Category: Food

Food. Eaten. Made. Discussed. All gluten-free.

June 12, 2013

Happy Birthday Dollface, you’re a big girl now.

It’s my birthday. The second day of the year when it is appropriate and customary to think about life in the abstract. But where January first is a day for looking forward and making goals, a birthday, in this case the twelfth of June, is a perfect day for looking at how far you’ve come.

It’s not like 29 is a big deal. Except for the part where the amount of time left in your twenties is no longer measurable in years. Now it is just days. 364 of them to be exact.

Sure, you’re a grownup. At least you play one on TV. You have a day job. You have friends. You have family. That makes you pretty much a rock star.

Look at all you have learned.

You are a survivor. If you can walk when everyone says it may never happen, you can do anything. The world is yours.
It might be the shoes. Sometimes the moment calls for designer shoes. The right shoes can make all the difference in how you feel, so chose wisely.
Family. They love you. They support you. And they will never turn their back on you. So, be patient and kind and always remember to tell them how much you love them.
When all else fails, do a little dance. There are always going to be tough days. There is never an excuse not to dance.
You can find friends in all sorts of places. Sure, once you are done with college, friends don’t just keep appearing in your life at the same rate, but if you keep looking, they can be found just about anywhere.
Never underestimate the power of friendship. It doesn’t matter if you met 5 minutes ago or 5 years ago, friendship is a powerful bond that you should cherish.
No matter how sick you get, remember you are not alone. Remember that family? Or those friends you have? You have got to let them in. Tell them that you are struggling. You don’t need to suffer alone.
Being a cyborg is cooler than it looks. The technology is pretty damn amazing and the fact that it gave you your life back is just incredible. And no one has to know that you were shipped with defective parts.
Inspiration is all around you. Everyone has a story, a struggle. Take inspiration from their triumphs to help lead you to your own.

There are 364 days left in my twenties.

Those days are packed moments that might be. Possibility and hopes. They have potential to be just about anything. They are the days for taking over the world.

So, let’s have some epic gluten-free cupcakes and celebrate being alive.

June 2, 2013

Relish 05: Oh, oh those summer nights

Now that was a May.

I started this month off slowly, recovering from surgery and being unable to do much. Once I was back in the kitchen, I made these gluten-free lemon raspberry cupcakes for the Chicago Blogger Bake Sale.

There were so many things happening in the blogosphere this May. It was Celiac Awareness Month, and my favorite post was from Alyssa at Inspired RD about what she wants you to know about life with Celiac Disease. It was a brave piece of writing that I know so many of us can relate to.

The very best part of May? The weather warmed up just a bit and summer is here. Oh yeah. It’s summer festival season.

Delicious eats.

Licorice is one of those things I was so disappointed to find out was made with flour, but Nicole at Gluten-free on a Shoestring has fixed my craving with a recipe for Gluten-Free Red Licorice (01). Have you seen this cake from Sarah at Sarah bakes gluten-free Treats? Her Gluten-free, dairy-free mocha cake (02) looks too good to eat. Irvin made these Gluten-free nutella cookies for the San Francisco Blogger Bake Sale, and they look incredible (03). Alex Thomopoulos made these Roasted Brussels Sprouts (04) and I can’t wait to try them.

Other lovely things.

There is more to life than just making awesome, gluten-free food. Just a little. Here are my favorites for this month:

I am taking a lot of little trips this summer, and this bag (01) needs to be in my closet. My friend KC from GFree Foodie has started a gourmet box of the month (02) and I can’t wait for my first one to arrive! As a designer, I am often torn between digital and analog methods for taking notes and keeping track of ideas. This Evernote Moleskine (03) is designed to help you easily digitize notes. Last, but certainly not least, this Celiac and the Beast Tank (04) is my new favorite wardrobe addition. It makes gluten-free (and me) so much cooler.

What’s next?

June brings a trip to Austin for BlogHer Food, my 29th birthday and my parent’s 35th wedding anniversary. I am also planning a great big gluten-free barbecue with recipes from your favorite bloggers.

Bring on those summer nights!

May 27, 2013

The three best cures for anything

There is an Irish proverb that says “A good laugh and a long sleep are the two best cures for anything.”

My ancestors got that mostly right.

Sure, there is nothing like curling up in your bed, wrapped in a comforter with squishy pillows to make you feel better. Bed is a great place to recover from colds, surgeries and broken hearts.

As for laughter, it is a scientific fact that laughter is good for you and might even cure what ails you. There is nothing like a good, belly-punching laugh. You know the kind. You get them when you are talking to your girl friends about that night in college. You get them from I Love Lucy. And they make you feel better. Each and every time.

But they forgot something very important.

Cupcakes.

How could they forget cupcakes? Cupcakes cure a good deal of things.

They are effective treatment for the times you get dumped because you bought a pair of designer shoes. They can also be used to help ease the regrets you have for kissing someone you shouldn’t have. Conversely, they are an excellent way for you to take time and over-analyze your interactions with that guy you like.

After surgery, cupcakes are an essential part of the recovery process.

They work wonders for friendships. (I bribe people to be my friends with cupcakes. It’s a thing. And I’m ok with it.)

Sometimes, cupcakes can even be a force for good and help end childhood hunger.

These particular cupcakes were made for for the Chicago Blogger Bake Sale hosted by My Daily Find Chicago and the 900 Shops on Michigan Avenue. Proceeds from the event went to benefit No Kid Hungry as part of the Great American Bake Sale campaign.

These are some serious gluten-free cupcakes. A lemon vanilla bean cupcake filled with raspberry jam and topped with a lemon merengue buttercream. They manage to be light and decadent at the same time, a balance that is hard to find in cupcakes.

Gluten-Free Lemon Cupcakes

Recipe Type: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Author: Mary Fran Wiley

Prep time: 20 mins

Cook time: 40 mins

Total time: 1 hour

Serves: 36

These cupcakes are a little bit sturdier than some white cakes, but that is because you need to make sure they don’t fall apart when you remove the centers.

Ingredients

For the cakes
1½ cups (360 ml) milk at room temperature
7 large (210 grams) egg whites (pasteurized are fine), at room temperature
1 large egg, at room temperature
1½ teaspoons vanilla bean paste OR 1 vanilla bean scraped OR 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1½ teaspoons lemon extract
460 grams ( 3¼ cups) gluten free all purpose flour*
2 teaspoons xantham gum**
450 grams (2¼ cups) granulated sugar
7 grams (1 teaspoon) salt
1½ sticks (170 grams) butter, at room temperature and cut into cubes
85 grams (6 tablespoons) vegetable shortening
Zest from 1 lemon finely minced
To assemble
1 recipe Lemon Merengue Buttercream (recipe follows)
approximately 1 cup raspberry jam

Instructions

Make the cakes

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 3 cupcake tins with papers, grease the tops of the pans and set aside.
In a small bowl, mix together ½ cup of the mil, the egg whites, egg and vanilla
extract.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fit with the paddle attachment, combine the dry ingredients including the sugar on low speed for 30 seconds.
Add butter & shortening and mix on low speed for 30 seconds. Add the remaining milk and stir untill just moistened. Increase the speed to medium and mix for a
minute and a half.
Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the egg/milk/extract mixture in 3
groups, scraping down the sides before each addition.
Gently stir in the lemon zest.
Using a large ice cream scoop, divide the batter evenly among the cupcake papers,
making sure that none of them are more than ⅔ full (or you could have a little bit of
a mess).
Bake 2 cupcake trays at a time for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the
center comes out clean.
Cool cupcakes on a wire rack.

Assembly

While the cupcakes bake, make a recipe of Lemon Merengue Buttercream.
Remove the centers from the cupcakes using a cupcake corer or a paring knife, making sure you don’t go all the way to the bottom of the cupcake.
Fill the wells with raspberry jam. I find that it is neatest when you use a pastry bag and a large, plain tip.
You can replace the tops on the jam wells if you only fil them 2/3 full.
Pipe the buttercream on top.

Notes

*I use [url href=”http://www.cup4cup.com/”]Cup4Cup gluten-free flour[/url] in almost all of my recipes. I find that it gives me the most consistent results. You can also use Jules’ Nearly Normal flour, Better Batter or the King Arthur gluten-free flour (this one requires the xantham gum). Baking mixes or bean flour based mixes will not work. **If your mix contains xantham gum, guar gum or expandex, leave this out.

3.2.1337

Lemon Buttercream

Recipe Type: Dessert

Author: Mary Fran Wiley

Cook time: 45 mins

Total time: 45 mins

Ingredients

8 large egg whites (30g each–total 225g, or 1 cup)**
400 grams (2 cups) granulated sugar
The peel of 1 lemon
560 grams (5 sticks) of unsalted butter, softened but cool, cut into cubes
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 teaspoons lemon extract
¼ tsp salt
Yellow Gel Coloring

Instructions

Combine the egg whites, sugar and lemon peel in a small pot until they reach 140 degrees fahrenheit.
Strain your sugar syrup into a clean stand mixer bowl, you want to make sure that the lemon peel doesn’t make it into the bowl. Using the whisk attachment, beat until light and fluffy (soft peaks) and the temperature is neutral – the bowl should not be warm to the touch.
Switch to the paddle attachment and add the butter one chunk at a time until it is all combined.
It might look like it is starting to curdle, don’t panic! It should all smooth out by the time you add the last bit of butter. If it is getting too loose, you can pop it in the fridge for 5 minutes to help it set up.
Add small amounts of yellow gel coloring until the buttercream is the color you desire.

3.2.1337

May 15, 2013

Wednesday Wisdom: The Gluten Free Spectrum

Today’s Wednesday Wisdom post is from a college friend of mine. We met my first day of freshmen year at Mount Mary College in Milwaukee. We bonded over fashion homework and knitting, but when I left Milwaukee to transfer schools, I lost touch with her. You know, it was the stone age – before their was Facebook or Myspace. We reconnected through the magic of the internet, and I learned that she is working on moving her family to a gluten-free diet because of her daughter’s Autism. This is her story.

May 3, 2013

Snack it to me: Raisinibly Healthy Snack Mix

This post is part of Snack It To Me – recipes for my favorite snack mixes. The posts are: Fairy Berry Gluten-Free Trail Mix, Sour Patched Gluten-Free Trail Mix, Cherry Cordial Gluten-Free Snack Mix, Mango Lassi Trail Mix, Apricocious Gluten-Free Trail Mix, Raisinably Delicious Snack Mix, Happy Endings Trail Mix, My go-to prepared snacks.

Raisins are a point of contention in my family. Well, between me and my sister they are. She, so very wrongly, believes that raisins have no place in anything. Not oatmeal cookies. Not Irish soda bread.

I think she might be an alien. Or at the very least adopted. There is no way such a raisin hater can be related to me.

You see, I am on the right side of this disagreement. The side where those little boxes of raisins were never a disappointment when they showed up in my halloween bucket. And I think they make a great addition to any boring cereal – they can help keep me from feeling the need to add sugar to plain chex.

Don’t worry though. I added some chocolate in there for you non-raisin fanatics. Or for those of you who think they are equally important in life.

Raisinibly Delicious Gluten-Free Snack Mix

Author: Mary Fran Wiley

Prep time: 5 mins

Total time: 5 mins

Serves: 6

This is a loose template meant to inspire you to create your own trail mixes and to help keep you from getting that hangry feeling (being so hungry you are angry) when you are out and about without a safe restaurant in sight.

Ingredients

150 grams (about a cup) raisins
50 grams (about a half cup or a generous handfull) dried goji berries
50 grams (about a half cup) unsweetened dried coconut flakes
50 grams (about a quarter cup sunflower seeds
75 grams (about a half cup) good quality dark chocolate chips

Instructions

Measure all ingredients in a large bowl and mix to combine. Store in a sealed container for up to a month.

3.2.1337

May 2, 2013

Snack it to me: Apricocious Snack Mix

This post is part of Snack It To Me – recipes for my favorite snack mixes. The posts are: Fairy Berry Gluten-Free Trail Mix, Sour Patched Gluten-Free Trail Mix, Cherry Cordial Gluten-Free Snack Mix, Mango Lassi Trail Mix, Apricocious Gluten-Free Trail Mix, Raisinably Delicious Snack Mix, Happy Endings Trail Mix, My go-to prepared snacks.

Ladies and gentlemen, this is Snack mix number 5.

A little bit of Apricot in my life,
A little bit of Almonds by my side.
A little bit of Chocolate’s all I need,
A little bit of mixing’s what I see.
A little bit of fruit dried in the sun,
A little bit of munching all night long.
A little bit of trail mix here I am,
A little bit of you makes me your fan!
Snack mix number five.

It has long been public knowledge that I have terrible taste in music. You are lucky there wasn’t a Backstreet Boys song that worked here, because then I might have tried to re-write the whole song and not just the chorus that I am sure is now stuck in your head. (It’s been in my head since I wrote “Snack mix number 5 is here.”)

Apricots are a persnickety fruit. I have bought them one too many times at the grocery store, excited because they are finally in season, only to get home and be disappointed because they are mealy or, even worse, bland. You know the moment when you take a bite and you have the heartbreaking realization that the fruit tastes like a shadow of itself? Yeah. I really hate that.

Which is why dried fruit is great. All the delicious apricot-y goodness is concentrated into a little pocket of joy. Add some almonds and a wee bit of white chocolate for good measure and you, my friend, will not be hangry when you get stuck on the CTA when they are rerouting your communte and messing with your dinner schedule. Instead, you will queue up an episode of Doctor Who and munch away, pleased with yourself for being a grownup and thinking a head. (You don’t need to tell anyone that you forgot that it was buried in the depths of your purse, your secret is safe with me).

Someday soon this flavor combo might be reincarnated as a cookie. Or a muffin. But for now, instant gratification is what it’s all about.

Apricocious Snack Mix (A gluten-free trail mix)

Recipe Type: Snack

Author: Mary Fran Wiley

Prep time: 5 mins

Total time: 5 mins

Serves: 4

No volume measurements are here because these are meant to be imprecise and easy. Either add each ingredient to the same bowl while it is on your kitchen scale, or just go ahead and wing it. With these ingredients you can’t go wrong.

Ingredients

150 grams (3 handfulls) dried apricots
150 grams (2 handfulls) almonds (I used blanched, but you can use roasted and salted here for a sweet & salty take on this mix)
75 grams (really this is how much you want – i wanted one piece of chocolate for every 2-3 apricots) white chocolate callets or chips

Instructions

Place a medium mixing bowl on a kitchen scale and tare (zero) it.
Add each ingredient, weighing as you go. This recipe doesn’t need you to measure them out first.
Mix to combine.
Store in an air-tight container for up to one month.

3.2.1337

May 1, 2013

Relish 04: Ramp it up

Good bye April!

You might have noticed that I wrote 36 posts in April. Thirty of them were for the Health Activist Writers Month Challenge. Let me tell you, I am certainly ready for a cookie or two. And maybe a cocktail. (My friend Alison is curating a pretty impressive list of cocktails … you should go try a few, I know I am!).

For me, April was a little crazy, and I am not referring to the crazy number of blog posts. There was a little something about spine surgery in the middle. A design conference that needed attending. And a bowling outing for charity.

I also finally booked my hotel for BlogHer Food in Austin. I decided to stay at the Extended Stay America so I would have my own little kitchen and a guarantee of a safe meal if I need to cook one for myself. If you are going, you need to let me know so we can meet up and become best friends forever. (But the title of GFBBFF, that is Gluten-Free Blogger Best Friend Forever, is already taken, so we’ll have to come up with a special one for you too.)

And there is something I definitely don’t want you to miss: the infographic about Celiac Disease that Gluten Dude created last week. Celiac Awareness Month is upon us, and this infographic contains lots of great information. Please share it! (He even has it set up so you can embed it in your blog!)

Let’s talk about some food

I’ve been missing cooking. Something about not being allowed to bend and lift makes it a bit difficult to do. Boo to that. But, I did find some mighty awesome things to make from some of the best people on the internet. Sadly, although it is ramp season (this month’s title was totally referring to them because I am clever like that), none of these include them.

First, my friend Alison has been a busy bee, and she made these amazing(01) Gluten-Free Muesli Breakfast Cookes. Cookies + breakfast = awesome. Then Cindy at Vegetarian Mamma made (02) Gluten-Free & Vegan Onion Rings. A lady after my own heart. More breakfast items from the lovely folks at Cup4Cup. They shared (03) Gluten-Free Chewy Granola Bars on their Facebook page. And last, but definitely not least, Tracy at Shutterbean shared an amazing (04) Honey Orange Ginger Ale recipe. I wonder if it goes well with bourbon…

Some other lovely things

Ok, sometimes I spoil myself, but that’s ok. We all deserve a little bit of indulging.

A friend of mine recently started selling Stella and Dot (this is a link to her page), and even though I had no intention of ordering, their (01) Alexandria necklace caught my eye, and my incapacitated self decided I needed a present. My (02) Zoku Slushie Maker made me feel like a kid again and brightened up my days this month in ways Real Housewives marathons never can. This post wouldn’t be complete without mentioning the gorgeous new cookbook from Shauna and Daniel Ahern (Gluten-Free Girl & the Chef),(03) Gluten-Free Girl Every Day. And yes, another pair of shoes. Did you expect anything less? I am supposed to take it easy for a few months, so I thought I needed more fun flats. These (04) brightly colored shoes from Two Lips fit the bill perfectly.

What’s next?

Well, May is Celiac Disease Awareness Month, so look for posts and tweets with information about gluten-free living, celiac disease and gluten-intolerance from all of your favorite bloggers.

I will be finishing up the Snack It To Me series, I have reviews of two gluten-free pizza crusts and a review (and recipe from the lovely cupcake wars champion, yra Bussanich, herself) of the new Crave Bakeshop mixes.

Hooray for May!

April 30, 2013

HAWMC Day 30: The end is here!

I am attempting the Wego Health Activist Writers’ Month Challenge. A post each day in April. So, now that I told you I am going to do it, I oughta follow through, right? Today’s prompt is to write a recap of your experience. What was your favorite prompt? Least favorite? What have you learned?

Well, I can tell you that I wasn’t exactly sure that I could pull this off. I have tried (and failed) many times to write a post a day. And this wasn’t exactly the ideal month to go for it – I had major surgery scheduled for the middle of the month.

But I did it. And it made me get my act together (I never had a resources page before this challenge, can you believe it?!).

Here are the highlights:

I shared why I write, and it was the first time I had stopped to really think about it. Plus, it was an excuse to share a Spice Girls music video.
I talked openly and candidly about CRPS and my struggle with chronic pain – and not because I felt I had to defend myself (which is how I felt when I shared my disease the first time).
I talked about living a life with a chronic condition and truths that apply to celiac sufferers, food allergy sufferers, CRPS sufferers, etc. And some secrets to living a full life despite your condition.
I shared some aspirations and a letter to my future self (on the occasion of my 30th birthday) that might have been one of my most revealing posts.
Sometimes I loosely interpreted the rules to suit me. I had a point though – I was sharing some bits about an upcoming project.
I shared my personal philosophy.

All in all, I learned a lot about myself and a met community of bloggers that I don’t often include myself in – health activists. I might do it again next year, but if I do, I will plan in advance and not decide at 10pm on April 1st that I should take on a month of daily posts.

Particularly when I have other posts that need to be written that don’t match up with the prompts (like my Gluten-Free Jammie Dodgers and my Snack it to Me series. I wrote 36 posts in 30 days.

I guess I can do {almost} anything. Thanks for sticking around and learning about CRPS, chronic illness and a positive life.

This week we will return to regularly scheduled programming with some more gluten-free snack mixes and this month’s Relish!

April 29, 2013

HAWMC Day 29: A little bit of awesome sauce

I am attempting the Wego Health Activist Writers’ Month Challenge. A post each day in April. So, now that I told you I am going to do it, I oughta follow through, right? Today’s prompt is to share three things you love about yourself, things you’re great at, or just want to share.

I can always find a silver lining. I can make lemonade from lemons. Heck, I can turn the beat around.

Lame pun, I know. But you should expect that from me.

Do those count as the three things? I thought not.

I speak French fluently. Bet you didn’t know that. Since moving back to Chicago I have had few opportunities to hang out and be a language nerd, but I still read novels and listen to podcasts in French daily so I don’t start to forget. It might be my favorite hidden talent. (It is even more awesome than the bar tricks I know…)
I can {almost} always find a silver lining. The time I got dumped because someone thought I spent too much on shoes? Well, at least I had the shoes and the couple of dates had decent food. Or going gluten-free. It not only improved my health, but it found me some of my best friends.
I am a pretty good designer. Last week a site I did the design for was mentioned in the Wall Street Journal. One of my presentations from this year was featured on a design inspiration site. My office even hung some of the posters from my first Chronic Positivity project. (Although the one below wasn’t chosen, it is still one of my favorites)

Ok, that wasn’t so hard. And sorry about getting that song stuck in your head.

April 28, 2013

HAWMC Day 28: Must follow

I am certain that this prompt intends for me to share people that I think you should follow. If that is what you are looking for, check out my resources page or previous posts from the challenge.

If you follow anything at all, consider following this

You could call it a philosophy or a manifesto of sorts. Words to live by. Maxims for a better life.

When your body throws you a curveball and reveals that it doesn’t work the same way as others, or that it has gone to war on itself, it is easy to get lost. To struggle. To lose sight of the big picture.

But darling, it is all about the big picture.

Abraham Lincoln said “And in the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.” Consider your chronic life just a part of the big picture. How you spend it despite the hardships is what matters.

So, here goes:

You should fill your heart with good and then follow it to where you need to be. There is no other kind of must-follow.

A much wiser woman than I can ever hope to be wrote these words, and they are rumored to have been painted on her wall.

“People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies. Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and sincere people may deceive you. Be honest and sincere anyway.

What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight. Create anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous. Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, will often be forgotten. Do good anyway.

Give the best you have, and it will never be enough. Give your best anyway.

In the final analysis, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.”

-Mother Teresa

For me, these words summarize my personal philosophy. My own manifesto for living a better life. If I never follow anything else, I hope to say that, when all is said and done, I have lived my life anyway.

That I created. That I did good. That I succeeded. That despite a million and two reasons not to, I was kind. That I filled my heart with good and let it lead me.