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.

Caesar's Pasta Review

I recently received some free samples of Caesar's Pasta.  Caesar's has been around for 42 years making frozen pasta dishes with high quality, all natural ingredients.   They recently introduced their gluten free line which includes lasagna, stuffed shells, ravioli, manicotti, gnocchi, and more.

I really loved the meat ravioli.  Ravioli is never high on my list of things I want to order at restaurants or make for dinner, but this ravioli was so good I would definitely buy it for myself.  I have only tried one other brand of gluten free ravioli and it completely fell apart while cooking and then got stuck to my strainer.  Caesar's gluten free ravioli not only tasted great, but it held up really well.

I like Caesar's not only because it tastes good, but also because their meat and cheese come from grass fed cows. Grass fed cows are happy cows.  Happy cows taste better.  It's a proven fact.

Next, I would like to try their gnocchi.  Give them a try and let me know what you think!

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?

Food Bloggers in NYC Meetup at Murray's Cheese

 

As I've mentioned a few times, I'm a member of the New York City Celiac Disease Meetup Group.  I've met some really nice people this way and most importantly gotten a lot of good information about Celiac Disease.

A few weeks ago my friend Mallory over at total noms and co-owner of Mile End Bakery decided she wanted to start a meetup for Food Bloggers in NYC.  As a fellow food blogger and friend, I signed right up.  Within just a few days there were over 80 members!

The first meetup was Tuesday night at Murray's Cheese Bar in the West Village.  I'd never been and I'm really not sure why.  Who doesn't like cheese?!  The menu has many different cheeses broken up into: fresh, soft-ripened, washed rind, semi-firm and firm, and blue. They also have several kinds of meats.  If you aren't in the mood for just cheese and meat standing on their own, they also have sandwiches, fondue, mac & cheese, enchiladas, and salads.

I opted to have two cheeses and a meat.  With all the different cheeses on the menu I wasn't sure what to get and let the cheesemonger (yes, that's a real word) choose for me.  I ended up with a Rainbeau Ride Meridian fresh cheese, Ewephoria Gouda semi-firm, and Creminelli Wild Boar Salami.  It was excellent and I really liked the cute slate it was served on.  I would definitely go back.  My picture turned out terribly but Mallory captured a photo of someone else's that was very nice:

Not only was the food good, but so was the company.  I met a few nice people with food blogs and some that are interested in starting food blogs.  I look forward to our future events.  If you have a food blog and live in NYC, come join us!

Check out Mallory's review on Total Noms and my new blogger friend Rechelle's on Romio.