About Chef Victoria

Culinary Instructor

Recent posts

• Follow Following 1 GF Baguette Becky Robbins asked Chef Victoria in Cooking Tips & Tricks 6 months ago

• Follow Following 1

  non-melty small easy-to-keep homemade treat?

  1 0 Baklava holds really well! Happy Travels! Chef Victoria answered in Just Desserts 7 months ago Answer, comment & read 6 more answers »

• Comment on Chef Victoria's answer…

  0 0 My sherry vinaigrette is a bit sweet so its a good balance for the greens I don't find it unpleasantly bitter at all. Hope you try it. Chef Victoria commented 7 months ago

• Follow Following 1

  What should I do with all this Swiss chard?

  2 0 My favorite thing to do with chard is to toss it with kale in sherry vinaigrette, for my recipe check out my blog post below: http://myglutenfreebelly.blogspot.com/2011/02/eat-your-greens.html Buon Appetito!! Chef Victoria answered in Cooking Tips & Tricks 7 months ago Answer, comment & read 8 more answers »

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  Where can I get a tasty sheet cake?

  1 0 Macrina Bakery, http://www.macrinabakery.com/index.html Chef Victoria answered in Just Desserts 7 months ago Answer, comment & read 5 more answers »

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  Easy vegan and gluten free potluck dish?

  0 0 Any version of a GF Tabbouleh works well!! Add all your favorite veggies and it can sit for hours, I actually love to serve it all at room temperature. Here is my go-to for GF/Vegan Potlucks! Toasted Quinoa & Millet Tabbouleh Serves 4-6 Place 1 cup of quinoa & 1/2 cup of millet in a fine-mesh sieve and rinse under cold water. Place a dry saute pan over medium heat and toss both the quinoa and millet in the warm pan and toast until golden brown and fragrant. You'll know you are near when you hear a bit of the millet popping. This process helps remove the phytochemical saponin which can add an unwanted bitter taste to quinoa. Meanwhile, bring 3 cups of water to a boil in a medium pot. Once boiling, add the toasted grains. Cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer for approximately 23 minutes. Turn off heat and let stand for 5-10 minutes. Uncover the pot, fluff with a fork and let cool to room temperature. Chop cucumbers, halve cherry tomatoes, halve Kalamata olives, slice the green tips of scallions, mince Italian flat-leaf parsley and cilantro. Add mint or any fresh herbs you like! Season the toasted quinoa & millet with evoo and sea salt, drizzle with fresh lemon juice and toss with all of the fresh veggies and herbs. Serve at room temperature or chilled. Chef Victoria answered in Alternavores 10 months ago Answer, comment & read 9 more answers »

• Follow Following 1

  Tips for gluten-free beginners?

  2 0 Both Pickled Ginger & Holly have said it all! Just a few more resources for you: Gluten Intolerance Group: www.gluten.net and if you are Celiac there are all sorts of associations and foundations, you've got the following: American Celiac Disease Alliance www.americanceliac.org Celiac Disease Foundation www.celiac.org Celiac Spruce Association www.csaceliacs.org Some fun magazines to flip through are: Gluten-Free Living www.glutenfreeliving.com Living Without www.livingwithout.com As for shopping and classes, I along with many others teach at PCC Cooks, I'll be teaching a Gluten-Free Gnocchi workshop this fall. Check out PCC's Website they do offer all sorts of GF/DF classes. PCC is also a great resource for shopping all Gluten-Free items are tagged with an orange price tag. We love Udi's at our house, but often make our own bread. Shauna & Daniel Ahern have a kicking recipe for Rosemary Bread in their most recent cookbook. If you love spaghetti, yes Tinkyada is a good substitute but try to get your hands on Andean Dreams Quinoa Pasta, it is by far the best substitute we've run into in our house. Lastly, we live in a gluten-free bubble here in the PNW, so like Holly said just get in the habit of saying what it is you are intolerant to and for the most part restaurants are flexible and will try to accomodate; we just had one of our favorite Thai restaurants add a gluten-free soy sauce (most likely Tamari) to their kitchen because so many of us in the neighborhood were asking what dishes could be made gluten-free and yes as Pickled Ginger advised Phad Thai is the main Thai noodle dish without Gluten. Stick to rice noodles of course and question those sauces when venturing out. Also at Maria Hine's Golden Beetle they made us a version of Kibbeh with rice instead of Bulgur Wheat. Babycakes has great sweet recipes if you are looking for cookbooks. Mckenna's first cookbook is Vegan and mostly Gluten-Free and her second book is Vegan & Gluten-Free so that's a way to cure a Gluten-Free/Dairy-Free sweet tooth or head to Flying Apron Bakery in Fremont. Most importantly, have a blast exploring all of the amazing gluten-free grains/grasses out in the universe. Buon Appetito!! Chef Victoria answered in Alternavores 10 months ago Answer, comment & read 7 more answers »

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  Where can you take a Thai cooking class in Seattle?

  1 0 Check out Pranee Halvorsen she teaches at PCC Cooks http://www.pccnaturalmarkets.com/pcccooks/instructors/detail.php?id=166 check out her website too as she teaches at other kitchens!! Chef Victoria answered in Cooking Tips & Tricks about 1 year ago Answer, comment & read 5 more answers »

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  Cocoa substitution

  0 0 It depends. If you are making gelato, ice cream, pastry cream or some sort of chocolate sauce go for it! If you are making cookies or cupcakes it can get a little tricky. The Dutching process sort of mellows the flavor of the cacao beans, it neutralizes the acidity that is inherent in cacao by washing the beans in a potassium solution. "Natural" Unsweetened cocoa powder is made from cacao beans that are solely roasted prior to pulverizing into powder. A little experimentation may have to take place in your kitchen, as Dutch-processed cocoa powder is typically used in recipes that call for baking powder and "Natural" unsweetened cocoa powder hasn't had its acidity mellowed therefore it is generally paired with baking soda. Good Luck! Chef Victoria answered in Cooking Tips & Tricks about 1 year ago Answer, comment & read 4 more answers »

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  Hey cousin, great to see you and read your blog! It's Christopher Castillo from WI. My sister Jennifer is on the Gluten Free diet! Great Stuff! ;-)

  0 0 Hey Cousin Chris, so good to hear from you! All my best to you and your family! If your sis needs some recipes, one of my blogs is devoted purely to Gluten-Free recipes, myglutenfreebelly.blogspot.com you may have taken a look at it. Feel free to email me directly at honeydumplings@gmail.com Big hug!! V Chef Victoria answered in Other-Food & Drink about 1 year ago Answer and comment »

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