My Sister-in-law sent me a link to this article about recipes and copyrighting them. This article makes the copyright laws about recipes easy to understand. (Legalese is not my favorite thing to read.)
The actual section of Copyright law as it regards recipes can be found here.
So I will be posting some of the recipes I have been using lately.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Eating Somewhere Besides Home part 2
Friday night went fine (right up to the point when I did something stupid). The dinner was buffet style with the food on a table in the corner of the room. We ate while sitting on couches and chatting. The meal consisted of ham, sandwich fixings, potato salad, chips and dip, a veggie tray and sundaes for desert. At first I felt awkward, but soon I relaxed again. What happened was that after the prayer on the food was said no one moved. Even after I got up to get my food no one moved. I tried to tease them into coming and getting some food which didn’t work either. Finally when I had to ask where the plates were because I could not see them, people came. I forgot to bring my own sandwich fixings so I just had ham, cheese, veggies and chips. After people were going back for seconds I decided that I would like some more of the veggies (which was a stupid thing to do because the veggie tray was right next to the rolls and people had been picking them up with their fingers). After dinner we had sundaes. Several of the toppings looked homemade, so I skipped them. (If they were store bought I could read the labels and make sure they were ok.) I had vanilla ice cream and almonds. It was not until we were on the way out of town that I started to not feel well. I had made sure to pack some antacids and some pepto-bismal tablets, so I took some of the later. Between the pepto-bismal and talking to my husband I was able to distract myself enough that we made it to my sister's without incident.
Saturday, while we were out running errands we stopped by a great locally owned restaurant for lunch. The owner's wife is Celiac so he has created a gluten-free menu. He also has a dedicated area in his kitchen, with its own fryer, for making gluten-free foods. After our errands we hurried back to my sister's to start on the Fettuccine Alfredo. By the time we got there her husband had started cooking the chicken and making the salad. I got busy making the Alfred sauce, sauteing tomatoes and cooking gluten-free noodles. My sister soon came and joined the party sauteing the mushrooms. After the mushrooms were finished my husband came to cook the wheat noodles. By this time my parents had shown up and there was a full kitchen. My sister's stove is located in the bar that separates her kitchen and dining room. I mention that because my husband was on the dining room side cooking the wheat noodles. I was on the kitchen side talking to my Mom when out of the corner of my eye I see my husband reach for my gluten-free pasta spoon and start stirring his noodles. I stop mid-sentence, turn towards him and start repeating "No, no, no." When he keeps ignoring me I grab the spoon out of his hand and hand him the wheat pasta spoon. (I tried to do it as nice as I could.) His reply was, "I thought that you were still talking to your Mom." (The reason why I acted so quickly was that when you are cooking pasta the starch that is cooked out of the noodles is really hard to get cleaned off of the utensils and strainer you use and can lead to cross-contamination of other foods you use those utensils to cook later on.) Then I rinsed off the gluten-free pasta spoon really well and finish cooking my noodles. Apparently I caught it in time because I don't recall having any unusual symptoms that evening. The meal was delicious. My parents brought gluten-free brownies and ice cream for dessert.
Sunday afternoon we went and visited with my parents. They feed us a big lunch: Teriyaki Chicken, rice and veggies with left over brownies, vanilla ice cream, and sundae toppings for desert. We stopped by my In-laws at dinner-time and my husband had some dinner. They were having Chicken Noodle Soup with homemade bread. I pulled up a chair and visited with everyone while they ate. I think I had some tootsie rolls when we got back to my sisters that night.
Monday morning I got up and made cornbread for breakfast. My favorite kind I made by mistake the first time. I added potato starch to the recipe instead of potato flour (they are NOT the same thing) and the cornbread came out nice and fluffy. I had never had fluffy cornbread before and I found out I like it better than the normal stuff. For lunch we stopped by the Olive Garden and eat another big lunch. We knew that we would be driving home when we usually eat dinner.
So over all it was a good experience, but I learned that no matter how tempting those cucumbers are that I should be more careful when I go back for seconds.
Friday, February 18, 2011
Eating Somewhere Besides Home
Eating some where besides home is a challenge. At home you have your system and know what you need to do to be safe from gluten cross-contamination. (I don't really like the visual image of the phrase "contamination". It makes it sound like gluten is radio-active or something even more horrible. Unfortunately, I don't know of another phrase to use.) Eating at someone else's home or even at a restaurant you lose most of that control. You never know if they cut bread on a cutting board and then, with out rinsing it, cut up the vegetables that they try and serve you as safe. ...
The reason why I am posting this is that this weekend I am not going to be eating at home for several days. Last night was our Pack's Blue and Gold Banquet. I am involved with the Cub Scouts in our area and so was expected to go. Usually at Pack Meetings there are treats and I just don't eat them. But last night was the traditional Birthday Celebration for the Cub Scouts which includes a dinner. I was part of the planning committee for the dinner and so was my Sister-in-Law. (My Sister-in-Law has had some experience cooking for people with Celiac. Her cousin's husband is Celiac and their families got together for dinner on a regular basis when they lived close to each other.) So I had help to be sure that I could eat some part of the dinner. We, as a committee, decided to have a Pot Luck dinner. The Pack would provide the meat and the rolls. Others were asked to bring side dishes, chips and dessert. At the dinner I took a quick look over what people had brought to see what looked like it would be safe. As well as visited the kitchen to see how the food was being prepared and read over the label of the sauce that was used for the meat. After the prayer was given I tried to be near the front of the line. I got my plate and the next thing I saw caused me to pause. The ladies that were serving the meat had decided to be efficient and start putting meat in the rolls so people can grab them and move on. Now that in and of itself is not bad, but what I noticed was that they were using the tongs to spread the meat over the rolls and had several rolls already done. The part of that that made me pause was that they were dipping the tongs back into the meat afterward. This is a REALLY good way to "cross-contaminate" foods that don't naturally contain gluten. (Something they could have done to prevent "cross-contamination" would have been to dollop the meat on the rolls, making sure that the tongs don't touch the roll, and use a plastic knife or some other utensil to spread the meat.) I smiled at the ladies and said that I would just get my meat from the pan that was still in the kitchen and continued on down the line. (Since I had visited the kitchen I knew that there were two pans of meat. Otherwise I would have passed on the meat and eaten more of something else. Other times, when there has been only one pan, while I was visiting the kitchen I have asked if before the food was placed on the table that I could put some of the meat on a plate just for me and leave it in a corner of the kitchen that was out of the way.) In the end I had the meat from the kitchen (without the roll), veggies from a veggie tray (no dip, some dips contain gluten and I was not sure if it was safe), and some chips. This was ok because I had eaten a little something at home before I went to the dinner. (You never know if something simple, like how they serve the meat, is going to make it so there is little you can eat in a social setting. So I try and eat a little before hand.)
Tonight we are going to be having dinner with the new Bishopric in our ward. My husband is the new Ward Clerk so we were invited to come. Originally it was going to be a simple Ice Cream Social which I was fine with. I figured I could go a little early and look over the choices, find one that looked like one that had not been "cross-contaminated" and ask if I could have mine in a bowl. Wednesday I found out that the Bishop decided that he wanted something more substantial. The plan now is to have a spiral ham for sandwiches, a veggie tray, and chips and salsa. We are to bring the drinks. Last night after Pack Meeting I called the Bishop and talked to his wife about how she was planning on cooking the ham (to see if there was going to be a glaze, etc. that would make it so I could not eat it). Since they want to do sandwiches I am planning to take my own bread and spreads. (The spreads are something that get "cross-contaminated" easily so I like to put a little in a separate container for my own use.) I may also eat something before we go.
After dinner tonight my husband and I are planning to go and visit my younger sister and her family for the three-day weekend. She and her family are not Celiac, but we have stayed with them several times since we moved away. She understands my needs and is willing to let me do what I need to to keep my food safe. I take some of my own cooking supplies when I go visit her since she doesn't own any that are specifically gluten-free. My sister has requested that while my husband and I are there that we make them our version of Fettuccine Alfredo. (All I have to do to make it gluten-free is to use gluten-free noodles instead of the noodles they will be using.) My mother, who is also Celiac, lives in the next town over and wants us to stop by while we are there. I asked her if she would mind if we come for dinner when we come to visit. The other meals are not planned yet, but where she lives there are several grocery stores and restaurants that cater to people with Celiac. So there are lots of possibilities available for me.
I have tried to plan and make these situations as safe as I can. Let's hope that they will be enjoyable and I don't get sick.
The reason why I am posting this is that this weekend I am not going to be eating at home for several days. Last night was our Pack's Blue and Gold Banquet. I am involved with the Cub Scouts in our area and so was expected to go. Usually at Pack Meetings there are treats and I just don't eat them. But last night was the traditional Birthday Celebration for the Cub Scouts which includes a dinner. I was part of the planning committee for the dinner and so was my Sister-in-Law. (My Sister-in-Law has had some experience cooking for people with Celiac. Her cousin's husband is Celiac and their families got together for dinner on a regular basis when they lived close to each other.) So I had help to be sure that I could eat some part of the dinner. We, as a committee, decided to have a Pot Luck dinner. The Pack would provide the meat and the rolls. Others were asked to bring side dishes, chips and dessert. At the dinner I took a quick look over what people had brought to see what looked like it would be safe. As well as visited the kitchen to see how the food was being prepared and read over the label of the sauce that was used for the meat. After the prayer was given I tried to be near the front of the line. I got my plate and the next thing I saw caused me to pause. The ladies that were serving the meat had decided to be efficient and start putting meat in the rolls so people can grab them and move on. Now that in and of itself is not bad, but what I noticed was that they were using the tongs to spread the meat over the rolls and had several rolls already done. The part of that that made me pause was that they were dipping the tongs back into the meat afterward. This is a REALLY good way to "cross-contaminate" foods that don't naturally contain gluten. (Something they could have done to prevent "cross-contamination" would have been to dollop the meat on the rolls, making sure that the tongs don't touch the roll, and use a plastic knife or some other utensil to spread the meat.) I smiled at the ladies and said that I would just get my meat from the pan that was still in the kitchen and continued on down the line. (Since I had visited the kitchen I knew that there were two pans of meat. Otherwise I would have passed on the meat and eaten more of something else. Other times, when there has been only one pan, while I was visiting the kitchen I have asked if before the food was placed on the table that I could put some of the meat on a plate just for me and leave it in a corner of the kitchen that was out of the way.) In the end I had the meat from the kitchen (without the roll), veggies from a veggie tray (no dip, some dips contain gluten and I was not sure if it was safe), and some chips. This was ok because I had eaten a little something at home before I went to the dinner. (You never know if something simple, like how they serve the meat, is going to make it so there is little you can eat in a social setting. So I try and eat a little before hand.)
Tonight we are going to be having dinner with the new Bishopric in our ward. My husband is the new Ward Clerk so we were invited to come. Originally it was going to be a simple Ice Cream Social which I was fine with. I figured I could go a little early and look over the choices, find one that looked like one that had not been "cross-contaminated" and ask if I could have mine in a bowl. Wednesday I found out that the Bishop decided that he wanted something more substantial. The plan now is to have a spiral ham for sandwiches, a veggie tray, and chips and salsa. We are to bring the drinks. Last night after Pack Meeting I called the Bishop and talked to his wife about how she was planning on cooking the ham (to see if there was going to be a glaze, etc. that would make it so I could not eat it). Since they want to do sandwiches I am planning to take my own bread and spreads. (The spreads are something that get "cross-contaminated" easily so I like to put a little in a separate container for my own use.) I may also eat something before we go.
After dinner tonight my husband and I are planning to go and visit my younger sister and her family for the three-day weekend. She and her family are not Celiac, but we have stayed with them several times since we moved away. She understands my needs and is willing to let me do what I need to to keep my food safe. I take some of my own cooking supplies when I go visit her since she doesn't own any that are specifically gluten-free. My sister has requested that while my husband and I are there that we make them our version of Fettuccine Alfredo. (All I have to do to make it gluten-free is to use gluten-free noodles instead of the noodles they will be using.) My mother, who is also Celiac, lives in the next town over and wants us to stop by while we are there. I asked her if she would mind if we come for dinner when we come to visit. The other meals are not planned yet, but where she lives there are several grocery stores and restaurants that cater to people with Celiac. So there are lots of possibilities available for me.
I have tried to plan and make these situations as safe as I can. Let's hope that they will be enjoyable and I don't get sick.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Poppy Seed Muffins
This morning I made Poppy Seed Muffins. The recipe I used is from Carol Fenster's cookbook "1000 Gluten-Free Recipes". The actual recipe is her Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins with Lemon Crust. Lemons have a tendency to go bad in my house so I modified it to be more of a Almond Poppy Seed muffin.
The recipe calls for eggs, milk, canola oil, lemon zest, vanilla extract, Carol's Sorghum Blend, Expandex, sugar, poppy seeds, baking powder, xanthan gum, and salt. Since, as I mentioned above I don't keep lemons on hand, I leave out the lemon zest. I also have not splurged for the Expandex yet (it is very expensive) so, as Carol suggests, I substitute her sorghum flour blend.
I have made this recipe 3 times now.The first time I made this recipe I added 1 tsp lemon juice which gave the muffins a nice flavor. The second time I had some sliced almonds so I added a bunch of those (too many I found out). I also accidentally left out the sugar. Those muffins tasted more like Almond Poppy Seed Biscuits. They were decent but not my favorite. This time I added only a few almonds to the mix and the texture was much better. These still weren't as good as the first batch I made. I think that next time I make these I will add the lemon juice again.
All of the times I have made these muffins the texture has been much better than when I have made Blue Chips Almond Poppy Seed muffins. Blue Chips muffins come out too spongy for me. When I say spongy I don't mean nice, light and airy like a Sponge Cake. I mean plastic-y, like you are eating your kitchen sponge, spongy (not a pleasant experience).
why I started this blog
I have always enjoyed cooking. Recently I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease (which means that I can't eat wheat, rye, or barley any more without getting really sick). I what I enjoy in foods is their taste and texture. With this new diet foods just don't taste the same anymore. So I am starting this blog to share with you my journey to enjoying food again.
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