Photographer Lisa Weatherbee and Yours Truly.

Back in December I promised to keep you in the loop as the cookbook comes along. I mean after all, without your interest in Gluten Free on a Shoestring there would be no book, and I’d probably be asking myself, “if you write an online recipe site and nobody reads it, is it still a blog?”

So here’s where things are at this point. I’ve been experimenting in the kitchen and on the laptop for about 5 months now. My goal is to put together a collection of recipes that I think you’ll really enjoy and can use on a regular basis.

Because when you go gluten-free, the toughest part is duplicating the everyday things like breads, baked goods and comfort foods without spending a fortune.

Asst. Photographer “Friday” made sure the floor stayed clean of unwanted crumbs.

As is the case with most things, there’s a pretty long lead time. The manuscript is due this spring (yikes!) and the book is scheduled to hit the shelves in early 2011.

Based on that schedule, we needed to start taking photos of some of the recipes. We just completed the first part of the photo shoot last weekend

READY, SET…

SHOOT!

We want the recipes to look great, but also feel accessible. There’s no point in making a gluten-free cookbook with complicated recipes that you’ll never make. We’ll leave that to the fancy-schmancy chefs.

I hope you enjoy these behind-the-scenes photos of day one of the photo shoot.

Tapestries = nice backgrounds.

And just what might this be?

Make dough. Form. Bake. Photograph. Upload.

Part two of the photo shoot is scheduled to take place in a couple of weeks. Until then, you’ll find me in front of the computer and as always, with my head in the oven.

Warmly,
Nicole

Have I ever told you how well I love cornmeal? Naturally gluten-free, and inexpensive to boot. What more could a girl ask for? This quick and easy tomato recipe is a bit more exciting than plain workaday polenta, but you can still make it without breaking a sweat. Parmesan cheese is a bit of a stretch on a budget, but it is so incredibly flavorful, that a little goes a long way. And once the cheese is gone, save the rind and add to the pot when you make soup for incredible depth of flavor. Just remember to remove the rind before serving.

Tomato Polenta
Ingredients
1 cup milk (lowfat is fine, nonfat is not)
1 28 ounce can whole peeled tomatoes
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 cups cornmeal
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese (plus more for topping)

1. Remove the tomatoes from the can, chop them roughly, then set them aside. In a large saucepan, warm the milk over medium heat until simmering gently. You don’t want it to boil. Add the chopped tomatoes with their juice, plus the salt, to the pan, and stir to combine. The acid in the tomatoes may cause the milk to begin to curdle. This is no problem.

2. Continue to heat the tomato and milk mixture until it returns to simmering. Once the liquid is simmering, add the cornmeal in a slow but steady stream, whisking constantly, making sure there are no lumps. Reduce the heat to low, and continue to whisk until the mixture thickens, about 5-7 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese until it is fully incorporated and melted.

Serve with a few extra shavings of Parmesan cheese. You won’t believe how rich this dish is with so few ingredients. But believe it, baby.

Warmly,
Nicole

how many fingers am I holding up?

I don’t generally feed my children “kid food.” Even before we had the dietary limitations of celiac disease to contend with, I just have always found it kind of annoying when people bring their children to my house and expect that I’m going to provide special food for the kids. So, in the spirit of abiding by one’s principles, I had my kids eating real food from the very first opportunity. Which brings us to chicken fingers.

This is not kid food, I swear it. It’s actual food. Make the strips of chicken a bit wider, and you don’t have to use a body part nickname, and you can serve them to a group of full grown adults. Make the strips long and narrow, stick them into a paper-lined mesh basket, and your kids will think they’ve died and gone to heaven.

I make very quick work of these simple beauties by buying a large package of boneless chicken breast (when it’s on sale, of course), and trimming the breasts, slicing them into strips, then storing them in separate resealable food storage bags in 1 to 1.5 pound lots. When I plan to make chicken fingers, I just defrost a package in the refrigerator overnight. Dinner can be ready in mere minutes.

Chicken Fingers
Ingredients
1.5 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips
4 tablespoons canola oil
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
3-4 cups finely ground gluten free cereal (I usually use gf corn flakes)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and set them aside.

2. In a large bowl, combine the chicken strips, oil, and the melted butter. This works best if the chicken is not very cold. If it is cold, the chicken will cause the melted butter to set rather than stay liquid. Toss the chicken with the oil and butter until each strip is coated, ideally with both the oil and the butter. Set this bowl aside.

3. In a separate, flat, medium sized bowl, add the crushed cereal, salt and pepper, and stir to combine the ingredients well. Press both sides of each strip of chicken, one strip at a time, into the cereal mixture, and then place the strips side by side on the lined baking sheets.

4. Place the baking sheets in the preheated 375 degree oven and bake for about 12 minutes, rotating the baking sheets once during baking. The strips should bubble a bit and the cereal coating should be pretty crisp.

The oil and butter not only help the crushed cereal stick to the chicken, but they keep the chicken moist, and the butter flavors both the cereal and the meat. Delightful. These are really best right out of the oven. If you have any leftovers, and let’s be honest you won’t, but if you do, store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator, and reheat them in the oven to crisp them back up.

Warmly,
Nicole

As many of you know, I was laid off from my job back in March. That lead to the start of Gluten Free on a Shoestring. Since then, the blog has grown by leaps and bounds. It’s been mentioned in the New York Times. It’s attracted nearly 1,000 loyal “fans” on Facebook. And now Gluten Free on a Shoestring is set to become a cookbook as well.

Much of this success is due to you. Your comments and stories have inspired me and made sharing these recipes so rewarding. So thank you for all of your support and encouragement. And please keep those messages coming.

As we move into 2010, I plan to share more recipes and give you a behind-the-scenes look at the development of the cookbook. After all, Gluten Free on a Shoestring is as much yours as it is mine.

Let me wish you and your families Happy Holidays and success in the New Year. To cap things off, I’ve shared some “Shoestring Specials” to help you finish 2009 on a shoestring – because isn’t that why we’re all here?

See you next year!

Warmly,
Nicole

Final Shoestring Specials for 2009

Amazon.com Offers (all offers good thru 12/31/09)

25% off Oskri Organics GF bars
Use code OSKRI554
Order at http://bit.ly/5xK0dX

10% off over 10 different Bob’s Red Mill products (including gf flour, mixes for pancakes, pizza crust, cookies & more)
Use code BOBSGLFR
Order at http://bit.ly/5dlkVA

$10 off Nestle Toll House Chips ($29 min. purchase)
Discount automatically applied at checkout.
Order at http://bit.ly/6oA4Gj

35% off LesserEvil Snacks (gf popcorns and potato sticks)
Use code TSTEEVIL
Order at http://bit.ly/8sCEVV

40% off Sam Mills GF Corn Pasta
No code needed. Discount automatically deducted at checkout.
Order at http://bit.ly/4EP2yW

15% off Celestial Seasonings Teas
Use code TEACEL45
Order at http://bit.ly/790W8X

Gluten-Free Mall

10% off your order thru Jan 1, 2010
Use code 7f3a62
Order at http://www.glutenfreemall.com

Celiac Disease Book Offer

Save $10 on “Recognizing Celiac Disease” by Cleo Libonati (thru 12/31/09)

Recognizing Celiac Disease is a ready reference that identifies symptoms related to celiac disease and their underlying causes. Order at http://www.recognizingceliacdisease.com

$2.00 Coupon for Attune GF Probiotic Bars

Attune wellness bars combine all-natural, great-tasting ingredients with powerful probiotics that are clinically proven to support digestive health and promote a strong immune system.
Print the coupon at http://attunefoods.com/coupon/?MjAwb2ZmNw

Disclosure: Gluten Free on a Shoestring receives a small affiliate commission on Amazon.com orders placed via product links and Amazon banner ads on our site. So support Gluten Free on a Shoestring and order through the blog. And thanks…

Squash, anyone?

Okay, hear me out. This is waaaaaay yummier than you would think. I don’t know why. It just IS. And you’re gonna thank me for it. It’s warm and comforting, and completely satisfying.

Before I jump right into our game of squash, I have a bit of an announcement. I have tried to think of a million different ways to talk about this to all of you. I feel like I’m ready to propose to you — each of you, I love you all equally, it’s true — and I’m searching in vain to find a way to pop the question but everything seems trite or cheesy. And I asked your father a month ago, and he agreed to allow me your hand in marriage, but I still haven’t pulled the trigger. I’m so embarrassed.

I’m writing a Gluten-Free on a Shoestring cookbook. The manuscript is due at the end of April 2010. Oh crap.

The publisher is Da Capo, a division of Perseus books. After the blog was mentioned in the New York Times, a literary agent contacted me, said that in this space (the cost-conscious, shoestring space) there was a big ol’ gap in the gluten-free market, and invited me to assemble a proposal. We put it together at the end of the Summer, toot sweet, and Perseus bought it right quick. It should hit the shelves around January 2011.

Still up for that game of squash?

Squash Pasta
Ingredients
1 pound short gluten-free pasta
1 large acorn squash (or 2 small)
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
2-3 tablespoons ground cinnamon (to taste)
3-4 tablespoons pure maple syrup
1/4 cup milk (your choice – as long as it’s not non-fat)

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Pierce the outside of the acorn squash with a fork on all sides. Slice open the squash, remove the seeds (don’t toss them! toast them like you would pumpkin seeds; they’re delicious), and place both halves, cut side down, on a lined baking sheet. Bake for about 45 minutes, or until soft (the skin should pierce very easily with a fork). When it’s done, remove from the oven, immediately turn over the squash halves, place 1 tablespoon of butter in each half, sprinkle 1/2 tablespoon of ground cinnamon over each half. Allow the squash to cool a bit so it is easier to handle. This will also give it a chance for the flesh of the squash to absorb the butter. When warm, it is like a sponge. A delicious sponge.

2. In the meantime, cook the pasta according to the package directions, then place the cooked pasta in a large bowl. To the pasta, add the remaining 4 tablespoons butter when the pasta is still warm and toss to coat. Set the large bowl aside.

3. Once the squash is cool enough, and the butter has absorbed, peel off and discard its skin. In a medium-sized bowl, mash the flesh well. A regular fork will do, but a potato masher works a bit better. To the squash, add the salt, remaining cinnamon, maple syrup and milk. Whisk the mixture until well-combined.

4. Add the squash mixture to the pasta, and stir gently until all of the pasta is coated. Serve warm.

So as you might have guessed, the book is the reason that I have not been as prolific on the blog as I once was. I’m still here, though, scout’s honor. Just a little bogged down….

Warmly,
Nicole

A gluten free Thanksgiving to all, and to all a good night … and then a really good After-Thanksgiving Sandwich.

At Thanksgiving dinner, all 3 of my kids ate themselves silly, and then, at the very end of the night, asked that I save the scraps they simply could not eat.  The very next day, they were all clamoring for leftovers (and interrogating me about whether or not I did in fact save their individual scraps).  I did not cook at all that day.  It was glorious.  In an effort to eek out one more meal from my Thanksgiving efforts, I have assembled a lovely After-Thanksgiving Sandwich.  And I invite you to do the same….

What I did looks dramatic, but is simple.  The depth of the cranberry color makes all the difference in the presentation, with no more than a modicum of effort.  I took a couple of thick slices of Tom’s Sandwich Bread, buttered each side of the bread and then topped the butter with a generous layer of cranberry sauce, then layered in some sliced Thanksgiving turkey, and topped it with Apple & Leek Cornbread Stuffing.  Assemble the sandwich, slice it in half with a large serrated knife, & enjoy.  

In case you don’t know the pleasures of homemade cranberry sauce, here’s a quick recipe.  I usually buy a bunch of bags of fresh cranberries this time of year, when they’re readily available, and throw a few in the freezer.  Homemade cranberry sauce is so nice, I even make it other random times during the year.  Cranberries also work beautifully in Any Berry Scones.  You just use them frozen — no need to defrost before baking them with the scones.

Whole Cranberry Sauce
Ingredients
1 12 oz. bag fresh whole cranberries
1 cup water
scant 2/3 cup granulated sugar
zest of 1 lemon (optional)

 1. Place all ingredients in a medium saucepan.  Stir to combine.

2. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for about 10 minutes, or until the berries are soft and sauce is as thick as you desire.  

3. Allow the sauce to cool.  This may be stored in the refrigerator for days, so it’s great to make ahead of time.

Enjoy your After-Thanksgiving wonders!

Warmly,
Nicole

Can you believe it’s almost Thanksgiving? For me, normally time doesn’t pass fast or slow. It just passes in real time. But the last couple of weeks have been an exception. Time seems to go forward in fits and spurts, and I find myself bewildered by the fact that it’s Thanksgiving already.

Most years, I am a guest at someone else’s Thanksgiving table, and there is no doubt that that has a certain charm to it. But because of Jonathan’s celiac disease, I cook anyhow — and I end up catering for 1. And my two girls always want to eat what Jonathan has, foodies that they are, so it’s like catering for 1 + 1/2 + 1/2. Nonsense. So this year we’re hosting, and I’m cooking it all. I love it, but don’t expect me to also be able to remember, on any given day, what day of the week it is.

So in the spirit of the Pilgrims, who of course we all know made stuffing, I give you the slightly sweet, mostly savory, totally naturally gluten free Cornbread Stuffing.

Apple & Leek Cornbread Stuffing
Ingredients
Six tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 leeks, trimmed and sliced thinly in cross-section
3 McIntosh apples, peeled, cored & diced
2 tablespoons poultry seasoning
kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste
3 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
1 recipe Old fashioned GF cornbread, crumbled
2 eggs, beaten
1/3 cup milk

1. In a medium saucepan over very low heat, melt the butter with the olive oil. Once the butter is melted, add the leeks, apples, poultry seasoning, salt and pepper, and parsley, and cook, covered, over medium-low heat until the leeks and apples are soft and the flavors married. The mixture should be very fragrant.

2. Add the crumbled cornbread to the mixture and stir to combine. Break up any very large pieces with your stirring spoon. Set aside the mixture to cool for about 10-15 minutes.

3. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease or line 12 muffin cups or a casserole dish and set it aside.

4. Combine the eggs and milk in a separate small bowl and whisk to combine. After the 10-15 minutes of cooling off, temper the beaten egg mixture by adding a few spoonfuls of the stuffing mixture and stirring gently. This exercise allows the eggs to accustom to the temperature of the warm stuffing mixture without being scrambled. Add the tempered egg mixture to the rest of the stuffing mixture and stir gently until completely combined.

5. If using a muffin tin, divide the mixture evenly among the muffin tins and press down the tops. If using a casserole dish, spread the mixture evenly in the dish and smooth the top. You don’t want any big pieces of cornbread sticking up. They’ll burn.

6. Place the stuffing in the preheated oven and bake for 20 or 25 minutes (20 minutes for the muffin cups; 25 minutes for a casserole dish), or until the egg is set and the stuffing is nicely browned.

Serve warm or at room temperature. In my book, if I sit down and everything is lukewarm, I consider it a victory.

Warmly,
Nicole

that's amore!

It is entirely possible, if not probable, that I am creating unrealistic culinary expectations for my children. When I first made my own gluten free pasta, it was one of the first times that my son, Jonathan, made the connection betweenscratch cooking and, well, cooking not-from-scratch.

I boil store-bought brown rice pasta quite often. Jonathan is very accustomed to it. So when I first made my own pasta, a light bulb went on in his mind. That would seem to be a good thing, except he got carried away. Precocious as he is, he’s still only 5 1/2 years old. So when he finished his dinner of homemade ravioli, he asked, “Hey, Mom, wouldn’t it be cool if you made your own water?”

Fresh Gluten Free Pasta
Ingredients
2 cups all purpose gluten free flour
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 extra-large egg
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2-2/3 cup warm water

1. In food processor or stand mixer, mix all ingredients EXCEPT the water together until well-blended. Let it go for a couple of minutes to activate the xanthan gum.

2. After blending for a couple minutes, add the water in a slow but steady stream while the machine is on, until the mixture comes together in a ball. It should look like very stiff play-doh (imagine gluten free play-doh, of course).

3. Divide the dough into 4 balls. Roll out each ball of dough between two sheets of plastic wrap until it’s about 1/8″ thick (about the thickness of a nickel). You don’t want it to be too thin or it will fall apart when you boil it; if it’s too thick, it will be gummy. Blech.

4. Create whatever shaped pasta you like. Cut the pasta into thin strips and make linguini, or try your hand at ravioli like I did (all you need is a metal ravioli cutter – it cuts and seals and costs a pittance at any kitchen supply store worth its salt). It also makes great cannelloni or lasagna noodles.

5. Boil a BIG pot of water, salt it liberally once it’s boiling, and place your pasta, in thirds, into the water. Cooking times will depend upon shape, but should range from 8-12 minutes.

Hey, it’s better than trying to make your own water.

Mangia!

Warmly,
Nicole

isn't she lovely?

Isn’t she wonderful? Look at those crackers. They’re makin’ me crackers! I generally stay away from making snacks like this. I don’t really need them too often, just here and there for my kids, so I usually just cough up the cash for Glutino pretzels, and buy some conventional brand chips that are gluten-free, and call it quits.

But these are different.

These crackers are super-simple, seductively elegant, inexpensive to make, and terribly versatile. As pictured here, they’re rounds. But you can make them in any old shape you like. Cut the dough into strips, and they’re sticks. Roll the strips end over end, and they’re cheese puffs. Cheese puffs!

Cheese Crackers
Ingredients
1 cup all purpose gluten-free flour
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, diced and then kept cold
1 cup finely grated cheese, preferably cheddar
4-6 tablespoons milk (any kind with at least a bit of fat), chilled

1. Mix the flour, xanthan gum, and salt in a medium-sized bowl until well combined. Add the cheese and stir to combine.

2. Using a hand-held pastry blender (or simply two knives, or a food processor, if you prefer), cut the diced butter into the flour/cheese mixture until the mixture resembles small peas. The idea is for the butter to be in small pieces, and each small piece to be swathed in the flour mixture.

3. Now add the milk to the mixture, tablespoon by tablespoon, first stirring to combine, then squeezing the mixture, adding milk and squeezing until the dough comes together into a cohesive ball. Cover the dough in plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator for at least an hour, up to overnight.

4. Once the dough is chilled, preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Roll out the dough between two sheets of plastic wrap until it’s about the thickness of a nickel (about 1/8″ thick, for those of you who are wondering what a nickel is). At this point, you could uncover the dough and dust it with more flour, but that would cost extra. Instead, the dough will be super easy to handle without an extra dusting of flour if you simply place it — still covered in both sheets of plastic wrap, flat on its back in the refrigerator to chill for another 10-15 minutes. In the meanwhile, line baking sheets with parchment paper.

5. Once the dough has chilled again, use a biscuit cutter to cut rounds and place them evenly spaced apart on the baking sheets. Place in the preheated oven and bake, rotating halfway through, for about 12-14 minutes, until pale golden brown (or darker, if you like).

I must apologize for the radio silence of late. Can you ever forgive me?

Warmly,
Nicole

$7.00 for a basic loaf of ready-made gluten-free bread? For realz? Who’s buying bread for that kind of cash money? The only way you do that is if money is no object for you (and may I be the first to say, I’m jealous of people like that — but I’m not proud of it), or if you don’t know that there is another option within reach. That kind of $7.00 bread habit is just not sustainable on a Shoestring budget. And even the good gluten-free breads don’t hold a candle to the fresh-baked, homemade stuff.

Let’s face it. It’s time for an intervention. Step away from the overpriced bread.

I’ve previously listed a recipe for tasty Tom’s Sandwich Bread. You know that. But what you don’t know is that it’s magic dough. The other day, someone on the GFOAS Facebook Page asked for a good hamburger/hot dog bun recipe. She wanted some nice buns. As I was trying to dream up a recipe for some nice buns (because, really, who doesn’t like nice buns?), I remembered that I’ve used that same Tom’s bread recipe to make great rolls, too. (How many more times can I make the nice buns joke?)

Here’s what I’ve done to convert the Tom’s Bread dough into rolls. It’s super simple: Just mix up a batch, and scoop mounds of bread dough with a 1 1/2” diameter ice cream scooper (or larger if you prefer), an inch or so apart, on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Place in a draft-free, warm space to rise for about 45 minutes (perhaps less), and bake at 375 degrees for about 15-20 minutes. It really doesn’t take much more time than that.

Another way to make more bread with less dough is to be smart about how you shop for ingredients. Gluten-free flours are definitely more expensive than conventional flour, but you can find most varieties (rice, garbanzo bean, soy, etc.) for a pretty good price on Amazon.com. Another great way to save is on the other ingredients that go into bread. If you can lower the cost of your eggs and your milk, you can start bringing down your price per loaf right quick. One ingredient that is pretty expensive is yeast. I usually have to spend around $8 for a tiny, 4 ounce jar of Fleischmann’s yeast at my local supermarket. At least it cost less than those individual packets (which I don’t care for anyway, since sometimes I need more or less yeast than the standard 2 ¼ teaspoons), but that’s not enough.

So I called in my husband, Brian. He’s got the gift of google. Here’s what he found: Bob’s Red Mill saves the day. We were able to buy a shelf-stable box of eight, 8-ounce packages (64 ounces total) of Bob’s Red Mill Active Dry Yeast for $25.37 which works out to about 40 cents per ounce. And not only does the yeast get rave reviews on Amazon, but I have used it and I love it, too.

Let them eat … bread.