#21 feels a bit too real. Someone at buzzfeed really gets medically-required gluten free living.
Sunday, March 23, 2014
Thursday, March 6, 2014
pistachio liqueur
I love pistachios so much that when a friend offered me a sip of Dumante, a pistachio liqueur, I nearly tackled someone as I lunged towards the cup. Sadly, I was left a little wanting. It had pistachio flavor, but it was really light and gentle. (Pistachios are the most aggressive nut, but this didn't sing to me.)
I found a recipe online for pistachio liqueur, but I wondered how it would turn out if I omitted the spices. Some further research - via misspelling liqueur "liquore", lead me to the glorious discovery that Sicilians make a "creamy" style. Recipes seem to vary between adding actual cows milk cream, or blending the pistachios down and soaking them in alcohol so it is a bit of a nut milk infused booze.
I decided to start with the dairy-free style and see if I could attempt a clear liqueur.
I purchased half a pound of unsalted in-the-shell pistachios, and then shelled them.
Then I rough-chopped them, and it yielded a scant cup of meat.
I added them to a Ball jar (yes I put nuts in a ball jar), and covered them with 750ml of vodka.
I hemmed and hawed about it, but decided I did in fact really want some beautiful vanilla to join the party. I had Madagascar and Tahitian on hand. Smelling both, the Tahitian was the clear winner since it is a much lighter, fruit-ier vanilla, and I am hopefully it will play nicely with the nuts.
Then I took a blurry picture of nuts settling with the bean.
I labeled the jar and made a pact with myself to shake it every few days and taste it after two weeks.
I found a recipe online for pistachio liqueur, but I wondered how it would turn out if I omitted the spices. Some further research - via misspelling liqueur "liquore", lead me to the glorious discovery that Sicilians make a "creamy" style. Recipes seem to vary between adding actual cows milk cream, or blending the pistachios down and soaking them in alcohol so it is a bit of a nut milk infused booze.
I decided to start with the dairy-free style and see if I could attempt a clear liqueur.
I purchased half a pound of unsalted in-the-shell pistachios, and then shelled them.
Then I rough-chopped them, and it yielded a scant cup of meat.
I added them to a Ball jar (yes I put nuts in a ball jar), and covered them with 750ml of vodka.
I hemmed and hawed about it, but decided I did in fact really want some beautiful vanilla to join the party. I had Madagascar and Tahitian on hand. Smelling both, the Tahitian was the clear winner since it is a much lighter, fruit-ier vanilla, and I am hopefully it will play nicely with the nuts.
Then I took a blurry picture of nuts settling with the bean.
I labeled the jar and made a pact with myself to shake it every few days and taste it after two weeks.
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
searching for authentic ethnic food
I saw this comic and shouted "yes yes yes!" at the screen.
Shing Yin Khor does a beautiful job of walking the reader through her character's experience of her foodways and how other people view them. She gently and then strongly forces the other character searching for the ability to label something authentic (and the reader), to acknowledge what that means and what it erases.
Her work toes the line of showing and telling. Khor does this with grace, weaving in stories of what people perceive her to eat, want her to eat, and what she does it, and then hits you with strong declarations:
"We're a people, not a cuisine.
Do not deny us our own diversity".
I could gush on how this should be mandatory reading in every food studies, anthropology, and sociology class, and how it every "food blogger" should have to meaningfully engage with the piece and never use the words "ethnic cuisine" again... but just go read it. I promise we can have as hearty a discussion as you like in the comments section.
Shing Yin Khor does a beautiful job of walking the reader through her character's experience of her foodways and how other people view them. She gently and then strongly forces the other character searching for the ability to label something authentic (and the reader), to acknowledge what that means and what it erases.
Her work toes the line of showing and telling. Khor does this with grace, weaving in stories of what people perceive her to eat, want her to eat, and what she does it, and then hits you with strong declarations:
"We're a people, not a cuisine.
Do not deny us our own diversity".
I could gush on how this should be mandatory reading in every food studies, anthropology, and sociology class, and how it every "food blogger" should have to meaningfully engage with the piece and never use the words "ethnic cuisine" again... but just go read it. I promise we can have as hearty a discussion as you like in the comments section.
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
gluten free alcohol - new rules
I tried Omission beer and really fell in love with it. Heck it is a gluten-removed beer, so real beer. The problem was, shortly after I was polishing a post about it, I read that the ELISA tests that Omission uses is not sensitive to be less than 20ppm accurate. I decided hold off on blogging and to email Omission directly about their testing policies. One of their reps said they would look into it and get back to me. Well that was in March of 2013... I am still waiting.
So I have chosen not to drink Omission, or Dura, or any of the other gluten-removed beers. It doesn't seem worth the risk, especially with all of the confusion. (Most of the confusion is because in the U.S. alcohol does not have to be labeled the way food does; it is actually a separate governmental agency Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, that deals with labeling, not the FDA.)
Today ATT released a revised policy on gluten in alcoholic beverages and spirits. This is huge because there are now rules about what alcoholic beverages can (and can't) be labeled gluten-free. The gluten-removed beers, they cannot use the term. I hope this helps everyone, but especially the newly diagnosed, better navigate the world of beverages.
Thanks to Gluten Free Fun for sharing the news.
So I have chosen not to drink Omission, or Dura, or any of the other gluten-removed beers. It doesn't seem worth the risk, especially with all of the confusion. (Most of the confusion is because in the U.S. alcohol does not have to be labeled the way food does; it is actually a separate governmental agency Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, that deals with labeling, not the FDA.)
Today ATT released a revised policy on gluten in alcoholic beverages and spirits. This is huge because there are now rules about what alcoholic beverages can (and can't) be labeled gluten-free. The gluten-removed beers, they cannot use the term. I hope this helps everyone, but especially the newly diagnosed, better navigate the world of beverages.
Thanks to Gluten Free Fun for sharing the news.
Thursday, February 6, 2014
This is last time I want to ever see the word "glutard"
Hey humans stop using the word "glutard". It is offensive, crude, and inappropriate.
Still not convinced...
"Glutard" is a co-opting of language. It is glutenizing of the word retard.
The word "retard" or "retarded" has been used to systematically take away the rights, power, agency, and humanity from those with different physical appearances and different perceived capabilities. It is used to exclude people. It is used to hurt people as a synonym for "stupid".
"Glutard" is also incredibly reductionist. I am more than my ability to have an autoimmune reaction to gluten. I am not saying we shouldn't discuss important health issues, we should keep doing this, but there is nothing to be gained by invoking hate speech + gluten.
There are plenty of words to describe not being able to eat gluten without invoking terms that ableist and cruel. Let's prevent this term from "catching on". Let's stop using this word forever.
Still not convinced...
"Glutard" is a co-opting of language. It is glutenizing of the word retard.
The word "retard" or "retarded" has been used to systematically take away the rights, power, agency, and humanity from those with different physical appearances and different perceived capabilities. It is used to exclude people. It is used to hurt people as a synonym for "stupid".
"Glutard" is also incredibly reductionist. I am more than my ability to have an autoimmune reaction to gluten. I am not saying we shouldn't discuss important health issues, we should keep doing this, but there is nothing to be gained by invoking hate speech + gluten.
There are plenty of words to describe not being able to eat gluten without invoking terms that ableist and cruel. Let's prevent this term from "catching on". Let's stop using this word forever.
Tuesday, November 26, 2013
Thanksgiving recipes, tips, tricks
It is my favorite time of year - THANKSGIVING
It is a great holiday for eating, being grateful, while surrounded by friends and family. It is truly the best!
Here is my annual round out of tips and recipes. I hope you have a fantastic Thursday and fun cooking your way to it.
Brining a turkeyCooking a turkey Brining and cooking a duck Stuffing (aka dressing)
cranberry orange saucecranberry apple saucestuffed mushrooms
brioche
vegan sweet potato cornbread
homemade crackers
chex mix
apple pie
vegan pumpkin custard
pumpkin pie
English toffee
buttermilk brioche (you could turn them into rolls by doling them out into muffin tins)
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
how difficult is it to be gluten free
Jennifer Esposito's recent interview got a few wheels turning. Is it actually harder now than it was 4 years ago to be gluten free? Are there really no resources "out there" for Jennifer (and the millions of other humans who need to live gluten free)?
When people are first diagnosed I cut them a lot of slack. I offer them advice. I tell others to be care, generous, and above all forgiving. When you are first figuring out the gluten-free landscape it can feel overwhelming and one can be prone to hyperbole. But after 4 years, perspective should have set in. There are now more gluten-free cookbooks, online resources, guides, friends, and medical professions who know what gluten is. It is far from perfect, but it is leaps and bounds better. It is also millions of times easier to find information than if you were diagnosed before the mid-90s... you know before the internet.
I think we need a time out to talk about privilege. Gluten-free privilege looks like this:
If you had the ability to google anything about celiac disease or gluten
If you have the free time do research about gluten
You have a computer
People listen to you when you say your are ill
You found a doctor who would work with you and doesn't say its all in your head
You have a doctor
You have health insurance
You have the time and money to go to multiple doctors visits
You have paid sick time to have medical tests done like an endoscopy and colonoscopy
If you made it this far down the list, there is a high probability that you are white and not suffering from other healthcare disparities
You have choices in what you get to eat and when
You have access to gluten free replacement foods (like gf bread)
You can afford gluten free replacement foods
You can afford the time and money to research gluten-free options
You have a platform where people listen to you (cough blogging cough)
You have access to gluten free recipes, cookbooks, guides
So why does this matter?
In the US, right now, 15% of people live at or below the poverty line ($23,050 or less a year for a family of four). That is over 45 million people. It is actually a lot more complicate. Let's put this in perspective. The average actual cost of living for a family of 5 in the US is $58,627 a year.
There are millions of Americans who don't have access to time, information, or money to buy gluten-free replacement foods. Millions of Americans don't have the privilege that Jennifer does, or that I do. There are people who won't get a chance this year to find out that by not eating gluten, she could feel a whole lot better.
The second big problem I have with Esposito's comment is the fact that it has the effect of erasing people. By saying that there aren't any resources out there, she is blanketing decades of research, books, advocacy, and lives of people who helped make it possible for her to be diagnosed as having celiac disease and have something to eat before she opened her bakery.
Jennifer, as does everyone, has the right to feel alone and frustrated with the current gluten-free marketplace in the US. It can be incredibly difficult to navigate through misinformation, cross-contamination, and feel like you are constantly having to educate others. It can be exhausting. But we need to acknowledge that we aren't the first human beings dealing with this and that things would be a lot more difficult with the incredible work of other people who shared recipes, engaged in scientific research without the funding of drug companies, provided support networks in-person and online, and made safe gf food options available before yesterday. Ignoring those people, erasing them from history, that doesn't help us at all. It hurts us.
Friday, September 27, 2013
boycott barilla
It is really hard to find good gluten-free pasta. So much of it tastes like shoes or disintegrates a millisecond after it reaches al dente.
And now it is a bit harder.
Barilla's CEO's bigoted comments means it is off the table. I implore you to add your voice and tell Barilla that an apology isn't enough. They need to include all types of families in their ads. A boycott is not enough. Leave them a comment on their site. Let's flood them with our voices.
Here was what I wrote them:
As an Italian American, and a human being, I am appalled at the bigoted comments made by your CEO. LGBT pasta eaters and their allies care about such language and will boycott your products until you apologize and add images of all families into your ad campaigns. You need to make reparations for the wrong and painful language used by the head of your organization and acknowledge that you actually care about your consumers. I will not be eating your products until you do so, nor will anyone I know.
And now it is a bit harder.
Barilla's CEO's bigoted comments means it is off the table. I implore you to add your voice and tell Barilla that an apology isn't enough. They need to include all types of families in their ads. A boycott is not enough. Leave them a comment on their site. Let's flood them with our voices.
Here was what I wrote them:
As an Italian American, and a human being, I am appalled at the bigoted comments made by your CEO. LGBT pasta eaters and their allies care about such language and will boycott your products until you apologize and add images of all families into your ad campaigns. You need to make reparations for the wrong and painful language used by the head of your organization and acknowledge that you actually care about your consumers. I will not be eating your products until you do so, nor will anyone I know.
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
the very best gluten free pumpkin bars
I am not one for gloating, but hear me people when I say that I have made the most delicious pumpkin thing ever! (The picture doesn't do it justice - these treats survived the worst public transit could throw at them this morning and still provided joy to others.)
Do you remember when I totally tried to pull of a failed pumpkin bread recipe and call it a "brownie"? We can laugh at that now, because with a few tweaks, that recipe has sprouted a new MOST GLORIOUS food.
Oh yes I did cut them into parallelograms. On-the-bias slices might just be tastier. Don't even think about asking me if one could put chocolate chips in said recipe. Chocolate has no place here. Stop trying to put chocolate on/in everything! Chocolate is good, but it overwhelms squashes in general. While I cannot stop you from mucking about in your own kitchen, I am going to pause and stare-you-down towards the right decision.
Ok, put the bag of chips down, and pay attention.
These guys are spicy, not in the chili pepper way, but in the loads of wonderful, intense spices that make this a borderline spice bar. If you are a traditionalist - aka boringmouth - you can half the spices and you will still have a good pumpkin bar. But why settle for good when you can have the best square of pumpkin in the world? (Seriously, why would you?)
gluten free pumpkin bars
1 stick unsalted butter (aka half a cup)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white or cane sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup millet flour
1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup hazelnut meal
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp Ceylon cinnamon
3/4 tsp Vietnamese cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp psyllium husk
15oz (canned) pumpkin
Preheat oven to 350F
1. Cream the butter and sugars. You aren't going to fluffy, but you want to take it past the point where it is a ball of grit hanging on to your mixer, to a smear of stuff coating the mixing bowl.
2. Add in each egg, one at a time. Mix till it is thoroughly incorporated.
3. Combine all of the dry ingredients in a separate bowl.
4. Pour half of the dry mix into the butter/sugars/egg mixture and combine. Add half of the pumpkin to the bowl and combine. Repeat.
5. Bake in a 9x13x3 inch baking dish at 350F for 25-40 minutes depending on the awesomeness of your oven. You want to be able to insert a stick into the center and have it come out clean.
6. Cool.
7. Cut and enjoy!
Friday, September 6, 2013
sarcasm, hyperbole, and access oh my
I treasure sarcasm, so when HuffyP throws at me some sarcasm with science I am in a special little part of hog heaven. It is really really really hard to not respond to asinine blanket statements about "food fads" that hit close to home without exploding in some form of rage. The reality is - it is personal. Being hyperbolic is a fun way of pointing out some pretty ridiculousness without perhaps seeming shout-y.
5+ years later I still get irked when people equate their "diet" with my inability to eat gluten without becoming ill - and opening up long-term health risks. It is not the same. Not remotely.
I am frustrated-at-hypothetical-you, equating your desire to avoid a food for weight loss is no the same. In fact, I have a new speech in my back pocket for you. When you say "oh maybe I should go gluten-free, its so much healthier and I could probably loose some weight" I say "most people gain weight on a gluten-free diet, many because they were malnourished, but a lot of gluten-free replacement foods are higher in calories. And you need to be very vigilant and read every label and you don't get to go to a new restaurant on a Friday or Saturday when its busy, and the biggest hurdle is crumbs and cross-contamination..." At this point your eyes start to widen, or glaze over, and a little piece of me hopes I have dispelled any notion that living gluten-free is anything like that 2 weeks you tried Weight Watchers in the mid-90s.
Also, I have noticed that "you" are a woman under 50. Men don't say shit like this to me. (White men however do feel the need to point at my cane and ask me "so what happened there?" like it is their business, and obviously temporary.) This isn't a controlled study, but 5 years of gf living and I feel like its gotta be a bit more than anecdotal at this point. Women who I speak to about my food needs assume I am doing it to loose weight, nearly every single time. They also assume that I want to discuss weight loss techniques because I am on a "diet". We have a lot of work to do to create a better, healthier social climate for women and girls to talk about food and to do so without having it bound up in the binary of either being on a diet or not.
Don't get me wrong, I will talk to you about what I eat, I will talk to you about what you eat, but if your goal is to have a performative discussion about how we are all on "some sort of diet" I am going to stop you and stop you hard. These discussions are not ok. I am not going to perpetuate how you having a cupcake and eating it in front of me makes you feel bad or guilty. I am not going to do it. First off - your cupcake is poison to my body. Secondly, it is a cupcake. It is a treat, a snack, a celebratory food. I am not going to be part of some food vilification or you feeling the need to go on and tell me about how many extra sit-ups you are going to "make" yourself do tonight as penance. I am just not going to be part of it. We can talk about things, and I will do my best to hear you and understand that you are probably dealing with a whole lot of feelings about your body and its relationships with food, but hear me people: I am not going to make you feel ok about hating your body or yourself for the food you eat.
I bring all of this up because I think one of the points that Sisson misses is that the term "diet" is causing a problem. No one who refers to abstaining from eating peanuts because they have a peanut allergy as a "peanut-free diet", though clearly that is what is going on. I have talked before about the power and limitations of language. The word "diet" conjures images of choice and cheating and the ability to choose, not the inability to choose.
Back to the article, basically it is great because it is a decent round up of research, laws, studies, and cursory trend analysis; plus the bonus of being sasserific. Like nearly every article out there, is misses out on who has access to the information and gf foods - it almost goes there when he talks about gluten-free replacement foods costing more and the current medical advice to not go gluten free without talking to a doctor first - but Sisson falls short of actually having a frank discussion (or sarcastic one) about who is getting the access, knowledge, and option to go gluten free. (Hint it is not those most impacted by the "exacerbated obesity problem")
And yes, clearly Sisson is promoting his own agenda - primal eating. If I am honest, we all have our own agenda. I want people to be less asshattery about gluten-free options actually being gluten free! I want real SNAP and school lunch reform that is socially, economically, and culturally appropriate! I want people to understand the social implications of dietary restrictions! I want all french fry frialators to be dedicated to potatoes only! I want the US to stop subsidizing corn! I want the price of solar panels to come down! I want the minimum wadge to be a living wage! I want healthcare to not be tied to employment! (hopefully this one is coming soon)
I have a lot more wants, but I feel like I am pretty clear about it. Sisson was being a little sneaky and a few people are feeling touchy about it. I don't know. I could never be fully honest about all of my biases, Sisson at least linked to his site. It feels like a baby/bathwater thing. He offers a lot of information in one spot, and even thought I don't feel like he is making the strongest argument for giving up all grains, he is pointing out how bonkers the whole fad-climate is right now.
This is the third major oversight - so many people are getting it wrong
Fame and publicity is a weird thing. Gluten free being a fad has opened a lot of doors to more options, and more problems. It is a clear way of increasing profits, but not necessarily doing it right. (Thanks GFG for pointing out the hypocrisy in the gluten-free cheesecake with wheat husks) It is really really hard to be truly gluten free since it has become more popular. Yes there are more options, but most of those options aren't really safe. There is a giant false-sense-of-security-blanket draped over crumbs and soy sauce. We need to talk about this more.
Overall, yay for more research. Yay for more people talking about this. Yay for more nuanced discussions about these issues. And I will still hold out hope that one day we will look back and laugh at the amount of time we spent worrying, because there will be a cure. Till then, I think we need to try harder to include more people in the discussions and make sure those who need to be gluten free are and have the tools to do so.
5+ years later I still get irked when people equate their "diet" with my inability to eat gluten without becoming ill - and opening up long-term health risks. It is not the same. Not remotely.
I am frustrated-at-hypothetical-you, equating your desire to avoid a food for weight loss is no the same. In fact, I have a new speech in my back pocket for you. When you say "oh maybe I should go gluten-free, its so much healthier and I could probably loose some weight" I say "most people gain weight on a gluten-free diet, many because they were malnourished, but a lot of gluten-free replacement foods are higher in calories. And you need to be very vigilant and read every label and you don't get to go to a new restaurant on a Friday or Saturday when its busy, and the biggest hurdle is crumbs and cross-contamination..." At this point your eyes start to widen, or glaze over, and a little piece of me hopes I have dispelled any notion that living gluten-free is anything like that 2 weeks you tried Weight Watchers in the mid-90s.
Also, I have noticed that "you" are a woman under 50. Men don't say shit like this to me. (White men however do feel the need to point at my cane and ask me "so what happened there?" like it is their business, and obviously temporary.) This isn't a controlled study, but 5 years of gf living and I feel like its gotta be a bit more than anecdotal at this point. Women who I speak to about my food needs assume I am doing it to loose weight, nearly every single time. They also assume that I want to discuss weight loss techniques because I am on a "diet". We have a lot of work to do to create a better, healthier social climate for women and girls to talk about food and to do so without having it bound up in the binary of either being on a diet or not.
Don't get me wrong, I will talk to you about what I eat, I will talk to you about what you eat, but if your goal is to have a performative discussion about how we are all on "some sort of diet" I am going to stop you and stop you hard. These discussions are not ok. I am not going to perpetuate how you having a cupcake and eating it in front of me makes you feel bad or guilty. I am not going to do it. First off - your cupcake is poison to my body. Secondly, it is a cupcake. It is a treat, a snack, a celebratory food. I am not going to be part of some food vilification or you feeling the need to go on and tell me about how many extra sit-ups you are going to "make" yourself do tonight as penance. I am just not going to be part of it. We can talk about things, and I will do my best to hear you and understand that you are probably dealing with a whole lot of feelings about your body and its relationships with food, but hear me people: I am not going to make you feel ok about hating your body or yourself for the food you eat.
I bring all of this up because I think one of the points that Sisson misses is that the term "diet" is causing a problem. No one who refers to abstaining from eating peanuts because they have a peanut allergy as a "peanut-free diet", though clearly that is what is going on. I have talked before about the power and limitations of language. The word "diet" conjures images of choice and cheating and the ability to choose, not the inability to choose.
Back to the article, basically it is great because it is a decent round up of research, laws, studies, and cursory trend analysis; plus the bonus of being sasserific. Like nearly every article out there, is misses out on who has access to the information and gf foods - it almost goes there when he talks about gluten-free replacement foods costing more and the current medical advice to not go gluten free without talking to a doctor first - but Sisson falls short of actually having a frank discussion (or sarcastic one) about who is getting the access, knowledge, and option to go gluten free. (Hint it is not those most impacted by the "exacerbated obesity problem")
And yes, clearly Sisson is promoting his own agenda - primal eating. If I am honest, we all have our own agenda. I want people to be less asshattery about gluten-free options actually being gluten free! I want real SNAP and school lunch reform that is socially, economically, and culturally appropriate! I want people to understand the social implications of dietary restrictions! I want all french fry frialators to be dedicated to potatoes only! I want the US to stop subsidizing corn! I want the price of solar panels to come down! I want the minimum wadge to be a living wage! I want healthcare to not be tied to employment! (hopefully this one is coming soon)
I have a lot more wants, but I feel like I am pretty clear about it. Sisson was being a little sneaky and a few people are feeling touchy about it. I don't know. I could never be fully honest about all of my biases, Sisson at least linked to his site. It feels like a baby/bathwater thing. He offers a lot of information in one spot, and even thought I don't feel like he is making the strongest argument for giving up all grains, he is pointing out how bonkers the whole fad-climate is right now.
This is the third major oversight - so many people are getting it wrong
Fame and publicity is a weird thing. Gluten free being a fad has opened a lot of doors to more options, and more problems. It is a clear way of increasing profits, but not necessarily doing it right. (Thanks GFG for pointing out the hypocrisy in the gluten-free cheesecake with wheat husks) It is really really hard to be truly gluten free since it has become more popular. Yes there are more options, but most of those options aren't really safe. There is a giant false-sense-of-security-blanket draped over crumbs and soy sauce. We need to talk about this more.
Overall, yay for more research. Yay for more people talking about this. Yay for more nuanced discussions about these issues. And I will still hold out hope that one day we will look back and laugh at the amount of time we spent worrying, because there will be a cure. Till then, I think we need to try harder to include more people in the discussions and make sure those who need to be gluten free are and have the tools to do so.
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