Thanks to everyone who sent in submissions for the recipe photo contest!  With all the enticing pictures we received, deciding on winners was a challenge.  All the tantalizing photos will surely inspire kitchen creations. 

The grand prize winner was quite simply the most stunning and beautiful photo; we were entranced and drooling over the pears!  Congratulations Cathi Iannone for this amazing photo!

An ARGENTINIAN LOVE a PEAR!

Here are the other great photos which won for the different categories. 
Congratulations to all the winners!

Breads

Sprouted Whole Wheat Rolls
by Lindsay McSweeney

Rose’s Gluten Free Prune Bread
by Sarah Youssef

Breakfast

Blueberry Muffins
by Jean from Delightful Repast blog

Gluten Free Savory Breakfast Muffins
by Silver Jones

Desserts

Oatmeal Gingerbread Men
by Julie Smith

Double Chocolate Pumpkin Brownies
by Noelle Kelly with An Opera Singer in the Kitchen blog

Main Dishes

Savory Bean Stew with Cheddar Corn Dumplings
by Amanda Livesay

Peanut Sauce Vegetable Stir Fry with Tofu
by Tina Chen

Soups/Salads/Sides

Polenta Cakes with Rosemary Skewered Scallops and Greens
by Ray Moody

Wild Rice and Millet Seasonal Stuffing
by Danica from Soundly Vegan blog

Bob’s Red Mill has been nominated in four categories for the Best of Gluten Free Awards run by Triumph Dining. We’ve been nominated in these categories: Best Gluten-Free Cake Mixes, Best Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix, Best Gluten-Free Hot Cereal (Gluten Free Mighty Tasty Cereal), and Best Gluten-Free Pancake (& Waffle) Mix.

It is quite an honor to be nominated and we would be thrilled to win an award. There are a lot of great companies nominated in 42 different categories, so even if you don’t think we’re the best in all of four of the categories we were nominated in, you should still head over and cast your vote at http://www.triumphdining.com/blog/best-of-gluten-free/

The survey is up until January 14th, 2011.

In case you’re not familiar with Triumph Dining, they’re the folks who put out the lovely Gluten Free Restaurant and Grocery Guides each year. These guides help people following the gluten free diet find restaurants in their area with gluten free choices and safe products in the supermarket. Both of these guides would be an excellent gift for a person who has been recently diagnosed with celiac disease or put on a gluten free diet.

Hi everyone!  It’s hard to believe the Cyclocross Season is almost over!  This Sunday I will be lining up against the best in the nation to compete in the US Cyclocross National Championships in Bend, OR.  There will be live coverage provided by our friends at Cyclingdirt.  You can watch the coverage here. The race starts at 12:30 PST.  But first, let me recap the last two weekends of racing leading up to Nationals.

Thanksgiving morning started with a cold Waffle Cross ride with about 40 other Boston area cyclists through the woods and roads around Wellesley, MA. After the ride, the group gathered for fresh waffles made with Bob’s Red Mill 10-Grain Waffle Mix. Huge thanks to Bob’s Red Mill for donating product to the event! Matt and I jetted off to his lab for some work before picking up our little Russian pal Natasha and driving to Maine for Thanksgiving dinner at my sister’s house. Although Matt had to return to the lab that night and spend the whole next day working, I got Friday off to prepare for the weekend racing locally at the Baystate Cross race.

Baystate Cyclocross – Day 1

The weather at Sterling is always cold and very windy and Saturday was no exception.  The course was mostly flat with a few minor obstacles leading to road race-like tactics as the race went on.  I moved to the front pulling the group in the headwind and burnt one too many matches and missed the move to keep on the wheels of the top three leaders.  I spent the remainder of the day dangling 5 to 20 seconds behind them with another racer on my wheel.  Tactics meant she would not help me catch the leaders because she has a teammate in the group, but she managed to sprint me at the line beating me by a hair.

Race reports and photos from Cyclingnews and Cyclocross Magazine here and here.

Baystate Cyclocross – Day 1

The wind was calmer on Sunday and the course had been changed to include two small sets of stairs, a hilly climb in the woods and more turns.  A group of six of us broke free and spent the majority of the race trying to attack one another and get ahead.

In the final lap I moved into second place and over a steep climb and got a small gap with one other rider.  The riders behind us had a crash on the descent and we took off.  I made a move to take the lead, attacking up the last steep hill and sprinting for the line where I was elbowed out at the line taking second.

Race reports and photos from Cyclingnews as well as Cyclocross Magazine can be found here and here. Dave McElwaine was on hand for interviews after the finish. Check out his interview with me here.

After an incredibly hectic week of late nights and early morning in the lab, a full schedule of clients at my massage practice, setting up the cat sitter for our extended absence and packing bikes, Matt and I headed to Portland late Thursday afternoon.  We arrived at Dan and Addie’s to a warm welcome back to Portland.  On Friday, Matt had booked a great massage for me with Colleen McClenahan while he headed to the race venue to work for the Cannondale Cyclocrossworld Team. After my massage and a leisurely food-shopping trip, I headed over to the venue to pre-ride the course.

Stanley Portland Cup – Day 1

Portland has been full of rain and mud all season long while I have been racing in completely dry and often hot conditions.  I was excited for a messy weekend but as luck would have it, the sun was brightly shining in Portland and the course was quickly drying out.  There would be very little mud this weekend.

After a great start, something slowly began to happen as I ran out of steam in the second lap of the race.  I was fatigued and sluggish and even felt a little shaky. Cyclists often describe this as “bonking”.  It’s the result of improper nutrition. After the long 6-hour flight and getting settled into Portland, I had failed to hydrate enough and the morning of the race did not eat enough to sustain my energy in the cold and windy conditions. I was out of energy and out of the competition.

I finished the race with the worst result since I began racing 6 years ago.  Oh boy, hit the restart button for tomorrow!

Race reports and photos from Cyclingnews as well as Cyclocross Magazine can be found here and here. Also, check out Lyne’s photo gallery at Podium Insight here.

Stanley Portland Cup – Day 2

After a good dinner the night before and better timing for my breakfast, I was still feeling a bit “off” as I arrived at the race venue.  I was determined to finish my 32 oz bottle of drink mix and to eat a second breakfast 2 hours before my race.  I also took 2 electrolyte capsules and within 20 minutes felt 100% better!

I warmed up on the course, which was now much faster than the day before and completely dry.  Matt added higher pressure to my Challenge Grifo tires… perfect for the fast but tacky conditions. After my warm up I had eaten and drank my fill and was ready to race.

I had another good start and hung on to the leaders through the first technical sections and quickly found myself in the fight for 5th through 10th place. Each lap I passed a few riders and then was passed back again until the last lap when I was able to hold onto eighth closing in on sixth and seventh place.

Through the last few turns it was a two-up fight for eighth and ninth, I took ninth for the day. I felt a lot better that the day before but not quite 100%. Nationals are next weekend and I’ll surely be taking the next several days to recover properly with lots of fluids and nutrition.

Race reports and photos from Cyclingnews as well as Cyclocross Magazine can be found here and here. Colt from Cyclingdirt caught up with me at the finish. Watch the interview here.

Happy Holidays from MM Racing!

Recently, I published a cookbook called Fit Food for Foodies with very tasty recipes that are gluten free, dairy free, and sugar free. The recipes are quick and so wonderful that you will never know that you are eating “healthy food”. I have found that Bob’s Red Mill gluten free products are widely available and are excellent (that is saying a lot because I am picky). I have several Bob’s Red Mill products in my pantry including a variety of the gluten free flours, baking mix, oats, and brown rice farina. By the way, the brown rice farina makes an excellent polenta (sorry the recipe will be in the next book but maybe I will post it on my website healthygoodeats.com for free- please ask). I made crepes with the teff and gluten free baking mix, they were yummy too.

There has been a lot of media attention lately about obesity linked to the Western diet heavily influenced by processed foods. The problem afflicts millions of people that have adopted a Western diet and can lead to serious health problems such as heart disease, adult onset diabetes, and high cholesterol. Many are allergic to foods such as wheat and dairy, knowingly or unknowingly. It is difficult to find processed foods that do not contain some amount of wheat, dairy, or sugar.

Eating healthy, whole foods is healthy and people are becoming more aware of how foods affect energy levels and overall health. Benefits include more energy, weight loss (if you need to), clearer skin and eyes, reduce aches, pains and digestive problems, release yourself from addictive habits, and feel empowered by your choices to take control of your diet and health.

What we eat affects our bodies in many ways. The time is now to eat healthy, wholesome food and live life feeling great. Your health is in your hands and life is a gift, so make the most of it.

Fit Food for Foodies is now available and can be purchased online at Healthygoodeats.com

Giveaway

Peggie’s book, Fit Food for Foodies, is a great resource for healthy and delicious recipes. We have partnered with her to bring you a great giveaway just in time for the new year. We have three copies of Fit Food for Foodies to give out and we’ll throw in a package of our Gluten Free All Purpose Baking Mix and Organic Quinoa (gluten free) for the three lucky winners. Here’s how to enter for your chance to win.

1. Leave us a comment here, on this post, and tell us your health-related or food-related New Year’s Resolution. It doesn’t have to be crazy, it can be as simple as you like.
2. For a second chance to win, you may do one of these two things:
   1. Visit Facebook and “Like” Fit Food for Foodies, then report back here and tell us that you did so.
   2. If you are not on Facebook or already “like” Fit Food for Foodies,” you may visit HealthyGoodEats.com and tell us which “Freebies” recipe sounds the most appealing to you instead.

The contest ends on 12/16 at 11:59 pm. Winners will be chosen through random selection and announced on Friday, December 17^th- we’d like to get prizes out to people before the holidays.

Making your own ornaments is fun and creates lasting memories.

One of my favorite Christmas memories as a kid was decorating the Christmas Tree—opening box after box of ornaments, delicately unwrapping each one and finding the perfect spot on the tree. To this day, it’s one of my favorite holiday traditions. I remember my mother had these wonderful gingerbread ornaments that smelled heavenly. I say “had” because they were lost to a four-legged furry friend a couple of years back, so I went on a hunt to find a great recipe for making my own.

There are a few different ways that people have approached these type of ornaments. Some recipes involve several days of drying and others involve using craft glue as an ingredient. It really depends on how much you want to put into these and how much you want to spend on the ingredients. I am opting for the slightly more complicated version without glue. This is a great activity to do with children, though be aware it takes several days to go from dough to ornament.

This is lightly adapted from EHow.com, to see the original recipe, click here.

• 6 tbsp. shortening
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup molasses
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• 2 tsp. ground cloves
• 2 tsp. ginger
• 2 tsp. cinnamon
• 7 cups flour (white, whole wheat, gluten free, doesn’t matter)
• 1-1/2 cups water

You will also need:

• Acrylic Paints in the colors of your choice
• Clear Acrylic Paint or Varnish
• Cookie Cutters (almost any shape will be fun)
• Rolling Pin
• Ribbon or Thread
• Straw or Pencil (for making holes- after all, you’re not eating them)

In a large bowl, beat shortening and sugar; stir in molasses. Sift baking soda, ground cloves, ginger, cinnamon and flour together in a large bowl. Stir this mixture plus water into the sugar and shortening mixture, alternately adding the water and baking soda mixture to the shortening mixture. Stir until mixed thoroughly and refrigerate 6-8 hours.

Preheat oven to 350° degrees.

Cut dough into three equal pieces, knead each piece lightly and then use a rolling pin to roll out each piece to a 1/4-inch thickness. Use a cookie cutter to shape cookie, then place on cookie sheet. Use a medium-sized drinking straw or pencil to make a hole at the top of each shape. Bake for about 20 minutes. Turn oven off and allow cookies to cool in the oven. This will help harden the cookies.

Place cookies on racks to completely harden. Place racks in a cool, dry place and let sit for two to three days. Coat cookies with clear acrylic paint or varnish and allow cookies to dry thoroughly.

Paint cookies with acrylic paints as desired. Allow paint to dry thoroughly.

Thread a 5- to 6-inch length of narrow ribbon or cording through the hole at the top of each ornament. Knot ends and hang ornaments.

Last Thursday I had the pleasure of attending the Blind Café in Portland, which is a dining experience in the dark, to bring awareness to the blind community.  I first heard about it at work since Bob’s Red Mill is a sponsor of this fantastic event. This was the most amazing dining experience I have ever had and I can’t wait for the next one!  I would recommend this to everyone.

It was great to have the opportunity to spend an evening in complete darkness learning to eat, listen and live without the use of sight.  Food had more flavor, music came alive and there was no worry about people staring at you when you drop food in your lap (like I did) since no one witnessed it.  Others in my party have called it spiritual, encouraged others to learn about it and can’t stop talking about it.  There is something special about rediscovering your senses while eating absolutely delicious food, focusing on compelling poetry and feeling truly beautiful music. 

Blind Café in Portland was started by Rosh who came up with the idea after experiencing a blind café while visiting Iceland.  He brought the experience to Boulder, CO and then to Portland.  Gerry Leary, owner of the Unseen Bean coffee roasting, has been blind from birth and came together with Rosh to organize this event.  Gerry also escorted my group to our table and was super friendly and funny.  He even took Q & A from the audience about being blind.  Chef Ivy Entrekin created food with unique and appealing flavors using wholesome ingredients which left you utterly content.

The goal of The Blind Café is to be a community event and bring people closer together while raising awareness.  This was accomplished with dining and entertainment and I got to leave happy and mindful, so I would call this a remarkable success!

Homemade gravy can turn a boring pot pie into a comfort food masterpiece.

We know that gravy isn’t something that typically falls within our scope of expertise at Bob’s Red Mill, but it is something that accompanies many of our favorite dishes and it does require flour. Homemade gravy is worth the effort and, after explaining how to make a good gravy several times over the last few weeks, I thought it might be of interest to you.

The key to good gravy is the roux. The roux is what binds the gravy together and promotes thickening. A simple mixture of flour and butter, lightly browned, can work miracles when added to broth. I’ve played around with a few different combinations that have worked out well- real butter with white flour, real butter with whole wheat flour, and vegan butter (we use Earth Balance) and whole wheat flour. I haven’t tried any gluten free flours, but Gluten-Free Girl has had success with Sweet White Rice Flour and others recommend brown rice flour. From what I can tell, the flour and the butter combination is fairly flexible.

To make your roux, simply melt the butter in a saucepan. Stir in the flour and stir continuously for one minute. This toasts the flour and creates a thickener for your gravy. So simple, yet so important. Stirring continuously is the best way to toast your flour without burning the butter.

To make gravy, you will also need broth, stock or drippings. I frequently use vegetable stock, but any sort of broth will work. Then, season away- add rosemary, thyme and sage for a savory sauce. For a chicken gravy, use chicken broth and salt and pepper. You can make a brown gravy with mushrooms to go with your holiday dinner or a white gravy using milk and salt and pepper for topping biscuits and fried chicken. I’ve even made a light vegan gravy using vegetable broth, salt, pepper, thyme and rosemary to go in a vegetable potpie.

I’ve never been happy with the gravy that comes in the little envelopes or the congealed gravy meant to heat and serve. I assure you that the little bit of work will be worth it when you spoon up your mashed potatoes with homemade gravy. Plus, this is a great way to show those in your life with food allergies how much you care. Gluten Free Gravy? No sweat. Vegan Gravy? So easy it’s laughable. Dairy Free Gravy? Give me a break. You can make a gravy that meets all three requirements with no one being the wiser.

Cheers!

(C) 2010 RecipeRenovator.com ­­

This recipe comes from Stephanie, The Recipe Renovator. We just love her blog because she takes ‘sinful’ recipes and turns them into something we can all feel good about eating. She was kind enough to share this amazing recipe for stuffed acorn squash with us and will be contributing more recipes throughout the holiday season. Thanks, Stephanie! Enjoy!

Stuffed Acorn Squash with Quinoa and Persimmons

Makes 2 main course servings or 4 side servings

• 1 acorn squash
• ½ C.  red quinoa or golden quinoa
• 2 small persimmons (about ¾ C. chopped)
• ½ C. swiss chard
• ¼ C. pine nuts
• ½ C. Daiya dairy-free cheese or parmesan
• 3 sage leaves ( ¼-½ t. dried sage)
• ½ t. sea salt
• ¼ t. chipotle chili powder
• ¼ t. cumin

Preheat the oven to 350°. Wash the squash, then slice off each end. Cut in half (it’s a little easier to cut them in half lengthwise, but the finished dish looks more like an acorn if you cut it crosswise as pictured). Scoop out the seeds using a grapefruit spoon. Put the seeds in a small bowl of water.

Place the squash cut-side down in an oiled baking pan. Bake 30-40 minutes until soft. Leave the oven on.

Meanwhile, rinse and drain the quinoa, then add 1 C. water or vegetable broth (add ½ t. miso if using water). Bring to a boil, then turn down and simmer for 15 minutes on low. Turn off and let sit, then fluff with a fork.

Remove all the stringy bits of the squash from the seeds and rinse them clean. Place in a small saucepan with a cup of filtered water and 2-3 t. of sea salt. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 10 minutes. Drain.

Chop the chard and place in a large bowl. Core the persimmons and chop into about 1/2” dice. Add to the bowl. Mince the sage leaves. Add the pine nuts, cooked quinoa, cheese, spices, and stir to mix.

When the squash is cooked, put the baking pan on your work counter, then flip the squash right-side up. Using a grapefruit spoon and a fork to hold it steady, scoop out the squash flesh, adding it to your filling bowl. Be careful not to poke through the skin. Leave about ½ inch of flesh inside.

Mix the squash evenly into the filling, then pack it into a rounded 1 cup measure and put it into the squash halves. Put the squash seeds in one corner of the pan, adding a small amount of olive oil and some smoked paprika. Stir to coat.

Bake at 350° for 15-20 minutes until the filling is hot and the cheese is melted. Top with toasted seeds and a drizzle of garlic olive oil.

This recipe was originally published on The Recipe Renovator.  All rights reserved.

Gluten Free Brownie Mix:
Triple Chocolate Brownie Cookies 

Gluten Free Pancake Mix:
Gluten Free Pancake Cookies 

Gluten Free Chocolate Cake Mix:
Choco-Peanut Butter Chip Cookies

Gluten Free Pizza Crust Mix:
Gluten Free Irish Soda Bread 

Gluten Free Cornbread Mix:
GF Cornbread Mix Pancakes

7 Grain Marionberry Coffee Cake

Organic 7 Grain Pancake Mix:
7 Grain Marionberry Coffee Cake
7-Grain Cranberry Spice Muffins 

Buttermilk Pancake Mix:
Whole Grain Buttermilk Crepes 

Buttermilk Biscuit Mix:
Potato Biscuits
Molasses Cookies

Oatbran & Nuts Muffin Mix:
Oat Bran, Date & Nut Muffin Mix Banana Cake 

Irish Soda Bread Mix:
Irish Soda Berry Scones
Irish Soda Crackers