Gluten Free Grain Free Cookbook Recommendations
I would like to dedicate Friday’s to sharing Frugal Things I know with you. In this economy, we all can benefit from learning to manage on less. I am sure that there are lots of frugal things you all know, maybe that were passed down to you from your grandparents or great grandparents! I will try to be consistent and have something to share each Friday, whether it be gluten free or grain free! So, here we go…
As far as Gluten Free or Grain Free Cookbooks go, there are tons to choose from. Here are my favorites for gluten free and grain free cooking so far (the one’s that I own):
- Breaking the Vicious Cycle by Elaine Gottschall (SCD & grain free)
- Gluten Free Baking Classics by Annalise Roberts (gluten free)
- Incredible Edible Gluten Free Food for Kids by Sheri Sanderson (gluten free)
- The Gluten-Free Gourmet Cooks Comfort Foods by Bette Hagman (gluten free)
- The Gluten-Free Gourmet by Bette Hagman (gluten free)
- Living Without Magazine subscription (gluten free, allergy free)
On top of the stack is Carol Fenster’s 100 Best Gluten-Free Recipes, an excerpt from her huge tome 1,000 Gluten-Free Recipes. I think this is one I will purchase next… it had a great sampling of the really best from her recipe archives.
I am a sucker for cookbooks, even cooking magazines. Before kids, I would find myself lingering in the cookbook section of bookstores and selectively built my stash of really great cookbooks. I also had several magazine subscriptions to publications that provided me with a nice rotation of recipes. Back then, I even had the time to try out those recipes! Plus, those were the days before restricted diets and gluten free / grain free living.
I recall the very first thought I had when we were told that our oldest child was gluten intolerant and had multiple food allergies… “go find cookbooks”! It took me a little longer to realize that I would go broke if I just went to the bookstore and bought all the gluten free cookbooks that looked promising. So, I turned to our local library. I still remember the librarians face when I walked up to the counter to checkout my selected books… the stack was so high it was up to my chin! She asked if I was really going to read them all or have the time to cook from them. I had a moment to share with her what we were going through and I recall her response was very encouraging. It helps to share with perfect strangers sometimes. At least in that moment for me it was helpful.
Fast forward to today, I find it really helpful to try cookbooks from the library first. You will be surprised at what you may find on those shelves or what you can get from an interlibrary loan. The stack above are not all mine. About half of them are from our library’s vast cookbook collection. I tend to go in search of a new gluten free or SCD (grain free) cookbook in a few ways before purchasing: search the internet for new titles, check and see if the library has them, and then look for a used copy or sale somewhere. If I find a few I want to try at the library, I can spend the next three weeks cooking and baking from the recipes that peak my interest and decide if the cookbook is worthy of residing on my gluten free / grain free recipe shelf. I really try not to be impulsive… so I stay away from stores where I can buy on a whim. That helps the budget A LOT! While I would love to have shelves and shelves of great gluten free and grain free cookbooks, this frugal way of acquiring helps me with my need for new recipes and to keep my cookbook collection to a manageable level of recipes that I will actually use.
What are your favorite gluten free or grain free cookbooks? I would love it if you shared that with me!
Green Dip with Gluten-Free and Grain-Free Crackers
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
I thought I would share an SCD and grain-free green dip today along with a cracker recipe. The dip has become a favorite in our house as of a few weeks ago when I was searching for a recipe to help our youngest “like” cucumbers. I came across Jacqueline’s blog at sweetbeetandgreenbean.net and a great recipe for Cucumber and Cilantro dip. Just click on the name and the link will take you to the recipe on her site.
The tweaks I made for our family so that the dip follows the Specific Carbohydrate Diet are:
- I changed the milk or cream to homemade coconut milk
That’s it! We like this with crackers or veggies and even as a topping for Taco Night. Everyone at the table in our house can have it which is a bonus! You might be asking how it gets so creamy? The secret is the avocado… it sometimes reminds me of a smooth guacamole if I add enough cilantro and some green or red onion to the puree. What’s better, you can make this ahead and it won’t turn that funny color that avocado’s are so notorious for just as long as you use the lemon juice (or lime juice if you prefer). I have had this in the fridge for two days and it still has a nice green color! I have also found that you can add just a little more coconut milk and it turns from a dip to a dressing, perfect for taco salad. Very versatile… thanks Jacqueline!
In the picture are two crackers we routinely have in our house. On the left is Glutino’s Gluten Free Cracker, Original flavor. These are so delicious! I just wish Glutino would do something different with their packaging so that the crackers would have a better chance of staying whole, rather than in pieces! Some times it seems that we get crumbs not crackers.
On the right is my homemade Parsley Lentil Crackers. These are grain-free and SCD… yes, you read that right! When one follows the Specific Carbohydrate Diet, you come to a point where you miss certain textures. That happened to me very early on. Recently, I was doing some reading on sprouted lentils at goneraw.com and came across a cracker recipe (just click the site name to check it out). I made some adjustments so that I could have them. They are so addicting! Here’s my version below.
Grain Free Parsley Lentil Crackers
Ingredients:
- 1 cup sprouted lentils
- ½ cup ground sunflower seeds (if you can tolerate nuts, ground almonds would work well here too)
- 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar or less if you don’t like too much tang
- 1 Tbsp coconut oil
- ½ – 1 tsp honey
- 1 Tbsp water
- 1 Tbsp dried parsley
- 1 tsp Braggs seasoning
- ½ tsp salt
Method:
- Preheat oven to 225 degrees.
- Mix all ingredients really well in a food processor.
- Spread on silpat lined or oiled parchment lined cookie sheet about ¼” thick and sprinkle with salt.
- Bake in 10 minute increments, turning the pan until crackers are crisp. If browning too much, lower oven temp even further.
- Once crispy, turn oven off and leave crackers in oven to cool. Once oven is cool, remove crackers from the oven.
- Break into squares and serve with dip or salsa.
- Store in airtight container.
Really, you won’t be able to stop at just a handful! If you need help with sprouting lentils, Kimi Harris at thenourishinggourmet.com has a great post on how to do this. It is really easy to follow, just click here.
Enjoy green things today!
- Sharing the love of Christ…
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
(John 3:16 NIV)
I was listening to KLOVE (radio station 94.3 here) this morning on the way to school and heard them talking about today being “John 3:16 Day”. As I listened I thought of the ways God has shown his love to our family lately. His ways have been abundant. Then I thought about how I show love toward others. What does that look like for me? While I selfishly admit that I can not fathom giving up one of my own children, it is clear that the vehicle I use is food – loving, nourishing food.
Recently, my sister met a guy. A really neat guy and we had the opportunity to finally meet him face to face this last weekend. That was not such an easy feat as he comes from California! When I think of their story and how their paths have finally crossed and connections have been made, I clearly see God’s love for them. So, when I heard that he was making a trip out this way, I wanted to show him our gratitude and our love in a specific way. Naturally, I chose food… specifically a lunch, simple but loving. Something to make him feel at home. So, I made a Tomato & Navy Bean Soup with some other fixings. It was all completely grain free (and gluten free by default)!
We were blessed in return during our time together as he brought some food samples of his own to share with us. Very delicious salsa, lavender honey, spices and a grill rub. We cannot wait to fire up the grill and try that rub out on something worthy as spring is now here and it is not too cold to be outside with the grill! Here is the soup we made for that day…
Tomato & Navy Bean Soup (SCD)
Ingredients:
- 1 Tbls Olive Oil
- 1 Cup onion, chopped (use white or sweet onions)
- 3 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 28 oz. can Italian brand diced tomatoes (without sugar or spices/starches added for SCD)
- 3 – 4 cups Navy Beans (soaked overnight, rinsed and cooked in fresh water until just soft)
- 3 Cups Homemade Chicken stock (again, use homemade to avoid sugars and starches for SCD)
- 1 Tbls chopped fresh parsley
- 1 tsp dried oregano, crushed
- 3 fresh basil leaves, chopped (or 1/2 to 1 tsp dried basil, crushed)
- salt and pepper to taste
Method:
- Heat oil in skillet over medium heat. Add onion and saute 3-5 minutes or until tender. Add garlic and stir in for 30 seconds until aromatic.
- Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes.
- Add salt and pepper to taste.
Enjoy!
I pray that this inspires you to show others God’s love for them today (or any day for that matter).
Pi Day Gluten-Free Dessert Pizza
Okay, so I am a day late! I made this Gluten Free Dessert pizza yesterday for our school’s math class “Pi Day” party so that my child could share in the food fun. All the other pies were filled with gluten, eggs and dairy for the most part. The teacher is really great in that she is so creative in the classroom for the students. It takes a little work, but I have been able to connect with her enough through the year to be able to have a heads up when she is going to have special treats. We are fortunate to be part of a school district where they have such values. Even our nut allergy issue is addressed very well in every class.
It was fun to create something that could be shared by the whole class. They really enjoyed it!
Dessert Pizza
Crust Ingredients:
- 2 cups gluten free all purpose flour blend (you can see mine on the Gluten Free Guide page)
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp xanthan gum
- 2 sticks (1 cup) butter, melted
Method:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line one large tart pan (or two small), or a pizza pan, with parchment paper. (The tart pans with removable bottoms work the best for this.)
- Mix all crust ingredients together in a medium size bowl with a fork.
- Pat crust into the parchment lined pan with your hand, getting it as even and smooth as you can.
- Bake in 350 degree oven for 15-20 minutes, or until the crust is slightly puffed and starting to brown slightly around the edges. **Make sure to put the tart pan on a cookie sheet while baking as some of the butter may drip out of the removable bottom into your oven.
- Remove from the oven and cool completely before proceeding with toppings.
To top your dessert pizza, get creative! On this pizza I used Tofutti Cream Cheese mixed with some powdered sugar as the base, then spread on some strawberry jam for the pizza “sauce”. After that, I added banana slices for “pepperoni” and Enjoy Life mini chocolate chips for “black olive bits”. I topped it all off with some grated white chocolate that looked very much like cheese!! A sprinkling of green sugar crystals gave a hint of the idea of “oregano” for the finishing touch. I could not find a dairy free white chocolate on short notice. If you need a good one, click here. On another note, the crust for this gluten free dessert pizza is a really great stand alone shortbread!
So, the dessert pizza was definitely gluten free, egg free and nut free… mostly dairy free.
What would you put on your dessert pizza?
Welcome to WildFlours gfg! My purpose for this site is to share with you all I have learned and have yet to learn about gluten-free, grain-free and allergy-free living… to be your guide. Maybe now you can guess what the “gfg” stands for? As you read, you will discover the many meanings within the posts. I am so excited to have this site up and running now as it has been a thought on my mind for a while. There will be more to come. Right now, looking around doesn’t provide much. So, please stop back often and enjoy the recipes and resources as I get them posted. And by all means, please share your stories as well. I look forward to being your guide to all things gluten, grain and allergy free!!
