Facebook & August News

A few months ago I started a facebook page for Gingerlemongirl.com. It's an active online community forum for those of us who live & eat gluten free. I love the conversations and the questions this site has inspired.

If you're a member of Facebook I'd love to have you "Like" the Gingerlemongirl.com page. I love that it's "always open" and there are always people to answer gluten free cooking & baking questions. It's a great place to get meal ideas, answers to questions about gluten free products, baking advice, and it's just a great place to meet new gluten free friends!

Also, if you read this blog via a feed reader or your email, please click through to the Gingerlemongirl.com website today. My dear friend Jennifer redesigned the header on my blog and I think it looks really great! I'd love to hear your thoughts! Please stop by Jennifer's new super cute healthy living blog, A Girl Who Love Cupcakes and send her a comment a two!

In a few weeks the Ginger Lemon Guy & I will be heading to Seattle, WA to attend the 2010 International Food Blogger's Conference. I'm very excited (and a little nervous) about this trip and I'd love to hear your recommendations for where to visit in downtown Seattle (besides the Space Needle and Pike Place Market!) I'm excited about finally meeting fellow friends & gluten free bloggers like:

• Diane of The WHOLE Gang
• Shirley of gfe-gluten free easily
• Kim of Cook It Allergy Free
• Alexa of Lexie's Kitchen
• Ali of The Whole Life Nutrition Kitchen
• Wendy of Celiacs in the House
• Melissa of Gluten Free for Good
• Heidi of Adventures of a Gluten Free Mom
• Jeanne of Four Chickens
• Dr. Jean of GF Doctor
• Carol of Simply, Gluten Free
• And... Shauna of Gluten Free Girl & The Chef

The best part of this trip for me will be meeting all of these fabulous & inspiring gluten free women who are making the world of gluten free living a much better place!  We will be treated to an amazing gluten free meal on Sunday afternoon prepared by none other than the Chef himself.

The conference is including guest speakers such as Morgan Spurlock, Amy Sherman, Kristine Kidd, Diane Jacob, and many many more!

For the full IFBC itinerary, please visit here... I can't even begin to describe all of the amazing events we will be a part of!

Make sure to stop by Gingerlemongirl.com on Facebook and say hello!

Omelettes for Dinner

Today I have the privilege of sharing a recipe on Diane's wonderful blog "The W.H.O.L.E. Gang." 

One of our favorite weeknight meals is omelettes! They are quick, easy, healthy, and delicious!

The filling are never the same. Whatever veggie & protein leftovers we have available in our fridge are in the omelettes each week!

We've been lucky this summer to have a wonderful CSA to not only provide most of our produce, but our fresh eggs as well! 

If you need really great ideas on super fast & healthy dinners, please check out the recent series featured here on Gingerlemongirl.com, 30 Days Gluten Free Quick & Easy Meals. 

Please visit The Whole Gang today and leave a comment sharing your favorite omelette fillings!

What are your favorite gluten free solutions to the weeknight dinner rush? 

Homemade Coconut Milk Kefir

This week I made coconut milk kefir. If you've never heard of kefir, it's okay. Think of it as a thin yogurt with healthy strains of probiotics, which of course help encourage healthy happenings in your intestinal track. (Isn't that a fun way to put it?) If you've ever had GI issues (and if you're gluten free, there's a good chance you've had fun GI issues, yes?) you know that probiotics, especially naturally produced probiotics are a super healthy addition to your diet.

If you want the details smetails of what kefir really is, check out this article by Wikipedia. Or this article from Earth in Common.

Traditional kefir (as with most fermented milk products like buttermilk and yogurt) are made from cow, sheep, or goat's milk. Thankfully kefir will also grow in other non-dairy milks like soy and coconut. (I have read that trying to make kefir with nut milks does not work, but I haven't tried it... so if you can't have soy or coconut... I don't see why you couldn't at least try to make it with a fresh cashew milk or almond milk...)

Soy is not nice to my body, so I use coconut milk as you see in the picture above. There several different ways of making kefir. The traditional way starts with kefir "grains". Coconut milk is poured over the "grains" and left to ferment for about 24 hours and you are left with a slightly soured milk with lots of healthy probiotics. Another popular way to make your own kefir is to use a freeze-dried kefir starter that you simply mix with coconut milk that you have "pasteurized" or gently heated to kill off any bad bacteria. Once the pasteurized milk has cooled you stir in the kefir starter and then allow it to ferment for about 24 hours. When it's finished you will have a thickened slightly sour drink. In Europe it's often enjoyed alone as a beverage... for sweeter American palates it's used more in smoothies and/or mixed with fruit for a sweeter drink.

Kefir can also be used in baking when a recipe calls for an acidic liquid such as buttermilk or yogurt. Here is one recipe I've made that uses kefir.

I recently purchased some kefir grains to make future batches, but for this week I used the Body Ecology Kefir Starter. This is a great starter to use if you are dairy or casein intolerant because it's dairy free. Many brands of freeze-dried kefir starter also contain powdered dairy milk, which is great if you can have dairy. I've heard this brand is really good.

Making kefir with freeze-dried starter is very simple.




First it's best to heat the coconut milk (I used 2 (13.5 oz) cans of  regular (not lite) coconut milk) to about 160-180 degrees to make sure to kill off any bad bacteria that might be lurking in the can.




Next you allow the coconut milk to cool back down to about 75-80 degrees. This can take a while. The Body Ecology directions indicate that you don't need to heat the milk to the temperature I did. Do what works best for you. Once the coconut milk has cooled you simply whisk the kefir starter into the coconut milk. I poured the cultured milk into a large glass jar and covered it with a tea towel. Allow the kefir to sit undisturbed for 24 hours.



The resulting coconut milk kefir is slightly thick (think thin sour cream texture). Don't be surprised if you have some water at the bottom of your kefir that has separated from the thicker mixture. That's fine. Just stir it back into your kefir.



Now it's time to use that kefir. Add it to smoothies, if you enjoy the slightly soured taste, drink it alone, eat it like you would yogurt with gluten free granola on top for crunchiness, use it as a cream on raw berry blueberry pies (that was super delicious if you're wondering!)... Make sure to store your coconut milk kefir in the refrigerator.

So there you go. Easy homemade coconut milk kefir. Are you going to try it?

Gluten Free Raw Berry Blueberry Pie & Pudding Recipe

I really like pudding. It was one of my favorite foods as a child and I still love it. Unfortunately most puddings are made with milk, which is a no-no. They are also usually very processed and contain ingredients that I no longer want myself or my family to eat.

I've attempted making coconut milk pudding in the past, but I wasn't able to perfect the texture and flavor. After doing a little research, I realized that chia seeds (which I had only been tossing into smoothies) can naturally thicken up a non-dairy pudding or pie filling. Chia seeds are a great natural vegetarian alternative to gelatin to create a gel-like texture to foods. They are often used in egg free baking because ground chia meal and whole chia seeds become gelatinous much like an egg white when mixed with warm or hot water. Chia seeds are a great source of super healthy soluble and non-soluble fiber, omega 3 fatty acids, and are an excellent vegetarian source of protein.

I wish I had thought of creating this recipe while my nephew Christopher was visiting with us. He loves yogurt and I think I could have convinced him to eat this wonderfully healthy "pudding!" Especially if I had put it in a Dan-o-nino cup... lol...

This was my first non-smoothie experiment in my new (refurbished) Vitamix. I am so impressed that it completely pulverized the chia seeds into a beautiful & delicious pudding! (Reconditioned Vitamix's are still on sale for only $374, a STEAL compared to their regular price! They are selling out quickly so act fast if you'd like to get one at the reduced price! I don't make any money from recommending them! It's just such an amazing price, if you have been pining for a VM... now's the time!)

Purists may not consider this a raw recipe since I used simmering water mixed with the chia seeds to create the texture for the pie. I'm okay with that. I love the fact that this is such a healthy "dessert" that comes simply from berries, chia seeds, and a little agave.

I will post my almond flour pie crust later this week. I need to tweak the liquid measurements just a bit to get  a better texture. Please stay tuned for a super easy pat-in-the-pan, low glycemic, gluten free pie crust that is perfect for this berry pie!

Raw Berry Blueberry Pudding & Pie Filling
Created by Carrie @ Gingerlemongirl.com
Free of gluten, soy, dairy/casein, grains, eggs, granulated sugar, and yeast
Printer-friendly recipe.

1 quart fresh strawberries, tops removed
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
3 tablespoons chia seeds
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup agave nectar -or- sweetener of choice
1 prepared 9" gluten free pie crust

Directions
Heat 1/2 cup of water until it just comes to a simmer. Remove it from the heat and add the chia seeds. Stir quickly as the mixture becomes gelled. If the mixture is too stiff stir in up to 2 tablespoons additional water until it is pourable. Add sweetener to the chia mixture and stir until combined. Add chia mixture to your blender or vitamix. Add strawberries & blueberries. In the Vitamix, slowly bring up to 10 and process for 1-2 minutes until mixture is completely smooth and blended. Pour mixture into your prepared pie crust. Refrigerate at least 2 hours (and up to overnight for the best flavor and texture). Cut into slices and serve.

Enjoy!

Gluten Free Almond Flour Pizza Crust Recipe

The kid may not like peanut butter, chocolate, chocolate chips, lettuce, or most vegetables... but he loves pizza. I'm not sure if there are too many kids who don't.

While Chris was at our house, most of his meals were gluten free... simply because I just won't buy things with gluten. It's a scary monster that I don't want in my kitchen. My husband is very lucky that I still let him buy "regular"  wheat bread and cereals... or maybe I'm the lucky one, since he puts up with me! Yes. It's most definitely the latter.

One afternoon we decided to make pizza. And not just any pizza. Pizza made primarily from almond flour. Amazingly I told Chris it was just pizza, and he didn't even question what the crust was made of. Score one for the aunt.

I've been using almond flour in most of my recent baking. It's low glycemic and it's easier on my blood sugar than using a lot of gluten free grains and starches.

This is how the crust turned out. It was beautiful. I almost reached for a tissue. I was proud! I made a thick crusted 12" pizza with this dough, but I think next time, I would split this dough in half and make two thin crust pizzas. The crust was golden & crusty on the outside, and soft and pliable on the inside.

It made a perfect gluten free pizza. No one complained. Even the husband ate 3 pieces. And they had no idea that it contained something healthy other the almond flour.

White beans. Cleverly hidden little mashed white beans for some extra fiber and just because I wanted to see if it would work. My husband is not a huge fan of beans and I suspect my nephew isn't either. And they never knew it was hiding in their pizza.

We used regular mozzarella on this pizza. I was completely out of my non-dairy casein free Daiya cheese. I knew better. In hindsight the next time this happens, I'll just leave a few slices cheese-less so my tummy will be happy. My tummy was not happy. I think just this once though, it was worth it to watch my nephew create that happy smile on our delicious almond flour crust pizza.

My tummy has since forgiven me.

Gluten Free Almond Four Pizza Crust 
Adapted from The Comfy Belly
(Free of gluten, soy, casein, yeast, and grains)
Printer-friendly recipe. 

Makes 1 large  12"-14" thick pizza crust -or- 2 medium sized gluten free thin crust pizzas.

Dry Ingredients:
2 cups almond flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon basil

Wet Ingredients:
3/4 cup mashed white beans, such as navy beans or cannellini beans
3 eggs
3 tablespoons olive oil

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12" round pizza pan with parchment paper. 
2. In a large bowl mix all dry ingredients together.
3. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add all the wet ingredients. 
4. Mix the wet & dry ingredients together thoroughly. You will have a very wet dough. 
5. If you're making two pizzas split the dough in half. 
6. Spread the dough in a circle on the parchment paper with a spatula. It may help to wet the spatula with water or spritz it with non-stick cooking spray to keep the dough from sticking. 
7. Pre-bake the dough in the preheated 350 degree oven for 10-12 minutes until they are golden brown. 
8. Add toppings and bake an additional 10-15 minutes until your toppings are cooked through or melted.
9. Cool pizza for about 5 minutes and then serve!
10. Enjoy!