The Un-Gluten Guy (My Gluten Free Recipes & GF Adventures)

Yes, Lipstick.  No, I do not wear women's makeup, but my wife does.  In a way to prevent me from getting contaminated I looked into Gluten Free lipstick to match some of her colors for stocking stuffers. Well, not that easy.  I first looked on websites - not that great.  I emailed some more companies and the responses were all over the board. This is what I can summarize for you. Dior give the okay that none of their lipsticks contain gluten and are not produced on lines that contain gluten. Estee Lauder okay except signature Hydra Lustre which has wheat. The Bobbi Brown rep of Estee was extremely helpful and responsive.  This is what she sent Lip Color - Ingredients derived from Soy and Corn. Rich Lip color SPF 12- contains ingredients derived from Soy and Corn. Creamy Lip Color - Ingredients derived from Soy and Corn. Metallic Lip Color - Ingredients derived from Corn and Soy. Treatment Lip Shine SPF 15 - Contains ingredients derived from Wheat,...

We attempted to get away.  Dropped the dog at the doggie hotel and the kids at my sisters and we booked a night at the Ritz in Laguna Nigel. The restaurant  Raya  is the brainchild of Chef Richard Sandoval and under Executive Chef Andres Jimenez it is run by Restarant Chef Marissa Gerlach.  It overlooks the Pacific in a quiet yet casual setting. Their menu is marked with those items that are Gluten Free (always a nice start).  I let our waitress know that I had a gluten allergy and she said she would let the chef know. They asked if we would like bread as they had bread plate but could bring out GF bread for me.  On with the bread, it was hot and freshly toasted, it was delicious - and it was Udi's of course. I wanted to start with the smoked swordfish with pickled jalapenos that was marked as GF.  Not knowing where the corn tortilla chips came from I asked for cucumber slices instead.  Our waitress returned to say the Chef was putting on ...

Stella Lucy  was actually introduced to me when my mom was looking through a local magazine.  Luckily for me it is half way between my sister in Orange County and where I live in San Diego. I didn't even know that they have a second store in Claremont.  The store was put together in 2008 in San Clemente after her husband was diagnosed with Celiac Disease. This does make shopping easy when the entire store is GF.  This was actually one of the first real shopping trips we took when I was diagnosed.  Right up front they have some kid toys which kept my kids busy while we shopped.  They have been very helpful and friendly every time we have been there. Not knowing what was what my first trip was a bit of buying two or three brands of everything so we could figure out what we liked. I found GF hoisin sauce made by Premier Japan. They carry WOW cookies from the WOW Bakery in Washington, my favorite are the peanut butter cookies. They have Udi's, m...

So one of the issues since I was diagnosed was mexican food.  I have had a hard time finding non-contaminated food. As for restaurants I stopped going for fear of cross contamination.  For tortillas I found french meadow tortillas.  Salsa I make on my own.  For chipotles in adobo sauce I found San Marcos brand. How happy was I to see a line at the San Diego GF Convention for food from Casa de Bandini .  This was the first mexican I was taken to in San Diego when it was in Old Town.  Magaritas, Mariachi Bands, good food and fun atmosphere make it a fun time.  They moved to Carlsbad recently and it is doing well. For us, they have a separate fryer just for the Gluten Free menu and the only thing that goes in that fryer is corn.  They have a GF menu that you can view as a PDF on the website. We tried it last night.  GF menu - check.  Waiter informed of allergy - check - no issues.  Asked for the manager who was extremely help...

So I ventured back to a steak house for the first time since being diagnosed.  You would think simple, right - it's steak.  But I was unsure and researched it.  Luckily they have a GF menu and they seemed knowledgeable. A few items are off the menu for me now.  Obviously the battered onion rings and the fries cooked in the same fryer.  Unfortunately the au gratin potatoes are off too. Their Gluten Free menu is not online so let me give you a brief sample Apps:  BBQ shrimp, shrimp cocktail, onion soup (no crouton), ahi tuna (no sauce), salads (no crouton and ask to make in separate bowl), all salad dressing okay except ranch Entrees:  All steaks/seafood okay but no veal butter, so for the veal or lamb they put regular butter Sides:  All okay except fried foods, creamed veg and au gratin potatoes and veg Dessert:  Chocolate sin cake, creme brulee, berries I had the shrimp cocktail and it was so nice to have the runner drop it off ...

As a guy I obviously like beer.  I was not a beer only guy, I enjoy a glass of wine too, but I really enjoy beer.  After a day of climbing or skiing it hits the spot and on a summer day a cold one is the perfect drink to cool you off.  My favorites have been Fat Tire, Stone Pale Ale and the Stone Levitation.  A Negro Modela with mexican or an ice cold Corona on a hot summer day. So you can imagine my inability to consume a good brew one I was diagnosed with Celiac disease. So what to do?  I looked into it and there were a bunch of GF Beers out there.  So off to the store I went and picked up every beer I could find. I got Red Bridge, Bard's, New Grist, Green's and New Planet Tread Lightly Ale.  To not bore you with a long dissertation on all of them I thought they were fair to poor.  Now, I used to enjoy a nice hoppy beer most of the time and making a beer with Sorghum makes it a bit light, a bit sweet and a bit unlike a beer. If I had to ...

I found this in the strangest of places - World Market.  I was in there, killing time before a movie, and wandered back to the food section.  They had a bunch of Snapdragon  food products on the shelf.  They have a few different flavors in the rice noodle boxes but they are not all Gluten Free so look carefully at the box. Usually I am into cooking all from scratch but when its late and there is not time to cook this can save the day. Indonesian Peanut was the first one I picked up.  Inside are some GF noodles and a seasoning packet.  The noodles are easy to make with some boiling water.  Easy so far - right? Next you need to have some imagination.  I cooked up some shrimp with chopped ginger then added some red peppers, peas and carrots.  Add the noodles, a few tablespoons of water and the seasoning packet from the box and mix until it is all coated evenly. Viola - dinner is served. I have another box of Indonesian Peanu...

So I heard, or I should say my wife heard, about this company called  Udi's .  They are based in Denver, Colorado.  They are not only a Gluten Free Food company but by looking at their website they are truly interested in those with Celiac Disease.  They have a forum, they have a step by step for those recently diagnosed and a page reviewing the signs and symptoms of the disease.  You should also check out the article today (11/28/2012) in the NY Times on going GF. We picked up some frozen bagels although I have not tried them yet.  But I did get a chance to try their whole grain bread.  I have tried a few GF breads and they were horrible - and that is being nice.  I have made my own but it usually only lasts a day or so.  Being that I have just made 3 loaves of bread for stuffing and cooked for Thanksgiving the last thing I wanted to do was cook more bread.  In comes Udi's to the rescue for my leftover sandwich. Let's just say ...

The Cohn Family owns a number of Southern Cali restaurants and I have eaten at a few, including 333 Pacific, Prado, Indigo Grill and Corvette Diner (we have kids).   C Level is within the Island Prime building but a more casual dining experience all located at the end of Harbor Island. This was my first time going back since being diagnosed and I'll give them an overall grade of a B; let me explain. We called ahead.  Yes, they have a separate GF menu.  The chef even got on the phone with my wife and asked if I had Celiac and to ask for him when we arrived so he could be sure that there was no cross contamination.  He said they had a separate GF fryer. So this is where things go downhill.  After arriving I asked for the GF menu.  First three items: fried potato chips, french fries, and tuna stack with fried taro chips.  But they have a GF fryer right?  I ordered the tuna stack (did not have soy sauce, I checked) and the chicken.  I aske...

So this is my first gluten free Thanksgiving. We have gone to friends in the past where everyone brought a dish.  No way I can be sure that everything is GF or cross contaminated so that was out.  So we invited friends and family and had a house of adults, children and one in the oven. I will preface this by saying I am a foodie and like to cook.  So I put the menu together, we made a list of ingredients and then a layout of what could be made when; because, there is never enough oven space. To take the risk of cross contamination out of the picture we had our friends who are Napa lovers bring the wine.  It was delicious.  I used to be able to drink a few glasses a night, especially on a long, special night.  But since I was diagnosed I can usually drink one glass otherwise my stomach feels a little rough.  The wines they brought were delicious.  The Arns is a delicate but full wine with nice oaky tones and Pride is a full napa cab. My s...

I have to say I really do love her.  She has been great through all of this.  I would hope that I would be as accomodating as she has been but I can be a bit hard headed. She was the one that saw that something was wrong but backed off and gave me space for a while.  She eventually pushed me to see someone and since the diagnosis she has been great. Our house now is probably 90% GF and moving to 100%. It's expensive.  We threw out or gave away wood cutting boards and tons of food.  The next expensive issues was buying and tasting GF food.  We tasted many things only to throw them away because of how bad they tasted. Currently we have one cabinet of "gluten" foods (kid cereal, dog treats (they have flour too so I have to be careful handling them - but we are going to GF dog and cat food), and some snacks). But we have found a ton of GF snack, chips and treats.  Enviro kids cereal has been great for me and the kids but more on that another...

So my new kitchen gadget is a pressure cooker.  I had been talking about getting one for years and finally my wife went out and bought one for me.  We got the Cuisinart electric pressure cooker and at first I thought, "no I wanted an on the stove pressure cooker like all the cool chefs on t.v. have.  I have to admit this is a nice product.  I can program it and take the dog for a walk or go to the park with the kids and it will shut off and stay warm (you still have to relieve the pressure but it gives you some leeway). The pressure cooker purchase came about due to beans.  I wanted beans for my dishes and the more I looked into canned beans, many were processed in a factory that processes wheat. I contacted Organics, which is a branch of Safeway.  After three emails going back and forth about what store did I buy the can at, what was the bar code number, etc I gave up.  Either they are or they are not and if some of the beans are processed in a f...

Is it just me or is all of the Gluten Free craze about sweets - cookies, brownies, cakes and muffins.  Me, I miss scones, cranberry walnut scones to be exact.  That is my next project is trying to recreate that in a GF form. Cookies are the other big one.  We have tried many but the house hold standard has been Nestle Tollhouse right off the back of the bag. So we went big and started with Thomas Keller's Gluten free Bouchon cookies. You can find them at Williams Sonoma.  They do taste good but they are flat and crunchy.  If that is how you like your cookies you will be happy.  If you like chewy and soft it will disappoint.  The flavor is great though - as you would expect.  I am going to retry them and turn down the oven temp and cook for a few minutes less.  We tried a batch in the fridge before baking but they still came out flat and crunchy.  I don't mind crunchy and the taste did have you thinking you were eating a GF product...

Well, I found it.  I thought after being diagnosed that chinese food was out.  I figured that there was no way to prevent cross contamination.  I assumed that wonton soup and fried food dishes would keep me away from the woks and fryers. Well, luckily I was wrong.  I found Rendezvous  in Del Mar.  Actually I have driven by here for years but never ventured in to try the food. They have a GF menu and it is big.  Three tapas, four soups, 27 entrees.  And they are super receptive to those with Gluten allergies.  We did take out the other day and they even put my GF food in a completely separate take out bag then the rest of the families food. And it was delicious. I had their hot and sour soup.  Tofu and mushrooms in a delicate broth. Next I had the Curry chicken over rice.  Tender pieces of chicken in a pungent curry sauce (I know, not typical american Chinese food). Next, (I just got off a crazy long day at work and...

I mentioned it before, so here it is.  Sunday used to be homemade pizza night.  We would make the dough and sauce in the morning and cook it up for dinner on the grill with a pizza stone.  It tastes great, works for leftovers and is fun for the kids to help out. Now I get diagnosed with celiac disease.  Well I tried a few mixes and they just didn't cut it.  I starting using Thomas Keller's Cup 4 Cup and that has worked.  Although it is gluten free it is not dairy free, but luckily I don't have any dairy issues. Here is the recipe I use.  If you are able to eat anything use regular flour but if you have celiac or a gluten sensitivity replace with your own mix or some other GF flour. 1.  1/4 Cup warm water in a bowl and a packet of yeast (make sure it activates) 2.  Add 1 1/2 Cups flour, 1/2 cup water, 1 tsp salt, 3 TBSP EVOO and mix 3.  Knead it on a board with some extra flour. 4.  I usually split it into two doughs and pla...

For all of those chefs, owners, managers out there please learn about celiac disease as one of the 8 common food allergens.  If you don't have the time to learn and a patron calls to ask if you have a GF menu just say no, we can eat elsewhere. You can check out The Celiac Disease Foundation  and a local site Gluten Free in San Diego . Those places that are GF friendly usually offer a separate menu.  This takes away the issue of dealing with a wait staff person who does not fully know the menu or is not educated on Celiac Disease.  Nothing makes the restaurant look worse than when the waiter recommends an item that clearly contains gluten after being told that I have celiac disease and can only eat GF foods. We are not on a fad GF diet but it is a treatable disease by avoiding all gluten.  This even means cross contamination.  That means nothing in the fryer unless you have a dedicated GF fryer.  Hand washing, cleaning knives and utensils to serve...

Kappa Sushi  is a sushi place in SD at the end of Mira Mesa near the 15.  We found the place by following one of our favorite Sushi Chefs - Kat.  We met her at Roy's in La Jolla then followed her to Nozomi in Carlsbad and now to Kappa Sushi.  One of the owner's Eric we knew from Sushi on the Rock in La Jolla.  This place is hands down great sushi and the myth about women's hands being too warm - she does not ruin the fish - it is delicious and melts in your mouth. When I was diagnosed even sushi became a problem.  I had to search out new GF soy sauce.  I tried Tamari but it didn't agree with me, I think, on two separate occasions, I then tried Bragg's soy alternative.  That was okay but I was not fond of the taste.  I then found Kikkoman's GF soy and that is my choice now.  I bring it with when ever we go out. I still have to find GF ponzu or make it myself. So unfortunately, that takes away some of the great plates they make. ...

Today was the 1st ever GF Expo in San Diego and we got there.  Boy was it raining hard. Inside there were many vendors with lots of things to taste.  I can't touch on everything but I'm gonna give you my favorites. I'll start with Mountain Mike's Pizza .  Let didn't have any to try but I've seen there ads and website and was curious.  The owner said his daughter has Celiac Disease.  They have the dough produced offsite to prevent contamination.  The sauce and other bins of toppings for the GF pizza is kept separate and remade everyday.  The flour used in the entire place to prevent sticking is corn flour.  I am definitely gonna try this one. As far as bars.  I have been using Lara Bars or Think Thin.  A company that I saw today was PureFit.  These were really good.  I tried the berry almond crunch and almond crunch.  They look like the texture of old power bars but taste good.  For athletes the are 40/30/30. ...

If you are in a rush let me get right to the point.  If you have Celiac Disease DO NOT go here. I am sad to say that because before I was diagnosed I have eaten there and liked the food.  Chef Jason Knibb does a great job, BUT. We went for dinner and we were meeting friends.  Called in advance and spoke with the manager who said that although there is not a GF menu but to let the server know and they would communicate that to the kitchen.  Sounds good so far, right?  I thought so too. Sit down at the table and asked the waiter if he could direct me to what was GF on the menu.  He bends down to look at my menu with a big UM?  Soon as he started with "I think"  I should have walked.  But you know the situation, I am out with friends, don't want to make a scene, and I'm hungry.  After pointing out that I could have the farro I let him know that farro was part of the wheat family, a whole grain form, and is something I have to avoid we...

My wife says it's good that I like to cook. I have always liked to cook.  It is a way to relax and I like my food.  Only now I have to change what I cook. So this weekend we had rain.  An uncommon occurance in Southern California but a great reason to stay in the kitchen. I made another batch of Brownies from Ad Hoc (see my other post on Brownies). I made my French Onion soup.  I use a combination of yellow onions, a few sweet onions and leeks.  I cook them down slowly until they just about carmelize.  I add beef broth and some fresh thyme and bay leaves. As for the cruoton, I made a loaf of GF bread, nothing special.  It worked great for a panini style grilled cheese with gruyere, provalone, swiss and mozarella. and now I had something for my soup A thin slice of toasted bread on top of the soup then covered with a slice of gruyere and under the broiler until bubbling. YUM. Then, another way to do chicken.  Green Curry.  I...

This was a big problem once I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease.  I used to live on PB&J for a breakfast snack on the go at work.  Lunch usually consisted of a sandwich (tuna, turkey, chickenbreast). So now what? I can't have bread, no pasta, can't go the cafeteria and risk cross contamination (that is, even if they had something that was GF).  On top of that no kitchen, so it has to keep in the fridge or be easily heated in the nuke machine. So this is what I have come up with so far, hopefully it helps you. 1.  SALAD, no shit.  But I have come up with variations with tuna, chicken, salmon, nuts, cheese.  Use your imagination but it is possible to make a salad at work more than a boring pile of lettuce. 2.  Quinoa.  I have done it cold and heated.  The leftover dinner is usually an easy lunch.  Usually sauted onions &/or peppers mixed in.  My new cold dish is a take on the greek salad.  Quinoa with olives, cu...

We were taking the kids to Disneyland for the day; to do the Halloween thing.  And this is my first time back since my diagnosis. What am I going to eat?  How many hours are we going to be there?  How much food do I have to bring?  You know the same old same old - worries and concerns. Well, Disney has done a great job for those of us with Gluten issues.  I searched the web and found many people with good experiences. First step:  Go to City Hall in Disneyland (it is on the left soon as you enter the park) and ask for their Gluten Free list.  The lady behind the counter knew exactly what I was looking for and handed over the 6 page list which included Disneyland and California Adventure.  It said it was valid until the end of the month so they must keep it up to date. The list included snack and vending carts that have GF products.  A few examples are the fresh fruit carts, frozen lemonade, cotton candy, popcorn, kettle corn, turkey l...

So I am not a real sweets person but the occasional cupcake is always a treat. Muffins and scones used to be my favorite, especially walnut cranberry scones. Well, what the hell am I to do now. Enter  2 Good 2 B  located in Encinitas Their who we are page tells the story of Mike, a self proclaimed foodie, who was diagnosed with Celiac Disease in 2007 and his attempt at creating GF food that was more than edible, it was delicious. They have cupcakes and cakes that are out of this world.  And we are not talking just the GF world.  People that have tried these don't know they are GF and still rave about the soft, moist texture of the cake. Bread, they have that too (and sometimes croutons and breadcrumbs).  I have had the rosemary and the baguette.  Both delicious. As far as muffins, I am a fan of the banana walnut.  They even stay good for about 3 days.  The first time I had one of these soft, moist muffins with just the right balance o...

This list hopefully will get quite big but so far I have found two that I trust. First is  George's California Modern  in La Jolla, California.  See my previous BGF (before Gluten Free) blog on food at hisherfoodie.blogspot.com.  The food here is by far my favorite restaurant in San Diego and has the best food.  For most though it will be a bit pricey. The take all food allergies into account.  They do not have a GF menu but the waiters all know what is gluten free and what is not and what can be altered to be GF. This has been my big issue.  If the waiter doesn't even know what celiac disease is, or what items contain gluten I am just about out the door.  At George's they know their stuff. I had the Chino Corn Soup (sans crouton to make mine GF).  This is a rich creamy soup with fresh corn from Chino Farms in Rancho Santa Fe.  The bone in Halibut is prepared perfectly with a nice sauce.  Flourless chocolate cake for dessert...

I am not a sweet tooth guy, more of the savory type.  But when I cut just about everything out of my diet I was looking for something cake-like and sweet.  I was at Trader Joe's and saw their gluten free brownie mix. Now if you have been to TJ's they have a good size list of their gluten free products.  If you live in San Diego, I have been to the Trader Joe's on Mira Mesa Blvd and they have made your life easy.  All around the store they have placed little blue G's to indicate that the product is gluten free. And now - Back to the Brownies. The TJ's were easy to mix and bake.  Taste wise they were good.  A bit dense and chocolately.  Not really a cake like quality.  Although there are many things at TJ's I like.  I won't but this product again. Wildtree.  My mother-in-law found this company and gave me a few of their products.  These were also easy to make.  A bit more light and fluffy than the TJ's.  The chocol...

I grew up eating everything and anything.  I would cook up a storm at home and that was always full of homemade pizza, pasta, cakes, cookies, bread, sandwiches - get the idea.  Then it hit me. At age 38, out of the clear blue, like an anvil in some looney tunes cartoon falling out of the sky onto my head.  Days, then weeks of pain, stomach bloating, lethargy, weight loss.  Being a guy and being stubborn it took a while before I finally sought out medical intervention. They thought maybe an ulcer.  Off to the endoscopy lab and down the throat with a scope.  Well, no ulcer and really not much of anything. Until, the biopsy came back.  Looks like celiac disease.  Off to the lab for blood tests.  Yep, celiac disease. Well, at least its not cancer.  Don't like that answer.  If it was cancer I could eat whatever I want.  But probably good it was not cancer. After the disbelief, depression, anger, confusion and a few more we...