Recipe FAQ - please read BEFORE checking out my recipes.

I want to take this opportunity to mention a few things about my recipe posts. While not necessarily trying to be lazy, per se, I am looking to be efficient, at least more so.  Thus here are a few FAQ's about my recipes concerning ingredients and cooking methods. If you have any questions that I have not answered, please ask.

If you've read in the "about me" section in the "Welcome to My Life post, (April 2013)" then you are already aware, that I am on a gluten free diet. Thus, ALL of the recipes posted are gluten free...this means that ALL of my ingredients are gluten free. I feel that it is redundant (and inefficient) to restate every ingredient is certified gluten free.

ORGANIC & GMO'S: While not every product I use is organic, I do try to use the healthiest version available and on occasion what is most affordable. Sometimes, I am willing to sacrifice and use a few non-organics to ensure I am able to get the foods that I deem are an organic priority. Additionally, the more I have learned this past 18+ months about GMO's, the more determined I am to eliminate them completely from my diet. This is my choice, it is up to you what types of these products you use.

PROCESSED INGREDIENTS: I try to stay away from processed starches as much as possible. As I mentioned in the "About Me" post, I have not been well. It turns out my body no longer likes processed foods. While I have eliminated most (at one point..all) processed foods from my diet, I have been able to bring them back on occasion. However, if I begin to consume too many too often, my health begins to decline.  Additionally, one of the chief arguments against a gluten free diet is it's potential to be lacking in whole grains. This is because in an attempt to simulate processed white wheat products, a lot of processed white starches are used (ie, white rice, corn starch, tapioca starch, etc). While I cannot avoid them all together in all of my recipes, I have created many that either greatly reduce their quantity or completely eliminate them. Thus, most of my recipes have a whole grain taste and texture because they are created from whole grains. For some this takes a bit of getting used to. So if you are looking for the store replica of a Ritz cracker or a Ho-ho, then my recipes will be a bit disappointing to you.

GRAINS: I use an array of grains, nuts and now even beans for my flours. I think the only grain I haven't tried is Teff, but from what I understand it is similar to Amaranth, which has been more readily available to me. The two can be easily interchanged. If you are looking to expand your palette, this blog can help with that. Many of these flours are not readily available on average grocery store's shelves, though this is improving as more people are becoming aware of the grains for health and culinary reasons. If you are unable to find certain flours/grains in your local  grocery store: try a local food co-op or health store; check out amazon.com, http://www.purcellmountainfarms.com, or www.pleasanthillgrain.com.

VITA-MIX: Also, I have and use a Vita-mix. I use it for blending, grinding, chopping and processing. I love that thing, at least as much as it is possible to love an inanimate object. I make all my own flours from whole grains (ie, I do not buy pre-made flours with the exception of the starches). Not only is this more cost effective,it is ideal for long term storage and the best way to ensure I am getting the most nutrients from my foods for myself and my family. Sometimes, there is just more that the Vita-mix is able to do compared to a regular blender. Please note, that if you are not using a high-speed blender in some of the recipes, your results may not be the same as min.

SWEETENERS: For sweeteners: when I use the term sugar, I mean organic evaporated cane juice. Evaporated can juice cane juice = 1 to 1 substitution for regular sugar. If I mention powdered sugar, it is a combination of equal parts organic sugar (crystallized) and evaporated cane juice, ground finely, mixed with corn starch. I do not use processed confectioners' sugar or processed white sugar of any kind. If the sweetener or choice is honey, it is local, raw (well, as local as I can get). If they sweetener is maple syrup, it is not processed table syrup; it is pure (real) maple syrup (Grade A, I believe)...if you use table syrup in place of real maple syrup, you will not get the desired outcome. I do not use Stevia, period. I have tried it on different brands on several occasions. I can't stand the stuff. To me, it tastes as bad as aspartame does. I cannot tell you how much to use if you choose to use it. You will have to look up a comparison chart and experiment on your own.

GUMS: In almost every baking recipe that I have found on the internet or in cookbooks, gums (xantham or guar) are used. I do not use either. Ever. I figured there had to be a way around them and after MUCH searching I discovered there was. I happened upon this blog: glutenfreegirl.com in her early attempts to not use the gums. She discovered that most goods: waffles, pancakes, cookies, cakes etc. didn't need them. I knew this for some the breakfast items because even before I realized I had a gluten issue, I was experimenting with buckwheat and oat flours and had pretty much replaced wheat completely in my waffles, pancakes and crepes without even knowing about gums. When I first began making breads (so far this is the only baked item I have made that requires a gum replacement), I used a chia/flax seed slurry. I now use (thanks again to glutenfreegirl.com) a mixture of equal parts Psyllium husks, chia and flax seeds. I then substitute 1 part of this mixture to 1 part gum. It has worked without exception thus far.

LEGUMES: If you are looking for legume (bean) rich recipes, you are in the wrong location. I do not like almost any type of legume (peas included). Please feel free to add them or substitute them on your own, just don't ask me. I cannot help you. With that said, I do love hummus. I also have discovered recently that I garbanzo bean flour is awesome when used in some recipes. I also have recently discovered that black beans/garbanzo beans can be disguised in some recipes and completely replace the use of any flours. I am still playing with these recipes, because while they are actually good, they are not great. And in my kitchen, I am a food perfectionist.

MEASUREMENTS: You may or may not know that gluten free baking yields the best results when the flours are measured exactly. The best way to measure gluten free flours is by weight (grams specifically). A kitchen scale is pretty much a necessity for ideal recipe turnouts when baking. Most of my recipes will be in terms of weight with an approximation of the cup measurement. However, I cannot guarantee the outcome if you do not measure with weights when weights are used. I did not heed this advice early on in my gluten free baking quest and was gravely disappointed. When I finally broke down and used a scale, my results improved, drastically. Use a scale. On occasion, I do not measure with weights, but I use the spoon method. This works well for some recipes and others, not so much. With this method, I use heaping TBS (Tablespoons) to measure out the desired cup amount, when it's full, I flatten out by running a knife across the top. Do not pat it down; you will end up with too much flour. Never use the scoop method (ie, scoop flour with the cup, pat down tight w/knife and then flatten the top.)

OVEN: Hopefully, this is the last thing I need to mention. My oven sucks. However, it works well enough for my needs. With this said, some of my cooking times may be off, though I will try to give a broader range of cooking times for most recipes. You may have to adjust your cooking times if you have a more accurate oven (hopefully, you do). When deciding how long to cook something, I try to look up similar recipes and compare time frames for them. This gives me a starting place. Usually, I must turn my oven up (depending on the day, 20-40 degrees F.), I will not give this temperature. I will use the temperature that should be used. If your oven cooks like mine or cooks hot, you will need to adjust accordingly. If you are uncertain, I truly recommend and oven thermometer. I was so reluctant to get one, but I am so glad I did. I learned that I didn't have to take a hammer to my oven, just adjust the temperatures. Also, all my temperature degrees are stated in Farenheit units.

The Breakfast Challenge - The Dutch Baby

So it has been about 16 months since I began a life without wonderful, yummy gluten. After a trip to visit family and friends a few months back, the lack of gluten in my life had become a bit discouraging. While I know (knowing is ONLY half the battle) if I don't wish to suffer unbearable migraines and severe tummy upsets, I must continue to endure along this path. However, after wrongly indulging (and suffering, even after using gluten digestive aids--I didn't get sick THAT day, anyways) in an array of gluten free foods, my desire to return to the life of continuous gluten free cooking/baking had been diminished.

Then something amazing happened. My local Costco carried a gluten free pasta. I figured what the heck; it couldn't be worse than anything else I've tried, right? It was even a few dollars cheaper than what I would be able to get at our *Walmart (it's weird, but they actually have a large selection of GF pastas, even more than our Whole Foods did at the time). Eager to see if this could possibly be any better than anything we've tried in the past, I went home, started my sauce and after several hours cooked this pasta. Surprisingly, with minimal stirring, it wasn't sticking together. When it had cooked as the directions stated, it actually not only tasted like (better than) wheat pasta, it actually had the right consistency and texture. Holy cow, this is a miracle! I think I may have found the Holy Grail of pastas. Then came the true test: the family. They actually asked if I was sure I had bought the right pasta, because there was no way this was gluten free. With the return of pasta to our lives, a sudden joy and return of enthusiasm returned for my gluten free journey. (Yeah, sometimes it truly is the little things).

Like many, we have started the routine of school, Seminary and whatever other activities come are thrown our way. As this year I am teaching Seminary (this is a religious class for our high-school aged students that they attend BEFORE school...still uncertain how I was chosen), I have even less time than normal, so I have not been as willing to whip up some waffles, pancakes or even omelets. My day typically begins at 0345 (so I can get my workouts in) and ideally should end at 1945 (7:45 pm); though this has rarely been feasible; bedtime just comes too early. Between exercising, Seminary prep, homeschooling (including lesson prep and grading), cleaning and dinner, I don't have either the time or energy to whip up and flip some pancakes. This lack of ability to prepare a varied breakfast menu has led to a  bit of murmuring from my teenagers, who have not fully embraced the "unprocessed" lifestyle that I am "forcing upon them." Ie. no toaster waffles, instant oatmeal or toaster pastries, thus they have resorted to cold cereal or eggs daily for breakfast, because it appears as following a recipe in the morning is too difficult. Eggs are awesome, just not every day, especially when GF baking requires so many and organic eggs unfortunately don't come cheap. I decided to do something about it. It just happened that I had a bunch of plums that need to be used up because the child that they were especially purchased for, must have been blinded for awhile because she "never saw them" as they were plainly placed on the shelf that is eye level for her in the refrigerator that she opens every day so she could not miss them. Anyways, in my desire to use the plums and quelch my children's murmuring of the unfairness of their lacking of processed breakfast choices (it appears following a recipe in the morning is too complicated for them), I challenged myself to find a solution.

Much to my happiness (and theirs), the first website I clicked on had the almost perfect recipe. I say almost perfect because of course, it wasn't gluten free. Note: I tend to compare a few types of the glutenous versions to a few of the non-glutenous versions and then come up with my own thing, because few of the recipes are what I'm looking for. After a few comparisons, I created a culinary work of art, literally. Not only was this incredibly delicious (I really have been wondering how I could have went my entire 36 25 years without this amazing dish), but it was actually beautiful. To be honest, I am not one for food presentation; the taste and texture is what matters most to me. Presentation is a nice upgrade for special occasions, but most definitely not a requirement. This recipe was amazingly simple; I think the longest part was heating up the oven and possibly slicing the plums (remember, I needed to use them up). So without much further adieu: I present My Dutch Baby, gluten free, of course. **Disclaimer: as I have never tried this in my days of wheat consumption, I have no idea if this is even close to how it is supposed to taste. All I know is even if it's not a close replica, it is outstanding. (Gluten-free phobics approved).

^^Please be sure to check out the Recipe FAQ's before trying my recipes.

Dutch Baby (GF, of course)

      Servings: 4-6

  Prep time: 5-10 min.

            Cook time: 30 min.

Ingredients:

·         2 TBS butter

·         1 cup milk

·         ½ cup (measured w/spoon) buckwheat flour

·         ½ cup (measured w/spoon) oat flour

·         3 eggs

·         1 TBS evaporated can juice

·         Pinch of salt

·         1 tsp vanilla

***desired fruit toppings (apples, plums, berries, etc.)

Directions:

1.      Preheat oven to 425⁰ F w/cast iron skillet (if using skillet).

2.      Add all items, except butter to blender. Lightly blend until all ingredients are incorporated and batter is smooth. Scrape down side and reprocess is necessary.

3.      When oven has reached temp. Melt butter in cast iron pan or use a pie plate and place in oven, just until butter is melted. Ensure sides of skillet or pan are also coated with butter.

4.      Pour batter into skillet or pie pan. Return pan/skillet to oven and bake for 20 min.

5.      Turn temperature down to 375⁰ and bake for another 8-10 min.

6.      When done, turn pancake out onto cooling rack for 2-3 min.

7.      Place on platter and top w/desired fruit toppings. Sprinkle powdered/confectioners’ sugar is desired.

**I used 6 plums, sliced them (left peels on), sauteed them in 1-2 TBS of butter, 2 TBS of sugar and 1 tsp. of cinnamon. After they were soft and warm, I stirred in 1 tsp of vanilla. Amazing.

***This could be easily adapted into a dessert with a slight increase in sugar. A consulting taste tester also suggest an confectioners' sugar icing could be poured over.

    *Wal-mart: I realize that in today's time Walmart is a "hot topic" that people are passionate about. While it is not my preferred store of choice and I do try to minimize my time and money spent there; in the area that I  live in, they have actually been the leaders in choices for organic produce and gluten free foods. Additionally, it just sometimes is just not efficient (in time or gas) to drive 20+ minutes to Whole Foods or Costco to pick something up. Fortunately, the grocery store a few minutes further down the road has begun to catch up and in some things have surpassed Wal-mart in their offerings; I try to go there if I am in need of something. With that said, I understand both the many arguments for and against shopping at Wal-mart and I do not judge others for the way they shop. I just ask that you respectfully do the same.