Julia Child's Beef Bourguignon

I won't even attempt to repeat the amazing directions and photos to get you through the recipe over at Tablespoon.com, but just wanted to make you all aware of the amazing deliciousness that is Julia Child's beef bourguinon.  Julie and Julia is such a cute movie.  This is the recipe she tries in the movie.  Simply use gluten free flour for the regular flour and the recipe becomes gluten free.  This was an all-day event, but I can imagine coming up with a simplified version in the future.  I served mine with white potatoes and, of course, red wine.

Gluten Free Crock Pot Stuffing Recipe

Thanksgiving day can be a huge challenge for the cook.  Trying to balance what goes in the oven when, and how to keep things hot so everything can be served at dinner time is a huge part of the challenge.  Whether you are gluten free, have a gluten free guest, or want to use gluten-filled croutons to make this recipe, the convenience of making stuffing in the crock pot can't be beat.  I like to make my croutons up to 2 weeks ahead of time, but for the gluten-filled version, I would just buy croutons.  The day before Thanksgiving I will saute the veggies and pork and set it aside in the fridge so I'm not in the way in the kitchen on Thanksgiving day.  When I wake up on Thanksgiving morning, I'll throw all of the pieces into the crock pot and cook on high for 2 hours or low for 4-8, depending on when you'd like to serve dinner.  Then, whether you're in your own kitchen or bringing stuffing to your family's Thanksgiving feast, your stuffing is easily portable and will stay warm while the turkey, mashed potatoes, and pies hog the oven.

Gluten free crock pot stuffing with raisins

As a gluten free girl, I like to bring the stuffing and gravy to Thanksgiving gatherings because many of the other things on the list are naturally gluten free.  Mashed potatoes, turkey, sweet potatoes, all of these things are naturally gluten free if not tainted by gluten-filled gravy.  The only other thing to worry about being gluten free is green bean casserole and the pie!  (More on that in another post.)

This year I will be in New Jersey for Thanksgiving like we did last year.  If Dave can't find any gluten free bread near his place in NYC, I might just bring pre-made croutons in my suitcase!

Ingredients
1 loaf gluten free bread (I like Udis whole grain, frozen or fresh) or you can buy gluten free croutons at places like Whole Foods.  My best stuffing yet had a package of whole foods croutons and gluten free corn bread croutons combined.
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp+ sage
(If doing gluten-filled version, skip these three and just buy onion and sage croutons)

1 large onion or 2 medium
1 stalk celery (~2 cups when chopped)
1/4 cup parsley
1 package mushrooms
1/2 cup butter (1 stick, sub olive oil for a healthier version)

1 lb ground pork

4 tsp chicken bullion (I like the gluten free "Better Than Bullion" pictured below
4 cups water
2 eggs
1 tsp sage
1 cup raisins (optional)

Ingredients.  Not pictured, 2 sticks butter

Making croutons up to a week ahead of Thanksgiving
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.   Cube your gluten free bread into small cubes and lay out on a cookie sheet.  Sprinkle with onion powder and sage, then toast in the oven for 15 minutes before stirring them up and toasting for another 15 minutes.  Store the croutons in a gallon zip lock until Thanksgiving morning.

Preparing your veggies and pork the day before Thanksgiving
My aunt Darcy and mom always just food processes their celery and onion, which is super easy.  This time around, I decided to make use of my new knives and do some of the work myself.  Start melting 1 stick of butter in a saute pan.  Cut up enough celery for ~2 cups and add to butter.  Cut up your onion(s) and throw in the pan.  Cut up the mushrooms and add to the veggies.  Finally, cut up enough fresh parsley for 1/4 cup and add to the saute pan.  I usually use a little more than this.  Stir the veggies a few times while they saute in the butter.  The goal is for soft celery and clear onions.  Set the saute mix aside in a storage container when it is done.

Brown your pork in the saute pan, remove any excess fat, and add to the veggie mix in your storage container.  Throw this all in the fridge until Thanksgiving morning!

Thanksgiving Day
Warm up 4 cups of water and add 4 tsp chicken bullion to the water.  Whisk 2 eggs in a bowl.  Spray your crock pot with cooking spray to keep the stuffing from sticking.  Dump your croutons, veggies, raisins (optional), sage, and pork mix into your crock pot.  Mix them up a bit so the flavors can meld while they cook.  Pour the 4 cups chicken broth over the top and the 2 eggs.  Cover.

Cook on high for 2-4 hours or cook on low for 4-8 hours.

When ready to serve, stir and serve with gluten free turkey gravy.  I prefer Simple Organic's roasted turkey gravy.

Gluten Free Pumpkin Waffles

This morning I was in a fall mood and thought I would add a little twist to my Saturday morning waffle.  Dave sent me a surprise case of Bisquick pancake and baking mix a while back when it was on sale.  I used to use Pamela's baking mix, but this is almost easier to work with.  I was going to add pumpkin puree and the typical pumpkin spices, but realized I had pumpkin pie mix on my shelf!  I followed the waffle recipe on the box with just slightly less water and oil and added 3/4 cup pumpkin pie mix from the can.  I cooked it a little longer in the waffle maker than usual, as the pumpkin added a bit more moisture.  Once they were crisp on the outside, I gave them a taste.  Perfect!  With maple syrup, there was just enough of a hint of fall pumpkin flavor to make me ever so happy! 

Pumpkin Waffles

Pumpkin Waffles

Classic Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup

We've had a few cold and rainy weekends lately, so I'm on a bit of a soup kick, although it was back in the 80s today.  I made two soups from scratch this month, but scored my favorite creamy tomato soup on sale at the grocery store (see box below) and have been enjoying it with grilled cheese.  The key to the grilled cheese is muenster cheese and a little butter on the Udis gluten free whole grain bread.  Switch to muenster!  That fake "American" cheese product is not even comparable!  Muenster is the best melty cheese out there.

Gluten free in every way.

Love their red pepper and tomato soup as well!

Spring Rolls and Spring Rain

I have been ill prepared for meals these days, always missing some ingredient and I still have no car to make quick grocery store runs.  I'm looking forward to some time off coming up soon when I can get back into some real meal planning and try some new recipes.  I signed up for a Community Supported Agriculture again this year.  I invested in a bi-weekly share of veggies and fruit from a different farm than last year.  I'm looking forward to a bit more variety and a more manageable portion of veggies.  I nearly drown in lettuce, kale, kohlrabi, and cabbage last year, so I'm hoping this change to a different farm will be a fun adventure.  I've already been saving lots of recipes for local veggies on Pinterest!

Today I managed to make spring rolls, but of course we were missing a key ingredient, carrots.  They were still very delicious!  A nice, much needed spring rain followed dinner.  My peas and lettuce in the garden are loving it! 

Spring rolls (Note:  I still have a lot to learn about this new camera and proper lighting!)

Ingredients
Rice paper (Found in Asian section of grocery store)
cabbage
cucumber
carrots
thin rice noodles (Asian rice noodles)
cilantro (optional)
red pepper (optional)
Sweet and Sour dipping sauce

Directions
Cook and cool your thin rice noodles according to directions on the box.  Chop veggies thinly.  Fill a shallow plate with warm water and submerge your rice paper under the water for ~20 seconds.  Remove from the water and lay flat on a plate.  In the center, pile up some noodles, a bit of all of the veggies, then fold the paper over the noodles once.  Pack the insides together tightly and fold in the sides of the paper, then roll the spring roll and put it on a serving platter.  Serve with sweet and sour dipping sauce.  (Some people like this with boiled then cooled chicken and peanuts as other fillers.)

Getting Started Gluten Free- pantry substitutes

Now that we've established what to eat for breakfast while starting your gluten free diet, let's talk about a few easy things that you can put in your pantry to make almost all cooking and baking gluten free. 

Soy sauce
Who would have thought?  Yup, soy sauce, at least the brand that exists in most of America, is actually made out of wheat, not soy.  There are lots of gluten free brands out there.  In fact, our generic Kroger (store brand) soy sauce is gluten free.  There's another brand I commonly see near the Asian food section and/or in the organic section called San-J.

Flour

Wheat flour is THE gluten source.  When you're starting your gluten free diet, don't go out and buy 20 flours (rice, tapioca, potato, quinoa, etc.) or even a mixed flour (Bob's Red Mill) or a bunch of Xanthan Gum.  You want Jules Gluten Free Flour.  This is the only flour that is a pure one to one substitute in all of your recipes.  Is it perfect?  No, there's no real gluten substitute.  Gluten is what makes breads stretchy.  Jules gluten free flour has a mix of flours and some other cool stuff that acts a bit like gluten.  The problem is, it's only available online, as far as I know.  Click on that link above and get some shipped to you!

Pasta
Unless you're making a lasagna, quinoa noodles are the only way to go.  They take slightly longer to cook and aren't good as leftovers.  Beyond that, it's one of the few gluten free substitutes that might actually be healthier for you.  Quinoa is a super grain. You can read all about it on the back of your box.  I find these in the organic section of my grocery store, but you can buy boxes online too.














Cleaning the gluten out of your pantry
Of course if you live with a gluten eater, you can keep all the gluten junk around and just add the above suggestions to your pantry.  Dave and I share a kitchen and he keeps his own flours around (he bakes bread and pizza dough from scratch for himself) and his own oats and pastas (his are cheaper), his own snack foods (pretzels, granola bars, cereal), but everything I'm going to cook us dinner with is gluten free.  There's no sense in having regular gravy and gluten free gravy around-- when is he ever going to have his own gravy that I can't eat?  There's also no sense in having two soy sauces, for example.  We do, however, have separate peanut butters.  If Dave's going to spread it on his roll, then put the knife back in, I'd rather just have my own jar.  I just use a sharpie and put my name all over it.

If you're going 100% gluten free in your pantry, go ahead and get rid of your gravy packets, anything with regular noodles, any boxed mixes (brownies, cake, muffins).  Check any of those easy-meal things for wheat on the label (Zatarans--only one kind is gluten free, flavored rice meals that might have thickeners, couscous is gluten filled).  Soups are usually gluten filled for no good reason, check the label (no barley either!)  Get rid of your crackers and pretzels and check your junk food labels.  Then check the labels on your salad dressings.  I'm willing to bet that most of the other ingredients in your pantry and fridge are already gluten free, assuming you have already switched your oats to gluten free oats from our breakfast round.  If you're already a whole-food-eater, you might not have many of these things to toss out!

Getting Started Gluten Free- Breakfast

A few people have recently asked for advice on getting started on a gluten free diet.  Where to begin?  First, let me tell you what NOT to do.  Don't go to the grocery store and read every label in the cereal aisle.  You might end up a pile of tears.  Clean up in aisle 3!  That's how I started, but that was a long time ago, back in 2003.  We've come a long way, my friends.  Gluten free is so easy!  Don't try gluten free recipes if you're not the kind of person to cook every meal from scratch. Make this diet functional for you!  I think there's just a few easy things to replace in your kitchen and in your life to make you go 100% gluten free from day one.  Let's start today with breakfast, the most important meal of the day!

Label Reading:  One thing to remember is that gluten free means no wheat gluten, wheat, barley, or rye.  The ingredients list should say at the end, "Contains:  wheat, milk, soy, nuts" or some combination of allergens in bold.  Let your eye go to this to start.  If this isn't there, curse the brand name for not following the law, then read all of the individual ingredients.  Watch for hidden gluten in malt (usually barley). 

Cereal

• Buy it--Cereal in your normal cereal aisle:

• Gluten free General Mills Rice Chex (see photo below for other variations of flavors that are also gluten free)
• Gluten free General Mills Rice Krispies (the box MUST SAY gluten free, the regular kind is not)
• Fruity Pebbles (I still check the box every time to make sure nothing has changed)

• Avoid it-- There are several organic cereals that you might find in a specialty aisle labeled gluten free.  They are gross.  Don't waste your time when you're starting out or you will just be depressed.

Milk

• Milk is gluten free, but people who have a hard time digesting gluten are often lactose intolerant.  I put Lactaid milk or vanilla soy milk on my cereal and in my coffee. 

Coffee

• Coffee is gluten free-- go nuts!  Watch out for weird flavored creamers, but they are usually fine.
• Latte fans should watch the extra fillers.  I avoid Starbucks mochas, but the white mochas (syrup) are okay.  Again, nix the regular milk.

Pancakes or Waffles or Muffins

• Sometimes a Saturday morning requires something more exciting than more Rice Chex.  Go for the pancakes!  Pamela's Pancake Mix is insanely great.  Just add water, an egg, and oil, and you've got pancakes for two. Recipes for waffles, muffins, crepes included.

Toast

• Udis gluten free bread is wonderful toasted!  I store mine in the fridge and it will last a month or two.  I actually prefer the kind in the green bag, which is more of a whole grain bread.  Butter and jam are safe!

Oatmeal

• Celiacs are traditionally told not to eat oats.  Recently, we decided it was that they were processed in a way that could include wheat, but that celiacs might not actually be intolerant to pure oats.  Bob's Red Mill carries oats that are specifically labeled gluten free.  I'll use these to make my oatmeal.

Things that are naturally gluten free:  eggs, bacon (unless it's super ghetto), potatoes, most spices you'd put on your potatoes, juice, fruit, cottage cheese, yogurt.

Stay tuned for my notes on other meals at home, simple pantry substitutes, what to drink, and what to do at restaurants.

Crock Pot Pork Green Chili

This is a recipe we made maybe two years ago in Alamosa, CO with Dave's family to bring to a chili party at the retirement home.  I took the recipe and made it easier by adjusting a few things, throwing it all in the crock pot, and letting it simmer all day.  Originally, we had fresh roasted Colorado green chilis to throw in, which would make the ultimate batch, but this turned out quite tasty using what was available at the grocery store.

The whole country is under a warm spell in March, but we had a cooler day on Monday, and were a little sick (Dave much more so than me), so I could reason making some soup.

I put this on high for 8 hours, but typically, people put crock pot recipes on low when they leave for work in the morning and they are ready when they get home.  (I'm on spring break, so working from home.)

Ingredients:
1.5 lbs pork tenderloin (our store offers it for $4.50/lb in a tube about 8 inches long)-- leave whole
1 onion roughly chopped
1 cup chicken broth
2 cups water
14 oz. canned green chilis
1 jar La Victoria Salsa Verde
1 jalapeno, chopped
3 cloves garlic, cut in half
1 can gluten free cream of mushroom soup
Handful of fresh cilantro (more for later when serving) chopped
1 tsp celery salt
2 tsp oregano
1 Tbsp cumin
1 Tbsp green chili powder (Omit if you can't find this, the flavor will still be there!  I get ours at the Mexican grocer.)

Throw all of this in your crockpot and set on low for 8+ hours or high for 5+ hours.  When it is done cooking remove the pork tenderloin and shred it with your fork.  I had to cut mine up a bit as well, to avoid long strings of pork.  Throw it back in the pot and you're ready to serve!  I'd do a quick taste test for salt or anything else it might need.  Mine was perfect!  I served mine with a spoon full of sour cream, fresh cilantro, and cheddar cheese.

Usually when I make white chicken chili, I add potatoes.  I think a couple of cubed potatoes might be a nice touch to this soup.

Gluten free mac and cheese from scratch

Gluten Free Mac and Cheese from Scratch

Ingredients:
1 cup quinoa noodles (Look for the green-blue box in your organic section!)
2/3 cup shredded cheddar + a little more for sprinkling later
2/3 cup shredded muenster cheese
1/8 cup shredded parmesan
1/4 cup milk
1 egg
1/4 tsp salt
1 Tbsp gluten free flour

Directions:
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.  Boil your quinoa noodles until done.  Shred your cheeses.  The starchy stuff that they put in pre-shredded cheeses may ruin your mac and cheese, so I like to shred mine fresh.  In a small bowl whisk milk, egg, salt, and flour.  When your noodles are done, drain, but don't rinse them.  Return noodles to pot.  Put back on the stove and pour in milk/egg mixture, stirring the whole time so as not to make scrambled eggs.  Add your cheeses and continue to stir until all of the cheeses are melted and well mixed.  Grease an oven-safe pan and spread your mac and cheese in it.  Bake for 10 minutes.  Sprinkle the cheddar on top when you take it out of the oven.

Crockpot Chicken Chili

Although it's crock pot season, it took me a while to realize it.  A friend made this awesome chili for the superbowl and I have made it twice since then!  I even made it for Valentine's Day because we wouldn't get home until after a soccer game.  I have altered the recipe from the original.  It's a great thing to come home after work at 6:00 and not have to START dinner, but be able to eat after a few easy steps!   Also, your house is going to smell like home cooking!  I think this is a really healthy alternative to the traditional ground-beef chili.

My Crockpot Chicken Chili Recipe
Ingredients:
2-3 large chicken breasts
2 16 oz. jars of salsa.  (I have done fresh pico and regular salsa, just get two of what's on sale!)
1 small can green chilis
1 can diced tomatoes
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp chili powder
 ----later-----
1 can Mexican style corn
1 can black beans

Serve with sour cream and shredded pepper jack or cheddar.  

Directions:
I'm not much of a morning person, so I put this all in the pot the night before, then in the morning just took it out of the fridge and threw it on my crock pot on low for the whole day.   Put all of the top ingredients in for the whole day of simmering.  When you get home, remove the chicken breasts and put them on a plate.  Using two forks, separate the chicken into nice thin strings then return them to the pot.  It will just fall apart for you!  Add the drained can of Mexican style corn and a drained can of beans to your crock pot.  Throw it up to high and once it starts bubbling again, serve the chili with sour cream and shredded pepper jack or cheddar cheese.  It goes great with tortilla chips too!  

Apple Crisp

Apple Crisp

Bitmann's Apple Crisp recipe is my go-to recipe when we have apples on hand.  I use gluten free oats and Jules gluten free flour to make it okay for me to eat.  http://events.nytimes.com/recipes/11752/2002/11/13/Apple-Crisp/recipe.html

Dirt Balls

Remember dirt cake?  Why not take dirt cake and cover it with chocolate?  This was my Valentine's Day treat for my chocolate-lover.  These were so sloppy to make, I probably won't make it a regular thing.  They were delicious, though!  In fact I caught someone sneaking them from the fridge a few times when he thought I wasn't looking.

Dirt Cake
1 small package instant vanilla pudding
1 small package instant chocolate pudding
2.5 cups milk
1 package cool whip
For a richer version add 1/2 package softened cream cheese
For a richer version add 4 Tbsp softened butter
1 package gluten free oreos  (I like Kinnikinnick's K-toos, but Glutino makes some too)


Start by making the puddings with the milk in your mixer.  After 3 minutes, add cool whip.  Be sure your cream cheese and butter are very soft and add it to the pudding.  Mix while you crush the oreos and add to the mixture. 

Separate into ~1 Tbsp+ balls, freeze them on a silpat (or nonstick cookie sheet) for about 30 minutes, then dunk them into melted chocolate chips and refrigerate them until treat time.  

Dirt Ball. 

Dirt Balls.

Dirt ball.

Luckily, there was lots of leftover dirt. 

Dave got me this adorable ducky tea steeper for Valentine's Day!  His little holder is on the right.

Mozzarella

#7 on my 30-During-30 list is to master making three types of cheeses.  Well, mastery is far away, my friends, but here was my first attempt at mozzarella at home.  I followed these directions, which made successful batch at a friend's house a while back:  http://www.cheesemaking.com/howtomakemozzarellacheese.html.  It's not true mozzarella recipe, in that my cheese making book says proper mozzarella is about a 6-hour process, but I think I'll try mastering the cheater version for now out of the interest of realism. 

Non-ultra-pasteurized whole milk, citric acid, rennet, a thermometer, a half an hour, and I made mozzarella cheese.  Adjustments for next time:  buy a gallon of milk, not a half gallon.  I swear that half gallon looked really big until I got it home and realized I had to cut everything in half.  I found some milk that had been pasteurized at 142 degrees and had a cream top from Whole Foods called Kolona Super Natural.  We got liquid vegetable rennet at our beer brewing store a while back and I honestly found citric acid in our closet in our bath-bomb making kit.  Don't worry, it was food-grade.  I found a thermometer in our cupboard that looks like a meat thermometer, but went lower to a lower temperature.  I'm pretty sure it was far from accurate.  It took about three minutes to go from cold milk to 90 degrees with my new Cuisinart pots.  As meteorologists, we have a gazillion thermometers around the house.  Next time I'll use one that works.  Lastly, I made this last night at 8:00pm and wasn't about to eat it at that hour, so I put it in a tupperware for today.  Um, dumb move.  Next time I'll add a last step where I make a cold brine solution to cool down the cheese, keep it from getting hard, and store it properly. 

Curd!

Cut, reheated curd.

Home made mozzarella, tomatoes, and fresh basil.

You wouldn't believe the guilt complex that I have right now.  After buying a share of community-supported-agriculture last year and getting local organic veggies every week, I feel pangs of guilt every time I buy out of season vegetables.  Oh the carbon footprint!  I had to tell myself that I don't want to die of scurvy and I need to start buying fresh veggies again.   

Caprese salad complete with olive oil, salt, and fresh cracked pepper

Peanut butter chocolate pretzels

I'm still having some lighting issues with my food photography, mostly because I'm too lazy to find the white balance portion of the menu, and my lighting is really yellow, but I wanted to share this recipe with you.  We made these at a friend's house (Thanks, M!) and then I did it again at home.  They are so addicting!  The peanut butter portion just melts in your mouth, the Glutino Pretzels add a little salt, and the chocolate, well, chocolate doesn't need explaining.  These are fresh out of the freezer, which is just a way to set the chocolate, so they are a little dewy. 

I borrowed the recipe from twotinykitchens who borrowed from Foodaphilia :
Ingredients

1 cup creamy peanut butter
2 tbsp softened butter
3/4 cup powdered sugar (maybe more)
3/4 cup brown sugar (maybe more)
Pretzels
1 bag  semi-sweet chocolate chips
Directions
Combine peanut butter and softened butter in a large bowl with a fork or whisk, or in a stand mixer.  Add the sugars and mix to combine. 
Use a teaspoon measure to scoop the filling.  Roll each portion into a small ball, then sandwich them between two whole pretzels.  When all the balls are rolled and successfully sandwiched, stick the whole tray in the freezer for about half an hour.
Pour the chocolate chips into a microwave safe bowl and heat at 30-second intervals, stirring occasionally until completely melted.  Remove the pretzel sandwiches from the freezer and quickly dip each half-way into the melted chocolate.  Return to the tray and repeat with remaining sandwiches.  When all are dipped, return the tray to the freezer to set up completely.  Store the sandwiches in the refrigerator until serving time.

I used my silpat to prevent sticking and cleaning.

Look for this red bag of gluten free pretzels at your grocery store!  Most gluten-eaters can't tell the difference. 

Monster Cookies

I have blogged about these before, but they are my staple cookie.  I got the recipe from my gluten free oats bag a few years ago.  Now I just buy Bob's Red Mill gluten free oats because they are available at my grocery store. 

Here's the glutenfreeoats.com recipe that I use:
Monster Cookies

¼ cup butter, room temperature ¾ cup sugar ¾ cup brown sugar 2 eggs 1 tsp gf vanilla 1 cup peanut butter

1 ¼ tsp baking soda 3 cups Gluten Free rolled Oats® 6 ounces of gf chocolate chips

Preheat oven at 350º.

Beat sugar, brown sugar and butter until creamy.  Add eggs, vanilla and baking soda and mix well.  Add peanut butter and mix.  Stir in oats, chocolate chips and nuts.  Place teaspoon full of dough on a lightly greased cookie sheet about 2 inches apart.  Bake for 10-12 minutes until lightly brown around edges.

I love using my Kitchen Aid mixer for these cookies. 

I use an ice cream scoop to create my cookie balls.

I'll put all of the cookie dough into balls, back six of them, then freeze the rest to make fresh baked cookies whenever we want.

I use my silpat for everything!  No need for cooking spray, no need to clean the pan, just rinse off the silpat when you're done. 

Crunchy outside, soft and gooey inside.