When I first started working on this posting for my foodie blog, I thought about several titles.  Confused about gluten? How to have a gluten free lifestyle? or how about Gluten free, Why?  The problem is, today, there is so much confusion about “gluten free” cooking, how do you straighten it all out?  So here is my attempt to reduce some of that confusion for the uninitiated.

 First, what is GLUTEN anyway, and why is it so bad for humans? 

Gluten (from Latin gluten, “glue“) is a protein composite found in foods processed from wheat and related grain species, including barley and rye. It gives elasticity to dough, helping it to rise and to keep its shape, and often giving the final product a chewy texture.

 It is estimated that over 15% of the U.S. population (or one in seven) have a sensitivity to gluten.  That’s a huge number! Certain  people can develop what is called Celiac Disease.  Celiac disease is a serious disorder.  However, many people may not even know they have a sensitivity to gluten. Celiac disease or gluten sensitivity causes many unpleasant digestive disorders that can wreck havoc on a person’ life, and lead to such medical conditions such as: bloating, diarrhea, gas and flatulence, nausea, acid reflux, constipation,  or other conditions such as depression, autistic behaviors, joint pain, fatigue, infertility, ADD/ADHD, headaches, acne, bruising, night blindness, hair loss, eczema and more.

So how do you guard against this happening to you?  If you are already experiencing some of these conditions, eliminating wheat, barley, and rye products from your diet may be the answer to a healthier “gluten free” life style.  This means leaving out certain foods from your diet (here’s a partial list) Pasta, pizza, crackers, wheat breads, beer, cereal, pretzels, bagels, baked goods, cookies, etc.

Now you say huh?  Are your crazy? What‘s left to eat?  How can I give up bagels, pasta, beer and pizza?  Come on….you could do it.  Years ago, living a “gluten free” lifestyle was pretty difficult because many manufacturers were including “hidden gluten” in many of their products.  Today, there are many “gluten free” products on the market that can help everyone to lead a more normal life. Many manufacturers now include gluten information on their labels.  So check those nutrition labels on the side of every package . 

The question arises, should we be consuming wheat products at all? The fact  is, humans haven’t been consuming wheat, barley or rye for that many years along our total evolutionary timeline.  Our early ancestors didn’t even have these grains until many thousands of years later. For millennia human’s diets consisted of meat, vegetables, fruits and nuts.  I’m not recommending we return to the “stone age” but,  perhaps we could ALL lead a healthier lifestyle and feel better if we eliminated gluten from our diets.

Actually, there are far more foods that don’t contain gluten than do.  Beef, pork, poultry, fish, corn, nuts, seafood, vegetables, potatoes, legumes, eggs, fruit, dairy products and on and on.  Then there are the new “gluten free” products that are substitutes for many of the products on the “no-no” list. Super markets have “gluten free” sections where you can find many of these substitute brands. With a little hunting around, many grains that are gluten free: rice, tapioca, buckwheat, arrowroot, amaranth, quinoa, millet, taro root, and tef can be found.

One of the issues that “gluten freeers”  have to deal with is cross contamination.  If you have a “gluten freeer” in your home it can be tough to prevent cross contamination.  Therefore a little preplanning and care in the kitchen can mean a lot to gluten sensitive individuals. 

Gluten free dishes do not have to be flavorless and boring.  Try to stay away from prepared foods. Preparing foods with fresh ingredients will change your whole culinary experience. Your cooking will taste much better because you are using fresh produce.

Try this gluten free dish and see what I mean.

Green Chili Enchiladas with Lime

Ingredients                                                                                                       

8 fresh corn tortillas                                            

1/2 lb ground beef                                                                               

1/2 cup chopped red onion                                                                                

1-2 jalapeno peppers (diced)                                          

1-2  lime (juiced, about 4 TBS)                                            

1 cup grated cheese for inside of tortillas             

1 cup green chili sauce (small can)  

1 toe garlic (minced)                                                 

1/2 cup grated cheese for topping

cilantro or chives for garnish

sea salt

1. Brown ground beef in pan, add onions , garlic  

3. Stir in lime juice, cook one minute, remove from heat & let cool

4. Heat tortillas in microwave for 10 seconds (just to get them flexible)

5. Spread tortilla on cutting board, and place about 2-3 TBS meat mixture in

    lower third closest to you.

6. Add 1 tsp chopped peppers and 2 TBS grated cheese.

7. Roll up tortillas tightly and place in oiled baking dish (seam side down)

8. Pour green chili sauce over surface, then add remaining cheese on top

9. Bake in 350 oven for about 20 minutes or until bubbly or cover with plastic wrap, and micro on med for 2-3 minutes until heated through.

10. Garnish with cilantro  (serves about four people)

To sum up, GLUTEN is a large protein found in wheat, barley and rye that many people have a sensitivity to. By removing this protein from your diet, you can also eliminate numerous digestive disorders from your life.  If you are experiencing  problems with digestion, perhaps you could try living GLUTEN FREE and improve your health by preparing delicious foods with fresh ingredients.

I highly recommend the book Gluten-Free Cooking for Dummies, by Danna Korn, and Connie Sarros.  It will explain in depth the basis for starting a Gluten-Free lifestyle and improving your health for life.

About the Author:  Wellness Chef Doug Cordier, is a food writer, TV cook, Certified Ergonomic Consultant and business man. Doug is the owner of Cascom Group Travel and has been teaching corporate and Italian cooking classes for twenty years, plus leading culinary tours to their villa in Tuscany. For more foodie thoughts and recipes, try www.askthecooks.com  

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Pickled Green Tomatoes

So it’s the end of the growing season, and you have tons of those little hard green tomatoes still hanging on the vines……to small to make “fried green tomatoes”  but such a waste to throw them away.  What to do?  

Solution….make pickled green tomatoes…..it’s quick and really easy………and people will say “wow….what a great idea”

PICKELED GREEN TOMATOES

2 pounds (hard green tomatoes)

1 cup white vinegar

1 cup water

1 serrano pepper

2 bay leaves (optional)

6 toes fresh garlic

1 TBS black pepper corns

Small bunch of fresh dill

2 tsps kosher salt

Makes about two quart jars.

Directions:

Heat canning jars and lids in simmering water for ten minutes.

Wash tomatoes well and pack into sterile jars.

Add garlic, pepper corns, peppers, and dill.

Fill each jar to the top with hot vinegar solution.

Transfer to refrigerator for two days….that’s it!!!!!

About the Author  Part time chef Doug Cordier, is a food writer, TV cook, Certified Ergonomic Consultant and business man. Doug is the owner of Cascom Group Travel and has been teaching corporate and Italian cooking classes for twenty years, plus leading culinary tours to their villa in Tuscany.  For more foodie thoughts and recipes, try  www.askthecooks.com 

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As the story goes, 20 some years ago Dave Hohlfeldt , Doug Cordier and a group of close friends decided to have a “down home New England Seafood Party”   They all met at a nearby park with their gear and plenty of lobsters, clams, mussels  and shrimp.  Problem was, their method of cooking all this seafood was to employ a Coleman stove!  Needless to say……the water in their lobster pot never boiled……they ended up cooking the lobsters at a nearby friends home. . 

Embarrassed by the failure Dave and Doug, vowed to remedy the situation.  They cut the top off an old beer barrel and purchased their first 180,000 BTU burner.  From this point onward,  Dave and Doug  were now able to cook 35 lobsters at a time…..plus mussels and shrimp!  Seafood season was looking up.

Soon, word spread, Doug and Dave were doing back yard lobster parties for other groups and became know as the ”Lobster Boys”   Soon the Lobster Boys were in high demand for local charities….donating Lobster Parties for schools and private groups.   

“What a terrific party you Lobster Boys put on for me earlier this year!!  You supplied everything –  set up, decorations and of course the most delicious seafood ever!!  I loved you were both part of the party, and especially your “Lobster 101″ class.  All of my guests were particularly impressed, but not as impressed as I was.  They have all told me I have set a new bar for parties.  I can’t wait until I have the second annual Lobster Boys party again!           Jacquie Lauth, Grosse Pointe, Michigan”

The Lobster Boys master menu always includes:

*Mussels steamed in beer & herbs (with lemon garlic cream dipping sauce) 

*Spicy Monster Shrimp 

*Seafood Chowda/crusty French bread

*Table side prepared Caesar Salad

* Live Maine Lobstas

*Corn, redskin potatoes.  

After twenty plus years of donations, the Lobster Boys have raised between $80 – $90 K for local charities. Today, the Lobster Boys hire out mostly for private corporate parties, wedding receptions, and even Tiger Baseball players.  The Lobster Boys have been featured in many newspaper and magazine articles,  TV cooking shows and most recently a full page spread in the Detroit Free Press.  Now the Lobster Boys are willing to share one of their signature recipes…….SPICY   SHRIMP SAUTE’

Spicy Shrimp Saute’

                        12 jumbo shrimp (16 -20s, shell on)                                                   

2-3 TBS Tiger Sauce  

2 TBS Crystal Hot sauce          

3 TBS fresh lemon juice

3 TBS minced fresh garlic

¼  cup chopped green onions

¼  cup chopped parsley

3 TBS olive oil

2 TBS butter

3 TBS olive oil          

Instructions

1. In a large pan or wok, heat olive oil to very hot, add butter

2.  Add shrimp and toss rapidly

3. Add garlic and toss

3.  Add Tiger sauce &Crystalsauce

2. Add lemon juice, toss & thicken sauce

4. Stir in green onions

6. Turn onto platter, garnish with parsley

“They bring everything they need to cook with them. Basically, It’s worry free, and the soups are just outstanding”   “The more you have them, the more you look forward to them”    Janice and Lyle Acton, Amber Manufacturing, Frazer, MI

 CONTACT THE LOBSTER BOYS at 313-881-6699 or cascomgrp@aol.com

About the Author  Part time chef  Doug Cordier, is a food writer, TV cook, Certified Ergonomic Consultant and business man. Doug is the owner of Cascom Group Travel and has been teaching corporate and Italian cooking classes for twenty years, plus leading culinary tours to their villa in Tuscany.  For more foodie thoughts and recipes, try  www.cookingwithcordier.com 

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FUNGI…….the call that Italians love to sound when they find mushrooms growing in the wild.  

On my way to a board meeting last evening at dusk, I spied a small patch of Shaggy Manes or coprinus comatus  growing along the side of the road on Lake St. Clair, inMichigan.  Early the next morning, I snuck back to the same spot hoping no one else had seen them.  Sure enough, there they were, standing up in the dew of the new day…….lots of them.  I harvested about fifteen mushrooms, cutting them off with my Swiss Army knife….carefully leaving at least half of them to re-spore for the next season.  Like most mushrooms, Shaggys, Lawyer’s Wigs or Inkys do not pop up every year. 

Through out history, mushrooms have been viewed as being mysterious.  Mushrooms have a large underground root system called the mycelium, the mushroom part is the fruiting body which emerges only when certain conditions occur.  Thus many mushrooms “appear” overnight like magic.  The fruiting bodies contain spores.  These spores spring forth from gills located usually under the cap. Hopefully, these spores will start new mushrooms, and the beat goes on.

When you hear the words WILD MUSHROOMS most people want to run away. Stories of people dying after eating wild mushrooms are certainly true but usually very rare. 

The reason why I love Shaggy Manes is because they are almost foolproof to indentify. The bell shaped cylindrical cap is about four inches high, covered with tan scales, looking much like a British lawyer’s wig.  Shaggy Manes can be found through out the northernUnited States, usually in the fall.  They occur in clusters, or sometimes in “fairy rings”.  Once they emerge, they grow very fast.  You have to harvest them quickly because as soon as they emerge, within hours, they start to spore.  Shaggy Mane mushrooms are also called Inkys for this reason. Literally, Shaggy Manes will become a black mass of inky goo in just hours.  This process is called “deliquesce”  Shaggy Mane ink was actually used for writing during George Washington’s day.  

Now the best part. The reason why all mushroom hunters get excited about stalking these elusive delicacies.  You get to eat them!  What a treat.The flavor of shaggy manes is very delicate.  All you have to do is lightly sauté them in a little butter and enjoy.  

Shaggys sauted in butter……the best!

About the Author  Part time chef  Doug Cordier, is a food writer, TV cook, Certified Ergonomic Consultant and business man. Doug is the owner of Cascom Group Travel and has been teaching corporate and Italian cooking classes for twenty years. For more foodie thoughts and recipes, try www.askthecooks.com 

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He arrived with his driver at our Bologna hotel at 7:30 am sharp, in a beautiful Mercedes nine passenger van.  The background music in the van is compliments of Dean Martin (who else).  Our first stop is the Parmesan Reggiano factory where we see the fresh milk coming in from the local farms. Alessandro introduces us to the head cheese maker and his nine year old son. We witness the addition of rennin and separation of the curds into giant cheese cloths, and then into forms allowing the cheese to age in specially salted tanks of water.  Next we visit the thermostatically controlled rooms for aging and final testing of the KING of CHEESES.   

Next, with a supply of REALLY FRESH ricotta, we travel to a beautiful farm and villa  in Modena where we will taste samples of the original Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena.  As the story goes, the owners of this historic villa discovered twelve ancient barrels of balsamic vinegar in the attic when they bought the property in 1947.

Like liquid gold, they have been producing and marketing this original product ever since. After meeting the owners, we are treated to 10, 25, and 45 year old aceto over our fresh ricotta AND vanilla gelato!  Can life get better than this?…yes it can, and Alessandro will make it possible.

Next it’s off to visit the Prosciutto di Modena DOP factory where we see the freshly butchered and salted legs of specially selected prime pork. Again , Alessandro escorts us on a very personal and “up close”  experience as the legs of prosciutto go through a process that will take many months of pain staking processing before they are graded and finally attain the highest designation as Prosciutto di Modena DOP.

After sampling the delicious sweet and slightly salty delicacy we’re back in the van and headed for a “light lunch” in a little trattoria high in the bucolic hills of Modena.  Many kilometers later of mountain roads we arrive at the ancient farm house.  Alessandro explains that this special trattoria is frequented only by locals, and run by the 89 year old female chef.  I have been sworn not to reveal the name or location of this piece of nirvana.  Our “light lunch”  begins with FOUR exquisite pastas!  Amazing lasagna verde, tortellini that has ruined me forever,  tagliatelle with wild boar sauce and giant spinach stuffed  agnolotti.   Next its coniglio arrosto (roasted rabbit) and more tender chunks of cinghiale (wild boar )   Of course, the meal is accompanied by an endless re-supply of white sparkling wine (Pignoletto) indigenous to the Bologna area .

After delicious berries and fresh gelato we are helped back into the Mercedes in a total food/wine coma…to be delivered back to the door of our wonderful boutique Hotel PortoSan Mamolo  http://www.hotel-portasanmamolo.it/en/index.htm   at 4:30 pm.

Favorite Bologna Hotel ........ Porta San Mamolo

This has been a full eight hour day of FOODIE heaven…..and all because of the greatest food/wine guide in Italy.  So if you are ever  thinking of visiting  Bologna, don’t forget to hire Alessandro to be your guide. www.italiandays.it.   Or e-mail him at info@italiandays.it.    Buon Appetitto! 

About the Author  Part time chef  Doug Cordier, is a food writer, TV cook,       Certified Ergonomic Consultant and business man. Doug is the owner of Cascom Group Travel and has been teaching corporate and Italian cooking classes for twenty years. For more foodie thoughts and recipes, try www.cookingwithcordier.com 

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Calamari in Wine Sauce with peas and rice

My first encounter with calamari was in San Sebastian, Spain where calamari fritos are sold on the streets. Big rings of sweet squid are breaded and then deep fried in lard (pig fat rules)  until crispy.  It just doesn’t get any better than that! Over the years calamari has become my favorite treat. I love it fried, sautéed, broiled, grilled, marinated in salads, or in a seafood stew like the recipe below.

Calamari needs to be either cooked FAST or VERY SLOWLY and LOW or it will turn into rubber. Nutritionally, squid is a very good source of protein. 4 oz yields 16 grams of protein, 92 calories and only 1.5 grams of fat……….however, and this is a WARNING for some of you………4 oz of squid is loaded with LDL cholesterol (250 Mg bad cholesterol! ) The highest concentration appears to be in the tentacles.  So if you’re a calamari lover and watching your cholesterol limit your intake of this versatile seafood delight.  

Calamari in wine sauce

Squid in classic wine & tomato sauce

1  2 LB package of frozen squid (thawed)

3 toes garlic minced

2 TBS oyster sauce (optional)

3 TBS tomato paste

1 cup finely chopped red onions

2 TBS flour

1 small can tomato sauce

1 ½ cup dry red wine

2 TBS chopped thyme leaves

1 cup parsley leaves

Fresh ground pepper

Pinch sea salt

2 TBS olive oil for frying

Finishing olive oil and parmesan cheese for garnish (optional)

1. Thaw calamari in frig, drain, pat dry
2.  Add olive oil to heavy pan, fry squid for two minutes, add onions & garlic
3. Sauté onions, garlic, add paste, oyster sauce, flour, thyme, salt & pepper
4. Add wine, cook 2-3 minutes to reduce
5. Cover and cook for 50 minutes in 285 oven
6. Anoint with finishing olive oil & sprinkle of parmesan cheese (optional)
7. Serve with rice, peas, light salad & crusty bread.

Yields 4-5

About the Author  Part time chef  Doug Cordier, is a food writer, TV cook, Certified Ergonomic Consultant and business man. Doug is the owner of Cascom Group Travel and has been teaching corporate and Italian cooking classes for twenty years. For more foodie thoughts and recipes, try www.askthecooks.com                 

Recipe and photo copyright 2010 , Cooking with Cordier, All Rights Reserved

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