failed almond quick bread

This afternoon I decided to turn off Pinterest and actually make something I'd pinned. I hadn't had a sandwich in several months so I chose almond quick bread. I make sweet quick breads all the time and I liked the idea of not having to turn on KitchenAid mixers or bread machines in order to get a loaf of bread that could be used for savory sandwiches.

I failed on so many levels. I couldn't find tapioca starch so I used corn starch, wondering if it would be the same thing. I don't know if that's what went wrong or if it's because I used the wrong size pan (my own fault for not paying attention) in an oven that is wildly inaccurate. Even though my pan was well-greased, the loaf stuck. It wasn't burned, just browned and dry. The loaf is too narrow to make the chicken sandwich I was hoping for (due to the wrong size pan). I snacked on some of the crusty bits I was able to free from the bottom of the pan and they were pretty tasty.

Either we'll have French toast sticks for breakfast this weekend or I have a nice new batch of breadcrumbs.

You can't win them all.

gluten-free flours, grains, and legumes in india

This is more for my personal reference, but if it helps anyone else, that's great! I'm sure this is not a comprehensive list. I'm making additions and adjustments all the time as I learn about new flours and different names in different regions. I can't really guarantee ultimate gluten-freeness because you never know about cross-contamination and kitchen conditions, but I can say I've been living in Hyderabad for almost a year now and I've only had one gluten incident, and I know exactly where it came from so I can now avoid it.

Here's what I've been working on:

India to English
 amaranthus = amaranth
 bajri = millet
 besan = lentil
 chana = chickpea
 cholam = sorghum
 corn flour (sometimes “corn flour” is actually corn starch)
 corn meal
 dhokla, dhokra = blend of rice, urad dal, and chickpeas
 gram = chickpea
 jowar = sorghum
 kurakkan = millet
 kuttu = buckwheat
 moog dal = lentil
 mung dal = legume
 okhla = buckwheat
 ragi = millet
 rajgira = buckwheat
 rice flour
 soya = soy flour
 urad dal = legume

English to India
 amaranth = amaranthus
 buckwheat = kuttu, okhla, rajgira
 chickpea/lentil/legume = besan, chana, dal (moog, mung, urad), gram
 corn flour (sometimes “corn flour” is actually corn starch in India)
 corn meal
 millet = bajri, kurakken, ragi
 rice flour
 sorghum = cholam, jowar
 soy = soya
 blend of rice, dal, chickpeas = dhokla, dhokra

I have compiled this list through personal experience, discussions with bakers and cooks here, and with help from Cook's Thesaurus and the discussion boards at Celiac.com.

glutino chocolate dreams

Glutino Chocolate Dreams -- I'd say they're more like chocolate passing thoughts. When I imagine chocolate dreams, I imagine much richer, thicker, higher-quality chocolate. But these are good little cookes. The cookie is dry and best when dipped in a glass of milk or cup of tea. The frosting in the middle is super-sweet, like the filling in some of those generic sandwich-cream cookies that it seems like you always had a grandma or older aunt who would buy them instead of Oreos.

Ingredients include corn starch, soy flour, and cocoa. The box warns they may contain traces of tree nuts and milk. (But what doesn't give a warning like that nowadays?)

I found them at Whole Foods and they can be purchased from a number of online merchants.

They come in little packages, 2 to a pack. But note that the nutritional information says that a serving size is 3 cookies. You have to eat a smaller serving size or a larger one, because no one in their right mind would open one of those little packs and eat just one cookie from it. Unless you are a parent who puts just one pack in your kid's lunchbox and doesn't let her read the serving size information. These would be handy for a road-trip, too, because you can easily put a pack or two in your day bag.

pierogi part 2

The pierogi were a success! (See also pierogi part 1.)

We used the Homade Pasta recipe in Bette Hagman's The Gluten-Free Gourmet Revised Edition. This is the basic recipe. For making pierogi or raviolli, triple it. We found that we got about 3 dozen pierogi.

Ingredients:
1/3 cup Tapioca Flour
1/3 cup Cornstarch
2 Tb Potato Starch
1/2 tsp Sea Salt
1 Tb Xanthan Gum
2 large Eggs
1 Tb Vegetable Oil

Combine flours, salt, and xanthan gum. Beat eggs lightly and add oil. Pour egg mixture into flour mixture and stir. This will feel much like pastry dough. Work together into a firm ball. Knead a minute or two.

The recipe in the book and online give further instructions depending on the different kinds of pastas you could make. For the purpose of making pierogi, you'll want to work with small handfuls of dough. Roll it out, with just the minimum amount of flour necessary to keep it from sticking. Too much flour will toughen the dough and keep it from being as sticky as it needs to be. Roll it out to about 1/8 of an inch. Use a biscuit cutter or glass or jar lip to cut circles about 4 inches in diameter. Keep rolling dough until you've made as many circles as it will yield.

Use your fingertips to wet the edges of each circle. Let the water sit for few minutes, making a nice, sticky edge. (By the time you get to the last circle, the first one should be just sticky enough. Spoon some filling into the center of each circle. Fold the circle in half, pinching and crimping the edges until they are sealed tight.

Any that you are cooking right away, set aside. Any that you will be freezing, place on a cookie sheet and put them in the freezer until they are dry. Once they're no longer sticky you can put them in freezer bags.

To cook, place pierogi in a large pot of salted boiling water for 10 to 15 minutes (and hope you sealed them tightly enough!). Remove with a slotted spoon. Serve with hot melted butter.

Our three different fillings were delicious. The potato and cheese tasted just like I remember them from the pre-gf days. The squash ones were a little like pumpkin empanadas. And the rice and sausage were like... something yummy stuffed with rice and sausage.