Perfect Pizza.

     Ladies and gentlemen, I have done it.

     After months of tweaking various recipes I've found all over the internet and trying pre-made mixes, I have settled on a pizza dough recipe that we both enjoy. I have made dozens of pizzas with this recipe. There are air pockets in the dough, it takes plenty of toppings without getting soggy, and is crispy on the bottom. It's good.

     During this experience I have truly seen the light when it comes to baking by weight. Because two flours weigh differently (sometimes drastically different), using ½ cup of a 'similar' flour or starch interchangeably will result in a different end product. It can really screw things up – prevent your crust from browning, make the crumb too doughy, or cause too little moisture for a dry dough that is hard to work with.

     This recipe is heavily based on the trial and error of both myself and others. I studied recipes, poured through books that explained the fundamentals of baking with gluten free flours and starches, and started with a dough recipe that was already highly rated by others in the gluten free world. Because Thomas and I are pretty picky about what we eat, I modified the recipe quite a bit to get it to our preferences. Feel free to do the same. Experiment until it tastes good. You'll still have pizza in the end, and pizza is good. Homemade pizza is ten times better.

Perfect Pizza
Serves 1 or (2)

Ingredients
For the crust:
15 g dry yeast
40 g melted vegan butter
1 3/4 Cups mildly hot water, around 110*F

120 g potato starch
120 g tapioca starch
120 g millet flour
120 g corn flour
dash salt

Optional crust add- ins: crushed red pepper, herbs, basil, sun-dried tomatoes

Pesto or tomato sauce

Toppings: spinach, artichoke, cheese, onion, mushroom, basil, tomato, pineapple, olives

Method
First... Prepare ingredients by melting butter over low heat, weighing out flours and starches into a large mixing bowl along with salt and crust add-ins, and preheating the oven to around 200*F.

Then... Mix 1 cup hot water into the melted butter, sprinkle yeast over the mixture, stir to remove any lumps, and set aside for 5 to 7 minutes.

Then... Pour the yeast mixture into the dry ingredients, stirring well to incorporate. Sprinkle the remaining water into the dough as needed to obtain the proper consistency.
***You want dough that holds together, but is slack like warm silly putty. You won't be able to make a ball that holds a smooth shape with it, but it's not watery and does not stick to your hands. The mixing bowl shouldn't have anything in it but some oil residue at this point.

Then... Let dough sit in middle of mixing bowl for one hour, draped with a towel, near the cracked oven door.

Then... After rising, increase the oven temperature to 425*F, remove the dough from the bowl and place it onto one sheet of parchment with another on top before rolling or patting flat. Slowly peel back the top layer of parchment in the opposite direction. Leave the crust on the bottom parchment paper and transfer this to a heavy baking sheet or a pizza pan.

Finally... Add toppings and bake for 10 minutes or until the edges begin to brown.

     During the tweaking of this recipe I discovered several nuances about it. Too much sauce can keep the crust from crisping on the bottom, so roll it out a bit thicker than normal to keep the sauce from making the dough soggy. Using foil is a bad idea. You'll be picking foil chunks out of the underside of the pizza for several minutes before eating. However, if you don't have parchment, you can roll the dough on foil, just transfer it to a lightly floured pan. The flour might burn in the oven with the high heat, so keep the vent hood on if you have to do this. If we use a baking pan that is not heavy bottomed, the crust does not crisp as well.

     Like I said before, I've made dozens of pizzas with this recipe. I've really made it mine and we are both happy with it every time I make it. We don't change the toppings much from one pizza to the next, but we do change the cheese and sauce which gives us just enough variety. Onions, spinach, artichoke hearts, basil, sun-dried tomatoes, olives, and cheese are our standbys.

     Pizza was my last gluten meal. I had a Papa Johns on the way to the house when I found out I had Celiac. I cried, ate the pizza, and got over it. That day I really thought I was giving up all bread, beer, and pasta forever. It was the very first day for me and I had no clue that sorghum flour or millet flour existed, much less what sorghum or millet was to begin with. I've come so far since then. This January is four years gluten free and I've never felt better. The first couple of years of baking were difficult for me, but with patience and persistence I've really been able to conquer gluten free baking.

     If your first pizza is a flop, don't give up! Just make notes, put the bad experience behind you, and keep tweaking and adjusting until you find what works for you. There are books and websites devoted to help you and guide you, take their advice and build on it.

- Patricia

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Traveling and the Importance of Easy Meals

     One of the only downsides about biking everywhere is the lack of long distance transportation. I can easily ride 10 miles on my bike to go somewhere, but that is about the upper limits of my abilities when time is taken into consideration. It's not too convenient beyond that. 

     The end of this past week and the beginning of the weekend were spent mostly in San Antonio with my lovely niece I had not seen in three years. She was able to catch up with her boyfriend and his family while Thomas and I were able to take in the sights of San Antonio. It truly is a beautiful city with a bit of old world charm. Because we had to be in town so early we were able to see it as few people get to, nearly empty.

     By the time we got home, we were all exhausted and wanted to do nothing more than go straight to bed. Dinner, however, needed to be dealt with. Two bags of 10oz frozen corn and a couple of potatoes to the rescue!

Corn Chowder with Roasted Potatoes
Serves 3

Ingredients
For the chowder:
2 - 10oz bags of frozen sweet corn
Handful of cilantro, washed, stemmed, and chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
Olive oil for frying
1 tsp poultry seasoning
1/4 tsp chili powder
2-3 cups water
1/4 - 1/2 cup soy milk
Salt, to taste

For the roasted potatoes:
2 or 3 small to medium potatoes
1/2 onion, chopped
Olive oil for coating
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cayenne

Optional Toppings:
Shredded cheese
Diced green onions
Sour cream
Diced cilantro

Method
First... Preheat your oven to 350*F while you prep the potatoes by washing them well, then dicing into bite sized pieces. Nothing fancy here, just keep them a uniform size. Toss together in a bowl with the diced onion, coat with the olive oil, then add the salt and cayenne before mixing well. Toss the potatoes in the oven on a foiled or parchment-lined baking sheet for around 25 minutes or until fork tender.

Then... While the potatoes are baking, you'll make the corn chowder. Start by heating oil in a soup pot and adding the onions to fry for around 5-6 minutes. Add the salt and other dry seasonings and mix well. Add the frozen corn and enough water to cover before bringing to a simmer. Carefully transfer around 1/2 of soup contents to a blender and blend, using the remaining water for easy blending. Return contents of blender to soup pot, add cilantro, and continue simmering. After 10 minutes of additional simmering, add the milk and turn heat off.

Finally... Remove the potatoes from oven. Ladle soup into bowls, top with roasted potatoes and any optional toppings desired.

     Because this recipe is so basic, there are many ways that you could make it your own. Try adding some salsa or chili garlic paste to the blender for a spicier touch, a can of chopped tomatoes with green peppers, or use a can of black beans instead of the second bag of corn for a slightly different soup. Make it yours!
- Patricia

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Morning Rice

By the time the boyfriend and I get our coffee going and morning started, we've already been in the kitchen for about half an hour. I find it odd that considering this, I hardly ever make breakfast for myself. The boyfriend will toast these amazing-smelling toaster pastries we get him to hold him over, but I'm often left roaming the kitchen like some half-crazed, half-starved loon.
 
I've written before about how breakfast is that one meal I still struggle with to get some sort of consistency with. I understand that this is, technically speaking, not a difficult task to do. Bananas, cereal, oatmeal, eggs; there are tons of different foods available for breakfast time that are gluten free. For me, it's a combination of being a broke college student with a crappy part time job and a slight failure in the meal planning department I seem to be having. When I do my weekly meal planning, I often forget to get items for other meals besides dinner, so we'll end up eating the pasta I was saving for Wednesday night on Sunday afternoon.

The same thing goes for breakfast - I forget to pick up groceries for it. This is an exceptional pickle to place yourself in because it's a bit more difficult to convince yourself to eat pasta for breakfast. This got me thinking about a satisfying breakfast I could make with just what we had on hand.

We have rice. Mountains of several kinds of rice, and enjoy them all. We truly love rice. The grocery store nearest to our home has a great deal on 5lb bags of un-enriched Jasmine rice from Thailand we buy once or twice a month. So, this morning when I was trying to figure out what to make for breakfast, I naturally reached for the rice.

Hot Jasmine Rice Breakfast
Serves 1



1 C water, brought to a boil
1/2 C Jasmine rice
3 Tbs cane sugar
Cinnamon, to taste
1/4 C soy milk
1 Tbs vegan butter


Add rice to boiling water and stir well. This will cook a little faster than a normal serving of rice will, so watch it carefully to prevent scorching. When the water is around half absorbed add the sugar and cinnamon and stir well. 
When the rice has finished cooking add the milk and butter, stir well, and enjoy!

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This Quesadilla Brought to You by Daiya

The tiny town in Texas that I grew up in had a stellar Mexican food restaurant that was ran by a local family. Being the creature of habit I am, I ordered the same thing every time our family ate there – cheese enchiladas. The dish came three to a plate with a side of refried beans and Mexican rice. Add sweet tea and it was one of my favorite eats in town.

I'm still a fan of cheesy goodness of any kind, but the whole dairy-free thing can really hinder that for me, as you could imagine.

A couple years ago I posted about casein-free cheese and my experiments with them. It wasn't that good. In 2009 Daiya took the vegan cheese market by storm and has been picked up as the vegan cheese standard by hundreds of pizza outlets, frozen dinner brands, and restaurants across the country. It's still a bit pricey at around $4 and some change for a standard sized bag of shredded goodness, but it's worth it every once in a while to change up the meal plan around here.

This quesadilla, for instance, was made with Daiya. Delicious and quick breakfast for one this morning when I was up before my boyfriend and room mate.


Quick Quesadilla for One
(vegan & gluten-free)

Ingredients:
2 corn tortillas
baby spinach
½ small onion, chopped
1 baby portobello, chopped
shredded carrots
Daiya

Place small skillet over medium heat. While heating, place one tortilla in skillet, add Daiya, and top with half of the spinach. Add onions, mushrooms, and carrots then top with remaining spinach. Sprinkle liberally with Daiya and place final tortilla on top. Once cheese on the bottom is beginning to melt flip the quesadilla and brown the other side.

If you would prefer the stuffing cooked a bit more, you can brown the vegetables together and then assemble the quesadilla to prevent burning the tortillas from continued cooking.

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Commitment Free Lasagna

      Making traditional lasagna is a commitment of at least three hours. I don't know about you, but I don't even have kids running around, unless my cats and rabbit count, and I find it hard to come up with three hours to make dinner on most days. Sure, there are some lazy Sundays with afternoons just begging to be used by the oven, but most days are full of better things to do than stand over a counter and stove for the good part of an afternoon.

     Now there comes a problem into sight: I love lasagna.

     I have always loved lasagna. I was not raised in an Italian family with tables filled with foods and family, so it's not that kind of love, but my family would rock the frozen lasagna from the grocery store. Plate it up with salad and garlic bread, and you have one of my absolute favorite meals in the galaxy. That lasagna was the epitome of Italian for me. Rich tomato-y sauce, firm, frilly noodles with four or five kinds of cheese, and slightly well done to make the cheese extra crispy on the top layer.

     After I went gluten and dairy free my cravings for lasagna did not subside. My food tastes have developed a bit since the days of frozen-in-box and I still long for deliciously rich lasagna. 98% of the time when I'm converting a recipe to suit our food habits I do not have a problem, but once in a blue moon I will have a bit of a challenge put before me when I'm trying to figure something out. Lasagna was one of those moments for me. Most of you know that my household is vegetarian, so meat and meat sauce are both out, and I can't do dairy, so cheese is also out.

      “So what's left” I would tell myself; I pretty much gave up on the idea before I even tried it and went lasagna-less for about a year and a half or so.

      I dabbled in lasagna for a while before I came up with this recipe that I follow pretty closely now. It's right at an hour start to finish for me to prepare, cook, and serve. This cut in time made it a very accessible recipe for me to incorporate into the rotation of meals. With most of my cooking I do not use recipes for exact instructions but for ideas and inspirations. With that theory, I hope that you use this recipe as a base for you to spring from.

Commitment Free Lasagna
6 lasagna noodles
½ pound baby spinach
1 onion, finely chopped
1 jar artichoke hearts, chopped
½ C water + stock cube or ½ C liquid stock
tomato sauce to taste
shredded basil

Bring large pot of water to a boil and add lasagna noodles one or two at a time until al dente. When the noodles are done, lay them out on a plate to cool. While this process is going, heat skillet over medium heat and add artichoke hearts and onions, cooking until onions are translucent. Add stock, tomato sauce, and basil to onions and mix well. Place spinach on top of onions and place lid on pan until spinach has wilted and can be easily incorporated into the onion mix.
Once the spinach is incorporated, the stove can be turned off and the oven preheated to 350*F. Using a spoon or fork and starting about half an inch from the start, line the center of a noodle with a small amount of filling. Roll the noodle up starting from the end with no filling and place into a baking dish. Continue in this manner until all the noodles have been used and top the dish with the remainder of the filling.

Bake for about 20 minutes, or until filling and noodles are hot and any cheese added has melted.

Served with garlic bread and a salad, this will generously serve two or three people, depending on appetites.

      For variations, try making a white sauce or pesto sauce to use in place of the tomato sauce, adding zucchini or mushrooms, experimenting with shredded carrots, or using vegan cheese to give it some extra body.

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No Fuss Hashbrowns For One

*Vegan and gluten free.
This is an easy-as-it-gets recipe. I would let a 12 or 13 year old do this on their own, with limited supervision – not that I have children or know any 12 or 13 year olds. Seriously, though, it's a fast and easy recipe that calls for very few ingredients, quick prep, and instant gratification.

What you need:
1 medium potato½ sweet onion
3 or 4 sprigs of thyme
Fresh ground pepper
Dash of saltOil for cooking
(You can easily adjust the ingredients for more than one serving)

(I'm eating this as I write the recipe!)
How to do it:
Chop up the onion into smallish pieces. They don't have to be perfect and uniform, just smallish so they'll soften up while cooking. Bag the other ½ of the onion and throw it in the fridge for a later use. Dump the onions into the bottom of a small mixing bowl.

Take your handy-dandy grater and grate that potato, baby! Only after you've washed it and picked off the bad spots with a knife, of course! I prefer to just stick the grater in the bowl so I don't have to transfer it over later, but if you do it elsewhere, put the potato in with the onion.
Pick the thyme off the sprigs and do your best to chop those little guys up a bit. Nothing fancy, just get the job done. Dump that in with the onion and potato and add some fresh ground pepper and some salt to the top before digging your hand in and mixing it all up. You could use a fork to do the mixing, but what's the fun in that?


Coat the bottom of a medium or large skillet with olive oil (use a spray bottle or a paper towel moist with olive oil) and heat it up to medium heat. Once hot, dump in the potato mix and scoot around to form to potato blobs. Again, nothing fancy, just makes it easier to turn two smallish hashbrowns than one large hashbrown. Cook for about 3 or 4 minutes per side, or until your desired crispiness is achieved. I topped mine with Daiya and Braggs and flipped them over, Daiya side down, to help melt the cheese. The cheese doesn't stick too bad in the skillet, so just about 30 seconds should do the trick.

Eat and enjoy. Sharing optional.

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Indian Inspired Spinach and Red Lentils

      One of my favorite ingredients to cook with when I have no clue what to make for dinner is red lentils. They're flatter than normal lentils, cook fairly quick making, and they go really well with just about anything else making them perfect for using up the rest of whatever you have. Just like in this instance where I threw in the remainder of various leftovers into this. It turned into a tasty and satisfying dinner for me and the boyfriend.


Indian Inspired Spinach and Red Lentils

1 C Chopped Spinach
½ C Red Lentils
3 Shallots
2 tsp Butter (I used Earth Balance)
1 C Vegetable Broth
½ C Water
Salt, Cumin, Coriander and Turmeric to taste

      Heat skillet over medium high heat and saute shallots until softened and slightly browned. Add lentils and stir until lentils are evenly coated in oil then add liquids and stir well. Add spices plus salt and spinach and let cook until most of the water is gone. Taste to see if anything needs to be adjusted and continue cooking until lentils are soft – about 15 minutes total. Serves 2.

      Also, I just got my Vegetarian Times subscription in my mailbox yesterday evening and was thrilled to see it. I've been on a cupcake baking binge recently and little real food cooking has gone on (like cupcakes aren't real food?), but this issue gave me tons of new ideas to help get me back in the mood for real food again. Really, there is nothing wrong with two days of cupcakes.

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Creamy Pasta Dinner

Just a quick post this evening to give you an equally quick recipe to make tonight. Yesterday's post where I raved on and on about Sabra's Hummus, I said that I would give you a great idea to use up the rest of the hummus once all the carrot sticks and chips in the house are gone. Hope you enjoy this soon, it's well worth it!



Ever since I stopped eating dairy I've missed pasta with cheese sauce of any kind and have tried various replacements for this craving. I tried doing the nutritional yeast route, but I purchased it from the bulk section of Whole Foods and it was contaminated from being near the flours and I would break out in rashes any time I ate a dish with the nutritional yeast included. I've also tried those almost unpalatable soy cheeses that turn gritty once they begin to cool down on the plate, but one my absolute favorite way to get that cheese fix I'm looking for is to add about one to two tablespoons of hummus right before I serve the pasta. It sounds so simple, but the creamy texture of hummus lends itself nicely to giving the pasta that cheesy texture I'm looking for.


Creamy Pasta Dinner

2 C cooked pasta shells (I use Tinkyada)
1 Tbs butter
1 clove garlic
1-2 Tbs Hummus
Italian Seasonings of choice
olives
cherry tomatoes

Once you have boiled your pasta, set it in a culinder to drain while you use the pot the pasta was boiled in to get your 'sauce' ready. Turn the heat off on your stove top and place the pot back on the burner. Add the butter and garlic to the bottom of the pan to melt and throw in the hummus once the butter is good and melted. Toss the pasta back in the pan and stir until all the shells are coated evenly. Sprinkle on any seasonings you might want and add five or six olives and a couple cherry tomatoes for good measure. Serve and enjoy!

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Pad-Thai Knockoff Power Lunch

...or dinner.

      I abhor thinking about what to make for a meal. I like to plan things out before hand so that I know what I'm making in advance giving me plenty of time to prepare anything in advance that needs it or make a quick run to the store for something I forgot to buy. It makes things go so much smoother for me.

      I planned out a quick meal a few days ago, but wasn't sure when it would get made. I ended up making it for lunch today and am bringing the leftovers for dinner tonight at work. It took 30 minutes from the time I got the ingredients out of the refrigerator until I was eating it. Perfect for when you're in a rush and need something more filling than soup or a sandwich – high protein, low sodium and even your vegan friends will approve this one! Give it a try for a surprisingly easy nutrient packed meal.


Pad-Thai Knockoff Power Lunch

1/2 Block firm tofu, drained and cut into bite size pieces
1 Green onion, chopped
2 c Boiled pasta of choice
Spoonful of peanut butter
Pinch of cayenne
Chili powder
Ground pepper
Garlic powder
Olive oil for frying tofu

      Fry tofu in oil over medium heat with pepper, chili and garlic powder until crispy on the outside. While tofu is frying, boil pasta to desired tenderness. Drain pasta, return to pot and add tofu, peanut butter, cayenne and green onion. Mix well and serve.

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New Gluten-Free Magazine

      It strikes me as odd that this past Christmas I bought a subscription to Vegetarian Times over any gluten-free magazine available. I did this for a number of reasons, but mostly because the gluten-free magazines are filled with articles I do not care to read and recipes that I cannot eat or modify easily. I happened to stumble across this gem of a magazine, however, and am quite impressed at what I have found inside and wanted to share it with you quickly before I run off to work.



      Delight Gluten Free Magazine is a newer magazine based out of Boulder, CO that covers all things gluten-free. They have a doctor Q&A section and an awesome start on a recipe collection - check out this 100% non-intimidating recipe for gluten-free Tiramisu. The gluten-free popovers look just as appetizing and they give a diary free version, as well. Starting in May they will have a full travel section to help you along the gluten-free trail no matter where it takes you. They also have a section called Healthy Living that shows you how to make ordinary meals a bit more healthful and looks like they're even having a Get Healthy Challenge for the readers. I think the best part of all is the Gluten Free Meals on a Budget section - just as much of a life saver as it sounds!

      Browse their website, read their articles, check out some recipes and let me know what you think! I might even have a picture up soon of some of my own popovers from their recipe!

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Mung Bean Flatbread

      This next week and a half or so I'm going to be absorbed in moving to our new apartment. We're getting a substantially larger place for cheaper than what we are paying now. It's a good move and I'm looking forward to it.

      Coincidentally, all this packing up has left me little motivation to cook anything substantial and I'm finding myself going for the easiest thing to fix in the cabinet. Several varieties of soups and polentas have been regular as of late with the weather change and abundance of vegetables we have had since our farm subscription. On the stove now? Boiling potatoes for mashing later; tasty, little effort and highly satisfying.

      Here's another amazingly simple recipe I've been eating on for a few weeks now. This makes some deliciously crispy flatbread in about two steps. Amazing.

Easy Mung Bean Flatbread

1c dried mung beans, soaked overnight and rinsed
1 ½ c white rice flour
enough water to make a thin pudding like batter
dried basil
1 tsp salt
3 whole cloves garlic
oil for frying

      Place the soaked mung beans, salt, garlic and basil in blender and puree for about two minutes adding enough water to blend into a smooth, thick mixture. Stop blender, add the white rice flour and gently fold in with a spoon (this will help from flour flying all over the top half of the blender). Puree for another 15 to 30 seconds and add enough water to make a thin pudding like batter. The amount of rice flour and water can be altered to achieve a good consistency.

      Heat a little under 1 tablespoon of oil in bottom of nonstick skillet. Once hot, add 2 tablespoons of batter to the oil, spread as thin as you can get it without holes and fry for 3-4 minutes per side before removing onto paper towels.

      This batter can be made ahead of time and kept in the fridge until you're ready to fry one up.

      These also make great gluten-free pizzas and are amazingly easy to make. The hardest part is not eating the whole batch!

      Enjoy!

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Trial Run

      This will be my first major holiday being gluten-free, so I wanted to practice a dish or two before hand so I fudge as little as possible when it comes down to the line. I want to avoid any last minute scrambles if at all possible. Our grocery stores here are always crowded and busy no matter what time of the day. It is one of the only 24 hour grocery stores in the area so shopping at night is fun and much less busy, but it also increases the chances of getting hit by a car on the bike. I got side swiped in a parking lot just yesterday in broad daylight by someone not paying attention – I was on my way to the grocery store, too.

      Last night I decided to try my hand at gluten-free green bean casserole and it came out pretty good. I was quite intimidated at first that I was not able to use any pre-made ingredients, but it was so easy that I might throw it into the normal rotation of random meals we eat.

      Here's the best part: it's vegan without being weird. Some dishes that you make with milk or butter can turn gross when you try to make them vegan, but this just happened to come out vegan and taste awesome!

Tasty Vegan Green Bean Casserole

1 lb green beans
½ onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, smashed
2 or 3 white button mushrooms
1 ½ C soy milk
2 tbs butter
Dried basil and dill
Salt & pepper
2 heaping tsp gluten free flour blend
½ C water
Olive oil

      Wash green beans, cut both ends off and cut to bite size pieces. Wipe mushrooms with a damp paper towel to remove most of the dirt and grime, remove center stalk (unless you like that part) and cut into small pieces.

      Heat skillet over medium heat and add oil and onions when hot. Cook until browned and softened and add garlic, mushrooms, green beans and spices to taste. Continue to cook for another 3-5 minutes mixing well. Add milk and butter and bring to a slow simmer. Place flour blend in a cup and add water, stir until dissolved. While green beans are simmering, pour the flour mix into pan and turn off heat. Stir well and add water or milk if you need to thin things out. Pour into a pie plate and bake at 350 for about 30-45 minutes or so. This will result in the green beans being still crunchy so if you want them soft, boil them for a while before you add them to the pan or just used canned.

      I served this on the side last night with quinoa stuffed herbed tomatoes. The tomatoes were a no-brainer and were done, start to finish, while the casseroles were in the oven. I hollowed out the tomatoes and sprinkled olive oil, salt, basil and pepper on each and stuck them under the broiler for about 10 minutes before I pulled them out. Added the quinoa and served! Tasty, yum and fast.

      This whole meal came together so fast and easy – I enjoy cooking so much when things just work like that. The goat is always in and out of the kitchen checking in on things and offering to help chop or peel something. Cooking is more than just making something for dinner. It's a process of love that you have to want. Many pregnant women talk about the joys and feelings of sustaining life within them and how much of a miracle the whole process is. I do not have kids and they are not in my foreseen future, but I can relate to this same intimate level when I cook. I sustain not only my life, but the life of those I share the final resulting meal. Each cut of the knife and stir of the pan gives way to warm lingering smells that make their way into each meal that I share with those near and dear to me.

      The miracle of vegetables, grains, fruits and fungus coming together to make a life sustaining experience is a miracle in itself. Sharing it with someone else is like no other feeling in the world.

      How do you share you meals?

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Garlic Haters, Repent!

      Yesterday was a very mellow day here in Austin; lots of rain, the goat was home sick from work and temperatures hit the 70s and 80s when the sun finally came out for a brief bit before being swallowed back up by storm clouds. I had to be downtown for an interview at 8am so we were still up at our normal time – no sleeping in to be found around here. (yeah, right.)

      I kicked myself for not bringing my camera with me. The city was gorgeous with all the rain-wet buildings and freshly filled streams. I made it to 2^nd and Congress around 8am or so and hoofed it the rest of the way – it's usually faster than the bus and I only had a couple blocks to walk. Did the interview and was headed to the grocery store on 5^th and Lamar at about 8:30 or so. The walk was great despite the light rain and horrible humidity.

      I love the grocery store that time of morning. Everyone is busy doing their part be it stocking up produce, making the fresh to-go salads for the day, getting the bulk bins refilled, all the fresh bread is warm and fresh and smells amazing. I picked up an Ancient Grain loaf for the goat. He still needs his gluten fix and I'm okay with that. I also picked up some canned Indian food, on sale for that matter, carrots, onions and some toothpaste. I also came across something new: Elephant Garlic. It looks like normal garlic only four times the size. I was quite impressed and intrigued having never seen or heard of this before. I grabbed a bulb for $2.56 and headed to the checkout.

      I surprised the goat with the still warm bread. Our usual time for the grocery store is after dark so we can ride and avoid most traffic on the roads. As a result of this, the bread is usually picked over and just starting to get a little hard from sitting out all day. I showed him the elephant garlic and we had some fun with a little photo shoot. I was pretty excited to start cooking, but it was hardly 11 so I decided to relax for a while and start after noon. I threw together some lentil soup out of what I just bought and some basics I had on hand. Here's the outline for the recipe:

1 chopped onion
garlic, chopped, smashed, or destroyed to taste
2 carrots
2 handfuls each green and yellow lentils
¼ c Canadian wild rice
salt & pepper

      Canned tomatoes and various left overs go well in this soup. I sautee the onion and garlic in the bottom of the soup pot in olive oil until barely soft and remove them until the very end. This helps give them a slightly crunchier texture than the rest of the soup and keeps them from being too soggy by the time the soup is done. After the onions are out of the pot throw in the lentils, rice and water up to near the top of the pot. Simmer with lid on (you can keep the temperature lower if you use a lid) until tender or 45 minutes. Add the carrots for the last 15 minutes of simmering and add the onions right before serving.

      If you decide to try some Elephant Garlic make sure you do not over cook it as it will go bitter. The garlic, which is not really garlic but a member of the leek family, is almost woody in texture and holds a very delicate garlic flavor. It's great raw for garlic bread or in salads. It gives the hint of garlic without burning your mouth. Elephant Garlic has been known as garlic for garlic haters.

      All you garlic haters can repent now, we forgive you.

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Gluten & Casein Free Cheese

     Went for a ride to the grocery store downtown yesterday evening and came home with a few new gluten and casein free products to try out. It was a nice ride there - about 75 outside and early enough into the Friday night activities downtown that we missed most of the traffic. The ride home was nice as well, we actually stopped at the park on the way home to try some new cookies out I - well worth it, might I add. More about those later, for the moment I want to focus on this discovery:

      Follow Your Heart Vegan Gourmet Cheese Alternative. I was actually a little intimidated to try this. I really had a hard time getting over the fake thing. Fake ice cream is good and I can really enjoy that, but some imitation products can just be really unappealing. Beer and cheese are two main ones for me. I loved the slightly darker beers so much before I went gluten-free and now the options just are not up to par for me, they all seem to be too light and funny tasting for my preference. Most cheeses have casein or other milk byproducts in the ingredients and so I haven't really worried about buying them.
      Recently, however, I've been having some serious cheese cravings. Mac & cheese, lasagna, cheesy garlic bread, enchiladas, cheese and hummus sandwiches, the list of my favorite cheese dishes goes on. I will admit to eating the real thing at times - the reaction is not as strong as gluten, but the more I eat it the worse it seems to get for me. This has prompted me to dive head first and try the 'fake stuff'.
      So how was it?
      It was good while it was hot. I melted some in small pot like it says and added some milk and margarine to hopefully make it more smooth in the end. I bought some Tinkyada's linguine and had it with that. It was a little hard to get it all to melt but I was not expecting perfection from this, so I was happy with how it was. I will say that as it started to cool off it started to get grainy, but it might stay better if the milk and margarine was not added (maybe made it separate?) or if I had kept it warm.
      Overall, I was pleased with this product. I would not cut it up and eat it on crackers or bread by itself, but I do plan on trying the mozzarella flavor and using this in some future dishes. I want to try some baked mac and cheese or some enchiladas to test this out more.
      The one thing I was really happy about and focused on when I was no longer able to eat gluten, was at least it's not milk. I could still eat all the vanilla ice cream, aged cheddar and parmigiana I could hold. A few months later I found out about the casein sensitivity and all that went down the drain. Since then, even from the beginning, I have gradually adopted vegan alternatives and found some to be really outstanding while others are less than appetizing. One rule of thumb I've found is that it is all about how you use it in a meal - I just try to think of rice and tofu - no one really likes to eat them alone, but they have wonderful flavors in a dish.
      Do you have any tips for using cheese alternatives in recipes? Are there any brands that you care for above others? What are some favorite recipes that you use cheese in? I try to make most of my cooking is pretty modifiable so that I can add cheese or other ingredients for other people and leave it out for my portion, but with products like this I might just be able to get my cheese fix anyway.

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The Gluten-Free Assistant

      My goal here is to help others (and myself!) avoid the frustrations of living gluten-free on a daily basis. I have had Celiac's for most of my life and was finally diagnosed in January of 2008. My Celiac's is severe enough that my body also attacks milk (casein to be specific) the same way that it attacks gluten and causes the same reaction - days and sometimes weeks of itching that cannot be satisfied. During the short time I have been on a gluten and casein free diet, I have dealt with a wide variety of issues that this lifestyle can bring with it; issues with social events, work issues, eating out, vacations and many other situations that scream:
"What am I supposed to eat?!"

     I know that starting a blog is a bit of a commitment for most, including myself - I'm not the best at keeping my nose to the grindstone and making posts on a regular basis, but I will be posting reviews of products I find to be extraordinary in some way or a great place to eat, maybe some helpful hints here and there to make life a little easier. I also have other interests I'll post about most likely - knitting, cooking, my website - www.theglutenfreeassistant.com, and other randomness to keep things interesting and mixed up. Hopefully this will help you answer that question of "What to eat?" when you're out and about or when you don't have a lot to spend on gluten-free groceries. (As a broke college student, I consider myself a pro at eating and shopping on a budget!)

      I'll be adding more content as I go along, so bear with me in these opening weeks. For now, I'll leave you with an awesome recipe for Spinach Dal - very tasty, healthy, and great for fall!

Spinach Dal

Salt
Pepper
1/2 tsp each cumin seeds & turmeric
Handful of chopped cilantro
Dash of mustard seeds (ground mustard can be used, but it's not the same - I used some Boar's Head deli mustard for this actually - tasted fine.)
1 chilie (buy depending on how spicy you like things or leave out)
4 C Spinach (about a full bag of spinach or a whole frozen block)
1Tbs Ginger
Olive Oil
2 cloves garlic
1 C Lentils ( I used green, but any color works. The red or yellow would probably be more eye-appealing.)

      Cook lentils in twice as much water until soft (30-45 min; can be soaked over night to decrease cooking time). While lentils are cooking saute onion, garlic, chilie and ginger until onions are softening up. Add spinach and cover pan to allow spinach to wilt (about 2 or 3 minutes). Stir well and add remaining spices and drained lentils.
      Serve over hot rice or quinoa and Enjoy!

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