Three Days of Pasta

I prepared three gluten free pasta dishes made from RP's Fresh Pasta, the best gluten free pasta I ever tasted. Using the pasta crafted by award winning Chef Peter Robertson, I prepared these dishes and no one could tell they were gluten free. Moreover, these pastas can last in the fridge for months and taste just as fresh.

Day One: Buttery Spinach Fettuccini

The spinach pasta I received from RP’s Fresh Pasta came out firm and delicious after cooking. I prepared the noodles slightly al dente. For the sauce I combined half a stick of butter and some walnut oil in a shallow saucepan to make a butter sauce. I added a stalk of green onion, minced, to the sauce and then added two splashes of Sancerre wine. After adding some salt and pepper I shared it with my family. Everyone, including those without gluten allergies, was amazed that the pasta was gluten free. These pastas were created by a pasta chef and use brown rice, tapioca flour, and potato starch to make the perfect consistency. Looking forward to day two!

Day Two: Angry Fussilli Pasta

An ode to the arrabiata, I took a sweet twist on the spicy tomato sauce. I caramelized some onions in black truffle oil. When the onions were caramelized I added some prepared tomato sauce. The “angry” addition was three tablespoons of the Tunisian chili sauce called Harissa. After the sauce cooked to my liking I poured it over one package of cooked RP’s fusilli pasta.  Spicy and delicious.

Day Three: Roye’s Linguini

My brother decided to help me prepare this batch of linguini right before going out for NYE. I had some leftover oyster mushrooms and had read that sautéing them in butter gives them the flavor of shrimp. My brother decided to take charge and prepared the mushrooms, threw in the fungus with some pine nuts and kept them on medium heat until they browned. Then he added some garlic and salt to give it flavor. Finally, we added the al dente linguini to the sauce and sautéed it with some parmesan cheese. I plated the dish with some extra parmesan on top. Benissimo. 

Burbank's Gluten Free Market, Pam MacD's

After seeing Pam MacD’s Gluten Free Market featured in Los Angeles Magazine’s article of gluten free places to check out in Los Angeles, I decided to do just that! I had been in this Burbank store before but the sparse shelves seemed sad and empty. Since it was featured in the magazine along with two other gluten free stores I figured, maybe it was worth a second look.

I learned that Los Angeles Magazine is not the only ones giving Pam MacD’s attention. Tia Mowry dropped by to pick up some ingredients to make her son Cree a gluten free birthday cake for his first birthday. The Cake Divas in Beverly Hills were used to craft baby Cree’s amazing gluten free vanilla cake adorned with a real sized Elmo on top.

The idea behind the store:

When I paid Pam MacD’s a visit, I had a chance to speak with the proprietor Pam Macdonald and her staff. A main hope behind the store is to normalize the shopping experience for people with food allergies. This store allows people with gluten intolerance and celiac to have everything, from cakes to cookies to prepared meals. There is nothing that people with food allergies cannot find.  

Samples of some of the products to try

To assure the safety of all her products, Pam and her staff puts each one through a strict “illicit test.” Pam MacDonald explains that much of the gluten free products sold in stores are junk. The labeling laws for gluten free products in the United States fail to require a low level of gluten. Countries across Europe have stricter labeling laws because gluten intolerance and celiac disease are more prevalent. Most notably, in the United Kingdom all manufacturers have to comply with the labeling laws passed. The labeling law in the UK had a grace period which expired two weeks ago. Now all residents of the UK with gluten intolerance and celiac can enjoy products labeled gluten free without the worry that they will experience repercussions of hidden gluten in their products later on. Products certified as gluten free in the UK can contain up to 20mg of gluten per kg of a product, which is a tolerable amount for celiacs according to studies.

Megan recommends the
almond cookies 

Until the United States finalizes its gluten labeling laws, Pam provides her shoppers with some pointers for taste and safety. She said to avoid chips that can have gluten in the flavoring and other cookies and breads. When asked which bread she prefers flavorwise, she said without hesitation, Kinnikinnik. I picked up a loaf of this Canadian company and found that it is better than the Udi’s brand that I prefer. The loaf is actually a normal size and suitable for making sandwiches that look like regular sandwiches.

Gluten free gift baskets are a great
gift for the holidays 

What to look for in the future:

Pam MacD’s will make access to gluten free products all over Los Angeles more available. She plans on expanding to locations including Santa Monica, West Los Angeles, northern San Diego, and possibly southern Orange County. Also, there is talk of branding special Pam MacD’s products. Now that they have a good idea of the product mix that is tasty and safe they plan on picking it up and dropping it into the other locations across southern California.

In March Pam MacDonald will be speaking with Robyn O’Brien, the author of “The Unhealthy Truth” at the Natural Foods Expo West. Robyn received a Fulbright grant for her work and her exciting studies featured in a Ted Talks Forum. Look for her and Pam MacDonald at the convention in Anaheim. It is one of the largest conventions for natural food in the country.

Pam MacD’s is a great place for nutritionists to meet with their clients or browse through the aisles and recommend a food regimen. A comfortable lounge in the front provides a location to hang out and read current literature on celiac’s disease. The community bulletin board in the entrance of the store is also full of useful information.  

Goat Cheese and Chive Latkes

Last year, I made these gluten free latkes for a friend’s holiday party. I barely got to eat one and they all disappeared. Hope you enjoy the recipe!

I have tried a few iterations of this delicious Hanukah treat, including a zucchini strings version, and found that this is the tastiest one so far.

Goat Cheese and Chive Latkes

-          3 large potatoes, preferably Yukon Gold

-          2 large egg whites

-          ½ cup rice flour

-          ½ cup crumbled fresh goat cheese

-          2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives

-          1 teaspoon salt

-          ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

-          Grapeseed oil for frying

Fry latkes until just golden brown

Grate the potatoes and rinse them until the water running through it is clear. Squeeze the potatoes dry and pat down with a kitchen towel. Put the potatoes in a large bowl and add the egg whites, rice flour, goat cheese, chives, salt and pepper.

Heat grapeseed oil in a pan on medium-high. Scoop ½ cup of the potato mixture and drop into the pan. Flatten the potato mixture with whatever you used to scoop it. Repeat spacing the cakes but filling the pan as much as possible. Fry the cakes until golden brown, three to four minutes. Flip and fry on the other side for 2-3 minutes. Remove the cakes from the pan and drain on paper towels. Repeat with remaining potato mixture. 

Sweet Broom of the Intestines

The broom of the intestines, otherwise known as shirataki noodles in the US seem to have swept the gluten free diet community. What are these “miracle noodles”?

My sister recently made a batch of clear noodles with some soy sauce and splenda. She says she has been eating it all the time while she is away at school. With zero calories, it’s satisfying effects fit right into her low calorie diet. I have to give her credit for her ability to keep the calories down, but now I know her secret. These noodles are great!

I experimented with some recipes [1]and this is what I came across. Replacing the soy sauce with tamari sauce makes the dish gluten free.

Shirataki noodles are high in a soluble fiber called glucomannan[2]. The noodles come from a vegetable called a Japanese yam or kannyaku in Japanese. They have been used for centuries in Japan for weight loss and constipation. You can find these noodles at Asian markets or in the tofu aisles of most super markets for around $1.29. Make sure to choose the pure yam noodles and not the variety with tofu if you want to make a zero calorie meal.

Sweet Shirataki Noodles

-          1 cup cloud ear mushrooms

-          ¾ cup tamari sauce

-          4 tbsp brown sugar

-          1 tbsp pepper

-          7 oz shirataki noodles

-          A stalk of chives

The noodles out of the bag will have a fishy smell. Drain the noodles in a colander and rinse them for two minutes in cold water.

Dry fry the shirataki noodles in a frying pan. Add the tamari sauce and cloud ear mushrooms. Allow the soy sauce to evaporate as you finish dry frying the noodles. Add the sugar to the mixture and allow the crystals to melt.

Dice the chives and mix half into the noodles. The other half can be used to garnish the dish.

Easy as pie and delicious. Serve while hot. Can be reheated.

---

[1] http://www.livestrong.com/article/279267-are-shirataki-noodles-gluten-free/

[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glucomannan

Halloween Goodies 2012

Here are some fun Halloween treats that I made for my Halloween party.

Graveyard Brownie

Multicolored Modeling Chocolate
Bob's Red Mill gluten free brownie mix
One chocolate cookie (for headstone)
Pillsbury Chocolate Fudge Frosting
Black and purple decorating sugar

Sculpt a skeleton, mouse, mushrooms, and pumpkins from modeling chocolate. Place modeling chocolate in the refrigerator to harden.

Bake the brownie cake according to the package instructions. Let cool for half an hour. Frost with fudge frosting. Sprinkle black and purple sugar to make the frosting look like earth.



Remove modeling chocolate from refrigerator and assemble atop the cake to look like a grave.
Enjoy!

Scare Cakes
Gluten-free Cake Mix
8 oz. Cream Cheese
2 cups powdered sugar
2 sticks butter
Halloween themed candy sprinkles
Halloween decorations on toothpicks

Prepare cake mix in cupcake wrappers according to baking instructions. Let cool for half an hour.

Cream cheese frosting: Add the cream cheese, sugar, and butter to a bowl. Mix until even and creamy in texture.

Using a spatula, spread the frosting over the cupcakes. Decorate with Halloween themed candies. Push the toothpicks into the top of the cupcakes for the finishing touch.











Dried Zombie Skins

This one is simple. Buy some dried sea weed and put it on a plate with a sign marked dried zombie skins. It looks cool, is easy to prepare, and people can wrap cheese and veggies inside.

Gluten Free Turkey Day

Having failed the bar exam, I am back at it again. So, no road trips on the horizon. But that does leave time for a lot of cooking. I often take out my frustration on the kitchen, which leads to less tension in my house because the result is often a nice dinner for my family.

I was responsible for much of the thanksgiving cooking this year because we went to a friend’s house and brought most of the guests over.

Thanksgiving 2011 Menu:

• Acorn squash stuffed with quinoa
• Potatoes au gratin
• Cornbread in mini thanksgiving shapes
• Sweet potato pie

Acorn squash quinoa recipe:

Ingredients:

4 acorn squashes
2 stalks of celery
1 sweet onion
1 ½ stick of butter
¾ cup of cranberries
salt and pepper to taste

Directions 

1. Dice up celery and onion. Melt one stick of butter and sauté celery and onion in a large pot. Add cranberries to the mixture once it has browned. Season to taste.
2. Add two cups of quinoa and four cups of water. Let it cook for 20 minutes or until the quinoa seeds have absorbed all of the water. Set the quinoa stuffing aside.
3. 

   

   Acorn squash is hard to slice so I
   had to enlist a helper in the kitchen

   Cut squashes in half and remove seeds. Melt ½ stick of butter in the microwave until soft.
4. Preheat your oven to 375 °F. Take butter and smooth over the surface of the squash halves. Place squash facing down on a nonstick baking sheet and let cook for 20 minutes. Flip squash to opposite side and let cook for another 15 minutes. Remove squash halves.
5. Stuff squash halves with the quinoa mixture and place back on the nonstick baking sheet. Replace squash halves in the oven for another 40 minutes. Serve warm and enjoy!

Finally made it to Portland!

Be aware that wheat free is not the same as gluten free 

Finally made it to Portland! Yesterday my friend Aaron emailed me saying, “you seem to have immersed yourself in a campaign against gluten… what gives?” Well…good question. am I doing this trip? Part of me needed to get away and just let my car drive wherever it wants to, and maybe let my brain do the same. Having just taken the bar I had the need to get away from the place where I kept to a strict routine of studying twelve hours a day. Though the exam was over, I still felt that I needed to get away. Not eating gluten  has made me feel healthier, even though I may or may  not have a gluten allergy, for the simple reason that I am watching what goes into my food.

So I answered him, “It seemed like a cool thing to do.” With celiac’s disease diagnosis on the rise, and gluten allergy awareness higher than ever before, it seemed like an interesting goal for my little adventure.

Doing a little job searching

So it goes, now I'm a little more than halfway through my trip. Here's a recap of the last couple of days:  

On Friday I drove out to San Francisco with my sister (who actually did the driving).We stopped at what seemed like a coffee shop in the trendy Knob Hill area called Sugar Café. 

Sugar Cafe at night

This spot actually turned into a lounge on us as the evening wore on, with dimmed lights and a cozy fireplace. After a bit of sipping iced green tea and a bit of napping, my sister’s friend who just moved up to the city met us at the café. 

Knob Hill Thai restaurant

From there we went to a Thai restaurant and had some yummy gluten free food. It turns out that most Thai food is a safe bet for a gluten free diet because Thai cuisine uses rice noodles and instead of soy sauce (which has gluten)nd the food was affordable! they use oyster sauce. Everything tasted delicious, the atmosphere was great, the company was the best, a the food gluten free!

Guava Jarrito and taquitos rancheros, yum!

Saturday morning we headed to brunch at the quaint Black Bear Diner with some friends. If any of you have been there you know that breakfast there feels like a cross between critter country and an upscale IHOP. Food was great, I had a farmer’s scramble which came with sweet fresh fruit. Knowing that I had a long drive the next morning I opted to stay in for the evening and prepare some gluten free bon-bons for my sister and her roommate as a thank you for showing me a great time. As I sat around reading Julie and Julia, I felt a deeper sense of respect for Julia Childs and almost wanted to try all of the recipes from her cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking. After a couple of hours of making the bon-bons I decided against the idea.

The next day I slept in, (I only woke up at 7!) so quickly got up and got dressed. My sister woke up, half asleep, and we said goodbye as I finished up my breakfast. Then I was out the door. The drive began. The five freeway has much more impressive scenery the further up north you get. I drove straight past Ashland and stopped in the next town over. In Medford I picked up a tasty little (?) snack of taquitos rancheros, which I ate as I kept driving. And kept driving. Finally, around 4:30 pm I made it to my first real stop in Coravallis, which is where Oregon State University is located and so is my hotel. I checked in and got back on the road to Portland, this time the drive only took an hour.

Finally I made it! I was in Portland. Of course I stopped at a Starbucks. A whole city of great gluten free options and I choose Starbucks. I guess after such a long drive, being very far from home, I relished the thought of being in a comfortable and familiar place. As I sat in the small coffee shop downtown, I looked into some dinner options. Eat Pizza had a "like" from NPR on facebook and the menu sounded good so I drove a couple of miles to the restaurant.  

Exhausted, I sat down in the kitchen area on a stool by the pizza cooks. Three young guys took my order, showed me their pizza making skills, and let me take pictures of the kitchen! I ordered the buffalo chicken gluten free pizza. Wanting to stay and chat with the pizza chefs about Portland, I decided it was probably a better idea to get back to the hotel because I might pass out in the middle of my pie.

Somehow, as you can imagine, I was too tired to make it to the Mt. Angel Oktoberfest. Can’t get everything on a tight schedule, but I will come back another year to check it out! Hopefully there will be a better selection of gluten free beer by then.

On to Bend, Oregon this morning and then to Crater Lake National Park which is in central Oregon.

Halloween Bon Bons:

1. Prepare a gluten free muffin or cake mix according to instructions. I added some chocolate chips and finely diced strawberries.

2. Generously butter the pan, it will help getting the cake out later. Follow baking instructions. Three quarters of the way through flip the cake over in the pan to get it cooked throughout.

3. Cut off the crust of the cake and crumble the insides into a bowl.

Halloween bon bons :D

4. Using half of the crumbs, prepare one inch balls. Add a half of a shot of whiskey to the rest of the crumbles. Form one inch balls with the remaining crumbles.

5. Leave the balls in freezer for one hour. Take out four at a time to coat. I melted some purple molding chocolate to cover the regular balls and covered the whiskey balls with sprinkles and purple sugar.

6. Serve and enjoy!