I don’t know about you, but a long weekend means we are swamped on Tuesday morning. I’m just going to post a quick note about the winners of our giveaway and will be back with more recipes and information tomorrow. We received over 350 legitimate entries for this giveaway!! Here are our winners:

Kirk McDonough is winner 1!

Cynthia Cowan is winner 2!

"ZombieMom" is winner 3!

In the unlikely event that a winner does not come forward to claim their prize within 7 days, we will pick a new winner. Congrats to all of our winners and thank you to everyone who entered. For those of you who did not win, but still want to own this wonderful bread machine: Hamilton Beach HomeBaker 2 lb Breadmaker (model 29881).

We recently began monitoring our recipe database to track which recipes our customers are viewing the most. It’s been really fun to see which recipes people are most interested in making. From these results, we’ve compiled a Top 10 list of our best recipes. Here is the list of our most popular gluten free recipes. Enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Cookies – Gluten Free

Bob’s Favorite Gluten Free Pancakes

Buttermilk Biscuits – Gluten Free

Gluten Free Zucchini Bread

Easy as Pie Crust

Magically Moist Almond Cake

Gluten Free Sandwich Bread for the Bread Machine

Gluten Free French Bread

Thick Yeast-Free & Gluten Free Pizza Crust

Almond Crispies

I had hoped to give y’all a good recap of what happened at BlogHer Food over the weekend in Atlanta, GA. Truth is, it’s kind of hard to boil it down into 500 words or less! Let’s just say this- we met so many amazing people and left inspired to work with everyone and find ways that we can uplift the food community to make our world a better place. I can’t even list all of the amazing writers and their blogs! I don’t want to leave anyone out! I got to meet David Lebovitz (and embarrass myself) and shared some of our spelt berries with him. David Leite from Leite’s Culinaria taught us how not to steal recipes. You’d think that was easy, but turns out it’s a very gray area and making sure you don’t accidentally steal something is a challenge. I got to chat “food love” with Faith from The Kitchn and Kelly from Evil Shenanigans. Andrew from Eating Rules got us jazzed up about changing how America eats and I was delighted to meet (and gush to) Mrs Q from Fed Up with Lunch (we recommend checking both of them out!). That’s just a small smattering of people I met.

If you’re a food blogger and you couldn’t make it to this great conference, check out the live blogs for great info!

I’ve got a lot of follow up to do, but I hope to bring you great guest writers, share even more recipes and show off some of the great food writing you can find online these days.

On Monday, I shared the Quinoa recipe that we served at the conference. Today, I’d like to give a little shout-out to Sala at Veggie Belly for letting us share her amazing recipe using pearl (aka Israeli) couscous on our website. Instead of posting it here, I want you to go find it there. It’s super simple and really something special. At the conference, we used our whole wheat pearl couscous instead of the plain that she calls for in her recipe. If you want to use whole wheat, just increase the cooking time from 5-7 minutes to 15-20 minutes. This recipe has quickly become a staple at my house. I always hope to have leftovers for lunches, but that has yet to happen!

Veggie Belly is just full of amazing recipes to inspire. It’s become one of my new favorite blogs to read and the perfect go-to for Meatless Mondays! What is your go-to blog for great recipes?

This weekend was spent rubbing elbows with some of our favorite food bloggers at the 2011 BlogHer Food conference in Atlanta, Ga. I’ll have a full recap for you guys tomorrow, but I wanted to share a dish we served at BlogHer Food to inspire you for Meatless Monday. This salad is one of our favorite quinoa dishes and was a HUGE hit with our fellow food bloggers. Serve this as a main dish or a side to your favorite veggie burger and grilled vegetables!  If you want to take it to the next level, add some crumbled feta or blue cheese.

Quinoa Salad

Contributed by Executive Chef Pascal Sauton

• 2 cups Quinoa Organic Grain
• 1/2 cup crushed Oregon Hazelnuts, toasted
• 1/4 cup minced green onions
• 1/4 cup dry black currants, soaked in warm water then drained
• 1/4 cup sherry vinegar
• 1/4 cup olive oil

Directions

To cook Quinoa: Boil 4 cups of water; add Quinoa and cook on medium heat for 10 minutes. Drain in a strainer, then spread Quinoa on a cookie sheet and let cool at room temperature. Do not rinse.

After Quinoa has cooled, place in a bowl, add the remaining ingredients and season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

Makes 10 Servings.

Here’s a fun way to doctor up gluten-free vanilla cake mix and coconut, creating a tropical cupcake that’s so sweet it needs no icing at all.

Pineapple-Coconut Cupcakes

• 3 Tbsp flaxseed meal*
• 1/2 cup filtered water, plus 6 Tbsp
• 1 package GF vanilla cake mix from Bobs Red Mill
• 1/2 cup chopped pineapple
• 1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1/2 cup coconut oil
• 1/4 cup pineapple juice
• 12 pieces cut pineapple chunks
• 1/4 cup unsweetened coconut flakes

Preheat the oven to 325F. Line 12 muffin cups with liners and spray with cooking spray.

Drain the canned pineapple chunks, then chop up enough pieces to make 1/2 cup. (Use water-packed pineapple or fresh pineapple chunks.)

If you are starting with whole flaxseeds, put them (dry) in a blender or spice grinder and grind them into meal. Pour the flaxseeds and the water into your mixing bowl and let sit for 5 minutes. Add the next five ingredients and mix using a whisk, stand mixer, or hand mixer until well blended and whipped up.

Use a scoop or measuring cup and fill the tins 3/4 full. Smooth the tops as best you can. (Gluten-free flour doesnt always rise and form as well as regular flour, so create the shape you want before baking.)

Gently press one pineapple chunk (point down) into the center of each cupcake and add some flaked coconut around it, pressing it gently into the top of the batter so it sticks.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, testing for doneness with a toothpick. Allow to cool in the pan (on top of a wire rack) for about 10 minutes, then remove from the pan, placing on the wire rack to cool completely.

Notes: If eating within one day, just cover with a clean kitchen towel. If you need to store them, place one paper towel in the bottom of your storage container, then add another paper towel on top. According to Julie of Savvy Eats, this is the best way to keep muffins and cupcakes moist but not soggy.

* You can use 3 eggs in this recipe in place of the flaxseed meal and 6 Tbsp of the water.

For more amazing recipes, visit The Recipe Renovator.com.

In the May 23rd issue of Time Magazine, there is an article titled “Bad-Mouthing Gluten: What’s behind the craze for gluten-free food.“  A copy of the article has been circulating around the building and soliciting varied responses from employees. Unfortunately, I can’t share the whole article with you and the website doesn’t print the entire article, so you’ll have to find a copy at the store to read it in its entirety.

More than anything, the article brings up the topic of eating gluten free for reasons beyond celiac disease and gluten intolerance. The article quotes a recent survey by Packaged Facts, a market research firm, that showed only 8 to 12% of people who purchase gluten free foods did so because of a health condition that required it. It seems to me that a perception of gluten free as healthier or better for weight loss has been gaining traction in the media. I can’t help but think that this comes from a lack of fully understanding what gluten is and why gluten free foods exist.

I feel lucky to work so closely with people who understand what gluten is and why some people cannot tolerate even the tiniest amount of it. I am grateful to all of you, our customers, who have taught me so much about living a gluten free life and what the efforts we put into our gluten free products mean to you.

What do you think about this trend of eating gluten free for reasons beyond celiac disease and gluten intolerance? We truly want to know.

We’ve heard from a lot of customers who really enjoy our Gluten Free Pizza Crust Mix. This kind of feedback always makes us really happy. We’ve also discovered how versatile the mix can be, thanks in part to our creative customers out there who are willing to experiment with it. We’ve received dozens of successful (and tasty!) recipes ranging from perogies and buns to soda bread and muffins. It’s wonderful to know that our customers are so adventurous in their cooking and baking!!

We’ve done some experimenting of our own here in the test kitchen, and discovered a fantastic Gluten Free Cinnamon Roll recipe. We hope that you try this and enjoy it!!

We also want to say thank you to everyone who has submitted such great recipes. If you have created a new recipe with this or any other Bob’s Red Mill product, please share it with us by submitting a recipe!

Gluten Free Cinnamon Rolls

Dough:
1/4 cup Butter
1/2 cup Sugar
2 Eggs*
Yeast Packet (from package)
1 cup Warm Water
1 – 16 pkg (3 1/4 cups) Gluten Free Pizza Crust Mix
Rice Flour for dusting

Filling:
1/4 cup Butter, melted
1/2 cup Brown Sugar
2 tsp Cinnamon

* To replace the eggs, combine 2 Tb Flaxseed Meal with 6 Tb of water; mix and let stand 5 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Add 1 Tb of the sugar to the warm water. Sprinkle the yeast packet on top of water and let sit 5 minutes. Cream together the butter and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, making sure to blend in completely.

Add the yeast mixture to the butter/egg mixture and blend. Add in the pizza crust mix; blend two minutes. Heavily dust a foot long sheet of wax paper with rice flour. Spread batter over the length of the wax paper, about 19 inches. Using warm water, wet your hands and press the batter outward to fill the sheet. Keep your hands wet. Once the batter evenly covers the wax paper, brush melted butter over the batter from edge to edge.

Combine the cinnamon and sugar and then sprinkle mixture over the batter from edge to edge. Pick up the short end of the wax paper and begin carefully rolling the batter over itself like you would a jelly roll. Cut the roll into 1 ½ inch pieces and gently place the disks into the 8 x 8 inch greased pan. It is okay to crowd them.

Let the rolls rise in a warm place for 30 minutes. Bake for 20 – 25 minutes. Remove from oven, cool until the butter stops bubbling then flip out onto a plate. Makes 8 cinnamon rolls.

This is one of our favorite recipes at our house. It takes a little effort, but it is so worth it! Serve these with spaghetti and red sauce for the classic spaghetti and meatballs or use in place of a conventional meat recipe for swedish meatballs. These make great appetizers and leftovers are perfect for meatball subs. Since we just have two eaters in our house, I usually freeze half of the batch for another meal. Frozen “meat” balls can be thrown in the oven at 400°F for 10-12 minutes to reheat.

Millet “Meat” Balls

• 1 3/4 cups Cannellini Beans (cooked or from can)*
• 1 medium Onion
• 1 clove Garlic, minced
• 2 tsp Basil
• 1/2 cup Water
• 1 1/2 cups cooked Hulled Millet
• 3/4 cup Seasoned Bread Crumbs (or gluten free Bread Crumbs)
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan Cheese
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 1/2 cup Seasoned Bread Crumbs (or gluten free Bread Crumbs)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F. In blender or food processor, puree cannellini beans, onion, garlic, basil, and water. Combine with cooked millet (see note), bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, and salt. Let stand 5 to 10 minutes.

Lightly spray cookie sheet. Shape mixture into 1” balls and roll in bread crumbs. Bake for approximately 40 minutes, flipping halfway through. Serve with marinara if desired. Makes approximately 30 “meat” balls.

NOTE: To cook millet, bring 2 cups water to boil. Add 1/2 cup Hulled Millet and reduce heat to simmer. Cook for 35-40 minutes, or until tender.

*If Cannellini beans are hard to come by, try pinto or navy beans

If you’ve heard much about Bob, you probably know he owns not one, but two Model-A’s. His original is named Clara and his new(er) Roadster is named Gertie. Both cars are beyond beautiful, if you like that sort of thing, and a heck of a lot of fun to ride in. We have a local show in Portland called The Ride Show hosted by Nik Miles. The show airs on NW32. The point of all of this is that Bob was asked to show off Gertie on the show. I’m not sure when the show will air, but we got a great photo and we wanted to share it with you. Nik is on the left. Happy Friday!

THIS CONTEST IS CLOSED

Last summer, I worked with the nice folks over at Hamilton Beach to help them launch a new bread machine with a gluten free bread setting—The HomeBaker 2 lb Bread Machine. They came to us for help with gluten free bread recipes and advice about gluten free baking in general. We also tested our mixes with the machine to be sure they would work before we embarked on this project. In return for our help and partnership, they gave me 3 of these machines to share with you guys! How cool is that??

I know bread machines seem like a throwback from the 80′s and many folks still have one lying around in the garage collecting dust, but they have seen a resurgence in the last few years with people looking for ways to eat better and eat fresher.

Do you know how easy a bread machine is?? Seriously, you just put the ingredients in and press a button. Before you know it, you’ve got fresh bread and a house that smells like a bakery. It’s the Crockpot of bread baking! I had sort of brushed them off as a another appliance to take up space in my kitchen, until I got one of these new Hamilton Beach machines to play with. It sat in its box for an embarrassing amount of time and when I finally pulled it out, it was with resignation. Ok, I have to use this so I can tell our readers about it. Let me tell you, after one loaf, I was hooked. Now I use it to make all sorts of things- like pizza dough. Just throw my ingredients in and come back in 90 minutes to wonderfully springy and perfectly risen pizza dough ready to be baked.

That’s the cool thing about this machine- it has all sorts of great settings (did I mention gluten free??) and a handy delay-start so I could put the ingredients in on my way to work and come home to fresh bread! Another problem that it solved for me was the rising temperature. The hubs likes to keep our house just above freezing, which makes it difficult to get my dough to rise properly and this machine keeps the dough the perfect temperature for rising- so no matter how frigid my house, I can still get my dough to rise.

Ok, enough about how much I am enjoying this machine. Now for the good parts! How can you enjoy this machine?

Prizes:

Three winners will receive a brand new Hamilton Beach Bread Machine and their choice of either our Gluten Free Bread Mix Gift Set or our regular Bread Mix Gift Set. As an extra bonus- there’s even a coupon inside for more of our bread mixes!!

How to Enter

It’s simple, but because of the nature of this giveaway, I need to be strict. If you don’t follow the rules exactly, I will not count you.

To enter, simply leave us a comment here, on our blog on this post, and tell us which gift pack you would like to win. That’s it. Nothing fancy.

Most importantly: YOU HAVE TO ENTER HERE ON OUR BLOG- NOT ON FACEBOOK. I’ll remind people to head over to our blog, if they enter on Facebook, but I won’t be looking there to pick the winners.

Winners will be chosen using Random.org from all those who enter by 11:59 pm on Sunday, May 22nd, 2011. I will announce winners by May 31st. Unfortunately, we have to limit winners to residents of the United States (our apologies to our Canadian friends).

Good luck!

Want more information about this machine? Check out this site for great info.

Terms and Conditions of Entry