lpellegr

Not available at Shop Rite on Olden Ave. in Trenton, NJ yet, for those of you in central Jersey. I wonder if they are more likely to show up in stores like that or at Wegman's or Whole Foods? And would they be in the regular baking section or with the gluten-free stuff in the "weird diet food" ghetto of the store?

Strawberry pie! It's the best time of year for it. This always gets lots of compliments.

1 Qt strawberries - wash, hull, and dry them.

1 prebaked pie crust (I use Bette Hagman's Vinegar crust)

Set the prettiest berries point up in the pie crust. Crush the rest with a fork in a separate bowl.

Heat 1/2 to 3/4 c of sugar in 1/2 c of water (depends on how sweet your berries are) until dissolved. Add the crushed berries and all their juice. Mix 1-1/2 T cornstarch with 2T cold water and add to sugar/water/berry mix. Cook and stir until the mixture turns clear and thick. Let cool, then pour over berries in crust. Let set at room temp overnight or the red goo will run when you cut the pie. Serve with whipped cream if desired.

Would this work in an EZ-Bake Oven? Is it the right amount of batter?

Campbell's appear to be gluten-free. Does anyone know for sure?

Last I heard, Campbell's beans are not gluten-free. B&M are, though, and imported Heinz from England. You might want to check the Campbell's website - they were not when I went gluten free 5 years ago and I haven't checked lately.

You'll probably have to try it out and report back to the rest of us.

You're right that it's cheaper to eat unhealthy. Why does a salad cost more than a burger and fries? Why does a pound of cherries cost more than a pound of - well, most things? I did the same thing and went to meat, eggs, and plants for most of my food, but it costs more than processed foods. Could you possibly save by switching to canned and frozen veggies and fruits in place of fresh? As for flours, you should calculate whether it might actually be cheaper to order a pre-made flour mix off the internet. To me they seem expensive compared to mixing individual flours, but then these things don't cost as much in New Jersey as in Alaska. See if Bob's Red Mill or Pamela's flours in bulk might be cheaper in the long run. Even with the shipping some things might be less to buy over the internet, like cookies and pasta, especially if you can buy a case at a time and you have storage space. I applaud you for feeding your family right and I know what you mean about not being able to entirely avoid bready stuff. Fried eggs just aren't as much fun without a piece of toast to wipe up that runny yolk.

A Trader Joe's is going in at the shopping center across from Marketfair in Princeton! I forget the name of the center, but it's the one with Lowe's on Rt 1. What good gluten-free things should I look for when it opens?

Bette Hagman's Vinegar Pie Crust recipe always works for me. It comes out just like a normal pie crust and handles really well.

Easy hot cocoa in the microwave:

Put 2 T of sugar and 2 t of cocoa (more or less to taste, I think this is too sweet) in a mug and add about a tablespoon of water. Stir, microwave 10-15 seconds, then stir until the cocoa, sugar, and water form a smooth syrup, heating a little more if necessary. Add milk to fill the cup and microwave until hot enough to drink. I think a dash of salt really makes this.

Poor baby! I feel for you. I used to think flying was cool, now I dread it every time. You need to indulge in the best gluten-free meal you can find because you deserve some nice treatment, even if you have to do it for yourself.

This always turns out nice - like a biscuit on the outside when you first make it, but moist inside and easy to slice on the next day. It's from one of Bette Hagman's cookbooks. It's different from most loaf breads, and a little easier for a beginner. You could probably use a commercial rice-based flour mix with similar results.

Caraway Soda Bread

1-1/2 c gluten-free flour mix (hers is 2 parts white rice flour, 2/3 part potato starch flour, 1/3 part tapioca flour)

1/2 c tapioca flour

1-1/4 t baking soda

1 t baking powder

2 t xanthan gum

1/2 t salt

3 T sugar

Mix all of the above in a bowl.

Using a pastry blender, cut in 1/2 c (1 stick) butter or margarine until the mix is crumbly.

Add 1 T caraway seeds (could probably leave out) and 1 c sour cream. Beat with a mixer until well blended (about a minute).

Form into a round mound in a round greased casserole dish. Brush with milk.

Bake at 375 for 50-55 minutes. Remove from dish and cool on wire rack.

I wonder what the prices for these mixes will be like? I'm hoping some day to not only see gluten-free things become mainstream, but for them not to cost so much more than "normal" things. That's what keeps me from buying them now.

I also found barley in Whole Foods lentils - they said they were processed on the same equipment as barley. I wonder if we could find safe lentils in an Indian grocery store? They eat so many kinds of lentils and I don't know if there is less chance of them being mixed with other grains. Any thoughts?

Can you define "package"? Let us know how many ounces are in each bag so that if we want to reproduce it with different brands than the ones you use we will have some hope of success. And do you let it raise before you bake it? What size are the loaf pans? Thanks!

I have had no problem with Flying Horse brand from the local Asian grocery store. Very cheap, too.

Jestgar, are those the knuckles of someone who punched a wall in your photo? Was it because you couldn't get a decent piece of bread?

I would eat it. I don't see anywhere that they would hide gluten. Enjoy.

Regarding the middle eastern salad: I have never tried it with pasta, but I think it might work well with rice, skipping the part about browning it. I have had rice dishes with garlic and cinnamon that worked. Basmati would be perfect for it. They usually include raisins, too. I don't have any coriander in the house and never did, so I just skip it. I don't usually have fresh lemons either, so bottled juice is fine.

I used to make this with couscous, but it works fine and is gluten-free if you use millet.

Middle Eastern grain salad

1 cup millet - sear grains in a few T of hot oil for a few minutes to turn some of them varying shades of brown. Cook in water as directed.

Add when cooled:

1 c thinly sliced celery

1 c chopped scallions (or use onion powder to taste)

1 c shredded carrots

1/2 c cashews or almonds

Mix and add dressing:

1/4 c lemon juice

1/2 c olive oil

1 t cinnamon

pinch curry

1/2 t coriander (skip it if you don't have it)

salt, pepper, garlic powder to taste (lots of garlic!)

Serve at room temperature. Unusual and good.

A Hungarian restaurant just opened near me, with very authentic homemade-looking menu items. The owners don't appear to be highly fluent in English, and my Triumph dining cards don't include Hungarian. Can anybody suggest a Hungarian phrase or two I can write down to use to ask what's safe for me to eat there? I suspect not much will be, but I would love to give it a try.

Plain sour cream should be fine. Reduced-fat or non-fat versions may be thickened with some kind of starch, although it should say on the label what kind of starch. If it says "modified food starch" and doesn't say "wheat" anywhere on the label (behind the starch or as an allergy declaration) then you should be okay. Since you don't know what they use in the restaurant, you might want to skip it.

It's a brand of plain, unflavored gelatin.

Are you sure? I thought it was pectin for helping jellies and jams to thicken.

In any case, don't be surprised if you have just begun baking gluten-free breads and they are nothing like what you remember. I have been doing this for over 4 years and still don't get decent bread every time - even with recipes I have successfully used before it's a crapshoot. Be prepared to keep trying, and check this board for help because a lot of us have tried many, many bread variations with different degrees of success. You can see successful loaves in my avatar, but the ones I made the time after I took that picture were a dismal failure shape-wise (but at least they made great crumbs and croutons).

Maybe your finished result was the way it was supposed to be? I don't know about that particular recipe since I didn't see the show and you didn't give details, but I make a flourless chocolate mousse cake that has undivided eggs in it. If you want fluffiness, you separate the eggs and whip the egg whites, then carefully fold them into the other ingredients. My recipe with the whole eggs turns out more like barely baked brownies or fudge - the eggs kind of thicken it but don't make it poofy like a typical mousse. I have already posted my chocolate mousse cake/pie recipe here before so you could probably find it if you search. Just eggs, chocolate, butter, and sugar for the most part.

I don't think Bob's Red Mill lists their corn meal as gluten-free. However they seem to have enough gluten-free corn around to make their Mighty Tasty Hot Cereal. I've been meaning to ask them about that...

It should work just fine. I would recommend undercooking the pasta just slightly because it will probably absorb sauce while it bakes. Baked ziti is pretty much the same as lasagna, but you use ziti (tubes) and mix it up instead of layering with big flat lasagna noodles. Same flavors but less work. Fun fact, "ziti" apparently means "bridegrooms", which might just possibly have something to do with the stiff tubular shape. Rude pasta! Go for the rotini and you won't have to blush during dinner.