Book of Yum

We had our most recent Celiac Bay Area Support Group Potluck this last August second, and as usual, everyone really outdid themselves. The hostess selected a BBQ theme for the event, so we had grilled bits, non-veg and some really superb thin, crispy stalks of asparagus, grilled red onion slices, and grilled peppers, along with potato salad, a lovely salad with tiny, sweet grapes, fruit and pickled veggies, a refreshing bean vinaigrette salad and some exotic slow-simmered fruits. Meanwhile, I made Bette Hagman’s wonderful rapid rise gluten-free french bread recipe and some fresh basil dipping oil, as well as a little dish of julienned fresh basil with halved sweet grape tomatoes in olive oil. I also made my favorite fresh lime soda, but there was lovely mint lemonade and a wide variety of wine for people to enjoy.

I loved all the savory dishes, but dessert time was especially fun, as we had all sorts of exotic fare from gluten-free cream puffs to allergy-free (egg-free, bean-free, soy-free, dairy-free etc) chocolate wacky cake and an absolutely divine allergy-free brandied apple cake. I was ecstatic over the cream puffs, as I’d only had them once before (in my life!) and I wasn’t the only one. I think everyone enjoyed them. The only problem with fluffy bread bits filled with ooey, gooey custard filling and topped with luscious chocolate frosting? You end up wearing as much filling and frosting as you ate- or maybe that’s just me. You can see the big ol’ mess I made on the left. But the recipe, the recipe was divine, and I was so thrilled that one of our members went to all the trouble to make them. Hurrah for ambitious gluten-free bakers! The recipe was based on Melonie Katz’ recipe for cream puffs from the SillyYaks message board through Yahoo, and then variations of filling recipes found online. I’m eager to make them myself. I will be contacting Melonie to see if she’ll let me share them with you on here. I’ll test the recipe with my own luxurious filling, and hopefully you’ll be seeing my version at the Book of Yum soon. In the meantime, feast your eyes on them above.

But I also really appreciated the allergy-friendly recipe for brandied apple cake that our master bakers, V and H, brought to the party. This allergen-free (but not taste-free) cake was gobbled up by those with special allergies as well as by the simply gluten-free folks. As one of our party commented “I think I like cakes with brandy.” Me too! This is my version of V and H’s excellent recipe. I would like to do some experiments in the future- maybe add a little more liquid ingredients (one half cup applesauce?) in addition to my dry brandied apples. Also a teaspoon or two of xanthan gum might make it less crumbly. Quinoa adds its own stamp to this cake, but you could also try it without for a lighter flavor. I have to admit, the powdered sugar V and H added really took it to a whole new level. Too bad we didn’t have any powdered sugar in the house… but that shouldn’t stop you from adding some. Trust me, it’s worth the sugar guilt. I would strongly recommend you visit V and H’s GF Recipe Web Page to check out their tasty recipes- there are tons of yummy gems in there, including their Simply Amazing Easy Cranberry Pie Recipe that I blogged about in October.

Isn’t it wonderful having gluten-free friends with such great kitchen voodoo? The meals I enjoy at these support group potlucks are always worlds better than most restaurant offerings- and certainly there’s way more variety and imagination present! If you haven’t tried joining a gluten-free support group, why not look into it? You may find, as I did, that there’s a whole community right outside your door that can understand better than anyone else the joys of GF online shopping, the best and worst of the latest gluten free products, and the highs and lows of the gluten-free lifestyle.

For this edition of the Adopt-a-gluten-free-blogger Event, I decided to adopt Pig in the Kitchen. I only recently discovered Pig in the Kitchen’s gluten-free blog, but she is one funny, engaging lady. While Pig in the Kitchen seems to be currently residing in France, she has ties to the UK and is visiting there this summer. It took me a while to figure this out but her blog is also vegetarian and vegan appropriate. Once I did realize this, I was even more excited to explore her recipes. But then of course, I had to pick a recipe. I looked at her muffin recipes, but that seemed too easy.. I thought about the Halloween biscuit cookies but since we’re moving and the house is in a state of profound chaos, that seemed a little too ambitious. Also we have no chocolate in the house, putting a big damper on that recipe and many of her decadent sounding desserts. But then I came across her recipe for Archimedes’ Gluten Free Bread Rolls. I have a weakness for delicious gluten-free roll recipes, and hers sounded unique, fairly easy to execute, and tasty to boot. But yet, I still wanted more. Then fate answered, in the form of the provocatively named Uneasy Bean Burgers. The homemade GF bean burgers were even depicted WITH the previously mentioned bread rolls. Clearly it was a sign.

Pig in the Kitchen’s small buns were also perfect for Bread Baking Day, with its theme of “small breads.” I started with the buns, and made them for lunch to share with the DH. The recipe was simple, but the dough was perfect to handle and I found her estimation on the water (the amount she personally uses) resulted in a very manageable dough. I followed the directions as best I could (thank goodness I have a scale that measures grams!) but I did wonder if the corn flour was meant to be corn flour or might refer to corn starch. I also used (finely ground) brown rice flour instead of white rice flour for additional flavor. I didn’t let the dough sit before shaping it, figuring that might discourage it from rising, but rather shaped my dough and let it rise on the baking sheet. It baked nicely, although it didn’t rise very dramatically, but the end result was a pleasant, small bun that reminded me in flavor of Bette Hagman’s masterful gluten-free french bread recipe (made with white rice flour and tapioca starch). DH ate them happily with the egg salad filling, and then later with the Uneasy Bean Burger. I think if I’d made a double recipe he might have continued eating them! (But this small recipe was refreshing, and the perfect size for a test run.)

One funny thing happened in the grocery store when I went to get the ingredients- I had a temporary brain spasm and couldn’t decide if courgette was EGGPLANT or ZUCCHINI. The perils of spending so much time and energy into learning Japanese, I’m afraid- as I put Japanese vocab in my head some infrequently used culinary vocab falls out. Oops. I bought both, but I really hated buying the eggplant because our local Nob Hill was operating in ye ol’ highway robbery mode and it cost $5/lb. Yikes! Then it turned out courgette was Zucchini, OF COURSE (which had been on sale and was a bargain at $1/lb)- at least I’d bought some so I was set. Ooh, but every time I look at my eggplant I get mad at myself (and Nob Hill) all over again. Anyway, sob story aside- I chopped up my vegetable ingredients, sauteed them in my cast iron pan, and then set them aside while I squished up my drained kidney beans on a plate. Oh, if only I hadn’t already packed the potato masher! I mixed them up with the sauteed veggies and then ran into an itty bitty problem- Pig in the Kitchen’s recipe called for Marmite, which I just don’t have. I decided to sub in Nutritional Yeast Flakes instead (I know, totally different ingredients, but they are both vegetarian flavor enhancers). I also didn’t have linseed, whole or otherwise, so I added some (ground) flax seed instead. Also, I don’t have access to the egg substitute she recommended, so I used a scant portion of Ener-g Foods Egg Replacer (more replacer powder to water than usual). I was happy to have an excuse to use my GF buckwheat flour. I didn’t have any exotic shapers/cutters unpacked, so I shaped each patty by hand and with a spoon and I thought they were quite easy to shape and turned out well. After baking on one side I decided to walk on the wild side and turn the veg burgers over and bake them another five minutes. I think that way the flour lost some of it’s faintly raw flavor and the texture on both sides was more even. Happily they stayed together just fine and there was no need for a stiff martini (although who’s going to turn one of those down! Certainly not me!) These little burgers were beautiful and delicious too, and I couldn’t help stealing one or three before we even made it to dinner.

Unfortunately we’d enjoyed Pig in the Kitchen’s mini buns so much at lunch there were only a few left for dinner, so I decided to give the veg burgers my own spin and make homemade corn tortillas to eat with them. I would had made pupusas, actually, but unfortunately I’d already packed the pupusa flour- still had the corn tortilla flour out (and was hoping to use it up!) I also couldn’t resist making a nice homemade pico de gallo recipe and pulling out some leftover cilantro chutney. Just squint your taste buds up a bit and it becomes mexican-food-appropriate, honest. Thanks to Pig in the Kitchen and the Adopt-a-gluten-free-Blogger-Event I was able to have a delicious, gluten-free AND vegan dinner that both I and my DH enjoyed. I am not sure I’ll make the rolls again because I love Adeena’s Rolls so much that it’s difficult for any other roll to compete, but I will definitely be making PITK’s tasty and economical (baked not fried!) Uneasy Bean Burgers again. After the recent slew of fried food (mostly pakora) that we’ve been churning out in the Book of Yum kitchen, it was almost a relief to get back to a lowfat, vegan recipe- and certainly better for the waistline! If you haven’t discovered Pig in the Kitchen yet, I strongly recommend that you trot (tee hee) over there as quickly as possible. I guarantee her tasty recipes and witty repartee will make you smile.

Have you tried any of Pig in the Kitchen’s Recipes? Tell me about it in the comments…

Roundup for the Adopt-a-Gluten-Free-Blogger-Event coming soon! Don’t forget to visit Cheryl’s site to adopt your blogger for the month of July (with roundup in early August). Also, please make sure you email me with your post NO LATER than July 7th- I’ll be on an airplane on July 9th so I don’t have much time to post the roundup and time is of the essence!

Read my other reviews of my fellow gluten-free bloggers’ recipes:
Naomi’s pita bread
Kate’s sandwich wrap
Accidental Veg Naomi’s french bread and zucchini
and last but never, ever least,
Karina’s Vegan Mac N’ Cheese.