2 Meals, one hunk of pork

This weekend we were in RI visiting my family and some friends. On Saturday my mom wanted to make pulled pork and we threw together this simple recipe:

pork butt

apple cider

3 apples, chopped

2 onions, chopped

splash of apple cider vinegar

salt & pepper

Cook in slow cooker for 5-6 hours or more -- shred pork. Done.

It was delicious - you can add some BBQ sauce on top - I just ate it plain.

There were tons of leftovers and the first thought i had - HASH.

So we sauteed some onions and cooked potatoes in olive oil, added the hash, let it all cook, fried up some eggs and threw them on top. YUM.

Here is my husbands very generous, rather filthy looking plate:

I ate about 1/4 of what is shown here, and I didn't do BBQ sauce on top, just the egg & some cheese.

great leftover dish :)

Eco-Planet gluten free instant oatmeal

 I happened upon this product in the grocery store the other day and I had to get it! This is the first time I have seen GF Instant Oats in the market - I wasn't in a big grocery store, but this market/butcher called McKinnon's - I think there are a few in the NH/MA areas, but I was in Salem, NH.

This is also a new brand for me, haven't had any of their other products, but here is a link to their site.

Anyway - so exciting, I love oatmeal, but hate making it - actually, I hate having to clean the pot afterwards -- so instant is perfect for me.

I really liked this! I added some cut-up apples one day, and just ate it plain the other times. This oatmeal is kind of mushy - which I really like. I know some people like their oatmeal a little grainier, or more oat-like, but I much prefer to it be like mush - I don't know why, it sounds gross just typing it, but that's how I like it.

What's also great is it's only 145 calories per packet (not including milk if you add that instead of water) and 5g of fiber! Nice!

Big fan -- will buy this again. I have been looking for Glutenfreeda's gf instant oats, but haven't seen them anywhere yet.

Favorite lunch right now

Food for Life Brown Rice Tortilla

Hummus spread (been using lemon or tomato/basil)

two slices of cheese

3 stackers pickles

(turkey if I have it - otherwise, the above on it's own is good!)

Weird right?  I find that microwaving the tortilla wrap for 30 seconds on a plate, and putting the hummus on with the cheese & probably the juice from the pickles, helps to keep the wrap in one piece - no cracking. i also keep it in a sandwich tupperware instead of a baggie.

I am addicted to this for lunch - have eaten it every day for a week! i'll probably be sick of it next week.

Snacks

I love this picture that the photographer caught of me on my wedding day.... We were in the limo on the way to the venue, drinking champagne, and I ate almost this entire bag of Glutino Sesame Pretzels. 

I'm so bad with snacking. I will end up skipping some meals because I over-snack. Do you? I especially love anything in the chip family - shout out to UTZ, best chips around and love that they label their chips gluten free. 

I never really liked pretzels until I couldn't eat them anymore -- and these Glutino pretzels are awesome - they taste like butter, and are better than "real" pretzels anyway. They are also fairly fattening & expensive, so I usually only allow this occasionally as a treat - my wedding day was definitely a good day to splurge ;)

Fall Eating

Ever since the wedding ended, I've just been eating! It helps that I don't have to wear bathing suits anymore, and no longer need to worry about my wedding dress & how I'll look in pictures....

I think a little also has to do with the change in weather. It's starting to get cold, bulkier clothes are coming out - I tend to start eating more comfort food, happens every year. Do you do this too?

We have been traveling a lot in northern New Hampshire, it's been so beautiful - we've been hiking, visiting friends, 4-H-Fairing, etc.... We were in my husband's college town (Plymouth, NH) & visited his favorite deli, which we visit at least once or twice a year. They make THE BEST sandwiches. And I say that having eaten them PRE GF, and POST GF. The place is super cool, cozy - they have a bar, and serve popcorn. It's really great.

What's also great about them - they're super good about my gluten-free-ness - I always bring a loaf of gluten free bread with me, and get my favorite, the most decadent of sandwiches --- The Rueben.

YUUUUUMMMM. They have huge sandwiches, and since the gf bread is so small, they always make me two. They set out sheets of tin foil and prepare my sandwich on there - and toast the bread in the oven on the foil.... I think they get a lot of other GF eaters.

They also serve Redbridge, so the place is basically money. Here is a rather gross picture of my lunch:

FILTHY. Love it.

We were so full from this late lunch, we didn't even eat dinner. But there is my GF Reuben - in all it's greasy glory. Made on Glutino Flax Seed Bread. And a giant pickle. ugh. so good. 

8-14-09

So... I'm married! Yay!!! The wedding was AMAZING. Everything was perfect, it was a gorgeous day, it was SO MUCH FUN, and it was truly the greatest day of my life. That being said! I'm soooo glad the planning is DONE. Everything was great, and I did most of the things I wanted to, but the months of nightmares about my dress not fitting, the flowers not working out, the chance of rain, etc etc were starting to bother me, so I was just so happy when the day was here and I just let everything happen.

I was lucky in the food department - didn't get gluten-sick at all leading up to the wedding, the day of, or once on the honeymoon which was great! I had two favorite foods at the wedding. First, I had a mashed potato bar at the cocktail hour. My FAVORITE food - it was so fun & everyone loved it. There were two kinds, yukon gold or smashed red bliss mashed potatoes with about 15 different toppings. I only regret I didn't get seconds.

My other favorite was my wedding cake/cupcakes done by CeliaCakes. Let me tell you - this was a huge hit! No one even knew all the cupcakes were gluten free - we did two flavors. Vanilla with vanilla buttercream, and chocolate with mocha buttercream YUUUUUM. I only had one at the wedding, but took an entire box home with me for the next day and ate three more. I even had some last week that were frozen and they were STILL good! THANKS CELIACAKES!!!

A closeup of the mini-cake that we cut into that is now in the freezer at my in-laws.

The gorgeous cupcake display that CeliaCakes set up for me.

And now it's over, I'm married to the greatest guy and I have tons of gorgeous pictures to remind me of the most perfect day thus far. I haven't been on line too much - since getting back to work I have been extremely busy, and we have a lot going on so I don't have much time to cook or blog about it. But I'll be back when I have anything interesting to report ;)

10 days!

wow -- only 10 days until the wedding!

in between now & then, we are also moving. life is completely crazy, but fun!! I will try to post next week, but cannot guarantee anything.... I want to write up this last weekend, it was my bachelorette, and my fab bridesmaids hired a personal chef to come to our house and cook a wonderful, healthy and entirely gluten free 5-course meal! it was AMAZING.... 

anyway - 10 days till the big day, then we are on our honeymoon for two whole weeks - CANNOT WAIT.

hope you're all doing well & enjoying the summer! the weather in the northeast has finally come around ;)

New product find!

I was doing some grocery shopping a few weeks ago at Market Basket in Newburyport (loooove Market Basket) and found something new. Goldbaum's gluten free brown rice pasta! I love trying new things, and I was especially happy to see that this was only $1.99 a bag!!

I think this pasta tastes GREAT! I'm usually a Tinkyada eater - but I was a big fan of this pasta. The only problem - I've only seen this product in that one location, and that grocery store isn't really near me. I will just have to stock up whenever I'm nearby... I would recommend giving it a try if you see it though! It holds up very well, doesn't break apart, and tastes normal.

What's your favorite pasta? My sister is a big Bionaturae fan.

Bridal Showers

Hmm, this is turning into a bit of a wedding blog... Oh well. Only a few weeks left, then I'll be back to trying to find GF bread that is widely available, doesn't crumble into 50 pieces and tastes somewhat normal.

SO - I had two showers, which worked out great because having two smaller groups was much more intimate, and I had more opportunities to chat with everyone. The first was thrown by my sister at my parents house. She also has Celiac, so there were LOTS of GF goodies. She also made a delicious sparkling raspberry champagne punch that I couldn't stop drinking... I even had my own name tag to know which glass was mine. ;)

She also made cute little GF tags in all the foods that were OK to eat.

There was only one silly game, but it was pretty funny, and they did it while we opened presents which was nice - since I wasn't a huge fan of everyone staring at me while opening gifts I had already picked out. The game was seeing if I answered questions the same as Matt, and I did NOT do well, to my defense, his answers were ridiculous. ;)

My sis also had a TON of amazing GF desserts. I only had the pink cupcakes you can see in the background, but there were GF cheesecakes w/ lemon curd, brownies and cookies. YUM.

THEN - We have the MA shower, thrown by my lovely Aunt in her gorgeous home. Matt's mother brought a DELICIOUS and beautiful gluten free cake from this place called Heavenly Fodder in Manchester, NH. Their website isn't very attractive - but their products are, and they are FABULOUS. She brought the carrot cake with lemon cream cheese frosting. SO GOOD. it almost tastes a big like spice cake, not too carroty.

There was present opening, with the help of the flower girl:

And of course, champagne drinking:

And my aunt made this cool tree of peacock favors (my wedding theme is peacock), and a painting she did that was used for the invitation as well. Incredible!

Both showers were really incredible! I had so much fun and I got some amazing gifts, and it was just really fun to hang with all the women in my life! Wedding in 3 weeks!!!

What I've been doing the past few weekends

Wedding invitation construction.... I was down at my parents house for the long weekend and spent most of my time there at the kitchen table, glass of wine nearby, cutting, trimming, sticking, taping, licking, and addressing.

Here's a peek:

One month till the wedding!

Matt sent me these flowers today in recognition that our wedding day is exactly 1 month from today!! I have been absolutely crazed -- sorry I haven't been around. My wedding is in a month (woohoo!) and one of my best friends got married this past weekend so I've been on bridesmaid duties.

Matt is taking the Bar exam in 2 weeks, we have to move in 2.5 weeks (still haven't found a place to move) and work is busier than ever right now.... Everything is happening at once!!!!! Stress-city.

Will try to post & keep you updated on the next month ;) OR - you'll just hear more from me in September when we're back from the honeymoon.

Betty Crocker - Devil's Food Cake

One word - DELICIOUS.

A few more words --- This tastes just like I remember. You need very few ingredients, although, it's tough to see just how much butter goes in here! We also made a homemade buttercream (bag of confectionary sugar, more butter, vanilla, a bit of milk) and it turned out great! Super moist, flavorful, not crumbly or dry. WOW - I'm impressed Betty Crocker. 

I still need to try the cookies, brownies and vanilla cake -- all of which I've read mixed reviews.

Kinnikinnick now in Stop & Shop

Hey All!

I have a lot to write about & update... but first - I just saw online that Kinnikinnick, one of my favorite gluten free brands, is now being sold in 375 Stop & Shop stores and 180 Giant stores! These are mainly all on the east coast, specifically, northern east coast - so good news for those in that area!

Here is the Kinnik blog post about it.

Happy Monday - mainly because it's a short week, so really, it's Tuesday! ;)

Look what I found!

I have been keeping an eye out in every grocery store I've been in the last few weeks. I also asked my local grocery store to see if they could stock these, but knew it was a long shot.

But I was up on the North Shore this weekend in one of my FAVORITE grocery stores, and sure enough - they had the WHOLE LINE! I was skipping around the grocery store. Ha. 

The thing is - I am on a bit of a diet, have no real events coming up, and can't even decide which one to make first.... I'll figure it out, and then I'll be sure to post & review. I HOPE they're as good as I've heard.

** apologies - cell phone pic. what is the deal with blackberry, can't they put better cameras in their phones?

Mozzarelli's - not good.

I am soooo disappointed in Mozzarelli's pizza! Ugh.... it was NOT good. Not only was it not good, it was $33 for a pizza with two toppings - that is ridiculous. 

So - the weekend was fabulous. Had a blast at my friends shower and bachelorette -- we were staying in Union Square in NYC, and had apps at Olives. My plan was to get a pizza before that, but I called at 8:30pm to order the pizza, and apparently they closed at 8. SO - what did I do? I ordered a pizza for 'breakfast' on Sunday -- which worked out, because the girls had two enormous bags of delicious NY bagels delivered to our room... sigh (although, i had some gf bread and I had some yummy scallion cream cheese -- why is cream cheese SO good in ny?).

Anyway.... they delivered my pizza (after some serious issues with them not understanding where the W hotel was) and I was SO excited -- I got goat cheese & spinach on it - I sunk my teeth in, and I immediately tasted that gross weird gluten free taste - What is that?!?! It tastes like soap or something. I almost cried. But I toughed it out and ate a piece, tried to add some more goat cheese from another slice, covered it in garlic salt, and pretended I didn't taste the soapiness.

I'm not sure if I was more upset over the price, or the fact that I had heard such great things and I found it un-eatable. I even brought back the leftovers hoping it would taste better cold. Nope. Worse. Just tried it and had to throw it out!

Can someone please tell me what that taste is so I can try to avoid it in the future? It must be one of the flours, I can't pinpoint which one though.

Another Bridal weekend...

This weekend is one of my best friends bridal shower/bachelorette weekend in NYC! So I'm heading back to NY tomorrow (Brooklyn Friday, then Long Island Saturday morning, then into NYC Saturday night!)

It's going to be SO FUN - and as always, I'm planning ahead about FOOD. Friday will be fine - Saturday for the shower I have no idea what they're serving, so I'm bringing some backups. Then, we are staying at the W on Saturday night in Union Square which just so happens to be 5 blocks from Mozzarelli's!!! I'm psyched. I am either going to walk over there or have a pizza & some pasta delivered before we go out - because we're all going to Olives for apps, then out. And sadly, as much as I love Olives, I cannot eat anything on the menu they have planned for us. But who cares when you have PIZZA?!

Anyway - I'm excited. I'm sorry I have been away - work is so busy right now, I'm in super-planning mode for my own wedding, and I feel like 20 million things are all happening at once.

I will update when I get back about Mozzarelli's AND - my FABULOUS bridal shower that my sister threw for me last weekend!!

WEEKEND

I have a busy weekend ahead, and I'm finding it hard to get through the day - despite the fact that I have a TON of work to do.

Tonight I'm going to a Pilates class after work - then to see that movie The Hangover, which looks hilarious, with some friends. Tomorrow morning I'm driving to Brooklyn bright & early to hang with my friend Jo and chill out at her Stoop Sale - I'm bringing gluten free beer for the event... I'll share pics on Monday.

Then Sunday my Sister and Mom are throwing me a bridal shower! I have two - and this is the first one and I'm really excited about it! My sister also has Celiac so I'm sure she'll have some delicious things for us to eat! I'll also be sure to share that with you!

Hope you have a FANTASTIC weekend! I know Liz (The Good Eatah) and Jill (Hey That Taste's Good) will - I think they are both getting married this weekend! CONGRATS!!

Free Lettuce Wraps at PF CHangs!

Hi all... just saw this online & thought I'd share.

Go here:  http://www.pfchangs.com/briny/  fill in your email, and they will automatically send you a coupon for free lettuce wraps..., offer expires June 14 -- so go now if you love PF Chang's lettuce wraps... 

Party Preparedness

We had a couple family parties to attend this weekend and I snapped this pic on my phone before heading out of what it's like to be "party-ready" while living gluten free and having social events to attend.

I was sure to bring my 6-pack of Redbridge to my future brother-in-law's surprise 40th of course. We went there in the afternoon and were staying overnight and the next day driving out to Western MA for my cousin's graduation party.

While eating breakfast on Saturday morning I realized I would have two meals ahead of me that day and I was unsure if there would be any food (since the party was being catered) - so I made this large container of pasta salad with:

Tinkyada Brown Rice Pasta

Cherry Tomatoes

Celery

Carrots

Feta Cheese

Ken's Italian Dressing

It was pretty good, and it did the trick. Sure enough, I had half for lunch, and the other half for dinner (dinner looked great, but it was rolls, macaroni salad, marinated grilled chicken, and steak tips). In that Trader Joe's in the background there is also a package of rice cakes, some Pirate's Booty, and a little baggie of TJ's Meringues. It kept me full late, and I was able to stay up and play poker with the boys.

Also pictured there is a Trader Joe's Gluten Free/Dairy Free English Muffin (that I wrote about a few weeks ago) which was perfect to have for breakfast the next morning.

So yeah. I travel with large quantities of food. At this point though - I'm fine with it. People get it -- I get extremely cranky if I can't eat, so this just solves all problems. There are no let-downs when someone doesn't have anything to feed you, and there is no fear of not having any carbs in sight when a night of drinking is on the agenda.

Do you all do this as well? What's your go-to food to bring on the road?

Look what I just got....

Took this picture on the train on my way into work this morning!  I thought the cake was delicious! It's actually very filling for a fairly small cake. But the flavor and texture are great - it's super moist and the orange flavor isn't overwhelming.

It's not something I would eat every day (pretty high in fat, calories & sugar) but the price is great - only $1.95.

What I love most about this is the fact there is a GF treat to be found almost anywhere. Especially when traveling, this will be awesome - there are usually Starbucks all over the place, and now we will be able to grab something safe to eat wherever we are!

NEBO - Restaurant Review

Hi everyone! I'm sorry for the lack of posting! After Paris work was crazy - then Matt graduated from Law School! Yippee... Now I'm starting to get back into somewhat of a routine, although wedding planning really needs to kick into action as the wedding is in LESS than 3 months.. Ahhh. 

Anyway.... I had the wonderful opportunity to have a night out with some local gluten free girls to try out a restaurant near Boston's North End that has a huge gluten free menu called Nebo.

Let me just tell you right now - this place was FANTASTIC. The whole experience was wonderful. One of the owners, Carla, was there to greet us, and as we sat down she explained to us that someone in her family had celiac which was part of the reason they began offering gluten free dishes... she let us know they had a dedicated part of their kitchen for gluten free including separate refrigerators/freezers - and made sure their staff was well-trained about the gluten free diet.

OK - let me get onto the food... There were so many options on the menu, none of us could make any decisions.... Jenny from Sugar & Spice was with us, so half of the food we got was both gluten free and dairy free!

We started with some gluten free calamari with tartar sauce (contained dairy) and some marinara (dairy free).. YUM. So good - it was lightly fried and just so flavorful.

Carla, our lovely host/owner -- disappeared into the kitchen and personally cooked up a wonderful eggplant parmigiana that was gluten free (this one wasn't dairy free, Jen stuck to the calamari). WOW - Eggplant Parm was one of my most favorite things to eat before going gluten free. It was so great to have a real, authentic tasting eggplant dish that tasted just like I remembered.

For our main courses we decided on trying two pizzas and two pastas for the four of us to split. We did a GF/DF version of one pasta, and one pizza, then just GF on the other two... begin drooling now:

Pasta 1: Pancetta, sweet onions, spicy tomato sauce (dairy free)

Pasta 2: Broccoli rabe, homemade sausage, pecorino

Pizza 1: Roasted eggplant, onions, mushrooms, zucchini (usually has mozz, we did it DF)

Pizza 2: Arugula, pacchino tomatoes, parmigiano, mozzarella, evoo

It was all so good -- my favorite pizza was the eggplant - even without the cheese - it was so flavorful! The crust was great - I made sure to get a bite without anything on it to make sure it didn't have a weird taste, and it didn't. Carla told us she orders the crust mix from a company in Canada, I think she told me the name, but it's escaping me right now. I'm also forgetting the pasta brand (sorry!) but it was great -- and she mentioned that they are trying to devise the perfect homemade gluten free pasta recipe - exciting! I'll be living there if they get it right!

We did a pretty good job on all the food, and were completely stuffed, but HAD to get the panna cotta for dessert. Holy yum.... it had mango and nuts and tasted just like the panna cotta I used to get in Italy (this one wasn't dairy free, only gluten free). I was so full I decided to get an espresso with my dessert to help digest.

Overall, I didn't think the prices were too bad - it's not a cheap night of pizza and beers, but it's not over-the-top.... All of their prices are listed on the website, the pizzas.

If you're in the Boston area - check them out! Especially if you're going to the TD Bank North Garden to see a game or a show - it's right around the corner!

Oh, and of course, we brought our leftovers home.

Paris

Bonjour tout le monde! I have returned from Paris. WOW - crazy trip! We flew overnight on Thursday night (got some sleep thanks to some pills) had a full day Friday, Saturday & Sunday, then got back on a plane Monday around noon, and I was back at my desk on Tuesday!

We did A TON of walking -- and we covered a lot of the city. It was great. I had been one time before about 10 years ago, but only for a day or so, and I saw the Louvre, Napoleon's Tomb, the Arc, and the Eiffel Tower.

This time - we really wanted to explore the different parts of the city, and maybe see a few tourist sites. We definitely did, but we also spent a lot of time in St. Germain des Pres, the Marais, Montmartre, etc. I LOVED hanging out in the neighborhoods -- St Germain & the Marais were my favorite. 

We did A TON of cafes -- basically every breakfast, lunch, snack, dinner involved sitting in an outdoor cafe taking in the scenery - PERFECTION.

So -- that leads to eating. I've gotta admit - it was a bit hard. I didn't want to go out of my way to find gluten free, I'd much rather have no plan and just eat wherever. Yeah - unfortunately, that doesn't always work out. I think I lost about 4 pounds between all the walking, not eating a few meals, and just not being that hungry due to jet-lag.

As you see from the pic above -- I found my french macaron's in the Marais at an adorable little store. 

Probably my next favorite thing ever --- eating cheese, olives and marshmallows, and drinking wine at a cafe. See here:

UGHH -- that cheese was INCREDIBLE. There are bits of fig on top. And a salad just dressed in fantastic balsamic vinegar and olive oil. We drank a fabulous Cote du Rhone, and they had a little tin of marshmallows on the table that were SO GOOD. I almost ate the whole thing myself. Sadly, I had a pack of gluten free crackers in my suitcase that I forgot about, so I just ate the cheese on it's own.

Every day - I carried around a little ziplock bag of cereal --- which I snacked out of the two mornings I didn't get an omelette.... I just drank my cafe creme, fresh squeezed jus d'orange, and snacked from my purse! I also carried around a little candy bar or two, trail mix, and some crackers. I was glad I brought so much, because I ate most of it.

One night, we stopped outside at this fabulous place we were told to visit called Les Deux Magots (in St. Germain) and had a fantastic cheese place, some delicious Sancerre, AND -- I got my Pierre Herme Macaron!!! IT WAS SO GOOD:

It was rose-petal flavored and absolutely the most amazing thing ever. It was filled with whipped fresh creme and raspberries. Ughh... I'm drooling.  Also - sorry about the pics. They are all whacky colored - I refused to use my flash and draw attention to myself, and we were sitting directly under a heating lamp that was causing the color to look neon.

Sadly, one day I got sick -- and I'm pretty sure I ate something I shouldn't have, but I'm not sure what. It didn't help that I was a tad hungover from over indulging in the Bordeaux, and I was pretty off due to the jet lag -- but I had to visit quite a few french bathrooms that day (sorry tmi)... 

Overall though, it was a FANTASTIC trip - we had such a great time and Paris was gorgeous. I would love to go back and have a little more time, and skip all tourist attractions and just enjoy the city a bit more... Then maybe I could figure out some more food to eat (although, did I mention the Steak Tartare?!  YUM -- it was on every menu there, and I happen to love this dish, but it's not for everyone -- raw steak! -- but it was fantastic, I only had it one night, so delicious)... although I was completely content just snacking on my snacks and taking in the sights!