Gluten Free Baking with Krusteaz + Giveaway!

“Gluten free” is a term widely bandied about for which I had no clear understanding of its meaning.  When I asked Sous Chef he answered laconically:  “For women it means wearing a thong; for men it means going sans-underwear.”

Obviously,  either intentionally or otherwise Sous Chef had confused “glutes” and “gluten.”  So I contacted the Mayo Clinic website and learned the term has very serious  meaning for those who suffer from celiac disease (an immune reaction to eating gluten that causes intestinal inflammation and worse) or respond with similar symptoms from eating gluten.  Per the National Foundation for Celiac awareness, about 2.5 million persons in the United States have the disease, the vast majority of whom don’t realize it.  There is no pharmaceutical treatment for celiac disease today; the only existing treatment is a 100% gluten free diet.  I also learned that for countless others, a gluten free diet is simply part of their healthy regimen.

I will admit that being the Culinary Diva requires many sacrifices when it comes to a healthy diet, but Sous Chef’s recent bout with heart problems has dramatically changed our thinking.  Now we are forced to consider a more healthy approach to dining and drinking.  Suddenly the sodium and caffeine content of foods and beverages matters, as does the amount of one’s alcoholic consumption (which always mattered, but it was time to move away from a steady routine of cocktails and wine with each meal).

So I was thrilled when invited by  Krusteaz to be part of their Gluten Free Bake-Off this year.  It has been a recent goal to learn more about gluten free foods and their uses in baking and other culinary applications.  Krusteaz made this process very easy by sending two boxes  each of their Gluten Free Mixes (Double Chocolate Brownie, Buttermilk Pancake, Honey Cornbread, and Blueberry Muffin) and an invitation to “seize the ‘What If’ moment” in recipe creation.

My “What If” moments inspired two new gluten free recipes using the Krusteaz Gluten Free Honey Cornbread Mix and Krusteaz Gluten Free Blueberry Muffin Mix.  Southwest flavors are a part of our Southern California food culture, and this provided the impetus to amp things up a bit with the Cornbread Mix and create what I will call “So-Joes” (aka Southern California or Southwestern Not So Sloppy Joes).  I added fire-roasted Hatch Chiles, lime zest, sour cream, and Monterey Jack cheese to the cornbread mix to infuse some heat, creaminess, and bright citrus tones.  Then, because this is Southern California, I used lean ground turkey rather than the traditional ground beef as the foundation for the So-Joe mix.  I sweated green onions, garlic, carrots, and celery in a little olive oil and when softened added  the ground turkey along with cumin seeds, smoky paprika and hot paprika, Aleppo pepper, lime juice, no-sodium tomato sauce, and fire-roasted Hatch Chiles to create a flavorful and slightly hot meat mixture to accompany the cornbread.  The end result was a perfectly balanced So-Joe.  Each bite had the brightness of the lime, a spicy heat from the Hatch Chiles, and a touch of sweetness from the cornbread.  It makes a terrific Sunday lunch for watching the long-awaited end of the football season or tasty leftovers as the cornbread and  meat mixture each held up well in texture and taste the next day.  I would not have known the cornbread was gluten free if I had not seen the box.  In color, texture, and taste, the cornbread was indistinguishable from its non-gluten free cousin.  This dish is definitely something that will be making a regular appearance at our table.  Sous Chef didn’t even complain when it was served the next day.

You can’t have spicy without sweet, so for my next project I decided to make a Blueberry-Meyer Lemon Upside Down Cake from the Krusteaz Gluten Free Blueberry Muffin Mix.  Upside Down Cakes are so much fun to make and the presentation is always a crowd pleaser.  I made a brown sugar glaze for the bottom of the cake pan, on which I placed slices of Meyer lemons and a few fresh blueberries.  To the Krusteaz Gluten Free Blueberry Muffin Mix I added cinnamon (it helps bring out the flavor of blueberries), zest from the Meyer lemons, vanilla, and cream cheese.  The end result was a festive cake that was not too sweet, light in texture, and laced with blueberries.  The Krusteaz mix performed admirably and without any discernible difference from the non-gluten free kind of cake mix.  Oh, and did I mention that Sous Chef gave the Upside Down Cake rave reviews?

The bottom line is, if you are on a gluten free diet, or have friends and family that are, don’t hesitate to try the Krusteaz Gluten-Free Mixes and “seize the ‘What If’”moment for yourself.  To help get you started, Krusteaz is giving a Gluten Free Prize Pack to one of my readers.  This giveaway contains a Krusteaz Tote (perfect for the market), two packages of each of their gluten free Double Chocolate Brownie Mix, Buttermilk Pancake Mix, Honey Cornbread Mix, and Blueberry Muffin Mix, and a Krusteaz Spatula through a drawing (no purchase or bribing of the Culinary Diva is necessary).  To enter, just leave a comment below.  The winner will be drawn from all qualified entries and announced on Tuesday, January 6, 2015 (can you believe another year has ended?).  A comment will constitute an entry, although only one entry per person will be accepted for the drawing.  Krusteaz will ship the Prize Pack directly to the winner.

Happy Gluten Free Baking!  For more Gluten Free baking ideas, please make sure to visit Krusteaz.

Note:  The above recipes constitute my entry to the Krusteaz Gluten Free Bake-Off.  By posting this recipe I am entering a recipe contest, the Krusteaz Gluten-Free Blogger Bake-Off, that is sponsored by Krusteaz.   I am eligible to win prizes associated with the contest, and received products to develop this recipe.  All comments on the Krusteaz products are strictly my own.

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