Planning for a Disaster

With all the bombings, threats, nuclear accidents, pandemic scares, crazy weather etc., I think it is wise to have a disaster plan in place.

You will need enough potable water (for drinking and making food) to last at least 72 hours, but you will also want enough water to flush the toilet, wash dishes, wash yourselves etc. (If you live near a lake or river, you might be able to get water there – but not in the case of flooding! When there is flooding, there is the chance of raw sewage going where it normally wouldn’t)

You will also need light. Candles are dangerous, especially around children or pets, so go with battery powered light.  You can buy flashlights that wind up to charge them and lanterns that run on battery power.  Be sure to have plenty of batteries on hand too.  Also, stock up on things like toilet tissue and feminine products.

You should also have a first aid kit on hand.  Plenty of  gauze pads, tape, bandages, cloth to make a sling, rubbing alcohol, a splint or two, Polysporin, an eye patch, scissors, baby aspirin (in case of chest pains), and pain relievers such as Tylenol.

If you have the space to keep one, a generator could keep your furnace running for warmth in winter months or your refrigerator in hot weather.Don’t forget to safely store some fuel for the generator.

Food is probably the most important thing you will need.

My friend Teri of Teri’s Gluten Free can help with this.

Simply go to http://www.glutenfreeemergencykits.com/

Teri’s Gluten Free offers several emergency kits;

24 hour – for 6 people

72 hour – for 6 people

30 day – for 6 people  and

1 year – for 6 people.

The shelf life on these items is 10 years!

Each item is vacuum sealed and the kits don’t take up a lot of space.

What about taste you ask?  I was lucky enough to sample several items.  The soups are just like home-made.  I took the banana bread and one of the soups to the fire hall I work at and they loved them! There are even scrumptious desserts! Teri is gluten free herself, so you know that all of the foods in these kits is safe and delicious.  Aunt Jayne’s Favourite?  The Gluten Free South Western Soup.

Teri’s Gluten Free also has mixes you can purchase for everyday use.  They are wonderful!  This is a great way to see how good the emergency kit foods are.

You might also want to keep some canned meats on hand.  Although, if your freezer stops working you may have plenty of meat that will need to be cooked.

Now you might be asking yourself, how will I cook these things if there is no electricity?  Do you own a BBQ? Even if you don’t have a lot of space for a BBQ, you can get a propane camp stove.  Don’t forget to keep extra bottles of propane on hand too.  Never use your BBQ or camp stove indoors!! The carbon monoxide will kill you.

Last and least, you will want to have things to do as a family to help pass the long hours with no electricity.  I suggest playing cards, books and board games.  You can also make up your own games.  tossing balled up paper into a waste basket etc.

Let me know if you think of any other ideas and stay safe.

Love Aunt Jayne

Planet Rice – My New Favourite Rice

I recently acquired several bags of Planet Rice lightly milled sprouted brown rice.

You might say that brown rice is brown rice. I beg to differ!

This rice cooks up light and fluffy every time.  I tried the traditional method of cooking in a saucepan on the stove top as well as in my trusty rice cooker and both methods were immensely successful.

Have you ever had a bag of brown rice with crunchy bits?  I have.

But Planet Rice lightly milled sprouted brown rice had nary a one!  I couldn’t believe it!

This rice works great in recipes too. (You can get recipes on their site)  I tried fried rice and rice pudding.  I tried it in casseroles too.  I also mixed it with wild rice and topped it with pepper sauce. (YUM!)  Next time I make cabbage rolls (soon) I will be using Planet Rice lightly milled sprouted brown rice.

I have been staying away from white rice because of all the media reports of high levels of arsenic and because I prefer the taste of brown rice.   But, as I said earlier – crunchy bits.  I am so happy that I have been introduced to Planet Rice!  I is my new favourite.

Visit Planet Rice today!

 

Gluten Free Samples At Holly’s Sweets and Eats!

I met my sister in town this morning and we treated ourselves to tea at Holly’s Sweets and Eats.

Today we had the Caramel Apple squares and I have to tell you, they were incredibly good.  We also sampled the fresh GF bread that was being made – soft and airy with a lovely flavour.

I must admit, though, that the best thing was the lemon square we sampled.  It tasted like my grandma’s lemon pie!!  I think that will be my new favourite thing from Holly’s (until I try another of their scrumptious creations)

You might remember, I purchased our chocolate cake for girls day out from Holly’s as well.  (There is an addiction!)

Holly’s is having a GF sample day on the first Saturday after Thanksgiving!

I am hoping to be there – hope to see you there as well

Here is where you can find Holly’s Sweets and Eats:

12 Commerce Park Drive,
Unit L, Barrie, Ontario

Phone: 705.735.3366
Fax:  705.735.6509

info@hollyssweetsandeats.com

Convenient Hours of Operation
Mon to Thurs: 8am to 6pm
Friday:             8am to 8pm
Saturday:        8am to 4pm

Aunt Jayne’s Gluten Free Honey BBQ Sauce

INGREDIENTS

1 ½ tbs olive oil

1 cup ketchup (check the ingredients)

1 cup white vinegar

¼ cup molasses

¾ cup honey

¼ cup GF Worcestershire sauce ( See recipe  http://wp.me/prAld-aJ)

1 medium onion, minced

½ tsp paprika

1 tsp minced garlic

½ tsp dried marjoram

½ tsp cumin.

DIRECTIONS

In a large saucepan, over medium high heat, warm the oil.

Add the minced onion and garlic cook until lightly browned.

Add remaining ingredients, stir well  and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat and simmer until thickened.

Remove from heat and cool.

Store in the refrigerator in a container with a lid.

Gluten Free Too Busy to Cook Soup

INGREDIENTS

1 can diced tomatoes with herbs

2 cups frozen mixed veggies + ¼ cup diced onion

11/2 cups GF vegetable broth

¼ tsp basil

¼ tsp ground rosemary

¼ tsp fresh ground pepper

 

 

DIRECTIONS

In a large pot, bring the veggies to a boil in the vegetable broth.

Toss the tomatoes into a blender and liquefy.

Add the tomatoes and spices to the veggies and simmer about 10 minutes.

DONE!

 

Variation:

Add left-over chicken breast cut into cubes.

Use GF chicken broth instead of veggie broth.

 

NOTE:  I don’t normally like to use canned or prepackaged foods but as long as they are organic and GMO free, I will make an exception once in a while.

 

If you have the time, you can make this soup from scratch:

INGREDIENTS

6 large ripe plum tomatoes, blanched, skinned and put through the blender

1 ½ cups GF vegetable broth

½ cup green beans cut into ¼ inch pieces

½ cup fresh diced carrots

½ cup chopped celery

½ cup chopped onion

1 tbs minced garlic

¼ tsp basil

¼ tsp ground rosemary

¼ tsp fresh ground pepper

 

DIRECTIONS

In a large pot, combine all of the ingredients except the tomatoes.

Bring to a boil and drop heat to low.

Add the tomatoes.

Simmer for about 30 minutes.

Serve while hot

NuNaturals Has Added Citrus To Their Line-up!

I love NuNaturals NuStevia products, so when I found out that they had pure liquid Lemon NuStevia and pure liquid Orange NuStevia, I jumped at the chance to try them out.

Here was my chance to develop some gluten free, sugar free citrus treats!

NuNaturals is an Oregon company that has been in business for 20 years. They produce only quality, all-natural products.

I have only made a few things with these products so far, but the flavour is so wonderful, I couldn’t wait to share this with my favourite folks – my readers.

You need to go, right now, to www.nunaturals.com and get these easy-to-use delicious flavours for yourself, then try the recipes here and on their site. (Or make your own)

My next two posts are two of the recipes I have developed so far.  I hope you enjoy them as much I my BF and I.

Simply G Free – Support For A Gluten Free Lifestyle

I recently acquired some very handy items for living gluten free from a company called Simply G Free.  The name really says it all.

The products are all meant to help you live gluten free more simply and help avoid cross-contamination.

The metal kitchen tags are clearly marked “gluten free” and can be affixed to any pot handle or cooking implement that has a small hole.  I have put mine on my pasta claw, my favourite pot and my measuring spoons.

The rectangle stickers are great for the fridge or freezer for left-overs and make-aheads. They don’t come off in the freezer, like some stickers and you can easily put them on your plastic or glass containers or storage bags.

I use the oversized star shaped stickers when I go to the bulk store, so that my gluten free items are easily recognized and there is room on them if you want to write what the item is.

I also got a simplygfree bracelet which has not left my wrist since I put it on. It is a great reminder to friends, family and wait staff that I must eat gluten free and it also helps to raise awareness.

You can get all of the above-mentioned items in a kit or you can purchase them separately.

Simply go to www.simplygfree.com and order these reasonably priced items.  Check out the entire website while you are there and you will find valuable information on cross-contamination and so much more.

Honey Baked Chicken Breasts

INGREDIENTS
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3 tbs cup butter, melted
4 tbs honey
1tsp GF Dijon style mustard
Pinch of curry powder

DIRECTIONS
Place the chicken pieces into the slow cooker.
Combine the butter, honey, mustard and curry powder in a small bowl and mix well.

Place chicken in an oven proof casserole dish.
Pour mixture over chicken pieces.

Cover and cook on low for 1 hour. (Baste about ½ way through)
Serve over brown rice and have a spinach salad on the side.

Serves 2

Astoria Mills – Gluten Free Baking Mixes

Feel good and enjoy all the foods you love again!

About Astoria Mills

Certified Gluten Free

Gluten Free – Lab Tested – NO DETECTABLE GLUTEN

Kosher Parve

Blended in a Dedicated and Certified Gluten Free Facility

Facility is HACCP

Pharmaceutical Grade Blending

Made in Canada

Premium Blends

7 Mix Baking Mix System works together to make anything you want – gluten free!

Superior Taste – you can serve anyone!

Bulk Blends – 20 Kg Bags

Artisan Quality – gluten free!

Commercial Baker tested, Chef tested, Restaurant tested, Customer tested, Celiac tested

Nutritionally Enhanced with proprietary Vitamin and Mineral Formula

Contain Resistant Starch for added nutrition

Store Support

Your store/bakery location profiled on our website

Your store/bakery mentioned on Facebook – 23,000 plus members and growing

See Thru, Resealable Packaging

QR Code on each package for in-store shoppers with Smart Phones

Shipped from Ontario

Customer Support

Gluten Free Baking Classes online video

Instructional Videos for each mix

Free eCookbook with 300+ Recipes and a Chapter for each mix

Suggested Menu Planning for Gluten free families

Starting a GF Diet Plan for newly diagnosed gluten intolerants or celiacs

In -Store Demonstrations in some areas

Gluten Free Workshops & Cooking Classes

How Does the Astoria Mills Cooking and Baking System work?

Below is an brief explanation of the Astoria Mills Baking System and what you can make using

these mixes. For exact easy to follow step by step recipes see the Astoria Mills Gluten Free

Cookbooks (an e-book by Trina Astor-Stewart.

A. THREE BASIC FLOUR MIXES (Corn is all non-GMO)

Because no one gf flour blend will do it all, Astoria Mills believes you should have the best mix

for whatever item you want to make. Use these three Basic Mixes in your favorite recipes or

utilize our 100’s of already tested traditional style recipes from the Astoria Mills Gluten Free ECookbook.

The recipes are in easy step by step format, easy for the novice cook to follow, as

well as the experienced baker

All Purpose Flour – Mix #1

An Enriched blend containing white rice flour, potato and corn.

Use to make gluten free: Muffins, pancakes, snack cakes, cookies, pan breads, biscuits, crumble

toppings, roux sauces, deep fry batters, use for dredging and coating meats, fish and

vegetables. (also used in combination with Astoria Mills Pastry Flour – Mix #2 in various recipes)

Pastry Flour – Mix #2

An Enriched blend containing sweet rice flour, potato and corn.

·        Aztec Harvest Blend – Mix #4

Whole Grain/Germinated Seed Blend

Both a flour and a stand alone mix. Make gluten free: Flat breads, hot porridge, chappatti, artisan breads, pumpernickel bread, add to any recipe for more whole grain/germinated seed goodness. Corn free.

·        Pizza & Bagel – Mix #5

Make gluten free:Pizza, bagels, pitas, kaiser rolls, baguettes, artisan breads, donuts.

A complete mix, all you add are liquids.

·        Brown Bread Mix – Mix #6

Make gluten free: Sandwich Breads, Hamburger/Hot Dog Buns, Dinner & Sub Style Rolls, Pitas & Donuts – Rice Free.

·        White Bread Mix – Mix #7

Make gluten free: Sandwich breads, hamburger buns, hot dog buns, sub-style buns, dinner rolls, pitas, Texas Toast, Braided Challah, donuts, artisan breads.

Use to make gluten free: Pies, pastry, cookies, yeast breads, biscuits, scones, moist chocolate

muffins, cakes and brownies. Also use to make: puddings, gravies and a flour with which to

knead dough and to dust baking pans.

Fine Flour – Mix #3

An Enriched blend containing potato and corn

Use to make gluten free: Tortes, fine cakes, crepes, breads, biscuits, fresh pasta, pierogis,

wraps, lasagna noodles, phyllo dough, use as a kneading and dusting mix.

Astoria Mills gluten free mixes for breads, pizzas, buns, main dishes and desserts.

You can tell the difference when you taste it !

www.AstoriaMills.ca

Girl’s Day Out! A Gluten Free Success

Girl’s Day Out – April 2012

Sometimes it just seems necessary to get together with a bunch of other women and have a good time.

Yesterday, my girls and I got together.

We met at my mom’s place and from there we went to Pizza Dee’s in Wasaga Beach, Ontario.

My mom and her friend go there quite often and she suggested that would be a good place to have our girl’s day out lunch because they offer a gluten free menu.

Mom was right!

Pizza Dee’s employs the cutest little waitress and I am kicking myself for not getting her name.  This girl went out of her way to make sure we had a great time.

The food was great and there was lots of it.  Price? Absolutely affordable.

My gluten free pizza was yummy. (I am having the left-overs tonight for dinner at work)

The other girls all had the pizza/salad deal and lunch was enjoyed by all.

Our Dessert was a wonderful gluten free chocolate layer cake that I purchased from Holly’s Sweets & Eats on Commerce Drive in Barrie.

 

 

 

 

I can’t get over how absolutely gorgeous the cake was and like all of the other treats I have tried from Holly’s, it was incredibly good.

I think this day did us all a world of good and we will be doing another soon.

Thanks for listening,

Aunt Jayne