Today we welcome Valerie Bowden as our guest blogger. Valerie has traveled extensively to Ethiopia and experienced the creative ways they use teff, Ethiopia's indigenous grain, which just happens to be gluten free -- and loaded with nutrition! She recently launched Eat Dirkosh, a teff-based snack chip company. She'll share some advice on eating Ethiopian food anywhere, including tips for gluten free diners...and she even shares some restaurant recommendations for dining in Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa. Almost everyone has dreamed of going on an African vacation filled of safari animals, exotic cultures, and beautiful people. While it may seem overwhelming deciding which country to visit on the continent, one of the best ones to choose is Ethiopia. This beautiful and very safe East African country is known for its hospitable locals, gorgeous landscapes, and its delicious coffee. Often referred to as “The Land of 13 Months of Sunshine,” Ethiopia boasts more than just great weather though. It's also a gluten-free paradise. Teff Grain Ethiopia's gluten-free pride and joy is teff grain, which is native only to Ethiopia and its neighbor, Eritrea. While teff is the tiniest grain in the world, it's a nutritional powerhouse. It boasts an impressive amount of... Read more →
October 2015
Whenever our family dines at our local Chinese restaurant, we take along a bottle of San-J's gluten free, low-sodium Tamari Sauce. The chef is happy to use it and knows to make our order in a clean wok using the tamari as a substitution for traditional soy sauce. The taste is indistinguishable. (The cool thing is that San-J also sells individual-sized travel packets of their gluten free tamari, which is perfect when you don't want to -- or can't -- haul your own bottle of tamari around. A while back, San-J also came out with a full line of gluten free cooking sauces that make creating an Asian-inspired meal at home a breeze. I've used their Orange Sauce and Thai Peanut Sauce before, both as a dressing/marinade for chicken -- with great results. Last night, I decided to use their Mongolian Sauce to make Mongolian Beef, which I figured would be a hit with my family. The "recipe," if you even want to call it that, is right on the back of the bottle of San-J Mongolian Sauce. All told, I used 7 ingredients to make dinner: Asian stir-fry oil, corn starch, beef pre-cut for stir fry, the Mongolian sauce,... Read more →