GF-Zing!

You can make this vanilla cake with a chocolate icing, or you can include some lemon ingredients in the batter and make a lemon icing. The recipe is for 2 9-inch round cake pans, or the equivalent volume in square cake pans. To figure out the size, remember that the area of a circle is pi (3.14) times the radius squared, and you have to account for the depth also, since this is about volume…

Don’t use bottled lemon juice - use fresh juice - it tastes better.

1 1/2 cups white rice flour
3/4 cup tapioca flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
4 eggs
1 1/4 cups white sugar

2/3 cup gluten-free mayonnaise

2 teaspoons gluten-free vanilla extract

1 cup milk (for the lemon cake use part buttermilk)

This is really easy to mix up - put the first six dry ingredients in a bowl, and stir well.

In another bowl, beat the eggs with the sugar until light and lemony colored. Beat in the mayonnaise and vanilla. Next, mix in the dry ingredients alternating with the milk, until all is mixed up well.

Grease the 9-inch round pans with butter, line the bottoms with circles of parchment paper, and dust the insides of the greased pans with rice flour or mochiko flour. Divide the batter evenly between the two pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes, or until a skewer tests clean. Let the cake cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then loosen the edges with a knife and turn out the cakes on racks to cool.

To stack the cake for icing, put the first layer on the plate top side down, frost the flat bottom side, then put the next layer on with the flat side down. This will put the flat sides together and they will not slide around as much.

To make a lemon cake, add the following and make adjustments:

Add the grated rind of one lemon and 2 Tablespoons of lemon juice from one fresh lemon, and substitute for the milk 1/2 cup of milk and 1/2 cup of buttermilk.

To make a lemon cream cheese frosting, melt 11 ounces of fine gluten free white chocolate (don’t use chips - they don’t melt well) in the top of a double boiler, allow to cool to room temperature. Mix in 12 ounces of cream cheese, and 12 Tablespoons of unsalted butter. Beat well until really smooth. Mix in 2 Tablespoons of fresh lemon juice. Use one cup of the icing between the layers, and use the rest to coat the top and sides of the layer cake.

For a chocolate frosted birthday cake, use the vanilla cake as the base. Then use the following icing from the Food Network’s Barefoot Contessa Show, adapted for gluten free cooking:

6 ounces gluten free semisweet chocolate

1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 Tablespoon of gluten-free pasteurized egg product, such as Eggbeaters, but check on gluten free status

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar

1 tablespoon gluten free instant coffee powder dissolved in 2 teaspoons of hot water

Melt chocolate in top of double-boiler and set aside to cool to room temperature.

In a separate bowl, beat the butter until light and fluffy, mix in the egg product and the vanilla. Gradually beat in the confectioner’s sugar and the coffee mixture by hand. Do not overbeat. This is a soft icing - spread it on the cake and then refrigerate the cake immediately.

This one is for the Engineers who all converged on Boston for the Fourth!

This salsa requires grilled onions and pineapple, so it is suitable to make before you put your chicken on the grill for barbecue. Heat up your barbecue, and do the pineapple and onions first!

Obtain some gluten free soy sauce - this means reading the labels to make sure there are no wheat, barley or rye ingredients.

Make half inch thick slices from a large red onion and a peeled, cored pineapple. Put the onions and pineapple on a rack and grill them over hot coals for 3-5 minutes, or until they start to smell good and are lightly browned. Remove them from the grill and dice them.

Put the grilled, diced onion and pineapple in a bowl and add:

2 mangoes, peeled and diced

1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced

1/3 to 1/2 cup chopped fresh mint

1 to 2 Tablespoons grated fresh ginger

2 Tablespoons each of rice vinegar and gluten free soy sauce
Juice of one fresh orange

1 Tablespoon olive oil (to taste - you may need more)

1 Tablespoon sesame oil

A few dashes of Tabasco sauce

A small amount of salt

Fresh ground pepper

Ghee is a useful type of highly flavored clarified butter. You can use it in French and fusion recipes, substituting 1/4 the amount of ghee for the amount of butter in some sauces, achieving great flavor without all the fat.

To make ghee, put one pound of unsalted butter in a pot, and simmer it on low-medium heat without stirring for about 20 minutes. There will be foam that rises to the top, and then the butter will bubble and boil as the water content evaporate - when the solids at the bottom of the pot start to brown, remove the pot from the heat. The flavor of the browned bits in the bottom of the pan will permeate the butter, giving ghee its distinctive browned-butter taste! Make sure that the solids do not burn, but also make sure that they get browned. You have to walk a fine line, when making ghee.
Strain the ghee through a fine strainer in to a one-pint Mason jar (canning jar that can withstand high heat), being careful not to burn yourself, and let it cool. When this clarified butter is cool, you can store it in the refrigerator. Some recipes say that you can store it without refrigeration, but we always keep it in the refrigerator anyway.

This recipe uses ghee to boost the flavor of beets. Ghee is an Indian version of clarified butter. It is worth making your own ghee, because the stuff that comes in bottles in the store just doesn’t taste that great, whereas homemade ghee allows you to add the dense flavor of butter to French and fusion cooking without using entire sticks of butter. A little ghee goes a long way!

2 lb medium beets, peeled and cut into bite-sized chunks
2 Tb ghee (see recipe)
2 teaspoons bottled gluten free pure horseradish (the kind that is refrigerated, pickled)
2 1/2 tablespoons dark maple syrup
2 1/2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

Put the beet pieces and 1 cup of water in a non-stick skillet, cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes until cooked through.

Remove the top, add the rest of the ingredients and stir fry until the sauce becomes syrupy and coats the beets.

Serve hot, with barbecued chicken or any roasted meat.

We love dal - it is an Indian lentil dish which is very useful for gluten-free households containing vegetarians!

This is an easy and delicious dal with homemade spice mixtures, so you can use known gluten-free spices from companies that guarantee the gluten-free status of their products.

In a large casserole that can go in the oven (we don’t like the term “flame-proof” and refuse to use it), put all of these ingredients:

3 Tablespoons ghee (a clarified browned butter, or use unsalted butter)

1 Tablespoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon whole cumin seeds

1 teaspoon ground turmeric (this spice stains clothes - be careful!)

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg (optional)

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or one dried cayenne pepper)

1/2 teaspoon garam masala (make your own, using a recipe by Madhur Jaffrey or Julie Sahni)

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon vinegar

1 teaspoon fresh grated orange zest (orange part of the orange peel)

Juice of one orange

1 onion, sliced

1 1/2 cups masoor dal (red lentils) washed (see note below)

1/2 cup moong dal (split, yellow in color and elongated in shape) washed (see note below)

4 cups hot water

2 teaspoons salt

Notes: Make sure to wash the dals carefully, removing any small stones. Put the dals in lots of water, stir around and remove the water. Repeat several times until the water runs clear. It does not really matter what proportions of red lentils and masoor dal are used. The original recipe this is based on called for 2 cups red lentils.
Ghee gives a better flavor than butter, and butter is better than other alternatives. If you use margarine or oil instead of the butter, the depth of flavor will be compromised. If you can use the ghee or butter, by all means do!

Stir everything together, cover and bake in a 300 degree oven for 45 minutes. Remove the top and bake for 15 more minutes. Check to make sure it doesn’t get too dry.

Serve with basmati rice, chutney (homemade!), and yogurt.

This recipe includes the vegetarian aspects of a recipe for Capon from the cookbook called “Braise” by Daniel Boulud.

This is a very refreshing recipe for lemonade, including only sugar, water, fresh lemons and soda water! It is posted in honor of Russell, who likes to cook.

For each guest, fill a 12 ounce glass with ice.

Add 1/3 cup of simple syrup (made from equal parts of sugar and water, boiled until the sugar has dissolved, then cooled.)

Squeeze the juice of one lemon in to the glass.

Fill the glass to the top with soda water (sparkling water, seltzer water)

That’s it! This is a very refreshing gluten free and alcohol free drink to serve to guests.

You can add shredded lemon zest (just the yellow part of the rind) to the sugar and water for the simple syrup, to add more lemon flavor if you wish.

We read an interesting recipe for “chilli marinated pork spare ribs with salted lemon” in Donna Hay magazine issue 35. Let’s just say that squeezing lemon on barbecued pork ribs is a totally excellent idea! But, we had planned to make baby back ribs on the grill so we altered the recipe a little. Here is what we made to serve 4 people.
Soak a dried ancho chili in hot water for 20 minutes. Drain the water off, remove the stem and seeds from the chili and set the chili aside.

In a blender or processor, grind

4 cloves garlic

the soaked ancho chili

a dried cayenne pepper (optional - use it if you like hot spicy food)

4 Tablespoons gluten free Worcestershire Sauce

1 teaspoon kosher or coarsely ground salt

Spread the mixture on the meaty side of two racks of baby back pork ribs.

Using indirect heat on a barbecue grill, grill the ribs bone side down for 30 minutes, turn them over so the meaty side is down, grill for another 30 minutes, until tender and the meat is very easy to remove from the bone. If they need further cooking, keep then cooking until they are done! Turn them meat side up again and slather a mixture of 1/3 cup brown sugar and 1/2 cup honey on the meat. Let cook briefly (close the cover). Remove the ribs and serve with quartered fresh lemons and sea salt. Squeezing the fresh lemon juice on these ribs is a great, great culinary idea!

Indirect heat cooking - this is when you put the fire under one side of the grill, and put the meat on the other side, so there is no fire directly under the meat. You close the cover of the grill while the meat is cooking.

In the original recipe, the chili, garlic, Worcestershire, sugar, honey and salt were mixed together, then half of the mixture was brushed on the ribs. The ribs were put on a wire rack over a baking pan lined with non-stick baking paper, and marinated in the refrigerator for an hour. Then they were baked in the oven at 355 degrees for 30 minutes, the temperature was raised to 390 and the remaining half of the marinade was brushed on, then they baked for another half hour until sauce was sticky and the ribs were tender. They were served with the lemon wedges and salt. Again, the lemon is the key!

Triumph Dining sent a copy of their Essential Gluten-Free Restaurant Guide, and a set of their Dining Cards, to Gf-Zing! for review. We have tested the book in two states so far, and we have used the cards extensively in American, Thai, Indian and other restaurants and can say that the cards provide an easy way to communicate the gluten-free dietary restriction to restaurant staff. We consider these the restaurant guide and the cards to be true “workhorses” of our gluten-free collection.

The dining cards are useful both with the manager and with the waitstaff. A second less obvious use is that by reading the English translation on the back of each card the diner can find out what the risky items are in each ethnic cuisine, and this proves useful in grocery stores as well. These cards are useful and convenient, and we rely on them heavily. The only difficulties we have had are 1) sometimes the staff will interpret gluten-free to mean ’spice-free’ and we have to assure them that indeed we like spices and flavors, just no wheat, barley or rye and 2) for the Chinese card sometimes the staff cannot read the characters for barley or rye and has difficulty interpreting the card. Our only other wish is that Triumph dining will produce a Korean and a Portuguese or Brazilian Portuguese card!

The Essential Guide to Gluten Free Dining is a very useful book as well. We take it with us when traveling, and we even learned about some new opportunities right in our own back yard. The bright orange cover makes it easy to unearth on the coffee table or in the car. We like this guide, even though we were initially skeptical - we have the internet, right? so, why do we need a book? Well, when you have left your wireless connectivity behind, and you’re on the interstate and hungry, it is just great to be able to leaf through and find tons of restaurants that are not too far away, with phone numbers and menu hints, and sometimes the name of the owner. This book is a welcome addition to our gluten-free library!

This is going to seem surprising, but it is possible to make an excellent gluten-free lasagna by replacing the noodles with sliced butternut squash, following a method described in Donna Hay magazine. This lasagna has no tomato ingredients. The sweet squash combines perfectly with the cheeses and fresh basil to make a gourmet main course.
Butternut squash is an elongated winter storage squash. For this recipe, you need one large butternut squash, and you peel it and slice the neck into 1/4 inch thick slices - these will be circular slices.

Ingredients:

1 butternut squash, peeled, and sliced in to 1/4 inch thick slices

1/2 pound large curd cottage cheese

1 pound full-fat ricotta cheese

1 1/2 cups freshly grated parmesan cheese (buy the hunk of cheese and grate it yourself, to be sure there is no gluten)

5 eggs

1/2 pound spinach (if fresh, steam it briefly in the microwave, if frozen, thaw and drain)

1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves (or a few tablespoons of frozen pesto sauce)

12 thin slices of pancetta (an Italian ham) chopped coarsely

salt, pepper

full-fat mozzarella - 1/2 pound, grated (grate it yourself)

Oven at 325. Grease a porcelain or ceramic 9 x 13″ pan. Mix the cottage cheese, ricotta, parmesan, eggs, prepared spinach, basil, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Stir well.

Cover the bottom of the prepared pan with half of the slices of squash, sprinkle the squash with half of the chopped pancetta , then distribute half the ricotta mixture. Repeat this layering once. On the very top, sprinkle the mozzarella.

Bake for 50 minutes, until the top is golden and the dish is cooked through.

Make sure all of the ingredients are gluten free!

This is a gluten-free version of a pleasant old-fashioned spice cake, with the exciting addition of a cream cheese maple icing.

In a food processor, mix until smooth:

¼ vegetable oil or melted butter
2 eggs
1/3 cup molasses
1 ¼ cups cooked pumpkin, mashed and drained of excess water

In a bowl, mix:

1 ½ cups brown rice flour
½ cup potato starch (katakuriko)
¼ cup tapioca starch
1 teaspoon xantham gum
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder (see recipe for homemade version)
¾ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ones and mix well.

Add

2/3 cup dry currants

Grease a 9 x 13 inch pan, line the bottom with parchment paper. Pour the batter into the pan and bake in preheated 375 degree oven for 35 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the batter comes out clean.

For the frosting:

Mix:

8 ounces cream cheese
2/3 cup dark maple syrup (grade B has more flavor than grade A)
1 teaspoon vanilla

Spread the frosting on the cooled cake.

Make sure all your ingredients are gluten free!

Did you run out of baking powder like we did, on the holiday, when even the convenience stores were closed? You can make your own, and it will last about a month in a bottle on the shelf. Cream of tartar is a bi-product of making wine, for those who like to know the origin of everything they eat.
Mix together:

4 parts cream of tartar
3 parts cornstarch
2 parts baking soda

For a small batch, use a teaspoon as the measure - this will yield 3 tablespoons of baking powder (9 teaspoons), which is less than a quarter cup.

We like crunchy bread crumb topping on baked casseroles and fish, and things like that.  Even at the many restaurants that are serving gluten free foods now, we find that the crumb toppings are too sandy in texture, and everyone from the gluten free community knows how disappointing the mushy crumb toppings are.

Well, Gf-Zing! recently tried using Glutino brand cinnamon raisin bread, grinding it in to crumbs ourselves in the food processor, and then following a recipe from America’s Test Kitchen for Baked Chicken Breasts with Parmesan-Garlic Crust.

The combination of the Glutino bread (don’t worry about the cinnamon/raisin flavor - it works well) made in to crumbs, parmesan cheese and oil seems to account for the crispiness of the topping.  A mixture of 1 part crumbs, 1/2 part finely grated Parmesan cheese, 1/8 part olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic and seasonings, applied to the top of chicken which has been spread with gluten free mayonnaise, and then baked at 425 for 20 minutes will give you a chicken with crumb topping that is quite satisfactory.  If you don’t have fresh basil, do not use dried basil for this recipe.

Make sure all your ingredients are gluten free.

The first time we had a rolled up sandwich was in the 1970s or 80s, at a take-out restaurant where they called the roll-ups “strollers” and used a mayonnaise, soy sauce and lemon juice spread to glue the delicious things together. They used a lavash type of bread. We came to love roll-ups, tortillas, flat-breads etc., and learned to call them “wraps.” Fast-forward to gluten free living, and yet another convenient food was off-limits. We felt like spoiled brats, whining about not having wraps. We tried the rice based wraps, but they are quite challenging to chew up.

Over the last two years, we have identified two successful wrap materials for gluten free eating. One was a vegetable wrap served at a restaurant called Cornucopia in Dublin, Republic of Ireland. Made from carrots, zucchini, apple and linseed, these wraps were like a fruit leather but orange and savory. They were delicious, but we don’t know how to make them or to obtain them in the United States. The other wrap is the Southeast Asian rice wrap (banh trang or spring roll skins), and we have figured out a nifty way to make our sandwiches in the morning using these wraps. Our favorite brand has a red rose on the package, and has rice flour and tapioca flour in the ingredients. This brand seems to stand up well under pressure!
Since we have so many restrictions on what we eat, we spend our money freely on other things besides wheat - if you can’t have that other stuff, why not have the good stuff? So we purchased a hot water boiler - it keeps water ready for tea or cooking at all times, a popular item in Japan. The one we have is made by Tiger. This device makes many cooking tasks very simple.

To make “wraps” using the Vietnamese spring roll skins (8 1/2 inches is a good size), first check the label to make sure that the rice circles are wheat-free. Some of them contain wheat.

Next, get a glass pie plate in which the circles fit - they should sit in the bottom easily. Our glass pie plate is 11 inches in diameter at the top. Make sure you have some very hot water available nearby.
Prepare some sandwich filling ingredients, and think about texture and color - use some roasted chicken, romaine lettuce in bite sized pieces (for crunch and green), some herbs or parsley, grated carrots, salt, pepper, a small amount of gluten free mayonnaise or flavoring.

Notice that the rice circles have a smooth side and a rough side. Take two circles and put them together, with the smooth side facing each other and the rough sides out. Put the two circles in the pie dish and add a little hot water - slosh it around so that the circles get wet on all sides and in between, then pour off the water. The two circles will sort of be stuck to the bottom of the dish, and they will be somewhat fragile - many recipes call for moving the wet wrap to a plate at this step, but by pouring off the water you eliminate that step and are not faced with reconstructing a circle from a moist, disintegrating rice wrap. Next, place some sandwich ingredients in a line across the bottom third of the wet circles, and if you are adding mayonnaise you should only put it on the meat and only use a small amount. Season the filling, then roll up the sandwich tightly, covering the filling - when you have rolled up half way, tuck in the edges so they cover the ends of the filling row, then continue rolling. The wrap will stick together and contain your sandwich. Transfer the sandwich to a plate, and start over to make the next sandwich.
When you take these sandwiches to work, bring along a dipping sauce, and prepare to have your co-workers ask you how to make them!

Make sure all your ingredients are gluten free!

We had a salad like this at a restaurant recently. It is quite refreshing!

We developed the recipe here for the Gf-Zing! website, celebrating flavor in the gluten free world.

6 cups fresh arugula (enough for four people to have a good-sized salad - about 1 1/2 cups for each person)
6 cups of cubed chilled watermelon (very important that it be chilled!)

1/2 cup crumbled gluten free feta cheese

1/2 cup toasted pine nuts (toast them in the oven for 10-15 minutes until they start to brown)
2-3 Tablespoons minced fresh mint (you can use some fresh basil if you don’t have enough mint - the combination is good)

Mix all of the above and toss gently with a dressing made of 1 Tablespoon olive oil, 2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice, 1/4-1/2 teaspoon sugar, 1 Tablespoon minced shallot, 3/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper. Serve immediately with toasts made from a Betty Hagman’s gf fat-free french bread, and some marinated goat cheese to spread on the toasts. Gf-Zing! does not verify the gluten free status of any product.

A while ago we did a gluten free muffin round up, and the hands down winner was the Donut Muffin recipe from Bev Lieven of Milwaukee Celiac-Sprue Crew. The combination of cinnamon and nutmeg in this recipe, plus the sugary topping, yields something very close the fast-receding memory of donuts that we used to crave. The muffins are great, and they are asked for by people who don’t have to eat gf. Now that we stop to think about that statement, is it somehow a greater endorsement that the non-gf world thinks those muffins are great? Perhaps so, because they can choose to eat regular donuts as well and don’t have to “settle” for the gf variety.