Friday, May 29, 2009

breadaholic...

I was always a bread girl, the crustier the better! Some of the fondest food memories from my childhood are of bread, and pastries. Living near Manhattan was like living near the capital of bread. I would eat at least six slices of bread or three rolls a day, pasta with any topping and buttery, crusty bread on the side and I was in paradise! I was craving the very thing that was making me sick. When I went gluten free I really mourned the loss of my very favorite food group, bread. This blog is a chronicle of my journey into gluten free living. Having been a chef for years, converting recipes is a challenge and a delight--most of the time--I really like the gratification of recreating my favorite comfort foods without the gluten. Thank you for visiting my blog and I hope that you find something useful here!

Gluten defined...

Gluten is a term which comes from the Latin word for glue. Gluten--true to it's name-- is a sticky elastic mixture of proteins found in cereal grains like wheat, rye, barley, and possibly oats, that can lead to digestive disorders such as celiac disease.

My favourite Soup Stock























4 quarts filtered water
2 scrubbed organic carrots, halved (cut off tops and bottoms)
1 bunch washed organic flat parsley (cut off about one inch of stem)
1 16 oz. can organic plum tomatoes (the tomatoes and the juice)
1 onion peeled and quartered
1 red bell pepper cleaned and quartered
2 cloves of garlic peeled
1/2 teaspoon dried Herbes de Provence
1 sprig of fresh rosemary
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon coarse Fleur de Sel
5 whole black peppercorns
3 tablespoons olive oil

1. In a medium sized stock pot over medium heat combine the olive oil and onion, saute/sweat with lid on for about 3 minutes, add the water and all of the remaining ingredients then bring to a boil.
2. Turn the heat down to low and simmer for 45 minutes.
3. Cool the pot and ingredients in an cold water bath in the sink.
4. When cooled, strain through a heavy stainless conical chinoise, pulverizing the cooked vegetables with the wooden roller and pushing them through the sieve, this will add substance to your stock (you can compost the remaining spent vegetable pulp).
5. You will then need to decant the stock into 5, quart sized—I use glass Ball Jars—bottles or containers.
6. Freeze what you will not be using immediately, don't forget to date the top of the jar!