10 Things You Were Dying to Know - I've Been Tagged

Ann at Cheaper by the Dozen and Get One Free tagged me.

1) What is your current obsession?
Concerts - Alkaline Trio was in town a couple of weeks ago, awesome concert! Last night Nate heard Cursive was playing at First Avenue so we thought why not? Nate, my sisters and I saw Fun play with Manchester Orchestra tonight. Next week I'm going to see India Arie with some friends from High School. I want to see Amber Pacific when Ian (my brother-in-law) is in town so we're hoping he's up for it. Also looking forward to the Irish Fair and Warped Tour this summer. Luckily most of these concerts are pretty inexpensive and some are free! I even won tickets to see Jackson Browne at the State Fair and Nate won Warped Tour tickets. - Yeah I'm even more obessed than I thought.

2) Which item of clothing do you wear most often?
Earrings, I rarely leave the house without earrings. They just seem to complete any outfit.

3) What's for dinner?
Tonight we had pizza and salad.

4) What are you listening to?
The Offspring and Katie (my sister) talking to Ashley on the phone.

5) Say something about the one who tagged you:
Ann loves getting a good deal and teaching others how to bargain shop. Ann is gluten-free as well as 6 of her 11 children are gluten-free.

6) Favorite vacation spot?
Alaska, I keep asking Nate when can we go back. I love the scenery, history, wildlife and peacefulness.

7) What are you reading right now?
The Gluten Effect which I won from Carol at Simply...Gluten Free.

8) Four words to describe yourself?
Practical, Optimistic, Quiet and Emotional

9) Guilty pleasure?
My Bravo shows: The Real Housewives and The Millionaire Matchmaker

10) First Spring thing to do?
Clean - I'm trying to motivate myself to be more organized and donate things I don't need anymore so I ask myself "What would Kristy say?" "Just get rid of it!"

I'm going to tag Erin at Gluten Free with a Purpose.

Cabbage Saute

I made this awhile ago but still wanted to post it because it is so simple to make and uses basic ingredients. We had a lot of cabbage we needed to use up so I searched for a new recipe on all recipes. Nate and I thought it was a little bland so we added some pepper and garlic salt. We also added mushrooms we needed to use up.

Cabbage Saute

Ingredients:
1 onion, chopped
2 tablespoons butter
4 medium carrots, thinly sliced
6 cups chopped cabbage
½ cup chicken broth
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar

Directions:
1. In a large skillet, sauté onion in butter until tender. Add carrots; cook and stire for 2-3 minutes. Stier in the remaining ingredients; bring to a boil.
2. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 5-7 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Serve with slotted spoon.

As you can see we served it with baked chicken. The chicken was seasoned with a simple chicken seasoning that included garlic, black pepper and red pepper.

For more gluten-free recipes and meal ideas check out What's for Dinner Wednesday.

Gluten-Free Cake at Starbucks

We asked and they listened.

Nate and I aren't much of coffee drinkers which is nice for our wallets. My coworkers and I get coffee when we're stressed, caffeine and sweets seem to help us out. Otherwise, I'm usually in too much of a hurry in the morning. Nate doesn't like coffee but he'll enjoy a chai tea or one of the coolers on a rare occasion. However, tomorrow Nate is planning on stopping at Starbucks.

Tuesday, May 5th is the first day you can get a gluten-free treat with your beverage at Starbucks. The Orange Valencia Cake will be displayed in the display case but is wrapped individually to avoid cross contact. If you have additional allergies they list the ingredients right on the packaging. The ingredients include: Whole Eggs, Valencia Orange Pulp, Almonds, Sugar, Orange Peel, Gluten Free Baking Powder, and Orange Oil. The cake is priced around two dollars depending on where you live which is pretty reasonable for a gluten-free treat. They wanted to keep it comparable to the other treats.

I am really excited how convenient this will be for everyone and hope Nate really enjoys the cake. At the same time I'm hoping he doesn't enjoy it too much or it might become a habit.

Gluten-Free Wine Dinner

Someone left a comment about an exciting gluten-free event that is coming up on the Twin Cities. Monday, May 18th Wildfire in Eden Prairie will host a Gluten-Free dinner. The menu includes a 4-course meal, wine with each course, tax and gratuity. The Pear Tartlet for dessert sounds wonderful. They will also have a guest speaker discussing gluten-free dining and researching gluten-free products. For more information check out the Wildfire website.

Coborn's Delivers

Coborns Delivers (formerly Simon Delivers) is making gluten-free shopping easier. If you live in the greater Twin Cities area you can purchase all of your groceries online and have them delivered to your door. Coborns Delivers has added a section for gluten-free specialty products. Ingredient lists are easy to read for those with additional allergies. You can find some of your favorite brands of gluten-free pasta, crackers, soups and baked goods. Don't see a specific product you're looking for? Send them an email and request they add it.

Pizza Luce Downtown Minneapolis

I really only had 2 complaints about Pizza Luce offering a gluten-free menu.
1. It is only available on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
2. It is only available at their St. Paul location.

I understand their logic, they wanted to control it as much as possible to eliminate any chance of cross contact. They started with offering gluten-free on Tuesdays and added Wednesdays not long after. We thought this is great, they are really seeing there is a demand and hoped they would continue to expand.

Starting next Tuesday and Wednesday you can order pizza made from Cooqi's gluten-free crust at Pizza Luce's Downtown Minneapolis location!

Pizza Luce Downtown Minneapolis
119 North 4th Street
Minneapolis, MN 55401

Gluten-Free in Rochester MN

We went to visit Nate's parents for Easter. We left early Saturday morning, Nate didn't think 6:20 a.m. was early enough though. On the way through Rochester we stopped at Canadian Honker. They only have 1 gluten-free option for breakfast but for only $3.99 it is a great deal. The breakfast includes 2 eggs, hash browns, fresh fruit and your choice of bacon or sausage. Plenty of food and a good price. I took a picture but I have to get it off of Nate's phone. Their gluten-free menu isn't very extensive but it provides some safe options and their staff seems very knowledgeable.

After breakfast we stopped at The Bread Baker Company. Nate immediately spotted the cinnamon swirl bread and then we saw a cheesy garlic bread and thought we better try that too. We also couldn't pass up two sugar cookies. Nate and Becca really enjoyed those. The bread was $7 for a loaf and the cookies were $3 for 2 large cookies. We'll definitely stop in there again next time we're in the area.

Saturday night my mother-in-law made stew so the toasted cheesy garlic bread went really well with it. Easter morning we had brunch and they enjoyed the cinnamon swirl bread. It was nice to be able to try something new that we can't get at home.

Gluten-Free Pizza in the Twin Cities

The Twin Cities has a few more gluten-free pizza options. Eden Pizza in St. Paul and Galactic Pizza in Uptown both serve Cooqi's gluten-free pizza crust.
Red's Savoy Pizza in Hugo and Coon Rapids also offer gluten-free pizza.

So far Nate has been showing some willpower (he's in saving mode now) but I'm sure we'll check them out soon.

7 things you may not know about me

You may have seen on other blogs "7 things you may not know about me." Glutenfree4goofs tagged me so here's my list of 7 things.

1. I am allergic to timothy grass, oaks, elms, maples, dust and mold.
2. I have a degree in Women's Studies in addition to Business.
3. It literally makes me sick to my stomach when people buy a dog from a breeder or pet store. I'll just leave it at that.
4. I like to go fishing.
5. I am a Mary Kay Consultant.
6. I am left-handed although, when I play softball I bat right-handed.
7. Surprisingly, I like driving my turbocharged "Saabaru."

The rules are simple. You're supposed to link to the person who tagged you and write 7 things about yourself. Then tag 7 people and let them know so they can write 7 things.
Cheaper by the Dozen and Get One Free
Simply...gluten-free
Katie Living Gluten-free in DC
GFCFSF and Rice Free
The Good Eatah
Fell 4 Fashion
My Fashion Chronicle

April Fools' Day

I considered writing an April Fools' post but there really isn't anything funny about allergies. Today on CNN I saw this article. It reminded me of some of the things that bother me so much about allergies and intolerance, such as kids not being able to enjoy the same things their friends enjoy and feeling left. Then there are the parents that worry about their children being safe and adults that aren't ready for change and don't want to give up favorite foods and traditions. I could go on and on.

Teddy reminded me of a little girl I used to take care of. She was allergic to eggs and nuts as well as on a GFCF diet for autism. I quickly learned what was safe for her to eat. She would make me read the ingredients on everything I gave her. Although I found it annoying at times I was proud of her for being so diligent with her diet.

Uno Gluten-Free Pizza Coupon

When my sisters and I were younger we loved going shopping at Southdale. Sometimes my mom would takes us to lunch at Uno Chicago Grill. We thought this was such a big treat. I had great memories of going there and was disappointed when I found out they closed the restaurant. We no longer have an Uno location in Minnesota. My sisters and I weren't the only ones disappointed that the Edina location closed. Nate was disappointed to find out they have a gluten-free menu that includes pizza yet we don't have a location near us. The former location was right by his work. He won't agree but it is probably better this way.

In case you have an Uno location near you I wanted to share this offer I received. Click here for a coupon to save a dollar on your gluten-free pizza. The coupon doesn't expire until 5/31/09! I have heard good reviews of the pizza so far.

Sign up for their email club to receive offers and updates.

Beef Stew

I made this last week for St. Patrick's Day and meant to post it earlier. I decided I should post it for What's for dinner Wednesday.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 lbs. beef roast
6 potatoes
1 onion
2 cups carrots
3 stalks of celery
1 cup chopped cabbage
1 can tomato sauce (14.5 oz)
5 cups water
1 tbsp minced garlic
pepper
parsley

Directions:
Dice up beef, potatoes and vegetables. Place everything (except cabbage) in the crockpot and set on low for about 8 hours. I like to add the cabbage about an hour before we eat.
If you want to prepare it the night before you can put everything together except water and tomato sauce. Then add the water and tomato sauce in the morning and set the crockpot on low.

This is super easy and can be motified depending what you have on hand or how much you want to make. You can easily omit or add veggies depending on if you have picky eaters. My sister Katie doesn't really eat cooked cabbage so I was surprised when she ate it in the stew. We had crackers with it and had plenty for leftovers.

For more gluten-free recipes check out The Gluten-Free Homemaker's What's for Dinner Wednesday.

Irish Soda Bread Recipe

Just because you're eating gluten-free doesn't mean you have to give up on traditions or celebrating holidays. With St. Patrick's day coming up I've been looking for some Irish recipes. I received this recipe for Irish Soda Bread in my email from Living Without magazine. I like how they give you suggestions on how to adjust the recipe for those with additional food allergies.

Irish Soda Bread
Ingredients:
2 cups high-protein, gluten-free flour blend (recipe below)
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon xanthan gum
½ teaspoon salt
¼ cup gluten-free oats
1 egg or flax gel*
1 cup buttermilk or milk of choice (rice, hemp, soy, almond)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly dust a cookie sheet with gluten-free flour.
Mix flour blend, baking soda, baking powder, xanthan gum, salt and oats in a bowl.
Add egg (or flax gel) and buttermilk and mix to form a soft, sticky dough.
Place dough on a lightly floured surface and knead three times.
Shape dough into a 6-inch flat round. Place it on prepared cookie sheet.
Sprinkle it with gluten-free flour and score a large X on the top.
Bake in preheated oven until top is golden brown, about 30 to 35 minutes.
*TIP To make flax gel, combine 1 tablespoon flax meal with 3 tablespoons hot water. Let sit until thickened, about ten minutes.

Gluten-Free High-Protein Flour Blend
1¼ cups bean flour, chickpea flour or soy flour
1 cup arrowroot starch, cornstarch or potato starch
1 cup tapioca starch/flour
1 cup white or brown rice flour

Blend ingredients together. Store in a covered container in the refrigerator until used.

From Living Without, recipe by Rebecca Reilly.

Gluten-Free Travel Site

A couple of weeks ago my mother-in-law posted about GlutenFreeTravelSite.com. This website aims to be a one-stop-shop for your gluten-free traveling needs. You can search for reviews by state or select another country if you are planning on traveling internationally. Reviews are written by GlutenFreeTravelSite users so be sure to recommend your favorite restaurants so others can enjoy them as well. I know I'll be adding some reviews soon.

Product Review: SOYJOY Bars

I have been curious about SOYJOY bars for awhile but haven't noticed them at the grocery store. When we went to help my parents move my mom packed us little snack bags for the drive back. She gave us a couple of the berry flavor SOYJOY bars. I was excited because they say they do not contain gluten right on the wrapper.

The label says that there are "No Artificial Colors, Flavors, Hydrogenated Oils or Gluten."

The bars don't look very appealing to begin with since they look burnt but I thought the berry flavor couldn't be all that bad. I really wanted to like them because they are a healthy and convenient gluten-free snack. They were very dry and bland. If you are still interested in trying them I would recommend buying just 1 or 2 and making sure you like them first. I did like the wrappers they came in but that doesn't say much for the taste. Lame, I know but I've been looking at a lot of giveaway samples at work and the wrapper stands out.

Has anyone had a better experience with any of the other flavors?