GF Food from Shared Fryers

Good morning -- it's Monday, again... the weekends feel like they get shorter as Fall is right around the corner. But we still have plenty of beach weekends left, I'll have to work in some 3-day retreats...

I was thinking over the weekend about the shared fryer situation... What do you guys usually do about that?? 

I generally will eat some of things that are fried in the same oil... it's usually french fries, we have a limited amount of fried things we can eat to start, and sometimes I figure it's OK because there aren't many fried things on the menu except fries, so I feel it's OK. Or if we're somewhere with TONS of fried foods, I'll stay away... But, am I still cheating? I usually feel fine, but am I damaging my intestines & not knowing? Maybe. Probably.

I started thinking after we went to Marco, and they brought up to me numerous times the fact that the fried items were in the same oil... but that didn't stop me - fried mozzarella?! I HAD to have it.

I suppose some guilt has been setting in - did I cheat? It's not too often I get fries when I'm out anyway, and I certainly eat out more often than I should - and so does my sister, we have discussed it because we know some small traces might be getting in to our food. But we feel fine. 

We also don't have super sterile homes. I share a toaster & cutting boards - we sort of have to - our kitchen has one tiny counter & I have one cabinet for things. But I know many people who aren't doing everything separate...

Just wondering your thoughts on this.....

Dinner at Marco

Sorry for the delay in this post! Work is bananas right now.

OK - SO..... Last Thursday Julia accompanied me to Marco to try out their GF menu! It was very last minute, so we didn't have time to call ahead to order bread -- but, it looks like I'll be going back this week with some other friends, so I'll be sure to call early.

We had some delicious beverages to start: 

These were Ruby Red Grapefruit Bellini's -- YUM. 

Then we decided to start with the fried Mozzarella & Ricotta cheese balls in their very delicious pomodoro with shaved parmesan. Holy delicious. 

I haven't had something fried in ages. They did warn us in advance that they use the same fryer -- I am usually OK with that. Julia said she is too -- and after the meal, we both felt fine -- if not too stuffed & maybe a bit lightheaded from the drinks.

The second drink was some kind of home-infused beverage, which looked pretty with the blueberries - but we didn't really like it that much. I think it was some kind of Tequila - it tasted like patron (yuck), but for those of you who like these infused beverages, then try these out.

For the main course -- we decided to get two half portions of pasta & split them... We went with the Bolognese & Marco's version of an Alfredo:

I thought the Bolognese was amazing. I had actually had it back before I was gluten free -- and it was as good as I remembered. FYI -- they told us they use Glutino's GF pasta, and I thought it tasted great -- I had never had it before, they were able to keep it very slightly al dente.

The Alfredo was good -- not  great. I felt like all I could taste was the olive oil -- but it was mixed with spinach, fresh grape tomatoes, olives and goat cheese. Not sure if it was due to the pasta that didn't make this one great... but I'll try a new dish when we go back.

In the end, we DID clean our plates:

Overall -- I thought it was excellent. It's SO great to be able to eat pasta in the North End! I can't wait to try the bread, which we found out they bake themselves.... AND -- I'm going back on Thursday night! I'll have to post again....

VERY exciting news

One of my favorite North End restaurants, Marco, is now offering gluten free options!!!!!

I just called & spoke with someone & here's what they're offering:

- 3 different kinds of gluten free pasta to substitute into any of their sauces (GF of course)

- GF flour to prepare any of their fried dishes (they did warn me that they do use the same fryer, so for many of you, this may not be an option)

- and if you call 24 hours ahead of time, they will have gluten free bread baked for you!!!!

I'M SO EXCITED!!!!!!  I'm going asap, will update shortly there-after...

Bagels

I found a new kind of bagel that I wanted to try out :

If I was going to get bagels in the past, I would go for Kinnik (i'm obviously a fan) or Glutino. Mainly because those are some of the only kinds I could get my hands on. I also try to avoid them because GF bagels seem to be so high in fat & calories.  I just stick to alternatives... BUT, every once in a while, you want a bagel, so I figured I'd give these a whirl. And yes, these are high in fat... 12g per bagel!! My donut only has 5g!

So, perhaps you have tried these -- I must say I did enjoy them. But they're not like bagels, they're SHAPED like bagels, but the texture/taste is different -- these sort of reminded me of puff pasty, and they were crumbly like that. They also were relatively hollow on the inside:

.... they also reminded me a bit of Chebe bread... they had a buttery taste (probably the fat).

Anyway - these were good, but the high-fat is sort of a turnoff.... Anyone know of any good lower fat options?

Coffee & Donuts, just like old times....

One of my favorite indulgences before I went GF, was donuts. Oh. My. God. - how I loved donuts. I was actually a bit happy when I found out I couldn't eat them, because I knew they were bad for me... 

I liked the chocolate frosted - or the old fashioned... I especially liked Cider Donuts you got while you were out apple picking - those were the ultimate.

Well -- if you also were a fan of cider donuts, Kinnikinnick makes a GF sugar & cinnamon donut that tastes EXACTLY like those donuts from the farm!

I was at "A Natural Foods Store" in Manchester, NH this weekend and found a wealth of GF goodies (post on that coming soon)... and I got a box of these.... We had JUST been talking about those in the comments, and I knew I had to get them.... YUM.