Gluten-us v. Gluten them
“Eeewwww gluten free that must taste so gross!”
Recently I have noticed a huge divide in individuals who only want gluten free foods and some who think they are absolutely gross and refuse to even taste them, and some who swear by them.
One of my aunts has a terrible gluten allergy. This allergy is called Celiac Disease. This can be rather serious for some people. I felt bad for her during the holidays everyone is always snacking on cakes, cookies, pies and other glutenous treats. One year I decided to make a gluten free pumpkin pie. Not that pumpkin pies have a ton of gluten but it is nearly impossible to find someone who makes and sells gluten free pies during the holidays and when you do they are outrageously priced. So…what does one do? Make it yourself. I was already making other pies for our family gathering so what was one more. Well…..they are a tiny bit more labor intensive and a bit more expensive but well worth it.
Once the pie was made it looked and smelled even more delicious than the regular pies. It had a pecan crust and pumpkin pie filling. Mmmm So we arrived, pies in hand, and to my surprise some people were like “Eeewwww gluten free that must taste so gross!” This is when I began to see the divide of gluten-us vs. gluten-them. Some people unfortunately don’t have the choice and have got to eat gluten free. Others who do have the choice can be interesting. There are several benefits to eating gluten free and you do not feel the loss of gluten. However it is so difficult to find affordable desserts that are made. Now it is so much more simple to make these desserts. They now sell mixes for cookies, brownies and cake. (Versal Arts sells mixes also 😉) But back in the day that was some kind of joke.
Gluten-free
Chocolate Turtle Cake
The pie had been a success, then came a birthday party. I called a local bakery to order a cake, thinking this will save me some time and I’m sure it’ll be beautiful. So I call and ask for a gluten-free cake, they laughed. I then proceeded to ask “How much would a 6 in cake be?” ….silence then….”$60” Huh?!?! I was flabbergasted, I get that the ingredients are more expensive but that amount for a 6 inch cake seemed ridiculous. After a little bit of self talk I hyped myself up to making it on my own. I decided to make a chocolate turtle cake. Turtle being like those chocolate candies that have pecans, caramel and chocolate. Humm how do you make this cake in 2 hours. Ha I had to cheat and use actual caramels and melt them down, there was no way I was going to be able to make it and have it to the birthday party on time. Anyway two delicious layers of gluten free chocolate cake made with coconut flour, with a creamy center of warm caramel and toasted pecans, holding the two together covered in more caramel, pecans and a homemade chocolate ganache. My stab at a glutenous gluten free cake was complete. The best thing about it was that nobody knew that it was gluten free. The crumb looked normal and tasted just like a chocolate cake with a hint of coconut flavor.
So after having some successful gluten-free desserts, we had already started doing the farmers markets… we occasionally have gluten free items available such as gluten free cookies, our pumpkin butter, mini pies, whole pies, energy bites, brownies in a jar etc. We had to offer samples and have it presented at the market. The reactions were surprising. Some people flocked to the gluten-free foods and others were beyond opposed. Some reactions were quite comical as soon as a sample was offered they would scrunch their face and say something like, “Oh no why would anyone want to eat something like that.” They would taste it anyway and end up loving it. We would occasionally have to explain why we make some of these items. Then they would feel bad and were sorry they were rude and some just didn’t care and would walk away or say, “Humm that doesn’t taste like cardboard, I like it.” I was thinking, “Dang where have they tried such horrible foods?!” We were on a mission to provide delicious gluten-free foods.
Gluten free foods were just the tip of the iceberg, there are so many other kinds of foods and special products that are needed by people like, sugar-free desserts, keto friendly, & gluten-free. Let us know when you need an order of anything. Versal is here to serve you.
For El Pasoans, we do offer that same Gluten-free Turtle Cake. Place an order and try it out for yourself!
Something you don’t see on the menu? Ask us and see what we can do.
Versal and the creation
There was no question in my mind that I had to get my butt off the couch and into the kitchen. It was on! I had to replicate these and eat them all!
So from our previous blog titled “Do you feel creative?” you learned a little bit about Sal and well…creativity. I would love to think that I am a creative person as well however, I don’t always make time to express my creativity. BUUUUTTT…I love to EAT! And feed people. So because of this, while Sal was doing a painting or editing photos, guess where I was? In the kitchen? Nope, more like on the couch. Binge watching…Netflix. Oh yes and it was so great, except I swear the couch was getting a dent in it. Anyway I started watching The Great British Baking Show and fell in love instantly. I loved seeing these typical people make amazing desserts and pastries. I started to think to myself humm…..I can do that! Did I do anything? Nope. HA! I did continue watching it though until one day there was this beautiful pastry called Kouign Amman (Queen ah-mon). It is a layered pastry that was apparently super hard and time consuming to make. It’s name comes from the Breton language, the words mean butter cake. I was instantly transported to San Francisco.
San Francisco, if you don’t know, has amazing bakeries and patisseries. While on vacation my amazing cousin was showing us around town. Well ya know what you do on vacation? Thats right, A LOT of eating! Plus we are so good at it, especially the sweets. Anyway we stopped at this bakery that is very well known: b patisserie . Needless to say, my mouth had fallen in love and never wanted to leave SF.
So we stocked up on this delicious treat, but by the end of our vacation, the snacks we had purchased to bring back home were all gone. Somebody had eaten them all. I guess we couldn’t help it. There is a lot of walking to do in SF and there are a lot of trails for hiking. So you know we had to replenish our famished bodies with our delicious treats. Never the less they were all gone, we would need to wait to return to SF for delicious treats years later. I digress, going back to the baking show! As I sat watching these people make Kouign Amman the beloved pastry that we had eaten for days in SF. There was no question in my mind that I had to get my butt off the couch and into the kitchen. It was on! I had to replicate these and eat them all! I made a batch and thought, “Humm not good enough.” Delicious yes, how can you go wrong with so much butter and sugar HA! But I had to try again. Each time that family or friends were going to come over, I hopped in the kitchen and began the 6 hour long process of making this delicious treat. These things were warm and crispy on the outside with tiny pockets of melted sugar and flaky buttery layers.
Kouign Amann
Butter cake
Our family and friends were very happy being taste testers for these. But, as time went on, they started to say, “ You should start selling these.” Maybe those calories began to attack the clothes in their closet. Our journey to sales had begun. A local coffee shop with a super sweet owner asked if she could buy and sell them. This only worked for a few weeks and then poof, that magic slipped through our fingers. We were on a mission to find out how we could sell Sals’ photography and my baking. Long story short we began doing the El Paso Downtown Artist & Farmer’s Market.
We are now inspired to expand the little world of Versal Arts. We love doing the markets and being around the awesome people every weekend. However, with our new baby boy who is now the center of my universe, we are having to take a break from going to the markets. We are now taking orders and I am working on new and fun baking ideas to share with you all. If you have an idea or need something weird to be baked for you, we are here to explore and adventure the universe together. Thank you for visiting Versal Arts!!!
For those that would like to explore the universe with us, join our universe and sign-up for e-mail updates and newsletter. Those signed up are entered in a drawing every month to win an 8x10 print from our gallery. With that being said, we would like to congratulate Liana Diaz for being the February 2019 monthly-drawing winner. Congratulations! That could be your name next month!