Book of Yum

Usually I don’t think of tea parties as particularily gluten-free friendly dining experiences. Oh, I know there are exceptions. Apparently at some very posh hotels in London, if you fork over an exorbitant sum, you can get a lovely gluten-free tea. But ordinarily, in the States, you just can’t find a place serving a gluten-free tea very easily. (I do hear that American Girl sometimes will offer gluten-free treats, though.) I hadn’t thought about it very much until I heard that an upcoming baby shower for a dear friend was going to be held at a local cafe restaurant that did a tea service. Luckily the party organizer (the expectant mother’s sister-in-law) didn’t mind contacting the owner about possibly providing gluten-free teas to two of the guests. In a cool coincidence, another guest was also on a gluten-free diet. Luckily, the owner was happy to oblige, and just asked that we bring some gluten-free bread for her to use for the sandwiches. Two nights before, I baked a batch of Whole Foods Gluten-Free Bread Mix at my friend’s house (the expectant mother) and the day before, I brought over the pre-sliced bread to the restaurant, along with a copy of the American Triumph Dining Card instructions for restaurants that explained such things as the problems of cross-contamination. I was excited about the party, but a little nervous about the food. The party was beautiful and went off without a hitch. The expectant mother enjoyed every minute of her party. We all wore lovely party hats, provided by the cafe owner, and played silly baby games. The mother-to-be posed for pictures, unwrapped lots of thoughtful and mini-person sized clothing and toys, and of course, enjoyed the tea and tea sandwiches. Me and the other gluten-free attendee enjoyed our own food as well. The first course was scones and jam for the glutenoids, with lots of thick clotted and whipped cream. We had fresh strawberries and a mountain of whipped cream- no scones, but it was still pretty decadent.
The main course was tea sandwiches. To my relief, the gluten-free bread had a decent texture, even untoasted, and its mild flavor went well with the delicate fillings. Despite some initial trepidation that the vegetarian offerings might be limited, the owner had really outdone herself and come up with three fillings for us- one, a traditional dill cucumber sandwich, two, a roasted zucchini,eggplant, and squash sandwich with mayonnaise and mustard, and three, a sandwich with avocado and sprouts. Mmm. To be honest, cucumber sandwiches tend to leave me a little bored, but the roasted veggie sandwich was extraordinary. I did find the portions to be a bit large, so I ate the fillings out of some and left some of the bread. Still, it was a real pleasure to enjoy the sandwiches with tea.
I thought the feast was over, and that was fine because i was really quite, quite full. But then the proprietor came out with desserts- little tea cakes for the glutenoids and, surprisingly- a lovely banana cream pudding with a two layer raw-foods style fudge. I was nervous about the fudge, until she thoughtfully told me all the ingredients- basically walnuts and dates, with raisins thrown in for fun. It doesn’t sound like much, but it was actually a delightful sweet treat. It was like a very, very fresh Lara bar. The pudding was also quite nice, although a bit sweeter than my sweet tooth is accustomed to.

Here’s a recipe for a vegetarian banana pudding (with eggs and milk)
a vegan southern-style banana pudding- just substitute gluten-free cookies or leave them out!
a raw-foods, gluten-free recipe for banana-choco banana pudding

More interested in raw foods dessert recipes?
Here’s the Recipe for Date Nut Torte that I enjoyed at the tea
OR, if you’re in the mood for chocolate,
try this chocolate dried fruit raw fudge recipe

And you thought tea and sandwiches were off the menu! No way. I am also happy to report that I didn’t feel so much as a twinge from the food- so they must have really taken the CC issue seriously. They did a great job of keeping me, and the other gluten-free girl (a third grader!) safe. So, who knows. The next time you come across a gluten-full event like this- try talking to the manager or owner and see if special arrangements can be made. Believe me, sometimes a little effort results in a lot of fun (and some great food!)

After I came home I was eager to recreate the yummy sandwiches in my own home, so I put together the below recipes for tea sandwiches. They aren’t QUITE as good as the ones at the tea shop, but they were pretty yummy all the same.Next time you feel like tea, scones, or tea sandwiches, why not make them at home- any lunch can be special, with a little extra preparation and a teapot full of imported tea brewing.

*Oh, and because we were visiting my friend over Easter weekend, we also dyed some eggs together- the natural way with vegetables and colorful spices. The eggs turned out great and it was lots of fun, so I included the recipe below in case you want to try it. Who needs artificial colors and cardboard boxes with bunnies on them? Not me, now that I know how to make my own super-food-safe coloring liquid. Enjoy and a Very Happy, if Belated, Easter.

Read about gladtobeglutenfree’s experience with a gluten-free tea service
Or, make your own tea treats from Milk for the Morning Cake’s roundup of gluten-free teatime recipes.

Gluten-Free Vegetarian Tea Sandwich Recipe Main Course  Alternative Grains  European

Ingredients 1/2 loaf of your favorite gluten-free bread, sliced, with crusts removed if desired. Sauce 1: GF Mayonnaise (Spectrum Vegan or other) smidgen of GF Mustard Fresh Herbs, minced (thyme, marjoram, basil, whatever you like) Fresh Chives, minced dollop of yogurt (soy, goat, or cow yogurt works!) Filling 1: 1 Eggplant (asian is desirable, but anything is ok), thinly sliced to make strips 1-2 zucchini, thinly sliced to make strips 1 yellow squash, thinly sliced to make strips Olive oil chopped fresh herbs (thyme, marjoram, etc.) salt pepper Fresh basil leaves 1 organic tomato, sliced Sauce 2: Cream Cheese (Tofutti better than cream cheese or dairy) Fresh dill, minced Fresh chives, minced Filling 2: Thinly sliced cucumbers Sauce 3: Your Favorite Hummus kalamata olives, pitted, and sliced or chopped Filling 3: Fresh Avocado slices Thinly Sliced tomatoes fresh sprouts Directions Combine ingredients for all sauces in separate little rice bowls and reserve. Take your sliced vegetables for filling one, baste lightly in olive oil and chopped fresh herbs or your favorite blend, and grill them nicely until they look done. Season with salt and pepper. Prepare your bread and spread sauce 1 on two pieces of bread. Next, layer filling 1 on the bread and cut it into a cute triangle. Make your second sandwich with sauce and filling 2, and your third sandwich with sauce and filing 3. Enjoy with hot, delicious black tea and a light salad if desired.

Rating:  7 Original Source:  Inspired by Tea Party menu, but original. Please do not replicate anywhere without my permission. Recipe ID:  1217 Added:  April 2, 2008 Last Modified:  April 2, 2008

Naturally Dyed Easter Egg Main Course  Dairy

Ingredients Base: 1 quart water +2 tbsp white vinegar Color Elements: Blue: Red Cabbage, 4 cups Yellow: 3 tbsp turmeric You Can also try the following color elements: 4 cups onion skins (12 onions) 4 cups chopped Beets 1 quart strong coffee, no water Directions To make each dye, bring water, vinegar, and color element to a boil, lower the heat, simmer 30 min and strain dye. You can boil eggs with dye or cold dip, for 5 seconds up to overnight, and dry on wire wrap. For Turmeric, you can just add the powder to hot water without boiling it. Deep yellow- soak eggs in turmeric for a long time Teal- Soak eggs in turmeric solution for 30 minutes and then cabbage soak for 5 seconds. Bright Blue- Soak eggs in cabbage solution overnight (or just for a long time)

Rating:  8 Original Source:  Martha Stewart Recipe ID:  1214 Added:  March 25, 2008 Last Modified:  April 2, 2008

Our recent trip to India is beginning to seep away, crowded out by a bewildering collection of new experiences in Austria and Germany- two countries that are a world away from India in both flavor and geography. When I think back on India, it comes to me in flashes of sensory experiences- the smell of Aloo Jeera, twanging of cumin and rich oils, the colors of women’s saris lit up like butterflies under a hazy sun, the sound of chanting and music from a nearby temple- the suffocating exhaust from rickshaws and the honking of their horns negotiating for space. But in all the confusion and excitement that we experienced in India, I think my favorite memories are of two occasions when DH’s co-worker and wife opened their home to us for two exquisite dinners enjoyed with their family. When I came to India previously two years ago, I was only there for a week and got the briefest brush with the country. I soaked up experiences and sensations as best I could, but everything was strange and new to me. I skimmed the surface of this new culture like the lightest of water bugs, shopping, sightseeing, and viewing temples just as I was supposed to as a tourist. The closest I came to experiencing home life in India was a peaceful stroll through a local grocery store. This trip I decided, like any good tourist, to fulfill a life-long dream to see the Taj Mahal but I also hoped to spend some time out of the tourist circuit just enjoying spending time with some of DH’s friends in India. When one of his friends (who had visited the States the previous year) invited us to his home with wife and young son for dinner, I was thrilled- and visiting their peaceful apartment complex and home offered a welcome break from a hotel lifestyle in noisy Bangalore. I was really happy to meet DH’s friend’s lovely and hospitable wife and clever young son, and being me, I was practically hyperventilating with excitement at the prospect of a home-cooked meal and the chance to learn some new recipes or preparation methods. The meal and evening surpassed my wildest hopes, and it was such a pleasure to enjoy a meal with fellow vegetarians. (The family is vegetarian and of course, so was our meal.) In Bangalore, people tend to eat dinner far later than we tend to in the States, so our meal began late, which was good as I had eaten a late lunch and definitely needed lots of room for the extensive array of dishes our hostess had planned. After being shown around their home and admiring their son’s cool bike and toys on his request, the relaxing meal began with a delicious and light boiled peanut salad with fresh cilantro leaves and onions. One thing that eating in Indian restaurants in the States or simply reading Indian cookbooks hadn’t shown me was that crisp, fresh salads (rarely involving lettuce) are often a refreshing beginning course or accompaniment to heavier dishes. The yummy peanut snack was followed with a crunchy salad of sliced red tomatoes, red onions, radishes, green chilies and wedges of fresh lime or lemon. These crisp vegetables were sprinkled only with salt (sometimes pepper is also added, both black or chili) and I was amazed by the sweetness and flavor in the simple tomato slices garnished with salt and just a squeeze of lime. When I exclaimed over the flavor (in December, no less), DH commented that a great deal of Indian produce is naturally organic- something I hadn’t known. Here’s an interesting article on the issue of organic farming in India if you’d like to know more about this. I also loved the simple salads of lightly salted red onion slices and limes served in Indian restaurants- while I’ve always found lettuce a bit dull, I think I’ve discovered a new style of “salad” that I will be enjoying in my own home now that I’ve returned. Who needs corn syrup filled “lowfat” dressings when a light sprinkle of salt and lime juice enhances the flavor of vegetables so beautifully? The star of the meal for me, though, was the satisfying “snack” of fried Chana Dal Pakora or Dal Vada, fried croquettes of chana lentils that had an amazing “bready” texture and crisp exterior, with heavenly, perfectly balanced seasonings. The meal was prepared by our hostess, her mother, and their son’s caretaker, and it was actually the natively South Indian caretaker who had introduced the family to the recipe. I watched the patties being prepared from a bowl of the mashed ingredients and felt my mouth water- and when they were fried to golden perfection and served with delicious green chutney their flavor surpassed my wildest imaginings. DH enjoyed his with ketchup, but I scooped the green chutney onto mine for a completely harmonious pairing. I had to have the recipe in order to try to make them at home later- and of course, to share with you all (see recipe below). After our round of snacks and salads were over, we adjourned to the table for more amazing dishes. The first night, we had a salty, smoky (and yet completely vegetarian!) dal dish that I still hope to get the recipe for, hearty aloo gobi (potatoes with cauliflower), and an amazing rich cheese dumpling dish in a tomato gravy (another dish I’d love to have the recipe for). They’d kindly made rice for me, and then made (gluten containing) roti flatbread from scratch for the other guests. I peered around the corner to watch our hostesses mother make the roti- she used a small,solid wooden cylinder rolling pin to flatten the dough and then placed the dough on the heating surface until it puffed lightly, then skillfully flipped it and put it into a basket, beginning the whole process over again. Crispy pappadam completed the meal, adding welcome crunch and a contrast in flavor. The cheese dumplings melted in the mouth and made me wish I had five more stomachs so that I could eat more (thanks to my greedy enjoyment of the dal vada I was getting quite full by this time), the cauliflower in the aloo gobhi was delightfully seasoned and reminded me again why I like cauliflower in Indian food, and the dal was so rich and salty I decided I need to expand my dal repertoire. For dessert we had prepared rasgulla, which I was delighted to find was gluten free. Sometimes store prepared and labeled food is the most wonderful thing in the world- I wouldn’t have dared to try unlabeled rasgulla, but this stuff was safe! Unfortunately by then I was so full that I couldn’t eat much of the very concentrated sweet rasgulla, to my dismay- but it had been a wonderful meal. I especially appreciated the gracious hospitality of our hostess, who patiently explained all the ingredients to me and was able to make me feel so safe and comfortable when eating out with gluten intolerance can be such an intimidating prospect. Our hostess worked so hard to make us all comfortable that she didn’t take time to eat herself, which made her American guests feel rather as though we ought to start serving her food so that she could enjoy her own feast! It must have been after midnight by the time we finished, and we were so full we could barely waddle to the car so our host could take us home. It was strange to drive through the dark and relatively silent streets of Bangalore that late at night- usually we burrowed into our hotel no later than nine or ten at night. A drive that during the day would take at least forty-five minutes in stop and start, honking rickshaw traffic took barely minutes, and before we knew it, we were back at the hotel bidding farewell to our host. Although I feared that might be our only chance to enjoy dinner with their family because we were flying to Delhi to see the Taj Mahal the next weekend, we had one more opportunity later to have dinner with their family before we left. This second meal was just as delicious as the first, and they made those divine dal vada again as a snack- DH and I ate so many we were quite ashamed of our greediness, but they were so good we couldn’t help ourselves. This second meal featured a delicious potato dish, another tasty dal, and a tomato gravy paneer with green peas. It was so delicious that again, we wished we had brought some extra stomachs along to help. Dessert was a delightful surprise, and one that DH and I thoroughly enjoyed- our hostess had prepared a slow simmered rice pudding richly spiced with freshly ground cardamom and bits of tasty nuts. DH in particular has a weakness for fresh cardamom and we were sorely tempted when our hostess offered us some to take home, but we didn’t trust our unreliable hotel refrigerator (with its inability to keep even soft drinks cool) to keep a milk dish safe for later consumption. *sigh* Luckily, I got the recipe so you can bet I will be making some of my very own sometime soon. Both the company and the food were absolutely wonderful, and we were both grateful to our host and hostess for welcoming us so graciously into their home. In particular, I was touched that they went to such effort on our behalf when I’m such a hassle to cook for, being both vegetarian AND gluten-free. I always feel awkward when explaining to potential hosts or hostesses the complex assortment of things that I can’t have- and the best of intentions can’t always compensate for the difficulties of preparing gluten-free food. Luckily, our host’s family was vegetarian, and Indian food really does have many naturally gluten-free dishes, and so perhaps it wasn’t as complicated for them to prepare a meal for us as it would have been in other food cultures- but still, I am immensely grateful for their hospitality, their company, and their gift of amazing, vegetarian, gluten-free home-cooked food in Bangalore, India. Thanks to their entire family (and congratulations, on their recent good news!), and thank you, Bangalore. Agra and its Taj Mahal may offer the world the most wonder, but Bangalore has somehow crept into my heart and become, in a small way, a place that feels like home- a place with friends, and memories, with places that I nested in and places that I gazed at with wonder- favorite coffee shops and un-favorite streets to cross- good experiences, like the rickshaw driver that DIDN’T charge more than the fare meter, and people that remembered me from two years ago, and bad experiences, like the ever present noise and air pollution… but nevertheless, a place I will think of fondly. And of course, Bangalore is a place with flavors that I expect to provide inspiration for dishes for years to come.

Chana Dal Pakora or Dal Vada Side Dish  Indian

Ingredients 250 gm Bengal Gram (Channa/ Chana Dal) 2-4 (sm.) red onions, finely chopped 1 cup finely chopped cilantro leaves 2-3 finely chopped green chili (sm, not Anaheim) 2-3 cloves (Loung?) 1 stick (1 inch) cinnamon bark (dalchini) salt to taste Cooking Oil for deep frying 50 gm. Ginger (finely crushed but Not paste) 1/2 or 1/4 head of garlic (finely crushed) Chutney to serve- mint or cilantro chutney is lovely, and then some kind of red chutney or even ketchup offers a nice contrast. Directions Soak 250 gm. (washed) Bengal gram for 5-6 hours. Strain the water and grind the strained dal along with crushed garlic, ginger, cloves, and cinnamon bark. Put the grinded mixture in a bowl and mix finely chopped onions, fresh cilantro leaves, salt, and green chilies. Mix it well with spoon or by hand. Make round, flat patty shaped balls and deep fry on medium flame in pre-heated oil. Maybe about 2.5 minutes, then turn for 2.5 minutes more. Notes This is a South Indian recipe that our friends (originally from Northern India) had been introduced to by their son’s caretaker. They liked it so much they adopted the recipe- and after weeks in India drooling over all the gluten containing fried snacks I couldn’t have, it was a thrill for me to enjoy this in their home. I begged them to make it again when we visited their house a second time- and it was just as wonderful as I remember! Probably my favorite thing I ate over the entire duration of our trip. *Indian onions and other veggies may be smaller than some of their giant American cousins, so you may want to use your best judgment on quantities. When I’ve tested the recipe in my own kitchen I may update amounts…

Rating:  10 Original Source:  Friend in India Recipe ID:  1164 Added:  January 2, 2008 Last Modified:  January 2, 2008

Kheer Cardamon Rice Pudding Dessert  Rice  Indian

Ingredients 1/2 cup rice 2 liters milk 1/2 to 1 cup sugar 1 tsp. cardamom powder (freshly ground) (alaichi) 1 tbsp cashews 1 tbsp almonds (blanched) Directions Wash rice and strain it. Boil your milk and as soon as it boils put the rice in and simmer the rice. Keep stirring for 2-3 minutes and then leave it on the burner for 15-30 minutes, stirring occasionally so rice doesn’t stick or burn. Add sugar, fresh cardamom, cashews and almonds. Let it simmer another 10 minutes or until mixture has thickened to desired consistency. Enjoy!

Rating:  9 Original Source:  Friend in India Recipe ID:  1165 Added:  January 2, 2008 Last Modified:  January 2, 2008