A new twist on apple crisp, etc.

Mini White Chocolate Caramel Apple Crisps fresh from the oven!

If you’re new to the gluten-free diet, or if you just want to try out some new gluten-free recipes, I recommend a subscription to Delight Gluten Free magazine. You can purchase it by the issue for only $.99 using your Newstand app on your iPad or iPhone. You can also go to www.delightglutenfree.com for information on how to download their magazine on a variety of devices. Of course, you can also just subscribe to the magazine itself.

This week I tried a recipe from the January-February 2015 issue for Mini White Chocolate Caramel Apple Crisps. Oh, my word! The recipe was delicious, and the presentation—individual apple crisps in 8-ounce canning jars—was a hit.  The jars are full when you load the recipe, but it cooks down so that you can add a scoop of ice cream on top.

I would probably be violating some kind of copyright law if I were to include the recipe in my blog, but I think this recipe (along with about 50 more gluten-free recipes) is well worth the $.99, if you want it. The idea is cute, anyway, and you could even try it with your own favorite apple crisp recipe.

The Prepara can be
used with a reader ...

... or with a cookbook!

While I’m (sort of) on the subject of using online recipes, look at what my kids bought me for Christmas this year! This little iPad/Cookbook holder, called a "Prepara," is “as handy as a button on a shirt,” as my grandmother used to say. (I’m pretty sure they picked it up at Barnes & Noble, and I’m pretty sure it cost around $25. . .)

Crock Pot crackpot

"Clean Out the Vegetable Drawer" Day at the Rollers'. Add  some spice
and a little stew meat and supper's ready in about eight hours. Yum!

Almost weekly someone asks me what I do with all of my time, now that I’m retired. That’s a tough question to answer. I usually say I’m busy traveling, volunteering, spending time with my grown children, or playing tennis. Those activities do take up a lot of my time.

But to be perfectly honest, I spend most of my time these days thinking about, preparing, researching, reading about, writing about, and eating FOOD! I guess I’m lucky that my celiac disease symptoms didn’t manifest themselves (in a manner that I couldn’t ignore, that is) until the summer after I taught my last class and coached my last tennis match and sent my last child out into the world.

I can’t imagine how overwhelming it would be to manage a job, a family, extra activities, and a gluten-free diet all at the same time. My heart goes out to those who find themselves in such a position.

My best piece of advice for busy families on gluten-free diets is to USE A SLOW COOKER to prepare your evening meals. It’s easy to throw veggies, meat, a few seasonings, and a little liquid into your Crock Pot in the morning before you start your day. You can’t really make a mistake—and you will thank yourself at the end of the day when you don’t have to figure out what to cook. If possible, double your recipes so that you will have great gluten-free leftovers for another meal—and you’ll be thanking yourself again the next day.

If you don’t like to go “freestyle” as I did just this morning, there are a number of gluten-free cookbooks, websites, and Pinterest boards out there where you can find great slow cooker recipes—or you can easily modify almost any recipe from your favorite slow cooker cookbook to be gluten-free. Here are just a few of the dozens of good slow cooker sources:

http://divinehealthfromtheinsideout.com/2014/01/125-gluten-free-slow-cooker-recipes/

http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com/2008/09/slow-cooker-and-crock-pot-recipes.html

Chrissy Gower, Paleo Slow Cooking

Ellen Brown, Gluten Free Slow Cooking

Carrie S. Forbes, The Everything Gluten-Free Slow Cooker Cookbook

Lisa Stewart and Jeremy L., Gluten-Free Slow Cooker Cookbook: Gluten Free Diet Made Easy (This one I bought for my Kindle for $.99 on Amazon—and there are lots of $.99-ers available.)

I use my slow cooker year-round, but I’ve found that summer is the perfect time to create slow cooker meals, because a Crock Pot won’t heat up the house the way an oven or stove will. Your slow cooker will also afford you the flexibility to play another set of tennis, work a little longer in your garden, or stay an extra hour at the pool on these wonderful summer afternoons.

DO try this (20-Second Mayo) at home!

Chicken salad made with 20-Second Homemade Mayo.

In my Internet meanderings, I have stumbled upon an easy little recipe on a website called www.comfytummy.com that has totally rocked my world—so if you never read another of my blogs again (or have never actually read one in the first place), please pay attention to this one! It’s called 20-Second Homemade Mayo—and it is awesome!

The only requirement is a stick blender and a few ingredients that you probably already have on hand. If you don’t have a stick blender, drop everything and run out and get one right this minute—or you can try using a food processor, blender, mixer, or good old elbow grease (but I can’t guarantee the 20-second prep time.) If you use mayo frequently, this trick will more than pay for the cost of your new stick blender in no time. And it tastes sooo much better!

It's true! It only takes 20 seconds! And then you can add it
to your fresh chicken salad. 

Put these ingredients in the cup that comes with your stick blender:

1 egg

2 tsp. Dijon mustard

1 T. lemon juice

Pinch of salt

200 ml of oil (That’s about 7 oz., just under a cup.)

Put your stick blender to the bottom of the container and blend until thickened into mayo (approximately 20 seconds). Makes one cup. It will stay fresh in your fridge for a week or two (but it won’t last that long.)

Store your mayo for up to two weeks in the fridge.

I’ve always maintained that homemade mayo is better than store bought, but it’s a bit of a pain to make. I never use the word “never,” but since I have discovered this trick, I will NEVER buy the store bought stuff again!

If you’re following the gluten-free diet or the Specific Carbohydrate Diet, this mayo is perfect. I use light olive oil for my mayo, but canola or corn oil will work as well.

I have also recently discovered a recipe from www.allrecipes.com for a very nice salad dressing made using homemade yogurt. Again, it’s gluten-free and SCD legal.

Honey, Mustard & Yogurt Dressing

1 C. SCD or other plain yogurt

¼ C. honey

2 T Dijon mustard (Use Annie’s Naturals to avoid sugar)

¼ tsp. celery seed

Whisk together the yogurt, honey, mustard, and celery seed in a small bowl. Refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving.

Your’re welcome!

50 ways to brew your yogurt ...

Warming and cooling the milk are important steps in making yogurt.

As I mentioned in my last blog, homemade yogurt (fermented for 24-36 hours) is a central feature of the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD). Since I talked about it, several of my friends have asked me how to make it. If you search the Internet, you will find a multitude of ways—fifty, at least--to go about it.

Being a HUGE fan of my slow cooker, the first time I tried it I used a recipe from the Skinny GF Chef for her “Homemade Crock Pot Greek Yogurt.”  The result was truly amazing and fairly simple. Here is her recipe along with my observations:

Homemade Crock Pot Greek Yogurt

Ingredients:

You will need a Crock Pot and a meat or candy thermometer.  (Celiyak: My meat thermometer didn’t go low enough to measure the fermentation temperature, so I had to purchase a new one.)

• 100 ounces of milk of your choice (or depending on the size of your Crock Pot, pour in enough to fill your Crock Pot 3/4 full) (Celiyak: 100 oz. is about 12 ½ cups.)
• 1/2 cup of yogurt with live active cultures, room temp.  Or you can buy a dry starter and follow the directions  (I started with commercial plain yogurt and now use 1/2 cup of my last batch) (Celiyak: I used The Greek Gods Greek Yogurt, Traditional Plain. Many SCD followers reject using yogurt from your last batch to start a new batch.)
• Honey or Vanilla Liquid Stevia to taste-opt. (Celiyak: I didn’t do this. I love it just as it is—and SCD doesn’t allow Stevia.)

Directions:  

1. Warm your oven to 110 degrees and turn on the light  (leave the light on for 24 hours) (Celiyak: I used an oven thermometer to measure my oven temperature. It was a perfect 110 degrees with the light on! No warming.) 
2. I fill my large Crock Pot about 3/4 full or approx. 3/4 of a gallon of milk.  I have a little hole in my lid and insert a meat thermometer. (Celiyak: The hole in my lid was too small, so I just inserted the thermometer at the edge of the crock, trying not to lift the lid too much.)
3. Turn the Crock Pot on High and cover, let the milk heat to 185-190 degrees.  Sometimes mine goes a little higher.  It's fine as long as you don't scorch the milk.  You want it to just begin to simmer on the outside edges. (Celiyak: This took a couple of hours in my Crock Pot.)
4. Now let the milk cool in the covered Crock Pot until it registers 110-115 degrees.  You should be able to stick your finger in and hold it for 10 seconds without burning. It must be cool enough before you add the starter or the heat will kill the beneficial bacteria. (Celiyak: The cooling process took another three hours.)
5. Put the 1/2 cup of yogurt starter in a small bowl and add a cup of the warm milk, a little at a time to temper, or if using a dry starter follow the package directions.
6. Stir the small bowl of yogurt milk mixture into the large pot of your Crock Pot.
7. Put the cover on the Crock Pot and place in your (110 degree) warm oven with the light on.  Snugly cover the pot with a blanket or several large beach towels.  Some people replace the light bulb with a 60-watt but mine does fine as is. 
8. Leave the covered Crock Pot in the oven for 24 hours in order to get the full benefit of the lactose-eating bacteria.  Keep the door closed and the light on. Having an oven thermometer is helpful too. 
9. After 24 hours remove the pot and either strain for Greek yogurt or ladle directly into clean containers.  Refrigerate.

For pictures of each step of this recipe, go to http://glutenfreehomebakery.blogspot.com/2013/04/make-your-own-greek-yogurt-in-crock-pot.html

The slow cooker version is fairly easy, although I spent a lot of time during those first five hours measuring the temperature. The other drawback of this method is that my oven is engaged for 24 hours.

Take care in adding the starter culture to
your batch.

The second method I tried was using a yogurt maker. The Yogourmet seems to be the most popular brand among SCD dieters, so that’s what I ordered from Amazon. At the same time, I ordered three boxes of Yogourmet starter culture and a lamp dimmer switch. (You can also find Yogourmet starter culture and other starters at health food stores—just avoid those that have bifidus, if you’re following SCD--and you can purchase a lamp dimmer switch at home stores like Lowe’s or Target.)

Here’s my version of the Yogourmet Yogurt Recipe:

• 2 quarts milk of your choice (I use reduced fat, but you can even use skim or soy milk. With skim, you’ll need to add a packet of unflavored gelatin to skim to get it to thicken up.)
• Yogourmet Starter mix

Yogourmet freeze-dried
yogurt starter

1. Pour two quarts of milk into a pot and heat on the stove until the milk reaches a temperature of 180 degrees F (82 degrees C on the thermometer that comes with the maker). Then let it cool down to 108-112 degrees F (42-44 degrees C). You can set your pot in a sinkful of cold water to speed the process.
2. When the milk has cooled, pour 10 g. of starter into a cup and gradually add approximately 5-6 T of cooled milk to the starter, stirring until it is dissolved. Then add the dissolved starter to the remainder of the milk and stir well.
3. Place the mixture into the Yogourmet batch container and follow the manufacturers directions. If you are not following the SCD diet, your yogurt will be ready in about four hours. If you are following the SCD diet, you must let your yogurt ferment for 24-34 hours. This is where the dimmer cord comes in. The Yogourmet runs a bit warmer than the recommended 105-110 degrees F, so you can use the switch to bring the temperature down to the proper level. I made a mark on mine to show where to set the dimmer switch.

No matter how you choose to make your yogurt, I promise that it will become easier with practice. The pleasant taste, health benefits, and lower cost (vs. store bought brands) are definitely worth the effort!