When Gluten Free is not enough. Sunday, May 26, 2013

For more information about the class or to RSVP, please email info@gfgrocery.com or call 415-626-3733.

May is a very special month for those living with dietary restrictions. It is both Celiac Awareness Month, and the month in which we honor Food Allergy Awareness Week http://www.foodallergy.org/food-allergy-awareness-week from May 12th to 18th.

More than 15 million people in the US have food allergies. 1 in 13 children have a food allergy.  1 in 100 have Celiac Disease, and a whopping 30% of the US population is thought to have some level of gluten intolerance.  So, for the month of May, in tribute to the millions and millions of people living a gluten-free, allergy-friendly lifestyle, I created the following Allergy-Friendly Cookie, to celebrate just how delicious living allergy-free can be.

These Allergy-Free Oatmeal Raisin Chocolate Chip Cookies are super-healthy, but a decadent treat. Kids and adults love them equally. They are gluten-free, vegan, and free of all top 8 allergens. They are also sesame free and can easily be made corn-free by using Authentic Foods Xanthan Gum and Hain Baking Powder.  I encourage you to make these cookies whether or not you have food restrictions. And make them to celebrate and honor those who do.  I take this recipe into school classrooms, to make with the kids to help teach them about allergy awareness. No cookie lover should ever be excluded. Enjoy, and Happy May!

Allergy-Free Oatmeal Raisin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Makes about 2 dozen 3-inch cookies

Ingredients:

1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon golden flaxseed meal

3 tablespoons hot water

1/2 cup dairy-free, soy-free vegetable shortening

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon my Basic Gluten-Free Flour Mix (recipe follows), or Authentic Foods GF Classical Blend flour

1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum or guar gum

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon double-acting baking powder

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt or table salt

1 1/2 cups gluten-free old-fashioned oats

3/4 cup raisins

1/2 cup dairy-free, soy-free, gluten-free chocolate chips

 Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. Combine 1 Tbsp. flaxseed meal with 3 Tbsp. warm water, mixing well. Set aside. This is your “flax egg.”

3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the shortening, granulated sugar, and light brown sugar, mixing on medium speed for about 3 minutes. Add the vanilla extract and the flax egg. Mix about 30 seconds on low speed until combined.

4. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, the remaining 1/4 cup flaxseed meal, gum, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Add oats and mix.

5. Add dry mixture to stand mixer bowl, and mix on low speed until combined. Add raisins and chocolate chips, mixing on lowest possible speed until just combined.

6. Using a 2-Tbsp. scoop, place dough balls on a baking sheet and flatten them slightly.

7. Bake in the center of the oven 13 minutes, until lightly golden.

8. Let cookies cool for about 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

Cybele’s Basic Gluten-Free Flour Mix

Makes 6 cups

 Ingredients:

4 cups superfine brown rice flour (Authentic Foods)                                          1 1/3 cups potato starch (not potato flour)                                                          2/3 cup tapioca flour (also called tapioca starch)

1. To measure flour, use a large spoon to scoop flour into the measuring cup, then level it off with the back of a knife or straightedge. Do not use the measuring cup itself to scoop your flour when measuring! It will compact the flour and you will wind up with too much for the recipe.  Combine all ingredients in a gallon-size zipper-top bag. Shake until well blended. Store in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Allergy-Free Oatmeal Raisin Chocolate Chip Cookies  ©2010 by Cybele Pascal

(Please note that all my recipes are completely free of all top allergens (wheat, dairy, soy, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, sesame, fish, shellfish, and gluten), so as many people as possible can enjoy them. Additionally, all the ingredients are available at Whole Foods, and online at Amazon.com. If you have trouble finding something, let me know and I’ll help you find it.)

SAFETY NOTE: Because each person’s food sensitivity and reaction is unique, ranging from mild intolerance to life-threatening and severe food allergies, it is up to the consumer to monitor ingredients and manufacturing conditions. If manufacturing conditions, potential cross contact between foods, and ingredient derivatives pose a risk for you, please re-read all food labels and call the manufacturer to confirm potential allergen concerns before consumption. Ingredients and manufacturing practices can change overnight and without warning.

Date: March 10, 2013
Time: 12PM-1PM
Location: 234 Townsend St., San Francisco, CA 94107 (Between 3rd and 4th)
RSVP $10 Donation to the Taylor Family Foundation Celiac Summer Camp for Kids

Jeff Larsen is a food stylist, recipe developer, pastry chef and cooking instructor, specializing in allergen free cooking and baking. His standout achievements are nine books for Williams Sonoma. He has also worked with his colleague, Karen Shinto, on almost every issue of Sunset Magazine for the last ten years. www.jeffreylarsen.com

Join us here at the Gluten Free Grocery Store for Introduction to Allergen Free Baking, Sunday, March 10 (12pm – 1pm). Jeff will be speaking on the different gluten free grains and flours, their various properties and why they are combined as they are. He will give you the recipes for his two all-purpose flour mixes that are crucial for every gluten free household. This will empower you to start adapting your favorite recipes for a gluten free home. Maybe you have one family member who is gluten intolerant or celiac. Maybe you are trying to convert the whole family to gluten free. Maybe you are dealing with multiple allergies. Jeff will empower you to rethink the way you cook and bake for the entire family. If you have family members who are not gluten intolerant, they will also enjoy Jeff’s food and his approach. Nobody will be living without.

Cybele Pascal – “Living the Free-to-Eat” Lifestyle and Book Signing

Date: March 17, 2013
Time: 12PM-1PM
Location: 234 Townsend St., San Francisco, CA 94107 (Between 3rd and 4th)

Cybele Pascal is the best-selling author of The Whole Foods Allergy Cookbook, The Allergen-Free Bakers Handbook (Martha Stewart’s #1 book pick for her show 2010), and Allergy-Free and Easy Cooking (Random House, 2012). She is the mother of two children with food allergies, and has food allergies herself. As a Celebrity Ambassador Who Cares for FAAN (Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network), the Food Editor of Allergic Living Magazine, with the #1 food allergy blog, (Cybele Pascal: The Allergy Friendly Cook), her award- winning cookbooks, multiple National TV appearances, and regular columns on AOL, GAIAM, Martha Stewart’s Whole Living and Oxygen, Cybele is the leading lifestyle expert on living and eating well with food allergies. She is often cited as the pioneer of Allergen-Free Cuisine.

Cybele will be focusing on the topic of “Living the Free-to-Eat” lifestyle, which means eating a varied, nutritious, and delicious diet, even with multiple food restrictions.

Space is limited so be sure to RSVP via email or by calling 415-626-3733.

We have just received a shipment of gluten-free gingerbread kits.  These great kits include everything you need to make a gingerbread house, including cut-to-fit graham-style crackers, candy, and frosting.  You can pick up additional accessories like our Vanilla Buttercream Frosting, Gourmet Marshmellows, and Confetti/Chocolate Ice Cream Sprinkles.  Stop by our store and get your kit today!

“Well, I have a long list of food allergies. Where should I start? Gluten and wheat, I lump those two together, and I’m also allergic to tomatoes, bell peppers, egg plants, all nightshade plants actually, and then there’s casein in dairy, and potatoes, oh, and garbanzos. Well, those are my major ones I guess. Oh and peanuts, I had a bad episode with them so I stay away from those as well…”

Meet Karen! A customer here at The Gluten Free Grocery, Karen recently returned from a long trip on The Grand Canyon Limited where she acted as a volunteer car host, educating travelers on the history and geography of the sights they saw from the steam train en route from Los Angeles to the Grand Canyon and back. A member of a rail club in Santa Clara, Karen has experience when it comes to gluten free traveling, especially while accommodating her host of other food intolerances.

The key to successful travel with food allergies is research and preparation, Karen says. Often, as was the case with this trip, one has to pack and prepare their own food and inspire some creativity when working with less than conventional cooking scenarios. Fruits and vegetables are necessities, of course, and so are a host of pantry staples and snacks like your favorite gluten free cookies, nut butters and breads. Creative combinations of these goodies are key and Karen shares her favorite snack recipe from the road below, an ingenious fruit salad recipe packed with flavor and protein. Try it out and share your thoughts in the comments, or better yet, share your own favorite go-to travel tips and snacks!

Karen’s Fruit Salad Recipe

One bottle of Odwalla’s Fruit Juice

Pack of portable Artisana Nut Butter (Walnut, Almond, Cashew, Pecan)

Apples, Bananas, Strawberries, Blueberries, Kiwi or your favorite fruit, washed and cut

Combine one packet of your favorite nut butter into  portion of the Odwalla juice and shake until smooth. Then pour over your bowl of fruit salad to enjoy a nutritious gluten free, protein rich afternoon snack on the road!