Almond Nut Thins

These are my favorite gluten free crackers at the moment.  I even brought a box home to Vermont over Thanksgiving so I had something to eat with all the cheese at my house.  Blue Diamond, the almond people, have several other flavors of gluten free crackers as well.

What are your favorite gluten free crackers?

Chex Cereal

Corn Chex was one of the few "approved" cereals in my house growing up.  Deprived from the sugary goodness of most breakfast cereals, we spent our mornings eating Cheerio's, Kix, Corn Flakes, Rice Krispies, Raisin Bran, Grape Nuts, and Rice or Corn Chex. Once every few months my brother and I were allowed to pick a sugary cereal and a box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch or Rice Krispies Treats Cereal was devoured within hours.  Honestly though, I liked all those "healthy" cereals and was probably better off for it.

Fortunately for my now gluten free self, Chex has five gluten free varieties: Rice, Corn, Honey Nut, Chocolate, and Cinnamon.  I haven't tried the Chocolate or Cinnamon, but the others are good.  Sometimes I buy myself the Honey Nut Chex and feel slightly rebellious against my sugar free cereal upbringing.  I know, I know, I'm pretty wild in my old age.

One of the great things about Chex is that it's available in most grocery stores so you don't have to go out of your way for cereal.  What's your favorite cereal?

Gluten Free Baking Classes!

Now, in addition to offering baked goods, I'm offering baking classes!  Join me to learn the basics of baking gluten free.  I'll teach you how to make your favorite treats or a few of the basics (chocolate chip cookies anyone?).  Classes are offered for individuals or small groups, so whether you want to master banana muffins on your own or with your friends, I'm your girl.  You'll get to take home the recipes you've learned along with your finished baked goods.

Give the gift of baking.  Know an aspiring baker or someone that needs a little help in the kitchen?  A baking class is a great gift idea!

While I bake gluten free for myself, I'm more than happy to teach you how to bake with regular white or wheat flour.

For more information on baking classes, please email me at anothergfblog@gmail.com

Creamed Spinach

Creamed Spinach is a holiday staple around my house.  My mom makes it every Thanksgiving, Christmas, and sometimes Easter.  I've been helping her with it for years, but it's one of those dishes she doesn't have a recipe for.  This year we noted what we used so I could share it with you.  We used to make it with wheat four, but when I had to go gluten free we switched to rice flour.  It tastes the same.  I hope your family enjoys it as much as ours.

Ingredients:
4 packages frozen chopped spinach
1 small onion, chopped
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons rice flour
1 1/4 cups milk
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon sugar

Directions:
1) Cook the spinach according to the directions on the package.  Drain well.
2) Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Add the onion and saute until soft.
3) Add the flour to the onion mixture, whisk until smooth.
4) Slowly add the milk, stirring constantly.  Add the salt and pepper.
5) Keep stirring and allow to thicken slightly, about three minutes.
6) Stir in the cooked spinach and sugar. Heat throughout and serve.

Sweet Potato Puree

From allrecipes.com

My mom has made Sweet Potato Puree for the last two Thanksgivings.  They are easy to make, not too sweet, and are a good side dish.  The recipe is right off allrecipes.com.  You can find it here.  I'm using their picture too because I forgot to take one of my own.

We used 6 large sweet potatoes and 2% milk instead of whole milk.  If I was making it on my own I'd probably use skim milk because that's what I have in my apartment.  I'd also probably use a little less butter, just because 6 tablespoons seems like a lot.  Otherwise, this is a great recipe that I'm sure will be making appearances at many of our Thanksgivings to come.

Smart Grain Sage Stuffing

I picked up this stuffing at G-Free NYC.  I made it for our pre-Thanksgiving day feast tonight and I was very happy with it, especially since the gluten free stuffing I tried last year pretty much sucked.

To make the stuffing I started by sauteing up some onion, mushrooms, and celery.  Then, in a large pot, I melted half a stick of butter into a quarter cup of gluten free chicken broth.  To that I added the sauteed vegetables and package of sage stuffing.  I combined it all and then we cooked it right in the turkey.  It started to crumble a little as I was taking it out of the bird, but it held up pretty well.  I'll be bringing left overs of it to our real Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow so I don't have to miss out on Thanksgiving day stuffing.

I can't seem to find a website for this company, but I'd recommend it for any gluten free holiday.

Mashed Cauliflower

I saw this recipe for Mashed Cauliflower on Elana's Pantry.  I love mashed potatoes, but sometimes they can be a bit heavy.  For the pre-Thanksgiving meal we had tonight, I wanted to try something a bit lighter.  This recipe is a nice substitute.  It has a great flavor, is really easy to make, is much healthier than mashed potatoes, and is still a good vehicle to hold gravy.

Ingredients:
1 large head of cauliflower
2 tablespoons butter
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Steam the cauliflower until very tender
2. Put the cauliflower, butter, salt and pepper in a large bowl and mash (or puree)
3. Top with some more butter and parsley if you'd like

That's it.  Enjoy!

Gluten Free Thanksgiving!

Tomorrow we are off to my aunt's house for Thanksgiving.  My mom wanted to have turkey left over at our house, so we did a pre-Thanksgiving dinner tonight.  The best part of tonight's dinner?  The entire meal was gluten free!

Tonight we had:
Turkey
Gluten Free Gravy*
Gluten Free Stuffing
Mashed Cauliflower
Broccoli
Gluten Free Pumpkin Pie

Tomorrow we are making and bringing:
Creamed Spinach
Sweet Potato Puree
Gluten Free Apple Crisp

Everything we bring tomorrow will be gluten free as well.  I'll bring left over stuffing and gravy to have with my meal tomorrow.  I'll also bring some gluten free crackers for the appetizers.

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday and I'm very happy that my family is being so accommodating to my needs.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

*I'm not posting a recipe for the gravy because my mom makes it and I honestly don't know how.  I do know she made it gluten free by using rice flour instead of wheat flour to thicken it.

Kinnikinnick Graham Style Cracker Crumbs

I've made my pumpkin pie several more times since that first unfortunate incident without the eggs.  Each time it has turned out great, but quite frankly the process of crushing the the grahams is a bit tedious and I always quit before they are as small as I really want them.

Last week I stumbled upon already crushed grahams at G-Free NYC!  I just made my Thanksgiving pie using these crumbs and it was so easy.  I highly recommend this product for your gluten free graham cracker pie crusts.

Breakfast in the Airport

This morning when my alarm went off at 6 am for my 9 am flight to Vermont for Thanksgiving, I had no breakfast in my house.  I figured I would find something at the airport, although airports are notoriously bad for their gluten free, or healthy, options. Until recently. Some organic health kick has become mainstream and airports have jumped on board. This morning, right across from my gate, stood CIBO Express Gourmet Market. It was full of lots of organic things. I skimmed the cereal selection with no real hope of finding anything gluten free. And then it jumped out at me - Gorilla Munch cereal! I love Gorilla Munch. Ok ok, it's made for kids, but it's gluten free and delicious. It kind of tastes like Kix, one of my childhood favorites. I've bought Gorilla Munch a few times in the last year.

I got the cereal, soy milk to put in it, some strawberries to put on top, and an ice tea. What a great gluten free breakfast, especially for an airport. I was feeling pretty good about the whole thing until I was checking out and they charged me $16.32.  I may have gotten a good breakfast, but the airport got me.