Thursday, March 3, 2011
Guest Post: All About Icing
Hey everyone! I have a guest post up today on GeneGeek, talking all about the science behind icing (yes, the frosting kind), and how to modify icing recipes for hard-to-accommodate diets! GeneGeek is a blog run by a friend and mentor of mine, and its focus is translating science (genetics especially) into English - how to communicate science to non-scientists, how to improve science education, how to relate science to the real word, etc. You should check it out, it's pretty awesome! And if you're looking for a way to jazz up a gluten-free vegan chocolate cake, or some tasty gluten-free vegan banana brownies, you should definitely check out my post for all your icing needs. Happy baking!
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Gltuen-Free Challenge Day 1: Shopping
Warning: This blog post does not contain recipes. It is instead a series of observations and ramblings about food shopping when half the grocery store is likely to make me ill. But if you tune into my blog primarily for food pictures and descriptions, this entry may disappoint.
Monday, February 21, 2011
My Two-Week Gluten-Free Challenge
A lot of reading I've done recently (and primarily accidentally) has brought up an interesting concept: the idea that gluten is addictive. On the surface, I'm not shocked. I would be the first to confess to a past "muffin problem"; and of all of the foods I have to stay away from, bread products (and cinnamon buns) are some of the hardest. But if you asked me, I would have put it down simply to carb cravings. If sugar cravings are a thing (and I can certainly testify that they are for me), I would assume that white-flour based foods are equally addictive for their carbohydrate properties. Now don't get me wrong, I like rice crackers and corn tortillas well enough, but there just isn't the same variety of carbs in my gluten-free diet to compete with my pre-allergy state. So while I fully confess I have bread compulsions (the fact that both my jobs provide a lot of free bread doesn't help), I never would have thought to blame gluten. I didn't need to get past the sugars.
But what this gluten addiction theory proposes is somewhat different. It proposes that gliadin, the protein in gluten that is also the cause of the majority of gluten allergies, activates opiod receptors in the gut. (Those would be the same receptors that recognize opium, morphine, and heroin.) In other words, it's not the sugars at all that are the problem, it's the proteins. And anyone consuming even trace amounts of these proteins are continuing their addiction.
So, being the curious scientist that I am, I decided I was going to investigate. This proposed investigation has two parts. The first (and easier, if more boring) step is to conduct a better investigation into the science behind these claims. I want to look at the research that exists, what conclusions have been drawn, and how much of this story is internet speculation. The second, and much more impacting (and harder) step is to cut out gluten, entirely, out of my diet. For at least two weeks, although I'm aiming for a month; we'll see how I do.
But what this gluten addiction theory proposes is somewhat different. It proposes that gliadin, the protein in gluten that is also the cause of the majority of gluten allergies, activates opiod receptors in the gut. (Those would be the same receptors that recognize opium, morphine, and heroin.) In other words, it's not the sugars at all that are the problem, it's the proteins. And anyone consuming even trace amounts of these proteins are continuing their addiction.
So, being the curious scientist that I am, I decided I was going to investigate. This proposed investigation has two parts. The first (and easier, if more boring) step is to conduct a better investigation into the science behind these claims. I want to look at the research that exists, what conclusions have been drawn, and how much of this story is internet speculation. The second, and much more impacting (and harder) step is to cut out gluten, entirely, out of my diet. For at least two weeks, although I'm aiming for a month; we'll see how I do.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
The Best, Bar-None, Gluten-Free Vegan Cake Extravaganza You Won't Stop Talking About
It has been brought to my attention that I have yet to share my favourite gluten-free chocolate cake recipe. This was, incidentally, the first-ever gluten-free recipe I tried. I had googled a whole bunch of gluten-free vegan recipes without really knowing what I was getting myself into. I don't remember why I picked this one - if it seemed the easiest, the tastiest, or what. But I dutifully went out and bought several new ingredients I didn't understand and couldn't really pronounce, and rolled up my sleeves, and gave it a try. I was absolutely panicked, especially after I tasted the batter - it was incredibly grainy. But the graininess baked off (this is a common issue with rice flour batters), and the end product was heavenly. Let me repeat that. Heavenly. I have frequently made this cake, for diet-restricted and non-diet restricted alike, and it has always been unbelievably beloved. It doesn't taste like it's fake anything - it's moist and delicious and rich and decadent. (Needless to say, it set my standard for gluten-free baking pretty high).
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Muffin Madness
As I mentioned here, I've kicked off Christmas baking season at my house, and I'm starting to experiment with some gluten-free, soy-free, dairy-free and egg-free baking recipes. At some point, I plan to go back to my rice flour sugar cookies, which are already reminiscent of shortbread, and see if I can kick them up another Christmas-y notch. (Cranberries and candied mixed peel, perhaps?) However, today I thought I'd start my investigation of cakes and muffins.
What makes Christmas baking? For me, it's all about the spices and the fruit. All other times of the year, I'm all over the chocolate - chocolate cake, chocolate brownies, chocolate chip cookies, etc. But once December hits, then the dried fruit comes out. I did a survey of my baking cupboard today: sultana raisins, golden raisins, currants, craisins, apricots, candied ginger, and candied mixed peel. And then I moved onto my spice cupboard, where I found cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, cardamom, and allspice. What to do with all this bounty?
It's my goal this season to find a really good spice cake recipe that I can turn into a fantabulous layer cake, using my super-secret apple filling. (Ok, not that secret - I promise, once I've finalized the recipe, I'll pass it along). However, today, I wanted to make individually-portioned baking, because I also need December birthday baking for my choir. So, I opted for muffins instead.
What makes Christmas baking? For me, it's all about the spices and the fruit. All other times of the year, I'm all over the chocolate - chocolate cake, chocolate brownies, chocolate chip cookies, etc. But once December hits, then the dried fruit comes out. I did a survey of my baking cupboard today: sultana raisins, golden raisins, currants, craisins, apricots, candied ginger, and candied mixed peel. And then I moved onto my spice cupboard, where I found cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, cardamom, and allspice. What to do with all this bounty?
It's my goal this season to find a really good spice cake recipe that I can turn into a fantabulous layer cake, using my super-secret apple filling. (Ok, not that secret - I promise, once I've finalized the recipe, I'll pass it along). However, today, I wanted to make individually-portioned baking, because I also need December birthday baking for my choir. So, I opted for muffins instead.
Christmas Baking: A Trial Run
Wow, it's been a long time since I posted. Drat being employed, it so gets in the way of my blogging habit...
Anyway, I have a few recipes I've made since then (vegan "shepherd's pie", apple-cranberry crisp, gluten-free apple pie, and even some Thanksgiving recipes) which are hanging out in the back-log, but I thought I'd jump back into blogging with something a bit more relevant. Namely: holiday baking.
I got thrown into the holiday spirit fairly early this year; my roommate decorated our entire house for Christmas (including a giant Christmas tree) on the 30th of November. Plus, the week before that, we had a huge snowfall (like, 10+ cm). Now, in Vancouver, it doesn't snow. Certainly not often, and most definitely not in November. So the minute I see snow, I immediately think Christmas, because the earliest it normally ever snows is the week before the holidays. All of which is to say, after spending most of November fighting the oncoming holiday fever with every bone in my body, I've now jumped solidly on board. I haven't sent out my cards yet, or bought presents, but I have started my favourite part of holiday preps - baking.
Anyway, I have a few recipes I've made since then (vegan "shepherd's pie", apple-cranberry crisp, gluten-free apple pie, and even some Thanksgiving recipes) which are hanging out in the back-log, but I thought I'd jump back into blogging with something a bit more relevant. Namely: holiday baking.
I got thrown into the holiday spirit fairly early this year; my roommate decorated our entire house for Christmas (including a giant Christmas tree) on the 30th of November. Plus, the week before that, we had a huge snowfall (like, 10+ cm). Now, in Vancouver, it doesn't snow. Certainly not often, and most definitely not in November. So the minute I see snow, I immediately think Christmas, because the earliest it normally ever snows is the week before the holidays. All of which is to say, after spending most of November fighting the oncoming holiday fever with every bone in my body, I've now jumped solidly on board. I haven't sent out my cards yet, or bought presents, but I have started my favourite part of holiday preps - baking.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Vegan Gingerbread Cookies
This recipe has been used by my family for as long as I can remember. Unfortunately, it's not gluten-free. But it is vegan; and more than that, it's tons and tons of fun to make. The batter itself is my favourite part, because it makes use of the baking soda-vinegar foaming reaction. My mom, on the other hand, prefers the fun of rolling out the dough and cutting out the cookie shapes. (We make a pretty awesome baking team! She is also the cake-decorator in the family to my cake-baker).
The dough in this recipe needs to chill for a minimum of several hours before it can be rolled. At first, this may seem like an inconvenience; but in my opinion it's really a blessing in disguise, because the dough can stay chilled for extended periods of time. (We've left the dough in the fridge for up to a week with no ill effects.) Our general strategy is to make huge recipe in one go, and then portion into smaller batches of dough we can roll, bake and eat as we need it and/or as we have time. Once I left home, I would generally do my favourite part (the mixing), stick the dough in the fridge, and then bring it home with me when I went back for the holidays so my mom could have fun cutting out the cookies.
The short baking time also makes these cookies ideal for classroom (or Sunday school) use - bring in the dough, pre-made and chilled, and let the kids have fun rolling, cutting, sprinkling, baking, and eating!
The dough in this recipe needs to chill for a minimum of several hours before it can be rolled. At first, this may seem like an inconvenience; but in my opinion it's really a blessing in disguise, because the dough can stay chilled for extended periods of time. (We've left the dough in the fridge for up to a week with no ill effects.) Our general strategy is to make huge recipe in one go, and then portion into smaller batches of dough we can roll, bake and eat as we need it and/or as we have time. Once I left home, I would generally do my favourite part (the mixing), stick the dough in the fridge, and then bring it home with me when I went back for the holidays so my mom could have fun cutting out the cookies.
The short baking time also makes these cookies ideal for classroom (or Sunday school) use - bring in the dough, pre-made and chilled, and let the kids have fun rolling, cutting, sprinkling, baking, and eating!
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