Gluten-Free Holiday Goodies (city-style)!

Even though I live in downtown Rochester now, I used to live in a townhouse in the suburbs.  I was usually there by myself, so there was tons of elbow room.  My kitchen wasn't huge, but it was big enough to leave the kitchen aid on the counter, roll out sugar cookies at Christmas time, and experiment with new recipes and treats to feed my predominately gluten-free family.  One of my favorite treats was the year me and my mom made lemon mousse-filled meringue cups.  They were really good, but you had to eat them quick because after about a day the meringue got soft from the mousse (not that I would complain about having to eat more than one of those in quick succession).  Random recipes aside, two staples I always make are cookie-cutter sugar cookies, and chex mix (both gluten free, of course!)
In my city apartment, I don't think I have the mixer or the counter space for sugar cookies, so sadly those will not come to fruition this year.  I will say though that the Bette Hagman Revised Sugar Cookie Recipe is the best I've tried though, very close to the Joy of Cooking recipe my grandma used to make.  As far as the Chex mix, man I was making that stuff before Chex decided to be cool and go GF! I used to use "Rice Munch'ems" or some random GF cereal knockoff.  Because Chex are more gluten free than ever, my GF recipe revision is now better than ever and I challenge you to eat it without sneaking handfulls of mix each time you go to stir ;)

Secrets to my holiday Chex Mix! By Maddy Varno.

Secret #1! Buy a box of corn chex! Apparently, the recipe is on the side.  This is helpful, as I had to scramble to find the recipe back when I used Rice Munch'ems.  I also discovered the recipe for Chex Mix on a package of butter once (?), which I thought was pleasantly surprising.  I actually think I have that butter container in a recipe binder somewhere.

Secret #2! There are several ingredients you should not put in your chex mix! These include wheat chex (durrr) and bagel chips.  I have yet to come across GF bagel chips, so I make my own.  I take two Glutino plain bagels and slice them into skinny little slices and toast them on a pan in the toaster oven.  This has worked very well for me, however I suffer extreme distractability and usually forget I put them in the toaster about 10 seconds after I've turned the knob to toast.  I make more than I know I'll need because I always get casualties and burn victims.  Also, I don't add peanuts just because I've never liked them in my Chex Mix.  As a young (un-diagnosed Celiac) child, the peanuts always got thrown out with the empty bag.  I think I'd suck the seasoning off them and spit them out, lol.

 More secrets and details on my recipe after the jump!

Warm Soup and Cold Weather

Mrs. Beast

Welcome to December! Nasty business that snow storm--holy cow.  I picked up the used car I just purchased today (a freaking beast, which is why I named it Mrs. Beast), and after fumbling around in it like an idiot*, I quickly adjusted and decided it was actually a nice car to ride in despite the snow.  Plus, it has ABS.  How did I make it this far in Rochester without anti-lock breaks! High-5 to whoever invented those things! So anyways, since I've been all over the place trying to straighten things out with this car, I've been on the run a lot and not planning ahead my lunches like a good Celiac should.  But I didn't fret, instead I've been grabbing lunch at Lori's Natural Foods all week.  Located in Henrietta, NY, they have premade foods that make really good lunches for all those with finicky vegan-so-the-plant-died-of-loneliness, gluten-free, dairy free, free range this, etc.  I mean, the building has sunflowers painted on the side of it.  Anyways. Lots of options for natural foodies, and I love how 99% of all their premade foods are gluten free.  So I had soup for lunch on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.  They didn't have a whole lot in the pre-made food department other than soup that I was interested in (read: sesame tofu? naw thanks) for meals, but desserts? Ahhh hook them up to my face! Pumpkin moon-pie? Gluten free? Mmmmmmm!!!! Two cake-like cookies sandwiching cream cheese frosting or something, I love it. The types of soup I had were:

• vegetable noodle (very good, I liked the quinoa noodles which was odd bc quinoa freaks me out)
• Leek and butternut squash (also very good.  I added a lot of salt, but salt is my favorite food)
• Corn and roasted pepper bisque (needed the most salt. I think this could have used some garlic)

All in all, as a celiac, I couldn't have asked for better options on the go.  The only thing I wish they had was a place to sit and eat in the store with WIFI or something.  But I like to be antisocial when I eat my lunch and I go to a tech school, so I would make that suggestion.

What are the hidden gem gluten free food havens in your city? I love that Rochester, NY has tons of  Celiac options.  I think between Wegmans and general natural food awareness here, we're one of the best Celiac-friendly cities.

In other deliciousness, I was watching the TODAY show this morning, and Martha Stewart was on making some "glitter balls," basically sugar cookie dough in balls, rolled in "glitter" made by mixing sugar and powdered food coloring.  You then lightly smoosh the cookies so they're kind of flat, then bake--and once they're baked, make a frosting sandwich. Doesn't that just make your mouth water?! Have I mentioned I love glitter?!?! That's gotta be real easy to make GF. I just need a good sugar cookie recipe.

 

*When I say fumbling around like an idiot, I got in the car to drive away and couldn't see over the wheel.  This sedan is twice as big as my previous lil 2-door, so I felt like I was driving a bus.  I stopped to get gas and couldn't figure out what side the gas door was on, so I tried turning around and couldn't maneuver the car in the snow!! At this point I was in the middle of the road trying to figure out how to work the "PRNDDL" (pronounced "prindle", read: transmission) ready to put my fist through the windsheild when my dad had to came over and was like do you need help? lol. Thank you, dad! The good news is, once I moved the steering wheel down, I could see.

Thanksgiving and Chocolates

Ok, got the layout in acceptable shape! I figured I'd make a quick post before going to bed.

So this past Thursday was annual turkey day, AKA Thanksgiving.  A beautiful holiday where people everywhere eat until they're no loner to move under their own volition--something I like to call AWESOME.  It's not uncommon that I eat until I can't walk, so a day where this is not just socially acceptable but encouraged is good in my book.  Typically my family has a big dinner together, but a variety of work and life situations left us dispersed this year.  Instead of eating with my family, I ate at my boyfriend's sister's house.  Anna and her boyfriend Marcelino were quite the GF hosts, I think all the food was gluten free.

Now, the thought of going over to someone's house and just sitting down and trusting the food probably sends most Celiacs (myself included) into a panicky fright.  I'll admit I was nervous to see what they came up with, because they were very reassuring everything would be fine (normally people are perplexed and confused at the thought of cooking GF).  But after getting there, I was really impressed with what they came up with.  Both Anna and Marcelino work at Wegmans, and any of my east coast homies know how wonderful Wegmans is about GF food.  So they got the inside scoop on what bread/crackers/flours to buy, etc.  It was pretty cool

I know Udi's products have been gaining popularity lately.  Did anyone else try using their bread for stuffing/dressing? Marcelino had the whole grain sandwich bread and he was a little frightened over how much chicken stock it absorbed.  Compared to what I usually make, it was a bit on the mushy side.  I know Udi's makes amazing sandwiches, but I don't think that soft texture is fit for stuffing.  I usually make my stuffing out of the bread I'd never make a sandwich with, just because it handles all the butter and chicken broth I use.  So I do have that observation.  I'm curious what worked/didn't work for other GF stuffing recipes.

So the day after Thanksgiving, my cousin came to visit me at my apartment downtown.  We wanted to get coffee, and decided on Chocolate and Vines on University Ave in downtown Rochester.  I have been eyeing this place ever since there was a groupon for there a couple weeks ago which I (regrettably) did not buy.  I was so impressed!! I tried two chocolates: mango, and eggnog.  SO GOOD. Holy cow.  I also got a cup of tea.  I was so excited when I noticed on the menu that gluten-free crackers are available upon request for their cheese/wine plate.  Needless to say, I will return to there.

As the weekend winds down, I was left feeling stuffing deprived as I normally make my joy of cooking recipe for Thanksgiving dinner.  Feeling lazy and realizing I don't own the Joy of Cooking (used to steal it from my mom), I bought a GF store-bought stuffing mix I found at Wegmans tonight.  I think it's from The Grainless Baker.  The packaging looks a little primitive, but I was hopeful.  I cooked it up, hoping to be wowed by flavors of sage and chickens:

But sadly, it was reminiscent of the soggy Udi's stuffing.   Two thoughts crossed my mind: Flashbulb memories of eating stuffing on Thanksgiving are amplifying the "wow" flavors I am thinking of, or, I'm going to have to buy a poultry and stuff it and then eat that stuffed bird to satisfy my itch.  Not really sure how that situation will turn out as I'm kind of lazy.  But, in conclusion, I declare the food I ate this past week a success.

Sup new blog

I'm pleased to announce the launch of Maddy's Gluten Free Life! Which can always be found at www.gfree.maddyvarno.com.  Over the last week I purchased my own domain name, and decided to launch a gluten free blog with one of my sub domains. 

Why a gluten free blog? Six years ago, I was diagnosed with Celiac disease.  It was a feisty experience and I was not a happy camper (and I'm pretty sure the medical lab staff had to hold me down to get the needle in my arm for the blood test), but with time I've accepted and embraced my dietary requirements.  It's taught me a lot about responsibility, planning ahead, and so much about food and cooking. 

I can be a little bit of a food snob, but those standards make for good gluten-free preferences!  I'm a diverse foodie--I love snacking, sometimes try to be healthy, can cook/bake/roast any animal but I'm also quite handy pressing "start" to microwave a TV dinner.  Where I live in Rochester, NY, Celiac awareness is abundant, so I like to eat the local GF scene when I can.  These are all topics I expect to draw on for future blog posts. 

I'm still trying to kick the layout until it appeases my demands so this isn't the prettiest blog yet, but I am pleased that the title banner I created seems to reflect my vibrant personality! Stop back soon for more updates.