When I runaway, I'm bringing this with me

I often say that I am and will run away from dullsville novi/Michigan to go somewhere way awesome; then I remember the amazing dairy/soy/gluten-free pizza at Amici's. If you've read any of my previous posts on this excellente ristorante you know the affinity I have for the atmosphere and food. My new discovery? Red Apple Martinis! Quite literally a "wooohooo!" in my mouth. If I run away, I'm going to need a lot of to-go cups...

Best Store Finds in A2!

Gluten-Free Apple Cinnamon Chexs?!?!?! Yesssssss

That's right, all you out there missing and constantly craving/glaring at those who have Apple Cinnamon Cherrios, Chex has come out with a gluten free apple cinnamon cereal! I just about bounced off my exercise ball at work today (my desk buddy Kris can attest to this) when I saw the email from GlutenFreely.com and knew I wasn't the only allergy compromised lover of Apple Cinnamon Cherrios out there. So breathe easier and celebrate cereal lovers, I'll let you know when I try it, you do the same!

Btw here's a coupon link :)

http://shop.glutenfreely.com/dp/B0087E9S2M?utm_source=gf_newsletter&utm_medium=email

Back in the Swing of Things! (new allergies in tow)

And we're back! After a crazy senior year, move, and a complicated allergy test I'm back with new and exciting recipes and suggestions to pass along!

First things first: new allergies. After a very itchy allergist visit, endoscopy and visit with my tummy doc we've added quite a few new allergies to the list, including peppers, soy (hence the title change), beans, & strawberries among others. Once I threw myself a very successful pity party, I set out to find new yummy recipes and places to satisfy my seemingly endless cravings.

Taking one step at a time, it seems only fitting to jump exactly one year since my last post: memorial day.

This memorial day took a bit of a different form this year. Our traditional family get together (aka my day to create an allergy-free feast) was on Sunday. For my spread, I took notes from a few different vegan magazines and added my own twists. One of my. personal favs was a cucumber salad with Dijon dressing; let's call it French-Ish Cucumber Salad. The cucumbers are thinly sliced, giving them a light satisfying crunch and the tangy Dijon dressing coats the tongue, providing the perfect spice to the cool cucumbers...oh so beuno! In terms of chips, I bought some Veggie Straws to snack on like everyone else, it's only fair ;) . For dessert, I bought myself raspberry sorbet and made a balsamic fig dressing to give it that little extra something. Needless to say, I went to bed quite fluffy and satisfied!

On the actual memorial day, Jenni and I decided to go big and headed out to Ann Arbor for restaurant hopping. We started at Cafe Felix with a few Mimosas...sooooooo gooood! We then went to our personal favorite pomme frites location: Jolly Pumpkin. We indulged in warm marinated olives, Blackbird martinis, rosemary pomme frites (or French fries for the non-French speakers), and grilled romaine salads. For those who share my soy allergy, avoid the aioli that comes with the fries and salad dressing, those with dairy allergies get the salad sans potato croutons, sadly it has cheese baked in. After dinner we headed back to end the day at Cafe Felix, which has 1/2 off martinis on Monday's 7pm-11pm; Hollar! I sipped a John Daley and watched the sun set, perfect way to end a perfect day :)

Memorial Day: A Day of Remembrance, Reflection, and Gluten/Dairy Free Macaroni Salad

Traditionally, Memorial Day is a day of not only epic parades, but also massive feasting with friends and family. I'm sure everyone comes up with a similar image in their head when they hear Memorial Day: BBQ's, hot dogs, hamburgers, potato chips, and pie with ice cream. Even given my many tummy troubles, I am still one such person who pictures the day as such.

So this year when my mom brought up the annual Memorial Day/Brothers' Birthday Party BBQ at our house, I decided to take matters into my own hands and to create a scrumptious dish (and hoard it) for myself. I figured that would ease the blow of the massive rolls covered in butter, fudgey birthday cake, and creamy brownie ice cream that would be dished out.

In my search I turned to my favorite and always delicious Cooking For Isaiah cookbook to see what Silvana had in terms of BBQ food. I marked pages with traditional potato salad and leafy green salads when I came across the Macaroni Salad with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Olives*...my mouth immediately started watering plus it looked like it would appear to be "real" food so I could really feel like one of the group ; )

It was relatively easy to make, took only a handful of ingredients, and was amazingly refreshing and delicious. Although the original plan was to hoard it all to myself, I graciously doubled the recipe and scooped a big serving into a tubaware for only me : )

*Macaroni Salad Recipe

Gluten Free, Dairy Free Banana Cookies for Only 7 Calories?! Yes : )

It is no secret, I love love love my bananas. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack, dessert, you name it, I'll add a banana to it. So when two of my bananas went too bad/bruised to eat, I was not simply going to toss them away; that would just be silliness. Instead, I decided to combine three of my favorite things: bananas, cinnamon, and cookies : )

After much searching through  various banana cookie recipes, I decided to combine a few with a gluten/dairy free twist. I started by replacing the regular all-purpose flour with the Silvana's gluten free flour  mix from the Cooking For Isaiah cookbook. After those came out moist and gooey and overall amazing, I decided to move towards an even healthier version by replacing the eggs and butter. For the butter I tried two different versions: oil and applesauce. In the end the applesauce came out the most moist and had the least amount of calories. I replaced the egg with organic, cage free egg whites. My final adjustment came when I replaced the sugar. Not generally pleased with the flavor and texture that Splenda and its imitators in terms of a sugar replacement in baking, I decided to try a natural version that didn't contain tummy upsetting chemicals. This little adjustment not only kept the flavor similar to the original, but helped dramatically decrease those nasty calories.

In the end, I was able to make some of the most delicious gluten free, dairy free, almost vegan banana cookie poppers* that were only SEVEN calories and practically no fat per teaspoon+ cookie...in my mind, this equals success : )

*Gluten Free Diary Free Banana Poppers

A Happy Tummy In Paris and London Too : )

Paris. That's right the one place that contains some of the most amazing breads, cheeses, and other gluten/dairy-filled confections that smell good enough for any gluten/dairy intolerant person to give into stomach pains and sickness for just one little smidgeon of a bite. This is where I found myself earlier this month. Paris and London in the spring time with my mama and sister for our Girls Euro Trip 2011 was torture for my senses, from sight to smell to touch, all my senses tingling with desire to delve into une grande baguette de pain avec beaucoup de délicieux fromage fondu (aka a big baguette with lots of delicious melted cheese). However, not wanting to be hotel bed/foreign hospital bound for the trip I did not give in.

Luckily, Paris was one of the most food allergy friendly places I have had to pleasure to stroll around. Not only did they provide some of the most delicious haricots verts (green beans), other veggie and fruit salads/plates, and my personal favorite pomme frites (french fries), but Paris also had a whole grocery store food chain (Naturalia; Website) devoted to natural/allergy friendly foods. I had amazing gluten free rolls, madelines, and dairy free hazelnut cocoa spread along with the best fruit gummies I have ever had and am still craving. 

My morning started with a lovely fruit spread with perhaps some gf bread and spread, lunch/snacks were gf rolls and gummies, and we always ended our Paris days at a picturesque Paris cafe/restaurant where we always opted to sit outside and people watch while enjoying fresh perfectly cooked veggies and pomme frites.

Did I mention the wine? Both gluten free and dairy free I filled up on it! The restaurants/cafes all had impeccable wine selections that never disappointed and we even found a few amazing wine stores. One, Lavinia (Website), absolutely breathtaking...wall to wall floor to ceiling, multi level wine store with staff happy to help silly American girls not familiar with the wine lingo. 



Another we stumbled upon while walking through one of the Paris markets. Nysa (Website) was much smaller and more compact than Lavinia, but it still offered some of the best wine I have found, at a more discounted price. From 4 to 6 euro for the least expensive, I had plenty of bottles to bring back with me : )

London was a little more difficult allergy friendly food wise. It didn't have the same type of breads and cheese temptations that I had to contend with in Paris, but it also had much less in terms of gluten free, dairy free options. However, they still had lots of stores that sold bananas and a variety of chips (aka french fries) to munch on. I also still had some left over bread, rolls, and gummies from Naturalia in Paris to satisfy my hunger. The first pub we visited, the Rose & Crown, boasted that it had the best British pub food around. Not one to take things at face value (ahem) I just had to try the chips just to be sure. They did not disappoint and I even had a nice glass of wine to go along with it : )

We found similar results at the other pubs we stopped at, including my personal favorite, The Sherlock Holmes (Website). It was everything and more that I expected from a traditional British pub.

A nice surprise came in the form of the Notting Hill Markets on Portobello Road. The street was not only lined on both sides with antiques, books, and other sweet knick knacks (including an adorable Paddington Bear that I very quickly bought) but also had venders selling some of the most vibrate and fresh looking fruits and veggies. They honestly were picturesque enough to make a meat loving carnivore's mouth instantly water.

All in all it was an amazing trip and I literally started to tear up when I knew it was over. I was fortunate enough to not only take this once in a lifetime trip with my mama and big sister, but also to enjoy the culinary specialties that each place was famous for in one way or another and leave with a very happy belly : )