lpellegr

Last year I took a Bob and Ruth tour of Scotland, Ireland, and Iceland.  Bob and Ruth are a couple who go along, and Bob arranges ahead of time for meals to be gluten-free, then rechecks with the restaurant staff before every meal, which sometimes leads to some last-minute changes.  It was fun - we had an itinerary and tour guides and most meals were included, although because the restaurants didn't know what we had previously been served by other restaurants, we sometimes had similar meals.  I enjoyed it, although Ruth has some difficulty getting around and as they are aging they may not be able to do this for much longer.  The hotels were all very nice, we had some special private tours away from the crowds, and I enjoyed being able to eat safely.  I would do it again, depending on price and destination.  I'm going to try Italy on my own this year, which they say is easy for celiacs.

I had a coupon for Schar bread, which noted that I should look on the shelves, not in the freezer.  I found the Gluten-Free Artisan Baker Multigrain Bread as stated, at room temp on the shelves, and took it home without high expectations.  It was double-bagged, sealed into an internal bag surrounded by a normal bread bag, and it says to store at room temperature until opened, then refrigerate.

IT WAS AMAZING.  It was soft and flexible, and didn't show the slightest sign of wanting to crumble.  I gobbled down 3 slices before making myself stop.  After overnight at room temp, it was still wonderful this morning.  I don't think it will last long enough to get stale, but I was very impressed.  I pretty much gave up on bread except for making my own for crumbs and the occasional slice, but this is the first commercial loaf that I thought was worth the price.

Ingredients: water, rice starch, sourdough (water, rice flour), corn starch, agave syrup, buckwheat flour, sunflower oil, soy protein, modified cellulose, psyllium seed husk (vegetable fiber), flax seeds, guar gum, apple fiber, yeast, millet flour, sunflower seeds, apple juice concentrate, sugar, quinoa flour, salt, honey.

Many of the homemade gluten-free flour recipes do include potato starch (not potato flour) in them, such as Bette Hagman's flour mix.  I think you'll see it often in the older recipes before people started experimenting with flours with more protein (sorghum, millet, etc).  It is indeed a useful additive in the right proportion.

I just got a box of Cheerios for the rest of the family, and they say "gluten-free".  Which made me wonder how did they do it?  I react to oats, ironic after eating 3 bowls of Cheerios every day for 30 years, so I avoid them, even gluten-free, but I was curious.  Did they actually use gluten-free oats, and would there be sufficient supply?  Wouldn't they have to raise the price?  On the back of the box they explain: they SORT the oats from conventional fields to remove wheat, rye, and barley.  Okay, that's probably done by computer, and I've seen enough of those "how it's made" shows to know that they can do it rapidly, using puffs of air to knock the offending grains out of the line, but how rigorous is this?  I have to assume that they wouldn't claim it to be gluten-free unless they were pretty sure about it, but would you eat them?

I took a cruise on the MS Amsterdam, and as they recommended I contacted them about gluten-free food 90 days ahead of time.  They sent me a form to fill out about what gluten-free items I wanted - pancakes, pizza crusts, bread, muffins, etc, for each day of the trip.  So did I get that?  Heck no.  In the main (fancy) dining room I got 2 pieces of toasted gluten-free bread with each meal (and tough as nails  - nobody took me up on my dare to eat it), but there was no sign of the stuff I requested, or of any way to ask for it.  I would not have trusted the staff of the buffet to handle it safely anyway - no idea whether they had separate toasters, but I doubt it.  I did get an offer of gluten-free pasta at one of the optional restaurants, but didn't take it.  Clearly they were not in the gluten-free loop and that form I filled out was a sham.  I managed to find safe food, but it certainly was limited.  At least I didn't go home with the notorious cruise extra pounds.  The main dining room staff seemed to mostly understand my needs, and gave me the next day's menu each night to pick out some items that they would check for me, so that was good, but the buffet was clueless.  I will be contacting Holland America to tell them about this.

This site is a year's worth (and more!) of gluten-free crockpot recipes.  I like the ones I have tried so far, and you'll see lots of feedback for each one.  Open Original Shared Link

The Thai Kitchen soups in the little bags are easy to make without cooking.  Squeeze the bag to break the rice noodles into smaller pieces (just to make it easier) and pour the noodles into a cup.  Add hot water to cover, add seasonings, and just let it sit until the noodles are soft.  Some of the seasoning packages are a little hard to open, so you might need a scissors.

A small crepe place near me offered gluten-free crepes, and yes, she had a pitcher of gluten-free batter, but she could not dedicate one of the crepe bakers (like a big round stone) to the gluten-free crepes, so I let her know that she couldn't call them gluten-free.  I don't think she even has that on her menu any more.  Some restaurants need more education.

Yes, the hostess mentioned an iPad, but when the waitress didn't offer it as an option, I figured they might not be prepared to deal with this.  Knowing what I know now, I would make sure to ask for the iPad, but really, is it so hard to print the allergy list from the website and just hand it to a customer as they walk in?  The food was not worth going back intentionally, but in a pinch I might stop in again.  Maybe if the waitress had known to bring up the iPad, I wouldn't be so cranky and would be raving about how marvelous the service was.  But not the food.

Not the perfect loaf, but with trial and error I found recipes that suit different needs.  One crumbly bread that is good for making bread crumbs.  A few loaves that are good for slices.  Biscuits, French bread, crumpets, pizza dough.  Keep playing around, and make a lot of different recipes until you find some keepers.  I have never found one that gives you the texture of Wonder Bread, but there are better and worse versions of homemade wheat bread.  I started with Bette Hagman's books 10 years ago and made and re-made and adapted recipes, picking up others from the internet or other cookbooks.  Of course I have a houseful of weird flours, but some things are good enough to have to hide from the gluten-eaters.

I agree that it's nice to have the ability to check on multiple allergens, but I wasn't offered an iPad, and I was not planning to go there, I stopped in because I saw the place in a mall I had not been to before and remembered that they could do gluten-free.  I didn't know I would have to do homework before I could eat there.  I have eaten at restaurants so very rarely over the past 10 years that I was hoping for something nice and easy, and it was neither, so I was greatly disappointed.  I expected to be given an actual menu like at PF Chang's or Outback.

I usually use a flour blend from Bette Hagman's cookbooks, so I did the calculations for what they use in the ATK cookbook and got: 80% of the total is my flour mix, 20% is brown rice flour, to substitute for making their mix.  This approximates their blend (although without the milk).  I found their bread recipes tasted good but the bread was very heavy and dense.  I cut the psyllium by 1/3 and that seemed to help, but I don't see this as superior to the usual recipes I make.  I might try substituting the psyllium in those recipes and see what happens.  In case you're wondering, I prefer Ginger Lemon Girl's Favorite Sandwich Bread, or Bette Hagman's Oregon Bread.  Give those a try.

I made the ATK sandwich bread recipe (not in a breadmaker) and found it incredibly dense.  I can't imagine trying to bite into two slices of it with a filling.  It does indeed taste good and it toasts up really well, but soft it is not.  I tried the multigrain bread recipe, cutting the psyllium powder from 3T to 2T and that seemed to help, but it's still pretty dense.  You do need to bake it longer than any other recipe I have tried in order to get rid of the unusually large amount of water added.  They also recommend a lower baking temperature than my usual recipes, so you might need to adjust the breadmaker settings.

If you don't see the words "wheat, rye, barley, oats" you should be fine.  Sometimes you see corn gluten, but that won't hurt you unless you have issues other than celiac disease.  Iams dry is safe.

I stopped at a Red Robin yesterday for the first time in about 10 years, because I knew they could do gluten-free, but the hostess told me they no longer print the information because "all the allergy information is on our website".  So when I sit down there, there is no information I can use on the menu, and I have to either rely on the server's memory or find someone with internet access.  The hostess told me that someone could bring an iPad around for me.  Really?  This is the best they can do?  Is this how Red Robin does it everywhere or was it just this place that doesn't print anything out for customers?  

I understand that they don't want to print out expensive menus in case their selections change, but you'd think they could at least have a current copy of their online allergy lists printed out.  The food was so mediocre (including a gluten-free burger bun that disintegrated halfway through, leaving my hands covered with sticky crumbs) that I don't plan to go back, but I want to write to someone and register a complaint.

Good luck, and thanks, however, you'll have to take the word of the restaurant that something is totally gluten-free because you won't have a physical reaction to indicate cross-contamination.  At least you'll be able to look at menus and processes and see where some of our difficulties lie.  Make sure you get a good list of ingredients to avoid from this site and check for them.  If you want something deep-fried, ask what else is cooked in the oil.  Ask whether pasta water is added to a sauce.  Tell them you can't take the burger off the bun or pick the croutons out of the salad and see how they react.  Expensive, exclusive restaurants will often be more accomodating, but many of us can't afford it but would be more likely to go to something like Friday's or Ruby Tuesday.  Consider the level of training at the restaurant - many cheap chains will be lousy with cross-contamination even if they say they can accomodate you.  Note also the reactions of servers/chefs when you ask for gluten-free - there is everything from concerned compliance to eye-rolling disdain.  If you get a chance, take along someone who has been gluten-free for a long time who can point out things you might not think of.  If you're ever in central NJ I'll be happy to be your guest at expensive restaurants   .

Hi All, My 31 yrs ago my son was diagnosed with celiac, he was at deaths door, but were able to "fix" him, thank God. I just got a Kitchenaid 600 pro mixer, and I want to make him a bunch of bread to freeze and have handy. He hates all the store bought ones he has tried. He is just sooo intolerant I'm afaid to try any "gums", I want to use unflavored gelatin. Can anyone tell me how much to use per loaf?  My son has a family of four and career, but is always hungry! I also plan to get the pasta attachment, to make him gluten-free pasta. I could use any and all tips, and maybe some easy bread recipes, I have Trader Joe's gluten-free flour, with no gums in the ingredients. HELP........Thanks...a loving mom, Celeste ( He CAN eat yeast)

Your son might be able to keep his hunger under control by adding more protein (meat, eggs, cheese), and eating fewer carbs (bread, pastry, pasta).  I'll stay full much longer after 2 eggs scrambled with cheese and spinach than after a bagel or several bowls of cereal.  Making pasta for him is a nice gesture, but the gluten-free pastas out there usually have simple basic ingredients (no gums!) and are much easier to have on hand when you want them.  Try a few and figure out whether you prefer corn (falls apart quickly), rice (Tinkyada is good), quinoa, or other types of gluten-free pasta.  Don't worry too much about xanthan gum.  It will be hard for your bread to hold together just using gelatin or eggs or other non-gum methods.  Feed him natural, unprocessed foods for a while until his guts heal, then you can try something with more exotic ingredients like xanthan gum (which you can find in all kinds of foods - even candy and ice cream).

The quoted passage from the book doesn't refer to Celiac symptoms at all, but to malabsorption of starch and the fermentation and gas that can go with that problem.  That's an entirely separate problem from the immunological reactions that occur with celiac disease, so that passage pretty much has no relevance for us.

If you eat Rice Chex and chocolate chips together, it's a lot like a KitKat.  Mmmmmm.

Basmati is great for soaking up interesting sauces, so put it under stews and Indian food or chili.  I like the Chicken Makhani from Open Original Shared Link, but it has a lot of ingredients.  In addition you can make rice salads or pilafs - there are hot or cold rice dishes with raisins and nuts, carrots and celery, cinnamon and garlic (sounds odd, but it works!) with various dressings.  Look up Persian Rice or rice with raisins.  Here's an example Open Original Shared Link  There are also recipes for basmati rice pudding.  Now I'm hungry.

King Arthur Flour makes some nice ones in a variety of sizes.  The special bread pans they make for gluten-free bread are also worth the investment.

To avoid any cross-contamination from your own baking, how about assembling a gift basket with store-bought packages of cookies and treats?  That way she gets something safe from someone who obviously cares about her much.

Top your fish with a mix of crushed Rice Chex or gluten-free Rice Krispies and melted butter and you will have a lovely crunchy topping.  Bake at 400F for 15-20 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish.

The 5 qt (and I think the smaller size) can handle a 4-cup bread recipe when I double a 2-cup recipe, so you should have no problems making 2 loaves at a time or 1 large loaf.  If you do a lot of baking consider getting a second bowl so that you can make another recipe while the first one is being washed (I'm too lazy to wash by hand sometimes).  Also consider getting the special loaf pans that King Arthur Flour has for gluten-free bread - they really do a nice job, and you get square slices instead of short wide slices from a regular loaf pan.

I once had a very tiny kitchen with a rack hanging from the ceiling that was the only space we had for pots - hang them from hooks to save cupboard space.

He ate your soup, no matter that it didn't look like you expected - he's a keeper!