Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Great Cook Book that happens to be gluten free!

This evening I made spaghetti sauce using the section of Italian recipes in this bookThe Gloriously Gluten-Free Cookbook: Spicing Up Life with Italian, Asian, and Mexican Recipes

While I can't help but embellish with my own personal cooking style, I have to say this is a great book for ideas.  It also isn't in the style of so many cookbooks that expect you to make even your pasta from scratch.  It does a good job of recommending gluten free shopping items and providing reasonable recipes for a busy family.  While the Asian and Mexican cooking sections seem too easy for me (I already feel all these dishes are naturally gluten free) this book would be great for those that haven't thoroughly explored those options.

And the spaghetti sauce from tonight was possibly the best I've ever served!  


The pasta I used was from my local grocery store, and I liked it more than most (perhaps it was the rice/soy/potato combination).  Try it!
bionaturae Organic Spaghetti, Gluten Free, 12-Ounce Bags (Pack of 6)

Gluten Free French Bread (and more!)

Oh my goodness.  Tonight I made the gluten free version of the most gluten packed dinner I can think of - spaghetti with garlic french bread.  I've been trying this (and yes, cheating on occasion and poisoning my body - I always regret that)... but I've been trying to perfect this dinner since going gluten free and tonight I nailed it.  It was so good, it was better than it has ever been before!

It's hard to say which part was the best, but I'll start with the bread because that's been so hard to replicate.  I reluctantly bought a bread mix at my local grocery store.  I will never buy it reluctantly again - in fact I want to buy a case of it.  The bread mix is:

I had my doubts about a mix.  Would it be simple enough to make after a full workday?  Would it crumble into a gritty mess?  Would my husband who doesn't have to eat gluten free like it?  All my fears were absorbed by the ravenous fury that took us over when we sunk our teeth into this bread.  It looked gorgeous, it cut beautifully without crumbling, and it was oh so tasty!  It was moist, soft, and tasted better than I remember most wheat based breads tasting.  Not sold yet?

How about after this picture?

 Yes!  It was everything I could ever ask for.  This is the kind of bread that makes me want to find a way to bake for a living.  We put a little butter and garlic on ours to work with the spaghetti, but I'd love to make French Toast with this.  It would work well for many things, even as sandwich bread.  If you want to order yours now, get it here: The Gluten-Free Pantry Country French Bread Mix, 22-Ounce Boxes (Pack of 6)


The Gluten-Free Pantry Country French Bread Mix, 22-Ounce Boxes (Pack of 6)