I might have to make Fridays Gluten-Free Fridays, keeping everyone up to date on our new “lifestyle”. It’s been a little difficult, with lots of backsliding and whining – mostly on my part. You wouldn’t believe all the stuff that wheat, rye, and barley is in.
Yesterday I decided I really, really wanted to make spaghetti and meatballs. The spaghetti sauce isn’t a big deal because most spaghetti sauce is gluten-free. Prego is totally gluten-free. And of course making the meatballs is gluten-free, you just have to leave out the breadcrumbs if you use those to make them, and I do, but I just left those out of the recipe and they still turned out yummy. So yay! What I was nervous about was the pasta. Pasta is enriched wheat flour, and remember wheat is the enemy. So I had to go pick out some gluten-free pasta and I wasn’t feeling so great about it. In fact I broke out in a cold sweat in the gluten-free aisle at the grocery store and started to panic as I tried to choose between one brown pasta and another brown pasta (most gluten-free pasta is made with brown rice, or at least the ones I was finding was). Then I saw Schar Fusilli and it was, well, normal looking. It looked like any other regular pastas though a little pricey, but that’s okay. So I grabbed it. (p.s. Schar pasta is made with corn flour, and corn is our friend!!!)
My fear was renewed back home when I was cooking it and it smelled a little like bleach, but I knew if I complained even a little my kids would completely shut down to even trying it. According to the directions as soon as you drain it you should toss it with olive oil, so I did just that. Then I tried it and was shocked to find that it tasted the same as regular pasta. I served up plates all around. The only one who scoffed at it was Hannah, yes the one who we are going gluten-free for. But when she saw KK chowing down she tried it and immediately said “Wow, mom, it doesn’t taste bad at all.” And then after another bite, “Mmm, it tastes great!” KK ate 2 helpings and Hannah had 3 helpings (they were small helpings, another lesson we have learned).
According to Schar’s website they have lots of products that I can’t wait to check out. So, if you're going gluten-free as well this pasta as a thumbs-up!
