Gluten Free Potluck Makeover

Tonight's potluck was a success, although there was so much food we have tons of leftovers.  What did we have?

Ceasar and Garden Salad
Pasta Salad
Pumpernickel Bread and Spinach Dip
Cheese Tray
Crackers
Veggie Platter
Fruit Platter
Homemade Pizza
Vegetarian Lasagna
Chicken in a Phyllo Pastry
Wrap Sandwiches
Cheesecake
Chocolate Caramel Cake
Butter Tarts
Gluten Free Cupcakes
Fruit Platter

Was it all gluten free?  No. 

But it easily could have been.  

The salads: Caesar could be made with gluten free croutons, and the pasta salad could be made with rice or corn pasta.

Appetizers: Fruit and Vegetable platters are naturally gluten free, as is the cheese tray.  The crackers could be substituted with GF ones.

Main Dishes: The pizza is a bit more complicated, since GF pizza is a bit of an acquired taste, but it's certainly an option.  Many pizzerias offer gluten free crusts these days, so ordering in could be an option if baking from scratch isn't your thing.  The lasagna could easily be GF with the substitution of some rice noddles.  I make a great meat lasagna with them.  The wraps could also be used with gluten free flour tortillas.  The phyllo pastry is tricky to make from scratch gluten free, but a chicken pot-pie with a gluten free pie crust would make a great substitute.

Dessert: Several bakeries sell gluten free cakes, and there are many great mixes on the market as well.  The cupcakes I made last night, but the chocolate and cheesecakes could also be gluten free.  

 It takes a little creative thought sometimes, but I truly believe that almost any food can be tweaked to be gluten free and still delicious.  I hope this gives you some ideas of how to take some typical party foods and turn them into gluten free options for you or your guests. 

Potluck Preparations

Tonight I've been getting my house ready for tomorrow night's potluck holiday party.  I've invited the teachers from the two departments that share a workroom at school for a shared holiday party.  We've been doing this for 6 years, since the school opened, but this is the first time the party is at my place. 

The house is clean, the cupcakes are cooling and almost ready for icing, the buffet table is set and the extra chairs have been pulled out in anticipation of the 16 or so people set to arrive tomorrow night.  I bought holiday themed paper plates, cutlery, napkins and cups, as well as festive tablecloths to keep with the theme and cut down on the clean-up.  Tomorrow I'll get the final prep work done before my colleagues arrive after work. 

I know many of you are either throwing parties or attending events where going gluten free can be a challenge.  When I provide all the food at my house, it's always all gluten free.  Since this is a potluck, that rule doesn't apply.  There will be gluten free options for my son.  Since the party is at our house, it's easier to keep the gluten-filled items away from the gluten-free ones.  It's more complicated when events are out of house. 

Tomorrow night I'll post some food and decor photos from the party, and over the next few days I'll show how the items brought to the potluck could be tweaked to be gluten free.  I'm looking forward to posting about how to handle throwing a gluten free party that doesn't exclude anyone, and how to navigate a party filled with forbidden foods. 

Wordless Wednesday

He was afraid to sit on Santa's lap this weekend, but the snowman (or Bonhomme as my son calls him) got a great big hug!

My son's new preferred way to relax

Two hands behind the head, giving my husband the "yeah and?" look as he takes the picture.

Gluten Free Sugar Cookie Recipe

I've been working on a new cookie recipe, since I want to be able to bake up a variety of cookies for Christmas.  I've created a basic gluten free vanilla sugar cookie recipe that tastes good and holds up without crumbling or being hard as a rock.  My husband even thinks they taste better the next day!

Gluten Free Sugar Cookie Recipe  
Makes approximately 48 cookies

Ingredients
2 cups white rice flour
1/2 cup gluten free all-purpose flour (I use Bob's Red Mill)
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. xanthan gum
3/4 cup butter (I used Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Sticks).  Should be at room temperature.
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 eggs (at room temperature).  You can use just the yolks if you prefer, but I use the whole egg.
1 tsp. vanilla extract

 1/4 tsp. salt

Directions
Preheat oven to 400F only after refrigeration of dough is complete.



1- In a mixing bowl, stir together white rice flour, all purpose flour, baking powder, salt, and xanthan gum.  Put aside.
2- In a separate mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar.  Add in eggs and vanilla extract and beat until mixed through. 

3- Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, and beat until mixture is smooth.  This can be done with a mixer, but I just did it by hand.
4- When thoroughly combined, roll dough into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate.  I made half a batch of cookies after one hour in the fridge, and the other half after refrigerating overnight.  The cookies turned out roughly the same, but the dough was much easier to work with after being chilled overnight.
5- Lightly flour the counter, and place a piece of plastic wrap over the dough to roll it out.  Roll the dough to desired thickness.  For crispy cookies, roll quite thin, and for chewier ones roll thicker.  They will rise a bit, but not too much.  Cut into desired shapes or roll into balls and flatten.
6- Place on a greased cookie sheet and place in oven for 6-8 minutes.  Take out when edges begin to brown.
7- Place on a cooling rack and gently life bottoms from cookie sheet, then allow to cool.
8- Decorate with icing and sprinkles, or eat plain.  I'm going to try my next batch with a cookie glaze. 

These cookies will hold their shape well and don't crumble.  To change the flavour, substitute a different extract for the vanilla extract. To cut perfectly round cookies, roll dough into a log before refrigerating and then just cut into rounds when ready to bake.

Gluten Free Weekly Menu Plan

We're off to a kids' Christmas party this morning and a birthday party this afternoon, so I'll post our menu plan without photos for now.

Monday: Chicken Caesar Salad with Gluten Free croutons Garlic Bread

Tuesday: Pork Roast with Rosemary and Apple Sauce

Wednesday: Baked Chicken Quarters with Jacket Baked Potatoes and Leftover Salad

Thursday: Turkey Stir Fry with Broccoli and Mushrooms

Friday: HOLIDAY PARTY!!!!  (Menu to follow)

Happy Birthday Celiac Baby!

Today is the one year anniversary of Celiac Baby!  I'm thrilled to have made it an entire year, and that my readership has kept growing over the last 12 months.

The first photo I posted.  Note the runny nose and puffy eyes- he had been off gluten for less than a week at that point.

I started this blog as a way to make some sense of the new dietary restrictions my son was facing, to share my experiences and learn from the experiences of others.
I've learned so much from other bloggers, and I hope I've had some good tips and recipes to share as well. 

If you want to read how it all started, click HERE for my inaugural post.

Much has changed over the past year- I started out unaware of just how prevalent gluten is in food products, to trying out gluten free baking from a mix, to finally creating some of my own recipes from scratch.  I've been blogging daily, sharing the things I learn as well as the obstacles that have confronted my efforts to keep my son healthy, without making his food restrictions the centre of our existence.  I became aware of just how many others are coping with the same issues; there are two other parents in my workplace whose children are gluten free as well. 

Seeing my son's health improve has been the biggest blessing of the past year.  Connecting with an entire network of people worldwide sharing the same struggles has been pretty special too. 


Thank you to all who have followed the blog or signed up for email delivery of posts, to those of you who check in from time to time or to check out the weekly menu plan or recipes, and to those of you who aren't coping with gluten issues, but can relate to the day-to-day challenges of raising a child. 

I have big plans for year 2 of Celiac Baby!  Weekly Menu Plans will continue, but I'm planning on adding more recipes on a regular basis.  Product reviews, restaurant reviews, and much, much more! 

Keep the comments and email coming, I love hearing your feedback and ideas for new posts.  I have a list of restaurants and stores that have been recommended by readers, and once the holiday season madness is over, I promise I'll check out as many of them as I can.


Thank you for your support!  And Welcome to year two of Celiac Baby!

Five Things on a Friday

1- This is the last post of the first year of this blog!  I'm so happy to have kept at this for a whole year, and that you have shared it with me!  Looking forward to continuing the journey...

2- I'm also looking forward to spending this weekend with my family. I barely saw my son last weekend at all with all the writing, so this weekend the two of us are going to spend some quality time.

3- No better way to spend time with a preschooler than to bake some cookies.  Homemade, gluten free sugar cookies coming up!

4- Planning on finally finishing the Christmas decorating this weekend.  I'm tired of the pile of garland at the bottom of the stairs.

5- Christmas shopping this weekend.  Before the crazy mall crowds begin.

HAPPY FRIDAY!

My Fingers Are Numb...

My fingers are numb, my eyes are dry and I feel like my shoulders have enough tension in them to last a lifetime, but tomorrow is the day that I submit my thesis to my supervisor. 

Tonight it's format, format, format. 

Forgive me for the less than stellar post?

Tomorrow my life returns to normal, and Saturday is the one year anniversary of this blog! 

Christmas cookie recipes, party tips and more to come! 

Wordless Wednesday

"Outdoor Santa" at the mall.  My son insisted that Daddy sit with him for the photo.  At least he's not crying, like last year!