Gluten Free 101

I began my gluten free adventures 2 1/2 years ago and when I first learned that this would be a lifestyle for my littlest monkey, I was petrified. How in the world would he eat? Gluten is in everything. It is in soy sauce, ketchup, candies, refried beans, etc. It is a sneaky additive in everything you can imagine not to mention the main ingredient in most baked goods. It seemed impossible to avoid yet at the same time, unavoidably the route we had to take.

I began to read it all. I bought cook books, bought all the new baking ingredients; tapioca starch, potato starch, xanthan gum, Jowar flour, etc. I went to baking and was totally disappointed. I love food. I love the taste of food and take great joy in serving great food for my family. I want them to enjoy and appreciate a variety of tastes and textures. Knowing that these gluten free foods were tasteless and dense, I was sad. I was sad that Taters didn't get to taste a great hot Belgium waffle, a mouth watering homemade loaf of bread and sample my yummy breakfast muffins straight from the oven. We had to sneak food around him. I kept trying out recipes. I was totally unsatisfied with what I was given.

Finally, I tossed out the gluten free recipes. For the life of me I couldn't figure out why you want to add starch. It made the food gummy. I decided to take my favorite recipes and make them gluten free....my way. It was a success. I couldn't believe that I spent so much money and time on ingredients that left the food so unappealing. Cooking with the basic ingredients also in many gluten free books are also not very nutritious. Most recipes call for rice flours and starches; not the highest in nutrition.

I wanted to add better grains, better oils and more variety. Many of you have asked me for gluten free recipes. I have even toyed with the idea of a gluten free blog as well but reality set in....the whole time issue. I have decided to just add a gluten free section on this blog. So many have to go this route now. I will try to post recipes routinely labeled under "gluten free" so you can just click on the label at the end of the page to pull them all up together. It is overwhelming when you first have to start down that road. Feel free to email me with any questions if you are one of the bewildered and petrified. Even if you are not one of the unlucky who have to cook this way, we all need to add in different grains. For many of us, all we eat is wheat and other foods with gluten. (Gluten is in wheat and many grains) When we eat too much of one thing, we can build up allergies. It is important to rotate and eat a variety. Think of how much wheat products little kids eat. Fish crackers, cereal, breads, etc. It can practically be a complete diet for them if let be. This is in my opinion one reason that so many children have gluten and wheat allergies. I have also learned that if kids only want to eat wheat products, they may indeed have an allergy.

To begin with, it is very important to get your own grinder. A grinder separate from your wheat grinder. You don't want to cross contaminate. Fresh ground flour delivers a superior taste and freshness. Flours that are purchased loose so much nutrition which defeats the whole point of cooking it yourself anyways. You also want to make sure that you use gluten free baking powder, vanilla and spices. If you are unsure; google it. You will almost always find your answer. As soon as you learn which ingredients to buy, it is really pretty easy.

The grains/flours I rotate are:

coconut flour - great for sweets and treats

teff - great source of iron

quionoa - a super grain , has a high amount of lysine and protein.

organic popcorn

brown rice, sweet brown rice, white rice - a great base for most recipes

millet - very mild taste and an alkaline grain

amaranth - good fiber, iron and vitamin C

bean flours

sorghum flour

nut flours

You also want to make sure that you use Xanthan gum which acts like gluten. Gluten helps to bind the food together. The general rule is about 1 tsp of Xanthan gum for 2 - 3 cups of flour in a recipe. You can get it at most stores like Sprouts or Whole Foods.

I also am dairy free for Tate so I substitute milk for rice milk or coconut milk. I use mostly coconut oil and sometimes olive oil and grape seed oil. Other than that, I keep the recipes the same. I use less sugar than the recipes call for and try to use honey, real maple, brown sugar and raw sugar. You need to freeze the leftovers because they don't last long. I usually make big batches and keep them frozen for later

use. You also cook the foods on a lower temperature , usually around 325. Those are my little secrets. It really does get easy.

Today's recipe to pass on is the waffle. My first waffles I made were hard as a rock. I felt so sorry for Tate. We had to use lots of syrup. These new waffles are so good, they taste much like a churro. They are very healthy and he loves to just eat them plain as a snack. I am so proud of them. They are by far the best gluten free waffle I have ever tried and I have tried many! You do these completely in a blender so you can make these even if you don't have a grinder. I adapted them from a recipe I use with wheat. You can change out the grains in many combinations or use all brown rice if that's all you have. Here is my favorite combination:

Apple Blender Waffles

1/3 cup brown rice

1/3 cup teff

1/3 cup millett

1/4 cup flax meal

2 cups milk or milk substitute

1 medium apple, quartered; peel, seeds and all

Blend until smooth.

Add:

1 egg

1/2 tsp salt

1 Tbl. coconut oil

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 T. baking powder

Blend again just until all mixed. Cook on a hot waffle iron. Fill up more than a regular waffle as it won't puff up as much . Cook a little longer if needed to get crisp. It may take a few trial runs to get the right batter quantity. I love the professional waffle griddles that rotate and make a great fluffy waffle. So Yummy.

A little Sneak Peak....

It really is almost done. I just need the printing Company. If you have a good lead or are a printer yourself, email me asap. But.... until then..... here is the beautiful cover. Thanks to my incredibly talented mom for the art and my incredibly talented SIL, Wendi for the layout and idea. Love you both! Here you go....

P.S. Wendi does all kinds of headers, invitations, photography, blog designs, web pages and whatever else you need. Check her out on the link Artzy Blogger or Wendi Lee Photography.

Vacation Time...Yipee!

We're packing up and getting out of town. My husband is determined that at the end of this vacation, we will all be pro surfers. Good luck. But, we are picking up the new surf board on the way and we are ready to hit the tasty waves! See you all soon.

FYI.....The cookbook is all typed, the cover is being finished and recipes edited thanks to my super talented SIL's....free recipe books are in it for them. What a great deal! I will have a pre order post when I get back and maybe a sneak preview. Check back in a week.

Preparing Wisely June Deals....

oops, totally forgot to post these great deals from Preparing Wisely for June. You have a couple weeks left. Take advantage, especially the soft white wheat. You will love it!

50 lb Bag Soft White Wheat Soft White Wheat is great to use in pancakes, cookies, muffins and biscuits. Sale Price: $25.00 (Regularly $35.00)

SAF Yeast 16 oz. In our opinion SAF yeast is the best on the market. Sale Price: $3.00 (Regularly $4.00)

Liquid Lecithin 16 oz. Liquid Lecithin can be used in place of oil when making bread. It will store longer and has nutritional benefits. Sale Price: $3.50 (Regularly $4.50)

Click their link to the right for more info.

Garden Salsa

I am by no means a food photographer and I can't figure out how to get this smaller but I do know how to make some salsa. I have been experimenting with a fresh salsa recipe and this latest batch turned out pretty tasty. Salsa is so healthy and just so pretty. I had it on my eggs this morning with a little Jack. Scrumptious. Try it out, make it as hot as you like. (Thanks SIL Sarah for the El Pato idea...it was the missing ingredient.)

Garden Fresh Salsa

2 1/2 pounds fresh diced tomatoes

2 cloves minced garlic

1 bunch green onions, chopped

1/2 medium white onion, chopped

1/2 bunch chopped cilantro

1 jalapeno, diced

1 green bell pepper, diced

juice of one lime

1/2 T. kosher salt

1/2 t. cumin

1/2 to 1 can El Pato depending on your spice factor

Mix all ingredients and let chill for flavors to blend.

SATURDAYS

It's Saturday, 8am....Do you have your run in and the chores done ready for your

weekend adventure? Remember the time issue....only so many hours in a day, so many days in lifetime?

Our family decided at the commencement of summer that we would not spend a Saturday at home. We would have yard work done prior to the weekend and would make sure that each and every Saturday was spent somewhere else, outdoors, preferably in a beautiful location like the photo above at our family cabin. So far, this idea has worked. It has been wonderful. It has been unifying. We get away from life, from responsibilities, from mundane work.

We have gone to the beautiful Fossil Springs outside of Strawberry and stopped at the top of the mountain to get goat fudge from the creamery. The kids swam in the very chilly waters , swung on rope swings and tried to catch fish with homemade fishing lines. We spent weekends at the cabin riding the dirt bike and golf cart, making forts in the pines and eating lots of food. We have enjoyed lazy afternoons in Grandma Cindy's paradise backyard lounging in the pool. The point is to make use of our time. It is becoming very apparent to me that I only have three more summers left with my oldest son before he leaves for his own adventures. I can't believe that time can possibly go by that fast, it was only yesterday that I was teaching him how to walk. Now he is almost ready to drive. Yikes. I want to hold on to these years. I want him to leave with a bag full of memories that he has to look back on, a childhood of adventures and time spent building family relationships that carry on through time. Of course, when all said and done, that is one of the only things we can take with us. Family.

So, today is Saturday. The outdoors are calling.....what adventure we have in store? Something with a desert, water , rocks and tennis shoes. We will end the day with a Father Son outing to the Dbacks game (thanks, Bonds) and I get a little down time to finally make some garden fresh salsa. I just can't wait.

Hope you make the best of your day. Don't waste it. Life is fabulous.

Tomatillos

Many of you may have no idea what a tomatillo is or have never personally purchased one but most of you have eaten it. That fabulous green salsa that you smother your fish tacos with at Rubio's or dip chips in like it is your last meal -- thank the tomatillo. It is delicious when mixed just right with other key ingredients.

This was my first year growing them. I really had no idea what to expect or if they would even grow well. Well, they do. I have six plants that are about 3 feet tall, at least, that are full and lush and dripping with fruit. They are so cute in design. First, the paper lantern forms; a green papery, airy balloon that hosts the growing fruit. It is hallow until the fruit is ready and the little lantern starts to split. It is then time to harvest.

You can certainly get these at most stores and you will usually see them with papery brown husks and the fruit a bright green. What I have learned is that the truly fresh tomatillos are the ones with greener husks and the fruit is a bit on the yellow side.In fact, when harvesting them you may often find them on the ground. If they are still firm, they are great.These make some of the best tasting salsa's. When the husks start to turn brown, they are loosing their freshness. When selecting tomatillos, you want them to be firm and not bruised. These tomato cousins are tart and a bit lemony, perfect for salsa's and sauces. You can also add them to salads and stir fry them a bit to release flavor. They have good fiber and Vitamin C and K. You don't need to seed them, just cut them up whole. Be sure when preparing them to peel the husks off and wash them, they are sticky at first.

Salsa verde is one of the easiest salsa's to make. I received this recipe from my SIL , Kelli a few years ago and have been using it since.

Tomatillo Salsa

1 jalapeno

1 1/2 bunches of cilantro, no stems

12-15 fresh tomatillos, about 1 1/2 to 2 inch size, use less if larger

juice of 1 lime

1-3 teaspoons of sugar, or other sweetener

salt to taste

Boil the jalapeno in water; just place in water in microwave and cook on high for 3 minutes. Cut off stem and throw the whole thing in blender with all other ingredients. Make sure you have husked and cleaned the tomatillos first. Blend until almost smooth. Chill.

Once you have this delightful salsa made, here is a quick little dinner you can then throw together. So easy and so tasty.

Use a fresh flour tortilla and sprinkle with pepper jack cheese. Put in a hot oven until it is bubbly and a little crispy on the edges. Shred chicken, either home cooked or a rotisserie type. Toss with Tomatillo salsa. Put the chicken on top of the tortilla after cheese has been melted. Put it back in the oven just a bit to heat the chicken.

When done, add tomatoes, lettuce, sour cream, avacados, etc. Roll up a bit and munch. Lots of flavor! Yum Yum. Now that was quicker than driving to Rubios.

Time

One thing that I look forward to in the next life is that I will not have to sleep. Sleep is something that I wish I could skip. It is just such a waste of time. I know we need it, I know I need more, but there is just so much to do in the little time that we are given here. To me, sleeping in is a waste of a perfectly good morning. I want my children to learn that. I want them to enjoy being early risers and learning the true value of time.

We had a great talk at our church conference this past Sunday. It was directed specifically toward the young men, teaching them the preparations for serving a mission. One thing specifically caught my attention with his verbiage. He talked of "mind over mattress." He advised the youth to not sleep in. To learn to get up early and work. He advised them to not "sleep away their summer."

I really liked this. He told us to hang a sign over their bed with the phrase "Mind over Mattress." That is a great slogan. It definitely is a mind thing. It is so tempting to stay in bed . It is so tempting to pull up the covers and turn on the snooze button. However, what is the reward? A loss of time.

Time is one of the few things that is limited in this life. Almost anything else we can get more of to some degree. We don't know how much time we have. There is only a certain amount of hours in everyday for everyone. No one gets more, no one gets less. It is up to us how we use it.

I love this quote by H. Jackson Brown Jr.

"Don't say you don't have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Helen Keller, Pasteur, Michelangelo, Mother Theresa, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson and Albert Einstein."

As mothers, wives, employees, etc., we may not have the time to paint a masterpiece or invent something new and amazing, however, there is always ways we can use our time more wisely. Do we find ourselves sleeping in a little longer than we need to? Do we use our precious time given on this earth as we should? I remember one talk that I heard years ago that stuck with me. The speaker asked us to ask ourselves when doing an activity, "how is this benefiting my life or those around me?"

We need to ask ourselves this question on a day to day basis as we sit for hours on facebook, watch prolonged periods of TV, blog hop and other unwise use of media. Do we spend too much time worrying? Do we use our time too selfishly instead of thinking of others or using our time to develop talents?

I remember being a senior in high school and writing in my yearbook many of the things I wanted to accomplish in my life before I died. At that time in my life, It seemed I had nothing but time ahead of me. It was a blank slate. What I have learned is that time goes so quickly and that we have to grab it up. We have to be extremely organized and value each minute.

I am so not perfect with this. I do not use every minute like I should and I recognize that sometimes time is spent perfectly well sitting at a pool relaxing or reading a good book. We all need down time. But, I want my children to learn to seize the moments. To get up, get exercise to get their bodies and minds going. I want them to make plans, to plan their time, to use it up and enjoy life. I want them to develop all of their wonderful talents that they have been given in this life. This is one of the main reasons I detest video games so much. Such a waste of time. How many children, and adults for that matter will never know how much talents they have been given because they choose to waste time on electronics instead of developing their talents?

Another quote I love by Alice Bloch:

"We say we waste time, but that is impossible. We waste ourselves."

Let us not waste ourselves. Life is beautiful. I want to make a list with my family this week individually and as a whole what we want to accomplish. I want us to make a list of how to accomplish this and how to use our time wisely. My children are getting this. My 15 year old set his alarm for 6 am to go running this morning on his own. No prompting. He is learning the value of time. Now, if I can just get him to get his work done in a timely manner I will be greatly satisfied!

Seize the day. Do something great with it. Don't spend your time looking up past relationships on facebook or checking out old friends blogs; enjoy and develop the relationships you have today. Develop yourselves. Learn something new. I was just telling my husband the other day that I wished I had developed my musical talents more and he told me that I wasn't dead yet. So true. I have today. I will start there. I think I will go and learn a new piano song.

What are you going to do with your today? Make it a good one!

Extra Spice of Life

I have two extra Spice of Life for any takers. $29 each. 

A conversation with grains: Soft White Wheat

It use to be that whole wheat meant one thing, hard red wheat. It made a nutty, heavy loaf of bread that some didn't care much for. Then, in 1990, the hard white wheat came our way. It has more moisture and a lighter color and flavor. Now, we have another variety to choose from: Soft White Wheat. It is known as the pastry flour. It is perfect for baking cookies, crepes, pie crusts and pancakes. It fools my family into thinking they are eating white flour products. It is almost as light as white flour when ground and has a very mild flavor. While it doesn't have as much protein as other wheat grains, it does have as much fiber and is a "whole grain". You wouldn't want to make a whole loaf of bread with only soft white wheat but up to half of the flour mixture per batch is fine or if you know the game, you can add more gluten and other tricks. But, let me tell you....these whole grain crepes are simply out of this world and I will never go back to a white flour crepe, even on the special occasions. I could eat these daily. This is a great way to trick the kids into thinking that they are eating white flour junk. This flour also makes an incredible Belgian waffle.

Whole Grain Crepes

Put all ingredients in a blender:

1 cup freshly ground soft white wheat flour (tastes good with other wheat as well, just a little heavier)

1/4 C powdered sugar

1 tsp salt

1 cup milk

2 eggs

Blend just until smooth. Add more milk if needed. You want these real thin . Pour some batter on a skillet with melted butter, swirl to spread into a very thin circle. Fry them on both sides until lightly golden. Repeat, adding a thin coat of butter each time (I just use the stick to rub some on the pan each time). Fill with fresh fruit and creme.

Where to get Soft White Wheat: Why check my friends out at Preparing Wisely or order from Azure Standard. If you are not fortunate to do either, the Internet has plenty of other options for ordering. Enjoy!

PS: So the cookbook isn't making my May deadline but it is coming soon. May was nuts but it is almost there. Can't wait!