Gluten-free Red, White & Blue Pavlova

There are a lot of things to love about Australia; the spectacular Sydney Harbor, the Great Barrier Reef, those fabulous Australians and Pavlova.

Pavlova is a dessert every gluten-free cook should have in their dessert repertoire. It is naturally gluten-free, easy to make and utterly delicious.

I decided to make an all American Pavlova for this Fourth of July. Decked out in red, white and blue this native Australian can become a new American classic.

Happy Fourth of July!

Red, White & Blue Pavlova

4 large egg whites, room temperature
Pinch of Kosher or sea salt
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup cold heavy whipping cream
1 tablespoon powdered sugar
1 12 ounce package frozen raspberries, thawed
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar (optional)
½ pint fresh raspberries
1 pint fresh blueberries

Preheat oven to 180 degrees.

Draw a 9 inch circle on one side of a piece of parchment paper using a cake or pie pan as a guide. Flip the parchment over so the circle is on the reverse side and place on a sheet pan.

Beat egg whites with salt in a large mixing bowl until they start to firm up, about 1 minute. With the mixer going slowly add the sugar and continue to beat until it forms firm, shiny peaks, about 2 minutes.

Sift the cornstarch onto the egg whites and add the vinegar and vanilla. Fold lightly with a spatula. Pile the egg white mixture onto the parchment paper in the center of the circle and gently smooth the mixture to fill the circle starting from the middle and working out in all directions until you have a round disk.

Bake for 1 ½ hours and then turn off the oven and let cool completely in the oven.

Beat heavy whipping cream with powdered sugar until it forms soft peaks. Do not over beat.

Put thawed frozen raspberries and balsamic vinegar (if using) in a blender and blend until smooth. Strain through a sieve if you do not like the seeds.

When the Pavlova is completely cooled, peel off the parchment paper and place on plate or serving platter. Spread whipped cream evenly over the Pavlova leaving about ½ inch border of meringue then ring the whipped cream with the raspberries and fill the center with the blueberries.

Spoon the raspberry sauce over and serve.

Serves 6.

Go Ahead Honey, It's Gluten Free Manly Food Round Up

Until now I really did not like the idea of pot luck dinners. Some would say it is because I am an anal retentive, OCD control freak. I would say that I am a gracious hostess who does not feel it polite to make my guests work for their dinner. And maybe I would have the tiniest bit of apprehension about what people would bring to the party. Like what if we had 18 side dishes and no main course? And ok, the truth be told I may worry ever so slightly about the quality of the food, the presentation and…OK, so maybe those people who think I am an anal retentive, OCD control freak are not completely off base.

But that was before I decided to host this month’s Go ahead honey, it’s gluten free round up.

This month’s theme was Manly Food and when Naomi and I discussed this we worried that perhaps we would end up with 10 recipes for ribs. But let me tell you, we have a full course of manly food from soup to dessert with plenty of meat and sides as well.

So welcome to our testosterone fueled party and without further ado let’s see who brought what to the party!

First off it’s cocktail time. The originator of the Go ahead honey, it’s gluten-free monthly blogging event, Naomi Devlin has submitted Elderflower Cordial. Naomi’s posts are so thoughtful and beautiful they at once bring tears of joy and tenderness to my eyes. So let’s raise our glasses and have a toast with this lovely concoction. I’ll have mine on the rocks with gin, if you please!

For our starter I say lets pop over to Rachael’s at The Crispy Cook for some Barbecued Shrimp with Spicy Peanut Dipping Sauce. Rachael sells books and from the way she writes I venture to say she does a lot of reading as well. This will get our grill started for what’s to come.

And what would a proper dinner be with out soup. Fortunately Penny from The Elysium Eatery has whipped us up a beautiful Pea and Mint Soup that be served hot or cold. It is one of her hubby’s favorite foods and we are fortunate she has decided to share.

For our next course, let’s have tacos! This great post from Ben over at What’s Cooking has all sorts of tortillas and some amazing looking cochinita pibil. Sure he included some wheat tortillas in his post but we are going to totally overlook that because these cochinita pibil are amazing, made with corn tortillas and Ben is an actual man! Let’s face it, he can actually provide the testosterone to our little man-fest party over here!

And speaking of testosterone that brings us to our next entry from the oh-so wonderful Nick at Peanut Butter Boy. I love this guy! He has a whole freaking blog that revolves around peanut butter and he has submitted the very pinnacle of testosterone deliciousness with his Elvis Burger!

Next off, let’s have some chicken shall we? Pop over to see Jenn at Jenn Cuisine for an amazing Roasted Chicken with Sage Butter Pesto and a little story about how she learned to roast a bird. Delightful and economical – very important in these challenging financial times.

What would manly food be with out red meat? We have a veritable buffet of rich red meat starting with Amy from Simply Sugar and Gluten Free’s entry of Pot Roast, Gravy and Carrots. This is a meal in itself. I have yet to meet a man who did not like pot roast! And best yet, for those of us who live where it is blistering hot these days her method leaves you with a cool kitchen and a fantastic dinner.

Also offering a full meal is Katrina from Gluten Free Gidget. Her Crockpot Pulled Pork with Gluten Free Hamburger Buns, Sweet Potato Fries and Baked Beans are enough to fill up the hungriest of hungry men anywhere. She even gives us permission to do a little watermelon seed spitting at her place.

Not to be outdone in the whole dinner department is Kim from The Food Allergy Coach. Her honey was the inspiration for this amazing and gluten free Chicken fried Steak with Oven Sweet Potatoes and Grilled Zucchini. Obviously this is a woman who understands that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.

What would manly food be with cooking something in hot oil? Let’s take a tiny break from eating for a second and get a great tutorial on frying gluten free style from Cheryl at My Realistic Life. This is a great post with lots of useful info for when you want to fry up something.

Ok, back to eating so let’s head over to Without Adornment for a visit with Christine or Bean as she is known to her friends. Christine is a newlywed and from the looks of this recipe her hubby must kiss the ground she walks on. She is serving up Bean’s Bison Burgers with Garlic Basil Buns.

Still feeling a little puckish? Well, Shirley from Gluten Free Easily has just the fix for that. She has whipped up a Honey Pepper Steak that looks to die for and has also bravely (and I say this with experience now) and graciously agreed to host next month’s Go ahead honey, it’s gluten free round up! Her theme for July is “Make Me a Happy Camper” so let’s all meet over at her place next month for some singing and eating ‘round the campfire!

Alright, you just can’t talk about manly food without getting to ribs and Sara from Breaking Up With Bread has not disappointed us. Her C's Sriracha Braised Ribs look easy and are literally making my mouth water. She is even offering us a salad because I guess her estrogen got the better of her and figured we needed a little green to go with all that red (meat).

When you are firing up that grill to throw some meat on fire it is always nice to have a smoky, spicy rub to put on it first and Laura from Mouthgasmic gives us her creation of Smoky Red Meat Rub that is sure to liven up any roast or steak you rub it on.

Now for a little beefcake. No I am not going to post photos of buff firemen. Tracee from Mrs. Ed’s Research and Recipes is offering up Beefcake with Jalapeno Remoulade. I love the recipe almost as much as I love the name!

And if all this testosterone fueled food has not yet grown hair on your chest then this next submission is sure to do the trick. Sophie from Flour Arrangements has made Grow Hair on Your Chest Pork and Beans. OK, if you are a woman then hair on your chest is probably not desirable but these recipes certainly are.

And we can’t forget about chili! What man (or woman) doesn’t love a good chili? We will forgive Meg from Gorgeous Gluten Free Girlfriend for the girly name she gave her Princess Steak Chili because with two kinds of beef, bacon and spices it is one manly dish.

Too much meat? Then let’s get over to The Daily Dietribe for some BBQ Tofu Enchilada Bake. Iris is new to blogging and we welcome her with open arms, especially when she cooks up such fabulous fare!

What is a dinner party with out side dishes? Our first one comes from Chaya over at Comfy Cook. Chaya is also new to our blogging community but she is sure to make a big splash with her gluten free Crunch Noodle Salad. Just the thing to round out our meal.

Now we most definitely need potatoes. This next side comes from the delightful Aoife at The Daily Spud who I had the pleasure of meeting in person in Seattle at the IFBC. She is Irish and wonderful and makes the most amazing things out of potatoes including her Manly Spuds.

Our next side come from yours truly, Gluten-free Onion Rings. Now I noticed that the majority of women that submitted recipes dedicated their posts and dishes to the men in their lives while my post was pretty much all about Hugh Jackman. Does that make me a food blogging ‘ho? Oh well, I only cheat in my dreams, my hubby is the love of my life!

Now it’s time for dessert. And lucky us, we have two choices. First let’s grab some Doughnuts from Kelly at The Spunky Coconut. Thank goodness her man is into sweets and the inspiration for these gluten free doughnuts. All I can say is pass me another one of those babies!

Last but certainly not least we end off our ‘round-the-world-manly dining-tour with a stop at Kitchen Therapy for some Tart Cherry Pie with Sorghum Crust. Linda offered us a choice of dishes to decide which was most manly and I chose the pie because, well, it’s pie. I love pie, my hubby loves pie, my kids love pie and every one I know loves pie. Especially this pie!

So there you go! We have had us one manly feast. Thanks to all of you who submitted recipes and let me point out that we had a few submissions from blog authors of blogs that are not exclusively gluten-free. Don’t you just love the fact that we can all get along as one big community and party with each other? I do and I thank you very sincerely, this was fun!

Gluten-free Onion Rings

Poor Hugh Jackman! Sure on the surface it looks like he’s got it all. Nice family, good health, fame, fortune, charm, talent, good looks and a body that men envy and women covet. But looking below the surface I see that the poor man has been deprived.

I recently saw an interview with him where he stated that in order to obtain the phenomenal physique he achieved for Wolverine he was on such a strict diet that his favorite meal of the day was six egg whites and a piece of dry toast. And that was because it was the only meal that wasn't just protien. Good God, this man has been deprived of all things that define a manly diet – carbs, grease and salt!

So in order to entice Hugh to stop by one afternoon I decided to whip up a manly snack. What could be better than a nice plate of hot onion rings? But being a gluten-free household I had to figure out how to make them crispy and crunchy with out the normal wheat flour.

I combined rice flour for crisp with cornmeal for crunch and viola! Fab onion rings that I am certain with make Mr. Jackman hop on a plane from Australia and sit with me for an afternoon of charming conversation (from him) and goggling (from me). So Hugh, the invite is open, come and partake in some steamy hot onion rings and nice cold beer – gluten free of course!

And since in my opinion Hugh Jackman epitomizes all that is great about men this is my submission for this month’s Go ahead honey, it’s gluten-free round up. Check back here on Monday, June 29th and see all the fabulous manly entries this month!

Gluten-free Onion Rings

2 large white onions
2 cups buttermilk
1½ cups white rice flour
¼ cup yellow cornmeal
1 quart vegetable oil
Salt & Pepper

Preheat oven to 200 degrees.

Prepare a baking sheet by lining it with paper towels.

Peel onions and slice then ½ - ¾ inch thick. Separate into rings.

Add 1 teaspoon of salt and 1 teaspoon of pepper to the buttermilk. Drop the onion rings into the buttermilk mixture and let set for half an hour (can sit as long as a few hours). Mix the rice flour and cornmeal with 1 ½ teaspoons of salt and 1 teaspoon of pepper.

Heat the vegetable oil in a large pot or Dutch oven to 275 degrees. If you have a candy thermometer this really helpful for maintaining the correct frying temperature – clip it on the side of the pot.

Working in small batches, take some onion rings out of the buttermilk and dredge in the flour mixture the carefully drop into the hot oil. Make sure you do not over crowd. Fry for about 2 minutes or until golden brown turning once during frying. Take onion rings out of oil and put on prepared baking sheet and sprinkle with some additional salt. Keep them warm in the oven while you fry the rest of the onion rings. For best results keep the oil temperature between 250 and 300 degrees. If it drops below 250 degrees then wait until it comes back up to temperature before adding the next batch of onion rings.

The onion rings will stay nice and crisp in the oven for at least 30 minutes.

Serve hot.

Makes 4 – 6 servings

Dairy Free Tropical Semifreddo

My husband eyed me suspiciously when I asked if we owned a machete. Apparently he has not forgotten the time I asked if we owned a blowtorch which resulted in repainting the kitchen. Long story…lots of smoke, fire, sirens and such. But that’s a story for another day.

After perfecting this dairy free semifreddo which is made with Cream of Coconut instead of cream I decided the perfect presentation would be to serve it coconut halves. My kitchen knife did not do the job, nor did my cleaver so of course I needed a bigger tool. Or so I thought. He deftly whacked the coconuts in just the right place (after draining the milk) and viola – perfect coconut bowls. No machete required.

Gluten intolerance is often accompanied with an inability to digest dairy so in the spirit of celebrating abundance rather than focusing on scarcity I was determined to come up with an easy, dairy free ice cream alternative. This tropical semifreddo is just the thing to beat the heat. It is creamy and delicious, requires no ice cream maker or special equipment and takes about 3 minutes of actual work.

The trick to making this work is COLD. I refrigerated the Cream of Coconut overnight, put the beaters and mixing bowl in the freezer for a few minutes and froze the concoction for at least 8 hours.

Tropical Semifreddo

1 – 15 ounce can Cream of Coconut
¾ cup powdered sugar
¾ cup mango nectar

Refrigerate the can of Cream of Coconut and mango nectar overnight. Place a large mixing bowl and beaters in the freezer for about 5 minutes before making the semifreddo.

Put the cold Cream of Coconut to the cold mixing bowl and add the powdered sugar. The Cream of Coconut will be partially solidified at the top and more watery at the bottom, this is normal as the cream part rises to the top and gets more solid. Beat on high speed until the Cream of Coconut gets very thick (like lightly whipped cream) add the mango nectar and mix until well blended. Spoon semifreddo into a plastic or glass container with a snug fitting lid, smooth it down to compact it and freeze for at least 8 hours or overnight.

Semifreddo will be a soft, not solid frozen mixture. For best result serve in cold dishes or coconut halves that have been placed in the freezer for a couple hours.

Gluten-free Oven Baked Sopes & BIG RED LETTER DAY!

Yesterday I woke up to the sun shinning, the bird singing and the delicious scent of freshly brewed coffee wafting through the air. My skin was glowing, my tummy mysteriously flat and my hair shinny and perfectly obedient. As I exited the house towards a waiting Lincoln Towncar and driver, perfectly clad in size 2 designer jeans and stunning Manolo Blahnik heels, a handful of friendly paparazzi called my name and snapped pictures from a respectful distance. I was whisked to the TV studio…

Screech!

Stop!

Re-roll film!

Ok, so maybe that’s not exactly the way it happened. The house was dark, no birds or coffee, hair was in desperate need of a trim, flip flops instead of Manolas, schlepping bags to the car (my car – no black shinny limo and driver) and well, you get the picture.

Regardless it was a

BIG

RED LETTER

DAY

for Simply…Gluten-free!

I filmed a gluten-free cooking segment on the national syndicated morning show Daytime!

Woo Hoo. The segment will air on June 22. Yeah for all us Celiacs! Awareness is increasing, people are starting to understand and realize that we are not just a bunch of fringe allergy people.

I am hoping to change the face of gluten intolerance. I am sure you know what I mean. The majority of cookbooks out there for gluten free are printed on cheap paper with no pictures targeted at allergy girl (or guy) or hippie girl (or guy). Seriously! I have many, many pairs of shoes and not a pair of Birkenstocks in the bunch! I am hoping for a raised perception of us and I feel I am doing my small part to help that. And so is Daytime by having gluten-free cooking segments on the air! Yeah for them. (They even asked me to come back in August!)

Everyone at the show was super friendly and I had a great time (did not, by the way, burn the studio down – whew!).



Today is also my 100th blog post – so I feel this is even more cause for celebration.

The food I most often turn to is Mexican so I decided to make some Sopes to celebrate the day. But honestly I am lazy and all that rolling, pinching and frying just seemed like too much work. So I made the dough, rolled it up into little balls, put the balls in mini muffin pans (yep,those again. Love them!) and baked them in the oven.

And just when you thought I couldn’t add any more to this post I have also decided to finally get up the courage and submit a photo to CLICK a monthly online photo contest hosted by Jai and Bee at the fab blog Jugalbandi – this month’s theme is stacks. So I stacked up the Sopes before I gobbled them up.



Gluten-free Oven Baked Sopes

3 cups masa harina (finely ground corn flour made from dried corn – in the ethnic section of the grocery store)
3 cups hot water
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg, slightly beaten
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 ½ cups finely grated Monterey Jack cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously grease 1 – 24 muffin or 2 – 12 muffin mini muffin pans with gluten-free baking spray or oil.

In a large bowl whisk together the masa harina, baking powder and salt. Stir in the hot water until it comes together as loose dough. Let stand 5 minutes and then stir in the egg and oil. It will be a bit crumbly but will be dough-like if you push it together.

Take a very scant ¼ cup of the dough (loosely scooped but not packed in a ¼ cup measuring scoop) and roll into a ball and drop in the muffin tins. Repeat until you have all 24 of the muffin tins filled. Using your fingers or the end of a handle-free rolling pin press the dough balls into the muffin tins forming big indentations in the dough. The more you press the better as the sopes will be thinner.

Bake at 350 for 10 minutes or until the dough looks dry. Sprinkle in about 2 teaspoons of shredded cheese to each indentation and return to oven for 5 minutes or until the cheese has melted. Let cool in muffin pans about 5 – 10 minutes before removing with a knife or small off-set spatula.

Serve hot with Black Bean Salsa.

Black Bean Salsa

1 large ripe tomato – seeded and finely diced
½ - 1 jalapeno – finely minced
¼ large white onion (about 1/3 cup) white or red onion – finely diced
½ cup canned black beans – rinsed and dried
Juice of 1 lime
1 handful cilantro leave – finely minced

Mix all ingredients together and scoop salsa into the sopes.

Makes 24.

Great Big Announcement!

I have a big announcement!

Hold on to your hats.

Sound the trumpets.

Drum roll please…

SIMPLY…Gluten-free is going on television!

That’s right. I am going to be doing a cooking segment for Daytime, a nationally syndicated morning show shown in 90 cities across the United States.

I am going to be cooking on TV!

And I am going to be cooking gluten-free on TV.

This is just another sign of the increased awareness of gluten intolerance and gluten-free lifestyles that is happening across the world. We are going mainstream baby.

Hopefully I don’t get my hair caught in the mixer, grate my fingers off or burn down the studio. After all, I want to make a good impression.

I shoot the episode on Thursday the 11th of June and will notify you all as soon as I know the air date.

In keeping with my philosophy of celebrating the abundance of gluten-free living and keeping it simple I am making an old standby in my house, I have posted a recipe for this on the blog before but here they are again, gussied up and ready for their close up:


Gluten-free Ricotta Lemon Pancakes

8 ounces Ricotta Cheese – room temperature
4 eggs - separated
zest of 1 lemon, finely grated (I use a micro plane)
big pinch of salt

Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form.

In a separate bowl beat the ricotta cheese until smooth and creamy, about two minutes. Add the egg yolks, lemon zest and salt and beat until very smooth and fluffy. Take a scoop of the egg whites and mix into the yolk mixture to lighten it up some then fold the yolk mixture into the whites.

Heat a griddle or skillet over medium heat until hot then spray with gluten-free oil spray.

Scoop about 1/3 cup of the mixture onto the griddle for each pancake. The batter will be really fluffy so I push it down slightly with the bottom of the measuring cup to flatten it out a bit. Cook over medium heat until browned on the bottom and the batter is cooked through - about 5 minutes. Flip over and cook until the pancakes feel firm to the touch, this just takes another minute or two.

Makes about 12 pancakes.

These pancakes are very light and soufflé-like and will deflate slightly if they sit for very long but will still be delicious.

Gluten-free Mini Crab Cakes w/ Lime & Cilantro Aioli

Serving mini crab cakes when entertaining is kind of like running around all day in four inch Manolo Blahnik heels. I love the idea but the practicality is challenging.

These gluten-free, grain-free mini crab cakes are the perfect little bite for entertaining. They are baked in mini muffin pans so there is no frying involved. No muss, no last minute fuss. They can be prepared ahead, popped into the oven and are a snap to serve. And to make matters even better, they re-heat well if needed.

The heat from the jalapeno peppers and Old Bay Spice in the crab cakes is accented perfectly with the lime and cilantro aioli.

So put on your party shoes, grab a cocktail and enjoy!

Mini Crab Cakes with Lime & Cilantro Aioli

Mini Crab Cakes

8 ounces Cream Cheese – room temperature
1 egg
2 tablespoons good quality mayonnaise
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning
1 medium shallot – finely minced
2 jalapeno peppers - ribs and seeds removed, finely diced
Zest on 1 lime – finely grated
1 pound fresh or canned lump crab meat – picked over for cartilage
3 tablespoons pecans – finely chopped

Preheat over to 350 degrees.

Generously grease 1 – 24 muffin 2 - 12 muffin pans with gluten-free baking spray or butter.

Using an electric mixer beat cream cheese in a large bowl until smooth. Add the egg, mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, Old Bay Seasoning, shallot, jalapeno peppers and lime zest and mix until well blended. Fold in the crab meat.

Put 1 tablespoon of crab mixture in each muffin cup and press down gently. (Can be made 1 day ahead and refrigerated at this point.) Top each crab cake with some chopped pecans.

Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees or until golden brown and set. Let cool for 5 minutes in pan. Run a knife or small offset spatula around each cake and gently lift out. (Can be baked 2 hours ahead – let cool, refrigerate and then bring to room temperature. Arrange on a baking sheet and re-warm for 6 to 8 minutes at 350 degrees.)

Makes 24

Serve with lime & cilantro aioli

Lime & Cilantro Aioli

½ cup good quality mayonnaise
Zest of ½ lime – finely grated
Juice of ½ lime
1 tablespoon cilantro, leaves only – finely chopped (about 6 sprigs)

Mix all ingredients together until well blended. (Can be made 1 day ahead and refrigerated.)

A note on Worcestershire sauce – in the United States Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce is gluten-free but apparently is not in other countries. Make sure you use GLUTEN-FREE Worcestershire sauce.

Go Ahead Honey, It's Gluten Free - June Theme

What:

Go ahead honey, it's gluten free! is a monthly event where gluten free dishes revolving around a theme are submitted by bloggers and other foodies and then the round up of the entries are all published on a blog.

Who:

The event was started by the lovely Naomi of Straight into Bed Cakefree and Dried. It is hosted by a different blogger each month and this month it is hosted by me. (I have been so busy lately I haven't had time to host the neighbor in for coffee so I am happy to be doing this.)

Last month it was hosted by Emilia of A Gluten-free Day and you can pop over there for the round up of May's entries

ANY ONE CAN ENTER - you don't have to have a gluten-free blog but the entries must of course be gluten-free. You don't even have to have a blog. You can send a recipe and a photo and I will enter it. (As a side note I am very competitive by nature even when there is no reason to be so I would like it very much if this month's event had the MOST ENTRIES EVER! So don't be shy - enter!)

Also let me take this opportunity to say that I, for one, believe that there is no reason why the gluten-free blog world and the rest of the food blog world should not do a little more co-mingling. I would love to see gluten-free entries from those of you out there who are not specifically gluten-free. After all you never know when a celiac may show up to your house for dinner.

Where:

Post you blog entries and then send me a link of the post as well as another copy of the photo. If you don't have a blog send me the recipe and a photo.

Make sure you link back to THIS post in your blog post featuring the recipe and state in the post that this is your submission for June's Go ahead honey, it's gluten-free! event.

Send links, photos and entries to : cok@verizon.net

When:

The dead line is Friday June 26th, midnight Eastern Standard Time (US) to have your blog posts done and the links, etc sent to me.

The roundup will be published on my blog on Monday, June 29th.

Why:

Because it is fun, informative and good exposure for your blog.

OK, now for the THEME!

In the Northern Hemisphere June is the start of summer. And summer brings to my mind barbecues, baseball and Hugh Jackman (seriously, have you seen Wolverine?) June is also the month we celebrate Father's Day here in America. So with fathers and Hugh Jackman on my mind I have decided that the theme for June is (drum roll please) ...

MANLY FOOD!

I want to celebrate all the dads, brothers, uncles,sons, nephews, grandfathers, husbands, boyfriends, man-friends and of course Hugh Jackman.

Your entry can be in any category - starters, drinks, main dish, sides, dessert - just make it manly - what ever your concept of that is just so long as it is gluten free.

So go ahead honey, it's gluten-free!

IFBC

What do you get when you put over a hundred food bloggers together in one city for a weekend?

Well by now I am sure that most food bloggers in the universe have heard of the fabulous International Food Bloggers Conference that was put on last week by the great folks over at Foodista.

I did a little traveling afterward so I am late to post about it but let me just say this WOW!!!!! I hope they do it again and again and again.

Everything from the speakers to the venues to the food was impeccably organized. And don’t even get me started on the gift bags! Let’s just say that the $45.00 I spent in over weight luggage fees at the airport didn’t even make a dent in the value of the amazing items we got.

As far as I know I was the only gluten-free food blogger there. With the exception of the first breakfast I had no problem finding something ultra delicious to eat. All the chefs were super knowledgeable about gluten and directed me to what I could eat and even made me up some special little plates specifically sans gluten.

The rock stars of food blogging were there and very generously passed on their wisdom and advice. The assembly of bloggers was diverse but the common thread was passion. Most of us receive little or no monetary reward for blogging so why do we do it?

Passion.

To spend time with over a hundred people all passionate about food was truly a gift.

Here are a few links to check out if you didn’t get a chance to go yourself. Have a little vicarious fun!

Foodista

Steamy Kitchen

The Daily Spud

Sticky, Gooey, Creamy, Chewy

Off The Vine

Eating Out Loud

Where's the Coffee?

The combination of four hours sleep in the last 48 hours, jet-lag and three glasses of wine at dinner had me desperately in need of coffee.

No problem, I am in Seattle - home of Starbucks and Seattle’s Best, coffee shops on every corner, or so I was told.

As I had awakened way before the 6:30 am opening of the restaurant in my hotel I took to the drizzly streets in search of a cappuccino donned in a raincoat I haven’t worn in over 10 years. After my usually trustworthy Blackberry’s GPS failed repeatedly to find me a nearby Starbucks and wondering for over an hour I finally asked a woman on the street where the closest Starbucks was. Her puzzled look made me nervous. Seriously! This is Seattle.

The kind woman informed she didn’t know where a Starbucks was but pointed me in the direction of Uptown Espresso which was blissfully close and finally I was able to obtain my much needed jolt of caffeine.

I am in Seattle to attend the first International Food Blogger Conference but this is also the home of my sister and her family so I arrived a few days early.

If I have any claim to fame at all it is that I am the sister of award wining novelist Katherine O’Neal (author of historical romance novel that take place in exotic locales around the world) and sister-in-law of noted film critic and author William Arnold (former critic for the Seattle P.I. and author of Shadowland and China Gate) both of whom are reluctant and reclusive local celebrities. They have lived in Seattle for years and years and yesterday gave me a tour of the city like no other.

We circled the entire city seeing the usual Seattle sites - the Space Needle, Pike Place Market, The Arboretum, The University of Washington, the Waterfront but along the way they pointed out little spots that are not on any normal tour. Such as the apartment where Kurt Cobain bought his heroin and the headstone marking the grave retail legend John Nordstrom (Bruce and Brandon Lee are buried there too but for me Nordstrom’s grave was somewhat of a holy grail experience).


There is nothing more fascinating than touring a beautiful city with someone who loves that city and is truly knowledgeable. I got a behind the scenes look at this Emerald City that was peppered with lots of comments such as “that is where so-and-so lives, he was Paul Newman’s best friend…” and “this recording studio is the birthplace of the alternative music movement that brought us Nirvana and Pearl Jam” and “would you like to see Francis Farmer‘s West Seattle home?” As my sister is also a Celiac tons of gluten-free restuaunts and bakeries were pointed out to me along the way.

As we drove up and down hills, around waterfronts and over bridges I also got a history lesson of this fascinating city that has seen its share of boom and bust. From lumber to gold to technology, Seattle has ridden the highs and lows of the major economic cycles in the past century and a half. It is a city that seems to be able to adapt and yet maintain its original charm.

It seems I've seen just about everything here in Seattle except a Starbucks.