Chicken (broccoli) and rice casserole

My mom made this casserole and sometimes I crave it. But it calls for the “can of cream of X soup”.
SO about 5 years ago I was searching for a GF alternative to "Cream of X Soup”
And All I could find were these complicated recipes that made WAY too much soup.
I only needed ONE can for this recipe.
Most ended up with 6 to 9 cans worth!
I have found recipes for Cream of soup mix, where you concoct a powder that is cupboard safe for a year, and makes like 9 cans worth. 9 CANS! That comes to 36 servings of casserole! WAY TOO MUCH.
SO I extrapolated this recipe from what I learned about “cream of X soup” and my mother’s casserole recipe.

Hope you enjoy.

Chicken (broccoli) and rice casserole

4 chicken breasts
1C cold water
½ C mayonnaise-GF of course
½ C Parmesan
4 Tb powdered milk
4 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp chicken bouillon-GF of course
2/3 C rice
10oz broccoli


Preheat oven 350
Spray with oil a 9X13pan
Pour in rice.
Mix: water, mayo, cheese, milk, starch, bouillon.
Pour half of mix over rice.
Add chicken & Broccoli
Top with remaining mixture.
Cover with foil.
Bake 1 hour.
I like to remove the foil, Top with more cheese and let it sit in oven to melt cheese.

Basenet

For Halloween I was an oven, with a bun in it, and by husband was the baker.
We were cute.
And while checking thrift stores for a baker's hat, I came across this Bassinet. For $9.99

I had been looking at one similar online at Target, for about $25.
It's just a moses basket on a wheeled metal frame.
So $10 is a reasonable price.

But all that pastell colors and lace made it appear very dated.

SO I and my mother took the ruffles off, and then My sister help me fashion a new cover for the basket.

I think it is cute.

If you know my husband, you now that Tigger in outer space is perfect for his baby.

And the star paper lantern's from our wedding go perfect with the "nursery"

Right now the "nursery" is the hallway.

Our apartment is TOOOO SMALL

Other then this basenett, we don't have any baby stuff.

But once we move,  (lease is up the month after baby is due) the nursery will be woodland themed. So 100acher woods will still work :)

Baby's R Us has a cute bunny in the grass themed set

Baby depot has a cute dear in the forest themed set

Sears has a cute woodland set with Raccoons, squares and owl es.

So once we know if it's a boy or girl we can pick exactly.

Glutino Premium Gluten free Plain Bagles

These are good.
I got them frozen.
They Microwave up to a nice chewy moist bagel.
They have a good skin and a soft inside.
 ALL requirements I have for bagels.
They were on sale, but I might be tempted to pay Full price.
Overall I would be likely to get them again.

Penguinins

One of my sister in-Law's likes Penguins. She also has two boys. One is a few months old, and the other is almost three.

So I got this set of Christmas embroiderer designers. {more will be seen soon} and I put this Penguin; on a  gray sweatshirt.

Then, I put the same penguin on a tinny red shirt for the Baby and on a toddler sized Turtle neck the Boy.

I had to un-sew one side of the little shirt to be able to hoop it, but the toddler shirt I managed to hoop as-is.

I used the iron on tear away stabilizer. It held great for hooping and for the sewing, but when I had a hard time when I went to remove it. It ended up stretching the fabric and making the penguin lean to the left a little. IS there an iron on-water soluble?

Skikiddy-Baked Fries

 I tried the Cheddar and the Parmesan flavors.

They were on sale.

They are not bad.
Very Fluffy.
If you crunch up a "frie" that started out at about 3 inches long, it makes about a lima bean sized pile of dust.
The air made me burp a bit, but that might be the pregnancy...
I needed a lot of water to drink while snacking on them.
And a few were sharp enough to discomfort the roof of my mouth.

Overall, a good alternative to the Cheetos I have been snacking on.

Thanksgiving "turkey"

This is the Snack Platter I made for Thanksgiving at my parents house.
I made 12 pounds of mashed potatoes for the thanksgiving at my in-laws, and I have to say , this took less time and was more fun!

Becky was my inspiration, from last year with her version that had meat and cheese on it too.

Mine is all Fruit.

I did not want to cut it all up, and try to drive across the bridge with it assembled, so I took the Whole fruit over and cut it up at my parents.

Mango, Cantelope, Hunnydew, apples(yes those are Camio apples; what else!)

Problem was I forgot the Strawberries, Oranges and Pineapple at home. So it should have had a little more color variety.

I think it was a good first try. Next year will be even better!

pie-Gluten-Free Pantry perfect pie crust mix

Brenda is Allergic to Wheat and eggs.

Brenda is the mother of the man who married my husbands little sister...My husband's sister's mother in-law?... My Sister in-law's mother in-law?...The mother in-law of my sister in-law?

ANYWAYS, frequently there are events that Brenda and I attend.
Thanksgiving was one of them.
Brenda was planning on bringing Roles, and the Sweet-potatoes
I was bringing mashed potatoes and Apple pie. {I don't want to talk about the potatoes}

So in my cupboard I had a box of Gluten-Free Pantry perfect pie crust mix.
The instructions are to add eggs, so I just went with the egg replacer I had from earlier this year with the egg free GF brownies.*

Apparently the darkness of the brownie batter masked the obvious color difference in the egg replacer.
So the crust looked funny to me.
It did not roll out as well as the times I have used this mix with real eggs.
It also did not brown in the oven as well.
The box makes 4 crusts. I used half of the doughty to make the apple pie. (Cameo apples of course}
Two crusts. Top and bottom.
I have two crusts left.
I think if it had just been a bottom crust it would not have been so obviously different...Basically only Brenda and I had the Pie. She also brought an egg-free crust-less pumpkin pie. So we had plenty of desert just for us.

So crust 3 and 4 are in the fridge. I think I will make Pumpkin pies for Christmas dinner. I will use eggs, but no milk, 'cause my mom is lactose intolerant.

Glucose not GF?!?!

From the Ice Gem Maker web page. Enphasis added.

"There are hidden ingredients that you may not think about. The main ingredient that causes confusion is Glucose syrup. This ingredient is found in most sugarcraft products.


Glucose can be made from any kind of starch and is used in sugary foods to soften texture and prevent crystallisation of sugars.

Most of the world seems to make glucose syrup from corn and call it corn syrup rather than glucose syrup. In Europe glucose syrup is made with corn and wheat.

If you buy your ingredients from a catering wholesaler there is a good chance the glucose in the product will be made from wheat, – this includes glace cherries and mixed peel.

To be sure what is in a product ask your supplier for the food specifications. This is a printed sheet which gives a description of a product, packaging info, shelf life, origin, ingredients and their derivatives and any allergy information.

You may be wondering ‘what is the problem with glucose?

Food labelling rules allow products containing wheat glucose to be sold as ‘gluten free’. The theory is that it should be safe for coeliac and people with wheat allergies because it is so refined. However, speak to people with intolerances and allergies and you will find plenty of evidence that this is clearly not the case.
...
Fortunately, new EU legislation will eventually make things simpler by forcing producers to specify if a product contains wheat glucose. This will take a while to come into practice as manufacturers are permitted to use up their old packaging before redesigning labels – so for the time being at least, err on the side of caution and choose products which are definitely wheat free."

Food for Life: GF English muffins

One side of the "muffin" looked like the second side of a pancake...You know the look, smooth with little craters where the bubbles burst, as the batter cooked...

They come frozen.

Wrapped in a paper towel and microwaved to though they were warm, and hot and very much the English muffins I remember.

McCann's Irish Oatmeal

McCann's Irish Oatmeal GF?
"In the supply chain between farm and mill, there is a possible cross contamination with other grains, such as wheat and barley but we reckon that the level of non-oat grains to be less than 0.05%. Cleaning equipment within the milling process would remove the vast majority of these grains along with other elements such as stones, straw etc. But we cannot guarantee that McCann's oats are totally gluten free and we recommend that consumers use their own judgement as to whether they wish to use our oatmeal or not. Many celiacs can tolerate our oatmeal products without any adverse effect but they may not suit those who are particularly sensitive."

That being said; I got a box of the "quick and easy". I LOVE the texture. And was inspired to make my own instant Oatmeal, rather then pay over a dollar a baggie for the pre-made GF kind.
I have used McCann's oatmeal before with no trouble, so I set out on this adventure.

RECIPE
Put a Cup of Oats in your food processor/blender with blade and pulse for a few minutes
-In a "snack sized" baggie place:
--1/4 cup of Processed oats.
--Dash of salt
--1 Tb Sugar
--fruit & seasoning (EG raisins and cinnamon, blueberries and non-dairy powdered creamer)

To prepare, place the oatmeal in a bowl, and add about 3/4 cup Boiling water.
Let set until thick and cool enough to eat.

That's it.
I have often gotten distracted and the oatmeal has gotten too cold, so I microwave it for a minuet, and then it's even smoother and creamer.
It's Yummy.
The oats at 150 calories and 15% of daily fiber
If you use 2oz, and the box comes in 16oz, you get about 8 baggies per box.

It came to about $0.50 per baggie (including cost of Raisins/blueberries)
Thats a 50% Savings!!!

Van's WF GF Waffles

I had a craving

Waffles.

Van's makes a few flavors of GF waffles.

The Minis, plain, and blueberry.

I had the Blueberry with Strawberry sauce:

And the Minni with Bananas and Honey, AND Strawberry with whipped cream.

They were good, Easy to over toast.
Our Non GF quest judge considered then slightly more grainy, but they "tasted just fine"
Not as good on my own fresh made waffles, but excellent when short on time.

ryan the lion

One of our nephews is named Ryah. He is about a half a year old. So he growels.
His mom called him Ryah the Lion. so i made him this burp cloth.

cute?
I think so.

whole foods bake house pie crust 2

i understand that it is common to want thanksgiving  food when pregnant.

so hubby got a turkey thigh and breast for us to have our own thankful day. and he also got more crust to make a pumpkin pie.

once again the crust was good.

glutino donuts

A while ago I got the Glutino Donuts. I got the the Cinnamon ones. They come frozen.
When microwaved they were very tasty.

However, this tine I was not as pleased.

They don't appear to do the Cinnamon or Maple any more.
The chocolate ones were very dry and crumbled easily.
Even microwaved they did not moisten up at all.
And they were lacking in the glaze department.
And they were not that chocolaty.
I might give the glazed original a try, which is the only other flavor; but I don't think I'll get the chocolate again.

Hudgson Mill Apple cinnamon Muffin Mix

 I decided to try out this mix, from our local grocery store. Apple Cinnamon muffins sounded good on a cold fall morning.

The box, despite being regular sized, contained a rather small bag of mix.

And did not make very many muffins.
This can be good, when you only need a few GF muffins, but the packaging is deceptive...
I don't quite agree with the choice of words on the packaging directions. They said to stir until moistened.
Usually that means that the batter will be VERY thick. But this batter was not that think.  It was the consistency I expected for muffin batter; thicker then pancake, thinner then scone...

Anyways, I placed the papers in the pan and filled then 3/4 up with batter.

And into the oven.

They looked lovely, and I was encouraged by the the abundance of little apple chunks in the batter.

Sadly, they did not taste that good.

There was an aftertaste that I was not fond of. Not sure exactly what it was, but it coated your mouth and made the orange juice I was drinking taste off.

The consistency was rather dry, so the juice was necessary.

They also held onto the paper wrappers. You had to peal the paper off in little peaces, and you ended up eating some of the paper. But since the muffin was not that good, the paper flavor was not detrimental.

Overall; I don't think I'll get this mix again.

Hodgson Mill Penne Pasta

I picked this up at my local grocer on sale.


They size of the individual noodles were on the smaller side. Reminds me of the size of the Blue box macaroni…

They help up well to being mixed into sauce. There individual flavor did not detract from the dish.

I took the leftovers to work the next day and they did not hold up as far as I had hoped. Depending on the noodle’s proximity to the sauce, they were either mush, or dried out.

Most GF noodle do that.

So depending on the regular price, I would get these again.

Amy’s Tamale Verde Cheese.

360 calories. 20% of your daily fiber needs and 10g of protean


Amy's Cheese Tamale Verde, 10.3-Ounce Boxes (Pack of 12)

There was not much filling to the tamale. I would say it 5/6 of the tamale was the crust.

Despite that, I would probably get it again.

It was not too spicy. Had a good flavor.

The texture of the Tamale was good. And it came with a side of beans and rice. Mostly rice.

I needed a little dollop of sour cream or something…

Gluten free cafe, Lemon Bar

These things are not bad.


Not supper filling, despite the hefty serving of flax seed.

The lemon flavor has a slight chemically aftertaste. Like a lemon flavored medication, or cleaning product.

Overall probably one of the better snack bars out there.

Our local Whole foods has them at $1.50 a bar. If you get the box it comes to $1.25 a bar.

That’s a little steep in my opinion, considering what it is, but maybe there a better price somewhere else.

Gluten free café Veggie noodle soup

Too spicy.

I don’t like my soup to burn my mouth when it’s cold.

When I opened the can, I licked the sauce off the lid before tossing it in the recycle. The sauce was spicy enough to burn a little as I put the bowl in the microwave. So I didn't feel very excited when the microwave beeped.

The noodles were very limp/soggy. They were however a nice brake from the vegetables, which were holding the spicy.

The Vegetables were also squishy, overcooked. And a little too heavy on the tomato for my taste.

I thought about adding sour cream, to cut the spice. It would make it more like taco soup, but then I thought about the noodles, and I declined.

I suppose since I was sick, soup that did not require chewing, is alright. But I don’t think I would want this on a day I was healthy.

Gluten free café, Chicken noodle soup

I have been sick, so Hubby bought me soup.

Normally I make soup. It’s not hard. Can of Broth, can of chicken, boiled, with some noodles.

But Since Hubby bought them for me “special” I tried them. Chicken noodle was  first. There was not much chicken. The noodles were very limp/soggy. I suppose since I was sick, that noodles that do not require chewing, are alright. But I don’t think I would want this on a day I was healthy.

Ruby's Dinner

Gluten free Chili
Gluten free fires
Gluten free Chili fries!!!

Ruby's does not have a GF Menu per say.
We wondered in early one Saturday and asked the manager what was GF. She got a Binder from the bake. In that binder is a spread sheet of menu items cross-listed with allergens, and thy have collected all of the food labels off of the big industrial boxes for you to look at.

Our local one even had a print out of an e-mail from the Chili manufacturer stating that they had been tested and passed GF certification.
 
The chili was good. Not ground beef, but really thick shredded beef. Almost like a sandwich filling...AYH...Next time I'm bringing my own bread and making my self a sloppy jo!

Purely Decadent-GF Cookie dough Ice cream

You don't know how much I like Cookie dough ice cream.

I do. I loved it. I go dairy free when I can, which includes ice cream.

So this is the ONLY GF DF cookie dough Ice cream I know of:

It's GOOD.

It's creamy

The chunks of cookie dough are plentiful.

VERY yummy!



Glution multigrain New York Style Bagles

Yuck!
First of all the "bagels" looked like it had been cookie cut-ered from a large sheet of focasea bread.
Ther are over a inch tall!
Second, the bag said "tastes best when toasted" but as soon as they were no longer frozen then crumbled abart. Toaster could not handel that.
VERY crumbly.
Dense.
Dry.
NOT going to get them again.
But I don't know what to do with the other 5 in the package...

Spaghetti Mama's

In Sandy Utah is a wonderful Italian place.  Spaghetti Mama's
The had a whole Gluten free page.
Hubby ordered the GF spaghetti and chicken parm
I got the GF Stake and penni.

And for desert the table shared a GF brownie with ice cream!

5 people for under $80 (including drinks)

It was good. My uncle who has never never had GF thought my penni was as good as His.

The websight is not look GF frendly, but the resturant was.
If you are in Sandy UT give it a try!!

Rice/corn flakes and Strawberrys

While visiting my grandmother in Utah this past week, I tried a new cereal.
I did not really like it, so I felt not need to try to SQUEEZE it into my luggage to bring it home.
It was Rice and corn flake cereal with dried Strawberry slices in it.
The box looked promicing.
However the flakes tasted stale.
The strawberries were TOO dry.
I tried letting them all soak in the milk, hoping to soften the berries and freshen the flakes, but it just made pudding instead.
I could have swarn that it was Glutino brand, but I can not find the product on their web sight.
In fact, I can't find the product anywhere. So perhaps I'm behind on this one and Glutino stooped making it already.

Baby bag-safari themed

I can't believe I have not posted this story yet!
SO about a year ago My sister in law told us she was going to have a baby.
She wanted Giraffes, and lions for the baby room.

Well about three years ago a friends of mine got married and bequeathed to me several boxes of fabric. And in those boxes was a safari themed fabric.

So I made my sister in-law a bag. The fabric is directional and it was almost a linen type fabric. It took hours and hours, and when it was done. It looked AUFFEL. Terrible. Sooo bad.

So At like 9:30pm on Christmas eve, hubby drove me down to Baby Depot and I bought a plain Green bag with Brown trip. We took it home and I Appliqued some of the animals that I had cut out of the leftover fabric.

The second try is the bad you see here:

You got to know when to quit.

Pamela's shortbread cookies

Pamela's has come out with a new shortbread cookie. My sister found this at her local grocer. It said it was "gently sweetened with agave"

Still gluten free.

But the agave did have a slight flavor that I was unfamiliar with.
Not bad, just unfamiliar.

It appears the Blue box is the only one to change. But others might be coming.

Agave is a plant. Looks a little like Aloe. So in that sense it is "natural sweetener".
And it's not new to the grocery store. People make tequila with it.

My tummy has it's own independent issues right now so I can't tell you how I handled it. But I would love to know what other people think.

WTF Kozy Shack pudding

Sometimes a Dairy on an empty stomach does not set well with me.
So I do go Soy for my yogurt and puddings. When I can.

Then this conundrum came to my attention. First time I bought the Soy Pudding from Kozy Shak I ate one and then realized the ingredients contained "organic wheat starch" So I tossed the rest of the puddings. That was about a year or so ago.

NOW the label even says "Gluten free" but notice that * after gluten free? Yah, that because there is still organic wheat starch in the mix.
Kozy Shak's web sight said:"When wheat starch (the carbohydrate fraction) is processed, it is separated from the protein fraction, which is where the gluten is contained. The protein fraction is discharged and we only use the carbohydrate part that does not contain gluten. This results in less than 10ppm of gluten per serving which is more stringent than the FDA’s proposed regulations for a “Gluten Free” claim (which is less than 20ppm)"
 
Not sure I how I feel about that.
I don't get Wheat grass in my smoothies either. Not worth the risk.

Gluten Freeda Instant Oatmeal

These were pretty good.
I picked up the variety box at the local Safeway, for about seven dollars. So that is a little over a dollar per packet.

It's nice to have a warm breakfast now that the weather has turned cold.
I took the box to work and just add hot water from the coffee maker.

The texture is excellent. But the flavors are very mild.
I think the "apple Cinnamon" had maybe two minuscule pieces of dried apple in it. Same story with the Banana.
I think I would get them again, from Amazon where it's cheaper, and then add fresh Banana or apple sauce to give them more flavor.
I hope they come up with a blueberry. That was always my favorite flavor in my Pre GF oatmeal days...

Nana's cookies

There are a couple of GF flavors.
I'm not to impressed.
I needed a class of milk badly.
Very dence and very dry.

It was more like a big, crumbly brownie.

Amy's Lasagna

Contestant #2. Amy's Garden Vegetable Lasagna made with Organic rice pasta and vegetables.
With a BIG Gluten free label across the whole top.

It has become Fall her rather rapidly, so having a hot lunch was nice.
It actually reminded me of childhood school lunches.

It was good.
It has lots of vegetables and sauce. And there was a reasonable sized portion of food.
There appeared to only be one layer of noodle, and it was rather soft.
Not very hearty.
290 calories.
I could have used some Italian sausage, and more cheese. But I would suppose that would increase the calories and fat.
I liked the Caesar's gluten free Italian dinners better, but there quite a lot more calories/fat.

Amy's Bowls: brown rice and Vegatables

Hubby picked up a few new frozen dinners for me to try.

Our first contestant: Amy's Bowls: brown rice and Vegetables

It was good. Several large pieces of tofu. Good amount of vegetables to rice. Reasonable sized portion.

The ingredients had "grain vinegar" which usually means Malt vinegar, which is Barley, which is bad.
But the Frount of the box said "No gluten ingredients" so I trusted that. It seams like an odd way to say it. Instead of "gluten Free" just "no gluten ingredients" We will see how I feel in 4 hours...
Not something I could not have made myself, and If I had, there would have been some chicken in it....

Canyons Ribs

Lately I have had a craving for ribs.
Normally I'm not a fussy food fan. I don't like to pick around bones.
NOT a Buffalo ing fan.
And not normally a rig fan.
But Canyons, a local restaurant franchise told be they had GF barbecue sauce so I have the ribs. They wer good.
We went back about a month later and I had them again.
The third time I went back it was a hot day.
I think it broke some record in the Seattle area.
The restaurant was full so we decided to get our ribs to go.
I was glad of that, as I sat in the foyer waiting for my  order.
Three waitresses went by us wearing nothing more then black spekety strap tank tops and black tight shorts.
They looked like they should be going to the yoga studio across the parking lot, not waiting tables.
The restaurant had AC! So they could not have been THAT hot. (And if they were, then might there bare ams drip sweat on to the plates they are handeling?!?)
I don't want anyone wearing that little near my food.
No thanks. It's not sanitary.
They only thigh I want to see at a restaurant is on a chicken.
And we have not been back since. I lost my taste for ribs.
But maybe this winter, if it's cold, we might try again...

W.o.w. (With Out Wheat) cookie dough

I'm surprised at me for not posting this one sooner. The local Co-Op I us-to live hear has had the frozen dough and the pre-baked cookies for over 5 years. I also see them as Fredmeyers and PCC.
I prefer to get the frozen dough, as I prefer my cookies soft baked. And it's cheaper per cookie.
The only draw back it that the tub of dough comes as a frozen brick.
You have to let the dough get soft, and then scope the dough into portions and then bake.
So if like me, you are the only GF in the house, your not going to need a whole tub of cookies all to your self.
Usually by the time I get the tub home for the store, it's soft enough to make dough balls, before I re-freeze it.
I'ts wonderful.
I can pull out a ball or two, and bake them up in my toaster oven.
Convenient and simple.
Only dirty dish is the cookie sheet, which fits in the dishwasher.
No mixing or measuring.

I looks like you can't order cookie dough from amazon or from the W.O.W. home page, due to perishability. But try to get your local GF store to stock it.
I think it is the Best frozen GF cookie dough I have found.

Bumble bee

I embroidered these Bumble bees on an outfit for my sister in law.

The Darker fabric is a pair of shorts, and the lighter fabric is a top.

I think they turned out supper cute.

I hope that she will like them and that they will fit.

Since I have embroidered them, she can't take them back...

Frilly apron

This apron is just a lap apron.

The patterned fabric are apples.

Golden delicious I think.

The pattern for this apron was retro, and I thought it was cute.

The lower panel is ruffled and gathered slightly. I think in the future I might make the uper section longer, and make the ruffle a little shorter. Half and Half like that just does not seem right...

His and Her's aprons

Yah for finally getting my camera hooked up to the computer.!!
OK So I make my friend and her Husband aprons for Christmas.
I gave them to them in July.
Because that is when I finished them.

The patterned fabric of the aprons are Olives. His is a simple Butchers style. Hers has a  slightly gathered skirt.

I think they turned out good.

Maggianos's Little Italy

It was a special occasion and we decided to go to Maggiano's.
We have been before and I love it.
Very yummy.
I Like the Chicken Picada. That is in the foreground.
The Pasta special, make with gluten free noodles is in the background.

When yours seated tell the waiter that you need gluten free,  he goes and gets the Chef.
The actual Chef.
The Chef comes to your table and asked you what your in the mood for.
I have pointed to almost any of the pasta dishes and she has reproduced a reasonable GF facsimile of the dish.
The only GF noodles they carrier are corn spirally things, but they are good, and there willing to make what you want to go on top.
I usually ask them for a GF version of the chef special. Since your talking to the chef he usually likes that. And then he makes it just for you. I have NEVER EVER been disapointed.
I fee like a movie star when I go.

CheeCha potato puffs

CheeCha potato puffs Lime flavor.

They are shaped kind of like a wagon wheel. They would not be good for dips, because of the empty wedges.

But as a snack on there own; they are pretty good.

The lime flavor was light and the chips are crisp.

I took them to a BBQ with friends and family and everyone liked them.

Bigelow Mint Herb Tea

All natural
Caffeine free
Gluten free.

It said so right there under the ingredents.
When I read that I almost had pepermint tea comming out me nose.
I have never known tea to have wheat in it.

I only drink the pepermint cafeen free, years ago I was told by my doctor that it could help sooth my tummy after a croscontamination.
And it does help.

gluten free mama scone MIx

I was not much of a scone fan before I was GF, did not really get much exposure to them.


It was after my diagnosis, when I worked for one of the first GF bakeries in the Seattle area that I learned how to make scones.

Basically it is a Quick bread, that is thicker then Muffin batter but not a stiff as biscuit batter.

The method I'm familiar with is to make Triangles, this is the most common in the US, I think because it is easer...

You plop the Dough in a big Mound, on a greased cookie sheet.

Then you divide it, like you would a pie, separating the wedges slightly so that they don't fuse back together when they "puff" as they bake. Then the cookie sheet goes in the oven.

WAY easer then other way, which is to cut the dough like biscuits, and transfer the rounds to the sheet, then remix the remain dough, and cut again.. Makes the dough tough.

Grand ma always said they less you mess with dough the better...


I picked this up in the Gluten free specialty store in Everett a while ago, but had not gotten around to it yet.

The bag is rather large so I can make several of the recipes that the mix comes with.

The bag says it makes 16 scones, so for the price I paid for the mix, that is not bad per scone. Most of the recipes only call for Cream and the "additions" (eg fruit, nuts). That is a good buy. Some mixes will make you add the baking soda and sugar, so to me that is not a ready mix.. Anyways.

I started with the Chocolate chip recipe.

The recipe only calls for a 1 & 3/4 cup worth of mix, so it makes a Mound about six inches in diameter.

About 4 scones.

They have you put a whole cup of minni chocolate chips in it, which was overwhelming to me. Next time maybe only a half a cup.

The scone was alright. Maybe just a little too firm for me.

I took them out 5 minutes sooner than the recipe says because they looked done, and they were.

I might try baking it at a little lower temperature.
I'm not sure I've decided on this product, I'll have to try the poppy seed recipes to know for sure.

Levenworth WA, Gluten free

I've been married two years. And for our annual outing hubby and I went to Leavenworth WA.
We had so enjoyed our Bed and Breakfast stay in Vancouver we attempted to find a Bed and Breakfast in Leavenworth that was Gluten free.
We were not having much luck on the Internet so we broke down and called a few to ask.
Of the 4 bed and Breakfasts we called, the most promising one was Autumn Pond.
All of the other B&Bs told us they would just leave off the baked goods, but offered no replacement. Autumn pond said they would make me something special, and the owner's mother was also GF.

Autumn Pond is a ways off the main road, which made it quiet, but too far to walk to town for dinner.

And Breakfast we Gluten free. And good.
There was a fancy baked crust less quiche; artichoke, salsa, and lots of cheese.
There was an assortment of local produce.
There was Pork sausage, glased in a resberry chipolatas.
There were special Arrowhead mills biskets just for me.
AND a ramekin of baked apples topped with GF Granola and freshly whipped cream.

Talk about a Sunday breakfast!!

Other then the bisket everyone had what I had. Except for the Vegetarian lady, she had a Tofo sausage.

The owner was VERY Accommodating.
We will definitely go back!

Chex: GF Honey Nut

I'm not a big breakfast cereal fan, never was.
I like my cereal in the evening, or as an afternoon snack.
Wondering down the cereal isle large "Gluten Free same grate taste" label caught my eye.
Honey Nut Chex and Cinnamon.
I picked up a box.
Yummy!!
I have not tried them in milk. Just straight out of the box as a snack.
Sweet, crunchy.
I like them WAY better then rice cakes!
the Cinnamon remind me of a certain cereal I use to get with a toast related theme...
And The website says they have chocolate too!

Whole foods Bakehouse-Pie Crust

Hubby picked up two gluten free pre-made pie crusts from the Whole foods Bakehouse.
Pre-formed into the Pie pans, and frozen.

He happily presented then too me with the information that I could now make him lemon Meringue pie.

Yeah, see years ago when we were first dating I made him a lemon pie. The recipe I used is form the Jello/coolwip cookbook, circa 1980s.

He had not been too impressed, and had told his mother about the pie, and so "for my benefit" she had made a "real" lemon merange pie for me the next time we all had dinner together.

Personally I liked my Jello/whipped cream better, but hubby feels that the Meringue is essential.

SO at this time I was not as thrilled as he was about this new project.

I tried to suggest that since it was his idea, perhaps he would like to complete it.

See the reason I had made the Jello/wiped cream pie, is that I have never made merange before.

So overcome by the hopeful expression on his face, and the PROMISE that his diet would start Monday, I attempted my first Meringue.

It was a minor success.

At least I thought so.

The crust did very well.

Excellent texture, sturdy without being chewy.

Flake without being flimsy.

Crust number 2 became coconut cream pie.
Also good.
Taken to a dinner party where I was told by three non GF that it was just as good as any regular pie crust.
Yah!
I will be picking up some more of these crust for future fruit and holiday pies.
Only draw back is they are only bottoms, so the apple pies will have to be crumb topped...

Undi's Plain Bagel

I do miss a good bagel.
Before Coffee shops were all the rage in Seattle, I remember an outing when I was about 8 or 10 down to the SPOT bagel bakery. I think thu are still downtown..
The bagels were make fresh, and loaded with good stuff. The blueberry I remember had at least 20 blueberries in it. toasted lightly and lathered in cream cheese...
Yes I do miss a good bagel.

I have a recipe for them I got about 8 years ago. I tried it when I first acquired the recipe, and it made fairly good ones. But it was alot of work, and very messy. The boiling watter, the stack of dirty pans... not it was something I did not think I would eat again.

This week I tried the Undi's Plain Bagel.
They were good.
Soft, almost springy.
An excellent bread by any standard.
But not quite the Bagle I remember. Not quite the dense chewiness i would associate with the work Bagel.
Coming form Denver Co, perhaps that is their bagel standard, I guess I need a good New York style bagel...

Romios Pizza & Pasta

We got an add in our mail. Gluten free ALL over it. (Twice the price.)

I got a sandwich. It was 18inches long at least. Cost over $17. About a Doller an inch!

Bread was good. Not wonderfull. Not worth the price.
Not going back.

Udi's Blueberry muffins

No photo, I ate them.

Very good, moist, and malleable.
Yes malleable.
Anyone else ever take a muffin, and squeeze all the air out until it was a soft buttery fist full of goodness...no?...Just me then...
Well I would do that all the time.
I think It was because baked good always gave me gas and in my child mind I thought that squeezing the air out would prevent my from having gas later...Funny what logic children have...
ANYways
The muffins were good.
From baking experience I can tell they used either fresh or frozen blueberries. I know this form the whole they berries left when they shriveled up after baking. It makes the Muffins very cavernous, more like swish cheese. I like to use Dried blueberries myself, that reduces this problem. It's disappointing to bite into a muffin and find a big pocket of air...

Lable Rant and Kinnikinnick Rave

Does anyone not know that Gluten free IS wheat free!?
Or that If it's Dairy free then there should be no lactose?
I'm just curious, cause I understood eight years ago that maybe there were people out there with a wheat allergy that might not know what gluten was, but I think with the availability of the Internet and other mas media that we should all know that, the Gluten free people and the Wheat free people could have some communication.
Gluten includes wheat and the Dairy includes Lactose...
I know Just because it says "wheat free" does not mean that it is gluten free.
It is one of those All rectangles are squares but not all squares are rectangles logic problems...

Koodoes to Kinnikinnick! They have new packaging that is getting the point across.
They have a Little "Dairy Free" button shaped label and it has "lactose free" and "casein free" in smaller print right there, grouping the three.
And here is the Nut one:

Wow...Look at that. I'm so happy.

Simple, straight forward, and probably cheaper to print.  

 

Kinnikinnick Montanas Chocolate Chip Cookies

Kinnikinnick Montanas Chocolate Chip Cookies.
The packaging is better now then this image, the container look like REAL cookies, that you could find anywhere.
The taste and texture were good.
It's been ten years, but they tasted as good as the packaged chocolate chips I remember.
The ones little elves who live in treas make....Or sailors{Ahoy}

Yah, don't miss those blue bags of cookies when you have these babies!
Gluten free, dairy free, nut free!

Kinnikinnick you have done it again!

"I'm just a little black rain cloud"-Pooh

As of late I have become concerned more about my overall health.
But I'm just not sure what "healthy" for me means.

Before I was diagnosed with Celiac/Coeliac disease my pants size was 9. Not that small for an 18 year old, but I'm from Viking stock. At 128 lbs you could count my ribs thru my t-shirt. When I stood, my hip bones were the largest protrusion from my front. I was all bones. Looking back at photos you can see that I was not well. Doctors said words like "malnourished" and "deterioration" Adults thought I was anorexic, or bulimic, or both.
Yet according to the BMI, I was well witin healthy ranges.....That is CRAP.
According to the BMI I'm now Obese...That is CRAP.
Graduated High school: size 11
Graduate Jr College: Size 9
Graduate University: size 22
Wedding day: size14
Currently:size18
SO what does that mean? What IS healthy?
I don't really care what the scales say.
I'm not all that concerned with the number on the clothing.
What I am concerned about was summarized nicely by Wikipedia:
After the implementation of a gluten-free diet there can be many persisting deficiencies, which can be “due to slow or incomplete healing of the small intestine, failure to eat foods rich in needed nutrients, eating too much fiber with meals, thus binding nutrients, Helicobacter Pylori infection, small bowel bacterial overgrowth, giardia, or other infections and parasites”[39].
 Many gluten-free made products are not fortified, enriched, or have all the nutrients that the natural sources contain, thus these products are especially low in folate, iron, and fiber[citation needed]. Also, due to the fact that gluten-free products are not always available, many Gluten-Sensitive Enteropathy (GSE) patients do not consume the recommended amount of grain servings per day.
The standard gluten-free diet does not meet the recommended intake for fiber, thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, folate, iron, or calcium[citation needed]. People who change their standard gluten-free diet to implement gluten-free oats at breakfast, high fiber brown rice bread at lunch, and quinoa as a side at dinner have been found to have significant increases in protein (20.6g versus 11g), iron (18.4 mg versus 1.4 mg), calcium (182 mg verses 0 mg), and fiber (12.7g verses 5g). The B vitamin group did not have significant increases, but were still found to have improved values of thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, and folate. These dietary changes can greatly reduce a GSE patient’s risk for anemia (especially Iron Deficiency Anemia) and low blood calcium levels or poor bone health. Not only is it important to avoid gluten, but also to find more nutrient-dense, gluten-free food sources to prevent patients from other diseases due to deficiencies.
So I might not be any healthier GF then I was not GF?
A decade ago when I first scoured the Internet for Coeliac disease I found a European Medical Journal summery. It plainly stated that most patents who were diagnosed over the age of 18, and done enough damage overall, that the positive life expectancy was 50 years old. Loss of mobility by 40. Most likely cause of death being heart failure, followed by complications of autoimmune deficiencys.
That hit me at 19 years old hard.
Perhaps that has all been proven wrong?
I have not found the article since, though I have tried.
So maybe that doctor was a quack, disbarred, and discredited.
But on days like today, when I'm sick for "no reason" and my body acts like that of the baby boomers I know, I can't help but remember that article, and wonder If I've only got 10 good years left...

Oh Dairy Queen your crown has fallen

The Dairy Queen Blizzard is 25 years old.
I loved them as a Kid, but when I was 15 the DQ in our town shut down under some vary shoddy circumstances and so I have not been to one since.
Well, I was driving past one, and It was 92 degrees outside so I got myself a LARGE Midnight truffle, cause the kid behind the Counter said that it only had chocolate ice cream, truffle pieces and cocoa fudge. When I asked if their was wheat in it, he said no, and since he was about to make me one I trusted him.
Well let me tell you, there was something NOT GF in that Blizzard!

According to the Brochure, the Truffle pieces, the choco chunks, and the cocoa fudge are all wheat free.
Just wheat free. And they can't seam to tell me any more.
So one, or maybe all of them, are not GF!
Well DQ, I guess I won't be back for another decade or so...

French Meadow Bakery GF Fudge brownie bites

I have said it before but I will say it again, brownies are the easiest thing to do GF.
ESPECIALLY Fudge ones.
That is the definition of a flowerless tort! Chocolate, butter, sugar. Been around for ages. Cant go wrong.
And Yet Soooooo many do.

French Meadow Bakery GF Fudge brownie bites, while so happy to find GF at my local Safeway, not really happy with what I found IN the box.

If you like the Corners of the brownies, the crunchier end pieces, you might like these.

I however I am s gooey, fudgy, middle piece, person. So this was not what I wanted.

Box should not have said "fudge" nothing "fudge" about them.

85 calories, 18g EACH.

Spiru-Tein "meal"

I'm at work at 7:30 am now. Not really hungry when I get up, so I was thinking it would be good to have some kind of Protean drink in the morning, once I got to work. But I'm not so good when Dairy on an empty tummy.
About 5 years ago Slimfast had a Soy based line that I would get but they don't have it anymore, so I went looking for something new.
Spiru-tein Has several flavors that are GF, not all are so check your labels.
I picked up a few of the individual packages and I glad I DID!

1. Chocolate. Imagine that you’ve got chocolate milk residue in you class, from last night, and you pour water in to that and drink it. Through a led pipe. That was the chocolate. I managed to choke down about 3/4th of it. The rest “went bad” sitting out on my desk all day.


2. Pina Colada. I had half of a SoBe drink, in the fringe from the day before(because a whole bottle is 2 servings), also coconut flavor. I figured that since the pouch says to add the powder to milk or juice, that this was just as good, and only a 100 extra calories. SO I poured the powder in, and shook it up and set it in the freezer for 10 minutes to get REALLY cold. ‘Cause when my mom did weightloss shakes that is how she did it. The cold and thickness of the concoxion was NOT an improvement. It was so thick it was gloppy. And this one has chunks in it. Bits of pineapple and coconut. Good in a milkshake, bad it something you want to chug and get over with. So the bits slowed me down and make me taste it more. Not fond of the metallic taste. And makes my teeth feel funny; Like I had eaten spinach…
 
3. Only decent flavor was the Blueberry. I mixed it with Vanilla soy milk and also got it good and cold. I added more milk then it called for to avoid that gloppy ness, and then I tossed in a hand full of frozen blueberries. It was not that bad. I shook it up so good that all the berries were broken up enough that I did not have to chew, or strain them thru my teeth. It still had that metallic aftertaste, and the funny residue it left on my teeth, but overall the best flavor I tried.

Bread Brake down

I have three {YES THREE} loafs of Gluten Free bread. Thanks to Whole foods.
Undi's "White sandwich bread"
Schar "clasis white bread"
Ener-G foods "White rice loaf"
...Now Normally I know better then to get an Ener-G loaf, but Hubby did the shopping one day and that is what came home with him...
So we did a Bread Brake down.
Comparing slice by slice:
BEST right out of the bag: Undi's
BEST for meat and cheese sandwich: Undi's
BEST for Toast with Jam: Schar
BEST for French toast: Schar
BEST for Grilled cheese: Schar
Best at traveling: Undi's

Schar is at it's best, in my opinion, when microwaved for just a few seconds, and therefore best when warm.
Not a good cold, so not as good with cold foods.







Undi's was good right out of the Bag, but more porous, and therefore not as good with runnier things like Jam, Hunney, syrup...)

I think Both breads get a  out of 10

Flax 4 Life Flax muffins, chunky chocolate chip

Flax 4 Life Flax muffins, chunky chocolate chip. Certified GF by GIG

Actually fairly good. Moist, not too dense, and good flavor, for flax that is. I tore them apart and dug right in. Not crumbly at all.
Chocolate chunks were chocolaty, good. Not that carob yek.

I will probably get them again, or one of the other interesting flavors.

I have them as my breakfast 4 days in a row now.

10 grams of fiber per muffin. I think I have been commenting about Fiber a lot lately, but I hear that fiber helps you feel full longer. So I try.

I work in an office of 8 women. All but the pregnant one and I are on a diet.

Glutino Gluten free “candy bar”

Glutino; Gluten free “candy bar”

Not what I thought it would be. It’s more of a cookie bar…
Think Kit Cat bar.
Three rather unexciting wafers, alternation layers of chocolate cream, covered in a firm Dark chocolate shell.
Realy, it's just a wider, flater, indvigually wraped version of the Gultino Chocolate Wafers

.9 oz. 140 calories. So not a health bar.

Undi's Cinnamon Rolls are ROLLED!!!

THEY DID IT!!! Undi's Gluten free foods made a Cinnamon roll. Not Just a Cinnamon bread "roll" but a sweet bread ROLLED UP with Cinnamon goodness!

Word can not express.

Everything I have been looking for!

SO happy.

Web said "Not available for on-line purchase. Limited Availability"  I found them at local Whole foods.

Call you local GF suppliers and ask them to get this!!!

Whole foods

So, we just moved. And I use to go to this little hole in the wall local specialty grocery to get my GF stuff.
Yeah to Fredmeyers and Albertsons for caring a few feet of it, but the stuff I need is usually not there.
So We have moved. And I was concerned about my GF supplier.
Well, while in Utah I got GOOD GF bread at a place called Wild Oats.
Whole foods bought out that chain.
So I happen to live near a Whole Foods now, so I went to look.

Last time I was in a whole foods was like 5 years ago. There GF stuff was just mixed in with everything else, so I had to read label after label after label.

So I went to whole foods, direct to bakery to check freezer there for GF. Nothing. Searched entire bakery, ONE GF loaf. Flax seed bread, hard as rock.
Checked entire freezer section, found GF waffles, and GF frozen dinners but no bread.
I thought "seriously?!? Kroger has more then this!??"
So I went to check out, but the line was long, so I though well, mine as well ask the girl at customer service. Maybe I missed it.
"excuse me I have a question? Do you carry Gluten free bread"
"Yes, in the gluten free freezer."
"Where is that"
"In the Gluten free department"
"...Wha...?"
I'll show you"   And she lead me past produce to the far northern corner of the store, to GF HEAVEN!
I had not gone anywhere near produce, cause I was not looking for fruit. But she explained that the GF section was almost it's own store. It had it own external dore, cash register, and sitting area were I am told events take place.
 They has products I had never seen.
I giggles like a giddy school girl as I circles the Freezers, six dores worth of GF foods.
And I was practically crying by the time I finished walking down all 8 gluten free isles.
I got only one bag full this week.
Our new apartment has a small fridge, and not much cupboard space, so I'm going to go more European, and shop more often and get less stuff.

Larabar

Larabar GF, DF, SF Vegan Kosher. I tried the Chocolate coconut chew.


PRO: Full serving of fruit, and 1/5th daily fiber (something we GF often lack) And the entire ingredient list could be found in my pantry. (Dates, nuts, coco, coconuts. All real basic foods)

Con: 220 Cal. That’s almost 4 cal per gram. That is some DENCE food.

Taste: Meh.

Very dry, crumbly.

I needed a glass of milk. Badly. You would not want to be on a cliff eating this with an empty canteen.

Glutino Breakfast bars

Glutino Breakfast bars. Jam surrounded by soft cookie like thing.
The first time I tried them was years ago. I Liked them.

Then they came out with “improved texture” however the flavor was a little too heavy on the garbanzo bean flour for me.

But the one I had today was good.

Not wonderful, but good for a processed, (possible extruded) bar.

The package was a little hard to get into. I would not hand it to a toddler and expect them to manage it. Maybe not even a first grader…

Caesar's gluten free

Caesar's gluten free Italian dinners
I had the stuffed Shells one day for lunch, and the Manicotti the next day.
They were very Yummy!

They go in the microwave for a long time, to get hot all the way thru. Then you have to let them sit for a while or they are too hot to eat.
The noodle held up well afterwords too.
Some GF pasta dishes you can't tell what is sauce, and what is noodle, because it has all gottne too soft and mushie, but not these! The noodles were still aldneti, without being hard or undercooked.
SO good!
And it was just the right blend of seasonings and cheeses.
I think they are just as good an any I had in my pre-Gf days.
Only drawback is they are about 400 calories a box. But at least they acknowledge that one whole box is a serving. (Comes to about a calorie a gram...)

Gluten free Cafe-Frozen dishes

I decided to try the new "gluten free cafe" line of frozen dishes.
They were on sale.
I picked up the "Asian noodle" flavor. "Rice noodles with tofu, carrots, edamame, water chestnuts, roasted peanuts and red bell peppers."
I could not find any bell peppers or any peanuts.

There were only TWO edamame.
It was mostly yellow curry.
Now I know that technically India is part of the Asian Continent, but generally when I hear "Asian noodles" I don't think Curry.

This was a bowl of curry. And even if It had been labeled "curry noodles" (which it should have been) I still would have thought there was way too much sauce.
I could have cooked two more bowls of rice noodles to spread the curry over.
I could only eat about a third of the bowl, picked out the tofu, carrots, and the TWO edamane, and tossed the rest.
I drank whole bottle of water, and then had to get a candy bar to clear my pallet.
Over All, not something I will get again.

Grandma's PB Chewies

My grandfather was a salesman for Nabisco. SO my family knows cookies.
And My grandmother would bake form scratch, and then freeze the cookies.
Those frozen cookies taught this young girl the value that patience yields the greater reward.

See, grandma would take a few cookies from the freezer. You could eat the cookie right then, mostly frozen, and it was good.
OR you could wait, until the cookie had become warm and soft, and it was even better.

My favorite was the chewy peanut butter ones. Here is the recipe.
Completely GF, and always had been...I wonder if that is why they were my favorite...

Grandma Jean's PB Chewers
1 CUP Creamy Peanut butter
1 CUP Sugar
1/2 Cup evaporated milk
4 tsp cornstarch
1/2 Cup Mini chocolate chips (I use the dark)


Mix the PB and Sugar until light and fluffy.
Stir in milk and cornstarch
Preheat oven to 350
Fold in chips
Drop a teaspoon of dough 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet
Bake for 12-15 min.
Let them cool a little or they won't come off the sheet in one piece.

Glutino crackers

I miss Gold Fish crackers.
There are few gluten containing products that make me want to cheat.
I know what it does to me.
But the sound and smell of a toddler with a hand-full of golden cheesy fishes makes me a little sad.
I remember my innocence and how I scarfed them with abandon.

SO I'm always willing to try the latest cheese related cracker.

I had tried Glutino  crackers when they first came out. I though they were as close to the classics Nabisco Ritz as GF was going to get.
I keep a box in the cupboard. I love to munch them with soup or with cream cheese.
But then one day I spotted the new Cheddar flavor on the shelf at the grocery.
I tried not to get my hopes up too high, but I was disappointed.
They were good, but just not quite as cheesy as I had hoped.
The Cheddar flavor was very subtle.

Anyone have a cheese cracker recipe that is simple?
I tried one once and it was WAY to hard.
It was complicated AND the crackers were very firm...

kinnikinnick pancake and Waffle Mix

I like waffles.
They have handy little compartments, to hold syrup, or jam.
Hubby says that off all the GF brake fast foods, he likes waffles the best.

It had to have been less then a few months after I was diagnosed that I bought my self an electric waffle mold.
I figured that since my mother had been putting wheat into hers for about 20 years I should get one that was strictly GF.
I took it to college.  Most waffle mixes only require water, and maybe an egg. (and I had fresh  GF waffles in my dorm room:)

One of the waffle mixes I like is Kinnikinnick.
The mix comes in a resealable pouch.
The recipe on the bag recommends using club soda instead of milk or water. My family always did that when we went camping (easier to pack a bottle of soda, then try to keep milk at a safe temperature...)
The waffles turn out soft and cake like. Belgian style waffles.
If you prefer you waffles more cookie like, or waffle cone style, I will recommend mixes for those too.

mayacamas Mixes

Mayacamas makes a great line of GF mixes. Gravy's and pasta sauces.
While I like the Gravy, the Pesto pasta sauce mix is my favorite.

I don't like crab, or lobster, too much work to get the meat out...
Normally I don't go for the troublesome foods. But I do like artichoke.
In my family we dip it in mayo.
And then I heard of people making Pesto-Mayo and having that with artichoke. So i had to try it and were hooked.

We keep our eyes out and when the artichoke is a good price, we pick one up.
I keep a little container of the Pesto-mayo mixed in my fridge.

The recipe is real simple.

An entire pouch of Pesto mix
Cup of mayo.And I mix it together with my blender. It makes it smooth and fluffy.
YUMMY!

Japanesse Style Rice Crackers

These crackers are good. While not specifically Gluten Free, the ingredients do not include gluten. (Rice, corn, potato, and sugar.)
The cracker is crisp.
There consistency is more Puff, then what you might usually associate with the word cracker.
The crackers themselves are plain in flavor, but they have been drizzled with a little glaze.
So they are slightly sweet.

The big bag has 12 little bags in it, with two crackers per bag.
Wonderful for tossing into lunch bags.
I usually get a bag at my local international market, at a family good price.



Another rice cracker I like to pick us is BinBin
They are slightly salty sweet.
Alos in convenient two packs.
But watch the flavors on those, 'cause some have soy sauce, with wheat.

Schar Classic White Bread Mix

My first GF sandwich was in over a decade ago. It was on energy foods bread. :P I think I went at least 5 years without eating another GF sandwich.
And I hardly have them now, but every once in a while I just crave ham and cheese with pickles and mustard.
I thought I would take sandwiches to work for my lunches. So I picked up a bread mix.
Schar Classic White Bread Mix.

This had to be the Stiffest, thickest GF dough I had ever used seen.
It did not mix well, so I just dug in with my hands.
I managed to get the dough mixed
But then I would not get my hands out.
With a little help from Hubby, I got most of the dough into the Bread pan.
The box recommends covering it with a Damp cloth while it raises.
And to put a pan of watter in the oven with it.

I'm not a scientist, but all that extra moisture must matter...

The dough doubled in size, as promised, and looked wonderful.

The bread did not turn out quite like the photo on the box, but as close as I ever get.
It was not too pores.

It was not too dense.

It was not too crumbly.

It was very good.

Straight form the oven it was moist and soft, and slightly chewer.

The next morning it was a little firmer, but refreshed nicely when microwaved with butter.

It cost about the same as the pre-made loaf of bread. But I somehow felt better about baking it myself, then eating what was shipped halfway around the world. (Ya, if you look at a globe, that is where England is to Seattle)
And the shelf life on the mix is VERY long.
I think it might be a good addition to my baking cupboard supply. Having a box on hand for multiple occasions would be a good idea.