Basic GF Flour Mix

America's Test Kitchen's How Can It Be Gluten Free cookbook has basically made me sane again.
The basic flour recipe can be found here.
The bread recipe is here.

I'll admit I am NOT a kitchen goddess. I cook things at home because I can't afford to buy them pre-made. I really don't want to come up with new recipes or be a foodie blogger. I just want to find recipes that WORK and are less work for my lazy ass.

Because of ATK's new cookbook I've stopped desperately trying to find GF bread I like. Hot out of the oven with butter on it it tastes and has the texture of bread. Once it cools I cut it into slices, wrap in parchment paper, put into a freezer bag and freeze the rest. (Note that GF bread is "fresh" for about a day and then it needs to be frozen or made into breading...kind of like french bread.) I take out what I need and defrost it for sandwiches, use the ends to make breading.

The mix has saved me money...though it is still more expensive then making bread with just regular wheat flours.

So far I have made:
White Sandwich Bread (I use a Pullman loaf pan so have extra bread dough which I am working on coming up with a crouton/cracker/flat bread recipe to make with the leftover dough or just spreading it out thin and baking it with the intention of processing it into breading.)
Cupcakes
Shortbread
Biscuits (I would not make them again. Too much trouble and since I make the best damn biscuits in the world with this amazing recipe they are a sad replacement. I'll do without.)
Pasta (though just recipes USING GF pasta and cooking tips. Making pasta itself looks like an incredible pain in the ass.)
Pizza Crust
Pie Dough (this made a basic, delicious flaky crust. Even my non-GF husband said he would eat it again.

I know there are a number of blogs and cooks doing great GF baking, and some may find the cookbook to simplistic (who doesn't realize you can use corn meal and Masa Herina for GF baking options?) and/or not enough recipes, but I've always found the ATK recipes to;
A. work
B. work

Did I mention that they work?
So there ya go.

Here's a crappy food picture for you.

Lemon Ice Cream Pie with Pecan Crust

Yum.
Mix of a few recipes.
Gluten free.

Crust is from here. (this is a lovely recipe and if you want just make it instead of what I did. My issue was I suck at meringue toppings and did not want to make a lemon curd with eggs)

Crust

• 1 1/2 cups finely chopped pecans
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted 

Preheat oven to 400°F. Mix pecans, sugar, and butter in medium bowl until moistened. Press pecan mixture onto bottom and up sides of 9-inch-diameter glass pie dish (mixture will be crumbly). Bake until crust is lightly toasted, about 12 minutes (crust will slip down sides of dish). Use back of spoon to press crust back into place. Cool crust on rack. Freeze crust 30 minutes.

Lemon curd is from here. (Also a wonderful pie. I make it all summer long. Just did not have cream cheese, but did have vanilla ice cream.)

• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 6 tbsps cornstarch
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 cup water
• 3 drops yellow food coloring (optional)
• 2 tsps lemon (grated, rind of)
• 2/3 cup fresh lemon juice
• 2 tbsps butter

You will also need about 3 cups vanilla ice cream softened.

Make crust and freeze.
Make lemon curd and let cool.
Out semi soft ice cream into crust and smooth it out. Slather lemon curd on top of that and freeze until frozen. I made some whip cream (FYI if you add a smidgen of gelatin to it while whipping it will last about 3 days stored in the fridge.) that we ploped onto our pieces of pie before eating.

Pretty easy and very tasty for summer.

Gluten Free

Digestive issues and a wonky liver made me try going Gluten Free.

Sadly it worked.

Sadly? Well yes. I love bread and pasta in all the wrong ways. Plus I didn't want to give up cookies and cakes and bread and pasta.

GF living is expensive and adds extra annoyances to my life.

Why does everything have flour in it? Why can't I find cheap chicken strips breaded in cornmeal instead of flour?

Why the hell does soy sauce have wheat in it?

Arrrrrrggghhhh.

So enough bitching. I'm back. I'll post some of the things I've learned in the past year along with really crappy pictures the food I've made.

One thing I promise not to do is write paragraphs describing how I decided to make a particular item or how it affects my life, existential treatises on gluten-free versus Paleo and any other fucking extra extra words that I can put in just so there's more words in post. It drives me crazy when other food blogs do this and I want to punch them.

 I promise to make sure the recipe is the first thing you see.

Did I mention my pictures will be rubbish?

Also FYI over the past year the best resources I have used are King Arthur Flour recipes, the How Can It Be Gluten Free Cookbook from America's Test Kitchen, Oh She Glows website and (surprisingly) Paltrow's It's All Good.

In the process I've lost a bit of weight and my liver/intestines are happier.

As always Your Milage May Vary.

RIP Nico, The Evil Goddess Kitty.