We're a decade into the growth of the gluten free "marketplace," thanks to increased awareness of Celiac Disease and gluten sensitivity -- and improving rates of diagnosis. Not only has "gluten free" become a household term, in many cases it's become a dietary "trend." For those of us personally affected by Celiac or gluten sensitivity, this is a mixed blessing -- as many have discussed in recent years. While demand for gluten free meals in restaurants eventually gives us more choice, the situation does come with pitfalls. First and foremost is the need to ensure that any restaurant with a gluten free menu knows not just what ingredients are used in their recipes...but how to safely prepare the meal without putting you at risk from gluten cross contamination. Another less serious -- but still frustrating -- challenge is being able to separate those restaurants that make the most basic (and often less-than-appetizing) substitutions or omissions to claim that a menu item is gluten free from restaurants that work hard to surprise and delight their gluten free diners with well-thought-out, flavorful offerings. (Check out the creative layered Beet Salad, with goat cheese, candied walnuts, and caramelized onions from Burtons Grill, below.)... Read more →
Gluten Free Recipes
Most of you know I try to keep my posts on this blog focused on gluten free dining and travel, not sharing recipes. There are so many other great bloggers who do that so well! However, every now and then, I like to share favorite family recipes from our own kitchen -- or ones passed down from other family members. It's especially nice when a treasured family recipe enjoyed over the years can easily be adapted to be gluten free. Such is the case with the recipe I'm sharing today. My mother-in-law's Marinated Butterflied Leg of Lamb recipe was something I first enjoyed when visiting my future in-laws about 20 years ago, when my now-husband and I first started dating. It was a dish my mother-in-law would often make when entertaining guests, and it works especially well in warmer months, when you can cook it on the outdoor grill (although it's so good, it's worth donning a warm jacket and manning the grill in the winter!). The recipe is extremely easy, and the only modification I've made from the original recipe is to replace the soy sauce with gluten free tamari (I use San-J's low sodium gluten free tamari). There... Read more →
Recently, one of our favorite gluten-free friendly inns changed hands. You probably recall me publishing a few posts about the Inn on Randolph, a top-rated and totally gluten free B&B in Napa, California. Renovated several years ago by the previous owner (who was Celiac), this historic property has all the modern amenities discerning travelers have come to expect. The best news is that the new owners have continued their commitment to the gluten free community by continuing in the tradition of offering a 100% gluten free kitchen. You'll still be able to enjoy the wonderful 2-course homemade breakfasts full of gluten free specialties, in addition to hors d'oeuvres or afternoon snacks. No matter what time of year you're looking for an escape, the Inn on Randolph is the perfect destination. Nestled in the heart of Napa, you're within walking distance of restaurants (including many with carefully crafted gluten free offerings) and shops. You're surrounded by gorgeous vineyards and not far from bustling San Francisco if you're looking for a high-energy day trip. As you can imagine, guests have a hard time leaving the Inn, with its charm, pampering, and wonderful cooking. Fortunately, for those who want to prolong that pampered... Read more →
Every so often, our family makes a new version of a "homemade" gluten free pizza. We've tried many brands, and to be honest, we don't have a favorite...they actually all turn out pretty well. But to be honest, many times we go with our favorite ready-made frozen gluten free pizza (or frozen shell, which we top with our own sauce and toppings). We love Against the Grain pizzas (and plain shells) and have also enjoyed Udi's frozen pizzas when cooked on the grill. But traveling in Italy this summer inspired us and had us looking forward to trying a new mix for gluten free crust...a mix from one of our favorite restaurants in Florence. "How is this relevant to me?" you ask. How would you get your hands on this mix without going to Italy? Well, as of a couple weeks ago, it's available on Amazon.com! (A 3-pack is priced well at $12.84.) We purchased two boxes of the mix (which also comes with fresh-packed tomato sauce in a tin can and a packet of oregano) after dining at the restaurant...before we knew it would be available in the States via Amazon.com soon enough. So we had the pleasure of... Read more →
I have a ton of cookbooks...and I tear out recipes from all the gluten free magazines I read each month. I also have several binders full of recipes, including a lot of old family favorites that I adapt to make gluten free (like my husband's and my favorite lasagna recipe). So another cookbook is not necessarily something I desperately needed. But am I glad to have gotten a copy of Carol Kicinski's new Simply Gluten Free 5 Ingredient Cookbook! The premise is that all the recipes include only 5 ingredients (not including things like water, oil, salt, and pepper) and take only about 15 minutes to make. For a busy mom juggling a business, that's music to my ears. I make dinner most nights, and sometimes it can take an hour or more to prepare. So I like the sound of easy, as long as it's healthy and my family will eat it! So I opened the cookbook and started paging through it. The difference between this cookbook and others is that I dog-eared about every third page! Everything sounded so delicious -- and there were some really cool and creative recipes. Since I wanted to enlist the help of... Read more →
I realize Betty Crocker's Gluten-Free Devil's Food Cake Mix has been around for years now, but I still felt it worthy of a Blog post. This continues to be my go-to base for any chocolate cake, cupcakes, or whoopie pies. I'd like to tell you I've found something better, after trying many gluten-free chocolate cake mixes over the years, including some "from scratch" recipes. But I'd be lying. I guess it's hard to compete with Betty Crocker's test kitchens! (Read on for my latest yummy adaptation using the mix...) Although I'm not by any means suggesting this is a "healthy" mix -- or that it incorporates any nutrient-dense flours like amaranth, teff, quinoa, etc. -- I do like the fact that it has fewer ingredients than most store-bought mixes. The ingredients are as follows: sugar, rice flour, potato starch, cocoa processed with alkali, tapioca starch, leavening (baking soda, sodium acid pyrophosphate, mono calcium phosphate), salt, and guar gum. Again, this isn't anything special, but I like the fact that, unlike most store-bought "regular" cake mixes, there are no artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives. And they've clearly nailed the proper blend of ingredients in the right ratios. From the comments on... Read more →
My older son (not Celiac) loves making chocolate chip cookies. He has tried many different recipes but gravitates back to the traditional Nestle Toll-House recipe, using one of many of our favorite gluten free flour blends as a cup-for-cup substitute for regular flour (so our younger Celiac son can eat them, too!). There are so many wonderful gluten free flour blends these days that it's hard to pick a favorite. Ones we like and use cup-for-cup in both savory as well as baking recipes include Pamela's Gluten Free All-Purpose Artisan blend, Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten Free Baking Flour, King Arthur Gluten Free Multipurpose Flour, Jules Gluten Free All Purpose Flour, Carol's Amazing All Purpose Gluten Free Flour, Tom Sawyer Gluten Free Flour, and Cup 4 Cup Gluten Free Flour (I've only purchased their Original Blend but am looking forward to trying their new "Wholesome Flour Blend"which incorporates healthy ingredients like ground flaxseeds and rice bran for fiber and healthy fats). Many of these flours are also non-GMO, which as you may know, is increasingly important to me. Last week, my son had the urge to make chocolate chip cookies, and he was planning to follow the Nestle Toll House... Read more →
Wow...I didn't realize it had been a month since I penned my last Blog post. November flew by, and with the Holidays already in full swing, I know things won't slow down anytime soon! Picking up on those particular themes of the Holidays -- and being starved for time -- I wanted to share a few easy seasonal favorites, both new and old. These are tried-and-true things you can serve up without spending hours in the kitchen. Over Thanksgiving, I used two gluten free products I'd tried before....Wegmans own gluten free Honey Cornbread Mix and Aleia's Savory Stuffing Mix. I love these two products -- for both their ease of preparation and for their delicious taste. This time, I cooked the cornbread a bit too long (set the timer, wanted to cook it for just an additional 30 seconds, and then forgot about it in the oven for several more minutes!). Fortunately, it was still decent, just a bit dry and crumbly. But providing you set your timer properly and follow the package directions, it turns out great (as it has for me in the past)...nice and moist. You'd never know it was gluten free. If you're looking for a... Read more →
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 →
Earlier this summer, our older (non-Celiac) son who doesn't like pizza anyway was off to a camp with friends. It provided a great opportunity for me to have some in-the-kitchen bonding time with our younger son (who has Celiac) making pizza (which he loves!). We've tried all sorts of store-bought gluten free pizzas over the 10 years since our son was first diagnosed with Celiac, and we've also bought "naked" crusts to customize them ourselves. I've even tried various gluten free mixes and flours to make our own "from scratch" pizza when time allows. So I was particularly curious to try Cup 4 Cup's new gluten free Pizza Crust Mix. Surprisingly, this was my first Cup 4 Cup purchase. I know many of you swear by their all-purpose flour. I've been meaning to try it -- despite its high price tag -- but have been really happy with the other GF flour blends I use (King Arthur's all purpose GF flour and GF all purpose baking mix, Bob's Red Mill new gluten free 1-to-1 baking flour, Pamela's GF All-Purpose Flour Artisan Blend, Tom Sawyer gluten free flour, and gfJules Gluten Free Flour). But when I saw this new Pizza Crust... Read more →
Have you attended any of the gluten-free Expos around the country? There are several companies that host them, and we share them on our Dine Gluten Free mobile app, under GF Events. Unfortunately, if you don't live in a city where they're held (and aren't in the position to travel to one), you're out of luck. Or maybe you're like me…there's a good one held annually here in the Washington, DC area, but I haven't always been able to attend, due to family commitments and other scheduling conflicts. It's reasons like these that inspired the folks at Simply Gluten-Free magazine to launch a VIRTUAL Gluten-Free EXPO…one that you can attend right from the comfort of your own home -- and at any time that's convenient for you! Although not exactly like being "on the floor" of a live expo, you'll enjoy many of the same benefits…access to free samples, coupons, and engaging information from gluten-free experts. The team at Simply Gluten-Free has been hard at work registering vendors (if you haven't yet registered and are interested, contact Tracy Karp at 727-738-5735, or cell 727-288-1944). Every day more vendors are added to the Expo. And even though it's still a "work... Read more →
I like hummus and buy it every so often at the grocery store. Typically I'll buy either a plain hummus or one with fresh garlic added. But I've noticed many innovative varieties of hummus hitting store shelves lately. It's the perfect snack if you're following a gluten free diet (as all the varieties I've seen are gluten free) and a great item to incorporate into your diet if you're looking for more protein and fiber. Recently I was sent a package of four varieties of hummus from a company I wasn't familiar with: Eat Well Embrace Life. Created just three years ago -- in 2011 -- the company has "Americanized the hummus category" by creating hummus from "other beans" (i.e. white beans, edamame, black beans, and lentils). They make many varieties of this "Other Bean Hummus" -- as well as a line of "Better For You Hummus." The ones I tried were divine. From the "Other Bean" category, I enjoyed Tuscan White Bean Hummus with roasted pine nuts and herb topping, Spicy Yellow Lentil Hummus with sunflower seeds and apricot topping (this one definitely has a kick to it!), and Spicy Red Lentil Chipotle Hummus with poblano pepper and corn... Read more →