To blog or not to blog. . .

I won't be blogging for while. Needless to say, I've had a good scare, and can't be bothered to post anymore. Knowing that people I don't like or don't know purposely read my blog only to post comments I find inappropriate is just too much. That, and the thought of posting my recipes only to have someone else use and possibly make money from all my hard work makes my skin crawl.
So, wasalam for now, and perhaps in six months or so I'll post again.

Leslieville -Le Cafe Vert

Due to a letter I received from Sheldon N. Silverman, B.A., LL.B. Barrister, Solicitor and Notary threatening severe legal repercussions for stating my personal opinion I hereby apologize to Le Cafe Vert for any offense that may have been perceived from my right to speak my mind.

Hagman, Bette Bush	View/Sign Guest Book
Bette Bush HAGMAN, a.k.a., The Gluten-Free Gourmet Age 85, passed away peacefully on August 17, 2007 at her home in Seattle with her daughter, Karol, by her side. Bette was diagnosed with celiac disease, an intolerance to wheat, barley and rye, when she was around the age of 50. From that point forward, she dedicated herself to improving the quality of life for celiac sufferers worldwide. She was a self-taught food scientist who revolutionized gluten-free cooking by developing a number of non-gluten flour blends that replace wheat flour and dramatically expand the number of tasty foods that celiacs could prepare. Bette was an author, a teacher of writing, and a lecturer, speaking throughout the United States and Canada. Bette authored six cookbooks as Bette Hagman, a.k.a., The Gluten-Free Gourmet, and was in the middle of writing her seventh book when she passed away. Bette was a member of, and very involved with, The Writers Guild, Pacific Northwest Writer's Association, Puget Sound Sisters in Crime, and the Gluten Intolerance Group of North America for many years. The celiac community will dearly miss Bette for her energy and passion in helping to improve the lives of people with gluten intolerances through developing good tasting foods. Bette was born in Portland, Oregon, graduated from Estacadia High School at 16, and entered Linfield College, where she met Joe, her husband of 65 years. Bette spent her adult life in Seattle enjoying waterskiing, snowskiing, and golfing, as well as exploring the world on tours and cruises with her family and friends. She dearly loved the family vacation home on Stretch Island where the tranquil country setting invigorated the author in her and fostered her love of gardening. She is survived by her daughter, Karol, sister, Eva Jean, two step great-granddaughters, and numerous cousins, nieces, nephews, and in-laws. A Celebration of her Life will be held on Sunday, October 21, 2007. If you wish to attend, please contact Gluten Intolerance Group of North America at 253 833-6655 or gig@gluten.net. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to American Celiac Disease Alliance, ACDA, (Please annotate on the check, "In memory of Bette Hagman.") Mail to: ACDA, c/o Gluten Intolerance Group of America, 31214 124th Ave SE, Auburn, WA 98092.
Published in print on 9/16/2007. Reposted from http://www.legacy.com/nwclassifieds/deathnotices.asp?Page=SearchResults (The Seattle Times Company)

Foodie Blog Roll

For those of you interested in other Foodies Blogs, you can now link to them through The Foodie Blog Roll right beside this post.

More about Filo dough

The planned attempt at filo dough is now on the back burner until after we move : ( So is pide (or pita), and a couple of other things. Moving sucks.

Le Cafe Vert

I'm now happily and firmly ensconced in my new role of Sous Chef and Gluten Free Baker Extraordinaire at Le Cafe Vert. My husband is my boss, which is fun and most informative as he has more than 15 years in professional kitchens compared to my measly 4. It's such a joy to go into work and bake my own recipes after not being able too do that with any degree of regularity anywhere else I've worked. As the weeks progress, I'll be adding to the gluten free baked items that we're currently offering (Tarts, Vegan Brownies, Bread) and offering holiday treats: Pumpkin Tarts (or Pie), Gingerbread, Biscotti, Strawberry Shortcakes, Madelienes. . .the list goes on. For now, it'll be an item or two a week. (We're finally moving house in about 3 weeks.) Once Thanksgiving hits, (and hopefully as demand increases) I'll be adding more.

Hope to see you all there! : )

Xantham Gum

Xantham gum n. A natural gum of high molecular weight produced by culture fermentation of glucose and used as a stabilizer in commercial food preparation. (from answers.com)

It's expensive, can be hard to source and indispensable in gluten free baking. It adds much needed cohesion to gluten free baked goods, especially bread.

A couple of months ago, I switched from El Peto Xantham gum to a commercially available product from Grain Processors. There is a couple of substantial differences between the two. Commercial xantham gum is a finer powder and much more potent. I use about half as much of the commercial as I would have with the El Peto product. So, in recipes that I post please take that into account.