SS&GF: Simply Sugar and Gluten Free

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My right hand is calloused and blistery from hours of precision cutting. On Easter when everyone else was laying on the couch with a belly full of good food, I was leaning over my cutting board trying to become one with my knife.

Julienne, batonnet, brunoise. Small dice, medium dice, large dice. Repeat.

After hacking up 10 pounds of potatoes and five pounds of carrots I made a little progress. And that’s being generous. Chef said that some people have great hand-eye coordination and others have to practice their whole life and sometimes they master it. I’m in category B.

Joe was looking forward to homemade potato soup, a would be first at our house.  More concerned with my batonnet than the soup, I kept throwing scraps into the pot.   My soup turned into an irredeemable gluey paste which promptly went down the garbage disposal.

The 5 pounds of carrots ended up being 8 ounces of relatively decent juliennes, which were made into this simple and delicious carrot and raisin salad.  The scraps are covered in water awaiting their destiny as Sweet Curried Carrot Soup.

Notice this only serves two, that is if you want to share.  It took an hour to cut 8 ounces of these skinny little sticks and took only 10 minutes to eat most of them.  A smart woman would use her food processor.

Knife Cuts Defined (In case anyone cares…)

• julienne – 1/8 inch x 1/8 inch x 2 – 2 1/2 inches
• batonnet – 1/4 inch x 1/4 inch x 2 – 2 1/2 inches
• brunoise – 1/8 inch x 1/8 inch x 1/8 inch
• small dice – 1/4 inch x 1/4 inch x 1/4 inch
• medium dice – 1/2 inch x 1/2 inch x 1/2 inch
• large dice – 3/4 inch x 3/4 inch x 3/4 inch

Perfect for Summer Get-Togethers

This is a great salad to take to spring and summer picnics that are right around the corner.  The dressing is sweet and tangy with just enough pepper to give it a little kick. After marinating in the refrigerator, the carrots soften slightly but still have a great crunch.

If you don’t have a deep desire to perfect hand-cut carrot strips that measure 1/8 inch x 1/8 inch x 2 inches long, just grate them on the large holes of a box grater or, better yet, run them through your food processor.  Lay them sideways in the processor’s feeding tube for long strands you can twirl with your fork.

Reminders

• Chandice at Gluten-Free Frenzy is featuring little ol’ me as her Gluten-Free Blogger of the week.  Stop by to read my interview. Thanks, Chandice!
• Beth at Fake Plastic Fish is hosting “Get the Plastic Out!” this week.  I was a little worried about this topic as I love my saran wrap – but after reading part one and two of Beth’s story, there’s nothing extreme.  I’m already practicing most of what she suggests. Are you?
• My second Healthier Baking Gluten & Sugar Free class is May 4th from 7 – 9 pm.  We’ll be making some of my favorites.  I’d love for you to join us if you’re in the Dallas area.

Visit Real Food Wednesday and Gluten-Free Wednesdays for more good food.