Whenever I try a gluten-free product I like, I try to make something with it and feature the dish. This time, it's Ronzoni gluten-free spaghetti. I sautéed white mushrooms, bell pepper, a clove of garlic, and Vidalia onion, then browned hamburger and added it to traditional Hunt's tomato sauce. I suggest cooking gluten-free pasta a bit longer than traditional wheat pasta.
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This is a box cake from Hodgkin's Mill, and it's better than traditional box mixes. The secret is to follow the instructions to the letter, down to the sequence of ingredients. The batter is thick; it doesn't have all the air you have in traditional mixes with gluten. As a result, the cake is dense but will not give you a bloated feeling; in fact, you'll feel satisfied, moreso that with flour-based cakes. The icing I made from scratch with whipped butter, confectioner's sugar, and milk. I served this to my whole family, and they really liked it. It has been over a year since I've had a devil's food cake, so it was cause for a celebration.
I wanted to use some of the vegetables from the garden, so I concocted this skillet stir-fry that took all of fifteen minutes. I used a potato peeler to garner thin strips of yellow squash to take the place of pasta. I sliced up thin shards of real garlic, Vidalia onion, yellow bell pepper, mushrooms, and chicken in an iron skillet, sautéing the vegies in two tablespoons of sunflower oil and seasoning with lemon pepper and Southwest seasoning. I added the squash ribbons at the end. They don't take long at all. You could also load this into a gluten-free tortilla with cheese and bake for about three minutes.
So, it's hot, as per normal in Tennessee the month of June, except that the air conditioning is on the fritz. This means not running the oven and keeping things simple and cool. So, today, I craved a cold salad, but I was really hungry. I wanted something substantial. When I was nineteen, I was the wife of an Air Force cadet. It seemed to us that everyone in the AF was either from Tennessee or Pennsylvania. We became friends with a couple and eventually moved from Bourne, Massachusetts, to Alamogordo, New Mexico, and since base housing wasn't available, we all moved into a house together. All through the hot, dry summer, I learned to make Pennsylvania Dutch dishes, and my favorite newfound "thing" was hot bacon dressing. Today, I did a twist on this concept, frying up Pink Lady apples with bacon, creamed honey and cinnamon from a local bee-keeper, and balsamic vinegar. I poured the hot dressing atop romaine lettuce, sliced Vidalia onions, and a sweet, orange bell pepper. The bacon fat, apple reduction, and honey-cinnamon fuse into something extraordinary. At the last minute, I took the iron skillet from the heat and added the balsamic vinegar. It's best to serve the dressing hot, and it produces a lovely mix of hot and cold summer fare. I left the bacon off, but you can certainly add them for extra richness and flavor. This is a take on an old idea, something like eggs ranchero, but this is much easier. I'm always looking for ways to make a quick breakfast that's good for me. I saved back some Rotel from a spicy dip I made, so I broke two eggs and whipped them up, started them scrambling, added a bit of Cajun seasoning, the Rotel, and a bit of Four-cheese blend. It was, honestly, decadent, satisfying, and healthy. Since I used only 1/4 of a small can of Rotel, the sodium is not as bad. Breakfast in ten minutes. Seems a little crazy to be doing this in the summer, but we haven't really had summer in Tennessee this year. Today, it's barely breaking 70, and it's cloudy and rainy, all day, like Seattle. So, I'm home looking at bread recipes. A new discovery: Gluten Free Bisquick. How did I not know about this? Lots of gluten-free sites with links on Facebook feature quick bread-making recipes. Here's one: 4 cups GF bisquick, 1 cup of sour cream, 1 cup gingerale and 1/2 cup of butter or coconut oil. Mix flour cream and soda together . Let stand 5 minutes, scape away from bowl and continue to sprinkle small amounts of bisquick until you can roll it out. Cut out biscuits and place in pan with melted butter or oil on bottom. Bake at 350 for 18 minutes. I didn't create this one. In the search for gluten-free foods, I have realized what I miss most is snacks. Who wants to sit in front of a big-screen watching a film without something crunchy to munch on? And, as I've discovered, corn is the biggest gluten-producer of all, so pop-corn is not a good alternative. This is a recipe from Kate Giovinco whose blogspot, "My Fields of Green" was featured in Gluten-Free, a popular spot on Facebook for those with celiac and other issues requiring a "Cheez-It" Crackers(Adapted from this recipe.) Ingredients8 oz sharp cheddar cheese, grated4 TBS cold, cubed butter1/2 tsp salt, plus more to sprinkle over the tops2 TBS cold water3/4 cup sweet rice flour* 1/4 cup cornstarch1/2 tsp xanthan gum (you can find this at Wholefoods, or you can omit it, but your crackers might be a bit crumbly) *A note about sweet rice flour:Sweet rice flour is a God-send for gluten-free baking. It is not actually sweet; it is made from a shorter-grain rice that has more starch and makes baked goods hold together better. I get mine cheap from my local Asian food market. Pulse all of the dry ingredients together in a food processor until well combined, then add the water and pulse until the dough comes together. Chill the dough well; at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator or 10 minutes in the freezer. Roll the dough out as thin as possible; this is important for a crispy, crunchy cracker. Use a pizza cutter to make little squares. Lay the crackers on a non-stick baking sheet and use a fork to poke the tops of each cracker. (This will help them stay flat.) Sprinkle with a bit more salt. Bake at 350 for 7 minutes, then rotate the pan and bake another 7 minutes, or until just golden at the edges. |
Author
Mother, writer, reformed culinary disaster, Andrea Mosier shortlisted for the Dundee International Book Award for Fire Eater and was a finalist for the Eric Hoffer Award for prose in 2014. "The Illuminated Man" will appear in the first edition of Serendipity. Her legendary potato salad recipe appears here on the June 5 entry. Archives
February 2019
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