Our Celiac college blogger Julie Bourne, a student at University of Denver, goes "on the road" this month and shares her experience dining gluten free in Dallas, Texas, where she was pleasantly surprised by the range of gluten free dining options. I grew up visiting my extended family in Kentucky where my memories are flooded with biscuits fresh out of the oven, warm pies offered at every home, and the best fried chicken you could imagine. I haven’t been over to visit since I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease in 2010, but these memories surrounding nothing but glutenous foods of the United States' southern region would make any Celiac weary. While I cannot speak on behalf of Kentucky, I have been visiting my sister in Dallas, Texas for the last week or so and I have found this southern state to be significantly more gluten free friendly than I would have expected. As with any experience, dining out for two to three meals a day, there were some meals that were better than others (and some that sat with me better than others) but overall, I was very pleased to see such great variety of gluten free diners. It is... Read more →
March 2013
On St. Patrick's Day this year, I made the usual corned beef in a slow cooker -- and resurrected the Irish Soda Bread recipe I'd made a couple years ago. We were having company over (including a boy named Patrick), so I wanted to make sure to include this Irish tradition as part of the meal! The recipe I'd followed a couple years back was from All Recipes (I love that site -- I adapt a lot of recipes from there to make them gltuen free). It's called Irresistible Irish Soad Bread, and it's a fitting name. It is irresistible -- and perfect ANY time of the year! I personally like the recipe, because it's plain -- it doesn't call for caraway seeds or raisins. The result is a slightly sweet bread with a nice texture that's good served with a meal -- or even sliced thin for sandwiches (although it's just a tad bit crumbly). And shame on me for forgetting (yet again) to take a picture! I followed the All Recipes recipe to a "T," but of course substituted gluten free flour, cup for cup, for the regular "all purpose flour." This year, I figured I'd try the... Read more →
If you're an American looking for a fun international travel destination -- where there's no language barrier (except for the great accents!) -- and where maintaining a gluten free diet is relatively easy, you'll want to consider London. As our Featured Reviewer on GlutenFreeTravelSite this month will attest, shopping for gluten free grocery items is easy (items are well-labeled so you can readily tell what's gluten free). And dining out during her recent trip to London over New Year's went even better than Aimee anticipated. She found that many restaurants had Gluten Free Menus, and others were knowledgeable and able to communicate exactly which menu items were safe too eat -- and tailor certain offerings to make them gluten free, if needed. Aimee shares three of her favorite "gluten free friendly" restaurant discoveries in our Featured Review this month, starting with an elegant restaurant between Chelsea and South Kensington (and not far from great shopping in Knightsbridge or on King's Road). Whether you dine there for lunch or dinner, you'll find the wait staff friendly and their knowledge of gluten free options impressive. Aimee enjoyed a perfect Italian dinner consisting of a wonderful endive, pear and Gorgonzola salad, followed by... Read more →
Have you stuggled to find a way to thicken sauces, gravies, or soups without using flour or a flour-based thickener? This can be one of the biggest challenges when cooking gluten free. Enter Shirley J, a company that's got a fantastic and unique product called Whisk Bliss. This "universal cooking base" makes quick and delicious sauces, soups, and other savory dishes. It's healthy (no trans fats, saturated fats, hydrogenated oils, or MSG), versatile, and easy to use. Best of all, it's entirely gluten free and tastes great. Simply measure 1 part Whisk Bliss with 4 parts water and whisk lightly. Bring the sauce, soup, or gravy to a slow boil and simmer for about 5 minutes. Voila! The thick, creamy consistency you're looking for -- without flour or gluten! There are three recipes right on the package: for Pasta Alfredo, Old-Fashioned Sausage Gravy, and Broccoli & Cheddar Soup. And better yet, you can go to shirleyj.com for more recipes (just click on Whisk Bliss Gluten Free in the left column of their Home page)! Whisk Bliss is not the easiest product to find in stores -- unless you live in Utah, where they're based. So this is a great opportunity... Read more →