Gluten-Free Pork Dumplings

One of my favorite foods is dumplings. 

I’ve always adored them, and my affection for them only intensified after moving to Japan. Dumplings were my number-one priority when I had to stop eating gluten. So I wanted to share that recipe with you. 
You can read more about my story in my journal if you’re interested.

For the dough:

320 grams (2 cups)                          Rice flour

150 grams (1 1/3 cups)                     Tapioca flour

4 tsp                                               Cornstarch

1 tsp                                                Salt

310 grams (1 1/3 cups)                    Boiling water            

For the filling:

1 Lb                                               Pork

25 grams                                        Liquid amino or GF soy sauce

10 grams                                        Rice Vinegar

35 grams                                        Hoisin sauce

1 tsp                                               Fish sauce

5 grams                                          Lemongrass turmeric paste

For the dough:

• To start, combine the cornstarch, tapioca starch, and rice flour in a large bowl. After that, add the boiling water. Mix continuously until a dough forms.

• The dough will then be kneaded for roughly two minutes to make a smooth dough. Refrigerate for thirty minutes after wrapping in plastic wrap. While the dough chills start your filling!

The Filling:

• In a large bowl combine all the ingredients. Do not add any salt, the soy sauce will add all the saltiness that you need. 
• I pre-scoop the meat mixture like a meatball using a tablespoon
• Now it is time to form your dumplings

 

Form your Dumplings:

                    

• Dust the counter with plenty of rice flour, this dough is a little delicate.
• 

  Weigh the dough out into 20 grams and form it into balls. 

• Keep your dough covered, it will dry out quickly.
• Roll each dough ball out so it is big enough for your meat filling. 
• Add a ball of filling in the middle of your rolled-out dough.
• Fold the dough in half like a taco.
• Fold the ends in like a present.
• The dough will stick to itself.
• I like to crimp the top edge but it is not required.
• If your dough splits or develops a few little holes, do not be concerned. The dough will come together as it is being steamed.

Cooking your Dumplings:

• Line your steam basket with parchment. This is important to prevent sticking. 
• Fill your pot or wok with two inches of boiling water. 
• Place your steam basket on top.
• Steam your dumplings for 7-9 minutes or until your dumplings turn glassy.

  Enjoy your dumplings!

            Keep Cooking, 
          Michaela

 This flour works very well for cookies, scones, and brownies. I created this blend to ensure my cookies had the texture and flavor I was looking for. I wanted it to be crisp on the outside and chewy on the inside. I also do not like that gluten-free aftertaste. After many experiments, this is what I came up with. The almond flour will cause too much browning if you use it in pancakes and it is not the right texture for bread.  I will post those blends soon. 

 

Michaela’s GF Flour Blend

 

1 1/2 cups almond flour 

1/2 cup coconut flour 

1/2 cup tapioca flour 

1/2 cup arrowroot powder

 

Add all the ingredients to a medium bowl and whisk until completely combined. Use in your favorite baked goods. 

Keep Baking,
Michaela

 Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 1/4 cups (~282 grams) Michaela’s GF Flour Blend

1/2 tsp. Corn starch

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

2 ounces cream cheese, room temp

3/4 cups (12 Tbsp.) unsalted butter, melted 

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 egg yolks

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

1. In a medium bowl add cream cheese, butter, brown sugar, and sugar, and blend until creamy. 
2. Then add in the egg yolks and vanilla. 
3. Finally stir in the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt. 
4. Scoop in large cookies. I use my #20 scoop, which is about 3 Tbsp of dough.
5. Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes.  
6. Bake at 375 for 11-12 minutes until just brown around the edges. 
7. These cookies store very well if you can keep them around that long.

Keep Baking,

Michaela

I had no idea what to make of a spinal cord tumor. My neurologist said it wasn’t a big deal and that any neurosurgeon could get rid of it. I was vehemently opposed; I did not want just anyone operating on the nerves in my spine. Sometimes you have to trust your instincts and resist people’s attempts to persuade you that you are ignorant about the subject.

So I fought, I fought with great resistance to see the best. I fought the doctors and the insurance company, who all told me I was overreacting and that it wasn’t necessary. According to them, the best doctors would not treat me because my procedure was so routine. I fought to see the best neurosurgeon in Texas to remove my schwannoma, and I will never regret it.

 My procedure was not routine. I had extensive open spinal surgery in November of 2020. They had to remove three vertebrae to get to the tumor, then spent hours carefully untangling it from the nerves. They carefully reattached my vertebrae with pins after complete resection and closed me up. It was an eight-hour procedure. 

When I awoke, I had 48 hours to lie completely flat. I thought my stomach surgery pain was bad, but this was a whole new level of agony. Not only that but because the pandemic was still in full swing, I was not allowed any visitors. I was completely alone. 
I always try to keep a positive spin on things. Staying positive helps me power through. When I woke up from surgery my eyesight had corrected itself, the strength on my right side had returned and I did not have constant migraines. I was so grateful, I just had to follow the path of recovery. 

I was in the hospital for a week. I slowly began sitting up again, each step of recovery was painful.

There was a great deal of physical and emotional struggle.

I had to endure an eight-hour car ride home this time. Every single bump was felt. I had a long recovery ahead of me once I returned home. For nearly a month, I was unable to shower on my own. I was weak, in excruciating pain, but trying to be strong. 

Two little girls were watching my every move. I needed to prove to two girls that I could get through anything. I was anything but courageous behind closed doors. I was struggling with the realization that this would almost certainly not be the last tumor. What did this mean for my family, my career, and my hopes and dreams? 

I was struggling in every way possible. 

(more…)

Have you ever looked back and thought, “Wow, that moment had a lot more significance than I thought”? I can pinpoint the moment that my body started failing, and I will never forget it.
When I was fifteen years old, I was extremely active. I ran cross country, indoor track, and outdoor track; I was in the all-state marching band; and I did cross-country skiing. Then one day in marching band, I passed out for no reason.

That was the day that everything changed.

After that, any physical activity caused me to feel dizzy and lightheaded. I had to stop doing all of my favorite sports because I would pass out. I underwent a number of scans and tests, all of which were negative. I had no idea that normal results with mysterious symptoms were just the beginning. It would be several years before I started to feel pain.
I first experienced severe stomach pain when I was 18 years old, working a temporary job at a coffee shop while enrolled in culinary school. It was so powerful, I puked. I was sent to the emergency department and told I had a stomach ulcer that would go away on its own. Unfortunately, this was not the case.
After three years of persistent stomach discomfort, difficulty eating, and throwing up, followed by an increase in incapacitating pain, I was told that I was insane, that it was all in my head, that I was constipated, and that I just had gas. The specialist I eventually saw told me the same things.

  I was so frustrated. Everyone was just calling me crazy. Saying that my pain was not real.

I battled my symptoms for three years, and as they worsened, doctors continued to give me ulcer medication. At this time, I also met my husband, and I made an effort to appear that everything was alright by ignoring my symptoms.

 A few months after we were married my new husband was sent away for military training while I fought successfully to get into a specialist. Even a state away he supported me in trying to find out what was going on.
My gastroenterologist also thought it was all in my head. He spent months giving me a new, it’s all in your head, diagnosis. I eventually persuaded him to perform an endoscopy to see what was wrong with my stomach. The scope revealed a polyp that the doctor said could not be causing my pain, but he referred me to a surgeon if I wanted it removed.
It can be exasperating to have every test come back normal, only to have them brush you off when they finally find something. That polyp was exactly where my pain was. When I went to see the surgeon, I was terrified that he would say the same thing again. Instead, something completely unexpected occurred.
At my first appointment, the doctor entered the room and said, “I am very sorry that you have cancer but don’t worry, we are going to get it all out.”

I will never forget how that statement
shook me to my core.

All I could hear was my heartbeat, and everything seemed distant. I couldn’t stop thinking about cancer as he described his plan for resection and removing a large portion of my stomach. Fortunately, I was accompanied by another military spouse who took copious notes. I returned home to an empty house, preparing for an emergency surgery thousands of miles away from family, with my husband two states away.
I had my laparoscopic surgery two weeks later, in January 2011. My mother flew in, and my in-laws joined me. I was scared, this was my first surgery.  Unfortunately, it would not be my last surgery. When I awoke, I was in excruciating pain.  I had a drainage tube coming out of my nose, and they had to perform open surgery. Fortunately, the surgeon stated that they were able to remove the entire tumor with clean margins. The agony was unbearable. I was still in a haze, the anesthesia was wearing off, and the smallest nurse struggled for thirty minutes to try to move me to the bed in my room. It was excruciating, every small movement radiated through my body, the nurse pulled and tugged, and I thought it would never stop. Finally, the head nurse came in after my father-in-law demanded to know what was taking so long.
I’ll never forget that week in the hospital when every movement was agonizing. I couldn’t eat anything solid for a month. My mother looked after me for a week but had to return home. I knew the 2-hour drive home would be difficult as I prepared to return home. I also knew I wouldn’t be able to drive.

So, once again, I turned to my
fellow military spouses for assistance. 

Someone I barely knew drove up to pick me up and drive me home.
I was not expecting an open-surgery recovery. I was alone at home and couldn’t even get to the bathroom. But I made it, and each day I got a little better. I was determined to succeed. I won’t lie, there were a lot of tears, rage, and sulking. When my husband returned, I was mostly functional, and it was time for my follow-up appointment with my surgeon.
I was so nervous as I arrived at my appointment. What if they didn’t get everything? What if they have to go back in, and I have to go through it all again? Will I need chemo?
The doctor came in and told me that the pathology report had come back and that the tumor was benign. It was never cancer! It turned out to be a schwannoma tumor. It would not happen again, and I would not require any additional scans. I was so relieved that I didn’t have cancer that I didn’t think twice about it.
I had years of reprieve until my body started failing me again.

  I have had to mourn so many versions of myself.

It was much worse this time. It began slowly enough, with some mild weakness on my right side. The migraine then began. It was relentless; it arrived one day and did not leave for a year. I tried everything, but nothing worked. Then the weakness on my right side became suddenly worse, and I was rushed to the emergency room because we thought I was having a stroke. I was terrified because my husband was deployed thousands of miles away and I had two young daughters at home. My amazing friends surrounded me and took charge. Fortunately, it was not a stroke, but I was not feeling well.

I developed tremors and sporadic weakness on my right side, resulting in unexpected falls; I lost my peripheral vision and required a much stronger eye prescription; and I experienced severe nerve pain in my back. I was using a cane and couldn’t drive. I was dizzy, shaky, and in excruciating pain. I was not functional, I could feel all my dreams slipping away from me. I felt like a failure as a mother. My little girls deserved better. Once again all the tests came back normal, I was on too many medications and my doctors all said that maybe it was psychological.  I fought back and received second, third, and fourth opinions. I would not be told that everything was in my head. Finally, I had a 4-hour MRI to look for MS lesions, and they discovered a tumor in the spinal cord of my lumbar spine.
That was the start of finding my diagnosis. After years of struggle, there may be an answer.

Stay Strong,
Michaela