicken, mushrooms, wine and Tinkyada brown rice fettuccine, but that was because I had to get all of the ingredients in one place at one time. If I had been able to plan ahead and buy a big container of mushrooms at Costco and get the other ingredients on sale, it could have been more economical. My husband noted that four of us ate the meal with leftovers and we could not have done that at a restaurant. Plus, finding a nice place that accommodates gluten, dairy, egg and soy (my mom's taboo) allergies is not an easy task (insert impossible if everyone wants to eat actual food. Wingers is not so good for me since dairy left the building and my mother can have maybe their ketchup and their ice).

This recipe was a huge success. Everyone enjoyed it and no one felt they were shortchanged for it being gluten and dairy free. I highly recommend it for that special occasion with those certain someones in your life you have coming up. The picture was taken with my cell, and it is a bit shiny, but hopefully the mouth-watering aroma still makes its way through all of that technology.

Yellow Cake - Sarah bakes again and again :)

2010-05-28T08:00:00.002-06:00

Here is Sarah's yellow cake recipe. As you can see, the cakes she made for 3 year old Emily and her 1 year old Miranda are absolutely beautiful.

Yellow Cake

No Gluten, No Kidding

1 3/4 c. brown rice flour

3/4 c. cornstarch

1/2 tsp. xanthan gum

3/4 tsp. salt

2 1/2 tsp. baking powder

3/4 c. butter, softened

1 3/4 c. sugar

4 large eggs

2 large egg yolks

1 1/2 c. milk

2 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350. Grease and rice flour 9x13 pan.

In medium bowl, whisk together dry ingredients.

In large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 45 seconds. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well between additions. Add half the dry ingredients and blend until combined (med-hi on handheld mixer, med. with stand mixer.) Add milk and vanilla; blend 45 seconds.

Add remaining dry ingredients and blend until smooth.

Pour batter into prepared pan, bake for 35 minutes or until pick inserted in center comes out clean.

Cool completely on wire rack (in pan if you want to jello poke it).

Classic Chocolate Cake - Sarah bakes again

2010-05-27T08:00:00.004-06:00

My friend Sarah is some kind of super mom. She has turned baking gluten-free birthday cakes into an art and a blessing for her children. She bakes yellow and chocolate cakes and gets very creative with her decorations. Here is the Classic Chocolate Cake recipe she uses and I will post the yellow cake tomorrow. David and Clara's cakes are so creative!

Classic Chocolate Cake

No Gluten, No Kidding

1 1/4 c. brown rice flour

1/2 c. cornstarch

1 c. cocoa

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 1/2 tsp. soda

2 c. sugar

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. xanthan gum

2 large eggs

1 cup milk

1/2 c. oil

2 tsp. vanilla

1 cup very hot water

Preheat oven to 350. Grease and dust with cocoa two 9 in. round pans or one 9x13 pan or line 24 muffin cups with paper liners.

In large bowl, whisk together dry ingredients.

Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla. Using electric mixer, beat for 2 minutes at medium speed. Turn mixer to low, add hot water and mix for another minute.

Pour batter into prepared pans, bake for (9in. round pans,30-35 minutes) (9x13 pan, 45 minutes) (cupcakes, 18-20 minutes). Tester inserted in center should come out clean.

Remove from oven. Allow to cool 10 minutes in the pan, then turn out of pan to cool completely on wire rack.

Some allergy-friendly products and a tasty recipe!

2010-05-26T14:00:00.010-06:00

Last night I decided to try a honey-mustard sauce on some turkey legs and it was a big hit (recipe below). I didn't get a picture, because I had to eat in a hurry and head off to a celiac support group meeting. Imagine honey-golden quinoa and nicely browned turkey legs.

An Idaho based company, Sun Flour Mills, is dedicated to producing a variety of products that have No Gluten, No Dairy, No Eggs, No Soy, No Nuts, No Kidding. I got to try samples of their whole grain bread mix, their chocolate cake mix and pumpkin bread/cake mix and they were all very good.

Roasted Honey-Mustard Turkey Legs

No Dairy, No Eggs, No Soy, No Kidding

3 turkey legs

1 cup quinoa

2 cups Pacific Organic Free Range Chicken Broth

1/4 cup French's Classic Yellow Mustard

1/3 cup honey

1/8 cup olive oil

1/2 teaspoon curry seasoning, or to taste

Parsley flakes

In the bottom of a casserole dish, blend the mustard, honey and olive oil. Mix in the broth a little at a time until all is added. Stir in the quinoa and then place the turkey legs on top and baste well with the liquid. Sprinkle the top with parsley flakes to garnish. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 1 1/2 to 2 hours (depending on the size of the legs).

Chicken & Rice with Coconut Curry Sauce

2010-05-17T09:55:00.007-06:00

Someone on facebook posted that she makes a coconut curry sauce and tosses it with the chicken, then serves it over rice and vegetables. I have taken her suggestion and turned it into a one-skillet party for the palate. This recipe is fantastic. It satisfies those food-from-the-Orient cravings, sans soy sauce. A glutenous friend of mine tasted it and declared it delicious. She said she always tries to think what she might add to a recipe to make it better, but the only thing she could come up with was maybe some pineapple. I haven’t tried it, but it would be a nice addition. I absolutely love these flavors together and the dish makes regular appearances in our home.

CHICKEN & RICE WITH COCONUT CURRY SAUCE

No Gluten, No Dairy, No Egg, No Soy, No Kidding

2 - 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut in bite-sized pieces

1 onion, chopped

1 – 2 cloves of garlic, chopped fine

1 cup cabbage, cut in narrow strips

½ cup fresh pea pods (these are really a must in this recipe)

Chopped peppers - green, red, yellow, orange (any combination and quantity you want, to taste)

Chopped cauliflower, celery, carrots

Any other chopped veggies that sound right (mushrooms are even nice).

2 ½ cups Pacific Organic Free Range Cooking Broth

Coconut Curry Sauce (recipe below)

First things first

Rinse rice under water until the water is no longer cloudy; set aside.

Prepare Coconut Curry Sauce according to directions below; set aside.

Clean and prepare all vegetables

Assemblage

In a very large skillet (I use a 5.5 quart beast, which gives me plenty of room to work), over a medium temperature, begin to cook chicken chunks in 2 tablespoons of cooking oil (more if needed) and a splash of cooking sherry. Scoot chicken to the edges, add another tablespoon of oil (more if needed), and stir-fry the cabbage, garlic, peppers and onions until the onions are beginning to turn translucent. Add the rest of the vegetables, as well as the cup of Basmati rice and the curry sauce and stir all ingredients together. Pour the chicken broth over all and bring broth to a boil. Turn the temperature down to medium low, cover and cook for 45 minutes.

I dish this up in lovely individual serving bowls; garnish with fresh, raw almonds and serve it with Crunchmaster Toasted Sesame Rice Crackers on the side.

COCONUT CURRY SAUCE

¾ cup canned coconut milk

½ cup Pacific Organic Free-Range Chicken Broth

¼ teaspoon yellow curry, ½ teaspoon cumin and ½ teaspoon chili powder

Place coconut milk and chicken broth in a small bowl and stir to combine. Blend in seasonings - to taste. When I started playing with this recipe, I was quite conservative with the spices, but I found more was needed. I haven’t actually measured my amounts, as I usually employ the Aunt Lorena method in my cooking, but these amounts are probably pretty close and a good place for you to start.