I had the worst reaction to Amy's brand gluten-free pizza last Monday night. It made me question whether I suddenly have trouble with rice as well as wheat gluten. That would be terrible. I love rice. I would hate to have to give it up. Since I don't eat a lot of gluten-free pizza, pasta or bread (because it's not really good for you), I didn't have a lot of experiences to compare my reaction to. But I did remember that I'd had a reaction before to rice flour about a year ago when I'd used it to bread some chicken (because I miss fried chicken really badly!). So I'm not sure if rice flour is the problem or if these two instances are just cases of cross-contamination in the manufacturing process. I've eaten sushi since that Amy's pizza reaction and had no reaction what-so-ever, so I'd like to take that as evidence that rice is not a culprit. I'll have to try a different brand of GF pizza and see if maybe it's just a brand issue and I should just avoid Amy's -- but so far I haven't found another brand of frozen GF pizza to try in Panama City. There just aren't a lot of GF options here. Has anyone else had trouble with rice flour? Please share your experience, so that we can all learn from it.
Update 6/3/12: I've since learned that there are lots of different varieties of rice with different types of gluten proteins, some of which you may react to and some that may cause no reaction in those with gluten sensitivity -- and there is no way to know what type of rice was used to make the flour that some gluten-free products are made from. So there you go, people. That's all I know.
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Crab Cakes Recipe
In addition to pizza and fried chicken, one of my other favorites that I can never order out again since having to go on a gluten-free diet is crab cakes. So here is my attempt at gluten-free crab cakes.
Ingredients
6 tablespoons coconut oil,* divided (virgin coconut oil will taste sweet, refined coconut oil will not -- your choice. I like it sweet!)
1 yellow onion, chopped
4 (6 ounce) cans of real crabmeat,** drained
1 egg
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon of paprika
4 tablespoons of crushed gluten-free crackers
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning
2 tablespoons of chives, chopped
1 teaspoon of parsley (fresh or flakes)
a pinch of salt to taste
a pinch of ground black pepper to taste
1/2 tsp cayenne (optional)
hot sauce, to taste
1 cup gluten-free panko-style bread crumbs (if you can't find panko-style, regular gf bread crumbs will be fine -- you can always make your own bread crumbs from crushed, toasted gf bread)
* Coconut oil is much better for you than other oils and has numerous health benefits.
**Do not use imitation crab. It is not gluten free.
Directions
Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a skillet over high heat. Saute chopped onion briefly until tender; cool slightly.
Combine crabmeat, sauteed onions, egg, mayonnaise, dry mustard, paprika, crushed crackers, hot sauce, garlic powder, Old Bay seasoning, cayenne, salt and pepper. Form into 1/2 inch thick patties, no more than 2 inches in diameter.* Coat the patties with bread crumbs. Refrigerate patties for 1-2 hours, up to 24 hours, before frying.
Heat 4 tablespoons coconut oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Fry patties until golden brown on each side. Drain briefly on paper towels and serve hot.
* If you make the patties too big they will fall apart when you try to flip them. Remember gluten is what holds food together, so without it, there is really not much to keep it from falling apart.
For a simple sauce try mayonnaise and picante sauce. Or check out my shrimp sauce recipe in the previous blog.
Ingredients
6 tablespoons coconut oil,* divided (virgin coconut oil will taste sweet, refined coconut oil will not -- your choice. I like it sweet!)
1 yellow onion, chopped
4 (6 ounce) cans of real crabmeat,** drained
1 egg
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon of paprika
4 tablespoons of crushed gluten-free crackers
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning
2 tablespoons of chives, chopped
1 teaspoon of parsley (fresh or flakes)
a pinch of salt to taste
a pinch of ground black pepper to taste
1/2 tsp cayenne (optional)
hot sauce, to taste
1 cup gluten-free panko-style bread crumbs (if you can't find panko-style, regular gf bread crumbs will be fine -- you can always make your own bread crumbs from crushed, toasted gf bread)
* Coconut oil is much better for you than other oils and has numerous health benefits.
**Do not use imitation crab. It is not gluten free.
Directions
Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a skillet over high heat. Saute chopped onion briefly until tender; cool slightly.
Combine crabmeat, sauteed onions, egg, mayonnaise, dry mustard, paprika, crushed crackers, hot sauce, garlic powder, Old Bay seasoning, cayenne, salt and pepper. Form into 1/2 inch thick patties, no more than 2 inches in diameter.* Coat the patties with bread crumbs. Refrigerate patties for 1-2 hours, up to 24 hours, before frying.
Heat 4 tablespoons coconut oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Fry patties until golden brown on each side. Drain briefly on paper towels and serve hot.
* If you make the patties too big they will fall apart when you try to flip them. Remember gluten is what holds food together, so without it, there is really not much to keep it from falling apart.
For a simple sauce try mayonnaise and picante sauce. Or check out my shrimp sauce recipe in the previous blog.
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Shrimp Sauce Recipe
I have made shrimp sauce! (Read that first line in the voice of Tom Hanks from "Cast Away" when he triumphantly announced "I have made fire")
I love that sauce they serve in Japanese restaurants, (sometimes they call it shrimp sauce and sometimes they call it yum yum sauce -- which is a perfect name for it). So I took a stab at creating the same sauce at home. What I came up with is pretty close. If I later tweak it and get it closer, I'll update the recipe.
1 and 1/4 cup of mayonnaise
2 teaspoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon melted butter
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon paprika
dash of cayenne
1/4 cup of water
10-15 splashes of hot sauce
Mix all ingredients together thoroughly. Refrigerate overnight to allow flavors to blend. It will not taste like shrimp sauce until the next day.
I plan to make gluten-free crab cakes tomorrow to eat with my shrimp sauce. I'll post the crab cakes recipe later this week.
I love that sauce they serve in Japanese restaurants, (sometimes they call it shrimp sauce and sometimes they call it yum yum sauce -- which is a perfect name for it). So I took a stab at creating the same sauce at home. What I came up with is pretty close. If I later tweak it and get it closer, I'll update the recipe.
1 and 1/4 cup of mayonnaise
2 teaspoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon melted butter
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon paprika
dash of cayenne
1/4 cup of water
10-15 splashes of hot sauce
Mix all ingredients together thoroughly. Refrigerate overnight to allow flavors to blend. It will not taste like shrimp sauce until the next day.
I plan to make gluten-free crab cakes tomorrow to eat with my shrimp sauce. I'll post the crab cakes recipe later this week.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Mozzarella-stuffed pizza meatballs
Mozzarella-stuffed pizza meatballs
Oh my God! Sometimes I blow my own mind! These meatballs are really good.
Since going on this gluten-free diet five years ago, I have really missed pizza more than anything else. And gluten-free pizza just isn't the same. But here is an alternative that might satisfy your pizza withdrawal symptoms.
2 lbs ground beef
1 10-oz. jar of Classico brand sun-dried tomato pesto
2 Tablespoons of tomato paste (optional)
garlic powder (about a teaspoon or to taste)
dried or fresh basil (about a teaspoon or to taste)
salt (about a teaspoon or to taste)
2-3 Tablespoons of grated parmesan
10-15 cubes of mozzarella (one per meatball)
Mix 2 pounds of raw hamburger in a bowl with a 8.1-oz. jar of Classico brand sun-dried tomato pesto. Add a couple of tablespoons of tomato paste if you like it more tomato-y and some garlic powder, salt, and basil to taste. Add about 2 tablespoons of grated parmesan. Mix with your hands and make 2-3 tablespoon-size meatballs. Use your finger to make a hole in each meatball and insert a mozzarella cube. Then close the meat tightly around the cheese. Brown the meatballs in a frying pan over medium heat, then put in the oven for about 10-15 minutes on 350 degrees. Serve with marinara sauce for dipping.
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Potato Soup -- the perfect wintertime comfort food
Here's what I made for dinner last night. Potato Soup -- the perfect wintertime comfort food for those who can't eat macaroni and cheese.
Dietary disclaimer: this is NOT low-calorie diet food!
1 5 lb bag of gold potatoes, washed and quartered, unpeeled (you can peel them if you want, but I like to take the path of get-it-done-quicker)
2 cups of half and half
1 yellow onion, finely chopped
1 clove of garlic, finely chopped or spoonful of minced garlic from a jar
a few scallions, sliced
1 Tb seasalt
1 ts white pepper
Dietary disclaimer: this is NOT low-calorie diet food!
1 5 lb bag of gold potatoes, washed and quartered, unpeeled (you can peel them if you want, but I like to take the path of get-it-done-quicker)
2 cups of half and half
1 yellow onion, finely chopped
1 clove of garlic, finely chopped or spoonful of minced garlic from a jar
a few scallions, sliced
1 Tb seasalt
1 ts white pepper
1 Tb parsley flakes
toppings:
chives
bacon bits
grated cheddar
sour cream
Saute onion, garlic and the white part of the scallions in 2 Tb of butter in large pot. Once onions are soft, add cut up potatoes to pot, cover with water and boil. Add salt and pepper. When potatoes are soft, add 2 cups of half and half, parsley flakes and the green part of the scallions. Cook on medium for 20 minutes and serve with choice of toppings. The left overs are even better the next day.
chives
bacon bits
grated cheddar
sour cream
Saute onion, garlic and the white part of the scallions in 2 Tb of butter in large pot. Once onions are soft, add cut up potatoes to pot, cover with water and boil. Add salt and pepper. When potatoes are soft, add 2 cups of half and half, parsley flakes and the green part of the scallions. Cook on medium for 20 minutes and serve with choice of toppings. The left overs are even better the next day.
Gotta love the restaurants that cater to the gluten-free
Gotta love the restaurants that cater to the gluten-free. And in Panama City, Fla. where I live, that's a rarity.
I'm only listing restaurants I've had personal experience with. Please feel free to add to this list in the comments. This list will be updated as I find additional accommodating restuarants. Also, I will delete any listed restaurant that I have a subsequent unfavorable experience with.
Restaurants with Gluten-Free Menus:
1. Atlantic Seafood Company (Atlanta, Ga.)
2. Bonefish Grill
3. Carrabbas Italian Grill
4. Chipotle Mexican Grill
5. Farm Burger (Decatur, Ga.)
6. Olive Garden
7. Outback Steakhouse
8. P.F. Chang's
9. Seasons 52 (Atlanta, Ga.)
10. Superior Grill (Birmingham, Ala.)
11. The Flying Biscuit Cafe (Atlanta, Ga.)
12. Wildfire (Atlanta, Ga.)
13. Yogurt Mountain (Birmingham/Tuscaloosa, Ala.)
Restaurants that do not have Gluten-Free Menus but are able to accommodate a gluten-intolerant diner:
1. Harpoon Harry's (Panama City Beach, Fla.)
2. Hunt's Oyster Bar (Panama City, Fla.)
3. C-Level Bar & Grill (Panama City Beach, Fla.)
4. Five Guys Burgers and Fries
5. Pure Taqueria (Atlanta, Ga.)
6. Ruan Thai (Tuscaloosa, Ala.)
7. Taziki's Mediterranean Cafe (Birmingham/Tuscaloosa, Ala.)
8. The Fish Market (Birmingham/Tuscaloosa, Ala.)
9. Zachery's American Bistro (Panama City, Fla.) --out of business Jan. 28, 2012
10. Zoe's Kitchen (Birmingham/Tuscaloosa, Ala.)
11. Chula's Mexican & Caribbean Restaurant (Panama City, Fla.)
11. Chula's Mexican & Caribbean Restaurant (Panama City, Fla.)
Restaurants not to waste your time with:
1. Uncle Ernie's (Panama City, Fla.) -- they use a house seasoning, that is not gluten-free, on everything, including salads.
2. Applebee's (23rd Street in Panama City, Fla.) -- this manager recommended I not eat there -- don't hold this against other Applebee's locations. The Applebee's (one town over) in Callaway was very accommodating.
3. The Back Porch Seafood and Oyster House (Panama City Beach, Fla.) -- the manager recommended I not eat there.
4. Margaritaville (Panama City Beach, Fla) -- although I LOVE Jimmy Buffet, I had a horrible experience from a meal that they assured me would be gluten free.
5. Any Ethiopian restaurant, anywhere, anytime, no matter what -- I'm sorry Ethiopia, your diet just isn't compatible with gluten intolerance. (If I'm wrong, feel free to tell me, but I doubt you can convince me to eat at one again.)
6. The Shrimp Boat (Panama City, Fla.)
6. The Shrimp Boat (Panama City, Fla.)
Saturday, January 7, 2012
For starters
If you’re new to the gluten-free diet, there are some things to keep in mind that you may not have thought of yet. You will want to watch out for hidden sources of gluten and the possibility of cross-contamination. Those are the things people don’t think of. For example: mayonnaise is gluten free, but not if you’ve spread it on bread and put the knife back in the jar. Once you do that then the whole jar is contaminated and anyone who is gluten intolerant should not eat mayonnaise from that jar. This also goes for butter, cheese, peanut butter, jelly, etc. Anything that might be spread on bread or crackers or have bread, crackers, pretzels, etc. dipped in it.
When my daughter lived at home with me, we would use a Sharpie to write “GF” on items that had not been contaminated. If it got contaminated, she would draw a circle with a line through the “GF” to warn me not to eat it. This worked well for us.
Hidden sources of gluten include most processed foods, and gluten is rarely listed in the ingredients. I avoid processed meats, including sandwich meats, boloney (yes, I know it‘s supposed to be bologna but I‘m from the south and I don‘t say bologna, I say boloney), most types of sausage, hotdogs, etc.
Hormel often has gluten-free meats and they are labeled gluten-free. I buy Hormel bacon, ham and pepperoni -- all gluten free. Most Boar’s Head deli meats are gluten-free, but if they slice it on the same slicer as all the other meats then it’s contaminated. It’s stuff like that that you have to think about.
You can’t always trust a package that is labeled “gluten-free.” I usually go to a gluten-free forum and see what other GF folks have to say about a specific product. The FDA allows “gluten-free” labeling if the product has below a certain percentage of gluten, so it may not be totally gluten-free. Canned soups are not gluten-free so don’t make anything with cream of whatever soup or broth unless it is a specifically gluten-free brand and you know you can trust it. Campbell’s and Swanson are not safe. Pacific Natural Foods and Trader Joe’s both make gluten free soups.
You will also need to learn about ingredients that contain gluten. For example, modified food starch in the United States is usually made from corn, but in Europe is usually made from wheat. So you need to know the brand and know whether you can trust it. If you see Malt or Maltdextrin in the ingredients, it’s not gluten-free. But Maltodextrin is made from corn, so it’s ok. The difference is the o in the middle. Below is a link to a site that provides more information about hidden gluten in ingredients.
Good luck, it‘s not hard once you get used to it. ~Michelle
http://www.celiacsolution.com/hidden-gluten.html
When my daughter lived at home with me, we would use a Sharpie to write “GF” on items that had not been contaminated. If it got contaminated, she would draw a circle with a line through the “GF” to warn me not to eat it. This worked well for us.
Hidden sources of gluten include most processed foods, and gluten is rarely listed in the ingredients. I avoid processed meats, including sandwich meats, boloney (yes, I know it‘s supposed to be bologna but I‘m from the south and I don‘t say bologna, I say boloney), most types of sausage, hotdogs, etc.
Hormel often has gluten-free meats and they are labeled gluten-free. I buy Hormel bacon, ham and pepperoni -- all gluten free. Most Boar’s Head deli meats are gluten-free, but if they slice it on the same slicer as all the other meats then it’s contaminated. It’s stuff like that that you have to think about.
You can’t always trust a package that is labeled “gluten-free.” I usually go to a gluten-free forum and see what other GF folks have to say about a specific product. The FDA allows “gluten-free” labeling if the product has below a certain percentage of gluten, so it may not be totally gluten-free. Canned soups are not gluten-free so don’t make anything with cream of whatever soup or broth unless it is a specifically gluten-free brand and you know you can trust it. Campbell’s and Swanson are not safe. Pacific Natural Foods and Trader Joe’s both make gluten free soups.
You will also need to learn about ingredients that contain gluten. For example, modified food starch in the United States is usually made from corn, but in Europe is usually made from wheat. So you need to know the brand and know whether you can trust it. If you see Malt or Maltdextrin in the ingredients, it’s not gluten-free. But Maltodextrin is made from corn, so it’s ok. The difference is the o in the middle. Below is a link to a site that provides more information about hidden gluten in ingredients.
Good luck, it‘s not hard once you get used to it. ~Michelle
http://www.celiacsolution.com/hidden-gluten.html
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