Eco-Planet Organics Instant Hot Cereal

Posted on January 2, 2011 | Leave a comment

I was in a ridiculously long line at Whole Foods, looking for something to amuse me, when I came up to a discarded grocery item that I had to reclaim for myself.  It was eco-planet instant hot cereal!  It has “more protein, fiber, and Omega-3s than any regular oatmeal – with less sugar,” so I figured that it could be a great alternative to my usual oatmeal in the morning.

Orphan cereal

I took this little guy home and whipped him up with some cranberries (left over from stringing them on our Christmas tree), cinnamon, milk, and maple syrup.

Yum!

It’s a great quick and satisfying snack, or a light breakfast.  Plus it’s got to be good for you with all of the super-grains it has in it (amaranth, chicory root, flaxseed, chia flour, brown rice, quinoa, buckwheat, millet).

I’m definitely going to bring a few of these individually-wrapped packets with me next time I travel (certainly beats hotel powdered eggs).

Get it here.

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Dinks for Christmas

Posted on December 14, 2010 | Leave a comment

Santa, please bring me some Dinks for Christmas.  They are incredibly adorable!  Since they’re made in Brooklyn, maybe I can try to find them in a store somewhere around here…

I also will accept one of these super sweet cases for my new Macbook Air, or some white fleece mittens.  That is in addition to the Dinks, not as a substitution.  Thank you!

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This is my gluten free Christmas list

Posted on December 9, 2010 | 2 comments

Tis the time of year for holiday gift guides!  I’ve had my eye on some gluten-free related items lately, so I thought that I’d publish them in the off chance that Santa read this and has time to pick me up some things.

1.  Books and cookbooks!

Over Thanksgiving, I went into Barnes and Noble and saw a huge selection of gluten free cookbooks, books about gf baking, and gf lifestyle books.

While I usually am fine with looking recipes and information up online, there were some books that really caught my eye!  You don’t get gorgeous pictures on a website like the ones in Blackbird Bakery Gluten-Free: 75 recipes for Irresistable Gluten-Free Desserts and Pastries!

Although I think I would probably prefer one of the kid’s cookbooks that I saw, because the recipes are more my speed 🙂

Like Wheat-Free, Gluten-Free Cookbook for Kids and Busy Adults

Books and cookbooks make a great gift – they’re relatively cheap, easy to pack in a suitcase, and chock full of new ideas!

2.  Gluten-free swag and apparel

Who doesn’t love a novelty tee?  You can show your GF pride, jump off conversations, and look super-fly.

From Cafe Press

They have lots of gf tees, but this is one of my favorites:

And I love this tote:

And this one makes me laugh:

3.  FOOD!  The holidays can be hard for us celiacs.  There are the memories of Christmases past, the temptations at every corner, and the well-meaning family members who try to force feed you.

Buy some Glutino pretzel twists, dip them in white chocolate, and slap some sprinkles on them!

Buy them a gluten free goody that they don’t usually have.  Maybe it’s Udi’s Bagels or muffins, or just a tupperware full of box-mix brownies.

Or perhaps just a big ole bag of xanthan gum.  MMMMMMM!

So, that’s what’s on my gluten free Christmas list.  Hopefully I don’t get coal (or wheat) instead…

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Sunday Treat at Astoria Market

Posted on November 21, 2010 | 3 comments

Today Nick and I ventured up to the Astoria Market at the Bohemian Hall Beer Garden, which we only knew had “an eclectic assortment of wares” and some kind of food and drink.
Well, it certainly was…something.  Basically just an elementary school gym-sized room with about 30 vendor tables.  There were weird Christmas decorations, some cool jewelry, art, hand-made cards, and some gluten-free pumpkin chocolate-chip muffins!  I believe that the name of the vendor was Elsa-Joy Baked Goods, but I can’t seem to find any information on it anywhere online. Maybe they’ll post about it on their blog soon.

Even though the muffins were extremely, ridiculously over-priced at $3.50 for a very small muffin and $7 for a mini-loaf, I felt that I had to try one.  If not for any other reason than supporting gluten-free vendors! The only other food option was from The Chocolate Swirl, which had truffles that got my hopes up.  But they said that they weren’t gluten-free 😦

After making a pot of coffee, I dug in:

Soooo… it was good.  The best part was the sticky top and the big, rich chocolate chips.  I have been missing the richness of gluten-filled pumpkin bread – like the 440 calorie slice from Starbucks I used to get.  I remember it being so dense and filled with moist, pumpkin flavor.  This muffin was a little pumpkin-y, but not like I remembered.  I might have to challenge myself to make my own pumpkin bread before autumn is over.

Now I’m relaxing, and popped open a St. Peter’s Sorghum Ale.  The first time I had this beer was at Peculier Pub on Bleecker Street – and the second time was not the charm.  Maybe the first time I had it I was wooed by the cool bottle?

 

For some reason this beer tastes skunked to me.  It could be because I’m not used to drinking beer nowadays, but it just isn’t enjoyable for me.  I’ll stick with Redbridge from now on.

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Dean and Deluca’s “Pumpkin Potion”

Posted on November 21, 2010 | 1 comment

Yesterday I got my first real dose of Christmas in the city.  We went in to get some ingredients for dinner from Whole Foods, and a little present to send my dad (to make up for abandoning him on Thanksgiving).  But there was so much to see that we ended up making an afternoon of it.  Who can take a quick trip to the grocery store when you get off the train and see this view of Central Park?

So we headed to Dean and Deluca to see if they had anything for my dad, and to give us an excuse to get coffee ourselves.  Usually I kind of hate going there a little bit, because they have all of the best baked goods in the city and I can’t have ANY of it.  So, being in the holiday spirit and all, I opted for the “Pumpkin Potion” made with soy milk.  It’s a blend of something pumpkin, and chai, and I think magic – because this thing was soooooo good.  It made Pumpkin Spice Lattes from Starbucks look like car wash hot chocolate (what? they didn’t serve hot chocolate at your car wash?)  It was incredibly frothy, and even though I’m not usually a fan of chai, the spiced and subtle pumpkin flavor was really amazing.  Almost made me not envy the line of people getting cupcakes and pastries.  Almost.

We also got a few of their Origin Chocolate bars, which didn’t make it home whole.  In our defense, it was a long subway ride.  Other gluten free food options at D&D include:

  • Siggi’s Yogurt (I’ve had the Orange Ginger and it was decent)
  • Macaroons (sometimes they have packaged ones, but the sales people will never give me a straight answer about the ones in their display case).  Plus, if you’re in the area you might as well get your macaroons here).
  • Nut mix and cranberry nut mix
  • Soups (they had butternut squash when I went, that is gluten free.  But check for other varieties)
  • Larabars (at the SoHo location, not at the Rockefellar Center location)
  • Tons of candy and artisan chocolates
  • Terra chips and popcorn (at SoHo location)
  • At the SoHo location they also have a lot of prepared foods, sushi (but no soy sauce), cheeses, and fresh fruits and veggies.

On the way there we saw the big tree getting prepped for the lighting in Rockefellar Center. Right now it looks like a construction zone, but soon it will be all gussied up and ready for Christmas.

Apologies for those of you who can’t try the yummies at Dean and Deluca.  For those of you in the city – D&D moved to 48th Street a couple of months ago.  It’s much more discrete now (not even on Google Maps yet):

Dean and Deluca

On W 48th Street between 6th and 5th Ave.

Or 560 Broadway (right outside the Prince Street subway)

 

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Peter’s Restaurant – Upper East Side

Posted on November 8, 2010 | 4 comments

This weekend, Nick and I did the age-old brunch and Bed Bath and Beyond afternoon.  We decided to walk the Upper East Side, down the route that is the First Avenue finish line for the ING NYC Marathon.  So, it was the perfect time to try out Peter’s Restaurant – which I’ve heard a lot of great reviews about for their gluten free diner food.

First of all, the menu is HUGE.  And almost all of the menu items can be made gluten free (in fact, they have a little icon next to the items which can not be made gluten free, rather than the other way around).  There is a huge selection of dishes for every meal, including gluten free pancakes, waffles, french toast, sandwiches, french fries, multiple varieties of eggs benedict, pasta, and the list goes on and on!

Since it was lunch time I decided to go with something that I can rarely find – a good, old fashioned tuna salad sandwich and fries.

Big Tuna

The tuna was filled with mayo, the coleslaw was covered in it too – just what I was looking for!  Some people balk at the cost ($8.50) for this sandwich, but it was great to feel “normal” and really chow down at Peter’s.

The fries were classic diner fries, really crispy and tender in the middle.  The waiter asked us specifically if we wanted the fries to be gluten-free, so I assume that they use a dedicated fryer.

The only downside to my experience at Peter’s (which for some would be an upside), is that the place was swarming with kids.  There was actually a seven year old girl’s birthday party going on in the restaurant.  And, for anyone who knows seven year olds who are high on sugar, they do not make the best dining companions.  But, if you had kids, I can see how this would be a great place to take them for a relaxed meal with familiar foods.

I will definitely be back to try some of the other things on the menu (cheesecake? salmon eggs benny?  Yes, please!).

Peter’s Restaurant

1606 1st Avenue (between 83rd and 84th St, 6 train to 86th Street)

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Generation Gluten Free

Posted on November 3, 2010 | Leave a comment

I just watched the trailer for “Generation Gluten Free”, which is being shown at the Suffolk County Celiac Meeting next week (sign up on Meetup).   The laser noises as the title comes in are a bit off-putting, but it seems like it could be a good short film to show someone in your life who might not understand what having Celiac’s is all about.

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Naked Pizza – Miami

Posted on November 2, 2010 | 2 comments

This weekend I was in Miami, and had a chance to get some really great gluten free pizza!  Naked Pizza has some really darn fantastic pizza!  It looks like there has been a location awarded to New York City, so there should be one here soon!  While they have a ton of suggestions for pies to get, we decided to build our own.  With a whole load of toppings:

Wacky shot

This shot was taken walking through the Lincoln Road Mall with about a million people dressed up in costume on Halloween.  We finished the whole thing by the time we got back to the car!  Cheddar cheese, spinach, artichokes, fresh basil, garlic, red onion = YUM!

Get some yourself if you’re in Miami, or wait until it comes to your area.  It looks like they’re about to really blow up and expand to a lot of new locations.

Naked Pizza – Miami Beach

1260 Washington Ave.
Miami, FL 33139

 

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Last Licks

Posted on October 27, 2010 | Leave a comment

Ice cream season is slowly ending.  This Friday is the Big Gay Ice Cream Truck’s last ride, and soon the Mr. Softee trucks will no longer be tempting us on every street corner.  So, I thought I’d share a few of my recent ice cream adventures around the city.  First stop: Highline Park on the west side.  Which is pretty awesome, considering it’s made on top of an old rail line.

View from Highline Park

After walking a whole mile, of course they assume that you’ll need to cool down with some Blackwell’s Organic Ice Cream.

I don’t know if you can see it – but in the lower right hand corner it says “gluten free”.  Which makes me very happy, since I wouldn’t want to repeat my horrible encounter with Carvel’s sprinkles again.

I got the black raspberry ice cream, which was alright.  Should have splurged for the chocolate peanut butter, but we all make mistakes.

I know, this picture is focused on that woman's legs.

A bigger win was the gelato at Eataly.  Again, I panicked while ordering and got the pistachio (?)  But it was really good!  It had a really strong pistachio taste, and even though I got the smallest size they had, it was still too much for me to finish.  (Especially after having a crepe with veggie pate from Bar Suzette).

Pistachio Gelato

Finally, last weekend I went by the courtyard outside Tavern in the Green in Central Park, and had my first experience with the famous Van Leeuwan Artisan Ice Cream Truck.  I thought – “Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream?! My prayers have been answered, I’m in, give me an extra large please.”

But – it was so… not… good.  At all.  It just tasted like cold pumpkin.  Like if you took a can of pumpkin and froze it.  Kind of grainy and bland.  I didn’t even finish a quarter of it.  Next time I’m definitely getting the soup at Ladle of Love instead.

Soup sounds better now anyway.  I guess ice cream season really is over 😦

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Bananas and Pears Foster

Posted on October 4, 2010 | Leave a comment

Have you ever seen the show Chopped on Food Network?  It’s a show that challenges chefs to make a dish with a basket full of mystery ingredients, and Nick really likes watching it (I think it’s a tad boring, but the concept is pretty neat).  So, we decided to do our own challenge, and choose the ingredients for each other.  He gave me quince, dark rum, and heavy cream.  So, what else to make but everyone’s favorite – bananas foster?  

I adapted the recipe from the famous one from Brennan’s in New Orleans.  They didn’t have any quince at Whole Foods, so I had to settle for Bartlett pears.  I also used a red banana, which I’d never had before, but tasted just like a normal banana so it didn’t make that much of a difference.

Bananas and Pears Foster 

1/4 stick butter

1/2 c. brown sugar

1/2 t. cinnamon

1 banana and one pear, cut into “big bite” pieces

1/4 c. dark rum

Fresh whipped cream

Vanilla ice cream

Crumbled ginger snap cookies 

Combine the butter, sugar, and cinnamon in a flambé pan or skillet. Place the pan over low heat, and cook, stirring, until the sugar dissolves. Place the bananas and pears in the pan. When the fruit starts to soften, carefully add the rum. 

Continue to cook the sauce until the rum is hot, then tip the pan slightly to ignite the rum. When the flames subside, lift the bananas out of the pan and place over ice cream. Generously spoon warm sauce over the top of the ice cream, top with whipped cream and ginger snaps, and serve immediately. 

Let the sugar high begin!

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