After having a hard time recently finding Cornmeal that was guaranteed to be Gluten Free, I settled on Arrowhead Mills.  The side of the package cornmeal package was labeled gluten free, but for more information, contact them.  The representative was very pleasant and knowledgeable about the status of their products and assured that I did not have to worry about any cross contamination, as they regularly cleaned and tested the processing line.  Doing further research lead me to this statement on the Hain Celestial Group Gluten Free Choices website:

If you or someone you cook for lives gluten-free, you know how confusing it can be to eat well. The Hain Celestial Group is dedicated to providing wholesome, great-tasting gluten-free products that take the stress out of shopping and cooking. And we’re committed to supporting your diet with recipes and helpful tips. You can count on us for all your gluten-free needs.

At Hain Celestial, we take every measure possible to ensure that all of our products labeled as gluten-free meet our high standards of testing. Our gluten-free products contain less than 10 parts per million of the gluten protein in wheat, rye and barley which is well below the international standards of 20 parts per million.

We conduct tests at every step, from product development through production and packaging, to ensure that no ingredient contains a detectable amount of gluten, and that high standards are maintained and monitored at production facilities to avoid cross-contamination.

Our facilities are allergen cleaned before every gluten-free product run and allergen test samples from every batch we produce are sent out to independent laboratories for allergen testing. In addition, we educate the people who work with our gluten-free products, and those who handle our raw ingredients, so the purity of your food is never compromised.

After several attempts at making Gluten Free Corn Bread, I developed this recipe.  It is dense and sweet, though not overly so.

1 1/4c Cornmeal
1c Masa Harina (I use the Maseca brand without issue.)
1/2c sugar
2t baking powder
1 1/2t xanthan gum
1t salt
2 large eggs
1c milk (I prefer 2 percent or whole cows milk, but soy or rice should be fine)
1/3c corn, canola, or soybean oil

• Place an 8×8 pan or 8″ cast iron pan in the oven and preheat both to 350 degrees.
• In a medium bowl, combine the corn meal, masa harina, sugar, baking powder, xanthan gum, and salt. Mix well.
• Add the eggs, milk and oil. Using an electric mixer, mix over medium speed until well blended. It will resemble a very thick cake batter.
• Remove the hot pan from the oven and very carefully grease it. Cooking spray makes this quick and easy.
• Spread the batter into the pan.
• Transfer to the oven and bake for 30-40 minutes. The bread will have puffed up and brown around the edges when done. Serve immediately.

If you have any leftovers, wrap them in foil and keep in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. To reheat pop into a 250 degree oven until hot, about 15 minutes. It can also be frozen in plastic bags for several months.

This week was a disappointing one as a Celiac. I have gotten comfortable with the grocery store and wasn’t diligent about checking labels.  As a result I spent $10 on food that I can’t eat.  In this case, it was a package of frozen shrimp scampi that was not clear on the type of food starch or yeast extract and corn meal processed on the same equipment as wheat.  The scampi was thrown out, but thankfully I can donate the corn meal to my local food bank.

Let my mistake help you on your path to stay gluten free.  Take the few minutes to read your labels.  Be safe and eat well.

Knowing that corn is gluten free, I have been using Maseca brand Masa Harina as my go-to flour when baking or making a roux.  There was no mention on the label of it being milled in a plant that also processes wheat products, so I figured I was safe.  After a recent issue with finding safe corn meal, I realized that I needed to investigate whether or not it was really safe.  That lead me to their website and this statement:

For instance, corn is naturally gluten-free, and when choosing a type of tortilla, select tortillas made with MASECA® (which is 100% selected corn) and your tortillas will be gluten-free.

Our first gluten free Thanksgiving made for an interesting time balancing the traditional elements of our family tradition and adjusting to also include me in the meal without leaving anything out. As a result we did two different turkeys, one full bird and just a breast. Potato and bread stuffing was added to the whole turkey while we cooked a sausage and cornbread to accompany the breast. Gravy was made with the individual dripped, the “normal” thickened with flour in the roaster, with the GF thickened with corn starch. There were also crescent rolls for the regulars, and my Masa Harina cornbread for me, which also formed the base for the cornbread stuffing.

Desserts were also divided up. Pies were out of the question as I have not done a lot of GF baking so do not have a pie crust down. Because of this, I made an apple crisp with currants and walnuts. It was also spiked with a heavy does of brandy which was a luxurious addition and expanded the flavor beyond apples, sugar, and cinnamon. If you have never put walnuts in a pie or crisp, you should: they transform the texture. Those covered the major differences for our GF Thanksgiving. One minor adjustment was that any place that called for oats, we used Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Oats. I have not had any issue with them what so ever.

Our complete dinner list:

Turkey
Potato and Bread Stuffing
Sausage and Cornbread Stuffing
Mashed Potatoes
Sweet and Sour Greenbeans
Roasted Brussels Sprouts
Candied Yams
Seasoned Corn
Cranberry Sauce
Cornbread
Crescent rolls
Sweet Potato and Banana casserole
Fruit Salad
Coconut Cream Pie
Blueberry Pie
Apple, Walnut, and Currant Crisp
Brownies
Vanilla Ice Cream

Be safe and eat well.

The mailbox held the Totally Tomatoes catalog and the Vermont Bean catalog – both are owned by the same company so I’m not surprised they arrived together.

I have to be honest that I do not even look at these catalogs.  They are kind of like “spam” to me and the things in them can all be found in other places for less money.  Just my opinion.

Well, finally had a few minutes to peruse the Stokes catalog.  I have to admit that this was not nearly as fun as Pinetree or Seed Savers – lots of things I’ve seen before.

I did like a few things from their “Flowers of Merit” section on page 2, but I wish they’d have put the ordering info here instead of later in the book:

• Mammoth Glamorama White Pansy $2.75 (page 75)
• Cora Cascade Cherry Vinca $2.95 (page 85)
• Starlight Rose Zinnia $3.25 (page 87)

Then there were the wide selection of impatiens.  My father loves impatiens and with so many colors to choose from on pages 68-69 he’s bound to find a few he likes.  Prices are all over the place for these.

I want everything on the viola page (76) and the marigold pages (71-73.)

I find Stokes prices to be on the high side so I doubt they will get much of my business.

If you’d like to request a catalog, visit www.stokesseeds.com

I am just amazed at how early these catalogs are arriving this year.  Usually I’m sitting next to the Christmas tree drooling over the beautiful photos, but this year the turkey isn’t even cooked yet!

Perhaps gardening has gone the way of the other commercial ventures and decided to push the season earlier and earlier.  It’s OK by me, gives me more time to plan and get those wish list items in ordered even earlier.

The SSE catalog cover is a thing of beauty showcasing heirloom tomatoes and a badge for the group’s 35th anniversary.  This year they have over 200 certified organic products in the catalog which is great to see.

I did a quick walk through of this catalog while the baby took a nap and a few things caught my eye.

Page 17 showcase a fruit I love and one I’ve never heard of.  Huckleberry seeds are offered for $2.75 which is something I may need to look into.  My father once lived in an old log cabin surrounded by huckleberry bushes.  Alas I never had a chance to partake of their berry goodness and have wanted to grow them since.  This page also sports an entry for nipple fruit which I’ve never heard of, but unfortunately there was a crop failure so this one can’t be ordered.  I will have to do some research and perhaps look for this one next year.

I love the layout of this catalog this year – blocks of photos with labels make it so easy to look things over.  Reminds me of a well set up scrapbook page.  (Yes, I’m one of THOSE people… been keeping scrapbooks since before it was a money-making venture, back in the days of construction paper and rubber cement. We’re a bit more advanced now. )

Weird item of the day, page 45 features “prickly caterpillar.”  Yep, looks like caterpillars and they say they add them to salads but that usually they are not eaten.  Not sure they would make me want to eat a salad.

I also love the grower profiles in this catalog.  It is neat to see the people who are taking responsibility for adding to our genetic diversity (or ensuring it remains.)  Much more reassuring to see a man on his farm than some lab tech at Monsanto with a petri dish.

(Thanking someone at WordPress for setting up auto-save.  I nearly lost this entire post with the touch of a key – whew, glad I could get it back.)

My eye caught the Himalayan blue poppy on page 74, really neat looking flower with bright yellow on baby blue. $2.75.  Also was tempted by the interesting snail flower on page 77 but at $5.00 for 5 seeds I’m not sure I’m ready to risk it.

But what I probably will try is the Historic Pansies mix on page 78 for $2.75.  I’m a sucker for pansies and violas.

If you don’t get a Seed Savers Exchange catalog, you can order from them at www.seedsavers.org.  Their website is always interesting to visit and so far we’ve had great customer service from them.  If you join the organization you get 10% off seeds and some other great perks and publications.  It is worth checking them out.

Let’s see, where did I leave off?  Ah yes, I had just gotten to the medicinal herbs section of the catalog on page 45.  Lots of things here I’d like to have, but most I think I already have downstairs just waiting to be planted.  Must take an inventory before I buy anything.  We got the 50 seed packet from someone a while back and it included a lot of herbs.  Some won’t be viable, but some will.  Just need to test them.

I’d love to try the dye herbs but I have nothing to dye at the moment.  A friend has sheep and I keep telling myself to get some wool from him- just haven’t done it yet.  Same as most things. One thing I know I want to grow this year is Dill.  Hubby has gotten to like it in yogurt as a sauce for things and we paid an outrageous price for it at the grocery store.  Page 47 has several varieties, must research them and see which I want.

Page 49 has a section on tobacco plants to grow which is very interesting.  No one in our household smokes, but if you did this would be an interesting project.  Not sure if there are regulations on growing or not… again, would require research.

Page 55 has container plants which I’m looking at very closely due to our resident groundhog.  I have redskin bell pepper circled at the moment – $1.95 – would be nice to have some success with peppers this year, any year.  They are always a dismal failure here.  Not hot enough in our microclimate I think.

Page 56 has the wave petunias for $2.95 which I’d like to grow for my father to add to his garden – in white and also impatiens, his favorite.  They are on page 59.  Most are $1.35.  And then there are violas.. ah violas.  For me.  :0)

Page 61 has Alyssum which is an all time favorite of mine.  There is nothing that smells quite like them. I’ve had them since my first garden when they only came in white and purple.  Now they come in tons of colors.  I still like white though.

Page 65 has a striped Mirabilis  – which I know as 4 o’clocks – that I want to try.  Easy to gather seeds from these so you only need to buy them once.  $1.25 won’t break me though.  And page 66 has nasturtiums which are one of hubby’s favorites for snacking on around the yard.  $1.25-1.55.

Page 69 shows sunflowers which seem to get more diverse every year.  Prices here are from .75 to 2.95 for a mix.  I do’t like mixes ’cause when I like something I don’t know what it is and can’t buy more.

And that’s it for seeds.  There are a ton of books I’d like to have but I’ll look for them at www.paperbackswap.com first.  Very rarely is there a book I can’t wait for.

Hmm… guess it is on to the Stokes catalog now.

Wow, everyone is starting early this year.  I haven’t gotten done making notes in the Pinetree catalog yet and here is another one.  Though I don’t normally order from Stokes, they have a tempting selection of Viola seeds.  I love violas and violets.  Pansies too…. I may just have to order a few.