TechChix Thinks Aloud

Yes, that’s right. RAW. Hubby and I have been doing research and preparing for a new LIFESTYLE change. Courtesy of the lovely Raw Divas we are starting a 7-day Raw Detox this weekend, and then we will transition into a raw food lifestyle.

The only thing we are unsure about it whether we’ll be one of those 80/20 people who do 80% raw and 20% regular food. We are waiting to see how this Detox week goes, and then we’ll assess.

I must say - both of us are adamant about doing extensive research when making a decision like this one. Neither of us have been able to find one bad thing about the Raw lifestyle for eating. Truthfully, I am looking forward to it.

You still have time to sign-up with the Divas if you would like to join us. I’ll be keeping you all updated as the week goes on.

August 17th, 2007 | Category: | |  Email This Post | Leave a comment

Mint is an often under-utilized herb, in my opinion. I say that because I am growing a pot (quite successfully) on my patio and I am up to my ears in the stuff.

A search of mint on epicurious.com, allrecipes.com, and foodnetwork.com reveal an array of garnish, mixed alcoholic drinks, ice cream, cold soups (yuck), dessert flavorings, etc. I am searching for YOUR recipes, readers. Please post a comment or feel free to email me at techchix [at] gmail [dot] com with any recipe suggestions you have for Mint - specifically Spearmint.

Tim, my work buddy, loves to blend and when I bring him hunks of mint he blends it into a juice concoction.

August 13th, 2007 | Category: | |  Email This Post | Leave a comment

I LOVE sweets. Seriously. It is a problem. My husband (who is the diabetic without a sweet tooth) says I have what he calls a sugar-addiction that will become a health problem later in life. He might be right. So in my own way I have been exploring healthier alternatives to satisfy a sweet tooth. In that process I have been learning from many of my Raw Food bloggie brethren. May I just say how FASCINATING I find some of their sites. The concept seems clear enough, but I never could quite fall in line - except for my love of salads. (that’s raw, right?)

Then one fine day this week I came across this post on The Sunny Raw Kitchen - the post is of course about chocolate… in the raw. YUMMY. It seems gluten free so I might be trying some of these recipes and posting the results. Carob as an ingredient is a little bit… questionable to me. It’s from the legume family! Why anyone thinks it makes a good substitute for chocolate - well, I just do not know.

Next, any of you who read my site on a regular basis must learn one thing… I am not overly attached to the amounts or measurements of ingredients in a recipe. I cook in a fluid way, always tasting, touching, smelling, stirring. Before I get to the end of most recipes I am already mentally picturing how I would choose to cook it in my own simple manner. Which is definitely why I do not bake much. Oh, sure - that sweet tooth in me sees all the beautiful berries and rhubarb at the Farmers Market. I can just picture my very own Betty Crocker perfect rhubarb pie with blueberries mixed in, and a picture perfect lattice-dough top. (yeah. sure.)

Alas, it was not meant to be. At least right now in my life. I instead satisfy my need to bake with my lovely breadmaker instead. One note for all, I have discovered that my perfect little GF Breadmaker, does not cook GF bread mixes very well on the GF cycle. Strange, I know. Instead, I put Bob’s Red Mill on the Whole Wheat cycle and it turns out perfect every time. (No idea why.) It still works better than the last 2 breadmakers and I happily put out 1 or 2 loaves each week for sandwiches. Imagine that! ME! Eating sandwiches on a regular basis. (I love it best toasted with butter….mmmmmmmmmm)

Lastly for today, I have reached a new milestone here at Gluten Free Techchix. I officially have over 7,700 readers who get regular doses of my posts thru their RSS Readers. WOW. I mean, really. Wow. Thanks for ‘listening’. I never dreamed my little thoughts on food, random recipes, hubby recipe/experiments, and other stuff would prove to have such a loyal following.

So maybe you all should post a comment every once in a while?

And as a minor tag at the end here…. yes. I am re-designing some things for the Techchix GF Store. I’ll post something (naturally) when I am done.

August 3rd, 2007 | Category: | |  Email This Post | Comments (3)

Here is a recipe I made last week for a gathering of friends and I made so much people had to take some home. So I am giving a pared down version for 3-4 people . No pictures but I can testify to the yumminess factor. If you prefer a chunky guacamole, this is not the recipe for you. I find smooth, creamy guacamole much better.

Guacamole
Gluten Free | Vegan | Raw | Dairy Free

3-4 ripe avocados
1/4-cup lemon juice (organic or fresh is best)
2 tsp. sea salt
4 tsp. fresh ground pepper
2 tomatoes (seeds removed, chopped roughly, and set on paper towels to continue draining for 30 minutes)
1 small bunch of fresh cilantro; finely chopped

First, peel the avocados and remove the meat. My preferred method is to use a paring knife to make one long cut from top to bottom around the entire fruit. Twist the 2 halves and they come apart easily. Pop out the seed and use a small spoon to pull out the flesh. Note: If you’re wondering about whether avocados are really a fruit as I indicated… yes, they are. My husband and I had a long discussion about what makes a fruit a fruit - such as why are tomatoes a fruit. Ultimately, it comes down to SEEDS my good friends.

In a large 6-8 cup food processor combine all ingredients by pulsing until smooth. Refrigerate for 1 hour and stir thoroughly before serving. Don’t worry if the top becomes a bit darker, just stir up the guacamole. You can help prevent this oxidizing process if you cover it with plastic - stick the plastic directly on top of the guacamole in your bowl in the refrigerator.

Guacamole usually only stays good for about 24-36 hours, so don’t make so much you cannot eat it quickly. Tasting while you are combining the ingredients is a good idea, but remember that it doesn’t really reach its full flavor potential until everything sits for 30-60 minutes in the refrigerator.

One last note — if you prefer to thicken your guacamole because you don’t like the consistency, I did add 1 Tbsp. of a generic GF flour mix in the initial batch. However, after it sits overnight in the fridge it will thicken anyway. Just keep the little bit of GF flour in mind if you so choose to use it.

August 1st, 2007 | Category: | |  Email This Post | Leave a comment

Wow! I don’t like to gab on about breads but naturally all GF eaters seem to obsess about finding the perfect GF bread. There are many who claim to have the best recipe which inevitably contains all sorts of odd flours and starches. Ultimately I do not desire to keep all those odd items in my kitchen’s pantry stock because they go bad quickly and bread is simply not one of those food items I care enough about to pay good money for those items necessary to make it homemade. Call me whatever names you like, I won’t change my mind.

Let’s look back at one of my favorite posts recently where my delightful hubby splurged on a GF breadmaker for me. (Isn’t he the best??!?!) Part of that purchase included some Bob’s Mill GF Bread Mix - not just any mix, mind you. It was the GF Hearty Whole Grain Bread Mix and WOW you will enjoy this bread. My husband greatly desired that I make homemade-ish bread that we could both eat and enjoy. This bread actually tastes great and has the hearty goodness of a traditional whole grain bread. Best of all, it does not appear to spike hubby’s blood sugar - which is important for all those diabetics out there.

July 26th, 2007 | Category: | |  Email This Post | Comments (1)

Sadly, you knew a less than flattering review had to be coming soon. In my quest for quick snacks that I can throw in my purse for those “whenever” moments that life can bring, I recently tried the Snacks Bars from Enjoy Life.

In a word - ugh. Dry, untasty, overly chewy, poorly flavored… All in all they are not worth the jaw-grinding pressure it takes to eat them or the disappointment your tastebuds will experience.

If you want to know more about them you can click here.

July 25th, 2007 | Category: | |  Email This Post | Comments (1)

Two words for you… WOO HOO!

Any of you who miss a certain honey nut flavored, round-shaped cereal from your childhood? ME!! This has become my new favorite breakfast, and admittedly it is sometimes dinner when I am out of time or energy.

The apple cinnamon is good as well, but I definitely favor the honey nut. You know what is REALLY nice about this cereal? It retains its’ crunch even after sitting in my favorite unsweetened Almond milk for 10 minutes. Unlike some other cereals - which I will be reviewing very soon.

Click here to see the flier for it, and this is where you can buy some. Although, I usually find these at my local Whole Foods Market.

July 16th, 2007 | Category: | |  Email This Post | Leave a comment

Finally I am ready to join the blogging for Karina with my own addition - care of my wonderful husband. I must say avoiding cow’s milk, goat’s milk, cheese, whey, casein, eggs, chicken, turkey, gluten, lemon, avocado, peanuts, almonds, sunflower seeds, soybeans, pineapple, papaya, green beans and kidney beans is quite a challenge! In fact I become stuck several times because I tend to eat a lot of nutty foods, use nuts in cooking, goat’s milk/cheese, and beans. Those are some of my favorite foods! Leave it to my talented hubby to come up with the perfect dish for dinner the other night so I could post it here for our darling GFG!

Pasta with Meatballs

Meatball Ingredients:
1-lb extra lean beef
1 pkg of Rice crackers
1 pkg of button mushrooms, rinsed
3-5 cloves of roasted garlic (I make my own - vampires beware!)
Spices (however you like to flavor - oregano, basil…)
Salt & Pepper, to taste

Directions:
In a large food processor combine mushrooms, rice crackers, garlic, spices, and salt & pepper. Using a large bowl and your clean hands, combine meat with food processor contents as evenly as possible. Form meatballs to your own preference for size. Place meatballs in a large saucepan and saute, turning every few minutes to sear each side of the meatball (golf ball size is better than tennis ball size). I would recommend you wait 5-10 minutes before covering the meatballs with about 1 cup of tomato sauce. By cooking them with the sauce you keep them moist, I just prefer them to be seared before the sauce is added.

Heat a large 6-quart pot of water (please use filtered, it affects the taste of your pasta) after sprinkling salt and olive oil in the pot. Add 1 package of DeBoles Corn Pasta (my favorite!) to the boiling water and cook to your desired doneness.

After draining pasta, return it to the pot and dump the rest of your favorite Muir Glen pasta sauce on top.

Note: Here is what’s interesting about these meatballs. The mushrooms carry a good deal of moisture so when done right the meatballs have that garlic and mushroom flavor but remains intensely moist and delicious. For grated cheese, I can only suggest a vegan cheese that are readily available at most Whole Foods or Harris Teeter markets - especially wide variety of Vegan Cheese is available at MOM’s Markets (if you are blessed have one nearby).

July 10th, 2007 | Category: | |  Email This Post | Comments (3)

I am starting a new section of posts here where I will be reviewing various GF products on the market. And believe me, this is going to be uber-helpful to those of you who hate to waste money on products that taste like sawdust.

Pleasantly, this product does NOT taste like sawdust at all. The Glutino GF Breakfast Bars and wonderful for those of us on the GO. Several times I have rushed out to work in the morning and lacked the time to eat a decent breakfast - so I grab one of these. I also have a tendency to keep one in my purse for emergencies, because once your GF the only realistic option for eating out is to find a GF restaurant (good luck). No more runnining into fast food joints for a quick bite.

The apple bars I tried first, but after one bite I knew I would like it. The texture is soft with a slight chew, but not enough to give your jaw a workout (like some other GF bars!). Apple is not my favorite flavor but this one had a nice flavor that filled my mouth and satisfied my tummy. Blueberry is my favorite flavor, but for any chocolate lovers I would suggest you avoid their Chocolate Breakfast bars. (some things just are not the same)

Click Here for a list of all their breakfast bars, and where you can purchase them.

July 9th, 2007 | Category: | |  Email This Post | Leave a comment