Monthly Archives: October 2012

Vacation Dietary Cheating

Posted on October 30, 2012 by GFwinecountryliving

What I know about chronic conditions is that it is every day, every minute…no days off!

One of my dear friends, who is extremely careful and conscientious about following her diet, just went on a four day romantic, bed and breakfast getaway with her husband.  Of course, she wanted a vacation from her daily routines.  That is the fun of vacation.  However, just a tiny bit of deviating from her rigid dietary restrictions in the name of “I can’t take it any more;  I need a couple of days off” landed her in bed for four days after her four day vacation…in misery.

Was it worth it?  No one can judge.  The relentlessness of scrutinizing every single bite that goes into your mouth, can wear a person down emotionally.  Sometimes we all just need to cheat, be a little sinful, or simply relax the rigidity.  Yes, we pay, but sometimes in the name of our emotional health, the cost  may be worth it.

My solution, because I have been sick more days of my life than well, is to try to find foods that feel outside of my regular diet that are still gluten free.  I try to get that vacation feeling without actually cheating.  Because I do not include these foods in my everyday diet, I am going to share a couple of my favorite sinful foods that I indulge in on vacations:

Mixed rum drinks

GF caramels, especially the ones with a little extra salt

Very dark GF chocolate

S’Mores with GF graham crackers

Maragaritas

GF Dessert.

S’More recipe

GF Marshmallows

GF graham crackers

GF milk chocolate

Apples

Roast two GF marshmallows over a campfire gone to coals until golden brown.  Core and slice an apple in 1/8 to ¼ inch slices, horizontally with the core hole in the center.  Put a slice of the apple and a square or three of chocolate on one graham cracker.  Grab the marshmallows off the roasting stick onto the cracker, chocolate, apple combo with another graham cracker.  Squish and eat.  Yum!

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A GF Comfort Food Recipe to Celebrate FALL

Posted on October 15, 2012 by GFwinecountryliving

After an intense September filled with…life, I just wanted to share one of my favorite gluten free comfort food recipes with you, even though there is nothing sleuthish about it.   After a successful backyard Merlot and Cab grape harvest with the juice happily starting to ferment in the barn, some overnight company, and one family medical crisis, I needed something chewy, a bit sweet, and a teensy sinful to help me slide into the unwinding process.  For me, that something is a batch of my GF Rum Scones.

My GF Rum Scones

½ to ¾ package (about ½ cup) of Trader Joe’s dried blueberries (I  particularly like these because they are small like currants, although those would work too, and because they are semi soft.  I have also used cut up dried cherries, about ½ cup.

1/3 cup dark rum

Put the dried fruit in a small bowl and pour the dark rum over them to let them soak up that rum goodness while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

1 package Gluten Free Pantry’s Scone Mix

1 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp allspice

1 stick of real butter (butter substitute works fine, if dairy intolerant)

Cut the stick of butter into the dry Scone Mix and spice mixture until the bits are a little smaller than baby peas.

1 egg, lightly beaten with a fork

1 tsp sour cream (optional)

1 tsp GF vanilla

Up to 1/3 cup milk (works fine with a milk substitute)

Add all of the above to the dry ingredients, including the rum/fruit mixture, except the milk.  Mix together with a wooden spoon.  If the mixture is too dry after this to form a ball that sticks together, start adding the milk, a little at a time, until you have the pastry ball.

Don’t over mix.   I squish the ball on a parchment-lined cookie sheet until it is about 1 to 1 ¼  inches high.  At this point, you can make an egg wash to brush on top, but I am too lazy for that.  What sits on the sheet is one large, thick circle of potential scone goodness.

Bake in 400* oven for 15-20 minutes.   Cut into pie shaped wedges after cooling for 8-10 minutes (a serrated knife seems the least shape disturbing)

Then, sit back, legs tucked under you with an ultra soft blanket-throw over your lap; put a chunk of savory cheese and this warm wedge of scone on a beautiful breakfast plate; pour a hot cup of tea, mocha coffee, or other delightful beverage, and RELAX!

Aaaah….

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