I’m currently on vacation (yay!) and I’m visiting my brother and his family.  He’s kindly let me have the run of his kitchen, and as you all know, this makes me very happy!  It took me less than 24 hours before I got stuck into baking here.  But, I didn’t have many things turn out the way I wanted or expected, so me, being me, kept trying recipes until I got one that I was happy with.  I watch the cooking shows on TV and realise I have SO much to learn before I’ll be happy with what I can produce!

So here’s what I’ve learned in the first 24 hours of being here in Canada:

• Canadian all-purpose gluten-free flour doesn’t have xanthan gum in it, which means anything I cook with it as a 1-for-1 replacement turns into a crumbly mess!
• My shortcrust pastry recipe (here) probably needs to be blind-baked with some beans or dried rice to weigh it down before using as a crust … and needs to be rolled or patted really thin.  Otherwise it becomes very thick.  Yummy, but very thick.
• M&Ms in Canada are gluten-free (yay!)
• Hershey’s instant chocolate pudding works really well in Worms in the Mud (recipe here) and it is gluten-free!
• I really should just let guys show me how to cook meat … I tried to cook some fried chicken a few days ago for the Quest and it was a failure.  My brother used almost exactly the same ingredients, but knew what he was doing and it turned out perfectly!

Please let me know of any suggestions you may have for me – I really want to learn how to cook things better!

And, as always, please comment on any of the recipes, blog posts or on my Quest – I’d love to hear from you!  And put in your e-mail address to receive any updates to these and other recipes!  You can also follow me on Twitter (@sarahcookathome) … I’m learning more about this social media thing.

Until next time … enjoy cooking at home (or wherever you are!)

Sarah