Who Says You Can't Have Pizza...

Buffalo chicken pizza and Canadian bacon & pepperoni pizza

Some secrets to a better Bob's Red Mill gluten-free pizza crust...
#1 Follow the directions -- exactly.
#2 Grease your pizza pans extremely well otherwise, the crust will stick while baking.
#3 When spreading the dough on the pizza pan, keep your hands wet, otherwise the dough will stick to your fingers. Spread the dough as much as possible to the edges of the pan, keeping it flat.
#4 Precook the crust for about 10 minutes before adding your ingredients.
#5 Be certain your ingredients are gluten-free. Check your tomato sauce/paste especially.

One bag of Bob's Red Mill pizza crust mix makes two large pizzas.

Where to find: Most grocers (in the gluten-free aisle)
Cost: $5.99 (average price)

The Upper Endoscopy

Jimmy's carrots, Julie's rice muffins
Yesterday was my third and last upper GI endoscopy -- I hope.

If you’ve ever had or heard of a colonoscopy, the procedure is similar, except the scope goes in the opposite end -- your mouth.

The procedure is guided by an endoscope -- a flexible tube equipped with a lighted video camera. The scope enters through the mouth traveling down the esophagus, and stomach to its final destination, the duodenum -- the upper area of the small intestine.

Images of the interior surface appear on a screen, which are captured and printed for doctor and patient.

My first endoscopy (April, 2008) revealed an extremely inflamed, atrophied surface. The intestine looked like pink, puffy bubble gum. Eight months later, after a strict gluten-free diet, I had a much improved endoscopy. The inflammation had significantly decreased and smooth visible spirals had resumed.

Yesterday’s image is by far the healthiest looking, though I won’t know biopsy results for a week.

One of the most difficult parts of an endoscopy is that I have little memory of anything following the procedure. That’s because they use hurricane spray and Fentanyl and Midazolam IV’s for sedation.

I groggily awoke to see my brother -- my ride home -- sitting in a corner chair, but don’t remember any of the discussion with him or my doctor. I only remember seeing my brother's face.

On the way home, we stopped at Coastal Seafoods for walleye and wild shrimp and then my brother put his skills to work in my kitchen. All that was missing was a white hat, apron, and his set of culinary knives from chef school.

I attempted rice flour muffins, but under my medicated haze accidentally added 1 tablespoon of baking soda instead of ½ teaspoon. (Gag.)

My second batch were probably some of the softest gluten-free muffins I’ve made yet. You can find the recipe on Bob's Red Mill Web site: www.bobsredmill.com/recipes_detail.php?rid=441

I give these muffins a 9 out of 10 for taste and 10 out of 10 for softness and texture.

My brother’s carrots…amazing. Believe it, they took an hour to make!

Tax Deductions, Celiac Disease

Still Life of 2009 Receipts

Monday is tax day with our very quirky-fun accountant whose looks resemble Fargo’s William Macy. This means that I’ll spend a couple of hours this weekend sifting through hundreds of accumulated grocery receipts that I’ve stashed in a copper bucket all year.

Even if there’s only one gluten-free item on a receipt, it will be accounted for.

Many celiacs don’t know that YOU CAN DEDUCT the additional expense on store-bought gluten-free foods. But only the difference between the gluten-free item and non-gluten-free item can be claimed. If there is no difference between the cost of let’s say a gluten-free package of Oreo cookies and non-gluten-free, you cannot claim it.

In 2008 I spent more than $2,000 on gluten-free foods, which included everything from specialty breads, baked goods, flours, pastas, and cereals to name a few. I anticipate an even higher amount for 2009 considering the availability of new gluten-free foods compared to 2008. The market for gluten-free foods is growing fast.

Note that this tax benefit does not apply to those with gluten-intolerance -- you must be medically diagnosed as having celiac sprue.

Scott Adams, writer for Celiac.com provides the following advice...

The following guidelines were received from the Oct. 1993 CSA/USA National Conference in Buffalo, NY:

1) You can claim only the EXTRA COST of the gluten-free product over what you would pay for the similar item at a grocery store. For example, if wheat flour costs $0.89 per 5 lbs. and rice flour is $3.25 per 5 lbs., the DIFFERENCE of $2.36 is tax deductible. You may also claim mileage expense for the extra trip to the health food store and postal costs on gluten-free products ordered by mail.

2) The cost of xanthan gum (methylcellulose, etc.) used in gluten-free home baked goods is completely different than anything used in an ordinary recipe, so in the opinion of the IRS, the total cost of this item can be claimed.

3) Save all cash register tapes, receipts, and canceled checks to substantiate your gluten-free purchases. You will need to prepare a list of grocery store prices to arrive at the differences in costs. You need not submit it with your return, but do retain it.

4) Attach a letter from your doctor to your tax return. This letter should state that you have Celiac Sprue disease and must adhere to a total gluten-free diet for life.

5) Under MEDICAL DEDUCTIONS list as Extra cost of a gluten-free diet the total amount of your extra expenses. You do not need to itemize these expenses.

For more information, go to:

http://www.celiac.com/articles/279/1/Tax-Deduction-for-Gluten-Free-Foods-as-a-Medical-Expense-for-Diagnosed-Celiacs-Only/Page1.html

Poor Little Cream Puffs

"Still Life of Spilling Cream Puffs"
The difference between the Gluten-free Girl and me is that she knows how to cook …and write.

Okay, so these are two major differences considering we both run a gluten-free food blog.

You’ve probably visited her blog or read her book by now (Gluten-Free Girl: How I Found the Food That Loves Me Back...And How You Can Too). Perhaps you have experimented with her exquisite recipes. She is the real deal so if you have the time and gusto for gluten-free cooking from scratch, I highly recommend following her recipe blog. (Ahem, of course only if you don’t desert mine!)

I’ve tried twice now to make her version of gluten-free cream puffs with Meyer lemon ricotta filling. This recipe was a magnet to the mock Italian in me. But I’ve tried twice now and to no avail have they formed into the puffy pastries they should be.

My best friend and I have a joke that anytime I try to make baked dough in the form of biscuits or rolls, they turn out like “door stoppers,” she says.

Tonight’s batch weren’t quite that bad but they definitely wouldn’t sell if they were behind a baker’s glass case, especially in New York City’s Little Italy where cream puffs are beyond delicious. They don’t taste bad -- it’s more the texture of the shells that’s lacking. They’re just not “puffs” the way they should be. I’ll try them again soon and maybe even drop the Gluten-free Girl an e-mail to see where I went wrong.

Follow this link to the recipe and be sure to let me know if you succeed!
http://glutenfreegirl.blogspot.com/2006/11/when-chez-panisse-calls.html

A Snack that will Stick to Your Ribs

It didn’t take long for one Mississippi Market cashier to notice that I’m gluten-free.

Everything I emptied onto the checkout counter was celiac-friendly when I stopped by the market a few days ago -- fresh fruits and vegetables, coconut-based yogurts, and gluten-free pasta and grains.

The cashier was either really excited or a great saleswoman. She all but practically grabbed me by the arm to show me some of her favorite gluten-free products. Minutes later, my grocery bill nearly doubled -- but in a good way.

One of her favorite snacks is Food for Life brown rice tortillas, with almond butter. She eats these almost daily. I hadn’t thought of eating tortillas this way so I decided to take her word for it. I bought a six-pack of the tortillas and some almond butter and am now forever grateful for her arm-twisting.

I give this snack a 9 -- a 10 if you add sliced apples laced with cinnamon and nutmeg on the side. This snack provided enough protein fuel to last me a solid hour of skate skiing today.

*The tortillas contain 2 grams of protein; almond butter contains 8 grams (per serving).

Roll it up before your next indoor or outdoor work out!

Food for Life, brown rice tortillas

Where to find: Mississippi Market (and probably other co-ops)

Cost: $3.49

Eastwind almond butter

Where to find: Most grocers

Cost: $10.79

Cheesecake Coma

Tuesday afternoon I sunk into a cheesecake coma after eating a rather large piece of vanilla bean cheesecake that I had begged husband to fetch the night before. I hadn’t eaten a thing from Café Latte in almost a year but the craving for cheesecake from heavens gate at Victoria and Grand, finally arrived.

What a mistake.

I noticed a coma-like trance that began about 30 minutes after ingestion, which didn’t lift until about 8 p.m. that night.

Even though I didn’t eat the crust, the meat of the cheesecake was probably a bit contaminated. Then there was the heavy cream cheese. The dense yet smooth dairy stuck to my tongue a bit -- and later to my intestines.

I think what prompted the craving was my birthday. Celebratory events really put celiacs to the test. There’s just more foods in your face around these times. Foods you equate with memories, foods you remember to crave.

***

On Wednesday, my mother reminded me that she went into labor at noon 39 years ago. A reluctant little Julie popped out at 3 p.m. Doctors had to break her water because I didn’t want to come out.

Lot’s of birthday wishes and cheer on Wednesday followed by dinner at Brasa on Grand Avenue. Brasa now has a gluten-free menu as the result of my personally lobbying the owner. “All you have to do is create a separate piece of paper for gluten-free customers!”

My favorite items are the (unsweetened) green plantains. They’re big and crunchy and fried with a little garlic salt. And their butterscotch pudding, which has temporarily been replaced by banana pudding, is a well-known top ten.

So here I am Saturday morning, eating rolled gluten-free oats and drinking Starbuck’s coffee. It’s been a long and hard food week.

Got Goat’s Milk?

"Still Life with Goat's Milk"

I’m trying to better understand the problem that many celiacs have with milk and this is what I’ve found so far:

Lactose Intolerance?

Many of us can’t tolerate lactose due to years of destruction to the “brush border” (absorptive surface containing villi) of the small intestines. When lactose isn’t properly absorbed, bacteria, instead of lactase enzymes, break down milk sugars in the colon, which can result in bloating, gas, and diarrhea. This condition is called secondary lactose intolerance.

Primary lactose intolerance, on the other hand, is a genetic lack of lactase (affects about 25% of the population). Basically, you need the lactase enzyme in the brush border of your small intestine to digest the milk carbohydrate we call lactose.

*Information from Dr. Peter Green’s Celiac Disease (2006)

Casein Intolerance?

S1 casein is a key protein in cow’s milk and is believed to be harder to digest than human and goat milk due to its larger fat globule size. The smaller and softer the casein curd, the easier on digestion. About 1 in 10 people have an allergy to casein and experience symptoms very similar to lactose intolerance and even asthma.

When a celiac’s small intestine finally heals adhering to a gluten-free diet, lactose may be properly absorbed and symptoms subside. The flip side is that even with a healing or healed intestine resulting from celiac disease, the casein protein can still cause problems.

Additive Intolerance?

The milk dilemma has a third dimension -- that is, what’s actually added to some milk products. According to food science writer, Michael Pollan, low-fat and skim milk has to be significantly modified in order to reduce its original fat make-up. The fat is removed and food additives such as powdered milk are added in order to preserve a creamy texture. The dilemma is that powered milk contains oxidized cholesterol, which Pollan says scientists believe to be worse than ordinary cholesterol. Removing the fat also makes it difficult to absorb fat-soluble vitamins, which ultimately defeats the purpose of drinking milk in the first place, he says.

*In Defense of Food, Michael Pollan (2008)

There’s even a fourth dimension to milk -- force-fed bovine growth hormones that end up in cow’s milk. And we, the people who drink it, get a dose of those hormones. That problem deserves an entire blog post!

I’ve come to find that goat’s milk is far less problematic for me than cow’s milk. At least with goat’s milk, I can eliminate three of the four possible milk problems I mentioned above. So far, the only goat’s milk brand that I seem to tolerate well is Meyenberg, available at Trader Joes’.

For more information on goat’s milk, go to:

http://www.chiroweb.com/mpacms/dc/article.php?id=38646