The Seattle Times ran an article (with a couple of recipes) on gluten-free baking today. Check it out here!
Also, as the husband and I were driving back from Golden Gardens park yesterday in a blinding sudden day of sunshine, we ran across this place, Veraci Pizzeria, that was advertising that they now have gluten-free dough! Anyone tried it?
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Flying Apron Bakery Review - Redmond Branch
Vegan and gluten-free bakery Flying Apron opened an East-side location in Redmond after a couple of years of success with their other Seattle locations. They've also started supplying the local Whole Foods with cupcakes and other goodies.
So I had to stop in and check it out for myself. The staff was friendly enough, and though some items did have their ingredients listed, not all of them did, and the staff did not seem to know the ingredients (yikes! Not knowing the flours used in the cupcakes is kind of dangerous is you're dealing with people with food allergies.) We tried a cinnamon roll, a corn-berry muffin, and a cupcake. The cupcake's frosting melted before we got to it, but Glenn pronounced the cupcake cake itself moist, dense, and chocolatey, but the frosting was sort of "meh." That was the best of the three - the cinnamon roll was too dry and grainy, and the corn-berry muffin was tough to get through (and Glenn also remarked it caused him, um, tummy trouble later in the day. Maybe the flax?) So, not a slam-dunk, but on the East-side, beggars cannot be choosers! The prices are a little on the high side (around $5 for each item.)
We'll try them again for their pizza dough (gluten-free pizza doughs are really tough - we haven't found one yet we could manage to actually eat more than a few bites of) and maybe a cookie or another type of muffin? Maybe a scone? We think every gluten-free bakery deserves at least two visits!
So I had to stop in and check it out for myself. The staff was friendly enough, and though some items did have their ingredients listed, not all of them did, and the staff did not seem to know the ingredients (yikes! Not knowing the flours used in the cupcakes is kind of dangerous is you're dealing with people with food allergies.) We tried a cinnamon roll, a corn-berry muffin, and a cupcake. The cupcake's frosting melted before we got to it, but Glenn pronounced the cupcake cake itself moist, dense, and chocolatey, but the frosting was sort of "meh." That was the best of the three - the cinnamon roll was too dry and grainy, and the corn-berry muffin was tough to get through (and Glenn also remarked it caused him, um, tummy trouble later in the day. Maybe the flax?) So, not a slam-dunk, but on the East-side, beggars cannot be choosers! The prices are a little on the high side (around $5 for each item.)
We'll try them again for their pizza dough (gluten-free pizza doughs are really tough - we haven't found one yet we could manage to actually eat more than a few bites of) and maybe a cookie or another type of muffin? Maybe a scone? We think every gluten-free bakery deserves at least two visits!
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
NY Times gluten-free Easter treats and a CNN article
So, you're hankering for some Easter candy, but you're not sure which candy is safe to eat? Why not try and make your own!
This is a "homeade peeps" recipe from the NY Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/20/dining/20apperex1.html?ref=dining
I would try it with pink (cranberry juice maybe?) instead of the saffron and do bunny shapes.
And: Will a gluten-free diet improve your health?
http://www.cnn.com/2011/HEALTH/04/12/gluten.free.diet.improve/index.html?hpt=Sbin
CNN did a kind of half-lame, half-useful article on gluten-free diets and gluten intolerance and celiac. I mean, most science articles in mainstream news are like that, I suppose, so I can't be too upset.
I would venture to guess that I am not the only person in the world who benefited tremendously from not eating wheat - and bread was about my favorite thing on earth, so if I can skip it, I know you can, too. I encourage my family and friends to try going two weeks completely gluten-free, and seeing if they don't see a difference in their skin, digestion, energy levels, etc. It's not always waking up one day, like I did, with anaphylaxis when you eat a cookie. Sometimes it's more subtle. I have a feeling I was having stomach problems for years that were connected to eating wheat, a low-level building-up problem that eventually went into crisis mode. Anyway, you have nothing to lose and possibly better health to gain, so why not try it?
This is a "homeade peeps" recipe from the NY Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/20/dining/20apperex1.html?ref=dining
I would try it with pink (cranberry juice maybe?) instead of the saffron and do bunny shapes.
And: Will a gluten-free diet improve your health?
http://www.cnn.com/2011/HEALTH/04/12/gluten.free.diet.improve/index.html?hpt=Sbin
CNN did a kind of half-lame, half-useful article on gluten-free diets and gluten intolerance and celiac. I mean, most science articles in mainstream news are like that, I suppose, so I can't be too upset.
I would venture to guess that I am not the only person in the world who benefited tremendously from not eating wheat - and bread was about my favorite thing on earth, so if I can skip it, I know you can, too. I encourage my family and friends to try going two weeks completely gluten-free, and seeing if they don't see a difference in their skin, digestion, energy levels, etc. It's not always waking up one day, like I did, with anaphylaxis when you eat a cookie. Sometimes it's more subtle. I have a feeling I was having stomach problems for years that were connected to eating wheat, a low-level building-up problem that eventually went into crisis mode. Anyway, you have nothing to lose and possibly better health to gain, so why not try it?
Saturday, April 2, 2011
The Cooking Channel My Life in Food
Ironically, since I was diagnosed with food allergies, I have become a bit addicted to watching The Food Network and The Cooking Channel; I watch things like Cupcake Wars and Iron Chef and the occasional Ina Garten show. Sometimes I even pick up tips on the side - for instance, watching Iron Chef Morimoto and Bobby Flay in the big old kitchen stadium taught me techniques like tempura battering, no joke! This weekend I chanced in a viewing of a show called "My Life in Food," and this particular episode dealt with celiac disease and food allergies. Jennifer Esposito, an actress, talks about her celiac diagnosis, and Sloane Miller, whose "Allergic Girl" blog Please Don't Pass the Nuts was one of the first to try to raise awareness for food allergies, talks about going to restaurants and dealing with food allergies there. It was really nice to have something like this on a food network, giving some guidance as to shopping, eating out, etc. I wished they had regular programming that addressed needs like wheat-free eating and allergy-free recipes!
Monday, March 28, 2011
Snacks! What do you eat?
One of the toughest things when I went to my current diet is figuring out what to eat when I want a snack. A lot of my go-to snacking stuff used to be wheat-based: crackers, cookies, cereal with milk. I can't drink milk any more, most gluten-free cereals have something in them that bother me, and I haven't been happy with many gluten-free ready-made products such as cookies and crackers (that's a nice way of saying they're mostly really bad.)
My husband is a bit of a kitchen wizard, and he's started to whip up simple things in the kitchen to help my snack attacks.
Here are some of the things I snack on now, and I'd love to hear from you on the "quick snack" solutions you've come up with.
--grapes cut in half, broiled, and drizzled with honey
--banana slices frozen and then whipped in the food processor to become ice-cream-like in texture. (Thanks to friend Michaela Eaves for that tip!)
--gluten-free cereals: Nature's Path Crispy Rice and the Nature's Path Honey'd Corn Flakes are the two best-tasting with the simplest ingredient lists
--Glenn's homemade vanilla marshmallows (Sometimes dipped in melted Sharffenberger chocolate, dairy and gluten-free) (occasionally combined with that crispy rice cereal!) Glenn says he uses Thomas Keller's marshmallow recipe, which was reproduced here. Try it out!
--Glenn's vanilla meringue cookies. He doesn't even use tartaric acid, he just whips egg whites with confectioner's sugar and a little salt in the food processor and then uses a pastry bag to pipe them onto parchment paper. 2 hours at 200 degrees.
It's not as tricky as you think to make your own food. That's what I keep realizing. Well, especially when your husband does the hard parts and the cleaning up!
My husband is a bit of a kitchen wizard, and he's started to whip up simple things in the kitchen to help my snack attacks.
Here are some of the things I snack on now, and I'd love to hear from you on the "quick snack" solutions you've come up with.
--grapes cut in half, broiled, and drizzled with honey
--banana slices frozen and then whipped in the food processor to become ice-cream-like in texture. (Thanks to friend Michaela Eaves for that tip!)
--gluten-free cereals: Nature's Path Crispy Rice and the Nature's Path Honey'd Corn Flakes are the two best-tasting with the simplest ingredient lists
--Glenn's homemade vanilla marshmallows (Sometimes dipped in melted Sharffenberger chocolate, dairy and gluten-free) (occasionally combined with that crispy rice cereal!) Glenn says he uses Thomas Keller's marshmallow recipe, which was reproduced here. Try it out!
--Glenn's vanilla meringue cookies. He doesn't even use tartaric acid, he just whips egg whites with confectioner's sugar and a little salt in the food processor and then uses a pastry bag to pipe them onto parchment paper. 2 hours at 200 degrees.
It's not as tricky as you think to make your own food. That's what I keep realizing. Well, especially when your husband does the hard parts and the cleaning up!
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Gluten-free Chocolate Ricotta Cheesecake
One of the regular desserts that I am still able to eat after going wheat-free is cheesecake, which we usually make crust-free (I can crumble cornflakes or heath bars over the top if I want crunch factor.)
This is one of our new regular rotations. All glory and credit to my husband Glenn, who wrote and tested this recipe all by himself! The hardest thing about this cheesecake is waiting for it to set up and chill! (Sometimes I stick one in the freezer to cheat and eat in within the hour.) We decided to go for a ricotta-cream cheese combination, because ricotta is a little healthier and gives the cheesecake more tartness and texture, and for someone like me, who is a little sensitive to casein proteins, whey-based ricotta is a little easier on my stomach. (I can't drink a glass of milk, but I cook with milk all the time, and am learning which cheeses are easier to eat.)
This is one of our new regular rotations. All glory and credit to my husband Glenn, who wrote and tested this recipe all by himself! The hardest thing about this cheesecake is waiting for it to set up and chill! (Sometimes I stick one in the freezer to cheat and eat in within the hour.) We decided to go for a ricotta-cream cheese combination, because ricotta is a little healthier and gives the cheesecake more tartness and texture, and for someone like me, who is a little sensitive to casein proteins, whey-based ricotta is a little easier on my stomach. (I can't drink a glass of milk, but I cook with milk all the time, and am learning which cheeses are easier to eat.)
Gluten-Free Crust-less Chocolate Ricotta Cheese Cake
Ingredients:
· 16 oz. (one tub) fresh whole milk ricotta (drained)
· 8 oz. (one package) cream cheese (regular--not reduced fat)
· 1 cup sugar
· 4 large eggs
· 1 tsp. vanilla extract
· Pinch of salt
· 4 oz. dark chocolate (60-70%) (We've been using Scharffenberger)
Instructions:
1. Wrap the outside of a 9-inch springform pan with two layers of heavy-duty foil.
2. Preheat oven to 300°F and heavily grease the inside of the pan with cooking spray or shortening.
3. In a food processor, blend the ricotta cheese until creamy, then add the cream cheese and sugar and blend until smooth.
4. Add the eggs, vanilla extract, and salt and blend until smooth.
5. In a medium microwave-safe bowl, heat the chocolate by 20 second increments until just melted.
6. Blend the chocolate until smooth, then add 1/3 of the cheese mixture to the chocolate and mix until smooth.
7. Add the chocolate mixture back into the remaining cheese mixture and blend until smooth and uniform.
8. Pour mixture into the pan (not above one-half inch from the top) and place the pan in a large shallow oven-save dish.
9. Fill the dish with water so that the water level comes half way up the side of the cheesecake pan.
10. Back until the cheesecake is firm to the touch, but not cracking, at least 1 hour and 20 minutes.
11. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack for at least one hour, and then refrigerate for at least 6-8 hours until very firm.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Portland's Gluten-Free Pizza choices; now where are Seattle's?
I was cheered to see a gluten-free pizza joint mentioned in the March Portland Monthly's feature of pizza in Portland:
http://www.portlandmonthlymag.com/eat-and-drink/articles/clever-crusts-march-2011/
(Under "Clever Crusts:" Sellwood Pizza Kitchen)
Then, another blog highlighted yet another gluten-free pizza option:
http://wweek.com/portland/blog-26569-ten_great_pizzas_portland_monthly_missed.html
at Portobello's, which also does Vegan pizza.
And I started to think, I'm a little jealous. Where are Seattle's gluten-free pizza options? Where is Seattle Magazine's feature on gluten-free pizza? Are you listening, Seattle Met? Or 425 Magazine? We need info on pizza! It is the one flour-based craving I still continually get. The only one I know about for sure is Garlic Jim's. Anyone?
http://www.portlandmonthlymag.com/eat-and-drink/articles/clever-crusts-march-2011/
(Under "Clever Crusts:" Sellwood Pizza Kitchen)
Then, another blog highlighted yet another gluten-free pizza option:
http://wweek.com/portland/blog-26569-ten_great_pizzas_portland_monthly_missed.html
at Portobello's, which also does Vegan pizza.
And I started to think, I'm a little jealous. Where are Seattle's gluten-free pizza options? Where is Seattle Magazine's feature on gluten-free pizza? Are you listening, Seattle Met? Or 425 Magazine? We need info on pizza! It is the one flour-based craving I still continually get. The only one I know about for sure is Garlic Jim's. Anyone?
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