Gluten-free Gourmand

New Cascadia Traditional has a new vegan vanilla cupcake.  I haven't liked all of their vegan pastries, but I've been avoiding dairy so the last time I was there I thought I'd give the new one a try.  I noticed that this one is soy-free, unlike many of their vegan fare, so I suspected they may have tried something new with this recipe.  I got halfway through it before I realized: it's amazing!  So amazing I need to take a picture! It's nice and moist on the inside, with a really delectable crumb.  The frosting is topped with coconut.  Need I say more?

Good news!  There are now more gluten-free options in select Portland Whole Foods.  Petunia's Pies and Pastries will be available in the Pearl, Hollywood, Fremont and Laurelhurst locations.  I went to visit the Petunia's booth at the PSU Farmers Market yesterday and picked up a slice of the Pumpkin Cheesecake with Gingersnap crust.  This is a gluten-free and vegan dessert like almost all of Petunia's offerings.  I loved the crust, and the "cheese" portion was nice and pumpkiny.  This one was a little on the sweet side for me, but I was not disappointed as far as flavor went.  Petunia's never ceases to surprise me with what can be created without dairy, eggs, or wheat.  Check out my other review of Petunia's here .   I'm really excited to be able to get some beautiful gluten-free desserts right in my local Whole Foods!

"I had given up on finding gluten-free Italian food in a restaurant," my dining companion said as we both perused the menu at Iorio's.  The server had just finished explaining the gluten-free options, which was practically everything on the menu.  They serve gluten-free pasta as well as gnocchi, and most of their battered dishes were GF as well.  (I apologize for not thinking to ask whether the frier is shared with gluten-containing foods).  It was difficult to choose from the menu.  I'm more accustomed to having only one option per restaurant!  We ended up splitting some dishes so we could try more things. The calamari appetizer was excellent.  It was cooked just right - still tender inside - and the GF breading was nice and crispy.  I ordered the Eggplant Parmesan, which was also breaded with a different crispy breading.  While my pride will not let me say that it was better than my own recipe for the dish, I thought it was good.  M...

I consider this one of my all-time best recipes.  It's gluten-free and dairy-free, and I could eat it all the time. Recipe for Lamb Pot Roast with Gluten-free Gravy: In a large heavy pot, heat: 2-3 Tbsp oil When oil is heated, brown in the pan: 1/2 lb carrots 1 lb potatoes 1 small onion, halved Remove these to a plate and set aside.  Add more oil to the pan if needed.  Add:   2 lbs lamb shanks, legs, or blade steaks Brown the lamb on all sides.  Add:   2 tsp coriander (preferably whole) 2 tsp cumin (preferably whole) 2 tsp black peppercorns Toast the spices for a moment, then add: 1 cup wine 2 cups chicken stock salt half the potatoes that you've browned Add water or more chicken stock if needed to bring the level of liquid up to an inch or so.  Reduce the heat to low and simmer for several hours, covered, turning the meat and potatoes occasionally to cook both sides.  When the meat is fork tende...

It was a rough year for vegetable gardens here in the Pacific Northwest, but I'm finally feeling like I am reaping a good harvest.  I found myself in the vegetable section of the store today, realizing that I didn't have to buy a single vegetable, and I hadn't for over a month.  I stopped by my community garden patch later and harvested this: From the left, there are parsnips, a lemon cucumber, rainbow carrots, a big zucchini, a large crookneck squash, a chocolate bell pepper and some lemon drop peppers, which I've never had before but which are supposed to be spicy. We've been lucky to have temperatures stay pretty warm so far this fall so I'm keeping my tomatoes out until next weekend.  Here are some tomatoes I picked last week: The seeds strewn about are coriander. I'm not sure what to do with these.  It's not quite enough tomatoes to make sauce, but it's too many to just eat in salads.  Maybe I'll roast them to make sun-dried tomatoes...

I'll be making waffles this morning.  I'll try to choose between the following recipes: Quick Buckwheat Waffles: Gluten-free Easy Waffles: A Gluten-free Dairy-free Recipe Gluten-free Corn Waffle Recipe Gluten-free Buckwheat Waffles What will you have?

If you haven't been to New Cascadia Traditional yet, you should go.  If you have gone but you haven't tried their teff sandwich bread yet, you should try it! It was the first full-sized sandwich I made in a long time.  I really liked the texture - it was very spongy and not at all dry.  The flavor is a little different, and very pleasantly whole-grain.  The bread has flax seeds on top which gives it an even earthier flavor.  The best thing about this bread is that it stays good for several days.  It doesn't get completely hard like most gluten-free bread products.  I've heard that it also freezes pretty well, although I tend to eat the whole thing once I get a loaf. Have you tried the Teff Sandwich Bread at New Cascadia?  What did you think?

 I have been hearing about the Hawthorne Fish House for a long time, and I finally got over there to try some gluten-free fish 'n chips for the first time in August.  Almost everything on their menu is gluten-free! The deep-fried fish is coated with some tasty rice flour.  I got the halibut.    My friend got the Chile-fried Catfish, which was even better than mine, but I didn't have an opportunity to get a shot of that before it was completely devoured.  I really liked the spicy breading.  They have several gluten-free beers in bottles - including all three styles of Green's. Hawthorne Fish House has a very clearly-marked menu that has notes on what is and isn't gluten-free.  The restaurant has a very clever strategy for presenting their fish as not only the healthiest, but also the best in Portland.  Here's a little of what they say about their food: "It's no accident we have Portland's Best Fish & Chips. Besides top quality fish ...

I haven't been blogging as much this summer due to good weather, but I'm finally here at my 100th post! It's going to get pretty autumnal in Portland so I'll be doing some cool-weather cooking.  Some recipes I'll bring you this fall will include: - Gluten-free pie crust - Gluten-free butternut squash pie - Lamb stew - Home-made bread - New GF pasta reviews - Restaurant reviews - More Gluten-free beer, of course That's right - bread!  I've been baking up a storm and making headway on a new gluten-free bread recipe using my own special blend of flours.  I'm pretty excited about it, but it's not quite ready yet.  This is a teaser: Add caption This loaf collapsed a little; not enough xanthan gum, I think.  I'm trying to do this without eggs, so it's a bit of a challenge. Well, wish me luck! xoxo Gina