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...