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wednesday wisdom

Wednesday Wisdom: A better gluten-free chocolate cake

Here’s a tip to make your fabulous GF chocolate cake even better.  When you are greasing and flouring the pan to prevent your cake from sticking, substitute cocoa powder for your GF flour.  The cocoa will add a little more chocolate-y flavor, and the color will blend right in with your dark cake.  You won’t end up with little clumps of white or tan flour on top of your cake.  You can even take it one step further by dusting your finished cake with powdered sugar mixed with cocoa powder.  It’s an easy, but elegant, way to finish off a cake instead of using frosting.

wednesday wisdom

Wednesday Wisdom: Making use of every crumb

Whether you make them yourself at home or buy a pre-made loaf at the supermarket, let’s face it: gluten-free bread can be expensive. You don’t want to let any go to waste. Follow these tips to put every last crumb to good use:

  1. Lightly toast slices to make delicious sandwiches. (Plus, don’t forget alternatives such as grilled cheese, hot open-faced sandwiches, French toast, and gluten-free paninis!)
  2. Tear or cut up slices and use to make a French toast casserole or bread pudding.
  3. Cube slices, lightly drizzle with olive oil, and season with a touch of salt, pepper, and garlic powder, then pop into the toaster oven or oven until golden brown to make easy croutons for salad.
  4. Pulse stale bread, heels, or lightly toasted slices in the food processor to make easy breadcrumbs. Season to taste with salt, pepper, garlic powder, dried basil, and dried oregano to make Italian-seasoned breadcrumbs.

Enjoy!

Wednesday Wisdom: Getting Started on a Gluten-Free Diet

When people ask me how to go about starting a gluten-free diet, I always tell them to keep it simple. My favorite foods are naturally gluten free—fruits and vegetables, rice, beans, nuts, seeds, seafood and poultry—foods that don’t require a label. Packaged products are fine occasionally, but you need to be a diligent label reader. Even the most minimally processed foods can contain gluten.

 

Ideally, home cooking should be part of every gluten-free lifestyle. When you cook, you know exactly what’s on your plate and what’s going in your body. Try one new recipe a week to build up your repertoire. There are plenty of gluten-free bloggers and cookbook authors out there ready to help!

Laura is the “Gluten Freedom” columnist for the Oregonian and author of The Gluten-Free Asian Kitchen. Find her blog, “Notes from a Gluten-Free Kitchen”, at http://www.laurabrussell.com/