Providing a gluten-free diet for my husband keeps me busying trying to find really good substitutes for basic things . . . like pasta. For soups, I make my own egg noodles and use either Better Batter ‘flour’ blend or Authentic Foods Steve’s Bread Flour to make them. There are those moments, however, when I long for the times that using packaged pasta required only as much extra effort as it took to walk to the pantry.
Two of our favorite comfort foods around here are Pad Thai and spaghetti with extra meaty sauce. We’ve tried a variety of gluten-free options for the spaghetti and the results were just okay. Recently, however, I noticed that my favorite pasta brand from the pre-gluten-free days also had a gluten-free pasta. I was game for another go in my explorations into the gluten-free world and finally discovered one that is pretty good. It tastes like regular pasta, had a nice ‘chew’ and doesn’t get soggy if you save a serving for the next day. My current gluten-free option of choice is Barilla!
We also love homemade Pad Thai which uses Asian Rice noodles. There is a world of difference between the various brands so we have been trying and hoping to find the perfect one for us. The one we are using now is a product of Thailand, labeled ‘Rice Stick’, made by Sun Voi and comes in three or four different widths for whatever recipes you might want them. Our market of choice for purchasing these for a very reasonable price is the 99 Ranch Market which is a huge Asian market with just about every obscure ingredient you might want or need for a recipe. They also have a great bakery, too, as well as a large fresh produce section.
Crazy Quilts, Catholics & Cookies 