Gluten Free Reviews

While traveling on Cape Cod, we had the good fortune to try some gluten free products from Good Ju Ju Bakery. Yes, dear readers, the roll pictured above, Good Ju Ju Bakery's GF dinner roll, tastes just like the rolls we used to eat pre-Celiac. I practically cried when I bit into this crunchy-on-the-outside, soft-on-the-inside delicious dinner roll.

The good news: Judith Mann, the owner of the company, has an agreement with Greyston Bakery in Yonkers, NY. They will be taking over production of her fabulous GF products, with the aim of making them available on a much more national basis. The name of this new line of gluten free baked goods will be Do Goodie. If places like Whole Foods do their homework, after they get hip and carry Breads From Anna in every store they own, they'll add Do Goodie to their shelves. Keep your eyes peeled!

Meanwhile, if you happen to be on Cape Cod, you can purchase Good Ju Ju Bakery products from Ring Brothers Marketplace in South Dennis, MA. The Windfall Market in Falmouth used to carry them, but has discontinued doing so. I stopped by there this morning and suggested that they strongly reconsider bringing the line back into their store AND that they begin carrying Breads From Anna (I'm partial - I love her breads - they're all fabulous!).


Speaking of the Windfall Market, this is another NOT-TO-BE-MISSED stop if you're on Cape Cod and looking for a market that sells gluten free packaged foods (dry goods and frozen). Though a medium-sized market, their selection is vast. Everything you could possibly need, from a gluten free perspective, can be found at Windfall.

I was so excited to find that Windfall carries the Schar line of baked goods. I'd heard and read about Schar, but never tasted them. They're excellent. So far, I've tasted the Chocolate-Dipped cookies (reminded me of Pepperidge Farm cookies) and the Table Crackers - they were good on their own, but I'll love having some hummus spread on them for today's lunch.



And last but not least, let me tell you about yesterday's lunch on Martha's Vineyard. We took the ferry to Vineyard Haven and were picked up by the Vineyard Haven Public Library Children's librarian. After performing a morning children's concert, we had a little time before we had to catch the 2:30 ferry back to Woods Hole. We poked around Vineyard Haven for a little bit. They have an absolutely kick-ass kitchen store. I bought a triple french bread pan and will use it to bake some gluten free baguettes this weekend.

For lunch, we wanted to eat at the Art Cliff Diner, reputed to be an excellent stop for gluten free, vegetarian and vegan dining, but the wait was too long. And forget about the Black Dog Tavern. We could've been seated, but between you and me, their gluten free options are less than optimal. And forget about it if you're vegetarian or vegan. So, instead we wandered into a place called Tropical Restaurant. Bingo! I ordered a custom-designed lunch - it wasn't on the menu, but all the items were on the menu in some form or another. So, after asking questions that helped me figure out what was safe to eat, I ordered white rice with black beans and grilled veggies and homefries. It was perfect.

What did I learn? Sometimes even the most unsuspecting restaurants can be just what you're looking for, so be open to the possibilities. That actually is a good maxim for just about anything in life, don't you think?

Gluten-Free Grilled Cornbread Muffin

Prior to being diagnosed with Celiac Disease, my husband and I had a weekly Sunday morning ritual. We would head out to our favorite restaurant and leisurely eat breakfast while reading the paper. I always ordered the same thing. This restaurant had huge homemade muffins that they would split and grill. My favorite was cornbread. I loved the buttery, crispy top and would save that part for last.

Well, this morning, though it wasn't Sunday, I relived that delicious memory. A few days ago, I made a batch of cornbread using Pamela's Cornbread & Muffin mix. The results: excellent and easily veganized.

Ellen's Homemade Cornbread

One package Pamela's Cornbread & Muffin Mix
1 cup unsweetened rice milk
3 tbsp agave or maple syrup
1 cup frozen corn kernels (roasted is lovely)
1/4 cup vegetable oil or 4 tbsp melted butter (Earth Balance is vegan)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Grease an 8" square pan.

Pour the cornbread mix into a large bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the rice milk, maple syrup, corn kernels, vegetable oil, and adobo sauce. Add the wet ingredients to the cornbread mix. Do not overmix.

Pour into the greased pan. Bake for 25 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

After they cooled and I took my first bite, I found them a bit wet. I found that they improved after sitting on the counter (wrapped) for a few days. Gave them a chance to dry out a bit. This morning, two days after I baked the cornbread, I took a few pieces of the cornbread, split them in half horizontally, spread some Earth Balance butter on them, and grilled them butter side down in a cast iron pan until crisp.

Me, a cup of tea, and my grilled cornbread muffin. Can't get much better than that!

Tempeh Too Good For Words Burgers

Have you ever seen the movie Waitress? It's one of my all time favorites. The main character names all of her baking creations. In homage to her, I present you with Tempeh-Too-Good-For-Words Burger. I've been looking for a good Tempeh Burger recipe. Oh, I've tried, trust me. I've thrown out my share of "you couldn't possibly think I'm gonna eat that" burgers. But this one is a keeper. Thank you to Beverly Lynn Bennett for the inspiration. Her recipe for Too-Tempting Burgers was posted on the Veg News website. These are the five changes I made:

soy tempeh instead of multigrain tempeh which isn't gluten free
button mushrooms instead of crimini mushrooms
added sea salt
chickpea flour instead of whole wheat or spelt, neither of which is gluten free
wheat-free tamari instead of regular tamari

These are the three additional changes for the next time I make them:
I will use dried basil and oregano and eliminate the thyme and rosemary
I will add one clove fresh, minced garlic
I will add a little bit of Dijon Mustard to the mixture before forming them into burgers

Tempeh-Too-Good-For-Words Burger
adapted from Beverly Lynn Bennett

One 8 oz pkg soy tempeh (with no gluten-containing grains in it)
3/4 cup onion, diced small
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup button mushrooms, roughly chopped
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp each dried basil, thyme, and rosemary (see note below)
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 cup chickpea flour (or other GF flour)
2 tbsp wheat-free tamari

Cut the tempeh into 1/2 cubes. Steam for 15 minutes. Remove from steamer basket and set aside until cool enough to handle.

Saute the onion in olive oil for 3 minutes.

Add mushrooms and saute for another 3 minutes.

Add the balsamic vinegar, dried herbs, garlic and onion powder, black pepper, sea salt. Saute another 2 minutes.

Remove mixture from skillet and put in a mixing bowl.

Using your fingers, crumble the steamed, cooled tempeh and place in a separate bowl. Add the sauteed mixture, chickpea flour, and wheat-free tamari. Stir well to thoroughly combine. Form into 4 burger patties.

Cook burgers on heated bbq grill for about 5 minutes or until browned to your liking; flip the burgers and cook on the other side. I put the burgers in a separate grill tray (with holes in it for drainage) which I put on the bbq grill. I think this is essential to the burgers not burning.

These can also be cooked in a skillet on the stovetop.

Serve with your favorite GF bread or rolls. Slather with ketchup, top with a few onion slices and crisp romaine lettuce. Or do like I did and serve between two flour tortillas (I froze a whole batch of them specifically for this purpose).

Like I said, too good for words.