Meet Lovely, my new kitchen helper

Look how shiny and sparkly my new kitchen toy is!! Blue sparkly with shining glass and shimmering metal whirligigs!

Isn't it Pretty!

Oooh, I have been lusting after one of these babies for years. Years I say! I would see them online and salivate just a little because gluten-free baking would be so much easier with a machine like this.


But The Expense!


We need ____ instead!


The Cost!


I said time and time again. Because they don’t come cheap, that’s for sure.

And then one of those nifty mall stores had a monster appliance sale. Prices slashed, extra discounts, open a store account and get more discounts! Plus we had a holiday gift card (thank you Donna & Joe) to that same mall store and that made the price every so right.

SuperHubby was the one who actually pointed out the sale, the extra discounts and good timing for making such a purpose. He's so good about these things.

The Blue one called to me, so streamlined and professional.

Since The Lovely joined the kitchen staff- what? Like You don’t name your appliances - The Lovely and I have made the following delectable treats.

A triple batch of Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies - which my husband uses to make ice cream sandwiches.




One monster Gluten Free Cheesecake -

the light in my kitchen sucks for pictures. It turns everything a sickly shade of yellow

A Gluten Free Custard Pear Tart - which was a bit eggy and needed more vanilla. Things I blame more on the cook than the helper.

The Lovely accomplished these tasks with grace and simplicity, mixing ingredients together in almost silent circles. Whipping eggs into a glistening froth with ease. I swear the cheesecake is creamier this time since that 375 watt motor creamed the hell out of the mixture for a good ten minutes without causing me to break a sweat.

Totally worth every penny we spent. I like to pet it when I walk through the kitchen. I might even have to re-evaluate my usual dislike for going to the mall.

Next up, Gluten Free bread. Which I have yet to make without it tasting like saw dust and feeling like a brick.

Holiday Hooplah!

Yeah, all this Holiday preparation, not too mention work, has interfered with my navel-gazing, blog reading, posting desires. Which seems completely unfair given my unrequited love for my fellow man...oh, sorry, that's another post all together involving one neighbor and large piles of snow.

It seems one can survive on just 4-5 hours of sleep a night for two weeks straight. Survive being the operative word here, thriving being another matter.

My brain is foggy and my eyeballs feel like someone rubbed grit in them. The snow-whomping we had this past weekend overtaxed my muscles and I feel like a creaky old lady. Mostly because I sit my ass behind a desk and stare at a computer screen all day, so when called upon to heft and heave two feet of snow from the driveway, I'm a whimpering pansy ass for the rest of the week. Oh, how I love thee, my Wong To Yick.

Ace unfortunately strained his lower back while shoveling also, so he's been grounded by the chiropractor for a time until that heals so he can get back to swim practice. My mean grumpy mother side still thinks he did it on purpose to avoid cleaning his room. But he's an achy boy right now, so we'll sit on him for a few days to keep him resting. Not an easy thing to do with a 14-year-old who does not know the meaning of "take care of yourself!"

Despite my poorly planned holiday preparations, I've managed to finish the necklaces I made for my mother-in-law and sister, which hopefully I remember to take pictures for posting, because if I do say so myself, they turned out fucking awesome. One super dense and creamy Gluten Free Cheesecake was created with Love for SuperHubby last night, finishing up somewhere around 9:00 pm. I take pride in the fact that I did not forget to remove it from the oven and it actually made it nto the refrigerator last night. Sometimes things do not make the transition, memory loss and all that.

SuperHubby being the present planner and shopper was able to acquire most of the presents well in advance of the mad shopping rush, because he is frugal and loves to find the best bargain, which can be done all year long when one is committed. I love his dogged determination in that area. Gift giving has gotten a whole loteeasier in the past few years with his shop early and regularly strategy!

Giggles went on her own creative streak over the past two weeks and made all of her Christmas gifts by hand. She loves working with polymer clay and creating these great ornaments and sculptures. It's great to see her so intent on creating the perfect gift for the people on her list. She made Ace an ornament shaped like a monkey. It's so sweet and quirky and I think he will treasure it for a very long time. She's been telling me how much I'm going to love what she made me,so I can't wait for the grand unveiling tomorrow morning.

We're a tired bunch in Catootesville, given the crazy family schedule, so the next few days of family gatherings will be fun and joyful, a time for love, laughter and way too much food. And maybe some good bourbon.

While we stuff ourselves, unwrap gifts, laugh and love in our home, I wish the same Holiday Warmth & Cheer and Prosperous New Year blessing to all!

Catch you all in 2010!

Gluten Free Pepperoni Calzones

Because we are always looking for ways to increase the number of Gluten Free items on the menu in the Catootes household, improvisation is the key to success. Sometimes there are no so great results (the bread, which is its own post someday) and sometimes the results are worth repeating time and again.
This is one of those moments.

While on vacation, when SuperHubby found calzones on the menu at the pizza parlor he got that kid at the candy store look on his face and said "I miss calzones" with such a wistful tone of voice. I am a such a sucker for that voice, as he has had to cut out so many favorite foods since the Gluten Free mandate went down. It was like the proverbial light bulb over the head moment and we both looked at each other and realized we should be able to put that together.

Sometimes this type of thing becomes a quest for me. Can I make this? Can I translate this recipe into a Gluten Free one? Of course I can, especially if it means I spend part of a weekend day not doing laundry. So I read a bunch of calzone recipes online, both Gluten Free and not. I compared and picked pieces and techniques from several and came out with what I thought was the best way for me.

It all starts with the crust, of course. We prefer the Namaste Pizza Crust Mix when the urge for pie hits as it's easy (MAJOR points for that) to put together and is a tasty pizza crust enjoyed by all. This does get rolled out much thinner than it is for the pizza recipe and in as close to a rectangle shape as possible and then segment into 5-6 equal segments. I'm able to get 5-6 Calzones per pizza recipe.

Please note that I am an ad-hoc cook, I use recipes as loose guidelines in the best circumstances and modify as I go along. Proceed at your own risk.

Preheat oven to 400 degree (F)

Mix together (all ingredients should be changed to suit personal preferences):
2 cups Ricotta
2 cups Mozzarella
1/4 - 1/2 cup Romano
Pepperoni, chopped to taste. I use about 1/2 cup
diced Jalapeno peppers to taste, jarred or fresh
1-2 cloves chopped garlic
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano

Have ready open jar/can of prepared pizza sauce.

Spread cheese mixture onto one of the crust segments and add 3 tablespoons (more or less as you like) of Prepared Pizza Sauce over cheese mixture. Fold the rest of the dough segment over the mixture and crimp edges together. brush olive oil over crimped crust edges, vent calzone top 2-3 times with knife tip. Continue this step with all calzone dough segments.

Place on olive oil greased pizza pan, pizza stone or baking sheet on lowest oven rack.
Cook 25 minutes. give or take 5 minutes based on how firm you like your calzone crust.

Enjoy.
Freeze in aluminum foil for up to two weeks.

Gluten Free Cookbooks

When we moved to the GF diet for SuperHubby, I picked up several GF cookbooks. Some, as always, were better than others. There are now several I refer to religiously whenever I decide to cook something new. Luckily for me, and my GF SuperHubby, there is a plethora of Gluten Free online resources. I’ve listed a couple that I visit routinely for new recipes and ideas. Those sites are linked at the bottom of the blog. I spend quite a bit of time with the Gluten Free Girl.

One of my work contacts was generous enough (Thank You, Andy!!) to send me a whole batch of Gluten Free Cookbooks. Specifically the Gluten Free Gourmet books by Bette Hagman. This series is particularly helpful. And now I have more recipes to play with!

I make so many things GF now, and have incorporated it into everyone’s diet. The kids don’t even notice any longer. Their pancakes and waffles, mostly homemade, are GF. Most dishes that require any breading or flours are all GF now. It was too difficult in the beginning, making separate batches for dinners. Besides, I think the kids are healthier without so much processed wheat flours.

We haven’t had them tested for Celiac yet, but at the last pediatrician visit, it was recommended to have the blood tests done. So far they show no signs of Celiac Disease, but it will be better to know if they carry the genes.

These are the Gluten-Free cookbooks and reference books that are staples in our house. They are now looking well used and splattered. Just the way a good cookbook should after a few years of use.

Celiac Disease: A Guide to Living with Gluten Intolerance
The Best-Ever Wheat- and Gluten-Free Baking Book
Gluten-Free Baking Classics
Gluten-free, Sugar-free Cooking
The Gluten-Free Bible: The Thoroughly Indispensable Guide to Negotiating Life Without Wheat
The Gluten-Free Gourmet Cooks Comfort Foods