Open Fire Cooking

The end of the summer brought new culinary adventures for us. We spent our family vacation camping on Cumberland Island, the largest and southernmost barrier island off the coast of Georgia. No matter where I am, I believe in eating well. The last time I was camping, I was single and very young. The food was not high on my list of priorities. Still, I had the where-with-all to know to bring Crystal Light for the nasty taste of the water, and the addition of a summer sausage and some cheese provided a delicious source of snacking that all the other backpackers envied. Years later, with my husband by my side, I decided to introduce the children to the great outdoors.



We had a remarkable time camping with the kids. Cumberland Island is teeming with wildlife and its' sub-tropical climate is one of the unique and diverse aspects of Georgia that I am most fascinated with. With Baxter working every day up until the day of departure, it fell on me to plan and pack for all four of us. One of the biggest concerns was decidedly food - especially since there is nowhere on the island to buy anything. What you take is what you have until you hop on the ferry back to St. Mary's. With this in mind, and with a lot of concern planning for four, I made a list 4 pages long and shopped for 7 hours straight. In the end, all was well.

Here is what worked (and what didn't)

Breakfast #1 -

Egg scramble with hashbrown potatoes, peppers, onions and ham. I purchased a bag of frozen fixings by Jimmy Dean. It comes with everything but the eggs. Thankfully, eggs come in milk-like 1-qt cartons. I froze one of these to pack and followed the directions on the Jimmy Dean label. It was a delicious breakfast along with a half bagel and fresh fruit.

Breakfast #2 - Cold rice pudding. While we all love rice pudding, either hot or cold, apparently it should never be frozen. It was chewy and alien - not at all as rice pudding should taste. Don't try this one.

Lunch #1 &#2 - I made a large baguette sandwich with butter, ham and cheddar cheese and cut it into 8 pieces. This, along with a vinaigrette pasta salad and fruit, fed us two lunches.

Dinner #1 -

"Hobo" Chicken Packs were a big hit with everyone. The smell of the chicken breasts, veggies and garlic roasting on the coals was absolutely heavenly. I also found a great product made by Uncle Ben's that is basically cooked rice in a microwave pouch. Of course we didn't have a microwave; but you can also just heat it up in the pan which is what we did. I selected a roasted garlic flavor that included quinoa. Delicious!

Dinner #2 - The good old fashioned weenie roast was the best meal of the trip. Nothing tastes as good as a hot dog roasted over an open fire. It's very tribal and the kids loved it. For dessert? You guessed it - roasted marshmallows!

When you're burning a lot of calories, drinks and snacks are also very important. Bring along something to make your tepid water taste better. Everyone will drink more fluids if it tastes good. We also brought along wine in a box for dinner and afterwards. It wasn't messy and easier to travel with than beer or anything else. For snacks, we brought cheese, crackers and summer sausage. Make sure you bring a pocket knife to cut it with for the full-on Boy Scout effect.

This post sat in my queue for almost a month! Glad I caught it. After reading through it again, I realize how much fun we had! We may have to go camping again this fall!

"As God As My Witness...

...I'll never go gluten again..." Boy am I glad that I don't have to say that. I tested negative for Celiac Disease. That most likely means Ford would as well. So, we can have biscuits! We can have dumplings! We can have pie! Although, I am really really glad we did go gluten free for a period of time because it allowed me (forced me) to think outside of the box and invent some new things. For example, when I really, really wanted coconut cream pie but couldn't have the crust, I invented coconut cream custards! They were delicious and crust free (therefore, slightly lower in calories). I also learned to love two different kinds of quinoa, various lentils and discovered a passionate love for jasmine rice. So, this has not been all suffering for us. We have really learned to scrutinize what we eat and this is a great thing. However, when I need cornbread to go with my soup, I don't have to pay $6 for it.

Just how important is the Glycemic Index? I've always thought it was fairly important, but now that I have seen no swings in my blood-sugar readings on the gluten-free diet, I'm realizing just how important it truly is. We will continue to avoid processed foods as much as possible and stay away from bleached flour, but I am glad to have at least a healthy wheat flour back in my cupboard. So, what have we eaten lately that was once forbidden?

Chicken and dumplings, cheese biscuits, PB&J (on white bread), subs from Publix, ice cream cones, fried chicken, and pizza. So, maybe not the healthiest stuff in the world, but boy has it been a fun couple of weeks!!

Gluten Free Breakfast Idea!

Ok, I've thrown some interesting meals together during this GF journey. Today I thought of an interesting breakfast idea that fits the bill nutritionally and was a huge hit, despite it being a little odd. Breakfast Baked Sweet Potatoes! That's right! Just take away the roasted chicken and vegetables and you have the perfect breakfast food. Funny that it never occurred to me before. What are some of your favorite (but odd) breakfast foods? They don't have to be GF! Just share!

Gluten Free Comfort Food

Learning how to make some of my favorite recipes gluten free is one of my highest priorities. Tonight was a triumph and I wanted to share. On my menu: Pot Roast, Wild Rice, Gravy, Green Beans and Brownies. And yes, and every bite was better than the original!

To make gluten-free pot roast, I simply made my usual pot roast, substituting white rice flour for the regular kind. First, season your roast (I used an eye of round roast) with kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper, then dredge in the flour. Brown it in oil on medium heat on all sides. Add about 4 cups of liquid (I used half TJ's natural beef stock and half water) and bring to a simmer. Cover partially and cook for about 4 hours. The gravy makes itself.

I cooked my wild rice according to the package directions. My green beans were the french skinny kind - not the kind my mom makes - but they were very good and fresh tasting. I used a frozen variety and cooked them quickly in a small amount of water with the lid on just until done. Then I remove the lid, add a couple tablespoons of butter and toss well.

Finally, I had my first gluten free brownie tonight and it was oooohhhh so good. Trader Joe's GF brownie mix is amazing. Unlike my one foray into GF cupcakes that turned out terrible, they were moist and gooey just like brownies should be. I added about 1 cup of chocolate chips and it made them even better. At the end of the meal I couldn't get up for about 10 minutes!!! After weeks and weeks of salads and simply prepared healthy food, it's so nice to know that when I need some comfort food, I can have it!

Gluten Free Pasta Reviews

I thought I'd be nice and consolidate these products into one big review instead of posting every time I eat a GF pasta. There was a lot of difference between pastas, much more than I expected.

Tinkyada Rice Pasta (fettucine)

This was the first pasta that we tried. It is widely available and was purchased at Publix for around $3.50 for a 16oz bag. I would try the brand again, but it was more foreign than some of the others we have had since. The noodles were gummy and I followed the directions precisely. We had them with sauteed veggies and shrimp and topped with Bertolli Vodka Sauce. Overall, the dish was pretty yummy, but I wouldn't like this pasta with plain old spaghetti sauce - it would seem strange. I also didn't like the price tag. Maybe it's cheaper at other stores, but that's a bit much for one component of the meal. When I added in the veggies and the shrimp, it was kind of a costly meal for us. It is kosher certified and organic and there's a lot of boasting on their website, so like I said, I'd give it a second chance.

Lundberg Organic Brown Rice Pasta (spaghetti)

I have to admit, the words "New & Improved" in the upper right-hand corner of the box scared me a little. I think companies make a huge mistake in advertising this fact. To new consumers, you kind of get the impression that it used to be revolting and now it's palatable. I followed the directions exactly and timed the pasta from the moment the noodles went into the pot. Another rice pasta did not specify this, and I ended up with a gummy mess. I rinsed with cold water and what we got underneath my homemade meat sauce was something pretty identical to a traditional spaghetti. Having used whole wheat pasta a lot in the past, I found the taste and texture of this pasta to be FAR superior. Baxter couldn't believe it was gluten free. The kids loved it! The cost was not unreasonable and I found it on sale at Kroger, which means that the product is both affordable and close to home ... FIVE STARS!

DeBoles Gluten Free Rice Plus Golden Flax Spirals
This was a product I purchased at Whole Foods. DeBoles has been making pasta since 1932 and their gluten free line is new. More power to them - they use all natural ingredients, no preservatives or chemicals are added. First, I will say that an 8 oz box of pasta doesn't go very far in my house. The box is rather large to house such a small amount of the stuff. It was barely enough for lunch with the kids but at the price I paid, it should have been sufficient. The cooking instructions were precisely followed and the noodles turned out a little underdone for my taste. I like al dente, but this was too hard. My test noodle seemed fine, but once we rinsed it with cold water and topped it with sauce, it had hardened a bit. I'm not sure an extra minute of cooking would have been good for the noodles since they were breaking down a bit. I just think they need to work on their recipe. It is a light colored pasta, made with parboiled brown rice flour, white rice flour, and golden flax and rice bran extract. Compared to the list of ingredients on the previous product we used, I think they are using too many derivatives of rice. The last one was much simpler. I also purchased their angel hair pasta* and am interested to see how it compares. One thing I liked was the recipe on the back of the box. I didn't use it, but will save it and try it in the future - new gluten free recipes (that are also quick and easy) is a great way to help them market their products. Maybe with a few tweaks, they could improve their spirals.

*I loved the De Boles Angel Hair pasta. We served it with a simple marinara sauce and it was actually better than regular angel hair pasta. I think it was a little firmer and held its own better than traditional angel hair.

Trader Joe's Brown Rice Penne Pasta
First, let me praise Trader Joe's for their low cost. On previous trips, I have been there for wine, fine cheeses, bakery items and gifty kind of stuff. This time, I went to purchase staples and was absolutely shocked at the prices. I did better at TJ's than I did at Kroger, and paid about half for similar items I bought at Whole Foods! I think I am now a devotee. Plus, it's friendly, the kids love it, and a stranger in line behind us gave Baxter a beer out of his pack just so he could try it - that has never happened to us at any store before. So, on to the pasta. I prepared these according to the package directions and then put them into a chicken pasta casserole. They were soft and tender but not breaking down like the DeBoles product. I found that I prefer these noodles to traditional noodles baked into a pasta. They were full of flavor and the texture was great. Five stars!!!

Ancient Harvest Quinoa Pasta (shells)
I bought these "by accident" at Whole Foods on my first gluten free trip. I say by accident, because I wasn't even looking for quinoa at the time but I'm glad I got them. I can't remember the cost, but I don't think they were cheap. You may need to find this one on sale. I am really liking using GF pastas inside of dishes. I find they are far superior to traditional noodles in casseroles and now in soups as well. I used these in my old fashioned chicken noodle soup and it was restaurant worthy - maybe better. They were slightly firmer in texture which worked really well with the soup and they had a beautiful golden color. The taste was delicious and we're all really excited about having quinoa on our plates later this week. I would use quinoa shells in my soups instead of regular noodles even if we weren't going gluten free! Five stars!!!


Trader Joe's Brown Rice Spaghetti
This is my last taste-test on the GF pastas. Trader Joe's really knows what they're doing. For $1.99, we got a whole pound of delicious pasta that fed my whole family, plus allowed seconds for Baxter to take to work. When compared to the price of the other pastas I've tried, it's a no-brainer. The taste and texture were just about as perfect as the price. I prepared it and served it with some gluten free meatballs and a jar of our favorite marinara sauce. The meatball recipe came from Elizabeth Hasselbeck's book The G-Free Diet and were quite tasty and easy to prepare. Our family loved this meal and we felt like we were having good ole comfort food, without the gluten. 10 stars!!!

Trader Joe's GF Ginger Snaps

I just bought my second bag of Trader Joe's gluten free ginger snaps. They are probably the best ginger snaps I've ever tasted. I made my mother-in-law buy some! I also just bought my second package of chocolate covered pomegranite seeds. Delicious! They are a bit like chocolate covered raisins but with a more intense flavor and way more vitamins and good-for-you-stuff. We also bought some plantain chips and some mini peanut butter cups. I'm loving their wide selection of GF foods. We are big BIG fans of their gluten free frozen waffles. They are the best frozen waffles, creamy on the inside and buttery as well. At $1.99 a box, I want to just hug the guy who checks us out. We've continued very well with our gluten free lifestyle - even making a great gluten-free fish and chips for dinner tonight! As a special bonus, I'm dropping pounds on this diet. It makes sense - give up bread and cake = lose weight. You do have to do more planning. I can't grab bread and produce "lunch" in 3 minutes. Today, when pressed for time, we ate deviled eggs, pickles, and popcorn. Weird but tasty!

Trader Joe's Sesame Crepes

I could go on and on about Trader Joe's right now but I won't. If you're interested in Trader Joe's, I added a link to the Trader Joe's fan on the web. Check it out in my Yummy Blog Bites section to the right. I grabbed this interesting little snack right before we left the store. It was a total impulse buy and I half-expected them to be strange and nasty. I'm glad I followed my impulse. Just like the package says, TJ's Sesame Crepes are a sweet, nutty and chewy snack. Baxter and I both loved it. Did your mom ever make you that snack treat recipe on the back of the Corn Flakes box? It was basically peanut butter, corn syrup and corn flakes pressed down like rice krispy treats. My brother and I loved these things but they weren't very good for you (obviously). Well, these sesame crepes taste exactly like that to me. Peanut and cashew butter, sugar, and a nice coating of sesame seeds. We really loved it and it was really cheap...that's why I grabbed them. It's a traditional Vietnamese snack that I could really sink my teeth into. My only warning: eat them outside. 1/2 a crepe is one serving and upon tearing it in two, sesame seeds went all over the place! Time to break out the dust buster.

Blue Diamond Nut Thins

This is the best gluten free product I have tried so far. And by that, I mean a product that you really wouldn't seek out unless you went gluten free. However, I would eat these crackers no matter what. They are made by Blue Diamond Natural who also packages a lot of the nuts you buy on the baking and snack aisles. They are made with a blend of rice and nuts and are great for dipping in hummus, eating with soup, or topping with cheese or spreads. We have only tried the hazelnut variety so far, but will undoubtedly try them all. The almond crackers come in some flavored varieties, including barbecue flavor which interests me very much. Barbecue flavored chips are usually coated in MSG (which containes gluten) so I have avoided my favorite flavor of potato chips for the better part of 5 or 6 years now. The kids like them okay but would prefer something like a Ritz. Do you think Nabisco will be going gluten free any time soon?

One last thing. I have discovered that a lot of these manufacturers sell direct. I can order a case of these crackers for just $1.99 a box. That's $1 off the regular price at Whole Foods and Kroger. I have seen a lot of great deals buying direct from these manufacturers and may look into joining a food co-op for gluten free folks. There has to be one near me somewhere.

**Please, Jen, refrain from laughing at me now!***

Gluten Free Ain't Free

The cost of going organic, gluten-free, or making other healthy changes to your diet can be costly. If you're used to preparing meals with lots of shortcuts like packaged marinated meats, boxed mixes and frozen meals, buying the equivalent option in a healthier version is quite pricey. Take frozen waffles. If I wanted to, I could get a box of Eggo frozen waffles for $1 on sale somewhere in the next week or two. Store brand flavored syrup? Bet I could find it for $1 too. Margarine costs under $1 at most stores as well. If my kids want frozen waffles now, I have to buy gluten free. That usually means they are also vegan, dairy and nut free - processed in a dedicated facility. All that care costs money. Hence, my new frozen waffles cost over $4 a box. Plus, my kids will only eat real maple syrup and I only use real butter. The price adds up.

Thankfully, I've never been a big fan of frozen waffles - or pizza - or any of those other easy grab meals that families so often turn to when schedules get busy. For this reason, I think I will successfully stay within my weekly food budget. That's great news for a family still trying to regain its financial footing. I was quite pleased to find a lot of gluten free items at Kroger yesterday. My eyes were opened. Not only did they have everything I was looking for, but they had so much more! Things are stashed all over the store and it's a bit like going on a scavenger hunt, but at least they're closer to home and available at a lower price. (Note to self: plan on spending 1 1/2 hours each trip) Everything I bought was on sale and that included GF pastas, a GF cake mix I'm dying to try, and GF snack bars for Saturday's soccer matches.

Don't already have a food budget? Or perhaps you'd like to start keeping track of what you spend as you transition to a new, healthier lifestyle? Starting one is easy. Start by keeping track of what you spend now with any one of the free, downloadable spending trackers available from Microsoft online or other programs. After you get a month or two on paper, you can start to see places you can cut back. You can also see how you stack up compared to the average US family at the USDA's website.

I am quite proudly in the "Low Cost" category - despite eating like royalty most of the time!

Bobs Red Mill Mighty Tasty GF Hot Cereal

So, expect to see a lot of reviews of gluten free foods for a while...

While at Whole Foods on Friday, I browsed the length of the hot and cold cereal aisle before making a decision. There are so many GF choices throughout the store and I didn't want to go home with a $300 shopping order. I decided that there are cold cereals I can purchase at other retailers, but that an actual gluten free hot one might be hard to find elsewhere. Bob's Red Mill is a manufacturer I have used in the past. Publix carries their steel cut oats and they're great. When I saw that they had a gluten free hot cereal called "Mighty Tasty," I figured the kids might like it.

I prepared it this morning. Yes, it's March 1st, but the temps outside are still calling for hot breakfast in the morning. The preparation time is very reasonable. Once the cereal is added to the boiling water, it's done in 10 minutes. Compared to 30 minutes for steel cut oats, this is an easy addition to my morning. The consistency seemed a little different than what I'm used to. It reminded me of a coarse farina or maybe polenta. I took the serving suggestions on the bag and added half and half, brown sugar, and I also added a pat of butter. The kids were a little skeptical and I was very nervous. Ford hates oatmeal and has more or less refused to eat breakfast for a couple of months. Well, they loved it! In fact, they said, "mmm, mmm, delicious!" Ford told me to buy some more - even before the first bag runs out! This made me so pleased. We could enjoy a hot cereal together on a cold day, without worrying about gluten. They ate all that I gave them. I liked the taste as well. I remember thinking how I wished my mom had given me that instead of watery, burned tasting Ralston cereal!

I feel like gluten free foods either get a bad rap for being gross and weird, or I've just chosen very well. So far, we like everything we've tried! Click Here to buy Bob's Red Mill Mighty Tasty Hot Cereal direct. The price is a lot better than what I paid at Whole Foods.

Gluten Goddess

So, we're still in week one of being gluten free and I'm taming the beast nicely. I really like to tackle a problem and bring it into full submission. Therefore, I will not be giving up baking and I will not be giving up easy to grab snacks. I've spent a lot of the day today educating myself on all things gluten-free. I found the most delicious looking website, elana's pantry. She has a cookbook out and in the world of gluten free, she is a virtual goddess. If you are interested in going gluten free or also in recipes that cut down on the sugar content and offer lower glycemix index scores, you should definitely check it out. I like her recipes, because she gets very specific on what brands of ingredients she uses and why. Baking is a science and a lot of these products vary from one manufacturer to the next. I'm dying to bake up some chocolate chip cookies! On my shopping list:

• Almond Flour
• Agave Nectar
• Arrowroot (which I have actually used before)

Ribs mmmmmmmmm...

I haven't posted since early December and even then it was about the freshness of your spices. Good stuff! I'm not ready to completely abandon this food blog yet. I've spent so much time plugged into my life - not to mention my paid writing job and my other two blogs - that I've neglected this one. Well, someone that does a much better job with this subject and who seems really devoted to food is Meathead. And, no, I'm not talking about that character Rob Reiner used to play before he became a millionaire director/producer. Meathead is a nickname for who may possibly be the smartest guy with a grill out there. One look at his website and I declared him to be the Alton Brown of BBQ. Later, I found out he himself loves Alton Brown so there must be something to it.

So, the website is great but what about the actual recipes and advice? Well, we all love someone who agrees with us and I loved the fact that he thinks Weber kettle grills are great. I bought one for Baxter for Father's Day after all. We love its simplicity and so does he. I have tried one recipe and will continue to turn to him for more in the future. His Tennessee Hollerin' BBQ Sauce was unbelievable. He reduces a whole cup of bourbon down to 2 tablespoons of what he calls a "magical elixir" and boy is it. My sauce only had a handful of ingredients but it tasted like something all its own. It was perfectly sticky (the way I like my ribs - not the Memphis dry kind) and perfectly smoky, spicy and sweet. They were great with Pommes Anna, a wedge salad and a bottle of bubbly for Valentine's Day.

Spring and summer are just around the corner so it's almost time to fire up those grills again. If you love BBQ, you have to check it out!

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