Pita Bread

Europe doesn't really do fast food (minus the american fast food chains) but if they had to have an equivalent, kabobs would be it. Kabobs are middle eastern street food but there are about 50 kabob shops just in Slupsk and there were tons in Spain too. A kabob is not what you might initially have thought. It's not a shish kabob where you put meat/veggies on a stick and grill it. It's basically pita bread filled with meat that they have shaved off these big roasters. Everyone here loves them. Levi tried some with his teammates.

With this in mind, I wanted my own kabob. My parents and I always got gyros when I was little and I loved them. Kabobs are a lot like that. Luckily, my favorite gluten free cookbook/blog has a recipe for pita bread. I've made it before but this time I attempted to make it dairy free also. It came out great! Maybe some of the best bread I've ever made and really easy to to re-use for things other than kabobs.

Gluten/Diary Free Pita Bread

From Glutenfreeonashoestring.com

Makes:12 pitas

3 to 4½ cups all-purpose gluten-free flour, divided
2 tsp xanthan gum
1 tsp salt
4 tsp instant yeast
3 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp vegetable oil, plus more
2½ cups warm milk, about 100 to 110 degrees Fahrenheit (can use a dairy substitute but whatever you use must have a little fat)

• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, place 3 cups of flour and the xanthan gum, along with the salt, and mix to combine well. Add the yeast and sugar, then the oil, mixing well to combine after each addition. I don't have a stand mixer so I used a hand mixer.
• With the mixer on low speed, add the milk in a slow pour. The dough should begin to come together. Continue adding the milk until it’s all in there.
• Add enough additional flour so that the dough is thick and kinda creamy looking – not dry, and not really sticky, but tacky so if you touch it some of it sticks to your finger. You can always add more flour. I added just over 1/2 cup extra to mine.
• Dump the dough into a lightly oiled bowl, turn it over a few times to coat with oil, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow it to rise in a warm, humid place for about an hour, or until nearly doubled in size. I put mine in the microwave (don't turn it on, just set it in there) because it keeps in at a constant temperature with no draft. It will look dimply, and will be a bit tough to handle.
• Once the dough has risen, preheat your oven to 425 degrees F. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface (if you have a silicone mat, this would be a great time to break it out). Divide the dough into 12 to 15 pieces.
• For each piece of dough, roll it into a ball and press it together, squeezing out the air. Then, with the heel of your hand, press it into a disk. Press from the inside out, taking care not to make it too thin (especially at the endges). Sprinkle flour lightly on any sticky spots. Rotate the round of dough on the floured surface, and flip it frequently. If you have added too much flour at any point, drizzle in some canola (or vegetable) oil. It's ok if you have to oil up a piece of dough and start again. They should be just a little thicker than a pancake.
• Place rounds of dough on your baking sheet so they don't touch. Bake for between 5 and 8 minutes, taking care not to allow the pita to burn. It will be darker on the underside than on the top.

They are best right after you make them but be sure to let them cool completely before you try and cut into it. Slice each round in half, then run your knife on the inside of the bread to make a pocket. Now you can stuff it with whatever you want! We had chicken, peppers, red onions, spinach, cucumbers, and tzatziki sauce. I LOVE tzatziki sauce so I couldn't really imagine eating a pita without it. This is a really fun dinner for kids too because they can build their own.

Hopefully you enjoy middle eastern street food as much as we did!

Maura

Famous Almond Flour Scones

I've been making these scones for about a year now and pretty much everyone I serve them to either thinks they are the best scones they've ever had and/or have asked for the recipe. These are easily my favorite breakfast item and every time we travel I make a batch and bring it with me. They travel really well and will keep for 3-4 days in a sealed container or over a week in the fridge. Since tons of hotels now have breakfast included (none of which I can eat), I bring my own breakfast so we don't have to go about searching for something just for me. These scones make breakfast on a trip a huge treat instead of stressful or boring. I make extra so that Levi can have some too because he would rather eat these than the breakfast hotels serve.

I got this recipe from one of my favorite cookbooks (thanks to my friend Kristen who gave it to me) called The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook by Elana Amsterdam. There are some amazing recipes in this book but the baked goods are by far the best. The cookies are easily my favorite chocolate chip cookies, gluten or not. She also has a great online blog called elanaspantry.com. 

I have found that the recipe for these scones, as well as the other recipes in the cookbook, is very dependent on the type of almond flour you use. She recommends Honeyville Almond Flour. It's probably the best quality that I've used but you have to buy it online and its $30 for 5lbs. It lasts a while because it is really finely ground and thus you can use less. It's definitely not the cheapest option though. We were lucky enough to get an amazing blender as a wedding gift. This means I can make my own almond flour. I can buy 3lbs of whole, unsalted almonds at Costco for $9. So it's about half the price as Honeyville's. Put 2 cups of it in the blender at a time. Blend on whatever setting your blender recommends for nuts for 10 seconds. Shake the blender to move around the almonds. Repeat 2 more times. Then sift it into a bowl using a fine mesh sifter. That's it! Homemade almond flour! Another note, do NOT use Bob's Red Mill almond flour. First, it's really expensive. Second, it has too high of an oil content so the final product never comes out right unless you add a lot of extra flour.

This recipe is also really versatile. You can add tons of different ingredients and they always taste great. I've added chocolate chips, dried cranberries, gluten-free oatmeal, coconut, almonds, ..... whatever I feel like really. 

Almond Flour Scones
Makes: 8-10 large scones

2 1/2 to 3 cups Almond Flour (depending on which kind you use)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 agave nectar (or honey if you don't have any)
2 large eggs

*You can add about 1 cup of additional ingredients: chocolate chips, dried fruit, coconut, nuts, etc. If you add oatmeal, reduce the amount of flour.

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 Celsius). Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.
• In a large bowl, combine almond flour, salt, and baking soda. Mix to combine.
• In another bowl, combine oil, agave, and eggs. Whisk to combine.
• Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix well. 
• Fold in any additional ingredients.

VERY IMPORTANT: Your batter should be very thick and hold together. If you take a spoonful and it kinda "melts" off the spoon, you need more flour. Your should be able to shape it with your hands. Otherwise you will get breakfast cookies. Which are good to but not very scone-like.

• Using the 1/4 measuring cup, drop the batter onto the cookie sheets 2 inches apart.
• Bake for 12-17 minutes until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the scone comes out clean.
• Let cool for 20 minutes or until they are set.
• Try not to eat them all in one sitting :)

I hope you like these because I can't imagine you wouldn't. Mmmmmmmm.

Maura

Plum Crumble Bars

These were SOOOOOOO good. I made them for the team after their first exhibition game. The first game it's always hard to gauge when it is appropriate to hand out treats. So I waited a little to long so only about half the team got some. I brought 24. The team has maybe 12 players, 2 coaches, and a couple of managers and such. So maybe 20 people max. All but 2 were gone between about 6-7 players and wives. So they were epic.

I had been seeing plums everywhere in the grocery stores here. When I saw this recipe for plum crumble bars on one of my favorite websites (glutenfreeonashoestring.com) I had to make them. They tasted like little apple pies, but much more portable. They were dairy free because I found some vegetable shortening here to substitute for the butter (not healthy for you but at least Levi wouldn't get a stomach ache). I doubled the recipe and ended up having too much of the crumble topping. But I just froze it and will use it for a quick dessert some other time.

Here is the epic recipe:

SHORTBREAD PLUM CRUMBLE BARS
2 cups + 1/4 cup all-purpose gluten-free flour
1 tsp xanthan gum (I use guar gum. same result, but way cheaper)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 tsp salt
16 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature (or shortening for dairy free)
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar (in Europe, they only have granulated brown sugar but the end result is the same)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 pound plums (ripe, but not very soft), rinsed and blotted dry
1 tsp cornstarch

1. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F. Line a 9-inch square pan with crisscrossed sheets of unbleached parchment paper, each overhanging two opposite sides. (This helps you take it out at the end with no sticking and no mess.) Set the pan aside.
2. In a large bowl, place 2 cups flour, the xanthan gum, sugar and salt, and whisk to combine well. Add the butter, and mix to combine. The mixture should come together as a soft dough. Remove about 3/4 cup (150g) of the dough and transfer it to a medium-size bowl. Add the brown sugar, cinnamon and the remaining 1/4 cup (35g) flour to the reserved dough, and mix to combine. This is the crumble topping. Place the bowl of crumble topping in the freezer to chill.
3. Scrape the remaining soft shortbread dough into the prepared square pan, and press into an even layer with well-floured hands. Set the pan aside.
4. Slice each of the plums in half, then remove and discard the pits. With a really sharp knife, carefully slice the plums into wedges, each about 1/4-inch wide, being careful not to bruise or crush the fruit. Blot the plum slices with paper towels to remove extra juice on the surface. Lay the plum slices on top of the shortbread in 4 parallel rows, from one side of the pan to the other, overlapping them slightly in each row. Sprinkle the plums evenly with the cornstarch.
5. Remove the crumble topping from the freezer and sprinkle it in an even layer on top of the plums. Press down on the topping gently but firmly.
6. Place the pan in the center of the preheated oven, and bake for 45 minutes, or until the top is uniformly light brown in color and seems set. Remove the pan from the oven and allow to cool completely (place in the freezer to speed the process). Carefully remove the bars from the pan by the overhung parchment paper. With a very sharp knife, slice into 16 equal pieces. The bars will be moist and will not set up rock hard because of the moisture in the plums, but will hold together when handled carefully.
7. Serve chilled or at room temperature. I preferred room temperature because they are easier to bite into. Freeze any leftovers.

I followed this recipe almost exactly. It worked out really well but the set-up is fairly time-consuming. Pitting, slicing, and placing all the plum slices along with the rest of the pre-baking steps take about an hour. Then 45 minutes of baking. So make this well ahead of when you want to serve them. I bet you could use peaches or apples with this and it would also be totally amazing. Hope you like it!

Maura

Mind the Gap

Sorry for the long delay in posts! The reason is that Levi sent me on an awesome trip to London to support his cousin in the Paralympic Games! He wasn't able to come because of all the practice and games he had :( I was there from Thursday to Sunday so it was a quick trip. I stayed with Levi's aunt and mom at an awesome hotel right in the middle of all the action. At the main entrance to the Olympic Park they built a brand new, fancy, shmancy outdoor mall. There are hundreds of stores, restaurants, cafes, ... everything. And of course it's packed because people are constantly going in and out of the Park. Our hotel was about 100 yards from the Olympic Park entrance. The reception of the hotel is on the top floor and that's where the lobby is and breakfast is served. They have an awesome balcony up there that looks right out onto the Olympic Park.

The first thing that really hits you is all the people!!! Hundreds of thousands of people going in and out of the events every day. Whenever the events were over for the night, there was a constant stream of people coming out of the park for at least 2 hours. It was crazy! Yet very organized. The city did a great job corralling people into the right lines and having tons of helpers around to answer any questions. They were everywhere around the city so you never felt like you were lost.

We didn't really have any particular plans when I got there. Levi's mom, Jil, had already been there for a week and a half and his aunt, Jana, was out all day at the events. His cousin, Roy, swam prelims and finals each day I was there. Prelims in the morning and finals at night. Jana was awesome and got us tickets to all of the finals. The first day we walked around the city a bunch. We decided to go visit the Wimbledon Stadium since neither of us had seen it. We got off on the wrong stop and made a few too many detours because we ended up getting there 5 minutes after is closed :( We still got to see the outside but we were kinda disappointed. Then we decided to go on the London Eye. We went at night so we could see all the lights. It was really cool! The funny and unexpected thing is that the London Eye is far from being like a ferris wheel. We honestly had to try really hard to even see it moving. Basically it goes so slow you almost can't even tell you're moving. So its definitely just for observing which was fine for me who happens to be slightly afraid of heights.... That ended the first day as I was pretty tired from traveling.

Since London is so giant, there were lots of places for me to find gluten free food. We went to a grocery store in the Westfield Mall area call Waitrose. They had a great section of gluten free food like bread, cereal, granola bars, candy, baking stuff, etc. I bought some yummy rolls, turkey, and cheese in case I ever needed a quick meal. Honestly, whether or not you have Celiacs, it's always cheaper when traveling to buy a loaf of bread, meat, and cheese to make sandwiches a couple days than to eat out every time. There did happen to be a couple restaurants right next to our hotel that served food for me. There was a Mexican restaurant, Wahaca, that served a lot of gluten free options. They literally took a crayon and circled all the things I could eat (about 3/4 of the menu). We ate there twice and I was fine both times. The second restaurant had items on the menu labeled GF. It was called The Real Greek and had traditional Greek food. It was really good and they served it tapas style which was fun. I had a small stomach ache afterwards but I think it was from eating rich restaurant food and not from cross contamination. Otherwise we stopped one day for lunch at a small grocery store/market that had pre-packaged salads. Those are always good when traveling because you can read all the ingredients. Another day we ate at Starbucks of all places. They had a pre-packaged tuna and potato salad that was delicious. Starbucks is pretty good about carrying items that are GF. In the states, they always have granola bars I can eat.

Day 2 we looked in the guidebook and found a walking city tour (self-guided). We started at Trafalgar Square where there happened to be a huge Paralympic watch party with a giant screen, food tents, ping pong tables, etc. We walked east along the main road and walked for a couple hours. We stopped at the Royal Courts building which was way to fancy to be a court building. Across the street is the original Twinnings Tea shop. I really like tea so I had to get some :) Then we went into the main London cathedral, St. Paul. It reminded me a lot of St. Peter's in Vatican City. Really huge... Then we walked across the London Bridge, stopped for some lunch, and headed to the Tower of London. We had to walk across the Tower Bridge of course. We stopped to ask about tours at the Tower and decided we would go the next day. Then we headed straight back to our hotel to get ready for the finals. We got there pretty early, since crowds are pretty unpredictable and we didn't wanna miss Roy's event. We stayed for all the races that night and it was amazing to watch. Roy just got out-touched for gold in the 50m Butterfly! He had an awesome race and it was really exciting. The stadium gets REALLY loud, especially when there is a British swimmer.

Something interesting I learned about the Paralympics is how everyone is grouped into different categories based on their physical condition. There are a bunch of different categories that are a combination no arms, partial legs, dwarfism, blindness, etc. It's incredible to watch these athletes. Have you ever tried to swim a length of a pool without using your legs? Your arm muscles start burning in less than 30 seconds. And they go so fast! It was amazing! Roy is in category S5. He has no hands and no feet so his limbs end just below the elbow and just below the knee. He's at the lower end of his category physically but he won 2 bronze and 2 silver metals!

Day 3 we got up early and visited with Jana for a little while before she left for her busy day. We had breakfast up on the balcony of our hotel. Then we headed to the Tower of London to do a tour. It took about an hour and then we spent maybe another hour looking at the Crown Jewels and walking around to some of the different rooms. It was fun to hear the stories from the Guard who gave us our tour. He was crackin jokes the whole time. We went from the Tower straight to the Portobella Market. It was Saturday so the market was HUGE!! We walked for several hours and never got to the end. It started with antiques then went to clothes, food, and basically everything you could think of. It was awesome and I wish I had had more room in my suitcase to bring stuff home. Then we went back to the hotel to get packed up and get ready for the last finals event. Roy was swimming in the 100m Freestyle S5 finals. It was not his strongest event but he was still hoping to metal. Not only did he metal but he got another Silver! He had an awesome last 50 meters to beat out the 3rd place swimmer.

The next day was solely a travel day for all of us. Jil & Jana back to the US and me back to Polska. My trip took a really long time. I took a bus to a plane to a taxi to a train to a taxi with a lot of waiting in between. Luckily I found Starbucks twice during all those transfers so it wasn't terrible. I also had a great chance of getting lots of good GF food from London and on the way home in Gdansk. Levi had an exhibition away game the night I came back so he wasn't there when I got home but a beautiful bouquet of flowers was waiting for me :) Not sure how I got spoiled enough to go to London without him and get flowers when I got home.

Maura