Argentina is GF-Friendly

Hey friends. I just got back from a fantastic trip to Argentina and am sad to be home. I just thought I would mention, however, that Argentina is GF-friendly - more friendly than the blessed US of A (as is every other foreign country I've been to) - so if you randomly decide you want to visit this beautiful place, don't let your diet hold you back (say, "soy celiaco(a)" and most people know what you are talking about). The association that facilitates food labeling there has come up with a very handy little "stamp" that goes on all products that are gluten-free. This makes reading labels pretty easy, although I tend to be OCD so I still checked to make sure they were right (paranoid much?) All products with this stamp are free of wheat, barley, oats, and rye (el trigo, la avena, la cebada, y el centeno). There is a pretty great gluten-free blog in Spanish that I have decided to link to - I figure that a good number of people will be able to understand it. It has recipes and lots of good information, so check it out. Anyway, I'm hoping to update this more...I guess I have been pretty negligent. Nos vemos.

Vegetarian Chili

I have a favorite chili recipe that I like to make early on in the week and snack on until it's gone. This recipe was given to me by a coworker a few years ago and I love that I don't have to tweak it to make it gluten free! Of course I still have to read the labels carefully, but it's a pretty safe recipe that would be hard to contaminate.

VEGETARIAN CHILI

1 can kidney beans
1 can great northern beans
1 can black beans
1 large can stewed chopped tomatoes
1 small can tomato sauce
1 chopped green pepper
1 chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, chopped or pressed
1 Tbsp. chili powder
1 tsp. sugar
½ tsp. cumin
1 cup water

I don't use sugar in the recipe and I usually add more or less of something depending on how good it looks to me at the moment. Oh and I like lots of cumin...I usually use 3/4 tsp instead of 1/2 tsp.

Enjoy!

A Successful Experiment: GF Oreos

So tonight Rachel and I decided that we were going to conquer one of our gluten-free woes. We have a favorite treat that we used to make using chocolate cake mix, and we finally decided that we have had enough homemade oreo deprivation and were going to eat a gluten-free version by the end of the night. We used a gluten-free cake mix and kind of did the rest improv...but it worked! Hizzah! I will now share the successful experiment with you.

Cookies:
1 bag Kinnikinnick chocolate cake mix
2 tbs GF flour
3 eggs
1/2 c vegetable oil
Preaheat the oven to 350*.

Mix the "cookie" ingredients in a bowl.
Round them into little balls (tbs size?) on an ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake for 8-10 minutes.
Sprinkle them with powder sugar (it makes them pretty) and let them harden and cool off before removing them from the cookie sheet.

Cream:
1 8 oz package cream cheese
1/2 c butter
1 tsp vanilla
3 cups powder sugar

The cream cheese and butter MUST be softened to room temperature.
Mash them together.
Add vanilla.
Add about one cup of powder sugar, then slowly add the rest until the frosting is somewhat firm but isn't grainy from too much sugar. You don't want it too soft because it won't stay put between the cookies very well. Honestly, just do it to taste. You'll decide when you like it.

After the cookies are hardened, remove them from the cookie sheet and spoon frosting between two of them. It makes a tasty homemade oreo. And...it's gluten free! Sigh.

Introduction

I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease in April of 2007 after too many years of pointless doctors appointments and having "nothing wrong" with me. While I was grateful to know what was going on, I was still somewhat overwhelmed by the fact that my eating habits had to change overnight. I have now been gluten-free for almost one year and am still discovering new things about the lifestyle every day. This blog will just be a record of discoveries I make and new products I find.