I'm not sure if anyone is actually out there reading this blog (except for those two guys who don't like my taste in food and who like to yell at me...) but I wanted to open things up for requests.
If you have any questions to ask me, recipes or products you'd like me to try, or ideas for things you'd like to see here then I welcome you to leave me a comment. I moderate everything, so if you'd rather I didn't post it in public just let me know and I'll keep it to myself.
I'm writing this blog to try to help other people, especially those who have been newly diagnosed with Celiac Disease. If there is something that you're curious about or want to know please drop me a note and I'll do my best to cover it here. I also just like feedback! It motivates me to keep writing if I know there are actually people out there reading!
I also want to make a note here that this is just a personal blog. I'm not trying to give medical advice, contact your doctor for that. Starting a gluten free diet without a diagnosis is not a good idea. I'm also only giving my opinions on these food items and restaurants I review. Feel free to disagree with me. There are billions of people on the planet and they all have different tastes, likes, and dislikes. If you don't like something I recommend that's fine with me and I don't mind hearing about it. I'll even publish comments that disagree with me. Please just remember that I don't get paid for this, these are not my companies, and I'm just giving my honest opinion. Be respectful to me and I'll be respectful to you.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Monday, February 14, 2011
The Beehive Tea Room
I don't eat out a ton, but I did get the chance to try out a new restaurant recently. I'm a member of the Utah Civil War Association and we had a Ladies Auxiliary Meeting and Tea Party earlier this month.
Here we are in all our finery!
Our tea party was held at an adorable little place, The Beehive Tea Room, in downtown Salt Lake City. After I received my invitation to the party I immediately checked out their website and saw that "Vegan and gluten-free selections may be substituted for an extra charge..." So I gave them a call and found that for an extra $5 they would be more than happy to accommodate my diet.
I should have taken pictures of the food, unfortunately it was a meeting so I was alternating between talking my head off, trying to take notes, and stuffing my face!
Our first course started with drinks, we had a choice of lots of different beverages. Several kinds of tea, French press coffee, hot chocolate, and Italian soda. I opted for the almond Italian soda and was not disappointed, it was huge and it was incredibly tasty! I'd never had Italian soda before, so when I asked the waitress what to do she told me I was supposed to stir the syrup (at the bottom) and the whipped cream (on top, of course) into the Perrier and drink it all together. What she failed to mention is that I was supposed to stir it slowly. I tried to whip the whole thing together like I would sugar in tea or whipped cream in cocoa. The result was something from a bad science project! It foamed everywhere and made quite a little mess! I'm such a klutz! Lucky for me it didn't get on anyone's dress.
Our waitress was an absolute doll! Hi there Tori! Other than being totally helpful with the soda mess, she was very aware and ready to help with my diet needs. She didn't make me feel at all like it was a bother or that helping me was too much for her. I've had lots of waitresses who either roll their eyes at me or act like I have some incurable disease. Tori treated my diet as important, but not irritating. It was very nice. To top it all off, after we were done eating she went outside and took pictures for us! Total sweetheart.
After we all had our drinks they brought out the scones. Just not for me. I got a salad. I have to admit I was pretty disappointed. Everybody else had two beautiful scones (I remember one had white chocolate in it!) and jam, and there I was with a little salad. To the shop's credit it was a very nice salad with pine nuts and a tasty vinaigrette, there were even tomatoes which are generally unheard of around here in February. It was just a little sad to be the only one not eating a pastry.
The sandwich course mostly made up for missing out on the scones though! I had lovely finger sandwiches with all the same fillings as everyone else, the crusts had all been cut off in decorative ways. Mine was just on (slightly dry) gluten free bread instead of the more colorful rye and white that the others had. The fillings were really excellent! We had cucumber, and two others. I wasn't paying attention when the waitress told us what kind they were (I'm sorry, I was busy socializing!) but they were very tasty. My favorite one was a circular sandwich which had been rolled in pine nuts. It was really, really good.
Dessert was also fabulous. They had gluten free cookies for me, along with fresh fruit with cream and sugar for dipping. Not just cheesy, cheap fruits either. There were real raspberries! In February!
I had a really good time at the Beehive Tea Room, and it was really nice to eat out with friends. The shop is adorable, the waitress was awesome, and the staff was really great about accommodating my diet. (They must have been really careful, I didn't have any kind of reaction later.) The price was a little high for my frugal budget, but as a special occasion treat I think they're worth the trip.
Here we are in all our finery!
Our tea party was held at an adorable little place, The Beehive Tea Room, in downtown Salt Lake City. After I received my invitation to the party I immediately checked out their website and saw that "Vegan and gluten-free selections may be substituted for an extra charge..." So I gave them a call and found that for an extra $5 they would be more than happy to accommodate my diet.
I should have taken pictures of the food, unfortunately it was a meeting so I was alternating between talking my head off, trying to take notes, and stuffing my face!
Our first course started with drinks, we had a choice of lots of different beverages. Several kinds of tea, French press coffee, hot chocolate, and Italian soda. I opted for the almond Italian soda and was not disappointed, it was huge and it was incredibly tasty! I'd never had Italian soda before, so when I asked the waitress what to do she told me I was supposed to stir the syrup (at the bottom) and the whipped cream (on top, of course) into the Perrier and drink it all together. What she failed to mention is that I was supposed to stir it slowly. I tried to whip the whole thing together like I would sugar in tea or whipped cream in cocoa. The result was something from a bad science project! It foamed everywhere and made quite a little mess! I'm such a klutz! Lucky for me it didn't get on anyone's dress.
Our waitress was an absolute doll! Hi there Tori! Other than being totally helpful with the soda mess, she was very aware and ready to help with my diet needs. She didn't make me feel at all like it was a bother or that helping me was too much for her. I've had lots of waitresses who either roll their eyes at me or act like I have some incurable disease. Tori treated my diet as important, but not irritating. It was very nice. To top it all off, after we were done eating she went outside and took pictures for us! Total sweetheart.
After we all had our drinks they brought out the scones. Just not for me. I got a salad. I have to admit I was pretty disappointed. Everybody else had two beautiful scones (I remember one had white chocolate in it!) and jam, and there I was with a little salad. To the shop's credit it was a very nice salad with pine nuts and a tasty vinaigrette, there were even tomatoes which are generally unheard of around here in February. It was just a little sad to be the only one not eating a pastry.
The sandwich course mostly made up for missing out on the scones though! I had lovely finger sandwiches with all the same fillings as everyone else, the crusts had all been cut off in decorative ways. Mine was just on (slightly dry) gluten free bread instead of the more colorful rye and white that the others had. The fillings were really excellent! We had cucumber, and two others. I wasn't paying attention when the waitress told us what kind they were (I'm sorry, I was busy socializing!) but they were very tasty. My favorite one was a circular sandwich which had been rolled in pine nuts. It was really, really good.
Dessert was also fabulous. They had gluten free cookies for me, along with fresh fruit with cream and sugar for dipping. Not just cheesy, cheap fruits either. There were real raspberries! In February!
I had a really good time at the Beehive Tea Room, and it was really nice to eat out with friends. The shop is adorable, the waitress was awesome, and the staff was really great about accommodating my diet. (They must have been really careful, I didn't have any kind of reaction later.) The price was a little high for my frugal budget, but as a special occasion treat I think they're worth the trip.
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Udi's Blueberry Muffins
I seem to be posting a lot of breakfast things lately and there are a few more coming, so bear with me!
I also seem to be on an Udi's kick, but I just found the stuff so it's all new and exciting.
My latest product test has been the Udi's Blueberry Muffins. I'm a big fan of blueberry muffins, and Udi's doesn't disappoint.
In my opinion there is a distinct difference between cupcakes and muffins. To me muffins are not just unfrosted cupcakes, and cupcakes are not frosted muffins. The two are not interchangeable. I am sometimes a fan of sweet things for breakfast, but normally I want something that is at least somewhat healthy. Especially if I'm feeding it to my kids.
These muffins walk that line very nicely. They are tasty but not too cake-like. They do have the sugar sprinkles on top, but they aren't to sweet. They have the right balance of chewy muffin-ness and bittersweet blueberry-ness.
In the name of scientific discovery I decided to try warming half a muffin in the microwave for 30 seconds to see what it would be like to have it slathered in melted butter. The result looked promising...
...but turned out to be a bad idea. I think maybe 30 seconds was too long because the muffin came out waaaaay too hot and turned into a shriveled chewy mess as soon as I tried to take a bite. It still tasted pretty good, but the texture was really off. I don't think I'll be trying that again.
I haven't just been eating these for breakfast. They've also been a great after school snack for my daughter. They're sweet enough that she feels like she's getting a treat, but healthy enough that I don't feel like a bad mom for giving them to her. Given the choice, she actually chose half a muffin over some of her Halloween candy!
I give these muffins high marks. It's about $6 for a four pack, which I didn't think was too bad. They keep pretty well in the fridge, and I will be getting these again.
Again, if you go to Udi'sGlutenFree.com you can get a $1 off coupon.
I also seem to be on an Udi's kick, but I just found the stuff so it's all new and exciting.
My latest product test has been the Udi's Blueberry Muffins. I'm a big fan of blueberry muffins, and Udi's doesn't disappoint.
In my opinion there is a distinct difference between cupcakes and muffins. To me muffins are not just unfrosted cupcakes, and cupcakes are not frosted muffins. The two are not interchangeable. I am sometimes a fan of sweet things for breakfast, but normally I want something that is at least somewhat healthy. Especially if I'm feeding it to my kids.
These muffins walk that line very nicely. They are tasty but not too cake-like. They do have the sugar sprinkles on top, but they aren't to sweet. They have the right balance of chewy muffin-ness and bittersweet blueberry-ness.
In the name of scientific discovery I decided to try warming half a muffin in the microwave for 30 seconds to see what it would be like to have it slathered in melted butter. The result looked promising...
...but turned out to be a bad idea. I think maybe 30 seconds was too long because the muffin came out waaaaay too hot and turned into a shriveled chewy mess as soon as I tried to take a bite. It still tasted pretty good, but the texture was really off. I don't think I'll be trying that again.
I haven't just been eating these for breakfast. They've also been a great after school snack for my daughter. They're sweet enough that she feels like she's getting a treat, but healthy enough that I don't feel like a bad mom for giving them to her. Given the choice, she actually chose half a muffin over some of her Halloween candy!
I give these muffins high marks. It's about $6 for a four pack, which I didn't think was too bad. They keep pretty well in the fridge, and I will be getting these again.
Again, if you go to Udi'sGlutenFree.com you can get a $1 off coupon.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Easy Stir Fry
People with Celiac Disease need to get used to eating a lot of rice. It's a great little grain with lots of nutrition (especially the brown stuff) that goes with just about anything. If you've been recently diagnosed with Celiac Disease you should go out and buy a rice cooker. It will make your life easier. Then you can buy rice in massive bulk and save lots of money.
The problem is that it's easy to get sick of rice.
This recipe is my version of stir fry. I got part of it from a dish my mom used to make when I was a kid, part from my best friend who taught me a little about Chinese cooking, and a little of my own improvisation.
It's really easy to make and very fast.
Easy American Stir Fry
2 tbsp. Vegetable Oil (any kind)
Two bags of frozen vegetables of your choice. (We usually get a bag of the California Mix and a bag of Sugar Snap Peas)
Two Packages of Polish Sausage (That's the horseshoe shaped sausage in the case by the hotdogs. Also known as Polish Kielbasa or Summer Sausage.)
6 cups of cooked rice (That's 3 cups uncooked, don't get it confused. I speak from experience!)
Start the rice cooking in the rice cooker (or the microwave.) Pour the oil and dump the vegetables in a large pot over medium heat. Slice the sausage into 1/4 inch disks, stirring the vegetables every few minutes. Dump the sliced sausage in with the veggies. Stir everything every couple of minutes until it's all warmed through, but don't let it overcook or the veggies will get too soft. You want them to be a little firm, not mushy. Mix in the cooked rice and serve it up.
This feeds our family of five with enough left over for at least two grown-up sized lunches for the next day.
The problem is that it's easy to get sick of rice.
This recipe is my version of stir fry. I got part of it from a dish my mom used to make when I was a kid, part from my best friend who taught me a little about Chinese cooking, and a little of my own improvisation.
It's really easy to make and very fast.
Easy American Stir Fry
2 tbsp. Vegetable Oil (any kind)
Two bags of frozen vegetables of your choice. (We usually get a bag of the California Mix and a bag of Sugar Snap Peas)
Two Packages of Polish Sausage (That's the horseshoe shaped sausage in the case by the hotdogs. Also known as Polish Kielbasa or Summer Sausage.)
6 cups of cooked rice (That's 3 cups uncooked, don't get it confused. I speak from experience!)
Start the rice cooking in the rice cooker (or the microwave.) Pour the oil and dump the vegetables in a large pot over medium heat. Slice the sausage into 1/4 inch disks, stirring the vegetables every few minutes. Dump the sliced sausage in with the veggies. Stir everything every couple of minutes until it's all warmed through, but don't let it overcook or the veggies will get too soft. You want them to be a little firm, not mushy. Mix in the cooked rice and serve it up.
This feeds our family of five with enough left over for at least two grown-up sized lunches for the next day.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Udi's Plain Bagels
My daughter actually found these bagels at our local supermarket. They're called Udi's Plain Bagels and they were hiding in the bakery department! They were in the display fridge with the decorated cakes. My husband was in the bakery getting a treat for himself and my daughter happened to see them.
Not only are they gluten free, but they're also dairy, soy, and nut free. That's great for us since we've also taken my daughter off of milk products. They cost a little over $5 for four bagles, but if you go to their website you can print out a $1 off coupon.
The bagels were kind of dark on the outside, they looked more like whole wheat bagels than plain.
One of the great things about Udi's bagels is that they are already split. Once I got the bagel opened up I could see the lovely doughy white inside.
And since a bagel is always better with a little schmear, of course I had to slather on some whipped cream cheese!
These bagels are awesome. The texture is great. Gluten free foods tend to have a crumbly texture, but somehow those amazing people over at Udi's managed to make these bagels chewy and delicious. I am a huge fan of bagels and they are one of the things I miss most from my old gluten diet. These bagels are just as good as any of the "regular" bagels on the store shelf, and much better than some!
Oh, and I also tried these toasted. The results were just as great. Even when they were cooked they still kept that great bagel chewiness. I think these bagels would be great substituted for "regular" bagels in any situation. I'm going to try using one for a nice big turkey sandwich.
Udi's Plain Bagels get high marks for great texture and taste, bonus points go for being already sliced. I really recommend these and I'm excited to try their other products! Head over to UdisGlutenFree.com and get yourself a coupon.
Not only are they gluten free, but they're also dairy, soy, and nut free. That's great for us since we've also taken my daughter off of milk products. They cost a little over $5 for four bagles, but if you go to their website you can print out a $1 off coupon.
The bagels were kind of dark on the outside, they looked more like whole wheat bagels than plain.
One of the great things about Udi's bagels is that they are already split. Once I got the bagel opened up I could see the lovely doughy white inside.
And since a bagel is always better with a little schmear, of course I had to slather on some whipped cream cheese!
These bagels are awesome. The texture is great. Gluten free foods tend to have a crumbly texture, but somehow those amazing people over at Udi's managed to make these bagels chewy and delicious. I am a huge fan of bagels and they are one of the things I miss most from my old gluten diet. These bagels are just as good as any of the "regular" bagels on the store shelf, and much better than some!
Oh, and I also tried these toasted. The results were just as great. Even when they were cooked they still kept that great bagel chewiness. I think these bagels would be great substituted for "regular" bagels in any situation. I'm going to try using one for a nice big turkey sandwich.
Udi's Plain Bagels get high marks for great texture and taste, bonus points go for being already sliced. I really recommend these and I'm excited to try their other products! Head over to UdisGlutenFree.com and get yourself a coupon.
Hodgson Mill Gluten Free Cookie Mix
I found Hodgson Mill Gluten Free Cookie Mix in the baking aisle of my local supermarket. It's a regular drop cookie mix kind of like a sugar cookie. Under the instructions there were alternate recipes to turn the cookies into chocolate chip, peanut butter, chocolate, pecan, or almond cookies. The mix was also less than $3, so I was pretty happy to find a gluten free alternative that didn't break the bank.
I was especially excited because I love almond cookies. When I was little my mom would make sugar cookies and instead of using vanilla extract she'd add almond extract, so almond is one of those things that takes me to a happy place.
This past weekend my husband made me the cookies as a treat for my birthday. The recipe was easy to follow and I was so excited that I had to sneak a taste of the dough. (I know, I know, don't eat dough with raw egg. I couldn't wait, I was too excited!) It was awful. The dough tasted like it had dust in it. I actually checked the box to see if the mix was past it's expiration date. No, it doesn't expire until November 2011. I thought it was one of those doughs that taste funny until you bake it. With that in mind my husband continued making the cookies.
They came out of the oven looking amazing. As you can see from the picture, they rose beautifully and came out golden brown. Too bad they tasted like chalk. I'm not kidding, they were terrible. If they had been wafers instead of cookies I'd swear we found the recipe for unflavored TUMS.
They were so bad that my two year old boy wouldn't even eat them, and he's eaten bugs.
I really can't recommend this mix. It gets high points for being inexpensive and easy to use, but the resulting cookies are just too gross to eat. Please, don't buy this mix.
I was especially excited because I love almond cookies. When I was little my mom would make sugar cookies and instead of using vanilla extract she'd add almond extract, so almond is one of those things that takes me to a happy place.
This past weekend my husband made me the cookies as a treat for my birthday. The recipe was easy to follow and I was so excited that I had to sneak a taste of the dough. (I know, I know, don't eat dough with raw egg. I couldn't wait, I was too excited!) It was awful. The dough tasted like it had dust in it. I actually checked the box to see if the mix was past it's expiration date. No, it doesn't expire until November 2011. I thought it was one of those doughs that taste funny until you bake it. With that in mind my husband continued making the cookies.
They came out of the oven looking amazing. As you can see from the picture, they rose beautifully and came out golden brown. Too bad they tasted like chalk. I'm not kidding, they were terrible. If they had been wafers instead of cookies I'd swear we found the recipe for unflavored TUMS.
They were so bad that my two year old boy wouldn't even eat them, and he's eaten bugs.
I really can't recommend this mix. It gets high points for being inexpensive and easy to use, but the resulting cookies are just too gross to eat. Please, don't buy this mix.
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Gluten Free Bisquick Pancakes
I recently had to kill some time at a grocery store in a neighboring town, so I thought I'd look around and see if they had any gluten free products that I haven't tried.
I hit the JACKPOT!!!
GLUTEN FREE BISQUICK!!!!!!
I have been dying for some real pancakes. In the past the only kind I could find were kind of nutty tasting (nutty like actual nuts, not nutty like crazy) and were very dense. I love pancakes and have seriously missed that morning classic.
I no longer have to miss out! I can have a normal, artery clogging lumberjack breakfast complete with flapjacks!
I don't have a picture of the finished pancakes. They were too tempting all warm and fresh, and there were none left by the time we were all done eating. All you have to do is look at the front of the box. My pancakes came out looking just like the ones they show on the package. How often does that happen?!
These pancakes were amazing. They were light and fluffy, and had a perfect taste. Sweet, but not too sweet. Tasty by themselves but beyond delicious once they were smothered in melted butter and maple syrup.
The mix was sweet, so I'm sure that it will make really good Strawberry Shortcake and probably good biscuits but I'm not sure how it will work for more savory dishes like Cheeseburger Pie. Also, the box is incredibly small. I used one whole box just making a triple recipe of pancakes for my family. Lucky for me I bought three boxes.
I can't tell you how excited I am to have found this Bisquick! School starts this week and anything I can find that will help make weeknight dinners faster gets a huge gold star in my book.
P.S. My daughter has recently started a milk free diet to go along with her gluten free one. I made these pancakes with cow's milk and with rice milk and they were great both ways. So for those of you who need gluten and lactose free you can still have lovely pancakes!
I hit the JACKPOT!!!
GLUTEN FREE BISQUICK!!!!!!
I have been dying for some real pancakes. In the past the only kind I could find were kind of nutty tasting (nutty like actual nuts, not nutty like crazy) and were very dense. I love pancakes and have seriously missed that morning classic.
I no longer have to miss out! I can have a normal, artery clogging lumberjack breakfast complete with flapjacks!
I don't have a picture of the finished pancakes. They were too tempting all warm and fresh, and there were none left by the time we were all done eating. All you have to do is look at the front of the box. My pancakes came out looking just like the ones they show on the package. How often does that happen?!
These pancakes were amazing. They were light and fluffy, and had a perfect taste. Sweet, but not too sweet. Tasty by themselves but beyond delicious once they were smothered in melted butter and maple syrup.
The mix was sweet, so I'm sure that it will make really good Strawberry Shortcake and probably good biscuits but I'm not sure how it will work for more savory dishes like Cheeseburger Pie. Also, the box is incredibly small. I used one whole box just making a triple recipe of pancakes for my family. Lucky for me I bought three boxes.
I can't tell you how excited I am to have found this Bisquick! School starts this week and anything I can find that will help make weeknight dinners faster gets a huge gold star in my book.
P.S. My daughter has recently started a milk free diet to go along with her gluten free one. I made these pancakes with cow's milk and with rice milk and they were great both ways. So for those of you who need gluten and lactose free you can still have lovely pancakes!
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