So, I pretty much made the best roast ever tonight. A gorgeous medium rare rump roast done in a clay pot. Perfectly seasoned, wonderfully tender meat and vegetables and the juices made for the best gravy I've EVER managed to put on a plate (even before going gluten free.) So I suppose what I'm saying is, if you weren't at my house for dinner tonight, you should have been.
I'm very happy to say that Winco (an employee owned company serving the Northwest) is coming right along when it comes to carrying gluten free goods. They've got the Betty Crocker mixes, Bob's Red Mill is also on the shelf, Chex cereals in droves, and now they've added Udi's to the list. I was so happy to learn that I can go to the bakery freezer (where the pies are kept) and get many Udi's products; muffins, breads and pizza crust. Thank you Winco for making my grocery shopping that much easier.
The last few years I've slowly had my craving for all things salty turn into something more of a sweet tooth. I don't mind of course, I enjoy cookies and chocolate, ice cream and fruit. There are many many options for a quick goodie when I need something to tickle my taste buds. Over this winter I've found some very worthy of praise recipes shared in the gluten free community so I thought I would in turn share them with you.
I'll start with What's Gaby Cooking, this is one special lady and I love the feel of her blog, its full of spunk and life. She doesn't blog gluten free exclusively however she does post a winning gluten free recipe on occasion. I've made two of her cookie recipes so far and will make them again and again.
The first reminds me of a cookie that I used to get whenever I could get my hands on it. A molasses cookie, that's right. The big one from Starbucks, I loved that cookie. Gaby's recipe filled the bill for me, however I did find that melting the butter as she calls for landed me a very spread out cookie, no mater how long I chilled the dough. So, I don't melt it, I just let it get a little less than room temp and had no problems. I will say that this cookie tasted great flat or fluffy.
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.
Cravings, I get them. I'm sure you get them too, you wake up one morning and all you can think about is that you really have to eat this thing, taste it. It haunts you, you can smell it everywhere you go and you start reliving memories of times you sat and ate it, how it made you feel, who you were with and where. I had one of these all consuming cravings last month and took matters into my own hands.
I was doubtful I would be able, with the scant few items in my pantry and fridge be able to pull this dish off without going to the store and since leaving the house was not an option I didn't get my hopes up to high. I searched and hunted poking my nose into every resource I had; cookbooks, family, the internet. Then I found it, THE recipe that would save me from my stomach.
Soup; creamy, earthy, palate pleasing, belly warming mushroom soup. Thank you Epicurious for this recipe from Anthony Bourdain. I glanced over it and was excited, not only is it casein free (for I had no dairy to speak of in the fridge) but it was also naturally gluten free. I made this recipe almost exactly as written, the only changes I made were to add a few shitake mushrooms as well as using crimini instead of button. I have to tell you, I didn't share any of this... not that my husband would have wanted any but I horded it. This soup is absolutely delicious and it was so easy to make its silly. Try it, you won't be sad you did.
