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Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Spring! Breathe Deeply!

        I don't know how the weather is where you are, but here, it is the blushing, bashful child, against whom you cannot hold the slightest grudge, even for the most abominable offense. The whole atmosphere, here is watching its toe drag through the dirt, in a cosmic " Aw shucks!- sorry about all the ice, and snow, and wind chill- but here are some chirping birds and little green things poking their heads out! "  


      New England, as does any place, has its own peculiar beauty. On the other hand, the harsh extremes one must endure to appreciate those windows have never really seemed a fair trade to me. 


     But, I love my kitchen, my bright teal oven mitts and, even my new allergy panel!


     If you follow me on FB, you'll know my food list has gotten smaller. Now, before you all exhale a collective sigh of pity, DON'T! This is fantastic news. That's not just sour grapes, or putting on a sunny face, no, no, no...


     This is what I wanted. See, I know how good I feel without the wheat. I wanted a more complete list, to further my healing!


     Okay, so there are some things I'll have to forgo,  former staples in my pantry, but all I can think about is how this will feel so much better. 


    Goodbye tomatoes and peas and nuts and beans and eggs, garlic, sesame and watermelon. I will love you all from afar, but I do not miss you more than I want to be well and happy and balanced.


    There were somethings I was not having at home, but indulging in whilst out and about, although I KNEW I should not. In those areas ( Soy and Dairy) I knew seeing it in print would bolster me against the temptations out here in the real world. 


    Is it okay to say I will miss that certain chain of coffee shops where I would get my weekly Soy Chai?  


     Plus, I'm Dana B, I can make hummus without sesame, I can make potato chips without safflower oil... I forgot to mention that one. And ginger?- at that there was a gulp... but then a release, okay, and a sigh when I saw my beautiful pickled ginger all pink and ready for my next sushi adventure, and my ginger tea, spicy and hot. What ev's! I laugh at you all now,  ( the allergens, not you my dear friends) as I breeze through the isles at the grocery store. 


     My list is so much simpler now. 


    And really, isn't that what we all want? Simple?


     I don't have to read labels on 'energy' bars, (I'll miss you LARA! - you're still the best!) or s'getti sauce, lunch meat, or chips... the few, minimally processed foods we did occasionally buy, are now off the list, SIMPLE is BETTER!


    This also challenges me to reach out into the realm of these other allergies, to gift you with whatever I discover and create along the way.


     So, cheers to us all for our limitless imaginations and creativity!


                                                                                  
     And, Keep those pictures coming in... only a  little time left!


     Ooh, Ooh, I almost forgot, look out for the "Hundred Bag Challenge" It's going to be a blast!




    




    

Friday, April 1, 2011

Ah, those little cheese crackers!

You know which ones I’m talking about.
For me, they were the staple treat at my Grandmama’s house. 
 That quaint white paper bag, 
                     The little farm on the outside,right?
After months of trials and perfecting 
( I know, this is where I am to say ‘trial and error’, but really, every attempt was so delicious, and quickly devoured, 
failure was never the case.), 
we came up with the perfect answer to your cravings.

Thank you for the prompting and patience!

So, here’s what they looked like.

And here’s how it went.

  -Evidence that yours truly, truly needs a food processor! See the lovely bits of cheese? ( In their own quarantined section of the world) 
Dana B, herself chopped it all down to microscopic, by hand. 

That is love!

If you have a Cuisinart, and a Kitchenaid, this project will take you about half the time it did in our test kitchen, but then you may not have time to get through War And Peace on audio before you crunch into your first cracker.

Crackers in the raw...



And, nicely toasted…








So, you decide which  you need most: time, or a bowlful of tiny crackers and a head full of classic Russian literature. 






I guess we know where I stand on it!


These did not last long…

X's n O's, because, 'You’ll love being free '™

I am not ready to post my own recipe, but I am happy to connect you to a fabulous site, from which I modified this recipe... 
and by 'modified' I simply mean 
I replaced the flour with DB's Best! 
Cup for Cup!


http://www.familyfreshcooking.com


Be sure to tell her Dana B sentcha!

I will be making theses again, so fun!

  I was just talking to a dear gluten free-er, the other day about how well the mixes are going, how everyone loves them and how it’s just now dawning on me how unusual my life is.
Not everyone wants to spend days on end working out a single, perfect brownie, cracker, or cookie.
Here, I thought I was giving you all this huge gift by sending our flour blend out into the world, but so many of you would love it all to be even simpler, to go from pantry to plate bypassing the cookbook, and only making the slightest ripple in your kitchen before mouth watering aromas begin to waft through your life.
I get it now, maybe. I am continuing to make eclairs, teeny crackers and loaves and loaves of bread (you won’t get that mix until perfection is achieved), and encourage you all to try it too,
 BUT, when something really fantastic comes along, something you’ve been missing and I can get it down to a science, for you to dump mix, bake and fall in love with, you will be the first to know.
And, if there’s something you see here that you simply cannot live without, just write. We can ship almost anything, almost anywhere.
We want you to love being free as much as we do!
What’s available? I keep forgetting to tell you!
Pancake/ Waffle mix, you know,
But did you know you can order:
Focaccia Mix?! One package makes two loaves of Herbed Focaccia.
(available unherbed, as well)
 This goes from the cutest little bag to hot from the oven in less than an hour.
One bowl, one pan!
About 5 minutes of mixing!
No mono or diglycerides!
If you ever made a pan of brownies from a mix,
You can make-
Dana B’s moist, light, incredibly delicious focaccia, for toast and sandwiches!
Yup! It holds together in the toaster!
My testers have been known to get a little misty and spontaneously hug me after their first bite.

The Best scone mix, anywhere!
We are selling this to Glutenistas (Gluten munching foodies)!- they love the product for being natural, simple, easy and fantastic!
I recommend the Cranberry Chocolate Chip, but the Back to Basics mix leaves room for you to go crazy with flavors of your own inspiration and gives you a place to start for my seasonal recipes!


Pizza Crusts, soon to be served at a restaurant near you! – but available in your home kitchen, now!
This is, hands down, the easiest pizza crust, well, ever! If you haven’t made a GF pizza crust yet, you may be surprised at how easy it is!  
This is another one being gobbled up by anyone and everyone, because it’s easy, fun, and a great introduction to the kitchen for kids, because no matter what, it comes out great!
Each package makes two 12-14 inch crusts.
 Make one for now and one for the freezer.
Available in classic and herbed.

So, here’s the update on the business front. The two co ops in our area are extremely interested in carrying our line. Imagine walking into the deli section and ordering a sandwich and having it served to you on tender, rich bread!
Want Dana B’s Best at a co op or specialty store near you?
Ask for it by name.
You can be a Gluten Free Foodie, without compromise!