Bean Soup

Here is a post from Dad, we are playing with googledocs, it was really easy to cut and paste it into a blog post. I wish I were there to dig into this amazing bowl of bean soup, I would even bring over a loaf of warm bread for sopping up all the yummy broth. I can almost smell the crock pot bubbling with all that deliciousness inside, and it would be perfect to make here toady with this pending snow storm. This recipe has some of our favorite family ingredients Bacon from a local Butcher/smokehouse, and Bobs Redmill 13 Bean soup mix, feel free to alter it with things that are local to you. Hmmm... I'm thinking right now this would be nice with a little bit of fresh kale wilted in the last couple of minutes to make a one pot meal. Guess I know what I'm making for dinner next week.

Bean Soup

3 cups mixed Dry Beans (“Bobs Redmill 13 Bean” is excellent)
1 16oz can of chicken broth
6 Stalks celery (fine chopped)
1 cup carrots (fine chopped)
½  Onion chopped
2 cloves garlic minced
2 teaspoons GF Soy sauce

2 teaspoons  Kitchen Bouquet
1 Tablespoon Ham Base
Meat  (Use What you have available , If you use beef, exchange ham base for beef)
  6 strips bacon chopped (Vogets Preferably)
  Ham Hock if desired
  Ham cubed as desired
  Sausage as desired



Soak Beans overnight. Drain and Rinse

Brown bacon in Fry pan,  Add onion, carrots, Celery ,garlic, ½ of soy sauce, and ½ of kitchen bouquet, Saute till mostly tender.


Add all ingredients into large Crock Pot, add water to cover Beans, Cook till done
(about 5 hours on high)

Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Mighty Tasty Hot Cereal

Ceci has a new favorite breakfast, Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Mighty Tasty Hot Cereal.  We ate it at my parent's house a few weeks ago while visiting and she gobbled it up every morning.  I had avoided buying it in the past because I thought it was expensive, about $3-4, compared to a box of cream of rice for less than $2.  I found out from eating it at my parents that it only takes a 1/4 cup to make a huge bowl, and if I make a half portion for Ceci I only needed to use 2 Tablespoons.

This morning I finally opened the bag I bought for our house and made one portion from 1/4 cup of dry cereal.  We put some frozen blueberries in, and Ceci dug right into my bowl with me.  Usually I scoop 1/3 of my bowl out into a small bowl for her, but today we "share all togethers."  (I love her cute speech pattern.)

It has a great taste to it, somewhat reminiscent of their polenta, which makes sense because there is corn in it along with Brown Rice, Buckwheat, and Sorghum.  It's rich and hearty, I really felt full until lunch, which seems like a miracle in and of it self.  I did add a little milk before we ate it to thin it out a little bit, it was almost solid after microwaving it.  I'm so glad to find another healthy gluten free product that Ceci will eat without an argument or me having to sit there and spoon food into her mouth begging and pleading.

Our Recipe

1/4 cup Bob's Red Mill GF Mighty Tasty Hot Cereal
1   Cup Water

Serving Suggestion:

2  Tbs Milk
1/3  Cup Frozen Blueberries

New Favorite Appliance, Cuisinart Stick Blender

For our family Christmas presents with my parents, brother, and sister-in-law, we draw names and buy the person a gift, it has been fun the last couple of years, takes the pressure off shopping for several people, and allows me to be somewhat creative or thoughtful in my gifts (I hope they think so anyway).  This year my dad drew me and got me the Cuisinart Stick Blender.  I'm not sure if this is really a present for me or Ceci, prior to Christmas I had started her eating smoothies everyday as a way to fill her with fruits and had been making them in the blender.  This Stick Blender streamlined my blender process beyond belief!  It comes with a large plastic cup that I dump all my smoothie ingredients into, put the Stick Blender in on top, sink it into the liquid and hit the on button.  Within less than a minute the ingredients are pulverized into a delicious drink that Ceci asks for several times a day.  It's also so simple to clean because it's stainless steel.

Now that it's so easy to make Ceci her smoothies, I've started adding veggies and veggie juice to be sure she is actually getting some in her diet.  If you have read some of my other posts, this kid is a picky eater, if you even put one veggie on her plate she will kindly pick it up, hand it to you, and say "No Thanks You." I've managed to hide some veggies in Spaghetti sauce, but how often can i really feed her spaghetti sauce?  I guess if it were up to her, everyday, but that's not realistic to me.  Here on Long Island in winter the produce selection becomes horrifying so we started buying frozen fruit and making smoothies to help her get lots of yummy things for her tummy.  After I realized she loved them we bought Bolthouse Carrot Juice to add in, and this week I was inspired by G-free Mom's De-tox January posts of Green smoothies, and added Brussels sprouts to Ceci's smoothie.  She drank it right up, no questions asked!

I can't wait to start using this Stick Blender for all sorts of other things, soups maybe?  There are lots of other suggestions in the book and it comes with fun accessories, like a tiny food processor and a whisk.  I tried the whisk to froth milk for lattes it was a bit messy but worked out eventually.  I've used this everyday since I opened it, and am not really sure how I lived without it.  Plus clean up is so easy, I do like the food processor for some things, but it is a pain to clean 5 different parts, the Stick Blender is easy to clean because it's only the one attachment and the cup if you choose to use it.

Thanks for the great present Dad!  So glad Ceci is eating such yummy things, I guess I should mention I have been eating the smoothies too, it's nice to feel full for so long and know that it's all good food in there.

Gluten Free Coffee Cake

Perfect Brunch for the start of a snow storm

This weekend I started craving Cinnamon Rolls, but couldn't get up the motivation to make them, that whole proofing/rising process didn't sound fun while I'm suffering from some kind of cold or sinus infection.  So I considered how to get my sugary cinnamon fill without waiting hours on end, COFFEE CAKE!  We were having friends over for brunch and I love providing warm baked goods to indulge in, since Sheri was bringing everything else.  I quickly searched the web for a recipe, since the few I found in books around the house involved yeast, I was trying to avoid the rising process, not just find a new form of it.  I found one on the celiac.com page that was exactly what I wanted, yellow cake with a crumb topping, and super easy to make!  The Coffee Cake called for GF All Purpose flour, which I don't keep on hand.  You may have noticed I have a few flours I prefer, and use repeatedly, so after some quick math I came up with my own rendition.  Leaving the nuts out of the topping of course since we are now working toward a nut free home.

It came out perfect, first the entire house smelled of delicious warm cinnamon, and tricked our friends into thinking there might have been cinnamon rolls in the oven.  They told us they were not disappointed though, the cake was delicate, and fluffy, while the topping was sweet and crunchy, in perfect contrast.  Exactly what I had wanted from a coffee cake.  It was so good the 9x9 inch pan was nearly empty when brunch was over, and the tiny piece that was left, was my late lunch later.

Coffee Cake

Cake Recipe

1/4   Cup Soy Flour
1/4   Cup Brown Rice Flour
1/2   Cup Tapioca Starch
1/2   Cup Sweet Rice Flour
1 1/2 tsp Xanthan Gum
3/4   Cup Sugar
  2    tsp Baking Powder
1/2   tsp Salt

1/4   Cup Canola Oil
  1    Egg (Beaten)
1/2   Cup Milk

Spicy Topping


1/2   Cup Brown Sugar
  2    Tbs Tapioca Starch
  2    tsp Cinnamon
  2    Tbs Butter (melted)


Preheat oven to 375 degrees (F), and grease a 9x9x2 inch baking pan.

Sift together dry ingredients for cake in a large mixing bowl and set aside.  Combine wet cake ingredients in a separate small bowl, and add to dry cake ingredients.  Mix together until smooth, pour into prepared pan.

In a small bowl stir together spicy topping ingredients, and sprinkle over top of cake.

Bake at 375 degrees (F) for 25 min.

Enjoy!

Grilled Tillamook Cheese Sandwich

Today Ceci and I had Yummy grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch, made from Tillamook Cheddar Cheese, and homemade gluten free bread.  Ceci loved it and ate 1/4 of a sandwich, along with two slices of plain cheese.  It was a nice warm treat on a cold winter day with snow flurries outside the window.  I love Tillamook cheese because I grew up on it, honestly I didn't really know there were other types of cheese in the world, which is either funny or sad.  Now as an adult I've had some yummy cheeses, but I always go back to my favorite, it's one of the few Cheddars I've ever seen in a medium category, and there is a distinct difference between it and a mild or sharp cheddar.  It tends to stay a little more firm while melting, than some other types of cheese such as American Cheese (don't get me started on American cheese!  No flavor, but for some odd reason Tim loves it.)  Ceci is now a huge fan of Tillamook cheese, thanks to my excellent tutelage!  She specifically asks for "Tahmook Chee!"  I love it!

Now you may ask how on earth I get hold of this delicious cheese, I personally bring it back from my visits to my family, or they bring it to me.  If you don't live in the Pacific Northwest you can order it online from their website.

Look at all that delicious melty cheesy goodness!

Gluten Free Cookie Swap and Gingerbread Houses

From top to bottom, left to right (GF Sugar Cookies, GF Pinoli Cookies, GF Chocolate Pudding Cookies,
GF Chocolate Peppermint Cookies, GF Coconut Macaroons, GF Vanilla Meringue)

A few years ago I hosted a Gingerbread house decorating party, like the ones my mom and her friend Sue would throw for us when we were kids.  That party was a great time, so last year I decided to throw a cookie swap instead because I didn't think I could make gingerbread houses for everyone with a busy toddler in the house.  The cookie swap was so much fun, we sat around chatting, having wine, and decorating sugar cookies.

This year I wanted to have a gluten free cookie swap, and I eventually got brave enough to produce two gluten free gingerbread houses for decorating.  The houses were intended for Ceci and her best buddy Brodie to decorate, which I knew would last about 10 minutes and then us parents got to play with all the candy.  We were able to also include the cookie swap as well, so I am left with dozens of cookies, a huge bag of candy, and a decorated gingerbread house.

Mountain of supplies to start cookie making process

I have decided I will not share or post the gingerbread recipe I used to make the houses, I was so disappointed with the result, I can't reccomend anyone else use it.  I also commited a few mistakes, so I shouldn't entirely blame the dough, but still there are easier ways.  I think next year we will go back to my strategy from 3 years ago, cardboard houses!  It's simple, sturdy and effective, just be wary of the boxes you use to create them.  You may think it's an odd suggestion, but consider, simply picking out the style of house you like, cut it out of the cardboard and hot glue it together, and you are ready to decorate.  Now to describe the gingerbread version, find a recipe, get ingredients, make dough, chill dough, roll out dough, cut out pieces, bake pieces, cool pieces, let pieces harden, reshape pieces that may have mutated during baking, make molten sugar, try not to burn yourself, race to dip pieces in molten sugar and put together, still trying not to burn yourself, try not to curse when you start breaking pieces or they don't fit together right, pray the whole thing doesn't collapse and then take a breath!  Did you get all that?  See why I'm considering revisiting the cardboard next year.  And lets face it who actually eats the house in the end, seriously, stale rock hard gingerbread?   There are a good many things I would prefer to consume before that.

That said, the houses turned out great, and so much fun to decorate, Ceci made a pretty serious attempt to decorate, I think it was only because she got to eat "Chocolate Chippies" during the process.  Sneaky little monkey!  I can't wait for next year when I can get another 2 minutes worth of decorating out of her.

For the cookie swap, abundance doesn't even begin to describe what happened!  I think the final count was 6 different types of cookies, everyone of them delicious and gluten free!  I made, coconut macaroons, sugar cookies, and chocolate peppermint cookies.  Sheri brought pinoli cookies and some chocolate pudding cookies made with gf bisquick, and Marlene brought meranges.  Seriously, I'm going to be in a sugar coma when this is over.  And I'm already planning for next year, because I can't wait!

What is the gold standard test for celiac disease

I love this! So much information is coming out in the past couple of days pushing to avoid unnecessary blood and biopsy tests, thank you! In order to get a real test, a person has to consume gluten for long enough to make them sick and then the tests can be performed, someone finally sees the fault in that. Why should I make myself or my child ill so you can write down in a chart what I know in my life and in my heart. We feel better without gluten! Thank you Dr. Vikki!