Banana Bread

I tried this recipe, substituting the flour with the one from Jeanne's g.f. all purpose flour mix, and it turned out great.  (Unless you ask my daughter who was dismayed that I had included the raisins).  The original recipe comes from Nigella Lawson.

Since I was trying the g.f. all purpose flour for the first time, I only wanted to substitute one thing so that I could tell the difference.  I haven't tried replacing the eggs or the butter yet.  

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Banana Bread
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scant 1/2 cup golden raisins
6 Tbsp or 3 oz bourbon or dark rum
1 cup plus 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
4 small, very ripe bananas, mashed
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1 tsp vanilla extract
9 x 5 inch loaf pan, buttered and floured or with a paper insert

Put the golden raisins and rum or bourbon in a small saucepan and bring to a boil.  Remove from the heat, cover, and leave for an hour if you can, or until the raisins have absorbed most of the liquid, then drain.

Preheat the oven to 325F and get started on the rest.  Put the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium-sized bowl and, using your hands or a wooden spoon, combine well.  In a large bowl, mix the melted butter and sugar and beat until blended.  Beat in the eggs one at a time, then the mashed bananas.  Then, with your wooden spoon, stir in the walnuts, drained raisins ,and vanilla extract.  Add the flour mixture, a third at a time, stirring well after each bit.  Scrape into the loaf pan and bake in the middle of the oven for 1-1 1/4 hours.  When it's ready, an inserted toothpick or fine skewer should come out clean-ish.  Leave in the pan on a rack to cool, and eat thickly or thinly sliced, as your prefer.

Makes 8-10 slices.

Variation
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Replace 2 Tbsp of the flour with good cocoa powder and add 4 ounces of bittersweet chocolate, cup up into smallish chunks.  You could just as easily use the chocolate chips sold in the baking aisle.

recipe to try: Crunchy Trail Mix Bars

A friend gave me this recipe some time ago and I've been meaning to try it. The nice thing about it is that you can substitute whatever you'd like in it (think: gluten free ingredients). Crunchy Trail Mix Bars 3 cups rice crispies 3 cups O-shaped cereal 1.5 cups raisins or dried cranberries (I use a mixture of both) 0.5 cups sunflower seeds 1 cup honey 3/4 cup sugar 2 cups chunky peanut butter 1 tsp vanilla Grease a 10x15 in baking sheet that has 1 in sides In a large bowl, stir together the cereals, fruit and sunflower seeds. In a medium saucepan, combine the honey and sugar. Bring to a full rolling boil over medium heat, then lower the heat and continue boiling for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add the peanut butter and vanilla, stirring until the peanut butter has liquefied and the mixture is fairly smooth. Pour over the cereal mixture in the bowl and stir to combine (can be difficult - keep stirring until all cereal sticks in). Pour into the prepared baking pan, patting it down into a compact, even layer. REfrigerate until firm, then cut in to bars and store in a covered container in the fridge. Makes about 40 bars.

product: kinnikinnick GF All Purpose Flour Blend

I thought that I'd try the recipe on the back of the box, for 'Artisan Style Bread & Buns'. I was disappointed that there was not enough flour in the box to make the recipe! The product is sold by weight (454g / 16oz) and the recipe calls for a volume of 2 1/2 cups + 1/4 cup. It was a 1/4 cup short. I had to substitute some buckwheat flour that I had on hand to dust the dough with.

I used egg replacement for the 3 eggs it called for. I bought some fresh bread machine yeast.

The bread came out quite dense, and the bottom centimeter wasn't cooked. The taste was starchy - I could tell that it wasn't regular gluten bread. I wouldn't try this product & recipe combo again.

article: Food allergy tests can be misused, doctor warns

Source

This article sparked my interest because I highly suspect that the food allergy test that my naturopath gave me falls into this topic. Maybe I'm not allergic to all of these foods after all! She (the naturopath) had made a bunch of inferences based on my results too. Even though I had scored a low reaction to a food, if she made an association to another food that I had scored highly one, she crossed it off the list of foods on my 'good' list. I'm trying to get my hands on the original CMAJ article. 


A Toronto doctor is warning people about testing to determine whether a person has allergies, sensitivities or intolerance to certain foods.
Dr. Elana Lavine of Humber River Regional Hospital says some of these tests, which can cost hundreds of dollars, can be misused and misinterpreted.
Writing in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, Lavine says in some cases, readings are interpreted to mean an intolerance to a food or foods when in fact the reverse is actually true.
She says both traditional physicians and holistic medicine practitioners may offer blood testing to diagnose adverse reactions to food, and unstandardized tests can be bought from a variety of health-care providers as well as some pharmacies.
Lavine says doctors should tell their patients about the controversies surrounding testing for food sensitivities, including the fact that there is no proven role for using readings of antibodies called IgG in testing for food allergies.
Recent position papers from European and U.S. allergy and immunology societies also emphasize the limitations and potential misuse of testing looking for IgG4 antibodies, saying these tests are not appropriate for making a diagnosis of food allergy.

recipe to try: Jeanne’s Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour Mix

from http://www.artofglutenfreebaking.com/2009/11/the-story-behind-my-gluten-free-flour-mix/

Jeanne’s Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour Mix (mix together and store in a cool, dark place, or in fridge for long-term storage).  1 C of this mix equals 140g. Use this mix cup-for-cup or gram-for-gram in all of your recipes:
1 1/4 C (170 g) brown rice flour
1 1/4 C (205 g) white rice flour
1 C (120 g) tapioca flour
1 C (165 g) sweet rice flour (also known as glutinous rice flour or under the brand name, Mochiko)
2 scant tsp. xanthan gum

tip: Gluten Free tax deductions

Are you aware that celiacs can write off the difference between gluten and gluten-free products? 
CRA website link here

Contents copied here:

Gluten-free products

Incremental cost of Gluten-free (GF) products, an eligible medical expense.
Persons who suffer from celiac disease (gluten intolerance) are entitled to claim the incremental costs associated with the purchase of gluten-free (GF) products as a medical expense.
You do not qualify for the disability amount (line 316) based on the additional amount of time it takes to shop for or prepare GF products.
What is the "incremental cost"?
The incremental cost is the increased cost of purchasing a GF product as compared to the cost of a similar non-GF product. It is calculated by subtracting the cost of a non-GF product from the cost of a GF product. The calculation is shown below in the sample summary.
What items are eligible?

• Generally, the food items are limited to those produced and marketed specifically for GF diets. Such items include, but are not limited to, GF bread, bagels, muffins, and cereals.
• Intermediate items will also be allowed where the patient suffering from celiac disease uses the items to make GF products for their exclusive use. These include, but are not limited to, rice flour and GF spices.

What if there are several people consuming the GF products?
If several people consume the products, only the costs related to the part of the product consumed by the person with celiac disease are to be used in calculating the medical expense tax credit.
What documents do I need to support a claim for the medical expense tax credit?
If you are filing a paper return, include the following supporting documentation. If you are filing electronically keep the following supporting documentation in case we ask to see them at a later date:

• a letter from a medical practitioner confirming the person suffers from celiac disease and requires GF products as a result of that disease;
• a summary of each item purchased during the 12-month period for which the expenses are being claimed (a sample summary is shown below); and
• a receipt to support the cost shown in column (4) of each GF product or intermediate product claimed.

Sample of summary chart for incremental cost calculation

(1) Item	(2) Number of items purchased	(3) Average cost of non-GF product	(4) Average cost of GF product	(5) Incremental cost (4)-(3)	(6) Claim for GF item (5)×(2)
Bread	52	$3.49	$6.99	$3.50	$182.00
Rice flour	4	$6.59	$9.59	$3.00	$12.00
		$	$	$	$
Total Incremental cost allowable (add all amounts in column 6)					$ ______

product: Bliss Balls

I recently purchased an ethicalDeal coupon: $36 for 5 packages of Bliss Balls.  They are gluten-free, egg-free and dairy free snacks that sounded like they were perfect for when I get the munchies.  They come in the following 9 flavours:

Raw Virgin Coconut Bliss Balls ingredients: Dates, unsweetened unsulphured coconut, almonds, organic virgin coconut oil, walnuts, organic flax seeds

Chocolate Bliss Balls Ingredients: Cashews, chocolate (sugar, cocoa liquor, cocoa butter, soy lecithin, natural vanilla), dates, almonds, brown rice syrup, organic cocoa powder.

Chocolate Cranberry Bliss Balls Ingredients: Cashews, dates, chocolate (sugar, cocoa liquor, cocoa butter, soy lecithin, natural vanilla), pecans, Thompson raisins, brown rice syrup, organic cocoa powder, organic cranberries (sweetened with organic apples juice or organic maple syrup). 

Chocolate Ginger Bliss Balls:

Hemp
Sesame
Spirulina
Fruit Nut
Unchocolate Truffle

I decided to try this 5:
chocolate ginger: The ginger chunks were inconsistent.  In some balls, I could hardly sense any ginger, and in others it was overpowering.
chocolate: yet to try...
fruit nut: yet to try...
unchocolate truffle: yet to try...
virgin coconut: This was a nice, not-too-sweet, bite.