Gluten-Free Bay

A happy gluten-free Thanksgiving to you!

2009-11-25T20:04:00.003-05:00

Are you looking for last-minute gluten-free thanksgiving recipes? If so, click here to view all the recipes I've tagged under my "Thanksgiving recipes" tag.

In particular, check out my delicious Gluten-Free Stuffing with Dried Fruit, a kosher gluten-free adaptation of a family recipe.

And here are some links to other blogs' gluten-free Thanksgiving recipes:

Gluten-Free Cooking School
Karina's Kitchen (Egg-free, Dairy-Free)
A Gluten-Free Guide
Elana's Pantry (flour-free, alternative sweeteners)

Have a happy and healthy one, everybody!

Creamy Butternut Squash and Parsnip Soup [Vegan & Pareve]

2009-10-25T17:30:00.000-04:00

Here I am to apologize for yet another long absence from blogging, dear loyal readers. Being a full-time dietetics student is taking a lot out of me, combined with chronic health issues that have been wearing me down. I miss blogging regularly, I really do. I miss having a real back-and-forth with my readers and the excitement of trying and posting new recipes and photos all the time. Fortunately, I'm finally starting to feel way better. It's also autumn, which always makes me want to cook and bake. I made an amibitious and wonderful feast for Shabbos last week. I was recovering from a root canal (what fun) so I focused on soft, easy-to-chew foods. We had butter beans sauteed with fresh rosemary, white wine, red pepper flakes and onions (a perennial favorite of ours)... mashed potatoes... spinach sauteed with lemon zest and garlic... and though I rarely make dessert, I actually made two! We had baked apples... and a crumb cake made from Gluten-Free Pantry's Coffee Cake Mix, which was out of this world!

But the highlight of the meal wasn't the decadent dessert, it was the homeade Creamy Butternut Squash & Parsnip Soup. We are both big fans of Pacific Natural Foods' Organic Creamy Butternut Squash Soup and Imagine Foods' Organic Creamy Butternut Squash Soup, which are both kosher (pareve), vegan and gluten-free. We always keep a few containers in the house and eat this otherwise dairy-free soup with a little low-fat sour cream (or my vegan cashew sour cream) and some spicy toasted pumpkin seeds on top - I find it's a healthy and easy way to make a salad or other light fare into a real meal. Soup is also great to fill up on when you're watching your caloric intake, as it's very filling. It is often low in calories, especially if you avoid cream-based or meat-based soups.

I decided to try making butternut squash from scratch for the first time ever, this time around. I wanted to do something a little different, and at the market the parsnips looked fat and wonderful so I decided to give them a shot. The soup turned out to be fantastic, with a perfect swirl of sweet and savory flavors, and I hope some of you will try it out and let me know if you agree. It's got a little kick to it, so reduce the cayenne if you're not into that. It would be perfect for Thanksgiving. It has a thick and creamy consistency but if you like yours a bit thinner, just add more broth, rice milk or water. I haven't frozen it yet but from my experience freezing soups, this one should freeze quite nicely.

Though homemade is always the best, there are times when we can't cook soup from scratch. For those occasions, there happens to be a promotion right now where if you order Imagine Foods' Creamy Butternut Squash Soup through the link I provided you can save 15% if you enter the code HAINGF25 at checkout. [Plus, save an additional 15% when you combine the instant rebate with your Subscribe & Save order--bringing your total savings to 30%. Offer valid through October 31, 2009].

Happy fall!

CREAMY BUTTERNUT SQUASH & PARSNIP SOUP
[Gluten-Free / Dairy-Free / Soy-Free / Vegan / Pareve ]

Yield: About 10 servings

3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3 lbs of cleaned, trimmed butternut squash (approx. 2 medium squash)
2 large parsnips, peeled
2 medium onions, peeled & roughly chopped
5 cloves garlic, peeled & minced
1-3 sprigs of fresh thyme
4 cups vegetable broth (if I don't have homemade I use this kind)
2" piece of fresh ginger root, peeled and sliced
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
A pinch of ground cloves
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp cayenne (optional)
1/4 cup amber agave nectar (or other sweetener)
2 tsp sea salt
2 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp rubbed sage
1 1/2 cup rice milk

Cut cleaned, trimmed butternut squash into chunks or slices (about 1 1/2" in size, maximum). Slice peeled parsnips into 1/2" slices. Remove thyme leaves from woody stalks. Discard all but the leaves.

Heat large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add olive oil. When the olive oil is hot, add onion and sautee until it begins to brown. Add garlic, squash, parsnip and thyme. Stir and sautee for 2-3 minutes. Add vegetable broth, ginger and all spices and herbs. Vegetables should be almost covered by vegetable broth, but it's fine if they're not completely covered. Bring to a boil, cover and cook on medium heat until the squash and parsnips are soft.

Once the vegetables are soft, turn off heat, mix in rice milk, and allow to cool a bit (I transfered the soup to a bowl to allow it to cool more quickly). Once it's cool enough to blend safely, either use an immersion blender to puree or carefully blend in a regular blender. If you use a regular blender and the soup is still warm or hot, do not fill more than half way - Blend in batches, and as you blend each batch return it to the pot on the stove. You can reheat the soup over low or medium-low heat before serving, if necessary. Add more rice milk or vegetable broth if you prefer a thinner consistency. This soup reheats well after freezing or refrigeration. Using a double-boiler or a heat diffuser, or adding a little extra liquid, will help avoid scorching when you reheat.

Serve plain or garnish with sour cream, vegan sour cream substitute and/or toasted pumpkin seeds.

Un-Cooking: Strawberry-Pear Salad with Goat Cheese

2009-06-11T13:19:00.004-04:00

I just posted one of my partner Rochel's recipes and I thought I'd share another. I feel silly posting this as a recipe because it is is less of a recipe than a list of ingredients, but it's so addictively tasty that I wanted to share it with you all. We make this with inexpensive kosher goat cheese we buy a huge log of for around $4 at Costco.

STRAWBERRY-PEAR SALAD WITH GOAT CHEESE

[ Gluten-Free / Vegetarian / Soy-Free ]

Romaine lettuce, chopped or Boston lettuce, torn
Ripe pear, sliced
Strawberries, sliced
Goat cheese
Balsamic vinaigrette (balsamic vinegar, extra-virgin olive oil, black pepper, a little dijon mustard and some raspberry jam or pomegranate juice to sweeten it a bit)
Optional: Pecans

On each plate put a generous amount of romaine lettuce, then arrange strawberries, pear slices and slices of goat cheese in an attractive way. Sprinkle with pecans (optional) and drizzle with dressing right before serving.

Un-Cooking: Rochel's Purple & Orange Cabbage Salad

2009-06-08T20:46:00.011-04:00

On this blog's Facebook fan page I mentioned that I was writing a blog post about a dish that's purple and orange, and I gave people a chance to guess. Mary Frances got it right on the first try, but I loved some of the other ideas - My mom picked "sweet potatoes and eggplant" and another fan picked "blueberry, orange and almond pie," both of which sound quite delicious.

But Mary Frances was right because she knew that since it's almost summer, I must be blogging a cabbage salad... yet again! Summer also means that it's time for more "un-cooking" - Recipes that can be made during hot weather without making your kitchen any hotter than it already is. I've posted before (a million times) about the cabbage salads that we live on all summer long, which are wonderful and crisp when freshly made but just get better and better the longer they sit in the refrigerator absorbing their dressing. The difference with this salad is how beautiful it is to look at - Bright orange and deep purple (my dad's favorite color combination). It brings a splash of color to an otherwise neutral-looking plate. In this case dinner was bean tacos and plantains. I hope the colors will appeal to some of my readers' vegetable-hesitant children.

But this is not my recipe, folks! Nope, I had no part in it. This is the foodblog debut of my wonderful partner Rochel's mad cooking (or in this case un-cooking) skillz. That's her picture over on the right hand side of this post. I made the tacos and fried the plantains, but Rochel insisted on making the cabbage salad herself so this recipe is 100% hers. The only change I made is to mention some optional alterations to the recipe. The spices don't have measurements because you'll need to spice this to suit your own tastes and your family's. Just be sure to make the cumin flavor strong... and don't skimp on the salt, either.

Rochel, you officially win the Prettiest Cabbage Salad Award for 2009. Your reward is ~~flatulence~~ my appreciation for how much of the cooking you've been taking on lately, plus some extra effort on my part to stop being such a kitchen dominatrix. Thanks for gently pushing me to learn how to let someone else into "my" kitchen.

For more easy "un-cooking" recipes for hot weather click here.

ROCHEL'S PURPLE & ORANGE
CABBAGE SALAD

[ Gluten-Free / Dairy-Free / Pareve / Vegan / Soy-Free ]

1/2 of a large head of purple cabbage
1 orange bell pepper
2 carrots, shredded
1/2 to 1 bunch of cilantro, chopped
Juice of 4 limes
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt & pepper
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Cumin
Optional: Canned mandarin orange segments or chopped pieces of fresh orange
Optional: Small amount of agave nectar, honey or other sweetener

With a sharp knife, cut 1/2 a purple cabbage into several wedges, then slice thinly across the wedges width-wise. Alternately, if you have a food processor, you can use its shredder function to shred the cabbage. Remove stem and seeds from the orange bell pepper and cut into long, thin slices. Combine cabbage, carrots, pepper and cilantro into a large bowl. Combine spices, lime juice and olive oil in a small bowl and then pour over the salad. Stir gently, making sure all of the vegetables are coated in the dressing.

Serve at room temperature. Stores well in an airtight container in the refrigerator, and increases in flavor over time. Can be refrigerated for up to a week.

This recipe has been posted as part of Weekend Herb Blogging, a weekly blog event hosted this week by Eat This.

To-Die-For Passover Banana Nut Cake, and a Review of A Kosher Gluten-Free Passover Cookbook

2009-03-31T21:20:00.006-04:00

I couldn't have been more excited when I received a copy of Tamar Ansh's new cookbook from Targum Press. They were kind enough to ship me Pesach - Anything's Possible: Over 450 Non-Gebrochts, Gluten-Free & Wheat Free Recipes because they know this blog focuses on cuisine that is both kosher and gluten-free. This big, thick, hardcover book is the first widely distributed cookbook that I've seen that has advertised itself directly to the gluten-free community as well as to any Jewish cook looking for Passover fare. Unlike much Passover cooking, all of the recipes are gluten-free and non-gebrokts, meaning the book does not include recipes such as matzo balls or matzo meal cakes which involve exposing matzo to water. Some Ashkenazi Jews, mostly Hasidim, observe a tradition of only eating dry matzo during Pesach so their other Pesach food is all gluten-free.

Pesach - Anything's Possible is a kosher gluten-free cookbook full of beautiful, glossy full-color photographs. One of my pet peeves is cookbooks without photographs - And this cookbook does not disappoint in that department! It even has step-by-step instructional photos for some of the recipes. I don't like reviewing cookbooks without trying a recipe. I never give positive reviews to books or products unless I feel like they deserve it. So I chose a recipe to make for last shabbos: Banana Nut Cake.

Those who tried the cake could not believe what they were tasting - It was perfectly moist, even the next day. It was golden brown on top, with no burned spots. It had a tender, fine crumb. It wasn't crumbly, but instead held together quite well. It had just the right amount of sweetness, just the right amount of banana flavor, and the perfect amount of nuttiness. It had a consistency more like a rich, moist, fluffy cake than the wetter, more dense traditional banana bread. I am not exaggerating when I say this was one of the best gluten-free cakes I have ever eaten! Not the best Passover cake, or the best pareve cake, or the best banana bread... But one of the best cakes, period. If you make this for friends or family they won't believe it's gluten-free, let alone a pareve Pesach cake. Pareve (dairy-free) Pesach cakes are notorious for being dry. This cake puts them all to shame.

Other recipes in the book include Orange Sponge Cake, "Breaded" Cutlets, Chicken Blintzes, Chocolate Crinkle Cookies, Mexican Pepper Bake, Creamsicle Roll, Best Gefilte Fish Ever, Crepes, Butternut Squash Kugel, Sweet Potato Puffs, Shepherd's Pie, Zucchini Cheese Potato Latkes, Kneidlach, Lukshen (noodles) and more... 350 recipes in total.

Targum Press has been kind enough to give me permission to post the fabulous Banana Cake recipe here on my blog, so that my readers can enjoy this recipe for Passover ... or any time. To order the cookbook click here.

BANANA NUT CAKE

from "Pesach - Anything's Possible" by Tamar Ansh
Posted with permission from Targum Press.

[Gluten-Free / Pareve / Dairy-Free / Soy-Free ]

10 eggs, separated
1 1/4 cups sugar
3-4 ripe bananas*
3/4 cup coarsely ground walnuts or pecans**
3/4 cup potato starch

Preheat the oven to 350 F / 180 C.

Beat the egg whites until they are stiff. In a bowl, beat the yolks together with the sugar, bananas, nuts and potato starch. Carefully fold the egg whites into the yolk mixture until it is well blended. Pour the batter into a greased tube pan***. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until the edges start to spring away slightly from the side of the pan. Remove the cake from the oven and let it cook completely. Remove the cake from the pan. If it seems moist to you, let it sit uncovered for an hour or so before you wrap it up.

*I used 4 ripe bananas that had been frozen in their skins. I defrosted them and then they slid right out of their skins, already soft enough to blended in with the batter.

**I actually used 1/2 cup walnut meal (finely ground walnuts) and about 1/2 cup of coarsely chopped walnuts, and I'll probably do that again next time I make this recipe

***I recommend using a silicone pan if you have one. I didn't have a tube pan so I used an 8x8 silicone brownie pan and a standard-sized tin bread ban.

Other books by Targum Press include:

The Kids Kosher Cookbook

Classic Kosher Cooking: Simply Delicious

Guidelines to Candlelighting and Separating Challah

Guidelines to Pesach

How to Order Gluten-Free Matzo for Passover 2009

2009-03-17T19:43:00.004-04:00

"This is the (gluten-free) bread of oppression that
our ancestors would have eaten in the land of Egypt
if they had been celiacs."

I've been getting so many e-mails about ordering gluten-free matzo that I realized it was high time I make a post about how to get your hands on some gluten-free matzo for Pesach (Passover) 2009.

Keep in mind that for matzo to be considered matzo by halacha (Jewish law) it needs to be made of one of the five grains. The only one of those grains that is (or can be) gluten-free is oats. Historically oats have been unsafe for celiacs due to being cross-contaminated with wheat. Fortunately, today we have certified gluten-free oats, which are grown and processed separately from wheat to eliminate cross-contamination, and then tested by food allergy testing labs to confirm their gluten-free status. So a truly gluten-free oat matzo is now possible. That said, there are some people with celiac disease who simply cannot digest oats, even gluten-free ones. If you are one of those people who has celiac disease and cannot digest oats I strongly suggest you speak with a competent rabbi. In fact, if you're an observant Jew it wouldn't hurt to consult with a rabbi regardless... Since I hear that there are some rabbis who don't accept oat matzo for celiacs. But for the rest of us, there's a great (if very pricy) option out there.

Starting last year, there are actually two sources for gluten-free matzo, not just one! I posted last year about Lakewood Matzoh Bakery which had begun making certified gluten-free oat matzo for the first time. They were kind enough to send me some of this year's batch to sample. It's true that it tastes nothing like the matzo I grew up eating and I'll personally never be a big fan of the burnt taste of shmura matzo (regardless of its gluten status). However, I'm excited because Lakewood Matzoh Bakery's matzo is quite improved from last year, due to being rolled out more thinly. This will make it more enjoyable for a lot of people, myself included. I also like supporting local-ish businesses when I can. In addition, Lakewood's price is significantly lower than the price offered by Kosher.com and other vendors for the imported UK brand Gluten-Free Oat Matzo. That makes Lakewood the winner in my home.

The one item that the other company, Gluten-Free Oat Matzos, sells that Lakewood doesn't is gluten-free matzo meal. It's ridiculously expensive but makes killer matzo balls using my dad's recipe! When I bought it a few years ago I called the matzo balls I made "million-dollar matzo balls" because I figured out they cost a couple of bucks a peace. A link to buying gluten-free matzo meal can be found below.

Did I mention that oat matzo is totally delicious turned into matzo pizza? Just spread tomato sauce and mozzarella on it and bake until the cheese is melted and edges of the matzo are crisp. Mmm... just call it "Bread of Oppression Pizza."

WHERE TO BUY GLUTEN-FREE MATZO

Here are links for ordering gluten-free matzo online or finding out where it's retailed locally near you. It's popping up in more and more local kosher groceries these days, but many places find they are sold out quickly so be sure to inquire about it at your local grocery now.

Gluten-Free Matzo from Lakewood Matzoh Bakery

Gluten-free oat matzo made in Lakewood, NJ. Shmura (handmade). $23 a box. Shipping available. Order online at the link above or inquire about where it's sold near you. I've seen it at shops in the NY/NJ area.

Gluten-Free Matzo from Rabbi Kestenbaum's Gluten Free Oat Matzos

Gluten-free oat matzo made in the UK. To buy online, go to Kosher.com. They offer machine-made matzo at $39.95 a box, handmade matzo for $39.95 a box and gluten-free matzo meal for $19.99 per box. Find out where to buy it locally here. (Available internationally).

It's Time for Another Gluten-Free Purim! Hamantaschen, Mishloach Manos and More...

2009-03-08T20:19:00.008-04:00

As usual, I am posting a holiday roundup just a day or two before the holiday. Oy, I am such a procrastinator. Hopefully this will still come in handy for some of you. I notice I'm getting a huge number of hits for "gluten-free hamentaschen" / hamentashen, hamantashen, etc. So I thought I'd make it easier for you to find my Purim-related postings as well as some postings by some other blogs.

If you're looking for gluten-free hamantashen recipes:

My recipe for Gluten-Free Hamantaschen made with no-refined sugar. I love this recipe and am sad I haven't had the chance to make it this year. I've gotten very good feedback on this recipe - If you try it please let me know how it works for you!

Elana's Pantry has a vegan, refined-sugar-free, grain-free recipe for Gluten-Free Raspberry Hamantaschen that you might be interested in if you have multiple food restrictions.

Or maybe you'd like to try an Adaptation of a Chabad Recipe for Gluten-Free Hamantaschen.

About.com also offers a recipe.

If you'd like to order gluten-free hamantaschen online:

Heaven's Mills Gluten-Free Hamantashen

Katz Gluten-Free Raspberry Hamantaschen (I ate these today!)

If you're looking for ideas for gluten-free mishloach manos:

My list of ideas for creative gluten-free mishloach manos can be found here. Think outside the box!

If you're a Jew with food allergies or intolerances and/or celiac disease:

Consider joining the AllergicJews listserv, on which other Jewish (kosher and non-kosher) folks with food restrictions share recipes, ideas and resources.

CHAG PURIM!

Moroccan Cauliflower Recipe + A "Specific Carbohydrate Diet" Cookbook Review

2008-12-31T20:45:00.009-05:00

[Photo: My New Year's Eve Dinner Table]

We decided to spend a relaxed New Year's Eve at home, with a movie, a bottle of wine, and a home-cooked Moroccan feast for two. What better opportunity to crack open some cookbooks I haven't yet used? Seeing as my partner has re-started the South Beach Diet and I'm doing my own low-glycemic food thang, the first book I went to was Eat Well Feel Well by Kendall Conrad. This is a book of recipes that comply with the Specific Carbohydrate Diet.

One of the perks of being a food blogger is having publishers send you new cookbooks to look at. Unfortunately I am way behind on cookbook reviews, so many months after receiving this book from Clarkson Potter Publishers, I'm finally getting around to using it, perusing it, and sharing my feedback here. I was won over by the beautiful color photographs in the center of the book. I must admit I have a serious aversion to cookbooks that don't have full-color photos, so the photo section of this book was a real plus. The Specific Carbohydrate Diet is used to treat sensitive tummies as well as guts that have been damaged by Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, celiac disease, irritable bowel syndrome, diverticulities, etc. Celiacs and gluten intolerant folks who eat a strictly gluten-free diet usually find that their guts eventually heal and are generally able to tolerate any non-gluten foods after the healing period is over. However, many of us have multiple food allergies or other digestive disorders. Others find that they continue to be sensitive to a variety of foods and have trouble with digestion long after they are gluten-free, due to damage to their digestive tract. A small number of people find that they simply cannot digest grains at all, and that non-gluten grains make them almost as ill as gluten-containing grains. This cookbook is based on the diet described in the book Breaking the Vicious Cycle: Intestinal Healing Through Diet by Elaine Gottschall, which is the bible of the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD). The diet eliminates "virtually all starch and complex sugars" and features a balance of "smart carbohydrates, good proteins and fats, and essential vitamins and minerals." It is grain-free. No unfermented / un-aged dairy products are allowed so the diet is lighter on dairy than most. This way of eating has helped many people recover from life-threatening digestive disorders.

The difficulty of digesting grains has been explored in other books over the years, such as Against the Grain by Melissa Smith. I don't personally feel a need to eat this way, but many if not most of these recipes are also low-glycemic and low-carbohydrate and therefore fit well into my household's meal plans. Best of all they don't reflect deprivation, but rather an enjoyment of the plentiful healthy gut-friendly foods available at the farmer's market or grocery store. There are grain-free recipes for everything from grain-free Cashew Butter Tortillas to Peach Pocket Pies, and from Shepherd's Pie with Mashed Cauliflower to Tom Yum Kai with Coconut Milk & Lemongrass Infusion.

Tonight I tried my first recipe from the book, which was Moroccan Cauliflower. While it was the photo that first caught my eye, I was also intrigued by the unusual (or at least new to me) method used for cooking cauliflower. Although my favorite method for cooking cauliflower is roasting it, I think this will be my new cauliflower technique for when times is short or I'm trying to reduce the fat in a dish. By steaming the entire head of cauliflower without cutting it first, it avoids all the wasted little cauliflower bits that litter the cutting board when you try to cut a raw cauliflower into florets, because it's far easier and neater to slice a whole head of cauliflower when it's cooked. The presentation of this dish is lovely, and it might even convince one of those notorious cauliflower haters to reconsider.

Here is my adaptation of the recipe from Eat Well Feel Well. I hope you enjoy it, and have a fabulous, healthy and safe New Year!

MOROCCAN CAULIFLOWER
Adapted from Eat Well Feel Well by Kendall Conrad.

[ Gluten-Free / Dairy-Free / Pareve / Vegan / Soy-Free ]

1 medium head cauliflower
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp ground cumin
1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, crushed (use frozen garlic if raw garlic is too sharp for you)
1 tsp fine sea salt or table salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

Trim the stalk of the cauliflower to the base, removing all leaves except the smaller green leaves closest to the head. Fill a pot with half an inch of water, place whole head of cauliflower in it (stem side down), and cover with a lid. Simmer on medium heat for 10-20 minutes (will vary depending on size of head, I had to simmer a medium head for about 15) until the desired tenderness. Remove from pot immediately, transferring to a cutting board or serving platter.

While cooking the cauliflower, whisk together the oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper. Lightly toast the ginger, paprika, cumin and cinnamon over medium-low heat in a small pan for 3-5 minutes or until fragrant. Remove from heat and whisk into the liquid mixture, combining thoroughly.

Cut the cauliflower in 1/2-inch thick slices, transfer to a serving platter and drizzle all of the spiced oil over the slices. Sprinkle with the chopped parsley and serve hot or warm.

OTHER CAULIFLOWER RECIPES:

Lemon-Roasted Cauliflower with Dill

Herbed Cauliflower & Green Bean Salad

Aloo Gobi Matter (Indian Potato, Cauliflower & Pea Curry)

NOTE: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links, which means if you click through the link and purchase something from the site I will receive a small commission that helps me pay for the costs incurred from running this website.

Gluten-Free Chanukah Recipe Roundup: Latkes, Sufganiot (Jelly Donuts) and More!

2008-12-21T13:15:00.005-05:00

Are you looking for gluten-free Chanukah recipes? You can see last year's Chanukah recipe roundup here. I thought I'd do an updated roundup with some links to a bunch of gluten-free Chanukah recipes to help you enjoy a delicious holiday. Some are mine and some are other folks' recipes. Chanukah foods are traditionally fried in oil and/or contain dairy, but there are as many different variations as there are ways to spell Chanukah / Hannukah / Hanukkah / Hanuka. I've tried to provide links that are varied enough that most folks can find something they'll be able to eat and will enjoy. Chanukah sameach!

GLUTEN-FREE LATKES

Sweet Potato & Leek Latkes
Confetti Latkes (Carrot & Parsnip with Chives)
Traditional Potato Latkes
Potato Latke Recipe from Kosher Celiac Cookery
Karina's Potato Latkes
Zucchini Latkes
Vegan Broccoli Latkes
Karina's Vegan Sweet Potato Latkes
Cauliflower Latkes (use soy flour option)

TOPPINGS FOR YOUR LATKES

Cranberry-Applesauce & Traditional Applesauce
Vegan/Pareve Cashew Sour Cream
Apple Salsa, Honeyed Yogurt and More
Wasabi Scallion Sauce
Dill Sour Cream

GLUTEN-FREE SUFGANIYOT / SUFGANIOT / JELLY DONUTS

Gluten-Free Jelly Donuts / Sufganiyot
Low-Carb Donut Recipe from About.com

OTHER CHANUKAH TREATS

Chocolate-Dipped Apricot "Gelt"
Leek Fritters (Prassokoftedes)
Gluten-Free Noodle Kugel with Cranberries
Chanukah Cookies
Lamb & Leek Koftas
Beet, Cabbage & Mushroom Borscht
Fried Chickpeas
Fried Mozzarella Sticks

Remember you can always find my Jewish holiday recipes by clicking here or on the "Jewish recipes" tag on the sidebar at left.

HAPPY CHANUKAH!

Adopt A Gluten-Free Blogger: Karina's Pumpkin Chai Bread with Cranberries

2008-11-30T21:39:00.003-05:00

Seamaiden of the vegetarian gluten-free blog Book of Yum is hosting another round of Adopt a Gluten-Free Blogger, a blogging event in which we adopt another GF blogger and prepare one of their recipes. Last time I participated in this event, I baked gluten-free pita bread. This time it's the "Thanksgiving Edition" so we were all asked to prepare a dish from another blog that was thematically appropriate. I chose to prepare the vegan, gluten-free Pumpkin Chai Bread with Cranberries from the blog Karina's Kitchen (a/k/a The Gluten-Free Goddess). Karina has long been one of my favorite bloggers. She has supported and inspired me ever since I entered the blogging world several years back. When she got diagnosed with a huge list of food allergies in addition to celiac disease, the gluten-free blogging showed their support for her in the Cooking for Karina event I hosted. They made it clear with their numerous submissions that she is one of the best-loved residents of the gluten-free (and food allergy) blogosphere. But I have to make an embarrassing confession: Though I've used Karina's recipes often to inspire my own cooking, I don't think I've ever truly and thoroughly followed one of her recipes! Until today, that is. I chose this recipe in order to use up the cranberries left over from canning cranberry applesauce a few weeks ago and to stretch myself by actually following a recipe for a change.

I was a little worried about what the texture would be like, because the recipe is eggless and I haven't done a whole lot of vegan baking since being gluten-free. Thanks to egg replacer and xanthan gum it actually holds together pretty well. It is beautiful when it comes out of the oven - It is golden in hue and the cranberries look like gems! I enjoyed it, and look forward to toasting a slice or two for breakfast in the morning. Do I lose points if I smear a little butter on your vegan recipe, Karina? Hehe.

The down-low on how I customized the recipe: I chose to use chopped hazelnuts as a mix-in in addition to cranberries, as they were on sale at the store (I initially wanted pecans, but they were twice as expensive). That was a good choice, because the ones I sprinkled on the top of the loaf before baking became lightly toasted which brought out their flavor and crunch. I used raw agave nectar instead of sugar (per Karina's suggested measurements). I would probably use a good bit more sweetener next time. I don't have a major sweet tooth but I think a little more sweetness would round out the flavor. I'd also cut down on the liquid a little bit more than I did, to compensate for the moisture from the agave. I baked it for 60+ minutes and it was still a bit too moist inside. The flours I used were 3/4 cup of millet flour, 1/2 cup sorghum flour, and 1/4 cup tapioca flour.

This bread has a really nice texture with little bursts of tart cranberry flavor. It is lightly sweet which is great for those of us who don't have huge sweet tooths or are trying to cut back on sugar. It has a subtle chai flavor and the pumpkin is present but not overly assertive so this might be a way to get some more veggies into your kids' tummies! It's easy to make successfully using mostly whole grains, which was a plus.

If you haven't checked out Karina's Kitchen, you've been missing out. It's worth subscribing to Karina's blog for the photographs alone! Stop by and congratulate her for just publishing Aftertaste in Exile, her book of paintings, poetry and photography.

Glutenfreebay.com is on Facebook!

2008-09-14T18:27:00.002-04:00

Did you know that you can connect with me, with this blog, and with other Gluten-Free Bay readers via the wonderful world of Facebook? So, come join in the fun!

You can declare yourself a fan of Gluten-Free Bay here which will allow you to talk with other Gluten-Free Bay readers as well as have a pretty little picture and link show up on your profile if you so choose. This is a great way to show your friends what blogs you're a fan of.

You can also join Gluten-Free Bay's blog network here. Soon people who join my blog network will be able to see my new posts right on Facebook.

I would be thrilled to connect with more of you via Facebook, so if you're on there, let me know who you are by following one of the links above.

The Quest for the Best Gluten-Free Cholent

2008-09-14T17:35:00.004-04:00

This shabbos, I finally found one of the holy grails of kosher gluten-free cooking - A fantastic gluten-free cholent. I crafted this Ashkenazi/Sephardi fusion cholent by accident, really. Cholent is a stew that cooks slowly in a crockpot during Shabbos (the Jewish sabbath, during which observant Jews do not light or extinguish fires or electricity) without being stirred or having the heat adjusted in any way. It's the ultimate in low-maintenance cooking, since you just add a bunch of ingredients to the crockpot and let them cook overnight with no interference. People who've never tried slow cooking in a crockpot might think that all the ingredients would be mush after so much cooking - Strangely enough, vegetables tend to retain their shape and stay fairly firm during crockpot cooking. The meat, which should preferably be from a tougher cut (tough cuts do best with slow cooking in liquid), will become deliciously tender and fall apart when you stick your fork into it. Ashkenazi cholent is usually made with barley or wheat berries, neither of which people with celiac disease or gluten intolerance can eat. But you won't miss the grains with this cholent, as it's unbelievably flavorful and has a variety of textures.

The Sephardi influence on this dish is the use of spices and flavorings that you wouldn't normally find in an Ashkenazi cholent (paprika, lots of garlic, turmeric), as well as the optional addition of whole in-the-shell eggs which become hardboiled over the course of the slow-cooking process. This is a little more decadent and a little more healthy than your average cholent. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that this dish has completely changed my conception of cholent. It's heavy but doesn't sit in your stomach like a rock, as some cholent does. My partner is a cholent-eating afficionado and she gave this one two thumbs up.

I sauteed the meat to brown it about 1/2 hour before candlelighting on Friday (a little before 7) and then transferred it, along with all the other ingredients, to the crockpot. My crockpot (pictured above) automatically switches to its warm setting as soon as the cooking time you set it for is done - So at about 7 in the morning on Saturday it switched over, and we ate it at 12:30 PM. It was hot, and perfectly cooked. We ate the leftovers for lunch today and my partner mentioned that this was the first time she'd had the desire to eat leftover cholent. But then again, this is no ordinary cholent!

A little disclaimer: I call for "powdered gluten-free onion soup, vegetable or chicken soup mix." Most kosher soup mixes have MSG in them. That's part of what makes them so tasty. I generally refuse to purchase or consume anything with MSG. But this is my exception. It's my little vice, I guess. If you must avoid MSG at all costs, you can use a couple of gluten-free MSG-free bouillon cubes instead. I've found a kosher, gluten-free brand called Bloch's Best that has no MSG. It's imported from Europe - I found it at Natural Spot in Teaneck. They won't be quite as flavorful as the mixes with MSG, so if you like you can use more salt and more spices and a little more white wine to make up for it.

If you don't have a slow-cooker you can still make this dish - Bring the ingredients to a boil, reduce to a simmer, then right before shabbos cover the pot very tightly and either simmer over a low flame all night, or have it cook in the oven on a low setting.

I will be happy if thise recipe helps just one other gluten-free Jew have more joyful and delicious shabbos... and even happier if some non-Jews and/or non-celiacs will discover this as a new way to prepare a filling one-pot meal.

GLUTEN-FREE CROCKPOT
CHOLENT / HAMIN

A Slow-Cooked Meat & Bean Stew for Shabbos and Every Day

[ Gluten-Free / Dairy-Free / Soy-Free ]

1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 lb to 1 1/2 lbs cholent meat / stew beef
1 onion cut into chunks
2 cups dry cholent bean mix or any combination of pinto beans, cranberry beans, white beans and/or kidney beans
3 Tbsp powdered gluten-free onion soup, vegetable or chicken soup mix*
1 or 2 carrots cut into 1" slices
5 medium yukon gold potatoes, unpeeled, cut in half
2 large sweet potatoes, peeled, cut in quarters
1 cup sliced white mushrooms
5-10 cloves of garlic, chopped roughly or sliced
1 tsp turmeric
2 tsp smoked paprika
2 bay leaves
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
Optional: Generous dash of white wine
Optional: 2-4 uncooked eggs in their shells

[*I use Osem's pareve, vegetarian, kosher-for-Passover "Chicken Style Consomme Instant Soup & Seasoning Mix" which is gluten-free. I purchase it at Passover to last me year-round since the rest of the year their formula includes gluten.]

In a pan, or in the ceramic liner of your crockpot (if it's the type that can be removed from the element and used like a pot on the stove) heat 1 Tbsp vegetable oil over medium heat. Add onions and sautee for 2-3 minutes. Add meat and cook only until browned on the outside. Move onion and meat mixture into the crockpot (or move your ceramic liner back onto the heating element of the crockpot). Set it so that it will cook on low for 12 hours and then switch to its warm setting.

Add dry (unsoaked) beans, then potatoes. Add all of the rest of the ingredients except for the eggs, distributing ingredients as evenly as possible. Make sure the meat won't touch the lid of the crockpot. Nestle eggs carefully on top of other ingredients. Pour water into the crockpot until it covers everything. Put the lid on, making sure it fits securely so that steam doesn't escape (use a layer of tin foil underneath if necessary).

Do not stir the cholent until you are ready to eat it, at which point you can remove the eggs so that you don't crack their shells, and stir it VERY gently.

Serve in bowls, topped with the now-hardboiled eggs (if you included them). If you've warmed your favorite gluten-free bread or challah on the top of the crockpot you can use it to sop up the stew.

NOTE: This recipe is for a 6-quart crockpot. For a smaller crockpot, reduce all the quantities slightly. No exact measurements are necessary for this recipe.

Cabbage Salad with Lime and Fresh Oregano, and a side of Big News!

2008-07-18T18:09:00.011-04:00

Our new apartment is coming together slowly but surely. Merging two people and all their respective stuff into one apartment and a shared life is quite a project. I am loving living in a spacious apartment with hardwood floors and walls painted lovely colors. I am also really digging the endless cabinet and counter space in our new kitchen (still unpainted and far from ready for a photo op!) New Jersey life is treating me pretty well, considering how ill-suited I am to suburbia.

I have a piece of news that I am sharing with some butterflies in my stomach:

I got accepted to the school I applied to, to become a Nutrition & Food Science major with a concentration in Dietetics! It's an ADA-approved program to set me on track to becoming, G-d willing, a Registered Dietitian. I am pretty darn scared but also very excited. Gonna be a full-time student for the first time in many years. It'll be an intense few years 'til I finish my degree, let me tell you. Anatomy & physiology, organic chemistry and microbiology, oh my.

It was 96 degrees today and our air conditioner is/was broken. It's been repaired but is taking a long time to get our second-floor-and-right-above-a-pizza-place apartment back to a bearable temperature. So I decided to do minimal cooking.

It's hot, my back hurts, and my partner is on the South Beach Diet. So this is tonight's menu for a laid-back shabbos (sabbath) for just the two of us:

Ground turkey tacos on corn tortillas, with black beans, homemade salsa fresca, fresh guacamole and dairy-free/pareve sour cream (Tofutti, since there's no time to make it from scratch).
A delicious looking Rioja wine from the fantastic kosher wine section at the ShopRite liquor store in Englewood.
Cabbage salad made from the hugest cabbage I've ever seen.
Sugar-free ice pops.

Nothing fancy. For tomorrow's lunch we'll have salad with quinoa topped with roasted beets and carrots, and some feta cheese.

Here's a recipe for the cabbage salad I made. It's a quick, light, no-cooking recipe with lots of flavor. A great crunchy topping for tacos or a side dish for any meal, especially a spicy summer meal. It's not so different from the curtido de repollo I posted as a topping for homemade pupusas, but I made some alterations that give it its own crunchy identity. Like most cabbage salads, it should get tastier by the day so I made enough that my partner will be able to take some with her to work on Monday for lunch.

The picture above is of the cabbage I used, which is the biggest cabbage I've ever seen. I picked up for $1.50 at the Englewood Farmer's Market today from a local farmer. Good grief, this thing is huge! I don't know if the picture really conveys its hugeness, but I took this pic to show how half the cabbage filled up the biggest, gigantic-est tupperware we have. It was about twice the size of my head, and will easily feed us for two weeks. To be realistic, I've called for one medium cabbage in this recipe, even though in my case it was really 1/2 a mutant cabbage.

Enjoy! Gut shabbos.

CABBAGE SALAD WITH LIME AND FRESH OREGANO

[Gluten-Free / Dairy-Free / Pareve / Vegan / Soy-Free ]

1 medium cabbage, shredded or chopped into small pieces
3-4 carrots, shredded
2-3 Tbsp fresh oregano leaves
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne
1/4 tsp ground coriander
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 limes, juiced
2 tsp agave nectar or honey

Mix all liquid ingredients and spices (except fresh oregano) in a small container. In a large bowl, combine cabbage, carrots, and oregano. Drizzle the liquid/spice combination on top of the vegetables, mixing frequently. Cover and refrigerate for 2-4 hours before serving cold or at room temperature.

First harvest.

2008-06-17T16:14:00.003-04:00

My first harvest from our garden was a huge bag of baby dinosaur (lacinato) kale, which I turned into a big pan of this:

It's tofu, kale and tomatoes with parsley pesto and pine nuts. I will post the recipe at some point, but not at this moment because I'm a bit overwhelmed. I am in the middle of moving... to New Jersey. I am shacking up with my love. More on this later. I will have my own kitchen again - And some free time this summer. A good recipe for more food blogging, perhaps?

What are you cooking with harvest from your own gardens, or from farmers' market bounty?

Gluten-Free Passover Links for 2008

2008-04-16T23:19:00.002-04:00

Dear friends, I am so very sorry that I have not had the time to do a real 2008 redux of the Great Gluten-Free Passover Roundup of 2007. Though I'm happy to say, last year's post is still every bit as relevant this year. Recipes don't age into oblivion like so many things in our world do, gratefully. Since I don't want to let the days slip into Passover without pointing new visitors in the direction of some gluten-free Pesach resources, I thought I'd quickly throw together a list of links that I hope will be helpful to new and old readers alike.

If you are not Jewish and are gluten-free... Good grief, people, what are you waiting for? Get thee to a kosher grocery store! This is the time of year to stock up on gluten-free delicacies, from blintzes (I have two packages in my freezer and can't wait to try them) to croutons to seven-layer cakes. Specifically, look for the label "non-gebrokts" to find products not made with matzo meal, and if a non-gebrokts product isn't also marked gluten-free (or even if it is) contact the company to verify gluten-free status to avoid potential cross-contamination from products made with matzo on the same line. The days after Passover are often a good time to get these items on sale, too.

I hope next year I will have more time and less stress around the holidays and be able to wow you with some new recipes, but for the time being, have a healthy and happy Passover.

Chag sameach!

GLUTEN-FREE PASSOVER LINKS

RECIPES

Gluten-Free Passover Recipe Roundup 2007 - Recipes from all over the internet
My Passover Recipes - Recipes from this blog that can are kosher for Pesach or can be made suitable for Pesach (ssome may require minor ingredient substitutions, but most don't). Includes mock matzo, non-gebrokts Passover noodle kugel, matzo balls, and more.
Gluten-Free Passover Recipes from Recipezaar
New GF Pesach Recipes from Ellen - Including a new matzo ball recipe that sounds great.
Elana's Gluten-Free Passover Recipes - These look amazing, though many contain agave nectar which sadly isn't yet available in a kosher l'pesach version

INFORMATION, PRODUCTS AND MORE

Why Passover is a Gluten-Free Goldmine - A guest column by Lisa Mandl
A Gluten-Free Paradise - Gluten-Free NYC shows photos of why Passover is, indeed, a "gluten-free goldmine"
A Sample Gluten-Free Passover Menu - With recipes
Gluten-Free Oat Matzo - Where to buy it. By now it is probably too late to order it, but you can still find it in many kosher groceries. I can tell you first-hand it was flying off the shelves at Rockland Kosher (Monsey, NY) and Glatt Express (Teaneck, NJ)!
Food Freedom: A Celiac's Passover Story
Quinoa: The Grain That's Not - Kashrut.com explains why many rabbis consider quinoa acceptable for Passover. Note that Kosher Overseers determined that Ancient Harvest and Trader Joes' brands are kosher l'pesach without a special Passover hechsher as long as they are in closed boxes.
Passover By Design - Susie Fishbein's newest book has sold out nearly overnight at many stores and features over 130 gluten-free recipes for Passover and year-round.

Quick & Easy Cilantro-Lime Broccoli Slaw

2008-04-10T23:32:00.004-04:00

Mmm... Nothing like a brightly colored, fresh, raw vegetable salad to celebrate the first daffodils popping up in the garden. I plan to make this recipe for Passover, since it's so incredibly fast to whip up large amounts of and is good with nearly every meal. It's also a welcome burst of color and flavor in a holiday that (in many houses but not mine!) tends to be dominated by dense, heavy, potato-focused Ashkenazi fare. This is a super-quick, no-cook, minimal-chopping dish that can be served as a side for Mexican or other Central American cuisines, as a topping on a green salad, or alongside fish or grilled chicken. It's perfect for warm weather, when cooking is the last thing you want to do. I think this will also be a good stand-by for shabbat.

This is hardly a coleslaw (yuck, I hate coleslaw) but it's made with what is often called "broccoli coleslaw mix". You can find it in most American supermarkets I've been in, with the bags of salad and shredded cabbage. It usually contains shredded broccoli and carrots, and sometimes cabbage as well. If you can't find the kind with cabbage in it, try shredding a little purple cabbage in yourself - It's worth it for the color alone.

I don't bother putting in the measurements for this recipe, which I am usually fairly consistent in doing, because it's really an intuitive recipe that's best done by seasoning it to suit your own tastes. Add ingredients little by little, mix well, and taste before further seasoning. Remember that overnight while it sits in the fridge, the vegetables will absorb the flavors fully. So dress it lightly, and don't overdo it on the spices or the lime juice - Subtlety works well with for this salad. It's a perfect showcase for that bottle of very high quality extra-virgin olive oil you've been saving in the back of your pantry... or is it just me who saves such things for "a special occasion" that never comes?

CILANTRO-LIME BROCCOLI SLAW

[Gluten-Free / Dairy-Free / Pareve / Vegan / Soy-Free ]

1 bag broccoli coleslaw mix
Fresh cilantro, chopped
Lime juice, fresh or bottled
A generous amount of high quality extra virgin olive oil
Cayenne pepper, to taste
Ground coriander, to taste
Cumin, to taste
A dash of agave nectar or honey

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Taste and adjust seasonings. Allow to sit overnight before serving, for optimal flavor. Can stay in refrigerator for several days.

Adopt-A-Blogger: Gluten-Free Pita Bread Courtesy of Straight Into Bed Cakefree and Dried

2008-04-10T22:43:00.003-04:00

For the Adopt-a-Gluten-Free-Blogger event, it was only natural that I'd choose to adopt Naomi Devlin of Straight Into Bed Cakefree and Dried. Naomi is a homeopath, mom, and baker from the UK. Her approach to cooking and baking feels familiar to me, because it's similar in many ways to mine. She is one of the bloggers whose recipes resonate with me the most, in her use of whole-grain gluten-free flours and nut meals, her adventurous exploration of new flavor combinations and textures, and her preference for natural sweeteners and nutritious ingredients. I love reading the blogs of cooks who are more likely to post an innovative and healthy recipe that introduces me to new flavors and textures than a recipe that's yet another nutritionally empty gluten-free clone of the usual standard American (or Western European) fare. I rarely bake these days for a variety of reasons, but Naomi's pita recipes were too tempting to pass up.

I made Naomi's recipe for Teff Pita Breads. Though I've had gluten-free falafel, I haven't had a pita bread since stopping eating gluten. It was such a thrill to take these out of the oven and see that they had, indeed, puffed up into pocket breads! (Well, about half of them did at least). They were tasty as can be, especially straight out of the oven. Over this past week I've eaten them stuffed them with hummus, with cheddar cheese, and with peanut butter, bananas and a drizzle of local honey. They were fantastic every which way.

I can't wait to try her other pitas. Here is a list of Naomi's gluten-free pita bread recipes:

Teff Pita Breads
Dark Coconut Pita Breads
Roasted Sweet Potato Pita Breads

Thanks for sharing your terrific recipes with the gluten-free blogosphere, Naomi!

Sugar-Free Pecan Coconut Macaroons - A Gluten-Free Treat for Passover and Year-Round

2008-04-02T22:04:00.005-04:00

When the Mid-Hudson Valley Gluten-Free Outings Group had our Valentine's Day Gluten-Free Cookie Swap back in February, I encouraged members to consider making a recipe that would accommodate people with food restrictions beyond just celiac disease or gluten intolerance. So I decided to take upon myself the project of creating a gluten-free sugar-free cookie. I'm not usually a big fan of Splenda but I figured I'd give it another shot - At least my mother, who was doing the South Beach Diet, would eat the cookies, right? My other hope was that I'd figure out a way to finally make a macaroon that I'd like and that I could make with little to no sugar for when Passover rolled around.

Well Passover is nearly here. Splenda is NOT kosher for Passover except in its industrial version. However, I think these cookies would taste just fine with another dry alternative sweetener such as granulated fructose, artifical sweetener (not my preference), certain sugar alcohols, maple sugar... whatever you can find that's kosher for Passover -- I'm not sure what's on the market because I don't plan on eating many sweets this Passover. Of course, if you eat sugar, you can save yourself the trouble by making this recipe with plain old white sugar.

I have cut the Splenda amount in this recipe from the amount I used when I originally baked these, since I found them too sweet. Coconut and pecans have their own sweetness to them and I wanted their flavor stand out in all its glory. In fact, I'm even considering making these for Passover without any sweetener at all!

This was my first time trying pecan and coconut flavors combined, and I discovered I love this duo! Better, in fact, than the traditional almond-coconut macaroon combo. I'm not sure if there is a kosher l'pesach brand of ground pecans, but you can always buy some pecans and pulse them in a food processor (or little by little in a coffee grinder) until they have a relatively fine, sandy consistency. Voila, pecan flour!

PECAN COCONUT MACAROONS

[ Gluten-Free / Dairy-Free / Pareve / Soy-Free ]

Adapted from Low-Carb Dessert Blog

Makes approx. 24 cookies

4 egg whites
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup Splenda* (if they're not for Passover), white sugar, or the equivalent amount of a kosher l'pesach alternative sweetener
1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp ground pecans
2 cups dried shredded unsweetened coconut

Preheat oven to 325 F. In a large mixing bowl, whip the egg whites, salt and vanilla until frothy with an electric mixer. Slowly pour in the Splenda or other dry sweetener. Whip until stiff peaks form. Gently fold in the ground pecan and coconut gently. Do not over-stir - Batter should remain frothy.

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Use a tablespoon measure to drop rounded tablespoons of batter onto the paper 1/2 inch apart. Remember that they won't rise or expand! Bake for about 20 minutes, or until golden brown around the edges (let them get a little browner than in this photo!). Turn off the oven heat, open the oven door slightly, and let the macaroons sit in the oven until cool to keep them from becoming overly moist.

*The Splenda available in retail stores is not kosher for Passover.

New Source for Gluten-Free Oat Matzo

2008-03-19T11:28:00.008-04:00

I couldn't have been more thrilled when I got an e-mail from a gentleman from Lakewood Shmura Matzo Bakery in Lakewood, NJ, telling me his bakery was now producing certified gluten-free oat matzos right here in the United States. He graciously sent me two boxes of matzos to try out.

The only source of gluten-free oat matzo I knew about before this was a company in the UK which makes a good product (and gluten-free matzo meal, too!) but is costly due to being imported. The Lakewood product is half the price of the British matzo ($20 for three matzot, as opposed to as much as $40 for three matzot). So this year I'll get to save my money for other Passover treats.

The matzo from Lakewood Shmura Matzo Bakery has a hechsher from Rabbis Katz and Klein, both of Lakewood. It is made of certified gluten-free oat flour. The final product was tested by the Food Allergy Research & Resource Program (FARRP) in Nebraska, and the bakery sent me a copy of the report from FARRP, which indicated that there is no detectable gluten in the product (the product was rated "BLD" or "below limit of detection") which means this product is reliably safe for celiacs. Please note, however, that there are some people with celiac disease who find they cannot digest oats at all.

If you're wondering why gluten-free matzo is so expensive, let me explain. First, the oats have to be grown segregated from wheat and other gluten-containing grains. They have to be harvested and milled with separate equipment. Shmura matzo is handmade rather than made with machines. This is especially remarkable given the fact that matzo must be made within 18 minutes to be considered unleavened. In addition, a dough made of only oat flour is difficult to work with as it contains no gluten nor gluten substitutes. Of course, the entire process must be supervised to ensure the product is kosher... and not only kosher, but kosher for Passover - A much higher standard of kashrut. This is why shmura matzo is always expensive, and gluten-free shmura matzo even more so.

The Lakewood matzo is good. The bakery suggests reheating the matzoh "in a very low oven for a few minutes before eating, it takes a lot of the moisture out." I second this recommendation, as the matzo can be a little stale coming right out of the box. It is definitely "the bread of oppression" - Probably not a cracker I'd nosh on just for the fun of it. However it is perfect for fulfilling the mitzvah of eating matzo on Passover and would taste fine heaped with charoset and maror (and you can grind up leftovers in a food processor to make matzo meal!) The matzos are thicker than a normal wheat matzo, which the bakery says is to make them less likely to break during shipping, so they're not as crisp as thinner matzos. There is something about the taste that definitely says "matzo" to me, which made me happy since it reminds me of when I could eat regular matzo. All in all, I can recommend these without reservation. I think they are certainly equal with the matzo from the UK.

The Lakewood Shmura Matzo Bakery doesn't have a website, but you can order by faxing (732) 364-4250 with shipping and billing information. The product is $20.00 per box of 3 matzos, plus a flat $10.00 for shipping (I believe this cost covers as many boxes as you order). If you have questions call (732) 364-8757.

The matzo is also available in many kosher grocery stores.

GLUTEN-FREE MATZO RESOURCES

TO ORDER MATZO:

Lakewood Shmura Matzo Bakery
Lakewood, NJ
Phone: (732) 364-8757
Fax: (732) 364-4250
Certified gluten-free oat shmura matzo. Available by mail order or in stores.

Gluten-Free Oat Matzos (U.K., distributed worldwide)
http://www.glutenfreeoatmatzos.com
Made in the United Kingdon but available at local distributors or from Kosher.com. Certified gluten-free oat shmura matzo, machine matzo and matzo meal available. No direct mail order on their website.

MATZO RECIPES:

Gluten-Free Mock "Matzo"
Gluten-Free "Matzo Balls" Recipe
Potato Kneidlach: A Matzo Ball Alternative

The mock matzo recipe above does not fulfill the mitzvah of eating matzo, as it is not made from one of the five grains specified by Jewish law. But it's still tasty!

Remember, the widely available spelt matzo is NOT gluten-free. Spelt is a form of wheat and contains gluten, thus is not safe for people who are gluten-intolerant or have celiac disease.

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Ricotta Creme

2008-03-18T22:21:00.001-04:00

This is an easy and delicious creamy dessert that can be whipped up in minutes. Great for the sugar- and carb-conscious, but just as delicious for anyone who loves chocolate and peanut butter. Yum.

CHOCOLATE-PEANUT BUTTER RICOTTA CREME

[ Gluten-Free / Soy Free ]

1/2 cup low-fat part-skim ricotta
3 tsp unsweetened dutch cocoa
1-2 packets splenda, or 1-2 tsp agave nectar, to taste
2 Tbsp smooth, salted peanut butter
Pinch of salt

Blend ingredients on medium speed in a blender until smooth, or use a fork to blend thoroughly until no lumps remain. Serve cold. Can be stored for 24 hours in the refrigerator.

A Gluten-Free Purim - Hamantaschen Recipes and Mishloach Manot Ideas

2008-03-18T21:34:00.004-04:00

This post is admittedly a bit late (Purim starts Thursday night) but I've been in the Bay Area with my partner for the past week and a half doing anything but blogging.

Here are some links for your enjoyment:

GLUTEN-FREE HAMANTASCHEN RECIPES

My own delicious recipe for cakey, no-refined-sugar gluten-free hamantaschen can be found here.

I posted it last year around Purim and it's been a big hit. You can see reviews of the recipe on Recipezaar, too. I've become more strict about only using products with reliable kosher supervision, so I no longer use Pamela's Baking Mixes. However, Pamela's mix works amazingly in this recipe. If you are dairy-free, want the recipe to be pareve, or only use hekshered products, you should feel free to use another gluten-free baking mix of your choice.

About.com's Celiac Disease page just published this recipe for hamantaschen that uses cream cheese in the dough. Looks like a tasty dairy option.

Two other options are this recipe from the Jewish-Food listserve (adapted from a Chabad recipe) and these fascinating hamantaschen from Elana's Pantry, which are both grain-free and dairy-free.

IDEAS FOR GLUTEN-FREE MISHLOACH MANOT

One of the wonderful traditions for Purim is mishloach manot. These are gift baskets of at least two different types of food that Jews are required to deliver to friends and family. What to do if you're making mishloach manot for gluten-free folks? Here are some ideas of things to include in your gift baskets:

Homemade gluten-free hamantaschen (see above for recipes)
Small bottle of kosher grape juice
A bottle of wine
Gluten-free candy (AllergyGrocer.com marks clearly which of their candies are kosher and this PDF file has a comprehensive GF candy list)
A box of storebought gluten-free cookies
Nuts - Stick to the unflavored kinds unless you can verify they're gluten-free.
Jar of olives or pickles
Fruit
Potato or corn chips (check the ingredients)
A nice artisanal kosher cheese (anything but blue cheese should be safe).

Have a wonderful and wild Purim!

...And if you're Jewish and have food allergies and/or gluten intolerance or other food restrictions, come join us on the AllergicJews listserve, where we discuss everything from the halacha (laws) of gluten-free challah to recipes for nut-free charoset.

The Terribly Overdue Gluten-Free Recipe Roundup: 3/3/08

2008-03-05T09:31:00.002-05:00

I thought I ought to give you all another installment of the Gluten-Free Recipe Roundup before I leave later this week for a 10-day vacation in the Bay Area with my sweetheart. I'm looking forward to returning to my old stomping grounds, showing my partner the wonder that is the produce section at Berkeley Bowl, perusing farmers' markets and enjoying 10 days without snow. Here are enough recipes to keep you cookin' for all 10 days that I'm gone... and then some!

BREAKFAST

APPETIZERS & SALADS

SOUPS & STEWS

BREADS

VEGETARIAN & VEGAN ENTREES

MEAT ENTREES

FISH ENTREES

SIDE DISHES

Fried Polenta Cubes Served on Hot Artichokes with Pistachio Nuts

DESSERTS

BEVERAGES, SNACKS & MISCELLANY

The Standard Disclaimer: As usual, there are recipes on here that call for ingredients that can be found in both gluten-free and gluten-laden versions (soy sauce, breadcrumbs, etc). There are also ingredients that are available in both kosher and non-kosher versions (and of course milchig and fleishig and pareve). I haven't checked over every ingredient list with a fine-toothed comb, so be sure to check labels, and be creative!

And remember... one woman's side dish is another woman's entree.

Click here for previous editions of the Gluten-Free Recipe Roundup.

Edited to add: Yes, that's me in the picture - A blurry whir of sweet-potato-grating action. You might wonder why I would post a blurry picture of myself, but I actually love this photo because I'm moving so fast and working so hard that I'm a blur, yet the bowl of sweet potato latke batter is totally in focus!

Gluten-Free Kosher Product Reviews

2008-03-03T20:37:00.002-05:00

It's been a while since I did any product reviews and since I now have more of a readership of people who are both kosher and gluten-free I thought I'd start doing product reviews more regularly of products that have a hechsher (a kosher certification) and are also gluten-free. Everyone accepts different hechshers, so use your own judgment or consult your local halachic authority if you have questions. In addition, I'm hoping these product reviews will be just as useful for readers who are halal or vegetarian/vegan, or who are just plain ol' gluten-free and looking for some new GF products to try!

NANA'S NO-GLUTEN COOKIES

Kosher Certification: Kof K Pas Yisroel - Pareve

Info for Special Diets: All gluten-free products are vegan and contain no dairy, no refined sugars, hydrogenated oils, cane or beet sugars, cholesterol or trans fats.

Review: I wanted so much to like these cookies or at least find them edible. After all, there aren't that many products on the market that are reliably gluten-free, vegan, have no refined sugar and are reliably kosher. So I was terribly disappointed the second I bit into the No Gluten Cookie Bars - Berry Vanilla. They were incredibly grainy, had weird crunchy unidentifiable hard bits in them, and had a weird berry flavor but no actual pieces of berry. They were impossibly dry and I couldn't really taste any vanilla - But ultimately, I don't think there's any flavoring that could have countered the horrible, inedible grainy, crumbly texture. I couldn't bring myself to take more than two small bites, and when I had a friend take a bite they spit it out.

The Nana's No Gluten Chocolate Cookie was more edible. It was very, very mealy - It tastes like they use a coarse grain rice flour instead of a finely ground one. But it at least tasted pretty chocolatey. I can definitely a child enjoying this cookie. I didn't enjoy it and could only bring my chocoholic self to eat half of it, but it is a healthier option for parents with food-allergic kids they prefer not to feed sugar to.

I hate giving bad reviews, but my conclusion about Nana's products is this: If these taste good to someone, I would guess it's because they have gotten use to substandard gluten-free products. Folks, you don't have to settle for low-quality products that don't taste like real cookies! If can make good gluten-free vegan cookies at home, why can't a professional baking company make an edible product?

You can purchase Nana's No-Gluten Cookies here or at your local health food store or Whole Foods.

PEREG QUINOA MIXES

Kosher Certification: Badatz Ateret Shalom, Badatz Yoreh De'ah, CRC of the US and Canada, and the Orthodox Union (OU) - Pareve

Info for Special Diets: All products marked gluten-free. Vegan, pareve, no sugar. No visible nut or soy ingredients but I haven't been able to verify that their spice mixture is free of these allergens.

Review: Who needs boring old rice pilaf when you can have all the flavor and texture of a pilaf combined with the unbeatable nutritional profile of quinoa, that legendary "supergrain" that's not really a grain at all? I took this photo at Kosherfest back in the fall. I discovered and tasted and photographed so many new kosher gluten-free foods, and then promptly neglected to ever do a comprehensive post about my discoveries. Oops. Then a few months ago I went to Rockland Kosher, a huge kosher grocery store in Monsey, NY. Among a bunch of gluten-free goodies I found there, they carried Pereg Quinoa Mixes, which I'd tasted at Kosherfest and loved but didn't think I'd find in any stores near me. I bought two different flavors - Quinoa Mix with Vegetables and Italian Style Quinoa Mix. They also make one with mushrooms.

These quinoa mixes come in convenient plastic jars so they can be easily poured for measuring. They contain all natural ingredients, and of course are gluten-free. The ingredients include spices, raisins and dried vegetables - No MSG or preservatives. No rinsing is necessary, unlike with quinoa bought in bulk. Just follow the simple directions on the package and you end up with a fluffy and attractive quinoa pilaf that has a good amount of flavor to it. I love these mixes - Though I make my own quinoa pilafs from scratch, sometimes I just do not have the time to cook. I'm not a fan of plain steamed quinoa, so having a mix like this means I can have a flavorful side dish in a short amount of time without resorting to nutritionally-empty packaged white rice pilaf.

I really enjoy these pilafs and am excited to see them on the American market. My only suggestion for improvement is that instead of following the directions on the package I recommend using vegetable or chicken stock in place of water, to add more flavor to the quinoa. I also recommend sauteing the quinoa in the oil for more than 20 seconds before adding the water.

You can purchase Pereg Quinoa Mixes here or at your local kosher grocery.

Adopt a Gluten-Free Blogger

2008-02-25T20:28:00.004-05:00

I've "adopted" Naomi of Straight Into Bed Cakefree and Dried for this month's Adopt-a-Gluten-Free-Blogger event, hosted by Sea of Book of Yum. You, too, can adopt a gluten-free food blogger of your very own! All it involves is heading over to Sea's page, reading the instructions and letting her know who you choose. Then you prepare a recipe or two from the blog you adopted, and post in your blog about your adopted blog, your adopted blogger, and the recipe/s you tried! A fun excuse to try another blogger's recipes, while getting some new folks to check out your own blog. Sea is hoping this event will become a monthly thing. It was perfect timing for me, because I was really looking for an excuse to try Naomi's pita bread recipe!

Herbed Cauliflower & Green Bean Salad A/K/A German Potato Salad Without the Potatoes

2008-02-22T01:00:00.004-05:00

I've been having quite a hankering for German potato salad - Specifically, my "famous" Herbed New Potato Salad with Green Beans. Unfortunately, potatoes are super high-glycemic and are not considered "good" carbohydrates, and thus are verboten on the South Beach Diet, any low-carbohydrate diet, and the Glycemic Index / low-gylcemic approach to eating. What's a serious potato lover to do? Cauliflower!

I love cauliflower. I always have. Since eating a lower-glycemic diet I've been cooking my Lemon-Roasted Cauliflower with Dill and other roasted cauliflower recipes quite a bit. Another favorite cauliflower dish is my Aloo Gobi Mattar (Indian Potato, Cauliflower & Pea Curry) which I will also try making without potatoes one of these days.

Simply by replacing new potatoes with small florets of cauliflower boiled until tender, I was able to re-make this recipe into something healthier, more nutrient-dense and dramatically lower carbohydrate, without compromising the taste. I loved this salad, and it was even better a day and two days later when the cauliflower and beans had absorbed more of the marinade overnight.

I make a lot of salads and vegetable dishes that can be eaten cold on Shabbos since I don't cook on the sabbath. So I made this Friday to eat with my dinner, but also ate it for part of my lunch on Saturday. Heck, I even ate it for breakfast!

HERBED CAULIFLOWER & GREEN BEAN SALAD

[ Vegan / Dairy-Free / Pareve / Soy-Free / Gluten-Free ]

2 large heads of cauliflower
2 1/2 cups green beans, cut in thirds
2 Tbsp salt
1/4 cup minced fresh chives
3 Tbsp minced fresh dill
3 Tbsp dijon mustard
3 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 large shallot, minced
1 tsp agave nectar, sugar or equivalent non-sugar sweetener
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Optional: Minced fresh flat-leaf parsley to taste

Combine all ingredients except cauliflower and beans in a large bowl. Wash cauliflower well and cut into 1/2 inch pieces. Cover with water by several inches in a large pot, and add 2 Tbsp salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until the cauliflower are tender without being mushy. Do not turn heat off, but transfer cauliflower into a colander immediately, and rinse with cold water several times. Allow to cool just until they are warm but can be comfortably handled.

Turn the heat up under the pot of water and add green beans. Cook uncovered for just a few minutes, until green beans are tender but still crisp and bright. Remove from water and drain. If you want to retain the brightness of their color, submerge them immediately in ice-water until cooled.

Add beans and cauliflower to the large bowl that contains dressing. Toss very gently to combine, stirring from the bottom to coat cauliflower and beans with the dressing. Allow to sit for 20 minutes before serving. Garnish with additional chopped herbs if desired. Serve while still warm, or at room temperature.

This recipe is part of the Weekend Herb Blogging event, hosted this week by Swirling Notions.