Good Things Monday

Posted on September 12, 2011 | 1 comment

Starting the week off right, by celebrating some of my favorite things at the moment!

1. Pop up farmers markets

Since Eastern Market is always a madhouse, I love the smaller farmer’s markets that pop up around the city. Like the one in McPherson Square every Thursday where I sampled about ten local cheeses.

Before deciding on this yummy local havarti from Keswick Creamery. They also had a really yummy chocolate pudding, and spreadable cheeses (like Boursin).

At the pop up market on U Street I got a kind of apple I’ve never tried before: zestar. I’m so excited that apple season is here.

And lastly, there was a random bake sale across from Flow Yoga on P Street on Saturday where I got a gluten free German chocolate cupcake, and this rice crispy-type treat.

2. Nutritional yeast

I’ve heard about nutritional yeast for awhile, but haven’t tried it yet because it just doesn’t sound all that appealing. But then I heard that it was in Cafe Green’s delicious mac and cheese, so I figured it couldn’t be all that bad. I got a small bag from the Whole Foods bulk bins to give it a try.

I used it to top some roasted eggplant and it tastes remarkably like parmesan cheese, only meltier and milder. Apparently it’s full of B vitamins and other goodforyou stuff, so I will definitely use it as a parm substitute again.

3. National Celiac Disease Awareness Day is tomorrow!

Check out this list of 13 ways you can celebrate the day from Celiac Central. I’ll be doing:

#1: Share the Celiac Symptoms Checklist. I’ll be sending the list out to my friends and posting on social network. Chances are someone I know is a closet Celiac.

#3: Go for a run. Pre-diagnosis I felt so awful there was no way I could run. I will celebrate my health and run a bit longer and faster.

#8: Have a party. I won’t have a full-blown party (maybe next year 🙂 ) but I will be making some gluten free baked goods to bring into my office.

Are you doing anything to celebrate Celiac Awareness Day? And how psyched are you that it actually exists now?!

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Mudgie’s Deli and a Detroit Wedding

Posted on September 9, 2011 | 4 comments

My favorite meal when I was in Michigan hands down was the triple decker tuna sandwich I got from Mudgie’s Deli in the Corktown neighborhood of Detroit (where the cool kids live). It was love at first site for Mudgies and me – they only serve Faygo pop, they use local ingredients, and they have Udi’s bread to substitute in any of their amazing sandwiches. Too bad they can’t find a Michigan-based gluten free bread provider – I may have to suggest one to them.

Do you want to know the last time I had a sandwich in a restaurant?

Couldn’t tell you. A year ago? Two? Never?

Enter the Sorry Charlie: tuna salad with capers, Dill Havarti cheese, cucumber, tomato and mixed greens, served with a side of honey mustard dressing. And a McClure’s dill pickle (love).

Then I got a side of coleslaw to add to my sandwich. You know, since it obviously wasn’t big enough.

Yum – I love coleslaw when it’s like this, nice and crunchy. They also have some interesting soups every day, which they update and let you know if they are gluten free on their Twitter feed.

Runner up for my favorite meal was the reception dinner at the wedding of my friend. I waited patiently as the rest of the table enjoyed the bread basket, and was excited to see an interesting salad as the first course (no ice burg and ranch dressing for this girl!). This one had roasted pears, walnuts, gorgonzola cheese, and endive.

My special gluten free meal was a salmon pinwheel with risotto and asparagus, in some kind of delicious cream sauce. The wedding coordinator had come around before dinner and made sure she knew who I was, so I didn’t have to worry about a thing…besides how I was going to eat all of this food and not pop the zipper open on my dress that is.

It was also great to have such a filling meal. Usually you’ll end up with a plain piece of fish and vegetables, but I couldn’t even finish my plate, which is saying something since I’m usually the chairman of the “Clean Plate Club”.

Mudgie’s Deli
1300 Porter St
Detroit MI 48226
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Greengos

Posted on September 7, 2011 | 2 comments

I had so many places I wanted to try in Michigan when I went home last weekend that I had to prioritize. We’ll start with the most important meal of the day! On Saturday I decided to grab breakfast at Greengos in Grosse Pointe Park, even though their lunch menu looks so yummy. Especially the polenta souffle.

Greengos Menu

I’m actually kind of proud that a place like Greengos exists in my hometown. Detroit isn’t exactly known for its health food (as the 7th unhealthiest city in the nation, ahem), but Greengos makes everything in house and uses local, organic ingredients. They also have a ton of gluten free options.

All labeled and covered to prevent cross contamination. High five!

I picked up a pear currant muffin, and a cherry energy bar made with sunflower seeds.

But the real highlight of the trip was the latte that I got made from their homemade almond milk.


This was the frothiest dang latte I have ever had!

It was super rich and creamy, and the guy who made it for me took such care with it. I drink almond milk all the time, but this was in a class of its own. They have both raw almond milk and raw almond vanilla milk that they make in house – and just like that I have a new coffee obsession.

Additional things that I love about my hometown? That someone has this sign up in earnest as an advertisement for his law firm. Am I on the set of Gilmore Girls?

And that there are genius window displays like this one. Yes, that is a bald woman and her mannequin friend barbequeing a banana. Makes perfect sense…

I also still love the Pancake House, where I went for breakfast on Sunday. Even though I can’t eat the pancakes or crepes there that I used to love with an unsurpassed devotion, I’ve made do. Bananas with a side of whipped cream? That seems like a great idea.

More Michigan gluten free to come. I did a lot of eating last weekend…

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Suburban garden lust: pesto

Posted on September 6, 2011 | Leave a comment

There aren’t very many things that I like about the suburbs, but I am green with envy over people who have gardens in the summer. Unless of course that person is my dad and I can reap the benefits of said garden in the form of pesto and fresh tomatoes!

We chopped down two whole basil plants to make traditional and purple pesto (made with purple basil). Saveur magazine was devoted to pesto this month, and featured tons of variations, but we used the classic pesto Genovese recipe.

The only thing really unique about this recipe is that it calls for you to blanch the basil to take some of the bitterness out before putting it in the food processor.

Pecorino, parmesan, roasted garlic, pine nuts – can’t go wrong with that. Pesto pizza is one of my favorites, but I can also settle for just eating it right off of the spoon.

We taste tested with a little quinoa spaghetti and fresh tomatoes in fig balsamic; I felt like Mario Batali.

More on my other Michigan eats later!

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Good Things Friday

Posted on September 2, 2011 | Leave a comment

Even though Friday is a good thing itself, there are always at least a few gluten free good things in my week that I have to share.

1. Rita’s Frozen Custard

Rita’s custard with hot fudge is so good. I don’t really get the whole “ice” thing that they have there – I tried some samples and it just tastes like watery ice cream to me. But I can get on board with the custard. I snagged this one from Rita’s in Chinatown.

2. One pan dinners

Sometimes you just have to throw a bunch of ingredients in a pan and hope for the best. This one pan dinner included: half a package of tempeh, a can of diced tomatoes, a big handful of frozen spinach, sauteed onion, and some chili spices.

And  I may have eaten this straight out of the pan while talking on the phone. Don’t judge.

3. Tomato Season

If I took a shot every time I saw the word “heirloom” on a menu this month, I would be incredibly inebriated. Last night at Lincoln I ordered the Heirloom Tomato Risotto with roasted garlic, ricotta, and capers. Our waitress, Gabby, has Celiac’s as well, so she was super helpful. If you go there ask for her, and tip her well 🙂

This risotto was tomato-tastic. I was expecting a plain risotto with some tomatoes sprinkled in, but this stuff was about equal parts tomato to rice. Even though it was a small plate it left me totally satisfied.

Additional good things coming up this weekend are all happening in Michigan!

I’m planning on getting in as many gluten free meals out as possible. Definitely on the list are Mudgies and Greengos, possibly a stop at Arts Beats and Eats, and a late night pizza from Cottage Inn might have to happen as well. Plus the kickoff of Michigan football season, the wedding of a dear friend, and a night in a fancy shmancy hotel. My cup runneth over.

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How much gluten did I eat at Zoup! (?)

Posted on September 1, 2011 | 4 comments

Yesterday after work I had a doctor’s appointment, and knew that if I didn’t eat anything beforehand I would be one grumpy patient. Since I happen to work in the gf food desert that is downtown DC, I was struggling to come up with an option close to my office.

When I saw Zoup! I figured I would stop in and see if they had any gluten free soups on the menu. I used to love Zoup! (even if I do think it’s a little silly for them to have an exclamation point at the end of their name) because they always had unique flavors, and a cup of soup and hunk of break could fill me up for lunch. Now, of course, the situation is a bit different.

I asked the very nice man behind the counter if he could tell me what soups were gluten free that day. They already label their menu with DF (dairy free) and V (vegetarian) so it seems like they would be aware of which soups were also GF (gluten free).

He said the only one on the menu that day was the vegetarian split pea (with what sounded like certainty), which didn’t sound all that great to me, but after trying a sample I decided to get it anyway.

But then later in the night I looked at their gluten free menu on their website – the split pea is not on there!

Bleh! Hidden gluten and misleading workers have done it again.

Luckily I’m not feeling awful, just tired and crampy, they probably only use a trace amount in that soup. Considering this experience, and the fact that it cost me $6.25 for a small soup and these gluten free veggie chips, I don’t think I’ll be back to Zoup! any time soon.

I sent a message to Zoup! on Twitter asking them to put a GF label on their in-store menus like they have for vegetarian and dairy free soup. But they just replied sending me back to the gluten free menu on their website. Which is great to have, but not when you’re in the store and your phone is dead and the staff gives you the wrong information.

Sigh… Next time I’ll be more careful. Or make my own darned soup. No exclamation point 🙂

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Yes! Organic Market

Posted on August 30, 2011 | 1 comment

I’m already a fan of the Yes! Organic Market by my apartment in Cleveland Park. It’s small, but has reasonable prices and is great for picking up things that I can’t get at Whole Foods (things that will melt or are too heavy to carry).

After all the hype about the hurricane, and a long lazy Saturday, I needed to get out of my apartment in a bad way. So I ran. Then I went to yoga. Then I walked about six miles. So when I saw the Yes! Organic Market on 14th Street I figured I would stop in for a potential snack and to see if it was different from the Cleveland Park location.

It’s not only different, it’s about 300% better. Give or take.

It’s bigger, has a full wine section (with a sample table), and way more produce. The best part though? The gluten free baked goods.

I was particularly intrigued by Merry’s Miracle Tarts (they had chocolate-mint, and a lemon one as well).

And these chunky chocolate brownies from Frankly Natural Bakers.

Then I noticed that they had a whole shelf full of Katz’s products, including chocolate cupcakes, cookies, apricot tarts, and these vanilla and chocolate rugelech.

They also had a full freezer section with baguettes, breads, and this Against the Grain Gourmet pizza with nut-free pesto that I haven’t seen before.

So what did I buy? Nothing.

I panicked from the amount of choices, grabbed some Jojoba oil, and called it a day. I’ll have to go back when I actually need something, because that place has it all.

Have you tried any of these products? Let me know what you think!

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The Thaiphoon before the hurricane

Posted on August 28, 2011 | Leave a comment

Friday night before the hurricane that wasn’t really a hurricane, I headed to Thaiphoon in Dupont for dinner – oh the irony.

Thaiphoon? Hurricane? Get it?  Of course you do.

They didn’t have red curry (boo, hiss) but they did have green curry; I got mune with tofu. After about 3 minutes it arrived at our table (not exaggerating, it was the quickest I’ve ever gotten food from a restaurant).

I almost always get a curry dish at Thai restaurants, even though almost all of the rice and noodle dishes are gluten free as well (as long as they don’t have soy or oyster sauce in them). I think after not being able to eat a giant bowl of noodles for so long, it just doesn’t appeal to me as much as it used to.

Thaiphoon

2011 S Street Northwest, Washington DC

After fighting the hoards of people out shopping for hurricane prep items, we landed at The Heights in Columbia Heights for a late night mini-meal. I was still full from dinner, so I opted for dessert.

Then, a small miracle happened. For the first time EVER since I moved to DC the waiter asked if anyone at the table had any food allergies he should be aware of. Love it!

The Heights is known for their brunch and massive Bloody Mary menu, so I’ll have to go back. They also indicate on their menu vegetarian/vegan options, and “serve only local, all-natural and grass-fed steak, poultry and dairy products.”

I got the grilled peaches and sea salt gelato, which the waiter confirmed was gluten free with the chef.

I honestly couldn’t taste any sea salt in the gelato, it tasted like vanilla bean ice cream. It was a nice light seasonal dessert.

The Heights

3115 14th St. NW, Washington DC, 20010

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Appam at Indique

Posted on August 27, 2011 | 3 comments

Thursday was Ladies Night at All Fired Up in Cleveland Park, so a few friends and I spent the evening painting, drinking wine (it’s BYOB), and chatting.

But all that painting had us hungry, and my friend was craving Indian food, so we headed across the street to Indique. There was something on the menu that I’d never tried before: appam.

Their menu says that they are “hoppers, soft centered spongy rice breads made of fermented rice. It is traditionally served with Ishtew (Stew) made with coconut milk and meat or vegetables.”

I confirmed with the waiter that they were gluten free, and ordered one with vegetable stew. I’m always up for trying something new!

When it first arrived at the table, I was a little surprised at how it looked. Kind of like a wet thin frisbee. Ok, that doesn’t sound that appetizing, but it was just flatter than I expected.

The vegetable stew had peas, potatoes,and onions in it with a coconut milk/curry broth. If I could have done it over though, I would have ordered something more flavorful like Bringal Bartha to go with it, since the appam itself doesn’t have a ton of flavor.

The best part of the bread was the middle, where it had a bit of a crust on it, and was thicker than the outside. The texture was like a thin, spongy tortilla. Not sure if I would say that you have to run out and try it, but it was nice to be able to have something more than just rice. Especially when there’s all of that delicious smelling garlic naan around the restaurant.

Or you can try to make them yourself, using this recipe from Gluten-Free Cat. She is way more dedicated than I am to trying new recipes. I stop even reading after the first direction is “soak raw rice for three hours”.

Indique
3512 Connecticut Ave NW
Washington, DC

Now it’s time to batten down the hatches for the hurricane! At least I still have some of my snack mix from El’s Kitchen to nosh on, plus three Indiana Jones movies to keep me entertained.

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Chocolate in all forms

Posted on August 25, 2011 | 2 comments

There are some times of the month when I swear I can eat chocolate at every meal. While I could definitely put down a pint of Haagen Dazs every night, I try to find healthier ways to control my cravings.

Chocolate ZICO coconut water

When I first heard that ZICO was coming out with a chocolate coconut water I thought – blech! That cannot possibly be good. I’ve tried the other flavored varieties before and they are way too sugary or taste odd to me. So I stuck to plain.

This stuff tastes almost exactly like chocolate milk. Or at least Yoohoo.

Plus it’s only 110 calories for a big bottle, and since it’s so yummy I can take a few sips and put it back in the fridge, unlike plain coconut water which I basically chug so fast I give myself the hiccups.

I need to order a case of this right away.

(source)

Lindt chocolate with a hint of sea salt

I had seen some rave reviews of this chocolate on other blogs, but I’m not usually one to just buy a big honkin car of chocolate from the store. Well, desperate times call for desperate measures.

At first it tastes just like a good piece of dark chocolate, but then, when you get a little rock of salt it causes this little flavor burst that’s so cool! It basically amplifies the effect that you get when you add salt to sweet chocolate chip cookies.

Luna chocolate-peanut butter protein bars

When I was at Target the other day, I picked up a box of these and noticed that they are now labeled gluten free. I guess they just started labeling them, which is great because it clearly differentiates them from the normal Luna bars, which are not gf because of the oats.

“Our ingredient suppliers have confirmed that all ingredients are gluten free, so they contain no gluten from wheat, rye or barley. The location where we make our food is capable of making a gluten free food and we test our finished products to confirm that they are gluten free.” (source)

I can’t say that these taste all that great. They’re protein bars, so, they taste like protein bars. But, half of one out of the freezer works for me if I have a sweet tooth after lunch.

And when all else fails, I can always turn to…

Skinny Cow Chocolate Truffle bars. Because they taste like creamy frozen pudding.  Also, their website is confusing because it says “Does not contain” and then in the list it says “gluten free”. So it does not contain gluten free? Hmm…

Either way, they are gluten free and I can eat a box in two days. Or one day, or one hour.

So, there you have it. Some slightly healthier options for when you feel the need to have a constant stream of chocolate in your diet.

Do you have any other healthy gf chocolate dessert options?

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