Happiness in a Bowl

I have yet to find a recipe that is “too rich”. You know what I mean, right? When someone takes a bite of some deeply chocolate dessert or multi-layered pasta dish and says, “Goodness! I can’t eat this, it’s muhh-ch too rich!” Usually, you’ll find me staring at them with a completely blank countenance. I cannot fathom that idea.

But – we need to live a balanced life. Or so I’m told.

I do enjoy “lighter” fare. Perhaps a better description would be “guilt free”. It’s nice to sit down to a meal and know that it’s fair game… no gluten, low fat and full of flavor. I often try to “lighten” heavy dishes… not because they are “muhh-ch too rich”… but because they are WAY too fattening.

Today’s recipe is the cream of the crop. It is warm, it is comfort, it is low fat, it is gluten free and it is guilt free. You read that right.

I know. If you could reach through the screen and hug me, you would. I accept the gesture.

Whip up a big ol’ batch of this and freeze some. When you need a hearty meal that is free of all guilt, grab this little guy out of your freezer and enjoy.
It really is happiness in a bowl.

Gluten Free Quinoa Vegetable Soup

1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 ½ cups carrots, chopped

1 cup celery, chopped

1 cup onion, chopped

2/3 cup quinoa, rinsed and drained

Salt and pepper, to taste

4 cups chicken (or vegetable) stock

2 cups water

15 oz tomato sauce (be daring and use your favorite marinara sauce… amazing!)

1 ½ cups red skin potatoes, cut into bite-sized cubes with skin still on

2 garlic cloves, minced


In a large soup pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add carrots, celery, onion and quinoa. Season with salt and pepper. Saute for 5 minutes until onions start to become translucent. Add stock, water and tomato sauce. Bring to a boil. Add potatoes and garlic, stir to combine. Bring to a light boil. Cover and let cook until potatoes are soft. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper if needed.

A Letter To My Readers

Dear friends,

I love writing this blog. I hope you love it, too. I find it to be rather therapeutic… putting my thoughts on paper (well, on the screen) while simultaneously sharing a yummy and “safe” recipe for my fellow gluten avoiders. In a way, creating and maintaining this blog helped me use my gluten intolerance diagnosis for a good purpose. Let’s face it… the first few weeks (for some, months) after the diagnosis are tough. There is a time of denial, shock and a form of mourning as you realize how life is going to change because of a little thing called gluten. No more corner pizza shops, no more Toll House Cookies, no more chewy bagels.

Starting this blog was my way of saying, “I’m not going to let this miserable diagnosis stop me from making great food. AND… I’m going to freely share the recipes for that food so that others can have the same satisfaction.”

If I have helped you in your gluten free journey in any way…then I have succeeded.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t plan to stop blogging anytime soon. I guess I just found myself reflecting on my gluten free life and how things have changed. The interesting thing I realized during that reflection was that… even though (at times) I still loathe this intolerance… I wouldn’t change it.

Sure, I miss the adventure of trying a new restaurant. Being Italian, I miss “real” pasta and pizza. I dream of the crusty, chewy bread my Grandpa used to get down at the local Italian bakery he frequented in New Jersey. Those parts of my life are just memories now.

But…

I love a culinary adventure. I (now) love the challenge of making gluten free food that doesn’t taste gluten free. I have learned so much about things I knew nothing about. My kids eat “healthier” treats and don’t realize it. In fact, they love what I make. My mom has voluntarily cut down on gluten considerably and is happy to be doing so. My husband has never once complained about how life has changed. Even though he is free to eat whatever he wants, he chooses to not. He has only ever supported me, helped me and cheered me on.

So… I believe I have grown because of all this. And I wouldn’t trade that. I had no idea that a little thing like gluten would one day change my life… but in the end, I’m glad it did.

I’ve had numerous people tell me they suspect they have a problem with gluten but are afraid to find out because of what it means going forward. If this is you, please listen to me. A gluten free life… is a good life. It just means educating yourself and making healthy choices. That’s not scary, is it?

There is a lot of information (and misinformation) out there that can be overwhelming. Before overloading your brain with facts and possible myths… please contact me. I will do whatever I can to help. Glean from those who have already walked down this road.

You are not alone.

Blessings, dear friends… and thank you for reading my blog.
Katie

This Chick Is All Chickened Out

There are times when I find myself walking to the fridge and staring inside at its contents… uninspired with my options. While I try to keep things lighter with pork or chicken, I can get very bored with them. You can make chicken a million different ways, but it’s still chicken. Don’t get me wrong, I like chicken… but sometimes this chick needs variety!

So once in a while, I whip out ham. I love ham. I make a mean ham at Christmas and Easter. So, to add ham to my menu once in a while is a real treat. This particular recipe is reminiscent of Easter dinner with the addition of pineapple in it.

If you have picky eaters in the house, I urge you to try this. It’s naturally sweetened with pineapple juice (except for a couple of tablespoons of brown sugar). It sits on a bed of unbuttered rice. Toss some steamed broccoli on the side and your kids will have a great alternative they’ll love!*

*This statement has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This meal is not intended to cure your picky eater of their pickiness. Any likeness to your picky eater is purely coincidental.

Ham Pineapple Skillet

2 Tbsp butter

2 ½ cups cubed, cooked ham

¼ cup onion, chopped

1 (20oz) can pineapple, drained with juice reserved

½ cup water

1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

2 Tbsp brown sugar

2 tsp yellow mustard

2 Tbsp cornstarch

In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add onions and cook for 3-4 minutes. Add the ham and cook until heated through. Add the pineapple chunks.

In a medium bowl, combine the reserved pineapple juice, water vinegar, brown sugar and mustard. Reserve ¼ cup of this mixture and pour the rest in with the ham and pineapple. To the reserved pineapple juice, add the cornstarch and stir until smooth. Once the ham and pineapple skillet is reheated through, add the cornstarch juice. Stir to combine.

Increase heat to medium-high and reduce juices until a thick sauce, about 10-15 minutes, stirring often.

Serve over rice or buttered noodles. Serves 4.

Christmas Greetings... a little late!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Sure, I’m a few weeks behind schedule… but better late than never, right? We had a season of sickness in the house… and then all of a sudden it was the Christmas season. Our days quickly became filled with choir practices, shopping, wrapping and general busyness. Homeschooling stopped, my photography classes stopped… and yes, even the blogging stopped. It’s just been this week that I have felt like things have fallen back into their normal routine… and I thought it was about time I post on my blog!

So, I hope your Christmas and New Year’s celebrations were full of joy, family, friends and fun… and now, on to my post!

As I was doing my usual grocery shopping this past week, I happened to discover that my Wegmans now carries Baker’s Chocolate Chunks… which just happens to be both gluten and peanut free!

Oh joy! Oh glorious day! (Too excited?)

I was overwhelmed with an idea that came upon me all at once. Double Chocolate Chunk cookies. Holy mackerel… this is going to be a good one. So the next day… I got down to business. I looked over other cookie recipes… I calculated… I tweaked… I baked.

I fell in love.

They are chewy, they are deeply chocolaty… and then all throughout are chunks of dark chocolate. Um, can there BE anything better? Well, there is one thing that tops it. Knowing I can give my “allergic to peanuts” son some really yummy treats really sends me over the moon.

By the way… be sure to have milk around. A tall, cold glass of milk. Trust me on this one.

Gluten Free Double Chocolate Chunk Cookies

1 cup Gluten Free all-purpose flour (I used King Arthur brand)

½ teaspoon xanthan gum

½ cup Hershey’s Special Dark cocoa powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

8 oz Baker’s Chocolate Chunks, divided

½ cup unsalted butter

1 ½ cups sugar

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Whisk flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl and set aside.

Melt 4 ounces of chocolate chunks with the butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Remove from heat and let it cool slightly.

Put the slightly cooled chocolate/butter mixture, sugar, eggs, and vanilla in a bowl. Mix with a wooden spoon until combined. Gradually mix in the flour mixture. Fold in chocolate chunks.

Using a 1 ½-inch ice cream scoop, drop the dough onto parchment or silpat lined baking sheets, spacing the cookies about 2 inches apart. Bake until cookies are flat and surfaces crack, about 15 minutes. DO NOT OVERBAKE.

Kung POW! This One's a Knockout!

With November comes my husband’s birthday. Since there are many dishes he loves that, frankly, make me gag (think crab, fish, most Chinese food) I try my darnedest to give him a little treat… a little taste… of the things I don’t make for him the rest of the year. (You know, on paper… that sentence sounds incredibly selfish. Huh.)

Anyhoo….

Last year, it was Shrimp Fra Diavolo. *shudder* Nasty stuff, but he loved it. So, mission accomplished. This year, I wanted to go a different route… maybe something in the Chinese food world. But, I knew that I would also be feeding the kids, my mom and my aunt who is visiting us from Ohio. Why is that a potential problem? Tim loves spicy food. The spicier, the better. Why, I’ll never know. Personally, I like to be able to actually taste my food, not melt the inside of my mouth. But that’s another subject.

So typically, I would make him a spicy dish. Since I wouldn't be cooking for just Tim, I needed to keep the spice level down. Way down. This year, I went with Kung Pao Chicken. And by jing, it was quite good! Not spicy, bursting with flavor… and my daughter even liked it! (Truthfully, that’s not much of a shocker. The shocker would have been if my 3 year old liked it, but since he doesn’t like much, I didn’t bother with him. Better to focus on the positive, right?)

I served this up with some sticky rice (…yummmmmmm) and steamed broccoli. It was simple, it was easy, it was delicious. Sorry, by the way, for the slightly blurry picture. It was my hubby’s big day and I just took a quick shot to be able to show you the dish.

Cheesy pun coming your way, courtesy of Katie…

Want a little Kung POW on your tongue? Try this Kung Pao!

Gluten Free Kung Pao Chicken

¼ cup Catalina dressing, divided

¼ cup peanut or almond butter

1 Tbsp GF soy sauce

2 tsp chili sauce

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 Tbsp minced gingerroot

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite size pieces

In a small bowl, mix together 2 Tbsp Catalina dressing, peanut/almond butter, soy sauce and chili sauce until combined.

In a large skillet, add the remaining dressing and warm on medium heat. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for about a minute. Turn the heat up for medium-high and add the chicken, stirring frequently. Cook for about 2 minutes then add the peanut/almond butter mixture. Cook for about 7 minutes until the chicken in cooked through, stirring frequently to scrap up brown bits from the bottom of the pan.

Serve over rice with a side of steamed broccoli. Serves 4.

The Dessert That Almost Wasn't

Yesterday was one of those days. My daughter is part of a performance of The Nutcracker with her ballet school and she had a long practice in the evening. My aunt was arriving from Ohio for a visit right around dinner time, so I was in the middle of preparing dinner when it occurred to me that a dessert might be nice to have after dinner, to celebrate my aunt’s arrival.

So with my brain churning away, listing everything I needed to get done before leaving for the ballet rehearsal, I embarked upon an experimental recipe. In the middle of making dinner.

In hindsight, not a good combination.

Things started off well. I took a moment to look over the recipe again, making sure I had my gluten free measurements correct. I smiled, feeling pretty confident that I had things right.

I measured out my dry ingredients in one bowl, wet ingredients in another. I then added the wet to the dry and began to stir. It was then I realized something wasn’t quite right. The batter was rather… thick. Goopy, really. I thought I would be pouring my batter into the bundt pan, but the way things were looking at the moment, I was going to have to scoop large blobs of it in there.

‘Ah well’, I thought to myself, ‘I’m sure it will be fine. Perhaps being GF makes it… goopy.’ I also vowed NOT to use the word "goopy" in my recipe directions.

I prepared my bundt pan and… plopped… the batter into it. I was just about to place it in the oven when something told me to take another look at the recipe.

Uh-oh.

Sugar. I totally forgot the 2 CUPS of sugar. In my hurry to get things done amidst my tickertape list going around and around in my brain, I just totally left it out.

Sooooo… the batter went back into the bowl, the sugar was added (thus making the batter pourable!), back into the pan and into the oven it went.

And can I tell you…. this recipe ROCKS! My family all agreed it doesn’t taste like gluten free, it doesn’t have the texture of gluten free… it’s really good!

My dessert that almost wasn’t… was a hit! *whew*

Gluten Free Pumpkin Bundt Cake with Cream Cheese Glaze

3 cups Pamela’s Baking Mix

2 cups sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 ½ tsp cinnamon

½ tsp allspice

½ tsp nutmeg

½ tsp ground ginger

4 eggs

1 cup oil (veggie or canola)

1 15oz can solid packed pumpkin puree

Optional: 1 cup of chopped pecans, chocolate chips or raisins

Glaze:

4 oz cream cheese, softened to room temperature

½ cup powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 Tbsp milk

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a bundt pan with non-stick spray.

In a large bowl, whisk together the baking mix, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg and ground ginger.

In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, oil and pumpkin. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir until completely combined. Add optional pecans, chips or raisins and stir to incorporate.

Pour into the prepared pan and spread out evenly. Bake for 50-60 minutes until a cake tester comes out clean. Cook in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove from the pan and finish cooling on a cooling rack.

To make the glaze: Beat the cream cheese until very creamy. Add powdered sugar and vanilla and beat to combine. Add 3 Tbsp of milk and stir until smooth. Drizzle over the cooled cake or individual slices.

Taste Buds of Happiness

Ah yes, the changing of the seasons. It brings such joy to my heart to watch the leaves change into the bright colors of fall, knowing that my favorite season, winter, is right around the corner. Autumn and Winter bring with them wonderful smells, sights and tastes.

When you think of Autumn, you can almost smell the cinnamon and cloves of your favorite goodie baking in the oven. Your mind’s eye remembers the bright reds, golds and oranges of the trees. Remember Christmases past and you’ll drift through the taste of your Grandma’s renowned cookies and smell the rich scent of the fresh Christmas tree in your home.

We really do experience the seasons will all our senses.

Today, I had all of autumn in my mouth. Yep. Right there, lying on my tongue. It was pumpkin, it was cinnamon, it was allspice, it was nutmeg. It was happiness! I had autumn in my kitchen. You should have smelled the aroma coming from my oven!

If you are like a lot of my friends who suffer from a lack of appreciation for the colder months (you know who you are!), then this cookie is for you. It takes all that is comforting and endearing about autumn and plops it into one little package. OK, I might be exaggerating… just a hair… but still, you get the point. A cup of tea and this sweet little confection and you, too, will experience the smells and tastes of autumn that bring joy to my heart!

Happy Autumn, my friends! Enjoy all the smells, sights and tastes that makes this season so amazing!

Gluten Free Pumpkin Snickerdoodles

1 cup butter, softened

1½ cups sugar

1 egg

¾ cup pumpkin puree

2¼ cups GF all-purpose flour

2 tsp xanthan gum

2 tsp cream of tarter

1 tsp baking soda

½ tsp cinnamon

½ tsp salt

Sugar Mixture:

⅓ cup sugar

2 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp allspice

¼ tsp ginger

¼ tsp nutmeg

Cream together butter and sugar. Add egg and pumpkin and mix thoroughly. Add the dry ingredients and mix to combine. Roll into balls size of a large walnut and place on cookie sheet lined with parchment or wax paper. Refrigerate cookie dough for 30 minutes.

Mix sugar mixture ingredients in a small bowl. Remove cookies from the fridge and roll cookie dough balls in sugar mixture.

Place 2” apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8-9 minutes at 400˚ until slightly brown and still soft.

Makes 48-60 cookies.