Simply Gluten Free

Gluten free in London

2012-01-01T03:58:00.000-08:00

At the beginning of December we decided to take a quick trip to London since we are basically just across the English Channel from London! Here are some of my recommendations for restaurants.

Mermaid's Tail

Gluten free fish and chips here! However staff does not speak very good English. My husband and I both ordered fish and chips (one obviously GF) and when they delivered them to us, the server was unable to tell which one was gf. But thankfully the chef came out to show me. I am not sure if they fry it in a dedicated fryer, so I might be weary of cross contamination. I was just so excited to eat gf fish and chips that I was willing to risk a little cc. However, I didn't feel sick at all afterwards. And the fish and chips are DELICIOUS!

Muffinski
This place offers gf muffins, which I was so excited about. I don't think I have ever had a gf muffin that wasn't made either in my house or a friend’s house. However, the muffin was honestly disgusting. If it hadn't have had chocolate chips in it I probably would have thrown it away after taking the first bite. Yes it was that bad. Not sure if any of you have tried any of their other muffins or have different reviews, but this is my opinion. Also I am not sure how careful they are with cc. This is an unfortunate side effect of eating gf getting so trendy. Many places are able to boast that they serve gf meals, but you aren't exactly sure if they understand the dangers of cc for us with celiac disease, intolerances, or allergies. So my view, skip this one.

Chiquito(leicester square)
This is a tex mex place right on Leicester square. Honestly we were a bit weary that it might be a tourist trap, meaning high prices, bad food. But it was amazing! They had gluten free enchiladas on the meaning and the food was authentic Mexican in my opinion. It was such a nice change from the oh so French cuisine in France! Mostly we were impressed with actually getting to eat REAL sour cream! The staff was really friendly and he prices were affordable. I HIGHLY recommend this place.

Carluccio's
Great staff, great Italian food. This place has wonderful homemade good quality Italian food. The staff was incredibly friendly and very knowledgeable about gf. We stopped here for lunch and really enjoyed the atmosphere as well.

Masala Zone
Amazing gf Indian food here. Upon saying I needed to eat gf, the manager came right over and explained what dishes I could have, which was most of the menu. You get a great mix of dishes here and you get a lot of bang for your buck! I felt very comfortable eating here and the food was some of the best Indian I have had EVER!

Itsu
Japanese take away restaurant with gf options. I was given a list of items I could and couldn't eat. Not a whole lot of options. The sushi was sub-par, but the soup I had was incredible. I would go back again just for the soup, but stay away from the sushi.

Hotel:

We also stayed at an amazing hotel that had gf options. It is called the London Elizabeth hotel right in front of Hyde park and steps away from the metro. They were able to provide me with gf bread for breakfast. They also had a selection of boiled eggs, fruit, and yogurt. I didn't have the English breakfast, but I am sure they have gf options for that as well. It is a bit pricey, but we were able to get a great deal on lastminute.com.

Gluten free air travel: which company to take!

2011-09-14T02:33:00.000-07:00

"Living" in three different locations I travel a lot. My new routine has become spending 10 months in France, 1 month in Alaska (sometimes fitting in a trip to see my relatives in Washington), and 1 month in Quebec. Unfortunately all of these trips require travelling by plane and spending time in airports, which is always difficult for celiacs. However, after travelling so much I have some tips on which airlines provide can off you a good gf experience

Airline companies:

Alaska Airlines: Do not provide free meals anymore, but what airline does?? However, they do offer a gluten free option. Check out the link below! I am pretty excited about this option, as I frequently use this airline to travel between Alaska and Montreal.
http://glutenfreeappetite.com/blog/item/alaska-airlines-goes-gluten-free

KLM: This company provides gf meals and they are very careful about CC. They give you your meal before anyone else, it is completely wrapped in plastic and takes a bit of time to open! I have flown this company two separate times. Once to Africa, and once to Dallas, TX. The first time to Africa the food was amazing. However, this last time, which was only 3 weeks ago, the food was almost to the point of disgusting. Definitely gf, but I had to force myself to eat some of it so I wouldn't be hungry on the 10 hour flight.

Airtransat: GF meal available upon request. However it is also the kosher meal. For breakfast I was served veggies, cheese and NON gf crackers. I was also served a meal for dinner, which was decent and I didn't get sick, so I am assuming it was gf even if there was a mix up wiht the crackers.

XL Airways: No gf meals available. Bring your own snacks!!

British Airways: Good gf meals available. However, they forgot my meal on one flight (Seattle to London). Instead, they offered me a really good salad from business class, which did kind of make up for it and thankfully I had eaten before getting on the plane. But I was left with just a yogurt and gf brownie that some lady gave me in the plane. However, had no problems on the return flight.

Luftansa: Good food, great service. But forgot one of my gf meals on the flight Frankfurt to Seattle. Found another meal and made sure it was gf, so I was able to have something thankfully.

Condor: AMAZING gf meals. You pay extra for them, but definitely worth it. I had a way better meal than my husband. In fact he wished he was eating mine!

Kenyan airways: GF option available.

Gluten free eats in Anchorage, AK

2011-09-04T04:54:00.001-07:00

Let's be honest...I love to eat. I really think eating is one of my favorite activities in life. So being gluten free, I really look to obtain that ultimate gf eating experience. Sure now at most restaurants you can easily eat gluten free. But does that mean you are eating the same thing as the person next to you? Probably not. Often times you are served a chicken breast with nothing else, maybe some sautéed veggies if you are lucky. Which makes me immediately think "why did I eat here and why am I paying 15 dollars for this??" So over the past couple years I have eaten my way (gluten free of course) through my hometown of Anchorage. Now whenever I head home each summer I know exactly where to eat and I have secretly made a list of places that I have to eat at before I leave. Although I can't guarantee this mad rush of restaurant eating as healthy, I can guarantee that it is absolutely worth the experience. So folks here is my "secret" must eat at restaurant list in Anchorage.

Kinley's
This place has NEVER let me down. You can really order whatever you want and if it isn't gluten free, they will deliciously modify it to be gf. And trust me it is pretty much the same thing if not better than what the person next to you is eating! I recommend the bacon wrapped dates and any fish dish.

Ginger
I have eaten a lot at this place since being diagnosed. They have always catered to my needs and now they have a whole gf menu! Great atmosphere and great location downtown. I recommend the red curry dish.

Bear tooth
Moose's tooth's brother. This place probably will go even more gf in the next year since Moose's tooth now offers gf pizza. I imagine Bear Tooth will integrate it shortly. However, as of now you can get a lot of gf dishes at this place, without modifications. Just ask and the server will be able to check for you. On the grill side I enjoy the enchiladas. However on the theater pub side I recommend the Mandarin Chicken Salad. Seriously where else can you eat gf while watching a movie for 3 bucks?

Snow City Cafe
The BEST breakfast place ever. And now they mark which items are gf on their menu! There is a big wait time for this place, especially on weekends. But you can choose to do the call ahead option (call and put your name on the list as you leave your house). This usually saves you about 20 or 30 minutes of waiting.

Ray's Place
Great Vietnamese restaurant where you can bring your own soy sauce! They will cook with it to make your dish gf. Just make sure to ask them to use clean utensils, and avoid cross contamination. I recommend their Pho soup, it is to die for!

Crow's Nest
Great place for a romantic evening. The chef will cater to your needs. It is a bit pricy, but between the delectable treats and breathtaking view, you won't be disappointed.

Orso's
Even though this place is Italian and Italian for me flashes a big read NO sign, this place is very aware of catering to gf needs and allergies. They have delicious food and an awesome bar atmosphere. Great bar area to go on a date or meet up with friends.

And finally for Mexican food you can really eat anywhere. Alaska has the most amazing Mexican restaurants. Waiters are usually very knowledgeable and I can almost always eat fajitas or enchiladas (just ask about the sauces). I recommend La Cabana in downtown or Hacienda. For those of you who live in AK you can always find great coupons for these places on the backs of receipts. So enjoy and don't be afraid to eat your gluten free way through Anchorage!!

Montreal: Gluten free / sans gluten at Marche Jean Talon

2011-08-15T06:25:00.000-07:00

This summer we rented an apartment in Montreal so I had easy access to McGill to finish up a program. We lucked out and found a place in walking distance to the Marche Jean Talon and the metro. A definite good find! If you have never been to Montreal, you may not heard of the Marche Jean Talon, which is an outdoor market where you can find EVERYTHING and it is a gf gold mine. Fresh veggies, meats, ethnic foods, etc.

Make sure to check out these places:

Creperie du Marche
I didn't eat here, as I had already eaten way to many sarrasin crepes in France last year. However they advertise their gf crepes! Just check about cross contamination before you eat here as they are making wheat crepes as well.
http://www.creperiedumarche.com/

Saussicerie (sausage store)
many gf options here and delicious sausages! It is located at the back part of the market to the right about 5-6 stores of the bio store.
http://www.williamjwalter.com/index.html

Gluten Free/ Sans Gluten in downtown Montreal

2011-07-24T10:38:00.000-07:00

Ahh the McGill ghetto. For those of you who are familiar with Montreal, you know exactly what I am talking about! Well tucked away in the McGill ghetto is a little Jem called the Lola Rosa Cafe....

I ate at this place last summer when I was downtown and could not have been happier with the place. It is a cute little cafe tucked away on a street next to McGill. The vegetarian menu provides healthy meals, plus they label their menus for GF items, which is ALWAYS a plus in my book. It makes it a breeze to order rather than playing 20 questions with the waiter. So I highly recommend this ethincally influenced vegetarian's dream.

The best way to get there is get off at the McGill metro stop on the green line. Walk up University st and take a right on Milton. You will see it on the left with the big open windows in the front. Enjoy!

Note-French and English spoken here!

Montreal: must try this bread!

2011-07-22T14:57:00.000-07:00

For me gluten free bread has just never been that unbelievable. It is kind of like a vessel that you put delicious things on so that it somehow tastes better. In fact I never really used to put so many things on my sandwiches, hamburgers, etc, but that was BEFORE I was celiac and forced to eat this "bread" which is somewhat reminiscent of cardboard.

However, my annual trip to Montreal has changed my mind. My mother in law bought me some bread before my arrival and informed me that it was the new "hot" gf bread in town. So I smiled and nodded thank you, but really in my mind I thought uh yeah right, it probably tastes just like all the other ones.....nope, I was wrong. It is seriously that good and when it thaws out it is actually moist like normal bread. And no, I am not joking. So now you are probably dying to know the name! It is called Maison Cannelle. I have been able to find it at most natural food or bio stores and even grocery stores!

Besides the bread, the compagne is my favorite kind, you MUST try their kaiser rolls. They are legit hamburger buns that do not crumble and fall apart after the first bite. And the best part is they aren't 3 inches high, so that by the time you put your stuff in there you can actually take a bite without having your mouth as wide open as you can get it.

Finally since becoming celiac I have not been a huge muffin eater. I thought most of the ones I tried were dry, crumbly, bland, half to a quarter the normal size, you know what I am talking about. Well again my mother in law bought me some muffins and I thought hmm ok the bread was good and these guys are BIG, so let’s try them out. I wasn't disappointed, in fact both my husband and mother in law thought they were delicious. I insisted after I tried one that they must try a bite to confirm my hypothesis that this muffin in fact tasted like a "normal" muffin. And they agreed with seriousness (I can usually tell when they are just saying yes to make me feel better!). So all I can say is go out, try this product, and promote it because all the Celiac's and intolerants and allergic folks need to know about this!!!!

I have also included their website, although it is in French.

http://www.maisoncannelle.com/

My go to Thai dish

2011-07-05T15:23:00.000-07:00

I always forget how much I love eating when I am back in the states. Don't get me wrong I love eating in Europe too, or France more specifically. But there are many items you simply just can't find over there. Take gf thai kitchen microwavable meals, or even chips and salsa, and of course my go to peanut sauce. San-J company makes an amazing peanut sauce that goes on to make an even better stir fry when paired with oh so creamy and delicious coconut milk. This winning combination has been tried by many of my friends and after the first bite each one of them was hooked.

-1 can coconut milk
-1 jar San-J peanut sauce (found at most grocery stores in Canada and America)
-1 lb chicken, cut into small chunks
-1 bell pepper, cut into pieces (any size, your preference)
-1 onion, chopped
-Mushrooms, cut into pieces (your choice on the quantity)
-1 head broccoli, cut into pieces
-any other veggie you feel like throwing in there, sometimes I use celery, fresh tomotaos, carrots, zucchini, really anything I have in the kitchen at the time.

Add about 1-2 T olive oil to a deep frying pan or wok. Saute chicken for 3-5 minutes. Then add in chopped veggies and more olive oil if needed, saute for another 3-5 minutes. Then add in cocoonut milk and peanut sauce. I personally add the whole jar, but it is up to you. Simmer for 15-20 minutes. Serve over your favorite kind of rice. Enjoy this simple meal!

Gluten free pizza and beer at the same restaurant?

2011-07-03T09:48:00.001-07:00

Oh yeah, that's right. Seriously, I am not trying to tempt you into thinking of your non-celiac days of gorging on pizza and beer; I am stating the absolute truth. I recently made a month long trip back to the great state of Alaska, my home. Each year that I return I am joyous with the new developments in not only gluten free products, but in all the locally owned restaurants in Anchorage. I love spending the first couple of days browsing the stores for new gf products, new gf producers, and purchasing some of my favorite gf products that I simply cannot find in France. I also eat out way too much, insisting almost every night on hitting one of my fav restos for dinner and lets just say the list isn't short. For me, eating out gf in Anchorage has become a breeze.

Let me also bring up why eating gf has become so well-known in really, well the last year in Anchorage. For this, I would like to thank all the doctors, especially my doctor, who continue to diagnose people with celiac disease, gluten allergies, and gluten intolerances. I would like to thank Mrs. Alaska 2011 for bringing Celiac awareness to the community of Anchorage (she also has an excellent blog!). I would like to thank the world renowned tennis player Novak Djokovic who eats gf due to a gluten intolerance (although now everything thinks a gf diet is the breakfast of champions), and I hesitantly thank those who have made the gf diet so "hot" right now. Yes gf has become the new fad diet, with this diet came many new gf products and now many other products are starting to put gf labels on! So this is a positive thing. However, one must be careful at the restaurant when ordering gf, as waiters think it is a weight loss diet, rather than a lifetime, no choice diet. So cross contamination is probably not the first thing on their mind.

Ok enough about eating gf being the new atkins diet. Back to pizza and beer! In Anchorage there is a wonderful place set in mid-town overlooking the mountains to the East, that brings back so many memories for me and that place is called The Moose's Tooth. It is a locally owned pizza place with pizzas to die for that come with every topping imaginable. Not to mention the homemade sauce is in a league of its own. I can specifically remember the last time I ate Moose's Tooth pizza before realizing I was Celiac. It was a cool spring day spent at my Aunt's house up by Flattop Mountain. We all gorged ourselves on "backpacker" and "white pizza". I drove home contentedly full until about half way to my house I almost had to pull over from the pain in my belly. Literally I was almost in tears, sound familiar anyone? I arrived home, rolled around on the floor in front of my parents, and finally that is when my dad said "we have got to send her to the gastroenterologist". So yes, that was my very last memory of my beloved Moose's Tooth pizza....UNTIL 3 weeks ago! Oh yeah, that's right. The Moose's Tooth has jumped on the gf bandwagon and I could not be happier. I learned about this life changing news from one of my best friends who sent me a text something like this "by the way, Moose's Tooth has gf pizza now". This was my reaction.... WHHHHHATTTTTTT! Upon learning this news I quickly googled the website, found nothing. But then found a link to Mrs. Alaska's blog and she had thankfully written about the new gf pizza. So what did I do after this? I promptly informed my husband and family that we were going to Moose's Tooth that night, no questions asked.

So now you are wondering how my experience went? Let me just say it is one of my top three gf eating experiences. Upon entering the restaurant, I sat down to the smells I thought would never snuggle into my nose again. I quickly found the gf menu and was giddy as a child on Christmas. Gluten free salads (I quickly moved on, as I did not come there for a salad) followed by gf pizza choices and I mean choices upon choices!!! Followed by a gf dessert, chocolate cake no less, and wait, wait, gf BELGIUM beer. Oh yeah, it was official. I was in a gf heaven! My mom decided to also order a gf pizza, so we shared both an Aloha and Backpacker pizza, definitely two of my past favorites! And let me just say I was not disappointed with the beer or the pizza. In fact our server gave me a whole other pizza for free because apparently the first one that came out stuck to the pan a bit, so the chef wasn't happy?! Little do they know that gf cooking never comes out normal haha. But hey, I wasn't one to complain since I received 3 small gf pizzas for the price of two!! Unfortunately, after stuffing myself I was too full to try the delicious chocolate cake complete with coconut frosting, but on a separate occasion I did try it and it was by far one of the best cakes ever. So my hats off to you Moose's Tooth! And to everyone else, your days of pining for Moose's Tooth pizza are over, so get your butts down there STAT!!!

30 minute Gluten Free meals

2011-05-16T10:11:00.000-07:00

Ok so I have to be honest, this year I have not been the cook that I was last year. This is mostly due to the fact that I am no longer a stay at home gf cook. I have a job, I am taking French classes every week, and to top it off am doing an online grad certificate program. So let me just say that it is not me that you can find in the kitchen these days. It is either my dog cleaning up the floor in there or my amazing husband who has taken over my job. But, when I have the time, I am right back in there whipping up something (in 30 minutes or less). That's right, I have tried to become the celiac Rachel Ray and time my dinner to 30 minutes or less (but I must be honest that sometimes it takes about 40-45!), I like to call this efficient cooking because really those of us that work, who has time to spend hours in the kitchen?? So I would like to share with you my go to recipe that seriously does take 30 minutes and to top it off it is easy to clean up and you don't need a professional to organize your ingredients! It is a Rachel Ray recipe and one of my favorites. I first made it with one of my best friends when I was home over Christmas break many years ago. However, this was before I knew I was celiac. But the one thing I do remember about making this sauce was the fact that I could not stop tasting it! It is a crowd pleaser and more importantly one of the easiest sauces ever to make! But again let me credit Rachel Ray for this one!

Sasauge Fennel Pasta

*1 lb (500g) ground sausage
*1 fennel bulb chopped
*1 onion chopped
*3 cloves garlic
*1 cup white wine
*2 cans (400g) diced or canned tomatoes
*Salt
*some spice-either sirachi sauce, cayenne, or whatever you use to bring on the heat!
*Fresh torn basil leaves

Brown sausage in a sauce pan or wok. Line plate with paper towel and place cooked sausage on plate. Sauté fennel, onion, and garlic in pan until slightly tender. Add in canned tomatos, wine, cooked sausage, and basil. Add salt and pepper to taste and add your ``heat`` in. Simmer for as long as you like. You can simmer this sauce for hours if you like or you can boil water immediately for your pasta, after turning it down to simmer. I have simmered this sauce 15 min, 30 min, an hour,etc and it made no difference. Sometimes I also like to add other veggies in such as mushrooms. But it is totally up to you, make it your own! So cook up some spaghetti al dente with this bad boy sauce and maybe even top it off with some garlic bread or ``g-toast`` as I like to call it.

Thailand, a paradise for Celiacs

2011-05-01T09:56:00.000-07:00

Well I just got back from the vacation of a lifetime. Yup, that's right, Thailand! One of those places you dream about but think you will never really have the opportunity to go to. Well thanks to living in Europe and for cheap flights, it is possible!!! So after the long and wonderful hockey season, we decided to celebrate not only my husband's team winning the cup, but also the fact that he got a 3 year contract deal. So that means we get to stay here for another three years, which I could not be more thrilled about! I have a job and most importantly I have made a life here.

Ok now back to Thailand. This place is paradise and an EATING paradise for Celiacs. Thanks to the Thai diet which mostly consists of rice based things, you can eat without any major worries. I will say though that before I embarked on this journey I did quite a bit of research. My biggest question was does Thai soy sauce really contain gluten?? Well I couldn't answer that before I left and I still can't answer it after coming back! I would also like to thank my fellow Celiacs who have posted about visiting Thailand, especially the blogger from Fort Worth who blogged about her experience. All of it was very helpful.

Now down to the details.....We got a package deal, so that meant the flight, transfers, hotel, and breakfast were included. The airline was low cost, so unfortunately no GF meals were available. But I survived by bringing lots of snacks, a sandwich for dinner, and a PB and J sandwich for breakfast. For the way back I was able to bring some thai food with me, that was still just as delicious cold. The hotel was right across from Nai Harn beach. I spent the days sitting in my beach chair eating gf pad thai and drinking numerous banana smoothies. With that being said, here are my tips, thoughts, and experiences on visiting Thailand and most importantly on EATING GF in Thailand.

1. Bring your own bread! I didn't even attempt to look for anything GF there. I brought some bread for breakfast, some crackers (which I never needed), and some of these breakfast biscuit things that British people seem to love. Breakfast at the hotel was completely managable as they provided lot's of fresh fruit, eggs cooked to order, scrambled eggs, fried eggs, a delicious thai porridge made of rice and chicken, and even gf fried rice (although make sure you always ask!!).

2. Don't take your thai restaurant card. I believe that this will only confuse them more. Some thai people don't speak much English, so it is just easier I found to have someone at the hotel write in Thai: No soy sauce, No oyster sauce. I flashed this at the restaurant and food stands and it worked everytime. I was able to order pad thai, fried rice, stir fry, etc. I never got sick and it was much easier than trying to explain what I could and couldn't eat.

3. Most curries are naturally GF. I ate green curries, red curries, and even masaman curry. I even ate some fried spring rolls, which I was not completely sure about, but I didn't get sick afterwards! I believe that most of the wrappers are made from only rice, but you should make sure to ask.

4. Eat from food stands. I had wonderful BBQ chicken that was some of the best I have ever had. The more authentic the Thai food is, the less likely it is going to have gluten in it.

5. If you decide to take a boat trip, you can check ahead of time for what they will be serving for lunch. We did a tour to the Phi Phi Islands that included a buffet lunch. Upon arriving there I flashed my card to the thai waiters, who spoke no English, but they were able to point to things and say no. They had a green curry there, so I knew I wouldn't starve! I also took some snacks just in case. However, the tour itself was somewhat disappointing as our guide was terrible. However, the scenary was beautiful, but if you are looking for some killer snorkeling spots, I recommend somewhere else. The coral was mostly dead here. But if you want to see some white sand beaches and where "The Beach" was filmed, then the Phi Phi Islands are your destination!

6. Drink as many smoothies as you can, I recommend the banana one!

7. Treat yourself, get a massage! The oil massage I got cost something like 6 dollars for an hour. And if you are really feeling up to it you can go for the thai one. Although it is pretty intense!

8. You might feel sick, but remember you are in Thailand and stomach bugs are normal! Just because you are having some issues does not necessarily mean you have been glutenated!

9. Eat outside the hotel!! The hotel restaurants are expensive, westernized, and your chances are a lot higher of getting glutnated at your hotel vs at the Thai restaurant 200m away.

And finally my biggest tip of all is don't let being Celiac prevent you from visiting the world! So get going and pack your bag, book you flights, and enjoy a vacation of a lifetime!

Rouen!

2011-01-03T11:22:00.001-08:00

Happy New Year! Wow, what a whirlwind these last couple of months have been. I have been neglecting my blog mostly due to the fact that 1. I am working as an English teacher, 2. I am taking French classes here at the university, 3. I am doing grad school online, and 4. FP is cooking more than me! So I have not come up with too many crazy new exciting recipes lately.

Another big thing to mention is that we are not in Briancon this year! Right before we were going to leave Quebec to come back to France, we found out the team in Briancon folded. So for obvious reasons we had to change teams. After a couple frantic days we were told that Rouen was interested in FP, so we packed our stuff and went north past Paris instead of south and into the mountains. Things have been wonderful here and I am enjoying the new experience. We have not eaten out much here, so I have no comments about the restaurants around town, but I do have to say that France is getting way ahead in the GF department. They now carry GF pasta, bread, crackers, cookies, etc at the normal supermarket for half the price of the stuff in the bio stores. I have also applied to the social security to get my reimbursement from the government for being Celiac. Yup, that is right. I am going to get paid 45 euros a month for my GF food! Thank you France!

So for those of you traveling to this area I can point you in the right direction for GF food! And I will include some recipes ASAP!!! But until than Happy New Year and I hope everyone had a good GF holiday season!

Headed back to France!

2010-07-11T07:40:00.000-07:00

Ok ok, yes I am well aware of the fact that I have been on hiatus for quite some time. But things are soon to change. We are headed back to France in just 3 weeks, have an apartment to ourselves, and I will have ample and even more ample time for cooking (I am not even sure if you can say that!). I needless to say I am beyond thrilled. And there will be gluten free dishes being whipped up left and right seeing that there are a couple French dishes I did not get the opportunity to master, among those is the infamous chocolate mousse.

Now I know I could go on all day about the excuses of why have not written lately and bore you with the details, but I won't. I will just make it short and sweet. I was applying to a graduate program last spring, applying for jobs in France for this following year, skiing as much as possible, assisting in the local school, giving private english lesson, attending play offs, and squeezing in running and hiking with the dog. Unfortunately blogging ended up last on my list. With that being said, I got into the graduate program at Mcgill, did not get a job in France because French people are the most disorganized people in the world, enjoyed all the other stuff, and the boys did not make it to the finals, but lost in the semi finals. But not to worry this year is looking bright and I am sure I will need the occasional or not so occasional break from my online course to whip up a blog post.

On another note FP and I decided to get married this year! It was a wonderfully small wedding in Alaska with close family and friends. We also made all of our own wedding food! We had mac nut crusted halibut with a tropical salsa, grilled brown sugar salmon, many different kinds of salads, and a cake to die for that my friend made. I will post some recipes for the salmon soon. It was an amazing night and I will never forget it!

As of now I am in Montreal, well laval to be exact, staying with FP's parents until we go to France. And each time I visit this wonderful place known as quebec I learn something new. For instance, French Canadians love hot dogs and maple syrup more than I ever thought was possible. I am pretty sure it crosses FP's mind about twice a day or more as to whether or not he should indulge in a hot dog. Just last weekend we were invited to his uncles chalet for a weekend in the lake. I gladly accepted as it has been a massive heat wave here! And I bet you can guess what we had for lunch each day, yup you got it, hot dogs. Although they were not your run of the mill hot dogs, but some designer sausages, which actually was absolutely delicious! With that being said I would like to move on to talking about the types of hot dog buns you can find in quebec. You can find your designer bun, poofy and large (think one of those sub sandwich bun thingys) and you can find bread that is somehow made into a hot dog bun, which apparently made for grilling purposes. Seriously it is the weirdest hot dug bun I have ever seen and I hope that some of you have had the wonderful opportunity to see it too! AND I would also like to add that, drum roll please, they make gluten free hot dog buns! That is just how much they love hot dogs here! Moving on to maple syrup....Well there isn't much to say. French Canadians put it on everything, their beans, their toast, their eggs, their crepes. Really they probably just eat it plan! Just the other day I was eating some beans for breakfast, and FP's mom tells me there is some maple syrup on the counter and I am like "ok, oui", but really in my head I am like uhh yes ok why is she telling me this. Well turns out it was because she though I might like some on my beans!!! But who am I kidding I love maple syrup and it is a great excuse to use some. They even have a concentrated maple syrup spread for toast. I think my dad would be in heaven and probably never leave this country!

To wrap that all up...I apologize for being MIA, don't forget to go to Quebec if you want a good hot dog, and don't feel guilty about dribbling maple syrup over everything on your plate! And while you are at it maybe just eat a basket of poutine as well!!!! à bientôt!

Tourtière, a serious Christmas tradition

2010-02-18T02:51:00.000-08:00

I know, a post about Christmas! Yes, I am about 2 months off with this post, but whose counting anyway! Haha. This year has been the second year in a row that I have created the Christmas masterpiece called the tourtière. It is a French Canadian tradition that I have come to love. The first time I made it was back in good ol' Pontebba last year. FP insisted that he must eat tortière on Christmas morning, so I undertook the challenge. Since I had already mastered gf pie crusts the month before, I wasn't too nervous about recreating something that his mom so lovingly makes for the holiday season. FP's mom sent me the recipe, so really I was all set. However, I never thought that I would actually like to eat tourtière. It basically consists of a spiced meat pie, yuck right? Actually it is far from yuck. It is delicious!

So this year I made two huge wonderful tourtières, one for the Xmas party that we threw, and the other obviously just for us, especially since there are three French Canadians in the house this year instead of just one! Needless to say everyone loved the tourtières, even the Frenchies. You really can eat this dish for breakfast (served with beans and eggs), lunch (served with a salad), or even dinner. Or throw it in there for a snack or even a side dish as well. It truly is very versatile and absolutely delicious!!

Tourtière

-2 lbs meat (1lb ground beef, 1 lb ground pork)
-1 onion chopped
-2 cloves garlic minced
-1/2 cup water
-1/2 tsp. nutmeg
-1-2 tsp. cinn.
-1/2 tsp. ground cloves (optional)

Simmer meat, onion, garlic, and water in big covered pot over low heat for 2 hours or until all water has dissolved. Personally, I like to cook the meat for 1 1/2 hour covered and then remove the lid for the last 30 min. or so. I find this makes the meat more tender. After meat is cooked, add in spices, taste, and adjust if needed. It is better to add too little spices at first, then too much.

2 Pie crusts, recipe found in link below
http://glutenfreeworldtraveler.blogspot.com/2008/12/my-italian-thanksgiving-senza-glutine_04.html

Fill bottom of pie pan with pie crust and cook at 350 degrees for 10 min. Remove from oven and add in meat filling. Cover with other pie crust on top. Cook in over for 30-40 min. Remove when the top pie crust is a golden brown. Serve with ketchup!!!

Valentine's Day Soufflés!

2010-02-16T03:26:00.001-08:00

Well It appears I have not written for a seriously long time, well a bit over two months to be exact. AND trust me I can explain. The past two months were very busy due to my nannying job, which took up all my evenings, therefore I was not to be found in the kitchen! Instead you could find FP cooking away in the kitchen when I arrived home. Quite a bit of a reversed role from last year! However, the mother of the children needed a full time live in nanny, and for obvious reasons, I was not able to fulfill that. So I was the temp nanny until the other one arrived, which was about a week ago. So, as of now, I have been back in the kitchen cooking up a storm and it could not feel better. I also think that FP is a bit relieved that his job as head chef has been demoted to sous chef!

With that being said I have tried to create some dishes this week that I have been wanting to create for some time. Valentines day was on Sunday and let me be the first to say it is not my favorite holiday. As a child I hated it in fact. I remember many occasions at school where all my friends or all the girls in the school, except me, were running around with balloons, flowers, candies, and all sorts of crazy pink stuff. I can't recall really having a valentine, other than the occasional kid in your class that professes your love to you, but you on the other hand have no interest in this child what so ever! Last year FP was at a game, so there was nothing special done, and this year it was going to be the same. BUT the roomies went out to eat, so I figured ok I should probably make something nice, and let's be honest it felt so good to be back in the kitchen that I had to go all out. So by now you are probably wondering what exactly did I make, well the answer is spring rolls with handmade peanut sauce, szechwan shrimp, and the dessert....duh duhhhh duhhhhh....mint chocolate soufflés!

I had been wanting to make soufflés for quite some time and well what better place to create this masterpiece than int he land of soufflés! I had originally meant to make dark chocolate soufflés, but due to the fact that it was sunday, the store was quite limited in its items. And from my past experience as a server at a delicious restaurant called the sawyer house, I knew you could really put any flavor at all into your soufflés So I found some dark mint chocolate (the lindt kind) and decided to go with it! After doing some research I found the perfect recipe for soufflés and did not change a thing, which is usually very unlike me. SO I do have to give huge credit to the person who created that recipe and all the awesome pictures to follow. Trust me, follow this, and soufflé making is a piece of cake. Ok enough about the soufflés, really I could go on all day about how delicious they are, but I won't bore you with that! Let me just get into all the wonderful recipes, which are PERFECT for a romantic dinner.

Spring Rolls

-Vietnamese rice paper for spring rolls
-carrot cut into matchsticks
-cucumber cut into matchsticks
-1-2 cups cooked rice noodles
-Ripe avocado cut into slices
-Yellow pepper cut into matchsticks
-Basil leaves
-Mint leaves
-Cilantro leaves
-Pan filled with boiling water

Dip rice paper rolls into hot water, turning onto each side, for 10-15 seconds, or until you feel the paper start to soften. Place onto clean, dry cutting board. Place ingredients in the middle, you place all ingredients together(a touch of rice noodles, 1 matchstick of a carrot, 1 basil leaf, etc,) or just a couple things, or whatever you feel like! Then roll the long side onto the ingredients, then roll in the two short sides, and finally finish by rolling up onto the last long side. This sounds confusing, so please watch a video online if you are confused. Eat plain or serve with an Asian sauce. I prefer mine with either sweet chili sauce or peanut sauce.

Peanut Dipping Sauce
Adapted from thai.about.com

1 cup fresh-tasting dry roasted peanuts, unsalted
1/3 cup water
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. gf soy sauce
2 tsp. sesame oil
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 Tbsp. fish sauce (If vegetarian, use vegetarian fish sauce or regular soy sauce)
1/2 tsp. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper, OR 1 tsp. Thai chili sauce (more or less to taste)

Place all ingredients into blender or food processor. Blend until smooth. Add more water to create a runnier sauce.

Szechwan Shrimp
Adapted from allrecipes

8 tablespoons water
4 tablespoons ketchup
2 tablespoon soy sauce
3 teaspoons cornstarch
2 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
2 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup sliced green onions
4 cloves garlic, minced
12 ounces cooked shrimp, tails removed
1 head of broccoli chopped
1 bell pepper chopped
1 onion chopped

In a bowl, stir together water, ketchup, soy sauce, cornstarch, honey, crushed red pepper, and ground ginger. Set aside. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in green onions and garlic; cook 30 seconds. In another skillet cook onions, broccoli, and pepper in 1 T olive oil. Stir in to garlic skillet shrimp, and toss to coat with oil. Stir in sauce. Cook and stir until sauce is bubbly and thickened. Once sauce has thickened, pour shrimp mixture onto the veggies and serve with rice.

Mint Chocolate Soufflés
awesome website for recipes as well, and thank you to whoever did this recipe and all the pictures!!!

²Also, I used lint dark mint chocolate, instead of dark chocolate
²Use gf baking soda for cream of tartar

http://www.cookingforengineers.com/recipe/160/Dark-Chocolate-Souffle

Creme Anglaise
The perfect topping for your soufflé!

http://www.cuisine.com.au/recipe/Vanilla-anglaise

My French Thanksgiving, sans gluten!

2009-12-07T06:48:00.000-08:00

I apologize for this post being a bit delayed, but I have been busy nannying, cooking, and enjoying the outdoors. This year, I celebrated Thanksgiving on another day just like last year. Although instead of being a week off, I was only a couple days! I had wanted to celebrate thanksgiving on the actual day itself, but because of my nanny job I was off running the French kids to hockey practice instead of demolishing a turkey! So I postponed thanksgiving until Sunday, so that I could make it a full day event. Originally I was only going to invite a couple people to the party, but the list kept growing and growing. Finally it topped off at 15 people, but three of those people were children. I also was not able to cook a whole turkey. You see in France, apparently they eat every part of the turkey, but not together as a whole. Oh sure you can find turkey legs, turkey wings, turkey breasts, etc in the grocery store. But try and find a whole one and you are out of luck! We went to the butcher to inquire as to whether we could purchase a whole entire turkey, well rather FP did. When he was asked what he would like, he replied a turkey! The butcher and the whole entire store look at him as if he has asked for a whole cow! The butcher replies, you want a whole turkey??? Like the whole thing?? Yes, that is what I said, a turkey! She then stated that he must be English, as only English speaking people seem to want a whole turkey!After she finally calmed down she explained that the only size of turkey we could get was going to be over 16 lbs and would cost almost a 100 dollars! My dreams of a Thanksgiving with turkey were crushed. So instead we loaded up on turkey breasts and the evening turned out wonderfully. Although, I will note that when I went to the grocery store yesterday I saw a whole turkey! Yes a whole turkey sitting in the meat section for 17 dollars! hmmmm, seems like this French butcher was a bit off.

The day of Thanksgiving started off well and I found myself living in the kitchen whipping up dinner rolls, stuffing, gravy, etc. FP was a HUGE help and I think he will have Thanksgiving down pat for next year. Our guests arrived and were greeted with an array of wonderful appetizers. They had their choices of cold cuts, a cheese ball, a Mexican layer dip, and yes more cheese. For dinner we had turkey breasts, sweet potato casserole, stuffing, dinner rolls, mashed potatoes and gravy, and green beans. And finally for dessert I served pumpkin pie, apple pie, and an amazing chocolate chip pumpkin bread! The Brits loved the cheese ball, the frenchies loved the sweet potato casserole,the french Canadians loved the pumpkin bread, the English speaking Canadian loved the pumpkin pie and the lone Slovenian was a fan of the stuffing. I personally loved everything and ate leftovers for almost 5 days! It turned out to be a wonderful thanksgiving, with great people to share it with! I just hope next year we can actually find a whole turkey haha. So enjoy these holiday recipes because I will probably use a couple of them again for Christmas dinner, that is if I can convince everyone to eat something other than raclette! Bon Apetit!

Cheese ball to die for

-2 (8 ounce) packages gf cream cheese, softened
-1/4 cup grated cheese of choice, I used a mild white french cheese
-1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
-1/4 cup gf mayonnaise
-1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
-1/2 teaspoon soy sauce
-3 T freshly chopped chives
-1 T freshly chopped basil
-1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
-1/4 cup slivered almonds

Mix all ingredients together except nuts. Form into a ball. Roll in nuts to coat the outside and then refrigerate. I made this the day before the party, so it would be cold and set for the night of the party. Serve with gf crackers or chips.

Sweet Potato Casserole
Adapted from allrecipes (serves 10-12)

-3-4 large sweet potatoes
-1/4 cup white sugar
-1/4 cup brown sugar
-2 eggs, beaten
-1/2 teaspoon salt
-4 tablespoons butter, softened
-1/2 cup coconut milk
-1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Topping
-1/2 cup packed brown sugar
-1/3 cup mix of flour (I used sweet rice, brown rice, and a touch of starch)
-3 tablespoons butter, softened
-1/2 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (165 degrees C). Pierce a couple holes in the sweet potatoes with a fork. Bake in over for 1 1/2-2 hours. Once done, scoop out the inside and place in large bowl.
In the large bowl mix together the sweet potatoes, sugar, eggs, salt, butter, milk and vanilla with an electric mixer. Mix until smooth. Transfer to a casserole baking dish. In medium bowl, mix the sugar and flour. Cut in the butter until the mixture is coarse. Stir in the pecans. Sprinkle the mixture over the sweet potato mixture.
Bake in the preheated oven (325 degrees F) 30 minutes, or until the topping is lightly brown.

Dinner Rolls
http://www.bookofyum.com/blog/adeenas-gluten-free-rosemary-teff-dinner-roll-recipe-1478.html Found on this website, although I made a couple minor modifications

-3 eggs - use Extra Large!
-1/4 cup oil
-1/4 cup sugar
-1 1/4 cups milk
-1 tsp. salt
-1 Tb xanthan gum
-1/3 cup potato starch (NOT flour)
-1 cup sorghum flour
-1 cup brown rice flour
-1 cup tapioca starch
-1/3 cup GF teff
-1 Tb active dry yeast
-1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
1 Tb active dry yeast
1 tsp. apple cider vinegar

Preheat Oven to 380 degrees.* Note: I actually started these at a higher temperature, more like 450, and then turned the temperature down, in the attempt to get a crunchier crust. Try experimenting with the temperature and see what you like. Add yeast and sugar to milk. Let sit in a warm area for 10-15 min. or until the yeast starts to foam.
Beat eggs and vinegar together. In a big bowl combine all dry ingredients. Add the milk yeast mixture to flour mixture. Finally add in egg and vinegar mixture. Add oil only until you feel the dough is ready. I ended up only uses a couple Tb. Flour hands with gf brown rice flour and knead dough with hands for a couple min. Form into 13-15 even sized balls. Add brown rice flour to the balls if they become too sticky. Place on floured pan. Then allow them to rise 20 min or so. Finally brush with olive oil and garnish with rosemary before you place them in the oven.

Five minutes before you put the rolls in the oven, put ice cubes (in a pan) in the bottom rack of your oven and let them evaporate into steam. Open oven, put in your rack of rolls and let bake for 20-25 minutes. (Halfway through baking time, you may wish to turn over your rolls for even browning.)

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin bread

-1-3/4 cups gf all-purpose flour (I used arrowhead)
-1 tsp. xantham gum
-1 cup packed dark brown sugar
-1/3 cup white sugar
-1 1/4 cup pumpkin puree
-1/2 cup coconut milk
-1 teaspoon baking soda
-Dash of salt
-1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
-3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
-3/4 cup cup dark choc chunks( I used lindt 70%)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour one loaf pan.
In a large bowl combine the flour, brown sugar, white sugar, baking soda, salt, ground nutmeg and ground cinnamon. Mix together pumpkin puree and coconut milk . Add to flour mixture. Mix until all of the flour is gone. Fold in the chocolate chunks. Pour batter into pan. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and allow bread to cool. I also placed a towel over the bread for about 10 minutes once it was done.

Pumpkin Pie

-Use pie crust from last years thanksgiving page
-Follow the recipe for libby's famous pumpkin pie!

Tea time with coffee cake!

2009-12-01T01:49:00.000-08:00

I have started baking again when FP is away on the road. It gives me some sort of peace of mind and some how keeps me sane in this living situation. I wasn't sure what to make, but I knew it had to be something I hadn't tasted in quite a while. So I set off by browsing through a couple cook books that I brought here with me. When I turned the page to the recipe for a delicious struesel coffee cake, I knew I had hit the jackpot! However, I did not follow that recipe. I have found that it is better to go online, find a recipe for the real and true thing (full of gluten!), and then adapt it to be gluten free. So I again ventured to one of my favorite websites, allrecipes.com, and conducted some serious coffee cake searches. Now the best thing about this website is that you can read reviews from all those cooks out there that have tried the recipe. That is the major problem with a cookbook. The recipe may look delicious, but will it turn out that way??? On allrecipes you can read the reviews, look at the modifications people have made, and adapt your own recipe! I think I really do swear by that website now! I even have FP using it all the time as well!!!

Back to my coffee cake.....I found two delicious recipes for a coffee cake that I adapted to make sans gluten and to fit into a bread pan, as I am adamant in using that 13 euro pan whenever possible!!! I have become so confident in my bread endeavors, that I thought I was completely capable of making a coffee cake in a bread pan. Well let me just say next time I either need a bigger pan or less of the batter! I whipped up the cake in no time, dribbled it into the pan, and voila, that I was a genius! However, about 10 min. into the baking process the batter started oozing down the side of the pan. This baby rose more than I thought was possible. I am convinced it is because of the altitude. At one point I got so tired of wiping the dribbly mess off of the pan I contemplated throwing the whole thing out and cutting my loses. But I gutted it out and pulled the cake out when I thought it was done. But in honesty, I had no idea if it was done or just a disaster! But low and behold the cake turned out wonderfully! Now I must say that it looked like a mess in that bread pan and had collapsed in quite a bit, I am still convinced it was because of the altitude, but the taste was spot on. I loved it, FP loved it, and well the roomies didn't try it. One doesn't like dessert and the other, I am not sure what his thoughts were. But it just meant more cake for me!!! I personally think this cake would be a great edition to any get together or for a little tea party. In fact it would be perfect for an afternoon chat with a good friend and a hot cup of tea or coffee.

Coffee Cake
-adapted from allrecipes

-1/3 cup butter
-2/3 cup white sugar
-1 egg
-2/3 cup sour cream
-3/4 tsp. vanilla extract
-1-1/3 cups gf all-purpose flour (I used arrowhead blend)
-3/4 tsp. gf baking powder
-1 tsp. xantham gum
-3/4 tsp. gf baking soda
-3 T brown sugar
-3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
-1/4 tsp. nutmeg
-1/3 cup chopped walnuts

Topping

-2 T flour
-1-2 tsp butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a loaf pan. In a medium bowl, mix the flour, xantham gum, baking powder and baking soda together. In a separate small bowl, combine 3 T brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and nuts.
In a large bowl, cream butter and 2/3 cups white sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, sour cream, and vanilla extract. Add flour mixture and beat until well combined. Pour half of batter into loaf pan. Sprinkle half of the nut mixture on top of batter in pan. Add remaining batter, and sprinkle with topping. To make topping, cut butter into flour and add remaining nut/ sugar mixture. This creates a bit more of a struesel topping. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 45 to 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into cake comes out clean. You also may find the topping to start to brown, lightly cover with foil if this occurs.

White wine mussels and pasta

2009-11-23T01:21:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was fantastic. I finally had a day to myself in the house! I woke up with a touch of bronchitis like coughing, thanks to the massive amounts of black mold in our house. We are currently in the process of getting the hockey team to either fix it or move us, as we are all starting to get more and more sick. Ok enough about our mold problem. So we were supposed to go to EATaly yesterday with the roomies, but I didn`t feel up to it. EATaly is this market in Italy were lots of locals bring their goodies like cheese, meats, wines, etc. Obviously I did want to go since I haven't had a thin sliced piece of decent prosciutto since I have been here, but I just didn't think I could handle the bustle and hustle of the Italians when I was feeling a bit under the weather. FP and I opted to stay home.

That morning we bundled up in rain gear to walk the half mile to the store to get some fresh mussels for dinner. The fish guy comes to Briancon every Saturday and Sunday. Well no, he really isn't the fish guy. He is more like the shellfish guy. He brings buckets of oysters, sea urchins, clams, shrimps, and mussels. After buying over a kilo of mussels, we set off towards home and debated exactly how to cook our treasure from the sea.

I spent the afternoon in pure excitement for dinner. After eating lot's of mussels on our trip to Italy, I knew just how good they could be when paired with pasta. Dinner was fabulous and the sauce turned out absolutely perfect. Before we commenced making dinner, I googled the recipe for white wine mussels over pasta. Of course I was flooded with links after clicking search. However, I decided on two and tweaked them to my liking. I also have to honest and say that neither FP or myself have cooked a batch of mussels. Therefore, we were confused as to what was a good mussel, what was a bad mussel, and why are some of them opening?????? After doing some research I was informed how to figure out which mussels to discard and which mussels to keep. So I set to work. At first I was amazed at how dirty these little black guys were! Then I started to resent them for being dirty because it took me a good half hour to get all their ``beards`` off! I also came across more than a few open mussels that were apparently saying ciao! I started a pile in the sink and frequently checked on those little guys to see if they had closed at all. It turns out most of them were still good! After checking and rechecking my mussels, they were ready to get steamed in the pot. Before I steamed them FP and I had the discussion about killing things in hot water, ie lobsters. We also discussed how they make a bit of a sound when they are dying. This kind of freaked me out and made me a little weary to put my live mussels in the pot! But I couldn't see them moving, so it made it a lot easier. However, I am not joking there were a couple mussels that sound like they were squealing in there!!! I had to just grit my teeth and think only of the final product! But everything turned out wonderfully and we had not one mussel that did not open! Obviously the shell fish guy does his job well!

White Wine Mussels

-2-3 lbs mussels (washed and scrubbed)
-3 cloves garlic minced
-1 shallot finely chopped
-touch of cayenne pepper
-2 dried bay leaves
-2 cups dry white wine
-2 T butter
-2 T olive oil
-salt and pepper to taste
-Gf spaghetti or linguine

Scrub Mussels very thoroughly removing any dirt, ``hair``, and other items stuck to the shell. Scrub with either a scrub brush or new sponge. Discard any mussels that appear to have stayed open during the whole cleaning process. Also discard any mussels that have a broken shell. In a deep pot saute garlic in olive oil for about 4-5 min. Add wine and butter, bring to a boil. Start to cook your pasta in another pot as well. Add to wine sauce bay leaves, touch of cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper. Then add mussels. Stir mussels into the sauce and try to coat all of them. Cover pot and let mussels cook for 5 min. Remove lid after 5 min and stir mussels again, coating them in sauce. After another 5 min. check to see if all mussels have opened. It will take between 10-15 min. for mussels to all cook. Remove any that have remained closed, they are bad. Pour over cooked pasta and bouon appetito!

Viva la Mexicana!

2009-11-20T02:28:00.000-08:00

I love Mexican food. I seriously love everything about it from the spicy salsa, to the creamy guac, to the succulent fajitas. Really I think I could eat it everyday. And thank goodness that most of it is gluten free. Don't get me wrong. I desperately miss the delicious tender flour tortillas laden with goodies. But at least celiacs have a substitute. The delicious corn tortilla and really thank you Mexicans for creating this wonderful substitution.

Last year we were unable to find corn tortillas. There was an abundance of flour tortillas, but no soft corn tortillas. Instead we were able to find hard taco shells, which I am going to be honest about....I don't really like them. For me they always cut up my mouth and fall all over my plate. AND most importantly you can not use them for fajitas, which is my ultimate favorite Mexican meal. So this year I got a bit more savvy and I brought my own masa harina flour! I had tried last year to create a corn tortilla with corn flour, which I am pretty sure was some sort of polenta flour, and let me just say.... It was a disaster. However, this year I am starting to become a tortilla making pro. OK no, I take that back. FP is becoming a tortilla making pro, I am just in charge of frying them.

The first time we had Mexican food we invited over two French guys from the team. One of which had never tasted the deliciousness of Mexican food and the other claimed his mother made it every now and then. But let me inform you first that French people, or Europeans for that matter, do not know what true Mexican food is like. They have the occasional Mexican restaurant placed around Europe, but it is nothing like the Mexican food you will find in the states. It has bizarre add ins such as wurst and veggies you have never heard of. So when the French guy claimed that his mother creates Mexican masterpieces, I was seriously skeptical! I decided to show them what a real Mexicana dinner was like, complete with guac, mexican rice, homemade pico, and of course fajitas!!! Everyone loved it, although both the French guys concurred that my rice was too spicy. I personally thought it had just the right zing to it and could in fact have used more jalapeno, but they went through glass after glass of water claiming their mouths were on fire. If they thought that was spicy, I have no idea what they would make of Indian food.....But then again many people in Europe aren't used to spicy food. They think a dish with pepper in it is spicy!

The second time I made Mexican food was the other night. It really was a team effort between FP and I. I made the pico, the guac, the dough for the tortillas, and the rice. FP grilled the fajitas and rolled my tortillas out with pure finesse. I am trying to get him to join me for some serious pie making for Thanksgiving next week since his rolling pin skills have become impressive, but I think he may just become MIA for that afternoon!

So if you feel like taking a trip south of the border that does not involve going to taco bell, I suggest making a couple of these delicacies, or why not just make a whole night of it! Put on a sombrero, mix up a Margarita, and salsa around that kitchen cooking up these enticing dishes!

Pico De Gallo

-6 plum tomatoes
-1 small onion diced
-1-2 cloves garlic
-salt and pepper to taste
-1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
-Juice of 1-2 limes

Chop tomatoes and place in a bowl. Add diced onions, you may need more or less that 1 small onion. When I make this I never use real measurements. I just eyeball everything and make it according to how many people will be at dinner. Add garlic, cilantro, lime juice, and salt and pepper. Mix together and let sit in the fridge for about an hour before you serve it. This allows the flavors to marinate together. Try it after a bit and add more lime, salt, or cilantro if needed.

Guacamole

-1 avocado
-2-3 T finely diced tomato
-2-3 tsp. finely diced onion
-1 clove garlic minced
-salt and pepper to taste
-touch of lemon juice

Remove skin of avocado and seed. Whip the avocado with a fork until smooth. Stir in onion, garlic, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Whip all ingredients together. Taste and add more salt if needed.

Fajitas

-1-2 limes juiced
-3 T chopped fresh cilantro
-3 cloves garlic minced
-2 T olive oil
-1-2 tsp. ground cayenne pepper
-1 tsp. whole coriander crushed
-1 tsp. salt
-1tsp. pepper
-1-2 tsp. cumin
-1 lb chicken breasts

Combine all ingredients together. Marinate chicken for 12-24 hours. Then place breasts on BBQ (make sure BBQ is hot and coals are ready to cook). Cook 7-8 min. on each side or until chicken turns white all the way through. Chicken can also be cooked in a frying pan on stove.

Corn tortillas(makes 7 small tortillas)

-1 cup masa harina flour
-2 cups water
-touch of salt
-touch of lime juice (optional)

Knead ingredients together. Allow dough to rest for 10 min. Roll into 7 equal balls. Place one ball in between two pieces of parchment paper. Press with either a tortilla press or heavy pan. If using a pan, then roll out the tortilla until reaching desired thickness. The tortilla dough will be kind of delicate. If you mess up, knead the dough up and try again. fry for 30 seconds on one side med. heat (no oil in pan). Then fry the other side for 1 min. Flip tortilla back to the first side and cook for another min. or so (until tortilla starts to fluff). Your first tortilla will probably be your trial tortilla. It is ok if you mess up, they still taste good!

Mexican Rice

-2 cups rice
-4 cups water
-1 can crushed tomatoes
-1-2 tsp diced jalapeno (to taste)
-1-2 tsp cumin
-1-2 tsp paprika
-1 cube chicken bouillon
-1/2 cup diced onions
-1 clove garlic minced
-1-2 T butter

Saute garlic and onions in butter. Once they are almost done, add rice and saute for 2-3 more min. Add water, crushed tomatoes, bouillon cube. Bring to a boil. Add cumin, paprika, and jalapeno. Cover and simmer until rice is done and liquid is evaporated.

Chinese Takeout please!

2009-11-17T01:10:00.000-08:00

So FP and I started talking about what to make for dinner while we were on a walk with Smiley. We deliberated over jambalaya, spring rolls, pork chops, when we finally decided we wanted something Asian. We both remembered that there was some left over fresh ginger in the fridge from the other day when I made Indian food and we hadn't had pork in a while..... ginger pork it is!
I had never made ginger pork before, but I had a fairly good idea of what the recipe might include. I have been acquiring my normal stocked pantry over the past months, so I was quite confident I had everything necessary at home, except pork of course. Last year FP was quite adamant that I had way too many spices on hand. This year, I have been more secretive in my spice acquirement. About every week I bring home a new spice. He really hasn't seemed to notice that the spice rack has grown from 5 spices to about 12 in the past month!

We casually browsed the grocery store for our supplies, which was a nice change from our normal fast past ``family`` grocery time. During our browsing we actually discovered that the store had both maple syrup and peanut butter! Clearly the three of them had not looked hard enough the times before when they stated to me that there was no absolutely no peanut butter or syrup to be found in this town! Sometimes you just have to browse the aisles and look in the exotic imported food section, that is the key! After spending way too much time in the grocery store and also realizing smiley was still in the car (whoops!), we trucked our supplies home.

Last year I cooked quite a bit alone in the kitchen, but this year has been different. FP and I cook a lot together, which I don't mind at all. He takes directions very well and doesn't argue you with my messy ways haha. So after googling a couple recipes and gettin the main idea of what is in ginger pork, I came up with a recipe. FP helped me carry it out along with some homemade fried rice. The ginger pork was amazing and full of ginger! My mom would have loved that FP insisted I use all the ginger we had left, which I thought was way too much! But it came out tangy, zesty, and perfect. In fact I was tempted to put it in take out boxes and write Chinese all over the sides just to feel like I was eating Chinese take out again! But trust me after making this, you won't miss it.

Ginger Pork

-1lb pork (I used chops, but I think loin may be better) cubed or cut into strips
-1/2 cup gf flour blend, I used arrowhead
-1-2 T olive oil
-1/2 cup chicken broth
-1/2 cup water (or 1 cup water w/ half a gf chicken bouillon cube)
-2 T soy sauce
-2 T rice vinegar
-2 green onions chopped
-1/2 cup broccoli
-1 clove garlic minced
-1-2 tsp. white sugar
-fresh grated ginger
-touch of cayenne pepper

Place cubed pork into bag of flour and coat evenly. Add olive oil to skillet. Brown pork over med. high heat in skillet. Remove and set aside. Combine broth, water, vinegar, soy sauce and cayenne. Bring to a boil. Add in green onions, garlic, sugar, broccoli, ginger, and pork. Simmer for 15 min or until pork is tender.

Fried Rice

-4 cups cooked rice
-2-3 T butter
-2 eggs
-1-2 tsp garlic powder
-1 small glove garlic minced
-1-2 T soy sauce
-2 green onions chopped
-1 carrot chopped into small pieces
-1 tomato chopped
-pepper to taste

Add a T of butter to skillet. Saute carrots in butter for 3-5 min. Then add in green onions, garlic, and more butter if needed. Saute for another 2 min. Add eggs and tomato and stir to combine eggs with onions, tomatoes, and carrots. Once egg is almost cooked, add rice. Add rice, 1 T. butter, and soy sauce. Fry at low-med. heat for 5-7 min. Add garlic powder and pepper while frying. Taste after 5 min and add more soy sauce if needed.

The best breakfast bread ever!

2009-11-16T00:45:00.000-08:00

It's official. I found the secret to gluten free baking.

I finally watched the movie Julie and Julia. I felt both amazed and inspired after the movie! I was amazed that Julia had such an easy time fitting into and most importantly living within the French culture! It was like she really was French! Obviously she has not tried living with three French Canadians, or things may have gone a bit differently for her. She probably would have written a book entitled the key to shepards pie instead of 500+delicious French recipes......No, no I am kidding! The movie also inspired me to embrace the culture here and start cooking with a passion again!

Everyone for the most part is very cautious about their gluten in this house, but at times they lack quite a bit. It is mostly from the fact that they all seem to have the need to eat french bread all the time. Now I loved french bread with serious intensity in my gluten eating days, so I understand the temptation to eat it all the time...and well because we obviously live in France where french bread is made!! So the french bread has become my nemesis. Not only does it throw bread crumbs all over the counter, it secretly places them in grocery sacks, on my fruit, and quite honestly it just leaves a trail of crumbs to follow wherever it goes. I started to hate it with serious rage. Finally after hiding the french bread wrapped in 3 sacks in the back of the pantry, I think everyone got the hint. I have not seen my enemy in this house for one week, but I am sure that I will see it again soon.

OK enough about the vile french bread. I took over the kitchen about a week ago and have never been more happy. I have cooked Indian food complete with homemade mango chutney (which I will write about later), stuffed peppers and apple crumble, etc. The roommate has seemed a bit standoffish when I announce that I am making dinner yet again, but too bad, if he had celiac disease as well, maybe I would be more sympathetic! Although I do allow him a couple days a week of cooking just so I don't create too much tension in this house.

Ok on to baking. Before FP and I went on vacation in Italy a week ago. I made some scones from a box I brought with me. My original plan had been to make cranberry scones, but for some reason the French do not enjoy eating dried cranberries. So I was forced to choose another fruit. After much deliberation at the dried fruit section, I decided on the dates. However it was a huge box of dates. Needless to say I had masses of dates left over. So yesterday I decided to make some bread. I have not made any bread yet since my diagnosis. In fact I have always been a bit afraid when baking, as we all know how disgusting some gluten free baked good are. Well I went against the odds and decided to make some date nut bread. As a child I remember my mom buying these boxed breads that I loved. My favorite kind was date nut bread and I honestly can not tell you the last time I ate that bread until yesterday. I spent quite a bit of time googling for recipes, until I combined the knowledge of a gluten free breakfast bread recipe together with a non gluten free recipe of date nut bread. With a deep breath I undertook the impossible, trying to create a moist gluten free bread. And yes I did it. My secret......no not massive amounts of french butter, but sour cream......yes that is right, deliciously rich sour cream. I swear by it now and have used it also in cookies and scones. When my bread had cooled I cut two big slices and spread cream cheese all over one and left the other plain. I took the steaming, sweet smelling pieces of heaven into the bedroom and handed them to my boyfriend who was still in bed. He took a bite and looked at me with astonishment and stated ``oh my god Katherine, this is really really good!`` And trust me, I know when he is lying about my gf food. So we hunkered into bed together and ate the most delicious bread I have tasted in the past year and a half. So please make this bread and pass on the recipe to all those celiacs out there so they too can enjoy a cold morning in bed devouring slice after slice of heaven.

Gluten Free Date Nut Bread

-3/4 cup chopped dates
-3/4 cup liquid (half sour cream, half hot water)
-2 T butter
-1 1/8 cup all purpose gf flour, I used arrowhead blend
-3/4 cup sugar (half white, half raw)
-1/4 cup walnuts for topping
-3/4 tsp. gf baking soda
-pinch of salt
-1 tsp. xantham gum
-1 egg
-3/4 tsp. vanilla extract
-touch of nutmeg
-touch of cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine chopped dates, sour cream, hot water, and butter together in bowl. Let this mixture sit for 5 min. Combine flour, baking soda, xantham gum, nutmeg, salt, and cinnamon. Combine egg and sugar together and beat with a fork for a couple minutes. Add vanilla extract to egg mixture. Combine flour mixture and date mixture together. Stir and carefully add egg mixture. Slowing stir until just combined. Place mixture into greased loaf pan. Sprinkle chopped walnuts onto bread. Bake for 45-50 min. Check occasionally and cover loosely with foil if top is browning too much. Remove from oven once a toothpick comes out clean when placed in bread. Let cool in the loaf pan.

Raclette, the epitome of cheese

2009-11-14T00:18:00.000-08:00

Raclette involves cheese. Not just your average cheesy masterpiece, but massive amounts of gooey hot stinky delicious cheese. I first experienced raclette 2 years ago when my brother was visiting me in Austria. We traveled across the border to meet up with one of his college friends who lives in Switzerland. After a vigorous day of skiing, his friend insisted that we eat raclette for dinner. He lifted out this very odd looking grill apparatus that you had to plug in. There was also a lot of space between the grill part and the stand. He looked at our baffled faces and explained while laughing that you grill meet and veggies on top and below you melt your raclette cheese in these nifty trays. It was glorious!

Since then I have partaken in many more delicious and obviously nutritious (actually far from it!) raclette evenings. Last year the couple below us has a raclette machine, so for special occasions such as new years, we got everyone together and had a wonderful cheesy dinner. This year is different. The French not only enjoy raclette, they embrace it like it is a long lost cousin. It is a staple of food in this mountain town of Briançon and they eat it with fervor. The first time I experience racletted de francaise was rather different. We had a french couple over that brought their wonderful raclette set and 2 bottles of white wine, not just any white wine, but sweet, sparkling white wine. We were incredibly confused as all of us have always thought that you drink red wine with cheese, naturally. According to the French, red wine is only for dessert cheeses. White wine is what you drink while eating raclette and fondue. Hmm..... They then put the spread on the table of cold cuts, raclette cheese in every flavor possible(they even had white wine flavored raclette cheese?!?!), and potatoes. The French girl beside me attacked the cheese like she hadn't eaten in days. With military preciseness she cut her potato, cold cuts, and cheese into tiny bits that were eaten with perfected French skill. I felt weak beside her and inexperienced. So I attacked my cheese as well. I ate so much that I was miserable, aching with with a cheese filled belly all night long. The next time I had raclette was at another French girl's house. The guys were away that night playing. So we had a little girls night that involved raclette. Again we had cold cuts, potatoes, and a variety of raclette cheeses. The French girl attacked the cheese and even had two trays of cheese going at once under the grill! I was thoroughly impressed. I simply could not compete with her. I knew the French loved their cheese, but this was going above and beyond!

Then last night we had raclette again, but it was a different kind of raclette. It was raclette Montreal style. We had some cheese, but we also had beef, chicken, shrimp, peppers, onions, etc. all to cook on the grill above where you melt you cheese. It was delicious and filling and I did not feel like a disgusting glutton. The French, when told about this sort of raclette, exclaimed to us that this is not real raclette. They were literally disgusted that we would think to put cheese on our shrimp. I had to laugh when I saw the expression on their faces. It was like you might as well put raclette cheese on dog poop, they were literally that disgusted with us. Now I do think the french have one up on us in a lot of their cooking methods and dishes, but I think they are incredibly behind in their raclette techniques. So in conclusion I can say that the French do speak way better French than the French Canadians (don't tell my roommates!), but they really do need to come off their high brie horses for one minute and take note of the way the French Canadians do raclette.

Marseille

2009-10-02T01:00:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we packed up the car, threw the dogs in, and headed down to Marseille. It is about a three hour drive from here. You pass through the alps down into the wine country, so it really is an amazing drive. We arrived in Marseille three hours later and ended up sitting in traffic for about an hour, as we were never informed on the tourist website that it was the Redbull flugtag! The day where people try to fly their ``redbull`` machines into the water. It was also about 85 degrees out and Smiley was about to die of heat! We ended up bringing our own lunch and ate in a nice little park while watching some people play bocci ball, a favorite sport around this area. Then we spent the rest of the day out at one of the islands off Marseille.

As for eating gluten free in Marseille, it is quite possible. We ate dinner at this little Italian restaurant in the old port area, where I had grilled fish and a salad. It was nothing to call home about, but definitely filled me up. They also have a lot of specials to those who eat at 7pm. Many of the restaurants have a fixed menu that has many gf options available from salads, to grilled fish, cheese plates, etc. So don`t be nervous to travel to the French Riviera! However, I do have to say that I thought Marseille sits down in my bottom ten cities I have visited in Europe. The water and the islands off Marseille make up for the incredible dirty and run down city. I have heard though that some of the smaller cities around that area are a must. So if you are in the area and are dying to see Marseille, I recommend spending the day on the islands and not in the city! But keep in mind the city is great to grab a bite to eat!

Eating sans gluten in the land of pastries!!

2009-09-29T09:27:00.000-07:00

I have been in Briancon, France for almost a week now and am finally all settled in! I arrived here without too many problems other than smiley getting a bit sick on the plane and having massive amounts of luggage to cart around at the end of the journey. Actually it is rather funny now that it is past the fact, but I had a ski bag, a huge suitcase, a carry on suitcase, a huge purse, and the biggest dog kennel ever. So here is little me pushing one cart, pulling another, and walking smiley through customs. I kid you not, not one person offered to help until I was basically through customs! I was pretty surprised, as I was in Turin, Italy! But apparently the Italian men aren't as eager to help a girl in distress in that part of the country!!

Besides that, I haven't had too hard of a time eating gluten free. They seem to have the same sort of selection as Italy and Austria did. You can find most gluten free items in bio stores and can order all sorts of things from the pharmacy here. But I do have to admit I did bring a BUNCH of items from home (flours, mixes, etc.) The grocery stores here are HUGE compared to the two tiny one room grocery stores that inhabited Pontebba last year. My first trip to the grocery store was exciting, as they had a huge selection of fruits, veggies, meats, etc. And I must mention that well their cheese section seriously takes up at least a quarter of the store. Upon walking into the grocery store you are literally hit with a wall of unpasteurized cheese smell. Now I love a good cheese, but wow I don't even want to touch some of the cheeses here with a poll they smell so bad! The other funny thing about the grocery store is all the French people walking around with baguettes under their arms. I had to stifle a giggle the first time I saw that, and the second and third time as well! It is something that you stereotype about France, but you really think it is just talk! However, the French people do love to walk nonchalantly down the street complete with a baguette under the arm! I just want to run over and stick a huge black beret on them!

The second night I was FP made a traditional French Alps meal called tartiflette. Yes, it is a tongue twister to say that as well! This meal is probably the fattiest thing I have ever eaten, well besides raclette. It is a delicious mixture of potatoes, cream, onion, bacon, and them smothered in cheese. It kind of reminds me of some sort of ridiculously fatty potatoes au gratin, although a bit tastier! So if you are in the mood for a good traditional French Alps meal of tartiflette, make sure you climb a mountain before so you don't feel guilty after indulging in this rich treat!

Tartiflette

1-2 lbs chopped potatoes
1 onion
1\2 lb chopped pieces of bacon (aka lardon in French!)
500g heavy cream (or to your liking)
300-500g reblochon (special cheese of the alps, if you do not have this I am sure you can use brie or some other kind of cheese with a bit of a kick)

Boil potatoes until they are starting to soften, but still have a bit of a crispiness to them. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. While, the potatoes boil, saute the bacon and onion together until done. Strain potatoes and pour them into a big casserole dish, add bacon and onion. Pour cream over top and mix throughout. Then cover with cheese on top. Bake in the oven until the cheese melts and becomes a bit brown on the very top. Accompany with a salad as the French do, so you don't feel too bad about yourself! Bon Apetit!

Montréal- Sans gluten please!

2009-07-28T19:02:00.000-07:00

Well I would first like to apologize for my non-existent self on the blog the past oh 3 or so months!!! I have been incredibly busy. When I first got back to AK I was welcomed home by my new puppy smiley, who took up ALL of my time. It is like having a baby, but you constantly have to drag them around the house on a rope toy and clean up all their accidents! Then in May I came down to Montreal to stay with my boyfriend, FP, for a couple months and go to school down here. I got a certificate to teach English as a foriegn language in the hopes that this next year in Europe I will have a job! FP signed in France this year, which is incredibly exciting as I will always have my very own personal translator everywhere I go! My French has also imptroved dramatically, so at least this year I will be able to say a bit more than just Questo!! Questo! NO questo! With that being said let me get down to business. This post is for all those Celiacs or gluten free people out there that may just want to travel to the lovely land of the French Canadians. I have eaten out quite a bit here and have some serious suggestions of where to go and where not to go!

FP and I sublet an apartment for the summer in Rosemont, which is about 20 minutes from the center of downtown, but still on the Island of Montreal. Montreal is absolutely abundant with ethnic restaurants, which is awesome! No where else have I seen so many Vietnamese restaurants. I swear you could probably find one every 5 blocks! Either the Vietnamese love the French Canadians or the French Canadians love to eat Vietnamese food! Anyway I love it here and I highly suggest for anyone to make a point of coming to visit Montreal and Quebec city, which is a very magical place.

Restaurants in Montreal sans gluten!

La Carreta (5 Stars!)
**English spoken
350 rue Saint-Zotique EstMontréal, QC H2S 1L7 (514) 273-8884
This place is my favorite place so far in Montreal! It is a little tiny restaurant with a wonderful ambiance where they serve Salvodorian food. Everything is gluten free on their menu, except for the burrito items (however, I think there are only 2 items that come with burritos!) The sangria is phenomenal and comes by the pitcher. The owner himself will greet you at the door and knows exactly how serious ingesting gluten is for us Celiacs! He also may make a couple suggestions about what to order, but don`t brush them away! We took his word and were speechless at how good the food was. If you are in the mood for South American food, then eat here!

Zero8 (3 stars)
http://www.zero8.com/
**English spoken
This place is ok. Everything is gluten free on their menu, but be aware everything is also soy free, casein free, egg free, etc. So it is great that you can eat with no hesitation, but I am going to be honest when I say I love to eat cheese! I had poutine here and well it wasn`t really poutine. They called it poutine, but yet there was no cheese on my poutine! For those of you who are unaware of what poutine is, well it is the love of quebecers! It consists of fries smothered in gravy and topped off with cheese curds. It sounds absolutely revolting, but lets be honest, it is absolutely delicious! Ok, back to Zero8. This place does have good food, but it is very overpriced and I wasn`t thoroughly impressed. I did not have dinner here, so I could be wrong, but I did have lunch and paid about 16 dollars for a small bowl of poutine and some bruchetta. Ì don`t believe it was worth the price, but then again a trendy little restaurant that is allergy free on one of the hot streets in Montreal is bound to be expensive. So for those of you that have the money and want a nice trendy restauruant, then I do suggest this one.

Sushi time (4 stars)
**English spoken
3129, Rue Masson, Montreal, QC H1Y 1X 514-725-8181
This place is a little hole in the wall that serves excellent sushi. It is incredibly cheap and two can eat for well under 40 dollars! Just bring your own soy sauce. The daughter of the restaurant is trilingual and seems to have a good understanding of what contains gluten and what doesn`t. However, make sure you always ask! The sushi was fresh and they even serve take out and deliver!

Dong Que (2 stars)
**English spoken
1210 boulevard RosemontMontréal, QC H2S 2A5
(514) 490-0770‎
This is one of the many Vietnamese restaurants in Montreal. However, I was slightly disappointed with this one. I read a couple reviews online and was told this place had the best spring rolls in Montreal. I completely disagree. I could make better ones at home! Along with better sauce! I had some pho soup, which was actually really good. My boyfriend had some sort of noodle dish that he wasn`t particulary crazy about. The owner was also very unclear about what gluten was and didn`t even try to read the vietnamese card I had with me, which was very upsetting. He simply told me all I could have was 2 of the pho soups, that was it! I was incredibly disappointed as I was really looking forward to eating here. With that being said, the prices are really cheap and we ate for under 40 dollars. But I am sure at most Vietnamese places in Montreal you can eat for 40 dolllars and have much better food! So I recommend trying another place!

Ottavios (5 stars!)
http://www.ottavio.ca/
This was the first restaurant I ate at in Montreal last year. This place is incredible. Their pasta dishes almost made me cry when I first had them and their mussels are to die for. I don`t really reccomend their gluten free pizzas. Frankly I think a good ol` Bob`s Red Mill crust is way better, but do eat their mussels, pasta dishes, salads, and even the dessert! The restaurant is very trendy and not horribly expensive. The waitstaff are great and I was even able to talk with the owner last time about why he decided to have a gluten free menu. They even have a whole section of their kitchen dedicated to staying gf. And you can also bring your own wine! They have two locations and if you don`t speak French, I recommend the Montreal location. In Laval you find English rarely spoken. So enjoy and bon appetito!

Quebec City

Kameleon (5+++ stars)
http://lekameleonrestosympatique.com/
This place understands what being gluten free is. It is a new restaurant that doesn`t quite have its business in full swing, but I perfered it that way because my boyfriend and I were able to have a nice quiet dinner and a couple nice chats with the waiter. The food was phenominal and in my opinion is closer to fine dining without the prices! I was able to order a 4 course meal for under 30 dollars. I had cream of mushroom soup, followed by the best caprese salad of my life. For my entree, I orderd veal that was done to perfection and was complimented with some incredible gluten free lemon pasta. Finally for dessert my boyfriend had the chocolate mousse, while I had cheesecak sans crust. I was able to sample both desserts and was literally in heaven. It was one of the best gluten free experiences of my life. So if you want to spend an amazing romantic dinner (gf of course) in the lovely city of Quebec, I can`t recommend this place enough!

Enjoy these recommendations and there are more to come next summer!!!

Sunday Brunch Quiche

2009-04-11T11:37:00.000-07:00

I am finally home and have been for a little over ten days. I have been up to my head in appointments, un-packing, caring for the little pup, running around, seeing old friends, etc. etc. Therefore, I have had absolutely no time until today to do a little blogging. Our last trip around Italy was fantastic, hilarious, and full of eating. I will post about it soon, along with a list of wonderful gluten free restaurants. Being home is comforting and relaxing. I have not been my usual chaotic cooking self, but I still have dabbled into some new recipes. My Mom and I hosted a brunch last Sunday for my Mom's sister and her family. They brought some food, I made some food, and it turned out just perfect. I whipped up a couple of old tried and true recipes and then added a new one into the mix. I created a gluten free quiche, that I thought was quite tasty. My cousin even had seconds, although he really will eat just about anything you put in front of him! This recipe is perfect for a brunch, breakfast, or even to go along with a dinner. There are also many variations of quiches that you can create, but I went with the well-known quiche Lorraine, as my boyfriend and I have had a laugh about this quiche, since it is "named" after his Mom!

Quiche Lorraine

~1 GF pie crust, see http://glutenfreeworldtraveler.blogspot.com/2008/12/my-italian-thanksgiving-senza-glutine_04.html

~1/4 cup green onion, chopped
~1/2 cup GF honey ham, chopped
~1/4 cup-1/2 cup shredded white Cheddar
~4 eggs
~1 Tbs Butter
~pinch garlic powder
~pinch salt
~2 cups hot milk, I used 2%

Work pie crust into ball and let it sit in fridge for at least an hour. Remove crust from fridge and roll out to fit your greased quiche pan, I used a glass round pan. Pre-heat oven to 375 and cook crust for 5 minutes or so. You want the crust to set a bit before you pour in the liquids. While pie is starting to cook, saute onions in 1 Tbs butter. Pull the pan out and line with ham and cheese. Beat eggs together and add hot milk, add this mixture to your cooking onions. Cook on low heat until the egg mixtures starts to cook and become thick. Pour this liquid mixture over ham and cheese in pie crust. Cook for 35-45 minutes or until set.

Homemade Chicken Pot Pie

2009-03-19T05:56:00.000-07:00

I do apologize that I have been a bit delayed in my posts the last couple days. As said in the previous post I am frantically trying to get everything taken care of before our departure from Italy. I have also been very preoccupied with the purchase of a little goldendoodle puppy. How I found him and managed to buy him within a week, is still a mystery to me. I had been looking for a little doodle puppy for about the last 8 months, but never thought that I would suddenly find the perfect one and located in Alaska!

The last week began with me doing my normal browse through the dog ads on numerous sites, when I suddenly came across an ad for goldendoodle puppies in AK. My first thought was oh I hope this breeder is going to breed some minis, as my boyfriend and I originally wanted a smaller dog. I contacted the breeder immediately to inquire about this. She emailed me back stating that unfortunately she would not be breeding minis, but she still had one dog left, who happened to be the runt of the litter. In my mind I immediately knew he was going to be the one for me! After much discussion with my boyfriend, who at the time was still very weary of getting a dog, and with my parents, who would be taking care of the dog for 2 months while I am away in Montreal this summer, I was given the OK. I immediately went about finding out all I could about this breeder and the little pup, who is temporarily named Smiley. The final decision came this morning after my mom met little smiley and his family. Her and my cousin fell in love with him and insisted that I could not live without him, which I already knew I couldn't!

However, I will admit that the most difficult part of this situation is deciding what to rename smiley. Now don't get me wrong it isn't that I dislike the name smiley, but he needs something just a little bit more sophisticated. I have been deliberating everyday as to what this pup should be named because you see, he will end up two having two names. Yes, that is right two names. He will have an American pronunciation of his name and a Quebecois pronunciation of his name, not to mention he will have to become bilingual! So after much deliberation, I have still not come to a decision. If I name him something more American, he will get confused on his trips to Quebec. If I name him something more French, well I am positive that name will get butchered by all of our American accents. Therefore, it is not the cost, the time, or the training that I am worried about with this soon to be little bilingual guy, the only thing I am worried about is his new name. But, I guess in the end he will just have to learn to answer to both his "French" and "American" name!!!!

Now onto my Chicken Pot Pie recipe, which has nothing whatsoever to do with a goldendoodle! I am still trying to use up my flours, so a lot of my meal items have been geared towards using massive amounts of all the GF flours I have stored away in my kitchen. It has also been a bit chilly the past couple of nights and nothing is more delicious on a chilly night than a warm Chicken Pot Pie.

Chicken Pot Pie

For pie crust visit previous post:

http://glutenfreeworldtraveler.blogspot.com/2008/12/my-italian-thanksgiving-senza-glutine_04.html

~3 Tbs butter
~black pepper to taste
~1/4 cup cornstarch dissolved in 1/4 cup water
~3 cups GF veggie broth
~1 cup mushrooms, chopped
~2 carrots, chopped
~2 stalks celery, chopped
~1 small can of peas
~1 lb chicken cooked, cubed

Make pie crust according to previous post. Refrigerate crust for 1 hour. Once pie crust has been in refrigerator for almost an hour, preheat oven to 180 degrees C or 350 F, then cook chicken in a touch of olive oil in skillet. Remove chicken from skillet and add in celery, onion, and carrots. Saute in a touch of olive oil until tender, then add in mushrooms and saute for a couple more minutes. While veggies are sauteing, roll out pie crust. Place one crust in the bottom of a greased pie pan and leave the other one rolled out. Once veggies are tender, add broth to skillet. Bring to a boil and stir in peas. Then stir in half the cornstarch mixture. If broth still appears to thin, stir in the rest of cornstarch. If broth still appears too thin, make another mixture of cornstarch dissolved in water. Be careful not too add too much cornstarch, as you do not want it to be the consistency of jelly. Remove skillet from heat and pour into the pie pan lined with crust. Add the other rolled out crust on top. Seal the crust using your fingers and remove any excess. Cut slits into the top of pie to allow the steam to escape. Place in oven for 30 min or until top becomes brown and contents are bubbling. You may find that you have too much filling. Therefore, you can roll out the remains of the pie crust that was trimmed off. You can pour the remaining filling into a smaller dish and cover with the rolled out excess pie crust, bake this along side the pie. Or just using filling as a thick chicken soup!

Moroccan Beef

2009-03-19T05:22:00.000-07:00

Our time is ticking away here in Italy these days as we move closer and closer to the end of playoffs. I have been frantically trying to cook as much as humanly possible in hopes that it will decrease the amount of food, flours, boxed items, etc. in our house. The other day I was pondering what to make for dinner, when my boyfriend called from the kitchen "Why do you have so many crazy spices, you haven't even used half of them!!!" And that is when it came to me... I needed to find some sort of dish for dinner that used a ridiculous amount of spices in order to prove that I really do need 25 different kinds of spices!

After a perusal around on cyberspace, I came across a couple recipes I could modify that called for huge amounts of exotic spices, all of which I definitely have. I also was lucky enough to find a box full of Himalayan red rice that I had yet to use. Personally, I had never heard of Himalayan rice until I started work as a server in a very fine dining establishment during my sophomore year of college. Upon my first taste of this rice, I immediately loved it. However, over the past couple of years I had forgotten about this rice, until I saw a box in Austria ,which flooded back the memories of just how delicious this rice is. If you have never had the pleasure of trying it, please go out ASAP and buy yourself some! The meal was easy to whip up and left my kitchen smelling like a delicious Moroccan restaurant. My boyfriend arrived home from practice that night sniffing the air with pleasure and enthusiastically asking what I had prepared for dinner. After producing a plate complete with rice and Moroccan beef he looked at me in disgust and exclaimed "What kind of rice is this and why is it black!!!" I quickly stated back that it was absolutely the best rice possible for your body and may in fact help you score more goals! With that he dug in and within 30 seconds was telling me with much enthusiasm that he now officially loves Himalayan rice! So for those of you looking for a meal to create that will use up your over abundant spices, this is the recipe for you!

Moroccan Beef

~1 lb Beef, I used steak meat, cubed
~1 onion, chopped
~3 cloves garlic, 2 minced, 1 left whole and peeled
~2 carrots, sliced
~2 stalks celery, sliced
~1-2 tsp. ground ginger (fresh can also be used and is recommended)
~1 tsp. paprika
~2 tsp. ground cumin
~1 tsp. dried oregano
~1/2-1 tsp. ground cayenne pepper
~1/4-1/2 tsp. ground Cinnamon
~1 1/2 cups GF veggie broth
~1 can crushed tomatoes
~1 cup canned chickpeas, drained
~1 zucchini, sliced
~1 Tbs lemon juice

Grill beef in skillet for about 3 minutes. Remove from skillet when meat is about halfway done. Add onions, carrots, celery, and 2 cloves garlic(minced) to same pan with a touch of olive oil. Saute until tender. Then add in spices, cumin, paprika, ginger, oregano, cayenne, and cinnamon, saute for about 1 more minute. Then stir in GF broth and tomatoes. Also add the beef back in. Simmer for 10 minutes. Then add in chickpeas and zucchini, simmer mixture for 15 more minutes or until zucchini is done. Stir in Lemon Juice and serve.

*Make sure that you test the simmering Moroccan Beef along the way. You may find that you need to add in more spices. I put approximately the amount of spices I used in this recipe. However, I added in more spices along the way according to what I thought it needed. You are the best judge of what you like, so if you love spices, add more! Serve this over rice or quinoa.

Himalayan Red Rice

~1 cup Himalayan Red Rice
~2 cups water
~pinch of salt
~1/2-1 tsp. butter

The one thing to know about Himalayan rice, is that because it is higher in fiber, it takes longer to cook than white rice. So allow it around 30 minutes to cook. Also it is important to rinse the rice before you cook it, but don't be alarmed if the rice turns the water purple! I also added in a touch of saffron to really make it pair up with my Moroccan Beef.

Austrian Goulash

2009-03-13T02:26:00.000-07:00

Guten Tag! This week I have been craving some good ol' Austrian food. Maybe I am missing my days in Austria from last year or have simply just had enough pasta to last a lifetime! Either way, my stomach is wandering across the Northern border here to the land of schnitzels and brats. When we first arrived this year, I immediately cut myself off from even thinking that I could indulge in the delicacies that are so precisely made by the Austrians. To make myself feel better, I constantly thought that at least last year I ate Austrian pastries, wiener schnitzel, Apfel strudel, and brats w/ bread until my heart was content. Not to mention the quantities of delicious wheat beer that I consumed. I was comforted by these thoughts that I had at least sampled these items in grand quantities at one point in my life. However, the past week I have gotten the cravings for hearty Austrian food again.

So I went on a search of how to make one of my favorite Austrian dishes, goulash. The Italians in this region also are known for their goulash served with polenta. But in my opinion, you cross the border for the best piping hot rich plate of goulash served with bread dumplings. And that is where my quest began. After thorough research and finding the "perfect" meat for goulash, which was thankfully labeled at the Austrian grocery store as goulash meat!! I was able to prep myself to cook Austrian cuisine, which I have never ever done before. But I hit a big road bump when I realized I have no idea what to serve my goulash with! Polenta? Rice? even a Salad? Clearly none of those would do. So I again searched high and low before I finally came across the best website ever. How I did not discover this website before, I am not quite sure. I buy a lot of Schaer products, which were created in the Tirol region of Italy. Which in my opinion is really just southern Austria. All the Italians there speak German with Italian accents, not to mention some of them even barely speak Italian! They even eat dumplings instead of pasta. With that being said, I somehow came across Dr. Schaer's website during my many recipe web surfing sessions and realized they had a HUGE recipe selection using their products. And low and behold I found a recipe for cheese dumplings! I was ecstatic!!! My menu was complete! I created the meal for my boyfriend and another team member who we sometimes have over for dinner. I decided to make it a big event and went all out! We had brie and delicious Italian jam with gluten free crackers, followed by the main course of goulash and bread dumplings, and finally came the dessert, a plum clafloutis. I do realize that my meal was not completely Austrian and I did dabble a bit into the french cuisine with this meal, but when you live with a French Canadian you can't help it. The meal was a complete success and I will most certainly make this meal for the rest of my life, yes it was that good! So throw on your lederhosen or dirndl, grab a gf beer, start singing "the hills are alive", and get cooking!

Goulash

~1 liter gf broth, I used veggie
~1 can crushed tomatoes
~600-700g goulash meat, stringy stew meat (about 1 1/2 lbs)
~2 Tbs. paprika, preferably sweet Hungarian paprika
~1 tsp. oregano
~1 tsp. basil
~2 onions chopped
~2 cloves garlic, minced
~1 Tbs. olive oil
~1 Tbs. cornstarch dissolved in 2 Tbs. water

Saute the onions in olive oil in a big soup pot for 15 min. Add in garlic and saute for another 3-5 min. Then add in broth, tomatoes, meat, and spices. Simmer on medium heat for 2-3 hours, or until meat is very tender. At this point stir in cornstarch. If sauce still appears to thin, add 1-2 tsp. more cornstarch dissolved in water. Stir and let sit for 15 min. while you cook your dumplings.

Cheese Dumplings

http://www.schaer.com/en/cooking-baking/recipe-collection/cheese-dumplings/

If you do not have schaer, simply substitute in a different gf flour and bread that you enjoy. And Mahlzeit as they say in Austria!

Ragu alla Bolognese

2009-03-10T06:35:00.000-07:00

During my time here in Italy, I feel that I have made some serious progress in my homemade spaghetti sauce. I no longer buy the canned kind, mostly because many of them contain gluten. And it is a very tedious process to read labels in Italian, French, or German and try to decipher if that word is modified starch made of carob beans or if it is in fact made from wheat. Let me just say every time at the store is a reading adventure! I have just found that it is easier to create my own sauce from scratch, whether it is a plain marinara sauce or a little more elaborate. I also make a lot of batches of bolognese or meat sauce for my boyfriend, as he is constantly eating pasta before practice, before games, before road trips, and really just anytime he feels like it. So over the past 7 months I have tweaked and twisted this sauce to be something that I believe is an excellent bolognese sauce.

Bolognese Sauce

~500-600g ground beef (1 1/2 lb)
~3 cans crushed tomatoes
~3 cloves garlic, minced
~1 yellow onion, chopped
~8-10 leaves fresh basil or 1 Tbs dried basil
~1 Tbs. dried oregano
~1 tsp. fresh thyme
~1 tsp. sugar
~1/2 cup red wine, any kind
~salt and pepper to taste
~1/2 tsp. sugar

Brown the meat with the onion in deep pot. When meat is almost done, add in minced garlic. Cook until there is little grease remaining in pot. Add in crushed tomatoes. Then fill each can with a slight amount of water to clean and add this to pot. Stir in spices and sugar, also adding about a 1/2 tsp. salt to start and a few good pinches of pepper. Then finish off by adding in 1/2-1 cup of any red wine you have available. I usually use whatever is available in my kitchen at that moment. Let the sauce simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Try sauce and add more spices if needed. I constantly tweak the sauce as I cook it. Let it cook for another hour and then test again. If needed, add in more spices, salt, and/or pepper. Finally, I usually cook the sauce for 2-3 hours and it is absolutely perfect. Serve over pasta, gnocchi, or even use in Lasagna!

Authentic Tiramisu

2009-03-07T07:44:00.000-08:00

I have done it. I successfully made the one thing that I wanted to create while living in Italy, a mouthwatering gluten free tiramisu. I have sat back this year and watched everyone eat homemade tiramisu for birthdays, Christmas, new years, etc. I have also had many tiramisus given to us by Mama Mias, the trainer's wife, and other local Italian women. They have been angrily stored away in my fridge for my boyfriend. But as of yesterday, I officially created the ultimate gf tiramisu!

Some of the wives of the players and myself were invited yesterday to the home of an Italian woman here in Pontebba, that seriously knows how to cook. She is affiliated with the team in one way or another and brought us into her home with welcome arms to learn the art of making tiramisu. We ooohhed and ahhhed over technique and were able to create masterpieces of our own. She speaks very little English, so there were many hand gestures and physical actions throughout the afternoon, but who better to learn to art from than a real Italian!

The other girls used lady fingers, or savoiardi in Italian, that were provided for them, whereas I had to come prepared with my own gf version. It all worked out perfectly in the end and I even learned some important facts about tiramisu along the way. One thing is that true tiramisu does not have alcohol in it, that is us yet again americanizing another Italian dish. Tiramisu is also eaten as a pick me up, thanks to the amount of seriously strong Italian coffee in there! It was a wonderful experience and I am now going to share with you the secret of making a truly authentic Italian tiramisu.

Gluten Free Sponge Cake

-modified from taste.com

~3 eggs at room temp, separated

~2/3 cup sugar

~1/2 cup brown rice flour

~1/2 cup Mix C Dr. Schaer (1/4 cup corn flour and 1/4 cup cornstarch can be used in place)

~2 tsp. gf baking powder

~1/4 cup milk

~1/4 tsp. vanilla

Heavily grease a rectangle glass baking (approx. 2 quarts) with butter. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Use an electric beater to whisk the egg whites in a clean, dry bowl until soft peaks form. Gradually add the sugar, 1 tbs at a time, mixing between each addition until sugar dissolves. Continue mixing after all sugar is added for 1 minute or until mixture is thick and glossy. Add the egg yolks and mix until just combined. Sift the combined flour mix and baking powder into the egg mixture a little at a time while mixing. Pour the milk down the side of the bowl and use a large metal spoon to fold until just combined. Spoon mixture evenly in glass baking dish. Then drop the dish a couple times gently against counter to allow bubbles to rise out of batter. Bake in preheated oven for 15-20 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centres comes out clean. You will want the top to brown a bit and the sponge cake to feel firm and springy. It is better you cook it too long than too little, as you want to have lady fingers that the coffee will soak into. Remove cake from oven and allow it to cool. Once cooled cut the cake going from the long side of the dish in sections that are 2 fingers wide. Then cut the cake in the very middle from the short side. This will give you the right length and width for the lady fingers. Take lady fingers out of glass pan and set on separate plate. Each finger is still however too thick, so cut them in half width wise, so you end up with 2 thinner lady fingers. Now pay attention to where the lady fingers went in the glass pan, as you will want to put them back in approximately the same spot. At this point you are ready to move onto step two.

Tiramisu

~5 egg yolks

~3 egg whites

~8 Tbs sugar

~500g mascarpone cheese

~lady fingers(see recipe above)

~unsweetened strong coffee

Make the coffee, pour into a shallow plate and then leave to cool. Beat the egg yolks and sugar with an electric mixer until they turn pale and fluffy. Fold in the mascarpone until mixed. In a different bowl, beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt(salt is very important according to the Italians! so don't leave out!) until white and peaky. Add the egg whites to the yolk mix and fold together very gently. Think a forward motion coming high out of the bowl with each stroke(this is what we was demonstrated for us and is the key to a good tiramisu). Quickly dip the lady fingers into the coffee, using only one side. Then place in glass cake pan, coffee soaked side up. You do not want to soak the lady fingers very much, just quickly dip them in the coffee. You can also poor the coffee over the lady fingers with a spoon after they are lined up in the glass cake dish. Then cover with the mascarpone mix. Add another layer of the lady fingers dipped in coffee. Top this layer with the mascarpone mix and finish off by sprinkling with cocoa powder or grated chocolate. Refrigerate for at least 2-3 hours before serving. Buon Appetito!!!!

Pictures are of Rosella demonstrating her Italian cooking skills.

Indian Night

2009-03-05T00:45:00.000-08:00

I love Indian food. Growing up my mom used to make a fair amount of Indian food, so you could almost say I grew up on it. When I found out I was Celiac, I was overjoyed with relief that Indian food could still be a part of my diet. Obviously I wouldn't be able to indulge in the Naan like I used to do in my earlier days, but curry's, chutneys, and a big scoop or raita would suffice.

I am lucky that we do live so close to Austria, as I would not be able to find some of the "exotic" items I have used in my Indian cooking night if we lived farther south. Italians really only eat Italian food, which I don't blame them for only eating such a delicious cuisine!

Last night I decided to use up some spices and the can of mango chutney stored away in the cupboard. I also wanted to use up more of the plethra of flours that I have here, so I thought maybe I will undertake the task of creating the perfect gf Naan. I do admit that I did not think in any way that the Naan would turn out even similar to regular Naan. I am not very skilled at gluten free bread baking, but I figured it was worth a shot. And ladies and gentlemen I did the unthinkable. I baked Naan! It came out crisy with even the perfect Naan bubbles on it. My boyfriend claimed the bread was delicious, which coming from him who dislikes gf bread is a huge compliment. I paired up my Naan with some delicious Chicken Tikka Masala, Mango Chutney, and some cool Raita. It was the first time since I have been diagnosed that I was able to scoop up delicious Indian food onto a piping hot piece of Naan.

GF Naan

Recipe created by Arvinder Malhotra

~150 ml tepid milk

~275g (10 oz.) rice flour( I used 1/2 cup white, 1 1/2 cup brown)

~60 grams tapioca flour (I used 6 T)

~½ teaspoon salt

~1 teaspoon gluten free baking powder

~2 teaspoons sugar

~2 teaspoons dried active yeast

~2 teaspoons vegetable oil (I used olive oil)

~150 ml plain/natural yogurt

~1 egg, lightly beaten

~1 teaspoon xantham gum

In a bowl mix tepid milk with 1 teaspoon sugar and the yeast, then set bowl in warm place for about ten minutes or until mixture starts to foam on top. Mix xantham gum, baking powder, salt, tapioca flour, 1/2 cup white rice flour, 1 cup brown rice(save the last 1/2 cup for later). Then stir in yogurt, egg, sugar, yeast mixture, and oil. Add in the 1/2 cup of brown rice flour a little at a time until you get a dough consistency. This dough will be very delicate, but should not be overly sticky. Let the dough rest for 30 minutes in warm area, covered with a dish towel.
Preheat oven to the highest setting. After the dough has had time to rest, place it on brown rice floured surface. Divide the dough into 2 equal balls, and then take one of the balls of dough and divide it into 3 equal smaller balls. Repeat this with the other ball. Roll out the dough with your hand into almost an oval shape. To make sure the dough doesn't stick, have a pile of brown rice flour on hand to add to surface. You will want the dough to become so thin that if any thinner it would break. It should be about 1/4-1/8 inch thick. Preheat a baking sheet in oven for a couple minutes. Then place one of the pieces of Naan on the cookie sheet and cook until you see it start to bubble, this should take 3-5 minutes. Open oven and brush olive oil onto almost cooked Naan, then place back into oven. Cook for 1-2 more minutes, or until it becomes golden brown. This first Naan is your experimental Naan. If the dough did not bubble, your Naan was too thick. You want to make these very thin! Then repeat with the rest of the dough, placing only 2-3 on a cookie sheet, as you want to allow them room to cook. I also found this bread can be used as pita bread. It separates perfectly in the center to form the "pita pocket".

Chicken Tikka Masala

Recipe adapted from allrecipes.com

~1 cup yogurt

~1 tablespoon lemon juice
~2 teaspoons ground cumin
~1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
~2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
~2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
~1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
~4 teaspoons salt, or to taste
~3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces

~1 tablespoon butter
~1 clove garlic, minced
~1 jalapeno pepper, finely chopped (I used ground cayenne pepper)
~2 teaspoons ground cumin
~2 teaspoons paprika
~3 teaspoons salt, or to taste
~1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
~1 cup heavy cream (I used whole milk)
~1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

In a large bowl, combine yogurt, lemon juice, 2 teaspoons cumin, cinnamon, cayenne, black pepper, ginger, and 4 teaspoons salt. Stir in chicken, cover, and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Preheat pan to medium heat. Lightly oil the pan. Place chicken onto heated pan and cook for 5-6 minutes. Remove from pan and place on plate. Melt butter in the same pan over medium heat. Saute garlic and jalapeno( if used) for 1 minute. Season with 2 teaspoons cumin, paprika, and 3 teaspoons salt(add cayenne if jalapeno not used). Stir in tomato sauce and cream. Simmer on low heat until sauce thickens, about 20 minutes. Add grilled chicken, and simmer for 10 minutes. Transfer to a serving platter, and garnish with fresh cilantro. Serve over rice.

Easy Raita

~1 cup plain yogurt

~1-2 Tbs onion, thinly chopped

~1/2 cup cucumber, thinly chopped

~1/4 tsp salt

~Cumin, to taste

~1 tsp mint leaves, thinly chopped(optional)

Combine all ingredients together and add cumin to taste. This is how I normally make raita. There are many other recipes out there, but I find this the easiest with a delicious taste.

A short Hiatus to Malta

2009-03-03T05:21:00.000-08:00

This post is slightly late and should have in fact been posted a couple weeks ago. But I am finally getting back into the groove of things. When my friend and cousin were here a couple weeks ago we decided to take a short trip out of Italy. We were looking at where we could take the train for a reasonable price, when it came to us, that maybe we could just fly somewhere instead! Because in all honesty, who wants to sit on the train for 10 hours. So we started checking out flights on Ryanair and realized we could go to Malta for two days! We also found a wonderful 5 star hotel that was renting hotel rooms for a quarter of the cost! After those finds, how could we pass up going to Malta! We immediately booked the flight, the hotel, and packed our bags for the next day.

Malta was incredible. It has so much history and the people are some of the friendliest people I have encountered in Europe. Our taxi driver even gave us a list of things to do during our two days in Malta! The price of food and other things is very reasonable, as they have just switched over to the Euro about a year ago. Public transportation there is also very efficient and you will have no problem getting around the island, and not to mention a bus trip only costs around 50 cents! The weather was mild and I was even able to strip down to a short sleeve t-shirt at one point. But make sure to bring warm clothes too, as the weather changes constantly. When it began to rain, the temperature dropped down into the high 30's. However, this trip was taken in February and the summers I have heard are quite hot.

The first day we arrived there we took a "hop on, hop off" tour bus, which I highly recommend. We were able to see many cities on the Island within a day. The cost is a bit stiff, so if you are on a budget I recommend not doing the tour and instead taking the public buses to the cities of Rabat and Mdina. And of course don't forget to go to Valletta! All three of those cities are some of the most beautiful cities I have seen in all of Europe. The second day we went to the fishing village of Marsaxlokk, which is easily accessible by the public bus system. We had a wonderful lunch there at a cozy little restaurant right on the water. The owner was wonderful and even let us clamber up to the roof for some fabulous photos. Our lunch consisted of fresh fish, salad, and veggies for under 10 dollars. I had no problem eating gluten free in Malta, as almost everyone speaks fluent English. The only thing that I wish I would have been able to try, was some of their Maltese rabbit stew. I am not sure if this dish is gluten free, as we ran out of time and were not able to travel to the part of Malta that is home to this infamous stew. And unfortunately I can't seem to remember the name of the city! But if you ask, I am sure that someone will be able to point you in the right direction.

Finally, I highly recommend our hotel, The Corinthia Marina Hotel. It was right on the water and had an amazing buffet breakfast. I brought my own cereal and bread, but other than that I could eat many items provided in the buffet. The restaurant in our hotel also provided gluten free pasta! The first night we ate there I noticed that at the bottom of the menu it said to inform servers of any allergies or diet restrictions. I informed our waiter and he provided me with not only gluten free pasta, but warm gluten free bed! I would be back to this hotel in a heartbeat.

If you love the ocean, the salty air, fresh fish, some of the oldest history in Europe, friendly people, great food, and good nightlife, then make it a point to visit Malta.

No Bake Cookies

2009-03-01T23:59:00.000-08:00

It is official. I am now on a baking rampage. The regular season finished Saturday night and the boys are headed into play downs. Yes that is right, not play offs, but play downs. The Aquile has just not done that well this year. Whether it was due to the two horrible coaches they have had, the goalie getting hurt for over 2 weeks, miscommunication, etc. Either way, they had a bad year and there is no denying it. So the play downs mean that if they win 3 out of the next 5 games, we go home!!! If they don't, we will probably be here for a bit longer. But I am staying optimistic and hoping they win. So that leads me to my baking rampage.....I am trying to use up all of the flours, gf oats, and packaged mixes before we leave. And due to that fact, there have been tons of desserts and baked goods appearing in this house now.

My boyfriend was gone the other night at an away game and I decided it was the perfect time to make up a batch of no bake cookies, since I have more than a pound of GF oats left! I remember that I have always loved these cookies and my mom makes a mean batch of them. I browsed through a couple recipes online and then modified this one. This recipe is easy, takes no time at all, and you even don't have to worry about burning the cookies! Personally, I think no bake cookies are the greatest invention ever!

GF No Bake Cookies

~2 3/4cups gf oats

~1/2 cup milk

~1/2 cup butter

~1 3/4 cup white sugar (you can also substitute a bit of brown sugar in here, I used 1 cup white, 1/2 cup brown)

~4 Tbs cocoa powder (unsweetened)

~1 tsp vanilla

~1/4 cup coconut flakes

~1/2 cup chunky all natural peanut butter

Combine milk, butter, sugar, and cocoa powder in a pot over med. heat. Stir all ingredients together and continue stirring until mixture starts to bubble. From the second it starts to slowly bubble, allow it to continue bubbling, while you keep slowly stirring, and then coming to a full boil for 2 minutes and 20 seconds. It is very important that you keep this time very exact, if you boil for too little the cookies will not form and if you boil for too long the cookies will fall apart. Make sure that you have all the other ingredients measured out before you start to boil mixture. Remove from heat immediately after 2 min. 20 seconds and stir in peanut butter until it dissolves, then stir in vanilla, and finally add oats 1 cup at a time, finishing up with the coconut flakes. Then spoon out mixture onto parchment paper forming a slightly sloppy cookie with each spoonful. Allow at least an hour after this for cookies to set.

Gluten Free on the tropical island of Zanzibar

2009-02-24T05:56:00.000-08:00

I apologize that I have not posted more recipes this month, but as some of you know I was doing some serious traveling for the past month, therefore many of my posts are geared more towards traveling. But I personally feel that you can never have enough travel advice about countries when you are Celiac!

Zanzibar is a little island off Tanzania that is absolutely magical. It is surrounded by other little islands that are world renowned for their snorkeling. This island is home to many world famous spices such as, vanilla, cumin, cloves, pepper, coriander, ginger, cinnamon, and so many more. It is where I had some of the best Indian food in my life, swam in the warmest ocean, and saw dolphins out my breakfast window almost everyday. It was incredibly easy to find GF food here, as people in Africa view flour as a luxury, whereas people in America feel that they need to "Stretch" food to save money, so flour goes in almost everything! The cuisine in Zanzibar is highly influenced by Indian and Asian foods and if you are like me, this is the place you want to be! They also serve many fish and shellfish dishes that are caught daily. The portions are good sized and you can eat a wonderful meal for under 10 USD. My only advice is to bring an explanation of what Celiac disease is and the things you can and can not eat in Swahili. However, almost everyone speaks English, so questions are well understood. Below is a list of restaurants I ate at while staying in Stone Town, Zanzibar. My final advice is if you ever make the trip to Tanzania, do not miss out on going to Zanzibar!

Archipelago~5 out of 5

This restaurant was so incredibly good, that we ate here 3 times! I could not get enough of their dishes. The food here is cheap and amazing. They offer many grilled fish dishes and believe it or not they do not use flour in anything! They have GF cakes for dessert created with almond meal and date flour. You can easily eat 3 courses here for under 12 dollars. Another perk is the view here. The restaurant sits on the second story of a building overlooking the water and is perfect for a sunset meal.

Silk Route~4.5 out of 5

An Indian restaurant with a great atmosphere. Located on the very top of a building, you can overlook the streets of Stone Town. The waitstaff is amazing and they really catered to my needs. I was able to eat very easily here.

Freddie Mercury's~2 out of 5

This restaurant is named after one of the members of Queen, who was from Zanzibar. They are very proud of him and created this restaurant in honor of him. The food at this restaurant was horrible. However, it gets 2 stars for the incredible water front view it displays. The servers were quite confused about my needs and not very accommodating. I recommend this place for a drink at sunset, but for dinner, I highly suggest you go somewhere else.

Al Jahar~2 out of 5

A fancy restaurant, with reasonable prices. Located on the top floor of a eye pleasing hotel, this restaurant has one of the best views in Zanzibar. Its bar has a very Schick, yet comfortable feel about it. They offer a wide array of drinks, but their mixed drinks lack in flavor. Their soups are incredible, but their food is sub par. I sampled the paella, a traditional Spanish dish, and was so disgusted by it, that I barely ate five bites of it. However, this is another restaurant that I highly recommend their bar for a beer or glass of wine, but really do go somewhere else for dinner.

Monsoon~4.5 out of 5

A unique restaurant where guests sit on pillows on the floor surrounded by low tables. A band plays typical Zanzibarian music in the corner, as you munch on local food. I was able to eat almost everything on the menu here and the staff was wonderful. The ambiance in this restaurant was the best of any of the other restaurants in Stone Town that I visited. It is great for an intimate setting or even a close family dinner.

Activities you can not miss in Zanzibar

~The spice tour

~The Red Colobus Monkey tour w/ a visit to the Green Sea Turtle Sanctuary and Mangrove swamp

~Prison Island

~Chumbe Island

The buoni ristoranti in Italy!

2009-02-22T07:17:00.000-08:00

I have started to eat out more and more in Italy these days. I guess you can say I have attained experience in having no fear to tell the waiter exactly what I want! Also, I am able to spot places that can accommodate me better than others, call it a 6th sense if you like! haha, I am sure most Celiacs find they develop this "sense" with time.

Therefore, this post is dedicated to those Celiacs living in Italy and those Celiacs traveling to Italy. I have a list of places that I highly reccommend, and places that are Celiac friendly, but may not be my favorite place to find an Italian meal. I also have some advice to those coming to eat your way around Italy. Firstly don't assume that everyone in Italy knows what Celiac Disease is. I have found that many people look at me like a three headed monster when I say to them "Sono Celiachia!!!" But there have been other times where they knowingly nod their head. I have yet to find that dream place where they just made fresh GF gnocchi for me or where there is homemade GF tiramisu waiting in the fridge for me. There are places out there like this, but you may not find it every time! So I have become content with eating risotto, polenta, salads, delicious meats, and of course the to die for prosciutto di San Daniele! Secondly, most people in Northern Italy, located in the smaller towns(this is not including the big cities like Verona, Treviso, Venice, etc.) speak very little to no English, so your job is to either know the words such as NO Farina di Frumento!!! or have them written down. I have found that if I carry a Celiac explanation in Italiano, it helps immensely. Then I do not have to point to things, throw out Italian words, and scream the words NO FARINA!!! Now you may think you have been practicing your Italian and are confident enough to converse with a lovely non English speaking Mama Mia, but a lot of things get lost in translation. The last couple of times we have gone out, I have almost not brought along the translation card, but my boyfriend insisted that saying NO FARINA is not the answer! And he has always been right so far. So in all honesty, just bring an Italian translation and then you won't be sweating in your chair wondering whether your Italian and most importantly, your hand gestures were understood! Thirdly, if you are in a bind and didn't prepare a place to go ahead of time, do not worry. Find a restaurant that offers risotto or polenta for the primi piatti or first course. Then you can usually eat most anything for your secondo piatti, as most of the items are grilled meat. If the item has a sauce, simply just ask them to leave it out! If you can't find a restaurant that offers polenta or risotto, it is no problem, just order a insalata misto(mixed salad) for your first course, followed by a deliciously grilled roast beef! Trust me you won't go hungry in Italy, even if you are Celiac. And if you are in between meals, just pop into a farmacia and grab a gluten free snack! They have a wide array of snacks, cookies, crackers, pastas, breads, beer, etc in most Italian pharmacies.

Restaurants I highly recommend

Alte Hutte~5 stars out of 5!

via Lussari, 1 Camporosso 33018 Tarvisio

A cozy restaurant located by the ski slopes of Tarvisio. They do not have GF pasta, but if you bring your own they will cook it and add some delicious ragu sauce to it! They have a great 3 course meal for around 20 euros.

Moby Dicks~5 stars out of 5!

VIA MICHELANGELO 30, MORENA DI TRICESIMO, UD 33019

-DS pizza point

-GF pasta, pizzas, and desserts!!!

-Fast and good service

Liston~4 stars out of 5

Via Dietro Listone 19 Verona

Wonderful restaurant serving lots of risottos and dishes with polenta. They have the best mixed salad I have had in Italy! And make sure to try the risotto with radicchio!

Gelateria Emmanuel 4 stars out of 5

Via Roma, across from arena, Verona

GF gelatos available here! Lots of choices!

They even use seperate scoops for every ice cream, so no CC worries!

Restaurants that can accommodate GF, but are not my favorite

Al Porto~ 2 out of 5 stars

Muggia, UD

http://www.ristorantealporto.com/

This restaurant is located in the beautiful city of Muggia and has an incredible view. They offer GF pasta and pizza. Their pizza is sub par, but the view is worth it. If you really are looking for a good pizza place I recommend a DS pizza point, as this one tasted like a pizza made on soggy polenta!

Da Poggi~0 out of 5 stars

Venice

I have now tried to eat at Da Poggi, located on the famous street in Venice. The first time I made a reservation via email and did not receive a response until 3 am. I obviously did not check my email this late, nor in the morning at 6am before we left for Venice. I assumed there would be someone in the restaurant that I could talk to either during lunch hours or dinner hours. However, there was no one in this restaurant and absolutely no hours posted. I asked the shop next store if the restaurant would open later and they said "They open when they want". Obviously we did not want to wait for whatever time that would be, as we were starving. So we ate at another place and low and behold on our walk back, Da Poggi was open. The second time I tried to go with my parents. We sat outside the restaurant, as there was someone inside, for 1 hour. The man inside did not acknowledge us and proceeded to stock the fridge, wander around, turn on the outside lights, everything else possible but did not look at us. We finally knocked on the door, after 12 people had already tried the locked door in front of us. He then looked at me shrugged his shoulders and gave the signal for closed. I pointed to my imaginary watch implying what time they would open and he shrugged his shoulders and walked off. I absolutely do not recommend this restaurant, as they are very very rude in my opinion. Find somewhere else to eat in Venice, but not here!!!

~Also, you can visit the Italian website for more options

http://www.celiachia.it/

Just click on the AFC link with the Great Britain flag

~Or even the DS pizza points

http://www.dspizzapoint.com/

This list will be continually updated!

Sesame Chicken

2009-02-19T05:34:00.000-08:00

The other day I passed by a Chinese Restaurant in Slovenia and I thought to myself just how much I really do miss Chinese food. Sure a good stir fry scratches that itch for a salty soy sauce craving, but it only fixes it temporarily. I miss quality Chinese dinners full of stir fried rice, sesame chicken, shrimp lo mein, and even a scoop full of Mongolian beef to finish it off. But not all is lost! About a month ago I came across a recipe on allrecipes.com, which for the record is one of my favorite sites, and a recipe for sesame chicken jumped out at me. I realized that hey, it really isn't that hard to make this dish and it is easily made gluten free thanks to GF soy sauce!!! I have now made this dish twice and each time it gets better and better. Pair it with some stir fried rice and you wouldn't even know it wasn't take out Chinese from your old favorite spot around the corner!

Sesame Chicken

Marinade

~2 tbs white rice flour
~2 tbs cornstarch
~1/4 tsp GF baking soda
~1/4 tsp GF baking powder
~2 tbs GF soy sauce
~3 tbs water
~1 tsp vegetable oil
~1 dash sesame oil
~1 lb skinless, boneless chicken breast, cubed

Sauce

~1 cup chicken broth
~1/4 cup white sugar
~1-2 tbs rice vinegar
~2 tbs GF soy sauce
~2 tbs sesame oil
~1 tsp GF chili paste
~1 clove garlic, minced
~1/4 cup cornstarch
~1/2 cup water
~2 tbs sesame seeds, added at the end

Mix marinade ingredients together. Then stir in chicken, coating completely, and place in fridge. After 30min., remove chicken from fridge. Heat 2tsp. olive oil in skillet and fry chicken until cooked. While chicken is cooking, heat sauce in wok or skillet. Bring chicken broth, sugar, vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, chili paste, and garlic to a boil. Mix cornstarch with water and stir until smooth. Stir the cornstarch water mixture into boiling sauce. Simmer sauce until clear, about 2-3 minutes, and then reduce heat until chicken is done. Pour 2 tbs of sesame seeds into sauce and pour sauce over chicken. You may find that you have more sauce than chicken, that is why it is important not to put the chicken into the sauce, but pour it over the chicken so you have the perfect amount. I have tweaked this recipe quite a bit. You may find it too sweet, so only add part of the sugar and then sample the sauce. Or you may like the zang of vinegar, in that case, add a bit more vinegar. Add or take out little amounts until you find the perfect sauce for you! Serve over plain rice or fried rice, complete with chop sticks.

A Romantic Dinner for Two

2009-02-16T09:56:00.000-08:00

As you all know this past Saturday was Valentine's Day. Now I have to be honest and say that I am not the biggest fan of Valentine's Day. I have memories of being in Middle School and never getting a Valentine's Day present from a boy. I would see many of my school mates running around with balloons, flowers, and candy from boyfriends, admirer’s, or just a special someone. I was never quite that lucky. So a part of me has always thought Valentine's Day is just a bit overrated...But this year was actually quite nice. My boyfriend was away playing a hockey game and I was still entertaining my guests, but I came home on Valentine's Day night to some wonderful roses in my room, which definitely made up for some of my past V-Days! I then decided that it would be best to celebrate this "special" day on the 15th, as that was the day that I would no longer have any company in my household. I had eaten out so much in the past month with being on vacation that I was desperately craving a good home cooked meal. Not to mention my boyfriend was just as eager to have one, as he told me more than once he really missed my cooking while I was gone! Which I greatly appreciated! So I decided to make it a three course meal with some hearty meat, some romantic food items, and of course finishing it off with some Vino. So for those of you romantic Celiacs out there, this meal is absolutely perfect, and most importantly is not a meal that you need to be the next Top Chef to make!! So dust off your candles, get out and buy a nice Italian vino rosso, put on your apron, and get to work!

Spinach Artichoke Dip

~1 cup GF cream cheese
~1 jar canned artichokes, chopped and rinsed
~1/2-3/4 cup frozen spinach, drained and thawed
~1/8 cup shredded Asiago cheese
~1/8 cup shredded Parm. cheese
~4 cloves garlic
~splash of milk

Preheat oven to 325 F( about 170C) and place garlic gloves in pie pan, baking dish can also be used. Make sure garlic is peeled. Roast garlic for 20-30 minutes until soft. Remove dish from oven and smash garlic, spreading over bottom of dish. Mix cream cheese and milk with garlic in dish. Add enough milk to create a creamy consistency. Then stir in spinach and chopped artichokes. Finish the dip off with stirring in both cheeses. Bake in oven for 20-30 minutes covered and then 10 minutes uncovered or until top starts to crust over. Serve with toasted Gluten free bread and tortilla chips.

Breaded Pork Chops

~2 pork chops, bones removed
~GF bread crumbs
~1 egg
~Cornstarch
~Salt
~Fresh Rosemary, thinly chopped

Remove bones from Pork Chops. Sprinkle about 1/4 cup cornstarch on to plate. On a separate plate, sprinkle small amount of GF bread crumbs. Then in a separate bowl, beat the egg. Coat Pork Chop in cornstarch, then coat with egg. Sprinkle rosemary and salt onto both sides of cornstarch and egg coated chop. Finally place on GF bread crumb plate and coat completely. Place on cooking sheet covered in foil. Repeat this with other Pork Chop. Then place in oven once artichoke dip is done. Cook for 10-15 minutes depending on thickness of chops.

Mushroom Gravy

~1/4 cup chicken or veggie broth
~1/4 cup canned mushrooms chopped
~1-2 tbs. thinly chopped onion or scallion
~1 tsp. butter
~1-2 tsp cornstarch dissolved in 2 tsp. water

Cook gravy once dip is finished and pork chops have 5 minutes to go. Place onions in pan with butter. Sauté for 5 minutes, then add mushrooms and sauté for 2-3 more minutes. Add in broth and cook on high temperature. After 3 minutes add in corn starch and stir until gravy becomes thick. You may need to add more cornstarch if gravy appears too thin, or if you added too much cornstarch, just pour in a touch more broth. Serve immediately over pork chops and potatoes.

Mashed Potatoes

~3 medium to large potatoes peeled and chopped into 1-2inch. sections
~1/4-1/2 cup milk
~2 tsp. butter
~Salt to taste

Place potatoes into boiling water once dip is done. Remove them from water when they are soft enough a fork can pierce through them. Drain and place into separate big bowl. With a potato masher or electric mixer, mix butter into potatoes. Then begin mixing the milk in to create a creamy consistency. You may need more or less milk depending on how big the potatoes are you used. Finally add salt to taste.

Green Beans with Prosciutto

~1-1/2 cup green beans, ends snapped off
~couple pieces of prosciutto chopped
~1 clove garlic minced
~olive oil
~salt to taste

Sauté garlic, green beans, and prosciutto in 1-2 tsp. olive oil. This can be started before gravy is prepared. Sauté for 5-8 minutes, or until green beans start to soften, but still keep their crispness.

Dark Chocolate Fondue

~1-2 bars Lindt 70% dark chocolate
~1/4-1/2 cup milk
~desired fruit, chopped

Melt Chocolate in fondue pot over stove. If you do not have a fondue pot, you can use a regular small sized pot. Add in milk slowly as chocolate begins to melt. You will want the chocolate to become creamy, but not so thin that it will not coat the fruits. However, it should easy pour off a spoon in a thick stream. Remember, you can always add more milk at the end, so do not add too much in the beginning! Serve over tea light candle to keep warm. Dip fruit in chocolate with fondue forks or regular forks.

A gluten Free Safari in Tanzania

2009-02-16T08:31:00.000-08:00

Jambo!!! I am finally home from my traveling across the world and I could not be happier. It was an amazing trip and full of wonderful memories, but lets face it...I am exhausted! I also just played host for the past week, as my cousin and friend were visiting. Now I have 3 whole days to myself before my boyfriend's Mom comes for a visit. So I am enjoying the quiet house while I can! As for my trip to Africa, where do I even begin!

My family, best friend from AK(who thankfully brought her Dad's huge professional camera), and I went on an 8 day safari across Tanzania. It was incredible. We saw everything from Leopard babies, A Cheetah catching a Hare, thousands of Zebras, Baboons climbing on our car, Lions right next to our car, and the list goes on and on forever. Our driver was wonderful and the accommodations were more then we could ask for. We stayed in tent camps for the majority of the time and were literally in the wild with the animals!! I woke up to an elephant pushing over a tree in the middle of the night right outside my tent! Now that is a memory! But one of the best parts of the trip was the food. It was the most delicious food I have ever had in my life and completely Gluten Free! The owner of the safari company was aware of my situation and informed all the tent camps and lodges we stayed at of my needs. They were so great about making sure my food was gluten free and I even got a couple special food items made for me! I just took along my own bread and cereal to eat in the morning. For lunch they always packed me a meal of chicken, boiled eggs, fresh fruit, nuts, and salad. For dinners I enjoyed Indian dishes, perfectly spiced chicken dishes, fresh fish, and many other wonderful items. I was even able to eat dessert every night, which consisted of fruit and custard toppings made with corn starch. I can not recommend this experience enough. It is a bit of a pricy endeavor, but if you are looking for a vacation never to forget this is it! Not once did I have to worry that I would go hungry and I got to see the most amazing wildlife and scenery possible in the world!!!

Safari Company:

Tanzania Adventures

Parks Visited:

Serengeti (both north and south)
Lake Manyara
Terengire
Ngorongoro Crater

Gluten Free in Tanzania

2009-01-23T11:43:00.000-08:00

Jambo! For those of you who don't know, I am currently in Tanzania and just got back from a safari! It was amazing and completely gluten free. I will be here for another 2 weeks, so recipes will be postponed. However, I will update on my gluten free experiences and give all information about the safari company that provided me with the best gluten free experience ever!

Black Bean Soup

2009-01-07T09:15:00.001-08:00

Now I love a great black bean soup in the winter. The spicy taste and warm comforting texture always captures my taste buds. My parents arrive tomorrow in the great country of Italia, so I thought what better way to welcome them then to whip up some delizioso soup. I know what you are thinking, I should be creating some sort of Italian delicacy...Well don't fret I am! Only that delicious dish is saved for dinner.

I had quite some time on my hands today, so I figured I would take my time with this soup. This soup is a perfect soup to create on those rainy days or even the days where you have a whole bunch of housework that needs to be done, which was my case. And of course, if you don't have hours of time ahead of you at home, just throw this baby in the crock pot for a couple hours. This soup is good and so hearty that you can even drizzle it over a bed of rice. I personally like to serve mine with fresh chopped tomatoes, chopped green onions, and even a dollop of sour cream. Buon Appetito!

Black Bean Soup

~5-6 cups water
~6 cups GF veggie broth
~1 400g can crushed tomatoes
~2 celery stalks
~300g cubed bacon(about 4-5 pieces)
~1 large onion
~3 cloves garlic minced
~salt and pepper to taste
~500g black beans, rinsed and drained( app. 1 lb)
~2 bay leaves
~1/4 tsp. oregano
~cayenne pepper to taste

Place 5 cups water in a large pot, add rinsed black beans and bring to boil. Boil 30-45 min. while you get all other ingredients ready. Sauté chopped bacon in soup pot. Once bacon starts to brown, add onions, celery, and garlic. Sauté for 10min. adding in oregano, salt, and pepper. Then add bay leaves, beans, and water in which they are cooking in to veggies in soup pot. Add can of crushed tomatoes. Then stir in 1/2 of the broth and cook uncovered. After 20-30 min. add the rest of broth, simmer covered for 1 hour to 1 1/2 hour. Add more water if soup becomes too thick. Taste occasionally and season with cayenne as necessary. Once beans are very soft and easy mashed against side of pot, remove soup in portions and puree in blender or food processor. Once soup is all blended return to pot. Serve immediately.

Sausage Lentil Soup

2008-12-28T06:53:00.000-08:00

My mom would be so proud of me....I made something with lentils in it! For my whole entire childhood and even up into my late teens, I absolutely detested anything with lentils in it. I thought that lentils tasted like cardboard, and as a child, I frequently told anyone who would listen that I was highly allergic to them. However, with the passing years I have grown to really enjoy a good lentil soup or better yet, a lentil burger toped with ripe avocado slices. This following soup was inspired after the reindeer stew that is always available back home in Alaska.

Now I have to tell you the process that I went through to create this soup, which is quite funny. Sometimes I buy my meats already packaged up at the store, but most of the time I walk down the street, literally about a block, and find myself at the local butcher. She is great and always seems to decipher out what I want from my horrible Italian and wild hand gestures. I had seen some good looking fresh sausage being offered from my butcher, so I didn't pick up any at the store when I was out getting all my other supplies. So on morning before I created this delicious soup, I headed down to Francesca's butcher shop and patiently waited my turn. There were a couple of mama mia's in front of me stocking up on meats, which I can only dream about what mouthwatering dishes they will be used for. Meanwhile, the old Italian women that is in line ahead of me decides that she wants all of the sausages left in the window for who knows what. I stare with utter disbelief, quickly wondering how I am going to ask if there are anymore in the back!!!! Francesca then finishes packaging up the 5 pounds of sausage for the hungry mama mia and looks to me for my order. I panic!! I just start pointing at the empty tray and foolishly saying questo(this) questo!! She looks at me with a look of pure confusion and points to something else. All I can do is reply no no, I want the sausages!! Well thankfully there was a HUGE tube of sausage behind some of the meats, although it wasn't the sausage that I wanted. So finally I agreed that that was what I wanted. I then inform her I would just like one, thinking she will give me one extra long piece of sausage. But no, she looks at me and asks where she should tie the sausage off. Well now I am just really panicking! I have no idea how much this piece of sausage weighs, nor am I the guy at the fair that guesses weights for a living. I tell her more and then decide I think that piece will merely have to do! I get home and unfortunately my soup could have definitely used some more sausage! But at least next time I make this soup, I will clearly know just how much sausage I need! So enjoy this hearty soup and don't panic if you don't have enough sausage to satisfy this recipe, because it still tastes just as delicious...trust me!

Sausage Lentil Soup

~1 can crushed tomatoes
~2 stalks celery, finely chopped
~1 carrot, shredded
~1/2 lb sausage
~fresh thyme leaves, about 1-2 tsp.
~1/2 tsp dried oregano
~1/2 tsp dried basil
~salt and pepper to taste
~4 cups broth
~4 cups water
~330 grams yellow lentils, uncooked

This soup is a little time consuming, so make sure you have a couple hours. Rinse lentils thoroughly. Brown sausage in soup pot, after 5 minutes add celery and shredded carrot. Continue to cook for another 5 minutes. Then add broth and water to pot. Add in lentils and spices. Cook for 2-3 hours covered or until lentils are completely cooked. Then serve with grated parm cheese. However, the longer you have to cook the lentils, the better the soup tastes. So be patient with this soup and cook it on a day when you have some time on your hands. Or better yet throw it all together in a crock pot for a couple hours and you have an easy soup on the table.

Cinnamon Rolls to die for

2008-12-23T05:13:00.000-08:00

I had the most delicious treat of my life the other day, a treat that I never in my life thought I would eat again. I had simply just written this item off and erased it from my mind. I am referring to cinnamon rolls. Warm, sweet, gooey, freshly baked cinnamon rolls.

Cinnamon rolls and I have a long history. I used to eat a pack of cinnastix from Cinnabon's every single time that I was in the airport during college. On many of these occasions I was going home for the holidays, or the summer, or headed back to school. I remember eating cinnastix in many different airports at many different hours of the day, but they always held some comfort for me. As a result, cinnamon rolls remind me of my college years. The years that I really grew up and became the independent, self assured person I am today. So you see, cinnamon rolls relate to a big part of my life. And when I found out I could no longer eat that delicious paper sack filled with cinnastix, I lost a tiny part of myself. Now my trips through the airports are lonely and usually filled with a growling tummy, since it is almost impossible to find something gluten free at the airport.

However, I came across this recipe for cinnamon rolls the other day while browsing the internet. When I first saw the recipe, I thought to myself, there is absolutely no way these will taste the same. But I decided to take a chance. Well low and behold I created something that I never thought my taste buds would get the opportunity to taste again in my life. These cinnamon rolls were crunchy, doughy, sweet, and simply delectable. I was in cinnamon roll heaven. I felt the comfort that I hadn’t felt since my college days. I shared them with everyone I could and not one person could tell they were gluten free. And for me that is the ultimate approval, when a non-celiac likes my treats I am as happy as can be. So I have to thank whoever came up with this recipe, because it definitely was not me. I found this recipe on a couple different blogs, so whoever is the true artist of this recipe....THANK YOU!!! You really are a cooking genius. Celiacs, go pre-heat that oven and whip these babies up, but make sure you whip up an extra batch because once you taste them; you won't be able to stop!

Cinnamon Rolls

~2 tablespoons butter
~1/4 cup sugar
~2/3 cup of milk, room temperature
~1 packet yeast (about 1 tablespoon)
~1 egg
~1/4 cup canola oil
~1/2 cup potato starch
~1 cup corn starch
~1/4 teaspoon baking soda
~2 1/2 teaspoons xantham gum
~2 teaspoons baking powder
~1/2 teaspoon salt
~1 teaspoon vanilla extract ***Note***

*1 - 2 tablespoons sugar, to use when you roll out the dough

Filling

~1/2 cup brown sugar
~1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
~1/3 cup chopped nuts - optional

Glaze

~¾ cup powdered or confectionary sugar
~1 teaspoon vanilla extract
~milk to thicken

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.In medium bowl, combine shortening and sugar. Mix well. Measure warm milk and add yeast to milk. Whisk well to fully dissolve, then let sit for 30min. on stove as it is pre-heating. Add milk/yeast to sugar mixture after it has sat for at least 30min. Add remaining ingredients. Mix very well, being sure to remove all lumps. Dough will be incredibly soft, but that is perfectly normal. Take a piece of plastic wrap and lay it out so it covers a 13 1/2" x 13 1/2" square. Sprinkle sugar on the wrap. Lay ball of dough on top of that. Then pull out another sheet of wrap and gently lay over the dough. Pat the dough down into a roughly squarish pancake. Lift the top wrap up and then reposition it. Use a rolling pin to roll out the dough in between the two layers of wrap. Occasionally you'll have to lift and reposition the wrap because it gets "stuck" under the edges. You might have to occasionally flip the whole thing over. Make sure that when you're done you've got ABOUT a 13 1/2" x 13 1/2" square of dough. Remove top piece of wrap. Combine filling ingredients. Spread evenly across dough's surface. (Original recipe poster suggested leaving about a 1 1/2" sugar free edge because when you roll the dough all the sugar shifts and fills this in; otherwise all the sugar spills out).Use the bottom piece of wrap to lift the edge of the dough and start to roll it up forming a long cylinder. Start with the sugary edge, which will be the center of your roll and roll toward the sugarless edge. Then cut into 8 or 9 slices of similar size, about 1 1/2" wide. Place rolls into a greased round glass pie pan. Bake approximately 20 minutes, until tops are lightly browned. Combine powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk to make glaze. The amount of milk you use will depend on how thick you want the glaze to be. Stir until all lumps are dissolved. Drizzle over warm rolls if desired.
***Note***: I used vanilla beans instead of vanilla extract, as I had none at the house. I cut a whole vanilla bean open and used approximately 3/4's of the inside of the bean. Just scrape contents with a knife 2-3 times and that will be enough for the cinnamon buns. Be careful that vanilla does not clump together. Stir it evenly throughout the mixture.

Christmas Sugar Cookies

2008-12-19T10:34:00.000-08:00

Last night was spent in the kitchen, where I baked like a mad women. The boys were on the road again, so I had some of the girls over to show them the ins and outs of gluten free baking, which in my opinion is similar to rocket science. I was really excited to teach one of the girls the scoop on how to perfect a gluten free treat, as she just opened up her own catering business in Canada. We decided to create some cinnamon rolls followed by some delectable sugar cookies just in time for the holidays. Since this is my first Christmas being gluten free and also my first Christmas away from home, I have decided to make as many cookies, desserts, sweets, etc, as possible.

For as long as I can remember, my family always had the tradition of making spritzer cookies with my cousins for the holidays. I remember sitting at my dining room table covered in dough, dumping every imaginable color of sprinkles all over my cookies. I even would toss a couple of red hots in there and if the cookie was lucky, I even placed a chocolate covered in sprinkles in the middle, or as I called it at the time, a band-aid cookie! My cousins would be sitting close to me creating a mess of decorations on their cookies as well. And if my brother was in an artistic mood, he would even join in. This tradition has carried on every single year, except this year where I decided to create my own tradition. So with my apron on and my oven blazing, I went to work. I had no cookie cutter or a spritzer for that matter, so I created my own designs. My boyfriend loves cookies, so I thought what better way to surprise him when he comes home than with cookies that are shaped into hearts! Well after about 5 cookies, I got frustrated with using my designer cutting skills and pulled out my ravioli cutter! So now I truly have Italian cookies, which are cut into ravioli shapes!

This recipe was very simple and took no time at all. However, I did cheat a little because I used a flour mix for the cookies, as I am quickly running out of brown rice flour. And oddly enough, no one in Austria or Italy seems to carry brown rice flour, only white rice. I have found that Europeans like to use corn flour a lot more than rice flour in their products. These cookies were mostly made out of corn and were actually the best sugar cookies I have had in my life! Light, buttery, and full of flavor. If you are looking to create some holiday cookies for friends, family, and maybe even Santa, look no further.

Christmas Sugar Cookies

~1/2 cup butter, room temp
~1/3 cup sugar
~1 egg
~1 tsp. baking powder
~1/4 cup coconut flour
~3/4 cup flour mix(mine was corn flour, cornstarch, and carob seed flour)

Cream butter and sugar together. Add in egg, mix completely. In a separate bowl combine both flours and baking powder. Add flour mix to "cream" mixture. Stir thoroughly together creating a ball of cookie dough. On a floured piece(cornstarch) of wax paper, roll out the ball of dough until it is 1/4 in. thick. Then using a cookie cutter, cut out shapes from the dough and place on cookie sheet. Reuse scraps by rolling them out again and creating more cookies. Repeat this until all of dough is used. Bake for 5-8 min. at 375F, until cookie is barely starting to brown on edges. It is better to undercook these cookies than overcook them! You can decorate them before baking with sprinkles and other festive treats. However, I just used nutella as a frosting for some of the cookies. For the rest of the cookies, I used a chocolate icing made up of milk, powdered sugar, and cocoa powder for others. Feel free to decorate them however you want or even leave them plain. Happy Holidays!

Italian Stuffed Chicken

2008-12-18T04:56:00.000-08:00

Pre-game meals are one of the most important meals in my home. Like any athlete, my boyfriend is concerned about his meal preceding his evening hockey games. Whether it is a home game or an away game, a massive carb oriented lunch is created that day. This past Tuesday I was trying to think up some ideas other than pasta, chicken parm, and roasted potatoes, which was turning out to be our go to meal. That was when this idea hit me. My boyfriend wanted stuffed chicken, so I naturally suggested something Italian, since we are living in Italy.

This recipe is great because it really is quick and simple. Not to mention you can pair it with almost any side dish. I served it with an Italian risotto mix I found that was actually gluten free. Normally I make my own risotto, but when in Italy, the mixes work just as well. This one was made up of freeze dried zucchini, peppers, olives, spices, and of course rice. However, cooking risotto is an art and you simply just don't dump this mix into bowling water. I patiently babied this risotto for a good 20 minutes. Stirring, adding broth, a touch of vino bianco, butter, and lots of love, because to me a good risotto is completely worth it.

Now for the chicken, I have to give complete credit to my boyfriend in executing this one. I had never created stuffed chicken before this and believed that if I just made a pocket in the chicken, everything else would follow perfectly. Well to my surprise making stuff chicken, like risotto, can be seen as an art form. I watched closely with grated asiago cheese in hand and fresh parma prosciutto crudo cascading its aroma around the kitchen, as my boyfriend taught me about the "portefeuille" technique, also known in English as the wallet technique. At this point I almost felt I should start taking notes. He cut the chicken with such finesse and precision, that I have to admit I was thoroughly impressed. But after that initial act was done, I butted back in, as I simply can’t let someone else do all the cooking. And is his words, I took back my kitchen! The meal turned out to be fantastic and I did take a picture of it, but realized to my dismay that my memory card was not in my camera. So, alas there is no photo. But I guarantee you this meal will become a pre-game favorite and in due time I will have a mouth-watering photo to display for everyone.

Italian Stuffed Chicken

~2 large thick chicken breasts(combined should equal a pound or more)
~80 g prosciutto(not ham)
~1 cup grated asiago cheese(or provolone, gouda, etc.)
~gluten free bread crumbs
~1 egg
~cornstarch
~olive oil
~salt and pepper

Cut any excess fat from chicken breasts, then lay flat. While pressing your hand down on the chicken breast, cut chicken into a "wallet" being careful not to cut through the other side. Once the pocket is complete, stuff with prosciutto, followed by cheese. Then let the pocket close. You do not want the chicken stuffed so full that it is overflowing. Set chicken aside. Crack egg into bowl and stir thoroughly. Coat two plates, one with cornstarch and the other with bread crumbs. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Dip one chicken into egg, then place it on the plate of cornstarch. Completely cover with a light layer and then dip in bread crumbs, cover completely. Repeat with other chicken. Heat a skillet to medium heat and cook both chicken breasts in 2 tbs olive oil for 2-3 minutes on both sides. Then transfer them into baking dish and place in oven. Cook for 20-25 minutes at 350F. At this point, while chicken is cooking, you can make your risotto or other side dish.

Quebecois Shepherd's Pie

2008-12-15T05:22:00.000-08:00

This past week my boyfriend made a request for a dinner of the infamous Shepherd’s Pie. The shepherd’s pies that I have grown up with in the states were comprised of a pie crust and then filled with potatoes, corn, peas, sometimes other veggies, and of course some sort of meat. I have to admit I am not a very big fan of these pies and frankly have only tried it once. I tentatively replied to his request, "so basically you want me to make you a pie with some meat and veggies in it??" He looked at me with disgust and stated that that is not a "true" shepherd’s pie. At this point I believe that he was actually very insulted with my idea of a shepherd’s pie. He quickly went into an explanation of what consists of shepherd’s pie and that our shepherd's pie is more similar to their meat pie, which is a pie originally made of meat from a bird that is now extinct in Quebec, thanks to all those lovers of meat pie. He also informed me that a correctly made shepherd’s pie has only three ingredients, mashed potatoes, corn, and meat. If it has anything else besides those 3 essential ingredients, it just simply isn't a real shepherd’s pie. So after my very informative class of shepherd’s pie 101, I began my search to create my own notorious Quebecois shepherd’s pie.

I was very skeptical on the evening that I created this dish as to whether or not I would truly enjoy this meal. After a touch of research, I was ready to begin. The meal itself took very little time to create, since there are very few ingredients. However, don't let the limited number of ingredients deter you from this meal. It turned out simply fantastic. It was one of the most comforting meals I have had in a long time. Simple and warm and covered in ketchup, you really can't go wrong. Not to mention my boyfriend was proud of my Quebecois cooking skills and stated that it was just like his mother's! Now that is a compliment. So for those in need of a simple, warm meal on a cold winter night, just turn to this shepherd’s pie recipe.

Quebecois Style Shepherd’s Pie

~1lb ground beef
~1 med. yellow onion
~2 cloves garlic, minced
~salt and pepper
~5 med. size Yukon gold potatoes peeled( you want enough for about 4 cups mashed potatoes)
~1 400g can of corn
~milk
~butter

Preheat oven to 350 F. Boil water in a big soup pot. Peel and cut potatoes into 3x3 inch chunks. Add chunks of potatoes once water is boiling. Cook potatoes until they are soft and are easily broken apart, approximately 5-10 minutes. While Potatoes cook, brown the beef with the onions. When beef is almost done, add in minced garlic. Continue cooking until grease is almost gone. If there is an excess of grease in pan, drain beef. Place beef in bottom of glass casserole dish. Pour potatoes and water into a strainer. Then place potatoes into a big bowl. Add 4 tbs butter to the middle and let sit until almost melted. Then add a splash of milk. Mix potatoes together with either an electric mixer or potato masher. Continue to add milk while mixing potatoes, but only add about 1-2 tbs at a time. You will want potatoes mashed into a creamy consistency, but not soupy. At the end add salt and pepper to taste. Drain corn and add layer of corn onto the beef. Then spoon in mash potatoes creating a layer on top of beef and corn. Place in oven and bake 25-30 minutes, or until potatoes barely start to brown on top. Serve with either gravy or a good helping of ketchup.

Slovenia, an ideal place to visit.

2008-12-15T04:53:00.000-08:00

This past week we have accumulated an incredible amount of snow here, to the point that the hockey game on Thursday was postponed. I felt that with all this snow, I should head to the ski slopes. So on Sunday I made the drive to Slovenia to check out the skiing areas there. I went to the resort area of Kranjska Gora, which is about 45 minutes from where I am living in Italy. This resort area is complete with spas, a decent sized ski area, 5 star hotels, and numerous cafes and bars. I spent the afternoon skiing the powder filled slopes and finished with a wonderful Slovenian dinner. I have decided after my three visits to Slovenia, that I absolutely love it! I recommend this country to anyone and everyone. You can't beat the national parks, the coastline, the crystal clear blue rivers, or the mountainous areas. Not to mention this country is completely suitable for Celiacs. The Slovenian people are some of the friendliest people I have met in Europe.

For dinner we went to a restaurant that was recommended by some of the other guys here on the team. I admit I was slightly nervous upon entering this restaurant and seeing on everyone's plate fried food, gravies, dumplings, and other inedible items for me. At this point I thought to myself that I would be enjoying a simple salad and maybe some potatoes if I was lucky! However, to my surprise the menu was great! I skimmed through looking for items that were suitable and found more than I could imagine. I always pick a couple items I believe to be gluten free and then will hand the server my celiac card (which unfortunately was not in Slovenian, but everyone in Slovenia speaks English, German, and Italian almost fluently), she took it and looked it over, consulted another fellow server, asked me a couple questions, and within 3 minutes I was set with a dinner of seafood risotto followed by trout served with boiled potatoes and spinach. The meal ended up being absolutely wonderful and was by far one of the best meals I have had so far this year in Europe. My seafood risotto was filled with fresh mussels, calamari, and even crab. My trout was baked to perfection in a salt filled pan, which is a very common way to cook fish in this area. The meat literally fell of the bones. The spinach was sautéed in garlic and salt and paired beautifully with the boiled potatoes. I must have said about ten times what a wonderful meal it was. And from now on I have no fear of eating in Slovenia!

I have begun to realize that food and meal times in Europe are very important. I have never gone hungry since I have been here. I have found that as long as you make yourself clear and have a nice little celiac card to take along with you, every restaurant will want to please you. I was very nervous the first couple times I ate out, but have begun to enjoy the adventure of going out to eat in different countries. Unlike Americans, who are often times uneducated with Celiac Disease and may think you are simply a picky eater; Europeans thrive on pleasing those that have restricted diets. Therefore, my advice to Celiacs is don't limit yourself, travel and experience what other cultures have to offer, because you may find their ways simply irresistible to your taste buds.

Just a couple more uses for Soy Sauce

2008-12-11T01:25:00.001-08:00

This week has been full of snow and pretty chilly. I have been on an Asian kick after I created the most delicious GF sesame chicken ever, which will be posted soon. So I have been playing around with Soy Sauce attempting to use it for something other than our occasional stir fry and when I take it for our trips to the sushi restaurant in Austria. On Tuesday it was quite chilly here and I was thinking about how much I enjoy a good miso soup. Well thanks to my current condition, I unfortunately am very wary about miso soup. I can make it GF, but eating it out at a restaurant is pretty sketchy. Mostly because the staff at sushi restaurants can't explain to you what miso they are using and if they are using the barley infused miso....well I am pretty sure you have a good idea what will happen. I have made this mistake twice now and have greatly paid for it. Normally in an ambiguous gluten free situation, I just simply do not eat that food. I say to myself is it really worth it that you eat that item and it may be full of gluten? I simply just say no. However, I have a huge weak spot for that delicious salty brothy flavor of a mouth-watering miso soup before a huge meal of sushi. So on those two occasions, I have simply convinced myself that there is no way they can put barley in my miso soup, well I was clearly wrong both times! Therefore, I have stopped eating miso soup and miss it like crazy. Regrettably, I have not been motivated to test my Japanese cooking techniques and create a wondrous soup, I simply just have no desire to work with the tofu that is required for what I believe a proper miso soup. Now that brings me to my fulfilling Japanese soup I created the other day. I first thought about the things I love the most about miso soup, the broth, the salty flavor, the onions, etc. and then I came up with this creation. So for all you miso soup loving Celiacs, this may just curb your cravings.

Japanese Soup

~1 egg
~1 egg white
~1 tbs. white wine, I just used some random Italian white wine I had in the fridge
~1/2 tsp. sugar
~2-3 cups GF veggie broth
~1 cup mushrooms chopped
~3 green onions chopped, someitmes called scallions
~1/2 lb chicken chopped into cubes
~2 tbs GF soy sauce
~1 packet vermicelli rice noodles

Bring broth, wine, soy sauce, and sugar to a boil in a wok, or soup pot. While waiting for that to boil, combine 1 egg and 1 egg white together in bowl. Once soup boils, reduce heat slightly to a simmer, add chicken and rice noodles. Add as many noodles as you want to be in your soup. Add less if you want a broth based soup or more if you want barely any broth. If you do want more broth in your soup, add less noodles than you think, as they will expand and absorb quite a bit of the liquid. Then add in the egg mixture, but do not stir it in. Add mushrooms and green onions(scallions). Finally after 3-5 minutes stir egg mixture in soup with a knife. The chicken should be cooked now, make sure by fishing a piece out and checking that the inside is no longer pink. Then spoon soup into bowls and enjoy!

My second concoction was made for dinner after eating this soup for lunch. I was planning on making citrus chicken with risotto and then I thought well why not just add some soy sauce to zest it up a bit! So thus came my Asian influenced citrus chicken. It is a very simple and healthy meal that is actually one of my best tasting meals yet. So if you feel like you need to use up some soy sauce in the fridge, just pair up these two recipes for a day of Asian flare.

Asian Citrus Chicken

~1 cup risotto (uncooked)
~1 lb raw chicken breasts
~4 cups GF veggie broth
~juice from one orange
~1 med. yellow onion, chopped
~2 cloves garlic, minced
~5 basil leaves, torn
~salt and pepper
~1 tbs soy sauce
~1-2 tsp. lemon zest

Sauce

~juice of one orange
~juice from half a lemon
~2 tsp. potato starch or cornstarch( I used potato) mixed in 1 tbs. water
~touch of salt

Drizzle olive oil in skillet and heat to medium high. Season chicken with salt and pepper and cook 3 minutes on each side. Remove chicken from pan. In same pan add a touch more olive oil and sauté onions for 2-3 minutes, then add in minced garlic. Sauté for 1-2 more minutes seasoning with a touch of salt and pepper. Then add in half of the broth, soy sauce, juice, and rice. Bring to a boil, then reduce and simmer covered. Check the mixture every 3-5 minutes, when broth mixture starts to become absorbed in rice, stir in more broth. Once liquid is beginning to absorb into rice, add in lemon zest and torn basil leaves. After 10 minutes, add back in breasts of chicken. Cook chicken in rice for about 10 more minutes or until rice is completely cooked. Keep stirring in liquid even when chicken is added back in. I check risotto by every so often eating a couple pieces of the rice. Just remember risotto takes time and if it does not seem done, just stir in more liquid. The trick is to stir in liquid frequently and do not let risotto dry out. You should be left with a creamy rice mixture at the end. To make the sauce heat a smaller skillet or wok and add juices and salt to the pan. Bring to a boil and stir in starch mixture. Boil on high continuously stirring until sauce is reduced, then bring heat to low and keep warm until chicken and rice is done. Then plate the rice and chicken and drizzle a touch of sauce over chicken. And voila, you have put your soy sauce to good use!

My Italian Thanksgiving senza glutine

2008-12-04T15:09:00.000-08:00

I know that I am about a week late on Thanksgiving, but this year I ran on Italian time, so naturally I had to be late. Actually the real reason for the delay was the boys rigorous hockey schedule kept getting in the way, not to mention I am the only American here. So we were finally able to have Thanksgiving yesterday. Now Thanksgiving in Pontebba was slightly different than my normal Thanksgiving routine, which is always in Maui enjoying a wonderful buffet dinner with numerous items to choose from. However, this year was very different because 1. I am now a diagnosed Celiac 2. I am living in the middle of nowhere in Northern Italy.

The preparation for Thanksgiving started about a week ago with me sitting down with my neighbor and fellow hockey wife to chat about the menu. She is a Canadian, but had no problem in celebrating her Thanksgiving a month late with American Thanksgiving. We spent some time coming up with items that were easy, I could eat, and big enough to feed a bunch of Canadian hockey guys. After coming up with a rough draft of items I went off in search of a turkey. My search began with inquiring as to whether our favorite local butcher, who I am now on ciao ciao terms with, would supply us with a fresh turkey and if she would who would order it in Italiano for me. Before trying this option out, I asked an Austrian if this would be possible. He simply laughed at me, called his friend and asked where this crazy American, me, could get a whole uncooked fresh turkey. He plainly told me after the phone call was over that I was crazy and to just buy a frozen one. Well I had remembered seeing some frozen turkeys at a grocery store in Austria, so I decided that that would be the best option. Then with the turkey taken care of, Thanksgiving was well on its way. After surveying some websites we finally came up with the rest of the dinner.

The morning of Thanksgiving I got up bright and early to bake my pie. I will admit I was a little nervous about my Betty Crocker baking skills, but I took a chance. My Mom is always the one during the holidays that bakes her delicious apple pie, but this year I adopted the tradition. After doing enough pie research to become a professional pie maker, I underwent the task of creating a gluten free master piece. While my boyfriend quietly slept, I became the mad scientist of cooking in our kitchen. Flours where being thrown everywhere, butter smeared on the walls, apples on the floor (I have never mentioned that I am not always the "cleanest” cook, but I get the job done!), basically a tornado hit my kitchen. After about ten minutes into this task, I realized it was time to put on the apron, which meant things were getting serious. Finally I took the last piece of rolled out pie crust and placed it over the top of the pie. I cautiously carried my "child" to the oven and quickly put it inside. After approximately 40 minutes and serious amounts of anxiety, it was done. Now normally I don't like to toot my own horn, but on this item I tooted it loud and clear and even followed up with a pat on the back! The pie turned out delicious and I got compliments from everyone on my Apple Pie senza glutine. Now there were other items on the menu other than the Apple Pie, but that was the main item I worried the most about. After it was cooked, everything else was a piece of cake!

The meal started with antipasti items such as, fresh cheeses, olives, GF chips, salami, proscuitto, etc. It was then followed by the main course, which included 2 cooked to perfection turkeys, GF cornbread stuffing, mashed potato casserole, green beans with proscuitto, home made cranberry sauce, GF gravy, and of course rolls for all those non-celiacs attending, i.e. everyone else. I will include the recipes for the items I made and encourage anyone and everyone to seriously make this Apple Pie.

GF Cornbread Stuffing

Now this recipe gets a little complicated, as you must first make your own cornbread or muffins for this since all store bought ones are injected with gluten. For the muffins I used the recipe of the celiac.com website, but you can use any simple plain cornbread/muffin recipe. Then for the stuffing I used the recipe off of Oprah's website, however, I changed it very slightly since there is no GF cream of mushroom soup in this area!

Cornbread from celiac.com

~1 cup corn meal
~1 tsp salt
~1 cup white rice
~1/3 cup oil
~1/4 cup sugar
~1 egg
~2 tsp. xantham gum
~1 cup milk
~2 Tsb baking powder
~1 more cup of water

Mix all ingredients together and then bake at 350 F for 30 minutes or until done. Let bread cool and then crumble onto cookie sheet and bake at 350 F until dry and just starting to turn brown.

Stuffing

~Olive oil
~6 tbs butter
~2 yellow onions
~5 celery stalks
~3 big carrots
~all the cornbread "croutons" previously made
~1 cup orange juice
~juice from a lemon
~3 cups broth
~1/2 cup white wine
~1 cup scallions
~salt and pepper

Heat 2 tbs olive oil and sauté scallions, celery, onions, and carrots with salt and pepper until they start to soften. Add white wine and sauté for 5 more minutes. Place cornbread "croutons" in a bowl, add veggies with wine, broth, orange juice, lemon juice, and a bit more salt. Bake in oven for 45min-1 hour.

My newly famous Apple Pie

~1/2 cup brown rice flour
~1/3 cup potato starch
~1/4 cup tapioca starch
~3-4 Tbs sweet rice flour
~1 tsp. cornstarch
~2 Tbp sugar
~1/2 tsp. baking powder
~1 1/2 tsp. xantham gum
~1/2 cup butter
~2 egg
~1 Tbs lemon juice

Combine all flours, cornstarch, baking powder, and xantham gum into bowl. Cut the 1/2 cup butter into chunks and place in bowl. With a fork cut the butter into the flour until the butter is pea sized. Combine 1 egg and lemon juice in separate cup/container and then pour into dough. Gently combine the liquid with the dry ingredients using a fork. Once combined dough should hold together well, if it is to dry add just a tsp. of water at first, if more is needed add another. If dough is too wet, sprinkle white rice flour onto ball of dough. Place the ball of dough onto wax paper and wrap together, then cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for one hour before making the pie. Repeat this whole processes to make another ball of dough for the top of the Apple Pie. However, if you only need one crust, then do not repeat. Once dough is refrigerated for one hour, unwrap the dough and place between two nicely floured (with white rice flour) wax paper sheets. If dough starts to stick to paper add a touch more flour. Roll out the dough until it is about an inch longer all around than pie pan. Remove one wax paper and place pan on dough. Flip the dough over and you are set with the first crust. Then place the filling in crust, recipe located below, and repeat the rolling process with the other ball of dough. Remove one wax sheet and flip dough onto top of pie. Then crunch the sides together with your fingers making whatever design you please. Before placing into the oven brush a beaten egg over top and sprinkle with sugar, then cut 4 slits into pie in a design or simply poke a couple holes with a fork and put that masterpiece in the oven. Cook at 350 F for 40-45 min, or until golden brown on top.

Apple Pie Filling

~4 chopped apples, skin removed, I used Galas
~1/2 cup brown sugar
~2 Tbs cornstarch
~1-2 tsp. cinnamon
~dash of nutmeg
~2 tbs butter
~spoonful of lemon juice

Mix apples with sugar, cornstarch, and spices. Then add butter and lemon juice. Combine well and add to pie.

Italians secretly love French desserts

2008-12-04T10:24:00.000-08:00

This past weekend was full of cooking. One of my friends from my high school days came to visit us in Pontebba with her boyfriend. She currently lives in Rome and has Italianized herself complete with with a Roman boyfriend. It was so great to see her and I relished our time together, which was spent reminiscing, watching hockey, and of course drinking some vino from the Rome region. Her boyfriend was wonderful and wanted to learn everything about being Gluten Free. I of course wanted to cook for them, which was slightly nerve wracking as I am absolutely sure they have wonderful Italian food all the time. However, I sucked it up and presented them with a wonderfully spread dinner. I cooked manicotti followed by a French dessert called a clafloutis. My friend and her boyfriend helped throughout the process, which was a learning experience. Her boyfriend even taught me a couple tricks and we were all able to sit down relatively quickly to the meal and say Buon Appetito before digging in! I at the moment, sat motionless trying not to be obvious that I was waiting for the two of them to take their first bites. Breathless I watched Federico take his first bite and immediately he began to gush with praises. I can't tell you how close I was to crying. That is the ultimate compliment to my cooking when a born and raised Italian raves about my manicotti, although numerous times teased my accent and said it was canelloni, he ate my food with gusto. He literally licked his plate clean! After that I kissed my fingers together and said Mama Mia!

After dinner, dessert was a plum clafloutis complete with a vienetta cake(as I had no ice cream). The two of them simply loved this treat, especially Federico. Now the story of how I am knowledgeable in the art of clafloutis making goes back to last year in Scotland when I was visiting a friend I grew up with in Alaska. She was a gracious host to me for many days and we enjoyed that time with sight seeing, discussing matters in America, and most importantly eating. She made this dessert, clafloutis, that I had never seen or heard of in my life before. It is a French dessert that is normally made with cherries, but I like to spice it up a bit and use whatever fruit is in season. I took her recipe, along with a couple others, then removed the gluten and voila'! You have a delicious gluten free dessert perfect for entertaining.

Clafloutis

~6 Plums, or 2-3 cups of whatever fruit you please; apples, raspberries, blueberries etc
~honey
~1/4 cup sweet rice
~1/4 cup brown rice
~1/3 cup coconut flour
~3 eggs
~1/3 cup sugar
~1 1/3 cup milk, although as my friend taught me you can use milk, yogurt, water, apple juice, etc. I used milk, but it turns out just as good with a combination of liquids too.

Chop fruit into smaller pieces and cover with 1-2 Tbs honey. Let that sit in a bowl while you mix the rest of the ingredients. In a blender combine the eggs, liquid, and sugar together. In a separate bowl combine the flours together. Add 1/3 of the flour to liquid, then blend. Repeat this until all the flour is gone. It is important that you do this or the flour may clump or not be completely absorbed in the liquid. For those of you who have frequently cooked with GF flours, you will understand. Finally pour batter into a greased glass baking pan. Then scoop fruit with honey evenly onto the liquid. Bake at 180 C( around 350 F) for 10-15 minutes or until the "cake" has risen and when poked with a toothpick shows no residue. Top it off with slivers of almonds or for an even sweeter cake sprinkle powdered sugar on the top. Now cut it up and serve it with some ice cream or better yet a vienetta!

Thought you were done eating Chinese food forever?? Well think again!

2008-11-26T09:48:00.001-08:00

Personally, I find that I have a huge taste for ethnic foods. I used to eat Chinese food quite often growing up, from take out, to the grocery store selection, to the Chinese Buffets, and even the occasional sit down meal. I even used to walk with a couple friends in high school down get some Chinese food for lunch from a nearby hot spot. Upon being diagnosed, it registered in my mind that I would never be able to have some of my favorite Chinese Foods ever again in my life! Well this fact wasn't dominating my mind as much as the thoughts about ALL of the foods I could never again it. It wasn't until I was watching Sex in The City that it really hit me. For those of you who have seen this movie, you know what I am talking about. There is a scene in which Carry is at Miranda's house and they are sharing a special moment on New Years Eve eating delicious Chinese food. I kid you not; I stared at that scene with anger, pity, sadness, jealousy, hatred, and about a million other terrible feelings. As I drove home from that wonderful movie, I started bawling and continued to bawl the whole entire way home because I knew I could never eat Chinese Food again in my life. I had a huge talk with myself that night about how things potentially could be worse and finally over some time have come to terms with a lot of things in this challenging situation, I realized that there is hope for us Celiacs! There is a wonderful invention called....Gluten Free Soy Sauce!!! And let me be the first to say that you will never know the difference. So don't fret because all Chinese Food is not lost, the only thing that is lost is possibly the fact that you may not be able to enjoy your favorite Chinese Food at the local Golden Gate restaurant anymore, but that doesn't mean you can't replicate the majority of that experience at home!!!

Growing up I was not a huge fan of stir fry, but in the recent years have come to love that dish. It wasn't until I was over here in Italy that I really started experimenting with this dish. I have now found the ideal stir fry recipe through trial and error and the help of my boyfriend. I do have to give him credit for part of this dish, as he made the initial sauce; I just jazzed it up a bit in the end. So I hope that all of you enjoy this very easy, quick, and most importantly absolutely delicious recipe! Light some candles to set the ambiance, make a pot of tea, perhaps wear your Chinese slippers purchased in China Town, and then sit down to some relaxing authentic stir fry.

Chinese Stir Fry

~1 yellow bell pepper chopped
~1 cup mushrooms chopped
~1/2 cup snow peas broken in half
~1/2 cup bean sprouts
~1 small yellow onion chopped
~1/2 cup broccoli chopped
~1lb chicken sliced into small pieces or beef
~olive oil
~2 cloves garlic

Sauté chicken or beef until cooked and remove from skillet or wok. Add olive oil to pan and sauté onion for 1-2 minutes. Then add in garlic, bell pepper, snow peas, and broccoli. Cook for 4 more minutes and then add mushrooms and bean sprouts. Then stir in soy sauce, honey, and ginger until completely mixed. Add chicken and cook for 2-3 more minutes until veggies are cooked, but still crunchy and chicken is heated through. Serve immediately over a bed of rice or cooked vermicelli noodles.

Sauce

~1/3 cup GF soy sauce
~2-3 tbs honey
~1-2 teaspoons fresh ginger grated(add more if you love the taste of ginger)

~Optional: hot pepper flakes or GF spicy Thai chili sauce to taste

*Note: Sometimes I will add more sauce if there isn't enough for me to pour over my rice. Feel free to add more or less depending on how much you like sauce. Also you may want to alter the sauce slightly adding more honey if you like a sweeter sauce, less soy sauce, etc. It is all up to you, honestly each time I make this I never measure it out and every time it tastes different, but that is what I like about it.

A trip to Greece....In your kitchen!

2008-11-21T08:43:00.000-08:00

Ah Greek Food. The endless amounts of tzatziki sauce, fig leaves, and hummus. I grew up with quite a few Greeks back in Alaska, apparently once one of them decided that a barren land of ice and snow would be better than the sun and crystal clear blue water, all the rest of the family thought it was a great idea too! However, it made for some delicious Greek food growing up. I have fond memories of making it a point to be at one of my friend's houses during the Christmas holidays. I would walk in the door to a heavenly scent of freshly baked baklava. Her mom would immediately usher me in the kitchen stating "EAT EAT EAT!!" and would shove at least 5 baklavas in my direction, to which I obviously did not object to. Now those were in my pre-diagnosis days that I find myself often dreaming about...But I keep myself from pining about those days with a promised vow to myself and others that I will make a gluten free baklava one day. It is one of the many cooking tasks sitting on my list of to do's before I die.

The other night my boyfriend was talking about how much he loved a good tzatziki sauce, so I thought it was definitely time for a Greek Festival in our kitchen. Now unfortunately we did not have the whole entire Greek Klan to attend our dinner, but we made do with ourselves, a bottle of Italian vino, and some seriously strong tzatziki sauce that you could smell for miles.

Greek Night!
Chicken and Rice Pilaf w/ tzatziki sauce

~1 lb thinly sliced chicken breasts
~4 tbs. olive oil
~1/2 red onion chopped
~the juice of half a lemon
~3 tbs. white wine vinegar
~1 tsp. dried oregano

In a glass baking dish, combine marinade. Once combined, place chicken in dish. Marinate overnight. When you are ready to cook chicken, place dish in oven 180 C and cook for 15-20 minutes or until cooked completely through.

Rice Pilaf

~2 C. white rice
~1/2 C. crushed rice vermicelli
~2 tbs. butter
~4 cups veggie or chicken broth
~1 tsp. fresh thyme

Sauté the rice and vermicelli in butter over low heat until brown. Add in thyme and half of the broth, bring to simmer, and cover. After 5 minutes check rice and stir in more broth, about another cup. After another 5 minutes check rice and add more broth if necessary. Rice will be done once broth is evaporated and rice is soft. I personally like to test my rice throughout this whole cooking process. Once done remove from heat and serve alongside chicken.

Tzatziki Sauce

~1 cucumber grated
~1 1/2 cup plain yogurt
~2 cloves minced garlic
~1 tsp. white wine vinegar
~2 tsp. parsley chopped
~salt to taste

Grate cucumber and squeeze out any excess moisture. Combine the all ingredients in a bowl. I made mine the night before with the chicken, so it could sit in the fridge, which led it to have a delicious taste. Serve sauce on top of chicken and rice.

Girls night in...

2008-11-18T07:23:00.001-08:00

Last Saturday I got together with a couple of the wives here. The boys were all away at a hockey game, so we thought it was a good chance for us to have some much needed girl time! So of course I had to make something delicious and gluten free for the occasion. I had yet to make a true dessert from scratch, so I took this get together as an opportunity to put on my baking apron and get serious. I borrowed a recipe from one of my gluten free cook books and tweaked it to be suitable for Pontebba. One of the other girls made two dips that I will also include on here. So here are a couple recipes great for evening get togethers or appetizers.

Game Night Cake

~3/4 cup sweet rice flour
~1/3 cup potato starch
~3 tbs. tapioca flour
~1 tsp GF baking powder
~2 tbs. unsweetened cocoa powder
~1/2 teaspoon xantham gum
~3 eggs
~1/2 cup sugar
~1 tablespoon plain yogurt

Filling
~75 g (about 5 oz.) mascarpone
~1/8 cup whipping cream
~1 tbs. confectioner's sugar
~1/4 cup raspberries, fresh or thawed

Icing
~100g (1 bar) 70% dark chocolate
~ 100 ml (3 1/2 oz.) cream
~2 tsp. confectioner's sugar

Preheat oven to 180 C or 350 F, then grease the bottom of a glass baking dish (I believe mine is a 15" by 10") with butter. Mix all dry ingredients, except sugar, for the cake together; flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and xantham gum. In a separate bowl whip eggs and sugar together, then add yogurt. Once this is mixed stir in dry ingredients to the wet ingredients a little at a time. Then add the cake mixture to pan and bake for approximately 15 minutes or until done. Allow cake to cool, or as I did put it outside in the cold for a good 5-10 minutes. While cake is cooling, whisk mascarpone, whipping cream, and confectioner's sugar together. Once this creates a thick creamy mixture (add more mascarpone if not thick), add raspberries. Put filling aside and in a small pot or sauce pan melt cream and chocolate together at a very low heat. Once icing is melted together add confectioner's sugar to taste, then remove from heat and set aside. Retrieve cake from wherever you put it and cut in half. Carefully pull one half from the pan and place on a serving plate. Spoon filling onto cake, once filling is spread evenly set the other piece of cake on top and spread icing evenly on top and over sides. Refrigerate any leftovers.

Fruit Dip

~1/2 cup cream cheese
~1/4 strawberry yogurt

Mix together until smooth and serve with fresh fruit.

Pizza Dip

~3/4 cup sour cream
~1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
~Can of GF pizza sauce
~GF pepperoni stick

Fill the bottom of a round pie pan or shallow baking dish with sour cream. Then add cheese to the top of the sour cream. Once cheese is evenly spread, drizzle pizza sauce onto cheese covering completely. Top the sauce with slices of pepperoni. Bake in oven, 300 F, until cheese is melted and dip is hot, about 10-15 minutes.

Heilbut, aka Halibut!

2008-11-15T15:17:00.000-08:00

A couple nights ago we made the drive to go to Villach, Austria, so we could really get full advantage of this grocery shopping trip. On the way there it was decided that that evening I would prepare some sort of fish. Now I wanted to visit my friend at the fish market in town to obtain the ultimate fish for the evening, but alas my Italian fishman was not in Pontebba that morning. I had to settle with whatever looked enticing in Austria. Once we reached the fish part of the grocery store I got my regular order of skewers of shrimp from Malaysia. Now who knows exactly how these shrimp got to the country of Austria, but I will give it to them the fact that they are delicious. I then took a look around at the selection of fish for the day. We had decided earlier that I would prepare a white fish; it was now just a matter of what white fish I would choose! I luckily speak pretty good German, however my vocabulary for fish is quite lacking, as I did not know 80% of the fish sitting in front of me. Finally after some serious deliberation I chose the halibut. Now I am especially spoiled since I was born and raised in the paradise of halibut, but I figured this one from the Atlantic Ocean would do. As I bought this fillet, my brain quickly flashed back to one of my best friend's magnet on her refrigerator door. This magnet has all the fish listed that are in the green area, the yellow area, and yes the red area. I tried to see that chart in my mind and thought OH NO! I think the Atlantic halibut is definitely in the red zone! So I vowed to myself at that moment that I would value that magnet and not eat this fish again for at least 3 months. I also informed my boyfriend of the dangers of mercury and that next time if we are going to eat halibut it can only be from my homeland! I then walked around the store pondering what to do with this mercury saturated fillet. Finally after serious contemplation I designed the recipe listed below. It is by far one of my better creations, although I highly recommend using fresh Alaskan halibut instead. However, if that is not possible use another white fish, such as tilapia or cod. Next time for this recipe, I will be only buying fresh Sole from my Italian fishman and supporting the local Pontebba economy.

Almond Encrusted Halibut with White Wine Sauce and Roasted Potatoes

~3 8 oz. fillets of white fish
~Bag of ground almonds
~Bag of bread crumbs GF ( I use finally ground bread crumbs)
~1 egg
~1/4-1/2 cup cornstarch
~olive oil

Wash fillets and pat dry. Fill a plate with the cornstarch. Then fill another plate with half bread crumbs and half ground almonds, mix together. If either cornstarch or almond/crumb mixture get low, just simply add more. Then beat egg in a bowl. Dip fillets into cornstarch, coating with an even layer. Then brush fillets with egg, after coated dip into bread crumb almond mixture coating evening. Repeat this with each fillet. Heat about 2 tablespoons oil in frying pan and fry fish 2-3 minutes on each side. Then remove from skillet and place in baking pan and bake another 2-4 minutes, or until down. Just place the fillets in with the potatoes as they are finishing.

Roasted Potatoes
-For this recipe you can make more or less depending on your family size. I made enough for the two of us that night.

~8 small yukon gold potatoes
~2 cloves minced garlic
~2 Tablespoons olive oil or enough to coat potatoes
~1 tsp. fresh rosemary
~1 tsp. fresh thyme
~1 tsp. dried oregano
~salt
~pepper

Cut potatoes into chunks. Place in bowl. Add olive oil, minced garlic, minced rosemary, thyme, and salt and pepper. Toss together and then place in glass baking dish. Sprinkle dried oregano over the top of potatoes. Bake for 20-30 minutes at 230 degrees Celsius, or until completely soft inside and slightly brown on the outside.

White Wine Sauce

~2 shallots
~2 tbs. butter
~1-2tbs. olive oil
~3 tbs. cornstarch
~1 cup GF veggie broth (you can also use chicken)
~1/2 dry white wine
~1/4 cup parsley chopped
~7 fresh basil leave shredded
~salt
~pepper

Sauté shallots for 3-4 minutes in the butter and oil. Add cornstarch little by little making sure it is not clumping. Then whisk in chicken broth until smooth. Add the wine, herbs, salt, and pepper. Simmer over a low heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. If you feel sauce gets to thick, which I did, add more broth. Then pour sauce over cooked fish and serve with roasted potatoes.

Thai Town

2008-11-11T07:40:00.000-08:00

As the weeks have past here in Italy, I have begun to realize that as much as I love a good Italian meal, you just can't have it seven days a week. So I started to wonder where I could find some other ethnic food, besides the massive amounts of risottos, raviolis, manicottis, etc. Looking through the grocery store in Italy, I realized that Italians really don't even eat anything else besides Italian. I have yet to see any other food places besides Italian cafe's, Italian trattoria's, Italian restaurants, Gelato shops, etc. Italians do have some of the best food in the world, but really how do they eat it 7 days a week and 365 days a year? Well I guess when you grandma and mother both are Mama Mia's, then there really isn't much to complain about is there?! So my quest for ethnic food began about a month ago. I searched high and low in all the nearby Italian grocery stores before the light bulb finally went off. Italians may only eat Italian food, but Austrians eat everything! So I drove out to the store in Austria and was delighted when I found an ethnic food section full of Indian sauces, Thai curries, rice noodles, tacos, and the list goes on and on. I decided my first creation would be something Thai, as I miss that food more than anything. I ate Thai almost every week this summer because it is very Celiac friendly. I was more than overjoyed that I could sit down in a restaurant and eat most of the same dishes as my neighbor. So standing there in the store I decided I would get a green curry paste, that of course I made sure was GF, some bamboo shoots, coconut milk and some red curry paste for later. My inspiration for this first dish comes from the Thai restaurant that I frequented every week in Alaska. They make a mean green curry chicken there and I miss it like crazy. I have made this dish three times now and after playing around with the amount of curry versus chicken broth I think I have it mastered.

Green Curry Chicken

~1 can regular or light coconut milk
~2-3 teaspoons green curry paste GF
~1/2-1 cup bamboo shoots
~1 lb chicken, chopped or Shrimp, cleaned and de-veined(uncooked)
~1/4-1/2 cup chicken or veggie broth GF
~3-5 fresh basil leaves
~Fish Sauce GF (optional)
~1-2 tablespoons olive oil
~dash of sesame oil

In a large saucepan add olive oil and cook chicken until it is almost done. Remove chicken from the saucepan and place aside. Add the curry and the sesame oil to medium heat and stir constantly. Add in a touch of coconut milk until it thickens a bit, and then dump the rest of the coconut milk in the saucepan. Bring to a boil and add in chicken broth (only 1/4 cup to start), return chicken and add bamboo shoots and simmer for 5-10 minutes. At this point you can also add fish sauce. I have yet to add fish sauce to my concoction over here, as I am still a little weary that the one I bought isn't gluten free. So I have omitted the fish sauce and believe that the chicken broth gives it the necessary salty taste and that you really don't even need the fish sauce. You can also taste the sauce at this point to see that it is spicy enough for you, if not add more curry. If it isn't salty enough, add more broth. Once the dish is almost done tear the basil leaves and add them to the sauce, simmering for a couple more minutes. I personally like to serve this over basmati rice.

Now if you are using shrimp, do not add the shrimp until you have made the sauce and placed the bamboo shoots in it, as the shrimp only takes about 4-5 minutes to cook. Once the sauce has simmered for 5 minutes, add the shrimp and cook until pink all the way through. If you are using cooked shrimp, cook them for about 3 minutes in the sauce to reheat them. The sauce will not be thick, and you do not want to reduce it. It is meant to be thin and delicious so that it is a soupy mix when poured over rice.

My next recipe is inspired by the restaurant Ginger located in downtown Anchorage. If you are a huge Thai fan, you absolutely must go and try their red curry beef! It is the best I have ever tasted, and as with the green curry, I miss it dearly. However, I was able to concoct something that I believe is very comparable.

Red Curry Beef

~1 lb stir fry beef or strips, cut them into thin strips
~2-3 teaspoons red curry paste GF
~button mushrooms, chopped
~1 can coconut milk
~1/2 -1 cup spring onions thinly chopped
~Dash sesame oil

Cook the beef in a saucepan until almost done. Remove from the pan and remove excess grease. Add the sesame oil and curry paste and stir continually while adding in a couple tablespoons coconut milk. Once this mixture becomes slightly thickened, add more coconut milk, thickening each time until the whole can is added. The sauce at this point does not have to be completely thickened. Add mushrooms and chicken back to sauce and heat over a higher heat than that of the green curry chicken. Cook for 5-7 minutes or until sauce is reduced and thick. Spoon red curry beef over basmati rice and top off with uncooked chopped spring onions.

*Note: These two recipes are basic Thai recipes that can be changed in many ways. Feel free to substitute or even add in different vegetables. I, myself find that I enjoy less veggies in my Thai food and leave the excess amount of veggies for stir fry nights. However, everyone has a different palate and therefore adapt these recipes to your own palate; they are merely just a foundation meant to be tweaked and finessed. Enjoy!

Biscottis that will make you forget you are Celiac!

2008-11-08T02:20:00.001-08:00

Now I never considered myself to be a baker. I would occasionally schluff out the homemade chocolate cupcakes or a good chocolate chip cookie, normally though I would just head to the store and buy a mix, which only needed very little of my attention to create. I always admired my friend Leah, who is a baking machine. I don't know anyone else of my age that gets up at 7:30 in the morning a couple days before Christmas to spend the whole day baking for parties. Now that is pure dedication to the baking world. Well now times have changed and I am forced into testing out my baking skills. I use Leah as my inspiration and think if she can do it, so can I! Gluten free baking mixes are basically non-existent in Europe, so I am forced to either follow a homemade recipe or create my own. I have been drinking a lot of tea and coffee over here, so I thought how much I would enjoy an excellent tasting biscotti. Well that led me to my first concoction. I pulled some ideas from other recipes, but highly limited with my ingredients over here, I had to use some creativeness. I was laughing to myself as I created these at 10 o'clock at night waiting for my boyfriend to get back from a hockey game. I had different bags of GF flours strewn about my tiny Italian kitchen and I was literally covered in every GF flour you could think of. At that moment I thought to myself, jeez how easy do non Celiac’s have it, they only have to use a single flour to bake with, whereas I am over here up to my knees in flours half of America probably can't pronounce! But at least our GF baking experiences are literally unforgettable in many ways! In the end the biscotti actually turned out fantastic!

Gluten Free almond chocolate biscotti
-adapted from The Gluten Free Guide to Italy

~1 1/2 cups brown rice flour
~1/2 cup potato starch
~1/4 cup tapioca flour
~1 cup sugar
~1 tsp. baking powder GF
~1 tsp. xantham gum
~3 eggs
~1/2-1 teaspoon almond extract ( depends on how almondy you like them)
*You can also use fresh slivers of almonds and then just a couple drops of almond extract
~1 teas vanilla extract GF
~3 tsp. orange juice, not concentrate

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Once ingredients are mixed roll into a rectangle shape or log shape on baking pan. Bake at 375 for 20min. Remove from oven and allow to slightly cool, about 10 minutes. Then slice the log into ½-1 inch pieces. Turn and lay pieces on their side. Place pan back into oven and reduce heat to 300 degrees for another 20-25 minutes. Biscotti should be hard in center and slightly brown.

Chocolate Coating
~1 GF chocolate bar, preferably 70% dark chocolate
~1-3 tablespoons milk

Heat a very small pot over low heat. Break chocolate into smaller pieces and place in pot. Continue to stir the chocolate as it melts, adding in tiny amounts of milk once the chocolate is almost melted. Continue stirring until chocolate is completely melted and mixture is almost boiling. However, do not boil mixture as it will burn. If mixture appears too thick, add more milk. Remove from heat and immediately dip half of one end of the biscotti into melted chocolate. Repeat with all biscotti. Allow chocolate to dry before eating.

Croatia: A Safe Haven for Celiacs!

2008-11-06T06:39:00.000-08:00

I just got back from a nice 4 day vacation in Croatia with my boyfriend, who had a couple days off from his rigorous hockey schedule. We stayed in a little town called Rovinj, which was built to resemble the city of Venice and let me tell you it does! It was amazing, complete with tiny little streets zig zagging all over the old city. At first I was very nervous that I would get glutenated while on this vacation, as I wasn't sure they would understand me with the language barrier. But I was completely wrong! Celiacs pack your bags for Croatia!! I spent the 4 days eating homemade risottos, fresh Istrian(Croatian) ham, delicious cheeses, and seafood to die for! I never went hungry and in fact left every meal absolutely stuffed. I had no problem explaining my Celiac situation. I printed off a card from the Croatian Celiac website that explained would I could and could not eat in Croatian. I simply just handed every waiter the card and they would promptly take it back to the chef to make sure the food I chose was safe, if it wasn't safe they changed it so that my choice was gluten free. The last day I actually forgot my card once and explained in English what I could and could not have. It was no problem at all because we found that everywhere we went in the Istria area of Croatia, they all spoke English. Now that brings me to my next recipe revolved around fish.

I actually tried this dish here in Italia with some minor adjustments to the original dish. Normally I use salmon, preferably silver, but as I have discussed before you have to get creative with your ingredients in this country! So I ambled down to the fish market one morning last week and looked at the array of freshly caught fish placed before me. I found a pink looking fillet that resembled that of a small salmon. I of course forgot to look up the word for salmon in Italian before going to the market, so pointed and asked salmon??? to the owner and he replied to me in incredibly fast Italian something I couldn't make out. So I just said Si! Due per favore!! Well upon inspecting my purchase once I arrived home, I realized I had purchased two lovely looking trout's. Now I am by no means an expert in trout, salmon maybe, but definitely not trout. So I figured the fish were some kind of rainbow trout, but would work just fine. I went a little easier on the sauce and the whole dish turned out great!

Asian infused Salmon

~2 8-10 oz salmon or trout fillets if you can't find a very fresh salmon fillet
~4 tablespoons olive oil
~6 tablespoons rice vinegar
~3-4 tablespoons GF soy sauce, less is better as some GF soy sauces are very salty, if possible used reduce sodium, then use 4 tablespoons.
~Juice from 1 orange or 2-3 tablespoons orange juice(not concentrate)
~grated fresh ginger, about 1-2 teaspoons depending on your taste preference, ground ginger can also be used as a substitute
~GF Asian/Thai spicy Chili Sauce or red pepper flakes, 1-2 teaspoons depending on how spicy you want this dish to be!

Combine all ingredients in a marinating dish. Add fish, the skin can be left on or removed, and refrigerate for 30-40 minutes allowing fish to marinate. Once marinated, heat skillet to medium heat adding 1-2 tablespoons olive oil. Once oil becomes heated, drop fillets into the skillet skin side down if it was not removed. Cook for 4 minutes and then flip to other side, if skin was on gently take a spatula and remove skin from fillet. It should be easily pulled off. Cook for another 4 minutes on this side. Depending on how you like your fish cooked, I prefer medium, you can cook a little longer or remove after the 8 minutes. Sometimes the cooking time will vary depending on the thickness of the fillet. Then remove cooked fillets to plate and cover with foil. Add the marinade to hot skillet and cook at a very high heat allowing it to boil. Once it boils stir constantly until sauce reduces and becomes thick. Once it becomes thickened remove the skillet from heat. Plate fish and pour sauce over. I like to serve this dish with basmati rice and sautéed bak choy. However, you can use whatever vegetable you like. I have also used asparagus and broccoli. I like to sauté the veggies in a skillet with a little garlic, salt, pepper, and sesame oil. Also, depending on how much you like a good sauce, you may want to make more marinade, which will result in more sauce. Depending on the size of the fillets, I often times will make more of the marinade so that I have a good amount of sauce to drizzle over my rice, fish, and veggies. It is up to you! Make every recipe cater to your preferences!

Everyone loves a good soup in the fall.

2008-11-01T09:48:00.000-07:00

I had never made soup before being diagnosed because I could just run out and buy whatever soup I felt like eating! I have found that many of my favorite and most comforting soups are polluted with gluten. So with much regret I have turned myself away from those delicious soups and created even better gluten free ones.

The first soup I created was a good comforting chili. Now many of these recipes are taken from the three very important gluten free cook books that I brought along with me, however, finding the correct ingredients in a foreign grocery store, in a foreign language, is a bit like trying to find a needle in a hay stack! The first couple weeks I was utterly distraught when I realized that Italians don't eat anything other than Italian based food. So my hopes were not relinquished when I realized that Austrians have a broader palate and carry a wider array of food within their grocery stores. However, I still do not find some of the simplest items and my time spent in the grocery store is hours longer than before, as I am constantly reading ingredients in Italian, German, and French trying to decipher if this item really does contain gluten or not! Thankfully the Europeans are more aware of Celiac Disease, and mark many of their products with a GF symbol or disclose to potential buyers that indeed their product does contain our nemesis gluten. So I have adapted the following soup recipes according to what ingredients I can find in the grocery store on any given day.

Chili

~2 pounds ground beef
~ 1 yellow onion, chopped
~ 500 g (usually 2 cans) kidney beans
~ 800 g (2 larger cans) crushed tomatoes
~ 2 green peppers, thinly chopped
~ 2-3 tablespoons chili powder
~ 1 teaspoon dried oregano
~1 teaspoon sugar
~ 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
~ 1 teaspoon ground cumin
~ 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
~ 2-3 cloves garlic minced
~ salt
~ 2 cups water

Sauté ground beef, onions, and garlic in large pot until brown and liquid has almost evaporated. Add all of the rest of the ingredients in pot, bring to a boil, then simmer over low heat for 2 hours. I personally like to test my food along the way making sure the seasoning is what I like. So after about an hour test the chili and if it needs more seasoning feel free to add it! You can also cook this chili in a slow cooker for 4-5 hours.

Minestrone

~ 300 g cannellini beans
~ 200 g shelled peas
~ about 5-6 plum tomatoes chopped
~ piece of parmesan rind, about half a finger long
~ 4 cups/ 1 liter water
~ 2-3 carrots chopped
~ 2 celery stalks chopped
~ 2 cloves garlic, minced
~ olive oil
~ 1 yellow onion chopped
~ 100 g prosciutto

Sauté onion in 1 tablespoon olive oil until transluscent, then add garlic, celery, carrots, and prosciutto. Cook until the prosciutto is slightly browned. Then add tomatoes, water, and the piece of parmesan rind. Bring to boil and then reduce to a simmer. Add in peas and beans. Simmer soup for 10-15 minutes more or until soup thickens. Remove from heat and place in fridge for 1-2 hours, or overnight. To reheat soup, bring to a boil, simmering for a couple minutes and then serve immediately. Make sure to find and discard of parmesan rind, as I forgot the first time I made this soup and had quite the mouthful of cheese!

Chicken Tortilla Soup

~ 1 pound chicken, cut into cubes
~ Can of corn, about 200 g
~ 400 g crushed tomatoes
~ 4 picadello peppers(or 3 bell peppers; red, yellow, and green)
~ 1 teaspoon ground cumin
~ olive oil
~ salt and pepper
~ 3 cloves garlic, minced
~ 3 cups vegetable or chicken broth
~ chipotle powder to taste
~ 1 zucchini
~ 1 yellow onion

Options to add on top of soup:
~GF tortilla chips
~Onions
~Avocados

Heat 1-2 tablespoons olive oil in large soup pot. Add chicken and cook for until almost done, about 5 minutes. Then add veggies, except corn, and cumin powder and cook another 3-5 minutes, or until veggies soften. Add broth and crushed tomatoes and bring to boil. Add salt, pepper, and chipotle powder to taste. Boil for another 5-10 minutes and then serve immediately. I like to serve this soup with a dollop of sour cream.

Comforting Chicken Noodle

~Olive oil
~ 3 celery stalks, chopped
~ 1/2 yellow onion chopped
~ 2 carrots chopped
~ pepper
~ dried oregano
~ 1 cup Bi-Aglut Fusilli, or Tinkyada
~ 1 pound chicken, cut into cubes
~ Italian flat leaf parsley, about 2-3 tablespoons chopped
~ half a fresh lemon
~ 6-6 1/2 cups Vegetable or Chicken broth

Sauté chicken in 1-2 tablespoons olive oil until almost cooked on outside. Then add celery, carrots, and onions. Sauté for another 3-5 minutes or until slightly crunchy. Add broth an bring to boil. Add all spices and a pinch of salt. Simmer for 10-15 minutes covered. Then add the noodles. Once noodles are cooked through, stir in lemon juice from the half of lemon and chopped parsley. Serve immediately.

Homemade Manicotti!

2008-11-01T09:13:00.000-07:00

A week or so after my debut as an authentic Italian chef, I decided I would try my luck with gluten free Manicotti. I took a lot of ideas from different gluten free bloggers and cooking websites. I wanted at first to make only cheese manicotti, but was quickly informed by my boyfriend that meat must be in that manicotti. So after researching meat manicotti, plus coming up with some sort of gluten free shell, I created this masterpiece....

Homemade Gluten Free Meat and Cheese Manicotti

The Pasta
~ 1 cup Bi-Aglut flour (or other GF flour mix)
~ 3 large eggs
~ 1 1/2-2 cups water
~splash of live oil
~touch of salt

Mix ingredients together with an electrical mixer. Heat pan to medium low heat and add olive oil. Turn pan so olive oil coats the whole surface. Once pan is heated and ready add about a 1/2 cup-3/4 cup depending on how big pan is. I like to use a medium to large size skillet, although smaller skillets can be used, just reduce the amount of batter to be placed in skillet. You will want to cover the whole pan with a layer of batter. Let this cook until it appears to be almost cooked completely through. Then with a spatula carefully flipped to other side and cook for 30 more seconds. Remove from skillet and set aside. Repeat this until the batter is gone. If you are pressed from time, the pasta crepes can be made the day before and placed in the refrigerator overnight or until you are ready to fill them and bake them.

The Filling
~Olive Oil
~1 lb ground beef
~1 yellow onion, chopped
~2 cloves garlic
~Salt and Pepper
~300 g ricotta cheese
~2 cups mozzarella
~1 cup parmesan cheese
~Chopped Italian Parsley

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Brown beef, onions, and garlic in pan. Remove any grease from mixture and add to large mixing bowl. Add in All other ingredients stirring until thoroughly mixed. Add a thin layer of mixture to one of the pasta crepes. Then roll the crepe up, placing the seam side down in large baking dish. Repeat this with all pasta crepes. Once all manicotti's are created and placed in dish, pour sauce over the top of the noodles. Grate thin layer of parmesan cheese over the top. Bake manicotti 30-35 minutes or until sauce bubbles around edges.

The Sauce
Any can of marinara sauce will do, however, if you want a homemade sauce follow recipe below.

~2 Cans of crushed Tomatoes
~1 clove garlic
~1/2 onion
~ dried oregano and basil to taste
~salt and pepper to taste
~teaspoon sugar
~fresh thyme, about 1-2 teaspoons

Add onions and garlic to pot, sautéing until translucent. Add crushed tomatoes and bring to boil. Add in all other ingredients simmer while you make the pasta crepes. Try the sauce after 5 minutes of simmering, then season to your liking.

Pasta, Pasta, Pasta!

2008-11-01T08:32:00.001-07:00

One of the things I missed the most after accepting the gluten free diet was pasta. I have grown up eating as much pasta as the kids in Italy. Upon getting my diagnosis I was forced to switch to Gluten Free pastas. I went through the whole lot trying corn, quinoa, rice, brown rice...Every single one of them tasted like a disgrace to pasta for me. I would sit and eat my plate of gluten free spaghetti and just stare at my boyfriend who was eating his "full of gluten" spaghetti. Sometimes I even caught myself chewing along with him. However, in late June I discovered Tinkyada pasta, which actually is comparable to pasta, although I still missed a good wheat infused penne. Then upon my arrival into Italy I discovered the crown jewel of all gluten free pasta's. It is called Bi-Aglut pasta. It is a combination of both rice and corn, which helps keep its consistency after being cooked. It does not taste like eating rice, nor does it become a mushy glob after being cooked for only 30 seconds longer than needed! I now no longer crave the taste of "real" pasta. I have penne, macaroni, spaghetti, and the list is never ending. I am not sure as to whether you can get Bi-Algut pasta in North America, but here is the website http://www.biaglut.com/.

Now for some recipes...

A couple weeks ago I was staring out my kitchen window across our quaint backyard into the kitchen of an old woman, who I like to call Mama Mia. She was steaming up her windows from the pots of pasta I am sure she had just handmade, while bustling about her kitchen adorned in her Italian pasta apron. I got to daydreaming about Mama Mia's cooking and all the homemade ravioli, manicotti, gnocchi, etc. she would make me if I befriended her. However, I shortly realized that as much as I hope Mama Mia would cook for me, she probably won't, so I will have to become my own Mama Mia. That night I began looking for recipes on how to make gluten free gnocchi. I spent hours researching and finally came up with a gluten free concoction. A couple nights later I had my ingredients, a glass of wine in hopes to bring out the non-existent Italian in me, and a clean counter that I though may just roll out the gnocchi for me! After a half hour of complete experimentation and intuition, I had successfully created ricotta cheese gnocchi, which made me almost cry when I ate it. It was at that moment that I realized I no longer needed Mama Mia to help me and as my boyfriend said "You would make Mama Mia proud!"

Homemade Ricotta Cheese Gnocchi

~2 large eggs (3 small eggs can be used)
~500 g ricotta cheese
~Salt and Pepper
~Add flour as needed ( I used Bi-Aglut flour, which is comprised of corn starch, potato flour, rice starch, and carob seed flour) GF flour mixes can be used, but must contain starches.

Add ricotta to a mixing bowl and make a divot in the center for the eggs. Add eggs to divot and let the mix sit until it almost reaches room temperature. Then stir ingredients together, add salt and pepper. Once ricotta and eggs are mixed, begin to mix in GF flour. Add flour until you have a doughy consistancy that can be rolled and cut. If you are unsure whether the dough is ready, plop a little piece into bowling water, if the dough stays together and cooks you are ready to roll out the gnocchi. Roll dough around a floured counter, kneading with hands for about a minute or so. Then roll into a big ball and cut into sections, about 4-6 sections. Then take one section and roll out into a long snake piece of dough, the thickness of a finger. You will then cut that piece into 2 inch sections. Take one of the 2 inch sections and roll into a ball with hands, add more flour if it is sticking, then place lightly on the top of the back of a fork (fork should be placed upside down on counter). You will then delicately roll the ball down the back of the fork created ridges and almost a shell shape that helps keep the sauce around the gnocchi. This part is not mandatory, but it creates a nice appearance to the pasta. Repeat this with the remaining 2 inch pieces and the rest of the dough. Then place the gnocchi in bowling water, once the gnocchi rises to the top, they are cooked. Remove them immediately and add sauce of choice.

Living Gluten Free in the land of Pasta and Pizza

2008-11-01T08:07:00.000-07:00

I decided to move to Italy because I needed some time off after spending the past four years of my life either working, in a library, in class, writing paper after paper, or getting what few hours of sleep I could. I needed a change of things. So after finding out that my boyfriend got an offer to play hockey in Northern Italy, I decided, hey why not take a year off! So this year has been dedicated to inventing gluten free recipes and traveling through Europe. At first I thought, What!!! I can not live in Italy and eat gluten free, all they do over here is eat Mama Mia's spaghetti and luigi's pizza. Well after some diligent research, I realized that Italy is full of Celiacs! That was heaven to my ears. Not only does Italy offer more gluten free food than you have ever seen in your life, but many restaurants offer gluten free options. It seems that almost all Italians are aware of Celiac Disease, as all children are tested for it at an early age. Upon arriving to Italy, I was completely prepared for the adventure, complete with my Gluten Free Guide to Italy book in hand and numerous sticky notes on food items and grocery stores. I have eaten out a couple times since being here and so far it has been a completely satisfying gluten free experience! I ate my first gluten free pizza in a restaurant while overlooking the bay of Trieste with tears of joy in my eyes. I also ate freshly caught fish complete with seafood risotto, that the owner of the restaurant kept reassuring me No Farina!!!, which means no flour in your food! He even made me a special dessert of fresh pineapple with Grand Marnier drizzled all over it, while the others got to eat tiramisu. Although I would have opted for the tiramisu, it was the gesture that made all the difference. It has been a wonderful, sometimes humorous adventure so far and I can't wait to share more.