Mashed potatoes

For a while, I thought that good mashed potatoes were a thing of the past. I mean with no butter, no milk... what's a girl to do?

But I found some products or two and heard about a way to make mashed potatoes that just turned out,for lack of a better word, perfect.

I don't feel that too much writing is necessary, as the potatoes will speak for themselves. If you do make these, enjoy them!!! They are absolutely delicious! (And try not to think too much about what you've put in them....)

My Fabulous Mashed Potatoes

yukon gold potatoes, peeled (this really depends on how many people you are making for)Chop them, and add them to water and stock. I usually do half and half.

As the potatoes are cooking, make a roux. I discovered this great stuff called ghee, which is lactose free and casein free butter. It's actually cow's butter, but clarified, and it absolutely delicious.

Equal amounts of butter and flour. ( I used potato starch, although you could use any flour you want)
After this melts in the pan, add milk. (I used rice milk to avoid using regular cow's milk, but if you are tolerant, go for it! I did a 2:2 ratio with flour and butter, and I used somewhere around 2 to 2 1/2 cups of milk)

Here's where it gets good: This is going to become a cheese sauce. So, pick whatever kind of cheese you want to OD on, and dump about a cup of it into the sauce. It will melt pretty quickly.

About this time, your potatoes should be done. After you drain them, dump the sauce on the top. And mash away. I use a regular old potato masher, because I do like my potatoes to have a thicker consistency, but the mashing part is definitely a matter of choice. Salt and pepper to taste!

As a side note: I also added a few slices of cooked bacon to the sauce. I mean, bacon tastes good with anything.

Enjoy!!
(Who knew you could make spectacular gluten free, casein free, lactose free potatoes?)

Gluten free pizza

Ok, so I try not to make this blog too geographically specific, but recently, one of our local pizza places started making gluten-free pizza. So we finally made our way to Lillys Pizza tonight to participate in my first pizza outing in a year. It was pretty exciting.

Well, I had forgotten what a pizza parlor smelled like. But it is good. I was happy the moment I walked in the door. They also started carrying Redbridge to accompany their gluten free pizza. You can't beat pizza and beer. You just can't.

So, we ordered two gluten-free pizzas, cause they're kind of small. They arrived and we just dug right in. There were no formalities at our table. I think that I had an idea that the pizza would taste like regular pizza, only with substitutes that made it gluten-free. So, I was disappointed for a split second. Then I realized that you can never think that a "substitute" could be interchangeable with the "real" thing. My disappointment quickly changed to happiness.

The crust is thin, and it's definitely a rice crust. I'm pretty sure there is no yeast in it, so all of you who have problems with yeast can eat happily. The sauce was pretty tasty, and who can go wrong with a boatload of melted cheese. I know, I'll probably pay for the cheese indulgance, but so far, I'm feeling no pain! I do know, though, that it is possible to go veggie there, so soy cheese is probably an option. You should check on that to be sure.

Either way, I think Lillys has passed the test. It's been about two hours, and I'm feeling pretty good. If you don't count the discomfort of eating a little too much pizza for dinner. If you are in Raleigh, or ever find yourself here, do yourself a favor and check out Lillys. The best thing is that the gluten-free pizza is the same price as the regular. How often does that happen?

The problem with dairy

What I find is that most people understand the gluten free thing. Gluten intolerance as a term is becoming much more widely known and people are coming to some sort of understanding. But then tell them that you cannot eat dairy, and they assume you are lactose intolerant.

And I get that. In fact, somewhere around 50% of diagnosed celiacs are lactose intolerant, at least when they are diagnosed. The enzyme that breaks down lactose, lactase, is produced at the tips of the villi. And when the villi are destroyed because of undiagnosed celiac disease, lactose intolerance usually follows. After a person has been following the gluten free diet for a few months to a year, they, theoretically, should be able to eat dairy products again.

This has not been the case for me. My doctor and I are in discussions about whether I'm lactose intolerant, casein intolerant(which is the protein found in cow's milk), or just plain allergic to dairy. We've pretty much ruled out lactose intolerance, but it would kind of be nice to know. Dairy gives me reflux horribly, as does my other allergy: egg whites.

The casein protein in dairy is similar in structure to gluten, so it's quite possible that I'm intolerant to it. It seems that once you have a food that you cannot eat, others follow. When I initially started the gluten free diet, I thought it was just gluten. I thought that somehow, I'd gotten off easy. Yeah, right! A few months later, I was feeling better, but still having some stomach pains and nausea. Narrowed it down to dairy... then I ate a gluten free pizza with soy cheese and I was sick again. So, soy seems to be making the list, too.

That would be the three, the classic celiac three. No gluten, dairy or soy. At this point, I'm not sure which is harder to stay free from.