By The Way Bakery

I like to balance exercise with baked goods.  Or, I guess if we are trying to be healthy about the whole thing, I like to balance my baked good consumption with exercise.  I really enjoy taking long walks, and I really enjoy muffins, so twice now I have made the 6.5 mile walk from my apartment to New York's newest gluten free bakery in the Upper West Side.  Six and a half miles for a muffin sounds like a fair trade off, right?  Even if you answered no to that question, these muffins are worth it.

By The Way Bakery is a gluten and dairy free bakery that recently opened on Broadway and 90th Street in Manhattan.  This makes it New York's 7th gluten free bakery.  Seven!  We sure are spoiled here in NYC. I'm going to go ahead and make a big statement here: By The Way Bakery just might be my favorite of them all.  The store is super cute, they have a great selection of baked goods, and the owner and staff are really friendly.  I've been able to sample a few things, but the reason I'll keep going back are the muffins.  My favorites are the Blueberry Corn and the Pear Cranberry.

By The Way Bakery's original location is in Hastings-on-Hudson, NY.  If you are in NYC or Hastings-on-Hudson I highly recommend you give this bakery a try.

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.

Sweet Christine's Bakery

Awhile back I received a box of samples from Sweet Christine's Bakery in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. Summer is the crazy busy season at my job so I am quite late on writing this post.  In fact, things have been so busy that I haven't even been able to try everything I was sent!  In early August Sweet Christine's sent me: a loaf of bread, a baguette, 6 small pizza crusts, a cookie, and a brownie.  The day I received the package I immediately opened and shared the cookie and brownie with my stressed co-workers.  The brownie was good and as I sit here writing this I wish I had another (ignore the fact that it's 9 am).  The cookie had the taste and consistency of what I remember Chips Ahoy cookies tasting like, which isn't my preferred cookie, but for a prepackaged cookie is pretty good.

I must say I don't love the bread.  It is a bit sweeter than I like.  I haven't tried the baguette yet but it looks great and I'm keeping it in my freezer until I cook something worthy of serving it with (I'm imagining lasagna).  The pizza crusts are interesting because it says you can use them as pizza crusts, or as wraps or quesadillas.  It suggests to use a pizza stone or right on the oven rack versus on a baking sheet.  I don't have a pizza stone and I was weary of cooking them right on the rack so I opted not to try them as pizza crusts.  First I tried them as soft taco wrappers which didn't work so well, but as quesadillas I really liked them.  I don't think I've had any quesadillas since going gluten free and these were great.

Sweet Christine's has a storefront in Kennett Square, but after doing some research on their website they do so much more.  They are partnering with schools, colleges, and stadiums to get gluten free products available in places they traditionally aren't, which I think is great.

Tim Horton's Gluten Free Macaroons

They sent me this handy picture to show you

Having gone to school in Canada, Tim Horton's holds a special place in my heart.  There's nothing like a hot chocolate on a -40 degree day (I wish I was kidding about that temperature).  And who doesn't love timbits?  Timbits were actually on the menu the weekend I got so ill I knew I had to finally go to the doctor regarding my pesky chronic stomach aches.

I had long resigned to no more Tim Horton's treats in my life until I was contacted recently about their new gluten free coconut macaroons.  A small package arrived a few days later with a sample of the macaroons.  They come two in a two pack and are pre-wrapped to avoid cross contamination.  So far, they are winning.  They sent me some literature with the macaroons that informed me that not only are they available in all Tim Horton's locations, but they are only $1.29 per package.  This seems very reasonable to me.  They also tasted good. So, overall nice work Tim Horton's.

I've read some reviews that complain how unhealthy they are.  But come on, you are at a doughnut shop, what do you expect?  Low cal, all natural, organic macaroons?  If you are going into Tim Horton's in the first place you aren't there for a nutritious snack.  You are there for some delicious treats.  And now you can have a safe delicious treat along with the rest of 'em.

While I appreciate the gesture of a gluten free treat from Tim Horton's, I do have one complaint: they aren't timbits.  Dear Tim Horton's, please start working on gluten free glazed timbits.  Love, Anya.

Thanksgiving 2012

I didn't take any pictures while I was home.  This is from the summer.
But it is the view from my backyard.  Vermont is lovely.

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.  It's all about food and family.  I like it so much that this year I went to Canada for Canadian Thanksgiving just so I could celebrate the holiday twice.  Around Thanksgiving time most food bloggers post all sorts of new recipes for the holiday.  I didn't because we eat the same thing every year and I love it.  If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Last year we had to adapt Thanksgiving to be gluten free.  With the experimenting last year, this year was a breeze.  My mom even made me homemade gluten free stuffing this year using Udi's bread since I've never tried a packaged GF stuffing I've enjoyed.  I bought a mini GF pumpkin pie at the local co-op since I really didn't need an entire full size gluten free pie laying around.  It was pretty delicious.  We also had the creamed spinach, sweet potatoes, and mashed cauliflower again.  This year we added brussels sprouts to the menu, which I love.  I also had Almond Nut Thins around for all the cracker and cheese appetizers.

I spent six days at home laying low, eating good food, and visiting with family and friends.  What could be better?

Healthy Living Market and Cafe

I was in Vermont again last weekend.  This time I went for work.  I had to sit at a table in Burlington for several hours and hand out information about my company.  Not my normal job, but I'm always willing to help out when needed...especially when it means I get to go home for free.

Knowing that I was going to be sitting at a table for the majority of an afternoon, I wanted to bring lunch with me.  I went to the trusty Gluten Free Travel Site and searched Burlington, VT.  It was there I stumbled upon a review for Healthy Living Market and Cafe across from the University Mall.  It was a perfect quick stop before I headed downtown for an afternoon on the waterfront of Lake Champlain.

At the risk of sounding like the dorky gluten free person I am, Healthy Living Market was amazing.  They have an entire gluten free section when you first enter the store.  I don't mean a small section of an aisle.  I mean a whole mini store within the store.  It gives G-Free NYC a run for it's money.  Here's a low quality picture I took in my excitement:

You can't really tell how amazing it is from the picture, but they have everything.  What you see here are mostly the dry goods.  There is a row of freezers all along the left hand side with only gluten free stuff.  To the right before the food there is a section with gluten free magazines and books.  In the middle there is beer and behind that fresh baked goods and bread.  Nearly every gluten free product I've ever seen was here.  I even saw (and purchased) the new New Planet beer everyone's been talking about.  I also got the Bakery on Main instant oatmeal I've been wanting to try.  Seriously, this store has everything I could ever want for my gluten free needs.

But that's not all!  That only covers the market part.  They also have a cafe with lots of gluten free goods.  I got a gluten free raspberry muffin that was great.  And then... I was able to order a sandwich from the deli for the first time since I was diagnosed with Celiac 2 years ago!

For those of you that don't know me, this is very exciting.  I miss sandwiches and being able to order them for lunch.  We had to play an icebreaker with the summer interns at my job in June.  Everyone had to write down a t-shirt slogan that describes them and then other people have to guess who's slogan goes with who.  Mine said "I miss sandwiches."  I hate icebreakers.

I wish I could tell you I loved my sandwich, but I wasn't that happy with the bread. I did really really appreciate it though.  They have a hot bar with lots of gluten free options and I hear they even have gluten free pizza sometimes.

If you are gluten free and live within an hour of this place you have to go.  Or, if you are visiting lovely Burlington, VT, make sure to stop by.  Honestly, it's better than Whole Foods.  That's right, I said it.

Total Noms Smores

This post isn't about me.  It's about my super cool friend Mallory.  Mallory is co-owner of Mile End Bakery with me and author of the food blog total noms.  She has a cool day job, created our whole website, and takes great photos. To add to her overall coolness, her photo (above) from her post about smores was featured on Food Porn Daily today!  I am so proud.

1) I love smores.
2) Like Mallory's post on smores, I love summer camp.

Smores alone are amazing.  But adding the nutella?  Yum.  She even said it's supposed to have an oreo on there too.  I think that might be putting it a bit over the edge for me, but hey, in the name of research and expanding my horizon (waist line?), I'd give it a try.

Don't worry folks, there are plenty of gluten free grahams and faux oreos out there to make this dream a reality.  If anyone tries it with the oreo let me know your findings!

Georgetown Cupcakes

Georgetown Cupcake was started by two sisters in DC who quit their corporate jobs and started a cute cupcake shop in 2008.  For that, I am eternally jealous.  The shop was so cute, and their cupcakes were so good, that they got their own show on TLC.  I've seen the show a few times and they did one episode where someone wanted to special order GF cupcakes.  The sisters didn't offer GF cupcakes at the time, but they stayed late after the shop was closed and all the utensils were cleaned and made a batch of GF cupcakes.  Everyone was very happy.

Fast forward to now.  I was walking in SoHo with my brother recently and walked past a Georgetown Cupcake.  Apparently they just opened a location in NYC.  Remembering the show and how they didn't normally offer GF cupcakes, I didn't bother going in.  A few days later I happened to read somewhere that Georgetown cupcakes does in fact offer a GF flavor: Gluten Free Lava Fudge.  Clearly, I had to try it.

Coincidentally, I was back in SoHo with my brother on Monday.  It was his half birthday (yes, that's a thing) and we decided we needed some cake.  A perfect time to try Georgetown Cupcake!  Let me tell you, the store is adorable and the gluten free cupcake was amazing.  Not only was it amazing (top 3 GF cupcakes I've ever tried), but the staff was so considerate.  They asked if I was ordering the GF because of an allergy. When I confirmed that I was they changed their gloves before handling it and put it in a separate box than my brother's.  Between the cute shop, the delicious cupcake, and the conscientious handling of my cupcake, these people win big time.  Go try them.  Immediately.

Wow Baking Company

I was at LaGuardia Airport last week and came across some gluten free cookies from Wow Baking Company in the Cibo Express. They had individually packaged chocolate chip, peanut butter, ginger molasses, and snickerdoodle cookies. I had a hard time deciding between the chocolate chip and the peanut butter but finally went with the peanut butter because it looked so soft and chewy. It was really good.  Surprisingly good for a prepackaged cookie.

When I got home and looked this company up I found they use all natural ingredients with no hydrogenated oils or refined sugars. In addition to individually wrapped cookies they have bags of cookies, cookie dough, and cake mixes.

This was a great gluten free treat to find in the airport. My only problem with it was it was marked as being two servings. Who, besides my dad, eats half a cookie? Other than that, if you see these cookies in the airport, or elsewhere, I suggest you give them a try.

peacefood cafe

Located on Amsterdam and 82nd, peacefood cafe is a vegan restaurant with many gluten free options.  They describe themselves as having healthy and delicious food with seasonal and locally grown ingredients when available.  I've been a few times and agree that they have healthy and delicious food.  I'll take their word on the seasonal and locally grown part.

I like getting the vegetable plates.  They have japanese pumpkin, chinese eggplant, zucchini, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, broccoli, choyote squash, kale, and baby boy choy.  You can choose two or four.  Or you can get two with a cup of soup.  Last week I had some butternut squash soup with zucchini and brussel sprouts.  It was really good and I felt good eating it.

Other gluten free options include fluffy quinoa salad, raw lasagna, raw pizza, raw sushi, potato salad, chickpea fries, and vegetable tamales.  There is also a case of desserts with several gluten free options including cookies, pies, and cheesecake.

This bustling casual restaurant has a really friend staff and the kind of owner that will give you samples of smoothies while you sit at the counter reading a book and eating some butternut squash soup.

Joan's GF Great Bakes

I've been hearing about Joan's for a long time now but hadn't had the chance to try her products until recently.  Not only was I able to finally give her products a try, but I was able to meet Joan in person at Whole Foods a few weeks ago.  I was there for a book signing, but there were also a lot of gluten free vendors around the store giving out free samples.  Joan was one of them and Erin, the leader of the NYC Celiac Meetup Group and author of Gluten-Free Fun, told me I had to go try some of Joan's products.  I'm glad I did!

I sampled Joan's Corn Toaster Muffins, English Muffins, and Double Chocolate Muffins.  They were all amazing.  I ended up going home with the Corn Toaster Muffins and Multi Grain English Muffins.  The English muffins make a great addition to breakfast and the Corn Toasters are a nice evening treat.  Next I'd like to try Joan's pizza.

Not only were Joan's products really good, but she was very nice herself!  Overall, a winning combination.  Nice work Joan, and thanks for the great products!

Pappardella

I stole this picture from the internet.

My brother doesn't really go above mid-town Manhattan.  In fact, he generally tends not to go above Union Square if he doesn't have to.  But tonight I convinced him to meet me for dinner on 75th and Columbus.  Way out of his comfort zone, but since we have eaten at most of the restaurants with gluten free menus in the city, it's always nice to have somewhere new to try.

I learned about Pappardella on twitter a few weeks ago and have been excited to try it ever since (see, twitter can serve a purpose).  I've been meaning to eat healthier recently, but tonight I accidentally ate gluten free garlic bread, gluten free bruschetta with a fava bean spread, gluten free pasta bolognese, and flourless chocolate cake with hazelnut gelato and caramel sauce.  Oh, and my brother had the gluten free salmon dish and I tried some of that too.  Oops!  Don't worry, we shared it all but the pasta.

But here's the thing, with all their gluten free options, I had a hard time deciding.  The gluten free menu was huge and covered everything from appetizers and salads, to pizza and pasta, to meat and fish, to dessert.  They use Schar for their pasta, and I'm pretty sure their bread as well.  The gluten free substitutes were pretty good, but next time I would be interested in trying one of their naturally gluten free dishes such as their grilled rack of grass fed Austrailian lamb with caramelized cipollini onions, and creamy parmesan polenta, or the grilled NY strip steak served with a port wine reduction and garlic mashed potatoes.  And after that I'd like to try their pizza.

Go ahead, go to the Upper West side and give it a try.  Then let me know what you think.

4 Ingredients Gluten-Free Cookbook

I was at Whole Foods this week for a cooking demo and book signing by Kim McCosker of 4 Ingredients.  Kim McCosker and Rachael Bermingham started their cookbook series 4 Ingredients a little over 4 years ago.  The concept is simple: hundreds of recipes with four or less ingredients.  Recently, Kim and Rachael realized the need for a gluten free version and voila, here it is.

I love the concept of this book.  The recipes are pretty basic, but sometimes that's just what you need to get dinner going.  There are over 400 recipes in the gluten free version including condiments and dips, breakfasts, appetizers, light lunches, sides, mains, desserts, drinks, and recipes for kids.

It was fun to meet Kim at the event.  She was very nice, engaging, and gave lots of tips.  I was able to try her BBQ beef stir-fry, guacamole, chocolate covered marshmallows, and another dessert I don't remember the name of.  I'm looking forward to trying the Chicken Tikka Masala made with just chicken, tikka masala paste, condensed GF tomato sauce, and plain yogurt.

The only question I had in the book was about the ingredient gluten free self rising flour.  Apparently, this is something they have in Australia where Kim is from, but not really in the US.  When I asked her about it, she told me to just add a teaspoon of baking powder to a regular all purpose gluten free flour blend to make it "self rising".  Easy.

I've been in a bit of a cooking rut lately and I hope this book is just the jump start I need.

Genius Gluten Free Bread

I've heard a lot of hype recently about Genius Gluten Free bread.  Particularly their sliced white bread.  I've pretty much given up on eating gluten free bread, but I like to try new brands from time to time.  I saw the sliced white bread in Whole Foods today and decided to give it a try.

I don't mean to be a Debbie Downer, but I did not like it.  It tasted like...nothing.  Not only did it taste like nothing, but the nothingness concealed the flavors of the sandwich contents.  Maybe I should have tried their brown bread instead since I like grainier breads these days, but there is something nice about a simple white loaf for sandwiches or toasted with some butter.

Has anyone else tried this bread or their other flavors?  Thoughts?

Main Line Baking Co.

Ok, so my last post was about eating healthy on the road, and this one is about a bakery...oops?  But everyone needs some sweets in their lives, and this is just what I got at Main Line Baking Co.  I have tried a few of Main Line Baking Co.'s treats at G-Free NYC, but this was my first time visiting.

The bakery is very simple and located inside the Wynnewood Train Station in Wynnewood, PA outside of Philly.  They have cupcakes, muffins, cookies, brownies, pound cake, coffee cake, and they even cater.  Everything they have is gluten free and dairy free.  There is nowhere to sit, but it's a great treat for people commuting into Philly - gluten free or not.

I tried a vanilla cupcake with chocolate frosting.  The cupcake was very light (compared to many gluten free cupcakes that are often too dense) and the frosting wasn't too sweet.  I also got a piece of coffee cake to take with me.  They were both very good.

If you aren't in the Philly area, Main Line Baking Co. treats are also offered at other locations in PA, NJ, and NYC.  Enjoy!

Mile End Bakery

Now's the time for my BIG REVEAL: my friend Mallory over at Total Noms and I have started our own cookie company!  Mile End Bakery offers gluten free cookies as well as cookies made with wheat flour.  We have chocolate chip, snickerdoodle, ginger, oatmeal, nutella, and peanut butter cookies for your enjoyment.  If you can't choose we also offer a sample pack of all six.  They look like this:

Clockwise: Ginger, Snickerdoodle, Chocolate Chip, Peanut Butter, Oatmeal Chocolate Chip, Nutella

Mallory makes our regular cookies and I make our gluten free cookies.  Our gluten free cookies are made in a different kitchen with dedicated gluten free utensils and quality gluten free ingredients.  You can order these delicious cookies on our Etsy store.  We ship anywhere in the continental US.

Mallory and I met in college at McGill in Montreal, Canada.  Stemming from our love of Montreal, we decided to name our company Mile End after a cute neighborhood in the city.  I am very excited about this new venture and I highly suggest you give our cookies a try!

You can see us on Facebook here or follow us on twitter here.

And now for a shameless plug: My man friend and I were feeling ambitious at the same time and while I was starting a cookie company, he started his own personal training company.  If you find you are eating too many cookies and need some help to balance it out, check him out at jtwfit.com.

Enjoy!

Oh Hi

Sorry I've been missing.  I've been pretty busy with stuff I'm not quite ready to share with you yet.  It's big though, just you wait.  I have been cooking and baking up a storm though.

There are two things I'd like to recommend you make.

First, I made this chicken salad last Monday from With Style & Grace.  I mixed it with greens and had it for lunch every day last week.  It was a nice change from whatever it is I usually eat for lunch.  Next time I'll use grapes instead of raisins.

From With Style & Grace

Next, this weekend I made blueberry scones.  I had never made scones before, but I really like them.  Scones often get a bad rap, but they are perfect with a cup of tea.  They are also, as you may remember, a large part of the reason I got fat in college.  Oops.

From Celiac Teen

Lauren used currants, but I don't like currnts so I used blueberries.  This recipe was another reason I needed a food scale.  If you don't have one, I'm sorry, because I have no idea what this would be in cups.

Ok, back to my busy life now.

Gluten Free Oreos

Ok.  I did it.  I broke down and bought a food scale.  I used to be annoyed by all the gluten free recipes posted in grams.  Mostly annoyed because I wanted to make them and couldn't.  And then I asked for 10 different kinds of flour for Christmas and realized that without a food scale I couldn't use the flour in all these recipes that I've been wanting to make.  So now, here's my first recipe in grams.  I'm really sorry.

Oh, it's also my first recipe using sweet rice and teff flour.  There will be many more different flours to come.

I adapted this recipe from the Gluten Free Girl.

Ingredients:
For the cookies:
80 grams sweet rice flour
60 grams white rice flour
35 grams teff flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
10 tablespoons butter, softened
1 large egg

For the  filling:
1 stick butter, softened
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:
1) Preheat the oven to 375. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2) In a large bowl combine the flours.  Whisk in the cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and sugar.

3) On low speed, beat in the butter and egg.  It will look dry, but keep mixing, it will come together.

4) Scoop 2 teaspoons of batter and form a ball.  Flatten the dough in the palm of your hand into a round disk and smooth the edges.  Place on prepared cookie sheet.

5) Bake cookies for 5 minutes.  Turn baking sheet 180 degrees and bake for another 5 minutes.  Remove and allow to cool.

6) Beat together all frosting ingredients until smooth.

7)  When the cookies are cool spread some frosting onto one cookie and then top with another.  Repeat.

That's it.  Oreos.

Snickerdoodles

Snickerdoodles are another thing we made in my high school F&CS class that I have continued to make over the years.  As you probably don't remember, when I first went gluten free I was worried I'd never be able to make these cookies again and Richie Fries would take back his marriage proposal, even if he didn't remember making it.  Well, don't worry, I made these last weekend and they were just as good as their gluten filled counterparts.

I used Cup4Cup for this recipe.  It worked really well.  I also used the cream of tartar for the first time.  I usually omit it because I've never had any before.  Quite frankly, I didn't notice much of a difference with it in there, so feel free to go either way on that one.  Remember, this recipe was originally gluten filled, so if you aren't gluten free go ahead and use regular flour.

Ingredients:
Cookie -
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1/2 cup white sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups GF flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1/4 tsp salt

Topping -
3 T white sugar
1 T cinnamon

Directions:
1) Pre-heat oven to 300 degrees (this is not a typo)

2) In a large bowl cream together the butter and sugars with an electric mixer on high speed.  Add the egg and vanilla and beat until smooth.

3) In another bowl combine the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt.

4)  Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix well.

5) In a small bowl combine the sugar and cinnamon for the topping.

6) Roll dough into one inch balls.  Roll each ball in the cinnamon sugar mixture and place on an ungreased cookie sheet.

7) Bake for 12 minutes - no more.  They will look a little underdone, but they'll crinkle and set perfectly as you let them cool.

Enjoy!  Let me know if these get you any marriage proposals.

Cup4Cup

Developed by Chef Lena Kwak, with the support of Chef Thomas Keller of The French Laundry, Cup4Cup is designed to replace regular wheat flour "cup for cup" in gluten free baking.  With such prestigious people behind it, developed exclusively for Williams-Sonoma, and with the claim of doing everything wheat flour can do in most gluten free recipes, Cup4Cup has been getting a lot of attention recently.

Cup4Cup made it onto my Christmas wishlist but I couldn't wait until Christmas morning to open this gift. Cup4Cup is comprised of cornstarch, white rice flour, brown rice flour, milk powder, tapioca flour, potato starch, and xanthan gum.  A three pound bag will run you almost $20.  This is an awfully steep price to pay, but for all the hype I wanted to try it anyway.

With my three pounds of Cup4Cup I was able to make:

This banana bread.

These snickerdoodles.

And this corn bread.

All three turned out pretty well.  The banana bread and cornbread were a bit gummier than I'm used to my baked goods turning out.  I'm not sure if this was a result of the xanthan gum in the mixture, but it wasn't necessarily a bad thing.  My only other critique is the breads dried out within a day or two.  With a little butter in the toaster oven they were still good, though.  The snickerdoodles were perfect.  Overall I was pretty happy with Cup4Cup.  At $20 a bag I'm not sure I'll be using it in my everyday baking, but it is a good mix to have around and for those not as comfortable mixing flours in the kitchen.

Have you tried this?  Is it worth the money?  How'd your treats come out?