Gluten Free Goodness

As someone who is gluten and sugar free, it seemed quite natural that I’d want to adopt Amy. Amy is quite an impressive chica, just starting out in culinary school with a variety of recipes that she churns out regularly! I’m impressed, especially since I’ve fallen off the posting wagon as of late.

When I got Amy’s e-book to raise money for St. Jude’s walkathon, the granola bars caught my eye for 3 reasons.
1. A good friend died of leukemia when I was in elementary school
2. a year ago next week my labs and symptoms seemed to suggest leukemia. Thankfully I didn’t, but the weeks of fear, poking and prodding and hospitalization made it an abjectly miserable and memorable experience.
3. DH loves granola bars

DH eats a plethora of sugar/HFCS soaked granola bars, and it drives me bonkers. I’ve made him home made granola bars in the past, but alas, he’s complained that they’re sticky or don’t hold together well. However, Amy’s bars were a hit! I made them as directed except I used hazelnuts since it was a snow day and we were out of walnuts. They were study and flavorful, and kept well for weeks in a sealed container, which was a great plus. And most importantly, they passed the picky husband test. I made them again, even, and used cherries, chopped uncrystallized ginger and orange zest. Yum!

So thanks, Amy, for the recipes and inspiration. And I’m sure if people still want to donate to St. Jude’s through Amy or otherwise that they’d be gladly accepted.

This adoption is hosted by the fabulous Sea of Book of Yum. Check out the other adoptions and/or join in on the fun!

I haven’t gotten to adopt a GF blogger lately, but as soon as I saw Heather’s Raspberry Divinity Tarts, because I thought they were just about the cutest thing ever, my DH loves raspberries and I have a gob of raspberries growing right now!

They are SO cute. The only thing is that they are high maintenance and get all sorts of mushy and sticky once you uncover them and add the raspberries, so gobble them down. It wasn’t hard to talk people into it, and they do keep well in a sealed container. Everyone loved them, and I’ll certainly make them again! I followed the recipe, but had it preheated too high, so that’s why they’re a bit more tan than Heather’s. I filled them with a faux Nutella paste (ok, I confess, I wanted chocolate hazelnut paste and I think the rest of the recipe may well have been an excuse to indulge).

Do check out the other recipe that Heather contributed to Sea’s Baby shower. The pictures are great and there’s good info, too. I’m delighted that I got a chance to check it all out!

The picture of the Chickpea and Spinach curry really doesn’t do the yumminess any justice.  Like most curries, the beauty lies within…

This super yummy, vegan curry is part of Adopt a GF Blogger, the brainchild of Sea, of Book of Yum.     I’ve wanted to adopt Sea for ages, because I love her healthy, inventive, flavorful GF recipes that usually have an exotic flare.  The most fun part of all of this was going through her (extensive!) recipe index!  The hard part was finding just one to make…but now I’ve marked a couple more for future weeks.  Another great part of her recipe index is that she rates recipes, so that you can figure out which things absolutely HAVE to get made.

The recipe was wonderful, flavorful, and satisfying.  It was so perfect because I *had* to get GF aseofetida powder, and went through this process of hunting it down, then and then I only used it once (ya know, when you want it pretty much because you can’t have it).  So this gave me an opportunity to give it some more use! Another bonus was that I had a bag of frozen tomatoes from my plants last summer, and I’m trying to make my way through all of the frozen foods I’ve stored to make room for the vegetative goodness just around the corner!  Of course, using my own tomatoes made it taste better because anything you plant is just uniquely splendid…just ’cause.

I made the recipe as directed.  The only change I made was using arugula instead of spinach since the cute little market near me was out of spinach.  It was funny, really, how annoyed I was at first, and a good reminder of how much I take having beautiful, organic, fresh foods for granted!

So thanks again, Sea, for all the recipes!

I have long enjoyed the recipes and pictures from Kalyn of Kalyn’s Kitchen. Kalyn is the originator and a big promoter of Weekend Herb Blogging, a fabulous weekly display of herbs and unusual fruits and veggies. As an added bonus, she blogs on whole food, healthy, low glycemic recipes. Many of her recipes are naturally gluten free, so a big thank you to Kalyn!!!

I went to a conference last weekend but I forgot my lunch at home and came home ravenous. It was the perfect opportunity to make Kalyn’s Summer Tomato Salad with Avocado, Tuna, Cilantro and Lime. I even had all of the ingredients on hand, and used tomatoes and cilantro from my garden. It was the perfect set up since DH was out (silly guy hates tomatoes, avocado, tuna, and cilantro) and so I got to enjoy a few of my favorite things.

It was a great combination, and I enjoyed it thoroughly. Quick, easy, satisfying, and above all, delicious!!! Tuna is actually one of my guilty pleasures that I often avoid because of mercury (I have high blood mercury levels. Most people are not affected by having small amounts, and the FDA guidelines only cover pregnant women and children). So the next day I had leftovers with my savory crackers made with brazil nuts. Brazil nuts are high in selenium, and studies suggest that selenium actually can block the body’s absorption of mercury. What can I say, I like it when science is yummy.

This is my entry for Adopt a GF blogger, kindly hosted and originated by Sea at Book of Yum. This month has a lunch box theme, and this would make a great lunch.

I’ve taken time out of my grueling Olympic-watching schedule to pull the round up together.  It’s been fun, and thanks for participating!  Several new GF bloggers have joined in, like Anna and Hannah. Welcome!

On to the adoptees:

Mary Francis hopped in early with Egg Rolls (gluten free, of course), courtesy of Kate at Gluten Free Gobsmacked.  Even though she improvised, due to accidentally doubling the liquids, they came out perfectly.  You had me at flaky dough!

Hannah, of Hannah’s Harvest, is treating her pregant sweet tooth to yummy Oatmeal Date Chocolate Cookies from Mrs. Gf’s Blog.  The picture has me drooling!

Anna, with her new blog Gluten Free Anna, made Mary Frances’ GF Pizza. Despite having to make a last minute run for more cheese, her pizza turned out beautifully.

I adopted Ricki, of Diet, Dessert and Dogs, and went for a double header adoption and adaption.  I adopted her Spicy Cauliflower soup (yum!!!) and adapted her Maple Cookies (even yummier!). Both got rave reviews.  I even made the soup twice, due to a camera glitch.

Kimberly of Living Free, made Sally’s Easy Peasy Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies. She loved the fact that they were so easy and they disappeared quickly at her house!

Last, but certainly not least, Thomas adapted Lauren of Celiac Teen, because he’s inspired by her outlook and fashion sense! He made her zucchini bread. He made it dairy free, too. Doesn’t it look lovely?

So that’s all for this month! Check in with Seamaiden from Book of Yum for next month’s adoption details, and I hope you had as much fun as I did!

Seamaiden of Book of Yum is on her way to Japan, so I’ll be the host for July’s edition for Adopt a GF Blogger. It’s pretty simple:

1. Choose a GF blogger or someone who features GF recipes on their site.  The only hard part is choosing just one!  And this is on a first come, first serve basis.  Email me your adoption requests to cheryl(at)eharrishome(dot)com, or you can leave a comment.  Please let me know your name, the address for your blog, and the address of your desired blogger, too.
2. Make one of the recipes and blog about it between July 28 – Aug 11.
3. Don’t have a blog?  If you’d like, I can always post a page up on my site.  We’re an inclusive GF family ’round these parts.
4. Send me a link to the post and a purty pic, and a few days after the 11th, I’ll post a round-up.

For more info and history, check out the main adoption headquarters.

Let the fun begin!

1. I’m choosing Ricki, of Diet, Dessert and Dogs, because…Ricki rocks, and I can’t wait to “have” to try her recipes!
2. Mary Francis of GF Cooking School just couldn’t wait to adopt Kate, of Gluten Free Gobsmacked.
3. Terri at Faking it GF Style is adopting Tiffany at Life After Gluten.
4. Kimberly of Living Free will be be adopting for the first time, and her pick is Sally of Aprovechar
5. Thomas from the GFCF experience is adopting the lovely Lauren of Celiac Teen.
6. Hannah has adopted Mrs. GF
7. Anna, of Gluten Free Anna, will be joining us for the first time and adopting Mary Frances from Gluten Free Cooking School

and you?