change

When I started blogging here, it was about me, my life and a little bit about the environment - my passion.

But things have been changing - it seems to be more and more about food and living the Gluten-Free life. It's been an amazing experience, definitely rocky at points and I'm happy to have a place to record it all. But things are getting complicated - I want to be able to share my GF info with friends and co-workers, without the complications of life involved.

So I made a new blog - Gluten-Free Goodness
http://gfgoodness.wordpress.com/

I'm not sure what will happen here, I may post, or it may fizzle - but the point is, I wanted to try something new, somewhere I can be dedicated to food - I've uploaded my existing GF posts, so all is not lost. I also decided to try out wordpress.

Well, hopefully this makes things simpler, not more complicated.
We will see.

More Food Blogs

When I found out I had to drastically alter my diet, I immediately looked to the Internet. I searched and clicked, reading and discovering everything I could, about Gluten-Free eating. I spend hours looking at recipes and reading articles, sometimes I feel like I've found so much wonderful information, there can't possibly be more. But there is more. There's always more. A new keyword to search, a link from a friend or a blog, or sometimes sheer luck. Regardless, I consistently find new GF discoveries hidden throughout the Internet.

You may notice, I updated my sidebar, with a couple of new food blogs - I'm not sure how I've managed to miss a few of them for so long.

Elana's Pantry is full of delicious recipes, in fact I've already made two of her recipes - in the last 3 days. I made her power bars only I used almonds AND cashews for my base, and melted unsweetened chocolate (with a handful of chocolate chips) to top my bars off. They were so delicious, I had to pack a few up and throw them in the freezer for fear I would eat them all before the weekends end.

My house is filled with the sweet aroma of vanilla, almonds and raisins, as I made my first batch of Elana's granola just this morning. I used 3/4 cashews and 1/4 pine nuts in place of the macadamia's, added a 1/4 cup of coconut and drizzled with brown rice syrup. Now cool, I tested the granola on some plain probiotic yogurt - delicious!! Next time I may add some fruit, or even try applesauce instead of raisins, but for now, I will just enjoy.

I will warn you now, if you are allergic to nuts, Elana's Pantry may be a disappointment. Elana and her family can obviously tolerate nuts - the majority of her recipes call for almonds or blanched almond flour. Personally, I can eat nuts, the recipes I've tried have been delicious and I'm eager to try many more of her recipes...

I also found Heidi Swanson's 101 Cookbooks, her site is well organized making it easy to find her very full listing of 101 Cookbooks: Gluten-Free - I can't wait to try the recently posted, amazing black bean brownies...

surfing for recipes

I've been browsing recipes and reading blogs, wading my way through the gluten-free sea, and have come across the babycakes, more than one time. And of course, I wonder how delicious these treats must be, and I wonder what gluten-free secrets this little bakery must hold.


Imagine my excitement when I discovered that Co-founder Erin McKenna had shared some recipes with Martha Stewart - and they were available online.

I made her allergen-free brownies 0nly I cheated and used regular chocolate chips. My first try with Agave and they are delicious!






There was also a recipe for cinnamon toasties, which I intend to try.

I also found these useful substitution tips - particularly handy with the agave as I'm still trying to keep the sugar out.

- Cow's milk can be substituted part-for-part by rice milk or soy milk
- Instead of eggs, you can use 3 tablespoons of applesauce for each egg
- You can substitute sugar with agave nectar, which comes from a cactus and can be found in your organic supermarket
- Use 2/3 cup agave nectar per 1 cup of sugar

Even more searching and I discovered a few more recipes from Erin McKenna and Babycakes bakery...I'm ambitious and also decided to try the Cinnamon banana bread from this batch of recipes - I haven't tasted it yet, but I'm worried I didn't have enough banana. I also substitued the flour mix used in the brownie recipe above as the garbanzo/potato starch/arrowroot appeared to be a trend in her recipes. We'll see how it goes.

On a happy note, the camera and pictures are no longer MIA.

The pizza picture is now up...mmm delicious!


And just because sometimes I take pictures of food that looks good - this was a breakfast when I was still eating yeast bread.

Garlic sauteed spinach and mushroom with poached eggs with toasted "Choices brown rice multiseed bread"

**drool**

GF Thin Crust Pepperoni Pizza (also yeast and egg free)

Since I have been eating anti-candida, I have been challenged to find foods, particularly bread products, that are both gluten and yeast free. I have since cut back on deli-meat and cheese, but this was a staple of my diet for at least a month, perhaps longer. This recipe is quick, easy and delicious -YOU can certainly make it. And as a gluten-eating friend of mine said, "it just tastes like pizza". That being said, my husband (who also eats gluten) has expressed his opinion that he only likes it fresh. Personally, so long as its not cold, (the texture gets a little funny, its better if it has been microwaved when eating leftovers) I'm happy.

This recipe has been adapted from Bette Hagman's
"The Gluten-Free Gourmet Cooks Fast and Healthy"

The crust can be made with a dairy-free milk substitute, however as it is pizza you will also then need a dairy-free cheese, which I know can be a bit difficult, however if you don't have a dairy problem, use cows milk and cheese.

I like to eat Pepperoni Pizza, so that is what I am listing here, but of course you can put whatever toppings you would like on your pizza - but remember not to put too many "wet" ingredients (vegetables/fruit) or you will have a soggy crust.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup bean flour*
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup tapioca starch
2 heaping tbsp brown rice flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup milk (or non-dairy liquid)
1/4 cup vegetable oil

~175 grams of GF Pepperoni, sliced thick**
Grated cheese***

*I like to use garbanzo bean flour here - you can use whatever you have on hand or whatever you prefer. I have used a 50:50 mixture of garbanzo and whole bean flour in the past, but found the end result a little too heavy.

** I like the Freybe's Pepperoni the best (I get it at the IGA Marketplace Deli), but Overlander (from Safeway Deli's) is also good, just a little spicier.

***I have gotten the best flavour from an approximately 70:30 mix of mozzarella and cheddar, again adapt to your own taste, or use lactose-free cheese if necessary.

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 400F.

In a medium bowl mix together all of the dry ingredients.

In a second bowl, or using your mixer, mix the milk and oil.

Mix the liquid and dry ingredients. (If using a mixer add the dry to the wet, if mixing by hand add the wet to the dry)

You will have a goopy mixture.
Pour mixture onto a greased pizza pan (or a cookie sheet) and use a spatula to carefully spread the batter as evenly as possible on the pan. If you are using a cookie sheet, you don't need to fill the pan, just spread out a 10" circle.

Bake for 12-13 minutes, until slightly browned and puffed. The top may have some small cracks - this is OK.

Working quickly, spread your sauce and toppings on the pizza. Remember for pepperoni pizza, the pepperoni goes on top of the cheese. 175g is enough to put a scant layer under the cheese and then still do a full layer on top. If you like less, use less.

Return to the oven and bake for an additional 10-12 minutes.

Allow to cool slightly before cutting and enjoy!!

Take extra enjoyment in the fact that this indulgence is made with beans and thus provides a little bit of extra protein to your meal - but also remember if beans make you prone to gas, you may not want to eat the entire pizza in one sitting!!

GF - affected people everywhere!

Wow, February is a short month, but despite that, I didn't anticipate letting the entire month slip by without a post. I do so well for a while...and then always seem to slide.

Last month was difficult for me - I have been fighting an infection that expresses itself as much worse than chapped lips. If you see me on a regular basis, you know what I'm talking about. If you don't see me on a regular basis, this is likely why I haven't called, emailed or returned any of your calls. Sorry about that.

I finally managed to get to my doctor in the middle of a flare-up and am now medicated to take care of the infection - it has been a week, and I am definitely feeling improved. Unfortunately, I ended up throwing up and feeling flu-ish yesterday and ended up coming home. I'll be staying home/working from home (a little bit) today and will hopefully will be back at work tomorrow.

It's been a long run and I've been tired and cranky for quite some time...I'm looking forward to feeling like myself again.

On another note, I have been amazed at the number of people around me who are discovering they too may have a problem with wheat/gluten. Perhaps it is just because I don't eat it anymore that I am so much more aware, or perhaps that's why people ask me about it, but since 2008 began, I have spoken to three individuals with completely different medical symptoms, all of whom suspected wheat.

The first was a family friend who is constantly sick and always misdiagnosed. She has had oodles of medical tests, been told at various times that she had IBS, diverticulitis and more...all to no avail. They told her to try not eating gluten, so I sent her a bunch of recipes and links. I haven't heard if it has helped her, but I'm happy to be an information source in case wheat is her problem.

The second is a friend of my sisters who has been off work with pain, bloating and a variety of other symptoms for months. She too has been tested for a variety of diseases, including biggies such as Crohn's, and after coming back negative for test after test, they have told her not to eat gluten and sent her for a Celiac's test. I hope she finds out something definitive soon.

Finally, a friend of mine who never remembers feeling "healthy" ate only MY FOOD(read Gluten-Free) for about 4 days (as I fed her and sent her home with fresh made goodies and that's all she ate) and when she came back to my house, I could instantaneously see a difference in her face, and her complexion. Never had I seen it look so bright, and her eyes so alert as they were that day. Even more exciting, she claimed to feel "healthy" despite some emotional family news. She told me then, that she normally suffers from bloating and stomach issues, but also hadn't felt those symptoms over the past few days. I promptly packed her up a bag of GF-goodness, full of cereal, rice crackers, baking etc and the next time I saw her, she still looked great. I loaded her up again and have my fingers crossed that perhaps all her years of suffering are simply a food intolerance/allergy.

For perspective regarding the change in her face/complexion, scroll down on this post over at glutenfreegirl.blogspot.com - I immediately thought of it when I saw my friend.

I'm going to try and post that pizza recipe I have been raving about sometime today, but we will see.

Testing recipes

I wouldn't want you to think that in the midst of my hectic schedule, I had forgotten to feed myself. I continue eating the staples, rice, cereal, corn, chicken, vegetables and so on...

But I have been trying recipes too...especially Shuana's Recipes and boy does that girl know how to cook?! Her recipes continually turn out delicious!

I made her Gingersnaps and my gluten-eating friends raved about how delicious they were...

I made her Potato Pancakes and my husband and I fought over the leftovers...

I made her Pancakes and my husband enjoyed them so much he had seconds...

I made her Oooey Gooey Chocolate Chip Cookies and heard no complaints, but found an empty cookie jar...

I also made her crustless quiche cups, but I burnt them and found them a little boring and bland. I may try again adding an egg yolk or two.

I do peruse elsewhere for recipes, they just rarely perk me up quite the way Shauna's do. I recently tried Pierogies from another GF bogger, but they didn't turn out quite as expected. The filling was delicious, but the dough was too sticky, but when I left it in the fridge overnight it got kind of hard. Boiled up and cooked, it just looked like a pile of mush. A tasty pile of mush, but mush nonetheless...

I also got a great new book, Sweet Alternative that is full of delicious recipes that are Gluten, Dairy and Soy free. Of course, I'm not eating sugar these days, but just this week I needed to bake so bad, I baked some cupcakes out of this book and gave them to everyone at work...They all loved them.

Finally, I have been eating PIZZA like its nobodies business, I found a great recipe in Bette Hagman's Gluten Free Gourmet Cooks Fast and Healthy for Gluten-Free and Yeast-Free Bean Flour Pizza Crust and boy is it delicious. I fed it to a friend for supper the other day and she said "it just tastes like pizza"...can you ask for a better compliment on GF food? I don't have time to post the recipe now, but I will...and if you want it, and I haven't...email me.

I can't call it anything other than what it is...an update

If January is any indication, 2008 may just fly by with as much speed as 2007. Is it really already, almost February? Ack! If I've been supposed to call you or email you or hang out with you, I'm sorry.

Work is keeping me busy, deadlines, priorities, more deadlines, more priorities...the cycle continues.

My ankle's healing, but there's still tenderness and a couple visits a week to physio, that perpetually seem to go over on time. It drives me bonkers when I'm trying to catch a ride home, but I try and bring the car one day a week too, as I'm only cheating myself if he's willing to walk me through more exercises and I'm the one cutting it short.

Food-wise, I've been on anti-candida in addition to the gluten-free life. Turns out that all the yuckiness I had been experiencing around my mouth/lips was in fact a vitamin b deficiency turned candida infection.

In short, that means, i have NOT been eating:

• Sugar or sugar replacements
• Yeast
• Alcohol
• Vinegars
• Dried fruits (acceptable amounts of mold)
• Peanuts or pistachios (acceptable amounts of mold)
• Gluten (I don't normally eat it anyways, but if you do, you shouldn't if you're trying to starve your yeast)

Now you also have to consider combined ingredients items such as ketchup, BBQ sauce and salad dressings - they're pretty much out too, of course this is where I found myself cheating. I was doing this on my own for about a month with mixed results, and I've spent the last month, taking the naturopath's yeast killer concoction dosage of acidophillus. NOW I'm starting the reintroductions - fruit a couple times this week, we'll see how it goes.

dim sum, enzymes and wakame!

And the Dim Sum verdict?

My enzymes, combined with wheat-free diligence allowed me to enjoy dim sum, without the post meal stomach troubles. YAY!!

Unfortunately, I did recently have a reminder about the importance of reading the ingredients with a fine toothed comb. On a recent trip to the Asian grocery, I was ecstatic to discover cup-o-rice noodles, I quickly read the ingredients and happily purchased a few to try...Upon emptying the veggie packet into the soup, I was distraught to discover what looked like seaweed floating in my bowl. A quick review of the ingredients yielded wakame.

Unfortunately, I was working late and had no other food options, so I ate the noodles. I tried to avoid the seaweed, and truthfully wasn't overly concerned as I do eat sushi. However, an hour later, I needed to be relieved to use the facilities - apparently wakame DEFINITLEY has soy sauce.

Dammit.

GF Bagels...oh my!

I mentioned recently that my First Aid instructor's son had a problem with Gluten when we was young. Turns out, that for the most part he is now able to tolerate it and as a result, my instructor offered me the Gluten-Free cookbook that has been inhabiting her shelves for some time now. Never one to pass up on a free cookbook, I jumped at the offer and have been drooling over the recipes for days.

I passed my test yesterday and am officially a First Aid Attendant in my office. Since the test took the majority of the day, I opted not to go into the office and instead decided to treat myself. I should have been making my vitamin-B rich bread to sustain me for another week, but instead I took a chance.

Instead, I made bagels.

YES, you heard me right, I said bagels. I love to bake new things and the book informed me that "non-celiac tasters say this is delicious and very close to a wheat bagel" and with that, I was determined to try them out. Not only do they look like bagels, those testers were right - they taste like bagels - if you crave them like I do, this recipe is worth the effort.

This recipe is from The Gluten-Free Gourmet Cooks Fast and Healthy by Bette Hagman

Gluten-Free Bagels
(yield 12)

Mix the following in the bowl of a heavy-duty mixer, using the dough hook attachment

• 2 cups white rice flour
• 2/3 cup potato flour
• 1/3 cup tapioca starch
• 1 tbsp xantham gum
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 tbsp fast acting yeast

In a small bowl, whisk together

• 1 egg
• 2 egg whites
• 3/4 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 3 tbsp vegetable oil
• 3 tbsp honey
• 1 cup + 1tbsp warm water

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and beat on High (using a dough hook attachment) for 4 minutes.

After 4 minutes, the dough should form a ball, if it doesn't add 1 tbsp of (sweet or white) rice flour (up to a max of 1/2 cup) and continue to beat until it does.

Spray two cookie sheets with non-stick spray and sprinkle with cornmeal.

Divide dough into 12 balls (larger than a golf ball, but smaller than a tennis ball) and flatten with the palm of your hand until they are approximately 1/2" thick. Spraying your hands with non-stick spray will make this MUCH easier!

Use your finger to make a hole in the middle of each bagel and evenly space them on your prepared cookie sheet.

Loosely cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise, until doubled in size. (The recipe calls for an hour, but my house is cold and it took about 3 hours)

Once the bagels have risen, preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Bring 3" of water plus 1 tsp of sugar to a boil in a large pan and gently drop the bagels in, boiling them for 30 seconds per side. This gives them the characteristic bagel skin that we all know and love.

After draining on a cookie rack (I placed mine over the sink), bake for 20 minutes in a pre-heated oven. I had to tent mine with foil for the last 5 minutes as I was worried about burning, so be sure and keep a close eye on yours if you don't want them burnt.

Allow to cool and then consume to your hearts content.

DELICIOUS!

transition

I've begun to notice that I want to write more often, and I want to write about food. I want to write about what I'm eating, discovering and learning about a gluten-free life. It's an interesting shift, but not surprising. I love to cook, I love to eat and I love to share my knowledge, so it seems only fitting that my on-again, off-again blog, should become the space for me to do so.

Like most people, I was overwhelmed at first. I felt sick from the residual gluten in my body, and I wanted to cry because it seemed impossible to feed myself. Four months later, and I'm no longer frustrated, instead I am inspired.

I have made friends with my local Galloways, have acquired some Gluten-Free cookbooks, and been inspired by Gluten-Free Bloggers immensely.

One of the first, GF bloggers I discovered was The Gluten-Free Girl, and inspiring she is. Her blog flows nicely and incorporates both life and food in an optimistic and realistic manner. Her recipes look delicious, I have some crustless quiche's in the oven, as we speak (I only hope mine are as delicious as hers look) AND the girl has managed to write a book and have it published.

Check out the sidebar, if your interested in GF blogs, I've only found a few I really like so far, but I bet the list will grow. I'm so happy to have found such a wonderful community.

the odds

As soon as I became sensitive to gluten, I discovered something amazing. Most people that I encounter know someone, or know of someone who has a problem with gluten. This whole world, this network of people has suddenly opened to me. I'm not sure exactly what it means, but it's amazing, there's always a brother's girlfriend, or an aunty's nephew, a sister, a neice, a friend...

When I made treats for the office, two other Gluten-Free individuals were discovered. In the past two months, I've discovered another two. That brings us up to 5 - granted we are a large office, but still. Now, if we start adding spouses, my supervisor's husband is a Celiac...

This week, I'm doing my First Aid. In a classroom with only 12 people total (including the instructor), I've had discussed the GF life with two of them. One classmate was diagnosed as Celiac as an infant, only to discover 30 years later, that he had been misdiagnosed. I knew it was true as I watched him eat a delicious looking lunch. The instructor? As a child her son was also diagnosed as allergic to Gluten: he has since grown out of it.

3/12 people have been directly affected by gluten.
And it's only day 2.

Seriously...Gluten is everywhere!

Dad-Love

With increased awareness of my gluten intolerance, eating out has become increasingly difficult. Eating at my friends' and families' homes is almost worse - I don't want to be a pain and would rather not eat than make difficulty for those I love, but of course, they want to feed me.

I was so impressed with my Dad yesterday; he prepared a gluten-free (for me) and a nut-free (for my sister) meal that was absolutley delicious and enjoyed by everyone at the table, regardless of their eating habits, allergies or intolerances. He scoured the cupboards for a delicious tortilla soup, made with 100% corn chips, he prepared Beef Chow Fun (Rice noodles with beef) despite the fact that I forgot to bring him gluten-free soya sauce AND he made a delicious steamed halibut dish, again without the aid of soya sauce.

I have promised to get him his own bottle of Tamari (the gluten-free soya sauce - it is richer, fuller flavour and uses corn alcohol rather than wheat during fermentation) this week, and I've already dropped off bags of rice flour (regular and glutinous) so that he can bread meats or thicken sauces to his hearts content, when he knows I'll be coming over.

I'm so proud of him and appreciate his efforts fully - it was definitley a challenge for him, but he persevered and I left the table well-fed and sans-stomach ache! I guess after watching me suffer through a vacation of unknown foods, he was happy to provide me with some delicious grub. THANKS DAD - your the BEST!

Gluten-Free in the Mediterranean

I survived 10 days in Europe, without eating a single pastry. No flaky croissant, no baguette sandwich from the bakery on the corner, no delicious cookies or biscotti with my coffee. I did however, enjoy numerous cappuccinos and gelatos from various street corners. And although they don't quite equate with pastries, they were delicious and my stomach didn't suffer, so my diligence didn't go unrewarded.

I was hard though, to watch my Dad devour chocolate covered croissants, fresh from a bakery window. It was even harder to keep my hunger to myself when I hadn't packed myself a snack and everyone stopped to grab a sandwich. I refused to pay anywhere from $5-10 (CAD) for a few pieces of deli meat and a piece of cheese, as the sandwiches are definitely what we would consider stingy at home. Although from what I hear, they were delicious.

Our hotel in Barcelona had rice bread, so after the first day, I learned to make a salami sandwich at the buffet and smuggle it out so I could have some sustenance during our excursions (i.e. shopping). Once we started cruising on the Voyager of the Seas however, it took my another 3-4 days to realize that starving and getting cranky during 6+ hour port excursions really should not be considered an option. The next day I smuggled and apple off the boat. The day after that, an apple and a box of corn flakes.

In a small beach town, Viareggio, there was a fast food restaurant attached to the bakery where we were purchasing beer (for everyone else of course) and sandwiches and I was amazed with the girl working there. Somehow we managed to communicate and she made me a 100% beef burger with cheese, on lettuce. Hallelujah a hot lunch!!

Eating Gluten-Free was a struggle. And in truth, I was disappointed with the boat, I had expected a better selection of foods that I could eat and possibly even some sort of labelling - but I was likely being ambitious. There was enough food, meats, cheeses, vegetables, salad, all without gluten. With respect to desserts, I was very disappointed, it was ice cream pretty much all the way for me. I had a few treats, not eating crusts (eg. a panacotta).

And don't even get my started on the plane food...maybe next post.

Granola Girl's RECIPES

This is just the begining, but I intend to slowly amass my favourite recipes here. Please be patient and remember to check back.

GLUTEN-FREE Recipes
Gluten-Free Ponderosa Cake
Gluten-Free Bagels
Gluten-Free, Thin Crust Pepperoni Pizza (also Yeast-Free and Egg-Free)

NOT GLUTEN-FREE Recipes
Easy Quiche Lorraine