Do me a favor & explain to my husband that I really really need this Polder Retro Bread Bin? Call it retro, and I’m in. The only thing I like more than retro is …

… rustic. This Farmer’s Egg Crate from Anthropologie makes me feel positively pastoral. Like I might go milk a cow (as long as the cow was cool with that – I don’t like forcing my agenda on animals – case in point, my poorly mannered dogs).

Do you know Fred & Friends? I wish I were a friend of Fred. These Fred & Friends Teacupcakes are too much fun. I may or may not have ordered a set of them from Kitchen Kapers. I’ll never tell. You’ll tell, though, when I bake & tell.

I don’t think we should talk about QVC. It just doesn’t necessarily seem like a great idea. For either of us.

I will just say this. I am endlessly fascinated by Quality Value & Convenience. Who else takes, like, all your money and makes you feel so grateful you call them up to thank them for it? Count me in, by the way.

This Everyday Pan was only $21.96 free shipping & handling (whatever handling is), and it’s seriously my … everyday omelet pan. It doesn’t lose its nonstickability just because I’m always in a rush when I make eggs and turn the heat up too high. I don’t have any other nonstick pots or skillets. But I have this. And I’m not giving it up. Get your own.

When I set sail with Ikea as my destination, I am untouchable. I might very well be able to find the secret to world peace in those very halls. At the very least, I’ll leave with a few dozen of these Tekla dish towels. If you look closely, you’ll start seeing these everywhere. They’re so durable. How do they do it?

Finally, this cartoon from a recent issue of The New Yorker speaks for itself.

Like this blog miniseries? See Look What I Found! Part 1.
Addendum to Part 1: I returned the Aero Garden. It was making a nuclear wasteland of my house and home. Thank you kindly, 30-day-money-back-guarantee.

Your turn. What’s in your kitchen that you absolutely love and can’t live without?

Love,
Me

P.S. In other news, my lovely & talented editor told me yesterday that Book 2 has a title and a publication schedule! Here are the deets:

Gluten-Free on a Shoestring Quick & Easy: 125 Recipes for the Food You Love—Fast!
Release October 2, 2012
On-sale date October 23, 2012
Publication November 2012

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I really like these cutting boards in my kitchen. They come in lots of sizes, are very durable, don’t trap stinky smelly stuff, sell for a song — and they go in the dishwasher. Amazon is out of, like, all of them. But you can still find plenty here, on the Epicurean site.

I like Skoy “paper” towels. You wet and rinse these towels, and then use them to wipe down everything from the counter to the stovetop to the refrigerator. And they don’t streak. Even on stainless steel! Really. And they save the world. Okay, they save a tree or two, since you really do use fewer paper towels.

I’m all about the environment — unless it’s going to make me stinky and smelly. These towels get washed in the dishwasher (they’ll hang out with your cutting boards) or in the washing machine. So no stinky smelly. Just don’t throw ‘em in the dryer. Okay? They shrink like a violet.

I like these little gluten-free cupcake tattoos. I kinda have a penchant for chubby little penguins. I didn’t know what Ticings were before Mia from Ticings contacted me. She said, “these are cute, they stick on your cupcakes, and they’re gluten-free.”

The “I’m cute” part is all me. Ticings are way more sophisticated and stuff than I am. They just are cute, but don’t need to tell you they’re cute. There are lots of different designs, and you can even customize your own. I need the ready-made ones, though. ‘Cause let’s face it. I’m no decorating genius.

I want all of Photojojo’s photography toys. They have a macro lens (for taking really up close and personal detailed photos) for your smartphone. It’s magnetic. And look at the picture it takes. Incredible! I have a macro lens for my Nikon DSLR, and it cost me about $600. I’m a dummy.

Anchor Hocking mixing bowls. They use them on The Food Network, apparently. I dunno. I just know they even sell lids for them, so you can mix and then store. And they’re oven, microwave and dishwasher safe. What more do you need to know? Oh, they’re super inexpensive.

These 14 ounce lidded glasses are total kitchen workhorses. Sometimes they hold granola in the pantry (top with yogurt and I’ve got lunch). Or iced coffee that I need to stick in the refrig.

I think I got mine on sale in a Crate & Barrel store for, like, less than $2.00 each. They even come with the lid. And they’re really substantial. They could totally cost more. But they don’t.

And now for a potential swing-&-a-miss …

I got an Aerogarden for less than half price. And I’m still suspicious that I vastly overpaid. Jury’s still out. I’ll have to get back to you.

What’s in your kitchen? Teach me!

Love,
Me

P.S. I’m taking a break from Cookbook #2 sneak peeks for a bit. Instead, when we’re not talking recipes, I’ll show you inside my kitchen. Okay?

P.P.S. I asked if you were interested in the anatomy of gluten-free recipe development. You said, “yes, please.” We’ll give it a whirl. Even though I’m a little jittery about how it’ll work. We’ll suss it out together.

P.P.P.S. Have you seen my new sponsors? Kendall of This Is Not That Blog is a super talented cartoonist/satirist. She’s definitely one to watch. Like her on Facebook! She even puts some exclusive content on there, and click on her store. And you can order merch with any of her cartoons. I ordered Cuddling a Toaster Cold. Can’t wait! And be sure to stop by Ankita’s Etsy shop, Textured Ink. I love her kitchen artwork. Just look at her ad button. Beautiful!

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Put your hands in your lap, you feet flat on the floor.
You’re feeling very relaxed. Begin to count back from 100.
You’re getting sleeeeepy…Pita is easy.
Pita is naked. And unapologetic. (but not into graffiti. I was the one who defaced the Lego Career Girl).

Pita is … eating Middle Eastern street food today.

I went with posthypnotic suggestions today. No good?

I’d like to start today’s episode of The World of the Psychic by … promising not to hurl. I can’t believe I threw up on our date on Wednesday. So humiliating. Can you ever forgive me?

To make it up to you, I’d very much like to “teach” (air quotes) you how to make fresh gluten-free pita bread. But there’s a hitch.

I’m terrible with step-by-step recipe photos and other such demonstrative tutorials.

And there are plenty of reasons why I’m terrible with such tutorials. Unfortunately for you, I’m going to tell you allllllll about ‘em. And you can’t even go anywhere, ’cause I’ve got you all hypnotized and stuff, that’s why.

1. It’s very, very hard for me to get past the what-do-you-need-me-for hurdle. Seriously. What do you need me for? I’m just a home cook like you are. No Le Cordon Bleu certification after my name (wait — do you get letters after your name for that? see?! I don’t even know).

Remember that game where someone tells you to say your name (“Nicole”), point to your nose (“nose”), then tell me what’s inside my empty, cupped hands (“nothing”)? Before you know it, you’ve unintentionally admitted what you suspected all along: Nicole nose nothing.

No truer words were ever spoken. I nose nothing.

2. Step-by-step photos often don’t cut it. They tend to be kinda poorly composed, and really just skim the surface of what it is that I’m really doing in the kitchen. So I fear they will give a false sense of the process. And, besides that, are you sure you want to see what I’m really doing in the kitchen? It might not just be the pita that’s nekkid. It might be me, too.

3. I forget. You know, I forget to take the photos at each step. I have a mind like a sieve.

4. My blog design needs some work. My photos are too big. If I did step by step photos, I’m afraid that you’d be afraid. I picture Jurassic Park. I have, indeed, spared many an expense, and I fear that my step by step photos might just visit you in your dreams.

5. It has come to my attention that I have an inferiority complex. It seems that I’m afraid that you’re coming here from, say, The Pioneer Woman Cooks, and that my step-by-steps will disappoint you. Kindly see reason #1 above. I nose nothing.

All that being said, it also appears that no one else is stepping up to the plate, and I so want you to be able to make fabulous pita any darn night of the week. There’s already this post on this here blog. It has a recipe for pita bread. But it predates printable recipes on this site by, like, a minute and a half, but I’ve been otherwise occupied and unable (okay, fine, too lazy) to go back and repopulate that post with a printable recipe (even though I think the print button isn’t working properly and I’m on it I swear). And it doesn’t show you the pitas when they’re nekkid. Rather than just reworking that post, I thought nekkid pitas deserved their own post so you can see that this really is very, very accessible.

I may not be your go-to resource for step-by-step photo tutorials, but I can still show you some nekkid pitas before they’re baked, so you can see for yourself what they look like before and after. Think of it like one of those makeover shows. Except with food. And the “before” is naked, so we don’t have to ceremoniously throw away all of its clothes and use the process as an excuse to mock it as it looks at itself in a three-way mirror under fluorescent lighting.

So this time I made some mini pitas. I suggest starting with mini ones, then shaping and baking them in batches. Why? ‘Cause, that way, you can collapse your own learning curve into one batch, that’s why. Why bake off a whole recipe’s worth of failed pitas, and then find yourself saying, oh, I would try to make pita bread again, but I have to wash my hair?

You pickin’ up what I’m puttin’ down? Smellin’ what I’m cookin’?

So please refer to the hunk of pita dough in the photo above. It’s fluffy. And then please refer to the shaped, naked rounds of raw pita dough, stacked up next to a defaced Lego career girl. See how they’re far from perfect, but they still made their mama real proud. And realize that, if you have to choose between making them too thick and too thin, choose too thick. That way, you can always split them with a knife if they don’t pop completely. If they’re too thin, and don’t pop, you’re going to kill yourself trying to split them. Trust me. And by ‘trust me’ I mean I’ve killed myself trying to split ones that didn’t pop ’cause I made them too thin. It’s nothing short of a miracle I’m even here to hypnotize you.

And I also speak from personal experience when I tell you that … this dough works just like pizza dough. You can (and should, if you like) make it at the beginning of the week, shape it, stack it up with alternating pieces of wax paper, put it in a plastic bag and pop it in the fridge. Then, plan a meal around pita one night that week. When you get home that night from work, turn on the oven first thing. When you’re almost ready to serve dinner, pop the pitas in the oven. Serve warm.

Once again, from my insane mind to your computer, and hopefully to your kitchen, followed closely by your belly, I give you ….

Shameless Pita Bares All

Print

Recipe type: Bread

By: Nicole @ Gluten-Free on a Shoestring.com

Prep time: 15 mins

Cook time: 5 mins

Total time: 20 mins

Serves: 12

Gluten-free Pita Bread

Ingredients

• 3 to 4 1/2 cups all-purpose gluten-free flour, divided (I use Better Batter)
• 2 teaspoons xanthan gum (omit if using Better Batter)
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 4 teaspoons instant yeast (if you have it – if not, active dry is fine)
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 3 tablespoons canola (or vegetable) oil, plus more
• 2 1/2 cups warm milk, about 100 to 110 degrees Fahrenheit (low-fat is fine, non-fat is not) (nondairy is fine provided it has some fat)

Instructions

1. You’ll need a pizza crisper, or some other pan to put in your oven that has enough holes to allow air to circulate on both sides of the pita. As long as you have the crust on top and the crust on the bottom of the pita, you can split it open and make a pocket. That’s your fail-safe.
2. In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, place 3 cups of flour and the xanthan gum, along with the salt, and mix to combine well. Add the yeast and sugar, then the oil, mixing well to combine after each addition.
3. With the mixer on low speed, add the milk in a slow pour. The dough should begin to come together. Continue adding the milk until it’s all in there.
4. Add enough additional flour so that the dough is thick and kinda creamy looking – not dry, and not really sticky, but tacky so if you touch it some of it sticks to your finger. You can always add more flour. As a guide, I almost always have to add at least 1/2 cup more flour.
5. Dump the dough into a lightly oiled bowl, turn it over a few times to coat with oil, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow it to rise in a warm, humid place for about an hour, or until nearly doubled in size. It will look dimply, and will be a bit tough to handle.
6. Once the dough has risen, preheat your oven to 425 degrees F. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface (if you have a silicone mat, this would be a great time to break it out). Divide the dough into 12 to 15 pieces.
7. For each piece of dough, roll it into a ball and press it together, squeezing out the air. Then, with the heel of your hand, press it into a disk. Press from the inside out, taking care not to make it too thin (especially at the endges). Sprinkle flour lightly on any sticky spots. Rotate the round of dough on the floured surface, and flip it frequently. If you have added too much flour at any point, drizzle in some canola (or vegetable) oil. And don’t be afraid to oil up a piece of dough and start again. It’s more forgiving than you think. They should be about 1 1/2 times the thickness of a pancake.
8. Place only as many pita-to-be rounds on your pizza crisper (or pizza screen) as can fit without touching. Stepping lively, place the crisper in the preheated oven and shut the door right quick. Bake for between 5 and 8 minutes, taking care not to allow the pita to burn. It will be darker on the underside than on the top.

Duly Noted

These directions assume a stand mixer. If you do not have one do not despair. Use a large bowl and a spoon, and just do your best stand mixer impression. You can also use a food processor.
For the love of Mike, please don’t use Pamela’s mixes (bread mix or baking mix). They are not designed to be all-purpose flours. They are multi-ingredient mixes.
If you use bean flour, you’re (sadly) on your own. I can’t work with that stuff.

Google Recipe View Microformatting by Easy Recipe

1.2.4

Thank you for coming here today. I know that it’s easy to let life get in the way of … reading the ravings of a gluten-free lunatic who nose nothing.

Have questions? Ask away. I’m here, and I honestly have nothing better to do than hang out and stuff.

I’m sweet on you. Wanna hang out?

*kiss*hug*kiss*hug* Nicole

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Did I really say that?

Some Deeply Shallow Thoughts for this Saturday. Talk about a penny for your thoughts.

1.  It matters to me if I get a good parking spot. A lot.

2.  Is it still dressing in drag if it’s a woman dressing like a man?

3.  Video games make me sad.

4.  I wish I had an Irish brogue. I could listen to Gabriel Byrne read the phone book.

5.  I listen to National Public Radio (NPR) nearly all day, every day. My children know the tune to the Leonard Lopate Show by heart, since it’s on lunch time. {Nerd alert}

6.  I don’t usually eat when my kids eat. I don’t like being interrupted when I’m eating. I like to focus.

7.  “The Secret” sounded pretty good to me when I first heard about it on Oprah. I know. Somewhere in my basement is a shrink-wrapped video that, if I would only open it, would unlock my dreams.

Want your penny back?

So what runs through your mind when it’s in neutral?

I love you. Do you still love me?

xoxo
Nicole

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UPDATE: WE HAVE A WINNER! Number 148, Paula Decaria, will receive a copy of Gluten-Free on a Shoestring {to be sent directly by my publisher, Perseus Books}, and a 20 ounce box of Better Batter All-purpose gluten-free flour {to be sent directly by me}. I will e-mail you, Paula! If I don’t hear back from her within 24 hours, I will award the giveaway to the next number in the random.org sequence. Thank you, everyone, for posting your page turners. So interesting! xoxo Nicole

By popular demand, instead of giving away a pony, when we reach 4,000 Facebook Fans, one of you will receive a copy of my cookbook, Gluten-free on a Shoestring: 125 Easy Recipes for Eating Well on the Cheap, plus a 20 Ounce box of Better Batter All-Purpose GF Flour to get you started off right. But you gotta jump through some hoops first. Kind of like a pony. ;)

So … if you would like to be entered into the Giveaway Bonanza, leave a comment below {comments on Facebook don’t count} with your answer to the following question. Then, when we hit 4,000 fans on Facebook, Random.org will pull a number out of a Virtual Hat.

For the question, I have borrowed liberally, literally, and verbatim from Jenny Rosenstrach’s Dinner: A Love Story, a wonderful blog that I read all the time. It’s about getting dinner on the table each night {and I’m really looking forward to the book Dinner: A Love Story that is due out Spring 2012}.

In a recent post, she asked this question, and I can’t get over its importance {particularly for someone like me, who is attempting, however anemically, to put together another cookbook proposal} or its eloquence, and I can’t wait to hear your answers. I can’t paraphrase this {believe me – I tried}. So here it is, in Jenny’s words:

What’s Your Page Turner?

What is the ingredient, directive, or other characteristic that, when you see it staring back at you from the pages of a cookbook or blog, has you turning that page (or clicking that back button on your browser) faster than you can say, “check please!”?

For me, in gluten-free recipes, it’s a long list of gluten-free flours. If you can’t make it with an all-purpose gluten-free flour, I’m probably just not your audience.

So what about you — what’s your Cookbook Page Turner?  Do you want to get over it, or are you digging in your heels, holding your breath until you turn a lovely shade of violet? What would it take to change your mind? {okay – it’s more than one question, but really it’s all one big ball of wax question}.

Comments will close when we reach 4,000 fans. As I type this, we’re at 3,752 fans {unless & until I say something off-color & one fan jumps ship}, so you can plan. Don’t wait too long to “enter,” and feel free to enter more than once by leaving more than one comment {just don’t go hog wild with it, to be fair}.

Good luck, and thanks for playing with me. You guys are fun. *mwah*

xoxo
Nicole

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Before we get to all the excitation of this wildly successful GF pita recipe, I’d like to start today’s chat with a few words of hard-earned wisdom:

If (theoretically) some of your pitas don’t come out of the oven fully pocketed, and you have to coax them open with a knife, do yourself a favor & learn from my mistakes:

(1) don’t use a knife that’s sharper than necessary;
(2) don’t do the delicate pita surgery in a hurry; what’s the rush? &
(3) don’t point the tip of the knife toward your hand; instead, hold the pita such that the sharp edge of the knife is parallel to your hand.

Just take my word for it.

Otherwise, you might end up bleeding on the pita. And nobody likes that.

So you’ll forgive me if my {hand}writing is a little sloppy?

My left hand hurts. On account of the stab wound in the center of my left palm.

Now that’s out of the way, & we can get back to all of the hullabaloo:

Have you ever had a gluten-free pita? Did you think it possible, or did you never dare hope? Tell us all of your pita-laced dreams. C’mon. We won’t laugh. We all live in glass houses, here.

I’ll go first, to break the seal: I have had dreams of beautiful, puffy, pocket-y, gluten-free pita dancing in my head for a long while now. Before this most recent go-round, I had only spotty success. And spotty success is just not the sort of thing you want to share with others.

This time, it’s personal.

Gluten-free Pita
MAKES 8 TO 10 PITAS, depending upon size
Ingredients
3 to 4 1/2 cups all-purpose gluten-free flour, divided
2 teaspoons xanthan gum (omit if using Better Batter all-purpose gluten-free flour)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
4 teaspoons active dry yeast
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons canola (or vegetable) oil, plus more
2 1/2 cups warm milk, about 100 to 110 degrees Fahrenheit (low-fat is fine, non-fat is not)(nondairy is fine provided it has some fat)

Baking & Preparation Notes:

*Please pretty please read through the whole recipe before you begin. We’re all very excited, but we.must.remain.calm. Deep breath. Read on.
*These directions assume a stand mixer. If you do not have one do not despair. Use a large bowl and a spoon, and just do your best stand mixer impression. You can also use a food processor.
*You will need some sort of hole-y (not necessarily holy (but who am I to judge?), just with lots of holes) surface upon which to bake the pitas. You need lots of air circulating around them to get them to fill with steam. I use a pizza crisper. For pizza, I use a pizza stone, but it doesn’t work for pitas. It looks like this. Anything oven-safe up to about 500 degrees F that has lots of holes in it will do, though.
*You need a screaming hot oven. And NO PEEKING. It’s kinda like a souffle. It’s modest. No peekaboo. You’ll ruin everything.
*Here’s the biggest secret of all: You don’t need every single pita to puff all the way through. The essential feature is that the pita be cooked until a tiny bit crusty on the outside, and kinda fluffy on the inside. If you get that far, and it puffs on at least part, you can let the pita cool a bit, slice it in half through the center, and slide a knife (horizontally and with care) through the center to free the pocket. Free the pockets! Free all the pockets!
*Ideally, when shaping the dough, you’re going for a seamless, airless form. You have to squeeze out all the air pockets that were created by the yeast. It seems like madness, since you just let the dough rise. Seriously? Humor me on this. ;)
*No rolling pins allowed. Just alternating flour and oil, finger tips, and turn turn turn to every season turn turn turn. You’ll see.

1. In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, place 3 cups of flour and the xanthan gum, along with the salt, and mix to combine well. Add the yeast and sugar, then the oil, mixing well to combine after each addition.

2. With the mixer on low speed, add the milk in a slow pour. The dough should begin to come together. Continue adding the milk until it’s all in there, baby.

3. Now comes the part where it would be super-helpful if I had a picture for you of the dough as it begins to take shape. But I don’t. And I feel real bad about that. So I’ll paint you a picture: Add enough additional flour so that the dough is thick and kinda creamy looking – not dry, and not really sticky, but tacky (not like it’s poorly dressed, but like if you touch it some of it sticks to your finger).

4. Dump the dough into a lightly oiled bowl, turn it over a few times to coat with oil, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow it to rise in a warm, humid place for about an hour, or until nearly doubled in size.

5. Once the dough has risen, preheat your oven to 475 degrees F. Turn the dough out onto a heavily floured surface (if you have a silicone mat, this would be a great time to break it out). Divide the dough into 8 to 10 pieces, roll each in the flour on the mat, pick one to work with first, & let’s get the initiation over with, shall we?

6. For each ball of dough, begin to flatten it (& squeeze out the air) with the heel of your hand, staying away from the edges, taking care not to make it too thin and sprinkling flour on sticky spots. Using floured fingertips, press the dough toward the edges (without pressing down the edges). Keep the form relatively small, no more than about 6 inches. Rotate the round of dough on the floured surface, and flip it frequently. As the dough begins to resemble a round, continue pressing toward the edges with your fingertips, and press back toward the center of the round with the side of your other hand, rotating and flipping the dough as you go. If this sounds confusing, go back and read this paragraph again, keeping in mind that we’re trying to create a seamless piece of dough with integrated sides. If you have added too much flour at any point, drizzle in some canola (or vegetable) oil. And don’t be afraid to oil up a piece of dough and start again. It’s more forgiving than you think. If you see any concerning spots, try to seal them up with either flour or oil, depending upon what the issues seems to be.

7. Place only as many pita-to-be rounds on your pizza crisper as can fit without touching. Stepping lively, place the crisper in the preheated oven and shut the door right quick. Bake for between 5 and 8 minutes, taking care not to allow the pita to burn (it will be crunchy and very hard to work with). Watch in amazement.

Remember – if not every pita pops, don’t.worry.about.a.thing. Don’t get discouraged. If one pita doesn’t work, pull it out before it burns, call it Naan, and keep on keepin’ on.

Cut pitas in half, gently slice open the more reluctant ones, and sing the Bibbibabka ditty.

Now click on that ridiculous blue bubble {fabulous comment mechanism as part of redesigned blog coming super soon} and tell us how excited you are to make gluten-free pitas!

Warm pitas,
Nicole

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“Do you have five different kinds of chocolate doughnuts?”

I’ve missed you all so much. Does it make you uncomfortable when I express such strong emotions for you? I’m trying so hard not to be the first one to say the “L” word.

*sigh*

Before we get started, though, I need a favor. Sorry about the neediness. I get that way sometimes. Just ask my husband. Wait — don’t ask him. I’m playing that out in my head & it doesn’t go well for me. Here goes:

Would you click on that ridiculous little bubble at the top right of this post, and leave a comment telling me what you think of these GF doughnuts? Are you willing to try them? Do you shy away from deep frying? Stuff like that. Any other stuff on your mind, too. {Coming soon – a much better comment system, & superior linkage between facebook & the blog}

Anyhoo….

Do You Deep Fry?

I remember when “deep fried” sounded low rent.

Now — deep fried is the new black.

Here, have one of these while we chat about it for a moment. Sorry there’s a bite missing. I couldn’t wait:

Where were we? Oh, right: the virtues of deep frying.

I used to shallow fry all the time. Shallow fry chicken boneless chicken, shallow fry fish fillets. Blah blah blah.

No more.

When you shallow fry, and you drain the food on paper towels, ever notice how many paper towels you go through? I deep fried 24 doughnut holes, and used ONE, count it, ONE paper towel. And lookit:

I have the most darlin’ little deep fryer, and it works a treat. Here’s my mini deep fryer. But suit yourself. No hard feelings.

In case you are as naive as I was (which I’m sure you’re not – c’mon), deep frying at the precise right temperature seals up the outside of foods right quick, & then quickly but gently cooks the inside to perfection. So not much oil is absorbed by the food. See? {scroll back up to the paper towel picture, if you please}

So. Let’s git bizee:

There might be one or two do-as-I-say-not-as-I-do moments here. Stay with me. It’ll be worth it. At least I hope it’ll be worth it. Either way, you’ll tell me all about it in the Comments.

Time-To-Make-The-Doughnuts GF Doughnut Holes
MAKES 24 DOUGHNUT HOLES
Ingredients
2 1/2 cups all-purpose gluten-free flour
1 1/4 teaspoons xanthan gum
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon white wine vinegar
2 extra-large eggs
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/3 cup sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
3/4 cup warm milk or cream (low-fat is fine, nonfat is not), about 105 degrees F

1. Place the flour, xanthan gum, salt & cream of tartar in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (if you’re not using a stand mixer, place them in the large bowl of your choosing, and use the spoon attachment for your hand). Mix for a bit to combine. The main thing you want to do is to disperse the salt, since when the yeast goes in, the salt can kill the yeast. The yeast is not nearly as fussy as you may have been led to believe, but it does draw the line at hanging out with clumps of salt.

2. Add the vinegar, eggs, and butter to the dry ingredients one at a time, mixing well after each addition (oh who am I kidding – I just dump them all in and then mix).

3. Now add the sugar and yeast, and mix to combine. The sugar will feed the yeast, so I like to keep them together when I can. Goodness, the yeast seems so whiny. I don’t wanna be with the salt. I already TOLD you that I need sugar to eat. But really, it just has a few requirements. No big thing.

4. Now it’s time to turn the mixer on low (or turn your hand with a spoon in it on low), and slowly pour in the milk. The dough will come together suddenly (awesome), ushering in the speed mixing part of our program. Now turn the mixer (or your hand) on at least medium speed, and mix for about 4 to 5 minutes to activate the xanthan gum.

5. The dough should be a bit sticky. If it seems too perfectly smooth, almost dry, add some more warm milk (or even a tablespoon or two of warm water). Maybe use this as a guide. See how some of it sticks to the bowl?

stiff & thick (mind out of gutter please, I'm talking dough)

6. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface.

Here comes the do-as-I-say-not-as-I-did-the-first-time part: try to tolerate working with dough that is a bit sticky. The first time I made these, I floured the dough too much before handling it, & it was difficult to get it smooth & uniform enough when it came to rolling it into balls. It ended up kind of wrinkled. The wrinkles caused some of the balls of dough to separate as they rose. It was a bad scene. You can kind of see what I mean here. This picture is from the less-than-stellar batch, before it had risen:

See the wrinkles? It's not old. It's just too flour-y.

7. Pat your semi-sticky dough into a disk, about 1-inch thick. Cut the dough into 24 pieces, and roll each into a ball. The dough will feel like a dream as it begins to come together into a ball. You’ll be so glad you didn’t make my mistake. Place the little soldiers on a prepared baking sheet, about 1 1/2-inches apart (so they don’t bump each other when they rise), cover the baking sheet, and allow it to rise in a warm, damp space for about an hour, or until nearly sorta doubled in size – or until you just can’t wait another minute, not one more minute. While the dough is rising, get together your deep frying equipment (either an electric deep fryer, or a big ol’ pot filled with about 6 inches of oil, plus an accurate candy thermometer). If you would prefer to bake these, preheat your oven to 375 degrees F & bake ‘em in there for 8 to 10 minutes.

8. Assuming we’re deep frying, place a few doughnuts at a time in oil that has reached 375 degrees. Turn to ensure even frying, and drain on a paper towel after 3 to 4 minutes.

9. When the doughnuts are done being fried (or baked) & are still hot, roll them in some melted butter. Then give them a few turns in a mix of cinnamon & sugar, to taste, or whatever else you like, and serve warm.

Then come join the rest of us on the Shoestring Facebook Page – serving up witticisms daily. It’s so much nicer when all your friends get on well, isn’t it? I’d very much like to introduce my blog friends to my Facebook friends. Let’s all be friends.

Oh, and I have a  Cookbook out. There’s that, too. :)

Warm regards,
Nicole

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Does money really grow on trees?

How do YOU handle money? Let’s all lay our cards out on the table. I’ll go first…

‘Tis the season for college acceptance letters.

There’s been a lot of news about getting into college, paying for college, if a degree is even worth the cost. NPR’s The Takeaway morning show had a whole series on College Week.

And that got me thinking…

If money doesn’t grow on trees, and I’m fairly certain it doesn’t, how the heck am I going to pay for college for my 3 kids? How are you going to (well, I’m not expecting you to pay for college for my kids, but perhaps for your own)?

The price of a college education has outpaced inflation for decades by at least double. Double!

My oldest, Bailey, is going to 9 years old this month. She’s still “little,” I guess, but in another 9 years, she’s going to be 18 (how do you like my fancy math?) Most of the time, my mantra is, “You can finance college, you can’t finance retirement.” So I concentrate on striving for good credit, and a healthy retirement (note to self: concentrate more on a healthy, comfortable retirement).

My parents paid for college for me, & then I went directly into law school (don’t ask), and practiced law for over 12 years with relative success. But I didn’t enjoy it. Does that matter?

So now I’m about to finish grad school with a Master of Social Work (I’ll tell you about it, but only if you ask – I don’t want to assume that you care about my degree collection). I will make less money, but have greater job satisfaction (hopefully).

And then there’s the The Cookbook and this blog, both of which I genuinely enjoy. But I likely could have done both of them without an advanced degree {I mean, I was an English major in college, but I’m not sure if that’s here or there}. And believe me when I tell you that I’m not financing my retirement (or even the cup of coffee I’m drinking, at least not yet) with The Cookbook (and the blog costs money, rather than making money). But I love the cookbook and the blog. I really enjoy showing people who may feel like they aren’t “normal” just because they’re gluten-free that not only can the food they eat still be accessible and affordable, but even enviable. But what role did my education play in all of that? A lot, I usually assume. But is my assumption right?

I believe in the value of a solid liberal arts education. I believe in the power of knowledge. But are education & knowledge luxuries my children won’t be able to afford?

I even believe that, having the agency to cook and bake for myself and my family, I am teaching my children self-reliance. I am teaching them that if they don’t like their situation, they can change it.

So what makes me healthy, wealthy & wise? And what will make my children healthy, wealthy & wise?

What about YOU?

Tell us what you tell yourself about  money, higher education, cooking, baking, self-reliance and the “American Dream.”

I’m ALL EARS. For real. I can use all the help I can get!

Warm regards,
Nicole

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I wanna wok with you. All night.

Dance you in the sunlight.

Wok the night away.

I have a bunch of Chinese-American style dishes in the Gluten-Free on a Shoestring, the cookbook. I am careful to indicate in each of them that you do not need a wok. You can use a saute pan. And I did not tell a lie. It’s just that I am not as resolved as I once was. And I’m ready to make a case for a wok in your kitchen as an essential kitchen basic.

I wanna wok with you. Is that really so wrong?

And I’m going to suggest that, should you choose to buy and use a wok (assuming you don’t already have one), you buy one that has a flat bottom and is made of carbon steel or lightweight cast iron. If you’re willing to spend a few more bucks, you can buy one that is already seasoned. The brand that I have is Joyce Chen, and I really like it. Since I did not buy it pre-seasoned, I had to season it myself, but it is really lovely now and I use it early and often.

The surface of a seasoned wok acts like non-stick, but with one crucial difference: you can crank up the flame to a high heat. And to use a wok the way it is intended, you have to use it on very high heat. It is meant to work by distributing high heat very efficiently over its surface, and cooking food very quickly using precious little oil. Just remember to use a neutral oil that has a high smoking point, like grapeseed oil. Cooking in a wok is quick, efficient, and a good stir-fry is terribly cost-effective, since it can be a satisfying without calling for too much meat.

This is the wok that I own and use regularly: Joyce Chen Carbon Steel Wok.

Here I have made a simple pork stir fry, but you could easily substitute chicken or even beef for the pork. Some cooking notes: My husband and I love ginger, but my kids don’t so I often omit it. And the orange juice adds a really nice flavor, but only if it is fresh-squeezed. If you don’t feel like squeezing juice for any reason, just omit it. The dish will still be delightful. And if you don’t have a wok, don’t let that stop you. Use a large saute pan, and some more oil. No biggie.

Pork Stir Fry
MAKES 4 SERVINGS
Ingredients
1 pound lean boneless pork, sliced thinly against the grain
6 tablespoons gluten-free soy sauce, divided
4 tablespoons honey
2 teaspoons rice vinegar
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup gluten-free chicken stock
1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger (optional)
1/2 cup fresh-squeezed orange juice (optional)
4 to 6 tablespoons cooking oil with a high smoke point (like soybean, peanut, or grapeseed)
Cooked broccoli crowns, brown rice, and sliced scallions for serving

1. In a large plastic zip top bag, place the sliced pork, 4 tablespoons of soy sauce, and the honey. Seal the bag tight, and massage it to combine well. Allow the pork to marinate for an hour at room temperature.

2. While the pork is marinating, make the sauce. In a medium size saucepan, place the remaining 2 tablespoons soy sauce, rice vinegar, garlic, stock, cornstarch, optional ginger, and optional orange juice. Cook over medium high heat, stirring frequently, until the sauce is fragrant and beings to thicken (about 6 or 7 minutes). Set the saucepan aside.

3. When the pork has finished marinating, heat the cooking oil in your wok (or saute pan) until very hot. Carefully add the pork to the hot pan, and cook for about 3 to 5 minutes in a wok or a few minutes longer in a saute pan, until cooked through. If you sliced it thinly, the pork won’t take long to cook. Remove the cooked pork from the pan and set it aside.

4. If you are serving the stir fry with broccoli or another vegetable, throw it in to the wok as well along with a few tablespoons of the sauce, and stir to coat.

5. Plate the dish by lining a dish with cooked rice, then a mixture of pork and broccoli, and finished off with some sliced scallions, white and green parts.

Serve immediately.

Warmly,

Nicole

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Who you callin' a tart?

A tart is like an abbreviated pie, really: No crust on top, a ninety degree angle between the base and the sides, and fluted around the edges. With a pie, if you want your edges fluted, you have to do it yourself. And then you have to call the pie “rustic,” which to me just means that it’s okay when you mess it up a bit.

So then of course I had to look up “rustic” in the Online Dictionary. This is what I found, and, frankly, I find it to be a little disconcerting that this word is used to describe messy food, since it basically relates to things from the country, which is assumed to mean “lacking in social graces.” See for yourself:

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