Okay, there is an upside to this recipe and a downside.
I will start with the downside. You will need celery juice.
You could buy it (just make sure it is GF) or if you are anything like me, you can dig out the gift your husband gave you a few years ago for Christmas…during your “juicing phase” that lasted all of a week. Right up until the moment your husband convinced you to drink a glass of beet/kale/carrot/tomato/apple juice because, “the apple juice hides the *tastes like dirt* flavor of the beets and kale.”
My husband is a liar. I drank apple flavored dirt. That was then end of my juicing phase. 😉 The juicer had been sitting in a box in the garage for 2 years until I resurrected it for this recipe, LOL!
GF Condensed Cream of Celery Soup
1 cup Gluten-Free Magic Mix
1/4 tsp. Onion Powder
1/8 tsp. Celery Salt (optional, but I liked it)
3/4 Celery Juice (I have made this with the full 3/4 cup of celery juice, which was pretty strong. And also with 1/2 cup celery juice + 1/4 cup water, which was milder. Adjust to your personal taste, just be sure to use 3/4 cup of liquid).
- Add Magic Mix, onion powder and celery juice to a saucepan. Mix well. Turn heat to medium and stir constantly until the mixture thickens (this does not take very long).
Use one recipe of this for each can of Condensed Cream of Celery Soup called for in your recipe.
Comparison time (this is the upside):
So I have to comment further on this. I am actually glad I did not research Campbell’s version first or I would have tried to replicate it. When I first opened it (fully expecting at least a light green color), I was surprised at how yellow it was (remember, it has been MANY years since this product was used by me in a recipe). I then moved closer to smell it. Know what it smelled like? Glue. Wet wheat flour. I did not detect even a hint of celery! Huh?
So here is the good news I mentioned above. Since the Campbell’s Condensed Cream of Celery Soup does not smell like celery (as for taste, well, I just cannot tell you that. Nor will I ever be able to). I am assuming that you could also just saute some celery and fold it into a GF Magic Mix Cream Soup Base.
Gluten-Free Magic Mix Condensed Cream Soup Base:
I cup Gluten Free Magic Mix
1/4 tsp. Onion Powder
3/4 cup water (remember, the Magic Mix has powdered milk in it)
- Mix everything together in a saucepan over medium-low heat until the mixture thickens.
- Measure out 10 3/4 oz. to use in all your recipes calling for condensed cream of celery soup.
Suggestions for GF Condensed Cream of Celery Soup (without the celery juice):
Add 1/8 – 1/4 tsp. Celery Salt or Celery Seed for added celery flavor
Fold in 1/4 cup sauteed celery.
- If you use this method, I would recommend making it the day ahead to allow the celery flavor to develop.
How I made celery juice:
I have the Breville BJE200XL 700-Watt Compact Juice Fountain, t is available on Amazon.com for $99.90 with free shipping. Breville makes a few juicers in different price ranges and you can read user reviews on Amazon.com. There are other brands of juicers too and you can see some samples here. Overall, Breville seems to rate among the highest with users and I agree, I absolutely LOVE mine (just not for the aforementioned juice blend)! Back in the fall, I started juicing apples to make the boys fresh apple juice. I have also juiced pears and grapefruit. If we manage to actually produce any tomatoes this year, I would like to make my own tomato juice for condensed tomato soup.
Check this out on the health benefits of celery juice from Natural News.com, and all these years I thought celery was as nutritious as Iceberg Lettuce!
And welcome to my blog!
Whether you're here looking for advice on how to go gluten free (with delicious kid-approved recipes of course!), or to read some of the latest medical research on celiac disease and non-celiac gluten sensitivity...or even to read about one woman's rise from the depths of gluten-free despair to a place of downright enthusiasm, it makes no matter. The point is, you are here now so let's have some fun!
Hmm I don't think you could dehydrate juice in a dehydrator because you would have to put the juice in a cup or bowl anyway – but my dehydrator is well over 10 years old so they may have newer models that will do it. I think your best bet is a stovetop reduction.
I am curious, who is better at eating veggies, you or your kids? The comment about dirt flavored applejuice made me giggle. On the other hand, I think I would have eased into the veggie juicing – mostly fruit with a handful of spinach and then worked up to beets and kale.
I love your comments Christi, you keep me on my toes! 🙂
The best veggie eater in our house is my 6 year old, Sam. I attribute this to my approach with him in regards to food when he was still really little. When he would ask me if he could try something new (like diced raw onions), I never instinctively said, "No, you won't like them." Instead, I said, "Sure." 9 times out of 10 he embraced the new flavors that would make me cringe. He ate raw onions like popcorn for a couple years!
I have really watched him over the years and encouraged him to try everything before saying he did not like something. I wanted him to do better than me. You know the saying, "Do as I say, not as I do."
Now that Sam is older, he has begun to question why I don't eat certain vegetables. I would love to just say that I am "allergic" to them, but I figure it is not a good idea to lie to my son! 🙂
Mike is more like Sam, he may not like the vegetable outright, but he will just suck it and not make a big deal about.
Luke is my mini-me, in personality (do a search for my Brussels Sprouts post and you will see what I am referring to) and in taste preferences. Although I am not a big sweet eater now, I used to be and it was a difficult habit to break. I only give Luke dark, unsweetened chocolate now in the hopes that it will curb his sweet tooth but of course he loves it and that is all he wants to eat… ever, but even bribing him with chocolate will not get him to eat the "dirt" veggies.
I love vegetables, just not a certain "class" of vegetables (the ones that are super good for you). I may not always act 36, but I am old enough and aware enough to know better. I just want to like them without drowning them high-fat sauces like cheese sauce or ranch dressing, (or plugging my nose and downing a chaser)…that must have an impact on how Luke perceives them! LOL!
I really just want to cancel out the bitterness until I can eat them long enough for my taste buds to accept them on their own. 🙂
I think I will try Brussels Sprouts with a Balsamic Reduction next… think it will work?
I remember having a similar reaction to the juiced vegetables, lol.
They are so strong, even apple juice can't cover that taste.
Great idea with the magic mix for soups. Anything that reduces
prep time for a meal is a big help.
I agree with you on the beets. They taste like dirt to me, too. And greens (cooked ones, anyway) are just too bitter. It is unfortunate. I WISH I liked them. But I just don't.