Not just for roasting on an open fire...

So, OK, I know researchers aren’t hard at work developing gluten-free flour solely for the joy of it. There’s money involved too (about $2.6 billion worth).

But I still get a kick out of the lengths scientists are going to in order to feed me delicious things. Well, not just me. You too.

Today’s study focuses on chestnut flour, which is of course made from naturally gluten-free chestnuts. Researchers in Spain have busted out the heavy machinery in order to figure out exactly how to tweak chestnut flour into a gluten-free baking substitute.

Their answer? Guar gum.
Click to continue reading »

I guess it’s fall.

I’ve been fighting it, but alas: summer is over, at least in Pittsburgh.

The down comforter is back on my bed (and, OK, so is the electric mattress pad). The windows at home? Most of the time, they’re mostly closed. The peaches and nectarines are fighting for shelf space with apples and pears.

Ah yes. Apples and pears. At least there’s fall food to look forward to.

For today, let’s focus on apple cider. Not only will you be hard-pressed to find a cider that isn’t gluten-free (get it?! Pressed!!), but cider’s got lots of antioxidants, it’s often easy to find a local variety, and it’s delicious.
Click to continue reading »

You know what I love?

Yes, yes, OK. You’re right, I DO love puppies, rainbows, and ice cream. But I also love shiny new words – especially when they just dress up something I’m already kind of familiar with.

So you can imagine my delight when I learned the word tian. Huh? According to Slashfood, a tian is a, “layered, baked vegetable dish that originated in Provence but is also common to city kitchens…Unlike a gratin, a tian does not include bread crumbs or cheese, which allows the juices in the vegetables to evaporate in the oven’s dry heat, concentrating their flavors.”

Some sources disagree with Slashfood’s ban on bread crumbs and cheese, others say it’s simply a cognate of the word tagine, and others still add eggs – in any event, tian is a fancy word for gluten-free, delicious veggies.
Click to continue reading »

The other day I saw a recipe for gluten-free tabouli, and I was intrigued. I used to quite like the stuff – a refreshing salad with parsley, mint, lemon juice, tomatoes, onion, olive oil, and kryptonite. I mean, erm, cracked bulger wheat.

I am almost positive I’ve not had tabouli in 8 years; it’s not something you often see modified for the gluten-free diet. So I was curious – what would the recipe use to replace the wheat?

My guess was quinoa, but instead it was hempseed. Interesting! A new grain! Turns out hemp seed is gluten-free, edible, and really healthy.
Click to continue reading »

Maybe the silveriest lining of having a restricted diet is that it forces a person to try out new tastes and flavors, to make up for what they can no longer have.

It turns out, there’s a lot of stuff out there that we can eat — but sometimes we just don’t know where to look. One place I’ve been looking lately? To raw food.

What is the raw diet? Well, it’s sort of exactly what it sounds like. The fundamental belief is that heating foods past a certain point makes them less wholesome (115°F-118°F depending on who’s talking). Generally speaking, the raw diet focuses on fruits, veggies, nuts, seaweed, sprouted grains and seeds, and beans. It’s also normally vegan (no dairy/eggs/meat, not even uncooked meats like sushi or steak tartare), and frowns on alcohol/caffeine/processed sugar.

I can’t speak to the health properties of the raw lifestyle — it’s not for me — but some of it, sometimes, is healthy and tasty. And, more importantly, it’s largely gluten-free.
Click to continue reading »

Have you ever eaten jackfruit?

I hadn’t, until my favorite adventurous vegan cooked up some gluten-free jackfruit barbeque back in the spring. I know I know, it’s practically fall, but hopefully you’ll forgive me the delay: this stuff is worth looking into, regardless of the season.

There aren’t too many gluten-free, vegan meat alternatives. Tofu, of course, but I know that many of us try to avoid eating too much soy (and many more of us avoid it altogether).

Enter the jackfruit. You can find it canned, frozen and/or dried in any Asian grocery (and some ‘regular’ groceries as well, and occasionally fresh). It’s a good source of fiber and has a smattering of other helpful components: vitamins A, C, and B6; magnesium, potassium, calcium, iron, etc.

But what to do with it?
Click to continue reading »

I was driving back to Pittsburgh the other day, and my route took me right past a farm stand.

I’m a sucker for farm stands. Car stopped, I took a stroll through some produce. When I asked what had been grown on the farm (as opposed to elsewhere in Pennsylvania), the man pointed to these gigantic cucumbers and buckets of tomatoes, so that’s what I got.

Unfortunately (fortunately?), he wouldn’t sell me just two of each. It was 5 for a dollar, and goshdarnit he was not about to go making change. Since I’d be racing the clock trying to eat these veggies, my mind turned to one thing only: shopska salad.

Shopska is arguably the best salad ever, so good that it deserves its own post.
Click to continue reading »

I love summer, but it’s hot outside. I love cooking, but it’s hot in my kitchen when the oven’s on. What’s a girl to do?

Some days, the answer is takeout, or a salad. But other days, I really want to be in the kitchen futzing around for a while. And for now, that means cold soup.

For many, the world of cold soup begins and ends with gazpacho. There’s nothing wrong with that gazpacho is delicious and healthy and stands up to endless tinkering. Do you want it spicy or not? Chunky or pureed? Which herbs do you want to play with? What veggies look freshest at the market this week?
Click to continue reading »

I thought maybe today we’d talk about kohlrabi.

Why? Well, mostly because I like it. I’ve been on a bit of a kick lately – it’s a little early in the season, but the stuff is generally available – and thought you might enjoy a kohlrabi kick of your own.

If you’ve never had it before, have you seen it in your local grocery store? You might see a picture like this one, or you might see it with the leaves chopped off. You might see it green, or maybe purple.

Whichever way, it’s a great, gluten-free source of potassium, fiber, Thiamin, Folate, Magnesium and Phosphorus, Vitamin C, Vitamin B6, Copper and Manganese.

Yum! But what to do with it once you buy it?
Click to continue reading »

Hi all. So, I wrote today’s post last week, and between now and then I got dumped. Do me a favor and switch it all over to the past tense, k? The info’s still good, but boys are yabba-dabba-dumb.

I’ve been spending a lot of time with a caveman lately.

OK that’s not true. But I have been spending a lot of time with someone who loosely follows the paleo diet, and I’m pretty sure if brontosaurus burgers were an option, he’d be cooking them.

And you know what? I’d eat them. Brontosaurus is probably tasty. And he’s a good cook.

I didn’t really know anything about the paleo diet before, but I think it’s an interesting one to consider. And, since it’s gluten-free by default, the paleo community can be a great additional source of recipe ideas for anyone who’s gluten-free.
Click to continue reading »