Nigella is a genius

I caught a few minutes of "Nigella Bites" on the Food Network this weekend. I used to watch her show years ago, and had a few of her cookbooks, she is the best, if you've never heard of her - Google her, look for her, read her books, you will not regret it. She makes amazing food.

So in the few minutes I caught her show, I happened to tune into a quick & easy "working woman" soup which was great, because I wanted soup yesterday and had barely any groceries, and lucky me - it was gluten free (didn't mean to rhyme there, but how cute).

All it is, and you may have done this before, but I think it's genius, is a jar of pasta sauce, I have a tomato basil brand I love - dump it into a pan, add boiling water, and rice - and voila, Tomato & Rice soup.

I think the key here is a really great jar of tomato sauce, since that is where you get your whole flavor. I also added a can of crushed tomatoes, and some chicken stock (because i love salt), and a little extra basil & topped with parmesan cheese. YUM. And it took about 2 minutes to prepare, and 15ish to cook.

Also - Nigella has contributed to "The Gluten-Free Bible.." and has some great gluten free recipes, especially desserts for example see here

A great dining experience

Going out with a girlfriend for dinner last night - the first sushi place we planned on turned out to be closed, shut down forever! I was totally bummed - so we thought of another place around the corner, actually in the Westin Hotel in Copley Square called OSushi. I had been there a while ago, and remembered it was good.

I don't know what has been going on lately, but I have been CRAVING sushi all the time. I really can't get enough. I have my favorites - Tuna, Alaska, Salmon, yellowtail - and especially the seaweed salad. So last night we sit down, it's a cool place, small, and with loud techno, order some Sake, miso soup and for some reason it dawns on me to ask if the seaweed salad has soy sauce in it. Now, I've been eating this for the past month or more, every week, and I just think of this now?! Sometimes I really blank of watching the food I eat.

Then the waitress asks, do I have a food allergy? Yes, I do. Wheat? Why, yes. Celiac? Wow - yes, I do!
(It's amazing to me that people know about this, I don't know why).

This waitress turns out to be the best. Finds some wheat-free Tamari buried in the kitchen. Informs me without asking what I can/can't eat. She was awesome! It turns out her best friend has celiac so she knows all about it.

Back to the seaweed - I'm completely bummed. And, pissed - I've been thinking I've been doing so well and not eating gluten, and it turns out I was wrong.

So - the dinner was so great - Kobe Beef Rolls? Umm, the greatest thing ever... They also have the best miso soup I think I've ever had. If you're in town - go there, look for the short, cute brunette waitress - she'll hook you up.

Happy 2007!

Hello all... I hope you all enjoyed a wonderful holiday & new year! Best wishes to you in 2007!

So, I found RedBridge soon after posting about it thanks to a comment I received- and I must say it's quite good!! I actually enjoy drinking it. In fact, my boyfriend (not a celiac) STOLE my last two, which was rather annoying actually.

It tastes a lot like Sierra Nevada Pale Ale -- which happened to be my favorite beer pre dx - so this is great!

Also, it looks like the retail locater is working now - so look for it at a store near you!! Now, I just need to convince my local bar to keep it in stock - possibly even on draft?