Gluten Free Dairy Free Frozen Mint and Coconut Sorbet

This mint flavored coconut sorbet uses few ingredients and is quick & easy to make. Originally I made it without the mint but then my sister really liked it and asked me to add some mint to it.

Mix together in glass bowl:

• 14 oz can coconut milk
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 8-9 whole mint leaves

Heat about 2-4 minutes in microwave to allow the mint leaves to release their flavor. Cool somewhat. Then strain out mint leaves and put mixture in fridge a couple of hours or overnight. Then process in ice cream maker.

Soft Gluten and Egg Free Pumpkin Cookies

A very soft cookie that tastes like pumpkin pie based on a recipe in the Milwaukee Journal from a couple of weeks ago that I can no longer find online.

Preheat oven to 350F

Blend dry ingredients together:

• 1 cup brown rice flour
• 3/4 cup potato flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon gluten free baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (I ground from cinnamon sticks)
• 1/4 teaspoon gluten free vanilla powder

Cream wet ingredients:

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) gluten free margarine
• 3/4 cup honey
• 15 oz can pumpkin (original recipe called for 1 cup)

Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and blend.

• Add 1/2 cup nuts if desired

Drop by spoonfuls onto cookies sheets & press down to flatten somewhat with oiled or rice-floured fork. Bake about 9-12 minutes. Makes about 3 cookie sheets worth

Gluten Free Frozen Vanilla Yogurt

This a easy gluten free frozen yogurt recipe with a strong yogurt flavor.

Combine the following, then heat in microwave about 2-4 minutes until gelatin dissolves and solution is clear:

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup water
• 1 teaspoon gelatin
• 1/4 teaspoon gluten free vanilla powder

Let cool, then stir in:

• 1.5 cups yogurt

Cool in fridge several hours or overnight, then process in ice cream machine

This has a strong yogurt taste.

My sister is so disappointed. Our neighborhood store has stopped carrying Breyer's lactose free ice cream which was the only ice cream she could eat without getting sick. However, according to the store locator at www.breyers.com some stores in our area should carry it.

Link to gluten free brownie and pumpkin cookie recipes

I always like reading recipes, especially specialty recipes, so when my mom told me about some recipes in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinal I looked on-line. While I was searching on-line for the recipes I found an article about The Gluten Free Trading Company.

My mom told me about these recipes in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. They follow a story on food allergies called "Eating with Care, Food Allergies require vigilance at the table" http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=507281 . They use rice flour but I would probably switch it out with sorghum. A lot of grocery stores now carry xanthan gum in their special diet food section.

Also found an article on how & why the owners of The Gluten Free trading company started their store called "Gluten-Free is more than a lifestyle, It's a Business" http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=509966 . According to the article "Their store was the first exclusively gluten-free market in the country..." Pretty cool for Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Why I started blogging and October is Celiac Disease Awareness Month

This blog started out as a way to organize my recipes and gluten free cooking experiments for my sister. We have way different taste preferences. I like intense flavors. She likes mild flavors. I like spicy foods. She likes bland foods. (Though she does eat sauteed garlic & onions.) I prefer only chocolate desserts. She doesn't like chocolate.

A couple years ago after the death of her husband my sister discoverred she had celiac disease. So I ordered a lot of books on Gluten Free Cooking, Allergies and Celiac Disease from the library and looked up information on-line. Then I started cooking treats for her.

Overall a gluten free diet isn't too bad if you have a not too rigorous schedule, can eat at home and your family is willing to also eat gluten free. Basically you can eat plain fruits, vegetables, potatoes, rice, quinoa, millet and unflavored meat. However the typical American diet contains lot of processed foods and eating out with kids in sports and other activities.

Gluten Free foods have become more available over the years but tend to be a lot more expensive. Even the ingredients are expensive. In the past it was very difficult to get gluten free products but now many Pic n' Save grocery stores carry them. A great store staffed by great, knowledgeable people (most who can't eat gluten) is The Gluten Free Trading Company in Milwaukee, Wisconsin http://www.food4celiacs.com/ .

October is Celiac Disease Awareness month and NIH has launched a Celiac Disease Awareness Campaign for Health Care Providers and the Public. All I can say is, it's about time. Just a couple months ago I heard a doctor on the radio telling a caller diagnosed with Celiac Disease that once their symptoms cleared up they could go back to eating regular bread up to the point where they could tolerate it. I sent him an email but there was not even a automatic response.

Here's some info from NIH:

• www.dermatitisherpetiformis.org.uk/dhocblog/2006/08/nih-launches-celiac-disease-awareness.html
• www.celiac.nih.gov/http://consensus.nih.gov/2004/2004CeliacDisease118html.htm

Since we have several people with CD in our area my sister was lucky and knowledgeable enough to ask her doctor to run the necessary tests. However, it seems to be me that this is not a disease that doctors are trained to recognize and therefore most people have to be proactive and insistent. It was true several years ago and it still seems to be true today.

• "All it took to alleviate their symptoms was a gluten free diet": http://cbs2.com/health/health_story_280015610.html
• "How we got diagnosed" http://onlysometimesclever.wordpress.com/2006/09/29/more-on-celiac-disease-how-we-got-diagnosed/

I read about an enzyme that could help Celiac Disease patients tolerate gluten about a year ago. It's still in the experimental stages but supposedly could help prevent a reaction if you accidently consume gluten. (It's very difficult to escape some cross contamination if you eat out and your family continues to eat foods containing gluten.)

• http://www.newstarget.com/020273.html
• http://www.reactivereports.com/57/57_4.html
• http://www.sciencebase.com/science-blog/celiac-disease-and-food-additive.html
  

Cornstarch Plus Gluten Free Bread

So far I like this recipe the best out all the gluten free breads I've made. This Cornstarch brerad is easy to make, has a nice texture and is very soft.

Two 4.25 x 8.25 oiled* loaf pans. Rest 15 minutes, Rise 15 minutes, Bake 15-25min at 450F

Blend together in large mixer bowl:

• 2 cups cornstarch
• 1/2 cup cornstarch or sorghum flour or buckwheat flour or montina flour or ... **
• 1/3 cup potato starch flour
• 2 tablespoons sweet rice flour
• 2 tablespoons dried egg white
• 1 packet (about 2.5 teaspoons) gelatin
• 4.5 teaspoons yeast
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1.5 teaspoons xanthan gum
• 3 tablespoons finely ground pecans or walnuts or almond flour or buttermilk powder or ...

Add & beat vigorously about 2 minutes on medium. Dough starts out thin. Cover & let stand for 15 minutes:

• 2 cups hot water (about 120F)

Add & beat till smooth & well mixed:

• 2.5 tablespoons oil
• 1.5 teaspoons salt

Pour batter into prepared pans, cover & let rise about 20 minutes till reaches top*** of pans, then bake until golden brown.

Cover with towel & let cool 10 minutes. Cool completely before cutting

*I use nonstick pans, oil & flour them with rice flour, otherwise it's very difficult to remove bread from pans. I'm looking for silicone pans to experiment with.

** Original recipe used 1.5 cups of cornstarch flour. (I think I got the original version from one of Bette Hagman's books. She's one of my favorite Gluten Free Cookbook authors.)

***Don't let batter rise over top of pans or bread will be too flimsy. Still tastes fine.

10/12/06 Made a very nice version with buckwheat & buttermilk powder. Sliced nice. I always slice it, then put it in the freezer. Homemade bread doesn't have the additives in it like store bought bread to keep it fresh. Gelatin has been put in this recipe for texture & freshness.