Gluten-Free Friday

My eldest daughter's 18th birthday is Sunday, and once again, she'd rather not have cake, which is fine with us. Hers is the second of five birthdays in a two month period, so it's a welcomed change! Hope you'll enjoy this as much as we do! --LKR

Note: By all means, use butter in place of the oil. I just make it this way when trying to stay away from dairy or while doing a detox.

Apple Crisp

Grease a 10x6x2" baking dish with sesame, apricot, olive, or safflower oil. Place 4 cups of sliced apples in a 10x6x2" baking dish. Sprinkle about 1 teaspoon of cinnamon and 1/4 cup of water.

In a bowl, combine 3/4 cup of rice flour with 1/3 cup of any oils listed above. Blend with a spoon 'til crumbly. Slowly add about 1 cup of either honey or maple syrup and continue to mix with spoon.

Drop mixture on top of apples, and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.

The nice thing about this dessert is you don't have to be exact about any of the ingredients. You could add more apples, or use less; make more of the crumbled topping, or less; add more cinnamon or sweetener, or less of either of them.

Gluten-Free Friday

Looking for a way to get some healthy, raw garlic into your diet? Try this on any brand of bread, even the blander, less flavorful ones. My dad got me hooked on this when I was younger:

Garlic Bread

Toast a slice of gluten-free bread

Rub a small clove of garlic over the surface

Butter liberally (helps cut the bite)

Eat! If this is too much "taste" for you, cut into pieces and use as croutons for a salad. Enjoy! --LKR

Beware So-Called "Gluten-Free" Items!!!

Today, while at Sam's Club, I avoided all of the sampling at the demo stations, as usual. Living gluten-free is not easy with gluten hidden in so many prepared foods.

One of the ladies providing these tempting treats excitedly pointed out her sampling of seasonal, gluten-free crackers. I was ecstatic and tried one with and without a (GF) salmon topping.

Suddenly, I got the funny sensation I get immediately after ingesting any gluten. Checking the box, again, I again saw it was made in the same facility where wheat is used. I continued shopping, but the sensation and discomfort only grew stronger and stronger.

Checking the box yet again, I noticed a tiny asterisk and followed it to the message it lead to. There, it declared that these crackers were made with a small amount of gluten!!! One of my doctors told me long ago that it only takes a trace amount of mere molecules to have a reaction to gluten. Molecules. But it's okay to label something gluten-free if it only has small amounts added that will make people sick. Crazy, huh? But it's legal!

At the very least, this company was honest enough to have an asterisk that pointed this truth out. Fortunately for me, I could immediately tell something was wrong and not buy the product, even if it was already too late and was reacting to it. Unfortunately, other companies may not be as gracious.

A super, reliable, well researched source on gluten sensitivity (Celiac and gluten sensitivity) that my friend has on her website can be found here: http://www.glutensensitivity.net


If you're looking for a GF cookbook with really good GF recipes, check out Sueson Vess' book, Special Eats Simple, Delicious Solutions for Gluten-Free & Dairy-Free Cooking. I recently had the pleasure of feasting on her fine cuisine at a friend's wedding. Everyone I spoke to truly enjoyed the gluten-free food, even my finicky kids! Sueson, also a speaker, chef, and consultant, is located in the Chicagoland area. Her website can be found at:
http://www.specialeats.com/about.htm

--LKR