Something Special to do in February

It's February and you might be thinking of upcoming Valentine's Day or even that this is a leap year.

 

But I wanted to turn your attention for a minute to a Gluten in Medication survey.

The National Foundation for Celiac Awareness  is conducting the survey to see how widespread the problem of gluten in medication really is. There has been a lot of discussion of this issue in the past, but this is the first time anyone has set out to collect real data.

The survey, which is open until February 28,  will take between five and 15 minutes to complete. Results will be used to help the NFCA identify which medications to test for gluten. Funding for this research comes from a grant from the Food and Drug Adminstration. Results will be published late in 2013.

I know from writing about the topic that everyone, including pharmacists, suspects very few drugs contain gluten. But because some medications might, we have to look at all drugs to make sure we're not taking one of them. And it's not easy to find information about gluten in drugs since there are no laws that require it to be labeled. That means cross examining your pharmacist and calling drug manufacturers.

If this survey can help reduce the effort we have to put into finding odd ball drugs with gluten it will benefit everyone who is gluten free. So I am encouraging you to take it  before February ends.

One final note, even as the survey is being conducted, the FDA is also looking into the possibility of prohibiting the use of gluten-containing ingredients in drugs altogether. The agency is asking drug companies whether this simple solution would work, given that gluten in used so rarely anyway.

It's nice to see two efforts to simplify gluten-free life in relationship to medications going on at the same time. That gives us two chances to resolve the issue of gluten in drugs -- either through an outright ban or clear labeling.


Amy Ratner

Gluten-Free Pigs in a Blanket

Is there anything better? I try to limit my hot dog intake to the summer months, but come this Superbowl Sunday, I will be dunking my gluten-free pigs in a blanket into lots of hot mustard while I cheer loudly for the NY Giants.

I have asked a few gluten-free moms that I know how each would make gluten-free piggy’s, most said they make a corn bread batter so that their pigs come out more like corn dogs. I cheat. I really like them better with a pie crust blanket.

I use the frozen gluten-free pie crusts from Whole Foods Gluten-Free Bakehouse and re-purpose the crusts! It is so easy and those pie crusts are terrific for quiche, pies and now pigs in a blanket! I dump the thawed crust onto a piece of wax paper and flatten out the edges. Then, I cover the crust with another piece of wax paper and gently roll the crust back together again.

With a pizza cutter, I make triangles for my mini hot dogs. Then I just roll up the mini hot dogs and wait for game time. They aren’t pretty, sometimes you have to patch the crust together.

Bake at 350 degrees until crust is golden. My oven is on the fritz, I have to preheat it at 425 for twenty minutes to get it up to 350 degrees…so it is difficult for me to give an estimate on how long they should bake.

I plan to make mine on Saturday! My celiac is going to a Superbowl party, so I intend to send him with a cookie sheet of these so the mom can throw them in the oven for everyone…no one will ever know they are gluten-free.

Kendall Egan

Gluten-Free Soup's On, Part 2

We have a big Giants fan in our house, too, so Sunday was also a happy day for him!  Kendall wrote about her family's Giants celebration in the previous blog entry.

But I was mostly inspired by Kendall's soup description to share my own version of homemade soup here. It's a favorite meal for our whole family.

I cooked up a pot while my children were home from college and graduate school for the holidays. (Alas, they have gone back now and the house seems emptier).

I start with a chicken (yes, a whole chicken) put in it pot covered with water and simmer it for a long time - several hours during which the house has a homey smell not reproducible by Glade or Yankee Candle.

When it's done I remove the meat, strain the soup through a very fine strainer, return it to the pot, throw in carrots, a whole onion, and celery and let it simmer again until the veggies are tender. I also add some seasoning and a little salt.

To serve, in individual soup bowls I add the chicken (which I clean and cut up), cooked pasta (gluten free or not depending on choice) or cooked rice (brown or white). I make everything in big batches so there is plenty for seconds or for lunch and/or dinner the next day.

There is really not a lot of work because simmering on the stove is the bulk of the cooking. The rice and pasta are easy to make and set aside. They don't even have to be hot as the hot soup in each bowl warms them really fast. (I never put the pasta or rice in the soup pot. If I am using rice or pasta that has been refrigerated, I warm it a bit in the microwave before putting it in the bowl and let the hot soup do the rest of the work.)

It's a great time of year for soup. For readers who don't have the time or inclination to make soup from scratch, our next issue will have a story with details on the ready-made gluten-free soups and soup mixes that are increasingly available.

No matter how you prepare it, from scratch, partially from scratch or from a carton or can, this is the perfect time of year to say, "Soup's on."

Amy Ratner

Cozy Sunday Supper

Yesterday was a great day in our household! The Giant’s won an amazing football game and the house smelled delicious as dinner simmered on the burner.

I had made a huge pot of chicken noodle soup and the aroma added to the cozy feeling of sitting around the TV watching a game on a cold afternoon. My chicken soup is a semi-homemade, cheater’s special. It’s really all about shopping for the high quality, prepared, gluten-free ingredients and throwing them all together in a pot.

Many stores do all the vegetable chopping for the consumer and sell a ready to go “mirepoix.” A mirepoix is the combination of carrot, onion and celery that form the base of the stock. I got a nice carmelization going as I softened them with a little olive oil and then added gluten-free chicken broth. Two of my kids tend to pick out the vegetables if I leave them in chunks. I scooped the vegetables out, put them in my blender with a little stock, hit puree, and then add it right back in to my soup.

I also added some organic thyme that I had dried from my summer CSA share, a little salt and a lot of pepper. I cheated again and chopped up the breast meat from a rotisserie chicken that I picked up and simmered the soup on low for hours.

I had found a box of Schar pasta shaped like little O’s and I added those just a few minutes before serving to cook and plump up. They were the perfect addition to my soup and the noodle held up well as it sat there before we had seconds.

I had purchased rolls and cold cuts for sandwiches to accompany the soup, so our Sunday supper was complete.

What I love is that I no longer have to make two batches of everything anymore. I used to do a noodle soup and a rice soup because 15 years ago, I did not have a gluten-free pasta option that held up in a soup. Now, there are more product options than ever before and there is always a gluten-free solution to a dish.

The Giants play the late game again next week, so I am thinking about a crock pot of meatballs and sausage that can simmer away and make the house smell good! Another cozy supper and hopefully another win to take them to the Superbowl!

Kendall Egan

GF Holiday Food Traditions

Today, I am on a self-imposed fast!

Fifteen years ago when the Christmas celebrating had ended, I would not have gained an extra pound due to my new gluten-free diet. That is not the case today. This year all of my holiday traditions were made with gluten-free ingredients, not just for me but for my extended family and friends.

One week ago at the annual cookie swap, I made cake pops with a festive red and green candy coating. For this recipe, I used a gluten-free chocolate cake mix, Betty Crocker, and store bough chocolate frosting. The Wilton Candy Melts are vanilla flavored and pretty much all sugar! Not only did they look adorable on their lollipop sticks, they were really tasty and everyone wanted to know how I made them.


Then we have my immediate family's Christmas Eve fondue tradition. My husband makes this dinner which, for me, is the best part of tradition! Our fondue is a gooey pot of sharp cheddar, cream, dried mustard, garlic and a bit of flour. Over the years, my husband has been able to adjust the recipe using gluten-free flour. The first year it was a congealed mess that we had to dilute with milk, but he has figured out how to reduce the amount of flour in his recipe so we get a really thick but not cement-like structure to the cheese.

The baguettes go on separate trays for warming, but it’s pretty tough to tell the difference between the Schar’s gluten free baguettes and the one’s from the bakery. I used to just toast up the bread I had made in my bread machine, but today I have options such as Everybody Eats or Against the Grain or Schar’s baguettes. I have two separate fondue pots so we can all eat without worry!


We had a mix up for the extended family celebration desserts so I brought two, both gluten free! One was my traditional apple crisp with Bob’s Red Mill GF Oats and Mi-Del ginger snaps. The other dessert I brought was gluten-free chocolate cupcakes from a King Arthur mix with a candy cane butter cream frosting and a sprinkling of peppermint sugar on top! We did not have much in the way of leftovers.

I received three Christmas cards where a friend wrote me a little note saying that he or she had just been diagnosed with either a gluten intolerance or celiac disease. My new year’s wish is that everyone who finds out he or she needs to eat a gluten free diet realizes just how far GF food has come in the past fifteen years and they learn that this diagnosis does not mean that they will have to give up holiday traditional foods like I thought I had to fifteen years ago!

However, there is one unintended consequence of all these GF food choices, I am embracing a different type of new year’s resolution this year…”lose five pounds.”

Kendall Egan

Have a happy GF holiday

I just went to the By the Way Bakery here in Hastings-on-Hudson, NY to pick up my gluten-free holiday order. All products at this tiny, charming bakery are gluten free. The piece de resistance is a red velvet cake beautifully decorated in white and red for the holiday. It will be served to everyone and I expect everyone to love it.

To me, the gluten-free life has always been a gift. When I was diagnosed, I was thrilled I didn’t have any of the ominous things I was tested for and actually thought I had. To learn that all I had to do was avoid gluten was a huge relief. Not being much of a cook, baker or foodie, I simply adjusted and moved on. I firmly believe the gluten-free life has made me a better, certainly healthier person

Then I was also given the opportunity to turn my profession into a gluten-free business that is helpful to others. Like the diet and the life itself, the business has also been a pleasure.

Frankly I can’t say enough good things about being gluten free. So rather than gush on, I will simply extend my best wishes and those of my staff to all the gluten-free people out there who rely on us and thank us for what we do. I hope your holiday is as happy and well fed as I expect mine to be,

Treasured Gluten-Free Holiday Cookies

I have pushed back my sleeves and started my annual Christmas cookie baking.

The first thing I do is gather up all my recipes. I'd like to say I have them neatly sorted and stored, but I actually keep everything randomly together in one recipe box.

Most are worn and tattered from use. A few are spotted with the remnant of some ingredient that splashed on and never completely wiped off.

But what I noticed this year was all the gluten-free recipes I have from about 20 years ago when my daughter was first diagnosed with celiac disease. Many are handwritten, thankfully by others with penmanship much neater than mine.

Two decades ago, gluten-free recipes were traded directly from one person to another. A mom who had come up with a recipe for cut-out cookies that actually didn't crumble generously wrote it out for me on a index card. I still use that recipe today.

Another woman, a stranger who I never met, penned about dozen recipes after someone at a support group meeting mentioned to her that I had a young daughter and needed some help. She somehow got my address,  put the recipes in an envelope and mailed them to me without my ever asking.

A close look at recipes from those years shows how much work went into gluten-free baking. Pre-made flour mixes were nearly non-existent so every recipe ticked off combinations of three or four flours. Eggs were used in abundance to make up for the absence of gluten. We knew little about the use of whole grains and their nutritional value, so potato starch, rice flour and tapioca flour were the mainstays of most everything we made.

And we made everything. There were few gluten-free products even on health food store shelves, never mind the supermarket. I just wrote about gluten-free cookie mixes and packaged cookies for Gluten-Free Living. And I still had a sense of wonder that they exist and  that you can pick them up on your regular shopping trip.

But over the holidays I am back in my kitchen, as are 84 percent of home cooks recently asked in an All-recipes survey if they bake Christmas cookies.

My mother and grandmother always baked a wide and wondrous assortment of cookies when I was growing up.  I continue the tradition, though everything I make now is gluten free. My daughter dons her own apron and helps me every year, which is one of the best parts of holiday baking.

Today, you don't have to rely on a new gluten-free friend or a complete stranger who pulls out a pen and paper to share a treasured recipe with you. You can get so many gluten-free cookies recipes online. Inventive and inspired gluten-free bloggers have come up with wonderful recipes that are yours with the click of mouse. You'll also find collections of recipes submitted by bakers all around the country. You can even read these recipes on a computer or iPad right in your kitchen.

But whether it's paper recipe gone soft from years of use or a pristine image on a screen, it all comes back to the spirit of sharing among those who follow the gluten-free diet.

This generosity is a true holiday gift.

Wishing you and yours a healthy, happy gluten-free holiday and new year.

Amy Ratner