Cauliflower Mac and Cheese

I recently uncovered a hidden love of cauliflower while preparing a carb free menu for a friend. Whipped cauliflower became a staple of my diet and shortly after I began reading about other uses of cauliflower in low carb and gluten free diets, for example cauliflower pizza crust. I have yet to try this but I have put it on my list of holiday recipes to try.

Last night I was making a very classic american style dinner for a friend and I made meatloaf and a green salad and in lieu of the mac and cheese I made cauliflower mac and cheese.

• 1 average size head of cauliflower
• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup half and half
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 cup grated sharp cheddar
• pepper
• salt
• 1/2 cup parmesan 
• gluten free bread crumbs (I use Udi's gf bread ground in the food processor)

1. Preheat oven to 350. Boil cauliflower that has been separated into pieces in well salted water till tender. Drain and place into baking pan.

2.  Melt butter and half and half, set aside a tiny portion of the not hot half and half to mix the corn starch. 

3. Mix in the cheddar and 1/4 cup of the parmesan cheese and stir, after cheese had melted add corn starch that has been liquified by the half and half and stir. 

4. Season with pepper and salt. 

5. Toss cauliflower in cheesey sauce till coated.Sprinkle with gf bread crumbs and remaining parmesan.

6. Place pan in oven and bake till top bread crumbs are golden and crispy, about 10 minutes. 

Enjoy! xoxo - Iris

Manic Panic Hair Dye... Is it Gluten Free?

I never thought I'd be one of those ultra sensitive types when it came to products that contain gluten but after making a batch of breakfast burritos and discovering that just touching the tortillas made me sick I've decided to rethink my allowance of exposure. Many cosmetic products, dyes, shampoos and conditioners contain wheat protein so this is something you need to be wise about.

This year I dyed my hair completely blonde in January and then on a whim went purple... and then blue... all courtesy of Manic Panic...

But when I googled "Is Manic Panic Gluten Free?" I got a lot of people talking about it being vegan and discussing the qualities of the ingredients etc.

So here is the answer we have all been "dying" for... straight from the horses mouth, err, facebook's mouth.

MANIC PANIC IS GLUTEN FREE. 

So happy radical color all! xoxo - Iris

Brownies

I got sick of bean brownies or the chalkiness so typical of rice flour in brownies and longed for a good fudgy brownie. The recipe I am about to reveal to you is exactly such a brownie, delicious, chocolatey and awesome!

• 
  1/2 cup butter
• 3 oz. unsweetened chocolate
• 8 oz. white chocolate chips
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2/3 cup cocoa
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 tsp baking soda

1. Preheat oven to 350. Melt butter in a pan with unsweetened chocolate on low heat. Be very careful that you don't burn the chocolate. Add the sugar and 8 oz. of white chocolate chips. 

2.  Remove from heat, mix in eggs and vanilla.

3. Add baking soda and cocoa and mix very well to ensure there are no lumps.

4. Move batter into buttered 8x8 or 9x9 pan. Bake for 25 minutes or until brownies seem solid in the center. Cool completely before removing from pan. 

My fall version of these brownies with cinnamon & candied ginger.  

Enjoy! xoxo- Iris 

Creamy Lemon Salad Dressing

In Hollywood there is an italian restaurant called Fabiolus Cafe, no self respecting italian or anyone who has been to the east coast would eat their pasta however... but they have a salad that every once in a while my whole body craves. I am however seldom believe that there is a salad worth $10, though I have made an exception. Well, no more! The salad Fabiolus sells is an arugula green salad with fresh mozzarella, avocado, and corn with a lemon creamy dressing. This can be easily constructed at home.

My copycat dressing is as follows...

• 1 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup mayonaise
• 1/2 tsp salt (or more to taste)
• juice of one lemon
• pinch of cracked black pepper

1. Mix all ingredients together and chill.

2.  To this you can add your own herbal additions, tarragon and dill are excellent. This makes a lovely dressing or dip. 

Happy dipping everyone!

GLUTEN FREE TIP: Read labels on salad dressings carefully, its best to select only dressings labelled as gluten free. Many dressings can include soy sauce, malt, or "modified food starch." Wheat products are often used as a cheap thickener.

Christmas Cookies!

I'm fantasizing about all the cookies I'm going to bake for the holidays! Someone mentioned fudge a couple days ago and now I can't get that out of my mind, luckily its naturally gluten free. So some fudge making is definitely going occur.

I found some maple sugar at Trader Joes over the Thanksgiving holiday and made an epic maple cheesecake using maple sugar as the sweetener. It was delightful! I used my standard almond meal based crust on the bottom and there was an all out war for who would get the last slivers. I also discovered the joy of sweet potato pie this Thanksgiving as well.

Its easy to be so excited about the new recipes you come up with that you keep wanting to make them over and over but I think its time for me to wipe the cutting board clear and start inventing some new holiday gluten free cookies!

My first challenge this week is going to be to recreate an old favorite of my mother's, the Archway Merry Mint Cookies. My goal is to not only recreate the cookie but also to do so in a gluten free manner. The Merry Mint cookies were a flakey little shortbread cookie with salty/minty bites of mint chips in them.

The Spokesman Review - November 10, 1987

I will report back on my progress and hopefully have a recipe to share!

xoxo - Iris

Cocoa Pebble Treats

I occasionally have a craving for Rice Krispy treats and yes, Rice Krispy does have a gluten free option, they are made with brown rice rather than having the "malt flavor." Fruity Pebbles and Cocoa Pebbles are both gluten free.

Enter the invention of Cocoa Pebble Treats. OK, invention is probably an exaggeration, lets just say they make a great alternative to Rice Krispy treats.

If you want these to be vegetarian use marshmallow fluff in place of the marshmallows, works just fine and doesn't have gelatin in it.

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 package (10 oz., about 40) regular marshmallows
• - OR -
• 4 cups miniature marshmallows
• - OR -
• 1 jar marshmallow fluff (makes vegetarian)
• 6 cups Cocoa Pebbles cereal
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips

1. In large saucepan melt butter over low heat. Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Remove from heat.

2. Add Cocoa Pebbles cereal. Stir until well coated.

3. Using buttered spatula or wax paper evenly press mixture into 13 x 9 x 2-inch pan coated with cooking spray. Top with chocolate chips while still wam. Cool. Cut into 2-inch squares. Best if served the same day.

Letter to a newly gluten free eater...

A few weeks back I received an email from a young man who had recently become gluten free but was having difficulty knowing how/where/what to eat... someone referred him to talk to me and this was my response:

So happy to hear its making a difference in your life. I'm happy to help you with this, I know, and am myself gluten free and my life has been transformed by it. You will also find the longer you stay gluten free the times that a bit of wheat does sneak its way into your diet how harshly it effects you. I also know a lot of people including myself who test negative for celiacs. I think that this area of medicine is just now being understood. I tested negative twice, I get sick for weeks just from a teeny bit of wheat. I also know people who have gotten rid of their acid reflex with elimination of wheat from their diet. 

I think the key problem with antacids is that is does not allow your body to properly regulate so once you are off them your body goes full force in its acid production, which is counter productive. 

now as far as the "produced in a factory that also produces wheat" labeling. I personally have not had problems with products that are gluten free and produced in a place that is not a "gluten free facility" you will find most products fall into this category and so you should be fairly safe. I eat a lot of mexican food and Mediterranean food in my daily diet, both are diets easy to avoid wheat, corn tortillas, etc. Be careful because asian food can me misleading, soy sauce is made from wheat, so while the rest of the food is wheat free most of the time its cooked with soy sauce so thats a no-no too. 

It will probably take about 3 months before you will see the full effect of going gluten free. Because it effects your digestive system it can effect your intestines and your ability to properly absorb nutrition so you will find overall your health will improve as you stay away from wheat. 

READ labels very carefully though, some things contain wheat that will really surprise you. For example i once ate potato salad, got really sick and then after discovered it had wheat in the ingredients. Also be careful about alcohol like rum and beer... those are both wheat based. Also read the ingredients in salad dressings too, some vinegar is wheat based.

Luckily trader joes has a lot of options, I like the Udi's bread and their corn pasta. It will take a little while but eventually you will find your way. In the meanwhile I hope you enjoy tacos. :)Mexican food is always my fall back food. 

Feel free to msg me if you ever have any questions. I'm happy you on a road to feeling better and I know how hard it can be to find all the information you need out there. :)

cheers, Iris

Beginning...

I went gluten free just over one year ago after a long period of digestive issues that had finally reached a point where ignoring them was no longer an option. Its been an interesting experience with a lot of challenges but also its a wonderful learning experience and ultimately I am healthier and happier and eat better than ever before.

I've been spending a lot of time pondering what direction my bakery will be taking. In June I began selling my gluten free baked goods at the Brentwood Farmer's Market and then expanded to a cafe in Van Nuys called Al's Chicken. Now I do a lot of special order requests for the holidays and birthdays.

My favorite thing about baking gluten free is that its a new world of recipes, I can challenge myself and while I reference recipes in books and online its up to me to make the recipe really work. The core challenge in gluten free cooking is texture and avoiding the dreaded chalky taste. For me another issue is that I don't like using xanthum gum or guar gum as an additive in my cooking so you'll find that the recipes I share are unlike a lot of the gluten free recipes already out there.

While at my core I love a good cookie I do intend to include other gluten free recipes here.

Enjoy! Gluten free eating for a happier tummy! <3 Iris