Sorry, I can't eat that.

More on Glutino's Genius bread

2012-01-05T10:41:00.000-08:00

So I posted the other day about Glutino's Genius Multigrain bread. I've made a few more things so I thought I'd share. It's been holding up pretty good! Although, to my own fault, it says to keep frozen, but I like to keep in the fridge (as I usually go through the loaf within a week) but I'm noticing it's starting to get a little crumbly. But the flavor is so normal! So is the size!

Here is my normal sized boring sandwich I had for lunch today:

This weekend we went with french toast. I wanted to do a baked french toast, but my husband wanted his gluten-filled baguette so I just did it on the stove. Held up well!

gross - could I put more syrup on those 2 slices?

(sorry for the terrible pics)

Pinkberry

2011-12-29T04:47:00.000-08:00

I feel like I've been hearing about Pinkberry for a long time, but I finally had it yesterday, and I see what all the hype has been about. YUM.

I got the coconut yogurt with raspberries, strawberries and mango. The coconut yogurt is SO GOOD. Highly recommended - and all of their yogurt is gluten free.

There is a Pinkberry in Boston in the Prudential Mall.

(ps - the mochi topping is NOT gluten free, it has wheat in it! check out their site for all nutrition and allergen information)

New gluten free bread find

2011-12-28T06:23:00.001-08:00

Genius by Glutino's Multigrain Sandwich bread mainly caught my eye due to its 'normal' size. I am a big Udis fan, but sometimes I just wish the slices were bigger!

This loaf has nice big thick slices and tastes really good - like, normal bread. It's also very light, no dense brick-like bread here.

I keep looking for bread that has a little more nutrition in it - I'm not sure this is it. But it's good!

This bread would probably make excellent French Toast.

Have you tried Genius? Did you like it? Better than Udis?

Beer Braised Beef in a Marsala Mushroom Cream Sauce

2011-12-14T13:02:00.000-08:00

I've been really into Pinterest for a while now keeping track of design things I like, house decorating ideas, and just as a source for inspiration, but only recently did I start seeing a lot of food & great-looking recipes. I have since made a YUM folder on there, and my list of things to make someday gets longer.

So last week I saw this picture of Beer-braised beef with the marsala mushroom cream sauce and knew I had to make it right away!

The original recipe is here. It's a little involved, not exactly a week-night dinner, unless you have more time than me, but I made this last Sunday and it made the house smell delicious!!!

I followed this recipe pretty closely (for a change), and made the following:

Beer Braised Beef (recipe below)
Mashed Potatoes - original used buttermilk, I just made regular
Marsala Mushroom Cream Sauce (recipe below)

Beef Braised Beef

Ingredients:

1 (2-1/2 pound) boneless beef chuck roast

Kosher salt and ground pepper

1/2 cup all-purpose flour (I used Better Batter gluten free all purpose flour)

4 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 medium yellow onions, halved and sliced thinly

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

2 (12-ounces) bottles lager beer, I used Redbridge

3 beef bouillon cubes

3 sprigs fresh thyme

1 6-inch sprig rosemary ( I think this was supposed to go in the beef mix in the oven, but it didn't say to, so I forgot, I ended up just using it as a garnish on top)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Cut the beef in large 2 or 3-inch chunks. Season the beef generously with salt and pepper. Place the beef in a ziplock bag and add the flour. Seal the bag and shake the beef until each piece is dredged and coated in flour. Add three tablespoons vegetable oil to a large heavy duty pot and heat over medium-high heat. Brown the beef on all sides, and then transfer to a plate. Add the remaining tablespoon of vegetable oil to the pot and add the onions. Cook the onions for 20 minutes until they are soft and slightly caramelized. Stir in the balsamic vinegar, beer, and bouillon cubes. Bring the mixture to boil, scraping up the brown bits from the bottom. Add the beef and the juices from the plate back to the pot and give everything a good stir. Cover the pot with a lid and place it in the oven for 2-1/2 hours.

Marsala Mushroom Cream Sauce

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

8 ounces sliced crimini mushrooms (actually I used more crimini than white)

8 ounces sliced white button mushroom

3/4 cup Marsala wine

1/2 cup Heavy Cream

3 sprigs fresh thyme

salt and pepper

Directions:

In a large skillet, heat the butter and oil over medium-high heat. Once the butter is melted, add the mushrooms. Sauté the mushrooms for 3-4 minutes until the mushrooms are barely cooked through. Add the Marsala wine and cook for 5 minutes allowing the wine to slightly reduce. Stir in the heavy cream and thyme. Reduce the heat to medium and cook the mushroom sauce for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Here's all of it coming together:

Finished, plated meal shown at very top. I was very fancy and added the rosemary as a garnish. Mainly because - the recipe called for rosemary and then it was never included in the recipe, weird right? So I figured I'd put it on top, and the aroma of the rosemary before eating this was a nice added bonus.

The beef was so tender and flavorful! It was a soupier mixture than I thought it would be -- but I used a slotted spoon to arrange the plate --- and when we saved leftovers we got rid of most of the liquid.

MAKE THIS MEAL.

Blue Moon Grill - Wakefield, MA

2011-12-12T13:09:00.000-08:00

Saturday morning I felt like going out to breakfast, so I hopped on Google to look for a new spot, and found the Blue Moon Grill because apparently they had gluten free pancakes - umm, sweet.

The menu doesn't mention anything about gluten free - but we decided to head over and try it out, it's only about 10 minutes from my house.

It's a tiny little place and we liked it immediately. The menu is awesome - I should have taken a pic of it - I wanted EVERYTHING. I was going to just get straight pancakes, because, well, when else can you get pancakes outside of your home?

But, with the help of the waitress who told me their hollandaise sauce was GF, I went with the Eggs Benedict served on gluten free silver dollar pancakes. That's right. Diet be damned!

Here it is:

And here's what I did to it:

BVI Vacation

2011-12-09T07:59:00.000-08:00

(This from the balcony of our house - no joke)

My husband had surprised me for our 2nd Anniversary with a trip that he had fully planned & booked to the British Virgin Islands - specifically Tortola - with our good friends for the Thanksgiving week.

I mean, clearly he's the best (and I really hate the planning & logistics/flights part of it). I was shocked and suuuuuuper excited.

Anyway - it was amazing, obviously... the weather was incredible, it was soooo relaxing, and it was a really beautiful island.... but I wanted to talk a little about eating gluten free in the Caribbean. Let me just say, it wasn't that easy.

We were staying in a house - which was great, so we did quite a few meals there. I went down there with a loaf of Udi's, a bag of Tinkyada pasta, a handful of Luna Protein bars and LaraBars, and I brought a bag of Better Batter flour just in case.

Good thing too! Tortola doesn't exactly have a huge selection of groceries. We were shopping first in Road Town, and the pickin's were slim. Although, when we were in Soper's Hole Marina, we found a grocery store there that actually had a few GF items - but if you're going, it's really best to just bring a few staples.

I tried to stick to simple easy items - grilled fish, salads with no dressing. But somehow - I got sick a few times. I ordered fish with rice one time, and I'm pretty sure most places use a packaged rice mix that contains gluten - so I stayed away from that. We were on a full-day sail, and we docked near this permanently anchored boat/restaurant called Willy T's for lunch - I had a great piece of tuna, and it came with rice, my husband figured he'd go ask the chef if he knew if it was GF or not, sure enough - he came back fuming, he got in a fight with the dude because the chef said "what's with this trendy shit"... nice. Whatever though - I was on vacation, on a boat eating lunch and wasn't really phased. I told my husband to calm down. it was fine, I didn't eat the rice.

We did one other 'fancy' night out at this really cool restaurant called The Sugar Mill, actually, we did Thanksgiving there. I didn't opt for the turkey - it came with stuffing & gravy - who wants turkey in 85 degree heat anyway -- but went for a grilled fish option and salad. For some reason, I was really sick after eating. ANNOYING. After that I vowed not to eat out anymore.

It was semi-pathetic, but I was fine, when we were out to lunch one day I ordered a plain salad, and had a pb & j udi's sandwich in my purse that I ate under the table! Ha! I really didn't care, I was so happy to be in the sun and not at work! Ahhh, gluten free travel.

I mean, look at our sunset:

And my husband in the water:

Yeah. Who cares about food really? And rum punch by the way - is gluten free ;)

We had to head back to St. Thomas for a night because of flights - and we stayed at the Marriott Frenchman's Reef - and I had an easier time eating here, although, it was only 2 meals, but the place we went for dinner - Havana Blue, knew what gluten free was and they were on top of it.

**UPDATE: Kate commented below and let me know there is a store in Road Town called Nature's Way that offers many gluten free products, open every day except Saturday.

Avocado Obsessed

2011-11-05T09:17:00.000-07:00

I have been LOVING avocado lately. I have been putting it on everything - and a really great quick meal is just toasting some Udi's bread, a little shredded cheddar, a slice of tomato and sliced avocado on top.

I usually squeeze some fresh lemon all over the avocado once I cut it - and then I top with Janes Krazy Mixed Up Salt --- have you guys ever had that? I LOVE IT. I put on everything, absolutely everything. I have a little salt problem though, I admit.

The one thing I can't figure out with Avocado is how to add it to my sandwich or salad without it going brown. I have ended up bringing in the whole avocado and cutting it right before eating it, but I'd love to prepare it in the morning and bring. Any tips? I have tried dousing it in lemon juice and bagging it - but that doesn't work. let me know!

Also - here are a couple things I have learned about Avocados:
- When picking them at the store, get the ones that have the little "nubs" on them - know what I mean? If they are missing the nub, they will go bad. someone told me this once, I hadn't know, and ever since that little tidbit, I've never had a 'bad' avocado.
- I usually leave them out to ripen, but when they start to get ripe/soft - put them in the fridge, they'll last longer.

Here's some interesting health facts about Avocado....Are you avocado obsessed like me?

"Apple Pie" Oatmeal

2011-11-04T06:22:00.000-07:00

................................
1 cup GF Oats (I use bob's red mill quick-cooking oats)
2 cups water
2 chopped Macintosh apples
1 tbsp ground flax
1 splash gf vanilla
dash of salt
about a tsp or so of appie pie spice
another dash of cinnamon
top with brown sugar
................................

freshii

2011-11-02T12:28:00.000-07:00

I have been on the hunt for a new spot to pick up lunch in the area, and somehow I happened upon freshii. It's a chain, and I think it opened pretty recently here in Boston. They are gluten free-helpful which is huge! I read online about some others having the rice bowls and I really wanted to give one of those a try. They also have a list of all the ingredients they use out where you order so you can check, and everything is made fresh to order. Here's an info sheet about what contains gluten.

First visit, I went with the Bliss Rice Bowl:

YUM. And it's A LOT of food. If I were better at managing my portions, I would eat half one day, and half the next. I went a couple other times and made a custom rice bowl, all good - then I realized they had rice noodles, so I gave that a try, again, custom bowl:

Jam-packed! This one I got the rice noodles with avocado, chicken, carrots, broccoli, feta cheese, probably some other veggies I can't remember and balsamic vinegar dressing.

Love this place! It's a tad pricey - probably around $10 for these bowls... but this really could be two meals.

New (mostly) GF blog find: ROOST

2011-11-02T11:01:00.001-07:00

Photo courtesy of Roost.... Also, click on image to see the whole thing.

My friend just sent me the link to this GORGEOUS blog, called ROOST.

Check it out -- most recipes are naturally GF, and her food photography, food styling, design skills are KILLER.

I mean -- just look at that photo above of Butternut Squash and Hazelnut Bouchons. GORG.

You can search her site by the tag gluten/grain free -- i just linked you there.

Woefully behind on posting

2011-10-27T09:11:00.000-07:00

helloooo.... is that an echo? Probably.

I have had little to no time to post. I barely have time to do anything - work has just been all consuming the past 6 months, well, year probably... Maybe this winter I'll get back into it.

On a positive note, I was working last saturday at my husbands office (so sad that we work on saturdays - but we worked together! which made it semi-fun)... I googled "gluten free andover" (his office is in andover, ma) - and found gluten free pizza at Stachey's in North Andover! There is also one in Salem, NH - which is where my sister in law lives!

EXCELLENT pizza. Like - almost-not-sure-if-it's-really-gluten-free good.

Yeah - I polished that whole pie shown above.

Love the bountiful gluten free options these days!

Apple Butter

2011-09-15T14:06:00.001-07:00

I just so happen to work with a very talented Jam-maker and I recently helped her out by making her logo & designing her packaging/labels, and for payment, I get jam!... Not too shabby! You can check out Jess' Jams here - she's started up a little blog, and she sells at local farmers markets, etc. She is also gluten free.

She just made a DELICIOUS batch of Apple Butter that has the perfect amount of spice - and is perfect for the fall weather that is suddenly upon us in New England.

This might be my new favorite of hers... although, I've been obsessed with the Raspberry Orange Prosecco jam. YUM. I would have shared a pic of that, but we burned through that jar quickly...

Smoothies

2011-09-12T08:10:00.000-07:00

My husband and I are trying to get back into shape now that the fun of summer is coming to an end. It's fall-ish weather here already in the Northeast and I love it! I'll miss summer, but for some reason with the summer being SO busy and every weekend planned, it's nice to be home a little more and fall back into a routine (no pun intended)....

We haven't belonged to a gym since last April, so we joined a new one (woo hoo!) and are watching what we eat (ABS Diet style - we did this before, it worked, so we're back on it --- and it's really easy to adjust for gluten free with this).

My favorite part is bringing smoothies back into our lives!

While I generally am an egg person in the morning, I like mixing it up. Especially since we're trying to work out before work - so a smoothie is the perfect thing to mix up and have pre-workout.

This one pictured above (with my super fun straw) included:

Frozen strawberries
Frozen mango
1 banana
0% fat greek yogurt
GF whey protein powder, vanilla flavor
splash of low-sugar orange juice
splash of 0% fat milk
ice cubes

YUM

Mariposa Gluten Free Bakery

2011-09-01T05:43:00.001-07:00

After my unfortunate pizza experience in San Francisco, the next day I was lucky enough to be down at the Farmers Market at the Ferry Building for work. I remember someone telling me about Mariposa a while back, and went inside to look for it. Didn't take long, it's a small-ish kiosk right in the middle (they mentioned they're moving soon to a new location in the Ferry Building).

I was like a kid in a candy store. EVERYTHING is gluten free - pastries, breads, bagels, SANDWICHES, cookies, brownies, etc etc!!!

It was really hard to decide. I should really have filled my purse with goods, but I only had room to get a few things, and found out they deliver, so we've all got that goin' for us.

I had a Blue Bottle Coffee in my hand, and thought that a Cinnamon Roll would go quite well with it...
Ummmm - yeah. IT WAS AMAZING. I should have bought every single they had and brought them home with me. Delicious, moist, great flavor. Perfect size.

Then I saw they had little bags of pre-made sandwiches, so I had to grab one of those. IT WAS ALSO AMAZING. The bread was fantastic - soft, perfect texture, not crumbly at all, not chewy - just good. I had one that (I think) had arugula, red-pepper spread, salami... Can't quite remember, meant to take a picture but was too excited about the sandwich & grabbed these two shots with my phone:
I also got a little bag of bagels - 2 per bag. I think they were multi-grain. Also very good... Not the best ever - but excellent flavor, not too crumbly.

All in all -- if you are in San Francisco and you are gluten free you MUST go to Mariposa! I linked to their website again, here it is again --- they also deliver. I'm sure it's expensive to do that. I may order for a special occasion -- otherwise, my friends who live in San Fran will be getting calls from me to bring me home goods when they're back east :)

Extreme Pizza Gluten Free in San Francisco

2011-08-25T09:40:00.000-07:00

Got Extreme Pizza GF delivered last night.... While super delicious last night, seriously not feeling good today. Hmm.... not cool.

Essential for me on the road

2011-08-24T12:03:00.001-07:00

Since I'm traveling for work for a few weeks - eating can be tricky. I'm on sets for photoshoots for my job and we have different call times in weird locations for long hours. Just keeping a loaf of Udi's and a jar of peanut butter is perfect if I'm not sure I'll be able to eat.

Most of the sets I'm on have a huge supply of bagels, pastries and sandwiches. Yeah, not so good for me - so it's been a lot of Udis & PB and lots of little baggies of chips.

Almost out of bread now though - time to re-stock.

Don't laugh at me for eating the full-sugar full-fat Jif - it's awesome and I don't like to travel with peanut butter that separates & gets oily.

:)

Pizza Port - Solana Beach - San Diego

2011-08-20T13:33:00.000-07:00

I was SO excited while out here for work to be at Pizza Port in Solana Beach... They have Gluten Free Pizza and beer!! They also have a location in Ocean Beach, I would guess they have it there as well. Yum! It was delicious! Off to San Fran tomorrow...

Traveling...

2011-08-12T07:57:00.000-07:00

Hey all! I'll be traveling for work - so next week I'll be in San Diego, then the week after I'll be in San Francisco! Let me know if you have any good gluten free recommendations. I got some last year for San Fran - so I have some options there - but I've never been to San Diego before!

hope you all are enjoying the summer :)

B.Good Gluten Free Hamburger Buns!

2011-07-06T10:18:00.000-07:00

Feast your eyes readers.... It's just a burger I grabbed for lunch around the corner from my office. No big deal. Yeah right!?

Thanks to the lovelies at Udi's who are now making really good GF Hamburger Buns, B.Good has started carrying them!

I literally read Jen's post about it this morning, and called the one near me, discarded my boring 'healthy' salad for lunch, and headed over there as soon as it was acceptable for me to eat lunch, 11:59.... They noted I had an Allergy on my order... and you watch them make the food so I was keeping an eye on everything. I noticed mine was made away from all of the other gluten-filled buns - and I noticed gloves being changed for my food. PROPS TO B.GOOD.

Oh, and their fries are TO DIE FOR.

Check 'em out if you're near one, here's there site again.

Rainbow Cake

2011-06-28T15:28:00.001-07:00

Guys. I made a rainbow cake. It was gluten free, and it was glorious.
It was also delicious.
And it was SO. MUCH. FUN.

I was going to make cake batter from scratch, but then realized just how long that would take, so I went with trusty old Betty Crocker Gluten Free yellow cake mix. Definitely glad I did since it took a while. It would take a lot less time if i had more 9-inch matching pans, but alas, I only had two.

So here's my set up. 3 boxes of mix, a lot of butter, vanilla, eggs, milk, my trusty kitchen-aid mixer, lots of bowls, and food coloring.

I went with doing 9 inch round cake - because I had two of those pans. I think a 7 inch size would be perfect... Next time! (oh and I read online about people doing mini cakes, and I'm definitely doing that for my anniversary this summer).

Anyway. It was easy. Make 1 box of mix. Then split into two bowls, and add the food coloring that you want to get the right colors you want. I mixed it up, then poured into my pans, then baked. When those were almost done, I washed everything, and got going with the next batch, mixed, food-colored, re-poured, then baked.

Do that 3 times (with only 2 pans) to get 6 layers like this:

Then stack! After the layers cool a bit....This was fun.... I was going to make buttercream frosting, cause I love it - but was worried it would be TOO sweet, so I just bought a whipped cream-style frosting instead. I also went a little light with frosting, just because thats what I like and stacked in the color order I wanted:

Cover the outside in white frosting, make look pretty, then, the best part is when you cut into the cake! Ooohs & Aaahs all around! It was a HUGE hit. It really didn't take too long (maybe 3.5 hours or so) and it was so yummy and so much fun to eat.

The texture was great, and we ate almost the entire thing.... Can't wait to make my next one!

Contest!

2011-06-06T06:36:00.000-07:00

Do you guys read Jordan Ferney's blog "Oh Happy Day"?? You probably all do, but if you don't, check it OUT.

It's a fantastic little blog, so many gorgeous ideas, she has two adorable kids, and her husband is a really talented painter who I purchased a painting from last year.... and she is doing the MOST AMAZING GIVEAWAY OF ALL TIME.... A trip for 2 to Paris!!! Ohh la la!

I have entered as many ways as possible, and you guys should too! Here is the link.

Remember when I went to Paris for a long weekend with my then fiance?? Here's a link to that post -- it would be incredible to go back for our anniversary, and I'd love to spend a little more time there - OR hopefully one of you fab GF reader's will win it!

Food Truck Find: Bon Me

2011-05-23T09:53:00.000-07:00

Hey all! It's been a really really long time, I know! Life is bananas. I have barely been cooking (or cleaning for that matter) -- work is stressful, and we were trying to finalize finishing our basement! Which we did! Woo Hoo! It only took us A YEAR. But we did it ourselves (well, with mucho mucho help from my very handy Dad) - and it's D-O-N-E.

I'll have to do a before/after pic later....

So, since very little cooking is happening, and I usually bring leftovers for lunch, I've been eating out a lot lately. My go-to is usually Boloco (bring on a tofu bowl with every veggie & guac - yum) - but some work friends just directed me to a little area in downtown Boston that has 3 food trucks lined up!

I know food trucks are all the rage in NYC, but these are the first ones I've seen here and let me tell you, good stuff.

Bon Me had gluten free options - and they made sure to change gloves, use a clean area to prepare. I got a rice noodle bowl (could have gotten brown or white rice) with their chicken, which is gluten free, veggies - and the Viet-vin sauce, also gluten free. And it was SO GOOD.

GlutenGate 2011

2011-04-04T11:12:00.001-07:00

Have you guys been following this crazy (and so infuriating) news about "chef" Damian Cardone??

It's been all over twitter and Zagat's blog even dubbed this Gluten Gate 2011. If you just google this person you'll see a ton of links bashing this guy and the following comment he made on his facebook:

“Gluten free is B***S***!! Flour and bread have been a staple of life for thousands, THOUSANDS of years. People who claim to be gluten intolorent dont realize that its all in there disturbed liitle heads. People ask me for gluten free pasta in my restaurant all the time, I tell em sure, Then I serve serve em our pasta, Which I make from scratch with high gluten flour. And you know what? nothing, NOTHING! ever happens! People leave talking about how good they feel gluten free and guess what, They just had a full dose! Idiots!”

Can you BELIVE those comments? Ugh - disgusting. It's been interesting to observe this though. It blew up on twitter, and every gluten free blogger was tweeting about it - then it was on blogs, then there were news stories about it in Colorado & New Jersey (where he lived, and now lives).

He has since canceled his facebook page - and has made no comments about all of this. I would love to hear what he has to say for himself after all of this.

craving fresh cookies, fast.

2011-04-01T12:46:00.001-07:00

Don't those look yummy? Well, they were. And they were ready in about 15 minutes.

This past weekend I had a hankering (pretty sure i've never spoken or typed that word before) for SOFT chocolate chip cookies, as in, freshly baked. But didn't want to do them from scratch, so I went over to the store and picked up these French Meadow Bakery GF Frozen Chocolate Chip cookie dough.

Open the box, place on baking sheet, bake, and DONE.

These are really really really good. Husband loved them too - I had to hide them.

Will definitely buy these again!

Cambridge, MA start-up focuses on Celiac disease

2011-03-15T10:35:00.000-07:00

Hey all --- check out this quick little article that is in the Boston Globe today!

ImmusanT Inc., a privately-held biotechnology company, said it has established its operations in Cambridge as it looks to develop an immunotherapeutic vaccine and a companion diagnostic and monitoring tool for celiac disease.

The company, which said in a press release that it has secured seed financing from angel investors, is calling its drug candidate vaccine Nexvax2. Celiac disease is a lifelong autoimmune disorder that is triggered by foods containing gluten, the main protein in wheat, rye, and barley.

"With the formation of ImmusanT in Cambridge, we will have broad access to resources, capital and potential partners required to advance development of Nexvax2 and our companion diagnostics," Leslie J. Williams, founder, president, and chief executive, said in a statement.

Link to article.

oh. em. gee.

2011-03-14T20:45:00.000-07:00

it's 11:45 and I'm still in the office - NOT COOL.... AND I worked sat/sun.

hence... the reason I am not posting on here. I am not cooking, I haven't even had time to clean my house!

yikes. thanks for allowing the complaining... I'll stop now. hopefully out of here soon --- have to wait on changes/edits.

that is all... definitely taking a few days off later this week! I want to bake something for Better Batter's Recipe contest, check it out! First prize is $400!

**UPDATE: I left the office just before 2am! longest day/night ever! glad it's in the past....

Easy Chicken Enchiladas

2011-03-01T09:19:00.000-08:00

Not my photo - we ate ours too fast for me to grab the camera.

I've been seeing a lot of recipes for enchiladas recently and realized I've never made them! Yesterday I re-read a few of them and did my own version last night (although this very easy version was my inspiration - perfect for getting home late & wanting to make something quick)!

Ingredients:
Rotisserie Chicken (shredded with a fork)
Mexican Shredded Cheese (or go with monterey jack)
Corn Tortillas (GF of course)
Enchilada Sauce (canned to be fast, or make your own)
Sour Cream
Jalapeño's (husband ate these, not me)
Guacamole if you've got it or sliced avocado

Preheat oven to 425. Shred rotisserie chicken with a fork and place in a bowl. Mix in some cheese & a little pepper. Add some red pepper flakes if you want more heat. Put a little enchilada sauce on the bottom of an oven safe pan.

Wrap corn tortillas (I did 3 or 4 at a time) in a damp paper towl and microwave for about 20 seconds (not burning hot, just to warm) -- add chicken mixture and then a little more cheese (also feel free to add anything else here - spinach, beans, guacamole, etc etc).

Roll up tightly and place in pan. Fill pan, then pour enchilada sauce on top, then sprinkle with cheese (and jalapeño's if you want) and pop in the oven for about 10 minutes!

I added a dollop of sour cream to the top of each one on my plate.

That's it! SO easy and really really yummy. We literally ate all of them before I even thought to take a picture - they were so good and I was STARVING.

I'll definitely be making these more often in the future.

Exciting Gluten Free News!

2011-02-28T13:15:00.001-08:00

I just was reading the Gluten Free Appetite blog and saw that Kellogg's will be debuting new gluten free cereals (and snacks) around 6 months from now and there will be gluten free Rice Krispies! Woo hoo! Hoping they make a few more cereals GF as well.

Big news! I need to tell my sister - she is a cerealholic. Not a word, but you know what I mean.

Anyway - check out the GFAppetite blog for more information!

View from my office the other night

2011-02-23T11:57:00.000-08:00

How gorgeous? Love that the sun is going down later & later.... cooomme on spring! you can do it!

(have a STACK of recipes I need to start working on --- heading to VT for a long ski weekend, will blog when I'm back!)

Buttermilk Baked Chicken

2011-02-18T07:57:00.001-08:00

How is it Friday already?! WOO HOO - long weekend.

So, the meal plan fell apart last night - but I think we'll nix the veggie cassoulet, and do shrimp & grits tonight for movie night with the hubs.

I did make the Buttermilk chicken recipe (that I found here) on Wednesday night though. I thought this was OK. I probably wouldn't make it again, although I would make breadcrumbs like this again and switch up the recipe a little bit. Here it is:

Buttermilk Baked Chicken

Vegetable oil, for baking sheet -- I just sprayed EVOO spray on baking dish
8 slices bread --- I used UDI's of course, and only 4 slices
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon hot-pepper sauce
Salt and pepper
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese (2 1/2 ounces)
1 teaspoon dried thyme
4 pounds chicken parts (preferably legs, thighs, and wings), rinsed and patted dry --- I used chicken breast & legs, and only used about 2 lbs

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Generously rub a baking sheet with oil. In a food processor, pulse bread until it turns into coarse crumbs.
In a large bowl, stir together buttermilk, hot-pepper sauce, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. In a separate bowl, mix breadcrumbs, Parmesan, thyme, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper.
Place the chicken in the buttermilk mixture, turning to coat evenly. Working with one piece at a time, remove chicken from liquid, letting excess drip back into bowl; dredge in the breadcrumb mixture, turning to coat evenly. Place coated chicken pieces on prepared baking sheet.
Bake until chicken is golden brown, about 35 minutes.

Here is the bread in the food processor, before:

And after: My little assembly line dunking the chicken in the buttermilk mixture, then crumbs, then baking sheet:
Finished product:
Not bad.... for some reason this tasted better as leftovers... I think the mix of hot sauce & thyme was a little weird... Maybe more seasoning, no hot sauce next time! I also sliced & roasted brussel sprouts in a little olive oil and season salt, and red potatoes on the side!

OK - now I have about half a carton of buttermilk left -- what should I make with it??? Have a FABULOUS weekend everyone!

Tuesday: Pressed Mozzarella Sandwiches

2011-02-16T07:32:00.000-08:00

I forgot that I had a dance class yesterday on the later side, so I didn't have time to do the Buttermilk Chicken -- that will be for tonight!

Instead - I made the pressed mozzarella sandwiches that I had seen, and drooled over, here. I knew it would be pretty fast, and I had just gotten a jar of Giada's Pesto last weekend at Target that I wanted to try.

Really liked this pesto! It tasted fresh, and had a hint of sweetness that I really liked.
These sandwiches were YUM. Pulled out the panini press (which has been gathering dust as of late) and used the following:

UDI's Whole Grain Bread
Giada's Basil Pesto
Fresh Tomato
Fresh Mozzarella
Red Pepper Flakes
EVOO spray

I was pretty impatient and didn't wait long enough to let the cheese melt all the way through, but my husband did. His regular bread also held up a little better to the pesto, but we both loved this & will definitely have it again for a quick & easy dinner.

Monday: Salad Nicoise

2011-02-15T07:37:00.000-08:00

We had been eating heavy food all weekend and decided we should start off the week with something on the lighter side.... One of our 'go-to' meals for the summer in Salad Nicoise, pronounced 'nee-suaz' (or, my take on it at least).

My mom always made it this way, and I tend to vary the ingredients depending on what we have in the house. Traditionally it's tuna, green beans, potatoes, olives, egg, and I think, anchovies... But here's how I made it:

Canned tuna in water (we're trying to eat light here, not the stuff in oil)
Small red potatoes
black olives
fresh green beans
Capers
Ken's Original Italian Dressing
a spoonful of Dijon mustard

I boil the potatoes first, drain, then let them cool to room temp. After those are done, boil or steam the green beans (don't overcook!), then let those cool. In a large bowl or shallow dish, mix in all ingredients with dressing & mustard - and serve! I like eating this salad room temp, not hot, and not cold. It's so easy & always tastes good.

You can get much fancier with this dish - especially if serving for a party - you may want to arrange everything separately and not mix it all together - or sear some sushi tuna if you want to get really fancy - but for a nice light meal, especially in warm weather - this is a great go-to.

GF S'mores Bars

2011-02-14T10:20:00.000-08:00

We are having a little "Valentine's Sweet Swap" at work today... and as most of you (correctly) are thinking - I probably won't be able to eat anything, but that's OK! I mean, are you looking at that picture above? I'll be juuuuust fine.

I made some super delicious gluten free S'mores Bars last night.

I used the recipe here, but had also read about them here... and just adapted it to be GF, just 2 substitutions. (I went with the first recipe because it was a smaller batch, do the second recipe if you want to make s'more, couldn't resist, sorry) And let me tell you - they are sooo good. The bars are a little crumbly though, and I'm not sure if it's due to the GF graham cracker crumbs & gluten free flour? I was also impatient and didn't wait for the butter to be room temp so my mixture started off on the crumbly side, not smooth. Maybe that messed it up?

Here's is the recipe:

S’More Bars Recipe

Prep Time: 15 mins Cooking Time: 30 to 35 mins

Ingredients:
1 stick of butter, room temperature
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 king-sized milk chocolate bars (or 4 regular chocolate bars)
1 large egg
1 1/2 cups marshmallow creme/fluff
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups GF Flour Mix (I used King Arthur GF mix)
3/4 cup GF graham cracker crumbs (I used kinnikinnick graham cracker crumbs)
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan. Use an electric mixer to cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Set aside. Meanwhile,whisk together flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt. Slowly add flour mixture to the creamed butter mixture until combined. Divide dough in half and press half of dough into an even layer on the bottom of the prepared pan.

Place chocolate bars over dough. Spread chocolate with marshmallow creme or fluff. Place remaining dough in a single layer on top of the fluff (most easily achieved by flattening the dough into small shingles and laying them together). Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until lightly browned. Be sure to cool completely before cutting into bars. Makes 16 squares. Cool completely before cutting into bars.

There they are hot out of the oven. It was hard to resist the urge to dig right in, but I waited till they cooled for a while, then tasted. In the morning I cut the entire thing up (didn't want the fluff to ooze out) to transport to work. I think next time I make these I may add MORE marshmallow fluff -- maybe even use real marshmallows, and I'll let the butter be room temp to see if that fixes the crumbly problem. Let me know if you make these!

Week of Dinner

2011-02-13T10:19:00.000-08:00

I decided that I would take a stab at planning our dinners for the whole week and shop for everything today. I tried this in the past, and found it really saved us a lot of money knowing exactly what to buy. And sure enough, I usually spend around $100 at the grocery store and today I only spent $60 --- didn't buy Friday's meal ingredients yet, and had to get some random odds & ends... but not bad!

I feel like it might be kind of tough but I'll give it a try & blog about it this week! Here it is:

Sunday: Makings S'mores bars for work tomorrow, Take out GF Pizza night (woohoo)
Monday: Nicoise Salad for V-Day
Tuesday: Buttermilk baked chicken, roasted brussel sprouts, baked potatoes
Wednesday: Saucy Shrimp & Grits
Thursday: Pressed Mozzarella & Basil sandwiches (we're having ppl over too, so snacks)
Friday: Veggie Cassoulet
(Saturday we're going to a party)

Love that I can cook again since work is slower!

Super easy & delicious dinner

2011-02-10T07:46:00.000-08:00

I was browsing through my Epicurious App on the train home two nights ago looking for something delicious & fast to make for dinner. I was craving red meat, and found this:

Sautéed Beef with White Wine and Rosemary

1/2 lb boneless sirloin steak (preferably top butt; about 1 inch thick)
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour (I used King Arthur Gluten Free Flour)
4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped rosemary
2/3 cup dry white wine

Full Recipe here: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Sauteed-Beef-with-White-Wine-and-Rosemary-357470#ixzz1DZUptqin

Check out the recipe -- I made a few minor edits --- I added shallots, only used 2 garlic cloves & crushed them, used less salt (as the reviewers noted) and used more white wine than they called for.

The only thing I had to pick up at the store was the steak and I got some fresh rosemary... I made spicy rice and sauteed some zucchini to have on the side -- this entire dinner was ready in 20 minutes and was so tasty!

Hi ho, hi ho....

2011-02-05T12:27:00.000-08:00

I am SO looking forward to this coming Wednesday when this project I've been working on at work will be OVER. I have been working until 9 or 10 every night, the past 3 weekends (boo hiss), and I WANT MY LIFE BACK.

that is all ;) thank you for indulging me in my whining. i'm over it now.

I can start cooking again and not ordering take out and eating GF noodle rice bowls every day starting Thursday. Wednesday I think I'll just do nothing.

French Macarons

2011-01-31T12:27:00.000-08:00

Do you all know, love and cherish this little french confection as much as I do? Or have you never heard of them before? And no, I'm not talking about "macaroons" made with coconut, those are good too though. These are those delightful, beautifully colored sugary treats that are big in Paris (umm, hello? Pierre Herme and Laduree??? in my best gossip girl voice, haha).

Here's a fancy pic of Ladurée macarons (not my pic)

If you do love them as I do - then you know, they're gluten free - although, be sure to double check before buying!!) -- they're made with egg whites & almond meal (among other things) to get that delicate crunchy - meringue-like texture.

We went to Paris in 2009 (remember that? full post here) and I was so excited to eat macarons, every day...

Anyway.... there is a guy I work with who is dating a fabulous woman who makes french macarons (and amazing chocolates) for a little chocolate shop here in Beacon Hill. I am lucky enough to sit near him, so that when she has "extras" or macarons that aren't exactly perfect - he brings in the leftovers to work and he has me as a best friend that day.

My birthday was last week and I thought, I should ask if she sell directly to me a big pile of macarons for me to indulge in all to myself, and sure enough - she did! I can't tell you wonderful these are. These actually taste as good (if not better) than the macarons we had in Paris. She has a magic touch, here's my assortment of cassis and hazelnut flavors that I arranged on my pretty cake plate:

OMG. So good. If you can find them, I highly recommend them. OR - maybe try making them yourself? One day I will do this. The ones that I had from Pierre Herme in Paris were rose flavored, divine, and their recipe is here. Or, I'm sure you've read Tartlette right? If not - check her out. The most gorgeous food photography, and she talks about macarons all the time.

OK - can you tell I'm obsessed?

Everyday Health GF Recipe Contest

2011-01-19T11:54:00.000-08:00

I just found a link to this Gluten Free recipe contest through Twitter.... I figured I'd post my all-time favorite GF Blueberry Muffin recipe and give it a go -- Winner wins a 32 gb iPad!!

Click here to comment on my recipe to tally a vote for me ;)

Sooo..... sign up & enter yourselves --- or PLEASE comment on my recipe so that I can win... Let me know if you post & I'll check your recipe out!

GF Cinnamon Rolls, homemade...

2011-01-19T10:45:00.000-08:00

I have been wanting to make cinnamon rolls at home for a while, and with the 3 day weekend we just had, I found a little time to give this recipe a go! I actually looked all over the internet to find a recipe, and then remembered reading about Better Batter's Pillsbury Cinnamon Roll Clone.

I went for this one because it seemed pretty easy, and there weren't too many ingredients (I don't keep a variety of GF flours on hand to make blends). I thought I had a full box of Better Batter, but I was almost out, so I had to use the rest of what I had, and then mix in King Arthur All Purpose Mix as well (I'm not sure if this affected the results, but maybe?).

Anyway - I made the dough, rolled it out in two, and sprinkled the filling on top:

I sort of just winged the filling, and didn't follow exactly to suit my tastes. Then I rolled it up, and cut little 1 inch pieces.
After rolling them up, you let them sit in the pan for about 40 minutes, then pop them in the oven to bake at 400 for 15 minutes. I actually let mine cook longer, about 20-25 minutes because the top wasn't browning, but I think I probably cooked them a little too long.

After you take them out, voila:

YUM CITY. Dont' they look great? At the very top you can see a pic with the sugar glaze poured over the top - these were fresh out of the oven and smelling HEAVENLY.

I didn't do the topping recipe that called for cream cheese and butter --- I am doing Biggest Loser at work after all (ha!) -- so I just did a simple sugar glaze mixing confectioners sugar, milk and a drop of vanilla.

These were great! They aren't exactly the texture that I was picturing, they were a little more doughy -- but I think they're yummy, and I probably over-cooked them, AND I use the correct

Estrella Damm Daura

2011-01-14T08:33:00.000-08:00

I just read a comprehensive review about Estrella Damm Daura on SureFoods Living's Blog and I wanted to see if I could find it & give it a try. The thing about this GF beer --- it's actually made from barley, not sorghum, and they remove it down to an "acceptable level" for celiacs -- under 6 ppm. Apparently products with a gluten content below 20 ppm are suitable for people with celiac disease.

I wasn't that wary of trying something that was originally made with gluten, but it was a little weird. I figured I'd try it since I had read some people thought it was great - and I was thinking, if it wasn't made with sorghum maybe it would taste close to the real thing.

My sweet husband found it for me & when he picked me up from the train he had it, so we got home, opened them up, and tasted.

The verdict: it tastes to me a little like Redbridge. Actually -- I think I may prefer Redbridge for the taste, and for the fact that there is NO gluten in it at all, and because it's cheaper. Only 4 bottles of this was $8, vs $8 - $9 for 6 bottles of Redbridge.

Still totally worth it to try though -- and I love to try new GF things, because you never know.

Anyway - check out the SureFood's Living blog if you want more info -- and she also mentions another beer called Saxon at the bottom of the article, that if I find, I will try.

**UPDATE** --- I came home last night and opened up one of these, and I must admit - I liked it better than the first bottle.... I found the taste to be richer, and I realize the smell is much closer to real beer. The first bottle went down fast actually. And it was really good. I think I may give this beer another shot. Maybe I'll do a taste test comparison with Redbridge to really see how it matches up!

Snowed in

2011-01-13T07:45:00.000-08:00

We got a little bit of snow here in New England yesterday - 2 FEET actually. It was crazy, it didn't stop snowing all day long - we stayed in all day & worked from home and I actually got a ton done.

For Matt's birthday, by the way, we ended up taking the day off work and heading north to go skiing for the day! Waterville Valley had a deal on Tuesday for $7 lift tickets, and we really couldn't pass it up. It was a really fun day - and afterwards we hit up The Common Man in Plymouth, NH (remember I just wrote about Common Man Windham) -- and got some Redbridge and snacks and sat by the fire.

Yesterday being snowed in I worked with what I had and made a quick & easy Turkey Chili. We make this pretty often because it's yummy & so easy.

Take a package of ground turkey, cook with an onion, and a gluten free, low-sodium taco packet, add canned zesty diced tomatoes, maybe some peppers, frozen corn, rinsed black beans and voila - dinner.

I also made some brown rice, cup up an avocado, and added some shredded cheddar and sour cream. This dinner was ready to eat in about 15 minutes - love that!

Husband's Birthday....

2011-01-10T06:44:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow is 1/11/11 - and also my husband's birthday!

He wants me to make him dinner & I'm struggling to figure out what to make! I have to work the entire day, so that limits cooking time. Unless I pop something in the slow cooker in the morning, although I don't love leaving the slow cooker on when I'm not there (I know that's what their purpose is, but I usually use it on Sunday).... Liz suggested Smitten Kitchen's short ribs, which is a great call actually - he loves those! But I will definitely need to leave work early to get dinner ready by 7:30 or 8....

Or I could do an old favorite - Pork Tenderloin. This dish never disappoints - I do a simple marinade of soy sauce (gf of course) fresh ginger, evoo, salt, pepper, and sometimes a dash of Worcestershire....

OR I could do a turkey meatloaf, which really doesn't sound that exciting - but he was just talking about the Barefoot version that I make that is really yummy.

Hmmmm..... i'm thinkin' those ribs might be it.

on another note - I started Biggest Loser at work, and I vowed this weekend to make healthier meals & buy better snacks for a while, but tomorrow will be a pass ;) No skimping on a birthday!

Let's just order a pizza...

2011-01-06T12:44:00.000-08:00

...Words I haven't said in a LONG time. "Let's just order a pizza". Those gluten-free eaters out there know what I'm talkin' about. I mean, GF pizza is out there, but it's usually a drive away, or something special to go out of your way for, or something you just whip up at home. But get delivered?! SOOOO nice.

My husband recently did some googling and found out that Gregory's in Reading, MA has gluten free pizza with crust courtesy of Strawberry Moon!

We got back from our vacation and had almost no food in the house, and just called up & ordered a pizza for dinner. So great! Their sauce is excellent, and we got ours half pepperoni and extra cheese. The crust has a great taste, and a good crunch on the outside (although a tad chewy, but still really good). Yuuummmm:

Look at that pizza grease! haha... anyway. I love that more & more places are popping up with gluten free options. I usually just make pizza at home when my husband orders one with my fave Udi's pizza crusts -- but he actually likes this so much that we can just split it!

I like to get my own though because this makes EXCELLENT cold pizza the next day!

Twenty Eleven

2011-01-05T10:20:00.000-08:00

Hello all and a happy belated new year.... I hope everyone's holidays were wonderful and relaxing. Mine was! Sadly, I was snowed out of MY family christmas, so we'll be doing that this weekend, but we had a great time with my husbands family and got away to Mont Tremblant in Canada for the New Year which was fantastic!

A few highlights in pictures:

It's become a tradition to have eggs benedict on Christmas morning and I LOVE IT. I make the hollandaise sauce in either my blender or in my food processor – it's so easy, and so indulgent. I put extra lemon...Perfect for a holiday morning - it's also a big mess.

As a lighter treat we also had little bowls of fresh berries.

We hung around the house & watched A Christmas Story and had a really relaxing break. Then, it was off to Canada! Mont Tremblant is a beautiful ski town with a cute little village at the base of the mountain with shops and restaurants, and lots of activities. We stayed right in the village so we could hit the slopes early, and our room had a kitchen which was excellent, so we made quite a few meals in our room which saved $, and were definitely GF. The weather was weird, it was super cold, then warmed up & a lot of fog rolled in which was pretty rough skiing, but our second morning it was SO gorgeous because the peak of the mountain was in the sun above the clouds, check it out:

Amazing right!!! It was so fun.

We also had a small "Poutinere" across from our hotel, and had to check it out one day, look at all the different varietes of poutine:

For those who don't know - Poutine is basically fries with gravy and cheese or cheese curds & various toppings. I used to LOVE this treat, at the diner at home we just called it 'gravy cheese fries' - but Poutine is so much nicer.... Sadly, I didn't have any (no gravy for me!) - but I did have some excellent fries plain at another place with white vinegar - yum.

New Years was pretty cool, the had some fun skiing demonstrations, then some awesome fireworks at midnight:
I didn't take that picture - I was over at the base of the mountain, but this pic is awesome.

I have a pretty big back-log of posts I need to get up - so hopefully I'll be posting more often!

The Common Man

2010-12-10T11:29:00.001-08:00

**UPDATE: The Common Man restaurants DO have a printed gluten free menu - just ask your server, and yes! they have Redbridge!

If any of you live in New Hampshire, I'm pretty sure you've heard of the Common Man restaurants. I love them. Especially in the winter. It's so cozy in there. There's always a huge fire roaring and I love the atmosphere (there are a few of them in NH, and they're converted barns).

Anyway - I was waiting for my husband last night while he was at a meeting and he dropped me off at the Common Man Windham because I had to do a few hours of work & needed wi-fi. Got a great little table in the bar overlooking the fire, ordered a glass of wine & got to work.

On a whim I asked if they had Redbridge - which THEY DID. So then I got one of those! I wish I had asked first, oh well. Then I got an order of their homemade potato chips - YUM. I don't think they have an actual printed gluten free menu, but when I'm there I usually get a steak & baked potato so I'm usually good, but next time I will definitely ask.

I so love it there.

Actually - the Common Man Inn up in Plymouth, NH is where we got engaged :)

Gluten Free Shepherd's Pie.

2010-12-08T12:41:00.000-08:00

It's been coooooold lately here in the northeast and all I want to eat is comfort food. I hadn't made Shepherd's Pie, um, ever? --- so I decided to go for it. I quickly found one of Rachel Ray's 30 minute meal recipes here -- and let me tell you, this is GOOD.

I made a few modifications to the recipe - but the way this recipe is set up is quick & easy and it really tastes delicious. I almost doubled the amount of mashed potatoes on top because they're my favorite. I also added some celery and finished off the top with a little cheese, nixed the parsley and did not include an egg in the potatoes. I also cooked the carrot/onion/celery a little bit longer so it would soften a bit more.

Have I ever mentioned how much me & my husband eat? Evidence:

Sandwich while working...

2010-12-07T09:55:00.000-08:00

Oh Udi's. You're so great, and you really are living up to your ad campaign, "We're Bringing Sandwich Back" - because for me, you really are. Ooh, and did you all enter to win Udi's bread for a year?!?! If not, do so here.

Side story --- I work in a pretty big ad agency and sit close to the catering women who organize all of our fabulous parties/events/meetings. They now know I'm gluten free because DAILY they come around with extra sandwiches, muffins, donuts, cookies, etc from meetings and I say NO every time –– unless it's chips, or ice cream - the latter is pretty rare though. They finally asked and I explained i was GF.

Anyway - they had a request for a meeting last week with someone who was GF, and I was all over it - I picked up a few bags of UDI's for them to have out at the meeting, and they did a meat & cheese platter, fruit, chips, etc to have out, along with regular bread in a separate basket to make your own sandwich. Apparently it was a big hit (OBVI) but I would have loved to have been in that lunch meeting & seen that woman's face when Udi's bread was in front of her!

Thanksgiving

2010-12-02T13:25:00.000-08:00

I PIGGED OUT on Thanksgiving. I am not lying, here is the evidence (my plate):

I know, it was a lot of food. And I had seconds a few hours later. yikes. Anyway ---- We went for the traditional Thanksgiving this year. Nothing too fancy or out of the ordinary, just the classics. It was awesome. Mashed potatoes, green beans amandine, TURKEY of course, we made gluten free gravy with Better Batter all purpose flour mix, mashed sweeet potatoes with marshmallows on top (which we left under the broiler just a half a minute too long, so it was a little burnt - but delicious), and of course - STUFFING.

UDI's GF STUFFING.

Seriously - pre-gluten free days I could've cared less about stuffing. Weird right? Same goes for bread baskets on the dinner table and even pizza. Pre-GF, those were not things I cared about, and then, sure enough, I can't have 'em, and I want them!

Here's how we made our stuffing:

One loaf of Udi's GF bread cut into cubes & toasted in the oven.

We chopped up some fresh sage, and some thyme:

With a generous helping of butter, onion & celery:

Added the toasted bread, into the AMAZING-smelling mixture, with some chicken broth. Side note: did you know Progresso chix broth is gluten free? I didn't till I looked at the box!

Here it is after being well mixed (YUUUM):

And after we warmed it in the oven before serving... I'm seriously drooling looking at all the pictures again. I'm definitely making stuffing again soon, not just this once-a-year business.

My sister & I divvied up the leftovers -- I tried to make a lot so it would last us at least a few days -- and mine were gone by the Tuesday after. It was a lot of good eating, I could barely eat the gluten free pumpkin pie that I bought (which wasn't great anyway).

You'd think after a day of massive eating, I'd go super healthy & detox for a few days after, yeah, I don't think so. The next morning we broke out the GF Bisquick:

Dinner Party

2010-11-30T10:25:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago I had my four of my best girlfriends over for dinner.... We were celebrating the approaching birthday of one, another's adorable baby who is now 3 months old, and the other two were visiting from not-too-far-away, but still too far to see them all the time.

I love when the girls come over for dinner. It gives me an excuse to pull out as many wedding gifts as possible, and make everything a little fancy because you KNOW the girls will enjoy it, whereas the boys could really care less.

I found this adorable birch centerpiece to put a vase of flowers in, and I pulled out my linen table runner, and my multi-colored clothes napkins and set to cooking.

To start we had some cheese & crackers and some delicious lamb chops in a cranberry chutney with port (recipe here). Sounds heavy, but it was just a bite, and they were SO good. Of course there was red wine - ooh, and another wedding gift, this fabulous pitcher from C+B filled with lemony water.

We tried not to fill up too much - as dinner included the following:

- Brusell sprouts with smoked uncured bacon that I splurged on at whole foods.
- Food & Wine's Creamy Polenta with a Wild Mushroom Ragu - made with marscapone, yum, it only called for 1 tbsp, but we added more.
- Petite filets (another splurge from whole foods) that I marinated in red wine, evoo, garlic & salt & pepper, then cooked on the grill
- GF Rosemary & Thyme Against the Grain baguette, toasted (also regular baguette, as I am the only one GF)

DELICIOUS.

There was dessert too, but I didn't take any pics! I'm so bad with remembering to take pictures.

The company, food & wine were all perfection. I love girls nights.

turkey day is tomorrow...

2010-11-24T08:35:00.000-08:00

I have been so busy at work I haven't had time to blog about the fabulous girls dinner party last weekend and the amazing meal we made, or the yummy shepherd's pie I made the other night, but I will! Later this weekend ;)

I'll try to take some pics during our Thanksgiving feast as we have some delicious GF items we will be making --- I'm sure you all do too!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Quick & Easy Chicken Soup

2010-11-09T12:01:00.000-08:00

My husband has been sick a couple times this fall already (knock on wood, NOT ME!) and he loves when I make him this chicken soup. I change it up everytime based on what I feel like adding, or what's in my house, etc.

My local grocer sells these rotisserie chickens for $3.99 which is such a fab deal - and I usually put most in the soup, and then can save the rest for whatever (sandwiches, chicken salad, etc)

Here's how I do my soup:

One swirl of EVOO in a large pot, then throw in cut up carrots, celery, onion. Let those soften for a bit, then throw in a can of no salt added tomatoes diced or crushed, whatever you like. Then add in chicken stock, crushed red pepper (husband loves spice, and even more when he's sick), parsnips, fresh thyme, crushed black pepper, a spoonful of Dijon mustard (I know, weird right? but a good addition!) I then let this boil & cook for a while till the parsnips are soft. Then I shred the chicken off the bone & throw that in, and sometimes throw in some cannellini beans, or a little GF pasta, or some rice -- whatever you feel like! I love that about soup! Just be sure if you're adding rice or pasta to have more liquid than you would think to add.

Then serve! I usually sprinkle a little parm or pecorino on top. Perfect for a cold dreary night, which is exactly what we're getting tonight in the northeast!

New GF product obsession: Canyon Bakehouse

2010-11-02T06:26:00.000-07:00

OK everyone. I found a FANTASTIC new gluten free product at Whole Foods last week.

I was walking through and happened to go by the regular bread section and saw the words "Gluten Free" looking at me on the shelves. Not in the freezer, but out in the open. I hadn't heard of this product - and had to try it. I grabbed Canyon Bakehouse's GF San Juan 7-grain bread and their GF Rosemary and Thyme Focaccia.

YUM:
I am already on my second loaf of the 7-grain bread. It's amazing.

Now -- I've been a huge Udi's fan for a while -- and I definitely still love it. But what I love about this bread is that it has whole grains, is thick and spongy like I remember read bread feeling, and it tastes absolutely amazing.

I've noticed recently that my Udi's has been a bit dry and crumbly. Just look at this toast:

My husband actually made me an egg sandwich this morning for breakfast and I had to ask him if he was SURE that this was my gluten free toast and not his - for real!

I was actually a little hesitant because I don't usually like bean flours -- I have WANTED to like bean flour because I know that are more nutritious, but I've always thought they gave a weird soapy taste - but not here!

I also bought the Rosemary Thyme Focaccia which is sooooo yummy. I had it as toast, and actually I ate some leftover meatsauce from last week with hunks of this bread. My husband also loved it and was mad I was hoarding it without sharing (haha), here's a not great pic of it from my phone as a snack at my desk:

Anyway - I'm obviously a fan! I would LOVE IT if they would reach out and let me host a giveaway so I can let some of you try this product! Especially if there is not a Whole Foods near you - although, you can order online, here.

Next on my list is to try there White Bread, Cinnamon Raisin, Hamburger Buns! Basically, all of their products.

OH -- the prices weren't bad... Online in the store 1 loaf is $4.99 -- I believe I bought it in the store for about $5.29 -- so comparable to Udi's.... Also - here is a quick side by side of the nutritional facts for Udis vs Canyon Bake house:

Click on graphic to read at full size

Snyder's Gluten Free Pretzels!!

2010-10-27T08:36:00.000-07:00

WOW -- Just heard about this today! Snyders has gluten free pretzel sticks! I hear they cost less & are crunchier than Glutino's version. I also checked out the calories here, and that is definitely better than Glutino's! Only 1.5 grams of fat and 110 calories for 30!

There is a full review here, on Triumph Dining.

**UPDATE**
Found these in Whole Foods this weekend!

They are good! The bag was like half the size of regular pretzels (why do they always do this?!) but it was a very good, 'normal' price, even at Whole Foods.

They are REALLY crunchy - like almost too crunchy, but have an excellent flavor. They were also smaller than I envisioned for some reason -- but are making an excellent snack at work today. yay!

Bolognese from Florence

2010-10-26T07:59:00.000-07:00

I wanted to share with you all this fabulous recipe I learned to make years ago while I was doing a semester abroad in Florence, Italy. I took a weekly cooking class while I was there - and this was one of my favorite things!

Over the years I've evolved the recipe, and I change it slightly each time I make it - it's ALWAYS good, it's pretty hard to mess this up. I usually do this on a Sunday since it takes a while, and needs to be looked after, but you can make a ton & keep to eat throughout the week! It's an excellent leftover!

This is more of a Ragu than a 'sauce' - it's very meaty, and there is definitely more meat than tomato - so if you're a vegetarian, this is just not for you.

You begin by finely chopping (or use your food processor) 2 medium onions, 3-4 peeled carrots, and 2 celery stalks, also known as the mirepoix. I personally like a few more carrots because I like the sweetness it adds to the ragu, and less celery - so go with what you like.

Sauté these in a little olive oil until onions are translucent... If you used the food processor this goes pretty fast. Then add your generously salted & peppered meat. This time, I used a mix of ground beef and ground pork - about 3.5 lbs. Sometimes I just use beef. FYI, it does NOT work with turkey.

Anyway - add the meat and mix in with the mirepoix, cook until meat is no longer pink, medium-high heat - add in 1 small can of tomato paste, mix it thoroughly, then add about a cup of dry red wine. Let the wine cook down.

Next add in 1 large can & 1 small can of crushed or diced tomatoes. (When I learned in Italy, they used the cans of whole tomatoes in sauce and let them cook down, but I find it easier to use the already diced or crushed tomatoes). Then add in as much chopped basil as you like.

Let cook on medium/medium-low for around 3 hours.

Here is is after about 45 minutes of cooking, still soupy:

As it cooks you will need to stir every so often. You'll start to see the amount of liquid become less & less as it cooks after a couple hours - add in beef broth to the mixture and let that cook down.

This little menace was circling the whole time I was cooking:

At the end it should not be 'saucy' at all, and you'll notice if you taste as you go, that the flavor will be much more rich than when you first started. Here it is cooked way down at around 3 hrs:

Serve over your favorite GF pasta (penne or spirals are best for this meaty ragu) and sprinkle a little pecorino romano on top & serve!

Quick & Easy Bruschetta

2010-10-25T14:42:00.000-07:00

I was at Whole Foods and saw Against the Grain's Rosemary Baguette and decided it would be fun to slice it up and make some easy bruschetta.

Originally it was for company on Friday night, but I ended up making it on Sunday afternoon when the entire house smelled delicious for a bolognese sauce I was making, and having to wait a few hours for it to cook!

I cut up a vine-ripened tomato, half of a red onion, and a few basil leaves, mixed them in a bowl with a touch of olive oil, and added a little to the top of each sliced piece of baguette (the only problem with these are the sliced pieces are teeny tiny, and there are some big holes so it's easy for tomatoes to fall through)... I sprinkled a little pecorino romano on top, and put them in the toaster oven at 375 for about 10 minutes.

DELICIOUS treat.

And it held off our growling stomachs until the sauce was ready to eat! That post is coming tomorrow.

Risotto — Two ways

2010-10-22T10:29:00.000-07:00

For some insane reason, I used to not really like risotto. Not sure what was wrong with me, but I came around, especially after going gluten free.

It's not as hard to make as some people think, AND there is no heavy cream or cheese involved in the making of risotto that gives it that super creamy texture. It's just that way naturally! You may have all known this, but my husband actually asked to watch me make this because he did not believe that I didn't put a pound of cheese or two sticks of butter in when making this.

Last night I made Butternut Squash Risotto. Soooooo good. I was going to include pancetta, but didn't have any so I cut up a little canadian bacon and threw that in there.

Let me apologize NOW for these horrific pictures. I have a ton of recessed lights in my house, but I'm always cooking late and cannot figure out how to get good pics -- anyone? anyone?

Anyway - I roasted the butternut squash for about an hour at 400, and started the risotto while that was still roasting. When the squash was done I cut it up and added it in right at the end along with the canadian bacon.

A couple weeks ago I found some packets of dried mushrooms on sale and bought them with Mushroom Risotto on the brain and voila:

This also came out great. I had a mixture of dried mushrooms including oyster, porcini, shittake, and morels. You bring the dried mushrooms to a boil and cook until soft - then put aside making sure to keep the broth.

Both came out great - not sure if there was a favorite - they're both so good. And I adapted both recipes from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything, of course.... If you want the full recipe let me know.

Stuffed Acorn Squash

2010-10-20T08:28:00.000-07:00

I made such a delicious dinner last night (if I do say so myself) and it was all things I already had in the kitchen, which I love!

I was browsing some blogs yesterday and saw Liz's fall inspired recipe for Stuffed Squash, realized I didn't have all those ingredients, then found this on Food Network.com, and figured I could sort of combine those recipes, plus what I had already to make this:

Allie's Stuffed Acorn Squash
(serves 2)
1 acorn squash
a bit of butter & maple syrup for squash
1 package ground turkey (sausage would have also been great)
1 onion
2 carrots
1 large celery stalk
1/4 cup sweet corn
1 crush garlic clove
1 cup cooked brown rice
1/4 cup white wine
1/2-1 cup chicken stock
1 tsp (or more) cinnamon
Pecorino or whatever cheese to sprinkle on top
salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 400. Cut acorn squash in half, remove seeds, place on pan with a dab of butter and a bit of maple syrup in the halves. Sprinkle with salt & pepper. Bake for 45-50 minutes.

Before:

After:

In skillet brown turkey (or sausage) with a bit of olive oil. Remove meat, then sauté chopped carrots, onion, celery (I think an apple might be good mixed in here too!), with garlic. Add white wine to deglaze pan and let cook down for a bit. Put turkey back in, mix, then add half the chicken stock. Let cook for a bit, then add in cooked brown rice, sprinkle in cinnamon, salt & pepper to taste, the rest of the chicken stock and let cook.

Then stuff the halves with the delicious filling, sprinkle with pecorino - YUM.

I enjoyed mine with a Redbridge watching Glee :)

Eataly — NYC

2010-10-19T11:38:00.001-07:00

I was in NYC this weekend for a friends birthday and had been hearing and reading so much about Mario Battali's Eataly, that I just HAD to go. I knew it would be a mob scene, and it definitely was. But it was pretty cool to check out. I would recommend going NOT on a Saturday, or in a few months when the hype dies down.

Inside Eataly

I was mostly interested in getting gelato, cured meats, and some cheeses, if I wasn't gluten free, I'm sure my list would have been: fresh pasta, pizza, and panini, but the other stuff is just as good, and less calories! We managed to find a table with a server and ordered a sampler board that looked like this:

Umm, YUM, all the things I was looking to get! It was really good. They served with a fig, some honey, and oil - and also served with fresh baked bread (which I obviously did not partake in) and to top it off we each got a glass of Bastianich Rosé that was quite good. I would have gotten another glass, but there was no way we were getting the waiter back. Oh - and you can just walk around and shop & buy things, so we also got a container of bistecca was was cooked to PERFECTION. It was $20 for not that much, but totally worth it - my mouth is watering thinking of it.

I had my eyes on the gelaterria, but there was a huge case of desserts and there were at least 5 delicious looking items that were clearly labeled gluten-free. I almost got the tiramasu, pictured, but figure on my return visit I will go for it.

Oh, and PS - they were selling white truffles in there for $2500 a pound!!! Yikes!

GF Apple Cinnamon Pancakes

2010-10-18T09:39:00.000-07:00

It's been ages since I've posted! Work has been crazy, been traveling quite a bit for fun and work, and now I think things are getting back to normal!

I've been cooking quite a bit since the weather has gotten cooler, I'll be sure to share!

My favorite thing I've made in the past two weeks? These babies:

Umm, yum. Look at how light & fluffy there are too! We had a TON of apples from going apple picking, and after making an apple cake (that didn't turn out that good actually) and an apple pie, these sounded like a great idea - and they were. Sooo good. I'm not sure why I never thought to make this before?

We used the Gluten Free Bisquick, then chopped up the apples into little pieces, sprinkled them on the cakes, then sprinkled a little cinnamon mixed with sugar on top, like so:

I am definitely making these again in the very near future.

KIND bars

2010-09-14T04:21:00.001-07:00

Thank god for these fruit & nut bars at Starbucks!

Baltimore/DC this week

2010-09-12T13:56:00.001-07:00

Hey all! I am at the airport waiting to fly to Baltimore, I am there till Wednesday then heading to DC until Saturday.

Any GF food recommendations?

I will be in the Fell point area in Baltimore and staying in the Dupont Circle area in Washington.... Let me know! Thanks!!

Gluten Free Bisquick Review

2010-09-09T09:12:00.001-07:00

Review: AMAZING.

More to come + pics .... had these GF pancakes for breakfast today & they were simply delicious! Fluffy, light, excellent pancake taste, no gluten-free weirdness. YUM.

I'm slightly torn though - I still love Kinnikinnick pancake/waffle mix - it's sweeter, not as fluffy - as well as Better Batter's mix, which is definitely fluffy & good flavor - although this mix is hard to get my hands on.

We shall see.... Do you guys like this mix? Have you tried it?!

Altoids not gluten free?!

2010-08-31T12:13:00.001-07:00

How did I not see this before?? I pulled out this little tin of altoid minis i found and Wheat maltodextrin is the third ingredient, ugh.

San Fran - Bristol Farms

2010-08-31T07:46:00.001-07:00

Thanks again to Susan who gave some great suggestions while in San fran!

I was walking around the Union Sq area and the Westfield mall and came upon Bristol Farms, and found this:

Woo hoo! Always wanted to try French Meadow Bakery gf bread and here it was! Perfect for breakfast in the room!

WORK TRAVEL

2010-08-25T09:13:00.000-07:00

Hey All.... I'm heading off on Sunday for a week of work-travel...Luckily, I'll be in San Francisco the whole week, not too shabby!

Not luckily, though, it will be LOOOONG days at various locations around the city.

They will be feeding us the whole time (Kraft service style - will probably be a variety, but i'm guessing i'll be eating a lot of salads & chips), but I'm planning on bringing a loaf of Udi's and a handful of Lara Bars -- any other suggestions?

I don't think it will be a huge issue because I'll be staying right downtown (already googled & found GF pizza within a few blocks of my hotel) - but I'm just slightly worried about the days.

What is some good food-on-the-go that will keep me full?

Puffin's Multigrain Cereal - Gluten Free!

2010-08-23T09:17:00.000-07:00

As some may have noticed, I'm not a huge cereal fan for breakfast (i need my eggs!) but my sister just told me about this somewhat new kind of Puffins that are gluten free that I just had to try. I also like to have cereal sometimes for an afternoon snack at work.

Pre-celiac I used to love original Puffins, and after diagnosis I tried the honey-rice (the only gluten free version they had at the time), and didn't love it. But this one really reminds me of the original - I love the texture! And it's really yummy.

This cereal is also pretty good for you - whole grain, fat free, and it is made with a natural prebiotic fiber. 1 serving (3/4 cup) is 110 calories, 3 g fiber, and 2 g protein. Actually, check out the info here.

Also, I read a product review here on celiac-disease.com that has some information from the manufacturer about their use of "pure" oats in the cereal.

Have we talked about grits?

2010-08-20T06:42:00.001-07:00

I am not sure when my first 'grit' experience was, but I have always loved them. Which is funny - I am a New England girl, born & raised, and they are not really that common here. There is one diner I love in Boston's South End called Mikes Diner -- and they serve grits OR hashbrowns and I almost always get the grits, so good. And the ONLY place I have ever been to in and around Boston that I can find grits.

So, since I can't get them out I end up making them (more often in the winter) with a little cheese and a fried egg on top. So savory and yummy. Sometimes I make them with a can on condensed milk, have you ever tried it? Amazing.

Oh - and grits are naturally gluten free.

Here is a shot of yesterday's breakfast:

Blueberry Muffins

2010-08-13T07:21:00.001-07:00

Despite the recent heat, I decided to bake last week and made the yummy muffins.

Recipe from Mark Bittman's "How to cook everything", which you all know I love, and which I can always adapt to be gluten free.

GF Blueberry Muffins with lemon zest

3 tbsp melted butter
2 cups gf all purpose flour mix (I used better batter mix)
1 tbsp ground flax
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
3 tsp baking powder
1 cup blueberries
1 egg
1 cup milk
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp lemon zest

Preheat oven to 400.
Grease muffin pan.

Mix dry ingredients in one bowl. Beat together egg, milk and butter. Make a well in center of dry ingredients and mix in wet using a spatula (don't over mix).

Stir in 1 cup fresh blueberries (or frozen) and add in fresh lemon zest.

Spoon into muffin tins and bake for 20-30 minutes.

Enjoy!

Segment about the Gluten Free Diet on TODAY

2010-08-11T06:42:00.000-07:00

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

What are your thoughts on this segment?
Natalie's part about it being a "fad diet" I didn't love - it makes people think I too, am just on a diet and it's not a big deal --- so I was thankful for Dr. Raj's commentary which was excellent.

Gluten Free Bisquick

2010-07-29T12:33:00.000-07:00

Anyone get their hands on this yet? What do you think??? I haven't seen it anywhere yet.

Fish Tacos

2010-07-22T10:05:00.001-07:00

First time, actually second, time I was in San Francisco I saw a lot of signs & read many menus advertising fish tacos. For some reason, they sounded weird to me -- but I love fish, I love tacos, and they were all made with corn tortillas, so I figured I'd try them. Umm....YUM.

When we went on our honeymoon we had the best fish tacos EVER in Paia on Maui, and I have actually been trying to re-create them ever since. They're really simple, and I've found a few recipes, but I usually just make it up each time.

This version pictured above was the following:
• Tilapia - lighted dusted with brown rice flour & fried up in a pan
• Red & Green shredded cabbage - mixed with champagne vinegar, lime juice, salt & pepper
• Avocado - also with lime juice
• Scallions
• Shredded cheese (cotija would be great if you can find it)
• dollop of sour cream mixed with spices
• corn tortillas ( I quickly fried them in a pan with a brush of oil)
• one more squeeze of lime on top!

I also have followed these recipes in the past: one from Food & Wine Magazine and the other from Epicurious.

Enjoy!

And that's it!

Breakfast to go

2010-07-22T07:15:00.000-07:00

Been super busy with work - which has been great actually. This morning I saw an avocado that I knew I had to eat before it went bad and took this with me on the train today. I've made this breakfast in the past, but it's been a while.

Udi's toast, Cheddar cheese, avocado, a drizzle of fresh lime and seasoned salt. Great flavor combo.

Got a sweet treat tonight

2010-07-15T19:24:00.001-07:00

My husband surprised me with this delicious treat (sorry the pic is so dark) -- anyway, it makes an excellent dessert:

Cut up mango & peaches topped with whipped cream in a mug.

Perfect treat!

(ps - this is my first iphone blogger app post! Hopefully it comes out ok)

Food for Life Gluten Free English Muffins!

2010-07-14T07:58:00.000-07:00

I was browsing the frozen gluten free section at Whole Foods the other day and saw these:

Yay! New GF product find! Of course I bought them, I couldn't resist. The price was also a good selling point. These were $5.49 at Whole Foods, compared to Glutino's english muffins that were $6.50-ish, and then compare to my fave english muffins (Joan's) at $13!

I haven't been buying Joan's lately, it's just too extravagent to pay that much for them, even though I love them. Ooh, I almost forgot, I really like Trader Joes GF/DF english muffins (wrote about them here) but don't have a Trader Joe's that is convenient to my new house :(

Woah, side-track.... anyway, Food for Life's Multi-Seed english muffins are really good! They definitely have the nooks & crannies goin' on:

And the flavor is really good. The seeds may be throwing the taste off a little, but I like it. They're a little bit dry too, I over-toasted my first one and it got a little too crunchy. My next one I microwaved to de-frost, then lightly toasted, and that one was much better.

I, of course, had a lovely ham, egg & cheese on mine:

Check out to see if these are near a store near you with their store finder.

Found GF Pizza close to home!

2010-07-12T09:11:00.000-07:00

Friday after work we didn't feel like cooking so my husband went on a hunt for gluten free pizza that was close to our new home. It didn't take him long (love that gf is so much easier to find these days!) and we found the Greenwood Food Mart in Wakefield, MA had gluten free pizza! Hooray!

I'm happy to say it was delicious, not ridiculously expensive either. I ordered a standard cheese and we took it to the lake next to our house and enjoyed it outside. The weather has been brutal in the northeast, upper 90s/100s all week - so it was nice to be able to sit out and not run for the AC for a change!

I definitely have a go-to spot now for pizza close to home. I love that!

Snickers?

2010-07-08T07:18:00.001-07:00

I had a craving for chocolate yesterday - which is actually pretty rare for me, I would much rather indulge in a chip of any kind - so I paid a visit to the vending machine and got a Snickers.... And a little while later, felt glutened! Ugh, I felt gross for a few hours...

What the heck, i thought Snickers were gluten free? Anyone else have this? I'm just going to avoid them from now on I guess.

Loving seasonal fruit right now...

2010-07-07T09:34:00.001-07:00

especially:

also loving my new "Hipstamatic" app on my iphone - although this isn't a great example, it works best outside.

Happy 4th!

2010-07-02T08:26:00.000-07:00

I'm off shortly to the beach for the long weekend! Can't wait to relax for 3 and half days!

Hope everyone enjoys a fabulous 4th ;)

Best Gluten Free Pizza crust - hands down.

2010-06-28T13:32:00.000-07:00

Udi's does it is again.

OH. MY... this is by far the best pizza crust yet. The flavor is what I think real pizza crust used to taste like, the crunch and the crust was perfect, soooo delicious, and it was dusted in cornmeal along the bottom which I LOVE and makes it taste so authentic and fresh out of a brick-oven. Just look at that crust in the pic above....

I brushed my de-frosted crust with olive oil, spread on some pizza sauce, 5 dollops of ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, sauteed onions, some fresh pecorino, then topped it off with fresh arugula and a spritz of lemon juice.

I have been wanting to make this pizza EVERY DAY. But I restrain myself. Barely. I made this last week and almost a week has passed, so I think that's what I'll be making tonight ;)

And the winner is.....

2010-06-28T11:05:00.001-07:00

#4 - Mrs. C !!

(I plugged the 7 of you who entered into Random.org to pick a winner )

So Mrs. C - I will email you directly to have Better Batter mail you the goods! Thanks for commenting everyone! Hope I get to do another giveaway in the future!

Better Batter Giveaway!

2010-06-23T07:56:00.000-07:00

I have been totally M.I.A with the blog - busy summer so far! Still getting settled into our new home and my sister got married last weekend! So I've been at shower/bachelorette/wedding for a few weekends...And now it's over :(

Anyway - I have some great reviews and a giveaway from BetterBatter! One of my faves! :)

They were recently kind enough to send me their new Pancake/Waffle Mix, some All Purpose Mix (of which I am already a loyal user) and their new Brownie Mix!

Here's a few pics & things I made.... The Pancake & Waffle Mix is awesome. Great flavor - very thick & fluffy pancakes. My only gripe with the Kinnik brand is they are very thin, so this is perfect! I had to experiment with the amount of liquid a little bit, on the first try, too thick: But I got them right after adding a little more milk into the batter, and ended up with delicious fluffy cakes! On the instructions it gives you options to add a little liquid up to a certain measure. I did the full measure plus a little & got them the way I like 'em. YUM. Excellent!

We also finally got to try out our waffle maker we got from the wedding! The waffles were PERFECT. Crunchy, excellent flavor, tasted delish with some syrup & sausages. OMG, I can barely write this I'm drooling. So, I'm a big fan of this new mix! I also made the brownie mix and to be honest, I ate the whole tray and didn't get a chance to take a picture! I don't even usually like brownies, but these were really really good. Again, excellent flavor - texture is a tad grainy at first, but not anything you would notice -- my husband actually asked if they were gluten free (like i'd make a whole tray of brownies non GF just for him - yeah right!) so, that's a good sign. We made some Brownie sundaes a couple of hot nights that were quite decadent. So much for dieting!

As for this All Purpose Mix.... This has been my go-to mix for a little over a year. I've posted about it before. It's great. It's worked in everything I've used it for. A few items:

I posted the Banana bread & cupcakes in the past. Both awesome. Last week I whipped together a quick dinner of Chicken & Capers. I dipped the chicken in egg white, then dredged in a very light Better Batter coating & fried in the pan. I removed the chicken & cooked shallots with white wine, a little butter, capers and lemon, then put the chicken back in for a bit - then poured over rice. Super quick & easy, and it's really delicious!

SO.... I'd like to offer these items to you!!! Please leave a comment and I will randomly pick a winner on MONDAY, June 28th! I will post who wins and we'll be in touch so I can ship the All Purpose mix, brownie mix, and pancake/waffle mix to you!

So exciting! My first giveaway!! Good luck :)

Breakfast on the go

2010-05-20T06:57:00.001-07:00

I was in a rush this morning so I had to eat on the train on my way in to work. I had my first Udi's bagel, my coffee in my awesome no-leak to-go mug, and read my book "Wolf Hall" - which is a GREAT book if you love reading historical fiction about Henry VIII and the Boleyn drama.

The bagel was definitely good, not crazy-insane-best-ever like the sliced Udi's bread - but definitely good. They have the best texture for a bagel, and they're a normal size, actually they're pretty big. They only come 4 to a bag, and I found them at Whole Foods, which was a bonus. I think I just had crazy high standards after the bread since it is literally the greatest thing ever. But I would definitely get these bagels again!

Sweet Treat

2010-05-18T11:45:00.000-07:00

I don't know why, but the last couple months I have been loving snacking on marshamallows in the afternoon. My sister is OBSESSED with marshmallows, she eats them all the time for snacks.

I get a sweet craving about early-mid afternoon and I don't really like sweet that much, I usually like salty, crunchy things (I have a legit chip problem) - but I find that a large handful of marshmallows totally fulfills that craving, and is low in calories.

Anyway - these freshly made marshmallows from Whole Foods are excellent.

Pizzetta - Mystic CT

2010-05-17T07:10:00.000-07:00

I was in the Rhode Island area this glorious almost-summer weekend and Matt and I decided to head to Mystic, CT on Saturday night for dinner. If you've never been to Mystic, it's a great little town with some fabulous restaurants and cute little shops, you may also remember the movie "Mystic Pizza" from the late 80s. There is also a great natural foods store that used to be one of the few places I could find my gluten free favorites!

Anyway - it was a strange night in Mystic because they were having power outages. We went to S&P Oyster to sit out on the patio, we found out their kitchen was closed, but we had a drink and a salad and enjoyed being right on the river. They also have a separate gluten free menu here! I was planning on Lobster Tacos, but we left to go see which restaurants still had power so we could eat. We strolled by Azu, which is also great & gf-friendly, but sadly, no lights on here either.

So we kept going up the street and ran into Mystic Pizza, which was JAM PACKED, and I can't eat anything there anyway. But we kept walking and saw a sign for Pizzetta just around the corner and went to go check it out. It was an adorable little restaurant set up in an old Victorian home. There was seating on the wrap-around deck, and then the restaurant was split into what was probably a sitting room and dining room. Adorable. Best part? We take a look at the menu & in a large call-out they were advertising gluten free pizza! SCORE. They also have dairy-free cheese. We sat down, had some wine, and ordered. I was thrilled to stumble upon pizza and we were just happy they had power!

I got mine with plum tomato sauce, mozz, fresh ricotta and broccoli. Matt got a non-gf with pepperoni, sausage and jalepenos (gross).... Our pizza was delieverd - and YUM. Excellent. I'm about 95% sure they use Against the Grain's pizza crust. If it's not, it tastes EXACTLY like it - which is fine with me. I love that crust, it's made with mozzarella cheese in it and it's delish.

About 10 minutes after we got our pizza, every light in the place went out - the server brought out candles for all the tables... it was pretty fun actually. I was just glad our pizza's made it through the oven while it was still on!

Beantown Bride

2010-05-13T12:22:00.000-07:00

My wedding is being featured today, and I think tomorrow on BeantownBride.com!

I wish I could do the day all over again exactly the same!!!

(sorry - totally not gluten free related, although our cake/cupcakes were all gluten free courtesy of CeliaCakes!!)

Nature's Own GF Bread!!

2010-05-12T08:00:00.001-07:00

Nature's Own has come out with two different kinds of gluten free bread!!! Healthy Multi-Grain and Extra Fiber White! You can CLICK HERE to go to their website to get nutritional information and ingredients for these new products. It looks as though it is currently only in limited release in the Atlanta, GA area at Publix and Kroger --- I'm so jealous of all of you in Atlanta/Athens area!! Hopefully all goes well in this test market and we'll all have this in our supermarkets soon!

There is a full article on celiac-disease.com here.

Let me know if you try it and how it is!!

ugggh... not cool.

2010-05-06T10:12:00.000-07:00

I just ordered in PF Changs for lunch (we have DiningIn at my work and once or twice a week PF Changs is on the list) -- anyway, they have a gluten free ordering section, so I got the Egg Drop Soup and chicken fried rice.

Well - I am currently feeling bloated, can feel my stomach gurgling, feel dizzy, kinda out-of-it and I have a headache.

Sh*t - did I just get glutened? I haven't been glutened in MONTHS, maybe even a year.

UGHHHH. So angry with PF Changs right now - my order said GF, and they delivered with GF soy sauce. I feel like this is my fault, I shouldn't order in food this way I guess - but I've ordered a few other times and I've been fine.

Great night for a ball game!

2010-05-06T06:53:00.000-07:00

Had a blast at the Sox game last night! It was probably the most perfect weather for a game ever - and Ortiz had a home run!

Anyway - first off - I didn't get a picture of my amazing meal at Burton's before the game - but I had a couple of RedBridge, and a fried haddock sandwich (yes, bread & all!!) with fries. OMG, YUM. Burton's Grill is the greatest. It's not really that cheap, but I think totally worth it, the service is excellent, and they always seem attentive and careful about the gluten free food.

Then we went to Fenway and look what I saw:

So funny! It's a tiny little section with a few bags of chips! haha, I definitely appreciate the effort though. The words "GLUTEN FREE" jumped out at me as we were rushing to our seats and I quickly took this picture on my phone. Sadly, no RedBridge at Fenway park that I could find, but I bet that day is coming!

SOX game tonight!

2010-05-05T13:54:00.000-07:00

Heading to the Red Sox game tonight --- perfect night for it! And even better, we're meeting up with friends at Burton's Grill before the game to eat some GF food and drink GF beer (Redbridge)!!! LOVE that Burton's is right next to Fenway!

I was just looking for a Blogger App for my iPhone but there doesn't appear to be one, or at least a good one -- do any of you 'Blogger' Bloggers use an app that is good? I was goign to "live-blog" at the game. Oh well! I'll just have to update tomorrow....

Udi's GF Bread - I'm an official fan.

2010-04-27T12:47:00.000-07:00

I have been hearing so much about Udi's gluten free bread, and I finally got my hands on a loaf of the Whole Grain GF Bread. I was at my local natural foods grocer and they only had two loaves left, the woman there said this flew off the shelves, so I was happy to get in there when I did!

You people weren't kidding. This bread is awesome. It tastes great toasted AND un-toasted. I actually brought a sandwich to work the other day! And it was in one piece!

So thank you blog-world for the heads up on this product! Now, Udi's just needs to get itself in all of our local grocery stores!!

Joan's now has GF Bialys!

2010-04-22T10:18:00.001-07:00

Ever had a Bialy?

Before I was GF -- I used to love going to to get either a "real" bagel or a bialy whenever I was visiting NYC. My Mom used to talk about when she was commuting to Manhattan and smelling all of the people eating bialy's on the train in the morning - STINKY!

Joan's GF Great Bakes has developed a gluten free bialy! A bialy is a soft, chewy yeast roll that has a compression in the center with cut up onion, salt and poppy seeds (and garlic usually, but Joan's has no garlic).

Pardon the terribly dark iPhone pic - but I snapped it quick before I ate obe! I didn't wait for them to fully defrost, so they may have been puffier if I followed the instructions better, but I really wanted to eat them right away, and I thought they were delicious! I put a little whipped cream cheese on one and thought it was delicious.

I LOVE Joans! It's too bad her products are just so darn expensive!

Awesome day.

2010-04-15T08:31:00.000-07:00

I officially own a home!!!!!!!! My husband & I closed last night. yay.

OK, life can start getting back to normal soon! Moving this weekend, can't wait to have a kitchen to myself (been living with family for 7 months!).... I have really missed being able to cook all the time. I have a gigantic list of recipes I've been saving from all you fab bloggers out that there I need to try out!

Julie’s Organic Gluten-Free Ice Cream Sandwich Cookies

2010-04-13T09:06:00.000-07:00

Umm, YUM.... Where can I find these?!?! Just saw that Julie's Organic Ice Cream partnered with GlutenFreeda to make these delicious-looking ice cream sandwiches.

They are made with a combination of vanilla ice cream and dark chocolate cookies (made with rice flour), and it is listed that it will be $5 for 4 sandwiches... they also say "available at supermakets" but I haven't seen them anywhere, and I will definitely start looking! I bet I can find these at Whole Foods. I will update after I find & try them!

Just in time for summer!

Are Kix gluten free???

2010-04-07T09:49:00.001-07:00

Hi everyone!

I just saw that the Kix box was re-designed and went to their site to check 'em out and notice there appear to be no gluten in the ingredients!!! Could it be?

But why are they not labeled gluten free??

According to someone from General Mills: "Kix has been reformulated so that it no longer contains oats. However, the company has decided not to specifically label Kix gluten free nor claim it to be so, as cross-contamination is still a possibility".

Soooo.... they removed oat flour from the recipe, but they're not making them in a dedicated facility, why don't they just manufacture Kix with Chex & the GF Bisquick?! Problem solved!

Anyway - i'm rushing to go to a meeting -- but anyone heard anything about Kix or eaten them? They (along with cheerios) were my favorite cereal growing up!

**UPDATE: I ate the kix & did not feel any effects of glutening (be aware though, that I am not as sensitive as some and am not sure many times that I have been accidentally glutened) anyway - they don't taste as amazing as I remember, but they're definitely good.

Vita Coco - naturally gluten free

2010-03-09T07:57:00.001-08:00

So, I decided to give coconut water another shot. Mostly because I had a lot of people comment about my previous experience with O.N.E. Coconut water, telling me I was nuts because I didn't think it was that great. I had found it thick & it didn't taste good - but now, having tried this one, I'm pretty sure I had a bad one.

I bought a little box of Vita Coco with Passion Fruit and thought it was DELICIOUS! It was light and super refreshing, and I loved the passion fruit flavor in this one! I had it the morning after a long night with my girlfriends and multiple bottles of wine, and found that this really hydrated me quickly.

Again, I found this little box (just larger than a juice box) to be pretty expensive, but probably on par with buying a bottle of Gatorade which has a ton of sugar & chemicals. Don't get me wrong, I like gatorade, but I'm really trying to eat/drink/live better, less fake stuff.

Myers + Chang

2010-03-02T06:34:00.000-08:00

This past weekend I finally got to check out Myers + Chang in the South End for dinner with another GF gal and our husbands.... We had a blast - they place is really cool, love the setting and atmosphere, very hip. The real draw for us though, was their gluten free menu!

It's not super extensive, but there definitely some good choices -- we opted to share the edamame & celery slaw, the thai ginger chicken salad served over rice vermicelli, the spicy silky tofu with peppered pork & scallions, and the indonesian fried rice.

The guys got a lot of spicy meat & other things and they were really happy with - they like spice.

We liked ours, but thought it was a little TOO spicy. The edamame & celery slaw was awesome - so was the thai ginger chicken salad. The spicy tofu was just that, spicy. Like, really spicy. And so was the fried rice. We had also asked the server if we could modify one of the other dishes & get it without sauce, but he said it really wouldn't be good, so we didn't get it - although, I wish we had gotten it anyway. Oh well...

We also had some delicious & really strong mai tai's!

So -- if you like really spicy food and are looking for a really cool atmosphere to go out for dinner or lunch, check this place out!

Peace o' Pie

2010-03-01T12:30:00.001-08:00

Hope everyone had a nice weekend! Mine was good, got a lot done, had to work a bit, but also relaxed!

Just found a new place that is serving gluten free pizza in the Brighton/Brookline area! OF COURSE - I move far away, and this opens up about 5 minutes away, typical.

I haven't been there yet, but plan on it, have any of Boston folk heard of it/been? They are only serving gluten free pizza on Thursdays right now, not sure why -- I guess they're just trying it out. They mention that they prepare it separately and seem to be aware of cross contamination issues.

Anyway - it's called Peace o' Pie - gourmet vegan pizza... Let me know if you've been!! If it's good, I'll have to take a drive out there one of these upcoming Thursdays!

Have a great week!

Closed: Anello's in Portsmouth :(

2010-02-12T13:12:00.000-08:00

I was lucky that I was able to get into Anello's Gluten Free Cafe in Portsmouth, NH before they closed. So sad. I had one of the most delicious sandwiches, and the owner (Traci) is the sweetest woman who really cared about delivering quality, good-tasting GF products to people. She talked to me for a while about my trials and tribulations with flours, and what had a weird taste, and what was normal. Then a man came in to get some flour mix, and she gave some suggestions, and even pulled out a personal recipe & wrote it down for him so he could go home & bake it himself. So great!

I know a few of you have been there, and I'm not sure if you even knew it closed, so I hate to be the one that just had to tell you!

BUT - Traci is now doing some cooking as a private chef, so if you're in the New England area, I would DEFINITELY recommend getting in touch with her to organize something. I am just trying to figure out some kind of even to organize so I can hire her to do a whole gluten free feast!

She has a page on Facebook - Anello's Gluten Free Cafe -- friend her!

Thank you General Mills!

2010-02-03T06:55:00.000-08:00

I may be a little behind, just starting to read blogs & start blogging again. Although life is still crazy for me! Anyway -- just saw this gluten free site that General Mills came out with called LiveGlutenFreely.com -- how cool?! BTW, I really really love their chocolate cake mix... Makes the best cupcakes!

Better Batter Giveaway

2010-02-03T06:50:00.000-08:00

Did you guys see THIS POST??

WOW - Heidi made some amazing-looking gluten free pastries/breads using Better Batter mix & is doing a great giveaway... check it out!

ps - i neeeeeed to make cinnamon buns. how good do those look?