tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-53581488715110593992024-03-18T23:04:44.374-04:00Practically Gluten FreeCarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16446690168019295535noreply@blogger.comBlogger24125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5358148871511059399.post-33618322894427425822011-06-01T17:13:00.000-04:002011-06-01T17:13:34.372-04:00FOOD FOTO: A Berry Peachy Endeavor
I wrestled with myself over whether to actually leave that title, but I had to. The truth is, I've made a few fruit crisps in my day - an easily gluten free, widely appealing and adaptable dessert - but I think this combination of strawberries, peaches, and nectarines might be my favorite of all time.
One of the best fruit stands in the neighborhood had a 2-pound assortment of ripe Carahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16446690168019295535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5358148871511059399.post-18364680565014800512011-05-31T11:00:00.002-04:002011-05-31T11:00:01.803-04:00THIS JUST IN: Key Food Supermarkets go Gluten Free!For those of you unfamiliar with Key Food supermarkets, they're a small chain that serves the 5 boroughs of NYC, as well as points north in New York and Connecticut. For quite some time they've carried a handful of gf products, like Mary's Gone Crackers, Nature's Path cereals and snack bars, and a few Annie's products.
But LO AND BEHOLD, I was on a quick grocery run a couple of weeks Carahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16446690168019295535noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5358148871511059399.post-87157628464819783952011-05-28T03:09:00.000-04:002011-05-28T03:09:29.674-04:00ON LOCATION: Tabora Farm and Orchard
Greetings, friends! It's been a minute, and I've missed intrepidly reporting to you all of my gluten free adventures. Chalk it up to starting a brand new job in a brand new career, in a competitive nurse residency program, no less. With both classroom theory training and regular 12-hour shifts, cooking has become a little routine - still delicious and healthy, if a little Carahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16446690168019295535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5358148871511059399.post-26397914727704513112011-04-25T08:45:00.031-04:002011-04-25T09:49:00.566-04:00A Different Take on Egg Dyeing
I have a new obsession. For once, it's not a kitchen appliance. But rather an egg dyeing technique that ignores the cartoony boxes on the pharmacy shelf and instead looks to the spice rack and scraps on the counter for inspiration.
A few of the more granola sites I follow made various mentions of DIY egg coloring early in the season this year, so my interest was piqued. I'd Carahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16446690168019295535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5358148871511059399.post-39755806302722271662011-03-24T13:57:00.001-04:002011-03-24T14:17:15.265-04:00FOOD FOTO: Eggcellent
Lady Gaga said it best: We're all born superstars. After a night of hail storms and freezing temps with the heat conspicuously absent from my apartment, I was feeling a little less like a superstar this morning. So I made a star-shaped egg, natch.
Making shapes out of food is probably the simplest way to put a smile on your face or the faces of those who are lucky enough to have yourCarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16446690168019295535noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5358148871511059399.post-91493721354995217552011-03-23T13:45:00.000-04:002011-03-24T13:58:58.247-04:00Tostones Gringos (or, Some American's Version of Tostones)
Mmm, tostones. The cure for the common french fry. I don't remember the first time I tried these delicious bundles of savory fried plantain, but it was sometime after moving to New York. In fact, before I knew what a plantain was, I bought a couple at a local bodega, thinking they were enormous, super under-ripe bananas - that was a confusing time. In my travels to Latin Carahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16446690168019295535noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5358148871511059399.post-24127326149436512242011-03-18T13:18:00.003-04:002011-03-18T13:58:51.152-04:00THIS JUST IN: Gluten Free Dumplings by Friedman's Lunch!Dumplings. The one favorite food that I haven't eaten nor tried to replicate since cutting out gluten almost two years ago. Sir Benjamin and I could have bought stock in Vanessa's Dumpling or Prosperity Dumpling up to that point. Nothing like sinking your teeth into a piping hot pork or veggie dumpling in exchange for a mere quarter, but I also used to buy frozen pot stickers Carahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16446690168019295535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5358148871511059399.post-33428857753317621122011-03-11T11:39:00.000-05:002011-03-11T11:39:28.616-05:00FOOD FOTO: Crock Pot Love
Not feeling fabulous, yet again, creates a genuine need for uncomplicated cooking. My eyes shift to the Crock Pot, my $18 little (not really that little, actually) dream investment. I read a comment on a cooking site the other day, that referred to the Crock Pot as something in which to cook things like Velveeta and Hamburger Helper, natch. Well, I know mine has never Carahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16446690168019295535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5358148871511059399.post-7934466664425965192011-03-09T11:04:00.000-05:002011-03-11T11:09:39.010-05:00Cara Investigates: Gluten Free Beer Made from Barley?
It's true. Sir Benjamin came across a 4-pack of bottles of Estrella Damm Daura from Barcelona at the local grocery, priced at $6.99, then "looseys" (I didn't realize this term applied to beers as well) for $1.79 at the local European market. The only gluten free beer I'd tried up to that point was Redbridge, a sorghum-based domestic beer - it's not bad and not terriblyCarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16446690168019295535noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5358148871511059399.post-35995704798853790312011-03-08T20:19:00.000-05:002011-03-08T20:19:07.506-05:00THIS JUST IN: Bittman does it again!I wasn't really that familiar with Mark Bittman, a food journalist most recently for the New York Times, until I watched him eat and drink his way through Spain with Mario Batali via PBS. It was an enjoyable and maddening series, maddening only because he got to be there instead of me. Bittman has developed a really specific style, as embodied by his "Minimalist" cooking column - a Carahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16446690168019295535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5358148871511059399.post-20035528385143647512011-03-03T19:56:00.001-05:002011-03-03T20:04:31.851-05:00On Location: Tu-Lu's Gluten-Free Bakery
I got a tip on Tu-Lu's Bakery a few weeks ago while drinking a glass of spiked pomegranate punch at an incredibly fun party, so I'm frankly quite surprised that I remembered enough details to actually locate the place. After checking out the completely glowing reviews on the bakery's Yelp page, it was time to give it an earnest once-over. It's the only dedicated gluten-free food Carahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16446690168019295535noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5358148871511059399.post-32307085577847924802011-03-02T13:27:00.004-05:002011-03-02T17:10:41.895-05:00Take Time to Smell The FloursQ: What flours do you rely on?
Before I embark on my baking recipes (I do actually bake, though you wouldn't know it from the blog so far), I wanted to provide a little background on gluten free flours first. One of the scariest parts of the diet transition for me was cracking open a recipe book and seeing "amaranth flour" or "quinoa flakes" as an ingredient...what is a "quinoa" and why Carahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16446690168019295535noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5358148871511059399.post-85456211119299211762011-03-01T11:03:00.000-05:002011-03-01T11:03:27.243-05:00THIS JUST IN: Gluten Free in the Major LeaguesCeliac Central reports that reliably awesome Phillies team member Raul Ibanez has recently gone gluten free, related to a gluten allergy diagnosis. Watch the interview here.
In related news, the Phillies will be hosting a Celiac Awareness night at Citizens Bank Park on July 8th, complete with activities for the whole family and gluten free refreshments. And the sweet Carahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16446690168019295535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5358148871511059399.post-64590008679253051792011-02-25T14:55:00.003-05:002011-02-26T01:16:35.801-05:00Food Foto: Alterna-lunch
I haven't had to pack a work or clinical shift lunch since last August. While that's generally a glorious piece of fortune, it doesn't mean that lunch at home is always exciting, either. Especially if I've cooked breakfast and will be cooking dinner in a handful of hours. So occasionally, I'll throw together a nice selection of various items around the kitchen, with little Carahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16446690168019295535noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5358148871511059399.post-17088042379393658132011-02-24T16:22:00.003-05:002011-02-25T23:52:00.061-05:00THIS JUST IN: 'How to Cook Just About Anything' round-upOne of my flavorite food sites, The Kitchn, has a new round-up of their best cooking How-To articles (complete, as always, with gorgeous food fotos). Check the article out here, and talk to me about your feedback!Carahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16446690168019295535noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5358148871511059399.post-9653198134975722232011-02-22T18:16:00.007-05:002011-02-26T00:05:09.712-05:00The Boyfriend Cooks: "Rice & Beans", or "How to Feed Your Starving Girlfriend (or Self)"
Sir Benjamin writes:
I love eating. I love the taste, the spice, the texture, the temperature, and the whole "being full" thing. Unfortunately, I'm a terrible cook [Ed. note: no, he's not]. I can mess up cereal if left to my own devices. A while back I decided I was going to learn to cook some basic meals that could be made quickly. Rice and Beans was my first, and seemsUnknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5358148871511059399.post-54889995024323119662011-02-15T12:08:00.013-05:002011-02-26T01:16:59.811-05:00On Location: Coming soon...A Valentine's Pizza Party!
I had a table-full of Valentines (plus my brother-in-law) this year, for a giant pizza party. Pizza parties can be a sad event for gluten freers...unless they feature bake-at-home g-f pizza dough from none other than Jules Thin Crust Pizza, and g-f vanilla mocha cupcakes baked with love.
Look for the full write-up soon! Happy Valentine's Day!Carahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16446690168019295535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5358148871511059399.post-10232228660864608522011-02-11T11:28:00.004-05:002011-02-26T01:17:23.639-05:00Spaghetti and That's a Spicy Meat-a-balls!Q: What's your ultimate comfort food?
So I've been feeling sick this week. Not sick in a really specific way that I can effectively combat with all of my health tricks, but more of a general blah that makes me want to nap every three hours. My theory is that I'm fighting off a flu that would have been catastrophic had I not diligently gotten my flu shot in December, but that's Carahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16446690168019295535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5358148871511059399.post-74980207358172924062011-02-09T11:00:00.004-05:002011-02-25T23:49:32.874-05:00Recipe Recycle: Slow-Baked Beans with KaleThe New York Times posted a delicious-looking recipe last week for Slow-Baked Beans with Kale. Did you see the article? Plan on giving it a try?
Kale is so IN right now, and by IN I mean I see it popping up everywhere in recipes lately. It's certainly a staple around here, usually in the form of kale chips, but also in a pan of roasted vegetables or sauteed with some butternut squashCarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16446690168019295535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5358148871511059399.post-78427543970050595922011-02-08T12:46:00.011-05:002011-02-25T23:49:06.368-05:00Cara Investigates: The New 'No Gums!' ManifestoQ: Do you use xanthan or guar gums in your baking?
I do, and I have since I started baking gluten free. Gluten is the protein composite in wheat, barley, and rye that provides many foods with their shape and elasticity. So logically, if we bake using flours that don't contain gluten, we need to find some substance to mimic the effect. I've read countless disastrous accounts Carahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16446690168019295535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5358148871511059399.post-71202700146425060802011-02-07T15:09:00.008-05:002011-02-26T01:18:17.510-05:00Food Foto: Superbowl DinnerQ: What are your Superbowl must-haves?
I threw dinner together instead of watching Halftime, and from what Facebook updates have told me, that was a wise decision. Because I wasn't particularly interested in either team this year yet felt compelled to watch the Bowl anyway, I opted for a snacky dinner - fries, chips, and a melt.
Yes, all of those things are pictured: herbed yam Carahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16446690168019295535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5358148871511059399.post-11402138085436188052011-02-06T23:48:00.012-05:002011-02-26T01:18:45.826-05:00Nutty Apple Steel Cut OatmealQ: Which foods entice you to actually eat breakfast?
Oh, silly breakfast. I get so uninspired by breakfast food that I often wake up, get distracted doing something else, then have to force myself to eat something to let my body know it's time to operate normally. So I need a little encouragement sometimes, something to look forward to. Studying nutrition taught me to be Carahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16446690168019295535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5358148871511059399.post-62596897939928847162011-02-05T23:32:00.022-05:002011-02-26T01:19:00.290-05:00Chicken Vegetable SoupQ: Which foods are your natural defense against wintry weather?
Winter came early to the Northeast, and proceeded to pummel us all into a frozen state of cranky submission. I don't even think the groundhog's lack of a shadow can do us any good at this point, also considering he's a known trickster. The best plan of attack is to max out your library book allowance, join Netflix, make Carahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16446690168019295535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5358148871511059399.post-37722990642881191972011-02-05T23:00:00.004-05:002011-02-07T00:11:26.486-05:00O, Hai!Another blog...fabulous!
Actually, I hope it will be a kind of a little fabulous. And if you don't like it, I probably will, so it's already a win.
My job starts in May 2011, a year after leaving my full-time job in cancer research to finish a nursing degree. I've had a lot of time to spend at home, and certainly more time to pay attention to cooking and frugal grocery shopping thanCarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16446690168019295535noreply@blogger.com0