All Roads Lead to Food

Raw oysters?  Yes, please.

Gluten free item #14: Glutino sesame seed bagels

I can’t say I love these.  They’re hard as a rock and aren’t pre-sliced, so you have to either do it before or after it’s toasted…unless you want a cold center.  On top of that, if you put cheese spread on it, it just melts into it.  Boourns to this one.  I miss having fresh and fluffy bagels.

Chicken biryani.  Trust me, there’s a lot of chicken hidden underneath the seasoned basmati rice.  Did I forget to mention it was spicy and may possibly be a gluten free dish.

Remember that posting about the five dosa sampler platter I had?  I couldn’t resist and had to order a full sized mysore masala dosa.  I’m not sure if these are gluten free, but it’s a south Indian dish that is similar to a crepe.  The crepe is made of lentil flour and can range in a variety of stuffings.  So far, this one just happens to be my favourite.

There’s this Mexican themed restaurant that sells gluten free dishes.  The first one is the gluten free platter: “tacos” made with corn tortillas and stuffed with chicken and veggies, a side of refried beans and black beans (because I couldn’t decide which one I wanted), rice, guacamole and salad.  Minus the dry, powdery after taste of the corn tortillas, YUM!

The second one was not gluten free: The quesadilla.  They said they couldn’t make quesadillas gluten free.  Sad :(

Interesting: I had a buckwheat crepe.  Contrary to what most people think, buckwheat is not made of wheat and is gluten free (assuming it hasn’t been processed). 

Random: There’s no jelly in the bean nor actual bean in the jelly, but yet it’s called a jellybean.  Well, not that I know of anyway…

Gluten free item #13: White rice loaf (of bread) by Food for Life

This was the first gluten free bread product I’ve ever had.  While the taste was interesting, I found it easily crumbled into bits after toasting.  It also wasn’t cut properly.  I had to use a knife every time and literally cut it to split the frozen pieces apart, often resulting in broken chunks of bread. 

With gluten free bread, I think you always have to toast it.  I have yet to discover fresh gluten free bread, but I’ve seen the packaged ones in the freezer section and the regular bakery section….I’m assuming it’s supposed to be frozen???   

Gluten free item #12: Glutenfreeda (??? lol) wheat free granola cereal snacks. 

It’s basically a loose granola bar in a bag.  I’d rather eat it with milk than as a loose snack because it can get pretty messy.  Taste wise, this one gets a “so-so” from me.  It’s nothing special, but it does come in four small sachets.  Good for those who are concerned about portion control. 

Mmm…..mussels.  I’m pretty sure these were gluten free friendly. 

Gluten free item #11: Food For Life Brown Rice Tortillas

As with most gluten free foods, the texture of the tortilla is a bit harder than the “normal” kind.  To my surprise though, I really liked the result when I toasted it.  It had an interesting, chewy texture to it.  I’m so happy I found these because I really wanted to make a wrap and was struggling to find gluten free tortillas.  Shown above is a tortilla filled with cheddar cheese and tomato slices.  It was so awesome I had to have two.

My gluten free oven baked eggplant.  Lots of prep work and not enough taste, so I added cheese and tomato sauce on top.  :D

Oopsie.  I fell a bit behind, but here goes….

Gluten-free iten #10: Van’s Wholesome Foods Wheat & Gluten Free Waffles in apple and cinnamon flavour….

…or what the French like to call Gaufres.  :)

Add some organic maple syrup and *hulp* 

I went out for some Mediterranean food today with a friend.  Before ordering, I asked the lady if she had any foods containing gluten (other than the pita bread).  I think she was confused, but when I started explaining products with wheat, barley, rye or flour, she said no. 

So, I thought it was safe enough to order there.  I had a chicken shawarma platter (chicken, salad and rice).  It was okay, but I’ve had better.  It was overly doused with sauces galore and it was kind of bland. 

Anyway, while my friend and I were deep in conversation, the lady at the store started hailing for our attention.  We had confused looks on our faces, thinking she was going to say something about us loitering around too long.  However, when she pushed a dish forward, we found out she was offering us two baklavas on the house - who knew loitering would bring free stuff! 

It was kind of her to offer it, but I knew I couldn’t eat it.  I don’t think she understood what I meant by gluten allergy, but I wasn’t offended by her offer.  It was genuinely nice of her.  It just made me sads - I had a free puff pastry staring at me filled with a delicious syrupy pistachio nut mix, dripping with sugary goodness in between a bajillion delicate layers - who wouldn’t be?  I don’t blame her for not understanding though.  Just over two weeks ago, I had no idea what a gluten allergy was.

Anyway, my friend ate hers and I was salivating because I wanted to eat mine, but I couldn’t.  It is now sitting in my fridge waiting to be eaten, most likely by my brother.  Double sads.  :( 

Gluten free item #9: Peppermint tea by Celestial Seasonings.  It’s quite strong, but I love peppermint tea so I’m glad this one works out for the gluten free community.  I’m assuming most teas would be gluten free, but the packing on this particular one confirms it.  YAY!

I know for sure this dish is gluten free: Oven baked veggies with some oil, salt and pepper.  It’s simple to make and you can eat it hot or cold.  I personally prefer it cold.