GIG Recap: Gluten Free Beers and Simple Squares

Our October Gluten Intolerance Group (GIG) meeting was all about healthy snacks and delicious drinks!

First up in our packed and tasty meeting was Simple Squares.  Founder and Chief Square Kimberly talked about the origin of Simple Squares and how they are a tasty snack.  All of the squares have five ingredients or less and are perfect for snacking on the go.  She shared samples of her soon-to-be released coffee flavor square.  What a great morning snack!  Simple Squares are organic whole food snack bars with vanilla and herbs - without any wheat. gluten, dairy, soy or refined sugar!  I try to always have some squares on hand for grab and go snacks.

In honor of Halloween, SurfSweets sent us their spooky spider gummies!  These are perfect treats to give kids for Halloween without worrying about allergens or high fructose corn syrup!  Their fun shapes even brought smiles to the adults in the room.

We sampled several different types of gluten free beers and ciders.  I tried everyone that was available, had around a dozen empty cups at the end (don't worry - they weren't poured to the top) and found some new favorites.

Gluten free beer has been transforming over the years.  Bard's Beer is perfect for traditional beer lovers - its sorghum flavoring hits the spot (and is perfect for making beer brats).  New Grist also carries a sorghum based beer that we tried.  We sampled three different options from Green's - wow - some of these had the largest amount of alcohol and tasted great!  Pace yourself!  Goose Island recently introduced Queen-OA, a quinoa based beer from Chicago's popular brewery.  My new favorite is New Planet beer - there are three assorted flavors (Tread Lightly Ale, 3R Raspberry Ale, and Off Grid Pale Ale) and are perfect for those who love fruity flavors in the style of malt beverages like me!

The best part about the tasting was that everyone had their own new favorite and we all tried some very delicious beers.  Gluten free beers can be expensive, so having several companies provide samples for our group has been the best way to see what is out there!  This was our second annual Gluten Free Octoberfest Beer Tasting and I can't wait to see what products are on the market next year!

What is your favorite gluten free beer?  Leave a message in the comments!

Our next meeting is Monday, November 5 and we will be talking about gluten free Thanksgiving, swapping recipes, and sampling some bread.  We meet in the South Loop Whole Food's classroom at 8:00pm!  Hope to see you there!

Gluten Free Bread Bowl Soup

Soup belongs in a bread bowl.  Period.  Just because I am gluten free does not mean that my days of eating soup this delicious way is over!  I used one package of Bob's Red Mill's Gluten Free Homemade Wonderful Bread to form four tasty, you won't believe its gluten free, bread bowls.  After experimenting with their delicious thirteen bean soup mix, I found chorizo to be a great pairing for soup with a kick.

Check out my guest blog post on Bob's Red Mill's site for the recipe and more pictures of the delicious soup! http://www.bobsredmill.com/blog/2012/10/19/windy-city-cooking/  The recipe is gluten free, dairy free and packed with flavor!

Bob's Red Mill and I want you to try this recipe yourself at home!  So much so that WindyCityCooking.blogspot.com is having its first ever giveaway!  Three lucky winners will receive a package of the GF bread mix and the 13 bean soup mix just in time for warming up with a delicious fall soup.  Leave a comment on this entry before November 5, 2012 to be entered.  Let me know what your favorite bean is OR why you love to be gluten free!  Good luck!  And check back on November 6, 2012 for the winners!!

GIG Recap: Breakfast

Our August meeting for the Chicago Chapter of the Gluten Intolerance Group was all about breakfast foods.  Did you know that there are many delicious options out there?  Start your morning off on a great foot with a filling meal!

At the meeting, we made waffles using Namaste's waffle mix, a little water, eggs and oil.  In mere minutes, the eggs were broken, the mix blended and the waffle iron worked its magic!  Everyone at the meeting had their very own hot waffle - a first for our GIG chapter!

We also sampled lots of different breakfast products.  Ener-G has chocolate donuts (regular and donut holes) and  English muffins that were great tasting.  O'Doughs sent us a variety of their flavorful muffins and bagels   Our members left with a bag of Bob's Red Mill's new certified gluten free oat bran and coupons for frozen waffles from Van's Natural Foods.  Many thanks to these generous companies!  Our members certainly enjoyed tasting everything during our meeting!   You even have some new fans!

Reminder: Use a dedicated gluten free waffle iron!  They are surprisingly cheap.  I use mine a lot and make several batches of waffles at once and freeze them.  They are easy to heat in a toaster.  Speaking of toasters, every gluten free kitchen has a dedicated toaster, right?  Those pesky wheat crumbs go everywhere - don't let it touch your gf food!

Products we tried today:

Oat bran from Bob's Red Mill http://www.bobsredmill.com/

Chocolate doughnuts, chocolate doughnut holes and English muffins from Ener-G http://ener-g.com/

Muffins and bagels from O'Doughs http://odoughs.com/

Waffles from Namaste Foods http://namastefoods.com/

Frozen waffles from Van's http://www.vansfoods.com

Cuisinart Waffle Iron - $39.95

http://www.cooking.com/products/shprodde.asp?SKU=624259#axzz22lX0j5eg

Great Resources for Lots of Breakfast Recipes

http://www.gluten.net/recipe-database-search.aspx?id=5 

http://healthyblenderrecipes.com/recipes/type/breakfast_recipes/ 

http://theokiecollegegirl.com/recipes/category/breakfast/ 

http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com/2008/09/brunch-and-bakery-recipes.html

Broccoli and Italian Sausage Egg Muffins

http://www.snackinginthekitchen.com/2010/05/mothers-day-2010-brunch.html

Gluten Free Pancakes – Hold the Xanthan Gum

http://glutenfreeonashoestring.com/gluten-free-pancakes-hold-the-xanthan-gum/

Gluten Free French Omlette

http://jenncuisine.com/2012/03/a-gluten-free-french-omelette/

Vegan Chocolate Spinach Shake
http://healthyblenderrecipes.com/recipes/vegan_chocolate_spinach_shake/

Next GIG Meetings:

8:00pm.  South Loop Whole Foods Classroom, Chicagp.  FREE gluten free event.  Open to all!

September 10, 2012.  Lunches on the Go and Smart Shopping.

October 1, 2012. Octoberfest: Beer Tasting and Tasty Treats.

November 5, 2012.  All Are Welcome (Thanksgiving).

December 3, 2012.  The Twelve Cookies of Christmas.

Better Batter Chocolate Cake (Birthday) Cupcakes

Happy Birthday to me!

And what is a birthday without chocolate cake?  (The answer is "pretty sad" if you are a chocoholic with a sweet tooth.)

I previously made a box worth of cupcakes from Better Batter's gluten free and dairy free chocolate cake mix that they sent me to try. I made them for an event and loved the convenience - what a breeze to make for someone who doesn't have all day to spend in the kitchen.  Add water, oil and eggs to the dry mix and mere minutes later, the cupcakes are on their way to the oven.  The cupcakes are wonderfully moist and as I mentioned in an earlier entry about their Yellow Cake Mix, they are a decorator's dream.  The tops bake smooth and are ideal for decorating.  The Better Batter chocolate cake mix tastes so rich - they are a great dessert!  I love making and eating their cupcakes!

At my recent dessert-bringing event, my cupcake versus people ratio was off so I had plenty of leftovers.  I took them home and froze them, hoarding them for future use...like my birthday.  Turns out I can have cake without turning on the oven on a hot July day!

I've read tips from moms from allergic kids that you should cut the cupcake in half and then put the frosting on the inside so it freezes well (and you can make a bunch at once) so kids can have birthday treats with their classmates.  The frosting on the inside is totally unnecessary.  Over the past year, I have been freezing cupcakes - both naked and fully decorated.  With the exception of some squishing of the frosting when I store them in too small containers (as pictured above), there are no issues with freezing decorated cupcakes.  There are a few ways to defrost them:

• Let sit at room temperature for an hour.  This is best for people who have patience, can plan ahead, or want to throw it in a lunchbox.
• Defrost with the 0.1 lb setting in the microwave.  This is great for the warm straight-from-the-oven taste for those of you who normally eat your desserts while the pan is still burning hot from the oven.
• Microwave on high for 1 minute for those of you who want the frosting to slide off and make a hot mess.  This is not recommended if you prefer your desserts to look classy or presentable.  Don't worry - it still tastes great.

Do you freeze your leftover cupcakes?  Or are you asking "what's a leftover cupcake" because they fly off your kitchen counter?

Enjoy Life Crunchy Cookies

My brother Chris is getting married this year!  I'm a very proud big sister and am excited to be a bridesmaid in his wedding alongside my sister.  We recently celebrated his wedding shower with my dad's side of the family.  My step-mom coordinated my menu with the staff in advance and I promised to bring some dessert for myself with some to share.

Enjoy Life recently sent me their crispy handcrafted cookies to try.  They would fit in perfectly with the shower!  The day of the shower, I made a small batch of frosting (Crisco, powdered sugar, water, vanilla) and dyed it fuchsia in honor of their wedding color.  I used only a Wilton star tip to decorate the cookies - they were simple yet surprisingly elegant and fast to make.  The Enjoy Life cookies are fantastic to work with from a decorating perspective - their large flat surface makes a great canvas - especially the Sugar Crisp cookie.

The cookies tasted great.  My brother said they reminded him of the almond cookies we would get at Chinese restaurants - but these were better.  (Normally we only got a bite or two into those dried out cookies of our childhood before cutting our losses.)  After sitting out for a few hours, they still had a great crispy bite and tasted very fresh.  I recommend trying them...and falling in love!  These are the delicious way that sugar cookies should taste!

I am a huge fan of Enjoy Life products.  All of their products are gluten free and free of the top eight allergens (I'm in heaven) AND they are local (way to represent Chicago and the surrounding area!).  Their products are free of artificial ingredients, trans fats, and genetically modified (GMO) ingredients.  Let's just say I felt guilty adding frosting with food coloring to such a healthy cookie...

Have you decorated store-bought cookies and brought them to a party before?  What are your favorite cookies to use?

Meringues with an Enjoyable Chocolate Surprise

Lately, Pinterest has become my go-to source for all sorts of inspiration - from organizing my kitchen to planning the lunch and dessert for my brother's wedding shower to quotes that make me giggle and general crafty diy to tempting food.  When I stumbled upon these Raspberry Meringues, I was in love.  They were so beautifully crafted.  But even more tantalizing was the piece of chocolate inside.  How clever!

Darla at Bakingdom wrote a wonderful recipe for the meringues - if you don't have a stand-by favorite, be sure to check hers out!  Simply line a cookie sheet with parchment paper, add a piece of chocolate, and pipe out a kiss on top!  Couldn't be easier.

To make mine dairy free, I used some of Enjoy Life's semi-sweet chocolate Mega Chunks the company recently sent me.  I am not one to keep it small when creating desserts, and meringues are no exception.  The larger size of the chocolate chunks was perfect for my meringues formed with the 1M decorating tip from Wilton.  My biggest problem was keeping the chocolate on the cookie sheet - I unfortunately kept observing the "one for the recipe, two for my belly" rule...  I have had my fair share of semi-sweet dairy-free chocolate chips and Enjoy Life's are some of the best.  Knowing that they are also gluten and dairy free (and top 8 allergen free and vegan and all that good stuff) is especially comforting - I have not found any other chocolate chip labeled even dairy free.  Who knows what the other companies do to make sure that pesky milk chocolate is not co-mingling with my semi-sweet or dark chocolate!  It is always a gamble with other chips, well, they don't list that milk is an ingredient so I should be okay, right?  Right?  *crickets*

Each bite into these meringues were delicious.  Not only did I get the usual egg/sugar mixture, but the addition of the chocolate was such a sweet surprise.  I never would have thought to combine pieces of chocolate into my meringues, but I'm glad I did!  This is an excellent recipe with a superior piece of Enjoy Life chocolate waiting inside.  This recipe is a keeper - it may even make an appearance at my brother's upcoming wedding shower - their colors are brown and pink!  I'll just need to get my hands on some raspberry extract before then...

Pour open bag of Enjoy Life Mega Chunks. Consume a few.

 Evenly space out the chocolate chips.

 Separate the egg yolks from egg whites.

 Put your Kitchen Aid to work! 

(Not pictured because this part got a little too messy) Add the 1M tip to a piping bag.  Add the meringue.  Make beautiful drops directly on the chocolate. 

Impatiently wait for the meringues to cook (1 hour 40 minutes) before quickly photographing them before gobbling them up.

If you have leftover chocolate (and didn't eat most of the bag like I did...sometimes I have no shame...), the mega chunks are great as a dairy-free ganache!  1 part soy milk, 2.5 parts chocolate heated up in a pot over low heat. Perfect for drizzling on fruit!

Farm Fresh Egg, Spinach, and Basil Bake

Through my church, I am participating in a Food Faith and Substantibility small group.  This week's focus was on Food and the Environment.  For our potluck style meeting, we were asked to bring something made with local ingredients and I volunteered to cook an entree.  On Sunday, at the last minute, I saw my uncle at a graduation party.  He had four dozen eggs in the fridge for the taking.  He said I could have some - his chickens lay five eggs a day and he has plenty.  Eggs don't get any more farm fresh than ones from an uncle's backyard farm in Wisconsin!

I took a vacation day off from work in order to explore some new farmers markets throughout the city.  (Some people use vacation days to visit the beach; I use it to drool over fresh veggies.)  Today, I visited the Lincoln Square Farmers Market, which is literally steps off the Western brown line stop.  It is open on Tuesdays from 7am to 1pm.  There was a great selection of plants (edible and non), baked goods (for gluten loving folks), fruits and green veggies.  I bought some asparagus for $3.00 and a bunch of basil for $1.50 for my entree.

For cheese, since every recipe involving eggs seems to require cheese, I used Teeze Vegan Mozzarella "cheese" from Chicago Vegan Foods (sold in Whole Foods).  I love the product and support the company's core values: veganism (sorry for using eggs with your product!), environmental responsibility and commitment to customers.  This dairy-free cheese melts, grates well, and is a breeze to substitute for dairy cheeses.

With the help from Uncle Mike's Farm Fresh Eggs, a visit to a nearby Farmers Market, and vegan cheese, I created this Egg and Spinach bake. Even if you do not have your own uncle with chickens, I hope you try some cage free eggs for this recipe!  (You'll get hooked.)  As written, the only top 8 allergens the recipe contains are soy and egg; it is naturally gluten-free.  This recipe is easy enough to substitute in other herbs or cooked veggies for endless varieties!  I got a lot of compliments from my group (unofficial taste testers) - everyone really enjoyed this "crustless quiche".  It pairs quite deliciously with other local foods! (Such as quinoa with beans and corn, corn on the cob, strawberry salad, rice with green beans...)

Farm Fresh Egg, Spinach and Basil Bake

1 bunch of spinach, washed, with large stems removed
2 T olive oil
Cooking spray
2 cups basil (loosely packed when measuring) then thinly sliced
1 package (10oz) of Teeze - Mozzarella vegan cheese
10 cage free eggs

Salt and pepper to taste


Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Spray a casserole pan with cooking spray.

Heat oil in a pan.  Add the spinach, tossing it around to coat the spinach leaves with oil.  Cover and let cook until it is wilted for about two minutes.

Add the spinach to the casserole pan.  Add basil.  Grate Teeze one top.

Add salt and pepper (to taste) to the eggs and beat.  Pour the egg mixture into the casserole pan and give it a quick stir.

Bake uncovered for 30-40 minutes or until the mixture is set and a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.  Let cool before cutting.

What do you do to eat locally?  What farmers markets do you visit?

Better Batter Yellow Cake

Looking for a tasty yellow cake mix?  Look no further than Better Batter's certified gluten free Yellow Cake Mix.  Better Batter was kind enough to send me a box to sample.  The baking couldn't be simpler: mix plus 1 cup water or milk (I used Pacific Natural Food's hemp milk), 3/4 cup oil and 3 eggs.  Mix everything together, pour into two 8" pans and half an hour in the oven later, you have cake!

I was bringing the cake to my cousin's housewarming party, so I couldn't sample the cake ahead of time.  (That's why I like cupcakes, no one notices if one is missing...I'm sneaky like that.)  From my Wilton classes, I learned how to properly level a cake.  I adjusted my cake leveler and was shocked to discover that the cakes were already level.  In my almost two years baking gluten free, this has never happened.  While I was delighted that I saved a step, I was bummed that again, I couldn't sneak any cake in advance.  At that point, I decided the cake better be worth the wait!

After placing my cake on a foil covered board and carefully positioning one layer, I piped a some frosting onto the cake and spread it around.  Then the next layer was added and the cake went to the fridge to cool to prevent any crumbs from seeping into the frosting.  Once the cake was cool, I plopped a ton of light green thin-consistency frosting on top and began to ice my cake.  I used a stencil to make the decorative swirls on the top of the cake.  I added another two toothpicks worth of green dye to darken up my leftover frosting before adding in some piping gel and a tiny bit more water.  The stencil was outlined using a #3 tip and then surrounding freehand dots were added.  Using a #21 tip, I formed a shell border around the base of the cake in the remainder of the dark green frosting.  A two-tone yellow gum paste Gerbera Daisy (made earlier) found its way in the center of the cake.  Viola!  Beautifully decorated cake without my kitchen turning into a mess!

 

Later that day after toting my cake up to the Illinois-Wisconsin border for my cousin's party, I FINALLY got to try the cake!  Was it a better batter than I'm used to?  You bet!  The cake was deliciously moist, very soft and tasted like cake!  (I've tried some gf cake mixes that felt like I was biting into sand; Better Batter thankfully tastes like a decadent cloud.  And look at those air pockets!  The batter is not too dense.)  At the party, my cousin's other side of the family happily tried the cake and complimented how great it tasted...before they even knew it was gluten free!  Everyone loved it!  I am happy to add another brand of cake mixes to my pantry.  Having a naturally level cake is a huge draw for me since I love to cut corners and find faster ways of doing things without compromising the final product.  The edges of the cake browned a bit too much for my liking, but no one will ever see that after the cake is smothered with frosting.  Better Batter's Yellow Cake is a winner - it even converted my chocolate loving self into a huge fan!

Farmer's Market Asparagus Soup

It's my favorite time of the year!  Farmer's Market Season!  Time to leave the office and enjoy some time in the sun while shopping for fresh veggies, fruits, sweets, plants and much more at Daley Plaza.  The 2012 Chicago Farmer's Market at Daley Plaza (50 W Washington, in front of the courthouse) runs from May 24 to October 18 every Thursday from 7:00am until 3:00pm.

On my first visit of the year last Thursday, I bought some herbs to fast track my city garden.  Planting from seeds is great, but the reality is I miss having fresh herbs available at home, so the plants will tide me over while my other plants slowly grow.  I'm adding parsley, basil, tarragon, chives, parsley, oregano and more to the herb starting line up - including the newcomer chocolate mint!  It smelled so good (like chocolate) I could not pass it up.  And yes, I was that girl with the flat of herbs on the bus later that evening...  To some, I may have looked silly or crazy, but the reality is I've toted far weirder things on the bus (empty child's wheelchair tops the list).  And these herbs are crucial to the tastiness of my food!

I was also tempted by fresh (and super cheap) asparagus so I bought two bunches at the farmer's market.  Once I got home, I made Cream of Asparagus Soup, using this recipe from Skinny Taste.  Keep it gluten free by reading the labels of chicken stock for hidden culprits and keep it dairy free by subbing Earth Balance for the butter and coconut milk for the sour cream.  Normally I use homemade stock, but Pacific Natural Foods was very generous in providing me some samples of their gluten free and dairy free goodies.  I tried their gfcf organic free range chicken broth - one spoonful put my homemade version to shame!  The rumors are right: quality ingredients really do make a difference in foods!  With organic chicken broth and local asparagus, I was pretty much guaranteed a high quality, tasty soup.  It did not disappoint!  The soup is extremely simple to prepare and even hits the spot on the hot summer-like days we have been having.  It was a relatively hands off recipe until the end when I spent about a minute blending everything together with my immersion blender.  I've never made soup with asparagus before but I'm glad I branched out and discovered something new for my recipe box.  This soup really is worth trying!

For more information on Chicago's Farmers Markets, check out this really helpful link from explorechicago.com.  This season, I will be spotlighting a different vendor from the Daley Plaza Farmer's Market!  Check back weekly for this fun feature.