Take the mystery out of gluten-free baking for all skill levels and learn how to use alternative flours, unrefined sugars, and other healthful ingredients to achieve a taste and texture comparable to the “real thing.”
The books offer over 100 gluten, dairy, and soy-free recipes, as well as hundreds of tips for both new and experienced gluten-free bakers.
Spain has been on our gluten-free minds a lot lately, most recently because of the gluten-free buns available at McDonald’s and before that simply as a great gluten-free destination.
Now, according to International Supermarket News, Spain is about to get easy access to Genius gluten-free bread. Wahoo!
Perhaps I should not relate to this image as much as I do...but hey: a fuzzy creature is clearly gluten-free.
If you’ve been reading this blog for at least the past year, you a) deserve a gold star and b) know that I am not a big fan of the ol’ Valentine’s Day.
In fact, the thing I like best about the day is that it’s helpful for remembering some fairly unimportant math factoids: The square root of two is 1.4, so if you squint you’ll see 2/14 there. Fun extra-math fact: the square root of 3 is 1.7 — hello, St. Pat’s Day!
Um, did I mention that I used to tutor SATs? Yup. Cool-kid blogger, right here.
If you’re more Valentine’s-inclined than I am, you might be in the throes of menu-planning or candy-shopping right now. For you, then, I offer the following resources, helpfully poached from more loving bloggers than I.
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A while back we wrote about microwave-baking as a convenient way to make cake for one (gluten-free or otherwise). Today, I wanted to talk about a different way to make cake for one: with a recipe designed for a small batch.
A new book published by Ontario home economists, titled The Gluten-free Baking Book: 250 Small-batch Recipes for Everything from Brownies to Cheesecake, promises just that. Although I haven’t reviewed the book to be able to speak to the quality of the recipes, I thought the premise alone was worth a write-up.
Some people don’t have a microwave or prefer to minimize their use of one. And even the most microwave-loving person out there occasionally craves a baked good that needs more traditional treatment.
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One of the most surefire ways to cheer up when the skies are gray and cloudy is to go home and find a package of chocolate bars waiting for you on your stoop. Ah, the glamorous life of a blogger.
Technically I suppose that isn’t true. The cheering-up really happens after you’ve brought the bars inside and opened one. After all, one of the “perils” of having random food to try is that sometimes, it doesn’t taste very good.
Ah, the glamorous, perilous, life of a blogger.
Happily, the Angell Crisp bars that I tore into the other week were deee-licious. To borrow the company’s description, they were “a classic combination of smooth, creamy milk chocolate and crispy rice. Every bit a candy bar, but gluten-free, and made from the same organic and Fair Trade Certified® ingredients as the rest.”
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Did you know McDonald’s has a gluten-free bun in Spain, Sweden, Finland and Norway?
Talk about feeling left out over here in America. Sheesh.
Although I first learned about this when a friend forwarded me this blurb on gluten-free fast food from CNN’s Fortune blog, the gluten-free bun is apparently not a particularly new introduction.
Still, I thought some of you intrepid gluten-free travelers might want the info should you find yourself in Europe. And if I wasn’t aware, at least one or two of you were in the bunless dark too.
A greater search around the Internet brought up some reviews, which I’ll share below the jump. When I enlisted a friend to check McDonald’s Norwegian website, I got a second shock: Burger King offers gluten-free buns too, at least in Scandinavia!
So how do these buns taste? Well, according to the reviews online, they’re not half-bad — especially if you’re craving some fast food while abroad.
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Chick-fil-A has a generally good reputation amongst the gluten-free community, and with their latest announcement I expect their reputation will only improve.
According to the press release on their website, Chick-fil-A is adding two new, healthy options for their Kids’ Meal: grilled chicken nuggets and Buddy Fruits® Pure Blended Fruit To Go. Combined with one of the beverage choices (skim milk, apple juice, lemonade or water), it’s about as healthy of a fast food meal as you’re likely to find anywhere.
Now, before I type up the rest of the press release, let’s jump over quickly to the disclaimer on Chick-fil-A’s gluten free info online:
…Some ingredients such as spices and natural flavors may be proprietary; therefore, we may not have the source listed for those items. We recommend you review this list with your physician before consuming any of the products listed below, or any other item on our menu. Although the ingredients in these menu items are gluten-free, we do not have gluten free prep areas and procedures for assembly of these menu items.
When I found out that Jovial Foods would be sending me a box of samples, I was pretty psyched.
I first learned about the company through a contest they ran, with maybe the best grand prize ever: a week in a villa outside Lucca, Italy, learning about pasta from Jovial’s artisans and taking cooking classes with the Gluten Free Girl and her husband, the Chef (note: the winners have been announced, but there are spaces open for other people to join the adventure).
Jovial Foods is one of those companies that hits all the right marks: their gluten-free products are
Plus, I’d heard the pasta cooked up phenomenally. When I opened the package, there were gluten-free cookies in it along with the pasta.
My cup, it runneth over.
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photo borrowed from Freshdaily's Toronto blog
A festive post for a festive week. I know many of us typically think of Champagne when we think of New Year’s toasts — but that’s not what today’s post is about.
Many of us also like beer. Or, at least, liked beer until we had to go gluten-free (you certainly had a lot to say about that last year when I wrote about beer, including some of your favorite gluten-free finds). The gluten-free beer market continues to boom. Happily for us all, in addition to established gluten-free beers like Bard’s etc., more and more established brewers are dipping their toes (and more) into the vat. What’s more, new breweries are setting up, dedicated solely to beers for the likes of you and me.
Dogfish Head, the well-loved craft brewer making, “off-centered stuff for off-centered people,” first tried out a gluten-free beer in their brewpub in Rehoboth, Delaware. It did so well that they’ve gone ahead and bottled it for our far-flung enjoyment.
The brew, called Tweason’ale, has a sorghum base but also includes strawberries and buckwheat honey. It will be released 4 times each year, starting in January, and come packed as 4 12-oz bottles.
If you’re in Canada — Toronto, specifically — you don’t just get a new gluten-free beer, you get a gluten-free brewery. Snowman Brewing, spun from a home brew, is now getting its own nights at Burger Bar in Kensington Market. Not too much info available on the brews themselves, but according to the article their gluten-free brews won this years All About Ales awards in the strong ale and the brown ales categories. The awards are given to amateur brewers by the Canadian Amateur Brewers Association, and it’s notable that Snowman’s entries beat out the gluten-containing competition.
Which gluten-free beers are you loving lately?
Last year Michelle covered some tips for using a bread machine to make gluten-free bread, and you had a lot to say. Ditto my post last year about being gluten-free in college.
So, I thought you might be interested in this press release from Chartwells and Bready, announcing a partnership to get gluten-free breadmakers to college campuses.
Who are these companies?
Well, Chartwells is a company that provides dining hall services to schools, put simply. And Bready is a breadmaking system involving specialized mixes and a specialized “robot” machine.
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Bernd das Brot. Barely related to article, but still my favorite grumpy German puppet.
A quick post today, for when you need a break from turkey and cranberry and pie and all of tomorrow’s delicious foods.
I know you already know what kiwi and potatoes are. I’m not that goofy. But, did you know that there are some new products on the market, made from the exotic kiwi and the humble potato, that will likely be coming to a food near you.
Researchers and food scientists have developed two new products that are (supposedly) beneficial to those of us on a gluten-free diet. The ingredients aren’t going to be available for you or I to purchase in the supermarket anytime soon, but it’s good to know about them nevertheless.
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