This Deliciousness Was Created Gluten Free...

Hi there! Well, after 34 very challenging weeks we welcomed our gluten free baby into the world. While the pregnancy itself was quite difficult thanks to a placenta previa and other unexpected perinatal concerns, I firmly believe that my gluten free diet played a major role in her exquisite health when born 6 weeks early via c-section. There is no question in my mind that she would have gone full term if left to her own devices... but when the doctors saw that her umbilical cord was wrapped four times around her neck (yes, 4x!) they recommended immediate c-section to prevent decelerations or a cord compression.

So there you have it... 6 months on a modified pregnancy rest followed by eight days in the hospital and two weeks visiting a baby in the NICU, these are my main reasons for having been a HUGE SLACKER in the gluten free blogging department.

I am still ardent about a gluten free lifestyle however and intend to begin cooking and blogging again as soon as I've figured out how to juggle running a household and taking care of three tiny children simultaneously.

Here were some of the greatest benefits of my gluten free pregnancy:

• I had more energy and patience than in the prior 2 pregnancies.


• Gained only weight necessary to maintain a healthy pregnancy and placenta, despite eating all the time...


• My baby was born completely healthy at 34 weeks and able to breathe on her own outside of the womb. Her only risk factor is prematurity, and other than that she is considered to be a medical miracle by her perinatologists.


• I'm having a "textbook recovery" so far from the c-section.


• I was able to share lots of information with my doctors and nurses at the hospital about the health benefits I've experienced living gluten free. Many of the people I chatted with seemed really interested!

Looking forward to sharing more gluten free cuisine soon... well, as soon as we've slept more than 2 hours at a time!

Eating Well in a Mixed Blood Type Family

Years before I met my husband, I first discovered the writings and blood type diet of Dr. Peter J. D'Adamo. I had been following a strict vegan diet for slightly more than one year, and was surprised by how consistently unhealthy I had become. I seemed to pick up every single cold, flu and bacterial infection out there... and since I worked as an elementary school teacher, there were A LOT of little germs out there to catch! I was also having a lot more trouble healing than ever before, and had begun to experience endometriosis-like symptoms. To put it simply, I grew exhausted with feeling sick and going to the doctor all the time. During my search for answers and for a key to better health, I picked up "Eat Right 4 Your Blood Type" one day at the bookstore and could not put it down.

As it turned out, my Type O blood type made me a terrible candidate for the vegan lifestyle. I had been avoiding all of the foods that were most beneficial to me - such as meat, chicken, fish and eggs... and eating heavy amounts of pasta, dairy and beans to make up for the calcium and protein I knew I was missing in my diet. Within weeks of re-introducing meat, chicken and fish back into my diet I began to feel 100% better and people were commenting on my glowing skin and healthy appearance.


It wasn't until nearly a decade later that I was formally diagnosed with gluten intolerance - but in retrospect, I should have known about that since 1999 when I first began to loosely follow the blood type O diet. If I had followed its guidelines more strictly, I could probably have avoided putting on so much weight with my first two pregnancies, developing my autoimmune thyroid disorder, and having endless troubles with allergies.

Readers of this blog know that since I have embarked on a completely gluten-free diet and lifestyle (coupled with the Type 0 diet) my health problems and issues with weight have totally resolved. Now seven months into my third pregnancy, I remain nearly thirty pounds lighter than I was at the same stage with my second child (when I delivered at sixty pounds over my 'normal' weight). My thyroid remains totally normal, blood pressure is low, and I've had a lot more energy in this pregnancy - despite many other stresses we've faced in the last few months. The baby is growing really well and measures perfectly, despite the fact that I've put on such little weight.

Sounds great, right?

There's just one wee little catch... while one of my children is a Type O like me, my husband and other child are both blood Type A. Does that really make a difference, you may ask? Well, only in terms of grocery shopping and cooking every single meal, every single day.


Red meat? Fabulous for Type O eaters... toxic for Type As.
Wheat and Grain? Like nectar of the gods for Type As... toxic for Type Os.
Corn and Soy? Terrific if you're an A... toxic for Os (especially the soy).

"That's not so bad," one might say... "Surely you must have some common ground!" And in truth, there is a lot of common ground. Fish, vegetables, fruits and rice... we have most of these in common. Still, every meal takes a little extra thought and planning. For example, for lunch today I served one child chicken and peas while the other one ate a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on wheat bread, also with peas. One ate bananas and the other had strawberries. One had mango juice while the other drank strawberry-kiwi nectar. The main problems come up when the two year old screams "I want bananas!" or the four year old whines, "Why can't I have peanut butter too?" They are a little young to understand that mommy is trying to keep them healthy, and that what is right is not always equal or fair.

Sometimes it gets a little wearing to have to cook two different types of pasta for every pasta dinner... or have to explain for the 100th time why I would prefer not to sample my husband's famous (delicious) brussels sprouts in cream sauce. Worse, my husband H doesn't really believe in either a gluten free or blood type diet... so merely planning the weekly grocery list together can be a power struggle of epic proportions. "Kids should drink milk!" he states, and I reply, "Neither of our kids should be drinking milk according to their blood types!" To which he laughingly responds, "Show me the facts! Show me the studies!" (What I wouldn't give to be Mrs. Peter J. D'Adamo at moments like those... so that I would have all relevant facts and studies at my fingertips!)

Still it hasn't escaped my observation that my little Type O who eats grain also has quite a big tummy and a lot of hyperactivity for a four year old... and my little Type A who eats dairy and drinks milk constantly has ear infections and a runny nose. So, today I'm back to fighting the good fight - aiming to keep the peace while also keeping our mixed blood type family healthy. I've posted D'Adamo's Blood Type Diet recommendations and restrictions on our refrigerator, put copies in my purse to refer to when shopping or at restaurants, and am now happily planning gluten-free recipes for next week (like Tarragon Chicken and Sauteed Fish on a bed of Quinoa) that will work for everyone in the house.

Sometimes I think back to when I was a kid and my mom tried to keep us healthy by feeding us wheat bread instead of white bread and vegetables instead of meat. It was a little less complicated back in those days for moms to feed their kids "healthy" food. Oh well - at least now I understand why some of my mom's healthiest specialty dishes (like eggplant with tomato sauce) left my stomach in knots... and I know enough about food allergies to help my children avoid the 'healthy' foods that will make them feel lousy. Is this generational progress? I'll keep you posted.


*Photos courtesy of FreePhoto1.Com

Savory Cannellini Bean Soup

Readers of this blog will know by now that I haven’t posted any recipes in over two months. My pregnancy with our third child has been surprisingly complicated, taking up a huge amount of time and energy... and although I’ve found comfort in cooking for my family, I haven’t had much opportunity to blog about our meals. Rather than inventing my own recipes I've been reprising family favorites and turning gratefully to delicious dinner recipes developed by my favorite gluten free bloggers including Karina Allrich and Shauna James Ahern.

Thanks to a happy accident however, today I found myself creating an original "everything but the kitchen sink" recipe for this very tasty vegetarian soup that proved to be a great hit with my husband and children. Inspired by a single 15 oz can of cannellini beans, this savory concoction draws its rich flavor from its spicing which includes fire roasted green chiles, tarragon, rosemary, sage and chicken broth.

I hope this meal will warm the tummies and hearts of your family and friends – and that you will share the same joy in sitting around the table chatting over your steaming bowl of soup that we did tonight.


Savory Cannellini Bean Soup

What You’ll Need:

3 carrots, sliced into thin rounds
3 celery ribs (including leaves) sliced very thinly
5-6 cloves of garlic, minced
½ cup short grain brown rice
4 oz fire roasted green chiles
15 oz cannellini beans
8 oz crimini mushrooms, washed and quartered
½ cup dry white wine
3 cups chicken broth
3 cups water
1 bay leaf
½ tsp sea salt
¼ tsp fresh ground black pepper
1 sprig fresh tarragon, minced
1 tsp rosemary
1 tsp sage
Olive oil
Sea salt and fresh ground pepper (additional) to taste

Optional: 1 large handful of steamed asparagus, chopped into ½ inch pieces


How It Works:

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a 3 quart pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add sliced carrots and celery, dust them with salt and pepper according to your taste, and sauté covered (stirring frequently) for 8-10 minutes until the celery has softened. Add minced garlic and stir continuously for 30 seconds until garlic is fragrant but not yet golden. Add chiles and mix them well into your veggie medley. Pour in the uncooked short grain brown rice, and stir it into the mix until all grains of rice are well coated with the oil and chile juices. Allow the rice to warm, approximately 1-2 minutes. Keep stirring.

Next, pour in all chicken broth, water and wine. Add Bay leaf, ½ tsp salt and ¼ tsp pepper and bring entire contents of pot to a boil. Skim froth off of top of the liquid. Reduce heat and simmer mostly covered for 20 minutes. When timer rings, add quartered mushrooms, cannellini beans, tarragon, sage and rosemary (plus optional steamed asparagus if you’ve chosen to add it). Combine these new ingredients well into your broth and set the timer for 30 additional minutes. Allow your soup to simmer covered, making sure that it does not boil. Stir occasionally. The soup will be ready to eat after 50 minutes total cooking time, but feel free to allow it to simmer over low heat as long as you like.

Serve generous portions of this hearty soup next to a fresh side salad. Especially great with hot buttered Kinnikinnick gluten-free dinner rolls!

Serves 6.

Meatloaf with Roasted Vegetables

I may be one of the last people in the United States to discover what a wonderful, delicious and even healthy treat meatloaf can be. My past experiences with meatloaf have admittedly been limited.

With parents that turned vegetarian early in my adolescence, the closest I ever came to sampling meatloaf at home was when my mother would make "nutloaf" ~ a questionable mix of ground nuts and mushrooms (along with many other ingredients) shaped into loaf form and baked until it tasted completely dry. I love my mother - who is universally acknowledged as a great cook - but could never summon any positive feeling for that nutloaf in either my heart or stomach. Since that time I’ve pretty much avoided creating, eating or ordering any foods which include the word "loaf".

Over the past few months though, I’ve been experimenting with a gluten free recipe adaptation* that combines a traditional meatloaf recipe with sensational roasted vegetables. The result is not only healthier than a stereotypical meatloaf, it is also beautiful to look at and quite tasty to eat.

I would love to know what suggestions my vegetarian readers have for adapting this recipe even further to become a totally meatless roasted vegetable loaf. I have a feeling it could be great that way too... without ground nuts.



Meatloaf with Roasted Vegetables

What You’ll Need:

Roasted Vegetable Medley...

1 small red onion
1 small yellow onion
2 large red bell peppers
2 – 3 large zucchini, minced
4 cloves garlic, minced
Olive oil
Sea salt
Fresh ground black pepper
Marjoram

Meatloaf...

1 ½ cups gluten free ketchup
1 cup gluten free breadcrumbs (I use Gillian’s)
1.75 lbs ground beef (15 – 22%)
¼ cup Merlot
1 ½ cups of roasted vegetable medley
8 oz fresh mozzarella cheese, crumbled
2 eggs
1 tbsp dried basil
1 tbsp dried marjoram
1 tbsp dried rosemary
½ tsp crushed red pepper
1 ½ tsp sea salt
½ tsp fresh ground black pepper


How It Works:

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees F. While it is heating up, you can work on your prep work: mincing up the zucchini, red peppers, onions and garlic. Once they are all cut up, throw everything into a single mixing bowl. Douse the vegetables with about two glugs of olive oil and if you aren’t squeamish about touching food it works best if you use your own hands to thoroughly combine all of the vegetables and oil. When this is done, spread the medley across a baking sheet (with sides/rim) and sprinkle them well with salt, pepper and a light dusting of marjoram. Bake in oven uncovered for 20 – 25 minutes or until the onions have softened and browned just slightly.

Reduce the oven heat to 375 degrees. In a very large mixing bowl, combine your gluten free breadcrumbs, fresh mozzarella, crushed red pepper and ground beef with your tablespoons of basil, marjoram and rosemary. Add 1 ½ cups of your roasted vegetable medley, along with sea salt and fresh ground pepper. Mix it all really well – again, using your hands works best.

In a separate bowl, throw together the eggs, ½ cup of ketchup and merlot. Whisk it together rapidly and when it is fully integrated pour it into your beef mixture. At this point you may wish to use a sturdy spoon (or two) to fully combine the sauce into the beef and breadcrumbs.

Grease a 9 x 5 x 3 pan (your basic bread loaf pan) and then add enough of your meatloaf mixture to fill the pan halfway. Smooth the top – about halfway up the pan – with a butter knife or spoon and then coat it with another ½ cup of ketchup. This will add a lovely and moist interior stripe… extra flavor in every slice! Now spoon the rest of your meatloaf mix into the pan and shape the top into loaf form. Spread the remaining ½ cup of ketchup over the top of the loaf.

Place your loaf uncovered in the oven and bake it until the top is brown and all juices run clear when you stick a knife into it. In our oven (which runs hot) this takes about 1 hour. Remove the pan from the oven and allow your loaf to rest for a few minutes before serving ~ this tasty and filling loaf will slice much more evenly if its not too hot.

Top each slice with a heaping spoonful of your remaining roasted vegetable medley - which can be warmed up in a frying pan if it has cooled. What a gorgeous and healthy meal!

Serves 6 – 8 as a main course. Excellent with a side salad!
*Original recipe from The Flavors of Bon Appetit 2006, p. 42

Delicious Beef Stroganoff

There is nothing like pregnancy to bring forth all of your deepest cravings for the comfort foods of your childhood. I have to admit that the past three months have tested my gluten free resolve – much more than at any point in the year since I first embarked on a gluten free lifestyle. There is nothing like morning sickness to make a former bread eater yearn with some desperation for a plain old Saltine, or just one piece of buttery wheat toast. If you’ve gone through this kind of a struggle in your transition to living gluten free, please know that my heart is with you. It does get better, and if you persevere I believe that you will discover many health benefits and other positive effects from the rigor of your new dietary practice.

The comfort foods of your childhood... what were they? For me, there were a few standouts. Cinnamon toast thickly layered with butter and sugar, peanut butter quesadillas (sounds yucky, I know ~ but they were sensational!) pasta with corn and parmesan cheese, and my mother’s classic standouts: homemade carrot cake with cream cheese frosting, honey baked (breaded) chicken with peaches, pasta with pesto sauce, spaghetti with meatballs and my absolute favorite... beef stroganoff with mushrooms. I feel wistful just remembering it.

Before my diagnosis with gluten intolerance my husband H and I had discovered a rich and tangy recipe for beef stroganoff using just a tad of mustard. It knocked our socks off and we liked to serve it to both family and friends over a bed of fresh egg noodles. Much to my chagrin, I realized after going gluten free that both the sauce and noodles for this culinary treasure contain a fair share of gluten (in the form of flour). For many sad months we lived without beef stroganoff in our lives.

After discovering the supple properties of Tinkyada fettuccine though, I dusted off our beloved Gourmet Cookbook recipe and figured out how to adapt it into gluten free stroganoff using corn starch and extra mushrooms. The combination of shallots, mustard and black pepper gives it a fantastic kick – not spicy, just very flavorful. I recommend this recipe highly and suggest that vegetarians consider trying it out without the meat (perhaps substituting Shiitake mushrooms for the meat’s thicker texture).

Now that I am a mother my own children often request this dinner and I smile to myself, realizing that I have passed forward something special. Maybe someday they too will look back with fond memories upon this elegant and comforting meal: ‘Mom’s beef stroganoff’.


Delicious Beef Stroganoff
Adapted from The Gourmet Cookbook (Ruth Reichl, Editor)

What You’ll Need:

Half a stick of unsalted butter
1 tablespoon of corn starch
1 cup of beef broth (or vegetable stock for vegetarians)
1 lb beef tenderloin sliced thinly (we use top sirloin for a lower cost) into 1 – 2 inch strips*
½ cup thinly sliced shallots
8 oz Cremini mushrooms, washed and quartered
3 tablespoons of sour cream at room temperature
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper

*Vegetarians may substitute Shiitake mushrooms sliced thickly and adjust cooking time accordingly.

Served over:

A bed of gluten free Tinkyada fettuccine



How It Works:

As my readers know I am a big fan of getting all prep work out of the way before you actually start cooking. I would suggest slicing up your shallots, quartering your mushrooms and cutting your meat into strips first. Have each ingredient ready in its own container (beef should be patted dry and dusted with salt and pepper on both sides) so that the cooking process can go smoothly and quickly. Measure out your corn starch and beef broth, since you will need them both immediately once you start cooking.

Although you won’t need them until the end of your cooking process, now is a good time to take the sour cream and mustard out of the refrigerator so that they can adjust to "room temperature".

Next, put your pot of salted water to boil so that you can add the Tinkyada (or other gluten free) fettuccine which takes much longer to cook than "normal" pasta. When the water boils, add your pasta and cook it until it is truly soft – which generally takes me longer than the time indicated on their package. Rice pasta is truly not very tasty unless it is fully cooked...

Once you’ve done all this, you’re ready to go! Start out by melting a few tablespoons of butter in a small cast iron saucepan (or heavy sauce pan) over a low medium heat. When it is melted you will begin to whisk in your corn starch to make a roux. Continue to whisk for at least two minutes and then slowly pour in your beef broth, continuing to stir. Reduce your heat to low and simmer the mixture, whisking here and there for between 2 and 3 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and cover it.

In a large (wide) frying pan, melt a tablespoon of butter and a glug of olive oil at a high medium temperature. Do not allow the butter to burn. Add your strips of beef in two batches and cook them until they are browned on each side but still a tiny bit pink in the center (between 1-2 minutes per side). Transfer the sautéed meat to a waiting plate or dish, leaving their juices in the pan.

Throw another tablespoon of butter into your warm pan full of drippings and allow it to melt. Now add the thinly sliced shallots and sauté them until they soften and turn a delicious tan color. Pour in your quartered mushrooms and cover the pan, making sure to stir occasionally. As they sauté your mushrooms will give off a bit of liquid. Cook them until their flesh has changed color and they are soft and moist. This may take up to 10 minutes. Check them every few minutes to make sure that they are not overcooking.

Spoon your strips of meat and any accumulated juices back into the pan full of shallots and mushrooms. Stir everything together and reduce heat to simmer meat and mushrooms together.

Bring your covered saucepan with the roux back to a burner and re-heat it over low heat. Now is the time to whisk in the three tablespoons of sour cream, mustard, ½ teaspoon of salt and ¼ teaspoon of pepper (or to your own personal taste). When the sauce is well combined, pour it into the pan full of meat and mushrooms and mix together well so that everything is covered in sauce.

If you haven’t done so already, strain your fettuccine and make a nice bed of noodles on each plate. Spoon the stroganoff sauce over the plates of fettuccine (making sure that your guests all get a nice helping of the actual sauce in addition to meat and mushrooms) and serve while hot!


Serves 6 comfortably.

Christmas Coffee Cake by Gluten Free Pantry

After several very rough weeks of morning sickness that have mostly kept me out of the kitchen (and away from pungent aromas of any kind!) I am thrilled to at last feel well enough to re-enter my culinary sphere and begin cooking and blogging again. I received a few fantastic cookbooks for Christmas that I can’t wait to begin experimenting with and adapting for a gluten free lifestyle!

Yesterday evening we attended an absolutely lovely holiday wedding, complete with scarlet bridesmaid gowns, soft white flowers and candles everywhere. For dessert, the guests dined upon what looked to be outrageously delicious red velvet cupcakes... and I thought to my pregnant self, "How I wish I was feasting on a velvety gluten free cupcake!" When we arrived back at home, I scanned our pantry shelves for any tasty and gluten free dessert that could be whipped up with ease and relative speed in order to sate my raging sweet tooth.

Imagine my joy to discover this lovely pre-packaged recipe for a light, crumbly gluten free coffee cake! Gluten Free Pantry makes elegant and affordable dessert mixes that can always be guaranteed to brighten any brunch or dessert, and having loved their blueberry muffins in the past, I felt quite excited to put together the coffee cake as bedtime treat!

Once baked the cake itself was everything one could hope for – sweet, delicious and not heavy at all. For personal reasons I would have loved a Z-sweetened coffee cake, since my body doesn’t love "real sugar" too well. However my husband, a passionate sugar appreciator, has now sampled the cake too and pronounced it fantastic.

While I greatly look forward to creating original tasty and gluten free recipes for my readers over the coming months, I am so happy to share with you great acclaim for this simple to prepare and very satisfying coffee cake.



Coffee Cake by Gluten Free Pantry

What You’ll Need:

Eggs
Yogurt or Buttermilk
Butter
Gluten Free Vanilla
Gluten Free Pantry Coffee Cake Mix

8 inch Spring Form pan

How It Works:

Purchase this wonderful and affordable mix, preheat your oven and you’re on your way! You can put together the entire thing according to the directions on the box in less than ten minutes and enjoy a slice of your warm and crumbly gluten free coffee cake in just an hour! Hurray!

Creamy Pumpkin Cheesecake "Factory Style"

This wonderful dessert could be called Happy Baby Cheesecake as I first experienced the recipe at a warm and loving baby shower for one of my dear friends. The hostess had kindly worked with her family to create a gluten free version of the same wonderful cheesecake she shared with the other guests, and everyone agreed that the gluten free version was just as tasty as the "regular" one. I felt both honored and overjoyed to be able to celebrate her new baby with this cheesecake.

I have adapted the recipe to my own tastes – e.g. my favorite brand of gluten free cookies (MI-DEL) and Z-sweet instead of regular sugar. I also found that the gluten free crust required more crumbs and butter to create than had the original crust. Ali’s recipe reportedly comes from The Cheesecake Factory, so full credit should be given there for the filling.

Thanks to my extreme (all day) "morning" sickness over the past few weeks, it’s been pretty tough to spend time in the kitchen... sadly for me, since the kitchen is typically my favorite place! The smell and even the thought of food – even delicious gluten free food – hasn’t been kind to me. Even so, it was a total joy to bake this gorgeous cheesecake for our Thanksgiving feast – and to share it with all those people I love the most. I hope your family and friends will enjoy it too! Happy Holidays!


Ali’s Creamy Pumpkin Cheesecake, "Factory" Style

What You’ll Need:

2 cups gluten free cookie crumbs
6 – 8 T melted butter

1 cup canned pumpkin
3 eggs
1 ¼ cups plus 1 T Z-Sweet
3 eight oz pkgs of softened cream cheese
1 t vanilla
½ t cinnamon
¼ t nutmeg
¼ t allspice

Whipping Cream

How It Works:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.

While the oven is warming, work on putting together your crust. Crush enough gluten free cookies (your favorite kind) to create two cups of cookie crumbs. At our house, we use a mortar and pestle for this process but you can also use a food processor or Cuisinart to blend the cookies into small, even crumbs. Next, combine the cookie crumbs with the melted butter and 1 tablespoon of Z-sweet in a large bowl. Make sure all crumbs are coated with butter and that the mixture holds together well.

Using a 8 inch Springform pan, press the buttered crumbs onto the bottom of the pan and along the sides as high as they will go, uniformly distributed. This will make a crust that rises approximately 2/3 up the pan. When you have finished this step, place the crust in the oven and bake it for 4 – 5 minutes until it sets. Remove it from the oven and set aside.

With a heavy mixer, combine Z-sweet, cream cheese and vanilla. Blend until it is very smooth and creamy. At this stage, the mixture will still be a bit thick. Next, add the pumpkin, eggs, allspice, cinnamon and nutmeg. Keep beating, using a scraper to make sure that all of the cream cheese is blended in from the sides and bottom of the mixing bowl. The final consistency will be like very thick cream.

Pour all filling into the Springform pan and carefully return it to the oven. Bake for approximately one hour (50 minutes in our oven, which runs hot), until the center of the cake is firm and its top has darkened slightly. Remove from the oven and place your cheesecake on a wire rack to cool.

When the pan is sufficiently cool (room temperature) place it in your refrigerator and allow it to chill before serving, preferably overnight. If you don’t have that kind of time, try to arrange at least 2 – 3 hours of chilling time.

Top with sweetened whipped cream and serve! This is a delicious and extremely rich gluten free holiday treat.


Serves 8 – 10.