Oct.4: St. Francis of Assisi

Catholic Cuisine had such an adorable idea for St. Francis' feast day, that I decided to make it even though it does most definitely contain gluten. Those who really can't have any gluten ate left-over rose cupcakes instead (see, there was an advantage in being tardy with St. Therese's feast day!) We made the wolf paw cookies and I read them the story of St. Francis and the wolf.

Catholic Cuisine also has a new idea to honor St. Francis: making a tonsure cake. Betty Crocker has a gluten-free chocolate cake mix that I think would work well for this cake. We haven't tried the new mix yet, but, if it is as good as the yellow cake mix, it will be delicious!

Oct. 2: Feast of the Guardian Angels

This was another feast day we were tardy for (it was a busy weekend, obviously). By way of make-up, we made the adorable little angels from Hershey Kisses on Our Domestic Church's site. I couldn't find the sequin wings, so we just made our wings from pipe cleaners. As we got hot glue onto the chocolate itself, these are NOT edible, at least not in our house. But they look darling!

My middle son made a priest out of a Kiss as well. He felt like a priest belonged in the army of St. Michael.

Oct. 1: St. Therese, the Little Flower

Okay, confession time. We actually missed St.Therese's feast day on the 1st. However, I read that Oct. 3 was the traditional feast day for this lovely little saint, so we had a make-up day on the 3rd. To make it up to her, we really went all out: white tablecloth, sterling silver, and a LOT of special things in honor of her day.

The main course was beef bourguignon, in which I simply used a gluten-free flour (also substituted fresh mushrooms and onions where it called for canned, and added them at the same time as the other vegetables so they'd have time to cook). With this, we had steamed asparagus and a spinach salad. To drink, we made a red-tinted fruit punch.

The piece de la resistance was the dessert: rose covered cupcakes. We got the idea from Catholiccuisine.com I used the new Betty Crocker Gluten-Free Cake Mix and it was delicious. I added 2 tsp of strawberry jello (for color and flavor), and I added a bit of orange extract the the batter as well. Honestly, we couldn't tell them apart from glutinous cup cakes. My son made a buttercream icing to go on top, and then we crafted the little roses and leaves out of fruit roll-ups. They looked even better in person than they do in the pictures.

The last treat of the day was the chocolate rose bouquet made from Hershey's Kisses (this idea also came from Catholiccuisine.com). I decided to use the bamboo cooking skewers for the stems. We just kept the roses on display as they were too pretty to eat, but if you can handle the dairy in the milk chocolate, they are completely edible.

All in all, it was a lovely feast day, even if it was a little late.

Sept. 29: Michaelmas

I have been a bad blogger. We've been so busy celebrating feast days that I haven't taken the time to write about them. It's time to play catch-up!

September 29th: Michaelmas

The feast of St. Michael is a favorite in our home, where boys are drawn to heroic figures brandishing swords. Roast goose is traditional for this feast, but we substituted roast turkey instead (it's surprisingly hard to find a goose in TX. We did find a listing for geese in the pet column, but that would have just been wrong). The turkey was supplemented with gluten-free bannock bread (or Irish Soda bread), which was a great success! I got the recipe from Karina's gluten-free site. The main act was, of course, dessert. I made a g-f, c-f blackberry cobbler with a recipe I got off the web. Unfortunately, the batter was too liquidy and never set up properly. I compensated by adding a layer of sugar on the top, which browned to a crispy crust and helped a little with the lack of texture. Next time I will try a different recipe.

Funny thing about the blackberries: I had thought they were traditionally eaten on Michaelmas, but I happened to read (as my cobbler sat in the oven, not setting up properly) that one should NOT eat them on Michaelmas because the legend is that the Devil stepped in the blackberry patch on the eve of Michaelmas and now the berries are poisoned. Well, I found a way to compensate for this: lashings of whipped cream. Pure white mounds of whipped cream enveloping the devilish berries seemed a fitting metaphor for the day!

Amazing Cakes

I just picked up the current edition of "Donna Hay Kids' Magazine" at Borders and it has a gorgeous, gluten-free cake on the cover. I'm definitely making this! This is a beautiful magazine, by the way. Although many of the recipes inside were "glutenous", I find inspiration at looking at gorgeous photographs of simple meals presented with care. Here's the link, by the way: http://www.donnahay.com.au/recipes/695-rice-crackle-cake/ Don't be daunted by the "au" in the web address. They kindly give recipe quantities in the US format as well as the Aussie style.

UPDATE: I just discovered that Rice Crispies may have gluten in them. They containly malt, which is sometimes made with wheat. As the box doesn't say "gluten-free", I think we have to assume they contain gluten. However, there are gluten-free crisped rice cereals on the market, and I also understand that Rice Chex are gluten-free and can be used whole in rice crispie treats recipes (although they probably won't work for this cake recipes as they can't be molded as well into a cake shape.)

Feast Day of St. Peter Claver: Chocolate Chip Cookies

Well, I'm only a week late with my post in honor of St. Peter Claver, whose feast day was September 9th. Sometimes it just goes that way. Anyway, I had originally thought of doing black and white cookies for his feast (he being the saint who called himself the "slave of the slaves"). But the reviews I read on black and white cookies weren't too impressive. It seems they are famous more for being a NYC/Seinfeld thing than for being delicious. So, in the end, I just made chocolate chip cookies. I find a gluten-free cookie recipe on Land O' Lakes' website (yeah for Land O'Lakes!) and it turned out really well. Here it is:

Land O'Lakes Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies (gluten-free):

Makes 3 1/2 dozen cookies.

2 1/4 cups gluten-free flour blend
1 tsp g-f baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp xanthan gum
3/4 cup Land O Lakes butter, softened
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 Land O Lakes all-natural eggs
2 tsp g-f vanilla
1 (12 oz) package (2 cups) g-f semi-sweet chocolate chunks or chips (I used dark chocolate instead)

Heat oven to 375°. Combine flour blend, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and xanthan gum in medium bowl and set aside.

Combine butter, brown sugar, and sugar in large bowl. Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla. Continue beating, scraping bowl often, until well mixed.

Reduce speed to low. Beat, gradually adding flour mixture, until well mixed. Stir in chocolate chips.

Drop dough by rounded tablespoons, 2 inches apart, onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 9 to 12 minutes or until light golden brown. (Do not overbake.) Let stand 1 to 2 minutes, then remove from cookie sheets.

G-F flour blend: Combine 2 cups rice flour, 2/3 cup potato starch, 1/3 cup tapioca flour, and 1 tsp xanthan gum. Store in container with tight-fitting lid. Stir before using.


For my cookies, I made my own baking blend using 1/3 rice flour, 1/3 sweet rice flour, and 1/3 tapioca. It worked just fine.

The Navity of the Blessed Virgin Mary: Pavlovas Two Ways

In honor of our Blessed Mother's birthday, I wanted to come up with something special that would be gluten-, casein-, and nightshade-free, AND delicious. I checked out Catholic Cuisine's page for some ideas: clearly, this day called for something white and blue in honor of Mary's purity and her mantle, respectively. But a cake wouldn't fit our dietary needs. That's when a little angel whispered in my ear: blueberry pavlova. I didn't even really know exactly what a pavlova was when the idea came to me, but it turned out to be the perfect things to make for Mary's birthday: light, white, blue, and delicious.

There are many great recipes for pavlova on the web, so I won't recreate them here. I'll just say that I substituted tapioca flour for the corn starch called for in the meringue and it worked just fine.

As for the topping, I made two variations: one gluten-free, and one gluten- and casein-free. For the first, I took 2 cups of frozen blueberries, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice, a pinch of cinnamon, and 1/8 cup of minute tapioca, and cooked them in a pot over medium heat until the sauce was thickened nicely. I let this cool, and then spooned it over the cooked meringue.

For the second topping, I simply followed the tradition route of piling on whipped cream and blueberries on top of the cooked meringue.

Now the table is set, the meal is in the oven, and all that awaits is for the family to come home and enjoy this very special occasion. Happy birthday, Blessed Mother!

Rice Paper Tiger

On a recent excursion to Whole Foods, I came across rice paper wrappers. The ingredients are simply rice, tapioca, salt, and water. Since the Thai cooking thing is working out pretty well for us, I decided to give some Thai Spring Rolls a try.

I admit, I was a little intimidated by the rice paper at first. My experiences with phyllo dough have been largely disastrous. But the rice paper turned out to be easy to use, so long as you follow the directions exactly. In other words, when they say soak the wrapper in warm water for 5 seconds, they mean 5 seconds. Not 6, not 4, just 5.

Thai Spring Rolls:

Rice paper wrappers
Thinly sliced cabbage
6-8 Slivered fresh mushroom
About 2 cups Cooked chicken, thinly sliced or shredded
1 cup Cilantro, chopped
2-inch piece Ginger, minced, divided
6 cloves Garlic, minced, divided
4 Green onion, thinly sliced
Mirin (rice vingear)
Seasame oil
Coconut oil
Agave nectar or other sweetener
Salt or wheat-free soy sauce

First, make your dressing: Add about 1/4 sesame oil and 1/4 cup mirin, 3 cloves minced garlic, 1 Tbsp minced ginger, and salt or soy sauce to taste. Add desired amount of sweetening. (I used about 1 Tbsp of agave nectar). Adjust amounts of all ingredients to suit your taste.

Add 2 Tbsp coconut oil to a hot pot over medium heat. When oil is melted, add about 2 cups cabbage, 3 cloves minced garlic, 1 Tbsp minced ginger, the sliced green onion, and the mushrooms, and saute until crisp-tender. Remove from heat and add cilantro and diced chicken. Pour dressing over all and stir to combine.

Fill a shallow dish with warm water (I used a saute pan). Take your first rice paper wrapper and submerge it in the water for exactly 5 seconds. It will still be somewhat crisp when you remove it. Don't worry though, it will continue to soften as you add your fillings. Add 2-3 Tbsp of your chicken and veggie mix in a line down the center of the wrapper. Fold up top and bottom ends, then pull one side of wrapper snugly around the filling. Bring other side of wrapper around filling and lay roll seam side down on plate. (You're simply folding it up like a burrito).

That's it. It's pretty simple. I think this would be delicious with a peanut based sauce like a satay sauce. I will have to work on that for next time. These were pretty tasty right on their own!

Smashed Banana Pancakes

I'm feeling particularly uninspired in terms of cooking this weekend (might have something to do with the lingering colds that are plaguing us). However, I found this recipe by Patricia Prenosli online at catholicfoodie.com and I think I'm going to give it a try:

Ingredients

• 1 ripe banana
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Directions

• Smash banana well and blend with other ingredients.
• Fry on griddle with a little oil or butter.

Eat them with peanut butter and a little maple syrup.


Original recipe with photo can be found at:
http://catholicfoodie.com/category/recipe-tags/grain-free

UPDATE: I finally made these and they got rave reviews. The only alterations I would make are to add a pinch of salt and fry in coconut oil for delicious flavor. They reminded me of a fried banana dessert that I used to love at my favorite Chinese restaurant. This dish was a home run!

Thanks

I just want to give public thanks to God for a problem solved, and for insight on a decision that needs to be made. He is so good!

Rutabaga-Carrot Puree

Since we have gone more or less nightshade free, even the seemingly benign potato is verboten in our home (the nightshades being vegetables such as potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant). I needed a starchy substitute for spuds, so I came across this concoction. It's actually much tastier than mashed potatoes and full of nutrients.

Rutabaga-Carrot Puree:

3 medium rutabags, peeled and diced
3 cups baby carrots or sliced carrots (try to have an equal amount of rutabaga and carrot)
butter or butter substitute
coarse sea salt

Steam diced rutabaga and carrots until tender. Mash with butter and season with sea salt.

It's that easy!

Fall is in the air, somewhere...

We live in Texas and the temperature has dipped to under 100°, so that's crisp fall weather here. Plus, the month of September is, in my mind, a fall month from start to finish. Why wait till the 21st to make a fall wreath? I hit Hobby Lobby yesterday and almost all the supplies I needed for my wreath were 50% off! I was able to make this baby for under $30, and it suits to my style a lot better than the pre-made wreaths I was seeing. My new wreath and Starbuck's Pumpkin Spice Frappuccinos have definitely got me in a fall mood!

What's for lunch?

Today I needed to throw something together fast for lunch, so I made a pasta dish I came up with last week. It took less than 20 minutes from start to finish and the kids all like it, which is sometimes a feat in itself.

Pasta with Mushrooms and Greens:

8 oz box of quinoa pasta spirals (or your preferred gluten-free pasta)
about 15 Portobello mushrooms, cut into quarters
2 large handfuls of baby spinach, roughly chopped
1 handful of fresh parsley, chopped
3 green onions, sliced
5 cloves garlic, minced
salt
thyme
basil
1-2 Tbsp olive oil
Romano cheese, shredded (optional)
Cream (optional)

Prepare pasta according to directions on box. While pasta is cooking, add 1-2 Tbsp olive oil to a large shallow pan and saute for one minute. Add mushrooms and saute for 1 minute, then add salt and spices and saute until mushrooms are softened and are releasing their liquid. Add spinach and parsley and saute until greens are wilted.

Drain pasta and add to the pan with the vegetables. Combine well.

At this point, I remove some of the pasta for my dairy-free eaters. For the rest of the family, I add copious amounts of shredded sheep's milk Romano. This is also nice with a little cream added with the cheese, and heated, stirring constantly, until the dish is the desired temperature.

Insta-Pickle

I just love those little mini-cucumbers you can get by the bagful at Costco. They are so handy for salads, as well as my kids' favorite raw vegetable treat: insta-pickles! My Mom used to make something like this with cucumbers we'd pick fresh from the garden. My version just adds a little extra seasoning.

Insta-Pickle:

Mini-cucumbers (usually 4 or so fits a small bowl), washed and sliced
Coarse sea salt
Dill (dried or fresh)
Apple Cider Vinegar

Add pickles to serving bowl and just cover with apple cider vinegar. Add a pinch of sea salt and a pinch of dill. Chill and serve!

Chicken Soup for What Ails You

Dad goes TDY, kids get sick. That's just a given in most military households, and it's proving true for ours this week. The whole family is sniffling to beat the band, so it's time to make some chicken soup. I just happened to be making a huge pot of chicken stock (2 chickens, 2 onions, 3-4 celery stalks, salt, and a couple of glugs of vinegar to help draw the good stuff from the bones, plus lots of water; simmer all day, cool, and strain), so it was a breeze to whip up some spicy Thai soup to help burn out the germs. My soup recipes may annoy some, as I always wing it when it comes to soup. Measurements are, needless to say, imprecise.

Lola's Thai Soup

4 oz rice noodles
1-2 Tbsp coconut oil
4-5 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2-inch piece of peeled ginger, minced
3 green onions, chopped
1 Tbsp red pepper flakes
Thai chili sauce to taste
Thai fish sauce
salt or soy sauce
chicken stock
cilantro, chopped
limes, quartered

Place rice noodles in cold water to soak till softened. Add coconut oil to a soup pot and melt over medium heat. Add garlic, ginger, and green onion and sautee for about1-2 minutes. Drain noodles and add to pot with red pepper flakes, a couple of dashes of chili sauce (or to taste), a couple of dashes of fish sauce, salt or soy sauce to taste, and a couple of Tbsp of cilantro. Stir and add chicken stock (I would guess I used about 1 quart). Simmer for a few minutes, till heated through and noodles are nice and tender. Serve topped with more cilantro and limes.

This would also be great with some diced chicken or shrimp, or some chopped peanuts.

Obviously, this isn't nightshade-free, but as Dad was away from home and he is the one who primarily needs to avoid nightshades, we went with the pepper and chiles to help amp up the heat on the soup. It was a hit with all the kids, even the ones who don't normally like spicy foods. The body knows what it needs!

Gluten-Free, Casein-Free Desserts

What better way to start my dietary musings than with a post on desserts? When we first thought that gluten was the sole culprit causing a series of troublesome rashes, desserts were easy enough. My teen-aged daughter quickly became adept at creating creme brulees (with blow torch in hand) and caramel flan. But then we realized that there was more than one allergen afoot. Using an elimination diet, we deduced that dairy products may also be causing problems. It's early days yet for us in this new diet, but we are hoping for great results. With that in mind, I felt the need to compile a list of treats that we could enjoy on Feast days and birthdays, that would not have to be "guilty" pleasures. (As we are dealing with sensitivities, and not full blown allergies, some of our desserts may not be as stringently gluten-free or dairy-free as some require. Please review the ingredients and make substitutions as your own diet requires.) I will add to this list as I test new recipes, but for now, here are a few suggestions:

1. Brownies a la Lola*
2. Poached Pears
3. Baked Apples
4. Bananas with Caramel Sauce
5. Tapioca pudding made with rice or almond milk
6. Grilled Pineapple
7. Strawberries dipped in dark chocolate
8. Macaroons
9. Fruit cobbler made with gluten-free pancake mix (We just tried Maple Grove Farms of Vermont All Natural Gluten Free Pancake and Waffle mix today and it was delicious! I can't wait to start baking with this product.)
10. "Swedish" Pancakes*

Now for a couple of recipes:


*Brownies a la Lola

(Adapted from a great brownie recipe I got out of Southern Living magazine years ago. My daughter's friend tasted my adaptation, not knowing they were gluten-free, and she said they were the best brownies she's ever tasted. I hope you will like them as well.)

2 Tbsp water
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup butter (you can substitute melted coconut oil if you need to avoid butter)
1 (11.5 oz) package of dairy-free dark chocolate chips, divided
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup gluten-free flour mix (I use half rice flour and half tapioca flour)
1/4 tsp salt


1. Combine first 3 ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, and stir in 2 cup of chocolate chunks until smooth. Let cool 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, stirring just until blended. Stir in vanilla.

2. Combine flour and salt. Stir in remaining chocolate chips. Stir flour mixture into the chocolate mixture in the saucepan. Spread into a lightly greases 9-in baking pan.

3. Bake at 325° for 23 to 28 minutes. Cool and cut into squares.

(I like to add dairy-free butterscotch chips in place of the chocolate chips in step 2.)




*"Swedish" Pancakes

I simply use a gluten-free pancake mix (as mentioned above, Maple Grove Farms is very good!), prepare the batter as directed, and fry small dollops of pancake batter in coconut oil. The coconut oil gives it a delicious flavor. Top the pancakes with powdered sugar and serve. These were a big hit at a recent post-sleep-over breakfast.

Day One: I begin

I am a homeschooling mom to five (one adopted from China), wife to an Air Force pilot, a convert to Catholicism with a love for the Traditional Latin Mass. I am staunchly pro-life and Conservative politically (although this was not always the case). I have a strong and abiding interest in holistic health and nutrition; I think that God intended food to be our primary medicine, and I am always searching to learn more about this area.

Recently, I discovered that my youngest is sensitive to wheat and perhaps dairy, which has led us to adopt a gluten-free and mostly casein-free diet (so far, butter and cream don't seem to cause any problems that I can see). As two other family members also suffer from skin ailments (psoriasis and eczema), I decided it was finally time to go whole-hog and adopt a nightshade-free diet as well. It was this event that prompted me to start this blog. As I begin to compile information on how to live within these dietary limitations, I would like to share this information with others, to encourage them in their own search. My ultimate dietary goal for our family is to not only find ways to eat healthfully and enjoyably from day to day, but to celebrate the Feast days of the Church in a grand and joyful manner. I hope you will join me in this endeavor!


God bless and keep you,
Lola