Pasta E Fagioli Soup (A "Copy-Cat" Recipe for a really good soup from Olive Garden) ;o)

2 pounds ground beef (or sausage)
1 onion, chopped
3 carrots, chopped (or grated)
4 stalks celery, chopped
2-28 ounce cans diced tomatoes, undrained
1-16 ounce can kidney beans, drained
1-16 ounce can black beans, drained
3-10 ounce cans beef stock
3 teaspoons oregano
2 teaspoons pepper
5 teaspoons parsley
1 teaspoon Tobasco sauce
1-20 ounce jar spaghetti sauce
8 ounces pasta (gluten free)

Brown beef in a skillet.  Drain fat from beef and add to crock pot with everything else except pasta.
Cook on low 7-8 hours or on high 4-5 hours.
Cook pasta according to package directions and add to crock pot with everything else before serving.
Serves 12-14

Not All Gluten Free Flours Are Created Equal....Are You Looking For Something Better?

Sunday afternoon I pulled out a packaged cookie from the cupboard that I had received as a sample at the Gluten Free Expo in Des Moines a couple weeks ago and was reminded of why I am putting so much effort into making my own recipes and specifically my own gluten free flour blend.  I took one bite of the sample cookie and threw the whole thing away...why?  The texture from the rice flour in the cookie was so grainy that any taste or other redeeming qualities that cookie may have had were completely lost by the horrible texture.  This brand isn't the only one out there either.  Literally almost everything available to gluten free people on the store shelves contains rice flour.  Don't take this the wrong way--I am not anti rice as a food cooked and served with some veggies or meat, but rice as a flour and used in baked goods?  Thanks, but I'll pass.

When I initially found out that I was gluten free I told myself I wasn't going to eat nasty food....I would just go without bread if grainy and dried out was the only option available.  Once I started doing some research though I realized that there ARE other options; but it seems that no one is willing to experiment with other flours and completely eliminate rice flour.  Why is that?  It doesn't make any sense.  The only answer I can come up with is that rice flour is cheap and really doesn't have any flavor....but it also doesn't really add any nutritional value either.  

Back when I first started experimenting with various recipes and flours/flour blends I didn't have much success.  I threw a number of "experiments" away...I'm not even sure some of them could be called whatever they were supposed to be.  It took me four or five times before I found a pancake that I could actually eat.  I kept experimenting with various flours and finally created a blend of eight different ingredients (and NO rice flour!) that I could use almost cup-for-cup for a regular recipe.  I say almost because while the recipes that I did try just replacing my flour blend for regular flour did work, they weren't great without a few other tweaks to the recipe.  What I love about this flour blend is that I have made several baked products that people can't even tell are gluten free--the most exciting of which is the Devil's Food Cupcake recipe I created several weeks ago.  (Anyone reading this blog that tasted my cupcakes and wants to comment that would be great!)  :o)  Previously in another blog post I gave a recipe for a simple gluten free flour mixture that can be used for recipes.  I have since created a flour blend that contains eight different ingredients and is nutritionally superior to other rice flour blends. This new flour blend has a texture very similar to regular gluten-containing flour in baked goods.

      

Braided Coffee Cake

Combine in a mixing bowl:
3 1/2 cups gluten free flour blend (one that contains xanthan gum)
1 Tablespoon yeast
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt

Add the following to the mixing bowl with the flour mixture:
1 egg
4 Tablespoons oil
1 1/2 cups warm milk ("Warm" should be just warmer than body temperature or around 115 degrees if you want to be technical.)
(Side note: if you can't have milk use water--it will be just fine!  I used water for mine because I can't have any dairy.)

Combine all of the ingredients using a paddle attachment of your mixer.  The dough should come together and be kind of like play-do so you may have to add a little more flour to get to this consistency.  It will be pretty sticky still though so don't add too much flour.  Allow to rise for about an hour.

Divide dough into two pieces.  Grease a cookie sheet or jelly roll pan (12 x 18 inches).  Place one piece of dough on the pan and pat out to almost fill the whole pan (you should have 1/2 inch-1 inch of space around all the edges).  You will have to flour (gluten free of course) your hands so you don't end up with a sticky mess.  The dough will be soft.  Your finished patted dough should look like this:

Cut strips 1 inch apart on either side of the dough--about 1/3 of the way across--see picture below.

Spread one can of prepared pie filling down the center of the dough.  I used peach filling for mine and then topped with some frozen raspberries.  Check the label on the pie filling to be sure that it is gluten free--Duncan Hines/Comstock claimed to be gluten free.  I was able to find a local store brand that was gluten free.  The frozen raspberries were just something I added for fun--not necessary.  Use your imagination--apple, blueberry, cherry, peach, blackberry, etc.--or combine a couple for some fun flavors.

Starting at one end, bring one strip carefully over the filling.  Remember the dough is really soft and sticky so you have to be very careful.  You may need to use a spatula to pull the dough up from the pan.  Bring a strip from the opposite side over the filling and repeat, alternating sides to create a braid all the way to the end.  If a strip breaks, just "squish" it back together and keep going--it will be okay!

Repeat for remaining dough.  Bake in a 350 degree oven for 25-30 minutes or until top is golden brown (may take longer depending on your oven).  Allow to cool.  If desired, make a glaze with 1 cup powdered sugar and about 1 tablespoon milk or water (more or less water to desired consistency).  Drizzle over cooled coffee cake.  Enjoy!!  :o)  

   

Chicken Teriyaki

This past weekend my friend and I were able to visit Des Moines and attend the Gluten and Allergen Free Expo.  We had a wonderful time and learned lots.  If you are anywhere near Chicago and are interested in learning more about gluten and allergy free products and tips I encourage you to check out the Chicago show on April 20-21st.  Click here for more information.  The show included classes with recipes, tips, and tricks for cooking and baking gluten free.  The first class we attended was done by Mary Capone and she gave tips and tricks for breads, rolls, and flatbreads.  She made an amazing focaccia bread and served us samples with the traditional olive oil dip--yummy!  Carol Field Dahlstrom led the afternoon class and gave tips and tricks for gluten free cooking and baking.  She made her version of tabouli using cooked quinoa instead of the traditional wheat or couscous.  I thought it needed more flavor so I'm hoping to use her recipe as an idea and spice mine up a bit--it will make a great salad for the summertime.

Unfortunately my brain wasn't attached enough to think about taking pictures of the expo.  There were a number of vendors, from Hy-Vee grocery store to Udi's to little local bakeries that were making gluten free products and selling them.  I discovered a new gluten free magazine called "Delight Gluten Free" that looked very interesting--reminded me of my other favorite GF magazine, Living Without.  So, my top three favorite vendors were "Enjoy Life," "Simply Sprouted Way Better Snacks," and "San-J."  "Enjoy Life" was the first company I found that I could sample their chocolate chip cookie because it was dairy free!  I was surprised at how many vendors had very little to offer those with both a gluten and a dairy allergy even though there are many celiac people who can't have dairy.  "Simply Sprouted Way Better Snacks" had some AMAZING tortilla chips made with sprouted flax seeds, sprouted quinoa, sprouted brown rice flour, sprouted radish seeds, sprouted chia seeds, and sprouted broccoli seeds.  They had several flavors but my favorite was the "simply sunny multi-grain" with "simply so sweet chili" a close second.  So the last of my number three is "San-J"--the producers of soy sauces and various flavors of marinades and dipping sauces.  The guy at the booth (whose name I unfortunately can't remember) was fun and jumped in to help my friend convince me that these sauces were the best.  They had samples of their sauces and he told me that if I liked the sauce I tried he would give me a whole bottle of it for free....but if I didn't then I had to buy the bottle myself.  :o)  I tried the Thai Peanut sauce first and it was great--a little bit of a spicy kick with a nice peanut flavor at the end.  As promised he gave me a whole bottle for free...but then I had to try the teriyaki sauce as well.  It was so good that I had to stop at the grocery store on the way home to pick up a bottle and then made teriyaki chicken the next day for lunch--YUMMY!!!  Thought you might enjoy the recipe I used (which is SO EASY!).

Crock Pot Chicken Teriyaki

1 pound chicken, cut up into cubes
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup teriyaki sauce
1/3 cup brown sugar
3 garlic cloves, minced

Combine everything together in a crock pot.
Cook on low 4-6 hours or until chicken is cooked through.
Serve over hot cooked rice.
  

Baking Powder Biscuits

Sift the following together in a bowl:

2 cups gluten free flour (one that contains xanthan gum already)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda

Cut in 4 Tablespoons shortening with a fork (you can use butter or a non-dairy butter substitute instead if you prefer).

Add:
1 cup milk
1 1/2 teaspoons white vinegar

Combine until all dry ingredients are incorporated (At this point you may need to add a little bit more milk, depending on how thick it is.  You are looking for a soft dough-like texture.)  Scoop by tablespoons onto a greased cookie sheet.  It will look like big round blobs.  After you have scooped them all out, wet your hand and flatten just slightly.  You don't want them really thin here--you just want to get rid of the round-ness on the top of the dough.  Bake immediately at 425 for about 12 minutes.  Enjoy!!  

Note: Regular milk is not necessary for this recipe.  The milk provides a little more flavor and some browning of the finished biscuit but you can certainly substitute water for the milk if you prefer, are out of milk, or cannot have any dairy.  I either make them with water or coconut, almond, or rice milk depending on what I have on hand.    

Why Gluten Free? A Little Bit About Me....

First, just a little bit about me:

I grew up in Upper Michigan on a farm.  I loved baking and cooking from day one (well not quite THAT early, but almost!).  I'm so thankful for my mom who instilled that love of baking in me and always let me help her in the kitchen.  I still remember cutting out biscuits and how she would let me cut the circles again to make footballs and moons.  (What is it about biscuit or cookie cutters that makes them so much fun?)  :o)  My dad also encouraged me in my baking and cooking.  His favorite saying when he tried something was that I "needed more practice" (so he could have more goodies to eat).  :o)  

I started a cake decorating business in high school.  My parents paid for my first cake decorating class as a gift for my 12th birthday, and I absolutely loved it!  Two years later I went to the Wilton School of Cake Decorating near Chicago and went crazy making cakes for any occasion.

My sister Martha's 10th birthday cake.  

Decorating a cake for my cousin's wedding rehearsal dinner. 

My baking and cooking fun continued after high school.  I graduated from Northern Michigan University with an associate degree in food service management and worked at a five-diamond resort in Wisconsin.  It was there that I did a lot more studying on my own and learned more about baking science through creating new chocolates and extending the shelf life of chocolates for my job.

Chocolate fun

Chocolate creations for my job in Wisconsin--Strawberry Kiwi

The Lord moved me to Iowa through a job with chocolates that I thought would be a promotion and a good learning experience. That job didn't work out; but the Lord was faithful and provided a job with a grocery store as a cake designer. The extra hours that I found with only working a 40 hour work week allowed me the opportunity to start my own business making fine artisan chocolates--something I have wanted to do for a long time.

So Why Am I Gluten Free?

My dad found out almost a year ago that he has celiac disease.  My mom did a lot of research about celiac after that.  She actually mentioned at one point that I should get checked for celiac disease when I said something about being really tired.  I didn't think anything about it until she started mentioning other symptoms associated with celiac and realized that I had a lot of those same symptoms.  I finally saw a doctor in October of 2012 and had some allergy and blood tests done.  My blood test for celiac disease came back negative, but my dad's did as well.  The blood tests aren't known to be 100 percent accurate.  Under the guidance of my doctor, I then went completely gluten free and my symptoms immediately began to improve.  I ultimately had to go completely gluten and dairy free before my symptoms got better.  So, do I have celiac?  I don't know.  I assume I do, but I have not had the endoscope done to find out for sure.  I didn't feel it was necessary (nor did my doctor) because my stomach issues cleared up just from changing my diet and eliminating gluten and dairy.