Monday, July 30, 2007

ahhhhh pies!!!!!!!!!


after the initial inspiration from the movie waitress, i was overly enthusiastic about making my gluten-free pie, as if magically it to would bring sweetness to my lips and calm to my chaos. (like it did in the movies.) i was really excited about this whole process, from the conception of this pie-making frenzy to the fantasy of a blissful day of pastries. but somewhere between deciding on then changing, then adding to, and omitting from the ingredient list, and the actual recipe itself, things got a little difficult. i went from the initial idea of black current pie, to blackberry pie (who knew currants were so bitter), to blackberry peach pie, to “it’s too hot to make this pie pie”…

i began the day at around 8:30am, which included a trip to the farmers’ market to gather fresh ingredients—and ended the day with actual pie in hand, around 6:00pm that evening. hats off to the pastry chef.

there were two cooks in the kitchen though, my friend jac, creating her own version of a corn-pudding pie, and myself. we began our venture on an unusually humid day, even for a summer day in late-july—85 degrees with 80% humidity. the rain that was predicted refused to fall and give us a reprieve from the awful humidity. due to the heat and lack in central air we split our time between the kitchen and the living room that as acted as a refuge with its large, welcoming overhead fan. as we lounged in the living room, my arms and legs slung over the sides of a worn living room chair, and jac on her futon, we began to invent names, as well as ingredients for our pies: “what should i put in this pie pie”, “it’s too hot to make a pie pie”, “i don’t know how to make a pie pie” and so on.
It did seem at that point in time that this pie would never actually be finished.

but as i sit here, a day later and a lot cooler, i’m in love with my pie, which I call incidentally “my first and only pie” aka blackberry peach oatmeal pie. and it is good, different, but good. i started with a recipe, but then added a bit from another, then just started adding spices, and ingredients. my pie is somewhat unique in consistency, but i have had a favorable response thus far ( michael). i used fresh peaches and blackberries, but then added oatmeal to make it less runny. the conclusion, a cake-like filling. the crust, however, is flakey and light. next time i would actually use a hint more sugar.

i adapted most of the recipe from epicurious.com. for the complete recipe and directions, click on the link below:

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/106870

for my modified pie, look at my ingredient list below. ☺ suggestions are always welcome.

blackberry peach oatmeal pie ingredients:
gluten free pantry perfect pie crust for a 8-inch double-crust pie
5 cups peeled and sliced ripe peaches
1/4 cup fresh blackberries
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
pinch of salt
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1-teaspoon cardamom
5 tablespoons gf flour ( or pie crust mix)
1/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 egg white (or egg replacer)
2 teaspoons water
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 ½ cups oatmeal

another slight alternation: i cooked the ingredients on the stovetop for 5 minutes before filling the crust.

one more pie-making tip: make a pie with a friend. It makes everything that much sweeter. thanks jac!

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Monday, July 23, 2007

movies and pies

it’s been a while since i have gone to a matinee and just sat back and enjoyed a good film. yesterday i met two friends at an indie film house to see keri russell’s recent film, waitress
(http://www.foxsearchlight.com/waitress/). i read about the movie and skimmed a few reviews, but came into the film with relatively little background or expectations—a perfect way to watch a film.

the coolness of the theatre air conditioning was a refreshing comfort from the overheated subway tunnels of nyc, which i just spent way too long in. (i had just stood in a humid, stenched-filled subway station, waiting for an express train, while three local trains zoomed by, only to find out about the weekend schedule change…my express train was local this weekend. ah… and my sunday began.)

the theatre itself was fairly empty and quiet, mostly senior ladies and my friends and me. yet, as the overhead theatre lights went down, i felt myself pacified by the dimming room. the film began with images of pies, berry, chocolate, tarts, and meats, all pies imaginable, or at least as keri russell’s character, jenna, imagined them. the pies were so inviting and each one seemed equaling appealing, so vibrant that i could taste them. the comfort of this food, a reoccurring theme in this bittersweet film, left me wanting pie (a some-what tough order for a gf person). the movie itself was a definite must see, must rent, must buy—i felt that attached to the characters and the story itself. kerri russell's character inspires by simplicity and determination, as she exemplifies a very non-traditional look at pregnancy, marriage and self-discovery—as if almost by accident. throughout the film i felt my eyes tear as much as my smile widened. in the end i felt completely satisfied with my sunday, my film choice, and my new-found appetite for pie.

typically i would suggest the most obvious food to complement a movie—buttery popcorn, but with this film, i suggest baking your favorite pie (or buy one for that matter). but, this is somewhat of a tall order. so, i have done some research, found a list of gluten-free pie recipes, and now will challenge myself with the task of making one. perhaps a decision by proxy? anyone care to vote? so, i leave you these links to try yourself, or ask for you to suggest a pie?! this week i plan on ploughing through the recipes and actually making a pie that i of course will share with you all. perhaps i can convince my cooking buddy (devourthis.typepad.com) to join me in this challenge? are you in jac?
and in the time between now and the dvd release of waitress, i will find the perfect pie, practice baking it, then buy the dvd and have pie with a movie. until then, i am on the hunt for pie recipes.links to gf pie recipes:

http://www.celiac.com/st_main.html?p_catid=5
http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes/dessert/piecrust_gf.html

photo: www.myrajeanscakes.com/pies.jpg

Sunday, July 22, 2007

art in motion, and outdoor dining

a day of art, food and friends--not a bad day. i joined some friends in midtown, nyc to volunteer with the garden in transit project, (http://www.portraitsofhope.org/git/index.php ) part of a city-wide initiative to help beautify ny. both children and adults from around the nyc area are painting nyc cabs with flower murals…literally art in motion. check out the web site!
“as part of this groundbreaking motivational art, education, and creative therapy project, thousands of kids in schools, hospitals, and community institutions are painting vibrant flowers -- symbolizing joy, life, beauty, and inspiration -- on adhesive weatherproof panels that will be applied to the hoods, trunks and/or roofs of thousands of new york city taxis.”


we walked into a building covered with flowered canvases, paint splashes, and people getting inspired by art. we had a fantastic time, albeit, we struggled a bit staying in lines. but, hey, that’s art. and now we are part of new york history, at least till the end of the year.

we worked up an appetite painting, so we headed uptown to central park west, and found a great restaurant on 73rd, arte cafĂ© (artecafenyc.com). the best part about it, where we sat… in the backyard! we walked through the restaurant to an open-aired terrace, shaded with over-sized white awnings overhead— great way to enjoy outdoor seating in the shade because it is hot in nyc these days. they also had a brunch drink special that is a great deal—huge drinks! i had a yummy gf breakfast, which consisted of a fruit salad with a citrus dressing. what was most notable about the salad was not actually the fruit itself, (which was fresh and sweet) but the way in which is presented. ( sorry, no pics this time). the fruit was served in a halved pineapple—pineapple leaves and all. i will have to try that next time i serve fruit salad and post it up for you all to see. and what’s brunch without some type of potato. i had a side of crispy, salty french fries that were thinly cut and perfectly seasoned. brunch was rounded off with some sweet and fruity strawberry sangria ( thanks to jax for letting me share hers). i’m telling you, these drinks were actually big. my friend just made some homemade strawberry sangria, so i will have to test taste that and let you all know about it. recipes are all soon to come. ☺

after we had our full of food, we walked through central park to the whitney museum (whitney.org) to see how some pros do it. we went to see the summer of love: art of the psychedelic era, which included print, visual and audio art from that era. a colorful exhibit on so many levels.


all and all, a great day and some wonderful food, art and friends. good weekend for this gluten-free girl.

photos taken from garden in transit web site

Sunday, July 15, 2007

mmm, brownies

last week was not a chart topper. it was actually a pretty bad week by most people's standards. seriously, right up there with the week i found out the truth about santa AND the toothfairy (that was a tough week), and the week, mom and dad told me " you're going to have a new sister", both which i viewed at the time as life-altering and horrifying weeks. ultimately these weeks ended with equally as satisfying resolve: my mom and dad overcompensated that christmas , and the additional sister may still be the greatest gift that the parents gave me. so, how did i find the "silver lining" in last week... i bought chocolate.

not just any chocolate, but my favorite bag of irresistible chocolate brownie mix, by pamela’s (www.pamelasproducts.com). i'm not much of a chef. but, i am pretty good at baking. Sometimes, though, you just need to realize that others do it better... or just really well. i feel this way out pamela's brownie mix, with its tasty squares of chocolate chunks, and oh-so-moist brownie goodness. nothing wrong with a mix. Just need to know what to add to your mix.

so, i used pamela's brownie mix to make my peanut butter brownies. this is the first time i added peanut butter to brownies, and they still need some improvement, but overall i got a good response. i think that were scrumptious. (the idea was inspired by lauren b--thanks!). next time i will put peanut butter deeper into the brownie; this batch had peanut butter seeping out the top and sides. It’s all about burying the peanut butter deeper. still, they were just what I needed to satisfy my chocolate craving, and less than sweet week.


note: I make my brownies in cupcake or muffin tins. It makes it easier to serve, and a little more fun to eat.

chocolate peanut butter brownies

1 bag of Pamela's Chocolate Brownie Mix
1/2 cup oil
1/4 cup water
1 large egg *
1 bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips
peanut butter (chunky or smooth) **

+preheat over to 350 degrees
+fill the muffin tin halfway or a little less than halfway
+add about 1 teaspoon of peanut butter to the brownie mix
+fill the rest of the tin up with brownie mix to completely cover the peanut butter
+cook for 20 minutes

some subtle differences:
  • I like to add a bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips to the mix to make it even gooier and more chocolaty.
  • Add milk or soymilk instead of water to make it even richer and smoother tasting.

• eggless = egg replacer
** nutfree = use sunflower seed butter ( trader joe’s makes a great brand).

Saturday, July 14, 2007

when in new york, do what the new yorkers do...eat bagels!


a new york native, i am not. actually, that is debatable. technically speaking ( and according to my ny-bred father) i was conceived and born in nyc. but, i was raised in new england--yes, that's right, this city's one nemesis--and i just recently relocated back to the east coast from the bay area. though nyc is something to love from afar, and relish in for a weekend jaunt, living and working in manhattan is a completely different experience. when i first starting working in manhattan, i was amazed by several things ( well, of course EVERYTHING), but there were a few small things that seemed characteristically new york. beyond the masses of fast walkers, unending scaffolding, and a constant symphony of car horns, there was a seemingly disproportionate amount of bagel shops to everything else, which says a lot considering that this city has an overabundance of pretty much everything. literally, in midtown, there is a bagel place on every corner, and if you don't wander into an actual bagel place, you can just buy a bagel at essentially any store that sells anything edible.

the other detail that seemed amiss in other cities i lived in, was the coffee-in-a-bag. i mean, what's that? i walked down madison ave. every morning and grabbed my Starbucks, amongst the rest of the over-tired, over-worked huddled masses that stood in long-lasting line. but, each day i noticed everyone else in the city, who was not donning a starbucks cup, was racing down the street with a small, brown paper bag in their hand (no ladies, not the bloomingdale's bag). what was this bag? i wondered. how do i get one? then i found out; i got in on the nyc secret. my coworker walked in with her little brown bag, and pulled out a coffee. i asked why she bagged her coffee? and she said, quite enthusiastically, "its coffee-in-a-bag...it's fabulous." but, why? i thought. as i looked down at my coffee-stained hand, and my now, coffee-spotted scarf, i realized the beauty of bagging coffee. how clever. no more mess. no more spills. and it helped these fast walkers increase their speed by even more. so, i became a bagged-coffee drinker, and i loved it.

now that i had the bagged coffee in hand, an increased pace to my stride, and a sort of disdain for life ( kidding), i felt a little more at home. but, i was missing the other half of breakfast. i had no bagel. and even in a city of millions, where you can buy anything from baby food to hard-care porn in one city block, i could not find a gluten-free bagel for work. i mean, the bakeries are out there, mostly in the boutique bakeries in the village, but not a 7am in midtown. and this never really bothered me so much. but, now that i was in a city where bagels were a staple, i had a fierce craving for one.

but, alas, i have found my haven. and i as write i am looking toward a bag that contains some gluten-free bagels, cinnamon raisin today. yum! enjoy life (www.enjoylifefoods.com) makes frozen gf bagels, that are eggless too, which is good for me because i am also allergic to eggs! i also found a new brand to me today, which is against the grain gourmet (www.againstthegraingourmet.com). they make a good selection of gf bagels, with interesting flavors, like sun-dried tomato, and sesame. these do contain eggs however, but have a fluffy and more bread-like appearance. so, now i can walk around with a bagel in hand, and a bagged-cofee in the other, and life is pretty good! on a side note: i moved, and now i live and work in hoboken, where they don't bag coffee, and there is a bit of a slower pace, which lends to a no-spill coffee walk. :)

bagel photo from ny times
coffee photo (http://pileofphotos.com/view/25/Have-a-little-fun-with-your-coffee)

Friday, July 13, 2007

man's (or woman's) best friend gone gluten free!!!

who says only humans need to live the gf life? not so in this gluten-free girl's house.

my over-active lab has his own gf regime to live by, and believe me, just as in many humans, once he steers off the path, there are consequences. and we all pay for them. :(

my little (actually not-so-little) ball of energy has two passions in life: his ball and his food. and due to the nature of his breed, any food will do. he has a tendency to break into the garbage while we are away, and eat everything even semi-edible in there. unfortunately, these trashy adventures leaves more than a mess. the poor guy gets so sick and often lands himself a vet visit-- and even emergency room stays. ironically, we learned at one of our late-night vet visits that he has IBD (Irritable Bowel Disease), just like me. our dog actually has colitis, which often is often aggravated by wheat products. many humans with IBD have an intolerance or allergy to wheat.

so our pup lives a gluten-free life, which comes with ease in our house. the "d", as we call him, eats an all-natural, wheat-free dog food, EVO (http://www.naturapet.com/brands/evo.asp). and he and we are much happier about it. look at this guy... does it get much cuter than a gf dog?!?!?


links about IBD in humans and pets:

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=2&cat=1571&articleid=305


www.ccfa.org

Thursday, July 12, 2007

i can't seem to get enough of bananas


so, today was not quite as sweltering as the past few days. a nice night's rain has cooled this place down a few degrees, and just-in-time to enjoy a dinner with outside seating. can you believe it, there was an actual inside, air-conditioned seating option in the cuban restaurant we went to tonight, and i gladly opted for outside. if this is what rains brings, i welcome the rain!

we met my aunt and uncle at a jersey city restaurant,
azuca cuban cuisine & cigars, and introduced the duo to cuban food. i think overall they were pleased with the introduction. we had some colorful starters that i enthusiastically photographed with a blackberry, so please excuse the photo quality. i can't believe how obnoxious i have become, and how addicting this blog has become. instead of calmly sitting down and engaging in some pre-dinner banter, i held up digging into the apps, just to get a photo-- who am i? i will tell you one thing---a photographer i am NOT. bear with me please.

so, tonight we had some fun and pretty tasty gluten-free foods. we started with Mariquitas de Platanos Verde (crispy green plantain chips served with a cool culantro & mojo dip), and Guacamole Cubano(cuban guacamole). the plantain chips were light and crispy and the perfect complement to guacamole. the actual appearance of these banana chips of sorts adds to the overall appeal. for my entree i had black bean soup, which i love and try to order as often as possible, due to the challenge of finding a soup that does not contain flour. the soup arrived in a small, galvanized metal pail, garnished with freshly-diced sweet onions, and fried potato strings. what a delectable combo. i really enjoyed my soup. and of course, i rounded out my meal with a side of fried, sweet plantains that came served in a halved coconut shell. all and all, a well received gf dinner. i think that my aunt and uncle are ready to take on new foods too. they seemed enthusiastic about the prospect of a follow-up dinner. (thanks aunt marie & uncle bill)

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

this heat is driving me BANANAS!!!


so, for those of you who are not blessed by the balmy weather of this east-coast heat wave... consider yourselves lucky-- very lucky. but, if you are like me, trapped between the worlds of chilling AC and unbearable heat, you may like this refreshingly fast, easy and completely gluten-free treat. hot or cold, uncomfortable or content, if you like bananas, you'll love this simple pleasure.

since it has been so hot in my apartment ( i have only recently been introduced to the world of air conditioning), my bananas were getting soft and brown quickly. i threw a couple in the freezer to enjoy some frozen bananas later. but when chatting with some friends, i learned a new way to enjoy frozen bananas--thanks jackie and ava! i threw my frozen bananas in the food processor, ( or a blender will work too) added a few yummy extras, and had myself a tasty, banana dessert. it was sweet and cool, and completely healthy, and it took all of five minutes to blend together. i had a delicious frozen banana medley that was creamy enough to remind me of ice cream, but light enough to enjoy on a stifling hot summer day!

Frozen Banana Dessert
  • 2-6 frozen bananas ( no skin please)
  • pinch of cinnamon
  • a tasting of honey
  • mint leaves (for garnish, and freshness)
** some use vanilla extract, but be sure you use a GF brand

throw all the ingredients, measured to your liking, into a food processor, and blend away until you reach a creamy consistency. this should only take a minute. pop it back into the freezer to chill more if desired, or scoop into individual bowls. sprinkle a bit of cinnamon on top for appeal and a fresh mint leaf for garnish.

yummy... now sit back and enjoy your gf dessert on a hot summer day.

Wheat free food fact file (wheat-free.org)

Bananas

Bananas are one of natures perfect snacks. They are healthy, energy giving and conveniently wrapped. Harvested while still green, they start to ripen while on their way to delivery. Bananas that aren't fully ripe when they are bought should be allowed to ripen before eating, unripe bananas can cause temporary digestive problems (wind/bloating).

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

welcome to my gluten-free world

thanks for stopping by myglutenfreeworld.com, a web site created to share tips, favorite gluten-free eateries, recipes, and just all-around great gluten-free finds. i've been living gluten free for a long time... and i think it tastes pretty good here in my world. i hope this helps people find some news ideas, and easier ways of living gluten free!!!