Hallelujah! Mac 'N Cheese is Back on the Menu!!! And a Heavenly Swedish Dessert

The Recipe: Macaroni and Cheese

• from http://www.the-gluten-free-chef.com/macaroni-and-cheese.html
• This recipe makes one serving. I used an entire 8 oz.  box of gluten-free pasta and an 8 oz. bag of shredded sharp cheddar cheese, which made 4 servings.
• goes well with cooked frozen mixed vegetables
• COLLEGE CUISINE ALERT = fast, few ingredients, only two saucepans

Ingredients for gluten free macaroni and cheese

• 2-3oz gluten free pasta shapes or macaroni
• 3oz grated cheddar cheese
• 7 fl oz (1 cup) milk or milk substitute
• 1 tbsp cornflour (cornstarch)
• 1/2 tsp paprika (optional)

Method

Bring a pan of water to the boil, then tip in the gluten free pasta. Check the packet for cooking times but generally it will take about 8-10 minutes. *The box I used said 4-6 minutes but it really took 8-10 minutes, as this recipe says.

Meanwhile pop the grated cheese, cornflour and paprika into a ziplock plastic bag or flour shaker and shake it to coat the cheese.

Pour the milk into a separate saucepan and warm gently, do not bring to the boil!

Once the milk is warmed and just beginning to make bubbles around the edge of the pan, take it off the heat and pour in the cheese mixture. Stir thoroughly and then return to the heat. Continue stirring until the sauce thickens, it won't take long. Remove from the heat while you strain the pasta.

The Miraculous Mirage

To make this yummy Swedish dessert, spoon refrigerated cloudberry jam onto vanilla bean  ice cream and gasp at the amazing sweet- and tangyness! You can get cloudberry jam at IKEA, but I don't know about other stores.

My Take on the Bake:
Within the first 5 seconds of me finding out I wouldn't be able to eat wheat for the rest of my life, I thought, "As long as I can eat ice cream, I'll survive." I should've thought, "As long as I can eat ice cream AND MAC 'N CHEESE, I'll survive!" With this gluten-free recipe, mac n cheese is back on the menu! Hallelujah! The end product had a little too much sauce, but a slotted spoon will fix this. The sauce was very creamy and cheesy - just right! With this dish, unlike the stroganoff that had many blended flavors, I could actually taste the lack of gluten in the noodles. It wasn't a bad taste, however, just something new. My dad and boyfriend couldn't actually taste the difference. My taste-buds must be better tuned to wheat now that they never get any...I would definitely be able to tell if I had some again. Wonder if I'll eventually forget what it tastes like? Who cares? I can eat gluten-free mac n cheese :)

Vegetable Stroganoff - Couldn't Believe this Amazingness was Gluten-Free!

The Recipe: Vegetable Stroganoff

• from Moosewood Cookbook, recipes from Moosewood Restaurant in Ithaca, NY
• I modified the ingredients to make it gluten-free by using GF tamari and GF noodles
• serves 6
• cook time = 1 hour

I. The Sauce

3 c. sour cream
1 1/2 c. plain yogurt
3 tbsp. dry, red wine
1 c. chopped onion
1/2 lb.  chopped mushrooms
3/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. dill weed
dash of gluten-free tamari sauce
dash of paprika
dash of black pepper
2 tbsp. butter

Saute onions and mushrooms in butter until onions are soft. Combine all ingredients in the top of a double boiler and heat gently about 30 minutes.

II. While the sauce simmers, steam 6 cups chopped, fresh vegetables. Highly recommended: broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, zucchini, celery, cabbage, peppers, or cherry tomatoes. *My family always cooks with broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots.

III. Cook 4 cups gluten-free noodles (normally egg noodles) in boiling, salted water until tender. Drain. Put noodles in soup bowls, then add vegetables, then add the sauce.

The Deliciousness Poses for a Beauty Shot

My Take on the Bake
This dish tastes heavenly. I love the fresh and unique flavor the dill, wine, and tamari gives the sauce. Seriously, even if you have to indulge yourself and make this dish with glutenous noodles, you NEED to try this at home! In fact, why don't you indulge yourself with gluten-free noodles, because I didn't even notice they weren't made of wheat! It could've been that they were smothered in sauce and veggies, but regardless this dish made me feel that I'd never even heard of celiac disease before!

Navigating the Blogosphere *Warning, off-topic*

I just tried to figure out how to search for blogs on a certain subject through the Blogger (blogspot.com) website, but I couldn't find a way. Anyone know how? Instead I kept clicking the "next blog" button on the upper left hand corner of this blog. Wow, there are a ridiculous number of blogs that deal with wellness, including exercise, losing weight, and cooking. It's ridiculous how many people's blogs were just listings of that day's exercise (literally how many reps they did for what exercise) or progress in weight loss. Also silly to me was the number of, well basically online diaries people had. It's called paper people, it works and is really less lame. Very few of the blogs had an "About Me" section that actually explained what the blog was about. At least I think my blog makes sense and is well explained. I don't get how people can spend hours reading these blogs. Boring. Unless I haven't been able to find the interesting ones yet.*

A couple ones I did find interesting: http://arielleplayswithsound.wordpress.com/ is a blog by a fellow Obie about her winter term project recording and mixing music. For gluten-free blogs, the best I've seen for recipes and general tips are http://glutenfreegirl.com/ and http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com/

*Okay so I ran into a dead-end on blogspot.com, but I did eventually find blogsearch.google.com which is very helpful. 

Trying Things I wouldn't Have Tried Before Celiac Disease Crept Into My Life

The Recipe: Nachos

Gluten-Free Nacho Cheese Dip Recipe (from about.com)

• Cooking time = 10 min
• Makes 1 1/4 cups
• I doubled the recipe for nachos for 3 people, but I would've been fine without doubling it.

Ingredients:
2 tbsp. amaranth flour or sweet rice flour (check your local grocery's gluten-free section or look at Dale's Natural Foods Store on Miller Rd. across from BD's Mongolian BBQ, Red Mill is a good brand)
2 tbsp. butter or olive oil
1 c. milk or dairy free substitute
1 c. shredded cheddar cheese, or whatever other cheeses you prefer
1 1/2 tsp. gluten-free taco seasoning (recipe below)
1/4 tsp. garlic powder (not garlic salt)
1/4 tsp. onion powder
1/4 tsp. salt, or to taste
2 tsp. finely diced fresh jalapeños or to taste (optional)

Directions:
1. Melt butter in a heavy saucepan on medium low heat. Whisk in amaranth flour and stir until a bubbly paste forms. Cook for two minutes being careful not to let the mixture brown.
2. Add milk or substitute and whisk until the sauce is smooth and thick. Bring just to a slow bubbly boil and remove from heat.
3. Add grated grated cheeses, garlic powder, onion powder, gluten-free taco seasoning and jalapeños. Stir until the cheese melts and the sauce is smooth and creamy.

Gluten-Free Taco Seasoning Recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons gluten free onion powder
• 2 teaspoons gluten free garlic powder (not garlic salt)
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 tablespoon gluten free chili powder
• 1 ½ teaspoons crushed dried red pepper
• 1 ½ teaspoons gluten free ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
• 1 ½ teaspoons cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon sugar

Preparation:

Place all ingredients in an 8 ounce jar and shake until seasonings are well distributed. Makes about 6 tablespoons of mix, or enough to season 3 pounds of ground beef. Store in a cool, dry location.

The Rest:
I browned a pound of ground beef, heated up a can of refried beans, diced tomatoes, and cut strips of lettuce, then arranged everything over a plate of tortilla chips along with a few spoonfuls of salsa.

The Evidence, Plain and Simple

My Take on the Bake
Ahhh the adventures of cooking and online recipes. The nacho sauce turned out pretty bland and not sharp enough. For one thing, I used a Mexican blend of shredded cheeses from the store. I will forever more ignore the Mexican cheese mix when I'm making Mexican meals and instead use sharp cheddar. But the real problem was I thought that the direction listed by the gluten-free taco seasoning *see below* meant that it was made up of the next three powdered ingredients. Even though the amounts of ingredients didn't make sense for that, it was an online article, not a proofread cookbook I figured. I missed the link below hidden among many tips for the dip recipe. So if you make this, use taco seasoning and it'll turn out great. Also, I didn't season the meat, so it was also pretty bland. Next time I will also use taco seasoning for the taco meat.

There's a pro to a disease? Huh?
After adding some mild salsa (yes, this is spicy for me) I was more satisfied with my meal. I was excited to finally make my own nachos with the exact toppings I wanted and not just what the restaurant had on them.                
I'm excited to make more seasoned nachos next time. Would I ever have made nachos with my own personal pick of toppings that were satisfyingly fresh if I hadn't gotten celiac disease and struggled to find foods I could eat? Probably not. At least I can thank celiac disease for making me a more adventurous and satisfied person.

Back to my Roots (=Veggies) and Gluten-Free Junk Food Dessert Creation

Traveling in Swedish Style

On my way back from my sister's college, I found myself again in the travel predicament: how do I eat gluten-free on the road? This time my situation was a little different than the beginning of my voyage - I was meeting my boyfriend at the huge housing supply warehouse every college student dreams of visiting before move-in day = IKEA! I wasn't looking to buy, just to be awed and admire and think of how to decorate my next dorm or apartment. I was especially excited to visit IKEA because I'm of Swedish ancestry...but all those roots paid me back with was with vegetables at the cafe. I oggled at the Swedish meatballs but instead ate mashed potatoes, hot vegetables, Scandinavian potato chips, and potato/broccoli/onion cakes. Actually those vegetable sidedishes tasted really great! The mashed potatoes were made from russet or redskin potatoes and had some skins in them. I'll have to try that sometime, along with some gluten-FREE Swedish meatballs to dig into my roots.

The Veracious Vegetables

Fighting Back Loss of Bread with Deliciousness

That night I was still a little hungry, so my boyfriend invented a sweet and sinful snack for dessert. He took a glass of Sierra Mist Natural and added a large scoop of orange sherbet, turning my pop into a creamsicle smoothie! To top it off, he handed me some Veggie crisp sticks that he told me to use as straws. Mmm tasting deliciousness through salty veggie sweetness!

The EnTENCE Evidence

The College Kitchen Kerfuffle

The Recipe: Rice and Bean Casserole

• College Cuisine alert, but only if you have the correct pot and pan ware (i.e. it's simple with few ingredients)
• Feeds 4-6 people
• est. cooking time = 1 hr 10 min
• I normally eat this by scooping it up with tortilla chips.

The Ingredients:
1 large jar of salsa
2-3 c. sharp cheddar cheese
2 c. brown rice
4 1/4 c. water
2 cans red kidney beans

The Directions:
Boil water. Add rice. Bring to boil. Cook rice on low for 45 min. Mix rice, cheese, beans, and salsa together and bake approximately 20 min (could heat bean, salsa, and cheese mixture in the microwave if don't have an oven).

Exhibit K

My take on the kerfuffled bake
Let me just start by saying I didn't exactly follow my own directions. I have this tendency to add too much of an ingredient when it comes in a small bag or can - instead of measuring it out I pour it all in without thinking. I did this with the rice and kidney beans for this recipe. I ended up with twice as much rice as I needed and extra liquid from the kidney bean cans. Who knew you had to drain them first? Then I added more cheese to correct for the doubled rice, but then realized I didn't have any more salsa to add to the pot which already didn't have as much salsa as it was supposed to (I had bought a small jar of salsa instead of a big one).

To make matters worse, I didn't know how to proceed into phase two of the recipe. My sister had told me her friend had a bunch of cooking ware and we'd be able to use it, but we couldn't figure out if any of those pots and pans could go in the oven. We also didn't have anything to fit the now doubled casserole into the microwave with, and we were getting hungry. So I let the mixture simmer on the stove. Then my sister thought I should turn the heat up to make the cheese melt faster. Five minutes later I realized that the liquid in the pot was boiling, and there was a burned smell in the air. So I turned off the stove and settled down for a meal of burned cheesy rice stew. Okay, it actually didn't taste that bad - even my sister's friends thought it was fine. But not at all how I had planned it. Don't worry, it tastes great when you make it right!

Following Ms. Frizzle's Advice
I'll just have to have my mom show me which cooking wares are meant for the oven sometime soon. The food might not taste as good if Mom's missing while I'm cooking, but the adventures are more exciting, that's for sure! Cooking by myself is helping me get a feel for how things go bad in the kitchen and the instincts that will tell me what not to do in the future.As Ms. Frizzle would say, "Take chances, make mistakes, and get messy!"

Traveling gluten-free with Scrumptious Soup

The Recipe: Corn Chowder

• serves 8

2 oz salted pork, diced and fried brown. Diced spiral cut ham is an easy alternative. Add 1 small sliced onion and cook 5 minutes.

Add in layers:
1 c. corn
2 c. diced potatoes
1 1/2 c. raw or canned tomatoes
1 T brown sugar
1 t salt
1/2 t pepper
4 c. boiling water

Cook slowly until tender. Stir in 1 cup of milk or add a dash to individual bowls (for a beautiful swirl).

The Exquisite Evidence

Wheatless Welch flaunting her Inner French Chef

My Take on the Bake
A delicious and hearty soup to warm the soul. Feels great on a cold January evening. The chopping was a bother for me as I am still learning to confidently wield large sharp knives without chopping off my digits, but hopefully I'll get better with all of the practice this month. Normally we add a dash of milk to our soup bowls after serving, but I didn't have any milk to eat it with when I took this picture. It still tasted fine, just less chowdery without the dairy product.

My first travel experience gluten-free
I didn't have any milk because I am visiting my sister at college this weekend, and she didn't have any. I'm just starting to grasp how hard it will be on all of my future travels to eat gluten-free. During our 5 hour car drive,
we stopped at a Panera Bread and my sister ordered a panini. I asked if they had any gluten-free options, but they didn't. Instead I fed myself with a piece of fruit and tons of tortilla chips while driving. What if I had to go on a really long driving trip? I wouldn't have much luck at fast food places. Instead I'd have to pack a cold dinner and stop to eat. I'm thinking chips and salsa, salads, wraps, or sandwiches with gluten-free bread. As for staying someplace, I'm lucky my sister has a microwave or I'd be stuck with the above menu the whole time, or venture into unfamiliar restaurants and ask for gluten-free options. With just a microwave and no pots or pans I had to make the soup before I left home. Luckily her friend has some, so I'll be able to make rice for dinner tonight. My gluten-free traveling will just have to be very well thought out.