How To Go Gluten Free!

Gluten Free Graham Crackers

Ahhh.  Chewy, gooey s’mores around the campfire (or made in the toaster oven!), graham cracker crust for cheesecake or other desserts; cinnamon grahams for a tasty snack.  It took me years to find a gluten-free graham cracker recipe and once I did (after a little tweaking), I have a winner that is pretty easy to do, even for a novice.

The batch makes one cookie sheet.  The recipe came from “The Complete Book of Gluten-Free Cooking” by Jennifer Cinquepalmi.  I adjusted the amount of cinnamon she suggested.  If doing cinnamon grahams I would use 1 and 3/4 teaspoons cinnamon (the original amount suggested in the cookbook).  For “regular” graham crackers, I would use1/2 teaspoon or the amount that you and your family like.

Here goes:

2 and 1/2 cups all purpose mix

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon xanthan gum

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

7 Tablespoons butter or margarine (make sure it is GF), cut into pieces

3-4 Tablespoons water

3 Tablespoons honey

1 teaspoon vanilla (make sure it is GF)

If making cinnamon sugar graham crackers, prepare a bowl of cinnamon and sugar to sprinkle after baking.

Preheat the oven to 325.

Grease standard-large cookie sheet

Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl and mix well together.

Put dough on cookie sheet and press to flatten.  I use my fingers you may also use a marble rolling pin sprayed with cooking spray or cover a rolling pin with plastic wrap and then spray it with cooking spray.

Make the dough an even thickness.

Prick the graham crackers all over with a fork.

Bake 12-15 minutes (remember they won’t brown)

Cut the graham crackers as soon as you remove them from the oven.  (To make Cinnamon-Sugar Grahams, mix up a batch of sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over the top of the crackers as soon as they are removed from the oven.)

Cool six to eight minutes then remove from pan to finish cooling.

These can be frozen.  Use the crumbs to make a gluten-free graham cracker crust.

Enjoy!

Technorati Tags: gluten free graham crackers

So, Someone Gluten Free is Coming Over for Dinner

I read a statistic that as many as 30% of the population may have a gluten-intolerance.  If that is true than over the next ten years gluten-free will become a household phrase.  Until that happens, I thought you might appreciate some pointers on how to look out for a gluten-free guest.  When I am going to dinner at someone’s home I try to give a brief education without stressing the person out.  Believe it or not you CAN cook gluten-free for people without a ton of education.

Here is what I like to tell people to help a gluten free guest have a good meal:

• Keep it simple.  Adding lots of sauces and spices complicates matters for someone living gluten-free.  Every ingredient potentially has gluten in it so the more ingredients, the greater the possibility of contamination.
• Leave sauces and salad dressings on the side.
• Avoid casseroles.  Again you have the “keep it simple” going on here.  A gluten-free person will be better off if instead of doing that chicken and broccoli casserole if you serve all the ingredients separately.  That way they can skip the ingredients that have gluten in them and eat the ones that don’t.
• Keep ALL ingredients handy for the gluten free person to reference.  We become expert at reading packaging ingredients.
• Watch out for pre-prepared foods.  Marinades, spices, and food starch are just a few places that gluten likes to hide in and that means less food for the gluten free.
• Thicken with cornstarch instead of flour.
• Put croutons on the side of the salad.  I find that people are so particular about their salads that ALL guests tend to prefer the option of putting ALL of their own toppings on.  It takes a few more bowls on the table but everyone is happy.
• Try to call the gluten free guest and run down the menu with them.  Some people are less sensitive (those with celiac can’t have any exposure to gluten) so allow the guest to let you know what will and won’t work for them.
• Keep the buns and meat separate.  If the hotdogs or hamburgers aren’t already put on buns, the gluten free person will have a much easier time eating.
• Keep dessert simple.  Most ice cream, especially the higher quality brands, is gluten free.  Do a container of vanilla (some of the additions can have gluten) and a container of a soy cream option (there are some really tasty ones out there) so people who are dairy free can indulge too.  Include some cut up fresh fruit and maybe other fun toppings so everyone can create their own dessert.  There are also some really good gluten free packaged foods available like brownie or cake mixes.  I have found these to be about as easy as other traditional mixes and quite tasty for both the gluten free and regular folks.
• Make sure you avoid cross-contamination.  Wash all pans, knives, measuring utensils, containers, or cutting boards that had something with gluten on them (like bread, soy sauce, flour, etc.) before using for something else.
• Don’t feel bad that you are serving a few things that contain gluten.  Most gluten free folks understand that the world enjoys gluten-containing products.  As long as there is enough to fill out bellies, we are happy.  If the meal is actually balanced where we can enjoy an appetizer, veggie, carb, protein, and dessert…it is our lucky day!
• Know that the gluten free person may have other food issues too so it is helpful to consult with them (and really with all guests) so you don’t inadvertently avoid gluten but put in something else that can be equally harmful or that they plain don’t like or don’t eat for religious reasons.  Many people have allergies to particular tree nuts, dairy, preservatives, artificial colorings, or tropical fruits.

Here are a few things to make sure you avoid, keep completely separate, or ask the gluten free guest if they have a gluten free version they can bring along for the meal.

• ALL wheat flour and products containing wheat flour (enriched, whole wheat, cracked wheat, white flour, all of it)
• soy sauce (this one surprises most people)
• multi-grain chips or packaged, pre-seasoned rice dishes
• pastas
• spelt, barley, rye, graham, kamut, semolina, durum, triticale grains or flours
• licorice (another surprise)
• oats (some gluten free folks can tolerate them)
• beer (there are gluten-free options, some taste horrible; I like “Red Bridge”)
• breadings/coatings
• cereals
• vegetarian meat substitutes
• self-basting poultry

Know that “wheat free” does not mean gluten free.  Here is a simple menu you can see as an example of what to serve:

Appetizer: Veggies and dip (keep the container handy), hummus with corn chips (keep the container handy), guacamole with corn chips

Beverages: Wine, sparkling water, and fruit juice

Main meal: Baked chicken with fresh herbs, salt, and olive oil; mashed potatoes and gravy (thickened with cornstarch); steamed broccoli with butter, salt and pepper; spinach salad with toppings and dressings on the side.

Main meal #2: Mexican feast with plain refried beans, non-seasoned chicken strips, and seasoned ground beef (keep the seasoning ingredients handy), corn tortillas, taco shells, and all your favorite toppings on the side so folks can build their own.

Dessert: Poached pears or baked apples.

Dessert #2: Fresh fruit with real whipped cream.

You likely already serve gluten-free meals and don’t even know it!  If you like to experiment, ask your guest for recipes or try converting some of your own.  Have fun and go easy on yourself.  Having guests for dinner is about enjoying time with you or guests, not stressing over the meal!

Technorati Tags: cooking gluten-free, gluten free guest

Gluten-Free Lemon and White Chocolate Cookies

I found this recipe several weeks ago on a blog called  www.daringtothrive.blogspot.comby Laura Dennison and it looked really good.  What isn’t totally yummy about lemon and white chocolate?  I didn’t have a reason to bake them so I waited for an occasion and in the meantime bookmarked the page.  My opportunity to bake them came when I was invited to a tea and there was another gluten-free friend attending.  She also has a sensitivity to sugar so I knew I needed to modify the recipe.

I decided to use honey which changed the moisture content of the recipe so I adjusted the amount of flour.  Then, when I was mid-recipe, I realized my pantry was bare of coconut flour (oops!) so I substituted shredded coconut (after asking my food processor to do the impossible…make coconut flour out of shredded coconut).  So what you have here is a rather different version of Laura’s original “Lemon-Scented and White Chocolate Cookies” although still tasty and popular with the gluten-free and gluten-eating alike.

Combine together and set aside:

• 1 and 1/4 cup quinoa flour
• 1 cup tapioca flour
• 1 teaspoon xanthan gum

Mix together:

• 1 cup butter (softened)
• 1 cup honey (heated)

Add in to butter mixture and blend well:

• ½ tsp baking soda

Add to butter mixture:

• 2 eggs (warmed to room temperature)

Then combine butter mixture with:

• Zest of one lemon (zest the lemon first then juice it second, it’s easier and less messy)
• Juice of one lemon

Combine butter mixture with dry mixture (some folks prefer to do this in two or three parts, I am more of a “dumper” mixing it all in at once).

Then add:

• 1 cup shredded coconut
• 6-15 oz white chocolate chips or chunks

Use a tablespoon and knife to portion out the cookies.  Staggering rows of three my large stoneware cookie sheet held 15 cookies (5 rows).

Bake in a 350F oven for 18-20 minutes.  I remove them when the edges are beginning to brown then let them sit in the pan for another few minutes to finish cooking through before removing to the cooling rack.

The recipe made about a little over 4 dozen cookies.  The lemon and white chocolate cookies were so popular at the tea party I made them again for a recent holiday gathering and I took home an empty dish!

Technorati Tags: gluten-free cookies, quinoa flour cookies

Gluten-Free Beer: Good News and Bad News

I am a beer drinker.  Not often, but I enjoy a beer about once a month and when I realized this was one more area of my life that was to be affected by my gluten-free diagnosis, it was a bit annoying.  In my dad’s final weeks one of the things he enjoyed doing was sharing a beer with one of his kids.  He gamely shared a gluten-free beer with me but he didn’t care much for it.  Poor guy…I wish I could have been more accommodating.

Pretty much all beers, ales, and lagers contain gluten.  Those pesky grains are just so excellent at creating beer that I would say 99%+ of all beers on the market contain gluten.  Here is a bit of good news…manufacturers of beer are realizing that this market is growing larger every year and they are rushing to answer our need.  Large breweries, like Anheuser-Busch have answered the call with Redbridge (a gluten-free beer that I liken to Killian’s) and small breweries are also bringing to market artisan gluten-free varieties as well.  Speak up when you go to your local brew pub and let them know that you would purchase a gluten-free beer if it was available. 

A warning about the gluten-free beers available: some of them taste terrible.  I am a “regular” beer drinker which I consider puts me in the “average joe” category that I like beer that isn’t too strong (like Guiness) or bitter.  I used to drink Killean’s, wheat beers, an occasional flavored beer (like pumpkin in the fall or berry in the summer) and I enjoyed a good Corona with lime on a hot summer day. 

As with all foods, everyone has different tastes so it is important to keep an open mind and try a variety.  For example, when I first went gluten free I bought a six pack of Redbridge and a six pack of New Grist and shared them with my gluten-free siblings.  I was the only one who liked Redbridge and no one liked New Grist.  However I had a party a few months later and one of my non-gluten-free guests really liked the New Grist (I sent the last unopened bottle home with her).  I have heard “Temptation” is a good choice as well, although it may be a bit pricey (I haven’t been able to find it at my local grocery stores as even Whole Foods stopped selling it).

I have found for the days I want more of my “Corona experience”, I take my Red Bridge and add about 50% water and a slice of lime to create a lighter beer…it works for me and stretches out the enjoyment.

Other brands on the market (I have not found them in the Ann Arbor area) are:

• Bard’s Gold
• Green’s Discovery Amber Ale
• Green’s Endeavour Dubbel Ale
• Green’s Quest Tripel Ale
• Sprecher Brewing Mbege
• Sprecher Brewing Shakparo

As you are no doubt aware, an open mind and sense of adventure will serve you well in your gluten-free journey.  Raise your gluten-free beer in a toast to those wonderful breweries looking out for us and helping us to enjoy a good bottle of beer from time to time.  Cheers!

Technorati Tags: gluten free beer

Gluten in Home Cooked Meals

My sister-in-law is a wonderful woman and I am fortunate to have such a loving and caring woman in my life.  I know whenever we get together for dinner at her house we are throwing her a curveball because of my gluten intolerance and both my husband and I are vegetarians as well. 

The biggest challenge I find in my sister-in-law’s home cooked meals is she loves casseroles (and I do too!).  Many casseroles call for creamed or other canned soups.  In fact, I recently heard that when Campbells first came out with their creamed soups they weren’t designed to be soups at all but sauces.  That has certainly become the case in many casserole recipes.   Casseroles often add breadcrumbs or may have a main ingredient of noodles and some people may not realize that “egg noodles” are actually wheat.

In addition to casseroles, and of course any bread, rolls, or pasta, there are other places where gluten may show up in a home cooked meal that otherwise looks safe:

• Marinades are a trouble spot because of the frequent addition of soy sauce or other wheat or malt flavorings.  This includes some pre-cooked chicken and some lunchmeats.
• Breading is something to be avoided since 99% of the time it is wheat (this includes panko which is the Asian-style breading and “beer battered” which has beer in the batter but is wheat-based).
• Any sauce should be investigated for ingredients, especially if it is thick (such as alfredo).  This includes creamed vegetables.  Vegetables can still be creamed using milk and cornstarch or substitute arrowroot or tapioca but if the person cooking is familiar or comfortable with these applications they have likely used flour.  Sauces that are not thick have the possibility of having soy sauce in them, another common source of gluten.
• Soups, especially creamed or thick soups, will often have wheat in them.  Or they may have noodles or orzo (which looks like rice but is wheat).
• Desserts are especially problematic, including some ice cream.  Many special flavors of ice cream (like cookies and cream) have wheat in them.  Always read the label to be sure.
• Prepared salad dressings are another source of gluten although if you make your own, the likelihood of gluten being in there is very small (unless you include soy sauce).

There are many modifications that can be made when you are cooking for yourself or if you have family or friends who are open and interested in learning new cooking techniques.  Home cooked meals can be gluten-free and tasty, it just takes a little more education and effort.