Gluten free apple pie

So that I remember this. The crust is from: http://livingwiththeresa.blogspot.com/2008/02/gf-pie-crust-recipe.html (not me, but another Theresa).

I couldn't find potato starch, so I did a touch under 1/2 cup of each of the flours, and 2 tablespoons of cornstarch.

I don't actually know if this tastes good yet, since it is cooling, but it looks AWESOME.

Home-baked goodness

I seem to have reignited my love of baking this weekend.

Saturday night, on the way home from a friend's house, we decided we wanted biscuits and gravy for breakfast on Sunday morning. One of the more upsetting parts about not having gluten in my life is not being able to have biscuits and gravy. Yeah, I know they're not the healthiest thing in the world, but they remind me of being a kid, and I just love them. So to have biscuits and gravy now, I have to make the whole thing from scratch.

Step one, shopping. I know from experience that Bob's Red Mill GF Biscuit and Baking Mix biscuits are my preferred type. We had to go to two grocery stores to find the mix.

Step two, bake! I made the biscuits when I got home, which kept me up a little later than I wanted, but was well worth it come breakfast on Sunday. I follow the recipe on the back of the package, and the biscuits are yummy. They're not very fluffy, which is kind of sad, but they're perfect for being soaked in gravy.

Step three, on Sunday morning, make the gravy. I used the non-gf recipe found at Mama's Southern Cooking, and substituted the biscuit mix flour. I also used less sausage, since the sausage package had 12 oz. And for the milk, I used 1%, because that's what we had.

Step four, devour. It was so good! I restrained myself (and Mike!) and we saved some so that we could have biscuits and gravy for breakfast this morning also. So yummy.

This morning, since I woke up stupid early, I decided to try my hand at gluten free bagels. I used to make bagels a lot when I was living in the land of gluten, but I haven't attempted them since going gf. I did a bit of searching on the internet, and landed on The Gluten Free Cook's recipe. I was bound and determined not to leave the house, though, so this special gluten free flour blend the recipe calls for just wasn't going to happen. To try to stick as close to her recipe as possible, I used the King Arthur's gf blend, which doesn't have xanthan gum already in it, and added the xanthan gum called for in the recipe.

However, when I was measuring out the flour, I discovered I only had about two cups of flour, rather than the 3 1/4 she called for. I figured I'd approximately halve the recipe, and forged onward. Forgetting that the xanthan gum and salt I already measured out were not halved. I realized after pouring everything in together what mistake I had made, but I figured I'd just keep going and hope for the best.

I topped the bagels with garlic powder, dried chopped onions, poppy seeds, and sesame seeds. Everything Bagels FTW! They just came out of the oven, so I can't tell yet if they're any good, but they look like bagels! I'll be crossing my fingers that they turn out well, and looking for other recipes in the meantime.

Twist on Angell

The nerd herd (my fellow finance majors from Rhode Island College and our significant others) went out to dinner last night, and I had such a great experience that I wrote the restaurant on their webpage. Below is what I wrote to them.

I visited Twist on Angell last night for the first time, specifically to try the gluten-free menu. One of the diners in our group had done an internet search and thought it sounded interesting, so off we went. I was thrilled by the wide variety of options, the knowledge of our server, and the delicious food. I had the pan-fried "Buffalo" chicken tenders as an appetizer, and the Scallops Gremolata for an appetizer. Both were incredible, and I left completely stuffed. I have tried many different restaurants since starting a gluten-free diet, and this is hands down the best experience I have ever had. I will definitely be visiting again, and I will be recommending it to all of my gluten-free friends. Thank you for providing a safe and delicious meal for those of us with dietary restrictions.

Update: A Long Time Coming

I have been remiss with blogging lately, in part because of the end of school, in part because of just finishing school and becoming lazy. :) But that doesn't mean I haven't been living the gluten-free life, so here's a couple quick things to check out!

www.yummly.com - My friend (and bridesmaid!) J. pointed me to this website. It's kind of social networking meets recipes. The awesome part? You can make a profile with your food allergy (or likes/dislikes/dietary preferences) that you can set to apply every time you do a food search! Now, I was pointed to this website all of five minutes ago, so I'll be sure to review once I do some future dabbling.

Wild Willy's Burgers of Worcester - I can not say enough good things about this place. This burger joint not only carries gluten-free buns, but also gluten-free french fries AND (wait for it...) gluten free ONION RINGS!!! Not good for my diet, but awesome for my taste buds. If you have one near you, call and see if they offer these options, I get the idea that they are independently owned, and thus might not all have the same food.

Glutino Gluten Free Crackers (original flavor) - My future in-laws bought these the last time they were up, and I had a couple with some peanut butter on them yesterday. They were great! They taste like regular crackers, and the calorie count isn't terrible.

So for now, dear readers, I'll leave you, with promises of more updates to come. Unemployment does have its benefits, after all.

Gluten-Free Desserts!

In the last post, I mentioned a gluten-free chocolate cake that my friend Sarah made for a dinner party at our place. This time, it's a gluten-free cheesecake that I made for a dinner party at her place!

I've never made a cheesecake, so this was an exciting (and scary) experiment for me. I bought a springform pan, and all the necessary ingredients.

For the crust, I used the recipe on the back of Pamela's Ginger Mini Snapz (which are a gluten-free cookie). This basically involved crushing up a bag of the cookies, mixing in melted butter, and pressing into the bottom of the pan. It also had to bake for about 10 minutes, then cool (which I failed at doing, instead putting ingredients in. Whoops!)

The recipe was for a caramel apple cheesecake, which looked different from the picture there, and I would argue looked far more delicious. I put the caramel apple topping in the middle, with a row of walnuts around the outside. Mmmm.

The dinner party attendees seemed to thoroughly enjoy the cheesecake, and it didn't have any weird gluten-free taste to it, which is always a plus! I should mention that prior to the cheesecake, we enjoyed tortilla chips with salsa and homemade guacamole, and Sarah's delicious Mexican feast of rice, black beans, and enchiladas!

Gluten-Free Dinner Party

Last night, I hosted a dinner party/game night with a group of friends from school. I would declare that it was a rousing success. One of the challenging parts of it, at least for the guests, was that it was potluck, so two couples who don't have any dietary restrictions had to come up with something I could eat for an appetizer and for a dessert. I would have been perfectly fine if they brought something I couldn't eat, particularly since it's my own house and I have plenty I can whip up if needed, but they all said they wanted to try to make something I could eat, which was really thoughtful.

Appetizers were potato skins, topped with bacon and scallions. Yum! One of my favorite appetizers. I made chicken, prosciutto, cheese, and spinach roll-ups for dinner, along with rice and spinach for sides. Dinner was a delicious chocolate cake made with rice flour and topped with chocolate chips and walnuts. Also super yum! Everyone seemed to really enjoy everything, and the red wine that went with everything was the perfect topper to the evening.

And now, it's my first gluten-free St. Patrick's day...no soda bread or Guinness for me. :(

Confusion at Chili's

Last night, my mom, sister, my friend Jana, and I went to Chili's prior to a wedding dress/bridesmaid dress appointment. Chili's has a pretty great gluten free menu, and since I used to work there, I'm fairly familiar with a lot of their menu (though it's changed a bit recently).

I ordered tacos with ground beef (yum!), and on the gluten free menu, it said to order without cilantro sour cream. Fine and dandy. This is how the conversation went with our server/bartender (we sat at the bar):

T: So it says to order without the cilantro sour cream. You have plain sour cream, right?
Server: We mix the cilantro into the sour cream.
T: Right, so you have plain sour cream?
S: It's mixed with cilantro.
T: Okay, so do you mix it here, or does it come in mixed?
S: We mix it here.
T: Okay, so you have plain sour cream?
S: We mix it with the cilantro.
T: Right, so I just want a side of plain sour cream.
S: But....
T: Just plain, no cilantro in it.
S: But it says on the menu...
T: Right, no cilantro sour cream. I just want plain sour cream.
S: But...

This conversation continued for a while. I finally convinced her to get me a side of plain sour cream, after assuring her that plain sour cream, with nothing else mixed into it, would not make me sick. I knew that Chili's has plain sour cream. I should have just ordered a side of plain sour cream. I know the server/bartender was trying to help, and make sure I didn't eat anything that I shouldn't, but that was one of those where I just wanted to shake her and say, "Just give me the sour cream!" Entertainingly enough, by the time we got our food, I was so hungry I just wolfed down half my meal without looking at the sour cream, so she must have been even more confused.

The tacos were delicious, though!

Tuna Noodle Casserole

Last night, I made gluten-free tuna noodle casserole for dinner.

It was basically from this recipe:

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/tuna-noodle-casserole-i-2/detail.aspx

Ingredients

• 1 (8 ounce) package wide egg noodles
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt (optional)
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
• 1 (6 ounce) can tuna, drained
• 1 (15 ounce) can peas, drained

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Coat a 2 quart casserole dish with cooking spray.
2. In a large pot of salted water, boil noodles until al dente. Drain well.
3. In a medium saucepan, combine flour, butter, and salt. Stir until butter is melted and ingredients are combined evenly. Add milk, and whisk until the sauce thickens (usually it is at the proper consistency by the time it begins to boil). Add cheese to mixture, and whisk until cheese is melted and mixture is well blended. Stir in tuna, peas, and noodles. Spread evenly in prepared dish.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes.

I used Tinkyada brown rice spirals and Bob's Red Mill All-Purpose Baking Flour. Since the pasta package was 12 oz, I doubled the rest of the ingredients. I also sprinkled some gf breadcrumbs over the top, since I like things a bit crunchy.

The only complaint I had was that the pasta was kind of on the mushy side. I probably should have cooked the pasta for a few minutes less, but it was still delicious. M. and I tend to like things on the salty, peppery side, so we spiced it up after cooking.

I just had leftovers from last night, and I'll just say...yum.

Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free Pizza Mix

This past weekend, I went to visit my friends A. and S. and their twin 3-year-olds in New Jersey. They were good enough to pick up some gluten-free goodies for me to eat while I was visiting, and planned a pasta night and a pizza night for my visit. For pizza night, the Gluten-Free option was Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free Pizza Mix.

This mix was easy to make (enough so that I made it with 3-year-old twins with very little hassle), and not as watery as some of the other gluten-free mixes. It's good, but has a somewhat strange texture. I guess the best way to describe it is chunkier than a regular pizza mix. A. tried both, and said that in comparison to the Better Homes and Gardens pizza dough recipe, the gluten-free dough had more flavor.

I did use a pizza stone to cook it, and if I had it to do over, I would have used less of the dough to get a thinner crust, since it was pretty thick in some places. It was delicious, and the family sent me home with lots of leftovers, so I'll be enjoying it some more later today. :)

Eating Out: The Boynton

This is an eating out post, even though we actually ate at home. M. and I really love The Boynton, in Worcester, MA, not in small part because they offer the best gluten-free pizza I've ever had.

Their pizza has a thin, crispy crust, and they have some great topping choices. Tonight I went with the Red Hot Chicken Pizza, which they describe as "A white peppercorn pizza sauce topped with spicy grilled chicken strips and topped with a blend of mozzarella and parmesan cheeses." It's more tangy than I usually like, but for some reason, I find it to be outrageously delicious.

We also get the potato skins regularly, which I've never had problems with. The Boynton also had a full gluten-free menu one night a week at one point, but we managed to never get there while they had it, and they've since gotten rid of it.

The Boynton has three gluten-free beers, including Redbridge and two Green's offerings. They have a lot of other beers, as well, so your favorite beer lover would have a grand time deciding what to drink. Their non-gf menu is extensive, and according to M., very enjoyable. Try it the next time you're in Worcester!

Eating Out: Uno Chicago Grill

Last night, my fiance (M.) and I went to Uno Chicago Grill in Worcester, MA with one of M.'s co-workers. This particular Uno's is right across from the DCU Center, so it gets busy when there's an event there. We happened to luck out last night, arriving right after a hockey game started at the DCU, so the restaurant had pretty much cleared out.

We had decided to go to Uno's because I discovered last night that they had a gluten-free menu, including gluten-free pizza (which I will have to try at some point, to compare to The Boynton, which is a post for another day). Our waitress was somewhat on the incompetent side, and our first clue was how long it took me to get a gluten-free menu. I asked for one when we ordered our drinks, and she brought our drinks (and no gluten-free menu), left, then came back and asked if we were ready to order. I asked again, and five minutes later actually got the menu.

I waffled on whether I should order the pizza or the steak, since I was really in the mood for steak, but also love pizza. I've noticed that on some gluten-free menus, the restaurants will write tips like "Order without the bun," or "Order without sauce." I've found that these restaurants tend to be the ones that are better about providing food that is safe for me to eat. Uno's did not indicate anything like this.

Out of curiosity, I opened the regular menu and compared the gluten-free steak to the regular menu steak. They were exactly the same, but the regular menu indicated that the steak came with a breadstick. I voiced my concern to my dinner companions, and M. said if it's on the gluten-free menu, it shouldn't come with a breadstick, and if that's the only thing keeping me from ordering the steak, that's silly. I agreed on both counts, and decided to order the steak. I didn't mention the breadstick, hoping for the best, and figuring that I wasn't starving, so if I had to send it back, so be it.

When our food came out, I realized that trust was a poor choice. Surprise, surprise, my steak had a breadstick on it. I told my waitress that I couldn't eat it, since I ordered gluten-free and there was a breadstick on the plate. She took the plate and told me she'd be right back. A few minutes later, she came back and said it would be about five minutes (which was fine by me, since that meant they were giving me a fresh steak rather than throwing the contaminated one back on the grill). A while later, someone who I would guess was a manager came out with my plate, said, "Here's your breadstick-free steak," and left.

I must say that the food was delicious. I had mashed potatoes and broccoli, which were both yummy, and the steak was juicy and wonderful. It would have been nice, however, to eat with M. and D., rather than after. We finished up our meal, got the bill, paid, and left. At that point I realized that I never got a single apology. Not one person said they were sorry or asked if they could do anything else for me or my companions. They also didn't offer to comp anything on our bill to make up for the fact that I had to sit and watch M. and D. eat for 10 minutes. I'm not looking for free food, but I think that offering to take a drink off our bill or give us a coupon is a good way to encourage someone who has had a less-than-ideal experience to come back. I used to work at a chain restaurant, and I saw that happen all the time. Maybe I would have gotten a different reaction if I had been irate about it, but that's just not my style.

I will likely order from Uno's again, if not just to try the pizza, but I will be somewhat more wary in the future. One of my adventures is finding the right balance between not saying anything and annoying the waitstaff by saying it so many times. Clearly, just ordering off the gluten-free menu is not enough at Uno's, and I'll remember that in the future.

Hello and welcome!

Hi! Welcome to my newest attempt at blogging! I guess this is where I should tell you a little bit about myself.

I'm Theresa, a 26-year-old student living in Worcester, MA. A little over a year ago, I started having terrible migraines with a variety of unpleasant symptoms, including partial temporary blindness and numbness and tingling in my hands, arms, face, and legs. About six months ago, a gluten-free friend suggested I try eliminating gluten from my diet, after reading an article about the link between gluten and migraines. I figured I'd give it a shot, and lo and behold, I felt better! After a couple of gluten-free weeks, I decided to test it, and ate all the foods I'd been missing. What do you know, I got sick.

So since then, I've been doing my best to avoid gluten. This has been quite the challenge, and quite the adventure. My fiance is not gluten-free, but will eat things that are gluten-free (though he will grab a slice of wheat bread to eat with dinner sometimes). We love to go out to eat, which is definitely more of a challenge now. I regularly have to send meals back because they have a piece of bread on the plate, and I was once served salmon coated in panko breadcrumbs after requesting a gluten-free meal (but that's a story for another day).

This blog will likely cover both restaurants and home-cooking, since both are a big part of my life. I hope to keep it regularly updated, and provide a resource for others who are looking for gluten-free options at home and out in the world. Enjoy, and eat safely!