Angel Food Cake

This is the most amazing gluten free Angel Food Cake. It is sightly heavier than the store bought variety, but has the weight, texture and taste of homemade Angle Food Cake. Anyone would be hard pressed to tell the difference between this and non-gluten free. It's that good. It's made by the Twisted Bakery. I made it to bring for the 4th of July for my family and it seemed to be a hit. Mum actually introduced me to it a while ago. It's wonderful. We topped it with strawberries, blue berries, and cool whip (yes I know, ready whip or homemade whip cream is best but it makes my stomach hurt). It made for a wonderfully patriotic looking dessert. Making it was super easy and fun. There are three packets for ingredients. All you need to add is egg whites and almond/vanilla extract. I had a good laugh over this because the recipe tells you which packet to add but not what is in the packet. I told everyone that there was no sugar in this cake, there was only packet B. It made us laugh. There is a lot of sugar however (as most cakes have) and I over indulged with two slices and paid for it shortly after; of course that could have been the mountain of cool whip I had as well. After dinner I was extremely dizzy and tired. The price we all must pay for over indulgence 'eh? Enjoy!

Glutino wafer cookies

These are an incredible Tea time treat. The filling between the wafers is so moist and creamy it's almost like frosting, yet the wafers stay crisp. My favorite of them is the lemon flavored wafers. There is a sweet candy lemon flavor and then a zing of tartness. The chocolate are my second favorite, they are comparable to Kit Kat bars. I have missed them since going GF so these wafers were a lovely surprise. The strayberry ones are ok, but they remind me of those fruity cereals from the 80's that always had to much sugar in them and made our parents have to peel us off the ceiling after breakfast. I have to end here, I am fighting a horrid migraine today. Bear almost had to take me to the hospital. Typing this has worn me out even though I am typing from bed on the lap top. Good night, and enjoy.

KinniToos

KinniToos have finally come to the store where I shop. I've been wanting to try them as a gluten free Oreo cookie alternative. Well Oreos these are not. They are good with tea or milk, but on their own they are dry and sharp. That's ok. I enjoy having a little treat with my tea and have found a new tea cookie. They are made by Kinnikinnick Foods and are cookies are gluten free/ wheat free, dairy/casein free, egg free, and trans fat free. They come in Vanilla and chocolate flavors. Enjoy!

Rice Ball (Omusubi or Onigir)

It is a rainy day. Since we can't work out in the garden Bear and I decided to make rice balls (also called Omusubi). First you will need to find the right type of rice. Jasmine, and long grain rice wont hold together properly. Sticky rice works, but for this demo we used Japanese rice, it is also sold as sushi rice and seems to work best. Like I mentioned in the last blog make sure you check that your rice is not enriched with wheat if you are gluten intolerant. These Rice balls are filled with a ginger chicken filling. If you want to skip the rice ball directions, the chicken recipe is at the end of this blog. If you want to see a YouTube demo of this process click "Here".Wait for the rice to cool slightly before you start on the rice balls. You still want it quite hot, just not so hot that it burns your skin off. Lay a piece of saran wrap over your rice bowl. Add a tiny sprinkling of water and salt. Then add in your rice till it is loosely filled to the top of the bowl. Press the rice to the sides of the bowl till you have a nice indentation. Don't indent all the way to the bottom of the bowl. Then fill the rice indentation with your filling. Don't over fill it. Just use enough to fill the indentation. Next, pull the edges of the saran wrap up to form a bag around the rice. Mold it into whatever shape you like. I prefer a triangle shape. Dip a piece of Nori (seaweed wrap) into water to soften it and wrap in around the bottom of the rice ball and up the sides. I like the flavor it adds, but it also helps to keep your fingers clean while eating the rice ball. Once they are done you can wrap them up in saran wrap and store them in the refrigerator for a few days. They are a wonderful substitute to sandwiches. They keep well and are a nice treat for a pick-nick or to tuck into your loved ones lunches.
Ginger Chicken Recipe
The filling can be made from just about anything that goes well with rice provided that it is not wet and drippy. We chose to use ginger chicken. To make the chicken you will need:
4 tables spoons of freshly grated ginger root
a pinch of garlic powder
1 tablespoon of black pepper
3 to 4 cups of shredded cabbage
1/4 cup shredded carrots
1 shredded boneless skinless chicken breast
3 tablespoons of soy sauce (double check the label to make sure it is gluten free)
1/2 cup of water
Stir everything in a pan on the stove over medium heat till the cabbage softens and everything is well heated. Left over ginger chicken is perfect for egg-rolls. Let is cool slightly so it wont burn your fingers before you put it into the rice balls or egg rolls. Enjoy!

Vegetarian Sushi

Vegetarian Sushi, can life get any better? I'm looking to find ways to raise my carb intake to appease my dietitian I've settled on eating more rice. Usually I only buy brown rice but until I get better at making rolls and rice balls, white will have to do. Be careful in buying white rice. It is often enriched and may contain wheat products. To celebrate our tax refunds finally coming in we decided to celebrate by picking up some tasty treats from Byerly's. Bear went for a ham and brie sandwich. I went for Spring rolls, vegetarian sushi, and seafood salad. The spring roll is made with a rice spring roll wrapper, cucumber, avocado, carrots, and green lettuce. The vegetarian sushi rolls are made with rice, carrot, cucumber, avocado, and seaweed. The sea food salad is a rare treat and I will not be trying to replicate that recipe... As for the other two. I have already replicated the spring rolls and will be posting how to make them shortly along with ginger chicken stuffed rice balls... But that's later, for now, Enjoy!

Cream of Morel Soup

It was a cold rainy day on Friday. I wanted soup and I still had a whole bunch of Morels left. First I heated up a can of Progresso Cream of Mushroom soup. Then I sauteed the morels up with butter and green onions. I was going to put some of them aside but then I figured "what the heck" and tossed the whole lot of them into the soup. I mixed it together and sat down to enjoy while listening to the rain spatter against the windows. I died and went to Heaven and came back only to find that the cup was empty. It was more like morel stew than soup because of how thick it was. Delicious. Just the thing to warm me up on a cold day. Enjoy!

Breakfast

I realized that lately I have been posting all the not so healthy things we eat. It's easy to eat Gluten Free with fruits, veggies, meats, rice and so forth; it's the treats that you have to be creative with. I guess that's why I've been posting them. So this morning I decided to post my breakfast as a GF breakfast example. 4 yummy strawberries. Two slices of Udis Gluten free Whole Grain Bread toasted, and two scrambled egg whites with sauteed morel mushrooms. The mushrooms we gathered this past weekend (you can read about that "Here"). With the toast and the sauteing I probably used half a table spoon of butter. That is the only cholesterol in this meal (the cholesterol is in the yolk of an egg not the whites). This breakfast had 29 carbs. Sigh* hitting 45 carbs per meal is hard.
To make this meal first wash off your Morels and then cut them in half lengthwise. If they are hallow they are safe to eat. I always cut them even if I am sure they are safe. Then saute' them in butter with a little basil and garlic. I do not use Pam. It is bad for you and the environment. Next separate two egg whites and scramble in with sauteed morels. If you are not sure about a mushroom DON'T EAT IT! Enjoy!