We've Moved!!

Hey everyone! Don't fret, the Baking Beauties have not disappeared. We've just moved to our own blog.

Please, join us at www.thebakingbeauties.com, where new recipes, reviews, and giveaways will still be posted on a regular basis.

If you need to email me, please do so at jeanine (at) thebakingbeauties (dot) com

See you on the other side!

Strawberry, Balsamic Vinegar and Black Pepper Jam

This jam is something a little different, but I knew I really wanted to try it. I had seen a few recipes here and there, and decided to put together a few ingredients that appeal to me, and see how it went from there. This jam has the same sweetness that your favorite strawberry jam might have, but it also has the hidden kick of balsamic vinegar and black pepper. I love it. It is perfect on a cracker topped with a slice of cheese.

Ingredients:

• 6 cups of strawberries, washed, hulled and cut up
• 3 cups granulated sugar
• 2 Tbsp Balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 tsp black pepper (or up to a tsp if your pepper isn't very hot)
• 1 57 gram package of pectin (powder form)
• 2 Tbsp butter

Directions:

1. Place berries in a large pot. Mash using a potato masher.
2. Mix 1/2 cup granulated sugar and package of pectin. Stir into berries.
3. While stirring constantly, bring the mixture up to a boil.
4. Add the remaining 2 1/2 cups of granulated sugar, and bring back up to a boil. Allow mixture to boil hard for 1 minute.
5. Stir in butter until melted. Stir in Balsamic vinegar and black pepper.
6. Pour hot jam into clean, sterilized jars and either process in a hot water bath, or allow to cool completely before placing in the freezer.

Gluten-Free Lemon Cornmeal Waffles with Strawberry Rhubarb Syrup

Today is National Waffle Day. Seriously, it is! Any day is a good day to have waffles to me though, I don't need an excuse. Oddly enough, I also don't think of waffles as a breakfast food, since we have them for supper more than we do for breakfast. These waffles are special though. This waffle recipe comes from one of my favorite celebrity chefs, Anna Olson.

For those of you that have been following along with me for a while, you will know that I competed in the Real Women of Philadelphia contest (hence all the recipes involving cream cheese the past few months). Well, although I did not win a finalist spot, I did win a "Philly Spirit Award" for the Philly Socialite. These awards were given out to gals on the forum that supported the forum, the ladies & the contest, but did not get a finalist spot. There were 3 awards given, Rising Star award that my friend Cindy received, the Production Queen that was bestowed upon my friend Heather, and the Philly Socialite, that yours truly was awarded with.

I would love to be able to tell you what the award was, but now, a month later, I still haven't received anything. We were told that it was going to be a gift basket worth $500, put together by Kraft and Anna Olson, but beyond that we have no clue. And we wait.

By the way, in case you don't know, Anna Olson is an amazing pastry chef. She was the spokesperson for the Real Women of Philadelphia contest. She is on Food Network Canada, where she has a show called "Fresh with Anna Olson", but I really loved watching her on "Sugar". She is the author of 6 cookbooks, one which was written with her husband Michael, who is also a chef. Anna shared stories and pictures from her life with us on the Real Women forums, and I have to say, my favorites were the "A Day in the Life" features, since she is currently working on another cookbook, and these ones were usually filled with video & pictures showing what goes on at her house on a photo shoot day. As a foodie, that was fun to watch. (By the way, this woman is a real woman. Her amazing dress for the finale dinner was from Winners and she took her shoes off after the dinner. So humble, gracious, fun, and real.)

The finalists, as well as some of the participates, had an awards banquet on July 6th. We could win tickets to the dinner from the forum, but travel & accommodations were not included. So, yours truly, although I really wanted to be there, followed the event via a live chat session. That was neat, but not the same. However, my friends Cathy & Cindy thought that they would record Anna Olson saying "Hi Jeanine", and Anna went much further than that. Here is her recorded message for me. I really appreciate it, it was a busy night for her, and she still took a minute to record a message for me. :)

Kraft Canada now has a new Real Women of Philadelphia contest going on now. And no videos are required either. All you have to do is enter a recipe with a picture. Each week it is a different theme, and there will be 40 winners, each receiving $100 and the chance to be published in a cookbook. So, if that sounds like something that interests you, head on over there and give it a go. I have decided that I won't be participating this time round. I've already given so many great recipes, I'm not sure what else I'd do. Plus, I've got a few other projects related to this blog & the gluten-free life on the go, that I just don't have the time right now.

So, how does all of this tie together with Waffle Day, you may be asking yourself. Well, this waffle recipe is converted from a recipe by Anna Olson. We really, really liked these waffles, and the strawberry rhubarb syrup was amazing as well. I had made pancakes in the past that had cornmeal in them, and since we liked those, I was sure we'd like these waffles as well. We did, they were fantastic!

Thank you, Anna for all the time you gave to us, and the interest you've shown in our culinary adventures. :)


Yields 4 large Belgian waffles


Strawberry Rhubarb Syrup

Ingredients:

• 2 cups diced fresh or frozen rhubarb
• 2 cups quartered fresh strawberries
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup white corn syrup
• 1 cup water
• 1 vanilla bean

Directions:

1. Bring diced rhubarb, 1 cup of strawberries, sugar, corn syrup, water and scraped seeds from vanilla bean up to a simmer.
2. Gently simmer for 10 minutes until rhubarb is tender and colour is extracted. Remove from heat and strain
3. Stir in remaining strawberries while warm and let cool. Syrup can be prepared up to a week in advance and stored in the refrigerator.

Gluten-Free Lemon Cornmeal Waffles

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cup all-purpose gluten-free flour (see Note)
• 1/2 cup cornmeal
• 1 tsp xanthan gum
• 2 Tbsp sugar
• 1 Tbsp baking powder
• 2 tsp lemon zest
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 large eggs, separated

NOTE: 4 cups superfine brown rice flour, 1 1/3 cups potato starch (not flour), 2/3 cup tapioca starch. Combine all ingredients in a large zipper-top bag. Shake until well blended.

Directions:

1. Whisk flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, lemon zest and salt to combine.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk together buttermilk, oil and egg yolks to combine. Whisk into flour mixture and stir until just blended.
3. Whip egg whites until they hold a soft peak when beaters are lifted and fold gently into waffle batter.
4. Lightly grease a preheated waffle iron and spoon about 1 1/2 cups of batter onto waffle iron (for a Belgian waffle). Close and cook until steam from the waffles dies away, about 6 minutes (depending on your iron).
5. Remove waffles and place on an ovenproof dish, cover, and hold in a low (250 degrees F) oven until ready to serve. Waffles are best served fresh, but if preparing in advance, let waffles cool, freeze, then warm uncovered in a 300 degree F oven for 20 minutes when ready to serve.
6. To assemble, top waffles with a dollop of whipped cream, and drizzle syrup over, top with quartered strawberries and dust with icing sugar.

Source: Anna Olson

Other gluten-free Waffle Recipes:
Gluten-Free Pumpkin Waffles
Bette's Bean Waffles

Restaurant Review - La Bamba in Winnipeg

This review was written by my husband, Christopher. On top of his full-time job, he is also a part-time freelance writer.

The menu for La Bamba restaurant can be found online, and items that are NOT gluten-free are marked as so. They also offer a variety of vegan or vegetarian items.

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Standing on Confusion Corner at the south end of Winnipeg’s Osborne Village, we are getting more frustrated as we look around – definitely confused – searching for building number 222. We have just come from a movie and are looking for La Bamba, a Mexican food restaurant that offers gluten free menu items.

Minutes before, we had been navigating through the light afternoon traffic up St. Mary’s Avenue and down River Avenue in an attempt to sneak into the Osborne Village. My plan had been to find parking on a residential side-street – which I did after further navigating through the traffic calming circles on Nassau before turning onto Gertrude Street.  But now that we had gotten out and walked down Osborne to the Pembina/Corydon interchange – without finding our destination, I was wishing I had my own personal Ferdinand Magellan to help me navigate. I would have even settled for a Magellan or Garmin GPS system.

We walked north, from 230 Osborne to 214 Osborne without finding the restaurant. Then, Jeanine pointing to the only building that looked like it could house a restaurant said: “Maybe we should walk down that sidewalk.”

She was right. La Bamba Restaurant is tucked away in the lower back of the building that sits at the south-east corner of Osborne, just before the interchange. Had I known, we would have parked at the rear and saved some rubber on the bottom of our Birkenstocks.

We walked down the stairs into the basement of the old building, announced our arrival to a mostly empty dining room and were promptly seated a half hour before our reservation time. Jeanine had purchased a Groupon coupon which had stated a reservation was necessary.

After briefly discussing whether we would order Nacho starters, we decided to go straight to the entrée. I ordered Tacos de Quesocarne which is “Three corn tortillas with steak, grilled onion & cheese, topped with fresh cilantro and accompanied with rice, beans and Guacamole” ($17.99).

Jeanine ordered Quesadillas: “Three corn tortillas stuffed with melted cheese, onion and accompanied with rice and beans” ($15.99) and added shredded chicken ($2).

Chips and salsa accompany every meal, unfortunately when the waitress brought them she informed us that, while the chips and salsa were gluten free, they were deep fried in oil that had been used to fry breaded items. Thus, I was left with the task of finishing the chips. The salsa that accompanied them was more a dipping oil with finely chopped peppers - piquant - but not offensively so.

The beauty of Mexican cuisine is in its simplicity. Rice, beans and corn, cilantro, peppers and spices, maybe some chicken or beef and you have a wonderful meal with simple elegance. The food arrived promptly, well heated and plated appealingly. Portions didn’t look like large at first but that was deceptive as neither of us had room for dessert.

The restaurant itself is small and, when we arrived shortly after 5pm on a Sunday afternoon, was relatively empty. The interior was a mixture of the building’s original brick work, at or nearing heritage age, and orange stucco walls that evoked the architecture and palette of Mexican decor. A Mexican flag hung proudly from the wall I was facing. The seating is at tables in a dimly lit, romantic atmosphere that would be great for couples or groups.

How do you rate a restaurant? With stars, check-marks or adjectives like good, great or fantastic? Jeanine always waits until the following day to see if she feels any effects from cross contamination - she didn’t which from a Celiac piece-or-mind evaluation, is a rave. I would give La Bamba a solid 4 out of 5 stars on my arbitrary scale because I really enjoyed the food and the atmosphere.

 

La Bamba Restaurant is located at 22-222 Osborne Street. Located on the south-east corner of Winnipeg’s trendy Osborne Village, La Bamba offers simple, tasty Mexican cuisine containing no MSG or Trans-Fats. They offer a variety of dietary options including gluten-free, vegetarian and vegan menu items in a simple setting. Open from noon till 9:00pm daily, this little restaurant is a hidden treasure for people with Celiac disease – if they can find it.

Colorful Grilled Corn Salad

Welcome to August! Wow, where on earth is the summer going? We've been having a fantastic summer so far, I just can't believe how quickly it is flying by. We will need to do some back-to-school shopping soon, I guess. I love buying the new markers, pencils and supplies for the kids, but this year, I'm just not ready to think about sending them back yet. July went by so quickly though, that if I blink twice, August may be past too.

We have actually been having a beautiful, hot summer this year. Some years, we have a very cool and rainy summer. This year, it is hot and humid, and the rain just isn't falling much. My garden (of tomatoes, mostly) is still doing well, I have 20 tomato plants, I think, and they are all setting on, I'm just waiting for them to start turning orange. There is nothing as tasty as garden fresh tomatoes. Mmm... Plus, I have a lot of salsa that I need to make this year, since my last year's tomato crop was a bust, they all started rotting before they turned orange. Very disappointing. So, we will see what this year brings.

Along with the hot weather, comes grilling season. Mainly because no one wants to turn on the stove or be in the kitchen when it is so hot outside. That is where this recipe comes in. I had some fresh corn on the cob at home, and decided to create a salad/salsa using grilled corn as the base. DELICIOUS! You can eat it as is, or you can scoop it up with corn chips, the choice is yours. This salad pairs beautifully with grilled steak, chicken, or even fish.



Ingredients:

• 6 cobs of corn, shucked and cleaned
• 1 can black (or kidney) beans, drained and rinsed
•  1 red pepper, chopped
• 1/2 cup red onion, diced
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1 jalapeno pepper, finely diced (optional)
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
• 2 Tbsp lime juice
• 1 Tbsp agave nectar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp chili powder
• dash hot sauce

Directions:

1. Grill cleaned corn over medium heat for 15-20 minutes, until slightly blackened in areas, allow to cool and cut off corn into a bowl. Add black beans, red pepper red onion, cilantro and jalapeno pepper.
2. In a small bowl, whisk to combine the olive oil, red wine vinegar, lime juice, agave nectar, salt, garlic, cumin, black pepper, chili powder and hot sauce.
3. Pour over corn mixture and stir to coat.
4. Refrigerate for at least half an hour, or until ready to serve.

When it is summer and hot at your place, do you still use the stove, or is use of it banned until it cools off?