Hello, internet friends!  Just a quick update.

Lately I've been:

• Cooking more often! 
• Celebrating the holidays.  We co-threw a party, made stuff*, gifted & was gifted to, etc.
• Using pinterest...on which I have a board dedicated to Gluten-free Food & Drink
• Adding reviews to Yelp

*The bMoreGlutenFree team made homemade holiday gifts for our friends this year: Peppermint Bark in cute packages.  They were easy to make and a big hit!  The rough recipe is:

1. melt white chocolate chips in a make-shift double-boiler (large bowl on top of pot)
2. add in crushed candy canes
3. pour and spread onto trays
4. refrigerate

Phew, so glad I've caught you up!  However, we had a family emergency before the holidays that has taken me away from Baltimore for an indefinite period of time.  I'm not sure how much attention I'll be able to put to this blog and its auxillary sites as we deal with these difficulties.  But I did not want to leave ya'll hanging, and I will certainly be back!

Have a Safe, Happy, & Healthy New Year!

'Til next time . . .

December Guest Blogger recipe: Tortilla Española

Claire S., a recent graduate of Johns Hopkins University, brings us this month's guest recipe!  Claire spent a semester in Madrid, where [I like to believe] she perfected the art of Spanish tapas.  Her version of the popular 'Spanish Omelet' certainly brings me back to my own days abroad, when I first tried the dish.  Yummy yum yum.  (As usual, if you have questions for our guest blogger, please leave them in the comments section.)  ¡Buen provecho!

Tortilla Española

My undying love of the Spanish tortilla came about while studying abroad in Madrid.  It was my staple food there--not only because it’s delicious, but also because it’s affordable and you can purchase it pretty much anywhere in Spain. Very attractive for someone on a student’s budget!  The scrumptious tortilla is also incredibly versatile: it can be eaten for breakfast, lunch, or dinner and is super portable for those on-the-go.  A naturally gluten-free dish, there are only five simple ingredients: potatoes, eggs, onion, olive oil, and salt.  Once you have mastered it, this dish will become your go-to meal!

Prep Time: 20 minutes 

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

• approx. 7 medium potatoes -- peeled, quartered, & thinly sliced
• 5 large eggs
• 2 tsp. salt
• 1 medium onion -- minced
• Extra virgin olive oil 
• Cutlery: 10" non-stick pan; mixing bowl; strainer; 12-inch [or larger] plate

Directions:

1. Fill a 10” non-stick frying pan with a half-inch of olive oil and place over medium-high heat. 
2. Once the oil is hot, add potatoes + onion.  Allow to cook until potatoes are golden brown and soft (≈20 minutes).   
3. While the potatoes are cooking, in a separate bowl beat eggs + salt, until fluffy.   
4. Using a strainer, remove the potatoes from the frying pan, allowing the olive oil to drain into a bowl.   
5. Add the potatoes to the egg mixture and stir until combined.   
6. Drizzle some of the excess oil back into the frying pan and place over medium heat. 
7. When the pan is hot, add the potato and egg mixture.   Cook for about 5 minutes, constantly making sure that the sides of the tortilla are not sticking to the pan.   
8. Take a plate that is larger than the pan and place it upside down over the pan.  
9. Flip the tortilla onto the plate (commitment is key, don’t hesitate!).  
10. Add more olive oil to the pan and slide the tortilla back into the pan. The uncooked side should be faced down.  
11. Cook for about 5 more minutes, then slide from pan onto a serving plate.  Enjoy!

An ode to Katz Gluten Free Cinnamon Rugelech, in haiku form:

Oh, I'm in love with

Such a yummy, crunchy treat;

So friendly* to eat.

* allergen/intolerance friendly: gluten, dairy, nut, & soy- free; kosher pareve

--     --     --     --     --     --     --     --     --     --     --     --

I first had these pastries of joy when visiting a vitamin/health food shop near my grandpa in Central Jersey.  So for Thanksgiving this year, I asked him to pick me up some and bring it to our dinner.  He got them (Thanks, G-pa!) but unfortunately forgot the package(s) at home.  However, he delivered them to my mom later that weekend!  In fact, I delayed my drive back to Baltimore partly so I could depart with these in tow.

A quick scan of their website shows several flavors of rugelech as well as other allergen-free sweets. Best of all, their whole bakery is a dedicated gluten-free (certified by the GIG) facility.  For those with further dietary restrictions, it's also dairy- and nut-free and all products are certified kosher (OU).  [I'm not sure why it doesn't say lactose-free?]

Here are the ingredients for the Cinnamon Rugelech:
Gluten free flour (Potato Starch, Tapioca Flour, White Rice Flour, Brown Rice Flour, Sorghum Flour), Sugar, Canola oil, Egg, Water, confection Sugars, Orange Juice, Dry Yeast,  Xanthan Gum, Cinnamon, baking powder, Salt, Vanillin

November Guest Blogger recipe: Hot Virginia Dip

This month's guest recipe comes to us from Marion V., a University of Maryland dietetic intern and fairly new 'tweeter' (follow her here).  This recipe is a healthier version of a fun hot [as in warm, not spicy] dip! If you're like me and don't know what 'minced dried beef' is or how to make it, leave a note in the comments or shout out to Marion on twitter.  -->

Hot Virginia Dip

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Greetings All, Marion here, serving as November’s guest blogger for bMoreGlutenFree.  I seem to be just sneaking in at the end of the month – I’m sure bMore is delighted about that one! Let me start off by saying that I grew up on quite a strict diet of hot pockets, pasta with butter, Snapple (lemon, of course), and bagels.  Now that I’m a little bit older and just a little bit wiser, I’ve upgraded to a more colorful diet.  But for this post I wanted to bring one of my old favorites to Baltimore so that you all have something delicious to whip up for the upcoming holiday parties.  I must also mention that I’m a dietitian-to-be, so it’s my personal preference to modify my recipes! While I’m sure you’d like to see the full-fat version of this dip, the modified version is just as delicious and saves over 200 Calories per serving.  I’ll take that! 

While I don’t know the origin of this dip, I can only assume that it’s from Virginia.  (But you know what they say about those who assume.) We used to make it with sour cream, but a few years ago I started using non-fat Greek yogurt and the difference is unnoticeable.  It’s super easy and is always a crowd pleaser.  Serve with vegetables or gluten-free crackers.

 

Ingredients

• 1 c. chopped pecans
• 2 tsp. butter (I used Smart Balance, light)
• 16 oz. non-fat cream cheese, softened
• 4 tbsp. non-fat milk
• 4 tsp. minced onion
• 3 oz. minced dried beef, rinsed
• 1 tsp. garlic powder 
• 1 c. non-fat plain Greek yogurt

Directions

1. Sauté pecans in butter until brown, about 5 min. on medium heat. Reserve for later.  
2. Mix other ingredients thoroughly. 
3. Place in 1 1/2 quart baking dish and top with pecans. Chill until serving time. 
4. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Serve hot! 

[It’s easiest to make this (steps 1-3) the night before your party & chill it until you’re ready.]

I wish I could say that I came up with this recipe myself, but I have to give credit to my cousin's family on her dad’s side.  They’re from Virginia, of course.

 

A Gluten-Friendly Thanksgiving

A few weeks ago, my mom posed a puzzle to me: what do we cook for Thanksgiving for my brothers who eat (nearly) everything, me who avoids land-dwelling meats, and a guest who is both vegan and gf?  She concluded the email, "Could you help me with the dinner menu?  We'll need need variety!"

That got me thinking - Thanksgiving is a surprisingly gluten-friendly holiday.  And, three iterations of our own menu later, I realized it is surprisingly vegan and pescitarian friendly too.  

The big thing to keep in mind if you're making your Thanksgiving gluten-friendly is cross-contamination.  It turns out that gluten is a sneaky little allergen.  A perfectly fine gf food can become a recipe for illness if you prepare it on a contaminated surface, use condiments that have been contaminated, or use a glutened utensil or toaster.  Make sure you have a clean start, you're aware of what items you're keeping gf, and everyone knows to use the right serving utensil for all items.

Okay let's talk food!  The menu we ended up with sounds so delicious that I'm already looking forward to left-overs.

• Salmon
• Cornmeal encrusted tempeh (vegan, gf)
• Roasted asparagus, corn, zucchini, and sweet potatoes (vegan, gf)
• Garlicky mashed potatoes (vegan, gf): the trick is to use a combination of canned veggie broth and soy creamer instead of butter and milk
• Gravy of choice: we'll have both chicken and gf/vegan
• Corn pudding casserole
• Salad with cider reduction dressing (vegan, gf)
• Dark chocolate dipped strawberries with citrus sugar (vegan, gf): most higher quality dark chocolates are conveniently vegan and gf

Many people with Celiac are also lactose intolerant, so a vegan menu is actually a good starting point.  But if you're looking for things that are just gf, you may be surprised that you don't have to look far.  Double-checking your recipe and preparation methods: it's likely that you already have a gf turkey, sweet potato casserole with marshmallows, and cranberry sauce.  Throw in a few substitutions and viola - you can have gf cornbread, stuffing, and pie too!

What do you have planned to make your holiday gluten friendly?

Sunday meal

This past sunday, we had planned to go to the Farmers' Market under the JFK Expressway* and then make some soup with our finds.  Although neither of those things happened, we did patronize the Baltimore Food Co-op^ and proceed to create a 3-course meal!  Here's what developed:

(A) Several-layer Spicy Bean & Cheese Dip
     Ingredients:

• Black Bean Refried Beans w/ Jalapenos^, 1 can  (can't remember the brand, sorry!)
• Salpica jalapeño jack queso dip^ 
• Green salsa^ (can't remember this brand either *pout*)
• Red salsa (whatever had been in my fridge for a while)
• Organic Valley shredded mozzeralla cheese^
• Hot peppers (mixed variety), chopped

• Garden of Eatin' Blue corn tortilla chips^

     Directions:
     1) Put beans in dish --> Microwave until lukewarm --> Stir
     2a) Place half of beans in glass pan/dish --> Add layer of queso
     2b) Layer some more beans --> Add layer of salsa(s)  (we did one side green and one red)
     2c) Put on more beans or queso if you want --> Cover with shredded cheese
     3) Microwave dish until the top layer of cheese is melted
     4) Sprinkle hot pepper mix on top, to taste
     5) Dunk chips in dip --> Bring to mouth and chew

(B) [Pre-]Battered Cod, with Roasted Cauliflower

     Ingredients:

• WaterfrontBISTRO Cod fillets [frozen]
• Local Cauliflower^, 1 bushel (? is that even the correct term ?)

     Directions:
     1) Remove greens from + chop cauliflower
     2a) Place cod fillets on oven-safe tray
     2b) Place cauliflower on same tray + season w/ salt and pepper
     3) Follow directions on cod box (essentially: bake at 425ºF for a while, flip fillets)

(C) Reeses-infused Brownies à la mode
     Ingredients:

• Reeses peanut butter cups  (we used the slightly-mini but not mini-mini size--because they were on post-Halloween sale--but any composition would work)
• Gluten Free Pantry Chocolate Truffle Brownie mix^
• Eggs, 2 large
• Butter, approx. 3/4 of a stick (but don't quote me on that)
• Haagen-dazs Coffee Ice Cream 

     Directions:
     1) Chop Reeses cups
     2) Follow directions on brownie mix box
     3a) Stop following directions on box when it says let cool fully.
     3b) Instead, let cool as long as you can handle, but brownies should still be warm.
     4) Top with ice cream


Everything was awesome, obviously.  And everything was gluten free!!  Even though the bean dip says 'spicy' and has a lot of hot peppers in it, the 4 of us who ate it did not find it that spicy (but keep in mind, we all like spicy food).  I also highly recommend the waterfrontBISTRO-brand cod fillets; I've also had their panko-crustred shrimp, but thought the cod cooked better.  Pretty sure I got both from Safeway.


*open Sundays 7am-noon, thru Dec. 18th
^ Items with this symbol were purchased at the Co-op

PFOGF Manifesto

Ladies and gentleman, it's arrived!  The Parents & Friends of Glutens-Free (PFOGF) have finalized the organization's manifesto, and posted it below in all its glory.  You may also view it on the PFOGF page, by clicking the tab on the sidebar.  Think something should be added or changed?  Let us know in the comments!

PFOGF Manifesto

Our Vision. We, the parents, families and friends of glutens free, celebrate diversity and envision a society that embraces everyone, including those of diverse dietary restrictions and identities. Only with respect, dignity and equality for all will we reach our full potential as human beings, individually and collectively. PFOGF welcomes the participation and support of all who share in, and hope to realize this vision.

Our Mission. PFOGF promotes the health and well-being of gluten free persons, their families and friends through: support, to cope with an adverse society; education, to enlighten an ill-informed public; and advocacy, to end discrimination and to secure equal civil rights. Parents, Families and Friends of Glutens Free provides opportunity for dialogue about dietary restrictions, and acts to create a society that is healthy and respectful of human diversity.

Our Strategic Goals

  One. Build the capacity of our organization at every level so that we may have all the resources, in the form of information, people and funding, necessary to move forward in our work with the greatest possible effect.

  Two. Create a world in which our young people may grow up and be educated with freedom from fear of violence, bullying and other forms of discrimination, regardless of their real or perceived dietary restriction or orientation or that of their families.

  Three. Make our vision and our message accessible to the broadest range of ethnic and cultural communities, ending the isolation of families with gluten free family members within those communities.

  Four. Work toward full inclusion of glutens free within their chosen communities of faith.

  Five. Create a society in which all gluten free persons may openly and safely pursue the career path of their choice, and may be valued and encouraged to grow to their full potential in the workplace.

  Six. Create a society in which all gluten free persons may enjoy, in every aspect of their lives, full civil and legal equality and may participate fully in all the rights, privileges and obligations of full citizenship in this country.

We welcome the participation and support of all who share in our Vision and Mission and who hope to realize our goals.


(Special thanks to PFLAG for rhetorical inspiration)