To Test or Not Test for Celiac Disease

Get Tested for the Antibodies and Genes associated with Celiac Disease!  

Learn WHY you are sensitive to Gluten. It might be genetic!

My antibody test came back only mildly elevated so my general physician was not inclined to think I had Celiac Disease (also known as celiac sprue).  I told her I'd been eating mostly gluten free for several years.  So she told me to eat lots of gluten for 4 weeks, then had me retake the test.  The results were higher but still not "for sure".  

So I told my Doc I wanted another blood test to check for the presence of the HLA DQ genetic pattern (DQ2 & DQ8, etc.).  The presence of those genes means I could have or develop Celiac Sprue Disease.  Those tests came back positive for one of the genes.

So, I researched and networked with people to find a reputable doctor in my area who SPECIALIZED in diagnosing Celiac Disease.  The best doc was not the closest.   I drove 1 hour to San Francisco to meet the doc, scheduled the biopsy, and was diagnosed with Stage 1 Celiac Disease, all within about 30 days.  

Intestinal biopsy showing healthy vs. damaged tissue.

The benefit of KNOWING I have this disease is that I now live 100% dedicated to gluten free living - no slip-ups because the croissants looked good, for example. 

My positive result means that one or both of my parents carries the gene and my children should be tested for it too, since it IS GENETIC! 

Now I also get to write off the cost of gluten free food as a medical expense on my income taxes!!!  Here's a link to Tax Deductions for Celiac from the Celiac Disease Foundation's website.  The only "medicine" for Celiac Disease is diet, which is significantly more expensive than "regular" food.  If you think you're sensitive to Gluten, then get tested and write off the costs of Gluten Free Food!  If you are positive for the gene, then of course encourage your parents, siblings, and children to get tested too.

Dr. Jeffrey Aron, MD

Internal Medicine, Gastroenterology, Clinical Nutrition

Celiac Doctor, Pacific Heights Medical Group

2340 Clay Street, 6th Floor

San Francisco, CA 94115

Email:    aronjm@sutterhealth.org

Phone: 415-674-5200 & 415-600-3700

Fax:        415-600-3705

Profile   www.gut-check.com

Genetic tests for celiac disease and gluten sensitivity are readily available. Testing can be performed on either blood and mouth swab samples. If the testing is performed by certain laboratories not only will you have quite an accurate prediction of your risk of Celiac disease but also you may have information about the statistical probability that your children will inherit the risk, your likelihood of more severe Celiac disease, whether one or both of your parents had the risk gene, and for some laboratories you may determine your risk of gluten sensitivity without Celiac disease.

The absence of any portion of the high-risk genetic patterns DQ2 and DQ8 nearly excludes the possibility of celiac disease with an approximate accuracy of 99.9%. However, there is a big caveat about relying on "negative celiac genetic testing". To definitively declare you have negative celiac genetic tests requires that the laboratory test for and report the presence or absence of the entire HLA DQ genetic pattern, including both alpha and beta subunits.

More Info:

Celiac Sprue Association http://www.csaceliacs.info/newly_diagnosed.jsp

Celiac Disease Foundation http://www.celiac.org/

Celiac & Gluten Free INFO (by a Private Individual ) http://www.celiac.com/

Favorite Things - Gluten Free

Retail products I love that happen to be 100% Gluten Free!

Carrot Cake by Gluten-Free-gourmet.com
Fudgy Brownie by Gluten-Free-gourmet.com
NY Cheesecake by Pamela's
Donuts by Glutino (will do in a pinch)
Cookies (Chocolate & Giner are my faves) by Pamela's
Chocolate COVERED Chocolate Hazelnut Bars (Wafer Cookies) by Schar
Cookie Wafers - Chocolate/Chocolate Flavor by Glutino
Cookies (Oreo style) by Glutino
Tortilla Chips - Sweet Potato Flavor is my fave by Food Should Taste Good
Pretzels by Gluteno
Crackers - NutThins (various salty flavors) by Blue Diamond
Crackers by Glutino
Bread - Cinnamon Raisin Flavor by Canyon Bakehouse
Bread - Colorado Caraway Flavor by Canyon Bakehouse (see photo below)
Bread Crumbs by Glutino
Cereal - Corn Flakes w/ Strawberries by Glutino
Almond Milk - UNSWEETENED by Almond Breeze (Blue Diamond Almonds)
Almond Milk/Coconut Milk blend - UNSWEETENED by Almond Breeze (Blue Diamond Almonds)
Almond Milk Chocolate Flavor - UNSWEETENED by Almond Breeze (Blue Diamond Almonds)
Almond Milk Dark Chocolate Flavor by Silk
Pasta (all kind of shapes) by Le Veneziane
Pasta (Tagliatelle) by Schar
Pizza by Glutino (pretty good, but very small pizzas)

Pizza by Against the Grain Gourmet (full size pizza).  Try the precooked crusts using your own toppings!

Here's the Colorado Caraway Bread!  Delicious!

Quiche Makes Wednesday Feel Like Saturday!

I decided... I'm hungry this morning.  So I whipped up a batch of Denise's Gluten Free Quichey-Custard.  Ooh the house is smelling good this morning as I write this!  

People, yes I love to cook.  But I do not like to be "stuck in the kitchen all day".  It takes me only about 5 minutes longer to prepare a 'batch' of breakfast that will last several days, than it does to make only one quiche for myself.  So why not make a double-batch of quiche to serve 12 people?  Then I will have breakfast for myself and Mike for six days!  No brainer.  Decision made. 

Today, as I pulled out all the ingredients I would need to make my quiche, I realized we do not have any cream.  None.  To make a double-batch of quiche I need 2 cups of heavy cream and 2 cups of whole milk.  I did find about one half of a cup of half and half in the fridge that I needed to use up and a box of Unsweetened Coconut-Almond milk.  (We usually do not have milk products in the house, as my Celiac Disease has caused me to be pretty intolerant to dairy.  We use non-dairy milk alternatives like unsweetened, plain almond milk and coconut-almond milk.)  So I'm trying it in the quiche!  What the hell; that's how we find fantastic new recipes... or we find out what not to do.  I feel confident that I will like the quiche even using 'alternative milk' which is not as creamy traditionally.  I will let you know how the texture turns out; it may turn out a bit less creamy, but nuts and almonds have a good amount of fat in them, so we shall see.

I made one big batch of egg mixture, but kept the 'extras' separate for this double batch.  

Here's the "milk" mixture with pepper & truffle salt, before I added the eggs.  In the photo you can also see the little 4oz. log of goat cheese and the 1/4 pound of prosciutto.  This little bit of cheese was enough to put 3 pinches/clumps of cheese into TWELVE quiches, so a little goes a long way.   As for the prosciutto, be sure to ask the butcher to put a piece of plastic or paper between each slice of prosciutto, as the thin slices are very hard to peel apart if they don't.

Once the eggs are added, the mixture becomes creamy yellow and you barely see the pepper and truffle salt.  The photo above looks like it has lots of pepper, but it really doesn't; it was just floating on top because it wasn't mixed yet.  See how you can't even see the pepper anymore in the photo to the right?

 

I love mushrooms, but Mike doesn't and I had 4 or 5 crimini mushrooms to use up in the fridge.  So I made 6 mushroom & shallot quiches and 6 prosciutto & shallot quiches.  

I just cooked a double batch of shallots and thyme first and set them aside in 2 separate bowls.  Then I cooked the mushrooms separately.  Sometimes the stems of mushrooms can be tough, so I pulled off the stems and minced them very fine before cooking them.  HINT:  When cooking mushrooms, don't crowd them in the pan or they can get rubbery.  Use a pan big enough that they have room between them so they do not steam.  Cook in batches if you need to.  Remember, this is mostly an egg dish so you do not need many mushrooms... 3-5 at the most.  Once the mushrooms were browned, I added them to one of the shallot bowls.
 

This is how I add the prosciutto.  Just wrap it around the edges any old way.  Nothing fancy.  Don't worry if it's crooked or doesn't stick to the sides. 

 Below are the quiches just as I placed them into the oven.  The oven racks are set to keep the quiches in the center of the oven for the most even cooking.  I will turn each tray about 1/2 way through the cooking time to help them cook more evenly.  In my oven they tend to cook faster in the back of the oven.  Careful not to spill water from the top tray into the bottom quiches when you turn them!

These are the quiches fresh out of the oven!  I took them out of the oven a moment ago.

Mmmm... they smell so good.  The fresh thyme gives them a special aroma and flavor.  It is the secret to making these quiches special.

I can't wait to try them!

 

To the right is my breakfast!  I'm so ravenous that I'm treating myself to 2 quiches; one of each flavor!  I cannot wait to taste these.  I always serve these quiches with a simple green salad lightly dressed.  Quiche is rich and flavorful and pairs perfectly with something bitter and/or tangy.  I'm off to eat my late breakfast!  

Oh!  I will let you know how the quiche turned out using the coconut-almond milk instead of heavy cream and milk.

 UPDATE at 12:48pm:

*smiling like a Cheshire cat* Oh, I'm a happy girl... mmm... what a difference a meal makes.  I was so hungry.  I guess that's what happens when I wait until noon to eat breakfast.  Okay, I can report back that the coconut-almond milk was fantastic.  It made very little difference in taste and texture.  A little less rich and still very delicate in texture, not dense at all.

 

GARDENER'S NOTE:  Keep your egg shells for the garden!   

With a big batch of quiche like this, I used a full dozen eggs and of course, had lots of shells.  Egg shells are high in calcium and other minerals.  The more minerals you work into your garden soil, the higher mineral content your harvest will have and the healthier the plant will be throughout the season.  Just put the shells right back into the egg carton and set the carton in the fridge for a week or so. Refrigerators are frost free and have very dry air inside, which helps the eggs get super dry so they will crumble easily into tiny shattered bits of shell.  Or, you can use a compost can like I do that stays right on the counter.  It looks a bit like a miniature trash can, but the lid has a vent on top with a charcoal filter to keep odors down.  Once the shells are dry and are all crumbled up, just toss them into your garden.  Don't worry about working the shells into the topsoil if you don't have time.  The important part is getting them into your garden; Mother Nature will work them into the soil if you don't have time to do it.

Denise's Gluten Free Quichey-Custard

At The Art Cafe Hemingway

Quiche / Savory Custard

Inspired by The Art Cafe Hemingway in Kauai, Hawaii 2012

Ingredients:

6 large eggs

1 cup whole milk

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1/4 Brown Onion (or your fave), sliced paper thin

1/2 teaspoon salt (truffled if you have it)

6 Prosciutto slices

Goat Cheese (soft) (I prefer herbed cheese over plain)

4 sprigs thyme

Pepper (fresh ground to taste)

1 Tablespoon Butter

...................................................................................................

Preheat oven at 400° (make sure rack is in middle of oven)

Equipment: 

6 Large Custard Cups (or ramekins or other small oven-safe dish)

1 Jelly Roll Pan (or other rectangular pan with sides.  It needs to have sides because you are going to fill it with water)

Mixing Bowl, Wisk, Measuring Spoons/Cups, Knife & Cutting board.

Directions:

In a skillet, cook onions in a pat of butter until soft and it's okay if they get golden edges. Don't sweat the little details on this recipe.  Then turn off the heat and add thyme by gently pinching the stalk of thyme and sliding your fingers down the stem to release all the leaves.  Stir the thyme into the onions.  Discard stems from thyme (you only want leaves).  Set mixture aside to cool.

In a medium bowl, whip eggs, milk, cream, salt and pepper.  (Less is more in this recipe, especially because the Prosciutto is quite salty, but use the amounts of pepper and salt that you typically like on your eggs.)

Add onion mixture to the bowl of eggs and stir.

Line 6 large muffin tins or large custard cups with prosciutto.  This does not need to be perfect.  Line only the sides of the cups...  Line the sides and the bottoms too...  However you like.  The one thing I like to do is make sure the fatty edges of prosciutto are along the top edge of the custard cup so they get golden and crispy!

Pour egg mixture into each cup.  Pull off dollops of cheese to drop here and there into each custard cup.  You just want small pieces of cheese here and there, about the size of a large marble.  Not too much cheese.

Set muffin tin or custard cups onto the  baking pan.  Fill the pan (not the custard cups) with water.  The water level does not need to be very high.  About half way up the sides of the custard cup at the most.  The water helps the texture stay custardy and prevents it from browning on the bottom and sides.

Bake at 400° for 20-30 minutes depending on your oven and how deep you filled each dish.  The egg mixture should still jiggle when you remove them from the oven.  They will continue to cook/firm up as they sit.  

Serve immediately with lightly dressed mixed salad greens.  Serves 6. 

NOTE:  These store for several days in fridge and reheat well.  Just cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.  When you want to eat one, either set it out to warm to room temperature or remove plastic wrap and reheat it in the oven at 350° for 20 minutes.  These are one of our new Christmas Morning Traditions!  We plan to make them every Christmas morning, along with Banana Bread & Russian Hot Chocolate.  They are great  for serving lots of people at the same time because you can make them ahead of time and you don't have to labor over them (they just sit in the oven and cook or reheat)! 

Download the Recipe Here