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.

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.

The Sandwich Bar

A few weeks ago I met a friend for lunch and we decided to check out Ditmars Boulevard.  I've lived in Astoria for over 5 years and have only ventured over to Ditmars twice.  We were walking past The Sandwich Bar and I stopped to look at the menu and briefly mourn the lack of sandwiches in my life.  Then I saw they can make their sandwiches on gluten free bread.  I was pretty excited.  I was even more excited when I saw they have a lunch special and hard cider on tap.  I got the pulled pork and cheddar pressed sandwich with a salad and a pint of hard cider.  I love pulled pork.  And cheddar cheese.  And hard cider.

The Sandwich Bar is located on Ditmars Boulevard at 33rd Street, off the Ditmars N or Q stop.  Go.

Luigi's Restaurant

Last night I had the best gluten free pasta I have ever had.  It was so good that after a few bites I was convinced it was not gluten free and made the waitress confirm it for me.  She assured me it was and informed me that they make it themselves in house.  I was impressed.

I'm in DuBois, PA, where, according to the internet, there is basically nothing gluten free to eat.  I stumbled upon Luigi's by accident.  I had planned to go to a Mexican restaurant next door because Mexican is usually pretty GF friendly, but it was closed.  It was getting late so I walked into Luigi's (an Italian restaurant) expecting to just order a salad when I saw a sign at the hostess stand that said "Ask about our gluten free menu."

The gluten free menu has gluten free pasta, pizza, sandwiches, salads, and meat options.  I got gluten free penne with Tia's Tomato Alfredo sauce.  Have I mentioned how good it was?  Honestly, the best GF pasta I have ever had.  I wish I could go back and try the pizza.

Luigi's has two locations, one in DuBois, PA and one in Clymer, PA.  From looking at the website, I don't think the Clymer location has a GF menu.  DuBois is located along Interstate 80 which runs across the entire state of PA connecting New York and New Jersey with Ohio.  It's a long highway with few food options along the way.  This is such a great find that I plan to post about them on every gluten free travel site I can find.

A big thank you to Luigi's for letting me eat such a good meal in DuBois, PA.

Daisy's Grits in Bryant Park

I stumbled upon the Holiday Shops in Bryant Park recently and was pleasantly surprised by the ice skating rink, shops, and food booths.  I make it a point to go to the Union Square Holiday Market every year and somehow missed that there was also one in Bryant Park.  This was such a nice discovery and to make it even better, I found a booth with gluten free food: Daisy's Grits!

I always look for gluten free signs wherever I am (this is normal, right?).  I was so happy to find a gluten free sign on the booth of Daisy's Grits.  They have many choices including sweet, savory, and even some vegan options. Almost every one of their menu options is gluten free except for the ones with soy sauce.  I tried the Colombian Chorizo with cheddar cheese.  The grits are topped with Pecorino Romano cheese, pepper, chives, bacon (if you want), and a special seasoning.  Basically, they are warm and delicious.  This is a perfect meal to enjoy while you sit and watch people skate or to take home.  They are also very reasonably priced for a meal in midtown.

The Holiday Shops in Bryant Park are open until January 6th.  If you happen to be in Bryant Park in the next few weeks be sure to stop by.  It's worth it!

A Gluten Free Taste of Turkey - ebook review

Last Monday I got an email from Sibel Hodge asking if I'd like to review her cookbook: A Gluten Free Taste of Turkey.  My first thought was "heck yes".  My second thought was "...what is Turkish food?"  I didn't have to wonder for long because within a few hours I had a copy of Sibel's ebook.

Sibel has dual Turkish Cypriot and British nationality.  She started cooking gluten free for her husband who has Celiac.  I really enjoyed this little anecdote in her introduction about getting to know her husband:

‘I’m coeliac,’ he admitted sheepishly, just after I’d invited him round for dinner early on in our relationship.

‘Coeliac?’ I gave him an odd look, thinking he was trying to prepare me for some bizarre sexual quirk that sounded a bit dodgy.

Well, I breathed a huge sigh of relief, I can tell you, when he explained to me he had a disease that meant he was unable to eat gluten, not someone who wanted to dress up in lederhosen and be slapped with stinging nettles. Then I thought, unable to eat gluten? That must be really horrible, but how difficult can it be to cater for that? Well, not as easy as I first thought…

A Gluten Free Taste of Turkey is filled with funny little notes as well as a lot of great recipes.  It is broken into Meze, Soup, Salad, Egg Dishes, Pasta, Vegetable Dishes, Meat Dishes, Seafood, Dessert, Bread, and Drinks.  I like it because most of the recipes are naturally gluten free.

I couldn't decide on just one dish, so I made a Turkish feast (shout out to my boyfriend who eats everything I cook, even when I clearly have no idea what I'm doing).  I started with a yogurt and cucumber dip served with fresh veggies and individual corn bread.  I love yogurt dip as a dip, but also on main dishes like chicken and rice.  I'm so happy that now I know how to make it on my own.  The individual corn bread reminded me more of corn fritters than of what I would traditionally call corn bread.  But hey, who doesn't like a corn fritter?

I made two main dishes: Aubergine Bake and Chicken Casserole.  Aubergine is what we call eggplant in the US. According to Sibel, eggplants are eaten daily in one form or another in Turkey and North Cyprus.  I haven't cooked with eggplant in awhile so it seemed like a good opportunity.  Both of these recipes call for mozzarella melted on top.  How can you go wrong with melted cheese on top?  The answer is, you can't.

Other recipes I'd like to try include: Hummus, Sexy Cabbage, Bean Salad, and Beetroot Salad.

Overall I like this cookbook.  Sibel is funny and it's nice to have recipes on hand from a different type of cuisine.  A Gluten Free Taste of Turkey is available on Amazon for $4.99 and will be available in paperback soon.

Fresh Restaurant Toronto

 

I went out to eat twice when I was in Toronto and both times was to Fresh.  That's right, I liked it so much the first time I went back the next morning for bunch.  View the menu here.  Saturday afternoon we went for lunch and I had the Baby Buddha on brown rice and a smoothie.  Sunday morning I had the gluten free vegan blueberry pancakes served with real maple syrup.  These people really know the way to my heart.

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.

I've Missed You Too

From my backyard in Vermont.

I've been missing recently and it's because of a few different reasons.  First, this was my very busy season at work.  And let me tell you, it was a crazy summer.

Second, well, my brother and I have just about eaten our way through most of the gluten free restaurants in New York City.  Sure, there are some I haven't reviewed.  Some that I had nothing nice to say about.  And a few out there I'm still hoping to discover.  I've also been trying to avoid packaged foods because generally they are not as good for you, and while I'd love to eat them all, I'd also love to  fit into my "skinny" pants again.  The world is full of tough decisions.

Since May I've been to DC, Vermont five times, Montreal, Connecticut twice, Pennsylvania, a boat cruise around New York City at night, Long Island for a day at the beach, two weddings, and a baby shower in the Bronx where the mom had gone into labor the night before and missed her own shower.  I've also had my work emails synched to my phone and basically been working 24/7 since mid June.  There was also a small incident of not having a job and then having a job again a few days later.  Not only is life full of tough decisions, but it's also quite unpredictable.

But here we are again and I assure you, I have been eating all this time.  The nice man overseeing the food at the wedding I went to was able to get me a gluten free plate.  My parents make sure to have gluten free pasta and bread on hand when I get home to Vermont for the fresh pesto from the garden and sandwiches made with lettuce and tomato picked right in the back yard.

I went to my boyfriend's 5 year college reunion in Connecticut.  A college I also went to and then transferred from.  It was a lot of fun and my dear boyfriend called ahead to make sure they would have gluten free food for me.  It was about the nicest thing.  And sure enough, they did.  For every meal there were gluten free options, including a box of these on the table of snacks for the drunk people:

KinniKritters Animal Crackers

Acting like I was in college again, I proceeded to indulge in alcoholic beverages and then steal this box of animal crackers off the table meant for everyone and carry them around all night because I decided they had been bought special for me.  I'm sure they had.

Fast forward to this last weekend and said boyfriend took me on a picnic.  I've been asking him to go on a picnic for the last four years and Friday he suggested we go.  It was great.  I brought sandwiches made on Udi's bread, veggies and hummus, a fruit platter, cool ranch dorrito's, beverages, and more KinniKritters Animal Crackers.  This time I tried the graham style animal crackers, you know, to switch it up. 

Our picnic spread looked like this:

The graham style animal crackers looks like this:

I thought they were good but my boyfriend said, "These are different.  Most of the time your gluten free stuff tastes the same.  But these are different."  I disagree.  In my animal cracker expertise, the KinniKritters Animal Crackers are more like the animal crackers that used to come in tubs:

while the KinniKritters Graham Style Animal Crackers are more like the ones that used to come in the box with the handle:

See?  They each have a different taste.  Both are good, depending on your mood.  Phew, I'm glad I cleared that up.  And thank you for not mentioning that KinniKritters actually call their animal crackers "cookies".  I've been trying to ignore that.

Ok, enough for now.  As I write this I'm sitting on my front porch in Vermont.  I'm wearing long pants and a sweater.  Fall in definitely in the air.

Bloom's

There is a diner two blocks from my job that has gluten free pancakes.  I've never been because diner food, in my opinion, is for weekend brunch or late night burgers.  Neither of which usually happen near my office. But, tomorrow is my 26th birthday and I thought I'd treat myself to some gluten free pancakes for breakfast this morning.  I didn't have high hopes, but these were pretty good.  They were light and fluffy and everything pancakes should be.  My only qualms were the $10 price tag and the fact that they didn't have real maple syrup, but most diners don't.

Bloom's is on 39th and Lexington in Midtown Manhattan.  They serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner 7 days a week.  Their extensive gluten free menu includes gluten free pancakes, french toast, and gluten free toast to go with egg dishes in the morning.  Sandwiches are served on gluten free bread and burgers are served on gluten free buns.  They also have salads, entrees, and desserts typical to diners.

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.

Eating Gluten Free AND Healthy on the Road - Is it Possible?

I'm on the road again for work.  I try to have most of my meals planned out ahead of time, but there are always a few that I have to figure out on the fly.  This isn't usually a problem, and as I've mentioned a few times, when things get bad I always resort to french fries, although I really prefer not to.*

Even if I've done my due deligence and found restaurants to eat at along the way with gluten free menu items, these restaurants usually highlight gluten free pizza or pastas.  Which is great, but not always so healthy.  My problem these days is eating gluten free AND healthy on the road.

Many gluten free people bring along gluten free snacks when they travel: nuts, gluten free bars, etc.  This is a good idea, but I have this problem where if I have food around me, I eat it.  Knowing this about myself, I tend not to bring extra food along.  If you have more self control than this, I highly suggest you bring some snacks.  But the problem of eating healthy remains.  Yes nuts are good, but wouldn't you like some fruits and vegetables?  I know I would right about now.  Some people even bring a cooler along with these kinds of food.  Also a great idea, if I could just manage not to eat it all at once.  You also have to make sure you are staying at hotels with fridges if you go this route, which is not always possible.

Yesterday I had to figure out all my meals on the fly.  It did not go well.  It started off ok with a nonfat plain yogurt and some fruit at the train station in New York.  Then I took the train to Philly and from there a three hour drive to North Central PA.  By then I was starving and had no ideas for lunch.  I stopped at a rest stop with some of the usual options - burgers, french fries, pizza, pretzels, and coffee.  There was also a sandwich place that offered some salads, but when I checked them out it was brown ice burg lettuce, unripe tomatoes, and weird looking deli meet.  Not exactly my idea of a good lunch.  So, french fries it was.

And then it was time for dinner.  I am in rural PA and there were no restaurants in sight.  More french fries for dinner.  I felt gross, and still hungry.  Sad times.

So, I know it's possible to eat gluten free, but is it also possible to eat healthy on the road?  I'm sure it is, but I haven't quite figured it out yet.  I think for my next trip I need to not only research places with gluten free food, but also restaurants in general that may have some healthy vegetables and protein.  There are probably restaurants around that could give me a decent meal, but I just don't know where they are.

On my last trip I was actually able to construct a healthy dinner out of food I found at a gas station:  Yogurt, fruit and cheese (meant for children...), and veggies and dip.  I tried to find something like this last night but couldn't.

Anyone have any tips on healthy gluten free traveling (besides the obvious answer of gaining some self control and bringing food along)?  Help please.

*Note: Many people choose not to eat fast food french fries for cross contamination and gluten in the oil reasons.  People have gone back and forth on this issue.  Unless french fries are coated in gluten, I personally eat them and have never had a problem.

Le Pain Quotidien

You wouldn't expect to find gluten free options at a place called Le Pain Quotidien (The Daily Bread).  But, you also wouldn't necessarily expect gluten free cookies to taste great and they can (more on that later).

Last weekend I was meeting a friend for a quick lunch before a movie and we decided to go to Le Pain Quotidien near the movie theater.  I hadn't been in years, and I wasn't expecting anything other than a salad, but lo and behold they have a few options for us gluten free folks after all.  I tried the chicken curry salad tartine served on gluten free crackers instead of bread.  It was pretty good.  They also have a six-vegetable quiche served on a gluten free buckwheat crust that I would be interested in trying.  Their salads are also safe without the bread and I bet if you asked really nice they'd give you some of those gluten free crackers with it.  Maybe.

With several locations in New York City, and in other places around the county and globe, Le Pain Quotidien provides another good light lunch option.

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.