Yes, I'd be concerned with cross contamination as well - just as sushipup explained so well. I use a different mill for gluten-free flours (grains/beans/seeds) to avoid cross contamination and never use gluten-containing grains in it. I was hired to make a selection of GF cookies for Christmas for a person who has celiac disease, as a surprise from her husband. I wouldn't mill flour containing gluten in the kitchen for a week prior to making the GF foods, and throughly wiped down every surface in the kitchen before making anything GF. I use stainless steel bowls, rather than plastic to make sure there's NOTHING to cross contaminate things. My mother (now deceased) had celiac disease and I did a lot of food prep. to stock her freezer for her BEFORE there were so many things so readily available. There are a number of ingredients used in gluten-free baking that you're better off having than trying to substitute. These additional ingredients help to reduce dryness, increase volume and tenderness, and enhance flavor in baked goods and other foods. I was challenged to come up with cookie recipes, for a sorghum mill outside of town, that were made with "common" ingredients. WHAT, no xanthan gum, potato starch, arrow root, guar gum....??? But I did it! Instead of potato starch or potato flour I've used dried potato flakes (used for instant mashed potatoes), BUT, I made sure I found a brand at the health food store that didn't contain a lot of questionable ingredients. FYI - Potato FLOUR has a strong potato taste and I don't use it as much as potato starch. Potato STARCH, however, is often used in GF baking, especially in combination with other flours. I consider potato STARCH a staple ingredient for GF baking. Combining gluten-free flours with NUT FLOURS will increase protein and help mask the gritty texture often associated with GF flours. Nut FLOURS are made AFTER the nut oil has been expressed from the nuts and is a fine flour. Nut MEALS are made from the ground nut (oil included) and are more gritty than nut flour. You'll find the names are often interchanged, so buyer beware.... Ground almond meal can replace dry milk powder in recipes as a dairy-free alternative. You can also make your own nut milk at home to use as a dairy-free alternative. You'll find some great information and recipes at the link below. -Grainlady Here is a link that might be useful: Ener-G Foods

Michael, we never did get to do croissants which were on the schedule. Our teacher wasnÂt feeling up to snuff with the remains of a cold, and we asked a lot, a LOT, of questions. She is teaching a class later  a one day-er  on breakfast pastries that a few of our group are taking. I think that might be going into dangerous ground for me. As much as I like them, I donÂt have the metabolism to handle a batch of them. However, for those of you who are thinking of making them, she suggested taking them to the point of final rise, wrap well and freeze, then take them out the night before, thaw in fridge, then take out in the a.m. for the final rise and baking. This way you CAN have one or two or eight fresh when you want them. Most baking does seem to require some advance thinking; otherwise thatÂs why god invented bakeriesÂfor the rest of us. Sally, where is your son studying? If we didnÂt travel so much, I would take more courses. LOL Free food!! (actually as a taxpayer, I kind of pay in advanceÂ) Annie, one day you two will be "mature" (that = older!!) and possibly live somewhere that has money for student education. ItÂs a shame about Michigan. Michelle, that apple pie is a snap. Basic (your fave) one unbaked crust pie crust shell in a 9" pan. 5 or so green apples, peeled, cored and sliced about the thickness of your little finger  well my little finger. Pile them into one good layer and add a good coating of brown sugar. Continue to pile high And then pat the streusel topping all over to coat the apples and seal them in. I didnÂt do a very good job at that as my streusel kept falling off. We also noticed that things were drying out as we made them in stages. The streusel was brown and white sugars, butter and walnuts, made in the KA. The pies that had the apples sealed in did a lot better, tho the pie I took home had apples that were still firm but cooked. I know one of us cut her apples much thicker than I would have, so mine might be ÂhersÂ. Bake and learn. ;-) As our teacher said, apple pies are darn cheap to make  her mother had 6 children to raise and feed and seemed to know fast and good pretty well! If anyone wants any of these recipes, feel free to send me your snail mail, as some are long and I donÂt know if I will have time to scan this week. I also have not played around with my scanner enough to know how well it does the written material. Maureen

Hello Ladies, Happy B-day Jen, I hope you had a lovely day and got some time to relax and enjoy it. Maddie- sounds like you are busy but having a great time, I have a friend that goes nuts over led trinkets based around St Patricks day, he looks like a goofball to start out but after a few beers he appears almost normal ;) I used to enjoy corn dogs when I was able to eat them, little mustard and ketchup mixed togeter to dip them in and I was in heaven, yummay! NHSuz- Sounds like you are enjoying whats left of summer, my GF's family has a cabin we use in VT near Barton, it is nice up there. The interesting thing about VT though is you will see a wide variety of wealth in the same towns. We would drive past run down mobile homes right next to 1/2 million dollar homes/camps. They say land is selling for 3 or 4 times its worth to people moving up from Mass and NY. Im with you on not fearing wild life, there was a black bear warning where we went camping, animals used to people make me nervous but out in the wild they will leave you alone unless they are cornered. Im back to work after our camping trip, it was fun but wore us out. We did 43 miles in the kayaks and camped along the sandy beaches. The first day of the trip was filled with drunk college students in canoes, they kept on asking us where we fit the beer cooler in our kayaks :) The second day was a lot quieter and we logged a lot of miles so that we only had about 3 left for the last day. On the third day as soon as we got off the river for our pickup it started to pour, we jury rigged up the tent fly and called the pick up service to come get us early. They showed up, but about 5 mins down the road the guys truck died, so we had to wait on the side of the road for help.. after that we decided to take a break and get a hotel for a good nights rest and hot showers :) We stayed in North Conway and had a fantastic meal at a place called Coyote Rose. We had all kinds of interesting and delish items, ostrich, boar sausage, and New Zeland lamb chops were divine. They also served a prickly pear sorbet that was very spicy and yummy! I ate the whole thing though I probably shouldnt have. I also had a peach margarita that tasted like fresh peaches, it was a nice change from all the camp food we had for 3 days. We then spent 2 days camping and hiking in Franconia Notch. We did a 6 mile hike up one side of the mountain and back down the other. There is a lake at the top of the mountain and a couple water falls along the way down, it was a tough hike but lovely. Of course on the way back to camp I was worn out and winded and my GF got mad at me because I wasnt chatting with her. Bah women :P it wasnt because I just hiked 6 miles and over 1500 feet of elevation that I wasnt talking, it was because I didnt care about what she had to say, you know! ;) All and all we had a nice trip and learned a lot. We know what gear we can do without and what we need to get for next time, and have a better idea of how much food and water to bring. My compact air mat has certainly got to go and I will make the room next time for my real air mattress, my back paid for it and sleeping on the hard ground doesnt cut it anymore, im no longer a boy scout. Other than that not a whole lot is new, this weekend its the boys time to play. We are golfing on Sat and Sunday going to a Red Soxs game. Its rare the 4 of us can all get time to spend together. With wives, kids and work keeping everyone busy this will be a treat. I hope everyone is having a good week, come out and say hello if you are lurking! John

I started this diet Oct 7th and have found it very easy, I have lost 12 lbs. I take 2-TBSP Extra Light Olive Oil, in the morning and at night time (No eating for 1-hr before and 1-hr after as required). This is truly one of the easiest diet's I have been on. I do not feel hungry at all and do not hate doing the diet. Usually diets bore me, this one does not...I can litterally eat what I want without restriction! Of course, it helps to count calories if you really want a stronger weight loss, so I am maintaining myself and not going over board, but it's not a big deal...if I want to splurge,I do! I just make sure to continue the oil the next day and go back to counting those calories, it's hassle free. I have not felt left out, food neglected or starved at any point and I can actually go out to dinner with my husband without the guilt of falling off my diet! Also another benefit, my skin and hair look better, my skin appears healthier and my hair seems shinnier as well. This is truly a Bliss diet for me, I have 45 lbs to go...but it will be a piece of cake because of the Shangri-la Diet! I love this diet :)