Whether it’s a dietary choice or due to allergies, more and more people are going gluten-free. Here are some tips for keeping gluten-free dishes completely uncontaminated by gluten, even in a standard gluten-using kitchen.

For more about gluten, check out Friday’s post, All About Gluten. For gluten-free baking recipes, look in Anne Byrn’s new book The Cake Mix Doctor Bakes Gluten-Free

• Always wash pans and utensils well with soap and hot water. Place pans and utensils that come into contact with wheat gluten in the dishwasher.
• Decrumb drawers that hold baking utensils so as not to cross-contaminate them.
• Or, set up a separate drawer or pantry for your gluten-free utensils.
• Set aside a separate cutting board for baking gluten-free.
• Have a separate sifter, spatulas, wooden spoons (older cracked spoons can hold flour in the cracks), and beaters for the electric mixer for gluten-free baking.
• Cover baking sheets with aluminum foil before making cookies.

After spending a summer with a friend who was gluten intolerant, I was amazed to learn that gluten can pop up in unexpected places. So reading ingredients on the back of boxes, marinades and dressings was necessary at all times. Anne Byrn’s The Cake Mix Doctor Bakes Gluten-Free offers an amazing array of cakes, cookies, muffins and brownies – all gluten-free, and often with a lactose-free option as well!  She also explains what gluten is, as well as where it can lurk in food…

What is gluten?

Gluten is the protein found in wheat, rye, and barley. It is a sticky substance and when used in baking helps hold bread, cakes and pastries together and encourages them to rise as they bake. Gluten is not found in rice, corn, millet, amaranth, and teff. Oats, also, do not contain gluten, but because they are grown and transported in bulk, they may contain trace amounts of gluten from wheat, barley or rye. To make sure oats are gluten-free, look for proof on the package.

Where can gluten be hidden?

• Malt and malt flavoring
• Soy sauce
• Some soy milk products, make sure to check labels
• Some modified food starch
• Some dextrin
• Some store-bought vanilla cake frosting
• Lipstick
• Play-Doh

If it hasn’t happened already, it’s sure to be right around the corner…the highly anticipated “snow day.”  Sure you can go sledding or make the ubiquitous snowman, but why not try something new? Birgitta Ralston’s Snow Play offers up wintertime projects and activities that involve the whole family, and will get the neighbors oohing and ahhing over your creations.  Make snow glow cones or ice charms or a snow castle—the possibilities are endless!  Here’s one to start out with, a fun but simple game that both kids and adults can get into…

Tallest Tower:

In this timed event, participants compete to build the tallest vertical stack of snowballs, and the excitement builds as the towers collapse and need to be reconstructed.

1. Find a flat patch of land with a good amount of snow. Players should kneel in the snow and wait for the referee to say, “Ready, set, go!” The referee uses a stopwatch to time the players.  Fifteen minutes is the recommended time frame.

2. Each player makes snowballs by packing the snow tightly together with their hands. To achieve the tallest tower, stack the snowballs on top of one another. If your tower takes a tumble while the clock is ticking, try to rebuild it before time runs out.

3. When time is up, the referee will call “Stop!” and use a ruler to stick to measure the height of each tower. The player with the tallest one wins

Chicken Noodle Soup
Recipes from the Root Cellar
270 Fresh Ways to Enjoy Winter Vegetables
by Andrea Chesman

Serves 6

12 cups chicken broth (see homemade recipe below)
2 cups peeled and finely diced mixed celery root and carrots
2 cups chopped or shredded cooked chicken
6 ounces egg noodles (about 4 cups)
2 cups very thinly sliced kale (remove and discard tough stems)
Salt and freshly ground pepper

1.  Bring the broth to a boil in a large soup pot. Add the celery root and carrots and simmer until tender, about 20 minutes.

2. Add the chicken, noodles, and kale. Stir well and simmer until the noodles are tender, 15 to 20 minutes.

3. Season with salt and pepper. Serve hot.

Kitchen Note: Kale in soup gets less and less delightful each time it is reheated. If you expect to have leftovers, you can cook the kale in a little broth and add it to individual servings.

Chicken Broth

Makes 2-3 quarts

3-4 pounds chicken parts
1 large onion, chopped
1 celery root, peeled and chopped
4 garlic cloves
4 quarts water
Salt

1. Combine the chicken, onion, celery root, and garlic in a large soup pot. Add the water. Bring almost to a boil, then immediately reduce the heat and simmer gently, partially covered, for 2 hours.  Do not allow the broth to boil.

2. Strain and discard the vegetables. Remove the meat from the bones and save the meat for another use, such as chicken salad.

3. Chill the broth for several hours. Skim off the fat that rises to the top and hardens.

4. Season with salt, or leave unsalted to use as a base for soup and grain dishes. Use immediately, or refrigerate. The broth will keep for about 3 days in the refrigerator or 4 to 6 months in the freezer.

Kitchen Note: Boiling doesn’t ruin a broth—it just makes it cloudy.

Ugh. Cold and flu season has hit, a time of year no one relishes. But hope is on the horizon with Gene Stone’s The Secrets of People Who Never Get Sick, which offers a peek inside the habits of incredibly healthy people. One chapter is devoted to chicken soup and its restorative powers, which leads me to wonder: is the chicken or all the other ingredients in the broth that make the difference?  Or is it all in our heads?  You can make up your own mind, but Gene Stone gives us the science behind the soup:

• Some spices such as curry, pepper, and garlic can help ease a cough by thinning mucus; these flavorings have been used for centuries to treat respiratory diseases due their antibiotic, antiviral, and antifungal properties.

• When chicken soup contains vegetables, such as onions, turnips, celery and parsley, it ups the ante even further.

• Onions contain protein, calcium, sulfur and several vitamins including C, E, and the B complex, and A, which helps fight off infections by enhancing the actions of white blood cells that destroy harmful bacteria and viruses.

• Carrots are an excellent source of beta-carotene, which the body converts to vitamin A.

• Turnips are also rich in beta-carotene and protect mucous membranes (especially in the lungs and intestinal tract) from cancer cells and free-radical damage.

• Celery has long been used to promote restfulness and sleep, and also has high iron and magnesium content, which is beneficial for lung conditions.

• Parsley contains two components that seem to provide health benefits: volatile oils and flavinoids, a type of polyphenol.

• Chicken releases an amino acid during cooking that chemically resembles the drug acetylcysteine, prescribed for bronchitis and other respiratory ailments.

• Steam from chicken soup opens up congested noses and chests, which is why doctors recommend hot liquids to alleviate cold symptoms.

Ultimately, there is no absolute proof that chicken soup can prevent a cold, but there is plenty of evidence that it can alleviate its symptoms.  Next time a cold strikes, I know what’s on the menu…

Check back tomorrow for a chicken soup recipe from Andrea Chesman’s Recipes from the Root Cellar

Those with gluten intolerance can enjoy the cinnamon goodness of Snickerdoodles too with Anne Byrn’s The Cake Mix Doctor Bakes Gluten-Free.  Try this easy-to-follow recipe:

Snickerdoodle Cookies (Gluten Free)
From The Cake Mix Doctor Bakes Gluten-Free by Anne Byrn

1 package (15 ounces) yellow gluten-free cake mix
1/4 cup lightly packed light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
8 tablespoons butter (1 stick), cut into tablespoons
1 large egg
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon cinnamon sugar (see below)

1. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 375˚F. Set aside 2 ungreased baking sheets.

2. Place the cake mix, brown sugar, and cinnamon in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulse once to combine. Add the butter to the processor and pulse until the mixture is crumbly, 15 to 20 pulses. Add the egg and vanilla and pulse until the dough comes together in a large ball, 10 pulses.

3. Scoop the cookie dough into 1-inch balls and arrange 12 balls on each baking sheet, 2 to 3 inches apart. Sprinkle the top of each ball of dough with a little of the cinnamon sugar. If you want crisp 3-inch cookies, press down on the balls with the bottom of a small glass to flatten them. If you prefer chewy 2 1/2-inch cookies, do not flatten the balls of dough.

4. Place the baking sheets in the oven and bake the cookies until golden brown, 8 to 12 minutes. Using a metal spatula, immediately transfer the cookies to wire racks to cool completely, 15 minutes.

Keep it fresh! Store the cookies in a cookie jar or tin at room temperature for up to a week. Freeze the cookies, wrapped in aluminum foil or in a resealable plastic bag for one month. Let the cookies thaw on the kitchen counter overnight before serving.

Cinnamon Sugar:

To make your own cinnamon sugar, stir 1 tablespoon of ground cinnamon into 1/4 cup of granulated sugar.  Spoon the mixture into a clean spice jar with a shaker lid and store it with your spices.

For more cake and cookie recipes this holiday season, visit CakeMixDoctor.com.

The holiday season is here and for some that means intense cookie making.  Fortunately, Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy Melt-in-Your-Mouth Cookies by Alice Medrich has arrived and it’s one of those books that inspires you to go on a baking spree. It has everything from biscotti to macaroons to shortbread to classic chocolate chip cookies.  I already made the Snicker Doodles, which seem holiday-ish to me with the cinnamon sugar coating (which pairs rather nicely with eggnog).  And yes, they really were “melt-in-my-mouth” delicious…

Snicker Doodles

From Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy Melt-in-Your-Mouth Cookies by Alice Medrich

(Makes about sixty 2 1/2-in. cookies)

3 cups (13.5 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups (10.5 ounces) plus 2 tablespoons sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1. Preheat the oven to 400˚F. Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven.

2. Combine the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt in a bowl and mix thoroughly with a whisk or fork.

3. In a medium mixing bowl with an electric mixer, beat the butter with the 1 1/2 cups sugar until smooth and creamy. Beat in the eggs just until blended. Add the flour mixture and stir or beat on low speed just until incorporated. Gather the dough into a ball and wrap in plastic wrap.  Refrigerate until firm, at least 30 minutes.

4. Mix the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Form level tablespoons of dough into 1-inch balls. Roll the balls in the cinnamon sugar and place 2 inches apart on the lined or greased cookie sheets.

5. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until the cookies puff and begin to settle down. Rotate the cookie sheets from top to bottom and from front to back halfway through the baking time to ensure even baking. For lined pans, set the pans or just the liners on racks to cool; for unlined pans, use a metal spatula to transfer the cookies to racks. Cool the cookies completely before stacking or storing. May be kept in an airtight container for several days.

Upgrades: For Nutmeg Snicker Doodles, substitute 1 teaspoon lightly packed freshly grated nutmeg for the cinnamon.

Though not a traditional Thanksgiving dish per se, Myra Goodman’s Roasted Butternut, Fennel, and Cranberries recipe from The Earthbound Cook epitomizes autumn, while also combining several ingredients that are commonly used around the holiday.  If you feel like trying your own spin on the dish, substitute in other winter vegetables such as carrots, parsnips, rutabagas, cipollini onions, shallots or yams. If you’re looking to make a vegetarian or vegan dish, the pancetta can be eliminated.

Serves 8-10

3 1/2 pounds butternut squash, peeled, halved lengthwise, seeded, and cut into 1/2-inch dice (about 6 cups)
3 large fennel bulbs, halved lengthwise, cored, and cut into 1/2-inch dice (about 3 cups), fronds reserved
3 crisp apples such as Fuji or Granny Smith, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2-inch dice (about 2 cups)
3/4 cup dried cranberries, preferably organic
1/2 cup (4 ounces) finely minced pancetta
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
1 tablespoon chopped reserved fennel fronds or fennel pollen
Coarse sea salt or kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 400˚F.

2. Place the squash, fennel, apples, cranberries, and pancetta, if using, on a rimmed baking sheet.

3. Place the olive oil and maple syrup in a small bowl, and whisk to combine.

4. Pour the oil mixture over the vegetables and toss to coat. Add the thyme and fennel fronds, and season with coarse salt and black pepper to taste. Spread the mixture out. Do not crowd the vegetables as this will cause them to steam rather than brown—use two pans or cook in batches if necessary.

5. Roast the vegetables until they are lightly caramelized and tender, 30 to 45 minutes. As they are roasting, shake the baking sheet or stir the vegetables occasionally so they develop a crisp crust on each side.

6. Transfer the vegetables to a warmed platter and serve immediately.

7. Refrigerate leftovers, covered, for up to 3 days. Reheat over low heat or in a microwave before serving.

For years I’ve attended a seasonal get-together called “Friend Thanksgiving,” which is simple in concept (just as it sounds: all friends, no family) and delicious in execution.  It’s basically a potluck open house held the weekend before the actual holiday and guests bring a side dish to accompany the enormous turkey(s) cooked by the hosts.

Part of the fun was the complete diversity and inventiveness of the dishes.  Sure, there would be the expected stuffing and mashed potatoes, but there might also be Asian-style brussel sprouts, a blue-cheese gratin or braised radicchio.  Point being, sometimes changing up the traditional fare isn’t a bad thing. I, unfortunately, no longer live near the “Friend Thanksgiving” couple, but if I did, this is what I would bring—Scalloped Corn from David Tanis’ Heart of the Artichoke—it seems like a nice mix between something I don’t often see at the Thanksgiving table, but at the same time entirely Pilgrim-appropriate.

Scalloped Corn:

2 tablespoons butter, plus more for buttering the dish and topping
1 small yellow onion, finely diced
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Pinch of cayenne
1 1/2 cups half-and-half
Kernels from 6 ears sweet corn (about 3 cups)
2 egg yolks
1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs

1) Preheat the oven to 375˚F. Butter a 10-inch baking dish.

2) Melt the 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat in a medium skillet, and soften the onion with a little salt, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle in the flour, season with salt and pepper and cayenne, and stir well with a wooden spoon.

3) Slowly add the half-and-half and stir well as the sauce thickens. Add the corn kernels and simmer for 2 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Remove from the heat.

4) Beat the egg yolks in a small bowl, and stir into the corn mixture.

5) Pour the corn mixture into the baking dish. Scatter the bread crumbs over the top and dot with butter. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until golden.

We’ve been told organic is good for us, but do we know why it’s better for us exactly? I had some general, but rather vague, ideas, but once I read the twelve reasons Myra Goodman points out in Earthbound Cook, I realized how far-reaching the use of pesticides can be. And I now feel much more informed about why exactly I’m reaching for the organic spinach at the supermarket…

Reasons to choose organic:

1. Keeps chemicals out of your body—and the environment.
Organic food is grown without toxic synthetic pesticides and fertilizers. Pesticides not only enter our food supply, they drift from their target and contaminate the air, oceans, rivers, groundwater and soil.

2. Eliminates the main source of dietary pesticide exposure for kids.
The average child in the U.S. is exposed to five pesticides a day in his or her drinking water. A 2008 study in Environmental Health Perspectives showed that switching to organic produce and juices for only five days virtually eliminates any sign of organophosphate insecticides.

3. Protects farmworkers, wildlife, and nearby homes, schools and businesses.
The people who apply conventional agricultural chemicals are affected along with the environment. Studies have shown that those who handle pesticides have a significantly higher rate of Parkinson’s disease.

4. Provides your family with highly nutritious produce.
Overall, organic produce is approximately 30 percent higher in antioxidants than conventional produce.

5. Protects our precious oceans.
Conventional fertilizers are a big contributor to the “dead-zones” in our oceans, caused in large part from synthetic farm fertilizers that run off farmland and into rivers and oceans. This results in large areas in the ocean that can no longer support marine life.

6. Reduces contaminants in our drinking water.
The U.S. Geological Survey’s 2008 “Pesticide National Synthesis Project” found at least one pesticide in every stream tested. Pesticides found most often, and in the highest concentrations were those used in conventional agriculture.

7. Mitigates global warming.
Research has shown that while conventional farming breaks down soil carbon, releasing it into the atmosphere in the form of CO₂ , organic farming builds soil carbon levels by absorbing it from the atmosphere. If all the 160 million acres of conventional corn and soybeans in the U.S. were converted to organic production, it would be the equivalent of taking 80 million cars off the road.

8. Assures you that you’re not eating genetically modified or irradiated foods.
The USDA’s National Organic Program standards prohibit the use of genetically modified ingredients and irradiation. There are no requirements for other types of food to be labeled as containing genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

9. Avoids antibiotics and artificial growth hormones in meat and dairy.
Organically raised animals have been fed organic feed and grazed on organic pasture. They are raised in conditions that limit stress and promote health, and are never given antibiotics or synthetic growth hormones.

10. Supports the farmers and other food producers who invest the extra care to produce food organically.
When you buy organic, you are supporting the farmers that are taking steps to avoid the serious and long-term issues like groundwater pollution, soil erosion, loss of biodiversity, and human health problems caused by exposure to agricultural chemical residues.

11. Promotes healthy soils.
Organic farmers know that agrichemicals kill more than pests—they wipe out beneficial microorganisms and earthworms that help create rich soil that holds nutrients and protects plants from disease.

12. Preserves biodiversity.
Organic farming encourages an abundance of species living in balanced, harmonious ecosystems because it works with natural processes, not against them.