We had a ball during the Christmas festivities. I had opportunity to sample and enjoy many tasty foods. I’m happy to report,  that despite the many temptations at hand, I restrained myself admirably and had just enough to feel nicely satisfied. In the past I’ve tended to really “pig out” and regret not being more conservative.

One of the dishes we prepared for the family feast was Cole Slaw. This will be the subject of today’s post.

Background:
Did you know that Coleslaw (or Cole Slaw) is believed to have been consumed since early Roman times? (…..I guess you’d expect as much, seeing that cabbages have been around a long time ).

The version with a creamy dressing, or mayonnaise, would not have been developed till the 18th century, as mayonnaise was not invented till then.

It’s name arose in the 18th century as a partial translation from the Dutch term “koolsalade” or “cabbage salad”. “Cole” in Latin originates from “colis”, meaning cabbage. Cabbages also have many healing properties some of which particular affect the digestive function, including the colon. Interesting eh!?

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There is so much helpful video information being uploaded to the Internet all the time. It’s easy to miss if you’re not specifically looking for it every day. Keeping up with it all would easily be a full-time job and I don’t think that many of us can afford to spend that much time searching for all this information.

Fortunately, I found a way to pull all the gluten free related videos from YouTube.com into one location and incorporate it into a new feature we have just added to this site called the “Gluten Free Video News” page.

It is all set up and can be accessed by clicking the new video graphic in the Right Hand Column of this page. (I’ve included a “click-able” copy of that graphic above, so you know what you are looking for.) Check it out. (more…)

Continuing on from the last post, here are a few pointers to help you find the kind of raw materials you need to make the delicious porridge mentioned earlier.

Of the buckwheat that is produced for human consumption, most of it is milled into flour. The whole buckwheat kernels themselves, unfortunately are not commonly available in regular stores or supermarkets.  More often they are quite easily found in most Health Food or Natural Foods Stores.

What you will be looking for is the RAW, HULLED seeds of the BUCKWHEAT plant. Depending on where you live it may be referred to as: (more…)

Guess what!
I’m tired Of Eating Oats. 

Yep, I’ve gotten tired of eating the plain oat breakfast I wrote about in one of my August’07 posts. (CLICK HERE to refer to it) 

Actually, I DO really still love it, it’s just that you want a CHANGE every now and then. You know what I mean?

We’ve been doing some exciting things with buckwheat lately. (NOT the buckwheat flour, but WHOLE RAW BUCKWHEAT), so this gave me a bit of an idea.

Why not use the same procedure used in that whole Oat Recipe but instead ….. make a ….

MIX of 50% whole oat groats + 50% whole raw buckwheat?  

YES!! That sounds great. I’ve never made that mix before. So I got excited, immediately raced to the kitchen, and got the ingredients together to start the process. …….. And you know what?

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On a couple of occasions we’ve been asked about how to make gluten free baked products lighter (we understand that “door-stop bread loaves” are just not the fashion any more); and how to make your own self-rising flour for use in gluten free cooking. 

As is the case with all kinds of flours, the only difference between the “plain” and the “self-raising” flour, is that the self-raising has had chemical leavening agents (baking powder) added to it that causes it to rise (this process was first invented back in the mid-1800’s B.T.W.).

What You Need To Know About Baking Powder:

Typical quantities of baking powder used in a recipe would be as follows:
100grams of flour,
3 grams of baking powder
and just a pinch of salt (up to 1 gram).

The basic formulation for baking powder itself, varies, but it commonly contains sodium bicarbonate (an alkali) combined with a starch (to keep it dry) and some form of acid salts such as cream of tartar or certain aluminum salts. (Here is a LINK to ingredients used in common baking powders plus more fascinating info) 

It’s the body’s excessive exposure to aluminum salts that are of BIG concern. These are usually found in what are called “double-acting” baking powders and should be avoided. Studies have presented compelling evidence of aluminum being directly linked with senility and Alzheimer’s, just to name a few. (Other aluminum-containing formulations are found quite commonly in underarm deodorants as well). (more…)