Favorite gluten free resources, web sites and books

Magazines:
Living Without
The magazine can be found at specialty news stands - large book stores carry it, as well as many health food stores. There are a lot of helpful articles and recipes. It's nice to know we're not alone. Plus their web site has recipes and information as well.

Vegetarian Times

Although not an exclusively gluten free publication, they do have several gluten free recipes in each issue, and they are ALL good. Seriously, not one recipe from them has been bad!

Web sites:
Gluten Free Goddess

This blogger is fabulous. She has so many amazing recipes.

Celiac.com
They have a wealth of information, from lists of safe foods and drinks to FAQs and resources.

Restaurants:
Razzi's Pizzeria

Located in Greenwood (one of north Seattle's coolest neighborhoods), this is a gluten free mecca. They have a FULL gluten free menu, very knowledgeable staff, separate kitchens, amazing bread, and incredible pizza, ravioli, lasagna... no lie.

P.F. Changs
This is my favorite restaurant for gluten free eating. The servers are knowledgable and the food is wonderful!

Outback Steakhouse

The gluten free brownie sunday is AMAZING!

Old Spaghetti Factory
Tell your server that you need a gluten free meal before you order, and double check that it's gluten free when the bring it to your table. They use DeBoles rice pasta, which is not my favorite, but it's better than just having a salad when you're at an Italian restaurant.

Olive Garden
They have a small gluten free menu, but it's better than nothing. Waiting for gluten free breadsticks!

If you have a favorite restaurant, check their web site for allergen and nutritional information or call and speak to a manager or a chef during off hours when they have time to go over ingredients.

Books:
Gluten-Free Baking Classics
This is my new favorite book. Fabulous recipes and a great intro section with explanations about gluten free flours, how to mix and measure them, and where to find them.

Gluten Free Italian

Some great recipes and meal ideas - some fun things with polenta too!

Artisanal Gluten-Free Cooking

More fun, impressive, yummy meals and ideas.

The G-Free Diet: A Gluten Free Survival Guide

Written by Elisabeth Hasselbeck, she shares her story, her tips, her favorites, and her encouragement to stop 'cheating' and to let your body heal itself!

Gluten Free Flour Mix

I generally mix up a big batch of this and keep it on hand in gallon sized ziploc bag or sealable container to use as a substitute for regular flour in most "normal" recipes. Because gluten free flour lacks the protein (gluten) in regular wheat flour, a blend of gluten free flours provides better structure and texture than just using rice flour, for example. The xanthan gum or guar gum helps bind everything together. (Hint, don't buy flour from bulk bins: they can be easily cross-contaminated.)

Ratio:
2 cups finely ground brown rice flour (you can use white rice flour, but the final product will be gummier)
1 cup tapioca starch
1 cup potato starch
1 teaspoon xanthan gum or guar gum

You can experiment with substituting small amounts of other flours, like buckwheat, teff, sorghum, etc...

Blueberry Coffee Cake with Brown Sugar Glaze

Adapted by Rachael Boyer from original recipe by Emeril Lagasse
This coffee cake is very moist and got rave reviews at a recent family gathering. It's not remotely healthy, since it's packed with butter and eggs and sugar, but it sure tastes good!

Cake: 1 stick plus 2 teaspoons unsalted butter 1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar 2 large eggs 2 cups gluten free flour mix
1 teaspoon xanthan gum or guar gum (optional)1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 cup sour cream or plain yogurt1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 teaspoons of lemon extract2 cups fresh blueberries, rinsed, and patted dry

Crumble Topping: 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar 1/2 cup gluten free oats
1-3 tablespoons gluten free flour, as necessary1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

Brown Sugar Glaze: 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1-2 tablespoons water 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 13 by 9-inch glass baking dish with 2 teaspoons of the butter. (I used my stoneware baking dish, but it required an extra 7 minutes of baking time.)

In a large bowl, cream together the remaining stick of butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs 1 at a time, beating after the addition of each. Add vanilla and lemon extract. In a separate bowl or on a piece of parchment, sift together the dry ingredients. Add to the wet ingredients, alternating with the sour cream or yogurt. Fold in the blueberries. (Make sure the blueberries are dry, otherwise they’ll sink to the bottom of coffee cake.) Pour into the prepared baking dish, spreading out to the edges.

To make the topping, in a bowl, combine the sugar, oats, cinnamon, and butter, then add the GF flour 1 tablespoon at a time until it resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle the topping over the cake and bake until golden brown, 35 to 40 minutes. A knife inserted into the middle of the coffee cake should come out clean, not doughy. Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack for at least 10 minutes.

To make the glaze, in a bowl, combine the sugar, lemon juice, and water and mix until smooth. Drizzle the cake with the glaze and let harden slightly. Serve warm.

Review: Gluten Free Bakery in Kent, WA

Haley's Corner Bakery opened in April and I've been there a few times since I found out about this wonderful, fabulous bakery. Even if you live far away, this place is worth the drive! Here are a few of my favorite things:

- Lemon Bars (you can't even tell they're GF)

- Raspberry Oatmeal Bars

- Giant Frosted Sugar Cookies

- Giant Frosted Gingerbread Cookies

- Carrot Cake

- Multi-Grain Bread

- Potato Bread

- Cheese Bread

- Chocolate-Dipped Almond Biscotti

- Chocolate Volcano Cake

They also have a variety of other items, and a huge selection of bars and cookies. They do special orders and have a very friendly, knowledgeable staff. They do offer non-dairy versions of many of their products, but they don't cut out flavor. Also, as prices for GF items are usually ridiculously high, I think that their prices are really good and quite reasonable for the freshly baked, delicious items you're getting!

Give 'em a try!

Haley's Corner Bakery

256th St. Suite 111

Kent, WA 98030

Phone: 253.852.4486

Hours: Tues. - Saturday, 9 a.m. - 6 p.m.

Favorite gluten free/vegan chili

My husband and I love this recipe. Since it's just the two of us, we get several meals out of one pot of this very good chili. I adapted this recipe from www.chooseveg.com.

INGREDIENTS:
3 bell peppers (in whatever colors you want) seeded and diced
1 yellow onion, coarsely chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, finely chopped (or smashed through a garlic press)
3-4 tablespoons canola oil
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 tablespoons chili powder
3 medium tomatoes, peeled and chopped (or one 16-ounce can diced tomatoes)
1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 can corn, drained (or 1-1/2 cups frozen corn, thawed)
1 small can of tomato paste
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
½ cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves or fresh parsley (optional)

DIRECTIONS:
1. Heat up the oil in a heavy 4-quart saucepan over medium heat
2. Add the onion, garlic, oregano, and chili powder, cayenne, coriander, and cumin, and stir frequently until spices become fragrant and garlic and onion start browning
3. Add bell peppers, tomatoes (with juice), corn, beans and tomato paste. Bring to a boil. Add a little water as needed.
4. Lower the heat and simmer for 30 minutes, adding water as needed if too much liquid evaporates. Season with salt and black pepper.

Serving suggestions and variations:
- Garnish with cilantro, your favorite version of sour cream or cheese
- Adjust spices to your liking. This version has a little kick to it, but not too much.
- You can use whatever varieties of beans you have in your cupboard. Black beans, white beans, pinto beans, kidney beans. You could use 3 cans of one type, but it's more interesting to have the variety. It's also nice to use 3 different colors of bell pepper, but it's not remotely necessary.
- Serve with tortilla chips or honey polenta (see below)

Optional honey polenta:
- 1 tube of plain corn polenta (it comes in a sausage-like tube with crimped ends), or follow the recipe for corn meal mush on a package of corn meal and add honey
- honey to taste
- water
- pinch of salt

Slit open the tube and place the polenta in a medium saucepan. With clean hands or a wooden spoon, break up the polenta into small pieces and add a little water. Over medium high heat, stir occationally until the polenta bubbles and thickens, adding water as necessary. The grains should become slightly clear. Add pinch of salt and honey to taste.

My Easter Lemon Coconut Cake

I was asked to bring the Gluten Free dessert to my family Easter dinner and I was looking through my copy of Debi Field's Great American Desserts. No, it's not remotely a GF cookbook, which is precisely why I use it! She has great recipes that are probably a nutritionist's nightmare, but they taste SO GOOD. Anyway, I created a GF adaptation/melding of her Coconut Cake and her Lemon-Cream Coconut Cake. My version of the Lemon Coconut Cake got rave reviews from both gluten free and regular people alike.

Equipment needed:

* Two 9 inch cake pans, greased and floured (I used white rice flour)

* Electric mixer (this is a must, unless you have really strong arm muscles)

* Pastry bag with large star tip

* Oven, preheated to 350 degrees F

Cake ingredients:

12 tbsp unsalted butter, softened (room temperature is best)

2 cups sugar

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 tsp pure lemon extract

finely grated rind from 1/2 a lemon (save the other half for the filling)

2 3/4 c gluten free flour (I use a ratio of 2 parts white rice flour or finely ground brown rice flour, 1 part potato starch and 1 part tapioca starch)

1 rounded tsp xanthan gum or guar gum

1 tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 c water

4 large egg whites at room temperature (separate whites from yolks when the eggs are cold. Save the yolks for the filling)

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

1/3 c evaporated milk

3 tbsp sweetened condensed milk

Lemon filling:

1 1/3 c sugar
1/2 c water

4 tbsp cornstarch

2 tbsp lemon juice

4 egg yolks at room temperature

2 tbsp unsalted butter

1 c sweetened shredded coconut

finely grated rind from 1/2 a lemon

Frosting:

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

4 tbsp (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened

1 lb powdered sugar
1/2 c sweetened shredded coconut (optional)

Garnish (optional):

1/4 c flaked coconut, lightly toasted (on a light cookie sheet in a 325 degree oven for about 10 minutes, stirring half way through. Watch closely so it doesn't over-brown!)

Make the cake layers:

1. Mix butter and sugar in electric mixer on medium speed until until creamy, about 2 minutes. (Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix for another minute).

2. Add lemon rind, vanilla and lemon extracts to butter mixture until well combined.

3. In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking powder and salt. Add dry ingredients to butter mixture in thirds, alternating with water. Mix well after each edition. Begin and end with dry ingredients.

4. In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until frothy, then add cream of tartar and beat until stiff peaks form.

5. Gently but thoroughly fold beaten egg whites into batter. Divide batter between the two prepared cake pans. Smooth batter.

6. Bake 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

7. Let the cakes cool in their pans for 10 minutes on wire racks before turning cakes out onto the racks until the cakes reach room temperature.

Make the lemon filling:
This can be done while the cakes are baking in the oven.
1. In a heavy saucepan, whisk together the sugar and cornstarch. Over Medium high heat, stir in the 1/2 cup of water and lemon juice until the mixture is very smooth and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. The mixture should start to thicken and be less opaque.
2. Lower the heat to a simmer and cook an additional 2-3 minutes until the mixture turns thick and glossy (DON'T be tempted to skip this step, it helps to fully develop the starches so you won't end up with a soupy mess!)
3. "Temper" the egg yolk so they don't curdle by stirring a large spoonful of the lemon mixture into the egg yolks. Repeat.
4. Add the tempered egg yolks into the lemon mixture, stirring constantly over low heat. As soon as the mixture begins to steam, remove from heat and stir in butter, coconut and grated lemon rind.
5. Let cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally.

Make the frosting:
1. Put cream cheese and butter in a large mixing bowl and beat until smooth with an electric mixer on medium speed.
2. Scrape down the bowl with a rubber spatula, then beat in powdered sugar in small amounts until creamy and smooth.
3. Scrape the bowl and mix a final time to ensure a smooth, even frosting.

Assemble the cake:
1. Carefully cut the "dome" off the top of both cake layers to give them a level surface. Use unflavored dental floss or a long, serrated knife to split each cake layer in half, creating four layers total.
2. Place one layer on a serving plate or cake stand, then spread half of the lemon filling over it. Carefully place the next layer on top of the lemon filling.
3. Spread a layer of cream cheese frosting as the middle filling for the cake, then place the third layer over it.
4. Pour the remaining lemon filling on top of the third cake layer, and spread to the edges, then top with remaining cake layer.
5. Carefully, using a long metal spatula, spread cream cheese frosting over the top of the cake, being careful not to let it drip over the sides.
6. Fill a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip with cream cheese frosting. Create border of large stars around the top rim of the cake and around the bottom edge of the cake.
7. Press lightly toasted coconut flakes over the top of the cake, being careful not to upset the star border.
8. Cool in the refrigerator at least one hour before serving.

Gluten Free Product Reviews and Favorites

PRODUCT TESTING:
Have you ever stood in front of a shelf full of gluten free products and didn’t know which brands to try? Which flavors?

Here are the gluten free products I’ve tried so, for example, you don’t have to buy six different kinds of linguine noodles before discovering that Tinkyada is the best. I'll keep adding to the list as time goes on.

FAVORITES:
Best GF bread: Udi's (in the bakery freezer section.) It actually holds together. You can actually make a sandwich. You don't need to toast it, and it actually tastes good!

Best pancake mix: Pamela's. These are very good. I make up a big batch and keep some in the freezer or refridgerator so I have breakfast for a few days.

Best Snickerdoodle: Enjoy Life. They have absolutely no allergens in their products. I have no idea how these cookies taste so good, but they do.

Best overall noodle brand: Tinkyada. Their noodles are made of rice and they have a really great taste and texture. They make all shapes and sizes of noodles. DeBoles comes in second.

Best Lemon Wafer Cookies: Glutino. These taste like the real deal!

Best Frozen Macaroni and Cheese: Amy’s Kitchen. I swear you won’t be able to tell it’s GF!

Best French Bread Mix: Gluten Free Pantry. This mix works best if you use a French bread pan or baguette pan lined with parchment paper. This way you can get two long, skinny loaves.

Best Cake-Like Brownie Mix: Pamela’s. These are my brother’s favorite.

Best Chewy Brownie Mix: Namaste. These are my favorite.

Best Chocolate Cake Mix: Bob's Red Mill. This cake is SO good, and it stays moist for a week!

Best Frozen Meals to Grab When You’re in a Hurry: Pretty much any Gluten Free item made by Amy’s Kitchen.

Best Donuts: Kinnikinnik (in the freezer section). These old-fashioned cake donuts are baked and are available in vanilla or chocolate glaze, or cinnamon sugar. After being defrosted in the microwave, they are amazing!

Best Frozen Pizza: Amy's Gluten Free Dairy Free with Spinach - this one tastes way better than their regular Gluten Free one. It's the spinach topping. It's really good!

Best Thick Pizza Crust: Kinnikinnik (in the freezer section). This company is amazing! These frozen, top-it-yourself personal sized pizza crusts come in a package of 4 and they taste SO good. My sister and I agree that these are the best things ever! (And even my gluten-eating husband likes them.)

Best Thin Pizza Crust: Udi's (in the bakery freezer section). Top your own thin-crust pizza. The flavor and texture is perfect.

Best Bagels: Udi's again. Plain, whole grain, or cinnamon raisin: all are amazingly like the real thing.