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Showing posts from June, 2012

Erewhon Cereal

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I used to have cravings for cereal.  Not Seinfield like, but occasionally I would want a bowl of raisin bran or cherrios.  That is out now. We have tried many different brands but I recently picked up a new brand and I am very happy with it.  Erewhon Cereal is produced by Attune Foods .  This is also the same company that makes Uncle Sam Cereal. I tried their Gluten Free Corn Flakes . They were good, crunchy, crisp and tasted like - well - corn flakes.  Add milk, I like a sprinkle of sugar or banana slices and my taste buds are happy. As far as the GF status, this is what it says on their website: All of our gluten free cereals are made in a facility that while it's not free of wheat, does practice good cross contamination prevention. Our gluten free cereals do share lines with gluten and wheat, so we have several steps in process to help prevent cross-contamination. Prior to running the gluten free products, the machinery is sanitized and thoroughly washed. After

Taco Night

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Taco night.  It used to be an easy night - easy to make, kids ate it up, and easy to clean up. I've been skeptical about all taco shells.  Where can you find corn taco or tortillas without the risk of cross contamination from a flour tortilla.  You can look but I thought why not make our own. Now you have to find corn masa.  I tried corn flour (that is not corn masa), and quinoa flour but it didn't work. Corn masa is whole grain corn that is dried, cooked in a lime solution then ground.  I used  Maseca  corn masa.  I did check their website and tried emailing them but could not find out about their GF status.  I read thru many, many posts on many different websites and forums and the consensus was that it was safe.  I now found out that Bob's Red Mill has a GF Corn Masa that I'll probably try. Taco Shells You basically mix  2 Cups of masa with 1/4 tsp salt and 1 1/4 Cups water.  Mix and then add more water if needed. Roll the dough into small balls and flatt

San Diego Safari Park

I must say that the San Diego Zoo  Safari Park  has some work to do.  Disney and Legoland do a great job with a GF list that you can pick up at guest services. We went to the Safari Park the other day.  I stopped at Guest Services and they said to check in the park at the Ranger Station.  At the Ranger Station they called another person on the phone and then informed me that they did not have a list - I should ask at each place. So I'm supposed to go into every place and ask?  If I'm hungry, and wait in line, and then find out they do not offer anything I'm supposed to just go to the next place and wait in line again? Now, we brought food (always prepared); but, I wanted to check out the GF options for potential visits in the future and for "research." I stopped by Mombasa Island Cooker .  The only option was baked chicken strips . I went to the Oasis Deli .  This kid was nice and surprised that the Park didn't have a list.  They have one salad .  Th

Saltbox Revisited

So we had a night to go out to dinner and we choose to go back to  Saltbox  in the Gaslamp district of San Diego.  You can see my previous posts about the restaurant. Well,  it was a great meal.  Our waitress Lygia took care of us again.  Nic, the manager, stopped by the table to make sure everything was okay.  And Niles, the chef, stopped by when we sat down to reassure me that the food would be okay. The menu has been changed a bit since I was there last.  To let you know the Gluten content they have 3 symbols GF - Food is Gluten Free *GF - Dish can be prepared GF TG - Dish contains trace Gluten I had the brown butter and lemon popcorn to start while we looked at the menu.  It was something we had seen on the menu before - but never tried.  It was good, and the lemon added a neat flavor profile. For my appetizer I had the lobster cobb salad.  This had nice pieces of lobster, crisp bacon, tomatoes with a mix of greens.  This was very tasty. For dinner - I cleaned the pla

Mustard

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Raye's Mustard  is a small mustard mill in Maine.  I visited it once when my wife and I were visiting Maine and we picked up some mustard.  They have all types and they are all delicious.  They make great gifts, too. I had not had some in a while and wondered whether or not it was safe to eat - so I contacted them.  They let me know that almost all of the mustards are gluten free.  They are kosher certified and the non-gluten free ones are produced on a separate line. The non-gluten free ones are the beer mustards (and these are not kosher certified and therefore produced on a separate line from the other mustards).  She even checked with the company that supplies their wine - and the wine is gluten free - but it is not kosher certified and therefore made on the same line as the beer mustards, so there is a risk of cross contamination (I would avoid it). So if you stay away from the beer and wine mustards you should be fine.  I have had no problems.  The Down East Schoone

No to Domino's

So the end of the school year is among us.  My daughters teacher was having a pizza party and let us know she was getting a GF pizza from Domino's for my daughter. Thanks for the thoughtfulness but without even researching it at that time we said "no thank you" and brought in a homemade GF pizza when they had the party. So I did some digging and indeed Domino's does now offer a gluten free crust.  They did work with the  NFCA but (from their website FAQ): Domino's worked closely with the NFCA and recognizes that with our current operational model we cannot, beyond all doubt, provide the environment needed to assure those with celiac disease that the whole pizza is 100 percent gluten free. They do not use separate ingredients so their is a high risk if not certain risk that their will be cross contamination.  The crust includes: Gluten Free Crust : Water, Rice Flour, Rice Starch, Potato Starch, Olive Oil, Evaporated Cane Juice, Tapioca Flour, Potato

I'm Tired

I'm tired. I'm tired of reading labels to find out what is really in my food. I'm tired of accessing the web to check companies websites to see if their food is GF I'm tired of emailing companies to await a response before I consume something. I'm tired of walking thru a supermarket looking at all of the food I used to eat. I'm tired of worrying about eating out.  Do they offer a GF menu?  Is it cross contaminated? I'm tired of getting some food at this store and others at that store. I'm actually tired of cooking. I'm tired of preparing a full day's worth of food at home for my day at work. I'm tired of being tired. But,  I feel better than I did when I was diagnosed - not perfect - but better.  I have a lot of ideas for some new recipes but just have to find the time to make them.  It would be nice to have all supermarkets carry more GF products.  It would be nice to have more restaurants with GF menus - not just the burger with