Archives for category: Gluten-free

Everyone’s Crazy for Sour Dough

June 15, 2020 //
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You hear it all over the internet, everyone is crazy for sour dough. The pandemic lockdown has brought a flurry of interest in cooking and baking. I guess it started because of shortages of staples in grocery stores. First toilet paper. Then bread. And then, surprisingly, yeast. Locked in their homes, Americans started to bake bread. And when the yeast ran out (which clearly happened before the flour disappeared), they reverted to old-fashioned, flavorful sour dough.

So did I. But with a twist.

You see, in my previous life I was a bread-baking maven, a yenta of yeast. I was so deeply into bread making, that I ground my own organic flour. By hand. You see, machine driven flour grinding heats the flour–not in a good way. I did this, every week, for twenty years. I would grind and blend flours–in the search for the perfect crust–the perfect crumb (the fleshy inner part of the bread), and to bring out the maximum flavor in various types of grain. My loaves were gorgeous–light whole-wheat sandwich breads, earthy, crusty french loaves with just the right heft and chewiness, hearty seeded loaves to go with soups or stews–or just some cheese and a good wine. I was a nut.

Then, in 2004, I learned I was a celiac. The very obsession that fed my soul had been killing my body. I had to go gluten-free. The end of bread.

For years, I just went without. I’d tried the commercial gluten-free breads. Leaden. Tasteless. Brick-like. In later years they came out with some better tasting varieties–lighter but not richer. And the ingredients. Oh my! I never saw so many additives and multi-syllabic ingredients. I’d buy a little, here and there. But if that was the best that bakeries specializing in gluten free bread could do, who was I to think I could do better?

Until the pandemic. For Mother’s Day, my niece gave my sister a gluten-free sour dough starter, a loaf of gluten-free bread, and a recipe. (She cannot do gluten, either.)  It was in the spirit of the current craze for sour dough. My sister was smitten and she sent me some starter–and a recipe. I was skeptical.

And yet…there’s something about homemade bread in the oven that brought back all those memories. It was worth a try.

And here it is, my first gluten-free loaf of sour dough bread. It rose beautifully. I think next time, a little more flour, maybe some sorghum. Maybe I’ll go out and find some teff. Even Rick likes it. There’s certainly room for improvement and experimentation. I might even pull out my old flour grinder. There’s lots to explore…maybe even to obsess over.

 

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Categories Gluten-free, obsession, sour dough, Uncategorized

Holidays with the Family

September 2, 2018 //
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cheesecake

Holidays with the Family

It’s always interesting, getting together with family. Holidays spell festivity, good food and indulgence. By that, I specifically mean dessert–which is where it gets interesting.

My family is rife with allergies and food intolerances, and it only gets worse with age. Some cannot do sugar, some gluten, some dairy from cows. It’s like cooking in a straight jacket. I cannot complain, as I am one of the afflicted. So, while it’s a departure from my usual fare, I’ll share a delicious recipe, in time for Labor Day.

Cheesecake (well, sort of)

This is a simple, elegant temptation, that even normal people can enjoy.

Crust

one cup dried figs

one cup finely chopped pecans

one half cup boiling water

one quarter to one third of a cup gluten free flour

Chop the figs finely (about a quarter of an inch bits). Add the boiling water to the figs. Stir vigorously a couple of times as the mixture cools. Add the pecans and the GF flour and mix to a thick paste.

Lightly oil a pie tin and press the mixture into it so that it looks like a pie crust. It’ll be about a quarter inch thick–and a little thicker at the rim.

Pre-bake on a low oven (about 300 degrees) for ten minutes–just to the point where the mixture isn’t sticky.

Filling

Approximately 10 ounces creamy goat cheese. (my package from Costco is 10.5 oz., and I’ve used as much as 12.)

three eggs

generous teaspoon vanilla*

one quarter cup honey*

Beat the goat cheese and eggs together until smooth. (If using mechanical equipment, do NOT whip a lot of air into the mix. I use a wooden spoon and a hand whip.) Add the honey and vanilla and mix thoroughly.  Pour mixture into the pre-baked crust and bake, on a low oven (still 300 degrees) for about an hour–or until the center is firm. Remove and cool–then chill. The low oven is really important–it keeps the cheese mixture from becoming friable and dry–and it keeps the sugars in the figs from carmelizing and making the crust dark and brittle. If you plan on a topping, press the crust mixture a little taller above the line of the cheese mixture–just because it looks nice.

*Variations on a Theme

You can use sugar, instead of honey–but you must be sure to beat the mixture until the sugar has completely dissolved. Sometimes, we put a fresh berry topping over it, and if so, we stick to just the quarter cup of honey. If it’s to be eaten without a topping, we sometimes increase the honey/sugar to one third of a cup. We usually use vanilla, but have been known to play with this. For example, if you want to put strawberries on top, you may want to substitute the vanilla for Grand Marnier, or Cointreau (or, if you decide to throw some chocolate chips into the cheese mix–chocolate and orange are lovely together.) You could play games with this in many directions–Kahlua and some cardamum, or just the cardamum and a little cinnamon, if you wanted to put peaches on top.

Toppings

a cup and a half to two cups fresh fruit, (usually berries)

a third to a half cup sugar

(if the fruit mix is runny, add a teaspoon or so corn starch**)

spices to taste, depending upon fruit

Take half of your fruit and mash it up. On medium heat, add the mashed fruit ant the sugar/honey (and corn starch if used.) Stir over heat until the sugar is dissolved (and/ or mixture has begun to thicken). Add most of the rest of the fruit, and remove from heat. Allow it to cool before spooning over individual pieces of cheesecake.

Alternatively–with really great fruit, skip the sugar and just put fresh slices on top of each slice of cheesecake.

Possible combinations–strawberry or strawberry-rhubarb, blueberry, raspberry or blackberry, peaches, kiwis (alone or with strawberries). Consider serving with melon balls and a sprig of mint.

** if corn is a problem, you can thicken with tapioca, gelatin or even potato starch–but be careful with potato starch, a little goes a long way and it can make the mixture taste gummy.

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Categories Blueberries, desserts, GF goat cheesecake recipe, Gluten-free, goat cheese cake, goats, Uncategorized

Snow Cats, Hot Cocoa and GMOs

January 3, 2016 //
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Snow Cats, Hot Cocoa and GMOs

-A.V. Walters-

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It’s snowing again. We’re expecting seven inches by tomorrow and then it will really feel like winter.

Yesterday we were out clearing. Snow shoveling leads to play—at least for those of us with snow history. The snow on the ground was a little too dry for a decent snowman. Though I managed a couple of good snowballs, I couldn’t get anything good going (Rick, shoveling, didn’t want to play along) so, I had to settle for making a snow cat. Yes, a snow cat—nice and fat like my favorite cat—who is unfortunately named Kilo, making a permanent joke of his girth.

On the way up to the house site, we noticed tracks—large, feline tracks. They were much too large, and the spread of the step is too long, to be a house cat. This summer, I noticed similar tracks in the sand and wondered if we had bobcats or a lynx. But tracks in sand are difficult to identify, so I let it go. Now, in snow, it is absolutely clear that we have a regular visitor who is something larger than Kilo or Bob. I followed them (the tracks, that is) in a meandering trail that ended across the way because my quarry walked up the neighbor’s driveway—which had been plowed after the tracks were made.

I’m not surprised; there are plenty of bunnies here to keep a wild cat well fed. We see their tracks, too, along with those of the mice and squirrels and their veritable freeways of tracks. I came home, determined (after a cup of hot chocolate) to identify our feline visitor. I believe it’s a bobcat. The size is right, the length of the stride, and even the meandering path. It’s unlikely we’ll ever see him, because they are nocturnal, but it’s nice to know he’s there.

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“And now, a word from our sponsor…”

Hot chocolate is always nice after my own meanderings in the snow. I’m going to put in a plug for Hershey’s here—as they have recently announced that they’ve nearly completed their transition to non-GMO sugar in all their products. They made their statement in a benign way, declaring that they are responding to clear customer demand. No company wants to support such a change on environmental grounds—and risk the wrath of the larger food industry. Still, I admire Hershey for making the shift. The company also has a nice website which identifies which of their products are gluten-free. That’s good for me. They’re not perfect, but for today, they can bask in their non-GMO glory.

The Hershey announcement has the Minnesota sugar-beet farmers in a tizzy. Minnesota leads all other states in sugar production—all from sugar beets, all of them GMO modified and drenched in Round-Up. Previously, Hershey bought sugar made from sugar beets. Sugar-beet spokespersons are circumspect about the Hershey announcement—hoping that it’s not a trend. Surely, Americans won’t abandon conventional, chemically saturated, agriculture. Will they?

Here’s the rub. The sugar-beet farmers and cooperatives couldn’t change gears to go back to non-GMO seeds if they wanted to. There aren’t any non-GMO seeds available. Monsanto has so flooded the market with their poisonous seed-and-Round-Up combo, that the farmers have no fallback position. This, despite the evidence that GMO yields are no better than organic, or conventional fields. (Listen up organic farmers, here’s a window of opportunity to grow conventional sugar beets for seed!)

Consumers can make a difference. It will be fun to watch conventional agriculture scramble as more and more of us vote with our dollars for healthier products that don’t contaminate our soils and water. In the meantime, I’m warming up with a hot chocolate and anticipating a few more days of heavy snows.

 

Perfect Hot Chocolate—one heaping teaspoon of unsweetened cocoa powder, one teaspoon honey and one cup of whole milk or, for a special treat, almond milk.

 

 

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Categories country living, environment, Gluten-free, GMO, honey, snow, Uncategorized, winter

Why Gluten-Free?

September 18, 2012 //
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Gluten-free is all the rage right now. I guess I’m the lucky surfer riding that wave, since it has resulted in many new products and labeling that makes life easier for those of us who cannot tolerate gluten. I guess I’m a trend-setter. What’s gluten? It’s a protein found in wheat, rye and barley. It used to be that only celiacs avoided gluten, but they’re discovering that there is a whole range of people whose lives are easier and more comfortable if they follow a gluten-free diet. Now there is more accurate testing for the various gluten related ailments. Still, many doctors are completely ignorant of the symptoms and the treatment for folks who are gluten intolerant. I don’t blame them, the symptoms can be wildly diverse and confusing. The only real solution is a gluten-free diet, which isn’t easy in this world of processed foods. Still, since I quit eating gluten (and in my case, cow’s milk products, too) my life has completely changed. The first 46 years of my life I struggled constantly with many, many health problems–but my doctors just shrugged. Now, as long as I watch what I eat, I am one of the healthiest people I know.

What are the symptoms? They are wildly different for many people. I guess I’m lucky that my symptoms were “classic” celiac. They included gastro-intestinal problems, a chronic rash, aching joints, infertility, chronic upper respiratory problems and a continually growing list of foods and drugs that triggered allergic reactions. I remember feeling frustrated that, at some point, it felt like I’d be allergic to everything. I was afraid to end up like the boy-in-the-bubble. I always was the sickly kid. Little did I know I was the poster-child for Celiac Disorder. (aka Celiac Sprue, aka Celiac Disease)

I wish I could say that a kind and conscientious doctor listened to my complaints and did the detective work to find out what was wrong with me. Nope. Despite the fact that I presented with all the classic symptoms, and even endured years of unsuccessful infertility treatments, nobody ever suggested that we take a look at my diet. Long after childbearing was an option, I discovered I was a celiac, while driving down the road, listening to NPR. That’s it, my medical provider of choice, National Public Radio. It was December 27, 2004 and a talk show host was interviewing a man about his mysterious ailment. He went through his symptoms. I pulled over to the shoulder. By the end of the program I was weeping behind the steering wheel; this had been my problem all along. I stopped eating wheat the very next day.

Thank god for the internet. I did all my own research and completely reformulated how I eat. At first my family thought I was crazy, but within a month or two, even the doubters could see the improvement. I never looked back. My doctor initially resisted my self-diagnosis, but it’s hard to argue with a sudden attack of good health. For a while I was angry. I could have felt good decades earlier if the medical people had listened, and had known about the condition. Maybe I could have had children. Often with celiacs, especially younger celiacs, a year or two gluten-free can reverse all the symptoms. A niece of mine, also suffering from infertility issues, was able to conceive after changing her diet. Many gluten issues are hereditary. My discovery has changed everyone in my family. Three of us have gone completely gluten-free, with great results. Others are considering it–but it’s a big step and requires some sacrifices. (One just isn’t willing to give up her fancy micro-brew beer! Sheesh! Believe me, even though I like beer, too–it’s worth it.)

Why am I coming clean now? Someone I know through blogging has complained of similar symptoms. I occupy only a tiny corner of the blogosphere, but if, by writing this blog, I can lessen the suffering of just one person, then I should make that effort. I’m not NPR, but since my recovery I have made it part of my mission to help others transition to better health when the learn that they, too, have won the gluten-free lottery. So, Nick, look into it. Find out and choose health. It’s worth it.

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Categories Celiac, Gluten-free, Healthy Food