Acknowledgments
First, I must offer my gratitude to my husband for helping make this blog possible–for his technical knowledge and support, love, and patience in this project. + Without him, I could not have even thought of putting this in blog form, to encourage others. I want to give gratitude and love to my son, Paul, for always encouraging me to try something new and enjoy it in the process. I love Paul’s joviality, humor, and love of life. He got that from my father! Smile! My gratitude also goes to my grandmothers for their love and loyalty and spending time with me as my role models and mentors. The memories of time with them will always live in my heart! And to my mother who was always there inspiring me to be the best I can be and to never quit. She was a very strong influence in my life; she taught me well, and I never doubted her love.
I thank countless mentors who encouraged me and taught me about God and life, helping me through very rough times. To my aunts, Elaine and Diane, who took a special interest in me and were always there to listen and encourage (and, I mean always). To my Aunt Barbara for always loving me. She was there, too, inspiring me with recipes that she got from her mother, my grandmother, some Italian recipes and some Jewish recipes. To my Aunt Ruthie who loved me unconditionally and taught me so much about compassion. I am grateful to all the health care practitioners who took a special interest in me and made a way for me to heal. Many of them went above and beyond to help me. I am so grateful!
I also want to thank my brothers, Alan and Lance, who have always been there, never doubting, but always supporting, my efforts. They have always loved me unconditionally. To the countless friends who stood beside me and walked with me through my toughest days with this disease. They prayed for me and encouraged me, often daily. I’ve always had friends like this all my life. When I have had my down days with the longevity of illness, I often recalled a quote from the Christmas movie, It a Wonderful Life with James Stewart and Donna Reed: “A man who has friends isn’t poor.” Not sure if I quoted this exactly, but you get the picture, because it’s true! Friends kept me inspired with hope to go on. With them, I had purpose and meaning. My mother taught me the importance of having friends. She, too, had friends and some who were very close friendships that lasted a lifetime for her. My grandmothers were both very social with a lot of friends and family around them. As I’ve said before, and will say again, I’m so grateful to have had them as role models.
About this Celiac Disease Blog!
Our choices in foods that we eat each day have a great deal of effect on our day-to-day health and how we feel, even for someone without Celiac disease. So being a Celiac can make it even more challenging. You wouldn’t think omitting something from your diet would be so hard and challenging. But, try to do this when your eating out, dining with groups of people, attending events revolving around eating and drinking, etc. Even when taking necessary medications or supplements. Of course, today it’s much easier than it used to be. However, we still have to pay attention to everything we put in our mouths–constantly keeping your eye on the ball, so to speak! It takes diligence and will power.
When I was diagnosed with Celiac disease in the mid 1990s, there wasn’t much known about it. It was believed to be a pediatric diagnosis only that was considered hereditary. Also, the market wasn’t flooded like it is today with all the gluten-free choices we find in stores and in many restaurants. At the time, I was very limited and felt isolated from eating out with friends. I even had to sit apart at events involving food for fear of cross contamination of foods making me sick. Often, I had to resort to eating before I went to an event and watch others eat when I got there! Then, I had to offer an explanation as to why I wasn’t eating. It was unsettling to say the least. So, I was so grateful when the market and restaurants started catering more to people like me. I wasn’t alone and isolated anymore. I was thankful I finally knew why I was so sick. I had Celiac disease!
I didn’t always understand the strictness and severity of it, but I was so grateful I had wisdom to prevent feeling so awful every time I ate. It took years to realize how strict I had to be. I now had to be mindful of everything that went into my mouth–everything from medications, to vitamins, to lipstick, etc. The more strict I was, the more healing that took place. Unfortunately, with Celiac disease comes other autoimmune diseases. The longer it goes undiagnosed, the more damage there is to the gut and your immune system. I ended up with two other autoimmune diseases , Sjogren’s disease (rheumatoid disease causing dry eyes and mouth), and Hashimotos disease (thyroid disease). Once I realized the seriousness of the disease, it was incentive enough to strive for gluten-free living.
And so as time went on, I was beginning to find more public awareness of the disease and gluten sensitivities in others. Restaurants began to catch on, and many became aware and were willing to oblige with the cross contamination effect on Celiac disease. They were willing to go that extra mile to ensure the safety of the customer. As I mentioned before, grocery stores were stocked with so much gluten-free food, I no longer felt deprived as an outsider.
In the midst of me adjusting to all this, a really neat thing was happening. I was learning to be a master chef at cooking gluten-free everything. I reached a point, where anything I wanted in a main dish, desert, etc. I could take and turn it into a gluten-free dish without compromising taste and even looks. I began trying my recipes on family and friends, and the comments were always the same. I would hear, “I couldn’t tell that it was gluten free, and you’re an incredible cook.” Hey I was inspired! So, I began collecting family recipes that I got from my mother. What a treasure I found in them! Authentic, family recipes originating from Europe where much of my family was from. Some came from Italy and some from Russia. You see, both my grandmothers spent time with me while cooking in their kitchens, starting when I was very young. I learned from the best. I loved it, because I loved them. They were my role models, and I was so blessed to have them. I loved preparing food with them. Some of it was the art of the cooking, and the other part was just being with them. The dishes they prepared were not only incredible, but they were also healthy as well. Okay, maybe the more healthy ones were on the Russian side, now that I think of it.
My other grandmother, on my father’s side, cooked a lot of Italian food that was amazing. Her best friend from Italy opened a restaurant in downtown Boston back in the 1940s. She and her husband used some of my grandmother’s recipes. What an inspiration to my grandmother that must have been! However, many of those recipes, while incredible in taste and looks, tended to be high in calorie and fat. Italians love taste, but seldom worried (especially back then) about carbohydrates and fat content. This probably explains all my grandmother’s ailments and her early death from diabetes and much more. We do suspect she had Celiac disease too. She had an awful lot of symptoms and health issues similar to mine. And, Celiac disease is known to be hereditary and runs in families! They (medical professionals) say that it tends to run in Italian and Irish families. Of course my genealogy has Italian descent, no Irish!
Today, I love to duplicate her recipes with modifications, without sacrificing flavor! When I cook with those special recipes now though, and enjoy the loving memories, I tone it down on the fat. With Celiac disease also can come lactose intolerance, so sometimes I will use dairy substitutes that are gluten free. But I have to tell you, it’s not the same! I like to go with real Formaggio (Italiano for cheese), authenticity, and flavor. As long as I don’t eat dairy too often, I do okay, thank the Lord!
So, how do you cook using less fat and the right types of sugars and make it gluten free? This is what this blog (later to be a book) is all about. Stay with me as I share, little by little, family recipes and photos and stories of the old days. I will bring it all into a place where we can enjoy and even have fun cooking Senza Glutine (Italian for cooking without gluten)! I loved spending time cooking with my grandmothers and my mother, and I will love sharing those wonderful recipes with you, too. It can be so much fun and rewarding converting delicious recipes into gluten-free food without sacrificing flavor. The food is not only delicious but safe to eat as well! So Salute! (to health) And, let’s begin! Thanks for sharing in this with me. Iris
Chicken Cacciatore Recipe
Chicken Cacciatore recipe! This was my grandmother’s (fathers mother, sometimes known as Nonna or Grandmother) favorite recipe that she loved to share with her very large family on many occasions. I can still smell the aroma of the cacciatore cooking in her kitchen–just like an Italian restaurant! She modified her own version of it, made from leftovers, which I will share with you in the recipe. I can still hear the voices and conversations that took place in her home as she cooked. The Red Sox baseball game from Fenway Park in Boston played on the radio. I can still hear the voice of the announcer, Ken Coleman, calling the plays as the crowd cheered. It was a favorite of my grandfather. We would hear the game in the background as we entered the house. My grandmother would say to him “Isaac, turn that down!” He was hard of hearing, so the volume was quite loud. Gosh, you could hear it coming up the hallway to my grandmother’s home. She lived in a tenement home in the west end of Boston with neighbors close by, and many of them. My father and his brothers didn’t mind because they were Red Sox fans. This was the 1960s when Carl Yastrzemski and Rico Petrocelli were popular. Later on we had Tony Conigliaro. I’ll never forget when Tony was seriously hurt during a games which, as I remember, ended his career. I can still see the newspaper headlines on the Boston globe with his picture and his eye injury. As a young person, I remember thinking how horrible it looked. I felt badly for him, because I remember thinking he was kind of cute.
These were such memorable times for us as a family. On occasion We could hear the game and crowd cheers as we drove up the street to Grandma’s(Nonna) house. (Now this sounds like “Little Red Riding Hood,” doesn’t it? Sorry, I got off track for a moment!) As I was saying, it was summertime, and we had the car windows down. Usually, it was quite hot. People didn’t have much air conditioning back then, not like today, so we relished the breeze as we drove. That was good because my parents, as well as many others, were smokers. Whew–the smoke in the car could be so heavy! We were always asking for the windows to be rolled down. Ok, whining really, but it might explain why I have asthma today. Oh well. What did they know about the danger back then? We could hear others in the neighborhood cheering for the Red Sox, and you could feel the excitement in the air. And, then there were the mosquitoes! Everything was fun, no worries! It was a simpler time for sure!
And so, by the time we got to my grandmother’s, we met other members of the family at the door. Each family would enter with anticipation of visitation, play time, meal sharing, and not to mention, “The Ball Game.” My grandmother had 5 children and 16 or more grandchildren. Her home was the central point of family gatherings. I have some very vivid and warm memories of those times spent with aunts, uncles, cousins, and my parents, brothers, and sister. How many of us have memories that revolve around family time and food–the whole country? I was one of the first to run and greet my grandmother as we entered. I was greeted with a big embrace and lots of kisses. She would always ask, “Who wants to help?” I chalk it up to the fact that she was chronically ill and had handicaps. That’s how they used to say it back then. So she was delegating to her large crowd. Oh come on, handicap or no handicap, with a large crowd like that, anyone would be screaming for help. Anyway, there’s where I began learning Italian cooking, and the joy of eating. Oh, the joy of eating! My brother, Alan, claims she is responsible for his chronic heartburn today. He swears he was the only 8-year-old with heartburn from all the spices. Not to mention the large portions. Of course, I didn’t eat as much as Alan ate, so I was a young connoisseur in the making!
Today, when Alan visits me and I cook like our grandmother Nonna did (only healthy and in small portions), he has no heartburn. But oh boy, when I dig out our grandmother’s Italian recipes it’s heartburn alley for Alan. Pull out the tums! (And Tum’s are Gluten free I’ll have you know! ) He liked that better till after the meal. My mother used to say the same thing. She carried a bottle of tums with her every time she visited. She, too, loved my cooking and used to brag to others about it. While it made me feel good, I felt bad that they were uncomfortable with heartburn. But it was a sign they enjoyed my cooking for sure! Bottom line, It made me feel good! I Loved my mother’s approval.
So enjoy my grandmother’s chicken cacciatore recipe. Incidentally, making this gluten free, and reducing the portions, cuts down on the heartburn. I’m not sure, but I think the wheat had something to do with all the heartburn. Who knows? Smile! Have fun! And, let me know how it comes out. Spring is coming; get ready to play ball, and go Red Sox!” Ok now that I live in Washington State, I should say, “Go Mariners!” I’m getting there!
RECIPE:
Note: The traditional recipe calls for a broiler or fryer chicken cut up. However, my grandmother would improvise to make the recipe simpler to make. She would use cut-up chicken breast from leftovers then did the following: she didn’t always use measurements either. She would often throw a little of this and a little of that, and it came out as if she measured everything. She would often say, “It was made with love.” How can you argue with that?
Prep time should be about 15 minutes. Cook time 1-1/2 hours
Ingredients:
About 2 pounds of cooked chicken breast cut up into pieces. (You can add some leftover dark meat if you like. Also you can add more or less chicken depending on your liking.)
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons of olive oil
2 tablespoons of butter
1 large onion chopped
2 stocks of celery, sliced or chopped
1 large green pepper, cut into strips
1/2 pound of sliced fresh mushrooms
1 can (28 ounces) whole tomatoes cut up–reserve the juice
1 can tomato sauce (8 ounce can)
1 can tomato paste(6 ounces)
1 cup dry red wine or water
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon crushed rosemary
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon basil
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tablespoon of honey or agave (agave is like maple syrup, only less problematic for blood sugar)
1 package of gluten-free hot, cooked, rice spirals
Grated parmesan cheese
In a large skillet place butter and olive oil over medium heat.
When butter is melted, put all the cut up vegetables and garlic in the skillet and Saute about 5 minutes. Stir in tomatoes , tomato sauce and paste, wine , herbs, garlic, and sugar. Bring all this together to a boil. Reduce the heat and cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Add cut up Chicken to the mix, cover and simmer an additional 45-60 minutes. Very low heat, but enough to simmer. Stir occasionally to avoid crusting of mixture on the bottom. Serve over gluten free Pasta and sprinkle with parmesan. Fine! This yields about 6 servings My grandmother used to serve this with bread and salad! The gluten free way of course, would be to serve it with gluten free bread or baggett and a salad. Also, gluten free salad dressing of your choice. My grandmother used to also serve this with wine. I do today as well, as most wines today are Gluten free and safe for Celiac Disease and Gluten intolerant individuals. My grandmother used to also add butter to the pasta before pouring the mixture on top. But to save on fat and calories, I omit that, and try to keep the fat content down.
Celiac Disease
Welcome to our site about enjoying life with Celiac disease. Here you will find creative solutions to living the gluten-free life and not just surviving but enjoying food again! What is Celiac disease? Who has it? Celiac disease, also known as Coeliac disease or Celiac sprue, is an autoimmune disorder of the small intestine. It most commonly occurs in genetically predisposed people of all ages from about mid-infancy onward. Some of the symptoms include pain and discomfort in the digestive tract (either constipation or diarrhea), anemia, fatigue, and failure to thrive. Vitamin deficiencies occur due to the reduced ability of the small Intestine to properly absorb the nutrients from the food eaten. When undiagnosed long-term, it can cause other autoimmune diseases and needs to be taken quite seriously. Gluten sensitivity, while quite uncomfortable, is not as serious as Celiac disease. For more information you can refer to Wikipedia or celiac.org. Because it is such a challenge to avoid gluten, I wanted to create this blog (soon to be book) to showcase what I have done to not only enjoy food again but enjoy food with others. This is a positive approach to a very challenging disease of avoidance. Stay well! And, thank you for sharing with me in this journey!
Iris
Welcome to CeliacDisease.Tips
Hello everyone! Welcome to Celiacdisease.tips. I created this blog because I have Celiac Disease myself ,and wanted to inspire others with Celiac disease and gluten sensitivity, to thrive and not just survive with the disease. On this Blog you will find recipes with photos from many categories. Thoughts and suggestions offered to assist you in choices you may need to make about vitamins, medications, gluten free dining, etc. I also share my personal family photos and stories. There is also a gluten free mall you can order products and food stuff that is all certified gluten free. I also host articles from other people, such as Nutritionists and authors with Celiac disease. So please feel free to let me know you stopped by. I welcome any thoughts, questions, or suggestions you may have. Hope to hear from you soon. Iris Smith+