Traveling Trials

This past weekend, I headed out on to the open road.  Friday afternoon found me situated in my black tin can of a car, hurtling down the turnpike toward a family reunion.

I love traveling. I really do. I also really like traveling alone, so this solitary trip was right up my alley. Until I realized that I hadn't thought ahead about gluten-free options for food while driving. And let me tell you, the Ohio Turnpike is not a gluten-free-friendly place. I suppose if you want to stand and read labels for ages and only eat trail mix, it would be relatively simple. However, if you're leaving straight from work and looking for something to hold you over for the next four hours, you had better pack everything for yourself.

Einstein Brothers, Panera, Carvel/Cinnabon (combination), Burger King, Popeye's. The list goes on and on. The closest thing to gluten-free I managed to get was a drink from Starbucks which, as you may know, can be disastrous if a) you don't know what to order or b) you are one of those unfortunate people with an extreme insensitivity to gluten.

My two days on the Turnpike were made more difficult by the lack of options, but it made me wonder when or if things will ever change.  Some doctors speculate that as many as 1 in 3 people in the world have a gluten sensitivity. What would it take for us to make changes in our fast food marketplaces?

Sunday Family Dinner

I come from a big Italian family. And when I say Italian, I mean Italian. The two most important things in this world for this family seem to be family and food (no big argument there from me).  As such, family dinners every Sunday are a big deal. A really big deal.

They're also a really big gluten-fest filled with booby traps and delicious, but deadly pitfalls. I usually end up making something for my self on the side and just having to look longingly at the pasta, meatballs, and Nonna's amazing homemade sauce. And then I got a big surprise this morning. Grandma (Nonna) informed that not only had she picked up gluten-free penne rigata (by Pasta Si) and even made sure that she had a gluten-free sauce on hand (Lidia's Marinara). While it still isn't Nonna's homemade sauce and meatballs, it means the world that she would think of me and go out of her way to make sure I felt included --and of, course, well-fed because that is the main love language of Italian grandmas everyone.

Along with this, I've thrown together a roast chicken piccata based on this recipe. It's in the oven now and it smells delicious!

Race to a Million #5K

So, I have a cause that hits close to home for me. I love the Cleveland Foodbank and what they do for our community. In this day and age and with this economy, all of us are a lot closer to hunger than we realize.

This year, I get the awesome opportunity to do a 5K and raise funds for the Cleveland Foodbank though the Race to a Million. I did put my fundraising widget up there (you can see it just to the right), so if you feel led to donate, I know that the Cleveland Foodbank would really appreciate. Just $10 can feed 40 in need. The money donated through the widget goes straight to the Cleveland Foodbank through Crowdrise and you can even get a receipt of your donation for tax purposes.

On a side/gluten-free note: I got to volunteer at the Cleveland Foodbank a couple months ago and I was really excited to see how many gluten-free products that were available in the shipment we were sorting.

The Hipp

My cousin was in town a few weeks ago and because of this, we spent a good amount of time eating out and exploring the city. Eating out is always a bit of a trap for the gluten-free, but I have it a little easier than most as mine is a "simple" allergy and not Celiac.  But it is still hard. So hard.

One of my favorite new restaurants is The Hipp. They're pretty awesome. Besides having fantastic, fresh food, they are pretty gluten-free friendly in my experience. They also have an awesome food truck, but mostly I'm here to brag about The Hipp itself.  Their food is good. Really. It's fresh and it's fast. It is one of the few places where I can walk in with only an hour lunch to spare and get a real meal and back to the office in no time flat.   When I first started going to The Hipp, I'd simply order a sandwich or an entree sans gluten (i.e., one of the great hamburgers without the bun). Then I heard word of a gluten-free bun. Yes, folks, a gluten-free bun. And I tried it and it was amazing. It's what I like to call a "I-can't-believe-it's-not-gluten" moment. It really is the best gluten-free bun so far.

Also, I have to speak very highly of the staff as well. Very gluten-free friendly. I've called, emailed, and even just walked in off the street with gluten-related questions and they've been super helpful and well-informed about which of their items have gluten and which can be customized to be gluten-free.

If you're in the Midtown area, give them a try. I hope you'll like them as much as I do!

Burger with gluten-free bun

Fatty BBQ Sammie, sans bun and with brussell sprouts

Sweet Potato Ricotta Gnocchi

Oy vey. When I first made gluten-free gnocchi a few years ago, it seemed like such a breeze. This time, I was apparently a little too ambitious (but keep reading because it actually turned out alright!). I decided to try a new twist for a family dinner tomorrow (err, today. This is the problem with writing posts around midnight).

My original gnocchi recipe that I've used with success is equal parts rice flour and mashed potatoes, plus an egg or two. Sorry for the vague/non-existent measurements. I am notoriously bad at keeping track of actual measurements and usual prefer to do things by touch/texture.

For the new recipe, I started with this recipe as a basis.  Below is listed the ingredient list that I started with (please note: "started with").

3 smallish sweet potatoes (in the middle of the recipe, it says that you need three cups)
1 12-ounce container fresh ricotta cheese
1 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1 1/2 c. rice flour
1 1/4 c. tapioca flour

So, first I cut the sweet potatoes in half and boiled them for about 50 minutes. Then, I went through the really annoying process of ricing the sweet potatoes without a ricer. I used a strainer instead and it really reinforced the self-impression that I am lazy. OK, so sweet potatoes are riced and I've got my three cups.

{I think this is where I started to go wrong (or maybe not wrong, but took a detour). Because I started this a bit too late in the evening, I was impatient and didn't let the ricotta drain as long as I should've. If I'd been thinking, I probably would've started the ricotta a lot earlier in the day.}

I combined the sweet potato, ricotta, nutmeg, and Parmesan in a large bowl, then added the flour mixture little by little. This is where I really started to see a problem because the dough really wasn't coming together like I wanted.  So, I added a 1/2 cup more of each flour. And then again. And again. All in all, I estimate that I used about three cups of rice flour and two cups of tapioca flour. I ended up putting in more rice than tapioca flour just because I'm more familiar with the texture.

In the end, I just kept adding and adding until I got to the texture I needed and then divided it, rolled it out, and then started cutting the individual gnocchi. I didn't end up adding the ridges because a) I'm tired, and b) I'm really tired. (Hey, honesty is the best policy, right?).

Pillows of (hopefully) sweet potato goodness

My preferred method of cooking the gnocchi is to add into a pot of salted water at a boil, wait for them to rise and then pull them out and add to sauce. I've also had reasonable success with freezing them and keeping them for a couple months that way.

Two and a half pans of gnocchi in the freezer waiting for bagging

The actual dish will be finished in the morning and I'll try to grab a 'final' picture after I get some sleep.

More Gluten-Free Experimentation

I’m back to the chickpea flour. I haven’t tried baking anything with it yet and probably won’t be attempting a gravy any time soon, but what I’ve done so far I have loved. Last night was a flounder filet, dredged in a mixture of Parmesan and chickpea flour (very similar to this chicken) that I then
panfried.

Lovely flounder with veggies

Dessert? Gluten-free cookies (the ones from this post) warmed in the micro and topped with fat free vanilla frozen yogurt. Pretty tasty and, more or less, guilt free.

Gluten-free cookies and yogurt

I'm Not a Fauxtog. Or a Photog.

I make no bones about the fact that I’m not a professional. Most of the time I take the pictures I post on here with my cellphone. Other pictures are taken on my eight year old point-and-click camera. Some days I do wish that my pictures were clearer, prettier, mouth-wateringly delicious looking, or even artfully arranged.

Then again, it really kind of typifies who I am. I’m not classically trained (or anything trained, for that matter) in cuisine or photography.  I hope that is more of a draw than a hindrance though. My thinking is that if I can do this, anyone can.

So bear with me on my rudimentary photography and my kitchen flops. I’m learning, too!

Case in point: My favorite mug with vanilla gelato and a homemade blueberry sauce. Picture's not great. Actually, it's pretty horrendous. But you get the idea.