The Gluten Free Path

Archive for the ‘Gluten Free’ Category

     I think when people hear “gluten free” their brains shuts down. On my gosh was are you going to eat? Salads, one of my favorite things, is one thing that hasn’t changed much. Only a couple of things will change – the croutons and the salad dressing. Just keep it pure, without unnecessary additives and you should be fine.

     What you’ll need for my salad:
● Lettuce – preferably something like romaine
● Grated sharp cheddar and jalapeno jack cheeses
● Slivered almonds – or just finely chop your own
● Dried cranberries
● Gluten free salad dressing (Annie’s Naturals Tuscany Italian is my favorite)

     You can of course add other veggies to the salad like carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, spinach, or celery. Usually, I just like lettuce though, it’s quick and easy. Also, when picking a salad dressing be careful. Wheat and other gluten containing grains can sneak into salad dressing when you least expect it. My favorite brand of salad dressing is Annie’s Naturals. Many of those dressing are in fact gluten free. They are so delicious. Rick loves their French dressing. I’m partial, as I said, to the Tuscany Italian dressing.

     A treat for Rick before going gluten free was, breaded mushrooms. In the beginning it was Portobello mushrooms. After trying a few others I decided that the preferable one was shitake. Normally I couldn’t care less about mushrooms. But shitakes are different, so much better.
     After going gluten free this year, I had to experiment and get into a different mindset. There isn’t anything I can’t do. Some things won’t taste the same, but that’s okay as long as they are good or even delicious. That’s what tonight mushrooms were, absolutely delicious.
     What you will need:

● Shitake mushrooms (or another mushroom you like)
● Salt (I used Himalayan, because I love the taste)
● Black pepper
● Cardamom
● Bob’s Red Mill All-purpose Gluten Free Flour
● 1 or 2 eggs, depending on how many mushrooms you plan to make
● Safflower oil
● Onion
● Cilantro

     Whisk an egg in a small bowl. Finely chop a little bit of onion, perhaps 2 tablespoons or so. Put half the chopped onion in a wok with oil. Turn on medium low. Add a couple of sprigs of cilantro, tear into little pieces.
     In another small bowl pour about a 1/3 cup of flour, the remaining chopped onion, ¼ teaspoon of pepper, pinch of salt, and 1/8 teaspoon of cardamom. Mix.
     Cut the mushrooms up into thin slices. Dunk in the egg, mix with fingers until completely covered, then plop into flour mix. Stir with fingers, until the mushrooms are completely covered with flour mix. Add to wok. Continue until out of flour, egg or mushrooms. Sauté the mushrooms until a light crispy brown.
     Note: I always start with a small amount of flour so nothing goes to waste. So I ended up making the flour mix three times or more for five shitake mushrooms and a few white button mushrooms.

     For dinner one night our friends made gluten free mac and cheese. And it was a beautiful thing. Neither of us had mac and cheese in so long. So of course we had to make it ourselves. The original recipe is from foodneckwork.com by Ellie Krieger. Thanks for the brilliant idea Ellie!

     What you’ll need:
● 1 pound of gluten free elbow macaroni (or another shape of pasta), I used Tinkyada of course!
● Winter squash – I used one whole acorn squash.
● 2 cups milk
● 4 ounces extra-sharp Cheddar, grated about 1 1/3 cups
● 2 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, grated about 2/3 cup
● ½ cup ricotta cheese
● 1 tsp. salt
● 1 tsp. powdered mustard
● 1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
● 2 TBSP grated Parmesan
● 2 TBSP unseasoned bread crust (optional)
● 1 tsp. safflower oil
● Pinch of turmeric (optional)

     Cut squash in half, scoop out seeds and stringy stuff. Set aside for the Roasted squash seeds, of course! Place open side down on cookie sheet, use foil if desired. Put into oven heated to 350 degrees. Bake until thoroughly done, about an hour. Scoop out squash. Blend to puree. Or after scooping out the nasty bits, cut squash into smaller pieces and boil until done. Separate squash from skins then puree. My friends pealed the squash before boil it, but when I tried it, it was way too much work for me.
Pre-heat oven to 375.

     Bring large pot of water to boil. Pour in macaroni and cook until tender but still firm. Drain, run under cold water.

     Meanwhile, pour milk and squash into saucepan and bring to simmer. Remove from heat, add cheddar, jack, ricotta, salt, mustard, cayenne, and turmeric. Stir until completely melted/dissolved. Pour noodles into 9 x13 pan, pour over sauce, mix until combined.

     Combine bread crumbs, parmesan and oil in little bowl. Once mixed, sprinkle over the mac and cheese. Then bake for 20 minutes. Broil for 3 minutes (watch carefully!) if wanted to achieve a nicely browned and crisp top.

     In the picture above I did not add tumeric or gluten free bread crumbs. After serving myself, because I love cheese I added more Parmesan and salt. And it was so good. Comfort food for us after a day of feeling crumby.

     If you are mourning your favorite pasta recipe that you used to enjoy, fear not! There are really good noodle alternatives that don’t taste horrible or fall apart.
     Rick’s favorite meal of all time is spaghetti. When we went gluten free, I thought the only way to enjoy this dish was with spaghetti squash. There isn’t anything wrong with spaghetti squash, but for Rick it wasn’t quite right. He missed the taste of real pasta.
     My mother sent me home with a couple smaller bags of pasta and told me to give them a try. She swore that Tinkyada was the best gluten free pasta ever! And she was right!
     We have used it for mac and cheese, and spaghetti a few times since first trying it a month or so ago. It’s amazing! It tastes great, holds together wonderfully and can stand quite a bit of over cooking and reheating!

About Tinkyada:
     It is made from only RICE! And water. No other grains make up this pasta. Which makes it not only gluten free but wheat, corn, egg, dairy, casein, meat, soy, nut and peanut free! It’s great for many others those whom have a sensitivity or allergy! It is also kosher certified. I’m not sure what that means, however, I think it’s a good thing.

     I will be writing a whole set of recipes utilizing Tinkyada in the next few weeks because it’s pasta time! Autumn is here, though we are sad to see the gorgeous sun go, we are happy to welcome those foods that come at the end of the growing season, and those hot dishes that help to keep you warm!