More to come on this project as we work on it!
Wednesday, July 30, 2014
Utepils Brew
For my brother's birthday I decided to make a gluten free brew to celebrate one of the important guys in my life! This mix uses dry rice extract is the grain, with honey and sorghum to create a rich flavor. Gluten free home brewing is now a thing with the Honey Ale Kit from morebeer.com. Adding honey has the same effect as adding sugar, it increases the alcohol content but has no effect on the sweetness.
In Norwegian there is a word with no equivalent in English, Utepils. If you've ever had a beer on the beach then you understand the meaning of this word without needing to be Norwegian. I plan to enjoy this homemade gluten free brew at the beach with some friends at an end of summer party.
More to come on this project as we work on it!
More to come on this project as we work on it!
Friday, April 11, 2014
The Gluten Free Table on the Road
Kalimera my fellow travelers! The hardest part about eating gluten free on a vacation is dealing with cross contamination so I compiled a list of tips I picked up traveling in Greece. When I decided not to eat gluten in solidarity, I realized it's so easy to accidentally gluten other people's food. It's not just the knife that someone else used to butter their "regular" toast, it's the butter container which has the crumbs from the knife that went in for a second helping to cover the rest of the toast. It's seemingly impossible to keep your food gluten free when traveling with others who eat gluten. A few tips I found on my vacation help you keep your sanity and enjoy your trip:
1. Use disposable plates and utensils when possible. That way you avoid crusted on gluten remnants as well as any contamination that may be left behind on the sponge or in the dishwasher.
2. Keep your food in a small cooler in the fridge. If you have a refrigerator, keep a cooler full of gluten free cookies and bread in there. People will really have to go out of their way to put their gluten covered mitts into your bag of gluten free chocolate chip cookies. Also, keep one or two dips and spreads you want in the cooler.
3. Have your own bottle of a beverage. Who can resist the urge of drinking out of the bottle. Certainly not you, so you can understand when others do so without thinking of the gluten they contaminate the bottle with when they put their lips on the rim. Put aside a liter of your favorite and give people a heads up that it's yours by putting it in the cooler.
4. Bring along bars and meal replacement drinks. You don't have to be a wet blanket in the instance you can't find a dish at a restaurant that looks gluten free. These will tide you over and keep you from getting too hangry.
5. Learn to change the conversation quickly from gluten at restaurants. Keep it short and sweet, don't dwell on the details. When you have a chance to find a market, head to the gluten free section. A gluten free loaf of bread comes in handy at restaurants when they serve bread before the meal or as an accompaniment to a chicken salad.
6. Use your best judgment but remember that you are the keeper of your health and others may accidentally serve you something with gluten. While it my take a long time to cope with that fact, understanding that you are ultimately responsible for taking your health into your own hands, especially abroad, will make you a happy traveler!
7. Have fun and meet lots of new people. Remember that vacation is a time to relax even though it's hard to break out of the usual routine. Hopefully these tips will keep you from screaming at your fellow travelers and binge eating that baklava that everyone else in the car is swooning over. Cheers!
1. Use disposable plates and utensils when possible. That way you avoid crusted on gluten remnants as well as any contamination that may be left behind on the sponge or in the dishwasher.
2. Keep your food in a small cooler in the fridge. If you have a refrigerator, keep a cooler full of gluten free cookies and bread in there. People will really have to go out of their way to put their gluten covered mitts into your bag of gluten free chocolate chip cookies. Also, keep one or two dips and spreads you want in the cooler.
3. Have your own bottle of a beverage. Who can resist the urge of drinking out of the bottle. Certainly not you, so you can understand when others do so without thinking of the gluten they contaminate the bottle with when they put their lips on the rim. Put aside a liter of your favorite and give people a heads up that it's yours by putting it in the cooler.
4. Bring along bars and meal replacement drinks. You don't have to be a wet blanket in the instance you can't find a dish at a restaurant that looks gluten free. These will tide you over and keep you from getting too hangry.
5. Learn to change the conversation quickly from gluten at restaurants. Keep it short and sweet, don't dwell on the details. When you have a chance to find a market, head to the gluten free section. A gluten free loaf of bread comes in handy at restaurants when they serve bread before the meal or as an accompaniment to a chicken salad.
6. Use your best judgment but remember that you are the keeper of your health and others may accidentally serve you something with gluten. While it my take a long time to cope with that fact, understanding that you are ultimately responsible for taking your health into your own hands, especially abroad, will make you a happy traveler!
7. Have fun and meet lots of new people. Remember that vacation is a time to relax even though it's hard to break out of the usual routine. Hopefully these tips will keep you from screaming at your fellow travelers and binge eating that baklava that everyone else in the car is swooning over. Cheers!
Thursday, March 6, 2014
EE-meh ah-ler-yee-KEE sti gloo-TEH-nee
Ee-meh ah-ler-yee-kee sti gloo-teh-nee, I think that's how you pronounce it. Hopefully people won't look at me like I'm an alien. It's bad enough I don't speak the language and can't read the alphabet. I guess I will have to rely on the kindness of Greeks to go out of their way to understand my "issue."
My grandmother's Greek cooking has influenced my cooking style to such an extent that I am hoping to enjoy the food in this country as a way of connecting her culture. Before I leave for my trip to Greece I am going to make sure I know Greek food back and forth so that I know what to avoid. After all, that is my responsibility. A lot of celiacs have this conversation: "I may not eat for two weeks. No, that's an over reaction. Sometimes I am sure that a food is gluten free but then it gets me. I can taste the gluten but its too late. That makes me never want to eat another bite of anything that doesn't come prepackaged. Maybe that's what I will do, I will buy a whole bunch of meal bars and bring them along. Or maybe a whole case of ensure. I haven't left yet but this trip is already making me exhausted." I am going to dedicated this trip to eating gluten free, though I am not gluten intolerant, to understand with and empathize with people who are gluten intolerant. I found these allergy translation cards that might be of help. I am going to order them so I have them for the trip!
I bought a bunch of mint stabilyze bars from Costco to stash in my backpack for the flight. They're a little small but since they're low glycemic they will keep me full for longer. They taste similar to the mint Genisoy bars that I used to love but with less of an overwhelming mint flavor. I will have them with me just in case I have a hard time finding gluten free food when I first arrive. When I'm on vacation I hope to challenge myself to embrace the food culture while staying away from gluten.
Wednesday, November 27, 2013
A Spirited Thanksgiving
The flavors of autumn lend themselves so well to spirits. In this holiday of abundance, of coming to a new world full of promise, rich flavors enhanced by wine and cider make all the difference. To celebrate a melting pot where immigrants come to a new country in the hopes of sharing its bounty we set out to make a larger than life meal, with a larger than life bird. My mother in law is bringing the turkey and I'm making the rest. A word of caution, many people still put flour in their turkeys to keep them from bursting while cooking in a bag. If someone is bringing the turkey to your thanksgiving dinner, make sure to check they have not added some flour to the skin! I'm sharing some of the recipes with you that I am making this Thanksgiving because I love this holiday.
Bread Pudding Stuffing with Root Vegetables (2 days prep, 1 1/3 hours active)
This recipe includes a bottle of cider to the custard to imbue it with a lovely savory flavor. Prepare but do not bake the pudding the night before to assure that the bread has time to absorb all of the liquid before cooking. Otherwise, you will find yourself with a crouton stuffing. I went light on the onion to please my friends and family who hate onion, you can add more to your liking.
1 bottle of apple cider
3 eggs
1 parsnip, diced to one inch cubes
3 carrots, diced to one inch cubes
1 granny smith apple
1/2 onion
1 large loaf of gluten free bread
1 small carton of cream
4 stalks of celery
1/2 stick of butter
1 bag of presilced mushrooms
10 fresh diced sage leaves
salt and pepper to taste
One day before dice up the bread, I like to use Kinnikinnick bread since the folks at my local gluten free market recommended it for its great texture and the fact that its one of the only enriched gluten free breads. It's equivalent in size to a regular loaf of bread which makes it easier to substitute into a regular recipe. Dry the diced bread overnight so that it can readily absorb the custard and stay moist during baking.
Begin by dicing the onions and celery and tossing them in an ovenproof pan with the butter. Saute the aromatic vegetables until they reach a golden brown color. Add the carrots and parsnips and saute until coated. Move the pan into an oven and roast for 15 minutes at 350.
While the vegetables roast, prepare the wet ingredients by mixing the bottle of cider, the three eggs, and the cream. Pour the wet ingredients over the dried bread to ensure that the liquid gets absorbed.
Once the vegetables finish cooking, remove them from the oven and add salt, pepper, and the diced sage. Mix in the presliced mushrooms. Add the bread and the vegetables to a large casserole dish and gently mix them together. Let all the flavors set overnight in the refridgerator.
The next morning, remove the dish from the refridgerator and cook at 350 for 15 minutes.
My Mom's Grean Beans (15 minutes prep, 20 minutes active)
This dish is truly the easist dish in the world and everyone always loves it! My mom uses fresh grean beans but in the interest of saving time I used canned grean beans.
5 cans of green beans
4 cloves of garlic
5 tablespoons flavorless oil such as vegetable oil
salt and pepper to taste
Add the oil to a pan. While the oil heats, crush and chop the onions. Once the oil reaches the right temperature, drop the garlic in and brown them. This will happen quickly so keep an eye on it. Drain the grean beans, rinse them, and drain again thoroughly.
Fry the grean beans for fifteen minutes. Flavor them with the salt and pepper. When they take on the consistency and flavor you like, they are ready to eat!
Pecan Pumpkin Butter Sweet Pototoes (10 minuts prep, 40 minutes active)
This dish takes a becomes a cinch with a jar of gluten free pumpkin butter. Muirhead Foods makes a great one that adds so much flavor. I like to add a jar to something new every thanksgiving to see what delicious creations I can make. It adds so much flavor that you won't feel that this dish does not have any real butter!
1 jar of pumpkin butter
7 sweet potatos
20 pecan halves for garnish
Boil sweet potatoes with the skin on for 30 minutes. Remove the potatoes and wait until they cool down so they retain their starch and don't leave you with sweet potato soup. Skin the potatos and puree them in a food processor.
Add the pumpkin butter and stir well until evenly mixed. Place in a casserole dish and top with the pecan halves. I like to put a few pats of butter on top of the pecans to help them crisp up while they bake. You can also saute the pecan halves in butter and apple brandy for an extra kick before topping the dish.
Spiced Apple Cider (5 minutes active)
Make this the day of Thanksgiving. This will scent your kitchen so that guests feel warm and welcome in your home. I use applejack brandy for an American flair, but you can substitute French calvados apple wine.
1 gallon apple juice
1 sliced orange
1/4 cup mulling spices
brandy for mixing
Bring the apple juice to a boil in a large dutch oven with the mulling spices. Add the orange slices on top. Leave the pot on the stove to keep the house smelleing great
Malbec Cranberry Sauce (10 minutes prep, 20 minutes active)
The fruits have so much pectin that this sauce has a nice thick consistency. I like to use lingonberry jam for this sauce because it goes well with my potato pancakes. I use agave nectar since I prefer alternative and nonsynthetic sugar products, but you can use sugar if your prefer the flavor.
1 jar of lingonberry jam
2 bags of cranberries
2/3 bottle of red wine
orange zest to garnish
1 cup of agave nectar
Boil the red wine in a large pot to steam out some of the wine. Mix in the jar of lingonberry jam. Once the mixture boils, add the cranberries and boil until they burst. Mix in a cup of agave nectar. Garnish the top with some orange zest. Enjoy!
Bread Pudding Stuffing with Root Vegetables (2 days prep, 1 1/3 hours active)
This recipe includes a bottle of cider to the custard to imbue it with a lovely savory flavor. Prepare but do not bake the pudding the night before to assure that the bread has time to absorb all of the liquid before cooking. Otherwise, you will find yourself with a crouton stuffing. I went light on the onion to please my friends and family who hate onion, you can add more to your liking.
1 bottle of apple cider
 |
| Celery, onions, carrots, and apples give this dish the flavors of fall. |
1 parsnip, diced to one inch cubes
3 carrots, diced to one inch cubes
1 granny smith apple
1/2 onion
1 large loaf of gluten free bread
1 small carton of cream
4 stalks of celery
1/2 stick of butter
1 bag of presilced mushrooms
10 fresh diced sage leaves
salt and pepper to taste
One day before dice up the bread, I like to use Kinnikinnick bread since the folks at my local gluten free market recommended it for its great texture and the fact that its one of the only enriched gluten free breads. It's equivalent in size to a regular loaf of bread which makes it easier to substitute into a regular recipe. Dry the diced bread overnight so that it can readily absorb the custard and stay moist during baking.
Begin by dicing the onions and celery and tossing them in an ovenproof pan with the butter. Saute the aromatic vegetables until they reach a golden brown color. Add the carrots and parsnips and saute until coated. Move the pan into an oven and roast for 15 minutes at 350.
While the vegetables roast, prepare the wet ingredients by mixing the bottle of cider, the three eggs, and the cream. Pour the wet ingredients over the dried bread to ensure that the liquid gets absorbed.
Once the vegetables finish cooking, remove them from the oven and add salt, pepper, and the diced sage. Mix in the presliced mushrooms. Add the bread and the vegetables to a large casserole dish and gently mix them together. Let all the flavors set overnight in the refridgerator.
The next morning, remove the dish from the refridgerator and cook at 350 for 15 minutes.
My Mom's Grean Beans (15 minutes prep, 20 minutes active)
This dish is truly the easist dish in the world and everyone always loves it! My mom uses fresh grean beans but in the interest of saving time I used canned grean beans.
5 cans of green beans
4 cloves of garlic
 |
| These quick and easy green beans taste so good you won't have leftovers. |
salt and pepper to taste
Add the oil to a pan. While the oil heats, crush and chop the onions. Once the oil reaches the right temperature, drop the garlic in and brown them. This will happen quickly so keep an eye on it. Drain the grean beans, rinse them, and drain again thoroughly.
Fry the grean beans for fifteen minutes. Flavor them with the salt and pepper. When they take on the consistency and flavor you like, they are ready to eat!
Pecan Pumpkin Butter Sweet Pototoes (10 minuts prep, 40 minutes active)
This dish takes a becomes a cinch with a jar of gluten free pumpkin butter. Muirhead Foods makes a great one that adds so much flavor. I like to add a jar to something new every thanksgiving to see what delicious creations I can make. It adds so much flavor that you won't feel that this dish does not have any real butter!
 |
| You don't have to add any butter but I like a little bit for flavor. |
1 jar of pumpkin butter
7 sweet potatos
20 pecan halves for garnish
Boil sweet potatoes with the skin on for 30 minutes. Remove the potatoes and wait until they cool down so they retain their starch and don't leave you with sweet potato soup. Skin the potatos and puree them in a food processor.
Add the pumpkin butter and stir well until evenly mixed. Place in a casserole dish and top with the pecan halves. I like to put a few pats of butter on top of the pecans to help them crisp up while they bake. You can also saute the pecan halves in butter and apple brandy for an extra kick before topping the dish.
Spiced Apple Cider (5 minutes active)
 |
| Fill the dutch oven with mulling spices and oranges and let the aromas warm your home! |
1 gallon apple juice1 sliced orange
1/4 cup mulling spices
brandy for mixing
Bring the apple juice to a boil in a large dutch oven with the mulling spices. Add the orange slices on top. Leave the pot on the stove to keep the house smelleing great
Malbec Cranberry Sauce (10 minutes prep, 20 minutes active)
The fruits have so much pectin that this sauce has a nice thick consistency. I like to use lingonberry jam for this sauce because it goes well with my potato pancakes. I use agave nectar since I prefer alternative and nonsynthetic sugar products, but you can use sugar if your prefer the flavor.
1 jar of lingonberry jam
2 bags of cranberries
2/3 bottle of red wine
orange zest to garnish
1 cup of agave nectar
Boil the red wine in a large pot to steam out some of the wine. Mix in the jar of lingonberry jam. Once the mixture boils, add the cranberries and boil until they burst. Mix in a cup of agave nectar. Garnish the top with some orange zest. Enjoy!
Monday, August 5, 2013
Paleo Walnut Date Truffles
To celebrate the publication of the standards for gluten-free labeling I made some yummy paleo
style truffles. They remind me of my aunt’s chocolate truffles she always kept in the refrigerator in case she had company. Except the list of ingredients does not include chocolate cake.
My Persian friends always like snacking on walnuts and dates so I was inspired to use those flavors to make my truffle. Initially, I only used those two ingredients with a handful of macaroons tossed in to give the truffles a coconut flavor but the combination had a dry consistency when it went through the food processor. I then added two tablespoons of sunflower seed butter. When I pulsed the ingredients in the blender I had a sticky mess. So I grabbed gluten free cocoa powder and mini chocolate chips from the pantry. I mixed in the chocolate chips by hand, as I remembered they used to do at Cold Stone Creamery, and then rolled the truffles around in some cocoa powder to seal in the moisture, as I remembered they did with their truffles at Bottega Louie.
The outcome, a soft and fudgy filling with a powdery coating. Tastes just like a chocolate truffle! I finished them off with a pretty gold mini cupcake wrappers and put them away in my refrigerator for guests and unexpected visitors to enjoy.
 |
| Here are the truffles before the cocoa coating |
My Persian friends always like snacking on walnuts and dates so I was inspired to use those flavors to make my truffle. Initially, I only used those two ingredients with a handful of macaroons tossed in to give the truffles a coconut flavor but the combination had a dry consistency when it went through the food processor. I then added two tablespoons of sunflower seed butter. When I pulsed the ingredients in the blender I had a sticky mess. So I grabbed gluten free cocoa powder and mini chocolate chips from the pantry. I mixed in the chocolate chips by hand, as I remembered they used to do at Cold Stone Creamery, and then rolled the truffles around in some cocoa powder to seal in the moisture, as I remembered they did with their truffles at Bottega Louie.
The outcome, a soft and fudgy filling with a powdery coating. Tastes just like a chocolate truffle! I finished them off with a pretty gold mini cupcake wrappers and put them away in my refrigerator for guests and unexpected visitors to enjoy.
Saturday, July 27, 2013
Milky! Update
A month ago I decided to stop nursing. My milk supply began to decrease and I was only pumping to relieve the pressure, not to keep up my supply. My daughter caught on to me and began rejecting formula. Where before she would take a bottle or two of formula a day, she now refused formula mixed with milk. I was in a bind! I had no milk and my daughter was not eating.
I increased my pumping to no avail. I kept getting frustrated, sitting there with barely any success. I had to do something but I didn't know what I could do. I felt like it was a hopeless cause.
That week I went on a walk around the mall and into my favorite store, Destination Maternity, where I met Jennifer. Jennifer was the first person I met in that store when I began showing my baby bump and she set me up with a great wardrobe that made me look and feel good when I was pregnant. Now, almost a year later, she introduced me to a product that changed my motherhood experience again. I had been following Tia Mowry and her gluten intolerant son Cree’s story and I found their new lactation increasing product exclusively sold at DM. I asked the store clerk Jennifer about it and she said Milky! was a new product they just got in. I figured, I had nothing to lose so I picked up a bottle.
That same day I saw a marked increase in my supply. Since then I have been using this product, which you drink twice daily. The gross flavor of other lactogenic teas is masked by a delicious strawberry flavor. This product contains natural herbs including fenugreek for increased milk production and fennel to improve milk let down. I am so happy with the results and am glad to say that Milky! Is now available through the Need products website. I recommend this product to moms who for any reasons have decreased her supply and need to get back her production. I will pick up another week supply to get back into pumping if I spend a weekend being lazy about pumping. Thanks Destination Maternity and Need Brands for creating such a great product!
I increased my pumping to no avail. I kept getting frustrated, sitting there with barely any success. I had to do something but I didn't know what I could do. I felt like it was a hopeless cause.
That week I went on a walk around the mall and into my favorite store, Destination Maternity, where I met Jennifer. Jennifer was the first person I met in that store when I began showing my baby bump and she set me up with a great wardrobe that made me look and feel good when I was pregnant. Now, almost a year later, she introduced me to a product that changed my motherhood experience again. I had been following Tia Mowry and her gluten intolerant son Cree’s story and I found their new lactation increasing product exclusively sold at DM. I asked the store clerk Jennifer about it and she said Milky! was a new product they just got in. I figured, I had nothing to lose so I picked up a bottle.
That same day I saw a marked increase in my supply. Since then I have been using this product, which you drink twice daily. The gross flavor of other lactogenic teas is masked by a delicious strawberry flavor. This product contains natural herbs including fenugreek for increased milk production and fennel to improve milk let down. I am so happy with the results and am glad to say that Milky! Is now available through the Need products website. I recommend this product to moms who for any reasons have decreased her supply and need to get back her production. I will pick up another week supply to get back into pumping if I spend a weekend being lazy about pumping. Thanks Destination Maternity and Need Brands for creating such a great product!
Thursday, July 4, 2013
Lactogenic Tea
| I keep reading about this miracle fenugreek in all of the mommy forums touting its ability to improve and increase milk supply. Thinking, I don’t have the time to go and find this weird sounding thing and learn how to prepare it so that this food becomes edible.
My attitude changed when I went to the mall and into one of my favorite stores, Destination Maternity. I almost left without buying anything when I began talking to the sweet girl at the front register who helped me with my first maternity clothes purchase. As I chatted with her I noticed what looked like an energy bottle called Milky with a picture of the Sister Sister girls, Tia and Tamara Mowry. Five months ago I did some research on Tia’s quest to find a gluten-free birthday cake for her son Cree’s first birthday, so I gave it a second look. Milky claimed to increase milk supply, which I had been struggling with over the last couple months. What did I have to lose? Nothing!
I picked up a bottle and drank it down, right there in the store. The first time I pumped after I found no change. Later that night, I found that my milk production doubled. Magic!
I decided to revisit a recipe for palak paneer that I made last week that included fenugreek (which I previously excluded because I did not know where to find it). I picked up some fenugreek at the Indian spice market in Thousand Oaks.
 |
| I literally bought them out! |
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