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 Year of Flour

Photo Credit

Last year for Christmas I asked for flour.  Lots of flour.  I was trying to find a flour blend that I liked and wanted to experiment with making my own.  There were recipes I wanted to try that called for several different flours and I didn't have any of them.  I also wanted to try all the different flours I was reading about to get a sense of the different flavors.  But, as many of you know, gluten free flour can be expensive.  Really expensive.  Especially when you want to try 15 different kinds.

So I put in an ask into Momma K for a box of goodies from Bob's Red Mill.  Included was almond flour, coconut flour, millet flour, amaranth flour, brown rice flour, buckwheat flour, quinoa flour, oat flour, teff flour, sorghum flour, sweet rice flour, potato starch, tapioca starch, and xanthan gum.  I also asked for a bag of Cup 4 Cup.

I set off baking and tried all of these flours in different variations.  The Cup 4 Cup was gone within a few days as it was the first thing I tried.  As I mentioned in my post, I liked it, but it is so expensive I wouldn't normally buy it for myself.

Many of the other flours are gone, but some are resting hardly touched in my refrigerator.  I enjoyed the sorghum, millet, and sweet rice flours the most.  I find the brown and white rice flours the the most versatile.  I tended not to use the starches or xanthan gum because I generally find them unnecessary.

I only flour I really did not like was the amaranth flour.  I only used a little bit of it in two different recipes and I did not like the taste it produced.  The quinoa flour also has a strong taste so I tend not to use that too much.  I haven't found many opportunities to use the buckwheat, teff, almond, oat, or coconut flour.  Who's got recipes for me?

I would like to try this mix from the Gluten Free Girl since I did like the flours she uses in her demonstration, but at the end of the day I'm kind of embarrassed to say that after all my research I still use Bob's Red Mill All Purpose GF Flour mixed with rice flour for most of my baking.  I found that I wasn't able to create anything as reliable and it seems to be more cost effective than continuing to buy several different kind of flours.

How about you?  What's your favorite GF flour mix?

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!

Say It Loud

I ran across this website today and it made me laugh.  Because yes, gluten does hurt my tummy.  I want this.  I also like this one:

Get it, kisses? 

biPro Whey Protein

Last month the folks at biPro emailed me asking if I'd like to try their Whey Protein.  I like to try new things so they sent me a few samples.  biPro is unflavored, gluten free, carb free, sugar free, fat free, and lactose free.  It is 100% pure protein and doesn't have any added fillers.  I don't generally use protein powder in my day to day life, but two men in my life do.  I figured I'd give it a try and ask them to try it as well to get their expert opinions.

My man friend runs his own personal training company.  Not only does he train people, but he exercises a lot.  (I eat cookies a lot.)  He usually has a protein shake before he goes to the gym.  Here's what he thought of biPro:

"I think the product is good mainly because it's natural in comparison to similar products.  Other protein products are compounded with unnecessary ingredients that don't necessarily digest well.  Although I normally would rather a flavored brand of protein, this one mixes well with chocolate and fruit when making smoothies."

Because he usually just mixes protein powder with water quickly before the gym, he prefers when the powder has a taste.  Conversely, my dad has been searching for a protein powder that does not have a taste.  He had major surgery a year ago that has made it very difficult for him to gain weight (not a problem I am familiar with).  He is very particular and hates sweet drinks.  He has been drinking smoothies with protein powder as an afternoon snack and really dislikes the flavors of the protein powder sold in most stores.  biPro was a good find for him because it is unflavored and easy to digest on his post surgery body.

I love smoothies and decided to mix biPro with one I purchased by work.  I prefer all fruit smoothies rather than the addition of milk, yogurt, or ice cream.  However, I do like my smoothies a little thicker.  biPro thickened my smoothie without the addition of any fat or carbs.  What's not to like about that?

With my samples came a few different recipes for baking with biPro, all of which are gluten free.  I didn't get a chance to try any of them, but I think it's a cool idea.  Overall, I think biPro is a good product for whatever your whey protein needs may be.

Disclaimer - I did not pay for my samples of biPro.  However, everything I said here is true.

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?

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.

It's Halloween Again!

 HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Hey Folks.  It's Halloween again except this year I practically forgot because of a little storm named Sandy.  I was supposed to be in San Francisco right now trick or treating with my three year old nephew Gus and 6 month old niece Vivian.  Instead, I was home all day reading and cleaning because flights and public transportation just aren't happening.  Work was cancelled, which is great except that it means I didn't come across any fun sized Halloween treats.  I figured I better re-post my post from last year so you can remember how much I love candy and in case you need a reminder of what candy is gluten free what candy is in the danger zone.  Have a fun and safe day!

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.

Bunner's Vegan and Gluten Free Bakeshop - Toronto

As I mentioned in my post about visiting Toronto last weekend for Canadian Thanksgiving, Amanda's sister was nice enough to bring gluten free stuffing and pumpkin pie for me.  She got the goods from Bunner's.  Bunner's is a vegan and gluten free bakery in Toronto.  The stuffing was perfect with my Thanksgiving meal and the pie was perfect for dessert.  I was extremely thankful.

Not only did she buy the stuffing and pumpkin pie, but she also got a cinnamon bun.  Her husband sampled the bun in the car on the way to Thanksgiving dinner and deemed it uneatable.  I sampled it when she arrived and deemed it heaven on earth.  With all the amazing food available I kept craving this cinnamon bun and taking little pieces off of it throughout the night.  I then suavely put it in my purse to take back with me to Padmini's apartment.

When we got home Padmini and I laid on her couch in our lounge clothes and kept talking about how full we were.  The next morning we woke up and had pie for breakfast.  To accompany our pie Padmini had a carrot cake cupcake and I had the remainder of the cinnamon bun warmed up in the oven.  Did I already mention it was heaven on earth?  Let me tell you, it's a good thing there isn't a Bunner's in New York or I would be in big vegan gluten free cinnamon bun from heaven trouble. BIG TROUBLE.

I haven't been to the Bunner's location, but if you are ever in Toronto I highly suggest you stop by for a treat.