photo by MKucova at istockphoto

Baked Apples for Apple Pie

Fall is here in all its glory, and one of the best things about it is the fabulous selection of apples at the market. They are fresh, smell fantastic, taste terrific, and are so good for us. Full of nutrients, especially quercitin, which helps keep our bronchial passages healthy.

While that may seem like justification to indulge in apple pie, the fat and refined flour in the crust and sugar and butter in the filling take a healthy apple and drag it down. Now, I’m all for a special dessert now and then, and if someone you love made you their famous apple pie please enjoy a piece. But for everyday type desserts, try baked apples instead. They are easy, delicious, and pretty much guilt free. Also gluten free!

Here’s how to make them:

Heat oven to 350 F

Core apples, and peel a strip or two off the stem end, slice a little off the bottom if they won’t stand up.

Place in a pie pan, or baking pan that will hold the apples upright.

Sprinkle apples inside core and over the top with cinnamon and sugar – I like a 2:1 ratio of sugar to cinnamon

Stuff core with raisins and chopped nuts – dried cranberries are also good

Pour about a cup, depending on how many you are making, of apple cider in the pan and bake for about 45-50 minutes, until a knife can be inserted easily into apples. Do not overbake, or they will fall apart. It is good to baste them every so often, too, so the tops stay nice and moist.

*You can put them in the oven when you take dinner out, they will be ready when you are done eating, and they can keep warm for a while, too.

Your house will smell heavenly!

Enjoy!

Some people have had success making these in the microwave. They seem to take about 5 minutes, your timing may vary. Let me know if this works for you.

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Bread – Udi’s wins, hands down, find it in the frozen section of your health-food store (if you do not have a health food store near you, order online or ask your regular grocer to stock it for you.) Try the new flavors with more whole grains – they taste better and give you some good fiber to keep you full for a while.

Bread mixes: Gluten Free Pantry and Bob’s Red Mill both make great bread mixes, King Arthur Flour (available at their website) are also good, just a little more expensive. You do not need a bread machine to make these, and the crust is good right out of the oven.

Pizza crust: Frozen pre-made cruts: Udi’s again; mix would be Bobs Red Mill.

Brownies: Betty Crocker at the grocery store, and Gluten Free Pantry (the truffle flavor is especially tasty.)

Cake mix: Betty Crocker again, but be careful – the mix makes only one layer or 12 cupcakes, half of the regular mix; The Really Great Food Company makes a good one, too, they are new so go here for stores.

Pancakes and Waffles: Bob’s Red Mill are good, traditional pancakes and waffles; Kinniknnick makes light, more grown-up ones.

Snacks: Glutino’s pretzels are still our favorites, but Snickidees seem to be the kids go-to snack now, they are potato crisps and come in several flavors; remember plain Lays, Fritos and Tostitos are also gluten free, as is popcorn!

Pasta: Ancient Harvest Quinoa pasta tastes like traditional pasta, be aware the packages are usually half the volume of traditional pasta; Tinkyada makes a great brown rice pasta – many of us think Trader Joe’s gets their rice pasta from Tinkyada. Both are available at my regular grocery store.

Cereals: Puffins now has a gluten-free, not just wheat-free, option; Perky’s Crunchy Flax; Rice Chex; and Udi’s granola are all tasty, although not the healthiest options. Trader Joe’s now has a gluten-free Old Fashioned Oats, as does Bobs Red Mill – much better choices for your health.

Muffins: I have yet to find a really tasty and healthy muffin mix, but Bob’s Red Mill Cornbread Mix with a little sugar and some blueberries added makes delicious muffins.

Remember, vegetables, fruits, nuts and beans are naturally gluten free!

Enjoy, and let me know any favorites of yours I’ve missed.

It originally came from Alex Guarnaschelli on the Food Network, and I just changed it up a bit to make it the way I like. And to make it a little easier since I am awfully lazy during the summer.

Here’s how to make it:

Dressing

1 Tablespoon lemon juice (I add about 1/2 a lemon’s worth)

2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1/3 – 1/2 cup olive oil – depends on how much juice came out of the lemon, taste to see what you like

Salt and pepper

Makes enough dressing to serve about 8 people

Salad:

About 2/3 tomatoes to 1/3 watermelon, enough to fill your salad bowl

A few strawberries if there are still any good ones at the market

2-3 Tablespoons of fresh basil; you can use 1 Tbs of fresh tarragon if you prefer

1-2 tsp of sugar

1. Mix lemon juice and vinegar, whisk in olive oil and season with a little salt and pepper, set aside

2. Chop large tomatoes into bite-size pieces, halve cherry or grape tomatoes, and place them all on a sheet pan cut side up

3. Sprinkle the tomatoes with some salt, pepper and sugar (taste to see how much sugar they need), then drizzle with a little dressing – do not refrigerate if you can help it

4. Cut the watermelon into bite-size pieces and put into the refrigerator to stay cold – you want the cold watermelon to contrast with the room-temp tomatoes

5. Chop the strawberries, if using, into small pieces and slice the basil into thin ribbons

6. Just before serving, mix the tomatoes, watermelon, strawberries and basil together and toss (gently) with enough dressing to lightly coat it all

7. Enjoy and accept all the compliments coming your way

This salad isn’t really a make-ahead one, but you can have the dressing ready and the ingredients chopped early and just toss at the last minute. Optional add-ins would be some feta or goat cheese and pistachios.

Here’s the link to the original: Tomato and Watermelon Salad by Alex Guarnaschelli. All of her recipes I’ve made so far have turned out fantastic; and while many are indulgent, some are healthy without trying to be (that just happens to be how they taste the most delicious.) Any cookbooks in the works, Alex?

Have a safe and delicious Holiday, everyone!

We don’t know why, but there seems to be a connection with gluten sensitivity and underperforming thyroids. If your thyroid is not performing as it should but your T3 and T4 are within the normal range, or if you have an abnormally high thyroid antibodies or anti-thyroid peroxidase (sounds scarier than it is) on your last lab test, going gluten-free might be for you.

If you have the signs and symptoms of hypothyroidism, such as being tired, cold, trouble sleeping, skin irritation, and your hair is falling out, and gluten is the cause, you will feel better within a month or two of going gluten-free. If your antibodies are high, it will take a good six months off the gluten for those numbers to start to drop.

This thyroid issue is becoming more and more common in women over 40. Whether it is perimenopause or just that we don’t even have time to even notice our thyroids during our 20s and 30s, I don’t know. But since it seems to be everywhere, and going gluten-free is tres chic at the moment, I will be starting a series of posts on just this topic. I will cover stuff like:

• How to go gluten-free without gaining weight
• How to go gluten-free without going broke
• How to go gluten-free without your family calling for mutiny
• How to go gluten-free and actually live a normal life
• How going gluten-free will save the world and make your dreams come true

If this topic is interesting to you or someone you know, sign up in the email box or for the RSS feed (I think I got it set up right), and I’ll keep you up to date. Ask any questions you have about this in the comments section or send me an email – other people probably have the same question and they will thank you for taking the time to actually ask.

PS – I got my produce box delivered today and in it were beautiful leeks, asparagus and red-leaf lettuce. The first thing I thought of for dinner was risotto (with leeks and asparagus) and a light salad for dinner. Gluten-free, easy and delicious. And yes, I am getting my two veggies at dinner!

PPS – I just remembered that May is Celiac Awareness Month! Lots of sales on gluten-free stuff at Whole Foods and Bob’s Red Mill. Let me know which brands you like and I’ll share with the group.