Cooking with Mumu: [Update] There are 2 new posts in "Simply Recipes"

Simply Recipes

Here is the Simply Recipes update for cookingwithmumu@gmail.com

New England Fish Chowder
Cooking Gluten-Free

There are 2 new posts in "Simply Recipes"

New England Fish Chowder

My first job out of college was in Boston, in the financial district downtown. My local friends did their best to inculcate this wide-eyed Californian to New England traditions of every sort, especially food. We feasted on indian pudding at Durgin Park, as many menu items as we could afford at the Union Oyster House and the No Name Restaurant, and $5/lb lobsters I would buy from the Italian fish monger across the street from where I lived in the North End. One dish I could never get enough of was "chowdah". Clam chowder, fish chowder, seafood chowder, whatever, I loved it. New England style chowder is white, with cream and potatoes. No tomatoes. It's thick, rich, and creamy. You can bury it in little oyster crackers.

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Cooking Gluten-Free

Please welcome Simply Recipes guest author Karina Allrich of the gorgeous and ever informative food blog, Karina's Kitchen: Gluten-free Recipes. Karina is kicking off a series of articles on gluten-free cooking and recipes. ~Elise

Imagine if you were told you had to give up bread. And pasta. And cookies! Here's a statistic for you. Roughly three million people in the U.S. have to do just that. The reason? Celiac disease. Celiac is an autoimmune disorder that is triggered by eating gluten, the sticky elastic protein in wheat, rye, barley, and spelt that makes pizza dough stretchy and bagels pleasantly chewy. The cure is a gluten-free diet.

Learning to cook gluten-free is a challenge, but not an insurmountable one. Armed with accurate information and a hefty dash of patience, scratch cooks can adapt most recipes to gluten-free. Here are a few beginner's tips to get you started.

Keep it simple. Focus on whole, naturally gluten-free foods. A good place to start? Fresh plain meat, poultry, and fish (check labels for added broths, seasonings and marinades that may contain gluten). Whole eggs and plain cheeses (again, read labels for added ingredients; whole milk products, plain and block cheeses are generally safer than their low fat or fat free cousins). Dairy based products such as milk, yogurt, sour cream and butter are safe if additive-free. Vegetarians can enjoy legumes, nuts, seeds, and plain tofu for protein. Vegetables and fruit are gluten-free. Potatoes are a lifesaver (many a night I have based a meal around baked or mashed potatoes).

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