Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Some of you were asking for my “gluten free” waffle recipe; here it is:

This is a small recipe, for two people but you can just multiply it easily 2X, 3X…it’s a very forgiving recipe too.

1 cup masa harina; this is not a fancy ingredient!!!!!!!!!!!! This is Mexican style corn-meal and is just ground very fine; it’s used for making tortillas and tamales.

½ cup potato-buds; cheap instant mashed potatos

¼ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1½ -2 + cups milk or water depending on how thick you want it

1 egg

Notes: mix well, let stand for about 5-mins. before using, as ingredients will absorb water and thicken considerably; it is at this point when you decide to add more water, but not before. This can be used for flap-jacks too. Before you buy your ingredients, check to make sure wheat or other gluten grains weren’t used to make said product. I don’t like most GF baking mixes as they contain soy, lintel or chick-peas and give things a “green” or “grassy” flavor, these are better suited to savory dishes. Add more oil for more golden color. You can also ad add ground flax seed or rice bran for a "healthier" meal.

Enjoy,
Slim

Slim,

Where are you finding GF instant mashed potatoes? Most of the ones that I find have mono or diglycerides in them (usually derived from wheat). Wife and kids can't eat wheat so we are super careful.

Dave

From Wikepedia:

"Mono- and diacylglycerols are common food additives used to blend together certain ingredients, such as oil and water, which would not otherwise blend well.

The commercial source may be either animal (cow- or hog-derived) or vegetable, derived primarily from soy bean and canola oil. They may also be synthetically produced. "

Dave:

Some celiacs can't tolerate soy products as well as wheat, barley, rye, lactose, etc. Are your wife and kids able to eat soy beans and soy bean products? If not, that would definitely explain why they are not eating/using instant potatoes.

Wife and kids are all sensitive to milk, one kid is hit by eggs and food color too. These are not little guys either. The wheat sensitivity came on at 12-13 years old. Not sensitive to soy though.

The wife was checked for celiac and came up negative so it appears to be one of the other wheat allergies. The kids cannot be checked because they were off of wheat for too long. The full test is a borescope down the gullet into the small intestine.

The Wikipedia article mentioned above is also incomplete. One of the more common ways to make mono and diglycerides is to crack wheat protiens. You also need to be wary of anything that says "natural flavors". Many of the ones added to meats (basted turkey and such) are made from wheat products or are disolved in wheat based alcohols.

Dave

Thanks for the recipe. I'll try it out. Any thing GF is fine by me. Try checking out Bette Hagman's cookbooks. She is my food angel and was a friend of mine (she passed away this past summer).

Cheers, gsm

Wife and kids are all sensitive to milk, one kid is hit by eggs and food color too. These are not little guys either. The wheat sensitivity came on at 12-13 years old. Not sensitive to soy though.

The wife was checked for celiac and came up negative so it appears to be one of the other wheat allergies. The kids cannot be checked because they were off of wheat for too long. The full test is a borescope down the gullet into the small intestine.

Hi, Dave:

I am so sorry to hear of your family's intolerances. It definitely makes life tougher! The full test "borescope down the gullet" doesn't always give valid proof. In order for that to work, they have to hit one of the intestine's "hot spots" and that is as likely to be a 'miss' as a 'hit'. There are some new blood tests that have come out that are more accurate but, as your family has abstained for so long, I don't know if that would work. Their doc. would probably know.

On the instant spuds: One of the things that I am most sensitive to is wheat or grain alcohol. There can be just 1/2 teaspoon of alcohol-based vanilla in a whole casserole and, if I have just a small serving of it, I'll have full-blown flu-like symptoms for the next 2 to 3 days! I have not had a problem with Betty Crocker's Potato Buds.

FYI: There is a new drug being successfully tested right now that will help with wheat intolerance. I don't know that I would depend on it; but, if one had to travel where they had to eat food they were unsure of, it might be a boon. When it finally comes on the market, I'll probably purchase some just to have on hand.

If you don't already subscribe to it, ClanThompson has a free email newsletter that gives all the latest happenings. They also sell/recommend products for Celiacs; have a question/answer doctor section, and a recipe section.

Best Regards,
Sharon

Ben, the kid at college, is packing for a camping trip this weekend (Lake George, bunch of college outing clubs). He found that Walmart instant mashed potatoes are listed as GF on the label.

As I said, this is a VERY forgiving recipe, you can substitute the smashed pertaters with rice flour, or what I like is buckwheat flour, sore-gum (sorghum) will work in a pinch. For a different taste, try putting in some ground cardamom and fennel with a half cup of coconut flour; this is a spiced version; the coconut gives it a more rich-creamy-sweet flavor, that is lost when you don't use milk.
Slim

Wow! Those are some interesting ideas! Thanks, Slim!