Help for those with chicken egg allergies

Above is a photo of a carton of pasture raised, grade A duck eggs. Most people would ask why in the world would you want duck eggs? Actually, it is because we have a couple of family members who are allergic to chicken eggs and sometimes people with a chicken egg allergy can tolerate duck eggs since they are more alkaline than chicken eggs.

I was a little surprised by this but there is enough difference with these eggs to make them OK for some people with egg-related allergies. Before substituting duck eggs, you should check with a health professional to make sure it would be a safe food to try. In our case, duck eggs were one of the recommended foods. We were ecstatic because baking is very hard to do without eggs.

Where do you find duck eggs? I found them at a local farm, 180 Degree Farm. These are ducks fed an organic diet and though they were expensive compared to chicken eggs, they are great for an occasional treat for someone who can't eat regular eggs.

One thing you will notice about a duck egg -- they are equal to one and a half chicken eggs. Their shells are a big tougher and harder to crack, too. They have more protein so they are supposed to beat more stiffly than chicken eggs. There is a little more fat and the yolks are large. This all can make quite a difference in a recipe. I have read that because of this, some chefs prefer duck eggs for cakes because they give it more lift.

This is new territory for me. From now on, if you see some of recipes including duck eggs, you will know why. Again, before trying them, check with a health professional, but if you like eggs and can't eat them, or if you would love a light and airy cake, but must stay away from chicken eggs, this is worth a try.

By the way, when scrambled these eggs are so tasty I could hardly believe it. Definitely worth a try.

Our Gluten-free Memorial Day Meal

I have really enjoyed seeing all the pictures from my friends who participated is lots of fun activities over the weekend - almost as much as I enjoyed our restful weekend at home with my little family. At the end of the day meal, we enjoyed some grilled chicken and kielbasa, cheesy quinoa, corn on the cob, and a nice spinach salad.

Grilling the chicken also gave me the chance to try this Fly By South White BBQ marinade (and sauce, but I used it as a marinade), which was fabulous. It is gluten, soy, and sugar free, and gave the chicken a great flavor without a lot of work. I simply poured a generous about coating both sides of the chicken and let it sit for a half hour before grilling.

I also used this White Dipping Sauce as a salad dressing, which was quite good! It is very tart, however, with cider vinegar so be careful if you don't care for vinegar-heavy sauces. I, however, love vinegar -especially cider vinegar - and thoroughly enjoyed it.

I also love that this product is made near Atlanta, and if feels good to use a product from a local company. Check out their website flybysouth.com.

To make the quinoa, I use a one cup quinoa to three cups water ratio. This is a little more water than a package usually calls for, but I find my family likes it better cooked a little more thoroughly. Once it was finished I added a couple tablespoons butter and a half cup shredded Parmesan. Even Eli enjoyed it, and quinoa isn't usually his favorite. I love quinoa because it is so easy to cook. Ahem, and because it is healthy.

We hope you had a wonderful Memorial Day celebration in remembrance of those who gave their lives so that we can celebrate in freedom.

Happy Memorial Day!

For the sacrifices you have made so that we can live free today, we thank you.

Delight Gluten-free Magazine Giveaway

Trying to decide if you'd like to order a subscription of Delight Gluten-free Magazine? Well, enter our giveaway to get yourself a crisp new copy of their May issue and you can decide for yourself. If you'd like more information about the magazine, click the picture above to check out their website.

There are over fifty Gluten-free and other allergen-free recipes in each issue, and they include an awesome allergen checklist about each recipe.

We sat across from two very funny guys at the Expo, and they were nice enough to give us a few extra of the Delight Gluten-free May issue to give away on our blog. We have three copies to send out, so leave a comment below about why you'd like a copy of this magazine by tomorrow at 7PM (that's Friday, May 23rd), and we will draw three names and announce the winners on Saturday.

Freedom Foods

 My first post about products from the GFAF Expo in Atlanta (in no particular order) is about this very tasty cereal from an Australian company called Freedom Foods. Eli has been trying out tropicO's for breakfast this week, and as you can see from his sweet face, enjoying it immensely.

Here's a terrible picture of it, but notice it is free from gluten, wheat, nuts, soy, lactose, dairy, and egg. Covers a lot of folks who have those pesky allergies.

Freedom foods carries several types of cereal, including these flakes along with Maple Crunch, Pro-teen Crunch, Rice Flakes, Corn Flakes, Cocoa Crunch, Rice Puffs and rice puffs.

Besides being free from all of those allergens, they are made with natural ingredients that are GM free - and they taste good!! Check out their website by clicking www.freedomfoods.com.au for more information.

A Weekend of Gluten-free Success! A Gluten-free Expo Recap

As you probably saw in our previous posts, we spent the better part of our weekend at the Cobb Galleria in Atlanta, GA hobnobbing at the Gluten-free and Allergen-free Expo with over a hundred gluten-free vendors that gathered together to showcase their gluten-free goods. We thought we'd died and gone to gluten-free heaven!

We also had a fabulous weekend chatting it up with thousands of people in the same gluten-free boat we found ourselves over a decade ago. It was really a pleasure to see children running around being able to taste everything in the room without being told, "You can't have that, honey. I has gluten in it."

Another really great pleasure was  finding out about a number of small, local gluten-free companies, and I look forward to showcasing a number of those later in the week.

For now I want to show you a small number of the things we got to try this weekend.

First, of course, is our own booth - set up a ready to sell books. We got a great response and sold all but six of our books even though we took 20 more than we thought we'd sell!

And here we are, Amelia and Deberah, ready to sell books. I wish we had a photo showing how cute we looked in our aprons!!

This was one of a number of unique gluten-free chips that we tried.

We are particularly excited about this product - mainly because of the bread mix that all you have to add is a carbonated beverage (coke, sprite, beer - your choice). I didn't get to try it, but mom said it was quite good. We look forward to trying our own mix and telling you all about it!

These little quinoa clusters are like mini granola bars. 

The gentleman that came up with this sauce is an airline pilot that lives in Atlanta. It is a small company that we just know is going to grow!

This  is an Australian company that processes their products in a dedicated allergen-free facility. Eli really enjoyed his bowl of cereal this morning! 

Natures path cereal, which is also delicious (I'll have a better picture later). We were next door to these folks, and they were a pleasure!

I really look forward to trying this product as a sugar alternative in our recipes. It is calorie-free non-glycemic and measures like sugar. And it had a very sweet taste in the samples we tried.

Boom Chicka Pop popcorn and lentil crackers

And there were several skin care companies. I particularly like this one as they were an Atlanta area made in the kitchens of a pair of best friends. Plus, my hands still feel soft from trying out their product yesterday!

Last, but certainly NOT least, these mixes by Ardene Farm were amazing! I can't wait to tell you about their product (and maybe even give a few away)!

We will let you know more about each of these products in depth over the next couple of weeks. Don't want to buy an expensive gluten-free product without knowing for sure that it is good? We've got you covered!

GFAF Expo Atlanta

Enter code AUTHATL.

Three days until GFAF Expo Atlanta! We are getting really excited not only to share our book at our Author Booth #309, but also to meet other authors and visit the vendor booths.

We cannot wait to share with you about the new products we find out about while there, so check  back next week to hear all about them. Or better yet, get your tickets now and check it out for yourself! If you attend, you'll get free samples as well as coupons. Then come by and see us at our booth to tell us how much you are enjoying yourself!

Gluten-free Pretzel Sticks by Snyder's

Have you seen these before? I found them today at check-out in our local Target. Mostly, there is only one brand of pretzel we can get here, and they aren't bad, but when you live in the sticks, it's exciting to see anything new. So, of course, I grabbed two bags.

They were very good and I highly recommend them! The pricing was pretty good, too--around $3 per bag. We loved the honey mustard and onion flavor, and they were nice and crunchy. The pretzels passed my personal taste test and since my boys loved them so they are now on my good snack foods list. Good job, Snyder's.

GFAF Expo Atlanta

We are really looking forward to being a part of the Author Team for this event now in just 10 days!! A big thanks to Nature's Path, the official Expo Author Team sponsor! 

We hope you will attend as well! Click on the graphic above to get your ticket for 35% off using the code AUTHATL. In addition to sharing our cookbook, there will be free samples from Gluten-free and other Allergen-free vendors. So whatever "free" you need to be, you should find some foods that are right for you. We look forward to seeing you there!

Grilling Packets - Another Supper Success!

I am loving this beautiful weather! It was a perfect day for enjoying some time outside with the kiddos while supper was on the grill. It is just "me and the boys" for a couple days, so I wanted to do some simple meals that everyone would enjoy. I found this idea on Pinterest (I know I have mentioned that I love that "place"). With a couple of tweaks, it was perfect.

I cut up some potatoes, asparagus, green onion and kielbasa, and spread them evenly between five pieces of tin foil. Sprinkling each with extra virgin olive oil and salt, and making sure everything was coated, I folded it tightly together and placed them on the grill.

This was very easy.

Meanwhile, we read books, laughed,

and ran back and forth pushing large bulldozer toys.

Twenty-five minutes later, we opened our packets to deliciousness. Even Isaiah (the toddler) ate a whole packet - asparagus and all!

Gluten-free S'mores Bars Recipe

I was thinking the other day about how nice it would be to have some s'mores without the bonfire, so I decided I needed a recipe to make Gluten-free S'mores Bars. I have to say that I was *very* happy with the result!

I wish I had thought to take some pictures of the "process," but since I wasn't sure if the recipe would work out as well as I wanted the first time, I decided to wait. NEVER WAIT!!!

But here is a picture of the finished product. Boy was it tasty (or maybe I should say "is" since there is one piece left).

Gluten-free S'mores Bars

3/4 cup Potato Starch

1/2 cup Sorghum Flour

1/2 cup sweet (glutinous) rice flour

1/4 cup corn starch

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon xanthan gum

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar - packed

1/2 cup butter (1 stick)

1 egg

1/4 cup water

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 Giant Hershey Bars

3 cups marshmallow cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Measure dry ingredients (from the potato starch to the brown sugar) into a bowl and mix with wire whisk. Cut in butter by hand or with a pastry cutter. Add vanilla, egg, and water. Stir until all dry ingredients are wet; a sticky dough will result. After greasing a 9x13 casserole dish and your hands, press half the dough into the bottom. Set aside the other half of the dough. Layer chocolate bars over the dough. Spread the marshmallow cream over the chocolate. Lay out a big enough sheet of plastic wrap to cover your dish and grease well. With butter or oil on your hands, press the remaining dough on the saran wrap until it is the size of the casserole dish. Carefully turn over the dough on top of the marshmallow cream and peel away the plastic wrap. Press the dough to the edges of your dish. Cook at 350 for about 40-45 minutes until top is slightly brown and slightly crusty. Remove from oven and allow to completely cool before cutting.

Getting Ready for Business

As we prepare ourselves for several events including the GFAF Expo in Atlanta and a Gluten-free program that we will put on locally in June, we have been ordering a few things to promote our "cookbooking" business, and this is what we have gotten so far.

Matching aprons which, even though they need the serious help of an iron, are quite cute.

Name tags so you'll know which of us is which. We do look rather alike, after all.

And we will be getting our business cards and credit card reader soon as well.

Very excited about our upcoming ventures!!