herself (gluten-free)

Five Years Gluten Free

2011-12-23T15:10:00.000-08:00

Brown Rice Pasta with Bolognese Sauce

Five years ago I jumped off a cliff and went gluten-free. I was desperate. I was headed to Detroit for six weeks with my parents (who both smoked) and I was in a panic that my migraines would be non-stop because of the second-hand smoke. I was reacting to all sorts of things: perfume, smoke, all kinds of foods. I had facial pain, neck pain, migraine, bloating, gas, constipation, iron-deficiency anemia and other slight problems with vitamin absorption. I went to a naturapath, who tested me for food allergies (IgG and IgE combined). The test results were not even back when I happened upon an issue of Living Without Magazine with an article on the cover on how gluten could affect the brain. Leafing through the magazine, I found an ad suggesting that iron-deficiancy anemia and tooth enamel problems could be signs of celiac and it hit me that the naturapath might be right. She thought it likely I was at least gluten intolerant, if not celiac. I also found out what gluten really was and I understood why my attempts to eliminate wheat and dairy from my diet to stop the gas were not effective. I went gluten-free the next day. That was December 22, 2006.

Four months later I was tested for celiac, but the test was negative. I had been gluten-free for four months. I had a stool test done and that found enough gluten antibodies to suggest that I had a sensitivity to gluten. I avoided gluten and about 30 other food items for two years. Gradually, I brought back all but the gluten. Now I mostly avoid milk too, but not all dairy. I took a test for cow's milk allergy and it said I had a moderate allergy to it. I seem to be ok with yogurt, cheese and butter, but not milk in large quantities and not whey protein powder at all.

Well, not all my problems were related to gluten, but I have remained gluten-free with only a few cheats over the years. Since I do not know if I have celiac, once a year, I try a little gluten to see what happens. The first few years, I got reactions within two hours. Then it was 3-4 hours. Then I tried some bread in France a year ago and got no reaction. I am not sure what my level of sensitivity is, but since my iron levels came up slightly after a few years gluten free and my osteopenia was unchanged, I decided to stick with it. I am no longer as sensitive to perfumes and smoke, although I prefer not to be around them (and what's up with all these people who douse themselves with perfume anyway? Don't they know it isn't PC anymore? That people have real issues with it?) I have to admit that I never lost my anger and sorrow over the loss of regular bread and pastries and the frustration that I live with on almost a daily basis living in a gluten-laden world. I am particularly angry with Starbucks (although I still go there all the time) for not providing good quality gluten free pastries and sandwiches. These days, it is so easy to do that I get miffed with companies that can't be bothered. Tully's, on the other hand, I love for providing WOW cookies right up at the cash registers. Very classy, Tully's.

Last month I had double jaw surgery and had to endure a liquid diet for 10 days and then only semi-liquid since. I only started chewing a week ago and it's not much, yet. My experience as a cook and a gluten-free cook saved me. I made 4 or 5 pots of soups and froze individual servings of them. Then I taught my husband to make gluten-free high-protein smoothies for me and I survived it. Thanksgiving was hell, but Christmas is going to make up for it. I am making my usual Thanksgiving meal for Christmas, using Udi's Gluten-free bread in my stuffing and making my gravy from scratch with potato starch instead of flour (or using Jules' Gluten Free All Purpose Flour). I am not sure I will be able to chew the turkey much, but the rest of the meal will be fit for a king...or queen.

Here's hoping you all enjoy your holidays...gluten-free.

Karen, herself

Preparing for a liquid diet

2011-11-12T15:37:00.001-08:00

Borscht (beet soup) simmering on the stove

Next week is my big jaw surgery. I am having both upper and lower jaws advanced to open up my airway and reposition my teeth so that my bite is optimal. There are all kinds of technical terms for the procedures, but they are lumped into the category of orthognathic surgery.

Bottom line is that my normal soft diet (which is already driving me crazy) will be limited to a liquid diet for 10 days or so. I will only be drinking my Thanksgiving dinner, so I think I am going nearly meatless this year. I don't think pureed meat sounds very appetizing, so will be sticking with broths. I have been making and storing soups and hot cereals thinned out with soy milk or almond milk so that I can easily heat them up for a meal. My darling husband will also be making me high-protein smoothies, like the ones I have featured on this blog. They all still have to be gluten free and pretty much free of cow's milk too, as it hasn't been sitting well with me lately. Yogurt and butter and cheese seem to be ok though. I made my usual butternut squash and apple soup for the holiday and my plan for dessert is to have hubby liquify some pumpkin pie filling. Hopefully when it is all over and I can eat real food again, I will be done with the soft diet thing. I surely hope so. It has been far too long.

Borscht (loosely based on the Russian Tea Room recipe)
1 T olive oil
1 onion peeled and chopped
2 large carrots peeled and grated
2 stalks of celery, chopped
1/4 green cabbage, shredded
1 can diced tomatoes
4 cups chicken stock
3 large beets, peeled and diced
1 T each sugar and red wine vinegar

Saute the onion in olive oil while you prepare the other vegetables. Add them (except the beets) to the pot and season with salt and pepper. Add the tomatoes and cook a bit, then add the broth and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat and simmer for 10-20 minutes while you peel the beets. Add the beets, sugar and vinegar to the soup and simmer another 10-20 minutes until the beets are soft. (you can partially puree at this point with an immersion blender) Serve with sour cream.

I started a new blog to journal my way through the surgery and recovery. If you're interested, it is www.herjawsurgery.blogspot.com

Karen, herself

Pear Plum Cobbler, Gluten-free

2011-10-12T21:04:00.000-07:00

I have actually been trying to stay away from sweets of late, but I bought some Bosc pears and they ripened so fast that I was forced to cook them somehow. I thought of making a pear cobbler inspired by an 80's cookbook I love but then realized that I didn't have enough pears. I did have a couple really large red plums and I thought, “pear and plum would give me that tart/sweet taste” so I forged ahead. Insanely great. The tartness of the plums took the edge off the excessively sweet Bosc pears. It was heaven on earth...and set my diet back big time.

The book is Lee Bailey's Country Weekends, Recipes for Good Food and Easy Living. Not sure it is still in print, but it is a find if it is. It is full of great down-home type recipes and gorgeous photography. I used Jules Gluten Free All-purpose Flour which has xanthan gum in it already. If you are using your own mix, you will want to add xanthan gum.

Pear Plum Cobbler

2 Bosc pears, cored, peeled, and chopped into large pieces

2 large red plums, pitted and chopped into large pieces
1 tablespoon lemon juice
grated rind of 1/2 lemon
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp ginger
3/4 tsp mace

Batter
1 cup all-purpose gluten-free flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 egg yolks
1/4 cup milk
1 tablespoon melted unsalted butter

Preheat oven to 375°. Grease a 1 1/2 to 2 quart ovenproof dish and set aside.

Place fruit in large bowl and pour lemon juice over. Add grated rind. Mix spices and sugar and add to fruit. Mix with spoon. Put in baking dish.

Mix batter: combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in large bowl and whisk together. Beat egg yolks and milk together and mix with flour. Add melted butter and then pour batter over fruit. Bake for 30 minutes or until tester inserted in center comes out clean. This can take longer than you think. Turn down the heat if it starts to burn.

Serves 6

Cool and serve alone or with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. Careful, this is so good it can lead to overindulgence.

Karen, herself

Arugula Salad with Chicken and Avocado

2011-08-31T14:38:00.000-07:00

You haven't had arugula until you've had it fresh from the garden. My friend gave me some from her garden yesterday and I used it in my lunch today with some spinach leaves, leftover roast chicken, chunks of avocado, and organic Roma tomatoes. I topped it off with some chick peas and it made a really satisfying meal. I made my own salad dressing with olive oil, chardonnay vinegar and a bit of dijon mustard. Yum.

Karen, herself

Stonewall Kitchens Gluten Free Brownies

2011-08-22T17:16:00.000-07:00

A few months ago my husband brought home a box mix of gluten free brownies as a treat for me. I've had them in the cupboard waiting for a reason to make them and today was the day. I finished a big freelance design project yesterday and felt like celebrating and my teeth were aching from a braces adjustment. Brownies seemed like the perfect treat.

I have to say, these are the best, bar none, gluten free brownies I have ever tasted. They may be the best brownies of any kind I have ever tasted. If you see these in the store, try them. They are made by Stonewall Kitchens.

Berry Protein Smoothie

2011-08-17T07:55:00.000-07:00

A few months ago I purchased a cool smoothie app for my iPad. It's from Whole Living and it has collections of recipes for weight loss smoothies, allergen free smoothies, detox smoothies, etc. I tried one from the Meal-in-a-glass collection this morning.

Berry Protein Smoothie
1/2 cup frozen cherries
1/2 cup fresh blueberries
1/8 cup GF rolled oats
1/4 cup lowfat cottage cheese
1/2 cup lowfat milk
1 tsp lemon juice
1 T unsalted sunflower seeds
1 1/2 tablespoons honey

As usual, I didn't have all the ingredients, so I improvised a bit. It called for a cup of frozen strawberries and I substituted 1/2 cup frozen cherries and 1/2 cup fresh blueberries. It was filling and sweet and great way to start the day. Try it for breakfast or for a high-protein mid-afternoon snack. It will keep you going until your next meal.

Serves 1, 8 Weight Watcher Points Plus

Karen, herself

Gluten Free Veggie Wrap

2011-08-05T14:32:00.000-07:00

Veggie Wrap in Chia-Corn Tortilla

2 Chia-corn tortilla, heated in the microwave

2 Tablespoons of Lilly's Red Pepper Hummus

1/2 cup grated zucchini

1/3 cup grated carrot

spinach leaves

I tried a new gluten-free tortilla the other day, a Chia Corn Tortilla that I found at Whole Foods in the refrigerator section. They are really tasty and filling. I was in a hurry for lunch today and threw together a quick wrap with them. Because I am still sporting braces, I grated my zucchini and carrot to make them easier to chew. It turns out it makes them more suitable for a wrap too. Only takes a minute to grate them with a box grater, although take care not to nick a finger!

Heat the tortillas between two sheets of paper towels for 15 seconds on high. Turn and heat for another 15 seconds. Place the tortillas on a plate and spread one tablespoon of hummus on each. Over that layer the spinach leaves, then spoon on half the grated veggies. Roll them up and cut them in half. Serve with sliced cucumber and cherry tomatoes. Great, delicious high-fiber lunch, free of gluten.

Enjoy!

Karen, herself

Gluten Free in Japan

2011-07-12T14:14:00.000-07:00

Just returned from nearly two weeks in Japan and feel compelled to say two things: 1) a big thank you to the cooks in the sports center we stayed at in Nishionomiya for taking care of my gluten-free requirements for four days and 2) why can’t Delta Airlines provide a better gluten-free breakfast on outbound flights from Japan?

So if you need to avoid gluten and have to travel to Japan, here are the things that are easy:

Japanese breakfast is pretty much gluten-free: Rice, Miso soup, fish, salad, pickles, tea. Sushi and Sashimi are gluten-free. Just bring your own soy sauce if you are really sensitive. Avoid the tempura, katsu, udon, really any kind of noodle unless it is cellophane or rice. The buckwheat noodles in Soba usually contain 20% wheat. Sadly, avoid the beer...but you can have all the sake you want!

Luckily, I do not have a reaction to regular soy sauce, although when at home, I use the wheat-free, but when dining out in Japan, I just tried not to overdo it. I even tried some soba once and it did not cause a reaction. Otherwise, I was good and had no problems.

I got so sick of fish that we ate in a Chinese restaurant in Itami nearly every night for dinner because I could have some beef and chicken and pork. Granted, they all had some soy sauce on them, but I suppose if you were really sensitive, you could have them leave it off.

On the flight going to Japan my gluten free meal on Delta was ok, not cuisine by any means, but ok. On the way back it was fish and rice with a rice cracker. The breakfast is what set me off. I had to smell the pastries everyone else got while I had a prison diet of a banana, fruit cup and water and...jelly! Everyone else got yogurt, but for some reason, that was left off the GF meal. My hubby was nice enough to give me his so I could have some protein for breakfast and avoid a sugar crash from all that fruit.

My last tip is to always take food with you. This trip I didn't need to survive on it, but it was nice to have the GF snacks for the plane. I took homemade banana muffins, Udi's Bagels, peanut butter, Lucy’s Sugar Cookies, Lara Bars, my own Chex mix with dried blueberries and pecans and GF honey nut chex cereal. I also bought a bag of mixed nuts in Japan for the trip back. And when all else fails, there is always chocolate!

So be prepared and have a good trip this Summer.

Karen, herself

Buckwheat Banana Muffins, Gluten-Free

2011-04-28T11:33:00.000-07:00

Buckwheat Banana Muffins

2 ripe bananas, broken into 4 pieces each
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 cup Jules All Purpose GF Flour
3/4 cup Bob's Red Mill Buckwheat Flour
2/3 cup sugar
1 stick (1/2 cup) Earth Balance Shortening Sticks (room temp., cut into pieces)
2 eggs (room temp)
1/3 cup milk (I used 2%)
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 400° F. Put bananas and lemon juice in bowl of food processor and pulse a few times. Combine flours, sugar and baking soda and salt in a bowl with a whisk. Add dry ingredients, eggs, shortening and milk to banana mixture and pulse until blended. Take care not to over process. It is ok if you have lumps in the batter.

Spoon batter into muffin cups or a greased muffin pan. Place in preheated oven and bake for 20-25 mins. Cool.

I have been making a variation of these banana muffins for nearly 30 years. The basic recipe came from a 70's era bread baking book for the first food processors. Now I make them gluten-free and I experiment with different mixes of flours. I really like this buckwheat one. They come out looking like chocolate muffins and they taste so good I start thinking they really have chocolate inside! Not sure why buckwheat has that faint chocolate-like taste, but it really seems to (to me, anyway).

I have also made these muffins sugar-free, egg free, dairy-free, or nearly fat-free. Just be careful not to try to do all variations at once. I find they work better when you only substitute one or two things at a time. If you use butter, try using only half the butter called for and substitute 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce. They seem too greasy to me with 1/2 cup of butter. The shortening in this version is fine.

Enjoy!
Karen, herself

Gluten-Free Pita Pockets

2011-02-24T14:49:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Living Without Magazine, I was able to have a tuna salad sandwich on whole grain pita bread...gluten-free! At last, a gluten-free pita. I don't know about you, but I haven't eaten pita bread since I went gluten-free, over four long years ago. I got this recipe in an email today from Living Without and I decided to try it immediately. I thought I had all the ingredients it called for, but when I started assembling things, I realized that I had run out of sorghum flour. Rats! What to do? What I did have was teff flour, so I substituted it for the sorghum. I also used their egg substitution (ground flaxseed + water). Luckily, it worked and the result was awfully tasty...and pretty to boot, don't you think? Try it yourself and see. Here is the recipe as I modified it:

Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free Pita Bread
makes 10-12 (I only got 8, but who's counting?)
1 pkg. quick-rising yeast
1/2 cup warm water
1 tsp. granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups brown rice flour
1/2 cup tapioca flour
1 cup Teff flour
2 tsp. xanthan gum
1 1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 to 1 cup warm water
1 Tablespoon ground flaxseed mixed with 3 Tablespoons warm water

Dissolve the yeast in 1/2 cup warm water (115° F). Add sugar and stir. Let sit 10-15 mins until water is frothy. Combine flours, xanthan gum and salt in large bowl of stand mixer with paddle attachment. Pour in yeast and flaxseed mixture. Mix on medium speed. Slowly add 1/2 to 1 cup warm water and mix on medium for 2 minutes. Use enough water so that dough is soft and tacky, not liquid (I didn't need as much water as they said and I think this is how I ended up with only 8 pitas, but better to have correct-looking dough, I say).

Coat large bowl with cooking spray and place dough inside, turning to coat on all sides. Put in a warm spot and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise (2-3 hours).

Preheat oven to 500 ° F. Place a cookie sheet inside oven while preheating (I sprayed mine with cooking spray). Pinch off 8 pieces of dough and form into balls. Roll out on a floured surface. Roll each piece into a circle with a rolling pin to about 1/4" thick. Place 3-4 circles on the preheated cookie sheet and bake for 6 minutes. Turn them over and bake another 2 minutes. Remove and cool on rack. Repeat baking for remaining circles of dough.

If you make the dough after breakfast, you can have these babies for lunch, hot out of the oven. The baking of them doesn't take long. When finished, slice a pocket in half, open it up and fill with your favorite sandwich filling. I found them quite tasty and filling. They tasted very similar to whole wheat pitas, only better!

Enjoy!

Karen, herself

Pulled Pork Soft Tacos

2011-01-24T13:42:00.000-08:00

Pulled Pork Tacos

Our local market was having a sale on pork shoulder butt roasts this week and featured a recipe for Carnitas Tacos. I thought I would try it since it would be another meal that would be easy on me with my braces...messy, but not too hard to chew.

I had never made pulled pork before and had my usual pre-cooking jitters. Will it work or will it be tough and inedible? Like the beef shank a couple weeks ago, it surpassed my wildest dreams. My husband was in heaven. The only warning I have to give is that is smells so incredible while cooking that it will drive you crazy. I had to suppress the desire to make like a cat and curl up on the floor in front of the oven door, sniffing the heavenly aroma.

Pulled Pork
1 2 lb. Pork Shoulder Butt Roast
2 T chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
salt and pepper
1 onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1/4 cup red wine

Carnitas Tacos
pulled pork
avocado
1/2 head of red cabbage, thinly shredded
salsa
soft corn tortillas, taco size

Ok, here's what I did. The recipe from the market called for using a slow cooker, which I do not have. I started by mixing a couple tablespoons of chili powder and a teaspoon or so of cumin and spreading it on a 2 lb. pork shoulder butt roast (after patting it dry). Then I sprinkled some salt and pepper on it and set it on a plate while I sauteed one onion (diced) and one carrot (diced) in about a tablespoon or less of olive oil in a dutch oven over medium heat. When the onions were translucent, I pushed them and the carrots to the side and put the roast in the dutch oven, turned the temperature up to high and seared it on all sides. Then I added 1/4 cup of dry red wine and turned the heat back down a bit while it cooked down for about a minute or so. Then I covered the dutch oven and put it into a preheated 250° oven and left it in there for 5 hours.

When it was done, I took it out of the oven, put the roast on a plate and shredded the meat with two forks. That's it. Anyone can do it and for less than $8 we had enough pulled pork for a whole lot of tacos...and two containers of leftovers.

I had sauteed shredded red cabbage in olive oil and added a teaspoon of balsamic vinegar to it. We heated up some corn tortillas in the microwave, added the pork, cabbage, salsa and avocado slices to make our tacos. They were great and are now a new standard in our house. Try them and see if you don't agree.

Karen, herself

Braised Beef Shank

2011-01-13T11:03:00.000-08:00

Braising Beef Shanks

The idea of making a lamb or beef shank came into my head the other day. Not really sure why, but with my braces on my teeth and my TMJ issues, eating meat that is very tender is essential. Since my husband is not wild about lamb (although I adore it), I went looking for beef. The butcher at Whole Foods had some in the back of the store and brought out two whole beef shanks on a tray to show me. I nearly passed out...each one is as long as my thigh! He said he could slice off a couple pieces that I could cook like Osso Bucco, so that is what I did.

I researched some recipes online for beef shank and got the main idea of how to cook it. Even though the butcher told me browning or searing the meat first was redundant, I browned the meat first in olive oil in a dutch oven. Some French recipes recommended it (as did Emeril Lagasse!) so I went for it. After browning the meat, I removed it while I sauteed the vegetables, added wine and tomato paste. Then I brought the shanks back, added beef broth and herbs and put it in a slow oven for nearly 4 hours. I took the meat out to rest while I reduced the broth on the stove to a dark, delicious sauce, which I poured over mashed potatoes and the meat itself.

It was incredible. Meat falling off the bone, so tender and so delicious. But after smelling it cooking all afternoon, I was too hungry and anxious to eat it to snap a photo of the final result! You will have to do with the process photos above. My advice to those who want to try it: do it on a day when you have about 5 hours available. It took me about an hour to assemble my ingredients, chop the vegetables and get the dish to the stage where it goes in the oven. It took 3 3/4 hours to cook the meat and about 15 minutes to reduce the sauce. I made a sauteed cauliflower and tomato dish to accompany the meat and potatoes.

Braised Beef Shanks
2 thick slices beef shank (about 1" thick)
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1/2 tsp each paprika and allspice, salt and pepper
1 large yellow onion, peeled and chopped
2 small shallots, peeled and minced
1-2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 large carrot, peeled and roughly sliced
2 stalks celery, roughly sliced
half a package sliced fresh mushrooms
2 bay leaves
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
1 cup red wine ( I used Bogle Petite Syrah)
1 heaping Tablespoon tomato paste
3-4 cups organic beef broth ( I used Pacific brand)

(Preheat oven to 325°) Heat olive oil in heavy, ovenproof dutch oven on top of stove on medium-high heat. Pat beef dry and season with salt, pepper, paprika and allspice. Brown in dutch oven until meat develops a bit of a crust. Remove meat to platter. Add onion and shallot to pan and saute, adding a bit more oil, if necessary. After the onions and shallots are translucent, add the garlic, carrot, celery and mushrooms and cook for a few minutes. Season the vegetables with salt and pepper as you add them to the pot. Pour in the wine and cook for 5 minutes or so until it reduces a bit. Add the tomato paste and cook for a minute or so. Return the beef to the pot, moving away the vegetables so the meat sits on the bottom. Arrange vegetables around and on top of meat. Add enough beef broth to cover the meat and bring to boil.

When everything has reached a rolling boil, remove from the stove and place dutch oven in the preheated oven uncovered. Set timer for 4 hours. After one hour, take dutch oven out and turn beef over in pot. Continue to cook, checking occasionally to make sure the liquid does not evaporate too much and expose too much of the beef. I turned it about once an hour to make sure one side did not dry out, or you can add more liquid.

In the last hour, make mashed potatoes and get other side dishes ready. When the meat is falling off the bone, remove the dutch oven from the oven and remove the beef with a slotted spoon or tongs to a platter and cover loosely with foil to keep warm. Place the dutch oven with the remaining vegetables and broth on the stove on high (remove the bay leaves and rosemary) and cook, stirring until the sauce reduces. Serve the beef with mashed potatoes and a vegetable side dish. Pour sauce over meat and potatoes. Have a glass of red wine with it...you deserve it!

Serves 4

Karen, herself

Gluten Free Pierogi: A Dream Realized

2011-01-09T12:08:00.000-08:00

Tvorog and Potato Filled GF Pierogi with Melted Butter

I did it. For the last four years since going gluten-free I have mourned the loss of my favorite family foods, but none more than homemade pierogi filled with a cottage cheese and potato mixture, with melted butter drizzled over them and a dollop of sour cream. They were a staple in my family (Polish and Ukrainian in origin), especially around the holidays. We used to spend Christmas Eve at my Ukrainian Grandmother's house where she served them with roasted kielbasa, pickled herring on rye bread, head cheese (never was brave enough to try that) and various pickled vegetables. I loved them best the next day fried in butter. My Mom (Polish side of the family) learned to make the Ukrainian version when I was little and she had a hard time with the dough, possibly because my Grandmother forgot to tell her to add a little oil to it.

I made them once before going gluten free and had trouble with the dough too, so the thought of making them with GF flour really scared the living daylights out of me. But, after having much success with GF baking with Jules GF All Purpose Flour, I decided to have a go at it this year. Mom came for Christmas and we made these Christmas Eve and served them with Polish Kielbasa from George's Deli in Seattle and with homemade borscht (The Russian Tea Room Cookbook recipe). I used Jules' flour and substituted tvorog (an East European version of Farmer's cheese, which is not as wet as cottage cheese) for the cottage cheese in the recipe. I got the tvorog from an Armenian Deli in Bellevue, WA.

The recipe I used for the pierogi dough is a modified version of my Ukrainian Grandmother's Pyrohy (Ukrainian version of pierogi). I used the instructions from the recipe for Varenyky (Pyrohy) recipe from the Ukrainian Daughter's Cookbook, because they seemed more fool-proof.

Pyrohy
Dough
4 1/2 cups of flour (I used Jules All Purpose GF)
1 Tablespoon salt
1 1/2 cups cold water
1 egg
1 Tablespoon vegetable oil

Filling
6 cups of mashed potatoes
1 carton regular cottage cheese (or equivalent amount Farmer's cheese or tvorog)

Whisk together water, oil and egg (use a large bowl). Blend well, then add 3 1/2 cups of the flour. Knead dough, while adding the last cup of flour. Knead until smooth and soft. Put in a lightly oiled bowl and cover. Let rest 20 minutes ( I put the bowl in the fridge).

Roll out a small amount of the dough on a floured board (I used marble) until thinner than pie crust and cut out circles with a 3" biscuit cutter. (I rolled out enough dough for 5-6 circles at a time). Place a teaspoon of filling in the center of the dough circle and fold in half, crimping the edges with your fingers. Place completed ones on a linen towel and cover with another towel to keep them from drying out. When you have rolled out, cut out and filled all the pyrohy, cook them in boiling water. They will float to the top when done. Stir them with a wooden spoon while cooking so they do not stick to the bottom. When done, remove them with a slotted spoon (I used a Chinese skimmer) and place them in a bowl and drizzle with melted butter. Serve with sour cream. You can refrigerate or freeze leftovers and reheat again without loss of flavor. Take care to put butter over them before storing so they do not stick together.

Pierogi Making Process

Jule's Gluten-Free Bread Mix, the trial

2010-12-12T13:08:00.000-08:00

My bread from Jules GF Bread Mix

I received my holiday baking package from Jules' Gluten Free the other day and it came with a bread mix, so I thought I would try it out yesterday. While it was easier to make than doing it all from scratch, you still have to add quite a few ingredients. The instructions say to mix the ingredients in a bowl with a spoon, which I attempted to do. Near the end of adding the dry ingredients to the wet, I realized that it was getting too dry and was requiring a lot of effort. I worried I was working the dough too much and I switched to my stand mixer to finish. I now wish I had just used the stand mixer to start, because the resulting bread was a bit dry (sorry, Jules). Having said that, it was still pretty darn good, especially when it was still warm from the oven. This morning was another story. I had wrapped the loaf in plastic wrap and then foil, which had always worked when I made her recipe entirely from scratch, but the bread mix bread was really dry and hard this morning when I cut into it for breakfast. Later I discovered that if I toasted it, it regained its "warm from the oven" taste and texture, so I cut the remaining loaf into slices and froze them individually for later toasting.

The holiday package was a really good deal (a 5 lb. bag of flour, the bread mix, a cookie mix and a gingersnap mix for under $50 and free shipping!). I plan to try the cookie mixes later. The flour I have been using for awhile and I love it. I have used it to make her sandwich bread recipe totally from scratch and I think it comes out better for me than using the mix. I got the recipe from attending a demonstration of hers at a GIG conference a couple years ago.

Despite my troubles with the mix, it is relatively easy to make and tastes good, so I still recommend it. I would highly recommend watching the video on Jules' site of her 15-yr old making the bread. You can see how much effort it takes to make it in a bowl. You can make up your own mind, but my vote is for the stand mixer.

Karen, herself

Cooking with Udi's GF Breads

2010-11-30T09:18:00.000-08:00

So, just to be absolutely clear, I love Udi's Gluten Free products and I buy the whole grain bread and the bagels all the time. But I tried using the whole grain bread in my Thanksgiving turkey stuffing and it totally disintegrated, so I probably won't be using it in that recipe again (Bon Appetit's November 1982 French Sausage and Chestnut Stuffing). I think the stuffing requires a firmer, more dense bread, as it has to stand up to soaking in hot chicken broth and then be added to a stovetop saute with all the other ingredients and then be baked either in the bird or in a pan in the oven.

French Toast with Udi's Whole Grain Bread

This morning I made a gluten-free, dairy-free french toast using Udi's Whole Grain Gluten-Free Bread and it was pretty darn good. I used one egg and about a quarter cup or so of unsweetened almond milk for my batter. I made the french toast using Earth Balance's Natural Buttery Spread (the Soy-free one) and topped it off with pure maple syrup. Looks good, eh? Oh yeah, I topped off the dish with sauteed banana slices.

I am curious to know what others have used Udi's breads for (besides just toast and sandwiches) and how it worked.

Karen, herself

Yellow Split Pea Soup with Smoked Turkey

2010-11-22T09:22:00.000-08:00

Another cold day, another great soup, naturally gluten-free. Snow is here in the Pacific Northwest and I am ready for it. Saturday morning I made another delicious soup, this time with yellow split peas. I like split peas in general because they do not need to be soaked, just rinsed. Instead of ham, I put some gluten-free, nitrite-free smoked turkey in the soup. It was a nice change of pace from ham.

Yellow Split Pea Soup
1 pkg. (16 oz.) dry yellow split peas, rinsed
1 large onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 potato, peeled and cubed
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 Tablespoon butter
4 cups chicken stock plus two cups water
1 cup mushroom broth
1/4 cup white wine
1 bay leaf
1 bouquet garni
salt and white pepper to taste
8-10 oz. smoked turkey breast, cubed

Heat the oil and butter in a soup pot over medium-low heat, add onion, celery, garlic and potato. increase heat to medium. Salt and pepper. Saute until onions are soft and translucent. Add wine and cook for a minute or two, then add broth, water and spices. Bring to a boil and then simmer, covered for 20-40 minutes. Remove bay leaf and bouquet garni. Use an immersion blender to partially puree. Add the cubed smoked turkey (I used Diestel brand) and heat until meat is heated through. Serves 5-6.

Karen, herself

Buckwheat Blinchiki (Naleśniki)

2010-11-18T11:56:00.000-08:00

My Russian tutor mentioned blinchiki (filled blini, or crepes) the other day and I woke up yesterday thinking about them. However, my early morning daydream centered on buckwheat blini and my mind wandered to a Polish version for the filling I had tasted many years ago in Detroit. So here was yesterday’s breakfast: blinchiki (or naleśhniki, in Polish) freshly made from scratch and filled with a sweetened cottage cheese, sour cream and egg mixture.

I first tasted these heavenly treats at a Polish festival in downtown Detroit the summer of 1971—and I went crazy for them. Like all good Polish-Ukrainian girls, I wanted to make them myself, so after my aunt gave me a Polish cookbook (Polanie Club’s Treasured Polish Recipes for Americans, 1973), I tried them. I wasn’t much of a cook back then and it was a miserable failure (I didn't know the Russian saying: Первый блин коман, which translates to: the first blini is always ruined, or I would have tried again!), but I kept the cookbook on my shelf and some thirty years later I tried them again. This time they were heavenly and took me right back to that hot summer day in Detroit.

The big difference, of course, is that these blinchiki will not cause bloating and other nasty symptoms, because these babies are gluten-free. My body doesn’t rebel when this mixture of buckwheat and all-purpose gluten-free flour hits my digestive system. And the whole grain goodness of the buckwheat keeps my blood sugar from spiking and sending me into sugar shock. How did I do it, you ask? Here’s how:

Buckwheat Crepes

(from The Gluten, Wheat and Dairy Free Cookbook, Nicola Graimes)

1/3 cup each buckwheat and all-purpose gluten-free flour

(I used Jules All Purpose Gluten Free Flour)

pinch of salt

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1/2 cup each water and milk (recipe calls for dairy-free, I used 1% milk)

3T butter (recipe calls for dairy-free margarine, I used 2 T unsalted butter)

Cheese Filling

(I used the one from The Russian Tea Room Cookbook then ad libbed)

1 lb large curd cottage cheese (strained) or farmer cheese or Tvorog

(I used about 2/3 cup cottage cheese)

1 egg (I used half an egg)

1/2 cup sugar (I used 1/4 cup superfine sugar)

(I added 1/4 cup each nonfat plain Greek yogurt and nonfat sour cream because my filling was too watery given the lack of cottage cheese. This makes it more like a Polish cream filling)

This is how I made them: whisk the dry ingredients together in a large bowl and add the wet, then add 2 T of melted butter. Heat a pan with a little more butter and make thin crepes. When one side is done, spoon a heaping teaspoon of the cheese mixture into the center of the uncooked side of the crepe. Let it cook briefly then fold over one side of the crepe, then the other, then after it starts to puff up, roll it over. Let is puff up again and slide it out onto your plate. Top with a bit of jam.

Don't blame me if you go back for seconds!

Karen, herself

Lentil Soup with Ham

2010-11-17T18:58:00.000-08:00

Spicy Carrot and Lentil Soup with Ham

There is more than just a chill in the air today. It is downright cold, rainy and blustery in the Seattle area. It was the kind of day where you hated to go outside. Perfect for a steaming bowl of spicy soup. This soup is from The Gluten, Wheat and Dairy Free Cookbook, by Nicola Graimes. I cubed a couple small gluten-free ham steaks and added them to the soup at the very end. Even though it involves a good deal of chopping, I usually have it on the table in an hour. You'll need only a cup of lentils, 5 cups of stock, an onion, six carrots (I used 3 huge organic ones) and one stick of celery and one potato (I used Yukon Gold), olive oil, bay leaf, chili powder, cumin, coriander and paprika, salt and pepper. The recipe calls for cilantro garnish, which I usually forget to buy (!)

I have made this soup entirely vegan and I have made it with ham, or with chicken or turkey sausage and chicken stock. Today I used 4 cups chicken stock and one cup water. Check out the cookbook for the recipe. There are many good ones there.

Stay warm out there!

Karen, herself

France, Gluten Free

2010-10-24T12:55:00.000-07:00

This is the shot that got me in trouble at Laduree on the Champs Elysee in Paris last July. I was told (not so politely) that photos were not allowed. In my defense, I couldn't resist trying to capture the incredible beauty of all those naturally gluten free cookies. I only wish I could have captured the aroma of freshly baked macaroons. Needless to say, we bought a box...and then came back a few days later for another and had brunch there. It was Bastille Day and the parade was over, but the crowds were still there and it was raining, so we ducked into Laduree and had omelettes and tea and dessert, all totally gluten free and made to perfection.

I've been to France before and had very little trouble eating gluten free and am always surprised to hear when people are panicked over the prospect. I spent about ten days there this past July, five days in Paris while my husband was there on business and several more in Brittany with my Aunt at her vacation home. I am not as sensitive to minor cross contamination, so I lived a bit dangerously and did not worry about eating the fries and just tried to stick to sauces that were wine reduction to avoid flour. Here are some of the highlights:

Dessert at La Fontaine de Mars (where President Obama ate on his trip to Paris, near the Eiffel Tower)

Chocolate Mousse and Berries with Pistachio Cream

Dinner at Willie’s Wine Bar (near the Palais Royale), where you can give them a list of your food intolerances and they will find the closest fit with their menu and then make substitutions.

Leek soup, beef with herbs and olive oil, Hazelnut Panna Cotta

Dinner with my Aunt: pork chops in cream and lemon thyme pound cake (which I made with almond meal and gluten free all purpose flour.

Pork Chops with Mushrooms. Lemon Thyme Pound Cake

Lemon Thyme Pound Cake
for cake:
200 g salted butter
200 g caster sugar
100 g all-purpose flour (or GF all-purpose flour)
1/2 tsp. baking powder
100 g ground almonds (almond meal)
4 large eggs
grated zest of 1 lemon
1 tsp. thyme leaves

for syrup:
4 T sugar
juice from 2 large lemons
1/2 tsp thyme leaves
loaf pan lined with parchment (I used a quiche pan)

Preheat oven to 325° F
Cream butter with sugar until pale and fluffy.
Sift flour and baking powder and add almonds.
Lightly beat eggs and fold them into the mixture in
2 or 3 sessions, beating in thoroughly.
Mix zest and thyme leaves and add to mixture.
Spoon into pan and bake (45 mins for loaf/25 mins quiche pan)

Dissolve sugar in lemon juice in saucepan and add thyme leaves.
Cook over moderate heat to make syrup.
Spike finished cake and pour syrup over.

(—recipe from a British magazine/newspaper article)

Obviously, the time spent with my Aunt was the easiest, because we had a kitchen and could cook for ourselves, but I also researched ahead of time and brought some gluten free things with me for treats as well as crackers to substitute for bread. I found a Naturalia store (health food chain) online and went there the first day and bought GF bread to have for breakfast toast or for emergencies. Then I just told waiters that I needed to eat “sans gluten” and everything was fine. In traditional cafes, I went with steak frites and avoided the sauce. I also ate moules frites (mussels and french fries) a few times and just avoided the bread they served with it. My bigger problem was that steak was too difficult for me to chew, given my TMJ issues. Luckily, they don't overcook it there, so that made it a bit easier...as long as I cut into tiny pieces first.

So go to France and enjoy all the wonderful things it has to offer. And leave the nasty gluten to everyone else. You're not really missing that much.

Artichokes at the Farmer's Market, St. Brieuc, France

Karen, herself

Berry Crisp

2010-07-04T11:57:00.000-07:00

Happy fourth of July!

Here's a recipe I adapted from the latest Weight Watcher's weekly handout.

2 cups blueberries
2 cups raspberries
extra berries for top
3/4 cup Jules' gluten free all purpose flour
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 stick unsalted butter
pinch salt

Rinse berries and drain, place in bowl. Mix sugar and flour, then sprinkle 3 T of the mixture over the berries. Put berries into an 8" square pan. Melt butter and mix with flour and sugar. Dot on top of berries. Bake in preheated oven (350°) for 35-40 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle fresh reserved berries on top. Serves 8. Serve with ice cream or whipped cream.

My topping did not brown as much as the WW one in their picture. It may have been due to the gluten free flour. Looks really good. Can't wait to try it. The WW version is 4 points (without the extra berries and the ice cream).

Have a happy holiday and stay gluten free...it's hard but it's worth it.

ps: it tasted as good as it looked!
Karen, herself

Gluten Free Hamburger Buns

2010-05-30T13:50:00.000-07:00

It's Memorial Day Weekend and I'm going to a a friend's place tomorrow and was asked to bring GF hamburger buns. The only ones I know of are the Tapioca ones from Ener-G Foods, which are ok, but not great. I searched online and found this recipe from Annalise Roberts and Claudia Pillow on another gluten free blog and tried it today. Here is the result. They look great. I can only hope they taste as good as they look. Haven't tried them yet as the recipe only made six and I wanted to take them all tomorrow.

If you're up for it, try them this weekend. Just follow the links above. I will be reporting back on the taste and with more photos after we try them!

Happy Holiday,

Karen, herself

Quinoa and Beet Salad with Tuna

2010-05-10T18:00:00.000-07:00

Quinoa salad, tuna salad

3 cups red quinoa, cooked

1 green onion, sliced thinly

Italian parsley, chopped

1 roasted beet, diced

1 T lemon olive oil

1 T rice vinegar

1/4 tsp. dijon mustard

salt and pepper

I’ve been avoiding breads, pasta, and crackers in favor of whole grains of late and I created this quinoa salad by accident. I started out thinking that some green onion would be nice, then remembered I had parsley and then thought I would put in some left over roasted beet. I dressed it with just a little vinaigrette made with my favorite olive oil (O and Co.'s Au Citron). The result was sweet and savory and light. I made it for lunch one day and had enough to serve with dinner and several more lunches. I show it here with tuna salad, but it is also delicious with grilled chicken or fish.

My avoidance of bread has to do with my renewed efforts to control episodes of hypoglycemia and to fix my metabolism. I recently found another program that is similar to The Schwartzbein Principle but that seems to fit more into my ongoing weight loss efforts with Weight Watchers — it's called Skinny Chicks Don't Eat Salads by Christine Avanti. Christine is a nutritionist who, like Dr. Schwartzbein, believes that fixing the metabolism is key to achieving optimum weight. Her program involves eating protein and good carbs together with healthy fats (the PC combo) every 4 hours, keeping blood sugar even. The difference is that the Skinny Chicks program is about 1400 calories per day which works out to be about 24 WW points and seems pretty compatible with Weight Watchers.

The one point that made me reevaluate what I have been doing is her recommendation to eat breakfast within one hour of waking and to never delay a meal. I tried this and noticed that I had fewer headaches. I felt like slapping myself up the side of the head! I have known for years that I should never SKIP meals, but for some reason, I thought it was ok to DELAY my breakfast until after I exercised. On my weigh-in days, I even delayed breakfast until after I weighed in...at 9:30 a.m. I started wondering if this was triggering a 3-day headache in and of itself. I also have been wondering if the calorie restriction of dieting itself was part of the problem. So I am embracing eating by the numbers (21 g of protein and 30 g of carb per meal) and eating every four hours and having breakfast within one hour of waking. So far, so good. Headache days dropped from 4-5 to 1-2 per week. Not sure yet if it is a fluke. It's only been three weeks, but it is incredible to get part of my life back.

Karen, herself

Happy Easter

2010-04-04T20:39:00.001-07:00

Talking to my mother the week before Easter made me long for the Easter food I grew up with: Polish ham, fresh kielbasa and homemade Słodki Chleb, a sweet, egg bread with raisins. I often have this idea to recreate the old holidays, but since I left Detroit (over 30 years ago) I have never found a local source for fresh authentic Polish kielbasa. I thought Seattle must have such a place but in the nearly seven years I have lived here, I never found it...until this week. I discovered George’s Deli on Madison at Ninth Ave., and it was like a little bit of Slavic heaven on earth. Not only did I find kielbasa the likes of which I have not had outside of Detroit, but Kolachki (cookies) and Angel Wings and Polish horseradish.

Unfortunately, the cookies, bread, and potato pancake mixes were loaded with gluten. Happily, the kielbasa was not. Undeterred, I got out my grandmother's recipe for the sweet bread and my store of Jules’ Gluten Free Flour Mix and got to work. The recipe makes 2 loaves and takes 5 cups of flour, so I was a bit worried. What if it doesn't rise and I waste all that flour? Luckily, it rose like a champ and I have been nearly jumping around my kitchen with joy ever since. It was real bread. It was my grandmother's bread. It's aroma was intoxicating and the taste of it took me back to those Easter mornings of my childhood.

The kielbasa was to die for. I must have forgotten what real fresh kielbasa tastes like. It's not that heavy greasy stuff you get from the big name brands you find in the grocery. It's actually delicate and light and not greasy. The texture was soft. The garlic and herb taste was subtle, not heavy handed. If you want to know what real Polish kielbasa tastes like, go to George’s. For a gluten free version of Słodki Chleb, read on.

Grandma Cichon’s Słodki Chleb (Sweet Bread)

(makes 2 loaves)

3 eggs

1/2 cup melted butter

1 heaping cup sugar

1 1/2 cups milk, warm

1 pkg. yeast ( I proof with sugar)

1/2 cup warm water

1 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. nutmeg

5 cups flour (I used Jules’ GF All Purpose)

raisins (optional)

Dissolve yeast in water. Beat eggs until light. Add sugar, melted butter, milk, vanilla and yeast mixture to eggs. Add flour, salt and nutmeg. Beat 200 times by hand (or 200 beats on medium with stand mixer with paddle). Let dough rise in large bowl (covered with cloth) until doubled in size (mine didn’t exactly double), about 1 1/2 hours. Beat down dough. Fill 2 greased loaf pans half full. Cover. Let rise again (usually GF flours don’t need this step but I did it anyway for about 30 minutes). Sprinkle top with sugar. Bake at 350° for 30-45 minutes (mine took 45 mins.). Test for doneness. Let cool in oven with oven door open.

This bread is great just as it is, or toasted. Try it, you’ll like it.

Karen, herself

Beyond Brown Rice Pasta

2010-03-25T14:20:00.000-07:00

2 oz. De Boles Gluten Free Multi Grain Penne, cooked

1/2 can tuna, drained

2 tsp. mayonnaise

1/4 tsp. dijon mustard

asparagus, chopped and steamed

1/4 red bell pepper, diced and steamed

freshly ground pepper

Are you tired of plain rice pasta? Do you long for something more like the whole wheat pasta you used to eat before abandoning gluten? I did. So when I spotted this multi grain penne I jumped at the chance to try it. It is made from Rice, Quinoa and Amaranth and cooks in 8-9 minutes. Its texture seems to me to be in between that of brown rice and whole wheat pasta, a little more firm than the former. The taste is more complex than just rice pasta. I really like it. I did notice that some other GF blogs have given it a definite “thumbs down” but I suspect they overcooked it. The box says to boil for 12-15 minutes! One thing I have learned in life is to cook rice pastas for 6-8 minutes and check them and only then let them cook on if they need it. Hate mushy pasta big-time. The pasta in my photo took a bit over 8 minutes and was perfect.

According to the nutritional label on the box, 2 oz. of this pasta contains 200 calories, 1.5 g fat, and 3 g fiber and 5 g protein. It also contains Xanthan Gum, for those of you who are interested.

So try it and see how you like it. I found it at PCC Market in Issaquah, WA. I have heard some people got it at Whole Foods and it is available on line as well. It would be interesting to see who else likes this product. If you’ve tried it, leave a comment.

Karen, herself

Black Bean Feta Chopped Salad

2010-03-19T13:08:00.000-07:00

1 cup shredded mixed greens

mushrooms and zucchini sauteed in olive oil

1/2 small avocado, chopped

1/4 cup canned black beans, rinsed and drained

1 stalk celery, diced

1 oz. sheep's milk feta, crumbled

1 tsp. olive oil/3/4 tsp. red wine vinegar

My gluten free self has become cranky. I am three years into this life and suddenly I am peeved (or worse) when I go to a high end restaurant in the Puget Sound area, where I have notified the staff ahead of time of my gluten intolerance, and upon arrival they are clueless, offer virtually no help and are even somewhat smug about my inability to eat some of the things on their menu. Last week I went to a place that has many wonderful cheese selections on their menu and I would have loved to have tried one of them, but didn’t because in my rush to leave the house, I neglected to bring my own GF crackers with me. I never used to feel put out when places answered “no” to my request for rice crackers, but now I feel definitely deprived and, yes, miffed. Why can't more places just have a box of rice crackers on hand?

It seems the more I notice how main stream gluten free food is the more annoyed I get with those who still don't get it. I know how this will sound to some, but I think it’s rude to invite people who cannot eat gluten to your home and serve things that are loaded with it and then say (maybe even with a laugh) ...oh, you can’t have this...or...just don't eat it (and watch everyone else groan with pleasure over it. Yeah, that’s fun).

I have started to shun parties and events where gluten is the main ingredient, even though I really wanted to go for the social aspect. Aside from my gluten issues, I also cannot skip meals because of my headaches, so going to a pizza parlor to watch my friends eat if I haven't eaten in seven hours is not an option. I even left a cranky message on the Starbucks free pastry day ad on Facebook today.

I think the reason I’ve gotten this way is that I know it can be better. I have been to places where the chef came out to meet me and made sure I not only was safe, but had an enjoyable meal. In Italy, the restaurant in the hotel we stayed at got out their GF pasta and made wonderful sauces for me. It’s not that hard.

Karen, her cranky self

Back on track

2010-02-21T15:16:00.000-08:00

Finally got fed up with all the sugar crashes I was having, especially during exercise so as much fun as it was baking gluten free scones and bread, I am back to basics and really working the balance between my proteins, carbs and fats.

I've been struggling to lose about 10 lbs. since returning from a cruise over a year ago and keep getting waylaid by sugar crashes. Decided to go back to what the nutritionist said last year and am eating more food (sorry, Weight Watchers, but your points allowance for me is too low) protein and a little more fat and cutting back some on the carbs. The thing is, I am only eating a little less carb at meals and making sure they are whole grains or starchy vegetables or fruit. I aim for 30g at most meals unless it is right before our Naginata class, in which case I bump it up to 40-45g. If I then eat 3 oz. of protein, some vegetables, and a little high quality fat, I am ok and I don't crash during practice. Which is good.

An added benefit is that I am not so tired, I am not hungry all the time in between meals and I no longer crave sweets after meals. I am back to losing instead of gaining weight, but only a half a pound a week. It's better than gaining or staying the same so I am hanging in there. I am also hoping that it has a positive effect on my headaches—in other words to have fewer of them.

Sample Sunday lunch is featured in the photo: 2-egg omelette with neufchatel cheese, leftover roasted potatoes and eggplant, mushrooms and asparagus sauteed in butter and olive oil. Photo courtesy of my new Nikon 5000!! Yay!

With the new camera I am hoping to be posting more often and with better results.

Karen, herself

French Bread Gluten Free

2010-01-09T21:40:00.001-08:00

As promised, I tried my old recipe for French bread with Jules Gluten Free Flour and while it tasted like French bread, it was gummy in the middle and had to be toasted to finish baking! Not deterred, I decided to try another recipe by Annalise Roberts in her Gluten-Free Baking Classics for French-Italian Bread (p. 131). This recipe requires mixing 5 different flours to achieve an artisan-like bread, but the rest of the recipe is very simple, so it really wasn’t so much trouble.

The 5 flour mix was: 2/3 cup of millet flour, 1/3 cup of sorghum flour, 1/3 cup cornstarch, 1/3 cup potato starch, and 1/3 cup tapioca starch. This gives you 2 cups of flour. I blended them together with a whisk in a large bowl and then added the rest of the dry ingredients for the bread: 1 1/4 tsp. xanthan gum, 3/4 tsp. salt, and 4 tsps. sugar. I then proofed 1 packet of active yeast with a bit of sugar in water (110°) and added it to the dry ingredients (by this time in the bowl of a stand mixer) plus 2 tsp. of olive oil and 1 cup water, heated to 110°. The recipe says to beat on high for 3 minutes, then form into a loaf and place in oiled pan (I used a French bread pan) and let rise (loosely covered) in a warm spot for 40 minutes, then bake in a preheated 400° oven for 40-50 minutes. It came out great and made a sandwich to die for. Mine was smoked turkey with brie, dijon mustard and lettuce.

The same morning I made this I whipped up a loaf of Jules’ sandwich bread with her flour.

Here is a closeup on the French bread after I cut into it:

After not having eaten French bread in three years, I sat and ate my sandwich in blissful silence. It was soft inside and crunchy on the outside. Hats off to Annalise Roberts. Buy her book. You won’t be sorry.

Karen, herself

Gluten Free Spinach Quiche

2010-01-02T15:22:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I thawed a homemade frozen gluten-free pate brisée and make a spinach quiche with it for dinner. I was once again inspired by Julia Child and used a combination of her recipes for quiche...the Quiche Lorraine (bacon, no cheese) and the spinach quiche (cheese, shallots and spinach). My version had bacon, spinach, shallots and cheese. Of course much butter and cream was involved as well.

It made me so happy to be making this again. I realized that I had not made a quiche in close to twenty years. More importantly, I do not think I have eaten quiche since going gluten free three years ago...not with crust and everything anyway. It was heavenly. Again I must thank Jules Gluten Free Flour for the light and fluffy crust...and all that butter.

I did in fact try making french bread with Jules’ flour and it tasted good, but didn’t totally bake in the center and was incredibly hard on the outside. Too hard for me and my TMJ so I tried toasting it and it did soften up enough to eat. Now the plan is to to try french bread with another flour mixture and see if that is better.

Monday we go back to less rich food, but for now we are indulging. Tonight it is braised veal chops, canellini beans with spinach and sauteed red cabbage.

Happy New Year!

Karen, herself

Cream Scones

2009-12-27T09:17:00.000-08:00

So I guess I’m on a quest for the best GF scone. Yesterday’s were made with only one whole egg and an egg white as we had run out of eggs. I also ran out of cream so I decided on a recipe that called for milk instead. This morning I couldn’t sleep so I got up early and having replenished the eggs and cream the day before, set about trying the recipe I really wanted to try from Rebecca Reilly’s Gluten-Free Baking. Although, being the sort who likes to tinker with recipes, I couldn’t resist incorporating some of the ingredients from the recipe I used the day before.

My cream scones turned out better than the classic scones, but it may have been because I had two eggs, etc. I still used Jule’s Gluten Free Flour but I added a quarter cup of hazelnut meal to 2 cups of Jule’s flour (which already has xanthan gum and Expandex in it) and then mostly followed the recipe for Raisin Cream Scones in Rebecca Reilly’s cookbook. I did use 5 tablespoons of butter vs. 4 because that is what yesterday’s recipe called for and I like butter. I also upped the baking powder to 1 tablespoon to match yesterday’s recipe.

The other reason I think these scones turned out better is that this recipe says to mix everything quickly with a fork, rather than use a stand mixer for one minute. I think the lighter handling of the dough resulted in a flakier scone. They were also baked at a higher temperature for less time, so they were less dry. They were also slightly sweeter than the others because of the hazelnut meal and the cinnamon sugar sprinkled on top. Bottom line is that yesterday’s (see previous post) are more like biscuits and today’s were slightly more muffin-like, but not too much. My husband and I decided that we like both.

Karen, herself

Gluten-free Scones

2009-12-26T12:06:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I gave my friend a 5 lb. bag of Jules Gluten Free Flour for Christmas. She has tried and failed in the past to produce a gluten free scone that met her expectations. I knew she would try again with this flour and I was frankly worried. I was afraid she would try the flour on her scone recipe first and if it wasn’t good, she might give up on the flour. So I made them myself this morning. I have to say that, while they didn’t rise as much as I would have liked, they were otherwise great. I used the recipe in Annalise G. Roberts’ “Gluten-Free Baking Classics” and the results are shown here for you to judge...at least visually.

What made me the happiest was that the dough looked right and handled like a dream, not something you can always say about gluten-free baking.

Big sigh of happiness.

Karen, herself

Gluten-free Christmas Eve

2009-12-25T11:20:00.001-08:00

Yesterday on the Today Show, Joy Bauer (of the Joy Fit Club) took a question from a viewer asking what to bring to Christmas at someone’s home who was strictly gluten-free. Her answer took me back because when it came to desserts, she suggested that fruit was the best option, implying that all our favorite holiday desserts would be off-limits to the gluten-free (she also mentioned flourless chocolate cake or buying something ready made). So happy to say “Sorry, Joy, but you couldn’t be further from the truth!”

Not only can you enjoy gluten-free versions of all your holiday fare, but now it is more simple than ever, thanks to Jules Gluten Free Flour and her “almost normal” baking recipes. I heard Jules lecture at the Gluten Intolerance Group of North America’s conference in Seattle last summer and bought a bag of her flour ($20 for a 5 lb. bag, but worth it). The flour has Expandex modified tapioca starch and Xanthan gum already mixed in so you can use it just like all-purpose flour. I have been making Jule’s sandwich bread with it and my husband and I love it. At Thanksgiving I decided to try using it to make my piecrusts and I just substituted it for the all-purpose flour in the pate brisée recipe that came with my Cusinart years ago. The result was so good that you could serve it to the uninitiated and they would not know it wasn’t the usual gluten-laden thing. It was only slightly more tricky to work with, as it broke easier, but since the recipe has egg yolk in it, it pretty much held together. I used it for both pumpkin and pecan pies and we just did it again yesterday for pecan pie.

So be brave and try your old favorite recipes and if you want to make it simple, try Jule’s flour too. I plan to try French bread next. We’ll see. In the meantime, we are enjoying a totally gluten-free holiday with baked ham and cranberry-wine glaze, Julia Child’s Potato Gratin Dauphinois (pictured above and too delicious for words), spinach salad and pecan pie.

Happy holidays!

Karen, herself

Open Face Breakfast Panini

2009-09-16T10:36:00.001-07:00

one slice gluten-free sandwich bread

garlic clove (optional)

olive oil

2 oz. roasted chicken

1/2 oz. goat cheese or other mild cheese

peach slices

lettuce or spinach, arugula, etc.

Had the best breakfast today. I wanted a high-protein start to my day and had some roasted chicken thighs left over from a previous night’s dinner. I also had some delicious gluten-free sandwich bread I got from PCC Market the other day: Angeline’s Gluten-free White Rice Bread. I didn't feel like making a real panini which would involve getting out a skillet and rubbing garlic and olive oil on the bread and toasting it in a grill pan, so I just toasted it in my toaster and then drizzled olive oil on it. I was so excited about the whole idea of my creation that I forgot the garlic! I used Olivier’s Lemon Olive Oil, then put some organic lettuce on the toast, then shredded about 2 oz. of the chicken and put it on top of the lettuce, then the peach slices and topped it with a bit of goat cheese. Yum.

Just had to share this. Try it.

Karen, herself

Headache and TMJ

2009-09-15T09:38:00.000-07:00

My long absence from this blog is due to my latest attempt to figure out what is causing me 3-5 days a week of headaches. In May I had a routine dental cleaning and afterward suffered my usual 2-3 days of migraine. The difference this time was that after bugging my dentist the last two visits about my post-visit pain I finally got the courage to ask him about my bite issues. Prefacing my question with the comment that I was almost afraid to start because past attempts to fix my bite issues only made things worse, I nevertheless dove in headfirst.

It seems my bite is not only bad, it is unique. My dentist wondered aloud how I could chew a meal at all given my particular problem. I silently wondered why this is the first time he has mentioned it to me. Then he says that it is probably time for me to see an orthodontist. So off I went, thinking I was doomed to wear braces again. Well, the short story is that I am so messed up that braces alone will not do the job. So in June, after many xrays, photos and molds being made, I began wearing a big plastic bite splint, which gives me a lisp, and went on yet another alteration in my diet and started taking even more supplements. In January, the braces go on and about a year later I am looking at jaw surgery to enlarge my lower jaw, which is the source of all my bit problems and probably the cause of all the facial pain and then another year of braces.

I hesitated to write about this for awhile because there is so much sensational information out there about TMJ (temporomandibular joint disorder), which is the clinical name for my problem. The cause of my TMJ issues mainly involve my undersized and recessed lower jaw, stress and my teeth clenching and grinding at night. I have worn a night guard for about 10 years and it has kept me from grinding my teeth, but does nothing to prevent clenching. Neither does the splint, but it protects my joint. The surgery I am facing is not TMJ surgery, of which much negative press exists, but rather jaw surgery to correct the defective small jaw.

So now I take an anti-inflammatory drug and I am on a soft diet (sigh) which means nothing hard or chewy, no steak, no nuts, no carrot sticks, for God's sake. Looking back on things, I don't wonder why eating too many nuts not only caused me to gain weight, but also triggered a headache. Probably it was the jaw action, rather than an allergy to almonds that was the culprit. I do notice that I feel better on the soft diet and the fish oil and glucosamine and all the salmon I am eating make my skin look great! The other upside to spending thousands of dollars on braces, etc. is that after it is all done (2.5 years from now) I should look 10 years younger since extending my lower jaw will take up some of the slack skin of my aging body and make my nose look smaller. If it cuts my headaches down even one third, I will be happy and think it money well spent.

Unfortunately for me, my days of eating pretty salads like the one featured above are over for the time being. I made this salad in May prior to my diagnosis and it featured Japonica Mahogany Rice, roasted chicken thighs, chopped apple and toasted pecans and dried cranberries with a walnut oil and red wine vinegar vinaigrette. Today I would have to crush the nuts into oblivion if I wanted them and skip the dried fruit and cut the apple up REALLY small.

Some of you may wonder, as my husband did, whether this new diagnosis means I can eat gluten again. The answer is a resounding “No”. I still think the malabsorption caused by the gluten had something to do with my migraine with aura. It is still the case that I am migraine-with-aura free since going gluten-free and discovering my reactive hypoglycemia. I think the TMJ was responsible for a lot of the other headaches that have no aura. Also, after having unintentionally eaten gluten recently (Tums Smoothies can contain gluten it seems), I know that I still have a problem with gluten.

I remain, Karen, herself gluten-free

Getting Back in Balance

2009-05-03T10:56:00.000-07:00

It seems that Spring has finally arrived in the Pacific Northwest and I have been planting flowers and vegetables...and having fewer headaches. The tomatoes in the photo were from last year's crop. I am hoping to have more this year.

While weather changes do seem to bring on headaches for me, the change to Spring has been surprisingly mild headache-wise. Each month since January I have had one less headache that I had to take a triptan drug to abort. April was the best month in a long while. Only 5 triptan-worthy headaches. As usual, I think the reason for the improvement is due to a mix of things. My doctor has me taking a preventative blood pressure med that I am now taking half a dose in the morning and half at night. I continue to watch my diet and blood sugar to avoid triggers and sugar crashes. And I exercise almost daily and get enough sleep. One other thing that has helped is to take Aleve with the triptan drug and then to continue taking Aleve on the third day after the headache to prevent any lingering inflammation from triggering it again. That seems to work pretty well, but is tricky. If I take too much Aleve it bothers my stomach. A lot.

So balance seems to be the word of the day. If I keep myself in balance, mentally and physically, and if the weather isn't too changeable, I can keep the headaches at bay. I still struggle to remember to drink enough water for me. And I have been struggling to get my diet on track. My latest tactic is to really push the fruits and vegetables and try to keep things interesting. Most days I make a big salad for lunch and I find that if I add some chopped apple or leftover roasted potato to it I don't have the cravings for sweets afterwards. Which is good. I make my own salad dressings to avoid gluten and preservatives that my head doesn't like. Recently a reader asked how I make dressings so I thought I would share my recipe, such as it is.

I keep track of how much oil I use pretty carefully so whether I make a small or large amount of dressing, I always measure the oil in teaspoons. This is because I am a lifetime member of Weight Watchers and I know that 1 tsp. of oil equals 1 WW point on their program. So if I know how many teaspoons of oil are in a serving of my dressing, I can figure out how to count my portion. So here it is. I just use 1 tsp. of good olive or walnut oil and add either 1 tsp. or 1 T of vinegar or lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste, maybe a bit of mustard or water. I use the 1/1 ratio if I want a less tart dressing, or I add some water. Sometimes I add some stevia (a natural zero calorie sweetener). Sometimes I add a little soft fresh goat's cheese (Chavrie) if I want creaminess.

The trick is to use high quality ingredients. I love the oils from O & Co. My favorite dressing is to use a 1/1 ratio of their citron olive oil and their balsamic vinegar. It is so sweet and delicious. I also like to mix their olive oils with champagne vinegar or red wine vinegar. When I use the latter, I use a larger amount of vinegar: 1 Tablespoon per 1 tsp. oil.

Latest great gluten-free find: Glutino Fiber Bread. I got it at Whole Foods Market. It tastes like real bread and if you put a little butter on it toasted, you can forget it's gluten-free. It is made from corn and tapioca starch and has flax seed meal, sugar beet fiber, some sugar and egg white and is fortified. At 90 calories, 2 grams of fat, and 2 grams of fiber, it is 2 WW points per slice.

Reactive Hypoglycemia, Dehydration and Headache

2009-01-10T18:10:00.000-08:00

It’s 2009 and I've been gluten-free for two years now. When I started this journey, I thought that discovering my gluten intolerance and other food allergies (or intolerances) would solve my headache problem. Unfortunately, they were only a piece of the puzzle, albeit an important piece. I am convinced that the undiscovered gluten intolerance lead to malabsorption of important nutrients, including the magnesium and B2 that my neurologist wanted me to take to prevent migraine. Now that I am gluten-free, my body seems to actually use the magnesium instead of flushing it through my system. Not to mention the fact that avoiding gluten can save me from osteoporosis, cancers and a number of other serious conditions.

But my headaches persist. Not as bad as before though. In the meantime I have discovered a couple other things that seem to contribute heavily to my propensity for getting headaches. Dehydration and low blood sugar episodes. I have always known that skipping meals or not drinking enough water were sure to bring on a headache, so I didn't skip meals and I thought I was drinking enough water. Here’s the thing: it seems I need more water than the average person to keep from getting a headache. The standard 8 glasses a day are not enough, especially on days when I practice Naginata. I seem to have to rediscover this every so often. When we were on vacation in Phoenix last Fall I needed 10-12 glasses of water a day because it was so dry there. Upon reflection, I think I need that much water no matter where I am.

The second important discovery is about low blood sugar. For years I have noticed that I seem to get episodes of lightheadedness, shakiness, sweating, etc. midmorning. I noticed it got better when I stopped drinking regular coffee. Then I started getting them again. I noticed I got them after eating a breakfast that was high in refined flours or sugars. So I stopped eating waffles for breakfast. Then I stopped putting jam on my toast. Then I switched to whole grains and that seemed to take care of it. Going gluten-free kind of threw me for awhile. Most gluten-free grains are high on the glycemic index so the episodes came back when I ate things like gluten-free waffles, or toast for breakfast. So I switched to eating gluten-free oatmeal or buckwheat cereal. Everything was great for awhile. Then I started to have sugar crashes in the evening during Naginata practice. It seemed that the more I tried to avoid carbohydrates, the worse it got. Frustrated, I mentioned it to my doctor and she suggested I talk to a nutritionist. She said I might have reactive hypoglycemia. The nutritionist took one look at my food diary and said I wasn't eating enough, especially carbohydrates! I was very surprised by this, but thought it wouldn't hurt to follow her advice for a week and see what happened. She recommended that I eat 30-45 grams of carbohydrates per meal and 15-20 grams per snack. She gave me a diet plan that had me eating a mid-morning and mid-afternoon snack (which I was already doing). She also told me to forget about the glycemic index for now and concentrate on getting enough carbs each day, especially on days when I exercised a lot. She said I wasn't giving my body enough energy to work out and that was why I was crashing. Also, the Weight Watcher points level I was following was not enough calories for me. She recommended I add 200 calories a day to my diet.

At first I was afraid that I would gain weight. I had been trying to lose weight without success before. The amazing thing is that the new plan is actually helping me to lose weight again and I am not hungry all the time. The sugar crashes are gone as well. I got a blood sugar measuring kit to test my levels and as long as I eat protein with my carbs and fat and as long as I stay away from fruit juices and highly refined things (like GF waffles...at least in the morning) I seem to stay pretty level all day.

The bonus was that my headaches went away as well. I had an entire week headache free the first week that was on the new eating plan. I think I may be on to something. These two issues are two important pieces in the puzzle. And I no longer have to feel guilty for eating corn or rice, both of which my body seems to like. Who knew?

Karen, herself

Carrot/Radiccio Slaw

2008-12-17T15:57:00.001-08:00

Yesterday I decided to finally do something with the half head of cabbage that has been sitting in my vegetable crisper for a few weeks. I planned on using it to make a low-calorie vegetable soup. After making the soup, I found I had a couple of cups of diced cabbage left over. I wanted to make a more interesting salad so I looked around the crisper and found some radiccio and shredded about a half a head of that as well. Then I added some grated carrot, diced apple and about a half a cup of red seedless grapes and a few raw walnuts. I made a vinaigrette out of walnut oil and rice vinegar, drizzled in some agave nectar for sweetness and then added a teaspoon of mayonnaise. The dressing seemed to need more bulk but I didn't want to add any more mayo so I tossed in a couple tablespoons of plain, unflavored nonfat yogurt. The result was this dish, which was so good that even my husband, who is not a fan of radiccio, loved it. It is naturally gluten-free and lower in fat and calories than the usual slaw.

Carrot/Radiccio Slaw

2 cups diced green cabbage

1 large carrot grated

1/2 small head of radiccio, shredded

1 small apple (skin on) diced

1/2 red seedless grapes (sliced in half)

1 oz. or less raw walnut pieces

1 T walnut oil

1T rice vinegar

dash of agave nectar (or honey)

1 heaping teaspoon mayonnaise (I used Best Foods)

2 T plain unflavored nonfat yogurt

salt and pepper

Combine first 6 ingredients in large bowl. Whisk together walnut oil and rice vinegar in a small bowl. Whisk in agave nectar and mayonnaise. Pour over vegetables and toss. Add yogurt to salad and toss again. Salt and pepper to taste.

Makes about 8 servings if using as side dish

Karen, herself

Gluten-free Travel, the Good, the Bad and the Ugly

2008-12-09T10:49:00.001-08:00

The hiatus in my blogging this Fall was the result of several trips: ones to San Francisco and Phoenix in October and the mother of them all— a 10-day Mediterranean Cruise in November. The photo above is yours truly at Santorini, a Greek Island.

I thought since my last GF travel blog sparked some interest that I would update it with my more current experiences. Most of them were good—some not so much. My little weekend jog to San Francisco for a Naginata seminar was easy and good as I stayed with my sensei and she and I prepared gluten-free pasta salad to take with us to the seminar for lunch. It was such a hit that we shared it with several other people (also we made way too much!). Breakfasts were rice cakes with peanut butter as we stayed with yet another friend in San Jose where the seminar was and there wasn't much time for food prep. Dinners were at Chinese and Japanese restaurants in San Jose. I approached the Chinese one with trepidation, fearing all I would eat was a bowl of rice and steamed vegetables sans sauce. How wrong I was. This little hole-in-the-wall place (Bo Town) was wonderful. They didn't have wheat-free soy sauce, but they made several suggestions about things I could have which included a corn-egg soup, a whole steamed fish with vegetables, etc. There was one other person in our group who needed to eat gluten-free and we certainly did not starve. Similar situation at the Japanese restaurant in San Jose's Japantown (I think it was Minato). No wheat-free soy, but a friend ducked into a grocery store nearby and grabbed some bean sauce that was wheat free that we used as a substitute. Then I did sushi and rice for the rest.

Phoenix was even better. We were staying in a resort that had condos so I could have a kitchen and we discovered the Phoenix Whole Foods right away and stocked up on fruits and veggies, tofu, soy milk and a couple of things to make dinners. Breakfasts were tofu scrambles for the most part or cottage cheese fruit and brown rice bread. I also brought a little GF rolled oats with me to make oatmeal. We didn't eat in the whole time, though. I discovered a great restaurant in Scottsdale: Bloom. Fantastic food and service. The decor is very contemporary. Fusion cuisine. They went out of their way to make sure I had not only safe, but delicious food. Would definitely go back.

We were staying near a JW Marriott Hotel which has 5-6 restaurants and we tried 3 of them: Blue Sage Cafe where we had lunch a couple times and Meritage Steakhouse and Ristorante Tuscany. They were all good and all were happy to deal with my gluten and other food issues. The best of the three was definitely the Tuscany. We saved it for our last night and the chef, Brian Archibald came out to meet me and go over my food sensitivities with me. Everything there is made to order and they really took care of me. This was one of the best experiences I have ever had dining out gluten free. They even had warm GF bread for the bread basket (from a local GF bakery - Gluten Free Creations) they made GF pasta with a fresh tomato sauce for a pasta dish and I had shrimp scampi to die for. My entree had sauce too...no naked food that night. It was like being a normal person again and for that I thank them from the bottom of my foodie heart. For all the Marriott restaurants, I booked online and told them ahead of time about my gluten issues, so they were well prepared. I also used my restaurant card with my food allergies listed on it.

Ok., so that was the good, or most of it, anyway. Having had such wonderful experiences and after my previous good experience flying American Airlines and ordering a gluten-free meal, I was expecting a similar good trip to Europe, especially since we flew in Business Class this time. Unfortunately, my good luck did not extend to the trip on AA. Business Class is definitely nice and the seat, the leg room, all the pampering...no complaints there. Imagine my heartbreak while everyone else was dining on their choice of three entrees, starters, salad, etc. I am served an overcooked overseasoned (to the point where it was inedible) but gluten free meal. It was more like spicy mush, to tell the truth. If if weren't for the seasoning, I would pass it off on the flight attendants overcooking it, but even proper heating wouldn't have saved the slop I was served. Mush that was supposed to be quinoa, canned green beans (which I am allergic to) and overcooked chicken pieces that someone dropped a bottle of chili powder on). I took a couple bites and then pushed it away. I starved and then dug out my reserve rice cakes and peanut butter. It seemed to me that a couple of things on the regular menu would have been ok, so on the way back, I cancelled my GF meal and took my chances. It was a smart move. I had a fine meal and no problems. I know enough about how things are cooked and what to avoid that I can pretty much manage on my own. It must also be the case that a little cross-contamination does not cause symptoms in me.

We stayed in a Starhotel in Genoa, Italy for a couple days before departing on our cruise and the waiters in their restaurant were fantastic. They brought out GF crackers for me, made GF ravioli, and several wonderful dishes with sauces and everything! One dish was duck breast with pears and a wine reduction sauce. Another was sirloin steak with asparagus and cheese. No bad food, no reactions. The way it should be. I wish I could say the same for the food on the cruise. Unfortunately, Costa Cruises, while making sure no one gets sick, does not seem to care whether people with gluten or food allergies have the same level of food as the rest of their guests—which, by the way, also wasn't that great. They go as far as to reserve a section of the kitchen for dealing with food allergies, which is great, but they seem to be afraid to go any further. I had boiled potatoes and vegetables and naked meat and fish for 10 days. I was a very unhappy camper. I was also hungry most of the time because we tended to eat lunch early because of our schedule (we were on a MacMania cruise and had seminars all day) and then we had the second seating for dinner, which meant that I ate lunch at noon and dinner at 9 p.m. The only food in between was either the pizza buffet or high tea (gluten-laden cakes, etc.), which I couldn't eat, a side salad with no protein or ice cream. Guess which I chose. We were forbidden to bring any outside food onboard so things were bleak for me. Luckily I disobeyed that rule as I suspected they wouldn't have rice cakes on board and I brought a box of GF crackers and my handy individual serving sizes of foil wrapped natural peanut butter with me. I hid them in my lingerie drawer!

Thanks to Costa Cruises and our weird schedule, I ate a whole lot of ice cream and gained 5 lbs despite the naked food and boiled potato fare. It was either that or get a headache from not eating for so long. I choose ice cream over a headache any day.

Breakfasts we ate at the buffet most days. Having just started eating eggs again, I really pushed it eating eggs every morning, but that or salty bacon were the only protein I could have. One morning we ventured into the dining room for breakfast. I had to sit at the GF table (the leper table, as I called it). I had high hopes of getting GF french toast or pancakes. No deal. They had GF bread, they had eggs, but taking that last step to put them together and make GF French Toast was impossible. So more eggs but at least I had toast. Sigh.

So now I am home and cooking for myself again and dealing with the excess weight. After I lose the 5 extra lbs., I am making French Toast for sure...and writing a long ugly letter to American Airlines. Here's hoping your travels are all good ones. Comments appreciated.

Karen, herself

Gluten-free Holiday Fare

2008-12-02T13:33:00.001-08:00

Happily, most of the recipes in my Thanksgiving repertoire are naturally gluten-free. The only exceptions are the stuffing for the turkey and the gravy, which are easily managed with gluten-free bread and rice flour, respectively. I like to make soups and usually feature one in my holiday meals. This year I made my favorite, the curried butternut squash soup from The Silver Palate Gourmet Cookbook (vintage 1980's). The first time I made this soup I followed the recipe faithfully and the soup was inedible because the recipe calls for 4 teaspoons of curry powder. I may have had fresh curry powder, but in any case, I had to throw the whole batch out. Since then, I have made some adaptations to the original recipe, mostly in the way that I prepare it, but most definitely in the amount of curry powder I use. I usually cut the recipe in half and then use a slightly larger squash than called for (— how do you determine whether a squash is medium sized anyway?). Then I add more stock than is called for because I like my soup on the thin and silky side, rather than heavy and chunky. I also cut down on the butter and I make my own curry powder minus the ginger, tumeric and mustard. Here it is. It is always a hit.

Curried Butternut Squash and Apple Soup

1 medium butternut squash, peeled and chopped into 2" cubes

(use a vegetable peeler and if need be, microwave the squash for 1 minute first to soften)

1 large onion, chopped

1 Tablespoon unsalted butter

1-2 teaspoons curry powder

1 granny smith apple, peeled and chopped (plus a bit more julienned for garnish)

1/2 cup apple juice

4 cups chicken stock

salt and pepper to taste

toasted pumpkin seeds for garnish

Melt butter in heavy stock pot or dutch oven. Place onion in pan, sprinkle with curry powder, salt and pepper and sauté on medium-low heat until onions are transparent (about 10 minutes). Add squash and apple pieces and continue to sauté a bit, then add stock. Bring to a boil over high heat, then turn down to simmer for 20 minutes or so or until squash and apples are soft. Puree in batches in a food processor or use an immersion blender. (In my experience, the food processor gives a smoother texture). Return soup to stockpot or dutch oven and heat, adding apple juice. Adjust seasoning if necessary. Serve hot with julienned apple and toasted pumpkin seeds. Sometimes I add a dollop of sour cream or creme fraiche too.

Feeds 6 to 8, depending on serving bowl.

Low blood sugar and migraine

2008-09-03T12:07:00.001-07:00

So I have once again fiddled with my diet. Now, on top of avoiding gluten, corn sugar, almonds, ginger and all the migraine causing things like: nitrates, msg, caffeine, aspartame, etc., I am also watching my sugar intake. Why, you may ask, would I want to eliminate or drastically curtail yet another food group? My reasons are threefold and all have to do with the high-glycemic value of most non-gluten containing grains.

1: I cannot get control of my weight since going gluten-free.

2: I have noticed a correspondence between low blood sugar episodes and my migraines.

3: I seem to get sugar “crashes” during exercise which makes problems No.1 and 2 worse.

I have known since high school that skipping meals, fasting, or waiting too long between meals is a sure recipe for a headache of any kind. So, for years I have made sure I eat something every 3-4 hours. The trouble is, as I have gotten older, I have noticed that this doesn't ensure I won't have a sugar “crash” which can and has brought on a headache. I even tried making sure I ate protein with my snacks, and it didn't seem to matter.

Ten years ago, I gave up regular coffee at breakfast (which was a HUGE sacrifice for me) and noticed that the sugar crashes stopped. Great, I thought. Then a few years ago I noticed that if I had jam on my morning toast, I would have a sugar crash a couple hours later. After I gave up gluten, I started indulging in buckwheat frozen waffles for breakfast...with fruit and maple syrup (avoiding the corn syrup, of course). One day in May of 2007 I ate that for breakfast and had one of the worst sugar crashes of my life and as luck would have it, just as the weakness, lightheadedness and shaking started, I saw a bright light from the glare of sunlight reflecting off a window and — bam! Classic migraine (with aura). My day was shot. I took a triptan drug (Amerge) but it took 2 hours to work and I felt lousy the rest of the day.

Two weeks ago I had a ham sandwich on Tapioca Bread with lettuce, tomato and a few baby carrots and I grabbed a couple of potato chips off my husband's plate (!) and an hour and a half later in the middle of teaching our Naginata class, I had the mother of all sugar crashes. I had to stop practicing and since I hadn't thought to bring food with me, my only choice was to get orange juice out of the vending machine and chug it down while I sat on the bleachers waiting for the shaking to stop. Not good.

I had to find a way to eliminate refined carbs from my diet. Not easy when you have an egg allergy that you are not sure is a real allergy or just an intolerance and a moderate cow's milk allergy. I am a lifetime member of Weight Watchers and I had been struggling trying not to eat too many carbs. I looked on the WW forum under restricted diets and noticed that all the gluten intolerant and allergy sufferers were doing the “Core Program” which is based on real food, whole grains, etc. Sounds good, but I had avoided it because of the egg and milk problems I had. Same with South Beach Diet. Most breakfasts that are low carb seem to revolve around eggs.

I decided to try doing the Core program like the first phase of South Beach for 2 weeks and see if I could handle the eggs a little. At first it worked like a dream. I lost the sugar crashes and the sugar cravings and seemed to be ok with a little egg. Then on the third or fourth day I crashed big time. Could barely get out of bed I was so fatigued. I happened to be reading a book by Dr. Diana Schwarzbein about the importance of balancing carbs, protein and fat, especially if your adrenals are burned out...which I suspect mine are. Dr. Schwarzbein says that if you eliminate carbs altogether in that situation, you burn out your adrenals even more and will end up even more fatigued. So, I added some whole grains back in and things are going better now. I am not really missing the refined carbs now and they will taste even better when they are a rare treat instead of an everyday craving. Headaches have been fewer and really only resurfaced after I weakened and ate some chocolate the other day (!). Breakfasts are the most challenging, but I am rediscovering tofu as an egg substitute. Check out my lamb sausage tofu scramble. It's delicious and not too time consuming if you cut up the tofu ahead of time and refrigerate.

Lamb Sausage and Tofu Scramble

2 oz. loose lamb sausage (nitrite-free)

2 oz. firm tofu cut into small cubes

olive oil

1 green onion

1 T fresh mint, minced

1/4 cup or so cucumber, chopped

1/4 cup or so yellow squash, chopped

1 mushroom, chopped

1/4 cup tomato, chopped

salt and pepper to taste

pour a little olive oil in a non-stick skillet on medium heat

add lamb sausage and cook, breaking up with a wooden spoon

add tofu and cook until heated through

add squash, cucumber, mushroom and tomato and cook a minute or two

season with salt and pepper

add green onion and mint and cook another minute

makes one serving (5-6 WW points if you’re counting, depending on how much oil you use)

(note: lamb is pretty greasy, you won't need much oil, just enough for flavor)

Enjoy! You won't be hungry until lunch!

Karen, herself

Gluten-free Air Travel

2008-08-14T10:04:00.000-07:00

Travel, particularly air travel, for those of us on a gluten-free diet is tricky. Adding migraine avoidance to the mix makes advance preparation absolutely essential for a pain-free travel day. With airlines no longer serving meals in coach and substituting boxes of junk food for purchase, bringing a healthy meal on board with you is key. You might be able to find something other than fresh fruit in the airport, but why chance it? Also, if you have a long day of cross country travel coming up, as I do tomorrow, a whole day eating nothing but fruit and water doesn't sound like much fun. The solution is to pack your own lunch and bring it with you.

Whenever I travel I make sure I have gluten-free and migraine trigger free food with me. This time I am taking Real Foods Multigrain Corn Thins in a zip-loc bag, a few EnviroKidz Organic Crispy Rice Bars, some cut up celery and some apples for snacks. (You never know when you might get hungry, especially if your flight gets delayed. Better to bring extra things to tide you over). For breakfast I am taking gluten-free lemon poppyseed muffins I baked a couple weeks ago and froze and for lunch a smoked salmon and wild rice salad with blueberries. I made the salad this morning and have it cooling in the fridge. Tomorrow morning I will take it out and put it in a thermal lunch box with an ice pack so that it stays nice and cold until I am ready for it. I'll make sure I grab a plastic fork from a concession in the airport and buy a bottle of water and I'm set to go!

Smoked Salmon Wild Rice Salad with Blueberries

1 package (4 oz) smoked salmon (preservative-free)

1/2 cup or so fresh blueberries

1 cup sautéed vegetables (I used asparagus, yellow squash, zucchini and wax beans sautéed in 1 tsp. lemon-infused olive oil (O & Co) with a little minced garlic, salt and pepper)

1 1/2 cups cooked wild rice

2 tsp. basil vinaigrette (see recipe below)

salt and pepper to taste

(makes 2 servings) (6 Weight Watcher points per serving)

Slice salmon into slivers. In a medium bowl mix salmon, rice, vegetables and basil vinaigrette. Toss. Adjust seasoning. Add blueberries and gently mix. Divide into travel containers and refrigerate. Pack in a thermal lunch sack with a cold pack.

Basil Vinaigrette (from most recent AARP Magazine)

1/4 cup Dijon mustard

1/2 T finely minced shallots

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 cup champagne vinegar

juice of half a lemon

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped

In a medium bowl, combine the mustard, shallots and salt. Slowly whisk in the vinegar, lemon juice, and oil until the mixture is emulsified. Add the basil and chill for 30 minutes.

Note to Migraine sufferers: None of the above ingredients cause any problems for me. Even the mustard and vinegar are ok in small amounts. Your triggers may be different from mine. Substitute where necessary.

Try packing a gluten-free lunch on your next trip and see how much better you feel—physically and emotionally. Not to mention that those sitting around you will be jealous!

Bon voyage!

Karen, herself

Brown Rice and Black Bean Salad

2008-08-07T07:55:00.001-07:00

Some people balk at leftovers. I embrace them. My favorite lunches have leftover chicken or pork tenderloin as a major component. This particular lunch was easy to put together with leftover brown rice and canned black beans and tuna. I added a bit of broccoli that I steamed in the microwave and some fresh tomato, shredded red cabbage, then tossed it in a bit of homemade vinaigrette and—lunch! Healthy, gluten-free, full of fiber and very satisfying.

People often say they have no time to make healthy meals, especially lunches, but with a little advanced planning and some imagination, you can eat well without spending all day in the kitchen. The day I made this salad I had a busy morning, so I put brown rice in the rice cooker, pushed the “on” button and off I went on my errands. When I came back a few hours later, it was lunch time and my rice was ready for me. Then a couple minutes to steam a cup of broccoli in the microwave, slice off a bit of previously washed cabbage and tomato, open a couple cans—you get the picture. Pretty quick.

These days I work at home and my lunches are leftovers from the previous night’s dinner or a big salad with leftover meat or fish. When that fails, I steam some vegetables, add rice or not and maybe open a can of tuna or salmon or add some tofu. I never spend more than 15 minutes making lunch and my salad dressings are all homemade, stored in recycled jelly jars. So my advice is to think positive and invest in a good salad spinner and a rice cooker. Buy some good olive oil and start experimenting.

За ваше здоровье!

Karen, herself

Beet and Peach Salad

2008-07-16T08:12:00.000-07:00

I love pairing fruit with vegetables in the summer. I especially like fruit and cheese added to summer salads. My typical lunch is a big salad with leftover meat or fish from the previous night’s dinner. The most common fruit I use on salads is apple, but in summer I lover the addition of stone fruits—peaches, plums, nectarines and apricots. The other day I used leftover roasted beets (you can also use canned) and fresh peaches to a salad with pork tenderloin. I topped it off with mild fresh goat cheese (Chavrie is my favorite brand) and a homemade olive oil and champagne vinegar dressing. The natural sweetness of the beets is enhanced by roasting with a bit of olive oil and the sweet/savory mix of the beet and peach with the cheese is heavenly, I think. If you don't like goat cheese, feta also works well here. I suppose blue cheese would also be good, if you like it. For me, more aged cheeses can be problematic and cause headaches. I happen to be allergic to blue cheese, so that is reason enough for me to avoid it.

In addition to being naturally gluten free, this kind of salad has the added benefit of being great for those watching their waistline. As a lifetime member of Weight Watchers I weigh my meat or fish to be added to the salad. Two ounces of pork or beef or three ounces of chicken or fish are pretty standard for lunch salads and are quite enough if you are adding fruit and cheese. The Chavrie cheese is only 1 Weight Watcher point per 2T so it is ideal for adding to salads and pasta. I rarely use more than 1T at a time so it only adds a half a point to my meal. I also measure out my salad dressing to keep the points and calories low. If you are a migraineur who cannot eat vinegar or citrus, the Chavrie is soft enough to dress your salad without a typical dressing. I use it to stretch out my vinaigrette and make it creamy. Just toss the salad well—as the French say: “Fatiguer la salade”. It is an idiom that just means to dress the salad, but it makes me smile, because I think of it as mixing it well to tire it out!

With Farmers’ markets in full swing now that is my choice for keeping the cost down on organic salad greens. I am also fortunate to have friends who give me vegetables from their gardens and I even ventured into growing my own this year. No harvest yet, but things are growing and looking good. Much great eating in sight down the road.

Karen

How to keep it simple on an elimination diet

2008-07-01T21:32:00.001-07:00

One of my favorite blogs is The Daily Headache, which has a migraine forum. Recently, someone in the forum was asking for help following an elimination diet. She had read my blog but apparently not found an answer to her question: “What can one actually eat while on an elimination diet?” Good question, especially if you haven’t ever tried one.

The thing is, I have long suspected that migraineurs (those who suffer from migraine) who complain about elimination diets and avoidance of common triggers have either never really tried to do it properly or have not suffered enough to be willing to give up foods that they love in order to buy a little pain-free time. I say this last part with sincere sympathy for my fellow migraineurs, as I was, until recently, in that category. I was that person who proclaimed I would NEVER give up coffee or chocolate. Well, never say never. I have given both up, at least with rare exceptions, and I can honestly say that it is quite possible to live without them. Abstaining from caffeine actually gives you energy, especially if you also abstain from alcohol most of the time.

Having said that, elimination diets can look bleak. I have read about studies done in England in the 1980’s where the subjects ate nothing but rice and lamb or chicken for five days. Their headaches disappeared at that point and they then started to reintroduce foods to see which ones brought them back. I think when some people read about these diets that this is the point where they take things a bit too literally. I think it is safe to say that the subjects of the group probably seasoned the rice and chicken and lamb (with at least salt and pepper). I think they probably used cooking oils of some kind. I do not think one needs to go on a prison ration in order to try an elimination diet. But I could be wrong. It is just my opinion.

I began eliminating food gradually. Four years ago on the advice of my neurologist, I gave up regular coffee and tea, diet soft drinks and other diet foods with aspartame in them, msg, and nitrites. I cut back on the chocolate and almost entirely eliminated alcohol. It didn't really lessen my headaches, but I thought it was a good idea, especially since I am over 40 and caffeine and alcohol drain your adrenals and can leave you feeling exhausted. 18 Months ago I learned that my adrenal hormones were low, that I was gluten intolerant and had mild allergies to a lot of foods, many of which are considered major headache triggers: aged cheeses, yogurt, certain nuts, beans and spices and corn sugar. I decided to eliminate all of them for 9 months to two years while I strengthened my adrenals to see if I would outgrow the sensitivity. This actually did produce some positive results.

While I was doing that, I tried a yeast elimination diet for one month. I found the diet in a book by Steven F. Hotze, M.D. called Hormones, Health, and Happiness (page 236). Basically you eliminate all sugar and sugar substitutes except xylitol, all vinegars, alcohol, dairy, grains and for the first two weeks, all fruit and butter. What can you eat? All meats, fish, vegetables (go easy on the starchy ones) dried beans, eggs, avocados, black olives, olive oil, lemons and limes, herbal teas. For someone like me who loves good food and loves to cook, I found this challenging at first. But, I discovered some interesting things along the way. Lemon and lime juice and olive oil are all you really need to make a salad dressing. Add some garlic and voila! Water and tomatoes and chicken broth go along way in any dish. Have a recipe that calls for vinegar or wine? Try substituting water and herbs or broth or tomato paste and water. You really do not need the wine/vinegar. Experiment with herbs, especially fresh ones. Also try Bragg’s Aminos instead of soy sauce. It is not fermented, so better for avoiding headache.

The hardest part of the yeast elimination diet was breakfast. I was used to having cereal of some sort or toast (gluten-free of course). On this diet I ate all sorts of things. One morning I had sauteed filet of sole and vegetables! Guess what else? I dropped 5 lbs without really trying. I did have dreams of eating potatoes again (not allowed on the diet) and dairy. But in the end, I didn't go back to dairy right away. I found out I was mildly allergic to cow’s milk so I avoided dairy completely for six months and milk for one year. I now quite enjoy soy milk. I also found I had fewer headaches while following this diet.

So I guess my message is that elimination diets do not have to be bleak. I managed to retool most of my standard recipes to fit into the yeast elimination diet. Afterwards, as I reintroduced foods back into my diet, it was easier to see what I reacted negatively to. (I should mention that I keep a food diary.) When reintroducing, you need to do one food every four days. Takes awhile, but it is worth the wait. The yeast elimination diet showed me that any elimination diet is do-able. Last Fall I tackled eliminating all migraine triggers for two months and then gradually reintroduced them. I discovered that most of them did not effect me, but the ones that do were a surprise (i.e. red onion). I do not think I would have found them if I hadn’t followed an elimination routine. By the way, I still do not drink regular coffee or tea or diet soft drinks and now I am steering clear of chocolate except for rare occasions. I have a glass of wine once in awhile, but not every week and certainly not every day. I feel much better and that is more important to me. I have my life back. I can work most days. This is huge for me.

If you still have questions about what to eat on elimination diets, look at my recipes. If they seem to have things in them that are not on your diet, think about what a reasonable work around would be. Then look at other recipes. See how you could adapt them. It is really not as hard as you may think. Good luck and good eating.

Karen, herself

Allergy-free Grilled Shrimp, Tofu and Mango Salad

2008-06-06T14:59:00.000-07:00

We had a few days of hot weather a few weeks ago and in my excitement over the heat I adapted a recipe I found in a recent Martha Stewart Living to suit my allergy-wracked body and the contents of my pantry. It called for grilling extra firm tofu and that appealed to me as I had never tried it before. It also called for ginger, which I am seriously sensitive to. I left that out. It also called for mint and pineapple, which I didn't have. I found substitutes. It was still very tasty and very refreshing on a rare hot Seattle day. I served it over cooked quinoa as the recipe suggested.

Grilled Shrimp, Tofu and Mango Salad

1 pkg. extra firm tofu, quartered lengthwise

1 pound medium shrimp, deveined

1/4 cup unseasoned rice vinegar

2 T honey

2 T Sweet Thai Chili Sauce

1 clove garlic

1 T cilantro, minced

juice of 1/2 lime

1 large mango, peeled and cubed

2 tsps. olive oil

1/4 coarse salt

freshly ground pepper

3 medium carrots, julienned

1/2 English cucumber, quartered lengthwise and chopped 1/4" thick

1 medium jicama, peeled and julienned

(dressing)

1/4 cup unseasoned rice vinegar

2 T sugar

1 tsp. coarse salt

1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper

If you use the extra firm tofu, there is no need to drain it. If you have any moisture in yours, place it between paper towels and weight it with a plate or something to drain out the excess.

Then slice it as directed. Place shrimp in a bowl. Whisk together the garlic, vinegar, honey, chili sauce and cilantro and pour over the shrimp. Cover and refrigerate 1 hour.

Preheat grill or grill pan to medium. Brush tofu with oil and grill until brown, 2-3 minutes per side. Cut into cubes. Combine shrimp with mango, tofu, carrots, cucumber and jicama in a bowl.

Make the dressing by whisking ingredients in a bowl. Pour over salad and toss well.

Feeds 4

(Weight watcher note: you can lower the points value of this dish by using sugar substitute. The original recipe in Martha Stewart Living (6 points per serving) had pineapple instead of the mango and chili paste instead of chili sauce, but the sauce I used is only 30 cal. per T and no fat. so I think the points are the same.)

Some advance prep (I made the marinade in the morning and put it in the fridge until an hour before dinner) makes this a quick dinner even during the week. Try it the next time the temperature reaches 90 degrees.

Karen

Flank Steak with Bell Peppers and Mango

2008-05-02T10:59:00.000-07:00

I made flank steak with peppers and mango the other night. It is my husband’s favorite of my invented recipes and one of mine too now that I have perfected my workarounds to avoid gluten, ginger and corn syrup. I started making this dish a few years ago in an attempt to recreate a dish my husband used to make for me when we were dating. The original recipe was from the Time-Life series on Chinese Cooking, published sometime in the 1970’s ( I know I am really dating myself here).

Anyway, being the lazy sort of person that I am sometimes, I didn’t feel like digging out the book and I thought I remembered the marinade well enough to wing it. This was before I knew I was gluten intolerant, so I used regular soy sauce, rice vinegar, Mirin, corn starch and ginger. I like red bell pepper better than green (which was in the original recipe) so I used those as well as shallots (which were always in the recipe). It came out pretty well and I continued to make it, eventually adding a jar marinade (Thai Chili Roasted Garlic Dipping Sauce from Wild Thymes) that brought some heat to it and I tossed in some red wine at the end. One summer I added sliced nectarines and the result was heavenly.

My first few attempts to make it sans gluten and ginger were pitiful. I could substitute sake for the Mirin and wheat-free soy for the regular, but substituting the ginger was really hard. I was afraid to use the Wild Thymes dipping sauce because it had unidentified “spices” in it and I am allergic to chili powder. I experimented with different spice combinations and discovered that allspice, cinnamon, paprika, red pepper flakes and cayenne worked pretty well. It tasted good, but not particularly Asian. The nectarines were still great and in the summer I would alternate with peaches. In the Fall I tried Fuyu persimmons and then I hit on the mango version. All of them are great and allow me to make the dish in any season. I recently discovered that adding a bit more soy, rice vinegar and sake near the end of the cooking process brings a bit more Asian flavor to it and gives the sauce that extra sweetness I used to get with the red wine—without the headache! I serve it over Japanese style white rice cooked in a rice cooker.

Flank Steak with Red Pepper and Mango

1 lb. flank steak, cut lengthwise into 4 or 5 strips, then cut crosswise into bite size pieces.

2 red or orange bell peppers, cut into 1" squares

1 large shallot, peeled and roughly sliced

1 mango, peeled and cut into large dice

1 T peanut oil

a few drops of sesame oil

marinade:

4 tsp. wheat-free soy sauce

2 tsp. corn starch

1 tsp. sake or corn syrup-free Mirin

1 tsp. rice vinegar

a few drops of sesame oil

1/4 tsp. allspice

1/4 tsp. paprika

1/8 tsp. cinnamon

dash of cayenne

1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes

Japanese style rice

feeds 4

Start rice (if using a rice cooker, it should finish right on time).

Cut steak. Add marinade ingredients to meat. Toss to coat.

Chop vegetables and mango.

Heat peanut oil in wok (use medium heat if using non-stick pan). Add shallots and saute until slightly soft. Add bell peppers and mango and cook slightly. Remove from wok with slotted spoon. Add marinated steak to wok (add more oil if necessary). Use a slotted spoon or tongs to add meat. Do not pour in rest of marinade. Trust me. The steak will boil in it and end up tough. Brown the meat well on all sides. Let it form a crust before turning. Add the vegetables and mango back in. Cook, stirring all until the meat is done to your taste and the vegetables are still a bit crunchy. Taste and adjust seasonings. Add a bit more soy, rice vinegar and sake. Cook a minute more and taste, making any adjustments necessary. You should have a lovely sauce by then. Serve over rice. Sigh with happiness.

Karen, herself

Aneurysm — A real headache

2008-04-04T08:45:00.000-07:00

I started this blog to talk about my quest to eat well and stave off migraine, but about a month ago I had a life experience that made all my headaches seem trivial. The night of March 4th my husband, who has lived most of his life headache-free, suffered a brain aneurysm and nearly died. Most people who experience this do not survive, and if they do, suffer some level of disability. The survival statistics are truly frightening. About half do not make it to the hospital and another 25% do not survive the next month.

My husband Kurt was one of the lucky ones. I was with him when it happened and I was able to get help for him quickly. Everything worked the way it is supposed to work. I called 911, the operator talked me through CPR until the paramedics arrived and they arrived quickly and did all the right things. We are also fortunate to live less than 20 miles from the best trauma center on the West Coast — Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, where they have doctors that specialize in treating aneurysms.

Kurt was transported there less than an hour after arriving at the emergency room and spent the next 10 days in intensive care. They were able to drain off the damaged cerebral spinal fluid and repair the aneurysm and Kurt is now home recovering. Through the miracle of modern medicine and his lifetime of healthy living and just plain luck he is pretty much the same as he was before the incident—just sporting a new haircut as they had to shave a good portion of his head while in the hospital. He sometimes has trouble remembering the right word for something, but at our age, we all have word-finding troubles and his are no more noticeable than that.

We are so grateful to all the people who took part in saving Kurt and to all our friends and family who were there for us. In the first few seconds after it happened, I thought I had lost my husband and I spent hours wondering if he would wake up, hoping he would recognize me and then days wondering if our lives would ever be the same. Now it is starting to seem like a bad dream and our lives are slowing going back to what they had been.

So forgive me for not posting on this site or any other for the last month, but I have been just a little bit busy and preoccupied. I did learn that it is possible to find gluten-free food in the hospital cafeteria, which really saved me as I spent a good portion of the first two weeks there. My own headaches flared up at first due to the lack of sleep that first night, I expect. Other than that, things have not been too bad for me. It does help to see someone else in far more trouble than you to put things in perspective. For many reasons, I feel very lucky.

Teff Oatmeal Cookies

2008-03-03T16:25:00.000-08:00

“What the heck is Teff?” I wondered when I first read about it in a gluten-free cookbook. It sounded strange and not very appealing. Well, let me tell you, one taste will make a Teff lover out of you. I have been searching for ways to bring whole grains back into my diet since going gluten-free. Being somewhat sensitive to brown rice made it difficult. Amaranth is ok, but to me it has a bit of a bitter taste. Not so with Teff. This African grain is gluten-free and smooth tasting, even caramel-like when you add brown sugar and vanilla to it. I made these oatmeal chocolate chip cookies with it yesterday and I think they may be the best tasting oatmeal chocolate chip cookies I have ever had. I modified a recipe from Annalise Roberts’ Gluten-Free Baking Classics to make them. I wanted to try Teff in a cookie and I wanted to use agave nectar for half the sugar. Then I realized I was out of potato starch, so I substituted sweet rice flour and used chocolate chips instead of raisins. (*Teff flour mix: 2 cups teff flour, 2/3 cup sweet rice flour, 1/3 cup tapioca starch)

Teff Oatmeal Cookies

1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup Crisco (sans trans fats version)
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup dark agave nectar
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup Teff flour mix*
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. guar gum
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 cup Rolled Oats (Gifts of Nature, Inc. is certified GF)
1/2 cup Dagoba Organic Chocolate Chocodrops (GF)

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Position rack in center of oven. You can grease a cookie sheet lightly or use silpat, as I did.

Beat butter and shortening and sugar and agave nectar in large bowl of electric mixer until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla and mix. Stir dry ingredients (except oats and chocolate) together with a whisk. Add to butter and sugar mixture. Mix. Stir oats and chocolate drops in by hand with a wooden spoon.

Drop teaspoonfuls onto cookie sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes. Cool slightly on pan, then remove to wire rack. Wrap in wax paper and put in freezer container. Freeze leftovers. Thaw on counter if you can wait that long. Otherwise use microwave!

Makes 20-30 cookies, depending on how large you like them.

Dining out gluten-free

2008-02-27T17:17:00.001-08:00

The best way to ensure a successful gluten-free meal out is to communicate your situation with your waiter and the best way I have found to do that is to have a card that explains what you cannot eat like the one pictured above. Some people explain on their cards what gluten intolerance is and what they can and cannot eat. Since I have multiple foods I need to avoid in order to keep from having a constant migraine I don't have room for all that on my card. A graphic designer by profession, I designed my card to be small enough to be carried in my purse, but large enough to have all my allergies and sensitivities legible for the waiter.

So, you may wonder, how does it work when I dine out? I show the card to my waiter as soon as he/she approaches my table, so that they know up front that I need special attention. I try to have a short explanation of my situation ready and then also have an idea of what I might be able to eat on their menu. This way, they can check with the chef (I encourage them to take my card with them) and see if what I have tentatively chosen will be free of gluten and all my other allergies. I also try to be as pleasant and accommodating as possible. Many times I have lived without the delicious sauce that normally accompanies the entree, or the salad dressing. If the restaurant tries to accommodate me, I am gracious and a generous tipper.

Other things that help the experience is bringing along my own salad dressing or deciding ahead of time that I will be fine with a lemon wedge and olive oil. I try to arrive at the restaurant when they are least busy and I sometimes make suggestions that will make the meal more palatable to me without causing them too much trouble. If I have to live without the sauce and their special seasoning (which might include gluten or dextrose), I make sure to tell them that they can use olive oil, salt and pepper. You might think the latter is unnecessary, but I most often have chefs go to extremes to make sure I am safe and will not put anything on my meat or fish. I had the experience in Paris last summer where I was warned off having beef entirely because the chef couldn't be certain what the cow might have eaten!

I have generally found waiters and chefs to be quite willing to help. My best experiences have been at places like Il Fornaio in San Jose, CA, where the sous chef came out to meet me because she was so impressed with my card. She said that most people just tell them verbally what they cannot have, even if it is a list of 15 things and then are very demanding if the staff forgets something. I also had great success in France and Belgium last summer where I took a French version of my card. I did decide to laminate the card after my first one got so grease-soaked that it became difficult to read. Also, I do tend to stick to higher end restaurants where they are more able to cook something from scratch for me. My worst experience was at a high-end place outside of Detroit where they pre-marinated all their meats and fish...except the scallops. Because I couldn't be sure what was in the marinade, I had only once choice for dinner that night...grilled scallops and a salad with a lemon wedge and a glass of water. One more word to the wise: places with gluten-free menus are not as easy as you might expect, especially if you have additional allergies like me. I had an egg allergy, which I think I have since outgrown, and I discovered to my horror that P.F. Chang’s marinates nearly all their meat and fish in egg white. It is not listed on their menu and I only found out because the first time I went there with my card they took it back to the chef and checked everything out.

So if you haven't been using a card, make one up and start using it. You want to err on the side of caution and always check to make sure they aren't sneaking in gluten in your mashed potatoes or something. Bon Appétit!

Borscht with Sun-dried Tomato and Dill

2008-02-17T14:00:00.000-08:00

I just got my first delivery of organic produce from a local farm and it came with a bunch of beets and fresh dill. I was in the mood to recreate my Ukrainian grandmother’s borscht recipe...with a few twists of my own. Try this on a cold afternoon. If you can tolerate sour cream, add it to the garnishes.
За ваше здоровье!

Borscht with Sun-dried Tomato and Dill

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 carrot, peeled and chopped or grated
1 leek, washed, white and light green part chopped
1 bunch beets (4-5), peeled and cut into matchsticks
1/4 cup or slightly more unsulfered sun-dried tomatoes
1 tablespoon or less chopped fresh dill
2 cups chicken stock (I used homemade)
2 cups water
1 tsp. vinegar (I used rice vinegar...sulfite-free)
1/2 tsp. sugar
salt and pepper to taste

chopped cucumber and dill for garnish

Heat oil in large, heavy pot. Add leeks and carrot, salt and pepper and saute over medium low heat until carrot is soft. Add beets and tomatoes and saute a few minutes. Add chicken stock and water, dill, vinegar and sugar. Bring to a boil, then simmer 20-30 minutes or until beets are soft but still retain most of the their color. I pureed mine slightly with an immersion blender, but it isn’t necessary.

Ladle into bowls, garnish with cucumber and dill.

Feeds 4

Endive, Celery and Tuna Salad

2008-02-11T20:58:00.000-08:00

I adapted this salad from a recipe in the January/February issue of Martha Stewart's Everyday Food. I needed something different to go with canned tuna and this fit the bill. As I recently discovered that raw red onion and possibly wine vinegars trigger my migraines, I omitted the onion and the wine vinegar, substituting rice vinegar. I only added the tuna and cucumber to the original recipe, but I think chives or green onion would be nice also.

My version
2 tablespoons rice vinegar (without added sugar)
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 celery stalks, sliced thinly
2 heads Belgian endive, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
1/3 English cucumber, sliced
3 oz. canned tuna packed in water and drained
sea salt and ground black pepper to taste

In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil and rice vinegar add salt and pepper to taste. In medium bowl, place sliced endive, celery, cucumber and tuna. Spoon 2 tablespoons of dressing on salad and toss well. Jar remaining dressing and refrigerate for future use.

Feeds 1 for lunch entree
Weight Watcher points (about 5 - depends how much dressing you use)

The last couple of weeks have been fairly headache free for me and I have used the time to catch up on things that I kept putting off when I was chasing one headache after the other. Like cleaning the house, installing new software, making chicken stock...sounds like simple stuff, but when your head is pulsating and you feel nauseated and light and sound are killing you with every step even everyday things feel monumental.

I am hoping that I have finally hit on a strategy for dealing with winter weather-induced headaches. I had a visit to my neurologist last week and he told me something he has probably said many times before but I think it actually sunk in this time. Maybe I am just more willing to do what is necessary now. He said that weather is the #3 headache trigger among migraine sufferers and that managing triggers is probably going to be the main thing for me to work on. I guess that before I realized I had food triggers (besides alcohol) I didn't think that advice was very useful for me. Also, for the last year, I have been avoiding gluten and all the foods I am even marginally allergic to and the headaches kept coming, especially in the November-January time frame. Granted, they are fewer without gluten and eggs and almonds...but still too many.

In November I read a controversial book about migraine triggers (Heal your Headache by Dr. David Buchholz) and I decided to try his method for two months. He says to avoid ALL potential trigger foods and all migraine meds (except aspirin and Aleve) to get rid of rebound headaches and then gradually reintroduce the trigger foods. Well, I lasted two weeks without Amerge because I couldn't tough it out while cooking Thanksgiving dinner! But the interesting thing is that I started to realize that I really did react to some of the known migraine trigger foods.

I previously didn't think most of the common triggers bothered me. I suspected the aged cheeses after finding out I was allergic to Parmesan and blue cheese. I am also allergic to yogurt, which is on the list. Nitrites I am not sure bother me, but I know that other preservatives do. I never thought that onions were a problem until I figured out I was getting a headache every time I ate a salad with red onion in it. Then came the vinegar revelations. So, I toughed it out for almost the whole two months and I am really glad I did. I am starting to figure out some of my triggers. While red onion is one of them, cooked white onion is not. Citrus is not. Peanuts are not, but other nuts are a maybe, certainly the ones I am allergic to, but maybe some of the others as well. Lima beans and lentils I am still unsure of but will try to reintroduce soon.

Then I started wondering about sulfites and did some research only to find even more overlap with the migraine food trigger list. Balsamic vinegar, wine vinegar, fruit juice conentrates. Well, I am pretty sure now that sulfites are an issue for me. Could be dose related, but it still makes an awful lot of foods potential headache triggers.

So how did all this knowledge translate into almost two weeks of headache-free bliss? I realized that I had to avoid all triggers when the wacky winter weather was here...especially as a cold front moves in. I have been tracking incoming cold fronts (every other day here in Seattle for the last month, it seems) and I have been abstaining from all my known triggers, from sulfites (which includes chocolate, wine, wine vinegars, balsamic, fruit juice concentrates, etc.) and using ice packs and aspirin when I start to get my symptoms. I have also continued my exercise, getting 7-8 hours of sleep, and eating at regular times and what do you know, the headaches just stopped. I am almost afraid to write this, as I am more than a little bit superstitious about headache-free claims. I have even been able to reintroduce some foods from my moderate allergy list (which I have avoided for over 12 months) and I am still ok. Amazing. Hope it continues. Now I am going to have to redo my allergy restaurant card. Happy days.

Tofu stir-fry with spinach, sun-dried tomatoes

2008-01-24T19:46:00.000-08:00

With the double-whammy of my gluten intolerance plus corn sugar, ginger, mustard and egg allergies (among others), eating asian food in restaurants is challenging, to say the least. The good news is that cooking gluten-free allergy-free asian food at home is easy. This dish was one I came up with recently on a cold rainy night using up the last of some vegetables in my fridge. Making stir fry without ginger may put your cooking skills to the test. Here I used part of a recipe from the back of the tofu box (minus the ginger) and used mirin/sake and honey for sweetness and sun-dried tomatoes to perk it up. I served it over Japanese white rice since I have a moderate allergy to brown rice.

Migraineurs take note that everything is fresh except the sun-dried tomatoes, which are unsulphered and free of all preservatives. Shallots take the place of migraine-causing onions and the rice vinegar is clear (cider vinegar and wine vinegars seem to be headache triggers for me).

Sauce
4 T wheat-free soy sauce
1 T rice vinegar
1 T corn-syrup free mirin (or sake)
1 tsp. honey
dash of cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp. each black and white sesame seeds

1 T peanut or vegetable oil
splash of sesame oil1 lg. shallot, sliced
1/2 small head cabbage, shredded
1 head broccoli
1/2 bag washed spinach
1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes (unsulphered)
soaked in water and drained

1 pkg. extra firm tofu

Mix the first seven ingredients in a small bowl. Set aside.

Drain the tofu and remove excess moisture. Cut into 1 inch cubes. Set aside.

Stir-fry the shallots, cabbage and broccoli in the peanut and sesame oil for a few minutes — until the shallots are starting to carmelize and the cabbage is soft. Add the tofu, spinach and sun-dried tomatoes. Stir-fry a minute or so. Add the sauce and cook until the tofu is cooked through, but not mushy. Serve over rice.

Feeds 4

Kathy Casey’s Coriander Citrus Shrimp Lollipops

2008-01-01T11:30:00.000-08:00

I tried these shrimp lollipops for a gluten-free holiday party I threw a couple weeks ago. They are from Kathy Casey's column Dishing in The Seattle Times and they are fabulous. They were the hit of our party so my husband and I made them again last night for our stay-at-home New Year's Eve celebration. I skipped the dijon mustard in the recipe as I am allergic to mustard and they were still great. The recipe is online at The Seattle Times, December 5, 2007. Click on the link above and it will take you there.

herself, against the grain

2007-12-31T20:21:00.000-08:00

Anyone who has ever had migraine knows the feeling of being on their own in the world. The things we do to avoid getting them pit us against mainstream life. We give up or limit caffeine, chocolate, red wine, msg, nitrites and aspartame. We try to avoid stress, get a good night's sleep, moderate exercise and regular meals to control blood sugar. We also know the latest in migraine pain relief. We might try acupuncture, massage and other non-traditional treatment. And if you visit a site dedicated to dealing with and preventing migraine, you will undoubtably see many if not all of these things there. But what you probably won't see on those sites is much about the correspondance between migraine and the gluten intolerant. And while suspected links between migraine and food allergies may be raised, they are frequently dismissed. You would have to search alternative medicine sites to find those types of discussions.

This is an attempt to bridge the gap between migraine blogs and those dealing with gluten intolerance and food allergy. I am not a medical professional. I am a migraineur who until four years ago tried to deal with my migraine with over the counter drugs or with nothing at all. I suspected that alcohol made my symptoms worse, as did the weather, but I would have sworn I had no food triggers. Last year, in desperation, I went to an alternative clinic to have all my hormone levels checked to see if that was the cause. What I learned instead was that I was gluten intolerant and allergic (delayed IgG allergies) to over 20 different foods, many of them my favorites that I consumed on a regular basis. The gluten intolerance had probably been going on for some time as I had vitamin and mineral deficiencies due to malabsorbtion. The revelations rocked my world (not in a good way) and I have found it difficult to find sites that really speak to me.

I hope to chronicle my experiences over the last year learning to live without gluten, egg, dairy, brown rice, corn sugar and many other foods, additives and preservatives. I have learned the hard way to deal with eating out successfully, travel, cooking and baking in a whole new world...and oh,yes, maintaining my weight when all the good whole grains were no longer available to me. I am hoping that in doing this, I will find some company and maybe help some other lost souls with tips for making a food allergy restaurant card, adapting favorite recipes and trying new things.

The good news is that one year later, while not headache free by any means, I am much better. I owe most of this to my new gluten free life and I think, a bit, from the encouragment and positive outlook that most of you in the gluten free world have to offer. I'd like to start 2008 giving some of that back.

Happy New Year!