Happy Champagne Day!

Booze can be tricky for those of us trying to navigate the gluten free world. There are some things, however, that you can always count on. Wine and champagne are two of those things and as a big fan of both, this makes me happy.

New Year's Eve is just a few days away- a holiday I like to think of not so much about the beginning of a new year but about celebrating champagne and all its gloriousness. So here's to you, Champagne- thank you for all you've done for me in 2011.

Here are a few of my favorite bottles. I'm loath to spend much money on something that I can get nearly as good for less so these are all reasonably priced. Enjoy!

Gruet - Blanc de Noirs

My very favorite! Made from red grapes and bottled in New Mexico, of all places, this is a sparkling wine that I wouldn't dare mix with anything. It's fabulous all on its own. $13-15

Ah, Freixenet. The classic standby in a black bottle. Priced well and good on its own or with mixers. You really can't go wrong with a bottle of the Brut. $7-11

Imagine that there's a picture of a bottle of Cristalino right here. For some reason I just cannot get one to post. Cristalino Brut is super cheap (around $6 at Sherlock's) and perfect for recovery mimosas.

And if you're in the mood to splurge, this is my favorite mid-priced bubbly! Iron Horse Wedding Cuvee... usually $33-38.

Non-Drowsy, Non-Gluten

Gluten is hidden EVERYWHERE. My level of sensitivity requires me to read the label on literally everything that I put on or in my body- including pills. This is something that I'm used to doing but I was pleasantly surprised to see this when I bought my generic sudafed today:

All Time Favorite Food

The week of Thanksgiving is one of my favorite weeks of the year. Inevitably I end up eating more than one Thanksgiving meal: one with my family and a couple others with friends. This is super awesome for me because my all time favorite food is stuffing. Despite it being incredibly uncomplicated to make, I only ever have it immediately before, during, and after Thanksgiving.

This year for one of my Friendskivings, I was in charge of making stuffing. The great thing about stuffing is that it really doesn't matter if you have to use gross, dense gluten free bread- it all gets soaked in chicken stock and covered in spices anyhow. My recipe calls for corn bread and white bread. Bob's Red Mill makes a corn bread mix that some of my gluten-eating friends think is actually superior to regular corn bread mix. I made a pan of corn bread and used about three quarters of it and have just been eating the rest. How good does this look?

I line the pan with foil to make it easier to get out. I also use an entire loaf of Udi's white bread. I leave it out on the counter to get stale for a day or so. I prefer to cut off the crusts but you can leave them on if you're into that. Cube both kinds of bread and throw the pieces in a big bowl.











After this is done (or during, if you're a stuffing ninja like myself), dice a medium to large onion (I always use sweet onions) and an equal amount of celery. Soften them in a pan with melted butter. As the onion becomes transparent, throw in a bunch of sage and thyme. A teaspoon of each, maybe? When they're done cooking, dump all that into the bowl with the bread.

Add more sage and thyme, salt, pepper, and a crap load of poultry seasoning (you seriously can't put too much). Start pouring chicken stock over and stirring. The corn bread will basically crumble as you stir. Keep adding stock until the whole thing is soaked. Taste as you go. The way it tastes in the bowl is exactly the same as it will taste when it cooks so continue to season until it's how you want it. Just be sure it's good and soaked- no one wants to eat dry stuffing.

Spray a casserole pan and fill with stuffing. Bake for 30 minutes at 375 with foil covering. Bake for another 20-30 with no cover or until it's browned. Voila! Best stuffing ever. You're welcome.

Roughing it with acorn squash

I spent the weekend with some friends roughing it in Pigeon Forge. And by roughing it I mean staying in a really nice cabin. We ate so well. The first night we were there we had pulled pork tacos with mango salsa, cabbage, and feta. The second night we had steak, roasted asparagus, and acorn squash. It was so delicious that I decided to recreate that meal this evening.

Turns out, making acorn squash is soooo easy. Cut them in half and place them face down on a greased pan, bake for 30 minutes at 350. While they were roasting, I sliced an apple and tossed it with some cinnamon, nutmeg, and brown sugar. I'm an eyeballer so I don't have exact measurements. After 30 minutes in the oven, I took them out, flipped them over and spooned some of the apple mixture into each one. A bit of butter and back in the oven.

I'm not so good with the photography but that's before the oven round two. They were in for another 15 minutes or so but really could have used 20. Regardless, it all turned out so well!

Would you like some chili with those fritos?

I loooove chili. It's so easy and hearty and just... comfy. Up until last year, I ate chili like a  normal person- with a bit of cheese, maybe some sour cream, a piece of cornbread if there was any around. Now I eat chili like a crazy person- completely and totally covered in fritos. If you can see that there's chili underneath, you don't have enough fritos.

I have my friend Jayne to thank for this. She introduced me to the corn chip/chili combo and now there is no going back. If I don't have a chip in every bite of chili, my experience is unsatisfactory. Try it, seriously. Come to the dark side with me. Don't leave me alone in my crazy person chili eating.

Popcorn!

I am OBSESSED with popcorn. I always have been. I go through phases of not really wanting to eat it, but for the most part, it's my go to snack (or occasionally dinner). I grew up with my mom making it on the stove in a pot with a bit of oil - that way is still my favorite but it's too time consuming for me. I have an air popper (two, actually) but when you're an every day popcorn consumer like myself, even that takes too much time. Solution? The brown paper bag.

This was suggested to me a few years ago and it has changed my life. You get the simplicity of the microwave with the freedom to decide how much you want to make and minus the gross chemically tasting "butter". Just pour some kernels in the bottom of a brown paper bag (any size but I use the standard lunch size), fold the top over, and microwave for a minute and a half to two minutes.

If you like your popcorn boring, this is the end for you. Pour in a bowl and eat. But toppings are where it gets fun. I always love the classic, butter and salt, but I'm off salt right now and pouring 2 tablespoons of butter over the top takes away from the healthiness. I tried chipotle powder for spicy- I love the smokiness of chipotle. But I'm not super into spicy so that's a once in a while deal. Lately I've been going for pepper and garlic powder. Sooo good. When I'm feeling indulgent, I'll throw some parmesan cheese on, too.

At a friend's suggestion, I tried pepper and curry powder. Curry is such a strong flavor that I can't have it every night but it would be awesome to have as a snack when you have people over. The only problem with no butter though is the spices don't stick! I've been using olive oil spray but you could also melt a little bit of butter with olive oil. The oil will take on the flavor of the butter so you'll get the benefits of the olive oil without all the downsides of butter.

What's your favorite popcorn topping?

Spiced Latte!

I've been dying to spice my coffee grounds so I tried it yesterday. I threw in some cinnamon, ginger, clove, and a dash of nutmeg into the grounds. While it brewed I frothed a bit of almond milk with agave nectar. It turned out SO yummy. The perfect afternoon pick me up.

Next up, an actual pumpkin spice latte!

Fall Food!

My favorite season is upon us. Although it is currently 70 degrees outside I'm pretending that it's chilly and making warm, hearty fall food. Yesterday was pork chops in the crockpot. So easy and so delicious.

3-4 pork chops
6T brown sugar
2T apple cider vinegar
1t cinnamon
1t ground ginger
1/4t red pepper flakes (or more if you prefer things spicier)
1/4c dried sweetened cranberries (I love cranberries and wish I'd done more than this)
2 baking apples, cubed

Spray the crockpot with pam and lay chops on the bottom. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Mix together all other ingredients except apples and pour over chops. Cover with apples and cook on low for 4 hours.

This turned out so well. I was feeling particularly twee as I chopped up the apples my mother hand picked off the tree last weekend in Elijay. This would also be great if you had less time, as it was done in 3 hours. By the fourth hour, the meat was falling off the bone. I paired this with roasted green beans and mushrooms and a glass of white wine. SO GOOD.

Next time I'll try not to be so hungry by the time it's done that I forget to take a photo before I inhale it.

Pizza Update

I've decided that I hate Udi's pizza crust. I've made the Peace Pizza and my usual bbq chicken pizza on it and it's just... no. The edges get SUPER crispy while the inside is overly chewy and almost stale tasting. So while I look around for another brand, I'll just go back to the Whole Foods one.

How good does Peace Pizza look though??

Back to Figo, we go!

Figo has long been one of my favorite gf restaurants. Their fusilli is delicious and all of their sauces are gf. They even have a dessert on the menu that's safe for me to eat- which so few restaurants do. More importantly, next week they're debuting a gluten free meatball! I'm SO excited for this. Howell Mill Figo, here I come!

Mmmm, Fall!

Like many people, one of my favorite fall treats is the pumpkin spice latte. As someone who works out of a coffee shop at least one day a week (usually more), I drink more than my fair share of coffee. I've learned the hard way that I can't drink everything on the menu. I can't have all brands of soy milk (some contain barley), chai latte mixes have something in them (I haven't investigated to find out what yet) that renders them not gf, and I recently learned the hard way that Starbucks pumpkin spice latte is NOT gluten free.

But then an angel came to me, by way of facebook, and told me that you can make your own by sprinkling pumpkin spice powder on your coffee grounds! I'm imagining one with warmed, frothed almond milk. I cannot WAIT to make this!

Do Not Want

Sometimes I forget that being gluten free is still very much a fad. I learned that the hard way yesterday when I tried to eat at Little Azio's. They have a big sign outside that advertises gluten free pasta and crust and since it's on my way home from the gym, I was pretty excited! Once inside, however, I discovered that their gf menu consisted of a hand written side hanging from the regular menu that said "gluten free pizza crust". When I asked the young man who was waiting to take my order what on the menu was gf, he said he didn't know. He told me he "ate regular food" and therefore didn't know anything about what was or wasn't gluten free. I left. I guess for every place like Yeah Burger, a place that serious in their gf-ness, there's a Little Azio's- a place that is just trying to profit from what they see as a fad.

Pizza!

Ever since I had THE most amazing gf pizza in Nashville, I've been on a pizza kick. So far, I've been working on creating my own but none of them have even compared to the Peace in the East Nashville that I had while visiting a friend. It was delivered and only $14! As soon as it arrived, we both took a bite, looked at each other, and ordered a second one. Yes, we ordered another pizza.

I've experimented with two crusts so far. Whole Foods brand and Udi's. Neither of them are quite right and if I could just combine then, I might have the perfect gf crust. Whole Foods crust is more of the deep dish variety. I prefer the thinness of Udi's. The problem with Udi's is that although the outside gets nice and crusty, the middle seems to be kind of chewy. So my search for the perfect crust continues.

Peace Pizza:
cover the crust with hummus
top with mozzarella and crumbled feta, diced tomatoes and onions, sliced pepperocini, and sprinkle with basil (or maybe julienne some fresh basil)

The actual Peace Pizza has black olives on it but- gross.

Whole Foods!

A new Whole Foods just opened by my house so I've been exploring their gf selection lately. I was happy to discover that on Sundays, their rotisserie chicken is $6. I have only tried the "naked" version, but the employee that I spoke to said that they are all gf. At $6 a pop, that's less than Publix and Publix only has one (maybe two) that are gf. So if they're out, I'm SOL. 

I also recently tried the WF brand gf pizza crust and it was not terrible. It doesn't compare to the AMAZING pizza I had in Nashville recently, but it was definitely the best of the ones I've had here. More of a deep dish, less of the thin crust which I've found most gf crusts to be like. I topped it with hummus (WF brand - not my favorite), feta, mozz, tomatoes, onions, and pepperocinis. A-mah-zing.

Smoothies!

Smoothie King has been my go-to smoothie shop since well, smoothies became a thing. They have 3 on their menu that are gf but at $4+ a pop, I started thinking I should make them at home. I've been trying out all different kinds and I think I've finally landed on a couple of combinations that I like.

I use the same base for pretty much all of them: plain greek yogurt and a banana. From there it's whatever I have on hand, for the most part. I've been doing fresh strawberries because they are SO GOOD right now but today I threw frozen blueberries in instead. Some oj, agave, and a couple of ice cubes and I ended up with blended perfection.

One lesson I learned last week though: be careful about your frozen fruit/ice cube ratio. You could end up with sorbet.

Arepas!

I can barely pronounce it but dear lord, I love it. I went to check out the Inman Food Park tonight and having done my research, knew that the Wow Food Truck had gluten free offerings. I've never had- or even heard of -an arepa before today. It's basically just a corn cake that acts like bread. I tried the pork arepa and looking back, I'm wondering why I only had one! I had a bite of my friend's chicken but it was a little spicy for me.

I can already tell that this is going to be my new obsession. Especially since Victory has not had gf bread in over a month. If only the food truck was parked in my driveway.

WOW!

Mi-more mimosas

Bottomless mimosas are the devil/greatest thing ever. I can't decide. Lots of places around town offer them on Sundays for brunch but my favorite place to go is Urban Pl8. Despite the fact that it's named Urban Pl8, I love this place. In addition to having plenty of gf items on the menu, it's also the go to spot for Crossfitters and the Paleo crowd. Two things that make this awesome: I'm a Crossfitter and one of my gym besties bartenders on Sundays and two, Crossfit dudes are hot.

Yesterday Geoff and I went and I got the pesto omelet. Eggs, chicken, pesto, roasted peppers... all things I love. And amazingly, things that are quite tasty when combined. Although, I had lost count of the number of mimosas consumed by the time the food arrived so I suppose my glowing review of the food should be taken with giant grain of salt. Champagne soaked salt.

Victory!

Hello, old friend. My, how much I've learned since my last post! My 2 year gluten free anniversary is just weeks away - I can say without a doubt that being diagnosed with Celiac Disease has been the most life changing experience I've had to date. More on that later... Anyhow, on to my latest obsession: Victory Sandwich Bar.

I'm partial to anything in Inman Park, so add Pure Knead bread to a sandwich shop that appears to actually understand gluten free, and I'm a happy girl. There are downsides, of course... gf sandwiches are more expensive and take at least 10 minutes longer to prepare. I can live with that, though. Unrelated to food downsides: the place is pretty hipstery and loud. They have a ping pong table for gods sake. All the bebearded man-children in the world couldn't keep me away from the Castro, though.

Czech it