Wheatless Foodie

Most the the "gluten free" foods I consume are foods that are naturally gluten free, like fruits and vegetables.  I especially like fresh, homegrown or locally grown vegetables. When our vegetable garden is producing more than we can eat fresh, I like to store the excess in the freezer.  This allows us to enjoy our fresh homegrown vegetables throughout the year.  Since we don't grow all of the vegetables we like, I also purchase commercially frozen vegetables throughout the year.  I appreciate this convenience, but there is no comparrison between the taste of commercially frozen vegetables and homegrown vegetables, even after they've been frozen. Processing the vegetables for the freezer requires submerging them in boiling water for a short time (blanching) before freezing.  This kills any bacteria that may still be on the vegetables after washing and deactivates the enzymes can cause the quality to degrade while the vegetables are in the f...

Summer brings us an abundance of fresh fruit.  Most of this fruit is consumed raw, but sometimes we buy more that we are able to eat while it's still fresh.  This Orchard Fruit Pie is a good way to use up excess fruit and is a delicous gluten free dessert.  Here's how it's made: For the crust, combine the dry ingredients.  Cut in the butter with a pastry cutter until crumbly. Mix together the egg, 1 tablespoon of the water, and the vinegar.  Work into the flour/butter mixture, adding an additional 1 tablespoon of water if needed for the dough to hold together. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured silicone baking sheet or on parchment. Place pie dough in a 9-inch pie plate, trim off the excess (or roll under for a thicker edge) and crimp. Place the pie crust into the refrigerator to chill. For the filling, combine the sugar and cornstarch, then stir the mixture into the fruit. This pie contains cherries, blueberries, and nectarines. Make the...

I just tried Domino's Pizza with gluten free crust.  It was soooooo good!  I ordered pizza for my family via the Domino's website, and the gluten free pizza crust is one of the crust options when ordering.  As soon as I clicked on the gluten free crust option, this disclaimer popped up letting me know that my gluten free pizza would be prepared in the same kitchen where the regular pizza was being prepared, meaning there would be a chance for cross-contamination. Since I'm willing to trust that the chance of contamination is small, and this isn't a serious allergy situation, I'm OK with that.  I know there are people with Celiac that must adhere to absolutely no gluten whatsoever in there diet.  I've found that I'm OK with "under 20 ppm", so I took my chances. So far, so good. And the pizza was excellent.  The gluten free crust is thin and crispy, but without being overly dry or cracker-like.  Most of Domino's pizza's can be made o...

The vegetable garden is producing lots of lettuce these days, which means lots of salads.  This Strawberry Almond Salad is one of my current favorites.  I love the slight bitterness of the salad greens with the sweet, fruity strawberries, crunchy almond slices, and tart balsamic vinaigrette. Strawberry Almond Salad Fresh salad greens sliced fresh strawberries sliced almonds Balsamic Vinaigrette: one part balsamic vinegar, three parts oil of your choice, salt and pepper to taste. Arrange salad ingredients on plate, or toss in a bowl.  Whisk together dressing just before serving and drizzle over salad.  Lightly toss salad with dressing. Printable Version Enjoy! Cindy For more gluten free and/or allergy-friendly recipes, visit Made from Scratch Monday  at Living With Food Allergies and Celiac Disease .