I hope everyone is having a great start of the summer, we just had our first really hot summer day here in Helsinki, it was fantastic after the particularly snowy and long winter!

I wanted to write something about quinoa and allergies since I have recently come across experiences from people having symptoms after eating quinoa. Some have had stomach issues, like cramps, vomiting etc. some have had hives, sneezing, and joint pain, others have just gotten a general sense of unwell after having some quinoa. It is often said that it’s the saponins that cause problems in quinoa, but I do know that some people get weird symptoms even after removing most of the saponins, so I don’t know if that’s the problem with everyone. Quinoa is also high in oxalates, and this is also why some want to avoid it.

I have no answers to why it is problematic to some, but I wanted to let everyone who reads this site and maybe uses the recipes know about this issue. I’ll put something in the sidebar about this eventually, or make a page for this issue. I use quinoa flour in so many recipes on this site that a warning of the possible issues has its place here; if you get weird symptoms, which have no explanation, please do look into the quinoa issue if the symptoms seem to come after eating it.

You can substitute the quinoa in this sites recipes easily with some rice flour for example - if the quinoa causes problems.

I myself have started to sneeze every time after eating quinoa, so I am giving it a rest for a while at least. My allergies, or intolerances, seem to come and go, I was intolerant to soy for a long time, but now after some time off it, I seem to be able to tolerate some tofu without problems ( I love tofu, so this is a big plus). Maybe too much of something is problematic to me in the long run; I did comment on one blog, a couple of years ago, about maybe growing intolerant to quinoa because I eat so much of it…

Lastly, I got an e-mail from a reader who wrote that the grassy taste in quinoa comes from the saponins in it, and some quinoa flours have less of the “grassy” taste, she mentioned that Ancient Harvest for example has had most of the saponins removed, and is therefore better tasting. I haven’t tried Ancient Harvest quinoa flour, but I have always wondered why some people complain about the “grassiness” of quinoa, and now I have my answer, some flours are indeed more bitter than others.

edit/ 6th July 2012

Thanks to all of you who have shared your thoughts on this, and your experiences, it’s very much appreciated!

I’ve personally had some quinoa occasionally here and there, and I still react badly to it, so I continue avoiding it. Actually, it seems that every reaction is worse than the previous one.

I have been surprised to find out that quinoa saponins have been tried out as vaccine adjuvants, and also that some quinoa cultivars cause reactions for celiacs-

2 cultivars had celiac-toxic epitopes that could activate the adaptive and innate immune responses in some patients with celiac disease.

The link to ajcn about the quinoa cultivars and celiac -

http://www.ajcn.org/content/early/2012/06/28/ajcn.111.030684

]]> http://glutenfreeday.com/?feed=rss2&p=694 http://glutenfreeday.com/?p=677 http://glutenfreeday.com/?p=677#comments Mon, 25 Oct 2010 18:32:42 +0000 Emilia http://glutenfreeday.com/?p=677

Chocolate mousse is - for me - one of those kind of desserts I always try to better, and I am always trying out new recipes for it; sometimes it’s something with cream, with rosemary, with honey etc. you get the picture.

Sometime ago I stumbled into Julia Child’s recipe for chocolate mousse on David Lebovitz’s site. He had named the post as Julia Child’s Perfect Chocolate Mousse Recipe which already got me intrigued just by the title alone, and the ingredients were so decadent and rich that I just had to try it.

After taking some time to make it, and trying to follow the instructions literally, I had my first bite and I was truly impressed - this recipe makes such a good chocolate mousse that it’s ridiculous, it’s everything a chocolate mousse should be, dark, rich and with a light enough texture.

I must confess that I haven’t tried anything new after making this. The obvious reason being that I felt like this was it, this is the perfect recipe for chocolate mousse.

I of course tweaked the recipe I saw on David’s site a bit; I changed some of the sugar into muscovado which is something I almost always do when it comes to chocolate recipes, the husky liquorice hinting taste of muscovado sugar gives more depth to the darkness chocolate, giving it another layer.

I didn’t include coffee or vanilla in the recipe, you can click on the link above to see how much coffee to include if you want to use it. Also, I usually always top a chocolate mousse with toasted pine nuts drizzled with some good quality honey. Pine nuts are best here, but toasted almonds are good too.

Good quality chocolate is always important when making chocolate mousse, I usually try to use something special, but often end up using just Fazer’s premium dark baking chocolate which isn’t that bad and I can get it everywhere here. When trying to be more refined in this aspect I always check that the chocolate I am using is organic and doesn’t have lecithin in it. I find that it melts differently into your mouth if there isn’t any lecithin, so I avoid it. Checking that the chocolate has cocoa butter and no weird veggie oils goes without saying, I never use chocolate which has any other fat than cocoa butter, really never, and I don’t consider those kind of chocolates to be chocolate. It’s a sad thing to bite into some chocolate and find a taste of rancid veggie oil and a sensation of eating rubber. It should also be at least 70% cocoa when making chocolate mousse.

Take into consideration that this recipe uses raw eggs. We don’t have any salmonella here, so I can use raw eggs freely and therefore I am not familiar with alternatives to it, but David Lebovitz mentions in his post that pasteurized egg whites that whip can be used.

Chocolate Mousse Recipe

serves 4

-85 grams, 3 ounces, of good quality chocolate

-85 grams, 3 ounces, of unsalted butter cut into small pieces (or fermented and salted butter, that’s what I like to use)

-2 eggs, the yolks and whites separated

-4 tbls of muscovado sugar

-2 tbls of caster sugar (use a bit more for a sweeter mousse)

-1 tbls of dark rum

-pinch of salt

-toasted pine nuts and honey for serving

In a bain-marie melt the chocolate and the butter together. Put aside when melted.

Take a separate large bowl and fill it with ice water. It should be big enough so that your yolk and sugar mixture bowl can fit into it.

Whisk the egg yolks, the rum and the sugar together in a separate bowl placed in a bain-marie, until they melt together, about three minutes. The texture should resemble runny mayonnaise. When ready place the bowl into the ice water and keep on whipping until the mixture cools and thickens, then carefully mix it with the chocolate mixture.

Take another bowl for the egg whites and whip them with a pinch of salt until frothy, then add a tablespoon of caster sugar and whip until the egg whites are thick and shiny.

Very carefully fold one third of the egg whites into the egg yolk and chocolate mixture, you will need to be careful because the beaten egg whites are the ones giving the mousse some air and texture, it will be more like a chocolate cake, if the folding isn’t done carefully enough. After folding in the one third, fold in the rest of the egg whites carefully.

Transfer the mousse into the serving dishes, I like to use shot glasses. Let it sit in the fridge for 4hours, or more before serving. Top with some pine nuts and honey before serving.

I know the recipe is a handful when making it the first times, I ruined my first batch completely and had to do it again, but it’s worth the try. Just try to remember that first you melt the chocolate with the butter, then you mix together the yolks and sugar, then you whip the whites, it’s basically three stages which then need to be mixed together.

So quiet

The reason why it has been so quiet here is that we bought a new apartment, a really lovely big (well, Helsinki standard big) apartment in a house which was built in 1930. After spending last autumn renovating, it seems like I am spending this one doing the same thing. Our new one needs a new kitchen, some paint, but luckily that is all.

Although it doesn’t seem like much, it feels like a lot, and my mind is constantly on the apartment, what it needs etc. I have a deep dislike for the kitchen there at the moment for example and can’t wait to have it replaced, but how to choose the new cabinets, countertops, everything basically. All I know for sure is that the floor is going to be a oak parquet floor. You can see the kitchen here, it’s not horrible, it’s just old and not in a good way old, but more like laminate floors and countertops, and cheap cabinets from the 90s.

I opened up the comments again after tweaking the spam thingy, hopefully it will work now, I’ll open the rest of the old posts if this works.

But Edinburgh is a mad god’s dream
Fitful and dark,
Unseizable in Leith
And wildered by the Forth,
But irresistibly at last
Cleaving to sombre heights
Of passionate imagining
Till stonily,
From soaring battlements,
Earth eyes Eternity.

by Hugh MacDiarmid

For me Edinburgh will always be associated with dark alleyways, magnificent architecture, endless cups of coffee, spending hours in book shops, scattered autumn leaves, friendly people, getting lost on the narrow streets of old town and most of all falling head over heels in love with a city.

It was many years ago when I first visited Edinburgh having no expectations at all; the beauty of the whole place caught me by surprise the first evening walking down the old cobbled streets, there was no people any more on the streets because we arrived so late and everything was quiet. You could feel the age of the old town, see the dark coloured buildings sweeping down the Royal Mile from the castle to Holyrood, the wind was blowing a bit scattering falling leaves - it was magnificent. No place had captured my heart like that ever before.

Every day I spent there that autumn just made my feelings for Edinburgh grow a little bit stronger. I can easily understand what this one American said at the breakfast table “I feel like every place I look at is even more beautiful than the one before, I think to myself that this must be what Heaven looks like”. Maybe a bit of an exaggeration, but easily understandable if you happen to like Edinburgh.

Eating Out

As far as eating out in Edinburgh goes I found it almost as easy as here in Finland - which just happens to be one of the easiest places if you can’t have gluten - people usually understood what no gluten meant, and at some places, like Vittoria, they have the no gluten sign on the menu.

I tend to be a creature of habit when it comes to eating, so in Edinburgh I eat lunch at the Baked Potato Shop, which has a magnificent range of baked potatoes. The potatoes themselves are a work of art; crisp on the outside and soft on the inside with delicious fillings. They have always understood what no gluten means, so just ask, if you are unsure eating there. The fillings are vegetarian and it’s a very vegan friendly place, but more protein rich choices like the egg mayonnaise one are on the menu. I must mention though that the potatoes are huge and even I can’t finish the medium one.

Vittoria on the Bridge is one of the most gluten-free friendly restaurants in Edinburgh, they have everything marked on the menu and they even have gluten-free pasta. The food is delicious and the service deserves a special mention; it is very professional while maintaining friendliness. It is usually very busy so book a table in advance, especially during the high season.

For some dining in a romantic setting and excellent French style food made with local ingredients I would recommend The Grain Store. We had a fantastic evening there and the scallops were to die for.

You will find the best steaks - do try some local beef while in Scotland at least once - at Wildfire on Rose Street. You will probably need to book in advance here too, during high season especially.

Thai Orchid is also a place worth a visit, the setting is very enjoyable, the staff is attentive and the food is excellent. It is right next to the castle, so do book in advance when dining during the evening.

I usually drink coffee several times a day whenever in Edinburgh - for some strange reason I don’t do much coffee drinking at home - and Has Beans on the Royal Mile is one of my favourite places, the service is friendly, the coffee is excellent and they have Orkney ice cream there too which is a huge plus. Starbucks at Waterstone’s on Princes Street is worth visiting because of the view. There is also a tea room which has a very old fashioned charm to it on the Royal Mile, Canongate, called Clarindas, if you are not indeed someone who has to avoid gluten, go for the cream tea there.

Chocolate Soup is the place to visit if you like chocolate and a sugar shock. It has very filling hot chocolates made with melted chocolate and they also have these chocolate shots which are too sweet, but for the sugarholics they must be heavenly - I can imagine. It is located on Hunter Square; you will find it walking down the Royal Mile.

Edinburgh is filled with excellent restaurants, cafes and pubs; these were just some places that came to my mind writing this. Leith is of course also worth a visit if you are “gastrotraveling”, no need to stay around the Royal Mile and Princes Street area.

Don’t be afraid to ask about gluten-free foods, or information about the food you are about to have, the people are very helpful and friendly at most places.

Having just a quick bite can get a bit difficult, if you don’t know where you are going, I have usually had a quick snack with me for situations like that and I would advice any gluten-free travelers the same, so that you don’t get stuck into a situation where you need some food and all you find is places selling sandwiches. Pret A Manger is of course a given for situations like that, you can even find the nutritional info on each food on their website, but there are only three Prets in Edinburgh and they are all located in New Town.

Places to visit, things to do

The deeply historic ambiance of Edinburgh makes it an ideal travel place for people for are interested in history, you will find almost endless places to visit around the city and also a bit outside of Edinburgh too if your interests lie within history in general.

My favourite tourist attraction is Mary King’s Close; it is basically an old street which lies underground and it has many paranormal stories attached to it. The most interesting thing about it is seeing the way people lived back then in Edinburgh, and it doesn’t hurt that the guides are usually very entertaining (thank you Ian for the great tour!). It’s a very touristy kind of place, but the place is real and the guides, although very funny, are telling real researched facts.

Arthur’s Seat is the main peak at Holyrood Park and it reaches up to around 800 ft, the views are worth the hike, but if you have a fear of heights like I do, I suggest you don’t go up; I was literally trembling with fear up there. You will also need to be in good condition to hike all the way up.

Edinburgh is closely connected to paranormal events and ghost stories, which is why many people take one of the ghost tours when visiting. I would say that the ghost tours are mostly full of inaccurate stories and fluff; the historical tours have more substance and are in the end more interesting. If you are really headstrong on going on a ghost tour, Mercat Tours is the best choice in my opinion.

Greyfriars Cemetery is definitely worth a visit, although the Covenanters Prison is closed. It’s basically a regular graveyard, but an old one with many stories attached to it.

One of my favourite places is also the ever so popular Rosslyn Chapel, it is of course famous because of the Da Vinci Code, but it’s still worth a visit even if the book didn’t get you interested in it. The atmosphere there is very spiritual and the architecture interesting, also the mysteries within Rosslyn would most likely interest many. You can also walk down to the castle ruins from there and see it.

The castle is something that almost every tourist goes to see and it is interesting, you can also get to Stirling castle easily from Edinburgh.

Dunbar’s Close is a sort of “hidden” garden which I like to visit, it’s always quiet there and it’s the perfect place to rest for a while. You will find it on the Royal Mile at Canongate, on the left hand side walking towards Holyrood, if I remember correctly.

There are many places to visit and see in Edinburgh, but please don’t go running from destination to destination, but rather take it slow and enjoy the city in general.

General stuff

Always be prepared for almost any kind of weather, dress in layers and keep an umbrella with you. Take comfortable shoes with you because Edinburgh means walking, walking and more walking if you are seeing it as a tourist.

I would suggest visiting Edinburgh during autumn and spring, the festival in August for example is really hectic and nice in its own way with all the shows, but you will get more of a feel of the place during the low season.

The buses only accept exact amounts of money, which is 1,20 £ one way, they won’t give you change, so keep coins with you and when you step on the bus have the money ready.

Some places don’t accept credit cards - I really have no idea why - therefore keep some cash on you along with your cards when seeing Edinburgh and especially if you are going outside Edinburgh.

The buses are not as reliable as they are in Scandinavia for example, so when going to Stirling, or Rosslyn etc. be prepared that the buses might be (very) late.

People in Scotland tend to be friendly and they are indeed very proud of Scotland. The flags and thistles you start to see everywhere when going to Scotland act as a hint of how Scots feel about their country.

I have usually been staying at the Novotel hotel at Lauriston Place, I like the fact that it’s quiet, efficient and clean, also the coffee they serve at breakfast is beyond good. For a more personal touch when staying in Edinburgh, I would recommend a Bed and Breakfast of some kind.

Although traveling is nice, nothing beats coming back home, especially when the temperature is still near 30 + Celsius and you can go straight to the sea for a swim. I wish that this summer would not end.

Before closing this post I wanted to recommend a new blog I found on gluten-free health stuff, it is written by a doctor from New Zealand and the posts have already been interesting, the blog is called Gluten-Free Planet.

For me Eton Mess is definitely a favourite summer dessert; it’s creamy, sweet, cooling and fresh all at the same time. It consists of meringue, berries and cream - that’s all it needs.

My first introduction to this one came when living in Britain during -97 and I was totally smitten at once. I was having some afternoon tea with dreamy fresh scones, some regular cake and then came the Eton Mess; you people who have had fresh warm English scones with jam and clotted cream probably know that almost nothing beats it, but I have to say that the Eton Mess was in fact a little bit better and that is saying a lot!

I’ve never had a proper afternoon tea moment with gluten-free baked goods, but I do hear that they exist; I just have no idea if the cakes and scones match their wheat filled cousins. I do believe that they do not, but with something like Eton Mess, you are not losing anything even if celiac, since it is naturally gluten-free, just as long as the meringue is gluten-free too.

I could go into endless blabbing about how much I love British foods, the UK in general (especially Scotland) and afternoon tea etc. but I think not, I am anyway going there in just a few days and I thought that I might write something of a travel post after it. I don’t think I’ve done any posts of my travels, so maybe it’s time for one.

Eton Mess Recipe

serves 2 as a larger portion and 4 as a very small portion

-1 cup/2,5 dl cream

-4 small meringue nests

-fresh berries (usually strawberries are included, but I think any kind of berries goes, I used wild blueberries and strawberries here)

Whip the cream, crush the meringue nests in and fold very gently. Then fold the washed and diced berries in gently.

I sometimes add a bit of vanilla extract too, but never sugar since it’s so sweet with the meringue, but do add some tablespoons of sugar if you have a big sweet tooth.

Let’s get this blog back into action for a change, shall we. I think that I’ve rested enough after the renovation we did to our home, it was surprising how hard it was and how long it took for us.

I have been wondering what to eat here now that the weather is so hot and humid that you feel a lot like melting, except when you swim in the sea, after that you are cool for about 10 minutes until you feel like you are in a sauna again.

We here in the North are not used to this kind of weather, so it really can take a toll on you. Some days ago it was reported that it was the hottest day in 50 years - can you imagine. I spent most of that day swimming in the sea, tanning on the beach was impossible for more than half an hour, that is, if you didn’t want to feel like you’re melting away into the sand.

Thai foods are a given when the weather gets really hot, curries and the likes are filled with veggies and spices, so you feel good when eating dishes like that. Salads are also a godsend when you feel like you just want to eat something light. I’ve been incorporating both of these things with Thai flavoured salads which are a lot like regular salads, but I flavour them with chillies, lime, coriander and fish sauce - it’s really easy, filled with flavour and it feels cooling in the heat.

Easy Thai inspired summer salad

serves two

-a head of lettuce

-a couple of tomatoes

-a couple of onions

-a bunch of coriander

-two grilled chicken breasts

for the sauce

-3 tbls fresh lime juice (or from the bottle)

-3 tbls thai fish sauce

-1-2 red chillies, seeded and cut into thin stripes (or some dried chilli flakes)

This is so easy and fast, if you have the chicken breasts ready. If you need to cook them, just add some spices to them (I use this dry rub I make, some paprika, oregano, thyme, salt, chili flakes, garlic powder and onion powder). Then cook them in the oven at around 300 F until done.

You can use fish too, some shrimp, beef, almost anything.

You can of course use any kind of veggies basically in this; the idea is in the fish sauce, the chillies, the coriander and the lime juice.

Mix the lime juice with the fish sauce and the chillies.

Wash and tear the salad, cut the onions and the tomatoes, mix them together, cut the coriander and add it.

Pour the sauce on top and add the chicken on top of the salad.

I get a lot of questions on where to buy quinoa flour, psyllium husk, things like that which I use in the recipes. I really never had an answer for this, until some time ago when I started ordering form Iherb. Some of you probably know it already, but I thought that I’ll mention it here too in a post and I will put up a notice in the sidebar about Iherb.

Iherb has an simply amazing variety of products for sale, I for example order all my hair and skin care products from there, some foods that are hard to get by here, and also all my supplements.

This is by the way not a paid advert for Iherb; I don’t think they know that this blog even exists. I have been very happy with them and I do think that it’s worth to mention how good Iherb is.

The site is not easy to navigate at first, at least for me it was not, but you can search for psyllium husk for example by simply adding the words into the search box, you can also search for gluten free products in the same way.

Something worth mentioning for celiacs is their range of probiotics for example; you can find them by searching with the term probiotics. The same goes for multivitamins, fish oil etc.

Using code JUH901 will get you 5 dollars off your first order.

It’s been almost a year since I last wrote something here, so I thought it would be time for a small update on where this blog is going in the future. I have gotten a lot of e-mails on the subject and I haven’t unfortunately had time to answer all of them.

I have been really busy this last year, renovating our home etc. so I decided to take a break from blogging for a while, then that break just seemed to last for a longer time than I had imagined. I still don’t know if I’ll ever start blogging here again, just because it has been really nice taking a break and I am feeling maybe a bit lazy on the subject still. Of course summer is also coming and I intend to just read, relax, swim and maybe travel a bit.

So, there’s my thoughts on the subject, nothing really profound has happened that made me stop blogging (at least for a while), just circumstances like my work and renovating, also not feeling like blogging.

I am however going to keep this blog open still; you’ll still be able to use the recipes here as before. If I close this blog at some time, I’ll make sure to announce it here before I close up, so that everyone will have time to print the recipes they need.

I have also had some dreams of doing a sort of recipe index. I think a recipe index would be useful for me and all of you who are still using the recipes. My original intention for the blog was to have an archive for myself whenever I thought of a recipe and wanted it to be easily found somewhere, I am really bad with keeping things organized, so this solution was ideal. Then things just grew from there, I found out I liked taking photos and blogging in general etc.

The comments are still going to be closed because I can’t keep up with the spam. I am still saddened with having to shut down the comments, because they have been so useful, but the spam was just too overwhelming.

I wish everyone reading this a really great summer, let’s hope it’s a hot one with lots of sunshine (there are some fears here about a cold summer because of the volcano thing). And thank you everyone who has sent me e-mails, I might not answer all of them, but I always read them.

]]> http://glutenfreeday.com/?feed=rss2&p=633 http://glutenfreeday.com/?p=627 http://glutenfreeday.com/?p=627#comments Sat, 15 Aug 2009 13:03:13 +0000 Emilia http://glutenfreeday.com/?p=627

It’s all about the bilberries here right now; the forests are filled with them.

We call them blueberries, but they are actually bilberries as I learned not so long ago, they are smaller than blueberries and the taste is not as watery as in blueberries. The taste of them is really intense and a little sour - delicious if you ask me.  Bilberries happen to be my favourite berry.

I have been thinking about a bilberry cake for a couple of weeks now and luckily I stumbled across this recipe just when we had been out picking up some berries. The recipe sounded so decadent and lovely that I had no other choice than to try it, I am not someone who can say no to a recipe which uses crème fraîche and lots of butter. The cream cheese icing was also just perfect, it is not common to ice these kinds of cakes here, so to me the icing sounded a bit exotic and different.

The cake itself was very easy to make, I used some almond flour and white rice flour in it and that worked out well. I loved the taste of it, this is just the kind of cake I like, dense and moist, not too sweet and a little bit tart, but not too tart.

I would highly recommend trying this recipe.

I used almond flour and white rice flour, but the original recipe uses wheat flour (of course!), so if you are not celiac you should use just wheat flour instead of the almond and rice flour. Some quinoa flour instead of rice flour would also work out; I have been just very determined to try out some other flours than quinoa, at least for a while, and that’s why I used rice flour here.

I used only 1 dl/1/4 cup confectioner’s sugar in the icing, but the original recipe uses twice that amount.

The cake can be served when it has cooled down; it is very moist, so it will not hold itself together all that well when it is warm.

Bilberry Cake Recipe

The recipe was adapted from Ruoka Pirkka.

Serves 10, takes approximately 10 minutes to make and 45 minutes to bake.

The Cake

-150 grams/5,3 ounces soft butter

-1,5 dl/ 3/4 cup sugar

-3 eggs

-1 dl / a little bit less than 1/2 cup crème fraîche

-1 cup almond flour

-1 dl /a little bit less than 1/2 cup white rice flour

-2 tsp baking powder

-2 tsp vanilla extract

-200 grams/7 ounces blueberries or bilberries

Preheat your oven to 175 C/350 F.

Line a springform pan with baking paper and then grease it with some butter.

Mix together the butter, sugar, crème fraîche, vanilla extract and eggs. Mix together the flour and the baking powder.

Mix the dry ingredients together with the wet ingredients, but leave a little bit of the flour in the bowl and then gently mix the blueberries with the remaining flour.

Gently fold the berries in with the rest of the batter.

Pour into the pan and bake for 30-45 minutes until the cake is done. Let the cake cool down and make the icing.

The Icing

-200 grams/ 7 ounces cream cheese

-0,5 dl/ 1/5 cup crème fraîche

-2 dl/ 3/4 cup confectioner’s sugar (I used just half of this amount)

-2 tsp lemon juice

Mix everything together and then spread the icing on top of the cooled cake.

]]> http://glutenfreeday.com/?feed=rss2&p=627 http://glutenfreeday.com/?p=624 http://glutenfreeday.com/?p=624#comments Mon, 20 Jul 2009 13:16:19 +0000 Emilia http://glutenfreeday.com/?p=624

Potato salads are something I always associate with summer, maybe because they can be refreshing and cooling when they are not made with mayonnaise.

This recipe is something I make quite often during the summer, I love taking it with us when we go hiking, or to the beach, and the best thing about it is that I can make a lot of it – it only gets better after a day or two.

The lemon juice and the basil together give a nice refreshing quality to the salad. Potatoes on their own are creamy in my opinion, so they need something like fresh herbs and the tanginess of the lemon juice to bring the flavours together in a nice contrasting way.

A potato salad like this - cold, cooling and fresh - is my idea of a perfect summer meal when served together with some hot spicy chicken.

Potato Salad Recipe

The vinaigrette here is not a regular one, this one is really very lemony, and I would suggest using less lemon juice if you are not a friend of a very tangy salad sauce.

If you are using new organic potatoes, I would suggest leaving the skin on them.

The recipe is naturally free from gluten, soy, dairy and eggs.

Potato salad

serves 6

-1 kg/ 35 ounces potatoes

- 4-5 spring onions

- 6 tbls fresh lemon juice

-12 tbls good quality olive oil

-3 tbls finely minced fresh basil leaves

-3 tbls capers

- salt and pepper according to taste

Cook the potatoes and then leave them to cool before cutting them.

Mix together the olive oil, lemon juice, minced basil leaves, salt, pepper and capers.

Cut the potatoes and the onions, then mix with the sauce.

Leave to sit for at least one hour before serving.

This is my contribution to this months Go Ahead Honey, It’s Gluten Free hosted by Shirley at Gluten Free Easily.

The theme this month is Make Me a Happy Camper.

I don’t like recipes.

Usually when I cook I do it not only because I am hungry and want something to eat, but also because it serves as a creative outlet for me. I find it to be relaxing and inspiring. Writing down recipes when cooking, or looking at a recipe at the same time, is not as nice, it adds a whole different level of stress to the whole operation in my opinion and just basically ruins it for me.

This is why I have mostly kept this blog about desserts, I don’t mind writing down what I am doing when I bake. It is not as stressful since when I bake I am anyway focused in a different way than when I am cooking.

Of course, there are exceptions to this. There are some recipes I know by heart and I don’t improvise much with them, I thought that I might post some of those during this summer. My desserts have anyway been something along really good fatty cheeses made with goat’s milk and ripe, juicy organic Italian peaches with some whipped cream. Those cheeses and peaches have become something of an obsession lately and they wouldn’t make all that great posts in my opinion - and because I’m not planning on abandoning them anytime soon, I thought that I’ll post regular food for a change.

Besides eating peaches, I swim a lot during these summer months and this is the main reason why I turn to simple, fast and familiar food during summer. It would be an understatement to say that I am hungry as a wolf when I get home from the beach (anyone who has been doing a lot of swimming probably knows what I am talking about); this means that we eat fast pasta dishes, stir fry dishes and Asian noodle soups during summer. Something fast and filling is a must for me and Carbonara is perfect in that way.

The recipe is very simple, but I do like the taste of it, maybe because I layer different fats into it – first the butter and the olive oil, and then the pork fat which dissolves into them. Layering fats into foods is something I like doing because it’s an easy way to get great taste into a dish. I usually use Pecorino Romano here, sometimes it’s Parmesan, but in my opinion Pecorino is much better. I love, love using Pancetta in anything and I do prefer it here.

I think that I wrote about using brown rice pasta as my main gluten-free pasta sometime before; I am not used to the blandness of regular pasta since I always used to prefer whole wheat pasta before going gluten-free. Brown rice pasta was a natural choice for me because of that.

Those of you who miss regular white pasta might want to check out The Gluten-Free Gourmand blog, since Gina there has been doing interesting and thorough reviews about different gluten-free pastas and she does prefer the whiter kind of pasta. You might find some brand you like by following her reviews.

Carbonara Recipe

serves 2, will take approximately 10 minutes to make

-170 grams/ 6 ounces (rice) spaghetti

-100 grams/3,5 ounces pancetta cut into pieces

-3-4 egg yolks, use 3 if you are using bigger eggs

- grated Pecorino Romano cheese according to taste, I don’t use very much of it, it will drown the other flavours if used too much

-2 tbls olive oil

-2 tbls butter

-fresh black pepper according to taste

-salt according to taste

Start by heating the water for the pasta and then proceed by cooking it according to instructions.

Cut up the Pancetta.

Heat a pan on medium heat and add the olive oil and butter, then cook the Pancetta in it.

Separate the egg yolks.

Grate the Pecorino.

Take the pasta when it is ready and rinse with cold water; I can’t tell you how many times I have had mushed up rice pasta because of skipping this.

The saucepan you cooked the pasta in will still be hot after rinsing the pasta, I usually pour the spaghetti back into it and place the saucepan back on medium heat. Mix the Pecorino with the egg yolks. Pour the egg yolks and the cheese into the spaghetti and stir them constantly for half a minute, the heat will cook them fast. Then place the spaghetti onto a plate and place the Pancetta and on top, lastly spoon the remaining fat from the pan on to the pasta. Top it with some fresh black pepper and a tiny bit of salt.

]]> http://glutenfreeday.com/?feed=rss2&p=619 http://glutenfreeday.com/?p=614 http://glutenfreeday.com/?p=614#comments Thu, 25 Jun 2009 08:10:47 +0000 Emilia http://glutenfreeday.com/?p=614

A clafoutis is a truly delicious French dessert which is made by baking a batter together with some fruit. I haven’t had much luck with my gluten-free clafoutis experiments; the taste has been something terrible at times and at other times edible, but not anything spectacular.

This changed when I first opened up Gordon Ramsay’s book Just Desserts and I saw the clafoutis recipe in it. The recipe used almond flour instead of all purpose flour - I somehow just knew that this was the way to make a wonderful gluten-free clafoutis and I could not wait to try it.

My feeling had been right and I am pleased to say that this clafoutis is not only edible, but it is in fact better than one made with regular flour. I think I died a little bit when I first tasted it.

So do try this, if you love clafoutis.

Almond Clafoutis Recipe

This recipe is adapted from the book Just Desserts which is one I would recommend to everyone, even to celiacs; it has a lot of delicious gluten-free recipes and it also describes basic techniques for making desserts. Of course it has some recipes which use regular flour, but there are surprisingly many naturally gluten-free recipes. Gordon Ramsay might be an extremely annoying Tv-personality, but he knows his food, in my opinion anyway.

Some people like to use whole cherries in a clafoutis - the taste will be much stronger this way - I would recommend using them whole if you don’t mind the trouble the pits give when eating.

The Recipe

serves 4

Dry ingredients:

-30 grams/0,4 cups/1 dl almond flour (do not pack the flour tightly if you are measuring it with dl or with a cup)

-1 flat tsp flour (I use white rice flour)

-a pinch of salt

-50 grams/0,4 cups/1dl sugar (I like to use unrefined sugar here, it tastes better than white sugar, brown sugar is fine too)

Wet ingredients:

-1 egg

-2 egg yolks

-1 tsp vanilla extract

-1,5 dl/3/4 cup cream ( or coconut cream for a dairy-free version)

-200 grams pitted cherries, or 250 grams un-pitted cherries (approximately a bit over one cup/2,5 dl of cherries)

Mix the dry ingredients together and then mix the wet ingredients together. Combine them into a rather loose batter. Let the batter rest for 12-24 hours. You can of course bake it straight away, but it will not be as good.

Heat an oven to 175 C/350 F.

Grease a baking dish or individual baking dishes. Place the cherries in them and then cover with the batter.

Bake for 30 minutes. The time differs because ovens are different, keep an eye on the clafoutis while it is baking.

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