Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Sunday night football
Even though the Bears play was downright abysmal, my menu of tortilla casserole and chocolate was so amazing it totally made up for Cutler's 9 sacs and alleged "concussion" Yuuuummmyyy!
Seriously, this mousse is so divine and so easy. I am definitely putting this one in the rotation. It completely made up for the other night at Maggiano's when I cried inside because my favorite dessert of all time-tiramisu- is not gluten free! =( Hmmm....I wonder if there are gluten free lady fingers out there somewhere??? Yet another thing to look into!
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
The frost is almost on the pumpkin...
You know what that means, right? Of course you do! It means I made pumpkin bars and they were delicious! How do I know, you ask? First, because I had two in one sitting. Second, I watched El Jefe inhale half the pan at mach speed. Success! I wish I could say it's an original recipe, but alas, it is not.
Here is the website: http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com/2006/10/brown-sugar-spice-pumpkin-bars.html
I did not frost them, but I thought they were quite fantastic without a schmear. Oh, and the aroma wafting throughout the house...nothing but pure, unadulterated deliciousness.
Sidenote: After using Pamela's Pancake and Baking Mix, I am a huge fan and will plug her product without ceaselessly, shamelessly, and without hesitation. =)
As a matter of fact, I haven't made pancakes since the TJ disaster but I am holding out hope that when I do Pamela will hook a sister up with some fantastic flapjacks!
Here is the website: http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com/2006/10/brown-sugar-spice-pumpkin-bars.html
I did not frost them, but I thought they were quite fantastic without a schmear. Oh, and the aroma wafting throughout the house...nothing but pure, unadulterated deliciousness.
Sidenote: After using Pamela's Pancake and Baking Mix, I am a huge fan and will plug her product without ceaselessly, shamelessly, and without hesitation. =)
As a matter of fact, I haven't made pancakes since the TJ disaster but I am holding out hope that when I do Pamela will hook a sister up with some fantastic flapjacks!
Facebook and the great Udi's bagel debate
Sorry about the delay, y'all!
With that out of the way, let me just jump right into my beef. Last week, I was reading through the posts on my Facebook feed when I came across one for Udi's (a gf site that I am a fan of). It suggested its fans watch the videos posted and comment on them. Welll....I watched men and women give glowing testimonies over finding the greatest alternative to sliced bread since sliced bread...knuck knuck. However, I had a very had time reading and validating fans of their gluten free bagels. There were several comments about how they were delicious and tasted just like a bagel. I could not let that be. I had to get the word out there that even though the bread is good, the bagels are not!
Sooo...I posted the following to the comment section of the video: "Before I went gluten free, my morning staple was a Thomas bagel. Udi's was the first bagel I tried and I was extremely disappointed. Its look, texture, and taste were nowhere near that of a gluten filled bagel. In fact, the remaining bagels ended up in the trash."
I do believe I sparked some controversy over the subject. There really are true, devoted fans of those bagels and I can't for the life of me understand why. There was actually one woman who told me that "of course it's not going to taste like a regular bagel-doesn't mean it doesn't taste good-it's not a regular bagel. Maybe it was your expectation that it would taste the same that made you think it didn't taste good." Thank you for that profound psychoanalysis of me, especially considering you have nooo idea who I am. I do not think that holding the expectation of a bagel tasting like a bagel is unfathomable . But then there's this gem: "Sadly, anything gluten or wheat free will never taste like the original. It's the gluten that makes it dense and chewy. Sigh...But Udi's is the next best thing." I beg to differ. I have found a cookie that tastes like a cookie, pasta that tastes like pasta, waffles that taste like waffles, and pizza crust that tastes like pizza crust (I would even go so far as to say it's better). So why prey tell, do I have to "settle" for, or change, my expectation??? It may take some time and experimentation, but I do believe I should be able to find a bagel that serves as a very similar substitute to my long lost bagel love, Thomas! Sorry El Jefe, but you have seen me salivate and stare longingly at that little slice of heaven upon your paper towel.
Anywho, that's my rant and I'm sticking to it!
With that out of the way, let me just jump right into my beef. Last week, I was reading through the posts on my Facebook feed when I came across one for Udi's (a gf site that I am a fan of). It suggested its fans watch the videos posted and comment on them. Welll....I watched men and women give glowing testimonies over finding the greatest alternative to sliced bread since sliced bread...knuck knuck. However, I had a very had time reading and validating fans of their gluten free bagels. There were several comments about how they were delicious and tasted just like a bagel. I could not let that be. I had to get the word out there that even though the bread is good, the bagels are not!
Sooo...I posted the following to the comment section of the video: "Before I went gluten free, my morning staple was a Thomas bagel. Udi's was the first bagel I tried and I was extremely disappointed. Its look, texture, and taste were nowhere near that of a gluten filled bagel. In fact, the remaining bagels ended up in the trash."
I do believe I sparked some controversy over the subject. There really are true, devoted fans of those bagels and I can't for the life of me understand why. There was actually one woman who told me that "of course it's not going to taste like a regular bagel-doesn't mean it doesn't taste good-it's not a regular bagel. Maybe it was your expectation that it would taste the same that made you think it didn't taste good." Thank you for that profound psychoanalysis of me, especially considering you have nooo idea who I am. I do not think that holding the expectation of a bagel tasting like a bagel is unfathomable . But then there's this gem: "Sadly, anything gluten or wheat free will never taste like the original. It's the gluten that makes it dense and chewy. Sigh...But Udi's is the next best thing." I beg to differ. I have found a cookie that tastes like a cookie, pasta that tastes like pasta, waffles that taste like waffles, and pizza crust that tastes like pizza crust (I would even go so far as to say it's better). So why prey tell, do I have to "settle" for, or change, my expectation??? It may take some time and experimentation, but I do believe I should be able to find a bagel that serves as a very similar substitute to my long lost bagel love, Thomas! Sorry El Jefe, but you have seen me salivate and stare longingly at that little slice of heaven upon your paper towel.
Anywho, that's my rant and I'm sticking to it!
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
El Jefe's quote of the day
This morning after indulging in some Quaker Oat Squares (just watching him eat those gave me horrendous stomach cramps), El Jefe proceeded to inhale a cup of plain yogurt. Me: "How's your yogurt?" El Jefe: "It's gluten free!" Oh, how I love him! Let me count the ways!
Anyhow, I did not have to rage with extreme jealousy because I have found a gluten free breakfast cereal that I love! With a little rice milk*, it is stupendous and even stays crunchy til the last bite! The best part you ask? It is a subtle version of that good ol' gluten filled standby called Cap'n Crunch! No really, I kid you not (woh woh)!
Yeah, it's a "kids" cereal, but come on! It's me we're talking about! I refuse to conform to the confines of a mature adult existence! I can happily report that Gorilla Munch also has 2 grams of dietary fiber as opposed to its counterpart that is sitting on my pantry shelf which has zippo fiber! I will take fiber where I can get fiber, thank you very much!
This Rice Twice business is like eating Styrofoam peanuts drenched in milk! I had to "Pour Some Sugar On" it just to make it palatable and that's a nutritional contradiction right there. Hmm, I wonder if there is such a thing as gf marshmallows that might be the only hope for the remaining contents of this box!
*FUN FACT: Did you know that gluten intolerance and lactose intolerance walk hand in hand? No wonder I was so miserable, not only had I stripped my small intestine of all its villi-hairlike structures that absorb nutrients and increase the surface area of the s.i.-BUT the tips of those villi were long gone and guess what breaks down lactose? You guessed it, lactase. If the tips are non-existent, as they were in my case, I literally made myself lactose intolerant. Needless to say, I have been treading lightly when it comes to dairy but I can now enjoy cereal without disastrous and bodily consequences immediately, after an hour, and sometimes lasting the duration of an entire day, thereafter.
Anyhow, I did not have to rage with extreme jealousy because I have found a gluten free breakfast cereal that I love! With a little rice milk*, it is stupendous and even stays crunchy til the last bite! The best part you ask? It is a subtle version of that good ol' gluten filled standby called Cap'n Crunch! No really, I kid you not (woh woh)!
Yeah, it's a "kids" cereal, but come on! It's me we're talking about! I refuse to conform to the confines of a mature adult existence! I can happily report that Gorilla Munch also has 2 grams of dietary fiber as opposed to its counterpart that is sitting on my pantry shelf which has zippo fiber! I will take fiber where I can get fiber, thank you very much!
This Rice Twice business is like eating Styrofoam peanuts drenched in milk! I had to "Pour Some Sugar On" it just to make it palatable and that's a nutritional contradiction right there. Hmm, I wonder if there is such a thing as gf marshmallows that might be the only hope for the remaining contents of this box!
*FUN FACT: Did you know that gluten intolerance and lactose intolerance walk hand in hand? No wonder I was so miserable, not only had I stripped my small intestine of all its villi-hairlike structures that absorb nutrients and increase the surface area of the s.i.-BUT the tips of those villi were long gone and guess what breaks down lactose? You guessed it, lactase. If the tips are non-existent, as they were in my case, I literally made myself lactose intolerant. Needless to say, I have been treading lightly when it comes to dairy but I can now enjoy cereal without disastrous and bodily consequences immediately, after an hour, and sometimes lasting the duration of an entire day, thereafter.
That was a gf cookie?
Monday morning saw the Trader Joe's (TJ) pancake and waffle mix disaster. Wrong combination of flours or something, but I only took one bite of those vile things before 86ing them. Gotta love El Jefe though, he got back up and tried dousing them with more syrup (that didn't help by the way, I tried) while his friend JWes asked "Um, are these pancakes part of your diet?" Me: "Yes" JWes: "Yeah I can tell, they have a different <insert dramatic pause> taste." Uh oh...another mental note to self--TJ pancake and waffle mix is a NO GO! So, not only do I need to find a mix/flour combo that tastes GREAT, I am looking for a cookie that tastes like a FANTASTIC chocolate chip cookie that I can manipulate and hopefully exceed tastewise in my own kitchen. Ladies and gentlemen...I have found it!
I bought this baby last night at a health food store called Wild Bran in downtown Lisle. Apparently, Sweet Ali's is solely a gluten free bakery in Hinsdale, IL and it just so happens that Wild Bran-a mere hop, skip and a jump away from our house-carries her label. I had it for my lunchtime dessert and in a matter of minutes I had nothing but gf crumbs
For me, half of the battle with going gf is mental. It is extremely difficult to take the first bite presuming (in some cases like the TJ pancakes with about 99.9% accuracy) that it is going to taste absolutely abysmal because it says "gluten free" on the package. My taste buds were singing when I took the initial bite and I had this bad boy down in a matter of two minutes (sadly, maybe less). Moral of the story: I will one up this cookie. Watch out Sweet Ali, here comes Amware and I get a bit competitive when I'm in the kitchen! You have been warned.
my first successful gf dish
So the first day I decided to go gluten free (gf), I bought some pasta and made a pasta toss with arugula, prosciutto, and mozzarella. Sounds delicious, right? Well it was, but the second day when I dove into the leftovers, the pasta started to break apart. So note to self, do not buy:
So, what turned my culinary faux pas around? A fantastic box of quinoa (pronounced keen-wah, thanks mom for so graciously correcting my "quin-now" pronounciation!) from Trader Joes.
And with this, I made chicken quinoa stir fry and it was delicious! How do I know, you ask? Because, El Jefe not only ate it for dinner the other night, he had leftovers yesterday. He is a human garbage disposal glutenosauras, there were several options in the fridge, and he chose a plate of....
Have I mentioned that I love him for tolerating this drastic change in culinary genres! Seriously, my photography is not my strong suit, but if you could smell the wonderful aromas emanating from this dish, your mouth would be watering too! I just had some for lunch today and it is so much better than it was the other night!
If you, too, would like to try this at home-which I highly recommend because it is VERY good for you-then grab...
-1lb of chicken (cut into one inch or so pieces)
-half an onion (chopped)
-red and yellow pepper (chopped)
-3-4 cloves of garlic minced(or more if you REALLY like garlic)
-1 cup of quinoa (rinsed and cooked for 10-15 minutes until liquid absorbs---I cooked it in 2 cups of gf chicken broth with a clove of garlic (minced), a sprinkle of dried basil, a touch of basil infused olive olive, salt & pepper) What can I say, I read that quinoa had a tendency to be bland, so I made a point to alleviate that!
I used the recipe on the back of the box as a base and manipulated it to my liking from there. I changed the cooking method for the quinoa as mentioned above. I used minced garlic instead of chopped because I like garlic but not chewing on it in a dish. I added one minced clove to the chicken and salt & pepper when it was cooking, after it was cooked through and somewhat golden brown, I added the onions and peppers, as well as two more cloves of garlic. When the onions/peppers were warm and still had a bit of crunch (I don't like "limp" veggies), I added the cooked quinoa and let the flavors meld for about five to ten minutes. It was truly lovely and sooo easy to prepare! If I had not gone gf, I would have absolutely no idea that this wonderful option existed!
A true testimony to the gf lifestyle: I haven't had to sprint to the bathroom, courtesy flush, use excessive air freshener, or down Immodium like vitamins while doubled over with excruciating, all-consuming stomach cramps IN SEVEN DAYS. That might as well go down in the Guinness Book of World Records for Amware!
Huh, I wonder, if Julia Child were around today how she would feel about gf cooking? Surely-as a culinary genius-she would hate that something so wonderful as food could make someone who loves to cook and bake (me) so sick. Maybe she would have published a cookbook? Or perhaps, she would "gafaw" using anything but all purpose flour in rues and cakes and all that french cooking?!?
I would say (and I think El Jefe would agree) that I have a pretty picky yet sophisticated palate, the idea of gluten free anything depressed me the first few days. My hope here is not a Julie & Julia where I work my way through a Julia Child cookbook one recipe at a time because realistically I can't do that--my stomach would HATE me. However, what I can do is find great dishes, brands, and mixes (this could be a hard one due to my SEVERE aversion to them, I am a "from scratch kind of girl") that make gluten free living less daunting and full of exquisite culinary masterpieces.
Disclaimer: I have a tendency for verbal diarrhea (yes, pun intended and I can say this word happily in the verbiage reference as it is devoid in my physical presence---FINALLY) so some posts might be LONG WINDED but should be somewhat entertaining for those willing to read on. See both a poo joke and a lengthy diatribe =)
So, what turned my culinary faux pas around? A fantastic box of quinoa (pronounced keen-wah, thanks mom for so graciously correcting my "quin-now" pronounciation!) from Trader Joes.
If you, too, would like to try this at home-which I highly recommend because it is VERY good for you-then grab...
-1lb of chicken (cut into one inch or so pieces)
-half an onion (chopped)
-red and yellow pepper (chopped)
-3-4 cloves of garlic minced(or more if you REALLY like garlic)
-1 cup of quinoa (rinsed and cooked for 10-15 minutes until liquid absorbs---I cooked it in 2 cups of gf chicken broth with a clove of garlic (minced), a sprinkle of dried basil, a touch of basil infused olive olive, salt & pepper) What can I say, I read that quinoa had a tendency to be bland, so I made a point to alleviate that!
I used the recipe on the back of the box as a base and manipulated it to my liking from there. I changed the cooking method for the quinoa as mentioned above. I used minced garlic instead of chopped because I like garlic but not chewing on it in a dish. I added one minced clove to the chicken and salt & pepper when it was cooking, after it was cooked through and somewhat golden brown, I added the onions and peppers, as well as two more cloves of garlic. When the onions/peppers were warm and still had a bit of crunch (I don't like "limp" veggies), I added the cooked quinoa and let the flavors meld for about five to ten minutes. It was truly lovely and sooo easy to prepare! If I had not gone gf, I would have absolutely no idea that this wonderful option existed!
A true testimony to the gf lifestyle: I haven't had to sprint to the bathroom, courtesy flush, use excessive air freshener, or down Immodium like vitamins while doubled over with excruciating, all-consuming stomach cramps IN SEVEN DAYS. That might as well go down in the Guinness Book of World Records for Amware!
Huh, I wonder, if Julia Child were around today how she would feel about gf cooking? Surely-as a culinary genius-she would hate that something so wonderful as food could make someone who loves to cook and bake (me) so sick. Maybe she would have published a cookbook? Or perhaps, she would "gafaw" using anything but all purpose flour in rues and cakes and all that french cooking?!?
I would say (and I think El Jefe would agree) that I have a pretty picky yet sophisticated palate, the idea of gluten free anything depressed me the first few days. My hope here is not a Julie & Julia where I work my way through a Julia Child cookbook one recipe at a time because realistically I can't do that--my stomach would HATE me. However, what I can do is find great dishes, brands, and mixes (this could be a hard one due to my SEVERE aversion to them, I am a "from scratch kind of girl") that make gluten free living less daunting and full of exquisite culinary masterpieces.
Disclaimer: I have a tendency for verbal diarrhea (yes, pun intended and I can say this word happily in the verbiage reference as it is devoid in my physical presence---FINALLY) so some posts might be LONG WINDED but should be somewhat entertaining for those willing to read on. See both a poo joke and a lengthy diatribe =)
Bagel detox
That would be what I would call it! Day 2 and 3 were the hardest. My evidence: I woke up at 5 o'clock with an insatiable craving for a bagel...or five. Seriously, the alarm can't wake me up most mornings, but apparently the overwhelming urge for a bagel can. The good news-- it's Day 7, we still have two bags in our freezer, and I have surpassed the bagel hunger and made it out alive. I suppose this would be a fine time to mention that the reason said bagels are still in our fridge is that 1) I paid for those bad boys and would hate to see them go to waste, so they will feed visitors and 2) El Jefe, my boyfriend, is the person that makes up the other half of "our". He is what I will coin a glutenosaurus and has decided he will eat up all gluten-filled food before attempting the switch while I silently curse him. No, I could never curse anyone who would continue to love me after seeing me, living with me, and putting up with my crankiness while coming off the bagel!
I love you, Babe! Thanks for being you! Your incredible patience through all this is awe-inspiring!
(He doesn't know it, but I think he starting to get the sneaking suspicion that I am brainwashing him and leave him no choice but to eat gluten-free as I am the one who is cooking!) =)
I love you, Babe! Thanks for being you! Your incredible patience through all this is awe-inspiring!
(He doesn't know it, but I think he starting to get the sneaking suspicion that I am brainwashing him and leave him no choice but to eat gluten-free as I am the one who is cooking!) =)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)