Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital, Demonstration Kitchen offers a gluten-free cooking class 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. March 3. Join guest chef Jim Bologna, executive chef of the Townsend Hotel and Amy Gluck, registered dietitian at Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital the class. This class is packed with flavor and will expand participants' range of cooking with herbs, spices and delicious ingredients.

In this class participants will learn to prepare:

• Gluten Free Bread Pudding
• Cucumber Roll Appetizer with marinated Vegetable Slaw and a Cilantro dipping sauce
• Pan Roasted Salmon and more…….
  

This class will include recipes that will be featured on the menu at The Townsend Hotel along with tips on how to order for those with gluten sensitivity when you are out on the town. Dr. Ann Silverman M.D., senior staff physician with the Henry Ford Medical Group will be joining the class to answer questions and concerns regarding gluten sensitivity.

All classes are $39 per person. Registration closes 72 hours prior to class. For questions e-mail dk@hfhs.org or to register call the dk Hotline at (248) 325-3890. All classes include generous plated samples and take home recipes.

Moms have a tough job. No one in their right mind is going to dispute that.

We have 24-hour shift, grueling workload and rarely have a day off. The benefits are great, but we aren't paid well. Add to it a day job (or night job in my case), and some things may have to run a lot more efficiently.

On weeknights, dinner needs to be healthful, easy and on the table before our 5 p.m. "shift change." Sometimes it's hot dogs and corn (not so healthy) and on my more triumphant days, I have a slow cooker simmering with a more healthful meal.

This past week, I got a few quick tips from other such moms who work tirelessly and still provide me with enough inspiration and relief to keep me going.

My own mother, who works two jobs and still finds time to take my picky eaters off my hands once in a while, brought over a slow cooker brimming with Pulled Barbecue Brisket (photo above) when she dropped them off. I quickly asked for the recipe (see below). The sharp peppery sauce was loaded with flavor and we piled the beef onto Ener-G Tapioca sandwich bread.

It goes especially well with a quick batch of coleslaw. I recommend using Aunt Mid's Creamy Cole Slaw Dressing (find it at Kroger in the produce department.) It is gluten-free and low-cal. Simply use about 1/2 cup per bag of pre-cut cabbage mix or broccoli slaw. Add salt and pepper to taste and toss and refrigerate for at least an hour so the veggies soak in the flavor. It's also good with sliced apples and walnuts.

My mother-in-law also has a full plate. In the heart of tax season, she is working countless hours six days a week, yet still has time to entertain and whip up a good meal for us when we stop by. We visited "Gram's" house on the lake one Sunday and learned all about ice fishing. The kids had fun sliding around on the frozen lake and playing with the catch of the day. When we went inside and thawed out, she, too, had a slow cooker filled with a warm and healthful meal. A hardy Chicken Chili was bubbling away. She brushed it off like it didn't take much thought. She has many more years of experience.

Maybe one day I will get to that point, but at the moment I am a little overwhelmed by the daunting chore of thinking up meals and cooking them on a busy schedule.

I am starting to think the slow cooker is a pivotal tool of the trade.



Gram's Easy Chicken Chili
1 pound cooked, cubed chicken
1 large can beans (I used Kroger Organics tri-color beans, but many Bush beans are also gluten-free)
1 jar salsa (Amy's, Muir Glen or here is a list of gluten-free salsa)
1 cup frozen corn
1 cup shredded cheese (optional)

Toss in slow cooker and cook on low 2-4 hours.

BARBECUED BRISKET SANDWICH

2 tablespoons chili powder

1 teaspoons sea salt

3/4 teaspoons black pepper

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1 1/2 pound beef brisket, trimmed

Heat broiler.

Spray cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil with olive oil.

Mix chili powder, salt, pepper and garlic powder in cup; rub on brisket both side and spray with olive oil. Transfer brisket to broiler rack. Broil brisket 5 inches from heat until browned, 5 minutes.

1 large onion, thinly sliced

1 cup ketchup (Heinz is gluten-free)

1/2 c chili sauce (Heinz is gluten-free)

1/4 c molasses

2 tablespoons strong brewed coffee

1/2 hot pepper sauce (such as Frank's)

Heat 2 teaspoons olive oil in large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onions and cook, stirring frequently, just until golden, about 8 minutes. Stir in ketchup, chili sauce, molasses, coffee, and hot pepper sauce.

Spread half of ketchup mixture over bottom of 5 or 6 quart slow cooker. Top with brisket and remaining ketchup mixture. Cover and cook unto brisket in fork tender, 7-9 hours on low.

Shred the beef and mix together well.

The flu season sneaked into our home this past week. We thought we would avoid it, but a sneaky bug crawled into our front door right before the storm dumped snow on our streets. My son missed out on his Valentine's Day parties, I missed quite a few days of work and we're all slowly getting back to good health.

I was lucky to have a few frozen tricks up my sleeve. After all, I cooked up a storm as the snow kept us indoors as a treat for my husband for Valentine's Day. I made a huge pot of spaghetti sauce on my big cooking day. I threw in a package of frozen spinach, a ton of fresh mushrooms and the last pound of my grass-fed ground beef I bought in the fall. I used fresh tomatoes frozen from the summer and about 5 cans of tomato puree. All my best, healthful stuff went into that pot. I simmered it for hours and picked up some tin containers to freeze my concoctions in.

My son got some "goulash," which was simply a box of gluten free rice penne cooked and tossed with the sauce (photo on top of page). I spread a couple slices of Tofutti white cheddar cheese on top, wrapped and froze. I made my husband a lasagna (which can be made with gluten-free noodles) or two and froze them with a few containers of the remaining sauce.

It was a good thing I worked ahead, because after my picky eater got sick, and then me, there wasn't time or brainpower to think about dinner. My husband has been living on lasagna and I popped a spaghetti squash in the oven at the beginning of the infestation. I simply cut in half lengthwise, then placed skin side up on a tinfoil-lined baking tray. I baked at 375 F for 35-40 minutes, then scraped a fork across the flesh (photo at right). My kids thought it looked so cool, they gave it a try.

My picky eater -- to my amazement -- ate an entire bowl of it, which I would like to credit for making him feel better.

I topped mine with some sauce and sprinkled with Romano cheese (photo at right). It was delicious and healthful. But a little too late. I woke up with a fever the next morning. Luckily, the others had leftovers to keep them fed while I recovered.

Another thought if you need to keep it easy while people are recovering from illness:

Chef John Yaquinto, owner of C.F. Cucina's just announced that the gluten-free restaurant now offers pizza, lasagna and eggplant dinners in the frozen food aisle at Hillers markets and Foods For Living in East Lansing. I recommend the pizza. It's the only restaurant I trust to have completely gluten-free pizza since cross-contamination is not an issue.

Take care and be well.

There's nothing I use more than my trusty old 9-by-13 casserole dish.

From roasted potatoes, to lasagna, to cake, it's a rectangular miracle-worker if you ask me.

On busy nights, or snowed-in nights when we just want a big dose of comfort food, I like to scan the kitchen and throw a combination of food into the Pyrex. Less than an hour later, our house is full of smells and we are ready to dig in and enjoy a good, hearty meal.

I recently started receiving shipments from Door-to-Door Organics. The company will deliver a box of veggies, fruit or a combination every week or two weeks.

"We pride ourselves in ordering produce from the best organic farms we can find," DTDO says on its Web site. "Most of our farms are family owned and we have begun to inspect them personally. It is very important to know where our food comes from, so we invite you to meet some of our farmers."

A list of local farmers appears on the Web site. Of course, this time of year, DTDO has to go outside our state to find fresh produce, but I enjoy the variety and feel good about eating food from family farms.

There are options to substitute and add other items. I like being surprised every week and it's the perfect opportunity to use my favorite weapon: the 9-by-13. My last order yielded: Yukon gold potatoes, carrots with tops, collard greens, cucumbers, Romaine lettuce, Sunburst squash, sweet baby broccoli and celery hearts. I never have cooked a Sunburst squash, but they looked interesting. I have encountered them quite a few times at the farmer's market (photo at right).

It was time to put on my thinking cap.

I decided to go ahead and chop up the squash into 1/2 inch squares with carrots, a few cloves of garlic and half an onion. I thought about adding a potato, which would be delicious, but not all my picky eaters enjoy potatoes, unfortunately. I tossed the veggies with some spices and olive oil and dumped them into the bottom of the casserole dish. I placed four pieces of cod on top of that and added a cup of chicken stock (Kitchen Basics).

A good start, but I decided I needed a crispy crust. Most cod recipes call for a breadcrumb crust, or cheese, but I didn't have enough gf bread (which I have toasted and ground up to make my own breadcrumbs), and one of my picky eaters doesn't eat dairy. So, I grabbed about a cup of almonds and ground them up in a food processor. I simply sprinkled the nuts on the fish and baked it all in a 375 F oven covered with tin foil for 35-40 minutes. The cod was frozen, I should note, so it baked slower and wasn't overly dry.

I served it with a tossed salad and had room in the oven for a pan of Betty Crocker gf brownies. I felt confident my family was getting a wholesome, soothing meal.

It was a huge hit. Hook, line and sinker.

Tip: If you have leftovers, take them out of the dish and store in smaller container. If you put the casserole dish in the fridge, it will be harder to clean later. Instead, fill with warm soapy water and soak overnight. If the pan is really a mess, add some baking soda and scrub in the morning.