Gluten Free Mom

Gluten Free Calzones - Easy Enough for a Kid to Make

I have talked before about one of the Silver Linings of Celiac Disease being the quality time that I spend with the Gluten Free Teen in the kitchen. You can live GF without cooking as much as we do, but cooking is a very creative process and we have so much fun together in the kitchen experimenting with new recipes and ingredients.

As I mentioned before, it is also the time when the "walls come down" and while the GFT is stirring some flour together I hear about "who likes who" at school, who has cell phones and who doesn’t, what subjects are hard and what are easy. Almost without her noticing, I get the chance to enter into the life of GFT and find out what’s going on. What a blessing!

Recently, I have discovered a new silver lining – my Gluten Free Teen can prepare a complete meal from scratch all by herself!

And she loves it!

And it taste wonderful!

Campbell's Gluten Free Food List - February 2009

I recently received the following and thought you might find it helpful.  If you have a hard time reading the list, you can click on the page and a larger version should appear or you can email me for the original document. 

 

Savory Moments in Redmond to Have a Gluten Free Open House

As a quick follow up to my last post, Savory Moments in Redmond will be having a gluten free open house to introduce their new gluten free menu. 

The open house event will be next Sunday, March 29th from 12:00-4:00, at Savory Moments, 18005 NE 68th Street, Suite A-115 in Redmond, Wa.   

The open house will be your opportunity to sample and purchase or pre-order entrees, side dishes, desserts, breads and muffins while you learn about their chef prepared gluten free meals.

Additionally, they will be joined by Mike and Marie Smith, owners of Bavaria Mills, and Jennifer Nelson of Wow Baking Company.

Here is an excerpt from the press release: 

The first ready made chef prepared meal provider of its kind in the US, Savory Moment of Redmond, WA, is pleased to introduce gluten free entrees, side dishes and desserts.  The decision to focus attention and culinary talent on this line extension comes from the request of current customers and the overwhelming response we received from the general public.  With special training from NFCA (National Foundation for Celiac Awareness) and some simple ingredient modifications, we are able to make the majority of our meals gluten free without any compromise to our excellent quality.

10 years of experience creating delicious meals to be enjoyed in the convenience of your own home is now available to the growing number of individuals and families who believed great meals like these were a thing of the past.

These delicious entrees, sides, desserts and more can be delivered anywhere in the state of Washington or picked up at the Redmond store. Savory Moment accepts cash, credit cards, checks and gift certificates and is a Prime card vendor.  Savory Moment is located at 18005 NE 68th Street, Suite A-115 in Redmond, WA  (425) 867-1516

Visit our website

 

They are requesting an RSVP if you plan to attend so they can have sufficient samples.  Please click the link below.  Hope to see you there!

PRESS HERE TO RSVP

Celebrate your Gluten Free life in Seattle

The Gluten Free Travel site may have voted New York City as the World's Most Celiac Friendly city, but I have to say that Seattle comes in at a close second.  Yes, we love New York and the wonderful cupcakes from Baby Cakes and the bread sticks at Risotteria, but have you checked out Seattle lately?   I think we have not one, not two, but at least four dedicated gluten free bakeries, great restaurants that will cater to your GF needs, local GF celebrities . . . where does one end the list?

If you live in Seattle, consider yourself lucky and read on.

If you do not, then why not come to the Gluten Intolerant Group conference this year and then stay a few days and try some local favorites.  The GIG Conference will be in Seattle June 5th and 6th.  In addition to great food samples, there will be discussions on topics from shopping gluten free to gluten free bread baking and more.  Click HERE for more information.

Okay, we will start with the bakeries:

Da Vinci Cafe and Bakery, 10003 Greenwood Ave N, Seattle - the very first completely gluten free bakery in Seattle and still absolutely wonderful.

Flying Apron 3510 Fremont Ave North, Seattle, WA (206) 442-1115 A gluten free bakery with "your good health in mind." Baked items are made using the finest organic ingredients; whole grain wheat free flours and organic non hydrogenated oils.

Haley's Corner Bakery 10216 SE 256th St. Suite 111 Kent, WA 98030 (253) 852-4486 Next on my list to try (so sorry I have not made the journey yet) 

Sunny Valley Wheat Free 22035 SE Wax Rd #10 Maple Valley, WA 98038 425.413.9493 Recommended by a reader.  They even have gluten free ravioli and pasta dishes.

And there is more, the following is a list of bakeries that are not dedicated gluten free, but prepare and sell gluten free goods.  Make sure and double-check the status of the their gluten free items, in particular it is also good to question them about cross-contamination issues:

New to the list:  SweetCakes Bakery 128 Parkland Kirkland, WA 98033 425 821 6565  I have heard the gluten free cupcakes are fabulous.  Dare I say, even better than Baby Cakes in NYC??

Cinnamon Works, Specialty Bakery 1536 Pike Place, Seattle (206) 583-0085 Selling gluten free cookies. The perfect place to grab a gluten free cookie after a stroll through the market.

Great Harvest Bakery, 4709 California Ave SW, Seattle 98116 (206) 935-6882 Introducing gluten free baked goods including buckwheat and brown rice breads, cookies, rolls and other items.

Cake Fixation Also new to the club, featuring over-the-top gluten free cakes for that special occasion.

Are you hungry yet?? 

How about some gluten free pizza??

.Garlic Jim's Now serving delicious gluten free pizza and adding new locations weekly.  

Pizza Works14130 Juanita DR NE STE 109, Bothell, WA 98011 ( 425) 821-1300 Has been serving gluten free and dairy free pizza on the Eastside of Seattle for the last two years.  They have a separate prep area and oven for the GF pizzas.  They also serve GF spaghetti and meatballs, as well as desserts from Sunny Valley Bakery.  They have a variety of sizes and even offer a yeast free crust.

Romios Pizza 8523 Greenwood Ave. N. Seattle (206) 782-9005 Gluten free pizza, pasta, pita bread and desserts supplied by Da Vinci's gluten free bakery. Some of the Romios on the eastside, including the one in Redmond, is now serving GF pizza.  You need to double check on the cross-contamination issue.

Savory Moments 18005 NE 68th Street Suite A-115, Redmond, WA 98052 (425) 867-1516 in Redmond is also now offering take and bake gluten free pizzas, as well as other gluten free entrees.

Need more!!  Check out The Seattle Page on my website for more gluten free restaurants.

And now the local gluten free celebrities:

I know, this is what you have been waiting for, but this is not People magazine.  I am sure there are more, but Seattle is the home of:

The Gluten Free Girl who, in some ways, started this whole gluten free blogging trend.  Read more about her experiences in her book Gluten-Free Girl: How I Found the Food That Loves Me Back...And How You Can Too

Dr. Stephen Wangen, a local naturopathic doctor who has made great strides in the the gluten free arena.  He just recently published Healthier Without Wheat: A New Understanding of Wheat Allergies, Celiac Disease, and Non-Celiac Gluten Intolerance. which pushes the gluten issue beyond the confines of celiac disease.  I highly recommend the book if you do not have celiac disease, but have ever wondered if you still have a gluten intolerance.

Okay, I feel like this post is becoming a public servicemessage so I will stop here! 

Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies~Cooking with Expandex

It was one of those perfect chocolate chip cookie afternoons~

We were all exhausted from the week . . .

The Middle Child worked hard this week to perfect her role as Narrator 5 in the school production of the Merchant of Venice,

The Gluten Free Teen was busy, well, just being a Gluten Free Teen,

The Weekend Chef was slammed at his day job (join the crowd these days),

And Mom was just plan tired.

In lieu of skiing we decided to stay home and rest and recuperate from the week.

Then it started to snow.

We have seen our share of snow this year (and this is Seattle, it really is not supposed to snow that much here)

But no matter how much it snows, it is still fun.

Everything gray, or green since this is Seattle, becomes covered in the purity of whiteness.

Everything is brighter,

And I love how quiet it is  . . ..

The kids went out to play in the snow,

The Weekend Chef lit a fire in the fireplace,

And I put my apron on.

I ordered some Expandex a few weeks back and I was dying to try it.

If you have not heard of it before, it is a modified tapioca starch that is claimed to enhance gluten free baking. According to others, it will make your gluten free baked goods rise better, brown better and just plan taste better. More like wheat baked goods.

Jules has made a flour blend that contains it and has become a rage to some gluten free bakers.

Several gluten free bakeries are already using it and they produce some tasty treats.

Even Carol Fenster has included some recipes using it in her book 1,000 Gluten-Free Recipes

So I had to try it.

I have to add a word of "I wonder about this" before getting to the results.

The entire "modified" part is a little concerning to me. Like most of you, the transition to a gluten free diet has ultimately resulted in the transition to a much healthier diet – I know I am not the first one who has started noticing all of the other questionable ingredients on the labels of some processed foods such as high fructose corn syrup and GMO’s which are genetically modified ingredients. If you don’t know about these two ingredients, you should.

If I am going to work so hard to feed my family good food, then it is going to be reasonably healthy as well. Not that Chocolate Chip Cookies are healthy, but my home made ones are not going to have GMO’s in it.

Thus, I am not sure where I stand on whether or not Expandex is an okay ingredient. All that is clear about it is that it is modified in some way – how, with what is yet unknown. I have sent Expandex the link to this post and am hoping they email me back with some information. Do any of you know anything more about this ingredient?

That being said, I have to admit that the cookies were absolutely fabulous. I used a recipe off the Expandex site, but I modified it considerably since it was listed in volume and it contained high fructose corn syrup, and the first batch was slightly flat.

My family absolutely loved these cookies – there is no way that anyone could tell the difference between these and a good old Nestly Tollhouse cookie.

So it is up to you to decide how you feel about Expandex, but I can guarantee you that these are fabulous cookies –

Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies made with Expandex

1 ½ cups Expandex Modified Tapioca Starch

½ cup sorghum flour

½ cup brown rice flour

¼ cup corn starch

1 t xanthan gum

1 ½ t baking soda

1 t salt

1 1/4 cup butter (use Earth Balance for casein free)

1 1/4 cup brown sugar

1 cup sugar

3 large eggs

2 t vanilla extract

1 10 ounce package chocolate chips (Use Tropical Source or Enjoy Life for casein free)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Thoroughly mix all dry ingredients. Either add them all to a one gallon size bag and shake, shake, shake or add all of the dry ingredients to a bowl and mix with a whisk.

Cream the butter (or Earth Balance) until it is white and smooth. Add the sugars and cream for 5 minutes. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix for one minute on a medium blender speed.

Gradually add the dry ingredients on a low or "stir" speed.

Fold in the chocolate chips by hand.

Put the dough in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to let it firm up – go ahead, have a lick, it is delicious (actually the dough has raw eggs, so lick at your own risk but we could not help ourselves)

Use an ice cream scoop or a tablespoon, place dough on the cookie sheet that has been lined with parchment paper.

For us, 11 minutes produced the absolute perfect cookie.

Follow this link for information on where to buy Expandex.