our fave restaurants

Eating out can be sooooo frustrating when you have a food allergy. (*Please note, I understand that celiac is not an allergy, but I use the term because it's the one that everybody seems to get, and for the benefit of those here who are gluten free for other reasons) Even if the restaurant has something you could eat sometimes it's impossible to find out for sure because the staff is not educated on the issue. I get so upset when we encounter people in the food industry who lack the knowledge needed to answer our questions about the menu. I continually meet people who honestly don't even understand what wheat is! If you don't believe me, here is an example:

One time in a burger place I ordered my youngest daughter a burger without the bun, the waitress looked at me confused so I told her that my daughter couldn't have wheat. She replied, "Oh, we don't have wheat buns, we only have white buns." No joke.

Our worst experiences have taken place while traveling. It's so hard to go someplace your not familiar with. For a very long time after going gluten free, we didn't eat out at all. We still don't eat out as often as we used to, but it is so nice to be able to go out to eat sometimes, especially in social situations and on special occasions.

Here's a list of the places we frequent because they have gluten free options and are knowledgeable about it. Click on the name to visit their website.

Noodles - They really only have one gluten free entree, Pad Thai, but it's Lily's fave dish. I think some of the soups and definitely the salads are gluten free. They have great allergy info both in the store and on their website and when you order you tell them 'gluten allergy aware' and they will flag the order so that it is prepared separately from any gluten ingredients. Get a punch card, every 10th meal is free and be sure to sign up for their email list. They will send you a coupon for FREE noodles from time to time.

Qdoba- They actually have a lot of gluten free options. My kids love the gumbo soup. You can get any of the burritos 'naked' and have chips instead of the flour tortilla. If you go, make sure you get their loyalty card because every 8th entree is FREE! They also send good coupons to your email.

Marie Catrib's- What a great local place! They always have the best gluten free options, including gluten free bread for the sandwiches! They have both rye and white. The first time Rich went there and ordered a sandwich on Rye, he panicked after the first bite because it tasted sooooo good he couldn't believe it was gluten free and assumed they had made a mistake. The waitress reassured him it was gf and he enjoyed every bite! They also make really good hummus!

Brick Road Pizza - has gluten free Pizza! It's good and we love the atmosphere of the place but think it's quite pricey. But can you place a value on pizza night? Our eating habits have changed a lot over the years, and we don't crave pizza very often, but everybody deserves a pizza party from time to time!

Palace of India- Oh, soooo yummy. We have come to love Indian food, especially after discovering that the breading on the vegetable pekora is not wheat flour, but chickpea flour! Mmmmmm, fried califlower! Our favorite dish is the curry chicken.

I just bought a bunch of coupons for Brick Road, Palace of India and a few other local places at restaurant.com. They are having an 80% off sale till tomorrow, so hurry over there to buy yours! It makes eating out a whole lot more affordable! If you miss this sale, become their fan on Facebook to find out when they go on sale again!

One place we don't eat: APPLEBEES! and we learned that the hard way. I don't think I have ever had good service there and they are not very gluten free friendly. The last time we went there (we were traveling and didn't have a lot of options), poor Daisy had to sit sadly coveting me and Rosie's (glutenous) food, waiting for her dinner because they brought her food on a bun even after a lengthy conversation with the waitress about wheat and the fact that she couldn't have it. She obviously had no understanding of what your basic foods are made out of cause while ordering, AFTER I explained, she offered us pasta! Really. I just think if your gonna work in the food industry you should be required to have a basic knowledge of food. Maybe I'm asking too much.

Flour Mix Update

I want to share again how I make my gluten free flour mix that I use for most of my general baking because I have developed a new system that is much cheaper and easier than buying flours at a health food store. These days I shop at ethnic markets.

On this journey of learning to eat gluten free in a culture that seems to think wheat is the only grain that exists we have learned that most other cultures in the world use a lot of other grains. We have always loved ethnic food. These days we eat a lot more of it and we have grown to love our local ethnic grocery stores.

For only about $1 a bag, I buy the flours for the flour mix at either the Wei Wei palace on Division Ave. near 44th St. or at Adong Asian Market also on Division near 36th st.

To make a batch of the flour mix, combine 3 16 oz bags of White Rice Flour

three 12 0z bags of Potato Starch

and 1/2 the bag of tapioca starch

stir the flours together well and store in an airtight container.

I usually mix up a double batch and it fills my BIG yellow tuperware container that I keep in the pantry and a smaller canister that I keep out on the counter.

I also buy sweet rice flour (glutinous, but don't worry, it contains no gluten) to use in cookies. Using 1/4 or maybe even less sweet rice flour of the total required flour amount for a cookie recipes makes them a little chewier. Don't use too much cause then it makes things very sticky.

We have also been shopping at the Indian market and expierimenting with Chic Pea flour. It makes the BEST batter for fried cauliflower by the way!

Hope this helps! Let me know what you bake and how it works for you!

Midtown Garden Clean Up Day

No more snow!! It's spring!

Wanna see the Midtown garden and lend a hand to clean up and get ready for planting? Come out this weekend!

Date:	Saturday, March 27, 2010
Time:	10:00am - 2:00pm
Location:	61 Holland St. NE Grand Rapids

You don't have to stay the whole time, just come when you can.

To make sure your in the know, we're on Facebook! Become a fan!

Jennifer Holshoe is a fan of

Midtown Community Garden

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Seed Starting party!

It's Spring!! (I know, I heard it's still going to snow, I don't care!)

Click on the pic to see the event on Facebook.

Come celebrate with us! Saturday, we are going to start some seeds for the Midtown Community Garden, but you are welcome to come out and get your hands dirty with us! We are going to do some indoor seed starting and some winter sowing. Bring some milk jugs or other plastic containers and seeds if you've got them, we've got dirt and some seeds to share. You don't have to be a Midtown neighborhood resident or commit to working in the garden. If your excited about spring and gardening, even if you've never done it before, come on over and let's get our hands dirty together! If you want to help us start the plants for the garden that's great, or if you want to take some starts home, that's fine too. We'll be working inside, so don't worry about the weather report!

We went out to the farm last night for the first time and saw all the brand new baby sheep! I love spring! There are something like 17 baby lambs so far this spring, 7 lambs born yesterday alone!

This is Percy! Her momma isn't doing a very good job at nursing her so we fed her a bottle. She is soooo sweet! Her name is short for persistent, because in spite of her mom's (sheep are not very smart) head butts she doesn't give up trying to nurse.

Remember Pìo?She's big now!!

HAPPY SPRING!

Lily is 7!

...and I just can't get my mind around it. Time keeps moving faster and faster. How is my baby seven years old??!!...

my teeny little 6 pound baby I used to bath in the sink

My toddler who'd spend hours playing in the water "doing the dishes"...

the little girl I couldn't get out of her pink flannel nightgown once for over a week and who wore a leotard everyday for a year?

the kid who celebrates Halloween everyday...

and can always make you laugh...

the most photogenic child I ever aimed a camera at...

is 7 years old.
She's growing up.

She's always been a very intense child, with a VERY strong will and full of energy! None of that has changed, but she is really learning how to channel her energy in a more productive way and she has matured so much in the last year, it brings me so much joy.

Just as any mother's first baby does, Lily has changed my life in every way and I am so thankful for her.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LILY!!

Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies, YUM!

Lily's birthday is this weekend and she wanted to bring some chocolate chip cookies to school today to share with her class so I tried the Better Homes and Garden's chocolate chip recipe because I wasn't too impressed with the gluten free recipes I have made in the past. They turned out amazing and I really don't think most people would even be able to tell that they are gluten free.

Most of my best gluten free baking recipes have come from the

Better Homes and Garden cookbook.

I think it's because they are very standard recipes using basic old fashioned baking techniques.

Here's the recipe:
Essential Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe

and here's how I converted it to gluten free flours,
it calls for 2 1/2 cups of wheat flour so instead I used:

1 cup of the flour mix (stay tuned for an update about this)

1 cup chick pea flour (look for Ladu Beasan at the Indian Market)

1/2 cup sweet rice flour

and I added 1 tsp xanthum gum.

The end result was chewy inside and crunchy around the edges. The texture and consistency was just like good old homemade chocolate chip cookies! If you try this recipe yourself, let me know what you thought and what flours you tried!

The Midtown Community Garden

Rich and I are getting more involved with our new neighborhood and have decided to take on organizing the Midtown Community Garden along with Amy this season! If you live in the Midtown Neighborhood, we have a great neighborhood association, and there's lots going on!

We've created a Facebook group for the garden. Become a fan to find out about upcoming events and see us grow!

The first order of business is cleaning up the site. March 27th is the day! Time and Directions to follow. Come on out, pitch in and see what's going on.

Other upcoming neighborhood events:

April 24: Fulton Street Farmers Market Clean Up

May 15: Perennial Plant Exchange at the Midtown Green

Happy Spring!