Eep, its been a while.

Ok, I need to start updating this blog more regularly...I've been a little distracted with Real Life and the heat  recently.  I haven't really wanted to cook and heat up the house.   In that spirit, let me talk a little bit about quick g-f summer meals that I toss together that don't require a lot of cooking...

There's always salad:  a bed of arugula with some grilled leg of lamb, garlic scapes.   Or cold potatoes, diced, with a little bit of mayo and langoustine tails from Trader Joes.

Unfortunately I usually have the tendency in summer to just grab a hunk of cheese.. or some cold meat.   My summer eating habits are not spectacular....  apart from the fruit and raw milk that I get at the market.

I've been eating tons of cherries from the Farmer's market.   mmmmm cherries.  

I keep meaning to make gazpacho.   I do it very simply, in the blender, and I think that will be my next post.

Eating locally...spring/summer meals...

So this year I am going to try to eat locally, as much as possible.    And last night's dinner was an example.

I had a radish salad, adapted lightly from Local Flavors, by Deborah Madison.   Sliced radishes, arugula, mixed lettuce, chives, and local cheese.    With a roasted chicken (from the same people who made the cheese).  And dessert?  Yogurt (with cherry jam).  And I realised upon finishing, the whole meal was local food, apart from the cherry jam.

The difficult thing about trying to eat locally is carbs.   Because being gluten-free and getting healthy carbs can be a challenge...and the gluten-free stuff generally comes from a distance.    So I'll never be a true locavore because I need my carbs!

Studies I would like to see:

I know this isn't technically a post that should go here, but I thought it would be an interesting thing to think about, since technically celiac is an autoimmune disorder.   I was on the ubiquitous Facebook this morning, and a friend of mine posted about her son's peanut allergy.   I had also posted, on my other blog, something about why I eat organic.  And I had been having a conversation with my mother in which we had been talking about studies we'd like to see.

I'd like to see a study on food allergies in kids raised in developing countries/the Amish/organic farms, vs kids raised in Europe vs kids in the States.   Basically kids eating less processed/pre-prepared foods vs fresher foods.   I suspect that its the processed foods that are the culprits.  

I'd love to see real studies, long term, on different kinds of eating habits.   There was a time, not long ago, in this country, where we had people eating doughnuts fried in lard, home-made french fries, tongue, liver, organ meats.   As well as canned food, preserves, fresh fruit in season.     Now, yes you can get doughnuts, but they are usually Dunkin', and filled with stuff.   And you have to wonder, with all the toxins we are encouraged to ingest...   I see people shopping at Whole Foods, vegans, who buy the vegan cheeses, the tofu foods, the frozen foods.   Are they healthier than the person who eats locally raised meats, veggies from the farmer's markets and the occasional French Fry?  I'd like to see studies on what women eat/wear/use for cosmetics and their children's health.  I suspect that some of the high incidence of autism/learning disorders/food allergies are linked to pesticides, or maybe to feedlot meat.  Maybe even a study showing comparative spending and health.  I know a lot of poorer people in Baltimore would make the effort to go to the Farmer's market to buy healthy stuff.  I know in Europe, they spend a lot more on food per person than we do here.    

What studies would you like to see about food and food allergies?

Gluten-free Muesli.

I don't know about you, but one of my favorite cereals growing up was muesli.   And its something I miss. I had found a gluten-free muesli two years ago in England, when I was on a ship to the US...  its by Julian Graves.    It was amazing stuff.  

So the other day in Whole Foods, I found Brown Rice Flakes.    And the Gluten-Free oats I'd found at Ocean State Job Lots (yay!), and I had Quinoa flakes and cornflakes at home.    I still had the packaging for the muesli (because I'm a bit of a hoarder, but also to try to do this very thing, make my own version).

I added 1/2 cup of oats, 1/2 cup of brown rice flakes, 1/4 cup of quinoa flakes,  crushed some cornflakes,  mixed them up.   Chopped up some dried apricots and mixed them in.   I need to get some more dried fruits, dates, raisins and maybe some kind of nut...macadamias would work, Graves used Brazil nuts.  

The basic combination worked very well.  I scooped some into a bowl, poured milk on it, and let it sit a little.....   I have a feeling this is going to be my summer go-to-breakfast, maybe with fresh fruit.....

Gluten-free, locally. Eating out.

So previously, eating out has been a challenge.  But there are more and more places making gluten-free food, which is incredible.  Some of it is vile, Olive Garden is a wonderful example of that.   But yesterday I had an amazing veggie burger on a gluten-free bun.    And the veggie burger was gluten-free!  And I've had gluten-free pizza that wasn't too bad, although it needed more cheese.   And one restaurant has a gluten-free menu!   (P.F. Chang's) with the most amazing chocolate dessert ever.  

Its really amazing.   Its becoming much less strange to ask for gluten-free...  although I do wonder why the sudden upsurge.  I suspect in part it is because restaurants are looking for a new niche.   In part more people may be being diagnosed with celiac, which worries me on another level...  we have so many food allergies these days...

Hot cross buns, Hot Cross Buns..

If you have no daughters, give them to your sons!
One a penny, two a penny, Hot Cross Buns!

1 cup mixed dried fruit.  (one incarnation, I used dried cherries, raisins, and orange peel, the one in the pic has raisins, citron and orange peel) soaked in 1/4 cup hot water.

1 1/4 cups of milk infused with three cardamom pods and a clove.  Remove spices before mixing in.

2 tsp yeast
1 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup quinoa flour
1/2 cup millet flour
1 tsp Xanthan gum
1/4 cup tapioca flour
1/4 cup sweet rice flour
1/4 cup almond flour
1/4 cup potato flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
 3 eggs

1 egg for wash

confectioners sugar
cream

Mix all the dry ingredients together.   Mix mix mix.   Add the milk.   Add the eggs, and then the fruit and its water.  If it needs more moisture, add more milk.    It will be somewhat sticky, but hold together pretty well...

Shape into balls.  You can make BIG rolls or little ones.   Put on baking sheets lined with Silpats or parchment paper.  

Let rise for an hour.  Preheat oven to 350

Cut crosses into the tops, and then brush with egg wash.

Put in the oven for @20 minutes, until golden.

Make an icing with the confectioners sugar and cream, and pipe crosses onto the tops...

And voila!   Hot Cross Buns, just in time for Good Friday!

When Irish Eyes are smiling.....

Gluten-free Irish soda bread:

2 cups g-f oat flour (I ground steel-cut oats in my stand mixer's grain mill)
1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup of millet flour
1/4 cup of potato flour
2 tsp Xanthan gum
1 tsp salt
2 tsp sugar
1 tbsp baking soda
2 cups milk with spoonful of yogurt (or you can use buttermilk)
1 cup dried cranberries (I would have used currants, but the ones I've found all have wheat starch mixed in with them...bah humbug!) soaked with a small capful of spiced rum.


Mix all the dry ingredients.   Add the wet.  Mix, mix, mix.  place into a cake pan and into a 350 oven.  Voila!