The Gluti Girls...

Fogo De Chao and a big birthday!

I had a significant birthday yesterday.

I'm not sure why everyone dreads turning 50.  I had a great time!  You get lots of good presents!  I got some silly ones, but also some great ones.  I went out to lunch with my friends and family at Uno's.  They had a great gluten free menu.  The theme was to bring me 50 of something.  

This is me.  My friend Melissa brought me 50 bracelets.  You can't see it but they also put a star necklace on me that had flashing lights and said It's my birthday.  

Here's hubby Steve and our son Bryan.  Steve brought me 50 pieces of toilet paper.  Bryan brought me 50 hot dogs.  Don't try to figure out the hot dogs.  

My mom, Kati and my friends Bobbi, Gina, and Jennifer were also there.  We had such a good time.  Five of us ordered off the gluten free menu!  How cool is that? 

Mom and I spent the afternoon at the mall while the kids made evening plans for me.  They both cooked dinner for me and then after dinner took me downtown for hot chocolate at their favorite place.  It was a great day.  

One thing Kati got me I can't wait to cook with.  A pizza stone for the grill.  Check out the big spatula it came with!

Today, Steve wanted to take me somewhere special for lunch.  Indianapolis has opened a Fogo De Chao restaurant.  This place is awesome!  Everything there with the exception of a couple things on the salad bar are gluten free, including the bread they bring to your table!  When was the last time you ate the bread brought to the table?  How cool is that????

Check this place out online and see if they have one near you.  It is pricey, so save up.  It's worth it for a special occasion.  When you sit down they give you instructions.  First you go to the all you can eat salad bar where they have wonderful cheeses and unusual salads and vegetables.  When you are done with that, you will have a round coaster looking thing at your place setting.  This is to signal for meat.  One side is red, meaning you are not ready for meat, and the other side is green, meaning to bring you some meat.  

They have unbelievable meat!  And they keep bring it to you as long as you have the green side up!  Everything from bacon wrapped fillet to lamb chops, sausage, chicken etc.  

Here is Steve getting served.

Yes, he almost exploded.  We will be eating vegetarian tonight.  

Here is the bread.  Bread I could eat!!!

And mom.  She's gluten free too!

They brought me creme brule for dessert.  And, enough spoons to share!

The end of a perfect birthday celebration!

The wait staff at the Indianapolis location was fantastic.  They really made our time special.  They knew a lot about wines and their food and over all were warm and personable.  If you get a chance, go there!  If you know someone who has to eat gluten free, surprise them with a dinner date there.  It will make their day!

Conte's Pasta

Just in case you are interested, I'm passing along an email I received from Conte's Pasta.  I had inquired into how they produce their gluten free food.  It's always good to know this information!  This is the email I received back.  It's good to know they take such good care to produce a gluten free product.  Thanks Conte's!

Hi Melanie,

Although we are not currently a dedicated facility we are in the process of
expanding which will include a dedicated gf production facility.  We hope to
be able to have this in operation by the end of the year.  In the meantime I
will describe our production procedures.  As you can see we have been in gf
production for many years and do take our responsbility very seriously.

We are a USDA/FDA-approved facility, USDA est. #18969.  At the end of each
production day our production crew will break down all of our equipment,
including pasta machines, mixers, weighers, packers, etc.  A cleaning crew
then comes in and everything is thoroughly cleaned, washed down and
sanitized.  The production room itself is also washed down and sanitized.
On days that we are running gf production, the cleaning process is repeated
a second time in the morning before production begins.  Only gf ingredients,
packaging, etc. will be introduced into the production area.  All gf
products are specially packaged and labeled for easy identification.

We currently use the ELISA-EZ Test on our finished product which will detect
gluten down to 10ppm and have never had a positive test result.  We have
been manufacturing our gf line for twelve years and to our knowledge have
never heard of anyone who has been "glutened" from our products.  As a USDA
facility we are required to have a HACCP Plan in place that is reviewed and
updated annually and our production management team is HACCP-Certified.
This Plan outlines the government regulations with which we must comply,
including Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP's), in order to prevent
cross-contamination with any meat, cheese, seafood, etc.  These same GMP's
are followed for gf production.

We already meet the proposed FDA guidelines that we anticipate will be used
to define the term "Gluten Free".  Should those guidelines change we will
make any revisions necessary in order to remain in full compliance.

I hope this will help as you decide which products to try.

Thanks again!

With kind regards,

Judy A. Sabella
Director

 

CONTE'S PASTA COMPANY, INC.
310 Wheat Road
Vineland, NJ 08360
Phone:856-697-3400
Fax:856-697-1757
www.contespasta.com

Conte's Pizza Review

I was totally going to post a recipe today.  I swear I was.  But, I stopped by my local health food store the other day and she had some new things in.  I spied this pizza.   

With my potato allergy, I am lucky to be able to eat any prepared gluten free food.  I always have high hopes when I pick up a new product to read the label, and most of the time I'm disappointed.  So when I picked up the new Conte's Margherita Pizza box, my hopes were low.  I was so excited though when I found there was no potato flour in this pizza and it was going home with me!  

I would have had some wonderful pictures of this pizza just after baking, but the look and smell overtook me and I ate it on the spot!  Sorry.  This was the best frozen gluten free pizza I've ever had.  I think it might even be as good as my home made.  It was so good, I was worried they might have accidentally put a gluten pizza in the box instead!  The crust is firm, not mushy and it's not jellowy or styrofoamish either.  I know jellowy and styrofoamish are not words, but you get what I mean, right

Conte's also make one with spinach and mushrooms too.  I would assume it is just as good.  If you see these pizza's in your local store, try them!  Let me know what you think.  I really liked it.  

Earth Friendly Cleaners

I know this is way off the purpose of my blog, but I have some recipes, not for food, but cleaning products!  It's spring and many people are spring cleaning and trying to save the earth at the same time.  

I purchased this book a year ago, and have been making my own homemade cleaning products from the recipes in it!  The book is called Better Basics For the Home by Annie Berthold-Bond.  She has recipes for everything from all purpose cleaner to skin care products and everything in between.  I purchased mine from Amazon.com.  Annie also has a really nice blog with many helpful hints on green living at http://www.anniebbond.com/.

Now, if I could just get Triniti to do some cleaning for me.  She's better at making messes than cleaning them.  

The ingredients you will need to make these are; vinegar, baking soda, liquid dish soap and essential oils.  I buy my vinegar and baking soda in large quantities at Sam's club.  I use an earth friendly dish detergent called Seventh Generation.  The essential oils can be purchased at most local health food stores or online.  My favorite is lavender or lemon.  

I thought I would share my two favorite recipes from the book.  The first is an all purpose cleaner.  I use it on windows, the laminate floor or any hard surfaces that need cleaning.  I even use it in between my weekly cleaning in the bathroom for quick clean ups.  

1/4 cup white distilled vinegar

1/2 teaspoon liquid soap or detergent

2 cups water

A couple drops of essential oil

Mix all ingredients together and keep in a spray bottle.  This is so economical!   

My next favorite cleaner is the homemade soft scrub.  This is so easy.  Put 1/2 cup of baking soda in a bowl.  Mix in enough liquid detergent to make the consistency of frosting.  Then add some drops of essential oil.  I store mine in a Tupperware type dish with a tight fitting lid.  This cleans sinks wonderfully!  

If you are looking for these types of cleaning products for your home, I highly recommend this book.  You will save not only the environment, but tons of money!  

Now, If I could just get those dogs to wipe their feet!  

Biscottea Product Review

In the mail, I received three packets of these yummy cookies!  Biscottea are gluten free, tea flavored shortbread cookies.  They sell both a gluten line and a gluten free line.  I was very anxious to try them.  There are 3 flavors, Blueberry with White Tea,  Chai, and Earl Grey. You can read about them here.  

I was very surprised that they really do taste like tea!  My favorite was the Blueberry.  I am not a fan of store bought gluten free cookies, but these I would buy if I could.  I say if I could, because I'm allergic to tea and am supposed to have it only every once in a while.  These reminded me of a traditional shortbread cookie.  Yum.  So, be on the lookout for them!