Gluten Free Mom

Time to Order Your Gluten Free Gingerbread House Kit

Just put my order in for the Gluten Free Gingerbread House Kits!

 

I would love to have the time to make our gluten free gingerbread houses from scratch, but am so happy that I can actually just order them.  This will be our third year in a row of ordering them from A and J Bakery in Rhode Island.

 

 

A and J Bakery in Rhode Island makes allergy friendly Gingerbread House Kits. Each kit includes pre-baked pieces of a Gingerbread house, allergen free candy and non-edible decorations.  The kit is free of gluten, peanut, tree nut, soy, egg, sesame and dairy.  They are baked in a dedicated nut- and gluten-free facility.   They sell for $30.00.  

  Because they are gluten free, everyone can take a bit!  Some of our house had a bad case of termites last year!

I have absolutely no financial interest in this company, and I paid full retail price for our houses.  I am just so thankful for this easy solution to one of our Christmas traditions that I wanted to share it with you!

What to get a Gluten Free Mom for Christmas? A list of my favorite kitchen accessories.

I have gotten a couple of emails lately asking for gift suggestions for someone who has been recently diagnosed gluten free. 

The first thing that any Gluten Free Mom wants is a healthy kid! 

Beyond that, I thought I'd share some of my favorite things that help with our gluten free lifestyle.  I believe that less is more, but there are definately some kitchen appliances that make my life easier!

 

Gluten Free in the Kitchen - My Five Favorite Things

1.  KitchenAid Artisan Series 5-Quart Mixer  You might of thought a bread machine would be first but I love my mixer!  I use it constantly to make everything from pumpkin bars to mashed potatoes.  It  also come with attachments that are wonderful at shredding cheese or making hash brown potatoes.   My favorite kitchen appliance that simple makes my life easier! Through December 31, get $50 back plus a 2-year subscription to Food & Wine or Travel + Leisure when you purchase a KitchenAid 6-Quart Professional 600 bowl-lift stand mixer with a mail-in rebate available at Amazon's Buyer's Guide - KitchenAid Stand Mixer.

2. Zojirushi BB-CEC20 Home Bakery Supreme 2-Pound-Loaf Breadmaker  The best bread machine for gluten free bread with  a programmable cycle to set for gluten free bread.  In fact, BreadInfo.com tested this bread machine  by preparing several types of bread in it. They say it does a good job making white bread and bread dough, but they're particularly impressed with its ability to produce "remarkably high-quality" gluten-free bread. 

For a detailed guide to making gluten free bread in a bread machine, I recommend Annalise G. Roberts book Gluten-Free Baking Classics for the Bread Machine.  It has everything from great recipes, specific directions on how to set your bread machine and tips for when things just don't go right (and they will not go right at times, it is almost guaranteed so use that bread for bread crumbs!).

 

 

3.   Cuisinart "Mini-prep Plus" Mini Food Processor  I love, love, love this mini-food processor.  It makes chopping onions, mincing garlic, slicing celery a breeze!  It is such a time saver.  Makes dishes like Chicken and Noodle Soup a breeze to whip up!

4. Stainless Steel Scraper/Chopper  For the gluten free baker, this is wonderful at slicing up calzones or scones, also great for  scrapping the vegetables from the chopping board to the pot.

5.  Presto Pizzazz Pizza Oven  This is the splurge appliance - yes, you can easily survive without your own pizza oven but I love this little pizza cooker.  It makes cooking your own gluten free pizza fun and produces a nice crispy crust.  It is also great for toasting gluten free bread sticks.  So put a little fun in your gluten free kitchen.

 

6.  Cup-A-Cake Cupcake Holder  I had to add one bonus item - the Cup-A-Cake cupcake holder.   If you are gluten free, chances are you will go somewhere that you want to take your own gluten free breakfast muffin or, if you have a kid, your own gluten free cup cake holder.  This makes transporting gluten free muffins and cupcakes a breeze!  Just pop it in - there are little brackets that hold the cupcake in place so it can arrive with frosting still on top!  Dish washing machine friendly. 

 

 

I have linked these suggestions to Amazon.com because I simply love Amazon!  Often times I can order something and it is on my doorstep before I even had the chance to schedule a trip to the store on my calendar. So take advantage of the great savings at Amazon and give yourself a little break by shopping at home!

 

Gluten and Dairy (Casein) Free Macaroni and Cheese

It was one of those days that called for macaroni and cheese.

The sky was like an afghan of clouds placed over Seattle with bits of sunshine sneaking through the gaps in the stitches.

The temperature a nippy mid-30s - just cold enough to make your noise tickle.  The fall leaves the color of warm sunshine on the crisps blue of the cold waters of the Puget Sound.

 

We decided to take the boat over to Bainbridge Island for coffee - my husband said it was not about the coffee but the journey to the coffee.  Being a die-hard convert to the northwest way of life, I said it was about the coffee.

Returning home just as the sunset over Seattle (around here that is about 4:30 pm) we lit our first fire in the fireplace and it was a macaroni and cheese kind of night.

 

I have been making gluten free macaroni and cheese for a long time.  Now that the Gluten Free Teen is also allergic to dairy, it was time to come up with a good dairy free version of the same.

This recipe will not disappoint - the Gluten Free Teen was worried that it had real cheese in in it!  I think I am going to try this new cheese sauce in scalloped potatoes for Thanksgiving. 

This is a five star recipe for our family:

 

Gluten and Dairy Free Macaroni and Cheese

 

• 3 cups gluten free macaroni (we use Bionaturae Organic Elbows Pasta Gluten Free )
• 3 T dairy free butter replacement (we use Earth Balance)
• 2 T Corn Starch
• 1 cup dairy free milk replacement (right now I am really liking Pacific Natural Foods Rice Non-Dairy Beverage, Plain)
• 1/4 cup finely chopped onion
• 1/2 t dry ground mustard
• 1/4 t garlic salt
• 1/2 t salt
• Dash of pepper
• 1 cup Daiya Vegan Cheddar Style Cheese
• gluten free Bread Crumbs  (we use Kinnikinnick Crumbs - Panko Style Gluten Free)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and grease a casserole dish.

Cook the macaroni in salted water according to package directions until almost done but still hard. 

In a saucepan, melt 3 tablespoons Earth Balance.  On medium heat, blend in 2 tablespoons corn starch.

Stirring constantly, slowly add 1 cup  dairy free milk replacement and stir well until it becomes a smoother texture.  Add the onions, dry ground mustard, garlic salt, salt, pepper and lastly the Daiya Vegan Cheese. 

Cook and stir until the cheese is mostly melted.  It does not have to be completely melted as this will occur when baking the macaroni and cheese. 

Mix with the cooked macaroni and turn into the casserole dish. 

Top with the Bread Crumbs - I like to sprinkle a little extra garlic salt on top.

 

Bake at 350 degrees F  for 35 to 40 minutes (my family likes it extra crunchy).

Click here for more of our Favorite Gluten Free Recipes.

 

Seagull with a Starfish

 

 

An Evening with Mario Batali and his recipe for Basic Tomato Sauce

We had the pleasure of attending an event at the Seattle Art Museum which featured the critically acclaimed chef, restaurateur, award-winning author, and television personality, Mario Batali. 

Those of you who are foodies will recognize the name Mario Batali as he has built an empire around his passion and respect for all of the great tastes and traditions of Italian cooking.   He has a restaurant empire, several cookbooks, a line of food products and is currently on ABC's The Chew.

When first invited to this event which featured Italian food (aka food heavy in gluten and dairy) I pondered how I would ever survive the evening.  But thanks to the wonderful staff at TASTE at the Seattle Art Museum, who prepared the meal using Mario's recipes, I was treated to an enjoyable dinner that was as good as, if not better, than everyone else's. 

Thiery Rautureau (of Rover's); my husband and myself, Mario Batali, Dale Chihuly

We were served Fenecchiedde - braised fennel salad; Strangolapreti alla Sorrentina - "priest stranglers" in the style of sorrento; and Artista alla Porchetta - roast pork loin and Brussels sprouts with pecorino and thyme. 

 If you are ever downtown Seattle and looking for a meal, I would highly recommend  TASTE as a gluten-free friendly place to eat.

 In celebration of a great evening, I decided to make pasta with Mario's basic red sauce.  I contemplated converting his gnochi recipe to gluten free as well, but went with our favorite gluten free store bought pasta BiAglut Gluten-Free Penne Pasta.

Mario Batali's Basic Tomato Sauce

(naturally gluten free)

 

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 Spanish onion, 1/4-inch dice
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme leaves, or 1 tablespoon dried
• 1/2 medium carrot, finely grated
• 2 (28-ounce) cans peeled whole tomatoes, crushed by hand (see note below re tomatoes)
• Salt
• Whole basil leaves, for garnish
• Grated Parmesan, (optional)

Directions

In a 3-quart saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic, and cook until soft and light golden brown, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add the thyme and carrot, and cook 5 minutes more, until the carrot is quite soft. Add the tomatoes and juice and bring to a boil, stirring often. Lower the heat and simmer for 30 minutes until as thick as hot cereal. Season with salt and serve. This sauce holds 1 week in the refrigerator or up to 6 months in the freezer.

Serve with Gluten Free pasta and garnish with basil leaves and cheese. 

Warning - once your family eats this, they will never go back to canned spaghetti sauce.

 

NOTE re Tomatoes - I love Pomi strained tomatoes.  The packaging is BPA free (although they are not organic) but it is the taste I love - they remind me of my grandma's fresh from the farm jarred tomatoes.  They add a great flavor to any recipe.

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