Friday, April 30, 2010

Homemade bread!

I came home last night to still-warm gluten free bread. Mmmmmmmm.  There is something very comforting about warm bread (even without the gluten).

After all the experimenting I've been doing with trying different gf breads from bakeries and stores, we have come the conclusion that it is very expensive to eat this way.  And, in many cases, the stuff that we bought was just not very good (see April 11 post).  Eating gf if you don't want grains is pretty darn cheap, but who wants to do that?  It is not surprising that one of Alexander's words is "toast."  He knows the good stuff!

When I got three loaves of my favorite gf bread (the flax seed bread from the Living Earth bakery) this week and brought them home, Geoff started thinking.   Thus, the homemade bread.  :) He actually went and got a bread machine yesterday to do this, realizing that we will probably very quickly make up the cost by not buying so much of the other breads.  It turns out that even bread machines have gf settings these days!   Luckily, I had stocked up on some gf flours and supplies when we went up to Bob's Red Mill store over the Easter weekend, so it looks like he didn't have to buy that many supplies.

Monday, April 26, 2010

Toaster waffles and other morning thoughts

When we went up to Seattle and stay with my cousin, she and her kids had toaster waffles for breakfast.  Geoff had gotten us some of the Trader Joe's gluten free toaster waffles, so Alexander and I tried them when we got home.  A big hit!  Easy, tasty and fast...all good things in the morning.   I went this weekend to pick up some more, and they were out!  I guess I'm not the only one who thinks they're great!  But, the nice person I spoke with at TJs said she'll save three for me and call me when they get some in.

That's sort of a pattern for this past week.  I also went to the Living Earth bakery on Friday to get some of their flax bread.  They were also out, so I special ordered some to pick up on Wednesday. I also had to order three of them to do this.  It must be a magic number.  This means that after this morning I'm out of bread.  It's probably good for me to figure out more non-bread breakfasts.

It has been a while since I've been able to blog, so I have had a lot of thoughts running around my head.  Here are some thoughts for upcoming blogs...
  • Tips for eating more fruits and veggies (my new goal, and hopefully easier now that the spring is here!)
  • Millet - bird food or breakfast?
  • Other gf resources I've found/heard about
  • Do I feel better/notice a difference being completely gf?
  • Vitamins and supplements

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Loving feeling good!

So, I am still gluten free. I made it through the six-week trial period I set myself for being gluten free and not just wheat free. And, while I am not completely sure how different I feel, I feel good. I'm actually a bit nervous to try spelt again in case I like it but it makes me feel terrible.

Sunday, April 11, 2010

The only hard part about going gf is...

BREAD! You may think I'm joking, but I am not. There are a lot of delicious gluten free foods out there, but the one that seems nearly impossible to make great is bread. As part of this weekend, we went to three gf bakeries (2 in Seattle and one in Portland). I had one of the best cupcakes ever at Cascadia Bakery in Portland, but the bread...bleh. I'm hoping that they just had a bad bread day.  The Flying Apron in Seattle's Freemont district also had some scrumptious treats, but I didn't see any bread. Perhaps they didn't have any that day? Then, this morning we went to Wheatless in Seattle. Amazingly good apricot cheese danishes and lemon bars, but the bread had all the telltale traits of gf breads (either it is light but falls apart easily or is dense and heavy, and in all cases it is expensive). I know it is hard to immitate gluten, but it seems to be most difficult to do in breads!  I have found that other baked goods are easier to make yummy so that the gluten isn't missed. But, bread is tough! I remember why I was so excited when I discovered Rudi's Spelt bread. It tastes and acts like wheat bread.  From all my research, I still think that the Millet bread at Living Earth Bakery is the best gf bread I've tried.

Saturday, April 10, 2010

Eating in Seattle

We're on vacation for a long weekend in Seattle. It's been fun to explore the gf options here. Today we're at the Portage Bay Cafe, and they have two gf pancake options. Yesterday, Mike and I went to the Flying Apron Bakery, and tomorrow we hope to stop at Wheatless in Seattle.

Friday, April 2, 2010

Teff

Well, I have to say that this is not my favorite gf grain so far. I got some of the Maskal Teff, which is apparently an ancient grain from Ethiopia, from the Co-op and made some whole grain teff porridge a few days ago. On the positive side, one cup of dry teff to 3 cups of water makes a LOT of teff porridge! It is a very dense little grain. Alexander had a few spoonfuls, too. It was a bit dry, and thus hard for him to swallow. Perhaps I cooked it too long? I did it as directed, so perhaps this is just how it is.

Day 2: The second day, Alexander and I switched to eggs and gf toaster waffles.

Day 3: The third day, I tried heating it up the leftovers like little pancakes and eating it with syrup. The teff itself doesn't have a strong flavor, so this was okay.

Day 4: And, this morning, I've heated it up and added sesame butter for some additional flavor and moisture. This seems to be the best. It also may be one of those things where it is growing on me.

Day 5: ? There's still a little bit left, so I may have to get creative tomorrow.

On the recipe insert that came with the teff package, it suggests cooking the teff in combination with other grains (brown rice, millet, kasha, or corn meal). I think the cookbook also suggests mixing it with quinoa. Perhaps for another day...