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Adopt a Gluten-Free Blogger for August … I’m Hosting!

This month, I’m so excited to host the terrific Adopt a Gluten-Free Blogger event! Originated by the delightful Sea at Book Of Yum, the event has been going on for a few years now and, just as Sea intended, it’s a wonderful way to meet fellow bloggers, introduce others to new bloggers, and, of course, try new gluten-free recipes.

We all leave comments on others’ blogs in response to recipes and photos that make our mouths water. Comments like: “Oooh, yummy. I sooo want to make that!” or “I’m definitely making that soon.” But, then life intervenes and months pass and we still haven’t made that recipe that we truly wanted to make. This event gives you an excuse to take a break from your daily routine and do just that! If I hadn’t participated in Adopt a Gluten-Free Blogger, I would not have made Pete and Kelli’s (No Gluten, No Problem) Pasta with Shrimp Marinara and Brownies; Kate Chan’s (Gluten Free Gobsmacked) Cheese Rolls and Pizza Crust; Melanie’s (Gluten-Free Krums) Avocado Artichoke Salsa;  or Wendy’s (Celiacs in the House) Savory and Sweet Crepes. It would have been a shame to miss out on making any one of those recipes and getting to know each of those bloggers just a little better.

To sign up for this month’s edition of Adopt A Gluten Free Blogger, leave a comment letting me know which blogger you plan to adopt. Here are the guidelines on how you can join in … nothing complicated.

1) Pick a gluten-free blogger whose recipes you admire and adopt them by commenting on this post with your name and blog name, and their name and blog name.

Notes:  The blogger’s recipes must all be gluten-free or there must be a way to sort and read ONLY gluten-free recipes. A different blogger should be selected each time you participate. And, ideally, each blogger should only be adopted once.

2) Choose one (or two!) of your gluten-free blogger’s recipes to try.

3) Make the recipe, photograph it, and write a post in your blog introducing the blogger and their recipe. Link back to this event announcement in your post.
Notes:  Follow the recipe as written, as closely as possible. And, please don’t print the blogger’s recipe on your post—just provide your reader a link to their original recipe.

4) Email me at glutenfreeeasily@gmail.com with your photo of the recipe, the URL of your post, name of the recipe, and the URL of the original blogger’s recipe post.

5) After your post is published, submit your post’s URL in a comment to this post, and if possible please try to visit two other blogger’s posts that are posted here (and comment!). The idea is to make this a truly interactive event.

Deadlines:
Sign up BEFORE August 27 (loose deadline; late sign-ups are ok).

Post your review and email me by September 3rd (firm deadline—no kiddin’). (IMPORTANT: If you sign up and cannot complete this event by September 3rd for any reason, please email me at glutenfreeeasily@gmail.com.)

**If you don’t have a blog, you are still welcome to adopt a gluten-free blogger. Sign up here to adopt a blogger, write a review of one of their recipes, including your name (or pen name), the recipe URL, and recipe title. Then take a photo of the completed recipe (if you can) and EMAIL ME the review and photo. I’ll happily post your reviews and photos as part of the roundup in September.**

If you’re stumped on who to adopt, you can take a look at my sidebar for ideas or visit Sea’s Gluten-Free Blogroll. Let’s make this a mass gluten-free adoption!

Adoption Sign-Up Sheet:

1. Iris at The Daily Dietribe (adopted by me)

2. Nancy at The Sensitive Pantry (adopted by Kim of Cook IT Allergy Free)

3. Me, here, at Gluten Free Easily (adopted by Iris of The Daily Dietribe)

4. Ricki at Diet, Dessert and Dogs (adopted by Valerie of City/Life/Eats)

5. Ali and Tom at The Whole Life Nutrition Kitchen (adopted by Hallie of Hallie’s Daily Bites)

6. Amy of Simply Sugar & Gluten-Free (adopted by Zoe of Z’s Cup of Tea)

7. Karina of Gluten-Free Goddess (adopted by Tia of Glugle Gluten Free)

8. Zoe of Z’s Cup of Tea (adopted by Maggie of She Let Them Eat Cake).

9. Alta of Tasty Eats At Home (adopted by Amy of Simply Sugar & Gluten-Free)

10. Jenn of Jenn Cuisine (adopted by Wendy of Celiacs in the House)

11. Linda of The Gluten-Free Homemaker (adopted by Alea of Gluten-Free Flavor Full)

12. Lexie of Lexie’s Kitchen (adopted by Heidi of Adventures of a Gluten-Free Mom)

13. Wendy of Celiacs in the House (adopted by Alta of Tasty Eats At Home)

14. Shauna of Gluten-Free Girl and the Chef (adopted by Lydia of At Home with Real Food)

15. Sheryl of Gluten-Free Goodness (adopted by Ricki of Diet, Dessert and Dogs)

16. Vanessa of Celiac Princess (adopted by Thomas of The GFCF Experience)

17. Kelly of The Spunky Coconut (adopted by Jen of Gluten-Free Life with Jen)

18. Karina of Gluten-Free Goddess (adopted by Kirstin of Our Gluten-Free Family)

19. Raj and Sonia of Flip Cookbook (adopted by Tracee of Mrs. Ed’s Research and Recipes)

20. You (and your adoptee) are next! (Yes … a few late entries would be great. Choose someone who has not yet been adopted, please.)

Shirley
Not just gf, but gfe!

7 Things About Me (Tied to Food & Drink)

This post is linked to Gluten-Free Wednesdays.

Months ago, Chaya (Chaya’s Comfy Cook) graciously gave me the Beautiful Blogger award. I was very touched with the award and by Chaya’s generous words. I love reading Chaya’s posts. She’s funny for one thing. I also love her post titles—always succinct and often humorous—and her very direct way of speaking to the reader. She cooks one of my very favorite foods—salmon—weekly (yes, weekly). So, if you are looking for a gluten-free salmon recipe, be sure to look on Chaya’s Comfy Cook blog.

Chaya’s a prolific food blogger. She posted 32 times in July on Comfy Cook. And, that’s not to mention how many times she posted at her other food blog, Sweet and Savory. Her Sweet and Savory blog is not exclusively gluten free. However, she has a Meatless Monday roundup, which often features recipes from gluten-free bloggers.

Read more about Chaya and check out her flourless brownies with ganache (you know how I love flourless!) in this post where she bestowed the Beautiful Blogger award to six other folks (I was in great company!) and told more about herself. Thanks, Chaya!

I thought it would be fun to do my “response” post in my birth-month (as in my birthday and the month afterwards versus the month I was born in), to tell you a little bit more about myself. Just for fun, I’ve decided to relate all to food or spirits. (Warning: There is some bathroom talk and also some words about liver.)

1. My first job out of high school was at the FBI National Academy. Before you get too intrigued, my job was in the kitchen for the academy’s cafeteria, run by the Marriott Corporation. One of my aunts (my mom has seven sisters) was a manager and I got a job as a prep cook/alternate weekend cook. I was 17 years old and had absolutely no cooking experience. My mom didn’t really teach us to cook when we were growing up. Other than making occasional cakes and cupcakes from a box, she didn’t want us in the kitchen making messes. She was (and is) still a great mom and I eventually learned to cook when out on my own. But, there were often calls to mom for advice, and sometimes I still make those calls today.

My aunt did teach me a lot in the giant commercial kitchen (stainless steel, tile, huge walk-in refrigerators and freezers, etc.) and I managed to hold my own. For almost everything I made there was a recipe and the ingredients I used were real ones, even though most were canned or frozen versus fresh. My favorite job was probably making spaghetti sauce in a huge vat. Well, for all my prep work, I pretty much made everything in a huge vat or an equally huge wheeled tub. I cracked eggs—in preparation for scrambled eggs—two at a time, one in each hand. Dozens of eggs, into one of those stainless steel wheeled tubs. Once one of the wheels caught on a crack in the tile  as I was wheeling the tub into the walk-in refrigerator and it almost tipped over. I can still see that tub full of yellow teetering. My least favorite task on the job was cleaning the grill after cooking beef liver. Cooking bacon, sausage, eggs, and such for huge quantities of folks on a schedule wasn’t that great either. I had to be at work at something like 4:30 in the morning when I was the breakfast/lunch cook on weekends. I left feeling like a big grease bomb in my gold uniform with the requisite white, ultra dorky shoes. All in all though, it was a good experience and I learned a lot.

2. Mr. GFE and I met while working in a chain restaurant. I was a waitress; he was a waiter. He had just graduated from college in December and jobs were scarce. I was still in college and always kept a job as well. (Sometimes my jobs were part time, sometimes they were full time, and usually I was a waitress, because one could make the most money for the fewest hours.) The restaurant we both worked at had never had waiters before, but Mr. GFE convinced the manager that having another male on hand for the 1 am closing was a good idea.

I can still visualize him as he looked back then. He was 22, but looked like a high school student and frankly, I found him more than a bit goofy. In short, I didn’t give him the time of day. He likes to say that I was the only waitress there who wouldn’t go out with him. Ha! He did have all the other waitresses doing a lot of his work (making salads, brewing coffee, etc.), but to be fair, he was very nice to them and helped them, too; e.g., often carrying their heavy trays. Still … I was not interested, but he persisted.

My two roommates also worked at the same restaurant. One was a hostess and the other was a waitress as well. Unbeknownst to me, Mr. GFE had quizzed them about my favorite things and he surprised me with a bag of goodies as we started our shift one evening. He told me that he’d left something for me by my coat. I pretty much ignored him and the gift until he persisted and I saw the red carnation sticking out of the brown paper bag. I relented momentarily to see what else he had brought me. There was a bag of pistachios … and a box of Nestle Quik (okay, I am embarrassed to say that I was a serious chocolate milk nut then). His simple, sincere gifts got a smile out of me. Still, when he asked me to go out dancing the following weekend, I said, “maybe.” Of course, I did eventually say “yes” … we went dancing and had a fantastic time.

3. The first meal I ever prepared for Mr. GFE was one that makes some folks turn away in horror. Chicken livers. One evening as I was leaving the restaurant where we both worked, I said I was going home to make dinner. He asked what I was having. I told him chicken livers, expecting a horrified reaction. His response was, “I love chicken livers.” So I invited him to stop by after work. As that would be after 1 am, he just expected us to stand in the kitchen and chow down. However, I served the fried chicken livers, plus mixed vegetables in butter sauce over rice at our antique dining room table. On my grandmother’s china. With her good silver. By candlelight. Okay, I admit it … by then, I’d decided I really liked him. It was a good start to many meals together. We still love fried chicken livers. Then, and sometimes, still, I just feel like I need them, not just that I like the taste. (Iron deficiency, perhaps? I did suffer from anemia when pregnant; it’s related to gluten issues. See listing.)  These days, of course, the chicken livers we eat are gluten free and fried in just a little bit of healthy oil, like grapeseed or olive oil. And, they are more likely to be served with quinoa or just veggies as a side.

4. My love of chicken livers also made for another interesting story. Mr. GFE and a group of us had gone tubing down the river near the house he rented at the time. The house was called the Little Castle because it was a multi-level, stone house, with a flat roof and turrets, built into the side of the hill. The flat roof was great for viewing fireworks over the same river. There was a Big Castle, too—the main house, which was also stone, square, and with turrets. The Little Castle had been a garage with maid’s quarters above, that had later been converted into a complete—albeit small—house, with kitchen and living room. (We ended up living there after we were married.) There was also a bomb shelter and a graveyard on the property. The current owners of both castles are friends of ours. They host an annual Halloween party between the graveyard and the bomb shelter, which we attend every year. It’s a terrific party. But, I digress.

photo credit

So we had gone tubing down on the Rappahannock River. We’d put in at a calm, peaceful area, but then proceeded to the Class III rapids. I had popped out of my tube in one “washing machine” spot and got pulled under. Mr. GFE rescued me and on we went. I had returned to my apartment hours later, grateful to be alive, but still looking somewhat like a drowned rat with wet stringy hair and wearing a damp cotton summer dress over my bathing suit. There was a knock on the door. I answered it to find a handsome stranger in a three-piece suit. He was holding a brown paper grocery bag. He introduced himself as the area Holly Farms sales rep and presented me with 5 pounds of chicken livers. You see … I’d written a letter to Holly Farms complaining that my recent container of chicken livers had been mostly chicken hearts, with very few chicken livers. A few more letters had been exchanged because Holly Farms believed that the chicken livers I had purchased were not their brand, but the store brand. I corrected them showing them that the store had only placed its pricing label on the container. I guess Holly Farms wanted to keep a loyal customer happy, but that’s what I call customer service! I still lament the fact that I wasn’t more presentable. I mean that was back in my skinny days and Mr. GFE and I weren’t yet engaged or anything.

photo credit

5. In a recent post, I mentioned my ob/gyn issues related to gluten intolerance and shared that I had suffered from postpartum depression. Thankfully, it wasn’t severe in retrospect, but it certainly seemed severe to me at the time. Also, because my body had just been through natural childbirth, I was stressed with being a new mom, and I was unknowingly gluten intolerant, I was experiencing “The big D.” Now most folks with celiac and gluten issues know that refers to diarrhea. After childbirth, “The big D” was a huge problem for me. I went to one gastroenterologist (who still practices locally) who did nothing to help me, but sent me home with one of those little plastic containers to see if I had cancer. He was about as sympathetic as a rock. No, a rock would have been more sympathetic and helpful (especially a pet rock). I never went back. (That was a pattern with many doctors over the years.) Then one of my dearest friends mentioned that her mother-in-law, who was normally a teetotaler, would drink blackberry wine whenever she had diarrhea. The mother-in-law called it a sure cure. Ah, blackberry wine … now that was a solution I was willing to give a try. (I wasn’t nursing so that wasn’t an issue.)

So Mr. GFE dutifully picked up some blackberry wine on his way home the next day, and every other evening after that for a while, to be honest. After he’d arrive, I would sip a glass or two while we chatted and Son relaxed in the baby swing for a few minutes. (Son loved the baby swing and we loved that he loved it!) In the end, the blackberry wine did nothing for my diarrhea, but it greatly improved my disposition. It made me care a lot less about the diarrhea, and even helped me stop crying for a short while. And, it was a call to the surgeon who had removed my gall bladder 3 years earlier (another sign of my gluten issues; reference gluten-related issues once more here) that got me a medication that finally helped enough with “The Big D” to start me on my way to recovery. Well, temporarily anyway. Only going gluten free really solved “the big D” issues for good. Ironically, during my periods of diarrhea and nausea, which I now know were caused by gluten, I would eat only crackers or toast.

6. Before I went gluten free, I craved gluten. (This craving is not unusual for someone with gluten issues; read more from Dr. Ron Hoggan here.) One of my favorite breakfasts was syrup and toast. I have no idea if anyone else’s family ate this meal, but you mixed up King syrup and butter to make a dipping sauce, so to speak, and then you just dipped the toast in the syrup and ate until the sauce was gone. Of course, one always made too much sauce and had to keep toasting more bread. Incidentally, King Syrup is still around, but now contains high fructose corn syrup. However, I’m fairly certain it was always pretty much total sugar anyway.

Again, I craved all bread products before going gluten free, especially cereal. I could live on cereal, one bowl after another. Now I rarely eat real bread products and don’t really miss them. I’ll enjoy them from time to time in the form of my homemade muffins, popovers, or even pre-made bread when a gluten-free friend makes bruschetta or brings Udi’s bread to our meeting for folks to enjoy. But, I still don’t go crazy about it. And, I’ve tried gluten-free cereal, but it does nothing for me and some brands labeled gluten free actually make me sick … but that’s a story for another day.

7. I’m still learning to like new foods and dishes. I really wasn’t exposed to a huge wide variety of foods growing up. That was more about my parents’ food preferences than anything like availability of foods/eating local. So it’s a delight to have found new loves over the last two decades: bacon-wrapped figs, asparagus in any form, broccoli (no sauce needed), avocados, mushrooms, and more. So, I’m looking forward to experiencing even more new foods and dishes in the future.

Technically, I’m supposed to now bestow this award on seven other bloggers but I link to the folks and posts I feel are worthy of award just about every day, so I’ll consider that requirement satisfied. You are all beautiful to me! So, grab this idea (and badge) and come up with your list of seven things about yourself if you’d like. No strict rules or anything, but I do like learning more about my blogging buddies.

Last, there’s a truly gfe-unique giveaway up on my Out and About page. Take a look and enter if it’s of interest.

Shirley
Not just gf, but gfe!

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!

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