21st Birthday!!

Monday was my 21st birthday, yes I am a young one. However being in South Africa I didn't think I would have cake and knew I wouldnt be able to find ice cream. I was perfectly ok with it. Of course though my fabulous roommate worked her magic and made me gluten free cupcakes the day before my birthday and totally surprise me with them. She could not find GF frosting so she melted chocolate over them and let me tell you it was SO AMAZING.

She didnt stop there. The next day, my actual birthday we went out to my favorite restaurant in South Africa, Col Cacchio (they have GF pizza). They brought me a shot of what I like to cal teKILLA. After dinner they brought me a slice of cake with kiwi and happy birthday written in chocolate sauce. I instantly said, im sorry I cant eat that, I am allergic to gluten. The waitress looked at me with the biggest smile and said "its gluten free".

It was amazing!!! Happy Birthday to me!!!

Peas and Tuna on Toast (GF of course)

One of my great grandma's famous sauces was a version of that white sauce you see people pour over cauliflower that makes it takes ten times better than it already does. Well here is a meal that is great when your cupboards are bear and you need something quick.

Ingredients:

- Gluten Free bread of some kind. The think, pre-made stuff is ok for this because you are not making a sandwich
- One can of your favorite tuna
- One can of peas or the healthier route, frozen peas
- 2 TB GF butter or margarine
- 2 TB Rice Flour (some other GF flours may work but I think rice is the easiest)
- 1 cup rice or soy milk
- Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Prep everything, this goes fast so have the tuna and peas drained and ready
2. In a pan heat up the milk and melt the butter at the same time
3. Once the butter is melted, add the flour, slowly and constantly stirring
3. Once you feel the white sauce getting thick add the tuna and peas.
4. Add salt and pepper to taste and mix a minute longer
5. Serve over GF toast and TADA!!!

Quick, easy and pretty fabulous!

It had to happen at some point

This past week I traveled along the Garden Route here in SA and had the time of my life. Staying in backpackers I was a little worried about the food situation. However the woman we were traveling with called ahead like she said she would and all was fine. They were actually over protective and very aware.

However, the last four days was with a different "tour guide" if you will. He said it was all set and that for the first night we would be having rice noodles. Well unfortunately Chinese noodles are not always RICE NOODLES! Also then ext night he didnt realize that burgers could have breadcrumbs in them, so I was served iceberg lettuce and tomatoes.

At first I was sad and in pain and then I was livid but I am looking at it as a learning experience for him, hopefully this will never happen again.

Read labels, explain the allergy ten, twenty, thirty times and be patient but DONT EAT IT if you are not positive!!!

A GF life is a hard one but not impossible!

S

Falafels

If there is one food that could have more flavors than falafels, please introduce me to it because to me falafels are a party in my mouth. I have not attempting making them on my own from scratch but instead depend on Orgran GF Falafel Mix. Its a JUST ADD WATER mix, and it is fabulous! The best part is how many ways you can use the mix. You can use it as a stuffing in a recipe such as stuffed peppers. I like it  best when fried into little balls and placed on top of a nice spring salad!

Be careful and make sure the falafel mix you buy is GF because many are not. This is the only brand I have seen thus far, if there are any others please let me know!!

Ciao!

~S

Chicken and Pineapple over Rice

So a few years ago, one day in the summer my mom was at the grocery store and all over my younger siblings (there are many) and one of my cousins were really hungry. I was searching around the kitchen was so bare because it was summer and we were barbequing every night. What I found was a can of pineapple rings, two breasts of boneless skinless chicken, a can of chicken broth and rice. So the teenage me at the time thought this was a simple thing to figure out. I cooked the rice with the broth instead of water, then grilled the chicken and the pineapple just on the stove with nothing added. The kids loved it and believe it or not my aunt just asked how I made it.. Sometimes the simple things taste the best!

Enjoy your food!

S

Lettuce Wraps?

One of the best ideas I ever had after I started eating gluten free was to wrap my sandwich in lettuce. I just took my normal sandwich and a large leaf of iceberg or romaine and rolled it. TADA. Its an easy gluten free sandwich without crumbly bread.

My favorite lettuce wrap is a BLT sandwich. Easy and self explanatory.

My roommate here in SA made a great lettuce wrap last night for dinner. Here in South Africa they have bags of mixed veggies themed to a particular stir fry. We bought the Hawaiian one and she stir fried the veggies and made a peanut sauce with thick soy sauce (make sure its wheat free) and chunky peanut butter ( and some hot water to help them mix).  We first put GF rice noodles in the lettuce and then the veggies, topped off with the peanut sauce and TADA. It was delicious. 

If you have other ideas for lettuce wraps, let me know!

~S