Gluten Free Mom

Quinoa Tabbouleh - Review of Williams-Sonoma Weeknight Gluten Free and a Chance to Win a Copy of this Cookbook

The stack of books on my nightstand is mostly Gluten Free Cookbooks.  It seems like everyone is writing a GF book and I have read a lot of them.   What really annoys me is when some popular mainstream cook/writer who really does not know that much about the GF diet decides to write a “gluten free” cookbook and do so by taking their old recipes and substituting GF pasta and call it day.   If I am going to buy a GF cookbook I want one with real quality recipes that are not too hard to cook, taste good and offer some real gluten free alternatives.

Recently I had the chance to review Williams-Sonoma Weeknight Gluten Free - Simple, Healthy Gluten-Free Meals for Every Night of the Week by Kristine Kidd.

 

 

I love this cookbook.  I have cooked a recipe from each section and loved them all.  The meals are all fairly easy to make but the end results are healthy, gourmet-like meals.  My kids have loved everything that I have cooked and I feel good about the food I am serving.    It is now my favorite cookbook. 

It helps that the author, Kristine Kidd, has celiac disease and was the Bon Appétit magazine’s Food Editor for 20 years.  The cookbook includes easy to prepare, flavorful every night of the week recipes.  This is not a gluten free baking cookbook so don’t expect recipes for breads and pie crusts.   However, sprinkled throughout the chapters are recipes for starchy, gluten-free staples that can replace wheat-based pastas, breads or crusts in meals such as a Polenta Pizza Crust and this recipe for Quinoa Tabbouleh.

 Recipe for Quinoa Tabbouleh

Williams-Sonoma Weeknight Gluten Free

Simple, Healthy Gluten-Free Meals for Every Night of the Week

Ingredients:

• Quinoa, 1 cup (6 oz/185 g), preferably multi-color
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
• Cherry tomatoes, preferably heirloom, 1 lb (500 g), halved
• Chickpeas, 1 can (15 oz/470 g), rinsed and well drained
• Radishes, 6, chopped
• Persian cucumbers, 3, trimmed, quartered lengthwise, cut into 1⁄2-inch (12 mm) pieces
• Green onions, 4, chopped
• Fresh flat-leaf parsley, 3⁄4 cup (1 oz/30 g) chopped
• Fresh mint, 3 tablespoons minced
• Feta cheese, 1⁄2 cup (21⁄2 oz/75 g) crumbled (optional)
• Extra-virgin olive oil, 1⁄4 cup (2 fl oz/60 ml)
• Fresh lemon juice, 1⁄4 cup (2 fl oz/60 ml)
• Romaine hearts

 Directions:

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

Place the quinoa in a medium saucepan. Rinse with cold water, drain. Repeat rinsing 3 more times, and then drain the quinoa and return to the pan. Add 11⁄2 cups (12 fl oz/375 ml) water and a pinch of salt and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer until all the water is absorbed, about 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and let stand at least 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork. Transfer the quinoa to a large shallow bowl and cool to room temperature. (Refrigerate to speed up the cooling).

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine the tomatoes, chickpeas, radishes, cucumbers, green onions, parsley, mint, and feta, if using. Add to the cooled quinoa. Add the oil and lemon juice and toss to combine evenly. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve with romaine hearts for scooping.

To speed up dinner prep during the week, cook the quinoa the evening before (or save the leftovers from dinner that night).

Instead of the cherry tomatoes, you can use 1 lb (500 g) regular heirloom tomatoes, seeded and chopped.

I like to spoon the salad into a bowl lined with romaine hearts, and then use the salad to pick up bite-sized portions. This is another convenient dish to take to parties.

Now for the Giveaway

I am excited to offer a FREE copy of this wonderful cookbook to one lucky winner. 

I am sure this cookbook will soon become a favorite!  To enter the giveaway leave one comment on this post or one comment on my Facebook page with the name of your favorite Gluten Free Cookbook.

• This giveaway is limited to U.S. residents 18 and older.
• One entry per person
• The giveaway begins now and ends on April 5th at 12:00 pm pacific time.

No purchase is necessary.  Odds of winning are based on the number of entries.  The winners will be randomly chosen and will be contacted by email.  The winner will have 24 hours to respond.  If the winner does not respond, a new winner will be randomly chosen.

 

If you are not lucky enough to win a copy, you can purchase Weeknight Gluten Free (Williams-Sonoma): Simple, healthy meals for every night of the week from Amazon.com  

Disclaimer:  I was provided with free product to sample, but was not paid to write this review. The opinions in this post are my own.

 

Recipe for Basic Gluten Free Flour Mix

Gluten free baking can be challenging.  We have been baking GF for eight years and we have had lots of success in the kitchen but we have also had some down right disasters.  So start with some easy and proven to be successful recipes and breathe easy if at first you don't succeed.

Baked goods that are not dependent on gluten are pretty easy to recreate with either a store bought general gluten free flour mix or a gluten free flour mix you make yourself.  By this I mean that if you have a recipe with a lot of eggs, sugar, oil or some kind of fruit, you can easily substitute almost any kind of gluten free flour mix for the regular flour called for in the recipe. 

Gluten free breads, however, require very specific gluten free flour substitutions.  For baking these, you will want to stick with a proven bread recipe.

We use the following recipe for most of our gluten free baking, other than bread. It works great for everything from the coating on chicken nuggets to chocolate chip cookies.  I will double, or even triple, the recipe and store it in an airtight container in the freezer. 

Basic Gluten Free Flour Recipe

Your baked goods will be less gritty if you use a finely ground brown rice flour such as Super Fine Brown Rice flour from Authentic Foods.  Only choose grains and flours labeled gluten free.   Bob’s Red Mill is a good source for Gluten Free Flour.  You can also find Gluten Free flour on Amazon.

 

Brown Rice Flour Mix
2 cups brown or white rice flour	2 parts		6 cups
2/3 cup potato starch	2/3 part		2 cups
1/3 cup tapioca flour	1/3 part		1 cup

 

Whisk the flours together so the consistency is like one homogeneous bowl of flour – you do not want to see any clumps or individual streaks of flour.

Karen Robertson’s Gluten Free Flour Mix  Karen Robertson is one of my favorite GF cooks.  She recommends the following basic Gluten Free Flour Mix. I have used it as well and it works beautifully in cakes, cookies and pie crust. 

• 2 1/4 cup brown rice flour
• 1/4 cup potato starch flour
• 2/3 cup tapioca starch flour
• 3/4 cup sweet rice flour
• 1/3 cup cornstarch

 Xanthan Gum

Xanthan gum is the ingredient in gluten free flour mixes that replaces the gluten and holds the recipe together.  Most store-bought premade GF mixes include xanthan gum.  If you are using my Gluten Free Flour Mix, you will want to add xanthan gum as follows:

Bread:   1 teaspoon xanthan gum per cup of flour mix

Cakes:  1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum per cup of flour mix

Cookies:  1/4 teaspoon per cup of flour mix

In the recipes on my web site, I have already suggested the amount of xanthan gum that you use.

Ready Made Gluten Free Flour:  The following are ready made, one-stop flours that can be used in almost any recipe:

• Jules All Purpose Gluten Free Flour

• King Arthur Flour Multipurpose Flour, Gluten Free, 24-ounces
• Authentic Foods Multi-Blend Gluten Free Flour - 3lb
• Maninis Gluten Free Flour  A blend of alternative flours that is also corn and rice free. 
  

 

Setting the Table for a Gluten Free Easter Meal

What are you serving for Easter Brunch?  We are a pretty traditional family so we will have the standard ham and some roasted potatoes and probably broccoli salad.  I do have a few extra treats that I will be serving this year. 

For the egg dish, I will be making these Egg Muffins.  They are pretty easy to make, naturally GF and they store well in the refrigerator if you have any leftovers.  They work great too if you are going to a friend's house for a shared meal and want something that is safe for your GF family but great to share with others. 

Recipe for Egg Muffins - Naturally Gluten and Dairy Free

 

 

 

Gluten Free Mom Recipes

Ingredients:

• 12 large eggs

• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

• 1 teaspoon garlic powder

• salt and pepper to taste (at least 1/2 teaspoon of each)

 

Optional extra ingredients:

• Cheddar cheese

• sweet bell peppers, chopped

• onion, chopped

• cooked GF sausage  (Jones Dairy Farm's meats are certified GF)

• olives

• spinach, chopped

• mushrooms, chopped

• salsa

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 F and grease a 12-cup standard size muffin tin.  The muffins will stick if you do not grease it well, so take care with this step.

Whisk the eggs, baking powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper until well blended.

Fill the bottom of the muffin tins until they are about 1/3 full with the optional extra ingredients.

The Gluten Free Teen put a tiny bit of cheese with the bell peppers, olives, onions and mushrooms in hers.  Try a combination of onions and sausage, without any cheese, for a dairy free option or you can substitute dairy free cheese.

Stir the egg mixture and add to the muffin tin until each tin is 3/4ths full.  They will rise slightly while baking.

Bake for 15 - 20 minutes, until it starts to brown.

Yields 12 muffins. 

 

Click HERE for a Printable Version of this Recipe.

 

As a special treat, I am also making this Blueberry Bread.  It is an absolute family favorite. 

 

Recipe for Gluten Free Blueberry Bread

 

 

 

Gluten Free Mom Recipes

Ingredients:

• 1 ¼ cups gluten free flour

• ½ cup almond flour

• 1 teaspoon GF baking powder

• ½ teaspoon xanthan gum

• ⅛  teaspoon salt

• ¾ stick unsalted butter (use Earth Balance for dairy free) softened

• 1 cup sugar

• 2 eggs, at room temperature

• 1 Tablespoon grated lemon zest

• ½ cup warm milk (use Almond Milk for dairy free)

• 1 ½ cup fresh blueberries

• Lemon sauce (recipe below)

Directions:

Lightly butter a bread loaf pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.

Whisk together the gluten free flour, almond flour, baking powder, xanthan gum and salt.

Cream the butter until white. Add the sugar and beat until fluffy, about 5 minutes.

Add the eggs one at a time and mix well.

Add the lemon zest.

Add the dry ingredients to this mixture in 2 parts, alternating with the milk.  Do not over mix.

Fold in the blueberries.

Let the mix rest on the counter for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 325 F and bake for one hour.

Remove from the bread pan and pour the lemon sauce over it.

Lemon Sauce

• ⅓  cup sugar

• 3 Tablespoons lemon juice

Bring to a boil in a nonaluminum pot.

Adapted from Gluten Free Baking by Rebecca Reilly.

 

Click HERE for a Printable Version of this Recipe.

 

What will you be serving this Easter Weekend?

 

Both the Popcorn and the Buttery Topping from Regal Entertainment Group is Gluten Free

According to the Operation Services Coordinator for Regal Entertainment Group the popcorn served at the Regal Movie Theaters is popped in canola oil and is gluten free.  The buttery topping is also gluten free.

There is a lot of information on the internet about movie theater popcorn.  I have not checked all of the movie theaters but a majority if not all that have responded to questions regarding the GF status of their popcorn have confirmed that it is GF.    Recently, however, there was some confusion as to whether the buttery topping on the popcorn at Regal Entertainment Groups is GF or not. 

The Savy Celiac  reported that "the popcorn is gluten-free but the buttery topping is not" and listed the ingredients in the buttery topping as:  “Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Soy Lechtin, TBHQ & Citric Acid to improve stability, Natural & Artificial Flavors & Colors, Dimethylpolysiloxane (an anti-foaming agent)”

None of these ingredients jump out as having gluten in them.   Since we occasionally like to eat popcorn at this movie theater I decided to follow up on this information. 

I made contact with Jami Miller, the Operational Services Coordinator for Regal.  I shared with him the report on Savy Celiac and after a month of exchanging emails he confirmed that he checked with the Food Services Department and both the popcorn and the buttery topping is in fact gluten free.

I can only report the information that is shared with me and you should always independently confirm that food is gluten free before consuming it yourself.  You should also confirm the risks of cross-contamination at your local movie theater.

Setting up a Gluten Free Kitchen

Day Three in the Gluten Free 101 : Getting Started Series  - Setting Up a Gluten Free Kitchen

You have a good understanding of what gluten is and you have learned how to shop for GF food at the grocery store, now you need to dig in and clean out that kitchen.

Once you have a good idea of what gluten is, you need to go through your refrigerator, pantry and even your medicine cabinet and either get ride of everything that is not GF or clearly label it as not GF for someone else in the family to use.  Even if your butter and jam is GF, in the beginning you will need to buy new dedicated GF containers of the same.  You do not want to eat butter that may have been contaminated with a knife with gluten on it.  The same may be true for sugar as well if someone dipped a measuring cup with wheat flour into the sugar jar.

Because of contamination issues, clean anything out of your kitchen that could have the residue of gluten on it.  A good scrubbing or trip through the dishwasher will get most non-porous items such as glass, metal and Pyrex clean.  Anything that can hold some residue of gluten should be replaced.  The main items you are going to want to replace with designated gluten free items include:

• Cutting boards,
• Strainers – a good cleaning will probably be okay but it depends on how the strainer is made.
• Wood spoons,
• Toaster,
• Bread maker if you have one,
• Grills - a lot of marinades contain soy sauce that is made with wheat.  You may be able to bake off the residue, but I like being extra safe.
• Cookie sheets - a good scrubbing may get any former gluten residue off but I was a little too paranoid to use my old cookie sheets for my now gluten free cookies. 
• Cleaning sponges or scrub brushes – you don’t want to clean your GF dishes etc. with a scrub brush that has been contaminated with gluten.
• Any other porous items. 

After you have sorted through the food items and appliances, this is a good time to give everything in your kitchen a good wipe down including your refrigerator and the inside of your oven.

Only going Partially GF:

Eventually you are going to have to decide how far to go on the gluten free lifestyle change.  Most likely, similar to my family, only one or two eat gluten free.  In our family, my oldest daughter was initially diagnosed with celiac disease.  For a few years, we had a shared gluten and non-gluten free kitchen.

If you have very small children, it may be easy to just cook gluten free for them.  I know some families with toddler and preschool-aged children who bake gluten free pizza for the little ones and still order carry out for themselves. 

If you only go partially GF, you still need to buy a dedicated GF toaster, cutting boards, strainers, wood spoons, and any other porous items that could trap gluten and clearly label them GF.  Buy dedicated cleaning sponges and scrub brushes for your GF areas and items.   Clearly label all of your dedicated GF appliances etc.

Set up a dedicated gluten free area in your kitchen or pantry where you can put your gluten free toaster and products.  Clearly label these areas and make sure they are above any areas that have wheat items.  You do not want the crumbs from your wheat crackers to contaminate your GF area.  Make it a rule that nothing with gluten on it ever touches the counter in your GF area of the kitchen. 

Dedicate the top shelves in your refrigerator as gluten free and clearly labeled it as your “gluten free only” area.  Keep separate and label all gluten free spreads, butters, and condiments.  You do not want someone sticking a knife that has run over a piece of wheat toast in your GF butter dish.

Having these areas clearly labeled makes it easier on baby sitters, sometimes spouses and any company that you have over. 

Going GF all of the way. 

Eventually more than half of my family went gluten free.  I soon realized that, at a minimum, I have gluten intolerance.  A few years later, we realized my middle child was also gluten intolerant so it became easier for our entire kitchen to become GF as well. 

I think it actually means a lot to my GF kids to have a safe GF environment at home. No matter how good of a show the child puts on, it can be hurtful when other people eat gluten around them.   Our kitchen is a safe haven where they don't feel constantly deprived and where they can eat anything in the refrigerator and pantry without worry.  This also greatly diminishes the cross-contamination issues in our kitchen.   We now just have one toaster, one jar of jam, one container of butter etc.  After being GF for eight years, we also don’t eat a lot of bread and other things that could have wheat in them.  It is easier and less expensive to stick with a diet that is naturally gluten free.  Plus, it is easier for me to cook one meal every night.

My Favorite Kitchen Appliances for My GF Kitchen.

In the last eight years, I have gone from having no-idea how to cook to being a pretty good gluten free chef (at least to my family).  Along the way, I have picked up a few new appliances that I consider essential.  I really believe in the simpler gluten free lifestyle and that carries over into my kitchen, so I don't have a ton of appliances.  But here is a list of my favorite appliances that I would be sad not to have in my GF kitchen.  Of course the two appliances we use most are our  toaster and coffee maker.    This is a list of "extra" appliances that will help in your GF cooking.  I even listed them in order of importance to me. 

• Cuisinart Mini-Prep Processor This may seem surprising but I use my mini processor as much as anything else in my kitchen.  It is great for grinding up a quick topping for baked chicken fingers, some almonds if I need to make some almond flour, chopping up an onion, making chicken salad.  It is something that I would really miss if I did not have it.

• KitchenAid Series 5-Quart Mixer This would be my second most favorite appliance.  I love my KitchenAid Mixer.   I use it at least five times a week for making everything from a quick batch of GF brownies to perfectly whipped mashed potatoes.  I even shred Cheddar Cheese with an attachment.  If you can afford it, you will not regret buying it.

• Cuisinart Food Processor  This appliance gets used 1 -2 times a week depending on the season.  It is great for whipping up some hummus or Thai peanut sauce.  You can also make GF bread dough in a food processor. 

• Cuisinart CPM-100 EasyPop Hot Air Popcorn Maker Popcorn is a pretty regular snack at our house so this get used a lot too.  I even make it and put it in the kids lunch boxes. 

• Zojirushi BB-CEC20 Home Bakery Supreme 2-Pound-Loaf Breadmaker You might be surprised that I put this one last.  I think a breadmaker is a nice luxury if you can afford it, but you can make bread without a breadmaker.  Having the breadmaker simplifies the process - you just pour everything in and turn it on.  If you have the time, you can be successful at making GF bread without a breadmaker. 

 

This list should get you started.  If you want to see more of my favorite things,  visit the Kitchen Accessories Section of my Gluten Free Mom's Store.