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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!

Lemon-Lime Coconut Basil Ice & All That’s Nice

This post is linked to Friday Foodie Fix—Basil, Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays, Gluten-Free Wednesdays, Wheatless Wednesday, Real Food Wednesday, Pennywise Platter Thursday, Food for Fridays, and Foodie Friday.

While I gave up sodas long ago, I still miss them when eating a few things … like pizza or steamed crabs. I knew we’d be having steamed crabs the other evening and I decided to make a frozen “slushie”-type beverage as a healthier substitute. Diane had just featured her Friday Foodie Fix and the secret ingredient was basil. I remembered a recipe that I’d seen in the May issue of Better Homes and Gardens magazine—Lemon Basil Ice made with Meyer lemons. That recipe took almost 5 hours to make—yikes! I wanted something I could whip up fairly quickly. Plus, I didn’t have any Meyer lemons available. I also wanted a beverage that had a little more slush than ice, so I decided to include some lite coconut milk versus just water.  And, I wanted to use my new Boyajian citrus oils, namely the lemon and lime oils, that I’d received as a birthday gift. The recipe below is what I came up with—a very pleasant one to sip while picking crabs or just chilling on the screened porch or deck. Children would enjoy this frozen treat, too—either as a beverage or a spoonable dessert. This recipe also fits the bill for Amy’s (Simply Sugar & Gluten-Free) weekly Slightly Indulgent Tuesday roundup—so, yippeeee, double word score! Or something like that …

Lemon-Lime Coconut Basil Ice (Beverage or Frozen Dessert)
(Click here for a printable version of this recipe.)

1 1/2 cups water
1 3/4 cups lite coconut milk, chilled (I used ¾ cup full-fat coconut milk and 1 cup filtered water)
¼ cup honey (or agave nectar, or other sweetener of your choice to taste)
4 drops vanilla crème liquid stevia
¼ cup fresh, chopped or sliced basil
¼ tsp lemon oil (or 1 tsp lemon zest)
¼ tsp lime oil (or 1 tsp lime zest)
3 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp lime juice

In a medium saucepan, heat water over med-high heat until steaming, not boiling. Add basil and let stand 15 minutes. Pour through fine mesh sieve; discard basil. Set in freezer in shallow pan for about 15. It should be thoroughly chilled but not frozen, even on the edges. (It’s not a good idea to add frozen ingredients to one’s ice cream maker.)

In large bowl or blender, add lemon oil, lime oil, lemon juice, lime juice, “basil water,” coconut milk, honey, and stevia. Use hand mixer or blender to blend.

Add to pre-frozen container of ice cream maker. Churn 15 – 30 minutes. Yes, that’s a wide gap of time. Check at 15 minutes to see if the mixture has reached your desired consistency. I really wanted a beverage to sip with my steamed crabs more than a scoopable snow cone like mix, so I was pleased with the consistency at 15 minutes for that purpose. However, I churned the mixture for the full 25 or 30 minutes, and perhaps additional freezing afterwards, might be needed for a firmer ice dessert. Again, I mainly wanted a beverage, so even at churning the full time, I let most of the ice get “melty” and then sipped it as a beverage. Very light and refreshing.

Shirley’s Notes: You can use any sweetener as I stated above, but honey always yields a softer, more scoopable frozen dessert, so I recommend using at least some honey. I used fresh lemon and lime juice; I’m sure that bottled would work, but it would not be quite as flavorful. The lemon and lime oil should not be used with plastic measuring spoons; the oil ate right through the plastic. Next time, I’ll remember to use my stainless steel measuring spoons, which are much better to use anyway. The basil flavoring in this mix is very mild. If you want a stronger basil flavor, steep basil in water for 30 minutes. Finally, if you read the ingredients of lite coconut milk, you’ll see that they are water and coconut milk (and maybe guar gum depending on the brand). The lite coconut milk costs the same amount as the full-fat coconut milk at my store. Why not just buy full-fat coconut milk and add filtered water to make your own lite coconut milk? As soon as I open a can of coconut milk, I transfer it to a glass jar immediately anyway. So now, if I want a lighter coconut milk, I just use a bigger jar and add filtered water. It works great.

~~All That’s Nice …

As usual, there’s a lot going on in the gluten-free blogosphere. Grab a cold, refreshing beverage and read and click!

The winner of my gfe-unique giveaway—a consultation with me on living gluten free easily—is up on my Out and About page.

I just announced that I’m hosting Adopt a Gluten-Free Blogger this month. Already we have 10 adoptions! Want to join in? Read more here, but I’d love it if you would. Let’s make this the biggest, best Adopt a Gluten-free Blogger event ever! How about 50 adoptions? Dream BIG!

Widely reported on the interwebs is the free offer from Jules Gluten Free on her Back to School e-book. The offer has been extended through today, Tuesday, August 17. Read more about what’s in the book here and follow links to download your copy. It’s easy and could be a very helpful resource for many.

At my support group meeting last Monday, we watched the gluten-free documentary that has everyone talking—Generation Gluten Free, created and directed by Susan Cohen. Susan and I met in the tweetlightful world that is Twitter not that long ago. Shortly thereafter, Erin (Gluten-Free Fitness) did a “two thumbs up” review of Generation Gluten Free on her blog and Tiffany also wrote a rave review over at celiac-disease.com. Ironically, I had been aware of Susan’s documentary when it first came out, even sharing the link to the trailer and  the ordering info with my group. But, somehow actually ordering the documentary had slipped through the cracks. However, I ordered it last week for viewing with my support group and, thanks to Susan, it arrived in just a couple of days. After our scrumptious gluten-free meal, we all settled in to watch this 42-minute DVD. There were lots of nods, knowing glances, and smiles as we watched the participants tell their various stories of diagnosis, eating out, recovery, participating in support groups, and more. The cost of Generation Gluten Free is $4.50 and that INCLUDES shipping and handling. Many have reported watching this documentary with family members, stating that it was an eye opening experience for their loved ones. Susan did a brilliant job with this documentary. You’ll want your own copy. Jennifer Harris also wrote an Examiner article on Generation Gluten Free. In her article, she shared that there’s a grass roots email campaign to get Susan and the documentary featured on ABC’s Good Morning America. Just email the show at gma@abctv.com and ask them to feature Susan Cohen and Generation Gluten Free. It’s such an easy way to do something to spread awareness. Tell others … we want their In Box full of requests for Susan and her documentary to be featured!

Incidentally, the online Examiner is a great source of gluten-free information. Often the information shared by the gluten-free Examiners (the gluten-free folks writing the articles) is geared to local happenings and gluten-free venues, too, which is nice. You can even subscribe to your favorite Examiner’s articles! (I’m all about email subscriptions myself. I need that little reminder in my In Box.) In addition to Jennifer Harris, some of my favorite folks who are current gluten-free Examiners are Kim Bouldin (also at Gluten Free is Life and Celiac-Disease.com), Tiffany Janes (also at Celiac-Disease.com), and Ginger Carter Miller (also at Gluten Free in Georgia … Finally). FYI: Jennifer Harris also just did this handy reference post on gluten-free lunch ideas. Update: Here’s another comprehensive lunch idea listing from Kim (Cook IT Allergy Free)—Allergen-Free Lunch Box with Brain Power.

Do you know Jenn of Cinnamon Quill? Well, she’s not just sharing her gorgeouso photos with us these days. She started a new site called Gluten Free Feed. Think along the Tastespotting site lines, but gluten free. I love it! Jenn could supply the site with all her great photos alone, but the good news is we can all submit our photos and see them featured. This site offers some real “eye candy,” folks. Be sure to check it out here.

Shauna and Danny’s long-awaited new book, Gluten-Free Girl and the Chef, will be released soon. You can pre-order it here.

Ricki (Diet, Dessert and Dogs) has a new e-book coming out: Desserts Without Compromise, which is an anti-candida dessert cookbook. It will be available on August 19. Yes, Thursday! Don’t forget that you can order her basic anti-candida book, The Anti-Candida Feast E-book, off her website here. It’s just $5. Can you say bargain? Update: Ricki’s ebook is out and she’s having a giveaway that ends at midnight, August 22. Check it out here. If you don’t participate in giveaways, you can order her new cookbook at the discount rate of $6.95 for a limited time.  And, her Sweet Freedom book is also still on sale via her site. Ricki is also one of the instigators of the monthly SOS Kitchen Challenges. This month’s ingredient is mint. If you’d like to participate in the challenge, read all about it here on Ricki’s site. (Hint: You’ll want to visit just to see her Mint Chip Ice Cream; no ice cream maker is needed for this recipe!)

Looking for more refreshing summer drinks? Look no further than Stephanie’s (Gluten Free by Nature) Frozen Hot Chocolate. It’s gluten free, dairy free, and refined sugar free, but “all that” in every department that matters.

Many folks who can’t tolerate dairy products from cows say they do fine with products from goats, or at least eat them on occasion with no issues. From time to time, I am still eating some goat’s cheese and yogurt that our friends make from their goats’ milk. Heidi (Adventures of a Gluten-Free Mom) is hosting a giveaway package that includes Chavrie Goat Cheese. I wasn’t familiar with it before, but it looks like a great, real food product. Check out her giveaway here.  

Jenn is continuing her very helpful educational series called Gluten- Free Substitutions. The latest post is on binding agents. Read more here.

Often when I’m just about to slide down the slippery slope of poor food choices, I’ll see a tweet or Facebook mention of a new post from Melissa at Gluten Free for Good. Thank goodness! A read of almost any of her posts will galvanize you against the times when your lizard brain takes over and you want to eat things that are less than healthy, sit on your rump, etc. This recent post of Melissa’s was stellar in my opinion. I’m still thinking about it and making better choices as a result.

Sadly, I used all my basil for this recipe, but those of you with basil abundance, be sure to join Linda’s (The Gluten-Free Homemaker) Create A Pesto Challenge this month. So far some wonderful recipes—like Kim’s (Cook IT Allergy Free) Pistachio Pesto-Crusted Chicken—have been submitted.

If you have so much basil that you don’t know what to do with it all, follow Kalyn’s (Kalyn’s Kitchen) directions on freezing fresh basil. It sure would be nice to have some basil in sauces and soups in the middle of winter!  Read and see Kalyn’s guidance here.

Kim also just shared an extremely helpful post, 15 Tips on Healing the Leaky Gut. Celiac and gluten issues are leaky gut issues. Leaky gut is also known by its nicer sounding, but more cryptic, name of intestinal permeability. Dr. Alessio Fasano, who is one of the foremost experts on celiac and gluten issues also is well-known for his research on zonulin and intestinal permeability. Read more here. 

It was also Dr. Fasano who recently penned the foreword of the update of Danna Korn’s revised Gluten Free for Dummies book. In it, Dr. Fasano states that “for every celiac patient, five to seven patients are affected by gluten sensitivity.” Tiffany Janes shared this quote in her review of Danna’s book on Celiac-Disease.com. She went on to say the following: “It’s estimated that 3 million people in the U.S. have celiac (and less than 90% of people with it know they have it) so that means if there are only 5 people for every person with celiac, that’s an additional 15 million people with gluten intolerance. Add that to the 3 million with celiac and you have 18 million people in the U.S. who can’t tolerate gluten well. On the high end of the estimate – 7 for every 1 – and you have 24 million people affected.” Staggering numbers. Eye-opening numbers to many. Incidentally, the updated version of Danna’s book got an even better review from Tiffany than the original. Read more here.  As Kim shared in her post, leaky gut manifests as a lot of illnesses and symptoms. Look for a guest post here at gfe tomorrow from someone who experienced a multitude of such issues while eating gluten.

Shirley
Not just gf, but gfe!

Honey Love and More

This post is linked to Gluten-Free Wednesdays, Real Food Wednesday, Food on Fridays, Foodie Friday, and Monday Mania.

Sheryl has the Go Ahead Honey, It’s Gluten Free! roundup of French-themed foods posted over at her blog, Breaking Bread. I submitted my Creme Brulee Ice Cream. All the other entries really are sensational. Check them out here. 

Speaking of honey, we spun the honey out from the frames from our beehive this past weekend. (We have one beehive here at our house. We can’t go too crazy as we’re in a subdivision with our beehive on an open part of our property, not far from the street.) Mr. GFE’s sister and her husband volunteered their equipment and workshop for our use. The process:  remove frame from super (the boxes where the bees store the honey in the frames), scrape off wax caps, place in spinner/centrifuge, spin, drain honey through fine mesh stainless steel screen into food-grade plastic bucket, and repeat … until all the frames are empty of honey. After a few hours, the results were four gallons of golden, amazing, raw honey. In our case, 48 pounds worth for our one hive. We are pleased as punch, or should I say mead? In basic terms, mead is honey wine. Did you know that honey mead is the basis for the word honeymoon? Per Wikipedia, “In many parts of Europe it was traditional to supply a newly married couple with enough mead for a month, ensuring happiness and fertility. From this practice we get honeymoon or, as the French say, lune de miel [lit. "moon of honey"].”

Honey is a non-refined sugar. It’s allowed on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet. One of my most popular recipes that uses honey is my Flourless Chocolate Banana Honey Walnut Cake—a rich, grain-free, dairy-free, and again, refined sugar-free treat. Most of my ice cream and sherbet recipes use honey, like Honey Cinnamon Grand Marnier Ice Cream (Grand Marnier is optional) and Honey Dewed Sherbet. It sweetens nicely and keeps the ice cream/sherbet soft and scoopable. More trivia for you … honey is the only food that does not spoil. If your honey should crystallize over time, just set the jar in a pan of hot water until liquefied again. Now if you really want to be impressed by the 4 gallons of honey, consider this … a honeybee produces only 1/8-th of a teaspoon in its lifetime. Such driven, phenomenal little honeybees. My late father-in-law was a grand beekeeper who taught everyone in the family how to keep bees. One year he harvested over a ton of honey. Yes, over 2,000 lbs. If you did the math from our harvest details above, you  figured out that a gallon of honey weighs 12 pounds.

You might be wondering what kind of honey ours is … maybe you have heard of or enjoy different flavors of honey—clover honey (like the sweet clover honey that is on my sidebar under Foodzie), tupelo honey, orange blossom honey, lavender honey, and the like. Most commercial beekeepers move their hives so that the bees work (i.e., gather nectar from) different types of flowers and then they extract the honey immediately, so they know that it is solely that particular varietal of honey. Our honey is actually blended honey, because we never move our hive and we extract the honey from all the frames at once, mixing it all together. Some years the resulting honey is light, some years it is dark … all dependent on the which flowers are in bloom and worked that year. In one frame, which is the individual, rectangular section in the hive where the bees store their honey (shown in photos below), you can often see both light and dark honey. A large portion of our honey is always made from the nectar of white clover and tulip poplar blooms (this tree is also known as yellow poplar or tulip tree). We also have another common tree here in Virginia  called the yellow locust. The yellow locust tree produces spectacular showy blooms (shown above) that are both beautiful and cloyingly sweet in fragrance. Bees love locust blossoms and turn the nectar into a light-colored delicious honey.

Honey even has antiseptic, antimicrobial properties and has been used in that manner throughout history, including wound care today. There are many nutritional health benefits of honey as well. Warning: Children under the age of one should not consume honey. You can read much more about honey here and here.

Interested in the magic of nature? Consider becoming  a beekeeper. Honeybees need all the help and love they can get. Besieged by two different kinds of mites for a few decades now and then affected by the still unexplained Colony Collapse Disorder, the more folks who raise bees the better. We need bees to pollinate all the vegetable plants and fruit trees to supply our real food.

Talking about honey and honeymoons reminds me of the big buzz of late in the gluten-free world … the fact that Chelsea Clinton’s wedding cake was gluten free (and vegan). Vanessa Maltin, author of Celiac Princess (plus Food and Lifestyle Editor of Delight magazine and more), reported that A Piece of Cake by Elana made Chelsea’s cake using Pamela’s Products. Read more here. UPDATE: Turns out the information shared by Vanessa Maltin was totally incorrect. A bakery by the name of La Tulipe Desserts in Westchester, NY, actually made Chelsea’s organic, gluten-free (but not vegan) wedding cake—vanilla with dark chocolate mousse. Read more here. I’m anxious to see photos, but what I’d really like is to know the nitty gritty details (oops, hopefully, the nitty, non-gritty details … none of us would want a gritty gluten-free cake). I would love to taste the cake. But, now Chelsea and Marc are on their honeymoon. I wonder if they saved a piece for me. I’m sure they froze that top layer per tradition. So maybe there’s still hope. I mean we gluten-free folks share and share alike, right?

Speaking of other frozen or chilled delights, this morning’s smoothie included some chilled coconut milk, water, raw cacao powder, cabbage, Romaine, pears, frozen banana, hemp seed, almond flour, and some of our freshly extracted raw honey. It tasted like a chocolate milkshake and was full of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. But, you don’t have to have a shopping list of ingredients to make tasty, nutritious smoothies. Actually, I’ve found that folks can sometimes be intimidated by smoothies for that very reason. Well, that and the fact that they can’t wrap their head around drinking their veggies. I understand. It took a leap of faith for me the first time, too, and it still amazes me how much I love them, even the “greenest” ones. If you’re still not sold on smoothies (but would like to be), try starting out with a simple smoothie recipe. One that includes only bananas, water, and spinach, is very easy and delicious. It’s a great recipe for beginners. One of my support group members, Jennifer R., shared samples of this smoothie with our group and everyone liked it. This smoothie is a lovely pale green, and you don’t taste spinach … you just taste “good.” Or try this three-ingredient smoothie from Ali at The Whole Life Nutrition Kitchen. Don’t make it too complicated. You can even ease into green smoothies, by making a fruit smoothie that you love and adding in a little spinach or other greens, like kale. Yes, kale …it’s great in smoothies. You can add a little more of the green stuff each time you make a fruit smoothie and soon you’ll be completely smitten with green smoothies!

If you are still not sure about smoothies, but want a refreshing summer drink, try Amy’s Cucumber Basil Herbal Water. Alta got to try it first hand at the lovely gluten-free brunch that Amy hosted. She described it as “the most amazing refreshing drink” she’s had to date. Read more about their brunch in this post by Alta with a recipe for her Basil Chicken Pesto Salad Puffs and this one by Amy, Rustic Lemon Blueberry Scones.

Peaches are in season! One of my favorite gfe readers, Mir (Woulda Coulda Shoulda  and more), used my Crustless Apple Pie recipe to make peach pie. All you need to do is substitute peaches for the apples. Mir used Pamela’s Baking Mix as her gluten-free flour mix. Her review: “Totally delish. I am afraid to make it again, lest I just fall face-down into the pie plate.” We all want to feel that way about our pies, don’t we? Just look at Mir’s photo!

Trying to incorporate yet more fruit into your diet with summer’s bounty? How about this stunning fruit pizza that Heather (Celiac Family) made? Heather swears it’s easy to make. She took hers to a family birthday party. That would be so much better than birthday cake in my opinion. Or, how about this gorgeous fruit salad that also incorporates salad greens over at Jenn’s (Jenn Cuisine).

Jenn also has an ongoing series called Gluten-Free Substitutions that I think you will find very helpful, whether you are new to the gluten-free diet or have been eating gluten free for some time. Her latest post is installment four: Gluten-Free Substitutions: All-Purpose Flour. Previous posts were her inaugural post for the series, Gluten-Free Substitutions: An Introduction; Gluten-Free Substitutions: When No Subs Are Needed; and Gluten-Free Substitutions: Easy One-Ingredient Substitutions.

Jenn and Lauren (Celiac Teen) had what most bloggers would call a dream meet-up. In Paris. Yes! Read about their meeting and see some of Jenn’s incroyable Paris photos here. Incidentally, you can find all of Jenn’s photos from France here on Flickr. Many have an ethereal quality, which I think makes them look like paintings. I can so imagine them hanging in my home.

Still have an abundance of zucchini? I can personally attest to the deliciousness of Kim’s (Cook IT Allergy Free) Zucchini Fritters. I believe if you added some Old Bay seasoning to them, they’d almost taste like crab cakes. They are outstanding. Even Mr. GFE agreed. I topped one with a fried egg and had it for breakfast. Scrumptious.

In a post earlier this month, a family member of Kim’s shared her story on the connection regarding the Type 1 diabetes and gluten. You can read it here. I share a lot of studies and medical research with my support group, but usually don’t share that type of information too frequently here at gfe. I’m more apt to share personal stories as Kim did. So I’m grateful to all my blogging friends who do pass along that data online. In a recent email to my support group members, I shared the recent recommendation from The Endocrine Society 92nd Annual Meeting for all folks with Type 1 diabetes to be screened for celiac annually. Yes, annually. Not once, not every 5 years, but yearly. The most compelling quote from the article to me was: “Some patients develop celiac disease as long as 10 years after their diabetes diagnosis, so ongoing screening is essential, and we recommend screening once a year. Patients in whom a diagnosis of celiac disease is confirmed should be placed on a gluten-free diet and referred to a gastroenterologist.” This statement came from Phyllis Speiser, MD (chief of the Division of Pediatric Endocrinology at North Shore–Long Island Jewish Health System in New Hyde Park, New York) in an interview with Medscape. That’s right. One doesn’t get tested for celiac one time and say, that’s it, “nope, don’t have it,” and go away thinking celiac is no longer a concern. Unless one eats gluten free, the risk is always there if one has celiac genes (see MyCeliacID post for more information on levels of risk for celiac). My friend, Alison (Sure Foods Living), did a great write-up on the recommendation here, also sharing her thoughts on this topic.

I’ll be back later tomorrow with my Adopt a Gluten-Free Blogger post on my main page.  I’ve already been adopted by sweet Tia, of Glugle Gluten Free; I’m so excited! You can check out Tia’s post here to see which dish of mine that she made. Tia also shared her review of another wonderful recipe from another blogger who is a mutual favorite of ours. Finally, soon, there will be a gfe-unique giveaway on my Out and About page! The four winners of the e-book giveaway are already posted here.

Shirley
Not just gf, but gfe!

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