La Tortilla Smart & Delicious Wraps

...so, um, why aren't all the wraps made from Teff (and Millet)?

These are absolutely amazing--great tasting, pliable, wraps! And you can make any fajitas, wrap sandwiches, or burritos with them! Because they bend 1000% better than all the brown rice wraps.

I bought these for 3.69 at the Raisin Rack in Columbus, Ohio, on a recent trip.

Has anyone ever found these in NC? I would buy these all the time if I could find them.

I made a wrap sandwich--spread cream cheese on the wrap, and added fresh veggies (cucumbers, alfalfa sprouts, carrot shreds, orange pepper slices, and some fresh basil). I often will use hummus instead of the cream cheese.

This was one of my favorite lunches before my Celiac diagnosis. And I'm elated that I can have it again.

Three cheers for La Tortilla Factory!!

What's to eat Underground?

Here in the Underground, life gets a little busy.  I saw someone put up a tweet the other day asking for ideas of GF things to eat that are "quick, easy and not Amy's".  I love Amy's.  I found some great prices on Amy's frozen dinners at Kroger this afternoon.  The Rice Mac'N'Cheese was 2.89 (the best price I've found in Raleigh), and the Rice Lasagna was 2/7.00 (3.50 each). 

That said, what else is there to eat?

Well, lots of things.  This weekend I had Singapore Noodles from a chinese restaurant (one of the few dishes without SOY SAUCE).  Corn Chips.  Yogurt.  Jello.  Fruit Smoothie.  The other day I had a Glutino Pizza Crust pizza.  Today I've got some bread in the machine for the upcoming week.

My little brother thinks a gluten free blog is a little bit silly.  Because he doesn't really feel like he goes out of his way to find GF things to eat in his life.  He said, "come on, just have your corn chips, grits, and eat plain other stuff like meat, vegetables, rice and potatoes."  You know, he's right.  There are times that I think to myself, there's no need to blog any of this stuff, it's so obvious.  

Ten GF things that are amazingly easy to find/make/eat:

1. Corn Chips (I dip in salsa, guacamole, plain greek yogurt, or hummus)
2. Rice. It only takes 20 minutes to cook rice.  Serve with butter, or Mrs Dash, or other seasoning.  Combine with any vegetables and it's a great side or light meal.  Put extra in the fridge for later.  Sometimes I'll eat plain rice with butter, even for breakfast.
3. Tuna Salad. Mix a can or pouch with real mayonnaise (check label to make sure it doesn't have modified food starch) and relish.  Spread tuna salad on GF bread for a sandwich, or onto gf rice crackers.  Nut Thins are awesome crackers for this.
4. Personal Pizza.  Use either a Glutino Pizza Crust* (see note below), piece of GF bread, half a GF French Roll or English Muffin from Trader Joe's, or your choice any other bread product.  Spoon spaghetti or pizza sauce onto bread or crust, sprinkle with shredded mozzarella cheese.  Bake in oven @ 400 until all cheese melts.  Broil about another minute, to make the cheese bubble, if desired.  Also easy to make in a toaster oven, or even a microwave (careful in the micro, though, it will prob. turn out mushier).
5. Fresh fruits and vegetables.  This week I had a bag of oranges that I was enjoying one a day.  Apples are very good anytime.  Celery and carrots.  Melon.  If you're not eating enough of these, go out and find a cool new vegetable/fruit cutting board and big knife.  Then you'll want to use it--and just from excitement you'll be bringing home all kinds of pretty new produce.  You can throw these into recipes too.  Have them both ways. 
6. Hummus.  Anything goes with hummus.  These days, they have all kinds of amazing flavors, such as:  roasted garlic, red pepper, basil, cilantro, white bean, etc.  I eat it with corn chips, baby carrots, any other veggie or chip.
7. Yogurt.  Just double check the ingredients to make sure they don't have modified food starch.  I think Breyers used to be OK, but now it isn't.  (anyone know?)  But I've been trying to move to the organic yogurts more and more, and lower sugar ones.  Most of the time, I've just been getting plain greek yogurt.  You can add any fruit, fresh or frozen (I esp. like fresh apple pieces, frozen raspberries or cherries).  Honey too, if you are into that.  It's wonderful stuff, and very good for you (lots of probiotics).
8. Soup (homemade).  I don't know anyone who can't get a carton of GF organic/low sodium broth, a bag of frozen vegetables, a chopped onion (also available frozen), a couple cut up potatoes, a can of tomatoes (and leftover meat, or a ham bone, etc).  Put everything into a big pot and cook for an hour or so.  Vary with whatever's in season or make with any variety of beans or lentils.
9. Salad (oh, yeah!) Any to-go salad or bag of greens will do.  Some ideas: add fresh grilled chicken, salmon or veggies--mushrooms, grape tomatoes, cucumber slices, julienne carrots, etc. (**Just watch out for the dressing.  Assume that all dressing is EVIL (GLUTEN) unless proven otherwise--esp. watch for Modified Food Starch.  Read the ingredients.  I usually enjoy Maple Grove Farms dressings). 
10. Any cut of meat, poultry or fish.  Seasoned any way you like, just without CARAMEL COLOR or MODIFIED FOOD STARCH or SOY SAUCE (also found in TERIYAKI).  Grilled, broiled, baked, etc. etc.  Of course!  So simple, yet so good.

There you have it. Mix and match any of them for a delicious meal.  It doesn't have to be hard.  Just leave the pre-made foods out of it.  Simplify.  It's easier than it sounds.

*Glutino Pizza Crusts.  A few years ago when I first tried these, I was very disappointed in them.  I felt that they came out very DRY from the oven.  They seemed flavorful enough (they have tons of sodium, so they must taste good), but just dry.  I hate dry foods...so I discovered this Underground Tip: Rinse the crust (both sides) in warm/hot water when you take it out of the freezer, for about a minute.  Then, turn the crust upside down and douse it in water, set it on your cookie sheet/pizza pan.  Soak like this for about 5 minutes, until the water seems absorbed.  No longer or it will be soggy.  Flip over, cover with sauce, cheese, toppings.  Bake until cheese melted all over (about 12-15 min) @ 400.  Tell me if this works for you!  It's really good to me.

Mexican Rice

I said I had some recipes up my sleeve.  You will love this.  When I make this recipe, I usually double it (approximately), and never freeze any.  That's because I can count on myself eating it all up right away.  Pretty much, I just use large portions as meals, often with sides of plain frozen veggies (broccoli, mixed vegs, peas, green beans, etc).

Mexican Rice

• 1 cup rice
• 1 cup broth (usually chicken)
• 1 cup tomatoes--chopped, diced, whole, whatever, & juice (canned or fresh)
• chopped onion (1/3 cup or more, about 1 medium onion)
• oil--3Tbsps?

Heat oil in skillet or saucepan.

Add rice and stir until white (be careful not to burn--keep stirring).

Add onion, broth and tomatoes.

Bring to a boil. 

Turn heat down to simmer.

Cover and don't lift lid for 1/2 hour.

Enjoy!

This recipe is from my Aunt Loretta, who got it from her friend of Mexican heritage.  It's so simple, yet so good.  I hope you like it as much as I do.  

Underground tip:  I usually go heavy on the onions.  MMMM, flavor!

Bahama Rice Burgers

I picked up a box of these the other day at my local Earth Fare. I chose the "Jerkin' Spicy" variety. I haven't had a veggie burger for probably about 3 years.

These are great!! Two of my friends came over last night to carpool with me to go watch a concert, and I asked them if they'd eaten--NO. So I said, you guys want a Bahama rice burger? Some veggies? Quesadilla?

I had 2 takers on the Bahama Burgers, so that was 3 including me.

Both of these friends were meat-eatin, wheat-eatin guys. And they both said they like the burgers (served on Trader Joe's Gluten Free French Rolls) very much! One asked me for directions to Earth Fare, so he could go get some. So 3 taste testers agree. And even though I cooked these on the stove inside, it tasted like a cookout at Emily's.

I also cut up a few red/yellow pepper slices. It was a great night, and we attended a very good concert afterward!

Black Beans and Rice

I am adding this post to The Gluten Free Homemaker's "What's for Dinner Wednesday" --Hope everyone enjoys some Beans-n-Rice!

One of my favorite GF recipes is one that I had been making long before I knew that gluten was killing me. One of my friends got a crock pot in college, and made this for a party--actually, a Jazz party. Anyway, it was amazing and I was hooked.

I make this in a 2-quart crock pot.

• 1-lb dry black beans (one bag), or 2 (16 oz.) cans beans
• 4 cloves minced garlic (or 5-6 tsp. from a jar)
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 stalks celery
• 3 medium carrots
• 1 can tomatoes (14-16 oz.) diced or stewed

• 1 tsp. cumin
• 1 tsp. basil
• 1 tsp. oregano
• 1/2 tsp. paprika
• 1 Tbsp. chili powder
• 1 tsp. Hot Sauce (Tabasco, Texas Pete, etc.)
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/8 tsp. baking soda, if you have hard water (when using dry beans)

• 4 c. vegetable or chicken broth
• enough water to fill up the crock pot
• 2 or 3 cups cooked rice

Chop the vegetables, rinse the beans, then put everything (except the rice!) in the crockpot and cook on low 8-10 hours or high 5-6 hours, until beans are tender. The beans will never get soft enough in hard (city) water if you don't add the baking soda, I have learned.

Feel free to skip one or two ingredients that you don't have around--I often skip the celery or carrots, depending on what's in the fridge. You could probably add stuff like green peppers, too. Good luck.

Anyway, once the beans are soft, it's time for the rice. The first serving, I serve the beans over the rice (as in photo), but after that I mix all the remaining rice into the bean mixture and freeze individual portions for lunches.

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Underground tips: Use the baking soda, seriously. Also, while cooking in the crock pot, the bean stew will seem pretty spicy to taste (and I usually overdo the spices on purpose). You want that, because when you add the rice, it will dull the flavor somewhat.

Serve with Tabasco, shredded cheese or sour cream. Maybe even a little fresh cilantro. Mmm.

Taste of Thai Coconut Ginger Noodles, in the box

Here is a great standby quick dinner or lunch, on the go.  Taste of Thai Coconut Ginger Noodles.  I have been eating these on the road for years now.  At one point, all the varieties were Gluten Free, but I think this has changed, so be sure to read the box.

I have seen 4 flavors of these, but hands down, the Coconut Ginger Noodles is the best flavor.  What is great about this box is that all you need is a microwave, tap water, and sharp knife or scissors to open the seasoning packets.  It cooks right in the box.  

Pretty much, you could make this anywhere, I'd say even a boxcar, if you had those three things.  And a fork to stir/eat with.

and...voila!  These retail anywhere from 2.50-3.50.

Supplement with some carrot sticks or fresh grapes and you have a quick, easy meal on the go.  If you're really hungry, maybe even add a ziplock of Glutino GF pretzels or Envirokids Gorilla Munch.  Life is good, get out there and go live it!

Pancakes at home

My car is getting fixed this weekend, and I have been needing rides from friends to get to gigs this weekend. This also means I have had to make due with eating what I've got on hand. I'd like to share with you a recipe for pancakes I came up with yesterday. It was quite good.

I have noticed lately that a lot of bloggers are saying they hate using rice flour, due to its grittiness. I agree that Bob's Red Mill rice flour is gritty and ruins a lot of recipes. But I think it is because they do not grind theirs finely enough, not because there's something inherently wrong with rice flour. It is possible to get flours that are finer, and I usually buy big bags of rice flour at the Indian market. Yeah, it's from a foreign country, but so are a lot of other foods, and how do we really know how much "cleaner" or "safer" food from the USA really is (think of the peanut plant in Georgia). So at this point, I am working with this flour and hoping American producers and suppliers improve their products and prices (step up production, to lower prices). And for the time being, this flour is a lot cheaper than Bob's...

Pancakes:

• 1 cup flour (this time I used 2/3 c. Rice, 1/3 c. Teff)
  
• 1 tsp. xantham gum
  
• 1 Tbsp. sugar
  
• 2 Tbsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1-1/3 cup almond milk (you can use dairy milk, soymilk, whatever)
• 2 Tbsp. oil
• 1 tsp. vanilla

Mix dry ingredients together, mix wet ingredients together, then combine.

The vanilla makes all the difference.

Pour into pan and cook on medium heat for a few minutes until they start to dry on top, then flip. Serve warm.

I added some frozen blueberries to the second half of the mix, so I had both plain and blueberry. This made about 9 medium size pancakes. I froze the extras in individual bags of 2 or 3, which I'll heat up for early morning breakfasts this coming week.

Perfect Nacho Bean Dip

• 1 can refried beans
  
• about 1 cup Medium or Hot salsa
  
• shredded co-jack cheese (optional)
  
• 1 bag corn chips

Empty can of beans into microwave safe dish, pour salsa on top.

Cover. Cook in microwave 2 mins, stir.

Continue cooking until heated through in 30 second intervals, stirring between.

When this is hot, sprinkle cheese on top and melt in microwave (about 30 seconds).

Serve immediately w/corn chips, or keep warm in the (regular) oven @ 200 until your guests arrive.

Underground tip: Seriously, do not even consider using mild salsa. The beans really take the edge off the spices in the salsa. Whenever I've used mild salsa, the dip winds up tasting bland. The above recipe, made with Medium salsa, does not seem spicy at all (so don't worry if you don't like spicy food), but instead it tastes flavorful and delicious!

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This is great for parties, because it's fast, easy, and there's a lot to go around. But--this travels well for road trips (no cooler needed), and after say, a 7:30 to 10pm rehearsal, it's a substantial snack/mini-meal that you can make, which many of my friends have enjoyed sharing with me!

Bon Appetit!

Bagel, please!

I haven't had a chance to write much lately, but I will now report the thing I'm most excited about this week: Whole Foods in Cary has started carrying Glutino PLAIN Bagels again! I haven't been able to find these for years, and I went yesterday and found them, on sale, for 5.39 for the 5-pack! (or was it 5.69?). No matter.

What is great, is that a plain bagel is just that--PLAIN. They have been stocking Glutino Cinnimon Raisin Bagels, but there are some people who like fruit in their baked goods, and then there are the rest of us.

I am so excited about this I can't even put it into words.

The size and texture of these bagels are amazing. Honestly, I feel like the Glutino bagels are to Kinnickinick's bagels, what Panera Bagels are to Lender's. I just love 'em, and am so glad they are back! I was so excited, I went out and bought a toaster!

So you can either have a bagel with butter or cream cheese, of any savory or sweet flavor. Everybody wins. This is the magic of a plain bagel. You just can't put a lox on a raisin bagel! You just can't turn a raisin bagel into a bagel-pizza!

So, this week, it's kudos to the freezer guy at WF in Cary for re-stocking this magical product!

Souper Duper Alphabet Soup!

Check out this savory edible delight!
This vegetarian vegetable soup will warm your soul from the inside out.

Oh, did I mention it tastes great? And it's not that hard to make, either.

This is one of my favorite things to make, and it can either feed a lot of people (e.g. family, army, etc), or you can freeze portions for later. More to come on that.

First things first. What do you need and what do you do?

Exact quantities will vary depending on the size of your soup pan. Pretty much, whatever fills up the pan, or however much you want to make. When I make this, I use a 6-qt pot.





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Ingredients:

2-3 medium onions
2 Tbsp oil, or so

3-4 potatoes
2 small (14.5 oz) cans or 1 large can stewed tomatoes
4 to 6 cups of water
2 cans of beans (garbanzo, kidney, etc.)
1 bag frozen mixed soup vegetables

2 Knorr Vegetarian Vegetable Bouillon cubes
Salt, to taste
1/3 package Mrs Leeper's Alphabet Pasta (about 2/3 cup) (or any other pasta)

Directions:

Cut up onions and saute in the oil over medium-low heat. When onions are clear, add the cans of tomatoes, bouillon, and add just enough water to fill the pot just a little over 1/2 full (4-6 cups?). Turn up the burner to medium high.

Wash potatoes and cut into about 1/2" pieces (I cut the potatoes while the onions cook). Add the potatoes. Add the frozen vegetables. Open the cans of beans and rinse in a collander. Add the beans to the pot.

Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer. Simmer on medium-low about 30-45 minutes until vegetables look tender. Taste the broth and add salt if needed.

When the soup looks and tastes like soup, add pasta. Cook until tender (12-15 min). I love this with Mrs. Leepers Alphabets. It's just like being a kid all over again. Hooray!

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Underground tip: When I finish cooking this, I divide up into individual servings in containers. I reuse containers from the store, which is FREE, and saves the environment by reusing instead of discarding or even using energy to recycle. Usually just a little over a cupful in each container is about the right portion for a meal for me.

Then I freeze the containers, and voila! I have 9 lunches (and two other large containers for the fridge). So over the next few weeks, one choice for lunch at work is soup, or any time for dinner at home. I cook one evening, and get nine other meals I can make in about 3 minutes in the microwave. This thinking ahead saves me time and money, and it's been working for me for years. So that $12.95 on lunch becomes 12.95 in my retirement account or rainy day fund. Surprise, you're gluten free, and saving money! Who knew?

Oh, and for those of you wary of using plastic containers. I live my life on the edge, so I just cook these right in the plastic container in the microwave. BUT you can allow soup to thaw slightly and then you can just pop it out of the container into a glass bowl, or pan on the stove.

Boxed Mac 'n' Cheese

I promised some product reviews, so here ya go.

If you are like me (and everyone else who grew up in America since about 1937) sodium-rich boxed macaroni and cheese is probably one of the first solid foods you knew on a first-name basis.

So here are the best GF products that I've found: DeBoles 7.25oz Gluten Free Rice Pasta & Cheese (2.19 at Kroger), and Trader Joe's 6oz Gluten Free Rice Pasta & Cheddar (1.99 at Trader Joe's). Both are great tasting, but slightly different.

Ingredients:

DeBoles: Elbow style pasta (rice flour and rice bran extract) and Cheese Sauce Mix (Wisconsin Cheddar Cheese [Milk, Salt, and Enzymes], and Dry Buttermilk). 100mg sodium per 1/2 cup serving

Trader Joe's: Rice Pasta (rice flour), Cheddar cheese (cultured pasteurized milk, salt, enzymes), whey, buttermilk, butter, salt, natural flavor, sodium phosphate, annato extract (color). 390mg sodium per 1 cup serving

Underground thoughts:
The box of Deboles seems like a lot more macaroni looking into the pan. I also had forgotten that it is white cheddar, which even if it's just psychological, I think caters to a more sophisticated palate. The orange-ness of the Trader Joe's makes me think of screaming kids, who deserve food that they can enjoy too. So everyone wins if you keep a box of each of these in the cupboard.



I don't know how the sodium compares with kraft, you know the one we grew up on that was apparently a celiac killer. Probabaly a lot better for you.

Speaking of Kraft, I had a real hankerin' for some Mac 'n' Cheese and wrote to them, to ask if they could sell the sauce mix independently of the pasta, or offer a gluten-free version of their product (something like, "Can you either make available your cheese sauce alone-without noodles-so we can make our own rice noodle mac 'n' cheese..." etc.). They told me about this product: Kraft Macaroni and Cheese Topping

So, there is life after wheatey-mac. If you want it. Or just that occasional hankerin'. I find that it's probably a lot better to look for less starch in my diet, e.g. more fiber and fruits and vegetables. But it sure is nice to know that you aren't denied any particular foods, we really do have everything we need...GF Life is Good!

P.S. You probably want to avoid Annie's GF mac 'n' cheese in the blue box. The bunny on the box is cute. It's been a few years since I tried it, but I remember that the cheese was OK, but the pasta was horrid....save your money on that one.

Great Fresh Basil Pasta

Tinkyada makes amazing pasta! It only contains: stone-ground brown rice, rice bran, and water.

This is a very easy recipe that a chef friend of mine, known as "The Lady" taught me how to make:

A bunch of Fresh Basil, probably about 1/8 c.? More or less to taste
Handful of small tomatoes, grape or cherry
Fettucine noodles (cook with a pinch of salt and olive oil)
Fresh Mozzarella (opt.)

While cooking the noodles as directed, cut tomatoes in half (bite sized pieces).
Cut up basil (I use kitchen shears).

When noodles are finished, toss together. Garnish with fresh mozzarella.

Serve immediately. This is an amazingly flavorful dish.
I eat the leftovers cold, it's like a pasta salad.
Underground tip: Make sure to add oil to pasta water. Stir immediately when you add the noodles to keep them from sticking together.

Enjoy! Grazie!
(p.s. my camera ate the photo of the pasta it was so good! Sorry I don't have it, I will add another photo to this entry the next batch).

Super Fast Tostada lunch

Ok, get ready: this one's really hard!

Buy:

• large package of tostadas from the Mexican Foods aisle at a regular grocery store.
• can of refried beans
• package of shredded cheese (or lettuce, tomato, guacamole, whatever)

Directions:

• Open Tostada bag, remove tostada.
• Open can of beans, scoop out into a container (container optional, you could leave in the can)
• Spread beans onto tostadas with knife.
• Optional: sprinkle with shredded cheese.
• Microwave approx. 1 minute, until beans are hot and/or cheese melts.

Voila! Instant lunch.

You could dress this up with some lettuce, tomato, sour cream, guacamole, or salsa. Or just eat plain. Soy cheese could be used. Vary however you like.

The bottom pic is the finished tostada, prep time: 3 mins, cook time: 1.5 mins. And the rest of my lunch--yogurt (0 min.), bag of carrots and dip (0 min., can be substituted with Hummus, which is probably healthier!).

Underground tip: Heluva Good makes some real good GF dip!