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. . .)

The real deal: Leong's Cashew Chicken

My version of Leong's Cashew Chicken. Close enough!

Early last year (Jan. 24, 2014), I wrote a blog about Springfield’s (MO) signature dish, Cashew Chicken, and I included a recipe for slow cooker cashew chicken, which I found to be not half bad. In the story I mentioned that the first time I remember eating cashew chicken was at Leong’s Tea House back in the early 70s when I was in high school. Having grown up on the stuff, I sure did miss it when celiac disease forced me to give it up.

Well, a few weeks ago, my son’s friend Annie (a lifelong Springfieldian) gave me Leong’s actual recipe. The recipe had appeared somewhere in a newspaper, and Annie’s grandmother has been making it for years.  I finally tried it out over the weekend. Even with my mediocre cooking skills, I thought it turned out pretty darned close to Leong’s original. I took some of it to my sister, and she thought so, too!

Here’s the recipe as it appeared in the newspaper (See gluten-free suggestions below):

Plated up and ready to eat. I served it over brown rice.

4 whole chicken breasts

3 T. cooking sherry*
1 T. sugar

1 T. soy sauce**

4 eggs

Crisco or peanut oil

3/4 C. cashews

1 bunch green onions, chopped

½ box cornstarch***

Sauce:

3 T. soy sauce

3 C. boiling water

Pepper to taste

1 tsp. oyster sauce****

3 chicken bouillon cubes, dissolved*****

2 tsp. cornstarch mixed with ½ C. cold water to thicken

Marinate chicken breasts, cut in 1-inch cubes, at least 30 minutes in sherry, sugar and soy sauce. Dip each piece in egg batter (or slightly beaten eggs) then in cornstarch, then back in egg batter. Fry in Crisco or peanut oil over medium heat until golden brown. Remove chicken and drain grease. Put in baking pan with ¾ C cashews.

Sauce: Bring to boil and add 2 tsp. cornstarch mixed thoroughly with ½ of cold water. Stir constantly to prevent lumping until gravy consistency. Serve with chopped green onions over cashew chicken.

*I used Holland House, which has “Gluten free” printed on the label.

A few of the gluten-free ingredients
I used to make the recipe.

** I used Kroger brand, which does not contain wheat. Many of the store brands do not include wheat in their ingredients, while the major Chinese labels, such as Kikkoman and La Choy, do include wheat or wheat-containing ingredients. Some brands make a gluten-free version as well. As always, read labels, and take your own soy sauce to Asian restaurants.

***I used the Best Choice brand, because it had “GLUTEN-FREE” printed right on the label and because it was less expensive than the major brand. Argo brand corn starch is also gluten-free, but some others are not. Again, read up!

****Kikkoman Oyster Sauce (red label only) appears to be gluten-free. On the company’s allergen chart, the red label Oyster Sauce is listed as containing no wheat or gluten. I used it in this recipe, and I have used it several times and have had no reaction.

*****I researched bouillon cubes and found that Herb Ox cubes are gluten-free. Since my grocery store didn’t have the cubes, I bought the Chicken Bouillon Packets, which says “Gluten Free” right on the package. One packet equals one cube.

I’m always so happy when recipe ingredients are naturally gluten-free or have gluten-free counterparts. Being a true Southwest Missourian, I am ecstatic that celiac disease doesn’t have to prevent me from enjoying our staple dish!

Pl(ant)ain and Simple

Plantains are plentiful at Farmers Markets in Costa Rica!

Plantains have not always been at the top of my list of preferred foods, but I have recently discovered that I have acquired the taste—yes, even a craving—for those big green (or yellow or even black) ugly banana-like fruits. They are one of the staple foods of Costa Ricans—and they are delicious!

While I’ve been in Tamarindo this month, I’ve eaten plantain chips, fried plantain patties, grilled plantains glazed with brown sugar, and even plantain pancakes. My friend Mary Plunkett sent me the recipe for plantain pancakes (which she found on The Paleo Mom website), and they’re so good that I wanted to share the recipe here. The recipe requires no flour of any kind, making it especially favorable (and inexpensive) for gluten-free cooks!

Perfect Paleo Pancakes are similar to IHOP's Harvest
Grain N' Nut Pancakes--but gluten-free!

Perfect Paleo Pancakes (www.ThePaleoMom.com)

Ingredients:

2 large green plantains (about 2 cups pureed)

4 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

3 Tbsp extra virgin coconut oil

1/8 tsp salt (a generous pinch)

½ tsp baking soda

Extra coconut oil for frying

1.     Peel plantains (I find it easier to quarter them before I peel them) and place pieces in your blender (preferred) or food processor (okay) with the eggs. Blend to form a smooth batter (if your blender has a smoothie function, that works well here).

2.     Add the rest of the ingredients to the blender or food processor and process on high for an additional minute (or 2-3 with a food processor to get a really good smooth batter).

3.     Heat 1 Tbsp of coconut oil in a frying pan or on a griddle over medium-high heat. Pour batter into the frying pan until your pancake is the desired size.

4.     Let cook 4-5 minutes on the first side until the top looks fairly dry with little bubbles in it (just like regular pancakes!)

5.     Flip! And cook on the second side for 1 ½ minutes.

6.     Repeat with remaining batter, adding a little more coconut oil to your pan as needed.         

I’ve made this recipe twice since I’ve been in Costa Rica, and the second time I added chopped pecans directly to the batter. My husband thinks they are “just as good as the Harvest Grain N' Nut Pancakes” that we used to eat at IHOP (in the years before my diagnosis of celiac disease).

Another easy way to cook plantains, which I learned by watching our Costa Rican housekeeper Ileana, is to slice a ripe plantain (just as you would slice a banana). Then mash each slice on a paper towel to remove moisture and fry them lightly in a small amount of oil, turning to make them crispy on each side. We ate them with refried beans. Oh, so good!

Taste-wise and nutritionally, plantains are quite different from bananas. Bananas are much sweeter than plantains, even at their ripest. For the same amount of each, the banana has 89 calories, while the plantain has 122. The banana is also lower in fat, sodium, and carbohydrates, and sugar, which for most of us tips the scale in their favor.  Plantains, on the other hand, are much higher in vitamin A, vitamin C, magnesium, and potassium.

No matter! I will never make pancakes again without my new friend, the plantain!

Pumpkin bread in Paradise

Customers lined up for "gluten-free items" at Tamarindo's Farmers Market.

Each year of the past four, Doug and I have spent our winter vacations with friends in beautiful Costa Rica, the closest approximation to Paradise that I can imagine. Looking for a warm and sunny respite from our cold and icy Missouri winter, we listened to the advice of our son’s friend who had studied there during college. “You must go to Tamarindo,” she urged.

In planning our first trip, we happened upon a description of a beach house on the website VRBO (Vacation Rentals by Owners) and decided to take a chance on it. As it turned out, that was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made, and we’ve returned to Casa Doshack on Playa Langosta every year, increasing the length of our stay with each visit.

(Using such websites as VRBO, Airbnb, and House Trip, by the way, is a great way for travelers with celiac disease to leave home without having to worry about what they will eat. It’s easy to find places with kitchens where you can cook your own meals, free from the hassle of searching out restaurants with gluten-free food.)

The gluten-free muffin booth.

By American standards, Costa Rica may seem like a primitive country. You won’t find large houses with tidy yards on paved avenues. And don’t go there if you expect speedy service, air-conditioned shopping malls, abundant public transportation, or clear road signage. (As far as I can tell, Casa Doshack doesn’t even have a real address to give to taxi drivers--or to the delivery guys who bring your lost luggage from the airport. You just sort of give a description of the local landmarks and hope for the best.)

I always wondered about putting my children in the 

checked bags at the airport. Maybe it would have worked!

The muffin woman's "goodies tote" doubles as a baby bed

at the Tamarindo Farmers Market.

But if you’re looking for perfect weather, exotic wildlife, warm, friendly people, beautiful beaches and a slow pace, Costa Rica is where you will find it. And here’s something else you will find in Tamarindo: A lovely, thriving farmers market with local crafts, fresh shrimp, fish and ceviche, fruits and vegetables galore, and--hallelujah!--two dedicated gluten-free booths!

Imagine my delight at finding those booths, one selling mango, cinnamon-apple, and banana-nut gluten-free muffins and the other offering chocolate zucchini peanut-butter bread, pumpkin bread, ginger cookies and snickerdoodles! I tell you, I couldn’t get my Colones out of my wallet fast enough! (Note: You don’t actually even have to exchange your money in Costa Rica; their businesses are happy to take USD.)

If loads of “azúcar” is not your cup of “té,” healthy Costa Rican cuisine is readily available and perfect for celiacs and others avoiding gluten. Most meals consist of grilled fish or chicken, rice, beans, plantains (which I’ll discuss in my next post) salad, and fresh fruit.  Yum!

In the four years since we’ve been coming here, it’s been easier and easier to eat gluten-free in the restaurants and on the street.  (At one popular place, I was pointing and gesturing, saying in my dreadful Spanish, “No trigo (wheat), no harina (flour),” and the waiter said, “Oh, you mean gluten-free!”) The relative ease of eating gluten-free in Tamarindo makes it a true Paradise—even for celiacs!