Sunday, May 07, 2006

1/4 cup peanut butter (unsweetened)
1 egg
1/3 cup honey or maple syrup
1 Tbsp fruit juice (apple, pear, orange, peach, etc.)
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup brown rice flour or gluten-free flour mix (in place of the flour/arrowroot)
1/4 cup tapioca flour
1/4 cup arrowroot powder
1 Tbps wheat-free baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup unsweetened carob chips (Never chocolate!)
Combine the dry ingredients and mix well. In a separate bowl, combine all the wet ingredients and blend thoroughly. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet very slowly. The batter should look similar to regular chocolate chip cookie batter.

Expert Tip: Place the bowl of batter in the freezer for 10 minutes. It will make the spooning of the cookies on to the cookie sheet much easier.

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Take about 1 tsp size drops and place them on a well-oiled cookie sheet. You can try rolling these in a ball in your hand and placing the ball of dough on the cookie sheet, gently pressing your thumb to slightly flatten the cookie.

Bake at 325°F for 10 minutes. These cookies should be moist and bite-sized, perfect for training or an after dinner treat. Store in an air-tight container.

Posted by Diosa in • Gluten free • Informational • Vegetarian
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Tuesday, May 02, 2006

This made me *extremely* happy today!  I’ve been a huge fan of Tabasco sauce for years.  I have some fabulous recipes that I used to do with Tabasco from many moons ago that I would like to make again.  However, I wasn’t sure if Tabasco was gluten-free.  So I wrote the company to ask and here was the reply I received today.

Thank you for your interest in our TABASCO® and McIlhenny Farms® products.  All of our products that contain vinegar as an ingredient, use high quality distilled vinegar.  Distilled vinegar is produced by fermenting a grain based alcohol. The principal grains used to produce the alcohol are wheat and milo.  Gluten and other proteins are completely removed during the alcohol fermentation and distillation process.

According to the definitions set forth by the Codex Alimentarius Commission, a joint standards program of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United States (FAO), the following TABASCO® Brand products are considered “Gluten Free”:

TABASCO® Brand Pepper Sauce
TABASCO® Brand Chipotle Pepper Sauce
TABASCO® Brand Habanero Pepper Sauce
TABASCO® Brand Garlic Pepper Sauce
TABASCO® Brand Green Pepper Sauce
TABASCO® Brand Garlic Basting Sauce
TABASCO® Brand New Orleans Style Sauce
TABASCO® Brand Caribbean Style Steak Sauce

These products were analyzed for Gluten by the Food Allergy Research and Resource Program (FARRP) at the University of Nebraska –Lincoln.  FARRP was not able to find any detectable amounts of gluten in these products.  If the McIlhenny Company can be of further assistance please do not hesitate to ask. 

Posted by Diosa in • Gluten free • Informational
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Wednesday, April 26, 2006

You’ll notice a new link in the Health section.  It’s for the Pancreatitis Supporters’ Network in the UK.  My good friend (and mother-in-law) Margaret suffers from this condition.  Anyone with it can’t eat fat.  So I’m hoping that by linking to them, people will submit some wonderful low-fat and no fat recipes for not just my wonderful mother-in-law, but for everyone who has this condition.  C’mon folks… start submitting!! :D

Posted by Diosa in • Informational
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Wednesday, April 12, 2006

I’m thinking seriously of doing some work as a personal chef on the side.  I really do love to cook and enjoy the challenge of making foods gluten-free, plus I would love to help others that have been diagnosed to realise that they *can* eat real food.  I remember the trials of first going gluten-free (as well as dairy-free, soy free, rice free and for a while sugar free) so I really can sympathise with people going through it.  Here’s the ad I posted on Craigslist:

Gluten free personal chef available!

Got a party to cater? Looking for gluten free alternatives to your old favorites? Recently diagnosed with celiacs disease, and looking for a way to eat real food?

I am an experienced home cook and caterer. I have been gluten free, rice free, soy free, dairy free and egg white free for over a year, and still cook every night for my family and host parties for friends. I know the pain of celiacs disease and accidental gluten poisoning.

I can cook you fantastic tasting real meals. I can cater your dinner parties for you and your friends.
I can create you a meal plan and a grocery planner so you can eat healthily every night of the week with no guess work.
Kitchen cleansing also available ... I can make your kitchen a gluten free and safe environment. Avoid accidental gluten poisoning from cross contamination!

Example dishes:

Gluten free sweet and sour chicken!
Gluten free soy sauce!
Gluten free tomato ketchup!
Gluten free Firehouse chicken!
Gluten free lamb stew provincial!
Gluten free Thai beef lettuce wraps!
Gluten free spiced steak and chips . Great for the coming summer!
Gluten free chocolate chip brownies!

Posted by Diosa in • Gluten free • Informational
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Friday, March 31, 2006

Yesterday, after a long hiatus, I brought out my EnerG Egg Replacer to add to the Chebe rolls I was making.  The box was not labeled that clearly on what you needed for 1 egg.  It has egg whites and yolks but no egg.  So here are the directions/equivalents for the egg replacer:

One Egg = 1 1/2 tsp Egg Replacer to 2 tbsp of water. To replace egg whites use the same amount as replacing the entire egg, so One Egg White=1 1/2 tsp Egg Replacer to 2 tbsp of water. To replace the egg yolk stir 1-1/2 tsp Egg Replacer into 1 tbsp of water.

I also found this, which I thought was hugely interesting:

What is a good substitute for eggs?

Ener-G Egg Replacer - follow directions on box.
2 tbsp corn starch = 1 egg
2 tbsp arrowroot flour = 1 egg
2 tbsp potato starch = 1 egg
1 heaping tbsp soy powder + 2 tbsp water = 1 egg
1 tbsp soy milk powder + 1 tbsp cornstarch + 2 tbsp water = 1 egg.
1 banana = 1 egg in cakes.

Btw, the Chebe rolls were fine in taste, but were white instead of the usual yellow colour it gets from the eggs.

Posted by Diosa in • Gluten free • Informational • Vegetarian
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Wednesday, March 29, 2006

I take back anything good I’ve ever said about this seasoning salt.  I just realised I’ve been glutening myself fairly constantly for a while by using it.  I never *once* noticed it had soy sauce in it.  What on earth do you need SOY SAUCE for in a seasoning salt?!  Anyway, I’ll make sure that it is vanquished from all recipes, but make a note - it’s NOT gluten free.  I’ll be making my own for certain.

Posted by Diosa in • Gluten free • Informational
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Friday, March 24, 2006

This is such good news for celiacs who love their beer.  Bard’s Tale is BACK!!!

I read about it on another site, and followed the link to a local news article about it.

Sorry, I should probably explain why I am so happy about this and what Bard’s Beer is.  After I was diagnosed, one of the biggest adjustments for me wasn’t not eating bread, pastas, pastries or the like.  It was BEER!  I *love* beer.  The worst was knowing I was going to the UK for a month and not being able to have a single pint while I was over there. (I’ve since learned several brands of GF beer over in the UK).  But when I got back, I started to search in earnest for GF beer.  It had to be out there, right?  Well, yes and no.  There was several, just not close.  There’s a big production facility in Australia.  A small brewer in New York somewhere.  Then I found Bard’s Beer.  This looked like a large production facility.  I started doing some research.  They only brewed with the 4 tenets of beer, grain (in this case sorghum), water, hops, and yeast (no barley - that has gluten in it).  I managed to get a bottle from the local GF store.  Someone gave her a couple of bottles to pass out to other people or to keep for herself.  She opted to give them to other people.  I was one of the lucky recipients.  It was amazing.  A little foamier than I was used to but the taste reminded me of an IPA.  It’s definitely a lager, not an ale, but certainly drinkable and enjoyable.

The quest was on.

I searched for *months* and tried to get any of my local off-licenses to ask their distributor to start supplying this.  No luck.  I was starting to get discouraged, when again the woman in the gluten free shop came through.  Someone was going to NY for a beer run and she told the person she knew someone who would be interested.  I told her to give the person my number and I would happily pay them to bring me a couple of cases.  And that’s exactl what happened.  I received two cases. (It felt like some weird black market thing, I’m telling you.)

I was a bit disappointed this turn.  The beer was *extremely* foamy and te person warned me they had several bottles explode in the basement.  EEEK!  The beer still tasted ok, but not quite the same as before.  Probably because it was warm by the time I was able to pour a pint.  Drinking out of the bottle was impossible.  Too foamy and would overflow the bottle every time you tried.  I still have a bunch of it left, but I don’t really drink it simply due to the foaming issue.

This catches us up.  After looking at the news article, I looked at the brewery’s website.  they explained, they pulled the beer shortly after I got my batch due to the quality issues (the excessive foaming).  They stopped using the brewery faciliy they were contracted with because they were having sanitation issues that was causing the foaming/exploding issues.  Ew.  But they have since contracted with a HUGE brewery in California that can handle the production for all of the US.  That means, starting in May, Bard’s Beer may just be available in every state, including here!!  The link to the news article is here.  Hurray for gluten free beer again!!

Posted by Diosa in • Gluten free • Informational
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Saturday, July 30, 2005

Converting Farenheit, Celsius and Gas marks

Electric °C °F
Very slow: 120°C / 250°F
Slow: 150°C / 300°F
Mod. slow: 160°C / 325°F
Moderate: 180°C / 350°F
Mod. hot: 210°C / 425°F
Hot: 240°C / 475°F
Very hot: 260°C / 525°F

Gas °C °F Gas Mark
Very slow 120 250 1/2
Slow 150 300 2
Mod. slow 160 325 3
Moderate 180 350 4
Mod. hot 190 375 5
Hot 200 400 6
Very hot 230 450 8

Posted by Diosa in • Informational
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