Wild Veggie - Product Review

I admit I've been lax in posting lately. I'm eating wonderful tasty gluten free foods and I haven't been sharing them with you. I apologize. Sometimes life just grabs you by the hand and as much as sitting down to blog is always on my mind I somehow haven't gotten around to actually doing it. This is a post I should have had up a long time ago, its a product I really enjoyed and found very versatile so I'm going to share it with you now.

Wild Veggie, the Souper Drink asked if I would like to sample their product and of course I said yes. I love trying new things and this particular item hit home with me. You see, my husband and son do not eat their vegetables... ok, its a real struggle. I've purchased The Sneaky Chef books and while a couple of the recipes worked ok for us the boys were somehow able to tell something was a little off and didn't quite like them. So this product, a vegetable puree that I could do almost anything with sounded right up my alley. I received a sample of their carrot, red bell pepper and broccoli products.

The first one I tried was the carrot, I opened the container and was hit with a wonderful smell; fresh, sweet and crisp. Unlike my home attempts to make a carrot puree this was smooth and frankly wonderful to work with. I made a couple of smoothies with it, added it to some tomato sauce, and I even ate a few spoonfuls straight out of the container feeling great the entire time knowing that I was getting nutritious healthy veggies into my family without the fuss I usually get.

I loved the Wild Veggie red pepper, it truly tasted like a bite out of a fresh bell pepper. It has a vibrant red color and the smell was fantastic. I added it to hummus and surprise surprise boys, I snuck it into my gluten free enchilada bake! It added a lot of color, subtle flavor and my husband who doesn't like the pepper family at all said it was delicious this way. This one I would definitely pick up again.

Unfortunately the broccoli flavor is still in my freezer (which is how the product comes when you order it, frozen). I like broccoli in my stir-fry's and raw dipped in various sauces but I'm not a big fan of broccoli flavored things. I do have plans to mix it into a veggie dip and maybe a soup somewhere down the line I simply haven't had opportunity to.

If you have opportunity I would say to try this product out. It has so many uses and truly is very fresh and easy way to add a kick of flavor and nutrition to your meals.

Bisquick Gluten Free Baking Mix - A review and giveaway.

Bisquick, a staple in my pre-gluten free pantry, I haven’t missed it for the last 8 years or so. When I feel like having something sweet and fluffy for breakfast I’ll whip it up from scratch with my well stocked gluten free pantry, something I’ve gotten fond of over the years. One thing going gluten free has done for me is help me appreciate taking things slow in the kitchen. Feeding myself shouldn’t be about convenience. It should be about love, quality and appreciation for the chance to cook for and eat with my family and friends.

This of course doesn’t mean I’m not up for trying a new product when it comes out. So when Bisquick offered their gluten free baking mix through MyBlogSpark I thought, what the heck, once in a while it is nice to have a quick and easy to turn to, or to recommend to family or friends less industrious in the kitchen than I. Here are my thoughts after trying the product.

I decided to try the mix out in the most classic form first, pancakes. Mostly because I wanted to try out the pancake pen, I’ve never used one. Bisquick Gluten free baking mix proved easy to use in this application which is exactly what you would expect from a Bisquick product. The batter acted like normal pancake batter and had a nice consistency. The pancakes themselves came out nice and fluffy and one recipe provided more than enough for my family of three. I was a little disappointed in flavor, however that is probably due to the fact that these pancakes taste like what they are mostly made of… rice flour, sugar, and leavening. I have recipes I’m more fond of than this so will continue to use those but I would recommend this to a newly gluten free or short on time person for the ease of use.

I also tried the oven baked chicken recipe provided on the box. It was a fairly quick and easy recipe to follow and put together, the majority of time from prep to table being in the oven. The chicken came out crispy, which is the main thing I was looking for. It could have used a little more flavor in the crust, but that I can adjust easily as it is just a recipe and I like to take liberty with seasonings. I didn’t care for the tongue feel, again coming back to the rice flour which I try not to use in excess in my kitchen for that reason. Would I make it again, probably, if I had the mix on hand.

Overall Bisquick’s Gluten Free Baking Mix was easy to use and very convenient. I’d recommend at least trying it out if you get the chance. If there is one thing I’ve learned, its to try a thing before you form an opinion of it, this is one of those things you should try for yourself. If you need a quick and easy alternative on occasion or aren’t much of a baker this product is probably right up your alley.

In that vein I have the opportunity to offer one of my readers this fun little pack of goodies, thanks to Bisquick and MyBlogSpark. If you’d like a chance to win simply leave a comment below and include your e-mail address (if I can’t contact you, I can’t get the prize to you). This giveaway will run through Friday, November 19th at midnight PST and I’ll announce the winner Saturday. I also have this handy little link that will provide you with a printable $1.00 coupon for Bisquick Gluten Free Baking Mix.

Gluten Free Everyday Cookbook Review, revisted.

Last year around this time I did my first gluten free cookbook review, it was on Robert M. Landolphi's Gluten Free Everyday Cookbook which I was very excited to receive a copy of. The two recipes I made the last time around were savory, and very good. I used the flaky buttermilk biscuit and hearty new england clam chowder recipes as the basis for my post and I can honestly say I enjoyed them both very much. You can read it here Living Without Wheat: Gluten Free Everyday Cookbook Review.

I thought I would go back to this cookbook and try some of the recipes on the sweeter side. Once in a while I just need to "bake" something sweet and tasty, while I'm much more fond of cooking, which is more feel and less accuracy I still need to measure and weigh occasionally. There were two recipes which struck my fancy as I perused the pages of Gluten Free Everyday this time around.

The first was the Blueberry Coffee Cake. I'm a sucker for anything with a streusel topping, especially if I have the excuse to eat it for breakfast. I'll have to say that this recipe called for quite the blend of flours, luckily I have an extensive collection in my gluten free pantry so didn't have to run out for anything, I had it all on hand. Very quick and easy to throw the batter and topping together. The hardest part was waiting the 50 to 55 minutes for it to come out of the oven.

Blueberry Coffee Cake - pg 114.

It was a beautiful sight and made the house smell lovely, my three year old even ran into the kitchen to see the yummies as I set the pan on the counter. I had plenty to share as this recipe fills a 9x13 pan, and so I had my husband give a bit to his gluten free friend. All raves from him as well. The cake was light and had a great mouth feel, not too chewy, not grainy at all. In fact, to tell the truth while I usually slather butter on my coffee cake when I eat it, I ate this one without any. It didn't need it hot or cold, it was a great tasting coffee cake. This is going in my box.

The second treat I decided to make was the carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. This was one of my favorite desserts in my pre-gluten free life. I ate it often and had a recipe that I just loved. I haven't tried to convert it yet, you see I'm not a baker and finding the right mix of flours just isn't up my alley. I try to leave that to those of you who excel in that area. So I saw this recipe and was very hopeful.

Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting - pg. 116

Sadly, I'm a little dissapointed. Not completely surprised though, you see the majority of the flour base is rice, I've noticed as most of you have I'm sure that rice flour is a bit grainy in texture and can make a recipe a little... dry. Which is exactly what happened here. The flavor profile overall is pretty good, although I think a bit of pineapple would have made it better, especially in this particular recipe. While I'm very excited that my son who won't eat a carrot to save his life actually loved it and asked for more, I think the only portion of this recipe I would make again is the frosting which was actually a good rendition.

All in all, I like this cookbook. I don't think its stellar but its also not a bad thing to have on the shelf. I have most the ingredients (base gluten free flours and such) in my pantry already and the recipes are generally quick and pretty easy to prepare making it a go to. Its an easy to handle book at 184 pages, packed with recipes and information so you really can't go wrong. Whether you're looking for a gift for a newly diagnosed friend or something handy for yourself this is a pretty good addition to mix.

Tasty treats, I've had some good ones lately.

Hello blogland. Oh how I've neglected thee. I have been busy in my absence however, tasting and treating myself to many a fine gluten free meal and treat. I think in this post I'll get my feet wet again by sharing what I thought of some of them.

In early April I headed to Northwest Washington to visit my sister. While there I decided I would order myself a gluten free pizza from Garlic Jim's. I'd missed the chance to try one while they were located in my hometown, the store here wasn't open long. I ordered a Gourmet Hawaiian; canadian bacon, pineapple, coconut and almond slivers. Let me tell you, this was a very good pizza, the crust was buttery and crisp, the sauce and toppings completely delicious the price wasn't ridiculous either. I was so very happy with the customer service as well, they were VERY excited to provide me with a gluten free pizza and it was quite endearing. If I lived anywhere near a Garlic Jim's I would most certainly be ordering from them again.

I've also tried Kinnikinnick's personal size pizza crust. These are easy to handle and dress. The dough has a pleasant slightly sweet taste that I actually like quite a bit. Its a quick and easy way to put a meal together when I'm running short on time. I love that the box comes with 4 crusts in it which makes it a worthwhile purchase for the cost in my book.

Next up, I got my hand's on some Udi's white sandwich bread.... omg! I was eating it plain straight from the bag. It was soft, had great texture and taste; like a really great piece of french bread. I made sandwiches for dinner three nights in a row just so I could have an excuse to keep eating it. The bread was so good I decided to have a go at the lemon streusel muffins, what can I say other than these were very tasty. I cut them in half and ate them with just a bit of butter. The lemon flavor was light, the muffins texture was chewy and not to dense and the topping wasn't overwhelming. You'll find me buying more of them in the future. I can't wait to taste the rest of Udi's line of so far very satisfactory goods.

I'll leave you with these products to chew on for now and share more with you later. I hope that your late spring/early summer is shaping up to be a great one. I know I'd love for mine to have just a bit less rain than it has so far.

Leftover Makeover - Brown Rice and Chicken and Product Review

It's winter. The sky is a constant dreary gray and there is a chill in the air that just won't go away. The kitchen so warm and welcoming in the spring, summer and fall has cooled a little and doesn't seem to call quite so loudly. I've been cooking yes, some of my favorites, favorites that I've shared with you before and so haven't found the need to re-post them. I've tried a couple of new things, and taken pictures so that I can share when it comes time. However I've noticed that it has been some time since I posted last and so today I will renew my cooking/blogging vigor and get back on the bandwagon.

I'll kick off by sharing what I thought of the Rachael Ray Casserole dish I recently received for review from csnstores.com. When I received the package and opened it the first thing that came to mind was that I really liked the color very rich and right in line with my kitchen decor. I decided I would cook with it that very same night.

The first dish I made was swiss steaks. They turned out lovely, just the way they were supposed to. When it came to removing the casserole from the oven I realized that it has a flat bottom, much different than most of my casserole dishes which all have a slightly concave bottom. Wow, I really like that feature. The flat bottom allowed it to sit very nicely on top of the stove coils as well as the trivet on the table. With my other casseroles I'm always fighting their urge to tip a little if not exactly centered on a surface. I didn't have to do that at all with this dish. The handles are also nice and big and rather than on the sides of the dish, they are on top... which in my clumsy hands means I'm less likely to get burnt. Another thing I like is that the lid is recessed a little rather than sitting on top so if I happen to tilt the dish the lid won't just fall off, a problem I have with my other dishes.

I cooked with the casserole dish again a couple of nights later. This time I was doing a leftover makeover. Something I've been doing a lot of lately and am enjoying the challenge of. For this meal I had some leftover brown rice and chicken from the night before.

I decided to whip up some cheese sauce using Bette Hagman's "Cream Soup Base" that I have premixed and some cheddar. I tossed in some broccoli, chopped up the chicken added a little salt and pepper and mixed it and the sauce all in with the rice and baked it for 30 minutes at 375 topping it with some shredded cheddar and crushed potato chips (ruffle variety) halfway through successfully turning leftovers into a really tasty casserole.

Leftover Makeover - Brown rice and chicken casserole.

Happy Valentine's to all of you. I think the Bonefish Grill or PF Chang's (both offering gluten free menus) might get a visit from my husband and I this weekend to enjoy day.

Product Review and giveaway: Storehouse Foods

We all have occasion to need a quick meal, be it a day where you're running late for a meeting, you get called out of the house and by the time you get home there's no time to put something elaborate together, or your fridge dies and your planned meal is now sitting in the garbage. Times like these it would be nice to have something so easy and quick to put together that you'd have no reason not to keep it around for those just in case instances.

Storehouse Foods is the perfect answer. A meal in a bag that takes 10 minutes and some boiling water to get to the table, something so easy even your husband could provide a gluten free meal for the family without any trouble. (Although my husband has managed to fail at boiling water...) My family recently tried their Black Bart Chili with Beans and All American Roast Beef Hash options. I'll tell you up front, I was a little leery and wondered just how good a "re-hydrated" meal would taste.

Black Bart Chili with Beans

The chili was good, nicely spiced with recognizable chunks of meat and beans throughout. It re-hydrated to just the right consistency and the 2 serving pouch was two very hearty servings. My husband and I both thought it was a little salty, however since this product is meant to store for a long period of time so I'm sure it has a purpose for that. We cut the saltiness with a dollop of sour cream and some cheddar cheese.

The roast beef hash I found to have a bit too much liquid (double checked, I followed the directions) and so I let it sit longer than the 10 minutes asked for. Even so it had more liquid than I would have liked. The flavor was good, again just a bit salty. The potatoes, beef and onions had great texture after re-hydration. I'll admit this... I would have eaten the whole thing myself if I hadn't had a guilty conscience. The longer I let this meal sit the better the flavor got.

From roughly $4-8 a pouch, with quite a bit of variety these are a worthwhile purchase. I'd certainly get the the All American Roast Beef Hash again and may try a few of the other options Storehouse Foods provides. I know that owning our own business, having a toddler and family close by, along with all the other things life throws my way that I need quick meal options on occasion and from what I tried these fit the bill. Not to mention these pouches are all natural, NO artificial preservatives, flavorings, colorings, MSG, or white sugar are added which makes me feel good about serving them.

If I've peaked your interest and you think you too might like to try some of Storehouse Foods gluten free meals then you'll be pleased to know that I'm going to give away one $25 gift certificate for their product so you can try it for yourself. In order to enter all you have to do is leave a comment letting me know how you might put one of these pouches to work. Winner will be drawn on the 15th of November.

If you Tweet my StoreHouse Foods Giveaway AND follow Storehouse Foods(@storehousefoods) on Twitter then you will receive 20% off of you entire order from their website. Leave a second comment and I'll contact you with the code!

You can also join Storehouse Foods race to reach 1000 Facebook fans: If you become a fan of StoreHouse Foods Facebook page you will automatically be entered for a chance to win (1) of (3) $50.00 StoreHouse Foods gift certificates. They will randomly choose (3) of thier FaceBook fans as winners when they reach 1000 fans.

Gluten Free Everyday Cookbook Review

A couple of weeks ago I was fortunate enough to receive a copy of Robert M. Landolphi's Gluten Free Everyday Cookbook. I was very excited as its my first gluten free cookbook, other than the three Bette Hagman books I have.

I opened it immediately and started reading, there was much to choose from. The introduction where you learn what drove him to create the cookbook (his wife), the gluten free basics section where gluten free ingredients and their qualities are listed and then of course the many wonderful recipes. I can truly say its a cookbook I like. It's a nice easy to handle size, with easy to read fonts and wording, there are no pictures which would have been the icing on the cake but that's ok as there is as least color on each page.

One of my favorite features of this cookbook is that at the beginning of each chapter the first couple of pages are tips and tricks for ingredients and methods involved in making the recipes in that chapter. I love that I don't have to look far for a little help if I'm not quite sure how to do something involved in a recipe such as which thickening agent to use or a pie crust tutorial.

Reading through the recipes and deciding which I wanted to make for this post I chose two of my pre-gluten free favorites. Things I hadn't had in a long time, buttermilk biscuits and clam chowder. I wrote down the needed ingredients and headed to the store.

Flaky Buttermilk Biscuit (pg. 120)

I have to tell you, these were flaky, and buttery and oh so good straight out of the oven. I'll be making these again. In reality they were pretty darn quick to put together, they don't really do much for me the next day (which is typical for this kind of biscuit) but a little jam went a long way to make up for the shortcomings of these biscuits as leftovers.

Hearty New England Clam Chowder (pg. 42)

I love clam chowder, and boy or boy it's near impossible to find a gluten free version. This was very very tasty and I'll be making it again I promise you. I made this up and didn't have to add any salt what-so-ever as the flavor profile was just right for me. I did forget the step where I needed to puree some of the soup in order to make it more chowder-y (thicken it up) this did not change the flavor, just the texture. Didn't bug me at all, I kept on eating.

I'd recommend this book as a gift for a the newly gluten free and even for those of us that have been gluten free for a while. It doesn't take up much room and there are some very tasty recipes to be had within it. The last boon this book has to offer is toward the end there is a couple of pages dedicated to gluten free resources; organizations, distributors, support groups, magazines and newsletters. This book really does have a little bit of everything. Kudos.

(As an aside, I'm going to be missing in action the 18th through the 25th of July. I will have minimum internet access via my iPhone but will not be able to check in regularly. Be well and I'll see you all when I get back.)

A GLOW-ing Review.

So a little while back, while surfing the web for gluten free goodies I could order and try out I tripped across this website for Glow Gluten Free. I immediately got excited about these cookies, not only were the four varieties some of my favorites but they are of course gluten AND casein free (as well as being a preservative and trans fat free all natural cookie).

I continued to peruse the site, wondering where I may be able to pick some of these puppies up locally to try, which is when I got a little sad. You see Glow is currently only available on the east coast (or at least nowhere near my PNW location). I could almost taste these cookies as I surfed the website and so it drove me to do something I've never done before, e-mail the address on the contact us page. Not only did I get a fast response to my question of when they would be available to order/purchase locally, I also got a pleasant surprise. Jill e-mailed me herself and told me they were just starting to branch out and hopefully would have online purchases availiable soon. YAY. Then she also offered to send me some Glow Gluten Free cookies to try, my jaw dropped! I was so excited, yes of course I would.

I got this awesome little package in the mail and couldn't wait to dig in. Where to start was the question and so I opened the gingersnaps. Wow, all I can say is wow, great flavor and texture just what I would expect from a gingersnap. Boy did these guys give me the bite I would like in this kind of cookie. I was very pleased. Best gluten free gingersnap I've tried to date.

I tried the snickerdoodle cookie next, the first thing I noted was the smell which was just as I remembered my gluteny snickerdoodles of old. Unfortunately, I didn't find the snickerdoodle cookie to be my favorite, while good it was much to crunchy (in my opinion) for a snickerdoodle and it left an aftertaste that I wasn't fond of. Good points, while I was eating it I enjoyed the flavor and they were far from terrible, just not my favorite.

The chocolate chip cookie was a crisp cookie as well. It had great flavor and while these tended to crumble in my hand a bit I didn't mind because they tasted quite good and had just the right ratio of chocolate chips to cookie. In fact its a good thing there are only seven cookies in a box or I would have been in trouble with this one.

Double chocolate chip, what can I say other than it was my favorite out of the four. Probably because I really love chocolate. Again, a crunchy cookie (which I think suits this flavor well) with great chocolate flavor and plenty of chocolate chips. These held together well and had great texture, if only I'd had a couple more boxes of these!! hah.

All in all these were really good cookies and if you happen to have a chance to get your hands on some I would recommend you do. Thank you Glow for giving me the opportunity to taste your fabulous creations, I'm extremely grateful.

Product Review - Gluten Free Cafe Asian Noodles.

Some nights I just don't have the energy nor the desire to get in the kitchen and really cook. These nights I am very thankful for convenience. When I happened upon Gluten Free Cafe in the freezer section at my local grocer I was excited. A new convenience product to try out. I'm always looking for new gluten free items to try. While it's a rare day/night that I don't put together a home cooked meal its nice to know I have a quick fix choice. Maybe these products have been around a while, I don't know. They are new to my area so I thought I'd review one of them for now. Maybe the other flavors later.

I purchased the Asian Noodles from Gluten Free Cafe on this particular outing and I think it took me a week to get around to trying them. They microwaved easily and just like most frozen meals we're ready in just a few minutes.

As I peeled the plastic back I was greeted by the warm smell of ginger... I stirred up the noodles and the sauce just as the directions said. Of course it ended up looking nothing like the box, but do these type of meals ever? No.

I let it cool a minute and took a bite, the first thought that came to mind was that this dish was misnamed, rather than having a definite asian flavor I was tasting curry, strongly. The rice noodles weren't mush however they were a little softer than I would have liked, the chicken pieces had no texture or flavor at all and honestly I think the dish would have been fine if they weren't included. The water chestnuts and peanut bits saved the dish for texture, adding a nice bit of crunch and the carrots still had a bit of firmness to them as well. The portion size was just right for a light meal.

While I wasn't WOWd with this particular microwaveable meal it rated a fair percentage higher than some of the other similar gluten free convenience foods I've tried. Would I buy it again... lower the price a little and I would. Paying almost $5 for this really isn't realistic, I could make a comparable meal at home that would taste much better and be cooked exactly to my liking for less than I can buy this pre-packaged meal at the moment.

Gluten Free Beers, and the winner is!!

Before I quit gluten I loved having an ice cold beer after a long hard day of yard work, BS at the office, or while relaxing with a movie and popcorn. However since then I've had a very limited choice of beverages, and while I like wine... it's just not the same.

A year or so ago, I found Redbridge. I was very excited as I finally had a gluten free alternative to the beer I used to drink. It was passable, while certainly not on par with my former beer of choice I made due. If I drank it ice cold it wasn't to bad, however even a little bit warm and it left a lot to be desired. I'd put it on par with the Bud/Coor's light beers I used to drink on occasion.

I've tried Bard's gluten free beer, it's a step up from Redbridge with a slightly bolder flavor and more body. If they were on the shelf side by side, I'd reach for this first. I just found that my local grocer Yokes in West Richland carries this beer now. It's much more affordable than the next beer I'm going to mention. Which makes it a decent tasting pocket friendly beer.

I've recently tried a gluten free beer called Toleration. Don't bother. This beverage can't even be classified as a beer. From the moment you open the bottle you're taken over by a whif of sickly sweet fruitiness. If you can stomach the smell enough to actually taste it you'll be dissapointed to find that while slightly bubbly, its syrupy flavor and slight bitterness will make it difficult to swallow. I tried to give it a decent go, but after 6 oz or so I poured it down the drain. For an expensive bottle of "beer" I was quite upset that it was undrinkable. Not only did it taste and smell bad, a couple of hours later I was quite sick from it and subsequently spent much of the late evening hours in the bathroom. This is one you should just leave on the shelf.

There has been only one gluten free beer that has completely impressed me, they have a variety of brews so I can get a "darker" beer just like I want. Drinking an ice cold Green's gluten free beer leaves me wanting for nothing. Just enjoying the flavor and remembering what a great beer tastes like. The ability to get it locally also moves it up on my list.


So if you were to ask me which gluten free beer I recommend, they would be in this order. Green's first and foremost, Bard's and then Redbridge. Try one, or two of these and see what you think.

Pasta!

Before I went gluten free I was a huge pasta fan. I loved it in every form... Olive Garden was my favorite, the Steak Gorgonzola Alfredo what I usually ordered. Learning that I had to go gluten free filled me with despair. I'd never eat pasta again.

I've tried many different gluten free pastas. When I first changed my diet one of the only varieties I could find was corn pasta. It was ok, certainly nothing like the good ol' glutenous pasta of my pre-gluten free days. It tended to be grainy and break up easily. The texture was nothing to write home about and it just didn't stand up to cooking well.

I tried making fresh gluten free pasta... but I've never really liked the texture of fresh pasta, I can never tell when it's cooked all the way. Needless to say, I didn't like the fresh gluten free version either.

I love rice noodles, and would use them often for stir-fry or asian dishes once I worked out the proper preparation of them, and trust me... there were many inedible batches. Rice noodles just don't taste right with spaghetti sauce though and so my search continued.

Then one day I found Tinkyada and my life has been better ever since. Finally a noodle (and so far I have yet to be dissapointed by any of the Tinkyada varieties,) that can stand up to cooking, isn't grainy, and tastes good. A noodle that I can say comes so very close to my pre-gluten free noodles I used to love. When somebody asks for a recommendation I tell them Tinkyada and that's what I'm telling you too. Try them, enjoy them... eat spaghetti again, or lasagna or ever just noodles and garlic with a little butter all so very tasty.