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The
manufacturers are:
Gluten-Free Oats at
www.glutenfreeoats.com
Cream
Hill Estates at
www.creamhillestates.com
Gifts of
Nature at
www.giftsofnature.net
Only
Oats (in Canada) at
www.farmpurefoods.com.
I am
familiar with all of these sources of gluten-free oats and have used all of
their products, even toured some of their facilities. Eventually, there will
probably be other manufacturers, as well as different forms of oats available.
These oats are grown and milled under controlled conditions and have met the
standards of ELISA testing. Furthermore, Gifts of Nature and Gluten Free Oats
bear the gluten-free seal of approval granted by the Gluten-Free Certification
Organization (GFCO). By the time you read this, other companies may have oats
for sale or added their names to the growing list of certified companies..
The introduction of oats for the gluten-free diet is not without some
controversy. The position on oats has been written about extensively in the past
18 months including articles in Gluten Free Living magazine in Winter, 2005.
Shelley Case has a review of the issues in her book, Gluten-Free Diet, 2006,
and, like Gluten-Free Living magazine and the Case book, the Gluten Intolerance
Group says these gluten-free oats are safe (see
www.gluten.net).
But you and your physician must decide whether these oats are right for you
and what amounts you can safely consume. If these oats aren't right for you,
then don't eat them. For more information on the oats position, go to
www.gluten.net. Also, Columbia
University's Dr. Peter Green and Ann Roland Lee endorse these pure, gluten-free
oats for celiacs.
Remember, we aren't talking about Quaker oats or McCann's oats or any other
non-gluten-free brand. We're referring specifically to companies who produce
gluten-free, pure, uncontaminated oats in controlled environments that assure
their safety.
I am now using these gluten-free oats, especially the rolled oats, in
recipes in my new book, Gluten-Free Quick and Easy (Avery, Penguin) that will be
released in August, 2007. And, I am using it in my forthcoming cookbook, 1000
Gluten-Free Recipes (John C. Wiley) to be published in Fall, 2008. My goal is to
provide recipes for those who can eat oats (about 98% of celiacs according to
Dr. Peter Green in his book, Celiac Disease: The Hidden Epidemic), once they
have the approval of their physicians.
If you can consume these oats, you can enjoy all of your old favorites such
as Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies, Date Bars, Granola, or plain old oatmeal. You
can also grind the rolled oats into oat flour with your coffee/spice grinder and
add it to your existing recipes. Oat flour makes our gluten-free baked goods
more tender and improves the texture. For a typical muffin recipe that
calls for 2-cups of flour, I would replace about 1/2 cup of the flour blend with
oat flour.
Plant Those Herbs Now
I love to use fresh herbs in cooking,
but realize that at $3 per bunch, they can get quite expensive when you buy them
in the grocery store. So, each spring, I put as many different herbs as I can in
outdoor pots around my house. I vary the location of the pots, as well as the
combination of herbs in those pots, so that if one location or pot doesn't
produce very well perhaps I can get good results from another pot or location.
There is still time to plant some
fresh herbs; I find some plants at my grocery store while others come from
nurseries. Some recipes just work better with fresh herbs, while others work
better with dried herbs. How do I use fresh herbs? I mince them and add to
potato salad, or cooked vegetables, or pasta dishes. In fact, one of my favorite
quick lunches is pasta with last night's chicken chopped up in it. A drizzle of
olive oil and as much of my favorite fresh, minced herbs as I want makes the
perfect lunch.
Right now, the basil is going strong
so I am using a lot of it in tossed salads or vinaigrettes. Later, dill will be
abundant. Sage thrives throughout the summer, so I use it in pork dishes. When I
pan-sear meats, I put some fresh herbs, perhaps rosemary, in the oil
before I add the meat (be sure to dry the herbs thoroughly or the moisture will
make your oil splatter). After they have flavored the oil, remove them and then
sear the meat in the herb-infused oil. At the end of the summer, I try to dry as many of these
herbs as I can before they are killed by the first frost.
Food
for Thought
“A clever person turns great troubles into little ones and little ones into none
at all." --Chinese Proverb
Where
in the World is Carol?
The only
event I attended in June was our local Food Faire, sponsored by the Denver
Celiac Sprue Association. It was a resounding success. I haven't heard the final
count yet, but I think we had between 300 and 400 people and at times the hall
was in a state of gridlock because there were so many people. Almost all of the
vendors ran out of food, including me. I served my quick and easy French Bread
from Gluten-Free 101, dipped with basil-infused French bread and it was a
hit.
Throughout June, I'm doing lots of writing on my forthcoming book, 1000
Gluten-Free Recipes (Wiley, Fall, 2008) Watch for my
next Whole Foods class on Saturday, July 14, at 2 PM. It will feature summer
pies made with gluten-free pie crust from my book, Gluten-Free 101. Mark
your calendars for my next appearances on August 17-18 at the 2nd Annual
Gluten-Free Summit (www.theglutenfreelifestyle.com) and at Bob's Red Mill on
September 5 and 6 in Milwaukie, OR (www.bobsredmill.com)
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My
mention of any particular company or product in this newsletter does not
constitute an endorsement by Savory Palate, Inc. Please do not regard the
information in this newsletter as medical advice. Seek the counsel of a
qualified health professional
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