“Cookery is not chemistry. It is an art. It requires instinct and taste rather than exact measurements.”
― Marcel Boulestin
A Flour By Any Other Name
tales from a gluten-free kitchen
Sharing a Meal
“Sharing food with another human being is an intimate act that should not be indulged in lightly.”
― M.F.K. Fisher
A Delicious Disaster
I had a craving for carrot cake recently. One of my sisters created a delicious carrot cake recipe years ago. Her version uses soured milk along with vegetable oil, which gets rid of the oiliness that some carrot cakes suffer from. Her recipe also features raisins and orange rind and is topped with cream cheese icing. It is by far my favourite carrot cake.
But this post is not about that recipe, exactly. This post is about what happens when you bake when you are tired…
Fruitcake in February
I love fruitcake. It is another treat that is not universally loved in my family. A few years ago, my mother and I decided not to bake it at Christmas and to focus instead on more popular desserts. Then, later, after all the Christmas baking is long forgotten, we can make and really enjoy this treat.
Scallops and Bacon and Garlic! Oh My!
My niece is brilliant. She came up with an incredibly delicious idea this week. As part of a meal, we had bacon-wrapped scallops. But they were scallops with double plus bacon, really. First, she fried a slice of bacon for each scallop. Then, she cooked the scallops gently in bacon fat. Next, I fried chopped garlic in bacon fat—I chopped five large cloves for 10 scallops. She assembled them, wrapping each scallop in bacon and carefully distributing the garlic over the scallops. This photo does not do them justice at all.* The result was pure bliss.
*(I guess that means we will be forced to make them again so I can get a better photo…)
The Mark of a Real Chef
“Anybody can make you enjoy the first bite of a dish, but only a real chef can make you enjoy the last.”
― François Minot
Poutine: Yes, I Am Canadian!
Poutine is a staple of French-Canadian cuisine. It’s simple but extremely tasty.
A few years ago, I went with my sister and my niece to a concert put on by Ron Cahute and Jane Lapko, the creators of these educational French songs. They performed their Poutine song, which goes like this:
Poutine, let’s start with the french fries,
Poutine, add the cheese and the gravy!
Poutine is my favourite thing,
It’s fries with an attitude!
No Such Thing as Too Much Cheese…
I love cheese, as may already be obvious despite the young age of this blog. Four out of my six recipe posts feature cheese. A simple grilled cheese sandwich is one of my very favourite meals.
But a grilled cheese isn’t so simple for those of us avoiding gluten. Anyone who has tried commercially available gluten-free breads will know how disappointing they can be. I am lucky, though, to have stores that sell incredible gluten-free bread near where I live. I made this grilled cheese sandwich with the Romano Bean Bread in the Queen St. Gluten Free bread line baked by Yoshi’s Sweets. There are other breads in the same line—including one made with grape seed flour—and they all have a texture which is incredibly like bread with gluten in it.
Jalapeno Cheddar Sauce for Pasta
I love jalapenos. I first learned how to use a canner just so I could pickle my own peppers. I have grown my own plants a couple of times, too. One year, when I had a large garden, I ended up pickling 60 cups of peppers.
A Flour By Any Other Name 