Living GFCF

There are certain foods that have been hard for me to leave behind when going gfcf.  There are two in particular that have always been total comfort foods for me. The first is pizza, the second is macaroni and cheese.

I tried making mac and cheese in the beginning, but my first attempt was a tad disastrous. I made the macaroni, and tried mixing in my cheese sauce.

I was alittle dubious about it at this point, but it wasn’t until it cooled and completely congealed, that I decided there was no way my kids were going to eat it.

Then I quickly made mashed potatoes instead.

As it turns out, I just hadn’t found the right cheese yet. Then came Daiya.

Now for the record, if you are newly GFCF, you will notice a difference between Daiya cheese and true, honest to goodness cheese. However, if you are like me, who hadn’t had cheese in two years, AND had also tasted other products on the market, then you will sing it’s praises from the highest mountain tops.

Or obscure blogs.

Daiya cheese melts well, and just has a nice all around flavor. And thanks to this lovely cheese, I now have my two comfort foods back in a way that doesn’t feel gfcf. Here is a wonderful recipe by Cybele Pascal for Allergy Free Macaroni and Cheese.

I have modified it from its original version here. I don’t bake it, since the kids and I were huge fans of boxed mac and cheese.  I sub the pinches of herb for salt, pepper, and paprika. And I add garlic.

Garlic is an amazing plant! I put it in nearly everything. It’s wonderful for your heart, and it’s wonderful in preventing all kind of cancer.  Garlic also has antibacterial, antiviral, and anti-fungal properties.  Which means it discourages the growth of yeast. During World War II, they put garlic directly on wounds and found that it worked like an antiseptic in preventing gangrene. Pretty cool, huh?

Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah, Mac and Cheese. I’m sure gangrene and Mac and Cheese are not something you want to read about in the same post.

My bad.

So, to make a short story long, here is the recipe:

Allergy-Free Mac and Cheese

Makes 8 Servings

• 12 oz GFCF pasta of your choice (I like Ancient Harvest)
• 2 cups cf milk (you can use rice, but I love Tempt hemp milk for it’s nutritional value and taste)
• ¼ cup butter or olive oil
• 2 Tablespoons finely chopped onion
• 1 Tablespoon finely chopped garlic
• ¼ cup rice flour
• bay leaf (if you don’t have one, don’t worry about it)
• Pinch of paprika
• Pinch of  pepper
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 3 cups shredded Daiya chedder cheese

First, don’t be like my and frantically run around the kitchen looking for ingredients. Get out everything you’ll need and then cook your pasta per directions. Set it aside.

Warm the milk in a sauce pan until hot, but not boiling. Set it aside as well.

Heat the butter over medium heat in a sauce pan.  Add onion and garlic, and stir often for 2 minutes.  Then add rice flour, and stir for another 2 minutes until golden.  Don’t burn it.

Add the milk, a little at a time, and whisk continuously until smooth.

Add the bay leaf, salt, pepper, paprika and Dijon mustard.  Whisk it and bring to a simmer.  Reduce heat to low and continue whisking until thick and creamy (about 4-5 minutes). Add 1 cup of cheese at a time, and whisk until completely melted.

Remove it from the heat and mix the pasta. This recipe reheats really well, so enjoy it the next day for lunch too!