Gluten Free Mom

The Gluten Free Best of 2009

What a decade this has been.  As the decade dubiously called the Decade with No Name draws to an end, an editorial  in the Seattle Times noted that the American Public has rated it as the worst decade in 50 years. 

We all remember the downs, so there is no need to recite them here.  In addition to those, we have had our fair share of personal hard times starting with a heart-wrenching adoption process, then the ever sickening health of our now gluten free teen. 

While challenging, the decade has actually ended on a high note for us.  The boy from Guatemala who we feared would spend his young life as a homeless child is now sitting next to me playing Lego Star Wars on his DS.  My once emaciated daughter who vomited so violently that she could actually throw it across the room, is now, well almost as tall as Mom, extremely healthy, bright and even adept at testing the boundaries (she convinced the Head of her very conservative private school to allow her to die a strip of her hair pink - minor to some, but definitely a statement in our world).

And if this decade has brought you into the gluten free life, then you are ending it on a good note as well. It is now easier than ever to live gluten free.  So many of the myths about such everyday ingredients as vinegar and blue cheese have been revealed to be just that, myths!  Both are safe for those on a gluten free diet. Yes, the diet is still challenging but there are so many actually good gluten free products on the market that one can scarcely feel deprived. 

The following is a list of some of our best moments of 2009 - hardly extensive or all inclusive but let's focus on the positives for a while as we shepard in a new decade.

Favorite New Recipe of 2009

We have tried so many recipes, but our favorite has to be the crepes.  They are so easy to make with a variety of fillings that they have been a twice a month staple for us.

Best New Gluten Free Foods

Bring on the Udi's!!  Udi's White Sandwich and Whole Grain Bread

Upon tasting this bread you will not be able to tell that it is gluten free. Few gluten free products have excited us as much as Udi's bread. The first gluten free bread that you can leave on the counter top and eat without toasting. Looks, smells and has the texture of traditional wheat bread. Really it is that good. Just as satisfying are the Udi muffins and we hear they are making hot dog and hamburger buns which we are excited to try.  There is sure to be more good products coming out of this company in the future.

Honorable Mentions to the following companies for bringing us some great gluten free products:　

Lucy Sugar, Cinnamon Thin, Chocolate Chip and Oatmeal Cookies I have yet to find someone who has not loved these cookies! They are crisp and crunchy with great flavor and oh so sweet. We love them all but the Cinnamon Thin are my favorite. You can buy these with confidence that you will love them.

Zero Grano Straight from Italy these are saltine-like crackers but actually much better! Light and crunchy with a hint of rosemary. Great with soup.

Zazzeri Pienza Gluten Free Pasta from Italy imported by Prime Resources International Another wonderful gluten free pasta from Italy. The shape and flavor is very satisfying. Not as hardy as Bi-Aglut but not starchy like some other pastas. I particularly like the different shapes. How fun to serve the family Chicken Noodle Soup with star shaped gluten free pasta noodles.

Food Should Taste Good chips are certified Gluten Free and processed on equipment that does not process any gluten ingredients, and they taste wonderful. Really a cross between a cracker and a chip. We love the the Sweet Potato chip dipped in hummus.

Zing Bar Surprisingly tasty gluten and soy free bars. I really like the chocolate and peanut butter flavored bar.

General Mills Honey Nut Chex General Mills now makes six gluten free cereals that you cannot beat if you are looking for mainstream everyday cereal.

Betty Crocker Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies, Brownies, and Yellow and Devil's Food Cake Mix One of the latest mainstream food manufacturers to enter the world of gluten free living. These are reliable, readily available and easy to make gluten free mixes. Try Streusel Cake with the Betty Crocker Yellow Cake mix.

Favorite New Appliance

Last year I really wanted a pizza oven - I was really craving that crispy crust and burned-just-right-cheese on top that you get from a pizza oven.  Not really having the funds or the space for such, I was resigned to live without until Jules Shepard introduced me to Presto 03430 Pizzazz Pizza Oven

We not only cook homemade pizza with it, but also focaccia bread and cheesy bread sticks.  Okay, maybe not as good as a real pizza oven baked pizza but it produces a nice crunchy crust on the bottom and perfectly melted cheese on top.  Moreover, it makes the chore of cooking dinner a lot more fun!!

Favorite Place to Eat Gluten Free

  Hands down our favorite family dining place in Seattle is Romios Pizza and Pasta in the Greenwood neighborhood - whenever we walk in the door the theme song from Cheers replays in my head -

"Sometimes you want to go
Where everybody knows your name,
And they're always glad you came;
You want to be where you can see,
Our troubles are all the same;
You want to be where everybody knows your name. "

 That's the kind of neighborhood restaurant Romio's is.   And it is true, it can be three months between visits and Don the waiter always greets us with a very warm welcome.

Of course, the gluten free food is great as well.  This is a restaurant that actually works hard to make it's gluten free customers happy.  At Romios you can enjoy the simple pleasure of eating a GF pizza while drinking a cold GF beer.   They also serve GF grinders, subs and  pannini.   Recent additions include lasagna and ravioli. 

Our absolute favorite is the GF pita bread with hummus.  That with a bowl of artichoke soup is the perfect meal for mel.  The gluten free teen loves the ravioli.  They also have Lemon Pie for dessert, but we have always been so full by the end of the meal that we cannot eat dessert.

Favorite New Gluten Free Publication

With so many new people starting the gluten free diet, it is really great that Jules Dowler Shepard published a new book entitled The First Year: Celiac Disease and Living Gluten-Free: An Essential Guide for the Newly Diagnosed.  If you are new to the diet or know someone who is, this book is a great step by step guide that will get you started down the road to great health. 

 What are your favorites?  Just for fun, I created a survey to collect some of your favorites.  Results will be added to comments section:

Click here to take survey

Merry Christmas from our Family to Yours

Make a Smilebox greeting

Savory Moment in Redmond - Your Go-To Store for Gluten Free Dinners and Products

I have come to realize that the general overall mood of my family is intrinsically tied to my mood - this was not extra pressure that I needed, but after being a Mom of almost 14 years I have noticed that if I am stressed out, my kids tend to be stressed out, which then stresses out the Weekend Chef. 

If I am happy and singing Christmas songs and laughing, then my kids tend to be carefree and spirit filled as well.  On the other hand, if I am worn out and stomping around the kitchen (who me ??) then the general mood in the entire house is down and out.

Like I said, not extra pressure that I really needed, but it has made me realize that taking care of my family also requires me to take care of myself.

Like a lot of other Mom's, I have had to work hard and learn to take care of myself.  The to do lists is never ending - is doing the craft for the class party more important or going for a walk with my girlfriends? 

Do I dare let the laundry pile up for yet another day, so I can go take in an art class? 

Will they survive dinner with dad cooking if I leave for the night?

I have had years where I have picked the Room Mom of the Year approach, and in taking care of everyone else have not paid attention to the care and well being of myself - these time left me empty and drained.  When I am empty and drained, so are my kids.

What fills each of us up is different:

One of my friends loves to go to the movies and she will do so during the day when the kids are at school.

Some love a glass wine with friends while chatting about their favorite book. 

For others there is shopping or getting a pedicure.

For me, I have to be creative in some way to be happy, and

I have to be outside and exercising.  

I ran my first road race in 7th or 8th grade (my Mom reads this blog so she probably remembers what year).  It was three miles, I won first place in my age group (there was not much competition) and a trophy and a turkey!  I have been running, biking, skiing, kayaking, walking, hiking ever since.

I have weighed almost the same thing for the last 15 years or so (minus periods of pregnancy) but have gained a few pounds lately.  I can't decide if it is age, from all of the Christmas treats, or the fact that my body is finally absorbing everything I eat so that my days of eating like a pig and then passing it all through unabsorbed in under two hours is over. 

Nevertheless the cause, while poking my new stomach pouch while looking at my profile in the mirror, I asked the Weekend Chef the loaded dreaded question "would you still love me if I gained five pounds?" 

"Of course," was the quick response (thank goodness since I had).

But I could not stop there so "What about ten pounds?"

"Dah," he replied back.

"Well then what about twenty pounds?"

"Actually, I am not sure."

"What do you mean?" I insisted as I started to contemplate the marital division of property in my head.  . 

"Well being healthy and exercising has always been such a big part of you, that you just would not be who you are if you started eating a bunch of junk and stopped being active."

Okay, so maybe he has a point. 

And my point - that I am not me without being outside and being active.  And if I am not me, then I am not a good Mom, wife, sister, friend.

So, why have I taken you down this path of inspiration.

First, I really do hope that everyone who reads this takes some time to take care of themselves.  It sounds so cliche but is so important.

This gluten free lifestyle can be a little crazy at times, so while you are making sure to take care of what you and whoever else you love is eating, be sure you are also taking time to be you.

Secondly, I have to give a big shot out (if the President can use the term, then so can I) to Savory Moment in Redmond because this business has given me back a little bit of my life by giving me a little bit of time out of the kitchen. 

Savory Moment in Redmond WA provides top of the line Chef prepared meals that are frozen and available for pickup.  All you have to do is thaw them, warm or complete cooking in your oven and serve. 

The owner contacted me about a year ago because, after a lot of inquiries, they were thinking of adding some gluten free options.

They have now expanded their business to include an extensive list of gluten free items.  This month's gluten free menu includes asian meatloaf, bourbon chicken, grilled pork tenderloin with pomegranate pinot demi, chicken fingers, gluten free macaroni and cheese.  Are you salivating yet? Click here to view the complete menu.

I love not only the fact that the food is gluten free, but it is also tasty.  This is Julia Robert's come to the Eastside as Kay the owner is a Cordon Blue trained Chef. 

 And the meals are healthy meals just like you'd prepare at home - no mass production line and loads of preservatives.   They are just wonderful, Chef prepared meals that are frozen and ready for you to take home, thaw and warm.

So on those nights when I have been running around like a maniac from one kid activity to the next and I just do not have it in me to cook a meal, instead of serving a bowl of GF cereal we can have a healthy square, gluten free meal of grilled teriyaki chicken with a side of risotto. 

Even better, Savory Moment has been adding additional gluten free products to their store such as the sought-after and hard-to-find Udi's bread, Lucy cookies, Bavaria Mills frozen pie crusts, Jules GF flour, Kinnickinnic's donuts. 

Did I mention they are also selling beautiful Gluten Free decorated cakes for the Holiday Season?.

Savory Moment also honors the Microsoft Prime card and delivers. 

Do I need to say more?

Do yourself a favor this season, and head over to Savory Moment.  I will be serving their prime rib for dinner Christmas Eve.

Savory Moment

　

Holiday Gluten Free Dinners - order deadline Saturday December 19th

Prime Rib Dinner

Featuring Harris Ranch all natural 4 diamond choice Angus boneless prime rib roast, Hazelnut mashed potatoes, Green beans with caramelized pearl onions and apple wood smoked bacon

Maple Glazed Pork Loin Dinner

All natural pork loin slowly roasted with a maple mustard glaze Au gratin potatoes Green beans with caramelized pearl onions and apple wood smoked bacon　

 

Fabulous Gluten Free holiday cookie dough is also available

Chef Terry Kaczmarek will carve Prime Rib and Maple Pork Loin samples from 11:30-3:00 on Saturday, December 19th 　

Saturday is your final day to order your holiday dinner so don't miss this opportunity to taste our delicious entrees if you still need to make up your mind.

Open House this Saturday from 11:00 - 6:00.

Gluten Free Samples

Snicker doodles, Thumb prints, Snowballs, Chocolate Chip Cookies, Peanut Butter Kisses

 Gluten and Dairy free Chocolate Cake and Lemon and Raspberry Cake,

Peppermint Holiday Cake　

Sweet Potato Casserole & Au Gratin Potatoes

Gluten Free Gingerbread　House Kits are available to purchase - limited quantity

　

No, I have absolutely no financial interest in this company.

Our Favorite Gluten Free Christmas Treats and a New Recipe for Peanut Butter Cookies and Almond Roca Toffee

Ti's the season to party around our house - we have gone to and had more Christmas parties this year than in the year's past.  Thanks to some thoughtful friends and  great caterers, I have dined like a queen this year (okay maybe that was pushing it a little, but I have been treated to some great gluten free food). 

In previous years I have honestly made it through most Christmas parties by eating before I go and sipping wine all night. 

This year I have really been treated to some delightful and thoughtful gluten free treats.  For one party, the hostess stopped by Savory Moments in Redmond and treated me to a wonderful meal of steak, rice and a fabulous chocolate gluten free cake!!  Can I tell you how nice it was to participate in the meal with the other guests?   I was so stuffed - with the food and warm thoughts of appreciation.

At a party for our school, the entire catered meal was gluten free,

 and it was fabulous,

 and everyone loved it. 

There was  gluten free pasta, steak on this wonderful gluten free breaded tart, salmon, chicken skewers and more.  They even had a delicious gluten free dessert.  The caterer was Upper Crust and they did a wonderful job.  I was honestly overwhelmed by the thoughtfulness.

So while I have absolutely nothing to complain about this season, there is one remaining party to negotiate. 

 A party whose theme is flour and butter. 

I can already smell the fresh baked cookies.

You guessed it, a cookie exchange. 

I have politely not gone for the past several years.  Probably being a little over dramatic, but it was the one party I just could not convince myself to go to.

But this year I am going to the party -

first of all, I am so full that it will actually be okay to not be able to eat the cookies. 

Plus I love my friends and do not want to miss out on this tradition. 

And, while I may not be able to sample their treats, I am bringing some of my own to share.

But what to bring?

If you find yourself in similar circumstances this year, I do have a few recipes to share.  I think most importantly, you should take treats to share that are naturally gluten free.  You do not want to waste your expensive gluten free flour on cookies for people who just don't need to eat gluten free. 

Plus there are tons of treats that are naturally gluten free.  Some of our favorites include fudge which we even make it casein free.  It is not Christmas without fudge at our house.

Cashew brittle is also a great hit during the holidays.  Our Chocolate Decadence Cookies are my all time favorite and they only use 1/2 cup gluten free flour. 

I have settled on Peanut Butter and Chocolate cookies.  They are naturally gluten free, taste an awful like a Reese's Peanut Butter cup, very easy to make and melt in your mouth.

Peanut Butter and Chocolate Cookies

Ingredients

1 cup smooth peanut butter (the healthy, natural type of peanut butter will leave you with crumbly cookies. For this recipe, go with your mainstream peanut butter like Jiff. It has more oil and holds the cookie together better.)

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 extra-large egg, lightly beaten

2 tablespoons finely chopped peanuts (optional)

1/4 cup mini chocolate chips (we used casein free chocolate chips)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350°.

In a medium bowl, mix the peanut butter with the sugar, baking soda and egg.

Stir in the peanuts and chocolate chips. These are optional ingredients. We did not use the peanuts but the chocolate chips are mandatory for us.

Roll tablespoons of the dough into balls.

Set the balls on 2 baking sheets, and using a fork, lightly make a crosshatch pattern on each cookie.

Bake for 15 minutes, until the cookies are lightly browned and set.

Let cool on a wire rack.

We double the recipe - one batch is not nearly enough!

Thanks to Jennifer who is an ex-pat living in Holland for this recipe. Jennifer has a 9 year old daughter who was diagnosed with Celiac disease 3 months before they moved to Holland from the US.

Christmas Blessing going your way Jennifer!!

Almond Roca Toffee

This recipe is tasty and pretty easy to make.  Just keep the kids away from the stove for this one as it gets incredibly hot and is, therefore, too dangerous for the younger crowd.  It is pretty messy to eat as well, but worth the finger-licking. 

 

1/2 cup sliced almonds

1/2 cup whole almonds

1 cup butter (we used Earth Balance for casein free)

1 cup sugar

1/3 cup water

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 teaspoon salt

12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips (we used Sunspire for casein free)

Directions

Line a cookie sheet with foil and spray well with non-stick cooking spray.

Place all of the almonds in a single layer on cookie sheet. You are going to be pouring the toffee and chocolate chips over the almonds, so space them out so you have a few bites of almond in each mouthful. They will not cover the entire cookie sheet.

Heat butter, sugar, water, vanilla and salt in a heavy saucepan over high heat, stirring constantly until a candy thermometer registers 310°F. (approximately 15 minutes) The mixture is extremely hot so exercise great care.

Remove from heat and immediately pour over almonds, evenly covering the almonds.

Immediately sprinkle with chocolate morsels and spread evenly stopping 1/2 inch from the sides. The heat of the toffee will melt the chocolate chips into a smooth top.

Let cool until firm. We put ours outside on the deck to quicken the cooling process.

Come on, don't be shy - how have you negotiated this holiday season??

New Eastside ROCK Group Forming in the Bothell Area

A new Raising Our Celiac Kids Group has formed in our area.  This will be the fifth ROCK Group to be formed in Washington and will be centered in the Bothell Wa area. 

　

R.O.C.K. (Raising Our Celiac Kids) is a free support group for all caregivers of any gluten-free child. All are welcome to come & share their experiences, gluten-free recipes or tips for living gluten-free. This group meets once a month to discuss various topics concerning the gluten-free lifestyle, including:

•

Finding "fun" gluten-free treats for kids

• Menu ideas for school lunches, quick dinners, and sports snacks

• Helping kids take responsibility for reading labels, cooking, & preparing food

• How to prepare for unexpected parties & food-oriented activities at school, church,

& elsewhere

• Halloween, Easter, & other special days - how do we include our kids safely?

• Educating day-care providers and teachers - without burdening them

• Dealing with grandparents, babysitters, & "helpful" friends who offer gluten-containing foods to our kids

• Sending kids away to camp, friends' houses, & other times when we're not around to help

• The psychological impact of growing up with celiac disease (peer pressure, teenage years, and more)

Sometimes it helps to talk about it, and it always helps to have some guidance when initially diving into the gluten-free diet. R.O.C.K. has free support groups in dozens of cities throughout the country. Parents exchange information & ideas, while kids enjoy gluten-free goodies & play with other gluten-free kids.

For more information, please contact

Lynn Crutcher

(425) 205-1327

gfkids1@yahoo.com

　

The next group meeting will be on Sunday, Dec 20th from 2:00 - 4:00 at Pizza Works in the Inglewood area. 

Pizza Works serves gluten free pizza & pasta.  Space is limited to 20-25 people, so please RSVP to Lynn at gfkids1@yahoo.com before December 15th. 　The topic of discussion will be Packing a School Lunch.　

The January meeting will be on January 16th from 2:00 - 5:00 at the Bothell Library. The topic of discussion will be favorite GF books and cookbooks.

Sometimes it is just about having a clean oven!

If you haven’t noticed, I’ve been feeling a bit stressed out lately. I am slightly over-committed on the volunteer side of things, but we have also had some hard issues on the home front.

You know all about the GFT, now let me introduce the Middle Child (MC) – she is 10 years old, adorable, and the sweetest creature you have ever met in your life. Really, she exudes God’s love for all mankind. She is love in its simplest form.

Unfortunately, she also has stomach issues. She was tested for Celiac 4 or so years ago when we first began this journey and she was negative. She has been tested once this then, thankfully negative again. She is also a very healthy kid. While we eat GF at home she has continued to eat school lunches, gluten food at parties etc.

When we started back to school this fall, she started having a lot of stomach aches. We are talking in the nurse’s office 3 – 4 times a week wanting Tums and Pepto. She was also getting bad headaches. I have suspected that she might have a dairy issue for a while for the simple reason that she really has never liked dairy (I think we learn a lot by listening to our bodies), and at times (this may seem the crazy part to some of you) she just seems checked out, aka brain fog. Having suffered from brain fog myself, I know it to be a real result of dairy intolerance/allergy.

Having had great success myself with a naturopath, I decided to go that route with the MC. I think some people get a little carried away with the entire naturopathic medicine. I believe it has its place. If you have a kid who has a food allergy or intolerance, then definitely eliminate the food. But I know some people who have kids avoiding so many different foods, and doing bowel cleansings and so many different supplements, that I wonder about it.

Anyway, I was suspicious of a dairy and/or gluten issue so I took the MC in for an Elisa food allergy tests and a celiac test. A couple of weeks later, the celiac test came back negative and on the food allergy test she had almost no reaction to gluten. She did have a reaction to dairy, so we decided to eliminate dairy thinking we had answer.

Eliminating dairy is no easy thing, especially when you have kids who love cheese pizza, quesadillas, and macaroni and cheese (all GF of course). But we eliminated it thinking we had the answer.

Unfortunately, not much changed. She seemed to have fewer headaches, but she still had stomach aches that even the Pepto did not clear up. And she was still going to see the nurse pretty regularly at school complaining of stomach issues.

Yesterday they sent her home from school because her stomach was really hurting, so I decided it was time to give my pediatrician a try. It took my pediatrician a year to diagnosis my very sick GFT, so I was a little leery and I had a heck of a hard time getting an appointment. They wanted me to wait a week to come in since this was not an "urgent" or "day of" problem but rather a long term problem. We finally got an appointment after my husband called and said "see us now!" Only to have the doctor actually inform me that her role was that of "day of" care and this was really not the type of appointment she handled!

Breathing deeply now, I explained that this had been going on for awhile, but her stomach hurt so badly TODAY, she needed to be seen today!

Thirty minutes later after finally conducting an exam of the MC, we were on our way to the ER. They were concerned she might have a bowel obstruction or appendix issues.

I don’t know if you have set in an ER lately, but it was definitely not G-rated. You have the flu patients hacking away in the back, and then the guy using the most obscene profanity because he was tired of waiting (weren’t we all). I had to cover my daughter’s ears until security finally removed him from the ER.

So we are sitting there, waiting and waiting. The MC is uncomfortable but managing. She has her head in my lap and I am combing my hands through her hair when I see something . . . black . . . and moving. "You have got to be kidding, she has lice!" At this point feeling like we basically fit in with the rest of the riffraff in the ER, we finally get called backed to a room.

I ask two nurses to look at her head, but they did not know what lice looks. They draw 4 or 5 vials of blood and decide she needs a CAT scan. This involves her having to drink the barium, get iodine shot into her blood veins while a huge donut-like contraption spins around her. Of course, this did not happen in a matter of minutes. Six hours later, we were checked out of the ER.

The issue it appears is constipation – Praise God, it was not something more serious and after all of this a diagnosis of constipation may seem trivial but a great amount of peace was derived from knowing her insides all looked okay. While constipation may sound somewhat trivial (compared to what we were preparing ourselves for) it is still something we have to deal with.

The follow-up, I will take her into our regular pediatrician to get the appropriate medicine for constipation and see where we go from here. An apple a day obviously, but we will do whatever else we have to get her flowing more regularly and over the terrible stomach aches.

Naturopath vs. Pediatrician – You decide. If I had gone the pediatrician route first, I would have had a diagnosis a couple of months ago which would of meant less suffering for my kiddo and fewer blood draws. Yes, I still suspect dairy is somewhat an issue, maybe the dairy is what causes the constipation, but taking her off dairy did not really help so we will have to experiment and weigh her options on that one for a while.

Did we really have lice? Oh yes. We ripped all of our kids out of bed close to midnight for a late night inspection. Luckily no one else had it. Two hours later the Middle Child was hopefully lice free, her bedding had been striped and washed, her room, the family room, the family room furniture all vacuumed and me, exhausted!

I think I forgot to mention that while all of this was going on, the Weekend Chef and I were actually supposed to be at a big party that I had been excited about for weeks (ok I don’t get out much). And that I had even bought a new dress for the party – luckily I did not have a chance to take the tags off.

This morning we are happy to report a lice free head and, more importantly, a significant bowel movement. The over use of my washing machine (it is well over 10 years old) caused the middle part that everything spins around to snap off.

What does all of this have to do with having a clean oven?

I was pretty good about taking all of the above in stride, but was really feeling near my wits end, by the end. So what did I do – drink a bottle of wine, some therapy shopping, book a one-way ticket to Mexico. I seriously considered the last, but instead I cleaned my oven.

When I get stressed out, I clean.

When my husband ran over (but only severely injured) my new puppy (he's doing better now), I cleaned the garage, top to bottom.

I am sure it has something to do with having control over just one little thing in my life –

We may have lice, stomach issues, a broken washing machine, but after a few hours of elbow grease (my oven was actually pretty dirty), I have a sparkling clean oven. I know... oh so domestic. So provincial. But so amazingly satisfying. To open that door and see that sparkling clean oven with the light bouncing off the clean racks! Well, it makes me feel like everything will be okay. Crazy - but maybe we should all spend more time cleaning our ovens.

So now I think I am going to make a batch of GF corn bread to bake in that sparkling oven!

　

　

Gluten Free (and Casein Free) Crepes

We try a lot of recipes and I cannot say that they all work out. 

I actually had a less-than-stellar-mommy-moment this week when trying a new recipe.  It was a different one for crepes (not the one below which works beautifully).  The recipe called for one egg, 1/2 cup milk and 1/2 cup water plus the various dry ingredients. 

When I mixed it together, it looked and tasted like clay - dry, gray, tasteless clay.  Nothing near the somewhat runny consistency of a delicious crepe.

So I added another 1/2 cup of almond milk.

Then another 1/2 cup of water.

Then another egg.  Still clay-like.

Then another 1/2 cup milk.

More water,

Two more eggs.

Still thick and just plain bad.

Right as I am about to dump it in the garbage,

The family walks in after school, work and soccer practice-

starving!

This was when I had my "little-less-than-stellar-mommy-moment." 

Yes, I uttered some less than desirable words.  Okay, I am not the recent come to fame Julie from the Julie and Julia movie hit of the summer  (anyone who has read her book knows what I am talking about).  In our house, stupid and shut up are "dirty words." 

Nevertheless, I was uttering some of these bad words, along with "why do I have to cook dinner every night" and a few, "why can't we just eat McDonald's" when my family walked in the door.

All of this is just to let you know that we do try and re-try every recipe before we post it, and as happy and positive as I try to be on this blog, I do have my bad moments.

So what did we have for dinner - the recipe below.  It has worked every time we tried it, takes minutes to whip out and it is very good.

The first time we made it, I left out the sweet stuff and wrapped the crepes around ham and onions.  The second time, we made them with all of the sweet stuff left in, wrapped around blueberries and topped with a little honey.  Delicious!

Thanks to Susan for sharing this great recipe!

Gluten Free (casein free) Crepes

 

4 large eggs
1 C milk (rice, almond, or soy may be used)
2 T butter, melted ( we used Earth Balance)
3/4 C GF flour mixture
1 tsp vanilla
1 T brown sugar
pinch of salt

In medium bowl mix eggs, milk, and vanilla.  In a crepe pan, melt butter and add to egg mixture whisking vigorously.  Make sure the butter is not too hot so that it doesn't cook the milk and eggs.  Add dry ingredients to liquid and whisk again.

In hot crepe pan pour about 1/4 C mixture and swirl to coat pan.　 Cook both sides.　 You'll need to re-whisk mixture before pouring next crepe into pan.

Yields about 12 crepes. Once cooled store in a ziploc bag in the refrigerator.

GF FLOUR MIXTURE

2 C brown rice flour
2 C white rice flour
1 1/3 C potato starch
2/3 tapioca flour

Mix together and store in freezer.

Some notes on the recipe:

Susan noted that she has made these in a 10" skillet to use as tortillas and it worked great.  She also uses them for sandwich wraps, breakfast & regular burritos, and dessert.　 For dessert she fills them with chocolate chips and strawberry jam or pie filling and whipped cream.　

I have never made crepes before and do not own a crepe pan - I made them in a small skillet and they worked great.  In addition, the first time I made them I just used the GF flour mixture that I had in my bin, and they worked great so I think these are pretty easily adaptable to any GF flour mixture.

We'd love to try your favorite recipes!!

Gluten Free Halloween Cupcakes and Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

It is going to be a very mellow Halloween at our house this year as "the flu" has ravaged my family over the past three weeks - the Middle Child and I had it first (along with about half of her school), no sooner had she returned to school then it hit The Six Year Old and then, amazingly the man who never gets sick, The Weekend Chef (although he is slowly losing that title). The worst part of the flu is the coughing.  I took the Six Year Old to the doctor convinced he had come down with pneumonia. Thankfully his lungs are clear and the doctor suggested a spoonful of Honey to soothe his cough. 

I have been making a lot of Chicken Noodle Soup and trying to keep the Gluten Free Teen healthy - she is the only family member to have escaped its' path at this point.  Now that we are passing three weeks of someone ill, I am praying she remains healthy.

To spread a little cheer while the men of the house were down and out, the Girls in the family came up with these Halloween cupcakes.  A little messy but fun.

We went the easy route and used Pamela's Products Luscious Chocolate Cake Mix, for the cupcakes which were amazingly tasty.  While they were cooling we made the spiders:

Chocolate Spiders

2 cups gluten free chocolate chips (we used Sunspire Tropical Source chocolate chips for casein free as well)

3 T milk (or almond milk for casein free)

1/2 cup crispy cereal or peanuts (we used some Enviro Kids Leapin Lemurs cereal)

1/2 cup gluten free pretzels (we used Glutino Gluten-Free Pretzel Twists, )

Make the spiders by combining the chocolate chips and milk in a glass bowl. Microwave on high for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring frequently, until smooth.  

Reserve about one-third of the chocolate mixture for the spider legs. Stir the peanuts or cereal into the remaining chocolate.

Form the spiders by dropping teaspoons of the chocolate with the cereal or nuts mixed into it onto waxed paper.  Let cool.

While the spiders are cooling, frost the cupcakes with white frosting:

White Frosting

1/2 cup shortening (we used Spectrum Organic All Vegetable Shortening)
1/2 cup margarine (we used Earth Balance for casein free)
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
5 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup milk or less

Cream together first four ingredients. Add powdered sugar, one cup at a time. Gradually whip in milk until you reach the desired consistency. Beat until fluffy.

Once the cupcakes are frosted, placed a spider body from the wax paper on top of each cup cake.  Warm up the remaining chocolate mixture in the microwave.  Break the pretzel sticks to form curved legs and stir in the chocolate to coat.  Attach the pretzels as legs.  (the kids did this part - it was very messy and involved lots of licking!)

Not feeling up for the challenge, here is an easier Halloween Recipe that is a family tradition at our house.  Every year while we are carving our pumpkins, I roast some pumpkin seeds.  It is amazingly easy and a fun crunchy, naturally gluten free snack:

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds Snack:

1 1/2 cups pumpkin seeds
2 teaspoons melted butter or olive oil

salt to taste

Optional additional seasonings: garlic salt, cayenne pepper, chili powder

Preheat oven to 300º F.

Rinse the seeds - it is O.K. to leave some strings and pulp on your seeds but clean off any major chunks.

Toss the pumpkin seeds in a bowl with the melted butter or olive oil, add seasonings and spread in a single layer on a greased baking sheet. Bake until golden brown - about 30 minutes.

　

Crunchy Brown Rice Chicken Pot Pie and the Whole Foods Recipe Library

Wow what a difference a week makes.  Last weekend was a spectacular fall day - sunshine with the cool crispness that tells the birds to fly south, the trees to drop their leaves and the Moms to get ready for flu season (more on this last one in a bit).   Also known to some around my house as football weather.

We took advantage of our Indian summer's final furry and went for a boat ride from downtown Seattle to Blake Island.  Really, it was so beautiful at Elliott Bay that we could of just sat there on the boat and been totally contented. 

But we needed to get the boat out to top off the gas tanks for the winter, so we made the short trip over to Blake Island.  Blake Island is a beautiful state park that offers views, sometimes only seen on TV, back towards Seattle. 

The kids immediately scattered to search for sea glass and build drift wood forts  . . . an already perfect afternoon, when we saw it. 

That first splash and the huge fins of the unmistakable orca whale.  Then another commotion in the water a little further out as God treated us to a spectacular demonstration of his creations.  Having spent as much time as possible boating in the San Juans, we have seen enough whales that at times my kids won't even look up from their books (sad I know).  But never have we seen so many and in such playful spirits.  They were breaching and blowing, arching high in the air.  They seemed to be enjoying their last day of summer as much as we were.  I know this is "gluten free" blog, but I have to share this photo:

 

 
Earlier I said "what a difference a week makes" because no sooner had we reached our driveway after a day on the beach, when my Middle Child said she did not feel good.  By bedtime her temperature had reached 101 degrees and what followed was a long week in bed, with "the flu."  It hit our school so hard that at one point our small elementary school had 50 students out.  Far be it from me to let a germ pass through my house without first testing my immune system ( in other words I have been down and out as well).  And the Indian Summer replaced with "did I hear thunder today" and, of course, rain. Our summer was so beautiful that I had almost forgotten that I lived in Seattle.

What does all of this have to do with Crunchy Chicken Pot Pie - two words, comfort food. 

When fall finally let it be known that it had arrived in combination with us being down and out with the flu, I was craving something comforting.  And I was tired of everything we always make. 

I was sitting in the carpool line at school to pick up the Six Year Old boy (who has an immune system coated with iron - he rarely gets sick) and I downloaded the Whole Foods Recipe Application for my iphone.  It is a really cool app that lets you search by course, such as main dishes, salads etc. and by category such as quick and easy, family friendly.  Even more impressive, it also lets you search by "Special Diets"  which includes gluten free.  With a few touches of the screen, I had a new recipe for dinner.  You can search through what appears to be the same recipe library on the Whole Foods website. 

Even better yet, it was tasty and satisfying.  We all loved it.  Next time I will definitely double the recipe and stick one in the freezer.

From the Whole Foods Recipe library here is:

Crunchy Brown Rice Crust Chicken Pot Pie

Serves 6

This is a delicious gluten-free and healthy alternative to traditional chicken pot pie. The Parmesan melts into the rice to create a tasty crust, but omit the cheese, if you like.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon vegetable oil, plus more for greasing
1 tablespoon butter (we used Earth Balance for Casein Free)
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/4 pound sliced button mushrooms (we left out the mushrooms)
2 teaspoons chopped thyme, divided
1 large carrot, chopped
1 rib celery, thinly sliced
1 small yellow onion, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup brown rice flour
1 1/2 cups low-sodium gluten-free chicken broth
1 cup whole milk (we used Almond Milk for Casein Free)
1 cup cooked brown rice or brown and wild rice blend
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese (we left this off the casein free one)
1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika
1/2 cup frozen peas

Method

Preheat oven to 400°F. Lightly grease a 9-inch pie dish with oil; set aside. ***Since half of use are casein intolerant as well, I made one with the Parmesan Cheese and one without. 

Heat oil and butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add chicken and cook, stirring occasionally, until no longer pink, 4 to 5 minutes. Add mushrooms, 1 teaspoon of the thyme, carrots, celery, onions, salt and pepper and cook until just tender, 6 to 8 minutes. Add flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Add broth and milk, stir well and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer until very thick, about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, combine rice, cheese, paprika, remaining 1 teaspoon thyme, salt and pepper in a medium bowl.

Stir peas into chicken mixture then season with salt and pepper and transfer to prepared dish. Scatter rice mixture evenly over the top then arrange dish on a baking sheet to catch any drips. Bake until bubbly and crust is crisp, about 30 minutes.

Has anyone else tried any of the other Whole Foods Recipes?  What did you think?

Cooking with Jules All Purpose Gluten Free Flour

Last spring (that shows you how behind I am) I had the pleasure of attending a cooking class with Jules Shepard who makes a great All Purpose Gluten Free Flour.

Before we get to the flour and recipes, I have to tell you about Jules.  I really enjoyed meeting her and being in her class.  You leave her class feeling like you have a new gluten free friend.  She is a Mom of two, has been gluten free for over ten years, and is completely devoted to "the cause."  That is, making life better and easier for everyone on the GF diet.

She shared a lot of great tips, but two things that she said, actually that she lives by, stuck in my brain:

Regardless of whether or not we ever try the recipes, it is Jules' goal that everyone leave her GF baking class feeling inspired to try new things and with a general feeling that "we can have our gluten free cake and eat it too."  That living gluten free does not mean leaving without. That we can have good baklava and scones and bread.

Second, that eating gluten free does not mean you have to eat bad food.   Okay, how many of us have bought and consumed bad GF food?  I know we all have because, in all honesty, there is a lot of it on the market.  And sometimes it seems the only choice. 

Jules implored us to STOP eating bad food!!

Not eating bad food is a lot easier to do with her flour which makes baking gluten free extremely easy - yes I said easy.

Now to the flour - Jules has formulated a great gluten free all purpose flour.  If you are looking for that one bag of GF flour to put into your counter-top flour canister for everyday use, then you should give this flour a try.  For most recipes, you can substitute this flour one-for-one for wheat flour. 

During the class, Jules demonstrated the flour by making a chocolate cake, biscuits, scones and bread.  We spent the next week trying out the flour ourselves.  First we made the scones and they were delicious!  They have actually become a family favorite and our easy to play with to change to your taste.  We have added chocolate chips and blueberries (not together).  I also add a couple tablespoons of ground flax and rice bran just to up the health factor.  They are great warmed and drizzled with honey. 

JULES' SCONES / SHORTCAKES

This family favorite produces a light, semi-sweet scone that does not crumble, and is good on its own for breakfast or tea, or in milk or berries for a shortcake-type dessert. As with many of my baking recipes, yogurt is used for moistness, but it shouldn’t be overlooked for flavor. There is no reason to use plain yogurt in a baking recipe! Take advantage of the opportunity to liven up your creations by experimenting with yogurt flavors, and try some of the great new coconut or soy yogurt out there if you are avoiding dairy.

Ingredients:

2 cups Jules Gluten Free All Purpose Flour

1/4 cup granulated cane sugar

2 tsp. gluten-free baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

4 Tbs. butter or non-dairy alternative (I like Earth Balance® Shortening or Buttery Sticks)

2 large eggs (or egg substitute)

3/4 cup vanilla yogurt (dairy, soy or coconut work best)

1/2 cup fresh or frozen berries; raisins; orange rind; chopped nuts; chocolate chips; etc. (optional for shortcakes)

cinnamon-sugar to sprinkle on the tops before baking

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Whisk together all dry ingredients in a large bottom bowl. Cut butter into the dry ingredients using a pastry cutter or two knives. Stir in the eggs and yogurt.

If making scones, add to final mixture any berries, nuts, raisins, etc. Scoop heaping tablespoonfuls onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 10 -12 minutes, until the tops are lightly browned and there are no uncooked portions peeking through. Do not overcook, though.

If making shortcakes, roll out onto a surface dusted with Jules Gluten Free All Purpose Flour to a thickness of about ¾ inch. Cut into circles or other shapes with biscuits or cookie cutters. Place onto a greased cookie sheet and brush the tops with butter or non-dairy substitute and sprinkle with a pre-made cinnamon and sugar mixture. Bake for 8-10 minutes, just until the tops are lightly browned. Do not overcook!

　Copyright 2009 Jules E. Dowler Shepard

NOTE:  We make these with the coconut yogurt and they turn out great.

After trying several of her recipes, we had to put the claim that you can use it as a one-for-one exchange with wheat flour recipes to the test. 

The ultimate test was my Grandma's Sugar Cookie recipe.  These are the cookies that I baked with my Grandma, sitting in the nook of the cabinets on her counter, at her picturesque farm in Iowa.  These are the cookies that she lovingly baked for me and mailed to me when I went away to college, individually wrapped in saran wrap in a shoe box.  I mailed the same cookies back to my Grandpa after she died.

I have tried these before using my own flour combinations.  They turned out great, but are a very delicate, fragile cookies.

With Jules flour, they were even better.  In fact, everyone that I feed them too absolutely praised and loved them. 

GRANDMA'S SUGAR COOKIES WITH JULES' GLUTEN FREE FLOUR

·     1 cup butter at room temperature  (Earth Balance for CF) ***the butter really needs to be at room temperature.  If it is too melted, your cookies will turn out flat.

·     1 ½ cup sugar (I use fine baking sugar but I am sure regular would work )

·     2 eggs

·     1 t GF baking soda in 1 T milk (Almond Milk for CF)

·     1 t lemon juice

·     1 t vanilla

·     1 t salt

·     3 cups Jules Gluten Free All Purpose Flour

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Stir together the GF baking soda and milk and set aside.

Cream the butter.   Add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy.

Add the eggs, baking soda mixture, lemon juice and vanilla, and beat well.

Combine the salt and  GF flour.  Add to the creamed mixture and mix until just together.

Drop in walnut (you can tell this is an old recipe) shaped balls on a cookie sheet that has been lined with parchment paper.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 8 minutes. 

 

WHERE TO BUY JULES GLUTEN FREE FLOUR:

You can order it through Jules' website.  Join her weekly recipe email list while you are there. 

If you live in the Seattle-area, you can purchase Jules GF flour at Savory Moments in Redmond. 

WHERE TO FIND JULES:

If you live in the Seattle area, you can catch a class with Jules at Savory Moments in Redmond, October 23 - October 25th. 

Appetizer and Wine (21 and older) Friday October 23rd from 6:00-9:00 pm　　　　　　　　　　　

Kid's Baking Class (ages 6 and up) Saturday October 24th from 1:00-4:00

General Baking Session Sunday October 25th from 2:00-5:00

　　Call Savory Moment for more information and to reserve your space at (425) 867-1516

 

Gluten Free Halloween Candy - 2009

Our Indian summer vanished on the turn of a dime and we have been greeted head on with fall - it is cooler and most notably wetter here in Seattle.  And as October 1st approaches what is on the minds of my kids (especially my six year old boy who has asked me repeated "when can we order his costume?"), Halloween of course. 

With Halloween comes . . . you got it, candy.  We still employ the same technique we did in the very beginning for weeding out the "can not haves."  We generally trick-or-treat with friends, then all of the kids come back and splash their candy on the family room carpet.  After carefully sorting and counting, they engage in a wall street-type exchange with everyone ending up with what they can have and more importantly want.  While this newly acquired commodity is treasured for a day or two, come Easter I inevitably find a bag of Halloween candy stashed away in the pantry that I throw away.

On to what is safe for this year.

THIS IS JUST A STARTING POINT - ALWAYS DOUBLE CHECK ALL INGREDIENTS YOURSELF. OF COURSE, IF YOU FIND ANY ERRORS PLEASE LET ME KNOW.

THIS LIST IS BY NO MEANS EXHAUSTIVE!!  Some candy manufactures offer more gluten free products, such as Hershey's, but the following items are the only ones they would confirm in a list-type format over the phone.  SEE THE LINKS AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS POST FOR MORE INFORMATION. 

 

Topping our list this year is Old Fashioned Candy Corn by Zachary candy company:

I am in receipt of your letter in regards to the Zachary Confections Candy Corn.　 We currently do not use any gluten containing ingredients in the manufacturing of our candy corn.　 I hope that this information is helpful to you.　

Ce De Candy

"Smarties® and our entire line of products are gluten free. If the UPC number on the packaging begins with "0 11206", you can be assured that it is manufactured in a facility that is gluten free and safe to eat if you have Celiac Disease."

Smarties, Smarties Lollies

Hershey 1-800-468-1714 The company will only confirm that the following items are GF. For other candy they recommend reading the label which accurately list all of the big 8 allergens such as wheat. The label will not indicate gluten that is derived from a source other than wheat, so you are advised to call if you see a product that has an ingredient that may contain gluten and they can verify over the phone the source of the ingredient.

jolly rancher hard candy and lollipops

kisses (milk chocolate)

milk chocolate bar (original w/ almonds)

york peppermint patty

Just Born

"The modified food starch that we use in our candies in corn starch. We are in the process of updating our package labels to reflect products that are gluten free. Our gluten free brands are:

MIKE AND IKE® Brand Candies,

HOT TAMALES® Brand Candies,

PEEPS® Marshmallow Candies,

PEANUT CHEW® Brand candies,

TEENEE BEANEE® Jelly Beans and

JUST BORN® Jelly Bean.

This information pertains to all Just Born candies that we make and package at our two manufacturing locations (Bethlethem, PA and Philadelphia, PA) and are in their original packaging. Please be aware that we do sell some of our products in bulk to other manufacturers who may be repackaging them in another facility. We encourage consumers to read the labels carefully for any gluten information on products that might be packaged elsewhere. For further questions, we recommend consumers call our Consumer Relations Team toll-free at 1-888-645-3453."

Nestle:

NESTLÉ^{® BABY RUTH®}

NESTLÉ® NIPS®

(Regular and Sugar Free)

NESTLÉ® BIT-O-HONEY®

NESTLÉ® OH HENRY! ®

NESTLÉ® BUTTERFINGER®

(NOT including Butterfinger Crisp and Butterfinger Stixx)

NESTLÉ® RAISINETS®

NESTLÉ® MILK CHOCOLATE

NESTLÉ® SNO-CAPS®

NESTLÉ® GOOBERS®

WONKA® PIXY STIX®

WONKA® LIK-M-AID® FUN DIP™

WONKA® LAFFY TAFFY®

(Laffy Taffy Rope and Fruitarts Chews)

WONKA® SPREE®

Necco

781-485-4500

 necco wafers

mary janes

mary jane peanut butter kisses

canada mint & wintergreen lozenges

haviland thin mints and candy stix

clark bar

skybars

haviland peppermint & wintergreen patties

talking pumpkins

squirrel nut caramels and squirrel nut zippers

banana split and mint julep chews

ultarmints

^Tootsie

"All Tootsie products are gluten-, peanut-, and nut product-free. Tootsie does not use wheat, barley, rye, oats, triticale, spelt, or any of their components, either as ingredients or as part of the manufacturing process."

charleston chew

charms blow pops

dots

tootsie pops

tootsie rolls and fruit rolls

junior mints

double bubble bubble gum

sugar babies

sugar daddy

Spangler

　Dum Dum Pops

Saf-T-Pops

Swirl Saf-T-Pop

Marshmallow Treats

Candy Canes

Cane Classics

Dum Dum Canes and Dum Dum Chewy Pops

"do not contain the gluten protein found in wheat, barley, rye, or oats.

We have contacted our suppliers on the ingredients we use, including sugar, corn syrup, citric, malic, lactic acid, ascorbic acid, artificial flavors & colors, starch, release agents, and processing aids. These products do not contain the gluten protein that causes a problem for people with Celiac Sprue."

For more lists of Gluten Free Candy see Associated Content and MyGlutenFacts.com.  For gluten and casein free candy see GFCFdiet.com.

F

Two Thumbs Up to Betty Crocker Gluten Free Mix and a Streusel Cake You Will Love - Plus a giveaway!

Wow - what a title, but you have to read to the bottom for the giveaway.

First, I have to give Two Thumbs Up to Betty Crocker for their four new Gluten Free Mixes - a Yellow Cake Mix, Devil's Food Cake Mix, Brownies and Chocolate Chip cookies.  We have tried them all thanks to some samples received from MyBlogSpark and were very pleasantly pleased and surprised.

Honestly, I did not expect much out of these mixes.  We have all seen the proliferation in gluten free products and when I read Betty Crocker was getting into the picture I just figured it was a mainstream manufacturer throwing together some rice flour and calling it good.

I was wrong.

We tried them all and they are very tasty.  The Chocolate Chip cookies taste like, well Chocolate Chip cookies.  And have you tried making chocolate cookies from scratch?  It is not that easy.

The cake mixes are moist and pleasant. 

Really the only criticism we could offer is that the Brownie mix is a little light on ingredients - one box makes a very flat 9 x 9 brownie.  I will probably use two boxes next time around in the same 9 x 9 pan.  Maybe this is a further statement on how much we liked them.  One box was just not enough. 

All of the Betty Crocker mixes are made in a gluten free processing facility, so no need to worry about cross-contamination.  They are also easy to make casein free.  We just substituted our favorite dairy free products - Almond Milk and Earth Balance - but you can find butter free directions on the Betty Crocker website.

There has been a lot of buzz on the web about how much butter the mixes call for.  Of course you can try to cut back on the butter and replace it with other healthier options, but remember you are making cookies!  Plus this is mainstream manufacturing - Betty Crocker does not make any claims for organic ingredients or  non-GMOs which those of us in the gluten free world have grown to appreciate.  These mixes are what they are - great Gluten Free mixes, made by a major manufacturer for mass consumption through chain grocery stores at reasonable prices.

There has also been a lot of chatter about the need to continue to support those original gluten free "founding" companies such as Pamela's.  I say again these mixes are what they are.  In a side by side comparison with cookies made with Pamela's Baking and Pancake Mix, Pamela's won hands down. We used the recipe right on the side of the bag. The Pamela's cookies were plumper, moister and just tasted better.   But wouldn't we expect that?   Pamela's has been perfecting gluten free mixes for years (and done a great job of it) and, of course, I would buy Pamela's brownie mix first.  But according to Betty Crocker one in nine US households watches, reduces or avoids consuming gluten - that is a lot of households and specialty products like Pamela's are just not available to all of those households yet.

So I say Thumbs Up to Betty Crocker - thank you for developing a safe, affordable, easily available GF product that is actually pretty darn tasty.

Shelly's Streusel Cake

Now to the Streusel Cake. First I have to introduce you to Shelly.  She is a gluten free mom from the south and my very dear cyber-friend.  Yes, we met on-line through my website and had shared much information together before I actually saw her face two years later when we became friends on Facebook.

I love Shelly - she is great Mom, working hard to advocate for the gluten free life and always seeking great gluten free products. She inspires me to keep going!

This is Shelly's Recipe for Streusel Cake using the Betty Crocker Gluten Free Yellow Cake Mix

1 pkg Betty Crocker Yellow GF cake mix

1/2 cup sugar

2/3 Cup Cooking Oil (Wesson/Crisco)

4 eggs

1 Cup GF buttermilk (for dairy free we used 1 cup soy milk with 1 T of lemon juice)

2 tsp GF Vanilla

2 Tbs Brown Sugar

2 tsp Cinnamon

Mix together the brown sugar and cinnamon and set aside. 　

Grease and flour a bundt pan. 

Combine remaining ingredients well and pour a little more than half into the bundt pan.  

Add the Brown Sugar/Cinnamon mix in a complete circle, careful not to touch the inside/outside of pan or it will burn. (We were not that careful with ours and it turned out just fine.)

Cover with the remaining batter.

Cook at 350 for about 55 minutes or until light golden brown on top.

Remove from pan and let cool. 

We topped ours with Vanilla Frosting.

Finally for the Give Away:

The first person who posts a comment with their review of the Betty Crocker GF mixes (and a recipe using one of them would be nice) will receive a Betty Crocker Sweet Moments prize pack complements of MyBlogSpark.com. 

Back to School Gluten Free

We are back -

Back from our summer travels,

back to school,

back to work, and

back to blogging.

While I missed the connection to the gluten free community during the summer (and had endless ideas on new things to post about), I had a splendid summer with the kids. 

Maybe it is their ages (all older than 6 now),

or the fact that we seem to have this diet at least somewhat under control,

or the long-warm days of summer that we were blessed with this year,

but we really had a better-than-ever summer. 

Okay, I am no saint - there were a few instances when "mommy could just use five minutes, please."  But I was met with mixed emotions on the day before school started. 

Honestly, my heart skipped-a-beat when I thought about the few hours of peace and quiet that awaited me.  But this brief sporadic moment of happiness occurred in the middle of when I was sitting at the gas pump waiting for the meter to read full, tears streaking down my face.  I am pretty sure it was the thought of summer ending that caused the emotional meltdown and not the thought of all of the hours I was going to have spend in the car driving my kids to soccer practice, ballet, piano . . ...  But I was actually sad, for awhile. 

This was on Monday, on Tuesday we went back to school and after dropping them off and reconnecting with the other somewhat haggard Moms, I actually came home and did a little dance while I unloaded the dishwasher.

I do have a lot to share - more on this later, but I learned to eat again this summer!  We also tried some fantastic new GF products and traveled to London and Paris.  I will write on all of the above, soon, but I received the following email today and thought it the perfect re-entry into the new school year. 

The following is from Joanne:

Hello, my daughter has Celiac Spru also, she's 16 and was diagnosed this past Feb. She has been sick for 3 years now and last year I put her in cyber school because of it. During the summer I had a few visits with the District Foods Superintendent and informed me that she would have alot of options that were gluten free in the school cafeteria. Today she went back to school and had a problem getting something she could have to eat. More or less a salad (lettuce only) and a drink. What can you pack a celiac kid for lunch? I'm clueless!!! Especially since the breads taste so terrible.

Thank you, Joanne

One of the things that I find most frustrating about the GF diet is the broken food promise.  We have all experienced it - you go out of your way to make sure there will be something to eat and then you arrive to find nothing safe or a bowl of plain lettuce, with some vinegar and oil.  It just happened to me Wednesday.  I went to a luncheon meeting.  Normally I eat before going to anything but at this one they specifically assured me, in person, the day before that they would have something I could eat.  When I arrive, you guessed it, no nada, nothing.  And the meeting lasted 2 1/2 hours long - I thought I was going to die by the end of it.

I am not sure I can fix the broken food promise, but I can provide some suggestions for school lunches.

The Gluten Free Teen takes her lunch to school everyday – long gone are the cute bento box lunch boxes, she prefers a brown paper sack (without smiley faces on it!). 

Over the years, we have come to eat fewer sandwiches.  I don't think she ate a single sandwich all summer.  Now that we are back to school, she will start eating GF sandwiches again.  Kinnikinnick is still her favorite.  She likes the Kinnikinnick bagels, toasted with cream cheese.  She also likes the Kinnikinnick White Sandwich bread, toasted then topped with butter and cheese.　

In lieu of sandwiches, I will make some kind of muffin, often  blueberry or banana (which I add a little flax seed to) and she will pack a muffin, some yogurt, fruit, chips.　

Quinoa salad is also a favorite, as well as chilled tomato soup with some ZeroGrano crackers.  

My younger daughter, who is not GF but has gotten used to not eating much bread, will take some salami and cheese, with some rice crackers. 

My son, who is also not GF but has eaten that way his entire life, likes what we call the Luke Special.  It is a Mission corn tortilla, smeared with cream cheese and topped with cheese and ham.  You then roll it up and slice it into little pieces.  The cream cheese helps hold it all together.

Once a week or so I will cook some kind of a treat for dessert. Chocolate Cookies are always a favorite.  We also just found the most amazing cookies at PCC.  They are made by Lucy and they are so good.  They are crisp and light, with a great taste. 

Here is the recipe for the Gluten Free Teens Favorite Quinoa Salad - she adapted it herself from a recipe on Recipezaar. 

Quinoa Salad

1 cup dry quinoa (or 1/2 c quinoa & 1/2 c millet)

8 cups water

1 pinch salt

1/2 cup grapes, sliced in half

1/3 cup green onions, thinly sliced minced

1/4 cup roasted almonds (optional - I like the almonds, the GFT does not)

Dressing

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup lemon juice

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons gluten-free soy sauce (San-J Wheat-Free Tamari Soy Sauce)

Boil the water in a large pot. Add salt and quinoa and boil for 10 minutes. Drain the water. (Not so easy to do as the quinoa will go through most strainers. I drain it by holding the lid over the pot and letting out as little water as possible. Another thing you can try is a flour sifter basket). As an alternative, I cook my quinoa in a rice cooker. Just follow the directions on the package for the amount of quinoa, water and salt, turn it on and let it cook.

Prepare dressing in a large bowl, toss with the cooked quinoa and remaining ingredients.

I know there has to be other ideas for lunch out there and I would love to hear them.  Can you give some more suggestions to Joanne?  What do you pack for your gluten free child?  What do you take to lunch? 

For more tips on navigating school gluten free, including a letter to the school, visit Gluten  Free Mom.com. 

Gluten Free Bread baking at Da Vinci Bakery, Greenwood

I have a hundred things to write about - I've been trying the new Betty Crocker mixes, went to a baking class with Jules and tried her gluten free baking mix, sampling new restaurants.  But as the title notes, I am also a "Mom" and for the summer that is times three.

So between the "Mom can you drive me to tennis camp?"

"Mom I am hungry."

"Mom can you pump up my bike tire?"

"Mom can Gianna spend the night?"

"Mom will you play cards with me?"

"Mom can you braid my hair?"

"Mom Alex just crashed on her skateboard (only a small fracture thankfully)"

Well, there just has not been much time to sit down and compose a blog post.

I wanted to briefly let you know that Kalli at Da Vinci Bakery is organizing a gluten free bread baking class for this Monday, July 13th, at 6:00 pm. The class will be held at her bakery at  10003 Greenwood Ave N, Seattle - (206) 782-5735.  You can call Kalli to register or email her at wheatlessinseattle@yahoo.com I believe the class is $25 and limited to 10 individuals.

If you have not tried her bread, it is wonderful!!!!!   Actually, everything Kalli bakes is delicious.   I can't wait to learn her secrets. 

You can have your gluten and casein free quiche and eat it to!

I have written many times about the joy of spending an afternoon in the kitchen with the gluten free teen.  This time together has truly been one of the blessings of celiac disease.

Yesterday started like most evenings with me pondering, what's for dinner tonight?  How many times have you had the same question?  Will it be tacos, or quesadillas, too late for anything marinated and grilled, maybe spaghetti?  Nothing was sounding too appealing.

Then the Gluten Free Teen saved the day once again (how did she get so smart?).  She said Mom "I feel like quiche."

"Quiche?" I replied. 

Who knows why this particular craving hit on this day.  We had not had quiche in years.

"Quiche" I asked again.

And, by the way, we are gluten and dairy free and how was I to make a dairy free quiche that tasted good?

If we would not have had frozen gluten free pie crust in the freezer, I would of ditched that idea from the start. 

Gluten Free and Casein Free Frostings

How does a Gluten Free Mom celebrate her birthday!  With lots of love and a gluten free birthday cake of course!

Despite the fact that the Weekend Chef left for London in the early afternoon, I actually had a wonderful birthday.

The celebration started on my Birthday Eve with dinner with great friends at Bis on Main in Bellevue.  They were very knowledgeable about gluten and all of the places it can hide.  They served me a wonderful dinner; for an appetizer we had Pepper Crusted Ahi Tuna with fresh ginger and wasabi in lieu of the sauce.  For dinner I had the special which was a delicious Grilled Pork Tenderloin.  I skipped the standard gluten and casein free dessert of fresh berries and opted for the traditional italian dessert of  grappa.

Seven Things You May Not Know About Me

I am not very good about the "social" part of blogging.  I have a lot of blogs that  I read, but when it comes to commenting, tagging, joining in on recipe projects, etc.  Well I just barely have time to write a weekly post and keep up with all of the emails that I receive.  And as the name implies, I am a  "Mom" first and foremost. 

But when I finally took the time to look at my Twitter account today, I saw this one and thought "why not?"  I was tagged by Heather at Celiac Family to reveal “Seven Things You May Not Know About Me.” The rules are simple. Link to your original tagger and list these rules in your post. Simply share seven facts about yourself in the post. Tag seven people at the end of your post and let them know they’ve been tagged. And have fun! So, here it goes:

1.  After a horrible battle with the adoption court, we finally brought home our third child, a boy, from Guatemala about five years ago.  I had terrible pregnancies (my second daughter weighing in at almost 11 pounds), but it was nothing compared to the struggles we went through to get this kiddo home. 

2.  Sometimes I wish I could just live on coffee, chocolate and wine.

3.  I love clothes - I know so shallow and vain, but my creative side likes to "decorate" everything around me, including myself. 

4.  My favorite book is Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte.  After that it would be East of Eden. 

5.  I love old things ~ old wood furniture, old houses, old traditions, old quilts . . .

6.  I have way too many hobbies and interest ~ painting, running, cooking, boating, gardening, scarp booking, blogging, Pilate's, drawing, photography, skiing, hiking.  If only I didn't need to sleep.

7.  Tomorrow is my birthday and I will be 44. 

8.  Bonus fact:  My favorite moment this week was sitting outside of Starbucks on a sunny morning, drinking my green tea, and eating their new GFCF orange cake! 

Tag your it!

1.  Diane at The Whole Gang

2.  Melissa at Gluten Free For Good

3.  Jennifer at Gluten Free Good Life

4.  Jean at Gluten Free Organics

5.  Ann atSwede at Heart

6.  Erin at Gluten Free with a Purpose

7.  Linda at Gluten Free Homemaker

Gluten Free Chicken Nuggets by Applegate Farms and more new products

Every time I turn around these days there seems to be a new gluten free product or a new restaurant now offering gluten free food. 

This is a little hard to read, but it is a sign in the Microsoft cafeteria offering Gluten and Wheat Free Products.

What can be bad about that?

Not much at first glance but I had two bad experiences last week that I want to share as a warning. 

It was the Middle Child's tenth birthday - she does not need to eat gluten free.  She is tall, healthy and full of energy.  Nevertheless, she wanted a gluten free birthday cake so the entire family could join in her celebration.  I normally make my birthday cakes, but a new company was offering gluten free birthday cakes and I just had to try it.  I called ten days in advance to order the cake and went over the fact it had to be gluten free etc. 

On the morning of her birthday I go to pick it up, and thank goodness I asked, but they had not made it gluten free!  It was a beautiful cake but deadly to half of the family. 

That same week, I decided to try out a new restaurant.  Not only did this new restaurant offer gluten free menu items, they had a separate printed gluten free menu. 

I was worried from the beginning when my waiter had a hard time with english - I do not mean this to be derogatory in any way, but it is hard to communicate your special dietary issues when you cannot communicate at all.  I asked for the manager but she was not there yet.  So not feeling terribly confident, I went ahead and ordered. 

My lovely entree came out with a glutenous wheat spring roll plopped right in the middle! 

All of this is to say, that yes it is wonderful that so many gluten free options are newly available, but I honestly worry  that some places are just popping a gluten free label on things without taking the time to really learn about cross contamination and other issues such as hidden ingredients. 

We are our own advocates so wherever you see something offered that is "gluten free" it is up to you to confirm that they truly know what they are doing and that the offered item is safe.  If we all take the initiative to offer a little on the spot training, the gluten free world will be safer.

Now the buyer beware lecture is over and her are some new products that we found and have added to our list of favorites:

Applegate Farms Gluten Free Chicken Nuggets - 

Applegate Farms is now producing a gluten free chicken nugget.  The chicken is organic and antibiotic free and breaded with a blend of rice and corn.  I have to admit that my kids love chicken nuggets and I love the convenience of being able to pop a quick dinner in the oven every so often.  My favorite nuggets are by Bell and Evans but that is because they are more like breaded chicken breast than nuggets.  I have to say that the kids loved the Applegate Farms nuggets - we tried one box warmed in the microwave.  Two minutes until dinner was ready.  They were fine this way, but much better when we took the time to warm them in the oven. 

As to the warning above, thank you to Applegate Farms for taking the initiative to ensure the gluten free status of their nuggets.  According to their website:

What procedures are in place to ensure that Applegate Farms can validate its gluten-free claims?

The gluten-free breading used on our chicken nuggets will be tested for gluten before entering our plant and will be accompanied by a Certificate of Analysis. The finished product will be tested for gluten again before leaving our plant, and will be held until an analysis determines that the product meets our gluten level specifications.

 A winner all of the way around.   

Sjaak's Organic Chocolate Bar -

We are in love with Sjaak's chocolate bars!  I guess you would describe them as gourmet organic chocolate bars.  I love them because they taste wonderful for starters, but they are also produced in a gluten free facility.  In some ways these bring back the romance of chocolate - eating one of these reminds me of "old days" when you could not find Hershey's on every corner in every convenience store.  When eating a chocolate bar was a special treat at Christmas or after church (okay maybe I have read too many Laura Ingalls Wilder books with my kids).  My kids love the gold wrapping.  The Middle Child liked it so much she did want to open hers.   We had them for dessert on Mother's Day and they brought back that feeling that chocolate is a special treat.  The Gluten Free Teen loves the Raspberry Truffle Bar.  I am crazy for the Dark Chocolate with Almonds which is also casein free. You can order them on the Sjaak website or check out  Organic Vegan Chocolate Bar Assortment on Amazon.com. 

Earth Balance Natural Peanut Butter -

Yes I know that most peanut butter is naturally gluten free, but I like this peanut butter for the other healthy attributes and the taste.  Earth Balance has blended peanuts with flax seed and agave syrup to produce an easy to spread and tasty natural peanut butter. 

GlutenFreeda Gluten Free Burritos -

I have not tried these yet, but the makers of the delicious Real Cookies GF frozen cookie dough is introducing a frozen single entree gluten free burrito.  In addition to being gluten free, they are made with natural ingredients and without any of nasty GMOs, trans fats etc.  Can't wait to try them.

What new favorites have you found lately?

Celiac Disease in the News - Elisabeth Hasselbeck's New Book

Elisabeth Hasselbeck

If you are tied into the gluten free community, you know there is a lot of buzz right now about Elisabeth Hasselbeck's new book The G-Free Diet: A Gluten-Free Survival Guide .  I have not had a chance to read the book yet, but apparently it includes some misperceptions about celiac disease. Wednesday night on the Celiac List Serv Elaine Monarch of the Celiac Disease Foundation posted this letter in response to Elisabeth's new book:

Celiac Colleagues:

I am writing to call your attention to the current publicity surrounding the
new book, The G-free Diet, A Gluten-Free Survival Guide by Elisabeth
Hasselbeck, co-host of The View. While it is important to call attention
to celiac disease, the information must be accurate - the inaccuracies in
this book are potentially dangerous and detrimental to celiacs and to those
yet to be diagnosed if people self diagnose and start eating GF. Our mission
is to assist in getting people accurately diagnosed and the message in this
book could defeat this mission. It appears that this book is being marketed
as a fitness diet - eat g-free and feel so much better. Celiac is
incorrectly referred to as an allergy not an autoimmune disease.

The GF diet is the medically mediated prescription that controls the
condition for a diagnosed celiac. Several items in the book are misleading
and inaccurate and place further limitations on the GF diet. The
gluten-free lifestyle is a lifelong commitment for the diagnosed celiac, not
an option, not a fad diet - adhering to the GF lifestyle requires patience
and persistence. This lifestyle can not be trivialized.

Thank you.

Elaine Monarch

Celiac Disease Foundation
Founder & Executive Director
13251 Ventura Blvd. Suite 1
Studio City, CA 91604

Like I said, I have not read the book but I did watch the interview of Elisabeth on Larry King Live last night.  I thought she did a good job, but you can click here to watch the interview yourself and reach your own conclusions.  She begins talking about celiac disease 12:55 into the interview.

Martha Stewart Magazine:

On a less controversial note, Martha Stewart Magazine also had an article on gluten free living which includes recipes for a delicious looking chocolate cake.  Thanks to the Internet you do not have to buy the magazine to read the article.  Just click here and it will take you to Martha's website.

Health Magazine

I was waiting for my daughter flipping through a Health Magazine and ran across an article on addressing causes of tiredness in women.  Guess what?  Celiac disease was mentioned as one of the causes.  Sorry I could not find this article on line. 

What about in your area?

A Few Words from a Gluten Free Teen

I have a guest writer this week - the Gluten Free Teen.  Even though I try to make life as"normal" and as happy for her as I can, I know that her diet still bothers her at times.  Like most normal teens she just wants to be like everyone else, so having a special diet is something she'd rather forget about. 

No matter how hard I try to provide her with gluten free options, as she gets older and more independent, there are more and more instances that I just don't know about.  Mom bringing special brownies into class just doesn't work in middle school.   

At the same time, she really does not like to talk about her diet.  So when she offered to write my blog post for this week, I was more than excited to accept her offer.  It gave me a chance to see that things are still tough at times.  It gave me a look into her life.  Maybe one of our kids will read it and find some solace in the connection as well.

Hi this is the gluten free teen or Alex. There are a few things I wanted to tell you about being a gluten free teen.

Sometimes, well actually most of the time, things can be pretty tough food wise. I have encountered many incidents outside of our home, where I was left with no food and feeling left out. But I have also experienced people who have taken the time to make sure that I can participate and have something to eat. I have had heartbreaking experiences, and touching experiences.

One of the many tough times that I have experienced was in math. I know this sounds weird and might not sound like a big deal but it really does hurt. My math teacher’s wife loves trying out new recipes and then giving them to her husband’s students to test. I was taking a math test and he asked the class if anyone was allergic to nuts or chocolate. We all said no. The next thing I saw was a bag of delicious looking cookies being passed out to the whole class. Of course I didn’t eat them. I’m a good girl and don’t want to get sick. So I told him I couldn’t eat them and he didn’t even care. I was fighting back tears and it was really hard but I survived and ate some yummy ice cream when I got home. But still, it hurts.

Another experience that pierced my heart was in sixth grade when everyone had coffee cake. I love cake, and I love coffee, so you can imagine hard it would be to not be able to eat coffee cake. Well it looked delicious and I was incredibly sad because all I had to eat was 2 teeny tiny stale and disgusting, gluten free cookies. While my whole class was pigging out on coffee cake I was eating gross food. It was a small incident but still incredibly painful.

Now that I’ve managed to depress you thoroughly I will talk about some of the touching experiences. At school we read the book Alice in Wonderland. Of course, after reading this we just had to have a Mad Hatter Tea Party. I was deeply bummed because I figured that once again, I would be left out. But surprisingly enough my English Teacher bought me a gluten free chocolate dome and some delicious gluten free cookies. They were amazing and she even had the correct kind of drink for me! I was so touched and greatly thanked her.

My Journalism class had a party once the yearbook was finished. I was going to bring in some popcorn for me to eat, but of course I forgot. I figured that I would have to put on my happy face and act happy while everyone was eating yummy brownies and cookies, but that is the opposite of what happened. Two of my friends brought in chips that they made sure were gluten free for me. I was so grateful and ended up having a genuine smile on my face! It was truly great.

As you can see, being a gluten free teen has some major rough spots. But it can also make you feel incredibly loved and thankful for the people that truly care about you. Even though you might feel very alone and sad about being gluten free, there are good things that come out of it. It might be amazingly hard to think of them (it was for me) but there is a reason for it. People love you and those who truly care about you will show it.