The Gluten-Free Way: My Way

I co-authored and published this book with William Maltese. The book was born out of my family’s lifestyle change to living gluten free in 2001.

After my husband and son stopped eating gluten, a whole new world of preparing food and tastes were opened up for us. New grains and flours. New products – some good, some horrible.

Some of my favorite recipes are included in this book. These recipes are ones we eat often and our company tends to request when visiting.

If you are looking for a list of companies which sell gluten free products or make them, I have added those as well.

Are you looking for information on gluten free support groups? Maybe you want to learn more about living gluten free? Check out the list of support groups, as well as websites for further education, included in our book.

Our book is available on Amazon.com in print and for the Kindle. You can also find our book online at Barnes & Noble for your Nook and in paper format.

If you like to sponsor local businesses, check out our favorite mill (and pick up a copy of our book) when you visit The Country Living Mills online store.

If you are on Facebook, we would love to have you join us on our page for all things relating to our book and gluten free living. When you visit, please say “Hi!”

What is your favorite gluten free recipe? Which store do you find the most gluten free products? How long have you been living gluten free?

~Adrienne

Note: The information in the book is current as of the last edit done by the publisher. If you find something which is incorrect, please list in the comments so I can make a note of it. Thanks so much!

Foodaplenty’s August Food Blogger Challenge

Note: Affiliate links are included in this post. Please see my Disclaimers for more information.

Foodaplenty is a website dedicated to helping food bloggers. I have been a member for awhile and this challenge caught my eye.

Foodaplenty offers a free blogging calendar (for the whole year). I also enjoy their monthly packet of food days and blogging ideas. I need to spend more time utilizing these resources to aid me in building and growing my blog.

While participating in the Foodaplenty’s August Food Blog Challenge, a fellow blogger posted a Paleo recipe which caught my attention.

I enjoy trying different recipes. Surprised? I am a foodie, food blogger, and cookbook author. I love food!

Yes, my family and I do eat grains (gluten free, of course!) though I am always looking for new recipes to try.

This particular blog post grabbed my attention with the name, Mick’s Marvellous Meatballs with Oodles of Zoodles from the blog, Eating Paleo. Eating Paleo is a blog all about eating Paleo in Australia, by blogger Mick (a.k.a. The Caveman).

I am adding this recipe to my “Must Try” list to include in my menu planning. I do know I will have to change the meat (I do not eat uncured pork, which is a different story). I think using zucchini ribbons as a substitute for pasta is a great way to use up extra zucchini from the garden if you still have some left.

I hope The Caveman will post a photo of this recipe soon. I love seeing photos of recipes before I make for the first time.

Once I make this recipe, I will post a photo.

For you bloggers, have you done a blogging challenge? If yes, what did you learn? If no, are you considering finding one to join? Or create your own blogging challenge and invite bloggers to join you. If you join a challenge or create your own, please let me know. I would love to check it out.

~Adrienne

Gluten Free Flours using The Country Living Grain Mill

For our family of six, we used to buy a lot of Gluten-Free flour. I mean a lot. I bake often and have gone through phases where I was baking daily.

Purchasing Gluten-Free flours can be expensive.

The cost of purchasing these flours began adding up especially as food prices increased. We decided it was time to look at grinding our own flours.

Not all Grain Mills are alike. Which one do we purchase?

I researched for months and asked friends who milled their own for mill recommendations. One friend, Jeni, swore by the Country Living Mill she was borrowing. As she and her family live without gluten, she was milling the grains I would be once I had a mill. I had seen their website so went back and read it some more. The detailed explanations of their mill and why they designed it intrigued me.

I had previously shown the mill website to Jonathan. He asked me to keep researching.

The Country Living Grain Mill with milled Amaranth - Copyright Adrienne Z. Milligan — The Country Living Grain Mill with milled Amaranth – Copyright Adrienne Z. Milligan

Flour mill is high on our priority list.

After our fourth baby was born, we were deciding what on our “wish list” would be purchased with our tax refund. A mill was high on the list for me. I wanted to save money on Gluten-Free flours.

The Country Living Grain Mill is our mill of choice.

We finally decided to call the company one day. We spoke with Joel, one of the owners of The Country Living Grain Mill, who answered our questions. He said it would be no problem to test the mill with rice instead of wheat (as this option is mentioned on their website). He asked if we were local to him. We were about two hours south. He said he was happy to ship it to us or we could go pick it up and test the mill ourselves.

We drove up right then and there. We tested our mill with rice. We chatted about Gluten-Free grains and how the mill handles them.

We set it up when we got home. We have not looked back or regretted it.

The Country Living Grain Mill with Amaranth Flour 2 - Copyright Adrienne Z. Milligan — The Country Living Grain Mill with Amaranth Flour 2 – Copyright Adrienne Z. Milligan

Gluten Free Flours using The Country Living Grain Mill at Home

When specific flours gets low in my Tupperware™ Modular Mates, I grind some more. Usually, I add the grain and Jonathan makes sure it gets milled. He is great about turning on the mill first thing in the morning. The mill is as quiet as one would expect from a mill grinding grain. It is now white noise for me most of the time.

You can taste the difference between freshly milled flours and ones which have sat in a bag on a shelf for months.

Oh, one of the best parts of getting my Gluten Free Flours using The Country Living Grain Mill is I have total control over how fine or how coarse of a grind. I can have coarse cornmeal and then (after cleaning out the mill) can do super fine brown rice flour. (Super fine does take longer to grind due to the finer grind.)

Now, when gluten-eating people mention “I don’t taste any gritty flour – are you sure you used rice flour?”

I just smile and say, “Yes, I did using my Country Living Grain Mill.”

I would love to hear what grain mill you use to grind your own Gluten-Free flours. If you do not have a grain mill, have you considered it?

~Adrienne

Photos of Grandma Pease’s Cookies

These photos are part of the Foodaplenty’s August Food Blogger Challenge.

The challenge for today is to take multiple photos of the same food item. Then post the photos for fellow challenge participants to look at and give suggestions on how to better our photos.

Photo #1:

Photo #2:

Grandma Pease's Cookies 2 - Copyright Adrienne Z. Milligan — Grandma Pease’s Cookies 2 – Copyright Adrienne Z. Milligan

Photo #3:

Grandma Pease Cookies 3 - Copyright Adrienne Z. Milligan — Grandma Pease’s Cookies 3 – Copyright Adrienne Z. Milligan

Photo #4:

Grandma Pease's Cookies 4 - Copyright Adrienne Z. Milligan — Grandma Pease’s Cookies 4 – Copyright Adrienne Z. Milligan

Photo #5:

Grandma Pease Cookies May 2015 - Copyright Adrienne Z. Milligan — Grandma Pease’s Cookies May 2015 – Copyright Adrienne Z. Milligan

Photo #5 is my favorite of all of them.

Which one do you prefer? Why?

Thanks for helping me look at my food photography.

~Adrienne

Strawberry Freezer Jam

Note: Post contains affiliate links to Amazon for products I used in making the Strawberry Freezer Jam. Please see my Disclaimers for more info.

Last summer my family and I made a lot of freezer jam. Oh did we ever!

One of the local produce markets had full flats of strawberries for $5 each. Yes, $5 for a full flat of strawberries!

My flats of strawberries

Strawberry Flats - Cop;yright Adrienne Z. Milligan — Strawberry Flats – Copyright Adrienne Z. Milligan

I purchased five full flats of strawberries! It took me quite some time to get all of these strawberries ready for jam or freezing.

Summer for me is made better with fresh strawberries. If you grow your own (my favorite!) or purchase locally, making Strawberry Freezer Jam is a great way to use up strawberries.

Getting strawberries ready to make jam or freeze (for pies)

Slicing Strawberries - Copyright Adrienne Z. Milligan — Slicing Strawberries – Copyright Adrienne Z. Milligan

Since I bought so many strawberries, I had strawberry juice and ends all over the table! Since I knew I would need to freeze some for making pies later, I had bowls for the sliced for pies and a bowl for the jam. After all, who doesn’t love Strawberry Pie, especially in the middle of winter?

How I froze strawberries for later use

Getting ready to freeze strawberries - Copyright Adrienne Z. Milligan — Getting ready to freeze strawberries – Copyright Adrienne Z. Milligan

I used Ziploc Quart Freezer Bags for the strawberries. I wrote date and the contents using a Sharpie Fine Point Permanent Marker. I loved seeing the bags in my freezer when I was done. It reminded me to include a pie on the menu down the road.

Pectin for Strawberry Freezer Jam

Pectin for Freezer Jam - Copyright Adrienne Z. Milligan — Pectin for Freezer Jam – Copyright Adrienne Z. Milligan

I found Cornaby’s Jam in a Jiffy – Instant Fresh or Freezer Jam Mix, No Cook, Low Sugar on the shelf at Wal-Mart. The pectin states “Gluten Free” on the front of the package. All pectin I have seen is Gluten Free. To be sure, read each label on every package.

Making Strawberry Freezer Jam

Mixing up Strawberries and Pectin - Copyright Adrienne Z. Milligan — Mixing up Strawberries and Pectin – Copyright Adrienne Z. Milligan

Making freezer jam is so easy with this pectin. Crush the strawberries. Stir in the pectin. Place jam into airtight containers then refrigerate or freeze. It takes longer to prepare the strawberries than it does to make the jam!

Enjoying Strawberry Freezer Jam

My family enjoys Strawberry Freezer Jam on Gluten Free Pancakes or Waffles. We also love a Peanut Butter & Jam Sandwich using the jam.

What do you use Strawberry Freezer Jam for in your home? Please share with me and my readers in the comment section.

~Adrienne