gluten free

Trader Joe’s and Gluten Free….For Me?

I made my first pilgrimage to Trader Joe’s.  Been wanting to go for years.  I was on vacation in the Boston, MA area, and went to one in Brookline near my sister’s condo.  Saturday morning, crazy busy parking lot; we were thrilled to find a space! I was not so thrilled with what I found inside.  No separate gluten free area.  IT was all mixed in all over the place.  Like a treasure hunt but unfortunately I found cross contamination issues with their products and had to put lots of the treasures back on the shelf.  I also was not happy to have gf stuff right next to all purpose wheat flour based products.

tj cookies

Missed these……next time.

I couldn’t accept foods that were “processed on equipment that may also process wheat, etc.”  Nope.  Been there, tried that and got pretty sick: total waste of money to purchase, waste of time to bake with it and not be able to enjoy and so not good for my digestive system.  Yes, the possibility of a small contamination due to shared equipment for processing food is definitely enough to cause a celiac to not buy a food product. Happens all the time to me when I shop; I read the label and then regretfully put the product back on the shelf.

espresso beans

Now, I hear Trader Joe’s has a reputation for gluten free products and after the fact I discovered that you can get a list of gf foods from the service desk and their staff will help you find it.  Frankly I saw no staff around the store but I can say that they were very friendly at the check out and gave me a free TJ’s bag for it being my first ever TJ experience.  Sweet of them.  Would have been sweeter if I had been able to buy some salad dressing and chocolate covered nuts.  Neither of which was safe consider the cross contamination issue, here-to-for referred to as cc.

tj bag

Today I did find a blog posting giving me some direction on what was great at TJ’s; gonna use it next time, check it out: http://dragonflyglutenfree.blogspot.com/2014/05/trader-joes-gluten-free-love.html

Something else bothered me; the shelving of gluten free products.  Two reasons for my dismay; first: when they are blended together it is frighteningly easy to mistake something and take it home and as you are munching on it you realize it was not gf, just looked a lot like the gf product next to it! Secondly, I hate seeing gf products next to or on a lower shelf than regular products that have loose flour in them; bags of wheat flour for instance.  Before you jump to conclusions of me baking with wheat flour by accident; the problem is those wheat flour boxes and bags do leak at times or even burst.  Then a shower of wheat based product sifts down or over onto the gf boxes/bags.  I might touch that gf bag or box to read the ingredients.  I don’t even have to buy it to get sick.  If I get a small amount of flour which contains gluten on my fingers and then touch my face/lips it is shockingly easy for me to get quite sick.  That brief touch of flour is all it takes to make someone with celiac very ill.  tf english muffins

Smart managers of some grocery stores have a dedicated gf baking area for products so they are not next to wheat based mixes: Wegmans does that.  They have the best gf department in general and the don’t spread their gf stuff all over the store.

wegmans gf

Wegman’s GF aisle

Other stores, at least, put the gf stuff on the top shelf so if the flour leaks; it doesn’t get on the gf stuff which is above it.  Giant does this which I applaud.  Sadly, Whole Foods doesn’t nor do most heath food stores. I have told mangers about this issue but unless they know a celiac well enough to realize how easily products get contaminated, they just don’t get it and can’t be bothered to move the arrangement of products around to make it safer for us celiac sufferers.  I would be curious to know what other grocery store chains do in how they shelve gf products.

coconut oil

I did buy a jar of this!

My friend Josh who is a total TJ addict didn’t understand what I meant by cc and suggested I share some of this in my blog so you understand it when your gf family member freaks out about such stuff.

It may seem minor but when your life depends on you eating consistently safely, then you look at all the little stuff.  I hate getting ill from gluten and if I suffer several bouts in a short period of time I feel so terrible I can barely function and spend weeks feeling nauseated all day long as a result of the multiple glutenings.  So I look at all the ways I can get glutened and avoid food with any possibility of cross contamination as well as outside the package contamination.

fig butter

Finally, I also belong to several celiac support groups and have heard serious rumblings about the authenticity of Trader Joe’s gluten free designations on their products.  I take that gf label very seriously and if they are found to be slapping it on unsafe products you will Never find my personage in a Trader Joe’s again. I hope it is not so, I really do.  Meanwhile I am going to go open my fig butter and indulge in a little fig jam party!

Hand Pies – Heaven Comes in Small Portions!

Looking for a small snack, something that is fruity and flaky? Look no further than hand pies.  I make them out of leftover dough from pies or tarts.  I’d been making them long before I went gluten free…I’m still creating different versions in my gf life. They are very simple. Basically roll out a circle of pie dough; plop on some filling; fold over, pinch and bake. They are my secret treat when I bake a pie for company!  A hand pie satisfies that pie craving and is fairly portable.  Can take these treats on a picnic, to the beach or on a hike if you put them in a rigid walled container so they don’t get smushed.

I confess that I generally only make one or two from scraps when I bake a pie or tart but you can just make hand pies and it should make about 6 depending on how big you make them. You might get 7 if on the small side or maybe 5 if they are large!

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blueberry filling in this fat hand pie

Angie’s GF Hand Pies

Crust:

1 c plus 2 tbsp brown rice flour mix (at bottom of recipe)

2 tbsp sweet rice flour

1 Tbsp. granulated sugar

½ tsp xanthan gum

¼ tsp salt

6 Tbsp. cold butter cut into 6 chunks

1 large egg

2 tsp fresh orange or lemon juice

Directions: Mix dry ingredients in bowl of stand electric mixer.  Add butter and mix until crumbly and resembling coarse meal.  Add egg and juice.  Mix until it comes together into big chunks.  Shape into a ball with your hands. Put it on a crust sized piece of wax paper (14 x 14 inches more or less), flatten the crust ball some; put on top of it another piece of wax paper and chill it all in your fridge 15-20 minutes while you do something else.  I use my pie bag; a round piece of plastic connected to another piece of plastic by a zipper; more sturdy than wax paper for rolling out gf dough.

Filling:

½ to 2/3 cup of jam, marmalade or cooked fruit – if you go with cooked fruit; add some sugar; maybe 2 tbsp of it and cook just a few minutes; don’t let it totally break down. Stir it as it cooks on low. I have used blueberries mixed with rhubarb for this fruity filling version; yumm!

I use a tablespoon per hand pie of fruit jam, cooked fruit or marmalade.  I love it with homemade jam or marmalade.  My Meyer lemon marmalade is fantastic in a hand pie.  I sometimes add a tbsp. of almond flour on top of the filling; gives more texture.

Optional: almond flour, cinnamon sugar

Directions: roll out a chunk of dough; about 2-3 tbsp worth; you can divide the big ball of dough into 6 chunks so they are the same size.  Make it a circle or oval shape, try not to get it too thin as it will be very difficult to work with and may break allowing filling to ooze out.  I peel the rolled out dough off the plastic, lay it back down so it will be easy to pick up once filled.  Top it with the jam or cooked fruit on one side; not too close to the edge!  Sprinkle with almond flour or meal if you like. Fold over the crust and pinch it shut all along the edge. You can use a fork to press it shut and make an edging.  If you leave any unsealed the filling will run out and make a mess.  Sometimes I bake them on aluminum foil so I can throw it away and avoid cleaning up the mess of burst out filling that has burnt on the pan.

Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar if you like, which I do.  Lay on a baking sheet that you sprayed with cooking spray to cut down on sticking.  You could use parchment paper on it if you like. Repeat with the rest of the dough and fillings.

Bake in 350 oven for about 20 to 25 minutes; until light brown.  Cool before eating.  Easier said than done; I love them still slightly warm from the oven.  Yummers!

Brown Rice Flour Mix  (it is the same as King Arthur’s gf flour mix)
2 c brown rice flour

2/3 c potato starch

1/3 c tapioca flour

Refreshing Dinner Salad with Tuna and Fresh Dill

Tuna salad, that kinda conjures up images of mayonnaise drenched tuna on bread.  Nope, not what we are talking about today. I am thinking something more like a supper plate salad but using canned olive oil packed tuna.  There are a couple of good brands of olive oil packed light tuna, I use them in Italian recipes all the time, the flavor is superior to any water or other oil packed tuna.

olive oil tuna

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You can put this together with stuff in the fridge and pantry and have a healthy, tasty cold salad that needs no cooking meaning no hot stove.  I will share what I put in mine and you can modify it to use what you have available, exact amounts are flexible.  I am sure you could use canned salmon instead of tuna or cooked chicken might work great too.  The key to success is lots of fresh veggies, high quality tuna and a good vinaigrette dressing.

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Angie’s Tuna Supper Plate Salad

1 can oil packed light tuna (I used half a can: rest will keep a day in the fridge for another salad)

2 cups greens, best is garden lettuce, if none; get something like a spring mix or another tender leaf lettuce

½ cup sliced cucumber: I prefer an European cucumber for this recipe

1/3 cup sliced yellow squash (raw)

1 tomato cut into large chunks

¼ cup chopped celery

1-2 tbsp. feta cheese crumbled

1-2 scallions or spring onions diced up

2 tbsp. chopped fresh dill

olive oil tuna 2

Directions: Put the greens on a full sized plate and arrange the veggies, top with cheese, then tuna and on the very top goes the spring onion and fresh dill.

Vinaigrette Dressing:

Here is my basic vinaigrette recipe.  I use one of those Good Seasoning’s jars to mix it in but add my own ingredients instead of their powder which is not gluten free. You can use any jar with a tight lid and measure in the ingredients.

Fill it to the vinegar line with red wine vinegar, (approx. 1/4 cup)

Add some filtered water to the water line (about 2 tbsp)

½ tsp Dijon mustard or whole grain mustard

½ tsp sea salt

¼ tsp dried thyme or oregano

one garlic clove (peeled and mashed down a bit to release flavor)

1 tsp mayonnaise

¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper

½ tsp sugar

Top off with some extra virgin olive oil, stop halfway before the oil line and finish it with lighter olive oil (total of ½ cup plus 1 tbsp. of oil)

Shake it up really well.  It tastes best at room temperature. Try to remember to make it early so you can let it marinate for an hour before you use it.  Refrigerate leftover dressing. The mustard adds snap and the bit of mayonnaise helps the dressing stay emulsified (fully blended) longer than it would without the mayo so you can pour it easier with out it separating.

Notes: Use the veggies you have and don’t sweat the proportions but don’t put too much of any one vegetable in; so no one veggie flavor predominates; it should be about the tuna and the dill.  If you are a dill hater, try another fresh herb, parsley or basil come to mind.

Have fun making this quick, healthy, and yummy dinner salad that will satisfy your appetite and keep you feeling full for a long while!

Strawberry Shortcake – Show Stopper

strawberry shortcake

I just have to share this strawberry shortcake recipe with you.  We had it on Father’s Day, gluten free shortcake of course.  I am not sure where I got the shortcake recipe; maybe my old Bette Hagman Gourmet Cookbook. It was a big hit with everyone just like in past years.  I used to make it a lot when I could still use all purpose flour but my new gf biscuit version is pretty tasty I have to say. But there is one thing, you gotta make it with the best freaking strawberries you can find.  None of those firm ones with whitish cores that are shipped in from far away.  You need juicy ripe scented local red berries that can be chopped coarsely and mixed with sugar and served over shortbread.  Gluten free short bread.  Yes, it can be done and it will taste fantastic!

My mom always made a gorgeous version of strawberry shortcake. When I was a kid she would serve it as an entire meal.  I have done that and it is kinda cool.  I generally made a huge oval biscuit with a smaller topping biscuit that I split off and buttered the split area before topping with berries and the smaller biscuit.  And more ripe berries.  Then a topping of softly whipped heavy cream.  Oh berry perfection.! Now I do it in two separate pans but the construction of the final dessert product is the same otherwise.

I cannot stress enough the importance of the best ripest berries.  I got some ripe ones from Lehigh Valley Produce on Main Street in Hellertown.  They told me the berries came from Lancaster; Amish country and were not sprayed; smaller and darker than grocery store berries but I must say that the flavor was very good; authentic and so juicy.  Perfect for this dessert.  Their price per quart was pretty good especially considering the superior quality of their berries.  This is not a recipe to make in the fall or winter, it depends on the seasonal ripe local berries for the best flavor.  There is nothing much to this but berries and the shortbread biscuit so you darn well better use great fruit or you will not get a good result.

I forgot to take pictures making the shortcake and forgot my camera; my daughter took pictures while I put it together at my mom’s assisted living room so forgive the slightly less than professional look of some of them.

shortcake, one serving

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Mom’s Strawberry Shortcake, G-F 2.0

Biscuit dough

1 cup white rice flour

2/3 cup potato starch flour

4 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

2 tbsp. sugar

½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. xanthan gum

6 tbsp cold butter

1 medium egg

2/3 cup buttermilk

1 tsp. sugar (optional)

2 tsp. soft butter

Other ingredients:

2 quarts ripe strawberries

½ cup sugar

2-3 tbsp. Karo light syrup

1 cup heavy whipping cream

½ tsp. real vanilla

2-4 tbs. powdered sugar (if you like your cream sweet)

Directions
Heat oven t0 400 degrees. Mix the dry ingredients in a medium mixing bowl. Cut in the cold butter until it is small pebbles.  Add the egg and most of the buttermilk.  Mix with a spoon; add rest of buttermilk if you need it.  It should be a bit sticky, don’t over mix; just until dry is blended in.  Spray the inside of a nine inch cake pan and a 6 inch cake pan with cooking spray.  If you don’t have a small pan just use two 9 inch ones.  Pat ¾ of the dough into the 9 inch; make it about ¾ to 1 inch thick and try to smooth the top and side edges a bit.  Put the rest of the dough in the smaller pan and do the same smoothing.  Make that one ½ to ¾ inch thick.  Optional: take a tablespoon of granulated sugar and sprinkle it over top of them. Bake them about 20 to 25 min; the smaller one should be done in 20 minutes; a golden light brown. Set on a cooling rack for a few minutes.

While it bakes, get the berries ready.  Hull 2 quarts of fresh ripe berries.  Place them in a glass mixing bowl, chop through them a few strokes with a sharp knife.  Add ½ cup sugar and about 2-3 tbsp. Karo light corn syrup to the berries.  Stir well and refrigerate until the shortcake is baked.  You could do this berry preparation up to two hours in advance.  No more or they will start to disintegrate.

Place the fairly hot bigger layer on a large platter, one big enough to hold the shortbread and still have room for a generous overflow of strawberries. Butter lightly.  Top with several big spoonfuls of berries.  Don’t worry if there is juice in the berry bowl; should be; melted down sugar and Karo syrup with berry juice will give you a berry liquid.  Top with the second smaller biscuit and then more berries.   Cut into chunks.  Top with freshly whipped cream; beat a cup of heavy whipping cream until it is softly whipped.  Add ½ tsp. vanilla and ¼ cup sugar if you wish it sweet.  Be sure to pour the berry juice over your shortcake; it soaks in and adds to the strawberry experience.  My dad liked to pour unbeaten cream over his shortcake. My mom usually set out the whipped cream, a jug of cream and some whole milk so you could chose how to finish off your personal shortcake.  I might add that I grew up on a farm so this was raw milk from grass pastured cows; fantastic cream equaling a freaking perfect shortcake topper.  We also grew our own berries; no chemical sprayed on them ever.

shortcake, one serving

If there is any left over it makes a great breakfast the next morning!

Sweet Corn Shortcut

Sweet corn season is almost here.  In some places really good sweet corn can be had already!  I don’t know about you but when I only am making one or two ears it seems silly to fire up a tall pot of water.  I do steam the corn which only takes an inch or so of hot water but still…too much to do.

Last summer, on a hot day, I realized there was a quick and easy way to make an ear…or two without that big hot pan of water and steam. I just take a large frying pan, put a quarter inch of water in it, sprinkle of salt and let it heat until bubbling.  I then lay in my ear or two which I have husked and removed all the silk.  Then the pan is topped with a lid or an empty pizza pan if your frying pan is too big for your lids.  Cook it the usual time; depends on how fresh the corn is.  The fresher your corn ears, the less cooking time you need.  The steam in the pan will cook it really fast.  Maybe 6 to 8 minutes.

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Hard to see; black pan. But the corn is in a small pool of bubbling hot water.

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And the bonus is that if it runs out of water your ear will get a bit of carmelization going which only adds to the flavor.  In fact I hope it gets browned a bit; sometimes I rotate the ear to brown it on another side.  Remove with tongs when your corn reaches the done stage you like.  Sometimes I take a quick bite to test for eating readiness!

Serve your ear(s) with salt and butter and enjoy fresh corn without heating the kitchen up much.