lpellegr

The snickerdoodles are good, but everybody at work agreed that the "no-oats oatmeal" are one of the most disgusting unreasonable facsimilies of cookies ever put together. We called them the "no-shellfish" cookies since that's one of their claims on every package.

Hi, thanks for your recomendation. I've had LOTS of luck with Hagman's recipes, but I just tried the wafers using the 'French bread mix'. They were not good - had to toss them. Which book has the cracker recipe that you like?

From "More from the Gluten-Free Gourmet" I have tried the Sesame Thins, but instead of cutting into squares and transferring to a baking sheet, I rolled them right onto the greased baking sheet and scored with a knife, then as they baked and got crisp I removed the crisp ones and let the rest bake a little longer. The Pecan Wafers on the next page are good, but very gritty if you use the recommended Brown Rice Cream cereal. Cream of Rice gives a better texture. Still gritty, but in a cornmeal sort of way rather than an aquarium gravel kind of way.

From "The Gluten Free Gourmet Cooks Fast and Healthy", the onion crackers are good but you have to reduce the salt - she wrote 3/4 teaspoon, but 1/4 is plenty. I used 1t onion powder instead of grated onion, and added 3-4T sesame seeds. The method she writes there for rolling and cutting the crackers is what I use for all of them. These taste a lot like Wheat Thins. I end up baking all of her crackers longer than she suggests so they get crisp. Sometimes the ones on the outside are done before the ones in the center, so take them off and return the rest to the oven. They keep well if you can keep from eating them all at once.

I'm fine with corn, but from now on I'm taking all my purchases from the Asian store in to work for my Chinese co-workers to translate. And I still wonder if the little paper wrappers were sealed witth wheat paste.

As I sorted through the Whole Foods 365 Organic lentils to look for stones etc, I found a grain of something - wheat or barley, it looks like. I debated picking it out and going ahead, but if there's one, there's gotta be more. Sure enough I found more. No notice on the package about shared equipment being a possible source of cross-contamination. Now it makes me wonder about their other products. Nothing like throwing out a brand new package of food. I e-mailed Whole Foods to tell them they need to label their packages better. Just thought I'd let people know in case anyone else has this brand.

Good to hear - I ate there many years ago when we had a friend in college who lived in Perth Amboy but I hadn't heard of celiac then. I'll add it to my mental list of places to eat. It does us all a good service when somebody passes on this kind of news! Thanks!

Bette Hagman's cookbooks have several cracker recipes. Most of them are sort of like Wheat Thins in texture. You make the dough, then roll it out directly on a baking sheet very thin, score with a knife, bake until crisp, and then break apart. Nothing like saltines or Ritz, unfortunately, but they are crunchy and salty and can even be reasonably healthy if you add nuts and seeds and flax. Let me know if you want specific recipes. Ooooh, now I'm hungry enough to make some tonight.

What was in the meatballs? The sauce?

Meatballs: ground sirloin, garlic, salt, parsley, gluten-free bread crumbs, egg, fried in olive oil

Sauce: tomato puree, garlic, salt, basil

Both made the same as many times before, both fed to other people who had no symptoms but who did not eat my pasta. Symptoms showed up twice after eating this pasta. Not my normal reaction to gluten, but you never know. I gave the other packages away to Chinese friends.

Swanson chicken broth should be okay. Stay away from College Inn. You can also use Herb-Ox chicken boullion cubes.

I spent a night throwing up, actually both ends going at once like food poisoning, after spaghetti and meatballs, and since this was the second time this happened, I starting putting two and two together. Nobody else who ate the sauce or meatballs (both gluten-free) got sick either time. The pasta I ate was something I found in an Asian store: black rice pasta, five little bundles of noodles in the package, each wrapped in a decorative paper band. The pasta ingredients were "black rice, water, cornstarch". Nothing there should be harmful, but I wonder about the paper band - could it be wheat starch paste holding it together? And yet that's not my normal reaction to gluten (although I'm so paranoid about what I eat that I hardly ever have reactions any more), and I think I ate this pasta once without a reaction. Any ideas? I have other pastas (corn, mung bean) held together with those little bands and I'm going to throw them all out just in case. Normally my gluten reaction is delayed - gut pain, gas, constipation, which I now have, but the violent heaving and .... well, I don't ever want to repeat that. I think I'll take the wrapper to work and have my Chinese coworkers translate it.

AAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!! One more thing to be afraid of!!!!!!!!!

I don't know if you're into cooking from scratch, but this recipe from Bette Hagman is pretty good. It helps to have a non-stick pizza pan, and don't use one with holes in it! This is more of a raised dough like Sicilian pie, not a thin crispy crust. If you like it doughy, this is good. I hear for thin crust (not my favorite) the Chebe mixes are good but I've never tried one. If you search this forum you will probably find other recipes. Whole Foods makes the best frozen crusts if you like them thick, but they are expensive.

Easy Pizza from The Gluten-Free Gourmet Cooks Fast and Healthy

1-1/2c gluten-free flour mix (Bette's original works better than bean flour mixes in my opinion, or you could probably use a commercial mix)

1-1/2t baking powder

1t xanthan gum

1/2t salt

1t sugar

7/8c warm water

1T rapid-rise yeast (this is not the same amount as in a package of dry yeast, but one package of Fleischmann's Rapid Rise will work)

1 egg or 1/4c liquid egg substitute

1T vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 425. Grease whatever pan you want to use - a 15" round pan works but you might be able to use a cookie sheet for a more Sicilian style although it will be thinner. I think greasing with Crisco is more effective than spraying for keeping it from sticking.

Blend together the flour, baking powder, xanthan gum, and salt. In a mixing bowl beat together the egg, and oil.

Add the sugar and yeast to the water and wait for it to start foaming, then add this to the egg mixture above. Beat in half the flour mixture. With a spoon stir in the rest.

Pour the batter onto the prepared pan and spread it out with a spatula until it is mostly smooth with raised edges. Let it rise about 10 minutes and then spread on sauce, cheese, etc. Bake for 25-30 minutes.

I got the Z22 from Palm, picked it up at Staples. It was $99 and it has all the usual stuff - calendar, memos, room for the Clan Thompson list, and games to keep me entertained when I have to wait. Clan Thompson can give you software for the mac or the pc.

Clan Thompson is great if you have a PDA because you can check products while you shop, and it also contains certain restaurants and which meals are safe there. Very handy. True, after two years of using it and reading labels I don't consult it as much, but I still find myself occasionally standing in the grocery store in front of something I haven't had before, fishing out my PDA to find out if their modified food starch or other unidentified ingredient is okay.

Ditto! I have been hungry for anything with gravy and considered trying to make meat pie type things, with pie dough wrapped all around the filling, but I think I could get the same effect with just the crust on top. Pleeeease! I'm sure I could figure out the filling, but tell us about your crust.

I didn't notice rainbow cookies, and I'm not even sure what they are, but if you call the owner is very helpful and she'll know.

If you're visiting relatives in Reading and you just want to go out to dinner, Lancaster is a pretty good haul down the pike - an hour away, more if you're on the east of Reading in the Oley/Exeter area. I'd settle for something in Berks County. Not much in the way of fine dining in any case out there.

I have an old cookbook that suggests cleaning your home meat grinder by putting bread through it to clean out the last of the meat. I doubt a commercial butcher would do that, but you never know.....

Those of you within an hour of Princeton should check out DeLiteful Foods on Quakerbridge Road off of Route 1 - I have never seen so much gluten-free food in one place in the two years I've been looking. Lots of snacks, crackers, cookies, etc, and two whole freezers full of gluten-free baked goods and frozen dinners! They were getting a delivery from the Grainless Baker and it was like when the clouds part and the sun comes out and all the little birds start flying in unison and singing cheery songs - piles of gluten-free bread! I didn't see much pasta, but I see items I haven't seen in any other store around, even Whole Foods. In the freezer were pie crusts all ready to fill, cakes galore, breads, muffins, bagels, and rolls of all descriptions. Fish sticks, corn dogs, chicken strips that looked like KFC, ravioli, lasagna, brownies, cookies, pizzas - it was amazing. Prices were no worse than I've seen and better than some places. While I was there the Grainless Baker guy brought out a cake they had made and decorated for a celiac bride - they can order this kind of thing. Check them out. I think they had a website when they first opened, but I don't see it anymore. They also carry other stuff for various diets, but the gluten-free selection is particularly impressive. DeLiteful Foods 4040 Quakerbridge Rd Lawrenceville, NJ 08619 609-586-7122

Geez, I was really hoping to see somebody come up with somewhere to eat around Reading!

Tinkyada is the only gluten-free pasta I've tried that you can actually keep in the fridge once you cook it, especially if it's in some kind of sauce. It makes killer lasagna that survives well in the freezer, and mac and cheese that's good for days in the fridge. For you newly diagnosed, it's worth looking for. Corn pasta and potato/quinoa pasta and most rice noodles are okay right after they're cooked but don't keep well. I found one other interesting gluten-free pasta - black soy pasta which I found at Wegman's, that has a chewy, almost meat-like texture, and I think I remember that it also keeps well if sauced. And it freaks people out to see you eating black spaghetti.

All those gluten-free pretzels are great in "Chex mix" made with Rice Crunchems and Corn crunchems and some mixed nuts. One of these days I'm going to make some chocolate covered ones for that sweet/salty combo I miss. Or just melt some chocolate chips in the microwave and dunk them as I eat.

Here's the recipe from Rebecca Reilly's Gluten Free Baking cookbook:

Lemon Poppy seed bread (makes 2 (9x5) loaves

1c milk

3/4c poppy seeds

2-3/4c basic gluten-free mix (it looks like you can use any gluten-free flour substitute here, without xanthan gum already in it)

1/2c almond flour

1T baking powder

3/4t xanthan gum

1/8t salt

2 sticks unsalted butter

1-1/3c packed brown sugar

3 eggs

1/2t vanilla extract

grated zest of 2 lemons

Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease 2 9x5 loaf pans and line with parchment paper (you could also make muffins in paper cups instead).

Heat the milk and add the poppy seeds. Let cool until just warm.

Mix together the gluten-free mix, almond flour, baking powder, xanthan gum, and salt.

Cream the butter until white. Add the brown sugar and beat until fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time. Add the dry ingredients in 2 parts, alternating with the poppy seed and milk mixture. Stir in the vanilla and lemon zest.

Spoon the batter into the prepared loaf pans. Bake for 40 minutes or until done; the top should spring back when pressed gently. The muffins will take 15 to 18 minutes to bake.

Mmmm. E-mail me a slice when it's done.

I always wonder about the wasabi ever since I was in Wegman's and decided to read the ingredients on the sushi before eating it - there was modified food starch (unidentified source) in the wasabi paste.

Bette Hagmans' Vinegar crust is good - let me know if you want the recipe. Comes out just like regular pie crust, and no one can tell. I also like the shredded potato crust from the Moosewood cookbook for cauliflower-cheese pie - you can use this as a good base for any kind of quiche-like pie. It is a little time-consuming, but really good.

2 cups packed, grated raw potato (next time I'm going to try this with thawed hash brown potatoes)

1/2t salt

1 egg, beaten

1/4c grated onion (or use onion powder, less messy)

Set the freshly-grated potato in a colander over a bowl. Salt it and leave it for 10 minutes to drain. Squeeze out the excess water and add potato to remaining ingredients. Pat it into an oiled pie pan - you can use a fork or lightly rice-flour your fingers. Bake at 400 for 40-45 minutes until browned. After 30 minutes you could brush it with oil to crisp it, but this isn't really necessary.

Make up your quiche ingredients like you usually would in this crust and bake. Lots of work, but yummy.

As for quiche, I find you can use almost any combination of cheese and vegetables you like as long as you include the eggs and onions - I've used cooked kale or spinach with feta or swiss or cheddar, and sauteed cauliflower with cheddar is great. I put the sauteed veggies in the crust, top with shredded cheese, and pour the egg mix over the top and bake. You can also eliminate the crust entirely - I sometimes put all this in a greased 8 x 8 pan and bake it, then cut it into squares to reheat for breakfast. I don't miss the crust and it's less work.

My grandmother's meat stuffing for stuffed shells:

Saute chopped onion and minced garlic until soft, add 1 lb ground beef and 1/2 lb sweet Italian sausage and cook until browned. Season with basil and oregano and salt. Drain off the fat.

Add: 8 oz shredded mozzarella cheese

1/2 bread crumbs (either gluten-free or skip it)

1c spaghetti sauce, your favorite

Mix well, fill the cooked shells. Cover the bottom of a large baking pan with sauce and lay the shells on top of the sauce. Cover with more sauce, sprinkle with grated parmesan, bake at 350 for 40 minutes. This fills a lot of shells. Eat some, freeze the rest. This usually takes a 32oz jar of sauce.

Cheese filling, probably not much different from what's already posted:

2lb ricotta cheese

1/2lb shredded mozzarella

1/2c parmesan

2 eggs

parsley

salt and pepper

Stuff shells and bake as above. Mmmmmmmm. Now I've made myself crave these. I'll have to go find a store in my area that sells Tinkyada shells or roll this up in their lasagna.