Lasagna!

Ok, throwing in another one while we're in the baked pasta mood. Daughter has been wanting some lasagna, even though she can't have dairy, including cassein. Here's what I did:

1 bottle of Classico Roasted Garlic and Onion tomato sauce

Rizopia oven-ready brown rice lasagna noodles

1 lb. ground elk (locally raised and marketed)

1 pkg. Galaxy Foods vegan rice-based Italian flavour "cheese"

mushrooms and herbs to taste

I browned up the elk, then added most of the tomato sauce, some fresh thyme, and blended. I used the sauce I held back to layer the bottom of the baking dish. This helps the oven-ready pasta to soften. I laid the noodles on the sauce, then a layer of meat and sauce, then a layer of mushrooms and a layer of grated "cheese." Repeat. Bake, covered, for 45 mins in a pre-heated 350 degree oven.

Now, it's absolutely necessary that foods I make for my daughter are dairy (and cassein) free. She doesn't have to have gluten-free foods, but I'm trying to reduce her gluten intake so she doesn't get to a place where she develops a problem with it. I can't find anything in the Galaxy "cheese" that should have gluten in it, but the package does not say "Gluten-Free." Some day I'll try it and see what happens to me. ;o) There are gluten-free "cheeses" available tho, so with the rice noodles, this recipe can easily be gluten-free as well. (The Classico sauce is also not labelled gluten-free, but I consume it without ill-effect. There are also gluten-free sauces available in the health food section of many grocery stores.)

Ok, it's not at all traditional, but it's a yummy lasagna look-alike. Enjoy!

Lavendar Biscuits...

..sort of. Ok, here's what I did. Using my fave biscuit recipe as a guide, I combined some bean flour, sourghum flour and almond flour. I added a tbsp. of brown sugar, baking powder, and just a tiddle of salt. I used vegetable shortening for the fat needed. Now I can't have dairy, so no milk. My lavendar is fully in bloom and I've been wanting to cook with some, so I went for it. I put in about a tbsp. of the fresh flowers, and for the liquid, I made a light tisane using just a few lavendar leaves. I didn't want to handle the dough too much, so I mixed it and spooned it into muffin tins and put them in the oven.

Now, I'm not giving you the exact recipe because it didn't work. It was by no means my most spectacular failure in the kitchen. The biscuits would almost need to go boom to get there. But it's back to the proverbial drawing board.




They just didn't rise. Now, I didn't use creme of tartar because I don't know for sure if it's gluten free. I must look into that. (I don't actually know what the stuff is. I mean, it isn't creamy, is it? How can a powder even be called "creme?") And I didn't add soda. Thinking now I should have.

So my biscuits were too well cooked on the outside and not cooked enough on the inside... typical of no rising power. However, they were actually kind of tasty anyway and I ate two of 'em for lunch. I probably won't eat all the rest, but I'm not just discarding them all at least.

The other correction I'll make is to add more lavendar. I think I was a little afraid of it, because if you use too much, you can wind up with food that tastes like perfume and is bitter. But with the almond in there especially, there just wasn't enough lavendar. Next time I'll add more flowers and make a stronger tisane.

Onward!

An ~ ti ~ ci ~ pa ~ tion...

Ah yes ~ anticipation. Sweet anticipation.

I found 'em. You know those alternative, gluten-free flours I was hoping to find? Well, they were out there the whole time. Just had to go to the right place to find 'em. So here they are, 6 alternative flours.. sourghum, chic pea, quinoa, whole bean, brown rice, dark buckwheat. Yep. And some alum-free baking powder too!

Oh boy.... flour.... um... um... now what?

Hehehe... right. So I guess I'll start with some bisquits from scratch.. don't wanna think too big at the get-go. Thing is, it's just too darned hot to bake ANYTHING right now anyhow. In the meantime, I'll check out Shawna James Ahern's gluten free girl, Chickie Pea's blog on facebook, The Healthy Haven blog, glutenfreefun.com, etc. for suggestions and how to. I'll make a list.

Yeah, that's what I'll do.. a list of baking projects I can start with just as soon as the weather cools a bit. So.. yep.

Aarrrggghh.. anticipation...

It's Not About the Destination...

..it's about the journey. Today I embark on a search for alternative grains and other gluten-free foods I can have.

I already traded in my beloved lite Miracle Whip for gluten-free mayonaisse. (Kraft, do you make a gluten-free product??) And I found gluten-free dijon mustard in the same health-food aisle. Chic peas have become a big part of my life. Oh, the mighty chic pea. *bowing*

Of course, you may be saying to yourself, who cares? All I can tell you is that the doctor wasn't at all surprised by my gluten intolerance, and that's simply because he's encountering it with so many of his patients. Pay mind, readers ~ this may be a problem you'll need to be aware of in future. That might not be a gall stone causing your discomfort... might be gluten.

Todays' search will focus mostly on alternative grains. Specifically I'm hoping to find sorghum flour, amaranth, bean flour and/or oats that aren't contaminated with wheat. We'll see what I bring home. I really miss bread, rolls, biscuits, etc. While the brown rice pasta is delicious and the rice cakes are good, brown rice bread is yucky and cloying, even when toasted and toasted some more. I must find alternative flours, and while I'm out there, I must get some gluten-free baking powder.

Onward to the hunt. And then on to the kitchen experiments, with the guidance of others who've gone before. Later ~

Added several hours later:

Ok, here's how I did. As I suspected, I couldn't find these flours on my first lookabout, but what I did find was Bob's Red Mill mixes, some of them using the very flours I was looking for. I'm not really a "mix" kind of cook, but hey... gotta go with what's available and maybe this isn't a bad place to start.

So then, here was the opportunity to make something for supper besides the brown rice pasta with veges and some sort of dressing. Don't get me wrong... I love that. But EVERY night? Maybe not. So I went with the biscuit mix and the almond "meal/flour." I made half a recipe of the biscuits using part vege shortening and part roasted garlic olive oil and water. Those in the oven, I cut several slices of zucchini, dipped them in egg seasoned with salt and pepper, then the almond, and fried them in XV olive oil. In another small pan I put some mushrooms, chopped green onion and pieces of asparagus to saute. Then I poured the beaten egg leftover from dipping the zuc in with the veges. With some li'l tomatoes, this was my supper:

It was surprisingly good. Really the only complaint I had is that the biscuits took longer to bake than the pkg. directions indicated, so some of my zuc slices got a little mushy, and I like them firm. But that's easily adjusted another time.

You may have noticed that there's no meat included in any of my food posts. That's because before I got celiac disease, I already had colitis. So I was already on a special diet where I couldn't have any dairy, red meat, or white wheat. I did eat chicken, but now apparently that's no longer an option either. Basically then, there's 3 things I can eat: *veges, brown rice and the one animal product my body will still tolerate, eggs. So this is why I'm so anxious to discover some of these gluten-free grains. So far, so fun and interesting. ;o)

*Yes, I can also have fruit ~ I'm just far more likely to have it as a drink, rather than in solid form.

Note: if you're interested in more info on dietary issues, look for Chickie Pea's blog on Facebook called Eating for Autoimmune Health, and The Healthy Haven, by iHerb on wordpress.com, and nutritionevolution.net, all great nutrition resources. (I'd give you the links, but this thang won't copy and paste and they're rather long.)