Another Kind of Survival Pantry

The walls are unpainted.

One of the nerve racking problems with having a lot of allergies, mostly with a corn allergy, is that buying packaged foods is a crapshoot. You cannot trust something as simple as a bottle of water, cooking oil that claims to be just the oil listed on the bottle, or frozen strawberries that claim to be just strawberries.

Food is neatly stored.

How can bottled water be a problem? In the bottling process it is not unusual for manufactures to use corn starch as a lubricant in the machinery. Since it is not an actual ingredient of the product it is not listed as an ingredient on the label. For someone with a body as sensitive as mine this means finding out too late that another packaged food item is not safe. It creates not only a situation where I often waste money, but it means pain for as much as three days.

The broken ceiling allowed mice in.

When do I find a packaged food item that works, I, then, find the store is frequently out of that item. To resolve this I took an old coal room, I had been using for a dysfunctional pantry, and made my husband turn it into a decent pantry. I can, now, buy food by the case. 

Wood panel sealed the holes.

 I'd like to conclude this post with a recipe that uses many of the type of items stored in a pantry.

Sweet Potato Soup

Optional and alternatives ingredients are in parentheses.

2 c diced sweet potatoes (butternut squash, pumpkin)

1 large diced apple

(1 Tbs minced onions)

1 stalk mince celery

Water to cover (apple juice can be used in place of an apple and water)

Cook until tender. Turn off and cool for handling. Place a cup or two at a time in the blender and blend until smooth. Return to the pot and cook on medium low heat. Add:

½ tsp Italian seasoning

½ tsp ground rosemary

1 tsp salt (or to taste)

(¼ tsp pepper)

1 c almond milk (any milk or cream, or milk or cream alternative)

Simmer 30 minutes or until thick and creamy. Top with roasted and salted sunflower seed. I like to roast the sunflower seeds myself and add Italian seasoning and salt at the end of the roasting.

Alternative roasted toppings:

pumpkin seeds

almond slices

chopped pecans

sesame seeds

croutons

Serve with Millet Bread.

A sweet alternative, instead of Italian seasoning and salt try cinnamon or pumpkin pie spices and 2 Tbs of your choice of sweetener. Then top with one of these choices:

raisins

sauteed apples

shredded apples

applesauce

shredded carrots

candied nuts

candied seeds

dried cranberries

Serve with:

sweet crackers

in bowels made from pie crust

a couple of sugar cookie
s

Corn-free 'Cornbread?'

Have you ever watch a show called, Red Green? Click here for a segment.

I love his line. If a woman don't find you handsome, she should at least find you handy.

I have the blessing of a man I find both handsome and handy.

My husband and I had dated about a month when we decided to get married and did so five months later. A relationship moving that fast leaves a lot, let me repeat, a lot of room for getting to know each other after you're married. Which of course is the worst way to get to know each other, but it can also be filled with wonderful surprises.

One of those surprises came about a month after our wedding. We had decided no one would buy anything over thirty dollars, it was big money back then. As we were walking through Sears he spotted a $40 guitar and beg me to let him buy it. I was a bit stunned. Why would he “suddenly” want one of those. It turned out he had taken guitar lesson and he was actually kind of good at it. I didn't regret that purchase. I didn't even regret it when a couple of years later he took two unemployment checks to buy a Takamine, and then played the same song for 10 hours a day over the next week. It wore my patience a bit, but now, he plays classical and finger style. And, one of the classical songs he plays sounds like two guitars and a bell ringing. It like so cool.

No one is perfect

When it came to my cooking his compliments came with one word adjectives, dinner was remarkable, or incredible, filling. He was analytical about food. He would tell me it wasn't right, and then refuse to tell how it was wrong, for fear I would try to fix it. When my daughter and I had to go gluten-free he remained quiet and patient as I learned this new way of cooking. For a person who can eat gluten, gluten-free food just isn't the same, yet, he remains mostly quiet. As far as I'm concerned his patience and kindness in the matter made him a saint.

Not everything can be fixed with duct tape

Five years ago the cost of gluten-free flours seemed to be so high. He immediately bought me a mill attachment for my Kitchenaide. When my Kitchenaide broke, a few months ago, he rigged the mill to allow me to continue to grind, until we bought a new Kitchenaide. It's a fairly simple mount. If you're interested in making one of your own do a little online research, as a number of people have done similar things and posted their how-to.

Making Your home Feel Like a Hug

These are the things that add up and bring to life a richness which goes beyond our troubles. Placing within us the perceptive that together we can do anything. Bless your spouse by remembering the goods things and keep their heart warm by keeping the kitchen warm with home cooking.

One of our family's favorite foods which brought the comfort and warmth of home was cornbread. I posted a recipe here. Since corn is, now, ruled out I make millet bread. While like all mock recipes it is only reminiscent of cornbread. It has the hearty, homeyness cornbread brings to the table.

Millet Bread

Preheat oven to 400

Grease and flour a 9'x9' pan. (either flour will work, rice will provide a grittiness)

1 c brown rice flour

¾ c millet flour

¼ c course ground millet flour (Don't have course ground? Replace it with a 1/4 cup of millet flour.)

1 tsp guar gum

¼ sugar*

1 Tbs baking powder

½ tsp sea salt

¼ c fat (melted palm shortening)

1 c hot milk (quick almond**)

1 slightly beaten egg

Mix dry ingredients in a medium sized bowl. Place in wet additions and mix until all dry ingredients are moist. Pour into the baking pan. The batter should be thick, maybe even spongy. Gently spread batter to the corners of the pan a spatula. Bake for 35 minutes or until golden brown. You should see cracks in the surface of the bread, just as you would with a good cornbread.

*if you prefer agave or honey, change the recipe to 2 Tbs of sweetener and 2 Tbs of fat.
**Quick Almond milk is 1/3 c almonds ground in the blender. 1 c of water. First grind the almond into a meal, and then with blender on low/whip let blend for 1 minute. For this millet bread recipe use boiling water.

For a Vegan Version

Omit the egg and whip 2Tbs flax seed meal and 1 Tbs starch with your choice of the hot substitute milk.

Gluten/allergy-free Seasonig blends

I love herbs and spices. The smell of them have a way of reminding you of memories, home, or special events. The smell of peppermint reminds me of late September and walks in the woods, were I grew up. The smell of chili and cumin reminds me of my father cooking a large pot of pollo mole (chicken and gravy.) Let's not forget all those wonderful smells of Christmas. Tell me what season pops into your head when you think of Christmas.

While buying an envelope or bottle of season blends can be quite handy making your own fresh blend can provide moments of creativeness, a blend tweaked to your personal needs, and best of all provide one of those many ingredients that make a house a home of warmth.

The following are some of my favorite blends that meet our households allergy-free needs.

Mexican Seasoning

½ c chili powder

2 T cumin powder

4 tsp each:

salt

onion powder

garlic powder

oregano

2 tsp sugar

To blend either run through a coffee grinder for a few seconds. If you don't have a coffee grinder place ingredients in a tightly closed jar. You will need a jar with twice the room than the space the ingredients are taking up. Now, shake well.

For mild flavor, use 1 tablespoon in a pound of ground beef or 2 cups of beans for vegan. 2 tablespoons for a spicier version.

Italian Seasoning

2 tablespoons each:

Basil

Marjoram

Oregano

Parsley

Thyme

Rosemary

Optional 1 teaspoon of chili pepper flakes.*

Run all item through a food possessor or coffee grinder.

* pepper flakes is a part of the original recipe, but I can't have it so I omit it.

Garlic, onion, and black pepper are stand by flavors in cooking. Since I cant have any of them it became a struggle to find a replacement. I came up with:

Colleens Cooking Concoction

4 tsp Allspice powder

2 tsp Celery seed

2 tsp ground Mustard

1 tsp Thyme leaves

Grind in coffee blender until it is a fine powder.

Only 1-2 tsp are needed in your protein choice.

Pumpkin Spice Mix

Mix the following in a jar:

• 1/3 cup ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon ground ginger
• 1 tablespoon ground nutmeg or mace
• 1-1/2 teaspoons ground cloves
• 1-1/2 teaspoons ground allspice.
  

For pumpkin pie, add 1 to 1-1/2 teaspoons of spice mix to your other ingredients.

Finally this is my corn-free baking powder recipe.

Baking Powder

2/3 cup starch (arrowroot,or kuzu)

2/3 cup cream of tartar

1/3 cup baking soda

In a large bowl mix all ingredients well. Being well blended is important to the function and the storage of baking powder. Store in a pint jar. Use it as you would prepackaged baking powder.

Gluten-free Cooking 'Scratch' That

When first told to take gluten out of their diet, most people feel like something you see in the cartoons. The ground beneath them is suddenly gone. They're hanging in mid-air waiting to fall. The struggle to cook gluten-free wasn't like that for me. I had already learned about dealing with a dairy-free diet and I had fell head-over-heels in love with heath food, herbs, and the vegan diet.

During the ninety's I worked in a health food store where I learned about the vegan diet. It felt so good. Veganism naturally reduces gluten, corn, and bake goods from the diet, and incorporates a larger variety of foods into the diet. Unable to stay on the diet I continued to have health issues.

So, for me, the bottom didn't fall out. It more at slowly crumbled. It started with starch. Starch, with its high pectin content, is the quickest, easiest, and seemingly best substitute for gluten. Gluten provides quite a bit of the nutrition and the strength to hold a rise in breads and cakes. Starch's lack of nutrition lead me to develop a number of my recipes free of it. Although, cakes, breads, and cookies can be made without starch, pie crusts, crackers, tortillas, and biscuits don't hold together,crisp up or roll out with it's absence.

It was after embracing starch I hit that emptiness. Potato and corn starches have larger starch molecules. The larger the molecules the better it works as a replacement for gluten. They also tend to be cheapest. Well, what do you do if you're allergic to potatoes and corn. First there is tapioca starch. It's too close to the potato family. Crossover allergy problems happen there. So, scratch that. Arrowroot starch is an excellent corn starch substitute. Turns out, it's not unusual for manufactures to cut potato starch into a batch of arrowroot, if they are a little short during bagging. Well, scratch that. Kuzu starch made from the kudzu plant costs 7USD for 3.5 ounces. Are you going to stick a cup of it in your baking? I think not! Scratch that.

With so many foods scratched from my diet, it has been an ability to cook from 'scratch' that has been the biggest help in my struggle to live with, not only a large number of allergies, but to also put together a family meal which considers other family member's allergy concerns. It helps with remembering the ingredient combinations needed to make a cake rise, or to take out out one nutritious food and replace it with another. It makes me brave enough to can my own food, so I can avoid the starch not listed on a food label, but used to make factory canning machines work smoothly without oil.

What has helped you the most in your struggle with gluten/allergy-free cooking?

This weeks highly recommended website for understanding gluten sensitivity.

The World's Ultimate Resource On: Gluten Free Diets, Gluten Free Research, Gluten Free Help, Celiac Disease, and Gluten Free Recipes. Gluten Free Society

Gravy

When you sit down to Thanksgiving Dinner and lively conversation you don't want the conversation to be about who the lumps in the gravy look like. Although my family is very fussy about gravy and have left me with the impression that good gravy is hit or miss with me, I have the basic concept of how to turn a liquid into a gravy. For professional instruction go to the website of The Gluten-free Girl and The Chief. This video is well worth your time and much better instruction then I have here. I'm not a professional; I'm a mom and a grandmother.

These gravy recipes will only say flour, not what kind, because the choice is up to you. To make a more informed decision I will share what I have learned about starches and flours.

Starches
Any recipe that says corn starch can be substituted with arrowroot without any difference to the recipe.

Potato flour
When I first started cooking gluten-free I learned something about potato flour I haven't seen mentioned on blogs, websites, or in books that left me frustrated. If you add a little water to it and stir the starch thickens and keeps on thickening until you can't work with it and adding a little more water doesn't help either, because it keeps on thickening. Yet, the taste is a just right for a gravy that will be going on potatoes. Below I will teach you how to work it into a gravy with my I'm in a hurry and don't tend to follow recipes method.

Brown Rice flour
The flavor of rice flour is mild enough to not overpower the flavor of sauces and gravies. In the right amount it makes a good gravy. Add enough and it makes gravy flavored cream of rice.

Garbanzo bean flour
Garbanzo bean flour is a great way to add a little more protein to you meal. It thickens just as any other flour, but you'll need to cook it 5 minutes instead of 2 to make it digestible. It does impart a flavor I prefer for soups and white sauces.

Roux
Roux is equal parts melted butter with flour cooked in. Don't use potato flour for the above mentioned lumping problem. Roux is a good choice if your main course meat doesn't provide much juice and you'll be using a store bought broth. The butter will add flavor.

To make 2 cups of gravy start with 3 tablespoons of butter. I use a butter substitute, Smart balance Light, which doesn't melt well. To solve this problem I use 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of my butter substitute.

Melt butter in a medium sauce pan on low heat. When melted stir in 3 tablespoons of flour. Once the butter is soaked into all the flour you should have a past. Keep stirring as you cook it for a couple of minutes. From this point it is actually the same instructions as with the slurry. Pour your roux in small amounts into 2 cup of boiling broth. Be sure to include any of the browned juices that the meat has provided. Bring it back to a boil before deciding if your gravy needs more roux.

3 Tbs. melted butter or substitute
3 Tbs. flour

Slurry
This is simply equal amounts of starch and cold water. Use cold water because warm water will cause the pectin in the starch to gel making a lump, not a slurry. No need to really measure, but I use a heaping tablespoons of starch and then add water until I have a thin paste.

Bring the meat juices to a boil. You will need to stir the slurry before you can pour it, because the starch has the tendency to settle. Pour the slurry in small amounts, bring the broth back to a boil before deciding if your gravy needs more of the slurry. The slurry/starch remember has a tendency to settle to the bottom, this will turn into one big lump if you don't keep stirring, using a whisk.

1 heaping Tbs. starch
1 Tbs. cold water, more or less

Quick “I'm in a hurry and don't tend to follow recipes closely” gravy

Warning this method has a higher likelihood of coming out lumpy.

If you have plenty of broth from the meat to work with sprinkle small amounts of the flour, lightly dusting the surface of the boiling broth. Again the most important part of a non-lumpy gravy is to keep stirring it in with a whip. After you sprinkle and stir in about a tablespoon worth stop adding flour, give it a moment check it's thickness. When it reaches your desired thickness turn down the heat and cook on simmer for a couple of minutes, so your gravy doesn't taste like raw flour.

About 3 tablespoons of flour to 2 cups of broth works for me.









Most of the pictures over the past few days have been of my second born son Jared age 18 months. He had wanted thanksgiving dinner so much he pulled the large wooden high chair about 15 feet from the pantry area to the table. Jared is now 24 and has 2 little boys of his own to feed.

Remember the sights sounds, and smells of Autumn?

Apples, pumpkins and candy,
pies, cookies, and haunted houses,
cider, donuts, and a hayride,
Halloween, Harvest Feasts, and Thanksgiving Day,
children running, laughing and jumping,
crisp leaves on crisp days,
the list could go on.



As a little girl my best friend Mary Ann and I would rake leaves into rows, making corners, and going around until we had a series of boxes representing the walls of a house. After we made a quick trip to the corner store for candy we played house. We lived in a neighborhood filled with kids and in great hordes, we went tricker-or-treating. Each coming home with a grocery sack of candy.

It must have been as a baby when I fell in love with the Fall Season, because I can't remember a time when I didn't love autumn. It has the most beautiful mix of warm colors with cool days, with crisp leaves to shuffle your feet through.

Crisp is the word that keeps coming to my mind. It is one of my trouble spots with gluten-free cooking. I'm pleased with my cookies, but they still don't have the crunch I'm looking for, I believe I have, however, learned a few tricks.
Starch has the ability to provide flexibility during the dough stage of a bake good and adds a bit of crispiness in the finished product.
Almond meal can make a cake product more tender, yet help things like cookies, pies, waffles, and fruit crisps have a melt in the mouth flavor and a satisfying crunch.
Flax seed meal is nearly as good as almond meal, but beware to use one or the other in most cases. Using both can make bake goods stick in their pan.
Coconut oil works better than palm shortening when you are looking for a flaky, tasty, crispy, crunch.
Palm shortening works better than Smart Balance Light, when looking for crunch but it won't add the buttery flavor.
Water will make a crispier waffle than milk ever will.
With these facts all lined up I have created a fruit crisp that surprises even me. Even better, I have my Hubby's seal of approval. Give it a try and let me know how the recipe worked for you.

Fruit Crisp
Melt :
2T Smart Balance Light
2T Coconut oil

mix with it

¾ c. brown sugar
1 tsp. guar gum or xanthan gum
¾ tsp. cinnamon
½ c. rice flour
¼ c. millet
¾ c. almond meal or flax seed meal
2 Tbs. cup tapioca flour or potato starch
¼ c. quinoa flakes or oatmeal
1/4 tsp. each baking powder, salt, and baking soda

Sprinkle this over sliced fruit in a 9x9 cake pan.

Bake for 30 minutes at 350°.

For apple
peel, core and slice 6 medium apples, mix in ½ Tbs. Lemon juice and 1 Tablespoon of arrowroot starch.

For peaches
use 3 15 oz. Cans of peaches in juice. Drain off the juice. If desired add a ¼ teaspoon of nutmeg and 1 Tablespoon or 2 of sugar.

Mashed Potato Patties

I'm suffering from a thyroid roller coaster ride. I've had about three hours of sleep. So today I'm making a quick post about a quick fix from leftover mashed potatoes.

Ken didn't like leftover mashed potatoes until I started turning them into fried patties. In last night's version I included leftover ham. He liked them so much he was wishing for more.

Mashed Potato Patties
1 ½ cups mashed potatoes
½ cup ham or other meat chopped into small bits (optional)
1 tablespoon minced onions
2 eggs
¼ millet flour
pepper to taste

Stir all together. Using a large serving spoon and a rubber spatula slide about 1/3 cup of of mix into hot oil. Flatten a little if need be. Cook until brown around the edges then flip over. When brown place on paper towels to drain.Eat plain or topped with one of the following: sour cream, applesauce, or ketchup.

Gluten-free Honey Cake

I don't have time to chat. I just made some honey cake in honor of Rosh Hashanah. It's quick and easy, so I wanted to share it.



Gluten-free Honey Cake
Dry ingredients:
3 c. brown rice flour
1 c. millet flour
1 c. sugar
6 tsp. Baking powder
1 tsp. Baking soda
2 tsp. Guar gum
1 tsp. cinnamon

Moist ingredients:
2 Tbs. Smart Balance Light
2 eggs
1 c. strong black coffee


Mix all the dry ingredient together.
Add the moist ingredients.
Mix well.
Preheat oven to 325°
Grease 2 9x9 cake pans
Pour in batter and let rise in cake pans until the oven is ready.
Bake for 55 minutes.

How Fat Affects Your Gluten-free Cooking

The house is quiet. Lisa and Ken really should get out of bed, but school is out for her and he is laid off. I often don't have the time or inclination for their type of luxuries.

Although I have a skirt to let out for Lisa, some cooking, cleaning, and editing to do; I wanted to take the time to talk to you about fat. I'm not talking about the polyunsaturated, mono-saturated kind, nor how we all eat far more fat than we think we do. I wanted to share how fat affects your gluten-free cooking.

Each ingredient in a recipe has a job to do. Understanding the role of each item brings a balance to the whole recipe. Then converting recipes to suit your health needs and taste preferences become a joy, not an overwhelming task. You will be set free to engage in freestyle cooking.

Fat can be a great flavor enhancer to regular baking, however it has another job. Fats such as shortening, and butter in gluten baking reduces moisture's ability to form gluten protein chains. These chains bring strength and elasticity to bread. Without these chains fat helps to produce a more tender cake.

Non-gluten flours are bulk and flavor. Without the gluten proteins fat becomes unnecessary to produce a moist, tender cake. It's use in a gluten-free recipe can be a flavor enhancer, but in the case of rice flour it tends to create a mushy mess that does not rise.

To summarize, when converting a recipe consider the purpose of the fat in the recipe. If it is to make a tender cake-like item such as pancakes, muffins, quick breads, or cakes you may be able to eliminate the fat altogether. If fat is in the recipe as a flavor enhancer cut the amount in half (or more)and use butter or a butter substitute. If the recipe calls for applesauce or other fruit puree leave out the fat, altogether.

Since I have posted breads, banana bread, and muffins previously, I will provide you with my fat-free apple cake. I use chopped apples instead of applesauce, because applesauce tends to sink to the bottom of the pan before the cake is cooked.

Gluten-free low-fat
Apple Cake">

1 cup rice flour

1 tsp guar gum

2 tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

1½ cups sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

2 eggs

1 cup chopped apples

1/3 cup apple juice

1 tsp vanilla

Mix all dry ingredients.

Add all the wet ingredients and mix just until uniformly moist.

Pour into a greased and floured 9 x 9 cake pan*.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

*I have doubled this recipe and baked it in a 9 x 13 pan, but I like the results best in smaller pans.

Pancake Varation

½ c. brown rice flour
¼ c. almond meal
¼ c. garbanzo bean flour
¼ c. millet flour
¾ tsp. Guar gum
2 tsp. Baking powder
2 Tbs. Brown sugar
1 egg
1 c. water

Mix the dry ingredients together, then add in the wet ingredients and stir until moist. Pour ¼ cup amounts on a hot griddle. Cook first side until bubbles appear in the surface. Flip and cook until golden brown on the second side.


Try topping your pancakes with homemade apple pie filling.

Peel, core, and chop 4 apples. Place in a sauce pan with:
¼ water
½ tsp. Cinnamon
¼ tsp. Nutmeg
1 tsp. Vanilla
1 Tbs. Lemon juice
2 Tbs. Brown sugar

Stir and cook on medium heat until tender.

Place 2 tsp. Arrowroot starch and a tablespoon of cold water in a cup. Stir until starch is dissolved, then pour into apple mixture. Stir quickly, then pull off heat when thick.

Top pancakes and enjoy.

Pancake Update

Recently, I found the cause for a recurring stomach pain. It was my brand of soy milk, Soy Dream. If it doesn't say gluten-free on it and there isn't a gluten item in the ingredients list, check one or more of the gluten-free lists available online (this isn't always trust worthy), consider the company, call the company, call a friend, but whatever you do, don't assume it's completely gluten-free safe.

Because of this sudden revelation I have more than a case of Soy Dream to sell somewhere, also I was suddenly having to make my pancakes without the protein the soy milk provided. This leaves the pancakes mushy.

I have said it before, fat has a way of making rice flour recipes mushy. One day I just stopped adding fat to my pancake recipe. As long as my griddle has a good non-stick surface properly seasoned, I don't have any problems.

One of the problems with gluten-free cooking is it just doesn't have as much flavor as wheat. I have noticed a new trend in online gluten-free recipes baking recipes. The changing of white sugar to brown sugar so,




Here is my emergency alternative recipe:
½ cup brown rice flour
¼ cup garbanzo bean flour
¼ cup Millet flour
¼ cup brown sugar ( I have found agave to work well)
1 tsp unflavored gelatin
½ tsp slightly rounded, guar gum/or xanthan gum
1 egg
1 cup of water.

Mix the dry ingredients together, then add in the wet ingredients and stir until moist. Pour ¼ cup amounts on a hot griddle. Cook first side until bubbles appear in the surface. Flip and cook until golden brown on the second side.






If you can't have bean flour or milk try almond meal. Almond meal is expensive, but doesn't have a strong flavor. I'm just starting to work with almond meal so I don't have any tips for you, just yet.

Updates

I have new information on some of my previous posts. I will be posting several of them, so check back each Monday.

I'll start with my goals, directly after publishing my plans I became sick with one illness after another. I had to quit my exercise program for 2 months. I'm finally back on track. I'm sure the goals I have set are too high, but I am going to accomplish as much of it as I can.

When my daughter gets frustrated and overwhelmed by a situation, such getting behind in her chores or her school work, I tell her let's just see what you can do. Well, in this case, what's good for the gosling is good for the goose. Let's just see what I can do.

Vinegar
I'm excited about this. Apple cider vinegar is used as a dough conditioner in bread making and in many other recipes. It also relieves pain in the gall bladder caused by an irritated polyp. I was disappointed when I read that apple cider vinegar is not gluten-free. It has better flavor and nutrients than white vinegar. White vinegar is good for cleaning. As always, while shopping I stopped to read labels. After reading a few on vinegar bottles. I found Fleischmann's Organic apple Cider Vinegar with gluten-free written on the label. It's has a milder flavor compared to Bragg's, my previously preferred brand.

Hot Candy canes
I love my hot candy canes milk, but it turns out that my body can't handle corn, either. That pretty much leaves off most candy. So instead of Spangler's candy canes I use Simply Organics Peppermint oil flavoring. This allows me to make this a cold drink perfect for hot summer evenings. While Simply Organics doesn't tout gluten-free, it's labels are clear and simple. What's more their Vanilla doesn't have corn syrup added. I have not experienced a gluten problem with their products.
I've, also, turned this into two different types of pudding. Here are the recipes:

Candy Cane Milk
2 cups your choice of milk type
¼ cup of sweetener (sugar, agave, maple syrup...)
1 tsp Simply Organic Vanilla Extract
¼ tsp Simply Organic Peppermint oil
½ tsp guar gum
1.If you are making this a hot drink warm your milk first.
2.Pour milk into the blender.
3.Turn blender on low and remove the center of the cover.
4.Add the sweetener, vanilla, and peppermint.
5.Finally add the guar gum and blend for 5 more seconds.

Candy Cane Tofu Pudding
1 pound cake of silken tofu
¾ cup sweetener (best flavor to least, sugar, agave, maple syrup, honey)
½ tsp Simply Organic Peppermint oil
2 tsp Simply Organic Vanilla Extract
¼ cup oil (*optional)
Place all ingredients in the blender, and blend until smooth and creamy.
This recipe is adapted from Tofu Cookery by Louse Hagler. Her pudding recipes call for oil, but I make them without the oil. The oil does make the pudding feel better in the mouth. Another choice I have used is ½ tsp guar gum/xanthan gum.

Pudding Mix
¼ cup your choice of dry milk
¼ cup of Arrowroot starch
¼ cup sugar
Place mix in a sauce pan with 2 cups of liquid milk. Cook over low heat until thickened and comes to a boil. Cook for one more minute before removing from heat.

For Candy Cane Pudding
Mix in:
1 tsp Simply Organic Vanilla Extract
¼ tsp Simply Organic Peppermint oil
Pour into individual serving dishes
Place a piece of plastic wrap on the surface to avoid a skin.
Place in the refrigerator to cool before serving (unless you like it hot. :O)
This recipe was adapted from Cheaper & Better by Nancy Birnes.

Pasta Salad

I'm a member of a new social network for those with Celiac disease and gluten intolerance. Gluten-free Faces was started by Chad Hines known as Glutenfreedude on Twitter. On Gluten-free Faces, I am a member of the recipe exchange group. The recipe group was started by Cain Credicott the blog author of The Celiac Maniac.

His post, Citrus chicken pasta salad looked so good I had to try it, that night. I had a few problems making it. I didn't have any chicken, walnuts, green onions, Dijon mustard, rice vinegar, nor a can of whole black olives. It was time to do some free styling.

I started by cooking a can of garbanzo beans for 20 minutes. This was added to my serving of the salad. Ken and Lisa were eating grilled steak so, they didn't need the beans, besides Ken doesn't like garbanzo beans.

Cain's salad called for chopped red onions and green onions. I simply ignored the lack of green onions. I don't care much for raw onions-unless they're green. I lightly sautéed the red onions in 2 tsp of olive oil.

His dressing seemed too spicy for my taste, although not for Ken's, who said I should have followed the recipe. If he knew chicken was in the salad, he wouldn't have said that. I cut the amount of pepper in half. Instead of Dijon mustard I used a teaspoon of dry mustard powder. The one thing I would change about the dressing for next time is to homogenize it for a creamier dressing.

I was going to use pecans instead of the walnuts, but decided on almonds in the end. The problem I had with this choice was Cain roasted the walnuts in the oven. I'm not complaining. It's nice to finally have some warmth this summer, it's just that, it's too warm to want the oven on. I had this other problem; the almonds were whole. So I ran the almonds in a mini chopper. I had a bad mix of almond powder and big chucks.

Then, I made the mistake of trying to dry roast them in the pan I sautéed the onions in. The powdered part of the almonds stuck to the bottom of the pan and burned. Through a little bit a shaking and stirring I got most of the big chucks to one side and the powdered part to the other, allowing me to scoop out the burned part. For next time, I'm keeping slivered almonds on hand.

Finally, while putting this together I was sure this salad was begging for a chopped up apple. So I gave it one, skin and all.

Introducing the pasta salad inspired by Cain Credicott's salad.

Tossed Citrus Pasta salad

Start with what can be made the day before if desired.

Dressing:

Place in blender and turn on the lowest setting.

1/3 cup fresh orange juice
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 tsp dry mustard powder
2 tsp honey
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 tsp Fleischman's apple cider vinegar

Open the top of the blender and pour 4 Tbs of olive oil in a thin slow steady stream. Place dressing in a jar and store in the fridge until ready to use.

Now, cook 1 15oz can of Garbanzo beans for twenty minutes, then drain.

For those with a stronger stomach than mine the cooking may not be necessary. Either place beans in a jar and store in the fridge until ready.

½ cup of slivered almonds, dry roasted.

To dry roast any nut simply place in a frying pan on medium heat and stir constantly. Slivered almonds will burn quickly, keep a close eye on them. Roast until desired brownness. If using an iron frying pan don't leave the nuts in the pan when you remove it from the heat, it will keep cooking.

For best taste and nutrition the rest of the ingredients should be prepared at the same time you put the salad together.

1 10 oz. box of Glutino rice penne noodles cooked according to the package directions. Rinse in cold water.

1 cup finely chopped red onions slightly sautéed

3/4 cup chopped celery

3 Tbs chopped fresh parsley

1 2.25 0z. can of sliced black olives

1 small, diced, red apple

Although we ate the salad right away, I think one hour chilling time in the refrigerator would improve it.

Real Grandma, Real Cookies

My grandma was short and plump, and wore glasses. When she put together a holiday feast you better come hungry and in loose clothes. Two kinds of meat,potatoes, gravy, and stuffing, two kind of vegetables and a salad, cranberry sauce, nuts, two kinds of olives, cream cheese stuffed celery, three kinds - no four kinds of pie, a cake, cookies and homemade rolls, I don't know how she did it all. Despite, after having been sent to help her, I was made to sit on a kitchen stool and watch.

She told these wonderful little tales while I watched her clean and cook. When she spoke some were told in a whisper. Her eyes filled with mischief, as if she was telling you a great secret. She had a small toy box of things to play with and there were always cookies in Grandma's cookie jar.

This is my grandma. This is the perfection my sons believe I should fulfill. When Jared and Melissa had Gordon, I was told I have to keep cookies in the cookie jar because I was now a grandma. I had been busy trying to make gluten-free family meals. At the same time I was fighting the debilitating symptoms of accidental gluten contaminations. I just haven't been able to take the time for cookies.

However, cookies have turned out to be easy. As always for rice I cut the fat and I add guar gum. The two recipes I have included here is for peanutbutter and cinnamon sugar cookies. This weekend I'm hoping to turn those sugar cookie into chocolate ship cookies.

Peanutbutter cookies
Makes 24 cookies

Preheat oven to 350°.
Mix together:
1 cup Almond meal
½ cup rice flour
½ millet flour
1 cup Brown sugar
2 tsp guar gum
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp sea salt

Using a whip blend
2 Tbs ground flax seed
6 Tbs boiling water
in a separate small dish. Set aside to thicken.

Add and blend in the first bowl:
3 Tbs shortening
1 cup peanutbutter
1 tsp vanilla

Whip the flax seed and water one more time before adding it to the mix.
Mix well.
Place well rounded tablespoonfuls on cookie sheet, then press out onto cookie sheet using a fork.
Bake 12 minutes.



Cinnamon Sugar Cookies
Makes 24 cookies

Preheat oven to 350°.
Mix together:
¾ cup rice flour
½ cup millet flour
¾ cup almond meal
2 tsp guar gum
½ tsp baking power
½ tsp salt
½ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp nutmeg
1 cup brown sugar

Cut in:
3 tbs shortening
2 tbs smart balance light
Whip up and then add
2 egg amount of flax seed
2 tsp vanilla or almond extract

Roll small balls of dough in cinnamon and sugar.
Place on a greased cookie sheet about 2 inches a part.
Using your palm, press down to flatten into cookie shapes.
Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown.

Final note on sugar cookies: I've had these come out cake like and I have had them come out chewy. If you add a 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder you get the cake-like cookie. If you decrease the millet flour and increase the rice flour you get a chewy cookie.

Gluten Free Family Meals

Family meals can easily be made into gluten-free meals that are also enjoyed by the gluten advantaged. There are little changes that are subtle enough everyone can live with them. The hardest change is the cost. Gluten-free beef broth is more expensive then plain old whatever broth. All the various flours used in gluten-free cooking is so much more expensive than wheat flour that you will cringe when you see it. However, in terms of flavor switching to gluten-free broth thickened with potato flour, no one has complained that my gravy tastes different. If fact my husband insists that my gravy is just as nasty tasting as it has always been.

Well, with the quality of my gravy aside, I thought I would share with you a couple examples of family meals that are easily converted to gluten-free and the family will still love them. My first examples is your basic baked ham meal. Old Kentucky Ham is gluten-free. Potatoes are gluten-free and any fresh vegetables, or straight forward frozen vegetables, are gluten-free. Let's cover the menu one dish at a time.

Old Kentucky Ham cooked as you always had before. If you covered it in pineapples before read the label on the can of pineapples to make sure that it is Gluten-free and use it just as before. The only change here is perhaps your brand of ham and/or your brand of pineapples. If you poked it all over with cloves before, check the label to be sure, but most likely whole cloves are whole cloves. If you used oven bags before, you can still use oven bags. The directions call for the dusting of the bag with flour. I e-mailed Reynolds and they e-mailed back within 5 minutes. The e-mail included a detailed explanation about the purpose of dusting the bag with flour. The bag could burst (it has to do with layers of water and fat in the bag turning to steam and boiling fat,) and how to reduce the possibility of it happening. How cool was that! The up shot of it is, you can use any GF flour or starch to dust the bags.

Mashed potatoes and gravy are done about to the same as before. If you do not have a dairy allergy then you can mash butter and milk into your potatoes without any change. If, as in our case, with dairy allergies, and one with a soy milk allergy we have found it best to mash the potatoes with just salt and pepper added to it. We don't add the pepper when the relatives who have a pepper allergy comes over. Each person at the table has to add what they want and mix it on their own plate. I have a nightshade allergy. The nightshade family of plants include, potatoes, tomatoes, bell peppers, and eggplant. I either skip this dish for myself, or warm some rice from the batch of cooked rice I keep in the refrigerator.

When I make the gravy I brown up bits of ham and throw it in with onions, carrots, celery, and two quarts of water. I simmer this, while I bake the ham, bringing the two quarts of water down to one quart of stock. After removing the ham from the roasting pan I strain the stock into the pan and bring it to a boil. This is to capture more of the browning flavor. The recommended method for making gravy with potato flour is to mix the flour with water, just as you would with regular flour, and pour this into the boiling broth. I'm a bit lazy on this point and just sprinkle it on top while whisking it into the broth. This allows me to adjust the thickness of the gravy to suit my family. Usually two to three tablespoons does the job for this much liquid.

Salad vegetables are gluten free and are easily made into many different versions. My quick and simple favorite is spinach, romaine lettuce, with shredded carrots. Since I don't eat meat I sprinkle cooled, cooked beans on my serving of salad. Garbanzo beans go best with spinach. Salad dressing is easy to make. Since mayonnaise is gluten, and dairy free, I whip it up with dill weed and lemon juice for my daughter. For a low fat dressing for me I sprinkle dill weed and lemon juice or apple juice on my salad. For the 'regular' folks I still serve regular store-bought dressing.

Corn from the freezer is just corn. It's gluten free. If you have a corn allergy, just substitute this with any cooked vegetable of your choice. Since we have corn allergies it isn't unusual for me to cook green beans, as well. Or just serve the salad as our vegetable.

Bread is a nice addition, but it will be at least a week before I post my 'learning to make gluten-free bread' experience. Tomorrow, I hope to post my chili and corn bread recipes.