Canyon Bakehouse

The good people at Canyon Bakehouse reached out to me recently to see if I'd like to sample some of their products. You know I said yes.  They sent me their 7-Grain Bread, Cinnamon Raisin Bread, Rosemary & Thyme Focaccia, and Hot Dog Buns.

I wrote about their 7-Grain bread over two years ago and said it was the best gluten free bread I had tried. This holds true today.  Their 7-Grain bread is my favorite gluten free bread out there.  I've never been much of a cinnamon raisin bread gal but I've been enjoying their's recently with breakfast.  I turned the focaccia into stuffing for Friendsgiving yesterday and it worked well.  It's currently 25 degrees in NYC so I'm not anticipating hot dogs anytime soon, but I'm sure they are great as well.  I see from their site that they have a deli rye style bread.  I miss rye bread and will definitely be giving this a try.

Canyon Bakehouse's products are certified gluten free, kosher, 100% whole grain, as well as dairy, nut, and soy free. Thank you Canyon Bakehouse for such great gluten free products!

Friendsgiving

Getting ready for Friendsgiving

Every year I travel back up to Vermont to spend Thanksgiving with my family.  Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday because it's all about family, good food, and it opens up the holiday season.  I like Thanksgiving so much that for the past two years I've traveled to Toronto to join my college roommates for Canadian Thanksgiving in October as well. Might as well double up on the joys of Thanksgiving if you can, right?

This year I'm happy to be adding a third Thanksgiving to my list in the form of Friendsgiving.  This afternoon I'm heading to a friend's house with several others to hang out, eat, chat, and watch football.

I spent yesterday and today cooking up a storm.  I'm bringing roasted Brussels sprouts, creamed spinach, stuffing, and pumpkin spice muffins with a cream cheese filling.  I'm even bringing gluten free gravy as to not miss out on any holiday staples.  Other people are bringing turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, a dessert someone is accommodating to be gluten free just for me, and lots of other things.  Not everything will be gluten free, but a whole lot of it will be.

I'm really excited about the stuffing I made for today.  My friend Mallory posted a recipe for kale and sausage stuffing that I had to try.  I haven't had very good luck with gluten free stuffing thus far in life, but this homemade stuffing is really good.  I used Canyon Bakehouse's Rosemary and Thyme Focaccia for the bread and added some mushrooms to the veggies.  Thanks for the recipe Mallory!

And those pumpkin muffins cooling up above?  One of them is already gone.

Some of my other go to Thanksgiving recipes include:

Sweet Potato Puree

Mashed Cauliflower

Pumpkin Pie

What are your favorite Thanksgiving staples?

When I'm not Eating Cupcakes

As I was writing about cupcakes the other day I realized that according to my blog I only eat cupcakes, burgers, and lasagna.  While this is generally true, when I'm not eating cupcakes and burgers I do try to eat relatively well and exercise a few times a week.  Today I walked 6.5 miles and then made the delicious lunch above.  It is super easy to make and naturally gluten free.  That's sauteed kale, a small sweet potato that I cooked in the microwave for 4 minutes, half an avocado, two fried eggs, a little bit of cheese, and salt and pepper.  Now I will try not to eat a cupcake and/or a burger for the rest of the day.  No promises.

Trader Joe's Cupcakes

Photo stolen from here.

I went Trader Joe's yesterday for the first time in ages.  I forgot how amazing it is.  Minus the really long lines, which is a huge factor.  Almost a deal breaker for me.  But if you can deal with it then they have really great food.  They also have a lot of gluten free options.

I'm writing this post because I want to tell you about their gluten free cupcakes.  I had read about them online but hadn't really thought about them since.  Then I saw them in the store and they had my favorite flavor: chocolate with vanilla frosting.  I told myself I didn't need them.  I told myself I didn't even really want them.  And then I bought them anyway.  Classic me.

I got their Gluten Free Chocolate Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting.  Guys, these are amazing.  Like almost some of the best gluten free cupcakes I have ever had.  Which says a lot because I have clearly had a lot of gluten free cupcakes in my day.  However, because they are prepacked cupcakes they have their nutrition facts on them.  Let me tell you, these cupcakes are REALLY bad for you.  Like, disgustingly bad.  But taste so good.  This is a real conundrum.  I'll let you make this important life decision on your own.

Bareburger

From my dinner at Tommy Lasagna I met a lot of great new bloggers.  This includes Candice from London to NYC. Candice is one of those food bloggers you love but also kind of hate because she clearly likes eating yet she's tall, thin, and beautiful.  When I first went to her blog her most recent post was an analysis of gluten free burgers in the city.  I want to be thin and eat burgers all day.  She also has an adorable accent.  Sigh.

Anyway, Candice's favorite burger is from Bareburger and it made me realize that I've been to Bareburger many times and have never written about them.  Which is a real shame because they are my go to burger as well.  Their burgers are organic, all natural, and grass fed.  They aren't as greasy as most burgers and they have a lot of interesting meat choices like elk, wild boar, bison, and ostrich.  They also have your go to beef, turkey, and veggie burgers if you aren't feeling quit as adventurous.  You can create your own burger or get one of their tasty creations.  Their gluten free bun holds up pretty well.

My only gripe about Bareburger is they make you order french fries separately.  Of course you want french fries but you want them to come with the burger so you can be all, "well, they came with the burger so I guess I better eat them."  Instead, they shame you into ordering french fries and a burger.  However, I should note that I have never NOT ordered the fries.  That would be just crazy talk.  Fortunately, an order is pretty big so you can share them with a friend.

There are several locations throughout the city.  And they deliver.  Mmm burgers.

Tommy Lasagna

Last night I was invited to dinner at Tommy Lasagna to try their new gluten free menu with other gluten free bloggers in New York City.  Erin of Gluten-Free Fun and Gluten-Free Globetrotter organized the event.  Also at the table were Carolyn, Candice, Katie, Kristen, Mike, Molly, and Judith (our token gluten eating blogger).  It was really fun to have dinner with these people in real life because I know many of them from their blogs and twitter but had only met a few in person.  In addition to her blog, Katie has a tumblr that makes me laugh/cry all the time.

Tommy Lasagna opened a few years ago but their gluten free menu is new.  So new that we were among the first to try it.  Tommy graciously offered us six courses of amazing food and all the gluten free booze we wanted.  We ate so much that I think most of us waddled out of the restaurant.  All in the name of research, of course.

To start we had gluten free focaccia with olive oil.  For a first course we had Mango Shrimp with a Fennel Slaw.  Next was Ceviche.  Third we were able to try the Green Market Lasagna and the Bolognese Lasagna.  Fourth we had fresh Fettuccine with Lobster and Papperdelle with Bolognese.  Fifth we tried the Cioppino and Veal Involtini.  To finish we had Cheesecake and Flourless Chocolate Cake.  Not only were there six courses, but most courses involved two samplings.  I'm still full thinking about this meal.

Everything was amazing.  My favorite was the Bolognese Lasagna.  It is a lasagna restaurant after all.  The veggie lasagna was also really good and you could taste the freshness of the vegetables that Tommy gets from the Union Square farmer's market.  Lobster pasta?  Yum.  Unless, of course, you are allergic to shellfish, which some of the people at the table were. Tommy was really accommodating though, and for those folks he brought out a Caprese Salad instead of the Mango Shrimp, Pear Salad instead of Ceviche, pasta with Vodka sauce instead of Lobster, and Crispy Chicken over Hash Browns and Shaved Brussels Sprouts instead of the Cioppino.  They confirmed these things were excellent as well.

I honestly really liked everything I had.  I hardly ever eat veal, but stuffed with spinach, asparagus, and fresh mozzarella it was really good.  The focaccia was a good start to the meal and the desserts were heavenly.  I wish I had more room to eat them.  Don’t worry though guys, I was still able to eat all the cheesecake.

Not only was the food really good, but Tommy really “gets” the whole gluten free thing.  We talked for a while about the different flours he uses, how all the gluten free pasta is made on a separate pasta maker first thing in the morning when everything in the kitchen is clean, and training his staff to fully understand the issues of cross contamination.  I felt completely confident I was eating safely at Tommy Lasagna and will definitely be back.

Thank you so much for making this happen Tommy.  You have a lot of happy new customers. 

Siggy's

A few weeks ago I wandered upon Siggy's with some of my family members.  They boast an all organic menu with lots of gluten free, vegetarian, and vegan options.  We decided to give it a go and everyone ended up happy.

Everything gluten free is clearly labeled on the menu.  I got a turkey burger on a gluten free bun with a side salad.  The bun looked too good when it arrived so I made the waiter confirm for me that it was gluten free (yes, I'm that crazy girl).  It wasn't the best gluten free bun I'd ever had, but I was pretty happy with the burger as a whole.  They also have a lot of really good looking salads, gluten free pastas, and entrees. Now that the weather is turning cool I'd like to try the beef stew over spinach and quinoa.  My gluten eating brothers were happy with their mac and cheese.

Siggy's has locations in Manhattan and Brooklyn Heights.  If you like to eat organic or need to find a restaurant for your mash of gluten free and vegetarian friends, Siggy's is a good choice.

Gluten Free Philly

Besties

I just got back from a weekend in Philly with my best friend.  She's in a five year doctorate program and is half way through.  We try to get together once a month either in Philly or New York.  That means I've been to Philly a whole lot in the last few years and I should obviously tell you about two of my favorite gluten free spots there.

For breakfast, lunch, or coffee/tea time we often go to Pure Fare on 21st Street between Sansom and Walnut.  The entire place is gluten free and they have great frittatas.  They also have sandwiches on gluten free bread, salads, smoothies, and some baked goods.

Choosing a dinner spot is always much more of a debacle for us.  We've been to El Rey a few times though and went again this weekend.  It's a pretty good Mexican restaurant with a large gluten free menu.  I recommend the nachos and pitchers of margaritas.  It's a fun place to go with friends but they don't take reservations so go early or plan to wait.

Anywhere else in Philly I should be trying?  I have at least 2.5 more years of hanging out there.