WHAT? That was good.

Tempura Shrimp

Ah! This dish was so, so good. I do have to give Duncan credit for coming up with the idea, but I did all the eating--naturally. It was gross how much I ate in one sitting, but I'm not ashamed. NEVER. The batter is really easy to make, you mix egg whites and rice flour and you're done with step 1. Step 2. roll the shrimp around in the batter and then 3. throw the shrimp into the frying pan for a couple of minutes. Step 4. Eat your face off. What, that is it? Yes, it is. You can eat them with a fork, but I sure as hell did not. I'm a monster--a hungry monster.

Duncan and I thought it would be a great idea to make our own pickles. No, we don't have an electric canner--just a pickle making dream. A pickle making dream that came true, I may add.

They came out quite delicious but not as crunchy as store bought pickles. No complaints though. Dunc put the homemade pickles on his sandwich and thought the extra garlic we put in really added a nice flavor.

Because I can't eat sandwiches--BOO-- I ate them straight up, that's right. It's a nice snack that is very low in calories. (If you're into that sort of thing. Not me.) Here is the recipe I followed from www.life123.com:

Refrigerator Bread and Butter Pickles Recipe

Ingredients you will need:
3 cups sugar
3 cups vinegar
1/3 cup canning salt
2 tablespoons pickling spices
1 tablespoon turmeric
Cucumbers (sliced thin)
Onions (sliced thin)

Wash cucumbers, slice thin and layer with sliced onion in clean, sterilized jars. Combine ingredients and heat to melt the sugar. Cool and pour into jars. Cover and let stand at least 24 hours before taste testing. A jar of opened pickles will keep in the refrigerator for weeks without spoiling--awesome.

Oh, how simple.

Fish Tacos

One of my all-time favorite foods are Mexican fajitas. Since I've been robbed of my bread/wrap eating abilities, I had to switch to hard tacos. Hard tacos are made out of corn flour so gluten-freers are in the clear. But be sure to steer clear from wraps and burritos at Mexican restaurants because they contain gluten. To make tacos at home are easy and quick to make. If you don't eat seafood you can swap the fish for vegetables.

Here's what you'll need:

2 fillets of tilapia or fish of your choosing
Lettuce
Tomato
Onion
Avocado
Cheddar cheese
Sour Cream
Taco seasoning


Here's what you do:

Saute fish and sprinkle with taco seasoning. Cook for five minutes. Add all other ingredients and fish into taco shells and enjoy! Be careful, they're messy:)

Sunny-Side Up Eggs With Feta and Hot Peppers

If you're like me and can't eat cereal, here's an alternative. Sunny-side up eggs are a staple and kind of an art. It truly takes practice. Well, for me at least.

Here's how it goes:

For traditional sunny-side up eggs, melt 1 or 2 tablespoons of butter in a skillet over medium heat. Break open eggs into pan and immediately reduce heat to low. Cook slowly until the whites are completely set and the yolks begins to thicken, but are not hard. For over easy-eggs flip over for 15 seconds. Top with feta cheese and hot peppers.

Tofu Tahini Salad

I'm a big fan of Mediterranean food. I usually eat hummus in one of my meals at least three times a week. I switched it up this time and used the main ingredient of hummus, which is tahini. Tahini is simply grounded sesame seeds. Tahini is a good source of fatty acids for those who don't get enough of it in their diets and can be used as an alternative for butter or margarine. By pairing tofu and tahini this salad will be sure to fill you up if you're a vegetarian.

What you'll need:
2 tablespoons of Tahini
Romaine lettuce
Extra firm tofu
Tomato
1 tablespoon of feta cheese
Black olives
Lemon juice
Capers

What to do:

1. Drain tofu and saute tofu in olive oil on both sides. A few minutes on each side will do.
2. Cut romaine and add tomato, olives, and feta cheese.
3. Cool tofu and add to salad
4. Add tahini and capers. Squirt lemon juice to taste all over salad and enjoy.

Veggie Chili

Veggie chili is my staple protein food. It's so simple to make and you can throw in anything in your fridge that you need to use before it turns (this always seems to happen to me with my fresh produce.) It's super nutritious and hearty if you're missing meat out of your diet. I usually use portabella for its meaty texture but I didn't have it this week, instead I used various types of beans. Another good characteristic about this dish is that you can make a big batch of it and have lunch made for the entire week.

Here's what you'll need:

1 can of white beans
1 can of black beans
1 can of diced tomatoes
16 ounce can of tomato paste
1 small onion
1/2 green pepper
1 teaspoon chili powder
hot sauce

add whatever vegetables you have in your fridge


1. saute onion and pepper in olive oil until tender.
2. Add diced tomatoes and beans. Stir in paste. Add in chili pepper and hot sauce.
3.Cook until hot and veggies are tender. Garnish with sour cream.

Gluten-Free Food Lists

I just wanted to make a quick post about safe gluten-free foods. I don't really get into explaining celiac disease on my blog. I just assume if people are searching through gluten-free foods they have some knowledge about gluten intolerance. The truth of the matter is I don't know that much about it myself. So, I wanted to post where I go to find out gluten-free facts. I mainly go to celiac.com and always look on the safe gluten-free foods list. I have spring break this week so I will have plenty of gluten-free ideas to come. Enjoy!

Mango Snack

Here's another simple snack idea for you kids. Cut mango slices and dip them into hot sauce. Trust me, it's good. I learned about this snack from my Spanish roommate while living in NYC. Just give it try!

Gluten-free Eggplant Parm

I love eggplant parm. I do. I'm guilty. I can still eat it, thank god, with the help of substitute flour. The eggplant I made was so good that I ate the whole dish I made. It was kind of gross of me, but I couldn't resist the overflowing cheese and eggplant deliciousness.
To make eggplant parm, it's the same process only you swap regular flour for all purpose gluten-free flour. Once you coat the eggplant in egg and roll in flour, you fry the eggplant, then layer with tomato sauce and cheese. Lastly, throw the eggplant into the oven at 350 for 30 minutes.
Enjoy!

Winter Treat

The past week the Pocono's got 6 inches of snow. Yikes!! I took the opportunity of a cold winter's day to make yummy tomato soup. Canned tomato soup usually contains wheat flour, so here's a simple gluten-free recipe for a cold day. :)

-1 6 ounce can of tomato paste
-24 ounces of skim milk
-salt and pepper to taste
-bring ingredients to a boil and serve

Serve with some hot sea and enjoy!

Tasty Drink

I came across this tasty lil' drink the other day by Stealz. It was my first time trying sparkling green tea and I approve. The best part about this drink is that it's certified organic and fair trade. See, everyone wins. P.s I added some sparkling green tea to cranberry juice and vodka and it tasted quite good. Give it a go!

Simple Potatoes

I love potatoes. I'd eat them right now if you gave them to me. Do it. Moving on, here's a real simple potato dish. You can eat them for breakfast with eggs or for dinner with your baked tofu (if you get down with tofu.)

-Cut potatoes into thin triangles
-Salt and pepper the little triangles
-Add any fresh herbs you have in the fridge
-Add canola oil to your pan
-Throw in potatoes and cook on each side for 10 minutes
-Cover the pan and cook for another 10 minutes
-Add a dollop of sour cream and serve. Enjoy!

Polenta and Rice Crusted Salmon

Don't be fooled by the "salmon polenta hot dog" looking picture. I'll be the first to admit that I'm no photographer. Whateverrr. Anyway, the polenta I made was surprising delicious. I'm only surprised because I made it. The polenta isn't its characteristically yellow color that it usually is and that's because I used white cornmeal (hence the weird picture.) I crusted the salmon with the coating Dunc made me, which is really simple to make. You just put brown rice in your food processor and process until you get a salt like texture.

Polenta:

1 cup cornmeal or medium grain polenta
4 tablespoons of butter
1 cup sour cream or cream cheese
4 cups of water

Heat water lightly seasoned with salt to a boil over high heat, about 5 minutes. Quickly whisk in the polenta until fully incorporated. Lower the heat to a low simmer, add the butter and allow the polenta to cook, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes.Finish by stirring in the cheese and salt to taste.

Salmon:

Coat each side with the brown rice coating. Heat salmon in a pan with olive oil on each side for 1 and half on each side. Salt to taste. Serve with polenta.

Easy Pizza Dough

My biggest problem with cooking is that I never have all the ingredients. When this would happen to me I'd scrap the recipe. I get over recipes real quick. Duncan, my partner in crime, has much more cooking determination and integrity than I. Here's Dunc's "If you don't have all the important the pizza dough ingredients for pizza" recipe. P.S Try to get the dough real thin because this recipe can be really dry.

Pizza Dough:

1 cup all purpose gluten-free flour
½ cup cornstarch (we used cornmeal because we never have anything!)
2/3 cup milk or milk substitution
2 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoons Italian spices

Dash of garlic powder or salt

Mix gently, do not over-beat. Pour batter into greased pizza pan. Bake at 425F for 20 minutes.

Watch Out Now!

I was reading up on some gluten-free facts and check this out:

"There are a few things that people may not realize have gluten. Play-doh contains gluten. Personal care products such as chapstick, lipstick, and even some toothpastes may contain gluten. It is common for some hair care products to contain wheat protein."

So, what you're telling me is that I can't make play-doh houses in my spare time (all the time) and have good smelling breath? I can't even have kissable lips? More importantly, I can't eat my shampoo??!! Malarchy! Okay, okay calm it down. Obviously, I'm being somewhat humorous (somewhat meaning totally), but nonetheless, something to be cautious of.

Just in case you haven't noticed, my blog isn't about "how wonderfully I've adapted my life to this pesky allergy", I 100% find it annoying and a downfall in my life. That's right, I got dramatic.

All Purpose Gluten Free Flour

I wanted to put up the brand of gluten-free flour I've been using for almost all my baking recipes. It's Bob's Red Mill All Purpose Baking Flour, and I approve. *gives a teethy smile and thumbs up* Don't be fooled though, you can't substitute all recipes with this faux flour. For instance, let's just say you have a great idea to to make "gluten-free pierogis late at night with a simple swap of flours", it won't work. What I'm learning (besides that a gluten allergy is ruining my life...kidding?? who knows anymore) is that gluten in recipes makes the food world go round. I have to start buying things like xantam gum. What? Who? I'm such a novice. I'll tell you something though. I will NOT be defeated when it comes to making pierogis. Let it be known, the weird potato pocket will be mine, and gluten-free at that. MU-HA!

Make Your Own Veggie Stock

So, this is a pretty simple recipe. Many manufactured soups, stock cubes, and sauces contain gluten. I know, we can't win. I started making my own stock to avoid and problems and stomach aches.

Here's how you get down:

Combine the following ingredients in a gallon of water and simmer for 45 minutes.

• 1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
• 1 medium leek (white and green parts) rinsed
  
• 1 medium rib celery
• 1 medium carrot, peeled and chopped
• ½ medium turnip
  
• ½ small tomato, chopped
• 3 cloves peeled garlic
  
• 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
• whole peppercorns
  
• whatever herbs you have in the kitchen i.e thyme, bay leaves, parsley

After you drain your stock, dispose of the vegetables in your compost or to your dogs. That's right, to your pups. We mash up the rubbish into our dogs food and they love it. As you can see from the picture, he's always hungry. P.S all the ingredients are safe for your dogs expect the garlic so be sure to take it out.

Valentines Day Risotto!

Not going to lie, I cooked an awesome dinner for my boyfriend last night. Kept it simple on the fake holiday but still gave into it, you know. For the special occasion I wanted to be a little fancy smancy. I went with some carb deliciousness, as always.

Believe it or not it was my first time making risotto. (WHAT?!) Yes, I know, it's so hard to believe. I've always been nervous to make risotto because you have to constantly tend to it. I'm the type who will start cooking, then start checking my email, then start plucking my eyebrows, and come back to a burnt dish. (oh crap...) This dish made me focus and stay in the kitchen. Oh, and it was worth it. Here's what you need to make it happen:

4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 cup diced onion
1 pound Portobello mushrooms
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
1 cup Arborio rice
2 cups vegetable broth (I'll give you my recipe for veggie broth in just a minute)
2 cups water
1/2 cup mascarpone or grated Parmesan cheese
Grated Parmesan cheese to top it off

Here's how you get down with it:

1. Cook the onions in 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat until soft. Stir in the garlic and rosemary and cook a couple minutes. Meanwhile, clean up the portobellos and dice them into 1/2-inch pieces. Turn up the heat and saute the mushrooms with the onions. Set the mushroom/onion mixture aside for a hot minute.

2. Add a couple more tablespoons olive oil to the pot and stir in the rice until it is translucent. Then start adding the veggie broth half a cup at a time. Stir well and adjust your burner so the broth simmers. Each time the broth cooks down to a thick sauce, stir in another half cup. When all the broth is gone, add the water.

3. When the rice is close to done, 15 minutes or so, stir in the mushroom/onion mixture and keep adding water until the rice is done.

4. When the rice is done, stir in the mascarpone or Parmesan. Salt and pepper the risotto to taste. Serve with grated Parmesan on the side to keep the cheese party going.

Little Snacky Wacky

Here's a quick little post for you kids. I tried this little snacky the other day, and I'm into it. It's a dried fruit snack by the brand "Sensible Food." They're gluten-free, all natural, and preservative free. I like to bring them to class with me and be that obnoxious chewer in class that everyone cringes at (totally kidding. I eat my snack in the bathroom to avoid just that scenario), or sprinkle it on my bland puffed rice cereal in the morning. Enjoy!

Snowed In Carrot Cake!

I love snow days. I love not having to go to class. I especially love staying in and snacking all day. I'm fortunate enough to have a super sweet boyfriend who makes me gluten-free carrot cake on a day like this. I'm not a huge fan of carrot cake but I'm sort of a believer now. As long as the cake isn't too sweet and the frosting isn't too thick, I can get down with it. Here's the easy recipe for our snowy day carrot cake:

• 4 eggs
• 1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
• 2 cups white sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose gluten-free flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 3 cups grated carrots
• 1 cup chopped pecans (optional. I didn't use them in mine)

Frosting

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 4 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup chopped pecans (again, optional)
  

How to get down with it:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan.
2. In a large bowl, beat together eggs, oil, white sugar and 2 teaspoons vanilla. Mix in gluten-free flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Stir in carrots. Fold in pecans if you're using them. Pour mixture into greased pan.
3. Bake in the preheated oven for 40 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean (good ol' trick your momma should have tought you). Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.
4. To Make Frosting: In a medium bowl, combine butter, cream cheese, confectioners' sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Stir in chopped pecans if you're using them. Frost the cooled cake.

Gluten-Free Breakfast Bar

My mom was nice enough to buy me these ridiculously overpriced gluten-free breakfast bars yesterday. You know when you're use to drinking Pepsi and then one day you switch it up and try diet? Record skip! It kind of throws you off. That's what happened with me and these bars. I ate one and could tell something tasted off. The coating was too thick and the filling was too sweet. I wouldn't normally mind in any other case, but these bars were 7 bucks for 5 of them. Stop that! Gluten-free doesn't have to taste bad and doesn't have to be so expensive, kids. So, I'm over it and off to trying the next thing. More importantly, instead of eating these expensive fake fruit thingies, I'm going to just eat an apple. Problem solved.

Brown Rice Pasta

I just wanted to make a quick blog about the pasta alternative I've been using. It's called Tinkyada Pasta Joy Ready. It's a brown rice spiral pasta. With this pasta you want to make sure you follow the directions on the bag, which I didn't do the first time around. Wompppp Wommmp. I cooked it the first time like I would cook pasta normally. Wrong-oh. It came out extremely soggy and almost inedible. What you're supposed to do is boil water, add pasta in and boil for a minute, turn off the heat and let the pasta sit in water for 20 minutes. Just a heads up!

Cocktail!

Keeping up with the drinking theme, I thought I'd put on a diary-free, gluten-free cocktail. You may recognize this popular drink from "the dude." That's right, a White Russian. It's so easy to make and isn't as thick a normal White Russian (normally made with half and half) because of the soymilk. If you miss the consistency of a regular White Russian, try using soy creamer. Hazelnut flavored soy creamer is pretty delicious in the drink. Just a reminder, all distilled alcohols are gluten-free, but always read the labels and drink cautiously. Just combine; 3/4 ounces of vodka and Kaluah, 1 1/2 ounces of soymilk ir creamer. Stir and enjoy!

Simple Sopa!

I remember the first time I had sopa. I was half awake, hungover, and stretched out on my friend's couch. No, it was not a pretty picture but Janessa was whizzing around in the kitchen making her favorite Spanish dish. I instantly awoke to the smells of onions and garlic sauteing on her teeny tiny city stove. It was the first time I had sopa and I promise, it cured my hangover instantly with its deliciousness. Last night was my first night trying to make the dish. It didn't come out like Janessa's but it still tasted pretty damn good.

Saute garlic and onion in olive oil. Add a can of diced tomatoes and 1/4 a cup of tomato sauce. Add a ton of your favorite cheese! Mix all together with your choice of gluten-free pasta or brown rice. PS- My sister made a similar dish when she was living in Costa Rica and she would add avocado to her sopa. Give it a shot and enjoy!

Simple Linguine

This recipe is ridiculously easy to make. I used the Notta Pasta's linguine and added my own tomato sauce. The sauce is just:

One can of diced tomatoes

One small can of tomato paste

Onion

Garlic

Fresh basil

Salt and Pepper


Saute the garlic and onion. Add in the can of diced tomatoes then the pasta. Add the fresh garlic last. Combine the pasta and sauce and add your choice of cheese. I used feta because it's delicious.

Linguine

One of the hardest foods for me to not eat on this diet is pasta. I love pasta. I'll shout my love for pasta from the rooftop. Being a veggie head, I fill up on carbs like pasta and bread pretty much everyday. Not anymore! Boo hiss. Until I started to seek out gluten-free alternatives for my carb loving ways. I found this brand of gluten-free pasta called Notta Pasta. Not so bad. You have to make sure you don't overcook these noodles though. Trust me.

Banana Peanut Butter Dairy-Free Smoothie

Here's another breakfast idea for you, kids. It's also a nice, nutritious snack, as well. I usually make this recipe but I also switch it up with different types of fruit or milk. I recently started making smoothies with either rice or almond milk. I'll put other recipes up using rice and almond milk soon.

1 cup soy, rice, or almond milk

1/2 banana

1 tablespoon peanut butter

2 ice cubes

Throw all ingredients in the blender, puree, and enjoy!!

Post Script- If you're an ESU student; or close to a Wawa, buy one banana, grab a packet of honey, and you're almost set! I'm on a mission to find soy milk at Wawa. I'll report back shortly!

A Gluten-Free Breakfast

Okay, I'm keeping it a little simple here. I will put up my recipe for gluten-free potato pancakes later in the week. My boyfriend and I want to keep working on it before we share the deliciousness to the world. So, I had to give up a lot of delicious, flavorful (sugar!!) cereals due to my "illness." What I'm eating now is puffed rice cereal with vanilla soy milk. Let me tell you something about puffed rice cereal, it's not that good. I like to add some almonds or fresh fruit to it so it's not like eating cardboard. Alright, it's that bad but it's no Trix. I'm uploading a picture of the brand I eat. Enjoy!

First on the menu!

Gluten-Free, Diary-Free Zucchini Bread

My mom gave me this recipe, but instead of using regular flour I substituted it for an all purpose gluten-free variety. I use Bob's Red Mill all purpose flour for almost everything now. It's good stuff. The only downfall with gluten-free staples in your cabinet is they're expensive! Going on, the recipe originally called for 3 eggs, but I used 3 1/2 tablespoons of apple sauce as a replacer. So here's everything else.

3/4 cup vegetable oil

1 1/4 cups sugar

3 eggs beaten (or a little more than 3 tablespoons of apple sauce if you don't get down with eggs)

1 3/4 cups zucchini (do not drain)

2 cups gluten-free all purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

2 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon



Post Script- Tastes better than it looks it in picture. It makes for a tasty, little snack.

Hello! My name is Caitlin and I'm a beginner at living gluten-free. This blog is dedicated to my new found diet and all the experimental cooking I will be doing. In addition, I'm a vegetarian and will be posting vegetarian recipes as well.

A little bit of history. I've always had problems with my stomach and never knew the reason why. I thought it was a diary intolerance (which I also have and try not to eat all the time) so I cut dairy out of my diet and the problem still remained. My best friend, who has Celiac disease, insisted I cut gluten out of my diet to see if it was the culprit. Low and behold, I felt better. I'm bummed about my recent discovery, as I love all things gluten (i.e bread, pasta, pretzels, and everything else delicious) but determined to still eat scrumptiously. So, now I'm in the process of learning about this diet, its restrictions, and how to make gluten-free food. Please join me on this journey to finding food which tastes as good everything on the menu at Olive Garden (I kid, kid! cause that's gross.) I warn you now, some things may not come out delicious but I will eat it anyway. Another warning, my camera is older than your mother and I'm not a photographer.