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Adoption: Wendy of Celiacs in the House (Gluten-Free Crepes—Savory and Sweet)

This post is linked to Gluten-Free Wednesdays, Pennywise Platter Thursdays, and Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays.

Another one of my favorite bloggers is Wendy of Celiacs in the House. I’m pretty sure that we met via Linda’s (The Gluten-Free Homemaker) weekly gluten-free roundup. (I’m betting that’s true for many of us—a big shout out and thanks to Linda for hosting this event, now called Gluten-Free Wednesdays.) From the start, I liked Wendy’s straightforward posts, her commitment to feeding her family real food with some occasional gluten-free specialty items thrown in, her informational posts on celiac and living gluten free, her ability to convey a lot in a brief manner (I always admire that, since I often lack that skill!), and, finally, her warm, sweet nature. So, I’m adopting her this month for the Adopt a Gluten-Free Blogger event, originated by the lovely Sea of Book of Yum. This month’s event is hosted by another terrific lady, Tia of Glugle Gluten Free (who incidentally just happened to adopt me this month … you can see her post here!).

Several months ago, Wendy actually pondered giving up blogging … for a variety of reasons, not the least of which was being busy hosting a gluten-free foreign exchange student. Feeding a house full of gluten-free teenagers and supporting their various sporting activities definitely can keep a person too busy to blog. But, thankfully for all of us, she decided to continue blogging. The exchange student eventually returned home, summer break came, and we’ve been reading more of Wendy’s posts than ever with her terrific 30 Days to 50 series. In this series, she shared her own reflections on moving towards age 50 and wanting to be in optimum health. She also brought together some of the best blogger voices on health, fitness, and nutrition. Some of my favorite posts shared in the series are this one called Let’s Get Personal and this one on Wendy’s family history, but every single post in the series is worth a read.

We’ve also gotten to see Wendy more on Twitter, too. She gave up tweeting for a while and then came back and reinvented herself there with a new Twitter handle—midlife_celiac. I love the idea of reinventing one’s self and starting fresh! From her tweets, I found out that she’s also attending the International Food Blogger Conference. She’s one of several of us gluten-free bloggers who will be flying into Seattle at the end of this month for what promises to be an amazing conference and meet-up. Similar to what many other adoptive parents experience before adopting, I’ve seen photos of Wendy, read about her, read her writing (as an “older child”), corresponded with her via sometimes rapid-fire email exchanges and tweets/Twitter direct messages, and after flying across country, I’ll get to meet her in person and greet her with a hug. I can’t wait!

Until then, I’ve selected a recipe from Wendy’s blog to try out. To get maximize value/cooking mileage, I chose one that is really two recipes in one:  crepes, which she adapted from Carol Fenster’s cookbook, 1,000 Gluten-Free Recipes.

For dinner this evening, we enjoyed the savory crepes. I followed Wendy’s lead and filled ours with a creamy chicken mixture. I used what we had on hand, which ended up being roasted chicken, bacon, mushrooms, zucchini, coconut milk, plus some mayonnaise (to add more creaminess and flavor), sea salt, pepper, onion powder, and smoked paprika. I made my roux using butter and sweet rice flour as Wendy directed. I filled my crepe and then added some grated cheddar cheese for Mr. GFE’s crepes. I adapted the recipe for the crepes even more because I don’t usually eat sorghum flour or potato starch. Therefore, I used a combination of my gluten-free flour mix, millet flour, and some almond flour, plus the other ingredients as specified. The results were great. In fact, we both absolutely loved the crepes. The last time we enjoyed crepes was in a very tony restaurant in Georgetown (part of Washington, D.C.) many, many years ago. That was a day spent with old friends visiting the National Zoo before strolling through Georgetown and running into Jack Albertson in the French Market there. (Albertson was perhaps best known for his movie roles in The Poseidon Adventure and Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, and later  in the television show, Chico and The Man) . Fond memories for sure. 

I definitely need more practice as far as making thin crepes and rolling them after cooking. As you can see from the photos, some of my crepes have more of an omelet fold. That didn’t affect the taste one bit though.

Wendy filled her dessert crepes with jam, which would be a simple and lovely dessert. However, I looked at what I had on hand and decided to use a ripe banana, sliced thin; slivered almonds; very dark chocolate chunks; and a sprinkle of cinnamon. Because I had cooked the entire batch of crepes at once, after dinner I placed my room temperature crepes back in my 8-inch skillet (one at a time) on medium, placing the filling ingredients in the center, and then covering the skillet for a few minutes. Then I folded the crepe for further melting. Oh, my, this combination makes for another wonderfully simple, yet upscale, and divine dessert crepe.

You’ll find a variety of recipes on Wendy’s blog. Many others caught my eye and will be on my menu in the future; e.g., fish cakes (that can made with salmon, cod, or another fish of your choice); crispy vegetable and risotto cakes; and summer turkey salad. Go check out Wendy’s blog.  You’ll end up wanting to adopt her, too! And, don’t forget to wish her a happy birthday when you visit! Last, the complete roundup of all the adoptions is up over at Glugle Gluten Free; check it out here.

Enjoy!

Shirley
Not just gf, but gfe!

Winner Announced and Birthday Trifecta

Please click over to my Out and About page to see the winner of the iHerb giveaway here. Also, my birthday “triple crown” giveaway, the trio, the trifecta … whatever you might call it, is finally up. Check that out here. There’s a wonderful muffin recipe there, too!

Shirley
Not just gf, but gfe!

Review of Three Terrific E-Books!

Full disclosure: Purchasing The Gluten-Free Diner Cookbook or 7 Quick Start Tips for a Healthy Gluten-Free Fit Life through the affiliate links in this post or on the sidebar does pay gfe a small commission fee, which helps support this blog. Sweet Freedom also has an Amazon link, which earns this site a small commission. However, those associations did not influence my decision to feature these books or my reviews. I am sharing them because I think they fit the gfe approach and  will be of value to my readers.

This post is linked to Gluten-Free Wednesdays and Food on Fridays.

UPDATE: This giveaway is now closed. I’ll contact the winners via email with further instructions. (Please respond within 48 hours or new winners will be chosen.)

There are two winners of Diane Eblin’s (The W.H.O.L.E. Gang) The Gluten-Free Diner Cookbook. They are Tricia and Audrey. Tricia said: “I would love love love the Gluten-Free Diner Cookbook. For some reason, everyone sends me dessert recipes, but I’ve gotten into a rut with my daily meals. Everything there looks so delicious!” And, Audrey said: “The saddest part of becoming gluten free was giving up all my unusable cookbooks! More Cookbooks!”

Lisa Greer is the winner of Erin Elberson’s (Gluten-Free Fitness) 7 Quick Start Tips for a Gluten-Free Fit Life. Her comment was: “I’d love any of the books.  thanks…”

Roda is the winner of Ricki Heller’s (Diet, Dessert, and Dogs) Sweet Freedom. Her comment was: “I just started the first phase of the candida diet and I stumbled across Ricki Heller’s blog yesterday and I’m so excited to try so many of those recipes! I’m also excited to try your adaptation of those Banana Chocolate Chip muffins (eventually, when I’m allowed to eat again)! I’d really love to win a copy of Sweet Freedom!”

Congrats to all! Thanks to all who took the time to enter the giveaway and especially to Diane, Erin, and Ricki for sponsoring the giveaway of their great e-books. Remember that gfe readers will get a 20% discount on 7 Quick Start Tips for a Gluten-Free Fit Life by entering “gfe” when ordering; offer ends August 31, 2010. Both The Gluten-Free Diner Cookbook and 7 Quick Start Tips will remain on my sidebar if you’d like to order in the near future. You can order Sweet Freedom at Ricki’s site (on sale for $22.95 through August 15, 2010–including shipping/handling!) or on Amazon.

So I mentioned the other day that I’d be posting a trifecta review and giveaway some time this weekend. Well, the weekend passed a few days ago … sigh. Can you say birthday? I played and celebrated longer than I expected and it’s been great. Plus, I can’t tell you how much I appreciate all of your birthday wishes! But, let’s get to these gfe-style giveaways now, shall we?

My good friend, Diane Eblin, over at The W.H.O.L.E. Gang recently published her first e-book, The Gluten-Free Diner Cookbook. If you follow Diane’s blog, including her ongoing 30 Days to a Food Revolution event, you know she believes in eating real food and “making good food no matter what”—her trademarked motto. (She shared her personal story here at gfe earlier.) Creating a diner cookbook was a plan that Diane mentioned to me months ago, so I was so excited to see her e-book published several weeks ago. She kept watching the Food Network’s “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” with host Guy Fieri and decided there needed to be a solution for all the folks who needed to eat gluten free (and dairy free). Her Gluten-Free Diner Cookbook was born. The recipes will delight everyone, not just those with food restrictions. For example, take the Boeuf Bourguignon Burger that I made the other night. The burgers included come grated carrots, garlic, and onions, with ground bay leaf and other seasonings. Doesn’t that already sound like a really good burger?  Well, while the burgers were cooking, I made the sauce as Diane directed. The sauce perfectly completes the boeuf bourguignon effect with its bacon, mushrooms, beef stock, red wine, tomato paste, and thickener.  And, the moment the sauce actually becomes sauce, well you’ll want to bathe in it! I’m not kidding. It’s easy to make, but yet a knockout with its rich flavoring, intoxicating smell (red wine does that every time!), and thick, mahogany appearance. Mr. GFE was as pleased as I was and he can’t even say boeuf bourguignon. Lucky for you, this recipe is also on Diane’s blog. You can check it out here. I made a few minor changes, adding some tapioca flour versus arrowroot to the burger and using cornstarch with cold water for the sauce. I also used ground venison, which is what we almost always use in place of beef. (It’s equivalent to lean ground beef in its low fat profile and is very similar to organic meat in many respects.) I had no tomato paste on hand, but had a tiny bit of chili sauce, so I used that. I think it’s a very adaptable recipe that won’t disappoint. (The photo below shows two Boeuf Bourguignon Burgers.)

I made one other recipe of Diane’s from her cookbook, Bacon-Wrapped Avocado. This recipe is pure decadence. It would make a great appetizer for serving with cocktails. You cut the avocado into eight slices and wrap each with a piece of bacon and then fry just like that. This appetizer was so amazing and filling that I could only eat half of one of the slices—one of those morsels in the forefront of the photo. Since Mr. GFE is not an avocado fan, I only prepared three slices. Then I ate them over the next two days. They were just as good cold as they were hot in my opinion.

Diane’s e-book contains 48 recipes. Every single one looks and sounds delicious.  The next one on my “to make” list is Roasted Tomato and Basil Soup. I had all the ingredients, but ran out of time to make it before our weekend outing. However, this soup was one of Diane’s recipes that Heidi (Adventures of a Gluten-Free Mom) made and sampled over at her site. Check out her review and giveaway here. Amy’s (Simply Sugar and Gluten-Free) giveaway of Diane’s e-book is also over, but you can read her review of Diane’s ebook and see her adaptation of Diane’s Chorizo and Potato Frittata here. Now, for the really good part … I’m giving away a copy of Diane’s e-book to two gfe readers!

I mentioned Erin Elberson’s new e-book, 7 Quick Start Tips for a Gluten-Free Fit Life recently. Do you know Erin? She’s the author of the blog, Gluten-Free Fitness. We met on Twitter and haven’t stopped talking since! We’re either cheering each other, thanking each other, educating each other, or challenging each other’s ideas. All that says good friend and great resource to me! But, Erin and her e-book can be a wonderful resource for you, too. She has impressive credentials: Master’s degree in Physical Therapy and a Bachelor’s in Health Science, as well as 100% completion of the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness GREAT testing (Gluten Free Resource, Awareness and Education Training) for Allied Health Professionals. However, Erin has much more to offer than her education credentials. She is so personable and down to earth when she’s sharing such great information on transitioning to eating gluten free and healthy, and staying fit. Erin covers celiac and gluten-free topics on her blog with knowledge and ease, so I was extremely honored when she asked me to do an early review of her e-book. I love the way I felt like she was talking directly to me when I read it. Truth be told, I wish I’d had her book when I first went gluten free. It’s a workbook of sorts … with lists and tips. It even includes some recipes, or as Erin calls so many of them, “not really recipes.” By that, she means dishes where you just use a concept and go from there, adapting as you like. For example, she shared my Special Turkey Breast recipe as “not really a recipe,” and made it even better by using balsamic vinegar instead of apple cider vinegar and using some different seasonings. (You can see her recipe here.) Erin’s motto is “Eat well and be well.” She has graciously donated a copy of 7 Quick Start Tips to one lucky gfe reader. If you’re one who doesn’t enter giveaways (or if later you find out that you didn’t win the giveaway, but still want Erin’s book), you can click on the link here or on the sidebar and enter coupon “gfe” at checkout to get 20% off. (Note that this coupon expires 8/31/10.)

Last, I’m also a fan of Ricki Heller’s. Ricki blogs at Diet, Dessert, and Dogs. And, yes, her blog is as creative and fun as her name. Heck, I even like her own name. It’s got spunk, and so does Ricki. She’s been trying fervently for some time to get on The Ellen Show to share her e-book, Sweet Freedom. (Note: Ricki’s book is also available on her blog or on Amazon as a paperback.) As the title states, it’s a cookbook about living refined sugar free. But, Ricki’s book and blog are about more than that. She also lives vegan. Ellen DeGeneres also is vegan and sugar free, so that’s a large reason for Ricki campaigning to appear on Ellen. See the YouTube video she sent to Ellen here. (Believe me, it’s totally worth watching!) I think Ricki would be absolutely hysterical on Ellen and a promotion of healthy eating is always welcome.

Now, big caveat … Sweet Freedom is not a gluten-free cookbook, although Ricki points out that about a third of the recipes are naturally gluten free (some not requiring flour at all) and two are designed to be gluten free—gluten-free brownies and coconut mini-loaves (or cupcakes). Ricki has been gluten free since she began following the anti-candida diet, but when writing Sweet Freedom, she was not. Ricki used a lot of spelt and barley in these recipes. I’ve written about spelt before. Spelt is not safe for anyone who has celiac, gluten intolerance, gluten sensitivity, or even a wheat allergy. This is not just my personal opinion;  you can read more here. Many who eat spelt cite no reaction, but remember that lack of a recognizable reaction to a food or ingredients does not mean that a food is safe. One can actually have a reaction, but one that is different from a typical gluten reaction—different enough, in fact, that it is not recognized as such (as in Allison’s story). Or, one can truly not have a visible reaction for a long time, but then develop a very serious illness. The fact is that spelt is a species of wheat. According to the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act of 2004, foods that contain spelt or kamut cannot carry “wheat-free” or “wheat-alternative” labels. Finally, my friend, Alison (Sure Foods Living), also tackled the spelt topic a while back.

But, all that said, Sweet Freedom is a cookbook that one can easily use for gluten-free recipes and one lucky reader will get the e-book version! Replacing the flour with gluten-free flours (and possibly adding xanthan gum, if needed) is an easy thing to do. That’s what I did. When I found a recipe that sounded good, I made it by simply replacing the spelt flour with gluten-free flours. I scrolled through Ricki’s entire ebook, but it was her first recipe that appealed to me most at the time—Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins. These muffins, as I made them, are somewhat heartier with mostly millet and almond flours, but yet are still tender. I used honey instead of agave as that’s what we always have the largest supply of at our house, and I like the taste of honey in recipes made with nut flours. With the banana and the honey, even a little nibble with no chocolate chips is sufficiently sweet. Of course, a full bite yields the wonderful melding of banana and chocolate. Remember I told you that Ricki’s recipes are vegan. So, there are no eggs in these delicious muffins, but who can tell? I couldn’t, because the flax meal and water added to the recipe take the place of the eggs beautifully. I like these muffins far better than my usual banana muffin recipe. Son also gave them a big thumbs up. In fact, he grabbed two thirds of the batch as he was heading out the door to our mountain property for camping. The plan was to have them for breakfast the next morning, but honestly, I doubt that they lasted the night … or even the 2-hour trip to get there. They are that good!

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins (Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Refined Sugar Free)
(Click here for a print version of this recipe.)

1 cup mashed, ripe banana (about three bananas)
1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup grapeseed oil
2 tbsp ground flax seed
2 tbsp water
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup millet flour
1/2 cup almond flour
1/2 cup gluten-free flour mix
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp sea salt
1/3 cup dairy-free chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease muffin tin for 10 muffins.

In large bowl, mix bananas, honey, oil, ground flax seed, water, and vanilla extract. Let sit for 2 minutes.

Then add flours, baking powder, baking soda, and sea salt. Mix a bit (without overmixing). Stir in chocolate chips.

Fill muffin cups 2/3 to 3/4 full.

Bake 25 to 30 minutes. Test for doneness.

Adapted from Ricki Heller, Sweet Freedom

To enter the giveaway, just leave a comment telling me which of these e-books you would be interested in. Other ways to enter: Post a message on Facebook. Share the giveaway on your blog. Or, tweet. For all of these, leave a separate comment. That’s a potential of four entries, but only one entry is needed to win. I’m so thankful to Diane, Erin, and Ricki for sharing their awesome e-books and look forward to announcing the winners after the giveaway ends on Wednesday, July 28, at midnight (Eastern)!

Shirley
Not just gf, but gfe!

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