Some of the GF Products I Love

Instead of posting a recipe, I thought I'd share a few gluten-free products I have tried and really liked. I will rate each one on taste, cost, and ease of use.

1) Bob's Red Mill Homemade Wonderful Gluten Free Bread Mix
Taste: 4/5-- nice flavor, more moist than pre-made GF bread but still pretty crumbly, made really nice toast
Cost: 4/5-- it was about $5 at Sprouts but made a big loaf
Ease of Use: 3/5-- I made this in a friends bread machine that does all the kneading and the baking. I can't imagine doing this by hand though.



2) Mi-Del Gluten Free Arrowroot Cookies

Taste: 5/5-- I actually enjoy these more than animal crackers that contain gluten. They taste amazing with peanut butter or in place of gram cracker crusts for pies
Cost: 4/5-- I find these at King Soopers and some Wal-Marts. They are usually around $3.50 but occasionally I'll find them on sale for buy one, get one free.
Ease of Use: 5/5-- Step one: spread peanut butter on cookie. Step 2: eat cookie. They are easy to crush up with a rolling pin for pie crusts as well.


3) Mi-Del Gluten Free Gingersnap Cookies

Taste: 5/5-- These are amazing when you dunk them in milk! I haven't tried using them to make a gingerbread pie crust yet, but I'm betting it would be perfect. Very good ginger-y taste!
Cost: 4/5-- again, I think these are around $3.50 at King Soopers but I wait to stock up when they have the buy one, get one sales.
Ease of Use: 5/5-- Dip in milk for five seconds, place in mouth and enjoy.



4) Rudi's Gluten Free Bread

Taste: 4/5-- good flavor, makes excellent toasted sandwiches and grilled sandwiches; pretty dry if used as regular sandwich bread though
Cost: 3/5-- usually around $5 for a loaf at King Soopers (and more if you go to a specialty health food store like Whole Foods). The loaf is definitely smaller than a normal loaf of bread.
Ease of Use: 3/5-- I don't like that we always have to grill or toast this bread. Sometimes I just want to make my husband a regular uncooked sandwich. It is actually the perfect size for making grill cheese because each piece of bread fits a slice of American cheese perfectly.



5) Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Cornbread Mix

Taste: 5/5-- This is a great cornbread mix! I like stone-ground, gritty cornbread and that's what this is. Delicious with a little butter and honey on it!
Cost: 5/5-- I usually pay $3 for a pack of this mix and it makes a lot of cornbread muffins!
Ease of Use: 5/5-- Just add milk, oil, eggs, and sugar then bake. I will be adding a recipe for pumpkin spice cornbread muffins using this mix. SOOO good!


6) Market Pantry Original Beef Jerky

Taste: 5/5-- Nice, flavorful beef jerky. They have a peppered one as well if you like it more spicy. Most beef jerky contains soy sauce (which usually contains wheat) so I was so happy to find this one!
Cost: 5/5-- I believe Market Pantry is a Target brand so you can only find it at Target. A small bag runs around $4 to $5 which is a couple dollars cheaper than name-brands like Jack Link's or Slim Jim.
Ease of Use: 4/5-- The fact that you can ONLY find this at Target is a little annoying, but it's still the only jerky I've been able to find that doesn't contain wheat.


7) Tinkyada Brown-Rice Spiral Pasta

Taste: 5/5-- This is such a delicious pasta! The texture is definitely more smooth than Qinoa pasta and it cooks really evenly. Try it with butter and parmesan cheese!
Cost: 5/5-- I always buy this at King Soopers for $3.60. There are a few other types of noodles by this brand, but with some of them you get less pasta for the same amount so always check how much you are getting for the price.
Ease of Use: 5/5-- This takes about 15 minutes to boil (a little longer than wheat pasta) but it's still super easy to prepare.


8) Udi's GF Pepperoni Pizza

Taste: 5/5-- Oh my goodness... perfect crispy crust, great pepperoni, ideal ratio of cheese and sauce... we just tried this pizza for the first time today and I kept wanting to steal bite after bite from Robbie's plate.
Cost: 2.5/5-- $7.50 for a smallish pizza is not ideal, but as an occasional treat (which happens to taste amazing) it is worth it. 
Ease of Use: 5/5-- bake at 400 degrees for 12 minutes right on the oven rack. You don't even need a baking sheet. I'd say that's easy. I also have to rave for a moment about the fact that this is the only GF pizza I have found that uses brown rice flour instead of white rice flour in the crust. Robbie is allergic to white rice so I was ecstatic when I found this! Unfortunately, I haven't seen this at King Soopers yet and was only able to find it at Sprouts. Since King Soopers carries other Udi's products, I assume they will be getting these soon, though.


10) Blue Diamond Natural Nut-Thins

Taste: 4/5-- These are a decent cracker replacement for the gluten-impaired. The texture is actually more like a chip than a cracker which is why I gave it only 4. I haven't tried all the flavors, but my favorites so far are the pecan and the almond.
Cost: 4/5-- These are frequently on sale at King Soopers. Today I bought them for $4 for two boxes. I think they are around $3.50/box normally.
Ease of Use: 5/5-- Again, these make a great cracker replacement. I like them with cheese and a little deli meat (like those Lunchables we used to eat as kids). I also like to dip them in hummus. They have flavored ones that might be good with cream cheese but I haven't had a chance to try it out yet.


11) Bob's Red Mill Quick-Cooking Oats

Taste: 5/5-- These oats taste great! They make nice oatmeal and work well in baked goods, too. If you like more texture in your oatmeal, Bob's Red Mill offers GF rolled oats as well.
Cost: 3/5-- $6.50 for a bag, but it does last for awhile. Compared to the non-gluten-free oats, I do feel like I'm paying quite a bit.
Ease of Use: 5/5-- These work just like regular oats. I recommend making oatmeal with milk instead of water, a little bit of butter, tiny sprinkle of salt, some maple syrup, and crushed walnuts. Excellent breakfast option and it keeps my husband full for awhile (which is quite a feat)!

Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies

These cookies are so wonderful and peanut butter-y! A friend of mine made these a few years ago and when I asked her what was in them I was so excited to find out they were gluten-free. I've tried a couple different versions of this recipe and this one seems to be my favorite. I sort of combined recommendations from a few other recipes to get to these golden beauties.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and place parchment paper on a cookie sheet.

Ingredients

• 1 cup peanut butter (I buy natural crunchy peanut butter and drain off the excess oil from the top. I read in several recipes that natural peanut butter works better and that's what I found to be true as well. Brands like Jiff just make the cookies turn out flat.) 
• 1/2 cup white sugar 
• 1/2 cup lightly packed brown sugar 
• 1 egg, lightly beaten 
• 1 tsp vanilla extract 
• 1 tsp baking soda 
• salt to sprinkle on top of each cookie (optional) 

• Milk to drink. Seriously... you are going to need milk with these.

Directions

1. Mix together peanut butter and sugars in a bowl until smooth. 
2. Add egg, vanilla, and baking soda to your dough and mix well. 
3. Roll dough into walnut size balls and place about 2 inches apart on prepared cookie sheet. 
4. Use a fork to lightly press cross-hatch pattern into the top of each cookie. If you like your cookies to be a little softer and thicker, don't press them too thin. I pressed mine down to a little over half an inch thick and they were nice and soft when I pulled them out. 
5. Sprinkle a tiny bit of salt on top of each cookie. 
6. Bake in oven at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes. (Be careful not to overcook them!) 
7. Allow them to rest on the cookie sheet for a minute or two before transferring them to a cooling rack. 

Jambalaya

I was feeling adventurous one day and wanted to try something I had never cooked before. I found a jambalaya recipe and modified it so that Robbie would be able to eat it (most recipes called for white rice which he cannot eat). Now it's one of our favorite dinners! 

 

Ingredients

• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 red or orange bell pepper, diced
• 1/2 cup celery, diced
• 2 tbsp garlic, minced (about 3 or 4 cloves)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 3-4 boneless chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces
• 8 oz Andouille sausage, cut into bite size pieces
• 1/4-1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (based on how spicy you want it)
• 1/4-1/2 tsp Old Bay Spice (you can always add more at the end if needed)
• 1 15-oz can red beans (I found some that were in a Cajun sauce but plain works fine)
• 1 15-oz can diced tomatoes
• 3-4 cups chicken stock
• 2 cups uncooked brown rice (I used the boil-in-a-bag brown rice that's microwaveable)
• 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp Tabasco sauce (I recommend adding a little bit at a time and tasting as you go)      

Directions

1. Heat oil over medium-high heat in a large, deep pan (such as a jumbo cooker). 
2. Saute onion, bell pepper, celery, garlic, salt and pepper in oil for 5 minutes then add chopped chicken and sausage.
3. Continue to cook meat and vegetables until the chicken is cooked through, then mix in the cayenne pepper and Old Bay Spice.
4. Reduce heat to medium and add the beans, tomatoes, rice, and 2 cups of chicken stock. 
5. Cover with a lid and simmer for 20-25 minutes, checking every 5 minutes or so to stir and add more chicken stock as needed. You want to make sure it has enough moisture so it doesn't dry out and stick to the pan as the rice cooks but not so watery that it is like soup.
6. Once the rice is tender, add Worcestershire sauce and Tabasco sauce and it's ready to serve!
7. Listen to some jazz music while you enjoy your delicious jambalaya. 

  This recipe almost fills my 5 quart pan to the top. If you don't have a pan that's deep enough, try cooking the veggies and meats in a frying pan then transferring to a deep pot before adding your other ingredients.

Gluten-free Drop Biscuits

So I'll admit it. I totally dropped the ball on the gluten-free blog idea since I haven't added anything in over a year. I haven't been totally unproductive in that time, however, as I have been able to try A LOT of g.f. recipes and have found some that are absolute staples for Robbie and I now. This drop biscuit recipe happens to be one of those staples. I have made them so many times that I have the recipe memorized. They are fantastic with jam or honey or sausage gravy!

Maybe I'm alone in this but I hate cutting butter into a mixture of dry ingredients. It takes so long and it's so hard to get it distributed evenly. Originally I was making this recipe by cutting the butter into the dry ingredients until I forgot one day (yeah, I know... I'm such a professional baker) and had to melt the butter and add it in at the end. The result was fantastic! The biscuits had a much smoother texture and were just as fluffy. Can you say hooray for baking mistakes that turn out better than the original? One mistake not to make, however, is to think that xanthan gum isn't important and so you leave it out. Let me tell you it doesn't work. Your dough will look like pancake batter.

Ingredients

• 1 cup brown rice flour
• 1 cup corn starch
• 1 tsp xanthan gum
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup milk with 1 tsp vinegar (this is my substitute for buttermilk)
• 2 egg whites
• 4-5 tbsp butter (soft)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 410 degrees F
2. Put 1 tsp vinegar into a measuring cup and then fill it to 1 cup with milk (allow this to sit about 5 minutes)
3. Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl
4. Mix the two egg whites into your milk/vinegar solution
5. Pour milk/vinegar/egg white solution into your dry ingredients and combine with a fork until there are just a few globs of dry ingredients that still need to be mixed in
6. At this point I wait a minute or two to let the dough thicken. It's actually really moist and takes a bit to puff up so just be patient
7. Finally, mix in your softened butter and place large drops onto a greased cookie sheet or baking stone
8. Bake for 15-18 minutes

If you are really feeling sassy, try adding some shredded cheddar cheese to your biscuit dough. While the biscuits are baking, melt some butter and mix in some garlic salt. Then, when your biscuits are about 5 minutes from being done spoon your garlic butter on top of them and let them finish baking for delicious cheesy garlic biscuits like they serve at Red Lobster! Here's a picture of my cheesy garlic version!

Gluten Free Chocolate Scones

Well, it's been almost 2 years since I posted my first recipe. I figured I'd take another stab at blogging. I was mostly motivated by the gluten-free scones I made this morning that were so chocolatey and warm and yummy. I just had to share them with the world. So here goes.

What I like about this recipe:

1) You only need almond flour! After two years of gluten-free baking, I've come to resent recipes that call for a flour blend like my chocolate chip cookies (who has time for that?!). I am learning to truly appreciate the more simple recipes, the ones that take less than 10 minutes to prepare, and especially the ones that use ingredients that I usually have around my kitchen.

2) They are not DRY scones like what you would get when you purchase a scone from Panera or a coffee shop. These are the texture that I always imagine scones to be when I see them in a food display case-- crisp on the outside, soft and moist on the inside.

3) I just had the brilliant idea that had I added a touch of mint extract, these could've become mint-chocolate scones!

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups of almond flour (I bought mine at Natural Grocers/Vitamin Cottage)
• 3 tbs sugar
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 tbs cocoa powder (I used Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa Powder)
• 1 egg
• 3 tbs melted butter
• 1 tsp vanilla
• about 1/4 cup dark chocolate chips (more or less to your preference)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees 
2. Combine almond flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and cocoa powder in a bowl 
3. Mix the egg, melted butter, and vanilla into your dry ingredients 
4. Fold in your chocolate chips 
5. Place dough on a flat surface and flatten to about 1 1/2 inch thick (I just put down aluminum foil and flattened it with my hand, but if you want to get fancy I supposed you could use a rolling pin. The dough is pretty sticky, though.) 
6. Cut into wedges and place on a cookie sheet (I used an ungreased baking stone) 
7. Bake for 20 minutes until the outside feels nice and firm to the touch. 
8. Cool them on a wire cooling rack for a bit and then enjoy the chocolatey deliciousness!

I also sprinkled a little sugar on top of them before baking them but this is totally optional. This recipe makes 4 scones.

Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

I made these cookies two days ago with my mom. I was so happy with the way they came out that I've decided to post them as my first recipe.

Here's what I like about this recipe:

1) These cookies taste amazing! I am a much more picky eater than my husband especially when it comes to gluten-free foods and I love these cookies more than cookies that actually contain gluten. They stay soft after cooling and they have a great texture.

2) The ingredients I used were all purchased at King Soopers. I'll write a short blog later about where to find gluten-free ingredients but for now I'm just glad to see gluten-free items becoming more main stream.

And now, onto the recipe.

Ingredients

• 1 1/3 cup gluten free flour mix (see below for my specific mix)
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 4 tbs butter at room temp. (I used Smart Balance Butter Blend Sticks)
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1/4 cup sugar (I recommend something with larger granules like Sugar in the Raw or Demerara Sugar)
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 2 eggs
• Ghiradelli chocolate chips (I use about half of a 12 oz bag but feel free to add more or less depending on how chocolaty you want it)

Gluten Free Flour Blend (makes enough flour blend to double the cookie recipe)

• 1 cup brown rice flour
• 1 cup sorghum flour
• 2/3 cup potato starch
• 1/3 cup tapioca flour
• 2 tsp xanthan gum

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F 
2. Lightly grease a baking sheet and set aside (I used an ungreased baking stone) 
3. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt 
4. In a large bowl, beat butter and oil until smooth. 
5. Add vanilla and eggs and beat until incorporated. Add your sugar and mix thoroughly. 
6. Add your dry ingredients to the batter and continue to stir until mixed. 
7. Stir in your chocolate chips. 
8. Drop generous tablespoons onto baking sheet 2 inches apart. 
9. Bake 8-10 minutes. (The cookies should be slightly golden around the edges. It's easy to over cook gluten free cookies). 
10. Allow them to cool on the baking sheet for a minute or two then transfer them to a cooling rack.

Makes about 1 1/2 to 2 dozen cookies depending on how big you make them.

Introduction

Welcome to my blog everyone! I hope you find it to be well-organized, clear, and above all helpful.

At this point, visitors to this blog will probably fit into one of three groups:
1) Those who have gluten allergies/intolerance.
2) Those who are close to someone with gluten allergies/intolerance.
3) Those who like mermaids and have no idea what gluten is.

To the third group, you are definitely welcome; however, mermaids will (sadly) not be my main focus.

My biggest hope is that this blog will be a helpful tool for anyone seeking to make gluten-free dishes that don't taste like they are gluten-free.

The reason this is so important to me is that I myself do not have gluten allergies. My husband, Robbie, does. Before I met him, I had never even heard of gluten. Robbie has pointed out to me on many occasions how much it means to him that I have embraced his gluten intolerance (even to the point of including in my wedding vows that I would never feed him something that contained gluten). I see it as another fun opportunity to show him how much I respect and admire him.

I have definitely had my share of frustrations in my explorations with gluten-free cooking: flat shapeless cookies (that turn into crackers when they cool), confusing online recipes (you know, the kind that say "gluten free flour" and don't say WHAT KIND TO USE!!), soy flour flavored biscuits (bleh!), etc. Robbie has an additional allergy to white rice and a lot of recipes call for white rice flour so I've had to work around that as well.

Finally, I would like to address why I've called my blog "The Gluten-Free Mermaid." It's really simple: my first name is Ariel and my new last name means "of the sea" in Spanish. I've always had a mini-obsession with The Little Mermaid, so it was only natural that I pay tribute to my obsession in this blog.

That's all for now. I'll start posting recipes soon.