Recipe Sunday (Finally!)

Evan and I absolutely adore the bulk foods section of just about any store. It usually has a lot of items that you can't find elsewhere, and it is so much more cost effective. However, the bulk foods section at WinCo Foods tops them all. WinCo carries in bulk everything from gummy candies to spices and even honey! So, you can imagine our delight when we discovered some gluten free options there.

First, there are almonds. Don't get me wrong, we love our Trader Joe's pre-made almond meal, but being that Spokane doesn't have a Trader Joe's yet, we sometimes have to make our own. So, we can buy extremely large quantities of almonds (not an inexpensive nut, as I'm sure you know) for an excellent price. Plus, almonds have a lot of gluten-free calories, which are great for Evan who is trying (as always) to gain weight. You can imagine that it would be hard not to be underweight with Crohn's.

Recently, we discovered that WinCo carries bulk rice flour. This flour is very fine and has a really nice texture. We decided to buy some because we thought we could find a good pancake recipe using the rice flour. Sure enough we did! By way of a Google search, we found this recipe for AMAZING banana pancakes. The pancakes turned out thick and moist. But, they weren't fluffy like your average Krusteaz pancake. No, they were dense and sort of chewy. Evan said he used less water because he sweetened them with honey, but when you make them, be sure to use the whole cup of water so that they turn out a little less thick.

Anyway here is the recipe!

Ingredients:

1 cup rice flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp honey (you can use sugar instead if you like, but honey is best for the Crohn's diet)
1 pinch of nutmeg
1 pinch of cinnamon (use slightly more than the nutmeg)
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 cup water
1 ripe to overripe banana

Preparation:

Preheat griddle or pan to about 300-350 degrees/medium-high heat
Mix all dry ingredients together
Mash the banana with the water and oil, then add to the dry ingredient mixture
Stir well to combine (we like to use our hand held mixer for this)
Pour batter onto griddle to make pancakes of desired size. Cook until brown on both sides.
Serve hot with whatever toppings you like (they are utterly delicious with honey!)

(recipe taken and modified from http://www.grouprecipes.com/25531/gluten-free-banana-pancakes.html)

Neighbor love

Last night, Evan and I spent a lovely night with one of our neighbors. She and her husband are our age, and they live right across the hall and go to our church. Plus, they've recently started a young marrieds small group! I couldn't think of a better place for God to have put us at the start of our marriage. I feel as though I've really grown as a person as a result of knowing them. Shayla has inspired me to keep up with my blog and start writing that book I've always wanted to write through her dedication to her own creativity (she writes and records AMAZING music). Zach has taught us that life is not just about tasks and commitments. It's about relationships and connections. I already feel more connected to the church because of their influence because they have pushed me to get more connected.

If you're reading this Zach and Shayla, thank you. You are wonderful people, and amazing neighbors.

The wonders of masa flour

About 6 months ago, Evan and I discovered the wonder that is masa flour (brand name Maseca). We sought it out originally because we wanted to make our own tortillas. They are so much more flavorful than store-bought corn tortillas, and cheaper to make. A 25 pound bag of Maseca costs just $6 at Safeway.

Anyway, as it turns out, Maseca can be used to make a plethora of South American classic recipes. We recently tried making sopes, and today we are making arepas. At some point, when we have time, we are going to try our hand at tamales (very labor intensive by the way, if you've ever seen a recipe).

I just love that we can make delicious, homemade meals that are gluten free. Here the recipe for sopes that we've been using. They are much thicker than tortillas, and so are quite filling. They make for an inexpensive meal because you don't have to put much on them in the way of toppings simply because they are so filling.

Ingredients

3 cups masa harina (Maseca)

2 cups warm water

1 tablespoon salt

Oil for frying

Preparation:

Put the oil in the frying pan to begin heating it to the correct frying temperature.

Mix together, masa, water and salt until a soft dough forms. If the dough is too dry, add water by the tablespoon, until you get a smooth but not sticky consistency.

Make balls out of the dough. You can make different sizes based on what you're using them for. For example, 1-inch balls are good for making appetizers, where 3-inch balls are great for dinner.

Flatten these out so they are about 1/4 inch thick. Pinch up the sides to make a sort of shallow bowl out of the dough.

Put these in the frying pan. Fry both sides until they are golden brown.

Do you miss it when it's gone?

Evan and I have been married for almost two months now. People always ask me how married life is, and whether it's been an adjustment for us. Honestly, it hasn't been difficult in the least to adjust to living together. I think if you're really made for each other, than you won't really have a problem with it. Plus, if you've spent enough time together before getting married, you already know most of your spouse's little habits that may or may not be annoying.

Even going completely gluten free at home hasn't been too hard. In spite of the fact that I have been craving pizza for about a month now, I am doing really well with it. It's amazing how much you don't miss certain kinds of food when it just isn't available.

Of course, when we go out I will always eat the bread that comes with the meal, and more often than not I will order some delicious pasta dish. I thought that doing this would make me want all my gluten-full favorites even more, but it's actually become a special treat. For example, the last time we went out to eat, I had this amazing Italian steak sandwich. Everything about it was simply delectable (including the bread!). I went home completely satisfied and thinking, "there's no way I could make a sandwich that good at home anyway."

So no, I don't miss gluten now that it's gone. It is like that acquaintance who is almost your friend. They come over for dinner every once in awhile, you also don't yearn for their presence between visits.