Delicious Contraband!

The other day I was given an amazing gift of Gluten Free Bisquick, from our wonderful friends who have a direct access line to the General Mills Corporation.  I was utterly curious about the product and couldn't wait to find out how it would taste, work, and come out in a dish.  I decided to make a project for Ceci and I one afternoon before dinner and make the biscuit recipe on the box (there are about 8 different recipes on the box).  Projects help us pass the day and keep Ceci happy and occupied, and who doesn't love having warm biscuits as the end result of a "project."
It was a really quick recipe and didn't need any rolling or kneading, we were able to make the batch in a mixing bowl with a rubber spatula for stirring, no mixer needed.  Oh, sorry we did use a pastry cutter and the only change to the recipe I made was to substitute butter for shortening, we were out of shortening in the house.  They baked really quickly, 15 minutes, and at minute 16 I was trying not to burn my fingers while picking one up to eat.
These biscuits were amazing!!  Tender, flaky, delicious!  Perfect!!!!  I want to get my hands on a pallet of this stuff.  I want to make all the different recipes, heck I could just make biscuits every day and be happy.  There were some biscuits left over in the morning, so we decided to make sausage egg and cheese on a biscuit for breakfast (which is the picture I included at the top).  Considering I've never eaten one at McDonald's, ever, this was outstanding.
The Gluten Free Bisquick is a huge boon to the gluten free community, I hope it is able to make it through the test processes to market, because it is a great product.  I know many people who have been recently diagnosed, and are missing so many bread products, and yet they are intimidated to mix flours or attempt to make baked goods.  If the Gluten Free Bisquick product was commercially available in the grocery store I think so many people would be scooping it up.  I know I would keep several boxes in the pantry for when I feel like a quick easy baked treat.

Pesto.... mmmmmm

If you read the previous post "Sheri's Garden" you know that I was given a gigantic shopping bag filled with fresh basil sprigs from my friend Sheri's garden.  I used them to make an enormous batch of Pesto, one of my now favorite summer dishes, partly for the easy prep, and mostly for the delicious flavorful taste.  I found a very easy recipe sometime last year, most likely off the food network website where I access many of my recipes.  I keep this one posted on the fridge so I don't have to hunt for it when I need it, although I think I almost have it memorized.
This time I had Ceci sitting at the table eating her dinner when I got out the food processor to start making the pesto, and Ceci had a fit.  She demanded that I get her down from the table and let her help make the pesto.  She loves to run the food processor, to the point I often have to unplug it while she is helping to keep her from turning it on.  I should also mention that lately she climbs right onto the island counter to help with any and all projects I am working on.  This day was no exception, she climbed right up and grabbed a basil sprig and started very carefully picking leaves off and placing them into the food processor.  I have to say she was probably more selective than I was, maybe I should just let her cook our dinners from now on and take a break.  She also decided to control how much olive oil I used while we were running the food pro, by placing her hand at the bottom end of the bottle and not letting me retract it when I felt there was enough in already.

I hope you enjoy the pesto as much as we do over a bowl of nice warm noodles.

Pesto
2 cloves of garlic
1/4 Cup Pine nuts (or walnuts)
1/2 Cup grated Parmesan Cheese
2 Cups fresh Basil leaves
1/3-1/2 Cup Olive oil Drizzled in

Place all ingredients, except the olive oil into the food processor and turn on, drizzle olive oil through top of processor as it's working.  Mixture will loosen up as the olive oil incorporates, mix until desired consistency and turn off food pro.  Open up and eat IMMEDIATELY over warm fresh cooked noodles. The Pesto will oxidize very quickly making it look brown and unappealing, this has no bearing on the flavor and should be totally ignored.
If you would like to enjoy Pesto outside of the summer time, you have a couple of options, you can freeze the leaves and then defrost them and make the pesto when you want.  Or you can make the pesto without the Parmesan cheese, and freeze, defrost when ready, and add Parmesan before you eat it.

Sheri's Garden

  


This weekend I attended a professional conference and my husband had to go out of town leaving us in deep need of childcare.  I am fortunate enough to call an amazing woman my friend who took Ceci for two days of the weekend.  Not only did she care for and love Ceci, but she also fed us a very delicious dinner, on Sunday night, but gave us enough left overs and pickings from her garden to have more fantastic dinners for the next couple of nights.  
  Lets start with Sheri's baked ziti that we ate on Sunday night, one of Ceci's favorite meals in the world.  Have I ever mentioned that this child would live on pasta and sauce with a little cheese if I would let her?  This version was a light red sauce over Tinkyada brown rice penne with melted cheese on top, baked in the oven to finish.  After Ceci and I both polished off a big bowl each, we had some very happy tummies.  And if that wasn't enough, we were also treated to bread related treats from Bare Naked Bakery and Cafe, including a pepperoni roll, a chicken roll, and a baguette, which Sheri doctored up with some garlic, butter, and herbs.  Sadly many of Bare Naked Bakeries products retain a very over powering flavor/after taste of yeast, which was the case again here.  I can say that the spiciness of the pepperoni in the roll was enough to cover up the yeast based crime, but the chicken could not hide the flavor.
  When dinner was over Sheri invited me to her small but over productive garden to take home some veggies and herbs.  She sent me home with a shopping bag filled with basil, 4 good size tomatoes, 1 huge cucumber, and a handful of cherry tomatoes (that are not the size of cherries, but rather apricots).  
  I sliced up one tomato for my lunch sandwich and realized I had forgotten how good veggies SHOULD taste.  This gave me inspiration for tonight's dinner, I already knew the basil was destined for a huge batch of pesto, which has become a favorite dish of my husband and I.  But the fresh tomato and cucumber intrigued me.  I decided to chop them into large bite size chunks and toss them together, which was delicious in it's own right.  You will find as you follow this blog, that I'm mildly incapable of seasoning food on my own, so I leave this to my husband Tim.  He added Kosher Salt, ground Tellicherry pepper, and dried dill.  The tomatoes took on a sweet velvety texture, while the cucumbers became more lemony, and retained their crunch.  I probably could have eaten the whole bowl by myself, but I managed to control myself and eat only a big portion.  
  It was sooooo good!  And so super simple to make.  

Phil & Sons Pizza

Only thing that could make this look any better is a bottle of GF beer!

  Today I had a long conference in Flushing Queens, so on the way home I called in my order to Phil & Sons Pizza.  We happened to find it a few months ago and learned that they served Gluten Free Pizza and Pasta.  The last time we ate there I had not started this blog so I don't really recall the distinct flavor of the pizza.  I did recall it was pretty good though, then again I consider all gluten free pizza good, because I can finally go out somewhere and get a meal.  Tonight it was convenient on my drive home and I was smart enough last night to program the number into my phone.  I called in and the gentleman who answered was nice enough to check their stock of gf pizza crusts before he allowed me to finish my order.  Pepperoni and black olives of course!
  I got there no problem and had to wait a little bit, but it wasn't long, when there is a pizza at the end of the wait.  I got home and Ceci was thrilled to see a pizza!  Mind you she had already eaten dinner with her grandparents who assured me she ate really well.  We got to the kitchen and I went ahead and gave her a slice too, who can resist pizza.  We sat together and enjoyed our dinner.  I don't think I remember the crust from the first time we ate at Phil & Sons, when I opened the box it seemed much larger than I recalled.  
  The crust is not made in house, I regret to say I did not ask what company they order from, and I definitely have not had it before at any other pizza place.  At first I thought it looked really crispy, but after eating it I found it dense and a bit chewy.  It reminded me of the Glutino brand pizza crusts I have previously bought at Whole foods and heated up at home.  I have to say it's not the most amazing crust I have ever had, but it's not a bad way to get cheese, pepperoni, and olives into your mouth together.  The sauce was a little garlic-y for my taste, but it was flavorful none-the-less.  We will definitely be getting more pizzas from Phil & Sons in the future.

Our Celiac Stories

Me around 3 years old, already living a happy gluten free life.

I'm a life long Gluten Intolerant, whose story is probably a little different than most people.  I was diagnosed  with Celiac disease around 18 months old, after my parents desperately struggled to figure out what was wrong with me and my digestive system.  I can only tell you the story as I remember my mom telling it to me, I don't remember any of this happening  as I was far too young, which I suppose is it's own blessing.  I can't imagine how my mom dealt with a toddler who could barely communicate that my stomach hurt.  

The story goes, that I was such an amazing child that I was talking, walking, and potty training at 9 months old, this gave the pediatrician the idea that I should start solid foods.  I was served Ritz crackers, mac and cheese, breads, and all sorts of yummy foods.  My parents started noticing problems after a month or two of eating all these foods.  One of my big symptoms in my Celiac experience was vomiting, my dad still has bad dreams of my projectile vomiting episodes.  Now what do you give a child with an upset stomach who is throwing up??  You got it!  Crackers!  You can guess how that ended.  As the months wore on my Mom describes my bowel movements changing drastically to the point where foods with gluten went through me completely undigested.  This whole experience was dotted with visits to all sorts of different doctors, most of whom had no idea what was wrong with me.  One even suggested I had the flu, or a stomach bug, and drinking Coca-cola would help me.  Fantastic!  Should she put it in my bottle too?  Bozo!  After months of frustration, and countless referrals I was seen at Oregon Health Sciences University, Doernbecher Children's Hospital (OHSU) by the wonderful Dr. Annie Terry, who quickly noted my symptoms and after a number of tests was able to diagnose me with Celiac Disease.  My mom was able to get me on a gluten free diet, and my digestive symptoms subsided quickly.  

Over the years, I remained on a gluten free diet, which was not easy for my mom. She came up with amazing things and hunted for recipes to make me feel special (in a nice way, not "special" weird).  You have to know that during the 1980's it was nearly impossible to find something labeled "gluten free", so she spent hours reading labels, and educating herself to save my tummy.  My dad was a huge help, always peeling breading off my fish and chips and taking buns off burgers for me when we went out to eat.  One of the greatest fortunes we had at the time was living with in driving distance of "Moore's" (flour mill).  Most of you know the most current evolution of "Moore's" as "Bob's Red Mill."  It was incredible to have such great access to rice flours and xanthum gum all those years when no one else was producing these items in large quantities.  

Somewhere around the time I started high school I was given a routine small bowel biopsy and the Dr determined that I "no longer had celiac."  This was great news to me, but my parents were skeptical, wondering how it could just disappear after all these years.  Looking back it was a blessing because with all the other awkward social issues of high school I no longer had to worry about my food choices.  I survived well until I got to my freshman year of college and started feeling ill again, when I got the student health center to administer the new blood test for celiac. I remember receiving the Dr's phone call telling me my celiac disease had resurfaced, while I had an oatmeal cookie half chewed in my mouth.  I believe I recall him saying "I think that should be your last cookie now."  I still laugh at that one.  I went back to my gluten free ways, without too much trouble. I lived off campus the last two years and had a rice cooker, that made life super easy.  After finishing grad school and starting my first job where I had amazing health insurance for the first time in years I wanted to get tested again.  I had, a blood test, a floroscopy, and a small bowl biopsy, all of which came back "negative."  This Dr said that with my history of multiple positive diagnoses and these new results he believes in "shades of grey," maybe I had taken such good care of myself for several years the damage was healed, but he was unwilling to believe the celiac was gone. 

At the time I was living in New York City, so I took this as a license to live it up!  Pizza, Bagels, Cookies, Cupcakes, Beer, you name it I ate it!  And enjoyed it.  Almost two years later I started feeling ill again and had to start back on a strict gluten free diet, which again wasn't much trouble since I can cook for myself.  My new challenge was teaching my new boyfriend and his family about gluten and how to avoid it.  He caught on quickly and we learned a lot of things along the way, like many soy sauces contain gluten, but some don't.  

That boyfriend is now my husband of almost 4 years, 2 years ago we had a gorgeous baby girl, who we decided to keep gluten free.  Not having a good way to test for Celiac at such a young age we figured it best to just avoid it all together.  I have to say, the advances in commercially available gluten free food has made it pretty easy to keep Cecilia gluten free.  At her 12 month check up we asked the Dr to perform a Celiac screen, since they were already drawing blood for other tests.  It came back negative with a very low number of antibodies, my mistake is we did not feed her any gluten in the days preceding the test, but in my opinion it gave us a base line.  Around 18 months old, she had a pretty good handle on her vocabulary and I decided it was time to start a home test of gluten intolerance, I replaced her snacks with the regular gluten versions and fed her what I could to challenge her stomach.  The first couple of days went well, and then her bowl movements changed and her attitude actually changed too, which is something my husband notes as my symptoms.  Ceci bawled one day when I couldn't pull up her favorite show on the DVR fast enough.  This is not my child!  We again requested a blood test, and waited for the results.  Our pediatrician was great, she called to let me know the result was negative, but combined with the physical and emotional symptoms she didn't know how to interpret it and would refer us to a Pediatric GI if I wanted.  I declined and to this day we keep Ceci gluten free, within a few days of returning to a gluten free diet her emotional symptoms subsided, but it took nearly three weeks for her bowels to heal. Maybe we will challenge her again in the future when she can communicate better, but for now we will eat Gluten free.

Good thing rice is gluten free because she LOVES it!

Gluten Free Banana Bread or Muffins

Decisions, decisions...

Our family loves bananas, especially Ceci who usually eats one for breakfast.  It seems that this time of year no matter how many or few we buy they ripen so fast we can't eat them before they become entirely brown.  The up side of this is I love Banana Bread, so I adapted a recipe and keep it near the mixer until the temperature and humidity come down.  I love to add chocolate chips at the end, making it DELICIOUS!  Good luck!

I just made another batch of these the other day and Ceci can't get enough so I thought I would post some revisions I've made, for muffin format, as well as having subbed out the egg today so we can share them with our cousin Mateo.  Also Walnuts are no longer an optional addition for us but I left it on the recipe to inspire those of you who can eat nuts, I may try the next batch with blue berries instead of chocolate chips, I'll let you know how it goes.  Enjoy!


Banana Bread or Muffins

Preheat Oven to 375 degrees (F)

3     very ripe Bananas
3/4  Cup Sugar
1     Egg or equivalent egg substitute (1 Tbs Egg replacer and 2 Tbs Water)
1/4  Cup Canola Oil
1/4  Cup Soy Flour
1/4  Cup Sweet Rice Flour
1/2  Cup Brown Rice Flour
1/2  Cup Tapioca Starch
1/2   tsp Xanthum Gum
1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1/4  tsp Baking Soda
1/2  tsp Cinnamon
1/4  Cup Chocolate chips or Walnuts (optional)

Place bananas and sugar into stand mixer and beat on high until a thick slurry is formed, the sugar will help break down the bananas in the mixer.  Add in egg and oil mixing at a medium speed until blended.  In a separate bowl mix all dry ingredients together except for the chocolate chips or nuts.  Pour dry ingredients into the banana mixture and mix slowly until incorporated, do not over mix or bread will be tough.  Remove bowl from mixer, and fold in optional chocolate chips or walnuts.  Pour batter into a greased loaf pan, 8"x4"x2", and bake for 50-55 minutes, until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.  Or, pour into muffin tins and bake for 22-25 min.  Remove from oven and turn out on to a cooling rack.

Try to wait a few minutes before you cut into it, this is the hardest part for me.  It looks so good, but it needs a few minutes to cool and stabilize on the inside.  Once it's cooled I recommend storing it in the fridge, especially in the warm weather, so that it won't spoil.  There are no preservatives in the batter, usually it tastes so good, we don't have time to worry about it going bad.  The crust is a little thick and protects the soft delicious, tender inside of the bread.  My husband who is not gluten intolerant claims that this version tastes better than the regular wheat flour ones he eats, he says the different flours give it a nutty background flavor.

Dig in!  "Mommy leave paper on, then hands no get stitey!"

Gluten free Informative resources

I want to share with you some gluten free websites that have tons of good information about what Celiac disease is and how to start on a gluten free diet.




www.celiac.com

www.celiaccentral.org

www.celiac.org

http://liveglutenfreely.com/default.aspx

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gluten-free_diet

lifewithoutgluten.com

www.gicare.com/diets/gluten-free.aspx

These are all great websites, with tons of helpful information.  I would love to write a long post about what gluten is, and exactly where it's found, and all it's mutations.  Instead of stressing myself out and confusing you, I figured linking you to reliable websites would be the best alternative.