Thank You

We did find the patients we needed for Michael's exam. Thank you to everyone who referred or came in for the screening. If you came in and still need your Charlie card, please let us know so we can mail it to you. We finished the exam and now have to wait a month for the results, but we are very grateful for all your help. THANKS!

Hummus

Favorite recipe. Courtesy of Joe, the roommate who took my husband's place in the apartment. We figured this out by taste test on the day of our wedding open house here in Boston. Yes, last minute planners are we! Joe took notes and happily brought them to us at Institute tonight.

3 c. Garbanzo beans (chickpeas) -drained
2/3 c. Garbanzo bean juice
2 T Garlic
5 T Lemon Juice
1/2 c. Tahini Sauce
1/4 tsp Salt
3 T Olive Oil

and add flavor.

Fruit with Jello

The picture is from Flickr, not from me. I wanted it as an illustration of how much JELLO you can see in this jello fruit salad. If we did this, it would be an example of not trying hard enough to squish more fruit in.

My husband likes the idea that you wouldn't be able to see the jello at all, only the fruit with some blobs lightly holding it together.

I grew up with Auntie Margarets Orange Jello with strategically placed pineapples and bananas, with a whip-cream/cheam cheese topping. YUM. Other than that, I remember fruit salads at home, and of course I always liked lots of whip cream. Auntie Margaret was the only one who could make me think cream cheese was a good idea.

So when I'm cooking now, we use a little box (only some are g-free, I have to check carefully) and then a LOT of fruit: fresh and canned and frozen...I just keep dumping it in.

Unanswered questions -

Why are grapes so slimy when canned? And why do cherries feel out of place?

Lessons learned:
Don't keep stirring to melt the ice. It's ok to take the big chunks out earlier.
Canned fruit always adds more juice, no matter how much I drain it.
Drained juice could be the cold liquid in the jello , or
Drained juice can be added to Frozen OJ concentrate as a water-substitute for more tasty flavor.
Plan to use use the big pan with the small box. Plan to use 2 big pans for a large box.
Chill in the fridge. Resist the temptation to use the freezer.

Korean Potato

I can't remember when in law school I was introduced to these, but they are yummy. YUMMY.

Potato - I pre-baked in the microwave, then put in the fridge because I ran out of time. A couple days later I got it out, peeled it, and cut it up.

Warmed in non-stick pan with a dash of garlic powder, a little butter & a little sesame oil. Let it get nice and brown.

Added water + wheat-free soy sauce (tamari, from whole foods). Recipe proportions: 1/2 c water and 2 T soy sauce. My proportions: little less water, little more soy sauce.

Recipe also calls for 1 T sugar. I split it: some honey, some brown sugar.

Let boil until reduced and potato is soft.

And today's lessons:
*tamari is stronger than soy sauce because the wheat hasn't thinned it out. Use less, not more!
*onion flakes with the garlic and potato probably would have been good.
*recipe called for sesame oil to be added after. If I want this flavor, that's a better idea because after boiling in sauce, I couldn't taste the butter or the sesame oil I started with.
*probably use honey OR brown sugar. Or white sugar alone. I don't need the split-combo.
*wow, does this make the house smell. Good thing to do it when husband is gone (he's not a fan of soy sauce taste or smell), but better to open all the windows and use the fan even so.

Peach Banana Coconut loaf

I can't really call it bread. Not because it's gluten-free, just because it didn't really turn out.

Here's the story: I had an old banana. But just 1. I wanted to use it. I decided to make banana bread. Since I needed more fruit, I added canned peaches (drained). However, even chopped up, peaches have extra juice.

I was trying to cut back on butter. I had leftover coconut milk that my husband isn't fond of. I decided to substitute coconut milk for butter.

I followed the recipe. But after pouring into the loaf pan, decided that it still was too runny.

So I added flour. Just dumped some on top and stirred. That doesn't work very well.

Especially since g-free flour has a lot of leavening built into it.

So the loaf turned out interestingly. It baked up, which is a plus. It is edible. I can't really taste the difference in coconut vs butter, which is surprising. I can taste the peach. The banana turned purple - has this happened to anyone else?

The worst part was the loaf where the extra flour didn't reach. That came out gummy-gluey. On the top 1/2 of the loaf, it rose a lot because of the built in baking-powder/baking-soda whammy combo. And the middle bread-like texture was ok. Overall, the flavor was good. But the top texture was too light, and the bottom was too heavy.

All in all, a good learning experiment. Lessons:
*trust my instinct - when the dough looked too runny, it really was.
*coconut milk CAN substitute for butter in some baking.
*peach bread is not a bad idea, but I should try it pureed instead of just mashed.

Gluten-Free

Ok, this will now be the space where I collect and report on recipes and other culinary experiments in my quest to live gluten-free.

And, fair warning, I may throw in some other stuff too.