Potato Corn Chowder--A Gluten-Free, Vegetarian Warmer-Upper Recipe

I'm not a vegetarian myself, but my grandmother was, and I believe this recipe is one of hers. I learned it from her oldest daughter, my aunt Bertha.

Potato Corn Chowder Recipe (Gluten-Free and Meat-Free)

Images: iClipart

Ingredients:

• 1 14-oz. can of creamed corn
• 1 garlic clove
• 4 potatoes, peeled
• 1 carrot, shredded
• 1/2 small yellow onion, diced
• 14 oz. of cold milk (just use the creamed corn can to measure)
• 1 tbsp. potato starch flour
• 1 tbsp. rice flour (brown or white)
• 1 tsp. (that's right tsp. not Tbsp.) tapioca flour
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Cube the potatoes and boil them until tender. Drain and set aside.
2. In a 2-qt. sauce pan, mix creamed corn, garlic (minced), carrot bits, onion, and most of the milk.
3.With about 1/4 cup of the milk leftover, mix all three gluten-free flours--potato starch, rice flour, and tapioca flour--into the milk until they're no longer lumpy. This will be your thickener. Set it aside for now. But when the time comes, only use as much as you feel you need.
4. Place corn mixture on the stove and heat it slowly and evenly (medium low temperature or medium, depending on your stove), stirring pretty much constantly to keep milk from burning to the bottom. Once corn mixture is warm, add spuds.
5. Gradually add thickener (milk and flour mixture). Cook until the potatoes are warm inside and the soup is thick enough to your taste.

If you want to make this a non-vegetarian dish, just add chopped ham or cooked bacon bits to the soup when you add the spuds.

This soup is a yummy way to warm up the whole family on a cold December afternoon. It makes about 4 bowls of chowder. It goes great with garlic toast, corn meal muffins, or Glutino crackers.

Next week I'll post my instructions on how to make garlic toast on a cookie sheet with 1/2 gluten-free toast and 1/2 gluten-normal toast. That was a tricky thing to figure out when I first got started cooking GF.

Gluten-Free Chocolate-Dipped Pretzels--Is It Even Possible? YES!

When Christmas rolls around, my GF kid always requests my gluten-free chocolate-dipped pretzels. Did you know there was such a thing as gluten-free pretzels? My favorite brands are Glutino and Ener-G. They're good as plain ol' pretzels, but they're even better dipped in chocolate and rolled in sugar sprinkles. Here's how you do it...

Gluten-Free Chocolate-Dipped Pretzels

Image: iClipart

Ingredients:

• 1 pkg. GF pretzels
• 1 monster-big Hershey's milk chocolate bar
• GF candy sprinkles (we use Betty Crocker)

Directions:
1. Clean out a tin can that once held a gluten-free food (like canned corn). Make sure it's perfectly dry inside.
2. Break up the Hershey bar into small chunks and put them in the bottom of the tin can.
3. Put an inch of water in the bottom of a sauce pan. Place this on the stove and bring to a boil.
4. Using protection so your hands don't get burned (I use an OveGlove), hold the tin can of chocolate in one hand and a spoon in the other. Place the base of the tin can in the sauce pan of water and hold it there (it tends to want to float on the water, but you must press it down and keep it in the pan--don't let water seep into the tin can at all) while stirring the chocolate with the other hand.
5. You may need to reduce the heat on your sauce pan, so you don't burn yourself. Keep stirring the chocolate in your tin can until it has all turned fluid.
6. Remove the tin can from the sauce pan and turn off the stove. Be careful not to let any water drip into the tin can of chocolate.
7. Fill a saucer with candy sprinkles and spread a sheet of wax paper out on the kitchen counter. Use a pair of tongs to dip each individual pretzel in the can of chocolate, then in the candy sprinkles. Allow it to cool until hardened on the wax paper.
8. Do this over and over again, with each individual pretzel, until you run out of either chocolate or pretzels. Unused chocolate can be discarded, tin can and all, in the trash.

You know how your GF kid never gets to eat any of those yummy cookies and candies everyone has on display at their house at Christmas time? Well this is a handy substitute. Put half a dozen of these chocolate-covered pretzels in a mini-Rubbermaid food container, in your purse. When you get to that party where your kid can't have any of the food, whip out your home-made pretzels, and voila! Your GF child is the envy of everyone there.

Gluten-Free Ham Sandwiches and a Recipe for a Gluten-Free Egg McMuffin

Image: iClipart

There are lots of ways to make a ham sandwich appealing to a kid. One is the cookie cutter sandwich, like the ones I posted about back in October. (See image.) These are perfect for lunchboxes. You can go with a theme (like cutting them in pumpkin shapes for Thanksgiving/harvest time), or just offer a variety of shapes and let the child use his/her imagination with whatever you send to school.

Another ham sandwich favorite is the gluten-free toasted ham and cheese sandwich. For this, you just layer ham and cheese inside your sandwich; butter the outside of your sandwich; and grill it, like you would with a grilled cheese sandwich. These aren't good re-heated though, so save this sandwich for weekends and Thanksgiving vacation, when the kids are at home.

Finally, remember that breads come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Sandwhiches can be made on gluten-free biscuits, gluten-free cornmeal muffins, and even crackers. (Look back at my post on gluten-free home-made lunchables for more on that.)

Which hams are safe? Not all, of course. Read labels to be sure. But at the time when I wrote this post, the following hams were safe:
Many Hormel Hams
Some Canadian Bacons
Carl Buddig Hams and Other Lunch Meats 

I also sometimes buy my GF daughter those expensive GF English muffins made by Food For Life, and we make her Egg McMuffins A-la Mom. To make Egg McMuffins, this is all you need to do:

Gluten Free Egg McMuffins

Ingredients:

• 1 egg
• 1 capful of apple cider vinegar
• water
• 1 slice GF ham
• 1 slice cheddar cheese
• butter or margarine (to taste)
• Food for Life GF English muffin

Directions:

1. Poach an egg in a cup of water and a capful of cider vinegar. (I just boil it directly in the water/vinegar mix, but I know ritzy people have real poachers.)
2. Pull the poached egg out of the pan of water and set it on something to dry (I use paper towels, but the egg sometimes sticks to that). Fry a slice of GF ham in a skillet and set a slice of cheddar cheese on top to melt.
3. Meanwhile, slice your Food for Life GF English Muffin in half and toast it until crisp (they usually take longer than GF bread does for some reason). When they're done in the toaster, spread butter or margarine on both slices.
4. Layer ham, cheese, and egg between the two slices of English muffin, making a breakfast sandwich. I usually salt and pepper my egg, but my GF daughter just likes hers plain.

Gluten-Free Fruit Smoothie Recipe--for the Kid Who Needs a Little Vitamin C

Your kid catch the crud this winter? Did you know strawberries are high in Vitamin C? That's right. And a strawberry smoothie goes down pretty easy, even when it's tough to swallow. Here's the recipe I use:

Image: iClipart

Gluten-Free Strawberry Smoothie

Ingredients:

• 8 oz. pre-mixed (already prepared) Hawaii's Own Guava Strawberry Juice
• 4-6 frozen strawberries (they can vary greatly in size, so I usually eyeball it)
• 6 oz. container of Yoplait strawberry yogurt (it says gluten-free right on the label now)

Directions:
1. Place 8 oz. of guava strawberry juice (again, it's already been mixed--no longer in its frozen concentrated state) in a blender with 4 frozen strawberries.
2. Mix on medium to high, depending on your blender's durability. When the strawberries have turned all mushy, shut the blender off and check the consistency of the fluid in the blender. Is it still very watery? Does it have a moist but less watery consistency? If it's really watery, add another strawberry or two until it's more like the consistency of a root beer float that's been all stirred up.
3. While the blender is off, dip your spoon in there and check to see if any strawberry chunks are settling to the bottom. If so, put the lid back on it and give it a bit longer to finish mixing. You don't want any strawberry icicles choking your child!
4. Shut off the blender again before adding the yogurt. Once you've mixed that in, it should really have the consistency of a milkshake.

This recipe makes enough smoothie for two small ones or one mega-smoothie. But be careful, drinking a mega-smoothie often leads to brain freeze!

Gluten-Free Nachos with Home-Made Guacamole Dip (Recipe)--Part 2

You know how to make the nachos now. You experimented with it last week, right? Here's the recipe for yummy guacamole dip that goes great with your party nachos:

Gluten-Free Guacamole Dip

Image: iClipart

Ingredients:
1-2 tbsp. fresh-squeezed lime juice (to taste)
1/4 tsp. salt
1 garlic clove, crushed
3 tbsp. fresh cilantro, diced up finely
3 very ripe avacados
1/4 cup finely diced onions
1/8 tsp. chili powder (read label to make sure it's gluten-free)

Directions:
1. Peel, pit, and slice the avacados.
2. Put the slices in a small food processor and blend or mash them with a fork. Add lime and continue smooshing it until it has a pasty consistency.
3. Add all other ingredients and blend well.

Like I said, this is an ideal dip for nachos, but it's also yummy inside a Spanish omelet. It's great in tacos too. Buritos? Same thing. I've even put it on a baked potato, with tasty results.

The bummer about guacamole dip, is that it doesn't last very long. The lime helps keep it from turning brown, but if it sits in your fridge for more than 24 hours, it will look pretty icky. And we all know how children feel about eating something that looks bad. Not. Gonna. Happen. So use it up quickly.

Gluten-Free Nachos with Home-Made Guacamole Dip (Recipe)--Part 1

Nachos are easy. But when I first started cooking gluten-free, I didn't know diddley. Heck, I couldn't even make gravy from scratch, much less a plate of nachos. So here's the scoop on nachos...

Gluten-Free Nachos

Image: iClipart

Ingredients:

• GF corn tortilla chips
• hamburger
• cheese
• veggies for toppings

Directions:
1. Brown the hamburger in a skillet (or we usually just use leftover hamburger from the tacos we made the night before). It's fine to season your hamburger with GF chili powder, GF garlic, and salt, if you like. Those, by the way, are the main ingredients in those packets of taco seasoning that people buy at the grocery story. The packets contain wheat, so I don't recommend you use those.
2. Spread corn tortilla chips out on a platter. Sprinkle hamburger over the top. Coat the whole thing with a thin layer of grated cheese.
3. Microwave for 30 seconds to one minute, until cheese melts. (Keep an eye on it, so the cheese doesn't burn.)

Of course you can add whatever veggies you like to your nachos, but most people like olives, onions, green peppers, jalapenos, and tomatoes. Some people add lettuce, but in my opinion, that just makes it a taco salad. It's also possible to top your platter of nachos with sour cream, refried beans, or both, just to make the whole thing look pretty.

That was Part 1. Next week I'll offer up my recipe for home-made guac. It goes great with a plate full of nachos. You can make nachos for a party finger food, a side dish to accompany an enchilada dinner, or a quick lunch for one.

Figuring Out What to Put in My Gluten-Free Kid's Lunchbox Is a Real Devil!

So why fight against the flow of things? Make deviled eggs!

We all know that deviled eggs are a delicacy on Easter Sunday. So why wait for Easter? Eggs are cheap. Mayo is too. Three eggs makes half a dozen deviled halves. They're nutritional and high in protein. And YUM! You won't hear kids complaining about that. Here's the recipe I use:

Ingredients:

• 3 eggs
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 2 1/2 tbsp. mayo (I sort of just eyeball it)
• paprika (if you like)

Directions:
1. Boil eggs in a pot of water for 12 minutes, to ensure they are hard-boiled. It's a good idea to put the eggs in the water before it begins to boil, but don't start counting the minutes until you've got the water boiling. If you put the eggs into the water while it boils, then they're more likely to crack while cooking.
2. Once cooked, remove the pot of eggs from the stove. Drain out the hot water, but leave the eggs in the pan. Place ice cubes over the hot eggs and re-fill the pan with cold water. Soaking the eggs in ice water helps make it easier to peel the shells off the eggs without damaging them.
3. Once cool, remove the eggs, one at a time, from the ice water and peel the shells off of them. Slice them in half with a sharp knife. If you own a deviled egg display tray, put the halves in that while you work.
4. Carefully pop the hard yolk out of the center of each egg half, and place the yolks in a small mixing bowl.
5. Use a fork to mash the yolks with the salt and mayo. (My mom once gave me advice to avoid mustard in my deviled eggs, but a lot of people like the flavor of a touch of mustard in theirs. Go with whatever you like.)
6. Using a spatula, plop the mashed up yolks back inside the "bowl" portions of the eggs (i.e. the white part). If you won't be transporting your eggs to school, then you can use a pastry press to make the yolk centers look flowery, then sprinkle the tops with paprika. But this is optional.
7. If you're going to send the deviled eggs to school with your kids, try this: now that you've got the yolk mix inside the eggs, put the two halves of each egg back together and wrap the whole egg in plastic wrap. Twist the ends like a peppermint candy and tie them off with those paper-covered wires that are sometimes used to seal bread bags. Now they can easily be sent off to school in your kid's lunchbox without making too much mess.