In Defense of Food

I'm reading this wonderful book. In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan explores how nutrition science can alienate us from food. The book jacket claims that most of what we're eating today is not food. Furthermore, the way we consume our food is not eating. The items we consume are no longer products of nature but of food science. (I think of a certain petroleum-based 'cheese' product).

Throughout my food journey over the years (from fast food junkie to vegetarian to gluten-free to locavore) I've become more an more passionate that whatever our food preferences/ethics/sensitivity, we should eat whole foods--the less tampered with the better. I've always felt that there are things inherent to food, and to sharing food, that can't be broken down in a lab.

Much of this book is common sense. Sometimes, it's nice to reinforce what we already know.

Praise Quinoa!

Let me sing the praises of Quinoa (keen-wah). We had it for dinner last night and I was reminded of why it's such a great thing to have in a busy gluten-free household. The ancient Incas referred to it as "the mother of all grains." Apparently, it's not even a grain though. By definition, it's a fruit. It is a complete protein and is high in amino acids that most grains lack (so, if your eyes are glazing over at this nutritional information, here's why I like it).

• it takes twelve minutes to cook
• you can use it cold in salads (fills the place of wheat-containing couscous)
• before you cook it, fry some garlic, peppers, mushrooms, etc. in the pan and you have a pilaf
• it can be thrown into soups at the end for a nutritional boost
• I have been using it in Kieran's food since he was a wee babe
• it's CRAZY healthy

Gluten-Free, Sugar-Free Pumpkin Cheesecake

Now, you can use the leftover or frozen cookies from yesterday's recipe to make the crust for this cheesecake.

Everything will turn out better if all ingredients are at room temperature.


1 1/2 cups gingersnap crumbs

1/2 cup finely chopped nuts

1/2 cup melted butter

two 8 oz packages cream cheese

1/2 cup maple syrup, plus 1/4 cup

1 tsp vanilla

3 eggs

1 cup squash puree (I used butternut but pumpkin would work too)

1 tsp cinnamon

pinch nutmeg

pinch ginger


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees - mix crumbs, nuts, and butter with a fork - press into a 9 inch spring form pan - bake for 10 minutes - turn oven down to 325 degrees


Mix cream cheese, 1/2 cup syrup, and vanilla until well-blended - add eggs and blend - set one cup aside for marbling - to the remaining batter, add 1/4 cup syrup, puree, and spices and blend well


Spoon batter alternately on top of the crust. Using a knife, swirl the batter...until lovely looking


When cake is thoroughly cooled, chill.


This is a little more involved, but it's the holidays. And...it freezes well.

Ginger Snaps

My friend gave me this recipe. We've made it several times. If I make the whole recipe, I freeze half. If I just want some gingerbread men for Christmas, I make half the recipe. I find this to be a time-saver because they freeze well and the ingredients are pretty straightforward.

1 cup melted butter

1 1/4 cup fancy molasses

2 tsp baking soda

2 tsp ginger

2 cups rice flour (I've used both brown and white)

2 1/2 cups corn flour

Mix all ingredients - Chill dough - Bake at 350 for 7-8 minutes

There are two ways to prepare the dough. Before you chill it, roll it into two logs and wrap in wax paper. Then you can slice it into round cookies with a sharp knife. They will spread a little while baking. This is the fast way.

Another option is to chill the dough in balls and then roll it out. Use cookie cutters to make different shapes. We make "animal" cookies this way. We also make gingerbread men that can be decorated (although they are a little fragile). We bought an array of cookie cutters at The Bulk Barn. We have a tiny teddy bear cutter so we can make "Teddy Grams."

Either way, the dough must be chilled in order to hold its shape.

Make sure you save 1 1/2 cups of cookie for my next recipe.

Merry Christmas

I'm dreaming of a gluten-free Christmas!

banana loaf (with cranberries)

Merry Christmas!

I'll be back in a few days...

What GF Folks CAN Eat

When I first became gluten-free, I was overwhelmed by the list of things I couldn't eat.

Here is a list of things GF folks can eat:

• beans
• corn
• dairy
• eggs
• fish
• fruit
• grains (buckwheat, millet, quinoa, rice, sorghum, tapioca, etc)
• herbs
• legumes
• meat
• nuts
• potatoes
• poultry
• seafood
• soy
• spices (that are labelled gluten-free--some, like curry powder, have gluten-containing additives)
• vegetables

vices we can enjoy (in moderation, of course):

• wine!
• some chocolate (check ingredients)
• coffee/tea

Here are the ingredients to avoid:

• wheat (wheat protein, bulgur, semolina, spelt, durum, kamut, graham, farina, couscous, matzoh) The only exceptions to avoiding the word "wheat" are buckwheat and wheatgrass.
• wheat starch
• barley and malt
• triticale
• rye

See! The list of what we can eat is longer!

Gluten-Free Snack Ideas

My boy snacks constantly. It's hard to keep thinking of new things that can travel well. Here's a list I've put together of ideas I've had for snacks--sometimes he loves them, sometimes he doesn't.

applesauce
homemade or store bought gf granola bars
nuts (walnuts and pecans are easier to chew)
raisins
gf ginger snaps (stay tuned for a good recipe)
rice crackers and cakes
gf muffins
cereal (Mesa Flakes by Nature's Path are good)

If I have a cooler:

plain yogurt with maple syrup
hummus with gf crackers
cheese cubes
nut or seed butter on gf crackers