Product Review: Tortillas to a 'T'

Rudi's [ Tortillas ]


So a bit of a tortilla claims it can bend and fold and wrap like a rubber band -- well, why not? That's what gluten does. It sticks and goos, so to speak. So this bit of tortilla claims it, but it hasn't got the gluten going, and we're supposed to believe it?

I got samples of Rudi's Plain and Fiesta Tortillas at the recent celiac expo, and I gave them a very skeptical eye. (But I was working the Rudi's table (photos to come), and I thought -- I really ought to give this a try, or I'll be a dead-duck of a product ambassador.)

After all, they might bend. They might wrap. But my experience has been that any product trying to imitate gluten is a poser and prat from the get-go. And these products fall into two categories: a) Those that do what they say, but are filled with a boot-load chemical conglomerates, and taste like tar or b) Those other ones that taste all right, even good, but can't do a back bend (or whatever else they claim) to save your life.

So this bit of tortilla Rudi's is pushing . . . Shall begin with ingredients. "Stuff you can pronounce and recognize", they claim.

Whole Grain Flours (Sorghum, Brown Rice, Corn, Amaranth, Quinoa, Millet, Teff), Corn Starch, Tapioca Flour, Rice Flour, Water, Canola Oil*, Xanthan Gum, Evaporated Cane Juice, Cultured Dextrose and Maltodextrin, Salt, Guar Gum, Baking Powder (Monocalcium Phosphate, Sodium Bicarbonate, Corn Starch), Malic Acid, Active Dry Yeast, Apple Cider Vinegar

Those are the Plain, and it's true. They stick to basics. Nothing more bizarre than xanthan gum.

Oh well, they must be crumbly, yes? a muddle of crumbs. Useless.

Not so.

I've spent a week or more experimenting with the things -- and I was highly resistant even to trying them. I have grudge, for lack of a better phrase, a grudge against gluten imitators. I don't want flour tortillas -- they're made with flour, and get their taste and texture and excellence from the gluten-bound flour, and I love crunchy corn, crisp rice, and making onigiri.

But I was surprised at how pleased I was to play with Rudi's tortillas. And even eat a burrito.

I made a few actually, to test hold-up, flavor, packing, warmed or unwarmed, all manner.

The Japanese Adzuki with Kabocha




Lentil and Lettuce

Lentil, Pinto and Crunch

More Lentil on Fiesta . . .







[some I ate too quickly to snap any proper photo. Apologies. The above are Lentil, Pinto and Crunch, and Japanese]

These tortillas

• bend and roll
• fold into burrito nuggets
• hold boot-loads of food

And to my surprise, I liked them. Oy, but to my surprise, they did NOT--

• crumble
• snap
• become soggy and melt

It's hard to pull it out of me, because on a shoestring budget, and content to run on my rails with little deviation, and enjoy with wild abandon the unique plainness of crisp corn for all Mexican dishes . . . I loved playing with these Tortillas. And not just playing, but getting a chance to eat a burrito again.

I've spent some weeks now since the Celiac Expo in San Diego a) recovering from cross-contamination (nothing to do with the expo) and b) experimenting with the tortillas (as I said). And I've used both Fiesta and Plain -- I'd very much like to try the Spinach variety, but they hadn't any as a sample, and my current budget precludes "just trying" something.

Altogether, Rudi's hopped both the high-vaults on this one. The only complaint I've got is the exorbitant price, which seems to run anywhere from 5.79 (American) to 8.00 -- down to almost a dollar per tortilla, and one really needs two to make a meal, because one point I did not mention . . .

...they remain a tad small. Not tiny, not unworkable. But small flour tortillas, not the pizza-pie sized wonders wrapping behemoth burritos at the South Western states' Mexican tortillerias.

But I'll repeat: Rudi's hopped the high-vault on this one. These tortillas work -- not like the flaky rice flats; not like the chewy or crisp corn -- but like a burrito wrap.

My first try at Rudi's three years ago, very nearly on top of my celiac diagnosis, I almost had a panic attack. It was the bread. It was bread that I thought tasted so much like bread I thought I'd got the wrong package, and would soon be sick as Hell.

Is there a better compliment? Well, after I'm miffed beyond measure that I was frightened half-to-death, nope.

And Rudi's? If you can get that price down a few, I'll be shoestringing my gluten free meals with these tortillas.  Eight in a package after all, is a good count.

Celiac Expo! Tumbling Hits San Diego

Let's break this post up a bit prior to  diving in:

Expo (experience)

Samples-and-Reviews-to-Come

San Diego Gluten Free Scene


I got the grande olde pleasure of being driven down the Southern California coast to Del Mar, where the Celiac Disease Expo was set up at the fairgrounds.  It was also free since I'd volunteered to be a brand rep and all-around helper at the show.

First, I ran into several familiar brands. Udi's was there, with their new Harvest Crunch Muffins, and a plenitude of cookie samples. GoldMine and Ohsawa were around the corner -- will have to come back to them; Veganaise had its table. Happy Family Brands was showing off GF fruit smoothie-packs for adults and tots in BPA free squeezers, along with rice cakes and puffs. [Luna and Larry's ]Coconut Bliss froze a whole section with towering tubs of dairy-free, gluten-free organic ice cream. Pamela's was also there, with cookie jars and the amazingly ever-popular baking mix. Also, Hilary's Eat Well, with some surprising and variable vegetarion bean burger options!  And finally, I repp'ed for Rudi's for most of the afternoon, showing off the brand's incredibly flexible Plain and Fiesta Tortillas, along with their new "Light and Fluffy" Multi-Grain and Plain Breads!

That's for the national brands, but a whole passal of more colloquial fare waited . . .

Local bakery 2Good2Be was handing out samples of cornbread and other baked goods stuffs, while Keil's, Barrons, and Jimbo's all repp'ed for local groceries with large GF offerings.  [Keil's apparently has over 3,000 items in its main grocery on Jackson Drive in San Diego; they also gave me a free re-usable shopping bag.]

A brill woman worked the Udi's table. I only mention because she was local, author two GF cookbooks, and a great rep for both Udi's, and the GF Hard Cider from Woodchuck, which we both got to sample on site. Her name was Cheryl, and she also has a wonderful cooking business in the area. If you're looking to transition, or feeling deprived on an abruptly celiac-diagnosed GF diet, do look her up -- her spirits as well as her experience will, I promise, be invaluable.

Overwhelming to say the least -- and this was a small expo! One room with now more than double-dozen tables, and only one demo going on. But then, I can be rather run-round-the-bend with too much sensory stimulus, and this was heaps of gluten-free food -- safe food; friendly people; samples; new info.

A quick summary of products sampled:

Ohsawa Mung and Green Pea Organic Crackers --  Highest praise, like anything. Crisp, slight bean taste, three ingredients, perfect balance of salt. I may have found the best GF cracker here -- though I've been sticking with Mary's Gone Crackers. These may edge Mary out.

GoldMine Kimchi Organic -- Of all store-bought kimchi, the quality and taste here tops.

Happy Family Rice Cakes -- Nice sweet-stickiness in the Carrot-Cakes. Perhaps a little too sticky.

Mint Galactica Organic Coconut Bliss Ice Cream -- Incredibly light, balanced between sweet and mint, and the chocolate pieces are perfect crunch caught in each bite. Easy to eat a tub at once. Except for the rather high sugar content -- er, what else though for ice cream? -- wonderful. Only Organic Nectars Cashewtopia Ice Creams match it.

Rudi's Fiesta Tortillas --  Very "flour" like -- a little crumbly yet. But, my mates, this one does not crumble like the infamous rice tortillas. In fact, it rolls, and I ate it rolled like I did flour tortillas as an eleven year old, smeared with salsa or peanut butter.

[ to be cont'd ]

Budget Friendly Though? Any of this shoestring-able?

The downside of most of the above product is its PRICE.

As far as quality, and the amount eaten, I would still -- for shoestringing pros -- recommend Ohsawa and GoldMine. Their GF Soy Sauce, Saurkraut, Kimchi, are all eaten in small amounts at a time, and are worth a bit of expenditure because they will last.

But the tortillas -- 6 to a pack -- the ice cream, the crackers: they'd have to be rare purchases if you're on a tight budget, student, big family, celiac-working-three-jobs-to-get-by sort.

San Diego GF SCENE

In closing, for the moment, the scene, my friends. San Diego is full of it. Sheryl, and her cooking business and books; Keil's and Barron's and Jimbo's -- even an Ethiopian restaurant serving classic teffe"injera" bread (details to come; rec' by a woman who has yet to respond by email with address!).

The actual event was fun. If only -- what else? -- to be in a room in which 1) there was free food and 2) every milimeter of it was safe.

It's isolating often, to have to eat with something as restrictive as celiac disease. Cross-contamination aside, dropping wheat knocks out a heap of options, if not most options, in the general food milieu
 of the Western world. But this sort of event not only sets a stage for celiacs and GF intolerants to mingle happily over food, it also shows the length and breadth the world is coming in accepting celiac disease, and making it easier for celiacs to operate in the world with options that the rest of the population has every day.

Seeing the Rudi's Tortilla offering, as well as breads such as Udi's and Canyon Bakehouse, especially hit the nail on the head. When they're as reasonable as buying large amounts of rice or quinoa, or as reasonable as [celiac] dangerous wheat-filled bread, oy, that'll be the day

Recipe: Onigiri and Sweet Adzukis (Beans)

This is a go-to dinner for me, and one that costs less than a drive to the nearest grocery at current gasoline prices.


Adzuki beans:

1/2 c. adzuki beans
1 strip kombu (kelp)
1/2 white onion
1 tsp dried fennel seed

Boil beans in 2 cups water on high for about twenty minutes for a "quick soak"; allow to sit another ten. Drain water, refill with 1 cup water. Simmer for an hour, adding fennel, onion, and kombu. Cook until slightly tender (if cooked longer, the beans will dissolve and lose shape, which makes a nice paste--if you prefer them so, cook on high another twenty or so minutes).

Rice (onigiri):

1 cup short grain  brown rice
2 cups water

Onigiri wrapped in nori -- pardon the quality

Bring water to a boil. Add rice, leave heat high until boiling again, then turn down to allow to steam. The rice should have absorbed all the water in 45 mins to an hour. Turn heat off, allow to cool 10 mins. Fill an extra bowl with warm water, and a teaspoon of salt. Fluff rice with a fork or chopsticks, and then using hands dipped in the salt water, scoop out a small ball of rice. With wet hands, it ought to stick more to itself than to you. Form into either traditional "triangle" shape, or the easier rounded balls. (It should make more than enough for one serving--either save extra onigiri, or have a friend over!)

Some pre-cooked adzukis

I'll usually added saute'ed fennel, onion, and greens on the side with some black sesame seeds.

Anyhow, this was for a "go-to" recipe challenge a few weeks ago which I never ended up finishing. But it's still a good go-to. Thus, here it is. It's also a great make-a-ton and eat on the run, in a bento, and throughout the week sort of thing.

[NOTES: If you want to speed it up, skip making the rice balls and simply load up a good round bowl like the one above with rice.
[ Also, an alternative to making your own beans -- while more expensive -- is Eden Organics canned. They're BPA free, organic, still family-run, and excellent quality.
[ I used bulk organic adzukis. But GoldMine offers grains and beans of a high quality, if also rather high price, and if you can't find bulk of this somewhat-rare bean, you'd do well to try them.]

Restaurant Review: Red Brick Pizza

I rarely eat out. But when I do, I research exhaustively, and after weeks calling different locations, reading reviews online, and looking at ingredient lists, I decided my date could take me to Red Brick Pizza. They make quite a fuss about their gluten free options (as well as their healthy outlook and natural ingredients).

Some gluten free pie -- yes, it rather required

 utensils

Good sounds, yes? Not only that, but they had been certified by GIG (Gluten Intolerance Group), and trained, so as to know the risks of celiac disease, cross contamination, and safe food prep.

It follows then that they have separate pizza stones, and utensils, for the gluten free crusts. The crusts come wrapped and frozen, and are set on their own "screen" before being shoved onto the safe stone in the far corner of the brick-oven on a dedicated spatula-like shovel.

Everything is prepared directly in front of you. So I stood sentinal. And watched.

Being dairy-free also puts rather a kink in my dining out. (The truth is, budget is more important. It is exponentially easier, and more cost effective, to eat safely -- and well -- at home. But you know, I can miss the experience of going out with friends; and of eating something I didn't have to cook myself.)

Anyhow, I watched them. The manager himself left the register, retrieved the Daiya vegan cheese from the back fridge, changed his gloves multiple times, and prepared two small pizzas on the thinnest crusts I'd ever seen.

The Red Pepper, pertly presented

We got a red pepper with basis-tomato sauce, and a vegetable and chicken on garlic and pepper sauce, with mushrooms, onions, artichoke, and more green and red pepper (no olives).

Oy, but the pizza itself, taste-wise? I did not get sick. They took all the care in the world to keep my pizzas segregated.

Oy, but the taste?

Bloody disappointed. The crust was limp, chewy, with a mealy taste under wet sauce. We both left most of the red pepper. The second came out a little crispier. The garlic did well at covering the crust's lack of enthusiasm.

But in the end, it was the worst pizza I've ever had. I suppose I rarely come in contact with the proverbial "rotten gluten free take-off" products. I hear all the time people complain -- aagh, it's gluten free? That must be horrid.

It isn't!

But this was.

I give Red Brick top marks for taking their customers' health into consideration. The care they took in prepping the food was obvious. But the product was limp, chewy, disappointing. (They did note they've been doing gluten free for five years). The pricing is reasonable, but not for the final product.

Ultimately, I'm grateful for their attitude. But I encourage them to look for a better gluten free crust, and work on their sauces. Perhaps the brick oven even needs to be reconsidered for the GF option, or the cooking time upped. And if you'd like a good gluten-free pizza, consider making it yourself -- or perhaps trying True Food Kitchen (if you're in the Southern California area).

Quick Sum-Up

Cross-contamination/safety -- Excellent
Food -- Dismal
Service -- Good
Cost -- Affordable ($6-$12 for two)

Product Reviews: A Bread Like Any Other, or Not

Breads are made for gluten -- at least, the spongy fluffy sliced kind are. I know naans and flatbreads and tortillas that are much better sans gluten, and I enjoy onigiri as much as the next. But loaves are a wheat-inspired dream. They rise and stick and stretch because of that indigestible protein, gluten.

That said, gluten free breads have come along. And I'm going to review two today.

Firstly, Udi's -- the current go-to for most gluten-free folk and celiacs.

Old packaging there.

Anyhow, Udi's has gotten a name for being the best in terms of quality, texture, taste, nutritional value, and surprising and often-unachievable lightness. (You may or may not have tried breads prior, but though distinct in flavour and seedcake chewy, rice breads were heavy-heavy-heavy. Rather like lead if it could be turned to grain, ground, and baked, with a nice sweet under-taste.)

Udi's is an excellent choice, though a bit too light and airy to replicate peanut butter and on honey on thick whole wheat. I don't like imitation though. It makes me wary. But that's a personal sidenote.

The whole-grain Udi's loaf makes solid sandwiches, remains intact for french toast, can be used for burgers and toast, and does none of the following: fall apart, become unchewable, weigh as much as one's plate, or contain nothing but sugar and riee. It uses teff, rice, and potato at a decent ratio. Not brilliant on the multi-grain, but c'est la vie.

Quality-question, however. Udi's has a posh attitude. This bread thinks . . .it is holier than thou.

That is its sad downfall. A loaf goes for 4.99 (American) to 6.00, and sometimes -- or even often -- one finds half the slices are peppered with air-bubbles turned to enormous holes.

No, I am not amused.

All in all, it remains a staple if I want bread. There really was nothing like it prior to its debut, and sans the glaring holes and attitude, it does the trick and then some.

Additional notes: Can remain unrefrigerated for up to a week; freezes well; small slices.


My very favourite gluten free bread, however, is Canyon Bakehouse.

It's just bread, after all, yes? But it isn't -- it's moist, multi-grain, slightly sweet and chewy, sticks together, eschews holes absolutely, makes good toast, and is lovely untoasted as well. I had not had a better nut butter sandwich, even prior to being diagnosed gluten free.

Most best almond butter
and apple on 7 Grain Canyon
Bakehouse

It definitely requires refrigeration. But if you want a whole food, and high-quality stick-to-your-ribs ingredients, this is it: CB 7 Grain is partially organic, naturally and only lightly sweetened, contains quinoa, amaranth, etc. and doesn't resort to tapioca or potato as fluffy-filler.


If you've a choice? Canyon Bakehouse hits the nail on the head.Wholly. It's like being a kid, and thinking you'll get a so-so sticky bun or roll, and getting a CINNAMON ROLL instead. Udi's is a great staple, and functional, and bit cheaper. For any of those who may have gluten-free kids, Udi's is also an undefeated winner with kids (although I've yet to meet a kid who wasn't pleased with the Mountain White Canyon Bakehouse offering).


Disclaimer: I was not paid or gifted with anything to write the above reviews. In fact, it costs quite a lot just to eat those products remarked on -- so I paid rather to write, not the other way round.

Recipes: Cranberry Almond Cookies

After an age of rushing around like a hare with its ears in a bee-hive, I've left this another month without a blink or quip.

I've had heaps of gluten free and celiac experiences, not to say recipes. But today, I'll keep it simple.

It is the holidays. Channakuh, Christmas, in particular. Cookies are huge, and so is baking. But it's also hugely full of gluten; and the cookies plates at parties are the last place I want to be as a celiac. In fact, I tend to get fed up -- not literally -- with food this time of year, at least the festive sort, because it takes so much time to make something for all or any occasion, so much money to buy something (often sub-par), and an inescapable discomfort to explain to every acquaintance why I'm not stuffing cookies.

Do you know, it is NOT a fad diet. I cannot eat your cookie. Thank you. It might kill me.

Sometimes, more important than food, is friends. It's easy to mix food up with feelings -- food is surrounded by family, traditions, who-knows-what else. But in the end, it is simply food -- and often what I need more than a cookie is a sympathetic ear, and the courage to say it feels lonely standing around people eating cookies, when I can't. But once I've muddled through that, sometimes, making cookies is an excellent way to take care of myself.

The recipe below is fairly simple -- and certainly makes a better-than-bloody-gluten-cookie. It makes plenty to freeze, and gets a nice lightness from the pumpkin and teff flour, though it's held together by eggs and optional flakes. (Oats, if you can eat them).

Cranberry Almond Cookies, GF-Style

Ingredients:

• 1/2  cup canned pumpkin 
• 2 tbs molasses (OR 1/4 c. maple syrup)
• 1 tsp orange zest
• 1/2 tsp stevia powder (NOW makes an excellent Organic, unprocessed, pure stevia)
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla 
• 1  cup teff flour 
• 1/4 cup buckwheat flour
• 1 tbs coconut flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda 
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon 
• 1/2 teaspoon salt 
• 1/2 cup quinoa flakes or GF quick-cooking oats or Erewhon crunchy rice cereal (each adds a slightly different edge to the cookies)
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries 
• 1/2 cup almonds, roughly chopped

Directions: 

• Heat oven to 370  degrees.
  Beat together pumpkin, eggs, molasses, and vanilla.
• Add flour, baking soda, cinnamon salt ; mix. 
• Stir in flakes of choice, cranberries, and almonds.  Line baking sheet with parchment paper, and drop rounded tablespoons of dough on, flattening slightly with fork tines to impress a cross-hatch on the top. (Oil fork if sticks)
• 
  
• Bake 10-12 minutes, or until cookies have set, and browned at edges.

Note: They aren't terribly sweet -- but sometimes, if I happen to have a bit of pure maple syrup around, I've added that -- and it sets off the flavours like anything, and adds sweet! They're also brilliant paired with a drizzle of choice -- see Pancake Toppings, or simply frost before a party.

Isolation happens no matter what, sometimes. Even sans issues with gluten, everybody's left out of something at some point. But the holidays are a rotten time to wallow -- and anyhow, wallowing only leads to more wallowing. Gluten-free cookies, well, lead to cookies -- and perhaps to the knowledge that you don't have to wait on the world to get what you need or want.

The Hiatus Unintended -- And Other Plans That Weren't

Travel!

Before I go on about anything, accept my apologies for the unplanned disappearance of months. I was ill, and then travelling -- and my work keeps my scribbling at a pace that some times drowns all outside opportunities peck out even the slightest comments on gluten-free scavenging.

An unintended -- but more welcome -- consequence of the travelling side of my absence was picking up a bootload of brilliant gluten-free survival strategies. I am celiac, and there is no restaurant set up for me. Well, perhaps a few. (Chocolatree in Sedona, AZ, may be one of the very few.) Only they aren't dotted out on a map conveniently, nor half as available as the ubiquitous Starbucks, McDonalds, or if travelling in Japan or China, Singapore or Thailand, wheat-filled noodle-stands.

But I found two things that made two-weeks of wild-mayhem-sort-of-travel affordably, fairly peacefully, doable -- (er, without starving too. Excellent thing to avoid.)

First: Staying with friends, or finding a room or hotel with a kitchenette.

Second: Eating simply.

I set out with a backpack, and a small duffel, or satchel. I packed my laptop, a change of clothes, a book, and some toiletries. Then I stuffed the rest with pre-made sandwiches, a bag of apples, a bag of Go Raw sprouted sunflower seeds, some Two Moms in the Raw Granola, half a dozen single-egg Japanese-style rolled omelets, half a dozen sweet-potato muffins, and a package of corn tortillas. Also, carrots and some lettuce.

(It all travels well. I am an absolute authority after a red-eye flight to D.C., metro ride from Dulles in Falls Church, VA, and six-eight days of metro-ing in and out of the city.)

Sound a bit mad? I don't think so. Security wasn't bothered. My back didn't break. My pocketbook, almost as importantly, was hardly strained.

Anyhow, back to the first point: I stayed with friends in Virginia, who allowed me the use of their kitchen. (It was used for gluten, and had been baked in. I wiped all surfaces, aired it, and prepared all my food on paper towels or plastic wrap laid across counters.)

Second point: I visited the local market, a Trader Joe's, and bought their Organic Quick-Cooking Basmati Rice, two tins of beans (black and navy), a jar of Organic PB, a tin of wild-caught salmon, a package of tofu, garlic, and some soy milk. For less than $20, I was set for the entire week (and past it), barring one stop in D.C. proper to grab a head of lettuce.

Knowing how much I could and would eat in approximately a week is (and was) indescribably important. Also, on a sidenote, knowing how to finagle the use of not-partic.-clean saucepans. (I couldn't steam rice in a little pot burnt and caked with possible-pasta-paste. So I popped a china bowl in a boiling pot, added water, and steamed -- not only did it keep any scrapings of previous substances from coming free and sticking in my rice, it made me the perfect already-bowled serving of the stuff.)

A typical day's menu: (whether eaten on the road, wandering about D.C., scribbling for my client, or partially at my host's home)

Breakfast:

Two or three Sweet Potato Muffins, PB, an apple, a cup of soymilk, and prepared omelet.

Snack:

Two Moms Granola

...well, what's left of sandwich

Lunch:

Nut butter sandwich (pre-pared Nutzo Peanut Free, honey, on Canyon Bakehouse 7-Grain or Udi's Whole), carrot slices

Snack:

Apple

Dinner:

Steamed Rice with Carrots and Shredded Spinach (host contributed), baked tofu (pre-baked first morning)





Oy, I know some readers may be thinking that the intended pocketbook-savings probably now make for unintended time spending -- exhorbitant time expense, at that.

It didn't. Dinner took the time of steaming the rice -- approximately 15 mins, by the package, and less on the clock. (That is the bowl I steamed it in, by the way.) And breakfast took about 3 mins, which was eaten up by removing soy milk from a fridge, along with muffins and PB, and setting them with egg on the table.

Ultimately, the point is: self-care, eating well, and travel, can be done gluten free, cheaply, and nearly stress-free. Even were I able to eat all or whatever it is one finds at the local bistros and cafes, I would still have a commitment to me, and would hope I would spend the same amount of time, watching my expenses -- but most of all, feeding myself well. I would have run out of steam long before I finished my assignment had I run on coffee and packaged foods. I might have saved an extra hour or two a week. To do what, I don't know.

It is a different way of doing things. It isn't the flow the culture takes around me. But only dead-fish go with the flow, after all -- it takes something living to swim out or against it.