Reporting for Duty

It's been a long time, but I've come back with a vengeance against yucky, over priced gluten free foods! * evil laughter *

For the long Memorial day weekend, my fiance (who I will refer to from now as as Mr. Gluten) and I are going up to Keene, NH to visit some of his friends. We are also making a short trip to nearby Brattelboro, VT for a farmer's market. Do you know what else is in Barttelboro? Anyone? That's right! The Against the Grain factory! If you look at my last blog, you'll see how much I love them and why this is so freakin' exciting.

courtesy of google images

 

 

 

Unfortunately, they don't do "for real" tours of their factory because of their "top secret"..stuff...but they did say if I make the trip up they reward all of their customers with (free?) pizza and bread and/or whatever other goodies they're making that day. I will report back from my super stealthy mission upon my return.

Have a nice, long weekend. And if you're having a BBQ, remember that Udi's just came out with some yummy looking gluten free hot dog and hamburger buns ! I haven't had them yet, so please feel free to leave your comments if you try them.

Keep those tummies happy,
Amanda

Jersey my Pizza

I'm convinced that Jersey pizza is the best in the entire world. It's deliciously appalling: a river of grease flows through it, it's probably bigger than your face, and the place you got it from has questionable food handling procedures. Tastes just like home!

This is a pizza from my favorite, and world famous pizzeria in Newark, Dickie Dees.
Courtesy google images

Dickie Dee's famous hot dogs and potatoes. I would destroy my stomach with one of these....and love every minute of it
Courtesy google images 

Bleh. Grade: C
Courtesy google images 

I have been on the quest for a good, gluten free pizza. I think that I've finally found one that I like, but before I found this one, I stumbled upon a few not so good ones.

Amy's Kitchen has some great organic, ready made foods. My roommate lives off of their Pesto Tortellini, and I'm obsessed with their enchiladas. So, when I saw their Rice Crust Cheese Pizza, I thought they heard my prayers! However...


I was so disappointed I shed tears. The crust was sand, so grainy, the cheese was blatantly fake, and the sauce had no taste whatsoever. I give it a C because I believe in Amy and they're not too far from having a great product. But I will not be buying it again until it has the "New" banner on it.


Another popular option is to buy gluten free pizza crust and customize your creation. I've done this a few times with one mix and I haven't enjoyed it any time.

No, thanks. Grade: D
Courtesy google images 

I've always used Bob's Gluten Free Pizza Crust. The process isn't tedious, but it is long. You mix all of the ingredients then place the crust
in the oven for almost an hour to let it cook. Then you can add your toppings and put it back in the oven for another half hour. Some toppings I've chosen for my pizza: grilled chicken, pesto, sweet potatoes, and fresh mozzarella cheese.

The dough is always too doughy. The first time I tried it, the crust looked puffed up and as big as balloons and the crust never looked cooked. I figured it was in my pizza dough making technique (it's a little rusty), and the next time I made it I tried to even out the dough some more. Still, I had a similar effect. The last time I tried it I made two pizzas instead of one, but guess what. It was still doughy. It tastes a bit sweet but it could also depend on your topping. Each time I've made this pizza, I've been disappointed. It's on my "Yuck" list for sure.

More please! Grade: A
Courtesy google images 

Now, on to the good stuff. Better Bread Pizza (I would like but their website is under construction and not working right now) gets it. Their Cheese and Veggie pizzas rocked my world the first time I tried them and I'm a devoted lover Better than Bread because of them. Of  course, I always Jersey up my pizzas before I put them in the oven (as I do all pizzas) with a bit of garlic powder and oregano--if you've never tried this, you must do it right now! It will change the way you look at pizza forever.

Their crust is thin and gets a nice crispiness to it and their toppings are tasty. Not to mention, it's faster to make than most regular frozen pizza--just throw it directly on your oven rack for 12 minutes, and you're done! These pizzas are hand made and sometimes you can tell because the toppings are sliding off, but only robots are perfect. One pizza costs about $7.99, which isn't too bad when you consider that you would otherwise order from Papa John's for $10 a pie.  It's also a little small, but that just means I don't have to share with my fiance :)


 My pizza mistress is Against the Grain pizza. I love their baguettes and their pizza is just as good. The only weird thing is that their crust tastes exactly like their Rosemary baguette, which is delicious but I don't always like my crust flavored. In any case, this pizza has something that the rest don't have: THE look. The pizza look, the greasiness, the seasonings (some of mine), the crispiness. Like Better Bread, I just put this pizza directly on the oven rack for 12 minutes, and voila: scrumptious Jersey style pizza.
Warning: it's pretty pricey. One pizza cost me almost $12. It's totally worth it, though.

Now that's what I'm talking 'bout! Jersey style gluten free pizza
Courtesy google images 

  So, grab a pizza, get a movie, and truly enjoy your Friday night--preferably Jersey style.

Eat on,
Amanda

The greatest thing since sliced bread? Sliced gluten free bread!

my new life logo

I can't believe I already took a hiatus from blogging after I only posted three times! My grad school thesis is really gearing up, so I have immersed myself in my poetry for the past few months. That can drive me mad, so I'm back to interacting with the real world.

A few weeks ago I went to my doctor and got the official Celiac diagnosis. It sucked, but being gluten free already and trying out all of these foods made it more manageable. So, since this is now my life, I will be much more committed to posting.

I've been wanting to blog about this product for a long time.

Bread: it's the one food that you will find in practically all cultures in our planet Earth. Sliced bread, Naan, pan, religious celebrations, even the Magna Carta notes harsh punishments for anyone trying to cheat bread-making bakers. Bread is a staple and a necessity. And yet, it's the one thing that immediately gets knocked off of your list when you can't eat gluten.

freeze it, burn it, smother it

So, what kinds of gluten free breads are out there for us glutens? Well, it's mostly very small looking loaves made of potato and tapioca starch, and you can find them in the frozen section of your grocery store.
The most popular is Glutino's gluten free breads. They have all kinds of varieties, which is fabulous. However, these breads are always frozen and take a while to defrost. In addition, they don't taste great alone: I usually have to burn them to a crisp in a toaster oven and then smother on the butter. Having to unfreeze then burn your bread takes too much time and a bit of that normalcy from our gluten-filled days.

On a fated Sunday, I walked into a nearby Trader Joe's and asked if they had gluten free baguettes. The nice man showed me the gluten free bread section and guess where it was--not in the freezer section!!! I felt like I had just seen the Wizard of Oz behind the curtain. Gluten free bread that I could just eat out of the package? It's right here with the regular breads? And it's in a cute package? I walked out without the baguettes but with my new bread, clinking my sparkly red shoes.

My BFFs!

The bread was Udi's, a company I had never heard of, and since I've become a faithful follower. The bread is perfect. It's still a small loaf, (why does GF bread always smaller? Aren't we more likely to devour a huge bag of bread? Are they just trying to give us less for our money? I digress--) but it's a fun looking package and it comes in a few varities, white bread and whole grain. I eat this right out of the package. It has more holes than regular bread, kind of like Swiss cheese, but who cares? I use this when I have soup, to dip into olive oil and vinegar, to make grilled cheeses, to scoop up left over pasta sauce, and to just snack on.

Udi's is a wonderful company and I will definitely blog about them more. The best part is that they give everyone a Coupon  for $1 off any of their products! This loaf of bread cost about $4, so that dollar helps :)

This bread gets a big fat, holey A.

Eat on,
Amanda

Vomitsghetti anyone?

From www.glutenfreemall.com

The first thing you notice when you go gluten free is that there is no more make-a-quick-sandwich-to-take-to-work. You have to put so much thought into your food to ensure it tastes good when you make and it still tastes good the day after. For example, this is not the case with pasta. Even if it's al dente the night you eat it, it magically turns into mush overnight. Therefore, one of the things I miss besides convenience is consistently tasty pasta.

The day I saw the "Organ Canned Gluten-Free Spaghetti in Tomato Sauce", I squealed with joy. It was just like back in the day when Mom would by us Chef Boyardees! (I know they're so bad for you, but they taste SO good). So, this morning in my usual flight, I grabbed my can of spaghetti, threw it in my purse, and felt like a normal person...until lunchtime.

The can is extremely small and pricey. I paid approx $3 for 7.7 oz. I poured my meager contents into a bowl and heated it up, waiting to eat my yummy spaghetti-o's. The spaghetti is actually just cut up, long spaghetti, so it looks like you're getting a nice portion. However, I could have finished this in a few bites, if I could have gotten through it at all.


My first bite was so-so. It was so hot I was savoring the surprisingly thin and sweet tomato sauce. Not too shabby! The next bite was much more disappointing. The pasta is too al dente and mixed with the super thin sauce, it makes you feel like you're going to choke because the pasta just slides right in there with little time to actually chew. I took a few more small bites and the texture just got worse as the spaghetti got cooler. Even my coworker commented on the rip off that it looked like, and in my naivety I defended the can. But, this is one product I won't buy again.

Rating: D.

Rating System

I've been thinking a lot about what kind of system I'm going to use to rate the food I blog about. A lot of people use stars, but I'm not fancy enough with blogging yet to know how to do that; a lot of people do "Good, Bad, Poor", some are more clever, "Super-Awesome, Doody", etc.

Since I work in admission and teach as well, I'm going to use the U.S. grading system. I feel that this is most familiar to most people. However, here are the guidelines, since this system still varies among institutions.

A   = 4.0
A- = 3.7
B+   = 3.3
 B   =  3
B-  =  2.7
C+  =  2.3
C  =  2
C- =  1.7
D+  =  1.3
D = 1
D-  =  .7 (yes, it exists!)
F = 0


So, this is the scale that I'll use to make the review more universal and accessible. Of course, these are my own opinions from my own taste buds. I am picky about some things, as most people are, but one of my promises to my readers is to go outside of my comfort zone if needed to give you the deets on all of the foods out there for us Glutes to eat.

Let the grading begin!

-Amanda

Let them be allergic, and they will find the best food

My new year's resolution this year was to go completely gluten free with my diet. There was just no way around it for me: eating it made my tummy hurt. And if I chose to continue my gluttin-ous eating habits, my mild gluten allergy would turn into the full fledged, monster of a disease my mom has, Celiac. I would prefer not to, in the words of Bartelby. I've tried my fair share of gluten free foods and to be honest, most of them suck. I believe the disappointment from some of these foods is unnecessary, so I'm dedicating this blog to my reviews of the foods I buy and eat. Hopefully, I can save you those dollars (these foods are not cheap), and we can donate them to find a cure instead :) (You can donate to create awareness at https://www.celiac.org/index.php).



Feel free to email me with gluten free foods you've tried and love/hate, recipes you've come up with, or just funny ways of using the word "gluten" in a sentence.