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.

product: EnerG egg replacement

I recently discovered that the Bob's Red Mill Egg Replacer has gluten in it, so I switched over to this Egg Replacer product.  No wonder my gut was acting up!

I've tried a few things with this product:
(1) Gluten free pancakes:  My hubby has made me these pancakes with the Bob's Red Mill and EnerG egg replacer.  With both products the pancakes were brittle and hard to flip.  The taste with the EnerG is better.

(2) Mayonnaise:  I got excited when I noticed a recipe for mayonnaise on the back of the box.  The recipe was cumbersome - I had to add a 1/2 cup of oil a tsp at a time.  The result wasn't terrific - it tasted super oily.  I mistakenly tried to adjust it with some seasonings, and it only went downhill from there

I've used this as an egg replacement product for baking elsewhere in this blog.  Search for EnerG

Bought product from: Safeway

product: Bob's Red Mill Homemade Wonderful Bread Mix

I made this bread in the bread machine.  Instead of milk, I used Trader Joe's Light Coconut Milk.  Instead of eggs, I used the EnerG egg replacement product.

The result was medicore. The loaf sank after it had completed cooking, and it came out looking dented on the sides even though it slid out of the pan easily. It tasted dense, and noticeably different. It wasn't pleasant to my palate. Once I smeared it with sunflower seed butter, it was much better.

Bought product from: iHerb

product: Bob's Red Mill Vanilla Cake Mix

My daughter has a birthday coming up, and 2 celiac boys are coming, so I thought I'd make a batch of cupcakes with the Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Vanilla Cake Mix.

I substituted the required eggs with the EnerG egg replacer.

They were terrible!  The texture was dense, it smelt like playdough, it was super sweet, there was no browning - the colour was terribly pale, and the taste was all wrong.  After eating half of a cupcake, I threw the other half in the compost - that says a lot because I hate wasting food.  I'm hoping that smothering them with icing will make them edible.  Kids usually just lick the icing off of the cupcakes anyways...

bought product from: iHerb

recipe to try: Gluten-Free Bread Recipe

source

Delicious Gluten-Free Bread Recipe

This gluten-free bread is tender, fragrant, dairy-free and rice-free, and easily egg-free with proper leavening. Though most gluten-free bread recipes rely on eggs for texture and rise, this recipe is also delicious baked vegan, without eggs (though in all honesty, two whipped eggs will make it rise higher). I use Ener-G Egg Replacer to make it egg-free.

Updated August 26, 2011

First- whisk together your dry ingredients and set aside:

1 1/2 cups sorghum flour (aka jowar flour)
1 cup tapioca starch or potato starch (not potato flour!)
1/2 cup GF millet flour or GF oat flour
2 teaspoons xanthan gum
1/ 1/4 teaspoons fine sea salt
1 packet rapid dry yeast or 2 1/4 teaspoons

You'll need sesame seeds for the top; set aside for later. Or omit.

For the Breadman bread machine:

Pour the liquid ingredients into the bread machine pan first:

1 1/4 cups warm water (at 110 to 115ºF) 
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon honey- or raw agave nectar to keep it vegan
1/2 teaspoon mild rice vinegar or lemon juice
2 organic free-range eggs, beaten or 1 tablespoon Ener-G Egg Replacer whisked with 4 tablespoons warm water till frothy

Gently pour the mixed dry ingredients on top of the liquid.

Set your bread machine program for 1.5 loaf medium crust. I used the gluten-free cycle on the Breadman; if you don't have a gluten-free cycle, a rapid rise cycle will also work.

Check the dough after a few minutes of kneading- it should be closer to a muffin batter than bread dough, soft, but not cake batter wet. Adjust dry to wet ratio with a tablespoon of flour or warm liquid, as needed. Humidity influences the dough. As does temperature (your bread will rise higher on a hot day).

If you like a crusty loaf (or your past experience results in a gummy center/fallen top) remove the bread from the pan and place it in the oven at 350ºF for an additional 10 minutes- keep an eye on it and don't let it get too brown. It should be a light golden color.

Cool the loaf before slicing for best results.

Enjoy fresh from the oven- the first day (as with most gluten-free baked goods) has the best texture and taste.

Freeze leftover bread as slices, wrapped in a paper towel and bagged in freezer bags. Thaw to room temperature.

Baking time:1 hour

Yield: 1 loaf

Read more: http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com/2009/02/delicious-gluten-free-bread.html#ixzz1nMzuL0aT

recipe: Slow Cooker Stew Recipe with Buffalo Sausage

I've made this mistake before and obviously haven't learned from it... I invited a few friends & their families for dinner, and tried a new recipe.  One of the friend's I invited have 2 celiac boys, and this gluten free recipe sounded good, so I tried it out for the first time while hosting.  Warning bells!

The recipe was ok, but I had to adjust it at the end to improve things.  The 1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar that the recipe calls for is far too much and gave it strong sour overtones.  I had to add some brown sugar to temper it.  I couldn't find the fire roasted tomatoes, so I just used regular canned tomatoes in an Italian seasoning - that could have affected the intended taste.  I didn't have buffalo sausage, but I did have ground buffalo and had just taken a sausage making class, so I had an idea of how to season it.  The flavours in the dish didn't seem to compliment each other - the acidity of the vinegar bit into the potatoes and affected the broth.  I don't think that I would make this one again.

source

Slow Cooker Stew Recipe with Buffalo Sausage

This is a robust and rowdy recipe perfect for a crowd to slurp during half time or whatever time you happen to crave something hot, slightly spicy, and just plain winter day delicious. And there's not a bean in sight. Not one.  

Need it meat-free? That's easy, Babycakes. Just use vegan sausage. Or beans. Boom. Team Vegan.

Virgin olive oil, as needed
6 cloves fresh garlic, chopped
1 large onion, sliced thin
4 medium carrots, chopped
4 cups thinly shredded green cabbage
4 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled, diced
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
2 14-oz cans Muir Glen fire roasted tomatoes- diced or crushed as you prefer
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon rubbed sage
1 teaspoon each of: dried basil and parsley
Hot red pepper flakes, shake to taste
5-6 cups organic broth, as needed
8 organic free-range buffalo sausages, sliced

Drizzle some extra virgin olive oil into the bottom of a Crock Pot or slow cooker and turn it on to High. When the oil is warm add the chopped garlic and onion; stir to coat. Add the carrots, cabbage and potatoes. Season with sea salt and pepper.

Add the canned tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, sage, basil, parsley, and hot red pepper flakes, to taste. Pour in enough broth to generously cover the veggies. (If you like more of a brothy stew add more broth; a thicker stew, add less.)

Cover and cook on high for 4 to 5 hours, until the potatoes and carrots are fork-tender and the cabbage is melty soft. 

Add the sliced sausages to warm through (they usually are cooked; if the sausages you use are not cooked, add them in at the beginning). If you need to add more liquid, add some extra broth. Cover and heat through for another twenty to thirty minutes till heated through.

Taste test for seasoning adjustments. Add a pinch of brown sugar to balance the heat or tartness, if you need to. Add more salt and ground pepper, if you need it.

Serves 8.

Read more: http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com/2008/01/buffalo-sausage-stew.html#ixzz1nMyT6hZi

recipe: brown rice coconut milk recipe

I fondly remember a coconut milk rice dish that a previous roommate had, and regret never getting the recipe.  I prefer brown rice over white rice because it has more nutritional value, and also carries a better flavour.  I did a search for a recipe the other day and found one here.  It turned out pretty well.  I used the rice cooker instead of making it in a pot (having grown up with a rice cooker, I'm pretty lousy at having the patience to make it in the pot...I usually end up burning it).  Brown rice usually takes awhile to cook, so I had it going in the rice cooker an hour before I needed it to be ready. 

Ingredients:

• SERVES 3-4 as a Side Dish
• 1+1/2 cups brown jasmine or basmati rice
• 2 cups good-quality coconut milk (preferably regular, not 'lite')
• 2 cups water
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2+1/2 Tbsp. dry shredded coconut (baking type)
• 1 Tbsp. coconut oil, or other vegetable oil

Preparation (with a rice cooker):

1. Take the metal pot out of the rice cooker and place it on the stove on low heat.  Put the coconut oil in, until it has melted. Swirl the oil around the bottom until it is evenly coated.  (Don't forget to wear over mitts)
2. Add the rice, coconut milk, water, salt, and shredded coconut. 
3. Turn the slow cooker on and let it do it's thing (it will probably take close to an hour)
4. Fluff the rice with chopsticks or a fork, and serve with your choice of entree(s). If desired, coconut rice can be topped with a sprinkling of toasted coconut (simply 'dry-fry' 1-2 Tbsp. shredded coconut in a dry frying pan until toasted), OR top with a sprinkling of sweetened shredded coconut (as pictured here). ENJOY!

course: natural sausage making

This afternoon I headed over to 3P Natural and Exotic Meats to learn about how to make sausage.  I enjoy a good sausage and figured that if I knew how to make them, I could make my own with the ingredients that are within my restricted diet.

It was a nice little mom & pop shop.  The proprietor, Paul, and his assistant Dennis helped explain the inside scoop on sausages. When sausage has gluten in it, it's because it's been used as a filler.  For example, a butcher has taken a pound of meat and added some cheap ingredients and water turn it into 2 pounds of meat (plus filler) to make a bigger profit.  An inferior product!

Hot Italian Chicken

We used pork-intestines as casing.  This may turn some people off, but it's the best way to make sausage.  There is a cheaper alternative to use a man-made casing developed by grinding down and re-forming animal collagen, but it's tougher, harder to work with, and not as tasty.

Sausage should have about 30% fat content to make it moist & juicy.  Yumm.  If additional fat needs to be added, pork fat is selected because it mixes in the best.

Sage, Onion and Guinness Beef

We had chosen to make a batch of chicken, and a batch of beef sausage.  We were given the option on how to spice them ourselves.  Zac chose the sage & onion for the beef, and I chose the extra-hot spicy Italian for the chicken.  Once we had mixed in the seasonings into the ground meat, we put it into the sausage making canister,  and turned the crank to squeeze it out into the casing.  It was kind of like a caulking gun  (but bigger).  Then we learnt how to link the sausages.  Each alternate sausage needs to be twisted in the opposite direction.  We learnt the triple link method as well which created a prettier (but harder to cut) result.

product: Bobs Red Mill Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix

I decided that I needed some snack foods around the house to keep me on-track when I got the munchies. I made a batch of these to freeze.

In the instructions, I substituted the egg it requested with the egg replacement powder (I left out the egg replacement water). The instructions warned that the dough would be crumbly, and it was. It needed to be packed together well before it formed a ball. One baked, the ball of dough didn't melt into a flat round cookie as I'm used to - it only melted a bit and stayed as a chunk.

Impressions: The cookie was pretty crumbly and sweet. It had a nice nutty flavour to it. I'm lukewarm to them. If I were to make it again, I would mix the egg replacement powder with the prescribed water, then mix it into the dry ingredients. I should probably keep less sugary treats on hand instead.

price: $4.85 from iHerb.com (use coupon code QEJ647 for $5 off)

product: PaneRiso Foods Brown Rice Bread

I picked up this product at Thrifty's: PaneRiso Foods Brown Rice Bread
Gluten Free, Wheat Free, No Egg, No Milk, no Lactose, no Cholesterol

Ingredients:
White rice flour, potato starch, water, canola oil, brown rice flour, natual colour, cultured edextrose, sugar, sea salt, yeast, modified cellulose, mono diglycerides

Contains: Soy
Made in a facility that uses milk and eggs

Impression:
The packaging read: 'Delicious Toasted'. I would now interpret that as meaning: 'Almost palatable toasted'. It was like eating cardboard! It was stiff, hard and tasteless. Disguising it under a generous smear of Peanut Butter and Jelly made it edible, but just. Not being one to waste, I ended up crumbling the loaf and using them as breadcrumbs in a different recipe where they worked out ok.

product: Hearty Whole Grain Bread Mix

I'm trying out this product today:

Bob's Red Mill

Hearty Whole Grain Bread Mix
Link to other Reviews

Wheat Free, Gluten Free, Dairy Free

Adjustments I made:
Instead of the 2 eggs, I used 2 Tbsp of Bob's Red Mill egg replacer powder (just the powder, no water). There are 2 sets of instructions: by hand and using the bread machine. I choose the bread machine route.

Impressions:
It was indeed a tasty hearty bread. If I wasn't aware that it was gluten-free, I wouldn't have noticed. The caraway seeds could turn some people off due to their strong taste, but I didn't mind them too much. The bread baked perfectly in the bread maker. I liked how the yeast conveniently came with the package. I would definitely make this again.

Purchased at:
iHerb.com $4.73 USD (coupon code: QEJ647 for $5 off)