Thursday, April 26, 2007

GF in Seattle


Our trip to Seattle was an eye-opener, to say the least! The last time we visited (2 years ago) I was still pretty new to this diet and still finding my way around which foods I could and couldn't eat. It was somewhat overwhelming. But this time it was different. Very different. I found that the waitstaff in the restaurants were very aware of what foods contained gluten and wheat and so my comfort level was established right from the start. We ate out every day- which is also something I am not used to- but the choice of places- especially Thai food- was never ending! Our first night out we ate at Coastal Kitchen. Here the waitress responded to my questions by showing me on the menu what most customers ordered who had a wheat and gluten diet. Wow! I am so used to expaining and questioning and asking the waitstaff to check with the kitchen and on and on. Not necessary here- and by the way the food was fresh and delicious. My highlight was the bakery at Pikes Place- Cinnamon Bakery?-I think. I had my FIRST experience in two years of being able to go to a bakery and eat a freshly baked cookie- Pumpkin and Peanut butter chocolate chip- yum! We went back twice to this spot- I had to get some treats to bring home. We visited other places, many markets and grocery stores- and there truely seemed to be a heightened sense and awareness of the gluten and wheat free crowd. It's starting to happen on the east coast- and we came back even more determined to be a part of this. We plan to have freshly baked goods so others can have the experience that I did! By the way, that picture is Chelsea with her favorite- mango tofu cheesecake. So- we're back- and we have lots of work to do and looking forward to it!







Sunday, April 15, 2007

Seattle Bound....

We're off to visit Chelsea and Matt. I hope to visit several GF establishments and learn as much as I can about what makes these places "tick", so to speak. In the meantime, I received a new magazine yesterday called:"Living Gluten-Free." It was interesting- articles about how colleges are adapting to gluten free diets. Also, I didn't know that Catalina salad dressing by Kraft is gluten free! That's good as I always liked that one. Another good magazine that I have ordered for a few years now is "Living Without"- very helpful.

Meantime, we will miss the little guys- but hopefully we'll speak to them alot while we are out there. We'll take lots of pictures and I promise to share whatever I learn by way of recipes and the like. Now if the weather will improve....that would be nice!

Sunday, April 8, 2007

Oh.... heavenly pie!

Passover has come and gone- but there has always been one dessert that I love- we call it heavenly pie. I first had this at my in-laws years ago and always loved it. Now I realize this is a great gluten free treat! The recipe is as follows:

1 1/2 cups of sugar
4 eggs separated
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
cool whip (it's non dairy for those of you, like me, who need lactose free)
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon lemon rind

Beat eggs whites stiff and gradually ass one cup of sugar and then cream of tartar. Fold in to the bottom of a greased pie pan and bake at 250 degrees for an hour and then cool. Once the "crust" is cooled, beat egg yolks and 1/2 cup of sugar and add lemon juice and lemon rind and cook in a double boiler until the mixture is thick. Let cool and then mix 1/2 of the lemon mixture with most of the cool whip and spread this mixture into the shell cover. Next, take the remaining cool whip and cover the top of the pie. Chill for 24 hours. Mmmmm- heavenly!

Bread....for me???



Finally- bread that tastes good! Hubby made this for me- it's called "quick white rice flour flatbread" and it is yummy! (from "The Wheat- Free Cook" book). I tried toasting it and it's even better. Now we need to figure out a way to widen the loaf- we are going to try this in regular bread pans and hopefully we'll get a better shape for sandwiches. I have been getting soooooo tired of frozen breads that I have been buying- most little to no taste. This one however is a keeper! Yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Monday, April 2, 2007

we got teff!

Chels wanted me to try a new food- I have a tendency to avoid straying too far, actually most of the time eating the same old, same old. So she decided to make brownies- using Teff flour and a new cook book that I just heard about from public radio. The recipe for these brownies that you see in the picture are from: " The Wheat-Free Cook " by Jacqueline Mallorca. At one point in time she was James Beard's editorial assistant. That was enough recommendation for me and so I went onto my trusty Amazon account and ordered it. The brownies are fudgy- keep well in the fridge and are yummy! But best of all- I tolerated them with no problem- so yeah! I am expanding my horizons! Thanks Chels!

Sunday, April 1, 2007