Wheatless Foodie

This is part of a series of gluten free menus for dinners costing under $4 per person. I’ve been buying pork top sirloin roasts from Costco for $1.99/lb. The roasts come four to a pack, each roast individually vacuum packed. This makes them really easy to defrost in a sink full of cold water when I forget to defrost them in the refrigerator (which is most of the time). For this dinner, I cooked two roasts so we would have leftovers for lunches. Whatever is left after a couple of days will go into the container labeled “chili fixin’s” in my freezer. I placed the pork roasts in a Dutch oven with plenty of seasoning and a little water then baked at 350F for 3 hours. We had pulled pork sandwiches, oven "fried" potato wedges, and a sort of cole slaw. I wanted to serve fresh vegetables with the sandwiches and fries, but I’m kind of over due for a trip to the market. So I made the slaw with what I had, which was a wedge of cabbage, a carrot, and some kale. For the dressing, I mi...

I was blessed to grow up with grandparents. Their loving care and nurturing guidance continue to influence me even now. My grandparents grew up on farms, he in Nebraska, and she in Kansas. Being unable to support their family of four on the farm, Grandpa took a job as a mechanic at Lockheed in Southern California during World War II. Grandma soon followed with their two daughters (my mother and aunt). They never returned to the farm. The farm, however, would always be a part of them. Some of my earliest memories are of Grandpa’s vegetable garden. Even in the smallest suburban backyards, Grandpa always found a spot to grow some vegetables, at least some salad greens and a few tomatoes if nothing else. Yesterday was the first day of Spring. Here in northwest Washington, it was a beautiful day to work outside. It was almost warm, nearly 60 degrees, and not raining. My long suffering husband of a farm girl wannabe spent part of the day digging up the vegetable garden so I could start...

Oats used to be prohibited in gluten free diets. Eventually, studies showed that pure oats were safe for most people with gluten intolerance. Unfortunately, most of the oats available for sale are not necessarily pure oats. Most oats are grown, stored, milled, and transported so as to allow contamination from wheat, rye, and/or barley. The amount of cross contamination is small, but it is sometimes enough to trigger a reaction in people who are sensitive to gluten. Fortunately, there are certified gluten-free oats available. Bob's Red Mill is certified gluten free. Making gluten free cookies isn’t too different from making regular cookies. The same method is used for both: cream the butter and sugars, beat in the eggs and vanilla, mix in the dry ingredients, etc. The biggest difference, I think, is that the finished gluten free cookies will probably fall apart easier than their wheat-containing counterparts. . I’ve added extra egg whites to this recipe to add some strength...