I can not rave about this woman and company enough! If you have not found, used or heard of the Gluten Free Mama flour blends and mixes you are missing out! Baked goods made using these blends taste better than those made with the evil and all terrifying wheat flour! My husband (a non-Celiac) even agrees! The Almond All purpose flour blend is my favorite, and everything made with it comes out as light and fluffy and full of yummy goodness as gluten free baked goods possibly can. Go out, right now, and get some! You will be amazed.
I was fortunate enough to attend a Gluten Free Mama baking class last Saturday in Spokane, WA at the Michlich company. Rachel Carlyle-Gauthier, the owner and creator of Gluten Free Mama showed us how to bake some wonderful baked goods including my favorites the apple-pomegranate double crusted pie and CREAM PUFFS! Can you believe it? Gluten free cream puffs. I was in heaven, I tell you! Absolute bliss.
Check out her website at http://www.glutenfreemama.com/ for great recipes and info about where to buy her flour blends and mixes. She has a cookbook out, with another on the way and is also in talks with the Food Network about the first ever Gluten Free Cooking show! I pray to the powers that be, that this comes to fruition. Wouldn't that be amazing? Lets keep our fingers crossed.
Monday, December 8, 2008
Thursday, December 4, 2008
The holidays have begun....
So, it's just now December, and already I've fallen behind in my holiday goals. Nothing like the season to make one feel socially inadequate.
Ah well. My kids at least are still of an age where they forgive me my foibles and love unconditionally. The teen years scare the pee-jeezies out of me though. Lets just not think about it yet.
So, as I try to catch up, I realized that I had not blogged lately, so sorry, and here I am. I've been planning on posting a yummy corn-chowder recipe, so here it is:
Jens Corn-Potato Spice-Up-the-Holidays Chowder
2 slices precooked ham, finely diced
2 onions finely chopped
1 red pepper finely diced
2 ribs celery finely diced
1 anaheim pepper, finely diced
3 white potatoes diced
2 cans (11 oz) corn kernels, drained
1 can (15 oz) diced tomatoes, fire roasted
1 can (15 oz)Great Northern beans, drained & rinsed
2 tbl fine yellow cornmeal
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried rosemary
5 cups chicken stock (Kitchen Basics Brand or other gluten free brand)
1 cup cream
Heat a large cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Add the ham and cook until browned. Add the onions, bell pepper, celery, potatoes & anaheim pepper to skillet until the onions are lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a 5-6 quart slow cooker. Add the corn, tomatoes & beans.
Add the cornmeal, salt , pepper, cumin, oregano, & rosemary to the skillet & cook for 30 seconds over medium heat, stirring constantly. Add the broth and heat to boiling, stirring often. Continue boiling until thickened, stirring constantly. Pour into slow cooker. Cover the cooker and cook for 3-4 hours on high, or 6-8 hours on low, until the vegetables are tender.
Stir in the cream and heat through. Serve with sour cream and hearty bread (I recommend Pamelas Wheat Free bread mix with your own herbs added).
Well, enjoy this yummy chowder and let me know what you think. If nothing else gets accomplished this holiday season, you can at least have some great homemade soup and plan for next year.
Ah well. My kids at least are still of an age where they forgive me my foibles and love unconditionally. The teen years scare the pee-jeezies out of me though. Lets just not think about it yet.
So, as I try to catch up, I realized that I had not blogged lately, so sorry, and here I am. I've been planning on posting a yummy corn-chowder recipe, so here it is:
Jens Corn-Potato Spice-Up-the-Holidays Chowder
2 slices precooked ham, finely diced
2 onions finely chopped
1 red pepper finely diced
2 ribs celery finely diced
1 anaheim pepper, finely diced
3 white potatoes diced
2 cans (11 oz) corn kernels, drained
1 can (15 oz) diced tomatoes, fire roasted
1 can (15 oz)Great Northern beans, drained & rinsed
2 tbl fine yellow cornmeal
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried rosemary
5 cups chicken stock (Kitchen Basics Brand or other gluten free brand)
1 cup cream
Heat a large cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Add the ham and cook until browned. Add the onions, bell pepper, celery, potatoes & anaheim pepper to skillet until the onions are lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a 5-6 quart slow cooker. Add the corn, tomatoes & beans.
Add the cornmeal, salt , pepper, cumin, oregano, & rosemary to the skillet & cook for 30 seconds over medium heat, stirring constantly. Add the broth and heat to boiling, stirring often. Continue boiling until thickened, stirring constantly. Pour into slow cooker. Cover the cooker and cook for 3-4 hours on high, or 6-8 hours on low, until the vegetables are tender.
Stir in the cream and heat through. Serve with sour cream and hearty bread (I recommend Pamelas Wheat Free bread mix with your own herbs added).
Well, enjoy this yummy chowder and let me know what you think. If nothing else gets accomplished this holiday season, you can at least have some great homemade soup and plan for next year.
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Comfort Food
Ok, so I know a lot of blogs recently have been adding yummy Thanksgiving Day recipes and suggestions for a gluten free holiday. But, while I enjoy gathering with friends and family, turkey is just not my favorite. Oh, I'll be roasting it up just like everyone else on T-Day, but its not what I look forward to as the weather changes from crisp to cold. I'm all about the comfort food.
So what am I looking forward to as winter creeps on in? Stew! Yummy-Scrummy stick to your ribs Beef Stew. I'll even eat it for breakfast. Don't tell my doctor, but its so good, I must indulge. Also, I like a little kick to my stews, so spice is a must for me, but you can adjust to your taste.
JENS FAVORITE GF STEW
1 lb stew meat cut into bite size pieces
All Purpose GF flour blend to coat meat (I recommend Gluten Free Mama Almond blend)
1 T Paprika
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 32 oz container of Beef Stock (Kitchen Basics brand) to cover all
1 T + GF Soy Sauce
1/2 Onion chopped
3 Carrots Chopped
1 Stalk Celery Chopped
4 White potatoes cubed
Spicy Montreal Steak Seasoning to taste (McCormicks is GF!)
Cream to drizzle over each serving
1 lb stew meat cut into bite size pieces
All Purpose GF flour blend to coat meat (I recommend Gluten Free Mama Almond blend)
1 T Paprika
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 32 oz container of Beef Stock (Kitchen Basics brand) to cover all
1 T + GF Soy Sauce
1/2 Onion chopped
3 Carrots Chopped
1 Stalk Celery Chopped
4 White potatoes cubed
Spicy Montreal Steak Seasoning to taste (McCormicks is GF!)
Cream to drizzle over each serving
1) Heat a cast iron skillet over medium heat with a bit of olive oil. Coat the beef cubes with the flour and brown in batches. Place brown beef cubes into a slow cooker as you go.
2) In same skillet add the Onions, Carrots, Celery and potatoes, cook over medium low heat until onions begin to soften.
3) Season with salt, pepper and Spicy Montreal Steak Seasoning.
4) Add 1 cup of the stock and scrape up any brown bits then pour entire contents over the beef in the slow cooker.
5) Add the remaining stock, paprika and soy sauce. Stir to combine. Cover.
6) Cook on high for 4-5 hours or low 7-8 hours (gives you the tenderest beef).
7) Serve with cream on the side to drizzle over stew. (Sounds weird, but it's really scrummy!)
Well, off to the kitchens you go! I know I'm hunkering for a bowl of stew right now. Hope you enjoy it. For a more "adult" flavor, you could add a cup or two of red wine to the mix also. Just increase the amount of flour. Scrummy!
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Welcome!
Hey there! Thanks for stopping by. Obviously this is my first post. One of many I hope. This blog is for those with gluten sensitivities, Celiac Disease, and all others interested in the frustrations and triumphs that go along with it. I hope to post recipes, snarky comments and thoughts, wishful thinkings and suggestions, and totally off topic subjects.
I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease back in 2004 just after the birth of my second child. Strangely and frustratingly enough my symptoms weren't the usual suspects involved with Celiac. It started with dramatic weight loss, which the doctors blamed on my hormones needing to balance out after pregnancy. Well, once I was down to 107 lbs, (and on a 5'6" frame, previously weighing in at 130lbs only a couple months before) the doctors thought they should look at other causes. Brilliant! Then the chest pains and exhaustion started in and FINALLY after 3 more months of eroneous tests, they discovered that I was no longer producing healthy red blood cells. So after a blood transfusion, and a terrible allergic reaction to Iron Dextran (an iron infusion) they decided to check my antibodies for celiac. It was inconclusive, so I went in for a colonoscopy and endoscopy. Finally!!!! I had a doctor that said "It looks like it could be Celiac Disease. But its inconclusive."
Wow, I'm so glad that I have you guys looking out for me.
So, I started a gluten-free diet, and gained my weight back and the chest pains have at least become infrequent. So there is my Celiac story in a nut shell. At least from this I've learned that most doctors don't have a clue when it comes to Celiac Disease and that I pretty much have to teach them what to do.
My big beef about my "diagnosis" is that I can eat small amounts of wheat on accident with sometimes no reaction, i.e. stomach problems and other times I can eat a gluten free meal and be sick in bed for days. So, my body is a pain in the patootie, but its all I got.
One thing positive though is that it has really inspired me to be creative in the kitchen and I've discovered I really do like cooking. I liked it before, but now its a challenge and a triumph when I create something that my non-celiac family likes and requests it over glutenized foods.
In future posts I'll include recipe winners and failures and gripes and hoorays. So stay tuned, perhaps you'll find something that will inspire you to embrace and cheer our gluten free foodiness.
I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease back in 2004 just after the birth of my second child. Strangely and frustratingly enough my symptoms weren't the usual suspects involved with Celiac. It started with dramatic weight loss, which the doctors blamed on my hormones needing to balance out after pregnancy. Well, once I was down to 107 lbs, (and on a 5'6" frame, previously weighing in at 130lbs only a couple months before) the doctors thought they should look at other causes. Brilliant! Then the chest pains and exhaustion started in and FINALLY after 3 more months of eroneous tests, they discovered that I was no longer producing healthy red blood cells. So after a blood transfusion, and a terrible allergic reaction to Iron Dextran (an iron infusion) they decided to check my antibodies for celiac. It was inconclusive, so I went in for a colonoscopy and endoscopy. Finally!!!! I had a doctor that said "It looks like it could be Celiac Disease. But its inconclusive."
Wow, I'm so glad that I have you guys looking out for me.
So, I started a gluten-free diet, and gained my weight back and the chest pains have at least become infrequent. So there is my Celiac story in a nut shell. At least from this I've learned that most doctors don't have a clue when it comes to Celiac Disease and that I pretty much have to teach them what to do.
My big beef about my "diagnosis" is that I can eat small amounts of wheat on accident with sometimes no reaction, i.e. stomach problems and other times I can eat a gluten free meal and be sick in bed for days. So, my body is a pain in the patootie, but its all I got.
One thing positive though is that it has really inspired me to be creative in the kitchen and I've discovered I really do like cooking. I liked it before, but now its a challenge and a triumph when I create something that my non-celiac family likes and requests it over glutenized foods.
In future posts I'll include recipe winners and failures and gripes and hoorays. So stay tuned, perhaps you'll find something that will inspire you to embrace and cheer our gluten free foodiness.
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