JeBas's blog

I'm out with a stomach illness.

JeBas — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 07:35:55 +0000

I am presently suffering from a rather bad stomach illness. Eating is a chore, and I don't think it would be fair to anyone if I reviewed their products right now. I should be back on Monday.

Gluten Free Pie Crust - Whole Foods Bakehouse Gluten Free Pie Crusts

JeBas — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 04:49:13 +0000

I have been trying to review Whole Foods Bakehouse Frozen Gluten Free Pie Crusts for a while. My original plan was to review these crusts during Thanksgiving. There is a tradition, started by my grandmother, of making pumpkin pies. Though my wife enjoys them, my daughter goes completely mad for these homemade pies. I wanted to make sure that we have some gluten free pie crusts available. Unfortunately, there was none to be had in the Atlanta area at that time. The demand far exceeded the supply. They're available now, so now is the time to do the review.

The first thing that I noticed about these Bakehouse pie crusts was that they looked like any other frozen pie crust on the market. The package contained two 9” crusts to a package. Each one in their own tin pan.

Since the pumpkins were no longer available, I decided on Alton Brown's Refrigerator Pie. I chose a combination of ham, cheddar, and provolone for the filling. Since the quiche required 45 minutes of baking time, I did not par bake the pie crust.

What came out of the oven was firm crust that has remained firm even after it had remained in the refrigerator for a while. It was not a flaky crust, but it was sturdy. I has a extremely buttery taste, and worked well with the savory flavors of the quiche. Personally I would not recommend it for a sweet pie. I don't believe the strong flavor would work well with something like a lemon margarine pie.

I planning to purchase these crusts again. My oldest that has the problem with gluten loved the crust, but hated the quiche. Like millions of parents before me, I why the kids never want to eat what I cook.

P.S. Since gluten free pie crusts were not available during Thanksgiving, we poured the pumpkin pie filling into muffin tins. These mini-pies turned out to be a hit with all of the kids there.

Gluten Free Bread - Glutino Fiber Bread

JeBas — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 10:00:00 +0000

Like all parents, my wife and I are worried about what the kids will eat, and what they won't. Lately my oldest daughter will eat nothing but meat, and my wife was worried about lack of fiber in that diet. She then found, at a grocery store near us, Glutino's Fiber Bread.

The Fiber Bread is another one of Glutino's baked sandwich breads. Like most of the gluten free, baked, sandwich breads, it is half the height of regular sandwich bread. That means, when using a toaster, you have to put the bread slice in sideways. Otherwise, you will loose the slice in the toaster. The best way to avoid this problem is use a toaster oven.

Before I tried it toasted, I ate a slice right out of the bag, and I feel in love with it. We use to buy whole wheat and multi-grain sandwich breads before my wife and daughter knew they had a problem with wheat. This gluten free Fiber Bread had such a hearty taste and texture that I thought I was eating whole wheat bread again.

I was ready to make a turkey sandwich; however, the packaging recommended toasting the bread before serving. My recommendation is follow those directions. When you toast it, the flavor of the bread becomes ten times better. The bread also develops a nice crunch that is perfect for sandwiches.

My oldest daughter had the final say on whether to buy this gluten free bread again. She liked it, but couldn't tell me exactly why. It's now her favorite, so Fiber Bread will be bought again.

Gluten Free Side Dish - Lundberg Family Farms Creamy Parmesan Risotto

JeBas — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 10:00:00 +0000

The last time I was walking through the specialty foods section of Krogers, I noticed Lundberg Family Farms instant risottos were marked as gluten free. My kids love sushi rice, so I was hoping that I had found something new they would eat, that wasn't a dessert item. The first one that I tried was the Creamy Parmesan Risotto.

The directions were fairly simple to follow. They have both conventional and microwave directions on the box. I followed the microwave directions, and found that I had to cook their instant risotto an additional six minutes before it thickened up properly.

I did serve hot, and it had a creamy, Parmesan taste, but there was nothing spectacular about it. It wasn't a bad taste. It just tasted like it came out of a box. Frankly I would use this as a base to build something better. The next time I use this gluten free risotto, I'm planning to sauté some green onion, grate some additional Parmesan cheese, and add some butter. Unfortunately
neither child liked it.

If I needed a quick side dish for a meal, I might purchase this again. It wouldn't be my first choice, but it wouldn't be my last either.

Gluten Free Desserts - Gluten Free Pantry's Chocolate Brownie Mix Delights

JeBas — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 10:00:00 +0000

As I had stated in my last review, my wife had prepared a special dinner where brownies were for dinner and chocolate chip cookies were for dessert. Needless to say, it is been my girls' favorite meal this week. I've discussed the dessert, so now it is time to get into the main course: The Gluten Free Pantry's Chocolate Brownie Mix Delights.

My wife didn't have any problems following the directions for this brownie mix. In fact, she made a double batch that evening. Her excuse was that she was using a pan that was to big for a single batch. But unlike the cookies, she did not have to alter the recipe.

Now the taste of these brownies were a complete hit. If you weren't told, you would never know these were gluten free. The were soft and chewy except at the edges of the pan where they gained a little bit of a crunch, just like a wheat based brownie. There was also the strong taste of chocolate that simply coated your mouth. It was wonderful.

Like the cookies, if I don't but this gluten free brownie mix from The Gluten Free Pantry, I'm going to be in deep trouble. This mix must be bought again.

Gluten Free Cookies - Bob's Red Mill Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix

JeBas — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 10:00:00 +0000

Yesterday, my oldest daughter comes bounding down the stairs saying, “You're not going to believe this. Mommy making fudge for dinner, and chocolate chip cookies for dessert.” Being the only male in a house of various aged women, I knew better than to get in the way of their chocolate. So today's review is about Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix.

Normally I would do the cooking, but for this special meal she did. She told me that she had no problem with following the instructions on the bag, but she did have to add some additional butter. The instructions stated that the cookie dough should clump together, and it wasn't until the extra butter was added.

Now she did have one complaint about this gluten free cookie mix. The raw dough tasted awful. She liked the cookies once they were baked, but she's a long time cookie dough eater. To her, the taste of the cookie dough needed to be included in this review.

Now the finished cookies were extremely rich and tasty. Though it doesn't have the chewiness, it is the closest I've tasted to a gluten free Nestle's Toll House Cookie. The texture was a little gritty, but this seems normal for most gluten free cookies.

If I don't buy these again, I'll have three women mad at me.

Gluten Free Soup & Stocks - Rachael Ray STOCKINA*BOX

JeBas — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 10:00:00 +0000

The weather had been getting cold enough, so I decided it was time to make some vegetable soup. For that, I needed some beef stock. Normally, I would have used Imagine Foods Beef Stock, but while I was in the store, I noticed that Rachael Ray was selling a beef flavored stock that was marked gluten free. Fortunately I was able to rescue the soup from Rachael Ray Stock-in-a-box.

Now when I try a new ingredient, I taste it right out of the package. The first thing that I noticed was this stock was watery. It didn't bother me at the time because I have made several soups that didn't have flavor until they were heated. So I made the soup, and heated it in a crock pot.

A couple of hours later, I began to realize the soup was in trouble. Normally when I make this soup, the broth begins to smell up the whole house with the aroma of vegetables stewing in a beef broth. There was no smell with Rachael Ray's Stock-in-a-Box. I kept checking the crock pot to see if it was on.

After the cooking time completed, I gave the soup a taste, and was severely disappointed. The broth was watery and lifeless. The meat and vegetables had a good flavor, but the broth made everything taste like it was sitting in water.

Since I hate wasting food, I then strained the soup. The broth was then placed into a pot and brought to a boil. Once I had evaporated most of the liquid away, I tasted the broth again. I got a strong taste of the peas, carrots, and beans that had been stewing in the crock pot, and a very light hint of beef. To add flavor, I poured in a can of Progresso's Cream of Mushroom soup. This turned the bland soup into a tasty stew.

Even through there are very few beef stocks that are marked gluten free, I don't recommend Rachael Ray Stock-in-a-box. There's no flavor to it, and I will not buy it again.

Gluten Free Restaurant - Johnny's New York Style Pizza

JeBas — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 10:00:00 +0000

When I heard that Johnny Pizza made a pizza without the crust, I got really excited. My oldest daughter loves pepperoni pizza, and there aren't any places in the Atlanta area that I can take her. I've heard a lot about Uno's in Chicago, but that is a little far to drive. I was hoping that I found a gluten free pizzaria, but I was severly disappointed.

It turns out that the crustless pizza was created for the people following the Atkin's diet. When I asked the waitress about gluten free options, she responded by asking why we cared if sugar was in the pizza crust. Unfortunately the manager of the store was not any better. He did not know what gluten was, and could not produce an allergen list for his food.

Since the staff could not answer my questions, I watched how they made the pizzas. They used a hand toss crust that was heavily dusted with flour. As the guy made pizzas, I watched wheat flour fall into the bins of pizza toppings. So this place is not safe for anyone avoiding wheat and gluten.

Though the pizza was very good, we will not be going back to Johnny Pizza. It is not safe for someone seeking a gluten free meal.

Wendy's Is Trying to Make It Safer To Eat Out.

JeBas — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 10:00:00 +0000

A while back, I reviewed Wendy's and found it to be a decent restaurant to get a gluten free meal. In fact it was one of the few fast food restaurants that you could get a meal, and not just drinks and dessert. Since then, they have added a few additional items, but I don't want to praise them for a change in menu. I want to praise them for a poster that I saw the last time that I ate there.

On the Wendy's website, they still have a pdf file with all of there gluten free menu options. They also have another pdf that lists all of their menu items with nutritional information and shows any of the common allergens that it might contain. It was that list, on a poster, that I saw as I left the building.

Now like the list on the website, the poster listed wheat as an allergen, but not gluten. However, this poster, that can easily be seen from the ordering counter does make it easier to buy food for my wife and oldest daughter.

Thank you.

Gluten Free Cereal - Perky's Nutty Rice

JeBas — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 10:00:00 +0000

Breakfast is always the hardest meal to get done. In the morning, I have to get the girls up, dressed, fed, and prepare their lunches. On weekdays there just isn't enough time to make a huge, hot breakfast. Therefore like a lot of American parents, I will use cereal. Today's gluten free cereal test is Perky's Nutty Rice from Enjoy Life Natural Brands.

When I originally picked up the box, I was reminded of the older Grape-Nuts cereal boxes. It use to be one of my favorite cereals, but what poured out of the Nutty Rice box was nothing like Grape-Nuts. Nutty Rice was a light, crunchy cereal with a strong toasty, nutty taste. I had liked its flavor and texture, and ate several handfuls before trying it in milk.

However once milk was added, I did not like it for two reasons. The first was that the milk washed away almost all of the flavor from this gluten free cereal. The toasty, nutty flavor that I enjoyed straight from the box was now missing from each milk soaked spoon. The second reason was that once the cereal got wet, it began to fuse into one large brick. I had to constantly stir it to keep it broken up.

Now if I were going to make my own trail mix or needed something to top ice cream, I might purchase Perky's Nutty Rice again; however, I am not buying it as a breakfast cereal.