Buffalo is Naturally Gluten Free

Yesterday I went to the Pow Wow at Floyd Bennit Field in Brooklyn NY for the Native American Festival. While I was there I was hoping to get a chance to eat some Indian foods. I wanted to eat the fry bread but of course I could not since it contained glutened. So what did I have which was very heathly and all natural and gluten free. The Buffalo Stew which contained bullalo meat, carrots, corn and pototoes. It was light and summerly and tasted great on that nice summer afternoon. Buffalo tastes just like beaf except its leaner. No way if i was blindfolded would I tell any difference between buffalo and regular beef.

Product of The Day

This past Monday evening after work I decided to go to our local natural food market called Wild By Nature. This store located in Oceanside NY is King Kullen's version of Whole Foods AKA Whole Paycheck. I really enjoy going to this store because compared to whole foods the prices are more reasonable and even cheaper in some items then other surronding supermarkets. It is about the same size as whole foods but I believe have much more gluten free products.
Any way while I was there I came across a new brand of gluten free baking mixes by a company called Simply Organic. I bought there Coco Cayenne Cupcake Mix and their Honey Pot Ginger Cookie Mix. Well the past two days I kept thinking about the Coco Cayenne Cupcakes so I decided to make it for desert today. I was a bit skeptical that the Cayenne pepper would make it to spicey so after I made the batter I licked the mixer attachment like I normally do and it was hot. So then I got scared that maybe I would not like these. So after I iced them with Betty Crooker Vanilla Icing (I do wish i had organic icing to go with this 100 percent organic and fair trade product) I tasted one. It was pure delight. You couldn't feel the heat until after I finished eating eat but then washed it down with some milk. Pure delicious. I made ten cupcakes with the mix and it only required some water, 2 large eggs, and a table spoon of butter which is much less then other mixes require. You must trully check them out at your local market or online at www.simplyorganicfoods.com

The Food Revolution

There has been lots of discussion lately of this "Food Revolution" that many people think is led by Jaimie Oliver. His show on ABC was wonderful by the way. People should need to see this show in addition to the Fast Food Nation and Food Inc.
What does the food revolution mean? It means clean simple eating. What is good for you is often just as good for the environment. It means staying away from processed foods that containing many different additives and preservatives. A good example of this is "If your grandparants wouldn't recognize a product as a food then don't eat it." Do not go to the local supermarket to buy a tv dinner that is full of ingrediants that a chemistry major wouldnt even recognize. Being gluten free we have to look at ingrediants in products all the time but next time we go grocery shopping and we pick up a cereal that doesnt have gluten but has things in it that a five year old child would not be able to say then put the product down no matter how cheap or good the product tastes.
Here is where it helps the environment. You need to shop local. I do that by going to farmer's markets, farm stands, and natural food stores that sell locally grown produce, meats and poulty. The food tastes so much better and there is less of a carbon foot print.
People need to eat out less and cook from scratch more often. Instead of buying products laced with chemicals and preservatives make it your self and you will save money and feel better at the same time. In this vein instead of buying chinese "take out" hot mustard make it your self like I did last night for dinner.

Chinese "Take Out" Hot Mustard *
Ingredients:
1 Tablespoon Hot Mustard Powder
1 Tablespoon Water
Preparations:
Take both ingredients and mix in a small bowl.
Let sit for 1 hour.
Refrigerate for up to 30 days.
Makes 1 serving for one person.

Shoppers Haven is Gluten Free Paradise During Passover!

On Sunday I went to the St Patricks Day Parade in Pearl River NY with my wife, family and friends. It was a gorgeous spring day. After the parade we deciding to go to nearby Monsey to the Shoppers Haven Shopping Center. In there there is a place called Rockland Kosher Supermarket.
I have realized in years past how Passover is a great time to be a Celiac but this store was amazing. I spent over dollars one different gluten free Kosher for Passover products. I bought coating mixes, potatoe starch, small bags of chips and potato sticks, and other things I cannot remeber this morning.
So for the best product I have eaten is made by Noam Gourmat. They make the best gluten free Pizza Bagels. I even dare to say it is just as good as Joans Gluten Free Bagels. This product actually tastes like any normal pizza bagel you would find in a freezer section of a store. I wish they would make this product all year long. They dont have a website but you must have to look in stores for this "good eats".

Spring Time is Happiness!

Even though it is still only the first week of March here in Long Island NY I am happy cause I know spring is just ahead. How do I know this? Why am I so happy? Its because of three major holidays. St Patrick's Day, Passover, and Easter are all holidays friendly to people with Celiac Disease.

Let me start first with St Patrick's Day. This is the day where every one is smiling, even people like me who do not even have any Irish descent. Corned Beef and cabage is a meal that is definately gluten free. I highly recommend usings Freirich. It is the tastiest cornbeef out in the supermarkets and clearly states Gluten free on the packaging.
Being a nonreligious Jewish person, Passover never really meant that much to me except getting together with family and friends for the main dinner. But since being diagnosed with Celiacs, I have a new found love for Passover since due to religous requirements of not being able to eat leavened bread, there are many kosser for passover products that do not contain gluten. There are cake mixes, desserts, frozen tv dinners, frozen products, packaged baked goods such as cakes, cookies, waffles, and breads.

Let me review one such kosher for passover product. After going grocery shopping at Stop & Shop after work I was to tired to cook dinner. So since my wife had eaten all ready I decided to make a tv dinner by a kosher company called Meal Mart. This Passover Edition Salisbury Steak in Gravey served with Mashed Potatoes and seasoned carrots. The price was a little steap at 6.99 but being Kosher that was to be expected and living gluten free what isn't costly. In my prior gluten eating life I used to love eating the Banquet and Swanson salisbury steak dinners. I know tv dinners arent healthy because of to much sodium but hey they are "good eats." So how did it taste. Well the gravey was excellant. The meat was a snip to tough but tasted great. The carrots where supposed to be seasoned but you could not really taste it but I still gobbled them down really quick. The mashed potatoes remained steaming hot even after I had eaton every thing else and they tasted like any other frozen meal. So in summary I would give this meal a "A" and except for the price level couldnt find anything wrong with this tasty meal.

Now we go to Easter. What is more gluten friendly then Hard boiled eggs. They are tasty and naturally gluten free. Candy is major component of Easter and what is more tasty then Marshmellow Peeps by the Just Born Company out of Bethelham PA. They even came out with new Chocolate flavered ones but I have yet to purchase one.

Dog Is Gluten Free!

No I am not talking about Dog The Bounty Hunter which is a favorite show of my wife and I. I am talking about the furry, loveable, flea bitten, man's best friend variety. I know you are thinking it is gross and I am a hundred percent in agreement with you. I was up last night at 1AM and not being able to fall asleep I started to flip the channels and caught a program on National Geographic Channel called Taboo. This episode was about foods that were taboo in some cultures and eaten in other countries. Guess what dog was one of them. They had a market in Hanoi, Vietnam where they had all the dog bodies like any butcher would have meat. It was sick I tell you. They also had people eating snake in resturants and people who make snake wine. The last topic was about this puffer fish which i forgot what it is called thats common in Japan but you can die from its deadly toxins.

A Decade of Hope

Well the last decade saw me become diagnosed with Celiacs Disease and therefore not being able to eat any gluten. But with my Hannakah gifts I got this year from my beautiful, loving, sweat, smart and funny wife I have hope for the future. She read my mind (and my many hints) and got me a Kitchen Aid Artisan mixer. Like the one pictured here. Plus she got me some attachments like the pasta maker with meat grinder, the vegitable slicer, and the citrus juicer.

How do I feel about the mixer. It is a heavy duty all man power piece of machinery. I have used it with great results from making cookies to spahgetti. It is great for making the often very thick gluten free doughs.

In addition she got me The Good Eats The Early Years cook book by Alton Brown. Alton Brown is definately food networks greatist host with The Good Eats TV show where he makes foods and often tells you how to make utensils or where to go to get the cheapest things. He talks about the science and history of what he is making. He teaches you in a way that is fun to learn.

This leads me to some bad news. In the New York Tristate area there is a dispute between Cablevision and The Scrip Network so HGTV and The Food network was taken off the air on New Years' Day by Cablevision. I am so upset i love those channels especially The Food Network since I am such a Foodie. Its a dispute about money and how much Cablevision should pay Scrips to carry them. I hope it gets settled soon cause I love Dinners, Drive In and Dumps with Guy Fieri and Iron Chef America and Unwrapped with Marc Summers.

Another unconfirmed good news is now Nathan's Famous Hotdogs are gluten free. They where the only major brand that had gluten. Now i can have there hotdogs with their awesome fries.