Homemade Gluten Free Donuts

My first foray into gluten free donut making was a smashing success thanks to BabyCakes! I recently read through the "BabyCakes covers the classics" on Kindle. The book made the process sound so easy that I revoked my assertion that I would never do my own gluten free baking from scratch using the myriad of flours and thickeners one finds in most gluten free recipes.

I'm partial to cinnamon sugar donuts, so no fancy frosting here.

These are baked donuts, not fried. I don't think I would have gone through the trouble of frying donuts.

They were much easier to make than I had feared. If you can find all the ingredients in your local store, you're good to go. We found everything at Woodman's grocery store in their extensive organic aisle. We chose Bob's Red Mill products where possible. The toughest find was arrowroot, mostly because I wasn't expecting to find it in the spice rack. Once I knew where to look I had a few brands to choose from.

The mixing and baking process was very simple. The dry ingredients obviously mix easily. The only ingredient that was slightly challenging to work with was the coconut oil. But no more difficult than butter, really. I made one batch of donuts in the evening, saved half of the batter in the refrigerator, and made another fresh batch in the morning.

I filled the donut pan more fully in the second batch and that resulted in donuts that had a much better shape.

The donuts are really soft and spongy. I wasn't expecting that at all.

Now that I have all the necessary ingredients, who knows what type of donuts I'll try next.

Thanks BabyCakes!

Yellow Butterfly 01

Yellow butterfly 01, a photo by cookprosser on Flickr.

Feeding

Feeding, a photo by cookprosser on Flickr.

Vintage Pelican

Vintage Pelican, a photo by cookprosser on Flickr.

big wheel

big wheel, a photo by cookprosser on Flickr.

X-ing

X-ing, a photo by cookprosser on Flickr.

tangled

tangled, a photo by cookprosser on Flickr.

whee

whee, a photo by cookprosser on Flickr.

Blogging A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn

This blog entry will be considerably different than others you may find here. I am going to challenge myself to read as much of A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn over the next two weeks as possible. I am guessing that I will not make it through the entire tome in that time, or if I do it will not be a detailed reading (especially if I keep blogging it!). In either case, it became apparent to me in just the opening pages that it will be an interesting read.

Join me in the read if you please. I welcome your comments, corrections, and other feedback. It is my goal to discern Zinn's goal in this book. All histories have a purpose. From Egyptian pharaoh's to Biblical chroniclers to Zinn, anyone who recites a history does so with a goal in mind. A certain narrative is to be served by the telling of certain facts and not others, or by the order of events presented (or omitted). What is Zinn's goal? We shall see.

The comments will appear in chronological order with the newest appearing at the bottom. It was just too confusing to put the newest notes at the top. I will try to keep the comments organized by chapter.

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Ch.1 Columbus, the Indians, and Human Progress


This thought had occurred to me a few weeks ago, before beginning this book: what was the last major advancement in technology or economy that did not benefit from exploitation or human rights abuses? Will we ever expand or profit without exploitation? I always return to that kicky little ditty "Kiss Me Son of God" by They Might Be Giants.

I built a little empire out of some crazy garbage
Called the blood of the exploited working class
But they've overcome their shyness
Now they're calling me Your Highness
And a world screams, "Kiss me, Son of God"


I destroyed a bond of friendship and respect
Between the only people left who'd even look me in the eye
Now I laugh and make a fortune
Off the same ones that I tortured
And a world screams, "Kiss me, Son of God"




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Referring to the natives that he encountered on his arrival in the Bahama Islands, Columbus wrote, "They would make fine servants...With fifty men we could subjugate them all and make them do whatever we want." And with that the door was opened to the New World.
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Columbus really was incredibly lucky. He set out for Asia--spice routes and what-not. With his supplies, ships, and crew he never would have made it that far. He vastly underestimated the distance. It was really lucky for him (not the natives) that he came upon the Caribbean islands just a quarter of the way to Asia.
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In less than three generations, the Spanish had essentially depopulated Haiti of its native Arawak inhabitants. This genocide was economically motivated, royally funded, and religiously justified.
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This quote from Las Casas' History of the Indies regarding the nature of an oppressive occupying force still has relevance today:
"...our work was to exasperate, ravage, kill, mangle and destroy; small wonder, then, if they tried to kill one of us now and then...The admiral, it is true, was blind as those who came after him, and he was so anxious to please the King that he committed irreparable crimes against the Indians..."
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By page 14 Zinn steps into the narrative to criticize the lack of bloodshed in the school textbook version of Columbus. He goes on to acknowledge that all historians have an ideological interest. Good. Will he identify his own for us and save us the trouble of trying to divine it? It seems he is asking the historian to lay bare atrocities so that we may learn from them and not repeat them. As I ask in the opening to this blog post, has any progress been made without exploitation? If not, then exploitation and atrocities must be told as part of all histories. Zinn asks for balance in telling history from the perspective of the lower classes or working classes and not just from the perspective of the state (contra Kissinger, A World Restored). This narrative interruption by Zinn is precisely what I was looking for, a description of the author's approach to history. Zinn's history is essentially a view of the world from the people being acted upon, not the drivers but the driven, not the masters but the slaves, not the patrons but the clients, not the invaders but the invaded.
*************
Chapter Two: Drawing the Color Line
Zinn asks how racism in America started and how may it end.
* "The Virginians needed labor, to grow corn for subsistence, to grow tobacco for export." (32)
* Because they were outnumbered, the colonists could not force the Indians to work for them. (32)
* Black slaves were the answer. (33)
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It is incredible to realize anew that millions of human beings were stolen from their homes are sold into forced labor. Because the Indians were on their own land, they had something of an advantage in addition to their numbers. They had the advantage of the home field. Once captured, subjugated, and transported, black slaves lost this advantage. They were made helpless. Brutal force and physical violence were the tools for transforming this population into a subjugated mass. Nothing indirect in this type of domination. At other times and in other places such domination must by hidden behind less obviously noxious methods of domination such as commerce, politics, and religion.
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In seventeenth-century America, all the conditions for black and white were characterized by subordination and money incentive. (my paraphrase)
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Udi's Gluten Free Hot Dog Buns

It pains me to write this review. I'm a big fan of Udi's products and keep many of them on hand at all times. However, if the bag of hot dog buns I purchased at Whole Foods are representative of the product, then I simply cannot recommend them as hot dog buns.

What is a hot dog bun? It is long, typically made of white bread, soft, and a single bun slice lengthwise so that the hot dog can be held in one hand. The ideal bun should remain as a single piece even when cut. If the bun separates into two pieces, it defeats the purpose of the thing. The Udi's buns were dry, crumbly, rough, and easily separated into two pieces. In fact, I could not keep one in tact. Now, having said that, they still did the job of holding the hot dog. But I would be surprised if a young child would be able to manage it. Specifically, I chose not to put down the hot dog once I started eating it because it would have separated into dog and two bun pieces on the plate.

If the bag did not say "Hot Dog Buns", one might guess they were something else, perhaps white baguettes. As such, they work very well as garlic bread. Because the other Udi's products are so good, I will probably give these another chance.

Udi's Hotdog Buns Make Great Garlic Bread!

I stumbled into a great unintended use of the new Udi's gluten free hot dog buns: garlic bread! I was trying Caesar's gluten free gnocchi for the first time and I really wanted some garlic bread to go with it but I didn't have time to make anything from scratch.

Here's the quick fix. Pop your Udi's hot dog bun into your dedicated gluten free toaster. Toast them to your preferred darkness. I used the bagel setting on my toaster, which toasts only the open side of the bread and not the outside. After one and a half toasting cycles I adding some butter and garlic seasoning. Heaven! I was so surprised at how great these things turned out. I only prepared two pieces (using one hot dog bun). I think I could have eaten six.

The Growing Problem of Cleanliness | Triple Helix Online

Is treatment using parasitic worms the next treatment for autoimmune disorders?

The Growing Problem of Cleanliness | Triple Helix Online

Read the full article. Here are a few select quotes:

"...improvements in sanitation and medicine, mortality from infectious diseases in the United States has declined by more than 90 percent since 1900, and the quality of life has drastically improved."

"Although mortality rates from infectious diseases have decreased in recent years, a new type of affliction has arisen in its place. Autoimmune diseases are those in which our body’s own immune system attacks normal and healthy cells. This occurs because the immune system cannot tell the difference between foreign objects and normal body tissues."

"As studies have found, the prevalence of these diseases over the past century has increased."

"The most prominent explanation for this phenomenon looks at the basics of the immune system and its symbiotic relationships with other organisms."

"...a hypothesis, aptly named the 'hygiene hypothesis', states that good hygiene inadvertently causes autoimmune diseases."

"As such, if the hygiene hypothesis is correct, the cure for autoimmune diseases is simple: expose our bodies to organisms that can help properly develop and control our immune system. Currently, the most promising form of treatment for autoimmune diseases revolves around the use of parasitic worm infection."

My Review of Caesar's Pasta Gnocchi

Gnocchi are small Italian dumplings. They can be made from any variety of ingredients. My favorite version is potato gnocchi. The dish is difficult to get right. They should be light and spongy, not dense or sticky. The version from Caesar's Pasta achieves this delicate balance while being gluten free. Their gnocchi dumplings are a combination of rice, tapioca, and other ingredients. Unfortunately, at least for my palate, the rice and tapioca were present in the flavor profile. I tend not to prefer gluten free pasta made from rice. For long noodles I prefer quinoa or corn pasta. However, for gnocchi I prefer potato. Putting aside the flavor, Caesar's manages to present as spongy and light. The dumplings maintained their shape perfectly after about 4 minutes of cooking in boiling water. In the end, they were a very satisfying gnocchi dinner. I would highly recommend Caesar's gnocchi, particularly if you like rice pasta.

I would call Caesar's gnocchi great but not the greatest. The greatest gluten free gnocchi, in my opinion, is from Nuovo. It can be difficult to find. Even though it is gluten free, I have never seen it in a gluten free specialty store. I can only find it at Whole Foods, and there not consistently.

Caesar's can be found online at http://caesarspasta.com/ (as of this writing, the website was under construction).
Nuovo can be found online at http://www.nuovopasta.com/retail.asp?type=pasta

Mangia Italiana!

Tiger in Motion

OMG! This water is wet. GET OUT!

Whew. That was close.

Suburbs Get New Congressional Districts - And One Familiar Candidate

It looks like the the Congressional districts in the Chicagoland area are going to make slightly more sense than they used to, presuming the current proposal passes as presently defined. Previously the districts were very bizarre, with strange tangential isthmuses springing out from central districts. Now they roughly divide the suburbs into large contiguous blocks. There are a few notable exceptions, particularly regarding districts 14 and 11. First, why split Oswego down the middle? The Boulder Hill subdivision is in district 11 and the downtown is in district 14. Further, the far south and northern areas of district 14 could have been excised to districts 11 and 10 respectively. As it stands under the current bill, Antioch and Sandwich are in the same district. Sandwich and Yorkville have much more in common with Oswego and Shorewood than with Antioch and Gurnee. Nonetheless, it seems like a step in the right direction.

I'm happy to see that Bill Foster is tossing his hat in the ring for district 11. We need more scientists in Congress.

Here's the article from Patch.com:

Suburbs Get New Congressional Districts - And One Familiar Candidate: "

Gov. Pat Quinn is expected to sign off on new congressional district maps that will dramatically reshape the western suburbs. And one of the new districts already has its first candidate, one whose name is familiar to local voters.

Democrat Bill Foster, former U.S. Congressman in the 14th District, announced Tuesday that he will run in the newly-configured 11th District, which includes much of Montgomery, Aurora, Naperville, Woodridge, Bolingbrook and Joliet.

Foster, 55, lives in Batavia, which would remain in the 14th District under the new maps. But Congressional candidates don’t need to live in the district they would represent. Foster served two terms as congressman for the 14th, winning both a special and general election in 2008 to succeed Dennis Hastert.

Foster was the first Democrat to represent the 14th since Watergate.

But last year, he lost a close election to Randy Hultgren, the Winfield Republican who currently represents the 14th. In a phone conversation on Tuesday, Foster attributed the election results to “frustration with the slow recovery of the economy,” but said he now sees “buyer’s remorse” among voters.

And the newly-drawn maps may give him an opportunity to jump back in the game.

The Congressional district maps, approved by the Illinois House on Monday and the Illinois Senate on Tuesday, recast the 14th District as a massive swath of land that includes Geneva, Batavia, St. Charles, Oswego and Plainfield, among others, and stretches to the northern border of the state. Hultgren now shares residency in this district with fellow Republican Congressman Joe Walsh, who represents the 8th District.

The new 11th District, on the other hand, has no incumbent currently living within its bounds—it is represented by Adam Kinzinger—and includes many of the areas previously grouped into the 14th, including Aurora, where Foster enjoyed strong support.

Foster said he is happy with the way the lines were drawn, mentioning that the 11th also includes the twin technology jewels of the suburbs: the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Batavia, where Foster worked for more than 20 years, and Argonne National Laboratory in Darien.

Republicans, however, have blasted the new maps, which were drawn by Democrats without GOP involvement. Redistricting occurs every 10 years, coinciding with the U.S. Census, and the idea is to even out representation among cities, villages and ethnic groups.

But with Democrats in charge of the state House and Senate, Republicans were not needed to pass the new boundaries.

Republicans have accused Democrats of drawing the maps to benefit their own party, and to erase the results of the 2010 election. The Congressional map passed both houses of the legislature essentially along party lines: 63-54 in the House, and 34-25 in the Senate.

The National Republican Congressional Committee also took aim at Foster in a written statement released Tuesday morning.

“Illinois working families fired Bill Foster last fall because of his unwavering support for reckless spending, higher taxes and bigger government,” wrote NRCC Spokesman Andrea Bozek. “Illinois voters understand that Bill Foster’s tax and spend record was part of the problem and are unwilling to foot the bill again for his big spending agenda.”

Foster is the first candidate to announce in the new 11th District. In fact, he didn’t even wait until the new district maps were approved to throw his hat into the ring.

“I think it’s good to start the campaign as fast as possible,” he said. “I look forward to introducing myself (to voters), and meeting with old friends in Aurora, Oswego and Montgomery areas.”

See the new Congressional district maps here.
"

New Whole Foods GF Sandwich Bread

Whole Foods Gluten Free Bakehouse has developed a new white sandwich bread. The new bread is intended to improve upon the previous version of their gluten free sandwich bread. If you recall, the previous sandwich bread was rather dense and heavy. It was not flexible or soft at all. It tasted fine but was difficult to use for a sandwich. It worked well as toast or as a grilled sandwich, but not so much as the bread in a PB&J or cold cut sandwich. Well, the new bread is definitely a step in the right direction. The bread is lighter, less dense. If I'm not mistaken, the slices are slightly thinner than the previous version, which provides the bread with a sense of softness and flexibility. The taste is great. The bread is still sold out of the freezer case, and I am keeping it frozen at home. So, this still requires toasting before using. I have been able to find the perfect toaster setting for this bread (just short of 2 on my toaster) to result in a piece of bread that is thawed but not toasted and crispy. When thawed to the right degree the bread is very good. It holds together in the hand. There's nothing more frustrating in a sandwich than having the bread fall to bits in your hand. So far the new bread from Whole Foods overcomes this frustration.

So, how does it compare to my other two favorite sandwich breads? Compared to Udi's sandwich bread, the Whole Foods load is larger and less airy. Every now and again I will see a loaf of Udi's that is almost too airy, with a few hug bubbles being present in the middle of the loaf. So far I have not seen that in the Whole Foods loaf and I do not expect to see it because the loaf is still slightly on the dense side of the dense-light spectrum. In terms of softness, the Udi's bread tends to be softer. They're about equal on taste, to me anyway.

The Whole Foods loaf is similar in size to the  Rudi's gluten free loaf. However, when I eat Rudi's bread, I tend to eat their multigrain loaf because I love bread with seeds and grains in it. So, this is something of a case of comparing apples to oranges. The Whole Foods white sandwich bread is your basic straight forward white sandwich bread.

In the end, the new Whole Foods white sandwich bread is a big improvement over the previous version and it will probably make it into my lunch rotation. It is so great to have high quality choices in the gluten free bread category. Gone are the days of rock hard crumbly breads that taste nothing like bread!

Gluten Free Hamburger Bun

This weekend I ate my first hamburger bun in nearly three years. Thank you Udi's! I found them in Whole Foods  (Naperville, IL) just as they were putting them out for sale for the first time. Lucky timing! I chose the whole grain hamburger bun. It tasted great. There was little to no crumbling, a negative quality that can be associated with gluten free bread. The bun was slightly on the firm side, but not overly firm. I will definitely be buying these in the future. Bring on summer. Bring on the burgers!

Kettle Cuisine Thai Curry Chicken Soup

One of the new offerings from Kettle Cuisine is a Thai Curry Chicken Soup. This brings their gluten free soups to ten in all. The soup is packaged and prepared exactly like all the other soups: a 10 oz. serving, frozen, and microwavable. The Thai Curry Chicken Soup is gluten free and dairy free.

As my wife would ask, "What does it promise me?" The front of the package lists the following information:
* No artificial ingredients
* All natural
* Minimally processed
* Made with chicken raised without antibiotics on a vegetarian diet
* GF/DF
Most of these promises are printed in incredibly small font, which flies in the face of typical product packaging strategies. I was surprised to find the nearly microscopic statement regarding the quality of the chicken.

What is notable on the Nutrition Facts panel?
Calories: 330 for the entire bowl
Saturated Fat: ***** 8g ***** a whopping 40% of your daily value!
Sodium 560mg, rather high but typical for many prepared soups

The Ingredients are all words one can easily recognize and pronounce.

So, what about the taste? In a word, excellent. Right out of the bowl the soup smelled like authentic Thai cuisine. (We're big fans of Thai food.) The aroma of the spices reassures that the soup is going to taste great. Visually, I was pleasantly surprised to find large mushrooms and bamboo shoots. Sometimes a prepared soup relies too much on a flavor profile and not enough on actual ingredients like meat and vegetables. About the meat. Chicken in prepared soup is typically some of the most off-putting food known to man. This chicken is an exception to that rule. Every piece was quality. The overall flavor of the creamy broth was excellent--spicy but not aggressively so. It will satisfy the Thai food veteran and the occasional diner alike.

In the end, I was extremely satisfied with this soup, despite the high level of saturated fat. I will definitely buy it again and would highly recommend it to anyone. There are no hints that this soup would be aimed at a specialty diet market. In fact, one would be hard pressed to find a soup that would surpass this one as a prepared Thai soup.

Kettle Cuisine can be found at http://www.kettlecuisine.com/
On Twitter @KettleCuisine
On Facebook

Forbes' intention is not to inform the public on Celiac disease

A recent article in Forbes has drawn the attention and ire of some prominent gluten-free advocates. Unfortunately, I first saw a number of the angry responses before reading the article, and so I was predisposed to a negative opinion of the article. Upon first reading, the article seems to take a critical view of a gluten-free diet. Out of fairness, I waited a day and re-read the article before documenting my response.

So, what does the author say? What is her goal?

Granting the author all possible benefit of the doubt, the goal of the article is to observe that some people with eating disorders such as anorexia may be hiding their disorder from their friends and family by claiming that they are on a restrictive diet, such as a gluten-free diet. Let me be clear, anorexia is a serious eating disorder and families and friends of people with this disorder should help them find help and get healthy. I am no expert in behavioral psychology, so I guess I can only take the author's word that some people with anorexia are lying to their friends and families and saying that they have a specific food intolerance.

However, the article also makes the bold claim that a gluten-free diet can LEAD to an eating disorder. This incredibly bold claim goes completely unjustified and nearly undefended in the article. Specifically, the author offers that "[t]he gluten-free lifestyle, while life-saving for the minority of Americans who suffer real consequences from grains, can be a slippery slope—or simply a means of denial—for some." Two (interviewed?) sources are offered as expert opinions in support of this conclusion. No contrary opinions are offered and one must assume that none were sought.

It seems clear that the author has a negative view of the currently trending gluten-free diet. Take the following quote, which I read as highly condescending, "[t]he gluten-free diet has become a sign of enlightened eating, an intellectual diet supported by a slew of studies and a passionate cadre of celebrity supporters." Why opine that the diet is "enlightened" and observe that it is supported by "a passionate cadre of celebrity supporters"? To my mind, these are not the types of statements one makes if one supports a gluten-free diet. Further, what would it even mean that a diet is intellectual? The avoidance of gluten has nothing to do with intellect. I can only conclude that the author is attempting to achieve a light prose, but instead in her failing has committed a serious offense: superiority and judgment. One might expect a journalist to take a non-judgmental approach to their topic. But, then again this is not reportage. The discussion of celebrities is the first part of an argument that culminates in the author's assumption/conclusion that the increasingly high profile of the gluten-free diet led two cheerleaders to use it as a cover for anorexia.

In response to some of the negative comments, the author has claimed that the "intention is not to inform (or misinform) the public on celiac disease but to raise a question". If the goal was not to inform the public on Celiac disease, then goal achieved. However, I would argue that the article actively misinforms, contrary to the author's claim. The most glaring example is the unsupported claim that a gluten-free diet can lead to anorexia. Read the DSM-IV. A restrictive diet is not a root cause of anorexia. Shockingly, the author does not explain the details of anorexia: its etiology, symptoms, treatment, and prognosis. But this is not an article meant to inform the public about the very serious problem of anorexia.

GF Pasta at Luigi's House in Aurora

Big thanks to Luigi's House restaurant in Aurora for carrying gluten free pasta!

It used to be really difficult to eat gluten free at Luigi's. I remember a waiter telling me (years ago) that I came to the wrong restaurant to eat gluten free. He went on to be very helpful in guiding me toward a salmon dish. But still, that was a pretty telling description of the restaurant.

So, we hadn't gone back in quite some time. Now, to my surprise, when there last night I discovered that they offer a quinoa and corn based angel hair pasta. The server was very helpful in describing which pasta dishes would be gluten free based on all the remaining ingredients. I had the peasant pasta, with some modifications. It was excellent. Can't wait to eat the left-overs tonight.

As best I can tell, Luigi's House and their parent company Portillo's is not on Twitter. Here they are on Facebook.