Kitchen Diva

I love to cook and one of the things I love to cook is the Barefoot Contessa's Truffle Mac & Cheese.  If you haven't tried it is a must.   (And a secret if you can't find truffle butter, truffle oil works just as well).   In the recipe you need to start the sauce with a roux.   Normally this is flour and butter, but I was thinking how on earth am I going to make a gluten free roux.  At first I thought maybe just cornstarch and butter, but that would be too chalky.   I searched on line and came across a roux recipe that is gluten free.   Still has butter but instead of wheat flour, it combines cornstarch and rice flour.   So tonight I am going to test it out with regular mac & cheese (Quinoa mac is being used).   Wish me luck.

Since I found out about having DFI, I have been wondering how will this work with baking.   I love to bake and my husband loves it when I bake.   I have a favorite baking cookbook, The Complete Magnolia Bakery Cookbook.  Seeing as their recipes are not gluten free or totally DFI friendly, I decided to experiment and see what I can do.   I started with something simple and well known in flavor to all .... Chocolate Chip Cookies. I made a batch and have to say they taste pretty good.    A few things I learned, they take a little longer to cook and they don't look as brown as the nestle version. So here is the recipe with my adaptations. Magnolia Chocolate Chip Cookies - made Gluten Free and DFI Friendly 1 1/2 cup Gluten Free All Purpose Flour Mixed (I used Bob's) 1/4 tsp Xanthum Gum 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 tsp salt 1 1/3 sticks of unsalted butter 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 cup Raw sugar (replaces the light brown sugar since this is...

Recently I found out that I have DFI Dietary Fructose Malabsorption.   Basically this means my body cannot break down fructose thus causing me to have a lot of stomach issues.  I have been being tested all year for a number of things and this has been the conclusion.   Unfortunately there is not a lot known about DFI and how foods can effect a person with it.   I did go to a dietician and was able to get the low down on what sugars I can have and what to stay away from ... mainly High Fructose Corn Syrup and sugar alcohols.   She also suggested wheat.   So now I am learning how to cook differently and read labels even more carefully.   This means my blog is going to take a new turn.   I am going to begin working on recipes that fit into the DFI lifestyle and don't make me feel like I am missing out.   Right now I am in the testing stage of my tolerance so it is possible I can have wheat based products if paired pr...