Category: Gluten-Free Pantry

The key to a successful gluten-free kitchen is a well-stocked pantry. Here we explore some common (and uncommon!) foods to keep on hand for great gluten–free meals.

Plant-Based Proteins

As mentioned, protein is something I worry about. Being gluten free, I no longer get benefit of the protein in whole wheat, though I have, as mentioned, added in other gluten-free whole grains. My tendency in the past was to head straight for the carbs. And while I *do* sometimes retreat to my comfort foods, I have become a voracious vegetable consumer (sorry mom!). In swapping one food for another, I find that I have to remember to add protein to my meals. Continue reading “Plant-Based Proteins”

Homemade Condiments

I spend Sunday afternoons doing lunch prep, weeknight meal prep, and making fun stuff like condiments. Once I learned how crazy easy it is to make some of the foods I use all the time, I became an evangelist for saving money on certain items (dear every friend I have, I do apologize for my behavior, and, look!, I made you mustard!). Continue reading “Homemade Condiments”

Gluten-Free Pantry — GF Flours to Keep on Hand

For various reasons, I keep a supply of gluten-free flours on hand, mostly due to, I am sad to say, my brief efforts at gluten-free baking. These days, I mostly use these flours for specific recipes, and, sigh, thickeners. The lesson I took away from my naive, young, wide-eyed baking experiment was that it took too many ingredients, too much time. Continue reading “Gluten-Free Pantry — GF Flours to Keep on Hand”

Missing Soy Sauce? Try This Instead

Between you, me, and the wall, I was in the “ain’t never gonna buy or try something call fish sauce” for many years. Let’s face it: the name doesn’t sound appealing. And, well, you know, fish sauce. I was pretty sure I’d hate it.

I didn’t. It was love at first bit. It became an addiction. The kind of addiction that had me making gratuitous fried rice and dipping sauces just so I could get my fish sauce fix (hello spring rolls!). I started sneaking the stuff into dishes where no fish sauce had been contemplated before (when I added it to my caramelized onion dip, I got raves). Continue reading “Missing Soy Sauce? Try This Instead”

GF Pantry: Gluten-Free Panko Crumbs

When it comes to pantry staples, I like to focus on items that are not pricey gluten-free specialty items. Often, there are better substitutes or alternate cooking methods that will save you money and time. One exception, for me, is gluten-free panko bread crumbs.

Traditional panko is made from crustless bread, resulting in light, airy bread crumbs. They are popular in Japanese cooking, and I loved them in my pre-GF life due to their ability to get crispy and stay crispy. I’ve found they don’t require a lot of extra seasoning to taste good. Continue reading “GF Pantry: Gluten-Free Panko Crumbs”

The Shelf-Life of Gluten-Free Bread

After I’d been gluten-free for a while, I decided to explore GF breads. I wasn’t in much of a hurry since I hadn’t heard rave reviews on these non-wheat based breads, and I wanted to get out of the habit of eating bread — I figured if I kept bread as a major part of my diet, I’d continue to miss regular bread.

Once the regular habit was broken, I introduced bread back into my diet in small quantities (half the time these days, I forget I have a loaf in the freezer!). GF bread is pricey and I don’t have a lot of time for making really good stuff from scratch (though I am trying!), so I don’t buy a lot of it.

The thing that shocked me the most came when I was checking out options online — at that point, Whole Foods was the only store in my immediate area that carried GF breads, and, well, Whole Foods is also pricey. Since I wasn’t sure I’d like the stuff, I didn’t want to invest in bread as much as explore it. Continue reading “The Shelf-Life of Gluten-Free Bread”