Still working on my new book

Well, here it is almost fall and I am still working on my next book, a lot of work! I’m finding it really rewarding though, as I experiment with new recipes and they work!!!!! Then photographing them is fun too ...

This next book is turning out to be an encyclopedia of sorts. All the foods we can eat in a gluten free diet. There are lots of them! People often ask me if a gluten free diet is healthy? And so I am making this book answer questions on nutritious ideas I have implemented in feeding my family a gluten free diet.

Everywhere you find lists of foods you can’t have, but having a list of foods you can have, how nutritious they are, how to prepare them and also give you ideas to include enough variety will be very helpful I’m sure. I’ve also made a list of things you find on labels, both gluten free and not, that will help you decide if something is right for your dietary needs.
A gluten free ingredients list has a great many new terms as even I have found out! I’m hoping to give people a resource guide …all in one place!

Basically, yes, it is healthy, if you know how to manage it properly and with lots of variety. So I started doing research in January about all the foods we can eat, and how nutritious they are, (or not) and there are tons of choices. It has turned out to be hundreds of hours of research and writing though, and now I’m doing the layup part and have over a hundred pages so far. I'm thinking I may have to write a book series to get everything in. I so want to share all of the things I have been doing and make it easier for others. It is hard enough having to change your whole lifestyle, food wise, to have everything laid out for you as far as recipes and anecdotal information of what it has been like for us, I’m sure would help.

I think a lot of people will love my new book series, just because it is the latest up to date information on how to have a healthy gluten free diet with recipes that also help you with other dietary restrictions as well. A valuable resource to help save time, money and keep healthy. Well, better get back at it!

Gluten Free Victorian Tea

Well, it has been a busy time this winter testing new gluten free recipes for another book. In the middle of all that I’ve been answering people’s emails, lots of good feed back and ideas to help me make things even more clear.

This week I’m putting on a Gluten Free Victorian Tea at the Whitby History Museum. From 1:00 to 3:00pm -123 Brock Street South, Whitby, Ontario. www.whitbyhistoricalsociety.com

They hold regular teas once a month; unfortunately they are of course off limits to those of us on a Gluten Free Diet. Sooo, I was asked to provide the goodies for a Gluten Free version tea on June 19th. Should be fun, mouthwatering and give guests a chance to try some of my new Gluten Free Parisian Sourdough Bread. Hope to have a sell out crowd, good fundraising for the museum.

Yesterday I made little tart shells, while also making a rhubarb pie for Father’s Day, and they are sitting in the freezer ready to be filled. I can’t decide whether to make strawberry tarts or chocolate? Maybe both!

Happy New Year - Fish & Chips

Of course we had a wonderful gluten free Christmas Dinner complete with turkey for Christmas Dinner. The holiday dinner my family loved most though, just because we hadn’t had anything like this for years was my new gf recipe for Classic English Fish & Chips. My husband said this was one of his favourites, way back when. He had given up ever having it again. Of course I have tried, but it never quite made muster till now.

The fish was wonderful and the batter didn’t fall off. The fries were so delicious, I think it was due to the wonderful farm fresh potatoes I had bought locally at B C Pickering Produce. The woman at the cash register said they were very particular about their produce and everything was so fresh.


Classic English Fish and Chips
A Gluten Free Adaptation by Trina Astor-Stewart

Fish & Chips is classic English street food and many would not go a week even today without heading down to their favourite locale. The first shop opened in London in the mid 19th century. By the 1930s, shops were located in towns all over England.

If you want to be authentic and have a fish fry night. Place newspaper placemats on the table, a basket on top, lined with parchment paper, pile in the fries and fish and serve with apple cider vinegar, tartar sauce, ketchup and a nice gf ale on the side. Serves four.

Wash and peel and cut into strips, about
4 large potatoes (if new potatoes leave the skins on)
Pat dry with paper towel.
Heat sunflower oil in a wok, or deep fryer (depth should be 2 or 3 inches to cover) to 375 degrees or until just about sizzling heat.
Fry potatoes about 7 minutes or until golden brown and remove from hot oil with a slotted spoon, (or basket in deep fryer) Place potatoes on a baking sheet lightly salt the chips and reserve warm in a 250 F oven.

Fish

About 1 lb fish, cut into chunks. Each piece of fish should be about 2 inches by about 3 inches. Traditionally Cod or Sole are the fish most commonly used to make fish and chips, any firm, white-fleshed fish will work.

Prepare fresh or thawed Fish by draining thoroughly. Pat fish dry. Sprinkle fish on both sides with salt and pepper.
Place about ½ cup of ‘Astoria Mills All Purpose Mix #1’ in a bowl, mix in ½ teaspoon Herbs Provencal ( optional) and dredge each piece of fish in the flour mixture until well coated, shaking off excess.

Prepare Batter:

Blend together dry ingredients
¾ cup Astoria Mills All Purpose Mix #1
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon Xanthan Gum
In a separate bowl, whisk together,
2 tablespoons vinegar

1 egg
1 cup water or Gluten Free Beer ( I used water)
Mix dry ingredients and wet together with a whisk to make a smooth, thick batter.

Dip one piece of fish at a time in the batter, and then slide into the hot oil. Repeat with 4 or 5 pieces and fry turning each piece of fish over frequently, until deep golden and cooked through, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a paper-towel-lined baking sheet and keep warm in oven. Then fry remaining fish in batches of 4, returning oil to 375°F between batches.

Serve in a basket lined with parchment paper

(if you like, my crew couldn't wait, so just plunkt it on a plate,)

and have GF vinegar available for each person to use over fish or you can also serve with lemon wedges.

Serve with Homemade Coleslaw and Tartar Sauce, and GF Ketchup on the side.

Here is a photograph of the inside of a piece of the gf battered fish. And yes, the family is used to the drill, gotta take a picture of it!

Happy New Year, have a great 2008 everyone.
Try my new Fish & Chips Recipe I think it qualifies as a guilty pleasure for sure, since I’m supposed to be trying to lose weight. Let me know what you think, glad to hear from you.
email: trina@astoriamagazine.com

Blue Cheese, Gluten Free?

Blue Cheese ….Gluten Free?

Blue cheese is generally made from cow's milk, sheep's milk, or goat's milk cheeses and have Penicillin type cultures added so that the final product is spotted or veined with blue or blue-green mould. Traditionally it was started on wheat bread, and so not gluten free. However, many lists now state that most blue cheeses are now started with an artificial or synthetic culture. So best to read the label for contents such as wheat or gluten.

Last year Gluten Free Living magazine had a great article on blue cheese. As I recall from the article, most blue cheeses are safe. However, some people are sensitive to moulds, and then that is another story. Brown rice can’t be tolerated by some, because it tends to grow mould before being polished. Then some people are allergic to Penicillin also, so you are the best decision maker for your own dietary needs.

Just wanted to write about this as my Gluten Free Goodies –Christmas Edition book has a couple of recipes, out of the over 150 in there that call for a bit of blue cheese in the salad dressing and such. If you want to you can always substitute for something else. We like blue cheese every now and then and so included this in the e-book.

Apparently, ‘Wishbone’ blue cheese salad dressing is gluten-free. For all of you out there looking to hit up some home made buffalo wings and blue cheese for an impromptu holiday treat, there's a great source. A guilty pleasure for sure. We deserve out little gluten free guilty pleasures don't we!

There's absolutely no comparison to home made blue cheese dressing on a salad, Central Market in Dallas, Texas makes a wonderful Blue Cheese dressing, that is wonderful!

A gluten-free diet brings about all kinds of changes. Many people who have emailed me are actually adopting a gluten free lifestyle simply for the health benefits. Yes, we're forced read every label, make a lot from scratch, but before we know it, we're trying new things. Sometimes I think our family has been saved from the junk food life style, so much of it has wheat and gluten in it that it is off limits. Life goes on, and more happily when we're feeling good.

Last minute baking

Well it has been a busy week baking goodies and getting ready for Christmas. Lots of good comments and sales of my new book. I’m really thrilled with the response. It is not easy to get the word out and I did so want to give as many people living a gluten free lifestyle some new choices this holiday season. Also created a new website which I will add to as the time goes by, you can see it at http://www.glutenfreetrina.com/

Also been leaning more and experimenting with new ideas. I even created a new cookie called Glazed Tangerine Chews, Gluten Free, with no corn, no casein, no sugar, no nuts, no eggs! WOW, a tall order but they are tasty. If you have a favourite food, and you would like to have a gluten free version ....just email me and I will see how I can help you.

Wishing all of you Happy Holidays!

Great Reviews for Gluten Free Goodies

It’s great, I’m getting wonderful comments about my book. It is solving a dilemma for some mom’s of Celiac kids.

One mom wrote me, “ You know, a few months ago we baked something and my celiac daughter, ___ noticed the smell. She had never noticed before. She asked about it and was so upset when told it wasn't gluten-free. It broke my heart. Ever since then, it's a rule around here that we have to bake only gluten-free. (My other daughter likes to bake too.) I wasn't sure how to handle the holiday baking - you have really come to our rescue! I'll try to send pictures of the baking results.”

Thank you J. for sharing your comments. I put a picture in to show you some I made awhile ago. Cutting out cookies at Christmas is still one of my fondest memories with grandma Burdie, in NC. The Sugar Cookie recipe was inspired by what she called, Vanilla Wafers or Tea Cakes.

The Braided Artisan Bread recipe I developed out of a necessity when we planned to take the boys camping and I needed something easy to take with me, that I would still be able to make fresh after two weeks in the woods.

I make it all the time at home now, because it is make ahead easy. I also like playing with and kneading the dough, sort of therapeutic. I mix it dry ahead, store and then just add the eggs and water to activate. I could probably use egg substitute if I needed to.

One day I quickly activated a batch between photo shoots. I usually let it rise 2 hours before baking, so when I got an unexpected call that I had to go back to the shoot early, I wondered what I was going to do to save it. The dough starts to taste too yeasty to me, if it rises longer than that, at room temperature, so -I just stuck it in the fridge and it was still great next morning. I just lifted it out of the fridge, kneaded a little more of my rice flour mix into it, shaped it and popped it into the oven, cold, turned it on to 350F and 40 minutes later, that divine smell of freshly baked bread!

Lots of times now I bake it the night before and make the sandwiches to take along the next morning. A couple of mornings ago, my son surprised us with the best French toast, made from some slices of the Braided Artisan Bread I’d baked the day before.

New: November 2009 -You can now buy this bread mix and others at www.AstoriaMills.com

More Baking

As an aside, I baked 400 little Sugar Cookie Hearts and took them to an event recently. It was not a celiac event, but since I don’t make anything but gf free, well. Anyway, they were a big hit, with people coming back for seconds. I wish I had some of the comments on film.

I had each little cookie wrapped with a label on the side saying these are Gluten Free. It was really great. One woman came up to me and said she had eaten hers, I said, "Would you like another one?" She said "Oh yes, they are good!"

There were quite a few cookies left over, and I had them stored at home. My son kept getting into them and they were still good two weeks later!

Trina