The Alpha & Omega of Gluten & Dairy Free Cooking: Fiddlehead Ferns

Friday, April 8, 2011

Fiddlehead Ferns

I'm a forager. Back in the 70s I picked and sauted morels, shaggymanes, coral mushrooms, and others up north in Idaho. I read Staulking the Wild Asparagus by Gibbons and did just that. Fiddlehead Ferns are a delight. Once you've picked your ferns, wash them carefully and remove any brown spots. Steam lightly, about 5 minutes. Serve with melted butter and salt. Yummy!

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Why I Eat Gluten & Dairy Free

Some people say, it must be hard to not eat wheat and/or dairy, and I say, not really. Yet, I've been eating this way for over twenty years. And it was difficult at first. Now the hard part is that I forget not everyone eats the way I do. This means I have to take food I can eat to pot lucks, and when I eat out, Italian doesn't work very well for me. But there is one Italian restaurant in my neighborhood that serves delicious meatballs on the side, and with a side Caesar salad (minus the croutons) and a glass of Colloso Rosso, I'm a happy camper. If I eat dairy other than goat & sheep cheese and if I do get some wheat, I'm a very unhappy and sick girl.

Many restaurants have gluten free options on their menus, although not all have dairy free options. You can call ahead and sometimes a chef will prepare a special portion for you. This has been true for me many times. And it's wonderful to be able to eat out with others, and still feel well afterwards.

I'm not Celiac, so these recipes will not cut out minute gluten-free ingredients. Hopefully there are enough choices to try. Also, when in doubt, substitute what you can eat. Cooking isn't rocket science. I experiment all the time. Mostly my food tastes great, sometimes it doesn't. Oh, well. There is always another meal.

So happy cooking and good health to you.

Nancy Canyon

Photo Credit: David P. Drummond

That's me holding a handful of wild blueberries last November, up on Mt. Baker.

Flours from Wheatfree.org

Amaranth Flour,

a leafy vegetable. Amaranth seeds are very high in protein, which makes a nutritious flour for baking. Alternative names: African spinach, Chinese spinach, Indian spinach, elephants ear.

Arrowroot flour

Arrowroot flour is ground from the root of the plant, and is very useful for thickening recipes. It is tasteless, and the fine powder becomes clear when it is cooked, which makes it ideal for thickening clear sauces.

Brown Rice Flour

Brown rice flour is heavier than its relative, white rice flour. It is milled from unpolished brown rice so it has a higher nutritional value than white, and as it contains the bran of the brown rice it has a higher fiber content. This also means that it has a noticeable texture, a bit grainy.It does have a slight nutty taste, which will sometimes come out in recipes depending on the other ingredients.

Buckwheat Flour

Buckwheat flour is not, despite its name a form of wheat, buckwheat is actually related to rhubarb. The small seeds of the plant are ground to make flour. It has a strong nutty taste so is not generally used on its own in a recipe, as the taste of the finished product can be very overpowering, and a little bitter. Alternative names: beech wheat, kasha, saracen corn.

Chick Pea Flour (Gram or garbanzo flour)

This is ground from chick peas and has a strong slightly nutty taste. It is not generally used on its own.

Cornflour

Cornflour is milled from corn into a fine, white powder, and is used for thickening recipes and sauces. It has a bland taste, and therefore is used in conjunction with other ingredients that will impart flavor to the recipe. It also works very well when mixed with other flours, for example when making fine batters for tempura. Some types of cornflour are milled from wheat but are labelled wheaten corn flour.

Cornmeal

Ground from corn. Heavier than cornflour, not generally interchangeable in recipes.

Millet flour

Comes from the grass family, and is used as a cereal in many African and Asian countries. It can be used to thicken soups and make flat breads and griddle cakes. Because it lacks any form of gluten it's not suited to many types of baking. Available in the UK in wholefood stores.

Potato flour

This flour should not be confused with potato starch flour. Potato flour has a strong potato flavor and is a heavy flour so a little goes a long way. Bulk buying is not recommended unless you are using it on a very regular basis for a variety of recipes as it does not have a very long shelf life.

Quinoa flour (pronounced 'keen wa'

Quinoa is related to the plant family of spinach and beets. It has been use for over 5,000 years as a cereal, and the Incas called it the mother seed. Quinoa provides a good source of vegetable protein and it is the seeds of the quinoa plant that are ground to make flour. It's a rarity to find quinoa flour in the UK, although quinoa itself is widely available.

Sorghum flour

This is a relatively new flour on the market, and not readily available in the UK. It is ground from sorghum grain, which is similar to millet. The flour is used to make porridge or flat unleavened breads. It is an important staple in Africa and India.

Soya flour

Soya flour is a high protein flour with a nutty taste. It is not generally used on it's own in recipes, but when combined with other flours is very successful as an alternative flour. Can be used to thicken recipes or added as a flavor enhancer.

It needs to be carefully stored as it is a high fat flour and can go rancid if not stored properly. A cool, dark environment is recommended and can even be stored in the refrigerator.

Tapioca flour

Tapioca flour is made from the root of the cassava plant, once ground it takes the form of a light, soft, fine white flour. Tapioca flour adds chewiness to baking and is a good thickener. Although difficult to source in the UK tapioca flour is an excellent addition to any wheat free kitchen. It's a fairly resilient flour, so storing at room temperature is no problem.

Teff flour

Teff comes from the grass family, and is a tiny cereal grain native to northern Africa. It is ground into flour and used to prepare injera, which is a spongy, slightly sour flat bread. It is now finding a niche in the health food market because it is very nutritious, although currently it's a rarity to find in the UK.

White rice flour

This flour is milled from polished white rice so it is very bland in taste, and not particularly nutritious. White rice flour is ideal for recipes that require a light texture, for example our herby dumplings. It can be used on its own for a variety of recipes and has a reasonable shelf life, as long as it is stored in an airtight container to avoid it absorbing moisture from the air.

The Alpha & Omega of Gluten & Dairy Free Cooking

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Friday, April 8, 2011

Fiddlehead Ferns

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