Thanksgiving Made With Love

My favorite part of Autumn, Pumpkin Pie!!! I made this one using a gluten free, pre-made crust from Whole Foods. They have some great products under the name, The Gluten Free Bake House. You simply store these crusts in your freezer until you are ready to use them. They have a wonderful, buttery flavor and bake up crisp and flakey.

We made stuffing using Udi's gluten free whole grain bread in place of regular bread cubes. It was just like the original!

These are little wild rice blinis served with garlic sauteed chanterelles. After cooking up some wild rice, we threw it in the food processor for a couple minutes to achieve an almost flour-like consistency. We made a fairly basic pancake-like mix of the rice "flour", milk, eggs, a bit of salt and pepper, and diced green onions. We found it is best to cook these little guys in a pre-heated (low-medium/low) skillet with plenty of butter. They are a delightfully savory, yet soft vehicle for anything you would want to throw on top. Mushrooms go very well with the wild rice :)

Arugula salad with a light olive oil and white truffle dressing, and perfectly sauteed brussel sprouts made up the vegetable portion of the meal.

Couldn't have Thanksgiving without a turkey! My mom tried something new this year and cut the turkey into several different sections before roasting, which we all agree was a great decision! The meat stayed tender and moist, yet each section browned to perfection on the outside, making each bite as good as the very first.

Hope everyone had a lovely holiday season!

Thinking of Summer on a Wintery Night

I know, I know, I've been horribly neglectful of this blog... but life got busy! Fall just flew by with lots of sunny days, soccer games, job changes and other activities that kept me away from my love of photographing and devouring gluten free delights.

But I am back now, and vow to make a better effort to keep updating! Even on these short, dreary winter days...

So instead of thinking about cold and rainy winter nights... lets reminisce about warm, sunshine filled summer evenings with freshly grilled fish and summer veggies :)

Mmm, I'm feeling warmer already!

Copper River salmon with grilled zucchini, potato, and pattypan squash. Paired with a bright and flavorful salad of cherry tomatoes, feta, basil, and pine nuts.

Ahh summer days...

Lemon Blueberry Scones for a Sunny Morning

July has been a perfect month of sunshine and warm weather. I woke up this morning to another beautiful day, craving the sweet, tangy and refreshing flavors of lemon and blueberry.

Scones are quick, easy and delicious... so my decision was made.

Pamela's Products makes a great gluten free baking mix, which is what I used as the base of these scones. I followed the recipe for Pamela's Scones (check their website for tons of great recipes!) but I substituted goat's milk butter and almond milk in place of the cow's milk butter and milk.

I also added 1/2 teaspoon lemon extract, 1 teaspoon lemon zest, and 1/2 cup dried blueberries. I know it's summer and there is an abundance of fresh blueberries available, but I prefer the chewy texture and more concentrated blueberry flavor of the dried fruits.

I love to eat freshly baked, still warm scones with a scoop of Greek yogurt. The contrasting warm scone and cool yogurt make me think of eating strawberry shortcake when I was little.

Perfect summer breakfast.

Shrimp Tacos, a Summer Favorite.

I believe I can say with confidence that tacos are my favorite food. There is so much flavor variety, freshness, color, and contrasting/complimenting textures that I never get bored with them.

A good corn tortilla is the first step to making tacos. I personally think corn tortillas have a lot more flavor and a better texture than flour tortillas, plus they are gluten free, so they obviously win in my book.

I loaded these tacos with sweet corn, avocado, goat's milk jack cheese, pico de galo, lime, and plump shrimp. Sadly, I was out of cilantro today... but normally I always throw a generous sprinkle of chopped cilantro on each bite.

I think I will have to start documenting every taco I encounter in Seattle restaurants and put them up here for you all. My favorites come from Agua Verde, on Portage Bay, and Barrio, up on Capitol Hill.

Phad Thai at Home

Thai food is one of my favorite cuisines, and luckily, much of it is made with gluten free ingredients. Phad Thai is a total comfort food for me, and it's a ton of fun to make because you can personalize it to your tastes with a variety of flavors and ingredients.

You can find rice sticks at almost every grocery store, in the Asian foods section. Thai Kitchen is a great brand that makes rice noodles, and several different Thai style sauces and marinades. The noodles are very easy to cook; just bring water to a boil, turn off the heat, and add the noodles, stir occasionally. They take about 8-10 minutes to soften.

I like to use their Pad Thai sauce, but spice it up with freshly diced garlic, shallots, green onion, crushed peanuts, and lime.

I made a simple tofu Phad Thai, but you can add any protein you desire. My other favorites are shrimp or chicken. I lightly pan fried the firm tofu in oil and a bit of Tamari sauce (gluten-free soy sauce) for extra flavor. I then sauteed the diced garlic, shallot, and green onion. After about 8 minutes, I drained the noodles and tossed them into the wok-style pan with the garlic and shallots. Next add the sauce and toss over the heat for a couple minutes.

Garnish with a bit more green onion, crushed peanuts, and lime wedges. Yum!

A Lovely Lunch at Anita's Crepes

My mom and I indulged in both savory and sweet crepes for lunch today.

For the past few months, every sunday morning at the Ballard Farmer's Market, I have been rushing over to the Anita's Crepe stand to wait in line for a delicious breakfast. They have a gluten free batter that is made of buckwheat, and is absolutely wonderful. Today, we took the time to eat in the restaurant rather than a grab-and-go crepe at the market.

I have driven past Anita's about 1000 times on my way between Ballard and Fremont on Leary Way, but today, it was finally time to stop and enjoy. And thank goodness we did! Anita's is adorable inside and out.

My mom's mozzarella, roasted chicken, and spinach crepe was covered with fresh arugula, caramelized onions, tomatoes, and sauteed potato wedges.

I opted for a simple, savory, and delicious combination of spinach, feta, and a farm fresh egg in my buckwheat crepe.

We couldn't resist trying one of the many sweet crepes for dessert. A simple cinnamon and sugar crepe was the perfect afternoon treat.

Craving crepes, go to Anita's!

http://www.anitascrepes.com/

Snacks Galore!

If you're anything like me (working full time, constantly on the run, and dealing with food allergies), it can be tough to find snacks that are both gluten free and delicious to keep you fueled throughout the day. Luckily, I have some great suggestions for you!

Lara Bars are one of my favorites, so simple, yet tasty and satisfying. Most flavors are only made with 3 to 5 ingredients, including fruit, nuts, and spices. They are all gluten free, dairy free, soy free, vegan and kosher. While that may sound like they're leaving a lot out, it's amazing how delicious just a few simple, natural ingredients can be when put together thoughtfully. These are available in bulk boxes at Costco, which brings the cost down to less than 80 cents per bar.

The WOW Baking Company has gluten free cookies nailed. This "Oregon Oatmeal" flavor is perfection, packed with cranberries, apricots, and oats, in a moist and chewy cookie.

Kind Bars are another favorite on the list of throw-in-the-purse-and-go foods. They now sell them at Starbucks, so you're sure to find them anywhere. They have bold flavors, in texturally satisfying bars. I'm a fan of the Mango Macadamia bar, and Almond Cranberry bars.

When I was a kid, cheese and crackers were a favorite comfort/snack food. Herb Chevre drizzled with a touch of great olive oil makes any afternoon more enjoyable. These Glutino crackers are awesome! They have a great buttery taste and flaky texture.

These Koyo Organic Brown Rice Chips (more like a thin cracker) are absolutely wonderful. 18 of them will only set you back 160 calories, and they are the perfect vehicle for cheeses, dips, tuna/ chicken salad... anything!

I found all of these products at PCC, which is a paradise for food allergy sufferers. They are all starting to pop up more and more in common grocery stores and I have seen many of these products in QFC, Safeway, and others.

Homemade Chicken Salad and Frozen Yogurt on a Summer Day

Rosemary chicken salad on Udi's whole grain sandwich bread made for a perfect lunch on a sunny afternoon in June.

I started with a large organic chicken breast and poached it with rosemary, pinch of salt, and a bay leaf for about 20 minutes before chopping it into cubes.

Meanwhile, I mixed together some Greek yogurt, mayonnaise, touch of Dijon mustard, minced garlic, chopped green onion, celery, rosemary, parsley, and salt & pepper. I folded the cubed chicken breast pieces in... and voila!

With some fresh lettuce from the garden, and a couple slices of Udi's sandwich bread, I was a happy camper.

For those of you who haven't yet discovered the wonder that is Udi's bread, go get some! Udi's has seriously made gluten free living a breeze. The bread is light, soft, great straight out of the bag, and not calorie dense like those horrible rice breads. Every single Udi's product I have tasted (bagels, breads, muffins, pizza crust, etc) has blown me away... a big thank you to our friends in Colorado who created this brand!

For a lighter nibble, we had some chicken salad on Mary's Gone Crackers gluten free, organic crackers. These are also a great find! They are crisp and crunchy, made entirely of brown rice, quinoa, flax seeds, and sesame seeds. Thirteen crackers will only set you back 140 calories, plus 3 grams of protein and fiber. They come in a variety of flavors such as herb, black pepper, and original.

For a midday dessert, my mom and I decided to make some frozen yogurt... from goat's milk! I have been trying to substitute goat's milk for cow's milk whenever possible since it seems I am sensitive to cow's milk products.

The first step is to find a good goat's milk yogurt, either from your local farmer's market, or any store such as Whole Foods or PCC. Then, simply pour the yogurt into a cheese cloth and let it strain for several hours (easiest to just leave it in the fridge to strain overnight). The thickened yogurt will contain less whey and moisture, making for a creamy frozen yogurt.

After the yogurt was strained, we transferred it into another bowl, and mixed in some vanilla extract and sugar. We also made a batch where we substituted the granulated cane sugar for the syrupy agave sweetener, which is a great all-natural, cane sugar free alternative.

Very simple, just those two additional ingredients, then into the Cuisinart frozen yogurt/ ice cream maker for just over 5 minutes.

The result is an incredibly smooth and creamy, slightly tangy frozen yogurt. We just made vanilla today, but think of the possibilities!

I ate mine with these Glutino brand lemon wafer cookies... perfect combination with the frozen yogurt! Glutino also makes some of my favorite products I've discovered, and these cookies are high on my list.

Delish.

Summer Time in the Garden = Love

One thing I particularly love about summer, is the abundance of delicious foods waiting to be created from the garden. My siblings and I love to gather at our parents house at least once a week and spend the whole day cooking and creating with whatever we can find. Luckily, with their garden, we can always find a lot.

If you have an herb garden, even just a few plants, try infusing different substances to add real, fresh flavor to future dishes. It makes for fun experiments, and beautiful jars!

These are, from left: rosemary sugar, herbed salt (rosemary, oregano, thyme), and rosemary simple syrup.

Can't wait to make chard tarts later this summer once these chard plants have fully matured.

We grow tons of rosemary along one of the southwestern walls. Personally, I could put rosemary in just about anything and love it! Which is why I am making a rosemary chicken salad this afternoon for lunch. Stay tuned for pictures.

My IBS Treatment Center Food Allergy Chart!

Here is part of my food allergy test results, I was so surprised by some of the foods I had such a strong negative reactive to.

I had some suspicions about dairy not agreeing with me, and this confirmed those suspicions. It was interesting that I had no reaction to yogurt, or goat's milk. Fortunately, I love yogurt, especially Greek style with honey, and could eat goat cheese all day long :)

Meats from the Bovine family clearly don't sit well with me, which is a bit saddening. As I mentioned earlier I am a sucker for a good steak, but I'm happy to give it up if it means good health and a happy stomach.

This bit of the chart is the hardest for me to accept. Most of the wonderful gluten free breads and baked goods I have found do contain yeast. I have been so excited about replacing the missing pizzas, breads, and bagels in my life with great gluten free options, that I don't think I am ready to say goodbye to them.

Since I have cut gluten out of my life in the past couple years, I have felt remarkably better is so many ways. I no longer struggle with daily fatigue, joint aches, and crippling stomach pains. These other foods that showed up on my lab tests clearly aren't my body's favorites, but they don't affect me as intensely or negatively as gluten. I will therefore do my best to eliminate all bovine-derived dairy and meat from my diet, while limiting my intake of yeast and cane sugar... but those last two just can't be totally avoided, I love them too much.