Measuring Gluten Free

Merry Christmas everyone! Okay so I'm a tad late, but the sentiment is still there. This year for Christmas I received a great gift. A kitchen scale. It's not accurate to the hundredth of a gram or whatever but it is so much better than measuring by volume. As you may have noticed, this has changed my little world, most of my recipes are now being notated in ounces, not cups. That may change again after some stuff that I read today. But it's okay, kitchen scales can change modes. Here's what you really need to know. Kitchen scales are invaluable. Whether you are gluten free or not. (And if you aren't it will make it so much easier to convert my recipes!)

Since I started putting myself out into the internet world and sharing my creativity I have begun to research. Not just a little bit of research. I have read at least 20 e-books about cooking, I have perused gluten free blogs by the score, and I have asked my husband lots of science questions (sometimes he too looks things up, and then makes fun of me and threatens to buy me an xkcd shirt for cooking. I think they need to make an apron!). One thing that I keep running across is the proclamation that kitchen scales are by far the best way to measure. Especially if one loves to bake.

After this finally seeped into my thick experimentation loving skull I did a face-palm and it all seemed very obvious to me. Any cook worth their salt knows that cooking is about ratios. Any home cook worth their salt understands this but they may not have put it into words. You know that sometimes Aunt Ida's recipe that calls for 2c flour and 3/4c water doesn't feel right, so you trickle in water until it does. That's a ratio. More than likely your nice 16oz  or 2c of flour was more like 20oz because it got packed into the measuring cup more than normal. That is fine and acceptable. But if you aren't as familiar with the recipe something like 4oz of flour can make your mouth feel dusty and give it a "floury" taste. You know what I'm talking about.

So here's the issue, gluten free flours don't all weigh the same. Yeah, it's not fair but it's true. So you can't just substitute 1c of millet for 1c of sorghum if you run out. If you try you are going to end up with a more dense and dry whatever it is you are making. Now if you have a scale 64g is always 64g. No strange volume issues, no problems with flours being packed down more or less by strange tools or bad moods. If you measure out 64g of whatever the heck flour you want, it will always be 64g. Freeing isn't it?

So when you are in a bind with no millet flour think about what properties the other flours have. Pick something that behaves the same way. Then switch it! The flavor may change a little but the texture won't suffer nearly as much. If you are reading my blog and you have issues with corn and there is a recipe with corn flour, change it! Same goes with oat flour or potato starch or sweet rice or.... You get the idea?

Inevitably something is going to go wrong every once in a while. You will replace corn flour with tapioca flour and you'll end up with a crusty funny pizza crust instead of a sweet soft one. I'm still researching. I'm going to try and update my flour list for you, maybe even put a replacement guide. But don't worry. If it gets messed up it's not the end of the world. In fact please let me know! Tell me what you changed and what happened! Maybe I can figure out the why and it will help us all learn a little more about this gluten free world. Then go into your pantry and pull out a box of Annie's Rice Pasta and Cheddar. Your kids will be happy and you will be fed.

Now if you don't have a kitchen scale and you aren't in a position to buy one, don't worry. You can still figure out the recipes. 8oz is about a cup. 4oz is 1/2, etc.. Maybe I'll put up measurement conversions. If you are still stuck email me at milletmommy@gmail.com and I will help you convert it all to volume.

If you are in a position to buy a scale I use this one. It even comes with a bowl! It's not terribly fancy but it's accurate enough for me.

For more info on cooking ratios check out this book. There is even a thing called the Gluten Free Ratio Rally, started by TheGlutenFreeGirl, You should google it.

Hopefully you will find a kitchen scale as freeing as I do. I also hope you get the opportunity to stretch out those cooking muscles and be a little more independent! It's a fun feeling!

Happy eating!
Tori

Week 2 - Cream of....

This week we tackled a recipe favorite. It's the funk that makes casseroles funky and creamy. We tackled the infamous cream of soup. To be specific we made both cream of mushroom and cream of chicken. I'm pretty sure you could make almost any "cream of" soup from the mushroom recipe. Just substitute the mushrooms for jalapenos, or celery, or whatever. I really really really do not like mushrooms but in a side by side taste test, by both the Nerd and his mom, they agreed the cream of mushroom was really similar. The home made just tasted a little more fresh and strong. The same goes for the cream of chicken (I actually tasted that one). In a side by side tasting of a chicken and rice casserole made with a combination of the two there were no complaints. It was just "a tiny bit different" but "the consistency was the same". I consider that a victory! So if you are desperately missing cream of soups, here's a recipe for you!

Do be aware these are fresh not condensed soups. Where you will need to add water to condensed soup none is needed with the fresh. So if your recipe calls for 1 (10oz) can of soup and 1 (10oz) can of water use 20oz soup. Make the liquid equal and you will be fine.

Cream of Chicken Soup

3 1/2 c Chicken Broth

2c Chicken Breast
1/2 m Onion
1 Bay Leaf
1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
Salt and Pepper to taste
1/4 c Butter
2 Tbsp Rice Flour (I used brown rice)
2 tsp Guar Gum
1/2 c Heavy Cream

Cut your chicken into 1" cubes and poach in your broth or stock. Add your finely chopped onion, bay leaf, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Cover and cook on low heat for 20min. Once this is done remove your bay leaf and let cool. (If you have a nicer blender that allows hot liquid you can skip the cooling part. If you don't or you are not sure if your blender allows this please please please let it cool.)

Put your soup into a blender and pulse until your chicken is the desired consistency. If you like bigger chicken chunks pulse it a couple times, for more finely cut up bits pulse it 5 or 6 times.

At this point melt your butter in the bottom of a sauce pan. Then whisking the entire time add in your rice flour then your guar gum. Whisk that for about a minute before adding your soup back into the pan.

Then whisk whisk whisk some more over very low heat. You should feel the soup begin to thicken. Turn off the heat and while whisking (yeah, even more) slowly add in your cream. Store in jars or baggies in your desired amount (I used 20oz mason jars that used to be spaghetti sauce jars) and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks.

I have not tried freezing this but have read mixed reviews on freezing cream soups. It seems the cream sometimes separates or gets a "funky flavor" after being frozen. On the other hand people that exclusively use cream soups for cooking say they don't notice anything like this. Feel free to experiment and let me know how it goes.

Because this is not condensed soup this will make 2 "servings", that is 40oz of soup.

Cream of Mushroom Soup

For the most part these are very similar, the methods are the same, it's just a minor change of ingredients.

3 1/2 c Chicken Broth

1oz Dried Porcini Mushrooms

1/2 m Onion

1/2 lb White Button Mushrooms

Salt and Pepper to taste
1/4 c Butter
2 Tbsp Rice Flour
2 tsp Guar Gum
1/2 c Heavy Cream

Put your chicken broth and dried porcini mushrooms over medium heat. Cook for 10 minutes until mushrooms are re-hydrated then fish the mushrooms back out and set aside. Add your finely chopped onion and sliced button mushrooms into the infused broth.

Cook covered over low heat for 20 minutes. Then let cool.

Blend to desired consistency.

(Copy and Paste) At this point melt your butter in the bottom of a sauce pan. Then whisking the entire time add in your rice flour then your guar gum. Whisk that for about a minute before adding your soup back into the pan.

Then whisk whisk whisk some more over very low heat. You should feel the soup begin to thicken. Turn off the heat and while whisking (yeah, even more) slowly add in your cream. Store in jars or baggies in your desired amount (I used 20oz mason jars that used to be spaghetti sauce jars) and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks.

This should also make about 40oz of soup.

In terms of casseroles and using this as an ingredient I would say this is a great recipe. The leftovers pictured on the right are gluteny chicken and rice where the casserole on the left was made from the soups today. Overall a big hit! 

Happy eating!

Tori

52 Weeks of Kitchen Favorites - Week 1 Stock

Happy new year! The start of every new year is an adventure in and of itself. You make resolutions you only halfway intend to keep. Maybe you are about to start a family. You may get a new job, or a new house. Or you may have a new gluten free, restricting, and completely overwhelming diet take over. Anyone who has issues with gluten has been there.

Suddenly you find yourself trying to make grandma's famous pot roast that calls for "cream of whatever" and you can't find any gluten free condensed "cream of" soups. Macaroni and hot dog night seems like a chore and spaghetti just isn't the same made with those gluten free noodles that either taste like corn or fall apart. In the beginning a gluten free diet can seem bleak. I am so sorry.

Here's the good news. Gluten free food can be DELICIOUS. You can have cookies that don't crumble into dust. You CAN have chicken pot pie, and even grandma's famous roast. You may have to tweak a smidge though.

So break out the apron, and buy yourself some new wooden spoons (please don't use old ones, they are so contaminated!), we are going to learn how to cook this year. No more frozen rice bread. No more missing out on chili dog night. No more weird cookies when you just want chocolate chip!! This year it's 52 weeks of kitchen favorites. Everything from your basics, to ketchup, to lasagna, to corned beef and cabbage. We can cook it all.

So lets start the year off right. There is no recipe more basic and more useful than a classic stock. Stock is incredibly easy to make. Yes, you can buy it in the cartons in the store. Yes, they usually have gluten free options. Yes, this tastes 10 thousand times better.

To make an okay stock you need two things. Water and bones. That's it. If you have water and bones, you boil them down and you have stock. But water and bones does not make fantastic stock.

You'll need:
1 medium onion cut into quarters, you can leave the peel it adds nice color
3 good size carrots, peels and all
The leaves and heart from one bunch of celery
Your favorite herbs
A generous pinch of kosher salt
enough water to cover everything

When making chicken stock I generally use a whole chicken and save the cooked meat for later. I don't do any pre-roasting for chicken stock. Even when I use a carcass. It doesn't change the flavor all that much for me. My favorite herbs to use in chicken stock are bay leaf, thyme, sage, and marjoram. I use somewhere between a pinch and a teaspoon of each. Trust your nose. Put everything in the crock pot on low heat for 8-10 hours. When it's all cooked strain out your stock and let it cool to room temperature. (Toss all the wilted veggies, if you have meat on your chicken pick it off. It's tasty!) At this point you can remove the solid fats from the top and store in your choice of container. It will keep in the fridge for 2 weeks and in the freezer for up to 6 months.

For beef stock buy some nice meaty bones with a good amount of marrow in them. Lay out your bones and veggies on a sheet pan, sprinkle with a little olive oil, and roast it at 400° for 20 minutes or so. You want everything to have a caramelized outside. Then put it all in your crock or stock pot. Add in some crushed garlic, thyme, parsley, and oregano. Then cook down for hours and hours. Let cool, strain, remove fat, store.

You can do this with any meat your want or with a whole heap of veggies. This is a great base for soups, gravies, and sauces. Adjust it all to your families taste and health needs. Remember that peels and other castoffs are great for stock because you don't eat the bulk of what goes into it. You get some great flavor and nutrients this way.

Happy eating!
Tori