Musings (my blog)

I don't write very often, but when I do write I try to make the words useful in some way ;) For 2011, my goal is to use this space to provide a lot of information about allergy friendly (specifically gluten-free) cooking. Please leave your comments, suggestions, questions, and enjoy!

Five of my Favorite Things - Post 2
posted by rain on Aug 26, 2011

spicesWelcome to post #2 listing five of my favorite things! This week's post is inspired by my Kung Fu classmate's email this morning, asking what he could do with quinoa and red lentils. Also in this post: Tcho chocolate, Savory Spice Shop and buckwheat pancakes.

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Five of my Favorite Things - Post 1
posted by rain on Aug 23, 2011

home grown sweet potatoesThe first of many upcoming blog posts featuring exciting things for the gluten-free folk like me, this post features homemade soda, coconut ice cream, farm fresh veggies, home grown sweet potatoes and homemade pumpkin doughnut drops!

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In Honor of Laura Ziskin
posted by rain on Jul 16, 2011

Laura Ziskin just before launching SU2C.orgA few weeks ago I read a Hollywood Reporter headline that made me catch my breath: "Spiderman Producer Laura Ziskin Dies."

.... Reading about Laura's passing, however, triggered another very different realization for me.

I suddenly...

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Classic Pancakes - gluten-free vegan style
posted by rain on Mar 5, 2011

coconut potato pancakesJon and I have a Sunday morning tradition: pancakes. This Sunday, however, I'll be on a plane to DrupalCon Chicago, so we decided to do our pancake "date" this fine Saturday morning instead. We usually make our favorite gluten-free/dairy-free buckwheat pancakes, but this morning...

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Cupcake Experiments
posted by rain on Feb 23, 2011

gluten-free vegan cupcakesEver since my scrumptious discovery of BabyCakes, I've been experimenting with making my own interesting cupcakes.  Making a moist, fluffy, gluten-free vegan cake definitely takes practice (and a fair amount of...

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BabyCakes!
posted by rain on Jan 30, 2011

Jon and I just had a fantastic adventure at BabyCakes NYC in downtown Los Angeles.

Their cupcakes and vanilla-frosting-filled cookie sandwiches were delicious, and they were gluten, soy, dairy and egg free (therefore, entirely "Rain-friendly").

I was a kid in a candy store when I walked in there, giddy and goofy while telling the unfortunate gentleman behind the counter "I want one of those, and one of those, and two of those, ooh, and one of those, and...

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Gluten-free french toast
posted by rain on Dec 31, 2010

Breakfast this fine morning was gluten-free french toast. 

I made a lovely batch of Coffee-Molasses bread from a recipe I got through Whole Foods just before Christmas, but I forgot to add the xanthan gum and so the bread was, well, very very crumbly. 

This morning, I decided to rescue the bread by turning it into french toast, and it turned out delicious! This obviously isn't egg-free, so...

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gluten-free dough is STICKY!
posted by rain on Dec 31, 2010

My cooking this holiday season has been dedicated to making the perfect gluten-free, soy-free, dairy-free, egg-free pumpkin pie.  I think the last pie I made might have been a success, and so it is now time to take it out into the world and see if others agree.  (My hope is to start selling it!)

In the process, I've made a few crusts both from dough and also from cookies. Specifically,...

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Coconut Milk
posted by rain on Dec 29, 2010

Jon and I have recently discovered that coconut milk can be the perfect substitute for almost anything requiring "milk" or "heavy cream." 

To replace milk, use light coconut milk.

To replace heavy cream, use full-fat coconut milk.

The coconut flavor is not evident when used in cooking, and it gives you a great creamy texture. We've been using coconut milk successfully for everything from ice cream to the gluten-free pot pie we made last night.

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Final Grandfather Clock Adventure Travelogue
posted by rain on Nov 2, 2010
This final travelogue has taken me a bit longer than expected. We arrived home last Wednesday evening to a house full of happy cats and, well, a whole lot of work piled up. Unfortunately, I'll need to keep this one short, since the work is still quite overwhelming ;) We woke very early on Wednesday morning in the hopes of getting to Cedar Breaks for the sunrise light, and were well on our way by 6:30am. The sun began to show over the mountainous horizon at around 7:15am, so our timing was...
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