Sunday, May 30, 2010

Go Ahead Honey It's Gluten-Free May Recipe Roundup


You Say Jelly, I Say Jello

First of all I want to thank Naomi Devlin of Straight into Bed Cakefree and Dried, the creative founder of this gluten-free blog carnival. This was such a pleasure to do. Thank You Naomi!

When you think of jello, do you think of rubbery cubes of Red 40? If so, your image of gelatin is about to change for the better...

Rajasharee of Flipbook Kitchen takes us to India in the summertime for cool and exotic Mango Kulfi. Her new website features GF,SCD and Vegetarian dishes. Let's give her a warm welcome.



Heidi Kelly of Adventures of a Gluten-Free Mom presents a cool recipe called Funny Oranges. How creative!!





Denise of Free to Feast gives us something great to go with our GF toast, Blackberry Jam. I think this is Denise's first GAHIGF, so stop by to welcome her. Free to Feast is GF and SCD.



Zoe of Z's Cup of Tea brings us Strawberry Mousse, elegant, Dairy-Free and SCD.



Ina of Gluten-Free Delightfully Delicious helps us chill with Blueberry Pomegranite Jellied Smoothie. Ina is another first timer to GAHIGF, so be sure to check out her beautiful site.



I have two submissions. This one is The Real Deal Strawberry Jello.



This is my other submission, Coffee Panna Cotta. This is a rich and creamy coffee dessert perfect for warm weather.




This luscious Banana Cream Pie is from Aubrie Cherie of Living Free. A tempting dessert that is also Dairy-Free and refined Sugar-Free.



To finish, here's another gorgeous Dairy-Free and refined Sugar-Free dessert, Coconut Almond Panna Cotta from Sheryl of Breaking Bread. (Scroll to the bottom of Sheryl's post for this recipe)



Gelatin is such a creative avenue for Gluten-Free fare. I'd like to think it's heyday isn't over. I hope these bloggers will inspire you.

The host for next month's Go Ahead Honey It's Gluten-Free is Penny of the Elysium Eatery with the theme All Things Yogurt.

Saturday, May 29, 2010

Coffee Panna Cotta (GF)



This is one of the few times I will be posting a GF recipes that is not SCD legal. I love coffee desserts and I've had this idea to try for a couple years now. I thought this months Go Ahead Honey It's Gluten-Free theme would be a good time to post it.

It was not my intent to have it with separate layers. I do not know the culinary science behind why it did this, but I thought it looked cool. If you are a coffee lover I think you'll enjoy this.

Note: This recipe is not SCD legal


2 cups Whipping or Heavy Cream
1 3/4 cups Strong Black Coffee
1/2 cup Rapadura or Sugar (the Rapadura adds a nice depth)
1 teas. Vanilla
2 packets Knox Gelatin

In a medium bowl(I use a 4 cup Pyrex cup), add 1/2 cup of the cream and sprinkle the gelatin on top to absorb. A few minutes later, add hot coffee and stir.

Put the rest of the cream and sugar in a saucepan and cook over medium heat just until it begins to heat up and melt the sugar. Add vanilla. Pour into coffee mixture. When it has cooled to room temperature, pour into parfait glasses or goblets and chill until set.

Thursday, May 27, 2010

The Dangers of Antacids and PPI's

If you or someone you know has Heartburn, GERD, Acid Reflux or has been taking antacids or PPI's (such as Nexium) please take a few moments to read about these. Chris at The Healthy Skeptic has done an excellent job covering this topic:

FDA sounds alarm on dangers of antacid drugs

Heartburn/GERD At the bottom of this article there are links to several more in his series on this.

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Basil Chicken Salad (SCD, GFCF)


I planted some basil and other herbs with my flowers this year. It's so nice to have fresh herbs on hand. You can make the basil oil the day before, it's even better. I let my crock pot cook the chicken for me while I'm at work. The next day I throw the bones and bits back into the crock pot to make broth.

1 cup Basil Leaves, rinsed
3/4 cup Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
2 cups Chicken, cooked and diced
1 10-oz container Grape or Cherry Tomatoes, sliced in half
1 small Red Onion, finely diced
2-3 TBSP Red Wine Vinegar
1 teas Dijon Mustard or Dry Mustard Powder
2 Cloves Garlic, minced
Salt and Pepper to taste

Blanch the basil in boiling water for about 5 seconds, then rinse with cold water. Squeeze out the water. Add to blender with oil and pulse to combine. You can chill it overnight for more flavor.

Add chicken, tomatoes and onion to a large mixing bowl. In a small bowl, add basil oil, vinegar, mustard and garlic. Whisk until combined. Toss with chicken. Salt and Pepper to taste.

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Lunch Gear

Being on a special diet means taking your food along with you quite often. I take my lunch to work each day and my son takes breakfast and lunch to school. I like having lots of useful gear on hand. No one has asked me to advertise this stuff, I have just found them useful. I love these Lunchopolis Lunch Kits. The most recent one cost $22.50 and that may sound expensive but it includes the lead-free insulated lunch tote, 4 containers with lids and a 15 oz. beverage bottle, all BPA free. Our blue model with green piping came with green containers and the brown with blue piping model came with blue containers. I found ours at the local Drug Emporium but they are also available online, info at Lunchopolis
The only thing missing is a silverware case. I don't like dirty silverware floating around my lunchbox and I worry a knife or fork is going to gouge it up.


The shape of the tote is perfect for holding two bento boxes and two beverages:


I found these adorable ice packs by Rubbermaid, at Target. I think they were $3.99 each. They are also handy to have on hand in the freezer in case of kitchen burns.

Friday, May 7, 2010

The Real Deal Strawberry Gelatin (SCD, GFCF)



The real taste of strawberries is great in jello, you'll never want the artificial stuff again. I used a 5 cup decorative bundt pan, but I forgot to oil it and the warm water bath was too effective, but it still tasted great.

4 cups Strawberries, sliced
Water
3/4 cup Honey
3 packs Knox Unflavored Gelatin

In a large bowl add 1 cup of water and sprinkle gelatin on top. Set aside to absorb.

Puree strawberries with an immersion blender or in a blender. Add water, if needed, to bring it back up to 4 cups. Add to a saucepan with honey and bring to a boil.

Pour some of the hot strawberry mixture, about a cup or two, on top of the gelatin. You may need to whisk to get the gelatin incorporated. Then add the rest of the hot strawberry mixture and stir to combine. Chill until set.