GF Crustless Quiche

OK, for a while over here, it's going to be fast, delish and simple. No styling of food, just a photo (or three) to show you that I really did test out the recipe and did not die eating it, and that my family allowed me to post it.

Fair deal? I hope so.

Up today is a gluten-free Crustless Quiche recipe from Incredible Edible Gluten-Free Food for Kids: 150 Family-Tested Recipes. I love that it is fast and easy, and the possibilities are pretty endless. I used crumbled bacon in mine but you can use anything you fancy, including leftovers: roasted peppers, blanched broccoli, roasted asparagus, leeks and caramelized onions. Indeed if you vary the "filling" your family will not suspect that it is the same ol' recipe!

The last piece, up for grabs.

Gluten-free Crustless Quiche

Recipe from Incredible Edible Gluten-Free Food for Kids: 150 Family-Tested Recipes 

 Serves 4-6, depending on appetite

• 4 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups milk or substitute
• 3/4 cup sliced green onions (optional)
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp ground pepper
• 1/8 tsp grd nutmeg
• 3/4 cup cooked, chopped meat (chicken, ham, crabmeat) OR 1/2 cup crumbled bacon OR anything you fancy!
• 2 cups (about 6 oz) shredded cheese (Swiss, cheddar, Monterey Jack, Harvati)
• 2 Tbsp sweet rice flour (I used almond meal)

 

1. Preheat oven to 325F.
2. Thoroughly grease a deep pie dish; set aside.
3. In a bowl, combine the eggs, milk, green onions (if using), salt, pepper and nutmeg. Stir in the meat (or other filling of choice).
4. Pull out the center rack of the preheated oven and place the prepared pie pan on it. Pour the mixture carefully into the pan. Carefully push the rack back into the oven and close.
5. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.
6. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

about asparagus, l-asparagine and cancer

I wanted to post this as a note on Facebook but it seems there is no such option for a non-personal page, so I am posting it here. I read this in a newsletter that I subscribe to, written by a pair of naturopaths based in Denver, CO. I find their newsletters very informative and well-researched. However, it seems this current newsletter is not updated on their website yet, but since I have been talking about asparagus and posted a couple of related recipes, I thought I would reproduce the information below, also useful for future reference. Original article written by Jacob Schor ND, FABNO.

Excerpted from April 2011's newsletter:

If you have cancer, you have probably already read that asparagus will cure your cancer.  A letter making this claim has gone viral on the internet.  I doubt that there are more than a handful of people with cancer who have not received a copy forwarded to them by some well meaning friend or relative.

Let me start by saying there is little reason to believe the claim that asparagus will cure cancer.  Instead it may actually make a few specific cancers worse.

Let me summarize what we do know about these claims in the hope that information may antidote this long, standing urban myth.

The “Asparagus Cure for Cancer” first appeared in print in the February 1974 issue of Prevention magazine.      This article was followed by a similar article in the December 1979 issue of Cancer News Journal, a magazine once distributed in health food stores. Both articles claim that a dentist named Richard R. Vensal discovered that eating asparagus could cure cancer.

According to the letter, a cure can be achieved by consuming 4 tablespoons of pureed cooked asparagus twice a day.  Improvement is supposedly seen in two to four weeks.

Unfortunately there is little reason why we should believe this information.  The dentist Richard Vensal never published anything in either a scientific journal or book that can be found.


It is certainly possible that some chemical found in asparagus might be beneficial against cancer.

There is a single study suggesting this that was published in 2009.   Chinese researchers report that a chemical, which they named asparanen A, showed an anticancer effect when tested on liver cancer cells.    [1]

There are no studies that describe the results of feeding asparagus to animals with cancer.  Nor are there any published clinical trials on giving asparagus to human cancer patients.  Nor are is there any epidemiological data that hints that asparagus farmers have less cancer.

While there is a wealth of research that diets high in vegetables are anti-cancer, there is no evidence that singles out asparagus in particular suggesting it has an anti-cancer effect.  So while there may be some health benefits from eating asparagus because it is a vegetable, at this point, there is little reason to think that asparagus are exceptional.

In contrast there is substantial published data on the anticancer effect of other specific vegetables.  For example, a current search of the National Institute of Health’s National Library of Medicine, lists 597 published articles in the medical and scientific literature related to the anticancer effect of broccoli.   [2]  A search for published papers on garlic and cancer yields 648 references.   [3]

There are only two clinical trials involving asparagus in humans. One paper published in 2009, describes a study in which patients with high blood pressure were given a combination of parsley and asparagus extracts in the hope that their blood pressure would improve. Unfortunately, no benefit was seen.     [4]  An earlier study published in 2008, reported that a combination of asparagus and elderberry extracts helped patients lose weight.    [5]

Losing weight is not the same as curing cancer.

Thus at this point there is little reason to think that asparagus will cure cancer.


Ironically though there is a long established link between asparagus and a particular form of cancer.  Unfortunately, asparagus may, instead of curing this cancer, make it worse. Let me explain:

In 1953 a pathologist named John G. Kidd discovered that blood serum taken from healthy guinea pigs, when injected into mice, killed leukemia cancer cells.  [6] Ten years later John D. Broome MD explained why this happened.  Guinea pig blood contains an enzyme called l-asparaginase that breaks down an amino acid called l-asparagine.  Healthy cells make l-asparagine, but certain types of leukemia cells are not able to.  These leukemia cells rely on nearby healthy cells to supply them with l-asparagine.  The enzyme in the guinea pig blood breaks down the needed l-asparagine and so deprives the nearby cancer cells of this amino acid they require for their growth.  [7]

L-asparaginase enzyme is now available as a drug (Elspar) and is part of the standard treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).  The drug, by decreasing l-asparagine, starves the cancer cells.  Most types of cancer do make l-asparagine, so Elspar is useful in treating only a few specific types of cancer.

As the names hints, asparagus contain large quantities of l-asparagine.  Eating asparagus would seem ill-advised for people who have cancers treated with Elspar or l-asparaginase.  Eating asparagus may stimulate growth in these cancers, most especially in ALL.  Eating a lot of asparagus may have an undesirable impact on other types of leukemia and possibly lymphomas as well.

People diagnosed with cancer are often desperate to do everything in their power to fight the disease.  They grasp onto every story and rumor about anything that might possibly help them.  The myth that asparagus cures cancer is a good example of this.


Recipe:

Broiling asparagus is so simple that one hardly needs a recipe.  This is how I do it.

Line a cookie sheet with foil.  Wash the asparagus, break off the bottoms.  Oil them lightly with olive oil.  Sprinkle them lightly with Kosher or sea salt.  Broil them until they taste done.  Serve either warm of cold.



References:

1. Liu W, Huang XF, Qi Q, Dai QS, Yang L, Nie FF, Lu N, Gong DD, Kong LY, Guo QL. Asparanin A induces G(2)/M cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in human hepatocellular carcinoma HepG2 cells. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2009 Apr 17;381(4):700-5. Epub 2009 Feb 28.

2. To search yourself, go to: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=broccoli%20and%20cancer

3. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=garlic%20and%20cancer

4. Chrubasik S, Droste C, Black A. Asparagus P(R) cannot compete with first-line diuretics in lowering the blood pressure in treatment-requiring antihypertensives. Phytother Res. 2009 Sep;23(9):1345-6.

5. Chrubasik C, Maier T, Dawid C, Torda T, Schieber A, Hofmann T, Chrubasik S. An observational study and quantification of the actives in a supplement with Sambucus nigra and Asparagus officinalis used for weight reduction. Phytother Res. 2008 Jul;22(7):913-8.

6. H. D. Moon Presentation of the Gold Headed Cane to John G. Kidd. February 24, 1973. Am J Pathol. 1973 October; 73(1): 1–6. PMCID: PMC1904051
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1904051/pdf/amjpathol00248-0005.pdf

7.  BROOME JD. Evidence that the L-asparaginase of guinea pig serum is responsible for its antilymphoma effects. I. Properties of the L-asparaginase of guinea pig serum in relation to those of the antilymphoma substance.
J Exp Med. 1963 Jul;118:99-120.

Gluten-free Almond Flower Cookies

I had planned to post a (very very good) brownie recipe but I am posting this recipe instead because I made these, brought it to park day and had other people tasted this (one boy, two other moms) and they wanted the recipe. I guess this means they are good! And yes, they are. They are very light, with a satisfying almond flavor to it, and if there is such a thing as a soft, comfy almond pillow, you are biting into one when you eat these. This recipe is low in sugar but big in flavor.

This recipe comes from a new gluten-free cookbook I recently found at the library: The Ultimate Gluten-Free Cookie Book, and I am very excited about it. I love that she has a section just for egg-free cookies, and for you people out there who drool for Girl Scout cookies and the like, she has a section dedicated to "the fakes." Also, I love that you need not round up a variety of gluten-free flours to make her cookies-- basically, she uses either brown rice flour or sorghum flour.  And she has a nifty section right at the front explaining the science of how she arrived at this simplified way of gluten-free baking. And I love that. Simple is good. Actually, it is rather awesome. Ryberg has done all the research, studies and experiments, we just need to bake and enjoy, what's not to love?

I do want to mention that this is the second recipe I have tried from her book, and because it turned out so wonderful and well-received I suspect there just may be a typo in the first recipe I tried, which is for the egg-free sugar cookies. I made those with the intention of gifting them to my friend K for her birthday, but they turned out rather salty, with a hint of bitterness to them. In fact, R asked if I had mistakenly used salt instead of sugar for those cookies (and I did not). I was rather disappointed, as the cookies looked so darn adorable and smelled mighty good while baking. If you attempt that particular recipe, you may want to reduce the baking powder to just 1 tsp instead of 1 Tbsp. I am really glad I decided to try another recipe in her book despite the first disappointment, can't wait to discover more yummy goods in this book!

Gluten-free almond flower cookie

Almond Flower Cookies (GF)
Recipe from The Ultimate Gluten-Free Cookie Book 
Makes about 25-28 cookies

• 1/3 cup oil (I used expeller-pressed coconut oil)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 cup brown rice flour
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup almond meal 
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp xanthan gum
• 1 tsp almond extract
• 1/4 cup sliced almonds (optional, for decoration. I used slivered almonds instead)

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a cookie sheet or line with parchment paper.
2. In a medium-size bowl, combine the oil and sugar. Beat well. (I was able to do this in my stand-mixer. The trick is to not twist the paddle attachment to lock it in place. This way, when you raise the bowl up, the paddle drops down and reaches the bottom of the bowl.) Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl at least once during mixing. Add remaining ingredients and mix well.
3. Drop rounded spoonfuls of cookie dough onto the prepared pan. With moistened fingertips, press them to 1/4-inch thickness (I did this with a fork instead, moistening it with water each time). Arrange the almond slices (or slivers, if like me, you just want to use what you have on hand) on top into a flower or other nice pattern (or random pattern, like I did).
4. Bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes, until there is the slightest hint of color; the tops will be dry. Let cool on wire racks before serving. 

Er, I never said I am good at decorating!