Gluten-free

I want to be very clear that when I'm talking about gluten-free, I am NOT the 100% GF that is required for those that are on a Celiac diet. If you want info on that, and for a huge variety of GF recipes, you'll want to look at:

www.thebakingbeauties.com

www.mennonitegirlscancook.com

(Jeanine at The Baking Beauties is actually Mennonite too, so Mennonite Girls really CAN Cook! LOL! And she's originally from Altona, too.)

Back in December, we started to go gluten-free as a family. I've been hearing for years that GF is potentially very helpful for people on the autism spectrum and for people with ADHD. One day, after Ella was running laps in the living room and bounced from sofa to sofa, I thought it would be worth a try to see if she would slow down a little. 

And, to make things even more fun, we also went dye-free :) People very commonly have a reaction to artificial dyes and in kids it can potentially lead to hyperactivity.

Even with Christmas, all of the candies and treats and baked yummies, I still believe she's been more calm since making these changes. Time will tell how much of an impact this can have. Keeping in mind, I believe that some people, like Ella, were never meant to live life with two feet firmly planted on the floor :) 

Crustless Quiche

I haven't made this one in ages, but it is gluten-free. I used to make it all the time. It's originally from a book called The Schwarzbein Principle (a guide to low-carb eating).

4 eggs
1 cup all-dairy heavy cream
1/2 cup water
dash cayenne pepper
1 cup grated Gruyere, mozzarella, or Monterey Jack cheese 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9" or 10" pie pan. In a medium bowl, using fork, whisk eggs, cream, water, black pepper, and cayenne pepper until well blended. Add grated cheese. Mix well. Pour in the egg and cheese mixture. Place pie pan on a baking sheet and bake 45 to 50 minutes, or until a knife inserted into center comes out clean. Let cool 5 minutes before serving.

Variations: (These may not be GF)
Bacon & Ham: Crumble 1 cup bacon or diced ham into the bottom of a buttered pie pan. Cover with egg and cheese mixture and bake as above.

Spinach & Herbs: Combine 1 cup cooked, drained, and chopped spinach and 2 teaspoons dried basil and spread on the bottom of a buttered pie pan. Cover with egg and cheese mixture and bake as above.

Mushroom & Herbs: Combine 2 cups sauteed mixed mushrooms (shitake, oyster, brown crimini) and 1 tsp dried thyme and spread on the bottom of a buttered pie pan. Cover with egg and cheese mixture and bake as above. Remove from oven and sprinkle with 2 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese.

Crabmeat & Onions: Combine 6 oz canned crabmeat (drained and picked over) and 1/4 cup minced scallions and spread on bottom of a buttered pie pan. Cover with egg and cheese mixture and bake as above. Sprinkle chopped parsley over top before serving.

Oatmeal Cookies

My first attempt at a gluten-free adaptation of a recipe and it worked! Again, this is from the white recipe book, and it's a very nice, basic cookie. Oatmeal is always comforting and perfect for coffee or tea. I like to make these cookies little.

Sift together:

1 cup flour (to make it GF, I dumped 1 cup of oats in the blender until they were powder)

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

Add and beat until smooth:

1/2 cup brown sugar (I didn't add this amount)

1/2 cup soft shortening

1 egg, well beaten

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp water (yes, that's correct)

Stir in:

1 cup oatmeal

Shape into balls and flatten on baking sheets. Bake at 350 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes.

Notes:

One of the times I made these cookies, I used 1/2 cup of applesauce to replace the shortening. I found it was too sweet (sweetened applesauce) and the texture was too tough. I wouldn't replace more than half of the shortening with applesauce.

Added 1/2 tsp cinnamon.

Baked Oatmeal

I made this for breakfast today. Delicious. It was submitted to the white recipe book by Daphne Thiessen, who added these comments:

This is a favourite Saturday morning breakfast at our home. This recipe can easily be halved and baked in a 9 x 9 pan.

3/4 cup oil
1 2/3 cups sugar (white or brown)
3 eggs, beaten
5 cups rolled oats
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 3/4 cups milk

Combine oil, sugar, and eggs. Mix well.

Add remaining ingredients. Pour into greased 9 x 13 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until set and golden. Serves 6 - 8.

Notes:
Daphne also suggested chopped apples and cinnamon are good additions in the recipe.

I like to make these as individual servings, so I make them in muffin tins. What I did today that worked well was to bake it, 20 minutes, in silicone pans and I allowed them to cool in the pans before removing them.

I also made apple, cinnamon syrup, which was delicious. Approximate: 2 cups water, 1/2 of an apple cut into small pieces, 1 cup brown sugar, heat on stove until apples are cooked and the syrup has been reduced by about half. Add 1/4 cup butter before serving. It was like having apple pie for breakfast.