This is the way your grandparents warmed up on a winter’s day… there’s nothing more comforting than a hearty soup! Serve with cornbread or crackers and a salad, and you’re all set!

Ingredients

2 tablespoon butter or margarine
1 cup chopped onion
½ cup chopped celery
1½ cups diced, pared potatoes (cut in ½-inch cubes)
2 cups corn. fresh or frozen
1½ cups water
2 chicken bouillon cubes
¼ teaspoon thyme
1 cup milk
1 cup light cream
Salt and pepper to taste

Procedure

1.In a medium saucepan, melt butter; add onion and celery and cook until tender.
2. Add potatoes, corn, salt, pepper, water, bouillon cubes, and thyme.
3. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes, or until potatoes and corn are tender.
4. Add milk and cream. Heat through.

Tips, Notes, and Variations
If cooking outdoors, you can substitute evaporated milk or powdered milk.

I like to spice it up with some minced jalapeno pepper, or try chopped red or green bell pepper if you need to be more cautious!

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Cookbook:Corn_Chowder.

Inspiration Mixes was born out of Debbie Caterson’s love for her grandson, Sean, who was diagnosed with an intolerance to foods containing gluten and casein – and her desire to create good-tasting food for him.

Gluten is a protein that gives bread dough its elasticity and also traps air bubbles that cause the dough to rise. Casein is another protein, a binding agent found in milk and other dairy products. Both are widely found in processed foods.

When Debbie looked around for alternatives that would appeal to the young boy, she discovered many foods that lacked the two substances that caused Sean problems. But while they may have met the nutritional requirements necessary for the young boy’s health, the foods were devoid of taste, she said. Other products left an aftertaste that lingered way too long.

Caterson went home and began tweaking some of her own family recipes, substituting gluten-free rice flour, coconut flour, tapioca flour, sorghum flour, potato starch and other ingredients for the wheat flour and dairy products that caused problems for Sean, then 5, who was diagnosed with autism when he was 18 months old. The results were so positive that it led the Roseburg, Oregon woman and her sister, Cathy Kirkpatrick of Eugene, to create their own company, Inspiration Mixes.

The rest, as they say, is history! I think you’ll enjoy their products, now available online as well as several locations in Oregon.
www.inspirationmixes.com

Back in January, the Village Voice spoke with Tully Lewis about Tully’s, the gluten-free bakery she was planning to open on East 11th Street. The bakery opened its doors on Monday, and “Fork in the Road” trudged through the snow to sample a few of the treats on display. Though they profess to not be particularly interested in cupcakes, gluten-free or otherwise, they happily report that the ones at Tully’s are on the whole pretty top-notch. Sold in mini or regular sizes, they’re incredibly moist, tender, and springy, and boast a well-balanced frosting-to-cake ratio.

Read the full article by Rebecca Marx, published Feb. 10 2010: http://blogs.villagevoice.com/forkintheroad/archives/2010/02/the_early_word_53.php.

A week at a gluten-free camp improves the lives of kids with celiac disease, say researchers at the University of California, San Francisco.

People with celiac disease develop intestinal damage and painful symptoms if they eat even a little gluten, a protein found in foods made from wheat, rye, or barley.

Celiac disease is hard on kids, who feel the stigma of being unlike other children. Kids with celiac disease may have difficulty relating to others and often feel bad about themselves. But the researchers found that negative self-perceptions of kids still new to the dietary restrictions improved when they went to the gluten-free camp.

Read the full article by Bill Hendrick, published Feb. 15, 2010: http://www.webmd.com/digestive-disorders/celiac-disease/news/20100212/gluten-free-camp-helps-celiac-disease-kids?src=RSS_PUBLIC.

Healthy Grains that are a Perfect Addition to a Gluten Free Diet… now that sounds like music to my ears!

Millet, teff and sorghum are quickly becoming known as the best way to add whole grains and nutrition to a gluten free diet. It was once common for foods manufactured for a gluten free diet to be made of white rice and sugar. Luckily, the winds of change are blowing, bringing with them a host of new options for people with celiac disease.

Read the full post by Marissa Carter, published Feb 10, 2010: nutrition.suite101.com/article.cfm/more-gluten-free-whole-grains.

When state officials sought to shut down a Durham food company last month for marketing bread as gluten-free that tested positive for gluten, cheers went up across the country among those suffering from celiac disease.

“What North Carolina did enforcing gluten-free claims is say, ‘We’re going to take the health of North Carolinians seriously,” said Alice Bast, executive director of the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness, a nonprofit based outside Philadelphia. “I have to applaud North Carolina.”

Enforcement of gluten-free claims on food products is rare because federal officials have yet to define the term “gluten-free.” The Federal Drug Administration was supposed to have a definition by 2008 but the process has dragged on. Without a government definition, those with celiac disease have to rely on food companies to be honest about the contents of their products, test the products regularly, and prevent cross-contamination. ”Without the FDA having their final ruling, companies can do whatever they want,” says Cynthia Kupper, executive director of the Gluten Intolerance Group, a company based in Washington state that certifies food companies’ gluten-free claims.

Read the full article, by Andrea Weigl, published February 1, 2010: www.newsobserver.com/life/food/story/314548.html.

Kraft foods has provided some comprehensive information about label reading, designed to provide tips for choosing gluten-free foods and is for people with diagnosed gluten intolerance.

To provide consistency among food products labeled gluten-free, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is in the process of developing rules that would apply to all gluten-free products in the market. Creating standard rules for all food companies to follow will assist consumers looking for gluten-free foods. To learn more about the new FDA proposed rule and for updates on its status, visit: www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/lab-cat.html#1gluten.

Read the full article: www.kraftrecipes.com/HEALTHY-LIVING-IDEAS/ARTICLES/FOOD-ALLERGIES/glutenfreefoods.aspx.

Moondance Heavenly Desserts are homemade in small batches, and as they like to say: will send you to the moon and back! As with many such companies, it grew out of the owner’s personal struggle to find products that were both gluten free and wheat free. The result? Desserts with the home baked taste you’ve been missing. They use the finest ingredients and unique cooking processes to give you gourmet creations like none you have ever tasted before. Check out their website for more information: www.moondancedesserts.com.

Glutino & Gluten Free Pantry is a manufacturer and distributor specializing in gluten free products. These days nearly everyone is on a restricted diet of one sort or another. However, one of the biggest surprises is that nearly 3 million people in the United States have Celiac Disease and that it is one of the most under-diagnosed diseases in the Country.

Glutino offers a wide array of products, ranging from baking mixes to snacks. For example, bread options include cinnamon, cheese, corn and bagels, just to name a few; snacks include pretzels, cookies and breakfast bars. Please visit our website for a comprehensive list: http://www.glutino.com/content/view/80/114/.

If your favorite store isn’t stocking gluten free products, don’t just walk out in despair… tell them what you want! In response to customer feedback, Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market in California is introducing more gluten-free products, adding new shelf labels to call out notable gluten-free items and is making a list readily available of all products in the store that are made without gluten ingredients, the company reported.

“We’re excited to give our customers what they’ve been asking for by expanding our range of gluten-free products and making them easier to find in our stores,” said Denise Webster, food scientist at Fresh & Easy.

Read the full article published January 28, 2010: www.csnews.com/csn/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1004063434.