Something I consumed over the weekend did not agree with me, and today I am paying the price. I feel as if I've been poisoned! Fuzzy brain, burning itchy eyes, tummy troubles. Bleeccchhhh!
Wine - sulfites
Ham & salami - nitrites
lemonade - artificial color and flaver
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Friday, August 20, 2010
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Corn & Quinoa pastas?
Grocery Shopping today. I didn't need anything at Aldi, so I stopped at Meijer, Super Wally, Trader Joe's & Woodmans. At Meijer, there is virtually no Gluten free stuff except the usual suspects (General Mills mixes and a few crackers). They are, however, supposed to carry Udi's bread so I stopped & asked about it. The lady in the bakery dept told me that they used to carry it, but it's been removed from their order list. So may only be available at some stores - but not that one. So I got my produce & kept going
Super Wally seems to have lost their GF section. I walked every single aisle and never did find it. I did find the GF Bisquick next to the regular kind, at $3.98/ a 12oz box - and I bought the Friskies canned food my kitties like (40 cents), and went on my way. Next to TJ's for the brown coffee filters and frozen Ahi Tuna.
Woodmans: More Friskies (45 cents) and several trial things. Pasta made from Quinoa and pasta made from corn. Quinoa flakes (hot cereal - but can be added to baked goods also), rice bran (19gm fiber/1/2 cup to add to baked goods) xanthan gum, guar gum, rice flour & potato starch. Ultimately I will bake most of my own breads, etc. But I want to try some commercially available Mixes & baked items to see what works when I don't have time to make my own. I did find Udi products there, but they were out of the bread. I bought a pkg of Udi pizza rounds (2 in pkg) and a loaf of Kinnikinnik White bread which the mgr said was a good seller. http://consumer.kinnikinnick.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/consumer.home.html. I also bought Sun butter.
I found that the people at the Culver's in Carpentersville were VERY willing to work with me to make sure I had a nice meal with no gluten. They even checked ingredients in the salad dressing to make sure it was ok. I had a Cashew Chicken salad which was very good. They use a nice blend of greens with no iceberg lettuce.
When I got home I pried the end off the frozen bread; toasted it a few minute & spread a little sun butter on it. It tastes fine, and the bread texture seemed good too. Sun butter, like natural peanut and almond butters is not as stiff as the commercial peanut butter; and needs to be refrigerated.
So the adventure continues. Next: Find Soy sauce without wheat and gluten free vanilla. Although I would think that pure vanilla extract should be gluten free. Nothing about what on the label....
Super Wally seems to have lost their GF section. I walked every single aisle and never did find it. I did find the GF Bisquick next to the regular kind, at $3.98/ a 12oz box - and I bought the Friskies canned food my kitties like (40 cents), and went on my way. Next to TJ's for the brown coffee filters and frozen Ahi Tuna.
Woodmans: More Friskies (45 cents) and several trial things. Pasta made from Quinoa and pasta made from corn. Quinoa flakes (hot cereal - but can be added to baked goods also), rice bran (19gm fiber/1/2 cup to add to baked goods) xanthan gum, guar gum, rice flour & potato starch. Ultimately I will bake most of my own breads, etc. But I want to try some commercially available Mixes & baked items to see what works when I don't have time to make my own. I did find Udi products there, but they were out of the bread. I bought a pkg of Udi pizza rounds (2 in pkg) and a loaf of Kinnikinnik White bread which the mgr said was a good seller. http://consumer.kinnikinnick.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/consumer.home.html. I also bought Sun butter.
I found that the people at the Culver's in Carpentersville were VERY willing to work with me to make sure I had a nice meal with no gluten. They even checked ingredients in the salad dressing to make sure it was ok. I had a Cashew Chicken salad which was very good. They use a nice blend of greens with no iceberg lettuce.
When I got home I pried the end off the frozen bread; toasted it a few minute & spread a little sun butter on it. It tastes fine, and the bread texture seemed good too. Sun butter, like natural peanut and almond butters is not as stiff as the commercial peanut butter; and needs to be refrigerated.
So the adventure continues. Next: Find Soy sauce without wheat and gluten free vanilla. Although I would think that pure vanilla extract should be gluten free. Nothing about what on the label....
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Betty Crocker Gluten free Choc Chip Cookies
General Mills has a few GF mixes out, and I made the cookies last night, just to see how they'd come out...and I had a taste for cookies. They aren't bad! A bit too sweet for my taste, but I have an idea that mixes add more sweeteners to cover the difference in taste and texture of the originals. It's the same with artificially sweetened stuff (which I DO NOT eat!) Much too much sweetener. I'll end up finding a recipe and baking my own next time, but for now I have 3 doz cookies to keep me going. I left a few out in a baggie & froze the rest. I can go into the freezer & take out a couple at a time when I want them.
I doubt that I will buy the General Mills mixes again, but at least they were there to get me started until I build up my pantry of flours and starches.
Oh, and I finished my little loaf of bread at breakfast this morning, so I need to make another. This time I'll add a little oil, but I think I'll make the same size. It's a convenient size for one person, if a bit small for a sandwich.
I doubt that I will buy the General Mills mixes again, but at least they were there to get me started until I build up my pantry of flours and starches.
Oh, and I finished my little loaf of bread at breakfast this morning, so I need to make another. This time I'll add a little oil, but I think I'll make the same size. It's a convenient size for one person, if a bit small for a sandwich.
Friday, August 13, 2010
Peanut butter - I miss peanut butter....
Judy said that she has experienced problems with Peanuts and Almonds, so I decided to avoid them as well. I can do without almonds - even though I really like them; but I miss peanut butter! Not that I ate it a lot, but it's one of those things I get a 'taste' for now & then. And if there's nothing else to eat for lunch, there's always PB&J.
I know you can buy Cashew Butter and Sun Butter, but I can't buy it here in town, and I don't plan to go up the road shopping until next Thursday. So, what the heck. I tried making pecan butter.
It all started when I pulled a bag of pecans out of the freezer downstairs and brought them up here figuring I'd toast them so that they taste better than raw. That way I can add a few to Granola, or muffins or whatever. I did that (15 minute in a 325* oven - until they smell good & brown a little). As I was putting the cooled nuts into a Tupperware container for storage, I decided that I ought to be able to make some pecan butter to go with my nice bread. But in what? Well, we have 2 coffee grinders, so I put a small handful of nuts in the grinder & ran it. It started to bog down, so I drizzled in a little honey and some dark sesame oil. Continued running the coffee grinder. I had to add a bit more liquid, but ended up with a rather coarse butter.
It tastes a bit too much like sesame, and it's a bit too sweet to suit me; so if I do this again, I'll probably use olive oil in place of the sesame oil and not as much honey. Maybe add a bit of salt too. But I put it in a little container (there's only about a half cup total) in the refrigerator, and tomorrow I'll try it on my bread. It ought to be good on rice cakes too.
I know you can buy Cashew Butter and Sun Butter, but I can't buy it here in town, and I don't plan to go up the road shopping until next Thursday. So, what the heck. I tried making pecan butter.
It all started when I pulled a bag of pecans out of the freezer downstairs and brought them up here figuring I'd toast them so that they taste better than raw. That way I can add a few to Granola, or muffins or whatever. I did that (15 minute in a 325* oven - until they smell good & brown a little). As I was putting the cooled nuts into a Tupperware container for storage, I decided that I ought to be able to make some pecan butter to go with my nice bread. But in what? Well, we have 2 coffee grinders, so I put a small handful of nuts in the grinder & ran it. It started to bog down, so I drizzled in a little honey and some dark sesame oil. Continued running the coffee grinder. I had to add a bit more liquid, but ended up with a rather coarse butter.
It tastes a bit too much like sesame, and it's a bit too sweet to suit me; so if I do this again, I'll probably use olive oil in place of the sesame oil and not as much honey. Maybe add a bit of salt too. But I put it in a little container (there's only about a half cup total) in the refrigerator, and tomorrow I'll try it on my bread. It ought to be good on rice cakes too.
Bread Success!
With heartfelt thanks to the HerbWife (as linked earlier in relation to my Banana flax muffins; I, today, made a loaf of GOOD bread!
I used her basic recipe:
3 eggs mixed with
1/2 c milk
1/2 c flax meal
rounded 1/2 tsp yeast
about 3/4 tsp salt
Whip well and let sit while you grind
1/2 c millet and add it
Whip that all very thoroughly and let sit for a few minutes more until it's slightly thick and slimy.
Add 1 c Bob's Red Mill All purpose Baking Mix, mix well, and set in a warm place to rise for about 45 minutes.
Pour into a small loaf pan and let rise about 30 minutes
Bake at about 450* for about 20 - 30 minutes. Watch it so it doesn't get to dark. Mine did get a bit dark.
I only used 1/2 tsp salt and it needed more; but I ate a slice with butter and it was good. The slice with preserves was yummy! It's a rather heavy bread, but the texture is good and the flavor is good. I call it a success!
Added later: I will add some oil next time. Maybe 1/2T or a hair more.
http://crabappleherbs.com/blog/2009/12/31/victory-gluten-free-bread-with-no-weird-gums-in-it/
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
My Exploration into finding a GOOD Gluten Free bread - or Bread recipe.
My Exploration into finding a GOOD Gluten Free bread - or Bread recipe.
by Marta Winans Soucek Vincent on Saturday, August 7, 2010 at 9:03am
So I ate a slice of the GF bread yesterday and it was...ok. This morning I toasted a slice to go with my eggs, and it's ...ok, I guess. It's drier, even though it's been in a plastic bag, and it didn't really toast. It just got warm.
I got a recommendation for a good GF bread from Udi's, but that came from CT, so don't know if it's available here anywhere. But my cousin gave me the link, and there is a recipe book I can get fairly inexpensively on Amazon.com called "Gluten Free Every Day" by Robert Landolphi. I think I may try it.
My sister said she made a loaf of GF bread in her son's bread machine from a book he had purchased, and that it came out good, so i asked for the recipe. I have the bread machine.
So, onward and upward...
I got a recommendation for a good GF bread from Udi's, but that came from CT, so don't know if it's available here anywhere. But my cousin gave me the link, and there is a recipe book I can get fairly inexpensively on Amazon.com called "Gluten Free Every Day" by Robert Landolphi. I think I may try it.
My sister said she made a loaf of GF bread in her son's bread machine from a book he had purchased, and that it came out good, so i asked for the recipe. I have the bread machine.
So, onward and upward...
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