think outside the breadbox

pumpkin bisque

2012-02-09T07:31:00.001-07:00

Somebody enjoyed her soup.

That somebody is Keturah, Kate's niece.

I'm her mom, and Kate's sister. I've posted here on Think Outside before. And seeing as I've pretty much joined the gluten free club, I just may post here again. (Convenient having a sister with an already up and running GF blog--besides, if I were to start my own, there's no way I could ever come up with a name quite as clever as Think Outside the Breadbox. I have loved this name for as long as she's had the blog, and am happy to be posting under it!)

We're in the experiment stage of living with dietary restrictions. I, like Kate, am gluten free--currently in my fifth month of being gluten free, actually--while my daughter, Keturah, is gluten free plus. For now, the 'plus' means corn, dairy, and eggs. She's still showing signs of food sensitivities, though, so we have some testing to do, and possibly a few more limitations to try as well.

As we experiment with what Keturah can and cannot eat, we're also experimenting with meals that work for the whole family. My husband and son don't seem to have any food issues, but they do like their food to be good.

Which is why I was really thrilled that this Keturah-friendly soup was deemed "restaurant quality" by Patrick the other night!

~Pumpkin Bisque~

1 small (not quite bowling ball sized) pumpkin, cut into chunks

2 large potatoes, peeled and cubed

3 large carrots, peeled, and sliced

1 large onion, chopped

1 inch ginger, peeled and sliced

2 T butter

1 t ground coriander

2 T olive oil

2 t sea salt

1 t freshly ground black pepper

2 cups chicken stock

After you've prepared all of the produce, melt about two tablespoons of butter (or use olive oil) in the bottom of a soup pot. Toss in at least a teaspoon of ground coriander, and let fry for a minute. Toss in the chopped onion and ginger. Saute until onions are tender.

At this point, if the bottom of the pan has dried up, add about two tablespoons of olive oil. Put in the sea salt, black pepper, and the rest of the produce. Toss the produce around with a large wooden spoon until coated with seasonings and olive oil, then let cook for a few minutes (with the lid on), come back, and toss with the spoon again to rotate which veggies are on the bottom. Repeat for about fifteen minutes, until the produce looks like it's beginning to cook, but not burn or dry out.

Once everything was hot and just slightly browned, I plopped in a tupperware-shaped cube of chicken stock that we had in the freezer. (Boiled from the bones and meat of a roast chicken carcass from a few weeks ago.) If you use a prepared broth that has sodium, DO remember to omit some of the salt used in this recipe! Add water as needed, but keep the lid on, and stir now and again for as long as you have time to let it simmer. Ours simmered stove top for almost two hours.

Then I turned off the heat, and waited until dinner time to run it all through the blender and reheat.

This turned out rich and creamy, and was a very filling main dish. The kids both scraped their bowls clean--as did their daddy and me.

In fact, the only thing that was not satisfying about this meal was Patrick's assessment that not only was it restaurant quality, but it that it would taste fantastic in a bread bowl.

Really?

I think somebody needs to try a little harder to think outside the breadbox.

"Oh Bother" Gluten Free Smoothies

2012-01-13T08:25:00.000-07:00

I love my Eeyore mug, it's over sized is the perfect fit for a powerful smoothie whenever I'm fighting off ski country germs (all winter long). The best part about ski towns is that we get visitors from all over- the worst part is that they all bring different strains of germs along with them. I wish we could just have the people but it's a package deal.

Oh Bother Smoothie
1 handful ice cubes
1 banana
1/2 cup frozen blueberries (Wild Maine Blueberries preferred here at campchaos)
1 cup apple juice (or a bit more)
1 scoop Spiru-tein High Energy Meal Vanilla Flavor (make sure it's labeled gluten free!)

Toss all into a blender and hit the smoothie button until smooth. Place in favorite mug and enjoy while fighting germs.
Note: this won't save you from getting germs from away then getting slammed with a cold but it will taste good and help you fight the cold so you can get back on the slopes without a large pocketful of cough drops and tissues. I fully expect to see you out there regardless of how you feel. It's New England and we're hard core skiers. Now, can I borrow a tissue? What you don't want it back? Never-mind, I'll just keep my germs to myself behind my scarf here.

gluten free chicken soup for the skier's soul

2012-01-05T14:38:00.000-07:00

Usually every soup I make ends up having a curry flavor (like this one). It's an easy one to grab off the shelf and I know how it's going to come out. This week I got back to basics and aimed for a Chicken Soup that tasted, well like chicken soup. Dave's a bit tired of curry soup too- it could be due to the fact that I usually use a large 8qt pot and end up filling it and we end up eating a few days worth of curry soup.
The night before I cut the chicken and marinated with EVOO and some Herbs de Provence. The next day I chopped veggies (around 6 big carrots, 1/2 large onion and 3 stalks of celery) while I cooked the chicken and boiled a half of a cup of dry lentils. I changed the water twice on the lentils as I like to be sure they're nice and clean. Although I didn't have to pre-cook, I wasn't sure how long I was going to be and I'm still adjusting to the low cook times of sea level. Do lentils ever taste dirty to you or did I just make that up in my head?
I tossed everything in the 4 quart crock pot along with chicken stock and 1/2 cup of quinoa and cooked on low for 8 hours while I went out and hit the mountain for the day. It's been super cold here in the western mountains of Maine and I'm playing around with different combos of down jackets and hard shells. I've also grabbed the warmest fleece pants I own and paired them with Patagonia capaline for the super chilly sub zero days.
It was a great mix up from the rice and curry soup that usually hits the table at camp chaos and I even tossed a handful of fresh spinach into my bowl to for some added veggie power. The quinoa really didn't need 8 hours so I may toss it in later in the day next time. A warm soup after a chill day at Sugarloaf really hit the spot and defrosted my body.

my gluten free english muffin dealer

2011-12-19T13:55:00.001-07:00

Part of the fun about living in a Maine ski town is the weekend crew that arrives each Friday night. These hard core skiers work a normal work week then each Friday load up their cars and make the trek north on route 27. They might hit the local watering hole when they get to the Valley but regardless they're up early on Saturday vying for first chair. It doesn't matter how cold the thermometer drops and how high the humidity climbs and how negative the windchill becomes- they are Sugarloafers and they live for these days on the mountain.

This year I'm lucky enough to have friends who will be my English Muffin dealers. They come up from the Maine coast and will swing into the "Hootin" Gluten Free Bakery and grab a four pack for me. These are the only gluten free English Muffin's I've tried but I feel I know a good baked good when I see one.

We don't rock a toaster oven at camp chaos so I toss a bit of Earth Balance in a pan on the stove top and heat these gently. Add a bit of homemade jam and it's a breakfast that will fuel any day on the slopes- no matter how cold.

Gluten free family time with a bit of Hakuna Matata

2011-12-08T19:17:00.001-07:00

Have I ever told you that my house is called Camp Chaos?

It's because of this guy. Chaotic isn't he? It's what we dubbed ourselves shortly after bringing home our first puppy, Chaos Monster in Febuary, 2005. The name's stuck and it's followed us from Maine to Colorado and back to Maine. It's a great ode to our beloved golden retriever, Chaos who's about to celebrate his 7th birthday. Chaos was the first dog I ever had the pleasure of living with. He's taught me a lot since I brought him home as a young puppy in early 2005. His soft golden mane is often a source of comfort and reminds me of my favorite Disney movie, The Lion King. I was in high school when the Lion King first came out and it earned it's place as my favorite all time Disney flick. I think that's why I love my golden puppies so much as Chaos often resembles a regal Mufasa and crazy little Mayhem is a young Simba. When the movie came back out on DVD this year I quickly snatched up a copy and enjoyed the movie along my memories of being a favorite babysitter to my young cousins.

This week my sister, Kim came for a visit with her husband and two kiddos- Moyer's who's almost 5 and Keturah who's 3 going on 7. Kim and Keturah are in the midst of a gluten free trial and Kim did a guest post a few weeks back about their Mighty Fine dining experience in Austin, TX. So far with this trial they've discovered that Keturah doesn't do well with corn as well as gluten. As most of us glutards know a lot of gluten free items contain corn in one form or another so we stuck to a lot of naturally gluten free, corn free foods during their visit to camp chaos. Like Annie's Gluten Free Mac N Cheese with some hamburger and peas added in for fun.

The kids and I watched The Lion King the first morning here at Camp Chaos and the rest of the visit featured small voices singing lines of Hakuna Matata.

Hakuna Matata! It means no worries for the rest of your days

We even tried to make some corn free powdered sugar for our Chex Muddy Buddies...

Played Legos (because every good aunt and uncle should have a house with legos...)
Walked the dogs which was even better with shoulder rides from Patrick

But he wouldn't give the dogs shoulder rides- they had to walk

as did Moyer but he liked to run, jump and hop more then walk. He is a good runner.

We took time to make the donuts...gluten and corn free.
And of course I whipped up some knitted projects for the kids. You can see those over at Asiaramblin

I've been really impressed with my dining experiences at the Rack since we've moved back to Sugarloaf and even more so after our trip with my gluten free, corn free niece. Our waitress (who's also gluten free) double checked the gluten free options for us for traces of corn and Keturah enjoyed a great safe bowl of gf, corn free noodles and marinaira.

Don't you wish every gluten free meal could have a bit of Hakuna Matata?

Gluten Free Love near Sugarloaf, Maine- The Rack and the Stratton Diner

2011-11-21T16:30:00.001-07:00

First off a big kudos to my sister for last week's guest post A Mightly Fine GF Option from Austin, Texas and a bit of her gluten free trial. She's not the first family member to try out a gluten free lifestyle and I'm looking forward to see how this trial goes for her and my niece. Since moving back to Maine I've had a lot of people ask me about my gluten free life- it's been great to share and hear about others challenges with food and health.

Last fall I was pumped to visit the Rack at Sugarloaf and have gluten free pizza and a Woodchuck. This year they've added two gluten free beers to the lineup as well with Bard's and Daura. While I'm not a Daura fan I am a Bard's fan and have been enjoying having a beer on our weekly visit to the bar along with a gluten free pie and my once a week slip into dairy.

I'm kinda shocked to report that it's not the only gluten free pizza I've had in Carrabassett Valley since our move east. Tufulio's which is 7 miles south of the mountain also offers gluten free pizza. It's not as good as the Rack's but it much closer to our place and good in a pinch. They served baked wings- which have great potential to be gluten free but I haven't gotten a clear answer yet so no gambling for me!
We've also been hitting the Stratton Diner for breakfast. They have occasional gluten free sweets but since we go for breakfast I haven't tried any out- plus I've been working on my own sweet baking.

It's a great and safe breakfast and they even tuck some sweet potatoes among the normal home fries for a bit of extra flavor. I've safely eaten there 3 times now and enjoyed each breakfast as well as the vibe inside this renovated old diner. Plus they have old school trivia cards on the table for pre-breakfast fun with friends.

Moving back to a familiar place with a whole new way of eating was scary and a bit intimidating but I've been lucky to find options for dining out and have had the added bonus of connecting with others who have had to change the way they think about food for one reason or another. I'm working on some of my old favorites with a new twist to my gluten free classic sweets so I can share with friends. Thus far I've had success with gluten free, egg free and dairy free baking for whoopie pies, brownies and banana bread. It's a good ego boost as I've been struggling through 4 attempts at gluten free Anadama ~~Bricks~~ Bread.

Tomorrow marks the first day of the 2011-12 ski season at Sugarloaf and I'm looking forward to finding other gluten free options at my favorite Maine mountain.

a Mighty Fine g.f. option

2011-11-10T20:40:00.001-07:00

This is my first g.f. post. Kind of appropriate that I get to do it here, on my sister's blog, instead of over where I usually blog. Asiaramblin is about a lot of things, but so far, gluten-free cuisine hasn't been one of them.

Moyer & Keturah excited about their Mighty Fine meals

On Monday, we were in the market for a quick lunch, not too far from my sister-in-law's place of work, that would be kid-friendly. So, due largely to the recent g.f. status that my daughter Keturah and I have been experimenting with, we decided to skip the Chick-fil-A, and try out an Austin burger joint.

My thought: the gluten-consumers of our group would enjoy the burgers, and Keturah and I could just skip the buns. I'm not traditionally a burger fan, but I was willing to take one for the team, since Patrick, my husband, most certainly is.

I approached the counter at Mighty Fine, to ask whether or not they'd be willing to serve up two of our burgers without the buns.

I kind of felt like Kate when I heard the service-person's response.

(I've known that my g.f. sister favors establishments that understand gluten issues, but I guess I didn't realize just how "taken care of" one can feel when there's no need to explain yourself--or your quirky eating habits--just to place an order.)

The gal on duty, not only assured us that this could easily be done, but let me know that she'd be happy to wash her hands and change her gloves before handling our orders.

She also knew exactly how their fries were handled, so we could enjoy these yummy, crinkled traditional burger sides without worrying about any gluten being served up on them.

Talk about a full-service burger joint! Keturah and I get to continue our gluten free experiment, and the rest of our party gets traditional hamburgers. What a win.

Keturah spies daddy bringing over our Mighty Fine bags

And then it got better.

Have I mentioned yet that these were Mighty Fine hamburgers? I loved my bun-less version . . . even though I've never really been that big on hamburgers! Turns out that the folks at Mighty Fine only serve up super-fresh, all-natural, hormone-free chuck, and all of the embellishments offered are fresh and cut on-site. I can't speak for the bun-eaters of our group, but my burger was delicious.

Moyer, waiting for his meal; my bun-less burger; table-top condiments

I do think it's safe to say that Keturah enjoyed her gluten-free lunch too.

every g.f. morsel, eaten

For now, this Austin-born chain is only available in our neck of the woods, but you can visit Mighty Fine's menu from anywhere.

gluten free breakfast of champions

2011-11-10T09:05:00.001-07:00

I took inspiration this week from Marlow over at Gluten Hates Me and ventured back to Oatmeal for breakfast. It's warm, hearty and filling which makes for a great meal after a morning walk in the Maine woods with my favorite dogs in their blaze orange vests.

I added brown sugar and a bit of real maple syrup to sweeten my oat. Did you know that not only does Bob's Red Mill make Old Fashioned Gluten Free Oats but also Quick Cooking Gluten Free Oats as well? These aren't your average Oats as Bob's takes special precautions with the growing and use dedicated Oat fields and test the oats during the process to ensure the gluten free status.
I'm headed away for the weekend and these oats even made it into my glutarded snack and food bag for my travels for a quick breakfast away from home.

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies - gluten free and vegan

2011-11-04T17:20:00.000-06:00

My obsession with whoopie pies has taken a new turn and today I pulled out my Whoopie Pies book and tried my hand at the classic Fall flavor- Pumpkin. I made my typical conversions to gluten free but then took it one step further and went egg free as well. Why? Well, I'm intrigued by vegan baking as I'm working on cutting out dairy 100% (damn you, pizza from The Rack- why must you call to me?) and wanted to go the extra mile with egg-less baking.

Pumpkin Whoopie (gluten free and vegan)
adapted from Whoopie Pies

Preheat Oven to 350 degrees and blend flax seeds with water
Blend in a bowl:
2 and 1/4 cup Gluten free flour (Artisan Blend)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt

In mixer:
1/2 cup Earth Balance
1 cup brown sugar

Blend above then Add
1 1/2 Cups Pumpkin (Libby's is gluten free)
1 egg or Flax seed *
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* mix 1 Tablespoon ground flax seeds with 3 Tablespoons warm water- stir then let rest for 5 minutes- stir aging before adding

Combine Dry with Wet and mix until just stirred in
Drop 2 tablespoon sized piles onto baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Remove- cool and enjoy with a cream cheese frosting but don't tell Dave that it's a cream cheese frosting- even if it's Tofutti and Earth Balance he still doesn't want to know this but will enjoy it anyhow.

baking bread at 900 feet above sea level

2011-11-03T12:57:00.001-06:00

Moving from 9,000 feet above sea level to 900 feet above sea level has inspired me to dust the counter with flour and proof some yeast. I thought that baking bread at sea level was going to be easy... I hadn't considered the fact that I'm still experimenting with gluten free flours on "normal gluten bread" recipes.

Two very dense loaves into it and I'm ready for the third try to be the charm. However just like life there are no guarantees with baking bread. Each loaf teaches me a bit more- ahh, yes let the yeast proof in peace and kneading can be therapy but it shouldn't hurt the dough.

Any tips for a novice bread baker? I found these gluten-free bread tips and am going to test a few out.
Yes, my flour blend has been cold... and my dough hasn't been rising.

Carrot Squash Soup for chilly autumn days

2011-10-20T10:48:00.001-06:00

Leaving Colorful Colorado, Cross Country Gluten Free Travels

2011-10-17T10:50:00.000-06:00

On each of the major roads on the Colorado boarder stands a sign that reads

on a cross-country road trip it's one of many signs that will be encountered. On a cross country move it bears a lot more weight. I've moved out of Colorado. Think Outside the Breadbox will now be a Maine based blog. I'll work on adding some disclaimers to some Local Love blog posts but bear with me as I'm without internet at the new dwellings.


me and mayhem

Our cross country travel was interesting as always... take one 4Runner and load in two dogs and a nervous cat then one 16' Penske Truck full of furniture, ski gear, a bouldering pad, dog beds, people beds and more then drive 2,600 miles across America.

Chaos staying chill on the cooler

Mayhem checking out Dave in the Penske truck

our first PF Chang's stop

quick stop on Colorado's I-70

Dave, Chaos & Mayhem outside the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Add in 3 stops to PF Chang's for a glutard's safety net, 2 stops to Whole Foods and 1 stop to the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, OH just to mix things up. And for a side of gluten stop into Cleveland's Hard Rock Cafe and order a gluten-free cobb salad off the gluten-free menu and feel the gluten seep into your whole being as you leave the city and head back toward the moving truck. Feel justified in your obsession with PF Chang's and Whole Foods as you fight off the gluten effects along Interstate 80 in PA.
Try to eat an applesauce that you found in Target as you know it's safe and will help get the gluten out....
Roll into Mass and hit up Flatbread Pizza Company for some safe gluten free pie and a bit of greens

round it out with a "goodbad" dessert

Moondance Chocolate Chip Gluten Free Cheesecake.... yum and chocked full of dairy. Now that I'm settling into my new life I'm cleaning up my act again and breaking up with dairy.

I'm also learning to bake gluten free at sea level- wish me luck!

Best Road Snacks- the 2011 List
GoGo SqueeZ Apple Sauces
Glutino Pretzels
Banana Chips mixed with M&M's
Odwalla Mango Tango Smoothie
Surf Sweet Gummy Snacks
Mott's Medley's Fruit Snacks

A Short Road Trip and a Rudi's Bread Giveaway

2011-09-29T22:55:00.000-06:00

This weekend I'm embarking on yet another cross country drive- but this one's different. This one involves a lot more planning and a much bigger truck. We're loading up a 16' truck and moving to Maine.

From Moving 2011

It's home for us so it's an easy move... even the dogs are excited for the change.

From Moving 2011

As always road trips require special planning for my glutarded needs and this trip is no exception. I've mapped out Whole Foods and PF Chang's along the route and working on healthy snacks. The timing couldn't have been better as Rudi's Gluten Free Bread emailed me with some creative snack ideas.
I browsed through the files and my eyes jumped to the hot dog bun... dressed in peanut butter and filled with a banana... this is a road trip snack I could get behind- healthy peanut butter and easily portable bananas- score!

How would you make your cross country lunches fun? Leave a comment below, be creative and tell me what kind of Rudi's Bread you'd use to make your lunch with and you can win a coupon for a free loaf of Rudi's and this snazzy container to pack your lunch in. I'll pick a winner next Monday, October 3rd after 6pm Eastern Time as I'm cruising through Kansas with my furry entourage.

Telluride Blues & Brews Festival from a Glutard's View

2011-09-19T10:12:00.000-06:00

We hit up the Telluride Blues and Brews Festival this weekend. It's a beer lover's paradise- that is for GLUTEN drinking beer lovers. There's not a single gluten free beer to be found within the town park during the 3 day festival. This year I did find some great options for enjoying the festival in gluten-free style.

I know what you're thinking... why would any gluten free person look at a Pizza booth at a beer festival? Is that just asking for trouble?

But a closer look reveals the truth... this booth is done by the local kid's ski & snowboard club and club members decided to do a gluten free offering this year.

And just down the way was a booth offering Skinny Girl Margs- not the best Marg I've ever had but it was nice to enjoy a drink with friends on a chilly night as we listed to moe. and Big Head Todd & the Monsters in Telluride Town Park. The morning had torrent of rain and even snow which stuck to the peaks so the pristine grassy fields of town park became a muddy mess. I capped off my evening with Telluride Truffles which are locally made with Belgian chocolate and inspired by the mountains.

Today I went back for more gluten free goodies at the park after a hearty breakfast of french toast made with Rudi's.(More on Rudi's later this week- stay tuned...)

I hit up the pizza booth again for a slice of peperoni then swung over to the cotton candy booth for a pink bag of sugary goodness. Plus it matched my shirt... can you read it?

"Gluten Makes Me Grumpy" (You too can wear your gluten free status...) I had a few laughs from fellow festival patrons today and met some other gluten free people as well.

We even got the see Willie Nelson take the stage... how often do you get to see a legend like Willie in your town and see the alpenglow over snow capped peaks like Ajax Peak at the end of the Box Canyon.

Are you coming to Telluride for a festival, read through my series a bit of love....Telluride for some gluten free options on your visit. Be sure to always double check... things change quickly in a small mountain town.

Think Outside Flashbacks in 7 Links

2011-09-18T22:52:00.000-06:00

Even before I got the bottom of Marlow's post on her GHM Flashback in 7 Links post I was thinking that I'd love to do that. It's the cool nights of fall and this time of transition and changing seasons that set on the nostogia. I was honored to be tagged in the post to play.Things have been busy here so I'm just now sitting down and going over Think Outside the Breadbox to bring you this trip down memory lane?

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Gluten Freedom with Spinach and Rice Noodles
Funny title but I reveal the results of my DNA test from Kimball Labs. I've never felt like a true Celiac based on the path I've taken so I call myself a glutard. I've got the genes, I've got the reactions to gluten but I never had a biopsy so I have a hard time saying that I have Celiac. What do you think? Do you need a doctor's diagnosis to use the label Celiac?

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Do you want to play too? Leave a comment below to link you your Flashback in 7 posts. I want to read your blog too! Thanks for sharing.

cool nights and warm gluten free dinners

2011-09-07T22:13:00.000-06:00

Fall is creeping into the mountains of Telluride, a few young aspens are starting to change from deep green to a golden yellow hue and meals are changing from summer staples to warm comfort foods.

Like this lazanga made with Tinkyada noodles and Daiya dairy free cheese...

and layers of peperoni, sausage, spinach, mushrooms and sauce. I modified this recipe for tofu lasagna that I've used for a few years by skipping all cheese and using almond milk to keep it 100% dairy free.
And Chicken Parm (sans parm)

served over a bed of Ancient Harvest Quinoa Linguine and steamed spinach. Tonight's fall fare featured quinoa served with sauted spinach and mushrooms, grilled chicken and a bit of experimental green peppers and onion (these are a bit out of my comfort zone but hit the spot tonight).

I even wore a knitted hat and insulated jacket during our evening dog walk tonight. This morning the pups really had to turn on thier cute factor to get me out of my warm down comforter...

From Droid think outside

Snickerdoodle Chex Mix, aka a gluten free sugar shock

2011-08-31T20:33:00.000-06:00

As I pawed through the kitchen tonight my eyes landed on the Chex box...and the recipe for Snickerdoodle chex mix. I happened to have both the required Chex flavors, Chocolate and Cinnamon as well as plain popcorn kernels, sugar, cinnamon and butter.
Dave popped the popcorn while I measured cereal and melted butter... in less then 15 minutes we had a large batch of sugar coated goodness cooling on the countertop. It was a great snack from my go-to cereal that we'll be enjoying for a few days. You can click here for the Chex recipe. Warning: sugar shock may ensue.

From Droid think outside

Strawberry Cupcakes for #33

2011-08-28T22:48:00.000-06:00

Dave turned 33 this week and deemed it his Larry Bird birthday as Mr. Bird boasted the number #33 during his carreer with the Boston Celtics. (I'm not into basketball but rolled with it.)

His request was strawberry cupcakes so I pulled out the Bronski's Artisanal Gluten Free Cupcakes Cookbook which I had picked up and loved since June and the kitchen aid whirled into action. I've become a huge fan of measuring flours using my new scale and my baking has been spot on.

Thankfully the Bronski's also included high altitude adjustments for cupcakes in the cookbook as well.

I picked a great quart of strawberries up at the local grocer and added them to this beautiful batter.

which became a stunning cupcake after a stint in the oven..

a bit of vanilla frosting and green food coloring added the Celtics flare that Dave was looking for...

as well as a few nicely placed #33's and a good group of friends who helped us mark the occasion at Oak's.

stress is a funny monster...

2011-08-25T23:02:00.000-06:00

The seasons are changing and everyone seems to be going through stuff... Marlow's headed back to school (you go girl!), Pete's in his final month of training for an Ultramarathon and working to raise money for the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness in the process and others are going through the worst kind of hell- but finding so much support in other bloggers.

Stress is a funny monster and we all cope differently.

Sometimes when I'm stressed I make things likes these...

or like these...

other times I play with these monsters...

or hit up the hot yoga studio for my weekly fusion class. I also do all these things when I'm not stressed but find that I crave them when the tension hits between my temples and the pressure of the world weighs heavy on my shoulders.

When my stressed out sweet tooth struck I dug out my trusty droid and pulled up a recipe that we grabbed while back east. Dave's mom, Anne made great peanut butter squares so I whipped up a gluten free batch for us to enjoy.

From Droid think outside

Remember when you had to copy a recipe by hand? yeah- those days are over. I shot it with my droid knowing that there would be no scrap of paper to loose. It was a first for me and they were tasty- although I didn't melt the chocolate well so it came out thick in places.

Thankfully we seem to be in a smooth part of life while others around us are dealing with stuff, some big, some small, some good stress and some life changing stress. I can empathize... this winter was a heavy time for us and I found myself baking whoopie pies and obsessively controlling the little details that I could (packing)... and knitting. In my first year as a knitter I've made dozens of hats, two scarfs and 3 baby sweaters. Knit one, purl one was something I could do that provided some relief from stress and also made others happy without adding the calories of whoopie pies.

soup's on... curry soup with lentils

2011-08-18T18:27:00.000-06:00

So we joke in Telluride that summer only last a few weeks as we don't own an air conditioner or even a fan as we only have a few nights where the temperature doesn't drop to cool sleeping levels. Last week we began getting the cool nights but it was a warm night as we enjoyed a curry soup for dinner.
We're working on using items in the house and working them into multiple meals during the week. The magic ingredient that inspired the curry soup? Lentils. I had made up a batch on Sunday and had to sneak them into a Thai Kitchen Curry creation along with chicken, carrots, potatoes and other veggies. The next night they appeared in an Annie's Gluten Free Macaroni and Cheese along with some chicken then they rounded out the week (and finished the cooked batch) in the curry soup. Dave's a bit over them by now but I was impressed at how they were able to mesh well into various meals. I cooked them on Sunday as they take quite a while to cook here at 9,000 feet.

Curry soup, chicken, carrots, rice, spinach, celery, peas and our favorite, lentils.

Why the sudden interest in lentils? Good question. They were in our favorite Backpacker's Pantry that we enjoy while camping and were right near the bags of jasmine rice at City Market so I gave them a whirl. Our first attempt was a fail (I chose to blame my 9,000 feet of altitude) so that's why I was so into finding a good use for them last week. Now as I google "Lentils" I'm learning that they are a great source of fiber, can fill you up without a lot of calories and provide slow burning energy.

Curry Soup
Cook chicken and set aside.
Rummage through the fridge and see what you have to throw in... such as cooked lentils.
Chop veggies (you pick!) and set aside.
Grab a big pot... if you're anything like me you better grab the next size up as this soup tends to grow
Bring water or stock to a boil and add veggies and chicken. Add curry 1tsp at a time until desired flavor is achieved. Do this slowly and a bit at a time. Other spices may be added depending on tastes. Simmer until veggies begin to get tender then add rice and lentils. Remember, rice grows quickly so try 1/4 cup for a soup with 2 quarts of liquid. Dave tends to forget this and we end up with a thick rice stew. Simmer to let all the flavors come together. The longer the simmer the better the soup.

It's a great soup and hard to mess up. I added fresh spinach to my bowl and it cooked in the time it took me to grab a photo due to the hot water as Dave wasn't into it.

a bit of local love... The Brown Dog, Telluride, CO

2011-08-14T21:15:00.000-06:00

Last night we had your average Saturday night. We went into town and had pizza with friends at the Brown Dog, a local sports bar in Telluride. So normal, so average yet so wonderful.

The Brown Dog has come a long way since they brought gluten free pizza to the bar. The pizza scene as a whole has changed in the last year. It used to be a greasy slice we'd grab after a late night out in my gluten eating days and it's evolved into a place that specializes in pizza. They've taken classes and developed thier pies into something to that's craved for dinner not just after a night out on the town.
When they first brought gluten free pies to the scene it was haphazard... they didn't have them every night and they weren't a highlight on the menu.

The Brown Dog's 9" Gluten Free pizza is actually 9" unlike some other places that boast a 10" gluten free pie that barely measure 7" across. The crust has a good sweetness thanks to the tapioca base and it's a thicker dough that fills up your stomach quickly. At a base price of $10.99 and $.79 toppings it's a reasonable price and lasted two meals for one person.

Since we were out with friends Dave split a gluten pie with them while I enjoyed half of my gluten free pizza covered with cheese (more on this) peperoni and pineapple.

I also knit while waiting for the pizza to come... doesn't everyone knit in a sports bar? The boys were trading stories of work, climbing and rafting adventures so it wasn't a hard line of conversation to follow.

Cheese... ah.... cheese.... how I love the concept of cheese and the flavor of cheese but hate the aftermath. Last night's pizza then today's leftovers left me with a cheese hangover. I'm running a bit slow on the uptake and my body feels heavy and lethargic. Last year I had a great purge from all things dairy while this summer I have the occasional "cheat". I cook with real butter but avoid dairy otherwise and use almond milk for baking and cereal. The aftermath of the cheesy pizza reminds me why I need to take care of myself. I only had Coke at the bar since I was driving and still feel funky today.

muffins...gluten free goodness on the go

2011-08-07T21:00:00.000-06:00

Dave and I have both been needing breakfast on the go lately so we've resorted to muffins. Last week I bought some frozen blueberries and grabbed the Joy of Cooking off the shelf and we enjoyed these...

the frozen bag of organic blueberries turned my batter purple but my muffins only had a faint hue.

We ended up with 18 instead of a dozen so I gave a half dozen to my young neighbor who's also a glutard. Her mom reported that they didn't last long in their house either.
This week I used my banana bread recipe and made them into grab and go muffins. I still baked them at 350 degrees but for 22-25 minutes instead of the hour it takes for banana bread. I was short on bananas so I used 1/4 cup of applesauce in place of the missing banana. I also added a teaspoon of cinnamon and nutmeg to the batter then topped with a dash of cinnamon and sugar before tossing them in the oven. The verdict? YUM from both of us. The spices really kicked them up a notch and the applesauce added some great tones as well. The fridge is stocked full of muffins to carry us through a week of breakfast snacks on the go again.

Move over PF Chang's.... Cucumbers

2011-08-03T23:31:00.001-06:00

If you've been reading my blog for a bit you may have picked up on my obsession with PF Chang's. The closest one is about six hours away so take out is not an option. Instead I rely on our travels out of Telluride to get my fix and our recreations. I'm slowly working my way through the menu as I have a great version of street noodles and thanks to Heidi I can make a mean lettuce wrap. This summer finds me craving cucumbers and I'm now doing a good spin off of those. On our trip east last week I found out that there is a PF Chang's closer then I thought. Massachusetts has a funny way of making everything seem far away to a native Mainer like me. I think nothing of driving 75 minutes to the food store each month, 30 minutes minimum to get downtown and back or 15 minutes to yoga but when we're in MA a 20 minute drive takes you three towns over and is a hassle. Dave somehow failed to mention just how close we really were to Peabody until I Google'd it.
Now I can just enjoy these after a "quick" jaunt to the store for cucumbers...
Peel cucumber and slice or dice as desired, I'm a fan of thin slices.
Add a splash of vinegar (.5 to 1 tablespoon) and soy sauce (2 to 4 tablespoons) let sit in fridge overnight and enjoy... or if you like it crunchy eat right away. These have a light pickle quality from the vinegar and a salty flavor from the soy.

Udi's love... and my trip to Whole Foods in Maine

2011-08-01T20:52:00.000-06:00

It figures that I travel 2,600 miles away from home and finally found Udi's Hamburger Buns at the Portland, Maine Whole Foods. We were headed to a friend's house for the weekend and I grabbed a bag. We didn't end up having burgers at all so I carried them around for a few days before trying them.

From Droid think outside

I was a bit sad to have waited so long... and it was dry and crumbling. I know you're thinking this post is titled "Udi's love..." true. I'm giving Udi's a pass on this one since I carried the buns around for 4 days, they weren't frozen when I bought them in Maine and I've loved every other Udi's product I've ever tried.
Then we returned to Colorado and I found the hot dog buns tucked in the freezer at my Natural Grocer. We grabbed a pack and headed back to Telluride to return to work after our trip to New England.
The next day I defrosted a bun and used it as a sub roll for lunch....

From Droid think outside

Udi's Love in full force! The texture was spot on and it wasn't stale at all. Sigh... storage makes a huge difference.
Whole Foods did have some bright spots. We had stopped around lunchtime and I made a salad montage.

From Droid think outside

It was a great lunch on the road up to the coast and I also enjoyed half of this...

From Droid think outside

I loved the single size packaging of this Sweet Sin Cupcake. (If you haven't been reading Marlow's post on Gluten Free Treats Weight Balance I'd highly recommend it.) I was able to restrain myself after my salad montage on just had half after lunch then enjoyed the rest later in the day. It was kept in the freezer and defrosted quickly in the 102 degree heat on our trip. Yup, 102 degrees in Maine with crazy humidity was a far cry from Telluride's mid 70's and almost no humidity.
It made me very happy to find this section at Whole Foods

From Droid think outside

Three gluten free beer options! Of course I went for the Redbridge as New Planet wasn't an option in Maine.

Airport survival

2011-07-27T06:47:00.001-06:00

We're getting good at airport survival. It's my third flight east of the year and Dave's fourth so we're navigating the trials of airline travel. Last week we had two flight cancellations and it made me thankful that I do overpack snacks as our 8 hours of travel time doubled and instead of landing in Boston at 3pm it was closer to midnight....and we felt lucky as one itinerary of the 5 we had during the day had us landing in Boston the next morning.

This morning I'm enjoying a banana, Luna gluten free protein bar and a Peter rabbit peach and apple fruit snack. I know those fruit snacks are trendy with the 7 and under set but I need my fruit too and I'm really picky about how it looks. I'm pretty impressed with the flavor and these might become a staple for long road trips as well.
I'm also getting some quality knitting time in too and have made great progress on a sweater for my four year old nephew.

camping near the Alta Lakes

2011-07-22T21:36:00.001-06:00

Last week we loaded up the 4Runner with dogs, camping gear and some firewood and headed up towards Alta Lakes just outside of Telluride. We made it to the campsite in time to catch some good views of the Wilson Mountain Range.

We don't camp at the lake as the dogs love the water... we had gotten a late start so the last thing we needed was wet pups in a small tent. We got a fire started and cracked a bottle of sulfite free wine.

Dinner for the evening was made via our Jet Boil. Hot water added to a Backpacker's Pantry pouch along with a can of chicken was ready in around 20 minutes.

Simple and tasty- while they don't certify gluten free they do list allergens. We had the Chana Masala with rice and garbanzo beans.

The Peanut Sauce Revisited

2011-07-20T21:25:00.000-06:00

My menu lately has included Thai Chicken pizza (love) and Gabo Gato. Over the last few years I've begun using the same sauce for both with just a slight modification of added oil for the noodle sauce. I've tweaked the sauce and although I usually don't measure- I go for taste and color now- I've got the basics here:
3T Peanut Butter
3T GF Soy Sauce
3T Brown Sugar
3T Vinegar
Spice to taste with garlic, cayenne, ginger or the like...
Optional thin out for pasta with 3T + 1t oil

I've been making a big batch each week then using it on the pizza and using the leftovers slowly during the week. Last week I was asked if it could freeze well... I gave it a whirl and the answer is YES! I put it in an ice cube tray and made handy little cubes to portion out for my peanut cravings. The ice cube tray wasn't perfect and I think next time I'll roll with silicone cups so they'll pop out easier. They did defrost quickly.

I pulled the peanut butter cubes from the freezer and whipped up a pizza dough with the Bronski's recipe. I've been taking the easy way and using a Chebe dough lately but felt the urge to go real.

I proofed the yeast and mixed the dough then par baked it for just under 10 minutes before topping with Peanut Sauce and a few veggies for a slight variation of our Thai Chicken.

The peanut sauce wasn't the only thing I tweaked recently... my ankle also falls under that label and 10 days later it's no better. I was climbing and took a small fall with a big smack against the rock with my foot taking the brunt of the force. I was pretty jazzed up and it did hurt right away but the pain hit in force later on.

After 9 days of on and off pain I finally broke down for some X-Rays and a Doctor's visit which didn't produce any results so it's a wait, rest, ice and see game. Not the one I want to play as we have to run through the United area at DIA tomorrow from a little plane to the big plane. I'm hoping it holds up enough so I can get away with Chacos for our week in New England's 90 degree heat and humidity.

lunch- going to the dogs

2011-07-08T19:35:00.001-06:00

The other day I went home for lunch, it's the nice part about living just a short walk from work. I needed to let the dogs out so I could hit yoga after work downtown. There's a great new studio in town, Shantihi, that offers hot yoga. I never thought I'd be a fan of moving in 98 degree heat but the heat really allows a slacker like me to get a good stretch in. I'm a big fan of the fusion class as we tend to do some good balance poses which should help out my skiing as well a my overall well being.
I took advantage of the time at home and made up a quick single serving size of Ancient Harvest Quinoa pasta. I like the texture of the gluten free grains and it's my go-to here at home. It always makes it into my travel bag as well for a road trip or a cross country journey. The nuttiness of the quinoa pairs well with peanut butter and makes a great Gabo Gato.
For a quick lunch I toss with a bit of EVOO and some freshly cut basil and enjoy in the sunshine with my favorite golden monsters.

From think outside the breadbox

a bit of local love... Oak (the new Fat Alley)

2011-07-05T17:45:00.010-06:00

Life changes, people change and of course the backdrop of restaurants in a ski town changes. Sometimes the change is hard to swallow... like when an old favorite moves locations and (gasp) changes it's name. The beauty is that sometimes change is truly for the better and allows the old favorite to grow in a good direction. That is the case with Oaks (aka the old Fat Alley). Robbie moved from his longtime home at the top of Oak Street to Oak Street Plaza at the base of the gondola. The new space has almost twice the table space and four times the bar space plus it features a patio. The new space isn't a new restaurant location in Telluride as it's formerly been home to X Cafe, Chair 8 and Wildflours but it's new to Robbie and changes the game that he's played for over a dozen years with Fat Alley.

The old space had it's special charm with it's crooked and sometimes sticky floors, and long wood tables that made it a hot spot for locals to celebrate birthdays and other special occasions as well as tourists looking for good BBQ. After all a place can be full of charm but it does take good food and service to make a place last. I've stopped going to a lot of places since going gluten free- we've taken the Chinese food place off speed dial, but I never had to give up Fat Alley. The quarter chicken and side of steamed broccoli was naturally gf and nothing changed with that during the move. We'll still celebrate birthdays and other good times at long tables with dear friends and perhaps a few Mitch Morgan's.

From think outside the breadbox

Yesterday we enjoyed a classic Telluride 4th of July complete with a parade down Colorado Avenue (our Main Street) and an afternoon with friends and their new addition and grabbed a late lunch at Oaks- our new Fat Alley with the same good faces and great food.

From Priest Lake and Happy Birthday USA Day

The little guy is just a few days old but I've managed to finish a sweater for him, which he'll need at Telluride moves from summer into cool nights (it happens fast here...) The pattern was sized for a one year old but I bet this little guy will grow quickly with the fresh mountain air.

From Knitting

a bit of cookbook love... Artisanal Gluten Free Cupcakes

2011-06-19T22:51:00.000-06:00

My number one cookbook Artisanal Gluten Free Cooking now has a bff, the kind of friend that likes to stay in on a Friday night and make sweet treats that make you feel like it's a special occasion- even when it's not. A friend that will skip one of the biggest festivals of the year in Telluride then tell you that your baked goods are wonderful (thanks Dave).
Artisanal Gluten Free Cooking now shares my cookbook stand with Artisanal Gluten Free Cupcakes which are both by Peter and Kelli Bronski. Team Bronski developed my favorite flour blend which I rock in 24 cup batches (tightly covered and stored in my fridge) which I tend to fly through during my baking extravaganzas.
Dave even ventured out of the baked goods section of AGFC and made the Lime Cilantro Chicken last week for dinner.

He made the marinate the night before and let the chicken swim for 24 hours then after bit of time on the grill and a pairing with little green trees and our gabo gato and it was confirmed- the Bronski's are not just good bakers but great chef's as well. (and Dave is good at following directions)

They've also converted to the popular "bake by weight" method. I ordered a scale last week and it came in handy for both this baking venture but even more so for measuring out my latest batch of AGF Flour. I've never mixed 24 cups up so quickly. The scale was so much fun to bake with and blend flour with. Good thing as I was excited to measure out 403 grams for my first batch. Kellie and Peter even though ahead and added altitude adjustments for those of us living at 9,000 feet, that's the bonus of cook book authors who also used to live at altitude.

My first venture was the Snickerdoodle cupcakes. Dave and I both love the Bronski's cookie version and thought the cupcake would be fun. My kitchen aid whirred into action as I mixed the wet then combined with the dry. The batter was fluffy and I spooned it into the cupcake tins, put into the preheated oven and forgot to set the timer... disaster on my first batch didn't sit well with me or my sweet tooth but thankfully I recalled the fuzzy photo I had taken as I put them in the oven. I took a quick shot to gauge the camera clock then set a timer. They were a touch overdone but a cupcake fiasco had been adverted thanks to my Nikon.

These cupcakes were WINNERS among my gluten eating friends that enjoyed them the next day. Dave wanted to try vanilla frosting but since I wielded the knife I grabbed a can of chocolate (yes, Betty helps me cheat and save a few steps.) Dave and I had even cheated and each ate a warm cupcake with frosting and the cinnamon flavor made me feel like I was eating a happy memory.
These snickerdoodles were a great start to a beautiful friendship. I'm looking forward to making friends with the mojito, strawberry and mocha cupcakes as well. It's a simple and straightfoward book that agrees with my baking style and uses my favorite flour blend.
I was feeling such a rush after a few cupcakes that I didn't let my good times stop there... I pulled out AGFC and flipped to the cookie page and whirled the kitchen aid back up and made up a batch of...

Chocolate Chip cookies. It was as bad as "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie" but thankfully I cleaned up the kitchen a flopped into bed so I could wake up to this the next day...

what is this "saturday" you speak of? I'm ready for my walk now.

Mayhem and his more reserved old brother Chaos have been on morning wake up duty each day at 7am. We're back in summer mode with a daily walk on the trails behind our condo. The boys love this and hate to miss it- especially for something as trivial as a Saturday.

camping above telluride

2011-06-13T20:59:00.000-06:00

Last weekend we hit up the campsites off of Last Dollar Road in Telluride.

From camping above telluride

Our late season snowfall hasn't melted at our favorite spots so we've had to break habits and venture out around Telluride. We kept meals simple as we wanted to play with the camera in the fading sunlight and bright moon through the aspens.

From camping above telluride

We did however make gluten free s'mores that made me a pretty happy camper... although I found s'more inspiration from the Bronski's and their "chores".

From camping above telluride

The next morning I was up first with the pups and took them on a walk through the woods before we returned to camp to make pancakes. I've been a fan of mixing all the dry stuff up and keeping in jars then adding the wet when the mood for pancakes strikes at home. For camping we took it a step further and added egg replacer to the dry stuff. We brought butter, 8oz soy milk and a dash of vanilla then stirred it up for perfect pancakes on the griddle.

From camping above telluride

Tonight we're back at home and back to perfecting Thai Chicken Pizza...

I'd have to say we're getting pretty close...

a bit of local love... Ouray Brewery

2011-06-05T11:39:00.000-06:00

A brewery? What- that can't be right why would a place that is based on beer be a safe place for a glutard? It's true, the Ouray Brewery in Ouray, Colorado was a great meal for me. Dave and I left Telluride's box canyon and headed to Ouray for a day at the hot springs. We grabbed lunch at the Ouray Brewery as we had reccently seen an ad that mentioned their gluten free friendly menu.

I had Mushrooms and Herbed Quinoa and I wish that the quinoa I make at home would come out this good. It's nutty flavor paired well with the fresh herbs and the mushrooms au poivre.

They also served bottled gluten free beer, Green's which is just over a pint. It's hard for me to finish while it's still cold but it's such a great feeling to sit in a brew pub and enjoy a meal and a beer. Speaking of... the barstools were actually swings. They came from a scenic lift in Utah and made for a novel experience.

Dave was pretty excited and even got a growler of gluten beer to enjoy later at home.

angel food cake

2011-05-29T20:05:00.000-06:00

Last week I found our fridge hosting an abundance of eggs and my sweet tooth aching for a dessert... I pulled out the Bronski's Artisanal Gluten Free Cookbook and flipped for a bit before landing on the angel food cake recipe. Perfect.

I measured everything and waited for the egg whites to come up to room tempature... and waited and waited... this was hard.

When I was able to start whipping I had to pull out the kitchen aid book to remind myself of what settings to whip the egg whites into stiff peaks (high on 8).

and whipped.... almost ready but not quite...

after a bit in the oven I pulled it out and enjoyed the intoxicating smell of angel food cake. It was so pretty in the bunt pan that I really hated trying to take it out after letting it cool. (I don't have a angel food pan so I just subbed the bunt pan)

I managed to get it out of the pan but it wasn't pretty. Thankfully it tasted great and Dave and I managed to polish it off in just a few days. As always the Bronski's recipe didn't disappoint, I'm looking forward to their cupcake book which is due out this June 1.

Chaos's Gluten Free Cookies

2011-05-21T22:50:00.000-06:00

Today I took a break from baking for humans and made some cookies for Chaos and Mayhem. It's not the first time I've made them but it's been a while and it was my first time making them gluten free. We've banned gluten flour from the house as it gives me a migraine to bake with it and Dave isn't much of a baker.
I'd love to give credit but the recipe has been in my book since at least 2006 and I have no idea where it came from. We've dubbed them Chaos Cookies and they were very well received by a tough panel of judges, Chaos, Mayhem and their friend Stella.

Chaos's Gluten Free Dog Cookies
Ingredients
1 cup flour (I used my old batch of Gluten Free Featherlight)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 cup peanut butter
3/4 cup milk
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix Flour and baking powder then add peanut butter and milk. Combine then roll out on floured surface to 1/4" thickness. Cut out your pups favorite shapes or keep it simple. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes or until the cookies are golden brown. Cool before serving to your pup! Keeps best in fridge or freezer.

I've found that a simple shape makes for the best cookie cutter. We had a skinnier dog bone cookie cutter but found that the bones broke easily. I also made some triangles for smaller treats for toy stuffing.

The judges all agreed- they loved the peanut butter flavor and the smells that came out of the kitchen. They couldn't even tell that the cookies were gluten free.

A bit of local love... Brown Dog Telluride

2011-05-15T20:45:00.000-06:00

From Droid think outside

I feel like gluten free is finally gone more mainstream. I think this as I have options in my small mountain town of Telluride. I mean I can even go out for pizza with my friends like a normal person, in a sports bar, which happens to have a mini- Fenway on the back wall.
This is a very new development. I found out about the Brown Dog offering gluten free pizza about a month ago but when I called to ask about it there was only one chef who would work with the dough and he wasn't working the night that my friends wanted to go out. I called again for the next group outing and it was official- I could get pizza. The pie had a thin crust which I'm fond of, not quiet New York thin but definitely not Chicago Style.
This doesn't help out my effort to ditch the dairy but it's great to have another option and be able to get food with friends at the local sports bar, good thing as it just might be Red Sox season in my house.

A bit of blog love...Lettuce Wraps... a la PF Chang Style

2011-05-15T20:31:00.000-06:00

One of my favorite things about reading other blogs is being able to relate to another person's gluten free story. Each of us arrived at the gluten-free lifestyle a different way but we each stay for the same reason- to feel good and enjoy food again. Posting recipes and sharing food via the internet, blog love at it's finest.
Dave and I have been making lettuce wraps for years but the other night we dug up Heidi's recipe over at Adventures of a Gluten Free Mom and used it as a guide to make PF Chang Style Lettuce wraps. So good and a great dinner for two...

I'd like to blame my lack of blogging on spring. I'd love to say that the weather's been great so we're spending time outside with the dogs at night instead of the kitchen but that's sadly not the case as we had over a foot of snow last week Yes, it's May. Yes, I do miss spring. Yes, it's mostly melted now so I can start to pull out chacos until the next snowstorm later this week.
Dave's a snowmaker and groomer at the ski resort so we're readjusting to making dinner for two again. I'm spending a lot less time in the kitchen making and perfecting new recipes and experiments. When I dine alone, I tend to get obsessed with a new dish. Dave won't go for that as he likes variety. We're trying to move into summer mode even if Mother Nature has other ideas for us.

time to make the donuts... dunkin munchkin style

2011-04-30T16:13:00.000-06:00

There's some key memories that I have from growing up in New England, days at the ocean, campfires with s'mores on maple branches, the smell of a forest heavy with pine, black flies and Dunkin' Donuts. We sadly found out when we moved west of the Mississippi that America does not run on Dunkin- just the east coast. Walk around Boston and you'll find a Dunkin on every block. I get jealous while back east when others enjoy Dunkin Donuts... especially Munchkins, little balls of happiness... unless you happen to be a glutard then the little ball of happiness becomes a little ball of great pain.
We've become good at making donuts (ah donuts...see memories here) but it was more of a french crueler style all light and airy. I found a post on Going Gluten Free for Dunkin Style Donuts and we used our first lazy off season Saturday to try it out.
We stuck to the recipe with just a few tweaks. I used Almond Milk and Artisan Gluten Free Flour Blend that is my go to flour blend. We tried powdered sugar to finish them off in but found out that both Dave and I prefer a cinnamon and sugar mix. We used a fondue pot to keep the temp steady at 375 and did small batches. We learned that we don't have a fire extinguisher so we kept the baking soda handy and kept everything out of the way of the hot oil.


Dough

Mayhem and Chaos

Make the dough then let it rest as directed. Realize the two dogs are being very cute together and snap a photo of the lovable brothers before getting the oil heated and you area prepped.


baking soda for safety...


a cookie dough scoop makes pretty and uniform balls

golden colored perfection

proper tools help a lot... like this fancy scooper

shake with cinnamon and sugar then enjoy!

It was a perfect off season Saturday project... for those unfamiliar with "off season" it's best defined as the time after winter and before summer while the ski area, the town and the people thaw out. Many people take this time to get out of town to warm locations. It's a very quiet time in town and can also be called mud season. Today it could be confused with winter as it's starting to snow again...

a bit of local love.... Rustico Ristorante

2011-04-20T21:04:00.000-06:00

I'll be honest. I couldn't have guessed that I'd be back to Rustico... after all it's an upscale Italian resturant in Telluride which specializes in gluten filled pastas. I've had some great meals there and they helped me learn to love spinach. The time between ski season and the busy summer festival season is often called off season here in town and Rustico runs some great off season specials so when friends wanted to gather there for dinner I checked the website and made a phone call before committing to a Big Night Out this past Tuesday.

From Droid think outside

Caprese Salad is not dairy free but is a great love of mine. I'll cheat for dairy but wouldn't even think of cheating with gluten. I do wear the marks of the indiscretion on my face like a scarlet letter and feel sluggish for a day after but the flavor of tomoto, basil and cheese melding makes it hard to behave....

From Droid think outside

For the main course I enjoyed a modified Vitello al Carciofi, they left my thinly sliced veal un-breaded and gently sauteed it with artichokes, capers and white wine. (I could have also enjoyed Risotto too) it was a delight and I easily joined the clean plate club and had a great evening with good friends while avoiding gluten.

time flies...

2011-04-20T20:36:00.000-06:00

It's been a busy end of the ski season here at campchaos. We enjoyed the final day of the season with friends and I learned the hard way that Hot Cocoa is to remain suspect... and spent the evening after the final afternoon in a gluten fog.... arugh.

On a lighter note I was able to do a comparison of New Planet's Brews.... Tread Lightly still reigns supreme for me over Off Grid. I'm sure there will be times where I will love Off Grid. It's got a heavier, molasses flavor and my palate likes the light tones of Tread Lightly. I had a friend set up a blind test for me but I'll be honest- the color gave it away.

I've been trying a twist on my classic banana bread and adding blueberries instead of chocolate chips. (YUM- altough next time I'm going to look for mini blueberries instead of large ones.)

I've also been perfecting my knife skills on my chinese food and trying lots of veggie combos, Dave headed back east for a bit so I was able to eat the same meal all week for lunch and dinner.

From Droid think outside

I've also been on a Udi's love fest and even enjoyed a bagel sandwich with Justin's Chocolate Nut Butter and Bananas.... highly recommend it for a case of the Monday's. It's even better when you can pair it with a pair of cute furry faces cuddling on a dog bed together...

We're just getting back from a mini-vacation to a popular National Park... stay tuned for more photo's like this... it's a mere 6 hour drive from Telluride and one of the more dog friendly park's I've been to.

rockin' Udi's and New Planet with a bit of Telluride style

2011-03-26T23:49:00.000-06:00

It hasn't been nearly as snowy as I'd like this winter and lately my minds been wandering to other endeavors beyond skiing. Last weekend we loaded the dogs, friends and gear in the 4Runner and headed a mere 30 minute drive away to a whole different climate without snow and hit the wall. It's a nice drive and as soon as the car hits the dirt road the dogs know- we're going to go have fun. This day will be good for them. A few more miles and a couple of big turns later we park and throw packs on all of us, dogs included and go for a short steep hike to the wall in Clay Creek that was named after Austin Powers.

mayhem

I had a few good climbs until my office bound paws screamed at me and then a nice hike/scramble with the golden boys while the human boys climbed more. The ending of our outing was perfection.... Udi's Bagel for a post climbing lunch and a New Planet Off Grid to celebrate our early induction to spring.

chaos considers knocking over my new planet for himself...

This weekend winter is back and a fresh blanket of snow covers Telluride and our wall. Thankfully Udi's and New Planet still complement skiing as well as they do climbing.

We didn't have our post climbing libations on ice so my first taste of Off Grid wasn't the best. I haven't had time this week to stage a tasting off between my beloved Tread Lightly and Off Grid. My first impression was that I was drinking Anadama bread. Anadama is a bread made with cornmeal and molasses which I loved in my gluten days. I've got a recipe to try a GF version but I've been scared to test it out at 9,000 feet. Perhaps in the next few weeks as we sink into a quieter season here in Telluride...

who needs chinese take-out....

2011-03-17T22:16:00.000-06:00

I'm working on expanding my veggie-land and picked up an eggplant last week. I had no real plan for it and wasn't sure where I wanted to go with it until it came to me as I was out walking the dogs. It was already late as I've been trying to catch up in office-land but I googled some eggplant recipes, made a list and headed to the store. An hour later I began chopping. My inspiration for the dish was a distant memory from my trip to China in 2004. We had an eggplant dish that was in a spicy soy sauce and all this time later I still long for it.
I found a Szechuan Spicy Eggplant recipe here and made a few changes as my little store didn't have everything I needed. Who has green onions in a small ski town in late March? Oyster Sauce- nope but they did have Thai Kitchen Fish Sauce and Chili Paste (both clearly labeled Gluten Free)
I also hate fish so went light on that sauce while going heavy on the soy and and white sugar and did chicken instead of shrimp. I had mushrooms and shredded carrots in the fridge so I added those to my eggplant.

From TOBB Fakeout Chinese

I prepped all my veggies, sauces and chicken so when I started up the pan I'd have things ready to wok.
Following directions to the best of my abilities I made the dish and served it over leftover white rice with a touch of cilantro for garnish.

From TOBB Fakeout Chinese

Who needs Chinese takeout when you can make this? I'll admit I was overwhelmed by the eggplant so tonight when I made the dish I did a medley of other veggies instead- onion, carrots, mushrooms, broccoli and asparagus. Again I prepped all my veggies and the chicken before getting started. I also started the rice cooker for fresh rice and threw some spinach in the veggie steamer on top. This way I could add spinach to mine while leaving Dave's spinach free.

From TOBB Fakeout Chinese

I made the sauce from memory and only forgot the black pepper...then the oil at the end of the dish. I had almost forgotten the cornstarch and water slurry but remembered in time.

From TOBB Fakeout Chinese

I'm just as happy with my second round of this dish and I'm sure Dave will be happy to have an eggplant free version as well. I grabbed a New Planet and settled in with the dogs for a night of Private Practice, enjoying the show but missing my weekly dose of Grey's Anatomy. Thankfully I'll get a good fix next week with a new episode.

From TOBB Fakeout Chinese

roller coasters and more East Coast travel

2011-03-12T22:54:00.000-07:00

It's been a doozy of a winter for us, in the addition to the normal craziness of ski town winter life we've also been dealing with some very hard stuff. Dave's mother fell ill in December and without going in details it's been a hell of a ride for her and the whole family. Instead of the happy recovery we had all hoped for the roller coaster derailed and she lost her arduous fight.
The bucket of things I can't control overflowed and the little things at work and home were pushed aside. My need for action had me booking tickets, setting up dog sitters, packing for us as we were East Coast bound once again in a 24 hour whirlwind. As you know a glutard must not only pack the usual clothing but also food. I knew some items I could find but had others I wanted plus snacks to navigate the poor selection of airport food with. I set up an email list of friends to keep folks informed of what we- specifically Dave was really going though. We had flown to Boston in early February when one round of complications had us all terrified and spent time visiting her in the ICU. A month later we were back on the plane and it was time to say goodbyes that no one was ready to say.

I have a little travel buddy that's sort of a good luck charm. The turtle found us in the winter of 2007 and has been on many road trips with us. I brought him along this round in hope that he'd bring some good luck on a difficult trip.

From Droid think outside

I made only one questionable choice during our airport navigation as we grabbed dinner at Wolfgang Puck in DIA. It ended up being fine but I was a touch nervous that my desire for a warm meal had me making questionable choices.

From Droid think outside

We spent a lot of time in the hospital and had just one visit to the cafeteria where they had a number of GF options for snack time. This was a goodbad snack- good juices in the Odwalla but the brownie was very bad for me despite it's fudge like yumminess.

From Droid think outside

Each morning I'd have a bowl of Cinnamon Chex and a banana to ensure the energy to make it through the day and make good eating choices despite what the day held in store for us. I'm a person that needs to eat to maintain blood sugar levels so I can deal with life with a level head even when I have a heavy heart.

From Droid think outside

Goodbyes were said by all- It was hell and all I wanted to do was bake but the family isn't a group of stress eaters and my whoopie pies and cookies couldn't fix the real issues as three grown sons, their father and families dealt with the loss of the beloved cruise director.

I had two excellent cookie helpers (ages 8 and 6) and it gave all three of us something to do for a while during a very rough day in a stream of many rough days. They creamed the butter with sugar and mixed in eggs- I like to think that these actions provide mediation and are therapeutic for others like they are for me. Plus I love the smell of fresh baked cookies. I had packed bags of gf flour measured out and labeled with all the dry stuff added in. Dave was convinced that TSA would find them in our checked bag and think I was up to no good so I threw in some prepackaged mixes as well to assert my flour bag needs.
I come from stress eaters so it was an adjustment for me to not have people wanting to eat. All the kids (ages 13 to 5) are well aware of my gluten free needs and each time I ate anything I'd have a small voice (not my own) asking if that was gluten free. I was exceptionally careful (with the exception of DIA) because the last thing I needed during our 10 days on the East Coast was a glutening. I even managed to sneak in a few meals that I love by hitting Flatbread Pizza Company who offer a gluten free crust and organic products.

We also ventured out and hit Not Your Average Joe's in Newburyport. They had a gluten free menu and it was a decent meal- great to know it was safe but it's no PF Chang's.

It was a hard trip but we both needed to be there and were very lucky to have understanding from all back in Telluride. We also had some great dog sitters so I didn't have to worry about my furry monsters even when our trip was extended. Now comes the readjusting to life after a big loss... bills still need to get paid, dogs and people both need to be fed and walked daily and we both have jobs we have to return to... thankfully the furry monsters are helping with the ongoing therapy for both of us. Let the comfort food cooking begin...

Winter waves on a New England beach

a bit of local love... 9545

2011-03-12T21:05:00.000-07:00

The 9545 Restaurant is nestled in the boutique hotel The Inn at Lost Creek. The name is the elevation of the establishment and it's located in Mountain Village- Telluride's sister town that's connected via a free gondola. It's upscale and has a small dining room of about 45 seats with a nice ambiance. I had a great dinner last night in the bar and caught up with friends. Leah the bartender was very attentive and helped ensure all my menu choices were gluten free.

I had the Cinnamon Coffee Rubbed Pork Tenderloin and it was a generous cut of meat. The pork was very tender with a good crust of the rub. The menu has a heavy southwest influence that you might expect in Telluride and my entree was served with spanish rice and beans along with roasted veggies. The roasted veggies left me longing for more and wishing I could make veggies taste like that at home.

As you may know I'm one of the few Mainer's that isn't a fan of fish but the plating of this trout had me reconsidering----almost. I can't recall what the pink sauce was- agave mixed with something red... Dinner menu entrees range from $19 to $36.

a bit of local love... The Llama

2011-02-27T18:42:00.001-07:00

The Llama has become a Telluride nightlife hotspot this winter and is also a great apres scene. This winter they have two for one margs from 3-6pm and $2.50 soft corn tacos with a few filling options- all of which are GF. I'm not sure what they do to their corn tacos but they were warm and soft and didn't mush up and fall apart as I enjoyed them. We ended up there twice last weekend and enjoyed the taco scene while having some much needed and overdue time catching up with friends.

From Droid think outside

a bit of local love.... Fat Alley BBQ

2011-02-26T18:32:00.001-07:00

Fat Alley is the a great little BBQ joint on Oak Street in Telluride. Robbie serves up good food, sweet tea, and the famous Mitch Morgan shot or read about it on Wiki here... They also have cheap gluten filled beer that all of my friends are fond of but I stick to Sweet Tea with a kick of vodka if I'm feeling feisty.

It's counter service and not 4 star by any stretch but the food is good and the room is usually rowdy. We tend to celebrate there with birthdays, engagements and the typical ski town goodbye's.

As you may know I'm a creature of habit and don't venture out much on a menu. Once I find something I like I stick with it. Right now this is a 1/4 chicken and smoked potatoes at Fat Alley for me.

From Droid think outside

I haven't asked about GF options in a while here because of my habit but Robbie the owner is well informed and will steer you in the right direction.

buckets strawberries and bananas in goodbad treats

2011-02-25T22:39:00.000-07:00

I've been craving buckets of fruit to counteract the chilly winter this year. Last week I defrosted some strawberries and pureed them into my pancake mix (of which I use the Artisanal Gluten Free Cooking's recipe)

I usually add chocolate to my pancakes but had the strawberry idea after a tasty batch of strawberry whoopie pies.

They were sooo pretty in our new blue pan.

I'm not sure why but in my mind strawberry pancakes scream out for a bit of coconut- which may get added to the batter in the next batch. These were wonderful and provided a great start to my ski day that also featured 10" of fluffy light snow.

A few days later life as we know it has become bananas- it's been building for a long while but has hit hard this week. It's a challenging time and I'm not ready to go into details but let's just say that my need for chocolate, comfort foods and stressful snacking have hit in full force.

I've also come to realize that when things go bad I have a need to plan and I need action. I can't sit around and dwell as it drives me crazy and I easily get sucked into the land of immobilization.
At this point the only thing I can control is the kitchen and playtime with the pups. My bucket of "things I can't control" is pretty enormous so I'm trying to focus on the other buckets- like the fruity ones...

So I'm trying to make my snacks "good-bad" as my friend Carol would say. A good snack that is a bit bad as well and really hits the spot. I hit both extremes during stress- I forget to eat or I binge. At least these two treats provide some much needed good things in addition to fulfilling my bad cravings.

Plus Chaos and Mayhem are happy that these treats aren't energy zappers so we can get our much needed walks in during this stressful phase- I've even managed to sneak in a bit more playtime as I need the time outside more then them these days.


Chocolate covered bananas

Chocolate Covered Bananas
Slice desired amount of bananas into desired pieces. I did 3 whole, peeled bananas into 3 even sections.
Freeze and forget until chilled
Melt one cup Chocolate chips in a small dish- be sure that your sizing allows for good banana dipping. That's why I like small banana sections.
Quickly coat chilly bananas in chocolate, one at a time and shake off excess chocolate. Dress as needed with candy or coconut. The chilly bananas will set the chocolate very quickly
If desired melt 1 cup white chocolate chips and re-dip bananas
Let the bananas chill again then wrap, store in freezer. Enjoy as needed.


banana bread

Banana Bread with Chocolate Chips redone from my 2009 version- so much better

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Mix Dry stuff in one bowl

2 cups GF Artisan flour blend this blend is enjoyed best by both me and my gluten-eating friends

1 tsp baking soda

.25 tsp salt

1 tsp xantham gum

In mixer (or by hand in second bowl)

1/2 Cup Butter or Earth's Balance (wait- don't throw wrapper away)

3/4 cup brown sugar

Blend together

Add

2 Eggs

3 over ripe bananas- I like mine to blend into the mix versus large chunks

Blend well

Add dry stuff and stir enough to mix and moisten dry with wet in small batches

Use butter wrapper to grease ~~9x5 loaf pan~~ 8x8 Pyrex dish

(this works best for me at 9,000 feet above sea level)

bake for 60 minutes until toothpick comes out clean

Cool in pan and slice and serve as needed

You can also stir in chocolate chips for a bit of flair

I also realized during this late night post that dinner had been forgotten so I snacked on a chocolate covered banana to carry me through the night.

gluten free cake balls- let the sugar shock begin....

2011-02-19T21:48:00.001-07:00

I've read a few blogs about people making cake pops- both glutenous and gluten-free and was motivated to give it a whirl as I needed a sweet treat for a friend's baby shower that I knitted this hat for.

I followed the basics from this blog and set to work. My first cake was a FAIL as I attempted a chocolate cake from scratch via the 1,000 Gluten Free Recipes book. I made no adjustments for 9,000 feet of altitude and subbed one flour mix for another, just enough adversity to create an epic failure of a cake. Thankfully my Pamela's Yellow cake mix yielded better results.

The next day I shook off my failure and crumbled my pretty yellow cake and mixed it with frosting. It didn't take me long to figure out that my cookie dough scoop made pretty little balls without the messy cake covered hands. When I reached the last third of the mix, I added some coconut and small chocolate chips for variety. I let them chill out and planned my coatings. I first melted Nestle Milk Chocolate chips (about a cup) and dipped away. I worked in small batches of chilly balls and melted chocolate for better results. I added flair to the still warm chocolate before setting them back in the fridge to firm up. I also did a small batch of white chocolate with a dab of green food coloring added for some extra flair.

I tested my work to make sure they were worthy and almost went into sugar shock. These little balls of goodness went over well at the shower and also with a few other folks I made try them. They were almost like a small donut covered in chocolate. They aren't an everyday snack but they will be back for another special event, like a Saturday or something.

Homemade Pasta

2011-02-17T21:47:00.000-07:00

I'm not the least bit Italian although I felt it last week as I pulled out the brand new pasta roller attachments for the kitchen aid mixer last week. Brand new and will NEVER be touched by gluten- such a wonderful feeling. I cracked open my trusty copy of Artisanal Gluten Free Cooking and flipped to the Bronski's pasta dough recipe. It's similar to this that they posted on No Gluten, No Problem in 2008 and I did make one tweak- my dough was very dry so I added water a tablespoon at a time until it was pliable. I had to work it a bit by hand until I could feed it through the roller.

xanthum gum, eggs with bit of salt and artisanal flour blend

getting ready to mix together by hand....

and now the toys come out...

and the pasta cutter....

the finished pasta- I'm a bad direction reader and over boiled- but a good first attempt

I was a bit nervous but the simple ingredient list put me at ease and the Bronski's had some good tips for using a machine in the book. It was a meditative recipe to work with as I played with the dough then fed it through the machine. I bagged some of the uncooked pasta and put it in the fridge for Dave to try. He's a gluten eater and LOVED this, in fact he loved it more then I did. It was a fun project with a tasty finish and the four servings were huge. I think it took me about an hour for this first attempt- it's hard to keep track on Thursdays as I get a bit preoccupied by Grey's Anatomy.

and of course we hit a PF Chang's...

2011-02-08T22:13:00.000-07:00

Our checked bag arrived on Thursday afternoon, a mere 4 days after us. It was an exciting moment to be able to have wardrobe options again plus a more pragmatic pair of shoes then the Danskos I wore traveling and the flip flops I had tucked in my carry on as area was getting pounded with snow and the snowbanks stood 5 feet high. I had lots of time to work on my knitting and finished a few projects during our visit.

From Droid think outside

On Saturday we packed up and jumped on a bus down to Boston- the roads were getting slick and our early flight on Sunday didn't leave much of a margin for error. We packed our bags with my gluten free snack festival and headed into a hotel near the airport. We checked in and asked about area dining and if the in house restaurant had a gluten free menu- the uncertain look had Dave convinced that my idea of heading to PF Chang's wasn't so crazy after all.

From Droid think outside

I had used my droid navigation while on the bus to figure out that we could easily take the hotel shuttle to a T stop on the blue line and swap to the green line and end up a block away from PF Chang's. It was a Saturday night and the place had a 50 minute wait so we opted to eat at the bar so we could make it to bed at a decent hour. We even walked through the city a bit after dinner, grabbed Dave breakfast donuts at Dunkin's and made it back to to hotel within 3 hours. There wasn't much time for sleep as we were up at 3:30am and on a shuttle soon after.

From Droid think outside

The best part about our 6am flight on Sunday from BOS to ATL to MTJ was that all worked out we arrived by noon in the mountain time zone, hit a quick food shop were reunited with our monster puppies back in Telluride before the lifts closed at 4pm.

Legal seafood

2011-02-03T11:53:00.000-07:00

I'm not a seafood fan but I'm a huge fan of the commitment to the gluten free menu, such a nice change after the ATL airport.

snacks... don't leave home without them

2011-02-02T20:54:00.000-07:00

This week we booked tickets on Sunday and Monday were traveling east. That's not a lot of time to pack, find dog sitters for our two monsters and leave with a clean house so one of the dog sitters could stay there plus formulate a quick plan to be absent/work remotely this week and research GF options for our Atlanta Airport layover on our trip to Boston.
Thankfully we left early enough on Monday to stop at Natural Grocer's for some gluten free travel food for our carry on. I pounded an Odwalla since TSA isn't fond of their liquid nature and grabbed a box of Glutino Blueberry Breakfast bars, Glutino Chocolate Covered pretzels and Enjoy Life Chocolate bars. (see-I really needed that Odwalla to add a bit of balance to my day)
I had done a quick search on ATL to see what options I had and found this... at Wolfgang Pucks I had hoped to find a sit down location but it was a grab and go. When I asked the attendant if she had a list of ingredients she looked at me funny. When I asked if things had gluten she picked up a sandwich to read the ingredients to see if gluten was listed. I thanked her and ~~ran~~ walked away.
At Chick-Fil-A I asked about the fryer for the waffle fries since their website lists it as being just for the fries and gluten free friendly. Again- a funny look but she called her manager over who told me that nothing else used that fryer but "we do use peanut oil". I explained that I wasn't allergic to peanuts- I'm just not able to eat gluten. I ordered the fries and the lady asked me, "What is the gluten?" as she rang me up. I gave the quick explanation that it was a protein found in wheat, barley and rye and that my body wasn't able to process it.
At Chili's Too they had the Chili's Gluten Free menu so I ordered a bun less burger with a side of plain mashed potatoes. They didn't have potatoes so I had oranges instead (funny combo but desperate times....) my food arrived- with a bun. I explained very politely that it was not gluten free and that I wasn't able to eat a burger that had even touched the bun due to my "allergy". She brought me a fresh burger with my strange side choice and I was sure to inspect it after she walked away. She was very kind and sincere about wanting to get it right so I felt safe but I wasn't very trusting at this point! I haven't had a burger from a chain in a while and it was greasy, not exactly a great feeling. I think next time I'll find an overpriced airport Odwalla drink and just be happy for safe options.
I had stashed some Ancient Harvest Pasta in our checked bag but as of Wednesday night it hasn't show up yet due to some massive snowfall that's halted air travel to Boston. Thankfully we headed to Stop and Shop and found some of my staples like Chex Cereal, Thai Kitchen soups and Udi's Bagels along with naturally gluten free foods. It was a decent selection but not as good as my Natural Grocer in Colorado. We fly home early Sunday morning and you can be certain that I will have a stocked pile of snacks in my carry on as I can't face the ATL airport options again.

Baking at sea level

2011-02-01T17:42:00.001-07:00

Betty crocker mix at sea level, oh my this rocks.

Travels

2011-01-31T12:35:00.001-07:00

We're not spur of the moment kind of travelers but can be if needed. Trip booked less then 24 hours ago and almost ready to board the first leg of our flight to Boston. Dogs are with friends and away messages have been set. Thankfully we had tome to stop for some glutaded snacks despite all the chaos as it's a long day of traveling.

a bit of local love... La Cocina de Luz now serves New Planet

2011-01-29T20:14:00.000-07:00

La Cocina de Luz translates to the kitchen of light and has been in Telluride serving up local, organic and wholesome food for over a dozen years. It's a great spot for glutards and has just become a bit better... they now serve New Planet Beer. We tend to go when we're in town and in need of a quick bite and it's popular with both visitor's and locals. It's one of the few places in town that doesn't take a break between the busy summer tourism season and the winter snow riders since it's so popular with the local crew.

Today's fare was enchilada's with garlic roasted veggies and green Spanish rice, OK this was actually Dave's plate. I just went for one chicken enchilada with rice, I am a terrible veggie eater. There- now you know- in case it wasn't obvious from my obsession with all things deserts (whoopie pies). La Cocina is right on Colorado Avenue which is Telluride's Main Street and has quick counter service and all the makings of a solid Mexican joint with good margaritas with fresh lime juice and all.

Stuffed Squash

2011-01-25T18:16:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago on our grocery store adventure- (really a full day of stocking up is an adventure) I found squash on sale. I'm working on eating more veggies and picked a few up. I did a bit of research and found Allie's Stuffed Squash and gave it a whirl with a few tweaks of my own.
I cut the squash and cooked for 45 minutes at 400 with some butter and syrup then stuffed with quinoa and spinach that I had made in the rice cooker/steamer. I fried up a bit of bacon for a garnish and moderate the insane veggie intake of my dinner.

My squash came out a bit on the dry side so next time I'll go back to my normal squash prep of cutting in half and baking the two sides upside down in a Pyrex dish with a half inch of water in the pan. It just works better for me- I live at 9,000 feet in a dry climate. It's not a meal that Dave would get excited about but made for a good dinner and leftovers for me.

Artisanal Brownies

2011-01-22T22:22:00.000-07:00

Our food bill has been insane this winter. It seems like prices have gone up at the store but also we've been eating more partly due to the cold weather and additional exercise with skiing, Dave's snow making and playing in the brisk mountain air with the pups. We're working on cutting it back without depriving ourselves of good food. Instead of buying a mix for upwards of $5 we're baking more from scratch and using real food. I pulled out the Bronski's cookbook and gave the brownie recipe a whirl. I have made homemade brownies before- years ago when I was a gluten eater and made the recipe from the Moosewood cookbook a few times. I really need to start marking the book with all the things I've tried, last month we were enamored with the snickerdoodles and I am now smitten with brownies.
See....

Next time I'm going to pull them a smidgen earlier as I like a gooey brownie....
I'm also trying to go back to being 96% dairy free. I've been cheating with Dairy during the holidays- eating real butter for cookies, gluten free pizza loaded with cheese and sour cream in mashed potatoes- and I feel it. My energy is low and I've gained back a few pounds... blah! So back on track I go which is going to be hard as my baking was happier with butter and the pizza has become more accessible thanks to Crazy Elk. I've started to clean it up but had pizza last night and felt the congestion hitting soon after leaving me to wonder- is it really worth it?

a bit of local love....Telluride Ski Resort- Crazy Elk Pizza Gluten Free Pizza

2011-01-15T18:04:00.000-07:00

Today Dave and I had a much needed day with friends out on the mountain and cruised some favorite terrain before grabbing a late lunch with the crew. Last season I would have been stuck eating salad or my pocket snacks but this year Telluride Ski Resort has changed the game and has gluten free offerings a few restaurants in Mountain Village. A few weeks ago I had a Philly Cheese Steak on Gluten Free Bread at the Hop Garden and today I had pizza at Crazy Elk Pizza, no more pocket snacks or salads for me after a long ski day!
I also learned through fellow blogger, Pete, that this was National Pizza week. Which makes sense as we all seem to be into pizza lately. Check out Pete's Spicy Buffalo Chicken Pizza and Marlow's review of Briixx gluten free pizza and marvel that Allie was able to get GF pizza delivered right to her door (so jealous), who says gluten eaters get to have all the fun and good food!
I asked the busy young man at the counter what they did to not mix the pizza up with gluten and his answer was so informed I was immediately put at ease. Adam told me that it's a frozen crust that is removed from it's packaging and placed on a special single use tray then which is put on clean pizza pan. They do not cut the pizza so that there isn't a chance for the cutter to use a glutenous pizza cutter germs on it.

I know some folks at the resort had been told they are using Udi's crust (love, love, love udi's) and topped my pie with peperoni and pineapple. (I also had a theory that if I went with a funny combo then there would be no chance for confusion at the table) The pizza crust was a bit underdone but it was so nice to grab a slice after skiing I overlooked it for the most part. The group had ordered a large "normal" pie as well and after they devoured that some folks even ventured over to my GF pie.

Cheers to Telluride Ski Resort for the gluten-free offerings and well informed staff and to Udi's for making a good product for a wonderful ski day lunch.

1.1.11

2011-01-01T22:33:00.000-07:00

My younger sister has also joined our fabulous group of glutards and it was fun to be able to welcome her to the club this past year. It's been fun going over the changes with her, since we have many of the same genes our experiences have been similar. We both lost weight, became happier and more balanced and a slew of other issues. She also tends to notice more then I do as she's still fairly new to the club. It must have been the year for that as Gluten Hates Me also had a sibling join the Glutard club.

For Christmas I sent her a copy of Artisanal Gluten Free Cooking for her Kindle via amazon- it was really fun to sit on my couch in Colorado and have her wake up to an email on the east coast telling her about the gift. We also gifted her Gluten Free Girl for her kindle as well. I love instant gratification.

I'm still a fan of book version for cookbooks and haven't committed to a Kindle at all- but I did get the Kindle app for my droid. It's been fun for light reading but I really like making notes in cookbooks.

The final part of her gift required more work then a few clicks, as I made her a batch of the Artisan Gluten-Free flour in a functional container and managed to get it in the mail a few days after the holiday. (I work in the ski industry, I can't even get holiday cards out at all as I'm stupidly busy from mid-November until April)

Today she sent a photo of her first creation from her new cookbook.

From Droid think outside

Last night we kept things mellow as there was a cold snap of -10 here in Telluride and I had to work this morning. We went up to Mountain Village a put the pups in my office while we watched some fireworks and a torch light parade of skiers come down the mountain then walked home with the monsters.

Dave laughed when I bought the dogs jackets but I know they don't mind wearing them as the mercury drops.
They also have super light up collars and lights for winter walks. It must be fun for the people watching from the gondola above to see the two flashers bounding down the slope.

They needed the walk- Mayhem had quite of bit of energy to burn and tried to wrestle with Chaos the whole way home. Chaos just turned six while Mayhem will hit his terrible two's at the end of March. Mayhem has brought renewed puppy energy into our house in the last year and really brought Chaos back to a second puppyhood at times.

quick meals, knit nights and holiday madness

2010-12-26T21:22:00.000-07:00

When I first when wheat free two years ago one of the first things we bought for the new lifestyle was a rice cooker. At 9,000 feet above sea level cooking can be a challenge and I had to give up Rice A Roni that was such a staple for us. The rice cooker allowed us to make near perfect rice each time. I also made sure we got a steamer basket for veggies- tonight I had an ah-ha moment and put my spinach in the steamer for the first time along with a clove of garlic.

The result was a very simple and easy dinner that was made while I took my evening shower. I added a bit of soy sauce and a bit of leftover Christmas ham with pineapple for a tasty meal with very little prep work.

In late October I couldn't spend enough time in the kitchen at night- now I'm in a new phase and spend my nights knitting. It's almost a fetish- I learned how to knit a hat in the round at the beginning of November and now am 10 hats into the process and getting better. My first hat came out ok but looked a but sketchy at the top- I've moved on to fancier brims, smaller yarns and mixing colors. It's almost like a nightly mediation time for me. Winter brings a more stressful work environment and the knitting has been an escape. When work gets tough I just want to go home, throw Grey's Anatomy on and knit.

A sampling of my hat work, the all blue is my first ever hat.

Two recent kid creations.

This is the time of year when balance becomes a challenge for me. Most of the world seems to get a bit of time off for the holidays while I ramp up at work and try to keep up with the typical holiday baking and demands of life. Dave also works longer hours so I fly solo on dog duty 3-4 days a week. Thankfully the knitting, ski breaks and walks with the puppy monsters have kept me sane during the madness.

But I've also made some time to sneak out with friends after ski/work days. There's a new movement at the Telluride Ski Resort to become more gluten-free friendly. I had a Philly Cheese steak on gluten-free bread (I believe it was Udi's- even better!) and was delighted to be able to eat in a bar like a normal person, not some salad sans dressing but real bar food. Fries are still off limits but better safe then sorry.

From think outside the breadbox

It's a work in progress but I'm happy to see them move in this direction.

cookies and holiday madness

2010-12-17T22:41:00.000-07:00

As the holidays approach I'm working on perfecting my cookie skills. I've been playing with some new recipes, mixes and flours. I wish I could say I've been so busy baking that I haven't had time to post but that would be such a fractional truth. I've also been busy knitting hats, working, dealing with change, skiing, enjoying happy hour, watching world cup snowboardcross races, working too many days in a row, grey's anatomy and many reruns of, waking up to happy puppies, testing out new gluten free offerings at Telluride Ski Resort, skiing, playing with the puppy monsters... you get the idea. If I could I'd narrow this list down to playing with the dogs, baking, knitting while watching grey's anatomy and skiing but I have other obligations in life as well. It's sad, even the camera doesn't reflect half of the things we've been up to since the mountain opened on Thanksgiving.

I've long since given up on being able to send holiday cards. I realize that the compressed season of the ski industry and the vast amount of work to be done in the short time between pumpkin carving and Christmas trees barely allows time for posting and puppies, let alone a night of holiday cards.

I also made the best apple pie ever for turkey day... I was inspired by a pie on the cover of Yankee Magazine and did a snowflake crust for our holiday celebration.

The winner of all my baking has been the snickerdoodles from the Bronski's cookbook Artisanal Gluten-Free Cooking. I'm a big fan of their flour blend and their book seems to be my go-to for everything from pizza dough to pie crust to cookies. I've also started flirting with dairy and ultimately cheating and went back to real butter for baking. I've got to be careful with how much I consume but have found that it makes things much prettier and the taste is much better as well. Yes, I cheated for a prettier pie crust and cookies that wow people.

mixing almond flour with the wet stuff

almond flour cookies

cherrybrook sugar cookie mix

mixing snickerdoodles

the cookie dough scoop makes things so pretty


snickerdoodles

soup's on

2010-11-28T16:46:00.001-07:00

A few weeks ago the weather here in Telluride started to change... nights got colder then BAM- winter hit. That's what Colorado is like, one extreme to another, t-shirts to long underwear and fleece.

It's the kind of change that makes you want soup- warm, hearty and welcome winter soup.

I revisited this soup but added some ginger and used almond milk instead of soy. It came out well and huge! I doubled the recipe without meaning to and it made for one large soup- thankfully I was able to get some office mates to help me finish it off.

saute the onion and ginger

add the softened carrots...

blend with squash and non-dairy milk for winter goodness

Glutened.....

2010-11-28T10:10:00.000-07:00

Last night we hit up one of my all time favorite restaurant's for a friend's birthday. I ordered the same dish I always do in the exact same way- but after dinner my stomach twisted and I felt the evil coming on. I regretted forgetting my pepto at home and tried to fight through the discomfort. We went home and I zoned out while the gluten ravaged my body. This morning I can still feel it lingering. I put my ski boots on for the fourth morning in a row but they felt off. My feet felt contorted inside the hard plastic shell- nothing had changed with my boots from the previous 3 days to today. It was the gluten- my joints are achy, my head is in a fog and I can't get out of my funk.

From Droid for Campchaos

Even the elk crossing the ski trail couldn't do it...

popeye the gluten free chef

2010-11-09T17:44:00.002-07:00

I've been feeling like Popeye may be a long lost relative and have been eating spinach like it's going out of style. I only learned how to saute spinach a few years ago and each fall go through my Popeye phase of eating. Dave's begun snowmaking and working late each night so I can eat what I want and play around a bit more. There's been some great creations, some just average and some flops that have potential.

Chicken, Spinach, Mushrooms and Rice

This was a winner. I sliced the chicken thin and marinated in gluten free soy sauce then topped with San-J Sweet and Tangy over rice with sauteed mushrooms and spinach. Simple, easy and tasty.

Brussel Sprouts

Brussel sprouts were a leap off the deep end for me. I've never cooked them before and only had them prepared once where I really liked them. I should have steamed them first before the saute as they didn't really cook the entire way through. I tried to reduce some maple syrup at the end to add flavor but in all this was a FLOP. It had potential but I really need to learn how to cook these bad boys. Dave was glad he didn't have to suffer on this one.

Garbanzo Beans

I saw Garbanzo beans in this month's Living Without- they cooked them for snack time. I cooked them for about 20 minutes at 350 in a bit of EVOO until they were steamy then paired with rice and this month's prerequisite mushrooms and spinach. It was good but something was missing- what flavor would you add?

Quinoa Pasta

The Quinoa pasta version was a good basic meal that made me wish for a big smattering of cheese- Parmesan would have been perfect.

risotto

I got Dave to eat mushrooms with this one. I live at 9,545 feet and it's a labor of love to make good risotto and this came out good. I sauteed chopped onions and mushrooms (small pieces for dave) then slowly stirred in warm chicken broth a cup at a time for the next 40 minutes- thankfully risotto bulks up so it's good for a few meals.

Rice Noodles

The rice noodle dish was tasty with chicken and a good all around dinner. It's similar to my street noodle creation but just a bit different. Simple noodles, chicken and veggies with a quick toss in the pan with toasted sesame oil and soy sauce.

It's been fun playing around with dinner and having enough variations of the same veggies to be able to polish off a whole bag of spinach on my own but I think I may be over spinach for a while...

Sugarloaf, Maine Gluten Free Options at the Rack

2010-11-02T18:26:00.001-06:00

When we lived at Sugarloaf, you could find us at the Rack at least once a week but usually more often, we had mugs there and loved the selection of Maine mircobrews. It's the local brew pub and the owners are good people and pretty avid skiers and snowboarder's- one even has a few gold medals to his name. I knew they had Woodchuck so I didn't have beer envy but had resigned myself to a night of salad as I was pretty familiar with the old menu. I was beside myself upon discovering that they had GLUTEN-FREE PIZZA! Say what?

Yes, they partnered with the Portland Pie Company to carry GF crusts.

I had pizza three times in one week (thankfully after the wedding) and it was honestly the best crust I've had in a resturant. It was a thin crust that reminds me of New York Style Pizza. I don't say this lightly but I was impressed. I thanked the owners and asked Chase why they did it. It turns out there's a demand so they listened to their customers and came up with an option for them.

gluten-free travels

2010-10-31T12:26:00.000-06:00

Before our road trip to Maine I did some prep work... I bought a case of chocolate Bumble Bars, a pack of Udi's Bagels, a few boxes of Betty Crocker Fruit Snacks and did some research. We drove from Colorado to Maine along I-70 the snaked up through the East coast on 84, 290 and 95. I'd plan out PF Chang's and Whole Food stops based on distance from the interstate, our hotel or dinner time.

I had all the potenial stops written down with the phone number and address so we could punch it into Gertie, our trusty GPS. We left Colorado at night and took turns sleeping and driving throught the middle part of the country and made it to St. Louis for a much needed sleep and a double whammy- Whole Food's and PF Chang's within 5 minutes of each other and I-70. Love. Love. Love.

It's kind of a strange obsession but I've never had a reaction to either place. I picked up some trip snacks, cut fruit for breakfast and sandwich meat at Whole Foods and dinner at PF Chang's.

The next day was also a bonus as we drove through Indianapolis for lunch and had enough left over for dinner as well. This was one road trip where I had no chance to feel hungry or deprived.

Dave was a good sport about it too. We stopped twice on our drive east (two days in a row) and three times on the way home (we took our time) and usually ended up with leftovers for the next meal/snack as well.

We did mix it up and the only constant was the lettuce wraps as we both love them so much.

Out of all the Whole Foods we stopped at- Denver St. Louis, Indianapolis, Portland, Maine was our favorite.

They had a great soup bar that I hit twice and options for Dave too. Plus they had a good supply of Udi's products for our time in Maine as well.

I did make a point to stop at our old food store and was shocked that the last year and a half they went from having a small shelf space for gluten-free products to 6 times the space and a lot more products.

They even had a line of cake mixes I hadn't heard of before. Sara had picked up their strawberry pound cake and it was the bomb, great strawberry flavor with a nice moist texture.

Cheers to Hannaford for getting on board and making sure glutards can eat safely.

this is gluten-free?

2010-10-28T18:41:00.001-06:00

I'm happy to report that the only gluten at our wedding was in the form of two kegs of PBR. Thankfully I also had a few cases of New Planet Beer to counteract all that gluten as well as wine. We arrived in Maine to chilly and wet weather. On Friday Mother Nature pounded rain and our girls hike was cancelled so we stayed in to cook instead. My friend Lynne makes the best chicken limon and can now even make it gluten free. YUM, for this I will eat dairy, the chicken melts in your mouth along with the silky sauce.

She had pre-pounded her chicken to the perfect thickness (very thin) and I watched her make a silky cream sauce with mushrooms. It was one of the best meals and memories of the trip.

"let it simmer until it becomes silky" ~lynne

As Lynne was creating her magic, I whipped up a monster whoopie pie for the wedding. I didn't have time to do all whoopies so I ordered a gluten free cake from Frank's Bake Shop in Bangor, Maine and did a monster whoopie for Dave and I to cut for show. I had made a big batch of Artisanal GF Flour and brought on the trip as well as xanthum gum for all my baking needs.

Lynne also makes a wicked chocolate martini and between that and the distraction of seeing everyone again I didn't pay close attention to the task of baking the whoopie pie.

chocolate martini

I had a feeling that something was wrong but I thought that the altitude (1,000 feet above sea level instead of 9,000) was making things come out funny. I had started with less flour and everything seemed to be in order. It took a while to bake but that was due to the large size, right?

Later that night and a few New Plant's later it hit me... eggs! I had omitted eggs while scratching down the recipe from a blog post of mine. It was only going to be for the cake cutting so I let it go and admitted my error to Dave. It still looked great and tasted fine but the texture was off.

Frank's Bake Shop did a good job on the cake. I wasn't looking for a traditonal wedding cake so just got the wedding logo that Colleen had done for us put on a gluten free sheet cake. The salesperson on the phone had no idea how the cake tasted- which is a fail to me as the sales team should know all products even gluten free ones. We did chocolate as it would hide the gluten free factor a bit for folks. I enjoyed the cake- it was a dense and moist chocolate with a sugary frosting. I only wish I had ordered more cake as it went quickly. Who knew that people really do eat wedding cake?

photo by patrick smith

It really didn't matter much and it's a good memory of the whole day. We had perfect weather, great foliage and a safe gluten free good time (except for all those people who drank the two kegs of PBR- they just had a good time.)

Chuck Snell was our caterer and used to serve coffee with Dave at Java Joe's, picking someone we liked and trusted was huge for me. Dave was also excited as he had tasted Chuck's cooking before and it was always wonderful. He's the type of guy who takes pride in his creations and knows food well. Chuck rocked it and roasted 22 chickens on Friday and made carrots with honey and thai basil along with roasted red potatos and a hearty, colorful salad. He also served Carrabassett Coffee which is the biggest roaster in Kingfield, Maine. Chuck was great about making it all gluten and dairy free- to be honest people didn't miss the gluten. How could they when Chuck's creations were so yummy and well- normal. Do you ever have people that think you must eat really funny foods if you're gluten free?

In the planning process people told me that guests never really pay attention to food but I found that a lot of people raved about the food to us and also to Chuck. (Cheers Chuck!) Our whole day was really about the people who helped us.

Our mission was to create a fun and simple day in which we could enjoy time with family and friends. We worked hard to keep it simple (hence paper plates and plastic silverware instead of dealing with plate rentals and all that jazz). We had a naturally beautiful venue so we just added a few white lights, mason jars with rocks and candles and Kim gathered maple leaves to add a bit more flair. Sugarloaf, Maine, where we met six years ago, is one of the most scenic spots I've ever been to and the Outdoor Center is a great backdrop for any special day. The resort even had scenic chairlift rides and we had some guests that made a point to do that after the wedding.

Carol was our master of ceremonies and wrote the best vows ever. She pulled in aspects from our lives and it was such a comfort to have our friend preceding over the event. Big Dave was the music master and played "Waste" from Phish on his guitar as we walked out and kept the rings safe. Sara opened her home and kept everyone well fed with shepard pie and watched the puppies while we made it around to see all the guests. There's more but that's a whole other story.... so thank you to all who helped, came and were a part of our day.

Here's a quick food montage as well as some fun shots of the day.

Photos by Patrick and Kendra. Thanks guys for getting food shots!

a month away...

2010-10-20T17:55:00.004-06:00

The last month has looked a bit like this (cue photo montage)

In the last month we moved everything into storage, drove to Maine and back, moved things out of storage and into new place, spent time with friends, played with the puppies and got married.

Phew...

It's been a busy month and I am ready for some quiet time. Last night the kitchen aid mixer was unpacked plus my immersion blender. There's still foliage on the trees and I'm thinking it's time for carrot squash soup. Plus I could use a veggie load after eating PF Chang's, Bumble Bars and more during our travels. I did also hit up a lot of Whole Food Salad bars as well but not enough to balance out the PF Chang's (although I am a new fan of the Chang's cucumbers in soy sauce). I also managed to not get glutened at all although I did eat much more dairy then I should have.

More to come including a giveaway.... but for now it's time to unpack some more boxes.

Ajax Peak and Allred's in Telluride

2010-09-20T18:02:00.002-06:00

Saturday marked 4 years to the day that Dave and I moved to Telluride from Sugarloaf, Maine. We're had a busy four years and haven't hiked too much due to various factors like a broken toe (me, a few summers ago) and a healing leg (Chaos, last summer after a nasty ski injury to his back tendon) and general life stuff.

September 18, 2006

We're leaving for Maine in a week for our wedding and will be driving cross country with the dogs for the event. We're also moving into a new condo and have been packing our stuff up one box at a time. It was a hard day last week when I packed away the pretty pink kitchen aid for the next month. Everything is going into storage and when we return to Telluride in mid-October we will move to our new digs.

our wedding logo- designed by colleen shea

As a gluten-free person travel presents some challenge but I'm feeling prepared and have already checked in with the Portland, Maine Whole Foods to see if they have Udi's for me (yes- they do) and managed to snag two cases of New Planet Tread Lightly for the event and vacation as well. I've mapped out Whole Foods along the route and have been researching options plus packing food. I've got a big batch of Artisan GF Flour made up and ready to travel plus a few other goodies like Bumble Bars to carry me through the 2,600 mile trip.

After all this we are pretty tired and used Saturday not for packing but for playing. We ignored the boxes of stuff, wedding details and travel plans and headed up Ajax. I was up early with last minute hike preparations and we were on the road shortly after 7am. We cruised through town and the 4Runner climbed to the top of Bridal Veil Falls where we began our 6 mile round trip hike. The sun in Telluride is really intense so the early morning helped us summit by 10:40am and enjoy some time watching town park fill with the Blues & Brews Festival folks from 12,785 feet. Mayhem, our young golden loved the hike and was ready for more while Chaos, who is almost 6 and still plagued by his back tendon did well but was tired by the end of the hike.

September 18, 2010 Ajax Peak overlooking Telluride and the ski resort

Recently a fellow blogger and excellent writer, Peter Bronski came to Telluride and did some excellent reviews on local restaurants. I've dined at both establishments before but Peter's photos and descriptions had Dave and I walking into Allred's on Saturday night. I love it when other people help me rediscover my own town. We were going to sit at the bar and enjoy a quick bite but their happy hour specials had the bar filled and we ended up in the dining room. Both locations offer excellent views of the town of Telluride and the box canyon plus a view of Ajax Peak.

Allred's Dinner

We each had a small fillet Mignon and I had a sage brown butter sauce while Dave had the Chimichurri sauce. My sauce was yummy and melted the steak in my mouth while Dave's had sweet tones of cilantro, garlic, onion and peppers. We shared a side of sweet potato mash and mushrooms.

Sweet Potato Mash

I'm normally not a mushroom fan but these were tasty. Allred's works to source their menu from sustainable sources and I'm certain the mushrooms were on the menu as a result of our rainy summer that spurred growth of fungi in the area. Plus the listing caught our eyes, organic trumpet royale mushrooms with texas wild boar bacon, parmesan

organic trumpet royale mushrooms

It was an amazing meal and we haven't stopped talking about it, plus it was all gluten free.

Dinner at Allred's was a great ending to a perfect day in Telluride.

the road to red rocks and the gluten free trip

2010-09-06T17:39:00.000-06:00

Last weekend we left our small box canyon and headed to Denver for the Yonder Mountain String Band show. They're not my fave but Dave enjoys them and I was game for getting out of town.
We left on Thursday night and found the best road snacks at the Sawpit Mercantile as we left town. I was able to try Annie's Gluten Free Bunny Cookies and Glutino Chocolate Covered Pretzels, neither of which is very good for me but fine in moderation. The Bunny Cookies have a bit of a rice flour taste and are great in small amounts while the Glutinos were all that I had hoped for in a GF chocolate covered pretzel since I knew I loved the plain version.

Friday we spent the day at the Park Meadows Mall in Denver which is the second time all summer that I've gone to a mall. I did hit Cherry Creek on my Denver trip in July. That may sound strange but I live 3 hours from the closest mall which is on the small side and ski bums don't have too much need for most mall stores anyhow. We both remembered this on Friday as we walked through the monstrous structure and did some shoe shopping for Dave. The best part about Park Meadows is the proximity to a PF Chang's and that's why we hit it versus Cherry Creek.

We enjoyed a gluten free lunch with the lettuce wraps I dream about, Chang's Spicy Chicken and ventured out with the Mongolian Beef that quickly became a new favorite. I'm hoping to find a PF Chang as we drive cross country to Maine in a few short weeks. I've already marked a few Whole Foods that are close to interstate 70 and will make great lunch stops.

In less then three weeks we drive from Colorado to Maine for our October wedding. We're driving so that the pups can join us and we really enjoy the road trip. We're doing a simple day at Sugarloaf and are looking forward to a relaxing trip... which we will need by then as we're also moving. Our new location is yet to be determined so everything will be going into storage until we return to Telluride and find a new home. We'll still beat the rush of the seasonal ski bums coming into town so I'm optimistic that we'll find something that will take us and our two golden monsters.

Two years ago this stress would have wrecked me, I'd be a grumpy mess. Two years ago I was still eating gluten and had felt bad for so long that I didn't even know I felt bad. We had stress then too and I was a wreck.... as was our Tacoma when Dave rolled it that September, it was our only car but we had good insurance. Two years later, again in September, everything is happening at once, some good, some bad, some just challenging. Whenever I hear people say that it's tough to be gluten free I just shake my head and say that it's tougher not to be. While gluten free isn't stress free it certainly helps when challenges come around. The balance I have now is well worth the trip of being a glutard.

Telluride- The Butcher and the Baker

2010-08-25T17:40:00.000-06:00

Last summer my favorite stop at the Farmer's Market was to see Cinda who made gluten free cupcakes and cookies. I had to go early as she would sell out. This summer Cinda is no longer at the Farmer's Market as she's part of a new business in town, The Butcher and the Baker (guess which one she is).

I took a day earlier this summer and went in for lunch. I had a freshly made lemonade and loved their glassware that looks like a small glass flower pot.

I had a great turkey and apple wrap which was gluten free of course. The wrap was a bit dry and I made it worse by being picky and omitting the mayo as I didn't know if I'd like the flavor and cheese as I really am trying to be closer to 100% dairy free. I'm hoping to go back soon and give it a second try as I loved the apple and turkey combo. The turkey wasn't your typical deli meat but thick slices.

Dave and I also went for Brunch on Sunday. They make Gluten Free Blueberry Pancakes each Sunday and only on Sunday's as we found out as we cruised town one Saturday looking for breakfast.

I also had a hot cocoa made with soy which was also in a cute mug, although this breakfast couldn't have been 100% dairy free as the pancakes were wonderful. They had a great texture, flavor and a cute presentation. The price is a bit higher then other places in town but they do have high quality food which merits the pricing, I'm looking forward to skiing to town this winter and enjoying some of these on a lazy Sunday.

pink gluten free goodies and phish

2010-08-13T17:39:00.000-06:00

A few weeks ago at the farmers market I picked up a couple of beets. Seriously two monster beets that were larger then my fists. I cooked a large bowl of beets then tried to find ways to use them since I can only eat so many and Dave really isn't a fan.
The result- beet hummus, which was just a sweet version of hummus and much prettier but still healthy snack.

we've been a bit busy around here with a small band named phish that came to town and dave is a fan of phish so we hit the shows with our tickets that Dave slept out in a snowstorm to get. We had a few friends hit town as well and it did give us an occasion to make gluten free pancakes for our couch dwellers.

(ok so these aren't pink but they are yummy)

they also are very pretty...

as is Ajax during a sunset...

and my pink shirt and earplugs for the cool mountain night and loud phish show...

I ended up in a down jacket by the end of the night which may seem odd in mid-August but here at 9,000 feet it's a way of life for a cold evening in town park with 8,000 of my closest friends.

Udi's Pizza Crust & City Market Display

2010-08-02T18:00:00.000-06:00

My apologies, my droid will take great photos sometimes but then other times they upload like this, but I hope you get the point. Even when you forget your Udi's Pizza Crust in the oven a bit too long it still makes for a great dinner. Here's my version of Thai Chicken Pizza.

Chicken, cubed and cooked in Buffalo Sauce

Matchstick Carrots

Julianned Onions and Green Peper

and this Gabo Gato Peanut Sauce

It was my first Udi's Crust and I loved it. I'm still a fan of the homemade stuff but this saves a bit of time and has a good texture and flavor.

Also I walked into my semi-local (67 miles!) City Market and found this:

Udi's in the real people bread section! Whoo hoo! I was pretty excited and stocked up

on Bagels to help fuel my Merle's addictions.

Sweet Saturdays for Christmas in July

2010-07-28T18:27:00.000-06:00

Last Saturday we had a nice rainy day so we invited some friends over for a Sweet Saturday. We started the day with homemade OJ and gluten free donuts and watched some Christmas movies to celebrate Christmas in July. We made a homemade glaze for the donuts and used a meat injector to make jelly filled donuts.

It was a pretty sweet morning and Dave and Jess ended up in a sugar coma while Jared and I pulled out this new Whoopie Pie Book to create Mocha Flavored Whoopies. We even took it a step further when Jared made our frosting coffee flavored too. It was a great change from a "plain" whoopie and made a rainy Saturday go by much too quickly. The book is great and even has a GF whoopie reciepe but I just subbed GF flour and xanthum gum in for the Mocha Whoopies.

The jelly donut was a winner as was the bacon wrapped donut... however it was hard to touch the...

Gluten Free Oreo Filled Donut with Glaze and Sprinkles.

Life here in Telluride is pretty sweet...

Time to make the Donuts, take 2

2010-07-19T22:22:00.000-06:00

The last time we made donuts there was snow on the ground and winter was just beginning. Now as summer is in full swing and we suffer from a heat wave of temperatures in the high 80's

(ok, it's kind of a joke but when you live in the mountains and at 9,000 feet this is HOT)

We were home after a busy weekends of playing with the dogs and enjoying the Food Network. Kid in a Candy Store was at Kick Ass Cupcakes and they were showing decadent deep fried cupcakes and we were motivated.We were not motivated enough to make cupcakes but we did pull out the Gluten Free Gourmet and revisited the donut recipe. Doesn't everyone want to make donuts when it's hot out?

This time we cut the recipe in half and whipped the eggs in faster to create a better dough.

I also finally picked up a cookie dough scoop which rocked our donut world. It made perfect scoops and reminded me of Dunkin Donut Munchkins.

We also now have a fondue pot that doubles as a donut fryer.

(thanks Kendra, come visit and we'll make you donuts to thank you in person)

It kept the oil at a perfect 375 degrees and had a good shape for making small donuts in.

After letting them cool we shook them in a mix of Cinnamon, sugar, powdered sugar and cocoa then enjoyed. Next time I make cupcakes I may have to coat in this mix and try my hand at deep fried cupcakes but for now I was pretty happy with our second attempt at homemade donuts.

YUM!

Udi's love

2010-07-16T16:16:00.001-06:00

Although I haven't convinced Merle's Brown Bag to carry Udi's gluten free bagels yet I still get them to make their creations for me- BYOUB style (bring your own udi's bagel). These are Chaos & Mayhem approved eats on a lazy Friday in Telluride.

Morning walks

2010-07-14T07:57:00.001-06:00

A step in the right dirrection...

Garbanzo Bean, Bacon & Arugula Salad

2010-07-13T22:19:00.000-06:00

From think outside the breadbox

I've been swamped at work and came up with this creation to help me survive the week as a quick meal with a lot of protein. I brough a cold home from my Denver trip- I'm not sure how I caught that with the 90 degree weather I was in.

It kicked my butt and knocked me off my morning routine with the dogs. I'm recovering and trying to regain some equanimity with food and sleep so I can get back to playing with the monsters before the crazy work day. I've also put my Liz Lovely cookie collection in the freezer so I can slowly enjoy the goodness from the East Coast.

2 cans (15oz) of Garbanzo beans, drained
cook:
6 slices Bacon until almost done
then chop into small pieces, finish in pan and add 2 tablespoons maple syrup at the end and caramelize, set aside and let cool.
Mix:
3 Tablespoons EVOO
1 Tablespoon Sugar
2 Cloves Minced Garlic
1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper
Juice of one lemon (more or less to taste- I really enjoy the lemon)
Whisk well then dice and add 1/3 medium onion
Combine with Garbanzo beans and Bacon. Store in the fridge, oil will congeal a bit, this is normal.

This has a lot of potential and the next version may include quinoa, corn or cucumbers... we'll see what kind of mood I'm in!

Serve with fresh arugula and know that you're surviving a busy time and eating well and that maybe tomorrow you can get out of bed earlier and go play...

the best part about coming home again...

2010-07-08T18:24:00.000-06:00

From think outside the breadbox

Was these cookies waiting for me on my doorstep! I'm a member of the Liz Lovely fan club and when they had a free shipping promotion I couldn't resisit and ordered a mixed case of cookies. My friend Carol found these for me when I visited her on my trip through the East Coast. Carol and the cookies are both Vermonters and wonderful.

Ok, it was also nice coming home to dave and these furry monsters too...

From Chaos & Mayhem

Denver- Swing Thai

2010-07-08T18:10:00.000-06:00

I spent the holiday weekend working but in a fun way. I went to the Cherry Creek Arts Festival in Denver to promote Telluride. It was a fun event and one of my favorite Colorado singer/songwriters, Rob Drabkin, preformed as well. I'd have to say the highlight of the trip was all the gluten free options.

From think outside the breadbox

I googled "gluten free LoDo" when we arrived as we were staying downtown. Urban spoon had a pretty good list and we enjoyed lunch at Swing Thai at 1612 Wazee Street. I had the Peanut Sauce curry on a bed of stir fried spinach and it was incredible. The sauce had a good spice to it and the spinach was a good hit of veggies after a day of traveling. I'm fortunate that the three folks I traveled with are also friends and were very accommodating to my glutard status.

From think outside the breadbox

Udi's loving Colorado...

2010-06-29T22:16:00.001-06:00

I'm a huge Udi's Gluten Free fan and have been since first bite. Any bagel that can make me feel like I'm cheating and eating a "normal" bagel deserves this love and adoration.
Udi's is showing the gluten free community love and really expanding their reach and presence in the market. It's really exciting to know that I can walk into so many mainstream stores and find a safe and tasty option while traveling in ski country. Safeway even took this a step further and is now carrying Udi's unfrozen. That's right, I can walk into Safeway on my next trip to Frisco, grab a loaf a bread and have a sandwich before you can say peanut butter and jelly.
Being glutard sure makes me appreciate the small conveniences in life... now I wonder if City Market will follow suit?
Speaking of travels through Colorado, I'm headed to Denver for work this weekend, I'm going to be near a Whole Foods and a PF Chang's and while I'd be happy with PF Chang every night for dinner my friends may not be. Any other suggestions for Gluten Free dining in LoDo or the Cherry Creek area?

gluten free, dairy free ice cream

2010-06-28T22:10:00.000-06:00

Last week I felt like it was my birthday when Udi's sent me a box of goodies to try. I've been enjoying Chocolate Muffins for breakfast and took the 4-pack of bagels to Merle's Brown Bag to try to win Shawn over. (How can you not LOVE a gluten free bagel that tastes good un-toasted? Great for breakfast and lunch. I've really been digging my Udi's with Merle's bacon, turkey, mayo, pickles and onion... I may have to grab one for lunch tomorrow)

Tonight I'm making gf, df ice cream for my real birthday and it's gonna be so good that Ben and Jerry will be jealous... plus it matches the kitchen aid mixer that was my big birthday present two years ago. I found my base here and devised my own mix ins... the Udi's Chocolate muffin and coconut flakes. yum. I was pretty inspired by Marlow's tweets and blog post about her ice cream adventures and it spurred me to motivate and make my creation.

Waiting for the strawberries to defrost was painful so I cut the muffin into little pieces and put it in the freezer to chill out.

The strawberries had become soft enough and I used the immersion blender on them and then mixed with the coconut milk, vanilla and agave nectar before pouring into the ice cream maker.

After 30 minutes I spooned it into a container and mixed in the coconut flakes and my last chocolate Udi's Muffin. I still had ice cream leftover so grabbed some homemade gluten free frozen cookie dough and chopped that up for the second container.

Now I'm working on my patience and letting the ice cream set up overnight... this may cause me to eat ice cream for breakfast...

A bit of local love... Honga's Lotus Petal

2010-06-24T17:32:00.001-06:00

Honga's Lotus Petal here in Telluride is revered for their fresh food, mojitos but most of all their sushi. It's not a place I've gone often since I'm not a fish fan. They do make a killer mojito and muddle a lot of limes each summer as a result.

I had a dinner with a large group and was a smart glutard. I knew that a big group with some loud personalities would present a challenge so I emailed in a few days before the event and let them know about myself and asked for some recommendations. The manager replied with some suggestions from their menu that would be safe for me. I was a pretty happy glutard who became elated when the server came over and asked for me. She then presented me with the list from the manager in case I hadn't brought it with me. I still made sure to say gluten free when I placed my order but the whole experience made me feel very safe.

From think outside the breadbox

The table shared some edamame for a starter then I had the Thai Basil with Beef and while it was on the pricier side it was well worth it. The whole group enjoyed the experience and their meals. The sushi always looks beautiful even to a non-sushi person. Honga's has a great atmosphere for a nice night out on the town.

A bit of local love.... Merle's Brown Bag

2010-06-14T18:10:00.002-06:00

I'm making more of an effort to eat out. I know, for the last few years with the changes in the economy every one's been eating in to save money but now it's time to share some gluten free gem's from my backyard.

I've always loved a good sandwich shop and was sad to leave D'Ellies when I moved from Maine in 2006. They fed me homemade (gluten-filled) anadama bread, pesto mayo,carrots, turkey, onion, hots, cheese and cucumber with a huge homemade pickle on the side. D'Ellies taught me to love shredded carrots on a turkey sandwich. It was a short walk from my old office and I visited many times each week. They knew my standard better then I did.

In Telluride I fell in love with Merle's Brown Bag and the Shmoo, ciabatta roll, chicken, roast beef, bacon, onion and lettuce with mayo and balsamic. I gave it up when I went gluten free but didn't have to quit Merle's. They carry gluten free bread and while they mostly use Kinnikinnick bread they did have Udi's in stock for me to try one day. I have to admit it's hard to go back to another bread after Udi's so this weekend I took in an un-toasted Udi's Bagel for them to make my lunch on, it was also my first foray into un-toasted Udi's bagels.

From think outside the breadbox

It was love at first bite... then I remembered that I needed to share so I whipped out my Droid and snapped a quick shot of this Merle's Creation with mayo, turkey, roast beef, bacon, onion and pickles.

Chocolate Whoopie Pies

2010-06-11T18:00:00.000-06:00

Now that's I've dialed in the Strawberry Whoopie Pies I took a step back to revisit the Chocolate Whoopie Pies. I love the strawberry but they tend be very moist and don't store as well. Our good friend who moved to Telluride with us was also headed back to Maine for the summer so these were made for his going away dinner.

From think outside the breadbox

Chocolate Whoopie Pies (1/2 batch, 10 small pies)
1.25 cups Gluten Free Flour, Artisan Blend
.5 teaspoon of each- Xantham gum, Salt and Baking SODA
3 Tablespoons Cocoa Powder
Combine and set aside

In a separate bowl mix .25 cup of butter (Nature's Balance for me!)

.5cup of sugar when it's blended add 1 large egg, .5 cup milk (soy for this batch) and .5 teaspoon vanilla

Then combine with dry and chill while the oven preheats to 375. Spoon into small piles (about a tablesoon and a half) and bake for 15 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. You may want to check after 10 minutes as I'm working at 9,000 feet above sea level and it may increase my baking time.

The chocolate pies needed less flour as there was less mosture. I did try a batch with more flour but the density was better on the batch with less. Although I can now make frosting I did use a can to save time.

Gluten Free Beers in Telluride

2010-06-07T18:00:00.004-06:00

Although I live in a small town I was very fortunate to have some local stores carry Gluten Free Beers. I've had good luck finding Redbridge, Green's and New Grist. I was elated to find not one but two new flavors to sample Bard's and New Planet. Dave texted me this photo and I was blown away, so much shelf space for glutarded beers!

From think outside the breadbox

New Planet is brewed here in Colorado so I was hoping it would make it from Boulder down to the southwest corner of the state. It's only recently hit shelves anywhere so I was even more shocked to see it here in town. Bard's isn't new but I've only had it once before and my local stores hadn't been able to get it for a while. Colorado only sells 3.2% beer in supermarkets so liquor stores are the way to go here and thankfully there are some good options Telluride. Lately Redbridge has been out of stock and it seems like there may be a distributor issue- has this happened to anyone else?

To be fair I pulled out some Telluride Blues and Brews (Gluten Filled Beer Festival) tasting glasses and enlisted Dave's help. He poured a sample of each so I could taste without knowing which brew I was trying. I also grabbed a small bowl of Glutino's GF Pretzels to compliment my tasting experience. Plus my favorite water bottle because hydration is key to living at 9,000 feet above sea level. I felt like I was having a GF Beerfest in my own kitchen.

The black glass had a bit more of a bitter aftertaste while the green glass was smoother. I should have made more notes but like a kid on Christmas morning I flicked on the camera to see which he had poured into each glass.

Bard's was in the Black glass while New Planet was in the green glass.

I'd have to say that for the summer season my winner is New Planet, I'm really excited to have so many options and may try for a rotation, with a 6-pack of each I'm stocked for a bit as my beer fest consisted of 1 of each of the two beers.

Plus I like the cap reading on the Bard's

Cheers to Pacific Street Liquors in Telluride for having Green's, New Planet, Bard's and New Grist all at the same time! They've also been helping me sort through my wine issue and carrying lots of organic and sulfite free wines including the Orleans Hill.

Festivals, Movies and Eating Good in the Neighborhood?

2010-06-05T22:55:00.000-06:00

I'm pretty far behind on blogging and it's for a few reasons. First Telluride has finally sprung from late winter into early summer and we've been playing outside with the puppy monsters a lot. Along with that comes the start up of the summer season. We have a free gondola that runs in the summer from Memorial Day to Late October and it brings in lots of visitors to our tiny historic mining town. Telluride also has a plethora of festival and events for the summer as well.

Last week brought my favorite, Mountainfilm Festival. It's a weekend long event with incredible programs all weekend long. I saw 7 movie blocks in four days and enjoyed everything from climbing films to movies on Everest and documentaries. I also saw my hero, Ed Viesturs, the first American to climb all of the world's 8,000 meter peaks without bottled oxygen give a few talks as well. We listened to his book, No Shortcuts to the Top on a cross country drive and it's been a favorite on my ipod ever since.

It's a big weekend and is always and inspiration. I'm not into fishing but loved the latest from Felt Soul Media film Eastern Rises (love all their stuff), was blown away with the composure of Alex in Alone on the Wall (I freak out on a small boulder) and enjoyed watching a young man come into his own during The Edge of Never. I saw a lot from Sender Films and hope to catch more as they air on Nat Geo tv. Mountainfilm goes on tour and if it comes near you I'd highly recommend it.
I delayed my viewing of the Sex in the City 2 premier due to Mountainfilm as climbing and adventure films mean more to me then Manolos. I'm more of a Patagucci(Patagonia) then Gucci person. Last night I went as part of a big group of girls in a limo to Montrose as it hasn't made it to our tiny mountain town yet. After the film we hit up Applebee's as they were open late. I've never heard or read much from the gluten free community on Applebee's and last night I found out why.
I have to give our server credit as it was a table of 12 ladies. This did cause me a bit of panic as I know as a glutard it's always best to have good communication with the server about my needs and there isn't much attention to be found in a group of 12. I asked the server if she had any GF recommendations. She gave an eye roll and a sigh of disdain and produced this card:

From think outside the breadbox

I had some panic but since I'm lucky enough to not be super sensitive I decided to risk it. I had made a good choice and eaten a small afternoon meal before the trip so I wouldn't have to worry about being starved and making bad choices. I chose a 1/2 sized Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad and was sure to state no croutons.

From think outside the breadbox

My salad was fine and I had no reactions. I can't say I'd ever go back as I didn't feel safe and my health isn't worth the risk. There are enough places who actually care enough to let me know if something is really gluten free so that I don't feel the need to go to a place who really doesn't care about my health. I was appalled at how much dressing covered the salad. I've never been a huge lettuce fan but this was excessive even by my standards. I think I'll stay out of this neighborhood...

Moab and a bit of blog love

2010-05-10T19:00:00.001-06:00

Each spring, when the ski lifts stop turning but the snow is still falling there seems to be a huge influx of Colorado visitors to Utah. We joined the ranks a few weekends ago and hit Moab for some sunshine and relaxation with our two goldens along the muddy Colorado River.

This time we were well prepared for glutarded travels. We were camping with a small stove and planned to make most of our meals. Dave planned campfire potatoes with gluten free bun-less hot dogs for one night and Ancient Harvest quinoa pasta with gf sausage for the other. I brought a bit of Redbridge to enjoy by the campfire at night and lunches were easy thanks to Udi's Gluten free bread that tastes good even untoasted. Breakfast would have been a snap with jars of Artisans Pancake mix, a bit of butter, a 8oz travel soy milk and egg but instead I found this online and had to try it. I've become a big fan of just googling "gluten free" with the name of my destination.

The Love Muffin in downtown Moab makes gluten free and vegan muffins. I had a GF Banana Muffin and was pretty happy. It was a bit dry but a solid muffin overall. We went back the next day and they were out of muffins so I had eggs & potatoes, they also had a warm quinoa salad for breakfast with honey and fruit but I just wasn't feeling it.

Back at home I've been enjoying street noodles and working on my wok skills. We also found a recreation of my beloved but oh-so-far-away PF Chang's Lettuce Wraps from Adventures of a Gluten Free Mom.

Heidi broke it down and while we haven't tried the whole process we loved learning the trick of the rice noodles. Dropping the noodles in the hot oil is every bit of fun as she describes. I tried two different rice noodles and liked the thinner mai fun noodles better. We served with some rice and enjoyed the meal.

After I learned I had a problem with gluten we bought a rice cooker and it gets used at least once a week. Dave's always been a rice fan and we had been devoute rice a roni people until I learned that a lot the the seasoning packets weren't safe. If you invest in one be sure to get one that also has a steam basket as it makes great steamed veggies as well.