Category: gluten free

Completing My Cooking Bucket List

It has only taken me two years to (almost) finish my 2015 bucket list. I am working on finishing them before the end of 2016 and starting a new list in 2017!

1. Gluten Free Pretzels or Pretzel rolls

I made the rolls one night in August using a recipe from Nicole Hunn at Gluten-Free on a Shoestring. http://glutenfreeonashoestring.com/pretzel-rolls/. They were delicious! We had some leftover pulled pork and meatballs in the fridge so everyone made their own pretzel roll subs for dinner. The next morning we made egg and cheese sandwiches, which would have been even better with some grilled veggies.

2. Poached Salmon (Still needs to be completed)
3. Gluten free Puff Pastry

I made the puff pastry on Valentine’s Day. It was an all day affair. It was delicious! But very time consuming. Again, I used a recipe from Gluten-Free on a Shoestring, http://glutenfreeonashoestring.com/gluten-free-puff-pastry/. I will definitely make it again for a special occasion.

4. Gluten Free Beef Wellington


I used the GF puff pastry to make Beef Wellington. It wasn’t pretty but tasted amazing! I made a mixture of mushrooms and chicken livers sautéed with fresh thyme, salt, pepper and a little beef stock and spread that on the pastry, when cooled. I used a top sirloin roast because that is what I had in the freezer.  I based my cooking times on the recipe for Beef Wellington in The Good Housekeeping Cookbook from 1973. I did rush it and the meat was warm, so the puff pastry fell off of the roast, but the pastry was buttery and crispy while the meat with juicy and tender. Perfect!  I will definitely make it again.

5. Coq au Vin
I made this way back in early 2015 on Superbowl Sunday. Not exactly traditional Superbowl food, but delicious! Julia Child’s recipe of course, from Mastering the Art of French Cooking.  I skipped the cognac though since I didn’t have any and wasn’t sure if it was gluten free and used King Arthur’s gluten-free all-purpose flour as a thickener. Traditional recipes like this, can easily be made gluten-free. I was so happy with how this came out! It disappeared before I remembered to take a picture!

6. Duck

I made a feast for myself on Mother’s Day, with Karina’s help. I seared the duck breast (saved the fat) and served with lamb chops, a smoked mozzarella risotto and roasted asparagus. It was a real decadent meal! I used the leftover duck fat to make shoestring potato fries the next day! What a treat!

7. Chilaquiles

I made these for my birthday dinner 2016. It was a simplified version using the tomatillo salsa recipe below. I heated up the sauce, added some tortilla chips, shredded cooked chicken, and topped with sunny side up eggs (cooked in another pan), then sprinkled with feta and fresh cilantro. It was so good. The kids even ate it!

8. Develop my own  of GF flours to make an all purpose flour
I haven’t done this yet for a couple of reasons. I am not a great technical cook. I don’t follow recipes exactly. I don’t always measure precisely. I cook from feeling.  So I have taken help from the amazing GF flours already out there. I like to use Cup4Cup and King Arthur’s GF blend.

9. Gluten free pasta from scratch

I have made GF pasta from scratch a couple of times, once without a pasta machine and once with the pasta machine. I still need to do some more testing. Both times, no matter how thinly rolled, it still came out gummy. This is where a good flour blend would help to find a way to take out the gumminess. Anyone have any suggestions?

10. Gluten free gnocchi from scratch
I have made gnocchi several times and it has always come out delicious! I use mostly ricotta and then sweet potato, Yukon golds or leftover mashed potatoes with a little GF all purpose flour. I will write the recipe down soon, I promise! I usually serve my gnocchi with a pesto or light cream sauce.

11. Gluten free bread from scratch that is good enough for anyone to eat

There are two cookbook authors I go to when I want to bake something GF. Nicole Hunn from Gluten Free on a Shoestring which you have heard me talk about a lot lately because of her amazing new cookbook coming out and the other is Roben Ryberg (You Won’t Believe It’s Gluten-Free!).  I have been making Roben’s Everyday Loaf (corn-based) a lot recently. It is a good sandwich bread. More often, I have been making King Arthur’s GF bread mix, but that is expensive as is the GF bread my kids like, either Wegman’s or Trader Joe’s.
12. Gluten free pizza dough that is good enough for anyone to eat.

I haven’t even attempted this yet, but hope to soon. Fridays are our pizza night, so by the time Friday rolls around I’m usually exhausted, so we have frozen pizza (Freschetta’s GF Cheese) or I use the Against the Grain crust to make my grilled pizza recipe below. You can also bake it in the oven at 425 for 12-15 minutes. 

Grilled Pizza (feeds our family of 5 with leftovers)
By Marie Ericson

Ingredients
2  frozen pizza crusts (I like to use Against the Grain)
2 Tablespoons of olive oil
1 6-ounce can Hunts Tomato Sauce
1 16-ounce block of mozzarella cheese, shredded
Salt and pepper
Toppings, optional and only limited by your imagination! Ham and pineapple, sausage, peppers and onions, fresh ricotta, olives, spinach and feta or leftover hamburger

Directions
Heat grill to about 400 degrees. Brush olive oil on one side of each pizza crust. Put that side down on the grill. Brush the other side of the pizza crust with the oil and close the lid for 2 minutes. Using spatulas (I have found 2 work best), flip the pizza crusts and turn the burners down to low or move crusts to a cooler part of the grill. Close lid for 2 minutes. Top the crusts with sauce, 3-4 Tablespoons per crust. (You will not need all 6 ounces, so reserve the rest for pasta the next day.) Sprinkle about 8 ounces of cheese on each pizza and add any toppings you are using. Close lid and cook until cheese is melted, 5 to 10 minutes, depending on your grill.  Using 2 spatulas remove each pizza and put on serving platter, cutting board or pizza stone and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
For the remainder of 2016 I will try to finish this list by making Poached Salmon, maybe testing flour mixtures to make my own all purpose flour and make a gf pizza dough that is good enough for anyone to eat. I predict the Salmon will happen and the other two…well, maybe next year.  What is on your cooking bucket list? 

Comfort Food and a Cookbook!

As the weather gets colder I really start to crave comfort food. My kids love french fries. Who doesn’t? I’ve been testing recipes and came up with these Baked Shoestring Sweet Potatoes. To cut them I use my OXO mandolin or julienne peeler (see picture below) or you can use a spiralizer and then just cut to desired length of fries.



Baked Shoestring Sweet Potato fries
Ingredients
1 large sweet potato, julienned
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon of pepper
1 teaspoon of onion powder
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

Directions
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Cut up the sweet potato and soak in water for 15 minutes. Dry between towels for 5 minutes. Toss with olive oil and spices, then spread out on cookie sheet. Cover with foil and cook for 10 minutes. Uncover and cook for 15-25 minutes, depending on your oven and how crispy you want them.


These sweet potato fries pair very well with the grilled pork chop recipe below or even just hot dogs or sausage. Whatever works for your timing or tastes.You can also also substitute chicken for the pork and it will be delicious! Too much food for your family? Cut this recipe in half.

Grilled pork with Peach Sauce
Ingredients
3 pounds of pork chops or chicken breasts/thighs
1 Tablespoon of onion powder
1 teaspoon of ground coriander
1 teaspoon of salt
½ teaspoon of cumin
¼ teaspoon of pepper
¼ teaspoon of paprika
6 Tablespoons peach preserves, I like to use Bon Maman.
3 Tablespoons of apple cider vinegar

Directions

Combine spices in a small bowl with a fork. Rub spice mixture on the meat and let sit about 10-15 minutes, while you prepare the sauce. In another bowl mix the peach preserves (apricot would also be good) and apple cider vinegar.  Grill the pork chops 5 to 7 minutes on each side. Top with the sauce and let rest for 5 minutes. Serve. 

Some of my favorite comfort foods are appetizers or small bites. A great new cookbook is coming out at the end of this month from Nicole Hunn of Gluten Free On A Shoestring called “Gluten Free Small Bites: Sweet and Savory Hand Held Treats for On-The-Go Lifestyles and Entertaining.” I have had a chance to preview the book and it is amazing! If you pre-order the book, you can also get a sneak peek of some of the recipes and some other goodies, like a GF flour calculator, shopping list and menu plan! I have made a couple of recipes from the book and they are amazing! Cannot wait to try more. Share with anyone you know will be interested!

I made the cheese puffs from the cookbook for the kids as a snack after school one day and plan on making the crab rangoon today! The two trays of cheese puffs disappeared in about 15 minutes. Amazing! Very addicting. Keep an eye to my Instagram this week for more photos and reviews of recipes from the Small Bite’s Cookbook!

If you haven’t made anything from Gluten Free on a Shoestring before, you definitely need to visit the website and check out Nicole’s other cookbooks! I have made so many of her recipes: puff pastry, wonton wrappers, pretzel rolls and most recently chocolate cake donuts!

What are your favorite comfort foods? What are your favorite comfort food cookbooks? We learn from sharing with each other, so let me know!

Taco Tuesday – Step Outside the Taco Shell

Theme nights are a really good way to organize your weekly meals and make meal planning easier. We joined the #TacoTuesday bandwagon a couple of years ago. The kids love tacos and I have a wide interpretation of “taco.” It is really more like #TexMexTuesday. Some nights it is nachos, literally just tortilla chips with melted cheese in the microwave, on a paper plate, with a salad or fruit on the side. Other nights if we have more time, it is enchiladas with homemade tomatillo sauce or stuffed peppers. I often use whatever protein we had over the weekend, like leftover grilled chicken or steak and whatever vegetables we grilled and throw them into a quesadilla.

Quesadillas

Ingredients
Tortillas (Our new favorite is Joseph’s soft gluten-free tortillas which I find at Target or Market Basket locally) – 1 to 2 tortillas per person depending on their appetite
Shredded Cheese (I used Cabot blocks and shred myself or task a child/spouse) – 1/4 cup per person
Canned black beans (I use Wegmans or Goya) – 1 12 oz can is more than enough for a family a five

Optional: sour cream or plain yogurt, fresh cilantro, salsa, sliced avocado with fresh lime juice.

Directions
Preheat oven to 400 or use your toaster oven. Assemble and cook for 4 – 6 minutes on each side on a cookie sheet.

TIP: If you don’t have tortillas, use taco shells, tortilla chips or butter lettuce. If you are making it GF, remember to check the labels on the shells and chips.

A recent favorite in our house was a spin on a traditional quesadilla: Chicken Bacon Ranch Quesadillas. Invented by one of my 6 year olds. All we did was add leftover grilled chicken and some cooked bacon to the cheddar. Cook according to recipe above and serve with ranch dressing and sliced peppers.

I often keep a bag of already cooked frozen shrimp in the freezer. All you need to do is defrost in cold water and then dry in between paper towels

Shrimp Tacos

Ingredients
1 pound of medium/large cooked shrimp
Juice of 1 1/2 limes
1 Tablespoon of sugar or teaspoon of agave
1 clove minced garlic
1 Tablespoon fresh cilantro
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Mix all the ingredients together and marinade the shrimp for 15-30 minutes while you prepare the taco accompaniments. Saute shrimp for a couple of minutes to heat through, if you want to or just use cold. Use for favorite taco shells and toppings then you are ready to serve! I love using feta and avocado.

TIP: If using fresh uncooked shrimp, marinade as above and then add 1 Tablespoon of butter and cook on a baking sheet for 15-20 minutes at 400 degrees.

The options are endless. You can take this shrimp taco recipe and make it into a burrito bowl with rice and beans. You can also top the rice and beans with whatever other leftover veggies and or meat you have in the fridge. I’ll let you in on a secret. I lost the ability to cook rice when I went to law school. I cannot cook rice on the stove to save my life. I have only tried it once in the last 13 years after burning a few pots. I LOVE my rice cooker. My $15 rice cooker from Target. The rice always comes out perfectly and I don’t have to watch it. Instead I can battle through homework with the kids.

I have been making red salsa for almost 2 decades, since I worked at a Tex Mex restaurant in DC. It disappears quickly from the table at any gathering and is very simple to make. I passed the torch last year to my 8 year old daughter, who can easily make it on her own now. Since then, I have been experimenting with a green salsa made with tomatillos. It is tart and delicious and makes a great salsa, enchilada sauce or chilaquile sauce or sauce for grilled steak, chicken, fish or veggies.


Tomatillo salsa

Ingredients
2 Tablespoon vegetable oil
2 1/2 to 3 pounds of tomatillos, husked
1/2 of a large while onion, chopped
1/4 cup of chopped poblano pepper (use jalepeno if you want more spice)
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
Handful of cilantro
1 teaspoon of salt
1/8 teaspoon of pepper
1 teaspoon cumin
2 to 2 1/2 cups of water

Directions
Combine all of the ingredients, except the water, in a large pot on the stove. Turn the heat on to medium-high. Stir until fragrant. Should only take a couple of minutes. Add the water, stir occasionally and bring to a boil. Simmer for about 20 minutes, until the tomatillos are soft. Either blend with an immersion blender in the pot or wait for it to cool and transfer to a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth and allow to fully cool. Refrigerate for up to 2 weeks in an airtight container.

Our #TacoTuesday turned #TexMexTuesday means I always have a plan for Tuesday nights and can adapt it to what our schedule is for that day, whether I have 15 minutes to prep dinner or an hour. You are only limited by what it is in your fridge or cupboard, but all it really takes is cheese 🙂 Send me your questions or share your ideas for #TexMexTuesday! Remember you can find me on Facebook, Instagram, on Twitter @mammascooking and now I’m also figuring out how to use Google + (if anyone wants to give me a tutorial, I will cook for you!).

Breakfast for Dinner

An easy way to get dinner on the table during the week or at the end of any busy day is to have breakfast for dinner. We have breakfast for dinner at least once a week in our house. Depending on how busy we are, it can be anything: eggs, pancakes, frozen waffles, toast, quiche, frittatas or just cereal and fruit. Breakfast for dinner can be a fun way to get a meal on the table quickly. With activities, sports and back-to-school nights on top of work, homework and just trying to spend time with your kids, for many cooking is the last thing you want to do when you all walk in the door.  Hopefully these recipes will help take some stress off of you.
Easy Hard Boiled Eggs in the Oven  (adapted from http://allrecipes.com/recipe/232024/hard-boiled-eggs-in-the-oven/)
Ingredients
12 eggs
Ice cubes in a large bowl with cold water
Directions
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Put one egg into each muffin cup of a muffin tin
Bake in eggs in oven for 25 to 30 minutes.
Remove and put the eggs into the ice bath for 5-10 minutes.
Peel and serve or refrigerate.

TIP: I make this for dinner one night and then have the eggs on hand for the next few days for a quick breakfast or a burst of protein to add to lunches or snacks.
Serve the eggs with yogurt or fruit or whatever you have on hand and you have a dinner on the table in about 30 minutes without much effort.
Now this next recipe is a little more involved, so if cooking relaxes you and you have some more time one night, try this oven baked “fried” chicken, served with cornbread waffles and peas. Take some help from the store and use your favorite cornbread mix. I like to use Wegman’s Gluten-Free Honey Cornbread mixture and add an extra egg and cook it in the waffle maker. For the peas, I put about 3 to 4 handfuls in a cereal bowl with a Tablespoon or two or water, salt and pepper, then microwave for 3 minutes with a small plate covering the bowl.
Oven Baked “Fried” Chicken


Ingredients
1 ½ to 2 pounds of boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into chicken tenders
3 cups of buttermilk (or 3 cups of milk + 2 Tablespoons of cider vinegar)
1 stick plus 2 Tablespoons of melted butter
2 cups of panko bread crumbs (use gluten-free if you are making it GF)
½ teaspoon chili powder
¼ teaspoon black pepper
2 Tablespoons of cornstarch
Directions
Mix milk and cider vinegar or use buttermilk and soak the chicken for 15 to 30 minutes while you prepare the cornbread mixture. Remove from milk and pat chicken dry with a paper towel. Melt butter. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Mix the panko, chili powder, black pepper and cornstarch.  Dip each piece of chicken into the butter and then the panko mixture and place on top of a baking rack inside a cookie sheet (that way the chicken will crisp all around).  Bake for 15 minutes and then turn the pan in the oven to ensure even cooking. Bake for another 15-20 minutes until the internal temperature reaches about 180 degrees.
Optional:  Brine the chicken the day before if you have time or need to stretch the life of the chicken in the fridge for a day. Life happens and you can’t cook what you planned one night, so put the chicken in brine and make it the next night. This is my typical brine recipe that can easily be halved or doubled depending on the size of the poultry or amount of pork you want to brine. (Make sure poultry or meat does not smell rotten or is past due date when you put it in the brine)
Brine
Ingredients
½ cup black peppercorns
1 Tablespoon coriander seeds
6 small sage leaves, torn (or rosemary or thyme)
3 garlic cloves, smashed
1 cup of salt
1 cup dark brown sugar
2 Tablespoons onion powder
1 Tablespoon cumin powder
12 cups of water

Directions
Combine all ingredients in a large soup pot. Bring to a boil. Boil for a couple of minutes and then allow to cool before you place the chicken or pork in the brine.

My kids look forward to breakfast for dinner and especially love when they can make it themselves. It is a good opportunity to get your kids in the kitchen and make you dinner! My 6 year olds can make yogurt parfaits for us or a bowl of cereal. My 8 year old makes the mixture or batter for scrambled eggs, frittatas or pancakes and then cooks it with our supervision.  Whether you want to make a quick and easy dinner or have something easy for your kids to try making, breakfast is always popular. 

Good Food that happens to be Gluten Free

I am a GF Cook. I make Good Food that happens to also be Gluten Free. For my family and others with celiac disease it is out of necessity. For many others it is a way to eat healthier or just feel better. In the past 2 years since my son’s diagnosis of celiac disease, there have been ups and downs. I have discovered that you do not have to sacrifice taste, texture or being adventurous with new foods. You do not have to throw out your family recipes and favorite cookbooks. Yes there are limitations, but after the first several months, we found our groove and now know the resources that can help navigate the world of gluten-free eating.

Cooking gluten-free food often means making it from scratch because convenience food (like prepared frozen meatballs from Trader Joe’s that used to make a weekly appearance at our house!) often contain gluten. More and more gluten-free items are appearing in the market, which is great, but as I love to cook and now have a giant freezer in my garage, I make my own convenience food packs and freeze them.


I spent a great day testing meatball recipes last spring and had some family and friends test recipes. I made Italian meatballs stuffed with mozzarella, homemade sausage meatballs and the winner – Bahn Mi flavored meatballs. I made about 4 pounds worth and saved them in 2 pound batches, perfect for our family of five for dinner with leftovers for lunch. You can cut this recipe in half. I serve them with cucumber noodles (or coodles) for a spin on spaghetti and meatballs. You can use them in a lettuce wrap or as an appetizer with your favorite Asian dipping sauce. My kids love hoisin sauce and I love peanut sauce. I grind my own meat using the Kitchen Aid attachment but you can buy ground meat in the grocery store or ask the butcher to grind it for you, but know that that contains more fat, so you won’t need to add as much bacon in the recipe below. 

Bahn Mi Meatballs
Makes about 35 meatballs 


Ingredients
2/3 cup cucumber shredded (about 1 English cucumber)
1/3 cup shredded carrot
3/4 cup rice vinegar
3/4 cup water
2 Tablespoons sugar
About 4 1/3 lbs ground chicken and pork (I use 2/3 pork loin and 1/3 chicken thighs. It was also tested with only pork)
3 pieces of bacon, minced (you might have to test how much bacon you add depending on the fat content of your ground meat)
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
1 Tablespoon ginger, paste or grated fresh
handful of Cilantro, finely chopped
1/2 tsp coriander
1 egg (still add one whole egg if cutting recipe in half)
1/4 cup of bread crumbs (use gluten-free if making this gluten free)
2-3 Tablespoons of canola oil
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil


Mix the rice vinegar, water and sugar in a small bowl. Add cucumber and carrots. Soak at least 3 hours, up to overnight. Drain and dry between some paper towels while you prepare the meat mixture. Pre-heat oven at 375 degrees. In a small bowl mix salt, pepper, ginger, cilantro, coriander, egg and bread crumbs. Place meat in a large bowl and add drained cucumber and carrots and the egg mixture. Get your hands dirty and mix it all together. 


TIP: Cook a small patty of the meat mixture to taste and adjust seasonings if you need before cooking the whole batch.


Heat a large not stick-pan to medium-high, add canola oil and sesame oil. Brown meatballs and transfer to a baking rack that sits on top of a cookie sheet.



Roast for 15 minutes. (You can put directly on rack without browning and cook for about 25 minutes, if you don’t have time to brown). Serve or freeze.



I hope you enjoy reading my blog as much as I love cooking for and writing it. My plan is to post weekly. You will see my own recipes, recipes from my favorite cookbooks (gluten free and not) that I have adapted for my family and ideas for entertaining and cooking in bulk. You don’t have to eat gluten free to enjoy these recipes. They are tasty enough for everyone!  

Please use the buttons below to Pin, Tweet or share this on Facebook! Thank you! Let me know if there is anything you want to see here. I always love a cooking challenge. 

Gluten free fresh pasta, really?

Yes really. I used to love making pasta from scratch and eating fresh pasta. There is just something so comforting about it. I had just gotten the handle on a good recipe when our house went gluten free. My challenge now is to find the right gluten free recipe (and get a pasta machine!). I am determined!

I knocked one item off my 2015 Cooking Bucket list and made a brown rice pasta last week. It was really good, but I don’t have a pasta machine or the attachment for my Kitchen Aid, so I tried to hand roll it, like I used to with fresh gluten filled pasta. This did not work as well. I rolled it until it was almost transparent, but it was still a little too thick and gummy when I cooked it. Taste was there, but consistency was not. This was the recipe I used: http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2014/05/gluten-free-fresh-pasta-recipe.html. I may try a couple of other recipes to see if hand rolling can work with them. If they don’t, you know what my next investment will be!

I didn’t have any sauce in the house, so used some tomatoes, onions, garlic, salt and pepper and sauteed together for a about 10-15 minutes.

I served it with some steamed peas and sockeye salmon I cooked in a foil packet in the oven with salt, pepper, lemon slices.

This weekend I may try to make Julia Child’s coq au vin! Not the most appropriate football or tailgating food, but hopefully it will be good 🙂 Here is a link to some old blogs that have more gameday appropriate food. 

Rethinking my cooking bucket list and looking forward to 2015

Happy Holidays! Happy New Year! We made it through the holidays with only slight cross-contamination issues. Paul had minor reactions, but fortunately nothing too bad. One instance was completely my fault. I was so excited that he wanted to try a pickle because he usually won’t touch them, that I didn’t even think to look until after he ate a couple of bites whether or not it was gluten free. Sure enough, he woke up with stomach pains that night.

I managed to cook a completely gluten free Christmas dinner with grilled pork roast (started on grill and finished in oven) with a blueberry balsamic brown sugar gravy, mashed potatoes with marscapone, goat cheese, gruyere and of course butter. I roasted brussel sprouts with bacon (fresh from the pig of a co-worker of Tim’s) and we had a salad.

                                     

Dessert was a chocolate trifle with chocolate pudding, GF brownies and fresh whipped cream. Then people could choose to top it with crushed heath bar or GF oreos.

                                             

I even made most of the same treats I usually do at Christmas, just gave them a gluten free spin! I used Snyder’s gluten free pretzels and Hershey kisses to make a salty-sweet treat and I used the sugar cookie recipe on the back of the GF King Arthur Flour box to make sugar cookies that were a big hit!

                                                 

                                                 

My mom also helped the kids decorate gingerbread houses. I used plastic houses that you just put the frosting on and stick the candies on. Great for gluten free eating! No one really eats the gingerbread anyway 🙂

 

Earlier my dad and I made gluten free boerwors, which is becoming a yearly tradition 🙂 We had it the day after Christmas for another family party with the traditional pap (kind of like polenta) and a tomato and onion sauce.

Now it is time for school vacation. I am also taking the week off work to be with the kids. Hopefully I’ll get some cooking done to make the craziness of school/work weeks a little easier until February vacation. I’m also taking some time to reflect, as I usually do about my cooking bucket list of the past year and what to add for this year. I had to put my cooking bucket list last year on hold to make room for a new way of cooking, eating and feeding my family, due to my son’s Celiac diagnosis. I would like to revisit some of my favorites, making them gluten free and add some new goals as we continue on this journey.

This was my 2014 list, I actually finished 4 items :

Cooking bucket list for 2014:

1. Rusks (think South African biscotti)
2. Macaroons – COMPLETED!


3. Scones – COMPLETED
                                      
4. Brussel Sprouts (I’ve never cooked them. My husband loves them, so I’m taking one for the team so my kids won’t inherit my food prejudices 🙂 ) – COMPLETED

                                

5. Pretzels
6. Poached Salmon
7. Beef Wellington
8. Coq au Vin

9. Khachapuri (a Georgian cheesy bread)

10. Duck (not necessarily a whole duck, we’ll see how adventurous I feel)
11. Tortillas – COMPLETED! AND THEY WERE GLUTEN FREE!

                                 
12. Chilaquiles (My favorite Mexican breakfast!!) 

So for 2015, here are my gluten free goals and cooking bucket list: 

1. Gluten free Pretzels or pretzel rolls
2. Poached Salmon (can easily be done naturally gluten free)
3. Gluten free Puff pastry
4. Gluten free Beef Wellington (need to do #3 1st!)
5. Coq au Vin (can easily be done naturally gluten free)
6. Duck (can easily be done naturally gluten free)
7. Chilaquiles (can easily be done naturally gluten free)
8. Find my own blend of GFflours that make best all purpose flour
9. Gluten free pasta from scratch
10. Gluten free gnocchi from scratch
11. Gluten free bread from scratch that is good enough for anyone to eat!
12. Gluten free pizza dough that is good enough for anyone to eat!

Well, looks like I have some cooking to do! I am also going to try as much as possible to cook one recipe from my cookbooks each week. I have many, many new gluten free cookbooks to explore and recipes in old cookbooks to make gluten free! I’ll need more than a year to do that 🙂 I will keep you all posted, probably through Facebook when I have time. I’m always here to answer questions and chat about food though! Feel free to email me at mammascooking@gmail.com or post a question on my Facebook page. Wishing you all the best in 2015!

Back to reality, work and school…

I finally feel like I am coming out of the storm that was in my head after my son’s celiac diagnosis. I have my cooking groove back. We even made a trip out to the midwest and hosted friends at our house without any incident. I feel more grounded, more myself. I grilled pizza for the first time in a long time! One gluten free and one not. No cross contamination! Yay! Now I just need to figure out who to make my own gluten free pizza dough and how to make my gluten filled pizza dough without feeling like I have to scrub down the entire kitchen so no flour cross contaminates anything! We also met with my son’s nutritionist at Children’s, who made me feel good, like we are on the right track. Woo hoo! Let’s just hope his blood tests in the fall come back showing that the diet is working! Fingers crossed.

Anyway, back to the food! End of summer and early fall still leaves plenty of time to grill. I love to grill pizza, sausages, steak, chicken, pork, salmon, shrimp, corn, green beans, zucchini and I could keep going. To make our grill gluten free, I scrubbed it down and then turned all the burners on and let everything just cook off for about 30 minutes. When I grill something with gluten, like pizza, I usually cover that section of the grill with foil and go through the heating process before the next time I grill. I’m probably going a little overboard, but better safe than sorry!

I’m starting to see my favorite fall foods in the grocery stores…butternut squash, acorn squash, I can’t wait! That however means its also back to school and for me back to work! My kids will all be in school full day so that means three lunches to make, everyday. I have to also send a snack for my 1st grader and donate bulk for the class for the twins and make sure Paul has a selection of gluten free snacks at school. My entire Friday was basically spent at 2 different grocery stores and I still didn’t get everything! Luckily the 2nd store (Big Y) has a Kid’s club, where the kids are happy to play the Wii while I shop, but of course make the sitter buzz me while I’m in the middle of checking out because they have to the go the bathroom 🙂

Here is what my menu plan looks like for back to school week, starting with tomorrow, Tuesday (the first day of school!):

Tuesday

Breakfast – oatmeal and fruit (if I find the energy tomorrow I will make THIS one in the crock pot over night, if not it is Chex gluten free oatmeal packets. (Oats are inherently gluten free, but are often grown and/or processed with wheat, so you have to make sure it is gluten free if you need that).

Lunch – Leftover asian noodles (used rice noodles and gf soy sauce with leftover grilled chicken for dinner on Monday night),  hummus with carrots and fruit

Dinner – Grilled cheese and french onion soup in the crock pot. I have adapted the recipe linked from my earlier blog post and just throw everything in the crockpot (substitute white balsamic for the beer) for 6-8 hours on low.

Snacks – yogurt, grapes

Wednesday

Breakfast – hard boiled eggs with fruit

Lunch – ham and cheese or sun butter (hopefully the kids like it! I have never used it before) and jelly sandwiches with fruit. (I use Udi’s bread for Paul)

Dinner – pancakes [King Arthur Flour’s GF pancake mix or Bisquik’s GF pancake mix are the best I’ve found so far, until I make my own blend :)] and sausage with fruit

Snacks – cheese and crackers, bananas

Thursday

Breakfast – cereal and fruit

Lunch – turkey and cream cheese roll ups, celery, sunbutter and craisin  “ants on a log” and pretzels

Dinner – Pasta with meatballs (going to try ronzoni gluten free) and the meatballs are Mama Mancini’s Gluten Free from the fridge section in Shaw’s. I add some fresh ricotta and basil. Yum.

Snacks – yogurt, plums

Friday

Breakfast – Toast with peanut butter and honey and fruit

Lunch – ham and cheese or sunbutter and jelly sandwiches with fruit OR Leftovers

Dinner – Pizza (I usually use Udi’s GF crust for the kids and whole foods or trader joe’s pizza dough for Tim and I) served with salad  or carrots and hummus and fruit.

Snacks – celery, cream cheese and craisin “ants on a snow covered log”, pirates booty

Coming up…if the cold weather starts to set in, chili with zucchini cheddar corn bread and my butternut squash soup! all in the crock pot 🙂 Stay tuned! I’m writing down my ingredients now so will actually have measurements for recipes!

Good luck with the new school year everyone! You can always ask Mamma if you need any new ideas or have a question about what to make! Just email me at mammascooking@gmail.com.

A New Food Adventure…Gluten-free not just trendy but necessary

This has been my longest hiatus from posting since I started Mamma’s Cooking over 6 years ago. This blog has morphed along with the changes in our family. Initially, I blogged about making food for my first baby. Then it went through her toddler years with the addition of her twin brothers and my back and forth working outside of the house, working from home and periods of hard work as a stay-at-home mom. That boomerang has continued for the past 4 years as I strive, like many, to find that balance between career, home and self.

If you follow me on Facebook you will have seen some of the recent changes to our family diet. Our weekly pasta nights, quesadilla nights, pizza nights and pancake Sundays have been turned upside down. My son, Paul, was diagnosed with Celiac disease. This is an autoimmune disorder that effects the stomach and esophagus. He had stomach issues for a while, we tried cutting out dairy to no avail and I asked his doctor to test him. Autoimmune disorders, including Celiac, run in my family. Today there is a simple blood test that can tell you if you are likely to have celiac. An endoscopy can confirm it. Let me tell you how fun that was with a 3 year old stubborn boy who hates being told what to do! The Celiac diagnosis is a blessing in disguise. Yes, I’d rather he did not have it, but if he gets “glutened” once it is not going to require an epi pen or hospitalization for an allergic reaction. Rather, if he is continually “glutened” it will have severe consequences for his health and growth. 
I thought gluten-free was just a trend. Everyone is going gluten-free. There are people, like Paul, who need to be completely gluten-free and others who do it to help them eat less processed food and live a healthier lifestyle. It has made us eat healthier. It also costs a lot more but we wouldn’t think twice about paying for a medication, so why not pay more for gluten free foods to keep up health?
It has been overwhelming, but will be manageable. We eat lots of the same items, just healthier versions. Sure, Paul asks sometimes for Goldfish or cake, but there are so many alternatives these days that he is easily appeased and distracted. Visiting other people’s houses and eating out are a challenge, but nothing that we cannot overcome.
This is a copy of the email we sent to family when we discovered the diagnosis, 
“Hope you all are well. We are settling in back at home after a whirlwind trip to Disney World last week. The kids had a blast! Fortunately and unfortunately, just before we left we got an official diagnosis of Celiac disease for Paul. He has had stomach issues for months and we have tried various things, but knowing that celiac and autoimmune diseases run in the our family, Marie pushed to have him tested and there is something to be said for a mother’s intuition 🙂 
We just wanted to give you all a little information on Celiac if you are interested in learning more. We do not expect when we visit your homes for you to be fully prepared for gluten free meals. We will have a travel kit so we make sure to keep Paul safe. Unfortunately even a crumb can set off a flare up once gluten has been fully removed. We even had to buy a separate toaster, utensils, plates, tupperware, cutting boards, etc for our kitchen! Gluten is in things you wouldn’t even think of like ketchup, soy sauce, mustard, some candies,some ice cream and more. He can’t even have things made on equipment that may have wheat. Oats are a good example of something that is naturally gluten free but is often grown in the same fields and processed in the same factories as wheat, so it must say gluten free on the box/bag or else it is not safe.
We are trying to teach Paul not to accept food offered without asking first if it is gluten free, but for now are just not letting him accept offered food. He doesn’t fully understand yet, but with the help of our GI and nutritionist at Children’s and his teachers and nurse at his pre-school he will adapt 🙂 
If you have any questions, let us know.”
We have been grilling a lot and eating brown rice pasta and taco shells that are gluten free. We found a great gluten free pizza crust (Udi’s) that works really well until I figure out my own recipe. We  still have pizza night, taco Tuesday and pancake Sunday, just modified. There are so many wonderful foods that are naturally gluten free, we just need to make sure that they are not processed with any wheat, rye, barley or related products. 



Paul is now feeling better, smiling, potty trained!!!!, and enjoying life as a healthy 4 year old. My new bucket list and food challenges will come, but this year keeping everyone healthy is first on our minds. I hope you’ll stay with me as I document this journey.

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