The day before the earthquake and tsunami hit Japan, I celebrated my (yikes!) 29^th birthday.  As I spent the day feeling special, and well loved, we had no idea that in less than 24 hours, natural disaster would occur.  It’s a bit eerie to reflect on my birthday and how wonderful it was and how unaware we were, but I’m thankful we didn’t yet know what was to come.

The morning started in the best way possible, with gluten-free chocolate chip pancakes.  The commissary on base sells Bob’s Red Mill pancake mix so Alden stocked up.  Chip didn’t want any of this nonsense of sugar at breakfast, but Rob, Alden and I enjoyed the yummy pancakes.  At home we use Pamela’s for pancakes, but Bob’s worked really well too.  They were a little thick but Pamela’s can be that way too.  (I prefer my pancakes to be thick and cake like as opposed to thin and crispy.)

Birthday morning hug from Chip

Rob took Chip to the zoo on my big day so Alden and I had a lovely morning out, shopping at Homes in Yokosuku.  We bought bento boxes, chopsticks, nautical striped shirts (just make sure to buy two sizes bigger) and pencil cases.  Pete accompanied us and did very well on his first shopping spree.  We swung by the naval base on the way home to buy wine, People magazine, M&Ms, and other necessities.

For my birthday dinner, Alden made the most delicious chicken tikka masala.  I’ve mentioned before that chicken tikka masala is one of my favorite meals, but I’ve never made the dish from scratch.  Alden used the recipe from Cook’s Illustrated and even put her fish grill to work for cooking the chicken.  Tikka is actually the perfect Japan dinner because it doesn’t require an oven.

Alden did all of the work and served us a delicious, yummy dinner.  Perfect.  The only thing that made the evening better was dessert!  Alden’s friend Lauren, who lives on base (translation: has an oven) made me a gluten-free birthday cheesecake.  I had only met Lauren once before but she spent an entire morning making me a cake.  Her kindness meant so much to me and the cake was such an unexpected treat.  Needless to say the cheesecake was divine.  Lauren used pecans in the crust which really added a nice texture and distracted from the often dense, gluten-free baking mix.  She used Barefoot Contessa’s recipe for the filling.  (I’m going to get the actual recipe for the crust and filling from Lauren and will report back to you.)  We enjoyed our cheesecake while watching Top Chef. Perfect!

Pete & my birthday cake

And, as if all of the festivities weren’t enough, Rob and Alden gave me a wonderful birthday gift.  My very own ramen bowls, chopsticks, and chopstick holders.  It’s fitting that the bowls are decorated with rabbits as 2011 is the Year of the Rabbit, marking my historic trip to Japan and the birth of my nephew Peter “Rabbit.”  (Get it?)

Thank you, Alden, Rob, Lauren, Pete and Chip for a wonderful birthday and a great trip to Japan.  I wouldn’t take it back for anything.  Seriously.

PS: After the earthquake, tsunami warning and evacuation, Alden and I decided we should be eating cheesecake at every meal.  So true.

Birthday Chicken Tikka Masala (Adapted from Cook’s Illustrated)

Ingredients:

Chicken Tikka:

• ½ teaspoon ground cumin
• ½ teaspoon ground coriander
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 ½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 cup plain yogurt
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 medium garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger

Masala Sauce:

• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 medium onion, diced fine
• 2 medium garlic cloves, minced
• 2 teaspoons fresh grated ginger
• 1 serrano chile (ribs & seeds removed), fresh minced
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon garam masala
• 1 20 oz. can crushed tomatoes
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup heavy cream
• ¼ cup chopped cilantro leaves

For the chicken, combine cumin, coriander, cayenne, and salt in a small bowl.  Sprinkle both sides of chicken with spice mixture, pressing so it sticks to the chicken.  Put chicken on a plate and cover with plastic wrap.  Refrigerate 30 to 60 minutes.  I a large bowl, whisk together yogurt, oil, garlic and ginger.

For the sauce, heat oil in large Dutch oven over medium heat until simmering.  Add onions and cook, stirring frequently, 8 to 10 minutes.  Add ginger, garlic, chile, tomato paste, and garam masala.  Cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 3 minutes.  Add crushed tomatoes, sugar, and salt.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Stir in cream and return to simmer.  Remove pan from heat and cover to keep warm.

While sauce simmers, adjust oven rack to upper-middle position (about 6 inches from oven’s source of heat) and heat broiler.  (Note: for those in Japan, cook chicken in fish grill.)  Using tongs, dip chicken in yogurt mixture, coating chicken in a thick layer of yogurt, and put on wire rack of oven in a foil rimmed baking sheet or broiler pan.  Broil chicken between 10 and 18 minutes, when the thickets parts are 160 degrees.  Flip chicken halfway through cooking.

Let chicken rest 5 minutes, then cut into 1-inch chunks and stir into warm sauce.  (Do not simmer chicken in sauce.)  Stir in cilantro, taste, add needed salt, and serve.

A great recipe that is naturally gluten-free, tested by Cook’s Illustrated’s test kitchen, and delicious.  Enjoy!

When I heard Anne Palmer, program director for Johns Hopkins’ Center for a Livable Future, speak at the Georgia Organics Conference a few weeks ago, she showed photos of all of the random places that sell food.  Think about it for a second…why does Petco sell soda?  Why does Office Depot offer an array of M&Ms and Starburst?  No one ventures out to Staples looking for a Diet Coke.  These items placed carefully at the front of the store are what we refer to in the Metcalf house as ‘impulse buys.’

I must say though, I enjoyed seeing Palmer’s photos of brightly packaged food in the oddest places.  I loved picturing her carrying her camera everywhere, waiting to photograph a random shelf of ‘food.’  I couldn’t help but think about my endless searches through stores for any gluten-free products.  In my own travls, or just around town, I scour any food store, airport, bakery, or restaurant for a possible GF treat.  Anyone who has traveled with me knows that I’m more interested in shopping at natural markets than clothing boutiques.

When my friend, Anne, sent me the photo above, I was also reminded of Palmer’s photo slide show.  Of course I’m much happier about the shelf of food displayed in the picture because it’s all gluten-free.  No, Anne didn’t find this plethora of GF items at Pet Smart or 7-Eleven, but she did find it at…Target!  The Atlantic Station Target now sells quite the selection of gluten-free products, including my favorite pretzels by Glutino, Bob’s Red Mill GF oats, and the Betty Crocker baking mixes.  I can’t wait to go stock up.

Does your Target sell gluten-free items yet?  Feel free to send me any of your discoveries of unlikely spots where you find GF items.  We all need a little guidance as we navigate the gluten-free world!

Target at Atlantic Station – 1375 18th Street – Atlanta, Georgia 30363

One of the foods that I missed the most when I was first diagnosed with celiac was granola.  I love granola with ice cream, yogurt, cereal, in trail mix, or simply on its own.  It’s such a yummy snack and if you’re a texture person like me, the crunch of perfectly toasted oats and nuts is just wonderful.  Oats are controversial in the celiac world because even though they are technically gluten free, they are easily contaminated, making them most likely containing gluten, unless they are tested for gluten content.  There are some brands of gluten-free ‘granola’ out there but I hesitate to refer to them as granola because they don’t contain any oats.  Usually it’s a clump of corn flakes with some syrups and dried nuts.  While it has a nice crunch, these store-bought GF granolas just aren’t the same.  Yes, certified gluten-free oats are more expensive than Quaker, but I’m definitely willing to splurge on this grain and it’s so much more economical to make your own granola and it keeps well in the fridge for a long time.

Betsy’s Granola (Created with guidance from Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything Vegetarian)

Ingredients:

• 6 cups certified GF oats
• 2 cups mixed nuts and seeds (I used chopped cashews, pecans, almonds, & sunflower seeds)
• 1 cup shredded coconut
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• Salt
• ½ cup honey
• ½ cup creamy peanut butter (I prefer to use natural PB that still has salt though)
• ½ cup raisins
• ½ cup dried cranberries
• Ground flaxseed (optional)

Preheat oven to 325.  Put a 9 x 13-inch roasting pan over medium-low heat.  (I put the pan over two burners.  Add the oats and cook, stirring occasionally, until they begin to change color and become fragrant, 5 to 7 minutes.

Add the nuts and seeds and continue to cook, stirring frequently, for 2 minutes.  Add the coconut and cook and stir for 2 more minutes.  Add the cinnamon, salt (to taste), flaxseed, honey and peanut butter.  Stir and place in the oven.

Bake for 30 minutes, stirring once or twice during cooking process.

Remove from oven, add raisins and cranberries, and cool on a rack.  Stir once in a while until the granola reaches room temperature.  Transfer to a sealed container and store in refrigerator.  I make it in large batches so I’ll even stick some in the freezer.

Granola continues to be one of my all-time favorite foods because it has a little bit of everything.  Sweet, salty, chewy, crunchy.  Don’t think of this recipe as a concrete set of rules.  Other things you can add to your granola are maple syrup or molasses as a sweetener or different seasonings such as nutmeg, vanilla beans or even ginger.  If you have a sweet tooth, try putting chocolate chips in your batch.  A great ice cream topping!