For a few years, I had the nutty idea that healthy appetizers should be served at parties. I slipped them in alongside chips and dips. It sorta worked…the chips and dip always disappeared, and, yes, people went for the carrots and celery. Because they were even better covered in onion dip.
Since commercial dried onion soup mixes can contain gluten (as of this writing, it contains a barley product), I had to come up with my own recipe. Luckily, there’s nothing I enjoy more than letting onions caramelize on the stove while I’m making other foods for a party. This recipe makes a good amount of dip — adjust ingredients to fit the number of people you’re feeding.
And don’t be surprised to find every bit of it gone by the end of the evening!
I use Asian ingredients a lot in my gluten-free cooking. Many are inherently gluten-free, making meals so much easier. Sure, my local grocery store has an Asian foods section, but it is largely geared toward the basics like soy sauce (sometimes they stock GF tamari, sometimes they don’t), other sauces, and various noodles and pre-packaged meals (including — thank you! — some great gluten-free meals from Taste of Thai).
But I like to keep my pantry well-stocked with other ingredients I use on a regular basis, so I make regular trips to one of the local grocery stores that caters to the large Asian population in my neighborhood. One store, 99 Ranch Market, is a mix of familiar products and interesting items such as whole Durian fruits. Another is geared more toward Chinese foods, with what seems to be an entire aisle devoted just to soy sauce.
Yes, you have to be very diligent about label-reading. I am still hunting for fresh rice flour noodles that don’t have wheat flour. While items must be labeled in accordance with U.S. Laws, you do need to be aware that other nations have different regulatory standards (some may be tighter, some may be laxer).
Below you can see the results of what I thought was a quick trip to buy chile paste. I went to buy this.
I don’t know the brand name of this product, but I love it in many dishes. It’s spicy, but not overwhelming. Lots of flavor. We use it so often, I bought two jars.
And maybe this.
White miso paste — perfect for soups and salad dressings.
Was hoping to find a large bag of rice flour. Ended up buying six one-pound bags. Pretty good deal, if a bit less convenient than a single bag. We use rice flour constantly in savory pancakes.
I bought six one-pound bags of this since we frequently use rice flour for savory pancakes.
Tapioca starch. Because, well, why not?
Glad to finally have tapioca starch on hand. Perfect for thickening gluten-free dishes.
I love making sandwich roll-ups with rice paper wrappers, so I stocked up on the large size. They are perfect for lunches. I couldn’t resist these triangle-shaped rice paper wrappers. Going to try to make some sort of dumpling/dim sum with these.
These were inexpensive enough that I can experiment with fillings for these triangle-shaped rice paper wrappers.
I am excited about finding millet. Have been Googling recipes all afternoon.
Millet, ready for me to decide what to make.
Oh, and after trying many stores, I finally found gluten-free Korean rice cakes (dduk). So many brands carried by local stores have wheat flour mixed in. I’m eager to create a spicy dish with these chewy, flavor-absorbing babies.
Two styles of Korean rice cake: sliced and thick balls. Can’t wait to make a stir fry with these! They are labeled gluten-free.
Grabbed some black sesame seeds. They’ll be beautiful on crispy rice with spicy tuna or salmon. I also picked up some tofu. Because, well, it freezes well so I can have it on hand for quick stir fries or other meals.
I am pro-tofu, and a bit weirded out the by cross-promotion for the movie “The Croods”. Just not sure how tofu fits with the movie theme.
The only thing I resisted purchasing — and I know I’m going to regret this — was the plus-sized bottle of fish sauce. I told myself I had a fresh new bottle at in the refrigerator. Since I use fish sauce a lot, I suspect I’ll be going back. I didn’t buy any dried rice noodles because I have plenty on hand. I went a bit wild the last time I shopped.
I couldn’t find any GF soy sauce, but I admit I didn’t look too hard since I have a good supply (and it’s easy enough to purchase locally).
Let me say this: I am addicted to these pancakes. Completely, totally, wholly addicted. I could eat these every single day. And I would be happy.
You can make these as easy as you want or as complicated as you want. I go for easy, meaning I use leftover meats instead of cooking them on the spot — this lets me make these quickly during the week. In addition to the rice flour and turmeric batter, the ingredients include various veggies cut/chopped/julienned into to small pieces, some meat (I often use leftover shrimp or meatballs), and some bean sprouts if you choose. Top with a spicy dipping sauce, and you are in heaven. Trust me.
The trick to cooking these pancakes is to let them get very well-done on the edges. The undersides will be crispy, and the thin batter cooks all the way through quickly.
Hi, I’m Kassia, and I want to thank you for subscribing to the Glutenfreeliac.com mailing list. Every week, I explore topics related to living a healthy and fulfilling gluten-free life, including gluten-free ingredient crushes that I hope you’ll love too, and I always welcome your thoughts and ideas about what I have to say (or things you’d like me to dig into…especially if it’s something super-tasty!). Continue reading “Welcome to Glutenfreeliac”
Twice baked potatoes are a fun way to make our friend the potato something special. If you use a microwave to cook the potatoes, this comes together pretty quickly on a weeknight.
The key to twice baked potatoes is what you do with your mashed potato filling (plus, well, that sprinkling of cheese on the top of the potatoes). You can go as basic as salt, pepper, and butter. Or you can fancy your potatoes up with Greek yogurt or sour cream. Whatever strikes your tastebuds.
My first memories of scalloped potatoes come from making this dish from a box. It was…good, but not something I’d crave. When I went gluten-free, I just assumed scalloped potatoes were off the menu. But, one night I found myself wanting something a little cheesy, a little creamy, and a lot potato-y.
And scalloped potatoes were exactly what I craved! This recipe is perfect for weeknights or dinner parties. Parboiling the potatoes in the cream mixture cuts the cooking time, getting this dish on the table with little hands-on effort.
I’ll admit it: I don’t have the patience to make sushi at home (though I hold out high hopes that someday I will!). I do love serving sushi rice — a slightly sweetened rice — with certain meals, particularly seared albacore.
Making the rice is amazingly simple; it’s even easier if you have a rice cooker that does the bulk of the work for you. The recipe below assumes you’re cooking your rice on the stovetop, so if you do use a rice cooker, follow the directions for your machine (some have a sushi rice setting, which is really nice).
One key thing to remember before cooking your rice is to wash it several times to remove the outer starches — I generally cover the rice in a bowl with water, swish a bit, then drain using a fine mesh strainer. You will notice the water is very cloudy the first couple of rinses, but will get clearer as the starches are removed.
