Say hello to...mozzarella tomato salad.

So this is my recent favorite salad. Simple, easy to make, and a healthy mid-day snack. Simply slice tomatoes and mozzarella cheese, top with basil and/or cilantro, and add a simple balsamic and olive oil dressing. My balsamic olive oil dressing works great over this salad. Also, the other day I mentioned Hormel Honey Turkey Deli Meat. Bake this like bacon (add some spray oil) and top over the salad. Once tried with these ingredients...you'll want to keep making it every week. Enjoy :)

Say hello to...gluten-free lipstick.

Last week I mentioned that I was searching for a gluten free mainstream lipstick. I purchased my lipstick at the duty free shop and will receive it when I fly out for my vacation next week. I wanted to post a few department brands that I came across that are gluten-free. Feel free to share any of your favorites or suggestions. I know there must be more than this list :)

From Lancôme Cosmetics 1/20/09
"Below is a list of our current gluten-free lip products.
Color, Design Color, Fever Shine, Color Fever Lipstick, Le Rouge Absolu, L'Absolu Rouge Color, Fever Gloss, Color Fever, Plumper Juicy Tubes, Le Lipstique, Le Crayon Lip Contour.

From Estee Lauder Cosmetics

"All Estee Lauder lipsticks contain either/or corn and soy with the exception of Signature Hydra Lustre Lipstick which contains wheat, corn and soy."

From Dior Cosmetics

"This is to hereby confirm that none of our lipsticks contain gluten, and they are not manufactured alonside products that would contain it."

Say hello to...Hormel deli meats.

Are you ready for a great tasting sandwich? Hormel Natural Choice offers delicious deli meats. They have no preservatives, no artificial colors or flavors, no MSG and are gluten-free. Definitely sounds like a natural choice to me ;) It's a pain having to frequently ask the deli meat workers which meats are gluten-free, so it's nice to have a healthy, unprocessed selection such as this. My absolute favorite is the honey flavored turkey deli meat. Besides in a sandwich, it also tastes great baked like bacon or cut in cubes for a quick salad.

Say hello to...vanilla icing.

Most icing/frosting recipes call for milk. My husband and I both don't drink milk or cook with milk so I decided to change a very basic icing recipe and use yogurt instead of milk. It works wonderfully and adds a slight different taste.

Ingredients
1/4 cup butter, softened
3 cups confectioner's sugar
1 tsp of vanilla extract
1-2 tbsp of plain stirred yogurt

1. In a medium bowl, cream together butter and sugar with a fork.
2. Add confectioner's sugar and stir together.
3. Add vanilla extract and yogurt, stirring.
4. If needed, add more yogurt for desired consistency.

To make chocolate icing, simply add 2 tbsp of cocoa or carob powder and cream together with butter and sugar.

Say hello to...garbanzo cake recipe edited.

I've been playing around with my garbanzo chocolate cake recipe and want to make a note of a small but important change I've made. The recipe as previously listed was really moist, almost too moist. So I decided to add 1/2 tsp of guar gum and it's much more spongy now. Just how a cake should be :) It has a deliciously nutty taste to it. I also put icing on it the other day, which tasted AMAZING. I will post my delicious vanilla icing recipe on Friday ;)

Say hello to...gluten free lipstick?

I usually blog about information that I want to share with others, but this time I need your help! I'm in search for a great gluten free lipstick. Have a favorite? Please share with me! I'll be going on holidays in a few weeks and will have loads of lipstick options in the duty free shopping. Until then...I'm in search for which ones are gluten free.  In the past I've used Honey Bee Gardens, which has been quiet pleasant. But rather than ordering from the States, I'd rather get something from here, and sooner ;) I look forward to sharing with you mine and others findings :)

Say goodbye to...Starbucks valencia orange cake.

As quickly as it came, it is now gone :( Although I never did get to try it over here in Seoul, this is sad news for the gluten free Starbucks community. The gluten free moist valencia orange cake that came out in spring, is no longer available at Starbucks. On Twitter, Starbucks said, "We heard that it was too much of a treat, and not a nutritious snack. The @KindSnacks bar is replacing it." Fruit and nut bars definitely don't go with coffee like a moist scrumptious cake does. Not happy with this? Tell Starbucks what you think about this! After all, it was your voice that got us this cake in the first place, right?! Until then, if you feel a craving for this delicious treat and have time on your hands, make your very own valencia orange cake.

For those of you loyal readers, you'll notice I'm not posting a recipe like I normally do on Fridays. This Starbucks news is well in need of being circulated for the celiac community ;)

Say hello to...gluten-free grains quicklist.

I was browsing Mike Eberhart's gluten free blog the other day and came across an interesting article that I wanted to share with those of you who may not be familiary with his blog. He talks about the misconceptions that people have about gluten-free diets and how they often wonder, "WHAT CAN YOU EAT??" after receiving a brief explanation of what we can't eat. Mike goes on to list all different kinds of grains that we CAN eat; a gluten-free grains quicklist:

rice, corn, potato, teff, sorghum, amaranth, quinoa, buckwheat, millet, chia seed, bean flours, squash flours, and spices.

An interesting quote from him: "Whenever i encounter the theme of 'living without' (with regards to living without gluten), I can not help thinking that perhaps it is the rest of the population that is living without--without the variety of grains, flours, and ingredients that one may otherwise never encounter or experience unless essentially 'forced' (by celiac disease, gluten-intolerance, autism, etc) to try all these great alternatives to 'normal' flour. Happy variety-filled baking everyone! ~ Mike Eberhart.

Check out his gluten-free blog, website on gluten-free news, or purchase his gluten free gourmet desserts cookbook.

Say goodbye to...Maple Leaf Top Dogs.

Although I've never purchased Maple Leaf Top Dogs, I thought I'd share some recent updates on changes of ingredients within this product. Maple Leaf Foods recently changed the recipe of its Top Dogs hotdogs to improve flavour and taste. The new formulation now contains wheat gluten instead of soy. Although Top Dogs hotdogs were never a certified gluten-free product, Maple Leaf wanted to notify the Canadian Celiac Association as this product may be referenced by members as a suitable choice. The new recipes will be in stores in July 2009 and feature the updated ingredient list on the package. Please note the list of TopDogs products that have been reformulated: Top Dogs Original, Top Dogs Original BBQ, Top Dogs All Beef, Top Dogs Singles, and Top Dogs 33% Less Fat.

Say hello to...sesame chicken.

I cook a lot with chicken since red meat is cut differently and often expensive here in Korea. I've posted my 2 favorite chicken recipes already: fragrant chicken and mustard lime chicken. Sesame chicken is my third favorite- it's simple and tastes great.


Ingredients
3/4 brown rice
3 tbsp honey
2 tbsp sesame seeds
2 tbsp gf soy sauce
1 garlic clove, chopped
2 egg whites
1/4 cup cornstarch *
2-3 chicken breasts, cut into cubes
2 tbsp vegetable oil
Handful of broccoli, separated
Salt and pepper to taste


1. Begin cooking the rice.
2. Fill saucepan or pot with 1 inch of water. Put broccoli in it and cook on low for 5-7min.
3. In a small bowl combine honey, sesame seeds, soy sauce, and garlic; set aside.
4. In a large bowl whisk egg whites and cornstarch. Add chicken and season with salt and pepper, toss to coat.
5. In skillet, heat 1 tbsp oil over med/high heat. Add half the chicken, turning occasionally for 8-10min. Repeat with remaining chicken. Return all the chicken to the skillet and add reserved sauce, toss to coat.
6. Serve over with broccoli over brown rice.


*The original recipe called for corn powder, not cornstarch. Although I haven't experimented with other flours yet, I'm sure there's another one that might even work better than cornstarch.

Say hello to...honey nut Chex cereal.

I previously mentioned how Chex now comes in 5 different gluten-free flavors. I didn't think I'd have the chance to try the new flavors until next year when I'd be in North America. But my friend in Seoul who has access to the grocery store on the american army base recently came across the gluten-free honey nut Chex cereal. Since it just came out in the States in June, I was surprised that it had already made it to the army base grocery store here in Seoul! Lucky me, I have now tasted it, and am completely and utterly satisfied :) I definitely recommend it!

Say hello to...gluten free alcohol.

There seems to be varied opinions on what alcoholic drinks are gluten free, and which ones aren't. Some people say you can have this or that, and some say you can't. I have to admit that it's pretty confusing. Up until now I've simply stuck to my favorite: white wine, and the occasional mix with Bacardi or Malibu. I recently discovered several websites that have very useful information on gluten free alcoholic drinks. Check them out: Gluten Free Kitchen and Gluten Free Drinks. Hopefully this will make it a lot more clearer on what you can and can't drink.

(Photo taken from BërN's photostream on flickr).

Say hello to...gluten free flour mix.

I've lived in Seoul for 3 1/2 years now. Whenever I have the chance to travel to a western country, I always try to bring as much gf flour back with me. Or when I know of someone traveling here, I'll get them to bring some. It's worked quiet well, until recently, when I've been trying to experiment with more gf baking. I've suddenly ran all the bags dry ;) Korea does most things quiet different from westerners, and adds wheat flour to most potato starches. Until just last week I hadn't been able to find a gf potato starch. Luckily I was able to find a tapioca starch at a foreign food mart here. So with those two, combined with rice flour, I can now make my very own gf flour! Here's my basic mix, which I'm sure a lot of you are already familiar with:

2 cups rice flour
2/3 cup potato starch
1/3 cup tapioca starch

I've used it for several recipes and am more than content with the simple mix. Please, let me know of your favorite gf flour mixes. I would love to expand from this :) But I might have to wait until I have access to more flours ;)

Say hello to...Celiac Disease 1/100.

According to a 45 year study led by Dr. Joseph Murray, celiac disease is four times more common than it was in the 1950's. His study was recently published in Canada's CTV news online article, "Celiac disease four times more common than in '50s" and video clip. His studies show that 1/700 people had celiac disease in the 1950's, wherease now 1/100 people have Celiac Disease. Apparently many people aren't surprised by this change since our diets have also drastically changed in this time. Most people seem to think that the over processed foods and refined sugars are to blame, as shown in the comments proceding the article. Of course non of this is new news to those familiar with celiac disease, however it's good to see an article like this in the 'Top Stories' section of the news. There seems to be an increased awareness of celiac disease through articles like this, through cafes, restaurants, and grocery stores now offering gluten-free foods, and through people like you and me who blog about it. Let's continue to share information!

(Photo taken from cassmolcic's photostream on flickr for a Celiac Disease compaign).