June 2006 Archives

If you would like a dairy-free, soy-free, and gluten-free ice cream alternative, try Rice Cream from Good Karma Foods. All of their products are certified organic, and they have several flavors in pint containers as well as chocolate and strawberry in 4-oz. "Sundae Cups." They also have chocolate-covered bars with either chocolate or vanilla Rice Cream. Check the frozen food section of your local natural food store or co-op. I found it at Lakewinds in Chanhassen, MN.

We have tried several flavors, and we like them all!!!

Linkie Winkie is watching this blog ... but why? What does it do?

Amazon.com now sells groceries! Check out the natural and organic section. They also have a large selection of gluten free products.

Some of the products we like:

• The Gluten-Free Pantry Chocolate Truffle Brownie Mix, 16-Ounce Boxes (Pack of 6)
• Pamela's Products Organic Dark Chocolate Chocolate Chunk Cookies, 5.29-Ounce Boxes (Pack of 6)

I'll add more later.

My first attempt at posting a picture on this blog. The waffle recipe is here. Gluten-free, dairy-free, trans-fat-free.

I increased the amounts on this recipe, and I adjusted the quantities slightly to make measurements easier. They came out great!

Ingredients

• 3 eggs, separated
• 3 Tbsp organic trans-fat-free shortening (Spectrum Naturals)
• 3 Tbsp canola oil
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 cup cornstarch
• 1 cup potato starch
• 1 Tbsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp xanthan gum
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup gluten-free ricemilk (or other non-dairy milk alternative)

Beat egg whites until they form stiff peaks. Combine egg yolks, shortening, canola oil, sugar, cornstarch, potato starch, baking powder, xanthan gum, salt, cinnamon, and vanilla. Add ricemilk and stir with whisk until smooth. Stir into egg whites. Bake in preheated waffle iron according to manufacturer's directions.

I use the Waring Pro WMK300 Belgian Waffle Maker to make these waffles. I fill the measuring cup a little above the "fill line." This recipe makes about 6 waffles in this waffle maker.

If you can tolerate goat's milk but not cow's milk, you may want to try LaLoo's Goat Milk Ice Cream. I tried some last night. It is very good, but the flavor is a little different than cow's milk ice cream (there is a noticable flavor similar to goat cheese). If you are on the west coast, check the store locator to find a local store. If you are in Minnesota, Lakewinds now carries it at their Minnetonka store.

We've been getting some fresh strawberries from the garden. They are small, but good. We also are starting to get some radishes. Very tasty!

Press release here.

Hopefully, this will encourage other fast food restaurants to make similar changes.

Wendy's also has good information on nutrition and allergies: Wendy's Nutrition Facts & Topics. The "Nutrition Guide" on that page includes full ingredient lists for their products.

No roses, but the onions, beets, carrots, squash, and cucumbers are all coming up. :D

What I'm growing this year: Tomatoes, peppers (sweet and hot), tomatillos, eggplant, radishes, carrots, beets, onions, cucumbers, zucchini squash, winter squash, garlic, strawberries, and rhubarb. I also have a peach tree, two plum trees, a cherry tree, and several raspberry bushes, but I don't expect to get any fruit from those this year. The strawberries are ripening, so we'll have a few of those to enjoy soon.

Everything has been planted. I planted cucumbers (two varieties), zucchini squash, and two varieties of winter squash (Pink Banana and Sweet Dumpling).

We haven't had any rain recently, so I am watering the garden regularly. The cucumbers are coming up. The radishes have been up for a while, and need to be thinned soon. The rhubarb seems to be doing well, too.

I mailed an order to Gurney's for a new cherry tree. I mailed the order so I could use the merchandise replacement certificate for the peach tree that died. It would be nice if they could process those with an online order, because it takes them over two weeks to receive and process mail orders. Hopefully I'll still get my cherry tree this year.

Yes, I'm growing a lot of tomatoes and peppers. I plan on doing a lot of canning this year! In addition to the basic canned tomatoes or tomato sauce, I'd like to try making homemade ketchup.

Some of my favorite canning resources:

The USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning, which can be viewed online at several sites (I like the one here) or ordered from Amazon.com here: Complete Guide to Home Canning and Preserving (Second Revised Edition)

The Ball Blue Book of Preserving is another excellent reference. You can order it from Amazon.com here: Ball Blue Book of Preserving

For jams and jellies, Sure Jell has a lot of recipes online (using their pectin, of course). I made the Pepper Relish last year, and I plan on making it again this year. This recipe is like a pepper jelly, except it has pieces of pepper in it. Adjust the types of peppers you use to vary the heat.