Well the first night of passover is upon us and even though matzo isn’t the best stuff on earth, I was a little bummed I wouldn’t be able to have any this year. I searched the internet to see if there was a gluten-free matzo though I knew matzo had to be made from 1 of 5 grains so I wasn’t sure there would be any options. Low and behold Gluten Free Oat Matzo! Oat may not be suitable for all wheat allergy or celiac sufferers but it is specially made without any cross contamination of wheat! Yay.

It looks a little funny, and smells ever funnier but it tastes okay. It kinda reminds me of oatmeal, but the oatmeal you eat on a diet. No milk, no sugar, no banana or strawberry flavoring. Just oaty. Butter makes it better. I made it in Matzo Brittle, i.e. I covered it in caramel and chocolate. It’s delicious! That recipe will be provided in a few days .

Oh the box will set you back about $25. Not sure if it’s worth it but the Jew in me said to not be frugal when it comes to Matzo so I bought it.

I got some muffin and scone mix today from whole foods, by a company called Gluten-Free Pantry. I am still learning about this gluten-free thing but baking is one of my most favorite pastimes. I wasn’t sure when I got this mix what it would be like, but thought I would give it a go .

The box of mix was about $4. I also bought some baking chocolate chips to add in. You can add whatever you want into the mix (raisins, nuts or nothing at all).

Ingredients and baking directions:

Entire bag of Muffin and Scone Mix
6 Tbs. softened butter
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 tsp. gluten-free vanilla extract
1 cup milk* (I used nonfat)
1/4 bag chocolate chips or fruit/nuts of choice

*You can make this lactose-free as well by replacing the butter with vegetable oil and fruit juice in place of the milk.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line muffin tins with muffin papers. Beat together eggs, butter, and vanilla. Stir in mix and milk. Fold in desired fruits, nuts or chocolate chips. Spoon batter into muffin cups and bake for 16-20 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean. Turn onto rack. Cool completely.

Verdict: Amazingly delicious, very moist (here I go again with that word), the chocolate chips melted beautifully and the cake tasted like any other cake. Hubs said he would have never know the difference! A+ and a gold star for allowing me the ability to bake!!!

We read that brisket is the hardest cut of meat to get right. We set out with a mission. Armed with our little 7 in 1 smoker, a nice 5 lb piece of brisket from costco that was well marbled all the way through, mesquite charcoal and wood chips we began the journey.

We marinaded the brisket overnight in bbq sauce (gluten-free bbq sauce). The next morning we took the brisket out, rubbed it all over with a special brisket rub we bought at BBQ’s Galore and let it get to room temperature. Hubs got the grill ready and heated to 190 degrees F. The brisket was then placed on the smoker and we left this little sucker to smoke for 9 hours! Our house smells like a smoke pit but man was it worth it. The brisket finally got to 160 degrees F, which is a little lower than the recommended 170-180, but it was late and we couldn’t wait anymore. We took it off the smoker and let it rest for 30 minutes. Finally we were ready to carve it up.

Ingredients:

5-6 lb. packer cut brisket (well marbled with a good fat cap about 1/4 inch thick all the way around)
BBQ sauce (gluten-free but any flavor you want)
Spice Rub (you can make your own with garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, paprika, brown sugar) but we bought one from BBQ’s Galore.
Wood for the smoker (Mesquite is good for brisket)
Charcoal

Verdict: Smoky, a little spicy, a little sweet. Great flavor throughout. A few pieces were a little tough but all in all a very strong B+ for our first brisket smoking experience!!