Did you invite someone over to dinner before realizing they have celiac?  Woops!

Are you terrified by the thought of cooking for someone with a gluten allergy?

Do you avoid having someone over to dinner because they have celiac and you’re not sure how to cook for them?

Don’t worry!  You can do it and it’s not too hard!

One of my favorite easy GF meals: bone in chicken breasts on the grill, salad and green beans

Here are some tips to help you if you’re cooking for someone with celiac or a gluten allergy:

1. Ask questions: If you have any questions or confusion, don’t be embarrassed to ask.  Your guest would rather you go ahead and lay it out there than wait until the dinner and realize that he or she can’t eat what you’ve made.
2. Learn about gluten: What the heck is gluten anyway?  It’s a protein found in wheat, rye and barley.  It isn’t carbs.  Potatoes, eggs, cheese, and corn are all gluten-free.   Risotto, rice and quinoa are gluten-free too.  White flour does have gluten, even though it doesn’t specify ‘wheat’ in the name.
3. Clean up your kitchen: Make sure that cutting boards, pans, knives, etc. are really clean.  This doesn’t mean you need to disinfect your whole house and throw away every bit of gluten in your pantry, but just make sure your utensils are clean, and won’t potentially contaminate your dinner guest.  Also, avoid using foods in your pantry that might be contaminated with gluten, such as peanut butter or mayonnaise, from dipping the knife into the container after it has touched bread.
4. Hidden glutens: Gluten can be tricky…some brands of chicken broth have gluten (I stick with Pacific brand that states it’s gluten-free.)  Other items with hidden glutens include soy sauce (some brands are gf but most contain wheat), some sausages, oats (unless certified gluten-free), some salad dressings, and even some spices that add wheat (all McCormick spices are gf).
5. Read Labels: Ingredient labels can be really helpful, especially when they clearly state gluten-free.  Companies that label items gluten-free make it so much easier and simpler.  (Maple Grove Farms of Vermont labels all GF salad dressings GF so I always buy their dressing.)  I tend to avoid labels that list 50 ingredients, with words that I can’t pronounce.  “Modified Food Starch” is another potential gluten disaster.  If the label specifies ‘potato starch,’ then it’s fine.
6. Keep it simple: You don’t need to create a gluten-free lasagna or bake brownies from scratch.  Meat and vegetables are naturally gluten-free and delicious.  Olive oil, salt, pepper, lemon juice and garlic are all gluten free.  Grilling can be a yummy and simple gluten-free option. (Just make sure you clean off your grill, so there’s no contamination.)  Check out Gluten Freedom’s recipes for some simple and easy meal options.  And for dessert, there’s always Breyer’s or Edy’s ice cream (just no cookie dough or cookies ‘n cream.)
7. Enlist your guest: Your dinner guest would love to bring something to add to the meal.  Take advantage of this for a side dish or dessert.  We gluten-free eaters are so thankful to be included in a dinner party or food-oriented get together that we want to contribute and make it easier on you.

On behalf of all of us that have special food needs, thank you for hosting us in your home!  We know it’s not easy and we’re thankful for friends and family who happily invite us over.  If you’re really not into cooking, you can always ask us if there’s a restaurant that would be tasty and gluten-free.  We’re happy to offer ideas and don’t want food to get in the way of spending time with people we love.

What questions do you have about entertaining someone who is gluten-free?  Looking for any recipe ideas?

Thankfully, I stayed healthy the entire time I was in Japan.  Pretty impressive for my first trip outside of North America since my diagnosis.  My sister-in-law, Alden went to great lengths to make sure that I had plenty of food options in their home (rice cakes, peanut butter, Chex, M&M’s) and she even researched dining options out.

At work in the kitchen.

There is something a little sad about no longer being able to be a culinary adventurer when I travel.  I miss being able to say “Sure, why not?” when something is put down in front of me.  Now there is lots of research to be done, questions to be asked, and restraint to be used.  I have never been tempted to eat gluten or break my diet.  I remember how miserable I was when during the height of my illness so no piece of pizza or cookie is worth purposefully feeling crummy.  In Japan, I was pitifully unadventurous in my cuisine, when dining out.  For the most part, I stuck with cucumber rolls, pickled plum and shrimp sushi, with my GF soy sauce.  Nothing fancy but still yummy and at least felt a little “Japanesey”.

Just because I couldn’t partake in all of the sampling fun, didn’t mean that I didn’t enjoy watching every plate go by me on the sushi conveyor belt at a restaurant.  And one of the highlights of the trip for me was going to a department store in Tokyo and taking in all of the sights in their version of a ‘food court.’  Did I know what anything was?  Nope.  Were any ingredients listed?  None in English.  Could I try it?  No.  But that’s ok.  Glass case, after glass case, full of beautiful dishes was still a sight worth seeing.

Just a taste of a Tokyo department store food cart. No Sbarro here.

At home we ate delicious “ovenless” meals, and one night we even made our own version of ramen, using rice noodles that Alden thoughtfully purchased.  We followed Gluten Free Girl’s recipe for Spontaneous Pork Ramen.  We made a few changes, but for the most part stuck to the original recipe.  It was yummy!  I was particularly proud of myself because I navigated the Hayama grocery store, solo, to pick up some of the ingredients for the dinner.  You should have seen me trying to identify pork and bok choy with no English for guidance.

We spent our last two days of the trip in Tokyo, and on our final night, we went out to an amazing dinner at Nobu.  That name might sound familiar to you because this high end restaurant has locations in New York, San Diego, Dallas and other cities.  I brought my card that explained celiac/gluten in Japanese and the folks at Nobu were very receptive.  (They even made a photo copy of the card and brought me back my original copy!)

Nobu

At Nobu, we shared some veggie rolls and for my entrée, I ordered the salmon, which was delicious, and one of the most perfectly cooked pieces of meat I’ve ever eaten.  The dish came with a mango salsa rice and the flavors complimented the salmon perfectly and uniquely.  The staff was so attentive, clearly explaining everything to me, my options and what substitutions they would make.

For dessert, we shared the trio of crème brulees: green tea, brown sugar, and black sesame.  The crowd favorites were brown sugar and black sesame.  Green tea seemed a little too much like spinach.  (Side note: green tea is a very popular flavor in Japan.  Hagen-Daas even makes a green tea ice cream.)

Our dinner at Nobu was the perfect finale to our Japan trip.  A beautiful, delicious meal that kept me healthy.  Success!  While I left Japan without trying many of their staples, I boarded the flight back to the States with a full, and healthy, belly.  You can’t ask for more than that!

I’m ready to go!  This time tomorrow, I’ll be heading to the airport with my mom, jetting off to Tyokyo.  It’s only a 14-hour flight.  NBD.

I’m actually looking forward to having some uninterrupted reading time.  So, what am I taking with me to read?

First, I’m going to finish The Thousand Autumns of Jacob deZoet which my sister-in-law, Alden, sent me in August and I’m embarrassed that I still haven’t completed it.   This beautifully written book is about Japan in the late 1700s, a Dutch merchant, Jacob deZoet, and his Japanese love interest.  Very fascinating read.

I still haven’t read The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo so Elaney has let me borrow her copy.  Am I going to be freaked out if I read it?  I figure this book (and the entire series) is such a part  of pop culture right now, that I need to read it.

To feed my fascination with prisons, I’m going to read the memoir, Orange is the New Black, about a woman who spends a year in prison and her experience.  Nothing beats prison non-fiction.  (Yes, I love prison documentaries on the Discovery channel too.)

And finally, for a good laugh, I’m bringing Squirrel Meets Chipmunk, the newest book by my favorite humor writer, David Sedaris.  While I do have an irrational phobia of squirrels, I’m hoping this book will make me a little more sympathetic (and less terrified of) those awful creatures.  Maybe this read will be scarier than Dragon Tattoo for me.

I’m probably being a little overly ambitious with this book list but whatever I don’t read en route to Japan, I’ll devour when I’m on the Eastern Shore of Virginia, recovering from jet lag.

What are you reading on your vacation?  Any good reads to recommend?

Have a wonderful holiday!  See you in 2011!

Guess What?  The most recent issue of Living Without Magazine (Dec/Jan) features Atlanta as its travel destination.  Of course, you and I know how many awesome gluten-free options Atlanta has, but the rest of the country might not realize the plethora of restaurants that go above and beyond to help out those of us with special dietary needs.

You can get a teeny glimpse of the article by clicking here but you have to purchase a copy for yourself in order to read the entire article, and see if there are any spots you’re missing.  You can find Living Without on shelves at Whole Foods and other natural food stores.

Friends and Readers, gluten and non-gluten eaters, who don’t reside in Hotlanta, this should give you even more reason to visit ATL.  If the Real Housewives, the music industry and Tom Wolfe’s A Man in Full, weren’t enough to get you down here, all of these yummy food spots, should finally twist your arm.  The only trouble will be to decide where to go once you get here.

Oh, and one more thing…I wrote the article.  Yep, I’m pretty pleased as punch about it.

Yup, that's me, a 'Contributor.'

It always makes me chuckle when people ask for gluten-free gift suggestions.  Sure, they probably mean something involving gluten-free food, but there are many gift items that fall under the ‘gluten-free’ label.  Books are gluten-free but I wouldn’t suggest eating them.  I love reading just as much as I love cooking and I spend a good deal of time thinking about what I want to read next.  While I tend to be over eager, I’m hopeful nonetheless that I will read everything on my list.  I was inspired by Moxie’s post, “I Heart Books” so I thought I’d tell you what’s on my bedside table right now.

Some of these are just finished, others I’m halfway through, and a few are waiting to be opened.  I tend to read multiple books at once, so it’s no surprise that my list is lengthy, yet hopeful.  Have you read any on my list?  Thoughts?  What are you reading?  What’s on your reading list?

The Righteous Porkchop, Nicolette Niman: Niman addresses the history of the farming industry in America and the ethical (or lack thereof) practices in agriculture.

A Place of my Own: The Architecture of Daydreams, Michael Pollan: One of the earlier books by the author of Omnivore’s Dilemma.

Beatrice & Virgil, Yann Martel: The newest novel by the author of Life of Pi.  Finished it last week.  Completely fascinating yet quite disturbing.  Please let me know if you’ve read it because I’m yet to find someone to ‘debrief’ this book.

Terra Madre, Carlo Petrini: Founder of Slow Food, Petrini discusses global solutions to the food crises.

Local Flavors, Deborah Madison: I’m always reading cookbooks and this is my most recent love.  Great photos and beautiful stories.

Bird by Bird, Anne Lamott: I genuinely don’t want this book to end so I’m slowly making my way through it.  If you like writing, this is a must-read.

A Soft Place to Land, Susan Rebecca White: Young, local Atlanta author.  I’m reading this book with my summer book club.

The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency, Alexander McCall Smith: I’m reading this with my 8^th graders that I tutor and really enjoying it.  A great summer read!

Food Rules, Michael Pollan: Can you tell I love Michael Pollan? A great gift and easy read, this book offers simple tips regarding our relationship with and attitude towards food.

A Year Without ‘Made in China,’ Sara Bongiorni: The author documents the year her family spent challenging themselves not to buy products made in China.

I love writing.  Each day I try to write something, not just emails or incessant lists, but something with more substance.  It’s never brilliant or earth shattering, but each day I return to my computer, ready to write something new, not always sure in which direction I’m going.  Even when I fear I have nothing to say, I hold myself accountable to write.

Occasionally I think to myself, “What am I doing?”  Why am I writing each day?  The answer is, I’m not totally sure what or why.  I will never pay the bills by doing this, but in my writing, I’ve discovered that I love creating, exploring and putting thoughts into words.  Two years ago, I would never have told you I love to write or even imagine that I would have a blog that receives a significant amount of my time.  This blog and my discovery of writing have been unexpected blessings of my celiac diagnosis.  Who knew that a disease would result in good things?  It does and it has.

I’m particularly excited about my writing today because this week, my first magazine article is “hot off the presses.”  (Yes, I can be a cheesy writer too.)  My article, “Atlanta Restaurants Offer Many Options for Gluten-Free Diners” can now be found around town in Atlanta’s Finest Dining Magazine and for those of you non-Atlantans, you can check it out at this link.

I’m thrilled.  It makes me smile to see it.  It makes me want to write more.

“E.L. Doctorow once said that ‘Writing is like driving a car at night. You can see only as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.’ You don’t have to see where you’re going, you don’t have to see your destination or everything you will pass along the way. You just have to see two or three feet ahead of you. This is right up there with the best advice on writing, or life, I have ever heard.”

- from Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing & Life

This week, my friend, Peyten, invited us over for dinner.  I know Peyten from my college days as she was my little sister in my sorority.  Ah, college…But I digress.  Back to food.  I emailed Peyten earlier in the week to ask if she had any questions about cooking gluten-free.  She said she would use my blog as a reference for recipes.  Now that’s intimidating.

Sure, I write recipes and cook all the time but there’s a part of me that fears other people reading and using my recipes.  What if the food tastes terrible?  What if the cooking time is totally wrong?  What if it just doesn’t make sense?  (Peyten’s an English teacher so I was also worried about grammar and parallel structure.)  I actually felt like I was back in middle school, getting my essay read and ripped apart by my teacher.  Do you remember that feeling of dread when the teacher told you she was returning your paper?  Same feeling, only this time the success or failure of the assignment would be on display in front of five other people.

As I walked into Peyten’s house on Tuesday night, I didn’t know what she was making or what to expect.  I was amazed when I saw the bustle in her kitchen and all of the delicious things being prepared.  And everything looked like it should look.  I breathed a sigh of relief and was ready to enjoy the gluten-free meal.

Here’s what Peyten made.  Quite a feast and everything was delicious.

Roasted Rack of Lamb with Pesto Crust

Risotto

Roasted Asparagus

Ice Cream & Chocolate Sauce

Peyten’s boyfriend, Stan, added his own component to the meal, grilled fruit.  It was a unique and flavorful addition, especially the pineapple.  It would be a perfect dessert too.

It always means so much to me when people invite me to dinner and want to cook for me.  It’s intimidating to cook for anyone, but especially a person who’s gluten-free.  I’m amazed anytime a friend or family member welcomes me into their home and wants to give “gluten-free cooking” a try.  The time and energy that Peyten must have spent researching, planning and shopping for this meal is much more than cooking for a gluten-eating group.  People have no idea just how moving it is for me to eat outside of my house, but it’s huge.  Our lives can actually be normal, something I doubted would ever be possible when I was first diagnosed.

While Peyten’s use of my recipes intimidated me, this exercise of having other people make my dishes was definitely good and I should really do it more often to get feedback on what works and doesn’t work.  Also, since I’ve been gluten-free for almost three years, sometimes I take for granted the things that I just know and consequently don’t clearly explain in my posts.  I want Gluten Freedom not just to be useful for those who are gluten-free.  I want to provide a resource for gluten-eating people that are hosting a GF person in their home.  I hope to create clear, manageable recipes that will make GF guests feel comfortable, but also minimize stress for the host by using simple ingredients and directions.

While at Peyten’s, I was reminded of a couple of tricky gluten-topics that I should discuss:

• Chicken broth/stock sometimes contains gluten.  Yes, I know.  It’s absolutely ridiculous.  Some of the brands that I use are Pacific and Imagine.
• When buying ice cream, you obviously want to stay away from Cookies ‘n Cream and Cookie Dough, but I also avoid generic brands that have a ton of ingredients, making it difficult to determine whether or not there’s gluten.  When I buy ice cream, I go with Edy’s or Breyer’s.
• Vanilla extract (for the chocolate sauce) can be controversial in regards to gluten content.  While vanilla does contain grain alcohol, it should be gluten-free, since the alcohol has gone through a distillation process.  The same thinking applies with vinegar and liquor.  Beer, however, still contains gluten because it has not been distilled.

So, did the recipes pass the test?  Everything tasted yummy and I woke up the next day feeling great!  (This doesn’t always happen when I eat outside of my home.)  Hopefully my grammar and sentence structure passed too!

Thank you, Peyten, and the many others who have hosted me in the past and those who will have me in the future.

Note: Photos are from when I made these dishes previously.  Peyten’s looked very similar though!  I’m not yet quite tacky enough to take my camera to someone else’s home but I have a feeling I will soon.

Another sighting of mainstream magazines giving attention to us gluten-free eaters.  Check out Real Simple Magazine’s 8 Gluten-Free Goodies.  The editors even picked two of my favorite gluten-free snacks: Glutino Pretzels and Mary’s Gone Crackers.  Glutino pretzels are perfect with hummus and my gluten-eating friends love them more than regular pretzels.  The delicious buttery taste and the light, crispiness is so much tastier than an Utz pretzel, I promise.

I’ve also converted many people to Mary’s Gone Crackers.  My mom always keeps them in the house, even though I no longer live in the same state.  Real Simple recommends the Onion flavor of Mary’s, but I have to disagree.  The Original flavor is definitely my Mary’s of choice.  The other flavors are a bit too overpowering for me.  I prefer the Original cracker with a yummy brie or gouda.  Perfect for cocktail time!

Mary's Gone Crackers are the speckled brown crackers. They add great color to your platter!

Have you tried any of the items that made the list?  Do they make your list?  Are there any that you think were left out that should have made the list of eight?  I do find it a little odd that Real Simple didn’t just make a “Top 10” list.  Seriously, couldn’t they find two more gluten-free treats?

“Find the shortest, simplest way between the earth, the hands and the mouth.” – Lanza del Vasto

CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) groups are a great way to get access to delicious, fresh, local produce and connect with local farms.  As the weather gets warmer, many CSAs are getting started and looking for members.  If you haven’t yet found a CSA, the Small Farms CSA runs from May 2^nd through August 15^th.  Operated by Judith Winfrey and Joe Reynolds of Love is Love Farm, they will bring your fresh produce from their farm and a few other local farms.  You receive a weekly shipment of veggies and you can also choose to add meat to your CSA from Riverview Farms.  The Small Farms CSA offers two pick up locations:

-        The Universalist Unitarian Church on Cliff Valley Sunday mornings from 10am to 12:30pm.  http://www.uuca.org

-        The East Atlanta Village Farmers Market on Thursday evenings from 4pm to 8pm.  http://www.farmeav.com

Here’s a list of items you might find in the CSA:

Arugula, Basil, Bush and Pole Beans, Beets, Broccoli, Carrots, Cherry Tomatoes, Collard Greens, Cucumbers, Eggplant, Fennel, Field Peas, Green Garlic, Heirloom Tomatoes, Leeks, Lettuce Heads, Kale, Okra, Pac Choi, Pears, Salad Greens, Salad Radishes, Spinach, Strawberries, Sweet Turnips, Sweet Onions, Sweet Peppers, Summer Squash, Tomatoes, and Watermelons.

Boxes may also include: Free range eggs, Local goat cheese, Locally milled corn grits and corn meal, Local, raw honey

And of course, everything in the CSA is naturally gluten-free!

Last fall I mentioned that the Atlanta Braves’ Turner Field was introducing a gluten-free concession stand.  Well, good news, folks!  The gluten-free treats will be returning to Turner Field for the Braves’ 2010 season.

Thanks to my friend, Jonathan, for sending this article by Tiffany James of the GF Examiner, my way.  The article gives more details about the gluten-free stand and a photo of last year’s GF stand.  The Braves’ season opens on April 6^th so head to the stadium and support Aramark’s efforts to provide gluten-free options for Braves’ sports fans.  Enjoy Redbridge Beer, as well as chicken sandwiches and hot dogs with gluten-free buns.  Let me know if you’ve tried the food at Turner Field and what you think of the various GF options.  It’s always nice to have a cold beer at a baseball game, right?   This warm weather is perfect for going to a ball game.  Anyone interested?