I Made Toast

English Muffins - preview

2012-01-22T13:06:00.001-05:00

Gluten Free Nanaimo Bars

2011-12-02T20:26:00.000-05:00

Some holiday traditions should really be done all year round. The Nanaimo bar is always around the house at the holidays. Normally made with graham cracker crumbs, I had to make a change this year and there's no difference whatsoever. Other than no tummy ache!!

From Wiki: "The Nanaimo bar is a dessert of Canadian origin popular across North America. A type of chocolate no-bake square, it is named after the West-Coast city of Nanaimo, British Columbia. It consists of a wafer crumb-based layer, topped by a layer of light vanilla or custard flavoured butter icing, which is covered in chocolate made from melted chocolate squares.[1] Many varieties are possible by using different types of crumb, flavours of icing (e.g. mint, peanut butter), and types of chocolate. Two popular variations on the traditional Nanaimo bar involve mint flavoured icing or mocha flavoured icing."

I used Josef's graham crackers:

They worked fantastic but are slightly difficult to find. Kinnikinnick Graham Crumbs are becoming more widely available though.
Since my Sugar Cookies turned out so well last time, I think I might bake a few a little bit more and then crush them. I'm sure I will find a place for the rest of the cookies that are made. The first batch didn't last long at all!

Nanaimo Bars

Base

1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup white sugar
1 egg
4 Tbsp cocoa
2 cups graham wafer crumbs
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Custard

1/4 cup butter
3 Tbsp milk
1 Tbsp vanilla custard powder or pudding powder
2 cups sifted icing sugar
Add peppermint extract to taste and green food colouring to tint to your preference

Topping

4 squares semi-sweet chocolate
1 tsp butter

For base:
Mix 1/2 cup butter, white sugar, egg and cocoa in top of double boiler and set over boiling water. Stir until mixture resembles a custard. Combine crumbs and nuts and mix into cocoa mixture. Spread and press tightly into a 9x9 pan. Chill while preparing custard.

For custard:
Cream 1/4 butter, milk, custard powder and icing sugar, peppermint and food colouring together and spread over mixture in pan. Chill while preparing topping.

Topping:
Melt chocolate over hot water and add butter and blend well. Spread over custard filling. Let set and chill.*
If you like, when the chocolate has set slightly you can score the chocolate so that it won't break when it's firmly set.

Enjoy!!!!!!!!

Gluten Free Cinnamon Bun Cake

2011-12-01T18:04:00.001-05:00

Remember when Cinnabon first appeared in malls? The smell overtook the nearby area and you just had to buy some to take home. You know, back when your hips and butt were a whole lot smaller?

Well anyways, Cinnamon buns have always been a Christmas tradition at my house. Used to just go with the easy Pillsbury Pop-open packs and then last year I made my own using a recipe I found on the celiac forums. They were quite good and I thought about making them again but then somewhere in my constant browsing of food sites, I saw it.

CINNAMON BUN CAKE

I planned on making it and just converting it to Gluten Free but I could not find the same page again.

So I made my own.

Gluten Free Cinnamon Bun Cake

How easy does that look? It's quick,it's convenient, it's easy. No kneading or rolling, just scooping and smoothing.

Cinnamon Bun Cake

Cake

1/2 c. butter ( melted will make the batter easier to spread but softened is also fine)
1/2 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 c. gluten free flour ( I use 2 parts brown/white rice, 2/3 part potato starch, 1/3 part tapioca)
1 tsp xanthan gum
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp vanilla

Cinnamon Mix

1/4 c.brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon

Icing

1.5 - 3 ounces of a package cream cheese, softened ( I prefer 1.5-2 myself for less cream cheese taste)
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups icing sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract ( I use clear vanilla extract)
1/8 teaspoon salt

Grease 9 x 9 inch pan or line with parchment paper

Mix well butter and 1/2 cup sugar. Add eggs. Mix in flour, xanthan gum, baking powder, salt and vanilla extract. Mix brown sugar and cinnamon together. Spoon 1/2 of the batter in the pan and spread batter over pan and sprinkle with 1/2 of the Cinnamon Mix. Top with remaining batter and cinnamon mix. Bake 350°F. for 30-35minutes or until cake tests done.

For icing, using a stand mixer or hand mixer, beat cream cheese, butter, icing sugar, vanilla and salt together until icing is smooth and fluffy, approx 5 minutes.

Pour icing over warm cake and let sit to cool.

** If you are making this with regular flour, use 1 cup of all-purpose flour and omit xanthan gum**

I used my Peach Cake recipe for the base cake mix.

First layer of batter and cinnamon

2nd layer

Looks perfect to me!

You're covering it in cinnamon and icing anyway so it doesn't have to be beautiful

Fresh out of the oven

How do I not own a square 9 x9 pan anymore?

Every bite has cinnamon and icing

Hello there....

Chocolate Temptation Chocolate Cake

2011-09-04T16:23:00.001-04:00

This is the greatest chocolate cake that I've ever had, hands down. This includes my pre-Gluten Free days. I was never one to make my own cake from scratch since the boxed mixes always turned out so well and were so moist. Rather than using boxed GF cake mixes that fall apart, taste flat and only make 1 layer, why not try a real cake?

This comes from Ree Drummond, the Pioneer Woman and truly is a great recipe.

I've made it before but posting this time with my own alterations making it easier than ever!

My very first attempt at this cake last year. I've made it many times since then.

Chocolate Temptation Chocolate Cake

Ingredients

For the Cake:

1 Cup Butter
2 cups Sugar

2 cups all-purpose Gluten-Free Flour*
2 tsp xanthan gum
¼ teaspoon Salt
4 Heaping Tablespoons Cocoa
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 teaspoon Baking Powder

½ cup Buttermilk ( use 1 /2 cup milk plus 2 tsp of cider vinegar if you do not have buttermilk)
2 Eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon Vanilla
1 cup Hot Water

For the Icing:

½ cups Finely Chopped Pecans
3/4 cup Butter
4 Heaping Tablespoons Cocoa
6 Tablespoons Milk
1 teaspoon Vanilla
1 pound Powdered Sugar (approx 1/2 bag of a 1 kg bag)

*also use an additional small amount of butter and 2 Tablespoons of flour for flouring cake pan

Note: I have used a general all purpose GF flour mixture from Bulk Barn as well as my standard baking mix of 2 parts rice flour, 2/3 part potato starch and 1/3 part tapioca starch.

Preparation Instructions

Prepare 9 x 13 pan by greasing with butter and sprinkle in 2 Tablespoons of gluten free flour. Shake flour around pan until lightly covered and discard remaining flour.
Heat oven to 350F.

In mixing bowl, cream butter until fluffy and add sugar. Mix until well combined.
Add flour, xanthan gum, salt, cocoa, baking soda and baking powder. Mix well.
Add buttermilk, eggs and vanilla and mix until combined.
Carefully add 1 cup hot water and gently stir until water is incorporated.
Pour into prepared cake pan.

Bake for approximately 35-40 minutes until tester comes out clean.

While cake is baking, make the icing.

Melt butter in a saucepan over low heat. Add cocoa, stir to combine, then turn off heat. Add the milk, vanilla, and powdered sugar. Stir together. Add the pecans, stir together, and pour over warm cake.

Before baking

Poured warm icing over warm cake

For my birthday, I made small squares of cake and then poured the icing over top.

Stays nice and moist for over 1 week if it lasts that long. Keep a fork nearby and sneak some everytime you go in the kitchen and it'll be gone sooner. I know from experience

I plan on making this into a layer cake, into small cakes, cupcakes etc and just change up the icing. It's just a great recipe.

Ummm, welcome?

2011-09-03T18:32:00.000-04:00

People of internet land, welcome to my little corner of the blogosphere. I'm not really all that used to visitors around here, except for Jeanine from The Baking Beauties and well, my mom. My recipes are here, mostly for my own use, so that I have a place to keep them and to refer back to while I cook. I know that my photos aren't the greatest since I take them too fast and the lack of creative art design is apparent.

Jeanine was nominated for a Links assignment that is going around right now and she then nominated me as one of her 7 bloggers to do this next. I love Jeanine's blog. I've made a number of her recipes and even adopted her for Adopt a GF Blogger

So here goes...

Most Beautiful Post

Fried Chicken Well, oven fried chicken. So what if there is a crumb down by the bottom right corner. I still tried to take a nice photo with a black background. It's about as fancy as I get. It's crunchy and crisp and tastes fantastic cold the next day. It's perfect for picnics.

Most Popular

Everyones loves biscuits. And these are a nice rustic biscuit. King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Biscuits are definitely the most popular post here. Maybe it's people searching for King Arthur Flour, maybe not. But they are good. Not a light fluffy one like my Duinkerken ones but delicious anyways.

Most Controversial

Me? Controversy? I'm sorry. I searched and searched and I've got NUTHIN'!!! So I'm creating my own. Beer Battered Fish and Chips What kind of beer to use? Redbridge? Bard's? Green's? New Grist? La Messagere? Estrella Damm Daura? Or maybe skip the beer and add some soda water? Or plain water? Oh boy, the drama....

Most Helpful

Tips and tricks on making these crackers are what make this helpful. Sesame Crackers These are just so darn tasty. They don't last the afternoon with me.

Successful Surprise

Greek Salad Dressing is pretty popular around here. It's naturally GF and super yummy. Add some feta, olives, tomatoes and cucumbers and you're all set!

Post that Didn't get the Attention it Deserved

Another naturally GF item. Vintage Lemonade 3 ingredients. Peel lemons and squeeze, keep separate, add sugar, add boiling water. Cool, then mix. That's the short form version. It's a smooth lemonade, perfect for summer or the base of other citrus drinks. It's really not like any other lemonade you've had. It's been up for over 1 1/2 years but only viewed 23 times. Wonder how many of those views were me?

Post You're Most Proud Of

Lattice. On a Gluten Free Pie. Gluten Free Caramel Apple Pie Two recipes in one. Fantastic workable pie crust and my favourite caramel apple pie. It doesn't get any better than this.

I hope you've enjoyed some of these recipes and I hope you'll stick around.

Summer Fresh Berry Steak Sauce

2011-08-20T14:23:00.000-04:00

They say a good steak doesn't need any steak sauce. For the most part, that's true. There aren't a lot of options out there for a great steak sauce. The sauces are usually based on a brown-sauce style and include malt vinegar as one of the main ingredients. I usually only use salt and pepper lately and follow the Serious Eats philosophy for salting steaks at least 50 minutes before grilling. In addition, I love their Importance of Resting Meat article as well.

Last week, I was out for dinner and I normally don't use steak sauce but the steak didn't have much flavour. So I had some HP sauce which is a British brown sauce-style steak sauce and it really didn't add much to the steak. So I'm sharing one of my favourite recipes. It's been modified from this recipe. It's so simple yet so good.

Summer Fresh Berry Steak Sauce

Ingredients

1 pint raspberries, washed and dried
1 pint blackberries, washed and dried
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup GF Worcestershire sauce ( US- Lea and Perrins or Canada-Heinz London Style)*
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 cup cider vinegar
20 drops hot pepper sauce ( or more to taste. the longer it sits, the hotter it gets, I use Frank's Red Hot)
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions

In a saucepan over medium heat, combine raspberries and blackberries and cook down for approx 10-15 minutes until berries have liquified and lost their shape.
Strain berries through a fine mesh wire strainer until you have all of the berry juices that you possibly can. You will have a lump of thick berry residue in your strainer after this.
In a saucepan over high heat, blend berries, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, cider vinegar, hot pepper sauce, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat to low, and simmer 10 minutes, or until thickened.

I pour this into a few old sauce jars and it makes about 3-4 cups.
*Ensure you are using a Gluten Free Worcestershire Sauce. Look under SAUCES for Lea and Perrins and Heinz which will be the London Recipe version. Both are gluten free depending on where you are.

Slowly cooking berries down

Pour into strainer/sieve and press berries through. Scrape underside of mesh occasionally.

The remains

Nearly a cup of puree

Made over 1 3/4 bottles of sauce

Usually I buy a nice large tenderloin and cut it into smaller pieces to freeze or buy thick 16 oz steaks at the butcher and this sauce just compliments the beef so well. Sometimes, the heat of the sauce increases over time as you store it. It's perfect since berries are in season and it's the best time of year for grilling a nice juicy steak.

Gluten Free Niagara

2011-08-12T22:14:00.000-04:00

Where to eat gluten free in Niagara?

It's a bit of a tough one. Sure, there are restaurants who do rice pasta. It seems to be the most frequent offering on menus.

I don't eat out a lot here and there are restaurants that I eat that probably don't have a clue what gluten is and yet, I feel comfortable eating certain items. I have a restaurant to eat chicken wings, nachos and french fries at although they are a pub with probably no concept of gluten free. I just know that the wings are fried separately and they aren't breaded.

Breakfasts are often easy... Bacon, eggs and possibly the homefries depending on the spices. Some places will substitute a fruit cup for you instead of toast.

I work in a place that has a very nice restaurant and they make gluten free bread on site. I get a lot of phone calls from people who almost sound stressed when talking about it. " Well, we'd like to stay but I'm celiac" or "My daughter is celiac and we need to bring food for her" It's nice to reassure people that we can take care of them. On a recent weekend, I went to this restaurant for breakfast and enjoyed eggs, bacon and toast. The toast was grilled over an open flame as they don't have a separate toaster and this is how they do their GF toast for breakfasts. I've also heard that they will substitute the same bread for lunch sandwiches.

For dinner, I've always liked The Keg Steakhouse. There is one in St Catharines as well as two in the Fallsview area of Niagara Falls, Ontario which are a little more expensive than the St Catharines restaurant. I've enjoyed the prime rib ( no au jus), baked potato and on a more casual evening, nachos, bacon wrapped scallops and garlic and cheese shrimp. They do bring sourdough bread to the table and the shrimp does come with more bread on the side but I forego that. Margaritas or red wine may accompany these meals as well. For a short while, they did have a gluten free menu but they have since removed it.

There are a few restaurants that do rice pasta as I mentioned. Johnny Roccos, Cafe Amore - where the local Celiac group has dined and they have desserts and rolls available, and for a small intimate venue, La Scala Ristorante which is a 30 seat restaurant. I don't usually go out for pasta since I prefer La Veneziane Corn Pasta

There is a fantastic website called Gluten Free Ontario which lists all areas of Ontario as well as different chain restaurants as well. It is frequently updated to reflect new establishments. A few of the stores on the Niagara Falls and St Catharines sections do receive products from a local bakery which unfortunately I find extremely overpriced and the quality dismal.

The Celiac Scene has another list of restaurants that offer GF however I've looked up some of them and haven't really seen any information online regarding their offerings.

Pizza can be ordered from a couple different locations. Pizza Pizza has a gluten free crust and although it's a thin mostly rice flour based crust, it's great if you and your friends all want pizza. You do need to ensure you order the proper kind of pepperoni if you do order as the classic pepperoni contains gluten. Gluten free Ingredients at Pizza Pizza

You can also visit Boston Pizza. They feature gluten free pizza with crusts from Kinnikinnick . All the toppings that are GF are marked with a little star. At my restaurant I had pepperoni and bacon which is my favourite. Ask for it extra crispy so the crust is nicely cooked through.

You can also check out Roberto's Pizza in St Catharines for a gluten free crust.

One of the local restaurants I often go to is M.T Bellies in Welland and they have just put out their new menu which does have some items listed as GF on it. One thing to stress is that you need to ask questions since this is new for them. I've enjoyed the pizza with chicken and bacon and I usually have the Centre Cut steak with garlic smashed potatoes and broccoli. To be perfectly honest, I often have the nachos and the potato skins which are fried and I haven't had any problems. One of their servers has a child with celiac and she helped me when I ordered my pizza.

Another local place I used to go to quite a bit is Jack Astor's. They've just come out with a gluten free menu as well. They have a few options that I would like as well. Definitely somewhere to go back to although I can't have any of their delicious Garlic Pan Bread any longer.
On the American side, you have a lot more options with all the national chains creating gluten free options and/or gluten free menus.

You can also look at the Gluten Free in Western New York website and the Buffalo Gluten Free website for even more places.

Back on the Canadian side of the border, one classic chain is Swiss Chalet. A 1/4 rotisserie chicken with chalet dipping sauce and salad is a great choice. The salad are never packaged with croutons so there is no worry there. Although they hand cut their french fries every day, they do occasionally deepfry breaded items in the same fryer so it is not a safe option. They also serve their meals with a bun and I ask not to have it added to my meal.

Overall, there still aren't a lot of places because there are a lot of chain restaurants and they are the type of restaurant that only has sauces and condiments listed as gluten free. Not much help there. But with a little research, you'll find something. Otherwise come on over. I'll BBQ!.

Katz Gluten Free Bakery

2011-08-09T10:31:00.000-04:00

I have a confession. I was supposed to review the products Katz Gluten Free Bakery very generously sent to me.

I also have 2 large dogs. Piper and Buster. Both can reach the counter and enjoying snacking on counter items when we aren't looking. I know what you are thinking but that's not what happened.

We've taken to storing things in the oven or microwave instead of on the counter. At any given time, you may find different items in either of these. Before I make dinner, there is usually salad, bread, marinating meats etc hidden away.

In the oven, I had a cake pan with a delicious gluten free sheet cake that was nearly gone along with the Katz products and well, ooops.... The oven was turned on.

I did get a chance when the box arrived to pop a few Sugared Snack Poppers but that's about it. They were quite tasty little crunchy cookies.

No apple pie for me.

No Bundt Cake for me.

But they looked delicious. Before the oven was turned on, that is.

About Katz Gluten Free for Gluten Free Products, Foods & Recipes

Katz Gluten Free Bake Shoppe was established in early 2006 by F. Katz, with not much more than a home model kitchen mixer, some thoroughly tested recipes, and an unyielding quest for perfection. As word of our famously delicious confections rapidly spread, so did our base of operations.

Today, Katz Gluten Free operates out of a state-of-the-art facility, which has been Certified Gluten-Free by the Gluten Intolerance Group® (www.gluten.net) , for our unmatched reliability in complying with strict gluten-free standards. Our facility is completely nut-free and dairy-free. All of our products are certified Kosher, and are under the stringent supervision of the OU and Rabbi Y. Gruber.

As the mother of two children who are gluten intolerant, Mrs. Katz knows firsthand the hardships and daily struggles parents endure in their attempts to maintain a thoroughly gluten-free diet for their kids. She knows - as only a parent could - that the only way to minimize and avoid temptation, is by offering a variety of products that are rich in flavor, texture, and taste. That is why she constantly strives to concoct recipes that are as luscious as they are healthy.

We feature an extensive, ever-expanding selection of products, to meet the culinary demands of every gluten-intolerant individual. Our products consist only of pure, all natural high-quality and fresh ingredients, with no preservatives added, and are thoroughly taste-tested to ensure absolute goodness in every bite.

Katz Gluten Free invites you to enter their Summer Bloggin Spectacular. We have partnered with blogs across the gluten free spectrum, with Katz GF giveaways on each blog. Additionally, you can enter below to win a box filled with all 40 delights Katz Gluten Free has to offer! Rugelach, Pies, Cakes, Breads, Cookies and more! The contest will run from July 4th throughtAugust 15th!

Enter their Giveaway here!!!

Everything is available for sale online .Connect with them on Facebook and Twitter as well.

Right now they are offering free shipping on all orders of $30 or more. Also they have 2 great coupon codes which offer discounts to you. SummerPie1 is for $4 off one Apple Pie and SummerPie2 is for $4 off one Cherry pie.

Biscuits. Nothing but GF biscuits...

2011-02-26T17:23:00.000-05:00

I love biscuits. I don`t know why. I remember while on my very long road trip through the US, we saw sign after sign for restaurants that had biscuits. Going through the drive-thru of Bojangles to get my friend a coffee and I couldn`t convince her to get any biscuits. It`s my belief that my friends should eat the things that I can`t so I can live vicariously through them.

McDonald`s has had biscuits in the US for I don`t know how long now but they just brought them out in Canada so now I am bombarded by commercials for biscuits.

So of course, I`ve been craving biscuits lately. I stopped in at Bulk Barn to pick up some spices and saw that the Duinkerken foods Biscuit Mix was on sale. I`ve bought their flours before there since they come in boxes and I don`t usually buy my flours in bulk due to contamination issues. I saw a box of their biscuit mix and decided to try them.

You add 2 eggs, and a form of shortening ( I use butter ) and then milk and then after mixing and a quick knead, you can either roll it out or pat it out like I did. Since I didn`t have my rolling pin, I made square biscuits instead of round ones.

After a quick bake they are ready to eat.

They are flaky and buttery and have that proper biscuit taste and texture on that bottom crust.

Keep in mind, I`m Canadian. There`s no southern grandma hand-me-down recipe that I have to compare to. Only Pillsbury and Bisquick and well, Red Lobster.

Duinkerken Mixes and Flours can be found at Bulk Barn and they have also just expanded to Walmart across Canada.

This is their only mix that I`ve tried and I really liked it. If I want biscuits, this is the way I`m going to make them and I rarely make things from mixes.I`m going to buy a few more boxes since they are sale and try some garlic and cheese drop versions as well.

The mix is full of starches however so if you are looking for a whole-grain type of product, you won`t find it here. It`s a biscuit. It`s not supposed to be healthy. When I want a buttery, flaky biscuit, that I am going to add more butter to, this is definitely the way to go.

Also, I did not cut one open today and brush melted butter on it and then put a piece of bacon on it for an impromptu bacon sandwich. Okay, I did.

Gluten Free Chicken Fingers

2011-01-16T09:42:00.000-05:00

It used to be a pretty safe bet that I would order chicken fingers in a restaurant. With BBQ sauce. Why look at a menu? You know I'm going to order it.

I'm not a fancy person. Gimme a burger, pizza, fries and I'm happy. Pub platters... I'm in heaven. Or I was.

It was a long time before I had chicken fingers again. There is some effort involved but as you'll see, I am set up for months after I make these chicken fingers.

Chicken Fingers

Boneless chicken breasts
Buttermilk
Seasoned flour mix *see below - Flour is just a general GF mixture. 2 parts brown rice flour, 2/3 part potato starch, 1/3 part tapioca starch
Oil for frying

Seasoned flour mix

1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/4 teaspoons fresh ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

This was for 2 cups of flour. If you want it spicier, add a little more.

Slice each chicken breast into however many pieces that you would like. Chicken tenders, popcorn chicken, chicken cutlets etc.
Pour enough buttermilk into a bowl to cover the chicken, reserving a small amount (about 1/4 cup) of buttermilk.
Drizzle reserved buttermilk in the seasoned flour and stir lightly so that you see little clumps of flour start to ball up. Just a few are good.
Dredge the chicken breast pieces in the seasoned flour mix.
Let them rest for a few minutes in the mix while the oil preheats to about 375F.

Time to deep fry some fingers!

When I make them, I prepare them for freezing. I love convenience food. It fits my schedule.
After letting them rest in the flour mix, I put them in the deep fryer at for about 15 seconds, just long enough for the flour to set and slightly crisp up. Drained them and onto the parchment paper they went and then into the freezer overnight.Then they were bagged and kept in the freezer until needed.

I do small batches so that I can get them into the freezer as soon as I pull them out.

Of course, should you wish to deep fry them all the way, go for it and they probably take about 5-7 minutes until golden brown.

When you're ready to bake them, they'll need about 20 minutes at 350F to bake through.Convection is best or on a rack so the heat will circulate around them. I use my NuWave oven ( Flavorwave oven) which is a small convection oven and it takes them about 17 minutes.

Or..... toss in a homemade buffalo wing sauce. Equal parts butter and hot pepper sauce such as Frank's Red Hot for a medium heat.

Serve with plum or BBQ sauce. Sweet Baby Rays is my choice for a spicy sauce.

Anytime I want chicken fingers, I have them now. I can also prep these as chicken cutlets for chicken parmigiana or breaded chicken burgers etc. I usually wait until chicken is on sale and then slice up some chicken for stir-fries as well. I'll buy a few packages and then prep up all kinds of breaded cuts and just increase the flour and seasoning as need.

Frozen GF chicken fingers are definitely the way to go for me.

Adopt a GF Blogger - Heidi from Adventures of a Gluten Free Mom

2010-12-06T20:06:00.000-05:00

It's holiday baking time which is something I love to do. I like lots of easy filler type items which supplement the main event, the COOKIES!

This month's Adopt a Gluten free Blogger is hosted by Sea over at Book of Yum. I chose Heidi over at Adventures of a Gluten Free Mom. She has so many ideas for things I want to make like Twix bars.

I chose to make her Peppermint Bark and not only was it easy, it's excellent. Usually I make white chocolate bark only but it's so festive and extra fancy when you make this with the chocolate and white chocolate.


Heidi's photo of her peppermint bark

This recipe is extra special because it's written by Gluten Free Dad. Let's get some more guest posts!!

I also made her Chow Mein noodles. After I saw this post, I did a lot of searching for similar recipes. I really couldn't find any though. There were lots of recipes for the actual chow mein noodles chinese dish but nothing for actually making the noodles.
One holiday staple for us, is always what we call " Oh Henry's" . I think there are many different names. Last year, I used potato chips and they were called Nutchos but with this, I was able to make my Oh Henry's again. In Canada, we have a chocolate bar with peanuts and I think caramel called an Oh Henry bar but this isn't quite the same thing.

Melted chocolate, peanuts, and chow mein noodles all stirred together and dropped onto a cookie sheet to harden and they become a nice little sweet treat.


Yum. Oh Henry's.

Check out this fabulous GF version of toasted ravioli while you are over there. Toasted Ravioli
Looks soooo delicious.

Adopt a GF Blogger - Ellen from I Am Gluten Free

2010-11-06T16:53:00.000-04:00

For this month's Adopt a Gluten Free Blogger hosted by Seamaiden at the Book of Yum, I chose a blogger whose blog I have visited from the early days of going gluten free. I often visited the post about wontons however I have never made them. I visited the posts about bagels and breadsticks and wraps, oh my.
Then I saw this recipe for cookies.

Chocolate Chip Macadamia Cookies.

I'm not a huge chocolate chip cookie fan. I can take them or leave them.

What I can't resist, is White Chocolate Macadamia Cookies. When people used to go to Subway for lunch and they would bring back a pile of cookies, I chose that one. When we would bake cookies at a bakery I used to work at, those were the ones I would sneak or buy a package to take home.

So when I saw this recipe, I knew I had to make them. Unfortunately, I don't have macadamias in my pantry nor do I live on the macadamia-carrying-grocery-store side of town. What I did have was almonds: whole, sliced or slivered. I chose sliced.

This is my new cookie recipe. I'm sure I can make anything with this. Cranberry orange, dried cherry/pistachio, butterscotch pecan, double chocolate etc.
I haven't made a lot of gluten free cookies. I have made my Rolled Sugar Cookies and some oatmeal butterscotch pecan cookies, peanut butter chocolate and I think that's it.
It just seemed like a lot of people weren't having any luck with GF cookies - they would spread or not hold their shape etc. So I didn't really work on them.

However, cookies are back!

White Chocolate Almond Cookies

Hello........

I love white chocolate.

I can't wait to try more of Ellen's recipes. They are so organized. Mexican, Indian, Pasta, Vegetarian, she's got it all. She's also got a fantastic blog roll on the side which leads you to some absolutely fantastic blogs plus a bunch of links to celiac info. I Am Gluten Free is a fantastic resource for someone just starting out like I was a couple years ago. I hope you take a look.

Raclette - October Unprocessed

2010-10-30T10:15:00.000-04:00

Raclette? What? What's that? It sounds kind of .... French.

Well it is. Raclette is a semi-firm cow's milk cheese that is really good for melting. The dish began in Switzerland where it was originally left near the fire and it would start to melt and you would scrape ( the verb racler) it onto your plate to eat with items like small potatoes, gherkins, dried meat and bread.

There are 2 types, one that holds a large round of cheese and the other with a grilling top section and then little trays that slide in underneath that broil the cheese. I wanted the grilling type.

In the summer, I went to a garage sale and they actually had one. Completely unused and they didn't have a clue what it was for. $20 later and it was mine.

My New Grill!!!

Have you ever fondued? Well I suppose this is kind of like that. You cook your own food.
I love fondue.

Anyways, I thought this would be good as October is Unprocessed Month over at Eating Rules and this is full of pure, simple foods.

I'm a mozzarella/cheddar girl and those have to be melted for me to eat them. I don't eat other cheeses except parmesan. I was in Quebec a few weeks ago to visit a friend and they had just had raclette the night before and told me all about it. We visited the grocery store while I was there so I could pick up some snacks and they had a ton of sliced fondue meats and also the raclette cheese which I decided to try.

There's no real recipe here.

Cooked food:
Small potatoes - Steamed/boiled until cooked through. Placed in a bowl lined with a teatowel to keep warm.
Focaccia - I made Annalise Roberts' focaccia. Quick and easy

Raw food:
Shrimp - peeled and tail-off
Thinly sliced chicken breast
Partly steamed broccoli - just to give it a head start
Peppers - thinly sliced
Raclette cheese and mozzarella cheese
Onions - thinly sliced red onion
Ham - thinly sliced
Garlic butter
Parmesan

That's it.

Sit down to enjoy and cook.

Getting ready to move it all to the table

I know you'll understand but I had to taste the focaccia to see how it turned out. Then I ummm...had to try it with some olive oil and herbs. Then some olive oil, balsamic and herbs. Then others had to try it. So pardon it's shape please.

Chicken, broccoli, onions, peppers and cheese


Okay so the focus is off but what do you expect? I have food in front of me. This is garlic buttered focaccia with cheese melted on it.

We had lots of extra trays so we could experiment. You can cook on top of the griddle or half on top/half broiled or fully broiled.

Some raclette ideas:
Precook some chicken, broccoli, onions and peppers. Add garlic butter to grill top if you like
Add these items to try and add cheese and broil until melty. Melty is a new word I use in cheese cooking.
Serve with bread.
You could even do it fajita style if you have some corn tortillas.

Ham/Cheese/Focaccia

Garlic butter/focaccia/cheese

Shrimp/garlic butter/cheese - cooked until pink and cheese is melted

The true way: just cheese in the tray and then when it's melty, pour it on warm potatoes.
I did this just after I'd cooked the garlic shrimp so there was still garlic butter in my tray which drizzled on the potatoes. Oh my.
I wasn't expecting much from this. It's cheese. It's potatoes. But wow, cheese and potatoes...YUM!

A big salad started us off with my Greek Salad Dressing and I actually added a little bit ( 1/4-1/2 tsp) xanthan gum to help it stay in more of an emulsified state so it wouldn't separate as easily. Wonderful.

Simple. Pure. Good.

Scary, scary, Salsa

2010-10-25T22:31:00.000-04:00

I've always been a picky eater. Sauces and toppings, not for me! Funny thing though, if I have a couple of cocktails, I become more adventurous. This would be how I came to try mushrooms and green peppers on pizza many years ago. Or black olives and sour cream on nachos a couple of years ago. I'm the farthest thing from a foodie in the world. Except that I love food. Just my kind of food, simple food.

So one night, I was at a restaurant, after a work event and this is how I came to try..... salsa.
I don't like tomatoes. I like ketchup. I like pizza sauce. I like tomato sauce. I like sundried tomatoes. But I don't like tomatoes. I grow them. But I don't eat them, plain, raw, whole etc. Food psychologist referrals can be left in the comments.

While enjoying my margarita, some chips and salsa were delivered to the table. This was not your regular salsa. It wasn't chunky with peppers and onions floating in it. It wasn't overly thick and red like a sauce. It was fresh and light and smooth. So I dipped. Just slightly. Hmmm, this wasn't bad. A slight citrus tang. A kick of spice from cumin. A lingering heat blended in stealthily. Is that a word? As we drank, the chips diminished. The salsa diminished. The chips were refilled. The salsa was refilled. Freshly made chips, lightly sprinkled with salt. My new heaven.

I started making this at home and would bring it in to work and set it in a bowl on the big center island filing cabinet. 6 or 7 of us would stand around munching. The slight heat of the jalepeno wasn't enough to make you stop but rather it just made you want more.

Since then I have tried other salsas. Too thick, too thin, too tomatoey, too chunky. I'm just not happy with
anything else. We tried making salsa from fresh tomatoes and it turned out more pink than red, more like applesauce than salsa. Canned is the way to go for this. And I'll always have the ingredients on hand.

Salsa

1-2 jalapenos- depending on how spicy you like it, roughly chopped and seeds removed
1/2 medium red onion, roughly chopped
14 1/2 ounce can diced tomatoes
1 lime, juiced
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
pinch of sugar

Combine jalepenos and onions in blender or food chopper and pulse or lightly process until chopped.

Add remaining ingredients and process until tomatoes are at your preferred consistency.
For best flavour, chill covered in fridge for a few hours before serving.

*Optional* After spooning into serving bowl, add about 1 tbsp diced red onion and a little lime zest to the top as a garnish

In the Ninja chopper

Serve with Guacamole

If you're scared of any other food, check out Scared Silly over at The Whole Gang. Diane is hosting this month's Go Ahead Honey, It's Gluten Free originally brought to you by Naomi Devlin. Enjoy!!!!!

Kathleen

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Gluten Free Caramel Apple Pie

2010-10-23T17:05:00.000-04:00

Back in the day, I used to bake a lot of pies. A LOT. Hundreds per day. Of course, they were frozen at the bakery I worked at, so we egg-washed and sugared the top and then baked until golden brown. I never really liked pie then though. I enjoyed pecan pie and pie crust but I was never big on fruit fillings.

A couple of years ago, I wanted some apple pie and found a really well-reviewed recipe on All Recipes. I picked up some Pillsbury rollout pie crust dough which was fairly new to us and went for it. It was unbelievable. Probably because it was more of a caramel version than cinnamon and nutmeg and if you've read any of my other posts, you know I love caramel.

The recipe is fairly simple to change over, but I had to make some pie dough.
Thankfully, I found Donna Jo's Dream Pastry from Bette Hagman online.
You can find it by a quick search but I find that a few of them either omit the water or have very little or just have the wrong ingredients.

I do not use shortening or butter substitutes because well, butter's better and I can't do soy without a lot of pain. You could also use 1/2 cup butter and 1/2 cup butter flavoured shortening.

Gluten Free Pie Pastry

Adapted from Donna Jo's Dream Pastry which lacks the sweet rice flour and Donna Jo's Dream Pastry from here.

1/2 cup tapioca flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup potato starch
1 cup sweet rice flour
1 rounded tsp xanthan gum
1/2 tsp salt
dash sugar optional
1 cup butter
1 egg cold
1 Tbsp. GF vinegar
2 - 4 Tbsp cold water

sweet rice flour for rolling

Blend together the flours, xanthan gum, salt, and sugar. Cut in the butter in small dabs until you have pieces the size of lima beans (not cornmeal).

Beat the egg using a fork; add the vinegar and ice water. Stir into the flour mixture, forming a ball. You may knead this a bit, since rice flour crusts can stand handling. Refrigerate the dough for an hour or more to chill.

Divide dough and roll out on a sweet rice-floured board (or on floured plastic wrap, for easier handling). Place in a pie tin. If using plastic wrap, remove it to the pie tin and invert the dough into the pan. Shape before removing the plastic. Bake as directed for the filling used.

For a baked crust, prick the pastry with a fork on sides and bottom. Bake the crust in a pre-heated 450 oven for 10 - 12 minutes, or until slightly browned. Cool before filling. Makes enough pastry for a 2-crust 9" pie plus 1 pie shell.

Well, now that that is over with.

Let's make pie!

Caramel Apple Pie

Adapted from Apple Pie by Grandma Ople

1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch double crust pie- unbaked

1/2 cup butter
3 tablespoons gluten free flour mix
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
3 Golden Delicious and 3 Granny Smith apples - peeled, cored and sliced and placed in separate bowl

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).

Place the bottom crust in your pan.

Melt the butter in a saucepan. Stir in gluten free flour to form a paste. Add water, white sugar and brown sugar, stir and bring to a boil. Reduce temperature and let simmer.

Pour half of caramel mixture over apples and toss gently. Return caramel to stove.
Fill pie crust with apples, mounded slightly. Cover with a lattice work of crust. Gently pour the sugar and butter liquid over the crust. Pour slowly so that it does not run off.

Bake 15 minutes in the preheated oven on a cookie sheet to catch any drips. Reduce the temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Continue baking for 35 to 45 minutes, until apples are soft.

So it's not a perfect lattice but it was getting a wee bit warm. This is before I added the last half of the caramel

Mid way through baking. Definitely need a tray underneath.

Mmmm pie. I may or may not have pulled off pieces of crust to munch on.

Just as good as my old version

This post is linked to Gluten Free Wednesdays at The Gluten Free Homemaker and also to A Gluten-Free Holiday, hosted by Amy of Simply Sugar & Gluten-Free with this week's event Thanksgiving Favorites being hosted by Shirley of Gluten-Free Easily.

Kathleen

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This is what I do on my day off...

2010-10-16T19:41:00.000-04:00

So many ingredients for Gluten free bread

My new mixer. What should we name her?

Dan Lepard's Gluten Free White Bread - resting

Jeanne's (@fourchickens) Sourdough

White Bread Rising!

1 batch of English Muffins in a pan

Making some English Muffins in the skillet

The sourdough WON'T stop growing!

English Muffins - millet, sorghum, brown rice, potato starch, tapioca starch

Oh, how I've missed you...

Holey Bread. So yum.

Can't wait to toast this.

Sourdough monster - I don't have a Dutch oven so I used my high sided round pan

Sourdough - delish with garlic butter

Getting ready to BBQ on the deck

The neighbour dog taking herself for a walk

Chicken Thighs, Grilled Broccoli and Cauliflower, Carrots, Onions, Peppers in Sundried Tomato Basil Pesto

Buffalo Wing and BBQ

Grilled Veggies

Gluten Free in Banff, Alberta

2010-10-10T20:15:00.000-04:00

For over 2 years, I lived in a park. Filled with wild animals, bears, elk, moose, coyotes, cougars and many more.

Coyotes

Elk

Bears

Deer

More Elk

Big-Horned Sheep

Wolves

I lived in Banff National Park in the town of Banff. It was here that I discovered that I could no longer eat wheat, rye, barley and oats. This didn't mean that my days of eating out were over though. There were still many places that I could go.

Elk and Oarsman - The Elk has always been one of my favourite places to go. It's the perfect apres-ski/sports watching kind of place. Extremely popular on Tuesdays for Steak Sandwich night, they also have other nightly themes every day. Recently, they published their Gluten Free menu with a few items on it and as well, their main menu also lists that they have gluten free bread for sandwiches as well as gluten free pizza. Quite of a few of their other items can be served with rice crackers as you can see on their Gluten Free Menu . They seem to have a good solid staff that doesn't have an extremely high turnover rate as in some restaurants in Banff. My favourite here has always been the Tin Plate Nachos.

St James Gate - Normal Menu - Located on Wolf Street across from Cascade Plaza. St James Gate has always been a favourite for after work drinks as well. My favourite here - again, the Nachos.

I see a pattern here. I eat a lot of Nachos.

Keg Steakhouse Gluten Free Menu - The Keg Steakhouse is a Canadian chain that is extremely popular. They are located inside the Banff Caribou Lodge. They have always had a strong fantastic serving staff who know their stuff. They have fantastic....um.... nachos. BUT, I also get other items!

Recently, they have published a gluten free menu online which is fantastic. Many choices here. They serve the table a big loaf of bread and butter but you can push that to the side obviously or watch as your fellow diners enjoy. I think for this reason, the garlic cheese shrimp that I usually have ordered is not on the GF menu. It comes with a side of bread to put the shrimp on. I've always just had the shrimp on it's own without the bread but perhaps this requires a little more research now.

My other appetizer of choice is the bacon wrapped scallops.
I also enjoy their prime rib and baked potato or garlic mashed ( no au jus) or the steaks are also fantastic.
And in the summer, it's LOBSTERFEST!

Somehow I ended up with 3 butters!! Life is good!

The Grizzly House - Normal Menu - The Grizzly House is a Banff legend with a very interesting history. It's fondue! Gator and elk and kangaroo, oh and chicken and beef as well. You can also choose to do a hot rock instead of fondue. We usually do the full meal which is salad ( I don't think it comes with croutons, but check), the veggie fondue for me and the cheese and bread for my friends since they are built for 2 people so we get one of each with the full meal.

Veggie Fondue

Then we also get either the fondue or the hot rock with whatever meat choice we've opted for. Be warned: At this restaurant, the cooking smell will permeate into your clothes so don't wear anything too nice!

Hot Rock - Chicken, Beef, Lobster with Garlic Butter

Magpie and Stump Another favourite is the Mexican restaurant, the Magpie and Stump. Home to a peanut-covered floor, this eatery on Caribou street serves a mean margarita and lots of tequila. They have a gluten free menu and I often have the fajitas with corn tortillas. When I visited in the summer, I parked the rental car, visited my friend at work and went to meet another friend at the Magpie, which meant I had a margarita within 10 minutes of parking the car. Nice.

Boston Pizza Gluten Free Menu - Boston Pizza has recently rolled out a new line of GF pizza which is based on Kinnikinnick pizza crusts. Check with your server to ensure they will be making it in a proper GF area.

Nourish Gluten Free Menu - This is a small restaurant in the Bear Street Mall which features Vegan, Raw and Gluten Free/Wheat Free menu items.

Edo Japan - This was my lunch spot in the Cascade Mall Food Court. They saw me coming and they would start to clean the grill. Chicken Teriyaki, no sauce, no mushrooms. They would scrape down the hot flattop grill, and pour water on the hot surface which helps to steam it clean. Keep in mind:
Q – Are any of your meals gluten free?

A – As our signature teriyaki sauce contains a wheat based soy sauce, none of our meals prepared to recipe can be considered gluten free. Keep in mind however, you can always request your meal be specially prepared with no teriyaki sauce or soy sauce, hence eliminating gluten.

As a general rule, this does not eliminate the trace gluten on the grill. They got fresh chicken and fresh utensils for me and I never had any issues. Rice, broccoli, carrots and cabbage. Yum! I did however have a bottle of soy sauce in my big purse whenever I went for lunch.

Wild Flour Bakery - They have a few items at this artisan bakery on Bear Street. Website is under construction at this time.

Banff Ski Lounge - This is also a new place. The website says they have gluten-free cupcakes. I'm not sure if they come from the Wild Flour Bakery or not since I never saw GF cupcakes there.

There is another bakery in town who does do cupcakes and cakes. We ordered a cake for a birthday and it was utterly amazing. Chocolate, caramel filling. Delicious. The next month, we ordered another. But it wasn't gluten free. Malabsorption issues galore. I starved for 2 weeks. Couldn't get enough food to rid my stomach of that empty feeling. Lunch was steak, chicken, pork, sausage and potatoes. Second lunch was a repeat of that even though it was supposed to be the next's days food. And so on.

Canmore

Iron Goat - In Canmore, up in the Benchlands, there is the Iron Goat Restaurant named after the train that used to travel through. They have a number of items that can be made GF. I ordered their pizza and they brought out a wheat one by mistake. It looked too good to be true. They took it back and made me a new one. They made the dough from scratch and only one bake with the toppings on which meant parts of it were not quite done when they brought it out. Par-bake!!! Freeze!! It would have been great if it was was done like that.

Rocky Mountain Flatbread Company Nutter's Bulk and Natural Foods - If you are looking to stock up on treats like cookies, granola bars, and other items, check out Nutter's.

As always, these are subject to change. There are certainly hotels such as the Hidden Ridge Resort with kitchen facilities to prepare your own meals. There is always an inherent risk in dining out.

One other note: If you are travelling from the USA, you're in luck. While the US has malt-based coolers such as Mike's Hard Lemonade, Smirnoff Ice etc, the Canadian version is made with vodka. Which means..... You get to drink it!!!!!!!!!! We also have a lot of ciders in different flavours such as pear, raspberry, peach, apple etc!!

My favourite lake - Moraine Lake

A favourite backyard meal

Sunrise on the ski slopes

The view driving towards Banff

The other lift said there were wolf tracks.

The Banff Springs Hotel on a snowy day

Me. On a mountain.

Sunset one night walking home.

Mount Rundle - reflected in Two Jack Lake

Hiking at Sunshine Meadows

ENJOY!!!!

Kathleen

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Adopt a GF Blogger - Jeanne from Art of Gluten Free Baking

2010-10-03T13:58:00.000-04:00

My second time participating in Adopt A Gluten Free Blogger. Last month, I chose Jeanine from The Baking Beauties. This month, I chose Jeanne from Art of Gluten Free Baking. It appears that for next month, I will need to find someone with a similar name. I seem to have really good luck with their recipes.

When I chose Jeanne, her blog was called Four Chickens and she has recently picked up the coop and moved it on over to http://www.artofglutenfreebaking.com/ . Gluten free baking truly is an art and Jeanne has embraced that.

A few weeks ago, I bought some french bread pans online. All I wanted was bread. So my first "attempt" was just a mix, not really a true effort but I just wanted to get a feel for the pans. I had mixes in my pantry that I had bought long ago and wanted to use up. It was heavy, dense and sweet with a cake-like texture. I couldn't even make croutons out of them.Mixes...not for me.

Then I found a "new" flour mix online that someone else was promoting. It was heavy on the starches and I am not a fan of that type of squishy tapioca starchy texture but I thought I would try. I made one loaf in my french bread pan and then other in a round pan. 2 different recipes. Both immediately went into the garbage after 1 taste. I was not having much luck lately.

When I originally chose Jeanne, I was planning on making her french bread. I don't know if I will get that done by the time this needs to be submitted though.

Last week, I wanted some rolls. I found Jeanne's Dinner Rolls and decided to try them since I was making a nice Sunday dinner. There's a local bakery that makes some very similar buns to the ones she made in the muffin tin. I was more inspired by the ones she made that were just on the cookie sheet for a few reasons.

#1 I used to work at a bakery where we prepared baked goods from a frozen products company. I would take thawed french bread and cut it into 8 pieces and roll each one in cheddar cheese. Then I would place one in the center and surround that bun with the rest of the pieces. Once it had risen and had baked, it was called a cheese daisy and you could pull off piece by piece.

#2 There is a restaurant here which serves garlic-pan bread which is out of this world. They bake the rolls in similar daisy style with only 5 rolls. Then they take a parchment lined cast-iron skillet, ladle a scoop of garlic butter sauce in, place the joined rolls on top and then ladle on more garlic butter sauce. Back in the 90's, when I learned how to make this sauce, I gained 10lbs and had to quit making these buns with frozen bread dough rolls.

I made two round "loaves" of buns and decided to top them with some coarse sea salt and fresh rosemary that I had just finished drying. When I first tasted these, I knew the search for a soft bun was over. These were absolutely fantastic. Next time, I will make my scoops a little smaller so they don't get quite as large.

So thick my spatula stands on its own

Ice cream scoops are fabulous for gf batter bread

My hot pepper/rosemary drying device

Coarse sea salt with freshly dried rosemary

Brushed with butter

The second day, I did my garlic butter sauce. Delicious. I need to go to the gym ASAP!

I also made her Chocolate Sheet Cake with Chocolate Pecan Icing.
Let me first say that I'm a dumper. I dump. I constantly mess up recipes because I don't follow the instructions. I just start putting things in a bowl later realizing, the sugar was supposed to hang out with the yeast and water for a bit. So I attempt to scoop out a little sugar to help the yeast grow. That sort of thing.They work out every single time though which is why I never learn.

I also don't have a hand mixer or a stand mixer. I want a KitchenAid stand mixer and I have the money put aside for it but where to buy it and what colour to buy are the obstacles right now. So I mix by hand.

I creamed the butter for many minutes. Then the sugar for many minutes. When it came to the cocoa/flour mixture and the buttermilk, I needed to add them alternatively and mix small parts of them. I tweeted about my arm being sore but it was fine. Mix, mix, mix. I even got to try out my new Fat Daddio's 9 X 13 pan.

Butter and Sugar

Yum

After adding the hot water

My new pan

Okay, time for a break. I'm at work writing this. And by break, I mean, I want a bite of this cake before I continue.

Ahhh, that was fantastic. Sorry for the interruption. My first time making a cooked icing and it was so nice to be able to just pour it over the hot cake and be done with it! Here's the thing. I said I was a dumper. I forgot to follow the recipe for the icing. Hey, I can't change completely in one day. I was supposed to melt the butter and whisk in the cocoa, then whisk in the icing sugar. UH OH!

So the recipe called for 1 lb of icing sugar...

Handy dandy old school scale to the rescue

Dump...Oh.. I wasn't supposed to that.

It's not quite as a beautiful as it is supposed to be but that's okay. It's utterly delicious.Whatever you do, DO NOT cover it and let it sit on your counter anywhere near the vicinity of a fork. A bite here, a bite there, you'll just keep coming back and sneaking bites out of it.

I want to make all of her recipes. I just, for the first time right now, saw her Buttermilk biscuits photo. I smell biscuits in my future. And the french bread/baguette! And she's supposed to be working on a crusty roll recipe as well.

You can see more GF blogger adoptions at Book of Yum and check out more of Jeanne's recipes! Enjoy!!! As for me, I'll be at the gym, working off the butter!

Kathleen

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Peanut Butter Squares

2010-09-30T20:12:00.000-04:00

I wanted chocolate. I wanted peanut butter. I bought some Erewhon Gluten Free Organic Brown Rice Crisp Cereal today.

Which means, one of my old stand-bys from back in the gluten-filled day from my handwritten cookbook of all my favourites. Rather than Rice Krispies, this rice crisp cereal works out wonderful in a simple change to Gluten Free.

Peanut Butter Squares
Line a 8x8 square pan with parchment paper

6 tbsp butter
1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup corn syrup
2 cups rice crisp cereal
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/3 cup crunchy peanut butter

In medium saucepan, melt butter, 1/2 cup of peanut butter, brown sugar and corn syrup. Stir until smooth.
Pour in the cereal and nuts and stir until coated.
Pour into prepared pan.
Melt chocolate chips and 1/3 cup peanut butter together in small saucepan or melt in microwave 30 seconds at a time, stirring after each interval until melted.
Pour over cereal, spreading evenly.
Chill until firm and cut into whatever size pieces you wish.

This is the "I can't wait for it to properly set before I have one" look.

This is always a Christmas party classic square which is when we usually have this. I think I might make it more often now.

Ahhh, much better!

This post is linked to Gluten-Free Wednesdays

Kathleen

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Sweet Honey Glazed Ham

2010-09-29T19:56:00.000-04:00

Sometimes you want a nice meal that doesn't take a ton of bowls and pots and pans. Ham, glaze, sides. Done. This is a recipe I've used for years. It's simple and really compliments the ham. If you aren't looking for a turkey for Thanksgiving or Easter, ham is always an excellent choice.

Sweet Honey Glazed Ham
adapted from All Recipes

1 (10 pound) fully-cooked, bone-in ham
1 1/4 cups packed dark brown sugar
1/3 cup pineapple juice
1/3 cup honey
1/3 large orange, juiced and zested
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Place ham in a roasting pan.
In a small saucepan, combine brown sugar, pineapple juice, honey, orange juice, orange zest, Dijon mustard, and ground cloves. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes. Set aside.
Bake ham in preheated oven uncovered for 2 hours. Remove ham from oven, and brush with glaze. Bake for an additional 30 to 45 minutes, brushing ham with glaze every 10 minutes.

Chicken Stock, Red Onion, Green Pepper, Carrots. Toss all in rice cooker. Simple.


Steamed fresh green and yellow beans, tossed with butter and dill.


Buns. Gorgeous. Delicious. Part of my Adopt-a GF blogger post soon.

All in all, a simple classic dinner. Tons of leftovers. Lucky me.

This post is linked to Gluten Free Wednesdays .

Kathleen

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Beer Battered Fish and Chips

2010-09-24T19:40:00.000-04:00

Beer. Belly. Bloat. I used to think I was allergic to beer. That's what triggered my search into my symptoms and finding a celiac diagnosis.

I would leave parties early looking 5 months pregnant. I would just balloon up. Or if I tried to stay and we would walk home afterwards, I could barely keep up since my stomach hurt so much.

When I would go golfing, our golf carts had coolers attached to them so we would fill them with beer and I always felt awful.

I could drink 1 beer and feel fine. Phew. Beer was safe! It was not to be though. As soon as there were a couple beers, the same things would happen.

We went looking for Gluten Free Beer and found only 1 kind in our small tourist town. Le Messagere. So pale and I didn't really enjoy it. Returning home on vacation, I tried New Grist. Not bad although after 2, I still felt a little tickle in my stomach. I wouldn't drink more than that anyway but still...

During my road trip through the US, we ended up one night in Flagstaff, Arizona. Completely on purpose so that I could go to Picazzo's for the pizza I had read about months earlier. There I tried my first Bard's Tale.
Just like a microbrew it seemed. An excellent beer.

Coming home, I do a lot of shopping in the USA because of their labelling laws and one of the last times I went over, I brought back some Redbridge. Another great beer.

I think the Redbridge and the Bard's Tale are my two favourites for drinking.
This leaves me with a bunch of bottles to use for my fish and chips.

As soon as I can't have something, I want it. So I started looking for a fish and chip batter. Sometimes it's all about the pictures. The picture can captivate you or make you pass by the recipe to keep on looking for another. When you find that picture that helps you to see the outcome, it helps the less imaginative person like myself.

I found that recipe.

Real English Fish and Chips with Yorkshire Beer Batter
Adapted from Food.com - Enjoy the recipe as is on Food.com if you are not eating Gluten Free

4 servings

Ingredients

4 cod fillets or 4 haddock fillets
1 cup Gluten Free Flour *my flour mix below
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 to 1 bottle Gluten Free Beer - you'll need a few sips for taste-testing or to thin out your batter
1/2 lemon, juice of
salt & pepper
extra GF flour

2-4 Yukon gold or yellow fleshed potatoes
Canola Oil for Fryer

Heat oil up in automatic deep fat fryer to approx 325F.
Peel the potatoes and cut into chunky sized chips. Rinse and dry thoroughly.
Fry chips for about 3-5 minutes until soft but NOT coloured. Drain and shake well and set to one side so they cool.

Put some flour onto a plate. Dredge the fish fillets in the flour thoroughly - this is VERY important, it stops the batter sliding off when fried! Leave the fish fillets in the flour whilst you make the batter.

Put flour, baking soda, salt and pepper into a large roomy bowl. Add the beer gradually, stop when you have a thick coating type of batter. Drink any beer that is left! Whisk thoroughly until it is smooth and there are no lumps.

Add the lemon juice Mix thoroughly again.

Turn up the heat to 375F.
You can cook either the chips or the fish next now.

After the chips have cooled, they are ready for the second cooking. They will only take about 4-7 minutes for this second cooking depending on how long your first batch cooked for. You want them to still be on the paler, golden side while being cooked through. Once they are cooked, toss with salt and serve or hold in a warm oven.

Take one fillet of fish at a time and holding it by the tail or thin end (!) swirl it around the batter until well coated - plunge into hot oil immediately. As soon as it has crisped up and set, add your other fillets one at a time, taking out the first ones as they cook - about 5 to 8 minutes depending on the thickness.

I like to thin out the batter a little after this and throw in some onion rings as well.
It's generally a fantastic beer batter recipe whether you follow the GF modifications or not.

*Gluten Free Flour Mix
2 parts brown rice flour
2/3 part potato starch
1/3 part tapioca starch

Crisp batter, golden fries. What more could you ask for?

Kathleen

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When the Moon Hits Your Eye, Like a Big Pizza Pie...

2010-09-09T20:02:00.000-04:00

That's Amore...

Once upon a time, I used to make pizza. Thin crust, spicy oil, zesty pizza sauce, loads of mozzarella cheese and heaps of pepperoni. I loved my crust. It was thin and crispy yet enough dough to support everything.

I have a great recipe that I use for pizza dough that I use from one of Carol Fenster's cookbook. One time I forgot which recipe I used and ended up using Annalise Robert's recipe which was also pretty good.

One thing hasn't changed though. The pizza sauce.

I've never really been a fan of the ones you can buy in the store and they can't really be stored properly for long periods after they have been opened.

For tonight's sauce, I kept the sauce really simple. I could have added many more flavours but I was going for a certain style. Classic pizza shop with properly positioned pepperoni!

Easy Pizza Sauce

1 6 oz can tomato paste
1 6 oz can water
1 tsp agave (can use honey or sugar if you like)
1 TBSP each dried basil and parsley
Freshly ground pepper and salt

Empty the tomato paste in a bowl. Fill empty can with water and add to tomato paste. Mix slowly to incorporate. Add agave, basil, parsley, salt and pepper and stir to combine.

On other occasions, I will add rosemary, garlic powder, parmesan cheese, and/or red chile pepper flakes. Whatever you like, add. It's just the simplest, easiest sauce recipe you'll find!

Check out my Gluten Free tomato paste!

Mixing in the water

Add your spices

GF Patisserie Pizza Crust

Check out all the herbs!

GF Cheese!

I used to buy this cheese and it didn't have the GF symbol on it like over 800 Wegman's products. The ingredients list looked fine but there was no disclosure on the package. I was happy to see the GF Wegman's mark on the packages I bought today.

Oven - 450F for about 10-15 minutes until nicely browned, bubbly and crispy.

I spread on wax paper and freeze, then break into smaller pieces and place in a freezer bag

How good does that look?

By the way, at Wegman's today, they had a display of Italian sauces and pastas out in the front hallway and That's Amore was on a constant loop. It's still in my head!

Pesto EXTRAVAGANZA!

2010-09-07T20:10:00.000-04:00

The smells of fresh herbs in the garden... Anyone can grow herbs and they are almost always going to grow just fine. My garden is bursting with oregano, thyme and rosemary. The vegetables didn't turn out as well as I'd hoped this year. Too much heat at the wrong time I think.

The brussel sprouts just didn't sprout, the beans looked deformed, the onion sets never took and the peas just tangled with the onions. My roma tomatoes did just fine and my pepper plants flourished. I must go pick some of the jalepenos though. I have some peppers drying inside for an upcoming chipotle dish.

I picked some of the basil early to make some pesto and we didn't have as much as I would have liked near the end of the summer. Off to the market and we came home with a nice large bouquet of basil.

I could definitely make more with this batch.

Years ago, at a restaurant I worked at, they made a pesto dipping oil for the bread for guests. I never enjoyed it then. I don't know what was wrong with me. A couple years ago, I bought a pesto dip/sauce/just pesto in a fancy jar at a festival and then I brought it to a party along with a baguette and some extra oil to make it a bit more of a dipping oil. It was incredibly addictive mainly because of all the garlic in it I think.

There are so many pesto recipes out there. I don't enjoy pine nuts and there are plenty of alternatives out there such as walnuts or almonds but I choose to leave it out altogether.

Easy Pesto

4 cups loosely packed basil, washed and dry
3-5 cloves of garlic or more - Hey, why not? I have no one to kiss.
1/4 cup of parmesan cheese
Salt and Freshly ground pepper to taste

I throw all the ingredients into the Ninja ( food processor) and give it a few pulses.

Voila!!

I added lots of oil to it afterwards to swirl it up.

I had some Italian flatbread from GF Patisserie, and warmed it for a nice bread to dip.

We'd recently bought some fresh mozzarella to make Insalata Caprese... fresh tomatoes, basil, fresh mozzarella, olive oil and salt and pepper, maybe a drizzle of balsamic vinegar if you're feeling crazy.

We had just come from the market and I was planning on having some bread with pesto and since we had fresh cherry tomatoes, I decided to change up the Caprese a little.

Little ripe cherry tomatoes...

Fresh pesto...

And small chunks of fresh mozzarella...

The basil thoroughly mixes with the tomatoes and cheese for much grander flavour.

Another day, I wanted to make something along the lines of My Sundried Tomato and Basil Cheese Dip.

I was making some of the Easy Pesto and placed about 7 pieces of sundried tomatoes in a cup of boiling water for about 10 minutes until they plumped back up. Then I added them to the Ninja processor and pulsed it all on up.

I poured a little olive oil on some baguette from Aidan's Gluten Free and broiled it for a couple minutes and then added some of the Sundried Tomato Basil Pesto. Delicieux!

And to round out the Pesto EXTRAVAGANZA!, a delightful little number I like to call Sundried Tomato Basil Stuffed Chicken. A little chicken, a little cheese, a little STB pesto, grilled on up...

Fresh new potatoes, green and yellow beans with dill and parmesan

I think I won't have enough frozen pesto to last out the year. Might need to start growing some indoors I think!

This post is linked to Simply Gluten Free's Gluten Free Photo Contest.

King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Biscuits

2010-09-06T20:19:00.000-04:00

I've mentioned it before.... How I love to visit the King Arthur Flour blog. The pictures... droolworthy.
One day I sat and read through every post. Many of the recipes are easily transferable to Gluten Free. The English Muffin Toasting Loaf is the inspiration for this blog's name. I have also made their vanilla scones.
The latest effort? Their Ancient Grains Gluten Free Biscuits.

Although they now have a Gluten Free line of products, I can't purchase them in Canada. Using substitutions, I can certainly make do.

Their GF flour mix is essentially the same as mine with brown rice flour, potato starch and tapioca starch. However, their Ancient Grains blend contains whole grain flours that I don't have. I do have millet and sorghum which I use often for breads as I don't like a bread made solely with the rice flour mix.

King Arthur Flour's Whole Grain Biscuits.

1/2 cup millet flour

1/4 cup sorghum ( I used this combination of millet and sorghum rather than 3/4 cup Ancient Grains Blend)

3/4 cup yellow cornmeal

3/4 cup King Arthur Gluten-Free Multi-Purpose Flour or brown rice flour blend*

1 teaspoon xanthan gum

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup butter

3/4 cup buttermilk

1/4 cup maple syrup, real maple syrup preferred for best flavor

1 large egg

*See recipe for this blend below.

Directions

1) Preheat the oven to 425°F. Lightly grease a baking sheet, or line with parchment paper.

2) Whisk together the dry ingredients, then use a fork, pastry blender, or electric mixer to work in the butter, mixing until everything is crumbly with some pea-sized pieces of butter remaining. (I grated cold butter into my dry ingredients and then mixed with a spatula)

3) Whisk together the wet ingredients and stir into dry ingredients until just combined. The dough will be very wet.

4) Drop golf-ball sized portions onto the prepared baking sheet about 2" apart. (I used 1/4 cup scoop to make slightly larger biscuits)

5) Bake the biscuits for 12 to 14 minutes for Tablespoon sized portions or 18-20 minutes for the larger sized, until they're light golden brown. Remove them from the oven, and serve warm.

Yield: about 24 biscuits as on KAF blog or 12 larger drop biscuits.

Here's the flour mix I used:
2 part brown rice flour
2/3 part potato starch
1/3 part tapioca starch

King Arthur Flour Whole Grains Biscuits

You know you want some.

They are a touch sweet since you have the maple syrup in these biscuits. I am wondering what they would be like with agave instead. I would love to make these again and decrease the sweetness and add garlic and cheese.

My love for garlic and cheese biscuits is a whole other story.

This post is linked to Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays . Check out more delicious recipes there.

This post is linked also to A Gluten-Free Holiday, hosted by Amy of Simply Sugar and Gluten-Free with this week's event Thanksgiving Favorites being hosted by Shirley of Gluten-Free Easily.

This post is also linked to Linda's Monthlong Biscuit Challenge over at Gluten Free Homemaker

Greek Salad Dressing

2010-09-05T20:09:00.000-04:00

In the last year, I haven't really eaten a lot of salad. I used to and I'm not sure exactly why things changed. It might be because I've become more sensitive to flavours and I find that vinegar is becoming stronger to me especially with taking smaller quantities to make salad at work.

Commercial salad dressings are nearly intolerable to me because they are most commonly made with soybean oil. Or perhaps "canola, olive oil and/or soybean oil". I've recently purchased a digestive enzyme which I'm hoping will help with soy but at the same time, I really just need to get back into making my own dressings again.

One of our favourites is a Greek dressing I found many years ago. It's that one recipe you keep taped in your cabinet. Literally.


In the Ninja! I used fresh oregano for this batch.

I use Unico Red Wine Vinegar which always gives my dressings a darker sometimes pinky colour.

Greek Salad Dressing

3/4 cup olive oil
1/3 red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp dried oregano ( I used about 3 fresh oregano stems, leaves removed)*
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper

I also added 2 cloves of garlic and 1 tsp of sugar to this batch.*
Place all ingredients in small jar and shake thoroughly. Chill before serving.

*Because I added fresh oregano and garlic, I blended everything up in my Ninja food blender. You could certainly press the garlic and chop the oregano by hand and then shake in a small jar.

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