Hello Couch, I Love You

Today the plan is to sit on the couch and enjoy football and TV all day! I slept in today and feel wonderful. Last weekend we were in Michigan for a wedding and arrived home late Sunday night. Justin and I had worked the entire week, plus I had class two nights. Which means the days I didn't have class this week, I completed my homework for class. Needless to say, the weekend couldn't come soon enough.

With time to sit and do nothing, I can recap on last weekend.

We flew in Friday afternoon, Dave and Amanda were our gracious chauffeurs. We were able to stop at Noodles & Co. in Grand Rapids, so I could enjoy a GF lunch. (Plus, Noodles is part of our past...Justin and I met while working at the one in East Lansing during college.) Whenever we get the chance in Michigan, we like to enjoy some noodles. It's almost like we crave it, especially since there aren't any in Texas yet. I ordered the pesto cavatappi, of course with rice noodles. I originally ordered chicken too, but they came out later to explain that it was made on the same grill with the parm chicken, so it would be cross contaminated. I appreciated them coming to check...when I worked at Noodles, I wasn't GF yet and they didn't sell the parmesan chicken. Although it looks a little silly with rice noodles, it was amazing. It was hot, and tasted better than I remember it made with gluten filled pasta.

Friday afternoon, we spent enjoying a few brews at some local bars in Muskegon. I was surprised when I asked at both bars that they had a gluten free beer! Both had New Grist, so of course I had to order it. Justin ordered BadAss Ale by Kid Rock and his was the same price as my GF beer.

At the second bar Pints and Quarts, I enjoyed a Strongbow out of the tap. Strongbow is a hard cider so it is GF. It's not often that I can order something from a tap, so I had to take advantage of it. We were able to enjoy the patio on a gorgeous day too.

Then came the rehearsal dinner at a very nice restaurant, Tony's. I was searching for a link to Tony's online to find a link, but I think I remember someone saying that they are only open for private parties. I couldn't find a link. I think they are owned by the same people who own Pints and Quarts. But I will be honest about what happened during the rehearsal dinner.

When we sat down for dinner, I wondered what would be served. First came out salads, so I asked for one with out croutons and ate it without dressing. I was hoping there would be something I could eat for dinner as well. I looked over and saw an oven that pizza was being pulled out of, delicious looking gourmet pizza. I would not be able to consume the pizza, so I took some peanuts out of my purse and began to nibble on them.

One thing I still need to work on after a year is being more assertive about asking if there are any GF options. Normally we do research before we enter a restaurant, but it is reality that there are moments when you go to a place for an event and don't have a choice if they are accommodating or not. I never want to be the problem person and make a scene. Everyone at my table was encouraging me to ask if there was anything gluten free they could bring me, but I didn't want to. Amanda was my voice and told the waitress about my dietary needs. She knew right away and offered to go to their other restaurant down the street to get me something!

I was brought to tears. The whole weekend was emotional for me for several reasons, and I couldn't control these tears of joy. She brought me the most amazing salad. It had edamame, red onions, and a delicious vinaigrette. I literally kept saying, "This is the best salad I've ever had." I pretty much devoured the whole plate, it was much more flavorful than my salad without dressing that I ate when we first arrived.

After that I had my own personal veggie GF pizza. I ate all of that too! The crust was so soft and doughy. I repeatedly thanked the waitress for going down the street.

Tears came back again when she brought me my own dessert. Everyone else was served cannolis and she brought me the filling in a mason jar. This was seriously one of the best dinners I ever ate! Justin and I are terrible with having cash on us, so we borrowed some from a friend to offer her a generous tip for going out of the way for me. (I have not forgot to pay you back!)

On Saturday, the wedding was beautiful and reception was gorgeous. 

The reception was located on the water with a priceless view.

I found my table assignment with a little "G" in the corner. Ah, relief I knew I would have something GF to fill my belly.

A nice piece of meat and some vegetables for dinner.

Why is it the majority of the pictures I take are of food? At least I was able to get one photo of the hubby and me. The wedding was so fun. Congratulations Jeff and Megan.

Best Gluten Free Anniversary Ever!

Today is 1 year since I've been gluten free! I received the official call from the doctor last year on this day and commenced with a GF diet right away. What a year it has been! I've learned so much along the way and still think of the first time we went to Sun Harvest, completely overwhelmed attempting to read labels and decipher what gluten free meant.

I love the way I feel today. I always tell people when they ask how I can eat GF, "I never knew how bad I felt until I know how I feel now." Seriously, I lived everyday with belly aches, a bloated stomach, the worst flatulence in the entire world. One day I would be running to the bathroom because of diarrhea and the next day I would be constipated to no end. I was severely anemic and felt tired ALL THE TIME! I used to chew ice all the time...not anymore.

I feel fantastic today and am so thankful I was diagnosed semi-early in my life. (I was anemic since I was 8, but felt more of the effects later in life. After getting married and moving to Texas, the stress of it all amplified my symptoms.) I turn 27 this month, so it took 18 years to discover my celiac.

Yesterday I posted that it was National Celiac Awareness Day. My gluten-free anniversary is the day after. I think that is a little special. So does my husband because he bought me a card!

He surprised me numerous times today for my GF anniversary! I shed some tears of joy in the process. My husband is an amazing supporter of my our lifestyle. In case I don't say this enough, thank you Justin. Also, thank you to all my friends and family who have helped me along the way whether going to a restaurant that has options for me, giving me a recipe, letting me know about a new product, or making a special meal for me...I love you all and appreciate what you do for me.

Back to surprises...

He bought me a new car!

Ok, it's actually not new, but "new" to us. It's a 2006 Mercury Milan. And he didn't buy it for my GF anniversary. But today we did officially buy it! After we were having some car troubles, we decided to look for a different car and unexpectedly stumbled across this one in the lemon lot on base.

On to another surprise...

I came home to pizza in the oven. This was an amazing surprise because we haven't been to the grocery store in like 2 weeks and it's hard to come up with something to eat! Our weekend trip to Michigan this past weekend for a wedding, left us with an empty fridge and lack of motivation to go shopping. I had a hungry stomach and was ecstatic to have dinner ready!

 A simple set table, with a little gift and card on the side.

He wouldn't admit right away that he didn't make the pizza. While taking care of car stuff today, he stopped at the Little Aussie Bakery and picked up a pizza to bake at home. We've had pizzas from there  on many different occasions, but for some reason today the crust was thick and amazing. It wasn't as crispy as it usually is there. I noticed it to be more fluffy and soft, which I liked!

After dinner was another surprise...

Dessert! Gluten free cake. Yum. (More here about their cake.)

And the final surprise...

My very own GF t-shirt!

From Little Aussie Bakery

What an amazing gluten free anniversary!

Happy Celiac Awareness Day

It's late. I've been depriving my blog, yet again. But I feel compelled to post something on Celiac Awareness Day. I wish I had a shirt or something that I could've warn to school today. I guess I'll have to make sure to get one for next year. Today was picture day at school too!

To celebrate Celiac Awareness Day, here a couple photos from a recent trip to one of our favorite restaurants that works amazingly well with the gluten free community. Las Canarias can make pretty much anything from their menu GF. (See our July visit here). We went during lunch hours because it is reasonably priced.

We started by splitting some watermelon and tomato gazpacho. It had wonderful flavor and was super fresh. Admittedly, neither of us realized it is a cold soup. It wasn't our favorite menu item, but still had good flavor.

We also split our sandwiches for lunch, and of course had to order the Kobe burger again. The other sandwich we split was the blackened red fish sandwich. We made sure to order them gluten free so they came on GF bread. We wondered if they made their own bread or if it was bought. After questioning, our waiter showed us none other that an Udi's bread package! My plate came with a cup of fruit as well.

We even ordered dessert, which we rarely do! This was homemade gelato...we went the day of the UTSA game, so I'm trying to remember the exact flavors they had that day. The pink one was cherry peppercorn and the brown one was something to do with nuts. Both were succulent and unique than any ice cream/gelato/frozen yogurt I've ever tried!

I also forget to mention that we took a bike peddler (bike taxi) to the restaurant from the game. We took a VIA bus to the game from base and didn't feel like walking for lunch. This was an amazing idea because we were hungry and...

...it was hot! Notice the umbrella for shade.

Bread Pizza

For dinner on Sunday, I wanted to use up the extra hot tenders in a different recipe. I had several ideas, but wasn't willing to make a trip to the store. I had to work with what I had. I wanted to make some wraps, but there weren't any tortillas in the house. Then I decided a buffalo chicken pizza would be a good choice. Although, we didn't have any frozen crust and I wasn't in the mood to knead some dough. It had to be quick!

After some debate, I pulled Rudi's bread out of the freezer. (I love that the commissary sells a good GF bread. I don't have to drive to Whole Foods all the time). I lined my cookie sheet with parchment paper and began to construct mini pizzas.

We had some open pizza sauce in the fridge and a block of mozzarella that I grated. Then I topped the pizza with the left over sliced chicken tenders that already had a spicy hot flavor. I cut up some red onions and squeezed them in any left over spaces. Finally, I sprinkled some Italian seasoning on top.

I baked the "pizzas" on 350 for about 20 minutes. They came out way better than expected.

A lot of GF pizza crusts tend to be thin, so with all the toppings you really couldn't tell it was just bread. There was so much flavor from the chicken and the bread acted as a crispy crust. In a pinch, these are the perfect pizza crust substitute.

I wish I had some now, since I had class tonight and didn't really get a real dinner.

Lovely Labor Day

An extended weekend is always respected and enjoyed. Of course, with a holiday on a Monday; Monday is not a typical day. We had Justin's troop over along with his wife and daughter for lunch. I was also able to sleep in and of course, do some homework and check papers.

For the last eight Mondays, I've been attending cake decorating class. This Monday I didn't have one, last week was my last one. Unfortunately, I won't be at one again for a while. It is something I enjoy, but don't really have the time for with work and class two nights a week.

I just finished up my second class, which is the gum paste and flower class at Michael's. Each week we weren't required to make a cake, since we worked on making different types of flowers. For the final week, I used most of the flowers I made each week to help decorate my cake. 

I picked the ones that were pink and yellow.

I didn't have time to make all new flowers, so I thought I'd be able to make something work out of the hodgepodge of flowers I had created each week.

I think I made them look good together too!

We also learned how to do the basket weave.

For the inside of my GF cake, I used the vanilla cupcake recipe from Amsterdam's Gluten Free Cupcake book. While I'm not sure if I should use a specific cupcake recipe for a cake, I did it anyways and just doubled it. My cake was still tiny, even with doubling the recipe.

I made a lemon flavored frosting and used a blueberry jam filling. The cake was alright, it was a little dense, definitely not as fluffy as the cupcakes from Williams Sonoma. In all honesty though, I picked it for that reason. I knew it would be easy to cut in half and decorate if it was a little more firm of a cake. Everyone at Justin's work still gobbled it up too.

Happy Labor Day to all, and here's to a short work week!

Football Season

The end of summer means the start of football! I love me some college football too. Friday night, Michigan State played their first football game of the season. It was a nice way to end the work week and start the weekend. We stayed home to watch the game on the Big 10 Network. In order to properly cheer on my Spartans, we made appetizers to enjoy through out the game. 

At the GF baking class last weekend, we picked an awesome jalapeno corer along with the GF flour. It was the perfect tool to use to help me make some jalapeno poppers. My only suggestion is to wear gloves, because the seeds were burning my hand long after I finished coring 12 jalapenos.

The corer cost $9 at Williams Sonoma. Justin and I had first spotted it at grandma and grandpa's and became intrigued to get one ourselves.

Justin made a cheese mixture of out half a block of cream cheese, some shredded cheddar, and shredded gouda. I'm sure any mixture of cheeses would work!

I then stuffed the peppers using a knife with the cheese mixture.

The final step was to wrap them in half a slice of bacon. (The parchment paper was a great idea too for covering the pan.)

Then we broiled them for 10 minutes to an oozing perfection. We were a little nervous about the bacon grease in the oven, but I watched closely to make sure we didn't have a grease fire.

Justin also made his famous calgary hot wings but as hot tenders! He grilled them on the grill and they were so moist and juicy.

 Then he mixed the sweet and spicy sauce out of these 3 condiments.

Toss the tenders in the sauce and they're ready to eat!

My couch, my Spartans, my hubby, and delicious food! MSU didn't play their best, but I'll take the win!

Yesterday afternoon, we were also a part of history. UTSA, where I'm attending for my masters, had their first football game - EVER! Here we are ready to support the Roadrunners.

The inaugural game was held at the Alamodome and the team looked good.

They won 31 - 3! We left the game a tad early to hit up Las Canarias. 

We spent today cleaning, which wasn't very exciting. I need to find time to check some papers and do some reading for class. At least tomorrow is still part of the weekend! I love holidays.

Free Baking Class!

I've been so detached from my blog since school has start and I don't like it! I have so much to talk about and feel I won't do ultimate justice with big time gaps in between. Luckily, tonight I'm relaxing on the couch with some MSU football and amazing appetizers.

I'll try to talk about the finger food in the next few days. I know I still need to talk about our fried feast from last week! So much to tell...

My roomie, who I miss dearly, tipped me off about a gluten free baking class being held at Williams Sonoma. I had to check it out and dragged Justin along with me, even with our Fantasy draft later that Sunday afternoon.

I thought more celiacs would have signed up for the class, but it seemed to be filled with weekly regulars. There was one lady who was there because her son was wheat free, but I was the only celiac. Everyone else was learning for the first time about GF.

The instructor was honest, which I truly appreciated. She started off explaining that she didn't normally partake in GF baking. In fact, she said she knew very little on the topic until she researched it. To my surprise, she covered all of the basics. She mentioned cross contamination, the difficulty of batter consistency, and discussed replacements for wheat flour. She even practiced at home before hand.

Here's a picture of us gathered around while she demonstrated.

Williams Sonoma recently came out with their own GF flour cup for cup (C4C). It's supposedly a cup for cup replacement for regular recipes. The demonstrator said she tried it in four recipes and two turned out and two didn't. She also used the flour in a cupcake recipe, seen below.

She demonstrated mixing the cupcake batter. The ingredient list was fairly simple and not too complicated to make. The batter was very elastic but light and airy.

Here's the recipe for the cupcakes:

• 2 cups C4C flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup of unsalted butter at room temperature
• 1 cup of granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 2 large egg whites
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup of milk

- Pre-heat oven to 350. Line muffin pans with paper lining. 

- Combine all dry ingredients

- Cream together sugar and the butter until light and airy. Add in vanilla extract.

- Scrape down sides of the bowl and add 2 whole eggs.

- Mix for 2 minutes at medium speed.

- Combine the flour mixture into the batter.

- In a separate bowl, whip egg whites until medium peaks begin to form.

- Fold in egg whites into batter.

- Scoop the batter into cupcake liners.

- Bake for 15 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

- Cool and spread favorite frosting,

The flour runs at $19.95 for a 3 pound bag. After the class, we received ten percent off so we decided to pick up a bag of the GF flour. I'm excited to try it in different recipes. We had to run shortly after the cupcakes came out, but the lady gave me two for the road. I had some extra frosting from cake decorating class, so I smeared some on. 

The cupcakes were moist, flavorful, and soft! They reminded me of the sponge cake I made, although this recipe seemed simpler. I want to try to make them at home or try the recipe as a cake.

Williams Sonoma also sells a GF brownie mix, which was AMAZING! I questioned if these were truly GF. They were thick, moist, and the consistency was just like gluten filled brownies. If you love brownies, these are a must have.

She mentioned they were hoping to do a second GF baking class in time, so I will definitely stay tuned. Good thing I now get emails from Williams Sonoma!