Dinner Disaster

Was going to make Vegetarian Fried Rice tonight and put the frozen spinach in a glass bowl to defrost in the microwave.

This is what happened:



I've put these glass bowls in the microwave before. What went wrong?!?

Trying to figure out plan B for dinner.

Curry delicious

Homemade vegetarian curry with a side of red quinoa

Pitiful Paris

Just returned from a glorious trip to Brussels, Paris and London.
As a celiac my least favorite place was Paris because it's just bread everywhere.  Without much variation.  Luckily across from my hotel was an organic (in french: "bio") food store with a minuscule gluten free (french: "sans gluten") section.  A couple loaves of bread, flour, muesli, and sweets.  Of course, we didnt' discover this until the 2nd to last day.  Really, I survived on rice cakes and cheese - there could be worse things.  But, my mouth just drooled over the bakeries with their baguettes, patisseries, sandwiches -- constantly seeing this everywhere I looked, nothing could satisfy me unless it involved a croissant or a crusty baguette.

Maybe if I had planned a little better, I would have done a little more research into gluten free establishments in Paris.  To be honest, the american celiac travel websites that I looked at before leaving were less than helpful.  If you know a little bit of french, I would highly recommend looking at France based websites (.fr) using "sans gluten" as the keyword.  Here is a discussion about gluten free Paris restaurants with some suggestions.

Since we had limited time in paris, we chose to spend our time visiting the sights instead of traipsing around town looking for gluten free food.  It's just unfortunate that there aren't very many "naturally" gluten free foods around Paris. 

Up next: my report on eating in London.. and pictures!

Spanish Rice with a Kick

Spanish Rice, originally uploaded by lesserones.

Lunch today was from the Joy Of Cooking (my go-to cookbook).

Instead of bacon, we used hot dogs to keep it kosher.
Added a kick by using jalepenos plucked from the garden instead of a bell pepper
Saute onions, garlic, pepper and onions in a pot until the onions are golden.

Add 1 cup rice and mix to coat.
Add 1 3/4 cup chicken stock, canned tomatoes, 1/2 tsp paprika and bring to a boil. Once boiling, give it a stir, cover and stick it in the 350 degree oven. Bake for 25 min, then let sit uncovered for 5 min.

We had some extra sauerkraut left over from another hot dog dish, and used that for an extra flavor complex.

PIZZA

Cold Cucumber Soup

Dill-y deliciousness.

Cheddar Cornbread with Roasted Jalapenos

I am obsessed with the Joy of Cooking.

If you do not have this cookbook in your kitchen, well, you are missing out.

Whatever you can dream of making, more than likely it's in there.  And no it's not a "celiac" designated cookbook, and it doesn't need to be.

This morning, I picked 12+ jalapenos from the plant growing on our deck.  What on earth can you do with this many uber-spicy peppers?  I like spicy, but even that is a bit extreme.

After googling around, I debate making jalapeno jelly or relish.  Jelly requires liquid pectic and Relish called for mustard seed - both would require a trip to the store.  

But, oh! What's that I see in my Joy ?  A recipe for Southern Cornbread - which is strictly corn meal, no other flours necessary.  And the suggestions for additions?  Roasted Jalapenos!  

My oven is emanating this beautiful spicy smell of cornbread.  I am now pleasantly full.