Five of my Favorite Things - Post 1
Ever since I learned that I am celiac and therefore must be gluten-free, eating has been a wonderful adventure and process of discovery and experimentation (usually - to be honest, it can be a sad affair at weddings or parties where someone invariably unintentionally dips their wheat cracker into the gluten-free hummus).
There are a lot of really awesome things to eat and create.
Following are five really delicious/cool/fun things relating to food that we've discovered (or done). I plan to post another five every week (or so) for a while, so stay tuned for more!
1. Homemade Soda
I recently gave Jon a gift of a SodaStream soda maker, which he loves. I'm enjoying it, too, especially when adding some homemade simple syrup and pure flavor extracts we purchased from Savory Spice Shop (we have Lime, Orange, Raspberry and Vanilla extracts).
Jon reports that the flavors from SodaStream aren't very good. I cannot verify this, since I detest artificial sweeteners and am not sure if they are gluten free.
Our homemade flavor syrups are comprised of 2 Tbsp simple syrup and 1/4 tsp flavor extract.
2. Luna & Larry's Coconut Ice Cream
This Coconut Bliss ice cream is better than Ben & Jerry's (sorry, old classic favorite, but it's true!). Not only is this delicious ice cream gluten free, it is also vegan, soy free, and I think it might use agave instead of sugar (and I still love it).
Usually my favorite flavor is Cappuccino, but at this moment I might like the Caramel Ginger Cookie most of all.
Near Burbank/Glendale, Luna & Larry's can be found at Full O' Life and Pam MacD's.
3. Farm Fresh to You
Jon gave me a really cool gift for Valentine's day: a weekly delivery of fresh vegetables and fruit from local farms. via Farm Fresh To You. We never know what will be in the box, but it always leads to a fun, tasty week.
This also saves us money: we get all kinds of tasty veggies and fruit for a small weekly sum that is far less than getting anything nearly equivalent at a grocery store.
4. Homegrown Sweet Potatoes
It took me a year and a half to be successful with this one, but we just harvested our first two and I'm really happy! Harvesting these two was actually the inspiration for this post!
5. Pumpkin Doughnut Drops from the Gluten Free Gourmet
The recipe for these can be found in "The Gluten-Free Gourmet Makes Dessert," page 121.
We have modified the recipe because most of my baking efforts have followed strict vegan methods as well as gluten free, but they are still delicious.
And, since they are packed with nutritious pumpkin, they are practically health food, right?
Want to recommend things you think might become future "favorites?" Please leave a comment below!
Stay tuned, next week I'll write about a fantastic gluten-free, vegan cookie that can be purchased from a store, sorghum flour, our favorite buckwheat pancakes, and a couple other cool things we've found.
