Since joining the Bob’s Red Mill team five years ago, I’ve met my share of people who are newly diagnosed with celiac disease and others trying to get started eating gluten free. By now, I know the gist of what is important when you’re just getting started and always cringe when I meet people who tell me that they eat “mostly gluten free” and “cheat” when it’s something good, like birthday cake and pizza. I’m not a doctor, I’m just a person who has the privileged of meeting a lot of people on the gluten free diet. What I’ve learned is that everyone is different and the way gluten reacts in their system is different. So I asked all of our tweeps on Twitter to tell me what they feel is the most important advice for a newbie. I got a lot of great advice. In addition to these, I might add to be an advocate for yourself! You have the right to be happy and healthy. Let us know what you would tell a newbie to the gluten free diet in the comments section.

Here’s what our tweeps said:

• @CandicePike: Only do it if you’ve already been tested for Celiac. Whether or not you have it, you can’t be tested after going gluten free

• @CharityDas: be adventuresome, willing to try new things, explore new ingredients, new tastes, new stores, new ideas, ask for support.

• @Allisonthemeep: Read labels, and make LOTS of calls to companies to verify gluten-free. Don’t trust stuff people post on internet forums.

• @Joansweb: Advice: purchase Pocket Dictionary http://www.celiac.ca and Shelley Case’s book Gluten-Free Diet http://www.glutenfreediet.ca

• @G8rSteph: Start simple by sticking with meats, fruits, and veggies for a while. #GlutenFree

• @Oregon_SuNsHiNe: a newbie to the #gf diet should talk w/a dietician who specializes in celiac disease asap! Ours was so helpful & resourceful

• @GTCrumpette: see if there is a GIG branch in ur area and attend a celiac 101 class. Also read gluten free girl.

• @Laurabosak: Even though it’s expensive, but to buy finished products in the beginning and learn what flours appeal to your taste buds

• @Megankillian: advice for folks going #gfree: make enough gfree food for dinner to use as lunch the next day! Carry snacks wherever u go!

• @Achatel311: Best advice for newbies: “don’t be afraid to ask – the waiter, grocer, chef, family, whomever. ” #GlutenFree

• @Stwaldo: Read labels! Seriously, gluten sneaks into everything – also, ask questins at restaurats, you’d be surprised what you learn!

• @Archatel311: Best advice for newbies: “don’t be afraid to ask – the waiter, grocer, chef, family, whomever. “

• @GingerCM: rule one. If you think you have celiac, do NOT go #glutenfree before an endoscopy. Test will be inacc.

• @Sarahk47: Read Dr. Green’s book first thing!

• @Playknice: For someone starting #gfree, I’d say to find the foods you *can* eat and enjoy them. Keep it positive, you won’t miss bread.

• @MillerP: 1) Make a list of the food you already eat that is #gf. It’ll be longr than u think. 2) Forget about bread for a few months!

• @Anile: Nail 1 great recipe and work your way up from there. Don’t try too much at once and get overwhelmed by “failure” Persevere
• @Jayelldee:  Don’t have just gluten-free for one family member; use them for whole family. Brown rice pasta, Bob’s Baking Mix work well!

This dish is a great alternative to boxed stuffing and no one has to stick their hand in the bird (to retrieve stuffing at least).

Admit it, you’ve relied upon that dry box of stuffing that somehow turns into a luscious, buttery side when cooked according to package directions. Most of us have reached for it in our Thanksgiving shopping time and again. I admit it;  I am quite fond of stuffing and that certain box (we won’t name names). Anybody can throw together THAT blend and come out with perfect stuffing. This year, however, I’ve challenged myself to try something new, something whole grain, something that makes me feel like I earned it. I’m making Chef Roy Pingo’s Wild and Brown Rice Dressing from our new cookbook. The name isn’t fancy, but the dish is superb. PLUS, this dish is great for guests who need to follow a gluten free diet.

Wild and Brown Rice Dressing
Contributed by Roy Pingo, cookbook author & chef

Ingredients

• 5 cups Chicken or Turkey Stock (fat removed)
• 2 cups 3-Grain Wild Rice Blend, or any combination of brown and wild rice.
• 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 4 Scallions, chopped
• 3 cloves Garlic, minced
• 1/2 Red Bell Pepper, chopped
• 1 stalk Celery, chopped
• 1/2 cup Mushrooms, sliced
• 1 tsp fresh Sage
• 1 tsp Sea Salt
• 1/2 tsp Black Pepper
• 1/2 cup Pine Nuts, lightly toasted*

Directions

Bring the stock to a rolling boil in a large heavy saucepan. Stir in the rice, then cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 35 to 45 minutes, or until tender. Remove from heat and drain any remaining liquid.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet and sauté scallions, garlic, bell pepper, celery and mushrooms until the onions are transparent, about 5 minutes.

In a large casserole dish combine rice, sautéed vegetables and remaining ingredients together; gently toss to blend. Serve hot or refrigerate and reheat later.

Makes 12 servings.

*To toast pine nuts, place nuts in dry skillet over medium-low heat. Stir frequently until golden (about 5 minutes).

Artwork by customer Evelyn Horne

I have worked at Bob’s Red Mill now for just over six years.  Shortly after I started, I had the privilege of talking with customer Evelyn Horne.  She was trying to figure out an order and was having difficultly determining shipping costs.  I was happy to take the time to hear what she wanted and make sure all the costs were clear.  She was very appreciative and a new friendship was started.  Soon after our conversation, I received a drawing in the mail from Ms. Horne.  It was such a touching display of what Bob’s Red Mill meant to this elderly woman and it made me so happy to receive such correspondence.  I now talk with Ms. Horne a few times a year; helping her with orders, sending holiday cards, sharing stories and exchanging birthday wishes.  She turns 78 year young this month.  Happy Birthday Ms. Horne!

At Bob’s Red Mill we try to take the time with every customer, even though friendships are not created daily, we do hope satisfaction is.  If you have a question about our products, please feel free to give us a call at 1-800-349-2173.

Apples, cinnamon and nutmeg make this oatmeal a perfect start to Thanksgiving Day.

One of my favorite parts of visiting family for the holidays is making something fun for breakfast. We work so hard on planning the fancy dinner, but a good start to the day is needed to get through all that cooking (or football, whatever suits your fancy).

I work at Bob’s which means everyone thinks that I’m the breakfast expert (and, really, we ARE the World Porridge Champions). Usually, I just hand my husband a bag of our High Fiber Pancake Mix and say “go” and he whips up the batter, flipping pancakes until everyone is full.

This recipe from our new cookbook might make a great alternative this year… wonder if he’d feel left out?

Apple Pie Oatmeal

Contributed by Jolleen Washburn

Ingredients

* 1 Apple, cored and sliced
* 1 Tbsp Butter
* 1 Tbsp Brown Sugar
* 1 tsp Cinnamon
* 1/4 tsp Nutmeg
* 1/2 tsp Sea Salt
* 1-1/2 cups Regular Rolled Oats (GF will work fine too!)
* 1-1/2 cups Water
* 1-1/2 cups Apple Juice

Directions

Combine the butter and sugar in a heavy saucepan over medium heat and cook for 2 minutes, stirring frequently, until melted and blended. Add the apples, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt and cook for about 4 minutes, stirring, until the apples release their juices. Add the oats and cook for about 2 more minutes, until the juices are absorbed, stirring to prevent sticking. Add the apple juice and water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover and cook for 7 to 10 minutes, until the oatmeal is thick and the apples are soft.

Let the cooked oatmeal rest, covered for 2 minutes. Serve hot with any combination of toasted nuts, fresh fruit, cream, extra cinnamon or brown sugar.

If that doesn’t suit your fancy, maybe one of these suggestions will:

Sweet Breakfast Tabouli

Teff Porridge with Dates and Honey

Barley Hash

4-Grain Waffles

Sesame-Ginger Spelt Waffles

Gluten Free Chocolate Waffles

Use a basic cornbread mix or cornbread recipe to create a classic holiday dressing.

Got an extra package of cornbread mix in your cupboard just waiting to expire? If so, you’re in luck! This easy recipe uses a package of cornbread mix as a base for a delicious, homey dressing- perfect to take along to all those family gatherings coming up. It’s a great solution if you’re looking for something vegetarian to bring to a potluck and can even be adapted to be gluten free by using our Gluten Free Cornbread Mix or your favorite gluten free cornbread recipe. We suggest this recipe for GF Cornbread by Carol Fenster (author of 1000 Gluten Free Recipes) or this one for conventional Golden Cornbread. This dressing is delicious on its own, or used as a stuffing for turkey. Enjoy!

I recently made these whole grain buns for testing and they came out really nice. This recipe makes 3 dozen buns so it would be perfect for a large Thanksgiving gathering. You can also freeze extra buns for later use or you cut the recipe down to make the amount of dough you can utilize.

Bran Flax Buns
contributed by Anne McIntosh

1 Tbsp Active Dry Yeast
3/4 cup Lukewarm Water
1 tsp Sugar
1 1/2 cups Boiling Water
1 1/2 cups Milk
1/3 cup Brown Sugar
2 tsp Salt
2 Eggs
1 1/2 cups Brown Flaxseeds Meal
8 cups Whole Wheat Flour

Set yeast in the warm water and sugar for 10 minutes. Pour boiling water over milk. Add egg, sugar, salt, and yeast mixture to liquid and blend. Mix half of the flour and the flaxseed meal together . Add this to the liquid mixture and beat for 10 minutes. Gradually add the rest of the flour a cup at a time, kneading to a medium stiff dough. Let rise for 45 minutes, punch down. Let rise again 35-45 minutes, punch down and let sit for an additional 20 minutes before shaping into buns. Shape the buns and place on greased baking sheet. Let rise until doubled in size (an hour or more). Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes. Makes 3 Dozen Buns.

Here are some tips for kneading the dough-

You will first want to grab the far edge of the dough.

Step 2 in bread kneading.

Bring it forward, essentially folding the dough in half.

Step 2 in bread kneading.

Press the dough down and out with the palm of your hands. Repeat.

Step 3 in bread kneading.

The finished dish. We used savory herbs to replicate the flavors of Thanksgiving.

When our team was in Scotland, we kept our eyes out for fun new ways to use oats. While haggis does use oats, it’s not exactly something we felt the need to perfect. What we did find was a fun dish called Skirlie; a dish that uses oats to create a savory stuffing or risotto-like side. The ingredients in this recipe are merely suggestions and the Scottish variations we found were endless. Most recipes use steel cut oats, but I found several that used regular rolled oats and some that called for combinations of different oats. I liked the idea of keeping it simple with steel cut oats.

This dish turned out fantastic! It was savory and chewy with a bit of creaminess. Using oats as the grain in this dish created a creaminess not normally possible without the addition of milk. If you’re looking for a unique dish to bring to your Thanksgiving feast, we recommend this one. It’s easy, it’s made with whole grains, and- let’s face it- skirlie is just plain fun to say.

Caramelizing onions is not a fancy science, instead it is a practice in patience.

Skirlie

1 cup Bob’s Red Mill Steel Cut Oats (Regular or Gluten Free)
2 cups Vegetable Broth
1-2 Tbsp Canola Oil
2 medium Shallots, diced
1 tsp each: fresh Thyme leaves, Rosemary (chopped), Sage (chopped)
2 cloves Garlic, chopped
Freshly ground black pepper

Place vegetable broth and oats in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and stir regularly. The oats will continue to thicken; cook for at least 20 minutes to reduce the liquid, longer if desired.

Heat the oil in a pan. Add the shallots and garlic. Reduce heat to low. Cook until caramelized or lightly browned (stir often over low heat), about 15-20 minutes.* Add herbs and continue to cook for 3-5 more minutes. Remove from heat.

Add the shallot mixture to oats and stir to combine. Add freshly ground pepper to taste and serve.

Yield: 2 generous or 4 modest servings.

As steel cut oats cook, they will plump and create a creamy base for your skirlie.

*The trick to this recipe is patience. It took me years to figure out how to perfectly caramelize shallots and onions. The key, it turns out, is to cook them over low heat and stir often. This process takes a bit longer than a busy cook would like, but it’s worth it. Instead of bumbling through some directions for you, I found a great guide for making perfect caramelized onions at Simply Recipes and even more pictures and step-by-step instructions here at All Recipes.

Other Skirlie recipes:

Traditional Scottish Skirlie
Spring Skirlie
Skirlie Mirlie (this one doesn’t use oats, but it’s even more fun to say) This recipe uses turnips and potatoes to create savory mash.
Skirlie Mash (potatoes and skirlie)

Sunday, November 8 was my first experience cooking and serving oats to a bunch of muddy, hungry cyclocross racers and their fans. My only experience with Cyclocross up to that point had been gathering all the supplies needed for a “day at the races” – bag after bag of steel cut oats, raisins, brown sugar, walnuts, and date crumbles; milk and butter; big stainless steel cook pots; and all the little stuff like spoons, bowls, and salt, along with tents, propane stoves, folding tables and chairs.

Cyclists and spectators alike line up to get hot oatmeal on a cold fall day. Perfect fuel for a muddy ride.

The weather was relatively good for November; in other words, it wasn’t raining (until later). The comment I heard most often from the appreciative folks waiting in line for a bowl of steaming oats was, “We love you guys!” Several people came back for refills. Everyone was amazed that we were giving oats away. Of course, we had a jar on our table for donations to the Community Cycling Center, and it filled quickly.

It was great to be able to explain that Bob’s Red Mill makes the world’s best steel cut oats, proven at the Golden Spurtle competition in Scotland just a month ago.

Check out the recipes at bobsredmill.com for inspiration.

The holidays are tick-tick-ticking closer and, as usual, I’m just beginning to scratch my head and ponder what to bring to this year’s Thanksgiving feast. Over the last few years, I have gotten pegged with dessert. Guess that’s how it goes sometimes- someone’s the turkey person, someone’s the cranberry person… salads, potatoes, rolls…  it’s covered. Me? I’m the dessert person. It works out great, actually, because I get to peruse exotic dessert recipes and get all of my baking done ahead of time. It never stops me from helping out in the kitchen, but it’s nice to have my major contribution all done ahead of time.

What dish is “yours” at the holidays?

Don’t forget: Baking essentials are on sale this month at bobsredmill.com!

Look, it's me! Here I am shooting some video of the competition.

When our team began planning our trip to the Golden Spurtle World Porridge Championship we had very high hopes for the photos we could capture, the people we could meet, the foods we would taste and, um, the video we could shoot. So we got ourselves a fun and easy-to-use video camera and started shooting movies… er… clips. What we didn’t count on was just how much effort goes into making a lovely video like the one I posted yesterday from Fergus Thom of Carrbridge Films.

I got a video program and my first experiment was a bit shaky. So I watched a couple of tutorials and did some basic step-by-step editing. I am proud to say that after a few tries, I think I have something watchable. Here is Matt explaining who we are and what our dish was all about. Enjoy!

A Wee Bit o\’Banter with Matthew Cox

Next on my list- how to properly size videos to upload into WordPress. Any suggestions? You can email me at Cassidy(at) Bobsredmill.com