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Home My WebLink About2006 Nov 08 - Cape Cod Times Article: "Goodbye gluttony, hello GLUTEN-FREE"DD 30 -MINUTE MEAL ,)A complete turkey dinner in 30 minutes is something for which to be thankful. Photos by PAUL BLACKMORE/Cape Cod Times Page C-3 Resources Celiac Solution ■ What: A South Yarmouth consulting company that also sells baked goods and offers catering services. ■ Web: www.celiac- solution.com ■ Phone: 508-737- 0487 The Healthy Villi ■ What: A support group in the Boston area that offers information, includ- ing a link to a list of restaurants with gluten-free menu items and other sup- port groups. 0 Web: www. healthyvilli.com ■ Phone: 617-262- 5422 or toil -free 888 -4 -CELIAC Clan Thompson's Celiac site ■ What: An informa- tion Web site ■ Web: www.clan- thompson.com Children's Hospital Boston ■ What: The hospital runs a Celiac Disease Program and Sup- port Group ■ Web: wwW.child- renshospital.org/clin- icalservices/Site2166/ mainpageS2166P0. html Judith Mann, left, launched her gluten- free baked goods business in March. Yarmouth officials granted her a variance for a home-based catering service because she needed a gluten-free kitchen. Goodbye gluttony, hello GLLTEN-FREE In a holiday stuffed with feasting, .caution is required for those with special dietary needs INSIDE C i Advice C-5 ■ Business C-7 ■ Obituaries C-10 ■ Classified C-13 Editor Gwenn Friss ■p{lone 508-862-1155 -fax 508-771-3292 mg6iss@,wpecodonline.com Chiffon tart is worth the time THE ASSOCIATED PRESS YDE PARK, N.Y. — Autumn's bounty of crisp apples, juicy pears and plentiful pumpkins turn our thoughts to traditional holiday recipes. And there is perhaps no more traditional holiday dessert than pumpkin pie. But if you're looking to change your holiday reper- toire, why not try a pumpkin chiffon tart, instead. Prepare( with a pecan tart shell and layered with a citrus -fig puree, this dessert offers an unexpected take on tradition. Alison McLoughlin, a baking and pastry instructor at the Culinary Institute of America, adapted this recipe from her mother's pie recipe. The creamy pumpkin chiffon mousse is balanced between a nutty pecan crust and the KEITH FERRISIASSOCIATED PRIES This dessert takes time, bu with its pecan crust and cit rus-fig puree layer, guests wil think you've been to culinar school since last Thanksgiving crisp but delicate lace pecan cookies, serving up a pleasin€ texture contrast. "This tart is ideal for easy holiday enter- taining because many of the steps can be prepared in advance,"McLoughlin says. "For example, the tart dough can be made several weeks in advance and frozen until needed. Dried figs and carne( pumpkin are readily avail- able, and the fig filling may bi prepared ahead and refriger- ated up to a week." The pumpkin chiffon mousse makes this tart lighter than traditional pumpkin pie. The pumpkin is combined with gelatin to make the first part of the mousse. Then a Swiss meringue is prepared by combining egg whites and sugar over a double boiler. By STACEY MYERS STAFF WRITER Mow was talking to my sister, Danielle, recently about the fast -approaching holidays, and she winced as a harsh reality struck her: She must de-glutenize Thanksgiving. Earlier this year, her 2 -year-old daughter, Jillian, was diagnosed with celiac disease, wlich is an autoimmune disorder that affects the small intestine. This means Jillian's body is intolerant of wheat, rye, barley and other grains that contain gluten, a protein pivotal in making things sticky during the cooking process. In the most basic terms, even crumb -size bits has to be rethought. But some experts I consulted here on Cape Cod say it's a daunting yet do -able challenge. Judith Mann, a SouthYarmouth resident diagnosed nearly four years ago with celiac disease, just laughed when asked about her first experience cooking a gluten- free holiday feast. "I couldn't imagine that it would be that difficult. Basi- cally, I just converted the recipes and substituted in non - gluten -containing items,"said Mann, a registered nurse who founded a consulting company called Celiac Please see IM IITCN-CRCC lr-'J of gluten irritate her intestine, which in turn can cause ' Good Ju. stomachaches, make it hard for her body to absorb nutri- Which is of Juditt ents, and lead to problems like slow physical and mental baked g, development. business The treatment: Avoid foods with gluten - forever. gluten-fi buns. At barely 23 pounds, Jillian isn't much bigger than the turkey my sister will cook for Thanksgiving, yet she has giant dietary issues. My sister and brother-in-law, Dave, have hosted Thanksgiving before and realize it's an undertaking. But throw in the celiac factor, and things become really mind-boggling. Holiday meals are a gluten minefield, what with all the gravy, stuffing, pies and cakes. The whole menu by combining egg whites and sugar over a double boiler. The egg white mixture is then whipped until a medium - stiff peak is achieved. The meringue is then gently folded into the pumpkin to create a light filling. Pumpkin Chiffon Mousse Tart with Citrus Fig Com- pote and Pecan Florentines (Start to finish 4 hours, 1 hour 45 minutes active) Tart Dough: 11/4 cups cake flour Please see TART /C-4 C2 ■ Cape Cod Tinres Gluten-free: Changes mean everyone can e continued from C-1 Solution. "Let me tell you, huge disas- ters because of that. You can't just substitute things in," she said. "You have to learn all over again." Just to recreate her favorite banana bread recipe took painstaking testing with gluten- free flours. She and her sister, a restaurateur, experimented with ways to combine the ingre- dients and whip the eggs and butter. They got bread that wasn't cooked in the center, sides that "were fried," or bread that just didn't rise the way it should. Finally, they struck on just the right technique for whipping the eggs. The resulting banana bread won second place at the 2004 Barnstable County Fair and was the first product for Mann's wholesale baked goods business. Her advice for the first gluten-free Thanksgiving: Keep it simple. "Make all the same things you would normally make, but try to find someone to make the pies for you - that can be a big challenge,"Mann said. But what about finding the ingredients? My sister now spends a lot of time reading food labels, seeking forbidden ingredients - such as modified wheat starch, barley malt and maltodextrin - and warnings the product was made in a plant where wheat flour is used. For Thanksgiving, she must even research the turkey, because some companies inject their birds with broth that con- tains gluten. Mann suggested consulting support organizations, such as Healthy Villi in Boston or Clan Thompson's Celiac Site, which offer guidance on products that contain gluten. Monique DeCoste of Center- ville said she checks with those lists, but she also calls food manufacturers. "If I see a 1 -800 -number, I check. I check constantly, because there are changes all the time," said DeCoste, who was diagnosed a year -and -a - half ago. She echoed Mann's advice about menu planning. "Keep everything very simple until, you get more knowledge- able,"DeCoste said. It's a very natural diet, she said, centered on vegetables, fruit and meat. And there are a lot of mixes available now for cakes and pies. "There's a lot out there. I don't Celiac tidbits 0 More than 1 -in -133 people have celiac disease, and many don't even know it, according to Chil- dren's Hospital, Boston. 0 Having a gluten intoler- ance is not the same as having an allergy, where you may get hives or have trouble breathing if you ingest the wrong food. The effects of celiac disease can remain barely perceptible for years. Also, you can outgrow an allergy. 0 Symptoms can include bellyaches, a bloated stomach, diarrhea, growth problems, failure to gain weight, low energy and skin rashes. ■ Cross -contamination of food is a big hazard. All feel like I'm suffering," she said. She noted, though, that gluten- free items can be two or three times more expensive. OK, so it looks like, with some planning, the menu should come together nicely. But what about the guests? On top of everything else, my sister will have to worry about cross -contamination of food and making sure no one gives Jillian r'0 1 1 /%n 1 food, including condi- ments like butter and mayonnaise, must be handled carefully. For in- stance, there's no dipping a knife into the butter, after using it to cut open a dinner roll. Counters must be cleaned thoroughly before preparing gluten- free food. 0 Other items that may contain gluten: medicine, postage stamps, stickers, lipstick and Play -Doh. 01f you ask, some res- taurants have gluten-free menus. The Cape list includes: Outback Steak- house in Hyannis, Uno Chicago Grill in Hyan- nis, Coonamessett Inn in Falmouth, 902 Main in South Yarmouth and Olive Garden in Hyannis. something she shouldn't have. Celiac disease - particularly when it involves an inquisitive toddler, who has been known to sample cat food - requires edu- catingthe whole family. Danielle has been coaching everyone, including her 4 -year-old, Julia, who will have to know what her kid sister can eat when there's a baby sitter, or befuddled aunt, taking care of them. For simplicity's sake, Man said, "I just ask people not 1 bring anything that has glute in it with them: crackers, breE or pies." "If they do want to brir something, have them call ar, go over the ingredients," A said. "Ask them is it a new stir of butter? A new jar of mayor naise?" This year, DeCoste has a dii ferent solution. "You know where I'm going for Thanksgiving - the voi Trapp family inn in Vermont, she said."They are familiar witt gluten-free." Hmm. That sounds good. But my family has only beer, at this gluten-free thing since July, I'm not sure if we're ready to test dining out on a holiday. Besides, I'm convinced we've already got all the fixings for a new holiday Hallmark movie: "A Very Gluten -Free Thanks- giving." Judith Mann of Celiac Solu- tion shares some of her favorite gluten-free holiday recipes - many of which use .Jude's Mix, a combination of flours that are OK for those with celiac disease. "We use this mixture for cakes, brownies, muffins and pie crusts. (It is) not recommended for breads"Mann says. 7