Adventures of a Gluten-Free Foodie

Salmon burger from Whole Foods August 31, 2010

Filed under: grocery stores,prepared foods,products — hk imagery @ 5:35 pm
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salmon burger

I was recently browsing the seafood counter at Whole Foods and saw these awesome looking tequila-lime salmon burgers that were prepared and ready for the grill. But of course, they weren’t gluten-free. There was a breading used to bind the burgers together. I bought some anyway for my husband, because they looked so darn good, even though I knew I would be jealous of him the moment he bit into one. Then as I continued shopping through the store, I thought, hey!  Whole Foods is pretty progressive. They have tons of gluten-free options. Maybe they would prepare some gluten-free salmon burgers, by special request.

They didn’t even hesitate! I offered to buy the rest of the gluten-free breadcrumbs from the package that they had to open in order to make the salmon burgers.  And they had to make a disclaimer that the burgers aren’t made in a facility free of wheat products.  But otherwise they charged me the same price as the wheat-based burgers and they were ready soon after I made the request. Of course they asked that next time I request them in advance, which I should have done in the first place.

I served the salmon burgers on Whole Foods hamburger buns (stay tuned for the product review), with some homemade tartar sauce (recipe to follow). The burgers turned out to be yum city (as we like to say in our household) and I didn’t have to be jealous of my husband’s meal!

Now, I don’t know if this is an official service that Whole Foods offers, so don’t tell them that I sent you!  But if you are nice enough to them and give them advance notice, they may be able to accommodate your gluten-free needs in their prepared foods sections. Just please don’t ask them to do this if you are on a gluten-free diet for trendiness only. This may ruin the special treatment for those of us that have to be on a gluten-free diet due to its risks to our health.

 

Carrot-cake cupcakes August 27, 2010

Filed under: recipes — hk imagery @ 12:01 pm
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gluten-free cupcake

For my husband’s birthday last week, I made him carrot-cake cupcakes (his choice). I have been delighted to discover Betty Crocker’s gluten-free cakes mixes, which I wrote about yesterday. I folllowed the carrot cake recipe on the Betty Crocker website exactly, except that I omitted the nuts, which both my son and my husband asked me to do. I also made the cream cheese frosting, and included the coconut as the recipe suggests.  The cupcakes were a hit, and guests were surprised to find out that they were gluten free.

Betty Crocker’s Gluten-Free Carrot Cake Recipe

1 box (15 oz) Betty Crocker Gluten Free yellow cake mix

2/3 cup water

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

2 teaspoons gluten-free vanilla

3 eggs

1 cup finely shredded carrots (2 medium)

1/4 cup finely chopped pecans or walnuts

Frosting

4 oz (half of 8 oz. package) cream cheese, softened

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 teaspoon gluten-free vanilla

2 cups powdered sugar

1 to 3 teaspoons milk

1/4 cup coconut, if desired


  1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease bottom only of 8- or 9-inch square pan with shortening, or spray with cooking spray. (I used muffin tins to make cupcakes, some lined with paper, some greased and both sets turned out fine).
  2. In large bowl, beat cake mix, water, 1/2 cup butter, cinnamon, nutmeg, 2 teaspoons vanilla and eggs on low speed 30 seconds. Beat on medium speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. With spoon, stir in carrots and pecans. Spread in pan (or muffin tin).
  3. Bake 36 to 41 minutes for 8-inch pan or 33 to 38 minutes for 9-inch pan or until toothpick comes out clean. (It took only 31 minutes for the cupcakes). Cool completely, about 1 hour.
  4. In large bowl, beat cream cheese, 2 tablespoons butter, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla and 1 teaspoon milk with electric mixer on low speed until smooth. Gradually beat in powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, until smooth and spreadable. If frosting is too thick, beat in more milk, a few drops at a time. Stir in coconut. Spread frosting over cake.
 

Betty Crocker Gluten-Free Cake Mixes August 26, 2010

Filed under: baking mixes,products — hk imagery @ 11:53 am
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gluten-free cake mix by Betty Crocker

I couldn’t believe my eyes when I first saw that Betty Crocker had come out with gluten-free cake mixes. I grew up helping my dad make birthday cakes in the kitchen. When my first child turned one, I wanted to make him his first birthday cake the way my dad always made cakes for us. But if I was going to go through all the trouble of baking and frosting the cake, I wanted to be able to eat it too!  I can’t remember which gluten-free cake mix I used at the time (that was two years ago), but it was only ok. The taste was fine, but it was a little dry and crumbly. For my son’s second birthday, I tried another gluten-free cake mix, and was still only mildly satisfied (again I can’t remember which mix I used).

I jumped at the chance to use Betty Crocker’s cake mixes and I was not disappointed! Back in April, I made a chocolate cake with chocolate icing (at my son’s request) for his third birthday, using their chocolate cake mix. I then made their yellow cake with a strawberry icing, for my daughter’s first birthday back in June. And just last week I used their yellow cake mix to make carrot cake cupcakes (at my husband’s request) for his birthday.

The cakes (and cupcakes) turned out to be consistently moist and yummy. I am so happy that an American institution can be brought into gluten-free households, too. It took a company with tried and true baking experience to get the cake mix right. Thanks Betty Crocker!

Here are a couple of snap shots of my kids’ birthday cakes from a couple of months ago. I will post the carrot cake cupcakes picture tomorrow.

gluten-free chocolate cake with chocolate frosting

gluten-free chocolate cake with chocolate frosting

gluten-free yellow cake with strawberry frosting

gluten-free yellow cake with strawberry frosting

 

Glutino Pretzels August 13, 2010

Filed under: products,snacks — hk imagery @ 4:13 pm
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gluten-free pretzels

I love these Glutino gluten-free pretzels. Even my gluten-eating friends and family think they have a great flavor. They are almost buttery. I once tried to get some in a natural foods store in Virginia, when I was visiting my parents. But the lady in the store told me she didn’t carry them because they didn’t have any “nutritive quality”.  I was amazed at her logic. Who eats pretzels for their nutritive value?

If you are like me, then you spend your life reading ingredients and most likely eat very wholesome, nutritious food most of the time – this being a consequence of living on a gluten-free, highly controlled diet. Not only that, you might be hungry often, because you aren’t filling up on bready ingredients morning, noon and night.

Every once in a while you just want to eat something because it tastes good, it feels good and its fun!  Well that’s the case with these yummy pretzels. They are a great snack and I don’t care that they are just a filler. If I want nutritive value, I’ll eat carrot sticks! Actually according to the label, there are 4 grams of protein per 24 pretzels. So there you go. That’s something.

My only complaint with this product is with their packaging. Once opened, the bag tears very easily, making it difficult to store. I often have to put it in a ziploc bag. Otherwise, they taste great and are perfectly filling.

 

Better than Bouillon August 12, 2010

Filed under: products — hk imagery @ 3:59 pm
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bouillon

In my last post, I mentioned that I like to use Better than Bouillon for recipes that call for broth. I like it because it stores well for a long time, and you just need one teaspoon per cup of water, so you don’t have to buy a lot of cans of broth. Also, many of the bouillon cubes on store shelves have MSG in them. While this is apparently not supposed to be a problem for those with sensitivity to gluten, I definitely have a reaction to it, so I avoid it at all costs. In fact, I have read that 30% of the general population (whether your are gluten intolerant or not) have a reaction to MSG.

One of the ingredients in their bouillon is autolyzed yeast extract. There were some talk on the web that this is the same thing as MSG. But according to the Better than Bouillon website, there is no added MSG to their products. I also checked this ingredient on the celiac.com website, just to be sure, and it is listed under their safe ingredients page. Better than Bouillon also claims on their website to be gluten-free.

Their bouillons come in many different flavors including vegetarian, organic and kosher options.

 

Beef Bourguignon August 6, 2010

Filed under: recipes — hk imagery @ 4:33 pm
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beef bourguignon

This is one of my favorite recipes, handed down to me from my father, and modified by me to suit my tastes and needs. Its very easy to make and yet tastes like it took forever. Well it does take a little time in the oven to stew, but the preparation is so simple. With its French name, it sounds so complex and fancy that you could serve it to guests or as a Sunday meal. Or you could serve it during the week (and just call it Beef Burgundy!). The traditional way to make the gravy is of course with wheat flour. But I just substitute rice flour, and nobody has ever noticed the difference. My husband thinks its special when I make this meal! Serve it with gluten-free pasta, mashed potatoes, or dip gluten-free bread into it.

Beef Bourguignon

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs. stew beef

1/4 cup (4 Tbsp) butter

1/4 cup rice flour

1/2 tsp pepper

1 tsp salt

3/4 cup Burgundy wine (don’t tell the French, but I often use whatever wine I have on hand)

2 cups beef broth (I like Better than Bouillon)

3/4 tsp thyme

8 oz fresh mushrooms

about 15 frozen pearl onions

2 bay leaves

Directions

Melt butter in large, oven proof, casserole dish. Add cubed beef and sauté until golden brown. Add mushrooms about halfway through the browning of the beef. Sprinkle with flour and seasonings. Toss back and forth so that the flour is an evenly distributed paste. Add Burgundy and beef broth and sprinkle in thyme. Cook stirring constantly for 5 minutes to create a gravy. Cover tightly and place in oven. Bake for 1 1/2 hours at 350 degrees. Stir in onions. Cover and cook another 1/2 hour.

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This recipe has also been submitted to the gluten-free homemaker’s Wednesday recipe carnival.

 

 
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