Gluten-Free Zucchini (Walnut or Chocolate Chips) Bread

It's has been awhile since my last post... I have put my baking on hold because I was busy with my other hobby. As some of you know or have seen my other blog. I am also enjoy knitting and designing knitwear. So for the past few months, I was busy getting a few projects completed for a quite a few publications. But here is not a place for knitting; it is a place for cooking and baking.

As my husband's garden in full bloom, zucchini is popping up everywhere.. so it's only appropriate that I baked some zucchini bread! So here it is...

Make a loaf

Preparation Time: 10 Minutes
Cook Time: 50-65 Minutes

INGREDIENTS:

1. 1/2 stick of salted butter
2. 1/4 cup of vegetable oil (optional)
3. 3/4 cup of light brown sugar
4. 1/4 cup of sugar
5. 1 1/2 cup of Silkie Flour Mix (3/4 cup of  Brown Rice Flour, 1/4 cup white rice flour, 1/4 cup of Tapioca flour, 1/4 cup of corn starch and a little bit of potato starch)
6. 2 eggs
7. 1 1/4 tsp of xantham gum
8. 1 tsp of baking powder
9. 1/2 tsp of baking soda
10. 1 tsp of ground cinniman
11. 1/8 tsp of nutmeg
12. 1/2 tsp of GF vanilla extract
13. 1 1/2 cup of shredded zucchini
14. 1/2 cup of chopped Walnut (optional) - with nuts version
15. 1/2 cup of chocolate Chips (optional) - chocolate chips version
16. 2 tbsp of light brown sugar for sprinkle on top (optional)

DIRECTION:

1. Prehead oven to 350 degree, greased 1 8 by 4 by 2-inch loaf with oil spray or line the pan with parchment paper.
2. Use mixer, cream butter and sugars until fluffy
3. With mixer running, add egg and vanilla extract to the mixture
4. Whisk flour mix, baking powder, baking soda, salt, xantham gum, nutmeg and cinniman together and add the dry ingredient to the wet ingredient in the mixer
5. If the dough appears too dry, add 1/4 of vegatable oil
6. Fold zucchini and walnut (optional - for nut version) or chocolate chips (optional - chocolate chips version) into the batter
7. Pour batter into the prepared pan, if desires, spinkle a couple 2 tbsp brown sugar on top of the batter
8. Bake for 55-65 mins until golden brown or skewer insert in the center comes out clean
9. Let cool for 10 minutes before serve.

Happy Baking!

Gluten-Free Awareness

It's been awhile since my last post. Life has been busy lately and I will try to keep up with my blog as much as possible. I have a couple recipes in the work so stay tune.

The main reason for this blog is to share something I saw last week in a conference and I was very excited about. I was in Boston last week for a pretty big conference - EMC World. For those people in the IT industry, probably know or at least heard of the company EMC. I am not here to discuss the company but to share what I had experienced in the food offering in the conference... whether it's the arrangement of the conference or the hotel that the conference is being hold... it was a great news for anyone who is in GF diet.

The conference, it was just like a typical conference with thousands of attendees. The conference offered breakfest and lunch for the most days. The way the meal setup were pretty typical as well.. the dining hall has about 30 food lines set up and I was just assuming all the line were the same... in fact my assumption was correct; 29 out of 30 food lines were indeed the same; offering pretty general food and nice selection of food for different dietary needs. However, I was shocked to see that the very first food line had a sign said 'Gluten Free Only'. I was shocked because I have never would have imaging that there would be a delicated food line especially for 'Gluten Free' diet. As more people are dignosed with Celiac Disease or with wheat allergies or choose to be in 'Gluten Free' diet, the growing awareness of the needs to serve GF in the hotel and restaurant is a wonderful news.

It's happy to see the change and I am hoping more hotel and restaurant will adopt to the need... now my husband is attending a conference next month in Orlando... just hope that same arrangement will set up in his conference!  

Vegan Double Chocolate Chip Cookie with GF option

I have modified the Neiman Marcus Signature Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe into this Vegan Double Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe. I also included the Gluten Free version of this recipe. It's easy, quick and absolutely YUMMY!

Make about 15 - 24 cookies
Preparation Time: 10 Minutes
Cook Time: 10-14 Minutes

INGREDIENTS:

Vegan Version:

1. 1/2 Cup of oil or 1 stick of soy margarine*
2. 1 Cup Brown Sugar
3. 3 Tablespoons of sugar
4. 1 Egg Substitue** (1 teaspoon of baking powder + 1.5 tablespoons of water + 1.5 tablespoons of oil)
5. 1.5 teaspoons of GF vanilla extract
6. 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
7. 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
8. 1 3/4 cup of flour ***
9. 1 1/2 tablespoon of cocoa powder
10. 8 oz of Vegan chocolate Chip ****
11. pinch of salt
12. 1 tablespoon of ricemilk or soymilk*****

Gluten Free Version:

* Use 1 stick of unsalted butter or 1/2 cup of oil
** Use 1 large Egg instead of Egg Substitue (#4)
*** Use Silkie Flour Mix (1/2 cup of Brown Rice Flour, 1/3 cup each of White Rice Flour and Tapioca Flour, 1/4 cup of corn Starch, 1/8 cup of potato starch, 1/8 cup of sorgum flour, 1 1/4 teaspoon of xantham gum) (#8)
**** 8 oz of Semi-sweet chocolate chips
***** use regular milk instead of rice or soy milk

DIRECTION:

1. Prehead oven to 375 degree, greased 2 cookie sheet with oil spray.
2. Use mixer, cream butter or oil or soy margarine and sugars until fluffy
3. With mixer running, add egg or egg substitute and vanilla extract to the mixture
4. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt together and add the dry ingredient to the wet ingredient in the mixer
5. If the dough appears too dry, add the milk
6. Add cocoa powder to the dough until incoporated
7. Stir in chocolate chips to the dough 
8. Use a tablespoon or a small scoop to drop the dough onto the prepared cookie sheet, space them about 2 inches apart.
9. Bake 10-14 minutes or until it's done by putting a toothpick into the cookie and it comes out clean. The baking time also depending on the oven, it might take lessor or longer time.

Happy Baking!

Happy St. Patrick Day!

It's St Patrick Day... it's time to make some GF Green chocolate chip cookies and Vegan Green sugar cookies. They are not my new recipes.. I simply use my regular chocolate chip cookie and sugar cookie recipes with some green coloring. They looks festive don't they?

Happy St. Patty Day!

Vegetarian Spring Roll with Gluten-Free Option

It's chinese new year, Spring roll is a must have for a traditional chinese dinner. After spring roll is deep fried, the skin turns golden, the color and the shape of the spring roll represent a 'Gold bar'. For serving spring roll in chinese new year is to present 'Gold' to guests and wish all the guests to make more money in the coming year. And yes, everyone cares about money nowaday.. and chinese do cares about money way too much sometimes. In a more traditional chinese spring roll, the fillings aften contains pork and shrimp along with shredded vegetable. As for me, I opted for vegetarian version and tofu is used as potein. I have often bought my version of spring roll to potluck dinner and everyone often ask for the recipe. I am finally going to share it.

A typical spring roll wrapper is made with wheat; to make a Gluten-Free version, use vietnamese rice paper wrap instead. The Gluten-Free version is healthier since it's not fried. The fillings for both version is the same in exception of the wrapper. My version of the spring roll is really my version so I did not use the traditional ingredients that my mom would normally use in Hong Kong or my vietnamese friend would do in a more traditional vietnamese spring roll or summer roll.

People often think that it's time consuming to make spring roll. In reality, you will be surprised how easy it is. Preparation Time: 20-30 minutes, 1 hr of cooling time for fillings (optional but recommended)
Cook Time: 15 minutes

NOTE: It is the best to prepare the fillings early and let it cool and drained any liquid from the filling. The heat and the moisture will potentially break the wrapper. It is also important to fry the spring roll right after you wrapped it. In addition, the wrapper makes a lot of different in taste. If you are oversea, the wrapper that sell in supermarket tends to be thicker. If you have access to a oriental supermarket, get your wrapper from there instead, asian wrapper is much thinner so you don't taste too much flour. You can always find them in freezer section. So you will need to defrost it before using. Also, you can use any kind of vegetable for the fillings. But make sure to chop it up fine.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 package of spring roll wrapper or rice paper wrapper
• 1 package of rainbow slaw or brocolli slaw (It can be found in salad session in supermarket)
• 1 package of Tofu Cutlet or 5-spiced tofu or spice tofu or extra firm tofu - cut into 1" strip
• 2 cups of bean sprouts
• 1 package of Chinese Pickles Vegatable (Zhacai) or 1/2 cup of dill pickles - it's optional - cut into 1" strip
• 2 tablespoon of Gluten-Free soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon of kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon of chinese cooking wine or red wine
• 1/2 teaspoon of white pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon of sugar
• 2 teaspoon of  sesame seeds oil
• 2 tablespoon of cooking oil, prefer olive oil
• 1/2 cup of water
• 1 teaspoon of rice vinegar (dipping sauce)
• 1 tablepoon of of GF soy sauce (dipping sauce)
• some seseme seed oil (or hot oil if you prefer spicy)

DIRECTIONS:

Fillings:

1. Heat Wok without any oil, cut the tofu and pickles into 1" strip and wash all vegatable and drained.
2. When the wok is hot, cook bean sprouts and stir it until it heat through, about 2 minute. Note: Make sure to keep stirring to prevent stuck on the wok. Remove from wok and set aside.
3. Put oil in the wok and gentle move the wok left and right to let the oil coats the bottom, put rainbow slaw and tofu and stir it for a minute, then add pickle and stir for another minute. 
4. Add soy sauce, wine, salt, sugar, white pepper and stir it until the seasoning well blended into the vegetable; about 3-4 minutes. Make sure not to overcook the filling, you would like the vegetable still a little crunchy.
5. Add the bean sprouts into the wok and stir until heat through about 1 minute or so. Taste the fillings and add more salt if necessory.
6. Turn the heat off and add the sesame seed oil and stir the oil into the fillings.
7. Put the fillings into a drainer and cool off.

Vegan Version:

1. Pour Canola oil into wok, make sure there is enough to cover the spring roll when frying or use a deep fryer if you have one.
2. Lay 1 spring roll wrapper in diamond shape on a flat plate, put 2 tablespoons of the fillings in the middle of the wrapper; make sure not to overstuff the wrapper, you would need to leave 1.5" on each sides in order to wrap the spring roll.
3. Fold up the bottom of the wrapper. The bottom of the wrapper is the part that is closest to the filling. Fold this up over the filling and press down slightly.
4. Fold both sides to the center so that the edge of both sides meet in the middle
5. Hold the sides and roll the spring up until the other edge, use some water to bind the top close. Use more water if necessary to secure the side.
6. Put the spring rolls into hot oil, make sure don't put too much spring roll in the wok at one time, make them in small batch. Fry the spring roll until it turn golden and dry it until some paper towel.
7. Combine rice vinegar, soy sauce and sesame seed oil in a dipping bowl and serve immediately.

Gluten Free Version:

1. Fill a large shallow bowl with warm water, put rice paper into the shallow bowl one at a time; otherwise, they will stick together. When the rice paper is soft about 15 second, remove from bowl and drained the water.
2. Lay the rice paper wrapper in a dry clean cloth and follow step 2 -5 above. You would not need to use water because rice paper is naturally stick together
3. Combine dipping sauce and serve immediately. 

Happy Cooking!

Happy Chinese New Year!!!!

Happy Chinese New year everyone. This is the year of tiger... so this year is sort of my year since I am born on the year of tiger way back when. Anyway... I am going to my friend house for new year dinner later this evening and I am trying out some new recipes for cookies and other dishes. I will post them later when I got the Chance to post it. Above is a pictures of my Vegan Cookies Platter; it contains Vegan Double Chocolate Chip Cookies and my sugar cookie. For those of you that are not chinese, the characters in the front said 'Happy New Year!'

Now the picture here is newer recipe for my favorite Gluten Free White Chocolate Chip Cookies with Macademia Nuts. My other recipe is good but it's a little bit too runny when baking. I have modified the ingredient and I came up with a better version of the cookie. I will post it when I got a chance to write it down.

Now the pictures here is the my Gluten-Free and Vegan spring roll filling. I have made this for a long time and my neighbor always wanted the recipe. It is so easy that I am too afraid to give out my secret. But I am going to share it. In chinese tradition, pork and shrimp are often included in the fillings. I opted for vegetarian version. The wrapper skin is not typically used wheat flour. For Gluten-free version, I actually wrap my filling using rice paper and it is not deep fry. In a way, it is heavier.

Here is a closer look of my Vegan Double chocolate Chips Cookie. It's my daughter favorite now. She loves the cocoa powder in the dough.

I promise, all the recipes will be posted as soon as I get the chance too and again.. Happy Chinese New Year Everyone and stay healthy!

Trouble Eating Out.. Good or Bad?!?

Once my husband is forced to be in a gluten free diet... Eating out has been a major issue for him. It basically rule out most of his favorite restaurant. It was a sad day. Because of this eating out problem, we were force to cook at home more often than usual and has to constantly reminding myself not to use any gluten. It is a big adjustment but once you get into habit of it. It is not that bad.

So what is the good and what is the bad for not being able to eat out...

The good:

1. Save money - Since you are not paying for restaurant food and service; often time, even though the restaurant serve gluten-free, they tend to be a little bit more expensive because the cost of the ingredients are often more expensive.
2. Stay Healthy - By cooking at home, you are more awared of the ingredients that are involved making a dish. Often time, you can't really know what was in the dish even though they might seem gluten-free. 
3. Be a better Cook - I have been doing a lot of research on gluten-free cooking and exploring and experimenting different recipes. By doing that, I am actually learning to be a better cook and learn to cook more variety. It's always a good thing.

The Bad:

1. Cost Money - I know I mentioned above that 'Save Money' is a good thing. But the initial phase of getting the gluten-free ingredients does cost quite a bit of money. Imagine spends $20 on a bag of Xantham gum or different type of flour for example. The ingredient cost a quite a bit, but they do last awhile.
2. Time Consuming - Even though I enjoy cooking now, however, it is time consuming expecially after a long day of work and need to prepare a meal that is not so much 'Out of the pantry'.
3. Shopping Take Longer - Often time, you will need to go to health food store to get the gluten-free ingredients; luckily, most of the larger supermarket does carry gluten free item now. If you are not shopping in the gluten-free aisle, you will have to read every single label and make sure that there is no known and/or hidden gluten in it. That will cost sometime.
4. Bye Bye Corona - This is extremely hard for my husband because he loves beer and Corona is his favorite. He is not a wine drinker so it's not easy for him to just switch. It was like the end of day when he found out that he could not have beer. He tried some gluten-free beer, it is just not the sample. Beer is not created equal afterall.

Sometimes, it is the idea of not being able to just simple going out and have a meal that it's difficult for a lot of people I talked to with Celiac Disease. But I think as long as being aware and smart about what you order, it will get easier.

Raising a Allergy Child

Recently I read a good article about raising kids with Celiac Disease and the challege involved in it. The article was very well written and so close to my heart and I would like to share some of the strategy that I use to raise my kids, Kimi and Isaac, who has suffered severe food allergy.

1. To educate them early
It is very important to educate them as soon as they started to aware of their surrounding. As for Kimi, I started showing her picture books of different type of food. I would show her the picture of 'Cow Milk' and told her that she could have Milk, but has to be Kimi Milk (Rice Milk) but not 'Cow Milk'. As Kimi became toddler, I would show her the picture of 'Cow Milk' and asked her whether she can have them. Kimi would shake her head and told me, 'Kimi cannot have cow milk, but Kimi can have Kimi Milk.' When I asked her why she could not have cow milk, she would tell me that cow milk make her sick and itch (she has terrible ezcema along with the allergy. By educate them early, they will learn to protect themselves to some extend and help minimize any accident.

2. Teach them How to Handle Emergency
When the kids are a little bit older like around 4 years old, being a parents should start educate the kids how to handle emergency situation when they have a reaction. I always have Kimi to bring her benedryl when having a sleepover. I have a long talk with the other parents about my kids allergy and how to handle the situation when Kimi is having a reaction. I teach Kimi how to use Epi-pen. Kimi  learn early on if she did not know what to do when she has allergic reaction, it will have serious effect on her life.

3. Bring them Shopping
I know sometimes it not be a great idea to bring young kids to the store; however, I learnt that it's important to show them what the food look like that they could have and what they could not have. When the children are young, they would like to grab everything on the store and they are extremely visual. By teaching them what the food look like will help them to say 'NO' to people who offer them with food that they are allergic to.

4. Teach Them Always Ask Before Eating
I always told my kids not to be shamed asking the gredients on the food that they were being served even from me. Yes, even I made mistake sometimes. If my kids are in someone else house and not sure about certain ingredients, I told them to call before they eat anything.

5. Tell them They are not Strange
My Kimi has asked me whether she is a different because of her food allergy. Because of her allergy, her skin got irritated very easily. Kimi's skin would get so itchy that she would tear her skin off. It was a very tough period of time not only for her but also for me. I used to spend 20 minutes every morning and evening to put bandage on her hands, arms and legs so that she could not reach her open scar and to scratch them. I put long pants and sleeves shirt on her on hot summer day. Kids and adult would ask her why she got hurt so often; and I got fair amount of questioning stares from people when I was out with Kimi. I told Kimi all the time that she is not strange and everyone is unique in her/his own way. I told Kimi not to be afraid to explain to people what happen to her skin and arms if people ask. I told her she is just a normal kid and should act like a kid; a little bit of boo boo should not affect her ability to play at the playground with other kids. It is not healthy to make your kid to feel different because they cannot eat certain food or do certain activities. Educate them and keep telling them they are not strange is important. Provide as much love and attention you could possibly gift.

6. Cook Food that can Share as Family
Mealtime could be challeging in my household but it's not impossible. Instead of cooking different things for different members in the family. I tried to find recipe that would cater for the entire family and you will realized that it is actually not that difficult once you get into habit of it. For example, I will have beef stew; and instead of flour for the thickening agent, I will use corn starch. I will cook meatloaf and instead of egg for binding the meat together, I will use egg substitute. If I cook chicken as the potein for dinner, I would also make lamb for Kimi since she is allergic to chicken and she loves lamb chop. Every meal, I would cook starch and vegetables that everyone could have and share as family. I try not to cook a separate meal for Kimi and/or my husband because of their unique dietary needs. We are family and we are in it together.

There are a lot of resources and support group out there for people living with allergy so we are not alone. To me, just keep an open mind and deal with it one day at a time and be thankful that my family are happy and living a healthy life.

Gluten-Free White Chocolate Cheesecake with Orange Glaze

My husband and I love cheesecake and I wanted to create a cheesecake that both of us could really enjoy. The fact is that it's relative easy to keep a cheesecake gluten-free as long the crust of the cheesecake is gluten-free. If you have a favorite cheesecake recipe. You can easily adopt this recipe to use your own favorite fillings but with gluten-free crust.

Preparation Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

Crust:

1. 
   
   5-7 Basic Gluten-Free Cookies (Refer to my White Chocolate Cookies or Basic Gluten-Free cookies recipe in the blog)
2. 
   
   3 tablespoon of unsalted butter (melted)

Filling:

1. 
   
   2 (8 oz) package regular Cream Cheese - prefer full fat kind
2. 
   
   1 cup of white chocolate chips
3. 
   
   3/4 cup of sugar
4. 
   
   3 eggs
5. 
   
   1 tablespoon of orange zest
6. 
   
   1/4 cup of Brown rice flour
7. 
   
   1 teaspoon of GF vanilla extract
8. 
   
   1/2 cup of sour cream

Orange Glaze: 

1. 
   
   1 tablespoon of cornstarch
2. 
   
   1/2 cup of orange juice
3. 
   
   1/4 cup of water
4. 
   
   1/4 cup of sugar

DIRECTION:

1. 
   
   Preheat oven to 350 degree, put the GF cookies in a ziploc bag and crash the cookie into small crumb. Combine crumb and butter in a bowl then press onto the bottom and a little bit of the side of the 9 inch round springform pan.
2. 
   
   Bake the crust for about 10 minutes until golden and cool while preparing the pie filling
3. 
   
   Put cream cheese and white chocolate into a glass bowl and microwave in medium heat for 2 minutes. Stir the mixture and continue for another 2 minutes or until the cream cheese and white chocolate is welled melted and blend.
4. 
   
   Add in sugar, brown rice flour, vanilla, and eggs (one at a time) until well blend.
5. 
   
   Add sour cream mix until the mixture is well blend
6. 
   
   Pour the filling over the crust and bake it for 30-35 minutes or until the center jiggles just slightly
7. 
   
   Remove from oven and let it cool for 10-15 minutes
8. 
   
   In a small saucepan, combine suger and cornstarch, stir in orange juice and water.
9. 
   
   Cook until the mixture is clear and thickened, make sure to stir occassional. Cool the mixture to room temp. and spoon the mixture on top of the cool cheesecake.
10. 
    
    Use foil to cover the pan and chill for at least 8 hours before serving

Happy Baking!

Gluten Free White Chocoloate (Macadamias Nut) Cookies

This is my modified verison of Gluten Free cookie recipe. This cookies has a more cake like, softer texture than the other cookie version. My husband prefers this newly modified recipe.

This recipe will makes about 2 - 21/2 dozen cookies.

Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 12-15 minutes

INGREDIENTS

1. 2 1/4 Cup of Silkie Flour Mix (2/3 cup of Brown Rice Flour, 1/2 cup each of white rice flour, tapioca flour, 1/3 cup of corn starch, 1/4 cup of potato starch)
2. 1 stick of unsalted butter (melted) or 1/2 cup of oil
3. 2/3 cup of light brown sugar
4. 2/3 cup of sugar
5. 2 eggs
6. 1 teaspoon of GF vanilla extract
7. 1/4 teaspoon of salt
8. 1 teaspoon of  baking powder
9. 1 teaspoon of baking soda
10. 1 1/2 of teaspoon of xanthan gum
11. 1 cup of white chocolate chip
12. 1 tbsp of milk (optional)
13. 1/2 cup of macadamias nut (optional)

DIRECTION:

1. Prehead oven to 375 degree and line 2 baking sheet with parchment pager or use nonstick spray to grease the baking sheet.
2. Mix melted butter, brown sugar and sugar until incorporated, add eggs and vanilla extract until blended
3. In a medium bowl, whisk Silkie Flour Mix, baking powder, baking soda, xanthan gum and salt
4. Stir the dry ingredients to the butter mix until incorporated. 
5. Stir in white chocolate chip and Macadamias nut into the cookie dough 
6. If the dough appears to be a little dry, add in milk but it's entirely optional
7. Use a tablespoon to scoop the cookie dough onto prepared cooking sheet, space them about 2 inches apart
8. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until cookies turn golden
9. cool cookies for 5 minutes before transferring them into a wire rack

Happy Baking!!!

Gluten-Free Banana Pecans Muffin (Banana Nut Bread Option)

Banana nut muffin has to be my favorite kind of muffin and I really wanted to create a recipe that will taste great for my husband and myself. I have tried out a few combination and finally gotten down the recipe that will work great for both banana nut bread and muffin.

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Bake time for muffins: 20 - 24 minutes

Bake time for bread: 1 hr - 1 hr 10 minutes

Make 2 dozen muffins or 1 loaf of banana bread

Note: When using the same batter for banana bread, the top does get bread brown quite easily; however, it is extremely moist inside.

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature or 1/2 cup of oil

2/3 cup of granulated sugar

2 large eggs*

1 1/2 cup of Silkie flour mix (1/3 cup each of brown rice flour, white rice flour, tapioca flour, 1/4 cup each of  corn starch, 1/8 cup each of sorgum flour and potato starch)

1 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder

1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt

1 1/2 teaspoon of xanthan gum

1/2 cup of sour cream

1 teaspoon of GF vanilla extract

1 cup of mashed rip bananas (3 medium size)

1/2 cup of chopped pecans or walnuts

cinnaman sugar (optional)

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 375, for muffins, apply paper liner or spray oil to the muffins tin; for bread, use butter or oil spray to gease a 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf pan; set aside.

2.  In an electric mixer, cream butter or oil, and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time and beat to blend.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk together silkie flour mix, baking soda, baking powder, xanthan gum and salt.

4. Add to the butter mixture and mix until the ingredients combined.

5. Add bananas, sour cream, and vanilla; mix to combine. Stir in nuts.

6a. For Muffin, fill each muffins tin abut 2/3 full and sprinkle some cinnamon sugar on top of the batter. Bake the muffin until golden brown on top. It should take about 20 - 24 minutes depending on the oven.

6b. For bread, pour the batter and fill the prepared loaf pan. Bake the bread for 1 hrs to 1 hr 10 mins until the bread is cooked. Note: the bread does get brown easily, so cover the top with foil after 20 mins of baking.

7. Let the muffins and bread rest for 10 minutes before transferring them to a rack to cool.

Happy Baking!!

Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

I have tried out different chocolate Chip Cookies recipe, playing with different ingredients and I got a recipe down that my daughter, Kimi and my son love. Isaac did not even realized that it has no egg and butter in it. This recipe is definitely a winner for the whole family except of course my husband who can't have it since I used gluten.

Preparation Time: 10 mins

Cook Time: 14 - 16 mins

Make 2 dozen

INGREDIENTS

2 1/4 cup of flour

1 stick of Soy Margarine or (1/2 cup of oil)

2/3 cup of light brown sugar'

2/3 cup of sugar

Egg Substitute ( 1 teaspoon of baking powder + 1 1/2 tablespoon of oil + 1 1/2 tablespoon of water)

3 tablespoons of Vegenaise

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

1 teaspoon of baking soda

1 cup of vegan bittersweet chocolate chips
a pinch of salt
a Tablespoon of ricemilk

DIRECTIONS:

1. Prehead oven to 375 degree and line 2 baking sheet with parchment papers or spray it with oil spra

2. Put the margarine in microwave safe bowl, cover and heat it in medium heat until melted or melt it in a small saucepan and let it cool slightly

3. Whisk the sugars, Vegenaise, egg substitute, soy margarine and vanilla together in a large bowl until smooth.

4. Whisk the flour, baking soda and salt in another bowl, then stir the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix them together. Please note that not to over mix the dough

5. Stir in the chocolate chip to the dough

6. Use a tablespoon and scoop the dough onto the prepared baking sheet, and roll the scooped dough into balls.

7. Space the dough about 2-inches apart on the baking pan.

8. Bake for 12 -16 minutes or until the cookies turn golden.

9. Cool the cookies for 5 minutes before transferring to wire rack.   

Happy  Baking!!!

Ad hoc Baking - Good Idea or Not?!?

I came home from work last night and saw 2 overripe bananas sitting on the counter and decided to make some Gluten-Free banana bread. Since I have good experience with my other gluten free baking. I figured that it should not be too difficult to make banana bread. May be I am a little bit over confidence?!?

Without any recipe, I pulled out all the necessary ingredient for baking and figure out what I need.

1. I go for my gluten-free items: my silkie flour mix which includes brown rice flour, white rice flour, tapioca flour, corn starch, potato starch and xanthan gum. 
2. I pulled out other necessary ingredients for baking, such as baking powder, baking soda, vanilla extract, sugar and salt.
3. I went to my fridge and pull out eggs, unsalted butter and sour cream just in case. 
4. I pulled out my loaf pan for baking

After I have all the ingredient layout in front of me, I started to guess what I need and try to work my magic. I knew the oven needed to be 350 degree and I know a typical banana bread will probably take about 1 hr.

After putting everything together and looked at the batter. The batter looked normal in the pan so I put it in the oven. I checked my banana bread after 20 mins and I realized that the top of it was getting really brown and I thought to myself, 'it doesn't look too good.' But I kept going for an hour. After the timer went off, I checked my "masterpiece". It looked very brown on top but it was not completely cook through. So I decided to put my banana bread in for another 15 minutes. At the end, my banana bread has finally cooked.

I let my very brown banana bread rest for 5 minutes before transferring to the wire rack. What the bread looked like to me at that point was a piece of brown brick. It was not the best thing to look at. After all my success in GF baking so far. This banana bread was a little bit of a disappointment. I was at the point to toss the "brick" away; however, I decided to at least taste it.

I cut a slice out from my brown brick and realized it is actually very nice looking inside and very moist. I took a bit of the banana bread and it tasted delicious. It bring my spirit up a little bit. The only comment I  have was the texture seemed a little bit of heavy. I figured I can probably alter the ingredient a little bit and try it again next time.

So my verdict of my ad hoc banana bread is 'Look bad, Texture OK, Taste Good' and it is definitely a 'Try Again' recipe. I will post a recipe once I refined my GF banana bread.

Dairy-Free, Egg-Free, Soy-Free Marble Cupcake

I created this marble cupcake recipes for my daughter who has both allergies. She had a birthday party to attend yesterday and I would like her to be able to have a piece of sweet treat when other kids were eating the birthday cake. As growing up, Kimi is used to attend any birthday event without asking for a piece of cake but the situation often sadden me. I wanted her to be able to eat something when other kids were eating cake.

When I was searching for a good cupcake recipes, I turned to Martha Stewart website since I have success with some of her recipes. This recipe is an adaptation from Martha Stewart and I made the modification to add baking soda and make the recipe to be dairy-free, egg-free and/or soy-free. So thank you Martha!

For marble cupcake, you would need to make 2 set of batter, one yellow cupcake batter, and one chocolate batter. The following recipe will make approximately 12 - 15 cupcakes.
Preparation Time: 25 mins
Cook Time: 20 - 24 mins

INGREDIENTS:
1. Yellow Cupcake:

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon of baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
• 4 tablespoon (1/2 stick) of Soy Margarine (room temp.) or Oil for Soy-Free Diet
• a pinch of kosher salt
• 1/4 cup of Ricemilk or Soymilk
• 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract (If using vanilla favor ricemilk or soymilk, use 1/4 vanilla extract instead)
• 3/8 cup of sugar
• 1 egg substitute (1teaspoon of baking powder+1 1/2 of tablespoons of warm water+1 1/2 tablespoons of oil)

2. Chocolate Cupcake:

• 5/8 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup unsweeteen cocoa powder
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 4 tablespoon (1/2 stick) of Soy Margarine (room temp.) or Oil for Soy-Free Diet
• a pinch of kosher salt
• 1/4 cup of Ricemilk or Soymilk
• 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract (If using vanilla favor ricemilk or soymilk, use 1/4 vanilla extract instead)
• 3/8 cup of sugar
• 1 egg substitute (1teaspoon of baking powder+1 1/2 of tablespoons of warm water+1 1/2 tablespoons of oil)

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degree. Line muffin tin cups with paper liners or grease the muffin cup tins with margarine.
2. In a small bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and/or Cocoa powder for chocolate batter; set aside.
3. In another small bow, mix ricemilk or soymilk and vanilla extract; set aside.
4. In the mixer bowl, beat soy margarine or oil and sugar until light and fluffy; add egg substitute mixture until well blended.
5. In a lower speed, add 1/2 of the flour mixture to the mixer and follow by 1/2 of the milk mixture; then remaining flour mixture and add milk mixture slowly. Check the consistency when adding the wet ingredient and make sure not to overmix.
6. After both yellow and chocolate batter have completed. Use a tablespoon or ice-cream scooper,  fill half the cup with yellow batter and half with chocolate batter and put them side by side. Fill the muffin tin cups 2/3 full.
7. Bake for 20 minutes, insert a toothpick in the center of the cupcake and if it come out clean, then it's done; otherwise, leave them in the oven for extra 2-4 minutes.
8. Let it cool for 5 minutes before removing from muffin tin and transfer to wire rack.
9. Frost the cupcake after they are completely cool.

The marble cupcake before frosting:                     

The marble cupcake after frosted by my daughter Kimimae:

Happy Baking!

Gluten-Free Blueberry Muffins

This is the 2nd version of my blueberry Muffins. The 1st time when I baked the blueberry muffins was a little bit too sweet and have a little bitter after taste. So I modified the flour mix and the sugar level. I like it much better this time; hence, I am publishing this muffins recipe.

This recipe will make about 16 muffins.

Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Baking Time: 20-25 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cups of Silkie Flour Mix (1/2 cup each of brown rice flour, white rice flour, tapioca flour, 1/4 cup of corn starch, 1/4 cup of potato starch) - reserve a little bit of flour mix to toss blueberries
• 1 teaspoon xanthan gum
• 1 stick of unsalted butter, melted *
• 1 cup of sugar
• 3/4 cup of milk (cow, soy, rice)
• 1/4 cup of olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon of bakng powder
• 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt
• 1/2 of vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 1 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen)

SPECIAL NOTES
* If using salted butter, then do not add any salt.

INSTRUCTION:

1. Prehead oven to 375 degree,  place paper liners in the muffin cups or grease cup muffin tins with nonstick cooking spray or butter.
2. Mix Silkie flour mix, xanthan gum, sugar, and baking powder together
3. Add the melted butter and stir to form a crumbled mixture, set aside
4. Use a medium size bowl to mix milk, oil, egg, vanilla until blended.
5. Add the mixture from step 4 to the crumbled flour mixture, stirring just until moist to make a batter.
6. Lightly toss blueberries in a little Silkie flour mix, then fold them into the batter.
7. Use a ice-cream scoop or a tablespoon to scoop the batter into the prepared muffin cups. Fill each cup about 3/4 full.
8. Bake for 20-25 minutes. The muffins should be slightly golden brown on the top. 
9. Let the muffins cool for 5-10 minutes before removing for the cup muffin tin.

Please free feel to leave any comment or suggestion on this recipes.

Happy Baking!

Basic Gluten-Free (Dairy-Free, Egg-Free) Cookies

This is the basic Gluten-Free with dairy-free and egg-free option recipe that I used for my chocolate chip cookies and peanut butter chocolate chip cookies. The cookie dough that produced by this recipe will texture very similar to any non-GF cookies version. You can add any fixing to this recipe to make it your own.

The following recipe will make around 18 - 20 cookies.

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 stick salted butter, softened *
• 1/2 cup of packed light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup of granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon of GF vanilla extract
• 1 egg **
• Silkie Flour Mix (1/3 cup each of brown rice flour, white rice flour, tapioca flour, 1/4 cup of cornstarch, 1/8 cup of soy flour) ***
• 1 3/8 teaspoon of xanthan gum ****
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• a pinch of salt
• 2 tbsp of milk (cow, soy, rice)

SPECIAL NOTES:

For Dairy-Free and Egg-Free version substitie the following:
* Butter substitue: 1 Stick of Willow Run Soy Margarine or 1/2 cup of oil
** Egg substitute: 1 teaspoon baking powder + 1 1/2 tablespoon warm water + 1 1/2 tablespoon oil
*** Replace the Silkie flour mix to use the regular flour and remove xanthan gum **** completely for non-GF version.

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degree
2. Use mixer to cream butter (oil for dairy-free version), brown sugar, granulated sugar, vanilla for a minute, then add egg (egg substitute for egg-free version), mix until incorporated.
3. Add the Silkie Flour mix, xanthan gum, baking soda and to the mixer. Mix until the ingredients well blended together.
4. Use a teaspon or a scooper, drop dough balls (about 1 inch in diameter) onto cookie sheets about 2 inches apart.
5. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until lightly golden on top. Rest the cookies for about 5-10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool.

I am always welcome comment and please do let me know if you have any issue with the recipes.

Happy Baking!!!!

Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

This recipe is basically use the same ingredients as my Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe. I added creamy peanut butter to the dough and it comes out great!

The following recipe will make around 20 cookies.

Peparation time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 stick salted butter, softened *
• 1/2 cup of packed light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup of granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon of GF vanilla extract
• 1 egg **
• Silkie Flour Mix (1/3 cup each of brown rice flour, white rice flour, tapioca flour, 1/4 cup of cornstarch, 1/8 cup of soy flour) ***
• 1 3/8 teaspoon of xanthan gum ****
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• a pinch of salt
• 1/2 cup of creamy peanut butter
• 1/2 cup of chocolate chips*****
• 2 tbsp of milk

SPECIAL NOTES:

For Dairy-Free and Egg-Free version substitie the following:
* Butter substitue: 1 Stick of Willow Run Soy Margarine or 1/2 cup of oil
** Egg substitute: 1 teaspoon baking powder + 1 1/2 tablespoon warm water + 1 1/2 tablespoon oil
***** instead of chocolate chips, use coco powder instead
If Gluten-Free is not what you desire, replace the Silkie flour mix *** to use the regular flour and remove xanthan gum **** completely.

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degree
2. Use mixer to cream butter (oil for dairy-free version), brown sugar, granulated sugar, vanilla for a minute, then add egg (egg substitute for egg-free version), mix until incorporated.
3. Add the Silkie Flour mix, xanthan gum, baking soda and to the mixer. Mix until the ingredients well blended together.
4. Mix in peanut butter and milk until the ingredients well blended
5. Mix in the chocolate chips.
6. Use a teaspon or a scooper, drop dough balls (about 1 inch in diameter) onto cookie sheets about 2 inches apart.
7. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until lightly golden on top. Rest the cookies for about 5-10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool.

I am always welcome comment and please do let me know if you have any issue with the recipes.

Happy Baking!!!!

Spelt Flour for Wheat allergy but not Celiac Disease?!?

When my daughter was dignosed with wheat, soy and dairy allergy 8 years ago, I cried at the doctor office. How could my daughter allergic to the 3 most common food groups? And how could my daughter ever get nitrients? To make myself feel better, I thought about my origin and thank you for it.


I am chinese so rice is in my major diet and thanks God that Kimi is not allergic to rice. Kimi is also not allergic to corn and potato. Therefore, kimi was able to use rice and corn products. The only problem I found was bread. The taste of non-wheat breads are not very appealing. They tend to be very heavy and they're rather hard for a little girl to swallow sometimes. There is also very little dessert choice out there, ice-cream, cookies, cake and cupcake etc are completely cut out from her diet. I often felt sorry for her not being able to be a little kids when she could not enjoy some common dessert.


Then one day, some major bread through; one of my co-worker a few years ago has a friend whom has a daughter also has the same allergy as my Kimi and he told me that his friend mentioned about spelt flour as substitute for wheat. Then I do more research on spelt. I have done some research before and I ruled spelt out because spelt is in wheat family. My daughter is very sensitive in term of what she eats; hence, I did not even want to try spelt flour even I have heard people with wheat allergy can somehow tolerate spelt. In addition, I don't bake. I burned everything I baked. However, after I did more research on spelt flour and connect with Jeanie, I converted. Jeanie baked a birthday cake in Dora theme for my daughter on her 3rd birthday and by seeing Kimi's face light up when she saw and ate the cake. My heart melted.


Spelt flour can be used as a good alternative for people who has wheat allergies; however, it is not suitable for Celiac Disease.

What is Spelt Flour?
Spelt (Triticum spelta) is a hexaploid species of wheat. Spelt was an important staple in parts of Europe from the Bronze Age to medieval times; it now survives as a relict crop in Central Europe and has found a new market as a health food. Spelt is sometimes considered a subspecies of the closely related species common wheat (T. aestivum), in which case its botanical name is considered to be Triticum aestivum subsp. spelta. - From Wikipedia

Spelt is similar to wheat in appearance. However, spelt has a tougher husk than wheat, which may help protect the nutrients in spelt. Spelt flour has a somewhat nuttier and slightly sweeter flavor than whole wheat flour. Spelt contains more protein than wheat, and the protein in spelt is easier to digest. This means that some people who are allergic to wheat may be able to tolerate spelt. Spelt has gluten, just like wheat, so spelt is not suitable for a gluten-free diet.

Spelt flour can replace whole wheat flour or whole grain flour in recipes for breads and pasta. Some people like to blend spelt flour with wheat flour. I have used spelt to make bread, rolls, sweet-breads, cookies, muffins, bagels, pretzels and I have used spelt to replace wheat in almost any recipes.

Spelt is becoming better known as a healthy grain, so spelt products like bread and pasta are easy to find in most health food stores. .- From About.com - articke By Shereen Jegtvig

Gluten-Free (Dairy-Free, Egg-Free) Chocolate Chip Cookies

I was trying to find a Gluten-Free recipe for cookies that taste good but also not too thin and spread out when baking them. After a few combination of flour mix. I have gotten a combination with a result that I wanted. It tastes like a regular chocolate chip cookies that my son can't get his hands off.

The following recipe will make around 18-20 cookies.

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 stick salted butter, softened *
• 1/2 cup of packed light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup of granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon of GF vanilla extract
• 1 egg **
• Silkie Flour Mix (1/3 cup each of brown rice flour, white rice flour, tapioca flour, 1/4 cup of cornstarch, 1/8 cup of soy flour) ***
• 1 3/8 teaspoon of xanthan gum ****
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• a pinch of salt
• 1/2 cup of chocolate chips*****
• 2 tbsp of milk

SPECIAL NOTES:

For Dairy-Free and Egg-Free version substitie the following:
* Butter substitue: 1 Stick of Willow Run Soy Margarine or 1/2 cup of oil
** Egg substitute: 1 teaspoon baking powder + 1 1/2 tablespoon warm water + 1 1/2 tablespoon oil
***** instead of chocolate chips, use coco powder instead

If the dough seems a little bit dry, add 2 tablespoon of ricemilk.

If  Gluten-Free is not what you desire, replace the Silkie flour mix *** to use the regular flour and remove xanthan gum **** completely.

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degree
2. Use mixer to cream butter (oil for dairy-free version), brown sugar, granulated sugar, vanilla for a minute, then add egg (egg substitute for egg-free version), mix until incorporated.
3. Add the Silkie Flour mix, xanthan gum, baking soda, milk and salt to the mixer. Mix until the ingredients well blended together.
4. Mix in the chocolate chips.
5. Use a teaspon or a scooper, drop dough balls (about 1 inch in diameter) onto cookie sheets about 2 inches apart.
6. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until lightly golden on top. Rest the cookies for about 5-10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool.

I am always welcome comment and please do let me know if you have any issue with the recipes.

Happy Baking!!!!

Cleaning the Pantry - Get Ready for Dietary Need

Cleaning the Pantry is a not easy task. I myself avoid it as much as possible. I have recently spent about 4 hrs in the pantry and going through all the items in there and organize all items with labels for "Easy Navigation". I have thrown away 3 bags of items that were expired; and a full bag of items that does not fit the dietary requirement in my household and I will donate it to food bank.

The important idea of cleaning the pantry is not only to make some space but also to understand what is currently available and appropriate for your diet on hand. Once you understand what you have already had, then you can make a list to stock up something that you will need to satisfy your diet.

When I cleaned up my pantry, I implemented the following process and it works well for me. It might work for people as well:

• Take everything out and try to put them in different categories; such as soup, spices, pasta etc.
• Go through the expiration date, and toss anything that is more than 6 months old. In theory, if the product is less than 6 months past the expiration date; they are still good but make a note to use it; otherwise, should put it in a bag for donation.
• Go through every label. You will be surprised that the ingredients that are actually in each product. I learnt to read label when my daughter was allergic to 'Everything'. 'Wheat' is a very common ingredient in a lot of product and 'Soy' as well. Make sure to spend sometime to read each label carefully. If something does not meet the requirement, donate it.
• Implement a grouping system. It does not matter how you organize your items; whether by region or by type. The key is that it will allow you to find what you are looking for easier. I group my items by combination of region and type.
• Once you group your item, I put them in container and I label every container; such as 'Mexican Spices', 'Gluten-Free', 'Kid's Snack' and 'Asian' etc. 

I am on the process of converting the family into a more a gluten-free diet so that I do not have to keep and cook 2 different meal. Once you understand your pantry and know what you have, then it will prevent any "Accident", such as having a can of soup that might have containing wheat.

Like I said, it's not easy to clean the pantry and it's very time-consuming. However, it will help in keeping up with dietary restriction.

Vegan Suger Cookies

My daughter, Kimi is allergy to dairy; hence no-egg or milk for her. Since she was allergy to Soy when she was younger. She has always drink Ricemilk. With the following recipe, although I call for Ricemilk, but can be substitiue with Soymilk. I used Vanilla favor ricemilk because that's what I have in hand. I have made this for a party and everyone loves it. Nobody really know that it's dairy-free and egg-free.

ALLERGY INFO:  Dairy-Free, Egg-Free, Soy-Free (if using Ricemilk)

TIMING:
Preparation Time: 1 hr
Baking Time: 10 minutes

INGREDIENTS:
Make 2 dozen.
1. 2 cups all-purpose floor
2. 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3. 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
4. 1/2 cup (1 stick) of Willow Run soybean margarine (room temp.)  or 1/2 of oil for Soy-Free*
5. 1 cup sugar
6. 1 Egg substitue **
7. 2 TBSP of ricemilk ***
8. 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

SPECIAL NOTES:
* Willow Run is a Soybean margarine that is great for spreading or baking, with no artificial preservatives or flavoring. This Margarine is made from all vegetables. It also has no funny aftertaste, no aftertaste at all. It does not taste like soy, it just tastes good. To find out more information, visit http://www.organicdirect.com/willow-soybean-margarine-16oz-p-7051.html. To substitute willow run margarine, try use same amount of oil instead.
** 1 large egg = 1 tsp baking powder + 1.5 TBSP water + 1.5 TBSP of oil

*** You can substitue Ricemilk by using Soymilk.

DIRECTIONS
1. Whisk together flour, salt, and baking power in a medium bowl.
2. In the bowl of electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar.
3. Add dry ingredients (from step 1) to the butter and sugar mix and mix until incorporated.
4. With mixer runing, add, egg substitue, milk and vanilla; mix until corporated.
5. Refrigerate the dough for at least 30 mins.
6. Prehead oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with nonstick baking mats or parchment paper or spray oil spray to baking pan; set aside
7. Scoop dough using a spoon and roll the dough into a ball about an inch in diameter. Space cookies one inch apart on the baking sheet or baking pan.
8. Bake for 10 minutes and make sure not to brown and over baked. Transfer to wire racks to cool.

Cooking with Food Allergy

Welcome to my Allergy Blog. For some of you might know that I have another blog for Knitting which is one of my other hobbies. The other blog is http://silkieknit.blogspot.com/.

The main reason why I started this blog is because cooking in my house is very interesting. My daughter and son both has food allergy. My son's condition is relative minor, he is only allergic to nuts; whereas my daughter, she is allergic to everything in the past, as she grows older, she is only allergic to Dairy, egg, chicken (yes it's terrible), all nuts and all seafood. When she was younger, she was also allergic to wheat and soy. To add to the existing dietary restriction in my household, my husband has been dignosed with Celiac Disease (gluten allergy) a few months ago.

Ever since my daughter was cleared with Wheat and soy allergy a couple years ago. Wheat was a major food in my household. Hence, when my husband was dignosed with CD; I found it a little bit difficult to go back to my old way of cooking. It has been difficult for my husband because he loves bread and beer. So for giving up what he loves has not been easy. Nowadays, due to the increasing number of food allergy, more food companies have manufactured food that can satisfy people with special dietary need. However, I found the choice is not bad but still limited. With my husband, he has been eating wheat all his life, by switching to gluten-free food has not been easy. I have a few gluten-free cookbooks and tried some of them. Some of the recipes are good.. some are so so and some are just simple terrible. The most difficult part about not eating wheat is baked goods. My husband loves bread and dessert so I decided that I would play around with different recipes and ingredients and try to found some good recipes to satisfy my husband and my kids and to share them with anyone that has same dietary need as me.

I hope this blog will not only help me to be a better cook but also to help people with allergy.