practical beauty and your gluten free pantry

I am attracted to organization articles like a moth to a flame. Those men and women that can make the chaos of everyday life fall into beautiful, organized piles excite me. With my new found view of home- that while it indeed should be clean and organized, it should also reflect life and the people who live here- I find that instead of purchasing items that tell the story of "us" I can look around the house and find all sorts of things that say who we are.



I am a homemaker who loves to cook and bake. I live a neutral colored life where I throw in color by adding the classic green of an apple, the bright yellow of a ripe lemon, or the vibrant orange from a bouquet of tulips on the table.

I am a girl who fills her bucket with hot water and a dash of vinegar to scrub the kitchen floor on my hands and knees. Why do I choose to do it this way? Because while I'm down there I can wipe off splatters on the cabinets that I could've missed had I been standing with a mop and also give the moldings a quick wipe down.



My kitchen tells our family's story. We must eat gluten free and therefore you will not find products containing gluten in our home. We like things fresh which means you won't find any prepared meals in our freezer. I cook from scratch and LOVE the flavor of foods! Sometimes the simple act of squeezing lime juice on a bowl of nuts or a plate of phad thai can take your meal from mundane to extraordinary.

I decorate with what I use. Green apples fill a jar next to the sink. Red potatoes add color to the hutch... and now I've found beauty in the organization of gluten free baking staples. The grains have gorgeous colors while the labels look professional and organized. I also add the expiration dates right on the fronts of the jars so that I can watch what needs to be replaced.








In a gluten free kitchen it's nice to have brown rice and jasmine rice along with baskets of potatoes, onions, and lemons. These things make great staples to use in your meals. I can't live without chocolate chips as we make the BEST gluten free chocolate chip cookies in town and they're requested often. I tend to buy items that I go through quickly like this at Costco. I love to use the sealed glass jars ensuring that my staples remain fresh.

Keeping the basics on hand allows me to prepare a meal and even bake a batch of cookies for my family without having to run to the store.

Gluten Free Kitchen Basics:

Flying Horse Thai Rice Flour which I mention here.
Brown Rice flour
Tapioca flour
Potato starch
Baking Powder
unsweetened cocoa powder
xanthan gum
Evaporated cane juice (which is just a fancy phrase for organic sugar)
vanilla (the real stuff)
chocolate chips
Brown sugar
corn starch
eggs
unsalted butter
yeast if you plan on making bread
nonfat milk powder- also for bread
salt
creamy peanut butter
and an array of gluten free noodles. The best tasting are by Bio Nature.

I hope you find this helpful. As I grow I'm trying to incorporate a more organic approach to gluten free baking and eating. I'm learning as I go.

And for the record~ I am not one who believes that every grocery item that comes into my home needs to be placed in a proper glass container. While I think pouring your olive oil into a beautiful glass bottle is appealing for me it is not practical. We go through our groceries way to quickly to pour everything into matching containers. I do "contain" my baking supplies because I find that it keeps them fresher longer than just sealing the bag.