Gluten Free Gift Ideas

Now that Thanksgiving is over for another year, it is time to think about the next big holiday season!  (Yes, most stores have been 'decking the halls' since September which is why I avoid them in the fall - one holiday at a time please!)

A couple of months ago I put together a Gluten Free Gift Idea Page.  It is full of ideas of what to get someone who is gluten free but also it may trigger some ideas for what you can ask others for (or how to answer the "What would you like for Christmas/Hanukkah/your Birthday/etc?" question).

Most of my suggestions are available offline but in case you'd like to avoid the malls, I've included links to where you can find them online as well.

Happy Holidays!

p.s. Oh, and in case you are wondering what you can get your favorite blogger . . . the best gift would be to share a link to this blog with others you think would benefit from it!  There are dozens of recipes, restaurant reviews, and other helpful articles here you could link to or you could simply share the main page.  Thank you!

Gluten Free Thanksgiving

Roast turkey on its own should be gluten free. Just be careful as some brands inject broth and that broth may contain gluten. Also, assuming you aren’t cooking for yourself, a turkey stuffed with gluten containing bread will be seriously contaminated – if there is going to be gluten containing stuffing, it has to be outside of the bird.  [Generally speaking it is now generally considered unsafe to cook stuffing inside a roasting bird anyway.]

Gluten Free Stuffing, Gluten Free Gravy
and Dairy Free Mashed Potatoes

I’ve posted seperate articles on gluten free gravy, gluten free stuffing and dairy free mashed potatoes to aid in searching.  Technically, although I’m writing this first, I’ll post the others first so on the main page they’ll read correctly top to bottom.

Roast the turkey according to the instructions on the turkey being sure not to add gluten containing stuffing, seasonings, and/or basting liquids.  Be sure to use a meat thermometer to the correct temperature (170 for a turkey breast, 180-185 for a whole turkey measured in the thickest part of the thigh). 

Figure on ½ - 1 1/2 pounds of turkey per person (use the lower end if just making a turkey breast, more towards the upper end if roasting the whole bird).

Have a Happy and Safe Thanksgiving!

Gluten Free Gravy (Dairy Free)

This is how I make gluten free gravy. The final amount will depend on the amount of pan drippings you start with although I never measure these. I'd rather have too much gravy than not enough! You can easily scale this up as needed.  Some people strain the pan drippings and skim the fat which you are certainly welcome to do.

Gluten Free Gravy

Ingredients:

1 cup water + gluten free bullion or 1 cup gluten free chicken broth
1/2 cup water
Salt and Pepper
Pan drippings
1/4 cup gluten free flour mix

How to prepare gluten free gravy:

After removing the turkey / chicken from the roasting pan, tent it with foil and let it sit for 15 minutes. This makes it much easier to carve. While the bird is resting add 1 cup of water+bullion / gluten free broth to the pan juices for every four people and scrape up the roasted on bits.

In a container combine a gluten free flour mix* and 1/2 a cup of water. Seal the container and shake vigoursly.  Slowly whisk this mixture into the pan.  (Shaking in the container keeps lumps from forming, whisking in the mixture keeps it from solidifying immediately).  Bring to a boil and continue whisking until the gravy reaches the desired consistancy.  Season to taste.

*I usually combine what ever I have left over, usually, 1/3 cornstarch, 1/3 sorghum and 1/3 brown rice.

Depending on the amount of pan drippings you started with, this should make about 2 cups of gravy.  I figure on needing at least ¼ cup per person.

[One final note, the green flecks in the photo above is finely chopped spinach.  I can't digest green leafy vegetables so I run them through the blender and add them in in small doses where I can.]


Other gluten free / dairy free recipes:

Gluten Free Stuffing

Dairy Free Mashed Potatoes

Gluten Free Thanksgiving

Gluten Free Stuffing (dairy free / vegan depending on bread)

I figure on two slices of bread per serving and just like gravy, I'd rather have too much stuffing than not enough.  (I can't believe I just typed "too much stuffing", as if that's possible!)

Gluten Free Stuffing

Ingredients:

8 slices gluten free bread, cubed
1 medium onion, chopped
olive oil
1 tsp ground sage
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup almond milk + more as needed


How to prepare gluten free stuffing:

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. 

Cube 8 slices of fresh gluten free bread.  (I save the ends of my gluten free loaves for just this purpose!)  Place the cubes on a cookies sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes, turning once.  [They should dry out, not brown.]  Allow to cool. [This can even be done the night before, just be sure they are totally cool before storing in a sealed bag.]

Saute the chopped onion in olive until starting to brown.  Toss the onions, seasonings and cooled cubes in a large bowl.  Moisten with almond milk (or any other nondairy milk or even chicken stock) stirring as you go, until bread is moist.

Heat the oven to 325 degrees.  Bake, covered, in a greased caserole dish for 30 minutes, then uncover and bake for an additional 15 minutes.

Serve and enjoy!



Other gluten free / dairy free recipes:

Gluten Free Gravy

Dairy Free Mashed Potatoes

Gluten Free Thanksgiving

Dairy Free Mashed Potatoes (Gluten Free / Vegan)

The secret to really good mashed potatoes is to fully cook the potatoes and whip them until past the point you think you should stop!

Dairy Free Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients:

1 pound potato peeled and quartered
2 tbsp olive oil
Almond milk as needed (about 1/4 cup)


How to prepare dairy free mashed potatoes:

Boil the potatoes until fork tender (about 25 minutes).  Drain the pan and begin to mash the potatoes either with a hand masher or with a mixer (turned off for now).  Moisten the potatoes with the olive oil and a small amount of the almond milk.  Begin to mash more vigoursly (or turn the electric mixer on) adding almond milk as you go until the potatoes reach the desired consistancy.  Remember you can always add more liquid, but you can't remove any! [Note: if you can't have almonds then try hemp milk. Rice milk will also work but it is thinner so you'll use less.]

I find that a pound of potatoes to start yields about 3 servings so adjust as needed.


Other gluten free / dairy free recipes:

Gluten Free Stuffing

Gluten Free Gravy

Gluten Free Thanksgiving

Product Review: Luce's Gluten Free Bread Mixes

I first met Charles Luce a couple of years ago at a Celiac Disease support group meeting.  That evening he was giving a talk on the techniques he had perfected for making a sour dough starter for gluten free sour dough bread (traditionally, sour dough starter is grown in a mixture of wheat flour).  He had brought along numerous loaves of fresh baked gluten free sour dough breads in various flavors.  These breads were good, hearty, crusty breads that didn't fall apart and are sorely lacking on the gluten free market.  He couldn't cut the sample loaves fast enough when it came time to try them!

Luce's Gluten Free Sour Dough
and Gluten Free Italian Breads

I next saw Charles at a gluten free dinner in Jersey City at Uno's Chicago Grill. At this point he was starting to work on pre-made mixes of his breads that you would bake at home.  He had brought along some test samples that we enjoyed with dinner and chatted about the hurdles of getting a gluten free business off the ground.

Well, I'm thrilled to announce that that business has now taken off.  Charles was at last night's Northern NJ Celiac Disease Meetup sampling his breads and selling mixes.  So far he's perfected two varieties: Classic Sour Dough and New Italian - both are amazing.  The breads have a perfect crust and aren't dry or crumbly like so many other GF breads.  The best part?  They couldn't be easier to make.

Each package comes with a pre-mixed gluten free flour blend.  Both are made in a gluten free facility, are dairy free, egg free, nut free, soy free and vegan with no added oil or sugar (the italian bread contains gf oats).  You simply add warm water and mix in a bowl, form the loaf on the included parchment paper, seal in the included oven bag, heat the oven and cookie sheet while the loaf rests, then bake for 85 minutes at 400 degrees!

For now the mixes are only available online at Luce's Gluten Free Artisan Bread.  Considering how good the bread is, it shouldn't be long before they start appearing on store shelves everywhere.

So just how good is the bread?  When the meeting was over and everyone filed out of the room last night, it appeared as if most were carrying a bag (or two) of Luce's Gluten Free Bread Mix home with them!

Restaurant Review: My Thai (Frederick, Maryland)

Based on the recommendation of two different online Gluten Free restaurant guides I decided to try My Thai (193E Thomas Johnson Drive, Frederick, MD 21702) during my recent trip.

Gluten Free Garden Rolls at My Thai in Frederick, MD

Both sites stated that My Thai has a gluten free menu. Unfortunately this is the issue with user submitted GF restaurant sites, you are trusting a user who may not be as concerned about cc and staff knowledge as you are. My Thai doesn’t have a GF menu and the host really didn’t seem so sure.

Since most Thai food is naturally gluten free I figured I'd stick it out and talk with the waitress. Luckily, the waitress I had knew exactly what was already gluten free and what could be made gluten free. This turned out to be about 60% of the menu.

Gluten Free Chicken Pad Hima Parn at My Thai in Frederick, MD

I had the Garden Rolls (rice paper wrapped steamed shrimp and veggies) with a sweet chili sauce as an appetizer. (The hoisin-peanut sauce is not gluten free.) My lunch entrée was Pad Hima Parn (chicken, bell peppers and cashews).

The food was excellent and not too spicy. It is certainly nice to have a gluten free appetizer option when dining out. This is definitely somewhere I would eat again if I didn’t live so far away!




Other Maryland Restaurants with Gluten Free menus/options:

Gluten Free at Isabella's Taverna

The main trip page is here: Gluten Free Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia