Gluten free is for (bread) lovers

I'm always up for a challenge, and when a fellow columnist on Talk of the Town suggested I offer up tips on how to eat gluten free when you're a bread lover, I gladly accepted.

Now, believe me, you can google this topic 'til your eyes bleed, and I have. So, I think I'll approach this with my own personal account of the week I began my gluten free eating versus getting all technical about gluten and its potential adverse effects on certain people.

I began eating gluten free because I was following a candida diet, not because I was having any typical celiac or gluten intolerance symptoms. But, this diet required me to cut out wheat (gluten), sugar, dairy, vinegar, fruit and mushrooms among other things. "What's left?" you ask. I wondered the same thing! You'd be surprised!

After following this diet for one week, I added wheat back in, for no other logical reason than because I'm not that bright, and knew immediately that the reaction I was having was a great indication that gluten was an issue for me to address. So, I kept up with the gluten free eating.

As a huge bread/cracker/baked goods fanatic, I didn't quite know what to do with myself at first. I started out eating gluten free grains instead of bread products. Quinoa...brown rice...etc. But, eventually I needed bread. Real. Bread. Buns, sliced loaves, croutons for salads, anyway I could get it. I stopped at the local health food store and found that gluten free products have taken over the world. Anything that was formerly laden with gluten, can now be found gluten free.

My personal favorite is the Sami's Bakery Millet and Flax line of breads. I found hamburger buns, hot dog buns, wraps, and of course sliced bread. It is quite pricey, at over $5 per loaf, so I try to ration it.

One of my favorite ways to use the bread is to cut it into cubes, and toss it into a pan with melted butter (or ghee if you're dairy free) and some seasonings. Garlic powder, Italian seasonings, cracked pepper and salt seem to be best for my taste, but you could do whatever you want. Once the butter and seasonings are well mixed with the bread cubes, place them on a cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes, more or less, depending on how done you want your croutons. Add to any salad and let the crunchy goodness begin.

I do not have a bread machine, and the experience I have had with making breads in my oven has not resulted in anything worth trying again, so if you're looking for that piping hot, fresh from the oven gluten free bread....let me know when you find it! But, seriously, there is a plethora of gluten free resources available, and recipes are getting better and better each day.

Now that gluten is proving to be the culprit in weight gain, gas, achy joints, depression, cramps, headaches, eczema, and other deficiencies, it's no wonder people are starting to think outside the bun...literally.

Good luck on your gluten free adventure. You may just find you like it better!

Gluten Free Girl

I've been reading a book called "Gluten Free Girl" by Shauna James Ahern, and it is like food porn. I am not joking.

If you like food as much as I do, then reading this book is highly recommended. Even if you aren't trying to go gluten free...and maybe especially if you're not trying to be gluten free. She goes into such wonderful descriptions of everything from her surroundings to the food to the people she's enjoying it with, that you actually feel like you're with her.

At one point I was dipping my toes in a lake in Seattle and peach juice was dripping from my chin. It's all I could do not to run right out and get me a bag of peaches...but I knew for certain, that they would not taste like the one she was eating. Hers came straight from a local tree in the peak of season. Mine would have been straight from some storage bin that traveled long distances to get here. Ahhh...glad that I have my imagination.

Her descriptions of vegetables and the recipes that she created out of her sheer need for something good that didn't contain gluten, sounded slightly strange, but even more compelling.

The first two I wanted to try were Shaved Fennel with Lemon Juice, and a Cauilflower dish containing some very interesting seasonings. I bought the fennel and the cauliflower, but decided on the cauliflower dish for last night's fish meal.

At first this sounded very exotic with huge potential for failure, and even more potential to taste bad, but what the heck, I'm a bit crazy.

If you enjoy rich, tasty food without all the fat and calories, then please, please try this despite your initial reaction. You will amaze yourself...and quite possibly your family too.

Photo from Gluten Free Girl Blog

Roasted Cauliflower with Smoked Paprika and Cocoa Powder

2 T Kosher salt

juice of 1 lemon

1 head cauliflower

3 T high quality olive oil

1/2 white or yellow onion, thinly sliced

4 t. smoked paprika (do NOT use regular paprika...trust me on this. All stores carry the smoked version, and it has a smell similar to barbecue chips, delish!)

1 t. unsweetened cocoa powder

1 t. sea salt

1 t. cracked black pepper

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Blanching the cauliflower. Bring a pot of 2 quarts of water plus the kosher salt and the juice of half the lemon to boil. Cut the florets off the stalk of the cauliflower. Put the cauliflower in the boiling water and cook for 5 minutes. Drain and pour the cauliflower into a bowl full of ice water. Let it rest there for 3 minutes or until it is chilled. Remove the cauliflower and pat dry.

Cooking the cauliflower. Bring a skillet to heat on high, then add the olive oil. When the oil runs easily around the pan, add the thinly sliced onion. Cook and stir until translucent and soft, 2 - 3 minutes. Add the smoked paprika. Add the cauliflower to this mixture and coat them well. Cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the cauliflower is coated and the fragrance of the paprika is strong. Remove the skillet from the heat.

Roasting the cauliflower. Add the cocoa powder to the cauliflower. Add the salt and pepper. Toss the cauliflower to coat. Transfer this mixture to a roasting pan. Put in the oven and cook the cauliflower for 5 minutes. Drizzle the remaining lemon juice over the cooked cauliflower.

Feeds 4 Enjoy!

Note: Chocolate and Chili are traditional Mole flavors, similar to mexican hot chocolate which contains chocolate and cinnamon.