2011 the best of

Happy Holidays!

This has been a weird year.
5 jobs and 3 moves latter, I am still not sure how to think about 2011. There are few things I can be more certain of than knowing I have the best friends. They truly are! Do you have someone in your life you can call or text with urgent chocolate questions? Know a pal who will drop everything and help you move, again? Is anyone on speed dial who can find the episode of Dr. Who that you are missing and just "have to see"? This is what I am talking about! Oh and did I mention that several have reserved special "gluten-free" space in their kitchens so that I will not only feel welcome but safe to eat and cook in their homes?! I am telling you, I am super lucky.

So without further ado, a year in review...

I had an amazing time branching out from blogging to teaching coffee & chocolate classes at Qualia Coffee in D.C.

No Gluten Required business cards came into existence.

I got to test recipes for an amazing new book: Caseus Fromagerie Bistro Cookbook: Every Cheese Has a Story, created by a friend and fellow BU Gastronomy student, Jason Sobosinski. Why yes, he is the man you have seen on the Cooking Channel.

I still get excited when someone emails me or comments on a post. I like using this space as a way to force me to write down what I am cooking, and I often refer to it when I am in the kitchen. But I truly feel that both my writing and my cooking get better when there are people to eat and read with me. This year, people have emailed and commented more than ever! So thanks readers for listening, tasting, and chatting along with me.
When I was first diagnosed, it was great to not feel alone. Now, its something more special.

NGR has always been a little rant-filled, but this year things got revved up a bit:
Sex and the celiac
Thomas Keller's C4C
Occupy NGR
NYT...

Superlatives were not allowed in my high school yearbook - and yes, I know because I worked on it. So to make up for lost time, here are mine for gluten free products for 2011:

Favorite snack food - Oven-fried chick peas (recipe forthcoming)

Second favorite snack - crackers

Favorite alcoholic beverage - Clos Normand Cider

Best new packaged food - Trader Joe's Gluten Free Crispy Crunchy Chocolate Chip Cookies

I haven't written about these because I just just recently discovered them. They are truly fantastic. A group of us were eating them and someone uttered, "finally someone harnessed the crunchiness of rice flour and used it for something its good at". These are truly the best packaged gluten free cookies I have eaten. They remind me a lot of my memory of Tate's cookies. Very crispy and buttery. They rule. (Why they have a medieval-style etching of bakers on the package is beyond me. Just trust me to look past this, judge little, and eat liberally.)

Favorite kitchen experiment - Homemade Tonic Water
From running around Chinatown with phonetic translations of cinchonia bark, to impromptu filtering systems, this was hands down the most delicious idea.

Second favorite kitchen experiment - rugelach

Third favorite kitchen experiment - injera

A safe and happy New Year's celebration to all!

Open Clinical Drug Study

There is a clinical trial accepting new persons with Celiac Disease who follow a gluten free diet and are still symptomatic. It appears to be a single or double-blind study for Larazotide Acetate. Here is a write about about the drug. I would still like to see a clearer explanation of what reactions it causes or prevents in T-cells, but it is interesting non the less! Anyone have any more info?

Phase 2

Here is a tiny bit of exciting news... funds have been raised for a phase 2 clinical trial of a celiac "vaccine". It will be interesting to see the results of the T-cell responses and efficacy. I am cautiously optimistic.

Gluten Free Travel

Traveling gluten-free in a gluten-filled world can be tricky. Where are your favorite spots? Where have you had excellent options and service? Where would you like to go or go again?

Mass Market - Sunday 11 December

I am going to be running a table at Mass Market on Sunday, December 11th from 12-6 at Mass Art in Boston. I will be selling copies of Cook Food Every Day, which has over 40 gluten free recipes, and ALL proceeds go to the Greater Boston Food Bank. There will also be treats from the cookbook for sale to help tide you over till you get to make them yourself.

Come down and grab a gluten free snack, cookbook, chat, support local arts, knock out your winter shopping list, or some or all of the above!

**

Mass Market is a DIY (do it yourself) flea market where artists, crafters, clothing designers, jewelry designers, photographers, record sellers, local bands, button makers, bookbinders, DJs, vegan and vegetarian bakers, and many others come together for a day of swapping, sharing, selling and buying art.
Presented by Lindsay Metivier, co-produced by Brian Butler/The Upper Hand Art

Directions:
Mass Market is held at Massachusetts College of Art and Design in the Pozen Center, at 621 Huntington Avenue, Boston MA 02115
The Pozen Center is in the North Building, located at the intersection of Tetlow St. and Evans Way.

NYT Magazine article, and what's missing

This Sunday's New York Times Magazine included an interesting piece: Should We All Go Gluten Free?

You might be surprised to hear that I have some opinions about said article. Since this post does not come with photos, you might be tempted to ignore it, so I shall employ the power of the bulleted list to pull you back in. 

• The article is mis-titled (Note that article writers almost never write article titles, its up to the editor. Here we have another stunning example why "snappy titles" that have nothing to do with the content irritate people who care about the article)
• There is a complete omission of the large price difference between gluten filled and gluten-free replacement foods
• The author ignores the many people, companies, support groups, and facilities that have and DO support people with Celiac Disease, you know, before General Mills thought it a profitable idea.
• There is no mention of access to care. This directly relates to the 11 year average diagnosis rate for Celiac Disease in the U.S.
• There is a glossing over of what other "changes" occurred with the reformulation. 
• Its hard to pick, but possibly the saddest part, is the lack of General Mills using its Big Food money to support and lobby for labeling laws that define "gluten free" in the United States. This would be an amazing way to actually allow people to know what food is and isn't safe.  

I don't not think that every article can do every thing for further the knowledge, understanding, compassion, and access to basic socially and culturally appropriate foods and healthcare, but ignoring half the story makes General Mills sound like a hero, rather than an opportunist.

And it ignores that the products that General Mills produce, benefit SOME people. Those with money, access to care and information, and who speak and read English, and who see gluten-free Bisquick as "food". It also ignores that there are a lot of strings attached to this offer of gluten-free replacement foods.

The reformulation of Chex came along with the addition of the preservative BHT. Trying their product, I found myself wondering, like many did, about its gluten-free nature because it caused digestive unrest. This, yet another omission, by Mr. O'Brien, gives me a less-than-warm-and-fuzzy-feeling about his proximity to General Mills. Maybe he is just a fan, a person who is excited to have more "normal" gluten free options on store shelves. Call me Pollyanna-ish, but I except a lot more from journalists.

Thanksgiving recipe round-up

Yeeeeeeeeeeee hawwwwwwwww

Planning ahead tips
Brining a turkey
Cooking a turkey
Brining and cooking a duck

Stuffing
cranberry orange sauce
cranberry apple sauce
stuffed mushrooms
buttermilk brioche (you could turn them into rolls by doling them out into muffin tins)
brioche
vegan sweet potato cornbread
homemade crackers
chex mix
scones (remove the sugar and you have biscuits!)
apple pie
vegan pumpkin custard
pumpkin pie
English toffee

I am working on some new fun ideas for this year. More squash and greens and cheeses for sure!

FCA receives an FDA grant

The National Foundation for Celiac Awareness, NFCA, has received an FDA grant to study gluten in medications.

This sort of begs the question why OTC and Rx drugs are allowed to not fully disclose ingredients... but that aside, I will be interested to see the findings.

Pumpkin breakfast muffins

Its moving from smoothie to decidedly not-smoothie-for-breakfast weather and I have started up my quest for more interesting breakfast options. I have been throwing beets and carrots into breakfast bars, breads, and loafs as a way of upping the fiber and adding a little sweetness - not to mention terrifyingly awesome hues to my morning snack.

This batch was a little hodge-podgey. The batter was looking rather dry, so I added some applesauce last minute. It helped with the flavor and texture, but the final muffins took a long time to bake - though their centers remained very moist.

Pumpkin breakfast muffins

The wet team
3/4 cup water
3 tbsp psyllium husk (you could use flax seed meal if you like)
3/4 cup oil
2 eggs
1/2 cup dates chopped
1 cup apple sauce
1/2 cup maple syrup

The dry team
1 cup almond meal
1 cup millet flour
1 cup brown rice flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp mace
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp allspice
1/8 tsp coriander

The stir-ins
2 cups chopped fruits & veggies (beets, apples, oranges, cranberries)
1/2 nuts/seeds + 1/4 cup for topping the muffins (pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds)

1. Combine the wet ingredients and mix well.
2. Slowly add in the dry ingredient in batches, scraping down the sides of the bowl.
3. With the mixer off, stir in the fruit and nuts.
4. Dish into muffin tins and top with additional nuts.
5. Bake at 350F for 45-1 hour.
6. Enjoy your super high fiber muffins that don't taste like cardboard!

LivingSocial Gluten Free Deal

Glutenfreely.com is having a $50 for $25 promo on LivingSocial.com, if you are into that sort of thing. Go forth and save money on over-priced packaged goods.