The Science Chef Makes Popcorn Balls

He's a scientist. He's a chef. He loves to do science experiments and he loves to cook. I decided that I should get him a book that connects science and cooking, so we got a copy of The Science Chef. The first experiment he chose to do was to make popcorn balls.

He says:

I have one major problem with this book. It always says to use margarine instead of"butter" or "margarine or butter". One of the most annoying recipes was for strawberry butter. It said here is a recipe for strawberry butter that doesn't even use butter. It uses margarine! In another place it says, they substitute applesauce for margarine and oil,, but then they use margarine! That is just plain idiotic.

The first recipe I chose to make was popcorn balls. I chose this because I like popcorn balls. You need to use an edible adhesive.

The science behind popcorn popping is this: Popcorn kernels pop, after they've been dried, because of a small droplet of water inside the kernel. It turns into steam and it cracks the hard outer shell with explosive force resulting in fluffy popcorn. This also explains the dud kernels. No matter how much you heat them they just won't pop. This isn't a problem with your popping strategy, but simply that the water droplet has evaporated, and/or because the outer shell has already cracked. You can show this by hitting an un-popped kernel hard with a hammer to crack the shell. Then, if you try to pop that, it won't pop.

The first thing I did was pop 10 cups of popcorn.

Then what I needed to do was melt a half cup of butter (or "margarine")in a pan over medium heat. Once the butter was melted I added 11.5 ounces of marshmallows and turned the heat to low.

Ingredients: popcorn, butter, honey, marshmallows (little sister "helper" optional)

When the marshmallows were melted I added 1/4 cup of honey and waited for it to melt in. After that happened I took it off the heat and let it cool for five minutes. Then I poured this on the popcorn and tossed the popcorn to get it well coated. Next I moistened my hands with water and started forming the balls which I put on a cookie sheet covered with wax paper. Finally, I let them cool in the refrigerator for one hour.

rolling the popcorn balls

The marshmallows were stale the first time and so they didn't melt properly. They ended up turning into a big pile of silly-putty-like goo. So, I threw that away and waited a couple of hours for my mom to take my baby sister (She insists she is not a baby) to soccer practice and on the way home she would pick up some marshmallows (non-stale ones). When she got home I  continued with the recipe and made some popcorn balls. I rolled them up, let them cool, and put them in a bag.

I learned that I should not give any popcorn balls to my baby sister because she only ate half of it and the other half got thrown away. The next day, I told my mom not to let her have one, but she gave it to her any way. There was another one thrown into the trash!

Gluten Free 101

So you just found out you need to maintain a gluten free diet. Now what? What can I eat? What should I eat? The truth is that the healthiest route is to avoid GF specialty items. Baked goods made with GF flours tend to be less healthy than the wheat versions. You are better off without all of those refined white flours. To make GF baked food taste good you usually need any number of starches, like tapioca starch, which is really nutritionally void. However, when you have had your fill of fresh vegetables, quinoa, brown rice, and grilled chicken breasts, and are ready for a burger on a bun or some pizza, you need to know what is good and what is not.

When there are 12 different GF bread mixes, which one is good? In this post I will share with you what my family has found to be "the best" after 10 years of trial and error and eating gluten free.

First, I found there were lots of great "from scratch" recipes. I did that for awhile but found I needed to keep about a dozen different flours and starches on hand for every different recipe. That became cost prohibitive and a pain in the neck. I narrowed it down to a few favorite mixes. I've included a link to the product website with each photo. Most company websites have a way to find which stores in your area sell the product.

Breads and baked goods

Gluten Free Pantry

 First, the bread. We tried several Gf bread mixes. I tried some that were "healthier", had more whole grains, but they just were not as good. Ten years later, the best bread is The Gluten Free Pantry Favorite Sandwich Bread Mix. Throw it in the bread maker and in a few hours you have a beautiful loaf that even non-gluten free people cannot resist. In older blog posts I show how I make a little healthier Brown Bread with some add-ins.

It also makes a great pizza crust. We use this method of making pizza when we cook pizza in the dutch oven on camping trips.

In another post I show how to use one box of this bread mix to make bread for Three Meals, including hamburger buns.

Keeping a few boxes of this on hand will do more than provide bread for sandwiches.


If you don't want to make your own sandwich bread and/or hamburger buns, our favorites are Canyon Bakehouse Mountain white bread, and Canyon Bakehouse hamburger buns. Grilled cheese sandwiches on this bread is a frequent lunch at our house.

While you can make great pizza crust with the bread mix, for a nice thin crust pizza we really like Namaste brand pizza crust mix. This is what we usually use for our weekly Saturday night pizza.

Namaste Food

 We usually make fresh pizza, but I always have a few Udi's pizza crusts in the freezer for when I need to throw together a quick meal at the last minute that the kids will eat. These are really yummy! A little tomato sauce and cheese and you are all set! You can also brush on a little olive oil and seasonings for a nice crisp flat bread (They served it like that as an appetizer at Disneyland and now we do it at home!)

Udi's

Another staple at my house is Pamela's Baking and Pancake Mix. This does contain almond flour and milk, so if you are avoiding either of those this won't work for you. The almond flour adds a nice texture along with some protein and fiber that is lacking in most GF flours. I share my favorite scone recipe in my Staples for a Gluten Free Kitchen post.

These make great pancakes. I have also found that I can use this mix, cup for cup, to replace "regular" flour in most "regular" recipes for things like muffins, quick breads, and cookies. Just keep in mind that this mix already has baking soda in it, so you can leave it out of the recipe.

For the BEST chocolate chip cookies follow the same recipe you always have on the back of the chocolate chip bag, using Pamela's Baking and Pancake Mix instead of the flour and baking soda. They are so yummy! For the best cookies use the Ghirardelli brand dark chocolate chips because they are all natural (most brand have artificial vanilla, "vanillin", which is just gross. Do some research and you'll agree.)

Pamela's

 Pamela's Gluten-Free Bread Mix also makes great bread and rolls. I really like the bagel recipe on the back. Both of the Pamela's mixes can be purchased in large bags to save some money.

I keep all of my flours and mixes in the refrigerator to extend shelf life.

 

 For the best brownies, you must try the Pamela's Chocolate Brownie Mix. You can bring these to a pot luck and never mention that they are GF and your friends will be asking you for the recipe.

What about chocolate cake? King Arthur Flour recently came out with a line of gluten free mixes. The quality is excellent! You can make a moist and delicious chocolate cake using the King Arthur gluten free chocolate cake mix. To do any chocolate cake justice you must frost it with "PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE" CHOCOLATE FROSTING

King Arthur Gluten Free

Pasta

You don't have to live without pasta!! I absolutely love the Tinkyada brand pasta. They come in every pasta shape, including lasagna. They are made from brown rice, rice bran and water, so they are actually whole grain and healthy. I found all of the other pasta brands I tried were too mushy. These you can cook and eat al dente:

Snacks

One of the hardest things about eating gluten free is when you are on the go. It is hard to stop and grab a quick bite to eat. Fortunately, that saves you from most drive throughs. I'm glad to say that I've never taken my kids to McDonalds. We do enjoy some hand scooped milk shakes and french fries from a dedicated frier at Carl's Jr. now and then, I must admit. 

You can always have fruit and nuts. Those are pretty easy to keep on hand. I also like some beef jerky or cheese sticks when I need some protein. These are some favorite GF snacks to have on the go:

The think thin high protein bars are gluten free. My favorite is the crunchy peanut butter!

Think Thin

Glutino makes great GF pretzels (and if you are lucky you can find the chocolate covered ones for a treat!)

Crunchmaster

We all like the Crunchmaster brand crackers, especially the Multi-Grain varieties. They taste very buttery to me, though they have no butter in them. The kids like them and they have whole grain in them, enough said.

Finally, don't forget to pick up some Bob's Red Mill ground flax meal. I throw a tablespoon or more into just about everything I bake for a little extra fiber, nutrients and healthy fats. The kids have never complained and I don't even hide that I do it

Now tell me, what is your favorite gluten free specialty food?

Peanut Butter Playdough

Playdough is both fun and educational. If you make peanut butter playdough it can double as a snack!

Developmental Benefits of Working with Playdough
"When given modeling compound toddlers are instinctively motivated to explore its soft and responsive sensory qualities. They poke it, squeeze it, pat it, pick it up and push it down. The compound responds to each of their actions and the child is learning that his/her actions have consequences. Manipulation develops the child’s large and small muscles and fosters eye-hand coordination. The child’s brain is taking shape along with the compound as the visual and tactile experiences generate new neurons and synapses in the brain."


Peanut butter playdough is quick and easy to make (and even gluten free!) and the kids LOVE it! You only need three ingredients:

1 cup powdered milk
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup honey

If you do a search on-line you will find a variety of recipes, some which include powdered sugar, some which make large amounts. This recipe is simple and makes just enough for a few kids.



How is this educational? Math! Measure out one cup of powdered milk.

Measure out one half cup of peanut butter. You can do such a range of math problems when cooking. Measurement, simple fractions, addition and subtraction of fractions etc.
For the really little ones this is a great way to explore with the fingers and it is okay if they eat it! Fine motor development, exploring with sight, feel, smell and taste. This is a great way to develop and expand vocabulary in young children.
Little and big alike have fun exploring and tasting this yummy treat!

Yummy Gluten Free Oatmeal Cookies

Texture. That is one thing that can be difficult in gluten free baking, getting the right texture. I have experimented with this cookie recipe for a while and have come up with one that makes awesome cookies that are just soft and chewy enough in the middle, with that little bit of crispness on the outside.

To make these cookies you need one of my favorite staples, Pamela's Gluten Free Baking and Pancake Mix and some gluten free oatmeal (I use Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Rolled Oats)

Ingredients:
2 cups Pamela's Baking Mix
2 cups gluten free oats
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup natural, unrefined cane sugar (or you can use half regular white sugar and half brown sugar)
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
2 large eggs
2 cups dark chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat together butter and sugar until smooth. Add eggs and vanilla and stir. Next add all of the dry ingredients and mix. Finally add the chocolate chips. Drop tablespoon fulls onto an un-greased cookie sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes. Let them cool on the pan for 5 minutes before removing them to a wire rack to cool. Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

These are "hearty" cookies with not too much sugar. I often snack on them, take them on trips etc. to eat like I would a granola bar.

Brown Bread

As I have said before, I love the Gluten Free Pantry's Favorite Sandwich Bread Mix, and use it to make lots of things. The one thing I don't like about gluten free foods is you often either get something with little nutritional value (mostly starch, refined flours) or something healthy that tastes like dirt. When I make a loaf of bread with this mix I often throw in a few things to make it a tiny bit healthier, more fiber etc.

To make this "brown" bread I prepare a loaf according to the directions on the box and add:

2 tablespoons of ground flax seeds
1 tablespoon of molasses
and sometimes I also add 1 tablespoon of millet

Throw it all in the bread machine and you are good to go!

It makes a nice soft sandwich bread with just a little more substance to it, and the picky kids will still eat it!

Pizza!

Every Saturday night at our house is "Pizza Night". Let's face it, kids love pizza, and moms love an easy-to-make dinner. Since ordering pizza take out is not an option for us, I've come up with the next best plan.

To make pizza at our house I use one of my favorite gluten free staples: The Gluten Free Pantry's Favorite Sandwich Bread Mix. First I have the bread maker make up the dough (my bread maker has a "pizza dough" setting that takes 50 minutes). I use one box of mix to make 5 personal size pizzas (about 8-9 inches round).



Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

I prepare the pans by spraying them with oil and dusting them with corn meal (optional). I use Bob's Red Mill gluten free Corn Meal. Divide the dough evenly among the 5 pans.



The tricky part its rolling out the sticky dough. I spray both the roller and the dough with oil. Don't be afraid to use plenty of oil. Once you get a bit of dough sticking to the roller you will need to wash the roller and start over as it will just stick more and more. So, it is better to use plenty of oil.



Once you have the dough all rolled out you have two options:

Option 1: Get out your favorite toppings, put them on your prepared dough, bake for 15 minutes and enjoy!




Option 2: Bake the crust alone for 10 minutes. Put cooled crusts in a zip lock bag in the freezer. Any time you want a quick pizza you can pull a crust out of the freezer, top and bake. I like to keep a few of these on hand in the freezer for when I need a quick easy meal for the kids.






Like I said, kids love pizza!

Back to Basics: Staples for a GF Kitchen

When you go gluten free you don't "need" to buy any "special" gluten free foods. You can just shop the outer aisles of the supermarket, and as long as you avoid the bread section, it is almost all gluten free. You can eat all of the fruits, vegetables, meats, eggs, milk, and yogurt as your little gluten free heart desires.

But what if you want the occasional muffin, some pancakes, or maybe even some pizza or a slice of bread? After several years of living gluten free I have decided which 2 specialty items would be at the top of my list to keep in the pantry: Pamela's Ultimate Baking and Pancake Mix, and The Gluten Free Pantry's Favorite Sandwich Bread Mix. With these two staples in stock you can make just about anything you can dream up: Scones, cookies, cake, pancakes, waffles, pizza, hamburger buns, garlic rolls, sandwich bread, to name a few. I get these through the "Subscribe and Save" option on Amazon.com for the lowest price.





I have tried making my own blend of "all purpose flour". For a while I used Bob's Red Mill All Purpose gluten free flour. While I still keep some of that on hand, I have found that the Pamela's is much more convenient, and usually makes baked goods with a better texture as well. It is handy because it already contains the xanthan gum that you need in your baked goods, as well as the baking soda, so most recipes don't need any additional leavening.

The Pamela's package has lots of great recipes on the back. Yesterday I used the scones recipe (with some slight modifications, I used 1 cup mini chocolate chips instead of 1/2 cup of currants and dropped the extra baking powder as they seemed the same with and without it):



Chocolate Chip Scones:

2 1/4 cups Pamela's Baking Mix
4 TBSP butter
2/3 cup milk
1/4 cup sugar
1 large egg, beaten
1 cup mini chocolate chips

Makes 8-10 scones
Preheat oven to 375. Mix the dry ingredients together. Cut in the butter. Add milk and eggs, combining all together with a fork. Stir in chocolate chips. Dough will be thick. Drop large, tall dollops onto an ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 15-17 minutes.

One Box of Bread Mix, Three Meals!

I buy The Gluten Free Pantry Favorite Sandwich Bread Mix by the case on amazon.com because I use it for so many different things. My kids love it to use for sandwiches. I also use it to make pizza crust, cinnamon rolls, hamburger buns, and dinner rolls to name a few.

Here is an example of how I use one box of mix to make bread for three meals: Hamburger buns, garlic cheese rolls, and cinnamon pull-apart rolls:



First, mix the dough according to the box. I use half milk and half water, and oil instead of butter. I like to have the breadmachine mix up the dough. It only takes 50 minutes on the shortest dough cycle (on my machine that is the pizza dough setting). Remember, gluten free dough does not need to be kneaded.

I prepare 3 pans by coating them with spray oil. 8X8 inch glass pans work well.

Next I use about one third of the dough to make the hamburger buns. I use a big spoon (the dough is very gooey) to scoop out 4 globs of dough and put them in the first pan.

The hamburger buns are ready to rise! Next for the garlic cheese rolls and cinnamon pull-apart rolls. I fill the next two pans with teaspoon sized "globs" of dough.

Now make the topping for the garlic cheese rolls: Melt 1/2 of a stick of butter (1/4 cup). Add two crushed garlic cloves (or use some garlic powder, use more if you like!) and 2 tablespoons of grated parmesan cheese. Poor the garlic-butter-cheese mixture over the rolls. Now they are ready to rise.
Next make the topping for the cinnamon pull apart rolls: Melt 1/2 a stick of butter (1/4 cup), stir in 2 teaspoons of cinnamon and 2 tablespoons of brown sugar. Poor this over the top. These I will cover and put in the fridge, to be taken out in the morning to rise and bake.



To rise, warm the oven to about 80-90 degrees by turning it on for just a couple of minutes. Cover the burger buns and garlic cheese rolls and let rise in the oven for about 30-40 minutes, until about doubled in size.


Remove to preheat the oven to 350 degrees, then back for about 15 minutes, or until golden brown.
Here are the buns and rolls when they come out of the oven:



Eat the garlic-cheese rolls hot from the oven, and save the hamburger buns for tomorrow (they also freeze well).

In the morning take the cinnamon rolls out. They will take longer to rise since they have been in the fridge. These were eaten too quickly, so I didn't get a picture.