Monthly Archives: January 2012

Seattle Sans Gluten // Cafe Piccolo

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I do a lot of (some may say obsessive) browsing on the internet, looking for restaurants that serve gluten-free food. Italian food has been difficult to find, beyond gluten-free pizza and maybe pasta. So when I read that Cafe Piccolo made gluten-free ravioli, bread, parmigiana, and lasagna, I knew I had to go try it for myself.

Their menu has little notes on it about their ability to substitute gluten-free bread or pasta. The website says that they cannot make gluten-free ravioli or lasagna, but that is no longer the case! Our server informed us that the only thing the kitchen was unable to make gluten-free was the gnocchi. I briefly considered being sad about that, but I had so many choices (at an Italian restaurant!) that I really didn’t mind.

We settled on the antipasto plate to start. Our server brought out house-made gluten-free bread to accompany it. The bread was served with a wonderful paste made of herbs, spices, balsamic vinegar, and roasted garlic. I am so used to ordering antipasto with “no bread.” It was really nice to eat cheese and meat with some starch alongside it!

I really enjoyed the antipasto as well. The was a wide assortment of items on the plate, from carrots in mint oil, to marinated mushrooms, to cheese, to cured meat. There was just enough for a few tastes or bites of each item, but the variety was wider than a lot of antipasto plates I have encountered.

For our main course, we shared the Ravioli Sage and Brown Butter:

and the Calamari Amatriciana:

Both were very good, but I definitely preferred the calamari dish. The pasta, house made squid ink pappardelle, had a really great, soft, chewy (dare I say glutinous?) texture, and the calamari was cooked perfectly. One note, though, the food was very salty for my taste. I know that salt is a matter of palate, and mine probably just differed a great deal from that of the chef’s, but it made it a bit difficult for me to fully enjoy the meal. The boyfriend said he did not find it to be too salty, so I really do think it may have been just a matter of taste.

Every dessert at Cafe Piccolo is gluten-free! We finally settled on the Goat Cheesecake. It was really fantastic, and it got even better with every bite. It had a creamy texture and a really great tanginess that was never overpowering. I decided dessert needed some company in my belly, so I ordered the house Limoncello, which was wonderful. They also make a lot of other flavors of “-cello” there. The boyfriend had fennelcello, and he thought it was really good (I don’t really like fennel, so my opinion is not worth noting here).

Overall this was a really great dining experience. Our server was very knowledgeable about the menu and the gluten-free options. The restaurant itself had a softly lit, homey feel. The menu was extensive (and tasty sounding!) enough that I would like to go back to try some of the things that I was not able to on the first visit. Thank you, Cafe Piccolo for catering to gluten-free diners!

Traveling While Gluten-Free

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Anita Isalska of Lonely Planet recently wrote a great article about traveling while following a gluten-free diet. I love traveling. And I love eating. When I first found out I could no longer eat gluten, I thought the two would not mix. Luckily, I got brave, and I have had some very rewarding (and, admittedly, some frustrating) travel experiences. Here are a few things I have learned so far:

I think the most important thing when traveling as a gluten-free person (or really with any allergy) is to be prepared. I cannot stress this enough. Knowing ahead of time what foods may contain gluten can be extremely helpful in navigating an unfamiliar menu. Learning a few pertinent words in the native language is usually wise as well.

Me at a sagardotegi, or cider house, in the Basque region of Spain. Cider is gluten-free!

Gluten-free cards in the native language of the serving and kitchen staff can also be very helpful. Tip: Bring extra! These can be hilariously novel to some restaurant owners and they may ask to keep one as a souvenir. The Gluten Free Bible has a lot of gluten-free cards in the back that you can photocopy. You can also download this app for gluten-free explanation cards in over 40 languages. Fair warning- Some of the translations you have may be hilariously ill-translated and cause a lot of laughing by native speakers. But at least they get the idea across, and often they serve as a bonding point!

Myself and others gathered for dinner in Kenya (I lived there on a farm for 4 months). A lot of nationalities represented at this table! Eating in villages provided some of my most interesting food stories.

Bring “safe” snacks along. Sometimes you just can’t find anything to eat. Don’t let experiencing a new culture, taking in amazing architecture, or people watching be ruined by low blood sugar and an aching, empty stomach. It sounds trite, but try to focus on what you can have and do rather than what you can’t.

Gluten-free traveling does, admittedly, take more effort than traveling without any food restrictions. But with some preparation, willingness to communicate, and a good attitude, the world is your gluten-free oyster!

Happy traveling!

A Classy Gluten-Free Appetizer on a Budget

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Have you ever checked out the cuttings basket in the cheese section of your local grocery store? I’m in love with that thing. A lot of stores have them, they are simply the edges and pieces that happen while the cheese guy or gal is cutting up cheese to sell in the case. They get re-wrapped, and sold to those of us who don’t want to buy cheese in large portions. I usually swing by for a look while I am grocery shopping. Depending on the cheese, they are usually only a dollar or two a piece, enabling me to try a nice cheese that would have been too expensive for me in a larger portion. PCC (for those of you in the northwest), QFC, and even Fred Meyer have them. Really any store that is trying to incorporate more artisanal/small brand cheeses probably will.

These guys came from PCC:

Clockwise from the top:

- Couronne French Brie

- Somerdale Stilton with Dates and Orange

- Grafton Cheddar- Maple Smoked

It’s a fun little adventure to see what I can find each time. I like PCC because they re-wrap with the entire label, including the ingredients, so I can check for gluten (cheese is usually gluten-free, but sometimes they have flavorings like beer or malt, both no-gos).

No cheese plate is complete without a bread or cracker of some kind. I saw these Savory Thins at Trader Joe’s and I decided to give them a try. They don’t specifically say “gluten-free” on the label, but there are no gluten-containing items listed in the ingredients. They were pretty good. Nice and crisp, with a nutty flavor, and a bit salty.

I also threw some nuts I had in the cupboard on the plate. I then decided there was too much white and brown in my composition, so I ran outside (It was cold!) and grabbed a little sprig off of the rosemary bush that grows outside my house (get one of those started if you can, by the way. It adds great flavor to a lot of dishes and requires NO maintenance. It blooms with pretty little purple or blue flowers too!).

And there you have it! No cutting, cooking skills or large food budget required! Just some arranging and you have an impressive little plate!

A few other things you can put on a cheese plate:

Dried fruit
Jam
Honey
Flowers (edible or otherwise, just let your guests know not to eat them if they aren’t!)
Candied ginger
Fresh fruit

The key is really in the presentation. Things just taste better when they look good!

Happy eating!

Gluten-Free Dining at Olive Garden

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Gluten-Free Penne Rigate Pomodoro at Olive Garden

I recently learned that Olive Garden has added some gluten-free options to their menu. I was not in Seattle yesterday, and so my gluten-free restaurant options were a bit more limited than usual. Lunchtime was nigh and I was hungry, so my boyfriend and I decided to give the gluten-free menu at Olive Garden a try.

I asked our hostess for the gluten-free menu before we were shown to our table. This can help gluten-free dining to go more smoothly as it saves the wait staff or host a trip, and it gives the host a chance to alert your server that at least one of your party is of gluten-free status before they even get to your table and introduce themselves. It also gives them the option, if they choose, of assigning your table to someone more experienced or well-versed in the gluten-free options on the menu.

Their Gluten-Free menu was not huge, but there were enough choices available that I did not feel limited. It also had a lot of choices for those of you that are dairy-free as well. I chose the Penne Rigate Pomodoro, and my boyfriend went with the Herb-Grilled Salmon.

The hard copy of the menu we were given listed the salmon as herb-crusted, just like the “regular” menu. The online description, “brushed with Italian herbs” is more accurate. The Boyfriend still thought it was good, but it wasn’t quite what he was expecting.

I went with pasta, mostly because I was curious about what type they would use and whether the texture would be up to par. There were two pasta options on the gluten-free menu, I went with the one that sounded like it had the chunkier sauce. It was actually pretty good. I believe they used a corn-based pasta. The texture was not as good as some of the brands I cook at home, but it was certainly passable and it was fun to order pasta in a restaurant.

Of course we had to order the salad (I mean really, why else does anyone even go to Olive Garden?), we simply had it without croutons and I ate my usual embarrassingly large amount of it. As in, more than one serving-bowlful. I didn’t even miss the croutons.

We also took advantage of a new wine serving size they offer (don’t judge us, it was a snow day!). It’s called the Quartino, and it’s basically a glass and a half of wine for only 2-3 dollars more than the glass price. We split two of those, so we didn’t have to get an entire bottle, and we also saved some cash.

Overall, eating there was a good experience. They seemed well-prepared for gluten-free patrons (and believe me, in the town I was in that is definitely not always the case!), I felt safe simply ordering from the gluten-free menu, and I left full of decently tasty food and wine. It’s always nice to have a few chain restaurants in my mental gluten-free restaurant inventory for times when I am not in a region that has fully embraced the fact that gluten-free diners are here to stay. I would definitely go to Olive Garden again in the future.

A Snowy Walk and Some Tasty Cookies

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photo provided courtesy of elanaspantry.com

It snowed this weekend (In Seattle that is kind of a big deal). My boyfriend and I decided to go for a walk and make these cookies. We walked the mile or so through the snow to the natural foods store to pick up the ingredients I didn’t have on hand, which was most of them. Luckily, this recipe was very simple and only had a few ingredients, so we didn’t have much to carry (or rather, the boyfriend didn’t)! It was so cute, the checker at the store saw all of our items on the belt and asked “Is this a recipe from Elana’s Pantry?” Yes, indeed.

I found that a lot of items I normally buy in their packaged form can be found in the bulk section. This saves a lot of packaging, as well as money. It also meant that I wasn’t left with a lot of leftover ingredients from making just one recipe.

Admittedly, we used Bob’s Red Mill Blanched Almond Flour, a brand Elana does not recommend for her recipes. We found that we needed a little more flour than the recipe called for, but it worked. The cookies ran more than those in the picture, but that could have been because I scooped out bigger portions of the dough than the recipe recommended as I wanted to make more of a breakfast bar.

I was so excited to come across this recipe. Almonds are full of protein, healthy fats, and fiber. And grapeseed oil has a lot of omega-3 fatty acids. The dark chocolate chips add very little sugar and a lot of indulgence, and the cookies are sweetened with agave syrup. Not to mention the recipe was very simple and quick to make.

These were wonderful with my morning coffee. I was having a bit of a rushed morning, and it was great to have something healthy and homemade on hand to grab on my way out the door! I will most certainly be baking these again.

Streamlining Breakfast // Gluten-Free Oatmeal

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I met with a client at her house the other day; I am super proud of her, as she is seeing all of the allergies she has recently discovered she has as an opportunity to really take charge of her health and make some changes. Something she said really struck me. She said she wants all of these changes to “become second nature.” With that in mind, I thought I would share my breakfast routine, as it has recently become very streamlined and easy.

1. Bob’s Red Mill Certified Gluten-Free Quick cooking oatmeal
I buy this at Fred Meyer, but it can also be found online here.
2. Slivered almonds from Trader Joe’s
3. Brown Sugar
4. Roasted and salted sunflower seeds from Trader Joe’s

I like to re-use jars and store things that normally come in bags in them. This means a lot less fiddling around with bags and clips and such during those precious morning moments. Here is my current morning breakfast routine:

I scoop my oatmeal out of the container with a 1/3 cup measure (the 1/2 cup the back of the Bob’s Red Mill package calls for always seems to be a bit too much). I fill the 1/3 cup scoop up twice with water and dump the water in my bowl for a total of 2/3 cup water (making a 1:2 oatmeal to water ratio). I microwave it for 2 minutes, then let it stand for a bit. When the oatmeal is ready to eat, I open my jars and shake my toppings over the top of my oatmeal.

I love this because there is an endless variety of topping combinations one could use.

Some other ideas:
Almond Butter
Peanut Butter
Any type of nut
Gluten-free chocolate chips
Maple syrup
Agave syrup
Honey
Fresh fruit or berries (you could pre-slice these and keep them in a container in the refrigerator)

I also keep my coffee in a jar, so I can shake or spoon out coffee quickly into a filter without having to deal with re-rolling and sealing a bag. If you are anything like me, you know how much saving that little bit of time in the morning can help! Especially pre-coffee!

What do you do to save time in the mornings? Any tips for making a gluten-free diet second nature?

A Gluten-Free Fried Chicken Recipe!

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I don’t know what is going on with me and fried food. Just a little passionate fling I suppose. I made this the other day and it was SO good. I made it again so I could share with my roommates and my boyfriend, and now I get to share the recipe with you!

Let me just say, my gluten-free roommate has not had fried chicken in years, and he almost died of happiness when he tried these. And my other roommate and my boyfriend, who both eat gluten, thought they tasted great as well. to quote my gluten-eating roommate, “I don’t even miss the gluten. And gluten is pretty good.” So there you have it.

Gluten-Free Fried Chicken
Recipe adapted from Ener-G Bread Crumb box

1 egg
1 tsp water
1 Cup Bread Ener-G Bread Crumbs (if you can’t find them in a store you can buy them online here)
2 tsp salt
1 tsp granulated  garlic
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 Lbs chicken tenders. ( You can use any cut of chicken, but I like these because they make more of a chicken strip)
Oil with a high smoke point, such as canola. You need enough to fill up your pan to about 1/2” deep

1. Crack the egg into a bowl, and add the water to it. Beat lightly.

2. Get your chicken all ready to go. You need to be able to grab it.

3. Combine dry ingredients in a dish. Mix well.

4. Set up the three dishes so you can get the chicken ready to fry, assembly line-style.

5. Dip the chicken in the egg.

6. Then dip the egg-covered chicken into the bread crumb mixture and roll it around until the chicken piece is covered. Repeat steps 5 & 6 until you have breaded all of the chicken.

7. Put the oil into your pan and tun the heat to medium-high. When the oil is hot enough (it’ll look a little shimmery) carefully lay some of the chicken pieces in the oil. Make sure there is enough space around each one to cook and crisp up the sides.

8. When the bottoms of the chicken pieces are golden brown, use tongs to flip them over. Let those sides turn golden brown as well. When they are fully cooked, remove them from the pan with the tongs and put them on some paper towels. Put your next batch in the pan, and repeat the cooking process until they are all done.

Seriously, who could resist that crispy loveliness?

These are great with barbecue sauce, warm red marinara sauce, or ketchup. For those of you who miss malt vinegar since going gluten-free, the rice vinegar that you can get in the Asian section of the grocery store tastes very similar.

So there you are! A gluten-free fried chicken recipe, and you won’t even miss the gluten!

Resources for Finding Gluten-Free-Friendly Restaurants

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My last post detailed some tips for navigating a small section of some menus. But how can we find the places that will likely be able to serve foods that fit into dietary restrictions? Below are some resources for finding gluten-free-friendly restaurants near you:

urbanspoon.com
This is by far my favorite way to find restaurants. You can set whatever filters you would like, including price point, neighborhood, gluten-free friendly, waterfront, etc., hit search, and ta-da! a list of restaurants that meet your criteria pops up complete with user reviews and links to directions. In my experience this site works a bit better for more metropolitan areas, as the content is user-generated. Also available as an app.

glutenfreerestaurants.org
This is a section of the site run by the Gluten Intolerance Group. These guys are the big guns. They have very high standards for gluten-free labeling and accreditation. Any restaurant they list has been through rigorous screening and training to make their menus and restaurants safe for gluten-free dining, earning the GFFS (Gluten Free Food Service) accreditation. The GFFS accreditation is currently the only one of its kind. This would be a great resource if you are just starting out with being gluten-free and are nervous about eating outside of your house.

glutenfreeregistry.com
This is a list of gluten-free friendly restaurants, sorted by area. To be on this list restaurants must list gluten-free items on their menu, provide a gluten-free menu, or offer replacements for gluten-containing food. This is helpful, as other lists include restaurants that can be navigated by those that have dietary restrictions and know the right questions to ask, but the restaurant may not necessarily be doing a lot of the legwork. They also have apps for smart phones or iPads.

yelp.com
If user-generated content and reviews appeal to you, then you will love this site. Personally, I find their site a bit harder to navigate to find gluten-free restaurants, but their popularity means that a lot of people post reviews. I usually type something like “gluten free” or “gluten free menu” into the search bar at the top after I input my location, and then filter the results from there. Like I said, not as efficient, but easy to get a gauge for what a place is like before you go. Users can also post “lists” of restaurants, and they can be titled gluten-free, or variants thereof. Those show up under “related lists” at the bottom of a search.

Those four should be a pretty good start. Do you have any resources you like to use to find gluten-free-friendly restaurants?

Happy dining!

Tips for Safely Ordering Fried Food in Restaurants when Following a Gluten-Free Diet

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I don’t usually order fried food when eating out, but sometimes, while perusing a menu, it seems like it will hit just the right spot. There are, however, a few important questions to ask your server before ordering them.

First of all: “Is this item dusted with flour, breaded or covered in batter before frying?” The one to especially look out for is the dusting. Many sautéed fish and calamari are dusted first to help them brown up and add a bit of crisp, even if they aren’t deep-fried, which makes this a more hidden source of gluten. If the answer to the dusting is yes, don’t despair. These items can usually be made in a separate pan without the dusting.

The breading and the batter are obviously no-gos, but hopefully that information was listed on the menu. If it wasn’t your server can tell you, or ask the kitchen to verify.

Secondly: “Do you fry your gluten-free items in the same fryer as you fry your gluten-containing items?” It may be helpful here to list a few of said gluten-containing items (onion rings, fried mushrooms, jalapeno poppers, chicken strips, etc.) that you have already spotted on the menu. This is usually a lot easier than explaining in detail about cross-contamination, and it’s a lot easier for your server to accurately answer your question this way. I have found that it is not entirely helpful to ask about a “dedicated fryer” as this usually refers to a fryer reserved for vegetarian items, not those that are gluten-free.

Some words to look out for on a menu that indicate something may be fried or dusted with flour are: crispy, battered, breaded, or crunchy.

Happy munching!

Honey

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Glowing honey harvest on a sticky counter!

I was visiting my parents recently, and during that time my father was harvesting honey from his hives. It was so gratifying for him to see all his hard work tending to his “girls” as he calls them (the female bees are the ones who make the honey) pay off in the form of sweet, golden, pure honey. It was a pretty sticky process, as you can see from the counter, but raw honey from one’s own backyard is worth it, don’t you think?

This is what I imagine it looks like to a busy bee on her way to gathering pollen to take back to the hive to make it into honey.

My dad sent me home with a little jar full of the stuff. I love to drizzle it over cheese, oatmeal (certified gluten-free, of course!) and stir it into tea. I even rub a thin layer of warm honey onto my face sometimes for a simple face mask. Raw honey is so simple and basic, but just a little bit can make life feel so indulgent!

A Bee's eye view of the world. Back to the hive!

How do you like to use honey? What are some little things you use to make life feel indulgent?