some gluten free holiday tips- just passing along an email

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10 Terrific Gift Ideas for People on the Gluten Free Diet 1. Subscription(s) • To a magazine that covers events regarding the gluten free lifestyle: • Gluten Free Living – www.glutenfreeliving.com • Living Without – www.livingwithout.com • To an online gluten free recipe exchange like Glutenfreeda, www.glutenfreeda.com • To Clan 's Celiac SmartLists, which are a series of programs that make it easy to find VERIFIED gluten information on thousands of items, http://www.clanthompson.com/index.php3 2. Cooking Classes. Local chefs offer cooking classes dedicated to cooking gluten free. This can be a great opportunity, not only to learn how to cook gluten free, but to learn how to eat and cook healthy. • Suzanne Magni , Kroger School of Cooking, www.kroger.com • Jenya Hampton, Essential Energy

Cuisine, www.essentialenergycuisine.com 3. Prepared Meals - for those Celiacs who don’t cook, there are local caterers and companies that offer prepared meals. • Home Free Foods (www.homefreefoods.com) – owner Caroline Ewing sells prepared meals that are gluten free. Visit the website for a complete listing of products and pricing. • Naturally Gourmet Catering (www.naturallygourmetcatering.com) – offers naturally, organic foods with an

emphasis on GF meals. Visit the website for a complete listing of products and pricing. 4. Personalized Chef Services - a number of local chefs specialize in cooking gluten free. These chefs can customize your meals to be not only gluten free, but free of other allergens, as well. • Chef Smythmyer, Steph de Cuisine, chef@... • Chef Marella-Luce, Magical Meals, magicalmeals@... 5. Books - Cookbooks, Travel Guides, Shopping Guides, Menu Cards, and other books of interest on Celiac

Disease. 6. Drinks - to celebrate the gluten free lifestyle. Wine and champagne are made from grapes, so they are gluten free. Distilled alcoholic beverages are gluten free as long as nothing glutenous is added after distillation, which would be unusual. You can even find gluten free beer locally. 7. Gift Certificate - for dinner at a restaurant that caters to those on a gluten free diet. What better gift than one that allows someone to relax and enjoy an evening with family or friends. 8. Baked Goods/Gift Baskets • A Bountiful Harvest

(www.abountifulharvest.com) – offers a Holiday Treat Tower that is gluten free and many other items for the Holidays. • Allergy Free Cookies (www.allergyfreecookies.com) – offers beautifully decorated Sugar Cookies, freshly baked that are free of wheat, gluten, dairy, eggs, soy flour, bean flours, peanuts and tree nuts. Orders can be placed via the website. • Cupcake Dreams (www.cupcake-dreams.com) – LOCAL Vegan bakery with

GF Chocolate and Vanilla cupcakes, Cinnamon Loaf and Lemon Poppy Seed and Almond Cherry Muffins. Delivery is available. Order can be placed online, or you can email the owner, Kilbourn, at shannon@.... • Curious Cookie (www.curiouscookie.com) – offers gourmet gluten free cookie tins and baskets in Ginger Cranberry, Chocolate-Chocolate Chip, Chocolate Chip and Lemon Chocolate Chip flavors. • Everybody Eats (www.everybodyeats-inc.com) – offers Holiday Star

Sugar Cookies and Chanukah Cookies. • Gilbert’s Gourmet Goodies (www.gilbertsgourmetgoodies.com) - offers baked goods made from scratch that are free of gluten, nuts, milk and preservatives. Orders can be placed on the website. • La Dolce Lulu (http://www.ladolcelulu.com/gluten_free_.html) – is a LOCAL Vegan bakery with gluten free menu items that are made in a dedicated facility. To place an order, you can email them at ladolcelulu@... or call at 678- 448-7294 • Metrotainment Bakery (www.metrobakery.com) – is a LOCAL bakery offering GF baked goods, such as cheesecake, cookies, brownies, cake and cupcakes. Orders can be placed online, or by calling at 404-873-6307. • Well Baskets (http://www.wellbaskets.com/glfrgiba1.html) - offers gluten free gift baskets for all occasions. Details on the basket contents are listed on the site. 9. A new appliance – like a nice toaster oven, rice cooker, food processor, or even a bread machine. You could also give a new set of utensils. 10. A tax-deductible donation to a national organization in the name of your favorite Celiac. There are a number of great organizations out there raising awareness about celiac disease: • National Foundation for Celiac Awareness – www.celiaccentral.org • Celiac Sprue Association – www.csaceliacs.org • Gluten Intolerance Group of North America – www.gluten.net Most people spend time with family and friends during the holidays. Keep in mind that Celiac Disease is linked to our genes. First degree relatives (parents, children, siblings) have a 1 in 22 chance of developing Celiac, and 2nd degree relatives (aunts, uncles, cousins, etc.) have a 1 in 39 chance. This is a great time to remind the people you love to get tested. Recipes Party Cheese Ball by Janet Rinehart 2 pkgs.- (8 oz.) Cream Cheese (Kraft Philly brand) 2 cups shredded sharp natural Cheddar cheese 1 TBSP chopped pimento 1

TBSP chopped green pepper 1 TBSP finely chopped onion 2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce (French’s or Lea & Perrin’s) 1 tsp. lemon juice (dash of salt, optional) Chopped nuts Combine softened cream cheese and Cheddar cheese, mixing until well blended. Add pimento, green pepper, onion, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice and seasonings; mix well. Divide into two mounds on plastic wrap; shape into balls. Chill. Roll each ball in chopped nuts VELVEETA CHEESE FUDGE 1 lb. butter 4 lbs. powdered sugar 1 tbsp. vanilla 1 lb. Velveeta 1 c. cocoa Nuts, chopped In a saucepan, melt butter and cheese. Sift together the sugar and cocoa; add the butter and cheese to this. Add nuts and vanilla. Mix well and spread in 9 x 13 inch pan. Cool and cut into pieces. This makes a large amount and it never fails, also cheaper than other fudge. Makes 6 1/2 pounds of fudge. Chocolate Bark by Cheryl of Home Health 18 oz chocolate: dark, semi sweet, milk, or a mix (this is about 3 cups of chips) 1/2 cup chopped dried fruits, like apricots, cranberries, blueberries, cherries, etc. 3/4 cup chopped nuts: almonds, pecans, macadamia nuts, cashews, etc. (substitute more fruit it you can’t have nuts) Cookie sheet covered with parchment paper. Chop the dried fruit and nuts into small pieces. Melt the chocolate by putting it in a microwave safe bowl and heat, stirring every 30 seconds until melted, or you can melt the chocolate in a double boiler if you prefer. Add in chopped fruits and nuts, stir well and spread out over the prepared cookie sheet. Break into pieces, and do your best to share. Chocolate Brittle Candy Melt 2 sticks butter (or "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter") Add: 2 TBSP water, 1 TBSP white Karo syrup and 1-1/3 cup sugar Boil to 300° on candy thermometer. Spread quickly and thinly on cookie sheet (can be foil covered). Melt one

12-oz package semi-sweet chocolate bits. After sugar/syrup mixture has set, no more then 3 to 4 minutes, spread melted chocolate over whole surface. (if you wait too long, the chocolate will not adhere.) Cool in refrigerator until completely hard. Break up into pieces to serve. Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls by Alba Lock 2 cups chunky peanut butter 1 lb. powdered sugar 1 stick oleo, softened 3 cups corn flakes (Nature's Path brand is fine) Mix above ingredients into balls and put refrigerator or freezer for a couple of hours or overnight to harden. When well chilled, dip in chocolate mixture. Melt over hot

water: 1 9-oz. Hershey Bar ½ square wax paraffin 1 pkg. 12 oz. chocolate chips Keep warm in double boiler while you dip balls or else it will harden. Cool balls on wax paper. (Put in several balls, roll around and place on wax paper covered cookie sheet. Place back into refrigerator to chill and let chocolate harden. Then you can put them into a large baggie or container to store (freezer or refrigerator) until ready to serve. Frosted Pecan Bites 1 pound pecan halves 2 egg whites, stiffly beaten ½ cup butter 1 pinch salt 1 cup white sugar Preheat oven to 275°. Toast the pecans for 10 to 15 minutes or until lightly toasted. Set aside to cool. Fold in sugar, salt & pecans into egg whites. Increase oven temperature to 325°. Melt butter or margarine on a sheet pan. Spread the nut mixture over the pan and bake for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. Remove the tray from the oven and allow it to cool prior to serving. Sugar-Roasted Pecans • 4 cups pecan halves • 2/3 cups sugar • 2 Tbsp. pumpkin spice • 2 egg whites • 1 Tbsp. ginger • 1 Tbsp. vanilla • 2 tsp. salt • 1 Tbsp. water Preheat oven to 250 degrees F. Mix sugar, pumpkin spice, ginger, salt; set mixture aside. Line a large sheet pan with parchment paper. Beat the egg whites; add water and vanilla. Mix well. Toss nuts with egg white mixture until coated. Drain off excess egg mixture with a strainer. Toss nuts in sugar mixture, and again, shake off any excess. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, tossing the pecans every half hour. Remove from oven. Take the parchment

sheet topped with nuts off the hot baking sheet and set aside to cool. Butter Pecan Cookies • 3/4 cup chopped sugar-roasted pecans (see above recipe) • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature* • 1/3 cup sugar, plus more for coating • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract • 1/8 teaspoon salt • 1 1/2 cups GF flour (3/4 cup Bob's Red Mill +

1/2 cup Whole Grain Sorghum) • 1 Tbsp Xanathan Gum 1. Preheat oven to 350°. Finely chop sugar-roasted pecans. 2. With an electric mixer, cream butter for a minute. Add 1/3-cup sugar and cream for one minute. Beat in vanilla, salt, GF flours, and xanathan gum, scraping the sides of bowl, just until dough comes together. Fold in pecans. 3. Separate dough into 12 pieces; squeeze dough to shape into balls. Roll in sugar. Place, 3 inches apart, on a baking sheet. 4. Gently flatten with the bottom of a glass (reshape sides if necessary). Sprinkle with sugar. 5. Bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Sprinkle with more sugar. 6. Cool cookies on a

wire rack. Easy Macadamia Ginger Cookies 1 cup macadamia butter (bought or home-made) 1 cup caster sugar 1 egg, lightly beaten 4oz. ginger preserved in syrup, chopped, OR crystallized ginger, chopped Turn on the oven to 350°. Put all the ingredients in bowl and mix well. Dollop heaped teaspoons of the mixture (it will be sticky) on a greased baking tray. Flatten slightly with a wet fork. Bake for about 15 minutes until they're light brown. Leave them on the trays for a couple of minutes then place on racks to cool Chex Mix by Ingredients 1 stick of Butter 1 1/2 c. GF Pretzels (Glutino or Ener-G) 2 Tbsp. Worcestershire Sauce 2 to 2 1/2 c. EACH of Rice and Corn Crunchums* 1 Tbsp. Sugar 1 c. dry roasted Peanuts 1 tsp. Garlic Salt 1 c. deluxe Mixed Nuts 1 tsp. Onion Salt 1 c. Pecans (optional) Directions Melt butter and mix in the first five ingredients. Then stir in the remaining ingredients. Stir well, so that it all gets coated; then spread out onto cookie sheets and bake in a 250° oven for an hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Makes about 12 cups of Chex Mix. * Health Valley makes Rice and Corn Crunchums that are gluten free. I usually purchase them at Whole Foods. The boxes

are very large, so you can make a couple of batches per box. Curried Squash and Turnip Soup by Dr. Joe Esposito Ingredients 4 c. Water ½ tsp. Ginger, powdered 3 small to medium Turnip Roots 1 tsp. Curry 1 large Butternut Squash 1 large Onion, chopped 2 tsp. Sea Salt 3 Tbsp. Olive Oil ½ tsp. WF Tamari ½ tsp. Garlic ½ tsp. White Pepper Directions Peel and cube squash and turnips (1 x 1 inch cubes). In a 4 quart stock pot, add water, salt, squash and turnips; cover and cook on medium until tender. Sauté onions, garlic and spices in oil until they get soft and clear looking. When squash and turnips

are cooked, remove them with a large slotted spoon, leaving the liquid in the pot. Purée them in a food processor or blender until smooth. Add onion mixture to the liquid, then whisk in the squash and turnips. Cook on low for about 10 minutes. Garnish with paprika and/or parsley. This soup can be served hot or cold. Carrot Soup • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter • 1 medium Spanish onion, finely chopped • 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped • 10

medium carrots (about 1 3/4 pounds), peeled and cut into 1-inch slices (see note) • 8 cups chicken broth, homemade or low-sodium canned • 2 tablespoons sugar • 1 teaspoon kosher salt • 1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice • Freshly ground black pepper to taste Heat the butter in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 7 minutes. Add the

carrots and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until somewhat tender, about 3 minutes more. Pour in the broth and the sugar. Season the soup with the salt. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer, covered, until the carrots are very soft, about 30 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. Working in batches, transfer the carrot mixture to a blender and puree until smooth. Return the carrot puree to the pot and reheat over medium heat. Stir in the lemon juice and season with pepper. Divide among warm soup bowls and serve immediatelyLove and Prayers, , , Josh & McKevor

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