Gluten-free Gourmand

When I realized that I would have to be on a gluten-free diet for the rest of my life, one of my primary thoughts was: I can still eat steak. In fact, when people try to have pity on me for my dietary restrictions, I tell them that I love my diet: it includes steak, potatoes, and ice cream. You probably don't need instructions on how to cook steak and potatoes. I'm mentioning it for What's for Dinner? Wednesday not because I think people need to know more about steak and potatoes, but because I sometimes like to remind myself to keep it simple. Simple is delicious. For more gluten-free dinner ideas see Linda at the Gluten-free Homemaker. My friend and I bought all the main ingredients for this meal at the Portland Farmer's Market. The herbs were picked form the garden - they miraculously survived the winter. First I cleaned and prepped the potatoes. We put a dry skillet in the oven at 400 degrees to heat up. I mixed some walnut oil, salt, sage, and thyme toget

1. I don't eat gluten. That means no wheat, barley or rye. People feel sorry for me when they hear of it, but I don't feel sorry for myself because I eat really well. I think that being on this restricted diet has made me a better cook. The only things I really miss are croissants and beer. 2. I have spent a lot of time worrying about "being efficient" and "conserving energy" when it comes to personal projects and work routines. Recently I realized that I was so worried about being efficient that I was often paralyzed with indecision, and I was so concerned with conserving energy that I never started anything. 3. I've spent most of my life sitting down and reading. When I read I become addicted to to a novel like it's crack cocaine. I think about it all the time and don't want to do anything else. If I didn't have a job I would probably never go out except for food while I'm in the middle of a novel. The only remedy is to finish it. 4

For my What's for Dinner? Wednesday blog carnival post I decided to do a dual product review/easy dinner idea: pasta with tomato sauce. I dressed mine up a bit with some sausage from New Seasons (they don't add any wheat or other fillers to their deli sausage) and some broccoli. However, this is always a go-to meal when I want something fast and satisfying. This has always been a favorite meal. For other GF dinner ideas, visit Linda at the Gluten-Free Homemaker . When I discovered Tinkyada pasta for the first time, I was pretty excited to try a new brand. They have a white rice pasta which I reviewed last month and thoroughly enjoyed. Then I realized that everyone else knew about Tinkyada pasta before I did! It's sold in most of the stores I frequent, including New Season's on NE 33rd and at Food Front on NW Thurman. (It's also widely available on the internet.) I read several blog posts about how good their brown rice pasta was, and I was eager to try it.

I'm inspired by the daffodils popping their heads up in my yard suddenly! Next week I'll have blooms. I decided that today was the day to plant a few seeds. I'm not getting too industrious yet: I'll buy some starts in May and get those in my raised-bed garden . Today I just put a few lettuce seeds down in planter pots to see what will happen. I haven't had much luck with lettuce yet in my garden, and I'm hoping it's not already late to plant this cool-weather crop. I also planted a little bit of broccoli to see what would happen. I suspect that the planter pots are not the best place for lettuce, but I was too lazy to actually break ground an fertilize my small patch of soil. It looks like my laziness had a purpose. It suddenly started to hail, and I'm safe inside already! Who else out there is planting a garden? What are your favorite things to grow? Any tips for a lazy gardener like me?

Here is a recipe that is surprisingly simple. It's a good recipe for making dairy-free. Simply substitute all of the milk and cream for coconut milk. I would imagine that a full-fat almond milk would taste lovely in this recipe too, though I haven't tried it yet. This is my own modification of the Joy of Cooking's recipe. The trickiest part of making this recipe is in preparing the caramel sauce. It has few ingredients but it takes some patience and attention. Place in a saucepan, preferably one with a light-colored inside: 3/4 cup sugar Pour over the top: 1/4 cup water Heat the mixture slowly, swirling the liquid occasionally until it clarifies. Increase the heat to high and boil for 2 minutes, covered. Uncover the pan after the two minutes is up and watch it boil until it begins to darken. At this point start swirling the syrup in the pan again to cook it evenly until it turns a dark brown. If you smell burning immediately remove it from the heat: yo

My original idea was to create a full meal that could be completed in the time it takes to cook the rice. However, between chatting with my cooking partner, julienning, drinking wine, and general dawdling the meal ended up taking about an hour to cook up. In theory I could have done it faster, and perhaps my next attempt will be much speedier. I will write out the recipe as I imagine it should be organized, not how I actually cooked it. For more gluten-free dinner ideas visit The Gluten-Free Homemaker . She hosts our What's for Dinner? Wednesday blog carnival. Julienne: 1-3 vegetables Heat in a pan large enough to snugly accomodate the fish on a very low heat: 1-2 cups white wine (substitute a light broth if you desire) salt 2 Tbsp chopped fresh herbs. We used tarragon and chives. 1/4 tsp of your favorite aromatic spice mix. Garam masala or a curry powder would work well. In a small pan, heat on high: rice water salt a few pinches of saffron (Once the water boils, turn the

For those of you who can't eat corn, I have not forgotten you.  I adore the taste of buckwheat, and it is by far my favorite variation on the waffle theme. All of these variations simply change the type of flour used, but not the quantity, which always comes to 2 cups total. Some flours will make the batter thicker than others, but the waffles almost always turn out no matter what the consistency of the batter. Use your favorite GF Pastry Flour for the other cup of flour, and you're set. If you don't have pastry flour on hand, try your All-Purpose GF flour mix and sub out a few tablespoons of potato starch. Mix it up and have a some great waffles! This recipe is particularly good with buttermilk instead of regular milk. If you love both the taste of corn and the taste of buckwheat, try using 1/2 cup corn flour and 1/2 cup buckwheat flour instead. Buckwheat Waffle Recipe: 1 cup buckwheat flour 1 cup Deluxe GF Pastry Flour 2 teaspoons baking powder 3/4

These savory and sweet cornmeal waffles are one of my favorite breakfast foods. I am not bragging when I say that these are the best waffles I've ever tasted. I'm simply telling the truth. This recipe is essentially the Joy of Cooking Cornmeal Waffles recipe that has been modified to be gluten-free. If you are on a no-dairy diet try almond milk instead of cow's milk and a mild-flavored oil (not olive) instead of butter. I'm afraid there's no helping the eggs - they are essential for making the waffles fluffy. If anyone has an egg-free version I'd love to hear it! Corn Waffle Recipe Mix together in a large bowl: 1 cup  Deluxe Pastry Flour (something with a lot of potato flour is excellent) 1/2 cup corn flour 1/2 cup corn meal 2 teaspoons baking powder 3/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum (if your flour mix doesn't have it already included) 1/4 cup sugar Separate: 2 eggs Beat until stiff in a separ

I had never made my own tempura before creating this recipe.  However, I wasn't afraid to try it gluten-free.  This tempura recipe didn't come out looking like a typical all-over breading, but instead resulted in an ultra-light batter and a surprisingly tasty vegetable dish.   For a vegan version, see this recipe on I Am Gluten Free, which was my inspiration for creating a tempura recipe of my own. Dipping Sauce Recipe: Tempura is usually served with a simple dipping sauce. Combine: equal parts (GF) soy sauce and water a dash of rice vinegar a dash of mirin (optional) a bit of sugar Gluten-free Tempura Recipe: Cut in to pieces 1/4 inch thick: 4-5 assorted vegetables Pat the vegetables dry. Heat in a large skillet: 3/4 inch to 2 inches oil I used mostly olive oil with some sesame oil. You will know that the oil is the right temperature when a little bit of batter dropped in it only sinks halfway to the bottom, then immediately floats back to