Emerging from my orthopedic expedition.....

Though I've dropped several posts on my Tumblr site through the summer, I have been far away from this blog since my last post. To the many vendors and product sponsors, I promise you I'll be making good on my word.  This spring and summer was trying for me -- I knee surgery, then I had two separate hand surgeries in June and July. Typing while writing posts caused me great pain. While I was able to use the voice program for emails and FB, it was difficult to focus on my thoughts.  I had a lot of physical therapy and occupational therapy, and some weeks where I had a doctor's appointment every day.

Not complaining. Just explaining.

I'm writing this to share with my friends and readers that I expect to be back on full time on Sept. 1. I'll be bringing you some cool new places to shop for gluten-free food, new healthy plans and products. and information about regional foods from CSAs, Food Coops, and more.

I hope you'll join met when I post "Summertime, and the livin'was Cheesy," a loving tribute to Cabot Cheeses (I'm on the Cabot Cheese board) and a post about the new Sprouts stores in Atlanta. I'm also going to write about some wonderful spices, some wonderful yogurt bars, and much much more.

There are some who talk about a seven-year itch *or ache.....this blog turned 7 years old August First -- but my absence is due strictly to the fact that I've been overwhelmed with medical concerns. There are some upcoming issues, for sure. They may slow me down.  But writing this in just an hour has really tasked my hands. I will have to stop very soon. But be very sure I love my blog and hope make it work again in the next weeks,

See you in a few.

Much love, and 7 years more.

Proud new member of the Cabot Cheese Board

I am a proud new member of the Cabot Cheese Board!

My favorite cheese recipes always taste better with Cabot Cheese. I especially like the extra sharp cheddar, which brings a sharp tangy taste. Gluten-free pasta is very bland, and Cabot cheese really makes it taste great!

Here's one of my favorite recipes I make with two blocks of Cabot extra sharp cheese:

Scott Peacock's Macaroni and Cheese
10 Servings

Recipe Ingredients
1 3/4 c Small elbow macaroni (use your favorite regular or GF version) cooked in well-salted water
1 1/4 c Extra-sharp cheddar cheese
(5 oz) -- cubed (I use a brick of Cabot Extra Sharp Cheddar cheese)
2 2/3 tb Brown Rice Flour
1 1/2 ts Salt
1 1/2 ts powdered mustard
1/4 ts Ground pepper
1/8 ts Cayenne
1/8 ts Ground nutmeg OPTIONAL: I hate nutmeg
1 1/3 c Half and half
1 1/3 c Whipping cream
2/3 c light Sour cream
2 large Eggs (or egg substitute)
3/4 ts Worcestershire sauce (I use a GF variety)
1 1/4 c Packed extra-sharp cheese (5
Oz) -- grated (again, I use a brick of Cabot Extra Sharp Cheese).


Recipe Method
Preheat oven to 350. Lightly butter 9x13x2-inch glass baking dish. Cook
macaroni in lg saucepan of boiling salted water until just tender but still
firm to bite. (If you use Tinkyada, use the energy saving method and drain at about 10 minutes.)
Drain pasta. Transfer to prepared dish. Mix in cubed cheese.

Whisk flour, salt, mustard, black pepper, cayenne pepper and nutmeg in
medium bowl until no lumps remain. Gradually whisk in half and half, then
whipping cream and sour cream. Add eggs and Worcestershire sauce; whisk to blend. Pour over macaroni mixture; stir to blend. Sprinkle grated cheese
over.

Bake macaroni and cheese until just set around edges but sauce is still
liquid in center, about 30 mins. Remove from oven; let stand 10 mins to
thicken slightly (sauce will be creamy).

Recipe By : Scott Peacock, formerly of Horseradish Grill, Atlanta

Happy Cheesy Day!

Much love 

Ging

Would you like (#gf cajun death) FRIES with that? A Review of @Riego products.

Product Review for Riega Products:

Sometimes it takes a while for me to sample things.  After I tried all these wonderful gluten-free sauces, though, I found a novel use for the Pepper Jack Sauce.  I wanted to share this recipe with you. I think these sauces are all great, and I've used some for several years. I shared many of my samples with my friend Doug who is newly gluten free.  I hope he enjoys them as much as I do.

This is a food truck dish.  My husband lives for the food trucks in Atlanta on Wednesday, but I rarely partake because I am gluten free and can't risk cross contamination. It is made by the Rouxd Food Krewe Truck

.

Here it is:

Pork Belly Death Fries $6

Handcut cajun fries topped with crispy pork belly, pepperjack cheese sauce, pickled jalapenos, and chicharones  They look something like this (from Google Images).

So when he mentioned a dish he saw called Cajun Death Fries, I was intrigued. And I was pretty sure I could do something similar.

It was cajun fried, topped with pork belly, topped with pepper jack sauce, then topped with pork rinds.

So, I took a package of the Pepper Jack sauce and followed the instructions by adding margarine and almond milk.  I made a sauce in the pan with this, then added about a half cup of shredded Cabot Light Pepper Jack Cheese (which was also provided for review.  Yum, but more on that).

Perfection!

Cajun Death Fries

Organic, Gluten Free, Not Healthy. Delicious

1 pound small firm potatoes, boiled and cubed.  I kept on the skin. You can deep fry til crispy if you want, but I didn't. I don't fry much.

1/2 stick butter (or your preferred butter product)

Good cajun seasoning (I used Penzeys Cajun amd Arizona Dreaming).

1/4 pound smoked pork belly, cubed (yes, I had this in my freezer).

The Pepper Jack cheese sauce as mentioned above

1/4 cup Crushed pork rinds (we were out, but I could see how this would be great). 

In a pan, I made a layer of chopped potatoes, butter, seasoning, and salt and black pepper. If you're a spicy fan, add red pepper flakes. Broil for 10 minutes until top of cooked potatoes are very crispy.

Chop the pork belly into cubes and sprinkle on top.  If you don't have it, but side meat (it's pork belly) cubed pancetta, or plain on bacon, and cube then add.  Broil until crispy (about 10-15 minutes).

Make sauce as described above. Add spicer or milder cheese as you choose.

Spread on top and broil.

Add pork rinds and do the same for about one minute more.

If I were doing this for myself, at this point I would have added chopped green onions, and maybe some chopped tomatoes. But since the hubs hates those, I didn't. And I didn't think about jalepenos...

Would I make this often? No. Was it delectable? Absolutely.  Did I get a great gluten-free dinner from it? Oh yeah.

Riega also sent me their new flatbreads, called Les Pains des Fleurs Crispbreads.

Because I can't eat some grains (like large portions of Quinoa and Buckwheat) I shared these with others, but I did try the Chestnut.

Two words: Crostata base

I am always tired of people making great crostata recipes, but now I think I can do anything with these. They are delicious. They warm nicely.  And topped with Ina Garten's recipe for Tapenade, they are rock star solid awesome. I also like them with American Gra-Frutti's Spicy Peachtree Pimento.

Much love, and two YUMS UP!

Ging