Local bakery, Sally’s Bakery just added Cinnamon Rolls (with icing!) to their menu.  These rolls come six to a pan, for $9.99.  Perfect for a Sunday brunch or a lazy morning breakfast.  Sally’s cinnamon rolls are gluten, dairy, soy and egg free.  Amazing!

Sally’s has also decided to make their dinner rolls and pecan pie part of their year-round menu, not just for the holidays.  Head to Sally’s and stock up on your gluten-free goodies.  Remember, you can always put items in the freezer to enjoy at a later date.

Sally’s Bakery – 5920 Roswell Rd. Suite 108A- Sandy Springs, GA 30328- 404.847.0211

Jennifer Levinson, owner of Souper Jenny, is opening a new restaurant, Café Jonah and the Magical Attic, in February.  Levinson envisions this new restaurant to be a gathering place and coffee shop, inspired by old-fashioned European cafes.  Open for breakfast and lunch, Café Jonah will offer daily frittatas, sandwiches and salads.  The frittatas and most of the salad options will be gluten-free.  Most excitingly, Café Jonah will be selling freshly baked, gluten-free goodies from Sally’s Bakery, featuring Sally’s muffins.  Café Jonah won’t be offering gluten-free sandwiches on the menu at first, but hopefully eventually.  Check out this article in the AJC to learn more about Café Jonah and the inspiration behind the concept.

Stay tuned for more information about the opening date!

Café Jonah and the Magical Attic – 3188 Paces Ferry Place, Atlanta GA

We’ve been covered in ice since Sunday night, here in Atlanta.  Three days later, we still haven’t had school and just got the car out this morning.  Fortunately, we’ve had a plethora of soup and chili in the freezer that we’ve been going through, but today it was necessary to go to the store and reload.  Slim pickings…no trucks have delivered to our local Publix since the weekend and everything was picked over.  Everything.

The meat section: We managed to snag some beef tenderloin

Veggies?

Onions and potatoes usually go here

This shelf dashed my hopes of having something green tonight.

There were plenty of potato chips so David was happy.  Tonight we’ll be having beef tenderloin and twice baked potatoes.  So I can’t complain too much.

T minus 7 days until Thanksgiving supper…

Turkey Day  is happening at Casa Metcalf this year.  Yep, that’s right; David and I are hosting his family.  I can’t wait to host everyone in our new house and have an excuse to cook.

So, what are we making this year?

Turkey on the grill: David did such a great job with the turkey last year, so I see no reason to change the preparation method.  Also, grilling our bird, frees up our oven for more baking.  David plans on brining our bird 24 hours in advance.  David has also mentioned covering the turkey with bacon while grilling.  I won’t argue with that.  After much debate, we went with a fresh turkey from Publix.  I had grand plans that we would get a local turkey, that lived a happy and freely roaming life, but the price tag was too steep ($120!!).  Does that make me an awful person?

Brussels sprouts: I just can’t get enough of those little bites of goodness!  Maybe with a little pancetta?  My friend, Hannah, tried brussels sprouts with grapes recently, something I saw in Real Simple.  I’m interested.

Canned cranberry: I could attempt making cranberry from scratch, but I’ve always preferred the canned version as I grew up with the oddly smooth cranberry on orange slices.  Fortunately, canned cranberry’s GF.

Mashed Potatoes with baby red potatoes, skin on.  I love the texture the skin adds.

Butternut Squash (my mother-in-law’s recipe)

Stuffing: This is adventurous, and we’ve never GF stuffing before, but we’re going to try a recipe, substituting Sally’s Sandwich Bread for real bread.  Of course our stuffing will have sausage in it!

Apple & Pumpkin Pie (Thank goodness for Whole Foods’ Gluten-Free Bakey Pie Crusts)

I will be serving (but not making) pecan pie and dinner rolls, courtesy of Sally’s Bakery.

I’ve also learned that when hosting Thanksgiving, it’s not just the actual Thanksgiving dinner that you have to think about.  The Metcalves will be with us from Thursday through Sunday, so just a turkey and some cranberry won’t last us.

Here are some other items I’m going to make to keep our bellies happy when the last bit of turkey has been consumed and there’s no more pie left for breakfast:

Granola and pumpkin bread for breakfasts and snacking

Chicken chili for lunches, once the leftovers run out

Honey mustard chicken for a weekend dinner.  It’s just so easy.

What are you planning for your Thanksgiving feast?  What are your favorite gluten-free holiday recipes?

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.'

Quinoa: A staple at Casa Metcalf

Quinoa is a go-to item in my weekly meal planning.  Not only is it yummy, but it has many nutrients and lots of fiber so we can definitely call it a super food.  I love this seed/grain as you can take it in many different culinary directions.

I’ve enjoyed it for breakfast, with cinnamon, blueberries and strawberries…

Quinoa goes well with edamame, red onions, and local cherry tomatoes…

You can make a hearty quinoa dish, similar to risotta with fresh tomatoes and parmesan cheese…

My friend, Mary Stuart, has introduced me to Costco and when I accompanied her on a recent trip to this mega-store, she pointed out the large bags of quinoa to me.  Of course I added the hefty bag to the cart.  We’ll be eating a lot of quinoa in the next few months.

Who knew Costco had quinoa?

Earlier this week, I made a batch of quinoa with sautéed onions and served it as a side dish with honey mustard chicken.  Of course I doubled the recipe so for lunch all week, I’ve been enjoying my quinoa with roasted sweet potatoes and Brussels sprouts.  Mmmm…

Last week I tried a new quinoa combo.  I made the Gluten Free Goddesses’ (also known as one of my favorite blogs, Karina’s Kitchen) recipe for Quinoa Salad with Pears, Baby Spinach, Chickpeas and Maple Vinaigrette.  Quite a combination, right?  It was so delicious and the textures worked really well together.  I particularly enjoyed the toasted pecans.  (I just toasted mine on the stove with a little olive oil on medium high heat for a few minutes.  You want to toss them as they cook to prevent uneven cooking.)

Gluten-Free Goddesses’ Quinoa Salad: (Serves 4 as a main dish, 6 as a side)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup organic quinoa
  Sea salt
• 2 good handfuls of organic baby spinach leaves, washed, drained
  1 large ripe pear, washed, stemmed and cored, cut into pieces
  1/2 cup chilled chick peas, rinsed, drained
  Sea salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste
  A handful of pecans, pan toasted and salted to taste
• 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  3 tablespoons golden balsamic vinegar
• 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup

Place the quinoa in a saucepan or a rice cooker. Add 2 cups fresh water, and a pinch of sea salt. Cover and cook on a low simmer until all the water is evaporated and the quinoa is tender- roughly 20 minutes. Fluff with a fork and dump it into a large salad bowl.

Toss is the pear, spinach, and chick peas.

Mix in a separate bowl the maple syrup, olive oil and balsamic vinegar.  Pour on salad and toss gently.  Add S & P to taste.

Enjoy!

Note: If you want the leftovers to keep during the week, I would suggest adding the spinach on an ‘as needed’ basis or even just using it as a bed on your plate for the rest of your salad.  Then it won’t get soggy during the week.

Not only did I make this dish for dinner, but the next night I enjoyed Mary Stuart’s version of the same recipe.  Of course she and I both thought sweet potatoes would go well with the dish.  She also made an amazing GF quiche but more details on that later…

What do you like to add to your quinoa?

Georgia is now home and while I love being an Atlantan, there’s something about Virginia, that I just can’t tear myself away from…especially Virginia in the fall.  I get to spend two weekends in Virginia this month and I feel like one lucky girl.

Even though this past weekend was unusually warm, it still felt like fall in Charlottesville.  Leaves were starting to change; everyone wanted to be outside; I had no responsibilities for the weekend except hang out with college friends.  Beautiful.

While I miss so many of the gluten-filled places I frequented as an undergrad, Saturday morning was a reminder to me that there are some gluten-free places for me in C’Ville.  Desperate to enjoy the beautiful weather, I wandered downtown to the Farmer’s Market, where of course, you can find table after table of beautiful produce, all gluten-free.  I even unexpectedly ran into three college friends while perusing the market…so fun!

It didn’t bother me that the cakes and breads at the market weren’t GF, because I headed right over to The Baker’s Palette and ordered myself a few of their gluten-free pumpkin muffins.  Baker’s Palette also sells GF banana muffins and biscotti, but I always stick with the pumpkin variety.  (They keep them frozen so I had to exercise major patience while I waited for my first one to thaw.  It was worth the wait.)

Baker's Palette: Just a quick walk from Charlottesville's Downtown Mall

A wonderful, gluten-free, morning.  Sure, when I got to the morning reception I attended, I couldn’t eat the Bodo’s bagels that were set out, but by that time I had my perfectly thawed, delicious pumpkin muffin.

I didn’t have a lot of time to eat out at restaurants this trip because most of my meals were at University events, but on Sunday morning I discovered a new found love of smoothies.  Now, I’ve never really been into the ‘liquid diet,’ but on Sunday morning they looked so good, and it was delicious.  My friend, Nina, and I went to Calvino Cafe, at the Main Street Market, next to one of favorite lunch spots, Feast.

I inquired about the yogurt Calvino puts in their smoothies and they use the Kroger generic brand, so I didn’t take a risk.  Instead they subbed milk for yogurt and it was so yummy.  (My smoothie still tasted nice and thick, not too icy.)  Calvino also offers soy milk as an option, in case you prefer to go dairy free.  We sat outdoors, enjoying our breakfasts, before taking a walk ‘on grounds.’  (That’s what we, UVA folks, refer to as ‘on campus.’)  A perfect way to end my Charlottesville visit before heading back to my family in northern Virginia.  And, I’ll be back up in the Commonwealth of Virginia this weekend too!

This just in from Jennifer Harris, the Atlanta Gluten-Free Examiner: the Georgia Dome will now be serving gluten-free items at the Falcons’ games.  Some of the options include gluten-free paninis (yum!) and American Gra-Frutti treats.  Not only do I love Gra-Frutti cupcakes (gluten-free and vegan), which will be served, but you can also get their amazing caramel crunch. Way better than just getting peanuts at a game!  And the Georgia Dome has Redbridge beer to quench your thirst at the game.  You can find these gluten-free goodies at the club level, but apparently more stands will be serving them at future games.  I’ll keep you posted.

Sounds good to me!  Maybe I need to go to my first Falcons game…

One of my favorite blogs is “I’m High on Cooking: The Life of a Farmer’s Apprentice.”  What can I say?  He had me at ‘Hello.’ From the first time I read this blog, I knew this would be high up in my Google Reader.  Our blogger, Jared Pickard, moved from New York to Athens, Georgia to apprentice on a farm, and he shares his experiences, photos and videos with his readers who live vicariously through him.

Jared writes about the daily issues on the farm, including the sad death of Oprah, the pig.  (I know, Jared, I wasn’t supposed to be sad, but I was heart broken.)  Check out Jared’s About Me page to learn more of his story.

I recently learned that Jared was featured on CNN’s Eatocracy, discussing his time on Full Moon Farms and the restaurant Farm Burger, that his farm is connected with.  You can check out the article (and photos) here: Building a Better Burger from the Ground Up

Side note: I have not eaten yet at Decatur’s Farm Burger, but I will be there soon since they just started offering Pure Knead’s gluten-free buns.  So many of my favorite things all wrapped up in one post!

Congrats, Jared!  Thanks for sharing your life with us.  As my husband would say, “Keep livin’ the dream.”

On Saturday, I spent the morning at Atlanta’s Gluten-Free Vendor Fair with my GF buddies, Jen and Anne.  I attended last year and was blown away by the number of GF vendors, but this year it felt like even more options and yummy treats to enjoy.

It’s a bit overwhelming to walk into a room with over 75 tables of GF options.  Where to start?  We decided to begin with savory dishes and end with sweet.  Well, we were really good about following our plan initially, but by the end, we were sampling whatever looked good to us.  We also took a break after about 45 minutes of tasting, which allowed our tummies to semi-digest what we’d already tried and go back for Round Two.  It was really great this year to have all of the vendors in one room, and not allowing strollers inside for the first part of the day, made it much easier to navigate.

There were many favorites this year but some of our top “New Discoveries” were:

My GF buddies, Jen & Anne enjoying PF Chang's lettuce wraps.

P.F. Chang’s: Oh wow.  P.F. Chang’s was our first stop on the gluten-free tour and I could have been sufficiently filled up just from what they had to offer.  I have to admit, I’ve never actually been to a P.F.Chang’s but I now know where I’ll be going when I’m craving Chinese food or on the road and looking for a place that I know will be gluten-free and yummy.  Their chicken lettuce wraps were one of the best savory items I ate all day and their Triple Chocolate Mousse mini-dessert is the perfect bit of GF goodness to finish off a meal.  Check out their gluten-free menu online

Figo Pasta: A local favorite of mine, I’d never sampled their delicious GF dessert before, Crespelle, two gluten-free pancakes with Nutella in the middle.  So good.  Of course I love their pasta too.

The American Grafrutti folks and their assortment of treats.

American Grafrutti: Known for their vegan and gluten-free cakes, this Marietta based company, introduced me to their caramel crunch this weekend.  I love trail mix/granola/sweet and savory combinations and that’s exactly what their caramel crunch was.  I could have eaten the entire bowl, and sort of wish I had.  You will soon be able to find their caramel crunch in Whole Foods.  I’ve mentioned this before but you can get American Grafrutti cupcakes at the Atlanta Braves

Pure Knead: The makers of Yeah! Burgers' buns...now serving GF hot dogs too.

Pure Knead: The Pure Knead folks are bringing gluten-free baked goods to the restaurant world.  They are the people that bring you the Yeah! Burger buns and now serving Farm Burger in Decatur as well.  You can order directly from Pure Knead.  Hands down, these are the best buns I’ve ever tasted.

Creators of the "Flaxy Lady Cookie." What a great name.

Mrs. Madewell: These sweet, yet savory cookies are gluten, dairy, soy and egg free.  I loved their Hummingbird Cookie and Mrs. Madewll also had the best named cookie: “Flaxy Lady Cookie.”  I love a good dose of flax any day.  Why not slip it into something sweet.  Their Amazing Oat Bark was another crunchy, sweet and salty treat.

Peacecake: Best new baking mix discovery

Peacecake: This company’s baking mixes make incredible gluten-free treats, from brownies to cookies to muffins.  When I tasted these bites of deliciousness, I couldn’t believe they came from a pre-packaged mix.  I will definitely be ordering some online.  You can also order frosting too!

Thanks to everyone who worked hard to make this event happen, especially the Atlanta Metro Celiac Group.  I know many hours go into making this a successful event.  Thanks to the vendors for all of the yummy free samples!

This is just a ‘taste’ of what we sampled at the Gluten-Free Vendor Fair this weekend.  What were your favorites?  Please share!