Going Gluten Free - for one

My husband has been told by his doctor to go gluten and dairy free for 6 weeks. AAACK!
Then we were told to just do gluten. Everything has gluten in it. Everything good that is. I went from feeling very overwhelmed to just being overwhelmed. At least there's a chance now with the dairy back in the picture to help him gain back some of the 15 pounds he's lost since May.

I did what I usually do... talk to friends and family, then look online for some simple recipes and then get some cookbooks from the library. I've found that the online recipes are good, but since the authors want your money, they post the best recipes in their cookbooks - hence the library.

One of the things I've learned is that it's a mixture of flours that helps the taste and texture of the new breads I need to make. I went to Winco's bulk food section and got a little of almost every kind of flour that is gluten free. I didn't grab almond. Time to experiment.

Here are some keepers I've found in the last little bit (date noted):

My favorite online resource..... Yum Universe  see  http://yumuniverse.com/

BREAD
http://www.cottercrunch.com/  I like this site because you can filter by diet and type

I made this one first (8/23).... http://www.cottercrunch.com/paleo-chocolate-hazelnut-bread-molasses/ and found it to be a bit dry and not sweet enough. (even though I doubled the sugar it asked for). But it was okay considering all of the ingredients I'd usually put in were missing. It took a lot longer than I thought it would. In a glass pan at 325F it took 55 minutes, not 35. If I do this over, I'll make muffins - less surface area. And I'd bake it for 15-20 min. We had a little and then ended up sticking it in the freezer to try later. I wasn't going to let it go to waste.

I then made (8/25) this bread http://lexiscleankitchen.com/2014/08/24/the-ultimate-paleo-sandwich-rolls/
Since I didn't have her bread molds, I used my muffin tins for this. It was better than I thought and reminded us of cornbread muffins. This is a keeper. I didn't have the exact flours, so I used 1/3 c. Tapioca flour, 1/3 all purpose flour (Bob's Red Mill), and 1/3 c, Brown Rice flour. The original recipe calls for 1/2 c, blanched almond flour and 1/2 c. tapioca flour. I also used regular shortening, not palm shortening.

And this one - also a keeper (8/30)
https://blog.nuts.com/gluten-free-banana-bread-recipe/
I made it exactly as it said to, and did it in my glass bread pan. At 325F for 50 min, then at 300F for another 15. It is soft and moist. We like it and  there's still a little in the fridge - not dried out at all.



SNACKS
Chocolate (8/25) 3 ingredients - so wonderful! I ate most of it, not him.
http://mywholefoodlife.com/2014/02/13/3-ingredient-chocolate-bars/
Again, I added more sweetening (even triple the maple syrup works).

Rice Pudding (8/29)
http://greatist.com/eat/recipes/healthier-rice-pudding
Very good and rich.

I then went to two standards - Fudge (9/6) and Granola by SS (9/5). This gave us more breakfast and snack stuff. These are posted already.

OTHER MEALS
We've found that a lot of things can be tweaked just a little and without much extra work. For example - we used some potato water. chicken stock instead of milk (with dill, salt and pepper, and garlic) for mashed potatoes.

Using corn tortillas, corn tortilla chips, rice, potatoes, and quinoa for starches works well. We haven't done rice noodles, but that is a great substitute too.

KEEPING IT SIMPLE
Putting out a simple meat (no breading or sauces) with a fresh fruit and veggie platter keeps everyone eating pretty much the same thing.

WARNING
There is gluten hiding everywhere. Or so it seems. Three common items we have had to avoid so far are Nalley chili, licorice and soy sauce.

Tomorrow, I'm trying two kinds of pancake recipes... I'll let you know how that goes.

Best donuts; bisquick mix, etc.

Go here for the best yeast donuts.....
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/yeast-doughnuts-recipe.html

note: the flour measure is 5.1 cups



Okinawa Donuts
1 1/2 c sugar
2 c Bisquick
3 c flour
1 tsp baking pwd
2 eggs
1 pinch salt 2 1/2 c milk
opt: nuts or grated orange peel

Mix dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients; stir until smooth. Use tsp to drop into warm oil. Fry 5 min. Turn occasionally and remove when light brown. Place on platter with paper towels to soak up some of the oil. Roll in granulated sugar while still warm.


Bisquick
6 c flour
3 T sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 T slat
1 c veg shortening
Sift or mix all but shortening. Cut in shortening until resembles fine crumbs. Store in airtight container in fridge up to 4 months. Use whenever  Bisquick is called for.


Some other good recipes to use up this mix:

Sour Cream Biscuits
2 c Bisquick
1/2 c melted butter
1 c sour cream
Mix well and place in muffin cups
Bake in 350 F oven Put 2/3 full in muffin cups. Bake for 15-20 min.

Dumplings
2 c Bisquick
2/3 milk
Mix and drop into boiling stew. Reduce heat. Cook 10 min.

More muffins and quick sweet breads

Ella's Coconut Muffins
2 1/4 c flour
1 TB baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 ts salt
3/4 c brown sugar
3 eggs
2 sticks butter (melted)
1/2 c shortening or coconut oil
2 1/2 c shredded carrot
2 c shredded coconut
2 tsp vanilla

Combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. In second bowl, mix sugar, brown sugar, eggs, melted butter. Add dry mixture to the wet, along with shortening (or oil), carrot, coconut and vanilla.
Fill 18 muffin cups and bake at 350 F for 15 min.

Emily's Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins
2 c flour
1 tsp each: salt, baking pwd, baking soda
1 1/3 c sugar
1/2 c butter
2 eggs 1 tsp vanilla
2 mashed bananas
1 c sour cream (or Greek Yogurt)
2 handfuls of choc chips (or sub 1 handful with coconut flakes)
Cream sugar, butter and eggs with s,cream/yogurt, vanilla and bananas. Add dry ingredients. Mix well. Spoon in chips by hand. Pour into 2 glass bread pans. Bake at 325 F for 45 min.
Or to make 24 muffins: bake at 375 for 18-20.

Keri's Zucchini Nut Bread
2 c shredded zucchini
3 eggs
1 1/2 c brown sugar
1/2 c veg oil
3 c flour (1 c. whole wheat, 2 c white)
3 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp each: baking soda, baking powder
1 c chopped nuts
1/4 c wheat bran or wheat germ
opt.: add 1 c coconut
Mix together thoroughly and bake 1 hour at 350 F in 2 greased bread pans. Makes 2 loaves.

Doris' Coconut Bread
4 eggs
2 c sugar
1 c oil
2 tsp coconut extract
3 c flour
1 tsp baking pwd
1/2 tsp each: salt & baking soda
1 c sour milk (add 1 T vinegar to 1 cup milk)
1 c coconut

glaze: 1 c sugar, 2 TB butter, 1.2 c water, 1 tsp coconut extract

Beat eggs and sugar well, Add oil and coconut flavoring. In separate bowl, combine rest of dry ingredients. Mix flour mixture and milk into egg mixture, alternating between flour and milk. Beat well. Add coconut. Grease and flour large bread pans (or 6 small loaf pans). Bake at 350 for 1 hour (or abt 20 min for small pans).

While baking, make glaze. Boil sugar, water and butter for 5 min. Turn off burner and add extract. When bread is done baking, pour glaze over hot loaves and leave them in pans for 4 hours.
Doubling is fine.

Doris' Brown Sugar Muffins
1/2 c melted butter (or 1/4 c applesauce + 1/4 c olive oil)
1 c milk
1 beaten egg
1 tsp vanilla
2 c flour (1 c white, 1 c wheat)
1 tsp soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 c brown sugar
Combine butter, milk, egg and vanilla. In other bowl combine remaining ingredients. Gently add dry to wet. Batter will be lumpy. Put immediately into tins and bake at 350 F for 20 min. Makes 12.

Fat Free Granola

Here's another recipe promised but not yet posted...

Nonfat Granola
(from Miserly Moms, p. 106-107)
5 c oats
3/4 c brown sugar
1/3 c concentrated apple juice
1/2 c nonfat dry milk
1/3 c honey
2 T cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c dried fruit
other options to add: peanuts, sunflower seeds, coconut, sesame seeds

Mix sugar, juice, dry milk and honey in saucepan and heat over medium heat only until sugar dissolves. Combine dry ingredients (including other options) and fruit in mixing bowl. Pour sugar mixture slowly over dry mixture and blend well. Place on cookie sheet and back at 375 F for 10-20 min stirring every 10 min.

Poppy seed Muffins (or bars)

I've been a little lazy lately and instead of making muffins, I made muffin bars - still good for breakfast, but also handy to send in lunches. I realized this is a menu item I posted last October but have not share the recipe for. Here you go...

Poppy Seed Muffins
2 c brown sugar
2 c wheat flour
2 c white flour
4 tsp baking pwd
1/3 c poppy seeds
2 c evaporated milk
1/2 tsp salt
4 eggs
2 1/2 c vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla
2 T lemon juice
(opt: 6 crushed lemon drops or 2 T lemon rind - grated)

Blend liquid items, add dry ingredients, then poppy seeds and rind last. Bake at 350 F for 30-35 min in a jelly roll pan. Makes 45.

Cut recipe in half for muffins. Bake at 350 for 20 min. Makes 2 dozen.

Evaporated milk substitute: 2 c store brand milk + 2/3 c pwd milk or 2 c water + 1 1/3 c pwd milk

If you want to substitute eggs use this:
Mix 1 tsp unflavored gelatin w/ 3T cold water. Add  2 T + 1 tsp boiling water. Whisk until frothy.

4 Syrup recipes: coconut, peach, Nauvoo, maple

Coconut Syrup

Go to http://allrecipes.com/recipe/108969/coconut-pancake-syrup/

Note: I've tried this and it's fabulous! I don't like sharing it at the table. Such a great reminder of home.

Peach Syrup
1 can peaches w juice - place in a pot and mash up.
Mix in the following:
2 T brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
Bring these three ingredients to a boil.
Thicken with cornstarch (2 T cornstarch dissolved in 1/4 c cold water).
Take off heat. Serve hot or lukewarm.
Store in refrigerator.
(shared in TB's 42 recipe booklet, p.2)

Note: Very good - we all liked it!


Note: I haven't tried these two below, but imagine they're good:

Nauvoo Syrup
1 c. butter
1 c. buttermilk
2 c. sugar
Mix above ingredients and bring to boil in LARGE pot (syrup will foam up when baking soda is added) for 2 min. Remove from heat.
Add following:
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp maple flavoring (extract)
Mix well and serve. Store in refrigerator
(shared by AD in Favorite Holiday Recipes booklet, 2013, p.19)

Maple Syrup
Homemade syrup can be made as thick as store-bought by replacing 1/2 of the water with corn syrup. You may also add butter flavoring purchased from the store. Both of these will increase the cost.
2 c. sugar
1 c. water
1 tsp maple extract
Bring water and sugar to a slow boil over low heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat before it comes to a rolling boil (to keep crystals from forming) Add flavoring as it is cooling. Store in refrigerator.

Cost Analysis (24 oz): Homemade - 20c       Mrs. Butterworth's - $3.19

(source: Miserly Moms by Jonni McCoy, p. 105)

Processing Pears

After getting a bushel of pears on Friday Oct. 2, I didn't really know how long it would be before they were ready to process. I've worked with peaches a lot, but not pears. Surprisingly to me, I needed to start working on them by Tuesday. I started out by doing what I usually do - the hot bath method in quart sized jars.



Thankfully, I was able to enlist JO's help for a little over an hour. This made it possible to get 20 qts done. It was so nice to have someone to chat with while we did the work - especially at the beginning while I was getting my stride. I also ended up doing some jam.
See http://www.food.com/recipe/orange-pear-jam-71486 for that recipe.

After doing pears from 12:30-4:30, I needed a nap! That's too much work for me. I know people who can for days. For some reason, the pears seemed harder than the peaches. Oh well. I took a break on Wednesday and tackled then them again. At that point, I could refrigerate the ones that were left.
I got the help of some family members on Thursday and today. We used recipes from the 1989 Better Homes & Gardens New Cookbook - making Poached Pears yesterday, then Pear Sauce and Pear Crisp tonight. Whew.

Thank goodness that's done.

Note: 11/1 - we've already had one of the jars of Pear Sauce - so good!