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Flour: Premium All Purpose Flour from the Nearly Normal Kitchen

I had the rather fortunate opportunity to try out a gluten-free premium all purpose flour from the Nearly Normal Kitchen- (now apparently re-named Jules Gluten Free). Touted as "a combination of softer starches and flours that mimic the taste and texture of whole-wheat flour," I was anxious to see how it fared in a recipe calling for all-purpose flour.

Since it was fall and I always seem to have a yen for figs in the fall- I found a tasty-sounding recipe for Chocolate Fig Oatmeal Cookies. (I think it came from the Sun-Maid Mission fig package). The ingredients are as follows: butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, egg, milk, vanilla, flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, figs, quick oats, chocolate morsels, nuts, and crunchy nugget cereal.

Before I could get started I had to do some searching for a gluten free crunchy nugget cereal. I didn't want granola- so I used Nature's Path Organic Acai Apple Granola with Pomegranate. Minor/Major disclaimer here: this cereal is not specifically branded gluten free- but Rob gave it his okay. (Ingredients: organic rolled oats, organic evaporated cane juice, organic crispy rice (organic brown rice flour, organic evaporated cane juice, sea salt, organic molasses), organic pomegranate juice concentrate, organic oat syrup solids (organic oat syrup solids, tocopherols (natural Vitamin E)) organic dried coconut, organic acai powder (organic freeze dried acai, citric acid). This cereal is produced in a facility that uses wheat, peanuts or tree nuts.

But back to my Chocolate Fig Oatmeal Cookies. I followed the recipe to the letter, forming the dough into balls, flattening into 2 in. rounds, and baking on an ungreased cookie sheet for 9 minutes. I took the first batch out of the oven and let them cool for 2 minutes as directed. And then disaster sort of struck. I could not get them off the pan. Each time I wedged the spatula under a cookie the cookie parts went flying; they literally just fell apart. Now I must admit this is often the case with gluten free flours- there just isn't the same gluten that keeps your baking together. But I can't be for sure- I mean it could have also been my oven which has a hard time maintaining 375 degrees, or maybe I made the cookies too thin.

But on the up-side the cookie pieces tasted fabulous. And all was not lost. Instead of baking on a sheet, I Pam'd a square glass pyrex dish, pressed the dough in and baked until the toothpick came out clean. Well I can just tell you these now Chocolate Fig Oatmeal bars were astoundingly delicious. They were dense enough to stay together and tasted fabulous.

In wrapping up my adaptive-gluten-free re-use cooking experience- I would highly recommend From the Nearly Normal Kitchen's Premium All Purpose Flour. My cookie bars were great and gave no whiff of being gluten free. They certainly weren't around for very long.

Please note we did receive a free sample.

Ingredients:

Potato Starch, Corn Starch, Expandex, Modified Tapioca Starch, White Rice Flour, Cornflour, Xanthan Gum.

Nutritional Facts:

Serving size: 30 g (1.1 oz.)

Servings per container: 32

Calories: 100

Calories from fat: 0

Total Fat: o g

Sat. fat: 0 g

Trans fat: 0 g

Cholesterol: 0 mg

Sodium: 5 mg

Total Carb: 25 g

Dietary Fiber: 3 g

Sugars: 0 g

Protein: 1 g

Restaurant: Pie By the Pound, NYC Pizza

Admittedly I've been a bit lax lately in getting my reviews to you. But a recent gluten free dining experience put some urgency back in my tank. Last week Rob excitedly told me about Pie By the Pound, located at 124 4th Avenue in NYC. Actually he was more like a kid on his first trip to the candy shop. Pie By the Pound creates gluten free pizzeria style pizza - and for a life-long celiac to find a real pizzeria serving up gluten-free pie - well you can imagine how his enthusiasm spread like wild fire.

So of course we had to go- and pronto. Like any authentic pizzeria the pies were displayed behind glass and you could select which one you wanted. The gluten free pizza does have to be specially made- but all you have to do is let your server know how you want it. We ordered up 2 pies - the Fresh Cubed- made with cubed tomatoes, cubed fresh mozzarella, extra tomato sauce, oregano, garlic and basil; and a Caprese- made with mozzarella, sliced tomato, basil, no sauce, plus we added portobello mushrooms.

As the wait was about 20 minutes I ordered up a regular Snow White slice to keep my hunger pangs at bay- and to compare how the regular fared with the gluten free. My Snow White was delectable with a thin, flavorful crust and just the right amount of cheese. When our gluten free pies arrived, I was struck that they looked exactly similar to the regular pizza. There was the same thin crust, bubbling cheese, fresh tomatoes etc. Not that this should strike anyone as particularly notable- just sometimes the gluten-free pizza is smaller or has a thicker crust.

Okay okay so we literally attacked both pizzas and it was awesome. The thin gluten free crust was so similar to the regular I'm not totally sure I could tell the difference. Usually the gluten free pizza offered by restaurants has the tell-tale gluten-free after-taste. Pie By the Pound had none of it. I really loved the Caprese with the portobello which had the perfect marriage of flavor and texture. Though the Fresh Cubed was just as tasty I think the extra sauce makes the crust a bit softer. How in the world Pie By the Pound makes such a perfect gluten free crust- I'm sure I will never know- but take my word for it- it defies all the gluten free odds.

Our hope was that with 2 pies we would take the rest home- fat chance of that. We couldn't stop ourselves and ate it all. It was pure heaven.

Bread: Glutino Gluten Free Sesame Breadsticks

Diana came across these Glutino breadsticks at the local health food store this week and I (Rob) must say they aren't too bad.

Asking Diana for her feedback:

1. Their coloring makes them look uncooked, almost like a cross between a meringue and a cheese stick.

2. They taste airy and have a starchy taste with a nice hint of sesame.

3. You need to serve them right side up, as they do have a weird looking baked side.

So if you're a celiac and you never had real bread sticks you probably are fine, but if you're a gluten ingestor living with a celiac you're probably not impressed.

Ingredients:

Corn starch, potato flour, rice starch, cocoa oil, sesame seeds, yeast, dextrose, carob seeds flour, and salt

Nutrition Facts:

Serving size 9 sticks

Servings per container ~10

Calories 60

Calories from fat 15

Total fat 1.5g

Saturated fat 1g

Trans fat 0g

Cholesterol 0mg

Sodium 100mg

Total Carbohydrate 12g

Dietary Fiber 0g

Sugars 0g

Protein 0g

Enjoy Life Foods deal at Amazon

It's been a while since we've updated the site. Our personal lives have been a bit hectic, but we will be getting back on the horse this week.

I did come across this 15% off of Enjoy Life Gluten Free offer at Amazon.com.

We love their products.

Cookies: Josef Glutin-Fre-ee O's Chocolate Sandwich

Rob brought me some Josef Glutin-Fre-ee gluten free chocolate O's- which are happily Oreos for celiacs. Not such a bad thing. So the O's resemble Oreos with two chocolate wafers hinging on a slab of cream, and they even have the filigree imprint stamped on each cookie. In addition to being gluten free, the O's are egg free and contain no wheat and dairy. They are also made in a dedicated gluten, lactose, casein, peanut, and tree nut-free bakery. Wow!

Taste-wise Josef O's are pretty good. They aren't as chocolaty as Oreos, but they have a good crunch and the cream filling is not too sweet and certainly rich enough. They look decadent but fortunately aren't- meaning that after having a few you can still button your jeans. It's probably not likely that we'll make a steady diet of O's- but who can resist a gluten free Oreo from time to time.

Ingredients:
Chocolate sandwich cookie ingredients:
Base: gluten free flour: Contains brown rice flour, tapioca flour, soy flour, white rice flour, potato starch, non hydrogenated shortening (palm oil), powdered sugar, sugar, water unsweetened cocoa powder, baking powder, vanilla, xanthan gum. Contains soy.

Nutrition Facts:
Serving size: 2 cookies (31g)
Servings per container: 9
Calories: 150
Calories from fat: 70
Total fat: 8g
Sat. fat: 3.5g
Trans fat: 0g
Cholesterol: 0mg
Sodium: 0mg

Bagels: Glutino Bagels

I've been seeing many more Glutino gluten free products lately. Though I shouldn't have been, I guess I was surprised to find Glutino brand bagels in the frozen section. I've had Glutino mac and cheese and pretzel sticks, etc. but it was a relief to think Rob would have something to eat for breakfast over the weekend that wasn't too time consuming to make.

The bagels- even in their frozen state are actually normal sized- not small and shrunken. I microwaved one for 20 seconds, then split in half before toasting. It was not like slicing a gluten bagel- it was smoother in consistency. When the bagels had popped and were nicely browned, I did the shmear of cream cheese on one side and olive oil on the other. Though this is going to sound bizarre, the hot bagels emitted a bit of that gluten free flour smell. Maybe it's the glucono-delta-lactone- or perhaps just my sensitive nose. Who knows, but once I got past that and took a bite and actually tasted the bagel- there was redemption!

These bagels are actually quite good- with a crunchy exterior crust and a soft inside. Did I say they are regular sized? That of course is a definite plus too. The best thing is that they can be on hand in the freezer and made just like a Lender's Bagel. Remember them? But really this makes eating gluten free in the a.m. not too hard.

Ingredients:
Corn mix (corn starch, skim milk powder, evaporated cane juice, salt, glucono-delta-lactone, pectin, sodium bicarbonate, sodium alginate, modified vegetable cellulose), water, tapioca starch, margarine (palm and palm kernel oils, soy lecithin), skim milk powder, evaporated cane juice, liquid egg whites, safflower oil, liquid yolks, guar gum, yeast, salt, thiamine, niacin, vitamin B6, riboflavin, iron, calcium.

This product may contain sesame seeds.
Nutrition Info
Serving size: 1/2 bagel
Servings per container: 10
Calories: 200
Calories from fat: 50
Total fat: 6g
Sat fat.: 1g
Trans fat: 0g
Cholesterol: 5mg
Sodium: 330mg
Total Carb: 36g
Dietary Fiber: 1g
Sugars: 5g
Protein: 3g

Glutino plain bagels are labeled gluten free, wheat free, with no refined sugar and no hydrogenated oils.

Restaurant: Ago, Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas

This past December Rob and I celebrated our fourth annual “Festivus” trip to Las Vegas One of the 5-star highlights however, was dinner at Hard Rock’s Ago.

On a whim, Rob emailed the renowned restaurant and explained his celiac disease and intolerance to gluten. Truly we hadn’t expected anything other than the normal, “when you arrive for dinner just tell the wait-staff and we’ll see what we can do”- conversation.

Instead Rob received an email back from the executive chef of the entire Casino, Mark Sharlin, who assured him that it was no problem. Upon arriving at Ago, we were pleasantly surprised at the spacious room- other diners were far enough apart, yet there was a casual, intimate and sophisticated ambiance all at once.

After being seated, Rob informed our waiter, Victor, of his prior conversation- and within a few minutes- to our utter astonishment, Ago's chef Sergio himself appeared at our table! Obviously we are neither rich nor famous so this type of treatment was so unexpected and wonderful for us. There was to be no harried wait-staff acting as middle-person between Rob and the necessity of a gluten free meal- and a busy chef who may or may not have gotten the memo on the dinner ticket. It completely threw us for a loop!

In any case, Chef Sergio suggested the Wild Boar Ragout which he had prepared as a special. Sipping a crisp Sauvignon Blanc over a tasty bed of greens, Rob awaited the ragout. It arrived piping hot and picture-perfect. Nothing though could have prepared him for such a sumptuous gluten-free feast! It was divinity on earth with tender-cut-melt-in-your-mouth cubes of wild boar served with a rich sauce over gluten free papardelle pasta. Rob was positively ecstatic and nearly ate the plate. Mark Sharlin even stopped by as well to check in on how we were enjoying the meal.

It was probably the most memorable and comfortable dining experiences Rob has ever had. Not only was it fabulous- but assuredly gluten-free.

Thank you Ago!! Hope to see you in December!!

-Diana