Even More Gluten-Free Food for an Everyday Life

By Kate Caldwell

Now with an expanded vegetarian section, Even More Gluten-Free Food for an Everyday Life has it all: more than 250 recipes ranging from easy to exotic and covering a wide range of world cuisines.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kate Caldwell
• Release date: Jun 20, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301472727

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Even More Gluten-Free Food for an Everyday Life

by Kate Caldwell

Smashwords Edition |

Copyright 2013 Kate Caldwell

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I was surprised and overwhelmed when my first cookbook, Gluten-Free Food for an Everyday Life, was so well received. Many of the responses were from parents who were running out of options and dealing with children who wanted normal food. Normal food is what I do: I don’t have time for fancy or time consuming. I also enjoy a wide variety of ethnic foods, which gives everyone more options. So, if you enjoyed the first books, thank you! And if you haven’t yet, I hope you enjoy this one!

Recently, a family moved into our neighborhood. Their little girls and my daughter have become inseparable- if they’re not here, she’s there. I’ve started to plan to set extra places for meals, and while we love having them, there was one small problem: Ashaya and Osma’s family is vegetarian. After a long discussion with their parents, we decided that it would be easier for me to meet the girls’ needs than it would be for them to absolutely certain that they were preparing gluten-free food.

My first response: Ack! Vegetarian! How will I get enough protein into my family? Like most cooks, there were a few things in my repertoire that were vegetarian, but not very many. My husband suggested starting with ethnic foods that are frequently vegetarian, like Indian and Ethiopian foods. And, with a trip to the library, the Great Vegetarian Experiment had begun. Then, once I started, I couldn’t stop!

Planning is key to successfully living managing any food allergy or intolerance. There is significantly more cooking and meal-planning involved than with a standard American diet. There are also a number of staples that are suddenly off limits. I’ve been at this long enough to have a good supply of gluten-free ingredients in my cupboards, but starting out was a different story. However, since I do the week’s meal planning before the grocery shopping, I can make sure I have whatever I need.

The days of throw it together dinners are long gone, but there are a number of quick and easy meals in this cookbook, so even if I deviate from my menu-planning, as long as I remember to defrost the meat, meals aren’t stressful- I’m no longer trying to figure out what I’m serving for dinner while I’m on the way home from work. I also make meals or parts of meals ahead of time and freeze them- perfect for those crazy days.

Pre-cooking is important in my house: I frequently make a breakfast casserole or a quiche and then reheat it for breakfasts throughout the week. I make larger dinners so that we can pack the leftovers into lunches or eat it for breakfast the next morning. Snacks take a little bit of forethought, but having treats available limits the temptation to stop for something that may or may not be safe.

Good food is probably more important than planning- so many commercial gluten-free products have funny textures or don’t taste quite right that eating them is no fun. When the gluten-free option is so good that no one notices or cares that it’s gluten-free, everybody wins.

The first step to living gluten-free is to set up your kitchen. In a lot of ways, it’s easier to build a completely gluten-free kitchen than it is to have gluten and non-gluten specific tools. If you’re going completely gluten-free, start with a deep cleaning- being sure to get drawers and cabinets where trace from your flour canisters or other ingredients might lurk. Wash all of your tools. If your cutting boards aren’t dishwasher safe, replace them. Tools like toasters, bread machines, and mixers are difficult to completely de-gluten- I replaced the pan for our bread machine, but ended up replacing my mixer and toaster.

If you’re going to have a side-by-side kitchen, consider separate tools and designated spaces. In my sister’s kitchen, a set of very distinctive, brightly colored cooking tools are designated for gluten-free use. There is a shelf in the refrigerator and a cupboard for all the gluten-free ingredients, which are marked with pink leopard-print duck-tape. The duck-tape is essential- if someone uses the gluten-free mayonnaise on regular bread and dips the knife back in, the mayo is contaminated, and, depending on how sensitive the person in question is, can cause a negative reaction.

In our first rush to make Al’s world gluten-free, we bought a lot of processed, gluten-free food. Processed food contains a lot of chemicals. Gluten-free processed food is likely to contain even more. These processed foods are one of the reasons that this cookbook exists: I could make the same food, make it taste at least as good, and be completely positive that it had never been exposed to gluten.

Gluten-free ingredients can be more expensive- especially flour. The packages available at most grocery stores are very small. I prefer to buy my ingredients in bulk- Bob’s Red Mill is my favorite source for almond flour, brown rice flour, and quinoa. Amazon is another great source.

Flour is one of the hardest ingredients to substitute. There is no actual replacement for wheat flour- it has an elasticity that cannot be found in any other flour. Adding one tablespoon of xanthan gum per cup of flour will give your dough the same texture. Experiment with flours to find a mix that you like- I mix up batches of Brown Rice Flour Blend and use it for most of my flour needs, but you may prefer to adjust quantities or types of flour.

Brown Rice Flour Blend

6 cups stabilized brown rice flour

2 cups potato starch

1 cup tapioca starch

½ cup xanthan gum

Whisk ingredients together. Store at room temperature in an airtight container.

This blend can be used as a flour substitute for most recipes. If you like, you may substitute white rice flour for the brown rice flour, although it leaves a more gritty mouthfeel.

Makes 9 cups.

Since I started revamping our diet, I’ve learned about quinoa. Quinoa is a complete protein, containing all nine essential amino acids. It cooks up like rice, and quinoa flour is almost unnoticeable in baked goods. I use it to add a little more protein to our diet, but if you don’t want to go there, quinoa can be replaced with rice for every recipe in this book, and quinoa flour can be replaced with brown rice flour. If you choose to use quinoa: be aware that quinoa has a bitter coating. If your packaging doesn’t say pre-washed or pre-rinsed, toss your quinoa in a colander and give it a good rinse before using. Trust me. Rinse your quinoa.

Whether you’re avoiding wheat for better health and weight loss or because of wheat allergies, gluten intolerance, or Celiac disease, it’s important to know that wheat and gluten often appear in unexpected places.

Current industrial testing can only test for 5 parts per million (ppm) or more. If a product contains less than 10 ppm, it can receive a Gluten Free Certification. Depending on your level of sensitivity, even 1 ppm can cause a reaction. If you are sensitive to trace amounts, the Gluten Free Certification is a good place to start, but be mindful of your body’s reactions.

Read every label. Every label, every time. Unless something actually says gluten-free, assume otherwise and read the label. Don’t assume, as wheat and gluten can appear in very odd places, like lipstick and pharmaceuticals.

Some foods that don’t actually contain wheat or gluten are exposed to both during manufacturing: in the U.S., many food-grade lubricants contain gluten. Because the exposure is negligible, the list of ingredients won’t contain gluten or wheat, and may not even include a contamination warning. Ground spices, ground coffee, and sugar all fall into this category. An inexpensive coffee grinder will allow you to grind your own spices as well as coffee and lower your risk of exposure. Check sugar and powdered sugar packaging to be sure that it was processed in a wheat free facility- Domino’s and C&H Sugars have the most extensive safe product lines, and if you’re looking for a sugar-substitute, Stevia, Splenda, and Equal are safe.

Another culprit is caramel coloring; although some companies are moving to caramel coloring made with corn, many continue to use wheat in their coloring. Imitation flavorings, including vanilla and almond, frequently contain wheat-based caramel coloring. Although real vanilla is more expensive, it contains no artificial colors. Look for pure vanilla extract, almond extract, maple syrup, etc. Many salad dressings include artificial colors and gluten-based preservatives. Fortunately, salad dressings are easy to make, and more variety is available in homemade dressings than you’ll find on a store shelf!

Be sure to check labels of things that seem safe! Corn tortillas seem like a no-brainer, right? Nope. Some manufacturers use maltodextrin- a wheat based powder- to keep those tortillas from sticking together. Many pre-packaged shredded cheeses and chopped dried fruits also use maltodextrin to prevent clumping. Maltodextrin also appears as a filler in chicken stock, vitamins, and non-dairy creamer. Try to recheck labels periodically- manufactures sometimes change recipes and manufacturing processes without warning.

Educate yourself. Know what products you can expect to be safe. Fresh meat from the butcher counter is probably