No gluten is no problem

Migas with chorizo

I recently found out my oldest daughter, Helen, should be on a gluten free diet due to some health concerns. My oldest son, Glenn, has also decided to try a gluten free diet to see if it will help his chronic skin problems. As a result I’ve been challenged to have the gluten free option for my son on a daily basis. Helen has also asked me for ideas to help her adapt but still eat tasty, healthy food.
Fortunately, I had experience recently in the gluten free world. I’ve been doing food demonstrations at the Azle Farmers Market all summer and I have tried to provide a gluten free alternative for everything I’ve demonstrated. I didn’t have to, but the founders of the market, Kristoffer and Lisa Rasmussen and their wonderful children all live gluten free. Another market member, Debbie Mears, is also gluten free. I didn’t want them to be left out so whenever I developed a recipe I adapted it for both regular and gluten free eaters. Personally, I don't have a problem with gluten and I have no plans to stop eating products containing it. In fact I purchased 3 loaves of bread at Artisan Baking Company in White Settlement a few days ago and enjoyed slices of Harvest bread with Justin's Organic peanut butter and honey I bought at Azle Farmers Market. The pumpkin bread was fantastic, not too sweet, and more bread than cake.
But, back to gluten free--I am now becoming somewhat skilled at developing menus
and I am happy to report that there have been no complaints. Being a Japanese-American has its advantages here. I grew up in a household where the rice cooker was always on the kitchen counter and used nearly every day. My Japanese mother ate rice for breakfast, not toast and butter.
I still have a rice habit. My kids will tell you they can always open up the freezer and find a bunch of zip loc bags with single servings of Japanese short grain rice. They heat up the rice in the microwave and eat it with everything. Lately I’ve been freezing packets of brown rice as well.
Japanese food is perfect for the gluten free diet. I’ve been making my son obento for his lunches featuring things like oyakodon (chicken , onions, egg on rice), nikudon (beef and vegetables on rice), Japanese fried chicken (uses cornstarch), and other traditional obento items.
In fact, all Asian foods are easy to adapt to the gluten free diet. Thai and Vietnamese food use rice noodles, Korean food uses potato starch noodles, and Chinese food is fine without any gluten products. Indian food is another favorite of mine, and while I do love naan it’s easy to eat hearty lentil and potato dishes and not miss the bread. In addition to Asian food I’m also a big fan of Southwestern food. Huevos rancheros, migas, chile rellenos, enchiladas, and tacos with lots of Hatch green chiles are perfect and can be made with all types of corn products.
I have a lot of recipes on my blog from the farmers market which are either gluten free or can be easily modified. For example, the grilled eggplant sandwich can be made with Udi’s gluten free bread instead of the ciabatta roll. The Japanese Grilled Beef calls for soy sauce but substitute wheat free tamari whenever you see soy sauce.
Here are the dates and recipes on the blog:
June 13: Japanese Grilled Beef with brown rice and vegetable sauté
July 5: Stir Fried Vegetables and Meat, Cucumber Kimchi, Cornmeal cakes, Oven dried tomatoes
July 30: Flash blackened Big Eye Tuna with Cajun spices, Wasabi glaze, rice and steamed vegetables
Aug 11: Eggplant sandwich, edamame hummus with yucca chips
Aug 15: Huevos rancheros
Aug 22: Pear Crisp, chicken yakitori
Aug 31: Roasted corn and green chile dishes, including green chile cheese cornbread

If you crave bread, please try the green chile cheese cornbread. It’s made with cornmeal, goat cheese and chiles and has so much flavor . The goat cheese makes it moist and tangy.
Some of my favorite products to have on hand include:
Wheat free Tamari
Rice vermicelli noodles
Rice flour, white and brown
Cornstarch, potato starch
Corn tortillas
Stone ground cornmeal
Brown rice
Corn
Yukon gold potatoes ( I make 5 minute potato salad by chopping the potatoes, heating in microwave for a couple minutes, cool, add vinegar, oil or mayo and herbs, salt & pepper.)
Sweet potatoes--all types including garnet, Japanese, and Okinawan

I also have lots of organic vegetables, fruit, and fish, shrimp and other proteins including tofu on hand.

For the Migas pictured above:

I used 6 corn tortillas, brushed lightly with vegetable oil and fried until crispy. I cut them into strips and set them aside.
1/2 T vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 onion, diced
1/2 bell pepper, red or green, diced
1/2 cup Hatch chiles, (roasted, peeled, seeded, and diced) or use Poblano
1-2 jalapenos, diced
1 tomato, diced
6 ounces chorizo, bulk breakfast sausage, or veggie sausage crumbles, cooked and drained
6 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup grated cheese, any type including Monterey Jack, cheddar, goat
2 scallions, thinly sliced
1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Heat pan and add vegetable oil. Saute garlic, onions and pepper until softened. Add tomato and cooked meat and heat through. Add beaten eggs and tortilla strips and cook until eggs are scrambled but still very moist. Sprinkle cheese. Serve with scallions and cilantro.