Gluten-Free Maui

A while back someone asked me how to make a basic vinaigrette. She was concerned about some salad dressings not being gluten free, and she didn’t want to feed them to her child who has celiac disease.

A basic vinaigrette is really the easiest thing you could ever make.

The standard ratio is:

Whisk them together, or shake them up in a jar and dinner is ready!

Once you have the basics you can start playing around.

Add a touch of mustard which help help the emulsion stay together. A basic vinaigrette is a temporary emulsion, but the mustard helps hold it all together.

Mince some fresh herbs and add them.

Throw in a touch of honey and dijon mustard for a honey mustard vinaigrette.

Blend in some white wine vinegar, avocado and tarragon for a take on Greek Goddess dressing.

The possibilities are endless.

Vinaigrettes aren’t just for salads either. They make fabulous marinades for meat or vegetables. You could even toss a vinaigrette with pasta for a refreshing pasta salad.

Really, if you look at the ingredients on a bottle of salad dressing there are easy ways for you to recreate it at home. Break the dressing down to the simplest components. There will be a fat, an acid, and flavorings. Leave out all of the stabilizers, preservatives and colorings and you’re good to go.

By making dressings from scratch you’re not only going to save money, but you’re going to save yourself from eating a lot of things that we shouldn’t necessarily eat.

Don’t be afraid. Grab a measuring cup, a bowl, and a whisk. That’s all you need. Heck, you don’t even need the measuring cup. This is something so easy you can eyeball it and I often do.

Sometimes I don’t even mix it together. I might just pour a little olive oil over my salad, a little vinegar, and sprinkle on some S&P.

For another beautiful and light way to dress your salad evenly check out this post I found this morning at markbittman.com

Finally, for a salad to go with your newly made vinaigrette check out Jamie Oliver’s simple chopped salad. He’s got the ratio right there for you too!

I was wanting to use up things in the fridge today, and I also had no leftovers for us for lunch. So, I made something up.

Eggs with Balsamic White Beans and Tomatoes

by AmandaonMaui

3-4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/4 red onion, minced
1/2 large tomato, diced medium
1/4 of a small bunch of kale, diced medium
1 can drained cannellini beans
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 slice gluten-free bread
2 eggs
Kosher Salt and Pepper
Fresh basil, chiffonade (optional)

In a large saute pan heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add in the minced onion and cook for a few minutes until slightly tender.

Add in the diced tomato and kale. Saute together letting the kale wilt slightly, but not until completely soft. Season with.

Pour in the beans, mix everything together, and season with salt and pepper.

Drizzle the vinegar over the mixture and lower the heat to medium low. Crumble in 3/4 of the slice of bread. Stir all together and proceed to the next step.

Cook two eggs over easy in another saute pan.

Split the bean mixture among two shallow bowls or plates. Place an egg atop each. Crumble the remainder of the bread over the entrees. Garnish with basil.

Serve immediately.

Recently I attended a gluten-free event at Whole Foods Kahului, and at the event Elizabeth Kaplan presented us with samples of her products from The Pure Pantry. She also offered us a recipe for High Fiber Morning Glory Muffins. So, to test out The Pure Pantry’s Buckwheat Flax Pancake and Baking Mix I made these muffins. If you can’t find these mixes at a store near you, you can always purchase them on her website or on Amazon.com

The batter came together very easily, especially since I have a grater blade for my food processor. This recipe will take a little longer if you have to grate everything by hand. The raw batter tasted delicious and scooped easily into the muffin cups by using an ice cream scoop. While baking they smelled delicious. It must have been the cinnamon warming up and spreading its aroma throughout the kitchen, but I knew these were going to be good.

The great thing about ready made mixes is you don’t have to worry about your rising agents for quick breads as they are already present in the mix. The bad thing is that sometimes you don’t need those leavening agents as you’ll be using yeast to give your products rise or you don’t want leavening in your baked goods.

Well, I followed the recipe mostly to the letter. I did change out a few items for substitutions I had on hand. I used sunflower oil instead of the safflower or coconut oil. I used a green apple instead of a red apple. And, I used blanched sliced almonds instead of toasted walnuts or pecans. Finally, I used unsweetened coconut flakes instead of toasted coconut flakes. Finally, I let them cook for an extra 5 minutes because my oven has some temperature fluctuation issues and I needed the bottoms to set a bit more than they had.

I pulled them from the oven and they were nice and brown like a good bran muffin. Have I mentioned before that I love bran muffins? Well, I did. I haven’t had a bran muffin since going gluten free. I was a strange child who loved my vegetables, grown up cereals, and bran muffins.

These are moist, delicious, and sweet but not overly sweet. I love the crunch the nuts give. They don’t taste like a health muffin. I think you could probably feed these to your kids without them really thinking about what’s in it. Just don’t hover over them while they’re eating it or they might start looking for what’s wrong with it (at least wrong to them). Then they’d probably notice the specks of green and orange, but at least you could then finish off the muffin!

I gave The Nerd the muffin after I took a bite and he didn’t want to give it back. He said it is a “good muffin” while having a mouth full of muffin. It was so adorable. I asked him to rate it on a scale of 1-5 and he said “4.5 because it’s a veggie muffin, and that’s the highest veggie muffins can go.” He said that the only way it could get a 5 is if it were a gluten muffin covered in sugar and full of blueberries or poppy seeds.

I recommend the muffins and the mix. Yum! You could find yourself scraping the muffin wrappers too.

Here’s the recipe for all of you to enjoy:

High Fiber Morning Glory Muffins

by The Pure Pantry

• 2/3 cup organic safflower oil or coconut oil
• 1/2 cup organic agave nectar or honey
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon gluten-free vanilla extract
• 2 organic eggs
• 2 cups organic Buckwheat Flax Pancakes and Baking Mix from the Pure Pantry
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup finely grated organic carrots (2 small carrots)
• 1 cup finely grated organic zucchini (about 1/2 a zucchini)
• 1 tart red organic apple, unpeeled, cored, and finely grated
• 1/2 cup chopped toasted organic walnuts or pecans (optional)
• 1/2 cup seedless organic raisins
• 1/3 cup toasted organic coconut flakes (optional)
• 1 teaspoon grated organic orange zest

Preheat oven to 350F.

Blend oil, agave nectar, brown sugar, vanilla, and eggs into a large bowl for about 1 minute to incorporate. Add baking mix, cinnamon, and salt. Stir to combine. Add carrots, zucchini, nuts, raisins, coconut, orange zest, and apples and stir well. Scoop batter into 12 paper-lined muffin tins and bake 25 minutes.

6 grams of fiber per muffin. Yields 12 muffins regular sized muffins that overflow the cups.

Tonight at Whole Foods Market in Kahului Elizabeth Kaplan, owner and chef, from The Pure Pantry gave a mini-lecture on the gluten-free diet as well as on eating organic and more healthful food. The meeting had to be held directly under a noisy fan and music, so it was a little difficult for some people to hear everything but I believe Elizabeth did a wonderful job handling the situation. She delivered a brief, but detailed, interactive talk story with the audience on what she went through finding out that she has celiac disease, what it’s like for her having kids with celiac disease and multiple food allergies, plus she answered all of the questions people had.

There was a wide range of people there from all walks of life, which showed just how many people celiac disease touches. Many of the ladies were mothers looking for ways to take care of their children on a gluten-free diet. Some had children with celiac disease and dermatitis herpetiformis, while others had children with ADHD. There was an older couple looking for new ways to take care of themselves, and my friend tagged along with me even though she isn’t gluten-free. I think she found it a learning experience that will be useful in the future since she is working toward a medical degree.

And, then there was yours truly. I was there to find out what was being taught and to connect with people here on Maui who need to have support.
I offered to organize a support group for those with celiac disease or on a gluten-free diet. I believe having support when you’re just starting out, or even later down the road when you need someone to commiserate with, is very important. I had to rely on the internet when I started out, and that makes me a very lucky girl. There are so many people who walked this path before me who did it all alone. But, I think that having someone right there in front of you can be powerful.

In addition to the lecture, Elizabeth Kaplan shared some of her gluten-free bread and chocolate chip cookies made from her mixes. Boy, were they delicious! I could have eaten every single cookie by myself. I would have liked a little more banana flavor in the banana bread, but it was light and moist which gives it some serious thumbs up. My gluten eating companion thought it was delightful and also couldn’t stop eating the cookies.

Elizabeth then took us all around on a tour of the store and pointed out gluten free products for people to see and become familiar with. She didn’t just toot her own company’s horn either. She pointed out brands she likes, and promoted the brands with whole grains and less sugar. But, as we all know here at Gluten Free Maui, everything in moderation including moderation. It’s okay to have a little indulgence, especially on special occasions. Just don’t make every day a special occasion.

Ms. Kaplan pointed out that in California her products sell for around $6.00(US), but here on Maui they are selling for closer to $9.00(US). That’s a bit high for me, but for the taste and convenience it could definitely be worth it. If you can try it at least once I think it’s a good idea, and I always promote sponsoring gluten-free brands and the small business person.

So, I just want to give out a hearty thank you to all who attended and especially to Elizabeth Kaplan for taking the time to come share with all of us here on Maui. This may be a catalyst toward connecting the gluten free community on Maui and to getting changes made in our food industry.

Mahalo!