I’m always in search of gluten-free bread products.  I don’t use gf bread as a major component of my regular diet, partially because it’s a hastle and because I just don’t find it to be that good.  As you know though, I’m always looking for good bread/bagel products for the occasional cream cheese and jam breakfast.  A few weeks ago, I purchased Whole Foods’ Cinnamon Raisin bread and I’m pretty pleased with the recipe they’ve created.  I would say it’s up there with a Sally’s cinnamon raisin English muffin or an Udi’s bagel.

On a recent Saturday morning, when my resident pancake maker (David) was out golfing, I had a rare morning to myself (with no commitments).  In the absence of my weekend chef, I was looking for a “more fun than cereal” weekend breakfast so I decided to break out the cinnamon raisin bread and indulge in a little cream cheese/cinnamon raisin toast.  The Whole Foods Bakehouse bread is perfectly delicious toasted.  It’s got more flavor than plain bread and makes you feel like you’re enjoying a bagel.  There aren’t specific toasting instructions on the packaging but I heated it at 350 for about 5 minutes on each side.  (We don’t have a toaster in our house so we’re limited in our toasting options.)

I devoured both pieces of toast and of course enjoyed my breakfast accompanied with a cup (or two) of coffee.  Why do cinnamon, cream cheese and coffee go so perfectly together?  Not sure, but it’s awesome.

I couldn’t help but think about my brother, Rob, as I ate my breakfast and drank my coffee from my Yokohama Starbucks mug.  I received a postcard in the mail the day before from Rob sent via Okinawa, where his ship was in port at the time he sent it.  I can’t read a word of Rob’s handwriting so it can be a bit of a project to decipher his thoughtful cards (hence I was finally reading it a day later).  I haven’t seen Rob since March 12^th, when his ship was sent out to do tsunami relief.  I miss him a lot.  I savor the occasional phone call from him from across the world and I only wish they could be more frequent.  You would think at this point I’d be used to my big brother being a world traveler (he’s lived in Japan, China,Turkey, and Bahrain), but I’m not.

It’s hard to believe that just over a year ago I wrote this post (“Blueberry Muffins and Childhood Memories”), which is one of my favorites.  A lot changes in a year.  Since then, Rob and Alden have had a baby, I’ve been to Japan (twice), we’ve both survived an earthquake, and Rob continues to serve our country, alongside many others whose families bear a large burden for their spouses’ hard work and service.  The families truly serve us too.

Rob & Chip

Rob’s going to be back in the States (hopefully) as of August.  I can’t wait to see him and have him back in the same time zone.  I know he’s eager to be home too.  You’re greatly missed, Rob.  Hurry home!

On our recent trip to Nashville, there were a few other spots that I felt worthy of a mention.  I love Atlanta but I could really see myself living in Nashville.  Great neighborhoods, family, fun coffee shops and ice cream.  What more could a gluten-free girl need?

Bongo Java Coffee: This east Nashville coffee shop is a great spot for a morning get together.  They have large tables with plenty of space to spread out, and park a large stroller!  My iced coffee was one of the best iced coffees I’ve ever had.  Wonderfully smooth and refreshing after a long walk.  They roast beans in the shop so prepare to take the scent of coffee with you when you leave.  It was so good we went again for breakfast on Saturday too…

Fido: Gluten-Free Muffins: Fido, another local spot, makes gluten-free muffins that they also sell at Bongo.  I tried their strawberry banana gluten-free muffin and it was a great alternative to the glutenous bagel “bombs” (which look delicious!) that everyone else enjoyed for breakfast.  They also have a coconut variety of muffin that gets rave reviews.  They only use rice flour (not a flour blend) but it was pretty good, despite being a bit misshapen.  I’m always appreciative when breakfast places have items I can enjoy, not limited to a plate of eggs.

Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams: This delicious ice cream shop in East Nashville is worth the $4 for two half scoops.  Many of their flavors are GF including my personal favorites, salty caramel and pistachio & honey.  Yum!  Their sorbets (such as Riesling poached pear) look refreshing too but it’s hard for me to resist fancy ice cream.

In researching Nashville, it seems that there are a bunch of spots that offer GF options including The Wild Cow, Matteo’s Pizza and others.  I guess I’ll just have to go back!

Bongo Java – 107 S. 11th St., Nashville, TN 37206 – 615.777.EAST

Fido – 1812 21st Ave. S, Nashville, TN 37212 – 615.777.FIDO

Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream – 1892 Eastland Avenue, Nashville, TN 37206 – 615 262 8611

I love cereal.  Yes, it’s always fun to have a gluten-free cinnamon raisin English muffin as a treat, but I just can’t get enough cereal.  In fact I give my cereal great thought in the morning and I end up combining lots of different cereals to make my perfect mixture of fiber, flavor, and textures.  I think it takes me longer to make my bowl of cereal than scrambled eggs.  I enjoy combining Nature’s Path Mesa Sunrise and Cinnamon Chex.  I top it with raisins, flaxseed meal and a little homemade granola.  The cinnamon Chex adds some sweetness but I still get good fiber from the flax and Mesa Sunrise.  (We celiacs need to make sure we get enough fiber in our diet.)

Gotta love the logo!

Going along with my love for cereal and cereal combinations, I’ve discovered this website: Custom Choice Cereals

I still have not sampled their product, but I’m loving the idea.  You get to pick the combination of ingredients. They ship it to you.  Custom Choice even sells gift cards for the holidays.

Cereal + dried fruit + nuts = yum

Has anyone tried this product yet?  Thoughts?  What would you pick for your cereal combination?

Normally, when I travel, my anxiety levels rise, as I’m far away from the restaurants I love and the safety of my own kitchen.  While we were out west, however, I didn’t find myself worrying about food.  Everywhere we went in Wyoming and Montana, people knew about gluten and were willing to accommodate me if they didn’t already have their gluten-free items listed on the menu.  We also didn’t feel limited to only eating at really nice restaurants, as there were plenty of more casual restaurants that had a wide range of options for me.  Particularly in Jackson Hole, I don’t even feel like we began to tap into the dining world, but we did get a great sampling of the yummy (and gluten-free) flavors Jackson Hole has to offer.

On our first afternoon in Jackson, we took a stroll around the downtown.  I spotted the Lotus Cafe immediately and was hopeful that there would be options for me at this quirky spot.  Fortunately, my hunch was right.  Serving everything from Pad Thai to burgers to Indian food, Lotus’ huge menu indicates every item that can be made gluten-free. Basically everything on their menu can be ordered gluten-free, and I really mean everything.  (Their website indicates 99% of the menu can be made GF.)

Many GF treats greeted me in the glass case!

After enjoying drinks at Spring Creek with my friend Beanie, (and attempting to adjust to the altitude) we returned to Lotus for our first dinner in Jackson.  I was immediately overwhelmed by the plethora of options…what a rare treat!

One of my favorite menu items was the gluten-free samosas with spiced peas and potatoes.  This dish, which is basically a large breaded dumpling, is always a no-no for me.  At Lotus, however, they use a combination of brown and white rice flour in their samosa recipe.  Delicious!  The sauce accompanying the dish is amazing too.

GF Veggie Samasos

For our entrees, David and I decided to share, since I could actually know for sure that his meal was gluten-free too.  He ordered the chicken tikka masala (one of our family favorites) and I went with the ‘Fiesta Bowl’ with bison.  The fiesta bowl consisted of a mix of bison, cheese, lettuce, corn chips, lentils and other yummy goodness.  I always like to combine everything on my plate so this dish was perfect for me.  The tikka masala also received positive reviews from both of us and I loved getting to reach across the table and grab a bite off David’s plate and not worry about contamination, gluten, etc.  It’s the simple pleasures in life, right?

Fiesta Bowl with Bison

Chicken Tikka Masala

What a meal!  Oh, and the best part is that Lotus also serves breakfast and lunch.  All of their sandwiches can be prepared on their homemade gluten-free bread.  The whole time I ate my dinner I was planning when we could return to try their other food!  Unfortunately we never got back to Lotus for lunch but we did go for coffee and breakfast a couple of times.

GF & Vegan Zuchinni Muffin (even David loved it!)

If you’re in Jackson, Lotus is the perfect place to go just for a cup of coffee.  We brought our books and would make a morning of it until we got motivated to start moving and hiking.  (More about the hiking and reading later.)  All of Lotus’ baked goods (cookies, muffins, etc.) are vegan, making them dairy free and egg free.  Many of their items are also gluten-free.  Fortunately, I didn’t realize the muffins were vegan until after ordering.  (Usually I shy away from foods that are missing milk, eggs, and butter!)  These muffins were delicious!

Raspberry Cashew Muffin

I have a much more positive attitude towards vegan items now that I’ve sampled these amazing treats.  During our time in Jackson, I enjoyed Lotus’ raspberry cashew muffin and zucchini muffin.  So good.  One morning I also ordered the ‘Maya,’ steamed quinoa with apples, cinnamon candied walnuts and organic milk.  Sweet quinoa is quite possibly my favorite culinary discovery while out west.

Maya: Hearty Quinoa with a sweet crunch

Sadly, I did not get to try nearly as many things as I would have liked at Lotus, as we were only in Jackson three short days.  Other dishes that stood out to me on the menu included:

• The Deluxe breakfast sandwich (David ordered this but got it with glutenous bread…he’d done enough sharing at that point.)

David's Deluxe Breakfast Sandwich (can be ordered on homemade GF bread)

• Pad Thai
• Chicken Mango Spring Rolls
• GF espresso chocolate chip cookie

I guess I’ll just have to go back to Jackson to sample the rest.  When I started this post, I thought I would write about all of the restaurants where we ate in Jackson, but clearly I’ve got a lot to say.  The others will just have to wait.  Lotus definitely deserves an entire post to itself.  Thank you, Lotus Café.  I hope to see you again soon.

PS: Lotus also has gluten-free tamari/soy sauce on every table.  Even labeled!  Who doesn’t want a little soy sauce on their raspberry cashew muffin?

Lotus Café -145 North Glenwood Street in downtown Jackson

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!