What a blast! So much cheese, from so many wonderful cheesemakers. Wine, too! The event was held in the lovely, spacious Seattle Design Center.
I had a really great time! If you love cheese, keep an eye out for Cheesefest 2013!
Borsalino’s is my current favorite place to get gluten-free pizza. They are located right after (or before, I suppose, depending on which way you are going) the University Bridge. They also deliver! They have an extensive gluten-free menu that includes pizza, pasta, sandwiches, and garlic bread. The gluten-free items do cost a little bit more than their gluten-containing counterparts, so be prepared to pay a little extra. The boyfriend and I have been trying to branch out, but we can’t seem to help getting Greek gyro meat on our pizza (the Zorba is fantastic, and it comes with tzaziki sauce!) The gluten-free pizza crust is a bit sweeter than glutenous crust, but the texture is really good. This place has the feel of a classic American pizza place, right down to the fake grape vines and brick walls. That’s a bit of a rarity in Seattle!
Gluten-free garlic bread
Gluten-free pizza crust close-up!
So nice to go out for a gluten-free pizza!
Happy dining!
I recently wrote a guest post for Glutenvy Girl,wherein I used 3 egg whites. That meant I had 3 egg yolks to use. I had some lemons on hand, so I made lemon curd.
I needed:
3 Egg yolks
2 Meyer lemons
1/2 stick butter
1/3 cup sugar
Whisk the egg yolks and sugar together in a metal bowl until they are creamy.
I’m not much of one for measuring, so I squeezed the juice from the lemons directly into the sugar and egg yolk mixture through a strainer.
I zested the lemons right into the mix as well. Note: I probably should have done this before squeezing them out, I think they would have been easier to zest!
Then set the metal bowl on top of a pan with about an inch of boiling water in the bottom, to make a double boiler.
Stir the mixture while it bubbles, making sure to continually scrape the sides. Do this until it gets thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Once it has thickened up, remove it from the heat, and add the butter bit by bit, melting it into the mixture. Pour all of the lemon curd into a container, and keep it in the refrigerator.
You now have a delicious spread to put on yogurt, toast, waffles, pancakes, or really anything you want to add a fresh, lemony flavor to!
I first had it on pancakes (I used Pamela’s Pancake mix) with powdered sugar. Mmmmm!
Happy eating!
If you follow me on twitter or Facebook, you probably know I’ve been kind of freaking out over the new additions to the gluten-free menu at PF Chang’s. They’ve added seven (seven!) new items to the gluten-free menu. Some are old classics that they brought back, and some are totally new! Here are some pictures from my first go-round with the new menu:
A lot more options on the menu!
The Dali Chicken. This was (and is) my favorite dish here. I’m so glad they brought it back, and it’s gluten-free! This is probably their spiciest dish, even without adding chili paste and oil. Again, I’m a fiend for spiciness but if you aren’t, consider yourself warned!
This is the crab fried rice. It has non-typical fried rice ingredients in it, such as asparagus and bacon. This was ok, but I don’t think I’ll be ordering it again. It’s just a bit plain for my taste.
There were some other, more salad-y items in addition to the other new entrees, but the boyfriend and I just couldn’t bring ourselves t make a trip to P.F. Chang’s without getting lettuce wraps!
These guys already had a great gluten-free menu and service for those who can’t eat gluten, and now we have even more choices there! Thank you, PF Chang’s!
One of my new (to me) favorite fast, cheap, and extremely delicious restaurants is Blue Moon Burgers. They have a thorough, easy to understand gluten free menu; I did not feel the lack of gluten at all.
Eeeee!
Waiting. That’s New Grist Beer in the background.
Gluten-free onion rings.
Fries, made in a dedicated, gluten-free fryer.
The Blue Bayou. The blue cheese is pretty intense!
The gluten-free buns are really tasty. I mean, look at it!
The El Diablo Azul. You have to substitute fresh jalapenos for the jalapeno bottle caps for this to be gluten-free, in addition to the gluten-free bun. This one is pretty spicy (which, of course, I loved), so only order it if you are ready for some heat!
The person who helped us at the counter informed us that they use only one spatula for their Blue Moon Sauce, so we ordered our sauce on the side (they put uncontaminated sauce in containers for their gluten-free customers).
Really and truly, this place (we went to the Fremont location) was absolutely fantastic. The buns (From Jensen’s Bakery- nice work, guys!) were soft and chewy, the patties nice and lean and perfectly cooked, and the toppings were flavorful and fresh. The onion rings were perfect. Crispy and crunchy on the outside (I think they use crushed up Chex), and nicely cooked, sweet onions on the inside. The person at the counter who helped us was very knowledgeable about their gluten-free options, so I wasn’t worried at all about contamination. I will be making this a regular stop throughout the summer. Something about warmer weather just makes me crave all-american food, and this place does it right!
Happy dining!
Hint: I’m making something pretty out of these!
Pssst! I’m writing over here today. Go check it out for an easy, gluten-free, Easter treat! And thank you, Glutenvy Girl, for being such a lovely hostess!
Image from their Facebook page here.
I am going to Cheesefest in Seattle on Saturday! I am SO excited. There will be a whole gaggle of local cheesemakers there, as well as local cider and wine (beer, too, but obviously that is not of much interest to me!)
I am going to bring these crackers with me, because cheese is often served with crackers, flatbread, or bread, and it is unlikely that it will be gluten-free (also, I find it wise to have some sort of starch on hand when alcohol is present). I’ll put them in an easily accessible container so I’m not conspicuously getting out a giant box of crackers all the time. And if a particular cheesemaker is serving their cheese samples without any bread at all, I’ll just eat it the way they served it. I want to respect their vision for their cheese! And one more thing: if there is a cheese that is being dipped/cut into and then spread onto bread or crackers, I will stay away! Or, if they aren’t too busy, I will explain my intolerance and (nicely!) ask if they have a fresh one that hasn’t been opened or contaminated yet.
Can you tell I love cheese? Because I do. Hope to see you there (tickets are going fast!) and watch out for my recap!
I know the “official” start of spring was a little while ago, but up here in cold, rainy Seattle it takes a good sunny warm day (Like today! Hooray!) for me to really feel like spring is on the way. That little guy up above is the very first sprout from the seeds I planted a few days ago. I love my little garden so much. I think of my little plants as little babies or pets. Which is suppose is kind of morbid because I end up eating them, ha! But in the meantime I love caring for them, checking on them, and watching them grow! It gives me such a feeling of accomplishment to see the results of something I’ve done shooting up from the soil.
Happy spring!
