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Slow Cooker Potato-Zucchini Soup

This post is linked to Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays, Gluten-Free Wednesdays, Real Food Wednesday, Pennywise Platter Thursday, and Food on Fridays.

I’m ready. I’m ready for the transition. I’m ready to “cross over,” if you will. Not Medium or Ghost Whisperer style, just seasonal. The school bell is ringing for some local students here already and sweaters are starting to appear in the clothing stores. I know it’s still August and hot weather isn’t completely over yet, but I’m ready for fall, which is definitely my favorite time of the year. And, a definite fall thing for me is soup.

We had one day last week that was rainy and cool enough for me to make Chicken Tortilla Soup (with corn and black-eyed peas this time—little Southern touch) and the next few days are supposed to only be in the 70s. I’m headed to Seattle for the International Food Bloggers Conference where it’s even cooler—mostly 60s during the day and 50s at night. Oh, my, what an event the IFBC is going to be! Diane has outlined what we, the gluten-free bloggers, will be doing at IFBC and in Seattle, here. Just reading her post made me get more excited … and a little panicky realizing how much I need to do before I leave. So, yes, a little warming, soothing soup is in order.

A while back Dr. Rodney Ford, one of our world’s gluten-free experts who I greatly admire for so many reasons (more on Dr. Ford in a moment), shared a link on his main Facebook page to a cookbook and website called 4 Ingredients. Well, remember the “easily” part of gfe … I really liked that concept. Recipes with four ingredients would inherently be easy. I have a bunch of four-ingredient (or less) recipes here on gfe, but I’m always looking for new ideas. So, I immediately checked out the site and signed up for the newsletter to get a feel for what was being  offered. Personally, I’m a bit reluctant to order a cookbook without knowing more about it. The 4 Ingredients authors, Rachael Bermingham and Kim McCosker, live in Australia. Their cookbook is the number one bestselling cookbook there. The recipes aren’t all gluten free, but many are. Bermingham and McCosker have a few more cookbooks in development. They are seeking input on their site on which ones readers want most. Two of the selections are for gluten-free cookbooks, a gluten-free 4-ingredient cookbook and a 5-ingredient one. Head over to their site to place your vote and get a free recipe or two, if you like. I find that often recipes from another country are quite different from ones we’ve “grown up on” and can expand our horizons a bit. And, I have been intrigued by the very simple recipes these ladies share.

The latest newsletter featured a zucchini soup recipe that was actually submitted by a reader. It included zucchini, onion, chicken bouillon, and enough water (and seasonings) to cover all ingredients. I had a large zucchini on the counter and a tub of small potatoes that needed to be used. So I decided to use both to ensure a creamier soup that would be as tasty as the Baked Potato Soup here on gfe. However, this potato-based soup recipe would be dairy free as well. I was headed to work, so after completing the initial steps, I decided to throw everything in the slow cooker and let this soup slowly “develop.” The result is this savory soup that comforts me and makes my taste buds happy.

Slow Cooker Potato-Zucchini Soup (Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Sugar Free, Soy Free)
(Click here for a printable version of this recipe.)

About 9 cups broth (I used 3 cups of vegetable broth and 6 cups of chicken broth, which I pulled from the freezer; use all vegetable broth to make this soup vegetarian/vegan)
About 6 cups of peeled, diced potatoes
One large zucchini, quartered and thinly sliced (mine was very large; I cut out the soft part with seeds and discarded)
One large sweet onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic
about 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
½ tsp curry powder (optional)
Sea salt and fresh grated pepper, to taste

Add broth to large slow cooker. (I used my oval, 5-qt Rival SmartPot.)

Peel and dice potatoes and add to slow cooker.

Add olive oil to large skillet. Heat to medium-high temperature. While skillet is heating, chop onions and quarter and slice zucchini thinly. Add to skillet. Stir occasionally. Add garlic about halfway through cooking. When onions are translucent and zucchini is also showing some translucency, transfer mixture to the slow cooker.

Stir curry powder, sea salt, and pepper. Cook 6 – 8 hours on low. During the last 30 minutes of cooking, use immersion blender in one area for about 15 seconds. Stir. Check appearance and taste. If you want a thicker soup, use immersion blender again. Cook additional 30 minutes.

Serve. Enjoy alone or with a nice gluten-free “bread” treat on the side—like popovers, corn muffins, cheese muffins, garlic cheese biscuits, Kate’s cheese rolls, or Kiva’s grain-free Golden Flax Bread.

Adapted from a reader-submitted recipe to the 4 Ingredients newsletter

Shirley’s Notes: If you have family members who are die-hard carnivores and must have meat, feel free to add some crumbled bacon or diced chicken towards the end of the cooking time. You could even add bacon, chicken, etc. to individual bowls and stir until heated through. This recipe makes a lot, so feel free to halve the ingredients, use a regular 4-qt slow cooker, and reduce the cooking time. If you’d prefer to cook it on the stove, I’d still recommend slow cooking at a lower heat. I do love a pot of soup simmering on the stove!

A little more on Dr. Rodney Ford … Dr. Ford hails from New Zealand. He traveled with his wife, Chris, to the U.S. to do a number of speaking engagements in November 2009. I was extremely fortunate to hear him speak twice during one week and even got to have dinner with him and his wife prior to these events. A huge group of us (some who belong to the Gluten Intolerance Group (GIG) of Richmond and others who are part of The Richmond Health Initiative) gathered at the local PF Chang’s to welcome Dr. and Mrs. Ford. Some attendees had met Dr. Ford previously when had visited the U.S. for a conference. I was already a fan of Dr. Ford before I met him—from his articles on celiac.com and his numerous down-to-earth, and often humorous, YouTube videos. I was fortunate to sit sort of across from him during our dinner and we chatted a bit . Almost immediately, he asked for my Twitter name and “followed me” on the spot. That was unexpected … and pretty neat!

Over the next two days, his presentations (one to the medical professionals and the other to GIG members and guests) were superior … riveting, actually. I like seeing Dr. Ford get visibility because I think that he can make a “believer” out of just about anyone. He has the medical chops for one thing—he’s a pediatrician with a background in allergies, gastroenterology, and nutrition. Dr. Ford shared case studies—with ”before” and “after” photos—of children he’s treated who did not test positive for celiac using the gold standard diagnosis of positive blood testing and positive biopsy, but were transformed on a gluten-free diet. Those innocent faces make extremely compelling cases. It’s important to note that early in his practice, Dr. Ford followed the conventional wisdom and did not place his pediatric patients on a gluten-free diet when they tested negative for celiac. However, he found that many over time did finally test positive for celiac, but, sadly, for some, the damage that had been done (e.g., short stature, developmental delays) could not always be undone. He shares some of his findings and thoughts here. 

Currently, Dr. Ford’s main push is for a gluten-free planet. That was his topic when he spoke at the GIG conference banquet in Minneapolis this summer (a presentation that was very well received!) and that’s the focus of his new Facebook page, Gluten-Free Planet. My good friend, Heidi (Adventures of a Gluten-Free Mom), just happened to share a post on Dr. Ford’s mission yesterday. I told her we must have unknowingly done the Vulcan mind meld thing. She doesn’t have a husband who is a Star Trek fan, so she didn’t get the reference, but being free-spirited and positive Heidi, she eagerly bought into the idea anyway! Heidi shares her thoughts on Dr. Ford and his concept, as well as the Gluten-Free Planet YouTube videos. These videos include some of the photos showing the transformation of his patients after going gluten free. Pictures are worth a million words in these cases. Check it all out over at Heidi’s. 

Incidentally, I just found out that Dr. Ford has a new blog. Check it out here. His current post asks what we want in our world. Hmmm, I think the answer for us gluten-free folks is obvious. Is it possible to have a Gluten-Free Planet? I’d like to think so, and as the saying goes, Dream Big!

Speaking of dreaming big, have you signed up for Adopt a Gluten-Free Blogger yet? We have 16 entries at this moment—that’s terrific! Of course, I’d like more … a lot more. How about 50? Go ahead, adopt someone. If you have never participated before, then all the better. We have several folks participating for the first time. There are so many amazing gluten-free bloggers! Some have been helping us out for years; others have just joined the party to share and offer another place to learn and chat. Remember … non-bloggers are welcome to participate, too. Chances are, you know some gluten-free bloggers (or other bloggers with searchable gluten-free recipes) whom you admire or have always wanted to try their recipes. Now’s the time. Make a favorite blogger’s recipe, take a photo, do a short write-up, and email it to me. (Read more here.) Nothing hard at all, and a great way to be inspired to try a new recipe and show appreciation to a blogger.

Shirley
Not just gf, but gfe!

Guest Post: Dana (Home*School*Home), My New Gluten-Free Life

Dana blogs at Home*School*Home. She is a medical trancriptionist and mom of 3 who lives in Kentucky.  She has been gluten free for 8 months and feels like a brand new person! Read the rest of her story to find about her personal journey to being gluten free and finding this “brand new person” within herself.

I was in college when I started feeling overwhelmingly exhausted and aching all over.  I began to go back to the dorm to take naps between classes.  I went to the doctor back then but really didn’t get any answers.  I just coped with it the best I could. I had to take a nap every day.  I’d get up in the morning and be okay for a while but by 2:00-3:00 p.m. each day, I’d be exhausted, aching all over with a foggy feeling in my head and pretty much always a headache to go with it.  I almost constantly had to go to the bathroom to urinate and would feel pain and pressure in my bladder even when I didn’t have to go.  My joints would ache.   Over the years I was diagnosed with interstitial cystitis, fibromyalgia, irritable bowel syndrome, colitis, depression, Raynaud’s phenomenon, bursitis (of all my joints at the same time!)  restless legs, anemia and chronic fatigue syndrome.  At one point I was so anemic that my hemoglobin was 8 when the normal range is 12-14 and I was dizzy and weak and lightheaded.  I have not, to this day, been diagnosed with celiac disease because I decided to skip testing and just try the diet.  I kind of regret that but I don’t want to go back on gluten to be tested. 

Despite feeling exhausted all the time, I managed to have a life.  I got married and had 3 kids.  I continued to work and have homeschooled my kids. I’m fortunate that my husband and kids were very patient and tolerant of my need to nap.  I also worked at home as a medical transcriptionist so my job was flexible.   Sometimes I would be so exhausted; I would have to lie down during my work shift!  If I couldn’t nap for some reason, I had to take Tylenol and caffeine and just try to deal with it, but it wasn’t easy.  I planned everything around getting to sleep in the afternoon.  I homeschooled the kids in the morning, slept in the afternoon, worked 4 hours in the evening and then went to bed absolutely exhausted.

After more than 20 years of feeling exhausted and in pain pretty much all the time, I happened upon an article about a link between fibromyalgia and gluten intolerance.   I didn’t know if I believed it, but I felt that it might be worth a try. I started doing internet searches for gluten.  I started reading everything that I could about gluten, the symptoms and the diet.  Now I have always been overweight and I have never been able to stay on a diet.  Most of my diet efforts in the past would start on Monday morning and be over by Monday afternoon, but I kept reading.  I started thinking about what kinds of things I could eat and what I’d need to stop eating.  I found the Gluten Free Easily site in the first few weeks. I was comforted to know that I could make foods that would be gluten free and would taste good.  This was in November of last year and I was thrilled to read the turkey and surprise stuffing recipes.  I felt like I could really do this diet, and maybe not feel deprived.  

I jumped in.  I messed up a few times.  One time I was at McDonald’s and had already ordered when my daughter said “Mom, doesn’t that have gluten in it?”  There were other times when I forgot to read labels or just thought I would risk it, but finally, I managed to stay gluten free for one day, then two, then after a week had elapsed, I realized that I was already feeling a lot better.  I decided to stay with it and despite my dismal dieting history, I was able to stay with it.   It was easier to stay on this diet than any other because the reward of feeling better was so great.   This past February we were on vacation and I decided just to go ahead and have a restaurant meal that contained bread and gravy because it would be worth it and hey, it was vacation.  That night in the hotel I had a horrible time of it and the next day, on the four hour drive home, my legs ached so bad that I couldn’t keep them still.  It was a miserable trip and so not worth it.

Over the past few months I’ve done more cooking out of necessity because most prepared foods contain gluten, but hey, that’s a healthy new habit.   I’ve learned to make most of the meals for my family gluten free.  Occasionally, I will cook something for them that I can’t eat, so that they can have things the way they used to be, but some of my new recipes have been very popular.

Now I’ve been gluten free for 8 months and my life has been transformed.  I only take a nap occasionally if I’ve missed out on sleep the night before and now my naps last 1/2 an hour or so, instead of 2 or 3 hours like they used to.  My legs don’t ache constantly.  I’m not in a brain fog.  I no longer have a headache every day.  I don’t have fibromyalgia tender spots all over my body.  My joints, with the occasional exception of my knees which have been sprained in the past, don’t hurt anymore.  I had a revelation a couple of weeks ago when I went on a visit to a historical fort with a friend and realized that I was walking easily up the third of 4 flights of stairs and was having no joint pain at all, no weakness and no fatigue. 

Yesterday, I had a day that would have been impossible in my pre-gluten-free life. I cleaned my house all morning, I went shopping all afternoon with my daughter and ran a bunch of errands, then came home and did a workout video from Dancing with the Stars and still was not particularly tired.  I was able to get some other things done in the evening.  In my past life, cleaning the house would have worn me out, I would have had to schedule the shopping on a completely different day and kept the errands limited to maybe 2 at most because “a bunch of errands” would have completely exhausted me and there is no way I could’ve done that workout video. 

Without gluten, I feel like a new person, strong and pain free.  It’s wonderful.  I’m so glad that the ‘cure’ for feeling awful all the time is something so simple.   It may not seem simple when you are trying to figure out a restaurant menu or a food or beauty product label, but when you think about it, really, it is. I don’t have to undergo chemotherapy or radiation, I don’t have to give myself daily shots, I don’t have to be on a lot of expensive medications and if I follow the Gluten Free Easily philosophy of just mainly eating naturally gluten free foods, it’s a snap.  Hey, there are 6 food groups; meat, vegetables, fruits, milk, meat and beans and oils and I can eat 5 of them!  I only have to be careful with that 1 group, grains.  Easy.  Peasy.

Shirley, here: Thanks so very much to Dana for sharing her story! Dana first commented here last fall and just a few times afterwards. I visited her homeschooling blog a short while later and sent her an encouraging comment, telling her that seeing results could take time. I shared my own experience that after months of being gluten free, one day I suddenly realized that I was running up and down stairs with ease and no pain. Out of the blue, Dana popped in here on gfe recently to say: “I just wanted to let you know that I had that moment, the one where I was walking up the stairs, easily, quickly and realized that I didn’t HURT! I’ve been gluten free for 8 months.” Incredibly moved by Dana’s comment and thrilled at her success, I asked her to share her story. I’m so grateful that she did. I hope you’ve appreciated it as well and will share it with others who may be struggling with health issues. The negative impact of gluten can be far reaching, but the gluten-free diet can provide relief to many.

Shirley
Not just gf, but gfe!

GFE-Unique Giveaway: Consultation With Me on Living Gluten Free Easily

my birthday gift from my friend, “Fred”

Update: This giveaway is now closed. Congratulations to Jenny of Creative Cooking Gluten Free! I’ll be in touch, Jenny. Thanks to all who entered! There may be other similar giveaways in the future, so stay tuned. And hopefully, my readers can still glean much on living gluten free easily from my posts here at gfe. Don’t forget I’m only an email away if you have specific questions.

It’s almost the final week of my birth-month, as in the full month from my birthday on, not the actual calendar month that my birthday falls in. My girlfriends and I haven’t been able to have our birthday get together yet, but serendipitously I ended up visiting one of my dear girlfriends and her husband on Friday afternoon. I was headed home from a doctor’s appointment and visiting Son when traffic slowed to a crawl on the interstate. I got off at the very next exit, but that took quite some time. However, many other folks  had the same idea to detour to the parallel non-interstate, but still four-lane road to continue on. So, in just a few minutes, traffic on it was also backed up and creeping along. Did I mention my air conditioning is not working in my car? Soon, I decided I needed a break. I happened to be about a half mile from my girlfriend’s house, so I popped in to visit “Fred” and her husband, Jack.

Fred was actually en route from work, but Jack (who had just returned from being out in the heat all day himself) immediately served me some frosty limeade. It was just what I needed. I thanked him profusely and then we proceeded to chat about all things ice cream until Fred arrived. Jack is an ice cream afficionado who has received some local publicity of late. I’ve mentioned at least one of his incredible flavors before: lemon basil. I’ll be making that one and another amazing flavor of his soon (that one’s will be a secret for a bit).

In a short while, Fred arrived and offered me some adult libations. Just looking into their liquor closet is treat enough. Their house was built in the 1920s and the bar is a basically a large closet off the dining room. It’s no ordinary closet though. It has glass shelves and mirrored walls. With the multi-colored glass bottles and decanters in all shapes and sizes, that are full of liqueurs and other alcohol in even more colors, this closet and its contents are a very attractive sight to behold. I consented to one glass of something mild. First, I tasted the Domaine de Canton ginger liqueur that Fred offered … straight. Too strong for me in that form, but as Fred said it would make a great bourbon and ginger drink. Then I tasted Arancello orange liqueur. Think of Limoncello, but the orange version. Oh, yes, much better. Sort of like TruAde orange (a noncarbonated beverage of old) with a tiny kick. I added some to my limeade and enjoyed a very delightful, refreshing drink.

We visited for quite a while, catching up on news of Fred’s daughter’s wedding and a visit and travels with friends from Scotland after the wedding. Then Fred gave me my birthday present. A gfe reader, Selene, had recommended Boyajian pure citrus oils a few months back when Alta (Tasty Eats At Home) and I were discussing a lemon version of my Perfect Pound Cake. Selene said that the citrus oils could be used in place or zest or extract, and the lemon oil made an amazing lemon glaze. Intrigued, I quicklylooked on Amazon and added the mini citrus oil set to my wish list. (Do you have an Amazon wish list? You might want to consider it. It’s an easy way for friends and family to shop for you and you’ll get what your heart desires. Plus, it’s a way to remember things you want to get for yourself.) A pretty little package of three of the mini sets wound up in my gift bag from Fred. Selene’s comment and the reviews online show that these citrus oils are terrific to use for baking, and even non-baking uses like cocktails. From what I’ve read, a little goes a long way, too. Stay tuned for my experimentation with them. Also in my package was a red leather envelope (for photos, receipts, or such) and the book, The Four Agreements (also from my Amazon wish list). It was a delightful gift package. And, all in all, and not surprisingly, we had a very enjoyable visit. Another girlfriend had my birthday present, a personalized canvas tote bag, shipped to me. It’s one of the loveliest, yet practical, gifts that I’ve ever received. I am truly blessed with many amazing friends!

my birthday gift from my friend, Vivian

So to spread my ongoing birthday joy, let’s get to the giveaway part! To be honest, I may be going out on a limb on this one. I don’t know how many gfe readers will actually take me up on this giveaway. As a support group leader and just someone who has “been there/done that,” I often walk folks through the initial stages of being gluten free. It doesn’t matter if it’s due to a celiac/gluten intolerance diagnosis or just a desire to try living gluten free as a way to relieve symptoms of other related illnesses; all of us feel overwhelmed  initially. A little hand holding is needed. Some coping strategies. Some tips. How to get through those first several days. How to eat out. How to go to a friend’s house. How to make the holidays “doable.” And so on. Most folks don’t want to go 180 degrees from how they are eating now. Yes, they understand that they need to eat gluten free, but they want to keep some of their favorites and they want food that will make them happy and their family happy as well. Of course, they do. I mentioned my gfe reader and fellow blogger, Mir (Woulda Coulda Shoulda), the other day and shared her peach pie, an adaptation of my Crustless Apple Pie. What I didn’t share at the time was Mir’s other statement to me: “Your tagline should totally be “Getting people excited about eating again.” Seriously, your blog has broken me out of my “Oh no, don’t mind me, I’ll just sit in the corner sulking and eating spinach” rut.  ”

Oh, how Mir’s statement totally made my day, my week, my month! I’m sharing it because it got me thinking about how many folks are still sulking in corner or thinking being gluten free is possibly the worst thing that has ever happened to them. Do you want to get excited? Let me show you how. I think this task can actually be fairly easy, but it takes a different approach—the gfe approach– and one’s strategies and meal planning needs to be talked out. What are you eating that’s already gluten free? What dishes do you make that can be converted easily to gluten free? Which gluten-free specialty foods do you really need to buy from day one? And, so forth and so on. So this giveaway is a consultation with me via telephone (I will call you “on my dime” at a mutually agreed upon time) or via Skype, face to face for a more personal session. I’m envisioning about an hour to 90 minutes for this consultation and maybe an email or two as follow up. I expect that folks who are new to gluten free or folks who are still struggling with being gluten free or transitioning to living gluten free easily will be the ones who will be most interested in this giveaway. Many of my gfe readers have already figured out this approach (congrats to all of you!) and will not need this consultation; I understand that. In addition, if you are one who wants to purchase a lot of gluten-free specialty products and are looking for input on those, I honestly can’t help you much there. My gfe approach is about eating real food that’s naturally gluten free, some mainstream processed foods that are gluten free, and few (very few) gluten-free specialty products. The gfe approach is the easiest, healthiest, and most economical way to eat gluten free, in my opinion. That said, based on reader comments, Facebook comments, and tweets, there are many folks who may be interested in this gfe-unique giveaway. I am excited about it! I can’t wait to talk to the lucky winner and making living gluten free easier using the gfe approach tailored to his/her needs.

The giveaway will end Sunday, August 15, at midnight my time (Eastern). Here are the ways you can enter below. A separate comment is required for each to get a separate entry. I’m not trying to be annoying; that’s simply the only way I can tally all the comments to enter them into the Random Number Generator. Note that if you already follow me on Twitter, like gfe on Facebook, etc., just say so for another entry. You don’t have to be new to any of those for your entry to count.

1. Leave a comment; e.g., Please enter me in this giveaway.

2. Follow me on Twitter; e.g., I follow you on Twitter.

3. Like gfe on Facebook; e.g., I like gfe on Facebook.

4. Friend me on Facebook; e.g., I am your friend on Facebook.

5. Tweet about the giveaway; e.g., Shirley is giving away a consultation on living gfe!

6. Post on Facebook on the giveaway.

7. Post on your blog about the giveaway.

Shirley
Not just gf, but gfe!

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