Changing things up

Let's face it, living gluten free is all about changing things up. The way we eat, the way we think, the way we do. If I'm going on one of my beloved road trips, say to the Gluten Free Allergen Free Expo in Dallas like I am in a few weeks, I have to take GF munchies with me instead of just stopping somewhere and grabbing something or otherwise, I won't be able to enjoy the vendor fair or the cooking classes.

I also now have to have about 10-13 containers of flour substitutes in my kitchen at any given point instead of 4. (Used to have Cake, AP, Bread and Pastry). I have to ask exactly what is in something when I eat out instead of just going with whatever looks yummy. I have to send A into the baking aisle to get my spices or GF treats like Pamela's Product Pecan Shortbread Cookies because it's the frickin' baking aisle and there's flour floating in the air that's going to make me blow up like a balloon and give me tummy issues.

But you probably don't care about that, you want to know why I'm rambling. Well, my new job takes place mostly on the weekend so that means a Saturday recipe update isn't really doable as easily. So here's the new lineup.

Monday - News from over the weekend or random tidbits that I want to share.
Tuesday - Tips and Tricks
Wednesday - New Recipe day

Other stuff might happen on other days, but these will be the set up. And so that's your bit of random for today.

Ta ta from Tabi

A week in pictures

Okay, so no 'new' recipe today, but I've had a bit of fun this past week playing with the cake flour stuff, and then the Brazilian Cheese Bread. Then A had a truly brilliant idea. The Cheese Bread puffs up like dough...and it rolls like dough...why not see if you can make a pizza with it. So we did.

First of course, we preheated the oven to 425. We took about 900grams of the dough and rolled it out thin until it fit into a baking pan and oiled the pan. Docking the middle of the dough so it wouldn't poof out as much with  a fork, we then prebaked it for about 10 minutes.

Then loaded it up with sauce, asparagus, and chicken mozzarella sausage. We used Daiyu cheese for the topping since we'd been wanting to try out how it tasted/melted etc in case we wanted to use it in the restaurant. I wasn't really expecting to like it too much, but it actually wasn't too bad. However, I was much happier when I did a sausage and cheese pizza on Friday night with the dough. The Vegan cheese was good, but I'm not sure I'd use it unless I couldn't have dairy anymore. That's just me being picky though.

With the Daiyu Cheese

Dog Days of Summer

I live in Louisiana and I won't lie, the summers here never seem to end. A day when it's 79 degrees in February? Seen it. What I do love however, is all the options available to us, not just in Louisiana but in the entire United States. We get tomatoes in November and that's great that we can, but they just can't quite match the the sharp tangy yet sweet taste of a tomato fresh off the vine in July. I think we're spoiled in many ways and we restrict ourselves only to the things we know.

We don't pay attention to the 'season' of a vegetable or fruit because we don't have to, but that unrestricted plenty has allowed us to not leave our comfort zone of food. I'm plenty guilty of it and of course, finding out about my wheat allergy and gluten sensitivity has made me even a little fearful of doing so but when I'd thought about it, I realized it shouldn't. Just because I couldn't have some things didn't mean I couldn't explore what I could have and see what it could do for me.

And you can never stop exploring, because if you let what is be the total sum of your experience than you'll never truly enjoy what could be. It's as simple as "Without sorrow, there is no joy." That's the lesson I take into today as I sit here and wait for my latest creation to rise and see if my idea for bread flour and a bread recipe pans out the way I want. I already made a few unintentional mistakes that I'm wondering if I have to go back and fix in the next batch but just imagine. No matter how many loaves it takes, no how many tears of frustration I cry, when it does turn out, it'll be something to really shout about. I'm looking forward to this even if I am baking bread on the first day of August in a building that is not very well insulated and has no central air!

Enjoy whatever your day brings you and remember to live fully!