Wednesday, May 25, 2005

About

I've been struggling with dietary restrictions for over a year now, and it was something of a struggle. I checked out all the library books I could find, I despaired, and lost weight thinking I couldn't eat anything.

Okay, so it wasn't all that bad. Don't worry, I rediscovered nachos and it all came back.

But I have continued to be frustrated with the information that's out there. All I wanted was a place where I could find regular recipes that just happened to be gluten free. The recipes here will not be substitute heavy. They will be similar to what you're friends are eating, or what you grew up eating, but you might have forgotten that you can still eat it.

I also will review products that are out there for non-gluten eaters, and I am not afraid of dishing out both bad reviews and good ones. Eventually, this might switch over to some kind of Movable Type category blog, so that I can separate recipes, product reviews, restaurant reviews, etc.

Also, I am not always as strict as other people out there need to be. Remember to always check your own ingredients to make sure they don't contain gluten. If I use something, assume its the gluten free version of it. Always check your own labels. Please email me if I use or recommend something that is clearly a no-no.

Please feel free to leave a comment or email me (nowheatrecipes at gmail dot com) if you have any suggestions. I've never really written recipes in order for other people to follow them before, so I welcome all suggestions on how to make things clearer. It is definitely a work in progress.

And I would love your recipes, and credit will be given. Again, the email address is nowheatrecipes at gmail dot com.

Tuesday, May 24, 2005

Meghan's Pimiento Cheese

The first time I made this I was skeptical about its simplicity, but now I'm a believer. I tried lots of other recipes for pimiento cheese, all of them more complicated, and although I thought they were good, the input effort difference did not match the output taste difference.

Ingredients

Block of cheddar cheese
mayo
brown spicy mustard
pimientos (small jar), drained
salt
pepper
hot sauce(if desired)
jalapenos (if desired)

Directions

Finely shred the cheese yourself. You can use the preshredded stuff, but don't cheap out and buy that thickly shredded taco salad day at the school cafeteria looking cheese. I bought that one time, and I think they put some kind of plastic coating on it, because it never blended.

Mix in some mayo, mix in some mustard. Pimientos. Salt and pepper. The end.

For real.

This is the easiest recipe ever. Go slowly adding in the mayo/mustard, as it gets to be too much quickly. Spice with the peppers and tabasco to taste, but really you don't need it.

Serve with rice crackers.

Things to keep in the kitchen

bread machine - You can find one of these at a thrift store every day of the week. Now most manufacturers even have the user's manual available online.
rice cooker - I received the Cuisinart with a steamer attachment as a Christmas present and love it. I use it at least twice a week.
wheat free tamari - Be careful, they sell wheaty tamari.
rice vinegar
brown rice
white rice
corn tortillas
tortilla warmer - The plastic ones work fine.
rice crackers
grits
cider vinegar
corn starch

Taking suggestions!

Kaye's Flank Steak

I've been helping my mom with this recipe since I was a kid. It originally came out of a Taste of Pittsburgh style cookbook, named "Faye's Flank Steak." I crossed out the F and replaced it with K, making it my mom's. We had this almost every non-lent Friday nights growing up, usually with green beans, baked potato, and salad, with corn on the cob or pasta salad in the summer. Now I make it usually with sweet potato something, rice, salad, and steamed vegetables.

Ingredients

1 flank steak. I usually buy them when they are on sale.
1/4 cup wheat free tamari.
3/4 cup oil. I go back and forth as to what kind of oil, but usually use olive oil unless I 'm feeling cheap.
3 T. honey
1 tsp. dried ginger or a chunk of diced fresh ginger
little garlic
sliced onion

Cooking part

Mix the tamari, oil, honey, ginger and garlic. Pour over steak in casserole pan. place sliced onions on top. Cover in refrigerator, turn after 4 hours. Let marinate another 4 hours or so, grill (or broil) for about 4-6 minutes on each side or to taste. It doesn't take a long time to cook. Cut into the middle to see if its cooked to your liking. Watch out for high flames, as the marinade might catch fire.

Place the onions in a foil packet and grill along with the steak. Don't forget about them, or they'll turn into a carmelized goo.

Take the steak off the grill and let rest on a cutting board or platter for about 10 minutes. A lot of juices are gonna drain out, and you can reserve these if you wish. Slice thin strips across the grain.

This is good as leftovers on a salad too.

Serves about 4.